It is assumed you have already read through the Gear and Arena sections on this site before reading this guide, if not, you should do so first as there are concepts there that need to be understood first.
Skill points and Races in this build section should also be read first.
In addition, it is recommended you read the Light Weapons section as well
A mage build is a Magicka heavy build so the first thing you’ll need is lots of Magicka. There are many schools of thought on where to set the slider, but for a dedicated mage the further left it is, the more dedicated mage play will be required.
Some examples are:
Many recommend all the way to the left: 690 Magicka/200 Stamina. If you are ever going to hold our own as mages against your natural enemies, the heavy weapons users, you are going to need to be able to go 3x health armour and still throw some magic around. However, even with 690 Magicka, you’re probably still going to want to wear a Magicka piece against most opponents or you risk losing access to your spells mid-round. You can wear 2 Magicka pieces, but you become rather soft with only 1 health piece and will therefore need to be skilled defensively.
Magicka Regeneration
Magicka regeneration rates should be high for a mage build. A divine Elven (or Chitin) shield gets you 39 extra points per second, plus another 17 from a Magicka neck for 56/sec. That’s the minimum for a viable mage. You will definitely see a difference, though, if you can push it even higher with armour, Sorcerer rings etc,
- Elven or chitin shields (ideally Divine, from Sigil store)
- Elven and chitin armour (ideally Divine, from Sigil store)
- Magicka regen necklaces
- Sorcerer enchantments on gauntlets and rings
- Retaliation necklaces in combination with sorcerer enchants.
Fighting Strategy
Spells, more so than abilities, should be seen as a complement to competent manual fighting. In general, spells are high cost, low damage compared to abilities, so be prepared to work hard on your manual combat. If you can land a spell like Ice Spike (IS) or Paralyse (Para) you must capitalise on that by doing game ending damage.
You will also want to be able to play well once ravaged, which is particularly an issue for the more balanced sliders. Wearing Magicka or stamina armour pieces is an option and can make for some fun builds, however be aware that while you are mainly using buttons to play, you are not improving your manual combat.
Sorcerer enchantments provide regen even through shock conditioned status and are very effective with spells that have multiple damage hits (for example Wall of Fire( WoF), Thunderstorm (TS) or channelled spells like Frostbite (FB)). They will also be effective with retaliation necklaces where your opponent triggers the necklace. This is at the expense of the extra damage from elemental boosts on rings and gauntlets which can be very useful for landing a match deciding spell (Para or IS) or generally causing more damage from manual combat and spells.
It is viable to run any level of Magicka regen so long as you have the access to your spells when you need them in the match. This will be opponent specific, for example vs a shock mage you might want to use an elven shield, sorcerer gear and shock Retal, so that you always have access to Resist Elements (RE) and other spells.
If your build has a more balanced slider with a reasonable stamina pool, then you will also need to consider stamina regeneration.
Offensive secondaries
Generally, EDIR/PDOC is the strongest combo for elemental builds, but a mage will also benefit significantly from EDOC. A basic recommend is a more even split of EDIR/EDOC/PDOC (2 of one, 3 of the others) as the ideal, especially with IS and Para. Of course, 4x EDIR/PDOC is never a bad idea, so be happy if you can get that combo instead.
Rings
We go where the rings take us. As a general rule, you want to enchant every ring you get that has at least one offensive spell on it. You can safely confine yourself to +4’s and +5’s only, though. Skip the +3’s and lower, or you risk getting locked into some fairly ineffectual builds due to Sunk Cost Fallacy. You can only get rings with 5 by crafting (or buying Double Imbuement (DI) rings) but you can buy emerald rings from enchanters with 4.
A lot of the time, you’re going to end up with a primary offensive spell with a secondary offensive spell supporting it in some way, like causing conditions so EDOC kicks in, draining Stamina so they can’t dodge or bash you, or draining Magicka so they can’t Ward/Absorb. Usually, boost the primary on both rings, and the supporting spell on one ring (or no rings, in certain cases).
What to enchant this ring with?
Answering this question is more of an art than a science. I’ll break down which spells need what to work well, but after that, you essentially just have to weigh your options.
Sorcerer rings and gloves
They can really help you have more Magicka coming in, especially with one of the 3 channelled spells. However, you’re going to lose 35-ish damage on all non-channelled spells, so IS and Para are going to be much less useful. You can claw that damage back with EDOC or aversions, but it is something to be mindful of when you’re deciding how to enchant your gear.
