Sorcerer? Arcanist? Necro? In this updated tier list, we explain the strongest options out there for Soloing in The Elder Scrolls Online!
What Can You Solo in ESO?
While The Elder Scrolls Online is technically a massive multiplayer online game (MMOG), did you know that players can solo much of the content available, including four-player Dungeons, World Bosses, and even the new Infinite Archive? This is a great option for when you can’t find a group, have limited playtime, or are looking to farm gear sets or experience.
Soloing in ESO is totally viable in those cases and it can be a lot of fun, but some classes do it better than others. To clarify, I’m not saying any one class in ESO is bad – just that some classes will have an easier time than the rest when it comes to soloing more difficult content. These classes are top tier because, generally, they have better self-healing, defenses, or sustain built into their class skill lines that will make soloing much, much easier. So, if you want to know the best possible classes, both stamina and magicka for soloing the most difficult content in ESO then read on below!
ESO Solo Class Tier List
14. Stamina Warden – C TIER
The Stamina Warden comes limping into this list in the C Tier. While many other classes on this list have greatly improved over time, the Stamina Warden seems to have gotten worse and is stuck with just a few limited options in terms of playstyle, but let’s start off with the good, which is their AOE skill Scorch, which can be morphed to either Subterranean Assault or Deep Fissure.
But the Stamina Warden for solo content goes downhill quickly from there with expensive skills, a lackluster spammable, and terrible, I mean terrible sustain. For example, Winter’s Revenge is a good AOE damage-over-time ability in theory, but for some reason, the skill only improves for builds that use a destruction staff. This seems like an odd choice as there’s literally no other skill in the game I can think of that does this, and it pretty much bars you from using the skill completely on a true stamina build.
Another skill, Arctic Blast, is also very powerful for its healing potential and stun but costs well over 4000 magicka, which means you can’t depend on it regularly, so it’s essentially a wasted slot if you try. Ultimates are another negative when it comes to the Stamina Warden. The bear pet is probably the best, but it doesn’t have a lot of AOE potential, and Permafrost, which you might consider for the major protection, is extremely weak in terms of damage when you can get the same buff from just running a passive alliance war skill instead. For these reasons, the Stamina warden is our only C Tier solo class.
For more build ideas you can check out: Solo Stamina Warden Bow Build, Solo Beastmaster Build
13. Magicka Necromancer – B TIER
The Magicka Necromancer has probably changed the most out of every class on this list, with their main damage ability, Stalking Blastbones, being completely reworked into a buff rather than a damage ability. In many cases, this will result in your AOE damage capabilities going down. Unfortunately, the Necromancer is also one of the most difficult classes to play in ESO due to its short buff durations and the need to manage corpses for things like healing and even sustain. However, there is one playstyle that I want to point out to you that is still extremely fun on the Magicka necromancer, and it’s more powerful than ever, and that’s playing as a heavy attack build.
You see, the changes to Stalking Blastbones improved this playstyle by buffing your DOT damage, which is one of the main components of doing a lightning staff-heavy attack in ESO. So immediately you get a major bonus to your heavy attack damage on a necro that no other class can access.
Any Necromancer build can also use the skill called Ruinous Scythe which instantly sets nearby targets off balance, causing enemies take more damage from heavy attacks. So while a typical Magicka Necro build may feel clunky, the heavy attack version is actually one of the strongest in the game and helps bring this class up just a bit. You can see my latest update for this build down below or the written guide here: Ultimate One Bar Magicka Necromancer
12. Stamina Dragonknight – B TIER
The Stamina Dragonknight’s focus on damage over time, strong passives, and access to some healing over time make it a decent choice for those looking to play primarily solo in the Elder Scrolls Online. There is a lot to like about the Stam DK, and its weaknesses have been improved over the years by various updates, making the class stronger than ever.
Let’s start with the good: DOT Builds are some of the easiest to play in ESO, and it’s very easy to stack DOTs on this class with great skills like noxious breath, which also provides the very important major breach armor debuff. You can then choose Venomous Claw for ramping damage or Burning Embers for an extra heal over time, which is quite handy. And speaking of healing, choosing the Cauterize morph will provide some clutch heals when needed.
The Stamina Dragonknight’s sustain has been upgraded recently so that you now gain 1000 magicka and stamina when procing a poisoned or burning status effect, which is quite easy to do. I also like the Hardened Armor morph, which recently had its shield size improved. Speaking of shields, the Ferocious Leap Ultimate is highly recommended for solo builds as it comes with great damage, a stun, and a massive shield at a relatively low cost.
