STRONGEST ONE BAR SUBCLASS SOLO BUILD
Last updated: Update 46 - 18th June 2025
This build is capable of soloing every Veteran dungeon that doesnt have a specific mechanic that requires multiple people. Its also capable of soloing most Hard Mode dungeons, and with some adjustments even the more difficult ones.
In this guide Ill 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.
SUBCLASSING
Combination
Warden - Animal Companions
Nightblade - Assassination
Arcanist - Herald of the Tome
Base Class
This build doesn't use any class set or class script so the base class can be either Nightblade, Warden or Arcanist
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: Cephaliarch's Flail | Slot 1: Inspired Scholarship |
| Slot 2: Pragmatic Fatecarver | Slot 2: Relentless Focus |
| Slot 3: Inspired Scholarship | |
| Slot 4: Deep Fissure | |
| Slot 5: Bull Netch | |
| Ultimate: Soul Harvest | Ultimate: Soul Harvest |
- 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 1240
- Pragmatic Fatecarver - extremely powerful Crux spender that deals full damage in AoE, has massive range of 22 meters and grants you a big damage shield while you channel it. It will also trigger the Splintered Secrets passive, increasing your penetration by 1240
- 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 1240. Having it also on the backbar doesn't matter in the base setup, but it can be useful if you replace the frontbar Inspired Scholarship with another ability
- Deep Fissure - deals a lot of damage per cast, applies crucial Major and Minor Breach debuffs and provides 5% Critical Damage through the Advanced Species passive
- Bull Netch - provides a lot of Stamina sustain, a 5% damage boost, constantly purges debuffs and provides 5% Critical Damage through the Advanced Species passive
- Soul Harvest - a cheap ultimate that increases target's damage taken from you by 20%. You need it on your frontbar to trigger passives of the Assassination skill line. Having it slotted will also cause you to regain 10 Ultimate whenever you deal a final blow against an enemy. Having it also on the backbar doesn't matter in the base setup, but it can be useful if you replace the frontbar Soul Harvest with another ultimate
- Relentless Focus - an ability that will passively grant you 400 Weapon and Spell Damage if you're not using Oakensoul Ring
Bull Netch is the first skill that has to go when you need to slot something situational, unless the situational skill specifically says that it's replacing something else
- Revealing Flare - slot it for more difficult fights where you need more damage mitigation. It's a skill that passively grants Major Protection, reducing your damage taken by 10%. It will also trigger the Magicka Aid passive, which increases Magicka Recovery by 10%
- Wield Soul - a 10 second DoT that provides Major Resolve which increases your armor by 5948. Better defensive option than Revealing Flare in Single Target fights. You'll also have better Stamina sustain with this compared to Revealing Flare because it's a Magicka ability that has to be used every 10 seconds. It's mostly useless if you're already getting Major Resolve from Oakensoul Ring
- Resolving Vigor - a strong 5 second Heal over Time. Use it in fights where bosses have immunity phases during which you can't heal through Ring of the Pale Order or Reaving Blows
- Precognition - an ultimate that breaks you out of some otherwise unavoidable stuns, you'll need it to get around some mechanics which are otherwise impossible or very difficult to solo, like for example Inferno's Hold in Zaan the Scalecaller fight
- Piercing Mark - replacement for Deep Fissure when you're replacing Soul Harvest with Precognition. It's a worse source of Major Breach but you need a Nightblade ability on frontbar to trigger passives of the Assassination skill line
Priority List
I don't use a static rotation so this is just a list of priorities. Simply recast abilities when they run out and follow this list of priorities when there are multiple things to refresh
- Use Deep Fissure
- Use Inspired Scholarship
- Use Bull Netch
- If not at 3 Crux, use Cephaliarch’s Flail
- Use Soul Harvest
- If at 3 Crux, use Pragmatic Fatecarver
Pre-buff
These abilities can be pre-cast before entering combat
Final Setups
A few examples of final setups you could end up with after applying the situational skills to the base setup
A setup with lots of damage mitigation for bosses that hit very hard
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Cephaliarch's Flail | Slot 1: Inspired Scholarship |
| Slot 2: Pragmatic Fatecarver | Slot 2: Relentless Focus |
| Slot 3: Inspired Scholarship | |
| Slot 4: Deep Fissure | |
| Slot 5: Revealing Flare | |
| Ultimate: Soul Harvest | Ultimate: Soul Harvest |
EXPLANATION:
- Revealing Flare replaces Bull Netch as it provides 10% damage mitigation. This might cause Stamina sustain issues which you should solve by changing food to Orzorga's Tripe Trifle Pocket and/or slotting Bloody Renewal. It shouldn't cause sustain issues if you have racials that provide Stamina sustain.
