Best Arcanist Tank Build for ESO

ARCANIST TANK BUILD

Writer: @xGAMxHQ
Role: PVE Tank
Patch: Update 40 – Infinite Archive

The Malice Arcanist Tank Build for ESO (The Elder Scrolls Online) is optimized for all players looking for the ultimate build guide on setups for Trials, Dungeons, and Arenas, whether you’re a beginner, a long-time veteran, or just returning to the game.

As the Tank role in ESO, you’re responsible for maintaining taunts on bosses and other threatening enemies and keeping them locked down using Crowd-Control (CC) abilities that stun, immobilize, or fear. Once you become more comfortable in the role, you can more reliably self-heal, self-sustain resources, buff group members, and debuff enemies using your various armor sets, skills, and Ultimate abilities.

The Arcanist Tank is simple to pick up and get started with and has a high skill ceiling for those looking to master the class. They have a class taunt ability, can apply the Minor Brittle debuff to enemies without the need of an Ice Staff, and grant the Minor Courage buff to allies without the need of a gear set that drops from Trial content. Additionally, Arcanist Tanks have excellent self-healing, powerful damage shields, and can easily reach high damage mitigation.

Arcanists bring a new unique playstyle involving Crux. The Crux system is a combo building mechanic, where some abilities generate Crux, and others allow you to consume Crux stacks to improve it in some way, such as healing you or reducing the ability cost. You may only have up to 3 stacks of Crux active. Arcanists have three unique skill lines:

The Curative Runeforms skill line focuses on group buffs and healing abilities. Reconstructive Domain allows you to heal your allies and grant them powerful buffs, such as Minor Courage, Minor Fortitude, Minor Intellect, and Minor Endurance. In addition to these buffs increasing your self-sustain, the Erudition passive further increases your Magicka and Stamina Recovery by up to 18%.

The Herald of the Tome skill line focuses on offensive abilities; however, Rune of Displacement allows you to group multiple enemies together quickly. While it doesn’t taunt pulled enemies for you like Silver Leash, it does provide a synergy to your group that, when activated, deals considerable burst damage to all enemies in the area.

The Soldier of Apocrypha skill line focuses on group support abilities and enemy debuffs. The Impervious Runeward skill is a highly versatile skill that grants you a ridiculously powerful damage shield. Casting this skill consumes all Crux to heal you and generate up to 4 Ultimate every 8 seconds due to the Implacable Outcome passive.

The Arcanist Tank build covers everything you need to know, including recommended armor setups, skills, champion points, and many alternatives to meet various needs. Please read the entire build and bookmark the page, as it will update with each new patch.

RECENT UPDATES

NOVEMBER 21 / 2023: – UPDATE 40 – INFINITE ARCHIVE
• Trial Setups:
• Main Tank Setup:
• Replaced Turning Tide on the body with Drake’s Rush.
• After extensive testing, Drake’s Rush has become a staple for all of my Tank Builds, as it drastically reduces the time between Aggressive Horn casts. By equipping it on the body pieces, it allows for easy swapping to other sets, such as Claw of Yolnahkriin and Crimson Oath’s Rive.
• Replaced Saxhleel Champion with Turning Tide.
• Saxhleel Champion has been moved to the Off-Tank Setup to make room from Drake’s Rush.
• Off-Tank Setup:
• Replaced Pillager’s Profit with Saxhleel Champion.
• Pillager’s Profit is still a solid option if your group already has really good Major Force uptimes.
• Swapped the Maximum Magicka enchantment on the shield to a Maximum Stamina enchantment to help balance the difference in Maximum Stamina between the front and back bars.
• Champion Points:
• Swapped Unassailable with Bulwark to increase Physical and Spell Resistance.
• Pruned all previous changes and moved them to a separate Archived Changes list at the bottom of the page.

RACE

NORD

REDGUARD

IMPERIAL

ARGONIAN

The races that offer the best passives for Tanks are Nord, Redguard, Imperial, and Argonian, though all races are capable of Tanking. The Arcanist Tank build utilizes the Nord racial passives, as they offer a unique passive that helps you regenerate Ultimate faster. Choose a race that best suits your needs.

Nords offer a unique passive that allows them to regenerate Ultimate faster than any other race while taking damage, which slightly edges out Ultimate cost reduction. They also increase your Maximum Health by 1,000, Maximum Stamina by 1,500, Physical and Spell Resistance by 2,600, and your Frost Resistance by 4620.

Redguards offer the best Stamina sustain, reducing the cost of your weapon abilities by 8% and allowing you to restore 1,005 Stamina every 5 seconds for dealing damage, even while blocking. This comes to 12,060 Stamina per minute, which is incredibly helpful if you are having difficulty sustaining your Stamina. They also increase your Maximum Stamina by 2,000 and reduce the effectiveness of snares applied to them by 15%.

Imperials are a well-rounded option that offers excellent overall sustain, including a 6% cost reduction to all skills and abilities, including block, roll dodge, and even your Ultimate abilities. They also increase your Maximum Health and Maximum Stamina by 2,000.

Argonians are an excellent choice for beginners who may want additional help with self-sustain, as they provide a more burst-oriented method of sustaining all resources. They also increase your Maximum Health, Maximum Magicka, and Maximum Stamina by 1,000.

ATTRIBUTE POINTS

MAGICKA

HEALTH

STAMINA

Tanks typically aim to have at least 36,000 Maximum Health before the Minor Toughness buff and a Maximum Stamina value that exceeds your Maximum Magicka value. Doing this ensures that you always restore Stamina when you activate the Luminous Shards or Energy Orb synergy provided by your Healers.

The Arcanist Tank build reaches:
• 40K+ Maximum Health
• 28K+ Maximum Stamina
• 24K+ Maximum Magicka

It’s important to note that the above distribution of Attribute Points was done with the following buffs, passives, etc.:
• Nord Race
• Bewitched Sugar Skulls
• Main Tank Setup (Legendary Quality)
• The Minor Toughness Buff
• All Class Passives
• All Champion Point Passives

Attribute Points are distributed based on your choices. Tanks use all resources, so find a balance that best suits your needs.

