I Am Now Liking My Dragon Knight After Update 49

Horace-Wimp · March 10

For the first time since creating my DK I am actually enjoying playing it. Prior to Update 49 I HATED my DK - it sucked as it had no real offensive capabilities as DPS. Tank and healer? Absolutely. But as DPS it just sucked canal water. But today, for the first time ever, I was mowing down trash in Overland and Dungeon content. It was wonderful! And I didn't even have to change any of my abilities on my bar. Thank you for this NEEDED change. And PLEASE do NOT make any more changes to DKs. I want to enjoy being a DK DPS for years to come. Outstanding work!

Thank you.

EDIT:
I wanted to add that I found the DK Styles vendor in Wayrest, Stormahaven at the bottom of the hill from the wayshrine by the bridge and bought the blue styles to match my abilities and am VERY happy with them. A huge THANK YOU to ZOS for adding these cosmetics features. Much obliged!

LennaTheRussian · March 10

Agreed, I leveled a DK before the update and the dps compared to other classes was so bad. I'm now leveling a new one and it's so much more fun, especially the fire cone beam. The sound is also very pleasant

nightbringer1993 · March 10

Proof that ZOS succeeded in forcing people in other classes, sad for players like me who feel like we got scammed with the necromancer class.

loaganb16_ESO · March 10

IMO DK was always good at smashing (esp. overland). Your breath ability was peak. One was enough. The dot did the rest, especially with the correct sets. Without maybe two AoE abilities were enough.
That became a bit more difficult when they stretched the dot to 20s. I would understand that aspect, yes.

But I agree to some extend, because my set up luckily overall works even better now. Still... I can see a lot of negative comments, which I can get behind. I'm also mad about some changes. Not all is great.

The shorter dots make it more viable even for more casual oriented players.

Eliahnus · March 10

I'm often running Infinite Archive (with Ember as my companion) with my DK and never succeeded Theater of War at the highest difficulty. Yesterday after U49 I succeeded!

Need I say more?

BardokRedSnow · March 10

I felt like a real dk with class identity for the first time since…. Release, really lol and maybe pyrebrands original debut and since the last time DK wings were useful. It feels amazing having a useful knockback skill with them, so much utility like knocking players running around on walls out the keep lol or nightblades hiding on D ring

And from the same skill you use for snare removal and major expedition. Utility for days

Everest_Lionheart · March 10

I’m still not 100% sold on the changes. The dots make it feel a little janky.

Soul of flame 4 second delayed explosion.
Burning talons 5 seconds dot.
Searing claw 10 second dot.
Incinerate 15 seconds but really 3x 5s
Engulfing Dragonfire which is 4.8 seconds

Say you run only these skills on a 1 bar build and you will have dots constantly fall off. When you factor back bar skills in there like 10/15s wall, 10s orb, 20s trap, 22s degen, 24s scalding rune (or 2h stampede 15s with 32s carve) and it’s possible to have 10 timers where nothing really lines up.

As a DD its results in under casting (loss of damage) or overcasting (loss of resource and also damage) and creates a massive skill gap for those that can manage timers.

Fortunately for 90% of content you can spam the new breath and kill most trash mobs in about 2-3 seconds with your 4.8 second ability which you will need to block cancel (or bar swap cancel) out of if you want to loot. It will be fine for casual players, but seasoned players will probably move back to whip once they get frustrated with the jank.

And last point on this. Using take flight into the new breath has an added layer of jank to it with a delayed cast and an awkward weave. Yes it juices up the skill and makes it hit hard, but it feels way smoother and easier to execute if you pull yourself to the mobs with your chain and cast the skill. It still kills everything in 2 seconds without the added delay.

metheglyn · March 10

I loved my DK before the update, and I love him after, too. Most of the changes are good for me and make playing fun. A couple of them didn't really work for me, but I changed around some skills and found a set-up I like. I love the new visuals and sounds, too. Overall, I'm impressed with this class refresh and eager to see how the other classes turn out.

tohopka_eso · March 10

I been running IA on Warden and arcanist, now I can try my DK again which I parked a while ago. I like these changes a lot but I was also following PTS forums also.

Personofsecrets · March 10

After sticking with a single DK toon for 11 years, Im now ashamed to play DK and wish that I never had.

Soarora · March 10

I’ve never liked DK either, and I’ve tried tank and dps and even a bit of healer. Revisiting my DK tank was fun. It’s as if we have a new class since I rebuilt from the ground up. I don’t think dk abilities are better than the usual setup (scribe chain instead of dk chain, caltrops instead of breath, etc) but it’s cool that DK has its own versions of everything I need.

As for the DPS, I messed with builds on PTS and I was quite enjoying the new whip. Exciting! Back before arcanist, my problem with DK is not having a damaging heal on the meta build (like ceph flail and arctic blast) but you know… flame lash heals you now

.

tsaescishoeshiner · March 10

A healing morph of Stonefist that's actually usable? (and looks cool)

Honestly never thought we'd see the day.

Some values could be adjusted, and things like Take Flight + Flame Breath could be improved, but it really seems like there were good ideas and executions behind the changes overall.

Markytous · March 10

I loved Dragonknight despite the divisive Ulti-dependent gameplay that it had, hinging on Battle Roar so much in passed years. Now that Dragonknight has many built in tools to keep sustained like other classes do outside of Ultimate usage, as well as a solid/clear burst skill (Whip) and a way to support/heal teammates to noticeable effect (New Coag), this class feels amazing. Absolutely no complains. I can't wait for the next refreshes!

ADarklore · March 11

I think the new team is awesome and what they're doing is HUGE and a much needed change. My very first character was a DK, and back in 2015 (and after), DK usually sucked at DPS... but were always the 'go to tank' class. I didn't stick with DK long, and over the years I've tried to go back to DK but the DPS always sucked in PvE. However, with this new update, DK is finally in a good spot for PvE so I had to create a new one just to start from scratch.

Thanks again ZOS for everything you're doing!!