One Bar Magicka Nightblade Solo Build - ESO Guide
This build is capable of soloing every Veteran dungeon that doesn't have a specific mechanic that requires multiple people. It's also capable of soloing most Hard Mode dungeons, and with some adjustments even the more difficult ones.
In this guide I'll be regularly using the terms Regular and Difficult. Regular refers to content that is intended to be solo-ed (such as Maelstrom Arena or Vateshran Arena) and to any overland content such as World Bosses, Dolmens, Dragons, Volcanic Vents, Harrowstorms, Mirrormoor Incursions, etc. Majority of dungeon fights will also fall under that category. Difficult refers to extremely difficult dungeon fights.
Skill Setups
Base Setup
A base setup that will work for most situations and which should be your starting point when making situational setups
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Concealed Weapon | Slot 1: Siphoning Attacks |
| Slot 2: Impale | Slot 2: Relentless Focus |
| Slot 3: Wield Soul | |
| Slot 4: Barbed Trap | |
| Slot 5: Shadowy Disguise | |
| Ultimate: Soul Harvest |
- Concealed Weapon - a strong spammable that will also passively increase your damage by 10% and your movement speed by 15%. Using a Shadow ability will increase the damage of your next Concealed Weapon by another 10%
- Impale - your execute, use it in place of your spammable whenever target is below 25% Max Health
- Wield Soul ( Physical , Lingering Torment , Breach ) - a DoT that will also apply the Major Breach debuff, which reduces enemies' armor by 5948 and is crucial for any non-overland content. Since it's a Stamina ability that has to be re-cast every 10 seconds, it's going to improve our Magicka sustain by a lot. Use Razor Caltrops instead if you don't have access to Scribing
- Barbed Trap - a DoT that will also apply Hemorrhage status effect at the start and grant you Minor Force buff, increasing your Critical Damage by 10%. It will also trigger the Slayer passive
- Shadowy Disguise - Shadow ability that will grant you 10% increased damage from Concealed Weapon and then increase its damage by another 10%. It will also grant you Major Savagery, but keep in mind that Major Savagery doesn't stack with Minor Savagery. You can also use it to dodge some Heavy Attacks and to proc Shadow Barrier passive, which will grant you Major Resolve
- Soul Harvest - a cheap ultimate that increases your damage done against the target by 20% and grants you 10 Ultimate whenever you kill an enemy
- Relentless Focus - an ability you can keep slotted on your backbar to gain its passive benefits. It will increase your Weapon and Spell Damage by 400
- Siphoning Attacks - an ability you can keep slotted on your backbar to gain its passive benefits. It will restore Health, Stamina and Magicka whenever you deal damage once per second
These are skills you can swap in depending on the situation.
- Simmering Frenzy - depending on how much you dislike barswapping, you can use Simmering Frenzy which goes on your backbar and only has to be activated once at the start of the fight
- Traveling Knife - for overland content where you don't need the Major Breach from Wield Soul you can replace it with Traveling Knife with the Poison , Lingering Torment and Berserk scripts
- Blood Craze - use it instead of Wield Soul in overland content if you don't have access to Scribing
- Resolving Vigor - a strong heal over time that also grants you Minor Resolve. It can be useful in fights where the enemy becomes invulnerable or has damage taken reduced and Ring of the Pale Order can't heal through the damage
- Consuming Trap - a weak DoT that can improve your sustain in fights with many weak adds
Final Setup
A more defensive setup for extremely difficult dungeon fights
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Swallow Soul | Slot 1: Siphoning Attacks |
| Slot 2: Revealing Flare | Slot 2: Relentless Focus |
| Slot 3: Wield Soul | Slot 3: Concealed Weapon |
| Slot 4: Ulfsild's Contingency | |
| Slot 5: Shadowy Disguise | |
| Ultimate: Soul Harvest |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Base Setup
- Concealed Weapon changes to Swallow Soul on the frontbar
- Impale changes to Revealing Flare
- Barbed Trap changes to Ulfsild's Contingency
- Concealed Weapon moves to the backbar
- Swallow Soul - a spammable that will also heal you for 10% of the damage done, re-cast it at least every 10 seconds to keep the heal over time active. Having it slotted will also trigger the Magicka Flood passive
- Revealing Flare - this skill will passively grant you Major Protection, reducing your damage taken by 10%. It will also trigger the Magicka Aid passive, which increases Magicka Recovery by 10%
- Wield Soul ( Physical , Lingering Torment , Breach ) - a DoT that will also apply the Major Breach debuff, which reduces enemies' armor by 5948 and is crucial for any non-overland content. Since it's a Stamina ability that has to be re-cast every 10 seconds, it's going to improve our Magicka sustain by a lot. Use Razor Caltrops instead if you don't have access to Scribing
