ESO Builds: One-Bar Heavy Attack Magicka Arcanist – Necrom

TL;DR

  • Arcanist excels at heavy attack builds with minimal bar swapping required
  • Sergeant’s Mail and Noble Duelist’s Silks create powerful damage synergies
  • Oakensoul Ring provides essential buffs for one-bar playstyle optimization
  • Strategic stat balancing ensures sustained damage and survivability
  • Proper rotation timing maximizes Crux generation and damage output

For players who prefer heavy attack-focused gameplay or simplified one-bar builds, The Elder Scrolls Online’s Arcanist class delivers exceptional performance. This comprehensive guide from Hack The Minotaur demonstrates a Magicka Arcanist configuration capable of achieving elite solo damage numbers through optimized heavy attacks while maintaining valuable group support capabilities.

The Arcanist’s unique mechanics synergize perfectly with heavy attack builds, allowing you to generate Crux while channeling attacks and maintaining consistent pressure on enemies. This approach minimizes complex rotation requirements while maximizing damage per second through strategic ability sequencing.

Understanding your character’s statistical breakdown is crucial for optimizing performance. The following metrics represent a finely-tuned balance between offensive power and defensive sustainability.

Maximum Magicka: 30525 – This substantial magicka pool ensures you can maintain ability uptime while powering your heavy attacks.

Maximum Health: 26677 – Provides sufficient survivability for most solo content while avoiding excessive health stacking that would reduce damage output.

Maximum Stamina: 18746 – While not the primary resource, this allows for break-free attempts and occasional dodging without compromising your rotation.

Magicka Recovery: 1305 – Ensures consistent resource regeneration between heavy attacks, critical for sustained combat performance.

Health Recovery: 1801 – Provides passive healing between encounters and during combat lulls.

Stamina Recovery: 1304 – Supports occasional utility skill usage without draining your primary resource pool.

Spell Critical: 44.1% – This critical strike chance significantly boosts your damage output, especially when combined with the Slimecraw monster set bonus.

Spell Penetration: 8368 – Essential for overcoming enemy resistances, particularly in solo play where you lack group penetration buffs.

Weapon Critical: 44.1% – While primarily a magicka build, this ensures your staff heavy attacks also benefit from critical damage multipliers.

Pro Tip: Maintain your critical values above 40% for consistent damage amplification. The Minor Berserk buff from Slimecraw provides an additional 5% damage increase, making it one of the most efficient monster set choices for this build archetype.

Your equipment selection forms the foundation of this build’s performance. Each piece is strategically chosen to amplify heavy attack damage while providing essential survivability and utility.

Piece

Set

Type

Trait

Enchantment

Head

Slimecraw

Medium

Divines

Maximum Magicka

Shoulder

Noble Duelist’s Silks

Light

Divines

Maximum Magicka

Chest

Sergeant’s Mail

Heavy

Divines

Maximum Magicka

Waist

Noble Duelist’s Silks

Light

Divines

Maximum Magicka

Hands

Noble Duelist’s Silks

Light

Divines

Maximum Magicka

Legs

Noble Duelist’s Silks

Light

Divines

Maximum Magicka

Feet

Noble Duelist’s Silks

Light

Divines

Maximum Magicka

Necklace

Sergeant’s Mail

Jewelry

Bloodthirsty

Multi-Effect

Ring 1

Sergeant’s Mail

Jewelry

Bloodthirsty

Multi-Effect

Bloodthirsty

Multi-Effect

Ring 2

Oakensoul Ring

Jewelry

Bloodthirsty

Multi-Effect

Two-Handed Weapon

Sergeant’s Mail

Lightning Staff

Precise

Charged Weapon

Gear Synergy Breakdown: The Sergeant’s Mail set dramatically increases your heavy attack damage while Noble Duelist’s Silks provides substantial critical chance bonuses when casting from melee range. The Oakensoul Ring consolidates multiple essential buffs into a single slot, making the one-bar approach both viable and powerful.

Common Mistake: Many players mistakenly use all light armor for maximum magicka recovery, but the strategic inclusion of heavy chest and medium head pieces provides crucial resistances and undaunted passives that significantly improve survivability without compromising damage output.

Mastering this build requires understanding both the mechanical execution and strategic adaptations for different content types.

Rotation Refinement: Begin combat by applying your damage over time abilities before channeling heavy attacks. Time your Crux-spending abilities to coincide with damage amplification windows for maximum effect.

The optimal sequence involves casting Fatecarver after building three Crux, followed by immediate heavy attacks to regenerate resources while maintaining pressure.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid:

Over-casting abilities: Avoid spamming skills when you could be channeling heavy attacks for both damage and resource recovery

Poor positioning: Maintain melee range to benefit from Noble Duelist’s Silks critical chance bonus

Ignoring mechanics: Despite high damage, you must still respect enemy mechanics and positioning requirements

Resource mismanagement: Balance ability usage with heavy attack channels to maintain optimal magicka levels

Advanced Adaptation: For group content, consider swapping one damage ability for a support skill like Remedy Cascades or Reconstructive Domain to provide healing while maintaining your primary damage rotation.

This build typically requires 2-3 hours of practice to master the rotation timing and resource management. Advanced optimization for specific trial encounters may require additional fine-tuning of your skill selections.

Action Checklist

  • Acquire Sergeant’s Mail armor set and Noble Duelist’s Silks pieces
  • Farm Slimecraw monster helm and Oakensoul Ring
  • Configure all gear with Divines traits and Maximum Magicka enchantments
  • Practice rotation in solo arenas for 2-3 hours
  • Fine-tune skill bars for specific content requirements
  • Test build performance in target content and make adjustments

No reproduction without permission:OnLineGames Guides » ESO Builds: One-Bar Heavy Attack Magicka Arcanist – Necrom Master the Arcanist heavy attack build for top-tier solo damage and group utility in ESO