ESO DPS Tier List
In this ESO DPS Tier List Guide we will try to discover the Best Class for DPS in ESO! Playing a DPS role in The Elder Scrolls Online is not only fun but also important for group gameplay. A good DPS character can make all the difference and assist with completing harder content. So choosing the right DPS Class is also quite important for your adventures in ESO.
The Best DPS Class in ESO is not always the same. Classes in ESO are dynamic with changes happening to their skills and overall behavior quite often. Knowing which Class is the best as a DPS anytime, can be helpful for you as a player but your group as well. Having said that, every Class in the game, can and will complete every content with the right setup. Some will just make it easier and faster. This is the goal of this ESO DPS Tier List Guide, to help you understand which Classes are the best for the role of DPS at the moment.
For more info about every Class in The Elder Scrolls Online, you can read my ESO Class Guide. For the basics of Creating a Build for PVE, you can take a look at my ESO PVE Build Beginner Guide. To see how each Class performs in PVP, take a look at my ESO PVP Tier List Guide. For the Best One Bar Class you can read my ESO One Bar DPS Tier List Guide!
Table of Contents
- Magicka vs Stamina
- Magicka DPS Classes
- Stamina DPS Classes
- Final DPS Tier List
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Guides to Read
Magicka vs Stamina – ESO DPS Tier List
Playing a Class as Magicka or Stamina is also quite different. Magicka gameplay is mostly focusing on range attacks and is easier for new players. Stamina on the other hand requires you to be close to your enemy and extra careful with incoming attacks.
Both play-styles can be very strong and efficient but Classes usually rank differently as a Stamina or Magicka DPS. Class skills are important for determining the capabilities of every class but other factors matter as well. Sets used, Skills from other lines, Rotation and Champion Points allocation can all affect your gameplay and DPS potential.
The Hybrid play style is also quite popular at the moment. By hybrid we mean mixing Magicka and Stamina skills, sets and weapons to achieve the best results. Hybrid Builds are getting stronger and stronger and affect this ESO DPS Tier List!
What is the Best Magicka DPS Class – ESO DPS Tier List
Right now the Magicka Nightblade is a powerful DPS Class in ESO. Below you will find a brief overview of each one of the Magicka Classes in ESO! This will help you understand how they perform and what to expect from them.
In general they are easier to play as DPS both in Solo and Group Gameplay. Strong ranged attacks and shields make it easier for new and veteran players to complete any type of content. Magicka Builds in general are more forgiving and have plenty of tools to heal, debuff enemies and deal damage. They usually rely mostly on their Class Skills and a few skills from the Destruction Staff, Psijic Order and Mages Guild skill-lines.
Magicka Warden
The Warden is a well balanced Class in ESO with several offensive, defensive and utility Skills. The Animal Companions line offers a variety of animal based offensive skills that boost DPS and make the Magicka Warden a good DPS. Deep Fissure/Subterranean Assault and Fetcher Infection that deal damage and debuff enemies are some of the core skills of every Magicka Warden. Eternal Guardian is the class’ main Ultimate that also works as a great execute ability against low health enemies.
Lotus Blossom from the Green Balance line is an excellent passive self heal that makes solo gameplay as easy as it gets. Finally the third line of the Warden, Winter’s Embrace, gives to the class Crowd Control capabilities and strong offensive and defensive skills for Solo and Group gameplay. Thanks to this line, the Warden can also work as a Frost DPS in ESO.
Magicka Warden Builds & Guides:
Magicka Sorcerer
Another strong Magicka based DPS Class and the most new player friendly option. Magicka Sorcerer can be strong with and without its Pets but it is the Pet using Builds, like Overlord, that make all the difference.
Summon Storm Atronach and its morphs, Summon Volatile Familiar and Summon Twilight Tormentor for group content or Summon Twilight Matriarch for solo are the core skills of every PetSorc! The Daedric Summoning skill line is very important for every Magicka Sorcerer not only because of the Pets it offers but also its other important abilities that boost damage and offer a shield.
The lines of Dark Magic and Storm Calling also offer several skills to deal damage, replenish resources and buff yourself. Overall the Magicka Sorcerer is a DPS Class that can rely mostly on its class skills and be efficient in both Solo and Group content.
Magicka Sorcerer Builds & Guides:
Magicka Nightblade
The Magicka Nightblade is a powerful DPS Class in the hands of an experienced player. Its complicated rotation and the fact that the Nightblade as a whole is the least new player friendly class in the game, make it harder to master though.
