Gold Road shook up ESO with Scribing and a handful of combat tune‑ups, so the old “just pick whichever looks cooler” answer for Werewolf vs. Vampire isn’t enough anymore. You’ve now got new tools to patch sustain, stack buffs, and streamline rotations, some of which help wolves more, some help vamps. This guide breaks down what changed, what actually matters, and gives you full, practical builds for both in PvE and PvP so you can choose the version that fits how you play, not just what YouTube tells you.

Gold Road Changes That Matter For Werewolves And Vampires

Scribing is the headline. Customizable skills (Grimoires + Scripts) let you bake in buffs and utility that used to eat bar space. That’s huge for Vampires, because you can craft a single slotted skill that covers Major buffs or extra sustain, freeing up room for class damage. Werewolves benefit more indirectly: you can’t use scribed skills while transformed (werewolf bars are locked to wolf skills), but you can prep with a scribed buff before you go furry, and you can carry Scribing value on your human bar for downtime between transformations.

On balance changes: Gold Road continued ESO’s trend of rewarding direct damage windows and tightening sustain. That’s good for Werewolves, your heavy‑hitting Howl windows feel great when your buffs are lined up. For Vampires, Stage management still matters: Undeath remains one of the strongest defensive passives in the game when you’re hurt, but the cost increases by stage are still real. You’ll want cleaner sustain planning than in past patches.

TL:DR:

• Scribing directly buffs Vampire bar economy and utility.
• Werewolf still thrives on bursty, simplified damage with Oakensoul or tight buff timing.
• Neither was “gutted.” Your choice comes down to content type, sustain tolerance, and whether you enjoy a transformation playstyle.

Werewolf At A Glance: Strengths, Weaknesses, And Playstyle

Strengths: explosive single‑target burst, simple rotation, great self‑healing, and one‑bar friendliness with Oakensoul. You hit hard with Howl of Agony, maintain bleeds/poisons, and roar to debuff. Pack Leader adds tankiness and pets for PvP brawling: Werewolf Berserker leans into raw DPS for PvE.

Weaknesses: transform uptime dictates your damage: if you drop form at the wrong time, your DPS falls off. Limited bar means situational utility (purge, group buffs) can be awkward. You’re also vulnerable to hard CC chains in PvP if you don’t manage immunities.

Playstyle: build ultimate, pre‑buff, transform, burst windows around Howl procs, and ride the sustain loop with heavy attacks and Hircine’s Fortitude. If you like a primal, momentum‑driven rhythm with giant crits and straightforward inputs, you’ll feel right at home.

Vampire At A Glance: Strengths, Weaknesses, And Playstyle

Strengths: Undeath passive (Stage 3+) is bonkers for survivability, less damage taken the lower your health goes. You get access to powerful tools like Elusive Mist for mobility/escape, Swarming Scion for clutch heals and pressure, and Simmering Frenzy for massive damage windows if you can manage the health drain. Vampire also blends smoothly with any class, especially Nightblade, Arcanist, and Necromancer.

Weaknesses: ability costs rise by Stage, so sustain can punish you in certain encounters. Some groups don’t love Elusive Mist in PvE because it contributes no damage while active. And you have to treat Simmering Frenzy with respect, it’ll kill you if you’re greedy.

Playstyle: stay at Stage 3 for Undeath, weave in your class spammable/DoTs, pop Frenzy for burst windows, Mist to reposition, and Scion to clutch out fights or turn pressure into kills in PvP. It’s a high‑skill ceiling toolkit with huge payoff if you master timing and resources.

Werewolf Builds

PvE Damage Setup

• Goal: bursty single‑target with reliable self‑heal for bosses and arenas.
• Race: Khajiit or Dark Elf for damage: Orc for hybrid damage + speed.
• Morphs: Werewolf Berserker for PvE.

Bar (Werewolf form):

• Brutal Pounce (gapclose + bleed)
• Howl of Agony (spammable and burst when target is feared/off‑balance)
• Claws of Anguish (disease DoT + healing received debuff: flex to Claws of Life for more healing)
• Hircine’s Fortitude (big burst heal + buffs)
• Deafening Roar (Major Breach via fear, off‑balance setup)
• Werewolf Berserker (ultimate)

Rotation sketch: pre‑buff in human form (Rally/Forward Momentum or scribed buff), transform, Pounce in, Roar to apply Breach/off‑balance, Claws, then Howl spam weaving light attacks. Re‑apply Claws/Roar on cooldown, heavy attack as needed for sustain, and keep Howl procs rolling.

