“You are an unstoppable force of nature. Even the thoughest of enemies won’t get you down. These sacred texts will guide you on your journey to become the best Tank in Tamriel.” 

TANKING : A BRIEF SUMMARY 

Tanking is often the most daunting of tasks in this game, but it doesn’t need to be. While there is a lot that goes into tanking, it can be briefly summed up in one sentence : Taunt the boss and adds to protect your group. The main goal of a tank is to protect your group and make it easier for them to clear the content that you are doing. This guide will cover everything you should know as a Tank, along with some helpful tips and tricks.

WHY IS A GOOD TANK IMPORTANT?

The answer to this question is pretty self explanatory. If you faily to taunt the enemies or die during a fight, your enemies will wreak havoc upon your team. If the tank goes down, nine times out of ten your group will wipe unless you have some very good recovery. This becomes very clear when attempting the harder in the content in this game, like (veteran) trials and dungeons. Therefore it is extremely important to master your role as a tank. This sounds rather stressful, but I promise you that it gets easier the more you play as a Tank.

TANKING : WHAT TO DO AND WHAT TO AVOID

Tanks have a lot of responsibility in this game, but also things they should never ever do. (edited)

Here is what a Tank should do :

> Taunt the enemies. This includes adds, bosses and the like. Try to stack your enemies on top of eachother, so that your group can easily kill them.

> Face enemies away from the group. Following up on the previous point, you always want to face away the enemies from the group.

> You can take the hits as a Tank, but the DD’s and Healers cannot.
> Know the mechanics of the content. More so than any role, Tanks need to know what they are doing. Some attacks need to be blocked, whereas others need to be avoided.

> Know the difference. If unsure, ask your Raid Leader to explain.

Here is what a Tank should NEVER do :

> Run around like a headless chicken. The more you move around, the harder it is for your group to kill your enemies and the more likely they are to take damage. Stand your ground and show your enemies what you are made off.
> Resurect other players. While you can take a hit or two, you drop your block and are unable to use any skills when resurecting someone, meaning the boss will attack you and this will result in your demise. Leave resurecting people to the DD’s in the group. If you are a Necromancer with a resurection Ultimate, this is the only viable reason to resurect people, as it’s an ability and doesn’t take any time away from taunting and blocking.

TANKING : PROPER POSITIONING

This section is more or less in line with our Damage Dealers College, but with emphasis on the position of the Tank. As you can see in the picture below (source : Healers Haven), you face the boss away from your group and your DD’s and Healers stack behind it. Try to stick to this as much as you can to ensure you and the rest of your group recieve sufficient heals. Always stay IN FRONT of your group, so that all incoming attacks are focussed on you instead of your group.

TANKING : WHAT CLASS TO PICk

While any class in the game is able to be a Tank, there are a few who have a significant advantage over other classes

Dragonknight : By far the easiest class to be a Tank in. Not only does it have amazing resource management and innate tankiness, it easy access to ranged taunts, shields and crowd control. It also has access to some amazing group buffs in the form of Igneous Weapons, giving your group 20% extra damage for a full minute. As an added bonus, you get ALL your resources back when you use an Ultimate ability, ensuring amazing sustain

Arcanist : the newest class in ESO, the Arcanist provides a plethora of buffs for your group and debuffs for your enemy, along with some amazing shields and heals. The Crux system does take some getting used to, but once you master it, it makes for an amazing Tank.

Necromancer : The Necromancer is the most used class for a secondary tank (also know as ‘off tank’). Like the Arcanist and Dragonknight, the buffs and debuffs they provide are amazing. On top of that, they have amazing Ultimate generation and their ultimates are extremely useful. You can summon a colossus that debuffs your enemies or use an Ultimate that brings your dead teammates back to life. The self healing can be a bit more tricky, but it’s a very good option for Tanks in end-game content

TANKING : WHAT RACE TO PICK

While the racial differences are minimal, here are the best races for Tanks

Nord : They have extra Health, Stamina and Resistances, making it a top tier race for a Tank.
Breton : Extra Magicka, Spell Resistance and extra Magicka Recovery, making sustain a bit easier.

TANKING : ATTRIBUTES

You have a little bit of flexibility here. If you are starting out, it’s handy to put all 64 points into Health so you are more survivable. You can adjust accordingly, but here are some baselines you should meet as a tank :
> Magicka : 18k+
> Health : 38-39K+
> Stamina : 18K+
Physical/Spell Resistance : They are capped at 33K and a lot of skills buff these. If you can get to 33K, it’s at its max, anything above it is wasted

Depending on your race+ class combo, you might have more or less stats in each category, so adjust your points as needed

TANKING : MUNDUS STONE

In 99% cases, go with the Atronach. The Atronach gives you extra Magicka recovery, which is essential for a lot of your skills. If you run out of resources, you will be dead in an instant.

In general, there are only a few foods and potions you should consider using

TANKING : POTIONS

Tri Stat potions for resources. These can be crafted or you can use the ones from Daily Login rewards

TANKING : FOOD

For beginners, use Bewitched Sugar Skulls for the most resources. For advanced Tanks, use Orzagas Smoked Bear Haunch for the resource recovery

These are the essentials for a beginner tank. You might need to adjust depending on the content you will do, but these will serve you well.

Blue tree : Duelist’s Rebuff, Enduring Resolve, Reinforced, Ironclad. Also get all passives from the Staving Death node.
Red Tree : Boundless Vitality, Fortified, Mystic Tenacity, Bastion

As a Tank, you will need to have a couple of different sets on hand. Coordinate with the off tank on who wears what. Here are some must have sets for tanks. 

TANKING : ESSENTIAL SETS

Turning Tide
Crimson Oath’s Rive
Pearlescent Ward
Powerful Assault
Saxheel Champion

TANKING : MONSTER SETS

Tremorscale
Nazaray
Archdruid Devyric

There are several more options who are useful, but the sets mentioned above get used in 99% of content. As for enchantments and traits, see the chart below. It will mention some different sets from the ones listed in the guide as well. I would recommend following with the guide says, but the sets mentioned in the chart are okay too

Sources for a good Tank build are slim unfortunately, so consider the following sources :

The Tank Club : Your main source of information for beginner tanks : https://thetankclub.com/