‘Wraith’ ESO Nightblade Tank Build & Guide 2025
Master the ESO Nightblade Tank Build with high sustain, AoE debuffs, and rapid Ultimate generation. A niche but powerful tanking option for trials & dungeons.
Table of Contents
ESO Nightblade Tank Introduction
Welcome to The Tank Club’s Wraith – ESO Nightblade Tank Build and Guide! This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to master Nightblade tanking in The Elder Scrolls Online.
While not the most common tanking class, Nightblade Tanks excel at damage mitigation, AoE debuffs, and Ultimate generation, making them a viable option in dungeons and trials. Historically, Nightblades saw prominence during the Sap Tank era and gained some traction in Sunspire trials during Elsweyr, but their popularity declined due to a lack of unique group buffs and more difficult playstyle.
Recent updates have significantly improved sustain and healing, making Nightblade Tanks more viable than ever although still slacking behind other classes. The Scribing system also enhances their utility, introducing a Magicka-based pull skill and better immobilization options, reducing their previous weaknesses.
Though often overlooked in organized group content, Nightblade Tanks offer a fun and rewarding playstyle for those who enjoy tactical damage reduction, strong self-sustain, and rapid Ultimate regeneration. If you’re looking for a niche but powerful tanking experience, this guide will help you get the most out of Nightblade tanking in ESO!
ESO Nightblade Tank Strengths, Weaknesses & Group Benefits
Strengths
- Great damage mitigation with built in buffs
- Good sustain for experienced players
- Nice healing over time especially in static fights
- Fast Ultimate regeneration
- Good for AoE debuffing
Weaknesses
- No burst heal
- Lack of useful buffs
- Only group buff is easily replaced by having one other Nightblade in a group
- All buffs and debuffs are obtained easier by other sources
- Not as beginner friendly as other classes
Group Benefits
- Hemorrhage – Minor Savagery
- Lotus Fan – AoE Minor Vulnerability
- Refreshing Path – AoE Major Expedition, Minor Endurance & Minor Intellect
- Mass Hysteria – AoE Major Cowardice
- Power Extraction – AoE Minor Cowardice
- Dark Shade – AoE Minor Maim
- Soul Siphon – Group Major Vitality
- Bolstering Darkness – Group Major Protection
ESO Nightblade Tank Core Essentials
Core Essential Details
- Race: Nord is essential for the additional resistance and Ultimate gain, fitting well with this build. Argonian can also a good choice for Nightblades due to the Catalyst potion passive, which enhances potion effectiveness.
- Mundus: The Atronach is the best choice for this build as it provides significant Magicka Recovery, essential for the frequent casting of Magicka abilities.
- Stats: You can distribute your attributes as needed to balance your health, stamina, and magicka but it’s good to aim for 40k+ Max Health as a baseline when buffed up.
- Food: Red Frothgar is recommended as it offers a substantial boost to Magicka Recovery, which is beneficial for this build.
- Potions: This build consumes a large amount of Magicka, making Minor Heroism/Magicka potions highly effective. If these potions are too expensive, consider using Heroic Slash for the Heroism effect and opt for Tri-Stat potions to maintain a balanced resource pool.
