draconic power – The Elder Scrolls Online Dragonknight Guide

Elder Scrolls Online Class Overview

Posted on March 5, 2014 by D. Cobb

The info below is a bit out of date as it refers to the beta. If you happen to be looking for an up-to-date reference for your Dragonknight, I suggest this manual. It includes some killer advice on leveling up, builds, skill rotation, and gold farming.

One of the most crucial decisions you have to make when you are creating a character to use in the Elder Scrolls Online is choosing which class to play. This is important not only for your enjoyment of the game but also because as an MMO game, it will have an impact on your usefulness to other players.

While Elder Scrolls Online is not as strict as other MMOs in the same genre when it comes to weapon and armor selection, your freedom to select gear makes the special abilities of each class doubly important. Your future development as a player will be determined by your initial choice of which class to play. You may find yourself locked out of certain skill trees based on your decision.

The four classes to choose from are:

Dragon Knight
Templar
Sorcerer
Nightblade

The classes are just about evenly distributed in popularity, and there is a lot to like about each one. Templar is the most popular by a narrow margin and the Dragon Knight lags behind the others in terms of popularity. Which you choose will be heavily influences by the way you play the game.

Dragon Knight

You should play the Dragon Knight if you are looking for a tank. Tanking is a time-honored gaming tradition where one player runs forward to challenge opponents in melee combat while other characters perform actions from afar that do much more damage. The skill lines of the Dragon Knight lend itself well to this. Its Draconic Power skill line is basically tanking at a push of a button, making them very effective in melee combat. The Earthen Heart abilities will allow your Dragonknight to soak up a lot of damage, making this class the ideal tank.

Sorcerer

While tanking has its place in the game, it is not the only way to play. The closest that you are going to get to a buffer/debuffer in Elder Scrolls Online is the Sorcerer. Buffing and debuffing is a style of play where you make yourself or your allies more effective while your enemies are stripped of their effectiveness. Mage and Sorcerer types in MMOs are often like glass cannons that can deal a lot of damage but are very fragile, but the Sorcerer does not fall in that category. While your Storm Calling ability will deal massive damage, the Sorcerer also is very adept at self-buffing to match the requirements of close combat which is good to make eso gold. They also have some buffs that can add to the effectiveness of your allies. They are an exceptional debuffer, with their Dark Magic abilities cursing your enemies to mediocrity. In addition, Sorcerers can spam your opponents with summoned monsters who can tank for them while they are working their sabotage on enemy attributes.

Templar

The Templar is best used in a support position, as they have a vast array of skills that make them equally suited to keeping other classes on their feet. They are the only class that can heal, and this is an essential skill in the course of Elder Scrolls Online battles. Healing damage of your designated tank can make him basically immortal for as long as your spells hold out. This crucial role is what makes the Templar the most popular character choice.

Nightblade

The Nightblade is a wild-card type of character that can make a big impact on the success or failure of a battle. However, they are not well suited to tanking and not as valuable in support as Templars or Sorcerers. Where the Nightblade really excels is in sneaking around and attacking your enemies with lethal force. They may be weak and difficult to play at low levels but at high levels, their Assassination skills make them a must-have for any group. They are basically a character that can jump out of the shadows, tip the scale in a party’s favor, and disappear back in the darkness.

No matter which character class you choose, be careful to balance their abilities. Maxing out a particular skill or attribute may look good on paper but will have consequences down the line and lock you out of some of the most useful skills in the game.

The info above is a bit out of date as it refers to the beta. If you happen to be looking for an up-to-date reference for your Dragonknight, I suggest this walkthrough . It includes some killer advice on leveling up, builds, skill rotation, and gold farming.

Guide to Play ESO Dragonknight Solo

Posted on February 7, 2014 by D. Cobb

The Dragonknight class in The Elder Scrolls Online will be one of the strongest solo classes in the game. It might even be the strongest solo class in the game. This is due to the combined killing power, AoE potential and survivability powers of the class. Dragonknights will be able to swap between two weapons during combat which will help them when it comes to choosing how to initiate combat and how to survive when under pressure. gameplay eso

To play the Dragonknight solo, you will want to choose a build that provides plenty of killing power but also a strong dose of survivability, crowd control and/or self-heals. This class has a particularly easy time with choosing a build that suits this combination since each skill line focuses on one of those elements. The Ardent Flame skill line is suited for straight DPS but also does a large amount of AoE DPS. This makes it extremely useful for soloing. There will be many situations where you’ll want to kill more than one enemy at a time.

The Draconic Power skill line is the tanking skill line, but for Dragonknights who are pure soloers, you may wish to take advantage of some of the tanking active abilities and passive abilities while solo. Many do not require the use of a shield. There are even a few self-heals in this tree. The final tree, the Earthen Heart skill tree, gives Dragonknights some interesting options for crowd control, survivability and group buffs that might be useful.

