ESO Traits: Weapon, Armor and Jewelry Wiki

Welcome to the ESO Traits page. Here you can find all the information you need to know about Armor, Weapon and Jewelry traits that you can learn or find in ESO!

Welcome to the ESO Traits database. Traits are a very important feature to enhance your character. You can find traits on armor, jewelry or weapons and even on companion gear. Traits do increase the power of your build and character. Each build uses different traits, tanks use more defensive traits, healers often use traits that increase their healing power and damage dealers use traits that boost their damage.

If you want to change the trait of an armor, weapon or jewelry, you will have to research these traits. The current maximum traits are 9 per armor, weapon or jewelry. The total amount of researching all 9 traits for one armor or weapon type takes a total of 3066 hours, or 127,75 days without a booster.

Traits are either directly applied when crafting an item in ESO, or when you change the trait of an item at a Transmute Station.

Below you can find a complete list of all the available traits in ESO (Elder Scrolls Online).  

Table of contents

Armor traits

Divines icon Divines Increases Mundus Stone effects by 9.1%.
Impenetrable icon Impenetrable Increases Critical Resistance by 132 and this item takes 50% less durability damage.
Infused icon Infused Increase armor enchantment effect by 25%.
Intricate icon Intricate Increases inspiration gained from deconstruction of this item by 300%, and gain additional refined material upon deconstruction of this item.
Invigorating icon Invigorating Increases Health, Magicka, and Stamina Recovery by 16.
Nirnhoned icon Nirnhoned Increases Physical and Spell Resistance by 253.
Ornate icon Ornate Increases this item's sell price by 300%.
Reinforced icon Reinforced Increases this item's Armor value by 16%.
Sturdy icon Sturdy Reduces the cost of Block by 4%.
Training icon Training Increase experience gained from kills by 11%.
Well-fitted icon Well-fitted Reduces the cost of Roll Dodge and Sprint by 6%.

Weapon traits

Charged icon Charged Increases chance to apply status effects by 117.5%.
Decisive icon Decisive When you gain Ultimate you have a 27.5% chance to gain 1 additional Ultimate.
Defending icon Defending Increases Physical and Spell Resistance by 1638.
Infused icon Infused Increases weapon enchantment effect by 30% and reduces enchantment cooldown by 50%.
Intricate icon Intricate Increases inspiration gained from deconstruction of this item by 300%, and gain additional refined material upon deconstruction of this item.
Nirnhoned icon Nirnhoned Increases Damage of this weapon by 15%.
Ornate icon Ornate Increases this item's sell price by 300%.
Powered icon Powered Increases healing done by 4.5%.
Precise icon Precise Increases Weapon and Spell Critical by 3.6%.
Sharpened icon Sharpened Increases Physical and Spell Penetration by 1638.
Training icon Training Increases experience gained from kills by 4.5%.

Jewelry traits

Arcane icon Arcane Increases Maximum Magicka by 877.
Bloodthirsty icon Bloodthirsty Increases your Weapon and Spell Damage against enemies under 90% Health by up to 350.
Harmony icon Harmony Activating a synergy restores 880 Health, Magicka, and Stamina.
Healthy icon Healthy Increases Maximum Health by 965.
Infused icon Infused Increases jewelry enchantment effectiveness by 60%.
Intricate icon Intricate Increases inspiration gained from deconstruction of this item by 400%, and gain additional refined material upon deconstruction of this item.
Ornate icon Ornate Increases this item's sell price by 300%.
Protective icon Protective Increases Spell Resistance and Physical Resistance by 1190.
Robust icon Robust Increases Maximum Stamina by 877.
Swift icon Swift Increases movement speed by 7%.
Triune icon Triune Increases Maximum Magicka by 439, Maximum Stamina by 439, and Maximum Health by 482.

Guides

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Learning traits will also enable you to use crafted eso sets. All crafted sets require you to have a certain amount of traits researched before you can craft the sets. You can learn more about crafted sets in the ESO crafted sets category.

Trait research is necessary for you to alter or create gear items. All gear pieces have traits, armor, weapons and jewelry. For you to create a craftable set you are required to know X amount of traits. For example the Hunding's Rage set requires you to have 6 traits researched before you can even attempt to craft the set. To pick the trait of your choice when you craft a set you also need to have that trait already researched. Traits are also used at Transmutation Stations.

