Hyperioxes
Hyperioxes

One Bar Breath Dragonknight DPS Build | 135k DPS | ESO Guide

DPS One Bar Magicka Pure Class Dragonknight
Up to date for: Update 51 - 11th October 2026
Last changed: Update 51 - 11th October 2026

One Bar Magicka Dragonknight DPS Build built around the reworked ability, a channeled fire breath attack that ramps up in damage over 4.8 seconds and synergizes with the 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 51. This is the version you should use if you hate bar swapping.

This build parses 135.3k 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 163k DPS.

Works in normal and veteran dungeons, trials, hard modes, Dragonstar Arena, and Blackrose Prison.

The video is from an older patch - the written guide below is more up to date.
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Simulated DPS is up by 1.0% with the Base Setup and 0.9% with the Medium Armor setup compared to U50.

Skills

  • now costs 3510 Magicka instead of 3780 Magicka and reduces damage taken by 15% while channeling
  • now grants only , which provides both Weapon and Spell Critical Chance
  • replaces on

Dragonknight

  • now stacks up to 12 times instead of 10, generates a stack every 4 seconds instead of 5 at maximum rank, and loses a stack after 6 seconds without generating another
  • also uses the higher stack cap and new decay behavior
  • grants , which now increases both Weapon and Spell Damage

Consumables

  • replace
  • now uses the Essence of Spell Protection name and updated icon
Article ESO Update 51 PTS Patch Notes & Changes ESO Update 51 PTS patch notes covering buff hybridization, class and weapon changes, Werewolf, item sets, Solo Dungeons, and undocumented changes.

Simulated Parse Tables

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.

Every comparison table in this guide is the average of 10 deterministic sims, with the trial dummy's health spread between 20 and 22 million HP. A single sim on exactly 21 million HP can be off by up to 0.6%, because the result depends on when the killing hit lands. 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.

Base Setup

Run DPS Notes
Deterministic sim (20-22m average)
133.4k DPS
Used for comparison tables in this guide
100 random 21m sims
Lowest 129.2k DPS
Highest 137.9k DPS
This is why random parses are unreliable when crits and status effects roll differently

Full Damage Setup

The real parse was recorded with the Full Damage setup: Medium Armor setup, replaces

Run DPS
Deterministic sim (20-22m average)
134.6k DPS
Real 21m CMX parse
135.3k DPS
100 random 21m sims
Lowest 130.1k DPS
Highest 138.3k DPS
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Class Mastery

Class Masteries are a 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.

Use and .

Default

Dragonknight Class Mastery

Inexorable Descent

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.

Notes

Simply the best damage option.

Dragonknight Class Mastery

Wildfire Embers

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.

Flame Damage

Total Coefficient7.01% Max Stamina/Magicka + 73.95% Weapon/Spell Damage
Tick RateEvery 2s (6 ticks)
Status Chance3%
TagsFlameSingle TargetDoT

Notes

Simply the best damage option.

Situational

Dragonknight Class Mastery

Lead From the Front

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%.

Notes

6.8% less damage than but provides your group with roughly 41% and uptime. Worth running if your group doesn't have another source of .

Not worth it

Dragonknight Class Mastery

Resolute Defense

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.

Notes

Not useful for this setup.

Dragonknight Class Mastery

Booming Voice

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.

Notes

Not useful for this setup.

Class Mastery Simulated Parse Damage Change
133.4k DPS
Baseline
124.3k DPS
-6.8%

Skill Setups

Base 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
  • - 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 's bonus is active. Unlike other channeled abilities, this one doesn't go on cooldown when you get interrupted.
  • - 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.
  • - 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.
  • - 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 .
  • (, , ) - a toggle which will drain your Stamina and Magicka. The Focus script will grant you a 6% bonus to Magical 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 , and 180 briefly after casting (situational skill), with possibly more if your teammates provide other movement speed bonuses. The Affix script will grant you , which increases your Weapon and Spell Damage by 20%.
  • - a cheap ultimate which gives you a 20% Damage Done against Monsters buff for 15 seconds. Your always deals maximum damage while 's buff is active.

If you need to slot something situational, replace .

  • - a very strong DoT which procs the passive and grants Minor Force. It should be part of your base setup before you obtain
  • - an ability that causes AoE explosions around you every 2 seconds for 30 seconds. It will also grant you Major Evasion for the duration, reducing your AoE damage taken by 20%. It will also grant you Major Expedition for 4 seconds after casting, increasing your Movement Speed by 30%. It's a perfect skill for trash packs, because it can be pre-cast before engaging them, giving you more time to channel . It's also a good situational skill for boss fights that have a lot of mechanics dealing AoE damage
  • - an ability which restores resources based on your missing resources. Use it if you can't sustain
  • - a support ability which provides your entire team with and isn't that big of a DPS loss for you to run. Getting Major Brutality through this will also allow you to use a different Affix script on your
  • - a self-heal you'll need for some fights
  • - a gap closer which can be useful in fights where you have to move around a lot
  • - the other morph of . 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
  • (, , other script) - if you're already getting from Bi-Stat Power potions, or from a group member, you can change the script to , or , depending on what other buffs your team is providing
Rotation Simulated Parse Damage Change
Priority List
133.4k DPS
Baseline
Static Rotation
131.9k DPS
-1.1%

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 window you can freely cancel to refresh DoTs. Outside of , you want to finish and refresh DoTs after it ends.

