NB Question: Magblade or Stamblade with DB?

Kahl_dur · April 2016

With Dark Brotherhood right around the corner, I'm thinking about rolling a NB (the class seems perfect for stealth and assassination). Currently I play a magicka-based templar and sorc, and regrettably I'm pretty much a noob when it comes to the NB. I've done some research on the web, but with all the upcoming changes being made to the game I could use some direction from current NB players who are familiar with the intricacies of the class and have an understanding of the changes. I'd like to primarily focus on DPS and do a mix of PvP and PvE. That said, am I better off becoming a magblade or stamblade? Thanks for any and all help.

DRXHarbinger · April 2016

Kaijit or bosmer stamblade. Redguard is also good.

Volkodav · April 2016

fff

Zerok · April 2016

Both are fun to play.

But since you already have two magicka characters, I think you should consider a stamblade.

Sunburnt_Penguin · April 2016

Only you can answer the question, as it all depends on what playstyle you think you'll prefer.

They're both currently viable in PvE and PvP and will continue to be when DB hits. IMO the changes are minimal and closes the marginal gap somewhat for stamina.

That being said: even if magicka was twice as powerful stamina, it doesn't automatically mean all people who play magicka builds will perform better than stamina builds. Skill - as always - will be the deciding factor.

Kahl_dur · April 2016

Thank you everyone -- I really appreciate your opinions and advice. I suppose I'm more comfortable with the Magicka side of the game, but it's good to hear that stamblades are fun to play and viable. I think getting outside of my comfort zone and learning a new play style could add a new element of interest and fun to the game for me.

sirrmattus · April 2016

Volkodav wrote: »

In my own opinion,a Stamina Nightblade will be the best choice.Having said this,it's is just my own choice,as I said.
I have a great time playing my NBs..
From what I gather though,NBs arent very good in PvP. Neither Stamina nor Magika.
This is only what I read in the forums,as I dont do PvP personally.
They are great in PvE however.

lmao

Enemy-of-Coldharbour · April 2016

Khajiit stamina Nightblade.

Volkodav · April 2016

sirrmattus wrote: »

Volkodav wrote: »

In my own opinion,a Stamina Nightblade will be the best choice.Having said this,it's is just my own choice,as I said.
I have a great time playing my NBs..
From what I gather though,NBs arent very good in PvP. Neither Stamina nor Magika.
This is only what I read in the forums,as I dont do PvP personally.
They are great in PvE however.

lmao

Yeah,you're right.I have read both ways about the NB.Some say it isnt good,and some say it is OP for PvP.So,take your choice.I just read both.I didnt say I knew it wasnt good for PvP,..I just said I had read that it wasnt.

elantaura · April 2016

My first character from day one was a NB ( I had no idea what I was doing either - it sounded good o.O ) any way fudged my way through it and accidentally made a magica one.Bear in mind that was the unpopular choice then. Got talked into moving my NB to stam and I did and disliked it at first but once she was geared I liked how she obliterated things, but never felt right as I was talked into it ( long story I did it for the group I played with at the time which of course left)

I always complained that I wanted to turn her back to magic, so this patch I did. She's very powerful but not as hardy I found in pvp. ( more glass cannon lol) She's better in group combat now I.e taking keeps but still I don't feel as good at the one on one fights as she was, it could be me I am not a great pvper by any means lol. but feel I was better before in those scenarios. large groups of adds in pve are a no brainer easy just unlock sap Essenes and you will see. . But her set up has changed more over the point to this I found I started to miss my stam NB whom I did well on in pvp - not just ganking either. I longed for my bow lol.

So I rolled a kajhit hit and wow does that little cat rip through stuff and make my vet ( Breton) feel like she was tapping and never doing it right. Kind of like she always did with magic

Honestly they are both fun, different but fun. They are both powerful in a different way, both weak in different ways.
And I play them differentI find I am more aggressive with stam, more calculating and sneaky with magic in pvp. Ironically in pve I did more thinking with the stam build with stacking dots slowing/grouping ads than the magic build.

If you do do stam, make sure you pvp to get Vigor, that was a bit of a game changer for me it was a long time ago but I remember pre vigor was annoying, when she was stam ( and maybe caltrops too as its just fun and hurry when your stam

) and of course as a magica NB who did a lot of pvp she has proxy det too so that's fun and useful in both pve and pvp. And adds to the magic NB expierience I think in both pvp and pve.

leepalmer95 · April 2016

Volkodav wrote: »

sirrmattus wrote: »

Volkodav wrote: »

In my own opinion,a Stamina Nightblade will be the best choice.Having said this,it's is just my own choice,as I said.
I have a great time playing my NBs..
From what I gather though,NBs arent very good in PvP. Neither Stamina nor Magika.
This is only what I read in the forums,as I dont do PvP personally.
They are great in PvE however.

lmao

Yeah,you're right.I have read both ways about the NB.Some say it isnt good,and some say it is OP for PvP.So,take your choice.I just read both.I didnt say I knew it wasnt good for PvP,..I just said I had read that it wasnt.

