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 26:
• PC/Mac: No maintenance – January 26
• PC/Mac: No maintenance – January 26
DK rework in a nutshell
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BardokRedSnow✭✭✭✭✭Subclassing with DK was inferior prior anyways, you'll be fine. This is an improvement... or will be when whip gets its 300 wd back.Zos then: Vengeance is just a test bro
Zos now: Do you want Vengeance permanent or permanent...1 -
GloatingSwine✭✭✭✭BardokRedSnow wrote: »Subclassing with DK was inferior prior anyways, you'll be fine. This is an improvement... or will be when whip gets its 300 wd back.
Subclassing with DK wasn't optimal before but Ardent Flame was usable because of being able to boost both burn and poison statuses, FoO being highly efficient and Claw being long lasting so good to use in long rotations like beaming.
Guess what's all going away?1 -
Drackolus✭✭✭
What? Since when? That definitely isn't true for dps, healers, tanks, or solo builds. Besides, they should be roughly equivalent, not clearly better OR worse.BardokRedSnow wrote: »Subclassing with DK was inferior prior anyways...
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MSattrtand✭✭✭GloatingSwine wrote: »
Subclassing with DK wasn't optimal before
That's objectively false. In the latest trial HMs (where optimising matters actually) in U47, Ardent Flame was the 3rd most popular skill line for DDs, after Herald and Assassination. It was a part of the beam Arc/NB(or Plar)/DK, runeblades Arc/NB/DK and Cro/NB/DK, that's basically all popular DD archetypes in post-multiclassing ESO, and those are the highest parsing options from them. So, Ardent wasn't "usable"; it was optimal.
And for tanks, Earthern Heart was also the 3rd most popular pick, after Winter's Embracee and Soldier of Apocrypha.8 -
MXVIIDREAM✭✭✭✭BardokRedSnow wrote: »Subclassing with DK was inferior prior anyways, you'll be fine. This is an improvement... or will be when whip gets its 300 wd back.
It’s so painful because they was so close to having it all right aswell
As I’ve said before lower avalanche times
Add crit to the new crit damage
Put the wd/sd back on molten whip allow it to work with dragonfire and if need be from there additional 2% damage done per stack to monsters0 -
wilsonwjesse✭✭Subclassing with DK was fun before this. The elementalist builds are amazing
They might be fun, but they were never and will never be good so long as the power level of the skill line is locked behind "fire damage" or AoE damage. That type of boring buff is restrictive and bad for pure classing and subclassing creativity.
I want your elementalist build to be able to compete.0 -
BattleAxe✭✭✭✭✭wilsonwjesse wrote: »Subclassing with DK was fun before this. The elementalist builds are amazing
They might be fun, but they were never and will never be good so long as the power level of the skill line is locked behind "fire damage" or AoE damage. That type of boring buff is restrictive and bad for pure classing and subclassing creativity.
I want your elementalist build to be able to compete.
What? A dragonknight deals flame damage and most skills are aoe removing those buffs essentially guts damage across the entire dk toolkit. Now for subclassing aoe damage buff can help out and synergize will a lot of skills. However I’m open to hear suggestion on what will replace these boring damage buffs? Crit chance and pen? Making a skill a wet noodle removing damage type buffs but allowing the wet noodle to ignore more armor or critically hit doesn’t change it hitting like a wet noodle.0 -
Major_Toughness✭✭✭✭✭Skill lines being stronger as part of their original class is how the entire class reworks should be balanced.
They hit the nail on the head with DK.MAKE AZUREBLIGHT GREAT AGAIN
PC EU > You0 -
Ezhh✭✭✭✭✭
✭BardokRedSnow wrote: »Subclassing with DK was inferior prior anyways, you'll be fine.
Runeblades build, which actually competes very well with beam, does very well with Ardent Flame on live and is used in many HMs and trifectas. Subclassing with DK as a PvE damage dealer was 100% possible and the right choice if you don't want to beam. (Standard is the best ult, FoO and Claw are both strong damage for the number of casts, whip for passive damage.)
DK lines are also definitely still used on many PvE tank builds.
It's only healer that typically never uses any DK subclassing in higher level PvE groups.
