\Classes in The Elder Scrolls Online take their combat abilities from two primary locations: their innate class skill trees and their weapon skill trees. There are, of course, skill trees oriented around guilds, crafting, chosen race, etc. as well. But when it comes to making a build for battle, the most important factors are the player's choice of class and weapon.
The Elder Scrolls Online's Dragonknight class is typically played as a front-line bruiser, thanks to its variety of close-range abilities in its three class-specific skill trees. However, just like any class in The Elder Scrolls Online, the Dragonknight is perfectly capable of picking up a Restoration staff to play a support role. They can also powerfully wield a Dual Wield or One-Hand and Shield in melee range.
Updated September 27, 2021 by Erik Petrovich: Dragonknights in The Elder Scrolls Online tend to be relegated to the Tanking role, though they can be equally good at damage output (and even Support, with the right build). The best weapons ESO offers for Dragonknights, though, tend to be close-range, with the notable exception of the Dual-Wielding spec. Weapons that favor the Dragonknight's skillset enhance the class' close-range capabilities and their class skills, such as in the One or Two-Handed skill lines. Though they like to keep the distance between them and their opponents pretty close, it's a good idea to keep a ranged weapon like a Bow or Destruction Staff on the back bar for evasive foes that like to dart in and out of melee range.
6 Dual Wielding Weapons: Axes, Swords, Maces, Daggers
- Notable Abilities: Whirlwind and its morphs for AoE damage, Hidden Blade for interrupts, Flurry for low-cost DPS output
- Pros: Decent DPS output across the board, low Stamina and Magicka cost of spells
- Cons: Outclassed by both the Two-Handed and Destruction Staff skill lines, and is considered by some to be worse than even One-Handed and Shield which gives several buffs
The Dual-Wielding skill line in The Elder Scrolls Online is almost entirely dedicated to DPS output. However, it's outclassed by most other DPS-based skill lines in the game, though it does have some particular offerings that other weapons can't match. For example, several skills (and morphs) in the Dual Wield skill tree heal the player based on their damage output, such as the ultimate ability Lacerate and the Twin Slashes morph Blood Craze.
While the DPS output of Dual Wielded weapons is pretty good, players won't find themselves relying on these skills that don't have much of an additional upside. Skills like Whirlwind do good damage in an area, but several Dragonknight abilities (and other weapon skill lines) do more damage over time without as much dependence on Stamina, which tends to deplete very quickly in a Dual Wield build. Dual Wielded weapons are far from The Elder Scrolls Online best weapons for Dragonknights, but they can be serviceable in certain builds.
5 Ranged Support: Restoration Staffs
- Notable Abilities: Regeneration and Panacea Ultimate for long-term heals, Steadfast Ward for keeping low-health allies alive, Force Siphon to apply healing to all party attacks
- Pros: Best Support skill line in The Elder Scrolls Online, gives Dragonknights great self-sustain, synergistic passives with DPS output
- Cons: Few, but Support Dragonknights will almost exclusively use these skills in their ability bar, meaning it's not essential to be a Dragonknight to make the best use of this skill line
Restoration staffs in The Elder Scrolls Online unlock a skill tree dedicated to the art of healing and buffing the rest of a party (and oftentimes oneself). It contains single-target and AoE heals like Rapid Regeneration and the Ultimate ability Life Giver. Additionally, players gain access to multi-purpose hybrid abilities like Combat Prayer and Force Siphon. Ultimately, it's the go-to weapon of choice for players in the Support role.
Unfortunately, Dragonknights typically don't thrive when playing as Support. The Earthen Heart skill tree and Draconic Power class skill trees contain some party-wide buffs and support abilities like Molten Weapons or Fragmented Shield; however, they aren't powerful heals when compared to the offerings from other classes. Still, it can be useful as a Dragonknight to keep a Restoration Staff in the back bar. It can come in handy in case the party healer can't keep up and the player needs to pop off a few quick self-heals in the middle of a fight.
4 Ranged Physical: Bows
- Notable Abilities: Rapid Fire ultimate for incredibly powerful single-target DPS, Volley for long-term AoE, Hasty Retreat passive for enhanced mobility
- Pros: Good physical damage at a range, access to resource regeneration abilities, potential for great DPS based on morph choices (such as Endless Hail or Poison Spray)
- Cons: Not as powerful as the Destruction Staff in general, typically used on the back bar as Dragonknights thrive in close combat and not from a distance
The Bow weapon skill tree in The Elder Scrolls Online is home to a variety of stamina-based abilities. Most players would think these would give a Dragonknight the edge for ranged combat. However, because Dragonknight class abilities revolve so heavily around melee combat, a player must spec significantly and precisely to make the best use of this weapon in the primary or secondary slot.
