OP it would be very helpful to post your build, skills, and CP allocations etc so we can see potential issues holding you back. This isn't a difficult fight, even back at launch when everything was objectively harder so you can do this with some tweaking. and patience.

KyleTheYounger wrote: »

I'm a SUPER casual PvE gamer who has yet to complete the base game MQ i.e beating Molag Bal. Since I bought ESO in 2016, I'd really like to complete the base game MQ before I kick the bucket or by time 2024 rolls around. Whichever comes first.

As the super casual player you attest to being it all comes down to what you want to do. If you want to see the base game to the end on your DK you will be fine. If you want to have a little distraction and play the new class then by all means go for it.

Either way, the game will be playable for you. It is your choice what you want to do.

KyleTheYounger wrote: »

I'm a SUPER casual PvE gamer who has yet to complete the base game MQ i.e beating Molag Bal. Since I bought ESO in 2016, I'd really like to complete the base game MQ before I kick the bucket or by time 2024 rolls around. Whichever comes first.

My oldest most experienced toon is a DK lvl 980 which alternates between dual wield axe/sword and staff in battle tactics. He wears heavy armor crafted sets (for PvE immersive purposes) Which is probably the worst strategic and tactical gear to wear when tanking end dungeon bosses solo. Especially in group PvE situations where most of the newer public/group dungeons are designed to test player survivability.

Anyways, as a result of my gear & build setup, I'm unable to beat Bal in the MQ (even if you strategically die several times to drop Bal's HP to about 50% his max HP). This is because my toon constantly dies when fighting magicka based NPC bosses over 1M+ HP. Regardless whether they're base game or DLC/dungeon DLC. And especially the more recent DLC bosses which ZoS made more challenging like any of the ones since the Blackwood DLC release

As a result of that, I can't fully experience or complete the game content that was intended for the solo player.

I've been researching the best heavy armor sets and toon builds to achieve this. Just in time for ZoS to nerf/update/re-level an OP advantages in all the game's PvE/PvP fighting mechanics as soon as I finally settle on the best build. And especially class mechanics which obsoletes all the time I put into researching said class/character/armor/weapon build.

I'd really like to be able to tank at least the base game bosses (both overland & dungeon) solo to get some experience before facing Bal in the MQ. However, this was an ever increasing challenge given my toon's complete incompetence and gear setup when trying to beat a single, immobile, non sentient target dummy at 1M+ HP

It seems the best and OP sets are either light or medium armor sets. And 99% of these are not craftable and/or need to be acquired from final vet dungeon and/or trial Boss drops. Which aren't possible for my toon given their gear & build deficiency. So could someone elaborate

if any OP heavy overland/dungeon armor sets survived ZoS last nerf:

• which character class on average, is still the best to solo tank an end of dungeon final boss like Bal?
• which craftable heavy armor sets (comparable to trial/vet dungeon heavy sets) would be best in solo fighting 3M HP bosses (Bal being my ultimate objective)
• if said craftable sets don't exist, then which dungeon/trial sets would accomplish same objective?

With every DLC/Chapter content update, it increasingly seems that ESO was designed for magicka wielding class builds if you're a solo PvE player. My DK toon simply cannot tank a 1M+ HP boss solo while having to rely on his DK melee based skill tactics. It's child's play for magicka based bosses and other non boss NPC mods to drop him from range with their magicka based attacks.

And given the overhaul increase in HP that ZoS has given end dungeon/chapter/DLC bosses since base game release, it's become increasingly impossible to beat these high level bosses if you're not magicka class based. Or wearing light/med/monster gear combo. Which you can only acquire through beating said high end level bosses in the first place.....

Hiya! So, in the particular game, most of your mitigation comes from a couple of sources.

1. Your armor rating: You need skills which give you major and minor resolve, and if you're tanking, you'll want your armor traits to be a combination of Reinforced on the head/chest/legs, and divines on the rest of your body pieces. It seems like a small thing, but the mitigation is HUGE.
2. Blocking: In this game, blocking provides 50% mitigation against all incoming damage other than oblivion. That's a lot. Watch for the boss's repeated gestures and signs that they're about to do a high damage attack, and train yourself to quickly block that incoming damage. 9/10 will save your butt.
3. Roll dodging: Also another super useful damage mitigation move, and can help you avoid 100% of most incoming damage. It can be resource intensive, so unless you're geared out for this and have Expert Evasion CP (red tree) on, you can't roll around like a certain video game Hedgehog.

