Nightblade Builds

[Psiberzerker]

To go along with the renewed popularity of the Spellsword discussion, here's the Archetype where I find the most variety. Just to recap, the basic description is Stealth, and Magic, mostly for the purpose of killing people. With Blade in the title, there's also predictably at least some 1Handed in there too, though there's no reason not to make a Nightmace. (or "Backsmasher")

 

Stealth comes in 2 flavors, Either Sneak, Illusion, or some combination thereof. Sneak is highly advisable, because of the Backstab Multipliers, but since we're going to be working several trees, I like to partially fill selective branches for Perk Efficiency. This also makes them Fast leveling during early training. I usually grind up Illusion first, because it's the slowest leveling, and Invisibility, one of the most useful effects is high level (Expert) just to purchace (at least 65!)

 

As for other Magics, my least favorite for this is Destruction. It's just not all that Stealthy, but the Augment Element perks really help with weapon enchantments, and it's a nice backup for shooting your way out when everthing goes wrong. While on the subject, my least favorite Enchantment is Absorb Health (Which comes on the BoW, oddly enough) because if I'm backstabbing, chances are my red guage is full, and it's a wasted charge. It does add damage, but so does Fire, or one of the other elements, with stamina, or magicka drain that's almost free. I'd rather have Absorb Stamina, to recoup your Power Attack (Moar damnage!) or magicka to power the Invisibility to make your escape/line up the next backstab.

 

Alteration is extremely nice for Detect Life/Undead, to give you valuable intel. Nothing breaks your stealth like being surprized by that guy walking around the corner. _flesh is all right, if you're planning on getting hit, but the idea is to never be detected, much less targeted, until it's too late. Like Destruction, Armor is pretty much a backup, for those situations where you can't avoid detection, or it all goes wrong. Same with Restoration, only moreso. Not only is healing a sign that ur doin it wrong (Do a barrel roll!) but it lacks any effects that might make it handy, besides perks like faster magicka recovery. Conjuration is mostly for Bound sword, to me. You can smuggle it in anywhere, and therefore don't have to carry it. I highly recomend Cidnha Mine, and Diplomatic Immunity (If you want to unlock Dragons) because these two demonstrate how self sufficient your character can be unequipped.

 

In gameplay, I pretty much run it like a sneaky Spellsword, with a powerful weapon, and Invisibility in the off hand. Once you've got Sneak up to Silence, or Muffled Boots (The DBH is a no-brainer here) that should be pretty much all you need to serially backstab a room full of badguys. From their point of view, someone dies, POOF! "Where'd he go?" Someone else dies... You need Magicka recovery to do this over, and over, indefinitely, but a Magicka Absorbing blade really seems to do the trick.

[Psiberzerker]

Training:

 

Because of all the different skills involved, this is a high level build, but you have to start somewhere. At lower levels, I focus on Sneak, Illusion, and 1 Handed. 3 skills is the most efficient IME, so you're neither waiting for perk points, nor skill levels to spend them. Notice, these are under all 3 Guardian Stones, so you might want to go with The Lover, and Well Rested to level them at the same rate. Unfortunately, that's way out in the boonies, so I generally go with The Mage to focus on Illusion. A little Sneak goes a long way, and each backstab levels both of the others at the start, anyway.

 

Until you get Invisibility, your spell is Calm. Run straight for Farengar, and get this first. While you can just stand in the market, and pass it around, you can instead train on the job, and pick up some loot. Another good one is Fury, for the DBH. All but 2 of the contracts can be filled by pissing off the target so the guards kill them for you. This can even be done openly for a paltry 40 bounty, which is 2/5 the contract's pay, and generally the path of least resistance. If you're not running straight for the Arentino Boy, head for Fort Greymor, and train on Bandits.

 

Backstab, calm Backstab... All 3 skills level up quicly with this simple combo. You don't even need to be undetected if you take them 1 at a time, and still get Sneak experience with each kill. Slip in the back way, and nearly everone can be taken this way, but not without some risk. Quicksave before/after ever kill. That should clear most of the inside, let the maid live, she'll be worth some money later. Any of the forts, and many camps/redoubts are good for training this way. I highly recomend the Infiltration quest, for Detect Life, and Bound Sword for free, you can swing by Treva's Watch on your way to Riften.

 

This: http://skyrimcalculator.com/#149393 [edit] forgot Critical Charge of all things! See Tactics, and Strategy: below.[/edit] is pretty much what you're going for, don't worry if you're not quite there yet. Alteration is optional, but Apprentice is nice for the cost of DL, and Magic Resistance never hurts. Don't worry yourself too much with Quiet Casting until you start approaching 65, save the perks for 1H until then, and get Expert Illusion ASAP. I will point out that a Calmed enemy doesn't care if they hear you casting, they'll just head back over here, and... THUNK!

