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Breath Dragonknight DPS Build - ESO Guide

Two Bar Magicka Dragonknight DPS Pure Class
Up to date for: Update 49 - 19th March 2026
Last changed: Update 49 - 12th March 2026

Magicka Dragonknight DPS Build built around the reworked Engulfing DragonfireEngulfing Dragonfire ability, a channeled fire breath attack that ramps up in damage over 4.8 seconds and synergizes with the Take FlightTake Flight ultimate.

It's a build somewhat similar to Arcanist beams. It is weaker than Regular Dragonknight but has better AoE damage, is much easier to play, and is one of the stronger options in ESO Update 49 overall.

This build parses 148k DPS on the Iron Atronach dummy using a Single Target, Medium Armor setup. The more practical Light Armor, AoE setup sits at 138k.

If you prefer a simpler rotation, check out the One Bar Breath Dragonknight DPS Build which parses 125k DPS with a single bar.

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Skill Setups

Base Setup

A base setup that will work for most situations and which should be your starting point when making situational setups

Engulfing Dragonfire Searing Claw Camouflaged Hunter Quick Cloak Grimoire Support Take Flight
Shatterspike Mantle Incinerate Molten Whip Stampede Grimoire Support Flawless Dawnbreaker
Front Bar Back Bar
Slot 1: Engulfing Dragonfire Slot 1: Shatterspike Mantle
Slot 2: Searing Claw Slot 2: Incinerate
Slot 3: Camouflaged Hunter Slot 3: Molten Whip
Slot 4: Quick Cloak Slot 4: Stampede
Slot 5: Banner Bearer Slot 5: Banner Bearer
Ultimate: Take Flight Ultimate: Flawless Dawnbreaker
INFO
  • Engulfing DragonfireEngulfing Dragonfire - the main ability of this build, a 4.8 second channeled attack which causes you to breathe fire in front of you (0.3 second windup and then deals damage every 0.5 seconds, 10 ticks in total). Its damage ramps up by 5% each tick up to 50% on the last tick, but it always deals maximum damage while Take FlightTake Flight's bonus is active. Unlike other channeled abilities, this one doesn't go on cooldown when you get interrupted.
  • Searing ClawSearing Claw - deals direct damage and applies a 10 second DoT which deals 10% more damage every 2 seconds. The initial hit is guaranteed to proc Burning status effect.
  • Camouflaged HunterCamouflaged Hunter - this ability will grant you the Minor Berserk buff which increases your damage done by 5% for 5 seconds after you deal Critical Damage from enemy's flank, which has a very wide radius. It's a buff which should be provided by your Healers, but this skill can fill the gaps in uptime. It will also trigger the SlayerSlayer passive, increasing your Weapon and Spell Damage by 3%.
  • Quick CloakQuick Cloak - an ability that grants a short burst of movement speed, Major Evasion buff which reduces your damage taken from AoE attacks and deals damage over 30 seconds. The damage it deals can proc your weapon enchantments, which is important because you can't proc them with Light Attacks while breathing.
  • Banner BearerBanner Bearer (ShockShock, Cavalier's ChargeCavalier's Charge, HeroismHeroism) - a toggle which will drain your Stamina and Magicka. The Focus script will grant you a 6% bonus to Direct Damage. The Signature script will grant you 6 Weapon and Spell Damage per 1% of bonus movement speed you have, which will always grant you at least 60 thanks to CelerityCelerity, and 180 briefly after casting Quick CloakQuick Cloak, with possibly more if your teammates provide other movement speed bonuses. The Affix script will grant you Minor Heroism which will increase your Ultimate generation allowing you to keep up better uptime on Take FlightTake Flight.
  • Take FlightTake Flight - a cheap ultimate which gives you a 20% Damage Done against Monsters buff for 15 seconds. Your Engulfing DragonfireEngulfing Dragonfire always deals maximum damage while Take FlightTake Flight's buff is active.
  • Shatterspike MantleShatterspike Mantle - your source of Major Resolve which also applies a 20 second DoT to enemies around you and grants you a buff which adds 100 damage to all of your damage ticks.
  • IncinerateIncinerate - an ability which releases a fiery wave around you on cast and then every 5 seconds for 15 seconds. It has increased base chance to proc Burning status effect. Having it slotted passively grants you Major Savagery and Prophecy.
  • Molten WhipMolten Whip - a spammable which we'll slot only for its passive effect. Molten WhipMolten Whip gains up to 3 stacks whenever you use a Dragonknight ability which grant you 15% damage done at maximum stacks. They last 10 seconds and with this many Dragonknight abilities in your rotation you'll never have to pay attention to this timer.
  • StampedeStampede - a gap closer which leaves a ground DoT under your target which will constantly proc your Weapon Damage enchantment and increase your Direct Damage done thanks to the Merciless ChargeMerciless Charge set.
  • Flawless DawnbreakerFlawless Dawnbreaker - since this build revolves around Engulfing DragonfireEngulfing Dragonfire you'll want to always use Take FlightTake Flight as your ultimate. Flawless DawnbreakerFlawless Dawnbreaker is slotted on backbar to passively provide some Weapon and Spell Damage through the SlayerSlayer passive.
SITUATIONAL

