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Nightblade Tanks have become one of the strongest and most desirable Tank classes in The Elder Scrolls Online thanks to the Update 50 Class Mastery system. In this complete ESO Nightblade Tank Guide, I'll explain everything you need to know to build and play a Nightblade Tank, from skills, passives, class masteries and scribing through to gear, champion points, gameplay tips and multiple builds for different types of content.
This guide will help you understand why the Nightblade has become such a powerful support Tank and how to get the most out of the class so you can thrive in any content.
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00:00 Intro
01:43 Strengths & Weaknesses
03:22 Group Buffs
04:28 Race
05:17 Attributes
05:32 Mundus
05:46 Food
06:30 Potions
07:03 Minimum Stats
08:10 Subclassing
08:48 Class Mastery
12:19 Nightblade Skills & Passives
19:52 Other Skills & Passives
25:05 Scribing
29:42 Gear
38:38 Traits & Enchants
42:24 Potion Addict Build
43:25 Dungeon Build
44:11 Trials Main Tank Build
45:05 Trials Off Tank Build
45:49 Trials Add Pulls Builds
46:30 Champion Points
47:20 How to Tank Adds
48:49 How to Tank Bosses
50:48 How to Play Potion Addict Build
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#TheTankClub #MMORPG #ESO #ElderScrollsOnline
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0:00
Nightblade tanks have gone from being
0:01
one of the least played and least
0:03
desirable tank classes in The Elder
0:05
Scrolls Online to suddenly becoming one
0:08
of the most sought after.
0:14
As someone who's played Nightblade tank
0:16
since the Elsweyr expansion, this is
0:18
something I've been waiting a long time
0:20
to say. Back then, Nightblade was one of
0:22
the strongest tank options for stamina
0:24
focused groups and had some of the best
0:26
defensive tools in the game. But over
0:28
the years, as other classes gained
0:30
stronger passives, new abilities, and
0:31
eventually scribing, many of those
0:33
advantages have slowly disappeared.
0:36
Nightblade tanks remained fun to play,
0:38
but they no longer really offered
0:39
anything unique. Subclassing gave
0:41
players a small reminder of how strong
0:43
the Nightblade toolkit could be with the
0:45
Siphoning skill line becoming incredibly
0:47
popular thanks to its sustain and
0:49
ultimate generation. But update 50 has
0:51
completely changed everything. Thanks to
0:53
the new class mastery system, Nightblade
0:56
tanks have suddenly found themselves
0:57
right back at the top of the tank meta.
0:59
And unlike many of the other powerful
1:01
group buffs introduced with class
1:03
masteries, Nightblade's signature
1:05
mastery, Cutthroat's Focus, is something
1:07
that naturally fits a tank better than
1:09
any other role. In fact, while healers
1:11
and damage dealers can replicate many of
1:13
the group benefits provided by other
1:15
classes, Cutthroat's Focus is one of the
1:17
few new effects that a main tank can
1:20
provide consistently and with very
1:21
little effort. And that has made
1:23
Nightblades one of the most valuable
1:25
tank classes in the game once again. So
1:27
in this guide, rather than locking you
1:29
into one exact setup, I'm going to show
1:31
you all of the important skills,
1:33
passives, gear options, and bar
1:35
combinations that make a Nightblade such
1:37
a powerful tank, allowing you to build
1:40
the setup that works best for you and
1:42
your group. So why actually play a
1:44
Nightblade tank? Well, some of the
1:46
biggest strengths of the class are its
1:48
incredible ultimate generation,
1:50
excellent passive sustain, and the solid
1:52
amount of healing over time it can stack
1:54
on itself. It now also brings one of the
1:56
strongest, most unique group damage
1:58
buffs in the game through the class
2:00
mastery system, and many of its
2:01
defensive tools are compactly built into
2:04
skills and passives, allowing the class
2:06
to become incredibly durable without
2:08
needing to dedicate lots of extra bar
2:10
space. On the flip side, there really
2:12
aren't that many major weaknesses.
2:15
Nightblade's only form of crowd control
2:17
is a fear effect, which means it won't
2:19
work on enemies that are immune to crowd
2:21
control, especially enemies that have
2:22
been chained in, making ad pulls and
2:24
enemy grouping much more reliant on
2:26
scribing skills and item sets. The class
2:28
also does lack a large burst heal or
2:31
access to class damage shields. It
2:33
instead relies on multiple healing over
2:35
time effects and damage reduction to
2:37
survive, as well as things from the
2:39
scribing system. And honestly, I'm
2:42
really scraping the barrel when it comes
2:44
to actually looking for weaknesses.
2:45
Nightblade has always been an
2:47
exceptionally strong defensive tank. The
2:49
problem was never survivability, it was
2:52
group utility. But thanks to the class
2:54
mastery system, that weakness has
2:56
essentially disappeared, and the
2:57
Nightblade has become one of the most
2:59
desirable tank classes in ESO.
3:01
Historically, Nightblade tanks were also
3:03
harder to play, less beginner-friendly,
3:05
and generally required a higher level of
3:07
tank knowledge to get the most out of
3:09
them. But with all of the tools now
3:11
available, the biggest challenges you'll
3:12
realistically face are the lack of
3:14
proper crowd control skills and the fact
3:16
that scribing has become completely
3:18
essential for filling in the remaining
3:20
gaps in the class toolkit. One of the
3:22
biggest reasons Nightblade tanks are so
3:24
valuable right now is the amount of
3:26
utility that they bring to the group.
3:28
The two most important benefits come
3:30
from the class mastery system.
3:31
Cutthroat's focus causes enemies to take
3:34
5% more damage whenever you successfully
3:36
dodge one of their attacks, while Share
3:38
the Spoils provides your group with 250
3:41
magicka, 250 stamina, and two ultimate
3:44
potentially every 4 seconds. Beyond
3:46
that, Nightblades naturally grant minor
3:48
savagery to the group, increasing weapon
3:50
critical, and with update 51, this will
3:53
also include spell critical. The class
3:55
can provide major expedition alongside
3:57
minor intellect and minor endurance,
3:59
helping with both mobility and sustain.
4:01
Nightblades also have access to AoE
4:03
major and minor cowardice within their
4:06
class toolkit to reduce enemy damage
4:08
output while being able to provide major
4:10
vitality or protection to allies with
4:12
their class-based ultimates as well.
4:14
Defensively, the class itself has access
4:16
to major and minor resolve, major
4:18
evasion, and minor protection, giving
4:20
Nightblades multiple layers of damage
4:22
mitigation, making it one of the
4:24
toughest tank classes in the game
4:25
despite not having access to traditional
4:27
damage shields. For race, my
4:29
recommendation for Nightblade tanks is
4:31
Nord. Nord gives you additional
4:33
resistances, making it much easier to
4:35
reach the 33.1k resistance cap, while
4:38
also providing extra ultimate generation
4:40
alongside additional max health and max
4:42
stamina. Argonian has always been
4:45
another popular choice for Nightblade
4:46
tanks thanks to the synergy between the
4:48
race and the class. Argonians gain
4:50
additional resources whenever they
4:52
consume a potion, and this combines
4:54
perfectly with the Nightblade's Catalyst
4:56
passive that grants ultimate on potion
4:59
usage. Layer that together with potion
5:01
cooldown jewelry enchants, and you end
5:03
up with an excellent sustain and very
5:05
high ultimate generation. Argonians
5:07
provide extra health and stamina as
5:08
well, making them naturally a decently
5:11
strong tank race. Imperials and
5:13
Redguards are also options and perform
5:15
perfectly well if you prefer either of
5:17
those. For attributes, I recommend
5:19
putting all 64 points into health. Not
5:22
only does this maximize your
5:23
survivability, but it also increases the
5:25
healing from Dark Cloak and boosts the
5:27
effectiveness of health scaling Scribing
5:30
skills that heal and give you damage
5:31
shields as well. For the Mundus Stone,
5:33
the Atronach is generally the best
5:35
option. Nightblade tanks are extremely
5:37
magicka heavy with almost all of your
5:39
core skills costing magicka, so
5:41
increasing your magicka recovery helps
5:43
maintain your rotation and sustain over
5:45
long fights. When it comes to food,
5:47
there are two excellent options. Usaga's
5:50
red frother gives max health and magicka
5:52
recovery, making it fantastic for
5:54
sustain and particularly useful if
5:57
you're using something like the Spulder
5:58
of Ruin, which reduces your recovery.