A Transmute Station allows you to alter the trait of an already crafted set, or any set for that matter. For example I could change the trait on my necklace from the Arcane trait to the Triune trait. That leaves us with 3 major use cases:

  • Craftable sets that require X traits researched
  • Trait choice when you craft a set
  • Transmuting a trait

Trait Research Time in ESO

Any long time player can tell you that trait research is an ongoing project in The Elder Scrolls Online. The first few traits can be researched in no time, the more traits you have already researched, the longer it will take to research the next trait, it gets exponentially longer. Researching all nine traits of any type of weapon or armor takes a total of 3066 hours or 127,75 days, without any bonuses.

These are the ways to reduce the amount of time it takes to research a trait:

  • ESO Plus offers a 10% trait research time reduction, therefore you will need slightly less time to complete this.
  • The ingame Crown Store also offers Instant Research Scrolls that can reduce the time needed for trait research.
  • Crafting skill line passives exist that reduce the time and allow you to research more than one trait at a time. The passives are called: Metallurgy, Stitching, Carpentry, Lapidary Research

Research is a crafting process for Blacksmithing, Clothing and Woodworking that will help players discover new traits. Traits are specific attributes that will increase some statistics of the players' gear. Traits can be added to an item by including certain gemstones in the recipe while crafting the item.

Trait Research in ESO

To start researching a trait, first find a blacksmithing, jewelry crafting, clothing, or woodworking station and interact with it using [E] on PC/Mac ([A] for Xbox One, [Cross] for PlayStation 4). Click on the Research option located on the top right corner of the crafting menu.

The Trait Line panel organizes items by category (such as Robe, Shoes, Gloves, etc.). The Trait Progress panel shows which gem resource is necessary for which trait (these are locked until the character has learned them).Available traits will be flagged as "Researchable" if the player has a corresponding item type in their inventory. Press [R] on PC/Mac ([A] for Xbox One, [Cross] for PlayStation 4) to research a trait. A new window will pop up, prompting the player to select an item to research. Keep in mind that this will destroy the chosen item. Research has a long cooldown, and only one trait per crafting type can be researched at a time. The cool down is applied per crafting type, so a player can research a trait in Woodworking, Jewelry Crafting, Blacksmithing, and Clothing at the same time.

If you're looking to learn a specific trait, look for items that have that trait. A sword with "Sharpened" will allow you to research that trait for swords.

Once the trait has been learned, the gem associated with it can be included in item recipes to add that trait to the final product.

Below are the steps involved in researching a trait from your equipment:

  1. Select the Research Tab
  2. Scroll through your choices until you see an item that you have the ability to research. White indicates you have researched it already. An item able to be researched will state "Researchable."
  3. It will show you what trait is available to your character to research.Selecting this will bring up the equipment that has that trait available
  4. Selecting this will bring up the equipment that has that trait available
  5. Selecting the Highlighted trait will bring up a window that shows what equipment you have that is available to use for researching that trait
  6. The Trait is shown here. If you were to view this piece of equipment in your bank or inventory, the magnifying glass indicates that is an available trait to research.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions from other players
What are item traits in ESO?
Traits are inherent bonuses found on weapons, armor, and jewelry that provide specific benefits, such as increased damage, critical chance, or resistance. Each type of equipment has its own set of traits that can enhance your character's abilities and playstyle.
How do I acquire and research traits?
To apply a trait to a crafted item, you must first research it. This involves obtaining an item with the desired trait and researching it at the appropriate crafting station (blacksmithing, clothing, woodworking, or jewelry crafting). Researching destroys the item and takes time, starting at 6 hours for the first trait and doubling with each subsequent trait for that item type. Investing skill points in crafting passives can reduce research times and allow multiple traits to be researched simultaneously.
What are the different traits available for each equipment type?
Each equipment category has specific traits:
  • Weapons: Traits like Charged (increased chance to apply status effects), Precise (increased critical chance), and Sharpened (increased penetration).
  • Armor: Traits such as Divines (enhanced Mundus Stone effects), Infused (increased armor enchantment effect), and Reinforced (increased armor value).
  • Jewelry: Traits including Arcane (increased maximum Magicka), Robust (increased maximum Stamina), and Bloodthirsty (increased damage against low-health enemies).
Can I change the trait on an existing item?
Yes, you can change the trait on an existing item using a Transmutation Station, which requires Transmute Crystals. To do this, you must have already researched the desired trait for that specific item type. Transmutation Stations are available in certain DLC zones and player homes.
Why is trait research important?
Researching traits is crucial for crafting customized gear and accessing powerful crafted sets, which often require a specific number of traits to be known before you can create them. Additionally, understanding and utilizing traits allows you to optimize your equipment to better suit your character's build and playstyle.