BEGINNER ARCANIST TANK GUIDE

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Beginner Arcanist Tank

Table of contents

Skill Setups
Gear
Champion Points
Race
Mundus
Attributes
Food
Potions

This is a simplified guide which skips a lot of nuance and is intended for beginners or players who don't intend to tackle extremely hard content. Every fight in ESO is situational and ideal skill/gear setup is different for almost every boss. This guide is a compromise where I'll be showing you a single skill setup and very few gear setups that might not be perfect for every single situation, but they'll be at the very least good enough for every situation, and won't overwhelm new players with lots of information.

Last updated: Update 44 - 18th December 2024

The Arcanist plays quite differently from other tank classes in ESO, with its main strength lying in its damage shields. The Impervious Runeward's damage shield value is incredibly high, and can be further buffed with the Intricate Runeforms passive. Arcanist also gets tons of raw stats from their passives and abilities. Runic Sunder and Aegis of the Unseen together provide 4180 additional armor. Wellspring of the Abyss will boost your recoveries for each Soldier of Apocrypha ability slotted, which will then also get boosted by Erudition on top of that.

In terms of group support, the Arcanist brings 2200 armor penetration from Runic Sunder, providing roughly a 4% damage increase. The Arcanist also has much easier access to the Minor Brittle debuff thanks to Rune of the Colorless Pool which increases critical damage by 10%, lasting 20 seconds compared to the usual 4 seconds that come from proccing the Chilled effect with an Ice Staff. The Arcanist also brings the almost unique Minor Evasion buff, reducing damage taken from area of effect attacks by 10%.

SKILL SETUPS

Front Bar	Back Bar
Slot 1: Shield Throw	Slot 1: Cruxweaver Armor
Slot 2: Soul Burst	Slot 2: Wield Soul
Slot 3: Impervious Runeward	Slot 3: Elemental Susceptibility
Slot 4: Ulfsild's Contingency	Slot 4: Elemental Blockade
Slot 5: Runeguard of Still Waters	Slot 5: Runic Sunder
Ultimate: Glyphic of the Tides	Ultimate: Aggressive Horn

ADDITIONAL INFO:

Use the Taunt, Sage's Remedy and Maim combination on your Shield Throw
Use Destructive Clench instead of Shield Throw and then swap the positions around with Runic Sunder (because you can't use Destructive Clench on your frontbar) if you don't have access to Scribing
Use the Damage Shield, Crusader's Defiance and Courage combination on your Soul Burst
Use the Damage Shield, Gladiator's Tenacity and Intellect and Endurance combination on your Ulfsild's Contingency
Use Zenas' Empowering Disc instead of Soul Burst if you don't have access to Scribing
Use Rune of the Colorless Pool, Defensive Stance, Revealing Flare or Heroic Slash instead of Ulfsild's Contingency if you don't have access to Scribing
Glyphic of the Tides isn't meant to be activated, at least most of the times. It's on your front bar to proc the Intricate Runeforms passive, which will increase effectiveness and reduce cost of your damage shields by 10%. This affects Soul Burst, Impervious Runeward and Ulfsild's Contingency. Keep in mind that if you do not have access to Scribing and went with Zenas' Empower Disc in one of your previous skill slots because of that, Zenas' is already triggering Intricate Runeforms so you can instead use Gibbering Shelter as your frontbar ultimate
Use the Pull, Druid's Resurgence and Cowardice combination on your Wield Soul
Use Silver Leash instead of Wield Soul if you don't have access to Scribing
You will have to slot Crushing Shock for fights that require ranged interrupts, such as Thurvokun in Fang Lair dungeon or Ansuul in Sanity's Edge trial
You will have to slot Immovable for fights that require lots of block mitigation, such as Archdruid Devyric in Earthen Root Enclave dungeon or Xalvakka in Rockgrove trial.

GEAR

This is the crafted gear setup you can start with. You do not need to start with a crafted setup and you can move on straight to the setup from dungeons, because Normal difficulty dungeons are easy enough to clear while wearing random gear pieces you pick up from questing. This crafted setup is for people who are anxious about tanking and need a "stepping stone" setup even though it isn't really needed.

