ESO: Ultimate Tanking Build Guide for all Classes

[@JimmyCapricorn77]

Imperials make phenomenal tanks too. The reduced cost of all abilities is useful too. The extra health helps too. My pvp tanks are imperial and I tank zergs all day with that reduce cost. You can pretty much make any race work. I’ve tried it with every race and each race has some great benefits. High elf’s weapon and spell damage passive gives you a good healing boost to your healing spells.

[@Nightharrow]

Completely agree they all have their benefits! And for PvE it really doesn’t matter that much. I think it’s far more important to most people that they play the race they want, rather than min/maxing. As for imperials, they just come a bit behind some of the others in pve. I can definitely see them doing well in PvP though with the sustain since you are probably not using reduced cost enchants.

[@glenndhorallmyxlvntx9294]

Just keep publishing your own stuff! There are several creators… all with their own takes. Nothing wrong with that. At the end of the day practice with your setup is what will make you better. Thanks for putting this out as your own take.

[@ThePorterStyle]

Thank you. My wife loves ESO and Im trying to get into it for here. Im not into fantasy, more of a sci-fi mass effect/destiny guy, this helps break it down for me. The closest game to this I played is City of Heroes. Ill be checking out the stream too. Again, thank you.

[@Nightharrow]

Thanks Porter, glad I could help! I’m also a psi-if nerd but my wife is only into fantasy. Lol. So I get where you are coming from.

[@SeaUnicorn]

Nord is recommended not just for resistance cap, but for its ulti gen passive. More ult = better support. Only other race that gives more ults is imperial which recommended as 2nd best tank race, but because current support sets are more efficient with more ult (Sax, WM) nord pulls ahead.

[@Nightharrow]

I agree completely, it’s just that the amount is so small that it’s really not a consideration for anyone not trying to score push or Purma magma shell. It’s a question of how many people in all of eso are in those categories? Maybe a couple hundred? Even if it’s a thousand that’s 0.00025% of monthly users. What I typically try to do is offer advice that’s geared towards the 99.99975% and then point towards the sweaty stuff for the small percent that are interested. I know some end game players think everyone should just do what they do, but I don’t find that to make a lot of sense. And it’s easy enough to correct in the very rare situation that it becomes useful for someone.

[@seekup3368]

Nice guide. I haven't tanked and main a healer. Watching this i see i need to communicate better with pug tanks to make sure we are not overlapping (weakening/crushing enchants, warhorn/barrier ultis).

[@Nightharrow]

Thanks Seek, I appreciate it. And yeah, it can be a good idea, if you can manage to get them to communicate. Can be a tough sell sometimes.

[@Motherclucker369]

Ay! Thanks for the shoutout! Argonians are the absolute best. As always, you gave great advice. I love your content. Keep up the great work, buddy! 😊

[@Nightharrow]

Thanks Clucker, I appreciate all the support.

[@pikewerfer]

Argonians are cool! My Templar Tank and my Sorc Tank are Argonians. My Necro Tank is a Nord, and so is my Warden Tank. My DKs are Orc and Imperial. My NB Tank is a Redguard. My Arcanist is also an Imperial. I still want to do a Khajiit Tank - but not sure what to build here. Any ideas?

[@Motherclucker369]

@@pikewerfer I’d recommend building a khajiit tank. End of the day, just do what you want, play how you want, and know that you’ll never be as awesome as an Argonian 🤓

[@Nightharrow]

Um, not really a lot that screams khajit as far as ranking classes. I would say nightblade and you could also have a really good stealing video but argonian nightblades are also really good. Lol. So I’m torn.

[@Chris-gr7ll]

Outside of maybe a couple niche things I prefer 4 reinforced 3 atro divines. Infused jewelry with cost reduction enchant, for some fights block cost reduction enchants. Mostly a Nord Necro but also have a DK and Warden(he's more for Random dungeons though)

[@Centurion305]

For most cases with tanking, 4 reinforced with 3 divines is actually the way to go. Hor, Hex, and many who do a lot of end game tanking have all calculated the same thing because you only block the big hits which doesn't cost much to do so block reduction isn't really needed as much as ppl think. You can tell who's not a vet tank when they spec everything into block and sturdy. Great for beginners but actually it builds really bad habits

[@Nightharrow]

Yeah, would be nice if the traits got a buff. 900 mag every 20 seconds isn’t exactly game changing. Basically one extra heal every 40 seconds. Many phases in sweaty groups don’t even last that long, so you don’t need any sustain really in those fights.

