Welcome to another installment of a segment where we dive into oneElder Scrolls Online’smanySets, and explore what sort ofBuildsyou can make. Not only will we show you how to get the most from these Sets, but we’ll explain where to get them, what requirements there are to obtain them (if any), and everything else you could possibly want to know about them. In this article we take a look atKvatch GladiatorSet that boosts Light and Heavy Attacks versus enemies that are below 25% health.
Introduction To Kvatch Gladiator Set
This set was introduced toElder Scrolls Onlinein May 2016 with the addition of theDark Brotherhood DLC. It was one of 3 newCrafted Setsadded and requires 5Traitsto craft. This Set can be found inGold Coast’snorth-eastern territory at Marja’s Mill, which will require the Dark Brotherhood DLC to gain access to. Players can, of course, still have another player craft it for them if they do not own said DLC.
Since it is crafted, it can be made in any craftableStyle, Light/Medium/Heavy Armor, and both Weapons and Shields.Summersetis required to craft the Jewelry for this Set, but you can purchase or trade it from another player if you do not own it.
Kvatch Gladiator increases Weapon Critical by1666and Weapon Damage by129. The 5 piece set bonus adds 1800 Weapon Damage to Light and Heavy attack damage vs. enemies under 25% Health. This set is only viable for Stamina Builds due to the bonus to Weapon Damage and not Spell Damage.
Light and Heavy Attacks, Things You Need to Know
Light and Heavy Attacks are basic attacks that anyone in Elder Scrolls Online can perform, regardless ofRaceorClass. They don’t cost any resources, and fully-charged Heavy Attacks will even restore Stamina or Magicka based on the Weapon used. Some things to note about Heavy Attacks are: the longer you hold down the attack button to perform a Heavy Attack, the more damage you will deal, capping out at “fully-charged”, andHeavy Attacks that are not fully-charged will NOT return resources. Both Light and Heavy Attacks also cause you to gain Ultimate, so continuously striking with them will be sure to increase your Ultimate up-time.
This Star maxes out at +35% Damage.
The damage for Light and Heavy Attacks is increased by Max Stamina and Weapon Damage for all Stamina-based Weapons, and Max Magicka and Spell Damage for Magicka-based weapons (Staves). Light and Heavy Attacks have a 10:1 ratio, meaning you would need to add 1000 Max Stamina or Magicka to get the equivalent of 100 Weapon or Spell Damage. This means when you are making a build that focuses on Light or Heavy Attack damage it doesn’t matter if you prioritize Stamina or Weapon Damage /Magicka or Spell Damage, they will roughly contribute the same.
So how much does Spell Damage add to your Light and Heavy Attacks anyway? That’s a great question! See below for details:
No Champion Points
100 Points Into Staff Expert
Another important thing to note is that performing a Heavy Attack against an Off Balance enemy will deal 70% more damage, return 100% more resources if it is a fully-charged Heavy Attack, and leave the target Stunned.
What You Need To Know About This Set
How this set works is whenever an enemy is at 25% Health or lower, you will deal additional damage with Light and Heavy Attacks because your Weapon Damage gets increased by 1800 in that circumstance. This does not affects Skills, but only Light and Heavy Attacks. The damage you do with Light and Heavy Attacks can be increased by setting an enemy Off Balance, throughWeapon Expert,Master-at-Arms,Mighty,PiercingChampion Skills andBerserk,Brutalitybuffs.
Let’s see how 1800 Weapon Damage translates into actual damage done to enemies under 25%. Without buffs and points into any of those Champion Skills, 1800 Weapon Damage equates to around800damage with a Light Attack. Fully-charged Heavy Attack damage was increased by around1500. With 56 points into Mighty, 51 Piercing, 100 Physical Weapons Expert, 63 Master-at-arms and the Major Brutality buff, Light Attack damage was increased by1400and fully-charged Heavy Attack by3300.
How far can this bonus go? Let’s test that with optimized build for Heavy Attacks. WithSlimecrawMonster Set, Major Brutality, Molten Armaments, same Champion Points spread, 3 Bloodthirsty Traits and setting an enemy Off Balance my critical hit was around26k, which is quite staggering to say the least.
Let’s compare this set to some other ones that increase effectiveness of Light or Heavy Attacks. The same setup was used for each test, with 1 set equipped at a time: Slimecraw Monster Helm and 3 Bloodthirsty Traits on Jewelry, and our weapon is Two-Handed (all Armor and Weapon passives are active). The only thing I used were Light or Heavy attacks to see the difference in damage, which can tell us if we are losing or gaining damage when using those 2 attacks during DPS rotations. I used Combat Metrics to get DPS results.
Light Attack Rotation
Only Light Attack on 3m health Training Dummy
We lose about 500 dps when compared to Undaunted Unweaver which is tolerable but we also lose more then 4000 to Arms of Relequen which is quite significant.
Heavy Attack Rotation
Only Heavy Attack on 3m health Training Dummy
With Heavy Attacks as well Kvatch cannot compete dps wise with these other sets that boost Heavy Attacks in any way.
Notes for PvE Players
Kvatch Gladiator Set won’t find much use in PvE. Simply put, the 5 piece set bonus is not worth the overall DPS loss until bosses are at 25%. There are better options but it can be used in builds that focus on Heavy Attacks.
AddingArms of Relequenis best way to increase effectiveness of Heavy Attack builds if Kvatch Gladiator is to be used. We are looking for increased damage until enemy is at 25% health. This set helps with that. On top of that addSeleneMonster Helm that deals significant damage since it has 15% to proc every 4 secs and do 12k damage. It is the only way to build something around this set, but DPS will not be acceptable for the toughest challenges of the game.
Kvatch Gladiator can be used to down Bosses faster in group content, especially because the last 25% is usually the most difficult part of each boss fight. The effectiveness of it can be boosted if the Tank uses something likeAegis of Galanwe. It grants Empower, which boosts Light Attack damage by 40%.
Notes for PvP Players
Although not good for PvE, Kvatch Gladiator has definite use in PvP, as finishing off other players is easier with this set. In PvP players tend to go in and out of 25% Health a lot, unlike PvE. That is why this Set can be used to great effectiveness. Light Attacks are tough to Dodge, so stick with those in your rotation to do increased damage when enemies fall below 25% Health.
Heavy Attack builds for PvP can be also done with this Sset. Combining it with something like Curse of Doylemish can be devastating. The Kvatch bonus won’t affect burst damage from Curse of Doylemish, but that does not mean that you cannot deal substantial damage from one Heavy Attack. Having abilities that stun or immobilize is important for this too work
BloodthirstyTrait is fantastic addition to such a build. Having 3 of these grants 30% damage increase to enemies under 25% health. Combining that with Kvatch and Curse sets guarantees the quick finish of any enemy. Bloodthirsty also affects the burst damage of Curse of the Doylemish set, making it even more effective as well.
Final Verdict
The Kvatch Gladiator set offers a good passive stat increases, but 5 piece set bonus shines only in PvP where enemies tend to fall in and out of 25% Health range many times during the fight. Finishing them off comes easier with this set, especially if you have Bloodthirsty Traits.
In PvE, however, this Set has almost no use due to losses in overall DPS because of bad bonuses. You lose out against any Light/Heavy Attack set competitor, as the above tests have shown. You are much better off just using something like Undaunted Unweaver if you wish to go this route.
Stay tuned as I’ll be covering the rest of theESO Sets, and be sure to check out our otherESO Guides!
