Beginner Tank
Update 50
Tank Sets
Update 50
Arcanist Tank Build
Update 50
Nightblade Tank Build
Update 50
Subclass Tank Build - ESO Guide
Subclass Tank Build for ESO Update 49 is a PvE tank setup for every class, built around combining the strongest tank skill lines through subclassing. The default setup uses Winter’s Embrace, Siphoning, and Grave Lord, with alternate final combinations depending on the content and base class.
Subclassing is stronger than pure class tanking for group support because it lets one tank combine Major Resolve from Warden’s
Expansive Frost Cloak, Major Vulnerability from Necromancer’s
Glacial Colossus, and sustain from Nightblade’s
Siphoning Attacks. No single pure class can combine all three of those tools on its own.
The build covers dungeons and trials in one guide. Each final setup has Regular, Dungeon Trash, Trial Trash, and Tanky sub-setups, with Veteran Hard Mode Dungeon and Veteran Trial proof in the Gameplay section. Dragonknight is the main exception to the default setup because Ardent Flame can replace Siphoning thanks to Soul of Flame.
Subclassing
Best default Subclass Tank setup: Winter’s Embrace, Siphoning, and Grave Lord. This gives group Major Resolve from Expansive Frost Cloak, sustain from Siphoning Attacks, and Major Vulnerability from Glacial Colossus. Dragonknight is the main exception, because Ardent Flame can replace Siphoning through Soul of Flame.
Base Class
You can use this build with any base class.
(Almost) Always Use These Two
These are beginner-friendly setups that always use Siphoning because
Siphoning Attacks trivializes sustain, and always use Winter's Embrace because of
Expansive Frost Cloak which grants your entire team Major Resolve (roughly 12% damage reduction), an extremely strong heal in
Polar Wind, and passives which increase armor and block mitigation.
Ultimately, as long as you know what you're doing, you can make a valid build out of any combination of Skill Lines listed here. You can replace Siphoning if you don't need the sustain - either because the fight is easy enough or because you're a better player. You can even replace Winter's Embrace if the other Tank in your Trial is already using
Expansive Frost Cloak, or if somehow your entire team already provides Major Resolve for themselves through other means.
Dragonknight exception
Dragonknight is an exception. Ardent Flame has
Soul of Flame which trivializes sustain just like
Siphoning Attacks, so it replaces Siphoning instead.
Remaining Skill Lines to Choose From
One of the best skill lines for tanking because of
Glacial Colossus, which applies Major Vulnerability. With some additional Ultimate generation you can keep up 100% uptime on Major Vulnerability with just that, which allows you to replace the Major Vulnerability item set -
Archdruid Devyric, with an Ultimate generation set like
Baron Zaudrus, which in turn boosts your other Ultimate sets like
Saxhleel's Champion and
War Machine even further.
Notable Skills
Notable Passives
None
Good defensive Skill Line if you need more survivability, especially against DoTs. It also allows you to drain corpses for Ultimate through
Necrotic Potency, which is especially good in fights with lots of adds.
Notable Skills
Notable Passives
A Skill Line with lots of situationally good but niche abilities.
Renewing Animation allows your team to recover from anything as long as you survive, it's extremely good for PUGs and training runs (if you're the "teacher").
Expunge and Modify/
Hexproof is a purge that costs only Health and
Spirit Guardian provides a unique 10% damage mitigation buff.
Notable Skills
Notable Passives
Provides block mitigation, a lot of healing (especially if you can afford to stand still) and a purge ability for yourself and your team through
Extended Ritual.
Notable Skills
Notable Passives
Lots of good skills but most of its power is spread between different abilities which you won't have space to slot.
Runeguard is an extremely good defensive skill. The skill line also provides your entire group with Minor Evasion (10% less AoE damage taken) which can be pretty important in some fights.
Notable Skills
Notable Passives
Provides both an extremely good sustain tool (
Soul of Flame) and a good support Ultimate (
Standard of Might). In this guide we pair Ardent Flame with Grave Lord instead of Siphoning (because
Soul of Flame solves sustain just like
Siphoning Attacks) so we use
Glacial Colossus instead, but
Standard of Might is still good, especially for survivability.
Notable Skills
Notable Passives
Most of the buffs it provides (
Igneous Weapons and
Magma Fist) are now extremely good DPS abilities, so it's much more efficient to have a DD use them. Still, it has access to
Magma Shell which lets you bypass many mechanics.
Notable Skills
Notable Passives
A pretty good Ultimate (
Summon Charged Atronach) which grants your group Major Berserk, an extremely strong damage shield (
Hardened Ward) and a block mitigation ability (
Bound Aegis) which will put most builds at the block mitigation cap.
Notable Skills
Notable Passives
A decent skill line for 1 Tank 3 DD dungeon runs when your Damage Dealers need some additional healing.
