Tips on Surviving early DK

temjiu · April 2014

OK, so been playing quite a it lately. tried every class but DK and enjoying them all. various builds, various weapons...

on my DK, and i wanted to go with a S&B setup (mostly to take advantage of the Imp passives in this character), and im struggling early game.

Lvl 8, Dominion, on Auridon.

Gear is moderate for the level...mix of lvl 8 whites and greens, made my my other crafters (so stats are decent). Skill setup is Low slash, puncture, Dark talons, volatile armor and (up to this point), Firey grip. Considering switching out grip at this point with stonefist or searing. NOTE: talons is not morphed yet. that's my next point. extra points...one in a crafting skill. one (don't ask why) in resto staff, armor was morphed, etc.

And honestly...in all the same areas I'd cruise with my other characters, i'm getting creamed on my DK. no healing....im going through health potions like their out of style. dying to anything more then 2 mobs...and sometimes with 2 mobs. can't go into any dungeon areas...the chance that i get caught by a group of 3 and creamed and sent back to the beginning is too high.

Tactics:
approach mob group. dark talons. Volatile. Puncture a few times to give my magik recovery time. grip an archer if its too far away. was rinse repeat.

Any tips? am I just going to have to suffer along until i get draconic blood? will that one point in talons make such a huge difference? do i need to invest in a metric ton of potions and drink them like they're candy?

And FYI...if you plan on posting "I don't know what ur issue is, I had it easy" then you can avoid wasting my time or yours...I don't care how easy you had it unless you can give me pointers. I'm looking for constructive criticism and actual pointers on how to improve. people have done it...I know I'm just missing something.

Many thanks ahead of time. ill keep plugging away till im frustrated, then switch over to <insert any other class here> for an easier time.

AngelofAwe · April 2014

kill things before they kill you until you get dragon blood. It's a slight challenge sometimes but nothing bad at all really. talons morphed to burning talons, searing strike to unstable flame etc and just burst down 1 target at a time.
If you still have problems get more CC, shield charge or stonefist should work for you early on and try to keep 1 enemy out of the fight while you kill the others.

Obviously the most important thing is to block, interrupt and avoid spells and power attacks too.

temjiu · April 2014

Thanks Angel. So it sounds like getting talons and searing morphed early helps out. ill try that asap.

And perhaps im not using enough control as well. talons is great for keeping them in place, but i noticed they can all still hit me when i get close enough to hit them!

.

Keep the tips rolling in, appreciate it!

Rapscallion74 · April 2014

I actually found dragon knight to be the easiest class, even without a heal till dragon blood. The key was to build him/her as an AOE machine. DK's can melt groups of mobs if setup properly.

Ranged: do fire staff with wall of elements and destructive touch(CC) and dragon talons morphed for DoT, and gets even better with firey breath.

Melee: 2hander with cleave and AOE passive, dragon talons morphed for DoT, and fiery breath.

The approach I tend to use when building any characters is to focus on AOE early on, then when I unlock second weapon at lvl 15, build a more single target build for the second weapon. I do this because because I find the game begins to throw groups of 3-4 at you around level 10 or so, and if your build is primarily single target focused, they will wear you down quickly as you are only engaging 1 at a time.

EDIT: Oh, and always keep health potions quickslotted and dont be afraid to use them.

KerinKor · April 2014

AngelofAwe wrote: »

kill things before they kill you until you get dragon blood..

Is Dragonblood really able to help you survive tough encounters? I'm loving Templar ATM, 2H, but it's still a tad slow at killing but I can spam heals in fights like Nerion (or w/e that mini-boss' name is) while a DK it seems could struggle, which is why I'm leery of leveling it long enough to get rank 20.

AngelofAwe · April 2014

KerinKor wrote: »

Is Dragonblood really able to help you survive tough encounters? I'm loving Templar ATM, 2H, but it's still a tad slow at killing but I can spam heals in fights like Nerion (or w/e that mini-boss' name is) while a DK it seems could struggle, which is why I'm leery of leveling it long enough to get rank 20.

Dragon blood is THE self heal of this game... especially morphed to green dragon blood.
My max hp is 3000 in PvP and dragon blood heals for 33% of missing health at the cost of around 400 magicka.
33% of my missing health is usually 800-900 hp when I use it.

Rapscallion74 · April 2014

KerinKor wrote: »

AngelofAwe wrote: »

kill things before they kill you until you get dragon blood..

Is Dragonblood really able to help you survive tough encounters? I'm loving Templar ATM, 2H, but it's still a tad slow at killing but I can spam heals in fights like Nerion (or w/e that mini-boss' name is) while a DK it seems could struggle, which is why I'm leery of leveling it long enough to get rank 20.

