Magicka Dragonknight Build for ESO

MAGICKA DRAGONKNIGHT BUILD

Writer: @xGAMxHQ
Role: DPS – Support DPS
Patch: Update 41 – Scions of Ithelia

The Scorch Magicka Dragonknight build for ESO (The Elder Scrolls Online) is optimized for all players looking for the ultimate build guide on setups for Trials, Dungeons, and Arenas, whether you’re a beginner, a long-time veteran, or just returning to the game.

The Magicka Dragonknight specializes in Flame Damage abilities and excels in melee range. Dragonknights have three skill lines:

The Ardent Flame skill line focuses primarily on offensive abilities, most of which are incredibly powerful and essential to this build. Molten Whip is your main single-target damage ability. The cost of this skill is split between Magicka and Stamina, making it very easy to sustain. Molten Whip also grants you a stackable buff called Seething Fury when you use other abilities from this skill line, increasing your Weapon and Spell Damage by 100 per stack, up to 3.

The Draconic Power skill line significantly improves your defensive capabilities; however, Burning Talons is one of the strongest burst DOT abilities that also provides a synergy to a group member that deals additional burst damage to all enemies affected by the talons.

The Earthen Heart skill line has a mixed focus on group support and defensive and healing abilities. Igneous Weapons grants the Major Brutality and Sorcery buffs to the entire group, and each time you cast it, you grant the Minor Brutality buff group-wide for 20 seconds as well due to the Mountain’s Blessing passive.

The Damage Dealer (DPS) role in The Elder Scrolls Online is not just responsible for bringing enemies down. Eliminating enemies in the correct order from most threatening to least is essential, as is positioning yourself in a way that keeps you out of harm’s way and allows your support roles to easily target you should the need arise. Your support roles will do their best to group and debuff enemies while buffing and healing you. Failing to stand with your group and follow instructions will most likely lead to you not receiving heals and buffs and could even cause a group wipe in some cases.

The Magicka Dragonknight build covers everything you need to know, including recommended armor setups, skills, champion points, and many alternatives to meet various needs. Please read the entire build and bookmark the page, as it will update with each new patch.

RECENT UPDATES

MAY 06 / 2024: – UPDATE 41 – SCIONS OF ITHELIA
• Added an AOE-Focused armor setup.

RACE

HIGH ELF

DARK ELF

KHAJIIT

BRETON

The races that offer the best passives for Magicka-based Damage Dealers are Dark Elf, High Elf, Khajiit, and Breton, though all races are more than capable of making good Damage Dealers. The Magicka Dragonknight build utilizes the High Elf racial passives, as it’s the best option to maximize your Weapon and Spell Damage, Maximum Magicka, and self-sustain. Choose a race that best suits your needs.

High Elves provide a great blend of offensive stat boosts and self-sustain, increasing your Maximum Magicka by 2,000, Weapon and Spell Damage by 258. and restoring 625 Magicka or Stamina every 6 seconds you activate an ability. The resource it restores is based on whichever is lowest.

Dark Elves excel at hybridized builds, increasing your Maximum Magicka and Stamina by 1,910 and your Weapon and Spell Damage by 258. Even though they don’t provide you with any additional self-sustain, they do have significant resistance to Flame Damage.

Bretons may not offer the best offensive stat boosts, but they are the best option for maximizing your sustain. They increase your Maximum Magicka by 2,000, Magicka Recovery by 130, and have all Magicka ability costs reduced by 7%. Additionally, Bretons increase your Spell Resistance by 2,310, which is doubled while under the effects of Burning, Chilled, or Concussed.

Khajiit are another excellent option for hybridized builds, increasing your Maximum Health, Magicka, and Stamina by 915 and your Health, Magicka, and Stamina Recovery by 90. They also increase your Critical Damage by 12%, which is unique to the Khajiit race.

ATTRIBUTE POINTS

MAGICKA

HEALTH

STAMINA

All Attribute Points are distributed into Magicka regardless of your choice of race and armor setup, as Health is not critical to the Magicka Dragonknight build.