The Magicka Nightblade has some very strong self-buffs, that also offer extra damage and self heals. Buffs like Merciless Resolve and Siphoning Attacks. It also has one of the strongest execute abilities in the game, Impale. Swallow Soul is an excellent damage/self-heal hybrid skill that can assist with solo or group gameplay as well.
The main problem of the Magicka Nightblade and the class in general is the fact that it relies too much on procs and timing your skills to achieve the best results. It is a quite strong and interesting option nonetheless.
Magicka Nightblade Builds & Guides:
Magicka Dragonknight
The Magicka Dragonknight is a Fire based Magicka Class in ESO and a very good DPS Class! To get the most out of this class as a DPS, you will have to be at melee range. Skills like Molten Whip or Flame Lash, Burning Embers and Engulfing Flames boost your fire damage, heal you and destroy enemies.
Along with Eruption they can help you complete almost every content. A Magicka Dragonknight can shine as DPS but requires more practice than a Sorcerer or Warden. The class sustain suffers overall so you will have to time your Ultimates correctly to deal damage and restore resources thanks to the class’ Battle Roar passive skill.
Magicka Dragonknight Builds & Guides:
Magicka Templar
The Magicka Templar is another close range Magicka class that has access to several buffs and healing skills. This class relies a lot on its Puncturing Sweep skill, to deal damage and heal yourself. A must-have skill for solo gameplay that you can however replace with a ranged one, like Elemental Weapon from the Psijic Order skill-line for DPS and harder content. The Magicka Templar DPS Builds, use a mix of single target and AOE attack skills to deal significant damage as well as other area of effect utility spells to sustain and heal themselves.
Magicka Templar Builds & Guides:
Magicka Arcanist
The Magicka Arcanist is a fun Class for DPS that suffers though from sustain issues. The Class has several great skills to assist in DPS and relies on its unique Crux system to strengthen their effects! The Herald of the Tome line offers different offensive skills like Writhing Runeblades, Pragmatic Fatecarver, Tentacular Dread, Inspired Scholarship and Fulminating Rune while the Arcanist can defend and heal with skills from its Soldier of Apocrypha and Curative Runeforms skill lines.
The Unblinking Eye and its Morphs is a powerful Ultimate that can destroy enemies fast and boost your DPS further. Because the Class has to focus on recovery glyphs and spells, it loses some of its potential as a Damage Dealer.
Magicka Arcanist Builds & Guides:
Magicka Necromancer
The Magicka Necromancer, can summon Minions that assist with DPS and heals. The Necromancer Minions however remain only for a few seconds and need to be re summoned again. This adds a level of complexity to the class that makes it harder to play as a new player.
The Grave Lord skill line offers several active and passive abilities that can boost damage and help with sustain. Glacial Colossus as your main ultimate, Ricochet Skull, Stalking Blastbones, Skeletal Arcanist and Mystic Siphon are important skills for this class’ DPS builds.
Magicka Necromancer Builds & Guides:
What is the Best Stamina DPS Class – ESO DPS Tier List
The Stamina Sorcerer is a powerful melee DPS Class in ESO right now. Below you will find a brief overview of each one of the Stamina Classes in ESO! This will help you understand how they perform and what to expect from them.
Stamina Classes are harder to play but are very strong as well. Experienced players will have no problem to clear every content with them but new players will have to practice more. Less forgiving builds that rely mostly on Weapon Abilities, like Two Handed, Dual Wield and Bow and less on their Class skills.
Stamina Warden
Like its Magicka counterpart, the Stamina Warden is a very balanced and strong PVE Class. Its three skill-lines offer everything you will need to deal damage, debuff enemies, buff and heal yourself.
Wild Guardian or Eternal Guardian is a powerful Ultimate that works as a strong execute against low health enemies while Subterranean Assault, Growing Swarm/Fetcher Infection and Cutting Dive can tear apart every enemy. Green Lotus/Lotus Blossom is an amazing self-heal that makes solo gameplay very easy.
Stamina Warden Builds & Guides:
Stamina Sorcerer
The strongest Stamina DPS Class in ESO thanks to hybridization! The Stamina Sorcerer can use Stamina based skills like Crystal Weapon and Bound Armaments as well as Magicka based skills like Summon Volatile Familiar, Summon Twilight Tormentor and Daedric Prey with great success. The Stamina Sorcerer can and should use the Summon Storm Atronach Ultimate and its morphs to boost DPS, exactly like the Magicka Sorcerer does. For the rest of its skills, this class can also utilize Weapon Abilities, depending on the main offensive weapon of your choice, Two Handed or Dual Wield.