PASSIVES
Class
Weapon
Armor
Guild
Alliance War
Racial
Craft
Class - Animal Companions
Bond with Nature - Low Priority
Savage Beast - Medium Priority
Flourish - High Priority
Advanced Species - High Priority
GEAR
Example of a beginner setup made with just crafted gear.
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Head |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Medium | Training /Divines | Stamina |
![]() Shoulders |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | 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 |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
![]() Ring |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
![]() Ring |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
![]() Frontbar Main Hand |
Assassin's Guile | Dagger | Nirnhoned | Poison |
![]() Frontbar Off Hand |
Assassin's Guile | Mace | Charged | Shock |
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
If you want to Solo some difficult content without Ring of the Pale Order you'll have to add Reaving Blows to your setup, but for the easier stuff the healing from Cephaliarch’s Flail and shielding from Pragmatic Fatecarver will be enough
The weight distribution of the setup from the table is 1 Heavy 5 Medium 1 Light so that you can start leveling up all your armor skill lines. Once you transition to Regular setup you'll be using 6 Medium 1 Light most of the time, switching to 1 Heavy 5 Medium 1 Light only against more difficult fights
You don't need to start with crafted gear, simply pick 2 sets from the Alternative section that are easiest for you to obtain
The strongest gear combination without any trial gear is Order’s Wrath combined with Tide-Born Wildstalker
Gear that might be easier to obtain and can be used while you work towards the best gear
Dungeon gear isn't always an upgrade to Crafted/Overland gear. It's listed in case you already own some of it
Crafted:
All of these are tradable and can be bought from other players
Overland:
All of these are tradable and can be bought from other players
- Mother’s Sorrow (Light) - Deshaan
- Back-Alley Gourmand (Light) - Galen and Y'ffelon
- Dragonguard Elite (Medium) - Southern Elsweyr
PvP:
All of these are tradable and can be bought from other players
- Deadly Strike (Medium) - Bruma Elite Gear Vendor
Dungeons:
- Tzogvin’s Warband (Medium) - Frostvault
- Pillar of Nirn (Medium) - Falkreath Hold
- Essence Thief (Medium) - White-Gold Tower
- Leviathan (Medium) - Crypt of Heart 1 & 2
- 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
- For overland content, you don't need as much penetration so you can replace Maces with Daggers
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 | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
![]() Shoulders |
Ansuul's Torment | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
![]() Chest |
Ansuul's Torment | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
![]() Hands |
Ansuul's Torment | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
![]() Belt |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Light | Divines | Stamina |
![]() Legs |
Ansuul's Torment | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
![]() Boots |
Ansuul's Torment | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
![]() Necklace |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
![]() Ring |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
![]() Ring |
Ring of the Pale Order | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
![]() Frontbar Main Hand |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Dagger | Nirnhoned | Poison |
![]() Frontbar Off Hand |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Dagger | Charged | Shock |
If you want to switch to a situational set it's best to replace Ansuul’s Torment if the situational set you're getting has a Minor Slayer line, and replace Tide-Born Wildstalker otherwise. When replacing Tide-Born Wildstalker with a Medium armor set, change your Slimecraw head-piece to Light armor type.
