The Construct V2
Introduction
Welcome to my written stamplar build for the Wolfhunter DLC. The first stamplar build I posted back in Morrowind received some positive feedback and attention, so with the release of Wolfhunter and some extremely OP set combinations becoming viable, I've decided to share my updated build. This is
by far the strongest stamplar build I've used on ESO to date. The damage is near impossible to match while still maintaining the same stats elsewhere, and it functions very well in group play, battlegrounds, and solo. The build is also very flexible in the sense that it can accommodate any weapon combination, from 2H back/DW front, DW back/2H front, S&B back/2H front, and bow back/2H front, as well as a variety of different jewelry trait combinations.
Gear/Race/Mundus/Consumables
Clever Alchemist Battleaxe - Defending - Weapon Damage enchant
The Master's Mace - Nirnhoned - Double Dot Poisons
The Master's Axe - Sharpened - Double Dot Poisons
Balorgh's Helmet - Medium - Impenetrable - Prismatic Glyph
Balorgh's Shoulder - Medium - Impenetrable - Stamina Glyph
Ravaging Chest - Heavy - Impenetrable - Prismatic Glyph
Ravaging Legs - Heavy - Impenetrable - Prismatic Glyph
Clever Alchemist Belt - Medium - Impenetrable - Prismatic Glyph
Clever Alchemist Gloves - Medium - Impenetrable - Stamina Glyph
Clever Alchemist Boots - Medium - Impenetrable - Stamina Glyph
Ravaging Necklace - Swift - Stamina Regen Glyph
Ravaging Ring - Robust - Weapon Damage Glyph
Ravaging Ring - Triune - Weapon Damage Glyph
Mundus - The Warrior
Race - Redguard
Food - Lava foot soup-and-saltrice
Potions - Stamina, speed, immovable
Poisons - Double Dot Damage
Gear Explanation
On most DW/2h builds, ravager is ran on the dual wield bar in order to make room for a 5 piece like hulking or bone pirate on the body. While this was a good option for many patches, it prevents you from using the master's dual wield, and obviously ravager can only be procc'd on one bar. Clever alchemist was the obvious choice for people who wanted to run the masters dual wield, as it could be placed on the 2h bar and paired with a 5 piece on the body such as hulking or bone pirate. The problem with clever is you end up with 30 seconds of downtime in between procs, which can be very inconvenient when playing a fast paced playstyle. When you pair these two sets together, you end up with the ability to have ravager up very frequently - as it'll proc from light attacks & blade cloak ticks on the 2h bar as well as everything you do on the DW bar. Since you're still running ravager w/master's, you're able to secure kills on players without necessarily having to use an ult or pop your clever - which is an issue that clever/bp/hulk can struggle with. When you need the extra damage, the clever proc is very controllable and provides a clean window to go offensive - the first 5 seconds providing a great opportunity to proc ravager, then the remaining 10 seconds being a window with 100% of your damage up - as high as 7.5k with a fully buffed balorgh proc, and even higher with alliance buffs factored in. This setup allows for damage potential that most stamplar setups are not capable of reaching.
As for traits & glyphs, the reason we are running 4 prismatic and 1 triune is because that is the required amount of health buffs - in addition to the 3 lines of health total on clever/rav - to hit 24k health while using the lava foot food. You do not necessarily need to be at 24k health, for me it's a personal preference. I like to be around 24k in medium to have a bit more reaction time to recover from burst. If you're playing with a warden (toughness proc), if you have emp, if you're constantly using ayleid wells - you can opt to drop prismatic glyphs for stam glyphs, or trade your triune for a robust or infused trait jewelry piece. At the end of the day, whatever stat balance you're comfortable with is what you should run.