If you need to slot something situational, replace Camouflaged HunterCamouflaged Hunter in single target fights and Searing ClawSearing Claw in AoE fights.

  • Barbed TrapBarbed Trap - a very strong DoT which procs the SlayerSlayer passive and grants Minor Force, which is irrelevant while wearing Velothi Ur-Mage's AmuletVelothi Ur-Mage's Amulet. It can replace Camouflaged HunterCamouflaged Hunter in single target fights if your Healers are providing Minor Berserk. It should also be part of your base setup before you obtain Velothi Ur-Mage's AmuletVelothi Ur-Mage's Amulet. It can be difficult to sustain — if you're wearing Light Armor then you'll most likely need potions that restore Stamina.
  • Soul of FlameSoul of Flame - an ability which restores resources based on your missing resources. Use it if you can't sustain.
  • Igneous WeaponsIgneous Weapons - a support ability which provides your entire team with Major Brutality and Sorcery and isn't that big of a DPS loss for you to run. Getting Major Brutality through this will also allow you to use different potions.
  • Proximity DetonationProximity Detonation - extremely good ability for trash packs, you can pre-cast it as you're running into them.
  • Resolving VigorResolving Vigor - a self-heal you'll need for some fights.
  • Chains of DevastationChains of Devastation - a gap closer which can be useful in fights where you have to move around a lot.
  • Burning EmbersBurning Embers - the other morph of Searing ClawSearing Claw. It deals less damage but heals you for a decent amount on cast and then continues to heal you whenever it ticks. Use it if you need more healing.
  • Elemental BlockadeElemental Blockade - a replacement for StampedeStampede whenever you're using a Destruction Staff instead of a Greatsword on your backbar. It's much easier to sustain than StampedeStampede and until you obtain the Merciless ChargeMerciless Charge set they're both similar in strength, which makes Elemental BlockadeElemental Blockade better.
  • Banner BearerBanner Bearer (ShockShock, Cavalier's ChargeCavalier's Charge, other script) - when using Heroism potions you can change the HeroismHeroism script to something else. Usually it would have to be Brutality and SorceryBrutality and Sorcery, but if you're already getting it from Igneous WeaponsIgneous Weapons or from a group member you could instead use BerserkBerserk or CourageCourage scripts, depending on what other buffs your team is providing.
ROTATION

Priority List

This is just a list of priorities. Simply recast abilities when they run out and follow this list of priorities when there are multiple things to refresh.

Inside of your Take FlightTake Flight window you can freely cancel Engulfing DragonfireEngulfing Dragonfire to refresh DoTs. Outside of Take FlightTake Flight, you want to finish Engulfing DragonfireEngulfing Dragonfire and refresh DoTs after it ends.

