MAGICKA SORCERER BUILD
Writer: @xGamx
Role: DPS
Patch: Update 37 – Scribes of Fate
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome to the Tempest Magicka Sorcerer Build for The Elder Scrolls Online! This build is optimized for beginner and veteran players looking for setups for Trials, Dungeons, and Arenas. The Magicka Sorcerer specializes in Shock Damage abilities and is incredibly lethal with Area of effect (AOE) abilities. They can also grant powerful buffs to the group that are rarely utilized without a Sorcerer. Sorcerers have three unique skill lines, each with a role to play:
The Daedric Summoning skill line has a blended focus of offensive and defensive abilities and provides summonable familiars to fight alongside you. The Magicka Sorcerer Build utilizes this skill line the most. The Greater Storm Atronach is a long-lasting, low-cost Ultimate ability that grants the Major Berserk buff to up to 6 group members, something only the Sorcerer can do. Part of what makes this Ultimate so cheap is the Power Stone passive that also comes from the Daedric Summoning skill line.
The Dark Magic skill line focuses primarily on offensive abilities. The Crystal Fragments skill is your main single-target damage ability and has a secondary function that triggers by casting any non-Ultimate ability. When this happens, it’s your top priority to cast this skill again, as it causes your next cast to be instant, deals 66% more damage, and costs 50% less Magicka. In addition, each time you cast this ability, it heals you and grants the Minor Prophecy buff group-wide due to the Blood Magic and Exploitation passives.
The Storm Calling skill line focuses primarily on offensive abilities, but for this Magicka Sorcerer Build, the passives are the main benefit from this skill line. Most notably, the Energized passive increases your Physical and Shock Damage by 5%, and the Expert Mage passive further increases your Weapon and Spell Damage by up to 2% for each class ability slotted.
The Damage Dealer (DPS) role in The Elder Scrolls Online is not just responsible for bringing enemies down. Eliminating enemies in the correct order from most threatening to least is essential, as is positioning yourself in a way that keeps you out of harm’s way and allows your support roles to easily target you should the need arise. Your support roles will do their best to group and debuff enemies while buffing and healing you. Failing to stand with your group and follow instructions will most likely lead to you not receiving heals and buffs and could even cause a group wipe in some cases.
Whether you’re a returning player, just getting started, or looking to hone your skills, The Magicka Sorcerer Build covers everything you need to know, including recommended armor setups, skills, champion points, and many alternatives to meet various needs. Please read the entire build and bookmark the page, as it will update with each new patch.
APRIL 28 / 2023:
• Build was officially re-released.
RACE
HIGH ELF
KHAJIIT
DARK ELF
BRETON
The races that offer the best passives for the DPS role are High Elves, Khajiit, and Dark Elves, though all races are more than capable of making good DPS. This Magicka Sorcerer Build utilizes the High Elf racial passives, but choosing a race that best suits your needs is best.
The High Elf race gives you many significant boosts to your core combat stats and offers a unique form of sustain, allowing you to restore either Magicka or Stamina based on what you need when the passive activates. Unfortunately, the Magicka Sorcerer is not likely to make use of the damage reduction while channelling an ability due to there not being any in their toolkit.
The Khajiit race provides the only way to increase your Critical Damage with racial passives. They also offer increases to all resource pools and recoveries, making them one of the more hybridized choices for this build.
The Dark Elf race increases your Weapon and Spell Damage and focuses more on hybridizing Magicka and Stamina resource pools. While they don’t have a method of sustaining, they do have significant resistance to Flame Damage abilities.
The Breton race increases your Maximum Magicka and offers the best Magicka sustain compared to all other races. They also have excellent Spell Resistance boosts, especially while under a magical status effect, such as Burning, Chilled, or Concussed. Bretons offer very few offensive benefits, so they should only be chosen if you struggle to sustain.
ATTRIBUTES
MAGICKA
64
HEALTH
0
STAMINA
0
Invest all available points into Magicka. Maximum Magicka improves the strength of your damage and healing abilities. If you feel that you need more Health, you can alter one or two of the armor enchantments on your gear. Damage Dealers usually have around 18,000 Maximum Health or more with a food buff active.
