ESO Class Mastery Passives are a new set of bonuses coming in June with Update 50 for Pure Classes. Pure Classes are available to characters that all three of their class’s own skill lines at instead of subclassing. You unlock five exclusive passives and can slot two at a time. They cost no skill points.
ZOS showed all 35 work in progress passives across all seven classes during the March 2026 dev stream. As host Gina Bruno put it: “I don’t want people taking these and circulating them as gospel.” Names, numbers and mechanics will change before Update 50 goes live. This page will be updated as changes are confirmed.
All names, numbers and mechanics on this page are work in progress. Nothing here is final.
Table of Contents
- What are ESO Class Mastery Passives
- Why ESO Class Mastery Exists
- All Class Mastery Passives in ESO
- Frequently Asked Questions
What are ESO Class Mastery Passives?
The Sorcerer Class Mastery skill line as it appears in the ESO skill tree. Work in progress
Class Mastery is a set of bonus passives you unlock by staying pure class in ESO. Pure class means using all three of your class’s own skill lines (for example, Ardent Flame, Draconic Power and Earthen Heart on a Dragonknight).
If you swap one of those for a skill line from another class, that’s subclassing, and you lose access to Class Mastery. Weapon skill lines, guild skill lines and other non-class skill lines do not affect your pure class status.
- Get all three of your class skill lines to level 50 to unlock Class Mastery
- Choose two passives from a pool of five
- They do not cost skill points
- Some passives may block others from being selected at the same time. We do not yet know which ones conflict.
- Respec them the same way you respec normal abilities
Not to be confused with the Scribing Class Mastery Signature Script, which is a part of a completely different System called Scribing.
Why ESO Class Mastery Exists
The dev stream slide outlining the goals for Class Mastery passives in ESO Update 50
Since subclassing launched, pure class builds have been at a disadvantage in high-end content like veteran dungeons and trials. The Arcanist Fatecarver meta has dominated for roughly two years, and players who wanted to stay pure class often felt weaker than those who subclassed.
Class Mastery is ZOS’s answer to that gap. Senior Combat Designer Alec Verish described it as a stop-gap measure between the ongoing class reworks. Each class is getting a refresh over time. Dragonknight is already done, Warden is next. Class Mastery passives will be adjusted as each class gets its full refresh.
The goals from the dev stream slide:
- Narrow the gap between subclassed and pure class characters at the high end (vet dungeons and trials)
- Stop-gap measure between class reworks
- Will be adjusted as reworks happen, based on outliers and build popularity
- Numbers are not final, in testing now, will evolve
Alec summed up the team’s approach: “We’ll do what needs to be done, and we’ll have a lot of fun while we’re doing it too.”
The Elder Scrolls Online Class Identity Refresh plan for each class
All passives below are work in progress.
- Names are temporary and not lore-approved.
- Numbers will change before Update 50 goes live.
Many passives say “Upgrades rank 2 of [passive name].” This means the Class Mastery passive enhances an existing class passive that you already have at rank 2 (the highest rank, unlocked by levelling the skill line to 50).
ESO Templar Class Mastery Passives
All five Templar Class Mastery passives as shown during the March 2026 dev stream. Names and numbers are work in progress.
Built around Sacred Ground. Multiple passives trigger when Sacred Ground is active and work off each other, stacking benefits for blocking, healing and shielding. DPS options boost Burning Light and Illuminate.
Alec highlighted the interactions between passives as a key design choice. Templar’s Class Mastery passives are intentionally designed to synergize with each other. A Templar who activates Sacred Ground through blocking can trigger healing and shielding at the same time.
Note: Sacred Ground is a passive in the Restoring Light skill line. It activates when you stand in certain Templar abilities like Cleansing Ritual and Rune Focus. Several Class Mastery passives expand which abilities trigger it.
- Illuminary of Bravery – Upgrades rank 2 of Illuminate to also grant Lustrous Bravery for the duration, which grants 300 Weapon and Spell Damage to allies and doubles for you.
- Hold the Line – While Sacred Ground is active, you gain a damage shield for 6 seconds (once every 6 seconds). Absorbs up to 3200 damage. Grants 300 Health, Magicka and Stamina Recovery while active. If the shield breaks, you gain 10 Ultimate.
- Missionary of Light – Sacred Ground is now applied while you are in your own Nova and Spear Shards, and while Radial Sweep and Solar Barrage are active. While Sacred Ground is active, you heal for 1279 Health every 1 second. If at full Health after being healed while in combat, you also gain 2 Ultimate
- In Radiance, Judgment – When rank 2 of Burning Light deals damage, your Templar abilities gain 2000 damage done for 3.1 seconds.
