Help me figure myself out (NB Vamp Khajiit -and- Werewolf Dragon-knight)

Raiketsu · October 2017

This will be semi-long winded as I want to be detailed.

I've been playing off and on since beta, but I've noticed or at-least believe i may be under-performing as my NB. Mainly because of PVP (recently got into it)
I'm aware that PVP and PVE are totally different realms, I've PVP'd just fine on other games/mmo's. But for example, i've watched other nightblades destroy other people, or myself, yet when i try anything similar i cant drag them sub-75%ish.

I am also looking for an overall suggestion for both PVP AND PVE.

Character details:

champion level (25%ish into the 'second' storyline)

Khajiit

Vampire

Nightblade.

100% Medium Armor

Weapons: Bow -main/ twin-dagger (off-spec)

(I picked these early on [as this is my first and main character] because I liked the theme, and it fit my style, at the time I didn't know how strong or weak they were, this class/race/disease choice was 100% based on preference/aesthetic)

(combat) skills I have access to:

Assassination:
Killers Blade
Ambush
Piercing Mark
Relentless Focus

Shadow:
Veil of Blades (ult)
Shadowy Disguise
(summon shade, not picked but it is morphed form a previous build)

Siphoning:
Soul Tether(ult)
Swallow Soul
Healthy offering
Siphoning Attacks
Drain Power

Dual WIeld:

Bloodthirst
(Whirlwind, morphable, not talented)
(Hidden blade, Morphable, not talented)

Bow
All Skills basically maxed out/Morphable including ULT

Medium Armor
All traits, skill not talented

Devouring Swarm
Invigorating Drain
(Mist form, not talented, morphable)

Racials:
All maxed.

I tend to roll with these bars.

Bow Bar :
Poison Injection
Swallow Soul
Lethal Arrow
Healthy Offering
Piercing Mark

Rapid Fire/Soul Assault

Dual Wield - Daggers
Surprise Attack
Bloodthirst
Shadowy Disguise
Invigorating Drain
Swallow Soul

Devourign Swarm/Veil of Blades ults, Depending on need.

Stats:
Stam - 14
HP - 36
MP - 14

----

I'm trying to become more of a MELEE - dual dagger build with HEAVY siphoning/lifesteal and make my bow be a Backup the issue I 'think' i'm running into is i have MASSIVE STAM critical (47-52%)
but piddly spell critical at 14.5%

But since siphoning has to do with spells, mostly, i think.

What do I need to do to improve myself?

Am I going to have to level light armor for spell crit? Am I fine as-is? Do I need to respec? etc etc etc.

Basically I'm looking to be highly self-sustaining at melee range, while still pumping out decent or high damage.

ANY criticism/suggestions/both are WELCOME. Please help me fix my character (if it's broken in the under-powered way)

Part 2:

I have an Argonain Dragon Knight, who I intend to be a Werewolf (already unlocked lycanthropy)

I've gone for Heavy armor, trying to be more of a '2 handed weapon knight' style but I also know that werewolves thrive on stamina...

Do I need to swap to medium armor to perform well, or am I good? I intend to use some magicka DK spells as well.

Any info on this is welcome.

In the case of both of these i'm not even asking for a 'perfect' build, I just want to Improve if any of you see faults with it.

Oakmontowls_ESO · October 2017

The main fault with your first build is you are trying to be a hybrid and they just aren't viable currently. You really should pick between stamina and magika and stick to it.

Raiketsu · October 2017

Ok, so lets say I went for a 'stam' build, as i'm basically already built for it.. would my siphoning skills still be worthwhile? or would they perform so badly (mainly as self-healing) that they wouldn't even be worth taking?

Oakmontowls_ESO · October 2017

They would not be worth it aside from leeching strikes.

Kode · October 2017

Raiketsu wrote: »

Ok, so lets say I went for a 'stam' build, as i'm basically already built for it.. would my siphoning skills still be worthwhile? or would they perform so badly (mainly as self-healing) that they wouldn't even be worth taking?

Leeching Strikes is the stamina morph of siphoning attachs that is a mainstay on many stamina builds, it returns some resources. Drain power can also be used in the stamina morph, power extraction. It doesn't heal and buffs weapon damage. Soul Tether can be used, it will scale off of stamina.
I think you should grab one of the solid "canned" builds to start with, try Alcast.

Your race on the Nightblade is geared toward stamina. If you dont prefer magicka, then I would work on a stamina build as that is a very good race for it. If you do prefer magicka, I would invest in a race change token... but not until you are sure what you want to do. You could play magicka using the wrong race if you wanted to, but eventually you should change.
As for PvP and PvE, they are really very different. It is best to have one for each because your CP and gear needs to be optimized for both and it will be a hassle switching regularly. It can be done, but it also depends on how serious you are, you wouldn't run vet trials in a pvp spec NB.

There is really a lot to say here, so I'm not going to try.

I would highly suggest looking at some builds, or going on youtube. Try to avoid anything older than a few months, but even that stuff will help you gain a better understanding of your role.

Raiketsu · October 2017

Then one last question. I've heard bow is bad in general.. is this true? if so why? if not, why is it good? I don't really want to drop my bow but if it's a bad performer well...

VaranisArano · October 2017

For PVE, bow is bad as a main weapon. Bow is fantastic as a back bar weapon.

Typically, you'll see stam builds back bar their bow in order to provide DOTs like endless hail and poison arrow. This adds a ton of DPS to the rotation. However, Bow gets a bad rap somethings because stam DPS will generally be poorer if you are trying to light attack/snipe spam your way through a dungeon.

For PVP, bow is good as a ranged weapon if your build needs one.

Kode · October 2017

Raiketsu wrote: »

Then one last question. I've heard bow is bad in general.. is this true? if so why? if not, why is it good? I don't really want to drop my bow but if it's a bad performer well...

As Varanis said, everything holds true. There is nothing wrong with Bow as a second weapon, but if you try to kill with a bow you are going to need to get quick kills on soft targets or you are going to be in a bad spot. Bow builds are usually gank builds, and gank builds only work on soft targets.
If you have it on your back bar, you can have a few attacks, some utility, ect there and still have a front bar to work with. That is pretty much the norm.

Like I said, if you hit up some builds they will probably explain effective use of skills, which skills to slot, order to cast, gear to make you effective. If you try to fudge the build while not knowing, chances are you are going to break it and it will be a wasted attempt. Just start out with a canned build, this will at least give you a baseline. Expect to lose while you learn, but eventually you should start seeing yourself improve.