TRIAL SETUP
Below is a Damaged-Focused Setup for the Magicka Sorcerer Build. It utilizes Dungeon and Trial sets to maximize your damage output. While Dual Wielding is your best option for damage, if you would rather play a ranged Sorcerer, using an Inferno Staff on your front bar is a minimal damage loss! If you choose to do this, aim for the Precise trait with the Flame Damage enchantment.
| SET NAME | TRAIT | ENCHANTMENT | WEIGHT/TYPE | ACQUIRED | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
HEAD |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Medium |
Veteran Scalecaller Peak |
|
|
SHOULDERS |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Light |
Undaunted Enclave |
|
|
CHEST |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Medium |
Falkreath Hold |
|
|
HANDS |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Medium |
Falkreath Hold |
|
|
WAIST |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Medium |
Falkreath Hold |
|
|
LEGS |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Medium |
Scrying |
|
|
FEET |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Light |
(Veteran) Dreadsail Reef |
|
|
NECKLACE |
Bloodthirsty |
Magical Harm |
Jewelry |
(Veteran) Dreadsail Reef |
|
|
RING |
Bloodthirsty |
Magical Harm |
Jewelry |
(Veteran) Dreadsail Reef |
|
|
RING |
Bloodthirsty |
Magical Harm |
Jewelry |
(Veteran) Dreadsail Reef |
|
|
FRONT BAR (MAIN HAND) |
Charged |
Flame Damage |
Dagger |
(Veteran) Dreadsail Reef |
|
|
FRONT BAR (OFF-HAND) |
Precise |
Poison Damage |
Dagger |
Falkreath Hold |
|
|
BACK BAR |
Infused |
Increase Weapon/Spell Damage |
Inferno Staff |
Falkreath Hold |
DUNGEON SETUP
The Dungeon Setup for the Magicka Sorcerer Build is optimized for DPS looking to replace crafted sets with Dungeon and Overland sets that are easy to collect. The selection of sets below will increase your AOE damage output and provide a way to gain the Minor Force buff if you don’t have access to Barbed Trap yet.
| SET NAME | TRAIT | ENCHANTMENT | WEIGHT/TYPE | ACQUIRED | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
HEAD |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Light |
Veteran Vaults of Madness |
|
|
SHOULDERS |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Light |
Undaunted Enclave |
|
|
CHEST |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Medium |
Summerset |
|
|
HANDS |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Medium |
Summerset |
|
|
WAIST |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Medium |
Summerset |
|
|
LEGS |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Medium |
Summerset |
|
|
FEET |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Medium |
Summerset |
|
|
NECKLACE |
Arcane |
Magical Harm |
Jewelry |
Crafted |
|
|
RING |
Arcane |
Magical Harm |
Jewelry |
Crafted |
|
|
RING |
Arcane |
Magical Harm |
Jewelry |
Crafted |
|
|
FRONT BAR (MAIN HAND) |
Charged |
Flame Damage |
Dagger |
Crafted |
|
|
FRONT BAR (OFF-HAND) |
Precise |
Poison Damage |
Dagger |
Crafted |
|
|
BACK BAR |
Infused |
Increase Weapon/Spell Damage |
Inferno Staff |
Crafted |
BEGINNER SETUP
Your options for beginner gear are typically limited to crafted sets or something cheap in guild stores. The Beginner Setup for the Magicka Sorcerer Build includes only crafted sets and is optimized for freshly created characters and CP160 DPS looking for an excellent build to start farming more challenging content.
| SET NAME | TRAIT | ENCHANTMENT | WEIGHT/TYPE | ACQUIRED | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
HEAD |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Light |
Crafted |
|
|
SHOULDERS |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Light |
Crafted |
|
|
CHEST |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Light |
Crafted |
|
|
HANDS |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Light |
Crafted |
|
|
WAIST |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Light |
Crafted |
|
|
LEGS |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Light |
Crafted |
|
|
FEET |
Divines |
Maximum Magicka |
Light |
Crafted |
|
|
NECKLACE |
Arcane |
Magical Harm |
Jewelry |
Crafted |
|
|
RING |
Arcane |
Magical Harm |
Jewelry |
Crafted |
|
|
RING |
Arcane |
Magical Harm |
Jewelry |
Crafted |
|
|
FRONT BAR (MAIN HAND) |
Charged |
Flame Damage |
Dagger |
Crafted |
|
|
FRONT BAR (OFF-HAND) |
Precise |
Poison Damage |
Dagger |
Crafted |
|
|
BACK BAR |
Infused |
Increase Weapon/Spell Damage |
Inferno Staff |
Crafted |
Spell Parasite is equipped until you can obtain a suitable monster set to replace it. A great beginner option is Grothdarr to increase your AOE damage output.