Notable Skills
Notable Passives
Final Combinations
Example of a setup for each base class. These prioritize survivability and ease of play, so each of them has at least one skill line that trivializes sustain
Skill Setups
Base Setup
A base setup that uses only Winter's Embrace and Siphoning skill lines and which should be your starting point to which you'll later add skills from your 3rd skill line
Switching skills for trash packs isn't worth it unless you're using gear-swap addons, but switching skills for more difficult fights is something you should always do
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Shield Throw | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Trample | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Elemental Susceptibility |
| Slot 4: Ulfsild's Contingency | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Soul Burst |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Reviving Barrier |
Shield Throw (
Taunt
,
Sage's Remedy
,
Maim
) - ranged taunt which will heal you and apply the Major Maim debuff for 10 seconds, which decreases enemies' damage done by 10%
Trample (
Magic
,
Thief's Swiftness
,
Heroism
) - a 1.5 second channel that will grant you Major Heroism for 10 seconds which translates to roughly 20 Ultimate per cast. If you're using
Baron Zaudrus, use
Assassin's Misery
instead to proc it more
Siphoning Attacks - this ability will passively heal you and improve your sustain. It can also be used to trade Health for a burst of Stamina and Magicka
Ulfsild's Contingency (
Damage Shield
,
Gladiator's Tenacity
,
Resolve
) - a damage shield for yourself and your teammates that also provides 8% damage mitigation for 8 seconds and Minor Resolve for 22 seconds, increasing armor by 2974
Polar Wind - a very strong direct heal that also heals an ally and puts a 10 second HoT on yourself
Temporal Guard - an ultimate we won't be using, but we'll keep slotted for the passive Minor Protection which reduces damage taken by 5%. It will also trigger the
Concentrated Barrier passive
Expansive Frost Cloak - a source of crucial Major Resolve buff for your entire group, which increases armor by 5948, which is roughly 12% damage mitigation
Wield Soul (
Pull
,
Druid's Resurgence
,
Cowardice
) - a chain ability for stacking smaller adds that also restores 600 Stamina. It should also be used on unchainable enemies to apply the Major Cowardice debuff which reduces enemies' Weapon and Spell Damage by 430
Elemental Susceptibility - a free ability that applies the crucial Major Breach debuff which reduces enemies' armor by 5948 and applies Burning, Concussed and Chilled status effects every 7.5 seconds. Concussed applies Minor Vulnerability for 4 seconds which increases enemies' damage taken by 5% and can trigger Off Balance when paired with Lightning
Elemental Blockade from your Healer. Chilled applies Minor Maim for 4 seconds which reduces enemies' damage done by 5%. If you were holding an Ice Staff at the moment Chilled procced, it will also apply Minor Brittle for 4 seconds which increases enemies' Critical Damage taken by 10%
Elemental Blockade - this ability will constantly apply the enchant of your backbar weapon, which in our case will be Crusher. It will also apply Minor Breach debuff to enemies who are Chilled which reduces enemies' armor by 2974, and they'll always be Chilled thanks to
Elemental Susceptibility. It will also grant projectile-only damage shields to you and your teammates
Soul Burst (
Damage Shield
,
Anchorite's Potency
,
Courage
) - a damage shield for yourself and your teammates that consumes a Soul Gem to grant 3 Ultimate to you and your teammates up to once every 5 seconds. It also grants everyone Minor Courage for 20 seconds, increasing Weapon and Spell Damage by 215
Reviving Barrier - an Ultimate that grants you and your allies a massive shield and applies a HoT
If you need to slot something situational, replace
Trample if it's a difficult fight,
Siphoning Attacks if you don't need the sustain, or
Soul Burst if you don't need Minor Courage
Inner Rage - a replacement for
Shield Throw for easier fights. You're giving up the 10% damage reduction and the heal from
Shield Throw but you're providing an extremely strong synergy for your group. Also your default taunt when running double Ice Staff setup. It can also be used if you're struggling with Stamina, as it costs Magicka unlike
Shield Throw
Destructive Clench - use it if you're running double Ice Staff setup but still need Major Maim. It only lasts 5 seconds compared to 10 from
Shield Throw, so only slot it over
Inner Rage if you know your team needs the Maim (for example in Kyne's Aegis where you need to apply Major Maim before Instability goes off, and if you time it correctly the 5 seconds is enough)
Revealing Flare - slot it for more difficult fights where you need more damage mitigation. It passively grants Major Protection, reducing your damage taken by 10%. It will also trigger the
Magicka Aid passive, which increases Magicka Recovery by 10%
Resolving Vigor - extremely strong HoT that can help you survive more difficult fights, which also provides Minor Resolve. It can be used to proc
Powerful Assault set
Echoing Vigor - alternative to
Resolving Vigor which heals for a similar amount but over 16 seconds instead of 5. It now heals 6 allies (including you) instead of just you and doesn't provide Minor Resolve anymore. Use it to help your teammates survive in fights which are easy for you to survive. It can be used to proc