 

I never put more than 1 point in Stealth. Especially enhanced with Illusion, it's pretty much a gateway perk to the rest of the tree. You might want a good Handaxe, or even Mace until Assassin's Blade opens up, because striking speed/DPS isn't critical when the target doesn't see it coming. More Damage=Moar XP, so maximize for 1HKs, and move on to the next target. You can get free Skyforge from Eorlund after Proving Honor, which comes with plenty of Shelf Draugr to sneak attack. Your mantra should be "Don't fight, Kill." You're an assassin, not a Warrior. Slowly make your way to the DBH, using encounters, and random dungeons on the way instead of carts, and fast travel. You want experience now, before you start your dangerous, yet lucrative career. Also, keep an eye out for Words you want before you have to worry about Dragons. I highly recomend putting the Main Quest on the back burner until you have the build up, and running...

Edited July 2, 2012 by Psiberzerker

[Psiberzerker]

Races:

 

Dunmer is a no brainer. Starts with Sneak, 1H, LA Illusion, and a healthy dose of Destruction. [5 away from Augment Flames(1)] Fire resistance never hurts, and Ancestor's Wrath is right in range for that one guy you can't quite kill in 1 shot, yet.

 

Altmer starts with 25 Illusion, and Fury. As I pointed out, you can complete all but 2 contracts with this spell (The cook, and the guy on the boat.) Also, they start with all other skills at 15, which doesn't seem like an advantage, but levels them faster at the start to accellerate your training. The final hidden buff is they have the Maximum Reach, so you don't have to get as close, and can pull a Hitman at the Embassy. I highly recommend Bound Sword, and Mystic Binding for a Disk 1 Nuke to train up your backstabs. Highborn means not having to spend points on Magicka (Youll need it, and stamina, depend on armor over Health, and stealth to not be targeted) for a while.

 

Redguard starts with 25 1H, and no other class specific skills. Moar Damage, nuff said. Poison resistance, and a daily power which is nice for spamming Power Attacks, or running for your life! Also fast cross county with nearly unlimited sprint for that mad minute.

 

Kajit doesn't need Bound Sword, pretty much can't be completely disarmed, and Nighteye is the only infinitely spammable Racial Power. (I just adjust brightness/contrast, but I guess it's in character.) Also, every class specific skill, except Illusion, so Mage Stone, and you may have to grind for it.

 

Imperial pretty much just for The Voice of the Emperor. Also lets you blend in around Solitude, purely for Role Play purposes. (I usually do that side of the Civil War in character for "Cover", though it doesn't actually have any in-game effect.) All the other races can do it, but aren't particularly suited for it. Breton, because they have an Illusion Boost, and magic resistance/spell absorbtion is always fun. Orc because they can double their striking damage again. (The only way to get 240x base damage in a backstab!) Nord, because it's Skyrim! Also, they have None of the primary skills, so should open up the most Perk points early.

[Psiberzerker]

Equipment:

 

You may be wondering why I got to this so late, but really, it's secondary to Skills. Once built up, this guy can do his thing stark naked, and still make the kill. I just wish there were more than 2 quests than required you to make do with minimal equipment. For those times, Bound Sword just rocks socks. Plenty of damage with at least a 6x multiplier, and they never take your spells away.

 

While we're on Weapons, I will point out that Daggers are not Manditory. I know, Assassin's Blade, but unless you're working up Archery (on an already perk bloated build) that's 2 perks, and comes in late in the game. Until then, an Axe, Mace, or nicely enchanted Sword may be just as better. I like the Nightengale Blade because it has the best enchantments; Drainheart Sword which is dagger light, and replenishes Stamina; Skyforge Steel (always nice), Gauldur Blackblade (comes with a nice piece of an even better amulet, save this, and the NGB for after Lvl 30, or so for maximum effect) Grimsever (With the Crit Perks) Windshear, the MoMB (Please don't hit me with that!) and LASTLY, the BoW. I'll reiterate here, you're sneaking up for a backstab here, so while the highest base damage for any dagger, plus magical damage is nice, the absorb effect is more often than not going to be wasted on a full health gauge. Also, especially with Backstabs, if he's dead, you're doing enough damage. While there's no such thing as too much, with a build stretched this broadly, you could be investing in something else. I'd generally rather have Red Eagle's Bane until I unlock Assassin's blade, and by then you may be Enchanting.

