Yeah, it's definitely more of a playstyle issue than a build issue. That build is basically the meta trial build with proc sets instead of stat and penetration sets. I am sure for overland content it works just fine.

I have a feeling it is an issue with how you are pulling the mobs, and my guess is you are getting behind in the fight early on. Lets start with the fact that a stam DK with DW/Bow is going to have high damage and poor heals. As others have said, you can certainly go to a 2H or even a sword and board on one bar, but it really shouldnt be necessary. 2H is better than DW if your goal is to be tanky and solo stuff, but if PVE is your goal, I would figure it out on DW because that is what you will run at end game.

Few things to think about.

First, buff before you fight, and that includes vigor.

Vigor is NOT a burst heal, its a Heal over Time (HOT) of short duration. Practically, that means you should cast it before you take a bunch of damage, not after. It doesnt make sense to spam this skill, but it can certainly be cast about every 5-6 seconds on cooldown.

Deadly Cloak is an extremely powerful damage mitigation tool, make sure you cast it pre-fight, and reapply when it cools down. Almost no overland mobs should be alive long enough to where you have to worry about reapplying buffs.

Flames of Oblivion Not going to help healing directly, but again, make sure its up pre-fight. If not running Weapon Power Pots (which you shouldnt need in overland content) you really want this for the crit (heals crit too so it does help indirectly).

Molten Armaments This is one of those skills that BARELY makes sense in an end game rotation. You really are casting it for the passives. It gives minor brutality and returns stamina when you cast (if you are low on stamina and high on magic, you can spam this if you need to). The reason end game players choose this morph is that they are already running weapon pots, so they dont care about the major brutality, and opt for that small increase to HA damage. By yourself, the other morph, Igneous Weapons, is far superior.

Caltrops and Hail These can be cast at range. Once you are buffed up, get in the habit of casting these first, and location is important. Lets say you are 20 meters away from a group you want to attack. You could cast them right on the enemies, they will draw aggro and run towards you. Problem is, they will all walk out of 2 of your highest damage skills. If you cast them between you and the enemy so the leading edge just barely pulls them, they will be forced to walk through them to get too you. With a little practice, you will figure out the optimal placement. Most mobs you should be able to eventually drop it right on top of them and burst everything down, which leads me to my next point.

Steel Tornado I would find something to give you some AOE damage. Steel tornado is the highest AOE stamina damage that comes in an instant cast burst skill. Brawler (2H) is also an option. Better survival, less damage. Shrouded Daggers is also an option. This gives you some range, and is frankly better than Steel Tornado if its only 3 enemies or less. I would make room for one of these on your bars if trying to solo overland stuff. If you buff up (Igneous, Deadly cloak, FOO, Vigor) and Drop your AOE, (Caltrops, Hail, Trap), you should be able to nuke most overland mobs with 2-3 steel tornados. My guess is that you are worrying too much about single target damage (Poison injection, Claw, Bloodcraze) when you are outnumbered. If you are looking for a skill to drop for an AOE skill, my advice is honestly bloodcraze. The blood craze heal is not all that powerful IMO, and the ST damage from claw is higher if you really need it.

Noxious Breath Another really useful skill. This would be the last skill I cast before going into a Tornado spam on mobs. You cast it more for the major fracture than for the damage, but the damage is nice too.

People can take builds like that right through VMA, so the healing and survival should be more than enough to take on any overland mobs. You might struggle to solo a handful of world bosses, but other than that, you shouldnt need to make too many alterations to accomplish what you are after.

VaranisArano wrote: »

Are you using a food or drink buff? I don't see one mentioned in the build. Dubious Camoran Throne or a blue health/stam food might help boost your health if you aren't already using one.

Seriously, dont forgot to eat. You should never engage an enemy in this game, PVE or PVP, without active food. It is dirt cheap and lasts for hours. For PVE, blue health + Stam food is you best bet IMO, as stam DK shouldnt struggle too bad to sustain. In PVP or maybe some solo PVE situations, Dubious Camoran is really strong as well.

boombazookajd wrote: »

or a great (as in quick alternative) is bread. You can steal it from any undaunted location, there's usually 3 or 4 loafs around. Inns and other places are good places to swipe it.

I use bread when I don't want to waste any good food on overland stuff, especially if I am out on my own (in a low populated area, or on at funny times). Often if a healer is around, they'll help you out with a quick heal.

Otherwise, just learn to pull the mobs nice and easy like.

Also if you feel that you are too low on health and want to be a bit tankier as you level, the jewelry that drops in the Alik'r dolmens is a decent overland jewelry set that has the healthy trait and has a good 3 pc. bonus for health.

There may be a better set for jewelry, though. A more experienced/knowledgeable player could help with that. @Oreyn_Bearclaw knows their stuff so I'd take their advice for sure! @VaranisArano helped me, and still does, when I first started and is super knowledgeable as well.

Enjoy your leveling!

If i was on XBOX one, I would mail you a thousand pieces of food. Haha. Never even thought about looting bread to actually eat. How very Jean Valjean of you.

To your point, I am not sure that stacking health is really they way to up your mitigation for this type of thing. That said, if you wanted to go that route, check out the Seventh Legion Brute Set (bangkorai, I beleive). Its a heavy armor set, which means healthy jewerly. You could certainly run the jewelry and chest/legs to get your five piece, which would give you 2 pieces of heavy armor (5 medium/2heavy) which definitely makes you more tanky. This set is really popular in PVP, and the jewerly is dirt cheap. I wont call this an end game PVE DPS set, because it's not, but when it comes to soloing stuff, a healthy dose of the PVP mindset is often the right idea. End game PVE builds are designed to have support. Most PVP builds are designed to take care of yourself. One of the reasons a lot of skilled PVP players were able to cruise right through VMA.