“Attack from the shadows, drain your foes' health, and vanish into the void with the Nightblade Class. The shadows truly are your greatest weapon as you wield abilities that deal devastating damage at any range and siphon your victim's lifeforce to your allies.” - The Elder Scrolls Online
The Nightblade Class is a specialized class for stealth and surprise attacks, allowing you to focus on rotation and rack up the damage in PVP and PVE alike. Below are the top races in both Magicka and Stamina that will help you to fine-tune your build and take backstabbing to the next level in a more literal sense.
Best Races for Magicka Nightblade
5. Breton
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The Breton Race, leaders of Daggerfall
Bretons are the proud leaders of Daggerfall Covenant, thriving in their alignment to magical skill sets. They have heavily focused Magicka passives, allowing for great sustain and Magicka recovery. They thrive with both two-handed weapons and staves, making for a highly adaptable and exciting build.
Why Breton is great for Nightblade:
Maximum Magicka increase passives
Spell resistance and Magicka recovery passives
Reduced cost of Magicka abilities passive
Pick Breton if:
You enjoy the versatility of weapon choices
You’d benefit from constant, steady Magicka sustain
You’d like to utilize more costly Magicka abilities
Orcs are a physically powerful and proud race, benefitting from health passives that heal your character when damage is dealt. Their abundant strength makes up one of their most useful passives, which is a major increase in both weapon and spell damage. Don’t let their exceptionally terrifying demeanor you, there’s undoubtedly a warm personality behind that icy visage and fangs. Probably.
Why Orc is great for Nightblade:
Maximum health increase passive
Self heal when damage is dealt passive
Increased weapon damage passive
Increased spell damage passive
Pick Orc if:
You have trouble self-maintaining health
You’re looking to do both more weapon and spell damage with your build
Dark Elves, also known as the Dunmer, are a pallid race that puts the cast of Twilight to shame, along with being highly intelligent and agile fighters. The passive bonuses that come along with Dark Elves make them very adaptable to most builds. Their natural dual-wielding ability makes for exciting gameplay unlike any other.
Why Dark Elf is great for Nightblade:
Increased experience in dual wield skill line passive
Maximum Magicka increase passive
Increased weapon and spell damage
Increased resistance to flame and lava passive
Pick Dark Elf if:
You’d like to level your dual wield skill line quickly
You could benefit from a maximum Magicka increase
You’d like to increase your weapon and spell damage
You’d like better immunity to environmental dangers i.e. lava and flames
High Elves are an ancient and proud race that value their renown as both talented mages, and fighters which often leaves a sour taste in the mouths of other races. Their passive racial skills reflect their magical affinity by the increased destructiveness of their spells. High Elves are most effective when paired with staves, occasionally even bettering the Khajiit race in this regard however, their dual-wielding ability is formidable.
Why High Elf is great for Nightblade:
Increased experience in destruction staff skill line passive
Magicka restoration when using any class ability passive
Maximum Magicka increase passive
Increased spell damage passive
Pick High Elf if:
You’d like to level your destruction staff skill line quickly
The Khajiit are fearsome feline warriors with unrivaled skill with bladed weapons. Their racial passive skills reflect their versatility as both an assassin, and a fearless warrior. Khajiit are made even better when paired with dual-wield weapons however, staves are still a viable option for them. Natural pickpockets and stealthy at heart, they’re the perfect match for a top-quality Magicka Nightblade.
Why Khajiit is great for Nightblade:
Increased health recovery passive
Increased Magicka recovery passive
Increased maximum health passive
Increased maximum Magicka passive
Decreased detection radius in stealth passive
Pick Khajiit if:
You’d benefit from increased health and Magicka recovery
The Nords are a strong, hardy race that are fierce with an axe or bow. Favoring physical damage over spell damage, they are expert weapon masters. I hate to be blunt when I say they’re a race favoring brawn over brains but… yes.
Why Nord is great for Nightblade:
Increased experience in two-handed weapon skill line passive
Increased maximum health passive
Increased maximum Stamina passive
Increased physical and spell resistance
Pick Nord if:
You’d like to level your two-handed weapon skill line quickly
You’d like to increase your maximum health
You’d benefit from increased maximum stamina
You’d benefit from gaining more resistance against physical and spell damage
The Redguard Race are skilled and disciplined warriors
Redguard are disciplined warriors that hold culture and ancestry with very high regard. They honor their ancient traditions, defying the harsh climate and environment, and fight with a focus on the use of weapons.
Why Redguard is great for Nightblade:
Increased duration of buff food eaten by 15 minutes passive
Reduced cost of weapon abilities passive
Increased defense against snares passive
Increased maximum Stamina
Stamina restoration from dealing damage passive
Pick Redguard if:
You’d like to increase the effectiveness of your buff food
You’d benefit from the reduced cost of weapon abilities
You’d like more defense against snares, especially in PVP
You’d benefit from increased maximum Stamina
You’d benefit from Stamina restoration when in combat
The Khajiit are fearsome feline warriors with unrivaled skill with bladed weapons. Their racial passive skills reflect their versatility as both an assassin, and a fearless warrior. Natural pickpockets and stealthy at heart, their fierce attacks pair perfectly with the swift nature in which they are carried out.
Why Khajiit is great for Nightblade:
Increased health recovery passive
Increased Stamina recovery passive
Increased maximum health passive
Increased maximum Stamina passive
Increased critical damage passive
Decreased detection radius passive
Pick Khajiit if:
You’d benefit from increased maximum health and health recovery
You’d benefit from increased maximum Stamina and Stamina recovery
You’d benefit from more critical damage
You’d like to increase your stealth, especially in PVP
Dark Elves, also known as the Dunmer, are highly intelligent and agile fighters. The passive bonuses that come along with Dark Elves make them very adaptable to most builds. Their natural dual-wielding ability makes for exciting gameplay unlike any other.
Why Dark Elf is great for Nightblade:
Increased experience in dual-wield skill line passive
Increased maximum Stamina passive
Increased weapon and spell damage passive
Increased resistance to flame and lava passive
Pick Dark Elf if:
You’d like to level your dual wield skill line quickly
You could benefit from added maximum Stamina
You’d like to increase your weapon and spell damage
You’d like better immunity to environmental dangers i.e. lava and flames
Orcs are a physically powerful and proud race, benefitting from health passives that heal your character when damage is dealt. Their abundant strength makes up one of their most useful passives, which is a major increase in both weapon and spell damage.
Why Orc is great for Nightblade:
Increased maximum Stamina passive
Maximum health increase passive
Self heal when damage is dealt passive
Increased weapon damage passive
Increased spell damage passive
Pick Orc if:
You have trouble self-maintaining health
You’re looking to do both more weapon and spell damage with your build
The differences between what makes a good Nightblade and a shabby one, are passives. As much as each race has its own unique abilities, each player needs to find what suits their gaming style the best. Don’t be scared to try out different races and skills that better suit the gamer that you are. Let’s face it, some of us just aren’t destined for melee fighting. Happy gaming!
I'm not always a completionist, but when the urge hits, I complete every side quest and map area until I'm at such a high level for the main quest that even the gods fear me.
Favorite Genre:
RPG
Top 3 Favorite Games:
The Elder Scrolls Online, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
