Build · Everything is a spell
Dark Elf Sorcerer
A pure spellcaster who levels by casting Destruction, Illusion and Mysticism. Increased Magery triples Intelligence into spell points, and a dagger covers the moments when the points run out.
Dark Elf · custom class
Ashveil
+1difficulty · skills ×0.98 effort
- Destruction
- Illusion
- Mysticism
- Alteration
- Thaumaturgy
- Short Blade
- Dodging
- Medical
- Mercantile
- Etiquette
- Running
- Streetwise
- Strength
- 30
- Intelligence
- 70
- Willpower
- 70
- Agility
- 45
- Endurance
- 45
- Personality
- 40
- Speed
- 45
- Luck
- 55
6 (-4 points)
- Increased Magery 3× INT in Spell Points+10
- Rapid Healing General+4
- Forbidden Weaponry Axe-2
- Forbidden Weaponry Blunt Weapon-2
- Forbidden Armor Type Plate-5
Why this build
- Why a Dark Elf: the race table gives Dark Elves a stat-driven bonus with long and short blades, so the backup dagger is better than it looks. See Races and weapon bonuses.
- Why these skills: by default your starting spells come from your skills. Destruction, Illusion and Mysticism as primaries give Arcane Arrow, Minor Shock, Candle, Chameleon, Knock, Knick-Knack, Fenrik’s Door Jam and Recall, and Alteration and Thaumaturgy as majors add Gentle Fall and Buoyancy. See Spells and casting.
- Why Intelligence 70 and Increased Magery 3×: Increased Magery turns each point of Intelligence into three spell points. It is the most expensive of the five choices, at +10. See Advantages and disadvantages.
- Why low hit points: 6 hit points per level refunds 4 points, which pays for the magic. A caster fights from a distance, but remember you are fragile.
- Total +1, skills advance at ×0.98 the effort. 6 HP gives −4, advantages give +14 and the disadvantages give −9.
Open this build in the class calculator
Spells you start with
By default your starting spells come from your skills: a magic school among your primary or major skills gives you spells, and a primary gives you more.
- Alteration (major): Gentle Fall
- Destruction (primary): Arcane Arrow, Minor Shock
- Illusion (primary): Candle, Chameleon
- Mysticism (primary): Knock, Knick-Knack, Fenrik's Door Jam, Recall
- Thaumaturgy (major): Buoyancy
Gear you start with
Each primary and major skill adds an item to your pack. Everyone also starts with an iron dagger and a few torches. See Starting gear.
- Short Blade (major):
Shortsword, 
Tanto. A shortsword or a tanto, even odds.
Weapons that fit
Every weapon for the weapon skills this class trains and does not forbid.
| Skill | Weapon | Damage | Weight | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short Blade |  Dagger | 1–6 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Tanto | 1–8 | 0.75 | 3 | |
| Shortsword | 1–8 | 2 | 5 | |
 Wakizashi | 1–10 | 2.25 | 8 |
Legendary pieces worth chasing
Named Legendary drops whose bonuses meet this build’s weapons, skills or strongest attributes. They are rare; see Item rarity for the odds.
- Nightwhisper (weapon): +25% damage, +12 Agility, +10 Speed, +25 Stealth. Silent Death
- Tsaesci Fang (weapon): +28% damage, +12 Speed, +25 Critical Strike. Serpent's Kiss
- Worm's Tooth (weapon): +24% damage, +12 Intelligence, +22 Mysticism, +20 Backstabbing. Soul Siphon
- Aegis of Dawn (armour): +18 armor, +45% Fire resistance, +10 Willpower. Dawnward
- The Visor of King Lysandus (armour): +16 armor, +12 Willpower, +40% Magic resistance, +10 Personality. The Ghost-King's Vigil
- Archmage's Loop (jewellery): +15 Intelligence, +12 Willpower, +40% Shock resistance. Spell Mastery
- The Amulet of the Nine (jewellery): +12 Willpower, +25 Restoration, +40% Magic resistance. Divine Grace
- The Reachman's Torc (jewellery): +12 Strength, +10 Willpower, +40% Shock resistance. Hagraven's Pact
- The Witch-Sisters' Ring (jewellery): +12 Intelligence, +25 Illusion, +40% Frost resistance. Hex
Guides for this build
- Races and weapon bonusesWhich races hit harder with which weapons, driven by your stats, plus the built-in resistances.
- Levelling and skillsWhich skills move your level, why the level-up seems late, and the 95 cap.
- Spells and castingMagic is open to every class: how casting costs work, which spells you start with (it depends on your skills), and which skills cheapen a spell.
- Death and lineageEnduring, Bloodline or No Lineage: what each choice does when you die, online and off.
- Combat basicsHow to attack, what decides a hit, what a hit does, and how armour and shields really work under the game's default rules.
- Shops and hagglingWhat a shop asks and pays, how Mercantile and Personality change it, and what changes online.
- Your first hoursFrom waking in Privateer's Hold to a bow in your hands and coin in your purse.
- Guilds overviewThe four main guilds, how rank works, who invites you and what the temples and knightly orders are.
- Dungeons and the automapHow the automap fills in, why a closed door hides a hall, and what the grey rooms mean.
- ThievingPickpocketing, picking locks, lifting from homes and shops, and what happens when the watch catches you.
- Resting and timeWhere you can rest, how often, and the two clocks that run the online world.
- ArtifactsThe daedric and legendary items, which ones have special code, and what that code does.
- Banking, loans and letters of creditWhere your gold is safe, what a loan really costs, and the fee on a letter of credit.