Must I lose tanking ability to do more damage overland?

Minyassa · September 2020

I'm using Alcast's Catalyst build, more or less, for my DK and it works great for group content, it does what it's supposed to and I enjoy tanking. However, if I EVER have to do anything solo with the toon, like collecting the remaining skyshards he hasn't got and so forth, it takes 9,472 years to kill groups of delve/public dungeon mobs with him and annoys the living hell out of me. I don't really know what to do, I can't spare the skill points to swap him into dps skills. Is there something as simple as a gear swap that I can do to increase his damage output? He already has more stamina than health, I've not updated him to the most recent incarnation of the build with 10 mag/54 health. Or do I just need to suck it up and be patient because that's what I get for doing solo stuff with a tank?

Wandering_Immigrant · September 2020

Just swapping out gear will make a big difference yes. Any damage oriented medium set up really. Having a dps oriented weapon to throw on your back bar helps a lot too, but if you don't want to do that just get a set like twin sisters (does 15k bleed damage when you block) or some other cheap overland proc set and unlock shield bash.

Recapitated · September 2020

There are sets you can use to mostly walk away from trash, like throwing snares around with caltrops and bahraha.

Apox · September 2020

leeching, bahrahas curse, grothdarr. itll probably kill faster than whatever youre using. also run dk leap. cheap ulti and hits hard

plus leeching+bahrahas curse will heal you for entirely more damage than enemies will put out

Joxer61 · September 2020

https://xynodegaming.com/natures-bounty/

also, you are a tank....stuff will die slower...anywhere.

idk · September 2020

I simply swap out gear and for one bar some skills. I keep S&B on the back bar to tank the occasional WB. It really works well and is easy to do.

What makes that occasional WB fun is some tank that does not know how to tank jumps in partway through and after they taunt the first time they cannot understand why they keep losing the boss because they do not know how taunts work in ESO.

lozq · September 2020

If your survivability as a tank is fine In group content but you’re short on skill points, you could consider going 2H backbar for some AOE damage and ditching the destro staff. I believe you can run a crusher enchant on Stampede and get similar results as using blockade. It’s nice to have some clout for soloing and helps burn through mobs in dungeons.

Medium armour will help too, although you’ll need ten or so skill points to max the tree. Doesn’t need to be anything fancy, hundings rage is a good crafted damage set, and theres heaps of overland ones that are plenty effective but cheap because they’re not BiS. With a damage set you can probably just use DK class abilities to put out enough DPS - talons, noxious breath and stone giant perhaps?

dazee · September 2020

Joxer61 wrote: »

https://xynodegaming.com/natures-bounty/

also, you are a tank....stuff will die slower...anywhere.

The issue is not that tanks do less dps the issue is the gaping void between tank damage capacity and dps.

Better, more balanced games have tanks doing a little more than half of the dps damage- while main tanking a boss. in ESO dps are doing up to or even more than 100k sometimes, meanwhile tanks barely doing 15k if lucky.

xilfxlegion · September 2020

Minyassa wrote: »

I'm using Alcast's Catalyst build, more or less, for my DK and it works great for group content, it does what it's supposed to and I enjoy tanking. However, if I EVER have to do anything solo with the toon, like collecting the remaining skyshards he hasn't got and so forth, it takes 9,472 years to kill groups of delve/public dungeon mobs with him and annoys the living hell out of me. I don't really know what to do, I can't spare the skill points to swap him into dps skills. Is there something as simple as a gear swap that I can do to increase his damage output? He already has more stamina than health, I've not updated him to the most recent incarnation of the build with 10 mag/54 health. Or do I just need to suck it up and be patient because that's what I get for doing solo stuff with a tank?

i made mine a werewolf --- i swap the ultimate out as needed

Atherakhia · September 2020

Just look for proc sets that heal you and you'll be fine. Crimson in particular is a fairly substantial AE burst that heals you for 100% of damage done on a reasonably short cooldown. It's technically a tanking set, but the damage it does is considerable. It alone will keep you up while doing overland content. You could use the jewelry and weapons to increase your DPS with another set or you can use the armor for tanking and supplement a second tank set weapon (like Bahrrarrararar rara ra...)

Oreyn_Bearclaw · September 2020

A Tank is a concept that makes absolutely no sense when playing solo. It is a role that only makes sense in the context of a group. If you are solo, you are not a tank, DPS, or healer. You are all three. Now of course, you can certainly build for defense, heck even call it being tanky, but you are not a tank when you are alone. Period. Therefore, if you run a true tank build, you are going to struggle when solo, primarily because it will take forever to kill anything.

The short answer is yes, adjust your build for overland. The longer answer, adjust your build for every type of content you play if you want to be optimal. How much you adjust and in what ways can vary greatly. It can be as simple as changing a few skills and as complex as skills, gear, attributes, and CP, any or all of the above.

Stinkyremy · October 2020

As someone who quested all base game content as a tank, easiest option is to spend the 3k basic switching your CP to dd and swapping gear, you don't even need to swap resources if you don't want to.

Integral1900 · October 2020

Use your first few skyshards to get an area of effect damage skill, a critical chance buff and a damage buff

Slot whatever weapon you fancy, on a tank I prefer a lightning staff or a two handed sword

Go forth and kill stuff, guaranteed that quest baddies will melt

Also cheap sets like thunderbug and storm knight along with grothdar will do the job just as well

Everstorm · October 2020

If you want to stick to heavy armor: thunderbug's carpace does a lot of damage and can be bought on guildtraders.

ke.sardenb14_ESO · October 2020

My main Tank is also a stam DK, that uses both the alcast endgame catalyst set up and the alcast endgame serpent set up. While you make need quite a few skill points, you should be able to run both no problem.

oscarovegren · October 2020

Have a different set setup for overland. Equip a 2H for rally and keep SnB on one bar (or bow)

Dead-waters guile looks great for solocontent on a DK since it builds into sustain and damage. Combine with some procs set like veno smite for additional pressure (and sustain through combustion). Bloodspawn is nice for solocontent on DK

vesselwiththepestle · October 2020

Get skill points to learn DD skills. It is important.

