In this Elder Scrolls Online Build Guide I am going to cover aNecromancerbuild for Veteran Maelstrom Arena. It is focused more on DPS, but has high enough surviveability to get you through all of the challenges, and I managed to clear it without using a single sigil. Considering that Maelstrom Arena is solo only, this build works for solo PvE play as well against World Bosses and the likes.
Necromancer Maelstrom Arena Build Concept
Maelstrom Arena is a special challenge, because just being good at one role is not going to be enough to get you through, so being good at everything at least to some extent is the key, without losing too much in each aspect. This build offers high survievability due to theBone Goliathultimate, powerful heals from the Leeching Plate Set,Resistant FleshorHungry Scytheskills, and huge DPS fromGrave Lord Skills. The problem with VMA is that you are constantly on the move due to the mechanics, so classic dummy DPS results don’t mean much here.
Knowing boss and arena mechanics is far more important, and due to your near constant movement, it is nice to have as few spammable abilities as possible. The only ones that are spammed are healing abilities when it is necessary to do so,Ricochet SkullandStalking Blastbones,so it shouldn’t be too complicated to keep paying attention to arena mechanics and abilities simultaneously. Remember that there are many ways to build Necromancer for Maelstrom Arena, so feel free to experiment to see what works best for you.
Necromancer Maelstrom Arena Attributes and Abilities
For Maelstrom Arena I am favoringMagickaandHealth, because damage received is a serious factor here. Some enemies like archers can do over 25k damage with Take Aim in one shot, so close to 30k should be minimum. That is why25 points into Healthshould be minimum, and with your food buff around 29k Health.29 points into Magicka, because if we run out of Magicka we cannot heal and that leads to quick death. It is better to have little bit more then you think it would be necessary, because some fights can be longer than others, and that leads to more Magicka being spent.10 Staminais enough for all dodging and interrupting, but should not be lower than that.
Necromancer has an amazing assortment of abilities that cover all 3 roles. DPS comes fromUnnerving Boneyard,Ricochet Skull,Stalking BlastbonesandMystic Syphon. When moving is not required you may summon Boneyard beneath your feet and create a vicious circle of death that will annihilate anything in seconds.Beckoning Armorhelps a lot here because it pulls ranged enemies towards you when struck. In this Boneyard AoE zone using Stalking Blastbones creates an explosion that damages everything in a small area, in addition to creating a corpse. Mystic Syphon is used on that corpse close to you to do more AoE damage, and then Ricochet Skull is spammed, with Stalking Blastbones in between. This combo does insane damage, but it can only be done when moving is not required.
Healing comes from eitherResistant FleshorHungry Scythe, and this is completely up to player. Resistant Flesh, with this setup, heals up to 16k if it crits, but puts Minor Defile for 4 secs. Thankfully we can clear that withExpungeif necessary. It also grants a buff for 3 seconds that boosts Physical and Spell Resistance for half of healing done with Resistant Flesh, which can be around an 8k bonus with this build. Hungry Scythe restores about 9k Health if it crits, and additionally around 3k over 6 seconds. It can restore more than this, but it depends on how many enemies it hits, and how high your Health is. The benefit and the problem when using Hungry Scythe, is that it needs to hit enemies in order to heal, which can be problematic at times. Hungry Scythe costs less than Resistant Flesh, so it can be spammed more often. You’ll have to decide which is the better fit for you.
Our tankiness comes fromBeckoning Armor,Resistant Fleshand theBone GoliathUltimate. All 3 ensure high surviveability, with the Ultimate making you nearly invincible for 20 seconds. Ultimate fills up quite fast with Necromancers, so you should be able to use this at least once every round.
Ricochet Skull– A direct damage dealing ability that Deals around 7000 Flame Damage with this build and every 3rd use of the skill has 20% increased damage and jumps to 2 additional enemies. I have chosen this upgrade overVenom Skullbecause Venom Skull is Stamina based and we need Stamina for Dodging and Breaking Free. Stamina is already on the low side so we do not need any more Stamina abilities. Morphed fromFlame Skull.
Stalking Blastbones– Summons a skeleton that rushes and explodes upon reaching the first enemy. Deals around 12k damage with this build but it can go up even more because it depends on the distance that the skeleton travels. This is our primary corpse source and that is why we are going to use this ability every opportunity that we get. The Stalking Blastbones upgrade is better for this build becauseBlighted Blastbonesis a Stamina ability and for reasons mentioned above it is not preferred. Morphed fromBlastbones.
Mystic Siphon– Uses a corpse to create an AoE that does about 22k damage over 12 secs with this build. The tether effect isn’t there just for show either, and anyone caught in between you and a corpse that is tethered is going to receive damage as well. So basically anything in front of you is affected unless the enemy is too far away from the corpse. Over 12 seconds around 2800 Magicka gets restored as well. While slotted it increases damage done by 3%. Morphed fromShocking Siphon.
Resistant FleshorHungry Scythe- This is your healing ability that is going to be used a lot. As I have explained above, both are great options. The higher Health pool you have, the better Hungry Scythe becomes. Resistant Flesh’s upgrade increases Physical and Spell Resistance, which helps mitigate damage. Morphed fromRender FleshandDeath Scythe.
Inner Light– While slotted Max Magicka is increased by 5% and you get permanent Major Prophecy, that increases Spell Critical by around 2k. With theMagica Controllerpassive we get 2% more to Max Magicka and also 2% more Magicka Recovery. Morphed fromMagelight.