Law of Julianos and Order’s Wrath both significantly improve your core combat stats needed by all DPS. Order’s Wrath is stronger than most Overland options.
While this configuration is not required, it will provide the most optimal progression path for a beginner DPS. After obtaining a crafted gear setup, you may begin farming the other setups.
SKILLS
FRONT BAR
Elemental Weapon (Morph of Imbue Weapon | Skill Line: Psijic Order)
Daedric Prey (Morph of Daedric Curse | Skill Line: Daedric Summoning)
Twilight Tormentor (Morph of Winged Twilight | Skill Line: Daedric Summoning)
Crystal Fragments (Morph of Crystal Shard | Skill Line: Dark Magic)
Volatile Familiar (Morph of Unstable Familiar | Skill Line: Daedric Summoning)
Flawless Dawnbreaker (Morph of Dawnbreaker | Skill Line: Fighters Guild)
BACK BAR
Barbed Trap (Morph of Trap Beast | Skill Line: Fighters Guild)
Unstable Wall of Elements (Morph of Wall of Elements | Skill Line: Destruction Staff)
Twilight Tormentor (Morph of Winged Twilight | Skill Line: Daedric Summoning)
Lightning Flood (Morph of Lightning Splash | Skill Line: Storm Calling)
Volatile Familiar (Morph of Unstable Familiar | Skill Line: Daedric Summoning)
Greater Storm Atronach (Morph of Storm Atronach | Skill Line: Daedric Summoning)
ALTERNATIVE SKILLS
ELEMENTAL RAGE
Skill Line: Destruction Staff
Base Skill: Elemental Storm
Elemental Rage can replace Greater Storm Atronach when you need a burst-oriented AOE Ultimate to eliminate threatening targets as quickly as possible.
REGENERATIVE WARD
Skill Line: Daedric Summoning
Base Skill: Conjured Ward
Regenerative Ward can replace Barbed Trap or Lightning Flood when you need a powerful damage shield for you and your familiars. It also grants the Minor Intellect and Endurance buffs to all allies.
MYSTIC ORB
Skill Line: Undaunted
Base Skill: Necrotic Orb
Mystic Orb can replace Barbed Trap if you’re already at the Critical Damage cap or during add fights for increased AOE damage output.
MAGES' WRATH
Skill Line: Storm Calling
Base Skill: Mages’ Fury
Mages’ Wrath can replace Crystal Fragments during add fights to execute enemies in groups quickly. It could also replace Elemental Weapon if you prefer to use Crystal Fragments as your main single-target damage ability.
INNER LIGHT
Skill Line: Mages Guild
Base Skill: Magelight
Inner Light can replace Twilight Tormentor on the front if you need a source of Major Prophecy and Savagery. In this case, replace Twilight Tormentor on the back bar with Critical Surge to grant yourself the Major Sorcery and Brutality buffs as well.
CRITICAL SURGE
Skill Line: Storm Calling
Base Skill: Surge
Critical Surge can replace Twilight Tormentor on the back bar if you need a source of Major Sorcery and Brutality. It also significantly improves your survivability, as it heals you each time you deal damage, once a second.
TWILIGHT MATRIARCH
Skill Line: Daedric Summoning
Base Skill: Winged Tormentor
Twilight Matriarch can replace Twilight Tormentor for an incredibly powerful burst heal in exchange for a slight loss in damage output.
BOUND AEGIS
Skill Line: Daedric Summoning
Base Skill: Bound Armor
Bound Aegis can replace Elemental Weapon if you prefer to use Crystal Fragments as your main single-target damage ability. It also grants you an increased Magicka resource pool and the Minor Resolve buff while slotted. Casting Bound Aegis also grants you the Minor Protection buff for a short time.
DARK CONVERSION
Skill Line: Dark Magic
Base Skill: Dark Exchange
Dark Conversion can replace Barbed Trap or Lightning Flood if you want a strong burst heal, improved sustain, and the Minor Berserk buff.
PULSAR
Skill Line: Destruction Staff
Base Skill: Impulse
Pulsar can replace Elemental Weapon during add fights for increased AOE damage. This skill requires any Destruction Staff to be equipped to cast, but a Flame Staff is recommended because it deals more damage to the target based on their missing Health.