TRIAL SETUPS

The Arcanist Tank build uses some of the Best Tank Sets in ESO to bolster your defences and increase group Ultimate regeneration, debuff uptimes, damage, and survivability. The Perfected versions of the Trial sets give additional stat boosts for wearing all five pieces, but they do not make or break the build.

These Armor Setups use the Harmony jewelry trait and the Sturdy armor trait. Harmony maximizes sustain as long as your group provides enough synergies, and the Sturdy armor trait improves your Stamina sustain by allowing you to block for longer.

If Stamina sustain isn’t an issue, you could swap out a few traits on your armor pieces for Divines, increasing your Mundus Stone’s effectiveness. In this case, you would gain more Magicka Recovery from the Atronach Mundus Stone.

MAIN TANK SETUP

	SET NAME	TRAIT	ENCHANTMENT	WEIGHT/TYPE	ACQUIRED
HEAD	Nazaray	Sturdy	Prismatic Defense	Medium	Veteran Shipwright's Regret
SHOULDERS	Nazaray	Sturdy	Prismatic Defense	Light	Undaunted Enclave
CHEST	Drake's Rush	Sturdy	Prismatic Defense	Heavy	Black Drake Villa
HANDS	Drake's Rush	Sturdy	Prismatic Defense	Heavy	Black Drake Villa
WAIST	Drake's Rush	Sturdy	Prismatic Defense	Heavy	Black Drake Villa
LEGS	Drake's Rush	Sturdy	Prismatic Defense	Heavy	Black Drake Villa
FEET	Drake's Rush	Sturdy	Prismatic Defense	Heavy	Black Drake Villa
NECKLACE	Turning Tide	Harmony	Magicka Recovery	Jewelry	Shipwright's Regret
RING	Turning Tide	Harmony	Magicka Recovery	Jewelry	Shipwright's Regret
RING	Turning Tide	Harmony	Magicka Recovery	Jewelry	Shipwright's Regret
FRONT BAR (MAIN HAND)	(Perfected) Puncturing Remedy	Decisive	Absorb Stamina	One-handed	(Veteran) Dragonstar Arena
FRONT BAR (OFF-HAND)	(Perfected) Puncturing Remedy	Sturdy	Maximum Stamina	Shield	(Veteran) Dragonstar Arena
BACK BAR	Turning Tide	Infused	Crusher	Ice Staff	Shipwright's Regret

Nazaray is used during boss fights to significantly increase debuff durations on enemies when you use an Ultimate ability. For the best results, cast Aggressive Horn immediately after applying Major Vulnerability with Turning Tide.

If you’re not in a boss fight or don’t intend to cast your Ultimate ability, you could instead equip the Mythic shoulder piece Spaulder of Ruin. Pairing it with one piece of the Magma Incarnate or Baron Thirsk monster set will increase your Magicka and Stamina Recovery to help offset a small portion of the negative effects given by Spaulder of Ruin. Chokethorn is a non-DLC, non-PVP alternative to Magma Incarnate and Baron Thirsk that increases your Magicka Recovery but doesn’t give you additional Stamina Recovery.

Drake’s Rush grants Major Heroism to you and 3 other group members when you bash an enemy, generating 3 Ultimate every 1.5 seconds. This allows everyone in the group to build Ultimate incredibly quickly. Because it generates the Ultimate over time rather than all at once, it gives you much more control over your Ultimate usage than Arkasis’s Genius and benefits from the Decisive weapon trait.

During add fights, equipping Crimson Oath’s Rive allows you to reduce the Physical and Spell Resistance of all enemies around you by 3,541.

Turning Tide allows you to easily apply Major Vulnerability to multiple enemies in front of you as any class. The Major Vulnerability debuff causes enemies to take increased damage from all sources by 10%.

(Perfected) Puncturing Remedy significantly increases your survivability by providing a solid heal and Physical and Spell Resistance equal to the heal every 5 seconds when you taunt an enemy with Pierce Armor.

OFF-TANK SETUP

	SET NAME	TRAIT	ENCHANTMENT	WEIGHT/TYPE	ACQUIRED
HEAD	Encratis's Behemoth	Sturdy	Prismatic Defense	Medium	Veteran Black Drake Villa
SHOULDERS	Encratis's Behemoth	Sturdy	Prismatic Defense	Light	Undaunted Enclave
CHEST	(Perfected) Pearlescent Ward	Sturdy	Prismatic Defense	Heavy	(Veteran) Dreadsail Reef
HANDS	(Perfected) Pearlescent Ward	Sturdy	Prismatic Defense	Heavy	(Veteran) Dreadsail Reef
WAIST	(Perfected) Pearlescent Ward	Sturdy	Prismatic Defense	Heavy	(Veteran) Dreadsail Reef
LEGS	(Perfected) Pearlescent Ward	Sturdy	Prismatic Defense	Heavy	(Veteran) Dreadsail Reef
FEET	(Perfected) Pearlescent Ward	Sturdy	Prismatic Defense	Heavy	(Veteran) Dreadsail Reef
NECKLACE	(Perfected) Saxhleel Champion	Harmony	Magicka Recovery	Jewelry	(Veteran) Rockgrove
RING	(Perfected) Saxhleel Champion	Harmony	Magicka Recovery	Jewelry	(Veteran) Rockgrove
RING	(Perfected) Saxhleel Champion	Harmony	Magicka Recovery	Jewelry	(Veteran) Rockgrove
FRONT BAR (MAIN HAND)	(Perfected) Puncturing Remedy	Decisive	Absorb Stamina	One-handed	(Veteran) Dragonstar Arena
FRONT BAR (OFF-HAND)	(Perfected) Puncturing Remedy	Sturdy	Maximum Stamina	Shield	(Veteran) Dragonstar Arena
BACK BAR	(Perfected) Saxhleel Champion	Infused	Crusher	Ice Staff	(Veteran) Rockgrove

Encratis’s Behemoth creates an aura that benefits your group members and debuffs your enemies:
• Group members inside the aura take 5% reduced Flame Damage.
• Enemies inside the aura take 5% increased Flame Damage.
A Flame Damage ability is required to trigger the aura, such as Scalding Rune.

