Necromancers inThe Elder Scrolls Onlineuse the power that divides life and death to summon and empower the dead to do their bidding. This class suits thedarker aspects ofThe Elder Scrollsfranchise, which dabbles into the unknown and the terrifying. For players interested in summoning minions and empowering them for encounters, this class is a must-try.
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The variety of builds inElder Scrolls Onlinehelp make them quite versatile. Grave Lord relies on their summoning skills, while Bone Tyrant uses flesh and bones. Meanwhile, their Living Death makes use of their necrotic powers for healing. Interestingly, players have to be mindful when building a Necromancer as summoning in towns is a criminal offense!
Updated Jul 30, 2025, by Rhenn Taguiam:With Bethesda axing the idea of year-long story arcs for 2023’s rendition of The Elder Scrolls Online, devs now teased a short but complete new storyline in June 2023 as well as a couple of dungeon DLCs. This “break” from massive year-long updates can give new and old fans of the series some time to mix and match some Class formulas for their new character concepts, with the Necromancer boasting some interesting approaches to their potential builds. Aside from a newcomer’s accessible build, aspiring Necromancers can focus on long-ranged archery, hard damage, spamming big summons, and even choosing survival over DPS.
15Introduction To Necromancy
Aside from the local Khajiit being a common sight in Elsweyr, it’s the secret arts of the Magicka Necromancer that are also practiced here. Such is the mysterious nature of Necromancy as a type of Magicka inThe Elder Scrollsseries that its practitioners are regarded with fear. And inThe Elder Scrolls Online, theIntroduction to Necromancybuild gives newcomers to the Class a taste of how brutal the Class can become, even in the context of a beginner toolkit.
Key to theIntroduction to Necromancybuild is the Grave Lord skill tree, wherein players need to maximize summons such as Blastbones and Frozen Colossus, which become the primary damage dealers in the build. Players also need to learn critical synergies involving these pets, such as Undead Confederate and Dismember that can drastically boost combat performance and sustains whennot near a tank like the Templar, and strong AOEs such as Boneyard and Shocking Siphon.
14Stamina Necroarcher
While the Destruction Staff is often associated withThe Elder Scrolls Onlinespellcasters like the Necromancer, theStamina Necroarcheris proof that these spellcasters of death are just as potent with the bow as they are in the staff. In turn, thisStamina Necroarcherfocuses on equal parts Magicka and Agility, relying on a lot of burst damage to consistently deal decent damage while dishing out debuff after debuff to debilitate the enemy team, especially in tandem witha Class like the Dragonknight.
At its core, the two (2) skill toolbars players use for this build are primarily focused on dealing Poison Damage to foes, all coming from bow weapons. For the main bar, players heavily rely on summons such as the Skeletal Archer and Blighted Blastbones for protection while dishing out Poisons with Lethal Arrow, Acid Spray, and Detonating Siphon. Meanwhile, the secondary bar buffs the Necromancer with Necrotic Potency and Resolving Vigor, with extra attacks via Endless Hail and Poison Injection. Both bars have Pestilent Colossus as an Ultimate, giving them a juggernaut of an ally to distract foes.
13Necromancer Crusher
Players ofThe Elder Scrolls Onlinein it for the long haul know that the grind in the MMO is no joke, often needing a steady supply of both damaging spells and sustains to outlast some of the game’s toughest foes. In the case of the Necromancer, theNecromancer Crusherbuild focuses on building up damage numbers for consistent skills instead of flashy effects, focusing more on Magicka and a balanced take on skills.
In this regard, much of theNecromancer Crusherand its toolkit bank on bolstering the Necromancer’s AOE and damage-over-time effects, which are its primary sources of damage. Players should primarily spam Stalking Blastbones for base damage and Hungry Scythe for the additional healing, whereas Unstable Wall of Elements and Skeletal Mage provides AOEs to finish opponents quickly. It’s recommended the Necromancer Crusher be paired with asturdy tank like the Wardento avoid unnecessary deaths.
12Bulky Necromancer
Given their nature as spellcasters, the Necromancer and other magic-users inThe Elder Scrolls Onlineand subsequentThe Elder Scrollslore materials are often regarded as physically frail. In the open nature of the MMO, however, theBulky Necromancerproves there’s no such thing as frailty if one trains hard enough.
With theBulky Necromancer, the spellcaster focuses on dealing as much damage with as little an interval as possible to outpace the enemy’s healing. This is done through attacks such as Shrouded Daggers, Steel Tornado, Arrow Barrage, and alternating Ultimates such as Flawless Dawnbreaker and Pestilent Colossus. Meanwhile, they also get nifty sustainsthrough decent Magicka DPS armorand constant heals via Echoing Vigor and Necrotic Potency, taking advantage of corpses from recent farms to augment health in general.