One of the downsides is that if you decide to focus your Stam DK on DOTs, is you’ll have tons of different timers to mess with. For example, your class DOTs have extremely long durations of 20 seconds plus, but that doesn’t match with skills like Cauterize or Flames of Oblivion at 15 seconds or Endless Hail at 14 seconds, so oftentimes, your rotation becomes a bit jumbled. More experienced players will be able to deal with this through the use of buff timers and dynamic rotations, but this can be a bit chaotic for new players.
More Build ideas: Easy One Bar Stamina Dragonknight, Barbarian Solo Stamina Dragonknight
11. Stamina Templar – B TIER
The Templar Class is one of the strongest choices when it comes to a stamina-focused solo build, in my opinion. With a fairly simple setup, the Stamina Templar can do amazing AOE damage and has a fairly simple kit of abilities with access to long-lasting DOTs and strong healing and utility options.
Templars do have one of the best spammable abilities in the game. While the Stamina morph of this skill, Biting Jabs, is not as powerful as the Magicka version, which heals you, the fact that this can hit multiple targets as well as single targets, does multiple successive hits to proc effects, and also applies your Major Damage buff helps the Stamina Templar have one of the most straightforward rotations in the game.
You have access to plenty of heals with your off resource whether you choose Honor The Dead for burst heals or living dark for a more heal over time-based approach, or combine both to become nearly invincible so Templars can feel super tank if set up right.
The Stamina Templar can easily shred through groups of enemies when combining Biting Jabs with other skills like Ttwo-handed Brawler and then easily get back to full stamina using the skill Repentance, which restores stamina and health for each corpse on the ground.
But as you can probably already tell there in terms of weaknesses, there aren’t a whole lot of stamina-based Templar abilities to choose from, so you will need to supplement your build with other stamina skills like weapon, guild or alliance war skills, particularly Razor Caltrops if you want access to major breach which is very important. Also the fact that your best sustain tool depends on having corpses on the ground means that fighting bosses without any add waves can become challenging to sustain when you can’t use repentance.
More Build ideas: Ultimate Solo Stamina Templar Build, 10K+ Weapon Damage Stamina Templar
10. Magicka Dragonknight – B TIER
The Magicka Dragonknight class in solo content can feel a bit awkward at times, especially if you try to use their main spammable ability called Molten Whip, which actually costs Magicka AND Stamina, which is pretty strange. However, if you transform your Mag DK into a heavy attack build using a lightning staff, then the class actually performs much better, in my opinion.
For one thing, their damage buff called Molten Armaments also comes with a built-in empower buff, which makes your heavy attacks do significantly more damage. The heavy attack playstyle also works well with the Dragonknight’s other damage skills which tend to be DOTs.
In terms of healing, both Burning Embers and Cauterize should do a decent job of keeping you alive. Remember that even your ultimate can heal you back due to the Battle Roar passive, which restores resources when you cast an ultimate.
Overall, the Magicka Dragonknight just feels a bit lackluster, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. However, they do remain a very solid B-tier choice for those interested in a Magic-based Brawler build. Below you can check out a very powerful Solo Magicka Dragonknight build available to our Channel Members.
9. Stamina Necromancer – A TIER
The Stamina Necromancer is improved over its magic counterpart due to its blastbones morph still dealing damage, plus more available damage options that you can bring in via the weapon skills, particularly two-hander and dual wield. With the Necro’s focus on greater DOT damage, these skill lines synergize incredibly well with the Stamina Necro, helping to increase your damage and survivability. The Necromancer Colossus ultimate is also fairly good for solo content, and I recommend the morph that stuns enemies as this will be great for clearing through add waves and trash packs.
Skills like Spirit Guardian are excellent for survivability, and your ability to deal damage with stamina skills while healing and buffing using magicka skills makes sustain pretty easy on this class in particular.
However, short buff timers and clunky corpse management still keep the Necromancer class out of higher tiers on this list and are always something to watch out for. You still need corpses to power many of your abilities, and some skills you can’t even cast until you have a corpse on the ground, so some practice and refining your rotation is necessary for this class to actually play it properly.
Check out the incredibly powerful Stamina Necromancer Death Knight build below:
8. Stamina Nightblade – A TIER
The Stamina Nightblade has greatly improved over previous versions this year thanks to several buffs to their core abilities. The Stam Nightblade is most well-known for being a single-target assassin. This is because their main DPS skill, called Surprise Attack, only does single-target damage. They also have a powerful single target execute skill that does scaling bonus damage the lower your enemy’s health called Killer’s Blade, the bow proc skill Relentless Focus, and even the recently buffed ultimate skill Incapacitating Strike does, you guessed it, single target damage. So, if you like that assassin-style focused DPS gameplay, then this class comes highly recommended.
