Category: Best ESO Builds, Best Necromancer Builds, Beginner Builds
This Magicka Necromancer build for The Elder Scrolls Online has powerful damage, defensive and healing options and is easy to play! This build will be perfect for any Beginner ESO player looking to start a Necromancer!
What you will learn in this build guide:
- The best item sets to use with the Beginner Necro, and why they are important.
- How the skills work, synergize with the gear, and your rotation.
- The best consumables, race, and mundus, and most importantly, why you should select them.
This guide has been updated for The Elder Scrolls Online Update 50.
An Introduction to the Beginner Magicka Necromancer
The Magicka Necromancer is a powerful class that uses a combination of range and melee attacks for damage. Unlike other classes in ESO, Magcrow uses corpses for damage, mitigation, and resource sustain. Most of your gameplay will revovle around casting corpse based spells that you then use for a secondary effect later. Blastbones is a common method for producing corpses, and you should have a rotation built on creating and consuming corpses to get the most out of your Magicka Necromancer passives.
Magicka Necromancer Beginner Build Primary Sets
Our main 5 piece set on this build is Mother’s Sorrow, a light armor set from the base game zone Deshaan. This set provides a substantial bonus to our build’s spell critical, which is important both for dealing damage and healing on any class in ESO. Since it’s your primary set, you can keep it on your body at all times. This way it doesn’t turn on and off and gives you the critical bonus at all times.
The second set on this build, Armor Of The Seducer is another fantastic beginner set that offers powerful recovery and sustain stats, allowing us to cast all of our abilities without ever running low on resources! As you get more proficient in combat, you can take this off for a more damage producing set like Order’s Wrath, Spinner’s Garment, or any other.
For the final two pieces of gear on this build Armor Of The Trainee is recommended for the extra Health and Magicka.
Mother’s Sorrow
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Magicka
(3 items) Adds 657 Critical Chance
(4 items) Adds 657 Critical Chance
(5 items) Adds 1528 Critical Chance
Armor Of The Seducer
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 129 Magicka Recovery
(3 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Magicka
(4 items) Adds 129 Magicka Recovery
(5 items) Reduces the cost of your Magicka Abilities by 10%.
Armor Of The Trainee
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(1 item) Adds 1454 Maximum Health
(2 items) Adds 1454 Maximum Magicka
(3 items) Adds 1454 Maximum Stamina
Magicka Necromancer Beginner Build Alternate Sets
For alternatives, I also recommend sets such as Spinner’s Garments for the extra penetration or Order’s Wrath for the extra Critical Chance and Critical Damage.
Spinner’s Garments
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Magicka
(3 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Magicka
(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(5 items) Adds 3460 Offensive Penetration
Order’s Wrath
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 657 Critical Chance
(3 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(4 items) Adds 657 Critical Chance
(5 items) Adds 943 Critical Chance, Increases your Critical Damage and Critical Healing by 8%.
Magicka Necromancer Beginner Gear
| Weapon/Armor | Set | Trait | Weight | Glyph |
| Main Hand | Armor Of The Trainee Inferno Staff | Precise | NA | Absorb Magic |
| Backup | Armor Of The Trainee Lightning Staff | Infused | NA | Weapon/Spell Damage |
| Head | Armor Of The Seducer | Divines | Light | Magicka |
| Shoulder | Armor Of The Seducer | Divines | Light | Magicka |
| Chest | Armor Of The Seducer | Divines | Light | Magicka |
| Waist | Armor Of The Seducer | Divines | Light | Magicka |
| Gloves | Armor Of The Seducer | Divines | Light | Magicka |
| Legs | Mother’s Sorrow | Divines | Light | Magicka |
| Feet | Mother’s Sorrow | Divines | Light | Magicka |
| Necklace | Mother’s Sorrow | Arcane | NA | Spell Damage |
| Ring 1 | Mother’s Sorrow | Arcane | NA | Spell Damage |
| Ring 2 | Mother’s Sorrow | Arcane | NA | Magicka Recovery |
Magicka Necromancer Beginner Attributes
The best attribute for a Magicka Necromancer is Magicka because it increase the effectiveness of our spells. Additionally, increased magicka can increase the size of a shield and healing spells. It’s best to pick one attribute pool and “stack” for optimal damage and resource sustain. Therefore, I recommend 64 magicka, 0 health, and 0 stamina.
64 Magicka
0 Health
0 Stamina
Magicka Necromancer Beginner Race
For this build, I recommend any of the magicka-focused races that increase damage including High Elf, Dark Elf, and Khajiit. The most common choice for meta end game is Dark Elf because of the spell and weapon damage and two resource pools. Khajiit is great for critical damage, but is weaker in high-end PvE content. Meanwhile, the High Elf and Breton are two great choices for better resource sustain.
For more details on all ESO Races and passive bonuses be sure to check out our Full ESO Race Guide.
Magicka Necromancer Beginner Mundus
The Thief is the best mundus stone for the Magicka Necromancer build because you cannot reach a “cap.” Critical damage (Shadow mundus) and offensive penetration (Lover) both can reach a hardcap where you see no benefit. Most Veteran enemies have 18,200 armor, thus Shadow becomes ineffective if using light armor. Meanwhile, the hardcap for critical damage is 125% which can be reached in trials with medium armor equipped. Light armor users have a bonus that increase penetration, and sometimes you can spill over. This is why the Thief is superior as an all around mundus stone, giving you the best benefit regardless of the content.
Increases the Critical Strike rating by 1333
With 7 Divines armor pieces
Increases the Critical Strike rating by 2167
Magicka Necromancer Beginner Food & Drink
Witchmother’s Potent Brew is the best beginner Magicka Necromancer food or drink because it increases your max magicka, health, and grants magicka recovery. As a new player, you desperately need resource sustain as well as damage, which is why this is selected. Later as you advance, other food is used like “bi-stat” which forgos magicka recovery for higher max stats. But, this comes with a big downside and that is weak sustain and not recommended right away.
