This guide explains how to use the best ESO One Bar PvE Magicka Sorcerer Build, skills, gear, champion points, and more!
This build has been updated for the Update 41 patch, Scions of Ithelia for the Elder Scrolls Online.
Why Should You Play ESO One Bar PvE Magicka Sorcerer Build?
The ESO One Bar PvE Magicka Sorcerer build is a Heavy Attack build for Sorcerer that relies on fully charged heavy attacks in combination with champion points, base game gear, and a mythic. This will destroy a parse dummy and any content. Even though we are using “magicka” skills, we still use medium armor and sustain via fully charged heavy attacks, and with the hybrid changes, there’s a blending of stam/magicka, and that’s what you have with this optimal one-bar build.
In ESO, the One Bar Magicka Sorcerer is perfect for everyone, literally. It’s great for beginners, veterans, and players of any age and experience. It’s easy to understand and doesn’t require bar swapping—the game element that simplifies the gameplay without hurting the potential damage per second.
ESO One Bar PvE Magicka Sorcerer Features
Below are some of the features found using the Oakensoul Heavy Attack Sorcerer in the Elder Scrolls Online:
- Class: Sorcerer
- Weapon: Lighting Staff
- Armor Types: 1 Light, 5 Medium, 1 Heavy
- Race: Dark Elf
- Set 1: Deadly Strike
- Set 2: Sergeant’s Mail
- Mythic: Oakensoul ring
- Attributes: 64 Magicka
- Mundus Stone: Thief
Related:
ESO One Bar PvE Magicka Sorcerer Build Playstyle
It requires you to charge heavy attacks in between abilities fully. You need to cast the wall of elements at the beginning of the fight and then refresh it to apply the off-balance buff on cooldown for the best and highest DPS. This build must work. However, you’ll get used to the playstyle quickly, and applying the wall of elements will become second nature. You can also use the add-on “DebuffMe” on your PC to track your off-balance buff status.
How Much Can One Bar Magicka Sorcerer Parse?
This ESO One Bar PvE Magicka Sorcerer Build is designed to get over 90,000 and can 100,000 damage. This is the best one-bar damage dealer in the game.
Skills 1 – High Survivability
One Bar Lightning Staff
ESO One Bar PvE Magicka Sorcerer Build Weapon Choices Front Bar Weapon = We’ve tested them all and Lighting Staff does the most damage out of all the weapons REGARDLESS of class/passives.
- Lightning Staff
This build rewards you for fully charging heavy attacks and building up stacks of Sergeants Mail. At 4 stacks, you’ll do HUGE heavy attack damage. BUT you need to be constantly casting fully charged heavy attacks rather than many DoT. Thus the best builds are ones with longer lasting DoTs and simplisit damage over time or pets.
Summon Twilight Matriarch (Morph of Summon Winged Twilight | Skill Line : Daedric Summoning) – This critter is the healing morph and does a little bit of damage but acts as a burst heal when in trouble. Great for solo and awesome in group play. The other morph does a lot more damage, but be safe and keep this one for solo play.
Summon Volatile Familiar (Morph of Summon Unstable Familiar | Skill Line : Daedric Summoning) – This can be cast for big AoE and single-target damage. It only needs to be recast every 20 seconds, and you can use it prior to fights. We take the damage morph here as the Matriarch bird will heal us, so there is no need to have two healing morphs.
Daedric Prey (Morph of Daedric Curse | Skill Line : Daedric Summoning) – This is your priority, DoT, as it really cranks up your pet’s damage, which does most of the work for you. Keep this your #1 priority, though realize it’s single-target heavy. I do swap this out from time to time on AoE fights when it’s not boss burn dependent. Something that helps the group is Mystic Orbs from the Undaunted skill line or Razor Caltrops for massive AoE damage. Don’t sleep on Hurricane if playing in Melee range as well.
Critical Surge (Morph of Surge | Skill Line : Storm Calling) – Crit Surge carries our survival passively and boosts our overall damage by slotting it. Another great option for a single target is Elemental Susceptibility from destruction staff, which is purely single target.
Blockade of Storms (Morph of Wall of Elements | Skill Line : Destruction Staff) – Unstable is the main staple of any heavy attack build. It set’s off balance which gives us a 7-second window into huge damage. Off balance increases our heavy attack damage via the Exploiter CP passive, along with double resource sustain. This is one reason to use an Unstable wall, and it can be recast instantly for a burst AoE damage ability. Consider this a must up keep DoT for HUGE damage increase during off balance. Off-balance has a 7-second uptime and a 15-second down time shown by a circle above the boss/mob’s head.
Greater Storm Atronach (Morph of Summon Storm Atronach | Skill Line : Daedric Summoning) – Insane single target damage and a nice AoE stun. Go with Mages Guild Shooting Star if you’re not using Daedric Pray or care for the pet builds.
