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ESO Dragonknight Magicka Build

Looking to get the most out of your Magicka-focused build? Here's our best Dragonknight build in ESO.
ESO Dragonknight Magicka Build
Zenimax Online

Dragonknight is a hard-hitting class in Elder Scrolls Online. It's also very tanky, which makes it ideal for solo content. It's primarily a close-range melee-focus class that uses a lot of fire skills.

Our Dragonknight Magicka build in ESO is designed for PvE and solo play. It boasts incredible AOE magicka damage, has solid defenses overall, and has incredible sustain, making it fit for almost every activity in the game.

Continue reading to find out how to put together the best Dragonknight Magicka build in ESO, including details like the best active and passive abilities, champion skills, gear set, and Mundus Stones.

Best Active Abilities For The Dragonknight Magicka Build In ESO

Front Bar Abilities

Skill Description
Flames of Oblivion Activate an aura of flames which launches a fireball at 3 enemies every 5 seconds, dealing 5732 Flame Damage. While slotted on either bar, you gain Major Prophecy and Savagery, increasing your Spell and Weapon Critical rating by 2629.
Flame Lash Lash an enemy with flame, dealing 7398 Flame Damage. If you strike an enemy that is immobilized or stunned, you set them Off Balance. Targeting an Off Balance or immobilized enemy changes this ability into Power Lash, allowing you to lash an enemy at half cost to deal 8787 Flame Damage and healing you for 8392 Health
Venomous Claw Rake an enemy with your claw, dealing 3698 Poison Damage and an additional 16476 Poison Damage over 24 seconds. The poison seeps into the target and deals increased damage the longer it lasts, dealing 12% more damage every 2 seconds. Enemies hit by the initial hit are afflicted with the Poisoned status effect.
Degeneration Bind an enemy with chaotic magic, dealing 14080 Magic Damage over 20 seconds. Excess magic spills out from them, granting you Major Brutality and Sorcery, increasing your Weapon and Spell Damage by 20% for 20 seconds.
Barbed Trap Set a sharpened blade trap at your location, which takes 1.5 seconds to arm and lasts for 20 seconds. When triggered, the trap deals 4002 Bleed Damage, an additional 11990 Bleed Damage over 20 seconds, and grants you Minor Force, increasing your Critical Damage by 10% for the duration. The damage has a higher chance to apply the Hemorrhaging status effect. Enemies who activate the trap are immobilized for 2 seconds.
Flawless Dawnbreaker Arm yourself with Meridia's sacred sword and dispense her retribution, dealing 9688 Physical Damage to enemies in front of you and an additional 11622 Physical Damage over 6 seconds. After activating, your Weapon and Spell Damage is increased by 300 for 20 seconds.

Back Bar Abilities

Skill Description
Unstable Wall of Element (Wall of Fire)

Create an unstable elemental barrier in front of you, dealing 854 Magic Damage to enemies in the target area every 1 second before exploding for an additional 3638 Magic Damage. Unstable Wall of Fire deals additional damage to Burning enemies.d

Noxious Breath Exhale a corrosive blast to enemies in front of you, dealing 5732 Poison Damage and an additional 14184 Poison Damage over 24 seconds. Afflicts enemies with Major Breach, reducing their Physical and Spell Resistance by 5948.
Harness Magicka Convert a portion of your Magicka into a protective ward, gaining a damage shield that absorbs 7351 damage for 6 seconds. Damage shield strength capped at 50% of your Max Health. While active, whenever the shield absorbs damage, you restore 224 Magicka. Each piece of Light Armor worn increases the Magicka restored by 33%. This effect can occur up to 3 times.
Eruption Summon a scorching cloud of ash at the target location for 18 seconds, dealing 5732 Flame Damage immediately, reducing enemy Movement Speed by 70%, and dealing 1016 Flame Damage in the area every 1 second. The eruptive damage can occur once every 10 seconds.
Volatile Armor Release your inner Dragon to gain Major Resolve, increasing your Physical and Spell Resistance by 5948 for 20 seconds. You release a spray of fiery spikes around you, causing enemies hit to take 5544 Flame Damage over 20 seconds. While active, the armor returns 284 Flame Damage to any enemy that uses a direct damage attack against you in melee range. This ability scales off your Physical and Spell Resistance.o
Standard of Might Call down a battle standard, dealing 3435 Flame Damage every 1 second for 20 seconds to enemies and applying Major Defile to them, reducing their healing received and Health Recovery by 16%. Standing in the area increases your damage done and reduces damage taken by 15%. An ally near the standard can activate the Shackle synergy, dealing 10743 Flame Damage to enemies in the area and immobilizing them for 5 seconds.