If you don’t have many enemies or group members dealing Flame Damage, equipping Engine Guardian significantly improves your self-sustain. Despite restoring a random resource, it provides the best self-sustain for a Tank because it restores resources instead of increasing your recovery stat. Restored resources bypass the Stamina Recovery lock that occurs when you block or sprint, allowing you to gain Stamina while doing either.

Pearlescent Ward increases the group’s Weapon and Spell Damage by up to 180 or damage reduction from non-player enemies by up to 66%, depending on how many group members are dead. It helps your group recover from nearly wiping and even works if you’re dead or occupied with a group separation mechanic. This set also passively grants you Minor Aegis at all times, reducing your damage taken from Dungeon, Trial, and Arena Monsters by 5%.

Saxhleel Champion grants Major Force when you cast any Ultimate ability. It’s primarily used to further increase the uptime of Major Force when using Aggressive Horn. Using the Armor Setup above means you must cast the Ultimate slotted on your back bar. This is ideal for an offensive playstyle, but if you play more defensively or need to use Replenishing Barrier more often, equip Saxhleel Champion on the front bar as well.

If your group already has great Major Force uptime, (Perfected) Pillager’s Profit is an excellent alternative that allows you to increase the group’s Ultimate regeneration when you cast your Ultimate. Because this set caps the amount of Ultimate you can share at 20 per tick, it’s best to cast your Ultimate ability no later than a maximum of 400 Ultimate.

A non-DLC alternative to Saxhleel Champion is Powerful Assault, though some groups may have their Healers wear this set. It increases the group’s Weapon and Spell Damage by 307, improving overall group damage and healing. Powerful Assault requires you to cast an ability from the Assault skill line to trigger it, and it needs to be cast twice to benefit the entire group while in a Trial. Tanks commonly use Echoing Vigor because it’s a strong HOT with a large radius and low cost.

INTERMEDIATE SETUP

The Intermediate Setup for the Arcanist Tank build is optimized for Tanks that may not be ready for Trial content but want to replace Crafted Sets. Many Dungeon and Overland sets are easy to collect while effective in early to mid-game content.

The selection of sets below will help to reduce enemy Physical and Spell Resistance, increase your group’s Ultimate regeneration, and reduce the cost of your Ultimate abilities.

	SET NAME	TRAIT	ENCHANTMENT	WEIGHT/TYPE	ACQUIRED
HEAD	Tremorscale	Sturdy	Maximum Health	Medium	Veteran Volenfell
SHOULDERS	Tremorscale	Sturdy	Maximum Magicka	Light	Undaunted Enclave
CHEST	Drake's Rush	Sturdy	Maximum Health	Heavy	Black Drake Villa
HANDS	Drake's Rush	Sturdy	Maximum Magicka	Heavy	Black Drake Villa
WAIST	Drake's Rush	Sturdy	Maximum Magicka	Heavy	Black Drake Villa
LEGS	Drake's Rush	Sturdy	Maximum Health	Heavy	Black Drake Villa
FEET	Drake's Rush	Sturdy	Maximum Magicka	Heavy	Black Drake Villa
NECKLACE	Akaviri Dragonguard	Healthy	Magicka Recovery	Jewelry	Eastmarch Overland
RING	Akaviri Dragonguard	Healthy	Magicka Recovery	Jewelry	Eastmarch Overland
RING	Akaviri Dragonguard	Healthy	Magicka Recovery	Jewelry	Eastmarch Overland
FRONT BAR (MAIN HAND)	Akaviri Dragonguard	Decisive	Absorb Stamina	One-handed	Eastmarch Overland
FRONT BAR (OFF-HAND)	Akaviri Dragonguard	Sturdy	Maximum Magicka	Shield	Eastmarch Overland
BACK BAR	Akaviri Dragonguard	Infused	Crusher	Ice Staff	Eastmarch Overland

Tremorscale reduces the Armor of all enemies in a small area depending on how high your Physical or Spell Resistance is. Because this set lasts for 15 seconds and has a cooldown of 10 seconds, you’re able to easily achieve 100% uptime.

If you want better self-sustain, Engine Guardian is the best method for a Tank to do so, despite it restoring a random resource. This is because it restores resources instead of increasing your recovery stat. Restored resources bypass the Stamina Recovery lock that occurs when you block or sprint, allowing you to gain Stamina while doing either of those actions.

Akaviri Dragonguard reduces the cost of your Ultimate abilities by 15%, allowing you to use them much more often.

An alternative to Akaviri Dragonguard is Powerful Assault, though it can get expensive. It increases the group’s Weapon and Spell Damage by 307, improving overall group damage and healing. Powerful Assault requires you to cast an ability from the Assault skill line to trigger it. Tanks commonly use Echoing Vigor because it’s a strong HOT with a large radius and low cost.

Slotting Akaviri Dragonguard or Powerful Assault on both ability bars allows you to be more flexible with which Ultimate you use or which ability bar you choose to slot an Assault ability. If you equip it on the back bar only, you can also equip (Perfected) Void Bash on the front bar during add fights to easily group up enemies.

BEGINNER SETUP

Your options for beginner gear are typically limited to crafted sets or something cheap in guild stores. The Beginner Setup for the Arcanist Tank build includes only Crafted Sets and is optimized for freshly created characters and CP160 Tanks looking for an excellent build to start farming more challenging content.