Powerful Assault set
Defensive Stance - an ability which grants you a damage shield and allows you to reflect the next projectile within 6 seconds. It also passively reduces your block cost and increases block mitigation by 10%. Use it in fights where you're blocking a lot or in fights where you can do a lot of damage by reflecting projectiles
Immovable - use it in fights where you need lots of block mitigation or CC immunity
Crushing Shock - use it in fights where you need to interrupt an enemy who's standing far away from you
Shimmering Shield - use it in fights with dangerous projectiles
Razor Caltrops - source of AoE Major Breach for trash fights or boss fights with lots of adds
Pulsar - a skill that combined with Charged Ice Staff provides almost guaranteed AoE Chilled procs. Use it in trash packs
Power Bash - a skill for proccing the
Void Bash item set if you're switching to that in trash packs
Race Against Time - use it in fights where you need snare removal. It also triggers the
Concentrated Barrier passive
Charging Maneuver - provides your entire group with a total of 45% bonus movement speed. Very useful in trash packs, but it consumes a lot of Stamina
Exhilarating Drain - an extremely strong Ultimate generating ability which is locked behind being a Vampire, which will increase costs of all of your skills and increase your Flame damage taken even at the lowest stage. It can also be risky to cast in more difficult fights, since it's a channeled ability. Use it if you want to support your team even more and you can handle the drawbacks
Aggressive Horn - an Ultimate which grants a 30 second buff which increases Max Stamina and Max Magicka by 10%, and 10 seconds of Major Force to your entire group. Use it if you want to focus more on group damage. It's especially useful when not using
Saxhleel's Champion, since they both provide Major Force
A setup for trash packs in Dungeons
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Inner Rage | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Razor Caltrops | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Pulsar |
| Slot 4: Power Bash | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Ulfsild's Contingency |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Reviving Barrier |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Regular Base Setup
Inner Rage replaces
Shield Throw. Trash mobs in dungeons don't hit hard so the synergy from
Inner Rage is much more useful than the Major Maim from
Shield Throw
Razor Caltrops replaces
Trample
Power Bash replaces
Ulfsild's Contingency. This will allow us to proc the
Void Bash item set which will stack up smaller enemies
Ulfsild's Contingency moves to backbar, replacing
Soul Burst
Pulsar replaces
Elemental Susceptibility. It'll apply Chilled status effect in an AoE which will apply Minor Brittle which increases Critical Damage taken by 10%. Chilled enemies inside of your
Elemental Blockade will also get debuffed with Minor Breach, reducing their armor by 2974
A setup for trash packs in Trials
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Shield Throw | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Razor Caltrops | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Pulsar |
| Slot 4: Ulfsild's Contingency | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Charging Maneuver |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Reviving Barrier |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Regular Base Setup
Razor Caltrops replaces
Trample
Charging Maneuver replaces
Soul Burst
Pulsar replaces
Elemental Susceptibility. It'll apply Chilled status effect in an AoE which will apply Minor Brittle which increases Critical Damage taken by 10%. Chilled enemies inside of your
Elemental Blockade will also get debuffed with Minor Breach, reducing their armor by 2974
A setup which focuses on your own survivability
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Shield Throw | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Revealing Flare | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Elemental Susceptibility |
| Slot 4: Ulfsild's Contingency | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Soul Burst |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Reviving Barrier |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Regular Base Setup
Revealing Flare replaces
Trample. It passively grants Major Protection, reducing your damage taken by 10%. It will also trigger the
Magicka Aid passive, which increases Magicka Recovery by 10%
Why no Inner Rage in the Regular setup?
The synergy from
Inner Rage taunt is extremely strong but because of the way it works it always turns out extremely weak in Group Finder runs. The way it works is, instead of granting the synergy to 11 people and disappearing once 3 people use it, it first selects 3 people and only those 3 people have the option to use the synergy at all. And if one of those 3 people don't use it, it will never pass onto the remaining players, no matter how many times you recast your
Inner Rage. Which is why, 3 clueless players not pressing their synergy in a Group Finder run are enough to completely "clog" your
Inner Rage. Which is why I decided to go with
Shield Throw taunt as a default option.