You begin by casting your prebuff skills, Volatile Armor and Flames of Oblivion. Volatile Armor not only increases your defenses but also deals fire DOT to nearby enemies. Furthermore, enemies who melee attack you take additional fire damage. Flames of Oblivion, just by being slotted, increases your critical rating, but by casting it you also deal an AOE fireball periodically. 

With your character buffed, it's time to lay down all your DOT skills. These are Unstable Wall of Fire, Noxious Breath, Eruption, Venomous Claw, Barbed Trap, and Degeneration. 

Firstly, Unstable Wall of Fire buffs up your fire damage, and since almost all our skills do fire damage, it's best to keep this running at all times. In addition to the buff, Wall of Fire also deals AOE Magicka damage over time, which makes it even more useful. 

Noxious Breath deals massive AOE Poison damage over time. It also weakens enemy defenses, which allows you to maximize your damage. Using Eruption after this will also hinder the enemy's movement, giving you even more advantage. Eruption also deals huge Flame DOT, so it's a great skill to have. 

Venomous Claw synergizes with Noxious Breath, dealing even more Poison damage over time. Enemies hit by its initial hit are also inflicted by the Poison status effect and thus become more prone to damage. 

Degeneration is another powerful DOT skill that you must cast to deal crippling Magic damage to enemies over time. It also buffs up your weapon and spell damage, so you would want this active at all times, just like the other DOT skills. 

Lastly, we have Barbed Trap, which takes 1.5 seconds to get going, but once it does, it deals an insurmountable amount of Bleed damage over time. Barbed Trap also increases your Critical damage and applies the Hemorrhaging status effect. Furthermore, enemies who activate the trap get immobilized for 2 seconds. 

Once all your prebuffs and DOTs are up, it's time to spam Flame Lash. It not only deals massive flame damage to a single enemy but also heals you over time. Continue to spam Flame Lash until one of your prebuff or DOT skills fall off, and then cast them again and get back to spamming Flame Lash. And that's it for your rotations. Don't forget to cast your ultimate, Standard of Might, when all your DOTs are running for maximum damage. 

You can also cast Flawless Dawnbreaker, but we recommend doing it only when you need the extra damage buff. 