Gear Slot	Set	Weight/Type	Trait	Enchantment
Head	Druid's Braid	Medium	Reinforced	Magicka
Shoulders	Druid's Braid	Light	Sturdy /Divines	Health
Chest	Wretched Vitality	Heavy	Reinforced	Health
Hands	Wretched Vitality	Heavy	Sturdy /Divines	Stamina
Belt	Wretched Vitality	Heavy	Sturdy /Divines	Magicka
Legs	Wretched Vitality	Heavy	Reinforced	Stamina
Boots	Wretched Vitality	Heavy	Reinforced	Health
Necklace	Druid's Braid	Jewelry	Harmony /Infused	Reduce Magicka Cost/Reduce Block Cost
Ring	Druid's Braid	Jewelry	Harmony /Infused	Reduce Magicka Cost
Ring	Druid's Braid	Jewelry	Harmony /Infused	Reduce Magicka Cost
Frontbar Main Hand	Druid's Braid	Any 1-handed weapon	Decisive	Hardening
Frontbar Off Hand	Druid's Braid	Shield	Sturdy /Divines	Stamina/Tri-Stat
Backbar Main Hand	Druid's Braid	Ice Staff	Infused	Crusher

ADDITIONAL INFO:

Sets like Fortified Brass or Senchal Defender (this one is from Overland, not crafted) can be better than Druid's Braid, but Druid's Braid has the benefit of not becoming mostly useless when you stop wearing 5 pieces of it, and it's important because I can't know what content you're going to farm first. Are you going to get a Monster Set first and replace head and shoulder slots? Or are you replacing weapons and jewelry first? With Druid's Braid it doesn't matter, because it's slowly losing effectiveness piece by piece. The Druid's Braid shield will also stay relevant for you even past your beginner phase.

These are the best sets you can get from easy content, only the Tremorscale requires you to finish the content on Veteran difficulty but Volenfell is a base game dungeon so its extremely easy even in the Veteran difficulty.

Gear Slot	Set	Weight/Type	Trait	Enchantment
Head	Tremorscale	Medium	Reinforced	Magicka/Tri-Stat
Shoulders	Tremorscale	Light	Divines /Sturdy	Health/Tri-Stat
Chest	Turning Tide	Heavy	Reinforced	Health/Tri-Stat
Hands	Turning Tide	Heavy	Divines /Sturdy	Stamina/Tri-Stat
Belt	Turning Tide	Heavy	Divines /Sturdy	Magicka/Tri-Stat
Legs	Turning Tide	Heavy	Reinforced	Stamina/Tri-Stat
Boots	Turning Tide	Heavy	Reinforced	Health/Tri-Stat
Necklace	Crimson Oath's Rive	Jewelry	Harmony /Infused	Reduce Magicka Cost/Reduce Block Cost
Ring	Crimson Oath's Rive	Jewelry	Harmony /Infused	Reduce Magicka Cost
Ring	Crimson Oath's Rive	Jewelry	Harmony /Infused	Reduce Magicka Cost
Frontbar Main Hand	Armor of the Trainee	Any 1-handed weapon	Decisive	Hardening
Frontbar Off Hand	Druid's Braid	Shield	Divines /Sturdy	Stamina/Tri-Stat
Backbar Main Hand	Crimson Oath's Rive	Ice Staff	Infused	Crusher

ADDITIONAL INFO:

Turning Tide drops from Normal or Veteran Shipwrights Regret
Crimson Oath's Rive drops from Normal or Veteran The Dread Cellar
Puncturing Remedy drops from Normal or Veteran Dragonstar Arena
Tremorscale drops from Veteran Volenfell
Tri-Stat enchants are better than single stat ones, but they're extremely expensive. The reason I listed them here but not in the Crafted setup is because Tremorscale and Turning Tide will stay relevant past your beginner phase, so if you can afford Tri-Stat enchants you should go for it.

This is my suggested setup for dungeons. Since you can't fit in that many support sets in 4-man content, any combination of support sets will perform well.

Gear Slot	Set	Weight/Type	Trait	Enchantment
Head	Archdruid Devyric	Medium	Reinforced	Tri-Stat
Shoulders	Archdruid Devyric	Light	Divines /Sturdy	Tri-Stat
Chest	Lucent Echoes	Heavy	Reinforced	Tri-Stat
Hands	Lucent Echoes	Heavy	Divines /Sturdy	Tri-Stat
Belt	Lucent Echoes	Heavy	Divines /Sturdy	Tri-Stat
Legs	Lucent Echoes	Heavy	Reinforced	Tri-Stat
Boots	Lucent Echoes	Heavy	Reinforced	Tri-Stat
Necklace	War Machine	Jewelry	Harmony /Infused	Reduce Magicka Cost
Ring	War Machine	Jewelry	Harmony /Infused	Reduce Magicka Cost
Ring	War Machine	Jewelry	Harmony /Infused	Reduce Magicka Cost
Frontbar Main Hand	Armor of the Trainee	Any 1-handed weapon	Decisive	Hardening
Frontbar Off Hand	Druid's Braid	Shield	Divines /Sturdy	Tri-Stat
Backbar Main Hand	War Machine	Ice Staff	Infused	Crusher

