ESO Cloudrest Main Tank Build
Information
Welcome to The Tank Club: ESO Cloudrest Main Tank Build.
Cloudrest is a DLC 12-person trial located in Summerset. It was the second mini trial in The Elder Scrolls Online and seventh overall trial.
The builds listed here are designed for standard vCR but also the +1, +2 and +3 Hardmodes. These builds are most suited to Magicka group compositions, this is because almost every group uses Magicka exclusively in this trial as it is much easier when doing so.
We have included a range of build options here for Beginners, Optimised Groups and also a Static setup for Console players.
This trial will often have two Main Tanks who alternate doing the portal. Both Main Tanks will also take it in turns Tanking Z’Maja, and there is usually just one of these Tanks who deals with the execute phase of the fight. Sometimes however, the two Main Tanks might switch Z’Maja in execute but this is something you shouldn’t need to do. With our Beginner setup you’ll be able to deal with the execute by yourself and once you and your group are comfortable, you can still solo take the execute phase but with a more optimised setup.
Race
Breton
Nord
Imperial
Orc
Mundus
The Steed
The Atronach
The Lady
Attributes
64 Health
Food
Bewitched Sugar Skulls
Bowl of Peeled Eyeballs
Potions
Essence of Health #2 Essence of Health Potion More Info
Equipment
| Piece | Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Earthgore | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Shoulder | Earthgore | Heavy | Divines | Magicka |
| Chest | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Hands | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Divines | Magicka |
| Waist | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Divines | Magicka |
| Legs | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Feet | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Divines | Magicka |
| Necklace | The Worm's Raiment / Powerful Assault | Jewellery | Harmony | Magicka Recovery |
| Ring | The Worm's Raiment / Powerful Assault | Jewellery | Harmony | Magicka Recovery |
| Ring | The Worm's Raiment / Powerful Assault | Jewellery | Harmony | Magicka Recovery |
| Main Hand | The Worm's Raiment / Puncturing Remedy | Any 1H | Infused | Absorb Magicka |
| Off Hand | The Worm's Raiment / Puncturing Remedy | Shield | Well-Fitted | Prismatic Defence |
| Main Hand Backup | The Worm's Raiment / Powerful Assault | Ice Staff | Infused | Crusher |
*Remember to slot an Assault skill if using PA
| Piece | Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Earthgore | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Shoulder | Earthgore | Heavy | Divines | Magicka |
| Chest | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Hands | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Divines | Magicka |
| Waist | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Divines | Magicka |
| Legs | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Feet | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Divines | Magicka |
| Necklace | The Worm's Raiment / Powerful Assault | Jewellery | Infused | Magicka Recovery |
| Ring | The Worm's Raiment / Powerful Assault | Jewellery | Infused | Magicka Recovery |
| Ring | The Worm's Raiment / Powerful Assault | Jewellery | Infused | Magicka Recovery |
| Main Hand | The Worm's Raiment / Puncturing Remedy | Any 1H | Infused | Absorb Magicka |
| Off Hand | The Worm's Raiment / Puncturing Remedy | Shield | Well-Fitted | Prismatic Defence |
| Main Hand Backup | The Worm's Raiment / Powerful Assault | Ice Staff | Infused | Crusher |
*Remember to slot an Assault skill if using PA
| Piece | Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Earthgore | Heavy | Sturdy | Prismatic Defence |
| Shoulder | Earthgore | Heavy | Sturdy | Magicka |
| Chest | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Sturdy | Prismatic Defence |
| Hands | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Sturdy | Magicka |
| Waist | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Sturdy | Magicka |
| Legs | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Sturdy | Prismatic Defence |
| Feet | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Sturdy | Magicka |
| Necklace | Eternal Warrior | Jewellery | Harmony | Magicka Recovery |
| Ring | Eternal Warrior | Jewellery | Harmony | Magicka Recovery |
| Ring | Eternal Warrior | Jewellery | Harmony | Magicka Recovery |
| Main Hand | Eternal Warrior | Any 1H | Infused | Absorb Magicka |
| Off Hand | Eternal Warrior | Shield | Sturdy | Prismatic Defence |
| Main Hand Backup | Eternal Warrior | Ice Staff | Infused | Crusher |
| Piece | Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Bloodspawn | Heavy | Infused | Prismatic Defence |
| Shoulder | Stormfist | Heavy | Well-Fitted | Stamina |
| Chest | Tava's Favor | Medium | Well-Fitted | Stamina |
| Hands | Tava's Favor | Medium | Well-Fitted | Stamina |
