Part 1 of 4

I have found that Nightblade survivability and enjoyment of play is highly dependent upon gear and spec. You can kill insanely fast and survive against packs of 3 mobs even 5-8 levels higher than you if you do it right. Here is what I recommend:

1. A 3-piece and 4-piece Ashen Grip set:

• Head - Medium - Infused trait - Stamina enchant

• Shoulders - Medium - Divines trait - Stamina enchant

• 1-Handed Weapon (see below) - Precise trait - Flame enchant

• 1-Handed Weapon (see below) - Precise trait - Poison enchant

• Bow for second Action Bar - Precise trait - Poison enchant

1. A 5-piece Hunding's Rage set:

• Chest - Medium - Infused trait - Stamina enchant

• Gloves - Medium - Divines trait - Stamina enchant

• Waist - Medium - Divines trait - Stamina enchant

• Legs - Medium - Infused trait - Stamina enchant

• Boots - Medium - Divines trait - Stamina enchant

1. Rings and Neck — this one depends upon how OCD you are with getting maximum stamina and maximum weapon damage, both of which are going to help tremendously. If you are OCD like me, obtain blue-quality Robust-trait rings and neck if you can get them. Green is sufficient but has less Stamina (the Robust part). If you can obtain jewelry with the Weapon Damage Enchantment, great. If not, buy whatever Robust-trait jewelry you can get and re-enchant it with Weapon Damage. For example, if you can only find Robust with Cold Resistance or Shield-Play, that's fine... you will be overriding that enchant with the Weapon Damage Enchantment.

2. Attribute Points — either put all your Attribute points into Stamina for maximum killing power or find some balance between Stamina and Health. Points in Magicka will be worthless for this build. Your goal is to have as much Stamina as possible while still having enough health to survive an "oopsie" moment. (see 5)

3. Food — For my health, I tend to eat blue Health/Stamina food. You can find it at 10, 15, 20, 25... pretty much every 5 levels has a food upgrade. Try to always eat the one closest to your level if you can for maximum effect. If you just want absolutely the maximum amount of Stamina, foregoing any health, you can eat just green Stamina food. However, if you want any extra health, the blue food is the most efficient way to do it rather than spending Attribute points.

4. Health Pots — You will be killing so quickly that these will become less important, but always have the highest-level health pot you can obtain pinned to your Q key. It need not be a tri-pot until VR levels or until you reach the end of the main story. Just a regular health pot will do for now.