- Sacred Anchor – Sacred Ground now activates and refreshes itself while Bracing. Increases damage you can block by 20% while stationary.
| Passive | Effect (Work in Progress) |
|---|---|
| Illuminary of Bravery | Upgrades rank 2 of Illuminate to also grant Lustrous Bravery for the duration, which grants 300 Weapon and Spell Damage to allies and doubles for you. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Hold the Line | While Sacred Ground is active, you gain a damage shield for 6 seconds, up to once every 6 seconds. The shield absorbs up to 3200 damage and provides 300 Health, Magicka and Stamina Recovery while active. If the shield breaks, you gain 10 Ultimate. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Missionary of Light | Sacred Ground is now applied while you are in your own Nova and Spear Shards, and while Radial Sweep and Solar Barrage are active. While Sacred Ground is active, you heal for 1279 Health every 1 second. If you are at full Health after being healed from this effect while in combat, you also gain 2 Ultimate. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| In Radiance, Judgment | When rank 2 of Burning Light deals damage, your Templar abilities gain 2000 damage done for 3.1 seconds. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Sacred Anchor | Sacred Ground now activates and refreshes itself while Bracing. Increases the amount of damage you can block by 20% while stationary. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
For current Templar skills and builds, see the ESO Templar page.
ESO Sorcerer Class Mastery Passives
All five Sorcerer Class Mastery passives as shown during the March 2026 dev stream. Names and numbers are work in progress.
Better sustain, stronger shields and a returning execute passive. The old Implosion passive is back in a balanced form. One passive gets weaker for each permanent pet you have active.
Implosion was removed from the game years ago because it was unhealthy for balance. During the dev stream Alec said the team found a way to bring it back at a much healthier power level. The pet penalty on Implosion is worth knowing about: if you have two permanent pets active, your proc chance is divided by 3 (1 plus the number of pets). This significantly reduces its effectiveness for pet builds.
- Conservation of Energy – Upgrades rank 2 of Blood Magic to work with any ability with a cost, and restores 1000 Magicka and Stamina when it activates.
- Implosion – When you deal damage, you have a 1% chance for every 1% missing Health the target has to deal 314 Shock Damage (once every 0.2 seconds). This chance is divided by 1 plus every permanent pet you have active.
- Efficient Defense – While beginning to use a Sorcerer ability or an ability with a cast time, you gain a damage shield for 0.3 seconds that can absorb 8000 damage. Based off your Max Health.
- Font of Power – Upgrades rank 2 of Exploitation to work with any Sorcerer ability and increases your Weapon and Spell Damage by 9% for 10 seconds. Increases by 1% for every 1500 Max Magicka or Stamina, whichever is higher.
- Parallel Protection – Casting a damage shield on yourself or an ally grants an additional shield for 3 seconds that absorbs up to 4000 damage. Scales off highest of Max Health or Max Magicka. Capped at 25% of target’s Max Health.
| Passive | Effect (Work in Progress) |
|---|---|
| Conservation of Energy | Upgrades rank 2 of Blood Magic to work with any ability with a cost, and restores 1000 Magicka and Stamina when it activates. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Implosion | When you deal damage, you have a 1% chance for every 1% missing Health the target has to deal 314 Shock Damage, up to once every 0.2 seconds. This chance is divided by one plus every permanent pet you have active. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Efficient Defense | While beginning to use a Sorcerer ability or an ability with a cast time, you gain a damage shield for 0.3 seconds that can absorb 8000 damage. This effect is based off your Max Health. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Font of Power | Upgrades rank 2 of Exploitation to work with any Sorcerer ability and increases your Weapon and Spell Damage by 9% for 10 seconds. The Weapon and Spell Damage increases by 1% for every 1500 Max Magicka or Stamina you have, whichever is higher. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Parallel Protection | Casting a damage shield on yourself or an ally grants an additional shield for 3 seconds that absorbs up to 4000 damage. This effect scales off the highest of your Max Health or Max Magicka. Shield is capped at 25% of the target’s Max Health. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
For current Sorcerer skills and builds, see the ESO Sorcerer page.
ESO Dragonknight Class Mastery Passives
All five Dragonknight Class Mastery passives as shown during the March 2026 dev stream. Names and numbers are work in progress.
