Noob in need of DPS help...

[Alaskan Glitch]

I have only been playing ESO for about a month, and my lack of knowledge is keeping me from enjoying the game like I should. My biggest problem is an adequate DPS.

I have managed to get a Dragonknight to level 50 CP 45 (currently) as a Dual Weilding DPS, who sometimes pretends to be a Tank. However, it was a struggle.

I can achieve on average 3,500 to 4,000 DPS. It has been as low as 2,000 and as high as 6,000. That is sufficient to solo the Delves, but it takes a great deal of effort (and a long combat) to take out the bosses at the end. Sometimes I'm not able to complete a quest because I can't get past the last boss.

I started the Dragonknight after starting a Templer and working that character up to 30th level. With the Templer I did even less DPS on average, in the 2,500 to 3,000 DPS range. Which made it too frustrating to continue soloing Delves.

All my Class skills are maxed out, my Two-Handed and Dual Wield skills are maxed out, my Fighters and Mages Guild skills are maxed out, my Heavy Armor skill is maxed out, and all my Race Passives are maxed out. I also have all the Ultimates for the Classes, Weapons, Heavy Armor, and Fighter and Mage Guilds.

I arrange both my skill bars with one ranged, two taunts/attacks, and two defensive/heal skills. One skill bar is Dual Wield, and the other is Two-Handed.

Clearly I am doing something very wrong. Granted the last boss should be difficult, but the way I've been playing it has become impossible. After burning countless number of soul gems and still not being able to progress any further, I've come here to ask for help.

[Inanegrain62]

It's highly suggested that you don't do a jack of all trades unless it gives direct benefits to a certain role.

Heavy armor's a bit odd but still workable with.

Rotations are important, they vary from damage, passives and your resources.

If you're literally spending SP points on all classes, you're playing the game very wrong from the start. It's meant to be min-maxxing yourself, such as using abilities that you commonly use.

As a tank, dps isn't expected of you, but surviving by yourself over extended periods is. As a dps, you're to kill anything that does harm in a short period.

Your sets and AP's are important, do not spread out Attribute points unless you have a specific tank build.

[Lexie]

Well, I'm sure pros will show up soon but you don't mention any foods/drinks, enchants, completed monsters sets etc.

Also, it won't really matter if you have unlocked everything if you don't know how to efficiently use them. I'd suggestd reading up on some builds to get a better idea how skills and abilities work.

Also, unless you min/max, I think swapping abilities just for the boss seems reasonable.

[DargonBlak]

Hello, and welcome to ESO. First off, hang in there - the game is extensive, and has something for everyone, from solo play, to small random groups, to large group raids vs. monsters, to large group raids vs. other players.

DPS is very hard to get a hang of in this type of game - ESO is my first MMO, and unlike my previous 15 years of RPGs, experience does make a difference (not your typical hack and slash)

Everything Inanegrain said is accurate - jack-of-all trades is tough, and Armor selection makes a difference. With the complexity of game play, i am still learning the finer details after over 1 year of gameplay.

[DargonBlak]

Your Damage is based on the Pool size for the attack type you are using - and "attack type" has two major categories - Melee and Magic. Melee attack is generally metal weapons and Magic attack is Staves, thus Melee Attack damage is based on the Skill (level), the Weapon (level, quality, enchantment), and the size of your Stamina Pool, and Magic Attack Damage is based on the Skill (level), the Weapon (level, quality, enchantment).

In addition, each of your class skills are also associated with either Stamina or Magicka - primarily meaning that this is the Pool that they will drain when used.

[DargonBlak]

As Inangrain stated, a Tank is not expected to do damage - my CP600+ Tank does about 3k DPS - but he can stand a Ton of damage, he self heals, and he controls the battelfield. His job is Not DPS. So, if you are configured as a Tank, and trying to maintain both Magicka and Stamina pools (common for a Tank) , then your DPS will not be very high (not always true, but in general true)

However, i also have a toon that Used to be a Tank, also doing about 3k damage, and then i converted him to DPS, and now he's over 26k DPS (still havent broken the 30k ceiling)

So, if you want to do DPS, then you need to configure as DPS, and focus on Magicka or Stamina. But if you want to be a Tank, then DPS is not your thing.

[እግዚአብሄር ምህረ]

Originally posted by Alaskan Glitch:

I have only been playing ESO for about a month, and my lack of knowledge is keeping me from enjoying the game like I should. My biggest problem is an adequate DPS.

