Single-Target DPS & Me

Woopy · March 2017

Hi,

I've been seeing discussion revolving around how much damage is viable to do end-game content like trials and PvP, vet dungeons.. etc.
I am by no means a pro or veteran player when it comes to getting the combat system down pact - but if I recall correctly.. there are people talking about how minimum single-target for that kind of stuff should be 20-25k and the 1% hits around 40-45k.

Now this is very concerning to me as I approach 200cp (As you can see there is still a lot for me to learn) however I can only seem to cap at around *sigh* 8k dps single-target. I am in hunding's & night mother as well. Could someone provide some tips as to how I can bring it up? Because compared to some people my whole rotation consisting of 8k dps could barely be a hit or a fraction of one of their hits.

MissBizz · March 2017

Well first off, you're about 400 CP less than most players hitting those numbers. Though if you're looking for build advice I'd advise supplying the following information:

Attribute point allocation
Skills on both bars
What type of weapons - what trait
How many pieces of each of those sets
Race
Class

Woopy · March 2017

Attribute point allocation: stamina
Skills on both bars: up for discussion.
What type of weapons - what trait: DW sword&dagger night mother sharpened / bow night mother
How many pieces of each of those sets: 4 piece NM 5 piece HR
Race: Khajit
Class: Sorcerer

Mayrael · March 2017

In general best single target dps is achieved by perfect timing of dots, weaving (using light attacks between skills with animation cancelling) and some filler (skill or heavy attack). First of all you need to know what build you want to play. You can try to find it on your own, but you can also use knowledge of people who have done tousands of tests and run with something already tested. After that it takes few hours of simple using this build to find THE ROTATION so your dots are up 100% of the time, but not refreshed to early because its the moment when filler comes in. And so on. With good rotation and build its easy to reach much higher numbers even without DPS gear (my tank with 36k hp, wearing lich, plague and grothdar without any problems can each 15-17k single target dps while runing solo and stay very tanky - though didnt tested this setup in trials so cant tell how it would do there).

Vapirko · March 2017

Gotta look up some theory crafting and rotations. 8k is very low, and you should be able to pull that np. When I was around 200cp and I had no idea what rotation was really I could do 10-12k dps.

KleanZlate · March 2017

Also look at damage vs. crit chance and crit damage. My dps went up when I stopped trying to max my damage instead of having pretty high crit chance. Try using the Shadow mundus stone for example.

Woopy · March 2017

KleanZlate wrote: »

Also look at damage vs. crit chance and crit damage. My dps went up when I stopped trying to max my damage instead of having pretty high crit chance. Try using the Shadow mundus stone for example.

good advice, I'll look into how I can tweak my crits % and dmg.

Gorilla · March 2017

My first message to you is please don't get frustrated. There is a lot you can do to increase damage. Also, while there are some big-hitters in the game, there are more important things than burning down a dummy. Lastly, don't believe everything you hear or read

So, some tips...

1. Increase your CPs
2. Ensure your CP decisions are the right ones (see guides, etc.)
3. Decent gear (purple crafted is fine and some drop sets can be better)
4. Sharpened weapons, at least your primary (the holy grail would be a vet maelstrom weapon but many play fine without them)
5. Glyph the right way (Damge on Jewelry, main attribute on armor, your call on weapons)
6. Food (always use good food; blue is fine; use whatever pumps up health and your primary skill)
7. Max out key skill lines including passives (e.g., Undaunted Unmettled; Mage Guild; etc -- whatever works for your class - -as these can add >10% to your skill pool)
8. Potions -- there are passives in this line that extend potion life and potions, esp. crafted ones, can be very helpful. It and Provisioning are also easy to level.
9. When you are richer and more confident, consider golding (gilding) your primary weapons...it's the lowest cost upgrade with the biggest bang
10. Know mechanics -- burning down a dummy is one thing. It's much more important to know how to work with your raid teams in the context of the mechanics in the dungeon. Many videos on this.

Finally, understand your class. I mean really take time to learn it. How long do your DOTs last? When should you refresh; etc. In other words, ROTATION, ROTATION, ROTATION!

Hope this helps.

SirAndy · March 2017

Don't forget that a lot of people post their single target stats while constantly buffed by group members and others taking aggro off the boss target.
Even with the test dummy, a lot of DPS numbers still include group buffs.

Meaning, they don't actually pull those high DPS numbers when they are alone and have even worse DPS numbers when they have to dodge/move/block/heal/rebuff/sustain through an actual fight.

