Up next in 10
Welcome to the Werewolf Tank Build for ESO in 2026!
What was once considered a meme Tank playstyle has evolved into one of the most defensive, self-sustaining and surprisingly powerful Tank builds in The Elder Scrolls Online.
Thanks to the Werewolf Refresh and new Class Mastery system, Werewolf Tanks now have access to incredible survivability, strong group utility, excellent sustain and a simple one-bar playstyle that's easy to learn while still being effective in challenging content.
I've personally used this build for:
🛡 Veteran Dungeons & Hard Modes
🛡 Veteran Trials
🛡 Infinite Archive
🛡 Even some Battlegrounds and PvP fun
This build is ideal for:
🛡 Players looking for an easy-to-play Tank
🛡 Tanks wanting a unique playstyle
🛡 Players who enjoy self-sustaining builds
🛡 Anyone who wants to become incredibly difficult to kill
Now to be clear, this is not designed to replace traditional endgame Trial Tank setups.
The biggest limitation of Werewolf Tanking is the lack of a ranged taunt, which can make certain Trial encounters and highly optimised raid groups less practical.
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
The most defensive, self-sustaining,
0:03
self-reliant, and honestly one of the
0:05
easiest tank play styles in The Elder
0:07
Scrolls online isn't even a class. It's
0:10
actually the werewolf tank. And you
0:13
probably won't believe just how
0:14
unbelievably strong this thing has
0:17
become.
0:22
Welcome back to the tank club. The
0:25
werewolf refresh is here and in an
0:27
absolutely ridiculous turn of events,
0:30
the werewolf tank is now arguably one of
0:32
the strongest tank play styles in The
0:35
Elder Scrolls online from the player
0:37
perspective. What used to feel more like
0:40
a fun meme play style has suddenly
0:42
become a genuinely powerful,
0:45
well-rounded, and incredibly easy one
0:47
bar tank build that can survive insane
0:50
amounts of pressure while still bringing
0:52
useful group buffs, strong sustain, and
0:55
surprisingly some decent damage as well.
0:58
Now, we do need to rein in the
0:59
expectations slightly, however, because
1:01
even though werewolf tanks are genuinely
1:03
very strong to actually play, you
1:05
probably still won't find many fully
1:07
optimized end game groups actively
1:09
looking for one. The main reason for
1:11
that is simple. It's because a lot of
1:13
group utility can overlap depending on
1:15
your group's composition, but more
1:17
importantly, they lack a range taunt,
1:20
which is incredibly important,
1:22
especially for things like trials. So,
1:24
yes, werewolf tanks are absolutely
1:27
viable. Yes, they are genuinely strong.
1:31
And yes, they absolutely provide useful
1:34
group buffs. But are they going to
1:35
replace fully optimized end game trial
1:37
tank setups? Obviously not. And
1:40
realistically, the lack of a range taunt
1:42
is probably the single biggest thing
1:44
holding them back from wider adoption.
1:46
But from the actual player experience
1:48
side of things, these things are
1:50
honestly ridiculous. The werewolf
1:53
refresh, combined with the The class
1:55
mastery system, has completely changed
1:58
how werewolf tanking performs. Sustain
2:00
is massively improved, survivability is
2:03
through the roof, and passive bonuses
2:06
are significantly stronger than before.
2:08
And the entire build now flows into a
2:11
very simple but incredibly effective one
2:14
bar play style. Now, there are still
2:16
weaknesses in the werewolf toolkit. You
2:18
don't naturally have chains, you don't
2:20
naturally have range taunts, some
2:21
situations can feel awkward compared to
2:24
traditional tank setups. But a
2:25
surprising amount of those problems can
2:27
be resolved through gear choices. The
2:30
refresh also introduces a couple of new
2:32
systems that change how the werewolf
2:34
plays. First is the fury system. This is
2:37
the small blue meter underneath your
2:40
magicka bar, and once it fills up, your
2:42
werewolf ultimate changes into enduring
2:45
rampage. You can then recast your
2:48
ultimate to enter a massively empowered
2:51
state, which increases your damage, your
2:53
movement speed, it makes werewolf
2:55
abilities free for 20 seconds, and it
2:58
gives you a huge 4,000 health recovery
3:00
boost. And this is where the build
3:02
starts to become pretty absurd, because
3:04
those 20 seconds of free abilities allow
3:06
you to aggressively spam healing,
3:08
sustain, and utility skills. There's
3:11
also blood hunger, which works somewhat
3:13
similarly to the arcanist crux system,
3:16
where certain abilities build up stacks,
3:19
while others consume them for additional
3:21
power and effects. Now, as a tank, you
3:24
don't actually get a huge amount of
3:25
flexibility here, because naturally, you
3:27
want to run the strongest defensive and
3:29
utility focused werewolf abilities.