If you don't have medium armor passives, you don't need to switch to medium armor. You can use a set like Seventh Legion, which is heavy armor, but adds weapon damage. Make sure you have weapon damage enchantments on your jewelry. If you have skilled medium armor, you should use it. It is a huge boost to damage.

If you have at least a few spare skill points, get a Perfected Master's 2H from vDSA and brawler your way through the enemies. This will cost you 2 skill points and you will be doing a lot more dps than you would with your tank abilities and weapons. When you collect more skill points, you can invest into 2h and medium armor passives.

If you have easy access to mundus stones (through a guild house) you might want to switch your mundus to Lover. I wouldn't do it if you have to travel to the actual stones on the map, though, except when you know you will play solo for more than 2 hours or so.

There would be another way, for some tanks it would actually be easier to go Mag DK. In that case you would have to wear 5 light armor (with passives - they add A LOT!), you could wear any light armor set, Spinner's Garments might be good for solo play. Use Fiery Breath, Elemental Barrier, Flames of Oblivion and your whip. If you have lots of enemies in front of you, you can use Fiery Breath as spammable. If you have lots of enemies around you, use your talons. This might be easier, as it utilizes skills you have learned anyway, you mainly swap your heavy armor for light armor and many tanks run the Atronach mundus and have CP into magicka rec, so it is often a better fit.

oscarovegren · October 2020

Elf bane + grothdarr with some flame morphs is decent overland dmg even in heavy

Grianasteri · October 2020

Basically yeah, if you are questing overland, or doing daily quests, i.e delvs and word bosses, there is almost aboslutely no need for your main tanking abilities, so replace them with damage skills.

DK has some great dots for example. The other thing to consider doing, if you are double baring sword n board... then dont, replace the sword n board with a double handed weapon and use some of the double handed skill line abilities to augment your dps.

I do the same thing with my healers, for this kind of thing I dont need all that healing, so several of the support skills are replaced for standard damage skills.

Minyassa · October 2020

vesselwiththepestle wrote: »

Get skill points to learn DD skills. It is important.

If you don't have medium armor passives, you don't need to switch to medium armor. You can use a set like Seventh Legion, which is heavy armor, but adds weapon damage. Make sure you have weapon damage enchantments on your jewelry. If you have skilled medium armor, you should use it. It is a huge boost to damage.

If you have at least a few spare skill points, get a Perfected Master's 2H from vDSA and brawler your way through the enemies. This will cost you 2 skill points and you will be doing a lot more dps than you would with your tank abilities and weapons. When you collect more skill points, you can invest into 2h and medium armor passives.

If you have easy access to mundus stones (through a guild house) you might want to switch your mundus to Lover. I wouldn't do it if you have to travel to the actual stones on the map, though, except when you know you will play solo for more than 2 hours or so.

There would be another way, for some tanks it would actually be easier to go Mag DK. In that case you would have to wear 5 light armor (with passives - they add A LOT!), you could wear any light armor set, Spinner's Garments might be good for solo play. Use Fiery Breath, Elemental Barrier, Flames of Oblivion and your whip. If you have lots of enemies in front of you, you can use Fiery Breath as spammable. If you have lots of enemies around you, use your talons. This might be easier, as it utilizes skills you have learned anyway, you mainly swap your heavy armor for light armor and many tanks run the Atronach mundus and have CP into magicka rec, so it is often a better fit.

Thanks to everyone for all these suggestions! I think this one is what's going to fit my play style best. I did not detail in my original post that the only reason I end up doing anything solo with my tank is when they add new things to the game that I want to add to him, i.e. Antiquities skill line to give him the chest passive along with all the rest of my toons. But my tank is my main crafter, so he has all his skill points in tank skills, tank skill/armor/racial passives, and then a crapton of crafting stuff. So normally I do just have him tanking in group stuff but then they'll put some new skyshards in the game and I'll have to go to them and I can't just ghost through delves like I can with my other toons because I have to stand there doing nothing for five minutes for the buggers to chip away at my health. xD

@vesselwiththepestle Please tell me you have a toon named Giacomo.

xaraan · October 2020

On all of my tanks I carry a set of 'questing gear' for solo-ing stuff overland. Tanking is a group position, not really suitable for solo (sure, it can be done, but easier to drop un-needed tankiness for needed damage overland IMO).

Doesn't have to be a set up like this: but I level destro staff and every armor type on my tanks anyhow, so I just put on a set of Bright-Throat and Crafty Alfiq (though other sets like Julianos, Spinners, Mother Sorrow, False Gods work well too) and drink Ghastly Eye-Bowl for food (don't need health from food since I have all points in health already as a tank). This will leave you still with more health than most DPS, but bump up your magicka, regen, damage and pen for soloing content. I don't change stats, mundus or CP, just a simple gear swap and you are ready to go (not sure I'd run Maelstrom on it or anything, but it's more than enough for overland questing or jumping in a world boss type fight with others). And for monster sets you can use either something to keep some tankiness, or add more aoe damage (Iceheart is good defensively, but grothdar is solid, maw of infernal is solid as well, etc.)

You can do something similar with stam if you want, but since I level destro anyway for tanking it saves me from having to use more points in 2Hander, DW or bow.