Remember to treat this as a base to work from…
Always adjust as needed for YOUR specific situation!
the build basics
Make sure to read the notes along with the graphics as they are often JUST AS IMPORTANT!
top races
mundus stone
food & drinks
potions
UESP has a great Alchemy Calculator if you want to see all possible combinations
champion points
Need help with the Penetration and Crit Damage caps? Check out these charts
For short burst encounters, “Exploiter” moves up into the “Crit Dmg CP” range, as long as Off-Balance is coordinated
If Off-Balance is NOT present, choose from the best of the other remaining 4 to the left of it
TOP GEAR setups
For a full list of the best DPS sets, check out my tier list
For more details on when to use what, check out top DPS sets video
setup #1: TRADITIONAL
TWO 5 PC SETS, 1PC MONSTER SET + MYTHIC, ARENA SET BACKBARRED
-
Single Target
Arms of Relequen
Pillar of NirnAoE/ST
Whorl of the Depths
Bahsei’s Mania
Coral Riptide
Ansuul’s TormentAoE
Azureblight Reaper (if no one else is wearing)Support
Roar of Alkosh
Master Architect
War Machine
Martial Knowledge -
-
Most Common
Harpooner’s Wading Kilt - S-Tier damage if bonus can be maintained
Velothi Ur-Mage's Amulet - S-Tier for AoE Priority Encounters
Mora’s Whispers - A-tier damage with no stacks or mini-game
Ring of the Pale Order - Great for healing solo or in a small group with no healers
More Situational
Thrassian Stranglers - S-tier for damage for some solo or small group encounters if getting enough killing blows
Sea-Serpent’s Coil - S-Tier damage if maintaining/benefiting from both bonuses
Death Dealer’s Fete - C-Tier for damage but a nice bit of extra health
-
Top Backbar Arena Options
Crushing Wall (Maelstrom Inferno Staff)
Merciless Charge (Maelstrom Greatsword)
Thunderous Volley (Maelstrom Bow)
Caustic Arrow (Dragonstar Bow)
Spectral Cloak (Blackrose Prison Daggers)If using Dual Wield, use Infused Flame and Weapon Damage enchantments
-
If you would prefer to run a full 2pc Monster Set, drop the Mythic and move your Set A “shoulder” piece to your ‘legs” slot
Single Target Priority
Maw of the Infernal
Zaan
Stormfist
Kjalnar’s Nightmare
SeleneAoE Priority
Velidreth
Prior ThierricSituational
Balorgh (Short Burst)
Iceheart (Mix of Dmg/Survival)
setup #2: NO ARENA SETS
TWO 5 PC SETS (1 FRONT BAR + 1 BACK BAR) + 2PC MONSTER SET + MYTHIC
-
Single Target
Arms of Relequen
Pillar of NirnAoE/ST
Sul-Xan’s Torment
Mantle of Siroria
Whorl of the Depths
Yandir’s Might
Tzogvin’s Warband
Aegis Caller
Venomous SmiteShort Burst
Mechanical Acuity
Burning Spellweave
BriarheartLarge Bosses Only
Flame BlossomSupport
Roar of Alkosh
Master Architect
War Machine
Martial Knowledge -
Single Target
Pillar of NirnAoE
Whorl of the Depths
Aegis Caller
Venomous Smite
Mantle of SiroriaLarge Bosses Only
Flame BlossomSupport
Master Architect
War MachineShort Burst
Burning Spellweave
Briarheart -
Most Common
Harpooner’s Wading Kilt - S-Tier damage if bonus can be maintained
Velothi Ur-Mage's Amulet - S-Tier for AoE Priority Encounters
Ring of the Pale Order - Great for healing solo or in a small group with no healers
More Situational
Thrassian Stranglers - S-tier for damage for some solo or small group encounters if getting enough killing blows
Sea-Serpent’s Coil - S-Tier damage if maintaining/benefiting from both bonuses
Death Dealer’s Fete - C-Tier for damage but a nice bit of extra health
-
Single Target Priority
Maw of the Infernal
Zaan
Stormfist
Kjalnar’s Nightmare
SeleneAoE Priority
Velidreth
Prior ThierricSituational
Balorgh (Short Burst)
Iceheart (Mix of Dmg/Survival)
SETUP #3: DOUBLE ARENA SETS
5 PC SET, 2PC MONSTER SET, MYTHIC, 2 arena sets, 2PC cRIT CHANCE
-
-
Single Target Priority
Maw of the Infernal
Zaan
Stormfist
Kjalnar’s Nightmare
SeleneAoE Priority
Velidreth
Prior ThierricSituational
Balorgh (Short Burst)
Iceheart (Mix of Dmg/Survival) -
Most Common
Harpooner’s Wading Kilt - S-Tier damage if bonus can be maintained
Velothi Ur-Mage's Amulet - S-Tier for AoE Priority Encounters
Ring of the Pale Order - Great for healing solo or in a small group with no healers
More Situational
