Warden Tank Build for ESO – Elder Scrolls Online

“Frostbite”

Table of Contents

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

Introduction

Welcome to the Warden Tank Build PvE “Frostbite” for PvE Elder Scrolls Online. Make sure to bookmark the link as I will keep updating the build for each new Update of ESO. The Warden Tank Build is optimized for Dungeons & Trials!

Other Tank Guides:

• Beginner’s Tanking Guide
• Advanced Tanking Guide
• Endgame Tank Sets

Warden Tanks have amazing group support. You have access to good sustain and tons of support abilities. Ice Fortress gives everyone Major Resolve increasing their Armor & Spell Resistance by 5948 which is a lot of extra damage mitigation for the whole group!

Leeching Vines add some extra heals for you or your group members. And passives like Nature’s Gift make sustain also pretty easy as long as you can heal your group mates! Overall the Warden has really good tanking options with a lot of class skills to choose.

• Dungeon & Trial Build
• Warden Class
• Tank/ Support Setup
• Good sustain
• Good group support
• Good healing

Changes to the previous Version

Update 28 Markarth DLC brings the following changes to the build:

Major Breach:

• Increased to 5948, up from 5280.
• Major Breach now affects both Physical and Spell Resistance equally.

Resource Management

Bull Netch skill returns about 4800 Stamina over 24 seconds, the skill is free of cost and we still return stamina while blocking.

Nature’s Gift passive procs every time we heal someone and we get resources back.

Shimmering Shield also restores a bit of Magicka when you get hit by a projectile, on top of that you gain Major Heroism increasing your Ultimate regeneration like crazy.

Energy Orb is a skill that Healers use to throw into the group. You can use the synergy this skill provides to regain around 4000 resources. Our max Stamina is a bit higher than our Max Magicka, that is because you will get resources depending on your higher max Stamina or Magicka. And because we are a tank, Stamina is definitely more important.

Heavy Attacks restore a big amount of stamina, if you hit an off-balanced enemy it gives twice the amount back. You don’t need to permablock, try to find time to do Heavy Attacks in your rotation.

Potions are also a key to manage your resources well, I recommend using Tri-Stat potions to regain all three resources at the same time. Further below you will learn how to craft the right potions.

To increase our Magicka sustain, we want to make sure to use Spell Symmetry to manage our Magicka resources.

• Natures Gift passive
• Bull Netch
• Shimmering Shield
• Spell Symmetry
• Heavy Attacks
• Potions
• Orbs (Undaunted skill-line)

Choosing an Argonian as a race for your tank will also increase sustain due to the Resourceful racial passive.

Trials & Dungeons Setup

5x Ebon Armory, 5x Battalion Defender, 2x Engine Guardian on a Nord with Bewitched Sugar Skulls food.

• Unbuffed: Out of combat
• Buffed: Raid Target Dummy buffs, Ice Fortress and Tri-stat Potion were active.

Gear

Gear Setup 1

Lightning vs Frost Staff: You can use both options, a frost staff is better if you want to go the safe 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 gear sets you wear where, as long as you use those two combos, you should be fine.

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: Cryodiil, Guildstores
Engine Guardian: vDarkshade Cavern 2
Roar of Alkosh: Maw of Lorkhaj
Fortified Brass: Craftable
Torug’s Pact: Craftable
Night’s Silence: Craftable
Plague Doctor: Deshaan, Guildstore

Skills

• Fetcher Infection is also another skill you might want to consider, to apply Minor Vulnerablity to the enemy.
• Silver Leash can be used if you need something to pull monsters to you.

Skill explanation:

• Polar Wind: Can be used to support heal on this tank, both for you and a group member.
• Shimmering Shield: When you absorb a Projectile, you gain Major Heroism, increasing your Ultimate generation by a lot.
• Pierce Armor: Your main taunt, also debuffs the enemy with Major Fracture and Major Breach, reducing Spell and Physical Resistance by 5948.
• Heroic Slash: Debuffs the enemy with a 5% damage reduction debuff and also gives you Minor Heroism, increasing your Ultimate generation.
• Spell Symmetry: This gives you unlimited Magicka, just be careful when you activate it due to the Health loss.
• Enchanted Forest: Only use this Ultimate in case your group drops very low on health. Huge burst heal while ppl stand in that healing AoE.
• Leeching Vines: Keep this up all the time, very strong heal over time for you and your group.
• Bull Netch: Your most important stamina resource management tool, it is free cast and is active for a long time.
• Ice Fortress: Provided you with Major Ward and Resolve, increasing your Physical and Spell Resistance by 5948 plus another 5% damage mitigation from Minor Protection.
• Inner Rage: This is your ranged taunt, in case you can not get to a mob fast enough.
• Elemental Blockade: The Shock 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.

Champion Points

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!

Champion Points [810]

The Ritual
40 Thaumaturge, 34 Precise Strikes, 43 Mighty
The Atronach
2 Physical Weapons Expert, 31 Master-at-Arms
The Apprentice
75 Blessed, 44 Elfborn, 1 Spell Erosion
The Shadow
81 Shadow Ward, 61 Tumbling
The Lover
43 Tenacity
The Tower
56 Warlord, 21 Bashing Focus, 8 Sprinter
The Lord
19 Quick Recovery, 11 Heavy Armor Focus
The Lady
56 Hardy, 56 Elemental Defender, 56 Thick Skinned
The Steed
72 Ironclad

Champion Points [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

Champion Points [300]

The Ritual
The Attronarch
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 Warden 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 is a good Mundus Stone to increase maximum Health. However, you can also use other available Mundus Stones if you don’t need the extra Health.

The Lord (Max Health)

Race

You can find more about racial passives in the ESO Race Overview page.

Nord (Fast ultimate generation, extra resistances)
Argonian (Best sustain)
Imperial
Orc
Redguard
Dark Elf

Potions

For hard content I recommend using crafted or crown store Tri-Stat potions.

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

Passives

• Animal Companion: Bond with Nature, Savage Beast, Flourish, Advanced Species
• Green Balance: Accelerated Growth, Nature’s Gift, Emerald Moss, Maturation
• Winter’s Embrace: Glacial Presence, Frozen Armor, Icy Aura, Piercing Cold
• One Hand and Shield: Fortress, Sword and Board, Deadly Bash, Deflect Bolts, Battlefield Mobility
• Destruction Staff: Tri Focus, 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
• 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.

10 Magicka, 54 Health, 0 Stamina

Update Log

Related Topics

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