Why am I getting destroyed in BG's?

Solace1981 · July 2019

Playing MagDK, well over 30k resistances, only 3 pieces of impen so far. Will getting the rest impen really make that big of a difference? What else.... Oh having targets down to < 10% health and I'm beating on them (whips) and its doing next to nothing, then heal to full. What am I supposed to do when I use damn near all my resources on a kill I thought for sure would be secured. Light attack instead? This is where a lack of an execute really shows. Anyways, I'm fairly new to PvP in this game probably definitely need to work on positioning in BG's I guess. Also, its so hard to get dmg on ranged as I have no gap closer. I'm near death before I can even get in range to apply pressure or use some if not most of my precious 14k stam. I'm just at a loss here. Is MagDK terrible in BG's atm? I don't know. Any tips would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

MurderMostFoul · July 2019

Don't begin assessing your survivability until you have seven pieces with impenetrable. After seeing how things are with seven, you can maybe replace one or two with something else.

As you stated, positioning is huge. Avoiding damage is every bit as important, if not more so, then just mitigating it.

Lastly, until you are very competent, stick with your team at all times. It can be hard because things get hectic, so you have to make a conscious effort to stay near teammates. It will help a lot for both reducing incoming damage, and securing kills.

PS. Make sure you're in at least purple, if not gold, gear.

Aurielle · July 2019

We need a little more info about the sort of sets and traits you’re running. Also, PVP is not like PVE where you can simply whip an enemy to death; you need to learn how to CC and burst your targets down before they can recover. If you aren’t using Fossilize, put it on your bar ASAP and use it strategically to open up burst windows. Also, as a magDK, you can use leap as a quasi-execute if you have your enemy in execute range.

Solace1981 · July 2019

Ok thanks for the tips so far. My current setup is Rattelcage and Burning Spellweave with Bloodspawn monster set. Going with a 5 Light/2 Heavy setup. Everything is gold except Monster Set and jewelry. Running 2 protective traits on jewelry, for now, see what its like after I get the rest of my body pieces impen. With BSW proc/weapon enchant/Molten whip my spell power can get over 4.5K which I thought would be sufficient. Sits at around 3.3k unbuffed. Like I was saying earlier my resists hit well over 31k with Bloodspawn proc. I even switched it out with Chudan for testing to get that lil more resistance and free up a resist slot on my bar. Still feeling squishy, I don't know how anyone plays with 20k resists lol. Maybe its me lacking the impen right now.

My bars look like this, Front Bar (offensive) - Fiery Breath----Burning Embers----Molten Whip----Fossilize----Ele Drain. Back Bar (defensive) - Meditate----RAT----Coag Blood----Dragon Fire Scale----Volatile Armor. The thing is, I see these players of different classes, gap close and proceed to destroy me and 2 other team mates without taking much damage or getting low and just healing to full and dishing out tons of dmg. I'm ok with this but I wanna be "that guy" eventually too, lol. I've been playing about 7 months and only recently (Like 3 days ago) really started getting into BG's. I also don't have much experience with other classes, so not sure about their burst setups. Will come with more experience. I'm looking for any more tips/suggestions. Thanks all.

Solace1981 · July 2019

Oops, forgot Ulti's - Front Bar - Dragon Leap and Back Bar - Undo (for the dmg mitigation)

Aurielle · July 2019

That’s not a bad setup overall. Once you have full impen, you should see your survivability go up a bit. One thing I will say, though, is that you’re lacking significantly in magicka regen; regen is very important in no-CP PVP, unless you’re playing a gankblade. Remember, you don’t have CP to help with sustain or max magicka. I would recommend swapping Rattlecage out for a magicka sustain set — especially while you’re still learning the ropes. You can gain Major Sorcery through other sources (trash Alliance spell pots, which you can get from the merchant at the BG quest giver hub, are a cheap option). Bright Throat’s Boast is excellent for no-CP sustain, and you can boost your max stats if you pair it with the spring-loaded infusion drink. Also, if you’re using BSW, you only need to front-bar it. If you don’t have a BSW inferno staff, then I have to warn you it’s a bit of a grind...worth it, though, as you can back-bar an arena weapon. BRP resto staff (which drops in normal BRP — you don’t need the perfected version from vet BRP unless you really want it) is a good backbar option; Ward Ally will help with your survivability, and the BRP resto staff buffs that skill up significantly. With the better sustain you’ll get from dropping Rattlecage, you can get rid of Meditate and slot in Ward Ally instead. Healing Ward is also getting buffed next patch, so that’s an alternative (Ward Ally is more reliable for your own protection though, as you’ll always get a shield — Healing Ward will only target you if you have the lowest health compared to your group mates).

