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 at theBlood Moon Set, which will be used almost exclusively byWerewolves.
An Introduction to Blood Moon
This Set was added to the game withUpdate 19 Wolfhunter, which launched in August of 2018. The biggest changes to come with this Update were toWerewolvesand the nerfing of Snaring and Defiling effects. With the revamping of Werewolves, they will become viable options for DPS in Dungeons as well as PvP. Blood Moon can be obtained by running the 4-man DungeonMarch of Sacrfices, which requires the Wolfhunter DLC as this Set is bind-on-pickup and cannot be acquired from other players. TheStyleof this Set isHuntsman, which will be obtainable in Update 20, when itsMotifsare added to the drop pool of the March of Sacrifices final boss on Veteran difficulty.
Since this is a Dungeon Set, you can get Weapons, Shields, Armor and Jewelry, but the Armor will always come in Medium. TheTraitson this Armor are random, so you may have to farm several times to get the ones that you need, but the Jewelry for this Set comes with theRobust Trait. Keep in mind that you can useTransmutationto change Traits if you wish, but you will need theSummersetexpansion if you wish to Transmute Jewelry.
Blood Moon increases your Light Attack damage by 30% and attack speed by 50% for 5 seconds, after Critically Striking with Light Attacks 5 times in a row within 8 seconds, which refreshes each time you Critically Strike. This bonus has an 18 second cooldown, much like Mechanical Acuity. There is no way to extend the duration of this buff (Jorvuld’s Guidancehas no effect).
Proc Sets and How They Work
Proc Sets, or Sets that have “chance to apply some effect” called “Proccing” are becoming more popular in ESO and seemingly added every major Update (Proc is short for: Programmed Random OCcurrence). When the conditions of the Proc Set are met the effect will trigger. However, not all Proc Sets work the same way, and some apply buffs that remain on you whether you continue to wear the Set or not. Learning how to use Proc Sets effectively is extremely important for min/maxing, especially in PvP.
An important thing to note is that Proc Sets can no longer Critically Strike or Critically Heal as ofUpdate 13(Homestead) so as to reduce their effectiveness inCyrodiil. In addition, many Proc Sets have cooldowns to keep them from being abused. When choosing a Proc Set to use, if you’re so inclined, you want to not only look at the effect, but how often you can apply it. Finding Sets with little or no cooldown is ideal, because it allows you to trigger them frequently. Blood Moon has a 18 second cooldown, however, it lasts 5 seconds, meaning it’s cooldown is effectively 13 seconds. This is one of the highest cooldowns for any Proc Set in the game.
What You Need to Know About Blood Moon
How Blood Moon works is: each time you Critically Strike with a melee Light Attack you gain 1 stack of Blood Scent for 8 seconds. Each time you Critically Strike with a melee Light Attack during those 8 seconds your stack increases by 1 and you have another 8 seconds to Critically Strike with a Light Attack again. When you reach 5 stacks you become “Frenzied” and your Light Attack damage is increased by 30% and Light Attack speed increased by 50% for 5 seconds. If you fail to reach 5 stacks before your Blood Scent runs out then you will start over from zero, but the Set will not go on cooldown. Note that this only increases your melee Light Attack speed, and not your attack speed in general or your ranged Light Attack speed.
Although many Stamina DPS weave Light Attacks into their rotation when doingDungeonsandTrials, this Set is best suited for Werewolves. Stamina DPS will not want to spam Light Attacks for 5 seconds every 18 seconds, and they often use a Bow which does not work with this Set. In addition, Werewolves set bleeding when they Light Attack and they don’t have any other damaging Skills that they could use in a rotation other thanPiercing HowlandInfectious Claws. In my opinion, this Set’s purpose was to make Werewolves competitive in PvE content.
Notes for PvE Players
As mentioned above, if you’re using this Set you should really be playing a Werewolf and this Guide is really tailored to players who are. If you are new to playing a Werewolf or haven’t played one in a long time the first thing I suggest you do is check out myWerewolf Guide, and learn the basics. Things have changed a lot over time, and they are changing more inUpdate 19, so you’ll probably want a refresher.
