ESO PVP Build Guide

How to Build your Character for PVP Gameplay in ESO! A look at the basics of building your character for PVP in The Elder Scrolls Online. The little details you have to take into consideration when creating a successful PVP Build for Solo or Group content.

This ESO PVP Build Guide will help you understand what the best options and practices are, when creating a successful PVP Build. Creating a PVP Build in The Elder Scrolls Online offers more freedom and flexibility than PVE! If you are trying to figure out which Class to play in ESO, you can read my ESO Class Guide or ESO Best Solo Class Guide. For the Best Race for your Build, take a look at my ESO Race Guide. If you are new to PVP, you can read my ESO PVP Beginner Guide!

Attributes
Armor Sets
- Weapons
- Traits
CP Distinction
Important Stats and Mundus
Skills
- Passive Skills
Food, Potions and Poisons
Other Guides to Read

Attributes – ESO PVP Build Guide

Distributing your Attributes properly is very important for PVP in ESO! Attributes determine the skills you can use and how effective you can be. Putting all your points in Stamina or Magicka is the best practice for PVP, since this will allow you to use more skills of your choice in combat.

Putting a few points into Health might be good for specific builds but the majority will benefit from a single attribute setup.

Armor Sets – ESO PVP Build Guide

PVP offers greater flexibility and freedom when creating a Build. Armor Sets that focus on sustain, damage/penetration or defense can be good options for a strong PVP Build.

Heavy Armor is commonly used in PVP Builds because of the better survivability it offers. Crafted Sets are always a nice option for PVP since you can choose their weight(Light, Medium or Heavy). Some good examples of Crafted PVP armor include Shacklebreaker and Clever Alchemist.

A combination of a defense/sustain set with a damage focused set is usually a good way to start getting into PVP in ESO. There is also the option to combine two offensive focused sets for maximum damage. This is mostly used by Gank, Assassin-like Glass Cannon PVP Builds though. An example of such a Gank PVP Build is Shadowstrike, my Magicka Nightblade Gank PVP Build.

Monster Sets, Mythic Items and Ability Altering Weapons can also be very helpful when creating a PVP Build.

Weapons – ESO PVP Build Guide

There is quite some flexibility when picking a weapon as well. Magicka based characters can use anything from Staves to Dual Wield and One Hand and Shield for protection. Stamina based Builds can utilize all Physical damage weapons. Two Handed, Dual Wield, Bow and One Hand and Shield for protection.

Traits – ESO PVP Build Guide

Impenetrable is the best Armor Trait for PVP while Infused and Well-Fitted can also be used. Divines is good only for Gank Builds. Infused is the best trait for Jewelry, so you can boost your enchants. The basic Arcane, Robust and Healthy can be useful as well. Sharpened, Nirnhoned and Charged are the most common and helpful traits for Front Bar weapons while Defending is a great back bar option.

CP Distinction – ESO PVP Build Guide

PVP in ESO is divided in CP enabled and No-CP, where Champion Points are disabled. Battlegrounds and No-CP Cyrodiil and Imperial City Campaigns disable Champion Points. CP Cyrodiil and Imperial City Campaigns have them enabled! This distinction allows you to choose which type of PVP you wish to play.

Playing No-CP PVP disables your Champion Points. That means that you can have your Champion Points setup for PVE and still enjoy and be effective in No-CP PVP. For CP enabled PVP though, you will have to setup your Points for PVP to be effective.

Champion Points will shape up your Build and help you perform better in PVP. There are three constellations with passive and active perks to choose from.

Warfare, focusing on combat and Traits that help you deal more damage or reduce incoming damage.
Fitness, focusing on Defense, attributes and recovery boosts.
Craft, focusing on bonuses to your every day life activities in ESO, that can also offer a few benefits to Stealth gameplay.

Picking the right active perks will determine how effective your build will be. You can find more details on the Champion Points System by reading my Champion Points Guide.

