This beginner build for the Stamina Arcanist class in The Elder Scrolls Online is a great place to get started! This build focuses on powerful damage abilities to melt your enemies!
Arcanist Class Overview
The Arcanist Class is an extremely powerful way to play in The Elder Scrolls Online. Arcanists have many similarities with other classes in ESO such as dedicated Class Skill lines for DPS, for Healing, and for Tanking. Arcanists are also extremely unique in that they make use of a powerful new game mechanic called Crux. For a more detailed guide be sure to review our ESO Arcanist Class Guide located here.
Primary Sets
Our main 5 piece set on this build is Spriggan’s Thorns, a fantastic base game set that increases Weapon and Spell Damage, Maximum Stamina, and Penetration, which will let all of your abilities do more damage.
Next, is Briarheart, a powerful medium armor set that provides a great damage buff as well as some passive healing which will help us with survival.
For the final two pieces of gear on this build Armor Of The Trainee is recommended for the extra Health and Magicka. This set can be easily farmed in any of ESO’s starting zones.
Spriggan’s Thorns
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Stamina
(3 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Stamina
(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(5 items) Adds 3460 Offensive Penetration
Briarheart
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 657 Critical Chance
(3 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Stamina
(4 items) Adds 657 Critical Chance
(5 items) When you deal Critical Damage, you increase your Weapon and Spell Damage by 450 for 10 seconds. While this effect is active your Critical Strikes heal you for 100 Health. This effect can occur once every 15 seconds and the heal scales off the higher of your Maximum Magicka or Stamina.
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
Alternative Sets
For alternative sets, I also recommend any options that improve the sustain of your build such as Wretched Vitality. Another great all-around crafted set is Order’s Wrath.
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 129 Magicka Recovery
(3 items) Adds 129 Stamina Recovery
(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(5 items) While in combat, applying a Major Buff or Debuff to a target grants you 260 Magicka and Stamina Recovery for 15 seconds. While in combat, applying a Minor Buff or Debuff to a target grants you 130 Magicka and Stamina Recovery for 15 seconds.
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%.
Sample Gear Loadout
Note that the location of these gear pieces (weapons, jewelry or body pieces) is not important and can be mixed and matched depending on which pieces you acquire first.
| Weapon/Armor | Set | Trait | Weight | Glyph |
| Main Hand | Spriggan’s Thorns Dual Wield | Any Trait | NA | Absorb Stamina / Poison Damage |
| Backup | Spriggan’s Thorns Two-Hander | Infused | NA | Weapon/Spell Damage |
| Head | Armor Of The Trainee | Divines | Any | Stamina |
| Shoulder | Armor Of The Trainee | Divines | Any | Stamina |
| Chest | Briarheart | Divines | Medium | Stamina |
| Waist | Briarheart | Divines | Medium | Stamina |
| Gloves | Briarheart | Divines | Medium | Stamina |
| Legs | Briarheart | Divines | Medium | Stamina |
| Feet | Briarheart | Divines | Medium | Stamina |
| Necklace | Spriggan’s Thorns | Robust | NA | Stamina Recovery |
| Ring 1 | Spriggan’s Thorns | Robust | NA | Stamina Recovery |
| Ring 2 | Spriggan’s Thorns | Robust | NA | Stamina Recovery |
Attributes
Most of our skills cost Stamina to cast, so putting all of your Attribute Points into the Stamina stat makes the most sense.
0 Magicka
0 Health
64 Stamina
Race, Mundus, and Consumables
Dark Elf will be a powerful and flexible option for this Stamina-based Arcanist build. With their combined Maximum Magicka and Stamina bonus, the Dark Elf race gives you more breathing room to cast abilities of both types which is helpful with the Arcanist class. A similar option with slightly less damage would be Khajiit.
Mundus
The Lover
Increases Physical and Spell Penetration by 2744
With 7 Divines armor pieces
Increases Physical and Spell Penetration by 4489
Food/Drink
Jewels of Misrule
Increase Stamina and Magicka Recovery by 357 and Max Health by 3927 for 2 hours.
These effects are scaled based on your level.
Potion
Basic Stamina Potions
Sample Skill Loadout
Main Weapon: DUAL WIELD – Click on a Skill Name to learn more
Backup Weapon: TWO-HANDED – Click on a Skill Name to learn more
Sample Rotation
Buffs: Start on the front bar with Deadly Cloak, then bar swap and cast Cruxweaver Armor and Recuperative Treatise. Cast Reconstructive Domain and stay inside this rune for extra healing and defensive buffs if needed for more difficult content.
Damage: Start on the back bar by casting Stampede and Carve x2. Bar Swap.
Next, cast Cephaliarch’s Flail to immobilize enemies and build Crux or use Evolving Runemend if more healing is needed. Both abilities build Crux. Remember, your goal is to reach 3 total Crux.
Once at 3 Crux stacks, cast Pragmatic Fatecarver to melt all enemies in front of you!
Ultimates: The Tide King’s Gaze is useful when you need to kill an enemy very quickly, like with a boss. For more difficult encounters, facing off against multiple hard-hitting enemies, this is where you’ll want to use Sanctum Of The Abyssal Sea for a huge damage shield, allowing you to survive pretty much anything!
Important Passives
- Erudition
- Fated Fortune
- Splintered Secrets
- Harnessed Quintessence
- Implacable Outcome
- Wind Walker
- Dexterity
- Twin Blade And Blunt
- Balanced Blade
- Agility
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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!
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