But the Stamina Nightblade’s strengths also come in the form of utility and healing. For example, one of the best skills in the nightblade kit you should invest in right now is their sustian skill Siphoning Strikes. Either morph is a great option, providing lots of passive healing and tons of bonus magicka and stamina sustain, which makes this class feel amazing. For more passive healing, I also recommend slotting Swallow Soul somewhere on your bar, as this will also scale with your highest offensive stats and act like a 10-second heal over time.
But all in all, the Stamina Nightblade has vastly improved and has received consistent buffs by the developers over time to make the class easier and more fun to play, pushing it up to A tier.
7. Magicka Arcanist – A TIER
The Magicka Arcanist is quite good when it comes to solo play but slightly more challenging when it comes to rotation compared to its stamina counterpart, which we’ll come to in a minute. The Arcanist does have literally the best spammable attack in the game called Pragmatic Fatecarver, which deals damage in a huge area in front of you while also giving you a damage shield. You can and should combine this with the skill called Chakram Shields which generates Crux and also gives you a shield. Basically, the way it works is that you want to build up to 3 Crux and then cast your main Fatecarver ability to boost its damage.
The only issue I have with this class is its other main skill, called Tentacular Dread, which debuffs enemies, causing them to take more damage. To make this skill its most effective version, you also need 3 Crux, so it takes a bit of practice to max out the tentacle, cast it, max out your beam, and then cast that.
But once you get the hang of it, it shouldn’t be an issue, and the Arcanist class brings so much more to the table, like its amazing buffs, including Arcanist’s Domain, which gives you minor courage and all 3 minor recovery buffs and heals you while you stand within its giant circle. Plus, the Arcanist’s skills absolutely look and sound amazing, and the class is just extremely fun to play, making this a solid A-tier choice for soloists.
6. Magicka Nightblade – A TIER
The Magicka Nightblade has been improving as of late but is just missing out on the S tier, in my opinion. On the plus side, it’s very easy to survive on the Magicka Nightblade thanks to their amazing healing options. Their main spammable called Swallow Soul, is a must-have as this heals you back for a percentage of the damage done, and their ultimate skills are pretty fantastic.
You can use Soul Harvest here, along with the Nightblade’s multiple passives that focus on the ultimate generation to become an absolute machine when pumping out ultimates. Their AOE damage potential is pretty good, thanks to skills like Twisting Path and Sap Essence.
Nightblade sustain also recently got upgraded with the Siphoning Strikes skill and its morphs, making the Nightblade class potentially the best sustain class in the game, depending on your playstyle.
However, nightblades are a bit more complex when it comes to rotation due to powerful skills like Merciless Resolve which build up stacks based on light and heavy attacks and you may have so many good skills that bar space can become a challenge, but other than that this class remains a solid choice in the A tier and is especially good for more experienced players that can nail down a slightly more complex rotation.
5. Magicka Warden – A+ TIER
The Magicka Warden does much better than its stamina counterpart—and I mean it’s not even close! For one thing, the magic-based Warden skills seem to just be a lot better, including Deep Fissure for damage and penetration, plus Arctic Blast for healing, and a stun. We already talked about Winter’s Revenge, which actually gets better with a Destruction Staff equipped.
The Magicka Warden spammable attack called Screaming Cliff Racer is also much better than the stamina version, as this can buff you by up to 400 weapons and spell damage, which is insane!
Combine this with the Blue Betty for Magicka recovery and a few heavy attacks here and there, and the sustain is also much better for the Magicka Warden.
But speaking of heavy attacks, that is actually one of my favorite ways to play this class, and it works particularly well as a basic one-bar build. Combine Cliff Racer and Deep Fissure for damage, plus Arctic Blast for healing, along with the massive heavy attack damage potential of a lightning staff, and you’ve got a seriously easy build that is very powerful. You can review the build video for this one below!
4. Stamina Sorcerer – A+ TIER
For solo gameplay, the Stamina Sorcerer can offer a strong combination of self-healing, mobility, AOE damage, and sustain. Sorcerers shine in solo content thanks to their skill Critical Surge which passively heals you once per second as long as you are dealing critical damage to your enemies. Make sure to keep this in mind and wear sets that focus on improving your critical chance and using the thief mundus stone.
Another great skill that the Sorcerer has access to is Hurricane which deals increasingly strong AOE damage over time while also giving us our major Armor buff and some extra speed.
Bound Armaments is an interesting skill that summons daggers you can throw at enemies while also providing a big bonus to your max stamina and giving you access to some great Daedric Summoning passives. Also, keep in mind you can even use the magicka DPS skill Crystal Fragments because this now procs on any ability and the cost is low enough for even Stamina builds to use.