3:32
Meaning your setup will focus on using
3:34
several blood hunger generators
3:35
alongside the one spender skill that is
3:38
useful for a tank. So, with all that
3:40
said, let's get into the full details of
3:43
this werewolf tank build for update 50.
3:46
And just a quick shoutout to Archangel
3:47
from the Tank Club Discord for helping
3:49
with testing and information. That's
3:51
really helped shape this build. First,
3:54
we're looking at class choice, and this
3:56
is a tough part. So, werewolf itself
3:58
isn't a class, which means you still
4:00
fully benefit from your base class
4:02
passives and your class mastery system.
4:05
Because of that, there are actually some
4:06
really strong options depending on
4:08
whether you want pure survivability,
4:09
sustain, or more group utility. Starting
4:13
with the overall best option in my
4:15
opinion, the arcanist werewolf tank
4:17
gives you a really strong middle ground
4:19
between self power and group support.
4:22
You gain increased damage, sustain, and
4:24
recovery from the arcanist passives, but
4:27
the biggest thing here is the Inscribe's
4:29
morph class mastery passive. This allows
4:31
you to generate crux while healing or
4:33
overhealing yourself, which then
4:35
provides major force to the group. And
4:38
this is incredibly easy to maintain as a
4:40
werewolf because three of your five
4:42
abilities are constantly healing you.
4:45
You can easily get over an 85% up time
4:48
of major force. The necromancer is
4:50
another extremely strong group-focused
4:52
option. While the standard passives
4:54
gives you increased dot damage, max
4:56
health, and healing done, the real
4:57
reason to play a necromancer is for the
5:00
class mastery passive again, which
5:02
extends major vulnerability by 50%. This
5:05
means sets like Archdruid or Turning
5:08
Tide can maintain permanent major
5:10
vulnerability up time while playing as a
5:12
werewolf, which is honestly pretty
5:14
insane from a group damage perspective.
5:16
Warden is another solid support-focused
5:18
choice. You gain additional block
5:20
mitigation, and then from the class
5:22
mastery passives again, you can inflict
5:24
major brittle onto enemies, increasing
5:27
the critical damage that they take. And
5:29
because weapon enchants and traits still
5:31
work in werewolf form, you can run an
5:33
infused ice staff with a frost glyph to
5:36
consistently maintain that major brittle
5:38
up time very, very well. Now, if you
5:41
care more about your own survivability
5:43
and personal power, dragonknight is by
5:45
far the strongest selfish option
5:47
overall. You gain increased healing
5:50
taken, extra resistances, additional
5:52
block mitigation, health recovery, AoE
5:55
and dot damage, alongside extra critical
5:58
damage, and the class mastery system
6:00
further improves your block mitigation
6:02
and your stamina sustain. The DK
6:04
werewolf honestly just feels
6:06
ridiculously tanky and it is the easiest
6:09
to reach the resistance cap if you are
6:11
looking to do harder veteran content.
6:13
Sorcerer is another strong sustain
6:15
option with cost reduction, recovery,
6:18
ultimate cost reduction, and resource
6:20
passives, but the class mastery effects
6:22
themselves aren't very impactful for a
6:24
werewolf tank. Nightblade as well has
6:26
some decent damage and recovery
6:28
passives, but overall it doesn't bring
6:30
much value from a tank or group support
6:32
perspective compared to the other
6:34
options. And then there's the Templar
6:36
which can actually reach an absurd
6:37
amount of block mitigation, but that's
6:40
really about it. So overall, if you want
6:42
the strongest self-focused werewolf
6:44
tank, I would rank the Dragonknight at
6:46
the top by far. But if you want the best
6:48
overall combination of survivability,
6:51
utility, and group value, then I think
6:53
the Arcanist is currently one of the
6:55
strongest werewolf tank choices. So
6:58
let's get the actual build setup put
7:00
together starting with the core
7:02
character choices. For race, you really
7:05
want to be a Nord if you plan on tanking
7:08
veteran dungeons or trials with this
7:10
build. It's realistically the easiest
7:12
and most comfortable way to hit the
7:14
resistance cap while also gaining max
7:17
health and max stamina, which are both
7:19
incredibly valuable on a werewolf tank.
