NIGHTBLADE PVE dps guide

Remember to treat this as a base to work from…
Always adjust as needed for your specific situation!

 

the build basics

 

top races

 

  • This is just from a pure damage standpoint

  • Other racial passives may be beneficial even if not for damage

    • Ex: Imperials’ 2000 Health plus 6% Cost Reduction

  • Really any race is fine for all levels of content as a DPS

 

mundus stone

  • The Thief is generally the strongest for PvE

 

food/drinks

  • Single-Stat “Stamina-only” or “Magicka-only” are the strongest for DPS if you don’t need the health or sustain

  • I’d usually recommend Bi-Stat over those in that situation as you only lose 1k resource but gain 5400 health

  • Health + Main Resource + Recovery are okay compromises if you need well rounded stats

  • Stat + Primary Resource Recovery is great damage and sustain if you don’t mind missing the health

  • Stat + Off Resource Recovery is great if you need help with your off-resource and don’t mind missing health

  • Tri-stat or Max Mag + Max Stam can work for either Mag stacking or Stam stacking setups

 

potions

  • The Essence of Spell Power potions are highly recommended if you aren’t getting your Sorcery/Prophecy buffs from skills and you need the Magicka return

  • Make sure to run Spell Damage Glyphs on your jewelry with these regardless of whether you stack Stamina or Magicka

  • The Essence of Weapon Power potions are highly recommended if you aren’t getting your Brutality/Savagery buffs from skills and you need the Stamina return

  • Make sure to run Weapon Damage Glyphs on your jewelry with these regardless of whether you stack Stamina or Magicka

  • If you already have your Major Crit Chance Buffs and Major Weapon/Spell Damage Buffs you can run Tri-pots or Heroism Pots to help with sustaining both your Magicka and Stamina

  • Heroism ingredients are a bit expensive but can be nice to squeeze out more Ultimates

 

champion points

POSSIBLE Loadout

  • Backstabber/FF > Exploiter if you are below the crit dmg cap

  • Biting Aura > Deadly Aim for AoE Heavy Scenarios

For short burst encounters, the Exploiter node moves up into the Backstabber/Fighting Finesse range,
as long as Off-Balance is coordinated and present

Need help with the Penetration and Crit Damage caps? Check out these charts

 

gear / skills / rotations

 

For 1-bar oakensoul setups click here

for aoe trash setups click here

 

SETUPS W/ A BACK BAR ARENA SET

 
 

SETUP W/ both a front bar & BACk BAR ARENA SET

 

SETUP W/ A front BAR ARENA SET

Can also do a 2pc Monster Set here in place of the Mythic

 

SETUP W/ no ARENA SETs

 
 

Skill setups for both magicka and stamina stacking builds

 

Skill setups specifically for aoe heavy encounters

 

updated COMBAT ROTATIONS

For Dynamic Rotation tips, I highly recommend checking out THIS GUIDE from Saligia907

Depending on how your skill bars are setup, you may need to adjust this a bit

Example: Barbed Trap could be on the back bar and Degeneration on the front bar

 

slightly altered example for less dots

The rotation may look more similar to this w/ less DoTs and w/ Inner Light or Camo Hunter on the front bar

 

slightly altered examples for bow or dw back bars

 

Stampede (15s DoT) ends up overcast quite a bit in these to keep it static, but it gives some wiggle room for slower rotations, missed light attacks, or higher ping to still fire all bow procs off before reapplying backbar DoTs.

This is essentially the same as the previous except designed around the Vateshran Dual Wield setup
The rotation is the same but with slightly different notes for execute

 

Ultimately, dynamic rotations will provide the highest DPS potential, but static rotations can be a great starting spot

If you are working toward a dynamic rotation, perhaps try and begin with a mix of both static/dynamic skills

 

MAKE SURE TO ALSO CHECK OUT THIS GREAT VIDEO GUIDES
FROM SALIGIA907

 

Thanks for stopping by

Thanks to UESP.net as well for the great tools for some of the screenshots