You ideally want to start a cast of Engulfing DragonfireEngulfing Dragonfire when Take FlightTake Flight has 2-3 seconds left, so that the initial weak phase of Engulfing DragonfireEngulfing Dragonfire gets bypassed by Take FlightTake Flight's buff, because the later phase deals high damage regardless.

Pre-buff

These abilities can be pre-cast before entering combat

Final Setups

A few examples of final setups you could end up with after applying the situational skills to the base setup

A setup for trash packs

Engulfing Dragonfire Incinerate Camouflaged Hunter Quick Cloak Grimoire Support Take Flight
Shatterspike Mantle Proximity Detonation Molten Whip Stampede Grimoire Support Flawless Dawnbreaker
Front Bar Back Bar
Slot 1: Engulfing Dragonfire Slot 1: Shatterspike Mantle
Slot 2: Incinerate Slot 2: Proximity Detonation
Slot 3: Camouflaged Hunter Slot 3: Molten Whip
Slot 4: Quick Cloak Slot 4: Stampede
Slot 5: Banner Bearer Slot 5: Banner Bearer
Ultimate: Take Flight Ultimate: Flawless Dawnbreaker

What Changes



Passives

Some trees are only needed when using situational skills, for example Destruction Staff provides nothing without Elemental BlockadeElemental Blockade

Class

Weapon

Armor

Guild

Alliance War

Racial

Craft

Class - Ardent Flame

CombustionCombustion - High Priority

Traumatic BurnsTraumatic Burns - High Priority

Fan the FlamesFan the Flames - High Priority

A Soul AblazeA Soul Ablaze - High Priority

Gear

Base Setup

A base setup that will work for most situations and which should be your starting point when making situational setups. It assumes your group provides Major Breach, Minor Breach, Infused Crusher and nothing more

Switching gear for trash packs isn't worth it unless you're using gear-swap addons

This setup parsed 138.1k DPS

ALTERNATIVE

Gear that is easier to obtain and can be used while you work towards the best gear

Crafted

All of these are tradable and can be bought from other players

No Overland, Dungeon or Trial gear is listed as the Crafted options are superior.

Final Setups

A few examples of final setups you could end up with after applying situational rules to the base setup

This is the crafted gear setup you can start with

The crafted setup parses 111.1k DPS

When using it, replace Camouflaged HunterCamouflaged Hunter with Barbed TrapBarbed Trap since this setup doesn't get Minor Force from Velothi Ur-Mage's AmuletVelothi Ur-Mage's Amulet. Replacing StampedeStampede with Elemental BlockadeElemental Blockade makes it easier to sustain and without Merciless ChargeMerciless Charge there's very little difference between these two damage-wise.

Skill Setup
Engulfing Dragonfire Searing Claw Barbed Trap Quick Cloak Grimoire Support Take Flight
Shatterspike Mantle Incinerate Molten Whip Elemental Blockade Grimoire Support Flawless Dawnbreaker
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Champion Points

WarfareWarfare
Master-at-Arms
6% Direct Damage
Because more than 60% of your damage is Direct
Biting Aura
6% AoE Damage
Because more than 60% of your damage is AoE
Wrathful Strikes
205 Weapon and Spell Damage
Next strongest CP damage-wise
Fighting Finesse
8% Critical Damage and Healing
Next strongest CP damage-wise
Critical Damage Cap
Replace Fighting FinesseFighting Finesse with ExploiterExploiter if your supports are providing enough Critical Damage for you to reach the 125% cap without Fighting Finesse
More Healing
Reaving BlowsReaving Blows is a decent Champion Point if you need more HPS
FitnessFitness
Boundless Vitality
1400 Max Health
Survivability
Fortified
1731 Armor
Survivability
Celerity
10% Movement Speed
Boosts your Cavalier's Charge
Rejuvenation
90 Health, Stamina and Magicka Recovery
Sustain
Sustain in fights with lots of adds
Bloody RenewalBloody Renewal and Siphoning SpellsSiphoning Spells are good sustain CPs for dungeon fights with lots of adds
Craft Craft
Steed's Blessing
20% Movement Speed out of combat
Extremely useful utility
Quality of Life
Green Champion Points don't affect Combat, choose whatever Quality of Life you prefer


Race

The difference between best and worst race is about 5% of DPS and there is no content in the entire game that you'd be blocked from completing because of choosing a bad race.

