Dungeon Subclass Healer Build - ESO Guide

The skills are set up in a way to allow us to keep Major Heroism from Trample 100% without losing uptime on other buffs.

The biggest difference in healing between trials and dungeons is that, in dungeons, we are not using as many ground heals such as Healing Springs in favor of reliable sticky heals that follow DDs, such as Echoing Vigor and Radiating Regeneration. We give up the strong sustain from the Master's Restoration Staff by not running Healing Springs on the more advanced setups, but Banner Bearer compensates for it. Exceptions for the hardest fights, where ground heals are situationally used, are listed further below.

There are several reasons for this:

1. Ground heals often end up being a "win more" tool in dungeons. Previously I mentioned that in good groups a healer is not needed. The ground heals overheal the group when everyone is safe and stacked, wasting a cast that could have been used on a buff. When the group is stacked, surviving is generally not a problem outside of specific heal checks. Most deaths occur when players panic and move away from the group, scattering around the area. A Healing Springs or Budding Seeds cast will do little to save someone in that situation. Radiating Regeneration and Echoing Vigor, however, continue healing the group regardless of positioning and automatically lock onto allies when re-applied.
2. Bar space is extremely tight due to running Banner Bearer, and there aren't a lot of free GCDs to keep all the buffs up due to Trample taking up 15-20% of the rotation.
3. Dungeon fights are generally more mobile than trial fights, requiring ground HoTs to be recast more frequently
4. Sticky heals such as Radiating Regeneration scale better in four-player content because fewer casts are needed to cover the entire group, while ground heals generally perform better in trials.

Disclaimer: If you are struggling with heal checks, feel free to continue using ground heals in every fight until you feel comfortable enough to move away from them. There is no point giving the group a buff that increases their dps by a few % if they are dead. The primary job of a healer is to keep people alive. Then come the buffs, debuffs, resources, and DPS.

• Radiating Regeneration - Generally the strongest and most reliable heal for most dungeon encounters. It automatically targets the three lowest-health allies within 28 meters, follows them no matter where they go, and procs various buffs such as From the Brink CP, guaranteeing a large shield when a target drops below 25% health. Always double-cast it if possible. Combined with Echoing Vigor, this is enough healing for majority of veteran dungeon fights.
• Energy Orb - A crucial skill for the Combustion synergy, giving allies massive resources per synergy consumed. You do not need to cast it every 10 seconds, but casting it at least once every 20 seconds is mandatory because Combustion has a 20-second synergy cooldown. It also passively heals the group, though the heal itself should not be relied upon. If timed right, the heal over time + the burst heal from the Combustion synergy can be quite beneficial during heal checks.
• Combat Prayer - The main burst heal with additional utility. Provides an AoE burst heal, Minor Resolve, and Minor Berserk. Spam Prayer during heal checks, especially in fights where the group is not stacked such as Bal Sunnar's first boss, as Prayer covers a large area. Before spamming Prayer, ideally place your Radiating Regeneration, Echoing Vigor, and Energy Orb to be ticking on allies during the heal mechanic. If both DDs are running Camouflaged Hunter, swap it to the other morph.
• Siphoning Attacks - Your main sustain tool, also used for generating ultimate via the Transfer passive. Cast this whenever you are low on resources or have nothing else to do. It is especially important when running the Spaulder of Ruin + Banner Bearer setup, as the stamina drain can become very high in fights requiring constant dodging or blocking.
• Banner Bearer (Shock Damage, Druid's Resurgence, Courage) - Provides a powerful passive buff to the entire group. Grants a 6% direct damage buff, 139 Magicka/Stamina Recovery, and Minor Courage as long as the allies stand within 8 meters of the Banner holder. A damage dealer can wear this as well, though there is generally no need to do so if a healer can do it instead. If it happens anyways, feel free to remove your Banner as only one Banner buff is applied per player. An additional perk of the healer wearing banner, apart from opening up skill slots for DDs, is the recovery passive for the whole group instead of the weapon damage passive only for that damage dealer wearing Banner.
• Summon Charged Atronach - Your main aggressive Ultimate. Provides AoE Concussion (leading to AoE Off Balance via Elemental Blockade) and grants Major Berserk through its synergy, increasing group damage done by 10%. With perfect Ultimate generation on the advanced build, it can be cast every 16 seconds, increasing average group DPS by roughly 6.7-7% additively. If your group has a Dragonknight support using Lead From the Front, swap this Ultimate out for Aggressive Horn or a similar buff, as the DK support will be providing the Major Berserk.
• Overflowing Altar - The main flex spot of the build, the Altar was for the longest time a staple of all group content, providing a crucial synergy that heals group members by 60% of their max health when someone is about to die, and applying Minor Lifesteal as a bonus. Altar lost value with the release of the Arcanist and the shift towards the beam meta, as the DDs have to interrupt their beam in order to pick up the Altar synergy. During a split-second decision when there is high incoming damage, the reaction time to consciously interrupt the beam + spam X to proc Altar is noticeably longer than spamming X between normal casts. Altar is a very strong synergy nonetheless, especially for the tank, and will save lives, but if your group includes beam-based builds, consider swapping this out for a more consistent heal.
• Trample (Disease, Assassin's Misery, Heroism) - The most important skill for Ultimate generation. Aim for 100% uptime, as it is a crucial buff that directly improves either damage or survivability depending on the Ultimate used. Swap Trample out if you have a pure Warden tank who keeps good Major Heroism uptimes. In fights with many adds, including trash pulls, aim Trample into the group to proc AoE Concussion, leading to AoE Off Balance through Elemental Blockade. It also procs Powerful Assault. If Stamina sustain becomes an issue, swap the first scribed script to Frost or Magic Damage to convert the skill to Magicka cost.
• Elemental Blockade - Your primary source of AoE Off Balance and maintaining 100% uptime on your back-bar enchantment. Do not cast Elemental Blockade immediately upon entering combat; save Off Balance for the third or fourth cast, once DDs have applied their DoTs. The exception is fully pre-buffed bosses, where pre-casting the Elemental Blockade is better. Personal recommendation: always cast Elemental Blockade together with Echoing Vigor, as they share nearly the same duration. Off Balance is a crucial debuff which buffs group DPS in several ways - the Exploiter CP, often ran by DDs, buffs damage to Off Balance enemies by 10%. Additionally, some classes like the Dragonknight get significant buffs against Off Balance targets.
• Echoing Vigor - Another way to proc Powerful Assault, as well as your second most reliable heal. Combined with Radiating Regeneration, it is sufficient for healing most veteran hardmode fights. Both heals are consistent and sticky, following targets regardless of positioning. Its large range also makes it easy to hit all three allies. Recast it every 15 seconds along with Elemental Blockade. Despite Echoing Vigor lasting 16 seconds, reapply Powerful Assault every 15 seconds.
• Reviving Barrier - The strongest defensive group ultimate in the game for trifectas. Use it whenever someone might die to an incoming mechanic. It is easily possible to maintain 100% uptime on Reviving Barrier with this build, recasting it before the previous shield expires. Swap it to your front bar if you are going to spam Reviving Barrier in order to benefit from Blessing of the Potentates' cost reduction.