6:00
Alternatively, but with sugar skulls
6:02
provide higher max health, max stamina,
6:05
and max magicka, as well as health
6:06
recovery, giving you larger resource
6:08
pools overall. Since nightblades already
6:10
have excellent sustain through their
6:12
siphoning attacks, many players will
6:14
prefer the extra stats and the
6:16
additional forgiveness that sugar skulls
6:18
provides when blocking for those
6:19
extended periods or overcasting
6:21
abilities. Both options work extremely
6:23
well and the choice largely comes down
6:25
to whether you value the extra resources
6:27
or you want larger resource pools. For
6:30
potions, the standard tri-stat potions
6:33
are the ideal choice. These provide an
6:35
immediate burst of resources while also
6:37
increasing all three of your recoveries
6:39
by 30%, making them perfect for tanking.
6:41
If you're running potion cooldown
6:43
jewelry to maximize the ultimate
6:45
generation through the catalyst passive,
6:47
you can even use looted or lower quality
6:49
potions to reduce the cost of that play
6:52
style. Nightblade tanks often consume
6:54
potions more for ultimate generation
6:56
than because they actually need the
6:58
resources, and using expensive crafted
7:00
potions every time can quickly become
7:02
costly. As a general guideline, aim for
7:05
over 40,000 health to maximize
7:07
survivability and also help those health
7:10
scaling skills. Stamina should ideally
7:12
sit around 18 to 20k, giving you enough
7:15
resources to comfortably handle extended
7:17
blocking, dodge rolling, breaking free,
7:19
and bashing. Magicka should be at around
7:22
16 to 18k as well, so you have enough
7:25
resources available to rapidly cast
7:27
several abilities when needed, rather
7:29
than having to wait for those recovery
7:30
ticks. So, think of things like having
7:32
to spam chains to pull in multiple
7:34
enemies. For magicka recovery, I do
7:36
recommend aiming for 2,000 or higher.
7:38
Nightblade tanks are heavily magicka
7:40
focused and 2k recovery means that
7:43
you're going to get 2,000 magicka back
7:44
every 2 seconds, which provides very
7:46
comfortable levels of sustain. When
7:48
fully buffed, you want to reach the
7:49
resistance cap of 33.1K.
7:52
Going above this provides no additional
7:54
benefit in PvE content, so any extra
7:56
resistances are effectively wasted, so
7:58
try not to go over that cap. Finally,
8:01
you want to try to keep that block cost
8:02
below 1,000, which isn't a strict
8:04
requirement, but it makes dealing with
8:06
multiple enemies and prolonged block
8:08
phases far more comfortable. With update
8:10
50 and beyond, I don't fully recommend
8:13
using subclassing on a Nightblade tank.
8:15
The class mastery system simply provides
8:17
stronger and more unique benefits than
8:19
anything you'll gain by replacing your
8:21
skill lines, and this is the reason why
8:23
many Nightblade tanks have suddenly
8:24
become so desirable. However, if you are
8:26
using subclassing on another tank class,
8:29
then the Nightblade Siphoning skill line
8:31
is arguably one of the strongest skill
8:33
lines that you can bring over. It offers
8:34
excellent ultimate generation through
8:36
its passives, alongside both passive and
8:38
burst sustain from siphoning attacks.
8:40
So, in cases where you will use
8:42
subclassing, siphoning is a potential
8:44
option, but it's not worth converting
8:46
your Nightblade into a subclass tank
8:48
build. Nightblade is arguably the
8:50
biggest winner of the entire class
8:52
mastery system, and there are four
8:54
masteries worth talking about, although
8:56
you'll generally only swap between three
8:58
of them. Cutthroat's focus is the
9:00
mastery that has pushed Nightblades
9:02
straight to the top of the tank meta.
9:04
The first part of the mastery causes you
9:06
to automatically dodge direct damage for
9:08
0.3 seconds whenever you cast a
9:11
Nightblade ability while blocking. Don't
9:13
mistake this for some kind of automatic
9:15
dodge roll. Your character simply avoids
9:17
the attack. Now, 0.3 seconds sounds
9:20
incredibly short, and it is, but if you
9:23
time your skill casts around incoming
9:25
attacks, you'll consistently avoid
9:27
damage throughout a fight. Over the
9:29
course of long boss encounters and add
9:31
phases, that small window starts to add
9:33
up to a surprising amount of damage
9:35
avoidance. But it's the second part of
9:38
this mastery that really matters.
9:40
Whenever you dodge an enemy attack, that
9:42
enemy takes 5% increased damage for 20
9:45
seconds. This is a unique group damage
9:48
buff, and it is the main reason that
9:49
Nightblade tanks have become so popular.
9:52
You can activate this effect either by
9:54
roll dodging an attack or by
9:55
successfully triggering the dodge
9:57
portion of this mastery itself. In other
9:59
words, the mastery effectively activates
10:02
its own damage buff, but it does have
10:04
that very very small 0.3 second window
10:06
to do so. Share the Spoils is the other
10:08
mastery that should almost always be
10:10
equipped. This enhances the Transfer
10:13
passive, causing it to grant nearby
10:15
group members 250 magicka and stamina,
10:17
and two ultimate, while also granting
10:19
you four ultimate. And this can be done
10:21
every four seconds. The best part is how
10:23
effortless this is to maintain. Simply
10:25
casting Syphoning Attacks once every
10:28
four seconds is enough to keep the
10:30
effect active, making this one of the
10:32
easiest and most consistent group
10:33
utility buffs in the game. Nocturnal's
10:36
Inspiration is primarily used in
10:38
ultimate generation focused builds, and
10:40
particularly attractive for off tanks as
10:42
well. This mastery enhances the
10:45
Hemorrhaging passive, and gives you a
10:46
chance to generate additional ultimate
10:49
whenever it activates. Since the chance
10:51
is based on your weapon critical,
10:53
increasing your critical chance through
10:55
major savagery becomes very valuable.
10:57
You can obtain this by slotting Grim
10:59
Focus or by adding the Affix Script to
11:02
one of your Scribing skills. Of course,
11:04
Hemorrhage itself also needs to
11:06
activate. This happens whenever you
11:08
critically strike an enemy. Naturally,
11:10
you will kind of do this quite often,
11:12
but if you want a guaranteed activation,
11:14
the Surprise Attack skill is incredibly
11:16
powerful because it always critically
11:19
strikes. Repeatedly casting Surprise
11:21
Attack allows you to trigger Hemorrhage
11:23
consistently, resulting in extremely
11:25
high ultimate generation. Finally, an
11:28
Eye for Exploitation is a powerful
11:30
defensive mastery. The main part is it
11:32
provides up to 20% reduced income and
11:35
damage based on the target's remaining
11:37
health with the damage reduction
11:39
becoming stronger as the enemy
11:40
approaches execute range. While this
11:43
isn't something that you'll want to use
11:45
all of the time, it can be a huge
11:47
difference maker during the execute
11:49
phases of very difficult trial
11:50
encounters in hard modes where incoming
11:53
damage is often at its highest in those
11:55
execute phases. So, for my suggested
11:58
masteries for virtually all situations,
12:00
I recommend running Cutthroat's Focus
12:02
alongside Share the Spoils. This
12:04
combination provides Nightblade's unique
12:06
5% group damage buff together with the
12:09
excellent group sustain and ultimate
12:10
generation. For off tanks or more
12:12
ultimate generation focus setups,
12:15
Nocturnal's Inspiration paired with
12:16
Share the Spoils becomes an excellent
12:19
alternative. Next, let's take a look at
12:21
the Nightblade skills and passives.
