The Elder Scrolls Online's Sorcerer class has access to spells that primarily focus on dealing ranged combat damage. Its three skill trees, Dark Magic, Daedric Summoning, and Storm Calling, each of which is oriented around a different aspect of damage – whether that be through summoning Daedric minions or dealing devastating AoE attacks.
The Elder Scrolls Online gives players a lot of customizability when it comes to classes and abilities. If players want to play a tanking or support Sorcerer, weapon choice becomes all the more important. One can likely correctly guess which weapons are best for DPS Sorcerers, but the best weapons for Support or Tanking are a bit more nuanced.
Updated January 2, 2022 by Erik Petrovich: Sorcerers in The Elder Scrolls Online are typically played as damage dealers exclusively, but that doesn't mean they can't take on other roles too. When it comes to dealing the most damage possible as a Sorcerer, the Dual Wielding weapon Skill Tree comes in ranked dead last thanks to its lack of synergistic abilities with the class. Sorcerers just thrive better at long range, and although the Dual Wield skill tree has some decent options for the class, other weapons work better with the Sorcerer's focus on distance-based Magicka attacks. These Skills, Morphs, Passives, and Ultimates are the best to choose from each weapon Skill Tree.
Dual Wielding: Axes, Swords, Maces, Daggers
- Lacerate:
- Hidden Blade:
The Dual Wielding weapon Skill Tree is primarily focused on DPS output at melee range (with a few ranged options) as well as self-sustain and AoE at a melee range. It's a powerful weapon Skill Tree for most classes, but Sorcerers benefit much more from One Handed and Two-Handed setups in their back bar.
The Dual Wielding Skill Tree is pretty powerful, though, despite not being particularly suited for Sorcerers. The Lacerate ability (and its morphs Rend and Thrive in Chaos) is a great source of self-healing and damage at the same time, while Hidden Blade is a powerful anti-spellcasting ability that can shut down enemy Sorcerers in PvP who aren't expecting a Dual Wield backbar.
Two-Handed Weapons: Greatswords, Battle Axes, Mauls
- Momentum: Grants Major Brutality and Minor Endurance, increasing Weapon Damage and Stamina Recovery. Unlocked at Two Handed Rank 38.
- Brawler: Morph for Cleave. Deals damage in front of the player and creates a shield based on the number of enemies hit. Unlocked at Two Handed Rank 14 and Cleave Rank 4.
- Critical Charge: Launches the player towards the target to deal damage. Unlocked at Two Handed Rank 4.
Two-Hand Weapons in The Elder Scrolls Online are comprised of Greatswords, Battle Axes, and Mauls. They are designed to deal huge damage numbers in close combat while giving access to a few unique debuffs through their skill tree. One thing to keep in mind when choosing a Two-Handed Weapon for a Sorcerer, though, is how it synergizes with the class's innate skills.
Sorcerer skill tree abilities are almost entirely ranged in nature, though there are a select few prime for close combat. The Dark Exchange ability and its two morphs are self-healing skills in the Dark Magic tree, which when paired with the Brawler morph can make for a decent Bruiser Sorcerer. The Two-Handed skill Momentum can make a Sorcerer much more powerful at close range with its Damage and Stamina-enhancing buffs, and Critical Charge can close the distance, but Two-Handed weapons are typically best kept as a backup.
Ranged Support: Restoration Staffs
- Radiating Regeneration: Morph for Regeneration. Heals 3 allies over 10 seconds. Unlocked at Restoration Staff Rank 4 and Regeneration Rank 4.
- Combat Prayer: Morph for Blessing of Protection. Increases party damage and resistances for 8 seconds. Unlocked at Restoration Staff Rank 14 and Blessing of Protection Rank 4.
Restoration Staffs are the go-to primary weapon for players in the Support role for their party. The staff comes with a skill tree based around party healing, including the Radiating Regeneration morph for cleave healing as well as the Combat Prayer ability, a great two-in-one buff and heal. The class' innate abilities related to play Support are thin, though, such as the Twilight Matriarch summon.