High Elf
Best for 12-Man
High Elf
Why pick this
Provides Max Magicka and Weapon/Spell Damage. In Trials that's usually stronger than Khajiit's Critical Damage racial, because with 4 supports your team will (usually) provide enough Critical Damage buffs for you to reach the cap regardless
Spell Recharge Spell Recharge ≈104 lower resource per second, 5% less damage taken while channeling
Syrabane's Boon Syrabane's Boon 2000 Max Magicka
Elemental Talent Elemental Talent 258 Weapon & Spell Damage
Dark Elf
Best for 12-Man
Dark Elf
Why pick this
Provides Max Magicka and Weapon/Spell Damage. In Trials that's usually stronger than Khajiit's Critical Damage racial, because with 4 supports your team will (usually) provide enough Critical Damage buffs for you to reach the cap regardless
Dynamic Dynamic 1910 Max Stamina & Magicka
Resist Flame Resist Flame 4620 Flame Resistance
Ruination Ruination 258 Weapon & Spell Damage
Khajiit
Best for 4-Man
Khajiit
Why pick this
Khajiit's Critical Damage is more valuable than High Elf/Dark Elf's Weapon/Spell Damage in 4-man content, because it's unlikely your two supports (or in many cases a single support) will be able to provide enough Critical Damage buffs for you to reach the 125% Critical Damage cap
Feline Ambush Feline Ambush 12% Critical Damage
Nimble Nimble 915 Max Health, Stamina and Magicka
Robustness Robustness 90 Health, Stamina, Magicka Recovery

Other decent options

Orc
Orc
Brawny Brawny 1000 Max Stamina
Unflinching Rage Unflinching Rage 1000 Max Health, ≈531 Healing per Second
Swift Warrior Swift Warrior 258 Weapon & Spell Damage, -12% Sprint Cost, +10% Sprint Speed
Breton
Breton
Gift of Magnus Gift of Magnus 2000 Max Magicka
Spell Attunement Spell Attunement 2310 Spell Resistance (doubled when Burning, Concussed or Chilled), 130 Magicka Recovery
Magicka Mastery Magicka Mastery -7% Magicka Cost


Mundus

The Thief
Default
The Thief
5.53% Critical Chance (9.04% with 7 Divines)
When to use
Use in all content

Attributes

You should always put all 64 attribute points into Magicka.

Health
0
Stamina
0
Magicka
64
All points into Magicka


Food

Your sustain can vary greatly because it's impacted by your race, the amount of synergies provided by your teammates, and by your armor type. Choose the food with more Magicka Recovery if you can't sustain.

Max Health Max Magicka
Use for most content. Solitude Salmon-Millet SoupSolitude Salmon-Millet Soup is a cheaper alternative.
Clockwork Citrus Filet
Need Sustain
Max Health Max Magicka Magicka Recovery
Use when you need more sustain. Witchmother's Potent BrewWitchmother's Potent Brew is a cheaper alternative.
Tomato Garlic Chutney
Full Damage
Max Magicka
Max Magicka only. Use for parsing or content where you can get away without Max Health. Ghastly Eye BowlGhastly Eye Bowl adds Magicka Recovery if needed, at the cost of some of the Max Magicka.


Potions

Weapon Power Potion
Default Weapon Power Potion
Restore Stamina Major Brutality Weapon Critical

Most of the time you should use the Weapon Power potions. They'll improve your Stamina sustain and provide Major Brutality which is crucial.

Spell Power Potion
Situational Spell Power Potion
Restore Magicka Major Sorcery Spell Critical

Spell Power potions are very similar to Weapon Power potions, except they improve your Magicka sustain instead of Stamina sustain. The drawback is that the Major Sorcery they provide doesn't stack with your Minor Brutality from Elder DragonElder Dragon passive, so they're only equivalent to Weapon Power potions if there's someone in your team using the Dawn's Wrath skill line and providing Minor Sorcery with IlluminateIlluminate passive.

