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Character Build: The Avatava

Tags: #Character Build Warrior  #Character Build No Crafting  #Character Build Hero  #Race:Redguard  #Rank:Bloodworks  #Hall of Fame Build  #Phil 
  • Member
    February 12, 2017

     

    “When the mighty Ra Gada first drove back the Orcs, one sect of warriors employed a fighting style so aggressive, so fierce, that the tales tell of enemies standing stunned, falling to flashing blades in a daze before they realized an attack was upon them. These champions revered Tava as well as Diagna, engraving their blades with the wings of a hawk.

    The bird's keen sight, accuracy, and rending claws inspired their sword-songs…” ~ Glinting Talons

     

    The Avatava is the mortal avatar of Tava, the Yokudan goddess of wind and birds. In the myths associated with this goddess she is ever ready to help out the Redguard people in times of great crisis, be it by aiding their escape from doomed Yokuda or inspiring them in their wars against the Orcs. Seeing a land torn apart by war and resembling her beloved Hammerfell more and more, Tava sends her mortal agent to Tamriel's frozen north...

     

    Ivana by Rempton

     

    This build focuses on the concepts associated with Tava’s domain over the skies by utilising air-themed shouts in combat and bird imagery on armour and weapons. Taking those to the next level I have incorporated fire magic in the form of the ultimate firebird, the phoenix.

     

    Examining the book from which the quote above is from also throws in the possibility of a link to Meridia which opens the build up to a small amount of light magic. In order to tie these various themes together, both Two Handed and One Handed skills are used. Traditionally thought of as wasteful, having both combat skills heavily perked makes this build extremely versatile and true to its inspirations.

     

    The shout Become Ethereal is the center pin of this build and more in line with its “light and airy” definition. It is used in a multitude of ways - from a means of dealing passive damage, or weapon switching, to setting up a Great Critical Charge. It is also important as it acts in lieu of any resistances against magical or ranged attacks. I viewed it as a means of merging with the very winds themselves. Because of its importance a heavy focus on stamina regeneration and shout cooldown is essential.

     

    By the time the myriad pieces of this build are assembled and The Avatava has gained her full power, many tactical options are available keeping the gameplay fresh and interesting.

     

     

     

    Shadowwar-Kishery by TheFirstAngel 

    Race: Redguard

     

    Gender: Female

     

    Standing Stone: The Lady

     

    Shouts: Become Ethereal, Elemental Fury, Cyclone and Whirlwind Sprint represent the powers of air within Tava's sphere

     

    Powers: Bardic Knowledge, North Wind and Sun Flare

     

    Weapons: Elven Warhammer, Dawnguard Rune Shield, Dawnbreakr and an Elven Sword

     

    Equipment: Elven Armour, Dawnguard Rune Shield, Aetherial Shield and an Amulet of Talos

     

    Major Skills: Light Armor, One-Handed and Two-Handed

     

    Minor Skills: Block, Destruction and Restoration                                                                                                                                                                                              

     

     

     

    Light Armor: Key perk - Wind Walker. Offering adequate protection while still allowing for hawk-like grace and agility, Elven Light Armor also fits aesthetically with it’s feather motifs. Another solid choice for a similar look is the Vampire Royal Armor, albeit without the benefit of the Matching Set perk later on. The Wind Walker perk with it’s boost to stamina regen is the key perk here.

     

    One Handed: Key perks - Dual Flurry and Dual Savagery. Used primarily against undead opponents to make use of Dawnbreaker and the Dawnguard Rune Shield later on in the game, investing in the key flurry perks will allow for an option to deal extreme damage when using Elemental Fury. The speed of these attacks contribute to avian aesthetic.

     

    Two-Handed: Key perks - Great Critical Charge and Sweep. My most frequently used offensive skill due to the synergy which exists between two-handed weapons and Become Ethereal, Two-Handed allows for a large amount of pain to be brough to bear against all fos. An Elven warhammer's eagle-shaped head reflecting the red glow of a Flame Cloak really brings the Phoenix theme to life.

     

    Block: Key perks - Power Bash and Block Runner. Always handy at any level, this skill really shines once the Dawnguard Rune Shield and Aetherial Shield have been acquired. The key perk Power Bash is more useful thanks to the focus on stamina regen. Hot-keying the Aetherial Shield allows Tava to choose when she wants an opponent to merge with the wind for crowd control tactics, while Blok Runner synergises nicely with the Rube Shield's aura allowing for pursuit of fleeing undead for more dps.