Good luck out there!

essi2 wrote: »

Is it worth playing X? The answer is always going to be yes

Unless it’s a Templar. Than no, the answer is no. Full stop.

If anything this thread serves the argument for better in game tutorials and explanations quite well.

Zodiarkslayer wrote: »

If anything this thread serves the argument for better in game tutorials and explanations quite well.

Indeeeeeed

KyleTheYounger wrote: »

What sets are you using? What skills? CP? Food? Race? Etc. Give us that info so we can better help you

• All my racial, crafting and 99% of my DK skills are maxed since my toon is 900+ at this point.
• I have a zillion Crown Tri-Restoration potions on quick bar so typically spam those. Sometimes use my own crafted health potions which are less effective on average.
• Sounds dumb I know, but I typically eat food for RP purposes. So typically waste high level blue/purple food and drink (next to the green stam ones) RPing my toon eating breakfast/lunch/dinner/supper etc. With the occasional blue magicka coffee to keep him awake at night. Lol.

Stupid habit yes. But haven't unlocked those Rationer/Liquid Efficiency perks in the Craft constellation menu which let you extend duration/buffs of food & drink you consume. That being said:

Race: Nord (all passive racial skill lines maxed)

Base skills
Magicka: 38 Health: 23 Stamina: 3

Permanently active effects:

• Lycanthropy (not typically slotted. Only used for purely solo PvE purposes)
• Boon: Mage
• Minor Vitality (8% healing bonus from heavy armor set bonus)

Classes:

• DK (designed for magicka not stam)
• Werewolf (more for PvE gameplay. Since transforming in public / vet group dungeon scenarios typically end up in another embarrassing and premature dirt nap with Mirri O.x

Armor sets are all Legendary, heavy and health based focused to enhance survivability:
---1st set: Vampires Kiss: all gold armore for chest, head, shoulders, hands & feet
---2nd set: Order of Diagna: Gold belt & legs, a blue necklace & 2 purple rings.

Weapons set: all generic but legendary level:
---sword 1h frost damage; using infused enchant
---axe 1h fire damage (strong hand); using charged enchant
---fire staff 2h fire damage; using charged enchantment
Staff tactically used to compliment DK skills for dealing fire damage if staff equipped. Utterly useless for some enemies who're fire based and/or immune.

Using generic weapons was the dumbest waste of legendary mats I know. But I made these way back at CP 50. Long before I understood the priceless value of set based weapons like Hunding etc. So pls don't judge. I'm simply trying not to repeat same mistake this time around.

Guild Skills:
Mage, Fighters, Undaunted, DB and Theives guild skills are all lvl 10 maxed. Still working on Psijic line. Not sure which of these (besides obvious magicka advantage the Mage guild line offers) are good ones to add to your skill bar

• Combat Skills (All slotted skill line abilities are Lvl IV and are in order left to right. Cycle through these in fights:)
• Also heavy armor skill line maxed out for wearing required number armor

---front end main bar (when stuck in close combat and/or need to melee way out): 1h axe/sword combo
---DK Flame Lash, Blood Thirst, Draw Essence, Deadly Cloak, Inner Rage. Ultimate: Dragon Standard

---back end backup bar (for ranged sneak attacks & better survivability): fire staff
---Slotted abilities: Crushing Shock, Ring of Preservation, Draw Essence, Inner Rage, Structured Entropy. Ultimate: Shooting Star

Food & drink:
Since I'm level 10 provisioning/potions I can make just about any level food (minus a few high end recipes I've yet to unlock). So just need to get an idea of which food/drink combo make the best OP buffs in combat readiness.

