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ESO Tank Class Tier List

Up to date for: Update 50 - 20th June 2026

Last changed: Update 50 - 20th June 2026

This ESO Tank Tier List compares the 7 Pure Class tanks, Subclass Tank, and Werewolf Tank, while also answering the best tank build question directly.

Placements are split into Dungeons, Trials, and Beginner because tank value changes a lot depending on the content.

Subclass Tank does not mean a specific combination. It means utilizing Subclassing and switching to the stuff you need for a specific fight.

STILL BEING EVALUATED

This tier list is unfinished. Update 50's Class Mastery shook up the meta extremely hard, and it's impossible to know what's best this soon after it came out. This tier list is in progress and I will be updating it as the meta choices become more obvious.

Though I would not expect any of the placements to move more than 1 tier.

Dungeon Ranking

In Dungeons, you can have either 1 or 0 healers, and there will be no other Tanks, so there is less buff overlap.

S S Tier

Warden GO TO BUILD >

A A Tier

Dragonknight GO TO BUILD >

Subclass Tank GO TO BUILD >

B B Tier

Necromancer GO TO BUILD >

Arcanist GO TO BUILD >

Sorcerer GO TO BUILD >

C C Tier

Templar GO TO BUILD >

Nightblade GO TO BUILD >

D D Tier

Werewolf Tank GO TO BUILD >

Warden

Dungeons placement

S

None

Dragonknight

Dungeons placement

A

None

Subclass Tank

Dungeons placement

A

None

Necromancer

Dungeons placement

B

None

Templar

Dungeons placement

C

None

Nightblade

Dungeons placement

C

None

Arcanist

Dungeons placement

B

None

Sorcerer

Dungeons placement

B

None

Werewolf Tank

Dungeons placement

D

None

Unique Tank Strengths

Dragonknight

Group Damage

Lead From the Front gives the group Major Berserk.

Elder Dragon provides the group Minor Brutality.

Magma Fist applies Heat Shock, which is roughly a 4% group damage increase at full stacks.

Standard of Might gives 300 Weapon and Spell Damage to allies.

Group Survivability

Lead From the Front gives the group Major Protection.

Hearth and Home gives group healing.

Standard of Might gives 10% damage reduction to allies.

Magma Shell gives allies a damage shield.

Personal Survivability

Earthshield Mantle is a big cheap damage shield.

Burnished Scales gives 10% Block mitigation.

Heart of Stone gives 2,974 Armor.

Hearth and Home gives you Major Protection.

Sustain

The Storm Voice restores 16 Magicka and Stamina per point of Ultimate spent, increased by 6 per Dragonknight ability slotted.

Heart of Flame restores 15% missing Stamina and Magicka.

Utility

Hearth and Home gives allies Minor Heroism and slows enemies by 70%.

Magma Shell can let you completely skip some mechanics, making it an actual DPS gain.

Arcanist

Group Damage

Ink-Scribe's Verve gives the group Major Force.

Glyphic of the Tides gives up to 200 Weapon and Spell Damage.

Runic Sunder gives 2,200 Armor Penetration.

Group Survivability

Erudite's Rigor gives the group Major Vitality and applies Minor Cowardice.

Glyphic of the Tides gives group healing and Major Protection.

Circumvented Fate gives the group Minor Evasion.

Personal Survivability

Impervious Runeward is a big damage shield.

Runeguard of Still Waters is a great personal heal.

Erudite's Rigor gives Major Vitality and Minor Cowardice.

Aegis of the Unseen gives 3,271 Armor.

Intricate Runeforms increases damage shield strength by 10% and reduces damage shield cost by 10%.

Sustain

Hideous Clarity restores 225 Magicka and Stamina.

Erudition increases Magicka and Stamina Recovery by 18%.

Utility

Erudite's Rigor gives 1 Ultimate per Crux.

Implacable Outcome gives 4 Ultimate.

Sorcerer

Group Damage

Calculated Defense gives your entire group 6% Weapon and Spell Damage.

Summon Charged Atronach gives the group Major Berserk.

Exploitation gives the group Minor Prophecy.

Group Survivability

Vibrant Shroud heals allies and grants Minor Vitality.