As for the difficulty you’re having with gap closing to ranged opponents, one thing I could recommend using is Empowering Chains (the morph that pulls you to the enemy). Chains + Fossilize is a good combo, because that morph of chains does not give the enemy CC immunity. I used to use that on my magDK back when I still ran BGs on that character, and it was very effective.

Anyway, keep at it. You’re only three days in, and PVP in ESO has a steep learning curve. You could always try magsorc as well if you’re finding magDK too difficult. Melee range mag classes are tougher to master in PVP than ranged classes. Magsorcs also have an easier burst combo (for DKs, which primarily deal dot-based damage, burst is largely reliant on Leap, which you don’t always have access to).

Solace1981 · July 2019

Aurielle wrote: »

That’s not a bad setup overall. Once you have full impen, you should see your survivability go up a bit. One thing I will say, though, is that you’re lacking significantly in magicka regen; regen is very important in no-CP PVP, unless you’re playing a gankblade. Remember, you don’t have CP to help with sustain or max magicka. I would recommend swapping Rattlecage out for a magicka sustain set — especially while you’re still learning the ropes. You can gain Major Sorcery through other sources (trash Alliance spell pots, which you can get from the merchant at the BG quest giver hub, are a cheap option). Bright Throat’s Boast is excellent for no-CP sustain, and you can boost your max stats if you pair it with the spring-loaded infusion drink. Also, if you’re using BSW, you only need to front-bar it. If you don’t have a BSW inferno staff, then I have to warn you it’s a bit of a grind...worth it, though, as you can back-bar an arena weapon. BRP resto staff (which drops in normal BRP — you don’t need the perfected version from vet BRP unless you really want it) is a good backbar option; Ward Ally will help with your survivability, and the BRP resto staff buffs that skill up significantly. With the better sustain you’ll get from dropping Rattlecage, you can get rid of Meditate and slot in Ward Ally instead. Healing Ward is also getting buffed next patch, so that’s an alternative (Ward Ally is more reliable for your own protection though, as you’ll always get a shield — Healing Ward will only target you if you have the lowest health compared to your group mates).

As for the difficulty you’re having with gap closing to ranged opponents, one thing I could recommend using is Empowering Chains (the morph that pulls you to the enemy). Chains + Fossilize is a good combo, because that morph of chains does not give the enemy CC immunity. I used to use that on my magDK back when I still ran BGs on that character, and it was very effective.

Anyway, keep at it. You’re only three days in, and PVP in ESO has a steep learning curve. You could always try magsorc as well if you’re finding magDK too difficult. Melee range mag classes are tougher to master in PVP than ranged classes. Magsorcs also have an easier burst combo (for DKs, which primarily deal dot-based damage, burst is largely reliant on Leap, which you don’t always have access to).

Thanks for the advice. My mag regen has been ok as long as I keep ele drain up on my target(s). I think once I get full impen rolling, I'll come back looking for some more tips/suggestions if I need em. Thanks all.

Hylda69 · July 2019

You should ask NirnStorm what he use for BG. Your setup is the same as him and he's really good with in Cyro.

Solace1981 · July 2019

Hylda69 wrote: »

You should ask NirnStorm what he use for BG. Your setup is the same as him and he's really good with in Cyro.

Haha yeah my build was very similar to his at first, then I found his vid and liked the backbar swap to s&b so I went with it. He says more more mag regen and/or resists (protective traits) for BG's. I'm Breton so I skipped out on the regen and I seem to be doing ok mag recov wise. Like I said, I still need 4 more pieces of impen, so I guess I'll go from there once I get it done. Damn crystals.....

leepalmer95 · July 2019

If the other team has a healers then its become super difficult to secure a solo kill.