The longer you fight, the stronger you get. Builds on the Landslide mechanic from the recent class refresh. Tanks get blocking bonuses, DPS gets stacking flame damage from DoTs and The Storm Voice can become a group buff tool. Alec noted these help make up for the old Helping Hands functionality that was reworked into Mountain Giant during the Update 49 refresh.
The attrition theme ties directly into the Dragonknight identity reinforced in Update 49. Landslide already rewards sustained combat, and these passives extend that further.
- Booming Voice – Activating rank 2 of The Storm Voice now also grants 5 Health, Magicka and Stamina Recovery for every Ultimate spent for 10 seconds.
- Unstoppable Force – Improves your Landslide passive to increase the potency of your damage done, healing done and damage shield strength by 1% per stack.
- Rousing Roar – Activating rank 2 of The Storm Voice grants you and group members within 28 meters Major Berserk, Heroism and Protection for 1 second per 10 Ultimate spent.
- Immovable Mountain – Each second you remain Bracing, you increase the amount of damage you block by 6%, up to 5 times. Blocking damage has a 20% chance to restore 500 Stamina (once per block cost).
- Recursive Flame – When your DK damage over time effects end, you apply Recursive Flame to the target, dealing 1904 Flame Damage over 12 seconds. Stacks up to 12 times, increasing in damage by 25% per stack.
| Passive | Effect (Work in Progress) |
|---|---|
| Booming Voice | Activating rank 2 of The Storm Voice now also grants 5 Health, Magicka and Stamina Recovery for every Ultimate spent for 10 seconds. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Unstoppable Force | Improves your Landslide passive to increase the potency of your damage done, healing done and damage shield strength by 1% per stack. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Rousing Roar | Activating rank 2 of The Storm Voice grants you and group members within 28 meters of you Major Berserk, Heroism and Protection for 1 second per 10 Ultimate spent, increasing damage done and reducing damage taken by 10% and granting 3 Ultimate every 1.5 seconds while in combat. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Immovable Mountain | Each second you remain Bracing, you increase the amount of damage you block by 6%, up to 5 times. Blocking damage has a 20% chance to restore 500 Stamina. This effect can occur once every block cost. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Recursive Flame | When your Dragonknight damage over time effects end, you apply Recursive Flame to the target, dealing 1904 Flame Damage over 12 seconds. This effect stacks up to 12 times and increases in damage by 25% per stack. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
For current Dragonknight skills and builds, see the ESO Dragonknight page.
ESO Nightblade Class Mastery Passives
All five Nightblade Class Mastery passives as shown during the March 2026 dev stream. Names and numbers are work in progress.
Burst damage and execute focus. One passive raises the Critical Damage cap higher than any other class. Another increases your damage based on how low your target’s health is while also making you harder to kill. Additional options for group support and Ultimate generation through crits.
The Critical Damage cap increase uses new tech that allows ZOS to override stat caps for specific classes. Currently all classes share the same Critical Damage cap. With Class Mastery, pure Nightblades can push past it. Combined with the missing-health scaling on damage and survivability, pure Nightblades are positioned to dominate single-target damage again.
- Critical Motivation – Upgrades rank 2 of Hemorrhage to have a chance to generate 2 Ultimate (once every 0.3 seconds). Chance is based off your Weapon Critical.
- Evasive Trance – Activating a Nightblade ability while bracing causes you to dodge attacks for 0.3 seconds.
- Share the Spoils – Upgrades rank 2 of Transfer to grant the closest group member 500 Magicka and Stamina and doubles the Ultimate you gain when it activates.
- Detect Weakness – Increases your Weapon and Spell Damage by up to 1500 based on your target’s missing Health. Reduces your damage taken by up to 15% based on your attacker’s missing Health.
- Above and Beyond – Increases your Critical Damage and Healing by 25%. Increases your maximum Critical Damage and Healing by 35%.
| Passive | Effect (Work in Progress) |
|---|---|
| Critical Motivation | Upgrades rank 2 of Hemorrhage to have a chance to generate 2 Ultimate. This effect can occur once every 0.3 seconds and the chance is based off your Weapon Critical. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Evasive Trance | Activating a Nightblade ability while bracing causes you to dodge attacks for 0.3 seconds. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Share the Spoils | Upgrades rank 2 of Transfer to grant the closest group member 500 Magicka and Stamina and doubles the Ultimate you gain when it activates. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Detect Weakness | Increases your Weapon and Spell Damage by up to 1500, based on your target’s missing Health. Reduces your damage taken by up to 15%, based on your attacker’s missing Health. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Above and Beyond | Increases your Critical Damage and Healing by 25%. Increases your maximum Critical Damage and Healing by 35%. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
For current Nightblade skills and builds, see the ESO Nightblade page.