But that brings us to the downside of this class, which is that outside these 3-4 skills, there’s not much in the class toolkit that stamina builds will actually use. So rather than feel like a Sorcerer who can use blades you mostly feel like a member of the Fighters Guild with a few Sorcerer buffs.
But if you can overlook the lack of stamina-focused class skills and don’t mind substituting a few others, the Stamina Sorcerer is extremely easy to play and powerful in solo content, making it a solid A-tier choice.
3. Magicka Templar – S TIER
The Magicka Templar ranks firmly in the S Tier thanks to its strong defensive passives, great AOE damage, and ability to stack multiple heal-over-time effects to help it survive nearly anything. The Templar is all about healing, and most of its damaging abilities can heal you back at the same time.
The Magplar is similar to the Magicka Nightblade; however, their main difference is in their spammable Puncturing Sweep, which is AOE rather than single targets, so you can easily mow down groups of enemies all while getting healed at the same time.
You can combine this with other healing effects like Purifying Light or Channeled Focus for an absolute flood of healing, which is what makes the Templar so powerful. Even the Magicka Templars execute skill Radiant Glory heals you back as you deal damage, making sure that you always have healing coming in no matter what you’re doing.
Other than that, the Magicka Templar can be extremely easy to play which is another reason I rank it so high. Simply lay down your ground effects and then use Puncturing Sweep all day long. A few extra skills you’ll want to make sure to grab include Elemental Drain for the extra penetration and magicka recovery, as well as the destruction staff ultimate Elemental Rage or Shooting Star from the Mages Guild, but overall, you can’t go wrong with a Magicka Templar in solo content.
Check out my updated God Mode Templar here!
2. Stamina Arcanist – S TIER
The Stamina Arcanist is the best solo build for stamina classes in ESO by far, putting it firmly in place as an S-tier option for this list. There are several reasons for this, but one of my favorites is their ability to use almost nothing but class skills. This is very different from most stamina classes in ESO which are more dependent on weapon, guild and alliance war skills to fill in gaps, but the Arcanist tool kit is amazing and many skills change their cost dynamically depending on your highest resource which makes it very easy to put together a build that feels like an Arcanist instead of a generic melee fighter.
The Stam Arcanist has many great offensive and defensive capabilities. In terms of damage, the Arcanist has far and away the best spammable ability in ESO, Pragmatic Fatecarver, which provides a hefty damage shield while you also deal damage, which is insane. This opens up a lot of possibilities, such as running Dual Wield Daggers on your front because you don’t have to worry about using a shield from Brawler or Carve.
But the rest of the toolkit is also amazing for playing solo and synergizes really well. Cephaliarch’s Flail roots enemies in place so you can line them up for your Fatecarver beam while also building up Crux to make that beam do more damage and heal you to keep your health topped off between beams. Your class armor ability also generates Crux and debuffs enemy armor at the same time, which is awesome. I love how the Arcanist damage buff called Recuperative Treatise also provides both magicka and stamina sustain.
The class ultimates are also ridiculously strong for solo and group content so make sure to use both the Herald of the Tome ultimate and especially Sanctum of the Abyssal Sea which is amazing for survival.
1. Magicka Sorcerer – S TIER
The Magicka Sorcerer has been the ultimate solo class in ESO for a long time, and it has actually gotten much better recently due to some recent buffs by the developers, keeping it in our top spot among all the classes in ESO.
So what makes the Sorcerer the best class? Well, in my opinion, it comes down to shields, passive healing, and passive damage. When set up right and especially as a heavy attack build the magicka sorcerer is just the easiest class to play in the game by far.
Let’s take pets for example. Even if you forget to press the button to engage the pet, they will still do damage for you no matter what, and they have some pretty strong and useful abilities like the massive burst heals from Twilight Matriarch or the stun from the Volatile Familiar.
Then you have the Sorcerer shield called Hardened Ward, which was already amazing but is now by far the best in the game because it now also comes with a heal built in, which is insane – I’m not even sure why they added this, but it’s super helpful for solo content so make sure you take advantage!
And speaking of healing as a Sorcerer, this class has access to the best passive healing skill in the game Critical Surge, which, as long as you keep the buff active, will heal you every second.
So the simplest build on the Mag Sorc is simply throw on some pets, then buff with critical surge and use your heavy attack to deal damage while casting your shield in between, and you basically cannot die, which makes this class an S tier for solo content.
See my take on the Solo Magicka Sorcerer below!
The Final Word
Thanks for reading this updated Best Solo Class Tier list for the Elder Scrolls Online. If you made it all the way to the end of this article you are a true legend! For more more help on crafting the best solo classes for ESO make sure to review our Solo Builds page, and we also have even more powerful Solo Builds available for our Members.
