Best ESO Arcanist PvP Build – Maximum Damage!

Table of Contents

• Cyrodiil Setup
  • Gear
  • Skills
  • Scribing Skills
  • Champion Points
  • Important Info (Food, Mundus, Race, Potions, Passives, Attributes)
• Resource Management
• Battlegrounds
• Outfit Style Showcase
• Update Log

Welcome to the ESO Arcanist PvP Build “Rune” for Elder Scrolls Online. Make sure to bookmark the link as I will keep updating the build for each new Update of ESO.

The ESO Magicka Arcanist PVP Build is optimized for Cyrodiil and Battlegrounds. We are using sets that give us a high resource pool, high recovery and also ultimate recovery. We achieve this by combining sets like Crafty Alfiq, Wretched Vitality and Bloodspawn. We are also using a Mythic, but you can replace that if you don’t have access to Mythic items or don’t want to play with them.

With this Arcanist PVP Build you want to make sure to land your combo correctly. Writhing Runeblades, Tentacular Dread and the Ice Comet ultimate can hit the enemy pretty much at the same time, this allows us to pull off very high burst damage. Especially powerful when you use Rune of the Colorless Pool shortly before the Ice Comet hits the enemy. That way the enemy is stunned and can’t block your ultimate.

The Arcanist also has great passives that boost our damage and recovery by quite a bit, more on that further below in the guide.

• Arcanist Class
• Cyrodiil & Battlegrounds
• Destro Frontbar, Resto Backbar
• Fast Movement
• Strong Healing
• High Damage
• Great Sustain

Cyrodiil Setup ESO Arcanist PVP Build

Now let’s take a look at how to create the ESO Magicka Arcanist PVP Build.

5x Crafty Alfiq, 5x Wretched Vitality, 2x Bloodspawn, 1x Druid’s Braid, 1x Band of Malakath on a High Elf with Orzorga buff food.

• Unbuffed: Out of combat, buff food and Major Sorcery active.
• Buffed: In combat, Armor buff, Major Sorcery, Wretched Vitality and Tri-Stat potions were active.

Gear MagArcanist PVP Build

No Mythic? If you don’t have access to a Mythic you can simply run 2x Druid’s Braid instead of just 1 piece.

Where can I get the gear?

Wretched Vitality: Craftable
Crafty Alfiq: Northern Elsweyr Overland, Guildstores
Bloodspawn: vSpindleclutch 2, Undaunted Enclave
Druid’s Braid: Craftable
Band of Malacath: Antiquities

Skills MagArcanist PVP Build

Our Frontbar acts as offense, and our backbar is meant for defense. The Backbar provides shielding, healing, buffing, and speed, while the frontbar dishes out plenty of damage in a short amount of time with our ESO Arcanist PVP Build. It is important to keep up our buffs and debuffs. If you forget to reapply your healing over time you will be defeated fast.

Skill Info

• Rune of the Colorless Pool: Stuns the enemy and applies Minor Vulnerability and Minor Brittle, increasing their damage taken and crit damage taken. Can’t be dodged.
• Tentacular Dread: High damage ability that consumes all Crux. Increases damage on target by a lot.
• Writhing Runeblades: Your main spammable on the Arcanist. Deals good damage, is a ranged ability and generates Crux.
• Elemental Susceptibility: Debuffs the enemy with Major Breach, reducing their resistance. Applies Status Effects periodically.
• Recuperative Treatise: Gives us Major Sorcery on both bars. Also deals damage from time to time and restores resources.
• Ice Comet: Your burst ultimate, hits hard when the enemy can’t block because you stunned him with Rune of the Colorless Pool.
• Cruxweaver Armor: Applies Major Ward to us which increases our resistance. Also procs the Wretching Vitality set, giving us a lot of extra Stamina and Magicka Recovery.
• Race Against Time: Frees us from immobilization and snares. Also gives us Major Expedition for a short duration, increasing our speed by a lot.
• Impervious Runeward: Our main shield, the first second the shield is very big, it drops down a bit afterwards. But great to mitigation heavy incoming damage if timed correctly.
• Rapid Regeneration: Strong heal over time that should stay active always.
• Resolving Vigor: Another strong heal over time.
• The Tide King’s Gaze: This Ultimate adds a lot of pressure on the enemy if used in the right situation over 8 seconds.

