Skip to main content
Join The Community
- Join our community
11
Premium Benefits
24/7
Access Available
21K+
Active Members
Commenting
Join the discussion
Exclusive Articles Coming Soon
Member-only articles
Weekly Newsletters
Weekly gaming & entertainment news
Member Badges
Earn badges as you go
Exclusive Competitions
Members-only prize draws
Curated Deals Coming Soon
Tech and gaming deals worth grabbing
GET COMMUNITY ACCESS QUICK
For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
FIND OUT ABOUT OUR MAGAZINE
Want to subscribe to the magazine? Click the button below to find out more information.
Find out more
GET Community ACCESS QUICK

Join the GamesRadar community for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation, and sign you up to our newsletter.

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Background
Welcome to GamesRADAR+ Community !
Hi ,

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

MY ACCOUNT

Badge picture
Earn your first badge
Read 1 article to unlock your first badge.
Keep earning badges
Explore ways to get more involved as a member.
Latest Games News

Latest Games News

Breaking gaming news and updates

Read Now
Latest Games Reviews

Latest Games Reviews

Expert verdicts on the newest releases

Read Now

See what you’ve unlocked.

Explore your membership benefits.

Explore
Member Exclusives

Stay Ahead with GamesRadar+

Get the biggest gaming news, reviews, and releases straight to your inbox.

Explore

Sign Out
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
    • View Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Trending
  • Pokemon Winds and Waves
  • New Games for 2026
  • Submit your game clips
  • GDC
  1. Games
  2. RPG
  3. The Elder Scrolls
  4. The Elder Scrolls Online

How to pick your class in The Elder Scrolls Online

News
By Sponsored published 8 June 2015

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


Join the club

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

Your Class is Just a Starting Point

When you create your character in The Elder Scrolls Online, you'll be asked to choose one of four classes: Dragonknight, Templar, Sorcerer, or Nightblade. But don't let it stress you out. This is an Elder Scrolls game, afterall, which means your character customization is much more natural than just selecting a premade class, like in other MMOs. Choosing the right class gets you started down the right road for you, but there's still plenty of room for customization later. What you choose to do in the gamehow you fight and what you fight withwill change and refine your skills as you play. However, your class choice does give you access to three unique skill trees that you can choose to invest in if you want to. Or you can just stick with the plethora of neutral skill trees for weapons, armors, and races. So let's get started on the right foot and pick the right class for you!

Dragonknight

A weapons-focused brawler that loves to bash facesand occasionally light them on fire with magic. Choose This Class If You Want To.. - Get in the middle of a fight and scrap with everyone. - Stay alive longer than most. - Roleplay being a draaaaagooooon! Skill Trees - Ardent Flame: Embrace your inner-dragon to burninate all of your enemies with flame weapons, breaths, and spikeable banners. - Draconic Power: Don the legendary durability of dragons to boost your defenses and debuff enemies trying to take you down. - Earthen Heart: Represent the protective side of dragons by buffing allies and ensuring you're always there to help them. Pro Tips - The hearty racesRedguard, Orc, Nord, and Imperialall have access to powerful racial skills that'll boost your survivability in extended periods of combat. For damage dealing, Dark Elves' dual-wielding and fire damage bonuses are very appealing. - For ultimate survivability, be sure to level your heavy armor and shield skills. - If you want to play defensively, invest your stat points into Health and Stamina. If you want to melt face, invest in Magicka and spam those Ardent Flame spells!

Templar

A light-wielding knight that wades into battle with tons of tools and plenty of playstyle options. Choose This Class If You Want To... - Wield holy magic for a righteous cause. - Have the flexibility to play in many different ways. - Focus on magic spells without sacrificing durability. Skill Trees - Aedric Spear: Use a burning spear to sweep large areas and wreak havoc on the battlefield. - Dawn's Wrath: Outsmart enemies by teaming up with allies to dish out death from afar. - Restoring Light: Keep allies alive and fighting with powerful healing spells. Pro Tips - Races that give Magicka bonusesBreton and High Elfwork great for the spell-heavy Templars. Argonians also make excellent healers and Imperials make excellent tanks. - Templars are team players. Even if you're focused on dealing damage, you should still try to support your allies, because you're just so good at it! - No matter which style you choose, you'll want to invest heavily in Magicka to ensure you can always cast your spells when you need them.

Sorcerer

A destructive spell-caster who wields all manner of combat magic to demolish their foes. Choose This Class If You Want To... - Focus on casting spells and using magic from a long distance away. - Summon pets that fight alongside you, so you're never alone. - Become a lightning rod of death that blasts baddies with electricity, which is freakin' awesome. Skill Trees - Storm Calling: Lash out with lightning, but keep it close to protect you if you're forced into close-range combat. - Daedric Summoning: Let friendly monsters do the work while you keep yourself alive and dream about loot. - Dark Magic: Curse and debuff enemies, keeping them in check for your allies to destroy easily. Pro Tips - The races with Magicka benefitsBreton and High Elfare also great for Sorcerers. Different from Templars, though, is that the Dark Elves also fit in nicely here with their bonus to fire damage. - This is the one class that lets you mostly ignore weapons (outside of equipping an appropriate staff), so focus all of your stat points into Magicka. - Avoid that heavy armor stuff and stick with light armor, which provides a lot of bonuses to your Magicka (instead of Health, Stamina, or Armor).

