Category: Best ESO Builds, Best Dragonknight Builds, Beginner Builds
This beginner build for the Magicka Dragonknight class in The Elder Scrolls Online is a great place to get started! This build focuses on intense Fire Damage and Damage Over Time!
What you will learn in this beginner build guide:
- The best item sets to use with the Magicka Dragonknight Beginner Build, and why they are important.
- How the skills work, synergies with the gear, and your rotation.
- The best consumables, race, and mundus, and most importantly, why you should select them.
This guide has been updated for The Elder Scrolls Online Update 50.
Dragonknight Class Overview
The Dragonknight Class is an extremely powerful way to play in The Elder Scrolls Online. Dragonknights have many similarities with other classes in ESO such as dedicated Class Skill lines for DPS, for Healing, and for Tanking. Dragonknights are known for their sturdy nature as melee combat specialists but also have many powerful magic abilities. For a more detailed guide be sure to review our ESO Dragonknight Class Guide.
Beginner Magicka Dragonknight Primary Sets
Our main 5 piece set on this build is Mother’s Sorrow, a fantastic light armor set that is easy to obtain and offers excellent stats by boosting our Maximum Magicka as well as Critical Chance.
Silks Of The Sun provides a powerful buff to fire-based abilities which counts for most of the Magicka focused Dragonknight’s attacks.
For the final two pieces of gear on this build Armor Of The Trainee is recommended for the extra Health and Magicka.
Mother’s Sorrow
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Magicka
(3 items) Adds 657 Critical Chance
(4 items) Adds 657 Critical Chance
(5 items) Adds 1528 Critical Chance
Silks Of The Sun
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 657 Critical Chance
(3 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Magicka
(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(5 items) Adds 400 Weapon and Spell Damage to your Flame Damage abilities.
Armor Of The Trainee
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(1 item) Adds 1454 Maximum Health
(2 items) Adds 1454 Maximum Magicka
(3 items) Adds 1454 Maximum Stamina
Beginner Magicka Dragonknight Alternative Sets
For alternative sets, I also recommend any options that improve the sustain of your build such as Wretched Vitality. Another great all-around crafted set is Order’s Wrath.
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 129 Magicka Recovery
(3 items) Adds 129 Stamina Recovery
(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(5 items) While in combat, applying a Major Buff or Debuff to a target grants you 260 Magicka and Stamina Recovery for 15 seconds. While in combat, applying a Minor Buff or Debuff to a target grants you 130 Magicka and Stamina Recovery for 15 seconds.
Order’s Wrath
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 657 Critical Chance
(3 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(4 items) Adds 657 Critical Chance
(5 items) Adds 943 Critical Chance, Increases your Critical Damage and Critical Healing by 8%.
Beginner Magicka Dragonknight Gear Loadout
| Weapon/Armor | Set | Trait | Weight | Glyph |
| Main Hand | Armor Of The Trainee Inferno Staff | Precise | NA | Flame Damage |
| Backup | Armor Of The Trainee Inferno Staff | Infused | NA | Weapon/Spell Damage |
| Head | Silks Of The Sun | Divines | Light | Magicka |
| Shoulder | Silks Of The Sun | Divines | Light | Magicka |
| Chest | Silks Of The Sun | Divines | Light | Magicka |
| Waist | Silks Of The Sun | Divines | Light | Magicka |
| Gloves | Silks Of The Sun | Divines | Light | Magicka |
| Legs | Mother’s Sorrow | Divines | Light | Magicka |
| Feet | Mother’s Sorrow | Divines | Light | Magicka |
| Necklace | Mother’s Sorrow | Arcane | NA | Weapon Damage |
| Ring 1 | Mother’s Sorrow | Arcane | NA | Magicka Recovery |
| Ring 2 | Mother’s Sorrow | Arcane | NA | Magicka Recovery |
Magicka Dragonknight Beginner Attributes
The best attribute for a Magicka Dragonknight is Magicka because it increase the effectiveness of our spells. Additionally, increased magicka can increase the size of a shield and healing spells. It’s best to pick one attribute pool and “stack” for optimal damage and resource sustain. Therefore, I recommend 64 magicka, 0 health, and 0 stamina.
64 Magicka
0 Health
0 Stamina
Magicka Dragonknight Beginner Race
The best overall race for a Magicka Dragonknight beginner is the High Elf. This race gives a balance between resource sustain and damage. However, it’s not a commonly used race for end-game serious PvE DPS. If that’s your goal eventually, use the Dark Elf. If you struggle with resource sustain and want to spam cast spells, choose the Breton. And if you want something that looks different, take the Khajiit for burst damage, and Argonian for survivability.
For more details on all ESO Races and passive bonuses be sure to check out our Full ESO Race Guide.
Magicka Dragonknight Beginner Mundus
The Thief is the best mundus stone for the Magicka Dragonknight build because you cannot reach a “cap.” Critical damage (Shadow mundus) and offensive penetration (Lover) both can reach a hardcap where you see no benefit. Most Veteran enemies have 18,200 armor, thus Shadow becomes ineffective if using light armor. Meanwhile, the hardcap for critical damage is 125% which can be reached in trials with medium armor equipped. This is why the Thief is superior as an all around mundus stone, giving you the best benefit regardless of the content.
