Type: Solo Cyrodiil & Battlegrounds
Buildname: Leech
Table of Contents
- Cyrodiil Setup
- Resource Management
- Battlegrounds
- Combos & How to play
- Nightblade Subclassing
- Outfit Style Showcase
- Update Log
Welcome to the ESO Magicka Nightblade Build PvP “Leech” for Elder Scrolls Online. Make sure to bookmark the link as I will keep updating the build for each new Update of ESO. This build is optimized for Cyrodiil and Battlegrounds.
The ESO Magicka Nightblade PvP Build focuses on stealth and high burst damage. Magicka Nightblades have a lot of good combinations that they can use to burst down an enemy. We have two DoTs from Degeneration and Lotus Fan that constantly tick on the enemy. On top of that, Merciless Resolve and Soul Harvest can pretty much hit the enemy at the same time if you line up your combo properly. This is especially effective if combined with Mass Hysteria’s fear, as I explain in the combo section of the build.
On this Magblade PvP Build, we are using Shacklebreaker, Bright-Throat Boast, and Valkyn Skoria to get high max resources, sustain and damage.
- Cyrodiil & Battlegrounds
- Light Armor Destro/ Resto Build
- Crazy Burst Combo
- Good Sustain
- Good Damage Mitigation
- Perma-cloaking
Cyrodiil Setup ESO Magicka Nightblade PVP Build
Now let’s take a look at how to set up the ESO Magicka Nightblade PVP Build for Cyrodiil.
5x Shacklebreaker, 5x Bright-Throat’s Boast, 2x Valkyn on a Breton with Corrupting Bloody Mara Drink buff food.
- Unbuffed: Buff-food, out of combat
- Buffed: Buff-food, Major Sorcery, Weapon Damage Enchant proc, Shadowy Cloak stealth, Tri-Stat Potion are active
Gear ESO Magblade PVP Build
Another great gear option is Rallying Cry.
| Gear | Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chest | Shacklebreaker | Heavy | Impenetrable | Tri-Stat |
| Belt | Shacklebreaker | Light | Well-Fitted | Magicka |
| Shoes | Shacklebreaker | Light | Well-Fitted | Magicka |
| Pants | Shacklebreaker | Medium | Well-Fitted | Tri-Stat |
| Hands | Shacklebreaker | Light | Impenetrable | Magicka |
| Head | Valkyn Skoria | Light | Impenetrable | Tri-Stat |
| Shoulder | Valkyn Skoria | Light | Impenetrable | Magicka |
| Necklace | Bright-Throat Boast | Jewelry | Arcane | Increase Magical Harm |
| Ring | Bright-Throat Boast | Jewelry | Arcane | Magicka Recovery |
| Ring | Bright-Throat Boast | Jewelry | Arcane | Magicka Recovery |
| Weapon 1 | Bright-Throat Boast | Fire | Infused | Flame Damage |
| Weapon 2 | Bright-Throat Boast | Resto | Defending | Weapon Damage Enchantment |
Where can I get the gear?
Bright-Throat Boast: Murkmire Overland, Guildstores
Shacklebreaker: Craftable
Valkyn Skoria: vCity of Ash 2, Unduanted Enclave
Skills ESO Magblade PVP Build
Here is the recommended skills setup for the ESO Magblade PVP Build.
| Fire Staff Mainbar | Resto Staff Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Lotus Fan | Slot 1: Degeneration |
| Slot 2: Merciless Resolve | Slot 2: Rapid Regeneration |
| Slot 3: Swallow Soul | Slot 3: Harness Magicka |
| Slot 4: Elemental Susceptibility | Slot 4: Shadowy Disguise |
| Slot 5: Mass Hysteria | Slot 5: Phantasmal Escape |
| Ultimate: Soul Harvest | Ultimate: Shooting Star/ Life Giver |
Skill Explanation:
- Lotus Fan: Your gap closer, applies a DoT on the enemy and also a debuff which increases damage on the enemy by 5%.
- Merciless Resolve: Your main burst combo ability that deals a lot of damage and also heals if you are in melee range.
- Swallow Soul: This is your spammable, weave it together with Light Attacks.
- Elemental Susceptibility: Debuffs enemies with Major Breach and applies Status Effects on the enemy from time to time.
- Mass Hysteria: Your main CC tool, fears a lot of targets when you activate it in close range.
- Soul Harvest: Your burst ultimate, very cheap and effective.
- Degeneration: Single Target DoT that deals a lot of damage and also gives you Major Sorcery 20% Spell dmg buff. You also regain magicka every time you do a light or heavy attack.
- Rapid Regeneration: Your main heal, always use this before you enter stealth, that way you can easily recover.
- Shadowy Disguise: You can spam this to stay in stealth permanently. Just be aware that some abilities can put you out of stealth.
- Phantasmal Escape: Gives you a huge defensive boost, 20% reduced AoE damage.