ESO Nightblade Tank Gear
| Piece | Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Nazaray | Medium | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Shoulder | Nazaray | Light | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Chest | Turning Tide | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Hands | Turning Tide | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Waist | Turning Tide | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Legs | Turning Tide | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Feet | Turning Tide | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Necklace | Drake’s Rush | Jewellery | Infused | Potion Cooldown |
| Ring | Drake’s Rush | Jewellery | Infused | Potion Cooldown |
| Ring | Drake’s Rush | Jewellery | Infused | Potion Cooldown |
| Main Hand | Void Bash / Puncturing Remedy | Any 1H | Decisive | Absorb Stamina |
| Off Hand | Void Bash / Puncturing Remedy | Shield | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Main Hand Backup | Drake’s Rush | Ice Staff | Infused | Crusher |
| Piece | Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Archdruid Devyric | Medium | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Shoulder | Archdruid Devyric | Light | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Chest | Turning Tide | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Hands | Turning Tide | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Waist | Turning Tide | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Legs | Turning Tide | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Feet | Turning Tide | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Necklace | Vestment of Olorime / Powerful Assault | Jewellery | Harmony/Infused | Magicka Recovery |
| Ring | Vestment of Olorime / Powerful Assault | Jewellery | Harmony/Infused | Magicka Recovery |
| Ring | Vestment of Olorime / Powerful Assault | Jewellery | Harmony/Infused | Magicka Recovery |
| Main Hand | Void Bash / Puncturing Remedy | Any 1H | Decisive | Any |
| Off Hand | Void Bash / Puncturing Remedy | Shield | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Main Hand Backup | Vestment of Olorime / Powerful Assault | Ice Staff | Infused | Crusher |
| Piece | Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Nazaray / Archdruid Devyric / Tremorscale | Medium | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Shoulder | Nazaray / Archdruid Devyric / Tremorscale | Light | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Chest | Turning Tide | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Hands | Turning Tide | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Waist | Turning Tide | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Legs | Turning Tide | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Feet | Turning Tide | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Necklace | Pearlescent Ward | Jewellery | Harmony | Magicka Recovery |
| Ring | Pearlescent Ward | Jewellery | Harmony | Magicka Recovery |
| Ring | Pearlescent Ward | Jewellery | Harmony | Magicka Recovery |
| Main Hand | Pearlescent Ward | Any 1H | Decisive | Absorb Stamina |
| Off Hand | Pearlescent Ward | Shield | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Main Hand Backup | Pearlescent Ward | Ice Staff | Infused | Crusher |
| Piece | Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Magma Incarnate / Nazaray | Medium | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Shoulder | Spaulder of Ruin / Nazaray | Light | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Chest | Saxhleel Champion / Lucent Echoes | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Hands | Saxhleel Champion / Lucent Echoes | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Waist | Saxhleel Champion / Lucent Echoes | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Legs | Saxhleel Champion / Lucent Echoes | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Feet | Saxhleel Champion / Lucent Echoes | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Necklace | Powerful Assault | Jewellery | Infused | Prismatic Cost Reduction |
| Ring | Powerful Assault | Jewellery | Infused | Prismatic Cost Reduction |
| Ring | Powerful Assault | Jewellery | Infused | Prismatic Cost Reduction |
| Main Hand | Puncturing Remedy | Any 1H | Decisive | Infused Stamina |
| Off Hand | Puncturing Remedy | Shield | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Main Hand Backup | Powerful Assault | Ice Staff | Infused | Crusher |
| Piece | Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Archdruid Devyric | Medium | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Shoulder | Archdruid Devyric | Light | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Chest | Pearlescent Ward | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Hands | Pearlescent Ward | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Waist | Pearlescent Ward | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Legs | Pearlescent Ward | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Feet | Pearlescent Ward | Heavy | Divines | Prismatic Defence |
| Necklace | Saxhleel Champion | Jewellery | Harmony | Magicka Recovery |
| Ring | Saxhleel Champion | Jewellery | Harmony | Magicka Recovery |
| Ring | Saxhleel Champion | Jewellery | Harmony | Magicka Recovery |
| Main Hand | Saxhleel Champion | Ice Staff | Infused | Crusher |
Gear Information
The gear for the Wraith version of this build focuses heavily on Ultimate gain, regeneration, and reduced cost.
The first set we use is Void Bash (Vateshran). This is vital for dealing with adds, as it drastically improves sustain, chaining multiple enemies can be very challenging on sustain without Void Bash. For boss fights, switch this out for the Master Weapons, which offer more benefit in those scenarios.
Next, we use Drake’s Rush, a great set that provides about a 4% DPS increase thanks to the Major Heroism it grants, which boosts Ultimate generation for both you and your group. It’s a simple set to use and can be slotted on just one bar.
We combine Drake’s Rush with another “bash” set to further increase DPS: Turning Tide. This set inflicts an AoE debuff on enemies, applying Major Vulnerability and making them receive more damage from your group.
Finally, we use Nazaray. Given the Nightblade’s significant debuff potential, it makes sense to use this set to extend the duration of all those debuffs. Nazaray activates when you use your Ultimate, so ensure you cast all debuffs before using your Ultimate.
For add pulls, consider using Spaulder of Ruin since Nazaray is less effective on adds, and you’ll want to save your Ultimate for bosses.
Where to Obtain:
- Drake’s Rush – Black Drake Villa Dungeon
- Turning Tide – Shipwright’s Regret Dungeon
- Nazaray – Veteran Shipwright’s Regret Dungeon, Urgarlag Chief-bane.