For example, a default setup for trash packs would replace Ansuul's Torment with Sul-Xan’s Torment
The strongest gear combination without any trial gear is Order’s Wrath combined with Tide-Born Wildstalker
Gear that can be stronger than the setup from the table in specific situations or when specific circumstances are present
- Sul-Xan’s Torment - the best set for trash packs and for bosses that regularly spawn smaller adds
Setup for maximizing damage in fights that don't hit very hard. It also has better sustain and damage mitigation so sometimes it can be straight up safer than the Ring of the Pale Order setup, especially in fights with lots of adds where Reaving Blows hitting multiple targets will heal you enough. To give you an example, it was superior to the Regular Ring of the Pale Order setup in the Hard Mode Thurvokuun fight
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Head |
Slimecraw | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
![]() Shoulders |
Ansuul's Torment | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
![]() Chest |
Ansuul's Torment | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
![]() Hands |
Ansuul's Torment | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
![]() Belt |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Light | Divines | Stamina |
![]() Legs |
Ansuul's Torment | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
![]() Boots |
Ansuul's Torment | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
![]() Necklace |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
![]() Ring |
Oakensoul Ring | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
![]() Ring |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Increase Physical Harm |
![]() Frontbar Main Hand |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Dagger | Nirnhoned | Poison |
![]() Frontbar Off Hand |
Tide-Born Wildstalker | Dagger | Charged | Shock |
Since this setup doesn't use Ring of the Pale Order it will need Reaving Blows to survive most fights
- In terms of DPS, Velothi Ur-Mage’s Amulet is similar to Oakensoul Ring in Single Target DPS and a decent amount stronger in AoE DPS, but you'd be losing out on the sustain and mitigation from Oakensoul Ring. It's an option for AoE fights with a DPS check. In the Gameplay section, I've used Velothi Ur-Mage’s Amulet instead of Oakensoul Ring against the 2nd boss of Veteran Fang Lair in order to kill the boss before the Cadaverous Senche-Tiger's Death Grip mechanic
CHAMPION POINTS
Warfare
- Master-at-Arms (6% Direct Damage)
- Biting Aura (6% AoE Damage)
- Fighting Finesse (8% Critical Damage and Healing)
- Wrathful Strikes (205 Weapon and Spell Damage added to damaging skills)
Fitness
- Boundless Vitality (1400 Max Health)
- Bastion (15% stronger damage shields)
- Rejuvenation (90 Health, Stamina and Magicka Recovery)
- Fortified (1731 armor)
ADDITIONAL INFO:
- When soloing extremely difficult dungeons you should replace Wrathful Strikes and Fighting Finesse with 2 of the 4 mitigation CPs (Ironclad, Duelists Rebuff, Enduring Resolve, Unassailable)
- When using the Full Damage setup you'll have to replace Wrathful Strikes with Reaving Blows in most fights
- In fights with lots of adds Bloody Renewal can be stronger than Rejuvenation. It can also replace Bastion if you need lots of sustain
- Use Bracing Anchor in fights where you have to block a lot attacks and where you don't have to move that much
- Use Celerity in fights where you have to move a lot
RACE
When it comes to solo PvE, you need both damage and survivability so pretty much all races have useful racials.
The best race for dealing damage is Khajiit. While the Critical Damage from Feline Ambush can sometimes be wasted due to Critical Damage being capped at 125%, it will never happen in solo content, because there will be no tanks or healers providing you with the Major Force buff.
The best race for survivability is Nord. The Rugged racial will provide around 6% damage mitigation.
MUNDUS
ATTRIBUTES
HEALTH
0
STAMINA
64
MAGICKA
0
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 youll be able to get away with 32 Health 32 Stamina, for the extremely difficult stuff youll need 64 Health.
FOOD
- Braised Rabbit with Spring Vegetables - Max Health, Max Stamina. Use it as your default food
- Orzorga's Tripe Trifle Pocket - Max Health, Stamina Recovery. Use it if you can't sustain the Max Stamina food
POTIONS
Use the Weapon Power potions (Increase Weapon Power, Weapon Critical, Restore Stamina). They'll greatly improve your sustain and provide the Major Savagery buff which is crucial. You can craft them by combining Blessed Thistle, Dragonthorn and Wormwood.
Immovable Stamina potions (Restore Stamina, Weapon Critical, Unstoppable) are much more expensive than Weapon Power potions, but can provide a very slight edge, as they can make you CC immune for a short time. You can craft them by combining Columbine, Wormwood and Mountain's Flower.
When using the Full Damage setup you should instead use Stamina Armor (Restore Health, Restore Stamina, Physical Resistance) potions, because Oakensoul Ring will already provide Major Savagery. You can craft them by combining Columbine, Beetle Scuttle and Mountain's Flower.
Another option when using Oakensoul Ring are potions which provide both resistances (Restore Health, Physical Resistance, Spell Resistance). You can use them in fights which deal a decent amount of Magical damage, but you'll most likely have to get additional Stamina sustain from another source like food, CP or racial. You can craft them by combining Bugloss, Mountain's Flower and Mudcrab Chitin.
PARSE
58k on the 6mil dummy using Regular setup
Recording of the 58k parse
OTHER PARSES
GAMEPLAY
Here you can see this build tackling Veteran dungeons
THANKS FOR READING
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