12:23
We'll go through each skill line and
12:25
talk about not only what the skills do,
12:27
but why you might actually want to use
12:29
them. Starting with the Assassination
12:31
skill line. Soul Harvest is really just
12:34
a passive ultimate for tanks. You're
12:36
almost never actually going to cast it,
12:38
but simply slotting it gives you 10
12:39
ultimate whenever you land a killing
12:41
blow on an enemy. Tanks aren't exactly
12:44
wiping out packs of enemies, but with
12:45
all the damage and damage over time
12:47
effects that you apply, you'll
12:48
occasionally get the last hit, and every
12:50
time you do, you'll basically get a free
12:52
10 ultimate. Surprise Attack is your
12:54
kind of spammable skill if you're
12:56
running the Nocturnal's Inspiration
12:58
class mastery. The reason it's so useful
13:00
is it always critically strikes, meaning
13:03
it guarantees the activation of the
13:05
Hemorrhage passive and gives Nocturnal's
13:07
Inspiration a higher chance to generate
13:09
additional ultimate every time you use
13:12
it. Just be careful not to get too
13:14
carried away because repeatedly actually
13:16
spamming it will quickly drain your
13:18
stamina. Grim Focus is another passive
13:20
way to support the Nocturnal's
13:22
Inspiration class mastery. It grants
13:24
major savagery by having it slotted,
13:26
increasing your critical chance, and
13:28
therefore increasing the chance of
13:30
gaining ultimate from the mastery. Light
13:32
and heavy attacks also build stacks
13:33
which can be consumed to fire a spectral
13:35
arrow, dealing damage and healing you.
13:37
Personally though, I think the bar space
13:39
is too valuable on a tank, and I'd much
13:41
rather add major savagery to a scribing
13:43
skill instead of dedicating an entire
13:46
skill just to slot Grim Focus. Looking
13:48
at the passives, Master Assassin is
13:50
largely irrelevant for tanks since
13:52
you'll rarely be flanking enemies.
13:54
Executioner on the other hand is
13:55
fantastic, restoring a thousand magicka
13:58
and stamina whenever an enemy dies
14:00
shortly after taking damage from you,
14:01
something that will happen constantly,
14:03
especially in ad waves. Pressure Points
14:06
increases your critical chance based on
14:08
the number of assassination abilities
14:09
you have slotted, which further helps
14:11
with both the Hemorrhage and Nocturnal's
14:13
Inspiration passives. And finally,
14:15
Hemorrhage grants Minor Savagery to both
14:17
you and your group, increasing weapon
14:19
critical and eventually spell critical
14:22
as well in update 51. The Shadow skill
14:25
line is where a lot of the Nightblade's
14:26
defensive power comes from. Mirage is
14:29
one of those skills that's loaded with
14:30
value. It grants Major Evasion and Minor
14:33
Resolve, while also reducing your dodge
14:36
roll cost whenever you take direct
14:38
damage. Since the Cutthroat's Focus
14:40
class mastery encourages you to dodge
14:42
roll attacks anyway to activate that
14:44
group damage buff, this skill synergizes
14:46
perfectly with the modern Nightblade
14:48
tank play style. The alternative morph,
14:50
Fantasmal Escape, trades the Minor
14:52
Resolve for immunity to snares and
14:54
immobilizations. This has some niche use
14:57
in specific encounters and can be
14:59
particularly useful if another player is
15:01
already providing Minor Resolve, such as
15:04
an Arcanist using Ruining Defense. Dark
15:07
Cloak is the most important survival
15:09
skill in the Nightblade's toolkit. It
15:11
grants Minor Protection and provides a
15:13
heal over time that scales with your max
15:16
health. The healing duration is short,
15:18
but the healing is increased by 150%
15:20
while blocking, making it an incredibly
15:22
powerful source of survivability.
15:24
Nightblades aren't able to rely on large
15:26
burst heal skills or damage shields that
15:28
are built in. Instead, it survives by
15:30
layering mitigation and healing over
15:33
time. And Dark Cloak sits right at the
15:35
center of that play style. Refreshing
15:37
Path is another fantastic utility skill.
15:40
It provides a heal over time while also
15:42
granting major expedition and increasing
15:45
magical and stamina recovery by 15% for
15:47
you and your group. It's great for boss
15:49
fights because of that additional
15:50
sustain while the movement speed makes
15:52
add pulls and speed runs much more
15:54
fluid. Aspect of Terror sounds like a
15:57
great crowd control skill for a tank,
15:59
but unfortunately, fear skills don't
16:01
work on enemies after they've been
16:03
pulled together, which makes it
16:04
surprisingly useless to use for crowd
16:07
control. However, the skill still has
16:09
value because it provides an AoE source
16:11
of major cowardice, reducing enemies
16:13
weapon and spell damage, which roughly
16:15
equates to around a 20% damage
16:17
reduction, and contributing to the
16:19
Nightblade's already impressive
16:20
defensive toolkit. I particularly like
16:22
using this skill in add pulls in trial
16:24
content. The shadow passives are equally
16:27
powerful. Refreshing Shadows increases
16:29
all of your recoveries by 15%, which is
16:31
huge. Shadow Barrier grants major
16:33
resolve whenever you cast a shadow
16:35
ability, meaning it's effectively always
16:37
active. Dark Vigor increases your max
16:39
health by 5% for every shadow ability
16:41
slotted on the bar. Because of this, it
16:44
is often worth spreading your shadow
16:45
skills across both bars so that your max
16:48
health doesn't fluctuate dramatically
16:50
when bar swapping. And finally, Dark
16:52
Veil increases the duration of your
16:53
shadow abilities with the exception of
16:55
Dark Cloak. Now, the Siphoning skill
16:57
line really gives the Nightblade some
17:00
really unique benefits. Soul Siphon is a
17:03
optional ultimate that has become much
17:05
more attractive in update 50 since
17:07
Arcanist class masters can now provide
17:09
major force. Warhorn isn't always
17:11
mandatory anymore. Soul Siphon gives
17:13
your group an immediate heal, a heal
17:15
over time, major vitality, and access to
17:18
a leeching synergy which deals damage
17:20
and provides additional healing. It's
17:22
definitely not essential, but it's
17:24
certainly a nice option if your group
17:25
needs it. Strife and its morphs are both
17:28
decent skill options. They deal damage
17:30
while healing you for a portion of that
17:32
damage. The problem isn't that they're a
17:34
bad skill, it's the fact that finding
17:36
bar space for this is quite difficult.
17:38
The real star of the show of this skill
17:40
line is siphoning attacks. And honestly,
17:42
I find this skill to be quite
17:43
ridiculous. Simply having this slotted
17:46
causes all of your damage to restore
17:48
magicka and stamina. Something as simple
17:51
as placing elemental blockade on the
17:52
ground will continuously feed resources
17:55
back to you. You can also activate the
17:57
skill to sacrifice health and instantly
17:59
restoring a large amount of magicka and
18:01
stamina as well as healing you, making
18:03
it incredibly difficult to actually
18:05
never run out of resources. And because
18:07
the transfer passive and thus the Shade
18:09
the Siphons mastery can both activate
18:11
every 4 seconds, by using this skill
18:14
you'll generally need to be recasting
18:16
siphoning attacks every 4 seconds
18:17
anyway. If you have Dark Cloak and
18:19
Refreshing Path already running, you
18:21
will immediately heal back the health
18:24
cost of this skill, making the whole
18:25
process feel basically free. So, it's a
18:28
very useful skill that needs to be
18:30
pretty much in every single Nightblade
18:32
tank build. Power Extraction provides an
18:34
AoE source of minor cowardice, reducing
18:37
enemies weapon and spell damage.
18:38
Combined with Aspect of Terror for major
18:41
cowardice and layered alongside sources
18:43
of major and minor maim, the Nightblade
18:45
can stack an incredible amount of damage
18:47
reduction. The big issue is this skill
18:49
costs stamina and will often take up a
18:50
space on the bar that isn't really worth
18:52
it. Looking at the passives, Catalyst is
18:55
one of the reasons the Nightblade is
18:56
famous for its ultimate generation.
