ESO Update 52 Dragonknight Changes and Templar Balance: Landslide and Backlash

ESO Update 52 Dragonknight changes are still being revised on the Public Test Server, especially Landslide and the way its damage bonus affects other players. The latest developer feedback increases Landslide’s proposed maximum from 12 stacks to 20 but makes that bonus count more slowly in PvP. Volcanic Whip also has a separate correction planned for a later test week.

Templar changes are moving too. Backlash, Power of the Light and Vampire’s Bane are all receiving further adjustments following early reactions, so any comparison based only on the first October patch notes is already out of date. These are proposals for Update 52, not finished live-server class builds.

ESO Update 52 Dragonknight changes to Landslide

Landslide is one of the ESO Update 52 Dragonknight Changes attracting the most attention. ZeniMax’s 6 November PTS Week 2 summary says the maximum will increase from 12 stacks to 20. At the same time, it wants the PvP benefit to advance at half the former rate: two stacks are needed for each one-percent increase to damage against players.

The idea behind the Dragonknight changes is straightforward. The team wants a stronger Dragonknight contribution in PvE, where it believes the class is a little behind, without allowing that full offensive increase to spill unchanged into PvP. That is a deliberate split rather than a mistake in the numbers.

Dragonknight item	Latest developer plan	Test timing
Landslide maximum stacks	Increase the cap from 12 to 20	PTS Week 3 target
Landslide in PvP	Two stacks required for 1% damage bonus against players	PTS Week 3 target
Volcanic Whip	Lower its PvP damage to match Power Lash and fix a Lava Whip comparison issue	PTS Week 4 target

For PvE players, the stack ceiling raises the possible benefit of an established play pattern, though the final effect depends on how consistently the stacks are maintained. In PvP, simply reading ’20 stacks’ and assuming twice the old damage is wrong. The two-stacks-per-percent rule is intended to temper that gain.

Volcanic Whip is a separate ESO Update 52 Dragonknight change

The Volcanic Whip correction is part of the Dragonknight changes, but it’s not scheduled for the same PTS week as Landslide. ZeniMax identified a case where the base Lava Whip was doing more damage than either morph against players. Its plan is to bring Volcanic Whip down to the level of Power Lash in PvP, and it specifically gave Week 4 rather than Week 3 as the target.

The timing of the Dragonknight changes matters when comparing builds across PTS dates. A Week 3 test can include the Landslide adjustment without containing the later whip change. If the damage numbers on your character don’t match a written preview, check which patch was actually installed before assuming the guide or the game is broken.

These Dragonknight changes don’t prove that a particular build will become the best damage dealer. Changes to class damage interact with item sets, passives, skills borrowed through Subclassing and content type. ZeniMax is changing some of those other systems during the same cycle.

ESO Update 52 Templar changes to Backlash and Power of the Light

Alongside the Dragonknight changes, Templars are getting follow-up adjustments. The developer says Backlash and Power of the Light should last a fixed 12 seconds, even against monsters, instead of taking the extended duration shown in an earlier PTS proposal. The cost for all versions is planned to return to 2,160 from the higher test value of 3,240.

A consistent duration makes it easier to compare the skill between a monster fight and a player fight. The lower cost also helps characters that were struggling to fit the more expensive PTS cast into a rotation. But the actual damage output still needs testing with the revised tooltips; a cheaper cast does not automatically translate into a known percentage of extra DPS.

Templar change	Week 3 proposal	Why it matters
Backlash and its versions	Fixed 12-second duration; cost returns to 2,160	Less mismatch between monster and player targets
Power of the Light	Also follows the 12-second and 2,160-cost changes	Changes the timing and sustain calculation
Vampire’s Bane	Planned to deal 33.3% more damage than on the current live servers	A partial revision of the earlier PTS proposal
Wrathsun item set	Lower maximum stack count	Easier to complete the set’s intended loop

Vampire’s Bane and Wrathsun are not the same change

The Vampire’s Bane proposal is an important point of comparison: ZeniMax says the new target should deal 33.3% more damage than the current live version. That comparison is with live ESO, not necessarily with every intermediate PTS tooltip shown in screenshots or videos.

Wrathsun is an item set, not a Templar class skill. Its maximum stack count is due to be reduced to make the set easier to use and improve the flow of its bonus. Keep those two pieces of news separate when making equipment decisions. The fact that they were discussed in one developer summary does not make them one combined skill rework.

What the ESO Update 52 Dragonknight changes mean for builds

A sensible approach is to keep your existing live setup intact while experimenting with a copy on PTS. Check how quickly your Landslide stacks build in real encounters and whether a longer fight changes the result. In PvP, inspect the against-player coefficient rather than extrapolating from a target dummy. For Templar, compare the actual revised 12-second Backlash timing against your existing rotation.

Be careful with build rankings written before the latest Dragonknight changes and Templar adjustments. Week 3 and Week 4 are separate stages, and additional patch notes can reverse, refine or delay specific mechanics again. The Dragonknight changes aren’t the whole picture: other skills and sets are also being adjusted during PTS.

When do ESO Update 52 Dragonknight changes go live?

Update 52 is scheduled for 19 January 2027. These class changes are still part of the November 2026 PTS process; none should be described as already live. Jerall Pass has a later permanent opening on 27 January, but that separate PvP map date should not be mistaken for the scheduled date of the main combat patch.

Is Landslide already at 20 stacks?

The 20-stack ceiling is the developer’s announced Week 3 PTS target. Check the installed PTS version and later notes before claiming that the value is implemented or final.

Is the Volcanic Whip fix in Week 3?

No. ZeniMax placed the correction in Week 4, while Landslide was aimed at Week 3. Mixing the two dates creates inaccurate build comparisons.

Official source: ZeniMax’s official Update 52 Week 2 PTS report. Changes discussed here are test-server proposals and should be checked again before the January live update.