You should aim to have a Maximum Magicka value that exceeds your Maximum Stamina value. Doing so ensures that you always restore Magicka when you activate the Luminous Shards or Energy Orb synergy provided by your Healers.

TRIAL SETUPS

Below are three Trial Setups for the Magicka Dragonknight build, each optimized for their respective roles in Trial content.

The Damaged-Focused Setup utilizes Dungeon and Trial sets to maximize your single-target damage output.

The Support-Focused Setup utilizes Dungeon and Trial sets, commonly referred to as a “Support DPS” role; the Magicka Dragonknight aims to maintain good uptimes on sets that offer vital group buffs and enemy debuffs that increase overall group damage in exchange for lowering your damage.

The AOE-Focused Setup utilizes Dungeon and Trial sets combined with a unique skill loadout to maximize your AOE damage output. For more information, check out the Alternative Skills section of the build guide.

DAMAGE-FOCUSED

	SET NAME	TRAIT	ENCHANTMENT	WEIGHT/TYPE	ACQUIRED
HEAD	Zaan	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Veteran Scalecaller Peak
SHOULDERS	Zaan	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Undaunted Enclave
CHEST	Pillar of Nirn	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Falkreath Hold
HANDS	Pillar of Nirn	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Falkreath Hold
WAIST	(Perfected) Whorl of the Depths	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Light	(Veteran) Dreadsail Reef
LEGS	Harpooner's Wading Kilt	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Scrying
FEET	Pillar of Nirn	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Falkreath Hold
NECKLACE	(Perfected) Whorl of the Depths	Bloodthirsty	Magical Harm	Jewelry	(Veteran) Dreadsail Reef
RING	(Perfected) Whorl of the Depths	Bloodthirsty	Magical Harm	Jewelry	(Veteran) Dreadsail Reef
RING	(Perfected) Whorl of the Depths	Bloodthirsty	Magical Harm	Jewelry	(Veteran) Dreadsail Reef
FRONT BAR (MAIN HAND)	(Perfected) Whorl of the Depths	Nirnhoned	Flame Damage	Dagger	(Veteran) Dreadsail Reef
FRONT BAR (OFF-HAND)	Pillar of Nirn	Charged	Poison Damage	Dagger	Falkreath Hold
BACK BAR	Pillar of Nirn	Infused	Weapon/Spell Damage	Inferno Staff	Falkreath Hold

SUPPORT-FOCUSED

	SET NAME	TRAIT	ENCHANTMENT	WEIGHT/TYPE	ACQUIRED
HEAD	Slimecraw	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Light	Veteran Wayrest Sewers I
SHOULDERS	Roar of Alkosh	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Maw of Lorkhaj
CHEST	Roar of Alkosh	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Maw of Lorkhaj
HANDS	Roar of Alkosh	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Maw of Lorkhaj
WAIST	Roar of Alkosh	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Maw of Lorkhaj
LEGS	Harpooner's Wading Kilt	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Scrying
FEET	Roar of Alkosh	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Maw of Lorkhaj
NECKLACE	Z'en's Redress	Bloodthirsty	Magical Harm	Jewelry	Lair of Maarselok
RING	Z'en's Redress	Bloodthirsty	Magical Harm	Jewelry	Lair of Maarselok
RING	Z'en's Redress	Bloodthirsty	Magical Harm	Jewelry	Lair of Maarselok
FRONT BAR (MAIN HAND)	Z'en's Redress	Nirnhoned	Flame Damage	Dagger	Lair of Maarselok
FRONT BAR (OFF-HAND)	Z'en's Redress	Charged	Poison Damage	Dagger	Lair of Maarselok
BACK BAR	Z'en's Redress	Infused	Weapon/Spell Damage	Inferno Staff	Lair of Maarselok