Skills 2 – Parse Max Damage
One Bar Lightning Staff
Hurricane (Morph of Lightning Form | Skill Line : Storm Calling) – Believe it or not, this skill does way more damage (second most) and it procs off balance when up close. Unstable Blockade is still a good skill, but you’ll get a hard-hitting DoT and off balance, so I swap out this for parsing.
Daedric Prey (Morph of Daedric Curse | Skill Line : Daedric Summoning) – This is your priority DoT, as it really cranks up your pets damage, which do most of the work for you.
Barbed Trap (Morph of Trap Beast | Skill Line : Fighters Guild) – This skill is the third most important when it comes to our damage sources. Not necessarily for the buff it provides, but the physical damage and hemorrhage status effect. That, combined with its long duration, provides insane damage. This is our 3rd priority.
Summon Volatile Familiar (Morph of Summon Unstable Familiar | Skill Line : Daedric Summoning) – Pet that deals damage, use it to activate a special ability that deals extra AoE damage to enemies near him. This should be maintained last and isn’t super essentially for high damage.
Summon Twilight Tormentor (Morph of Summon Winged Twilight | Skill Line : Daedric Summoning) – Pet that deals single target damage, use it to activate a special ability that deals more damage to targets under 50% health. I only use this at the start of fights and don’t maintain it. You can if you wish, but its sometimes a waste of a cooldown when I’d rather heavy attack.
Greater Storm Atronach (Morph of Summon Storm Atronach | Skill Line : Daedric Summoning) – Insane single target damage and a nice AoE stun. Go with Mages Guild Shooting Star if you’re not using Daedric Pray or care for the pet builds.
Group Added Utility Skills
One Bar Lightning Staff
Summon Volatile Familiar (Morph of Summon Unstable Familiar | Skill Line : Daedric Summoning) – Keep this high damage dealing morph and cast every 20 seconds.
Daedric Prey (Morph of Daedric Curse | Skill Line : Daedric Summoning) – Keep this ability on the primary target, especially when Greater Storm Atronach is active.
Mystic Orb (Morph of Necrotic Orb | Skill Line : Undaunted) – This skill is used to supplement our lack of AoE and provide a great group synergy buff that does damage and gives resources back to the team.
Summon Twilight Matriarch (Morph of Summon Winged Twilight | Skill Line : Daedric Summoning) – We choose this morph in groups in case we are playing with or without a healer and need high survivability.
Unstable Wall of Elements (Morph of Wall of Elements | Skill Line : Destruction Staff) – Used for AoE damage and proc off balance. I don’t use Hurricane in a group, as it requires too much melee focus.
Greater Storm Atronach (Morph of Summon Storm Atronach | Skill Line : Daedric Summoning) – This morph is the best for a pure single target. I swap this to Destruction Staff ultimate when there’s more AoE required from my ultimate.
Passives Skills
Consider taking all of the passives in the below skill trees to increase your builds performance without slotting any skills:
- Daedric Summoning (class skill line)
- Dark Magic (class skill line)
- Storm Calling (class skill line)
- Light Armor
- Medium Armor
- Heavy Armor
- Undaunted
- Fighters Guild
- Mages Guild
- Destructive Staff
- Racial
- Alliance War Support
- Alliance War Assault
- Crafting, Alchemy Medicinal Use
Gear – Best in Slot
Use the below gear setup for optimal damage with the ESO One Bar PvE Magicka Sorcerer Build:
Slot | Type | Set | Trait | Glyph |
Head | light | Slimecraw | Divine | Magicka |
Shoulders | medium | Deadly Strike | Divine | Magicka |
Chest | heavy | Sergeant’s Mail | Divine | Magicka |
Legs | medium | Deadly Strike | Divine | Magicka |
Gloves | medium | Deadly Strike | Divine | Magicka |
Boots | medium | Deadly Strike | Divine | Magicka |
Belt | medium | Deadly Strike | Divine | Magicka |
Weapon One | Lightning Staff | Sergeant’s Mail | Precise | Flame |
Necklace | Sergeant’s Mail | Bloodthirsty | Spell Damage | |
Ring 1 | Mythic | Oakensoul ring | Bloodthirsty | Spell Damage |
Ring 2 | Sergeant’s Mail | Bloodthirsty | Spell Damage |
While this is a magicka build, we use Medium Armor specifically to avoid the penetration cap 18,500 in Veteran content. If you use more than two light armor in group content, you will likely spill over that 18.5k pen cap and have wasted stats. Thus, medium armor with specific gear sets will outperform light generally.
Monster Helms & Mythics
Slimecraw: obtained from Wayrest Sewers 1, a base game dungeon. The best 1pc critical damage bonus piece in the game. Pen is also a good option, but this is considered best in slot for a one-piece.
