I did some testing on the U35 Lost Depths DLC public test server to see how a Stamina Nightblade performs and also because of the big change to Surprise Attack with this update in ESO (Elder Scrolls Online). Keep in mind that this is on the test server and might get adjusted before the update goes live. ZOS announced huge changes to combat with this new update.
I basically tried out two different rotation, one where I pretty much just spam Surprise Attack and another one where I also added quite a few damage over time effects. If you want to take a look at the whole build I made the setup on ESO-Hub.
- 103k DPS – Surprise Attack Spam Rotation (Build Link)
- 107k DPS – DoT Rotation (Build Link)
Damage is lower than in the previous patch, DPS got nerfed fairly hard. Also keep in mind they added more buffs to the Target Dummy, so this looks less worse than it actually is.
How Surprise Attack Changes in U35 Lost Depths DLC in ESO
The new change can be found in the second half of the text. “and is always a critical strike” when you attack enemies from the back or the flank. Therefore you can easily get a 100% crits during a fight with Surprise Attack. The spammable is so strong that most DoTs aren’t really worth casting anymore obviously. Now lets take a look at the two parses.
103K DPS Parse with Surprise Attack spam
DPS parses will change a lot because the U35 Lost Depths DLC in ESO changes a lot of combat related skills, especially the longer damage over time effects will contribute towards changes to rotations. Most DoTs used to last 10 seconds, now they last twice as long but do less overall damage.
With the parse below you can see that Surprise Attack alone did 34280 DPS thanks to the 100% crit rating. Proc Sets, Enchantments and Status Effects did a whopping 38k DPS, which is basically all “free damage” because it goes off automatically. The Proc Sets I used: Perf. Arms of Relequen, Pillar of Nirn, Kjalnar’s Nightblade, pretty much the usual suspects that you see in most builds.
The only two other skills I had to keep active was Unstable Wall of Elements and Barbed Trap. Of course I also used my ultimate Incapacitating Strike whenever it was ready.
Now, should such an easy rotation almost outperform the vastly more difficult 107K DPS rotation with plenty more damage over time effects to manage?
107K DPS Parse with Surprise Attack and more DoTs on the Nightblade
Now lets take a look at the second parse for the Stamina Nightblade with 107k DPS in ESO (Elder Scrolls Online). Here we use a more complex rotation because we have to keep a lot more damage over time effects active. For basically three times the “work” we only get 3-4k more dps out of the parse compared to the just spam Surprise Attack parse, which is disappointing.
Light Attacks are also once again in spot 2 of most damage dealt, despite the devs trying to nerf Light Attack damage this update. Of course this is mostly due to having the Maelstrom Staff and the Ambush skill (Now adds Empower on cast with new update) which both boost Light Attack damage. It is kind of ridiculous that I have to use a Fire Staff on the backbar as a Stamina Build if I want to maximize damage.
I also would like to point out that Proc Sets, Enchantments and Status Effect also did around 38k dps for basically doing nothing.
Video of DPS Parses and Explanation
You can also watch this video here to get a more detailed explanation and the parses are also showcased at the end of the video.
Conclusion
While the general gameplay feeling was still fine on the U35 Lost Depths PTS in ESO, the overall rotations feel weird. DoTs got nerfed so hard that they are barely worth casting on the Stam Nightblade because Surprise Attack is so overpowered when you can attack from the flank or back.
The devs should have looked at Proc Sets, Enchantments and Status Effects as these are basically the outlies that give so much free damage, which is ridiculous.
Keep in mind this was tested in week 2 of the U35 test server and things are likely to get adjusted before this goes live.
