Arcanist Damage Dealer: Heavy Attack

One bar and a Lightning Staff. Build Crux, spend it, and let Unbound Potential add 30% to every Heavy Attack in between.

Update 51PvE · Damage DealerPure classIntermediateRangedMagickaHeavy AttackLast reviewed 2026-10-29

Overview

Buffs and debuffs you bring on bosses

You get

Major BrutalityMajor SavageryMinor ForceMinor BerserkEmpowerUnbound Potential

Enemies get

Off Balance

Class Mastery

Pure-class characters with all three class lines at rank 50 can slot two Class Mastery passives (added in Update 50).

• Unbound Potential

  30% more damage while Fated Fortune is up, which it is while you build and spend Crux.

• Fate Realigned

  Spending Crux can refill it to full once every 15 seconds, with 300 Weapon and Spell Damage for 25 seconds.

Skill Setups

Every damage dealer build has a Boss setup for single targets and a Trash setup that swaps a slot or two for packs. The gear stays the same for both.

BossTrash

Single target: every slot either hits the boss harder or buffs you. Keep your damage over time effects and buffs up, then spam your spammable in between.

What this setup brings

You get

Major BrutalityMajor SavageryMinor ForceMinor BerserkEmpowerUnbound Potential

Enemies get

Off Balance

Only bar (Oakensoul Ring)

Lightning staff · Sergeant's Mail

1

2

3

4

5

R

Slot	Skill	Why it's slotted
Bar 1	Unstable Wall of Elements Destruction Staff Cast time: Instant·Duration: 10 seconds·Cost: 2,970 Magicka Area damage that explodes when it ends, and Off Balance on Concussed enemies inside it, so your Heavy Attacks hit them 70% harder.	Area damage that explodes when it ends, and Off Balance on Concussed enemies inside it, so your Heavy Attacks hit them 70% harder.
Bar 2	Escalating Runeblades Herald of the Tome Cast time: Instant·Range: 22 metres·Cost: 2,700 Magicka Your Crux builder: three runes at the boss, the last exploding on everything near it.	Your Crux builder: three runes at the boss, the last exploding on everything near it.
Bar 3	Tentacular Dread Herald of the Tome Cast time: 0.3 seconds·Cost: 3,510 Magicka Spend three Crux on it: the boss is marked with Abyssal Ink and takes more damage from you for 20 seconds.	Spend three Crux on it: the boss is marked with Abyssal Ink and takes more damage from you for 20 seconds.
Bar 4	Fulminating Rune Herald of the Tome Cast time: Instant·Range: 22 metres·Duration: 20 seconds·Cost: 3,510 Stamina 20 seconds of damage, a detonation, and the Runebreak synergy for up to three allies.	20 seconds of damage, a detonation, and the Runebreak synergy for up to three allies.
Bar 5	Audacious Runemend Curative Runeforms Cast time: Instant·Cost: 4,590 Magicka Your heal. It also builds Crux, so cast it in Runeblades' place when you're hurt.	Your heal. It also builds Crux, so cast it in Runeblades' place when you're hurt.
Bar R	The Languid Eye Herald of the Tome Cast time: Instant·Range: 15 metres·Duration: 6 seconds·Cost: 175 Ultimate A beam that grows stronger every half second for 6 seconds. Recast to move it.	A beam that grows stronger every half second for 6 seconds. Recast to move it.

Open the Boss setup in the Build Editor to change skills, gear and stats.

Simulate it on the Trial dummy to see its DPS, where the damage comes from and what each buff is worth.

The same bar. Unstable Wall of Elements and Tentacular Dread hit the whole pack, the third Runeblade explodes on everything near the target, and Lightning Staff Heavy Attacks hit enemies around the target.

What this setup brings

You get

Major BrutalityMajor SavageryMinor ForceMinor BerserkEmpowerUnbound Potential

Enemies get

Off Balance

Only bar (Oakensoul Ring)

