Welcome to The Tank Club Ultimate ESO Beginner Tank Guide! 

This ESO Beginner Tank Guide has been created for PvE Tanks, to help coach you on your way to becoming a successful Tank in The Elder Scrolls Online. 

Before you get started with Tanking, please take a little time to have a read through this guide to hopefully give you an idea about what Tanking is all about in The Elder Scrolls Online.

This guide is basically a summary of everything you need to know, whether you are new to ESO or just new to Tanking, you should find all the basic information you need to start Tanking.

For a good starting build for a Tank, make sure you also check out our Beginner Tank Build.

Updated: September 2022 (Lost Depths)

Support The Tank Club content for only £3!
become a patron button
The ULTIMATE ESO Tank Guide 2021 | Elder Scrolls Online

ESO Beginner Tank Guide Table of Contents

#1 Beginner Tank Build for High Isle | Elder Scrolls Online
Tank Sustain Guide 2022 | Elder Scrolls Online | Deadlands
Beginner Tank Information & Build | Elder Scrolls Online | Deadlands

What is a Tank?

In the Elder Scrolls Online – A Tank is someone who is the heavily armoured shell of a group, the first one into battle and the front-line of combat to protect and defend everyone else against any threat.

A Tanks main job is to aggro and control enemy targets forcing them to attack you and ensure as little damage as possible is passed onto Damage Dealers and Healers. Once aggro is achieved the next task of the Tank is to position enemies safely where allies are as protected as possible to perform their respective roles. As a Tank it is vital to learn fights quickly and efficiently, know mechanics and tactics for each fight as you are the frontline and you will deal with mechanics more than most other roles in a group. Tanks in ESO, similar to the military vehicle, need a very strong defence and good battlefield manoeuvrability: You take a lot of damage as a Tank so the priority is to boost your Max Health and Resistances so you are able to deal with all incoming damage.

The biggest obstacles for a Tank are self-sustaining and survivability. Tanks usually aim for a high Magicka Recovery stat to help with in combat abilities. Stamina sustain can be difficult, when you block – you lose Stamina and Stamina cannot be regained through regeneration while holding Block. With good sustain, you’ll be able to heal yourself if needed and surviving becomes a lot easier, but experience is key to surviving and learning all areas of your class, race, role and each particular fight is a must.

Once you have mastered the basics of Tanking, you will be expected to support your group by setting up in a particular way. This is where you begin to help your group with certain buffs and gear sets, which increase the group damage output (or survivability and sustain) and also begin using further debuff skills and sets which increase the damage your enemy targets take. The reason why buffing and debuffing is important for the Tank is because you are always on the front-line and close to the enemy so it is far easier for a Tank to maintain certain buffs and debuff. Also, the more damage your group can do, the quicker fights will end which benefits everyone in a group especially a Tank who is having to balance sustain, fight management and more.

Choosing a Tank Class

You can Tank using any class in The Elder Scrolls Online. Each class has its own skills and passives that will benefit you as a Tank.

Dragonknights are the best performing Tanks for beginners but every class is able to Tank. Each class has a certain set of group buffs and utilities, and generally you would use these other classes as and when they are needed because you are missing these particular unique buffs and debuffs in your group.

This tier list has the beginner perspective in mind. This is not a tier list based on what is the most optimal class for group content.

Best Tank Class (Jan 2021) | Elder Scrolls Online | Markarth

The Dragonknight is the absolute best class for beginner tanks.

DK’s as they are also known are typically the easiest Tank class to play due to the self-sustain available to them via their class passives.

Sustain on a DK is great as you can get all resources back when using an Ultimate and you can get Stamina while blocking thanks to the passives Battle Roar and Helping Hands. Early on in the levelling process they have access to Magicka based crowd control with Choking Talons and Unrelenting Grip, both which are superior to every other Tank classes crowd control abilities.

They have two excellent healing skills; one burst heal that scales with Max Health called Coagulating Blood and one heal over time called Cinder Storm. They also have a group spam-able shield called Igneous Shield which scales with Max Health.

The DK has access to a unique group damage buff called Stagger which places a debuff on enemies via the Stone Giant skill which causes the target to take increased damage. Stagger is more common in the later stages of the end game due to its difficulty to maintain and sustain but is a requirement by most groups in harder content and trials.

DK’s also have a group buff called Minor Brutality which is often applied from the Mountain’s Blessing passive by casting a Earthen Heart skill.  Other groups buffs provided by a Dragonknight include Engulfing Flames and Igneous Weapons.

The Warden is an easy to play Tank especially at lower CP due to their powerful Healing, Shields and Defensive Group Buffs.

The problem with Wardens is that you only need one Warden in a group and typically this would be a Healer. If you are in a group without a Warden, they are extremely useful as Tanks.

