Replies: 44

Invellous’s Mageblade Tank Guide
Dark Brotherhood Ready!

 

 

Changelog

06/30/2016: Updated for the Dark Brotherhood patch! Added a new set and modified the previous one. General formatting changes with more to come(once I learn how to insert spoiler tabs, fancy excel / google doc frames for suggested gear and other nfty tricks.) This should be considered a word-in-progress with the intent of adding more screenshots, an additional armor set and videos!

 

 

Introduction

Warm sands friends! Welcome to my magicka nightblade guide. When Zenimax Online Studios first announced that there would be a class system in the game they quickly reassured the community that the Elder Scrolls Online would stay true to The Elder Scrolls series and allow players to play how they wanted regardless of the class they chose. The guide aims to prove to you that a magicka nightblade can in fact tank and it will teach you how I myself do so with great success!

 

 

OVERVIEw

The nightblade like all classes brings with them a set of pros and cons to the tanking role. Pros include superb resource sustainability, the ability to boost their resistances without using the Armor Master set which frees up five armor slots, and both self healing and off-healing through a number of skills. These benefits set them apart from other classes, however, they lack reliable and accessible crowd-control, damage shields spells and other active mitigation, and strong direct healing skills, all of which are defining elements of the other classes.

With the above defining elements in mind this build aims to insure that we retain these benefits and focus on them while maintaining a respectable amount of both Physical and Spell Resistance. We achieved this by combining the spell Mirage(Blur morph) with a spell from the Shadow skill line to activate the passive Shadow Barrier. We do this by using and maintaining Refreshing Path(Path of Darkness morph). By doing this we gain both Major and Minor Resolve and Ward as well as Major Evasion which results in a bonus of 6,270 to both Physical and Spell Resistance and a 20% chance to dodge attacks for twenty-six seconds. This combination allows us to select gear that offers both Magicka Recovery and Maximum Magicka bonuses combined with other options that make up the build’s whole to create an effective tank that never has to worry about resources.

 

 

“There are a few ways we can do this, and the choice is yours.” – Socucius Ergalla

 

 

Attributes

As with every build your attribute point allocation will vary depending on your character’s race and your champion point total. I personally play a khajiit which is not the ideal race of choice for a magicka build, however, I am still more than capable of playing this build effectively. The below allocation allows me personally to achieve over 30,000 Health with 150cp tri-state food and 420 champion points.

Magicka: 54(+/-) – Once your Health buffed is 30,000+ put all remaining points into Magicka.

Health: 10(+/-) – Enough so that you have 30,000+ Health with all of your gear equipped and food buffs.

Stamina: 0 – You will generate enough via Siphoning Attacks that you will not need to invest a single point into Stamina to maintain a healthy level thorough out both single target and area-of-effect fights.

 

 

CHAMPION POINTS

The Dark Brotherhood DLC has brought with it some exciting changes to the champion points trees that do a lot to help tanks gain even more passive mitigation by moving a much needed passive Shield Expert to The Lady tree allowing us to invest heavily into the perks Hardy, Elemental Defender and Thick Skinned. Unfortunately for block focused tanks the perk Block Expertise was removed and replaced with Shadow Ward in the The Shadow tree, which does not effective this build as it is not heavily focus on blocking attacks. Below you will see my personal allocation and below that a brief explanation.

* ‘X’ Indicates an unspecified amount and or the perk in which excess points are to be placed.

 

The Warrior: 48 Hardy(15%), 48 Elemental Defender(15%), 24 Thick Skinned(9%), X* Quick Recovery

With my current gear setup which contains all epic(purple) 160cp items I reach over 30,399 in both Physical and Spell Resistance buffed. The above allocation allows me to make up for the missing resistances that keep me from the cap and furthers increases my passive mitigation. Personally I believe that is more than enough with twenty-four points into Thick Skinned to further reduce the effects of damage-over-time spells while unlocking the final passive Unchained. Once you have reached those number Quick Recovery will be where you want to invest the rest of your warrior champion points until cap.

 

The Thief: 90 Magician(15%), 48 Arcanist(15%), X Tumbling/Shadow Ward

This allocation coupled with the gear setups seen later in this guide allow me to maintain a healthy pool of magicka without fear of running dry, keep in mind that failure to maintain Siphoning Attacks while mindlessly spamming something like Sap Essence on a single target will run you dry regardless of what your build. Once you have 15% in both Magician and Arcanist you are free to invest into Tumbling or Shadow Ward. I am personally favoring Tumbling, however, if you are running trials and have quite a few more points than myself Shadow Ward may be better. You could also continue to invest into Arcanist pass 15% though I would go no higher than 20%.

The Mage: 73 Elemental Expert(20.1%), 48 Blessed(15%), X Thaumaturge

Fairly standard allocation I feel. You might question why I do not put points into Elfborn or Spell Erosion, the reason being is that we are have well below 50.00% Spell Critical and thus I feel that investing points into Elfborn would be a wasted investment as well as Spell Erosion. Spell Erosion could have some benefit to it though I am admittedly no spreadsheet math wizard. I would personally reach the above milestones and work either toward further increasing Elemental Expert or Blessed or simply invest into Thaumature which will effect some of our spells.

