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These are our best 5 solo PvE builds for players wanting a balanced playstyle with plenty of healing in Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) update 42.
Though some classes lag, Update 42 brought a lot of power into the game. These are the top 5 solo PvE builds for us in this patch. While these are not the best possible builds, we’ve focused on making solid builds that can source their buffs. Every build here tells you how to source your major crit and damage buffs, Minor Force, and Major Resolve, and gives a few sources of penetration that make running medium armor possible, providing extra armor and critical damage.
This guide has been updated for ESO Update 42, Gold Road Chapter.
What Are the Best 5 Solo PvE Builds in ESO?
The five best solo PVE builds in ESO Update 42 are the Stamina Arcanist, Magicka, Dragonknight, Magicka Templar, Stamina Sorcerer, and Magicka Warden. Each of these builds has high damage, survivability, or resource sustain. The best overall is the Stamina Arcanist, which hits the sweet spot of damage, survivability, ease of play, and simplicity. Below, we list the five top builds in this patch and explain how to use them.
The 5 best PvE Builds in the Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) Update 421:
- Stamina Arcanist – best damage, survival, resources sustain and range all in one class.
- Magicka Dragonknight – similar to Stam Arcanist with weaker range.
- Magicka Templar – perfect for beginners for its ease of play and healing while dealing damage.
- Stamina Sorcerer – great area damage and passive healing through critical surge.
- Magicka Warden – built to dominate Infinite Archive with high survivability and status effect damage.
5 Magicka Warden
Below are some of the features found using the PvE Solo Warden Magicka in the Elder Scrolls Online:
- Class – Warden
- Weapon One – Frost Staff
- Weapon Two – Frost Staff
- Armor Types: 5 Medium, 2 Light
- Armor Set 1: Tzogvin’s Warband
- Armor Set 2: Perfected False God’s Devotion
- Mythic – Pale Order
- Race – Dark Elf
- Attributes – 64 Magicka
- Mundus Stone – Thief
The Magicka Warden is the fifth strongest solo PvE build in ESO update 42 because of its status effect damage and survivability. While it falls behind in group content, the Warden feels powerful in solo content because it can source buffs within their class kit. Like many other Magicka builds, this build runs medium armor due to its passive strength. It seems odd, but you will over-penetrate otherwise, and medium armor is optimal for solo PvE damage.
Magicka sustain is one of the more challenging aspects of the Frost Reach Warden build. To combat weak magicka sustain, we’re running Tzogvin’s/False God’s in this setup with Ring of the Pale Order. This is true for a lot of the builds in this list. It isn’t always the strongest build to run, but it performs incredibly well in most solo PvE content, making it one of the best builds in ESO Update 42. Sweatier setups will run Velothi instead, dropping Tzogvin’s as the Minor Force source. This makes the healing less consistent, but Wardens passively pump out some decent healing already.
Solo Warden Gameplay
Instead, this Warden build is focused on constant healing and fueling your Frost Reach spamming. While Bird of Prey is a fun skill for the Warden, False Gods already provides Major Expedition. To simplify the build slightly, you could drop Fetcher Infection on your front bar and Lotus Blossom on your back bar to double-bar Camouflaged Hunter.
While the mag sustain from this build feels strong, the traditional way to sustain resources on this build without False Gods is to use Cutting Dive as a spammable when your mag is low and switch to Frost Reach when you can sustain it. You actively manage your resources by alternating between these two while keeping your DoTs and Deep Fissure up. Instead of playing the resources game, it’s much simpler to rock False Gods and keep pushing tons of damage out.
While this isn’t a dedicated Infinite Archive build, this build will get reasonably far with minimal changes due to how strong the Warden is in Infinite Archive.
4 Stamina Sorcerer
Below are some of the features found using the PvE Solo Sorcerer Stamina in the Elder Scrolls Online:
- Class – Sorcerer
- Weapon One – Dual Wield
- Weapon Two – Lightning Staff
- Armor Types: 6 Medium, 1 Light
- Armor Set 1: Perfected Sul-Xan’s Torment
- Armor Set 2: Aegis Caller
- Mythic: Pale Order
- Race: Dark Elf
- Attributes: 64 Stamina
- Mundus Stone: Thief
The Stamina Sorcerer is the fourth-best solo PvE build in the ESO for update 42 because of its passive healing and area damage. Sorcerer is in an exciting niche because you still have to double-bar pets. While that’s a good thing, it can be tricky to build well when bar space is so limited on the Sorcerer.
