If you're looking for a highly mobile, versatile, and hard-hitting build to handle nearly any solo PvE challenge in The Elder Scrolls Online, then a bow-focused setup is one of the best choices available. With the right skills, gear, and rotation, a bow build can dominate in solo content such as veteran dungeons, world bosses, dolmens, public dungeons, and even arenas like Maelstrom. This guide will walk you through the best bow build for solo play, offering sustainable damage, strong survivability, and unmatched adaptability.

Why Choose a Bow Build for Solo Play?

While many players gravitate toward melee or staff-based builds, bows offer unique advantages that make them perfect for solo adventuring:

High Mobility – You can kite enemies, reposition easily, and maintain distance to avoid heavy-hitting melee attacks.

Range Advantage – With constant ranged pressure, you can whittle down bosses and mobs without being locked in close combat.

Sustainability – Bows have access to powerful damage-over-time (DoT) skills that keep ticking while you dodge, heal, or reposition.

Versatility – Works well for nearly any stamina-based class and can be tailored to favor damage, survivability, or sustain depending on your goals.

For solo content, survivability and sustain are just as important as raw DPS, and this bow build delivers all three.

Best Classes for a Solo Bow Build

While a bow build can work on nearly any stamina-focused class, some stand out for solo play:

Stamina Nightblade (Stamblade) – Amazing sustain through siphoning abilities and great single-target burst.

Stamina Warden (Stamden) – Extra healing, damage buffs, and defensive tools, making it the most forgiving option.

Stamina Dragonknight (StamDK) – Strong DoTs, high survivability, and tank-like durability with a bow focus.

Stamina Sorcerer (Stamsorc) – Great sustain with Dark Deal and high AoE potential for farming and dolmens.

For this guide, we'll lean toward Stamina Warden, since it offers the best mix of damage and survivability for solo players. That said, you can easily adapt this to your preferred class.

Skills Setup (Front and Back Bar)

We'll use Double Bow for maximum ranged pressure and sustainability. Your front bar is for burst and main DoTs, while the back bar handles buffs, sustain, and survivability.

Front Bar (Damage Bar)

Lethal Arrow (Morphed from Snipe) – Your spammable single-target burst.

Poison Injection (Morphed from Poison Arrow) – Must-have DoT that ramps damage as the target's health decreases.

Acid Spray (Morphed from Volley) – AoE pressure and DoT for mobs and bosses.

Barbed Trap (Fighters Guild) – Provides Minor Force for increased crit damage and adds a DoT.

Camouflaged Hunter (Fighters Guild) – Passive crit boost and extra damage vs. undead/daedra.

Ultimate: Wild Guardian (Warden) or Ballista (Assault) – Both are excellent for solo DPS. Ballista is strong for pure ranged damage.

Back Bar (Support/Utility Bar)

Endless Hail (Morphed from Volley) – Core AoE DoT, one of your strongest bow skills.

Resolving Vigor (Alliance War) – Your main heal, essential for survival.

Leeching Vines (Warden) or Green Lotus (Warden) – Class-based sustain and self-healing.

Bull Netch (Warden) – Free stamina sustain, cleanses debuffs.

Flex Spot (Defensive Skill) – Options include Shuffle (Medium Armor), Spirit Guardian (if Necro), or another heal.

Ultimate: Healing Thicket (Warden) or Temporal Guard (Psijic) – Great defensive ultimates for clutch situations.

Gear Setup

To maximize this bow build's solo potential, you'll want gear that balances damage, sustain, and survivability. Here's the recommended setup:

Body Armor:

Briarheart (Overland – Wrothgar) – Grants a damage buff and heals you on critical hits. Perfect for solo sustain.

Hundings Rage (Crafted) – Reliable and easy to craft, giving you strong weapon damage and crit.

Monster Set:

Selene (Selene's Web Dungeon) – Strong single-target burst.

Velidreth (Cradle of Shadows) – Excellent AoE pressure, useful for farming.

Weapons:

Maelstrom Bow (Arena – Maelstrom) – Back bar bow for buffing Endless Hail, one of the strongest solo PvE choices.

Front Bar Bow (Any) – Infused or Precise with Poison/Weapon Damage enchants.

Jewelry:

Weapon damage enchantments, Bloodthirsty or Infused traits.

This gear setup provides a mix of crit, weapon damage, and sustain, while also giving you healing on crits and extra survivability.

Champion Points (CP) Distribution

When soloing, CP choices can make a big difference in sustain and survival.

Warfare (Blue): Deadly Aim, Biting Aura, Master-at-Arms, Thaumaturge.

Fitness (Red): Boundless Vitality, Fortified, Rejuvenation, Sustained by Suffering.

Craft (Green): Steed's Blessing, Treasure Hunter, Rationer (flex choices).

Rotation Guide

Start on Back Bar: Cast Bull Netch → Leeching Vines → Endless Hail → Barbed Trap.

Swap to Front Bar: Poison Injection → Acid Spray → Lethal Arrow spam.

Reapply DoTs as they fall off while weaving Lethal Arrow.

Keep Vigor up when health dips and rely on crit heals from Briarheart.

Drop Ballista/Wild Guardian during burst phases or boss fights.

This rotation keeps DoTs rolling for sustained DPS while giving you healing and stamina recovery to stay alive.

Tips for Soloing with a Bow Build

Kite smartly. Stay mobile to avoid mechanics and heavy melee hits.

Line of sight pulls. Group enemies together before dropping AoEs.

Resource management. Don't spam Lethal Arrow endlessly—rely on DoTs and light attack weaving.

Use food/drink. Orzorga's Smoked Bear Haunch or Dubious Camoran Throne are great for sustain.

Adapt your flex spot. Swap defensive or utility skills depending on the content.

Closing Thoughts

The best bow build for solo play in The Elder Scrolls Online offers everything you need: strong single-target burst, reliable AoE, constant self-healing, and great sustain. Whether you're farming world bosses, clearing dungeons, or tackling Maelstrom Arena, this setup allows you to thrive without relying on a group.

By choosing the right skills, gear, and rotation, you'll find yourself breezing through challenging content while enjoying the freedom of a ranged playstyle. Bows in ESO are not only stylish but also powerful, making them one of the top picks for solo adventurers.

Follow mmoexp channels for the latest gaming news and ESO updates! And if you're looking to enhance your journey, don't forget that services like cheap TESO Gold can help support your build progression.