 

 

MUNDUS STONE

After some testing since the initial writing of this guide during the Thieves Guild patch I have come to believe that The Atronach is the best mundus stone for this build as it helps further bolster our passive Magicka Recovery. No other option really felt as beneficial to me, however, depending on your character’s race others may yield better results.

 

 

GEAR

For this build you can use either seven heavy armor pieces or the standard five-one-one configuration; five heavy, one light, one medium. I personally suggest going seven heavy as every piece of heavy armor we have equipped increases the duration of Shadow Barrier, thus increasing the time we can spend spamming Swallow Soul or Funnel Health and generally makes the build flow better. This route also results in higher Physical and Spell Resistance which is beneficial and helps make up for the fact that we do not use a single armor set that increases either one. For traits we go Infused on large pieces; helmets, chest, legs and either Reinforced or Divines on the small pieces; belts, boots, gloves, shoulders. I personally go with Reinforced to help bring my resistance to 30,000 when buffed in effort to make this build trial viable*.

You could go full Infused, as suggested by Gilliam the Rogue in his guide with Prismatic enchantments, however, this is very expensive. Stury could work in place of Reinforced and Divines but this build is not focused on blocking so the overall value I feel will be lower than that of Divines, Infused and Reinforced. If you do not possess a 10% bonus or more in Hardy and Elemental Defender than I would favor Reinforced without question and later after you reach 10% or greater give Divines consideration to further bolster your Magicka Recovery.

* I have yet to have the opportunity to test this build extensively with any of the proposed sets in trials. Hoping to remedy this in the very near future.

 

Seducer/Magnus’s Gift – Old Set

Head: Heavy, Infused – Magnus’s Gift – Prismatic or Maximum Health
Shoulders: Heavy, Reinforced or Divines – Molag Kena or Seducer – Maximum Health
Chest: Heavy, Infused – Magnus’s Gift – Prismatic or Maximum Health
Gloves: Heavy, Reinforced or Divines – Seducer – Maximum Health
Belts: Heavy, Reinforced or Divines – Seducer – Maximum Health
Legs: Heavy, Infused – Magnus’s Gift – Prismatic or Maximum Health
Boots: Heavy, Reinforced or Divines – Seducer – Maximum Health
Neck: Willpower – Healthy – Spell Damage
Ring 01: Willpower – Healthy – Reduce Spell Cost
Ring 02: Willpower – Healthy – Reduce Spell Cost
Mainhand 01: Sword, Defending – Seducer – Weapon Damage or Crusher
Offhand 01: Shield, Reinforced – Magnus’s Gift – Maximum Health
Mainhand 02: Sword, Defending – Seducer – Weapon Damage or Crusher
Offhand 02: Shield, Reinforced – Magnus’s Gift – Reinforced – Maximum Health

 

A modified version of my original set for the Thieves Guild patch. This set still performs well even without the Seducer five-piece set bonus thanks to the addition of two Reduce Spell Cost enchantments in place of Spell Damage on the Willpower rings. I found that the five-piece set bonus coupled with the two Reduce Cost enchantments was unnecessary and opted to replace my Seducer shoulder piece with a Molag Kena shoulder piece. In this set with Major Brutality and Sorcery I reach 1,922 Spell Damage while possessing 26,040 Maximum Magicka and 1,432 Magicka Recovery. Overall this is an effective set and easy to make in comparison to other options. If you can not invest 90 champion points into Magician I would go for the Seducer five-piece and see how sustainable you are.

*Screenshot of stats buffed and unbuffed to be added later.

 

 

Bahraha’s Curse/Seducer – Current Set

Head: Heavy, Infused – Bahraha’s Curse – Primsatic or Maximum Health
Shoulders: Heavy, Reinforced or Divines – Seducer – Maximum Health
Chest: Heavy, Infused – Bahraha’s Curse – Prismatic or Maximum Health
Gloves: Heavy, Reinforced or Divines – Seducer – Maximum Health
Belts: Heavy, Reinforced or Divines – Seducer – Maximum Health
Legs: Heavy, Infused – Bahraha’s Curse – Prismatic or Maximum Health
Boots: Heavy, Reinforced or Divines – Seducer – Maximum Health
Neck: Willpower – Healthy – Spell Damage
Ring 01: Willpower – Healthy – Reduce Spell Cost
Ring 02: Willpower – Healthy – Reduce Spell Cost
Mainhand 01: Sword, Defending – Bahraha’s Curse – Weapon Damage or Crusher
Offhand 01: Shield, Reinforced – Bahraha’s Curse – Maximum Health
Mainhand 02: Sword, Defending – Bahraha’s Curse – Hardening
Offhand 02: Shield, Reinforced – Bahraha’s Curse – Reinforced – Weapon Damage or Crusher

 

This has become my go to set for tanking. Bahraha’s Curse is a great set, giving a solid bonus to each of the three primary resources and has a great five-piece proc that is ideal for magicka nightblade tanks. Screenshots below will show that the proc can do just as much damage AND healing as Refreshing Path and even surpass it despite its small circular radius depending on the encounter. Despite the high proc chance; 25% per damaging ability use, the internal cool down is very low so you will see it proc quite frequently. The preferred champion point allocation aims to improve the damage and healing received to further increase it’s value. The only thing that can make it better is an increase to the radius but I will not hold my breath.

