Category: Best ESO Builds, Best Templar Builds, Tank Builds
This Templar Tank build for The Elder Scrolls Online does a fantastic job of debuffing enemies with Major Vulnerability AND Major Maim, plus provides plenty of options for sustain and healing!
What you will learn in this Tank build guide:
- The best item sets to use with the Templar Tank Build, and why they are important.
- How the skills work, synergies with the gear, and your rotation.
- The best consumables, race, and mundus, and most importantly, why you should select them.
This guide has been updated for The Elder Scrolls Online Update 51.
- Templar Class Overview
- Templar Tank Primary Sets
- Templar Tank Alternative Sets
- Advanced Gear Setup
- Beginner Gear Set Up
- Attributes
- Race
- Mundus Stones
- Food and Drink Buff
- Potions
- Skill Loadout
- Skill Explanation
- Skills and Rotation
- Passive Skills
- Class Mastery
- Champion Points
- Update Log
- How To Create Powerful ESO Builds
- More Templar Builds For ESO
Templar Class Overview
The Templar Class is an extremely powerful way to play in The Elder Scrolls Online. Templars have powerful Class Skill lines great for DPS, Healing, Tanking, and playing Solo. Templars are a great choice for any build due to their many great damage and defensive options.
Templar is a base game class, therefore no additional purchase is required to play this class. For a more detailed guide, be sure to review our ESO Templar Class Guide located here.
Templar Tank Primary Sets
Our main 5 piece set on this build is Turning Tide, which provides an extremely EASY proc while blocking that damages nearby enemies and applies Major Vulnerability, forcing them to take 10% increased damage!
The second set on this build, Powerful Assault is a simple option for buffing your group’s damage and is easily maintained on the backbar.
An amazing Monster Set for any tank build in general is Magma Incarnate which also buffs your groups damage and armor.
Finally, you may choose any front bar weapon you want but a favorite option for the extra Major Maim debuff is the Vateshran Hollows One Hand And Shield also known as Void Bash.
Turning Tide
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 1206 Maximum Health
(3 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Stamina
(4 items) Adds 1206 Maximum Health
(5 items) When you Block, you gain Flowing Water for 10 seconds, causing your next Bash attack to deal 3016 Magic Damage to up to 6 enemies in a 10 meter line, and apply Major Vulnerability for 10 seconds, increasing their damage taken by 10%. This effect can occur once every 15 seconds and scales off your Max Health.
Powerful Assault
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 1206 Maximum Health
(3 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Stamina
(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(5 items) When you cast an Assault ability while in combat, you and up to 5 group members within 12 meters gain 307 Weapon and Spell Damage for 15 seconds.
Magma Incarnate
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(1 item) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(2 items) When you heal yourself or a group member with a single target heal ability, grant the lowest Health group member within 28 meters Minor Courage and Minor Resolve, increasing their Weapon and Spell Damage by 215 and Armor by 2974 for 10 seconds. Daedric Energy will then bounce to a nearby group member within 8 meters, up to 3 times, applying Minor Courage and Minor Resolve for 10 seconds. This effect can occur once every 15 seconds.
Void Bash
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) When you deal damage with Power Bash, you apply Call of the Void to yourself for 2 seconds. Enemies within 12 meters are immediately pulled to you. After Call of the Void ends, you apply Major Maim to enemies in the area for 10 seconds, reducing their damage done by 10%. This effect can occur once every 13 seconds.
Templar Tank Alternative Sets
For alternatives, there are many beginner sets that can also work that are easier to obtain, including the Ebon Armory set which buffs your entire group’s maximum Health and Torug’s Pact for empowering your weapon enchants. Also a great, easy-to-obtain Monster Set for beginners is the Bloodspawn set.
Ebon Armory
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 1206 Maximum Health
(3 items) Adds 1206 Maximum Health
(4 items) Adds 4% Healing Taken
(5 items) Increases your Maximum Health by 1000 for you and up to 11 other group members within 28 meters of you.
Torug’s Pact
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 1487 Armor
(3 items) Adds 1206 Maximum Health
(4 items) Adds 1487 Armor
(5 items) Decreases weapon enchantment cooldown by 33% and increases non Oblivion Damage weapon enchantment potency by 45%.
Bloodspawn
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(1 item) Adds 129 Stamina Recovery
(2 items) When you take damage, you have a 6% chance to generate 13 Ultimate and increase your Physical Resistance and Spell Resistance by 3731 for 5 seconds. This effect can occur once every 5 seconds.
