Uploaded May 2019 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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This is a showcase of a close-to-optimal rotation for Magicka Necromancers in Trial Situations for use in Elsweyr. This was filmed in PTS 5.0.4, and there have been no changes since then, so we're good to go!

Since this is a new Class, I will try to make some alternative setups in addition later on (such as Trash AOE, vMA, Sunspire-Specific etc).

This is a rotation performed on the new Raid Dummy. This means there are a selection of buffs and debuffs present, which allows easy comparison between different classes, and for other players to compare against each other, if they wish, as a 'solo' player, without the need of help from another player; a really valuable addition to the game.

Here I have made the decision to use the 'Ghastly Eye Bowl' food. This is so that we can compare more fairly with the Stamina classes where I used the equivalent food for Stamina classes. Admittedly level of sustain here is over-represented due to being able to take your own Graveyard synergy. Naturally, the sustain ranks pretty high amongst Magicka classes anyway. The dummy also takes 4 minutes to kill. Considering very few fights need this type of sustained damage, and that my Magicka Drain is similar to that of the 6 Million Dummies I posted prior to this, I think this is reasonable. The DPS numbers for these dummies are mainly for comparison purposes.

Gear-wise I used Zaan, Spell Strategist and Siroria here, and I will do so for all the Magicka Class Comparisons (with the exception of Magicka Pet Sorcerer). The new False God's Devotion set, which drops from Sunspire, looks to be an excellent set. In many real encounters where Siroria is not optimal, I may well be using Spell Strategist (or Mother's Sorrow) paired with this set and use Double Bloody Mara (which is now the best Bi-stat food).

Skill bars as shown (see more at eso-skillbook.com/skilltree/necromancer ):
Front: Avid Boneyard, Ricochet Skull, Inner Light, Mystic Siphon, Stalking Blastbones, Shooting Star
Back: Elemental Blockade, Inner Light, Rearming Trap, Skeletal Arcanist, Mystic Siphon, Glacial Colossus

Build used in video -- https://i.imgur.com/Yc9Y9sY.png
CMX Parse from Video (89.3k or 87.0k if you don't count the Grave Robber self-synergy) -- https://i.imgur.com/1NG5eFH.png

--- Rotation

Magicka Necromancer revolves around trying to cast Blastbones as frequently as possible. This means the backbone of the rotation is to cast this skill 1-in-3 whenever possible. As long as you are within ~8m of the enemy, this should be doable. It really does a ridiculous amount of damage - even stronger than the Stamina version. It is also your primary source of corpses, which is resource/currency unique to Necromancers (some are detailed below). Beyond that, keeping up Blockade and Boneyard are the two main priorities. Following this are Mystic Siphon, Deathbolt and then Rearming Trap. Use Ricochet Skull as your spammable if you have nothing else to keep up. Usage of the Glacial Colossus Ultimate in a raid group will likely need to be coordinated with your team, otherwise, if the timing is flexible then try to drop it when you get to a burst phase (i.e when all dots are down and you're spamming Ricochet Skull for a period of time). In execute, nothing really changes, just keep going, but enjoy the extra crit from the Death Knell passive.

Some tips to improve the experience - some aspects feel a little clunky at the moment, but ZOS say they're actively looking to improve things:

- Magicka Necromancers are stronger in melee range for several reasons.
- 1. You can cast Blastbones 1-in-3 ability if so, rather than 1-in-4 at medium distance onwards.
- 2. As it stands, the Arcanist targets the nearest enemy, so try and stay close to your preferred target.
- 3. You can activate your own Avid Boneyard synergy in melee range, which does really good damage.
- 4. You're less likely to accidentally use Mystic Siphon on something random that dies between you and the boss.
- Keep up Skeletal Arcanist - it contributes towards the Undead Confederate passive, which increases Magicka and Stamina Recovery when up.
- Mystic Siphon is problematic in certain situations. Avoid casting it near when your Skeletal Arcanist dies (it might turn around and target it). Avoid casting either before (no bonus damage for Boneyard) or after Boneyard (Boneyard consumes a corpse, therefore unable to cast Siphon).
- Mystic Siphon does not consistently damage enemies with a big hitbox. Dragons in Sunspire have a big hitbox. This is a problem because you restore Magicka when this ability is active.

I appreciate this explanation isn't exactly beginner-friendly. If there are any questions or comments, I will try to respond as soon as possible.

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