Magicka Nightblade PvP Build
Magicka Nightblade PvP builds have seen many changes over the years. These shadowy assassins rely on damage avoidance rather than damage resistance, and are capable of dealing incredibly high burst damage against one or many opponents, often never giving their target a chance to fight back.
Gear Sets
Wretched Vitality: Magicka Nightblades already have a ton of built-in survivability tools, so recovery is the way to go. This set is second to none in this respect, and will give you a ton of Magicka and Stamina recovery. You only need to use this on the back bar, and it can be crafted.
Shattered Fate: This is a no-fuss set that you can use up to 12 pieces of, but we just use 5 for a total of almost 8,000 extra penetration which is an insane amount of extra damage. This is a craftable set and is therefore easy to obtain.
Markyn Ring of Majesty: A nice hefty bonus to both damage resistance and weapon damage. This is a great and versatile mythic item that can be obtained from The Deadlands through scrying.
Balorgh's: A two-piece monster set from March of Sacrifices that gives an incredible amount of weapon damage and penetration when you use your ultimate, based on how much ultimate is spent. If you use this to open combat from invisibility, you will likely delete your enemy before they have chance to react.
Skills
Concealed Weapon: This is your primary spammable, and will allow you to deal tremendous damage in melee range very consistently. You get Minor Expedition at all times while slotted, and a big damage boost when you open combat from stealth.
Impale: Having access to an execute is incredibly useful, and this one can be used instantly at range. However, if you want more firepower and the ability for the bonus damage to begin from 50% health downwards, switch to Killer's Blade and watch your stamina.
Reaper's Mark: This is your source of Major Breach, and where possible should be applied to opponents before opening combat. You can switch to Piercing Mark if you prefer, which will allow you to counter fellow Nightblades.
Merciless Resolve: Your primary burst skill that requires very little maintenance. All you need to do is weave your abilities until it is ready and then hit fire for huge damage.
Swallow Soul: This is an efficient skill that allows you to keep up some ranged pressure if needed, heal based on damage done, and keeps the Magicka Flood passive active on this bar for extra Max Magicka.
Incapacitating Strike: Your primary burst ultimate that will deal massive damage instantly while stunning your opponent and boosting your damage output. Combo this in with Merciless Resolve and you will delete your enemy very quickly.
Shadowy Disguise: This is your primary survivability tool, allowing you to turn invisible and reposition as needed. This is also your only source of Major Resolve.
Shadow Image: Allows you to plan your attack and reposition as needed, allowing for fast hit-and-run playstyles.
Shrewd Offering: One of the strongest single target heals in the game. Use this when you are in a pinch, but be careful not to spam it as the health cost does stack.
Healing Ward: This is a flex slot. Healing Ward is very useful for activating right before you use Shadowy Disguise, allowing the shield to heal you in relative peace.
Resolving Vigor: A potent heal over time that is also your source of Minor Resolve, increasing your resistances and helping to keep Wretched Vitality up.
Life Giver: An absolute life saver at the worst of times that will instantly heal you and provide a bunch of useful effects that will keep you alive in a difficult situation.
Champion Points
Master at Arms: Direct damage is one of the most common types in PvP, and is often where the ability to burst down your opponents lies, making this a valuable buff.
Deadly Aim: Working perfectly with Master at Arms to boost our primary damage types, Deadly Aim will allow your single target abilities to deal even more damage.
Ironclad: Since direct damage is so common, it is important to also defend against it. That is where Ironclad comes in, boosting your mitigation against this damage type.
Resilience: No matter what the meta is running, critical damage will always be a big part of what many players build around in PvP. It is important to defend against that, and Resilience will help you there in combination with Impenetrable armour pieces.
Boundless Vitality: Every bit of health makes a difference, especially in some of the tougher content that The Elder Scrolls Online has to offer. This will help you bump yours up a little more, increasing your survivability.
Slippery: In PvP, pinning your opponent down with CC before you burst them down is important. This will prevent that from happening to you so easily, making it an important addition.
Rejuvenation: Recoveries are important for every role. For healers, it is essential for keeping your group alive, for tanks, it is the source of most of your buffs and debuffs, for DPS, you can't deal damage with no fuel, and in PvP, no resources means death.
Celerity: Extra movement speed is an amazing boost in all content. In PvE, it helps massively with avoiding nasty mechanics, and in PvP, it allows you to run circles around your opponents.
Mundus Stone
The best Mundus Stone to use on this build is the Lover for significantly better Penetration. The Lover gives the best overall boost to damage output on average against players, especially since players in PvP tend to run a lot of resistance. However, if you need more recovery, consider the Atronach instead.
Food Buff
The Clockwork Citrus Filet offers an incredibly useful spread of Max Health, Max Magicka, Health Recovery and Magicka Recovery, making it perfect for Magicka-focused PvP builds. If you can't afford its hefty cost, go with the Witchmother's Potent Brew instead, offering similar stats but no Health Recovery.
Race
My preferred race to run for this build is a Breton for their superior sustain. However, if you feel that you are managing your resources well enough, then you can switch to a High Elf (Altmer) for more overall damage, or Dark Elf (Dunmer) for almost the same damage as the High Elf with a little extra stamina for survivability as well.
Potion
PvP builds generally work best when running Immovability potions, which grants a lengthy immunity to snares, immobilizations and stuns. It's good to carry some potions to reveal invisibility as well to counter Nightblades.
Mortality
Nightblades have no use of Vampirism in PvP, since they already have excellent built-in survivability tools. Cutting their sustain down significantly will do them no favours. Therefore, it is recommended to remain Mortal for this build.
Notes
Magicka Nightblades have always been a fan favourite in PvP. They can delete an opponent in seconds, or bomb whole groups with the right build, but they require some finesse to get used to.
With our build approach, you will have no trouble with damage output. The main thing to remember is to wait until you have a Merciless Resolve proc before attempting to burst down your opponent. As soon as you do, used Concealed Weapon on their flank from stealth. This will set them off-balance, allowing you to follow up with a medium attack that is barely more than a light attack, which will stun the enemy. Weave this into Incapacitating Strike and finish them off with Merciless Resolve and Impale.