Lexxypwns wrote: »

Xeniph wrote: »

There is a lot of good solid information here. But also as a dirty ganker myself I'll give you some tips.

1) Impenetrable- Use this on all 7 pieces when you are in pvp.

2) Radiant Magelight- Great ability, and contrary to what most people think, you only need it on one bar. Just get in the habbit of using it after buffing/pulling.

3) Potions- Detect potions work nicely as everyone has said.

4) Caltrops- Though it won't stop an ambush from getting the sneak bonus, it does make things more difficult for them.

5) Keybind your CC break- Do NOT use the default CC break keys, they are terrible compared to a single key ( It's called bash in the controls section)

6) You need Vigor/Rally as a Stam pvper, unless you are grouping with healers.

Now, I have been a ganker for nearly 20 years. The majority of the gank is in the opening. If you can survive that, it really is a 50/50. CC breaking quickly is KEY, as is an immediate Cloak (if you are a NB) to heal up, mark and reposition.

Now with all this said, if a ganker is bothering you, nine times outa 10 your pve session in IC is done for the time being. He won't stop unless you have no stones and if you manage to beat him, he'll come back due to wounded pride. It's really best to move on for a time.

I'd say you're far over estimating the gankers chances if you survive his initial burst. If you're properly built and can survive the burst and immediately go offensive you're at a distinct advantage because he's already given you free CC immunity which gives you a guaranteed burst window, couple that with an immovable pot and 9/10 times you'll trash the ganker, since most of them aren't built to survive 15 seconds of pressure.

I will have to disagree with this. I build specifically for this situation myself. My ganks don't usually fail, but when they do I can usually tank 2 players and kill them then move on my way. Technically my build can run without stealth, but is fully capable of a 2 shot gank.

Maybe most gankers don't run this way, but better safe than sorry

Just wanted to pop back on this and say thank you for the tips. I have greatly improved against being ganked. And I have even being able to beat a few gankers.

Autolycus wrote: »

@Curtdogg47 You're a NB yes? Keep your double-take (or evasion) active, as in many cases the opening attack from stealth gankers will miss, which prevents you from both the stun component and the stealth attack damage bonus. Agony (in the siphoning tree) is unblockable, and therefore serves as a very useful utility for locking a ganker down for a second or two, or at the very least forces them to waste stamina to break free. Detect potions are your best friend. I prefer to use detect pots with more than just the detect component; you can make stamina-based detect pots that increase your crit while active.

Yes I am NB. And Thank you, I did not know that about agony or think of adding stamina to a detect pot.

DRXHarbinger wrote: »

Bump here. Firstly don't run. It makes me think you got some stones for me and makes me want them more. Secondly ignore this WB crap advice. It's slow and gankers will burn you down far quicker. Heavy weave and sup attack will hit 4x before you get a WB off. Brawler is a very good idea. The bleed damage is immense and you get a small shield and it's interruptible

Bossdonut wrote: »

Don't listen to these try hards and their theory crafting.

Spam wrecking blow. All day. If you get killed spam it against someone else.

Wrecking blow IS the meta.

Fail, Heavy Weave and Surprise attack does far more dps than waiting for that stoopid swing which can be bashed, blocked and dodged, I use Ambush, Brawler (with Axe because bleed is stupid on this ) and Sup attack, barely anyone get's out alive, 3 weaves and they are gone, WB is just asking for a grief battle of who can sustain the longest, if a sorc streaks you're long gone, a templar can heal quicker than you can spam and a DK will just laugh in your face trying that, if you're preying on noob / weak level 10's having an innocent grind then cool of course, but I love it when people try to spam this on me, makes me chuckle hard when they fail everytime and give me their stones.

WB stayed on my bar for two or three fights and I got rid of it. The damage is enticing and 1 second doesn't sound like a long time. But against a ganker one second way is to long to let them have their way with you!!!

Curtdogg47 wrote: »

DRXHarbinger wrote: »

Bump here. Firstly don't run. It makes me think you got some stones for me and makes me want them more. Secondly ignore this WB crap advice. It's slow and gankers will burn you down far quicker. Heavy weave and sup attack will hit 4x before you get a WB off. Brawler is a very good idea. The bleed damage is immense and you get a small shield and it's interruptible

Bossdonut wrote: »

Don't listen to these try hards and their theory crafting.

Spam wrecking blow. All day. If you get killed spam it against someone else.

Wrecking blow IS the meta.

Fail, Heavy Weave and Surprise attack does far more dps than waiting for that stoopid swing which can be bashed, blocked and dodged, I use Ambush, Brawler (with Axe because bleed is stupid on this ) and Sup attack, barely anyone get's out alive, 3 weaves and they are gone, WB is just asking for a grief battle of who can sustain the longest, if a sorc streaks you're long gone, a templar can heal quicker than you can spam and a DK will just laugh in your face trying that, if you're preying on noob / weak level 10's having an innocent grind then cool of course, but I love it when people try to spam this on me, makes me chuckle hard when they fail everytime and give me their stones.