ESO Warden Class Mastery Passives
All five Warden Class Mastery passives as shown during the March 2026 dev stream. Names and numbers are work in progress.
Kept broad on purpose since the Warden class refresh is next. One passive adds Major Brittle, which increases Critical Damage taken by 20%. This is a rare debuff in ESO with very few other sources (the Nunatak set being the main one). Other options reward applying multiple status effects and improve healing across skill lines.
Alec explained that because the Warden refresh is actively being discussed, the team didn’t want to create passives that would need an immediate rework. Once the Warden refresh lands, these passives will likely be updated to hook into whatever new mechanics the refresh introduces.
- Hypothermia – Applying Chill to an enemy also applies Major Brittle for 2 seconds, increasing their Critical Damage taken by 20%.
- Wild Adaptation – Gain 333 Weapon and Spell Damage for each status effect on your target, up to a maximum of 1665.
- Thick Hide – Reduce your damage taken by 10% against targets with at least one status effect.
- One With Winter – Upgrades Bond with Nature to also activate off Winter’s Embrace abilities and to grant 15% Weapon and Spell Damage for 10 seconds if you are at full Health after the heal.
- Nature’s Bounty – Upgrades rank 2 of Nature’s Gift to also restore 500 Magicka or 500 Stamina to your ally, whichever resource pool is lower.
| Passive | Effect (Work in Progress) |
|---|---|
| Hypothermia | Applying Chill to an enemy also applies Major Brittle for 2 seconds, increasing their Critical Damage taken by 20%. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Wild Adaptation | Gain 333 Weapon and Spell Damage for each status effect on your target, up to a maximum of 1665. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Thick Hide | Reduce your damage taken by 10% against targets with at least one status effect. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| One With Winter | Upgrades Bond with Nature to also activate off Winter’s Embrace abilities activating and to grant 15% Weapon and Spell Damage for 10 seconds if you are at full Health after the heal. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Nature’s Bounty | Upgrades rank 2 of Nature’s Gift to also restore 500 Magicka or 500 Stamina to your ally, whichever resource pool is lower. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
For current Warden skills and builds, see the ESO Warden page.
ESO Necromancer Class Mastery Passives
All five Necromancer Class Mastery passives as shown during the March 2026 dev stream. Names and numbers are work in progress.
Corpse mechanics taken further. The standout is the ability to mark living enemies as corpses, opening up corpse-consuming abilities in fights where no corpses exist. New tech lets buff stacks drop off one at a time instead of all at once (each stack has its own 20-second duration). Tank, healer and execute options round out the set.
The living-corpse mechanic addresses one of Necromancer’s oldest problems: corpse-consuming abilities being useless when there are no corpses on the ground. Class Mastery gives pure Necromancers a way around that.
- Cycle of Death – Upgrades rank 2 of Corpse Consumption to mark the closest enemy to you with death’s touch for 6 seconds, allowing you to use a corpse consuming ability on them (once every 2 seconds).
- Nothing Wasted – Upgrades rank 2 of Corpse Consumption to also grant a stack of Nothing Wasted for 20 seconds. Increases Max Health by 2% and Weapon and Spell Damage by 2% per stack, up to 10 times. Stacks decay one at a time instead of all at once.
- Pound of Flesh – When you take damage you have a 1% chance (plus 1% per missing Health percent) to heal 1600 Health and restore 5% missing Stamina (once per second). Healing scales off Max Health.
- Lord of the Cycle – Upgrades rank 2 of Reusable Parts to grant Lord of the Cycle for 25 seconds. Increases damage done by 1% for every 1% Health you have more than your target. Caps at 50% (25% with Battle Spirit).
