With the release of Update 46, The Elder Scrolls Online introduces some changes that impact gameplay, particularly for PvP enthusiasts. While subclassing doesn't drastically change gameplay, it offers exciting new possibilities for players seeking a fresh experience. In this guide, cujokills presents a powerful and fun Subclass Bomber build, perfect for those looking to dominate in PvP.
Tip: Enhancing your PvP experience often requires investing in gear, skills, and other resources, which can be purchased with TESO gold coins. This investment can significantly improve your performance and competitiveness in PvP.
Major Changes in Update 46
A significant change affecting bombing is that you can no longer stealth while using Banner Bearer. This means you can't cloak, use stealth potions, or crouch into stealth when you have this skill equipped. As a result, bomber builds with Banner Bearer that relies on stealth are less viable. However, this change opens up bar space for other skills.
Optimal Skill Line Choices
When it comes to subclassing, you can choose what suits you best, but the strongest combination is Nightblade and Necromancer.
Nightblade's Assassination Skill Line: This skill line offers some of the best damage passives, including a revamped Master Assassin passive that now increases crit chance instead of penetration. This makes it a must-have for maximizing damage.
Necromancer's Grave Lord Skill Line: This skill line features one of the best ultimates for bombing, along with passives that enhance crit chance and provide penetration, complementing the Nightblade skills perfectly.
The third skill line will depend on your playstyle:
If you prefer a tankier build (like a traditional 30K health Necromancer bomber or Sorcerer bomber), you can skip the Shadow skill tree.
For an optimized build, you'll need the Shadow skill line for cloak, which provides valuable passives like recovery, max health, and mitigation.
By choosing Assassination, Grave Lord, and Shadow, you'll have to forgo the Siphoning skill line, losing access to Soul Tether. Although this line received buffs (like the Catalyst passive increasing ultimate gain to 30), cloak is more crucial for survivability.
Gear Setup
Choosing the right gear is critical for any bomber build. Here's a comparison of two popular sets:
Rush of Agony
• Shorter cooldown
• No telegraph
• You do not need to be in combat
• Doesn't apply CC's immunity
• Pull Cap
Dark Convergence
• Longer cooldown
• Obvious telegraph
• You must be in combat
• Applies CC's immunity
• No pull cap
Most people prefer Rush of Agony, but it has a cap on the number of pulls, limiting the bomb effect.
Dark Convergence, while less popular, allows for larger bombs, making it more suitable for this build. To enter combat for Dark Convergence, simply perform a quick light attack before pulling.
Skill Setup for Dark Convergence
Front Bar Skills
Healing Burst, Forward Momentum, Camo Hunter, Brawler, Relentless Focus, and Soul Harvest (Ultimate).
For the front bar, you will want a Familiar setup with Soul Harvest as your Ultimate skill. This is a passive Ultimate skill that you don't need to use. When slotted, it gives you Ultimate.
Relentless Focus can now stack up to 10 times instead of 5, allowing for increased damage against gangkers. Use Relentless Focus for more damage or Merciless Focus for healing.
Back Bar Skills
Concealed Weapon, Unnerving Boneyard, Proxy Det, Shadowy Disguise, Race Against Time, and Pestilent Colossus (Ultimate).
On the back bar, use Pestilent Colossus as your Ultimate skill and main pull ability. If you prefer a softer pull—one that can proc Dark Convergence to pull your enemy without using the Ultimate—you can opt for Unnerving Boneyard. This skill also provides major breach, allowing you to penetrate enemy defenses more effectively.
If you can swap bars fast enough, it is possible to pop Unnerving Boneyard and Pestilent Colossus at nearly the same time before you switch to your front bar to cleave. This is the most damage that you can get out.
But if bar swapping is tricky, consider switching to the Glacial Colossus for a stun. This will give you more time to cleave. However, for most people, it is highly recommended to slot Mystic Siphon instead of the Unnerving Boneyard for a passive 3% damage increase. You don't even need to activate Mystic Siphon; simply having it slotted will suffice.
Mystic Siphon functions as a soft pull for Dark Convergence, so if there's a corpse on the ground, you can pull with it, too. Or, you can just use it from afar to get some recovery quickly.
Concealed Weapon is for speed and defense. If you're safe in a keep, waiting to bomb, swap it for Fiery Contingency for extra damage.
Skill Setup for Dark Convergence
Front Bar
Healing Burst, Forward Momentum, Camo Hunter, Brawler, Relentless Focus, and Pestilent Colossus.
Back Bar
Concealed Weapon, Lotus Fan, Proxy Det, Shadowy Disguise, Race Against Time, and Soul Harvest.
If using Rush of Agony, remember to include Lotus Fan to proc it, which requires sacrificing a Necromancer skill. The same applies to Concealed Weapon: keep it equipped when you're in the field, but if you're safely inside a keep, swap it out for Contingency to increase your damage.
Rotation
1. Start by crouching and buffing up with Healing Burst.
2. Activate Momentum and swap bars.
3. Buff up with Race Against Time and hit Proxy Det at the same time as you hit your Alliance Spell Draught potion.
4. Wait until Proxy Det is at 2 seconds, then light attack to enter combat.
5. Drop Boneyard, then Colossus.
6. Swap bars and spam cleave.
Tip: Always finish your cleaves with a dodge roll, then attempt to cloak and escape.
If you're using Colossus and Contingency:
1. Buff up and swap bars.
2. Buff again, then use Proxy Det first.
3. Activate Contingency, followed by a stealth potion (Contingency should always be the last skill you hit).
4. Light attack, drop Colossus, and then swap bars to spam cleave.
Champion Points
Warfare
Fighting Finesse (slot)
Master-at-Arms (slot)
Biting Aura (slot)
Backstabber (slot)
Fitness
Celerity (slot)
Bastion (slot)
Boundless Vitality (slot)
Thrill of the Hunt (slot)
Basic Build Information
Race: Khajiit
Attributes: 64 points into Magicka
Vampire or Werewolf: Stage 3 Vampire
Mundus Stone: The Shadow
Food: Bewitched Sugar Skull
Potion: Alliance Spell Draught
Stat Sheet
Maximum Magicka: 32229
Maximum Health: 22979
Maximum Stamina: 18392
Magicka Recovery: 1336
Health Recovery: 284
Stamina Recovery: 1200
Spell Damage: 7038
Spell Critical: 45%
Spell Penetration: 25270
Weapon Damage: 7038
Weapon Critical: 51%
Physical Penetration: 25270
Spell Resistance: 18407
Critical Resistance: 1320
Physical Resistance: 14051
Those are the stats when the character is fully buffed by the 500 ultimate bomb, coming out of stealth with passive skills, and full Grim Focus stacks. When comparing it to the pre-subclassing stats, you can see that this subclass build lost a bit of Maximum Magicka, but the damage, critical hits, and penetration are all higher.
Final Thoughts
The Subclass Bomber build introduced in Update 46 is not only powerful but also incredibly fun to play. While the changes to Banner Bearer may limit stealth-based bombing strategies, they open up new opportunities for creative builds. By combining Nightblade's Assassination skills with Necromancer's Grave Lord abilities and leveraging the power of Dark Convergence gear, you'll have everything you need to dominate in PvP battles.
Whether you're sneaking through keeps or unleashing massive AoE bombs on unsuspecting enemies, this build offers high damage output and versatility. So gear up, fine-tune your rotation, and get ready to leave your mark in Tamriel!
