The stronger I get the weaker I get.

Misty · February 2021

I'm a Nightblade and up to level 20 everything was going well. Level 20 to 29 however I have become weaker with every level to the point I am now hiding in bushes whenever I see a wandering bunny rabbit.
I am levelling in mainly vitality with some magic for syphoning. Am I building my character up wrong? I have up to date armour and weapons. I'm thinking there is something I am missing when building my Nightblade. I have come to the point I don't want to level up anymore because I am becoming unable to complete quests.

Massacre_Wurm · February 2021

Yep. Thats leveling in ESO for you.
Just check some guides for new players on youtube - alcast , dottz gaming , whatever.

zvavi · February 2021

When you level up all your gear becomes weaker. That's the issue. If u have an issue in overland though, I would recommend slotting a self heal, for stamblade try vigor from alliance war. Don't spam it, one use every 10 seconds would suffice.

W0lf_z13 · February 2021

you start off "battle leveled" but that buff deminishes the higher level you get, its to basically help the power gap from beginner to what you would be at or around max level ...and then also if you are still using the same gear without creating new gear or equipping gear at your level the further level you are from the gear level the less potent that gear will be

Jackey · February 2021

Putting points into magicka also increases your damage and heals with magicka abilities.
Generally, if you want to be a magicka dps you should put all points into magicka.

Goregrinder · February 2021

The stats of a new toon are bolstered. Meaning, the game gives you training wheels by increasing your power to compensate for the lack of CP 160 gear and Champion points and passives. Because at level 5, you can't equip CP 160 gear, you won't have any passives unlocked yet, and you may or may not have champion points. So you are super powerful at low level stats-wise, the trade-off is that you have no spells or abilities unlocked.

So the higher the level you go, the more passives and spells you unlock, but the game starts to slowly take off the training wheels when it comes to your stats. Welcome to a bolstering system in an MMORPG. That's pretty much normal in ESO these days, since everything scales to your level, and your bolstered stats degrade as you level up, if you're level 35 with crap gear on, you will definitely feel the power loss.

Sgrug · February 2021

zvavi wrote: »

When you level up all your gear becomes weaker. That's the issue. If u have an issue in overland though, I would recommend slotting a self heal, for stamblade try vigor from alliance war. Don't spam it, one use every 10 seconds would suffice.

If you need vigor for overland starting out you are doing it wrong. Just upgrade your gear. Literally just using dropped gear as you level up will do just fine ovetland.

Rungar · February 2021

Misty wrote: »

I'm a Nightblade and up to level 20 everything was going well. Level 20 to 29 however I have become weaker with every level to the point I am now hiding in bushes whenever I see a wandering bunny rabbit.
I am levelling in mainly vitality with some magic for syphoning. Am I building my character up wrong? I have up to date armour and weapons. I'm thinking there is something I am missing when building my Nightblade. I have come to the point I don't want to level up anymore because I am becoming unable to complete quests.

as above your gear weakens with each level and needs to be replaced as you go along. You might also be wearing the wrong type of armor or even the armor you have needs repairs.

ideally you want to play according to your armor choices and try to get sets that enhance this. For instance if you use melee weapons you should use mostly medium armor. If you use a staff, light armor.

you also need to allocate your points into your armor and lines to get the passives. Alot of people start the game thinking they can wield swords and magic at the same time but that doesnt really work well. You kind of have to choose magic or stamina and roll with that.

In about 3 weeks you will become a fair bit stronger by default.

Mettaricana · February 2021

Felt a fair bit let down leveling my stam blade last month she was an un killable force in pvp during event and soloing normal dungeons by lvl 22 seemed un stoppable turns 50 gets looked at and dies did all her cp and gear gold weps nope pitiful stats numbers damage its like can we just keep the battle leveled stats and grow past them at lvl 50 cp 160 etc

Nirntrotter · February 2021

Get buff food if you're not using any. It makes a big difference and also allows you to allot all your points into magicka, which you should be doing if your character is magicka oriented.