Final Setups
A few examples of final setups you could end up with
Grave Lord Skill Setups
Default setup
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Shield Throw | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Trample | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Elemental Susceptibility |
| Slot 4: Ulfsild's Contingency | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Soul Burst |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Glacial Colossus |
A setup for trash packs in Dungeons
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Inner Rage | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Unnerving Boneyard | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Pulsar |
| Slot 4: Power Bash | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Ulfsild's Contingency |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Glacial Colossus |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Trash (Dungeon) Base Setup
Glacial Colossus replaces
Reviving Barrier
Unnerving Boneyard replaces
Razor Caltrops
A setup for trash packs in Trials
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Shield Throw | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Unnerving Boneyard | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Pulsar |
| Slot 4: Ulfsild's Contingency | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Charging Maneuver |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Glacial Colossus |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Trash (Trial) Base Setup
Glacial Colossus replaces
Reviving Barrier
Unnerving Boneyard replaces
Razor Caltrops
A setup which focuses on your own survivability
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Shield Throw | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Revealing Flare | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Elemental Susceptibility |
| Slot 4: Ulfsild's Contingency | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Soul Burst |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Glacial Colossus |
Daedric Summoning Skill Setups
Default setup
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Shield Throw | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Trample | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Elemental Susceptibility |
| Slot 4: Ulfsild's Contingency | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Soul Burst |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Summon Charged Atronach |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Regular Base Setup
Summon Charged Atronach replaces
Reviving Barrier
Regenerative Ward - the other morph of
Hardened Ward (which is used in Tanky setup) which provides a weaker damage shield but is cheaper to cast, heals you and grants you and your team Minor Intellect and Endurance, increasing Magicka and Stamina Recoveries by 15%
Bound Aegis - replaces
Immovable as a situational skill for fights where you need more block mitigation. It has a similar use case, it provides more block mitigation and other benefits, but doesn't provide CC immunity
A setup for trash packs in Dungeons
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Inner Rage | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Razor Caltrops | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Pulsar |
| Slot 4: Power Bash | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Ulfsild's Contingency |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Summon Charged Atronach |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Trash (Dungeon) Base Setup
Summon Charged Atronach replaces
Reviving Barrier
A setup for trash packs in Trials
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Shield Throw | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Razor Caltrops | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Pulsar |
| Slot 4: Ulfsild's Contingency | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Charging Maneuver |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Summon Charged Atronach |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Trash (Trial) Base Setup
Summon Charged Atronach replaces
Reviving Barrier
A setup which focuses on your own survivability
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Shield Throw | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Revealing Flare | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Elemental Susceptibility |
| Slot 4: Hardened Ward | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Ulfsild's Contingency |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Summon Charged Atronach |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Tanky Base Setup
Summon Charged Atronach replaces
Reviving Barrier
Hardened Ward replaces
Ulfsild's Contingency on the front bar
Ulfsild's Contingency moves to the back bar, replacing
Soul Burst
Restoring Light Skill Setups
Default setup
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Shield Throw | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Trample | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Elemental Susceptibility |
| Slot 4: Ulfsild's Contingency | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Extended Ritual |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Reviving Barrier |
Radiant Aura - use it if your team needs more sustain
Repentance - a great sustain tool if you're struggling with Stamina in trash packs or boss fights with lots of adds
Restoring Focus - a strong heal which also restores your Stamina. It can replace
Expansive Frost Cloak if your team already gets Major Resolve from another source, or be slotted alongside it otherwise
A setup for trash packs in Dungeons
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Inner Rage | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Razor Caltrops | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Pulsar |
| Slot 4: Power Bash | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Ulfsild's Contingency |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Reviving Barrier |
What Changes
Identical to the Trash (Dungeon) Base Setup
A setup for trash packs in Trials
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Shield Throw | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Razor Caltrops | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Pulsar |
| Slot 4: Ulfsild's Contingency | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Charging Maneuver |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Reviving Barrier |
What Changes
Identical to the Trash (Trial) Base Setup
A setup which focuses on your own survivability