The best skill to replace with situational options is usually Overflowing Altar or Echoing Vigor. In extremely difficult fights, you can also consider removing Banner Bearer.

• Healing Springs/Illustrious Healing - the most reliable generic ground heal, useful for all heal checks where the group is remotely stacked. Either morph works, as the sustain is easy to manage via Siphoning Attacks.
• Soul Burst (Damage Shield, Anchorite's Potency, Courage) - Used on the Advanced build. Provides Minor Courage for the group, a large AoE damage shield, and additional Ultimate generation. If in need of an extra slot on a non-Advanced build, you can replace the Banner Bearer with Soul Burst and another flex spot to still provide Minor Courage. Pre-cast it during trash pulls and before boss fights. Make sure DDs actually receive the shield to confirm they also received Minor Courage; otherwise, recast it, as the range is only 8 meters. During difficult heal-check phases where the group is stacked, cast it every second or third cast between Combat Prayers to avoid wasting Prayer casts on full-health allies. Alternatively, spam only the shield during especially dangerous phases, such as Scrivener's Hall's final boss. With pre-cast HoTs such as Echoing Vigor and Radiating Regeneration, shield spam is often safer and stronger than Combat Prayer spam.
• Ulfsild's Contingency (Damage Shield/Growing Impact/Intellect & Endurance/Force) - A high-utility scribed skill, fantastic for shield spamming. Provides an AoE damage shield and an aura buff to the group. Has good synergy with the shield from Soul Burst. The third buff can be chosen to fill whatever buff the group is missing.
• Blessing of Restoration - Use this morph instead of Combat Prayer when both DDs are running Camouflaged Hunter, as the Minor Berserk portion is not needed anymore.
• Crushing Shock - A ranged interrupt required for certain fights, such as the second boss in Bal Sunnar.
• Guard - Generally unnecessary in most dungeons, but it can replace Banner Bearer if the Tank is struggling on especially difficult bosses, such as Stone Garden HM.
• Efficient Purge - Useful for purging certain mechanics, such as the second boss in Lep Seclusa. Usually unnecessary, as most relevant debuffs can simply be outhealed.
• Propelling Shield - Situationally useful when the group struggles with specific mechanics, such as the second boss in Bal Sunnar. The range on Crushing Shock alone is not enough without stepping into darkness, but Propelling Shield allows safe interrupts from within the protective circle. Generally unnecessary, as the healer can usually step into the darkness and survive while interrupting.
• Race Against Time - Useful in highly mobile fights, such as the final boss in Castle Thorn.
• Charging Maneuver - Same as Race Against Time, but a stronger buff for the whole group. Has a very high stamina cost and will require casting Siphoning Attacks often to keep a good uptime.
• Wield Soul (Pull/Druid's Resurgence/Cowardice) - A chain ability useful in certain fights for grouping adds together, even though it's usually the Tank's job. Silver Leash is the non-scribed alternative.
• Aggressive Horn - an alternative to the Summon Charged Atronach Ultimate if the tank or DD is a pure Dragonknight, as they will be providing Major Berserk when using their Ultimate.
• WARDEN - Budding Seeds - Used on Wardens instead of the Altar, as well as for extremely difficult heal checks where the group is stacked together or whenever you struggle with a healing mechanic in general. Good examples: Bal Sunnar last boss, Stone Garden last boss. Unnecessary in most fights, but the synergy provided is a nice bonus, especially for the tank.
• TEMPLAR - Extended Ritual - similar to Budding Seeds, see above. Slot it instead of Altar on a Templar. The extra perk of the Ritual is its range as well as the synergy being available to all allies rather than just one.
• NECROMANCER - Necrotic Potency - Use for maximum situational Ultimate generation in add-heavy fights. Replace Overflowing Altar or Siphoning Attacks with this skill, depending on the amount of healing needed in a particular fight.
• ARCANIST - Chakram of Destiny - Useful during difficult healing phases where the group is split apart, or for pre-casting shields before incoming burst damage. Examples: Bal Sunnar first boss, Coral Aerie second boss skip mechanic.
• ARCANIST - Zenas' Empowering Disc - replaces the Overflowing Altar on an Arcanist because it applies Minor Courage, Minor Endurance and Minor Intellect. Change the Banner Bearer to provide Minor Heroism instead of Minor Courage.
• DRAGONKNIGHT - Fire Keeper - Provides Minor Heroism and a ground heal for the group, and replaces the Overflowing Altar on a Dragonknight.
• DRAGONKNIGHT - Standard of Might - An alternative to the Summon Charged Atronach ultimate which buffs the Weapon Damage of all group members standing inside the Standard.

