Nightblade Tank Build PvE for Elder Scrolls Online

“Siphoner”

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Changes from the previous version
• Resource Management
• Dungeons & Trials Setup
  • Gear
  • Skills
  • Champion Points (810, 600, 300)
  • Important Info (Food, Mundus, Race, Potions, Passives, Attributes)
• Update Log

Introduction

Welcome to the Nightblade Tank Build PvE “Siphoner” for Elder Scrolls Online. Make sure to bookmark the link as I will keep updating the build for each new Update of ESO. The Nightblade Tank Build Siphoner is optimized for Dungeons and Trials. Keep in mind there is a huge variety of different tank builds out there that synergize well depending on your group setup. Remember, each Dungeon needs some small adjustments to the build.

If you are NEW to ESO, I also recommend checking out the Beginner’s Tanking Guide and the Advanced Tanking Guide which have a lot of important information about tanking!

We are using a Health build, as you really want to make sure to have enough health to absorb damage. Having a lot of health also increases our heals that we get from Dark Cloak. This ability scales off health, so we get a decent amount of health per second thanks to our big health pool as long as we keep this ability up. We also have Refreshing Path which heals both us and our group members. On top of that we can use Funnel Health to increase our healing even more and also heal our group members at the same time. The Mirage skill gives us constant 25% AoE damage mitigation, which really helps a lot to mitigation a lot of the incoming damage. We also use Battalion Defender set which both can heal you or your group mates.

• Dungeon & Trial Build
• Tank/Support Build
• Heavy Armor
• Great sustain
• Easy survivability

Changes from the previous version

No major changes to the build in the Dragonhold DLC. Added the Lotus Fan ability in the skill section of the build.

Resource Management

Leeching Strikes helps us sustain our stamina better, you will get a big burst of resources when the effect ends and when you do light or heavy attacks. Healers can also support you with Energy Orb and Luminous Shards (Templar) to give you around 4000 Stamina back, that is also the reason why we have more Stamina than Magicka, because you gain resources depending on your higher resource stat. So our Stamina should be about 2000 higher than our Magicka pool, which means we will always get Stamina back from the Spears or the Orbs! Also, you do not always need to permablock, so when you have time, do some heavy attacks to restore some resources! Potions are also a key to manage your resources well, use the right potions to really get the edge on your resources. If you still have troubles with sustain, you could also utilize Sentinel of Rkugamz, you can easily proc this with Swallow Soul.

• Leeching Strikes
• Spell Symmetry
• Heavy Attacks
• Spears (Templar ability)
• Orbs (Undaunted skill)
• Argonian passive

Dungeons & Trials Setup

Gear

Gear Setup 1

Lightning vs Frost Staff: You can use both options, a frost staff is better if you want to go the save route and get all the block mitigation on the backbar as well. The Lightning Staff is used in combination with Elemental Blockade to apply Off-Balance to the enemy, that way you can support your group and increase the overall damage output.

• Set allocation: It does not matter what gearsets you wear where, as long as you use those two combos, you should be fine.
• Monster Sets: There are various Monster sets that you can wear along with this combination. I usually use two more seperate health bonus from 1 piece Malubeth & Valkyn. You can also use Mighty Chudan, Pirate Skeleton, Bloodspawn etc.
• Swarm Mother: This set is very good for Dungeons, it automatically pulls almost all type of enemies to you without any cooldown.

Beginner Gear Setup

This beginner setup is here for people that do not have access to the other setup now. You can ask a friend to craft Fortified Brass and Torug’s Pact for you. You could also use Plague Doctor instead of Torug’s Pact as it is very cheap available in the Guild Stores.

Where can I get the gear?

Ebon Armory: Crypts of Hearts
Battalion Defender: Rewards of the Worthy, Guildstore
Lord Warden: Imperial City Prison
Roar of Alkosh: Maw of Lorkhaj
Bloodspawn: Spindleclutch
Swarm Mother: Spindleclutch 1
Torug's Pact: Craftable
Fortified Brass: Craftable
Torug's Pact: Craftable
Night's Silence: Craftable
Plague Doctor: Deshaan, Guildstore

 Skills

Make sure to adjust your skills to your needs, this setup is not maced into stone, make sure to adjust skills depending on the situation of a fight.

Lotus Fan can also be used for the setup to apply Minor Vulnerability to the enemy.