Misty · February 2021

I always make sure my stuff is repaired and my armour and weapons basically as high as it will go most of it being blue. I have uncovered a lot of my passives and am experimenting with my skills for best effect.
I started to notice something was wrong when I was needing to eat food and drink potions to survive in normal fighting , now even those are not helping much.
It's not much fun being so weak when I have experienced being capable. I'm just hoping this will get better at some point.

Stanx · February 2021

Misty wrote: »

I always make sure my stuff is repaired and my armour and weapons basically as high as it will go most of it being blue. I have uncovered a lot of my passives and am experimenting with my skills for best effect.
I started to notice something was wrong when I was needing to eat food and drink potions to survive in normal fighting , now even those are not helping much.
It's not much fun being so weak when I have experienced being capable. I'm just hoping this will get better at some point.

Food / drink buff should be on 100% of the time or you'll always be at a disadvantage, might be worth getting one that doesn't have a level cap like Spring Loaded Infusion.

Don't know your platform but if you're EU XBOX then let me know. Can craft you training gear and buff food for free.

Faded · February 2021

Misty wrote: »

I'm a Nightblade and up to level 20 everything was going well. Level 20 to 29 however I have become weaker with every level to the point I am now hiding in bushes whenever I see a wandering bunny rabbit.
I am levelling in mainly vitality with some magic for syphoning. Am I building my character up wrong?

Yep. Don't feel bad about it, the game only hints at this in the level-up tooltips, and the battle leveling screws up what you might figure out on your own.

This https://alcasthq.com/category/eso-beginner-guides/ will help.

Araneae6537 · February 2021

From 49 to 50 on a tank character recently was especially rough!

I’d kept my eye on my health as I leveled, keeping it above 40k, but then with that final level — whack! — there went over 10k!

Even changing from my outleveled gear did not bring me back to where I was, alas...

ArchMikem · February 2021

Misty wrote: »

I am levelling in mainly vitality with some magic for syphoning. .

Only Tanks put most of their points into Health, and even then they also build their gear to increase their physical and spell resistances so the hits they take are mitigated. You sound like you're trying to do everything half way, giving yourself more health but trying to do damage as well? This only hurts you all around. Your OP implies you're a Magic Nightblade. If you want to defeat mobs quickly, place all of your points into Magic and wear Light armor, with the exception of maybe making your chest or head slot Heavy just to give you that little bit more armor rating.

W0lf_z13 · February 2021

Misty wrote: »

I always make sure my stuff is repaired and my armour and weapons basically as high as it will go most of it being blue. I have uncovered a lot of my passives and am experimenting with my skills for best effect.
I started to notice something was wrong when I was needing to eat food and drink potions to survive in normal fighting , now even those are not helping much.
It's not much fun being so weak when I have experienced being capable. I'm just hoping this will get better at some point.

what level is your gear?

GreenHere · February 2021

I remember this feeling all-too-well. Almost quit the game over it in the beginning, honestly. It wasn't explained to me very well, and I thought it only got worse. It doesn't; it gets better... eventually.

The short version is, as others have said, you get this hidden buff that gives you good-looking & feeling stats in the very beginning, and that gradually diminishes as you level up. Presumably to encourage you to learn how to seek power and distribute your stats in an effective way or whatever. It doesn't feel great in that "growing pains" period, but it does get better after you're over the hump!

Once you hit level 50, you'll starting gaining Champion Points instead of levels. These make a significant difference once you start racking them up. Once you get to CP 160 (it's not as high as it sounds, don't worry!) you'll be at the gear cap; meaning all the armor and weapons you earn are at the highest level they can be, and you needing to farm new gear all the damn time is over, finally. HUZZAH!!

At this point, you can start to optimize your character with gear/food/stats and whatnot that work best for you. You're gaining CP as you do... well, basically everything, and each Champion Point contributes to your overall power and capability. Up unitl you hit CP 300, you actually passively gaining stats in your max Health, Magicka, and Stamina pools, too. (At least, until the next update where they do away with that, and just give everyone the stats upfront.)