Group buffs from a Warden include Minor Toughness which increases everyone’s Health by 10% via the Maturation passive. They can provide Major Resolve to a whole group by using Expansive Frost Cloak. They can also provide Minor Vulnerability debuff on enemies with the Fetcher Infection ability. They also have easier access to the Chilled Effect which creates the Minor Brittle enemy debuff.

Wardens are generally good at generating Ultimate, have high Magicka Recovery, have a strong self-heal with Polar Wind which also heals 1 other ally and then you have Shimmering Shield which absorbs 50k+ damage from projectiles as well as giving Major Heroism.

In Light Armor group compositions with no other Sorcerer then a Sorc Tank is a great option.

If there is one other Sorcerer then using one as a Tank can be instantly pretty useless as they have very little to offer the group. A Sorc brings a group buff with Minor Prophecy from the Exploitation passive which can add around 1-2k DPS to each Damage Dealer, and they can also provide Minor Intellect by casting Empowered Ward. Sorcerer Tanks are sometimes expected to use Crystal Weapon to reduce the enemy resistances to increase group damage.

They have a very strong self heal with the Unstable Clannfear as this scales with Max Health. Sustain is quite easy by using Dark Deal which swaps Magicka for a burst of Health, Stamina and Stamina over time making sustain almost as easy as a DK although this skill does make you drop block for a second.

Bound Aegis can be used for huge damage mitigation as a panic button during heavy mechanics and makes surviving as a Sorcerer very easy.

Sorcs have a very easy way to achieve Major Vitality with Restraining Prison even on bosses and elite targets meaning they can both take a lot of damage and also be healed easier through big damage situations.

Templar Tanks are not very desirable in most groups but they are decent for 4-person content and not bad for beginners.

They bring the group buff of Minor Sorcery via the Illuminate passive which is pretty much the only useful group buff a Templar provides.

Templars do have other utilities like Extended Ritual, Power of the Light and both morphs of Restoring Aura. 

Templars don’t posses a good burst heal but they can stack a range of very strong healing over time with Living Dark, Extended Ritual and Restoring Focus which also gives them additional Stamina sustain and Major Resolve.

Sustain in 4-person content is extremely easy thanks to Repentance and there is additional survival thanks to Radiant Ward which is a Magicka costing, Health scaling damage shield that also provides Minor Protection.

The Necro is generally a situationally used Tank, they are very difficult to use as a beginner player because they are the worst class in the game for sustaining.

If you are in a group with no Necromancers or anyone using gear sets such as Turning Tide or Archdruid Devyric then using a Necro Tank is very useful to increase group damage thanks to the Major Vulnerability offered by using either morph of the Frozen Colossus skill.

One of the strongest points of a Necro Tank is their Ultimate regeneration, there is no competition when it comes to regenerating Ultimate as the Necro can regain theirs faster than any other class thanks to skills such as Necrotic Potency and combining that with their skills that generate corpses.

Necros can provide their group with other benefits such as Empower by using the Empowering Grasp, Off Balance via Ruinous Scythe, Minor Vulnerability via Agony Totem, AoE Major Breach with Unnerving Boneyard.

The downsides to a Necro Tank are the self healing is more difficult than other classes because you have to hit an enemy with a melee ability to heal yourself which in mobile fights makes you vulnerable. Many people have a hard time with Stamina sustain as there are very few resource gaining skills or passives.

Nightblade Tanks are simply the most useless and unwanted Class in the game from a Tank perspective. The only useful group buff is covered if you have one other Nightblade in a group.

Their group buff is Minor Savagery which comes from the Hemorrhage passive, Nightblades have other group benefits, but they can be obtained by other, sometimes easier methods. There is AoE Minor Vulnerability with Lotus Fan, Major Expedition, Minor Endurance, and Minor Intellect from Refreshing Path, Minor Cowardice from Power Extraction and Major Cowardice from Mass Hysteria.

To sustain and heal well on a NB you need to be able to light and heavy attack often to make use of Leeching Strikes which is more common with experienced Tanks who know fights well, as a beginner this would be much more difficult. The main self-healing from a Nightblade is a good heal over time Dark Cloak which you can keep active for the majority of combat situations, and you’ll constantly be getting healed but it’s not quite as powerful as burst heal sometimes when you take a big damage hit. 

It’s basically not worth using a NB at all in the current time as they offer basically no useful group buffs, are more difficult to play compared to other classes and you would have a bigger benefit and easier time using a different class.

Choosing a Tank Race

The race of a Tank does not play a huge part in how well you can Tank later in the game.

Early on in the process, with very little Champion Points or correct gear it will be more important which race you play, and ideally you should choose a race that will help you in some way with Tanking.

The main thing new Tanks struggle with is sustain and there are a few options you can choose to improve your sustain. I would suggest for new Tanks to go with a sustain class as it will make your job considerably easier while you get used to Tanking.

The Tank Races here are listed with beginners in mind, but this list would be slightly different if we were looking at it from an endgame perspective.

For more information check out the Tank Race Page.