HURRICANE
Skill Line: Storm Calling
Base Skill: Lightning Form
Hurricane can replace Crystal Fragments during add fights for increased AOE damage. It also grants you the Major Resolve and Minor Expedition buffs.
PROXIMITY DETONATION
Skill Line: Assault
Base Skill: Magicka Detonation
Proximity Detonation can replace Lightning Flood during add fights for increased AOE burst damage. Casting this skill 4-5 seconds before initiating combat will give you the best timing for the explosion.
PASSIVES
Almost all passives in the skill lines you use are worth unlocking, but some are more critical to the build than others. Below is a complete list of only the most essential passives to the Magicka Sorcerer Build, which should be unlocked first if possible.
DAEDRIC SUMMONING
- Rebate
- Power Stone
DARK MAGIC
- Unholy Knowledge
- Blood Magic
- Exploitation
STORM CALLING
- All Passives
DESTRUCTION STAFF
- All Passives
LIGHT ARMOR
- Evocation
- Prodigy
- Concentration
MEDIUM ARMOR
- Dexterity
- Wind Walker
- Agility
FIGHTERS GUILD
- Intimidating Presence
- Slayer
- Banish the Wicked
UNDAUNTED
- Undaunted Command
- Undaunted Mettle
ALCHEMY
- Medicinal Use
MUNDUS STONE
THE THIEF
EASTMARCH
ALIK'R DESERT
MALABAL TOR
Critical Chance is an important stat to increase on all damaging dealing builds. The Thief Mundus Stone does just that.
CONSUMABLES
FOOD
GHASTLY EYE BOWL
The Ghastly Eye Bowl is your best food option if you need to improve your Magicka sustain. It is quite cheap to craft, and the ingredients are easy to find. It can also be purchased from guild stores if you haven’t learned the recipe.
Bonuses:
– Increase Maximum Magicka by ~4592.
– Increase Magicka Recovery by ~357.
– Scales with your level.
– Lasts 2 hours.
Ingredients:
– Bervez Juice (1)
– Lotus (1)
– Mint (1)
– Rose (1)
– Columbine (1)
SOLITUDE SALMON-MILLET SOUP
The Salmon Salmon-Millet Soup is your best food option if your group supplies you with enough Magicka sustain and you want to maximize your Magicka resource pool. It is very cheap to craft, and the ingredients are easy to find. It can also be purchased from guild stores if you haven’t learned the recipe.
Bonuses:
– Increase Maximum Health by 5395.
– Increase Maximum Magicka by 4936.
– Lasts 1 hour.
Ingredients:
– Fish (1)
– Millet (1)
– Tomato (1)
CLOCKWORK CITRUS FILET
The Clockwork Citrus Filet is a great food option for a blend of Maximum Health and Magicka and Magicka Recovery; however, it’s costly to craft due to the Perfect Roe ingredient. If gold is an issue, you can use Witchmother’s Potent Brew instead for a minimal decrease in stats.
Bonuses:
– Increase Maximum Health by 3326.
– Increase Maximum Magicka by 3080.
– Increase Health Recovery by 406.
– Increase Magicka Recovery by 338.
– Lasts 2 hours.
Ingredients:
– Frost Mirriam (1)
– Lemon (1)
– Perfect Roe (1)
– Red Meat (1)
POTIONS
ESSENCE OF MAGICKA (HEROISM)
The Essence of Heroism potion is your best option for maximizing damage output by significantly increasing your Ultimate regeneration; however, using these potions requires that you gain the Major Brutality, Sorcery, Savagery, and Prophecy buffs another way, such as in the Alternative Skills section above. Unfortunately, each ingredient in this potion is more expensive than most.
Bonuses:
– Restore ~7582 Magicka.
– Restore ~7582 Stamina.
– Gain Major Intellect.
– Gain Major Endurance.
– Gain Minor Heroism.
– ~47.6-second duration.
Ingredients:
– Columbine (1)
– Dragon’s Blood (1)
– Dragon Rheum (1)
ESSENCE OF SPELL POWER
The Essence of Spell Power potion provides the Major Sorcery and Prophecy buffs, which are critical to the build and significantly increase damage output. Using these potions allows you to use the build as is. The ingredients in this potion are much cheaper than those in Heroism potions.
Bonuses:
– Restore ~7582 Magicka.
– Gain Major Sorcery.
– Gain Major Prophecy.
– ~47.6-second duration.
