Hey ESO Community,

I just posted this on my site and wanted to share it here. My latest PvP build for the Dragonknight class (post here deltiasgaming.com/2014/09/25/dragonguard-dragonknight-pvp-tank/)

his Dragonguard build is a walking fortress of destruction for a PvP team. You’ll be constantly under pressure, on the verge of defeat, only to take on three to four enemies single handedly while your team burns opponents to the ground. If you’re looking for a no BS Dragonknight (DK) tanking build, this is it.

Table of Contents

Build Objective
Skills
Gear
Fighting


Build Objective

“Going in, my target!” You’re objective with Dragonguard is to be the front line meat shield for your Player vs. Player (PvP) group. You want to be like a porcupine to the opposing faction. Every second when someone is facing you, they’ll be frustrated by stuns, roots, and snares. You’ll be putting pressure on the enemy so your team can destroy from a distance. You have to embrace this play-style, e.g. the “meathead PvP’er.” You must want the enemy to attack you which is a weird role to fullfil. eso

The character I’m using for this guide is Deltia a Nord Dragonknight (DK). For this guide, you can’t go wrong with the Nord Race choice. 6% flat damage mitigation passive makes it the king of tanking in or outside of Cyrodiil. I’m also not a Vampire or a Werewolf because I want ultimate control over my character and getting Crowd Controlled (CC’d) all the time due to Fighters Guild abilities is a major hindrance. Let your teammates run high risk high reward builds.

This build has strengths and weakness. You’ll not going to be DPS’ing down a mountain any time soon though you will have burst damage on command . You’ll need to wait and be patience before attacking. Secondly, you’ll need a team to support you and optimize your character. Running this around solo is painful but with two or more players it feels completely different. Here’s a quick breakdown:

+ You’re near impossible to kill

+ Near endless resources

+ Burst on command damage

– Dependent on team

– Sustained DPS is an issue Skills

Dragonguard Skills
We want three things out of this build, controlling opponents, not letting them control us, and resource generation. Here’s the breakdown of each ability and use.

Bar 1 | Sword and Shield – AKA Turtle Bar

Invasion (morph of shield charge) – A charge and a CC move all in one. I love this ability for rushing in and instantly frustrating an opponent. Almost always they break CC and use up a lot of stamina. I wait around until there CC break is over and then bang do it again. Now they can’t break CC and I kill them with a Take Flight or my teams ranged abilities.
Immovable (no morph) – This is the part where WE don’t want to be controlled. I can almost always keep this up with all my resources and stamina regeneration. You’ll need to pop this FIRST prior to leaping in on an Invasion. Then you’ll be immune to CC while taking down the first target. People will try to CC you and burn resources while you’re blocking and laughing.
Burning Talons (morph of Dark Talons) – Oh yea, lock down city with Talons. It’s gone through some nerfs here and there but you still need it. It’s a good control, DoT, and ultimate generator. People will also try to break it so you can rotate between Invasion and Talons to constantly control multiple targets.
Dragon Fire Scales (morph of Reflective Scales) – This ability is like a dog growling at someone walking close. Most players see this and go okay, guess I’ll move off that target. If not, they’re going to reflect tons of damage back onto themselves. The trick here is popping it BEFORE someone starts casting. It’s not a retroactive ability so you’ll need to time this over four seconds. Don’t over use this either, it’ll take up some magicka so cast here and there to warn enemies off.
Green Dragon Blood (morph of Dragon Blood) – Stamina and health regeneration and the best self-heal in the game. If I have magicka and stamina, I can literally block and cast this over and over. In the video I’ll show a 3 vs 1 fight that last minutes doing just that.
Take Flight [Ultimate] (morph of Dragon Leap) – Here’s where our burst DPS comes from. With my gear and skill setup, this ability only cost 122 ultimate! You’ll have this up nearly at all times just waiting for someone to drop their guard. I use this as an opener to CC targets and also when someone is low on resources. CC a target with Invasion, wait until they break it, CC them again with Talons and you’ll see their frustration. Now wait, pop Invasion again and if they DON’T break it you know they are out of stamina, BANG go Airborne for the kill.

