Type: Dungeon, Trial, Arena & Overland
Buildname: Azure
Table of Contents
- Magicka Nightblade Build Setup
- Resource Management
- Rotation
- AoE Setup
- Maelstrom Arena & Vateshran Hollows Arena
- Gameplay
- Outfit Style Showcase
- Related Content
- Update Log
Welcome to the Magicka Nightblade Build for ESO (Elder Scrolls Online). This build is optimized for group content such as dungeons, trials & arenas and has a very glass-cannon approach. The Magicka Nightblade DPS build is optimized for maximum damage. The build works best in a group but with some minor adjustments can also be played as a solo setup if necessary.
The Magicka Nightblade is a great damage dealer. It has access to strong abilities like Swallow Soul, Siphoning Attacks, Dark Shade, Twisting Path, Merciless Resolve, Sap Essence, and Death Stroke. Nightblades also have useful passives such as Master Assassin, Hemorrhage, Refreshing Shadows, Catalyst, Magicka Flood and of course plenty more.
The Magicka Nightblade Build has 3 different gear setups. Tier 1 with the best gear, Tier 2 with advanced gear and Tier 3 for beginners. If you are a new player I do recommend reading the Magicka Nightblade Beginners Guide. If you are looking for a solo build then I recommend checking out the Solo Magicka Nightblade Build.
- Double Destruction Staff Setup
- Amazing Single Target (ST) Damage
- Amazing Area of Effect (AoE) Damage
- Great Sustain
- Easy Survivability due to Magicka Shield
- Optimized for Trials, Dungeons & Arenas
More Nightblade Builds can be found in the Nightblade class category.
Magicka Nightblade Build Setup
In this section, we are going to take a look at how you can create the Magicka Nightblade DPS Build for ESO.
5x Perf. Whorl of Depths, 5x Pillar of Nirn, 2x Kjalnar’s Nightmare, 1x Harpooner on a High Elf with Ghastly Eye Bowl buff food.
- Unbuffed: Out of combat, buff food active
- Buffed: Raid Target Dummy buffs, buff food, Spell Power Potion, Weapon Damage Enchantment active.
Gear – Magicka Nightblade Build
You will find 3 different setups here. Setup 1 is the preferred setup. People who do not have all the gear yet can use Setup 2 which is easier to obtain and beginners can use Setup 3.
- Setup 1 is the primary Gear setup
- Setup 2 is without Trial Gear
- Setup 3 is for Beginners
Gear Setup 1
- You can also wear Whorl of Depths, False God’s Devotion, Siroria, Mother’s Sorrow, and many more sets with this build.
- What happened to Maelstrom Staff? ZOS changed the staff and it doesn’t apply the extra damage on the frontbar anymore.
- Pillar of Nirn automatically procs on any damage when you are on the back bar, it has a 10s cooldown.
Gear | Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Chest | Perfected Whorl of Depths | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Belt | Perfected Whorl of Depths | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Shoes | Perfected Whorl of Depths | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Pants | Harpooner’s Wading Kilt | Medium | Divine | Magicka |
Hands | Perfected Whorl of Depths | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Head | Kjalnar’s Nightmare | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Shoulder | Kjalnar’s Nightmare | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Necklace | Pillar of Nirn | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Spell Damage |
Ring | Pillar of Nirn | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Spell Damage |
Ring | Pillar of Nirn | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Spell Damage |
Weapon 1 | Perfected Whorl of Depths | Fire | Precise | Fire Enchant |
Weapon 2 | Pillar of Nirn | Fire | Infused | Weapon Damage Enchant |
Gear Setup 2
Gear | Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Chest | Law of Julianos | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Belt | Law of Julianos | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Shoes | Law of Julianos | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Pants | Mother’s Sorrow | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Hands | Mother’s Sorrow | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Head | Random Monster Set | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Shoulder | Random Monster Set | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Necklace | Mother’s Sorrow | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Spell Damage |
Ring | Mother’s Sorrow | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Spell Damage |
Ring | Mother’s Sorrow | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Spell Damage |
Weapon 1 | Law of Julianos | Fire | Precise | Fire Enchant |
Weapon 2 | Law of Julianos | Fire | Infused | Weapon Damage Enchant |
Gear Setup 3 Beginner
Gear | Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Chest | Law of Julianos | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Belt | Law of Julianos | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Shoes | Law of Julianos | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Pants | Magnus’ Gift | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Hands | Magnus’ Gift | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Head | Magnus’ Gift | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Shoulder | Magnus’ Gift | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Necklace | Willpower | Jewelry | Arcane | Spell Damage |
Ring | Willpower | Jewelry | Arcane | Spell Damage |
Ring | Willpower | Jewelry | Arcane | Spell Damage |
Weapon 1 | Law of Julianos | Fire | Precise | Fire Enchant |
Weapon 2 | Law of Julianos | Fire | Infused | Absorb Magic Enchant |
Where can I get the gear?
