Be as the landslide. Let nothing stop you.
Improves your passive to increase the potency of your damage done, healing done, and damage shield strength by 1% per stack.
One Bar Magicka Dragonknight DPS Build built around the reworked Engulfing Dragonfire ability, a channeled fire breath attack that ramps up in damage over 4.8 seconds and synergizes with the Take Flight ultimate. Same core as the full Breath Dragonknight build, just condensed to one bar.
Obviously weaker than the two bar version, but still competitive for a One Bar build in ESO Update 50. This is the version you should use if you hate bar swapping.
This build parses 131.6k DPS with the Medium Armor setup on the Iron Atronach dummy.
Looking for more damage? Check out the two bar Breath Dragonknight DPS Build which parses 148k DPS.
Works in normal and veteran dungeons, trials, hard modes, Dragonstar Arena, and Blackrose Prison.
I built a simulator that takes the current setup from the guide and plays it through the listed rotation. It uses the listed gear, skills, Champion Points, race, food, potions, target armor and target health. It tracks skill casts, light attacks, DoT ticks, cooldowns, execute scaling, crits and status effect rolls. It assumes 100% of light attacks hit and a 0.025 second weave average.
Comparison tables in this guide use the deterministic sim on the 21 million HP Iron Atronach trial dummy. The Medium Armor setup is treated as the default.
For comparison tables I keep the setup identical and change one thing at a time. That makes the tables better for comparing options than random dummy parses, where one run can get better crits, different status effects or a better execute window.
| Run | DPS | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 21m deterministic sim | Used for comparison tables in this guide | |
| Real 21m CMX parse | Recorded in game | |
| 100 random 21m sims | This is why random parses are unreliable when crits and status effects roll differently |
Class Masteries are a new U50 system where each class picks 2 of 5 passive bonuses (Class Mastery Points, not Skill Points). Activating subclassing disables Class Mastery, so it's a tradeoff between keeping your native skill lines or subclassing.
Be as the landslide. Let nothing stop you.
Improves your passive to increase the potency of your damage done, healing done, and damage shield strength by 1% per stack.
Simply the best damage option.
Fire forged within can never be extinguished. Fan the flames.
When your Dragonknight damage over time effects end, you apply Wildfire Embers to the target, dealing Flame Damage over 12 seconds. This effect stacks up to 12 times and increases in damage by 25% per stack.
| Total Coefficient | 7.01% Max Stamina/Magicka + 73.95% Weapon/Spell Damage | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tick Rate | Every 2s (6 ticks) | ||
| Status Chance | 3% | ||
| Tags | |||
Wildfire Embers' damage does not benefit from some Weapon Damage sources like or .
Simply the best damage option.
You are as unyielding as a mountain.
Each second you remain Bracing, you increase the amount of damage you block by 6%, up to 5 times.
Blocking damage has a 20% chance to restore 500 Stamina. This effect can occur once every block cost.
Not useful for this setup.
Let your voice echo across the peaks.
Activating rank 2 of now also grants 5 Health, Magicka, and Stamina Recovery for every Ultimate spent for 10 seconds after a delay of 15 seconds.
Not useful for this setup.
Let others be swept along in the wake of your flame.
Activating rank 2 of grants you and group members within 28 meters of you and for 1 second per 15 Ultimate spent, increasing damage done and reducing damage taken by 10%.
Not useful for this setup.
A base setup that will work for most situations and which should be your starting point when making situational setups
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Engulfing DragonfireMorph of Dragonfire Breath | |
| Slot 2: Searing ClawMorph of Searing Strike | |
| Slot 3: Shatterspike MantleMorph of Earthspike Mantle | |
| Slot 4: IncinerateMorph of Inferno | |
| Slot 5: Banner Bearer | |
| Ultimate: Take FlightMorph of Dragon Leap |
If you need to slot something situational, replace Searing Claw .