11Exiled Necromancer
With how spellcasters are often fragile in MMOs likeThe Elder Scrolls Online, they are often expected to have company in the form of burly tanks and other damage dealers. However, when a player transforms into theExiled Necromancer, they’re built precisely to outlast foes. Thing is, theExiled Necromancerneeds to activate both Poisons and Weapon Enchantments as much as spell effects to become highly effective, similar tothe DPS-reliant Nightblade.
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Unlike other builds, the Exiled Necromancer is beefed up to survive precisely because this takes priority over the damage. This means dodging, shielding, and healing takes the main focus instead of the usual damaging abilities. Players need to pay attention to Brawler to secure shields while hitting multiple foes and Echoing Vigor to get that healing. Not only that, but Exiled Necromancers also need to consider their summons (Blighted Blastbones, Skeletal Archer, Spirit Guardian), and damage-over-times (Detonating Siphon, Endless Hail, Razor Caltrops) are always properly rotated for constant use.
10One Bar Necromancer
The Necromancer is fortunate for having plenty of variety in their class skills that make it easy to put together complex, interconnected builds. On the other hand, though, it’s also easy to play a Necromancer without nearly as much complexity in a build that doesn’t even use a second weapon. Thisbuild from Hack the Minotaurmixes self-sustain and high damage output abilities to make up a surprisingly powerful one-bar build.
This build uses a Destruction staff in the main hand with the ultimate Glacial Colossus and the Spirit Guardian ability to take some pressure off of the player when necessary. Abilities like Beckoning Armor and Mystic Siphon provide some sustained bonuses to resources and defense, while abilities like stalking Blastbones and Elemental Blockade. This build uses three weapon sets, Mother’s Sorrow and Iceheart for the increase to Critical Chance, and the Draugrkin’s Grip for its debuffing effect.
9Bloodrush Necromancer
TheBloodrush Necromancer buildexcels in fighting single targets. The Spirit Guardian constantly provides heals, while Revitalize and Undead Confederate let the Necromancer enjoy increased regeneration. Blighted Blastbones also offers assistance. Its 2H main bar relies on Camouflaged Hunter to reveal hidden enemies, with Forward Momentum removing any immobilizing debuffs.
These skills work well with Dizzying Swing, Executioner, and the ultimate Dawnbreaker of Smiting. The dual-wield secondary bar provides buffs with Spirit Guardian, Resolving Vigor, Summoner’s Vigor, and Expunge and Modify. The ultimate Temporal Guard works as a handy reset, as it restores health, Magicka, and stamina to their values four seconds ago.
8Cleave Necromancer
The Cleave Necromancerrelies heavily on its 2H setupfor both single targets and AOE. Thanks to the Skeletal Archer, the Undead Confederate passive provides increased stamina and Magicka recovery. Both of the build’s skillsets utilize Detonating Siphon and the ultimate Pestilent Colossus for devastating AOE.
This buildfrom AlcastHQhas a 2H main bar that immobilizes enemies with Barbed Trap and uses Blighted Blastbones to summon an additional ally. The Necromancer uses Wrecking Blow and Reverse Slice for damage. Meanwhile, its secondary bar fits well with a bow or a dual-wield setup. Endless Hail dishes out quick AOE against enemies, while the Necromancer enjoys buffs from Necrotic Potency and Resolving Vigor.
7Werewolf Necromancer
The Werewolf Necromancer gives players a much-needed physical boost. However, a Necromancer’s damage-based passives won’t work in Werewolf form, as they need Necromancer abilities. Either way, the Werewolf form can be a great melee backup. Inthis Werewolf Necromancer build, the main toolbar takes full advantage of a Necromancer’s long-range capabilities.
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Blighted Blastbones lets Necromancers rely on a skeleton to fight for them, with Barbed Trap and Rapid Strikes attacking from a distance, and Detonating Siphon exploding corpses nearby. Their secondary toolbarhas a familiar rotation, this time with Skeletal Archer and Pestilent Colossus dealing damage.
6Colossus Necromancer Tank
Necromancers make powerful tanks thanks to their Bone Tyrant specialization, whichthe Colossus Necromancer buildfrom Alcast HQ takes full advantage of. This build enables Colossus Necromancers to pull ranged opponents and wreak havoc. These Necromancers make use of Mortal Coil to grant heals from corpses, with Spirit Guardian providing additional defense.
Their S&B main bar relies on the Agony Totem to grant Minor Protection. Heroic Slash, Pierce Armor, and Spirit Ward boost attack and healing. Meanwhile, the off-bar Destruction Staff taps into Necrotic Potency to take advantage of dead mobs, andget defense and buffsfrom Elemental Blockade, Mortal Coil, and Inner Rage. Lastly, Pestilent Colossus gives maximum carnage.