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Shield Throw | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Revealing Flare | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Elemental Susceptibility |
| Slot 4: Ulfsild's Contingency | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Extended Ritual |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Reviving Barrier |
Soldier of Apocrypha Skill Setups
Default setup
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Shield Throw | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Trample | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Elemental Susceptibility |
| Slot 4: Runeguard of Still Waters | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Soul Burst |
| Ultimate: Gibbering Shelter | Ultimate: Gibbering Shelter |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Regular Base Setup
Runeguard of Still Waters replaces
Ulfsild's Contingency
Gibbering Shelter replaces both
Temporal Guard and
Reviving Barrier since
Runeguard of Still Waters already provides Minor Protection, and double-barring it lets you benefit more from the
Wellspring of the Abyss passive
Runic Sunder - a 22 meter taunt which grants you 2200 Armor and provides 2200 penetration. It also reduces your damage taken based on your current Crux. Use it if your team needs more penetration. It can replace your regular taunt in fights where you won't need the 28 meter range, otherwise it has to be slotted alongside a regular 28-meter taunt
Rune of the Colorless Pool - an ability which applies Minor Brittle and Minor Vulnerability for 20 seconds. You'll already be getting some uptime on these from
Elemental Susceptibility, but
Rune of the Colorless Pool can provide 100% uptime
A setup for trash packs in Dungeons
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Inner Rage | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Razor Caltrops | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Pulsar |
| Slot 4: Power Bash | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Runeguard of Still Waters |
| Ultimate: Gibbering Shelter | Ultimate: Gibbering Shelter |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Trash (Dungeon) Base Setup
Runeguard of Still Waters replaces
Ulfsild's Contingency
Gibbering Shelter replaces both
Temporal Guard and
Reviving Barrier since
Runeguard of Still Waters already provides Minor Protection, and double-barring it lets you benefit more from the
Wellspring of the Abyss passive
A setup for trash packs in Trials
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Shield Throw | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Razor Caltrops | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Pulsar |
| Slot 4: Runeguard of Still Waters | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Charging Maneuver |
| Ultimate: Gibbering Shelter | Ultimate: Gibbering Shelter |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Trash (Trial) Base Setup
Runeguard of Still Waters replaces
Ulfsild's Contingency
Gibbering Shelter replaces both
Temporal Guard and
Reviving Barrier since
Runeguard of Still Waters already provides Minor Protection, and double-barring it lets you benefit more from the
Wellspring of the Abyss passive
A setup which focuses on your own survivability
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Shield Throw | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Revealing Flare | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Siphoning Attacks | Slot 3: Elemental Susceptibility |
| Slot 4: Impervious Runeward | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Runeguard of Still Waters |
| Ultimate: Gibbering Shelter | Ultimate: Gibbering Shelter |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Tanky Base Setup
Impervious Runeward replaces
Ulfsild's Contingency
Runeguard of Still Waters replaces
Soul Burst
Gibbering Shelter replaces both
Temporal Guard and
Reviving Barrier since
Runeguard of Still Waters already provides Minor Protection, and double-barring it lets you benefit more from the
Wellspring of the Abyss passive
Ardent Flame Skill Setups
Default setup
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Shield Throw | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Trample | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Soul of Flame | Slot 3: Elemental Susceptibility |
| Slot 4: Ulfsild's Contingency | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Hearth and Home |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Glacial Colossus |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Regular Base Setup
Soul of Flame replaces
Siphoning Attacks
Glacial Colossus replaces
Reviving Barrier
Hearth and Home replaces
Soul Burst
Standard of Might - provides less group DPS than
Glacial Colossus but gives you 25% damage reduction while standing in it, which can help you survive some very difficult mechanics
A setup for trash packs in Dungeons
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Inner Rage | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Unnerving Boneyard | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Soul of Flame | Slot 3: Pulsar |
| Slot 4: Power Bash | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Hearth and Home |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Glacial Colossus |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Trash (Dungeon) Base Setup
Soul of Flame replaces
Siphoning Attacks
Glacial Colossus replaces
Reviving Barrier
Unnerving Boneyard replaces
Razor Caltrops
Hearth and Home replaces
Ulfsild's Contingency
A setup for trash packs in Trials
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Shield Throw | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Unnerving Boneyard | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Soul of Flame | Slot 3: Pulsar |
| Slot 4: Ulfsild's Contingency | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Hearth and Home |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Glacial Colossus |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Trash (Trial) Base Setup
Soul of Flame replaces
Siphoning Attacks
Glacial Colossus replaces
Reviving Barrier
Unnerving Boneyard replaces
Razor Caltrops
Hearth and Home replaces
Charging Maneuver
A setup which focuses on your own survivability
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Shield Throw | Slot 1: Expansive Frost Cloak |
| Slot 2: Burning Embers | Slot 2: Wield Soul |
| Slot 3: Soul of Flame | Slot 3: Elemental Susceptibility |
| Slot 4: Ulfsild's Contingency | Slot 4: Elemental Blockade |
| Slot 5: Polar Wind | Slot 5: Hearth and Home |
| Ultimate: Temporal Guard | Ultimate: Glacial Colossus |
What Changes