- Ulfsild's Contingency ( Flame , Gladiator's Tenacity , Force ) - a delayed AoE damage that also grants you 8% damage reduction for 8 seconds and Minor Force for 22 seconds, which increases your Critical Damage by 10%. You should recast it every 8 seconds when under pressure and every 22 seconds otherwise. Having it slotted on your frontbar will also trigger the Magicka Controller passive which will slightly improve your damage and sustain. Use Barbed Trap instead if you don't have access to Scribing
- Shadowy Disguise - Shadow ability that will grant you 10% increased damage from Concealed Weapon. It will also grant you Major Savagery, but keep in mind that Major Savagery doesn't stack with Minor Savagery. You can also use it to dodge some Heavy Attacks and to proc Shadow Barrier passive, which will grant you Major Resolve
- Soul Harvest - a cheap ultimate that increases your damage done against the target by 20% and grants you 10 Ultimate whenever you kill an enemy
- Relentless Focus - an ability you can keep slotted on your backbar to gain its passive benefits. It will increase your Weapon and Spell Damage by 400
- Siphoning Attacks - an ability you can keep slotted on your backbar to gain its passive benefits. It will restore Health, Stamina and Magicka whenever you deal damage once per second
- Concealed Weapon - an ability you can keep slotted on your backbar to gain its passive benefits. It will increase your movement speed by 15%
These are skills you can swap in depending on the situation.
- Simmering Frenzy - depending on how much you dislike barswapping, you can use Simmering Frenzy which goes on your backbar and only has to be activated once at the start of the fight
- Traveling Knife - for overland content where you don't need the Major Breach from Wield Soul you can replace it with Traveling Knife with the Poison , Lingering Torment and Berserk scripts
- Blood Craze - use it instead of Wield Soul in overland content if you don't have access to Scribing
- Resolving Vigor - a strong heal over time that also grants you Minor Resolve. It can be useful in fights where the enemy becomes invulnerable or has damage taken reduced and Ring of the Pale Order can't heal through the damage
- Consuming Trap - a weak DoT that can improve your sustain in fights with many weak adds
Passives
The only passive you specifically have to skip is Tri Focus, but it's only important when using an Ice Staff
Some trees are only needed when using situational skills, for example Fighters Guild provides nothing without Barbed Trap and Mages Guild provides nothing without Ulfsild's Contingency
Class - Assassination
Master Assassin - High Priority
Executioner - High Priority
Pressure Points - High Priority
Hemorrhage - High Priority
Class - Shadow
Refreshing Shadows - High Priority
Shadow Barrier - High Priority
Dark Vigor - High Priority
Dark Veil - High Priority
Class - Siphoning
Catalyst - High Priority
Magicka Flood - High Priority
Soul Siphoner - High Priority
Transfer - High Priority
Weapon - Dual Wield
Slaughter - High Priority
Dual Wield Expert - High Priority
Controlled Fury - High Priority
Ruffian - Medium Priority
Twin Blade and Blunt - High Priority
Weapon - Destruction Staff
Tri Focus - Do Not Unlock
Penetrating Magic - Low Priority
Elemental Force - Medium Priority
Ancient Knowledge - Medium Priority
Destruction Expert - Low Priority
Armor - Light Armor
Grace - Low Priority
Evocation - High Priority
Spell Warding - High Priority
Prodigy - High Priority
Concentration - High Priority
Armor - Medium Armor
Dexterity - High Priority
Wind Walker - High Priority
Improved Sneak - Not needed
Agility - High Priority
Athletics - High Priority
Armor - Heavy Armor
Resolve - Medium Priority
Constitution - Low Priority
Juggernaut - Medium Priority
Revitalize - Low Priority
Rapid Mending - Low Priority
Guild - Fighters Guild
Intimidating Presence - Medium Priority
Slayer - High Priority
Banish the Wicked - High Priority
Skilled Tracker - Medium Priority
Bounty Hunter - Not needed
Guild - Mages Guild
Persuasive Will - Not needed
Mage Adept - High Priority
Everlasting Magic - High Priority
Magicka Controller - High Priority
Might of the Guild - Low Priority
Guild - Psijic Order
Clairvoyance - Low Priority
Spell Orb - Not needed
Concentrated Barrier - Low Priority
Deliberation - Not needed
Alliance War - Support
Magicka Aid - Medium Priority
Combat Medic - Not needed
Battle Resurrection - Not needed
Race - Your Race
Get all of your racials, no matter which race you are
Craft - Alchemy
Solvent Proficiency - Not needed
Keen Eye: Reagents - Not needed
Medicinal Use - High Priority
Chemistry - Not needed
Laboratory Use - Not needed
Snakeblood - Not needed
Vampirism
Becoming a Vampire can allow you to use Simmering Frenzy if you don't mind switching to your backbar once per fight
Gear
Base Setup
This is my suggested setup for regular content, such as Solo Arenas, World Bosses, Dolmens, Dragons, Volcanic Vents, Harrowstorms, Mirrormoor Incursions and majority of the dungeons.