Skills
Front Bar/Dual Wield: Power of the light, Biting Jabs, Resolving Vigor, Rending Slashes, Quick Cloak, Dawnbreaker of Smiting
Back Bar/Two Hander: Rally, Shuffle, Deep Thoughts, Extended Ritual, Restoring Focus, Werewolf
These skills are mostly standard for anyone who is familiar with dual wield stamplar. I've dropped binding javelin for quick cloak for a few reasons. While certain targets are much easier to kill with a javelin slotted, there are many targets (perm block DKs & magplars, roll spamming medium armor builds, swift stam sorcs) where javelin is almost a wasted skill slot for one reason or another. Quick Cloak on the other hand is viable against any player you'll come up against in at least some aspect. It provides a small amount of damage, extra chances to proc ravager & poisons, a ton of damage mitigation, and most importantly: A source of major expedition apart from our potion. The duration of major expedition on potions is great for maintaining a high uptime on the buff, however when clever alchemist is being used there are times you'll be kiting and will benefit from having a source of major expedition without sacrificing a clever alchemist proc. Quick cloak fills that role nicely. As far as a CC goes, in solo play quick cloak can be dropped for javelin, but I simply use dawnbreaker & tactician as my CC's. Most of the targets that I can't CC with a heavy attack are those that also couldn't be CC'd by a javelin, so I feel that quick cloak is a much better option for that skill slot. I dropped repentance for meditate, and I'll never go back. Meditate takes a little bit of getting used to, but it provides much more stamina sustain than repent ever could, as well as providing near endless amounts of magicka sustain without having to use channeled focus. This skill really is a god-send for stamplar, and I highly recommend anyone doubting it just give it a try for a while.
Champion Points
The Lord
Expert Defender - 19
The Lady
Hardy - 43
Elemental Defender - 43
Thick Skinned - 34
The Steed
Ironclad - 44
Spell Shield - 28
Medium Armor Focus - 18
Resistant - 31
The Ritual
Thaumaturge - 40
Precise Strikes - 20
Piercing - 37
Mighty - 43
The Apprentice
The Atronach
Physical Weapon Expert - 36
Master-at-Arms - 44
Shattering Blows - 40
The Tower
Warlord - 48
Siphoner - 7
Sprinter - 27
Bashing Focus -19
The Lover
Tenacity - 43
Mooncalf - 49
The Shadow
Tumbling - 44
Shadow Ward - 23
Stats
(Fully buffed in a DUEL scenario)
Flexibility Options
This setup is very flexible in terms of gear choice. You can swap the monster set for anything of your preference. Bloodspawn is the clearest choice as a substitute for balorgh, especially solo as it will provide you with more ultimates, better sustain, and decent resistances. In a group setting, or for players who struggle to recover from burst, troll king is another great option. As far as damage oriented options go, balorgh outperforms slimecraw by miles. I found that at around 150 ult, my DB was hitting as hard as it did with two pieces of slimecraw. That being said, slimecraw will provide more consistent damage than balorgh. If your preference is constant pressure, go for slimecraw. If you'd rather have massive burst, go for balorgh.
This setup can accommodate any weapon combination. If you'd like to play 2h bow, drop the masters dual wield for a masters bow, put a nirnhoned ravager 2h maul on the front bar/clever on the body, and rending slashes for poison injection. If you'd like to play 2h/s&b, drop the masters dual wield for a master's sword & shield, run a clever alchemist nirnhoned 2h maul front bar, ravager on the jewels/body, and trade rending for ransack. The s&b offers the highest stats, but it lacks consistent pressure without jabs spamming due to having no DoT. With the 4th piece of clever on the front bar & major fracture, the straight up burst damage is significantly higher with sword & board. The master's bow is a bit of a middleground, as it will offer a bit of ranged damage, high overall damage due to the +360 WD from poison injection being applied, and a decent DoT, but you'll be a bit squishier and personally I've found 2h/bow stamplar to play a bit awkwardly.
For
No-CP I'd consider dropping the warrior for the tower. We do this simply to get the max stam up to a reasonable level, as in no-cp we'll be sitting at around 26k without the CP-added stats. You can also consider running repentance on the front and POTL on the back, dropping meditate in favor of more regen on both bars. No CP is a bit more fast paced than other forms of combat just in the sense that you're in direct combat without a LoS more frequently, and there are more consistently bodies on the ground. As such, repent may perform better than meditate in here.
Gameplay
This is just a quick showcase of the damage capabilities both solo & in a group with this build. Nothing spectacular, but keep an eye out for that 17.2k Dawnbreaker