Thrassian Stranglers - S-tier for damage for some solo or small group encounters if getting enough killing blows
Sea-Serpent’s Coil - S-Tier damage if maintaining/benefiting from both bonuses
Death Dealer’s Fete - C-Tier for damage but a nice bit of extra health
-
Top Front Bar Arena Options
Spectral Cloak (Blackrose Prison Daggers)
Executioner’s Blade (Vateshran Daggers)
Titanic Cleave (Master’s GS or Maul)
Virulent Shot (Blackrose Prison Bow)For Non-Dual Wield options, the trait will be Precise or Charged and the enchantment will be Poison
-
Top Backbar Arena Options
Crushing Wall (Maelstrom Inferno Staff)
Merciless Charge (Maelstrom Greatsword)
Thunderous Volley (Maelstrom Bow)
Caustic Arrow (Dragonstar Bow)
Spectral Cloak (Blackrose Prison Daggers)If using Dual Wield, use Infused Flame and Weapon Damage enchantments
SETUP #4: REVERSE TRADITIONAL
TWO 5 PC SETS, 1PC MONSTER SET + MYTHIC, ARENA SET front-BARRED
-
Single Target
Arms of Relequen
Pillar of NirnAoE/ST
Whorl of the Depths
Bahsei’s Mania
Coral Riptide
Ansuul’s Torment
Yandir’s MightAoE
Tzogvin’s Warband
Aegis Caller
Azureblight Reaper (Only if no one else is wearing)Support
Roar of Alkosh
Master Architect
War Machine
Martial Knowledge -
Single Target
Pillar of NirnAoE
Whorl of the Depths
Aegis Caller
Venomous Smite
Mantle of SiroriaLarge Bosses Only
Flame BlossomSupport
Master Architect
War MachineShort Burst
Burning Spellweave
Briarheart -
Most Common
Harpooner’s Wading Kilt - S-Tier damage if bonus can be maintained
Velothi Ur-Mage's Amulet - S-Tier for AoE Priority Encounters
Mora’s Whispers - A-tier damage with no stacks or mini-game
Ring of the Pale Order - Great for healing solo or in a small group with no healers
More Situational
Thrassian Stranglers - S-tier for damage for some solo or small group encounters if getting enough killing blows
Sea-Serpent’s Coil - S-Tier damage if maintaining/benefiting from both bonuses
Death Dealer’s Fete - C-Tier for damage but a nice bit of extra health
-
Top Front Bar Arena Options
Spectral Cloak (Blackrose Prison Daggers)
Executioner’s Blade (Vateshran Daggers)
Titanic Cleave (Master’s GS or Maul)
Virulent Shot (Blackrose Prison Bow)For Non-Dual Wield options, the trait will be Precise or Charged and the enchantment will be Poison
-
If you would prefer to run a full 2pc Monster Set, drop the Mythic and move your Set A “shoulder” piece to your ‘legs” slot
Single Target Priority
Maw of the Infernal
Zaan
Stormfist
Kjalnar’s Nightmare
SeleneAoE Priority
Velidreth
Prior ThierricSituational
Balorgh (Short Burst)
Iceheart (Mix of Dmg/Survival)
additional NOTES
For the Front Bar Staff or Bow Enchantment, Poison will generally be the best, if you already have good burning uptimes
However, If you already have higher Poisoned uptimes, you might see better results with a Flame enchantment
Configure the # of Medium/Light Armor pieces to your needs but always keep at least 1 Medium and 1 Light Armor piece
Body and jewelry pieces are always interchangeable as long as you are keeping the weights that you want
And finally, the options listed are just my favorites - there are plenty of other sets that work great too
skill bar setups
2-PET setup
1-PET setup
ALTERNATIVE SKILLS
Alternate Spammable
If you don’t like or can’t sustain using Crystal Fragments as your main spam, drop Bound Armaments for:
Silver Shards, Force Pulse, Elemental Weapon, Rapid Strikes, or Wrecking Blow
Shrouded Daggers also works great here if using Executioner’s Blade (Vateshran Dual Wield)
Ranged Changes
If you can’t stay in melee to hit with Hurricane you can swap it out for:
Elemental Susceptibility (Staff) or Poison Injection (Bow)
If you can’t step in melee to place Barbed Trap you can swap it out for:
Channeled Acceleration/Race Against Time or Lightweight Beast Trap
Replacing Barbed Trap
If you are already at the Crit Damage cap or running Tzogvin/Velothi you can replace Barbed Trap with whatever other skill you might need such as a Shield, Heal, or AoE DoT
Thanks for stopping by
Thanks to UESP.net as well for the great tools for some of the screenshots
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A lot of work goes into these and the support really helps a ton!