	SET NAME	TRAIT	ENCHANTMENT	WEIGHT/TYPE	ACQUIRED
HEAD	Druid's Braid	Sturdy	Maximum Stamina	Medium	Crafted
SHOULDERS	Druid's Braid	Sturdy	Maximum Stamina	Light	Crafted
CHEST	Torug's Pact	Sturdy	Maximum Health	Heavy	Crafted
HANDS	Torug's Pact	Sturdy	Maximum Stamina	Heavy	Crafted
WAIST	Torug's Pact	Sturdy	Maximum Stamina	Heavy	Crafted
LEGS	Torug's Pact	Sturdy	Maximum Health	Heavy	Crafted
FEET	Torug's Pact	Sturdy	Maximum Stamina	Heavy	Crafted
NECKLACE	Armor of the Seducer	Robust	Potion Speed	Jewelry	Crafted
RING	Armor of the Seducer	Robust	Magicka Recovery	Jewelry	Crafted
RING	Armor of the Seducer	Robust	Magicka Recovery	Jewelry	Crafted
FRONT BAR (MAIN HAND)	Armor of the Seducer	Infused	Absorb Stamina	One-handed	Crafted
FRONT BAR (OFF-HAND)	Armor of the Seducer	Sturdy	Maximum Magicka	Shield	Crafted
BACK BAR	Armor of the Seducer	Infused	Crusher	Lightning Staff	Crafted

Druid’s Braid is equipped until you can obtain a suitable monster set to replace it. Some great beginner options are Tremorscale to reduce enemy Physical and Spell Resistance in an area, Sentinel of Rkugamz to increase group sustain, and Swarm Mother to help pull and taunt ranged enemies.

Torug’s Pact improves the enchantments on your weapons, increasing Stamina sustain and further decreasing enemy Physical and Spell Resistance.

Armor of the Seducer significantly improves your Magicka sustainability by increasing Magicka Recovery and reducing the cost of your Magicka abilities.

While this configuration is not required, it will provide the most optimal progression path for a beginner Tank. After obtaining a crafted gear setup, you may begin farming the other setups.

SKILLS

The Arcanist class has many versatile skills and powerful passives that complement each other between skill lines. For example, investing in the Curative Runeforms skill line gives you access to the Erudition and Intricate Runeforms passives. These passives are critical to this build, as they increase your Magicka and Stamina Recovery by 18% and the strength of your damage shields by 10%.

On the other hand, this build utilizes every skill from the Soldier of Apocrypha skill line to maximize the benefits of the Wellspring of the Abyss passive. Doing so increases your Health, Magicka, and Stamina Recovery by an additional 387 on both bars.

FRONT BAR

Runic Sunder (Morph of Runic Jolt | Skill Line: Soldier of Apocrypha)
• This is the only taunt ability you will ever need most of this time and is your primary method of generating Crux. You apply the Minor Maim debuff to targets and steal (reduce) their armor, riding their damage damage done by 5% and increasing your armor for the amount stolen. This is a unique enemy debuff that stacks with the Minor Breach and Major Breach debuffs. Runic Sunder also reduces your damage taken by 2% for each active Crux.

Zenas’ Empowering Disc (Morph of Arcanist’s Domain | Skill Line: Curative Runeforms)
• Grants Minor Courage, Minor Fortitude, Minor Intellect, and Minor Endurance, increasing overall group damage and sustain while standing in the area and for up to 7 seconds after leaving it.

Rune of the Colorless Pool (Morph of Rune of Eldritch Horror | Skill Line: Soldier of Apocrypha)
• Stuns ranged enemies and applies the Minor Vulnerability and Minor Brittle debuffs to enemies for a long duration without needing an Ice Staff equipped, increasing their damage taken by 5% and their Critical Damage taken by 10%. It’s best to keep this skill active on threatening enemies at all times to increase overall group damage against them.w

Impervious Runeward (Morph of Runespite Ward | Skill Line: Soldier of Apocrypha)
• Grants you a massive damage shield that’s great for when you know you’re about to take massive damage. If the shield isn’t broken after 1 second, you get another slightly smaller damage shield for the rest of the duration. Each time you consume Crux with ability, it also grants you 4 Ultimate due to the Implacable Outcome passive from the Soldier of Apocrypha skill line.

Heroic Slash (Morph of Low Slash | Skill Line: One Hand and Shield)
• Grants you the Minor Heroism buff, increasing your Ultimate regeneration, and applies the Minor Maim debuff, reducing their damage done by 5%. It’s best to keep this skill active on the most threatening enemies at all times to help build Ultimate and increase group survivability.

Ultimate: Replenishing Barrier (Morph of Barrier | Skill Line: Support)
• This is your secondary Ultimate ability, primarily slotted to benefit from the Magicka Aid passive from the Support skill line. It grants damage shields to nearby allies that restore your Ultimate and Magicka each time one dissolves to help rebuild Ultimate quickly.

BACK BAR

Silver Leash (Skill Line: Fighters Guild | Base: Silver Bolts)
• Pulls in and taunts enemies. Unlocking the Intimidating Presence passive from the Fighters Guild skill line to reduce the cost of Silver Leash by 15%.

Elemental Blockade (Morph of Wall of Elements | Skill Line: Destruction Staff)
• Triggers the enchantment on your Destructive Staff, even while on the front bar. While using an Ice Staff, you also provide damage shields to your group.

Elemental Drain (Morph of Weakness to Elements | Skill line: Destruction Staff)
• This is your source of applying Major Breach to bosses, reducing enemy Physical and Spell Resistance by 5948. It also applies Minor Magickasteal, allowing you and your group members to restore Magicka every second you’re dealing damage to the enemy.

Cruxweaver Armor (Morph of Fatewoven Armor | Skill Line: Soldier of Apocrypha)
• Grants you the Major Resolve buff and applies the Minor Breach debuff to enemies that damage you, increasing your Armor by 5948 and reducing the Armor of your attacker by 2974. Taking damage while this ability is active generates a Crux. Keeping this skill active at all times grants you an additional 1,980 Armor due to the Aegis of the Unseen passive from the Soldier of Apocrypha skill line.

Runeguard of Still Waters (Morph of Runic Defense | Skill Line: Soldier of Apocrypha)
• Immobilizes nearby enemies for 3 seconds and grants the Minor Resolve buff group-wide, increasing the group’s Armor by 2974. It also grants you the Minor Protection buff, reducing your damage taken by 5%. The Minor Protection acts as a safety net, giving you a strong burst heal when you drop below 50% of your Maximum Health; however, it consumes the buff. The duration of Runeguard of Still Waters lines up perfectly with the Circumvented Fate passive from the Soldier of Apocrypha skill line, allowing you to easily maintain the Minor Evasion buff on you and your group.