Heroism Potion
Full Damage Heroism Potion
Minor Heroism Restore Stamina Restore Magicka

Heroism potions restore both Stamina and Magicka and can provide 100% uptime on Minor Heroism, allowing you to use a different Affix script on your Banner BearerBanner Bearer, however you'll need another source of Major Brutality or Sorcery, like for example yours or a groupmate's Igneous WeaponsIgneous Weapons. You could also put Brutality and Sorcery on your own Banner BearerBanner Bearer, in which case we're back to square one in terms of buffs, but now our potions restore both Stamina and Magicka. This approach is straight up stronger but isn't recommended as part of regular setup because of how expensive Heroism potions are.

Tri-Stat Potion
Situational Tri-Stat Potion
Restore Health Restore Stamina Restore Magicka

Tri-Stat potions are basically Heroism potions without the Minor Heroism, and they're much cheaper. You can use them if you want potions which restore both Stamina and Magicka and you're already getting Major Brutality/Sorcery from somewhere else.

Armor Potion
Survivability Armor Potion
Restore Health +5280 Armor

If you want to greatly improve your survivability you can instead use Armor Potions. You'll need another source of Major Brutality/Sorcery and most likely you'll also have to slot Soul of FlameSoul of Flame, or get more sustain in other ways.

Parses

All parses are recorded on the 21 million Target Dummy

Single Target, Medium Armor
148,062DPS
Target: 21mil Iron Atronach Dummy

148k on the 6mil dummy using Single Target, Medium Armor setup

CMX Parse
CMX Parse - Single Target Medium Armor
CMX Setup
CMX Setup - Single Target Medium Armor
Recording
Parse recording
Regular (Whorl), Single Target
140,370DPS
Target: 21mil Iron Atronach Dummy

Regular (Whorl) gear with Single Target skill setup

CMX Parse
CMX Parse - Whorl Single Target
CMX Setup
CMX Setup - Whorl Single Target
Regular (Whorl)
138,115DPS
Target: 21mil Iron Atronach Dummy

Regular (Whorl) gear with standard skill setup

CMX Parse
CMX Parse - Regular Whorl
CMX Setup
CMX Setup - Regular Whorl
No Trial Gear (Tide-Born)
130,613DPS
Target: 21mil Iron Atronach Dummy

No Trial Gear using Tide-Born setup

CMX Parse
CMX Parse - Tide-Born
CMX Setup
CMX Setup - Tide-Born
Crafted
111,053DPS
Target: 21mil Iron Atronach Dummy

Crafted gear only setup

CMX Parse
CMX Parse - Crafted
CMX Setup
CMX Setup - Crafted

Gameplay

Here you can see this build in action

Unhallowed Grave
Dungeon
Castle Thorn
Dungeon
Unhallowed Grave
Dungeon Veteran Hard Mode
Castle Thorn
Dungeon Veteran Hard Mode

FAQ

Is Breath Dragonknight good for DPS in ESO?

Yes, it's one of the stronger DPS options in ESO Update 49. The gameplay is similar to Arcanist beams - you channel Engulfing DragonfireEngulfing Dragonfire as your main damage source, and Take FlightTake Flight synergizes with it for big ultimate dumps. It has great AoE damage and is much easier to play than most DPS builds, parsing 148k single target and 138k in a practical AoE setup.

Can I use a different weapon?

Yes, you can replace the Dual Wield Daggers with other weapons. Lightning Staff, Greatsword and Bow will cause the smallest DPS loss (≈2%), then Inferno Staff (≈4%), and then support-oriented weapons (Ice Staff, One Handed and Shield) will cause a bigger DPS loss (≈7%). You will also have to replace Quick CloakQuick Cloak with some situational ability, or with an ability from one of the weapons you swapped to (for example CarveCarve when switching to Greatsword). Replacing the backbar Greatsword is not recommended because of the Merciless ChargeMerciless Charge set which requires a Two Handed weapon.

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