I have managed to get a Dragonknight to level 50 CP 45 (currently) as a Dual Weilding DPS, who sometimes pretends to be a Tank. However, it was a struggle.

I can achieve on average 3,500 to 4,000 DPS. It has been as low as 2,000 and as high as 6,000. That is sufficient to solo the Delves, but it takes a great deal of effort (and a long combat) to take out the bosses at the end. Sometimes I'm not able to complete a quest because I can't get past the last boss.

I started the Dragonknight after starting a Templer and working that character up to 30th level. With the Templer I did even less DPS on average, in the 2,500 to 3,000 DPS range. Which made it too frustrating to continue soloing Delves.

All my Class skills are maxed out, my Two-Handed and Dual Wield skills are maxed out, my Fighters and Mages Guild skills are maxed out, my Heavy Armor skill is maxed out, and all my Race Passives are maxed out. I also have all the Ultimates for the Classes, Weapons, Heavy Armor, and Fighter and Mage Guilds.

I arrange both my skill bars with one ranged, two taunts/attacks, and two defensive/heal skills. One skill bar is Dual Wield, and the other is Two-Handed.

Clearly I am doing something very wrong. Granted the last boss should be difficult, but the way I've been playing it has become impossible. After burning countless number of soul gems and still not being able to progress any further, I've come here to ask for help.

Try this guide by Alcast: https://alcasthq.com/eso-stamina-dragonknight-2h-build-pve/

[DargonBlak]

What do i need to do in order to maiximize DPS ?

First and foremost for DPS, you need to layer your attacks, and attack, attack, attack. The intelligent use of Damage over Time (DoT) effects (as in Damage per Second) is the MOST important thing for DPS. The second most important thing is to use a Light Attack after each and every Skill used in order to cancel the animation. Which is to say - if you wait for the animation to finish before making your next attack, you are effectively standing around and waiting, instead of making another attack. Adding a light attack after each Skill use can add over 50% damage.

So, in your "rotation", the easiest thing to do is to start with the longest living DoT (this can be an AoE OR a Damage on single Target), and then follow with the next longest, etc. After the third skill attack, with light attacks in between, you shouls have 3 Active damages dealers which will all be ticking off together And now you have a few seconds to spam a single damage skill (followed by a light attack), before you need to start resetting you DoTs.

Sort of a hard thing at first, but once you learn the basics it starts to make sense.

[DargonBlak]

Yes, and then there is the guides...

So, layering and cancelling animation gets your started.

The Guides (alcast is a good intermediate guide) will help you select good Set gear for your toon type, And set your Champion level Points (CPs).

Note that Champion points are Way more important than Gear !!!

For example, i was testing a new toon yesterday. At Level 10, i made some new Training Gear, and since he is Stamina based it was the standard Hundings Rage and Night Mother's Gaze. Here is the results of DPS for my Level 10 Stam DK with Training Gear and No Mundus stone, same rotation:

Level 10, Two Daggers, No Armor : 6.2k DPS
Level 10, Two Daggers, Set Armor (above, Blue) : 7.4k DPS
Level 10, Two Daggers, Set Armor (above, Blue), 680 CPs : 10.7k DPS

I am confident that with Divines Gear improved to Purple, and Gold Weapons, and Mundus to improve my Stam Pool, i could easily push 16k as a Level 10 Toon

[DargonBlak]

So, in conclusion, Yes, there is a learning curve for combat in MMOs, and Yes, it is learnable.

Most important is to Have Fun. Dont take DPS too seriously (unless you want to) - 6-8k DPS is quite fine for most of the single player content as long as you can self Heal.

Enjoy the game, and look me up in-game if you have more questions. Im happy to help, teach, and escort.

[Inanegrain62]

For gear, once you reach "endgame".

Run divines on gear (i.e. belts, boots) that do not provide much stat boost to stats (stamina, magicka, health) and run infused on gear (i.e. cuirass, greaves) that provides a large boost to stats.

[DargonBlak]

Well - i was just playing my new toon and i was grossly reminded that your gear Level matters - the further your level is away from your Gear level, the less effective your Gear will be - meaning less damage.

For example, my new toon was 10k capable at Level 10 with Level 10 gear, and he is probably now only 6k capable at Level 25 with Level 10 Gear

This "leveling" effect stops with CP160 gear, but CP 160 gear is 10x more expensive to make than lower level gear (needs 10x more mats)

Sorry this didnt occur to me earlier

[Trigger]

Rubedite cp 150 chest piece cost 15 rubedite ingots. CP 160 chest piece cost 150 rubedite ingots

[Alaskan Glitch]

Originally posted by Inanegrain62:

It's highly suggested that you don't do a jack of all trades unless it gives direct benefits to a certain role.

