Choose the Necromancer class: it is ESO’s playable Necromancer, not a role that requires you to pick a different class. The best setup depends on whether you want to deal damage, tank, or heal—and on the content you play. No universal best Necromancer build or current role-by-role class ranking is established by the official sources cited here.
Is Necromancer a class in ESO?
Yes. Necromancer is one of ESO’s seven playable classes. If you want your character to be a Necromancer, choose that class at character creation; you do not need another class to unlock the identity. ESO groups its abilities into three skill lines: Grave Lord, Bone Tyrant, and Living Death. ESO’s Necromancer class page also lists class access through the Elsweyr Chapter or a Necromancer Class upgrade in the Crown Store. Check the current terms for your platform and edition before purchasing.
Which Necromancer role should you play?
Necromancer has offensive, defensive, and ally-support abilities. That breadth describes what the class is designed to do; it does not mean every role performs equally well in every mode or update.
Damage
Choose damage dealing if you want to focus on Grave Lord’s offensive abilities, including elemental attacks, undead summons, and using corpses to intensify attacks. Whether a specific damage build is competitive depends on its setup and the content; the official sources cited here do not establish a current DPS ranking.
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Tank
Choose tanking if you want to use Bone Tyrant’s defensive abilities, which draw on bones and remains to protect your character and help control the battlefield. This is a class capability, not a guarantee that Necromancer is the best tank for every group or encounter.
Healer and support
Choose healing or support if you want to restore allies and use Living Death abilities, including resurrection. An official developer post from the Update 22 period described Necromancer as designed to fill Magicka or Stamina roles for healing, tanking, or damage dealing. That is design intent, not a current performance comparison. Read the developer’s Update 22 combat-direction post.
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What to consider before choosing a build
- Role: Decide whether you want damage, tanking, or healing and support.
- Content: Solo play, group PvE, and PvP can call for different builds. The cited official sources do not establish a single ranking that applies across them.
- Playstyle: Necromancer’s class identity emphasizes corpses and undead summons, alongside defensive control and ally restoration. Pick the abilities and build approach that suit the way you want to play.
- Subclassing: ESO lists subclassing as a base-game system introduced in Update 46. It adds flexibility to build choices, but it does not change the answer to which class to choose for the Necromancer identity. ESO’s update history lists the system.
How subclassing affects the choice
Subclassing is a separate build-system choice, not a replacement for picking Necromancer when you want to play that class. Update 50 live notes say Class Mastery requires mastery of all three native class skill lines and that the character must not be actively subclassing. The official update material establishes those conditions, but it does not identify a best subclass combination for Necromancer. Check the current rules and build advice for your intended role before committing to a setup. Read the Update 50 live patch notes.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.So, is Necromancer the best class?
If by “best class for a Necromancer” you mean which class to select, the answer is Necromancer itself. If you mean whether Necromancer is the strongest class for a particular role or game mode, the official sources cited here do not support a universal verdict. Choose the class for its identity and role options, then select a build for your content and preferred playstyle.
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