Stamina Sorcerer Builds & Guides:
Stamina Nightblade
It may be the least new player friendly Class in the game but the Stamina Nightblade can be powerful in the right hands! A class that relies on procs, perfect timing and a solid rotation to achieve high DPS. Thanks to its good self healing, Stamina Nightblade can be a great option for solo content as well.
Overall, Stamina Nightblade can be quite flexible with build setups, since it can use a great execute ability, Killer’s blade, a few good self buffs, Relentless Focus and Leeching Strikes, as well as Dark Shade, Crippling Grasp and Surprise Attack to deal damage.
Stamina Nightblade Builds & Guides:
Stamina Arcanist
The Stamina Arcanist is as fun as its Magicka version but without the sustain issues! Which makes it a really potent Class for DPS. Thanks to the Crux system and the fact that its offensive skills use the primary resource of the Build, the Stamina Arcanist can select from several potent abilities like Writhing Runeblades, Pragmatic Fatecarver, Tentacular Dread, Inspired Scholarship and Fulminating Rune from the Herald of the Tome line! For protection and defense you can use abilities from Soldier of Apocrypha and Curative Runeforms skill lines. Finally The Unblinking Eye and its Morphs is a powerful Ultimate that can destroy enemies fast and boost your DPS further.
Stamina Arcanist Builds & Guides:
Stamina Necromancer
Like its Magicka version, the Stamina Necromancer is using mostly its minions to deal damage and achieve a strong DPS. However it is a lot more effective. The constant summoning and micromanagement of its minions make it a harder class to play but can also be a strong one. The Grave Lord skill line again offers several active and passive abilities that can boost damage.
Pestilent Colossus, Venom Skull, Blastbones, Skeletal Archer and Detonating Siphon are all great skills for every kind of Stamina Necromancer PVE DPS Build. It does rely a lot on its Blastbones for damage but can is a solid DPS Class in ESO!
Stamina Necromancer Builds & Guides:
Stamina Dragonknight
A strong and fun Poison based Stamina DPS Class that relies on DOT skills. StamDk is a strong DPS Class, thanks to its half-stamina Molten Whip spammable. Venomous Claw, Noxious Breath from Ardent Flame are some of the core skills of a Stamina Dragonknight DPS Build. Standard of Might is the best option as a main Ultimate because of the boost to damage it offers.
Stamina Dragonknight Builds & Guides:
Stamina Templar
The Stamina Templar is a potent DPS Class that is combining heavy hitting spammables like, Biting Jabs from the Aedric Spear skill line or Rapid Strikes from the Dual Wield line and AOE, DOT skills. A potent class for new and veteran players that can deal great damage. The Stamina Templar is a solid option for every type of content and can help you farm items or hunt achievements.
Stamina Templar Builds & Guides:
ESO DPS Tier List – ESO Best DPS Class
This is the conclusion for the ESO DPS Tier List right now!
S Rank – ESO DPS Tier List
- Stamina Sorcerer
- Magicka Nightblade
- Stamina Arcanist
- Stamina Warden
A Rank – ESO DPS Tier List
- Stamina Dragonknight
- Magicka Sorcerer
- Magicka Dragonknight
- Stamina Nightblade
- Stamina Necromancer
B Rank – ESO DPS Tier List
- Magicka Warden
- Magicka Templar
- Stamina Templar
- Magicka Arcanist
C Rank – ESO DPS Tier List
- Magicka Necromancer
FAQ – ESO DPS TIER LIST
The Best DPS Class in ESO is not always the same. Classes in ESO are dynamic with changes happening to their skills and overall behavior quite often. To better understand why some Classes are better than other for DPS, you should read the ESO DPS Tier List Guide. Some of the Best DPS Classes right now include the Magicka Nightblade and Stamina Sorcerer.
Right now the Magicka Nightblade is a powerful DPS Class, that relies a lot on procs and good timing to achieve the best results. This however can change every time there is an important new update to the game. To better understand what makes some Classes better than other for DPS, you should read the ESO DPS Tier List Guide.
The Stamina Sorcerer is a powerful DPS Class, thanks to its mixed setup of Class and Weapon skills! This however can change every time there is an important new update to the game. To better understand what makes some Classes better than other for DPS, you should read the ESO DPS Tier List Guide.
More Guides to Read
- Best Class Guide
- Best Solo Class Guide
- Best Beginner Class Guide
- Race Guide
- Best Class for Magicka DPS
- Best Class for Stamina DPS
- ESO PVE Build Guide
- ESO PVP Build Guide
- New Player Beginner Guide
- ESO How to Make Gold
- Undaunted Pledges Guide
- ESO Leveling Guide
- Transmute Crystals Guide
- Champion Points Guide
- ESO Daily Routine
- Best Addons Guide
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