18:58
Every potion grants 22 ultimate, and
19:01
with infused potion cooldown jewelry,
19:03
you can trigger this effect much more
19:04
frequently. Magicka Flood increases both
19:07
max magicka and max stamina by 6%, which
19:09
are both excellent for a tank. Soul
19:11
Siphoner provides additional healing
19:13
done, which is also a nice bonus. And
19:15
finally, the transfer passive grants two
19:18
ultimate every 4 seconds whenever you
19:20
cast a siphoning ability. With the Share
19:22
the Spoils mastery, this increases to
19:24
four ultimate every 4 seconds while also
19:26
providing ultimate and sustain to your
19:28
group, making it something you generally
19:30
want to activate on cooldown by casting
19:32
siphoning attacks. None of these
19:34
individual skills or passives look
19:36
particularly overpowered by themselves,
19:38
but once you start layering and
19:39
combining everything together with all
19:41
the different formats of ultimate
19:42
generation, the sustain, the defensive
19:45
buffs and utility, everything starts to
19:47
snowball into one of the most complete
19:49
tank toolkits currently available in
19:51
ESO. Now, of course, Nightblade skills
19:53
are only part of the picture. There are
19:55
plenty of universal skills and passives
19:56
available to every tank class that work
19:58
extremely well with the Nightblade
20:00
toolkit as well. Starting with the
20:01
one-handed shield, Power Slam is mainly
20:04
used to activate the Vateshran
20:05
one-handed shield, the Void Bash effect,
20:07
allowing you to instantly pull enemies
20:09
into stack with one button press. This
20:12
makes dungeons, arenas, and some ad
20:14
waves significantly easier and faster.
20:17
The one-handed shield passives are all
20:19
extremely valuable, providing reduced
20:21
block cost, increased block mitigation,
20:23
improved range attack mitigation, and
20:25
even increased movement speed while
20:27
blocking. The frost staff back bar
20:29
offers several important skills. So,
20:31
Crushing Shock is a situational skill,
20:34
but essential in encounters that require
20:36
a ranged interrupt, something that is
20:38
often the responsibility of a tank.
20:40
Frost Blockade is primarily used to
20:43
automatically maintain your weapon
20:45
enchantment. Simply placing it on the
20:47
ground will continuously refresh your
20:49
enchant with almost no effort. In
20:51
addition, enemies that are chilled will
20:53
also suffer minor breach. And this skill
20:55
also provides up to six group members
20:58
with a sizable projectile damage shield.
21:00
In encounters with heavy projectile
21:02
damage, repeatedly casting Blockade can
21:04
dramatically improve group survival.
21:06
Elemental Susceptibility is one of the
21:08
strongest debuff skills available to
21:10
tanks. It will apply major breach for
21:12
free and continuously trigger burning,
21:15
concussion, and chilled. Concussion
21:17
applies minor vulnerability, increasing
21:20
enemy damage taken. Chilled applies
21:22
minor maim and minor brittle, and when
21:24
combined with frost blockade also
21:26
inflicts minor breach, giving access to
21:28
a huge amount of utility from a single
21:30
skill. For add pulls, Pulsar is
21:32
preferred over Elemental Susceptibility.
21:35
Pulsar inflicts AoE minor mangle,
21:37
immediately reducing enemies max health,
21:39
and effectively helping them die faster.
21:41
It also applies chilled in an area,
21:43
spreading that minor breach, minor maim,
21:46
and minor brittle to entire groups of
21:48
enemies, while also granting minor
21:49
protection to you and your group. As for
21:51
passives, I recommend taking everything
21:53
except the Tri Focus. Personally, after
21:56
tanking every piece of content in ESO,
21:58
I've never found blocking with magicka
22:00
to be worthwhile. Nightblade skills are
22:02
heavily magicka based, and blocking
22:04
disables your magicka recovery. So,
22:06
converting your block cost into magicka
22:08
generally creates more problems than it
22:10
solves. Nightblade sustain is already
22:12
exceptional, so Tri Focus simply isn't
22:15
necessary. The remaining passives are
22:17
fantastic for improving status effect
22:19
chance, block mitigation, block cost
22:21
reduction, and restoring magicka
22:23
whenever your blockade shields are
22:24
consumed. For your armor passives, all
22:26
of them are extremely valuable. They
22:28
provide additional sustain, resistances,
22:30
cost reduction, and increased maximum
22:32
stats. So, you want to take them all for
22:34
all three armor weights. It's also worth
22:36
picking up the Mage Guild passives Major
22:38
Depth, Everlasting Magic, and Magicka
22:41
Controller. These become particularly
22:43
useful if you're using the Contingency
22:45
scribing skill, something that I will
22:47
strongly recommend for Nightblade tanks.
22:49
For Undaunted, Inner Rage should be one
22:52
of your main taunts for add pulls. In
22:54
addition to taunting enemies, it grants
22:56
three group members access to a synergy,
22:58
which deals flame damage and and an
23:00
additional damage over time effect to
23:02
nearby enemies, providing some extra
23:04
group damage during ad waves. The
23:06
undaunted passives are equally valuable.
23:09
Undaunted command restores resources
23:11
whenever you activate a synergy, which
23:13
is excellent for sustain and becomes
23:15
even stronger if you're also combining
23:16
it with harmony jewelry. Meanwhile,
23:19
undaunted metal increases your max
23:20
health, magic, and stamina depending on
23:22
the armor weights that you're wearing.
23:24
Running the standard set up of five
23:26
heavy, one medium, and one light grants
23:27
the full 6% increase stat bonus. The
23:30
assault line provides a couple of useful
23:33
skills. Razor caltrops is excellent
23:35
during ad pulls thanks to its AoE major
23:37
breach application and snare. Aggressive
23:40
horn has become less important in update
23:41
50. In organized groups with an
23:43
arcanist, it often isn't needed anymore
23:46
due to the availability of major force
23:48
through the class mastery system.
23:49
However, if your group doesn't have an
23:51
arcanist, aggressive horn remains one of
23:53
the strongest group ultimates in the
23:55
game thanks to the major force and the
23:57
10% increase to max magicka and stamina.
23:59
The support skill line contains several
24:01
useful situational tools. Efficient
24:03
purge is invaluable in encounters where
24:06
the group need help removing negative
24:07
effects. Revealing flare is another
24:09
excellent situational skill. You never
24:11
actually cast it, but simply slotting it
24:13
grants major protection, adding more
24:15
defenses to your build and making it
24:17
extremely valuable during high damage
24:19
encounters. Barrier has also become
24:21
significantly more attractive in update
24:23
50 since war horn is no longer mandatory
24:25
in every group. Barrier can often be
24:28
used instead, providing enormous group
24:30
damage shields and greatly improving
24:32
survivability. The best part of the
24:34
support skill line, however, is the
24:36
magicka aid passive. This grants 10%
24:38
additional magicka recovery for every
24:40
support skill slotted, which can become
24:42
a huge amount of sustain if you're
24:44
running several of the skills mentioned
24:46
above. Naturally, you should always take
24:48
all of your racial passives. And
24:50
finally, one of the most important
24:51
non-combat passives in the game is the
24:53
medicinal use from alchemy. This extends
24:55
the duration of your potion effects and
24:57
effectively allows you to maintain
24:59
permanent uptime on the 30% recovery
25:01
bonus provided by the tri-restoration
25:04
potions. Scribing plays an incredibly
25:06
important role in a modern Nightblade
25:08
tank build. In fact, I'd go as far as
25:11
saying that it's absolutely essential.
25:13
Without Scribing, Nightblades lose
25:15
access to several key tools that every
25:17
tank wants, including a magicka costing
25:20
pull, reliable crowd control, damage
25:22
shields, and additional ultimate
25:24
generation, and a number of powerful
25:26
buffs and debuffs that the class
25:27
otherwise struggles to provide. Let's go
25:29
through the skills I'm using, and more
25:31
importantly, why I built them this way.
25:33
So, this is my range taunt. This setup
25:36
allows the skill to taunt the target
25:38
while also healing you and applying
25:40
major maim, reducing the enemy's damage
25:42
output. That heal is particularly
25:44
valuable because Nightblade doesn't have
25:45
access to a large emergency burst heal.
25:48
Instead, the class survives on layering
25:50
multiple healing over time effects
25:51
together. So, adding another source of
25:53
healing fits the class perfectly. This
25:55
is my default taunt for almost every
25:57
situation, although during ad pulls, you
25:59
can replace it with Inner Rage if you
26:01
prefer. This skill fills one of the
26:03
Nightblade's biggest weaknesses. The
26:05
class has no built-in pull, so Leeching
26:07
Soul becomes your primary way of
26:09
bringing enemies together. The Druid's
26:11
Resurgence script restores both magicka
26:13
and stamina, adding even more sustain to
26:15
a class that's already excellent at
26:17
managing resources. For the affix
26:19
script, I generally recommend Cowardice,
26:21
although Nightblade already has access
26:23
to AoE major cowardice elsewhere, but
26:25
this does combine your pull, sustain,
26:26
and damage reduction into a single
26:28
skill, making it far more efficient than
26:30
spending another skill slot. However,
26:32
there is one important exception. If
26:34
you're using the Nocturnal Inspiration
26:36
class mastery, replacing Cowardice with
26:38
Savagery becomes a very strong option.