PS what are

1.stacks and stacking mentioned in an armor set (when you wear the max number armor pieces aka 5+)? What does a stack of a bonus buff/ability supposed to do?
2. Physical penetration v. Crit. Which of these is superior for solo tanking/dps Dungeon/Overland Bosses. And for PvE based gameplay in general?
3. Under the Warfare constellation: what is better for self healing yourself in PvE game play and Boss battles. Is Blessed (healing received) better than Quick Recovery (Healing Taken)? I've already maxed out Quick Recovery by default of maxing out all health survivability perks in Staving Death.

For example, if you consume a potion/food/drink with healing buffs, does that auto/self heal count as "healing done" under the Blessed perk? ie does any healing that your toon does automatically heal THEM regardless whether they're trying to use spells/potions to heal another player or NPC?

Magicka: All 64 points. Trust me
Boon: Thief
Food: Solitude Salmon Millet Soup for extra health, or Ghastly Eye Bowl if you need recovery. Or Thrice Baked Gorapple pie for pure magicka. Crunchy Spider Skewer for stamina recovery + max magicka. Witchmother's potent brew for health, magicka, and magicka recovery. It's totally fine to have rp food too if you prefer that. Keep in mind you can only have one at a time.

Sets: light or medium. Light will provide more penetration, medium will provide more critical damage. Skinnycheeks' videos on youtube explain just how important penetration is for damage. I would suggest 5 pieces light Julianos (chest, legs, belt, gloves, shoes) and 5 piece mother's sorrow (or light order's wrath, maybe: ring, necklace, shoulder, two daggers). Ring of the pale order as your mythic. Back bar two handed greatsword or fire staff (mothers sorrow or orders of the wrath, depending on which you go with). Purple is totally fine, but if you want to gold it, go for it. Divines on all armor. Max magicka enchantments. Daggers: Nirnhoned (fire enchant) and charged (poison enchant). Two handed: Infused with weapon dmg enchant. All jewelry bloodthirsty with spell dmg enchant. Head: Slimecraw for crit chance, or Valkyn Skoria for penetration. Ideally pick a medium piece for this.

Front bar: Burning Embers if you want an extra heal. Otherwise, the stamina version of the skill does more damage. Engulfing flames. Molten Whip. Harness magicka if you need a shield. Otherwise, I would suggest deadly cloak from the dual wield line. Flames of oblivion. Ult= endless dawnbreaker from fighters guild. Maybe take flight if you want a cool looking leap that will also heal you and shield you.

Back bar: Depends on weapon. Two hander- stampede, carve. Fire staff: unstable wall of elements, mystic orb, eruption, barbed trap, inner light (maybe swap in molten armaments or volatile armor). Ult= standard of might

The more damage you do, the more you heal with this mythic ring.

CP:
Blue slotted = Deadly aim (swap biting aura if you are facing a lot of enemies at once), Wrathful Strikes, Thaumaturge, Master at arms. Crit damage cap is 125%- so if you're not hitting that, take out master for fighting finesse (in order to find out if you're at cap- the addon combat metrics will show you). Same thing with pen cap- that's 18200. If you're not hitting penetration, swap out master for Force of Nature, for instance. Passives: Precision, Piercing, Eldritch Insight, Quick Recovery, Preparation. When you get more cp, Flawless Ritual, War mage, elemental aegis, hardy
Red slotted = Boundless Vitality, Fortified, Siphoning Spells, Bastion (or rejuvenation). Passives = Tumbling, mystic tenacity (10 pts), Hero's vigor, defiance, hasty, tireless guardian, fortification

https://alcasthq.com/eso-solo-magicka-dragonknight-build-pve/ Alcast provides lots of useful information for both solo and group builds. https://www.skinnycheeks.gg/dragonknight skinny's builds are more for endgame and group play if interested.

The good news about all of this: if you prefer the heavy armor aesthetic, you can use an Outfit Station to make all of your armor LOOK heavy, without being heavy. You can make the daggers look like an axe, mace, whatever you want. Hope this helps, and if you have any questions or need something crafted, let me know!

It has been said:

You can use Motifs to have your character look like they have HEAVY gear on. This allows you to wear the gear that is best for the situation and still meet any visual RP wants.

For example, my actual Tank for group content is wearing heavy raid gear, but with Motifs, it looks like they are wear thin cloth gear.