- At the Precipice – While in combat, healing a target below 50% Health allows you to use a corpse consuming ability against them within 10 seconds (once every second).
| Passive | Effect (Work in Progress) |
|---|---|
| Cycle of Death | Upgrades rank 2 of Corpse Consumption to mark the closest enemy to you with death’s touch for 6 seconds, allowing you to use a corpse consuming ability on them. This effect can occur once every 2 seconds. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Nothing Wasted | Upgrades rank 2 of Corpse Consumption to also grant a stack of Nothing Wasted for 20 seconds, which increases your Max Health by 2% and Weapon and Spell Damage by 2% per stack, up to 10 times. Stacks decay one at a time instead of all at once. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Pound of Flesh | When you take damage you have a 1% chance to heal 1600 Health and restore 5% of your missing Stamina, up to once per second. This chance increases by 1% for every missing Health percent you have and the healing is based off your Max Health. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Lord of the Cycle | Upgrades rank 2 of Reusable Parts to grant Lord of the Cycle for 25 seconds, increasing your damage done by 1% for every 1% Health you have more than your target. The damage bonus caps at 50%, or 25% while Battle Spirit is active. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| At the Precipice | While you are in combat, healing a target below 50% Health allows you to use a corpse consuming ability against them within 10 seconds, up to once every second. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
For current Necromancer skills and builds, see the ESO Necromancer page.
ESO Arcanist Class Mastery Passives
All five Arcanist Class Mastery passives as shown during the March 2026 dev stream. Names and numbers are work in progress.
All about Crux. One passive was cut during early Arcanist development for being too powerful and is now back as a pure-class reward. Opens up ability combos that were not possible to use effectively in a rotation before due to Crux limitations. Healers can generate Crux from healing with no cooldown.
Alec gave specific context here. During early Arcanist design, the team tested whether using an Arcanist ultimate should automatically give you full Crux. It was too strong for the base class and they cut it. Now that pure-class Arcanists need extra power to compete with subclassed builds, that mechanic has been reintroduced through Class Mastery.
The Crux flow changes also open up ability combinations that no subclassed Arcanist can sustain. For example, using both Tentacular Dread (a Crux consumer) and Fatecarver (also a Crux consumer) effectively in the same rotation becomes possible, where previously you would run out of Crux trying to feed both.
- Abyssal Pact – Activating an Arcanist Ultimate immediately generates maximum Crux and grants you 666 Weapon and Spell Damage for 15 seconds.
- Manifest Destiny – Upgrades rank 2 of Fated Fortune to also increase your damage done by 33% for the duration.
- Self-Perpetuated Fate – Upgrades rank 2 of Implacable Outcome (generates Ultimate when you consume Crux) to also generate maximum Crux (once every 15 seconds).
- Mind Over Matter – Upgrades Fatewoven Armor to also grant 300 Magicka and Stamina when you take damage, increasing by 100 per Crux you have active (once every 2 seconds).
- Fleshborne Fate – While in combat, when you heal or overheal a total of 75000 Health, you generate a Crux. No cooldown.
| Passive | Effect (Work in Progress) |
|---|---|
| Abyssal Pact | Activating an Arcanist Ultimate immediately generates maximum Crux and grants you 666 Weapon and Spell Damage for 15 seconds. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Manifest Destiny | Upgrades rank 2 of Fated Fortune to also increase your damage done by 33% for the duration. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Self-Perpetuated Fate | Upgrades rank 2 of Implacable Outcome (Soldier of Apocrypha passive that generates Ultimate when you consume Crux) to also generate maximum Crux, up to once every 15 seconds. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Mind Over Matter | Upgrades Fatewoven Armor to also grant 300 Magicka and Stamina when you take damage, increasing by 100 per Crux you have active. This effect can occur once every 2 seconds. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
| Fleshborne Fate | While in combat, when you heal or overheal a total of 75000 Health, you generate a Crux. No cooldown. Requires 0 Skill Points. |
For current Arcanist skills and builds, see the ESO Arcanist page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Class Mastery in ESO?
Class Mastery is a new passive skill line system for pure classes coming in ESO Update 50. You unlock Class Mastery Passives by getting all three of your class skill lines to level 50. You get five passives to choose from and can slot two at a time.
Do ESO Class Mastery passives cost skill points?
No. Class Mastery passives are free. You can respec them the same way you respec normal abilities.
Can you use Class Mastery while subclassing in ESO?
No. Class Mastery requires all three of your native class skill lines. If you subclass by swapping one of them for another class’s skill line, you lose access to Class Mastery. Weapon, guild and other non-class skill lines do not affect this.
When do ESO Class Mastery passives release?
Class Mastery is scheduled for Update 50, which arrives in June 2026 as part of ESO Season 0.
Will ESO Class Mastery passives change?
Yes. ZOS has been clear that everything shown is a first pass. Numbers, names and even entire passives may be reworked before launch and will continue to be adjusted as each class gets its full refresh.
Source: Bethesda Twitch Dev Updates Livestream, March 2026. All information is work in progress and subject to change before Update 50 goes live. This page will be updated as new details are confirmed.
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