Unnerving Boneyard– Creates an AoE that does over 20k damage over 10 secs with this build, and this upgrade applies Major Breach and Fracture in the area affected. Very useful when fighting more enemies. If there is a corpse available while activating this ability then the damage is increased by 20%. Morphed fromBoneyard.
Beckoning Armor– Grants Major Ward and Resolve, increasing your Physical and Spell Resistance by 5280 for 17 seconds. A must have for any Necromancer. This upgrade pulls ranged enemies while this skill is active. Very useful against large groups of enemies to gather everyone near you so that you may nuke them with AoE skills. Morphed fromBone Armor.
Spirit Guardian– Summons a Spirit that restores health every 2 seconds. This upgrade transfers 10% of damage you take to the Spirit, making it ideal for Maelstrom Arena. Upon death the Spirit leaves a corpse on the ground that can be consumed with Mystic Syphon. Morphed fromSpirit Mender.
Expunge and Modify– Removes up to 2 negative effects and restores 500 Magicka and Stamina per each effect removed. A very useful resource management skill, however, be careful because this skill costs Health, so don’t go overboard with it. While slotted reduces cost of Skills by 3%. Morphed fromExpunge.
Ultimate Skills
Ravenous Goliath– As mentioned at the start of this section, this skill is fantastic in every possible way. 30k Heal, 30k Max Health increase, Light and Heavy attacks heal, AoE that hurts enemies and heals you… And it scales with Max Health. Invulnerability mode activated. The Goliath Ultimate can be used with this build almost every round and that is extremely helpful. Morphed fromBone Goliath Transformation.
Shooting Star– It does significant damage, stuns and knocks back enemies. Generates 12 Ultimate for each enemy hit so using it versus many enemies is preferable. It won’t be used nearly as much as Goliath but it is nice to have a pure DPS Ultimate if you are doing alright without Goliath form. Morphed fromMeteor.
Necromancer Champion Skills
There are plenty useful Champion Skills you may have, but points are limited. Percentages behind the decimal point are not accounted for when adding points to Champion Skills. For example,Elemental DefenderatRank 60reduces damage taken from elemental attacks by12.57%, but your gain is actually12%. Now that you know this you can save points and put them elsewhere where gains would be more beneficial. Try to round up numbers to get the most out of these Champion Skills.
Here is my recommended setup for the Necromancer Maelstrom Build:
Ironclad56
Spell Shield35
Elemental Defender43
Thick Skinned37
Quick Recovery56
Arcanist56
Mooncalf56
Tumbling56
Shadow Ward56
Elemental Expert56
Spell Erosion22
Master-at-Arms56
Thaumaturge56
Necromancer Maelstrom Gear
Weapons that we are using areStaves. Fire or Lightning, it does not matter. Ranged weapons are good for Maelstrom arena because weaving light attacks helps in the killing of far away enemies faster. One example would be Rink of Frozen Blood that has trolls that smash platforms so attacking from distance is much safer than having to go through frozen water that does significant damage.
Resource Management Sets
There are many Sets that work here, and I would advise wearing anything that reduces ability cost because running out of Magicka, means quick death.Magnus' GiftandCrafty Alfiqcan help a lot in managing Magicka if you don’t have access to some of the better gear in the game. Either one of these works well.
The Trial Set that I would recommend for this purpose is definitely, if you may get it, isFalse God’s Devotion. The 8% cost reduction is just too good, you regain Magicka when you kill enemies, and increase your Movement Speed. All of these things are extremely helpful for VMA.
My choice for a Tank Set here isLeeching Plate. It deals a small amount of damage but its heals are significant which will save lots of time, and more heals from this set means less Magicka used for healing skills as well. It is possibly the best self sustaining set in the game, and that is exactly what we need for Maelstrom Arena.
Alternatives to Leeching Plate are many, but it should remain Tank oriented if possible.Akaviri Dragonguardreduces Ultimate cost, which helps to get into Goliath Form faster, and the Set is rather easy to obtain. Health boosting sets likeWarrior-PoetorGreen Pactare also good choices, if not quite as good.
The Monster Helm that works best for this setup isBlood Spawn, because the additional Ultimate generation helps tremendously, and it does give you more Physical and Spell Resistance. The more times you can enter Goliath Form the better.
Other then Bloodspawn sets likeIlambris,Valkyn SkoriaandZaanare good for DPS, and something likeScourge Harvesteris awesome for added surviveability. So if you don’t have Blood Spawn, consider using one of these.
Final Thoughts
Veteran Maelstrom Arena is quite a challenge, but this build can take you through it without using any sigils. It is a somewhat balanced build with perhaps some focus on DPS. Due to the versatility of Maelstrom Arena Builds, there are manyMundus Stonesthat are good here, butThe Shadow,The LordandThe Mageare my top choices.
There is no rotation section because Maelstrom works differently and usual rotations do not mean much. Try to have Spirit Guardian and Beckoning Armor active as much as possible, but even that can be challenging at times because healing is priority, and that can remove any semblance of rotation. Even with a good Build, understanding Arena mechanics takes priority because even Goliath Form won’t save you from certain death if you are going about it all wrong.
Stay tuned for more ESO Build Guides and more ESO content through out June as we explore Elsweyr.