Nightblade

A sneaky assassin that wants to avoid a fair fight and, instead, ambush enemies when they least suspect it. Choose This Class If You Want To... - Steal enough cheese wheels to fill your entire home floor-to-ceiling. - Sneak around the battlefield and catch your victims off-guard. - Only be a damage dealer. Like, forever. Skill Trees - Assassination: Pick one target that you want to die, and make sure that they doas quickly and painfully as possible. - Shadow: The closest to non-DPS that Nightblade's get, you'll make sure that your victims can't escape and won't see youor your alliescoming for them. - Siphoning: Drain power from your enemies to boost your own attacks and spells. Pro Tips - Wood Elves and Khajiit both get nice bonuses to stealth, making them a perfect choice if you want to emphasize the sneakier side of Nightblades. The survival perks from any of the burlier races will help keep this flimsy class alive and swinging. - Nightblades will usually need to invest in both Magicka and Stamina. More than any other class, they have few free points to invest into Health. So don't to expect to be taking hits on the frontlines without some help. - Because of their diverse offensive options, Nightblades can wear any type of armor they want. But light armor is best for spell-heavy builds and medium armor is best for weapon-heavy builds.

Have Fun!

I know at least one of you just skipped straight to the end, hoping for an easy answer. Well, here you go! These are a few of my favorite options, ready for plagiarizing! - Wood Elf Nightblade (Siphoning): Use a long-range bow and rely on DoTs and life drains to burn down your enemies while they try to catch up to you. - Dark Elf Dragonknight (Ardent Flame): Get in close with dual weapons and fire spells to decimate everything around you. - Argonian Templar (Restoring Light): Make friends easily. As the most effective healer in the land, you'll be greeted with cheers wherever you go. - Breton Sorcerer (Daedric Summoning): A straightforward solo-play expert, this combo gives you some tankiness and plenty of pets to help you succeed on your own. But don't take my word for it! Pick up The Elder Scrolls Online for console right now and try out the classes and races for yourself. If you find a combination you love, jump back here and post it in the comments to help out your fellow gamers. No matter what you choose, you can succeed in Tamrieland that's the best part. So have fun experimenting with new builds!

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
CATEGORIES
Xbox One PS4 PC Gaming Platforms Xbox PlayStation
Sponsored
Sponsored
Social Links Navigation
GamesRadar+ Sponsored Content
Latest in The Elder Scrolls
Key art for The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, showing the hero standing in front of a flaming logo oblivion gate
The Elder Scrolls Todd Howard wanted Bethesda's original RPGs to be playable before worrying about remasters: "You can play Morrowind"
 
 
A screenshot of the Adoring Fan seen in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered.
The Elder Scrolls Todd Howard says Oblivion leaks didn't help Bethesda or players: "Everyone is gonna have a different version"
 
 
The Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion screenshot
The Elder Scrolls As Oblivion turns 20, Bethesda lead says the RPG is "what Bethesda games are" in the "rawest form"
 
 
The Elder Scrolls 6
The Elder Scrolls No rush on The Elder Scrolls 6, Todd Howard says - Bethesda has "so many millions of people playing our other games"
 
 
The Elder Scrolls 6
The Elder Scrolls "Just pretend we didn't announce it": Todd Howard knows The Elder Scrolls 6 has haunted RPG fans for nearly 8 years
 
 
A black dragon roaring with a manor house behind it and lighting in the sky during Skyrim.
The Elder Scrolls "The majority of this building is working on The Elder Scrolls 6": Bethesda's focus is on the RPG it revealed in 2018
 
 
Latest in News
A banner image for Crimson Desert side by side with a marketing image for Intel Arc GPUs, separated by an orange line
Desktop PCs After seemingly ghosting Intel, Crimson Desert devs are now "working on compatibility" for Intel Arc
 
 
Nvidia DLSS 5 version of Grace from Resident Evil Requiem
Games Nvidia CEO says "I don't love AI slop myself" after Resident Evil Requiem DLSS 5 makeover blows up
 
 
A Crimson Desert character goes fishing in a river
Open World Games Crimson Desert "does rivers better" than Red Dead Redemption 2, says former Rockstar artist
 
 
One Piece
Live Action Shows One Piece viewership was down for season 2, and now the 12-season plan doesn't seem all that likely
 
 
Holly Hunter as Captain Ake in Starfleet Academy.
Sci-Fi Shows Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has been canceled 11 days after its season 1 finale and will end with season 2
 
 
Coup box on a wooden table
Tabletop Gaming This party card game feels like Dune crossed with Game of Thrones, and I'm obsessed
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Nvidia DLSS 5 version of Grace from Resident Evil Requiem
    1
    Nvidia CEO says "I don't love AI slop myself" after Resident Evil Requiem DLSS 5 makeover blows up
  2. 2
    This Spider-Man MTG bundle is the cheapest I've ever seen, and includes an exclusive alternate art card in each box
  3. 3
    One Piece viewership was down for season 2, and now the 12-season plan doesn't seem all that likely
  4. 4
    Basic guide and tips for running Cryo Archive in Marathon
  5. 5
    WWE 2K26 MyRise walkthrough and chapter rewards guide

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...