#1 Tank Race 2022 | Elder Scrolls Online | High Isle

1 Redguard

Redguard is a fantastic choice for beginner Tanks. Basically, as long as you cause damage to the enemy you will gain back Stamina which amounts to over 12k Stamina per minute. This makes Redguards the best race for Tanks who are blocking a lot and not great yet at managing Stamina resources.

  • Wayfarer – Increases your experience gain with the One Hand and Shield skill line by 15%. Increases the duration of any eaten food by 15 minutes.
  • Martial Training – Reduces the cost of your weapon abilities by 8%. Reduces the effectiveness of snares applied to you by 15%.
  • Conditioning – Increases your Max Stamina by 2000.
  • Adrenaline Rush – When you deal damage, you restore 1005 Stamina. This effect can occur once every 5 seconds.

2 Argonian

Argonians are a very strong option for beginner Tanking. The additional stats are very helpful but they have great sustain thanks to the potion passive which will give 3125 Health, Magicka and Stamina when you use any potion, this is in addition to the resources gained from the potion itself.

  • Amphibian – Increases your experience gain with the Restoration Staff skill line by 15%. Increases your swimming speed by 50%.
  • Life Mender – Increases your healing done by 6%.
  • Argonian Resistances – Increases your Max Health by 1000 and your Disease and Poison Resistance by 2310.
  • Resourceful – Increases your Max Magicka and Max Stamina by 1000. When you drink a potion, you restore 3125 Health, Magicka, and Stamina.

3 Nord

Nords are a solid choice for a Tank in the long term. You’ll benefit from the increased resistances and Ultimate gain in the end game and those Resistances will also be helpful when playing at low Champion Points since you’ll have much less mitigation. Most new Tanks struggle more from sustain issues so while this is a good choice it might be slightly more difficult early on in your progression.

  • Reveler – Increases your experience gain with the Two Handed skill line by 15%. Increases the duration of any consumed drink by 15 minutes.
  • Resist Frost – Increases your Max Health by 1000 and Frost Resistance by 4620.
  • Stalwart – Increases your Max Stamina by 1500. When you take damage, you gain 5 Ultimate. This effect can occur once every 10 seconds.
  • Rugged – Increases your Physical and Spell Resistance by 2600.

4 Imperial

The Imperial is a good Tank race because it reduces the cost of everything even your Ultimate and Block Cost. The biggest benefit from the Imperial comes from casting skills more often, the less you use skills, the less useful the racial passives are, and this race is also locked behind a pay window which is why it’s 4th choice for a beginner Tank.

  • Diplomat – Increases your experience gain with the One Hand and Shield skill line by 15%. Increases your gold gained by 1%.
  • Tough – Increases your Max Health by 2000.
  • Imperial Mettle – Increases your Max Stamina by 2000.
  • Red Diamond – Reduces the cost of all your abilities by 6%.

Attributes

From level 1 to 50, each time you level up you gain Attribute Points.

At level 50 you will have 64 Attributes.

General stats to aim for as a beginner:

  • Max Health: 38k+
  • Max Stamina: 23k+
  • Max Magicka: 20-22k

There is no right or wrong way to set your attributes but as a beginner, you’ll want to try and achieve some base level stats to start off with.

Tank Basics 6 - Attributes | Elder Scrolls Online
Tri-Stat Glyphs - Are They Worth Using? | Elder Scrolls Online | High Isle

To reach these stats you should make sure you have your gear on and enchanted and your skills and passives input. Next you should distribute any Champion Points you might have and then finally you top everything off by inputting your Attributes.

Typically, it can be a good idea to use 64 points into Health and then utilise Stamina and Magicka glyphs on your gear to begin with. Once you have obtained a must have tank set you would invest in some Prismatic Defense (Tri-Stat) glyphs for your gear but to begin with this isn’t advised as they are expensive, but they are far superior for a Tank compared to using single stat Glyphs.

High Max Health is important because Tank based healing skills scale with Max Health meaning you’ll heal for more the more Max Health you have and also any damage shields you use will also be larger. As a beginner Tank you also have more room for error the higher your health so consider this when applying your attributes.

You need to be careful not to put all your eggs into one basket, however. Even if you have 60k Health, if you don’t have enough Magicka you won’t be able to heal and if you don’t have enough Stamina, you won’t be able to block, and you’ll still get 1-shot by bosses.

Max Stamina is also very important because you need Stamina to be able to block, so having more of it means you’ll be able to block and sustain for longer. You don’t regain Stamina back from Stamina regen while blocking. Rather than making your Max Stamina extremely high, you need to figure out how to sustain your Stamina, as sustaining is far more important that having a huge Stamina pool because it won’t matter how much Stamina you have if you can’t sustain it, you’ll always run out.

You also want your Stamina to be higher than your Magicka normally, because when you use a synergy such as an Orb or a Shard that gives you back resources, it will always give you the resource of whichever one has the highest max value.

Max Magicka holds some importance because the majority of your skills cost Magicka, your healing costs Magicka and so you n