Perfected Whorl of Depths: vDreadsail Reef Trial
Whorl of Depths: nDreadsail Reef Trial
Pillar of Nirn: Falkreath Hold
Kjalnar’s Nightmare: vUnhallowed Grave Dungeon
Mother’s Sorrow: Deshaan, Guildstores
Law of Julianos: Craftable
Willpower: Guildstore
Magnus’ Gift: Craftable
Mechanical Acuity: Craftable
Skills
If you are in melee fights you can also use Concealed Weapon instead of your ranged spammable.
Fire Staff Mainbar | Fire Staff Bar |
---|---|
Slot 1: Dark Shade | Slot 1: Unstable Wall of Elements |
Slot 2: Merciless Resolve | Slot 2: Twisting Path |
Slot 3: Swallow Soul/ Elemental Weapon | Slot 3: Harness Magicka |
Slot 4: Impale | Slot 4: Siphoning Attacks |
Slot 5: Inner Light | Slot 5: Channeled Acceleration |
Ultimate: Incapacitating Strike | Ultimate: Incapacitating Strike |
Skills explanation:
- Dark Shade: Powerful single target and area of effect damage ability.
- Merciless Resolve: Powerful single target damage ability. Also improves damage in execute if you keep the procs stacked.
- Swallow Soul: Your main spammable, deals great damage and also heals. (Alternatively you can also use other spammables such as Elemental Weapon or Force Pulse).
- Impale: Your execute ability, use this instead of your spammable when the boss has 25% or lower health.
- Inner Light: Passively slotted to gain more max magicka via the skill and the Magicka Controller passive.
- Incapacitating Strike: Your ultimate, increases damage by up to 30% after you use it.
- Unstable Wall of Elements: Powerful single target and area of effect damage ability. Also procs our back bar enchantment even when we are on the front bar.
- Twisting Path: Powerful single target and area of effect damage ability.
- Harness Magicka: Your shield that absorbs enemy damage.
- Siphoning Attacks: Your sustain tool. Only use it when you need it.
- Channeled Acceleration: Activate this to gain the Minor Force buff (In mobile fights we prefer Channeled Acceleration, in more stationary fights we recommend Barbed Trap).
Champion Points – Magicka Nightblade Build
Below you can find the Champion Points setup for this build. Work your way from top to bottom in your allocation. For more information on Champion Points, please visit the Champion Points Overview Page on ESO-Hub.com.
Hovering over each perk will give you insights on what it does. Presets are also provided for each of the allocations below.
Click the tab below to open the allocation.
Important Info for Magicka Nightblade Build PvE
In this section of the Magicka Nightblade Build we are going to take a look at buff-food, mundus stone, race, potions, passives and attributes. These things are very important for the Magicka Nightblade Build as they help with damage and sustain.
Buff-food
You can use several good buff foods for this Magicka Nightblade Build in ESO. As a base we are using the Ghastly Eye Bowl if you want the highest max magicka and magicka recovery boost. If you want more health in combination with max magicka and magicka recovery then you could also use Clockwork Citrus Filet or the much cheaper version Witchmother’s Potent Brew. All buff foods and drinks can also be found on the Buff Food and Drink Overview Page.