[@chrisleithead6744]

I am listening to your cycling analogy while going out for a run in a beat up outfit with paint stains all over it and some pretty good new shoes. Got a good laugh out of it, the gear trap can happen with new runners too with waterbottle vests, special fa rics, carbon plated soles, etc

[@Nightharrow]

Haha good to see it’s universal.

[@andrgraund9104]

I just start again, so i have played eso couple years ago, so i know basics but still freshy. Im interesting in tanking so video is mega useful for me. But also i love new one bar feature, and i really want to make it happen with tank class, so i would like to see same for onebar build. Its maybe sounds crazy, there is some builds on youtube, but i want make my own, and style video like this, thats huge help. Thanks for content

[@Nightharrow]

It’s a good idea, I just don’t know when I will be able to get around to it. If you want some help with it though, come by the discord! We have channels to get feedback if you want it.

[@positimothy]

I tanked vashm, db and gh as a high elf almost three years ago and always thought man, this nord has some good mag sustain. I had never used the race change I had bought

[@Nightharrow]

Haha that’s hilarious and sounds like something I would do. If 900 mag every 20 seconds (from running 3 divines) is as game changing as people make it out to be, I bet the high elf with twice that was amazing. Actually I think I did that on a tanking video a while back and when I brought up the racial traits to talk about them realized I hadn’t used the token. I hadn’t gone and done several tris though, that’s just hilarious.

[@evilangel7338]

All my tanks are kajiits (warden, dk, arcanist and my favorite! necro) and they all hit resist cap easily 😂

[@GeneChiu]

What is your opinion about various arena weapons? For dungeons, Void Bash is a very common one used by many tanks. I've been advised to use Puncturing Remedy. I also used Defensive Position at one time before I learned how to manage my magicka better.

[@Nightharrow]

What class are you running? Void bash can also be use in very hard content to apply major maim, but most people don’t know or understand why that could be good. Puncturing remedy is great for a lot of things. I mention it in the video linked below. Defensive Position is good for sustain but fairly complicated to use imo. There are also mythical you can use as well. Bloodlords embrace, pearls, Spaulder, etc… I’m considering doing a video on it, but it will be a bit. Come by the discord, we have channels to theory craft and talk about this kind of thing.

[@GeneChiu]

​@@Nightharrow I run a sorcerer tank. The style I generally play is I use Bound Aegis to boost my blocking damage mitigation against the strongest attacks. My style revolves around Bound Aegis, so I block a lot. I feel I really over block and am trying to learn to block less. I recently joined a new guild and one of the other sorc tank players has been giving me some advice on a different style of play. Along with Hardened Ward being buffed, I've been trying to use damage shields more and switch from using BA. I did try going with Defensive Stance as that was what he advised. It's a departure of what I was used to. In the past, I did use the Defensive Position set for sustain. I had a setup where I use Defensive Stance to convert stam to mag. Then Dark Deal to convert mag to stam. As of late, I personally have not used Dark Deal much and rather use a HA to get stam back. A HA takes just a little longer than Dark Deal and I don't need to use a skill slot. On a sorc, skill slots are even tighter because my self heal is my pet which I must double bar. As of late, I've been using mag recovery glyphs on my infused jewellery for mag recovery. I've been able to HA to recover my stam well enough now. With my current setup, I am able to manage my resources better than before, so I don't need the Dark Deal/Defensive Position tricks to recover resources. I find it interesting that you did not put Yol on one of your sets. I guess the arcanist now with Arcanist's Domain can provide that buff. When using Yolnahkriin, I can back bar it to provide Minor Courage and use a front bar arena weapon. The issue with using a front bar arena set is that I need to find a set that can be back barred effectively. Yolnahkriin is the easiest. Crimson Oath's Rive is another as my back bar skill procs it. I can also put Saxhleel on the back bar only, but will lose Major Force if using my front bar Barrier. If I go Sax/TT/Tremor, I'd be inclined to use Atro as my ultimate. I don't tank that often as it is my tertiary role. I mostly DPS and occasionally heal. I feel have the ability to do so as I've completed a few hard mode DLC dungeons. It's mostly the lack of reps in content. I'm just a better DPS or healer, so those are the roster spots I have been placed in.

[@RousskiShinobi31]

Hi. Just discovered you. Great guide. Just wanted to ask you if you factored in the armor you get from the shield (1750 I believe) ?