     

    Destruction: Key perks - Adept, Rune Mater and Augmented Flames. Not used until the Rune Hammer is in    possesion, Destruction will nevertheless raise extremely quickly when using its ability to lay runes. The Rune Master perk gives Tava her only ranged attack besides shouts, while Adept and Augmented Flames are purely used to reduce the casting cost of cloaks and increasing the dps of Flame Cloak.

     

    Restoration: Key perk -  Respite.Although this build rarely needs to heal directly thanks to Become Ethereal's low cooldown time and huge regeneration cabaility, the Respite perk still comes in handy when stamina is getting low - as it will do when chaining power attacks. Using whirlwind Sprint to reposition and heal before returning to the fray can come in handy in a pinch.

     

     

     

    Angelus of Hope by Jason Engle

     


     

    Between levels one to twenty we focus on assembling the various elements needed to make this build complete. Gathering all three words for Become Ethereal and Elemental Fury should be priorities, as should raising the Light Armour skill through training with Grelka in order to unlock the Wind Walker perk.

     

    During these levels my primary offence skill was Two Handed, with One Handed not explored until I had Dawnbreaker in hand. So the Path of Dawn quest to receive Dawnbreaker should be undertaken as soon as all three words to Become Ethereal are acquired as this shout will make Malkoran a breeze to defeat. I felt no tactical disadvantage in perking both offence skills from that point on. Indeed, Dawnbreaker used exclusively against undead and with Elemental Fury I felt absolutely no disadvantage at all.

     

    Embarking uopn The Dawnguard Questline with the goal of finding the Rune Hammer and Rune Shield should keep Tava busy for a few hours. It is not necessary to raise or perk Destruction during this stage of the game - once the Hammer is in her possession Tava's Destruction skill will rise very quickly. Likewise, I avoided perking restoration until I had the Runeshield. This was because I felt dual-wielding Dawnbreaker until running out of stamina then retreating behind the shield to heal worked well with Tava's skillset.

     

     Dhaeva by Na Vate

     

    Two Blades Become Four: Dawnbreaker and Elven sword + Dual Flurry + Elemental Fury

     

    A spinning whirlwind of flsahing blades and holy light brings Tava's radiance to the dark placesof the world. However, the lack of defesnsive capability during the shout's cooldown can leave you open to counter attack.

     

    This extremely powerful move should only be uses against a single, strong undead enemy who possesses no major ranged threat - such as a draugr Deathlord.

     

    The Screech of Descent upon Helpless Prey: Elven Warhammer + One Word of Become Ethereal + Elemental Fury

     

    Descending from the air in a single, powerful dive leaves the enemy staggered and vulnerable to repeated attacks. The fast cooldown from using one word of thee shout allows for further offensive options.

     

     

     

     

     

    The levels Twenty One to Fifty represent the apotheosis stage of the Avatava’s journey. By now most of the required elements should be working together nicely, all that remains are incorporating the Flame Cloak spell, getting the Rune Shield’s Aura, questing for the Aetherial Shield and getting access to the Cyclone shout and Whirlwind Cloak spells.

     

    By this stage your offensive and defensive skills should be at a decent level, allowing you to explore some of the other perks. So in these levels we will be focusing on increasing the Destruction skill and perking in preparation for the Cloak spells and. To this end we will be using the Dawnguard Rune Hammer to quickly raise Destruction while using Become Ethereal to allow for unhindered stamina regen. During leveling up we will be putting our first points into the magicka stat with the eventual goal of being able to dual cast Cloak spells.

     

     

     

    Firebird's Ascent: Become Etherial + Dawnguard Rune Hammer rune bash + Flame Cloak

     

    Wreathed in flame and leaving incendiary runes wherever she treads, the fledgling phoenix makes herself known for the first time. With Become Ethereal active, each bash costs much less stamina than normal. Adding Adrenaline Rush to this move will allow runes to be cast as quickly as you can press the block button.