Increases the Critical Strike rating by 1333
With 7 Divines armor pieces
Increases the Critical Strike rating by 2167
The Lover
Increases Physical and Spell Penetration by 2744
With 7 Divines armor pieces
Increases Physical and Spell Penetration by 4489
Magicka Dragonknight Beginner Food & Drink
Witchmother’s Potent Brew is the best beginner Magicka Dragonknight food or drink because it increases your max magicka, health, and grants magicka recovery. As a new player, you desperately need resource sustain as well as damage, which is why this is selected. Later as you advance, other food is used like “bi-stat” which forgoes magicka recovery for higher max stats. But, this comes with a big downside and that is weak sustain and not recommended right away.
Witchmother’s potent brew
Increase Max Magicka by 2856, Max Health by 3094, and Magicka Recovery by 315 for 2 hours.
These effects are scaled based on your level.
Ingredients: Nightshade, Bervez Juice, Rice, Small Game
Magicka Dragonknight Beginner Potions
The best magicka potions for the Magicka Dragonknight are the base potions that give you magicka recovery. The recover, with medicine use passive from alchemy, can run 47.5 seconds. With potion cooldown only last 45 seconds, you can maintain 100% up time on an additional 20% recovery. As you advance, tri-potions (all three stats), spell power potions (buffs and recovery), or even heroism potions (ultimate generation buff) can be used. However, consider using these right now depending on your level and don’t be shy about drinking them.
Basic Magicka Potions
Beginner Magicka Dragonknight Skill Loadout
Main Weapon: INFERNO STAFF – Click on a Skill Name to learn more
Backup Weapon: INFERNO STAFF – Click on a Skill Name to learn more
Beginner Magicka Dragonknight Skill Explanation
Front Bar – Inferno Staff Explanation
- Burning Embers: Use this to apply a powerful damage-over-time effect to a single target and also heal you at the same time. Recast to get an instant burst heal when in trouble.
- Disintegrating Dragonfire: AOE damage over time that also debuffs enemies with Major Breach, increasing their damage taken from all abilities.
- Flame Lash: our single-target DPS skill that also heals us back. Later, you will be able to apply off-balance to the enemy to proc Power Lash for even more damage and healing.
- Heart Of Flame: use this mainly as a sustain tool to restore Health, Magicka and Stamina.
- Volcanic Ward: Power damage shield that also reduces incoming damage and restores health when the shield expires.
- ULT: Ferocious Leap: This is a powerful and cheap ultimate skill that deals AOE damage, stuns, and creates a massive damage shield for your character.
Back Bar – Inferno Staff Explanation
- Elemental Blockade: basic AOE damage over time that can also proc your backup weapon enchantment.
- Elemental Drain: Use this skill to debuff enemies with Major Breach, increasing their damage taken from your abilities. Also helps to increase Magicka sustenance.
- Cauterize: a heal-over-time ability that can heal you or other targets in the area. Use Blood Of The Elder Dragon in this spot before you unlock it.
- Igneous Weapons: a powerful damage buff that increases your Weapon Damage and Spell Damage and lasts for a full 1 minute, saving your resources on recasting.
- Earthshield Mantle: This is your defensive armor skill that provides the Major Resolve buff, increasing your Physical Resistance and Spell Resistance, plus an extra damage shield.
- ULT: Standard Of Might: This ultimate is costly but also has great effects, including increasing your and your group’s damage and damage reduction.
Beginner Magicka Dragonknight Rotation
Buff: Maintain your Earthshield Mantle and Igneous Weapons
Rotation: Start on the backbar by casting your buffs, followed by Cauterize/Incinerate, then Elemental Drain and Elemental Blockade.
Then on the front bar, cast Disintegrating Dragonfire, Burning Embers, and Flame Lash. Use Heart Of Flame as needed for increased sustain and cast Volcanic Ward if you are taking too much damage and need to shield.
Tips: Remember to Light Attack in between each skill. Burning Embers can be cast on multiple enemies at once to increase the healing. You can also recast Burning Embers early for a quick burst heal.
Beginner Magicka Dragonknight Important Passives
Magicka Dragonknight Class Mastery
Players that reach level 50 in ESO while also fully reaching Rank 50 for their class skill lines and not subclassing can use 2 Class Mastery passives to improve their build. For the Dragonknight Class, I recommend Inexorable Descent which improves your Landslide passive to deal more damage while increasing healing done and damage shield strength and Wildfire Embers which adds a unique damage over time effect that stacks up to 12 times when your Dragonknight DOTs end.
Inexorable Descent
Be as the landslide. Let nothing stop you.
Effect
Improves your Landslide passive to increase the potency of your damage done, healing done, and damage shield strength by 1% per stack.
Wildfire Embers
Fire forged within can never be extinguished. Fan the flames.
Effect
When your Dragonknight damage over time effects end, you apply Wildfire Embers to the target, dealing 1884 Flame Damage over 12 seconds. This effect stacks up to 12 times and increases in damage by 25% per stack.
How To Create Powerful ESO Builds
Crafting the Perfect Build for you in The Elder Scrolls Online can be frustrating. Which skills are best for each class? What about passives? The best race? The best armor type and weapons? The best trait and glyphs? There are literally THOUSANDS of different options!
This is why we created the ESO Zero To Hero Build Academy – A Simple, yet Powerful build system that teaches the fundamentals of ESO Theorycrafting, step-by-step.
Build your character exactly how YOU want by following this simple process from start to finish and FINALLY start enjoying ESO the way you want to play it!
Our Guides are designed with New and Intermediate players in mind! Stop wasting hours searching the internet for the best ESO build information – get what you need NOW to succeed!
More Dragonknight Builds For ESO
Want more Dragonknight Builds? Check out our dedicated Dragonknight Builds overview page for even more great options!