26:40
Since the mastery's ultimate generation
26:42
chance scales with your critical chance,
26:45
major savagery significantly increases
26:47
how often it activates. The trade-off is
26:50
you'll lose major cowardice, meaning
26:51
bosses will deal roughly 8.4% more
26:54
damage to you. Fortunately, Nocturnal's
26:56
Inspiration is typically used on an
26:58
off-tank, where the extra incoming
27:00
damage will be far less of an issue. My
27:02
recommendation is pretty simple. For
27:03
main tanks, use the cowardice version,
27:05
and for off-tanks or ultimate generation
27:07
focused builds, use the major savagery
27:09
version. So, this is my primary crowd
27:11
control skill for ad pulls. One of the
27:13
biggest advantages of contingency is
27:16
that you can cast it before the fight
27:18
even starts. Simply cast the skill, run
27:20
into the enemies, activate Void Bash
27:23
with Power Bash, and every enemy gets
27:25
pulled into a stack, and then
27:26
immediately immobilized by the delayed
27:28
contingency explosion. It's an
27:30
incredibly smooth setup. Gladiator's
27:32
Tenacity provides 8% damage reduction,
27:35
which is especially valuable because
27:37
during ad pulls, you'll often be moving
27:39
around rather than blocking. The AoE
27:41
minor vulnerability causes every
27:43
affected enemy to take 5% more damage,
27:45
making the entire ad pull die noticeably
27:48
faster. This is one of my favorite
27:49
scrying skills for Nightblade in
27:51
dungeons and arenas, and any encounter
27:53
where reliable crowd control is
27:54
important. This is more of a group
27:56
support-focused skill. It provides a max
27:59
health scaling damage shield for
28:00
yourself and nearby allies, which is
28:02
particularly useful on a Nightblade,
28:04
since the class doesn't naturally have
28:05
access to damage shields. You can also
28:07
add in the three extra ultimate every 5
28:10
seconds while in combat, consuming a
28:11
soul gem each time. Normally, this might
28:14
sound quite expensive, but considering
28:15
how heavily a Nightblade build already
28:17
focuses on ultimate generation, adding
28:19
yet another the source of ultimate is
28:21
incredibly valuable. Courage increases
28:23
your group's weapon and spell damage,
28:24
providing another nice damage boost for
28:26
your group, and I particularly like this
28:28
setup for four-player content, and it
28:30
can work in trials as well, especially
28:32
for that self-damage shield. This is
28:34
very much a flex skill. If your group
28:36
already has a warden providing major
28:38
heroism, you simply don't need it. If
28:41
your group doesn't, however, this
28:42
becomes another excellent source of
28:44
ultimate generation. I generally reserve
28:46
this skill for boss fights since there
28:48
usually isn't enough boss space during
28:50
ad pulls. The frost damage signature
28:52
script changes the skill to be magicka
28:54
costing, which fits nightblades much
28:56
better than paying the stamina cost. It
28:58
also allows the skill to apply
28:59
additional chilled status effects. It
29:01
also further increases your status
29:02
effect output by applying concussion for
29:05
minor vulnerability, sundered for minor
29:07
breach, and hemorrhage for additional
29:09
bleed damage. While elemental
29:11
susceptibility and frost blockade
29:12
already provide many of these effects,
29:15
adding more application simply improves
29:17
their up time and keeps your debuffs
29:19
more consistent. Finally, the heroism
29:21
provides even more ultimate generation,
29:23
perfectly complementing the rest of the
29:25
build. The one thing you do need to
29:27
respect, however, is the cast time.
29:29
Chilling trample forces you to drop
29:30
block for 1.5 seconds, which can be
29:33
extremely dangerous in difficult
29:35
content. If you're not completely
29:36
comfortable with encounters, don't force
29:38
yourself to use it. The extra ultimate
29:40
simply isn't worth getting yourself
29:42
killed. Now, let's take a look at gear
29:44
for the nightblade tank. Rather than
29:46
showing you a single build straight
29:47
away, I want to explain the sets I like
29:50
to use on nightblade tanks and why they
29:52
work so well. Then later on, I'll show
29:54
you a few complete setups for different
29:56
types of content. Turning tide is still
29:58
one of my favorite dungeon and arena
30:00
sets, sometimes also used in trials.
30:02
Turning tide gives you an easy source of
30:04
AoE major vulnerability, causing enemies
30:06
to take 10% more damage and making ad
30:09
pulls die much faster. I also really
30:11
like it for trial ad pulls, although if
30:13
your group has a necromancer tank using
30:15
Veil's Forfeit, it's generally better to
30:16
let them handle major vulnerability
30:18
instead since their class mastery
30:20
extends the duration by 50%. This set is
30:23
really simple to use, just simply block,
30:25
get hit, and then bash to activate it
30:27
straight in front of you. War Machine is
30:29
a really strong nightblade tank set.
30:32
This is because the class generates
30:33
ultimate very quickly. It can maintain
30:36
major slayer with incredible
30:37
consistency. Whenever you cast an
30:39
ultimate, your group gain major slayer,
30:41
increasing their damage done by 10%.
30:44
Since Nightblade's can generate ultimate
30:45
at such a ridiculous pace, you can
30:47
maintain extremely high up times on this
30:50
effect, even approaching permanent up
30:52
time during many boss fights. This makes
30:54
War Machine one of my favorite sets for
30:56
dungeons and arenas, and you may even
30:58
find some organized trial groups wanting
31:00
you to run it as well. Lucent Echoes is
31:02
probably my favorite all round tank set
31:04
for Nightblades, increases your group's
31:06
critical damage and critical healing by
31:08
11% while also giving you an emergency
31:11
20% damage reduction whenever you fall
31:13
below 50% health. That combination is
31:15
fantastic. You're increasing group
31:17
damage while simultaneously making
31:19
yourself significantly harder to kill
31:21
during the most dangerous moments of a
31:23
fight. If I was choosing one set to
31:25
comfortably use almost everywhere, this
31:27
would probably be it. Pillager's Profit
31:29
has become exceptionally powerful on a
31:32
Nightblade. Normally, the limiting
31:33
factor with Pillager's is how quickly
31:35
you can generate ultimate between
31:37
activations. Nightblade simply doesn't
31:39
have that problem. With Catalyst,
31:41
Transfer, Share the Spoils, potion cool
31:43
down jewelry, and the rest of the class
31:45
toolkit all working together, generating
31:47
500 ultimate within the Pillager's
31:49
45-second cool down becomes entirely
31:52
realistic. That means every time the set
31:54
becomes available, you're ready to feed
31:56
a huge amount of ultimate straight to
31:57
your group. With Arcanists now covering
32:00
major force with their class masteries
32:02
and Dragonknights providing major
32:03
protection, while Arcanists also cover
32:05
major vitality, Nightblade no longer has
32:07
mandatory ultimate it needs to cast for
32:09
group utility. Instead, you have the
32:11
freedom to run barrier for its enormous
32:12
damage shield while Pillager's
32:14
simultaneously turns your incredible
32:15
ultimate generation into additional
32:17
ultimate for the rest of the raid
32:18
instead. For organized trial main tanks,
32:21
I think this is an incredibly strong
32:22
combination. If you're playing as an off
32:24
tank, Pelinal's War would generally be
32:26
my preferred heavy armor set. It
32:27
provides your group with a unique 180
32:29
weapon and spell damage buff while also
32:31
acting as an excellent progression set.
32:33
If group members die, everyone gains
32:35
stacking damage reduction based on the
32:37
number of fallen allies, helping
32:39
stabilize difficult encounters and
32:41
making content recovery much easier. For
32:43
trial groups, this is one of the
32:44
strongest support sets an off tank can
32:46
wear. Z'en's Masterpiece is another
32:48
excellent trial support option. It
32:50
increases your group's max magicka and
32:52
stamina by 1667, which has become
32:55
especially valuable in update 50 since
32:57
many organized groups are no longer
32:58
relying on aggressive horn for permanent
33:00
major force. They're also losing the
33:02
additional 10% max magicka and stamina
33:04
that horn provides. Z'en helps
33:06
compensate for much of that loss while
33:08
still contributing useful group utility.