Ultimate: Aggressive Horn (Morph of War Horn | Skill Line: Assault)
• This is your primary Ultimate ability. It increases the group’s Maximum Magicka and Maximum Stamina by 10% and grants the Major Force buff group-wide, increasing Critical Damage by 20%. The buffs this Ultimate provides do not stack. Discussing rotation with other support roles before beginning combat is essential to avoid overlapping use. While using the Main Tank gear setup, you will almost always have priority to maximize the Major Force buff uptime.

ALTERNATIVE SKILLS

SPELL WALL

Skill Line: One Hand and Shield
Base Skill: Shield Wall
Spell Well can replace Replenishing Barrier if you can’t yet access that skill. Spell Wall allows you to regain Stamina quickly by heavy attacking while it blocks incoming damage for you.

GIBBERING SHELTER

Skill Line: Soldier of Apocrypha
Base Skill: Gibbering Shield
Gibbering Shelter can replace Replenishing Barrier if you can’t yet access that skill. It works much like Replenishing Barrier in that it provides you with a massive damage shield that also provides nearby allies with a damage shield when damaged.

RESONATING GLYPHIC

Skill Line: Curative Runeforms
Base Skill: Vitalizing Glyphic
Resonating Glyphic can replace Aggressive Horn if you can’t yet access that skill. It spawns a rune that heals the group in a large area and gets stronger the more you damage it, granting up to 200 Weapon and Spell Damage to you and your allies.

INNER RAGE

Skill Line: Undaunted
Base Skill: Inner Fire
Inner Rage can replace Elemental Drain if you want to use Pierce Armor on the front bar but don’t have an Ice Staff equipped.

RAZOR CALTROPS

Skill Line: Assault
Base Skill: Caltrops
Razor Caltrops can replace Elemental Drain during add fights to apply Major Breach to multiple enemies in a large area, reducing their Physical and Spell Resistance by 5,948.

SPELL SYMMETRY

Skill Line: Mages Guild
Base Skill: Equilibrium
Spell Symmetry can replace Heroic Slash if you need more Magicka sustain; however, it significantly reduces your healing done and the effectiveness of your damage shields.

PIERCE ARMOR

Skill Line: One Hand and Shield
Base Skill: Puncture
Pierce Armor can replace Runic Sunder if you want the most consistent way to apply Minor Breach and Major Breach; however, you sacrifice your primary method of generating Crux, a unique armor self-buff, a unique enemy armor reduction, and damage mitigation by doing so.

RECUPERATIVE TREATISE

Skill Line: Herald of the Tome
Base Skill: Tome-Bearer’s Inspiration
Recuperative Treatise can replace Heroic Slash or Elemental Drain (if there is another source of Major Breach in the group) to improve your self-sustain and generate Crux. It also grants Major Brutality and Major Sorcery, significantly increasing the strength of your healing abilities.

DESTRUCTIVE CLENCH

Skill Line: Destruction Staff
Base Skill: Destructive Touch
Destructive Clench can replace Elemental Drain if you want to use Pierce Armor on the front bar. It taunts enemies, immobilizes, and applies Major Maim and Minor Brittle to them, reducing their damage done by 10% and increasing their Critical Damage taken by 10%. This skill requires that you have an Ice Staff equipped.

POWER SLAM

Skill Line: One Hand and Shield
Base Skill: Power Bash
Power Slam can replace Heroic Slash during add fights if you use the (Perfected) Void Bash set to pull in most enemies around you.

ECHOING VIGOR

Skill Line: Assault
Base Skill: Vigor
Echoing Vigor can replace Heroic Slash or Silver Leash to provide a heal to your group. It’s most commonly slotted to activate Powerful Assault.

OVERFLOWING ALTAR

Skill Line: Undaunted
Base Skill: Blood Altar
Overflowing Altar can replace Heroic Slash or Silver Leash to apply Minor Lifesteal to enemies and provide a synergy to allies that gives them a burst heal when activated.

EFFICIENT PURGE

Skill Line: Support
Base Skill: Purge
Efficient Purge can replace Heroic Slash or Silver Leash to remove DOTs and other negative effects from you and your allies.

REVEALING FLARE

Skill Line: Support
Base Skill: N/A
Revealing Flare can replace Heroic Slash for 100% Major Protection uptime while on the front bar, reducing your damage taken by 10%. It also increases your Magicka Recovery by 10% due to the Magicka Aid passive.

CRUSHING SHOCK

Skill Line: Destruction Staff
Base Skill: Force Shock
Crushing Shock can replace Silver Leash when you require a ranged interrupt.

PASSIVES

Most passives in the skill lines you utilize are worth investing in; however, some are more critical to the build than others. One important thing to note is the absence of the Tri Focus passive. The Tri Focus passive is not recommended on a Tank, as it significantly harms your Magicka sustain by causing your block ability to cost Magicka while wielding an Ice Staff.

Below is a complete list of only the most essential passives to the Arcanist Tank Build, which should be unlocked first if possible.

CURATIVE RUNEFORMS

All Passives

HERALD OF THE TOME

Fated Fortune
Harnessed Quintessence

SOLDIER OF APOCRYPHA

All Passives

ONE HAND AND SHIELD

All Passives

DESTRUCTION STAFF

Elemental Force
Ancient Knowledge

LIGHT ARMOR

Grace
Evocation
Spell Warding

MEDIUM ARMOR

Dexterity
Wind Walker
Agility
Athletics

HEAVY ARMOR

Resolve
Constitution
Juggernaut
Revitalize

SUPPORT

Magicka Aid

FIGHTERS GUILD

Intimidating Presence

UNDAUNTED

Undaunted Command
Undaunted Mettle

ALCHEMY

Medicinal Use

MUNDUS STONE

THE ATRONACH

SHADOWFEN

RIVENSPIRE

GREENSHADE

Having a high Magicka Recovery stat is incredibly important on a Tank, as it is the primary resource you will use to maintain your buffs and heal yourself.