Weapons
Note that a mage build can use any weapon style. Light weapons are typical, though some use versatile and there are also some examples of 2H players with defensive and offensive mage builds. In addition, a mage can use warlocks ring to increase weapon speed but at the expense of spell level and typical bonus enchantments such as PDOC.
The reason Light weapons are the most common is because being slow makes it harder to block stun your opponent and it is easier to get block stunned. With Light weapons you are as fast as a versatile user with WR, but you have the additional spell damage (and regen) from your second ring. The damage is low vs people in turtle style armour, but if you have lots of PDOC and you can get conditioning quickly (matching the increased chance to condition on weapon and shield (e.g. Frost damage is 18 points more effective at Freezing) is very helpful for that), or if you can incapacitate (IS or Para) your opponent, you’ll hit plenty hard enough.
You can use versatile weapons, but you are unlikely to be able to use Warlock’s Ring (WR) unless you get lucky and make a perfect ring with two spells that can be used with 1 ring (which means 2 useful spells, both at level 4/5, AND useful secondaries, which is difficult to achieve, as you need to win both the crafting lottery and the enchanting lottery with the same ring!).
Shields
You’re pretty much stuck with divine Elven or Chitin (ideally from the Sigil store), you just need that 39 added regeneration too badly to make anything else worthwhile. There has been strong 2H pure mages before, but it is a massive uphill battle and there are currently none left in the top of the table.
Spell cancels
It is good to alternate your timing with this and to be unpredictable (a good rule of thumb in general). Sometimes, when casting FB or another spell, you can cancel the spell and block if they swing into it, getting a stun. You can also block immediately after Lightening Bolt (LB) or FB for a stun and after IS you can sometimes block. If the spike doesn't land, the high block stun might.
Reckless Fury
Against someone using Reckless Fury, being a mage may be the best build. Ideally you want to paralyze them right at the onset. Hit them repeatedly until their health is at zero. It will condition them and when RF wears off, the DPS will finish them off (they can't die during). If they pop a poison pot, frostbite slows them down and reduces the buffed damage they do. They can't be stunned but paralyze isn't technically a stun. Option 3: and this is hard to time. RIGHT when RF starts, launch an Ice Spike. It must hit them before they start swinging and while doing the roar animation. So basically, you have to cast Ice Spike right when they "cast" RF. It will stun them, but only then. It is pretty popular to use focusing Dodge to speed up the cooldown time for RF. DO NOT hit them during this dodge, as it does nothing. Even a harry bash timed into their dodge is counter intuitive.
Absorb
Absorb stops all debuffs while it is active. The healing factor is completely ineffectual in the arena, even at the highest possible level. Therefore, just have it unlocked at level 1 so it stays cheap and readily available, often multiple times in a round. It’s not a bad spell to pair with Paralyse if you have someone who keeps stagger-bashing you while you’re casting, either in place of the 2nd offensive spell or instead of RE.
Blind
The special effect on this one isn’t great, since a bash will let you see right through it. If you are on fire your edges will glow and any abilities or aversions you use will make your hands visible and allow an experienced opponent to work out what you’re doing. However, the damage is good even with only one ring boosting it, and huge with 2 rings boosting it. You don’t need poison primary on the ring, or EDIR or EDOC to make this one useful. It’s not much of a no-ring spell, but it’s a great candidate for a 1-ring spell. Fairly cheap to cast; decent candidate for 690 Magicka build.
Blizzard Armor (BA)
Cuts damage in half before it hits your defences. Works on physical and elemental damage. Good against heavies who force short rounds on you, since the cool down timer is really long. Keep it at level 1. Expensive to cast.
Consuming Inferno (CI)
A channelled spell, and the best damage of the 3. This is an excellent candidate for a no-ring spell, meaning it works great at level 5. EDIR helps it a lot at lower levels, but once you start boosting it with a ring (or even two), it really doesn’t need anything in particular to be good. Great candidate for a Sorcerer (or non-fire elemental) ring, since the damage-over-time aspect will fill up your Magicka a lot. Cheap to cast at middling levels, less expensive than some double-boosted spells. Note, you probably want a Magicka piece for this one if it’s above level 5, definitely if it’s above 10.