33:10
The Morag Tong is a more specialized
33:12
trial set. Affected enemies take 10%
33:14
more poison and disease damage. In
33:16
organized groups running multiple poison
33:18
and disease damage dealers, this becomes
33:20
a significant group damage increase.
33:22
Depending on your group's composition, I
33:24
typically run this on the main tank
33:25
instead of Pillar of Profit or on the
33:27
off tank instead of Z'en's Masterpiece.
33:29
Like many trial support sets, whether
33:31
this is worth using depends entirely on
33:33
your group's composition. Crimson Oath's
33:35
Rive is another excellent trial support
33:37
set. It provides powerful AoE armor
33:39
reduction, allowing groups to move
33:41
penetration responsibilities away from
33:43
support damage dealers. This means sets
33:45
like Alkosh would no longer be required
33:47
while still helping the group reach
33:49
important penetration targets. It's
33:51
especially strong during trial ad pulls,
33:53
but can be used in any content where
33:55
your group needs additional armor
33:56
reduction. Arkasis is definitely more of
33:58
a niche option, but it's a lot of fun on
34:01
a nightblade tank. Whenever you drink a
34:02
potion, the set grants ultimate to you
34:05
and up to three nearby group members.
34:07
Since nightblades already gain 22
34:09
ultimate through the Catalyst passive
34:10
every time it uses a potion, the synergy
34:12
between the class and this set is
34:14
fantastic. By combining Arkasis with
34:17
infused potion cooldown jewelry, you can
34:19
activate the set on its 30-second
34:21
cooldown, resulting in enormous ultimate
34:24
generation for both yourself and your
34:25
group. I wouldn't use this as a
34:27
permanent trial set, but it's excellent
34:29
in organized group dungeons and arenas
34:31
or even as a pre-buff set before major
34:33
trial encounters. Activating it during
34:35
small ad pulls before difficult bosses
34:37
or large ad waves allows your entire
34:39
group to start the next fight with
34:40
significantly more ultimate available.
34:42
Next, we have the Vateshran One-Hand and
34:44
Shield, also known as the Void Bash set.
34:47
For dungeons and arenas, I honestly
34:49
consider this weapon almost mandatory.
34:51
Simply pressing power bash instantly
34:53
pulls every enemy into a tight stack all
34:56
with one button press, allowing your
34:57
group to start dealing AoE damage
34:59
immediately. At the same time, you're
35:01
also applying major maim, improving
35:02
survivability, while dramatically
35:04
speeding up every single ad pull. It's
35:06
one of those weapons that completely
35:08
changes how smooth dungeon tanking
35:10
feels, and I rarely take this off
35:12
outside of trial content. When it comes
35:14
to monster sets, things have actually
35:16
become a little more complicated for
35:17
Nightblade tanks in update 50. Thanks to
35:19
class masteries, a lot of the utility
35:22
that previously came from monster sets
35:24
can now be provided elsewhere, meaning
35:26
there isn't really one clear best option
35:27
anymore. Instead, your choice has become
35:30
much more dependent on your group's
35:31
composition. Tremorscale is still a
35:33
strong option, reducing enemies armor
35:35
and increasing group damage. However,
35:37
it's only really worthwhile if your
35:39
group isn't already running an Alkosh
35:41
damage dealer, and it pairs particularly
35:43
well with an off-tank using Crimson
35:44
Altar Drive to maximize the armor
35:46
reduction. Encratis's Behemoth is
35:49
another situational choice. In trials
35:51
where the majority of your group's
35:52
damage is flame based or where incoming
35:55
flame damage is a significant threat,
35:57
Encratis can provide excellent value by
35:59
increasing flame damage dealt while also
36:01
reducing flame damage taken. You do need
36:03
to slot a flame damage skill for this to
36:06
work, however. Archdruid has become much
36:08
less attractive than it used to be.
36:10
While it still provides that AoE major
36:11
vulnerability with a 70% uptime
36:13
potential, that role is now frequently
36:15
covered by the Turning Tide set or by a
36:18
Necromancer tank using Veil's Forfeit,
36:20
whose class mastery extends their major
36:22
vulnerability application by 50%. There
36:25
may still be situations where Archdruid
36:26
is useful trial at pulls while Turning
36:28
Tide is on cooldown or for both tanks to
36:30
use in trials where there is no
36:32
Necromancer tank, but overall it's no
36:34
longer a monster set I would fully
36:35
prioritize for all content. Because
36:37
monster sets have become much more
36:39
situational, I actually think there are
36:41
some mythic items that a Nightblade tank
36:43
can really benefit from. For dungeons
36:44
and arenas, my favorite choice is the
36:47
Spaulder of Ruin. Spaulder provides your
36:49
group with 260 weapon and spell damage
36:51
and it's fairly uncommon to have someone
36:53
else already covering this buff in
36:56
The downside is the loss of 210 magicka,
36:58
stamina, and health recovery. However,
37:00
you can offset a large portion of that
37:02
penalty by pairing Spaulder with a
37:04
one-piece Magma Incarnate or any monster
37:06
set that grants 129 magicka and stamina
37:09
recovery. That means you're only losing
37:10
a net 131 recovery while providing your
37:13
group with an enormous 260 weapon and
37:15
spell damage increase, which I think is
37:17
an incredibly worthwhile trade. This set
37:20
is fantastic for dungeons, arenas, and
37:22
will sometimes be used by off tanks in
37:24
trials. For organized trial off tanking
37:27
though, I actually think Crypt Cannon's
37:29
Vestment is one of the strongest mythics
37:31
available to Nightblade tanks. Even
37:34
though it's a light chest piece,
37:35
reaching the resistance cap is still
37:37
very straightforward by simply taking
37:39
the two resistant champion point stars
37:41
and if needed, also using this in Nern
37:43
Hound. What makes Crypt Cannon so
37:45
powerful is how perfectly it complements
37:47
Nightblade strengths. It grants
37:49
permanent minor heroism while you're in
37:51
combat and completely changes how your
37:53
ultimate works. Instead of casting your
37:55
ultimate normally, activating it
37:57
transfers your stored ultimate to nearby
37:59
living group members. Since Nightblades
38:01
can generate ultimate faster than any
38:03
other tank class in ESO and no longer
38:05
have a mandatory ultimate like
38:07
Aggressive Horn in organized trial
38:08
groups, this effectively allows you to
38:10
convert your incredible ultimate
38:12
generation directly into more ultimate
38:14
for your entire raid. For organized
38:16
trial off tanks, I think this is one of
38:18
the strongest support tools currently
38:19
available. Being able to pass your
38:21
ultimate onto your group so that your
38:22
damage dealers can use their ultimate
38:24
quicker and do more damage, is just
38:26
really, really strong. I did consider
38:28
recommending this for dungeons as well,
38:29
but it kind of makes gearing
38:31
significantly more awkward, since it
38:32
can't realistically be combined with
38:34
things like war machine, which I think
38:35
remains one of the stronger options for
38:37
most four-player content. For all of
38:39
your gear details like traits and
38:40
enchants, for armor, you really should
38:42
be using the standard five heavy, one
38:44
medium, and one light setup. This
38:45
maximizes your undaunted metal passive
38:47
for increased max stats, while also
38:49
benefiting from the additional heavy,
38:51
medium, and light armor passives and
38:53
bonuses. For armor traits, I generally
38:55
recommend using either full sturdy or
38:58
full divines. Sturdy lowers your block
39:00
cost and is my preferred option for
39:02
general tanking. While divines increases
39:04
the effectiveness of your Mundus Stone,
39:06
giving you more magicka recovery via the
39:08
Atronach Mundus. If you're using Crypt
39:10
Cannon's Vestments, remember that it's a
39:12
light chest piece. Depending on the rest
39:14
of your setup, you may need to use some
39:16
reinforced pieces to comfortably reach
39:18
the resistance cap. Having the chest in
39:20
Nirnhoned is a good way to increase its
39:22
armor value. For enchants, simply use
39:24
tri-stat glyphs on every armor piece, as
39:27
they provide the greatest overall
39:28
increase to your max health, magicka,
39:30
and stamina. For your front bar weapon,
39:32
you should be using a one-handed shield.