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Head |
Slimecraw | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Shoulders |
Whorl of the Depths | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Chest |
Ansuul's Torment | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
Hands |
Whorl of the Depths | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Belt |
Whorl of the Depths | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Legs |
Whorl of the Depths | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Boots |
Whorl of the Depths | Light | Divines | Magicka |
Necklace |
Ansuul's Torment | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Magical Harm |
Ring |
Ansuul's Torment | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Magical Harm |
Ring |
Ring of the Pale Order | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Magical Harm |
Frontbar Main Hand |
Ansuul's Torment | Dagger | Charged | Absorb Stamina |
Frontbar Off Hand |
Ansuul's Torment | Mace | Charged | Shock |
- Use Daggers instead of Dagger/Mace if you don't plan on using this gear setup for any instanced content (Dungeons, Arenas)
- For Ranged build, replace Maces/Daggers with a Bow of the same set with Precise trait and Absorb Stamina enchant
- Alternative Sets: Tzogvin's Warband , Order's Wrath , Claw of the Forest Wraith
- You can change Slimecraw head piece to Heavy weight for more difficult encounters
Final Setup
This is the crafted gear setup you can start with.
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Head |
Claw of the Forest Wraith | Light | Training / Divines | Magicka |
Shoulders |
Claw of the Forest Wraith | Light | Training / Divines | Magicka |
Chest |
Order's Wrath | Heavy | Training / Reinforced | Magicka |
Hands |
Order's Wrath | Light | Training / Divines | Magicka |
Belt |
Order's Wrath | Light | Training / Divines | Magicka |
Legs |
Order's Wrath | Medium | Training / Divines | Magicka |
Boots |
Order's Wrath | Light | Training / Divines | Magicka |
Necklace |
Claw of the Forest Wraith | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Magical Harm |
Ring |
Claw of the Forest Wraith | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Magical Harm |
Ring |
Claw of the Forest Wraith | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Magical Harm |
Frontbar Main Hand |
Assassin's Guile | Mace | Charged | Absorb Stamina |
Frontbar Off Hand |
Assassin's Guile | Mace | Charged | Shock |
- Use Daggers instead of Maces if you don't plan on using this gear setup for any instanced content (Dungeons, Arenas)
- For Ranged build, replace Maces/Daggers with a Bow of the same set with Sharpened (for instanced content) or Precise (for overland content) trait and Absorb Stamina enchant
- Use Training traits if you're still leveling. If you're already max level and have enough Champion Points you can instead use Divines and Reinforced on the chest piece
Champion Points
Race
For solo PvE you need both damage and survivability, so every race brings something to the table, but these two stand out as the best options for damage and survivability respectively
Mundus
Attributes
For most content you should put all 64 points into Magicka. For difficult content you should devote as many attribute points as necessary to Health - for some content you'll be able to get away with 32 Health 32 Magicka, for the extremely difficult stuff you'll need 64 Health.
Food
Your sustain can vary greatly because it's impacted by your armor weight composition, your race and how much blocking/dodge rolling you're required to do in a certain fight. Choose the food with more recoveries if you can't sustain
Potions
Use the Spell Power potions (Increase Spell Power, Spell Critical, Restore Magicka). They'll greatly improve your sustain and provide Major Sorcery and Major Prophecy which are crucial.
Gameplay
FAQ
No, you don't need a different setup. Use the Regular skill and gear setups from this guide for both Maelstrom Arena and Vateshran Hollows.
THANKS FOR READING
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Head
Shoulders
Chest
Hands
Belt
Legs
Boots
Necklace
Ring
Frontbar Main Hand
Frontbar Off Hand