This companion tank build is ideal for content such as questing, overland enemies, base game world bosses, delves, dolmens, and other lower-damage areas. However, there are limitations to how effective your companion can be at tanking enemies.

It’s important to be prepared with a healing ability to support your companion, as they do not permanently block or attempt to block light attacks. They will only block when faced with a channeled heavy attack, making them susceptible to damage and reliant on your help to stay alive.

One significant challenge with companion tanks is their playstyle, which differs greatly from conventional ESO tanks. Companions don’t have resource pools; their abilities operate on cooldowns. This can be problematic, especially when dealing with multiple ranged enemies, as the cooldowns can prevent effective crowd control.

The primary goal when building a companion tank is to maximize their survivability. With the right setup, companions can even withstand a trial boss like Saint Olms in Asylum Sanctorium, though they may struggle with positioning and mechanics. Despite these challenges, a well-built companion tank can survive for a significant time.

With these considerations in mind, this build aims to create a companion tank that can taunt and survive, providing valuable support in various scenarios.

After extensive testing of various gear options, the only one that made a significant difference was Max Health. By using full Vigorous gear, your companion can achieve 40.5k Max Health with Bastian or 39.4k Max Health with other companions. Higher health had a much greater impact on survivability than any other attribute. Additionally, many tank companion skills scale with Max Health, further enhancing their ability to stay alive.

Damage reduction gear performed poorly in comparison, and mixing different gear options also didn’t yield as good results as using full Vigorous.

• Heavy Armor: Provides 2900 Armor per piece.
• Vigorous Trait: Increases Max Health by 2.6% per piece.

There are a variety of skills you can use for your companions. For a Tank companion, prioritize skills with high uptime and low cooldown that enhance survivability. Focus on skills that can be used frequently to maximize their effectiveness.

To optimize their tanking capabilities, a Taunt is essential. Additionally, prioritize damage reduction, shielding, and self-healing skills. If you are healing your companion, you can consider adding crowd control skills such as gap closers, pulls, immobilizes, or fear abilities. However, be mindful of cooldown times. For example, in a scenario with four ranged enemies and a chain skill with an 8-second cooldown, your companion may struggle to pull them in effectively before you can eliminate them yourself.

By carefully selecting and balancing these skills, you can maximize your companion’s tanking efficiency and survivability.