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Beginner’s Nightblade Tank Build for The Elder Scrolls Online

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Categories The Elder Scrolls Online Nightblade Builds

Welcome to the Beginner’s Nightblade Tank Build/Guide for Elder Scrolls Online (ESO). This guide will teach you the basics of building a Nightblade Tank and provide you with the necessary tools to start your journey as a formidable tank in ESO.

This build is designed for players new to the tanking role and focuses on survivability, crowd control, and easy gear acquisition.

Race Selection:

While any race can be a Nightblade Tank, the following races have passives that make them more suitable for the role:

  • Nord: Max Stamina, Max Health, and Damage Reduction
  • Argonian: Max Health, Healing Received, and Potion effectiveness
  • Imperial: Max Health, Max Stamina, and Cost Reduction

Attribute Points:

  • Allocate all 64 points into Health to maximize survivability. This can be changed later as you adapt and get better gear and stats.

Mundus Stone:

  • The Lord (Max Health) or The Atronach (Magicka Recovery)

Food and Potions:

  • Food: Tri-stat food (Max Health, Magicka, and Stamina)
  • Potions: Tri-stat potions or basic health/magicka/stamina potions

Skills:

The skill setup for a beginner Nightblade Tank is as follows:

Bar 1 – One Hand and Shield:

  1. Puncture (Taunt) – Morph to Pierce Armor
  2. Heroic Slash – Morph to Low Slash
  3. Absorb Magic – Morph to Defensive Posture
  4. Mirage – Morph to Blur
  5. Leeching Strikes – Morph to Siphoning Strikes
  6. Ultimate: Bolstering Darkness – Morph to Veil of Blades

Bar 2 – One Hand and Shield:

  1. Inner Rage (Taunt) – Morph to Inner Beast
  2. Lotus Fan – Morph to Teleport Strike
  3. Dark Cloak – Morph to Shadow Cloak
  4. Refreshing Path – Morph to Path of Darkness
  5. Sap Essence – Morph to Drain Power
  6. Ultimate: Aggressive Warhorn – Morph to Sturdy Warhorn

Champion Points

As a beginner, focus on the following CP allocation to improve your tanking abilities. Keep in mind that these allocations may change as you progress and experiment with different playstyles. Note that the CP cap is 3600, but this guide assumes you have 1800 CP available.

Craft (Green):

  1. Slot 1: Steed’s Blessing – 50 points
  2. Slot 2: Breakfall – 50 points
  3. Slot 3: Wanderer – 50 points

Warfare (Red):

  1. Slot 1: Boundless Vitality – 50 points (Slot Unlock at 1200 CP)
  2. Slot 2: Fortified – 50 points
  3. Slot 3: Rejuvenation – 50 points
  4. Slot 4: Tireless Guardian – 50 points (Slot Unlock at 1800 CP)

Spend remaining points in:

  • Preparation (up to 50 points)
  • Ironclad (up to 50 points)
  • Elemental Aegis (up to 50 points)
  • Hardy (up to 50 points)
  • Quick Recovery (up to 50 points)
  • Bastion (up to 50 points, if you use damage shields)

Fitness (Blue):

  1. Slot 1: Tumbling – 50 points
  2. Slot 2: Mystic Tenacity – 50 points
  3. Slot 3: Hero’s Vigor – 50 points
  4. Slot 4: Defiance – 50 points (Slot Unlock at 1200 CP)
  5. Slot 5: Hasty – 50 points (Slot Unlock at 1800 CP)

Spend remaining points in:

  • Sprinter (up to 50 points)
  • Tireless Discipline (up to 50 points)
  • Relentless Focus (up to 50 points)
  • Fortification (up to 50 points)
  • Piercing Gaze (up to 50 points)

Remember that the Champion Points system is flexible, and you can redistribute your points as you gain more experience and adapt to different situations. The allocation provided here is a starting point for a beginner Nightblade Tank, and you should feel free to experiment with other allocations as you progress through the game.

Passives

  • One Hand and Shield: All passives
  • Heavy Armor: All passives
  • Light Armor: Recovery and Evocation passives
  • Medium Armor: Wind Walker and Athletics passives
  • Nightblade: All passives in Assassination, Shadow, and Siphoning
  • Undaunted: Undaunted Command and Undaunted Mettle
  • Racial: All passives for your chosen race

Gear:

As a beginner, your priority should be to acquire easy-to-obtain gear that provides good bonuses. Here’s a beginner-friendly gear setup:

  • 5x Plague Doctor (Deshaan overland or Guild Traders)
  • 5x Ebon Armory (Crypt of Hearts dungeon)
  • 2x Monster Set: Lord Warden (Imperial City Prison) or Engine Guardian (Darkshade Caverns II)

Traits and Enchantments:

  • Armor: Infused (big pieces) and Sturdy (small pieces) with Health enchantments
  • Weapons: Defending on both one-handed weapons with Absorb Stamina and Crusher enchantments
  • Shields: Sturdy or Reinforced with Health enchantments
  • Jewelry: Healthy or Triune with Block Cost Reduction or Magicka Recovery enchantments

This beginner’s Nightblade Tank build is designed to help you learn the basics of tanking in ESO. As you progress, you’ll be able to experiment with different sets, skills, and playstyles to find the perfect tank build for your playstyle.

Remember to communicate with your group, adapt to different situations, and always strive to improve your gameplay. Tanking is a rewarding and essential role in ESO, and with practice and patience, you’ll become a reliable and effective Nightblade Tank.

As you gain experience, explore more advanced builds and strategies to further optimize your tanking capabilities. Happy tanking!