7:21
For food, Bewitched Sugar Skulls felt
7:24
like the overall best option. I did
7:26
experiment with recovery foods because
7:28
magicka recovery is especially important
7:30
on this build, but overall Sugar Skulls
7:33
felt far more balanced and consistent.
7:35
For potions, Tri-Stat potions are easily
7:38
the best overall choice giving you a
7:40
burst of all resources and improving all
7:44
of your sustains significantly.
7:46
Attributes are very simple. Put all 64
7:48
points into max health. The werewolf
7:51
skills scale massively from max health.
7:53
So, scaling health directly increases
7:55
your survivability, your healing, and
7:58
the overall strength of the build. For
8:00
the Mundus Stone, I mainly recommend
8:02
either the Atronach or the Lady,
8:05
depending on the content you are doing
8:07
and the class that you've chose to be.
8:09
For dungeons and easier content, the
8:11
Atronach can be used because the extra
8:13
magicka recovery helps sustain the
8:15
Hircine's fortitude skill, which is one
8:17
of your most important abilities for a
8:19
werewolf. But, for veteran trials and
8:22
harder DLC hard mode dungeons,
8:24
especially on non-Dragonknight classes,
8:27
you will be nowhere near the resistance
8:29
cap naturally. So, the Lady becomes
8:32
incredibly valuable. If you are not at
8:34
the 33.1k resistance cap in harder
8:36
content, those extra resistances are
8:39
usually going to help you far more than
8:41
the additional magicka recovery. Now,
8:43
let's move on to gear, and there are a
8:45
few different setups depending on both
8:47
the content you're doing and the
8:49
situations that you might be in. For
8:51
general ad pulls or bosses that have a
8:54
lot of ads, we need to solve one of the
8:56
werewolf's biggest weaknesses, which is
8:58
the lack of pulls and reliable AoE
9:00
breach application. For this reason, I
9:03
use the Rush of Agony gear set. This is
9:05
a medium armor set that we use on the
9:07
weapons and jewelry, and we need to
9:09
activate this by using the Feral Pounce
9:11
skill while we are 7 m or more away from
9:15
the enemies. This will then pull in and
9:17
chain all the enemies into one stack to
9:19
make it nice and easy for your group,
9:21
and it really resolves that one issue
9:22
that we have. This is then combined with
9:25
Crimson Oath's Rive, which applies a
9:27
large AoE armor reduction to enemies
9:30
around you. Now, Crimson Oath is a
9:32
little awkward on a werewolf because all
9:34
werewolf buffs are passive and not
9:37
activated through abilities, meaning
9:39
it's actually kind of difficult to proc
9:41
the Crimson Oath set consistently. Now,
9:43
the easiest solution to this is by using
9:46
both potions and poisons. Drinking a
9:49
potion will immediately activate Crimson
9:52
Oath, but obviously, you then have the
9:54
potion cool down to deal with, which is
9:56
45 seconds. So, one thing you do for
9:58
your amp will set up is you use three
10:01
infused jewelry with potion cool down
10:04
enchants, which lets you proc Crimson
10:06
Oath's rise much more consistently on
10:09
every single amp pull. Poisons are
10:11
another really good option. You would
10:12
only slot these for amp pulls, but you
10:15
specifically need a poison that provides
10:17
a major or minor buff. So, for example,
10:20
the speed draining poisons, they give
10:23
major expedition to you, they apply
10:25
minor maim to enemies, and they grant
10:27
major brutality. This would then
10:29
activate that Crimson Oath set, and this
10:31
procs from doing the light attacks,
10:33
which then activates your poison.
10:35
Finally, for this amp pull set up, we
10:37
would use the Archdruid monster set,
10:40
which activates from a heavy attack and
10:42
applies AoE major vulnerability. So,
10:45
overall, this set up gives the Werewolf
10:46
tank something it normally lacks, enemy
10:49
grouping, AoE penetration, and a strong
10:52
group debuff. If you are really
10:54
struggling to maintain that Crimson Oath
10:56
debuff, then the Lucent Echoes set is a
10:59
perfectly viable alternative. Now, for a
11:02
general set up and for dungeon bosses,
11:04
we need to change things slightly. So,
11:06
here I use the Lucent Echoes set
11:09
combined with Pearlescent Ward and
11:11
Archdruid for the monster set. Lucent
11:14
gives excellent group critical damage
11:16
support, while also making you
11:18
significantly tankier when you are low
11:20
health. And then Pearlescent Ward gives
11:22
both a group damage increase and
11:25
additional damage reduction if group
11:26
members start to die. Both of these sets
11:29
require no effort to maintain them, they
11:31
both work in werewolf form, and they're
11:33
both easy to manage. Then Archdruid once
11:36
again would provide that AoE major
11:37
vulnerability from heavy attacks. Now,
11:40
when we move into trials, things become
11:42
a little more complicated because group
11:45
optimization and composition are a big
11:48
thing here, which means there's a lot of
11:49
sets now that might not be as useful.
