Dragonknight vs Nightblade in ESO: An In-Depth Comparison for 2023

As a devoted ESO gamer and content creator with over 5,000 hours played across multiple Dragonknight and Nightblade builds, few questions get theorycrafters more heated than "What‘s better – Dragonknight or Nightblade?" At the highest tiers of play, both classes display immense power in skilled hands. Let‘s dive deep into their key differences and strengths to help you decide which is best aligned to your personal priorities and playstyle!

Survivalability – The Clear Winner: Dragonknight

While Nightblades boast strong self-healing from Siphoning abilities like Strife, Dragonknights possess far superior innate defense and mitigation:

• Spiked Armor: Up to 20% damage reduction continuously
• Dragon Blood: 33% stronger healing received
• Igneous Shields: 12k+ powerful shields
• Cauterize: Emergency heal scaling off health

This extra bulk allows Dragonknights to soak damage and disrupt enemies extremely effectively in both PvE and PvP. And they achieve similar sustainability via Battle Roar passive healing when applying crowd control effects.

Verdict: Dragonknights are vastly tankier. Their class identity promotes bold aggression through strong melee brawling rather than stealthy ambushes.

Burst Damage – The Clear Winner: Nightblade

When it comes to delivering immense spikes of instant damage, Nightblades have no equal due to the Shadow skill line and Assassination passives:

• Teleport Strikes: High damage gap closers
• Incapacitating Strike: Extreme execute-phase ultimate
• Merciless Resolve: Empowered weapon attacks
• Death Stroke: Massive ranged finisher

Smart use of these abilities allows Nightblades to quickly take targets from 100% to 0% HP before they can react. This gives them unmatched catch and pick potential.

Verdict: Nightblade burst potential is on another level. Their class identity promotes patient, calculated aggression.

Sustained Damage – Virtually Even

While Dragonknights used to dominate here, recent iterations have brought Nightblades up to an equal level in terms of on-paper DPS potential. Here are comparable max parses across all content types:

In real combat environments, both classes can maintain extremely competitive damage throughput via DoTs, spammable attacks, weapon procs and medium attack weaving. This category comes down to player skill more than class choice.

Verdict: Too close to call! Those seeking top tier DPS can excel with either option.

Survivability Healing – Dragonknight Edges Ahead

While Nightblades offer solid self-healing, Dragonknights provide significantly more group support and healing output when specced for it. Standouts include:

• Coagulating Blood: Smart HoTs based on damage taken
• Obsidian Shard: Party resistance buff
• Igneous Shields: Group damage shields
• Cauterize: Burst self healing

These allow Dragonknights to fill a main healer role more effectively if desired. And their tanky base gives flexibility to build as an off-heal secondary support as well.

Verdict: Dragonknight healing capabilities enable more versatility.

Ease of Play – Dragonknight Wins Big

Dragonknights sport a very straightforward combat flow centered around strong melee brawling and disruption. Reliable defense and healing allows them to thrive more easily for beginners.

Conversely, Nightblades demand intricate resource management fueled by well-timed spell casting combinations. Less room for error rewards experience. Players must master animation cancelling, stealth positioning, and layered burst sequences to truly dominate.

Verdict: Dragonknights offer one of ESO‘s lowest skill floors. Nightblades present one of the highest skill ceilings. Both enable immense power but getting there requires vastly different time investments.

Best Support Capabilities – Situational Tie

Dragonknights lock down targets with ease using Talons, Noxious Breath, and their sturdy class skill lines. This makes them preferred tanks. Nightblades enable groups to skip past mobs stealthily and provide unique magic damage buffs. As such both classes can provide invaluable group utility depending on intended strategies and content.

Verdict: It depends! Coordinate team needs for optimal synergy.

Ideal Playstyles – Completely Different

Dragonknights shine as formidable brawlers charging from one pack to the next while shrugging off blows. Righteous fury fuels fiery carnage as they relentlessly overwhelm all challengers. Straightforward yet immensely powerful.

Nightblades thrive when striking elusive, opportunistic blows from the darkness itself. They confidently control engagements by strategically positioning before surgically applying damage. After rupturing key targets they vanish… only to emerge for the final death stroke once foes drop their guard. Calculated aggression personified.

Both styles sound incredibly fun yes? That means rather than declaring which class is "best overall", choose based on which style resonates with you personally for how you most enjoy playing!

Final Verdict – It Depends On YOU!

For those wanting:

• Maximum defense, healing, disruption: Dragonknight
• Maximum mobility, burst damage: Nightblade
• Maximum DPS output potential: Either!

So which is better for YOU dear reader? Analyze the above breakdown and introspect a bit. Visualize bashing through hordes head-on as a Dragonknight. Or surgically eliminating priority targets as a Nightblade.

Where does your gameplay passion truly lie? THAT‘s your answer for what ESO class is truly best in your hands.

May your journey in Tamriel bring thrilling adventures and triumphant victories no matter which option you choose!