Ghastly Eye Bowl
(Max Magicka, Magicka Recover)
Clockwork Citrus Filet
(Max Health, Max Magicka, Magicka Recovery)
Witchmother’s Potent Brew
If you can’t afford Clockwork Citrus Filet, then I recommend getting the way cheaper Witchmother’s Potent Brew which has similar effects.
Mundus Stone
The Thief Mundus Stone increases our overall Spell Critical chance by a lot which will result in more overall damage. You can learn more about all the other Mundus Stones on the Mundus Stone Overview Page.
The Thief Mundus Stone (Increased Spell Critical Chance)
Race
Any race with magicka based passives will work with this setup. You can find out more about all the racial passives in the Racial Overview page.
Potions
Spell-Power Potions
(Spell-crit, Spell Damage, Magicka)
(Cornflower, Ladys Smock, Water Hyacinth)
Passives
- Assassination: Master Assassin, Executioner, Pressure Points, Hemorrhage
- Shadow: Refreshing Shadows, Shadow Barrier, Dark Vigor, Dark Veil
- Siphoning: Catalyst, Magicka Flood, Soul Siphoner, Transfer
- Destruction Staff: Tri Focus, Penetrating Magic, Elemental Force, Ancient Knowledge, Destruction Expert
- Light Armor: Grace, Evocation, Spell Warding, Prodigy, Concentration
- Mages Guild: Mage Adept, Everlasting Magic, Magicka Controller, Might of the Guild
- Psijic Order: (Only if you use Channeled Acceleration) Clairvoyance, Spell Orb, Concentrated Barrier, Deliberation
- Undaunted: Undaunted Command, Undaunted Mettle
- Racial: All
- Alchemy: Medicinal Use
Resource Management – Magicka Nightblade Build
Siphoning Attacks has to be always kept active to benefit from the extra resources and it also increases your healing done by a bit.
Energy Orb will always be present in a good group. When you get close to the Orb you can activate its synergy to regain resources.
Potions should always be used on cooldown to gain the maximum benefit from them.
Heavy Attacks help you restore Magicka, if you drop low on resources do a few Heavy Attacks between skills to refill your Magicka.
- Siphoning Attacks
- Orb Synergy
- Potions
- Heavy Attacks
Rotation for the Magicka Nightblade Build
Here is a quick explanation of what you have to do with all the skills on your bar.
- Your main spammable is Swallow Soul.
- Your semi spammable is Merciless Resolve, activate the bow proc whenever it is ready.
- When boss reaches 25% health use Impale instead of your other spammable and stop using the bow proc but keep Merciless Resolve active for the extra spell damage.
- Reapply DoTs (damage over time) effects after they run out: Dark Shade, Twisting Path, Unstable Wall of Elements, and Channeled Acceleration.
- Activate the Incapacitating Strike ultimate whenever it is ready.
- If you drop low on sustain activate Siphoning Attacks.
- Always light attack between each ability.
Area of Effect Setup
Here you can find an optimized AoE setup for the build. There are plenty of other good options available. If you use Bahsei make sure to start the trash fights with half magicka, otherwise Bahsei won’t be really useful.
Gear | Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Chest | Mechanical Acuity | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Belt | Mechanical Acuity | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Shoes | Mechanical Acuity | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Pants | Perfected Bahsei’s Mania | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Hands | Perfected Bahsei’s Mania | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Head | Slimecraw | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Shoulder | Iceheart | Light | Divine | Magicka |
Necklace | Perfected Bahsei’s Mania | Jewelry | Infused | Spell Damage |
Ring | Perfected Bahsei’s Mania | Jewelry | Infused | Spell Damage |
Ring | Perfected Bahsei’s Mania | Jewelry | Infused | Spell Damage |
Weapon 1 | Mechanical Acuity | Shock | Nirnhoned | Fire Enchant |
Weapon 2 | Mechanical Acuity | Fire | Infused | Weapon Damage Enchant |
Skills
Maelstrom Arena & Vateshran Hollows Arena
Please check out the Solo Magicka Nightblade Build for the Maelstrom and Vateshran Setup. The build here focuses on group setups, therefore the Solo Magicka Templar Build is better suited to face the dangers of the Maelstrom and Vateshran Arena. I also highly recommend reading the full in depth Maelstrom Arena Guide & Vateshran Hollows Arena Guide.