11:52
There are way more possible setups
11:54
because of the class mastery and
11:55
subclassing systems now. So, in all
11:58
situations, Leeching Echoes still does
12:00
remain pretty strong, although it could
12:02
become less impactful with major brittle
12:04
provided from a warden. But, that is the
12:06
first set we would use for a trial
12:08
setup. Then you would pair it with
12:10
something like Z'en's Masterpiece, which
12:12
provides max magicka and max stamina to
12:14
your group. That slightly improves group
12:17
DPS, but it also helps cover the loss of
12:20
the max stats you would normally get
12:22
from using Aggressive War Horn, which we
12:23
can't do on a werewolf build, but also
12:26
most groups do not need anymore because
12:28
the arcanist is providing major force
12:30
with such a high uptime already.
12:32
Pearlescent Ward is another option if
12:34
your off tank is not already using it.
12:36
Archdruid is still excellent here for
12:38
trials as well, but if your group
12:40
already has a proper necromancer or
12:42
they're using Turning Tide to maintain
12:45
major vulnerability, then you can
12:47
instead move on to something like a
12:49
one-piece Magma Incarnate to gain some
12:51
increased recovery and use this
12:54
alongside a mythic item, which can add
12:56
some extra sustain and utility. Now, for
12:59
mythics, there are two main options to
13:01
use on a werewolf tank. The first and
13:03
probably the overall best choice is the
13:05
Shapeshifter's Chain. This item is
13:08
designed specifically for werewolves,
13:10
giving a 15% skill cost reduction
13:12
alongside increased max stats, which
13:15
really helps your sustain. The second
13:17
option is the Death Dealer's Fate. This
13:20
gives huge extra max stats, and it
13:22
scales up during combat, which is
13:24
especially strong on werewolf because
13:25
many of your skills and heals,
13:27
especially, they scale directly from
13:28
your max health. The downside to the
13:30
Death Dealer's Fate is you constantly
13:32
lose and gain stacks depending on combat
13:35
up time. So, it does feel much better in
13:37
fast-paced combat when you're with a
13:38
really good group that are moving
13:40
quickly. If not, obviously, the
13:42
shapeshifter's chain is far better. For
13:44
armor weights, I do recommend five
13:46
heavy, one medium, one light wherever
13:47
possible. This just lets you maximize
13:49
the Undaunted passives while still
13:51
gaining useful bonuses and passives from
13:53
the armor skill lines. For your weapon
13:56
setup, you want to use an infused ice
13:58
staff with a Crusher enchant. Even
14:01
though you don't benefit from weapon
14:03
passives while a werewolf, your group
14:05
will still absolutely want the Crusher
14:07
up time provided by the tank, which is
14:09
still possible. And by having an ice
14:11
staff, it allows you to use the Bolwark
14:13
CP, but it also gives you that big
14:16
enchant. If you use a one-handed weapon,
14:18
it halves the enchant value. So, this is
14:20
really important. If you are playing as
14:22
a werewolf Warden tank specifically,
14:25
then using an infused ice staff with a
14:26
Frost enchant becomes essential for that
14:29
Major Brittle Class Mastery passive. For
14:31
armor traits, Sturdy is incredibly
14:34
important for a werewolf tank. The
14:36
werewolf block cost is naturally
14:38
extremely high, almost something like
14:40
1,700 base cost. And this is because you
14:43
cannot benefit from any weapon passives
14:46
when you are a werewolf. So, sustaining
14:48
block while also using stamina abilities
14:51
can become really challenging,
14:52
especially during things like ad pulls.
14:54
So, you should run your build with
14:56
mostly Sturdy enchants, if not a full
14:58
setup of them. But when you do move on
15:00
to that harder veteran content, you will
15:03
want to use Reinforced on the larger
15:04
pieces like the chest, head, and legs to
15:07
comfortably hit the resistance cap,
15:08
especially if you're not a Dragonknight.