When has about 3 seconds left, cancel and cast it again, even if you just started it. makes it deal max damage anyway, so the weak start of the new cast doesn't matter, and it's already ramped up when ends.

Light Attacks

Don't light attack after . Cast your next skill right away instead, it goes out about 250ms faster than if you wait for the 1 second global cooldown.

The only exception is casting twice in a row (outside of the window). Light attack between those two, because there's a bug where if you cast right after another without any break in between, the second one starts at 0% and only ramps up to 45%, instead of starting at 5% and ramping up to 50%.

Pre-buff

These abilities can be pre-cast before entering combat

  • (only the and damage done buff, the DoT doesn't carry over)

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

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

What Changes

  • replaces .

Passives

Some trees are only needed when using situational skills, for example Fighters Guild provides nothing without

Class

Weapon

Armor

Guild

Alliance War

Racial

Craft

Class - Ardent Flame

Combustion - High Priority

Traumatic Burns - High Priority

Fan the Flames - High Priority

A Soul Ablaze - High Priority

Gear

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 , , and nothing more

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

Light Armor gives penetration through the passive, so it doesn't depend on your group composition. Medium Armor can be stronger but needs your group to provide penetration, for example through . Use Light Armor if you don't know what your group brings, Medium Armor if you do.

Gear Slot Set Weight/Type Trait Enchantment
HeadHead Medium
ShouldersShoulders Light
ChestChest Medium
HandsHands Light
BeltBelt Light
LegsLegs Light
FeetBoots Light
NeckNecklace Jewelry
RingRing Jewelry
RingRing Jewelry
MainhandFrontbar Main Hand Dagger
OffhandFrontbar Off Hand Dagger

Fallback Gear

Body (Light)
Whorl of the Depths - Trial Set (Dreadsail Reef)

If you don't have it, use in order

  1. - Crafted
  2. - Crafted
  3. - Overland Set (Deshaan)
  4. - Class Set (Infinite Archive)
  5. - Crafted
  6. - Crafted
Weapons and Jewelry
Slivers of the Null Arca - Trial Set (Lucent Citadel)

If you don't have it, use in order

  1. - PvP Set (Cyrodiil)
  2. - Dungeon Set (Unhallowed Grave)
  3. - Crafted
  4. - Class Set (Infinite Archive)
  5. - Overland Set (Deshaan)
  6. - Dungeon Set (Frostvault)
Monster Helm
Slimecraw - Monster Set (Wayrest Sewers I)

Alternative (same bonus)

  1. - Direfrost Keep
  2. - Scalecaller Peak
  3. - Moongrave Fane
  4. - Stone Garden
  5. - Bedlam Veil
  6. - Night Market

Use the Penetration Calculator to fine-tune your penetration for different content. Overland enemies have 9,100 armor while Instanced enemies (Arenas and Dungeons) have 18,200.

Tool Penetration Calculator Check your total armor penetration in ESO and see exactly how much DPS you're losing. Find out if you've hit the penetration cap for the type of content you're doing.

Gear Set Comparisons

Damage comparison for the set options.

Body (Light)

Compares X Light set + weapons and jewelry, with slotted.

Source
Body Set Source Simulated Parse Damage Change
Crafted
3 Stacks 130.3k DPS
0 Stacks 125.3k DPS
+0.3% -3.5%
Trial - Dreadsail Reef
129.9k DPS
Baseline
Crafted
127.2k DPS
-2.1%
Crafted
126.4k DPS
-2.7%
Overland - Deshaan
126.3k DPS
-2.8%
Class Set - Infinite Archive
125.9k DPS
-3.0%
Crafted
125.1k DPS
-3.7%
Crafted
123.7k DPS
-4.7%

Front Bar Weapons

Damage comparison for front bar weapon options.

Front Bar Weapon Simulated Parse Damage Change
Dual Wield Daggers
133.4k DPS
Baseline
Bow
131.6k DPS
-1.4%
Greatsword
131.1k DPS
-1.7%
Lightning Staff
130.0k DPS
-2.5%
Inferno Staff
126.9k DPS
-4.9%
Ice Staff
124.0k DPS
-7.0%
One Handed and Shield
122.7k DPS
-8.0%
Restoration Staff
122.4k DPS
-8.2%

Daggers use and . Every one-weapon option uses a weapon. One Handed and Shield uses a one handed weapon plus a shield.