Templar Tank Advanced Gear Setup
| Weapon/Armor | Set | Trait | Weight | Glyph |
| Main Hand | Void Bash One Hand And Shield | Decisive / Sturdy | NA | Absorb Stamina / Prismatic |
| Backup | Powerful Assault Ice Staff | Infused | NA | Crusher Enchant |
| Head | Magma Incarnate | Sturdy | Medium | Prismatic |
| Shoulder | Magma Incarnate | Sturdy | Light | Prismatic |
| Chest | Turning Tide | Sturdy | Heavy | Prismatic |
| Waist | Turning Tide | Sturdy | Heavy | Prismatic |
| Gloves | Turning Tide | Sturdy | Heavy | Prismatic |
| Legs | Turning Tide | Sturdy | Heavy | Prismatic |
| Feet | Turning Tide | Sturdy | Heavy | Prismatic |
| Necklace | Powerful Assault | Infused | NA | Magic Recovery |
| Ring 1 | Powerful Assault | Infused | NA | Reduce Block Cost |
| Ring 2 | Powerful Assault | Infused | NA | Prismatic Reduce Cost |
Templar Tank Beginner Gear Set Up
| Weapon/Armor | Set | Trait | Weight | Glyph |
| Main Hand | Torug’s Pact One Hand And Shield | Decisive / Sturdy | NA | Absorb Stamina / Prismatic |
| Backup | Torug’s Pact Ice Staff | Infused | NA | Crusher Enchant |
| Head | Bloodspawn | Sturdy | Heavy | Prismatic |
| Shoulder | Bloodspawn | Sturdy | Heavy | Prismatic |
| Chest | Ebon Armory | Sturdy | Heavy | Prismatic |
| Waist | Ebon Armory | Sturdy | Heavy | Prismatic |
| Gloves | Ebon Armory | Sturdy | Heavy | Prismatic |
| Legs | Ebon Armory | Sturdy | Heavy | Prismatic |
| Feet | Ebon Armory | Sturdy | Heavy | Prismatic |
| Necklace | Torug’s Pact | Infused | NA | Magic Recovery |
| Ring 1 | Torug’s Pact | Infused | NA | Magic Recovery |
| Ring 2 | Torug’s Pact | Infused | NA | Reduce Block Cost |
Best Templar Tank Attributes
In ESO, having Max health is the most important for a tank. Therefore use all 64 attribute points into health. Anything in the range of 35,000 to 40,000 Health should be more than enough for most content. Depending on your Race passives you may need to put all Attribute points into Health to achieve this value. If you have extra Attribute Points to spare you may distribute them to Magicka and Stamina.
Secondly, you will need stamina as the next highest resource. ESO uses a hybrid system where synergies will restore resources based on your HIGHEST stat. Therefore, you block with stamina, and you want to restore stamina when using synergies. Make sure it’s slightly higher than magicka, you can use one or more glyphs or redistribute attributes slightly depending on your race choice.
0 Magicka
64 Health
0 Stamina
Best Templar Tank Race
Nord reigns as the top Tank race in ESO, principally thanks to the Rugged passive, which facilitates reaching the 33,100 Resistance cap. The passive alone translates to 7% damage mitigation, crucial for challenging encounters. Additionally, Nord’s boast big Health and Stamina pools along with increased Ultimate-generation. Pick Nord if you care about performance and optimization.
Pick a race that compliments your build and your end goal with the character. If you intend to swap back and forth between healing, damage, and tanking then your racial selection could change.
Other race considerations for tanking:
- Imperial: best raw stats due to 2,000 max health and stamina plus reduces all your ability cost by 6%!
- Orc: adds max health, max stamina, and movement speed plus weapon and spell damage, good if you intend to PvP with character.
- Redguard: incredible stamina sustain but lacks max health.
- Dark Elf: Adds magicka and stamina, fire resist and weapon and spell damage, good if you like to DPS and tank with one character.
- Argonian: adds max health, stamia, magicka, healing done, and resources resourcse when you drink a potion, ideal if you want to tank or heal with one character.
For more details on all ESO Races and passive bonuses be sure to check out our Full ESO Race Guide.
Best Templar Tank Mundus Stones
The best Mundus Stone for a Tank is the Atronach due to the increase in magicka regeneration. This might seem odd, but at a high level in tanking, you use Magicka for skills and Stamina for blocking. Therefore, if you run out, there goes your ability to cast skills, buff allies, and taunt. Below are some other helpful choices in Mundus Stone:
- The Lady: increases resistance, good if below 30,000 buffed with Major Resolve active.
- The Lord: increases max health, good depending on your race if you cannot reach 30,000 health.