The Arcanist Tank build uses the Atronach Mundus Stone to increase Magicka Recovery by 310. Each piece of Divines armor increases that value by up to 9.1% if you decide to use it, up to 507 without a shield and 535 with a shield.

CONSUMABLES

FOOD

BEWITCHED SUGAR SKULLS

The Bewitched Sugar Skulls food is the best option to significantly improve your resource pools. It is relatively cheap to craft outside of the cost of Columbine, and the ingredients are easy to find. It can also be purchased from guild stores if you haven’t learned the recipe.

Bonuses:
• Increase Maximum Health by ~4620.
• Increase Maximum Stamina by ~4250.
• Increase Maximum Magicka by ~4250.
• Increase Health Recovery by ~462.
• Scales with your level.
• Lasts 2 hours.

Ingredients:
• Bervez Juice (2)
• Flour (5)
• Honey (5)
• Scrib Jelly (2)
• Columbine (2)

CAPON TOMATO-BEET CASSEROLE

The Capon Tomato-Beet Casserole food is similar to Bewitched Sugar Skulls. It doesn’t increase your resource pools as much or scale with your level; however, it is cheaper to craft. It can also be purchased from guild stores if you haven’t learned the recipe.

Bonuses:
• Increase Maximum Health by 4462.
• Increase Maximum Stamina by 4105.
• Increase Maximum Magicka by 4105.
• Lasts 2 hours.

Ingredients:
• Beets (1)
• Frost Mirriam (1)
• Poultry (1)
• Tomato (1)

WITCHMOTHER'S POTENT BREW

The Witchmother’s Potent Brew food is an excellent option for beginner Tanks struggling with Magicka sustain. Using this food sacrifices some Maximum Health and Magicka to increase your Magicka Recovery. It is cheap to craft, and the ingredients are easy to find. It can also be purchased from guild stores if you haven’t learned the recipe.

Bonuses:
• Increase Maximum Health by ~3094.
• Increase Maximum Magicka by ~2856.
• Increase Magicka Recovery by ~315.
• Scales with your level.
• Lasts 2 hours.

Ingredients:
• Bervez Juice (1)
• Nightshade (1)
• Rice (1)
• Small Game (1)

POTIONS

TRI-STAT POTIONS

Tri-Stat Potions can be costly to craft but are your best option if you want to maximize your Health, Magicka, and Stamina sustain. These potions are the same as the Crown Tri-Restoration Potions given for free from the Daily Login Rewards Calendar.

Bonuses:
• Restore ~10377 Health.
• Restore ~7582 Stamina.
• Restore ~7582 Magicka.
• Gain Major Fortitude.
• Gain Major Endurance.
• Gain Major Intellect.

Ingredients:
• Bugloss (1)
• Columbine (1)
• Dragonthorn (1)

ESSENCE OF MAGICKA

The Essence of Magicka potion should only be used to sustain your Magicka if you cannot afford to craft your Tri-Stat potions.

Bonuses:
• Restore ~7582 Magicka.
• Gain Major Intellect.
• ~47.6-second duration.

These potions are generic world-dropped potions and are not worth crafting.

ESSENCE OF STAMINA

The Essence of Stamina potion should only be used to sustain your Stamina if you cannot afford to craft your Tri-Stat potions.

Bonuses:
• Restore ~7582 Stamina.
• Gain Major Endurance.
• ~47.6-second duration.

These potions are generic world-dropped potions and are not worth crafting.

CHAMPION POINTS

The Champion Point system in The Elder Scrolls Online allows you to unlock many powerful passives and perks that you can use to customize and strengthen your build. It is unlocked once you reach Level 50 and maxes out at 3600 points; however, once you get CP1506, most points gained after can be used for quality-of-life.

The CP system has three unique constellations: Craft, Warfare, and Fitness. The Warfare and Fitness constellations each have three subtrees.
• The Craft constellation focuses on crafting, gold gain, movement speed, stealth, and increasing material yields.
• The Warfare constellation focuses on increasing damage, healing, and damage mitigation.
• The Fitness constellation focuses on increasing your core stats, such as Maximum Health. It also offers methods of increasing your self-sustain and survivability.

The Champion Point allocation below is optimized for the Arcanist Tank build, focusing on increasing Maximum Health, damage mitigation, self-sustain, and Movement Speed.

Following the recommended path below, you will unlock the essential passives and perks for strong progression as a Tank.

CRAFT

Steed’s Blessing (+50) (Slot 1)
Gilded Fingers (+10)
Fortune’s Favor (+10)
Wanderer (+15)
Steadfast Enchantment (+10)
Rationer (+10) (Slot 2)
Liquid Efficiency (+75) (Slot 3)
Rationer (+20)
Treasure Hunter (+50) (Slot 4)
Master Gatherer (+15)
Gifted Rider (+100) (Replace Slot 4)
Gilded Fingers (+40)
Breakfall (+50)
Steadfast Enchantment (+40)
Soul Reservoir (+33)
Beyond this point, you can continue to unlock passives or more slottable perks based on your preference.

WARFARE

Tireless Discipline (+10)
Quick Recovery (+10)
Preparation (+20)
Ironclad (+50) (Slot 1)
Duelist’s Rebuff (+50) (Slot 2)
Unassailable (+25) (Slot 3)
Bulwark (+50) (Replace Slot 3)
Enduring Resolve (+50) (Slot 4)
Elemental Aegis (+20)
Hardy (+20)
Piercing (+10)
Flawless Ritual (+40)
Tireless Discipline (+10)
Eldritch Insight (+20)
Blessed (+20)
Quick Recovery (+10)
Beyond this point, you can continue to unlock passives or more slottable perks based on your preference:
Unassailable (+25) can replace Enduring Resolve to reduce your damage taken from enemy AOEs if there are no enemies that apply DOTs to you.
Endless Endurance (50) is great if you want more Maximum Stamina.
Arcane Supremacy (50) is great if you want more Maximum Magicka.

