ESO Sorcerer, Sorcerer Tank Skill Bars

ESO Sorcerer Tank Skill Bars & Skill Choices

A reference hub for Sorcerer tank skill bars and skill choices in ESO, explaining how bars change between dungeons, bosses, and group setups.

Table of Contents

Sorcerer Tank Skill Bar Overview

Sorcerer tank skill bars are shaped by strong block mitigation, strong ultimate efficiency, and shield-based utility rather than traditional self-healing. Much of a Sorcerer tank’s durability comes from passives and persistent effects, which reduces the need to dedicate multiple bar slots purely to survival.

Because Sorcerers gain significant block mitigation and damage reduction from their base kit, skill bars tend to prioritise utility, shielding, and group support over redundant defensive tools. This allows Sorcerer tanks to run leaner bars that remain stable even under sustained pressure.

Sorcerer tank bars also interact strongly with ultimate usage. Reduced ultimate cost from passives makes Sorcerers well-suited to frequent ultimate deployment, which influences bar choices around sustain, shielding, and off-tank utility rather than raw mitigation stacking.

These constraints define how Sorcerer tank skill bars are built: leveraging passive durability, maintaining shield uptime, and reserving bar space for tools that support the group or the encounter.

How to Use This Page

  • Use this page as a reference alongside the Sorcerer tank build.
  • Adjust skill bars based on content type, group composition, and your experience as a tank.
ESO Sorcerer, Sorcerer Tank Skill Bars
Sorcerer tank skills and ability choices in The Elder Scrolls Online.

How Sorcerer Tank Skill Bars Are Built

Sorcerer tank skill bars are built around a core of block mitigation, shielding, and taunt coverage, supported by passives that reduce incoming damage and ultimate cost. Around this core, a small number of flexible slots are adjusted based on role and content.

In almost all setups, a Sorcerer tank bar will include:

  • A reliable taunt
  • A source of Major Resolve
  • A persistent shield or mitigation tool
  • Elemental Blockade for Crusher uptime
  • Crowd control or add management
  • One or more utility or group-support skills

Everything beyond this core is situational.

Because much of a Sorcerer tank’s survivability is handled passively, skills that only provide personal defence are often lower priority. Bar space is instead used for shields, resource support, debuffs, or encounter-specific tools that improve group stability.

Sorcerer Tank Skill Bars

The following Sorcerer tank skill bars cover common dungeon, main tank, and off tank setups. These bars are designed to be adaptable, with notes and swaps explained throughout this page.

Subclassing Choices

Daedric Summoning

Winters Embrace

Soldier of Apocrypha

Sorcerer Skills

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Bosses

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Adds

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Daedric Summoning • Soldier of Apocrypha • Winters Embrace

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Bone Tyrant • Daedric Summoning • Siphoning

Below is a reference breakdown of commonly used Sorcerer tank skills. You don’t need every skill listed here on your bar at once, use this section to understand what each option provides and when it becomes useful.

  • Goading Throw – Ranged taunt that also heals you and applies Major Maim, reducing enemy damage.
  • Regenerative Ward – Provides a damage shield and a small heal, and grants Minor Intellect and Minor Endurance to nearby allies, increasing Magicka and Stamina recovery.
  • Warding Burst – Group damage shield that also grants Minor Courage and contributes to ultimate generation.
  • Polar Wind – Strong burst heal with a self HoT that also heals an ally.
  • Trample – Grants Major Heroism and applies multiple damage status effects, turning the Dragonknight into an ultimate engine when paired with Saxhleel Champion.
  • Gibbering Shelter – Emergency defensive ultimate that provides strong mitigation, group shielding, and passive resource recovery.
  • Leashing Soul – Pulls enemies together, restores Magicka and Stamina, and applies Major Cowardice to reduce incoming damage.
  • Elemental Susceptibility – Free Major Breach with constant Burning, Chilled, and Concussion procs, enabling Minor Maim, Minor Brittle, Minor Vulnerability, Off Balance, and Minor Breach (with Blockade), while triggering Dragonknight sustain through Burning.
  • Elemental Blockade – Maintains continuous infused Crusher enchant uptime, applies Minor Breach to Chilled enemies, and provides a projectile damage shield for the group.
  • Expansive Frost Cloak – Grants Major Resolve to the entire group.
  • Runeguard of Still Waters – Passive safety tool that grants Minor Resolve and Minor Protection, immobilises nearby enemies, and triggers a heal when under 50% Health.
  • Charged Atronach – Ultimate that provides a synergy granting Major Berserk to the group, increasing damage done. Also applies Concussion, enabling Minor Vulnerability and triggering Major Force when paired with Saxhleel Champion.

Add Pull Skills

  • Inner Rage – Ranged taunt that provides a strong group synergy, dealing Flame damage over time to the taunted enemy and additional AoE Flame damage to nearby enemies.
  • Razor Caltrops – Applies AoE Major Breach to all enemies in large pulls and snares them.
  • Power Slam – Used to proc Void Bash, pulling all enemies together in one cast while applying Major Maim to reduce incoming damage.
  • Pulsar – Applies AoE Minor Mangle and, when used with a Charged Ice Staff, guarantees AoE Chilled, enabling Minor Maim, Minor Brittle, Minor Breach (with Blockade), and granting Minor Protection to the group.

Sorcerer Skills (No Subclassing)

  • Bound Aegis – Emergency defensive tool that significantly increase block mitigation while active. While slotted, it grants Minor Protection and Minor Resolve on both bars.
  • Dark Deal – Restores Health and Stamina and additional Stamina over time. Also triggers Sorcerer passives that provide healing and grant Minor Prophecy to the group.
  • Boundless Storm – Grants Major Resolve and Major Expedition, increasing both resistances and movement speed.
  • Binding Contingency – Provides a reliable AoE immobilise for add pulls and applies AoE Minor Vulnerability to enemies.

Sorcerer Subclassing and Scribing

Sorcerer tank skill bars are naturally limited by weaker native crowd control compared to other tank classes. While Sorcerers have strong mitigation and shielding, their base kit lacks reliable immobilisation and add control, which directly impacts bar construction in add-heavy content.

Subclassing and scribing largely resolve this limitation by providing more consistent pulls, immobilises, and control tools than those available in the Sorcerer class kit. This allows Sorcerer tanks to cover control requirements without sacrificing shield uptime or utility slots, making their bars more reliable across dungeons and trials.

These systems also give Sorcerer tanks more freedom to drop pet-dependent setups. While Sorcerer pets provide useful bonuses, subclassing allows tanks to compensate for those losses through stronger utility, sustain, and control options. As a result, non-pet Sorcerer tank bars become far more viable and flexible than in pre-subclassing setups.

Together, subclassing and scribing refine Sorcerer tank skill bars by addressing control weaknesses and reducing dependency on pets, allowing Sorcerers to focus their bars on shielding, ultimate uptime, and group utility rather than patching core gaps.

TC Lee
TC Lee is an experienced MMORPG content creator with over 20 years in the gaming industry. Specializing in tanking, guides, builds, and assisting beginners, TC Lee is dedicated to helping players improve their game and enjoy the best MMORPG experience.
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