 

For the DIYer, Enchantment will give you the most bang for your buck. Invest in soul gems, because you're going to be recharging often, and earning a lot of experience here. Go for the Elemental perks to Extra Effect, because the 2 apparel enchantments you need most are scripted, shrouded gloves, and boots. I like the Master Robes of Illusion for the trenchcoat look, and the shrouded hood is just the best looking in the game. Therefore, most of your Enchanting is going to be on Daggers. My personal favorites are Drain magicka, to recast Invisibilty after each backstab, and Dran Stamina, to Power Attacks. This way, you can split between both stats, or all three, and always have enough.

 

My final outfit, after Dawnstar Sanctuary is the SH, MRoI, and Jester's Boots/Gloves. (I always let him live, I like him, and at that point, we can use all the manpower we can get.) and any jewelry that strikes your fancy. That;s right, no Armor. Why? By that point, it's unneeded weight, stamina drain, and I happen to think the Srouded Armor set looks dorky. If you like, there's nothing wrong with Nightengale Ninja, other than the glove enchantment, Gods know the Hood's Illusion boost is nice. The rest of that set doesn't Clash with the Jester's gloves, so I'd at least keep them. And finally, my outfit just plain looks cool. Not when invisible, I guess, but what's the fun of role playing a Magic Assassin if you can't show it off?

 

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/1172309635838125241/8CC4ADC60EF2C1E9DFB83AB654BB7CB393ED5047/

Edited July 2, 2012 by Psiberzerker

[Psiberzerker]

Strategy, and Tactics

 

First, a word about the difference: Strategy is all the stuff you do outside of a fight to make it more successful, Tactics are what you do in a fight. Again, your Creed, and mantra should be "Don't Fight, Kill." so I'm going to focus on Strategy. To start, scroll up to the build, by now you should be an invisible 1 shot killing machine, that's your first strategy. Everything else is staying out of fights, where you're weak, and killing from the shadows so a fight never starts. This is why you don't need Armor, Health, healing, or any defense. If you're doing it right, you're never targeted.

 

Ideally, you want the enemy nice, and spread out, so you can sneak up, and quitly slit their throats one by one. That handled, let's move on to a worst case scenario. We've all been there, you got two, or more Bandits standing around a fire, and talking to each other, so you can't sneak up, and kill one without the other seeing you. Unless you're invisible, which goes away once you drop the first. At this point, you're crouched with a spell in one hand, and a bloody dagger in the other. For a normal assassin, this means a Fight, but since you've got Illusion, you've got more choices. At low level, you can Calm him, creep around behind, and play the animation. Or, you can POOF, quick roll behind him, and it ends pretty much the same.

 

At higher level you get Pacify, which means you can chill out an entire room at once. Sure, you could also use invisibility to charge up Harmony, but that takes too much time, and juggling. Now, you got a minute to kill everyone in the room, take your time. You can also Dual cast it for higher level And longer effect, which might not be all that bad an idea. If you happen to have a bucket of Magicka, weapon to absorb it on strike, or Highborn power, you can also go all Azazel, and POOF, Backstab, POOF!.! This strategy works a lot better on open air Redoubts/camps/forts where they're not nice enough to all gather together.

 

This segues supernaturally into tactic #2, a Perk Combo with Silent Roll, and Critical Charge. That's right, the Tuck&Roll is technically a Sprint, you can, in fact hold down Power Attack for a guarenteed double damage Critical strike multiplier. Or, I should say another. Let's say you have an Iron Dagger, Assassin's Blade, Jester's Gloves, and just for S&G, an Orc with Berserker Rage activated. Let's do the math, that's 15X2x2x2xwhatever rank you've got in Armsman. If that happens to be (5) that's another double for a grand total of 480xthe base damage of 4, or 1920 with an IRON DAGGER!i! No smithing, this is why I don't invest in it for this build. Seriously, even if that's a Draugr Death Overlord, he's either slumping lifelessly to the floor for the last time, or giving it serious thought. If it's, oh say the Blade of Woah, we're talking 3 time's that, or just a scosh over 5750 damage in 1 strike (about as much damage as you can realistically do without the forge, any tempering will only improve on that) +10 points of Absorb health.

 

I'm leaving smithy out of these equations, because I don't do it, and even if I did, the results aren't reliable enough. Regardless, there it is. Let's leave off BR, since Mesmiro is an Altmer, anyway, and assume you've maxed 1H. The basic build is still a respectible 12,000% in a sneak attack. Or you're back to base damage if they see you first.

 

Which brings us inevitably to what this doesn't work on. Master of the Mind will help with Undead, Daedra (including Arronachs) and Automata, but Dragons are entirely immune to Illusion. You can use Invisibility to run away, but they can fly, and have the uncanny ability to act as if they know where you are all the time, anyway. his character is maxed for up close, and undetected, but The Dragon Doesn't have To Land. Sure, you might be able to sneak up to it's roost, and backstab his tail, but that doesn't help with Random Encounters, or Big Bad Al, who likes to show up with a Meteor Storm (with uncanny accuracy.)