I'd like to add my LMAO to this answer xD

Just incase your wondering both mag/stam nb's have been very strong since 1.6 (when i started playing). At least one of them has always been on the top of the class ladder with the other close behind.

Volkodav · April 2016

leepalmer95 wrote: »

Volkodav wrote: »

sirrmattus wrote: »

Volkodav wrote: »

In my own opinion,a Stamina Nightblade will be the best choice.Having said this,it's is just my own choice,as I said.
I have a great time playing my NBs..
From what I gather though,NBs arent very good in PvP. Neither Stamina nor Magika.
This is only what I read in the forums,as I dont do PvP personally.
They are great in PvE however.

lmao

Yeah,you're right.I have read both ways about the NB.Some say it isnt good,and some say it is OP for PvP.So,take your choice.I just read both.I didnt say I knew it wasnt good for PvP,..I just said I had read that it wasnt.

I'd like to add my LMAO to this answer xD

Just incase your wondering both mag/stam nb's have been very strong since 1.6 (when i started playing). At least one of them has always been on the top of the class ladder with the other close behind.

Well,add your lmao.I dont mind.I have read that people think that the NB isnt real good in PvP. Sorry,but it's true.I have also read they're ok,as long as they have cloak.Perhaps it depends on how skilled someone is at using their NB for PvP.
I started playing in the first betas,since you mentioned when you started,and have found the Stamina NB to be quite strong,which is why,if you had read my comment,I think it is the best choice to play.
I really enjoy my Stamina NB.I was simply saying what I had read in trhe forums.Did you bother to read my original comment? I said "from what I gathered on the forums".I didnt say I knew that the NBs arent good for PvP.

Sunburnt_Penguin · April 2016

Volkodav wrote: »

leepalmer95 wrote: »

Volkodav wrote: »

sirrmattus wrote: »

Volkodav wrote: »

In my own opinion,a Stamina Nightblade will be the best choice.Having said this,it's is just my own choice,as I said.
I have a great time playing my NBs..
From what I gather though,NBs arent very good in PvP. Neither Stamina nor Magika.
This is only what I read in the forums,as I dont do PvP personally.
They are great in PvE however.

lmao

Yeah,you're right.I have read both ways about the NB.Some say it isnt good,and some say it is OP for PvP.So,take your choice.I just read both.I didnt say I knew it wasnt good for PvP,..I just said I had read that it wasnt.

I'd like to add my LMAO to this answer xD

Just incase your wondering both mag/stam nb's have been very strong since 1.6 (when i started playing). At least one of them has always been on the top of the class ladder with the other close behind.

Well,add your lmao.I dont mind.I have read that people think that the NB isnt real good in PvP

I've also read that the Earth is flat but that doesn't mean I'm gonna tell that to kid who hasn't seen a globe.

ADarklore · April 2016

I went with Imperial Stamblade... tried to create a Bosmer but don't like the look of them.

Lexxypwns · April 2016

Stamblade will be the meta class. It is already very strong, but with the thaumaturge fix stamplars aren't going to be getting any stronger, even with their buffs. Mag sorc is getting rekt and with det getting nerfed magblade is going to have a lot less burst, therefore making it weaker than stamblade.

susmitds · April 2016

Volkodav wrote: »

sirrmattus wrote: »

Volkodav wrote: »

In my own opinion,a Stamina Nightblade will be the best choice.Having said this,it's is just my own choice,as I said.
I have a great time playing my NBs..
From what I gather though,NBs arent very good in PvP. Neither Stamina nor Magika.
This is only what I read in the forums,as I dont do PvP personally.
They are great in PvE however.

lmao

Yeah,you're right.I have read both ways about the NB.Some say it isnt good,and some say it is OP for PvP.So,take your choice.I just read both.I didnt say I knew it wasnt good for PvP,..I just said I had read that it wasnt.

The thing is that the Nightblade class is a skill based class. Do it wrong and you won't survive a fight. Do it right and you will wreck entire zergs alone. That being said, go Khajiit or Bosmer with it, especially if it is your first nightblade as the stealthy passive makes stealth a breeze.

idk · April 2016

Magblades offer being able to cloak for long periods of time since better may regen. In hews bane I wear a TG drop set that's all magika but has one slot stam regen and 5pc removes speed decrease while stealthed.

After doing TG on a stam blade first I found the magblade much easier. Don't know how DB will pan out for this though since I haven't seen it.

RedFireDisco · May 2016

Imperial stamblade will be strong with the assassin's scourge proc. Hit with 4 melee attacks and fire a disease arrow for massive damage. Mix this with red diamond passive for health return and siphoning attacks, they'll be hard to beat with the extra health and the CP health scaling extra.

I think they might be the new meta.

lathbury · May 2016

both and a nb tank for good measure

Tryxus · May 2016

MagBlades are still very fine
StamBlades get a couple of buffs and new toys to play with, prob the top of the food chain next patch

Try them both?

I know I will

Van_0S · May 2016

OP, go for bosmer race!
You can easily switch from magicka to stamina on the go.