You need to understand how exactly those numbers are achieved before you attempt to compare yourself ...

dpencil · March 2017

I think you're selling skeleton parses a bit short @SirAndy. Most of the parses I have seen posted with actual Combat Metrics pics were performed unaided. So what if an actual fight parse would be lower? It would be lower for everyone. The skeleton is just an easy benchmark.

If a player has decent gear and does the following things, they should have a dps above 20k:
- Use a strong ultimate whenever it become available
- Keep your major spell/weapon power buff up at all times, with a skill or potion
- Light attack before every skill
- Use as many strong damage over time skills you can, and keep them running on the target 100% of the fight
- The rest is either heavy attacking or using a spamable damage skill while waiting for dots to run out

On my pet magicka sorc I get 35k on the robust target skeleton unaided, without vMA staff or Minor Slayer jewelry. I posted my Combat Metrics pic on another skeleton parse thread somewhere. These numbers shouldn't be expected until you have max cp and golded gear, but if you follow the points above you'll be playing the right way and will get more powerful as your character grows.

Woopy · March 2017

Gorilla wrote: »

My first message to you is please don't get frustrated. There is a lot you can do to increase damage. Also, while there are some big-hitters in the game, there are more important things than burning down a dummy. Lastly, don't believe everything you hear or read

So, some tips...

1. Increase your CPs
2. Ensure your CP decisions are the right ones (see guides, etc.)
3. Decent gear (purple crafted is fine and some drop sets can be better)
4. Sharpened weapons, at least your primary (the holy grail would be a vet maelstrom weapon but many play fine without them)
5. Glyph the right way (Damge on Jewelry, main attribute on armor, your call on weapons)
6. Food (always use good food; blue is fine; use whatever pumps up health and your primary skill)
7. Max out key skill lines including passives (e.g., Undaunted Unmettled; Mage Guild; etc -- whatever works for your class - -as these can add >10% to your skill pool)
8. Potions -- there are passives in this line that extend potion life and potions, esp. crafted ones, can be very helpful. It and Provisioning are also easy to level.
9. When you are richer and more confident, consider golding (gilding) your primary weapons...it's the lowest cost upgrade with the biggest bang
10. Know mechanics -- burning down a dummy is one thing. It's much more important to know how to work with your raid teams in the context of the mechanics in the dungeon. Many videos on this.

Finally, understand your class. I mean really take time to learn it. How long do your DOTs last? When should you refresh; etc. In other words, ROTATION, ROTATION, ROTATION!

Hope this helps.

Thank you! Those are a lot of really good points that I will take into consideration when working on building my class to be a bit more powerful! I really appreciate the reply.

SirAndy wrote: »

Don't forget that a lot of people post their single target stats while constantly buffed by group members and others taking aggro off the boss target.
Even with the test dummy, a lot of DPS numbers still include group buffs.

Meaning, they don't actually pull those high DPS numbers when they are alone and have even worse DPS numbers when they have to dodge/move/block/heal/rebuff/sustain through an actual fight.

You need to understand how exactly those numbers are achieved before you attempt to compare yourself ...

You're right! In an actual fight they will most likely be needing to constantly apply buffs or heal themselves which can bring the dps down a bit realistically. Thanks for clearing that up for me

SirAndy · March 2017

dpencil wrote: »

I think you're selling skeleton parses a bit short @SirAndy. Most of the parses I have seen posted with actual Combat Metrics pics were performed unaided. So what if an actual fight parse would be lower? It would be lower for everyone. The skeleton is just an easy benchmark.

I agree, the skeleton is a good benchmark.

However, i have seen plenty of people post skeleton DPS with group buffs applied.
Probably the same people that post screenshots of their weapon damage numbers while crouched.

dpencil · March 2017

This is the parse I mentioned above. I can't vouch for others if they're going to claim 45k dps or whatever, but 35k is certainly doable solo. Max cp, gold gear, pet mag sorc. Again, this is with no vMA staff or Minor Slayer, which would push the number higher.

One thing I also consider to be important is sustainability. I can get a 40k parse solo using BSW on the normal skeleton, but I will be running out of resources by the end. A heavy attack build is slightly lower dps, but you can literally run the rotation forever without dropping below 50% resources.

Gorilla · March 2017

dpencil wrote: »

This is the parse I mentioned above. I can't vouch for others if they're going to claim 45k dps or whatever, but 35k is certainly doable solo. Max cp, gold gear, pet mag sorc. Again, this is with no vMA staff or Minor Slayer, which would push the number higher.

One thing I also consider to be important is sustainability. I can get a 40k parse solo using BSW on the normal skeleton, but I will be running out of resources by the end. A heavy attack build is slightly lower dps, but you can literally run the rotation forever without dropping below 50% resources.

Thanks for the post. What's your rotation (if you mind me asking)?