15:10
If you do have two separate setups with
15:12
an ad pull setup and a boss setup,
15:15
definitely go for full Sturdy for your
15:17
ad pull setup, and then add those
15:19
Reinforced pieces in for those boss
15:21
setups. For armor enchants, tri-stat is
15:24
the best overall option, boosting all
15:27
max stats. For your jewelry, using three
15:29
infused magicka recovery is incredibly
15:32
strong because Hircine's fortitude is
15:34
both extremely expensive and one of the
15:37
most important skills for the entire
15:38
build, and it's your only magicka skill
15:40
as well. It provides huge self-healing,
15:43
massive stamina sustain, and if you are
15:45
playing as an arcanist, it also helps
15:47
constantly proc your class mastery major
15:50
force group buff. For your ad pull setup
15:52
though, you will want to use the three
15:54
infused potion cooldown jewelry just to
15:57
make sure you can drink a potion to
15:58
activate that Crimson Oath set. There is
16:01
a little bit of flexibility here where
16:02
you can run a bracing enchant if you do
16:05
decide not to heavily invest in the
16:07
sturdy traits because you will need to
16:09
bring down that block cost a bit because
16:11
1,700 stamina loss for each single block
16:15
is going to get a bit difficult to
16:16
maintain. So now let's move on to the
16:18
actual skill setup of the werewolf tank.
16:21
For the transformation ultimate, we
16:22
obviously use Pack Leader, which is very
16:25
clearly the tank morph. This will give
16:27
you a permanent major protection, 15%
16:30
block mitigation, 15% stamina recovery,
16:34
and permanent minor courage for the
16:36
whole group with 100% uptime and 0%
16:40
effort. You also summon two dire wolves
16:42
that deal additional damage, and then
16:45
during combat, your abilities will also
16:47
generate fury, which is the new system
16:50
we spoke about at the start of the
16:51
video. Once you hit 1,000 fury, you can
16:54
reactivate the ultimate to enter the
16:56
rampage state, gaining increased damage,
16:59
movement speed, free werewolf abilities
17:02
for 20 seconds, and then absolutely
17:04
massive 4,000 health recovery. The key
17:07
part of this is the free werewolf
17:09
abilities for 20 seconds. We're going to
17:12
use this window to quickly refresh all
17:14
of our abilities and then aggressively
17:16
spam her scenes fortitude to recover
17:19
stamina while constantly feeding the
17:21
Arcanist class mastery group buff. The
17:24
next skill we have is rip and tear,
17:26
which is one of the strongest and most
17:28
overloaded abilities for the werewolf.
17:30
This skill deals damage, applies major
17:33
breach, it applies the Sundered effect,
17:36
which means this also inflicts minor
17:37
breach, it deals bleed damage, and then
17:40
it also deals increased damage to
17:41
enemies under 25% health. On top of
17:45
that, it also gives a max health scaling
17:47
heal and consumes blood hunger stacks.
17:50
This is your one blood hunger spender
17:53
for even more damage and healing. And
17:55
most importantly for tanking, this
17:57
becomes your taunt when you cast it
18:00
while blocking. So, you have to hold
18:02
block, cast this skill, and it will
18:04
taunt the enemy. This skill also
18:06
basically becomes your main spammable
18:08
skill on boss fights. You're going to
18:10
want to have to recast it roughly every
18:12
4 seconds to continually apply the
18:15
guaranteed Sundered effect and maintain
18:18
that minor breach uptime while also
18:20
constantly triggering the additional
18:22
damage and healing. Next, we have feral
18:25
pounce, which turns into feral carnage
18:28
depending on your range from the enemy.
18:31
This is firstly your gap closer and
18:34
single target leap that applies bleed
18:36
damage and a hemorrhaging status effect.
18:39
The main reason we need to use this
18:41
skill is because it activates the Rush
18:43
of Agony gear set, which allows us to
18:46
AoE pull enemies together in a 12-m
18:48
radius, which is one of the biggest
18:50
weaknesses the werewolf normally has.
18:53
And by having a gap closer, it kind of
18:55
eliminates that urgency for the range
18:57
taunt. Just remember, however, you need
18:59
to be at least 7 m away from the target
19:02
for the leap aspect of this to work. So,
19:05
during ad pulls, this is often your
19:07
first skill aimed onto an ad that is at
19:10
the very center of the entire ad pull to
19:12
make sure everything else gets stacked
19:14
together. Feral Carnage is what this
19:17
skill turns into and is activated when
19:19
you are within 7 m of the enemy. It
19:22
deals strong execute style dot damage
19:25
against lower health enemies while also
19:27
restoring 200 stamina and generating
19:30
some fury. This skill should be used to
19:32
initiate fights and then used on cool
19:34
down to maintain that damage over time.
