Solo PVE 2h Heavy attack build viable?

Paragonx78 · February 2021

I found this build very intriguing and was just curious if anyone has tried this, maybe ran as parse with it or knew how well it could do harder content like solo vateshran hollow's.

This jist of it is this, you use these weapon sets and DK based dots, where you apply dots/brawler and charge heavy attacks. It seems really cool but I was hoping maybe someone knew if this was viable or not?

Skills:
Cauterize

Brawler

Noxious Breath

Venomous Claw

Molten Armaments

ULT: Take Flight or Standard Of Might

Gear:

Sergeant’s Mail
Set bonus
(2 items) Adds 1206 Maximum Health
(3 items) Adds 129 Health Recovery
(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon Damage
(5 items) Increases the damage of your fully-charged Heavy Attacks by 2257.

Storm Master
Set bonus
(2 items) Adds 833 Weapon Critical
(3 items) Adds 833 Weapon Critical
(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon Damage
(5 items) When you deal Critical Damage with a fully-charged Heavy Attack, your Light and Heavy Attacks deal an additional 1542 damage for 20 seconds. This effect can occur once every 10 seconds

Slimecraw
Set bonus
(1 item) Adds 833 Spell Critical, Adds 833 Weapon Critical
(2 items) Gain Minor Berserk at all times, increasing your damage done by 5%.

link to original build here

Ascarl · February 2021

I tried a silmiar build but was not impressed. Any heavy attack magicka build is far superiour due to the fact that the extra damage applies to all ticks of a channeled attack.

FrancisCrawford · February 2021

Heavy attack builds are also getting nerfed in the CP revamp, because the CP boost to basic attacks is going away.

Paragonx78 · February 2021

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. It seemed like a cool build and something off meta that would be cool to try but as new player i wasn't sure it was worth the huge investment only to find out that it really was not very viable.

Sluggy · February 2021

*shhhh* do you want ZoS to nerf 2hand builds?

But yes, 2-hand is *extremely* good for solo runs and decent enough to do all but the hardcoriest of record setting trial runs in groups. I ran Vicious Serpent body, Agility jewelry, Maelstrom bow, and Titanic Cleave on pretty much *any* class and would absolutely trash every stage of vMA except the poison stage.

EDIT: Also, for heavy attack 2hand builds don't bother with the heavy attack CP *or* sets that boost heavy attack damage. Pump CP into DoT and use something like Relequin and Briarheart.

Paragonx78 · February 2021

Sluggy wrote: »

*shhhh* do you want ZoS to nerf 2hand builds?

But yes, 2-hand is *extremely* good for solo runs and decent enough to do all but the hardcoriest of record setting trial runs in groups. I ran Vicious Serpent body, Agility jewelry, Maelstrom bow, and Titanic Cleave on pretty much *any* class and would absolutely trash every stage of vMA except the poison stage.

EDIT: Also, for heavy attack 2hand builds don't bother with the heavy attack CP *or* sets that boost heavy attack damage. Pump CP into DoT and use something like Relequin and Briarheart.

Thanks for post, I am very new. Do you have any build guides or videos you could share please? I don't really understand, You basically saying use relequin and briarheart for the crit/attack damage like you would on a normal build, but you still focus on 2H heavy attacks and this is viable?? Even solo in places like Vatashran hollows? hope I said that right lol...

Zodiarkslayer · February 2021

Sluggy wrote: »

*shhhh* do you want ZoS to nerf 2hand builds?

But yes, 2-hand is *extremely* good for solo runs and decent enough to do all but the hardcoriest of record setting trial runs in groups. I ran Vicious Serpent body, Agility jewelry, Maelstrom bow, and Titanic Cleave on pretty much *any* class and would absolutely trash every stage of vMA except the poison stage.

EDIT: Also, for heavy attack 2hand builds don't bother with the heavy attack CP *or* sets that boost heavy attack damage. Pump CP into DoT and use something like Relequin and Briarheart.

How can you call that a heavy attack build, if you do nothing to boost it? I'd say you have a brawler build, but hey! That's just me...

For heavy builds you want at least 63 points into the respective CP nodes for Mag and Stam. Plus sets like the two undaunted ones and the noble duelist are really powerful.

Asardes · February 2021

I run arenas buffed with Molten Armaments on my Stamina DK, but I use heavy attacks situationally, when I'm getting low on resources, or on some trash mob, where I weave heavy into Venomous Claw to drop them fast or heavy into Consuming Trap for distant mobs like the archers and the troll in vMA ice rink. The rest of the gear is generic though, since the added damage from sets that buff heavy attacks is not worth it. It's actually a DPS loss if you use them instead of other, more effective sets. For example:
http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Special:EsoBuildData?id=52104
http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Special:EsoBuildData?id=308736
Both builds work great, but I couldn't be bothered to farm TFS and VO daggers on NA

For example Slimecraw is pretty useless, since you can slot Camouflaged Hunter for that bonus and Major Savagery, and also a 3% buff to your weapon damage. Also Take Flight is pretty bad in PvE since it knocks mobs away from your Endless Hail or whatever DoTs you have put down, and you want them stacked too for execute.