Changes compared to the Tanky Base Setup
Burning Embers replaces
Revealing Flare
Soul of Flame replaces
Siphoning Attacks
Glacial Colossus replaces
Reviving Barrier
Hearth and Home replaces
Soul Burst
Passives
The only passive you specifically have to skip is
Tri Focus
Some trees are only needed when using situational skills, for example Support provides nothing without
Revealing Flare or
Reviving Barrier
Class
Weapon
Armor
Guild
Alliance War
Racial
Craft
Class - Grave Lord (Necromancer)
Reusable Parts - Not Needed (Low Priority if combined with Living Death)
Death Knell - Low Priority
Dismember - Low Priority
Rapid Rot - Low Priority
Class - Siphoning (Nightblade)
Catalyst - High Priority
Magicka Flood - High Priority
Soul Siphoner - High Priority
Transfer - High Priority
Class - Winter's Embrace (Warden)
Glacial Presence - Medium Priority
Frozen Armor - High Priority
Icy Aura - High Priority
Piercing Cold - High Priority
Class - Daedric Summoning (Sorcerer)
Rebate - Medium Priority
Power Stone - High Priority
Daedric Protection - High Priority
Expert Summoner - High Priority
Class - Restoring Light (Templar)
Mending - High Priority
Sacred Ground - High Priority
Light Weaver - Medium Priority
Master Ritualist - Medium Priority
Class - Soldier of Apocrypha (Arcanist)
Aegis of the Unseen - High Priority
Wellspring of the Abyss - High Priority
Circumvented Fate - High Priority
Implacable Outcome - High Priority
Class - Ardent Flame (Dragonknight)
Combustion - High Priority
Traumatic Burns - High Priority
Fan the Flames - High Priority
A Soul Ablaze - High Priority
Weapon - One Hand and Shield
Fortress - High Priority
Sword and Board - High Priority
Deadly Bash - Medium Priority
Deflect Bolts - High Priority
Battlefield Mobility - Medium Priority
Weapon - Destruction Staff
Tri Focus - Do Not Unlock
Penetrating Magic - Low Priority
Elemental Force - High Priority
Ancient Knowledge - High Priority
Destruction Expert - Low Priority
Armor - Light Armor
Grace - Low Priority
Evocation - High Priority
Spell Warding - Medium Priority
Prodigy - Medium Priority
Concentration - Low Priority
Armor - Medium Armor
Dexterity - Low Priority
Wind Walker - High Priority
Improved Sneak - Not needed
Agility - Medium Priority
Athletics - High Priority
Armor - Heavy Armor
Resolve - High Priority
Constitution - Medium Priority
Juggernaut - High Priority
Revitalize - High Priority
Rapid Mending - High Priority
Guild - Mages Guild
Persuasive Will - Not needed
Mage Adept - High Priority
Everlasting Magic - High Priority
Magicka Controller - Medium Priority
Might of the Guild - Low Priority
Guild - Psijic Order
Clairvoyance - Not Needed
Spell Orb - Not Needed
Concentrated Barrier - Medium Priority
Deliberation - Not Needed
Alliance War - Support
Magicka Aid - Medium Priority
Combat Medic - Not needed
Battle Resurrection - Not needed
Race - Your Race
Get all of your racials, no matter which race you are
Craft - Alchemy
Solvent Proficiency - Not needed
Keen Eye: Reagents - Not needed
Medicinal Use - High Priority
Chemistry - Not needed
Laboratory Use - Not needed
Snakeblood - Not needed
Gear
Base Setup
A base setup - the item sets shown are intended for Dungeons specifically, but the weights, traits and enchants are meant for any boss fight
Most support sets provide a similar group DPS increase. The most important thing is making sure your sets don't overlap with other Tank's and Healers' sets, though you can overlap sets which provide imperfect uptimes like
Saxhleel's Champion or
Archdruid Devyric
Switching gear for trash packs isn't worth it unless you're using gear-swap addons
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Head |
Medium | |||
Shoulders |
Light | |||
Chest |
Heavy | |||
Hands |
Heavy | |||
Belt |
Heavy | |||
Legs |
Heavy | |||
Boots |
Heavy | |||
Necklace |
Jewelry | |||
Ring |
Jewelry | |||
Ring |
Jewelry | |||
Frontbar Main Hand |
Any 1-handed weapon | |||
Frontbar Off Hand |
Shield | |||
Backbar Main Hand |
Ice Staff |
Gear that can be better than the setup from the table in specific situations
Vestments of Olorime - replacement for
War Machine when playing without a Healer
Baron Zaudrus - replacement for
Archdruid Devyric whenever you're using Grave Lord. The Ultimate generation from
Baron Zaudrus lets you keep up 100% uptime on Major Vulnerability through
Glacial Colossus, making
Archdruid Devyric unnecessary. Applying
Elemental Susceptibility to multiple targets will generate a lot of Ultimate from this set. Use
Assassin's Misery
on
Trample to proc it more
Alternative gear that can also be used and might be easier to obtain
It lists all useful gear, even sets that are already in the gear table and Situational tab
Crafted
All of these are tradable and can be bought from other players
Overland
All of these are tradable and can be bought from other players
PvP
All of these are tradable and can be bought from other players
Dungeons
Trials
Monster Sets
Body
Sturdy and
Divines - both are very good options, which one is better depends on the specific encounter
Reinforced - depending on your race and many other aspects you might be over the armor cap, in which case you can change
Reinforced pieces to
Sturdy /
Divines
Jewelry
Harmony and
Infused -
Harmony is stronger whenever you have at least 2 different synergies available to you, which means that
Harmony will be better in the vast majority of situations, but
Infused can be better when playing with randoms or if the specific encounter makes it really difficult for your teammates to provide you synergies
Swift - extremely useful for trash packs
Weapons
Charged - an option for the backbar Ice Staff for trash packs. It will cause
Pulsar to be almost guaranteed to proc Chilled status effect
Infused - an option for the frontbar One Handed weapon when playing without a Healer. You can then combine it with the
Weakening enchant to reduce enemies' damage done
- You can double-bar
War Machine if you want to be able to provide Major Slayer also with your frontbar Ultimate - If you want to provide Minor Brittle, you can replace your frontbar Sword and Shield with an Ice Staff. Use
Decisive trait (
Charged if you gave up Winter's Embrace) with a
Glyph of Frost enchant. The frontbar Ice Staff should usually be
Armor of the Trainee, but you can also move your backbar set to frontbar and put
Crushing Wall on backbar. You can also frontbar
Destructive Impact when using
Destructive Clench
Other Setups
Starting setup if you only have access to crafted gear
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium | ||||
| Light | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Jewelry | ||||
| Jewelry | ||||
| Jewelry | ||||
| Any 1-handed weapon | ||||
