Dual Wield/Bow Nightblade, is it possible in Vet zones?

Gern_Verkheart · May 2014

My nightblade is only level 33, but so far it's been fun. I use dual wield mainly, with bow as an off weapon. I try to balance it out between melee attacks and class abilities, and I usually use stealth and sneak attacks. It has worked out well so far, but I see a lot of hate on melee nighblades in end game content.

So, what I am wondering: does anyone have a melee nightblade build that works well in end game content?

[EDIT]
I should mention that my character is a Dark elf, their bonuses to magicka and stamina seem like they could help this build work.

Gisgo · May 2014

I did LVL1 - VR12 with a stamina DW NB, of course its possible.

Get Flying blade, Ember explosion, Blood craze, Siphoning strike and Strife and you should be able to kill pretty much any encounter provided you have enough patience.

Will people invite your NB for pve endgame content? I dont know... i dont pve, im not sure i would play an NB if i did.

Arreyanne · May 2014

I did it to Vr5 before just saying the hell with this grindy Quest after quest aftrer repetitive quest crap

Beeftips · May 2014

Yes, I found I used bow most of the time during VR content. - VR10 NB

khele23eb17_ESO · May 2014

Yes. Just make friends with your cloak keybind.

Elderfunk · May 2014

I'm a dark elf NB who uses DW and bow as well, currently at VR3, and have not had any serious problems yet. My primary bar is DW and after dabbling around with various skills and combos I have come to use a skill line similar to this one, which works extremely well.

For bosses I usually switch to my bow. Crippling grasp and magnum shot keep most of the big guys at a distance permanently and you can bring them down in a slow and painful way.

I wouldn't advise using siphon strikes or its morphs. While it's a great skill on paper, I have found DW NBs to be strongest when maxing their burst damage, which is an antithesis to siphon strikes.

Selodaoc · May 2014

Its is possible. It will just take you 5 times as long time to kill enemies.

Youll do fine against one enemy, and can solo all stunnable bosses.

But once you get to fights with 3+ enemies, youll struggle and often have to wait for a Sorc or DK to run by.

Basicly it runs down to Melee DW NB having to use strategy and taking their time, while other classes can steamroll the same content spamming AoE.

The other day me and some friends did a vet dungeon.
Me (NB), Templar tank, Sorc destro and NB healer.
We overpulled to many mobs and wiped, except the Sorc.
He just continued spamming AoE getting healed by Critical Surge while tanking 5 vet dungeon enemies.

TheBull · May 2014

You can do it, but it becomes painfully obvious that you are playing in a very inefficient way.

I'm one of those guys who thinks "you're doing it wrong." That attitude cost me about 4 weeks. There is a reason why everyone wares cloth..

davidetombab16_ESO · May 2014

NB rank 12 vet here, listen to me, reroll dk

smercgames_ESO · May 2014

It's not that bad, you can take on 3 guys but more than that is pretty darn rough.

I use Dark Cloak, Concealed Weapon, Flying Blade, Killer's Blade then I keep swapping my 5th between the Fear, Volcanic Rune or Drain Essence and Death Stroke as my ult. It's probably not the best setup but you can sneak up and Veil Strike one guy and he's pretty much in execute range after a heavy attack. Then drop CC on the others and finish em off. Killer's blade heal helps alot.

You might be able to pull off 4 guys if you get Reaper's mark on one right before it dies and Killer's Blade it. That's close to a full heal.

inf.toniceb17_ESO · May 2014

Im playing a melee NB and i gotta say that at VR levels i stopped using bow and DW skills at all and switched to class melee skills.

Now I'm wearing Warlock set and using Cloak (Crit Morph), Leeching Stikes, Killer's Blade, Concealed Weapon, Piercing Mark and Bats Ult (Veil of Blades would work too tho).

I keep leeching strikes turned on all the time. My rotation is: cloak->concealed weapon->4-6 light hits->killer's blade when enemy hp is below 25% as a finishing move. If you need to regen HP you can cast piercing mark on a low hp enemy and finish him with killer's blade.

You wont have any problems with anyone who can be stunned even if there is 3-4 of them unless your cloak will stop working hehe. On some bosses however you will have to rely only on you cloak and dmg resist effect when you leave it. Thats where you will have to use mana/hp potions. So far the only creatures i couldnt kill were unstunnable gargoyles.

Oh and while this build works great for me i'm not saying that i'm equal to Sorcs and DKs. These guys just roflstomp everything on their way w/o any effort. Or at least it looks that way.

Elderfunk · May 2014

Yeah, three guys are not a problem if you do it right. And in my opinon, four or more should be a problem, so to me it feels right that I struggle with such large groups. They usually only occur in group dungeons anyway, and I like challenges, so I don't mind. For me it's not about having the most powerful character possible who can dash through pve content quicker than anyone else, it's about playing a character which is fun and challenging. And DW/bow NB certainly offers this experience. I'd probably be bored out of my mind if I could just AOE-annihilate everyone who stands in my pathway, like it's said that these sorcerers and DKs can do.

Wifeaggro13 · May 2014

Gern_Verkheart wrote: »

My nightblade is only level 33, but so far it's been fun. I use dual wield mainly, with bow as an off weapon. I try to balance it out between melee attacks and class abilities, and I usually use stealth and sneak attacks. It has worked out well so far, but I see a lot of hate on melee nighblades in end game content.

So, what I am wondering: does anyone have a melee nightblade build that works well in end game content?

[EDIT]
I should mention that my character is a Dark elf, their bonuses to magicka and stamina seem like they could help this build work.

It is possible but all classes are gimped if you intend to make a weapon skill stam chr. All classes suffer in those builds . ESO casters in light armor are kings .

Aoifesan · May 2014

There's nothing wrong with being a nightblade DW/ Bow. I did Bow/ 1h/s leveling up. I just started doing the DW thing.

Either way I can kill 3-4 VR enemies of equal < level to mine own without breaking a sweat.

The only fights that are somewhat challenging are the story end fights, where you are in an endurance contest, and leeching strikes has to be on both bars.

Using only Whirlwind from DW I can output DPS numbers of 400-500DPS, and end fights against those 3-4 VR equal enemies at > 75% health and stamina

InspectorGanja · May 2014

Gern_Verkheart wrote: »

So, what I am wondering: does anyone have a melee nightblade build that works well in end game content?.

Yes.. i do.

Wifeaggro13 · May 2014

Aoifesan wrote: »

There's nothing wrong with being a nightblade DW/ Bow. I did Bow/ 1h/s leveling up. I just started doing the DW thing.

Either way I can kill 3-4 VR enemies of equal < level to mine own without breaking a sweat.

The only fights that are somewhat challenging are the story end fights, where you are in an endurance contest, and leeching strikes has to be on both bars.

Using only Whirlwind from DW I can output DPS numbers of 400-500DPS, and end fights against those 3-4 VR equal enemies at > 75% health and stamina

At VR 1 with a destro staff in half light armor any calss can pull 1.5 aoe dps on 4 mobs. ST DPS with a dual wield build in hundings at VR 10 you max at about 600 DPS. caster builds in cloth hit 800 easy. Its simply un balanced due to armor passives and stamina rates . It has nothing to do with build or being a skilled player.