| Waist | Tava's Favor | Medium | Well-Fitted | Stamina |
| Legs | Tava's Favor | Medium | Well-Fitted | Stamina |
| Feet | Tava's Favor | Medium | Well-Fitted | Stamina |
| Necklace | Arkasis’s Genius | Jewellery | Robust | Stamina Recovery |
| Ring | Arkasis’s Genius | Jewellery | Robust | Stamina Recovery |
| Ring | Arkasis’s Genius | Jewellery | Robust | Stamina Recovery |
| Main Hand | Arkasis’s Genius | Any 1H | Infused | Absorb Stamina |
| Off Hand | Arkasis’s Genius | Shield | Well-Fitted | Stamina |
| Main Hand Backup | Arkasis’s Genius | Ice Staff | Infused | Crusher |
| Piece | Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Lady Thorn | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Shoulder | Lady Thorn | Heavy | Divines | Magicka |
| Chest | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Hands | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Divines | Magicka |
| Waist | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Divines | Magicka |
| Legs | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Feet | Claw of Yolnahkriin | Heavy | Divines | Magicka |
| Necklace | Vestment of Olorime | Jewellery | Infused | Magicka Recovery |
| Ring | Vestment of Olorime | Jewellery | Infused | Magicka Recovery |
| Ring | Vestment of Olorime | Jewellery | Infused | Magicka Recovery |
| Main Hand | Vestment of Olorime | Any 1H | Infused | Absorb Magicka |
| Off Hand | Vestment of Olorime | Shield | Well-Fitted | Prismatic Defence |
| Main Hand Backup | Vestment of Olorime | Ice Staff | Infused | Crusher |
*Remember to slot Caltrops so you can throw it under your group while they are fighting the Gryphon to proc Olorime.
Abilities
Necromancer
Main Tank
The only time you need to use a Necro Tank is if you have under 3 Necro’s in your group, then it would be worth bringing an extra one for the Colossus uptime and the huge damage increase it gives to the group. Necro’s have some healing available but they are not the easiest class to play in vCR especially in the portals and execute phase. The Hungry Scythe is a decent heal but it can take 2-3 casts to heal fully, but combined with the Spirit Mender and absorbing Heavy Attacks with Absorb Missile it should be fine. We slot Reanimate as a passive skill for the Near-Death Experience passive for then you are in the portal or dealing with the execute phase.
To heal up to full in execute you need to use a specific rotation of: Always have Intensive Mender active, buff the Mender(And your group) with Empowered Grasp, use Scythe to proc Earthgore and then use the Blood Alter synergy and continue to use Scythe until back to full Health.
Nightblade
Main Tank
The Nightblade is the worst possible class for Main Tanking vCR and this is because they offer absolutely no group buffs or benefit in vCR which is commonly a Magicka only trial. They also don’t have a burst heal but combining Dark Cloak and Leeching Strike are a good way of healing over time.
Sorcerer
Sorcerers are a decent option for a vCR Main Tank if your group has no other Sorcerers. You give the group a Magicka DPS damage buff of Minor Prophecy via a Dark Magic ability. Survival on a Sorcerer Tank is quite easy with the use of Bound Aegis giving really high damage mitigation and the Clannfear self-heal scaling with Max Health. Restraining Prison is a strong ability for Sorcerers in this trial giving almost spammable Major Vitality, it only has to hit the enemy to give the buff even though it wont actually restrain Elite or Boss Targets, when this happens it also returns back most of the Magicka cost of the ability also.
To heal up to full in execute you need to use a specific rotation of: Restraining Prison for Major Vitality, Unstable Clannfear to proc Earthgore and then use the Blood Altar Synergy.
Templar
Main Tank
Templar is extremely risky to play as the Main, Portal and Execute Tank due to the fact they have no sustainable or scale-able burst heal or no easy access to strong Heal boosting buffs. If you are using a Templar is should be as the Mini Boss-Off Tank.
Your main method of survival on a Templar is shield stacking. Basically avoid receiving any damage by keeping Radiant Ward and Absorb Missile active at all times. Healing is done with small Heals over Time from Extended Ritual and Purifying Light.
Warden
Main Tank
Wardens are the easiest tank class to play in vCR and very valuable to the team if there is no other Warden unless you have 2 Warden Main Tanks. They have a good range of group buffs, survival buffs especially. Surviving is extremely easy with Shimmering Shield meaning you can take a Heavy Attack from the boss without blocking and it won’t harm you at all. Your main heal Polar Wind is a large heal and it also heals someone else, so it’s great in the portals.
To heal up to full in execute you need to use a specific rotation of: Leeching Vines to proc Major Mending and Earthgore, Polar Wind for a small heal over time and use the Blood Altar Synergy.