Lightning staff · Sergeant's Mail

1

2

3

4

5

R

Slot	Skill	Why it's slotted
Bar 1	Unstable Wall of Elements Destruction Staff Cast time: Instant·Duration: 10 seconds·Cost: 2,970 Magicka Area damage that explodes when it ends, and Off Balance on Concussed enemies inside it, so your Heavy Attacks hit them 70% harder.	Area damage that explodes when it ends, and Off Balance on Concussed enemies inside it, so your Heavy Attacks hit them 70% harder.
Bar 2	Escalating Runeblades Herald of the Tome Cast time: Instant·Range: 22 metres·Cost: 2,700 Magicka Your Crux builder: three runes at the boss, the last exploding on everything near it.	Your Crux builder: three runes at the boss, the last exploding on everything near it.
Bar 3	Tentacular Dread Herald of the Tome Cast time: 0.3 seconds·Cost: 3,510 Magicka Spend three Crux on it: the boss is marked with Abyssal Ink and takes more damage from you for 20 seconds.	Spend three Crux on it: the boss is marked with Abyssal Ink and takes more damage from you for 20 seconds.
Bar 4	Fulminating Rune Herald of the Tome Cast time: Instant·Range: 22 metres·Duration: 20 seconds·Cost: 3,510 Stamina 20 seconds of damage, a detonation, and the Runebreak synergy for up to three allies.	20 seconds of damage, a detonation, and the Runebreak synergy for up to three allies.
Bar 5	Audacious Runemend Curative Runeforms Cast time: Instant·Cost: 4,590 Magicka Your heal. It also builds Crux, so cast it in Runeblades' place when you're hurt.	Your heal. It also builds Crux, so cast it in Runeblades' place when you're hurt.
Bar R	The Languid Eye Herald of the Tome Cast time: Instant·Range: 15 metres·Duration: 6 seconds·Cost: 175 Ultimate A beam that grows stronger every half second for 6 seconds. Recast to move it.	A beam that grows stronger every half second for 6 seconds. Recast to move it.

Open the Trash setup in the Build Editor to change skills, gear and stats.

Simulate it on the Trial dummy to see its DPS, where the damage comes from and what each buff is worth.

Flex skills

Swap these in when the fight or your group calls for it.

• Elemental Susceptibility

  Your own Major Breach, for mechanics that take you away from the group. Replace Fulminating Rune first.

• Inspired Scholarship

  Adds damage to Arcanist skills and keeps Crux coming, in Fulminating Rune's slot.

• Pragmatic Fatecarver

  A big channelled beam that spends Crux. More damage, but it takes a Heavy Attack's time.

Passives

The passives that shape this build. They come with the skill lines, so there's nothing to slot.

• Tri Focus

  Fully charged Lightning Staff Heavy Attacks hit enemies near your target too.

• Splintered Secrets

  Offensive Penetration for each Herald of the Tome skill slotted: four here, counting The Languid Eye.

• Psychic Lesion

  Your status effects deal 15% more damage and apply 55% more often.

• Dexterity

  12% more Critical Damage from 6 Medium pieces.

• Concentration

  Offensive Penetration from 1 Light piece.

• Undaunted Mettle

  Max Health, Magicka and Stamina, since your gear has all three armour weights.

Gear

Sergeant's Mail on the chest, two jewellery pieces and the staff stacks Heavy Attack damage, and Storm Master on five Medium pieces adds Light and Heavy Attack damage when a Heavy Attack crits. Slimecraw is a one-piece helm for Critical Chance and Minor Berserk, and Oakensoul Ring holds the build together. The Shock glyph Concusses the boss, which Unstable Wall of Elements turns into Off Balance; use Flame instead if your group already keeps Off Balance up.

Buffs and debuffs with this gear

Gold entries come from your gear; the rest come from your skills and passives.

You get

Major BrutalityMajor SavageryMinor ForceMinor BerserkEmpowerUnbound Potential

Enemies get

Off Balance

Slots

Slot	Set	Type	Trait	Enchant
Head	Slimecraw Medium (monster)	Medium (monster)	Divines	Magicka
Shoulders	Storm Master Medium	Medium	Divines	Magicka
Chest	Sergeant's Mail Heavy	Heavy	Divines	Magicka
Hands	Storm Master Medium	Medium	Divines	Magicka
Waist	Storm Master Medium	Medium	Divines	Magicka
Legs	Storm Master Medium	Medium	Divines	Magicka
Feet	Storm Master Medium	Medium	Divines	Magicka
Neck	Sergeant's Mail Jewellery	Jewellery	Bloodthirsty	Increase Magical Harm
Ring 1	Sergeant's Mail Jewellery	Jewellery	Bloodthirsty	Increase Magical Harm
Ring 2	Oakensoul Ring Jewellery (mythic)	Jewellery (mythic)	Bloodthirsty	Increase Magical Harm
Front: main hand	Sergeant's Mail Lightning staff (two-handed)	Lightning staff (two-handed)	Precise	Shock

Sturdy and Divines are interchangeable on armour. Tri-Stat glyphs on jewellery are a fine swap if you need more resources.

