Subclassing is now a live, base-game system in The Elder Scrolls Online. Added in Update 46 in 2025, it lets eligible characters use full skill lines associated with other classes; it does not add a new character class. Unlock it by reaching level 50 on a character on your account and completing “A Study in Discipline.”
What is Subclassing in ESO?
Subclassing lets a character use complete class skill lines that normally belong to other classes. ZeniMax Online Studios described the feature in its Update 46 Combat Introduction as allowing existing or future characters to “potentially learn and advance skill lines that would normally be exclusive to a specific class.” It is a customization system, not a way to create a separate class.
Subclassing arrived as a base-game addition in Update 46, rather than as a paid chapter feature. The official ESO update history lists it under Update 46.
How do you unlock Subclassing?
First, a character on your account must reach level 50. Then complete the quest “A Study in Discipline.” The official ESO support guide lists three ways to start it:
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- Choose the quest starter in the Crown Store’s Quest Starters category.
- Speak to Bahtra at-Hunding near a wayshrine in Riften, Evermore, or Dune.
- Open the Subclassing interface from the Skills menu.
After completing the quest, open the Skills menu and use the Subclassing menu below your class skill lines.
How many skill lines can you subclass?
The system has three account-wide training slots for lines that have not yet been mastered. A line being trained occupies one slot until it reaches rank 50. At rank 50, it is mastered and no longer uses a training slot; you can then use that slot to train another line. These rules are described in the official Subclassing system guide.
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Training and equipping are different. Training a never-mastered line advances it toward rank 50 in an account slot. Once mastered, that line can be assigned to eligible characters across the account without occupying a slot. A line can also become mastered by leveling it normally on a character of its native class, according to the official Subclassing overview.
What are the class-line combination rules?
You select full skill lines, not individual abilities from another class. A character must keep at least one of its native class lines, and it can take only one line from any one other class. The official system guide sets out these limits.
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- You can replace native lines, but not all three at once.
- You cannot equip two lines from the same non-native class on one character.
- Choosing a line brings the line as a whole into the character’s setup; it is not a pick-and-mix selection of a few abilities.
What does Subclassing cost in progression?
Subclassed lines level more slowly than native class lines. Abilities and passives in a subclassed line cost two skill points to purchase, and some access is gated by character level and skill-line rank. The official Subclassing guide explains these progression rules, but does not establish a fixed leveling time.
When deciding whether to train a line, consider what role or ability gap it fills, the time and skill-point investment you are willing to make, and whether the character can spare the native line it replaces. There is no universally best combination established by the official system guidance; the right choice depends on the build and what it needs.
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Does Subclassing disable Class Mastery?
Yes, while a character is actively Subclassing. The Class Mastery support article says Class Mastery is available to characters that have mastered all three native class lines and are not actively Subclassing. Replacing even one native line automatically refunds and unlearns active Class Mastery purchases. Class Mastery becomes available again after you respec into all three native lines.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happens to mastered lines across your account?
A line mastered through Subclassing or through normal leveling on its native class can be assigned to another character on the account once that character has access to Subclassing. Mastered lines do not take up one of the three active training slots, as explained in the official Subclassing overview.
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Is Subclassing still current?
The official update history, accessed October 8, 2026, lists Subclassing in Update 46 and shows Updates 47 and 48 after it. Those update summaries do not call out a later change to the system’s core rules. For operational details, use the current support guides linked above; check current patch notes if you need to confirm whether a later hotfix or balance change affected a particular ability.
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