Heavy armor's a bit odd but still workable with.

Rotations are important, they vary from damage, passives and your resources.

If you're literally spending SP points on all classes, you're playing the game very wrong from the start. It's meant to be min-maxxing yourself, such as using abilities that you commonly use.

As a tank, dps isn't expected of you, but surviving by yourself over extended periods is. As a dps, you're to kill anything that does harm in a short period.

Your sets and AP's are important, do not spread out Attribute points unless you have a specific tank build.

I'm not trying to be a jack-of-all-trades. The Dragonknight I just want to Tank, but has you noted, when soloing I have to have some DPS capability.

The Dragonknight is maxed out in Heavy Armor, but only wears a 5-piece set. He also wears one medium and one light piece of armor with each skill around 30th level. The jewlery is also a separate set. However, since the Dragonknight is not yet CP 160 I'm holding off getting my final set of armor until then.

I'm spending SP on all three skill lines for the Dragonknight class: Ardent Flame, Draconic Power, and Earth Heart. I use all three classes to some degree.

[Alaskan Glitch]

Originally posted by PLeia:

Well, I'm sure pros will show up soon but you don't mention any foods/drinks, enchants, completed monsters sets etc.

Also, it won't really matter if you have unlocked everything if you don't know how to efficiently use them. I'd suggestd reading up on some builds to get a better idea how skills and abilities work.

Also, unless you min/max, I think swapping abilities just for the boss seems reasonable.

I do eat food and drink beverages for additional buffs, and I keep my armor enchanted with Health and Stealth enchantments.

I do have two 5-piece armor sets, but since I'm only CP 45 presently I'm not going to concern myself with a full set of armor until I reach CP 160.

I'm not sure what you mean by "unless you min/max."

[Alaskan Glitch]

Originally posted by DargonBlak:

Your Damage is based on the Pool size for the attack type you are using - and "attack type" has two major categories - Melee and Magic. Melee attack is generally metal weapons and Magic attack is Staves, thus Melee Attack damage is based on the Skill (level), the Weapon (level, quality, enchantment), and the size of your Stamina Pool, and Magic Attack Damage is based on the Skill (level), the Weapon (level, quality, enchantment).

In addition, each of your class skills are also associated with either Stamina or Magicka - primarily meaning that this is the Pool that they will drain when used.

With regard to my attirbutes on the Dragonknight, I placed 50 into Stamina, 8 into Magicka, and 6 into Health. So he would technically be a Stamina Dragonknight.

The Dragonknight has the Bow skill line to about level 30, and both staff skill lines are under level 10 (I've only acquired those skills by reading Bookshelves). The Shield and Sword skill line is also around 30th level. Only the Dual Weild and Two-Handed skill lines are maxed out at level 50.

My weapons are either from drops, or if they are more than 8 levels behind, I construct new ones to replace them. If I have the resources I will improve them to Fine, but I rarely have the resources to improve them to Superior. My current weapons are level 48, and my armor is either CP 10 or CP 30.

The enchantments that I place on my weapons are the best I can buy, which in this case is using a Strong or Major rune that does about 2,000 damage.

My typical skill bar layout is:

Front Bar
1 Unrelenting Grip (morphed Fiery Grip) - Ranged attack
2 Bloodthirst (morphed Flurry) - Dual Weild attack
3 Blood Craze (morphed Twin Slashes) - Dual Weild attack
4 Igneous Shield (morphed Obsidian Shield) - Earthen Heart shield
5 Burning Embers (morphed Searing Strike) - Ardent Flame healing
Utimate = Magma Shell (morphed Magma Armor) - Earthen Heart

Back Bar
1 Critical Rush (morphed Critical Charge) - Ranged attack
2 Dizzying Swing (morphed Uppercut) - Two-Handed attack
3 Brawler (morphed Cleave) - Two-Handed attack
4 Green Dragon Blood (morphed Dragon Blood) - Draconic Power healing
5 Obsidian Shard (morphed Stonefist) - Earthen Heart healing
Ultimate = Standard of Might (morphed Dragonknight Standard) - Ardent Flame

I do rotate between bars during a fight. I only use my healing when necessary. Unless I am one-shotted I can usually do a pretty good job at staying alive between the spells and potions (I stay out of the red).

However, if the combat takes longer than a couple of minutes, then I'm rapidly running out of resources and I can no longer stay alive.