Eventually, depending on how quick you level yourself to CP ~300+ (seriously, it's not as daunting as it sounds; just make use of the xp scrolls, double xp events, etc.) you become laughably more powerful than when you started out. The game just doesn't really give any good indications that you're on that road.

You're already on your way! : )

Fennwitty · February 2021

Misty wrote: »

I'm a Nightblade and up to level 20 everything was going well. Level 20 to 29 however I have become weaker with every level to the point I am now hiding in bushes whenever I see a wandering bunny rabbit.
I am levelling in mainly vitality with some magic for syphoning. Am I building my character up wrong? I have up to date armour and weapons. I'm thinking there is something I am missing when building my Nightblade. I have come to the point I don't want to level up anymore because I am becoming unable to complete quests.

Nightblade I found the most difficult to solo with.

As said, the game gives low level characters 'newbie boost' training wheels to stats early on, which you really start to miss as they go away.

By the 20s you should pick a direction for the character. You can change this very easily later on, but you should choose an area to focus on. Being a generalist in everything is typically difficult in ESO.

If you're a damage dealing Nightblade, the best defense is a good offense. Generally there are "stamina" nightblades (Stamblade) and "magicka" nightblades (Magblade). Choosing to focus on one of these is most common.

If you want to be a tank (Tankblade?) then you'd put a lot into Health, and split your abilities also into Magicka and Stamina. There's not as much focus on one ability score to the exclusion of others with tanks.

For Magblade, you'll put most stats into Magicka. You'll usually use staves and mostly light armor which together boost the magic/fire/lightning/ice damage you do.

For Stamblade, you put most into Stamina. You'll usually use melee weapons and/or bows, and mostly medium armor to boost physical/disease/poison damage.

As you reach middle levels, you'll need to use appropriate food. Usually damage dealers choose a 'bistat' food that boosts your main ability score plus health. Tanks tend toward 'tristat' food which boosts everything, but to lower maximums.

Dropped gear loses a lot of effectiveness for this reason: Equipment Sets are tough to get just from questing.

Armor sets are a major boost to your ability scores. There's variation, but typically having 5 pieces of a particular set gives you a lot of boosts you won't get with random non-set gear.

You have more than 5 equipment slots when you consider armor and weapons and jewelry. This means you can get multiple sets at the same time (same ones don't stack). Usually you'll want 5 pieces of two different equipment sets and then a 2-piece bonus from a third. It will give a huge buff to your damage and ability scores.

Getting assistance with someone making you crafted equipment sets (or take up crafting yourself) is the easiest way to keep equipment set bonuses up and also maintain gear within about 10 levels of your character level.

Equipment has a major impact on ability scores both with set bonuses and the enchantments you decide to put on each piece of gear. If you need more survivability, you can use sets that boost HP and enchantments that boost HP for example.

Personally I find for solo leveling damage dealing characters, 10 health ability points and the rest into either Stam or Magicka works very well as a baseline. Then use gear for tailoring further.

josiahva · February 2021

Fennwitty wrote: »

Misty wrote: »

If you want to be a tank (Tankblade?) then you'd put a lot into Health, and split your abilities also into Magicka and Stamina. There's not as much focus on one ability score to the exclusion of others with tanks.

Just going to point out here that the ONLY time you want to put stat points into health as a tank is if you need more than 40k health....you are far better off putting all your points into stamina, magicka, or some combination of the 2. Health you can always get with enchantments, mundus stones, and set bonuses. Its true you could do the same for stamina or magicka...however, the reason its better to put attribute points into stamina or magicka even as a tank is that if you do it that way, you can simply swap gear to become a mediocre DPS or healer....if you want to that and you have actual attribute points in health, you have to re-spec instead...its not longer a simple button press with an add on to go from near useless in places like vet direfrost keep on the last boss to actually contributing something....or questing...or soloing worldbosses, etc. A pure attribute restricted tank is miserable to play for anything except content that requires a pure tank....and even content that requires a pure tank, you can still get 50k health without a single attribute point in health.

