ESO Heavy Attack Build Guide (2025): Hit 100K+ DPS Easily
Introduction
The Elder Scrolls Online's Update 46 has introduced transformative changes for players favoring heavy attack builds. With powerful new mythic gear, subclassing options, and system adjustments, 2025 marks a high point for one-bar and heavy attack playstyles. Whether you're optimizing for solo content, group PvE, or parsing, the current meta now supports high DPS performance exceeding 100K—without complex rotations or gear swaps.
In this guide, we'll break down everything you need to know about heavy attack builds in ESO for 2025. We'll cover the latest changes from Update 46, evaluate the strongest mythic items, and show you how to build an efficient, damage-heavy one-bar setup. From gear selection to skill configuration, this guide is your all-in-one resource for maximizing your heavy attack potential this year.
Raat’s Void Mantle vs. Oaken Soul: Which Mythic Fits Your Build?
Update 46 introduces a powerful new mythic item, Raat’s Void Mantle, designed specifically for heavy attack-focused players. This shoulder piece grants a massive 50% bonus to heavy attack damage, elevating DPS ceilings for players who prioritize simplicity and power. However, it comes with a key trade-off: heavy attacks no longer restore resources. This forces players to reconsider sustain options, especially in longer or more challenging encounters.
In contrast, the Oaken Soul Ring remains a highly viable mythic, especially for one-bar setups. While it limits you to a single skill bar, it compensates by packing in multiple essential buffs—Major Brutality, Sorcery, Savagery, Prophecy, Resolve, and most importantly, Empower, which significantly boosts heavy attack damage. For players who prefer a simplified, sustainable approach without managing potions or bar swapping, Oaken Soul still delivers impressive results, often reaching 90K+ DPS even without trial gear or monster sets.
Optimizing DPS and Sustain Without Oaken Soul
Raat’s Void Mantle delivers unmatched damage output for heavy attack builds, but it removes the sustain normally gained through heavy attacks. Players using this setup must adjust their build to compensate. One effective method is switching to a magicka recovery-focused food, which helps maintain uptime during extended fights. Additionally, integrating skills or passives that support sustain, like Capacitor from the Sorcerer class, ensures a smoother experience in both solo and group content.
While damage gains using Raat’s Mantle can exceed 100K DPS in trial dummy settings, these results reflect optimized conditions. Without Oaken Soul’s baked-in buffs, you’ll need to actively maintain effects like Major Sorcery and Minor Force through potions or skill usage. For example, using Spell Power potions provides essential damage and crit buffs, while Mage’s Guild skills like Ul’s Contingency can automatically apply Empower—critical for boosting heavy attack damage. With the right setup, players can close the gap left by Oaken Soul and gain superior raw output.
Awesome — now let’s move into the section on subclassing and how it enhances heavy attack builds post-Update 46.
Subclassing in Update 46: Expanding Heavy Attack Potential
One of the most impactful features in Update 46 is the new subclassing system, which allows players to replace up to two class skill lines with those from other classes. This offers incredible flexibility for refining one-bar heavy attack builds. For instance, a Sorcerer main can retain Daedric Summoning for pets and sustain, while swapping out the other two skill lines for high-value passives from classes like Nightblade or Necromancer.
Early testing shows that subclassing opens up new passive synergies without changing your active rotation. For example, the Assassination line from Nightblade offers buffs like Relentless Focus (now granting up to 600 bonus Weapon and Spell Damage), along with crit damage bonuses from Hemorrhage and increased sustain via Executioner. These passive bonuses are activated simply by slotting the skills, making them ideal for players who favor minimal input setups. With smart subclass combinations, players can enhance their damage without adding complexity to their build.
Balancing Passives and Bar Management for Maximum Efficiency
While subclassing adds new options, dropping original class passives can come at a cost. For example, removing the Storm Calling line from Sorcerer may seem harmless if you’re not using its active skills, but it actually results in a significant DPS loss. Passives like Capacitor, Energized, and Amplitude offer strong boosts to recovery, shock damage, and overall scaling. Even without actively casting from that line, simply having it slotted passively can contribute meaningful power to your build.
For players aiming to maintain a one-bar setup, strategic use of the back bar as a passive buffer is becoming more popular. This allows you to slot long-duration or passive skills—such as Critical Surge for healing or Relentless Focus for damage boosts—while keeping your front bar rotation streamlined. You might even start seeing hybrid 1.5-bar builds where the back bar is used only to refresh occasional buffs or enable passives. With Oaken Soul removed from the equation, this approach offers a good middle ground for players wanting simplicity with more control.
Recommended Gear Sets and Skill Layouts for Heavy Attack Builds
For maximizing DPS with heavy attacks, pairing Raat’s Void Mantle or Oaken Soul with sets that enhance heavy attack scaling is key. A proven combo is Sergeant’s Mail and Highland Sentinel, which provide bonus heavy attack damage and uptime on defensive buffs. To round out the build, Slimecraw (one-piece) gives valuable Critical Chance, and Infused Lightning Staff increases heavy attack damage directly. This gear combination balances damage and survivability without needing complex rotations.
