Shadow of Cyrodiil

Armor Types

Gear and Item Set Info

First let me start with attributes and enchantments.  ALL attribute points into stamina.  All armor needs stamina enchantment.  Jewelry use cost reduction until you have enough into Warlord or are at least comfortable with your resources, at which point you can make one or even two weapon damage enchants.  They are lack luster compared to 1.5 but 2 gives a nice buff to damage for sure.  My two handed weapon is a mace for the massive armor penetration and it’s enchant gives an extra 64 weapon damage for 5 seconds on proc.  For bow I use disease enchant for the healing debuff.

Now for my armor sets.  I use 4 pc Morag Tong, 4 pc Shadow Walker, and 3 pc Ashen Grip. Buffed correctly and using legendary for everything you can hit over 3000 weapon damage when buffed.

I also use blue drink for magicka and stamina recovery.  I have 2317 stamina regen unbuffed.  With Relentless Focus 2472.  With a potion and continuous attack at or about 3000.  It helps a lot I am a Bosmer and a Werewolf.

You can also drop 2H for Dual Wield, replace Rally with Vigor and use potions to increase your weapon damage.  This will greatly increase your damage output while still having good heals from Vigor.

I use one light and one heavy specifically for the Undaunted passive for a 6% increase in stats.  It’s needed to make this build work properly.

General Info

Now for the skills and why they are on the bars.

Rally is pretty self explanitory.  Good way to get some burst heals since NB lacks them while also giving yourself a huge boost to weapon damage.

Surprise Attack is one of the hardest hitting single target abilities in the game.  Combined with Dark Cloak you get a stun and also reduce enemy armor.  THIS is your main damage skill and should be weaved with light attacks.  When timed correctly you can fear a target, charge a heavy attack, and give surprise attack a 10% damage boost from the 2H passive.

Dark Cloak isn’t really used the same way as it is with a magicka build.  Sure you can use it to escape but you can only get 4 or 5 before running out of magicka.  Use it to remove dots, combine with Surprise Attack for a stun, and here and there simply to mitigate damage.

Critical Rush over all does more damage than ambush and costs WAY less.  Even Ambush+Surprise Attack does not put out as much damage as Rritical Rush+Surprise Attack.   The only negative to Crit Rush is it easy to LoS or jump onto uneven terrain and the skill will simply not work.  This doesn’t happen with Ambush.  Again, Ambush is good but I favor Crit Rush for the damage.

Mass Hysteria is probably the most amazing CC in the game, especially since 1.6.  Use wisely.  Do not just spam it and remember players DO GET IMMUNITY after fear is over or if they enemy uses break free.  I generally use it to get people off me or once the target is below 50%.  Once below 50% one good fear and properly combining attacks will finish the target before they break free.  AGAIN use wisely, you will run out of magicka if you spam it as a stamina build.

Incapacitating Strikes is great because if you are lower HP, which seems to be the NB’s home, you will stun your target.  It’s based on percentage as far as I know, so just because a person at 100% HP has 30k HP and you at 100% HP with 20k HP doesn’t mean you get the stun, however I still have some testing to do.  The other morph is fine but this build can gain Ultimate so fast you do not need the other morph for extra Ult gain.  It hit’s very hard and is a great follow up to Crit Rush or fear.  You can also use it multiple times in most fights with better players because it only costs 50 Ultimate.  Notice the enemy is healing a lot?  Use it for the healing debuff and go from there.

Poison Injection is wicked cheap and LA weaving with this skill allows you to also proc Assassins Will when using Relelntless Focus.  However, don’t depend on that for damage.  Below 50% the damage is substantial.

Magnum Shot is one of the 2 hard hitting bursty skills on the bow skill line.  It’s used as a “get off me” and also to get space between you and the enemy to follow up with a Crit Rush.  Remember the further you are from the target the more damage Crit Rush does, up to 68%.  This skill gives you that space.

Piercing Mark.  Sure you may already of debuffed the enemies armor with surprise attack but this skill is the perfect counter for other NB’s, especially magicka based builds who spam cloak over and over.  The main reason I use the skills however is when fighting 1vX.  We as NB’s need heals when we can get them.  When killing a marked target you get a really nice burst heal, in this builds case almost 9k HP, it helps keep you alive.

Shuffle is a great skill.  Double Take is also amazing but it costs a lot of magicka which can be better used for Dark Cloak and Mass Hysteria.  It’s nice to remove snares as well.

Relentless Focus gives a nice damage boost, stamina regen boost, for not so much magicka.  Assassins Will doesn’t proc often but when it does, it hits fairly hard.

Bolstering Darkness is on the bar only for the passive HP buff.  I never use it in PvP.  You will always be using Incapacitating Strike.

Basically stay on the offensive and dodge roll attacks while mixing in some Dark Cloak.  Against DK’s with Flame Whip remember, it hits through dodge.  You are better off blocking, fearing, and cloaking as much as possible instead of roll dodging.  As far as magicka NB’s and Concealed Weapon, it also goes through dodge so block, mark, and keep pressure on them.  This build eats light armor users.  As long as you stay on the offensive the other guy will lose.  Against Temps just time your bursts between their Blazing Shield and heals.  Cloak to break Radiant Oppression.  Against Sorc, widdle away for awhile with poison injection and LA weaving while dodging Fragments and blocking Curse before it goes off, then go in for the kill once shields are low.  Prepare to hold block as they will most likely Streak away.

Champion Point Tips

As far as Champion Points:

Thief – I have at least 40 into stamina regen and 5 into Tumbler.

Mage – 34 into increased damage and 11 into armor penetration.

Warrior – 28 into spell resist, 12 into armor, 5 into elemental defender.

After you have the 40 into stamina regen focus on Warlord and Tumbler.  Increase damage under mages tree until diminishing returns then put into either LA/HA damage or armor pen.  Don’t bother with crit damage, this build doesn’t focus on crit.  Lastly, with The Warrior keep adding to spell resist and armor until diminishing returns and put into Elemental Defender and the other one that decrease damage from poison, disease, and magic.

Build Rating