Misty · February 2021

I have had a reprieve. At level 30 I got 3 of each skill point which has helped boost me a little. I also picked up a pair of fur lined boots, so at least I'm warm.

Alinhbo_Tyaka · February 2021

I play a magsorc. When I first started I saw the attribute points and more or less split them with magicka and health being roughly equal and adding a little to stamina. This seemed logical to me at the time and worked well in the early levels where health is, to be polite, a little weak. Somewhere around 20 - 30 I started to see a large drop in combat power and survivability. From this I learned attribute points work best when allocated entirely to your base attribute which for DPS would be magicka or stamina. After making the change to all magicka I was more squishy but the increase in magicka offset the lower health and I actually improved my survivability due to faster kills. So I would take a look at how you have allocated your attribute points. These can be reset at shrines located in Wayrest, Elden Root, Mournhold and Vivec City for a gold donation a the Shrine to Kyne.

Fennwitty · February 2021

josiahva wrote: »

Fennwitty wrote: »

Misty wrote: »

If you want to be a tank (Tankblade?) then you'd put a lot into Health, and split your abilities also into Magicka and Stamina. There's not as much focus on one ability score to the exclusion of others with tanks.

I agree in most cases it's more important to have resources available. My point was more that health attribute at all is typically a concern for tanks.

Misty · February 2021

Fennwitty wrote: »

Misty wrote: »

I'm a Nightblade and up to level 20 everything was going well. Level 20 to 29 however I have become weaker with every level to the point I am now hiding in bushes whenever I see a wandering bunny rabbit.
I am levelling in mainly vitality with some magic for syphoning. Am I building my character up wrong? I have up to date armour and weapons. I'm thinking there is something I am missing when building my Nightblade. I have come to the point I don't want to level up anymore because I am becoming unable to complete quests.

Personally I find for solo leveling damage dealing characters, 10 health ability points and the rest into either Stam or Magicka works very well as a baseline. Then use gear for tailoring further.

Yes I am thinking about putting a few points into health just to keep me on my feet a bit longer. Most of the normal dungeon bosses I lose to is down to a couple of seconds more to kill them.

Waffennacht · February 2021

Get skyshards
Put all attributes into stam or mag depending on if you're going stam or mag.
Food all the time
Mundus
Complete sets of armor (so at least 1 full 5 piece, probably two at most at these levels)
Go at least 5 medium or light or heavy once you know what you wanna wear
Make sure the level of your gear is close to your level, I probably would just go blue as purp is probably a waste

Ratzkifal · February 2021

As many have already pointed out, in ESO you basically grow out of your armor and need to replace it regularly, just like you would in any other game. But unlike any other game in ESO the zones and enemies don't have levels attached to them, allowing you to do overland content of "starter zones" the same way you would do overland content in the latest expansion.

This also means that high level players and low level players can play the same content together without one being dead weight or the other being a hyper carry. Everyone can pull their weight. Of course access to more skills does maker higher level characters stronger still, but not by that much.

Admittedly the system is a little confusing for newer players but the freedom it allows is definitely worth it.
All you really need to know is that at lvl50 and 160Champion points you won't outgrow your gear anymore and will have reached "gear cap".

Vanya · February 2021

Jackey wrote: »

Putting points into magicka also increases your damage and heals with magicka abilities.
Generally, if you want to be a magicka dps you should put all points into magicka.

Exactly tis that I am doing. I actually do get more potent with wide variety of skills available. Its easy to mess it up though and being a glass canon too,but my pet can heal me and there are simply too many combinations. I m going in raw with Magicka only invested.

For OP:

As one pin-pointed out. Pay attention to your gear. You do not want a wrong armor or very outdated weapons Or WRONG attributes. For solo play really I would go pure DPS. Invest to stamina/magicka only depending which path you take.
It is generally recommended to put one self heal skill or pet heal in case you play as Sorcerer or Shield absorb damage spam.
I would not go with mixed, just go in pure DPS , as Sorcerer Magicka is only I need in solo, I use it for heal/damage,everything almost.