Delayed Lightning Bolt (DLB)
Slow, but excellent damage with one ring boosting, and amazing damage with 2 rings boosting. If you’re going to zap a strong mage, this is the only spell that will slow them down at all. Doesn’t need anything in particular to make it work, just get it to level 8 or higher. Good candidate for a Sorcerer ring, or if there’s a 2nd spell on the ring that needs to match the primary (like Fireball + DLB should be enchanted with fire). Cheap to cast. Good for 690 Magicka unless it’s above level 10, then you want a Magicka piece.
Echo Weapon
Don’t bother. It’s a poorly designed spell, and not worth it at any level.
Fireball (FB)
Needs to be boosted by two rings to be worthwhile. EDIR and EDOC help, and it’s better (but not 100% necessary) if you’re wearing fire rings, but it’s got plenty of oomph if you get it to level 14+. Good damage, quick cast, low cooldown. Good for 690 Magicka build, and one of 2 non-instant spells that are worth using against hyper-aggro guys who take half your health if you cast on them.
Frostbite (FB)
With 3x or 4x EDIR, this spell causes conditions quickly and effectively at basic max level 6. It’s another great candidate for a no-ring spell. Does some pretty good damage with a ring or two boosting it but gets VERY expensive. Needs one Magicka piece if you take it above 6, and 2 if you take it above 11.
Ice Spike (IS)
Ice Spike needs all the help it can get: EDIR, EDOC, frost rings, 2 rings boosting, the works. Higher levels give you a longer stun, which lets you get extra hits in. Also, most people prepare for this spell by default, so it’s needs to be pretty strong to get past all that. Amazingly cheap even at very high levels—great candidate for a 690 Magicka build.
Lightning Bolt (LB)
LB also needs all the help it can get, same as IS above; however, you can be a little relaxed about it if you use it with Max Power for RE denial of low-Magicka targets. Still, 2 rings boosting, generally best on shock rings unless you get, like, Para/LB (enchant poison) or IS/LB (enchant frost). Cheapest spell, fastest non instant cast and almost no cooldown. Not too useful against someone with RE and 40+ SR or divine leather/glass. Good for a low-Magicka build, and great against hyper-aggro guys who don’t let you cast. Against a mage, it limits their Magicka (if it's a strong LB) against warriors it may prevent them casting RE altogether and therefore them taking more damage quicker.
Magicka Surge
You can make some fun builds with this, but it’s an awful lot of prep work and resources required. You can be dead before you get a chance to pull it off. However, if successful you can stop you opponent completely and grind them down. If you want to pursue this option, it would be best to join Discord and discuss with experienced players as there are only few using this spell effectively. This spell should only be considered when you have been an experienced Mage for a while, not a recommended starting option.
Paralyze (para)
Like Spike, Para needs 2 poison rings, EDIR/EDOC, etc. This spell is quite over powered when successful, but it takes some punch to make it stick.
Poison Cloud (PC)
As with CI and FB, needs only EDIR to work at basic max level 6. Can be put on Sorcerer rings or non-poison rings no problem, just need the EDIR. Good for causing conditions, doesn’t do much damage even double-boosted.
Resist Elements (RE)
RE-5 is the best cost/benefit ratio for almost everyone. Boosting it with a ring makes it expensive and only nets you an extra 20-30 resist. I have spent some time messing around with RE-9, though, and it’s actually kind of cool vs fellow mages if your Magicka is above 1,000 and you have 70+ added regeneration. I don’t recommend trying to boost it against Stamina guys or heavies unless you’ve got a VERY clear idea what you’re doing.
Thunderstorm (TS)
TS is too weak to matter unless it’s maxed out; even then, RE-5 and 40+ SR or some glass/leather armour means you can mostly ignore it. Great against low-Magicka targets, provided you can stretch out the round for a while. A good heavy weapons user will drop you before the second bolt hits.
Wall of Fire (WoF)
Needs a ring (or two) to get through RE, but it’s actually pretty good at low levels vs the hyper-aggro guys who don’t use RE or SR. It gets very expensive at high levels. Some people can hesitate to swing through WoF, so it can act as a delaying tactic to slow you opponent, allowing your conditioning to wear off or allowing your regeneration to build your Magicka pool back.
Ward:
Pros: stops all elemental damage from one powerful hit, even at level 1. Completely negates IS, Blind, Para, Fireball. Instant cast
Cons: Won’t do much vs channelled spells like FrostBite (FB), PC, CI except buy you an extra half second before you’re conditioned