The Best Albion Online Tank Builds 2025
Welcome to The Tank Clubs Albion Online Tank Build! Master the art of tanking in Albion Online with this in-depth build guide. Whether you're leading the charge in PvE dungeons or holding the frontline in ZvZ battles, this guide covers the best gear, skills, and strategies to maximize your survivability and control the battlefield.
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Albion Online Tank Build
Tanking in Albion Online requires diverse builds for different content. Here, you’ll find a selection of powerful tank builds to help you tackle various challenges. Have a build to share? Join The Tank Club Discord—we’d love to feature more builds and support the Albion Online tanking community!
For more details on Albion Online Tanking, make sure to check out our Albion Online Tank Guide which is perfect for beginners.
Albion Online Beginner Tank Build
Incubus Mace
The typically method of Tanking includes running up to an enemy, auto-attacking it then moving to the next one. You do this until you have a a manageable amount of enemies aggroed. You then follow this general rotation, this is very hard to do if you are not being healed by a healer throughout.
Skill Rotation:
- Threatening Smash (Q) – Gain aggro of enemies.
- Air Compressor (W) – Clump mobs together.
- Shrinking Curse (E) – Debuffs enemies increasing group DPS.
- Enfeeble Aura (R) – Creates an Aura that reduces incoming damage to you and allies.
- Block (D) – Use this to block attacks from enemies.
- Giant (F) – Increase current and max health along with move speed.
Switch Enfeeble Aura to Taunt for bosses.
Albion Online Beginner Tank Build Info
This is a budget friendly, basic build for beginners looking to try out Tanking in Albion Online which provides the tools to increase Defense, Health and overall survivability along with maintaining good Threat, great crowd control and debuffs on enemies. It’s a great setup to get started in some of the easier PvE content and works especially well when with a partner or group.
Equip this gear as soon as possible to begin levelling it on the Destiny Board and a big focus at this stage is farming Fame. You won’t have access to all of the skills suggested here to begin with for example – you need Mace Fighter 40 to unlock the Air Compressor ability. Once you reach Plate Armor 30 on Chest & Head, switch your feet to Hunter Shoes to level that up for when its needed a bit later into the game for ZvZ.
- Suggested IP: Any
- Content: Expeditions, Group Dungeons, Safe/Yellow Zones
- Tier: 4.1 Max
Albion Online Hardcore Expeditions Tank Build
Mace
This setup relies on you using the Authority and Dreadladen Fighting passives to extend the duration of Crowd Control effects – notable your Snare Charge which helps you keep enemies under control. You take a lot of damage when pulling big stacks in HCE so the rest of the skills are used for quick manoeuvring and so you can pull and clump enemy stacks efficiently and receive as little damage as possible.
Skills:
- Threatening Smash (Q) – Gain AoE aggro of enemies.
- Snare Charge (W) – Used to leap to enemies, root them and interrupt them.
- Deep Leap (E) – Leap to enemies and become immune to damage and effects while also slowing and stunning enemies.
- Enfeeble Aura (R) – Creates an Aura that reduces incoming damage to you and allies.
- Block (D) – Use this to block attacks from enemies.
- Evasive Jump (F) – Leap to enemies and become immune to effects.
For boss fights it can be a good idea to use an Astral Aegis Shield and switch your (R) skill to Taunt.
Albion Online Hardcore Expeditions Tank Build Info
When you attempt to join a Hardcore Expedition this is the build your group will be expecting you to be using as a Tank and this is a well rounded general build for Tanking Hardcore Expeditions. It’s a really tough role to play as you’ll need to pull many enemies, crowd control them and manage your cooldowns alongside maintaining aggro of enemies.
There are further optimisations or “Swaps” as they are known in Albion Online which can made for specific HCE fights and bosses, as you gain more experience you’ll need to obtain alternative gear and use different skills to optimise those situations especially to do the higher level HCE.
- Suggested IP: 1200+
- Content: Hardcore Expeditions
- Tier: 8+ but can work from tier 6
Albion Online PvP Tank Build
Heavy Mace
There’s no set rotation in small scale PvP as you need to be much more reactive to the quick changing environment and utilise these skills at the best possible moment to turn the tides during battle.
Skills:
- Sacred Ground (Q) – Silences and slows enemies inside the circle.
- Snare Charge (W) – Jump to enemies then root and interrupt them.
- Battle Howl (E) – Summons a circle that silences enemies and purge all their buffs when hit.
- Force Shield (R) – Increases damage resistances and healing received for you and group members in the area.
- Meditation (D) – Increases cooldown rate.