FITNESS

Boundless Vitality (+50) (Slot 1)
Tumbling (+15)
Expert Evasion (+50) (Slot 2)
Rejuvenation (+50) (Slot 3)
Tireless Guardian (+10)
Hasty (+8)
Celerity (+50) (Slot 4)
Mystic Tenacity (+10)
Hero’s Vigor (+20)
Fortification (+30)
Defiance (+20)
Nimble Protector (+6)
Hasty (+8)
Tumbling (+15)
Beyond this point, you can continue to unlock passives or more slottable perks based on your preference.
Bracing Anchor (50) can replace Celerity during boss fights with hard-hitting abilities and mechanics. Slotting Bracing Anchor over Celerity will cause a significant decrease in your Movement Speed.

TIPS & TRICKS

The Arcanist Tank build does not follow a traditional rotation. Instead, you must be able to adapt to meet the needs of whatever situation you find yourself in.

Below, you will find tips on effectively fulfilling the Tank role during enemy and boss encounters. Every Dungeon, Trial, and Arena has different mechanics, and it is essential that you understand your build and why you use the recommended armor sets and skills you do. Be sure to read this build guide entirely.

BUFFING AND DEBUFFING

Pre-buffing is an essential habit to pick up to increase your efficiency as a Tank, allowing you to use your time once in combat more effectively. Always activate Cruxweaver Armor before starting combat to ensure your group has time to apply their pre-buffs.

Using as many buffs before combat as possible will allow you to focus primarily on taunting and grouping enemies. As the Tank, you should always initiate combat to have as much control as possible.

Elemental Blockade allows you to easily maintain a Crusher enchantment on your Destruction Staff back bar, even while on your front bar.

Heroic Slash should be kept active on threatening enemies to reduce incoming damage and increase your Ultimate regeneration.

If you follow along with the armor setups above, much of your build already focuses on buffing your group members. Fulfilling the Tank role in ESO means much more than having high Health and blocking.

Sets like Encratis’s Behemoth and Turning Tide significantly increase group damage, while other sets such as Nazaray, Saxhleel Champion, Pearlescent Ward, and Pillager’s Profit are excellent utility sets that improve group damage, defences, Ultimate regeneration, and complement your other equipped sets. It is best to avoid Fortified Brass, Plague Doctor, and Battalion Defender as you progress, as they offer nothing substantial to your group.

CONTROL

Learning which enemies should be taunted first and where to properly group enemies for your Healers and DPS is essential to becoming a great Tank. Grouping enemies in one area allows your group to place AOE abilities on you, then switch their focus to the more threatening enemies. The most threatening enemies are typically the largest or fewest in an add fight.

As an Arcanist Tank, you have many abilities in your toolkit that taunt, pull, or both:

Runic Embrace is your primary taunt. It has a decent range, generates Crux, and reduces your damage taken by 2% for each active Crux while slotted. It also offers a unique way to reduce the enemy’s armor; however, you must use alternative ways to apply the Minor Breach and Major Breach debuffs, such as Cruxweaver Armor and Razor Caltrops or Elemental Susceptibility.

Inner Rage is a mid-range taunt and is a great alternative to Destructive Clench if you don’t have an Ice Staff equipped. It also provides a synergy to a ranged group member that, when activated, deals Magic Damage to the taunted enemy.

Rune of Displacement is the first class AOE pull ability; however, it doesn’t taunt them. Because this ability pulls enemies to a target location rather than to you, it’s best to choose the most central enemy in the group. Additionally, the target provides a synergy to your allies that, when activated, causes a burst of Frost Damage to all nearby enemies.

Silver Leash pulls enemies to you and taunts them if another player hasn’t already taunted them.

Pierce Armor applies the Minor Breach and Major Breach debuffs, significantly reducing Physical and Spell Resistance. Additionally, it allows you to utilize Puncturing Remedy.

Void Bash doesn’t taunt enemies, but it is an excellent way to pull most enemies in an area to you and apply the Major Maim debuff to them.

While you’re not required to taunt every enemy, keeping them locked down to an area with snares and CC abilities, such as Razor Caltrops, allows your group to take down much faster.

POSITIONING

Positioning is possibly the most important skill to master when improving yourself as a Tank. Getting in the habit of placing yourself on the opposite side of your group is vital as it prevents them from taking potentially fatal cleave damage.

Before initiating combat, choose a location where you can easily group enemies. The best place is often the most enemy-dense area because it prevents you from needing to pull in more enemies than necessary.

Once you determine the best position to group enemies, cast Rune of Displacement on the most central enemy as you run into the fight and immediately follow up with Runeguard of Still Water. Doing this will cause enemies within 7m to be pulled to the central enemy and then be immobilized. Then, to keep enemies locked to the area cast Razor Caltrops. Enemies locked to an area are much easier to control and debuff.

Enemies are sometimes more spread out in some add fights, so you may need to group them up with a more direct, longer-ranged pull ability, such as Silver Leash.

SUSTAIN

Tanks frequently use all resources. While few skills cost Health, it is still an essential resource to maintain for obvious reasons. Magicka is typically used for self-healing, buffing allies, and debuffing enemies; Stamina is used for blocking, roll dodging, breaking free, and debuffing enemies. In this section, you will learn of the various ways an Arcanist Tank can stay on top of sustainability:

Your class passives significantly improve your sustain. For example, the Erudition passive from the Curative Runeforms skill line increases your Magicka and Stamina Recovery by 18%, and the Wellspring of the Abyss passive from the Soldier of Apocrypha skill line increases your Health, Magicka, and Stamina Recovery by 129 for each Soldier of Apocrypha skill slotted. Each of your ability bars in this build uses three Soldier of Apocrypha skills, totalling 387 Magicka Recovery.

There are also universal buffs that improve your sustain. The Arcanist Tank Build uses the Reconstructive Domain skill for healing and granting the Minor Fortitude, Intellect, and Endurance buffs, increasing Health, Magicka, and Stamina Recovery by 15%.

