Help with Items for someone new to MMO's

Tornaad · March 2017

So this is the first MMO I have ever played. I used to hate the idea of MMO's. The only reason I decided to try this was because I love the Elder Scrolls series. I started playing The Elder Scrolls Series with Morrowind and have put hundreds of hours into it, Oblivion, and Skyrim, each. The characters I love to play the most are the sneaky bow wielding type and now that I have started to play ESO that is still carrying through.

I have played ESO enough to have a good idea how it works. I think I have figured out my build. I will main a bow and have my second bar built around Dual Wielding. For those who might be so inclined, I'm always open to hearing your arguments but that will not likely change ... ever. What I am hoping to get is some suggestions on what Items sets I should try to collect and why they would be good, so I can take your reasoning and apply it to my own play style (if needed).

I have more than 160 champion points so I can qualify for the best gear, I just need to figure out what a good item set would be as I work towards getting ready for some of the high end PVE stuff.
I do not know if I will ever get to the PVP stuff, I'll figure that out after I'm done with the PVE.

Edit:
Sorry yes I am a Nightblade.

zaria · March 2017

http://deltiasgaming.com/category/damage-dealer/
has some awesome build tips for various classes.

davey1107 · March 2017

It would help to know your class. I kinda assume nightblade since you say you're a sneak character...but maybe not. And for great tips, see alcasthq.com. He's a master pve player...anything he says trumps my advice, lol. Bow/dual is viable. I find a bow attack bar a little challenging in solo pve...it all becomes about keeping people off you, but the back dual bar can step in if mobs get through. I can offer some tips, which might inform the end game gear you need.

- one challenge to bow/dual is the loss of the 2h rally ability. You need a source of major brutality to replace it. Shrouded daggers in dual is a massively powerful skill, and offers major brutality for 20 seconds. There's a nightblade skill that does it too...sap essence, I think. You definitely want to have your 20%'dps buff up almost all the time.

- giving up rally means sacrificing a so-so heal over time. For a nightblade this is a real sacrifice because squishiness is a problem. I always need to equip a burst heal in vigor and something else for a little sustain. You will really need vigor...which means some pvp. It takes about 85,000 alliance points to unlock it. Get into Cyrodiil this weekend during the double AP event. Run with a group. Resource captures are 3k AP and keeps are 12k. You can get vigor in a couple of hours.

My second source of sustain comes from my Briar Heart set. It procs on crit damage, and ups weapon damage while healing on crit strikes. I personally love this set on my NB. And don't ignore the abilities that heal on dual...they're quite helpful.

- I've lately found myself relying on the dual wield ultimate. It's just an amazing hit. So when I go bow/dual in a bow attack setup, I've actually started equipping soul harvest as an ultimate generator just so I can be using rend every twenty seconds.

- for a stamblade bow build, I'm really liking the velidreth (aka poo ball) helm set. If mobs get through this will annihilate them.

- I always use a craft set and a drop set for any given build. This is for flexibility...if I have to grind hours for a set, I don't want to worry about getting matching pieces in divines in two drop sets, blech. For a stamblade, possible base sets are Hundings, or twice born star. Night mother is good if you start doing 4-12 person content.

- if you do go pvp for your vigor, play a little longer for assault rank 6 and caltrops. This can be a lifesaver for a bow build...a 35 second circle of death doing 3-5k per second per enemy.

- for drop sets, Briar Heart like I mentioned offers dps and heals. Vipers sting is pretty powerful. If you're doing 80%+ of your damage w bow abilities, hawks eye is a bow set. Archers mind is also a good set, although it oddly isn't just for bows.

- for a bow build, a master or maelstrom bow is an amazing acquisition.

Tornaad · March 2017

@zaria @davey1107
Thank you both.
Especially davey1107, that is a lot of very nice information.

ookami007 · March 2017

Get into PvP RIGHT NOW! At this second! I mean it! They are currently doing double AP in PvP which means you can earn Vigor in half the time and you will not regret it. I was REALLY hestitant the first but after doing it the first time and getting Vigor and Caltrops, my Nightblade is SOOO much better.

Do it! Do it Now!

Tornaad · March 2017

ookami007 wrote: »

Get into PvP RIGHT NOW! At this second! I mean it! They are currently doing double AP in PvP which means you can earn Vigor in half the time and you will not regret it. I was REALLY hestitant the first but after doing it the first time and getting Vigor and Caltrops, my Nightblade is SOOO much better.

Do it! Do it Now!

LOL @ookami007
I was actually thinking about it. I have seen a lot of people using Caltrops and they seem really effective, and with this weekend being double points it would be a lot easier.
So I guess I will say Yes Sir!!! Commander Sir!!!