[@Nightharrow]

Hey Rousski, thanks for mentioning this, it looks like I missed it! I’ll add it to the spreadsheet in just a bit.

[@RousskiShinobi31]

@@Nightharrow no problem, just wanted to signal it for you.

[@Pok3Manny]

I think being a Tank is highly misunderstood. Increasing the resistance cap to 33K is not enough. You also need to increace you block damage mitigation to 90%. With both of these, a 150K hit would feel like a 7.5k. Add in Syrabane's Ward and you can tackle almost any dungeon in ESO so long as you keep healing yourself.

[@Nightharrow]

What part do you feel is highly misunderstood?

[@jowoll]

Thank you for this! I will use this as a foundation to start my tanking journey. What is your take though on using class ult in place of barrier, like DKs magma shell? (I really need to get my tank into pvp land)

[@Nightharrow]

Magma shell is amazing if you need it. For someone like you though, I would reserve it for situations where you need to help carry a less experienced group or when you’ve been trying and dying for a bit, and just want to move on. It’s completely broken (in a good way) though and definitely worth using.

[@sortsnakeksperiment]

I like this guide, fresh, honest and informative. I got a request you only need to do it if you find it a good idea. Could you make a page two with things you could not fit in the "one page"? And I hope it could contain class information. I know it may compromise your history with one page info which I previously have found very nice. No pressure, I find Im not a good enough tank to go pure 2xstaffs. I suspect many of your viewers may not need this, but I had to ask.

[@Nightharrow]

Thanks Sort, I appreciate it! So I have class ones for several of the classes, and I’ll be renewing those and finishing out the rest over the next few months. NB, Templar, and warden I think are all fairly new. Cro and dk are so old I may have taken them down. Not sure if that’s part of what you mean? I think a lot of the stuff, besides class specific, is nuanced and what I try to cover in the videos, so idk about a second page? Is there particular info you would want or are looking for?

[@AlexAmaya-u1e]

I like this guide, only question is sturdy really any good when block cost reduction infused gives more value than 7 piece sturdy?. And harmony is more powerful than recov but I play on infused recovery:/ if u pug and no synergys, no bueno

[@Nightharrow]

Yeah, my point was that all the armor options are kind of bad and don’t really do much. Especially when compared to how good divines is for dps. But it’s better than nothing I suppose.

[@hellstrike5366]

Why does nobody ever talk about Bloodlord's Embrace? Many of the tanking sets can be front bar/back bar setups. A typical setup would be Turning Tide body, Saxeel's Champion back bar, 2-piece monster, and Master's S&B front bar. By running your primary sets front bar/back bar instead you're giving up the Master's S&B for a 1-piece Trainee and Bloodlord's Embrace, how is that not a good trade?

[@Nightharrow]

I literally did my first KZbin video on it. People laughed. Now they recommend it. 🤷‍♂️ idk lol. Probably could have added it here but idk. Lots of info to cover. Thanks for bringing it up, I’ll keep it in mind for next time.

[@SeaUnicorn]

It's good on paper but not that good in practice where matters. We actually tried bloodlords in my team when it was released. Problem is that you have to get hit every second or two with blockable attacks for it to be good and many bosses like to RP so you actually block attacks not that often. For example dragons in Sunspire spend alot of time spawning the atros and opening the cages or portals. Taleria in DSR also RPs alot. So actual bosses that are scary enough to need that extra sustain do not light attack often and many of them do heavies that should be rolled because they hit so hard you end up with 800 hp from 50k. So you'd be better off with some other selfish option, death dealers is cool on Taleria, Torc is pretty good for a DK cuz it converts mag to stam very easily. Even atros on twins DSR do not light or heavy you that often, its just when they do it hurts ALOT. Basicly it's to do with how PvE enemies are programmed in practice rather than the efficacy of the mythic itself.

[@richardkim3652]

Is their like a big aoe skill that draws aggro because I can't find any. I play tank in every mmo game and coming from FF14 and WoW you have aoe aggro skills so it's easier to round up all the mobs in one place but it doesn't seem like it in ESO which in my opinion sucks

[@Nightharrow]

There is not, but in eso you mostly need to worry about the elite mobs, which are almost always the larger ones. So larger = higher priority. With the smaller ones you generally try to cc them and they will die or their damage will be out healed. But yeah, a lot different than those other mmos. I’m also partial to a to a threat meter myself.

[@richardkim3652]

@@Nightharrow Yea it just doesn't feel right as a tank when you don't aggro everything on the screen lol.

