Arcanist is not only a strong damage dealer but also can be very Tanky, as long as you use the right skill and gear setup. In this guide, Soulgrot shows you how to build a Tanky Arcanist for PvP content in The Elder Scrolls Online.

 

 

Build Stats

Maximum Magicka: 24258

Maximum Health: 29864

Maximum Stamina: 17525

 

Magicka Recovery: 2094

Health Recovery: 534

Stamina Recovery: 1714

 

Spell Damage: 3624

Spell Critical: 17.4%

Spell Penetration: 3768

 

Weapon Damage: 3624

Weapon Critical: 17.4%

Physical Penetration: 3768

 

Spell Resistance: 13708

Critical Resistance: 1701

Physical Resistance: 13708

 

Attributes: 54 points into Magicka and 10 points into Health

Race: Khajiit (best), Breton (for more sustain), or High Elf

Mundus: The Shadow

Vampire Stage: 3

Food: Orzorga's Smoked Bear Haunch (best) or Jewels of Misrule (cheaper)

Potion: Essence of Spell Critical

 

Skill Setup

Front Bar Skill Setup

Runic Sunder steals 2200 Armor and applies Minor Maim for 15 seconds, reducing their damage done by 5%. Furthermore, whenever it's slotted, you get a 2% damage reduction per active Crux, meaning it will be a 6% damage reduction in total when you have all three Crux. 

 

Blood Craze deals DoT and heals you for a bit of Health, making it a nice skill for a PvP build.

 

Rune of The Colorless Pool is a strong stun skill. It applies Minor Vulnerability and Minor Brittle to enemies for 20 seconds, increasing their damage taken by 5% and their Critical Damage taken by 10%.

 

Writhing Runeblades can be used as a spammable skill. It deals Magic Damage three times and generates Crux, meaning you will always have three Crux on your front bar. Moreover, Writhing Runeblades gains between 1095 and 2191 Weapon and Spell Critical rating and deals 3% increased damage for each active Crux when cast, so you can deal 9% extra damage for the three Crux. 

 

Recuperative Treatise strikes an enemy with additional Magic Damage, restores your Magicka and Stamina, and generates Crux if you have none. While slotted on either ability bar, Recuperative Treatise gives you Major Brutality and Major Sorcery, increasing your Weapon and Spell Damage by 20%.

 

The Tide King's Gaze (Ultimate) is a great DoT that does Magic Damage every 0.5 seconds within three meters and pairs well with Rune of The Colorless Pool. The Tide King's Gaze is an expensive Ultimate skill, so you can also choose Dawnbreaker, which costs less but works well too. 

 

Back Bar Skill Setup

Impervious Runeward summons a shield that absorbs 9916 damage for 1 second and 5950 damage for 5 seconds if the first shield persists. On top of that, the first time you take damage, the shield retaliates and deals Magic Damage to the attacker. Most importantly, the skill allows you to consume a Crux to heal yourself.

 

Fleet-Footed Gate is used as a Mobility skill. Although this skill is fun to play, it is not as good as Race Against Time due to its cooldown. Therefore, if you want to have fun, you can use Fleet-Footed Gate, but if you need a better Mobility skill for the sweating PvP, Racing Against Time is more helpful.

 

Resolving Vigor is another HoT. It also gives Minor Resolve, increasing your Physical and Spell Resistance for 20 seconds. 

 

Elemental Susceptibility afflicts an enemy with Major Breach, reducing their Physical and Spell Resistance. Every 7.5 seconds, the enemy is afflicted with the Burning, Chilled, and Concussion status effect.

 

Cruxweaver Armor not only grants Major Resolve but also applies Minor Breach to your attacker whenever you take damage. The skill also generates Crux, up to once every 5 seconds. 

 

Sanctum of the Abyssal Sea (Ultimate) gives a shield that absorbs 60% of all damage for 10 seconds. Although the skill comes from a Defensive skill line, it hits very hard as it allows you to deal all of the damage absorbed as Magic Damage to enemies after the shield collapses.

 

Keep in mind that Sanctum of the Abyssal Sea only shields you for 60% of the damage, so you have to obtain the other 40% shield through Impervious Runeward and Resolving Vigor.

Gear Setup

 

 

Zaan is your proc set. When you deal Critical Damage with a Light or Heavy Attack, you have a 33% chance to tether to your enemy for 10 seconds as long as you remain within 8 meters of them. Enemies touching the tether take Flame damage every 1 second, increasing by 100% per tick, and are afflicted with the Burning status effect. 

 

Way of Fire procs easily with the Blood Craze skill, and the extra Flame damage will be helpful.

 

Sea Serpent's Coil grants Major Berserk and Major Courage.

 

Stinging Slashes is chosen for its Twin Slashes, which deals 1635 more damage for each hit of the initial attack and bleed.

 

Perfected Wrath of Elements is slotted for its damage and insane DoT.

 

Champion Points

 

Warfare

Duelist's Rebuff

Thaumaturge

Fighting Finesse

Master-At-Arms

 

Fitness

Pain's Refuge

Sustained By Suffering

Relentlessness

Survival Instincts

 

Craft

War Mount 

Gifted Rider

Rationer

Liquid Efficiency

Breakfall

 

That is Soulgrot's Arcanist build for PvP. If you like his content, please don't forget to give the video a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel. 

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