Vonovosi · March 2017

here is a website that lists all the sets available in the game:

http://elderscrollsonline.wiki.fextralife.com/Sets

If you are on PC here is an addon that allows you to open an in-game interface that lets you see all the sets:

http://www.esoui.com/downloads/info1480-ItemizationBrowser.html

In addition to some of the sets mentioned above, Dreugh King Slayer set that drops in Fungal Grotto group dungeon is a good set for stamina dps with it's 5-piece set bonus granting you major brutality at all times and major expedition (30% speed boost) after killing. Although the armor is heavy, you can wear 3 piece jewelry, weapon and 1 piece heavy. Wearing a piece of heavy armor grants you a bonus through the undaunted skill passives. I have used briarheart but I find unless you have a high crit % and do a lot of aoe, the heals don't add up to much. A few other good stamina dps sets are Spriggans (drops from overland bosses and chests in Bangkorai) and Toothrow (drops from Wayrest Sewers group dungeon)

As far as 2-pice monster sets go velidreth is great but it drops from 1 of the more difficult dungeons. Other good options are Kra'gh which drops from Fugal Grotto 1 and Stormfist which drops from tempest island.

As far as self-healing goes scatter shot in bow skill line grants a heal although I have never used it and can not attest to it's viability. there are 2 skills in dual-wield skill line that give self-heals as well. You will want to get vigor though. In addition mark target in nightblade assassination skills gives a nice burst heal when a target is killed. Killer's blade in the same skill line also gives a heal when target dies. Combine both for a large self-heal. As noted above the Rend ultimate is a powerful heal that does massive damage, getting better the more targets that are hit. the syphoning ultimate is a good heal as well. Veil of Blades (morph of shadow ultimate) does good damage, lasts a long time, reduces enemy speed, and reduces damage you take by 30% while in the area of effect.

Merlinah123 · April 2017

Go Stealth! I am new to mmo also. Played the heck out of Skyrim. Always sneak & bow, then one handed with sheild. ESO is much more complicted than Skyrim. Love it though. It's taken some time to get used to mmo. I still have problems communicating during a game, by the time I figure out how to respond, the person leaves (LOL). If you want someone to join, I was trying to start a Newbie Guild that way there's no pressure. I think I'm at level 13 or 14. I play on PC NA Gamertag The Girl has no Name.

RavenSworn · April 2017

Merlinah123 wrote: »

Go Stealth! I am new to mmo also. Played the heck out of Skyrim. Always sneak & bow, then one handed with sheild. ESO is much more complicted than Skyrim. Love it though. It's taken some time to get used to mmo. I still have problems communicating during a game, by the time I figure out how to respond, the person leaves (LOL). If you want someone to join, I was trying to start a Newbie Guild that way there's no pressure. I think I'm at level 13 or 14. I play on PC NA Gamertag The Girl has no Name.

I have a guild has been helping out new players in eso. We have discord, guild events and we are big enough to have the guild store up, working towards the guild trader and guild hall. Do drop by to say Hi in our discord server and join us! Give us a try and maybe it will help towards your end of starting a guild

Zuboko wrote: »

So this is the first MMO I have ever played. I used to hate the idea of MMO's. The only reason I decided to try this was because I love the Elder Scrolls series. I started playing The Elder Scrolls Series with Morrowind and have put hundreds of hours into it, Oblivion, and Skyrim, each. The characters I love to play the most are the sneaky bow wielding type and now that I have started to play ESO that is still carrying through.

I have played ESO enough to have a good idea how it works. I think I have figured out my build. I will main a bow and have my second bar built around Dual Wielding. For those who might be so inclined, I'm always open to hearing your arguments but that will not likely change ... ever. What I am hoping to get is some suggestions on what Items sets I should try to collect and why they would be good, so I can take your reasoning and apply it to my own play style (if needed).

I have more than 160 champion points so I can qualify for the best gear, I just need to figure out what a good item set would be as I work towards getting ready for some of the high end PVE stuff.
I do not know if I will ever get to the PVP stuff, I'll figure that out after I'm done with the PVE.

Edit:
Sorry yes I am a Nightblade.

To the op, you are also more than welcome aboard to our neat family oriented, solo friendly, casual social guild. Contact any of us ingame, or join us in discord and we can have a short discussion if we are the guild for you

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/307726/of-wolf-and-raven-a-casual-solo-friendly-guild-beginners-and-veterans-welcome#latest

Check it out! Do remember you can also join up to 5 guilds so do give us the opportunity to help you! Have fun!

Merlinah123 · April 2017

Raven sworn can I ad you as a friend. I am really not knowlegeable when it comes to finding players or joining groups other than when they are standing right next to me. I hate the thought of being in the way and slowing down the team bc of my lack of knowledge. I have anothe character, my first one, who is I think at level 18? ( Emyryss)

RavenSworn · April 2017

Merlinah123 wrote: »

Raven sworn can I ad you as a friend. I am really not knowlegeable when it comes to finding players or joining groups other than when they are standing right next to me. I hate the thought of being in the way and slowing down the team bc of my lack of knowledge. I have anothe character, my first one, who is I think at level 18? ( Emyryss)

Sure thing merlinah! I'm currently out of town working right now but I will accept the friend request once I'm in. You can still however get hold of me or the others in the guild via discord and no, you don't have to VC (voice chat) if you don't want to. it's all fine

I have @Malice as our guild jester and also @catch22atplay who is a pivotal member in the guild

so do contact them as well !