- Shooting Star: Can be used to give huge burst potential on one enemy. Shooting Star activation into a Mass Hysteria, that way the enemy can not block or dodge roll the impact hit. You can also use Life Giver here if you want more defense.
Champion Points Magicka Nightblade PVP Build
Below you can find the recommended slottable Champion Points setup for this build. Prioritize the slottable Perks and get as many of the passive perks as possible.
Warfare Tree Points Allocation
- Deadly Aim (50) (Slottable)
- Arcane Supremacy (50) (Slottable)
- Duelist’s Rebuff (50) (Slottable)
- Wrathful Strikes (50) (Slottable)
Fitness Tree Points Allocation
- Boundless Vitality (50) (Slottable)
- Sustained by Suffering (50) (Slottable)
- Pain’s Refuge (50) (Slottable)
- Slippery (50) (Slottable)
Craft Tree Points Allocation
- Steed’s Blessing (50) (Slottable)
- Rationer (30)
- Liquid Efficiency (75)
- Treasure Hunter (50)
Important Info for Magicka Nightblade Build PvP
Now lets take a look at all other important information related to the ESO Magicka Nightblade PVP Build. Players often don’t use the right buff food or have the wrong Mundus Stone active, make sure to use the correct things listed below.
Buff-food
Corrupting Bloody Mara is the best buff food you can get with this setup. However, if you have sustain issues the Witchmother’s Potent Brew is also really great as it gives us extra magicka recovery. If you pick another buff food, you have to make sure that it is a drink. Otherwise the Bright-Throat Boast set won’t work.
Corrupting Bloody Mara
(Max Health, Max Magicka, Health 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 Mage Mundus Stone will provide us with extra max magicka which also buffs our overall damage. You can learn more about all the other Mundus Stones on the Mundus Stone Overview Page.
The Mage Mundus Stone (Increased Max Magicka)
Race
All magicka-based races work for this setup, I usually recommend Breton because it makes sustain a lot easier. If you want to know more about races you can also check out my racial guide for ESO which showcases all the benefits of the different races.
Breton
High Elf
Dark Elf
Khajiit
Argonian
Orc
Potions
Make sure to use Tri-Stat Potions with this setup, it provides you with the resources you need.
Tri-Stat Potion
(Health, Stamina, Magicka)
(Bugloss, Columbine, Dragonthorn)
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
- Restoration Staff: Essence Drain, Restoration Expert, Cycle of Life, Absorb, Restoration Master
- Light Armor: Grace, Evocation, Spell Warding, Prodigy, Concentration
- Mages Guild: Mage Adept, Everlasting Magic, Magicka Controller, Might of the Guild
- Undaunted: Undaunted Command, Undaunted Mettle
- Assault: Continuous Attack, Reach, Combat Frenzy
- Support: Magicka Aid, Combat Medic, Battle Resurrection
- Alchemy: Medicinal Use
- Racial: All
Resource Management ESO Magblade PVP Build
We run a Magicka Recovery glyph on two of our jewelry pieces to boost sustain.
Heavy Attacks also restore resources, i recommend doing them on the Restoration Staff bar because you will get a bigger return due to the Cycle of Life passive.
Elemental Drain provides us with a huge damage boost on the enemy and also increases our sustain due to the Minor Magickasteal debuff on the enemy!
Tri-stat potions are the last piece of the puzzle, using them at the right moment will give you plenty of buffs and a big pump in all three resources.
- Magicka Recovery Glyphs
- Heavy Attacks
- Potions
- Elemental Drain
Battlegrounds Magicka Nightblade PVP Build
In Battlegrounds our sustain will be a bit harder, therefore we are going in on all Magicka Recovery glyphs on the Jewelry.
| Gear | Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chest | Shacklebreaker | Heavy | Impenetrable | Tri Stat |
| Belt | Shacklebreaker | Light | Well-Fitted | Magicka |
| Shoes | Shacklebreaker | Light | Well-Fitted | Magicka |
| Pants | Shacklebreaker | Medium | Well-Fitted | Tri Stat |
| Hands | Shacklebreaker | Light | Impenetrable | Magicka |
| Head | Valkyn Skoria | Light | Impenetrable | Tri Stat |
| Shoulder | Valkyn Skoria | Light | Impenetrable | Magicka |
| Necklace | Bright-Throat Boast | Jewelry | Arcane | Magicka Recovery |
| Ring | Bright-Throat Boast | Jewelry | Arcane | Magicka Recovery |
| Ring | Bright-Throat Boast | Jewelry | Arcane | Magicka Recovery |
| Weapon 1 | Bright-Throat Boast | Fire | Infused | Flame Damage |
| Weapon 2 | Bright-Throat Boast | Resto | Defending | Weapon Damage Enchantment |
Mundus Stone
If you need further extra sustain you also got the option to change to the Atronach Mundus Stone for extra Magicka Recovery.