Due to an increase in popularity Bahraha’s Curse can be hard to find, especially Reinforced shields and they can be quite expensive, however, if you are patient you can find them reasonably priced. If you wish to use a monster set you can drop the Willpower jewelry for Bahraha’s Curse jewelry. Blue quality necklaces and rings are easy to find and relatively cheap with purple being much harder to come by. I personally do not use monster sets with my tank gear, however, were I to use one I would select either Engine Guardian, Lord Warden or Scourge Harvester for additional tanking utility. Nerien’eth is a valid option for those looking more extra damage.

Unbuffed

Buffed(150cp Tri-State food, Major/Minor Resolve and Ward, Major Brutality and Sorcery)

 

Reggr Fark-Dawn: Damage Done

Reggr Dark-Dawn: Healing Done

 

Spawn of Mephala: Damage Done

Spawn of Mephala: Healing Done

 

SKILLS

Bar One: Main Bar

Puncture
Siphoning Attacks
Refreshing Path
Swallow Soul / Funnel Health
Defensive Posture / Absorb Magic
Ultimate: Veil of Blades / Aggressive Horn / Shooting Star / Soul Tether

Bar Two: Buff / Area-of-Effect Bar

Mirage
Shadow Image
Flex Spit*** Crippling Grasp, Inner Fire, Lotus Fan, Stalwart Guard
Sap Essence
Defensive Posture / Absorb Magic
Ultimate: Soul Harvest

 

ROTATION

Single Target: As a tank your job is establish threat on the boss and keep your buffs and debuffs going at all times while light attack weaving each skill and casting Swallow Soul/ Funnel Health as many times in between bar swaps as possible without letting a buff or debuff fade. I feel it is important which order you use your skills as it that order will either increase or decrease the difficulty. I personally use the following rotation.

Warhorn / Shooting Star* > Puncture > Siphoning Attacks > Refreshing Path > Bar Swap > Mirage** > Shadow Image** > Sap Essence** > Flex Skill*** > Bar Swap > Repeat.

* Warhorn or Shooting Star should be used at the start of the fight if you opted to take one of them over Veil of Blades otherwise save Veil of Blades until needed, ideally when there is a particular nasty mechanic coming up or when things get hairy.

** When using Mirage and Shadow Image it is important to remember both last longer than 20 seconds meaning you will only need to refresh them every other bar swap. Also it is best to let Shadow Image fade completely before recasting otherwise you will teleport to the shade and despawn it. Sap Essence is our source for Major Brutality and Sorcery and should be used even on single target fights to refresh Major Brutality and Sorcery when they fade.

*** The Flex Skill typically does not fit into the rotation unless it is either Structured Entropy or Crippling Grasp. Inner Fire and Lotus Fan should be used as needed. Stalwart Guard is a potential utility skill that can help in fights where there is a lot of party wide damage.

 

Area-of-Effect: In AoE encounters it is important to prioritize melee targets over range as they typically deal more damage and can interrupt your healer. In dungeons such as veteran White-Gold Tower and Imperial City Prison I focus on the larger xivkyn and atronachs and let the party AoE down the weaker enemies. The following rotation should allow you to handle most situations easily.

Pre-cast Mirage and Siphoning Attacks > Shooting Star / Soul Tether* > Refreshing Path > Puncture all melee or dangerous targets > Bar swap > Sap Essence > Reapply buffs if needed.

* If you decided to take Shooting Star or Soul Tether over Veil of Blades or Aggressive Warhorn then it is perfectly acceptable to use Shooting Star or Soul Tether on AoE fights. Soul Tether can be especially useful as means of stunning enemies.

 

 

OFF-SET

Magicka nightblade tanks can easily swap their tank gear out for a DPS set and tackle solo content and better contribute to the group effort on boss fights where a tank is not needed as a damage dealer, albeit with a lower damage output. The proposes attribute allocation easily allows for you to take on a full DPS role in most content with the benefit of more Maximum Health in place of Maximum Magicka.

 

If you are in need of a build for damage dealing then Tamriel Foundry’s Mashinate guide on playing a magicka nightblade is a excellant source of information and will show you everything you need to bring the pain.

http://tamrielfoundry.com/topic/pve-magicka-dps-by-iwm/

 

—

 

Shoutout(s)

@mrowmrif2, for all of your advise thorough out all these long months. Without your help this could never have been accomplished.

 

Zatani, Jade Drakkan, and K’tea of Ebonheart Pact, for you three letting me tank our khajiit all star team runs which has helped me further test my build to improve it!

 

Quiz of Aldermi Dominion and various members of Kings and Thieves, you guys have helped me stress test it in veteran Imperial City Prison and White-Gold Tower and I have had a blast doing so! Looking forward to tanking in trials ones day with you and new content.

 

 

—

 

 

Critiques and feedback are both appreciated and welcomed!

• This topic was modified 3 weeks, 5 days ago by  Invellous.