Witchmother’s potent brew
Increase Max Magicka by 2856, Max Health by 3094, and Magicka Recovery by 315 for 2 hours.
These effects are scaled based on your level.
Ingredients: Nightshade, Bervez Juice, Rice, Small Game
Magicka Necromancer Beginner Potions
Basic Magicka Potions
The best magicka potions for the Magicka Necromancer are the base potions that give you magicka recovery. The recover, with medicine use passive from alchemy, can run 47.5 seconds. With potion cooldown only last 45 seconds, you can maintain 100% up time on an additional 20% recovery. As you advance, tri-potions (all three stats), spell power potions (buffs and recovery), or even heroism potions (ultimate generation buff) can be used. However, consider using these right now depending on your level and don’t be shy about drinking them.
Magicka Necromancer Beginner Skills
Main Weapon: INFERNO STAFF – Click on a Skill Name to learn more
- Stalking Blastbones
- Barbed Trap
- Skeletal Arcanist
- Ricochet Skull or Hungry Scythe
- Inner Light
- ULT: Pestilent Colossus
Backup Weapon: LIGHTNING STAFF – Click on a Skill Name to learn more
Magicka Necromancer Beginner Skills Explanation
Inferno Staff Bar Explanation
- Stalking Blastbones: main range damage source that creates a corpse, constantly cast this after it explodes on a target.
- Barbed Trap: high damage skill DOT, that also grants a critical buff called Minor Force, use in melee range.
- Skeletal Arcanist: summons a archer for you, plus grants major sorcery increasing spell damage and creates a corpse.
- Ricochet Skull or Hungry Scythe: Use Ricochet Skull as a range main spammable or Hungry Scythe for melee that also heals you.
- Inner Light: This is passively slotted to increase max magicka and provide the critical buff.
- ULT: Pestilent Colossus: burst ultimate that also grants major vulnerability adding 10% damage to taken to any enemy hit with it.
Lighting Staff Back Bar Explanation
- Elemental Blockade: large rectangle wall that triggers status effect, great AOE damage, and duration.
- Degeneration: a high damage DOT that also triggers Major Sorcery buffing your spell damage, place on main target.
- Elemental Drain: this debuffs the enemy by lower armor, increasing your damage and also giving you resources when attacking the mob.
- Summoner’s Armor: a defensive buff that increases your resistance, which lowers incoming damage and reduces cost of three of your abilities.
- Spirit Guardian: this scale reduces damage, and restores health while active plus generates a corpse.
- ULT: Ravenous Goliath: your defensive ultimate, use this when about to die to gain incredible HP and health siphon by damaging enemies.
Magicka Necromancer Beginner Rotation
When it comes to your rotation, remember that it’s situational. Always focus on surviving > staying out of red > then damage. Pre-buff before the fight starts in order to save on cooldowns which each skill cost one second GCD.
Rotation: Start on the Front Bar by casting Blastbones -> Barswap -> Elemental Blockade, Degeneration, Summoner’s Armor, Spirit Guardian -> Bar Swap -> Blastbones, Barbed Trap, Skeletal Arcanist, Blastbones, Ricochet Skull x2, Blastbones Ricochet Skull x2, Blastbones -> Barswap
Notes: Make sure to light attack between each skill. Elemental Drain only needs to be cast on boss type enemies every 3-4 rotations. Cast your Ultimate when ready. Swap Ricochet Skulls to Hungry Scythe if facing lots of enemies and you need more healing.
Magicka Necromancer Beginner Passives
- Death Knell
- Last Gasp
- Undead Confederate
- Reusable Parts
- Evocation
- Prodigy
- Concentration
- Tri-Focus
- Ancient Knowledge
Magicka Necromancer Class Mastery
Players that reach level 50 in ESO while also fully reaching Rank 50 for their class skill lines and not subclassing can use 2 Class Mastery passives to improve their build. For the Necromancer class I recommend Nothing Wasted for the increased Max Health and Weapon and Spell Damage along with Cycle Unending for up to 25% bonus damage versus monsters (or 10% versus players).
Nothing Wasted
As an abattoir of death, no remnants of life are wasted.
Effect
Upgrades rank 2 of Corpse Consumption to also grant you a stack of Nothing Wasted for 15 seconds, which increases your Max Health by 2% and Weapon and Spell Damage by 2% per stack, up to 10 times. Stacks decay three at a time instead of all at once.
Cycle Unending
The cycle of life and death continues: you will live, others will die.
Effect
Upgrades rank 2 of Reusable Parts to grant Cycle Unending for 25 seconds, increasing the potency of your damage done by 1% for every 1% Health you have more than your target. The damage bonus caps at 25%, or 10% against players.
How To Create Powerful ESO Builds
Crafting the Perfect Build for you in The Elder Scrolls Online can be frustrating. Which skills are best for each class? What about passives? The best race? The best armor type and weapons? The best trait and glyphs? There are literally THOUSANDS of different options!
This is why we created the ESO Zero To Hero Build Academy – A Simple, yet Powerful build system that teaches the fundamentals of ESO Theorycrafting, step-by-step.
Build your character exactly how YOU want by following this simple process from start to finish and FINALLY start enjoying ESO the way you want to play it!
Our Guides are designed with New and Intermediate players in mind! Stop wasting hours searching the internet for the best ESO build information – get what you need NOW to succeed!
More Necromancer Builds For ESO
Want more Necromancer Builds? Check out our dedicated Necromancer Builds overview page for even more great options!
