[i]Delve into the (earthen) heart of the major changes and improvements coming to the Dragonknight Class. [/i]
[i]ESO[/i]’s Combat Team has returned to provide an update on the ongoing Class Refresh work. Specifically, they’re taking you through the Dragonknight changes you can expect to find in Update 49, going[b] live for all platforms on March 9[/b]. Part patch notes, part developer deep dive, this breakdown delves into the team’s thought processes behind almost every change to the Dragonknight. Be warned, this is a long read!
Hi Everybody!
As we mentioned in our [url=https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/69039]Class Refresh announcement[/url], in an effort to modernize[i] ESO[/i]’s classes, address overall combat balance, improve look and feel, and alleviate the subclassing concerns, changes are coming to the class system. The first class we’re looking at is the Dragonknight.
As developers, we look at design from the perspective of "problem spaces,” which identify issues that need to be solved. We can identify these spaces through metrics, player feedback, surveys, our own playthroughs, etc. Through this process, we come up with solutions to any identified problem spaces in the form of designs, which lead to what you get in the game!
Dragonknight-sized Problems
Based on your feedback, surveys, and in-game metrics, we have identified the following problem spaces to address within the Dragonknight class:- Dragonknights are currently portrayed as powerful attrition warriors, but they lack the distinct ability functionality that helps bring this experience to life.[list]
- As an extension of this, the Dragonknight’s damage-over-time effects are built the same as any other class, making gameplay across classes feel somewhat homogenized. This is a global issue; it especially hurts Dragonknights.
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[i]Setting the standard for ESO’s classes[/i]
Dragonknight Solutions
To tackle the issues we mentioned above, we’re looking to make the following high-level adjustments:- Drive home the sensation of attrition by introducing ramping effects such as the Avalanche passive or the new Engulfing Dragonfire effect, which get stronger as you persist in active combat.
- To capture that feeling of building and erupting power, combat should reinforce rotations and a cycle with more clearly represented highs and lows.
- Dragonknights will have more nuanced effects that drive their identity. They’ll offer unique abilities or twists that other classes lack to make them stand out contextually, such as unique damage-over-time functionalities with their own durations and damage values.
- Improve the dispersion of role functionality among the Dragonknight’s skill lines. Each skill line should offer something meaningful for your role, while simultaneously making you pause to trade one of those skill lines for another in the context of subclassing.
- Introduce more abilities and passives that aid in carving a niche in the support role, with effects like Protect the Brood (previously Dragonfire Scale), which gives ranged damage reduction to nearby group members.
Upcoming Adjustments
[b]Skill Line Shuffle[/b] In light of subclassing, we’ve decided to look at skill line ability and passive distribution more closely than we have before. There are currently two distinct models of building skill lines for classes; a role-centric model (Necromancer, Arcanist, most of Warden), and one that focuses on theme or identity (the original 4 classes, with some exceptions such as the Nightblades’ Assassination). Prior to subclassing, there was a strong internal sentiment that the newer class model of role-specific skill lines was a more successful system for newer players, building more digestible experiences, and building more modular buckets that could be more easily compared and balanced to one another. With subclassing, however, this model introduced a slew of challenges and imbalances where now the ideal way to play would involve picking a role-specific line from every class. This created a sense that it was largely ineffective to stay true to your class, and that the power difference between those who do and do not was larger than any other build permutations before. This also hurt and exasperated an already existing problem space of class identity feeling like it took a back seat to gameplay. As such, we’ll be adjusting skill lines to follow a more theme- and identity-focused model as we work on each class, where we blend a healthy mix of tools and effects for every role in each. It is our hope that every skill line will offer something you can use regardless of your role, while simultaneously spreading out the power that makes a class come to life and drive home the sensation that staying true to your class is also a much more viable and distinct option. [url=https://esosslfiles-a.akamaihd.net/ape/uploads/2026/01/d09ec4b6760b8c6e68192404d76fb6a0.jpg]
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[i]Fire and fury in a class[/i]
Here’s an outline of what each of the skill lines will look like for the Dragonknight. A crossed-out name means that ability or passive has moved, while “(originally X)” denotes a renamed or reworked effect. The movement of these abilities and passives does indeed change which abilities and passives interact with one another or even other effects (like class sets), so keep this in the back of your mind too!
We’ve also made adjustments to the movement of these abilities to ensure any previous progression is retained when an ability moves—and we will continue this effort through the class refresh.
[b]Ardent Flame[/b]
- Dragonknight Standard
- Lava Whip
- Searing Strike
Fiery BreathCore of Flame (originally Inhale)Fiery GripHearthfire (originally Ash Cloud)- Inferno
- Passives[list]
- Combustion
- Traumatic Burns (originally Warmth)
- Fan the Flames (originally Searing Heat)
World in RuinA Soul Ablaze (originally Burning Heart)
- Dragon Leap
Spiked ArmorDragonfire Breath (originally Fiery Breath)- Dark Talons
- Dragon Blood
- Wing Buffet (originally Protective Scale)[list]
- It’s pronounced buff-it.
- Burnished Scales (originally Iron Skin)
Burning HeartWorld in Ruin- Elder Dragon
Scaled ArmorThe Storm Voice (originally Battle Roar)
- Magma Armor
- Superheated Ward (originally Stonefist)
- Molten Weapons
- Obsidian Shield
- Petrify
Ash CloudEarthspike Mantle (originally Spiked Armor)- Passives[list]
Eternal MountainHeart of Stone (originally Scaled Armor)Battle RoarAvalanche- Blessing at the Peak (originally Mountain’s Blessing)
- Mountain Giant (originally Helping Hands)
- New visual and sound effects to every single Dragonknight ability.
- Updated animations for the following Dragonknight abilities. Some of these are completely new, while others are polish to existing animations.[list]
- Dragonknight Standard and its morphs.
- Lava Whip and its morphs, including the specialized versions that make you do a sick flip.
- Searing Claw and its morphs. They also now alternate from a right and left variant as you cast the ability.
- Core of Flame (originally Inhale) and its morphs.
- Hearthfire (originally Ash Cloud) and its morphs.
- Inferno and its morphs.
- Dragon Leap and its morphs.
- Dragonfire Breath (originally Fiery Breath) and its morphs. The Engulfing Dragonfire morph also gets a special variant animation to denote the spicy morph change.
- Dark Talons and its morphs.
- Dragon Blood and its morphs. Get pumped (full of blood)!
- Wing Buffet (originally Protective Scale) and its morphs. Cue the food jokes.
- Chains of Flame (originally Fiery Grip) and its morphs. The Chains of Devastation morph also gets a fancy unique animation to differentiate it.
- Magma Armor and its morphs.
- Superheated Ward (originally Stonefist) and its morphs.
- Molten Weapons and its morphs. It also applies a unique weapon appearance for the caster that looks absolutely [i]fire[/i].
- Obsidian Shield and its morphs.
- Petrify and its morphs.
- Earthspike Mantle (originally Spiked Armor) and its morphs.
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[i]Enjoy new Dragonknight animations and effects[/i]