 

So, there's a few options, first of which is to avoid the whole thing, carry around the weigtless dragonstone, and pretend this is Assassin's Creed. This means no shouts, but with a few exceptions, you can really do without. Okay, Aura Whisper means never having to invest in Alteration, and Wuld is sure nice for getting around with Quiet casting. Nothing vital. Not buying it? Then you pretty much have to add some Anti-air defense. By which, I mean, a good offense. You should probably do the College anyway, for the robes, spell (Drevis is the only one what sells Invisibility) and a lot of other nice items. If you happen to be the Archmage, look across from the bed, up on a shelf for your predeceeor's Staff of the Storm Atronach. Just to get this far, you had to beat Jyrik Gaudurson, so I hope you grabbed his staff too.

 

All that leaves is a follower. 9 times out of 10, I suggest Jenassa, and this is no exception. Arguably the best Archer, without a doubt the best dual weild, plenty of sneak, and the only Assassin themed follower in the game that doesn't come with the second sanctuary's other upgrades. Ah, WTH, I'll even throw in Fire Resistance, and mention she's one of the few that can pull off Ancient/Shrouded Armor like she was ment for it. While you are at it, might as well give her the most abusive weapon combo I can think of, which is the BoW, and windshear. She'll use her old bow to help out, but once it hits the ground, you can pretty much stand back, keep Invisibility up, and pop some corn. She WILL stunlock anything, with little sips of health ever once in a while, should they need them. If you find that's STILL not enough, you might want to invest in some Archery, and/or Destruction. I vote the latter, because at least the Augment Element perks work with all your enchanted weapons. (Not to mention it's part of the old 3rd era Class.)

[Psiberzerker]

Mesmiro: Final Build

 

Altmer, Apprentice Stone (seriously.)

 

Perks: http://skyrimcalculator.com/#149455

Now this is for everything I covered, anything that wasn't in the Training build is optional. For Instance, the Splash of Alteration is just for Detect Life, and can be replaced with Aura Whisper. I don't suggest any weapon perks, because none of them work on daggers, but if you have to, Hack&Slash is like free lingering poison which can stack with Burn, and Frostbite venom to finish off anything you can't 1 shot at low level(Especially a Redguard.) You can trade it straight up for Magic Resistance, and maintain the same level. I don't suggest Bladesman, because it's not reliable enough, nor Paralyzing Strike, because you'll probably never use it. Savage Strike is an extra 25% to stack onto backstabs, I hope you know to use a Power Attack, right? Critical Charge Combos with Silent Roll for yet anouther double damage multiply you can learn to use with backstabs. Silence is only needed if you aren't wearing Muffled footwear, you shouldn't need more than one rank of Stealth, and Shadow Warrior is a wasted perk, because you already do that with Illusion, only better. Illusion is really just the perks to unlock Invisibility, and Quiet Casting, plus enhance Calm, which is the other "Assassin, What Assassin?" effect. If you can't help crafting, train up Enchant by charging weapons, and staffs until you have all the effects you want disenchanted. Focus on weapon effects, because all the clothing ones come scripted.

 

Equipment:

 

Master Robes of Illusion, Nightengale/Shrouded Hood, Jester's Boots, and Gloves. A decent hand weapon, probably a dagger, I do just fine with a Handaxe. Splash in Conjuration for bound sword: Novice, Mystic binding, that's about it, or just read the spellbook in Treva's Watch as a backup they can never take away, nor even disarm. (Not even the Shout works on it!)

 

Spells:

 

In order of aquisition, Fury(comes with Altmer, still handy to force Suicide by Cop/husband.) Calm, Muffle (Optional, handy in Jail with your boots confiscated.) Invisibility, Pacify. If you like, you can throw in Lightning Bolt to Zot dragons on the wing, but I'd rather just keep Jyrik's staff topped of for Enchant XP.

 

Soo, comments, criticisms, unanimous praise? Anyone else has suggestions, or noticed something I missed, feel free. I hate talking to myself, it makes me think noone else understands me...

Edited July 2, 2012 by Psiberzerker

[Psiberzerker]

Awe, come on guys! Nobody else has nothing to say about Nightblades? No personal builds, Armor, not even some great Modz? I just popped in to post This:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/1172309635843472879/E5C221BAC685626D923FA57961C8D14A80E64671/ and found the lack of response underwhelming.

Edited July 2, 2012 by Psiberzerker

[Reaper0021]

As usual...your builds/ideas are top-notch. You are indeed the master.

[RatcatcherOfKvatch]

Silent Roll / Critical Charge combination sounds sweet. I'll have to try it out.