What build for my buff+melee combat style? Or am I destined for magicka?

jbrady3324 · February 2016

My preferred play style would be sword + board melee combat and to have a good range of magic buffs/debuffs. A healing ability would also be nice, but not a must have. While this screams stamina build, I could be convinced to do a magicka build that as the ability to utilize weapons when needed. At the end of the day, I don't want to rely on a staff only if I go magicka.

Here is what I am considering so far... Can you describe the play style for each and help me narrow down a choice? I think hearing the play styles of some builds would absolutely help me make a decision

Stam/Mag Sorcerer
Magicka Templar
Stam/Mag Dragonknight

I would prefer not to be a NB as they seem overpopulated, but I would consider it if it is the best choice.

I am only considering Dunmer, Altmer, Imperial and Breton as race choices.

FYI - This is for NA PS4 version

WarLord2905 · February 2016

By the sounds of it i think a magika DK would be the best build for what you are looking for if you want magika melee build. I personally have never played one but have been looking at a lot of builds on forums and YouTube because i am thinking of rolling one with the new patch coming in theives guild. DK's especially magika ones are getting buffed particuly for PVP. Most of the DK builds i have looked at use SB/Resto, SB/SB or SB/Destro and they fight up close and personal with opponents. DK's are also very strong stamina builds but if you want a melee stamina build i would personally go with a NB because they have more class skills that can be morphed into stamina skills and you can use a mix of mag & stam abilities pretty easily. I have a lot of fun in PVP with my NB but dont like it for PVE content and prefer to play my sorc for PVE, dungeons, trials, questing etc.
IMO if you are looking for a build that can do all game content and use magika with melee abilities a mag DK would be the best with any of the races you mentioned above.
As for your question on the play styles

Stam Sorc - Melee fighter but cant utilise many of the sorc skills effectively, i believe it would be a hard build to play well.
MagSorc - ranged high burst magika damage, glass canon but can do some serious damage in all game content, they are considered one of the best DPS in the game at the moment.
Magika Templar - make the best healers in game for PVP or PVE, i play a healer and find its best for group roles and helping manage resources for everyone in the group, very good in PVE content but lacks high damage in PVP.
Stam DK - High survivability and good damage in all game content. I have not played one so my knowledge is only from in game observations and talking with other players.
Magika DK - Great for PVE but alot of people complain about lack of damage in PVP but this is changing with the new theives guild patch. As i mentioned before i havent played one personally so the information is only from in game observations and talking with other players.

Hopefully someone with DK mag & stamina builds can give you a bit more detailed info on them, but hope this helped.

jbrady3324 · February 2016

Thank you for the good info. DK Mag (or Stam) does sound up my ally as does Mag Templar. But really, what does a Mag DK have over a Mag Sorcerer?

Acsvf · February 2016

jbrady3324 wrote: »

Thank you for the good info. DK Mag (or Stam) does sound up my ally as does Mag Templar. But really, what does a Mag DK have over a Mag Sorcerer?

With magicka DK, you can use whatever weapon you want and get away with it(sword and shield etc.)
With magicka sorc, you don't have a good spammable ability in your class tree so it's very important to use a destruction staff on the damage bar.

Acsvf · February 2016

jbrady3324 wrote: »

I am only considering Dunmer, Altmer, Imperial and Breton as race choices.

If you're only considering those, go imperial for any stamina builds(possibly dunmer for DK as a second choice). As for magicka, pick Altmer for sorcerer, Altmer or Breton for nightblade or templar, and Dunmer for dragonknight.

jbrady3324 wrote: »

My preferred play style would be sword + board melee combat and to have a good range of magic buffs/debuffs. A healing ability would also be nice, but not a must have. While this screams stamina build, I could be convinced to do a magicka build that as the ability to utilize weapons when needed. At the end of the day, I don't want to rely on a staff only if I go magicka.
Stam/Mag Sorcerer
Magicka Templar
Stam/Mag Dragonknight

Keep in mind that hybrid builds in this game will not work well at all. You can go all magicka and use sword and board(good for leveling and pvp), dual wield(very popular for magicka builds for the extra damage), two handed(extra damage), but using an ability of the weapon skill tree to deal damage is not something I would suggest you consider.
If you wanted to do a stamina build, using magicka-costing utility abilities of which it's main effect doesn't scale with stamina or magicka is perfectly fine. That said, sword and shield is not recommended for stamina builds that aren't tanks.

Acsvf · February 2016

Double post

leepalmer95 · February 2016

You could try a s+b/resto magicka nb.

jbrady3324 · February 2016

As much I as I do not want to be a NB, a magicka NB does seem to make sense. How does the survivability of magNB, magDK, and magPlar all compare for solo and small group PVE content?

jbrady3324 · February 2016

So I've narrowed it down to Mag NB vs Mag Sorcerer. I could see a Mag NB Weapon/Resto being uniqued, fun and providing tons of healing when called upon. A weapon/dest using an Altmer would also be fun too

I will, in the future, make a Mag Templar.

jbrady3324 · February 2016

So I created a High Elf mag NB and I am digging it a lot so far. I like the mobility of the NB class (cloak, Assassin’s Blade, Teleport Strike). However, I noticed I really like the idea of using a Resto and eventually a Destruction Staff. My third weapon would be a S+B for PVP (and when necessary). Given this, should I pack up and change to a Sorcerer?

If you think I should stick with NB, can you suggest a loadout I should shoot for?

Elara_Northwind · February 2016

I use 1h and shield on my magicka templar, she is melee

jbrady3324 · February 2016

I'm definitely going to do a magplar next. But I'm have some buyers remorse about going mag NB instead of mag sorcerer

Acsvf · February 2016

jbrady3324 wrote: »

As much I as I do not want to be a NB, a magicka NB does seem to make sense. How does the survivability of magNB, magDK, and magPlar all compare for solo and small group PVE content?

Magicka Templar is THE easiest thing to play in the game: You get an ability from the very start that deals good single target damage, good AOE damage, and heals you. There's really no way to die when leveling.
Survivability for group content, well, they come out as pretty much equals.

jbrady3324 wrote: »

If you think I should stick with NB, can you suggest a loadout I should shoot for?

I would suggest you take a look at this build.

jbrady3324 wrote: »

I'm definitely going to do a magplar next. But I'm have some buyers remorse about going mag NB instead of mag sorcerer

Your altoholism isn't unique, it's fine. I'd suggest you stick with a single character until at least level 15.

jbrady3324 · February 2016

Thank you. That is a great guide and matches up with what I am trying to achieve nicely.

yodased · February 2016

You are describing a Stam dk perfectly. 1hs and dw will give you the highest survive. 2h and dw gives biggest burst. You will need high pvp level to utilize the full potential, but leveling is super easy.

Definitely melee buffed weapon build is stam dk without doubt