Make sure to always weave Light Attacks between your abilities, you can find a guide here: “Weaving Beginner Guide”.

Scribing Skills

The ESO Scribing System offers plenty of adjustable skills to add to our build. The scribing skill listed below can increase our survivability a bit.

Important: Please read here how to get Grimoires, Focus Scripts, Signature Scripts and Affix Scripts for the ESO Scribing system.

Base Scribing Skill useful to our build:

• Mages Guild: Ulfsild’s Contingency (Warding Contingency)

Warding Contingency

Warding Contingency helps our survivability. You can place a rune on yourself and the rune will activate once you use a skill. This is great because it essentially pre-buffs us with an extra shield and damage mitigation for the start of combat.

• Focus Script
  • Damage Shield
• Signature Script
  • Gladiator’s Tenacity
• Affix Script
  • Protection

Champion Points Magicka Arcanist PVP Build

Below you can find the slottable Champion Points that are recommended for this Arcanist PvP Build in ESO (The Elder Scrolls Online). Make sure to get as many passive Champion Points as possible but focus on the slottable ones listed below.

Warfare Tree Points Allocation

• Deadly Aim (50)
• Master-at-Arms (50)
• Duelist’s Rebuff (50)
• Wrathful Strikes (50)

Fitness Tree Points Allocation

• Boundless Vitality (50)
• Sustained by Suffering (50)
• Pain’s Refuge (50)
• Slippery (50)

Craft Tree Points Allocation

• Steed’s Blessing (50)
• Liquid Efficiency (75)

Important Info for Magicka Arcanist Damage PvP Build

I will be explaining a few important things in this section of the Magicka Arcanist Damage PvP Build.

Buff-food

Orzorga’s Smoked Bear Haunch is the best option for this build as it gives us the needed health and a lot of recovery. However, below you can also find some alternative buff foods that are easier and cheaper to obtain.

Orzorga’s Smoked Bear Haunch
(Max Health, Health Rec, Stamina Rec, Magicka Rec)

Jewels of Misrule
(Max Health, Stamina and Magicka Recovery)

Witchmother’s Potent Brew Drink
(Max Health, Max Magicka, Magicka Recovery)

Poisons

You can also use the standard Health Poisons that you get from daily login rewards. Escapist’s Poison is very powerful but quite expensive.

Escapist’s Poison IX
(Immobilize, Damage Poison, Drain Health)
(Wormwood, Butterfly Wing, Columbine)

Mundus Stone

We are primarily using The Mage Mundus Stone to get extra max magicka. If you have sustain issues you can also use The Atronach Mundus Stone to gain magicka recovery. You can learn more about all the other Mundus Stones on the Mundus Stone Overview Page.

The Mage Mundus Stone (Increased Max Magicka)
or
The Atronach Mundus Stone (If you have sustain issues) (Increased Magicka Recovery)

Race

All Magicka based races work with this setup. More about each race can be found on the racial overview page.

High Elf
Breton
Dark Elf
Argonian
Khajiit
Orc

Potions

I do recommend using Tri Stat Potions as we really need all Stamina and Magicka we can get, to help with sustain and also blocking. You can use the crafted or crown store version.

Tri-Stat Potion
(Health, Stamina, Magicka)
(Bugloss, Columbine, Dragonthorn)

Poisons

You can also use the standard Health Poisons that you get from daily login rewards. The Escapist’s Poison is the best option for our ESO Arcanist PVP Build, but it is quite expensive.