[@Nightharrow]

Haha I feel you. Will be some new cc abilities with update 42.

[@TheCallmom]

I just choose race by looks/theme. Midmaxing takes the fun outta the game. Just getting close to the stats u should have is good enough. Just got friends into the game. Not trying to force shit down their throats. Just giving general advice. They just learned the importance of managing stamina and magika. That potions and foods are mandatory. Which I make for them. And that monster sets are the reason I didnt craft them helmets n shoulders.

[@Nightharrow]

Always nice to have a guide, I’m sure they appreciate it.

[@VampireLord-tn6kf]

What class is this mainly directed towards?

[@Nightharrow]

It’s class agnostic. I have setup la for several ranking classes in my tank playlist. If you are looking for something specific.

[@oversturm]

Very interesting, especially brave with different points of view, you have not named the arcane as a tank, don't you think it is a good choice? Thanks for the work. S!

[@Nightharrow]

Hey oversturm! I think arcanists are great, it was just a coincidence if I didn’t mention them. I’ve actually been playing a decent amount with mine recently. I often find I struggle with stamina sustain on them when doing hard modes or solo tanking, but it’s an easy fix with either a block enchantment or stamina drain on your weapon. I also have a tanking video on them from when they first came out. Will update in over the next couple of months.

[@oversturm]

I would appreciate it, I am quite interested. Since the tanks, the heal, depending on what you use them for, if they are not useful it is better to know, they are all good for fun of course.@@Nightharrow

[@xerxesmo]

I was waiting for this 😮

[@Nightharrow]

Hope it meets your expectations!

[@xerxesmo]

@@Nightharrow absolutely amazing! 💙

[@mayorez70]

Which class is your favorite tank?

[@Nightharrow]

Definitely the necro. Just made a class specific guide on it actually.

[@Centurion305]

Class shield and class buff... *Looks at necro* wow does necro need work in comparison to other options for a tanking class. They used to be one of the best before sets that gave major vulnerability. Now they are pretty useless

[@Nightharrow]

It’s one of the most survivable tanks still because of their dot mitigation, but yeah, I agree, most classes could use more of a reason to run them. Typically classes without shields have better heals, so there is some balance there as well. But poor NB, Templar, sorc, etc… also are in a similar boat. Not a whole lot to recommend them. Particularly when you consider how difficult some bosses are with some of the classes when compared to a dk. Also, necro Rez for most groups makes it good enough that you want to bring it. You can literally carry a group with it. But of course at the high end it’s not needed.

[@k-3402]

I still love Necro tank in 4-man content. Saxhleel and War Machine keep Colo relevant.

[@dottysample4753]

Is there any reason a woodelf warden can't Tank?

[@Nightharrow]

Nope, none at all. You will find that you may need more mag recovery/reduced mag cost than others, but you should have extra stam.

[@elderwiz3165]

OMG! Hyper is going to go bananas calling you out for not using a Nord! Hyper with his 12 man trial team of world record holders will denounce you back into your level 1 cave! Back to square 1, without passing GO!

[@Nightharrow]

Don’t forget I recommend sturdy. 900 mag every 20 seconds is apparently game changing and will carry you through trifectas.

[@elderwiz3165]

@@Nightharrow Yeah, I know. I too would rather have great sustain than some extra armor. Hyper has cooled down a bit now, but when he started YouTubing he kept "calling out" other KZbinrs not going with his perceived meta.. Thanks for your work and your videos, they are great!

[@vladvovk7318]

Since I tried redguard on a tank build(just because i had unused armory slot there), my mind on tanks changed 180. There are no limitations on race class, etc. All numbers could be fixed. All you need is resists to a cap, 40k health,selfheal, some taunt, and cc. EVERY class/race combination could achieve that. Go check what works for you and what things pugs praise the most 😂

[@katarinagamersgal]

So, do you want to be a Nord tank as the Gods direct and do the Infused/cost reduction on jewelry and thus make Redguard's 6% cost reduction irrelevant or be a Redguard and struggle to get the resist cap through 15 different shits? The million dollar question.

[@Nightharrow]

Haha the 6% is for imperial. Redguards get back 1k stam per 5 seconds for doing melee damage. And most skills you cast will still be plenty expensive to get the benefit of red diamond (imperial cost reduction).

[@glenndhorallmyxlvntx9294]

Hold on the only way to survive in golf is to blame the expensive technology you bought - not your own mediocrity!

[@clash505]

GG

[@Nightharrow]

Thanks for dropping by man.