WB stayed on my bar for two or three fights and I got rid of it. The damage is enticing and 1 second doesn't sound like a long time. But against a ganker one second way is to long to let them have their way with you!!!

I agree with this and what @DRXHarbinger said. When I take my stam sorc into pvp or into the sewers I find that in the vast majority of cases WB does not connect without me forcing it. As a stam sorc I have very limited options, but as a NB you have surprise attack (which for pvp is superior to WB imho, for pve we can make a pretty good case for WB).

One thing I failed to note with agony is that it cost magicka, which may be difficult for you to use regularly as a stamblade. However, agony's usefulness extends about as far as Fear's does, in that you really only get one (maybe two) good opportunities to use it effectively.

Another bit of advice I think may be beneficial is less concrete, that is it's going to require to you think outside the box a little bit. I'm presuming (so correct me if I'm wrong) that your build is geared predominantly for damage, if not entirely. It's important that you find a way to make yourself a strong contender in melee fights. As a magicka build, I often find that gankers assume I'm squishy because I'm a caster, and I prey on that assumption. I keep double-take, agony, concealed weapon (or surprise attack) and a heal (for me it's healing ward, for you might be rally or vigor) all on the same bar. As soon as someone comes into melee, I'm geared for melee encounters just by bar-swapping; my offensive spammable skill (concealed weapon) keeps my major ward/resolve active, while I rely on double-take and healing to do the rest for me. Find a way to make them regret coming into melee; most times I get a ganker into melee they turn tail and run within 1-2 seconds, after realizing I'm not nearly as squishy as they assumed. And once a ganker is on the run, using a detect pot, preferably one that grants brutality and savagery, usually swings the fight further in your favor. Once you get them on the defensive, every second that ticks away decreases their odds of making a comeback.

Also, if your ganker is a vampire, the generally-accepted go-to is camo hunter in combination with just about anything: snipe, surprise attack, silver bolts, dawnbreaker, soul harvest, ambush, etc.

Paying a fulltime pvper and small group party to follow you around as you do your thing.

In tight corridors like the sewers, Radiant Magelight works extremely well single bar'd, even on a stam toon. Good for detection, and the 50% reduced dmg from stealth attacks will likely help you survive the initial burst. It has been my experience that a vast majority of the gankers in the sewers are garbage PvPers; they count on hitting you while you are engaged with mobs in hopes for the easy kill, most are not so good at 1v1 sustained fights. Survive their initial burst and they run out of steam quickly. Furthermore, as most of the gankers seem to be either NBs or Overload spamming Sorcs, leveling your S&B and being able t reflect meteors and overloads is never a bad idea when just farming down there, plus the shield helps you survive burst dmg. Personally, I have found S&B and DW to be my preferred stam farming combo.
* Use Flying Blade (DW) for the Major Brutality buff
* Steel Tornado (DW) is great for clearing mobs farming and great for NBs and Xv1 ganks
* Invasion (S&B) is a great gap closer
* Reverb(erating Bash) (S&B) is a great CC and heal debuff, and it is broken at the moment, so can't really go wrong with it in counter ganking
* Defensive Stance (S&B) for the reflect and improved blocking
* Mark Target and Mass Hysteria for counter Ganking
* Spambush and Surprise Attack for the dmg output
* Radiant Magelight for counter ganks and pressuring your ganker
* You need a heal and since you don't have rally, either lvl your AVA rank for Vigor, or run with a MagBlade, Magicka Templar, or someone with off heals to help in those oh *** moments

Just a little something unconventional to consider

Good luck down there

Edit: Oh, and save your Ults for when you encounter gankers. You shouldn't need it just farming mobs, so always have it ready for the PvP encounter. Flawless Dawnbreaker is crutch on a stam build and many gankers are Vamps for the increased movement speed, so it is a great Ult use.

Moonshadow66 wrote: »

You ARE the ganker if you're ganking a ganker. Be sure to turn around and check if another ganker is following you for the same reason

Well said! And that has happend few times to me!
I've been following a friendly who's farming stones and a ganker pops out to gank him. I go to gank the ganker and a second one ganks me!

Curtdogg47 wrote: »

Moonshadow66 wrote: »

You ARE the ganker if you're ganking a ganker. Be sure to turn around and check if another ganker is following you for the same reason

Well said! And that has happend few times to me!
I've been following a friendly who's farming stones and a ganker pops out to gank him. I go to gank the ganker and a second one ganks me!

Hehe, that's awesome, I mean, not that you got ganked, but the whole situation is kinda funny^^
Hm, where would it end if there were, let's say, 10 players, and one thinks the one infront of him is a ganker, and that one thinks the same of the one infront if him, and so on.. if they're all running in circles, that would be an interesting picture lol (especially if all of the 10 players are using Ambush simultaneously^^)

How to gank the ganker?

Travel with two magicka Templars.

Have them spam BoL.

Win because its almost statistically impossible for a ganker to kill you if you're getting double BoL spam healed.

Its a pretty common tactic in IC sewers tbh.