Skill explanation:

• Heroic Slash: Debuffs the enemy with a 15% damage reduction debuff and also gives you Minor Heroism, increasing your Ultimate generation.
• Dark Cloak: Heals you based on Max Health and grants Minor Protection, increasing your damage mitigation by 8%.
• Pierce Armor: Your main taunt, also debuffs the enemy with Major Fracture and Major Breach, reducing Spell and Physical Resistance by 5280.
• Relentless Focus: Up to 10% damage mitigation.
• Absorb Missle: Gives you a big shield, plus if you get hit by a projectile you also get some health back!
• Bolstering Darkness: Apply Major Protection to you and your allies, gives you a 30% incoming damage reduction.
• Leeching Strikes: One of your resource management tools, keep this active all the time.
• Mirage: Keep this up as it provides you with Minor Ward and Resolve, plus a 25% AoE damage mitigation effect.
• Refreshing Path: Keep this ability up all the time because we need to proc the Shadow Barrier passive to get Major Ward and Resolve increasing Spell and Physical resistance by 5280.
• Inner Rage: This is your ranged taunt, in case you can not get to a mob fast enough.
• Elemental Blockade: The Lightning Blockade needs to be on the ground all the time, it is here to keep our crusher enchantment up a 100%. The crusher enchantment will even proc while you are on the frontbar, you just have to make sure to keep the blockade up.
• Aggressive Warhorn: Your main Ultimate, to buff the group with 10% more max resources and crit damage boost.

In case you don’t know what what weaving light attacks is, make sure to check out the “Weaving Beginner Guide” which explains how to weave light attacks between abilities, aka animation canceling.

Championpoints

If you need optimized defensive Champion Points for a specific trial I recommend checking out my Maximize Damage Mitigation in Trials Article.

• Calculator: In case you need help distributing your Champion Points, make sure to check out the Champion Points Calculator!

Championpoints [810]

The Ritual
40 Precise Strikes, 10 Piercing
The Atronach
47 Physical Weapons Expert, 73 Master-at-Arms
The Apprentice
100 Blessed
The Shadow
81 Shadow Ward, 61 Tumbling
The Lover
43 Tenacity
The Tower
56 Warlord, 21 Bashing Focus, 8 Sprinter
The Lord
18 Bastion, 12 Heavy Armor Focus
The Lady
56 Hardy, 56 Elemental Defender, 56 Thick Skinned
The Steed
72 Ironclad

Championpoints [600]

The Ritual
26 Precise Strikes, 1 Piercing
The Attronarch
73 Master-at-Arms
The Apprentice
100 Blessed
The Shadow
100 Shadow Ward, 50 Tumbling
The Lover
The Tower
50 Warlord
The Lord
The Lady
56 Hardy, 49 Elemental Defender, 23 Thick Skinned
The Steed
72 Ironclad

Championpoints [300]

The Ritual
The Atronach
The Apprentice
100 Blessed
The Shadow
44 Shadow Ward
The Lover
43 Arcanist
The Tower
13 Warlord
The Lord
The Lady
27 Hardy, 27 Elemental Defender, 2 Thick Skinned
The Steed
44 Ironclad

Important Info for Nightblade Tank Build PvE

Buff-food

Longfin pasty with Melon Sauce (Max Health+Max Stamina+Max Magicka)

Bewitched Sugar Skulls

This is a slightly more advanced version that has a bit higher stats and also includes health recovery. Though it also costs more.

Mundus Stone

The Lord (Max Health)

Race

Argonian (Recommended, best sustain)
Nord (Fastest ultimate generation, extra resistances)
Imperial
Orc
Redguard

Potions

Tri-Stat Potion
(Health, Stamina, Magicka)
(Bugloss, Columbine, Mountain Flower)

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: Penetrating Magic, Elemental Force, Ancient Knowledge, Destruction Expert
• Heavy Armor: Resolve, Constitution, Juggernaut, Revitalize, Rapid Mending
• Medium Armor: Dexterity, Wind Walker, Athletics
• Light Armor: Grace, Evocation, Spell Warding
• Vampire: Supernatural Recovery, Undeath, Dark Stalker
• Fighters Guild: Banish the Wicked
• Undaunted: Undaunted Command, Undaunted Mettle
• Racial: All
• Alchemy: Medicinal Use

Attributes

You have to make sure to have a bit more Stamina than Magicka. Because of the Synergies you pick up give you back whatever stat is higher. You can change this to your liking, if you do not need that much health, get more stamina.

20 Magicka, 0 Health, 44 Stamina

Update Log

Related Topics

• Dragonknight Tank Build PvE
• Sorcerer Tank Build PvE
• Templar Tank Build PvE
• Warden Tank Build PvE
• Necromancer Tank Build PvE