AOE-FOCUSED

	SET NAME	TRAIT	ENCHANTMENT	WEIGHT/TYPE	ACQUIRED
HEAD	Stormfist	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Veteran Tempest Island
SHOULDERS	Stormfist	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Undaunted Enclave
CHEST	(Perfected) Sul-Xan's Torment	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	(Veteran) Rockgrove
HANDS	(Perfected) Sul-Xan's Torment	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	(Veteran) Rockgrove
WAIST	Burning Spellweave	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Light	City of Ash I and II
LEGS	(Perfected) Sul-Xan's Torment	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	(Veteran) Rockgrove
FEET	(Perfected) Sul-Xan's Torment	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	(Veteran) Rockgrove
NECKLACE	Velothi Ur-Mage's Amulet	Bloodthirsty	Magical Harm	Jewelry	Scrying
RING	Burning Spellweave	Bloodthirsty	Magical Harm	Jewelry	City of Ash I and II
RING	Burning Spellweave	Bloodthirsty	Magical Harm	Jewelry	City of Ash I and II
FRONT BAR	(Perfected) Sul-Xan's Torment	Precise	Flame Damage	Inferno Staff	(Veteran) Rockgrove
BACK BAR	Burning Spellweave	Infused	Weapon/Spell Damage	Inferno Staff	City of Ash I and II

INTERMEDIATE SETUP

The Intermediate Setup for the Magicka Dragonknight build is optimized for Damage Dealers that may not be ready for Trial content but want to replace crafted sets. Many Dungeon and Overland sets are easy to collect while effective in early to mid-game content.

	SET NAME	TRAIT	ENCHANTMENT	WEIGHT/TYPE	ACQUIRED
HEAD	Maw of the Infernal	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Light	Veteran Banished Cells II
SHOULDERS	Maw of the Infernal	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Undaunted Enclave
CHEST	Order's Wrath	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Crafted
HANDS	Order's Wrath	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Crafted
WAIST	Burning Spellweave	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Light	City of Ash I and II
LEGS	Order's Wrath	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Crafted
FEET	Order's Wrath	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Crafted
NECKLACE	Order's Wrath	Arcane	Magical Harm	Jewelry	Crafted
RING	Burning Spellweave	Arcane	Magical Harm	Jewelry	City of Ash I and II
RING	Burning Spellweave	Arcane	Magical Harm	Jewelry	City of Ash I and II
FRONT BAR (MAIN HAND)	Burning Spellweave	Precise	Flame Damage	Dagger	City of Ash I and II
FRONT BAR (OFF-HAND)	Burning Spellweave	Charged	Poison Damage	Dagger	City of Ash I and II
BACK BAR	Burning Spellweave	Infused	Weapon/Spell Damage	Inferno Staff	City of Ash I and II

BEGINNER SETUP

Your options for beginner gear are typically limited to crafted sets or something cheap in guild stores. The Beginner Setup for the Magicka Dragonknight build includes only crafted sets and is optimized for freshly created characters and CP160 Damage Dealers looking for an excellent build to start farming more challenging content.

	SET NAME	TRAIT	ENCHANTMENT	WEIGHT/TYPE	ACQUIRED
HEAD	Spell Parasite	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Light	Crafted
SHOULDERS	Spell Parasite	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Crafted
CHEST	Order's Wrath	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Crafted
HANDS	Order's Wrath	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Crafted
WAIST	Law of Julianos	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Light	Crafted
LEGS	Order's Wrath	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Crafted
FEET	Order's Wrath	Divines	Maximum Magicka	Medium	Crafted
NECKLACE	Order's Wrath	Arcane	Magical Harm	Jewelry	Crafted
RING	Law of Julianos	Arcane	Magical Harm	Jewelry	Crafted
RING	Law of Julianos	Arcane	Magical Harm	Jewelry	Crafted
FRONT BAR (MAIN HAND)	Law of Julianos	Precise	Flame Damage	Dagger	Crafted
FRONT BAR (OFF-HAND)	Law of Julianos	Charged	Poison Damage	Dagger	Crafted
BACK BAR	Law of Julianos	Infused	Weapon/Spell Damage	Inferno Staff	Crafted

Spell Parasite increases Weapons and Spell Damage and is equipped until you can obtain a suitable monster set to replace it.