As far as choosing which abilities to use while solo, you will want to focus largely on DPS abilities from Ardent Flame and mix in a few others that compliment those well. You may wish to use a sword/shield for your secondary weapon set in order to have a setup that can survive well under pressure or you may wish to equip a secondary DPS weapon along with some crowd control abilities for when the going gets tough for your better eso leveling experience. Either way, you will want to focus on DPS but also have ways in which to avoid combat or survive a beating from multiple groups of mobs.

It may also be a good idea to equip a bow or staff to utilize some ranged abilities. Ranged abilities often help speed up combat while solo due to the fact that many mobs do harmful AoE abilities that can be difficult to soak while in melee range. It’s also easier to tag mobs as ranged.

ESO DK Skill Paths and Special Abilities Explained

Posted on September 23, 2013 by D. Cobb

The info below is a bit out of date as it refers to the beta. If you happen to be looking for an up-to-date reference for your Dragonknight, I suggest this eso guide . It includes some killer advice on leveling up, builds, skill rotation, and gold farming.

The Elder Scrolls Online may not be out until later this year. However, we have the low down on the four playable classes that will be available to you. One of these classes is the fearsome Dragonknight.

Dragonknight skill paths and abilities

The Dragonknight has four special abilities at his disposal:

Slam– Stuns the enemy and cancels any action the enemy was taking. This ability costs stamina, keeping the class from being able to spam this move.
Fiery Reach– Creates a fiery chain that drags the enemy towards the caster. This power is mainly used to start a melee fight with an enemy that isn’t quite in range.
Spike Armor– Covers the caster in spikes. This ability increases damage resistance and will return some damage taken.
Dragon Armor– The Dragonknight’s ultimate ability, the caster is engulfed in flames. Enemies near the Knight will catch fire and take massive damage over time.

Given the skills of the Dragonknight, one can see that he is a very versatile character. He has great crowd control abilities and can dish out decent damage to an entire group of enemies. You can also focus on his abilities as a Tank and make him a very hard character to kill. With Spike Armor, you take less damage and dish out some damage in return, making the Dragonknight one of the best Tanks in the game. You can also focus on his melee attacks. With Fiery Reach, as a gap closer, you can draw enemies in and tear them apart with your melee combos. This combination will, absolutely, demolish enemy mages that are out of reach.

There are three unique Skill Paths that the Dragonknight can take:

Ardent Flame- This is an offensive skill tree that focuses on dealing massive fire damage to enemies.
Earthen Heart- This tree helps the Knight keep enemies at bay and protect allies.
Draconic Power- This tree is all about making your Knight a bit Tankier by increases overall defenses while still dishing out decent damage to enemies.

Overall, the Dragonknight is a very exciting class, due mainly to its versatility. It is a class that can be played effectively no matter what Skill Trees you decide to take.

Dragonknight – the Tanking Class in the Elder Scrolls Online

Posted on July 23, 2013 by D. Cobb

You’ve tried the casters. You’ve tried the dedicated rangers. They were fun, but neither of them really clicked in that certain special way. You like the action. You’re a melee man. Not only are you not afraid to take the hits for your team, instead you thrive on it. Surrounded on all sides by all manner of fiendish creatures or staring down a nigh undefeatable monster of legend and smiling in anticipation all the while, you are the Dragonknight. The Dragonknight possesses three lines of magic he can choose to master: Ardent Flame, Draconic Power and Earthen Heart.

Consisting entirely of fire-based damage and single-target control abilities, the Ardent Flame line turns the Dragonknight into a walking firestorm. Skills like Inferno, Fiery Breath and Dragonknight Standard allow the Dragonknight to apply burning damage over time to large groups of foes at once, while Fiery Reach, Lava Whip and the Warmth passive make it extremely difficult for his foes to escape the kitchen when they can’t handle the heat. However the drawbacks in the Ardent Flame line are twofold: a marked lack of defensive bonuses present in both Draconic Power and Earthen Heart, and zero healing abilities. For an Ardent Flame Dragonknight, the name of the game is Kill or Be Killed.

Rather than damage, Draconic Power focuses on healing and personal defense which is good for PvE rather than PvP. Dark Talons and Dragon Leap offer opportunities to get in close and hold enemies. Spike Armor, Reflective Scales and Inhale deal some extra damage but only as a secondary effect to buffing up defense or topping off some health. For those interested in a Draconic Power Dragonknight, the Argonian would seem to be the logical choice, given the synergies between its natural healing and the focus on health and defense in the Draconic Power line.

Ardent Flame has damage. Draconic Power has self-support. But if group support is more your focus, then look no further than the Earthen Heart line. With two party buffs in Molten Weapons and Obsidian Shield and a plethora of crowd-control abilities like Magma Armor, Stonefist, Petrify and Ash Cloud, the Earthen Heart line specializes in raising up the Dragonknight’s party and locking down his enemies.

For anyone considering a career in stomping faces or shirking off blows, the Dragonknight presents singularly unique utility in the number of roles he is able to effectively fulfill. I personally believe that this should be the most powerful class in the Elder Scrolls Online.

dragonknight skills