ESO Stamina Sorcerer Build – Cleave
Watch the full breakdown of the ESO Cleave – Stamina Sorcerer Build from the Ascending Tide DLC in this detailed YouTube guide: ▶ View the Cleave Stamina Sorcerer Video Guide
Cleave - ESO Stamina Sorcerer Build Overview
It has been a long time since this ESO Stamina Sorcerer build was last updated, but that was by design. Cleave has always been about one thing — getting stuck in, staying in, and tearing through enemies instead of dancing around the edge of a fight.
Rather than leaning into glass-cannon burst or hyper-specialised rotations, this build is built like a true brawler. You push into the middle of the fight, apply pressure, and let sustained damage, positioning, and smart skill choices do the work. It rewards aggression, awareness, and staying power.
Cleave performs best when things get messy — multiple enemies, constant pressure, and real combat situations where movement, survival, and control actually matter. It is designed for players who want to fight inside the pack, not around it.
This setup delivers more than respectable single-target damage while excelling in large-scale fights. Every enemy affected by your damage-over-time effects effectively becomes an AOE bomb, creating chain reactions across entire packs of enemies.
Skill morphs are selected specifically to support multi-target pressure, add-heavy encounters, and real combat scenarios — something you encounter constantly in hard modes, dungeons, and trials. This is not a stationary dummy build; it is designed to clear rooms.
As a Stamina Sorcerer, spammable options are limited — and for once, that works in our favour. The build uses two core spammables for two clear purposes: Wrecking Blow for focused single-target damage, and Carve for devastating area pressure.
The result is a fast-moving, high-sustain playstyle that thrives when enemies are stacked and controlled correctly.
Key strengths of the build:
- High damage output in both single-target and especially AOE
- Fire-and-forget damage-over-time abilities with simple upkeep
- Group utility through an ultimate that provides Major Berserk synergy
- Increased damage pressure on high-health targets, amplifying AOE burst
- Stacking DoTs create chain reactions — the more enemies hit, the stronger the effect
- Fast-moving, high-sustain setup with massive cleave potential when packs are pulled correctly
If your goal is to delete groups of enemies instead of padding single-target numbers, Cleave delivers exactly what its name promises.
Fashion First – Cleave - ESO Stamina Sorcerer Visual Setup
Cleave is a brawler at heart, and the fashion reflects exactly that — heavy plates, brutal lines, and a grounded, aggressive silhouette. This setup avoids flashy nonsense and instead leans into a functional, war-ready look that fits the playstyle perfectly.
The styles below are taken directly from the showcased setup. Armour weight is intentionally heavy across the board, reinforcing the build’s front-line presence rather than a fragile damage dealer aesthetic.
| Slot | Weight / Type | Style |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Heavy | Minotaur |
| Chest | Heavy | Minotaur |
| Shoulders | Heavy | Ra Gada |
| Legs | Heavy | Minotaur |
| Gloves | Heavy | Dro’mathra |
| Waist | Not Used | — |
| Boots | Heavy | Yokudan |
| Frontbar Weapon | Axe | Malacath |
| Backbar Weapon | Bow | Psijic Order |
The colour scheme uses Colossus Brass and Legate’s Black, though any dark, muted metallic combination works well for this look.
↑ Back to TopCleave – Sorcerer DPS Build Skills
Cleave is a stamina Sorcerer DPS build focused on brutal melee pressure, constant DOT uptime, and devastating execute potential. The front bar delivers sustained cleave damage while the back bar maintains buffs, traps, and ranged pressure.
Front Bar – Two Handed
| Slot | Icon | Skill | Skill Line |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Summon Twilight Tormentor | Sorcerer – Daedric Summoning |
| 2 |  | Barbed Trap | Fighter’s Guild |
| 3 |  | Carve | Two Handed |
| 4 |  | Wrecking Blow | Two Handed |
| 5 |  | Reverse Slice or Executioner | Two Handed |
| Ultimate |  | Flawless Dawnbreaker | Fighter’s Guild (Ultimate) |
Back Bar – Bow
| Slot | Icon | Skill | Skill Line |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Summon Twilight Tormentor | Sorcerer – Daedric Summoning |
| 2 |  | Poison Injection or Soul Splitting Trap | Bow / Sorcerer |
| 3 |  | Hurricane | Sorcerer – Storm Calling |
| 4 |  | Critical Surge or Echoing Vigor | Sorcerer / Alliance War |
| 5 |  | Endless Hail | Bow |
| Ultimate |  | Summon Charged Atronach or Suppression Field or Shooting Star | Sorcerer / Alliance War / Mages Guild |
Class Mastery
Update 50 has given us a new system called Class Mastery in The Elder Scrolls Online. If you decide to remain 100% pure class, you gain access to five unique Class Mastery passives, but can only choose two. These are the two selected for this build.
 | - Font of Power |
 | - Static Reverberation |
How To Play The Build
Cleave is pretty straight forward as far as two bar builds are concerned. It's about spamming, and keeping up dots and buffs. Once you are in the rhythm of it, it's quite smooth. The rotation spamable varies depending on single target, or crowd situations, but the main structure is pretty much the same.
Front Bar – Two Handed
Light Attack → Carve → Light Attack → Wrecking Blow (4–5x)
Light Attack → Summon Twilight Tormentor → Light Attack → Barbed Trap → Weapon Swap
Back Bar – Bow
Light Attack → Endless Hail → Light Attack → Hurricane
Light Attack → Soul Splitting Trap or Poison Injection → Weapon Swap
Important Notes
- Single Target: Use 4–5x Wrecking Blow.