Personal Survivability

Hardened Ward and Calculated Defense stack into very large damage shields.

Bound Aegis gives 50% Block mitigation.

Conservation of Energy causes you to trigger Blood Magic every cast.

Daedric Protection reduces damage taken by 5%.

Sustain

Conservation of Energy restores Magicka and Stamina equal to 2% of your Max Magicka and Stamina.

Unholy Knowledge and Persistence reduce ability costs by 6% and 18%.

Rebate restores 371 Magicka or Stamina.

Capacitor increases Magicka and Stamina Recovery by 141.

Utility

Ball of Lightning is Sorcerer's class mobility tool and can invalidate some mechanics.

Power Stone reduces Ultimate costs by 15%.

Warden

Group Damage

Glacial Presence, Arctic Blast, and Winter's Revenge improve Minor Brittle uptime.

Tundra's Maw gives Major Brittle.

Group Survivability

Maturation gives the group Minor Toughness.

Expansive Frost Cloak gives Major Resolve to the entire group.

Budding Seeds gives group healing.

Personal Survivability

Shimmering Shield is a very good situational tool against projectiles.

Piercing Cold gives 8% Block mitigation.

Frozen Armor gives 1,240 Armor for each Winter's Embrace ability slotted.

Bull Netch gives a free purge.

Sustain

Bull Netch gives 4,416 Stamina over 25 seconds.

Utility

Bountiful Harvest gives group Major Heroism and 125 Magicka and Stamina every 2 seconds.

Templar

Group Damage

Bright Harbinger grants the group a unique 300 Weapon and Spell Damage buff.

Illuminate gives the group Minor Sorcery.

Group Survivability

Extended Ritual heals allies and provides the Purify synergy.

Mending increases healing done by up to 13% based on the target's missing Health.

Personal Survivability

Radiant Ward is a Max Health-scaling damage shield that grows for nearby enemies.

Restoring Focus heals you.

Sacred Ground gives 10% Block mitigation, and Balanced Warrior increases Armor by 6%.

Devout Guardian gives constant damage shields.

Sustain

Devout Guardian provides 300 Magicka and Stamina Recovery.

Restoring Focus restores 242 Stamina every second.

Repentance can give a lot of Stamina in trash fights or boss fights with adds.

Restoring Spirit reduces ability and Ultimate costs by 5%.

Utility

Extended Ritual provides the Purify synergy for group cleanse.

Devout Guardian gives 10 Ultimate if its shield breaks.

Prism generates 3 Ultimate.

Nightblade

Group Damage

Cutthroat's Focus increases an enemy's damage taken by 5%.

Hemorrhage gives the group Minor Savagery.

Group Survivability

Mass Hysteria applies AoE Major Cowardice.

Power Extraction applies AoE Minor Cowardice.

Personal Survivability

An Eye for Exploitation reduces your damage taken by up to 20% based on the attacker's missing Health.

Cutthroat's Focus lets Nightblade ability casts dodge attacks for 0.3 seconds.

Dark Cloak is a strong HoT and gives Minor Protection.

Dark Vigor increases Max Health by 5% per Shadow ability slotted.

Mirage gives Major Evasion.

Sustain

Siphoning Attacks restores 200 Magicka and Stamina every second and can trade Health for 2,600 of both resources.

Refreshing Shadows increases Magicka and Stamina Recovery by 15%.

Executioner restores 1,000 Magicka and Stamina.

Utility

Transfer generates 2 Ultimate.

Catalyst gives 22 Ultimate.

FAQ

There is no such thing. A tank's job requires a variety of situational tools. The correct build changes depending on the content, but also on your group and even how experienced your group is.

There is no single best class. Warden provides significantly more group support than other classes in Dungeons, assuming you don't already have a Warden Healer. But in Trials, where you will most likely have 2 Healers and another Tank, it's impossible to choose one best class. All classes can tank, and the most important thing is avoiding overlap and filling the gaps in your team's composition.

Nightblade, Dragonknight, Sorcerer, and Subclass Tanks are the easiest to play, thanks to having extremely good sustain tools like Siphoning Attacks or Soul of Flame, or insanely high damage shields like Hardened Ward combined with Calculated Defense, making them extremely forgiving.

THANKS FOR READING

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