PVP Group Setup
I like to play in groups where each player has a broad set of skills in addition to whatever they consider their specialty or role (T-shaped skills).
In Cyrodiil, at any given moment, a group might need to defend or attack an objective (with or without siege equipment), engage in an open-field fight, or swoop in and take out a group of opponents. To do this effectively the group is going to need a variety of skills and equipment.
Let's cover some basics first.
Basic tips
- Please show up with >30K health
- 3 or 4 healers per 12-person group
- Lots of crowd-control skills (fear, stuns, immobilize, disorient, etc)
- At least one character (per group) with a "pull" (Rushing Agony or Dark Convergence)
Everyone (including healers) should have a basic set of siege equipment:
- 6 or more ballistae
- 2 to 3 meatbag or oil catapults
- 1 or 2 rams
- 100 door repair kits
- 50 wall repair kits
- at least one trebuchet
Armor Sets - group utility
Healers
Healers have an opportunity to apply group buffs via their armor sets. Ideally a group could have one of each of the following sets.
- Rallying Cry
- Transmutation
- Spell Power Cure
Damage Dealers
And for Damage Dealers we'd like to have at least one player using Plaguebreak, and at least one player using Rushing Agony or Dark Convergence.
- Plaguebreak
- Rushing Agony or Dark Convergence
Other interesting sets - group focused
- Powerful Assault
TODO: add more
Recommended Classes/Builds
All classes and builds are welcome, but there are a few that work better in a group than others.
Damage dealers
- Stamina Warden
- Sorcerer
- Dragonknight
- Stamina Necromancer
- Werewolves
- Stamina Nightblade
- Stamina Templar
Healers
All types of healers are welcome!
Ultimates
Coordinating Ultimates is another huge difference maker. Simply callout out one of the ones listed below is all it takes: 'My Negate on Front Flag', 'My Barrier on Crown', 'My Smash on Star', etc. Leaps and Dawnbreakers don't need to be called out.
- Negate(s)
- Dawnbreaker(s)
- Sleet/Storm
- Barrier(s)
- Leap
- Smash (Colossus)
Crowd control -- group utility
Most characters should have at least one form of crowd control. Here are a few examples.
| Source | Skill(s) |
|---|---|
| Dragonknight | Talons, Fiery grip, Leap |
| Sorcerer | Encase, Streak |
| Warden | Arctic Blast, Storm |
| Nightblade | Fear |
| Werewolf | Roar |
| Templar | Toppling Charge |
| Fighter's guild | Silver Leash, Dawnbreaker |
| Necromacer | Agony Totem - situational |
| Poison | Escapist IX! |
For more details look here.
Burst damage
In PVP your focus should be on burst damage. Lining up skills that will hit all at once. Usually this means triggering a skill that has a delay and then timing another high damage skill to land at the same time the delayed skill lands.
Keep in mind that before starting a combo you want to make sure all of your buffs are up.
| Source | Burst Combo |
|---|---|
| Warden (melee) | Shalks, spam, Dawnbreaker, execute |
| Necromacer (melee) | Blastbones, spam, Dawnbreaker, execute |
| Sorcerer | (Mages Wrath), Haunting Curse, spam, Crystal Frag |
| Dragonknight | Flames, Breath, stun / Leap / Whip |
| Werewolf | Leap, Fear, Roar |
| Templar | Purifying Light, 3 x skills, Dawnbreaker/execute |
Templar is pretty tough to line up because of the long delay (6s).
Burst skill delays
Focus on hitting on the first delay.
| Source | 1st delay | 2nd delay |
|---|---|---|
| Warden - Deep Fissure | 3s | 6s |
| Warden - Subterranean Assault | 3s | 3s |
| Sorcerer - Haunting Curse | 3.5s | 8.5s |
| Necromancer - Blastbones | 3.5s | N/A |
| Templar - Purifying Light | 6s | N/A |
Templar is pretty tough to line up because of the long delay (6s).
Burst healing (panic buttons)
Even though heal-over-time is critical, it's important to point out that some classes have an edge on healing because of built-in panic buttons.
| Source | Skill(s) |
|---|---|
| Templar | Breath of Life |
| Sorcerer | Matriarch |
| Necromacer | Resistant Flesh |
| Warden | Polar Wind |
Other group utility skills
| source | skill | notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dragonknight | Igneous Weapons | group damage buff |
| Warden | Expansive Frost Cloak | group defensive buff |
| Assault | Charging Maneuver | group speed buff |
Sample Builds
Below are a few builds that I've played and like. These are not meant to be exhaustive lists; just some ideas :)
Damage dealers (examples)
| Skill focus | Werewolf | 2H Warden | Dragonknight | (bow) Sorc |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self heal | Fortitude | Arctic Blast | Coagulating Blood | Dark Deal |
| Self heal-over-time | Claws of Life | Vigor, Lotus | Vigor | Vigor |
| AoE damage / DoT | Howl, Claws of Life | Deep Fissure, Subterranean Assault | Noxious Breath | Bombard |
| Spammable | Howl | Dizzying Swing | Whip? | Bombard |
| Execute | Leap | Executioner, Reverse Slice | Executioner, Whip, Whirling Blades | Crystal Frag |
| Crowd control | Roar | Arctic Blast | Shattering Rocks, Talons, Leap | Bombard, Streak |
| Defensive buff | Oakensoul | Expanding Fortress | Volatile Armor | Oakensoul |
| Damage buff | Oakensoul | Netch | Igneous Weapons | Oakensoul |
| Ultimates | N/A | Dawnbreaker, Storm | Leap, Corrosive Armor, Standard | Negate |
| Armor Sets | Unleashed + Dragon's Appetite | Plaguebreak + Mara's Balm + Markyn | Plaguebreak + Mara's Balm + Markyn | Plaguebreak + Mara's Balm |
Other offensive armor options: Dagon's Dominion, Burning Spellweave, Witchknight, War Maiden, Unleased, Rushing Agony, Dark Convergence, etc
Healers (examples)
- A buff set from the following: Rallying Cry, Transmutation, Spell Power Cure
- A defensive set from: Spectre's Eye, Grace of Gloom, Mara's Balm, etc
- And Earthgore
| Skill focus | Templar | Sorcerer | Necromancer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panic button | Breath of Life | Matriarch | Resistant Flesh |
| AoE Heal | Combat Prayer | Combat Prayer | Combat Prayer, Renewing Undeath |
| heal-over-time | Radiating Regen, Healing Springs, Focus | Radiating Regen, Healing Springs | Radiating Regen, Renewing Undeath |
| Attack/Debuff | Purifying Light, Elemental Drain | Crushing Shock, Elemental Drain | Degeneration, Elemental Drain |
| Execute | Radiant Oppression | Crystal Frag | Blastbones, Graveyard |
| Ultimates | Barrier, Practiced Incantation, Nova | Negate, Barrier | Barrier, Rez, Colossus |
Recommended Addons
| Addon | Description |
|---|---|
| Lights of Meridia | Draws a vertical beam on all players in group |
| Greyskull | Shows what your current Weapon or Spell Damage is |
| KD Counter | Keep track of Kills and Deaths |
| AP Meter | Tracks AP/hour and AP required for next "level" |
| RDK | Improved compass, auto siege equipment buying, and many many more things |
Synergies / Harmony
- Boneyard
- DK Talons, DK Standard
- Nova
- Lightning (Sorcerer)
- Orbs
TODO: I'll add more details on this later