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 Flight window you can freely cancel Engulfing Dragonfire to refresh DoTs. Outside of Take Flight , you want to finish Engulfing Dragonfire and refresh DoTs after it ends.
You ideally want to start a cast of Engulfing Dragonfire when Take Flight has 2-3 seconds left, so that the initial weak phase of Engulfing Dragonfire gets bypassed by Take Flight 's buff, because the later phase deals high damage regardless.
Pre-buff
These abilities can be pre-cast before entering combat
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
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Engulfing Dragonfire | |
| Slot 2: Quick Cloak | |
| Slot 3: Shatterspike Mantle | |
| Slot 4: Incinerate | |
| Slot 5: Banner Bearer | |
| Ultimate: Take Flight |
Some trees are only needed when using situational skills, for example Fighters Guild provides nothing without Barbed Trap
Class - Ardent Flame
Combustion
- High Priority
Traumatic Burns
- High Priority
Fan the Flames
- High Priority
A Soul Ablaze
- High Priority
Class - Draconic Power
Burnished Scales
- High Priority
World in Ruin
- High Priority
Elder Dragon
- High Priority
The Storm Voice
- High Priority
Class - Earthen Heart
Heart of Stone
- High Priority
Landslide
- High Priority
Blessing at the Peak
- High Priority
Mountain Giant
- High Priority
Weapon - Dual Wield
Slaughter
- High Priority
Dual Wield Expert
- High Priority
Controlled Fury
- High Priority
Ruffian
- Medium Priority
Twin Blade and Blunt
- High Priority
Armor - Light Armor
Grace
- Low Priority
Evocation
- High Priority
Spell Warding
- High Priority
Prodigy
- High Priority
Concentration
- High Priority
Armor - Medium Armor
Dexterity
- High Priority
Wind Walker
- High Priority
Improved Sneak
- Not needed
Agility
- High Priority
Athletics
- High Priority
Guild - Fighters Guild
Intimidating Presence
- High Priority
Slayer
- High Priority
Banish the Wicked
- High Priority
Skilled Tracker
- High Priority
Bounty Hunter
- Not needed
Guild - Undaunted
Undaunted Command
- High Priority
Undaunted Mettle
- High Priority
Alliance War - Support
Magicka Aid
- Medium Priority
Combat Medic
- Not needed
Battle Resurrection
- Not needed
Race - Your Race
Get all of your racials, no matter which race you are
Craft - Alchemy
Solvent Proficiency
- Not needed
Keen Eye: Reagents
- Not needed
Medicinal Use
- High Priority
Chemistry
- Not needed
Laboratory Use
- Not needed
Snakeblood
- Not needed
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
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Head |
Slimecraw | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
Shoulders |
Whorl of the Depths | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Chest |
Deadly Strike | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
Hands |
Whorl of the Depths | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Belt |
Whorl of the Depths | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Legs |
Whorl of the Depths | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Boots |
Whorl of the Depths | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Necklace |
Velothi Ur-Mage's Amulet | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Ring |
Deadly Strike | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Ring |
Deadly Strike | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Frontbar Main Hand |
Deadly Strike | Dagger | Nirnhoned | Poison |
Frontbar Off Hand |
Deadly Strike | Dagger | Precise | Absorb Stamina |
This setup parses 126,773 DPS
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.
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
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Head |
Order's Wrath | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Shoulders |
Highland Sentinel | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Chest |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
Hands |
Highland Sentinel | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Belt |
Highland Sentinel | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Legs |
Highland Sentinel | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
Boots |
Highland Sentinel | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Necklace |
Order's Wrath | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Ring |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Ring |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Frontbar Main Hand |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Dagger | Nirnhoned | Poison |
Frontbar Off Hand |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Dagger | Precise | Absorb Stamina |
The crafted setup parses 111,023 DPS
When using it, replace Searing Claw with Barbed Trap since this setup doesn't get Minor Force from Velothi Ur-Mage's Amulet .