Combos & How to Play the NB Build
Damage & Combo
Magicka Nightblades kill their opponents with combos in ESO. That means you want to have your DoTs on the enemy, Lotus Fan and Degeneration. Keep the pressure up with Swallow Soul and wait till your Merciless Resolve is ready. The Merciless Resolve bow proc does a lot of damage and can be combined with Soul Harvest.
Before you activate it though, use Mass Hysteria so the enemy gets stunned and can not dodge roll or block the hard-hitting ability. That is your main combo, you can also use your back bar Ultimate Shooting Star and then use Mass Hysteria and then Spectral Bow for a lot of burst damage.
Positioning & Cloak
Movement and stealth are very important to Nightblades, make sure to keep using Shadowy Disguise so the enemy can not hit you and you can recover, move around him while you are in stealth, that way he has to also reposition himself and might miss an attack or two.
Healing
Always keep up your defensive abilities, use Rapid Regeneration before you enter stealth, that way you get a huge burst heal to recover and always make sure to keep Harness Magicka up, so you can face tank some of the enemy’s damage. Activate potions when you drop low on health, the tri stat potion gives 10k health with one button press!
Weaving
The “Weaving Beginner Guide” explains how to weave light attacks between abilities, aka animation canceling.
ESO Nightblade Subclassing Build Options
ESO’s Subclassing offers a lot of variety, allowing you to swap, mix, and match different skill lines of various classes all on one character. Read our How does Subclassing work in ESO guide to get an understanding of how the subclass system works. We also have plenty of ESO Builds optimized for Subclassing.
Take a look at our ESO Nightblade Subclassing Build if you are interested in what you can all mix and match on a Nightblade build!
Outfit Style Showcase of the ESO Nightblade PvP Build
Let us take a look at the outfit style of the Magicka Nightblade PvP 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.
- Sapiarch Motif Style: Epaulets, Gloves, Breeches, Robe, Sash, Shoes, Staff
- Abah’s Watch Motif Style: Hat
- Dyes: Hazardous Chartreuse, Void Pitch, Legate’s Black
- Skin: Seaborn Silver
- Head Marking: Azure Eyes
- Personality: Thief (Idle2 emote)
| Slot | Name |
|---|---|
| Head | Abah’s Watch Motif |
| Shoulder | Sapiarch Motif |
| Chest | Sapiarch Motif |
| Hands | Sapiarch Motif |
| Waist | Sapiarch Motif |
| Legs | Sapiarch Motif |
| Feet | Sapiarch Motif |
| Weapon | Sapiarch Motif |
| Dyes | Hazardous Chartreuse, Void Pitch, Legate’s Black |
| Skin | Seaborn Silver |
| Head Marking | Azure Eyes |
| Personality | Thief with idle2 emote |
Update Log for the ESO Magblade PVP Build
09.08.2019 ADDED the Build for the Scalebreaker DLC. Magicka Nightblade Build PvP.
19.10.2019 Updated the Build for the Dragonhold DLC.
21.02.2020 Updated the Build for the HARROWSTORM DLC.
11.05.2020 Updated the Build for the GREYMOOR CHAPTER.
18.08.2020 Updated the Build for the STONETHORN DLC, Greymoor Chapter.
26.10.2020 Updated the Build for the MARKARTH DLC, Greymoor Chapter.
05.03.2021 Updated the Build for the FLAMES OF AMBITION DLC, Blackwood Chapter.
30.05.2021 Updated the Build for the BLACKWOOD CHAPTER.
18.08.2021 Updated the Build for the WAKING FLAMES DLC, Blackwood Chapter.
26.10.2021 Updated the Build for the DEADLANDS DLC, Blackwood Chapter.
09.03.2022 Updated the Build for the ASCENDING TIDE DLC, High Isle Chapter.
15.05.2022 Updated the Build for the HIGH ISLE CHAPTER.
10.08.2022 Updated the Build for the LOST DEPTHS DLC, High Isle Chapter.
28.10.2022 Updated the Build for the FIRESONG DLC, High Isle Chapter.
08.03.2023 Updated the Build for the SCRIBES OF FATE DLC, Necrom Chapter
24.05.2023 Updated the Build for the NECROM CHAPTER.
25.10.2023 Updated the Build for the Necrom Update 40.
06.03.2024 Updated the Build for the Scions of Ithelia DLC U41, Gold Road Chapter
24.05.2024 Updated the Build for the Gold Road Chapter U42.
20.08.2024 Updated the Build for Update 43, Gold Road Chapter.
04.11.2024 Updated the Build for Update 44, Gold Road Chapter.
11.03.2025 Updated the Build for Update 45, Fallen Banners.
30.05.2025 Updated the Build for Update 46, Seasons of the Worm Cult Part 1.
Tags: Magicka Nightblade PvP Build, Magicka NB PvP, MagNB PvP Build