Edited by Ezhh on January 26, 2026 4:42PM1 -
wilsonwjesse✭✭wilsonwjesse wrote: »Subclassing with DK was fun before this. The elementalist builds are amazing
They might be fun, but they were never and will never be good so long as the power level of the skill line is locked behind "fire damage" or AoE damage. That type of boring buff is restrictive and bad for pure classing and subclassing creativity.
I want your elementalist build to be able to compete.
What? A dragonknight deals flame damage and most skills are aoe removing those buffs essentially guts damage across the entire dk toolkit. Now for subclassing aoe damage buff can help out and synergize will a lot of skills. However I’m open to hear suggestion on what will replace these boring damage buffs? Crit chance and pen? Making a skill a wet noodle removing damage type buffs but allowing the wet noodle to ignore more armor or critically hit doesn’t change it hitting like a wet noodle.
Then give it a buff to damage on burning enemies or something, don't lock so much of the skill lines power behind a flat 5% damage bonus to fire. What if I want to use D-Swing? It's so restrictive.
Same with AoE. Bump up the other buffs/damage and replace it with a small bonus damage based on other players in the area (still a bit restrictive, but at least it lets you use some other skills in a group fight).0 -
BattleAxe✭✭✭✭✭wilsonwjesse wrote: »wilsonwjesse wrote: »Subclassing with DK was fun before this. The elementalist builds are amazing
They might be fun, but they were never and will never be good so long as the power level of the skill line is locked behind "fire damage" or AoE damage. That type of boring buff is restrictive and bad for pure classing and subclassing creativity.
I want your elementalist build to be able to compete.
What? A dragonknight deals flame damage and most skills are aoe removing those buffs essentially guts damage across the entire dk toolkit. Now for subclassing aoe damage buff can help out and synergize will a lot of skills. However I’m open to hear suggestion on what will replace these boring damage buffs? Crit chance and pen? Making a skill a wet noodle removing damage type buffs but allowing the wet noodle to ignore more armor or critically hit doesn’t change it hitting like a wet noodle.
Then give it a buff to damage on burning enemies or something, don't lock so much of the skill lines power behind a flat 5% damage bonus to fire. What if I want to use D-Swing? It's so restrictive.
Same with AoE. Bump up the other buffs/damage and replace it with a small bonus damage based on other players in the area (still a bit restrictive, but at least it lets you use some other skills in a group fight).
What in the dk tool kit stops you from using D-swing? Nothing you can still use the skill. The only thing restricting you from usingD-swing on a dk is it doesn’t have a passive specifically buffing direct dmg or single target which is ok not too much single target or direct damage in their base kit0 -
BardokRedSnow✭✭✭✭✭
What? Since when? That definitely isn't true for dps, healers, tanks, or solo builds. Besides, they should be roughly equivalent, not clearly better OR worse.BardokRedSnow wrote: »Subclassing with DK was inferior prior anyways...
For pvp in most cases, dk subclassed builds are not meta. I play it because I enjoy it not because its the best or recommended.Zos then: Vengeance is just a test bro
Zos now: Do you want Vengeance permanent or permanent...0 -
BardokRedSnow✭✭✭✭✭BardokRedSnow wrote: »Subclassing with DK was inferior prior anyways, you'll be fine.
Runeblades build, which actually competes very well with beam, does very well with Ardent Flame on live and is used in many HMs and trifectas. Subclassing with DK as a PvE damage dealer was 100% possible and the right choice if you don't want to beam. (Standard is the best ult, FoO and Claw are both strong damage for the number of casts, whip for passive damage.)
DK lines are also definitely still used on many PvE tank builds.
It's only healer that typically never uses any DK subclassing in higher level PvE groups.
Again I mean for PvP, if you see me commenting about DK 99.9 percent of the time it’s about PvP, pve is easy, only reason there’s concern about a build there is the community. You can pure dk any content as a tank right now, subclass makes the rest a joke, and dk solo subclass builds same thing. With subclassing anyone can be a healer, dps pretty much same.
For PvP though while doable, most you can expect against a sweat subclassed 1v1 is to stalemate which is fine by me, worthy cost to not be a streak bot.
Edited by BardokRedSnow on January 27, 2026 7:47PMZos then: Vengeance is just a test bro
Zos now: Do you want Vengeance permanent or permanent...1