- Void Bash – Vateshran Hollows Arena & Veteran Vateshran Hollows Arena (Perfected)
- Puncturing Remedy – Dragonstar Arena & Veteran Dragonstar Arena (Perfected)
- Spaulder of Ruin –
- Aureal Armor Glaze: Stonefalls – Shivering Shrine World Boss
- Petrified Daedroth Horn: Deadlands – Abomination World Boss
- Void Alloy Rivets: Any Dremora
- Void Alloy Lame Plates: Leyawiin Lockboxes
- Clannfear Leather Strapping: Any Clannfear
ESO Nightblade Tank Skills
Nightblade Passives
- Assassination: Executioner, Pressure Points, Hemorrhage
- Shadow: Refreshing Shadows, Shadow Barrier, Dark Vigor, Dark Veil
- Siphoning: Catalyst, Magicka Flood, Soul Siphoner, Transfer
- One Hand and Shield: Fortress, Sword and Board, Deadly Bash, Deflect Bolts, Battlefield Mobility
- Destruction Staff: Elemental Force, Ancient Knowledge, Destruction Expert
- Light Armor: Light Armor Bonuses, Light Armor Penalties
Grace, Evocation, Spell Warding - Medium Armor: Medium Armor Bonuses
Dexterity, Wind Walker, Athletics - Heavy Armor: Heavy Armor Bonuses, Heavy Armor Penalties
Resolve, Constitution, Juggernaut, Revitalize, Rapid Mending - Fighters Guild: Intimidating Presence
- Undaunted: Banish the Wicked, Undaunted Mettle
- Support: Magicka Aid
- Racial: All
- Alchemy: Medicinal Use
ESO Nightblade Tank Scribed Skills
The Nightblade class script is quite beneficial as it restores resources and can increase your Crit Chance. This is important because it helps to proc the Hemorrhage passive, which is one of the few unique group benefits of a Nightblade.
Nightblades can gain significant benefits from scribing, acquiring three useful tools: a Magicka-costing pull, an AoE immobilize, and a damage shield skill. These abilities are missing from the base Nightblade toolkit and significantly improve their tanking capabilities.
Wield Soul can be transformed into a Magicka-costing chain ability, eliminating the need for Silver Leash for fast chaining. This skill allows a Nightblade to gain 1000 Magicka and Stamina, effectively regaining Stamina while blocking, similar to how Dragonknights use Igneous Shield to proc the Helping Hands passive. Additionally, a major buff or debuff can be added to enhance its effectiveness.
Soul Burst fills the gap in crowd control, as Nightblades lack a useful CC skill that immobilizes enemies. This is crucial when pulling or chaining enemies, as they can then be immobilized or snared. Unlike the Nightblade’s Fear ability, which doesn’t work on chained enemies, an immobilize script combined with a snare and Minor Breach is a good approach. Other options can also be beneficial depending on the specific needs of your build.
These enhancements make Nightblade tanks more versatile and capable of handling a wider range of dungeon scenarios, improving their overall effectiveness as tanks.
Nightblade Class Script
Signature Script: Class Mastery
Restore 333 Magicka and Stamina if your target was above 50% Health. Increase your Critical Chance by 10% for 5 seconds if your target was at or below 50% Health.
Focus Script: Pull
Deals Magic Damage to an enemy, pulls them to you, and taunts them if they are not already taunted.
Signature Script: Druid’s Resurgence
Restores Magicka and Stamina.
Affix Script: Vitality
Grants Major Vitality, increasing healing received and damage shield strength.
Focus Script: Damage Shield
Grants you and your allies a damage shield that absorbs damage, scaling off Max Health and capped at 55% of your Max Health.
Signature Script: Sage’s Remedy
Heals for Health over time.
Affix Script: Any
?
Focus Script: Immobilize
Immobilizes enemies.
Signature Script: Gladiator’s Tenacity
Reduces damage taken.
Affix Script: Minor Breach
Afflicts Minor Breach, reducing Physical and Spell Resistance.
ESO Nightblade Tank Other Skills & Passives
Assassination
Soul Harvest → Morph of Death Stroke
(Unnecessary)
This skill gives you back Ultimate when you kill an enemy. As a tank, you won’t be able to proc this often, but you might gain a small amount of Ultimate by having it slotted during add pulls.