- AOE: Ignore Wrecking Blow and use 6–8x Carve.
- At execute range, replace your spammable with Reverse Slice / Executioner.
- Timing varies by player — the number of Wrecking Blows or Carves per rotation depends on comfort and rhythm.
Why Bound Armaments Is Not Actively Used
Bound Armaments dagger throws were removed because they offered no real damage increase and added unnecessary complexity. The damage output was effectively the same as simply swinging more Wrecking Blows.
If you are using a single-target setup, keep Bound Armaments on the bar for its passive bonuses but do not press it. If you always play in large pulls and prefer Carve spam, you can remove Wrecking Blow entirely and still achieve strong results.
The choice is yours — both approaches work and are explained in the video.
↑ Back to Top🏆 Champion Points – Cleave Stamina Sorcerer Setup
Champion Points amplify what makes Cleave effective: heavy-hitting direct damage, strong critical scaling, and reliable sustain while fighting aggressively in both single-target and AOE situations.
Once you reach level 50, CP is split across three constellations: Warfare (Blue), Craft (Green), and Fitness (Red). These selections focus on maximizing burst potential, sustained pressure, and survivability without adding complexity to the rotation.
- Master-at-Arms
- Fighting Finesse
- Deadly Aim
- Backstabber
- Rationer
- Liquid Efficiency
- Treasure Hunter
- Steed’s Blessing
- Boundless Vitality
- Rejuvenation
- Ironclad
- Siphoning Spells
These Champion Points maximise Cleave’s burst damage and critical scaling while providing enough sustain and mitigation to stay aggressive in prolonged fights. Green Tree options are quality-of-life focused and can be expanded freely as more points are earned.
Need help understanding Champion Points? ▶ Watch the Champion Points Video Guide
Mundus, Attributes & Race
Mundus: Thief
Attributes: 64 Stamina
Recommended Race: Orc
Redguard, Wood Elf, Imperial, and Khajiit are all viable alternatives. Race choice will not break the build — it only affects sustain, damage feel, and mobility.
Potions, Poisons, & Food
🧪 Weapon Power Potions
Weapon Power Potions grant 20% extra weapon damage via Major Brutality and also a 10% martial critical chance bonus via Major Savagery🍜 Food (Max Health + Max Stamina)
Use the highest-level food you can access that provides only Max Health and Max Stamina. All of the following foods grant the same bonus — choose whichever is easiest to obtain.
- Sticky Pork and Radish Noodles
Ingredients: White Meat, Radish, Flour - Garlic Cod with Potato Crust
Ingredients: Fish, Potato, Garlic - Braised Rabbit with Spring Vegetables
Ingredients: Small Game, Greens, Seasoning
Recovery Food
- Artaeum Takeaway Broth
Ingredients: Fish, Torchbug Thorax , Powdered Mother of Pearl - Dubious Camoran Throne
Ingredients: White Meat, Beetle Scuttle, Insect Parts, Guts
Cleave – Gear Setups
AOE Setup
Designed for maximum cleave pressure and sustained damage against large packs.
| Slot | Gear Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Aegis Caller | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
| Shoulders | Aegis Caller | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
| Chest | Azureblight Reaper | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
| Waist | Azureblight Reaper | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
| Hands | Azureblight Reaper | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
| Legs | Azureblight Reaper | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
| Feet | Azureblight Reaper | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
| Ring 1 | Aegis Caller | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Weapon Damage |
| Ring 2 | Aegis Caller | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Weapon Damage |
| Necklace | Aegis Caller | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Weapon Damage |
| Weapon 1 | Master’s | 2H Maul / Sword | Precise | Poisons |
| Weapon 2 | Maelstrom | Bow | Infused | Weapon / Spell Damage |
Single Target Setup
Focused purely on boss damage and sustained single-target pressure.
| Slot | Gear Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Zaan | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
| Shoulders | Zaan | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
| Chest | Arms of Relequen | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
| Waist | Arms of Relequen | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
| Hands | Arms of Relequen | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
| Legs | Arms of Relequen | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
| Feet | Arms of Relequen | Medium | Divines | Stamina |
| Ring 1 | Pillar of Nirn | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Weapon Damage |
| Ring 2 | Pillar of Nirn | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Weapon Damage |
| Necklace | Pillar of Nirn | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Weapon Damage |
| Weapon 1 | Pillar of Nirn | 2H Maul / Sword | Precise | Poisons |
| Weapon 2 | Master’s Bow | Bow | Infused | Weapon / Spell Damage |
✨ Gear Highlights
- Aegis Caller – Massive automated AoE pressure that scales perfectly in large packs, making it ideal for the cleave-focused setup.
- Azureblight Reaper – Explodes stacked enemies through repeated DoT application, excelling in sustained AoE situations.
- Arms of Relequen – Provides extremely high single-target damage over time, making it the backbone of the boss-focused setup.
- Zaan – Adds strong single-target pressure when staying on a boss, perfectly suited for sustained encounters.
- Pillar of Nirn – Delivers reliable burst and bleed damage, reinforcing both execute pressure and sustained DPS.
- Master’s and Maelstrom weapons – Enhance your primary spammables and back-bar damage sources, pushing both AoE and single-target performance without adding rotational complexity.