Unfortunately, the Magicka Sorc just doesn’t put out as much AOE as the Stamina Sorc. With this build, you must run Spell Power Potions to source Major Prophecy and Sorcery. This is because the Sorcerer’s passive Exploitation gives Minor Prophecy. Since your damage scales off of whichever is higher, weapon or spell crit, you must run Spell Power Potions to maximize your spell crit chance, pairing Minor with Major Prophecy.
This can make sustainability more challenging. Whirling Blades costs Stamina, but you can run Dark Deal to help sustain it between kills or risk lower sustainability. This allows you to exchange your mag for stam, giving you a burst heal, Minor Berserk, and Force.
This build is focused on more AoE damage, running Aegis Caller/Sul-Xan, but Storm-Cursed Revenge is also great in this patch for AoE. Concussion is hitting incredibly hard with the status effect changes. This Sorcerer build blends massive area damage with passive healing, making it one of the best solo PvE builds in this current patch, Update 42.
3 Magicka Templar
Below are some of the features found using the ESO Solo Templar Magicka Build for PvE in the Elder Scrolls Online:
- Class – Templar
- Weapon One – Dual Wield
- Weapon Two – Lighting Staff
- Armor Types – 2 light, 5 medium
- Race: High Elf
- Armor Set 1: Perfected False Gods
- Armor Set 2: Tzogvin’s Warband
- Mythic: Pale Order
- Attributes: 64 Magicka
- Mundus Stone: Thief
The Magicka Templar is the third-best solo PvE build in ESO update 42 because your main spammable heals and does significant damage.
The Magplar is always going to feel good in solo content. While we have the Ring of the Pale Order on this build to pump up your healing, you won’t need it in most content until you start taking heavy damage. Puncturing Sweeps heals for so much. If you keep your buffs going, Puncturing Sweeps should keep you alive. If you drop the Ring of Pale Order, picking up Velothi Ur Mythic would feel strong with this build, even though we’re already sourcing Minor Force through Tzogvin’s.
Templar Gameplay
Tzogvin’s/False God’s gives you a ton of crit, Minor Force, Major Expedition, penetration, Minor Slayer, and sustain for days. The magicka sustained by False God’s ensures you can keep spamming sweeps, giving this build crazy healing potential. We’re also running Channeled Focus on the back bar for even more magicka sustain and your source of Major Resolve. If you can stay in the AoE heal of your Channeled focus as well, you’ll feel almost unkillable.
Overall, this is one of the tankier iterations of this build, but that isn’t necessary in all content. Because of the versatility of your heals coming from Puncturing Sweeps, you can just as easily drop both sets and run a more traditional PvE setup and still feel good in most easier solo content like Aegis Caller/Whorl of the Depths/Velothi. Sul-Xan is also a powerful set when you’re picking up your souls. You can pair it with something like Aegis Caller, Tzogvin’s, or Deadly Strike.
2 Magicka Dragonknight
Below are some of the features found using the PvE Solo Dragonknight Magicka in the Elder Scrolls Online:
- Class – Dragonknight
- Weapon One – Flame Staff
- Weapon Two – Lightning Staff
- Armor Types: 2 Light, 5 Medium
- Armor Set 1: Perfected False God’s Devotion
- Armor Set 2: Tzogvin’s Warband
- Mythic: Pale Order
- Race: Dark Elf
- Attributes: 64 Magicka
- Mundus Stone: Thief
The Magicka Dragonknight is the second-strongest solo PvE build in the Elder Scrolls Online for update 42 because of its damage and survivability.
Like the Arcanist’s Cephaliarch’s Flail, the Dragonknight’s Deep Breath is a powerful damage ability that doubles as a heal. In solo play, Draw essence gives more utility, increasing the healing and refunding Magicka. Deep Breath adds a huge AOE interrupt. This interrupt makes it incredibly strong in content like Infinite Archive, where many enemies need to be interrupted at the same time. You do need to wait for the skill to go off to cast it again, but it’s a solid skill to alternate and deal huge area damage.
This build stacks magicka because both Talons and Deep Breath cost magicka. The Stamina DK can’t sustain the spamming this build needs in dense packs. This is the same reason we’re running False Gods. False Gods/Tzogvin’s Warband was potentin solo content in the last patch, and it’s still strong now. Tzogvin offers a ton of crit and permanent Minor Force. Minor force is more difficult to source in many solo content, as Barbed Trap isn’t as strong when you’re playing solo. Channeled Acceleration is always an option, but Tzogvin’s builds it into the kit, and you save the bar space.