39:34
The weapon itself doesn't really matter.
39:36
I recommend running a decisive trait to
39:38
generate even more ultimate. For the
39:40
enchant, hardening is usually my
39:42
preferred option, as it gives you a
39:43
small additional damage shield.
39:45
Alternatively, absorb stamina provides a
39:47
little extra sustain, while also helping
39:49
maintain minor breach. Keep in mind that
39:51
one-handed weapon enchants only operate
39:53
at half strength. If you'd rather have a
39:55
stronger enchant with more frequent
39:57
procs, you can instead use infused,
39:59
although you will lose a little extra
40:00
ultimate generation from decisive. That
40:02
one-handed enchant also really isn't
40:04
super, super important and only provides
40:06
a a minor benefit. So, feel free to use
40:08
anything that you prefer instead if
40:10
needed. For your back bar, always use an
40:12
ice staff. Run it with an infused trait
40:14
and a crusher enchant. Infused allows
40:16
crusher to proc on cooldown. And by
40:18
simply keeping Elemental Blockade
40:20
active, you'll maintain virtually 100%
40:23
Crusher uptime on bosses, reducing their
40:25
armor and increasing your group's
40:27
damage. For add pulls, Crusher becomes
40:29
much less valuable since weapon enchants
40:31
only affect a single target. In those
40:33
situations, you could swap to a Charged
40:36
Ice Staff, which will increase the
40:37
chance for Pulsar to apply Chilled,
40:40
giving much more reliable AoE Minor
40:41
Brittle, Minor Maim, and Minor Breach,
40:44
which all increase your group's damage
40:46
and reduce the damage that enemies do.
40:47
Jewelry is where you have the most
40:49
flexibility with a Nightblade tank. The
40:51
standard setup is Infused with Magicka
40:53
Recovery glyphs. Since almost all of
40:55
your skills cost Magicka, this provides
40:57
excellent sustain in every type of
40:59
content. If you're running Divines
41:01
armor, you could also replace one of
41:03
your recovery glyphs with a Bracing
41:05
enchant instead to reduce your block
41:06
cost. For trials, Harmony is another
41:09
great option. With multiple synergies
41:11
usually available throughout a trial,
41:12
Harmony significantly increases the
41:15
resources that are restored. Combined
41:16
with that, Undaunted Command, giving you
41:18
even more sustain. So, that's great for
41:20
trial content. If you're playing as an
41:22
off tank and using that Surprise Attack
41:24
skill to guarantee Hemorrhage and
41:26
Nocturnal's Inspiration procs, while
41:28
also recasting Siphoning Attacks every 4
41:30
seconds, another option is running
41:32
Infused jewelry with Tri-Cost Reduction
41:34
glyphs. This reduces the cost of all of
41:37
your abilities regardless of the
41:39
resource that they use. Although, it's
41:40
generally only worthwhile if you're
41:42
consistently spending all three
41:44
resources. Finally, you can run potion
41:46
cooldown glyphs on your jewelry. This
41:49
reduces the standard 45-second potion
41:51
cooldown, allowing you to drink potions
41:53
much more frequently. This not only
41:55
improves your sustain, but also
41:57
significantly increases your ultimate
41:59
generation through the Catalyst passive
42:01
and the Arkasis set if you are using it.
42:03
The only downside is the cost as you'll
42:05
need to keep using potions on cooldown
42:07
to fully benefit from that setup. Now
42:10
we've gone through all of the individual
42:11
options, Let's put everything together
42:13
and look at my top five Nightblade tank
42:16
builds. These aren't the only ways to
42:17
build a Nightblade, but they are setups
42:19
I personally recommend for each type of
42:21
content. We'll start with my favorite
42:23
fun build, the Potion Addict. This build
42:25
is all about generating as much ultimate
42:27
as possible. We combine the Baron
42:29
monster set with Alkhesis and War
42:31
Machine alongside Void Bash, stacking
42:34
multiple sources of ultimate generation
42:36
while also still providing major slayer
42:38
and making ad pulls incredibly easy. For
42:40
jewelry, I recommend one harmony, one
42:43
infused with potion cool down, and then
42:45
one infused magicka recovery. This
42:47
reduces your potion cool down from 45
42:49
seconds to 32 seconds, which lines up
42:52
almost perfectly with Alkhesis's
42:54
30-second cool down. This build uses
42:56
Nocturnal's Inspiration together with
42:58
Share the Spoils. Your rotation focuses
43:00
on maintaining Chilling Trample, Warding
43:03
Burst, Elemental Susceptibility,
43:05
Siphoning Attacks every 4 seconds,
43:07
Unleashing Soul with the Major Savagery
43:09
script while using Surprise Attack to
43:11
guarantee Hemorrhage activations, all
43:13
while spamming that Elemental
43:14
Susceptibility at every spare
43:16
opportunity to proc the Baron monster
43:18
set. It's a really fun build with
43:19
unbelievable ultimate generation and
43:22
takes everything the Nightblade does
43:23
well and pushes it to the absolute
43:25
limit. For dungeons, I generally stick
43:27
to one core build and simply swap one or
43:29
two skills depending on whether I'm
43:30
fighting bosses or clearing trash. This
43:32
setup uses the Spaulder of Ruin together
43:34
with a one-piece Magma, Turning Tide for
43:36
AoE Major Vulnerability, or Loosen
43:38
Echoes if your group already has a
43:40
necro, alongside War Machine and Void
43:42
Bash. For the class masteries, I
43:44
recommend Cutthroat's Focus together
43:46
with Share the Spoils, giving you a
43:48
fantastic balance of group damage,
43:50
sustain, and ultimate generation simply
43:52
by casting Siphoning Attacks regularly
43:54
and roll dodging attacks from enemies
43:56
frequently to get that Cutthroat's
43:58
Focus. This build focuses on just
43:59
providing your group everything they
44:01
would need for dungeon content. For
44:03
skill usage, you just want to maintain
44:04
all all your buffs and debuffs and do
44:06
all of the regular dungeon things. We're
44:08
going to look at a little bit more
44:09
detail on how to play this in a few
44:10
minutes. For trial main tanking, the
44:12
focus shifts much more to survival
44:14
sustain and supporting the group. I pair
44:16
Lucent Echoes with either Pillager's
44:18
Profit or the Morag Tong, depending on
44:20
the group composition, and Crimson
44:22
Oathrive could be an option here as
44:23
well. Your monster set should change
44:25
depending on what your raid needs.
44:27
Tremorscale, Encratis, Archdruid, and
44:29
even Nazaray all have their place. For
44:31
traits, I generally recommend harmony
44:33
jewelry. Trials often involve and far
44:35
more available synergies, making this
44:37
combination extremely forgiving while
44:39
providing fantastic sustain. Your skills
44:41
should also lean more towards
44:42
survivability, making good use of damage
44:44
reduction, damage shields, healing, and
44:46
enemy damage debuffs. For class
44:48
masteries, I generally use Cutthroat's
44:50
Focus together with Share the Spoils.
44:52
However, on encounters with particularly
44:54
dangerous execute phases, think things
44:56
like Kyne's Aegis hard mode, I'd replace
44:58
Share the Spoils with An Eye for
45:00
Exploitation, giving you increased
45:02
damage reduction as the boss gets lower
45:04
on health. The role of a Nightblade off
45:06
tank is, however, a little bit
45:08
different. Here, you're essentially
45:09
acting as an ultimate battery for your
45:11
group. The build uses Nocturnal's
45:13
Inspiration together with Share the
45:15
Spoils while combining Crypt Cannon
45:16
Investments, Pearlescent Ward, and
45:18
either Z'en's Masterpiece, the Morag
45:20
Tong, or Crimson Oathrive, depending on
45:22
your group's needs. Because this build
45:24
revolves around ultimate generation, you
45:26
also want to maximize your critical
45:27
chance for Nocturnal's Inspiration. That
45:30
can be done by either slotting Grim
45:31
Focus, adding Savage Lee to one of your
45:33
Scribing skills, such as We Soul, or
45:35
even using weapon power potions. You
45:37
want to weave Surprise Attack into your
45:39
rotation wherever possible to guarantee
45:41
Hemorrhage activations and maximize the
45:43
value of Nocturnal's Inspiration, while
45:45
also using Siphoning Attack every 4
45:47
seconds for the group ultimate gain.