Best Passive Abilities For The Dragonknight Magicka Build In ESO

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Skill Description
Combustion Increases the damage of your Burning and Poisoned status effects by 33%. When you apply Burning to an enemy, you restore 1000 Magicka. When you apply Poisoned to an enemy, you restore 1000 Stamina. These effects can occur once every 3 seconds, individually of each other.
Warmth When you deal direct damage with an Ardent Flame ability, you reduce the enemy's Movement Speed by 30% for 3 seconds.
Searing Heart Increases the damage over time of your Fiery Breath, Searing Strike, and Dragonknight Standard abilities by 25% and the duration by 4 seconds.
World in Ruin Increases the damage of your Flame and Poison attacks by 5%.
Iron Skin Increases the amount of damage you block by 10%
Burning Heart
While a Draconic Power ability is active, your healing received is increased by 12%.
Elder Dragon Increases your Health Recovery by 258 for each Draconic Power ability slotted
Scaled Armor Increases your Physical and Spell Resistance by 1650.
Eternal Mountain Increases duration of your Earthen Heart abilities by 20%
Battle Roar When you cast an Ultimate ability, you restore 51 Health 50 Magicka, and 50 Stamina for each point of the Ultimate spent.
Mountain's Blessing When you cast an Earthen Heart ability, you and your group gain Minor Brutality for 20 seconds, increasing your Weapon Damage by 10% If you are in combat, you also generate 3 Ultimate. This effect can occur once every 6 seconds.
Helping Hands When you cast an Earthen Heart ability with a cost, you restore 1120 Stamina. This effect cannot activate when using a Stamina costing ability and must cost more than the restored value.
Light Armor Bonuses Each piece of Light Armor does the following: Reduces damage taken from Magical attacks by 1% Reduces the cost of Roll Dodge by 3% Reduces the Movement Speed penalty of Sneak by 5% Reduces the cost of Break Free by 5% Reduces the cost of Bash by 3%
Light Armor Penalties Each piece of Light Armor does the following: Increases damage taken from Martial attacks by 1% Increases the cost of Block by 3% Decreases damage done with Bash by 1%
Grace Reduces the effectiveness of snares applied to you by 4% for each piece of Light Armor worn. Reduces the cost of Sprint by 3% for each piece of Light Armor worn.
Evocation
Increases your Magicka Recovery by 4% for each piece of Light Armor equipped. Reduces the Magicka cost of your abilities by 2% for each piece of Light Armor equipped.
Spell Warding Increases your Spell Resistance by 726 for each piece of Light Armor equipped.
Prodigy Increases your Weapon and Spell Critical rating by 219 for each piece of Light Armor equipped.
Concentration Increases your Physical and Spell Penetration by 939 for each piece of Light Armor worn.
Undaunted Command Activating a synergy restores 4% of your Max Health, Stamina, and Magicka. Health 1134 Stamina, and 825 Magicka.
Undaunted Mettle Increases your Max Health, Stamina, and Magicka by 2% per type of Armor (Heavy, Medium, Light) that you have equipped.
Intimidating Presence Allows you to Intimidate NPCs in conversation. Reduces the Stamina cost of your Fighters Guild abilities by 15%.
Slayer Increases your Weapon and Spell Damage by 3% for each Fighters Guild ability slotted.
Banish the Wicked You generate 3 Ultimate whenever you kill an enemy.
Skilled Tracker Your Fighters Guild abilities deal an additional 10% damage. This bonus doubles against player Vampires and Werewolves.
Bounty Hunter Allows you to accept bounty quests from the Fighters Guild in Cyrodiil.

For Passive abilities, we recommend getting all the Dragonknight class ones to increase your flame damage, health recovery, and overall defenses. Next, you would want to get all the Light Armor passives to increase your defenses further and make your build an absolute tank. 

Since we are using some of Fighter Guild's abilities, we recommend getting all its passives to increase the efficiency of all its actives that you're using. Lastly, we recommend getting both the Undaunted Passives for increased  Max Health, Stamina, Magicka, and their recovery. You would also want to get all the Racial passives after you have decided your character's Race. 

Best Gear Set For The Dragonknight Magicka Build In ESO

Weapon / Armor Trait Set Bonus How To Get
 (Chest) Divines - Increase Mundane Stone effects by 9.1%. N/A Obtained from the Depths of Malatar dungeon
Auroran’s Thunder (Belt) Divines - Increase Mundane Stone effects by 9.1%. (2 items) Adds 1206 Maximum Health Obtained from the Depths of Malatar dungeon
Auroran’s Thunder (Shoes) Divines - Increase Mundane Stone effects by 9.1%. (3 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage Obtained from the Depths of Malatar dungeon
Auroran’s Thunder (Hands) Divines - Increase Mundane Stone effects by 9.1%. (4 items) Adds 1487 Offensive Penetration Obtained from the Depths of Malatar dungeon
Auroran’s Thunder (Pants) Divines - Increase Mundane Stone effects by 9.1%. (5 items) 
Dealing direct damage to a target within 10 meters of you summons a cone of lightning from your chest for 5 seconds, dealing 1506 Shock Damage every 1 second to enemies in the cone. This effect can occur every 10 seconds and scales off the higher of your Weapon or Spell Damage.
Obtained from the Depths of Malatar dungeon
Pillar of Nirn (Amulet) Bloodthirsty - Increases your Weapon and Spell damage against enemies under 90% Health by up to 350. N/A Obtained from the Falkreath Hold dungeon.
Pillar of Nirn (Ring) Bloodthirsty - Increases your Weapon and Spell damage against enemies under 90% Health by up to 350. (2 items) Adds 657 Critical Chance Obtained from the Falkreath Hold dungeon.
Pillar of Nirn (Weapons)

Nirnhoned -  Increases Damage of this weapon by 7.5%.

