Thank you very much! That helped immensely, I'll definitely use your tips. Just one more question: Which enchants should I use on my gear? I currently have spell damage willpower jewelry and I use magicka enchants on my armor.

Thanks! I'm still a beginner in PvP so I think I would die just as easy in heavy armor, to be honest. I'm currently using heavy chest+leg and rest light, shacklebreaker, as Grimick suggested. I can die easily, but I'm getting better and better. I mostly stick to my group and can land a few kills, actually I'm almost done with the achievements, somehow landed the killing blow on a Grand Overlord too.

Thanks for the tips!

I agree with Grimmick's set selection, but note if using Necropotence, you must use the shade to reap the benefit. PvPers typically use the Shadow Image morph.

When he says fear, he very likely means Mass Hysteria.

As a magicka NB, you should be using Merciless Resolve, not Relentless Focus.

Siphoning Attacks has been nerfed into the ground. I am not using it anymore, but am using Immovability / Detection / Magicka potions, as well as Escapist's Poison. The great benefit of Siphoning Attacks, in previous patches, was the stam return. You need stam to break free. If you are caught in a CC without stamina, you typically die. If using this ability I prefer Leeching Strikes over Siphoning Attacks, for PvP.

Magicka NBs are able to perma-cloak by using the cloak skill every 2.9 seconds. This will largely allow you to pick fights, and avoid ones that look too dangerous. Should you wish to do this, it is easier to achieve with light armor. You need cost reduction. Mag recovery, obtained from drinks, also helps. Mag recovery from armor stats and jewelry does NOT help. For some reason it works differently out of combat. The mag rexovery figure you see on your character sheet is an in-combat figure only. Shadowy Disguise is the cheaper morph, at rank 4.

Aim for 22K+ health, in PvP. The most useful food, when not wearing Amber Plasm, is typically Witchmother's Potent Brew.

Regards Impen, the quick answer is that using it in PvP is never wrong. The longer answer, for magblade, depends on whether you use shields. Certainly, as a light armor build, you will depend on shields, and since shields can't be crit, Impen is wasted, as long s you have you shields up. The problems is, you won't have them up all the time. Some players will hit you so hard, thay'll tear down the shield in 1 second. That's why you also want Impen. On the other hand, I have lately been playing successfully without Impen on magwarden using a magicka stacking build with 52.6K magicka, resulting in a 10.7K Harness Magicka shield. At that level I feel comfortable ditching Impen. You can achieve this on NB by using Necropotence and Shacklebreaker with Breton or High Elf race.

Harness Magicka pays for itself, and then some, when you are attacked by magicka. It is a VERY noticaeble boon to sustain. Dampen Magic gives you a bigger shield, in light armor. A tough choice.

AOE skills aren't terribly useful, in PvP, although Refreshing Path is a good choice, not so much for the damage, but the heal, the speed, and the shadow passives (increased resistances). DOT skills ARE useful. Crippling Grasp is widely used by NBs. Not everyone is a templar, and few PvPers actually have room to slot Purge, unless in big groups. In small group / solo play, this is not the case.

My last tip is that Soul Assault can get you easy kills. Don't open with it, but if someone is half down, use it then. Half the population doesn't know how to defend against it. Shield, before using it. You are vulnerable to counter-attack. If you are hit hard, be ready to block-cancel it.

Magblade is one of the funniest but hardest classes to play.. and due to certain policies in ZoS (that we don't understand), every one or 2 patches they destroy your playing. Nevertheless, the magblade always rises again despite the tears and "nerf cloak" posts .

For a starter, I sugest you to try a HA set up. Julianos + transmutation is a good combo.

You can start trying different playing styles: Melee magblade, bomblade, sap tank, dotblade, ranged burstbade etc, trying to learn the class mechanics (which are: when you use fear, how to use cloak without burning your pool, how to combine cloak + shade, how to use merc resolve etc) Once you have learnt that, you can focus on a specific build that suits you.

It works in the context of my build as my only source of Major Expedition. I like the length of the buff (30s), and that I can activate it in cloak without giving my position away (Path) or running down my magicka (Double Take). You can't incorporate speed into a magicka-based potion. Skooma Smuggler fills the gap. I prefer Immov / Detect / Magicka, or Spell Power / Detect / Magicka pots. Like I said, a personal favorite, that's also got very good 2, 3, and 4 item buffs. However I wouldn't recommend it, if you have Path, Crippling Grasp, or Double Take in your build.

I think fundamentally you select sets to give you damage and sustain. I wouldn't include defense on that list, if you play a shield-based defense, with the exception of Riposte and Transmutation. Shields are powerful, if unforgiving, and something that is worth learning as a magblade, sorc, or warden. Having both Harness/Dampen and Healing Ward in the build, along with the resto ult, makes you quite tanky. I think there are two paths to go down. One is light-armor and shields, the other heavy armor and layering heals-over-time (Siphoning/Leeching Strikes, Funnel, Path, Rapid Regen), and possibly block cost reduction. I have only played the first approach, on magblade. Other players favor a layered heals approach.

To the OP, you can't get around testing and discovering your own preferences. For example, I tried playing melee, but wasn't happy until I switched to a staff-based build. I tried Mass Hysteria, but found it less helpful than everyone makes it out to be. I was used to Fossilize, on DK, and found I prefer making do with Flame Reach. I'm going to get a lot of stick for saying this, becasue Mass Hysteria has a lot of advantages when you make it work. It goes through block, it activates the shadow (resistance buff) passive, it fears multiple enemies, it snares and maims. The disadvantages are the small range, and it's not totally reliable. For example, if you try and fear 3 NPCs, but one of them already has CC immunity, then Mass Hysteria fails to fear any of them. I suspect it's the same with players.

RedFireDisco wrote: »

Fred's given some really excellent advice for someone who wants to play a NB mix of shadow killing and dueling.

Thanks. You have me pegged perfectly. I mostly run around solo, or in PUGs, in IC. I tend to stay hidden most of the time, but when I fight, I am mostly visible. My build is indeed not a ganking build. You can do so, of course, but against better players ganks quickly turn into duels. I think only stamblades are truly the gankers, to be honest. Other than a bomber, who relies on attacking a tightly-bunched zerg, I don't know a magblade who doesn't rely on Merciless Resolve for burst, and that's just not available, up front. The closest thing my build has, for outright ganking, is Soul Assault. Opening with that CAN get you kills, but only against very inexperienced players. I am always prepared to duel it out, and I hold back the ulti until their health is down some.

The risk with my playstyle, and it's a very real one, is that their friends show up, because I'm more of a dueller and too slow getting things done. That said, I've been hit with plenty of Assassin's Will procs, even Meteor combos, that haven't killed me. Once you get experienced, and you are evenly matched, fights take longer. You can outshield a Meteor, especially if you happen to have an Immov pot up and walk right out of the AOE without being CCd in it. Always watch your stamina. Make Immov pots, and drink them when your stamina is down.

Thank you all again for these suggestions. My original goal was to complete the achievements for the event, get the laurel and be done with PvP altogether. I completed all achievements in a very short amount of time. However, my opinion about PvP changed drastically and it seems like I'll indeed focus more on it. I'm starting to grasp it. I got 7 kills in a BG match which seemed impossible to me before this event, knowing how I performed previously against other players. I'm going to try out all these ideas and incorporate them into my playstyle. Right now I'm fairly comfortable with my current build, but will have to change it to progress further.