Tomg999 · April 2017

The other thing that's fun on a sneak char is to get sets to make you almost invisible. Not really for end-game, but if you have it you can steal so much easily that you will have tons of gold to help get the end game gear, and switch back and forth between gear.
If you are a nightblade and wear Night Terror & Nightblade, you can sneak really well.
If you are also Khajit and vampire you are basically invisible and can do whatever you want right next to folks.
If you have access to Thieves Guild & Dark Brotherhood, you can do as you please with the Blade of Woe and shrug it off if ever caught.

Anyway, it's a fun way to play for stealth PVE. And you can then develop a strong & gold rich character who can be equipped for end game bow carnage.

Tito86 · April 2017

My sugest is Hundings Rage and Night Mother Gaze set on armor and weapons, armor all devines and stamina enchant, weapons all sharpened, bow - damage enchant, daggers - disease and poison enchant. Agility jewellery. This is the most practicible build for stamblade imho

Nestor · April 2017

Zuboko wrote: »

Sorry yes I am a Nightblade.

Toughest Class to play in the game. They can be fun, but they are hard to master. Good Luck.

Me, I would take advantage of the Exp Event and level a Dragon Knight, a Templar and a Sorcerer up to L50. This way you have 4 max rank CP160 characters to play. You will have a lot more fun.

See this for an easy way to level:

Quick Leveling Guide for One Tamriel

Let me give you an example of what I did with my last two leveling characters.

1. I collected all the Skyshards in the zone. I avoided any and all quests other than those that show up in the delves that have skyshards. These quests do not give set items for rewards so no loss there.
2. Wear gear that has the Training Trait. Keep the Cake Up.
3. I would farm the dolmens a few times to get set jewelry that helped my character
4. I would grab what ever Blue Lore Books for the Mages along the way.
5. I would do the Public Dungeons including all the bosses
6. Then I would move to the next zone.

6 zones to get you to L50. With the new Destro Staff Ultimate, getting Mages to 10 is no longer as critical as it used to be. None of my casters use Meteor anymore, they all use the Destro Staff Ultimate. But, you can extend my leveling guide to 8 or 9 zones and take care of mages.

In doing this, I could fully gear up my character with level appropriate stuff, and it was helpful gear. May not have been the best, but you don't need the best while leveling. Any gear I farmed from Dolmens or PD's is repeatable, so I can get it at CP160 by just repeating. Then, I had all the content quests left for me once I reached CP160 as those can give you sweet Set Drops in good traits you want. And, Quest Experience is huge for gaining CPs once your past CP
160. Kind of a waste before that.

Tornaad · April 2017

Nestor wrote: »

Zuboko wrote: »

Sorry yes I am a Nightblade.

Toughest Class to play in the game. They can be fun, but they are hard to master. Good Luck.

Me, I would take advantage of the Exp Event and level a Dragon Knight, a Templar and a Sorcerer up to L50. This way you have 4 max rank CP160 characters to play. You will have a lot more fun.

See this for an easy way to level:

Quick Leveling Guide for One Tamriel
Let me give you an example of what I did with my last two leveling characters.

1. I collected all the Skyshards in the zone. I avoided any and all quests other than those that show up in the delves that have skyshards. These quests do not give set items for rewards so no loss there.
2. Wear gear that has the Training Trait. Keep the Cake Up.
3. I would farm the dolmens a few times to get set jewelry that helped my character
4. I would grab what ever Blue Lore Books for the Mages along the way.
5. I would do the Public Dungeons including all the bosses
6. Then I would move to the next zone.

6 zones to get you to L50. With the new Destro Staff Ultimate, getting Mages to 10 is no longer as critical as it used to be. None of my casters use Meteor anymore, they all use the Destro Staff Ultimate. But, you can extend my leveling guide to 8 or 9 zones and take care of mages.

In doing this, I could fully gear up my character with level appropriate stuff, and it was helpful gear. May not have been the best, but you don't need the best while leveling. Any gear I farmed from Dolmens or PD's is repeatable, so I can get it at CP160 by just repeating. Then, I had all the content quests left for me once I reached CP160 as those can give you sweet Set Drops in good traits you want. And, Quest Experience is huge for gaining CPs once your past CP
160. Kind of a waste before that.

@Nestor Funny enough that is what I already did. After starting a second non crafting character (I discovered the hard way just how much resources it takes to get a crafter to be powerful if they are doing all of your crafting) I got to feeling that I was doing really good (thanks large part to advice I got here) and now have more than 300 CP so I thought I would give the Maelstrom Arena a try and felt I was doing really good and then I hit the 3rd round and hit a brick wall of death. I tried about 4 or five times and think the longest I lasted was about a minute.

It probably didn't help that my character is a werewolf and that round is heavy with poison (I don't know if that matters or not as I did not transform). From there I looked up a few builds and found that as you said that is one of the hardest classes to take through the Maelstrom Arena.

The guide said that a magic based sorcerer is the easiest one to take through so I took advantage of the leveling boost and ran through enough probably 260 some odd dolmens and thus now have a level 50 sorcerer who I am now trying to collect equipment for.