What the sets do

SlimecrawMonster

1 piece · Wayrest Sewers I (veteran) + Undaunted chest

Only 1 of 2 pieces, so the top bonus is off.

• (1 item)Adds 657 Critical Chance.
• (2 items)Adds 113 Critical Chance.
• (2 items)Gain Minor Berserk at all times, increasing your damage done by 5%.

Storm MasterDungeon

5 pieces · Tempest Island

• (2 items)Adds 657 Critical Chance.
• (3 items)Adds 657 Critical Chance.
• (4 items)Adds 129 Weapon Damage and Spell Damage.
• (5 items)When you deal Critical Damage with a fully-charged Heavy Attack, your Light and Heavy Attacks deal an additional 1542 damage to monsters for 8 seconds. This effect can occur once every 5 seconds.

Sergeant's MailDungeon

5 front / 3 back · Wayrest Sewers

Full bonus on the front bar only.

• (2 items)Adds 1206 Maximum Health.
• (3 items)Adds 129 Health Recovery.
• (4 items)Adds 129 Weapon Damage and Spell Damage.
• (5 items)When you deal damage with a Heavy Attack, you gain a stack of Sergeant's Focus for 5 seconds, increasing the damage of your Heavy Attacks by 645 per stack. This effect can occur once every second and stacks up to 4 times.

Oakensoul RingMythic

1 piece · Antiquities

• (1 item)While equipped, you are unable to swap between your Primary and Backup Weapon Sets and gain Minor Berserk, Minor Courage, Major Brutality, Major Savagery, Minor Force, Minor Protection, Major Resolve, Minor Mending, Minor Fortitude, Minor Intellect, Minor Endurance, Minor Heroism, Minor Slayer, Minor Aegis, and Empower.

Alternative sets

• Noble Duelist's Silks

  About 2% more damage than Storm Master, in Light, but only for attacks in melee range. Take it if you'll stand next to the boss anyway.

• Rakkhat's Voidmantle

  The full damage version: Heavy Attacks hit 50% harder. It replaces Oakensoul, so you run two bars and bring your own buffs; about 10% more damage.

• Anthelmir's Construct

  Heavy Attack monster set, in place of Slimecraw when you drop Oakensoul.

• Highland Sentinel

  Crafted fallback for either body set: Critical Chance, more while you stand still.

• Order's Wrath

  Crafted fallback for Sergeant's Mail. An all-crafted build does about 20% less damage.

Champion Points

Slottable stars only. Spend passive points in each tree along the path to these stars.

Good swaps

• Reaving Blows

  Your damage heals you, if you need more healing.

• Biting Aura

  More area damage, in place of Deadly Aim on trash.

Race

• Dark Elf

  Max Magicka and Stamina, and more damage with flame.

• 4-playerKhajiit

  Critical Damage and Healing. Better in dungeons, where you rarely hit the Critical Damage cap.

Mundus

• The Thief

  More Critical Chance. Divines on the armour makes it bigger.

• PenetrationThe Lover

  Penetration, if your group doesn't bring Crusher, Alkosh or Tremorscale.

Attributes

Food

• Artaeum Pickled Fish Bowl

  Max Health and Max Magicka. Enough Health to live, and Magicka for damage.

• full damageTomato Garlic Chutney

  Max Magicka only, for under 1% more damage when you can do without the Health.

Potions

• Armor potion

  Oakensoul Ring already gives Major Brutality and Major Savagery, so drink Major Resolve and Health instead.

• stunsImmovability potion

  Immune to stuns and knockbacks, so nothing interrupts your channel.

Gameplay

1. 1Pre-cast Fulminating Rune and build three Crux with Escalating Runeblades as the pull starts.
2. 2Fully charge a Heavy Attack, then cast one skill, then the next Heavy Attack. Spend three Crux on Tentacular Dread, then build again with Escalating Runeblades, or Audacious Runemend when you need a heal.
3. 3Keep Unstable Wall of Elements and Fulminating Rune up, and cast The Languid Eye when it's ready.
4. 4Don't cut a Heavy Attack short. Sergeant's Mail and the Tri Focus cleave both want the full channel.
5. 5Stand anywhere in range. If you take Noble Duelist's Silks instead of Storm Master, stand next to the boss.

FAQ