While The Elder Scrolls Online puts a lot of emphasis on players being able to do anything as any class, Support just doesn't come naturally to Sorcerers – unless the player has purposefully specced into the role. Restoration Staffs make for a good secondary weapon for Sorcerers though because they naturally engage in combat from a distance. They might not be the best choice for the group healer, but they can help out when needed with some of these skills in the back bar.
Ranged Physical: Bows
- Focused Aim: Morph for Snipe. Marks a target and applies Minor Breach, reducing both resistances for 10 seconds. Unlocked at Bow Rank 1 and Snipe Rank 4.
- Draining Shot: Morph for Scatter Shot. Heals the player while slowing enemies by 60% for 3 seconds. Unlocked at Bow Rank 14 and Scatter Shot Rank 4.
Similar to Restoration Staffs, Bows are not a first-choice primary weapon for Sorcerers, but they work well as a secondary weapon. The Bow skill tree gives access to a variety of ranged control abilities, such as Focused Aim, as well as some self-healing abilities such as Draining Shot.
One of the major benefits of using a Bow in the secondary weapon slot is the fact that most of the weapon's abilities use Stamina as a resource. Typically, Sorcerers will almost exclusively use Magicka for their spells, and Stamina stays full and unused in combat. With a Bow, Sorcerers can totally max their Magicka bar with their spells and switch to a Bow to avoid losing any DPS while Magicka is being recharged.
One-Handed and Shield: Axes, Swords, Maces, Daggers
- Shield Charge: Rushes towards an enemy to deal damage and stun for 3 seconds. Unlocked at One Handed and Shield Rank 20.
- Defensive Posture: Creates a shield for 30% Max Health and reflects the next incoming projectile. Unlocked at One Handed and Shield Rank 14.
- Puncture: Deals damage while taunting an enemy to attack, and reduces Physical Resistance. Unlocked at One-Handed and Shield Rank 2.
Sorcerers who are intent on getting into close combat for their builds should spec into One-Handed and Shield over Two-Handed because it simply helps them stay alive better. The Two-Handed weapon skill tree gives almost exclusively DPS-oriented skills, while the One-Handed and Shield skill tree gives Sorcerers great defensive abilities it wouldn't otherwise have access to.
Defensive Posture and its two morphs are fantastic self-buffs that also come with a self-heal, while Shield Charge gives access to a reliable stun. Puncture and its morphs give major debuffs to enemies that the rest of the party can benefit from. Sorcerers thrive when far from combat, but with this skill tree and its abilities, a player can become a potent close-combat Battlemage. One-Handed and Shield weapons work well in the back bar for Sorcerers, too, for the same reason the Bows work well.
Ranged Magical: Lightning Staffs, Inferno Staffs, Ice Staffs
- Pulsar: Morph for Impulse. Damages enemies and applies Minor Mangle, which reduces enemy Max Health. Unlocked at Destruction Staff Rank 38 and Impulse Rank 4
- Tri Focus (Passive): Fire Staffs deal increased damage, Shock Staffs deal AoE damage, and Frost Staffs grant a damage shield. Unlocked at Destruction Staff Rank 5.
- Wall of Elements: Creates a Wall that deals 90 Magic Damage every second. The form of the wall varies with the type of staff equipped. Unlocked at Destruction Staff Rank 4.
Players new to The Elder Scrolls Online tend to make a lot of assumptions about the game, but one obvious assumption rings true: the best weapons, and thus the best weapon skill tree, for Sorcerers to use is the Destruction Staff skill tree. This skill tree is iconic of damage-dealing spellcasters, and it pairs extremely well with the Sorcerer's innate class skills.
It grants access to debuffing skills like Pulsar, which reduces enemy max health, as well as passive abilities like Tri Focus which gives different abilities based on the type of staff equipped. These abilities are among the highest-damage abilities in The Elder Scrolls Online, and abilities like Wall of Elements can even give Sorcerers some Support utility. The one downside of the skill tree, though, is that Sorcerers will have to make some tough choices on which abilities to include from the Destruction Staff skill tree and which to include from the Sorcerer skill tree.