One of the major downsides to the Bow is that it does use Stamina as a resource. A lot of Dragonknight abilities and morphs rely on Stamina, too, meaning that this weapon skill tree will always be competing for Stamina with class abilities. It does offer utility in the AoE stun Bombard and the cleave poison attack Poison Injection. If a player wants to keep a ranged DPS weapon on the back bar, though, the Destruction Staff is a much more powerful and well-rounded option.
3 Two-Handed Weapons: Greatswords, Battle Axes, Mauls
- Notable Abilities: Uppercut for its single-target damage and morphs, Critical Charge for getting across the battlefield quickly, Momentum for all-around powerful self-buffs
- Pros: Best DPS option for Dragonknights thanks to its passives which enhance class abilities too, gives the Dragonknight mobility, good close-range AoE potential
- Cons: Few options for resource recovery, can be hard to learn rotations for proper DPS output, reliance on morph choices for maximum effectiveness
While Dragonknights thrive in close combat situations, they are not perfectly suited to every melee weapon skill tree. It's a better primary weapon option than some others; however, the Two-Handed Weapon skill tree can be less effective than the other two melee weapon skill trees for Dragonknights if not played properly.
In general, it tends to be an underwhelming tree for late-game and party content across the board. It offers some utility for classes without similar abilities, like the stunning Dizzying Swing or distance-closing Critical Charge. However, the Dragonknight already has abilities like this in the Ardent Flame and Draconic Power skill trees. Thus, it's just not as good of an option as going for the One-Hand and Shield skill tree, though it can complement their innate abilities through passives.
2 Ranged Magical: Destruction Staffs (Lightning, Inferno, Ice)
- Notable Abilities: Destructive Touch for close-range Magicka attacks, Weakness to Elements for enemy debuffs, Impulse and its morphs for good AoE potential
- Pros: Great AoE damage, makes the Dragonknight capable of attacking at a range, uses Magicka as a resource which can allow Stamina to regenerate in the meantime
- Cons: Doesn't mesh well with innate Dragonknight abilities, relegated to the secondary weapon slot as Dragonknights like to get up close and personal
Dragonknights, typically, aren't particularly powerful at a range. Several of their class abilities, like Fiery Grip or the Ultimate Dragon Leap, get the player right next to their target. This typically makes the use of a Destruction Staff inferior to the use of a different Melee weapon. The innate power of the Destruction Staff skill tree, though, makes this a perfectly viable back bar option for Dragonknights.
Dragonknights have some good crowd control abilities at their disposal, but the Destruction Staff skill tree expands these options and is typically home to The Elder Scrolls Online best weapons (at least in terms of ranged choices). With abilities like Crushing Shock, Wall of Elements, and even the weapon's Ultimate Elemental Storm, Dragonknights can keep a formidable offense even when backing out of melee for a quick breather. However, players should choose the Restoration Staff if they want to build a Tanking Dragonknight.
1 One-Handed and Shield: Axes, Swords, Maces, Daggers
- Notable Abilities: Puncture and its morphs for threat generation, Heroic Slash morph for Ultimate recovery, Shield Charge for wrangling distant enemies
- Pros: Best Tanking weapon skill line in the game, only skill line that directly generates threat, overall great bonuses to stats that matter for Dragonknights specifically
- Cons: Few, though the One-Handed and Shield weapon skill line should only be used by the Tanking Dragonknight, not those in DPS or Support roles
To drive the point home one last time, Dragonknights thrive best in close-quarters combat, either in the melee DPS or Tanking roles. For both of these purposes, One-Handed weapons are great choices as, they give access to both the One-Handed and Shield and Dual Wield weapon skill lines. One-Handed and Shield is home to some of the best weapons ESO offers for Tanks, while the Dual Wield skill tree is a decent hybrid of self-sustain and damage output.
The most important thing to remember when Tanking is to actually block attacks. Past that, it's vital that Tanking Dragonknights spec into the threat-generating ability Puncture and one of the Low Slash morphs for its cleave debuffing ability. When it comes to Dual Wielding, at max level it's important to consider which exact weapons are equipped to make preferred use of the Twin Blade and Blunt passive. Additionally, players should consider taking the Flurry, Whirlwind, and Blade Cloak abilities quickly.