The more they nerf the NB intended "prey class", the more they have to nerf NBs keep the PvP encounters "balanced".

It's ironic: calling nerfs for years on others, ended up nerfing who demanded the nerfs.

Well you can get kills on NB. Doesn't mean the class is in a good spot though. There's a few reasons why NB is kind of bad atm:

1. In small group they have no place to take, all other classes work better in BGs in all roles. They were never the best in BGs but with the nerfs it's even worse.

2. You will rarely kill someone with equal skill as yours on NB. Killing new players or non-pvp players is easy but you can do that with any class. Killing experienced players is hard though. Your burst is too easy to read and takes too long, so most people will never take your full combo (fear->incap->bow proc), hell the only way to even hit incap is if you weapon swap cancel fear, because it hides the VFX and can take people by surprise. Man it's 3gcds as well, there's space for break free, healing, and blocking all your combo. How do you even kill experienced players like this when you don't have the dps pressure to outlast their healing?

3. The meta. NB was never good on tank meta besides the dark cloak fiasco. You have poor dps and depends on burst damage to kill anyone, and in fact if I recall they were nerfed in a glass cannon meta and were balanced, but then we transitioned to tank meta and got ***.

So yeah you guys can pretend OP needs to l2p (maybe he does l, idk) but NB is weak, yes. It's not unplayable, just not competitive, which is still bad.

Been playing my stamblade since the beginning and the past 2 years have been a struggle. As players get tankier and healing gets stronger it is imperative that we get major defile back on incap and major fracture on surprise attack even if it’s only applied from stealth that would be great. The class went from a strong solo type pvp class to weak punching bag compared to the other classes. All because at some point you were by yourself and away from your friends and some nb got the jump on you. Here’s a tip for pvp if you find yourself alone chances are your not alone

I just started playing a month ago and before someone comes in and says I don't know what I am talking about I fully realize I may not have all the information currently.

My impressions so far.

1. It's blatantly obvious how much stronger some other classes are. My main is a a Stamblade. I have also messed around on a DK & Sorc. It's clear from a damage point of view that both will likely end up as good and probably better. I'd rate the burst good to very good but it certainly is not adequate based on the next point.

2. From a survival point it's not even really close. NBs seemingly are as squishy as it gets. This is inherently bad design. Middling at best damage and squishy.

3. It seems like every other class is so much easier to play and flows better. Really I was so board playing the other classes. Again, this is inherently bad design. Easily playable classes shouldn't also have better Damage/Survivability then more complex classes.

Shadowasrial wrote: »

Been playing my stamblade since the beginning and the past 2 years have been a struggle. As players get tankier and healing gets stronger it is imperative that we get major defile back on incap and major fracture on surprise attack even if it’s only applied from stealth that would be great. The class went from a strong solo type pvp class to weak punching bag compared to the other classes. All because at some point you were by yourself and away from your friends and some nb got the jump on you. Here’s a tip for pvp if you find yourself alone chances are your not alone

That last bit is rather ominous.

Why is this community so fond of saying l2p? Of course I need to learn to play. I think I should learn to play everyday. But there are differences in the game from what I saw yesterday. For one, two handers. Everywhere. Another, why are sorcerers still competitive? They have not once dropped out since, gosh was it before Morrowind? Granted I don't play for long stretches but I can't think of a single original class that has had the run those guys have (and its cool when I'm playing one). The last thing I'll mention was so many either have some tough armor or huge health pools or something. Oh and it was nice to see templars who I think had been trash seen sorcerers started their rise. Might as well mention dragonknights are also well represented.

Saying that, if those that want me to learn to play could perhaps l2r (that's learn to read) I did mention that I had one death that registered a single nightblade skill Surprise Attack. From the whole day I saw frags and lightning, the new leaping dragonknights (last I remembered they kept flexing wings as if to fly not hop) and the jabby jabby templars. But no nightblade skills. None except that single surprise attack. Maybe they were behind all that two hander spam (and there was a lot).

If our class skills aren't even on the table how is this class fine? Especially considering I thought they were looking at classes to make sure they didn't have to use non-class skills (or is that coming? It seems its been talked about 4ever!). That doesn't seem to be the case for other classes. Perhaps its possible I just never ran into them. I know a lot said nightblades are there but this forum also lies a lot. Specifically when representing what is happening to a class different than theirs. Its pretty typical that those that do play the class says there seems to be an issue and those that don't drowning them out.

I would simply play something else except my nightblade was my first so when I'm achievement hunting that's the class I use. I long ago would have used a class change token because its just not worth this cycle ZOS has put them in. I swear it feels like just after Morrowind when this started. Sure all classes have peaks and valleys. But ZOS does do weird things like going after templars healing way back in Morrowind for some reason (well, we suspect we know much like why necro can hit you with grave robber for 32k). I personally feel most of my classes have improved if not excelled while my nightblade just seems to not.

And just for context, I never used cloak for anything because that's busted and broken most of the time. Oh and stamina is my nightblade (no seriously that's his name) always fits to me because every mag using class in this game feels like a cheap knock off of a sorcerer to me (they seriously need to understand that magical weapons exist in lots of fantasy not just big sticks... if you were going with sticks how did you pass over wands?) Most of the skills I use have probably gotten changed or something so once day I just I will just have to read this whole class over again. Oh joy. I love when skills get completely changed. I blame WoW for this. If their last patch wasn't so buggy I wouldn't have even been here this month.

It’s the class. I took my caluurion and high speed magblade gear and tried it on a MagWarden.

NB is a good class to teach you how to play because you’re playing at a disadvantage. Take that same gear and tools and use them on another class and you’ll wreck people.

Until the remove or substantially nerf Cloak in PvP, nightblade will be the most powerful class. That is all but a god mode ability that can be spammed endlessly.

I personally think nightblade should be a PvE-only class.

TheFM wrote: »

Nightblades are finally not over performing and they are suddenly dead. Oivay.

I think there may be a difference between over performing and competitive. Doesn't sound like they are currently even competitive. Which Would move them into the 'dead' basket.

IMHO

josh.lackey_ESO wrote: »

Until the remove or substantially nerf Cloak in PvP, nightblade will be the most powerful class. That is all but a god mode ability that can be spammed endlessly.

I personally think nightblade should be a PvE-only class.

This made me laugh so hard my ribs hurt lmfao next you will be saying stamcro and stamina wardens are balanced right? Lmao 😂😂 some players shouldn’t be allowed to comment

josh.lackey_ESO wrote: »

Until the remove or substantially nerf Cloak in PvP, nightblade will be the most powerful class. That is all but a god mode ability that can be spammed endlessly.

I personally think nightblade should be a PvE-only class.

Cloak is so easily countered. I mean everyone is practically given a skill to make it a non-issue before you're even level 10. I'd love for nightblades to get a skill that just makes another classes ability simply disappear. Imagine, hit a button and tank's armor simply falls off. Sorcerers lose their shields. Templars can't self heal. It would be glorious. I guess people never thought that cloak is the ngihtblades answer to armor and shields and they serve the same function. Keeping the character's health safe. And just like the others, some can attack behind it to great effect. I personally never use it since its countered so easily by so many skills its almost pointless to me. Do folks really think our evade is the same a shields? If only.

On a side note, I finished my achievement the day after my first post in battlegrounds where there were surprisingly fewer spell slinging heavy armor two hander spamming folks. Even saw a couple of nightblades using their skills. I am curious if ZOS removed all skills no one uses in pvp what the classes would look like. Maybe then they'd stop balancing around PvP and perhaps rethink why people choose the classes they do instead of trying to make us all the same.