Oakensoul: obtained through ESO Mythics/antiquities system. You need 5 items to be able to create the Mythic item. 5 Leads are here. The best one-bar build for DPS because it gives an insane amount of buffs, freeing up bar spots and making us tankier with zero effort.
FLEX OPTIONS
- Iceheart, Grundwulf, Stone Husk, Zaan – all one piece with critical chance, just not as much as Slimecraw.
- Lady Malygda, Valkyn Skoria – penetration sets which is great solo, not in coordinated groups.
- Pale Order – best heals per second solo in the game.
- Death Dealer’s Fete – high max stats and requires no effect but in combat.
- Markyn Ring of Majesty – set and forget boost to spell damage and armor.
- Velothi Ur-Mage’s Amulet – powerful damage mythic ideal for two bar builds.
Gear Sets
Deadly Strike: obtained in Bruma Elite Gear Vendor, Cyrodiil zone (base game). Best on the body damage option post Storm Master being nerfed.
Sergeant’s Mail: obtained in Wayrest Sewers I & II, dungeon, Stormhaven zone (base game). this builds stacks by heavy attacking; at 5x stacks, you’ll do huge damage in combination with off-balance and exploiter CP. The downside is that it comes in heavy, thus putting on jewelry, weapons, and 1x body.
FLEX OPTIONS
- Perfected Ansuul’s Torment – good set and forget body set.
- Storm Master – Good DPS set though Deadly is better currently.
- Tarnished Nightmare – a powerful new set that does lower single target, but more area damage for one bar builds Update 41 set.
- Noble Duelist – longer and more consistent buff, but less dps.
- Undaunted Unweaver = a good option, especially with Barbed Trap skill.
- Undaunted Infiltrator = best for Stamina-focused builds.
- Pillar of Nirn – good front bar proc damage set.
- Arms Of Relequen = high proc damage when fully stacked.
Gear – Without Mythic
Use the below gear setup when you do not have the Oakensoul Mythic for the ESO One Bar PvE Magicka Sorcerer Build:
Slot | Type | Set | Trait | Glyph |
Head | light | Maw of the Infernal | Divine | Magicka |
Shoulders | light | Maw of the Infernal | Divine | Magicka |
Chest | medium | Kinra’s Wrath | Divine | Magicka |
Legs | medium | Kinra’s Wrath | Divine | Magicka |
Gloves | medium | Kinra’s Wrath | Divine | Magicka |
Boots | medium | Kinra’s Wrath | Divine | Magicka |
Belt | medium | Kinra’s Wrath | Divine | Magicka |
Weapon One | Lightning Staff | Queen’s Elegance | Precise | Shock |
Necklace | Queen’s Elegance | Bloodthirsty | Spell Damage | |
Ring 1 | Queen’s Elegance | Bloodthirsty | Spell Damage | |
Ring 2 | Queen’s Elegance | Bloodthirsty | Spell Damage |
Gear Sets
Maw of the Infernal: obtained in Banished Cells II veteran for Monster Helm (base game). Great damage when using pet loadout.
Kinra’s Wrath = obtained in Veteran Blackdrake Villa dungeon Flames of Ambition DLC. Gives us major berserks which is one of the best damage buffs and keeps us in medium armor for optimal damage.
Queen’s Elegance: obtained in overland zone Auridon base game. Give us the most important buff, empower that Oakensoul provides.
FLEX OPTIONS
- Zaan = also god tier damage with or without pets
- Iceheart = Great survivability
- Magma Incarnate = blend of damage and damage reduction
- Sergeant’s Mail = another good heavy attack option
- Undaunted Unweaver = good option especially with Barbed Trap skill.
- Undaunted Infiltrator = best for Stamina focused builds.
- Infallible Mage = good thanks to buffs it provides.
- Medusa = easy dungeon set and has same critical damage bonus
- Pillar of Nirn = great proc damage set
- Order’s Wrath = new craftable set very good
- Storm Master = good heavy attack build choice.
- Arms Of Relequen = high proc damage when fully stacked
Race
The best racial choice for the one bar heavy attack PvE Build is below:
- Dark Elf: Gain max magicka, stamina, and weapon and spell damage. The flame resistance is also helpful and considered the strongest overall PVE DPS race.
- High Elf: Gain resource sustain passive, max magicka, and weapon and spell damage. The downside of High Elf is a lack of stamina or flame resistance.
- Khajiit: This race gets recovery, max stats, and critical damage and healing. Consider the Khajiit a great option if you aren’t over the critical cap of 125%.
Attributes
The best choice for slotting Attribute points is 64 magicka, which increases damage, healing, and shields.
Mundus Stone
The Thief is the best Mundus Stone for PvE Builds because it gives Increases Weapon and Spell Critical Strike a chance.
Champion Points
Warfare Constellation Champion Points
Below is a step-by-step method for slotting your champion points in the Warfare tree (blue). We have used the minimum possible to reach 4 slottable selections all maxed out. If you have more CP, consider taking more in the passives for optimal performance.
