Nightblade Stamina DPS build

A complete, datamined-and-cited dps build for Nightblade. Every gear and skill choice links to the exact game data; the role-level choices follow our published theorycraft rules.

Meta #5 · #5 DPS across 19 sampled endgame encounters Tier 3 — meta-validated data retrieved 2026-06-11 · datamined via UESP

Gear · 5pc A + 5pc B + (1 mythic + 1 monster piece) OR (2pc monster set)

Slot	Set	Trait	Enchant
Front bar weapon	Roar of Alkosh	Nirnhoned or Precise	Weapon Damage / elemental glyph
Back bar weapon	Maelstrom/arena weapon that amplifies a slotted DoT	Infused	Weapon Damage glyph (boosts back-bar DoTs)
Head	Lady Malygda	Divines x7	Max Stamina
Shoulder	Roar of Alkosh	Divines x7	Max Stamina
Chest	Perfected Arms of Relequen	{'magicka': 'Light', 'stamina': 'Medium'}	Max Stamina
Hands	Perfected Arms of Relequen	Divines x7	Max Stamina
Waist	Perfected Arms of Relequen	Divines x7	Max Stamina
Legs	Perfected Arms of Relequen	{'magicka': 'Light', 'stamina': 'Medium'}	Max Stamina
Feet	Perfected Arms of Relequen	Divines x7	Max Stamina
Necklace	Velothi Ur-Mage's Amulet	Bloodthirsty or Infused	Weapon/Spell Damage
Ring 1	Roar of Alkosh	Bloodthirsty or Infused	Weapon/Spell Damage
Ring 2	Roar of Alkosh	Bloodthirsty or Infused	Weapon/Spell Damage

Skills

Front bar (damage / spammable)

Killer's Blade — 2066 Stamina · direct · heal
Relentless Focus — 1107 Stamina · buff · direct · heal
Piercing Mark — 2700 Magicka · buff · heal
Ambush — 3213 Stamina · buff · direct
Surprise Attack — 2295 Stamina · dot

Ultimate:

Incapacitating Strike — 70 Ultimate · direct

Back bar (DoTs / buffs / setup)

Refreshing Path — 3510 Magicka · buff · dot · heal
Dark Cloak — 4050 Magicka · buff · dot · heal
Dark Shade — 2970 Magicka · buff · dot
Crippling Grasp — 2700 Magicka · dot
Manifestation of Terror — 3240 Magicka · buff

Ultimate:

Bolstering Darkness — 200 Ultimate · buff · dot · heal

Buffs & debuffs this build provides

Auto-detected from the chosen sets & morphs (the coverage model). Each links to every source in the game.

Major Breach Major Cowardice Major Expedition Major Prophecy Major Protection Major Savagery Minor Berserk Minor Endurance Minor Enervation Minor Force Minor Intellect Minor Maim Minor Protection Minor Slayer Minor Vulnerability

Setup

Race

Dark Elf/Orc/Khajiit/Redguard

Mundus

Thief/Shadow

Food

Artaeum Takeaway Broth

Potion

tri-stat (Major Sorcery/Brutality + Major Prophecy/Savagery) or class Spell/Weapon-Power

Attributes

Stamina 64

Vampire

none

Champion Points CP cited from datamined cp2 tree

Four slottable stars per tree (the build's priority). Each links to its datamined star page with the exact per-stage value; ✓ confirms it's slottable in the current CP tree.

Warfare

Deadly Aim ✓ slottable
Master-at-Arms ✓ slottable
Backstabber ✓ slottable
Fighting Finesse ✓ slottable

Fitness

Boundless Vitality ✓ slottable
Fortified ✓ slottable
Rejuvenation ✓ slottable
Bloody Renewal ✓ slottable

Craft

Steed's Blessing ✓ slottable
Gifted Rider ✓ slottable
War Mount ✓ slottable
Master Gatherer ✓ slottable

The numbers to hit (build toward, never past)

Penetration → 18,200 — 4-man dungeon & 12-man trial boss armor. Build TOWARD minus group-supplied Major Breach/Crusher. Past it is wasted. Overland = 9100.
Crit chance — 21,912 rating = 100%.
Crit damage — caps at 125% (base 50%). This drives the Thief↔Shadow mundus choice: Thief when crit% < 53.53 × crit-damage(decimal), else Shadow.