19:37
Next is Deafening Roar, which is another
19:39
incredibly important skill for the
19:41
werewolf tank. Ferocious Roar, which is
19:43
the other morph, gives major courage,
19:45
which is really nice, but we need to
19:47
have Deafening Roar because you need to
19:49
have this to enable Rip and Tear to have
19:52
the taunt effect. Without Deafening
19:54
Roar, you will not have a taunt skill.
19:56
So, Deafening Roar provides major
19:58
evasion and minor protection, giving
20:01
some really nice damage reduction, which
20:03
really helps with that survivability. It
20:05
also applies Off Balance, Major
20:07
Cowardice, and Major Maim, which heavily
20:10
reduces enemies damage output. On top of
20:13
all that, it provides your group with a
20:15
synergy that grants 30 seconds of Minor
20:18
Force, which is a strong DPS increase
20:21
for your group. This ability also AoE
20:24
fears enemies, making it your primary
20:27
crowd control tool for ad pulls. And
20:29
this is especially strong because feared
20:32
enemies don't actually deal any damage
20:34
for 4 seconds while they are locked in
20:36
place being feared. Be very careful when
20:38
casting this skill on bosses, however,
20:41
as it makes you drop your block for 0.3
20:43
seconds. So, you could be killed by a
20:46
heavy attack. One key thing to note here
20:48
is that a fear skill never used to work
20:52
until you pulled or chained an enemy,
20:54
but that is not the case any longer. So,
20:56
even when using the Rush of Agony set,
20:58
you can then follow that up with the
21:00
Deafening Roar skill to fear the enemies
21:02
after they've been chained in. Then we
21:04
have the Piercing Fortitude skill, which
21:07
is basically your entire sustain engine.
21:10
This is a huge max health scaling self
21:13
heal that also restores a massive amount
21:16
of stamina based on what your current
21:18
health is. Meaning the healthier that
21:20
you are, the stronger the stamina
21:22
restore becomes. Just slotting it also
21:25
gives passive major vitality for
21:27
increased healing received alongside
21:29
major brutality and major sorcery for
21:32
20% more weapon and spell damage. This
21:35
is your only magicka costing skill on
21:37
the entire build and you should use it
21:39
as often as physically possible. As an
21:41
Orkanist werewolf tank especially, you
21:43
want to spam this wherever possible
21:46
because the healing constantly helps you
21:48
proc the class mastery passive and
21:50
maintain a huge major force up time for
21:53
the group. And then finally, we have
21:56
blood claws. This gives us AoE damage, a
22:00
bleed damage over time, healing from the
22:02
initial hit and then a max health
22:05
scaling heal over time while the bleed
22:07
continues ticking on the enemies. We
22:09
also generate blood hunger stacks and it
22:12
has a chance to apply the Sundered and
22:14
the Hemorrhaging effects making it
22:16
another solid source of group debuffs
22:18
and pressure. This is best used to hit
22:20
everything and then left to run its
22:22
duration to gain the full healing and
22:24
damage over time value. Combined with
22:26
all of the healing already built into
22:28
the kit, this is one of the reasons the
22:30
werewolf tank becomes so hard to kill
22:32
once everything gets rolling. Now
22:34
looking at the werewolf passives, there
22:36
are a few absolutely massive ones here.
22:38
Obviously, you should just take them all
22:40
but master of the chase gives 20%
22:43
movement speed and restores
22:45
significantly more stamina from heavy
22:46
attacks, which does help sustain if you
22:49
need another way of doing that even
22:50
though we've already got a great source
22:51
of this already. Blood rage increases
22:54
fury generation and the fury gained from
22:56
werewolf abilities helping you reach
22:58
that rampage state much faster meaning
23:00
you can use that ultimate to get those
23:02
free werewolf abilities much more
23:04
frequently. It's almost possible because
23:06
of this to have that ultimate running
23:08
most of the time. So, by the time you've
23:11
used the ultimate and it's run its
23:12
duration, it's almost ready to cast
23:13
again. Then the feral cruelty passive
23:16
gives a huge 25% weapon and spell damage
23:19
bonus alongside major resolve, which is
23:22
a great value for you as a tank. For the
23:24
class mastery passives, we already
23:26
covered the class choice earlier in the
23:28
video. But for the Arcanist
23:30
specifically, we use unbound potential
23:33
for the 30% increased damage and then
23:35
the Inscribed Verve for that group major
23:37
force buff by overhealing. This allows
23:40
us to generate crooks and provide major
23:42
force to the group whenever we heal or
23:45
overheal 100k health. And because
23:47
werewolves constantly heal itself
23:49
through multiple abilities, maintaining
23:51
this is incredibly easy. Without even
23:54
really trying, I've been able to
23:55
maintain over an 85% uptime, which is
23:58
honestly a very solid group DPS
24:00
increase. The other class mastery buffs
24:03
aren't particularly useful specifically
24:05
for a werewolf tank. Outside of that,
24:07
for your passives, you'll also want all
24:09
of the standard ones. So, all of your
24:11
regular Arcanist passives, armor
24:13
passives, racial passives, undaunted,
24:16
and medicinal use. If you are limited on
24:18
skill points, especially pay attention
24:21
to the Arcanist passives that require
24:22
you to have a skill slotted or using a
24:25
skill that is the Arcanist skills
24:27
because then these passives won't work.
