Uploaded November 2019 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

---

This is a Stamina Dragonknight PVE build and Iron Atronach Parse for the Dragonhold patch.

Stamina Dragonknight is a class which in recent times has relied more heavily on DOTs than most. This doesn't necessarily change, but now, Stamina Dragonknight also finally has their own spammable skill in Stonefist. Stonefist is a reworked ability in Dragonhold, which when used, applies a debuff stack on the enemy for 5 seconds, for up to 3 stacks. For bosses, you can keep up the 3 stacks very easily as long as you reapply the skill within 5 seconds. Each stack is worth 45 extra damage from any attack, per stack, which can increase with Crit Modifiers. Very roughly speaking, this can translate to anywhere between an extra 1-2% DPS for everyone in your group, so it's probably worth having a Stamina Dragonknight DD bring this to the table if there is nobody else (e.g. DK Tank) that will bring it otherwise.

--

We are using the Max Stamina/Stamina Regen food, with 64 points into Stamina for all Stamina Setups in these rotations.

Gear used here:
5x Lokkestiiz, 5x Relequen, 2x Velidreth. (See build screenshot for full details).

The above is used simply for purposes of comparison against other classes, in this test environment.

Race used: Orc
Alternatives (none quite as good): Dunmer, Woodelf, Redguard, Khajiit

In real raid situations, consider Artaeum Takeaway Broth or Max HP Max Stam as food alternatives.

Other gear that is perfectly suitable for different situations/builds include:
Deadly Strikes, Leviathan, Tzogvin, Advancing Yokeda, Selene, Maarselok

CMX Parse, Debuffs, Build (Gear, Skills, CPs) from Video -- imgur.com/a/doNtcCn

--

The rotation show here is a dynamic rotation. This is simply my preferred style of play. One possible static rotation, which is also pretty effective is detailed further down in this section.

Here, Flames of Oblivion, Noxious Breath, Venomous Claw, Consuming Trap, Barbed Trap, Endless Hail and Poison Injection are the DOTs we keep up. Stonefist will be our spammable.

I am using the Master's Bow here, so my main priority is reapplying Poison Injection when it runs out, roughly every 10 seconds. Otherwise, I try to ensure Endless Hail is up since it procs my Berserker enchant on the Bow. Venomous Claw and Noxious Breath, each 14 seconds long, can be cast as a pair to make things simpler. Otherwise try to find time to cast Flames of Oblivion, Soul Trap and Barbed Trap. Generally, don't worry too much about being perfect with your DOT uptimes, they're not as important as they were in Scalebreaker. It's probably better to make sure that your Stonefist stacks don't fall off, for the benefit of your groups. If you find yourself suddenly seeing 5 or 6 DOTs running out in quick succession, you can easily get the best of both worlds by reapplying 3 DOTs, then throwing a Stonefist, then reapplying another 3 DOTs.

If you wanted to even add another DOT, such as Rending Slashes, it is definitely possible, but it just makes it that little bit harder to keep them all up and get good uptimes with Stonefist too. In my opinion, it's not really worth the effort though.

If you want, you can also play this with a simpler rotation, using either the vMA Bow or the Masters Bow. Here is a proposed Static Rotation:

Start:
Flames of Oblivion - Endless Hail - Barbed Trap - Poison Injection
Stonefist x3 - Venomous Claw - Noxious Breath - Consuming Trap - Stonefist x 4

Repeat:
Endless Hail - Poison Injection - Flames of Oblivion
Stonefist - Barbed Trap - Venomous Claw - Noxious Breath - Stonefist - Consuming Trap - Stonefist x 4


--

Rending Slashes - a Dual Wield DOT, which you can definitely fit onto your bar if you wish to use it. I wouldn't consider replacing other DOTs though, only as an extra.

Whirling Blades - a spammable/execute that can be very strong. You could use this in tandem with Stonefist (i.e Stonefist as spammable until around 30% then Whirling Blades). During execute it may be worth dropping some of the weaker DOTs such as Consuming Trap. Stonefist will also be less effective relative to the rest of the fight, so up to you if you want to only use Stonefist to keep up the debuff, or even drop it completely.

Vigor / Ring of Preservation (back-barred) - for extra self-heals if needed. I would recommend replacing one of the back bar Fighter's Guild abilities.

Camouflaged Hunter (front-barred) - gives weapon damage passives, and Minor Berserk for 5seconds when you attack from behind. Can be very nice in situations where you know you won't get Minor Berserk consistently.

Ballista - a better ultimate if you want to prioritize burst, and you won't get the full benefit of a Standard of Might.

--

Music used
Forever Sunrise - by Jonny Easton
Link: youtu.be/9Xndx7nhGAs
Check out his channel
Link: youtube.com/jonnyeaston