Secondly, if you’re playing a Werewolf with this Set you will need to choose whichMonster Helm Setand another Set to pair it with.Molag Kenaseems too good to be true because it increases your Weapon Damage significantly just for doing two Light Attacks in a row on a target, which synergizes well here. In deciding which other Set to choose I have done some testing so that you’re able to compare how well each has performed. In each case I simply wailed on a training dummy using a rotation of keeping up Infectious Claws, andMajor Brutality, mixed with Light Attack after Light Attack only.
Please note thatChampion Points,Mundus(The Thief) and food all remained the same, and the only thing different about each test is the changing of the second Set. In addition, these numbers are not the highest DPS you can deal, because all of my gear (except Molag Kena) was Purple and Enchants and Traits were not optimized. Also, please keep in mind that there is about a 5% margin for error, as I did not have a perfect rotation each time.
Even with a margin for error you’re able to see that Arms of Relequen is the victor here in terms of total DPS over about 2 minutes it takes to defeat the dummy. Of the 9 Sets tested Mechanical Acuity has the highest burst damage potential, as you can proc it and Frenzy at the same time, resulting in crazy damage in a very short span. If I had changed the Mundus toThe ShadowI believe this Set would perform much closer to Relequen as well. Otherwise there isn’t a huge difference between the other Sets tested making Hunding’s Rage, Gryphon’s Ferocity and Briarheart alternative choices, because they will also affect the damage of Infectious Claws, which hits multiple targets in Dungeons or Trials.
Notes for PvP Players
Blood Moon is not an ideal Set for PvP Werewolves because it is much harder to get 5 Crits with Light Attacks in the limited time given, and if you somehow manage to then you have a very short period to deal substantial damage. You may be CCed during that time, or simply not be able to stay on your target as well. There is some good news, however, which is that even though the Set does NOT work against Blocking targets, it does against Damage Shields. Since there are so many players who utilize them, this is some relief.
In terms of Sets to use, PvP Werewolves may wish to swap out Molag Kena for something with more burst damage such asSelene’sorVelidreth, or even something that provides a bit more survivability such asMighty Chudan. For their second Set things become much less clear because there are so many possible scenarios, it really depends on how you play and what type of PvP. Sets that may work well are:
Final Tips
You can craft Potions that give Stamina,Major BrutalityandMajor Savagery, allowing you to take the morph ofHircine’s Bountythat heals for more instead, and allowing you to still keep these buffs. Werewolves have no way to gain Major Savagery otherwise, unless they use a Set that provides it. This will give you exceptionally high Critical Strike chance, which should be something around 40-70% depending on your Mundus Stone.
Claws of Lifeis instrumental in keeping you alive while playing as a Werewolf, more so in PvP than PvE, but it is still much needed either way. Be sure to strike as many targets with it as you can to gain massive healing over time. Remember that heals can Critically Strike as well, and since you will have high values, you should gain substantial healing from this morph.
Remember to place significant points intoPhysical Weapon Expert,Man-at-ArmsandMightyin order to increase your Light Attack damage.Precise Strikeswill also help because of the high Critical Strike chance and it will also help with healing.Thaumaturgehelps with Light Attack bleed and with the damage Claws of Life deals, which in turn means more healing as well, since it’s based on the damage you deal.
Lastly, as ofUpdate 18(Summerset) Light Attacks now gain about the same damage from Stamina as they do from from Weapon Damage which is great because Werewolves gain +30% Max Stamina for being transformed. You no longer need to worry about adding raw Weapon Damage and can stack Stamina instead if you wish. To calculate how much your Light Attacks will deal, roughly, simply divide your Stamina by 10, add it together with your Weapon Damage and then multiply the result by 68% and you’ll be in the ballpark.
Stay tuned as I’ll be covering the rest of theWolfhunter’s Sets, and be sure to check out our otherESO Guides!