Below are recommended Warfare Champion Point selections for the ESO One Bar PvE Magicka Sorcerer Build:
- Precision 10
- Fighting finesse (slottable) 50
- Extended Might sub-constellation – piercing 10
- Extended Might sub-constellation – weapons expert (slottable) 50
- Extended Might sub-constellation – exploiter (slottable) 50
- Master’s at arms (slottable) 50
This would be the bare minimum setup, spending 220 CP (660 total required). The next step is to max out passives, that do not require a slottable but increase performance.
- Precision 10
- Piercing 10
- Tireless discipline 20
- Eldritch insight 20
- Blessed 20
- Quick recovery 20
- Flawless ritual 40
- War mage 30
- Battle mastery 40
- Mighty 30
- Elemental aegis 20
- Hardy 20
- Preparation 20
This would max out the Warfare tree with all active and passive champion points at 520 spent 1,560 total spent.
Fitness Constellation Champion Points
Below are recommended Fitness Champion Point selections for the ESO One Bar PvE Magicka Sorcerer Build:
- Fortified (slottable) 50
- Boundless vitality (slottable) 50
- Rejuvenation (slottable) 50
- Sprinter 10
- Winder chaser sub-constellation – hasty 8
- Hero’s Vigor 10
- Siphoning spells (slottable) 50
This would be the bare minimum setup, spending 228 CP (684 total required). The next step is to max out passives, that do not require a slottable but increase performance.
- Hero’s Vigor 10
- Tumbling 30
- Sprinter 10
- Defiance 20
- Hasty 8
- Tireless guardian 20
- Fortification 30
- Nimble 6
- Mystic tenacity 50
- Tempered soul 50
- Piercing gaze 30
- Savage defense 30
- Bashing brutality 20
This would max out the fitness tree with all active passive champion points at 542 cp spent and 1,626 total spent.
Craft Constellation Champion Points
Below are recommended Craft Champion Point selections for the ESO One Bar PvE Magicka Sorcerer Build:
- Steed’s blessing (slottable) – 50
- Breakfall 10
- Wanderer 15
- Steadfast 10
- Treasure hunter 50 (slottable)
- Master gatherer 15
- Gifted rider (slottable) 100
- War mount (slottable) 120
This would be the bare minimum setup, spending 370CP (1110 total required). The next step is to max out passives, that do not require a slottable but increase performance.
- Steadfast enchantment 40cp
- Breakfall 40 cp
- Wanderer 60
- Fortunes favor 10
- Rationer 10
- Friends in low places 25
- Out of sight 30
- Fleet of phantom 40
- Soul’s reservoir 33
- Gilded fingers 50
- Fortunes favor 40
- Inspiration boost 45
- Infamous 30
This would max out the crafting tree with all active passive champion points at 823 cp spent 2,469 total spent
Consumables
Food
Tomato Garlic Chutney
BEST DAMAGE: This comes with zero health, ideally used on a parse dummy only where HP and resources are not needed. Increase Max Magicka by 6048 for 35 minutes. Ingredients: Garlic (1), Tomato (1)
Bewitched Sugar Skulls
MAX STATS: use this if you don’t struggle with sustain and you want good damage and survivability. Increase Max Health by 4620, Max Stamina and Magicka by 4250, and Health Recovery by 462 for 2 hours. Ingredients: Bervez Juice (2), Flour (5), Honey (5), Scrib Jelly (2), Columbine (2)
Jewels of Misrule
RECOVERY: Cheap recovery food used at any level. Increase Stamina and Magicka Recovery by 357 and Max Health by 3927 for 2 hours. Ingredients: Bervez Juice (1), Lotus (1), Mint (1), Rose (1), Columbine (1)
Potions
Tri-Restoration Potion or Essence of Health (tri-stat)
SURVIAL: Remember oakensoul gives all your major buffs so you’re left with resto potion for survivability and resource sustain. Restore 7329 Health, 6618 Magicka, and 6618 Stamina immediately. Grants Major Fortitude, Major Intellect, and Major Endurance which increase your Health Recovery, Magicka Recovery, and Stamina Recovery by 20% for 31.7 seconds.
Build Summary – Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) Magicka Sorcerer One Bar PvE
Class: Sorcerer
Race: Dark Elf
Attributes: Magicka 64
Mundus Stone: Thief
Weapon: Lighting Staff
Armor: 1 Light, 5 Medium, 1 Heavy
Set 1: Deadly Strike
Set 2: Sergeant’s Mail
Monster Helm: Slimecraw
Mythic: Oakensoul ring
Skill Bar
- Summon Twilight Matriarch
- Summon Violate Fimilar
- Daedric Pray
- Critical Surge
- Blockade of Storms
- Great Storm Atronach
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