That said, for a magicka NB. You must always be in stealth also you need to burst your damage which is tedious a times. But as a magNB your play style will always be in stealth.( also the passive and active abilities gets a boost when your in stealth)
If your caught then you will experience a world of pain that is you are very squishy.

For stamNB your play style will be different because you wont be able to remain in stealth for long compared to magNB. But you can burst your damage with very little effort but its 1 hit ko build that is even when your not in stealth you can still burst. Your resource also will burn quick as a stamNB.

In short,
Advantages
MagNB
- infinite stealth
- 1vs X kills
- good resource management

StamNB
-Easy to burst damage
-not squishy
-Very good at 1 vs 1 kills

Disadvantages
MagNB
-very squishy
-burst needs a lots of effort

StamNB
- Resources will burn fast.

susmitds · May 2016

Van_0S wrote: »

OP, go for bosmer race!
You can easily switch from magicka to stamina on the go.

That said, for a magicka NB. You must always be in stealth also you need to burst your damage which is tedious a times. But as a magNB your play style will always be in stealth.( also the passive and active abilities gets a boost when your in stealth)
If your caught then you will experience a world of pain that is you are very squishy.

For stamNB your play style will be different because you wont be able to remain in stealth for long compared to magNB. But you can burst your damage with very little effort but its 1 hit ko build that is even when your not in stealth you can still burst. Your resource also will burn quick as a stamNB.

In short,
Advantages
MagNB
- infinite stealth
- 1vs X kills
- good resource management

StamNB
-Easy to burst damage
-not squishy
-Very good at 1 vs 1 kills

Disadvantages
MagNB
-very squishy
-burst needs a lots of effort

StamNB
- Resources will burn fast.

Stamblades are much better at stealth I felt.

Van_0S · May 2016

susmitds wrote: »

Van_0S wrote: »

OP, go for bosmer race!
You can easily switch from magicka to stamina on the go.

That said, for a magicka NB. You must always be in stealth also you need to burst your damage which is tedious a times. But as a magNB your play style will always be in stealth.( also the passive and active abilities gets a boost when your in stealth)
If your caught then you will experience a world of pain that is you are very squishy.

For stamNB your play style will be different because you wont be able to remain in stealth for long compared to magNB. But you can burst your damage with very little effort but its 1 hit ko build that is even when your not in stealth you can still burst. Your resource also will burn quick as a stamNB.

In short,
Advantages
MagNB
- infinite stealth
- 1vs X kills
- good resource management

StamNB
-Easy to burst damage
-not squishy
-Very good at 1 vs 1 kills

Disadvantages
MagNB
-very squishy
-burst needs a lots of effort

StamNB
- Resources will burn fast.

Stamblades are much better at stealth I felt.

You mean the medium armor passive, right?
But MagNB can use cloak for a long time and with vampire passives they become more sneaky.

susmitds · May 2016

Van_0S wrote: »

susmitds wrote: »

Van_0S wrote: »

OP, go for bosmer race!
You can easily switch from magicka to stamina on the go.

That said, for a magicka NB. You must always be in stealth also you need to burst your damage which is tedious a times. But as a magNB your play style will always be in stealth.( also the passive and active abilities gets a boost when your in stealth)
If your caught then you will experience a world of pain that is you are very squishy.

For stamNB your play style will be different because you wont be able to remain in stealth for long compared to magNB. But you can burst your damage with very little effort but its 1 hit ko build that is even when your not in stealth you can still burst. Your resource also will burn quick as a stamNB.

In short,
Advantages
MagNB
- infinite stealth
- 1vs X kills
- good resource management

StamNB
-Easy to burst damage
-not squishy
-Very good at 1 vs 1 kills

Disadvantages
MagNB
-very squishy
-burst needs a lots of effort

StamNB
- Resources will burn fast.

Stamblades are much better at stealth I felt.

You mean the medium armor passive, right?
But MagNB can use cloak for a long time and with vampire passives they become more sneaky.

Most Stamblades also are vampires, because vampire is all about utility rather than damage. Actually invisibility and stealth are two different states according to the game engine. And even Stamblades can use invisibility for around 10-12 secs on the average, that is not needed much either as the decreased detection range from 7 piece medium armor can allow you to stay hidden even when pretty close to the enemies. And if you happen to a Khajiit or a Bosmer, the Stealthy passive will make your Stamblade incredibly sneaky and you won't be detected unless you bump right on somebody's face.

Bad_Company · May 2016

Personally, I went for a Redguard Stamina DK and an Imperial Stamblade when I read the patches for PTS.
Often I've tried to create poison/disease-based characters while playing D&D with friends quite some time ago, so these changes had me hooked to that idea once again. Hence, these two characters were created. I'm having a lot of fun with the Stamblade already, but I'm so looking forward to playing DB on the live servers!

KingYogi415 · May 2016

For Dark Brotherhood I would say magicka.

Infinite invisibility is really helpful with those pesky guards who might witness too much.

I have been getting my magblade ready by playing thieves guild and grinding out ledgerman for the 40 percent sneak buff.

Cheers!