Skills And Scribing Picks

You can’t use scribed skills in Werewolf form, but you can prep:

• A scribed self‑buff that grants Major Brutality/Sorcery or Minor Force before transforming, so you don’t need class buffs on your back bar.
• A scribed mobility/cleanse option for downtime between transformations in dungeons.

If you’re running Oakensoul, you can skip a lot of this since it supplies core Major buffs.

Gear, Traits, And Mundus

• Sets (PvE): Arms of Relequen (trials) + Pillar of Nirn (DoT proc) is the classic. If you’re not in trials, switch Relequen to Kinras’s Wrath or Tzogvin’s for Minor Force. For solo, pair one damage set with Deadly Strike or Aegis Caller.
• Monster: Slimecraw (crit) for pure DPS or Kjalnar’s/Zaan for single‑target pressure. Solo comfort: Engine Guardian or Velothi Ur-Mage’s Amulet mythic if you want extra sustain (or Ring of the Pale Order for self‑heal, great solo, not in groups).
• Mythic: Oakensoul is outstanding for Werewolf: it gives you all the core Major buffs on a one‑bar setup and simplifies your pre‑buffing.
• Traits: Divines on body: jewelry Bloodthirsty or Infused: weapons Nirnhoned/Precise. Enchants: max stamina on body, weapon/spell damage on jewelry.
• Mundus: Thief for crit or Lover when you’re solo and low on penetration.

Champion Points And Rotation Tips

• Blue slottables: Master‑at‑Arms, Deadly Aim, Biting Aura, Untamed Aggression.
• Red slottables: Celerity, Sustained by Suffering, Pain’s Refuge, Relentlessness.
• Green: Steed’s Blessing, Rationer, Liquid Efficiency, Treasure Hunter (flex).

Rotation tip: weave consistently, light attack into Howl matters. Don’t over‑cast Claws: keep it up, but Howl is your damage. Use heavy attacks during Hircine’s Fortitude downtime to refill. If off‑balance is up, your Howls slap, capitalize.

PvP Bruiser Setup

• Morph: Pack Leader for tankiness and pet pressure.
• Sets: Daedric Trickery + Markyn Ring of Majesty + medium/heavy mix gives stats and tankiness. Eternal Vigor is a comfy sustain alternative. Monster: Bloodspawn for ult regen or Balorgh for burst.
• Traits: Well‑Fitted on armor for roll‑dodge/sprint cost reduction: Swift jewelry for mobility: one Protective if you’re getting zerged.
• Skills: Brutal Pounce, Hircine’s Fortitude, Deafening Roar, Howl of Agony, Claws of Life, Werewolf Pack Leader.

Playstyle: brawl on edges, line‑of‑sight, Roar into Howl bursts, and don’t be afraid to de‑transform to reset if you get purged and snared to death. Your biggest mistake is greed, save Fortitude for real pressure, not chip damage.

Vampire Builds

PvE Damage/Utility Setup

• Goal: Stage 3 Undeath safety net with clean sustain and strong class damage.
• Stage: 3 is the sweet spot (Undeath on, costs manageable). Stage 4 is risky in PvE unless you’re very confident.
• Class notes: Nightblade, Arcanist, and Necro pair naturally, but any class works.

Core vampire skills to slot situationally:

• Simmering Frenzy (damage steroid, toggle and manage carefully)
• Elusive Mist (oh‑crap mobility and mitigation, also great for mechanics)
• Swarming Scion (ultimate panic button + AoE pressure)
• Arterial Burst (spammable that shines on low‑health targets: many classes will still prefer their own spammable)

Example bar concept (mag or stam flex): keep your class spammable, 1–2 class DoTs, a flex slot for Frenzy, and Mist as your safety. Pop Frenzy for short burn windows (boss execute or add burn), then toggle it off.

Skills And Scribing Picks

Scribing is excellent for Vampires because you’re not locked out while transformed, you’re not replacing your bars.

• Craft a scribed self‑buff that covers Minor Force or a sustain rider (e.g., mag/stam return on hit) so you can drop a bar slot.
• Create a scribed utility skill that gives you a purge or extra damage taken debuff on enemies in fights where heal debuffs/cleanses matter. This lets you skip niche class skills.
• For PvP, a scribed gap‑closer with a brief damage shield or snare cleanse pairs well with Mist to keep you sticky without blowing stamina.