Best Templar Tank Food and Drink Buff
The best food for a tank is Bewitched Sugar Skulls because it increases all three stat pools. Make sure your stamina is higher than Magicka so synergies restore stamina. An alternative to Bewitched Sugar Skulls is Longfin Pasty with Melon Sauce. This is purple quality, cheaper, same buff to three stat pools just cheaper overall.
Below are the ingredients for the Food choices:
- Bewitched Sugar Skulls: Scrib Jelly, Flour, Columbine, Bervez Juice, and Honey.
- Longfin Pasty with Melon Sauce: fish fruit, melon vegetable, greens, and Frost Mirriam.
Bewitched Sugar Skulls
Increase Max Health by 4620, Max Stamina and Magicka by 4250, and Health Recovery by 462 for 2 hours.
These effects are scaled based on your level.
Best Templar Tank Potions
The best potions are the “Tri-Potions” which restores health, magicka, and stamina. Moreover, this potion buffs your resource sustain to each stat pool helping your sustain. Make sure to unlock and max out the Alchemy skill Medicinal Use. This passive increases the duration of your potions effects. Essentially, the duration last 47.5 seconds with a cooldown of 45 seconds. Therefore, this passive becomes critical to obtain to keep higher uptime on buffs.
Alternatively, in high end trials, players run Heroism Potions. These potions grant Minor Heroism, restoring 1 Ultimate every 1.5 seconds for 47.5 seconds. Crafting Heroism potions are extremely expensive, but should be considered if running Veteran and or Hard Mode trials.
Tri-Stat Potions
Templar Tank Skill Loadout
Main Weapon: ONE HAND AND SHIELD – Click on a Skill Name to learn more
Backup Weapon: ICE STAFF – Click on a Skill Name to learn more
Templar Tank Skill Explanation
Front Bar – One Hand and Shield Explanation
- Pierce Armor: melee taunt that cost stamina and inflicts two armor debuffs minor and major breach.
- Heroic Slash: debuffs enemy with minor maim and grants you minor heroism.
- Power Slam: useful damage tool that can also pull in enemies depending on gear sets.
- Living Dark or Extended Ritual: use Living Dark for more survivability, or Extended Ritual for group utility and healing.
- Repentance: uses corpses to restore heal and stamina plus gain minor resource sustain while slotted.
- ULT: Replenishing Barrier: AOE defensive ultimate that gives a shield and when they resolve you restore magicka and ultimate.
Back Bar – Ice Staff Explanation
- Elemental Blockade: used as strong AOE damage over time that triggers status effects
- Pulsar: deals AOE damage in 360 radius, reducing enemies health and provides a buff depending on type of staff.
- Destructive Clench: 15 meter range that converts into a new effect, with Ice Taunts and debuffs enemies damage.
- Restoring Focus: grants you armor buff, stamina sustain, and healing.
- Echoing Vigor: stamina heal over time that heals allies and can trigger sets and skills
- ULT: Aggressive War Horn: burst team ultimate, boost max stats and grants 20% more critical damage for 10 seconds.
Templar Tank Skills and Rotation
Buffs: Restoring Focus and Extended Ritual. Cast Echoing Vigor on cooldown to buff the Powerful Assault set.
Debuffs: Be sure to debuff enemies using Pierce Armor to reduce resistances as well as Heroic Slash to reduce damage and increase Ultimate. Follow this up with a Power Bash to proc the Void Bash set, which pulls in enemies and further debuffs with Major Maim.
Cast Elemental Blockade to maintain the Crusher enchant, then cast Pulsar to immobilize enemies.
Templar Tank Passive Skills
Class Passives
Weapon Passives
- Fortress
- Sword And Board
- Deadly Bash
- Deflect Bolts
- Battlefield Mobility
- Penetrating Magic
- Elemental Force
- Ancient Knowledge
- Destruction Expert
Armor Passives
Guild Passives
Racial
Other
ESO Templar Tank Class Mastery
Players that reach level 50 in ESO while also fully reaching Rank 50 for their class skill lines and not subclassing can use 2 Class Mastery passives to improve their build. For the Templar Tank build I recommend Devout Guardian which gives you a damage shield while Sacred Ground is active which also provides 300 Health, Magicka, and Stamina Recovery as well as 10 Ultimate if the shield breaks, along with Steadfast Candescence which causes Sacred Ground to active while Bracing and increases the amount of damage you can block while stationary.
Devout Guardian
Radiant is the shield that pushes back the dark.
Effect
While Sacred Ground is active, you gain a damage shield for 6 seconds, up to once every 6 seconds. The shield absorbs up to 4765 damage and provides 300 Health, Magicka, and Stamina Recovery while active. If the shield breaks, you gain 10 Ultimate.
Steadfast Candescence
Your conviction is unwavering. Light gives no quarter.