ADDITIONAL INFO:

If you're a Nord, you should replace 2 Reinforced traits with Divines/Sturdy, as these would put you over the armor cap with Rugged
Use Vestments of Olorime instead of War Machine if you're playing without a healer (1 Tank, 3 Damage Dealers group comp)
Turning Tide is a decent alternative for Lucent Echoes
Powerful Assault is a decent alternative for War Machine, but you'll need an Assault ability to proc it, so you'll have to fit Resolving Vigor into your skill setup
Crimson Oath's Rive is a decent alternative for War Machine, but it will be useless for Damage Dealers who already brought enough armor penetration on their own

This is my suggested setup for main tanking trials.

Gear Slot	Set	Weight/Type	Trait	Enchantment
Head	Archdruid Devyric	Medium	Reinforced	Tri-Stat
Shoulders	Archdruid Devyric	Light	Divines /Sturdy	Tri-Stat
Chest	Pearlescent Ward	Heavy	Reinforced	Tri-Stat
Hands	Pearlescent Ward	Heavy	Divines /Sturdy	Tri-Stat
Belt	Pearlescent Ward	Heavy	Divines /Sturdy	Tri-Stat
Legs	Pearlescent Ward	Heavy	Reinforced	Tri-Stat
Boots	Pearlescent Ward	Heavy	Reinforced	Tri-Stat
Necklace	Crimson Oath's Rive	Jewelry	Harmony /Infused	Reduce Magicka Cost
Ring	Crimson Oath's Rive	Jewelry	Harmony /Infused	Reduce Magicka Cost
Ring	Crimson Oath's Rive	Jewelry	Harmony /Infused	Reduce Magicka Cost
Frontbar Main Hand	Armor of the Trainee	Any 1-handed weapon	Decisive	Hardening
Frontbar Off Hand	Druid's Braid	Shield	Divines /Sturdy	Tri-Stat
Backbar Main Hand	Crimson Oath's Rive	Ice Staff	Infused	Crusher

ADDITIONAL INFO:

This setup is a recommendation for random PUG groups. In an organized trial, always listen to what the raid lead wants you to wear, rather than what I'm showing here
If you're a Nord, you should replace 2 Reinforced traits with Divines/Sturdy, as these would put you over the armor cap with Rugged
Crimson Oath's Rive will be rendered useless if a Damage Dealer in your group is wearing Alkosh, but it's very unlikely you'll find a Damage Dealer wearing a support set in a random PUG group
Crimson Oath's Rive has 2 bonus armor lines which together will grant you 2974 additional armor. This will put you way over the armor cap if you're a Nord because of Rugged. You could change all of your Reinforced traits to Divines/Sturdy to offset this, but it's not really worth it because Crimson Oath's Rive is a set purely for random groups, and it will be completely invalidated by Alkosh in any organized group, so you will definitely stop using it at some point

This is my suggested setup for off tanking trials.

Gear Slot	Set	Weight/Type	Trait	Enchantment
Head	Magma Incarnate	Medium	Reinforced	Tri-Stat
Shoulders	Spaulder of Ruin	Light	Divines /Sturdy	Tri-Stat
Chest	Saxhleel's Champion	Heavy	Reinforced	Tri-Stat
Hands	Saxhleel's Champion	Heavy	Divines /Sturdy	Tri-Stat
Belt	Saxhleel's Champion	Heavy	Divines /Sturdy	Tri-Stat
Legs	Saxhleel's Champion	Heavy	Reinforced	Tri-Stat
Boots	Saxhleel's Champion	Heavy	Reinforced	Tri-Stat
Necklace	Powerful Assault	Jewelry	Harmony /Infused	Reduce Magicka Cost
Ring	Powerful Assault	Jewelry	Harmony /Infused	Reduce Magicka Cost
Ring	Powerful Assault	Jewelry	Harmony /Infused	Reduce Magicka Cost
Frontbar Main Hand	Armor of the Trainee	Any 1-handed weapon	Decisive	Hardening
Frontbar Off Hand	Druid's Braid	Shield	Divines /Sturdy	Tri-Stat
Backbar Main Hand	Powerful Assault	Ice Staff	Infused	Crusher