Bar 2 | Restoration Staff – for Utility

Extended Chain (morph of Fiery Grip) – I like this ability for pulling in a focus target. Though it gets buggy and doesn’t work sometimes, still a must have IMO.
Healing Springs (morph of Grand Healing) – Must have ability because you can build ultimate in between fights and tag players with heals capitalizing on massive Alliance Points ticks. If you’re healer goes down, spam some springs and save the team.
Cinder Storm (morph of Ash Cloud) – I like this for big fights and stubborn players. Generally when I Talons someone, they try to roll out which is okay. I just Invasion to them and drop a Cinder Storm to snare them. Combine this with Talons on a large group for super ultimate generation.
Igneous Weapons (morph of Molten Weapons) – This is really a group utility ability that can be swapped out. Retreating Maneuvers is good here but DK’s should have this on a bar for the added team DPS.
Silver Shards (morph of Silver Bolts) – Since nearly everyone in Cyrodiil plays a Vampire, I gotta have at least one Fighters Guild ability. I like this for the range and stamina dump on my back bar. It’s a good way to put some pressure on targets while at a distance while gaining back some magicka for another charge.
Standard of Might [Ultimate] (morph of Dragonknight Standard) – Standard is one of those abilities that is so powerful, yet people are realizing this and changing their tactics. I still find it effective for close quarters encounters or keep siege. Ultimately you could swap out War Horn or Magma Armor for more group support or even Soul Assault for more on command DPS.

Gear

Goal = Health at PvP softcap 3,600 >Stamina recovery softcap > magicka recovery

Armor Weight – While this is a strange setup, it works. The Werewolf set is just so powerful for this build it’s a must. The downside is it requires three medium pieces so we can’t get the five piece bonus for light armor. I still recommend this setup over five medium and two light or five medium and two heavy or even all medium. I’ve tried them all and this gives the best resource pool and ultimate generation.

Traits – Since the Werewolf set is a drop, we can’t craft impenetrable and are stuck with Reinforced. However, we can craft four piece with impenetrable so it gives us a good blend of critical protection in PvP. I like Weighted on my Restoration Staff for fast magicka return and defending on my sword almost gets me to softcap armor without any abilities active.

Set Bonuses – Oh yes, THREE set bonuses! This takes some time to get, but wow it’s effective. The Werewolf gives you the benefit of being a WW without the negatives. Just block and wait for the ultimate to generate. The Seducer’s set gives me that needed magicka return so I can cast spells all day. Finally the three piece Dominion’s set reduces my ultimate cost making Take Flight 122 ultimate. This is a powerful setup.

Glyphs – Your standard setup here, use what you need to reach the critical numbers. If you were a Redguard, you wouldn’t need stamina recovery on your jewelry. Try to keep magicka and stamina even which I get around 1700.

Jewelry – We have set bonuses so can’t really swap this out. The amount of stamina recover I have is outrageous while Green’s Dragon Blood is active. I can literally block for days.

Mundus – I went with the Atronach. A strange choice, but it allows me to have tons of magicka recovery only wearing four pieces of light. Remember, if I can’t cast, I die.

Food – Standard tri-stat food here. I do carry on my Panacea of Health, Weapon crit/power and stealth detection potions. These all are a must for PvP.

Fighting
Opening – I usually start with buffs (Igneous Weapon and Immovable) followed by a gap closer Invasion and a heavy attack and wait for the opponents response. If they break CC, Talons them. If they stand there, keep beating on them. If they roll back, Invasion again and stay on them like glue. Sometimes I start from range with a Silver Shards if I can see the filthy pale white vampire.

Closing – I like to dance with my opponents through two CC breaks. Start the mental counter in your head AFTER they break. You’ll notice a white circle at their feet, roughly 6-8 seconds from there they’ll be vulnerable again. Keep draining resources, frustrating them and generating ultimate. Once they can’t block or break CC, Invasion to put them fast down and BANG Take Flight for a finisher. If that doesn’t work keep the pressure up with a Burning Talons DoT and even swap to bar two for a Cinder Storm DoT.

Survival Mode – This is where Dragonguard shines, under pressure. Let’s say it’s a massive group vs. a few friends (great). Our goal is to CC and survive that’s it. We do this by Invasioning to vulnerable targets (ones that can be CC’d). Keeping up Talons for control and HOLD THAT BLOCK! Keep Green Dragon’s Blood up at all times and Immovable otherwise you can’t block and you’ll die. Cast Dragon Fire Scale only when over 30% magicka. Save 30% for an emergency Green Dragon’s Blood self-heal. Keep doing this and watching your resources and you’ll stay alive for a very very long time.
Summary

I’ve tried playing this build solo and had little to no fun. However, with a small well coordinated group, you’ll be dominating the battlefield with CC’s, stuns, and survivability. This thing feels like a Juggernaut of tanks even in a lot of light armor. Be prepare, spend time understanding your abilities and when to use them and remember it’s okay to die.

If you’re like me, Ramboing or rushing in like a manic is the only way to play. Pick up a Dragonknight a couple of buddies and Take Flight into battle!