Escapist’s Poison IX
(Immobilize, Damage Poison, Drain Health)
(Wormwood, Butterfly Wing, Columbine)

Passives

• Herald of Tome: Fated Fortune, Harnessed Quintessence, Psychic Lesion, Splintered Secrets
• Curative Runeforms: Hideous Clarity, Erudition, Intricate Runeforms
• Soldier of Apocrypha: Aegis of the Unseen, Wellspring of the Abyss, Circumvented Fate, Implacable Outcome
• Destruction Staff: Tri Focus, Penetrating Magic, Elemental Force, Ancient Knowledge, Destruction Expert
• Restoration Staff: Essence Drain, Restoration Expert, Cycle of Life, Absorb, Restoration Master
• Heavy Armor: Resolve, Constitution, Juggernaut, Revitalize, Rapid Mending
• Light Armor: Grace, Evocation, Spell Warding, Prodigy, Concentration
• Medium Armor: Dexterity, Wind Walker, Athletics, Agility, Improved Sneak
• Mages Guild: Mage Adept, Everlasting Magic, Magicka Controller, Might of the Guild
• Assault: Continuous Attack, Reach, Combat Frenzy
• Support: Magicka Aid, Combat Medic, Battle Resurrection
• Undaunted: Undaunted Command, Undaunted Mettle
• Racial: All
• Psijic Order: All if you use Race Against Time.
• Alchemy: Medicinal Use

Attributes

64 Magicka, 00 Health, 0 Stamina

Resource Management MagArcanist PVP Build

The Recuperative Treatise skill restores Magicka and Stamina whenever we deal damage with any of our class skills, 5 second cooldown.

The Hideous Clarity and Erudition passive both help with sustain on the Arcanist.

Heavy Attacks are a great tool to regain resources too, every time you do a Heavy Attack you regain around 3000 Stamina.

Potions are another great way to restore resources, once you activate the potion you regain around 7500 Stamina and 9000 Health, if you use the potion I recommend it in the potion section of the build.

• Hideous Clarity Passive
• Erudition Passive
• Recuperative Treatise Skill
• Heavy Attacks
• Potions

Our built-in sustain comes from the Orzorga or Lava Foot Soup-and-Saltrice buff food in addition with 1 Magicka Recovery glyph on the jewelry. If you feel like you need more sustain, you can also add more Recovery glyphs on the jewelry.

Battlegrounds Magicka Arcanist PVP Build

For Battlegrounds we want to get more sustain by adding another Magicka Recovery glyph to our jewelry.

You can also swap to the Atronach Mundus Stone if you want even more Magicka Recovery.

Outfit Style Showcase of the Rune Magicka Arcanist PvP Build for ESO

Let us take a look at the outfit style of the Magicka Arcanist PvP Build for ESO. You can find a close up shot, an image from the back and an image of the outfit editor dye station below.

The green glow on the weapon comes from one of the Arcanist skills (Recuperative Treatise).

• Abah’s Watch: Hat
• Pellitine Style: All except Hat
• Dyes: Void Pitch, Hazardous Chartreuse
• Personality: Telvanni Magister
• Skin: Sanctified Silver

Update Log for the Arcanist PVP Build

23.05.2023 Added the first version of the Magicka Arcanist PVP Build for the ESO Necrom Chapter.
25.10.2023 Updated the Build for the Necrom Update 40.
06.03.2024 Updated the Build for the Scions of Ithelia DLC Update 41.
27.05.2024 Updated the Build for the Gold Road Chapter U42.

Tags: Magicka Arcanist PvP Build, MagArcanist PvP Build, MagArcanist Heavy Armor PvP Build, ESO Arcanist PvP Build, ESO Arcanist Build PvP

Related Guides

• ESO PVP Tier List
• Cyrodiil Guide
• Imperial City Guide
• Battlegrounds Guide
• How to unlock Alliance War Skill Lines and Vigor