As for skill layouts, a sample one-bar Sorcerer build might include Bound Aegis, Crystal Weapon, Summon Volatile Familiar, Critical Surge, and a Mage’s Guild ability like Entropy or Structured Entropy for Empower. The ultimate can be Overload for even more heavy attack scaling or Power Overload for burst utility. Players experimenting with subclassing can also integrate Relentless Focus or Concealed Weapon on the back bar, activating strong passives without changing the core rotation. This setup allows both new and experienced players to approach high-end DPS thresholds while keeping the playstyle approachable.
DPS Benchmarks and Real-World Testing Insights
On the Public Test Server (PTS), testing shows that heavy attack builds utilizing Raat’s Void Mantle can surpass 100K DPS on trial dummies under optimal conditions. This assumes full buff uptime, potion rotation, and ideal parse environments. While these numbers are impressive, it's essential to understand they reflect the ceiling, not the average in real gameplay. Without Oaken Soul's passives, players must manually manage multiple buffs to achieve similar results.
In contrast, Oaken Soul builds are more forgiving in solo content or less optimized group runs. The one-bar setup's automatic access to key buffs—like Empower, Major Brutality, and Major Resolve—means players can focus on maintaining their rotation with less micro-management. These builds consistently hit 85K–95K DPS without requiring high-end gear or frequent bar swapping, making them ideal for players seeking strong results with minimal complexity.
Coming up: how to choose between Raat’s Void Mantle and Oaken Soul depending on your playstyle and content.
Let’s now walk through how to decide between Raat’s Void Mantle and Oaken Soul, depending on your goals and gameplay style.
Choosing the Right Mythic: Raat’s Void Mantle or Oaken Soul?
The choice between Raat’s Void Mantle and Oaken Soul depends largely on your content focus and tolerance for complexity. Players who thrive on performance parsing and want to push their DPS to the limit will benefit from Raat’s raw power. The trade-off is greater effort in maintaining sustain and self-buffing, which can feel punishing in longer or unstructured fights. Raat’s build is best for those with a firm grasp of cooldown management and access to support gear like potions and utility skills.
On the other hand, Oaken Soul caters to players who want solid damage with minimal upkeep. Its one-bar structure reduces mechanical overhead, making it great for solo runs, world bosses, or casual dungeon clears. It’s especially effective for players using limited gear or who prefer a straightforward rotation. While its ceiling may be slightly lower in optimized conditions, its reliability and ease of use make it an excellent default choice—particularly if you're still adjusting to the changes introduced in Update 46.
Next section will focus on rotation tips and sustain tricks tailored for both setups
Now let’s look at some practical rotation tips and sustain strategies to help you maintain uptime and output with either mythic setup.
Rotation and Sustain Tips for One-Bar Heavy Attack Builds
For heavy attack-focused builds, your rotation is refreshingly simple. Whether you use Oaken Soul or Raat’s Void Mantle, your primary action is maintaining a consistent rhythm of fully charged heavy attacks while reapplying buffs as needed. Skills like Critical Surge for healing and Bound Aegis for passive bonuses should stay active at all times. With Oaken Soul, most major buffs are passively applied, so your rotation becomes even more streamlined—ideal for those preferring minimal button presses.
When running Raat’s Void Mantle, managing sustain becomes more critical due to the mythic’s resource restoration penalty. To maintain uptime, consider using magicka recovery foods, weaving in occasional light attacks to trigger your light attack resource bonus, and slotting passives like Capacitor or Executioner. Also, make sure you’re using Spell Power potions regularly, as they replace many of the essential buffs missing without Oaken Soul. The key to a stable rotation here is balancing Empower uptime, damage skills, and recovery tools to avoid running dry mid-fight.
Patch 46 Impact and Long-Term Build Outlook
ESO's Update 46 doesn't just tweak numbers—it redefines build possibilities. The addition of subclassing means heavy attack users can now cherry-pick passives and actives from across the class spectrum, creating new synergies never possible before. Paired with mythics like Raat’s Void Mantle or Oaken Soul, this opens up a range of flexible playstyles, from ultra-simple one-bar setups to mid-level hybrid rotations using both bars more strategically.
Looking forward, heavy attack builds are now more viable and customizable than ever. Whether you're parsing for leaderboard spots or just want a powerful and relaxed build for open world and dungeon play, the current tools allow you to scale performance to your preferred level of engagement. As long as Raat’s Void Mantle escapes significant nerfs during its time on the PTS, players will have a legitimate alternative to Oaken Soul that provides more challenge and higher potential output for those willing to put in the effort.
Conclusion
Heavy attack builds in ESO have entered a new era with Update 46. Whether you're a veteran min-maxer or a casual player looking for simplicity, both Raat’s Void Mantle and Oaken Soul offer powerful paths forward. The new subclassing system adds even more flexibility, letting you fine-tune your build’s passives and bonuses to suit your exact needs.
With the right gear and skill synergy, even one-bar builds can achieve 100K+ DPS or more, proving that ease of use and high performance no longer have to be separate goals. Whether you’re optimizing sustain or maxing out Empower uptime, 2025 is shaping up to be a great year for ESO heavy attack enthusiasts.
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