Nightblade Class Builds for ESO

Welcome to the Nightblade class build section for ESO. Here you can find all the Nightblade builds for the Elder Scrolls Online. The Nightblade can be played as a damage dealer, a healer or a tank. They perform well in a group or a solo setting, depending on how you set up your build.

The Nightblade builds that you can find here focus on optimizing your setup as much as possible, that way you can really perform as good as possible on your Nightblade. Sometimes gear can be hard to acquire depending on the build you want to use, that is why I made sure to always include three different setups, the best in slot, advanced and a beginner setup.

Nonetheless, I would always recommend getting the best setup like described in the build, to completely optimize your setup. Please keep in mind that combat changes occur all 3 months in the Elder Scrolls Online, therefore it is possible that certain sets will change for your Nightblade!

PvE Dungeon & Trial META Nightblade Builds

The Meta Nightblade builds listed below are meant to be played in a group. The Meta Nightblade builds have a very cookie cutter approach and rely heavily on other group members.

• Magicka Nightblade DPS
• Stamina Nightblade DPS DW/2H
• Stamina Nightblade DPS Bow/Bow
• Nightblade Healer
• Nightblade Tank
• Werewolf Build

PvE Solo Nightblade Builds 

The PvE Solo Nightblade builds are optimized for solo gameplay. The builds below have a good balance between damage, survivability, healing and movement. Everything you need to get through ESO alone. Of course, you can also use these solo builds in a group, especially useful in random groups.

• Magicka Grind Build
• Stamina Grind Build
• Solo Magicka Nightblade Build
• Solo Stamina Nightblade Build

PvP Solo Nightblade Builds

The PvP Solo Nightblade builds do have both a Cyrodiil and a Battlegrounds setup. You can play with these builds alone, but it is recommend to always join a group to increase your odds of survival.

• Magicka Nightblade Build
• Stamina Nightblade Build

• Bomber Magicka Nightblade Build
• Bow Gank Stamina Nightblade Build

Beginner Nightblade Guides & Builds

The Beginner Nightblade guides and builds are meant for new players. They introduce you to the Nightblade class and give you a good starting point for your adventure in ESO.

• Magicka Nightblade Guide
• Magicka Nightblade Beginner 160CP Build
• Stamina Nightblade Guide
• Stamina Nightblade Beginner 160CP Build

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The Nightblade Class

Relying variously on stealth, blades, and speed, Nightblades thrive on conflict and misfortune, trusting to their luck and cunning to survive.

Attack from the shadows, drain your foes’ health, and vanish into the void with the Nightblade Class. The shadows truly are your greatest weapon as you wield abilities that deal devastating damage at any range and siphon your victim’s lifeforce to your allies.

As the Nightblade class, all of Tamriel fears your deadly unseen strike.

The Nightblade Skill-lines

The Nightblade class has three skill-lines like every other class in ESO. Below you can find a quick introduction to the Assassination, Shadow and Siphoning skill-lines.

Nightblade Class Synergies

The Nightblade class in ESO has two class specific synergies, the Hidden Refresh and Soul Leech synergy. Synergies are additional effects that some abilities offer.

Nightblade Showcase

Below you can see an example of a Magicka and Stamina Nightblade in ESO. Of course you can customize your character however you want, there are plenty of good outfit options in ESO.

The Nightblade Story

It is not much known about Nightblade lore, except a few books that can be found ingame, for example via bookshelves, they help level up your skill-lines too.

Advances in Lockpicking

Shadow Draining: A Hypothesis

Anyone who studies the so-called “shadow magic” of the underworld’s nightblades is familiar with the siphoning spells, which drain life force and health from the injured to the injurer. The question before the scholar-arcanist is to explain how and why this works. After prolonged study, primarily through low-grade siphoning of my menials and their families while they slept, I have arrived at a hypothesis.

It appears to me that the magical siphoning of health is related to the instant translocation spells insofar as it creates a transliminal flow of essence from the target to the caster. Through the hyperagonal magicka sense, the nightblade perceives the target’s transpontine deformation and “pierces” it, and in the resulting disruption absorbs the essence that is lost by the target. Thus, instead of “stepping through shadows” as in translocation, the mage is “shadow draining” from one location to another.

Or so my experiments indicate.

Stepping through Shadows

There is no magic in the nightblade’s repertoire more useful than the spell of instant translocation. Over time, its casting becomes almost a matter of reflex: one is HERE, and then, by an act of will, one is THERE.