Do you have uppercut? My favourite move in the game. Nothing more satisfying that uppercut. I think it is the single highest damage normal(not ultimate) move in the game. It can end fights quickly if you have a high stamina.

Spiderg1rl · April 2014

I've found that when I'm overwhelmed with lots of enemies on my DK having the StoneFist ability in my hotbar helps as most of the time it knocks one of them down often giving you the breathing room you need. At that low level the weapons you use to get through mean very little. When you start getting to level 15 you can start focusing on your preferred style of fighting swapping when in a tight spot.

I'm actually really enjoying my DK now but when I started she died regularly and alot but as time has gone on she dies less and the need for potions and soul gems isn't as much a requirement as it used to be.

Greydog · April 2014

Stonefist is your friend. Also Searing Strike (I believe) and Soul Trap can be morphed for some healing. Remember to block any heavy you can't dodge and don't waste stamina dodging any attack you can simply run from.

Vraok · April 2014

I honestly think your setup is awful for killing stuff. My first character was a DK but I eventually grew hella bored.
Anyway, since you're using S&B I'll assume you're using heavy armor? If not, get some. Next you swap volatile armor; you simply don't -need- it and dark talons. The cc may be nice but the dmg is underwhelming and unless you're a ranger or a tank in instanced dungeons it's not worth a crap imo.
Now you get stonefist with any morph you like (I went obsidian shard since I planned on rolling 2H/Bow, but later went 2/Desto) and searing strikes -> unstable flame.
Now what you wanna do once you see a mob/mobgroup is pull one out(that is until you have the shieldcharge or whatever it's called) puncture, aa into searing strikes so you cancel the aa animation. Then feel free to spam some more aa/low slash/searing strikes, whatever you feel like. The target should be dead until the next to approach. Knock one down and burst him and then deal with the last one. You shouldn't lose more than 40% hp, and that's easily healed up.
On a sidenote; if you really like the talons, then use them instead of the grab, and move out of the range of the mobs after you cc'd them.

temjiu · April 2014

Thanks folks. Decided to reroll my DK (she was only 8, im so used to the starter areas that it goes fast). going to focus on searing and stonefist initially to give me control, and stick with S&B. i have plenty of casters, DW toons, and 2h Toons, don't want to level another one. wanted to do S&B from the start.

Heavy armor? Yup got it. doing 5/2 split atm with medium. Shield and Sword up to level and traited/enchanted.

Also just noticed (didn't realize) that Searing upgraded to a heal. there's my early regen i was looking for. ill morph that ASAP and focus more on that, Fist, and other CC. I like talon, So I'll prob keep it until the usefulness of other skills convinces me otherwise.

@‌ KerinKor
You know whats interesting? my main is Templar, have 3 of them love the class. 2H is actually my favorite build for leveling them...sick fast DPS, especially when you get reverse slice. It's a stamina heavy spec, invest in it well. medium armor is your friend, and keep the weapon up to date and traited/upgraded/enchanted.

This is off the subject, but early play a simple Charge - Piercing Javelin - Charge kills single mobs that fast. really. up through your early teens it does. as mobs get tougher, you may actually have to swing once inbetween charges. use yoru default heal when you get low, block everything you can, and heavy swing when they're stunned from the block.

Puncturing Strikes is your AoE bread and butter. that's it. easiest class build I've leveled so far, aside from my healing sorc with summons.

KerinKor · April 2014

Some great tips, thanks folks.

Tannakaobi · April 2014

I went with Sword & Shield. I would open the fight with Fiery Grip, Taking the ranged npc, then Searing strike followed by Puncture. I would use Stonefist on the melee as they approach and then start on them from Searing strike. Once you get the Magma Armour everything is easy. Also, use Spiked Armor when needed.

I found stamina to be the biggest problem but with some pots and a food buff no problem.

Edit: I was 5 light 2 heavy as Spiked Armor is plenty good enough.

temjiu · April 2014

kylemelhuishb16_ESO wrote: »

I went with Sword & Shield. I would open the fight with Fiery Grip, Taking the ranged npc, then Searing strike followed by Puncture. I would use Stonefist on the melee as they approach and then start on them from Searing strike. Once you get the Magma Armour everything is easy. Also, use Spiked Armor when needed.

I found stamina to be the biggest problem but with some pots and a food buff no problem.

Edit: I was 5 light 2 heavy as Spiked Armor is plenty good enough.

I noticed that armor was pretty easy to cap with SA up as well. I think ill have to juggle armor types with that skill and see what works for me.

Running without SA at the moment. mostly DPS based skills, so far so good. much easier then my first attempt.