| Shield | ||||
| Ice Staff |
Setup if you don't have access to Trial gear
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium | ||||
| Light | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Jewelry | ||||
| Jewelry | ||||
| Jewelry | ||||
| Any 1-handed weapon | ||||
| Shield | ||||
| Ice Staff |
Additional Info
Powerful Assault is another good set that doesn't come from a Trial, but it would require you to include
Resolving Vigor or
Echoing Vigor in your boss skill setup
Setup for trash packs, the item sets shown are intended for Dungeons specifically, but the weights, traits and enchants shown are meant for any trash
Dungeon Trash
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium | ||||
| Light | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Jewelry | ||||
| Jewelry | ||||
| Jewelry | ||||
| Any 1-handed weapon | ||||
| Shield | ||||
| Ice Staff |
Explanation
Archdruid Devyric changes to
Spaulder of Ruin because
Archdruid Devyric is extremely buggy and has issues hitting moving targets
Saxhleel's Champion changes to
Turning Tide because you don't want to spend your Ultimate in trash
War Machine changes to
Powerful Assault because you don't want to spend your Ultimate in trash and because you can proc it with
Razor Caltrops. Swap
Caltrops around with
Expansive Frost Cloak when using
Powerful Assault. If you're playing without a Healer keep using
Vestments of Olorime. If you're using
Powerful Assault, don't replace
Razor Caltrops with
Unnerving Boneyard even with Grave Lord, because you need
Caltrops to proc the set
Void Bash is extremely good for stacking enemies in dungeon trash packs- Backbar Ice Staff trait changes to
Charged so that
Pulsar becomes almost guaranteed to proc Chilled status effect - Jewelry traits change to
Swift as movement speed is extremely useful while running through trash
Trial Trash
A Trash setup for Trials could look like this. Unlike Dungeon trash setup, it doesn't switch away from Ultimate sets because Trial trash packs can be difficult so it's worth spending Ultimate on them. The table shows it with
Pearlescent Ward +
Saxhleel's Champion (Trial Setup 1), but the same changes apply if you're using
Lucent Echoes +
Powerful Assault (Trial Setup 2). If you're using
Powerful Assault, swap
Razor Caltrops around with
Expansive Frost Cloak so
Caltrops is on your back bar to proc the set, just like in Dungeon Trash setup
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium | ||||
| Light | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Jewelry | ||||
| Jewelry | ||||
| Jewelry | ||||
| Any 1-handed weapon | ||||
| Shield | ||||
| Ice Staff |
Setups for tanking Trials
These are just 2 examples of setups the 2 Tanks could use in a PUG Trial run. If you're in a more organized team, the gear your Raid Lead wants you to wear takes priority
Setup 1
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium | ||||
| Light | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Jewelry | ||||
| Jewelry | ||||
| Jewelry | ||||
| Any 1-handed weapon | ||||
| Shield | ||||
| Ice Staff |
Setup 2
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium | ||||
| Light | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Heavy | ||||
| Jewelry | ||||
| Jewelry | ||||
| Jewelry | ||||
| Any 1-handed weapon | ||||
| Shield | ||||
| Ice Staff |
Additional Info
- This setup requires you to fit either
Resolving Vigor or
Echoing Vigor on your backbar
Champion Points
Use these Champion Points as default for Boss and Trash fights respectively. Further below you'll find a list of all useful CPs with explanations on when to use them.
All Useful Champion Points
A full list of useful Champion Points with explanations on when to slot them.
Ironclad - reduces damage taken from direct damage attacks by 6%
Enduring Resolve - reduces damage taken from damage over time attacks by 6%
Duelist's Rebuff - reduces damage taken from single target attacks by 6%
Unassailable - reduces damage taken from area of effect attacks by 6%
Bulwark - increases your armor while you have a shield or frost staff equipped
Focused Mending - increases your single target healing by 10%. Boosts your
Polar Wind and
Shield Throw's
Sage's Remedy
Boundless Vitality - increases your max health by 1400. Great for survivability if a fight does not have max HP based damage
Fortified - increases your armor by 1731. Can help you reach the armor cap if you're missing it in other parts of the build
Rejuvenation - increases your Health, Stamina and Magicka Recovery by 90
Sustained by Suffering - increases your Health, Stamina and Magicka Recovery by 150 while you have a debuff on yourself. Straight up stronger
Rejuvenation that only works in some fights, but there's a decent amount of fights where you'll have a constant debuff on yourself
Celerity - increases your movement speed by 10%. Great for fights where you have to constantly move around, can also offset
Bracing Anchor's movement speed penalty
Bastion - increases the strength of your damage shields by 15%. Boosts your
Ulfsild's Contingency and
Soul Burst. Especially good in fights with lots of DoTs
Shield Master - decreases cost of your damage shields by 10%. Reduces the Magicka cost of
Ulfsild's Contingency and
Soul Burst by a decent amount. It will also reduce the Ultimate cost of
Reviving Barrier
Bracing Anchor - increases your block mitigation by 20% and reduces your movement speed by 16%. Great for fights with constant direct blockable damage. Don't combine with
Immovable as the combined movement speed penalties will reduce your movement speed to 0, which also prevents you from dodge rolling
Ward Master - reduces your damage taken by 10% while blocking under the effect of a damage shield. Will drain your stamina by forcing you to permablock, but can be worth it in fights with absurd incoming damage that normally isn't affected by block, such as Flame-Herald Bahsei
On Guard - increases your block mitigation by 10% while under the effects of Crowd Control Immunity. Synergizes with
Immovable, granting you even more block mitigation during that 6 second window
Arcane Alacrity - reduces cost of your dodge roll by 800 while under the effect of a damage shield. Extremely niche
Expert Evasion - grants you a free dodge roll once every 30 seconds. Extremely niche
Race
Mundus
-
DefaultThe Atronach
310 Magicka Recovery(507 with 7
Divines)
The best Mundus for tanking. The Magicka Recovery helps sustain your skills throughout a fight. -
Armor CapThe Lady
2744 Armor(4489 with 7
Divines)
Use if you're struggling to reach the armor cap (33,000). It increases your Armor by 2744, or 4489 with Divines trait on your armor pieces.
