Remember to treat this as a base to work from…
Always adjust as needed for YOUR specific situation!

the build basics

Make sure to read the notes along with the graphics as they are often JUST AS IMPORTANT!

 

top races

 

This is purely a ranking by top dps passives
Other passives can be beneficial too!

Examples:

Breton: Magicka Sustain + Resistances

  • Only 3-4% DPS behind Dark Elf for Magicka

Imperial: 2k Health + 6% Cost Reduction

  • Only 3-4% DPS behind Dark Elf for Stamina

ANY race can be FINE for DPS on all modes

 

mundus stone

  • The Thief is usually the strongest for PvE

 

food & drinks

Single Primary Stat options are the highest DPS if you don’t need the additional Max Health or sustain

However, I usually recommend Bi-Stat food instead as you only lose ~1% dps but gain 5395 Max Health

Tri-Stat Health + Stamina + Magicka work great for both Stamina and Magicka stacking setups

I use these when I need a little more of my Off-Resource pool to work with but don’t want to give up the Max Health

Primary Stat + Recovery options are great for damage and sustain if you don’t mind the missing Max Health

Primary Stat + Off-Resource Recovery options are also great if your Off-Resource is harder to sustain than your Main Resource (also missing Max Health)

Health + Primary Stat + Recovery options are good compromises if you need more well-rounded stats

 

potions

UESP has a great Alchemy Calculator if you want to see all possible combinations

  • If you already have the Major Crit Chance and the Major Weapon/Spell Damage Buffs, you can craft the Tri-Stat Restoration Potions (also from Daily Login Rewards) to help with sustaining both your Stamina and Magicka

  • Heroism Potions are great in this scenario as well to squeeze out more Ultimates, but the ingredients are very expensive

The Essence of Spell Power potions are recommended if you ARE NOT getting your Sorcery/Prophecy buffs from skills and you need the additional Magicka return

The Essence of Weapon Power potions are recommended if you ARE NOT getting your Brutality/Savagery buffs from skills and you need the additional Stamina return

 

champion points

IMPORTANT NODES

Force of Nature
Top priority over the 4 shown if more Penetration is needed

Backstabber/Fighting Finesse
Top priorities over the 4 shown if under the Crit Dmg cap

Biting Aura
EZ choice over Deadly Aim for AoE Trash encounters

 

Need help with the Penetration and Crit Damage caps? Check out these charts

  • For short burst encounters, “Exploiter” moves up into the “Crit Dmg CP” range, as long as Off-Balance is coordinated

  • If Off-Balance is NOT present, choose from the best of the other remaining 4 to the left of it

 

TOP GEAR setups

For a full list of the best DPS sets, check out my tier list
For more details on when to use what, check out top DPS sets video

setup #1: TRADITIONAL

TWO 5 PC SETS, 1PC MONSTER SET + MYTHIC, ARENA SET BACKBARRED

The 1pc monster set can also be run in the “shoulder” slot instead of the “head” slot - both options are equal

 

setup #2: NO ARENA SETS

TWO 5 PC SETS (1 FRONT BAR + 1 BACK BAR) + 2PC MONSTER SET + MYTHIC

With this setup, you give up the Arena Set to allow for a Mythic and a full 2pc Monster Set to be run together

 

SETUP #3: DOUBLE ARENA SETS

5 PC SET, 2PC MONSTER SET, MYTHIC, 2 arena sets, 2PC cRIT CHANCE

With this setup, you give up your 2nd 5pc Set to allow for a Mythic, a full 2pc Monster Set, and 2 Arena Sets to be run together

 

SETUP #4: REVERSE TRADITIONAL

TWO 5 PC SETS, 1PC MONSTER SET + MYTHIC, ARENA SET front-BARRED

Similar to the “Traditional Setup” except the Arena Set is on the front bar instead of the back bar

additional NOTES

  • For the Front Bar Staff or Bow Enchantment, Poison will generally be the best, ESPECIALLY with Elemental Susceptibility keeping up Burning

    • However, If you already have higher Poisoned uptimes, you might see better results with a Flame enchantment

  • Configure the # of Medium/Light Armor pieces to your needs but always keep at least 1 Medium and 1 Light Armor piece

  • Body and jewelry pieces are always interchangeable as long as you are keeping the weights that you want

  • And finally, the options listed are just my favorites - there are plenty of other sets that work great too

skill bar setups

magicka build - Melee

ALTERNATIVE SKILLS

Sap Essence

  • Can be slotted in place of Debilitate on the front bar to balance between ST and AoE DPS

  • If going that route, you do have the option to move Debilitate to the back bar flex spot

Replacing Barbed Trap

If you are already at the Crit Damage cap or running Tzogvin/Medusa you can replace Barbed Trap with whatever other skill you might need such as a Shield, Heal, or AoE DoT

magicka build - RANGED

ALTERNATIVE SKILLS

Choosing your Spammable

Swallow Soul

  • Gives a very strong heal plus the Magicka Flood passive, letting you swap Debilitate’s spot with Barbed Trap for an extra 3% Weapon/Spell damage on the front bar

  • Could also open up room for Inner Light/Camo Hunter by moving Debilitate to your back bar Flex spot

Elemental Weapon

  • Slightly higher Single Target damage without the extra side benefits of Swallow Soul

Force Pulse

  • Higher AoE damage, especially in group play with better uptimes on Status Effects

Replacing Barbed Trap

If you are already at the Crit Damage cap or running Tzogvin/Medusa you can replace Barbed Trap with whatever other skill you might need such as a Shield, Heal, or AoE DoT

stamina build - melee

ALTERNATIVE SKILLS

Choosing your Spammable

Rapid Strikes

  • Highest Single Target spammable tooltip (0.8s Channel)

Silver Shards

  • Highest AoE DPS (scales with Biting Aura) + adds 3% Weapon/Spell Dmg passively

Silver Bolts (Unmorphed)

  • High ST DPS (scales with Deadly Aim) + adds 3% Weapon/Spell Dmg passively

Shrouded Daggers

  • Very High DPS if using the Executioner’s Blade (Vateshran Dual Wield) set

  • You can drop Killer’s Blade since Shrouded works as an execute, freeing up a skill slot

Barbed Trap

If you are already at the Crit Damage cap or running Tzogvin/Medusa you can replace Barbed Trap with whatever other skill you might need such as a Shield, Heal, or AoE DoT

Also, you can move Barbed Trap to the front bar in place of Deadly Cloak if you’d like to run both Debilitate and Carve together on the back bar

wrecking blow

Wrecking Blow

  • Grants Major Berserk for 5s each cast, boosting all of your damage by 10% (0.8s Cast Time)

    • This will force you to drop Deadly Cloak unless you have Dual Wield on the backbar

Thanks for stopping by

Thanks to UESP.net as well for the great tools for some of the screenshots

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