ADDITIONAL INFO:

This setup is a recommendation for random PUG groups. In an organized trial, always listen to what the raid lead wants you to wear, rather than what I'm showing here
If you're a Nord, you should replace 2 Reinforced traits with Divines/Sturdy, as these would put you over the armor cap with Rugged
You'll need an Assault ability to proc Powerful Assault, so you'll have to fit Resolving Vigor into your skill setup. You could replace Shield Throw if a fight doesn't require a ranged taunt and the boss doesn't hit hard, you could replace Wield Soul if you don't need to chain any adds, but if you're clueless about what to replace then replacing Ulfsild's Contingency is the safest option, though Powerful Assault is on your backbar so you'll have to move some skill (for example Runic Sunder) to frontbar in place of Ulfsild's Contingency and then put Resolving Vigor on backbar
Saxhleel's Champion allows you to provide Major Force with any ultimate, so you can change your backbar ultimate from Aggressive Horn to Replenishing Barrier or Gibbering Shelter and you'll only lose out on the Horn Resource Buff while providing a defensive ultimate for you and your group

CHAMPION POINTS

Warfare

Ironclad (6% Direct Damage Reduction)
Duelist's Rebuff (6% ST Damage Reduction)
Enduring Resolve (6% DoT Damage Reduction)
Bulwark (1900 Armor)

Fitness

Boundless Vitality (1400 Max Health)
Bastion (15% stronger damage shields)
Shield Master (10% cheaper damage shields)
Bracing Anchor (20% Block Mitigation, 16% Movement Speed Penalty)

ADDITIONAL INFO:

If you're a Nord with fully golded out gear and proper traits you will be over the armor cap with these Champion Points, so you can replace Bulwark with for example Focused Mending or Unassailable.

RACE

Nord Nord is the best race for tanking, due to the increased armor from Rugged Rugged and ulti generation from Stalwart. The imbalance between different races can be massive for other classes, but Arcanists get tons of armor from Aegis of the Unseen and Runic Sunder, so the difference is very small.

MUNDUS

The best Mundus is The Atronach which increases your Magicka Recovery by 310 and causes your armor pieces with the Divines trait to increase it by another 28.

ATTRIBUTES

HEALTH

STAMINA

MAGICKA

Majority of the times you should put all your points into Health. However you need your Max Stamina to be higher than your Max Magicka, because the Combustion synergy restores your dominant resource and you want it to be Stamina. Because of that, you might have to put some attribute points into Stamina if you have passives (such as for example the Gift of Magnus racial) or item set bonuses (such as for example 1-piece bonus of Encratis's Behemoth) that increase your Max Magicka. Put just enough points to make your Max Stamina higher than your Max Magicka, and then put the rest into Health.

FOOD

The best food is Orzorga's Smoked Bear Haunch, however it's extremely expensive so you should use Jewels of Misrule instead, it provides only slightly lower stats than Orzorga's Smoked Bear Haunch while being significantly cheaper.

Other decent foods:

Orzorga's Red Frothgar - provides more Max Health and Magicka Recovery at the cost of providing no Stamina Recovery at all. Stamina Recovery doesn't work while blocking so it can be a decent option if you're permablocking
Bewitched Sugar Skulls - provides maximum resources instead of recoveries, can be decent for fights where you need to block for a very long time during a very specific period but the pressure is non-existent outside of that specific period so you can recuperate stamina by heavy attacking freely, for example Roksa the Warped boss in Bal Sunnar dungeon. The increased maximum resources will also increase the scaling of some of your healing abilities, such as Resolving Vigor
Candied Jester's Coin - provides only Max Stamina and Magicka Recovery, can be decent when you want to reduce your Max Health during a specific phase of a fight. For example, in Cloudrest you can eat it right as the execute phase starts, because Maximum Health becomes a detriment due to the Baneful Mark mechanic

POTIONS

Most of the time you should use Tri-Stat potions (Restore Health, Restore Stamina, Restore Magicka). They'll greatly improve your sustain. You can craft them by combining Columbine, Bugloss Bugloss and Mountain's Flower.

There are better potions but they're extremely expensive so they're only worth using when you're tryharding for the most difficult achievments, such as trial trifectas. Heroism potions (Heroism, Restore Stamina, Restore Magicka) can provide a 100% uptime on Minor Heroism buff which generates ultimate, but they're extremely expensive because they're crafted by combining Dragon Rheum, Dragon's Blood and Columbine.

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Beginner Tank Build & Guide