In fact, to the experienced practitioner, translocation becomes so routine that one almost forgets how difficult it was at first to learn. It is traditional to refer to this magical art as “stepping through shadows,” and indeed, the key to its mastery is the ability to “peer sidewise” and perceive the shadows cast by each entity and object in the Aurbis.

These are not, of course, the literal shadows cast by the blockage of light by an opaque object, but the emanation of the limen each object possesses–the depth-impression its existence makes in the local reality of the Mundus. This requires learning to focus the hyperagonal sense through which the practitioner perceives the flow of magicka. Once the nightblade can “feel” local transpontine deformation, it becomes almost trivial to make the transliminal saltation to any point within range.

Wulfmare’s Guide to Better Thieving

So, you want to make it as a cutpurse. You want to live the life of a criminal, always one step ahead of everyone and pockets brimming with gold drakes. Maybe it appeals to you to try and earn a living by robbing some wealthy merchants or extorting your local shopkeepers? Let me give you a bit of advice–don’t bother. For every skilled thief I’ve met in my day, I’ve seen a twenty who thought that they had what it took but ended up rotting in jail.

But if you’re anything like me, you don’t listen to advice. You do whatever you want and never let anyone else tell you otherwise. To Oblivion with the risks–all that matters is the coin. Sound familiar? If it does, then this book might just teach you the difference between acting like a petty thief and a master criminal.

I know what you’re thinking. Who’s this Wulfmare? Who does he think he is, telling me how to be a better thief? What makes him an expert? Simple. Maybe you heard about that heist in Mournhold, when the Archcanon’s sacred diamond ring went missing? Or perhaps the tale of an Elder Scroll gone missing from the White-Gold Tower reached your ears. That’s right… it was yours truly. I’ve done just about every kind of job you can imagine and I’ve got the drakes put away to prove it. How else could an ex-thief find the resources to publish his own book?

Now that I have your attention, let’s start with two of the most fundamental skills you’ll need to sharpen if you want to make it as a cutpurse: picking locks and picking pockets. And before you roll your eyes and throw this book aside in disgust, I can promise you that the easiest way you’re going to get caught is by ignoring the basics–but if you can master these activities you’ll find yourself swimming in coin.

Picking pockets is one of the easiest skills to learn, but you’d be surprised how often I’ve seen novice thieves muck it up. The lesson here is twofold. First, know your surroundings, and second, know your approach. Where and when you decide to go fishing is just as important as who you choose as your mark. Follow them a while, there’s never a need to rush. Wait until they’re somewhere isolated and out of earshot of any guards–but most importantly always know when to let the mark go. Getting pinched simply isn’t worth the risk. There’ll always be plenty of other marks who’ll come along with their pockets full.

As far as the approach goes, don’t drop into your crouch until you are completely out of the mark’s view–directly behind and preferably close to them. Don’t spend too long deciding what you’ll lift either. A good thief should be able to hit a mark and make off with something valuable in less than five seconds. Last of all, plying this trade at night will greatly reduce your chances of getting caught. If you have no other choice and you have to do it in the daylight, just make sure you aren’t out in the open.

Lockpicking is an art form that takes years to master. The important thing to remember is that no two are alike, each one behaving completely differently. As long as you keep your wits about you, and your patience, you’ll find them easier to defeat than you’d initially expect.

Good picks are always essential. Make sure you have plenty of them tucked away in your pockets. Always take your time and keep a light touch on the picks. When the tumblers begin to fall into place, you should feel the pick tremble ever-so-slightly–this means you’re near the sweet spot. Slow down at that point and only move the picks with the finest touch. If you blindly poke at the lock like an old man, all you’re going to end up with is a bunch of broken picks and equally broken pride. As a last resort, if the lock is completely confounding you, there’s always the option of smashing it. Just keep in mind that this is rarely successful and could potentially make a great deal of noise.

By using my techniques, I’m not merely suggesting you’ll be a successful thief, I’m giving you a solid guarantee. All it takes is a little bit of patience and a great deal of practice then maybe, just maybe, you’ll become as successful as Wulfmare.

In my next volume, we’ll move onto another important tool in your arsenal–sneaking. I’ll prove to you that the shadows can be just as potent of a weapon as your blade if you know how to bend them to your will.

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FAQ Nightblade Class

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ESO Nightblade Class Content List