Order’s Wrath significantly increases for Critical Chance and Critical Damage. It’s incredibly helpful during the early stages of building a character since they won’t have access to Barbed Trap yet.

Law of Julianos significantly improves your core combat stats, which will increase self-healing and damage output.

While this configuration is not required, it will provide the most optimal progression path for a beginner DPS.

SKILLS

FRONT BAR

Molten Whip (Morph of Lava Whip | Skill Line: Ardent Flame)

Venomous Claw (Morph of Searing Strike | Skill Line: Ardent Flame)

Camouflaged Hunter (Morph of Expert Hunter | Skill Line: Fighters Guild)

Burning Talons (Morph of Dark Talons | Skill Line: Draconic Power)

Engulfing Flames (Morph of Fiery Breath | Skill Line: Ardent Flame)

Ultimate: Flawless Dawnbreaker (Morph of Dawnbreaker | Skill Line: Fighters Guild)

BACK BAR

Barbed Trap (Morph of Trap Beast | Skill Line: Fighters Guild)

Unstable Wall of Elements (Morph of Wall of Elements | Skill Line: Destruction Staff)

Flames of Oblivion (Morph of Inferno | Skill Line: Ardent Flame)

Igneous Weapons (Morph of Molten Weapons | Skill Line: Earthen Heart)

Eruption (Morph of Ash Cloud | Skill Line: Earthen Heart)

Ultimate: Standard of Might (Morph of Dragonknight Standard | Skill Line: Ardent Flame)

ALTERNATIVE SKILLS

ELEMENTAL RAGE

Skill Line: Destruction Staff
Base Skill: Elemental Storm
Elemental Rage can replace Standard of Might when you need a more AOE burst-oriented Ultimate to eliminate threatening targets as quickly as possible.

HARNESS MAGICKA

Skill Line: Light Armor
Base Skill: Annulment
Harness Magicka can replace Camouflaged Hunter, Eruption, or Igneous Weapons (if there is another Dragonknight in your group using this skill) when you need a powerful damage shield. The damage shield restores Magicka when you take damage.

MYSTIC ORB

Skill Line: Undaunted
Base Skill: Necrotic Orb
Mystic Orb can replace Barbed Trap during add fights for increased AOE damage output.

SCALDING RUNE

Skill Line: Mages Guild
Base Skill: Fire Rune
Scalding Rune can replace Igneous Weapons if there is another Dragonknight in your group using this skill, increasing your single-target damage output.

STRUCTURED ENTROPY

Skill Line: Mages Guild
Base Skill: Entropy
Structured Entropy can replace if you need more Magicka sustainability; however, it significantly reduces your damage shield effectiveness.

BURNING EMBERS

Skill Line: Ardent Flame
Base Skill: Searing Strike
Burning Embers can replace Venomous Claw for slightly decreased damage; however, this morph will heal you for 100% of the damage it deals.

NOXIOUS BREATH

Skill Line: Ardent Flame
Base Skill: Fiery Breath
Noxious Breath can replace Engulfing Flames if there is another Dragonknight in the group using this skill. It applies the Major Breach debuff to all enemies hit and costs Stamina, increasing magicka sustain but placing more stress on your Stamina sustain.

DRAW ESSENCE

Skill Line: Draconic Power
Base Skill: Inhale
Draw Essence can replace Burning Talons when you need a burst-oriented heal that gets stronger with each enemy hit. This skill pairs very well with Proximity Detonation and Pulsar during add fights.

PULSAR

Skill Line: Destruction Staff
Base Skill: Impulse
Pulsar can replace Molten Whip during add fights for increased AOE damage. This skill requires a Destruction Staff to cast and pairs very well with Proximity Detonation and Draw Essence.

PROXIMITY DETONATION

Skill Line: Assault
Base Skill: Magicka Detonation
Proximity Detonation can replace Burning Embers during add fights for increased AOE damage. Casting this skill 4-5 seconds before initiating combat will give you the best timing for the explosion. Pairs very well with Pulsar and Draw Essence.

PASSIVES

Most passives in the skill lines you utilize are worth investing in; however, some are more critical to the build than others.