Ingredients:
– Corn Flower (1)
– Lady’s Smock (1)
– Namira’s Rot or Water Hyacinth (1)
ESSENCE OF MAGICKA
The Essence of Magicka potion should only be used to sustain yourself if you cannot afford to craft your Spell Power or Heroism potions. Using these potions requires that you gain the Major Brutality, Sorcery, Savagery, and Prophecy buffs another way, such as in the Alternative Skills section above.
Bonuses:
– Restore ~7582 Magicka.
– Gain Major Intellect.
– ~47.6-second duration.
These potions are generic world-dropped potions and are not worth crafting.
CHAMPION POINTS
The Champion Point system in ESO is unlocked once you reach Level 50 and maxes out at 3600 points, though, once you get CP1506, most points gained after are for quality of life purposes. Champion Points unlock many powerful benefits that allow you to customize and strengthen your build. The CP system has three unique constellations: Craft, Warfare, and Fitness. The Warfare and Fitness constellations each have three subtrees.
• The Craft constellation focuses on crafting, gold gain, movement speed, stealth, and increasing material yields.
• The Warfare constellation focuses on increasing damage, healing, and damage mitigation.
• The Fitness constellation focuses on your core stats, such as Maximum Health, various methods of recovery, and provides many defensive benefits.
The Champion Point allocation below is optimized for the Magicka Sorcerer Build, focusing on increasing the damage of your single-target and DOT abilities and sustain. Follow the recommended path below while levelling up and spending your Champion Points to see strong progression.
- Steed’s Blessing (+50) (Slot 1)
- Gilded Fingers (+10)
- Fortune’s Favor (+10)
- Wanderer (+15)
- Steadfast Enchantment (+10)
- Rationer (+10) (Slot 2)
- Liquid Efficiency (+75) (Slot 3)
- Rationer (+20)
- Treasure Hunter (+50) (Slot 4)
- Master Gatherer (+15)
- Gifted Rider (+100) (Replace Slot 4)
- Gilded Fingers (+40)
- Breakfall (+50)
- Steadfast Enchantment (+40)
- Soul Reservoir (+33)
- Beyond this point, you can continue to unlock passives or more slottable perks based on your preference.
- Precision (+10)
- Piercing (+10)
- Master-at-Arms (+50) (Slot 1)
- Fighting Finesse (+50) (Slot 2)
- Deadly Aim (+50) (Slot 3)
- Thaumaturge (+50) (Slot 4)
- Precision (+10)
- Eldritch Insight (+20)
- Piercing (+10)
- Tireless Discipline (+20)
- Quick Recovery (+10)
- Preparation (+20)
- Elemental Aegis (+20)
- Hardy (+20)
- Beyond this point, you can continue to unlock passives or more slottable perks based on your preference.
- Rejuvenation (+50) (Slot 1)
- Tumbling (+15)
- Expert Evasion (+50) (Slot 2)
- Mystic Tenacity (+10)
- Hero’s Vigor (+10)
- Hasty (+8)
- Celerity (+50) (Slot 3)
- Hero’s Vigor (+10)
- Boundless Vitality (+50) (Slot 4)
- Defiance (+20)
- Tumbling (+15)
- Hasty (+8)
- Sprinter (+20)
- Piercing Gaze (+10)
- Tempered Soul (+50)
- Beyond this point, you can continue to unlock passives or more slottable perks based on your preference:
- Slippery (50)
- Spirit Mastery (+50)
ROTATION
Below you will find how to begin a Dynamic rotation. This means you activate your skills accordingly depending on the situation and duration of your skills. It yields the best possible DPS and resource management but can be more difficult to master.
LA = Light Attack
Pre-buff with Twilight Tormentor and Volatile Familiar. Be aware of your range from the target, as Volatile Familiar is an AOE ability, and you don’t want to pull enemies before the Tank is ready.
Begin combat on your back bar:
Barbed Trap > LA > Lightning Flood > LA > Greater Storm Atronach > LA > Unstable Wall > Bar Swap >
LA > Daedric Prey > LA > Elemental Weapon until Crystal Fragments triggers its secondary effect or your DOT abilities need to be reapplied.
NOTES
You can tell when the secondary effect of Crystal Fragments activates by the skill icon gaining a white glowing border around it.
When the secondary effect of Crystal Fragments activates, it is your number one priority to cast it as soon as possible to maximize damage.
