skill line – 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The info below is a bit out of date as it refers to the beta.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.

The Tanking Dragonknight Build

Posted on February 3, 2014 by D. Cobb

Tanking Dragonknights will want to focus on holding the attention of enemies faced in The Elder Scrolls Online as well as reduce the amount of damage they take through mitigation and avoidance. The Dragonknight skill line most suited for tanking is the Draconic Power skill line. This is where the majority of your skill points should be located.

elder-scrolls-dragonknight-tanking

Draconic Power Skill Line:

For active skills, you will most likely want to slot Spike Armor, Inhale and Dragon Blood. These provide you with mitigation tools as well as self-heals and ways to deal reflective damage. Dark Talons and Reflective Scales are more optional, but still viable.

For passives you will want Iron Skin, Burning Heart, Elder Dragon and Scaled Armor. All of these are extremely valuable for tanking. The Draconic Power Ultimate is an AoE leap ability that is worth taking.

Ardent Flame Skill Line:

While the Ardent Flame skill line is primarily focused on DPS, there are some nice active options here for tanks. Fiery Reach is useful for pulling casters to you. Fiery Breath and Searing Strike are solid DPS options if you’re looking to provide more damage. The passives in this skill line are entirely optional.

Earthen Heart Skill Line:

The Earthen Heart skill line is more focused on support abilities which makes the majority of them optional, but there are a few worth making note of. Obsidian Shield is a powerful active ability that works as an absorption shield for yourself and your group which is a perfect skill when you match up with the powerful cc class eso sorcerer. Ash Cloud is also useful as it will lessen the amount of damage you take.

The Earthen Heart Ultimate is very good for tanks as it limits the amount of incoming damage and deals a fire-based DoT to enemies around you. It may be worth using instead of the Draconic Power Ultimate.

Weapon Skill Lines:

The one-handed weapon and shield skill line will have the majority of skills you want as a tank. Puncture is your taunt ability. Low Slash helps mitigate damage. Defense Posture will come in very handy. Shield Charge is a charge ability that may be useful.

For passives, Fortress, Sword and Board, Deflect Bolts and Battlefield Mobility are all extremely useful.

Other weapon skill line combinations may include the two-handed line or the dual wield line. You can swap to these weapons during moments of low damage or when first starting a fight to quickly build threat.

Guide and Recommended Skills for the Dragon Knight Tanking Build

Posted on December 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 Dragonknight class in The Elder Scrolls Online will be one that mainly concentrates on melee DPS as well as tanking. They will most likely be the main tanking elder scrolls online class of the game due to the skills they have available. They also utilize a solid number of abilities that have magical effects.

heavy armor in eso

Dragonknight tanks will want to focus primarily on the Draconic Power skill line, which where is where the majority of their tanking abilities and passives will be. Active abilities such as Spike Armor, Inhale and Reflective Scales will be vital for reflecting damage and preventing damage. Dragon Blood is the Dragonknight’s self-heal and heal-over-time ability that will also be vital.

The Dragonknight gains access to some extremely important tanking passives in the same skill line. Iron Skin increases block while Burning Heart boosts the amount of healing you receive. Elder Dragon increases health regeneration and Scaled Armor increases spell resistance. All of this will most likely be mandatory for endgame tanking. The Draconic Power ultimate ability is called Dragon Leap and is a leap attack that deals massive area-of-effect damage as well as performs a knockback. This will be a great way to open combat.

As far as other Dragonknight abilities go, the Ardent Flame skill line as well as the Earthen Heart skill line both have some interesting options. Fiery Reach, which is in the Ardent Flame tree, will most likely be vital for tanks as it can be used to pull an enemy directly toward you. Other Ardent Flame abilities include damage-over-time effects and area-of-effect attacks. These may be useful if you’re looking to go the route of a tank that can also deal serious damage.

In the Earthen Heart skill line, Dragonknights can choose earth-based attacks and buffs that serve a more supportive nature. Obsidian Shield is a damage absorption shield that looks like it may be particularly useful for tanks. Ash Cloud can also be used to cause enemies to miss more frequently, which will be useful. The Earthen Heart ultimate, which is called Magma Armor, will also be useful as it will lower the amount of incoming damage significantly.

Since the Dragonknight can be built offensive or defensive, tanks will be able to choose which direction to go in based on their favored playstyle. Once we know how difficult endgame encounters will be in TESO we can begin to speculate as to which builds will be the most prominent.