Assassin’s Blade
(Unnecessary)
This skill could be used for a Nightblade Tank/DD Hybrid to deal damage. Otherwise, it is not needed for tanking purposes.
Lotus Fan → Morph of Teleport Strike
(Vital)
This gap closer is rarely needed for movement but is vital for its Area of Effect Minor Vulnerability application. Use Lotus Fan to teleport into an add stack within a 6m radius, causing them all to take 5% more damage. This skill is particularly useful for add pulls. If your group lacks any other source of Minor Vulnerability, you’ll need it for boss fights as well. However, be cautious as it will cause you to drop block during the teleportation animation.
Mirage → Morph of Blur
(Vital)
This is a good Nightblade Tank skill that grants Major Evasion, reducing Area of Effect damage by 20%. It also provides Minor Resolve to increase your resistances and reduces the cost of roll dodging, which stacks upon receiving direct damage. This skill is also essential for accessing your passives. Use this morph when you need the additional resistances.
Phantasmal Escape → Morph of Blur
(Situational)
This morph of Mirage sacrifices Minor Resolve but offers immunity to snares and immobilizations, as well as removing any that are already applied to you. This makes it particularly strong for fights where these effects are prevalent, such as in vHoF. If you can compensate for the lost resistances through other means, like using Resolving Vigor, this morph can be highly beneficial.
Mark Target
(Situational)
This skill can be used in fights where you are range tanking or want to pre-apply Major Breach. However, you might benefit more from using Weakness to Elements instead.
Grim Focus
(Unnecessary)
This skill could be used for a Nightblade Tank/DD Hybrid to deal damage. Otherwise, it is not needed for tanking purposes.
Master Assassin
(Unnecessary)
You’ll rarely be flanking as a tank, so this passive is not useful.
Executioner
(Vital)
This is a useful sustain passive, especially during add pulls or boss fights with adds, as it restores resources when an enemy dies.
Pressure Points
(Vital)
This passive is needed to help towards proccing the Hemorrhage passive by increasing your Critical Chance.
Hemorrhage
(Vital)
This is the group buff you are expected to bring to a group. It is particularly useful for damage dealers who stack Weapon Damage, as it increases your group’s Weapon Critical. To proc this passive, you need to cause critical damage, which shouldn’t be difficult with all your abilities ticking on the target. However, if there is another Nightblade in the group, the Nightblade tank loses much of its functionality, as this passive is one of the main and only reasons to use one.
Shadow
Bolstering Darkness → Morph of Consuming Darkness
(Optional)
This Ultimate grants an additional 2% Health when slotted. It reduces damage taken by 10% for allies within its area, making it useful for emergencies. However, Aggressive Horn is typically preferred, so this skill is optional.
Veiled Strike
(Not Needed)
Not used for tanking. While it provides Off Balance, it’s challenging to apply from a tanking perspective as you need to hit enemies from the flanks.
Dark Cloak → Morph of Shadow Cloak
(Vital)
This is the Nightblade Tank’s main heal. It provides a heal based on your Max Health, with a significant increase when standing still, making it effective in many PvE situations. Additionally, it grants Minor Protection, reducing damage taken by 5%, which applies to both bars. The skill also procs Major Resolve via the Shadow Barrier passive, often your primary method of gaining Major Resolve.
Refreshing Path → Morph of Path of Darkness
(Vital)
This skill provides a speed boost for you and your group at the cost of Magicka, making it useful during add pulls, long running areas, and speed runs. It also offers an AoE heal over time, which is beneficial for proccing gear sets that require healing. Additionally, it increases group sustain with Minor Endurance and Minor Intellect.
Mass Hysteria → Morph of Aspect of Terror
(Vital)
This is your main crowd control ability that fears enemies. While fearing is not as strong as immobilizing due to the period of CC immunity, the skill’s main benefit is the AoE Major Cowardice debuff, reducing enemies’ Weapon and Spell Damage. This debuff affects bosses and enemies even if they aren’t feared, making it an effective method for reducing damage and can be stacked with other damage reduction debuffs. Using a scribing skill for immobilization may be more beneficial for smoother control.
Dark Shade → Morph of Summon Shade
(Optional)
This skill applies an AoE Minor Maim debuff, reducing enemies’ damage by 5%. However, this debuff can be more easily obtained from other sources. Frost Clench applies Minor Maim, Major Maim and Minor Brittle. Using Pulsar in AoE situations provides both Minor Maim and Minor Brittle, making it more useful than Dark Shade.