45:49
Finally, we have the trial ad pull
45:51
setup. For main tanks, I generally run
45:53
Archdruid, Turning Tide, and Lucent
45:55
Echoes, and for off tanks, I'll be
45:57
looking towards Archdruid, Pearlescent
45:59
Ward, and Crimson Oathrive. The entire
46:01
goal here is simple, stack enemies as
46:03
quickly as possible, apply as many AoE
46:05
debuffs as you can, and kill everything
46:07
before it has chance to become
46:08
dangerous. I'd recommend sturdy traits,
46:11
since you'll often be blocking multiple
46:13
enemies simultaneously, swift jewelry to
46:15
stay ahead of your group or gathering
46:16
ads, and a charged ice staff to maximize
46:19
chill procs through pulsar. For your
46:20
skills, prioritize AoE utility wherever
46:23
possible with abilities such as pulsar,
46:26
elemental blockade, razor caltrops, and
46:28
your scribing crowd control setup.
46:30
Champion points are pretty standard for
46:32
Nightblade tanks with one important
46:34
exception. Since Nightblade has easy
46:36
access to major evasion, I don't usually
46:39
run the AoE damage reduction champion
46:41
point. Instead, I prefer taking
46:42
bullwark, which makes reaching the
46:44
resistance cap much easier, especially
46:46
if you're using the crit cannon vestment
46:49
light chest mythic. The rest of the
46:50
warfare setup is fairly standard using
46:53
jewels of rebuf, enduring resolve, and
46:55
ironclad for additional survivability.
46:57
For the fitness tree, I recommend using
46:59
the set of balance vitality, fortified,
47:02
and rejuvenation. Your final slot simply
47:04
depends on the encounter. Usually for
47:06
boss fights, I prefer bracing anchor to
47:08
further improve your block mitigation.
47:10
Well for ad pulls, I switch to celerity
47:12
for the additional mobility when
47:13
gathering enemies. So, how do we make
47:15
this all work together? When it comes to
47:17
ad pulls, your priority is controlling
47:19
the fight as quickly as possible. As you
47:21
run into enemies, immediately taunt any
47:23
elite enemies or dangerous melee enemies
47:25
within a range. Next, you want to place
47:27
down elemental blockade followed by
47:29
razor caltrops. This immediately starts
47:31
applying your debuffs while also slowing
47:34
enemies to stop them running through
47:35
into your group. Now, cast binding
47:37
contingency before using power bash to
47:40
activate void bash. This instantly pulls
47:43
everything into a tight stack, and
47:45
because contingency was already primed,
47:47
every enemy is immediately immobilized
47:49
and debuffed when you then cast power
47:51
bash. Once everything is grouped
47:52
together, you spam pulsar to spread
47:55
chill across the entire pull applying
47:57
that minor brittle, minor maim, minor
47:58
breach, while also reducing enemies
48:00
health through minor mangle. At this
48:02
point, your damage dealers should
48:03
already start burning everything down.
48:05
If anything survives, simply pick up the
48:07
remaining taunts, chain any stray
48:09
enemies back into the stack with
48:10
leeching soul, and continue controlling
48:12
the pull until everything dies. Between
48:15
add pulls, don't just stand waiting.
48:17
Refresh siphoning attacks to recover
48:19
resources, and keep your class masteries
48:21
active, then place refreshing path while
48:23
moving to the next pack. This increases
48:25
your group's movement speed while also
48:27
providing additional resources for
48:29
everyone. For trial add pulls, the
48:31
overall approach is exactly the same.
48:33
The biggest difference is that many
48:35
trial enemies can't be chained or pulled
48:36
by void bash, so your priority shifts
48:38
towards taunting all of the dangerous
48:40
enemies into position rather than
48:42
chaining, and then just chaining
48:43
anything that can still be pulled. But
48:45
then you want to use mass hysteria to
48:47
apply AoE major cowardice. Boss fights
48:49
are much more about maintaining your
48:51
buffs and debuffs while reacting to
48:53
mechanics rather than following a strict
48:55
rotation. Your first priority is always
48:57
making sure your taunt never drops. At
49:00
the same time, you need to keep
49:01
elemental blockade on the ground and
49:03
maintain elemental susceptibility, as
49:05
these provide some of your most
49:06
important group utility. Next, you want
49:09
to maintain all of your defensive buffs.
49:10
Keep mirage active for that major
49:12
evasion and minor resolve, while also
49:14
remembering that either mirage or dark
49:16
cloak needs to be cast regularly to
49:17
activate shadow barrier, keeping major
49:20
resolve active at all times. Dark cloak
49:22
deserves some special attention. Unlike
49:24
many tank heals, it isn't a emergency
49:26
burst heal. Instead, it's a powerful
49:28
heal over time effect that should be
49:30
refreshed regularly, both for the
49:31
self-healing and to maintain your
49:33
defensive buffs. Alongside that, you
49:35
want to keep refreshing path underneath
49:37
you whenever possible for the additional
49:39
healing and resource recovery. If you're
49:41
using warding burst, remember to refresh
49:43
it roughly every 20 seconds to maintain
49:45
the minor courage. Don't be afraid to
49:46
cast it much more often and earlier if
49:48
you know heavy hitting mechanics are
49:50
about to happen, allowing the damage
49:51
shield part of it to absorb some of the
49:53
hits. For enemy debuffs, you've got to
49:55
keep Leeching Soul active to maintain
49:58
major cowardice, while Goading Throw
50:00
maintains major maim alongside your
50:02
taunt. Layering both of these together
50:03
significantly reduces incoming damage.
50:06
And then, perhaps one of the most
50:07
important skills to remember is
50:09
Siphoning Attacks. Ideally, you should
50:11
recast it every 4 seconds. Doing so
50:14
activates the Transfer passive and the
50:15
Share the Spoils mastery, both on
50:17
cooldown, restoring your own resources
50:20
while constantly feeding ultimate and
50:21
sustain to the rest of the group and
50:23
ultimate to yourself. It's one of the
50:24
core mechanics that makes Nightblade
50:26
such a powerful support tank. Finally,
50:28
don't forget about Cutthroat's Focus. To
50:30
maintain the unique 5% damage taken
50:33
debuff, you'll need to either
50:34
successfully trigger the mastery by
50:36
blocking and casting a Nightblade skill
50:38
as an attack lands or simply roll dodge
50:40
an incoming attack. As long as you're
50:42
refreshing this every 20 seconds, your
50:44
group will benefit from one of the
50:45
strongest unique group damage buffs
50:47
being provided by tanks. With the potion
50:49
addict build, specifically, it follows
50:51
the same fundamentals but puts a much
50:52
greater emphasis on ultimate generation.
50:55
Keeping your taunt active, then simply
50:57
drink potions every time they're
50:58
available, maintaining Chilling Trample,
51:01
Warding Burst, and Leeching Soul with
51:02
the Major Savagery script active to
51:04
maximize your crit chance. Refresh
51:06
Siphoning Attacks every 4 seconds to
51:08
activate Transfer and Share the Spoils,
51:10
then alternate between Surprise Attack
51:12
for guaranteed Hemorrhage and
51:13
Nocturnal's Inspiration activations and
51:15
Elemental Susceptibility to continuously
51:17
trigger the Baron monster set. The
51:19
result is an absurd amount of ultimate
51:21
generation while still maintaining all
51:23
of the utility and survivability that
51:25
makes Nightblade such a strong tank. And
51:27
that's everything for my complete
51:29
Nightblade tank build and guide.
51:31
Hopefully, this has not only given you a
51:33
strong build to start with but also
51:35
helped you understand why each skill,
51:36
gear set, and set up works so you can
51:39
adapt your own build to whatever content
51:41
or group you're playing with. A huge
51:42
thank you, as always, to all of my
51:44
patron supporters. Your support really
51:46
helps make these guides possible. If
51:48
you've got any questions about
51:49
Nightblade tanking or you want some
51:50
advice on your own build, drop a comment
51:52
below and I'll do my best to help. You
51:54
can also join our Discord community if
51:56
you'd like to chat with other tanks or
51:58
ask questions or stay up to date with
52:00
everything I'm working on. Thank you
52:01
very much for watching and I'll see you
52:02
next time. Bye-bye for now.
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