Below is a complete list of only the most essential passives to the Magicka Dragonknight build, which should be unlocked first if possible.

ARDENT FLAME

Combustion
Searing Heat
World in Ruin

DRACONIC POWER

Burning Heart

EARTHEN HEART

All Passives

DUAL WIELD

Dual Wield Expert
Ruffian
Twin Blade and Blunt

DESTRUCTION STAFF

All Passives

LIGHT ARMOR

Evocation
Prodigy
Concentration

MEDIUM ARMOR

Dexterity
Wind Walker
Agility

FIGHTERS GUILD

Intimidating Presence
Slayer
Banish the Wicked

UNDAUNTED

Undaunted Command
Undaunted Mettle

RACIAL

All Passives

ALCHEMY

Medicinal Use

MUNDUS STONE

THE THIEF

EASTMARCH

ALIK'R DESERT

MALABAL TOR

The Magicka Dragonknight build aims for a high Critical Strike rating to maximize damage output.

The Thief Mundus Stone increases your Critical Strike rating by 1212, and each piece of Divines armor further increases this by 9.1%.

CONSUMABLES

FOOD

GHASTLY EYE BOWL

The Ghastly Eye Bowl is your best food option if you need to improve your Magicka sustain. It is quite cheap to craft, and the ingredients are easy to find. It can also be purchased from guild stores if you haven’t learned the recipe.

Bonuses:
• Increase Maximum Magicka by ~4592.
• Increase Magicka Recovery by ~357.
• Scales with your level.
• Lasts 2 hours.

Ingredients:
• Bervez Juice (1)
• Lotus (1)
• Mint (1)
• Rose (1)
• Columbine (1)

SOLITUDE SALMON-MILLET SOUP

The Salmon Salmon-Millet Soup is your best food option if your group supplies you with enough Magicka sustain and you want to maximize your Magicka resource pool. It is very cheap to craft, and the ingredients are easy to find. It can also be purchased from guild stores if you haven’t learned the recipe.

Bonuses:
• Increase Maximum Health by 5395.
• Increase Maximum Magicka by 4936.
• Lasts 1 hour.

Ingredients:
• Fish (1)
• Millet (1)
• Tomato (1)

CLOCKWORK CITRUS FILET

The Clockwork Citrus Filet is a great food option for a blend of Maximum Health and Magicka and Magicka Recovery; however, it’s costly to craft due to the Perfect Roe ingredient. If gold is an issue, you can use Witchmother’s Potent Brew instead for a minimal decrease in stats.

Bonuses:
• Increase Maximum Health by 3326.
• Increase Maximum Magicka by 3080.
• Increase Health Recovery by 406.
• Increase Magicka Recovery by 338.
• Lasts 2 hours.

Ingredients:
• Frost Mirriam (1)
• Lemon (1)
• Perfect Roe (1)
• Red Meat (1)

POTIONS

HEROISM POTIONS

Heroism Potions are the best option for building Ultimate; however, using these potions requires that you gain Major Brutality, Sorcery, Savagery, and Prophecy from sources. Igneous Weapons and Flames of Oblivion provide these buffs.

Bonuses:
• Restore ~7582 Magicka.
• Restore ~7582 Stamina.
• Gain Major Intellect.
• Gain Major Endurance.
• Gain Minor Heroism.
• ~47.6-second duration.

Ingredients:
• Columbine (1)
• Dragon’s Blood (1)
• Dragon Rheum (1)

SPELL POWER POTIONS

Spell Power Potions provide Major Sorcery and Prophecy, essential to all Magicka DPS builds.

Bonuses:
• Restore ~7582 Magicka.
• Gain Major Intellect.
• Gain Major Sorcery.
• Gain Major Prophecy.
• ~47.6-second duration.

Ingredients:
• Corn Flower (1)
• Lady’s Smock (1)
• Namira’s Rot or Water Hyacinth (1)

ESSENCE OF MAGICKA

Essence of Magicka potions should only be used to better sustain your Magicka if you cannot afford to craft Heroism Potions or Spell Power Potions.