Effect
Sacred Ground now activates and refreshes itself while Bracing. Increases the amount of damage you can block by 20% while stationary.
Champion Points
Below you will find the recommended Active and Passive Champion Point Stars for this build, broken down into 300, 600, 900, and 1200 CP ranges.
For more information on Champion Points click on a Star name below or browse our detailed Champion Points Guides.
Constellation Descriptions:
Craft TREE
The Green Craft Constellation is focused on crafting and utility-centered upgrades.
Warfare TREE
The Blue Warfare Constellation focuses primarily on increasing player damage, healing and defenses
Fitness TREE
The Red Fitness Constellation is focused on character survival and sustain.
– 300 Champion Points –
GREEN
BLUE
RED
– 600 Champion Points –
GREEN
- 50 Steed’s Blessing (Slot)
- 50 Gilded Fingers
- 10 Fortune’s Favor
- 10 Wanderer
- 50 Steadfast Enchantment
- 30 Rationer
BLUE
- 20 Tireless Discipline
- 20 Quick Recovery
- 20 Preparation
- 20 Hardy
- 20 Elemental Aegis
- 50 Duelist’s Rebuff (Slot)
- 50 Unassailable (Slot)
RED
- 50 Boundless Vitality (Slot)
- 20 Tireless Guardian
- 30 Fortification
- 16 Hasty
- 20 Sprinter
- 20 Hero’s Vigor
- 50 Fortified (Slot)
– 900 Champion Points –
GREEN
- 50 Steed’s Blessing (Slot)
- 50 Gilded Fingers
- 10 Fortune’s Favor
- 10 Wanderer
- 50 Steadfast Enchantment
- 30 Rationer
- 50 Treasure Hunter
- 30 Master Gatherer (Slot)
- 20 Gifted Rider (Slot)
BLUE
- 20 Tireless Discipline
- 20 Quick Recovery
- 20 Preparation
- 20 Hardy
- 20 Elemental Aegis
- 50 Duelist’s Rebuff (Slot)
- 50 Unassailable (Slot)
- 50 Enduring Resolve (Slot)
- 50 Bulwark (Slot)
RED
- 50 Boundless Vitality (Slot)
- 20 Tireless Guardian
- 30 Fortification
- 16 Hasty
- 20 Sprinter
- 20 Hero’s Vigor
- 50 Fortified (Slot)
- 30 Tumbling
- 20 Defiance
- 50 Juggernaut (Slot)
– 1200 Champion Points –
GREEN
- 50 Steed’s Blessing (Slot)
- 50 Gilded Fingers
- 10 Fortune’s Favor
- 10 Wanderer
- 50 Steadfast Enchantment
- 30 Rationer
- 50 Treasure Hunter
- 30 Master Gatherer (Slot)
- 50 Gifted Rider (Slot)
- 75 War Mount (Slot)
BLUE
- 20 Tireless Discipline
- 20 Quick Recovery
- 20 Preparation
- 20 Hardy
- 20 Elemental Aegis
- 50 Duelist’s Rebuff (Slot)
- 50 Unassailable (Slot)
- 50 Enduring Resolve (Slot)
- 50 Bulwark (Slot)
- 20 Eldritch Insight
- 20 Blessed
- 20 Flawless Ritual
- 20 Battle Mastery
- 20 Precision
RED
- 50 Boundless Vitality (Slot)
- 20 Tireless Guardian
- 30 Fortification
- 16 Hasty
- 20 Sprinter
- 20 Hero’s Vigor
- 50 Fortified (Slot)
- 30 Tumbling
- 20 Defiance
- 50 Juggernaut (Slot)
- 6 Nimble Protector
- 50 Bracing Anchor (Slot)
Update Log
- June 8, 2026 – created Class Mastery passives section
- May 6, 2026 – Updated Green Champion Points
How To Create Powerful ESO Builds
Crafting the Perfect Build for you in The Elder Scrolls Online can be frustrating. Which skills are best for each class? What about passives? The best race? The best armor type and weapons? The best trait and glyphs? There are literally THOUSANDS of different options!
This is why we created the ESO Zero To Hero Build Academy – A Simple, yet Powerful build system that teaches the fundamentals of ESO Theorycrafting, step-by-step.
Build your character exactly how YOU want by following this simple process from start to finish and FINALLY start enjoying ESO the way you want to play it!
Our Guides are designed with New and Intermediate players in mind! Stop wasting hours searching the internet for the best ESO build information – get what you need NOW to succeed!
More Templar Builds For ESO
Want more Templar Builds? Check out our dedicated Templar Builds overview page for even more great options!
