Update 49 is now available for testing on the PTS! You can read the latest patch notes here: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/categories/pts
Maintenance for the week of January 19:
• PC/Mac: No maintenance – January 19
• NA megaservers for patch maintenance – January 21, 4:00AM EST (9:00 UTC) - 10:00AM EST (15:00 UTC)
• EU megaservers for patch maintenance – January 21, 9:00 UTC (4:00AM EST) - 15:00 UTC (10:00AM EST)
We will be performing maintenance for patch 11.3.1 on the PTS on Tuesday at 10:00AM EST (15:00 UTC).

THE NEW DK SPIKES

  • MXVIIDREAM
    MXVIIDREAM
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    Radiate77 wrote: »
    @ZOS_GinaBruno understanding fully that the majority of Dragonknight players are happy with the new iteration of Spikes, (admittedly they are better now than they were) but I have a suggestion for a skill style for those of us who are not.

    In the following artwork from Pinterest, you can see a sort of baseline knight in the top left, and then additional spikes added to the armor in different locations for each following picture.

    fs1uti6u57wd.jpeg

    I would really appreciate if at some point, we could get some obsidian spikes that augment plate armor, similar to how they work in that concept art.

    Looks like some mobile game kingdom of hearts thing😂

  • iyx
    iyx
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    Radiate77 wrote: »
    @ZOS_GinaBruno understanding fully that the majority of Dragonknight players are happy with the new iteration of Spikes, (admittedly they are better now than they were) but I have a suggestion for a skill style for those of us who are not.

    In the following artwork from Pinterest, you can see a sort of baseline knight in the top left, and then additional spikes added to the armor in different locations for each following picture.

    fs1uti6u57wd.jpeg

    I would really appreciate if at some point, we could get some obsidian spikes that augment plate armor, similar to how they work in that concept art.

    I'm all for adding a variety of skill styles, and I'd love to see additional styles with a metal focus (more blackened than shiny and polished, so as not to deviate too much from the overall theme), especially with forged chain instead of fire chain.
    This would allow us to create more physical side "weaponmasters" stam DK without fire magic and dragon stuff, especially since poison morphs are now removed.
  • Radiate77
    Radiate77
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    MXVIIDREAM wrote: »
    Radiate77 wrote: »
    @ZOS_GinaBruno understanding fully that the majority of Dragonknight players are happy with the new iteration of Spikes, (admittedly they are better now than they were) but I have a suggestion for a skill style for those of us who are not.

    In the following artwork from Pinterest, you can see a sort of baseline knight in the top left, and then additional spikes added to the armor in different locations for each following picture.

    fs1uti6u57wd.jpeg

    I would really appreciate if at some point, we could get some obsidian spikes that augment plate armor, similar to how they work in that concept art.

    Looks like some mobile game kingdom of hearts thing😂

    It was the best I could find that illustrated what I was talking about, personally I think #3 & #4 look great.
  • spoqster
    spoqster
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    MXVIIDREAM wrote: »
    Someone said they look like a 4year olds back pack haha

    Pretty big post about it on Reddit aswell https://www.reddit.com/r/elderscrollsonline/comments/1qbe378/the_dragonknight_animation_changes_look_great/

    My thoughts exactly!
  • spoqster
    spoqster
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    Yes, exactly. It was one of the things that actually drew me to playing the class. I think a lot of the other new visuals are a big improvement, but this particular skill (and a couple others) have been a downgrade.

    I thought this image I found might be a useful comparison of old to new:

    ESO-Combat-Skills.jpg

    The old ones look so freaking cool. I wish they would just keep them!
    They don't have to rework every single visual. They can just keep the badass ones like the did for Talons.
  • TheMightyRinotera
    iyx wrote: »
    The look of the back has definitely improved, although I think the texture could use a bit more darkening and contrast for a more solid "lava" look, as it's currently looking a bit washed out. The arm spikes still need some improvement; their baseplate should fit more snugly to the arm, the spikes themselves could be slightly more curved to complement the look of the spine spikes, and they don't necessarily look too long. I hope this small changes can be done easely.

    For example look after:
    eso64-2026-01-14-10-40-37dd4666.jpg

    and before:
    eso64-2026-01-14-10-40-37dd46.jpg

    I think the big detail that separates old and new here, for me at least and maybe others, is the way that the spikes base is sunk into the player model, making it seem more like the spikes are emerging from yourself, instead of just being a plate of rock your wearing. This is most prominent on the arms. It could be that's intentional due to it being an Earthen Heart ability now, but i still think that's where the disconnect here is. The newest revision video you showed is a great improvement from what's on the pts and i think the back is AMAZING, but the arms still suffer from this aspect.

    Ixy's Edit and the old DK spikes show this with the way they are more emerged from your model, EVEN if it clips some of the armor your wearing, that's ok because its emerging FROM you.

    Don't get me wrong Zos, this is AMAZING follow-up and I'm super glad to finally have things like this kind of clarity and discussion from the team. <3
    Edited by TheMightyRinotera on January 15, 2026 1:18PM
  • Striiiks
    Striiiks
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    iyx wrote: »
    Well, the more I squint and stare at the new effect, the less I like it. As many in this thread saying, it's simply not iconic enough. DK is my favorite class which I've been playing since 2017, and I'd really want it to retain its visual and overall identity in the updated version.

    Here I tried to mash:
    1. old look
    2. The new pinecone aesthetic~
    3. draconic spine (most frequently mentioned by other players in this thread)
    4. hot obsidian spikes (my personal preference)

    eso64-2026-01-14-10-40-37dd4.jpg

    Sorry if the image isn't legible enough, I made it quickly.