Gameplay for Magicka Nightblade Build PvE
Here you can find Gameplay videos from recent and previous patches.
Castle Thorn Dungeon Vet Hardmode Run
Stone Garden Vet Hardmode Run
Mountain God Achievement Scalecaller Peak
Daedric Deflector Achievement Scalecaller Peak
Minimal Anomisity Achievement Fang Lair Dungeon
Cold Pursuit Achievement Fang Lair Dungeon
Outfit Style Showcase of the Azure Nightblade Build for ESO
Lets take a look at the outfit style of the Magicka Nightblade PvE Build for ESO. You can find a close up shot, an image from the back and an image of the outfit editor dye station below.
- Costume: Black Hand Robe
- Ilambris Style Motif: Staff
- Head Marking: Mystic Magicka Flow Face Tattoos
- Personality: Swashbuckler
- Dyes: Legate’s Black, Scintillating Scarlet
Slot | Name |
---|---|
Costume | Black Hand Robe |
Weapon | Ilambris Motif |
Dyes | Legate’s Black, Scintillating Scarlet |
Personality | Swashbuckler |
Head Marking | Mystic Magicka Flow Face Tattoos |
Related Content
More Magicka Nightblade Builds & Guides:
- PVE Magicka Nightblade Beginner Guide
- PVE Magicka Nightblade Beginner Build (160CP)
- PVE Solo Magicka Nightblade Build
- PVE Magicka Nightblade EXP Grind Build
- PVP Magicka Nightblade Build
- PVP Magicka Nightblade Bomb Build
Other Magicka DPS Builds:
Update Log
11.08.2019 Updated the Build for the SCALEBREAKER DLC, Elsweyr Chapter, Magicka Nightblade Build PvE.
20.10.2019 Updated the Build for the DRAGONHOLD DLC.
20.02.2020 Updated the Build for the HARROWSTORM DLC.
24.05.2020 Updated the Build for the GREYMOOR CHAPTER.
22.08.2020 Updated the Build for the STONETHORN DLC, Greymoor Chapter.
30.10.2020 Updated the Build for the MARKARTH DLC, Greymoor Chapter.
05.03.2021 Updated the Build for the FLAMES OF AMBITION DLC, Blackwood Chapter.
28.05.2021 Updated the Build for the BLACKWOOD CHAPTER.
13.08.2021 Updated the Build for the WAKING FLAME DLC, Blackwood Chapter.
02.09.2021 Updated the Champion Point links and added tooltips for the buff food links, WAKING FLAME DLC, Blackwood Chapter.
25.10.2021 Updated the Build for the DEADLANDS DLC, Blackwood Chapter.
10.03.2022 Updated the Build for the ASCENDING TIDE DLC, High Isle Chapter.
01.06.2022 Updated the Build for the HIGH ISLE CHAPTER.
15.08.2022 Updated the Build for the LOST DEPTHS DLC, High Isle Chapter.
28.10.2022 Updated the Build for the FIRESONG DLC, High Isle Chapter.
13.03.2023 Updated the Build for the SCRIBES OF FATE DLC, Necrom Chapter.
01.06.2023 Updated the Build for the ESO NECROM CHAPTER.
27.10.2023 Updated the Build for the Necrom Update 40.
06.03.2024 Updated the Build for the Scions of Ithelia DLC U41, Gold Road Chapter
Tags: Magicka Nightblade Build, Magicka NB Build PvE, Magblade PvE Build.