- Crush Charge (F) –Dash through enemies knocking, dealing damage and stunning if they collide with the environment.
Albion Online PvP Tank Build Info
While Tanks are useful in PvP in Albion Online, this is more so within large group PvP so this build is more of a bruiser build used for solo or small group PvP such as Arenas. You typically want to have access to damage in these environments as crowd controlling is not enough but the playstyle of a PvE/ZvZ Tank isn’t far different than this as you’ll add that damage to go alongside the crowd control utility you’d typically expect from a Tank.
You can start using this at lower tier and IP as you progress in the PvP environment and also level up your Destiny Board.
- Suggested IP: 1200+
- Content: PvP, Arena, Hellgates
- Tier: 8+
Albion Online Off Tank Build
Incubus Mace
Adds Skill Rotation:
- Threatening Smash (Q) – Gain aggro of enemies.
- Air Compressor (W) – Clump mobs together. Only use this on Avalonian Acolytes, Drones, Monks and Spearmen.
- Shrinking Curse (E) – Debuffs enemies increasing group DPS.
- Taunt (R) – Gain aggro of loose enemies.
- Block (D) & Refreshing Sprint (F) – Use these to survive attacks from enemies.
Boss Skills:
You’ll need to switch some of your skill and gear for boss fights. In these situations the focus is on increasing group survival.
Switch Off Hand to Mistcaller and Head to Guardian Helmet.
- Defensive Slam (Q) – Increased damage resistances for you and your group.
- Guard Rune (W) – Another group damage resistance buff
- Shrinking Curse (E) – Debuffs enemies increasing group DPS.
- Enfeeble Aura (R) – Creates an Aura that reduces incoming damage to you and allies.
- Emergency Shield (D) – Provides a group shield absorbing damage and cleansing all DoT effects.
- Refreshing Sprint (F) – Increased move speed and cooldown rate
Albion Online Off Tank Build Info
This build is used for large group PvE content. This content is very optimised and organised. You’ll often have to follow the requests of your raid leader so this build aids as a guideline of what to level up and pre-plan before going into large group environments.
There are typically two Tanks in this content, but this build is for an Off Tank who will typically not lead the group with the primary role being to aggro and clump enemies, then on bosses help to reduce the incoming damage towards group members.
- Suggested IP: 1400+
- Content: Avalonian Dungeons, Large Group PvE
- Tier: 8+
Albion Online ZvZ Offensive Tank Build
Elder Mace
You’ll usually have a group lead who may possible call for certain actions at specific times, so listen out for the call outs.
Skills:
- Sacred Ground (Q) – Silence and slow enemies.
- Air Compressor (W) – Clump enemies together.
- Deep Leap (E) – Leap into enemies, slow and stun them.
- Force Shield (R) – Increased resistances and healing received for you and allies.
- Displacement Immunity (D) – Makes allies immune to forced movement effects.
- Rush (F) – Increased movement speed but vitally buffs your crowd control effects also.
Albion Online ZvZ Offensive Tank Build
Tanks are crucial in large-scale PvP battles. As an Offensive Tank there are many great setups and groups will often require multiple Tanks in different setups, you should first ask your group leader if they have a specific setup they would like you to wear. In group PvP situations you’ll be expected to support your group with clumping enemies and leading your group into battle.
This is just one of multiple possible Offensive Tank setups you could use in ZvZ content.
- Suggested IP: 1400+
- Content: PvP, ZvZ (Zerg vs Zerg)
- Tier: 8+
Albion Online ZvZ Defensive Tank Build
Grovekeeper
Skills:
- Powerful Swing (Q) – Knocks back enemies and makes them take more physical damage.
- Inertia Ring (W) – Slows enemies ignoring CC resistance.
- Ground Pound (E) – Leap to enemies, stun them and increase your resistances.
- Enfeeble Aura (R) – Reduces incoming damage for you and your group, slows enemies and reveals invisible enemies.
- Electric Discharge (D) – Stuns enemies.
- Energetic Sprint (F) – Increased move speed and energy restore.
Albion Online ZvZ Defensive Tank Build
Defensive Tank are also important for large-scale PvP but they are played very differently to Offensive Tanks. In group PvP situations you’ll be expected to support your group with defensive support and disrupting enemies rather than focussing on enemy crowd controlling. Once again there are multiple setups that are expected by group leaders and ZvZ groups will often have multiple different Defensive Tanks, this is just one example.
- Suggested IP: 1400+
- Content: PvP, ZvZ (Zerg vs Zerg)
- Tier: 8+