Refreshing Shadows
(Vital)
This important sustain passive provides a significant 15% increase to Magicka Recovery, decent Health Recovery, and some Stamina Recovery, which is beneficial if you frequently drop block
Shadow Barrier
(Vital)
This passive allows you to automatically gain Major Resolve without needing to slot a specific ability. Casting a Shadow ability, usually Dark Cloak, grants Major Resolve. The duration depends on the number of Heavy Armor pieces you are wearing.
Dark Vigor
(Vital)
This passive helps you achieve a high Max Health value, which is crucial for Nightblade tanks. Dark Cloak’s heal scales with Max Health, so having more abilities slotted from the Shadow skill line increases your Max Health and boosts the healing effectiveness.
Dark Veil
(Vital)
This passive increases the duration of key abilities such as Dark Cloak, Refreshing Path, and Mass Hysteria. It is vital for reducing the frequency at which you need to cast these abilities.
Siphoning
Soul Siphon
(Unnecessary)
This skill provides the group with Major Vitality and heals them, but it is not essential since tanks typically use Aggressive Horn. It could be slotted to access the Magicka Flood and Soul Siphoner passives if you don’t have another skill providing those benefits.
Swallow Soul → Morph of Strife
(Vital)
The heal from this skill isn’t as strong as Dark Cloak since it scales with Magicka, but it adds to your incoming healing. As a tank, you might heal around 2k with this, and when combined with other sources, it complements your healing over time since you lack a burst heal. It also provides some damage and primarily serves to proc the Transfer passive, helping you generate Ultimate more quickly.
Malevolent Offering
(Optional)
This skill isn’t ideal but can be used as a self-heal if you face away from allies to ensure it targets you. Alternatively, it can heal allies in groups without a healer, providing a burst heal at the cost of a small amount of your own health over time. It works well with high Health Recovery to negate the health cost.
Cripple
(Not Needed)
Siphoning Attacks → Morph of Siphoning Strikes
(Vital)
This skill is one of the best methods of sustain for a Nightblade Tank. It costs 4000 health to cast but grants 2600 Magicka and Stamina, while also healing and providing more health and stamina each time you deal damage. Constantly using skills and keeping Elemental Blockade on the ground will ensure a steady influx of resources. It works particularly well with a healer in the group. Without a healer, it’s riskier, but you can manage by timing the skill usage to avoid casting it just before a big attack or when you’re low on health.
Power Extraction → Morph of Drain Power
(Vital)
This AoE damage and debuff skill applies Minor Cowardice, reducing enemies’ weapon and spell damage. The main challenge is its Stamina cost, which can make it hard to sustain. When combined with Mass Hysteria’s Major Cowardice, you can significantly reduce enemy damage.
Sap Essence → Morph of Drain Power
(Optional)
This morph heals instead of debuffing. It deals AoE damage, and the more enemies you hit, the more it heals. It’s an AoE heal for your team, making it a useful extra heal during add pulls, even for a tank.
Catalyst
(Vital)
This passive is a major reason to use a Nightblade Tank. It helps you generate Ultimate extremely quickly. Ensure you use potions on cooldown to maximize this, even out of combat. Boost this passive’s effectiveness by using Reduce Potion Cooldown glyphs on Infused Gold Jewellery, allowing potion use every 21 seconds. Some players combine this with the Argonian race for their Resourceful passive, enhancing potion benefits.
Magicka Flood
(Vital)
Given the numerous Magicka abilities on a Nightblade, it’s useful to have a Siphoning ability slotted to gain the 8% extra Magicka from this passive.
Soul Siphoner
(Vital)
This passive provides a small healing boost that can be increased by slotting more Siphoning abilities. It’s good to have, especially for harder content, where stacking it higher can help overcome tough fights.
Transfer
(Vital)
Another Ultimate-generating passive. Cast a Siphoning ability every 4 seconds to gain Ultimate. Typically, use Swallow Soul on boss fights and Power Extraction/Sap Essence in add pulls. Gaining more Ultimate is always essential.
ESO Nightblade Tank Champion Points
- Ironclad
- Duelist’s Rebuff
- Bulwark
- Enduring Resolve (DoT damage fights)
- Unassailable (AoE damage fights)