Dragonknight Gameplay
Minor Force is important because you will always be far under the crit damage cap in solo content. Any crit damage you can source is important, which is also why we’re running so much medium armor. While the medium armor does make hitting the penetration cap more complicated, we’re running a one piece of Valkyn Skoria to help make up for it.
Noxious Breath on your back bar also applies Major Breach to your targets. You can buff up, then hit Noxious as you run into the middle of a large group of enemies, spamming Talons and Deep Breath/Draw Essence to burn them down. If you’re still far under penetration, you can also run the Lover Mundus stone to reach the pen cap.
With Ring of the Pale Order, you should have plenty of healing to keep yourself alive. You could also run some Prismatic Glyphs on your leg and chest pieces if you want to feel more survivable in content.
1 Stamina Arcanist
Below are some of the features found using the Solo Arcanist Stamina Build for PVE in the Elder Scrolls Online:
- Class – Arcanist
- Weapon One – Flame Staff
- Weapon Two – Lighting staff
- Armor Types – 6 Medium, 1 Light
- Race – Dark Elf
- Armor Set 1: Perfected Ansuul’s Torment
- Armor Set 2: Deadly Strikes
- Mythic – Pale Order
- Attributes – 64 Stamina
- Mundus Stone – Thief
In ESO Update 42, the Stamina Arcanist is the best solo PvE build because the it does both single target and AoE damage in one ability and its easy to play.
Arcanists have so much utility within their kit while retaining a ton of beam damage in this patch. While this build uses Ring of the Pale Order, you probably won’t need the healing it generates unless you move into more challenging content. You can quickly get by using Velothi and Pragmatic Fatecarver. The build seen here is the safer option that feels unkillable in most solo content. The benefit to the Arcanist solo build is almost the same setup works very well in group and solo content, don’t wear the Ring of the Pale Order with a group.
Unlike our Stamina Arcanist PvE build, this solo build uses double staves. We like the ranged option on the front bar; staves give additional penetration. While this build will still be under penetration cap in content, it should still feel solid. The flame staff front bar and Ansuul both provide penetration. You could also run Razor caltrops on your back bar or slot Elemental Susceptibility for Major Breach if you need additional penetration. Arcanist is still very strong when it comes to the passive penetration they do receive from their kit overall, though.
Arcanist Gameplay
Rune of the Colorless Pool and Zena’s Empowering Disc is on the back bar for some added buffs, and there are a lot of other skills the Arcanist can slot, depending on what you need. You could slot Runeguard of Freedom for Minor Protection and Minor Resolve along with the helpful burst heal from the skill if you drop below 50% health. This can give you a little safeguard if you’re starting to take damage while beaming.
If you want to bring this build into Infinite Archive, pairing Pragmatic with ROPO makes it very difficult to die. You can even swap your thief mundus out for the Lady and put 64 attribute points into health to get a little tankier, and that build should comfortably reach Arc 4 with the right Visions.
Changes in Update 42 Gold Road Chapter DLC
Patch 10.0.5 brought ten new item sets, three new mythics, and the Scribing feature. There were minor balance changes due to introducing 11 new skills via Scribing called Grimoires. The biggest change for solo builds in PvE is having access to swap in Scribing Grimoires to augment weaknesses in your build. The scribing system gives you access if you need a pull, major buff, etc. However, classes in solo PvE are still ranked based on active and passive skills.
Here is a brief summary of the biggest changes from Update 42:
- Scribing – the new system gives you access to 11 new, unique, customizable skills you can use!
- Grimoires – 11 new skills that can be changed via Scripts with stuns, immobilization, pulls, and knockbacks.
- Class Balance – the main changes are to the Templar blazing spear with minor changes.
- Skill Styling – select new color variations on popular existing skills from the Weapon, Guild, and World Skill Lines.
- New Zone West Weald – Located just west of Cyrodiil and east of the Gold Coast, West Weald remains a stronghold of Imperial prosperity.
- Lucent Citadel New Trial – 12-player trial with the portal located in northern West Weald, with new gear and achievements.
- New Gear Sets – overland, crafting, trials, and mythics.
- HDR Support – Windows HDR Color Settings adjust various brightness settings.
- Mail Improvements – many changes to player, system, and system alert mail functions.
- New Achievements – many new achievements were added to the chapter and base game Update 42.
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