Dealing damage is one of the most important parts of builds in The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO). The intricate combat system contains a myriad of mechanics interacting to determine your damage output. In this guide, we will break down fundamentals and delve deeper into advanced theory to help you master ESO damage.
Core Damage Concepts
Let’s quickly recap the two key types of damage:
Direct Damage – Damage instantaneously applied in one burst when activating an ability. Examples include Crystal Fragments, Surprise Attack, Wrecking Blow.
Damage Over Time (DOT) – Damage gradually applied over a set period through an ability activation. Examples include Endless Hail, Rending Slashes, Twisting Path.
In addition, abilities differentiate between single target and area of effect (AOE):
Single Target – Hits one enemy. Examples are Crystal Fragments, Snipe, Surprise Attack.
Area of Effect (AOE) – Damages enemies in an area. Examples include Endless Hail, Wall of Elements, Steel Tornado.
Understanding these core concepts paves the way for effectively boosting your damage output.
Advanced Damage Dynamics
Now that we have firmly established the foundations, let’s analyze ESO‘s intricate combat mechanics that ultimately determine resulting damage:
Light & Heavy Attacks
Your main sources of basic damage stem from your equipped weapon‘s light and heavy attacks. Light attacks should be woven in between every ability activation to maximize overall damage per second (DPS). The quicker you animation cancel, the smoother your rotation. Heavy attacks restore resources and charge weapons with unique effects. For example, the frost staff heavy attack applies a snare!
Ability Prioritization
Abilities have different damage values, effects, durations, and costs. You must analyze each tool in your kit to determine which get priority based on the situation. DoT refresh timers need consideration to prevent costly clipping. Understanding skill synergies allows for impactful combos like applying a vulnerability expose then hitting with your hardest ultimate.
Resource Management
Using abilities costs resources like magicka and stamina which passively regen slowly in combat. Heavy attacks restore them rapidly but reduce DPS uptime. You must balance costs to sustain a long effective rotation. Over 64k magicka gives accessing to Reduce Spell Cost passives granting sizable sustain boosts.
Damage Mitigation & Recovery
Combat is a two way street. Blocking attacks reduces your received damage but drains stamina. well-timed dodge rolls avoid big hits entirely through invulnerability frames. Crowd control effects like stuns and knockdowns disrupt your flow. Managing enemy attacks while maintaining damage output tests a player’s finesse. Recovery abilities like Vigor and Critical Surge restore lost health during intense fights.
Gear & Skills – Maximizing Your Toolkit
Proper gear and skills maximize the potential of your fundamentals and combat flow.
5 Piece Gear Bonuses
The backbone of builds comes from 5 piece set bonuses like Mother’s Sorrow boosting critical damage:
| Set Name | 5 Piece Bonus |
| Mother‘s Sorrow | Adds 129 Spell Critical |
| Medusa | Adds 10% Critical Chance |
These extra layers of power add up quickly!
Mythic Items
Unique mythic items were introduced in Blackwood. Here is the Ring of the Pale Order:
This thing offers insane survivability!
Monster Sets
Monster set helms add huge procs like Flame Blossom’s meteor shower. Their 2 and 3 piece bonuses should align with your build theme:
| Set Name | 2 Piece Bonus | 3 Piece Bonus |
| Flame Blossom | Max Magicka | Meteor Ability |
| Iceheart | Frost Resist | Damage Shield |
Skill Evolution
As skills rank up through use, they unlock powerful morph options. For example, Crystal Fragments can evolve into Crystal Weapon or Crystal Blast for more utility and survivability.
Reading all your skills tooltips and analyzing morphs will prevent leaving potential untapped.
Character Progression Systems
Outside of combat and gear choices, progressing your character optimally bolsters damage as you climb in power.
Leveling & CPs
The leveling path from 1-50 teaches you fundamentals. But Champion Points (CPs) scale vertically for tremendous power, like boosting Master-at-Arms for +20% direct damage.
Enlightenment makes CP grinding four times faster:
Attributes
Distributing attributes varies by build but investment raises damage exponentially according to soft caps. For magicka builds 64 points into magicka gives accessing to cost reduction passives.
Race & Passes
Selecting optimal races and vampire/werewolf bites gives strong static bonuses and useful actives. High Elf and Dark Elf racials boost elemental and flame damage respectively.
Group Dynamics
After mastering solo combat, coordinating with groups introduces multiple new layers of depth.
Group Roles
Tanks grab boss aggro. Healers keep everyone alive. DPS crank out big deeps. Understanding your role ensures fights flow smoothly. Timing enemy vulnerability windows with everybody’s burst combos requires harmony.
Buffs & Debuffs
Support players utilizing powerful skills like Warhorn or Aggressive Warhorn which buff allies can mean the difference between success or wiping at 1%. Similarly, effectively cc chaining mobs and debuffing bosses with Major Breach to amplify incoming damage separates mediocre groups from elite ones.
Positioning & Targeting
Each DPS needs to single target focus fire while AOEing any adds during cardinal point organization. Everyone must face bosses away from group to avoid frontal cleaves while remaining in healer range.
Speed Run Optimization
Serious end game groups analyze dungeon and trial layouts to determine optimal damage-focused routes and collapsed pulls. Understanding advanced tactics provides that extra edge to climb leaderboards.
In Closing
Mastering ESO combat is akin to conducting a complex symphony — many interwoven parts harmonizing in synchronicity. Prepare by studying ability tooltips analytically and familiarizing yourself with light attack weaving rhythms. Gear up wisely based on mathematical optimization rather than blind assumption. Learn animation canceling nuances through repeated solo dummy parsing. Progress your character by efficiently grinding XP and champion points. Embrace group coordination dynamics once foundations are set. Internalize these guidelines to guarantee you are well along the path to dealing massive damage from the start of endgame all the way to its cutting edge. Stay tuned for more master class guides!