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Champion Points

Unlock Order

WarfareWarfare
6% Direct Damage
Because more than 60% of your damage is Direct
6% AoE Damage
Because more than 60% of your damage is AoE
205 Weapon and Spell Damage
Next strongest CP damage-wise
8% Critical Damage and Healing
Next strongest CP damage-wise
Critical Damage Cap
Replace with if your supports are providing enough Critical Damage for you to reach the 125% cap without Fighting Finesse
More Healing
is a decent Champion Point if you need more HPS
FitnessFitness
1400 Max Health
Survivability
1731 Armor
Survivability
10% Movement Speed
Boosts your Cavalier's Charge
90 Health, Stamina and Magicka Recovery
Sustain
Sustain in fights with lots of adds
and are good sustain CPs for dungeon fights with lots of adds
CraftCraft
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 up to 4.7% 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
High Elf
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 ~104 lower resource per second, 5% less damage taken while channeling
Syrabane's Boon 2000 Max Magicka
Elemental Talent 258 Weapon & Spell Damage
Dark Elf
Dark Elf
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 1910 Max Stamina & Magicka
Resist Flame 4620 Flame Resistance
Ruination 258 Weapon & Spell Damage
Race Simulated Parse Damage Change
High Elf
133.5k DPS
Baseline
Dark Elf
133.4k DPS
-0.1%
Orc
131.6k DPS
-1.4%
Breton
129.4k DPS
-3.0%
Argonian
128.4k DPS
-3.8%
Khajiit
128.2k DPS
-3.9%
Wood Elf
127.8k DPS
-4.2%
Redguard
127.2k DPS
-4.7%
Imperial
127.2k DPS
-4.7%
Nord
127.2k DPS
-4.7%

Mundus

  • Default

    5.53% Critical Chance(9.04% with 7 )
    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.

  • Default

    Max Health +5,414 Max Magicka +4,938
    Use for most content.
    Cheaper alternative
    Difference Max Health +5,395 −19 Max Magicka +4,936 −2
  • Sustain

    Max Health +3,326 Max Magicka +3,080 Health Recovery +406 Magicka Recovery +338
    Use when you need more sustain.
    Cheaper alternative
    Difference Max Health +3,094 −232 Max Magicka +2,856 −224 Health Recovery — −406 Magicka Recovery +315 −23
  • Full Damage

    Max Magicka +6,048
    Max Magicka only. Use for parsing or content where you can get away without Max Health. adds Magicka Recovery if needed, at the cost of some of the Max Magicka.
Setup Simulated Parse Damage Change
134.4k DPS
+0.8%
133.4k DPS
Baseline
131.7k DPS
-1.3%

Potions

  • Default

    Restore Magicka
    Most of the time you should use Magicka Force potions.
    Craft with: Lady's Smock Stinkhorn Bugloss
  • Situational

    Restore Magicka Restore Stamina
    If there's an Arcanist running in your group, you're already getting from them, so you don't need it from potions. Use Bi-Stat Power potions instead and put on your , since the potions give you .
    Craft with: Blessed Thistle Columbine Corn Flower
  • Situational

    Restore Magicka Immovability
    Magicka Speed potions are the expensive option when you're getting from an Arcanist. gives you Weapon and Spell Damage thanks to on your . They also make you Unstoppable for 10.4 seconds, so CCs won't stop your .
    Craft with: Namira's Rot Dragon Rheum Columbine
  • Situational

    Restore Health Restore Stamina Restore Magicka
    Tri-Stat potions are the cheap option if you don't need from potions, like when there's an Arcanist running in your group. They give you Magicka and Stamina sustain, and the extra Stamina lets you block and dodge roll more.
    Craft with: Columbine Bugloss Mountain Flower
  • Survivability

    Restore Health
    If you want to greatly improve your survivability you can instead use Armor Potions. You'll most likely have to slot , or get more sustain in other ways.
    Craft with: Bugloss Mountain Flower Mudcrab Chitin

Parses

All parses are recorded on the 21 million Target Dummy

Base Setup, Medium Armor
135,282 DPS
Base Setup, Medium Armor
135,282DPS
21mil Iron Atronach Dummy
Patch
Update 51
Armor
6 Medium / 1 Light
Gear Setup
Base Setup (Medium)
Skill Setup
Base (changed)
Potion
Food
Mundus
Race
Dark Elf
replaces on and replace , because the dummy gives you permanently.
CMX Parse
CMX Setup
Recording

Gameplay

Kyne's Aegis
Trial
Kyne's Aegis
Trial Veteran
Kyne's Aegis Veteran Log
Patch: Update 49

FAQ

If you hate bar swapping. The one bar version parses 135k DPS with Medium Armor, and is built around the same 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 2%, Inferno Staff about 5%, Ice Staff about 7%, and Sword and Shield and Restoration Staff are around 8%. The regular setup doesn't use any Dual Wield skills, but the trash setup uses which you'd need to replace - for example with when switching to Greatsword, or with any weapon.

Builds ESO DPS Builds DPS builds for Veteran Trials, Hard Modes, and 4-man arenas, verified through gameplay and clears. Pure class, subclass, one bar, heavy attack.


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