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Engulfing DragonfireMorph of Dragonfire Breath | |
| Slot 2: Barbed TrapMorph of Trap Beast | |
| Slot 3: Shatterspike MantleMorph of Earthspike Mantle | |
| Slot 4: IncinerateMorph of Inferno | |
| Slot 5: Banner Bearer | |
| Ultimate: Take FlightMorph of Dragon Leap |
This is a setup you should use if you don't have access to any Trial gear
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Head |
Slimecraw | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
Shoulders |
Highland Sentinel | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Chest |
Deadly Strike | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
Hands |
Highland Sentinel | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Belt |
Highland Sentinel | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Legs |
Highland Sentinel | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
Boots |
Highland Sentinel | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Necklace |
Velothi Ur-Mage's Amulet | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Ring |
Deadly Strike | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Ring |
Deadly Strike | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Frontbar Main Hand |
Deadly Strike | Dagger | Nirnhoned | Poison |
Frontbar Off Hand |
Deadly Strike | Dagger | Precise | Absorb Stamina |
This setup parses 123,059 DPS
This is a setup you should use in trash packs
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Head |
Slimecraw | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
Shoulders |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Chest |
Sul-Xan's Torment | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
Hands |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Belt |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Legs |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
Boots |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Necklace |
Velothi Ur-Mage's Amulet | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Ring |
Sul-Xan's Torment | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Ring |
Sul-Xan's Torment | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Frontbar Main Hand |
Sul-Xan's Torment | Dagger | Nirnhoned | Poison |
Frontbar Off Hand |
Sul-Xan's Torment | Dagger | Precise | Absorb Stamina |
This is a setup you can use if your team provides additional penetration
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Head |
Slimecraw | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Shoulders |
Slivers of Null Arca | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
Chest |
Deadly Strike | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
Hands |
Slivers of Null Arca | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
Belt |
Slivers of Null Arca | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
Legs |
Slivers of Null Arca | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
Boots |
Slivers of Null Arca | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
Necklace |
Velothi Ur-Mage's Amulet | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Ring |
Deadly Strike | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Ring |
Deadly Strike | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Frontbar Main Hand |
Deadly Strike | Dagger | Nirnhoned | Poison |
Frontbar Off Hand |
Deadly Strike | Dagger | Precise | Absorb Stamina |
This setup parses 130,820 DPS
This setup can only be used if your team provides additional penetration, for example through Roar of Alkosh .
Damage comparison for the set options.
Body (Light)
Compares X Light set + Deadly Strike weapons and jewelry, with Fighting Finesse slotted.
| Body Set | Source | Simulated Parse | Damage Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whorl of the Depths | Trial - Dreadsail Reef | Baseline | |
| Highland Sentinel | Crafted |
-3.0%
-6.7%
|
|
| Order's Wrath | Crafted | -5.7% | |
| Mother's Sorrow | Overland - Deshaan | -6.2% | |
| Pyrebrand | Class Set - Infinite Archive | -6.5% | |
| Tide-Born Wildstalker | Crafted | -6.7% | |
| Law of Julianos | Crafted | -7.0% | |
| Hunding's Rage | Crafted | -8.4% |
Body (Medium)
Compares X Medium set + Deadly Strike weapons and jewelry, with Untamed Aggression slotted.
| Body Set | Source | Simulated Parse | Damage Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ansuul's Torment | Trial - Sanity's Edge |
+1.0%
-6.0%
|
|
| Slivers of the Null Arca | Trial - Lucent Citadel | Baseline | |
| Sul-Xan's Torment | Trial - Rockgrove |
-0.5%
-7.8%
|
|
| Highland Sentinel | Crafted |
-2.5%
-6.8%
|
|
| Aegis Caller | Dungeon - Unhallowed Grave | -4.7% | |
| Pyrebrand | Class Set - Infinite Archive | -6.4% | |
| Tzogvin's Warband | Dungeon - Frostvault | -6.4% | |
| Pillar of Nirn | Dungeon - Falkreath Hold | -6.8% | |
| Tide-Born Wildstalker | Crafted | -7.1% | |
| Law of Julianos | Crafted | -7.1% | |
| Order's Wrath | Crafted | -7.3% | |
| Hunding's Rage | Crafted | -8.2% | |
| Briarheart | Overland - Wrothgar | -8.3% |
Weapons + Jewelry
Compares Slivers of the Null Arca body + X weapons and jewelry set, with Untamed Aggression slotted.
