Nightblades in The Elder Scrolls Online are typically characterized by the use of Medium Armor in close combat, and a reliance on Stamina. Though this is true for most Nightblade builds, some rely on Heavy Armor or Light Armor to serve different purposes in group content. Nightblades who spec into the Siphoning skill tree, for example, like Light Armor much more.

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While Nightblades aren't generally great Tanks, their damage output is extremely high and they can be good combat healers, too. Nightblades get the most use out of armor sets that can increase their DPS in some way rather than sets that raise their survivability. After all, their DPS is often also tied to their ability to be an effective Support player.

5 The Tzogvin's Warband Set - Medium Armor, Jewelry, Weapons

The Tzogbin's Warband armor set gives good stat bonuses, as well as a special effect when the player makes use of its full benefit.

• At two and three items equipped, it gives the Nightblade 657 Weapon Critical chance.
• With four items equipped, it grants 1487 Physical Penetration.
• Equipping five items gives the player a stack of Precision (which increases Weapon Critical by 177) for each Critical Hit they make. At ten stacks of the Precision buff, the player also gains the Minor Force buff. This further increases Critical Damage by 10%.

This armor set is one of the most powerful available to Nightblades almost without contest, thanks to the special ability at maximum benefit. Nightblade DPS players tend to build into Weapon Critical anyway, which means players can expect to have the Precision buff active at all times.

Look for the pieces to this set in the Frostvault dungeon, part of the Wrathstone DLC.

4 The Hunding's Rage Set - Craftable

The Hunding's Rage armor set is a craftable set that gives some basic buffs to three useful stats for Nightblades, as follows:

• At two and four items equipped, the player gains 657 Weapon Critical.
• At three items equipped, it grants 1096 Max Stamina.
• With five items equipped, the Nightblade will be granted an additional 300 Weapon Damage.

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They are basic buffs, perhaps not quite as exciting as the special ability granted by the Tzogvin's Warband set. Nonetheless, they're very useful for Nightblades. Plus, it's a lot less to keep track of, and passive bonuses mean less to worry about in terms of maximizing combat potential.

To craft this set, look for the Wether's Cleft in the eastern part of Bangkorai, the Trollslayer Gulley in the central part of The Rift, or the Broken Arch in the southern part of Reaper's March.

3 The Briarheart Set - Medium Armor, Jewelry, Weapon

The Briarheart armor set gives some basic bonuses to Weapon Critical and Stamina, alongside a useful self-healing ability.

• Two and four items equipped grant the player 657 Weapon Critical.
• With three items equipped, they gain 1096 Max Stamina.
• At five items equipped, the player gains 450 Weapon Damage for 10 seconds after every Critical Hit. During these 10 seconds, every Critical Hit heals the player for a base 100 health, the amount of which scales off of Stamina.

Nightblades have a whole tree dedicated to healing and Support-based abilities. However, players who don't spec into Siphoning need alternative healing methods, especially for soloing. The Briarheart Set gives a basic heal alongside a powerful temporary Weapon Damage buff, which procs more often the more the Nightblade has specced into dealing critical hits.

The pieces to the Briarheart set appear all over Wrothgar in the overland, particularly from world bosses and difficult enemies spread throughout the zone.

2 The False God's Devotion Set - Light Armor, Jewelry, Weapons

Nightblades tend to stick to Stamina for their primary resource; however, there are powerful Magicka-based Nightblade builds out there too. The False God's Devotion is the best armor set for DPS Nightblades who have chosen abilities that primarily rely on Magicka.

• At two and four pieces equipped, it grants 657 Spell Critical.
• With three pieces, it grants the Minor Slayer buff, increasing damage in public content by 5% permanently.
• At five pieces equipped, it reduces Magicka cost. It also grants a huge Magicka refund and Major Expedition upon killing an enemy.

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Because it is a Light Armor set, to get the full benefit Nightblades will need to spec almost exclusively into Magicka. However, Nightblades who use a blend of Magicka and Stamina can make use of this set in their weapon and jewelry slots instead of their armor slots. The below-five-equipped benefits are still very good.

Look for this set in the Sunspire Trial in Elsweyr. Keep in mind that it might take multiple runs to get the exact items the player wants.

1 The Spell Power Cure Set - Light Armor, Jewelry, Weapons

When Nightblades shy away from Stamina use, it's typically because they aren't focusing solely on damage output. Support Nightblades can make good use of the Spell Power Cure armor set, which at full power grants a powerful party buff.

• With two and three items equipped, the Nightblade receives 1096 Maximum Magicka.
• Having four items equipped adds 129 Spell Damage.
• At five items equipped, it gives a target player Major Courage when they are healed beyond their Max Health. This increases Weapon and Spell Damage by 430 for five seconds.

Siphoning-spec Nightblades spend the majority of an encounter in the middle-range of combat. They are neither in the front lines or backline, and constantly dance between enemies and allies. Overhealing happens pretty often accidentally, but it's best used when the Tank has all the enemy attention and the Nightblade can apply this buff to their DPS allies.

Look for the pieces to this set in the White-Gold Tower dungeon in the Imperial City. Just be prepared for a little bit of PvP to get there.

NEXT: Elder Scrolls Online: Best Skills For The Nightblade Class