A few tips:

IMPROVISE with different builds,do not be afraid to mix it up Having one bar of Direct damage ,with ultimate, other with defensive or heal/debuff or mix is optimal.
Do not rush. Pulling one extra enemy can mean difference between life and death.
Slow your foe,interrupt, make sure to block&dodge when possible.
Use Food/drink,have potion ready,you can loot those from world and they drop a lot. 6000 magicka,health or stamina+ is a huge difference in low-mid level.
Repair your armor often
Use soul gems to recharge.
Keep track of your spell/physical damage by each passing level.
Make sure to pick up proper weapon, keep track on weapon damage type.
LEARN to time it up and move ,so important. For me greatest enemy is another mage I have to kill that target fast and avoid any AOE it can slaughter you with ease.

TO MAKE THINGS EASIER:

Grind Skyshards ,get a lot of skills early on let us say when you are 30 you wille able to boost all what is possible for that level for example
TAG along Dolmens,Harrowstorms,Dragonscours,Geyser ,World events and World bosses. You can acquire really good loot.
Pay attention to set bonuses
Loot everything, when I mean everything I really mean everything. From enemies,barrels,desks,chests,sacks,etc. You can get a purple quality item from normal foe or pickpocketing even. I am not even joking.
PICK the lock of chests. Plenty around. Lockpicks easy to get.

GROUP UP for anything ~
SIMPLEST,FASTEST, WISE SOLUTION.

.

katanagirl1 · February 2021

My first toon was a stamblade. I had such a rough time of it I was wearing 5 pieces heavy armor by the time I hit level 50 to try to stay alive.

Now I wear 7 medium armor and don’t break a sweat for overland activities. I don’t use food except for world bosses.

I can’t advise about magblade skills, but the most important thing is to get a skill rotation. You know that skill bar that you have? Fill them up (look for build online) and use them one after another, one each second, with a light attack in between to regain resources. Then rinse and repeat.

Once you get the hang of it, you’ll only need maybe 2-3 skills overland.

Misty · February 2021

I usually change out a piece of armour that turns most of my arrows green and take very little away. (Bandit UI). That helps a lot with keeping my armour up to the task.
I have learned that skills play a large roll when soloing. The elite skill for instance, one, like the super slash one is hopeless, but the life drain skill with stun is brilliant, giving me the little edge that I need to solo dungeons.
Those 'public' dungeons took me by surprise though, the first guard one shot me.

Things seem a bit better now after reaching level 30 but from 20 to 29 was one hard grind. I started to get disappointed with my character and I was playing with the idea of starting over.

Lysette · February 2021

I play both of my necromancers as hybrids - about 24k in all stats, around level 30 - 5 light armor pieces, I use an annulment morph with a ranged weapon, and the necro-armor skill in close range (because it pulls ranged enemies to me). My necros use a healing staff as main weapon .- for sustain I have rapid regeneration and vigor slotted - so I can either use stamina or magicka for self-heal. Back-bar weapon is currently a bow - well, I use whatever I want to train there - my light armor shield protects me well and if not, I have vigor and necro-heal - so from my point of view solo-hybrid is playable at that level.

The basic idea is:

PVE damage comes in equally distributed, so it is enough when I have decent regen and a shield skill (like annulment with light armor) and some powerful quick-heal (because I play solo, there is no one who could do that but me).

PvP is a different animal, because damage is burst damage and DoT plus critical damage all in one - simply because dead enemies don't fight back. So everyone tries to kill as quickly as possible - so don't expect NPC like damage there.

Vanos444 · February 2021

Misty wrote: »

I am levelling in mainly vitality with some magic for syphoning.

If you are leveling and using magic skills then do this,
Put all points on magicka
Wear heavy armour on chest and legs
The rest light amour
Use a staff preferably flame and the other bar healing staff for restoring your health.

Unlock skills on both the staffs and use magic abilities.

Misty · February 2021

Thanks guys. I have taken all your suggestions on board and I am now playing with a new perspective.