Priority List

As with all healer rotations, priorities are dynamic and depend entirely on the fight. During low-pressure situations, prioritize buffs over healing. During heavy incoming damage, prioritize healing instead. If someone is dying, cast Combat Prayer on them and re-apply HoTs as soon as possible.

Low pressure situations:

1. Trample - Major Heroism is crucial
2. Combat Prayer - Minor Berserk + Minor Resolve
3. Echoing Vigor - Powerful Assault proc
4. Energy Orb - Combustion synergy

High pressure situations:

1. Radiating Regeneration
2. Echoing Vigor
3. Combat Prayer

Even during high-pressure phases, try to find opportunities to cast Trample, as faster ultimate generation can directly improve survivability through an earlier Reviving Barrier cast.

Rotation

Similar to damage dealers, healers should maintain a rotation of buffs, debuffs, and heals. Try to cast one skill per second, with a light attack weaved in-between, though you will not be as punished for missing light attacks as a damage dealer. It is often said that healers "parse in reverse" compared to DDs - heals first, then buffs/debuffs, then resource-buffing skills - but the basic principle of casting one skill per second and maintaining a rotation does not change. Practice the rotation on a dummy to build muscle memory. While it will not perfectly replicate real gameplay, developing habits such as drinking potions on cooldown and maintaining 100% Trample uptime will significantly improve your dungeon performance.

The most important thing to practice is ultimate generation. We get it from many sources:

• Light/Heavy attacks on any target give a buff which generates 3 Ultimate per second for 8 seconds. Alternate sources of the ultimate generation buff: Actively blocking damage or healing another person who light attacked/blocked damage.
• Major Heroism generates 3 Ultimate every 1.5 seconds
• Minor Heroism generates 1 Ultimate every 1.5 seconds
• Drinking a potion generates 22 Ultimate every 21 seconds
• Casting Siphoning Attacks generates 2 Ultimate every 4 seconds
• Casting Soul Burst generates 3 Ultimate every 5 seconds via the Anchorite's Potency passive
• Decisive trait on the front bar has a 55% chance to generate an additional 1 Ultimate for every other Ultimate proc
• Sorcerer's Daedric Summoning reduces the Ultimate cost by 15%
• Blessing of the Potentates reduces the Ultimate cost by 15%
• Shield Master CP reduces the cost of Reviving Barrier by 10%
• Arcanist's Intricate Runeforms passive reduces the cost of Reviving Barrier by 10%

Pre-Buff

The following skills can be pre-buffed:

• Trample, for Major Heroism before combat begins. Cast it away from the boss to avoid accidentally pulling aggro.
• Soul Burst, for Minor Courage
• Combat Prayer, for Minor Berserk and Minor Resolve

Do not pre-buff these skills:

• Echoing Vigor, as Powerful Assault only activates while in combat, meaning Echoing Vigor is almost always your first cast. You may pre-buff it for healing, but immediately recast it once combat starts.
• Elemental Blockade, as the boss will immediately become Off Balance once the Tank applies Elemental Susceptibility, which is usually one of the Tank's first casts

For fully optimized groups, pre-buff all possible damage skills exactly as you would on a DD (Scalding Rune, Barbed Trap, etc.) to maximize opening burst damage.