Gear, Traits, And Mundus

• PvE damage sets: Kinras’s Wrath, Pillar of Nirn, Pillar + Tzogvin, or class‑best alternatives (e.g., Relequen in trials). If you’re leaning into Frenzy execute, Deadly Strike or Mother’s Sorrow (mag) can shine depending on class.
• Utility/solo: Ring of the Pale Order is incredible for solo, just remember it shuts off in groups. Pair with Scion for oh‑no moments.
• Monster: Slimecraw (crit), Zaan/Kjalnar’s for single‑target, or Magma Incarnate for group support.
• Traits: Divines body, Bloodthirsty or Infused jewelry, Precise/Nirnhoned front bar. Enchants to match your stat split.
• Mundus: Thief for crit or Lover when soloing tougher targets: Atronach if your sustain is scuffed at Stage 3.

Champion Points And Survival Tips

• Blue slottables: Deadly Aim, Master‑at‑Arms, Thaumaturge or Biting Aura depending on your kit, Untamed Aggression.
• Red slottables: Pain’s Refuge, Sustained by Suffering, Celerity, Relentlessness.

Survival: live around Undeath. Don’t panic heal at 70%: you’re tankier as health dips. Use Mist to kite through one‑shots, then counter‑burst with Frenzy during execute windows. If a fight punishes sustain, drop to Stage 2 temporarily.

PvP Ganker/Skirmisher Setup

• Concept: Nightblade + Vampire is the classic, but you can gank on other classes too. Use Frenzy windows for one‑combo kills, Mist to exit, Scion when you get collapsed on.
• Sets: Balorgh to juice your ult + burst, Clever Alchemist for timed steroids, and a damage set like Titanborn, New Moon Acolyte, or a class‑best proc. Markyn is a strong all‑rounder if you skirmish more than pure gank.
• Traits: 2–3 Swift for map control: mix of Divines/Well‑Fitted on armor: weapon Precise or Sharpened.
• Play: pre‑pot, pre‑buff, Frenzy on, cloak in (if NB), unload burst, Frenzy off, Mist out. If the zerg turns, pop Scion and turn it into a brawl for a few seconds before disengaging.

Choosing Between Werewolf And Vampire

Content Type: Solo, Group, Trials, And Cyrodiil/IC

• Solo PvE: both are excellent. Werewolf with Pale Order and Oakensoul is almost comically self‑sufficient. Vampire with Stage 3 Undeath and Scion is extremely safe and more versatile in mechanics‑heavy solo content.
• 4‑man dungeons: Werewolf shines on bosses that let you keep form: swap to non‑wolf if constant mechanics drop your uptime. Vampire integrates into any class role without changing your bars.
• Trials: groups still prefer standard class DPS for buffs/utility. You can parse high as a Werewolf, but utility expectations may push you to Vampire/class DPS. Ask your raid lead.
• PvP: Werewolf bruisers are terrifying in small‑scale brawls: Vampires own the map for ganking and slippery skirmishing. In large keeps, Vampire’s Mist and Undeath offer more consistent value.

Class And Race Synergies

• Werewolf loves races with damage and speed: Khajiit, Orc, Dark Elf. Classes with weaker self‑healing appreciate wolf’s sustain.
• Vampire pairs best with Nightblade (cloak + execute burst), Arcanist (shields + beam pressure), Necro (graveyard pressure + Scion). Races with sustain/damage mixes (Breton, Dark Elf, Khajiit) feel great.

Sustain, Cost, And Stage/Form Management

• Werewolf: manage your timer by staying aggressive, kills refresh it. Heavy attack when needed, and don’t over‑cast Fortitude. If you’re dropping form often, lean on Oakensoul and a sustain set.
• Vampire: Stage 3 is the default. Use Frenzy in short, planned bursts. If a dungeon punishes sustain, feed down to Stage 2 before you go in, then climb back later. Remember that every Stage adds costs: build recovery accordingly.

How To Get, Level, And Cure Lycanthropy/Vampirism

• Getting it: get bitten by a player at the ritual sites (Bangkorai, Reaper’s March, The Rift) or do the respective zone encounters when active. Complete the quest to unlock the skill line.
• Leveling: slot at least one skill from the line while earning XP. For Werewolf, spend time in form and kill enemies to rank it faster. For Vampire, just having abilities slotted while you grind works well.
• Curing: visit a Priest of Arkay (Vampire) or Priest of Stendarr (Werewolf) in major cities to cure if you change your mind. You can always get bitten again later.

Conclusion

So, Werewolf vs. Vampire in Gold Road. If you want a visceral, one‑bar powerhouse with massive burst and self‑heal, go Werewolf and enjoy the Oakensoul life. If you’d rather keep your class identity, stack a near‑broken defensive passive, and leverage Scribing to free bar space, Vampire wins, especially for PvP and mixed PvE where utility matters. Both are fully viable: the better one is the one you’ll actually play well. Pick your poison (or your curse), commit to the timing windows, and your parses, and kill feeds, will show it.