Notes
Main Tank Gear
Execute/Portal Main Tanks: All Main Tank setups are the same and the only difference really will be the jewellery traits used and possibly glyphs. If you are the execute Tank then you will want 3x Harmony. If you are not then 3x Infused. Magicka sustain the the toughest part of Main Tanking so 3 Magicka Recovery is the solution.
You need to block very little in vCR only really the Heavy Attacks and you have a lot of time to Heavy Attack for Stamina. For this reason it’s best to go with full Divines gear, and Magicka sustain can be tricky especially for the Portals, so using Magicka on your small Armor slots and Prismatic Defence on the large Armor slots works great. If you are the Execute Tank then you might need to drop even more Health so using full Magicka can also be useful.
Earthgore is helpful for both the Portal and Execute Tanking, if you are really experienced then you could use something else. Yolnahkriin is a must have set and needs to always be used by the Main Tank. The last set you can use Worm for the group sustain, but if that’s not needed then you can double up on Powerful Assault to improve the uptime. This will help the Damage Dealers in the portals to do more damage, and your group should always be stacked on Z’Maja so you’ll be in range of the group as Main Tank to hit them with PA.
Beginner Tank Gear
This setup is for people going for their first vCR clears and learning vCR.
The number one priority here is to not die. To help you achieve this you use Eternal Warrior. This set will ignore the Baneful Mark and heal you up for 50% of the Baneful Marks, so you’ll still have to figure out how to manage half of them but it will make your job a lot easier to stay alive and practice the mechanic.
You’ll be missing out on Worm by using this set, which will have a bit of an impact on sustain and group DPS but if you stay alive, that is the main objective as then you don’t lose DPS by needing to be resurrected. As soon as you understand the Baneful mechanic, practiced the rotations from the Skills section, and you and your group have improved enough, you need to drop Eternal Warrior and use something more useful for your group.
This setup has full Sturdy, as a Beginner you are more likely to spend more time blocking.
Side Bosses – Gryphons Gear
You are supposed to roll dodge all of the light attacks from the Gryphons as they apply a bleed which gets stronger for each hit you take so this setup is designed to allow you to continuously dodge all of the attacks.
You can also use Hircines, Alkosh, PA, Drakes Rush, any Tank sets you have in Medium or with Robust.
You also need to avoid getting hit so that you can stand out of group when the Gryphon is flying, this is so you can kite the AoEs away from your group. If you get hit and you need to stand in group, it makes it harder for your group as they will keep getting stunned.
Side Bosses – Mini Boss Gear
You won’t be near your group for half of this fight so using aura sets like Yolnahkriin and Worm will be good. You could also use Arkasis or Olorime. For the monster set use whatever you like.
Race
The best Race’s to use here are:
- Breton for the Magicka sustain since Magicka use is extremely high for Tanks in Cloudrest, plus you get really high Spell Resistance and the last boss is 100% Spell Damage.
- Nord for the additional resistances, this really helps dealing with the high damage in the portals.
- Imperial for the sustain.
- Orc for the extra healing and speed, both great for this trial.
Mundus
The best Mundus Stone to use here is:
- The Atronach for the extra Magicka Recovery, there is a lot of Magicka casting for the Tanks in this trial so this is important to help with sustain.
- The Steed is an excellent choice for the speed boost and Health Recovery, the speed boost is nice for Tanks that are new in here and struggle to get to the bosses quickly, and the Health Recovery is a nice little extra to help with the high Heath draining situations.
- The Lady could be used by any class that is not a Nord or Breton to reach the Spell Resistance cap of 33k as this is really important when doing the portals.
Attributes
We go with 64 Health since we are using Pristmatic and Magicka glyphs but we still need 36-38k Max Health to help us survive the incoming damage from the portal.
Food
As standard we use the Bewitched Sugar Skulls which gives us Max Health, Magicka and Stamina plus more Health Recovery which is helpful in Cloudrest.
If you are the execute Tank, it can be a good idea to have another type of food that you use as soon as you reach execute. This food will typically not have any Max Health perk and it means you and your Healers will be able to get you back to full Health during the Baneful Mark. Good food options for this are anything with Max Magicka, Magicka Recovery, Health Recovery and possibly Max Stamina.
Potions
You can use regular Tri-Stat potions here when you are dealing with the Gryphons or not in the portal. When you are in the execute phase or you are in the portal you should use the Essence of Health potions that provide 8369 Heath, Major Fortitude, 898 Health per second and Major Vitality. In the portal you would use these when you have the orb dot especially or when you have really high damage phases and you are struggling to out heal it with regular heals. In execute you would use on only when you have received the Baneful Mark and completed your rotation to reach full health and you have not reached full to remove the Mark, you use a potion and tell your healers and then spam as much healing on yourself as possible.