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.
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: Magma Fist | Slot 1: Shatterspike Mantle |
| Slot 2: Molten Whip | Slot 2: Ulfsild's Contingency |
| Slot 3: Disintegrating Dragonfire | Slot 3: Elemental Susceptibility |
| Slot 4: Soul of Flame | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Incinerate | Slot 5: Igneous Weapons |
| Ultimate: Take Flight | Ultimate: Standard of Might |
Final Setups
A few examples of final setups you could end up with after applying the situational skills to the base setup
A setup for trash packs
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Magma Fist | Slot 1: Shatterspike Mantle |
| Slot 2: Molten Whip | Slot 2: Incinerate |
| Slot 3: Disintegrating Dragonfire | Slot 3: Soul Burst |
| Slot 4: Soul of Flame | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Silver Leash | Slot 5: Igneous Weapons |
| Ultimate: Take Flight | Ultimate: Standard of Might |
What Changes
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 Psijic Order provides nothing without
Precognition
Class - Ardent Flame
Combustion - High Priority
Traumatic Burns - High Priority
Fan the Flames - High Priority
A Soul Ablaze - High Priority
Class - Draconic Power
Burnished Scales - High Priority
World in Ruin - High Priority
Elder Dragon - High Priority
The Storm Voice - High Priority
Class - Earthen Heart
Heart of Stone - High Priority
Landslide - High Priority
Blessing at the Peak - High Priority
Mountain Giant - 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 (only when using Ice Staff)
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
Guild - Fighters Guild
Intimidating Presence - Medium Priority
Slayer - Medium Priority
Banish the Wicked - Medium Priority
Skilled Tracker - Low Priority
Bounty Hunter - Not needed
Guild - Mages Guild
Persuasive Will - Not needed
Mage Adept - High Priority
Everlasting Magic - High Priority
Magicka Controller - Low 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
Base Setup
A base setup that is meant for Overland content and will work for most situations. It should be your starting point when making situational setups
Switching gear for trash packs isn't worth it unless you're using gear-swap addons
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Head |
Medium | |||
Shoulders |
Medium | |||
Chest |
Medium | |||
Hands |
Medium | |||
Belt |
Light | |||
Legs |
Medium | |||
Boots |
Medium | |||
Necklace |
Jewelry | |||
Ring |
Jewelry | |||
Ring |
Jewelry | |||
Frontbar Main Hand |
Dagger | |||
Frontbar Off Hand |
Dagger | |||
Backbar Main Hand |
Inferno Staff |
Final Setups
A few examples of final setups you could end up with after applying situational rules to the base setup
This is the crafted gear setup you can start with
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Head |
Medium | |||
Shoulders |
Medium | |||
Chest |
Medium | |||
Hands |
Medium | |||
Belt |
Light | |||
Legs |
Medium | |||
Boots |
Medium | |||
Necklace |
Jewelry | |||
Ring |
Jewelry | |||
Ring |
Jewelry | |||
Frontbar Main Hand |
Dagger | |||
Frontbar Off Hand |
Dagger | |||
Backbar Main Hand |
Inferno Staff |
The setup in the table uses only crafted gear, but if you already own parts of the Regular setup like
Ring of the Pale Order you can start using them immediately
This is a setup you should use in Instanced content (Arenas and Dungeons). Enemies in instanced content have 18,200 armor, while Overland enemies have only 9,100, so this setup will need much more penetration.
Medium Armor ends up dealing less damage than Light Armor in Instanced content since Light Armor provides penetration through
Concentration, but the difference is small (2%) and Medium Armor provides more armor, improves Stamina sustain, reduces Dodge Roll cost and doesn't increase your block cost the way Light Armor does through its
penalties.
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Head |
Light | |||
Shoulders |
Medium | |||
Chest |
Medium | |||
Hands |
Medium | |||
Belt |
Medium | |||
Legs |
Medium | |||
Boots |
Medium | |||
Necklace |
Jewelry | |||
Ring |
Jewelry | |||
Ring |
Jewelry | |||
Frontbar Main Hand |
Dagger | |||
Frontbar Off Hand |
Dagger | |||
Backbar Main Hand |
Ice Staff |
Explanation
Additional Info
This is a setup you should use in Instanced content (Arenas and Dungeons). Enemies in instanced content have 18,200 armor, while Overland enemies have only 9,100, so this setup will need much more penetration.
Light Armor allows you to continue using
The Thief Mundus even in Instanced content, thanks to
Concentration passive. It ends up dealing more damage than the Medium Armor Instanced setup, but it has worse survivability.
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Head |
Light | |||
Shoulders |
Light | |||
Chest |
Medium | |||
Hands |
Light | |||
Belt |
Light | |||
Legs |
Light | |||
Boots |
Light | |||
Necklace |
Jewelry | |||
Ring |
Jewelry | |||
Ring |
Jewelry | |||
Frontbar Main Hand |
Dagger | |||
Frontbar Off Hand |
Dagger | |||
Backbar Main Hand |
Ice Staff |
Explanation
Additional Info
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
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.
Your sustain is completely trivialized by
Soul of Flame, so you don't need any recoveries from your food.
Your sustain is completely trivialized by
Soul of Flame,
so you don't need any recovery from your potions.
Use Armor Potions as your default.
Most of the time you should use Armor potions. They'll provide you with 5280 armor and you don't need sustain from your potions thanks to
Soul of Flame.
Heroism potions can provide 100% uptime on Minor Heroism, so they're the best option if going for pure damage, but it's a small DPS gain and a decent nerf to your survivability. On top of that, they're extremely expensive.
All parses are recorded on the 6 million Target Dummy
Using Full Damage Skill Setup, Light Armor, Bi-Stat Food and Heroism Potions
Using Regular skill setup, Medium Armor, Bewitched Sugar Skulls Food and Armor Potions. This setup is armor capped if you're a Nord
Showcasing the build across veteran dungeons, world bosses, and open world content.
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