    This is perfect. But if it's not achievable, why it isn't just possible to keep the old one ? I understand that cost and time have been consumed to create the new ones, but don't fall into the unrecoverable cost bias. If it seems that the majority of the community prefers the old one, just keeps it simple and don't change anything.

    Howewer i want to congratulate the transparency, the communication and the fact every others skills look pretty cool (just maybe not dragon blood). It's very refreshing.
  • MXVIIDREAM
    MXVIIDREAM
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    Striiiks wrote: »
    iyx wrote: »
    Well, the more I squint and stare at the new effect, the less I like it. As many in this thread saying, it's simply not iconic enough. DK is my favorite class which I've been playing since 2017, and I'd really want it to retain its visual and overall identity in the updated version.

    Here I tried to mash:
    1. old look
    2. The new pinecone aesthetic~
    3. draconic spine (most frequently mentioned by other players in this thread)
    4. hot obsidian spikes (my personal preference)

    eso64-2026-01-14-10-40-37dd4.jpg

    Sorry if the image isn't legible enough, I made it quickly.

    This is perfect. But if it's not achievable, why it isn't just possible to keep the old one ? I understand that cost and time have been consumed to create the new ones, but don't fall into the unrecoverable cost bias. If it seems that the majority of the community prefers the old one, just keeps it simple and don't change anything.

    Howewer i want to congratulate the transparency, the communication and the fact every others skills look pretty cool (just maybe not dragon blood). It's very refreshing.

    Yes I think most of us are eagerly waiting an update on dragons blood the animation is beautiful the heart is just, well I’ll be respectful and say it just needs to be removed 😂
    I did ask for a little insight as to weather or not the last message from Kevin was the end and we should consider this the final look or if there was a time line restraint and they will be addressing the shell later on

  • Alphawolf01A
    Alphawolf01A
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    @ZOS_Erin

    can you post a screenshot of Spikes with the "Earthspike Mantle, Azure Blue" Skill Styles?

    Was going to ask the same thing.
  • AvalonRanger
    AvalonRanger
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    4ak551xowush.jpeg
    This is better than U49.
    My playing time Mon-Friday UTC13:00-16:00 [PC-NA] CP over2000 now.
    I'm Tank and Healer main player.
  • BardokRedSnow
    BardokRedSnow
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    THAT IS SO MUCH BETTER!

    Damn @ZOS_Kevin yall are killing it!!
    Zos then: Vengeance is just a test bro

    Zos now: Do you want Vengeance permanent or permanent...
  • BardokRedSnow
    BardokRedSnow
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    ZOS_Erin wrote: »
    Thank you all for the detailed feedback regarding the refreshed visuals for the Dragonknight's Earthspike Mantle. We've heard your concerns and updated certain aspects of the design to better align with the Dragonknight's visual identity:

    - The spikes have been elongated and curved outward to better express an aggressive stance
    - The spikes are now larger and extend further down the back

    There were certain changes that we could not make due to the nature of the model - specifically, we could not remove the baseplate from the spikes without requiring a full remodel and rework of the asset. The team is hard at work on our future refresh efforts, so we wanted to do our best to find a solid compromise with the Earthspike Mantle visuals that we could turn around quickly within the PTS window without delaying other work.

    You can view the new changes coming to PTS 2 in this video: https://youtu.be/d6XYK-4uaFQ. The sound design for the ability is unchanged.

    The team will continue to do our best to make adjustments to the Dragonknight's visuals within the PTS window based on player feedback without delaying other refresh efforts. We appreciate your continued feedback and patience as we work through the Combat Refresh.

    This is perfect, I have zero complaints or worries, love it love it
    Zos then: Vengeance is just a test bro

    Zos now: Do you want Vengeance permanent or permanent...
  • NotaDaedraWorshipper
    NotaDaedraWorshipper
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    The old spikes and @iyx edit look best.

    This is not really an improvement imo:
    ZOS_Erin wrote: »
    You can view the new changes coming to PTS 2 in this video: The sound design for the ability is unchanged.
    It still looks cartoony and clunky because the spikes are a big cluster on big thick shells that lies on top of the skin, instead of having the spikes emerging evenly out of the skin.
    [Lie] Of course! I don't even worship Daedra!
  • Oblivion_Protocol
    Oblivion_Protocol
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    It still looks cartoony and clunky because the spikes are a big cluster on big thick shells that lies on top of the skin, instead of having the spikes emerging evenly out of the skin.

    Unfortunately, that’s the part of the change that can’t be reverted. The entire character model would need to be rewritten to remove the baseplate of the model, aka, the thing that the spikes come out of.
  • J18696
    J18696
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    Yeah the entire negative of the model for me is the baseplate for the arm and back spikes I think its great they acknowledge the complaints even if it cant be addressed right now hopefully it can get a update in the future
    PC NA Server
    @J18696
    Characters
    Pridē - Dragonknight
    Vanıty - Arcanist
  • MXVIIDREAM
    MXVIIDREAM
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    Yeah I think we are all awaiting a reply to say weather that base plate can be removed in the future of if we should consider this the final look
  • iyx
    iyx
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    MXVIIDREAM wrote: »
    Yeah I think we are all awaiting a reply to say weather that base plate can be removed in the future of if we should consider this the final look

    I think this might also require some animation editing, because in the new version, the character first summons a lava pancake on his back and arms, then grows spikes from that base, so logically, it's makes sense. But still feels like an unnecessary addition.
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