24:30
And then we move on to the champion
24:31
points. For warfare, I use Duelist's
24:34
Rebuff, Enduring Resolve, Ironclad, and
24:37
Bulwark. These all heavily reinforce
24:40
your survivability and direct damage
24:42
mitigation, which is exactly what this
24:44
build wants. For fitness, I use
24:46
Boundless Vitality, Fortified, and
24:48
Rejuvenation. And then for the fourth
24:51
slot, there are a few good options.
24:53
Strategic Reserve works incredibly well
24:56
because as a werewolf tank, you are
24:57
almost permanently sitting on Ultima,
25:00
which translates into a massive amount
25:02
of additional passive health recovery.
25:04
So, this just helps you top up that
25:05
health without even trying. And then,
25:08
especially when you think of all the
25:09
other things that add in health
25:10
recovery, it means that survivability
25:12
becomes even easier. But additionally to
25:14
that, you could use instead Bracing
25:16
Anchor, which is another strong option
25:18
if you want more block mitigation.
25:20
Although the movement speed penalty can
25:21
kind of feel rough when the werewolf is
25:23
usually very quick a quick maneuvering
25:25
thing. But then, there are things like
25:27
Slippery and Expert Evasion that are
25:29
surprisingly useful as well, especially
25:31
Slippery because in werewolf form, it
25:34
can sometimes be genuinely difficult to
25:36
notice when you are kind of rooted and
25:38
need to break free quickly. So, those
25:40
are some of the options you can use for
25:42
your Champion Points. So now, let's look
25:44
exactly at how this build works, how to
25:47
play it cuz this is where the werewolf
25:48
tank starts to feel very unique. The
25:50
gear setup is very important to make
25:52
sure the ad pulls work correctly because
25:55
one of the trickiest things with a
25:56
werewolf is that Ferocious Pounce only
25:58
really activates at that 7-m distance.
26:00
If you are too close, you won't be able
26:02
to leap and instead, you'll just use
26:04
Ferocious Carnage on the spot, which
26:06
means your Rush of Agony set never
26:08
actually activates. So, because of that,
26:10
you'll want to enter ad pulls by leaping
26:13
towards the most central enemy possible
26:15
first. This immediately activates that
26:17
Rush of Agony set and pulls enemies into
26:20
a tight stack around you. The moment
26:22
enemies are grouped, you then want to
26:24
use Defiling Roar, which fears the
26:26
enemies, crowd controls them, completely
26:28
stops them doing damage for 4 seconds.
26:31
And like I said before, the interesting
26:32
part is that the fear effect now works
26:34
after pulling enemies with Rush of
26:35
Agony, which wasn't the case previously.
26:38
Next, you'll want to heavy attack to
26:39
proc the Archdruid set and apply that
26:41
Major Vulnerability and then start light
26:44
attacking to try and trigger that
26:46
Crimson Oath set. Or you could drink a
26:48
potion to do so as well. Once enemies
26:50
are fully grouped together, this is the
26:52
perfect moment to hit all of them with
26:54
blood claws for the large AoE damage,
26:57
the bleed damage over time, and the
26:59
healing on yourself. At this point, you
27:01
simply hold block and start using rip
27:04
and tear to taunt enemies while
27:05
maintaining pressure with feral carnage
27:08
and using Hircine's fortitude whenever
27:10
you need sustain or additional healing.