Charged - Increases chance to apply status effects by 182.5%.

(3 items) Adds 657 Critical Chance

(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage

Obtained from the Falkreath Hold dungeon.
Ring of the Pale Order (Mythic Ring)

Bloodthirsty - Increases your Weapon and Spell damage against enemies under 90% Health by up to 350.

(1 item) Restore 20% of the damage you deal as Health. This value is decreased by 4% per ally you are grouped with. You cannot be healed by anyone but yourself, your pets, or your Companions Obtain its five leads.
Stormfist's Mask (Head) Divines - Increase Mundane Stone effects by 9.1%. (1 item) Adds 120 Stamina Recovery. Obtained from the Tempest Island Dungeon.
Stormfirst's Arm Cops (Shoulders) Divines - Increase Mundane Stone effects by 9.1%. (2 items) When you deal damage, you have a 10% chance to create a thunderfist to crush the enemy, dealing 1054 Shock damage every 1 second for 3 seconds to all enemies within 4 meters and a final 12686 Physical damage when the fist closes. This effect can occur once every 8 seconds and scales off the higher of your Weapon or Spell Damage. Obtained from the Tempest Island Dungeon.

For Gear, our main goal with set bonuses is to increase max health and weapon damage. Equipping five pieces of the Auroran’s Thunder set will get you those as well as increase your damage penetration. It also gives you an additional AOE Shock skill that activates every 10 seconds. 

Equipping five pieces of the Pillar of Nirn set will massively increase your Critical Chance and Critical Damage. Since we are also using a few Stamina skills, the Stormfist set is a good option as it increases your Stamina Recovery. Lastly, we recommend using the Mythic Ring of the Pale Order, which is the go-to Ring for every Solo build. It restores 20% of the damage you deal as health, which makes your Dragonknight Magicka build even more of a tank. 

Best Champion Skills For The Dragonknight Magicka Build In ESO

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Constellation Type Skill  Description
Warfare Master At Arms Increase your damage done with direct damage attacks by 3% per stage.
Warfare Fighting Finesse Increases your Critical Damage and Critical Healing done by 4% per stag
Warfare Deadly Aim Increase your damage done with single target attacks by 3% per stage. 
Warfare Wrathful Strikes
Grants 41 Weapon and Spell damage to your damaging abilities per stage
Fitness Boundless Vitality Grants 28 Max Health per stage. 
Fitness Fortified Grants 34.6 Armor per stage. 
Fitness Rejuvenation Grants 1.8 Health, Magicka, and Stamina Recovery per stage.
Fitness Siphoning Spells Restore 300 Magicka per stage, whenever you kill an enemy. 
Craft Liquid Efficiency Whenever you use a potion or a poison you have a 10% 
Craft Rationer Adds 10 minutes to the duration of any food or drink that increases your character's stats per stage. 
Craft Steed's Blessing Increases your out of combat Movement Speed by .4% per stage. 
Craft Treasure Hunter Increase the quality of items you find in treasure chests.

Most Champion Skills are self-explanatory. The goal with them is to increase your Magicka Recovery and boost your weapon, spell, and critical damage. 

Best Races For The Dragonknight Magicka Build In ESO

Race  Bonus
Breton Increased Max Magicka, Magicka Recovery, Light Armor,  and Spell Resistance.
Dark Elf Increased Max Magicka, Stamina, Weapon, and Spell Damage.
High Elf Increased Max Magicka, Spell Damage, Resource Recovery, and XP gain. 
Khajit Increased Max Magica and additional Critical Damage.

Breton provides all the bonuses you need for this build, so it's the perfect choice. However, you can also use Dark Elf, High Elf, and Khajit, as they also increase magicka and damage. 

Best Mundus Stones For The Dragonknight Magicka Build In ESO

Mundus Stone Effect
Thief Increased Weapon and Spell Critical Strike rating.

Thief is the perfect choice because you need the extra weapon and spell critical, which will allow you to deal even more critical damage.