     

    Cleave the Light and Leave the Foe in Darkness: Become Ethereal + Dawnguard Rune Shield + Dawnbreaker + Flame Cloak

     

    Heavenly light and holy fire combine as you chase the enemy and burn their flesh. By hot-keying the Runshield while using Become Ethereal, the active aura while blocking will not drain any stamina.

     

     

     


    Coming of Age: The first step on the walking way is to gather each word of the Become Ethereal shout. This quest provides an exciting challenge and a decent reward for completing it early.

     

    The Path of Dawn: This quest sees The Avatava regaining a fraction of her powers of light by acquiring the sword Dawnbreaker. Defeating adversity in the form of Malkoran is the next step on her path to glory.

     

    The Dawnguard: Multiple quests must be completed after Awakening in order to get the Lost Relic quests from Florentius. Tackle these soon in order to get the Rune Hammer and Rune Shield as each will help the Avatava regain her power.

     

    The Main Quest: Unlocking shouts is essential, two important ones are found early into this arc. Progress as far as Paarthurnax to get a boost to fire spells and health regeneration by meditating on Fire Within.

     

    Lost to the Ages: Tava, goddess of air can merge anyone into her sacred element. The closest the Avatava can get to this ability is the Aetherial Shield.

     

    Wind and Sand: Speak to Neloth on the island of Solstheim and help him with his experiments to progress to this quest and be awarded with the Whirlwind Cloak spell.

     

    Black Book: Untold Legends: Head to Bekongerike in order to get the Bardic Knowledge power from the Black Book Untold Legends. As part of this quest you also get a word of power for the Cyclone shout.

     

     

    Aegis Angel by Aleksi Briclot

     

    I'd like to acknowledge all the help and support I received from Teccam at this build's conception stage. While it turned out to be a very different animal than we discussed back then, his insights and ideas still remain in some areas of this build. Thank you Teccam.

    Matt Feeney was a huge inspiration. Our chats about his theories on Yokudan lore being the final catalyst of what this idea evolved into, as well as being a huge motivator for me to learn more about the Redguards. Thanks Matt. Also for proof reading.

    Henson's Sun Priest was again a massive inspiration to me when I started this build, so thank you Henson.

    Very special thanks to Edana for the gift of a beautiful perkspread.

    And thank you for reading!

     

  • February 12, 2017

    For me, builds with stages are very cool, Phil, and I'm very glad to see this up. :D The color scheme and flashes of color is nice and I like the incorporation of the hawk and the Phoenix. And... uh, two-handed? YES. 

    And remind me when I do my next woman build to send you to get the images. You have a gift for this. :D

  • Member
    February 12, 2017

    RIGHT ON!!!

    Super excited to see this build up and running again. The Avatava was my first exposure to Phil as a writer, lore-ist, and all-round great guy. This build is the bee's knees... as are you, sir ;D

  • Member
    February 13, 2017

    Lissette Long-Chapper said:

    For me, builds with stages are very cool, Phil, and I'm very glad to see this up. :D The color scheme and flashes of color is nice and I like the incorporation of the hawk and the Phoenix. And... uh, two-handed? YES. 

    And remind me when I do my next woman build to send you to get the images. You have a gift for this. :D

    Thank you Lis :) I am quite pleased with the visual overhaul with the banners but I can barely remember playing this to be honest. Right up until SE came out she was my testing save file as she had done almost everything but became altered beyond recognition. I do remember the rune-bashing being like a machine gun with adrenaline rush going off... and struggling to find pics at the posting/building stage! I think I made an art rant thread on the subject. Ha. I have linked all the images to their respective artist's pages so anyone who clicks can enjoy their excellent work.

    ShinJin said:

    RIGHT ON!!!

    Super excited to see this build up and running again. The Avatava was my first exposure to Phil as a writer, lore-ist, and all-round great guy. This build is the bee's knees... as are you, sir ;D

    Damn, Shin! What a nice thing to say, very much appreciated. I remember your attempts to get this to Mythic with a spotlight. Did it ever make it? Regardless, your appreciation for this particular build was a huge factor in its return and for your ceaseless support and kindness I am in your debt. So thank you, Shinjin, for a great many things :)

  • Member
    February 13, 2017

    It's good to see this one back! :D

  • Member
    February 14, 2017

    Thanks Noodles :) It was fun bringing it back! Moon Pope next.