One Bar Stamina Arcanist 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 |
|---|
| Slot 1: Cephaliarch's Flail |
| Slot 2: Pragmatic Fatecarver |
| Slot 3: Wield Soul |
| Slot 4: Inspired Scholarship |
| Slot 5: Cruxweaver Armor |
| Ultimate: The Languid Eye |
- Cephaliarch's Flail - an AoE spammable that generates Crux, heals you if you hit any enemy and increases the damage enemies take from you by 5%. It will also trigger the Splintered Secrets passive, increasing your penetration by 991
- Pragmatic Fatecarver - extremely powerful Crux spender that deals full damage in AoE, has massive range of 22 meters, grants you a big damage shield while you channel it and it's extremely cheap, allowing you to sacrifice sustain in other parts of the builds. It will also trigger the Splintered Secrets passive, increasing your penetration by 991
- Wield Soul ( Flame , 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 Magicka ability that has to be re-cast every 10 seconds, it's going to improve our Stamina sustain by a lot. Use Razor Caltrops instead if you don't have access to Scribing
- Inspired Scholarship - an ability that deals lots of damage and ensures you'll have at least 1 Crux when your beam ends. It will also trigger the Splintered Secrets passive, increasing your penetration by 991
- Cruxweaver Armor - your source of Major Resolve which is an extremely important defensive buff. It will also apply Minor Breach to enemies who attack you for 6 seconds and generate Crux when you get hit up to once every 5 seconds
- The Languid Eye - an extremely powerful ultimate that deals damage in a small AoE, but it can be moved off Global Cooldown even while you're beaming. It will also trigger the Splintered Secrets passive, increasing your penetration by 991
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
- Barbed Trap - for overland content where you don't need the Major Breach from Wield Soul you can replace it with Barbed Trap
Final Setup
A more defensive setup for extremely difficult dungeon fights
| Front Bar |
|---|
| Slot 1: Cephaliarch's Flail |
| Slot 2: Pragmatic Fatecarver |
| Slot 3: Wield Soul |
| Slot 4: Ulfsild's Contingency |
| Slot 5: Cruxweaver Armor |
| Ultimate: The Languid Eye |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Base Setup
- Cephaliarch's Flail - an AoE spammable that generates Crux, heals you if you hit any enemy and increases the damage enemies take from you by 5%. It will also trigger the Splintered Secrets passive, increasing your penetration by 991
- Pragmatic Fatecarver - extremely powerful Crux spender that deals full damage in AoE, has massive range of 22 meters, grants you a big damage shield while you channel it and it's extremely cheap, allowing you to sacrifice sustain in other parts of the builds. It will also trigger the Splintered Secrets passive, increasing your penetration by 991
- Wield Soul ( Flame , 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 Magicka ability that has to be re-cast every 10 seconds, it's going to improve our Stamina sustain by a lot. Use Razor Caltrops instead if you don't have access to Scribing
- Ulfsild's Contingency ( Bleed , 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. Use Revealing Flare instead if you don't have access to Scribing
- Cruxweaver Armor - your source of Major Resolve which is an extremely important defensive buff. It will also apply Minor Breach to enemies who attack you for 6 seconds and generate Crux when you get hit up to once every 5 seconds
- The Languid Eye - an extremely powerful ultimate that deals damage in a small AoE, but it can be moved off Global Cooldown even while you're beaming. It will also trigger the Splintered Secrets passive, increasing your penetration by 991
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
Passives
There are no passives you need to skip with this build, you should get all of them.
Class - Herald of the Tome
Fated Fortune - High Priority
Harnessed Quintessence - High Priority
Psychic Lesion - High Priority
Splintered Secrets - High Priority
Class - Soldier of Apocrypha
Aegis of the Unseen - High Priority
Wellspring of the Abyss - High Priority
Circumvented Fate - High Priority
Implacable Outcome - High Priority
Class - Curative Runeforms
Healing Tides - Medium Priority
Hideous Clarity - High Priority
Erudition - High Priority
Intricate Runeforms - 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
Armor - Light Armor
Grace - Low Priority
Evocation - High Priority
Spell Warding - Low 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 - Low 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 - Low Priority
Everlasting Magic - High Priority
Magicka Controller - Low Priority
Might of the Guild - Low Priority
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 | Stamina |
Shoulders |
Deadly Strike | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
Chest |
Ansuul's Torment | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
Hands |
Ansuul's Torment | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
Belt |
Ansuul's Torment | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
Legs |
Ansuul's Torment | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
Boots |
Ansuul's Torment | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
Necklace |
Deadly Strike | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Ring |
Deadly Strike | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Ring |
Ring of the Pale Order | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Frontbar Main Hand |
Deadly Strike | Dagger | Nirnhoned | Absorb Stamina |
Frontbar Off Hand |
Deadly Strike | 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 Sharpened (for instanced content) or Precise (for overland content) trait and Absorb Stamina enchant
- Alternative Sets: Tzogvin's Warband , Order's Wrath , Claw of the Forest Wraith
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 | Medium | Training / Divines | Stamina |
Shoulders |
Claw of the Forest Wraith | Medium | Training / Divines | Stamina |
Chest |
Order's Wrath | Heavy | Training / Reinforced | Stamina |
Hands |
Order's Wrath | Medium | Training / Divines | Stamina |
Belt |
Order's Wrath | Light | Training / Divines | Stamina |
Legs |
Order's Wrath | Medium | Training / Divines | Stamina |
Boots |
Order's Wrath | Medium | Training / Divines | Stamina |
Necklace |
Claw of the Forest Wraith | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Ring |
Claw of the Forest Wraith | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Ring |
Claw of the Forest Wraith | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
Frontbar Main Hand |
Assassin's Guile | Mace | Nirnhoned | 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 Stamina. 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 Stamina, 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 Weapon Power potions (Increase Weapon Power, Weapon Critical, Restore Stamina). They'll greatly improve your sustain and provide Major Brutality and Major Savagery 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.
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Head
Shoulders
Chest
Hands
Belt
Legs
Boots
Necklace
Ring
Frontbar Main Hand
Frontbar Off Hand