Bonuses:
• Restore ~7582 Magicka.
• Gain Major Intellect.
• ~47.6-second duration.

These potions are generic world-dropped potions and are not worth crafting.

CHAMPION POINTS

The Champion Point system in The Elder Scrolls Online allows you to unlock many powerful passives and perks that you can use to customize and strengthen your build. It is unlocked once you reach Level 50 and maxes out at 3600 points; however, once you get CP1506, most points gained after can be used for quality-of-life.

The CP system has three unique constellations: Craft, Warfare, and Fitness. The Warfare and Fitness constellations each have three subtrees.
• The Craft constellation focuses on crafting, gold gain, movement speed, stealth, and increasing material yields.
• The Warfare constellation increases your damage and healing output and damage mitigation.
• The Fitness constellation increases your self-sustain, survivability, and core stats, such as Maximum Health.

The Champion Point allocation below is optimized for the Magicka Dragonknight build, focusing on increasing the strength of your Direct Damage and Damage over Time abilities, as well as your self-survivability.

Following the recommended path will unlock essential passives and perks for strong progression as a Magicka Damage Dealer.

CRAFT

Steed’s Blessing (+50) (Slot 1)
Gilded Fingers (+10)
Fortune’s Favor (+10)
Wanderer (+15)
Steadfast Enchantment (+10)
Rationer (+10) (Slot 2)
Liquid Efficiency (+75) (Slot 3)
Rationer (+20)
Treasure Hunter (+50) (Slot 4)
Master Gatherer (+15)
Gifted Rider (+100) (Replace Slot 4)
Gilded Fingers (+40)
Breakfall (+50)
Steadfast Enchantment (+40)
Soul Reservoir (+33)
Beyond this point, you can continue to unlock passives or more slottable perks based on your preference.

WARFARE

Precision (+10)
Piercing (+10)
Master-at-Arms (+50) (Slot 1)
Wrathful Strikes (+50) (Slot 2)
Thaumaturge (+50) (Slot 3)
Deadly Aim (+50) (Slot 4)
Precision (+10)
Piercing (+10)
Eldritch Insight (+10)
Quick Recovery (+10)
Preparation (+20)
Battle Mastery (+20)
Mighty (+30)
Flawless Ritual (+20)
War Mage (+30)
Battle Mastery (+20)
Flawless Ritual (+20)
Eldritch Insight (+10)
Tireless Disciple (+20)
Elemental Aegis (+20)
Hardy (+20)
Beyond this point, you can continue to unlock passives or more slottable perks based on your preference:
Exploiter (50) significantly increases your damage done to Off Balance enemies, and can replace Deadly Aim in situations where enemies can be set Off Balance.

FITNESS

Rejuvenation (+50) (Slot 1)
Boundless Vitality (+50) (Slot 2)
Tumbling (+15)
Mystic Tenacity (+10)
Hero’s Vigor (+20)
Hasty (+8)
Celerity (+50) (Slot 3)
Fortified (+50) (Slot 4)
Tireless Guardian (+10)
Fortification (+30)
Hasty (+8)
Sprinter (+20)
Defiance (+20)
Tumbling (+15)
Beyond this point, you can continue to unlock passives or more slottable perks based on your preference:
Spirit Mastery (50) can replace Celerity or Fortified to significantly increase your resurrection speed. This is a must-have skill during group content.

TIPS & TRICKS

Below you will find how to begin a Dynamic rotation. This means you activate your skills accordingly depending on the situation and duration of your skills. It yields the best possible DPS and resource management but can be more difficult to master.

LA = Light Attack

Pre-buff with Flames of Oblivion and Igneous Weapons.

Begin combat on your back bar:
Barbed Trap > LA > Eruption > LA > Standard of Might > LA > Unstable Wall > Bar Swap >
LA > Engulfing Flames > LA > Venomous Claw > LA > Burning Talons > Molten Whip until your DOT abilities need to be reapplied.

ARCHIVED CHANGES

APRIL 24 / 2023:
• Build was officially re-released.