While support skills such as Reconstructive Domain provide the Minor version of these buffs, your potions grant the Major versions of Fortitude, Intellect, and Endurance, increasing your Health, Magicka, and Stamina Recovery by 30% on top of restoring a burst of Health, Magicka, and/or Stamina, depending on the potion you use. The Tri-Stat potion is your best option as a Tank, and even though they’re expensive, don’t worry; the Daily Login Calendar Rewards frequently has the Crown Store version of these potions available for free.

Heavy Armor increases your Armor stat but also improves your sustain through passives. The Constitution and Revitalize passives restore 108 Magicka and Stamina when you take damage and increase the amount of Magicka and Stamina your heavy attacks restore by 4% for each piece of Heavy Armor slotted. The Arcanist Tank Build uses five pieces of Heavy Armor, meaning you restore 540 Magicka and Stamina upon taking damage and an additional 20% Magicka and Stamina from heavy attacks.

Speaking of heavy attacks, it’s a great way to improve your Stamina sustain significantly. As a Tank, you rely on Magicka Recovery to sustain your Magicka resource; however, a heavy attack will restore a decent bit of Stamina if you have your one-handed weapon and shield in your hands. Heavy attacking can leave you vulnerable, as you can’t block incoming damage during the windup. It’s best to heavy attack immediately after your enemy’s heavy attacks because they usually give you a few seconds to retaliate.

Each Sturdy trait on your armor reduces the cost of your block ability by up to 4% at maximum quality. Because this build uses seven pieces of Sturdy armor plus a Sturdy shield, you can reach up to 32% block cost reduction while on the front bar just from this trait alone.

Your jewelry enchantments increase your Magicka Recovery by up to 169 each at maximum quality for a total of 507 Magicka Recovery. Changing to the Infused trait on your jewelry instead of Triune would increase this bonus up to a maximum of 810 Magicka Recovery. Doing so would reduce your Maximum Health, Magicka, and Stamina.

The Atronach Mundus Stone increases your Magicka Recovery by 310. Changing to the Divines trait on your armor instead of Sturdy would increase this bonus up to a maximum of 507 Magicka Recovery. Doing so would significantly increase the Stamina cost of blocking enemy attacks.

It is important to note the difference between “recovery” and “restore,” especially when it comes to being a Tank. Resource recovery occurs over time, whereas resource restore typically happens all at once, though it can happen over time if the skill states as such. Additionally, Stamina Recovery is locked to 0 when you’re blocking or sprinting, meaning it will continue to deplete until you have nothing left. On the other hand, drinking a potion will restore your Stamina regardless of if you are blocking or sprinting.

ULTIMATES

The buffs granted by most Ultimate abilities do not stack, so it’s a good idea to coordinate with your group on when you should use yours. The most commonly used Ultimate abilities by support roles are Aggressive Horn and Replenishing Barrier:

Aggressive Horn is your primary offensive Ultimate ability. It increases the group’s Maximum Magicka and Maximum Stamina by 10% for 30 seconds and grants them the Major Force buff for 10 seconds, increasing Critical Damage by 10%. Many groups will have their support roles rotate through their Aggressive Horns as the Magicka and Stamina buffs near the end of their duration to maximize uptimes; however, depending on the group composition of class, skills, sets, etc., and if Ultimate can be built up fast enough, some groups may rotate as the Major Force buff runs out to push DPS.

Replenishing Barrier is a powerful defensive Ultimate ability that grants massive damage shields to all nearby allies. It’s good to have in fights with phases of high-damage enemy attacks and mechanics, as it significantly increases the group’s survivability. Additionally, it restores your Magicka, generates Ultimate as the wards dissolve, and if you invest in the Magicka Aid passive from the Support skill line, increases your Magicka Recovery by up to 10% while slotted. If you’d prefer more group healing, Reviving Barrier heals your allies while they have the damage shield active on them.

As an Arcanist Tank, you have a few other alternative options while you work on unlocking the above Ultimates:

Gibbering Shelter grants you a large damage shield that applies smaller damage shields to allies after yours takes damage.

Resonating Glyphic allows your group to damage an orb-like object called a glyphic that grants them up to 200 Weapon and Spell Damage and heals them every second. This skill is an excellent alternative to Aggressive Horn.

Spell Wall blocks enemy attacks for you, allowing you to quickly regain Stamina through heavy attacks.

ARCHIVED CHANGES

AUGUST 16 / 2023: – UPDATE 39
• Updated Skills:
• Replaced Reconstructive Domain with the Zenas’ Empowering Disc morph.
• Replaced Razor Caltrops with Elemental Drain as the primary source of Major Breach.
• Moved Razor Caltrops to the Alternative Skills section for add fights.

JUNE 04 / 2023: – UPDATE 38 – NECROM
• Updated Trial Setups:
• Replaced Claw of Yolnahkriin on the Main Tank Setup due to Minor Courage being easily granted by an Arcanist.
• Claw of Yolnahkriin is still a great option in groups without an Arcanist.
• Replaced Engine Guardian with Encratis’s Behemoth.
• Engine Guardian is still a great alternative for self-sustaining.
• Updated Dungeon Setup:
• Changed the name of the Dungeon Setup to Intermediate Setup to more accurately convey what the setup achieves.
• Expect a dedicated end-game Dungeon Build for all classes in the future.
• Replaced Swarm Mother with Tremorscale for better group damage.
• Changed from the Reverberating Bash morph to the Power Slam morph of Power Bash.
• Added a Sustain section to the Rotation section.

MARCH 16 / 2023: – UPDATE 37 – SCRIBES OF FATE
• Replaced Turning Tide with Akaviri Dragonguard on the Dungeon Setup.
• Added alternative options to the Warfare CP path.
• Added alternative options to the Fitness CP path.

FEBRUARY 15 / 2023:
• Added Passives to the build.

JANUARY 04 / 2023:
• Replaced Inner Rage on the back bar with Destructive Clench.
• Moved Inner Rage to the Alternative Skills section.