| Set | Source | Simulated Parse | Damage Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ansuul's Torment | Trial - Sanity's Edge |
+3.3%
-3.6%
|
|
| Highland Sentinel | Crafted |
+2.0%
-1.9%
|
|
| Sul-Xan's Torment | Trial - Rockgrove |
+1.3%
-6.0%
|
|
| Whorl of the Depths | Trial - Dreadsail Reef | +1.3% | |
| Deadly Strike | PvP - Cyrodiil | Baseline | |
| Aegis Caller | Dungeon - Unhallowed Grave | -0.3% | |
| Tzogvin's Warband | Dungeon - Frostvault | -1.6% | |
| Mother's Sorrow | Overland - Deshaan | -1.6% | |
| Tide-Born Wildstalker | Crafted | -1.8% | |
| Pyrebrand | Class Set - Infinite Archive | -2.2% | |
| Pillar of Nirn | Dungeon - Falkreath Hold | -2.2% | |
| Law of Julianos | Crafted | -2.5% | |
| Order's Wrath | Crafted | -2.8% | |
| Hunding's Rage | Crafted | -3.4% | |
| Briarheart | Overland - Wrothgar | -3.6% |
Damage comparison for front bar weapon options.
| Front Bar Weapon | Simulated Parse | Damage Change |
|---|---|---|
| Dual Wield Daggers | Baseline | |
| Bow | -1.3% | |
| Greatsword | -1.6% | |
| Lightning Staff | -3.0% | |
| Inferno Staff | -6.3% | |
| Sword and Shield | -7.1% | |
| Ice Staff | -7.5% | |
| Restoration Staff | -8.6% |
Daggers use Nirnhoned Poison and Precise Absorb Stamina . Every one-weapon option uses a Precise Poison weapon. Sword and Shield uses a Precise Poison sword plus a Divines Magicka shield.
The difference between best and worst race is about 4% of DPS and there is no content in the entire game that you'd be blocked from completing because of choosing a bad race.
| Race | Simulated Parse | Damage Change |
|---|---|---|
| Dark Elf | 0.0% | |
| High Elf | 0.0% | |
| Orc | -1.4% | |
| Breton | -3.4% | |
| Argonian | -4.7% | |
| Khajiit | -4.7% | |
| Wood Elf | -5.2% | |
| Redguard | -5.7% | |
| Imperial | -5.7% | |
| Nord | -5.7% |
You should always put all 64 attribute points into Magicka.
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.
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 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 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 Illuminate passive.
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 Bearer , however you'll need another source of Major Brutality or Sorcery, like for example yours or a groupmate's Igneous Weapons . You could also put Brutality and Sorcery on your own Banner 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 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.
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 Flame , or get more sustain in other ways.
All parses are recorded on the 21 million Target Dummy
If you hate bar swapping. The one bar version parses 131k DPS with Medium Armor, and is built around the same Engulfing Dragonfire gameplay. If you want more damage, check out the two bar Breath Dragonknight DPS Build.
Yes, you can replace the Dual Wield Daggers with other weapons. Bow and Greatsword have the smallest DPS loss (about 1-2%). Lightning Staff is about 3%, Inferno Staff about 6%, Sword and Shield about 7%, and Ice Staff and Restoration Staff are around 8-9%. The regular setup doesn't use any Dual Wield skills, but the trash setup uses Quick Cloak which you'd need to replace - for example with Carve when switching to Greatsword, or Soul of Flame with any weapon.
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