Attributes
Put all 64 points into Health. However, your Max Stamina must be higher than your Max Magicka, because the
Combustion synergy restores your dominant resource and you want it to be Stamina. If you have passives (such as
Gift of Magnus) or item set bonuses that increase Max Magicka, put just enough points into Stamina to keep it higher than your Max Magicka, then put the rest into Health.
Food
Use
Jewels of Misrule
as your default.
Orzorga's Smoked Bear Haunch
provides slightly higher stats but is expensive.
-
DefaultJewels of Misrule
Max Health +3,927 Stamina Recovery +357 Magicka Recovery +357Provides slightly lower stats than
Orzorga's Smoked Bear Haunch
but is significantly cheaper. -
ExpensiveOrzorga's Smoked Bear Haunch
Max Health +4,312 Health Recovery +406 Stamina Recovery +369 Magicka Recovery +369The best food for tanking. Provides Max Health, Stamina Recovery and Magicka Recovery. Expensive. -
PermablockingOrzorga's Red Frothgar
Max Health +5,395 Magicka Recovery +493Provides more Max Health and Magicka Recovery but no Stamina Recovery. Stamina Recovery doesn't work while blocking, so this can be a decent option if you're permablocking. -
Specific FightsBewitched Sugar Skulls
Max Health +4,620 Max Stamina +4,250 Max Magicka +4,250 Health Recovery +462Provides maximum resources instead of recoveries. Decent for fights where you need to block for a very long time during a specific period but the pressure is non-existent outside of it, so you can recuperate Stamina by heavy attacking freely - for example the 1st boss in Lucent Citadel or Roksa the Warped in Bal Sunnar. -
Specific FightsCandied Jester's Coins
Max Stamina +4,592 Magicka Recovery +459Provides only Max Stamina and Magicka Recovery with no Max Health. Useful 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
-
DefaultTri-Stat Potion
Restore Health Restore Stamina Restore MagickaMost of the time you should use Tri-Stat potions. They'll greatly improve your sustain. -
SituationalHeroism Potion
Restore Magicka Restore Stamina
Minor Heroism
Heroism potions can provide 100% uptime on Minor Heroism which generates ultimate, but they're expensive.
Gameplay
Fashion
| Slot | Style | Dyes |
|---|---|---|
| Head |
Thalmor Black
Thalmor Black
Thalmor Black
|
|
| Shoulders |
Thalmor Black
|
|
| Chest |
Thalmor Black
Thalmor Black
Thalmor Black
|
|
| Hands |
Thalmor Black
Thalmor Black
Wolf's Fur Brown
|
|
| Belt |
Empty
|
|
| Legs |
Thalmor Black
Thalmor Black
Wolf's Fur Brown
|
|
| Feet |
Thalmor Black
Thalmor Black
|
|
| Frontbar Main Hand |
Thalmor Black
Thalmor Black
Thalmor Black
|
|
| Frontbar Off Hand |
Thalmor Black
Thalmor Black
Thalmor Black
|
|
| Backbar Main Hand |
Thalmor Black
Thalmor Black
Thalmor Black
|
|
FAQ
For group PvE tanking, yes. Subclass Tank is generally stronger than Pure Class Tank because it lets you combine the best tanking skill lines instead of being limited to one class. Pure Class Tank is still playable, but Subclass Tank has better access to group support, sustain, mitigation, and encounter-specific tools.
The best default Subclass Tank setup uses Winter’s Embrace, Siphoning, and Grave Lord. Winter’s Embrace provides Expansive Frost Cloak and strong defensive tools, Siphoning provides sustain through Siphoning Attacks, and Grave Lord provides Glacial Colossus for Major Vulnerability. Dragonknight is the main exception and can replace Siphoning with Ardent Flame.
Nord is the best race for tanking in ESO. The
Rugged racial passive grants 2600 armor which translates to roughly 7% damage reduction near armor cap, and
Stalwart gives you ultimate generation. You can complete any content on any race, but non-Nords will have to adjust their build to compensate - see the Race section for more details.
There is no specific number to aim for - your Health is a result of your gear, attributes, enchants and passives, not a target you build towards. That said, some fights in ESO have mechanics that scale with your Maximum Health, so you generally don't want to go above 45k Health unless a specific fight requires it.
Put all 64 points into Health. The only exception is if your Max Magicka ends up higher than your Max Stamina due to racials or item set bonuses - in that case, put just enough points into Stamina so it stays higher than Magicka, then put the rest into Health. See the Attributes section for details.
Head
Shoulders
Chest
Hands
Belt
Legs
Boots
Necklace
Ring
Frontbar Main Hand
Frontbar Off Hand