Important Stats and Mundus – ESO PVP Build Guide

Weapon/Spell Damage is the most important stat for every PVP Build. You should try to get it as high as possible without hurting your defense though. Resistances are rather important as well, since the higher they are, the easier it is to survive.

Penetration is another great offensive stat that will help you deal more damage and kill enemies. Unlike PVE, there is no Penetration Cap you must reach in PVP. The more you have, the better.

Having a large pool of your main Attribute(Stamina or Magicka) and high recovery stats is also very helpful. Finally Critical Chance and Critical Damage are not very helpful in PVP, because of the high Critical Resistance(Impenetrable Trait) PVP Builds have.

Having said that, the best Mundus for a PVP Build is The Apprentice or The Warrior, that boost Spell and Weapon Damage respectively. The Lover is a nice alternative that boosts Penetration. The Atronach and The Serpent are also useful when you need to boost Magicka and Stamina Recovery. Finally The Thief(Critical Chance) and The Shadow(Critical Damage) are not that helpful.

Skills – ESO PVP Build Guide

Burst Damage is King in PVP! Sustain is secondary(unless you are focusing on a support role). Your goal in ESO PVP is to execute your combo and deliver your damage as fast as possible. Your Skills distribution should include:

Buffs/Debuffs
At least one Stun/Immobilization skill
Hard Hitting damage skills
An Execute ability
Heals and Shields

Buffs and Debuffs are skills that either boost your stats, like Spell/Weapon Damage or reduce the stats of your enemies. Buff abilities can be active or passive. You have to activate manually active buffs and use resources to get their effect. Critical Surge and Boundless Storm from the Sorcerer Class are two nice examples of active buff skills.

Passive buffs only need to be slotted to work. A good example of a passive buff is Inner Light from the Mages Guild Line. Abilities that Stun enemies are vital for PVP! They immobilize your targets and allow you to execute your combo. Flame Clench, Fossilize, Invasion are a few examples of immobilization skills.

When talking about Hard Hitting abilities, we mean skills that deal massive damage when hitting the enemy. Crystal Fragments, Death Stroke and Morphs, Dizzying Swing are a few examples. Execute abilities are also quite important and can help you finish enemies faster. Executioner, Whirling Blades, Assassin’s Blade and Morphs, Mages’ Fury and Morphs are examples of execute abilities.

Heal abilities either from the Restoration Staff line or from your Class, can help you and your team survive. Finally Shield Abilities are more commonly used in PVP to increase survivability. Shadowy Disguise from the Nightblade Class is your only option if you wish to play a Stealth(Gank) Build. There are several skills combinations you can make in PVP, depending on your Class and Main Attribute.

But your rotation is always simple and clear: Buff/Debuff, Stun/Immobilize enemy, Use Massive Damage and Execute abilities, Heal and Shield yourself/team.

Passive Skills

Passive Skills are very important for every build in PVP. You should invest skill points to them as soon as possible. The Passive skills every Build should have include:

All Passive Skills from your Class’ Lines
All Passive Skills from Weapon Lines you are using
All Passive Skills from Armor Lines you are using
Vampire or Werewolf Passives if your character uses any of the two
Passive Abilities from Guild lines(Fighters Guild, Mages Guild, Psijic Order) that affect your skills/Build
Undaunted Passives
Your Racial Passives
Medicinal Use Passive from Alchemy to boost the effectiveness of Potions

Food, Potions and Poisons – ESO PVP Build Guide

Poisons play a big role in ESO PVP! The Best Poisons you can use are crafted. Among the Best are Poisons that Drain Health, Stamina and Magicka, Immobilize and Debuff Enemies.

Crafted Potions will also help you remain alive and defeat your enemies. Potions that restore attributes, make you immune to immobilizations or detect enemies in Stealth are valuable to have. Specific Builds can utilize simple Magicka or Stamina potions as well, even use Essence of Spell/Weapon Power with success. You can find the recipes for many important Potions and Poisons in my ESO Alchemy Guide. Finally for Food, choose Foods and Drinks that will boost your main Attribute(Stamina or Magicka) and Health to boost your survivability.