Last updated: Update 48 - 12th December 2025
This is a thematic build where I'm not always choosing the most optimal option
A thematic Vampire build
Combination
Nightblade - Assassination
Necromancer - Grave Lord
Templar - Aedric Spear
Base Class
This build can use either Nightblade, Necromancer or Templar as your base class
Explanation
First, we’re going to use Nightblade’s Assassination. The skill line has extremely strong passives and extremely strong abilities which fit the Vampire theme. We’re going to make use of
Relentless Focus and
Impale.
Next, we’re going to use Grave Lord. It’s a decently strong skill line that also fits the Vampire theme. It’s going to grant us a lot of penetration through
Dismember passive making us less reliant on Tanks and the
Death Knell passive which increases your Critical Chance in execute will synergize extremely well with
Impale, the execute from Assassination skill line.
Now, with Assassination, Grave Lord and Vampire skills on our bar, we simply won’t have enough bar space for skills from a third skill line. Which is why we’ll choose a skill line with the best passives, which is going to be Aedric Spear. Normally that would break the Vampire theme but we won’t be using any Aedric Spear skills, just the passives, so you won’t see any holy visuals.
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: Arterial Burst | Slot 1: Skeletal Archer |
| Slot 2: Impale | Slot 2: Barbed Trap |
| Slot 3: Relentless Focus | Slot 3: Carve |
| Slot 4: Detonating Siphon | Slot 4: Stampede |
| Slot 5: Ulfsild's Contingency | Slot 5: Blood Mist |
| Ultimate: Crescent Sweep | Ultimate: Swarming Scion |
I don't use a static rotation so 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
You should stop refreshing DoTs that don't provide buffs when boss is about to die and focus on spamming
Impale instead.
Skeletal Archer and
Barbed Trap provide crucial buffs and should be kept up at all times. The same applies to
Ulfsild's Contingency if you're struggling with sustain.
For maximum damage you want to save up
Relentless Focus stacks and use it only during Off Balance, but this is relevant only when using the
Exploiter Champion Point, which you can only slot if your group is providing enough Critical Damage for you to hit the 125% Critical Damage cap without
Fighting Finesse, which will only happen in very good groups or on the parse dummy.
If you can't sustain enough Magicka for
Impale in execute, weave in
Relentless Focus every now and then.
Blood Mist is very clunky to use. To minimize the clunkyness, aim it right in front of your feet and cancel it with a barswap.
Priority List
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
Example of a setup you can use for trash packs
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Trample | Slot 1: Skeletal Archer |
| Slot 2: Whirling Blades | Slot 2: Proximity Detonation |
| Slot 3: Relentless Focus | Slot 3: Carve |
| Slot 4: Unnerving Boneyard | Slot 4: Stampede |
| Slot 5: Ulfsild's Contingency | Slot 5: Blood Mist |
| Ultimate: Crescent Sweep | Ultimate: Swarming Scion |
There are no passives you need to skip with this build, unless you're using an Ice Staff
Class - Assassination
Master Assassin - High Priority
Executioner - High Priority
Pressure Points - High Priority
Hemorrhage - High Priority
You should stay at 2nd stage of Vampirism. This stage will allow you to benefit from the
Strike from the Shadows passive which will be triggered by
Blood Mist. With
Blood Mist being cast every 20 seconds, the uptime of the Weapon Damage buff from
Strike from the Shadows won't exceed 30% so it's not very important, so you should lower your Stage to 1 if you encounter any sustain issues, or if you're doing content with a lot of Flame damage.
Base Setup
A base setup that will work for most situations and which should be your starting point when making situational setups
Switching gear for trash packs isn't worth it unless you're using gear-swap addons
Default setup
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Head |
Medium | |||
![]() Shoulders |
Light | |||
![]() Chest |
Medium | |||
![]() Hands |
Medium | |||
![]() Belt |
Medium | |||
![]() Legs |
Medium | |||
![]() Boots |
Medium | |||
![]() Necklace |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Frontbar Main Hand |
Dagger | |||
![]() Frontbar Off Hand |
Dagger | |||
![]() Backbar Main Hand |
Greatsword |
Gear that can be stronger than the setup from the table in specific situations or when specific circumstances are present
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
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Head |
Medium | |||
![]() Shoulders |
Medium | |||
![]() Chest |
Medium | |||
![]() Hands |
Medium | |||
![]() Belt |
Light | |||
![]() Legs |
Medium | |||
![]() Boots |
Medium | |||
![]() Necklace |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Frontbar Main Hand |
Dagger | |||
![]() Frontbar Off Hand |
Dagger | |||
![]() Backbar Main Hand |
Greatsword |
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 |
Medium | |||
![]() Shoulders |
Light | |||
![]() Chest |
Medium | |||
![]() Hands |
Medium | |||
![]() Belt |
Medium | |||
![]() Legs |
Medium | |||
![]() Boots |
Medium | |||
![]() Necklace |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Frontbar Main Hand |
Dagger | |||
![]() Frontbar Off Hand |
Dagger | |||
![]() Backbar Main Hand |
Greatsword |
The best setup for trash packs
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Head |
Medium | |||
![]() Shoulders |
Light | |||
![]() Chest |
Medium | |||
![]() Hands |
Medium | |||
![]() Belt |
Medium | |||
![]() Legs |
Medium | |||
![]() Boots |
Medium | |||
![]() Necklace |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Frontbar Main Hand |
Dagger | |||
![]() Frontbar Off Hand |
Dagger | |||
![]() Backbar Main Hand |
Greatsword |
The best setup for AoE fights
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Head |
Medium | |||
![]() Shoulders |
Light | |||
![]() Chest |
Medium | |||
![]() Hands |
Medium | |||
![]() Belt |
Medium | |||
![]() Legs |
Medium | |||
![]() Boots |
Medium | |||
![]() Necklace |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Frontbar Main Hand |
Dagger | |||
![]() Frontbar Off Hand |
Dagger | |||
![]() Backbar Main Hand |
Greatsword |
Warfare
Fitness
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.
Best race for 12-man content - High Elf, Dark Elf
Best race for 4-man content - Khajiit
Other decent options: Orc, Breton
You should use
The Thief Mundus, which increases your Critical Chance
HEALTH
0
STAMINA
0
MAGICKA
64
You should always put all 64 attribute points into Magicka
Most of the time you should use Tri-Stat potions (Restore Health, Restore Stamina,
Restore
Magicka). They'll greatly improve your sustain. You can craft them by combining
Columbine,
Bugloss
and
Mountain's Flower.
You can also use Heroism Potions (Restore Stamina, Restore Magicka, Heroism) which can provide a 100% uptime on Minor Heroism buff which generates
ultimate, but they're expensive because they're crafted by combining
Dragon Rheum,
Dragon's Blood
and
Columbine.
Combat Metrics screenshot of the 130k parse
Recording of the 130k parse
Logs of Veteran Trials and Dungeons I've finished using this build
Trials
Veteran Lucent Citadel - https://www.esologs.com/reports/xfKAwDYHaFZ14pPC
Veteran Dreadsail Reef - https://www.esologs.com/reports/xX8G2ktCjVDbQq4Y
Dungeons
Veteran Hard Mode Unhallowed Grave - https://www.esologs.com/reports/A3MnvZWhdgCm9rzG
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