27:13
Now, for boss fights, the play style
27:14
shifts very slightly. Here, your main
27:17
objective becomes maintaining your
27:18
debuffs, keeping your healing active,
27:21
and pushing as much major force uptime
27:22
as possible through that Arcanist class
27:24
mastery. To activate Inscribed Ward,
27:27
you'll need to generate 100k healing or
27:30
overhealing, which sounds like a lot,
27:32
but on a werewolf, it's actually
27:34
incredibly easy. You'll generally start
27:37
fights with feral pounce to immediately
27:39
engage a boss, and then hold block and
27:41
use rip and tear straight away to taunt
27:44
while also applying that major breach
27:46
and that Sundered effect for the minor
27:48
breach as well. After that, you use
27:50
deafening roar when it is safe to do so.
27:52
Remember, it does drop your block to
27:54
apply that major maim, major courage,
27:57
and provide the group's energy of major
27:59
force. Then, you want blood claws
28:01
running as consistently as possible
28:03
because it gives you constant healing
28:05
while also helping maintain better minor
28:07
breach uptime through the additional
28:08
Sundered procs. And from there, the
28:10
rotation becomes very fluid. You
28:12
continue using feral carnage for fury
28:15
generation, stamina sustain, and bleed
28:17
damage while repeatedly casting rip and
28:20
tear every 4 seconds both for damage and
28:23
its massive max health scaling heal, as
28:25
well as maintaining the minor breach
28:27
from that guaranteed Sundered effect.
28:29
And then, honestly, whenever you are not
28:31
actively refreshing another skill, you
28:33
are basically just spamming Hircine's
28:35
fortitude. And that ability is honestly
28:38
ridiculous. Not only does it massively
28:40
heal you, restore huge amounts of
28:43
stamina, making sustain very easy while
28:45
blocking, but because the healing
28:47
numbers are so high, it also constantly
28:49
helps maintain that Inscribed's Verve,
28:52
which means you are repeatedly feeding
28:54
major force to your group. This is what
28:56
makes the Arcanist version of this build
28:58
feel so strong, especially in organized
29:00
groups. Once you hit maximum fury,
29:03
activate your ultimate immediately and
29:05
refresh all of your abilities. During
29:07
this 20-second rampage window, your
29:09
werewolf abilities become free, which
29:11
means you can aggressively spam Percy's
29:14
Fortitude while rapidly rebuilding fury
29:16
again. This creates an incredibly smooth
29:19
gameplay loop where your sustain,
29:21
survivability, and group support all
29:23
start feeding into each other. And
29:25
honestly, once the build gets rolling,
29:27
it's almost absurdly hard to kill. Just
29:30
remember, keep all your debuffs active,
29:33
maintain Blood Claws, heavy attack for
29:35
the Archdruid Proc if you are using it,
29:37
and most importantly, never forget that
29:39
your taunt requires the block plus Rip
29:42
and Tear combination. So, that is
29:44
everything you need to know about the
29:46
refreshed werewolf tank in update 50. I
29:49
remember joining random trials years ago
29:51
and turning into a werewolf just for a
29:53
bit of fun. People would frown and
29:54
question it and sometimes even get
29:56
annoyed, despite the fact that it was
29:58
perfectly possible to tank content
30:00
successfully as a werewolf even back
30:01
then. So, it's honestly great to see
30:03
this play style evolve into a genuinely
30:06
powerful and surprisingly complete tank
30:08
setup. It still has weaknesses, and I
30:11
don't think it's suddenly replacing
30:13
traditional end game trial tank builds
30:14
anytime soon, but from a player
30:16
perspective, this is easily one of the
30:19
most enjoyable and beginner-friendly
30:20
tank play styles in ESO. I mean, who
30:23
doesn't want to be leaping around the
30:24
battlefield and tearing enemies apart as
30:27
a giant wolf? The combination of
30:29
survivability, sustain, crowd control,
30:31
group support, and the simplicity of the
30:33
one-bar gameplay just makes it
30:35
incredibly satisfying to play.
30:37
Personally, I can't wait to take mine
30:39
back into Veteran Asylum Santorum for
30:41
another immortal redeemer as a werewolf
30:44
main tank. That's probably not something
30:46
many people expected to hear a few years
30:48
ago. Let me know down in the comments
30:50
what class you're pairing your werewolf
30:51
with, whether you're planning to try
30:53
this build yourself, or if you found any
30:55
interesting setups of your own. I
30:57
genuinely love to hear what people are
30:59
experimenting with after the big
31:00
refresh. A huge thank you to all of my
31:03
patron supporters for helping support
31:05
the Tank Club. If you'd like early
31:06
access to builds, behind-the-scenes
31:08
content, and theory crafting discussion,
31:11
you'll find the link in the description
31:12
below. Thank you for watching, and I'll
31:14
see you in the next one. Bye-bye for
31:16
now.
#Games