PVE Magicka Tank

Replies: 37

UPDATE:  current build has been modified for a more advanced tank approach…  See notes at bottom of this post!

Putting out a basic magicka tank build that is proven and easy to set up. The goal here is more of a starter tank build for players just getting to endgame, with multiple gear set options and a focus on crafted options.

Recommend imperial race, though dunmer, Breton and altmer would work.

Half attribute points into Health and the rest in Magicka, all health glyphs on major pieces of gear (head, chest, legs, shield) and healthy trait jewelry.

Atronach mundus stone if you have magicka issues, thief for more crit if you are going more of a DPS focus and your sustain is ok (bretons and altmers will have an easier time with magicka sustain).

Champion points (currently at 326 total):
Warrior, focus on block and spell resistance, heavy armor… The steed constellation to 30 first for healing proc on bashes.  You really want that 75 point shield armor boost passive. A balance of Lady constellation spends to reduce aoe, magic and elemental damage is nice as you approach 350 CP.

Thief, focus on magician (to 30 first) then arcanist to help magicka sustain.  Magician is your goal to take to 100 eventually but on the way once you hit diminishing returns balance with arcanist.

Mage, 1 point each in spell erosion and blessed.  Focus on elemental expert (30 into apprentice path first for spell precision); splitting points into Bladed and staff expert to 30 is also helpful for the reflected damage on blocks passive.  Use the jump points for elfborn spends to ensure you are being strategic and efficient with your CP.

Bar1: 1h/s boss bar
-giant fist/igneous shield
-green dragon blood
-pierce armor
-absorb magic/defensive stance
-heroic slash
Ult: Standard of Might / Magma Shell

Bar2: Destro – trash/boss
-extended chains
-elemental ring / burning embers
-hardened armor
-shuffle
-choking talons / structured entropy
Ult: Take flight/dawnbreaker

You can run this in 5 heavy, use blue stamina/magicka regen drinks for sustain or purple drinks.

Gear options:
*5 footmans (1 health, 1 armor, 1 spell resist, increased block mitigation… jewelry, shoulders, hands… Shoulders and hands of footman set have divines as opposed to exploration on the other slots)
*4 alessias bulwark (2 armor, 1 health bonus)
*3 whitestrakes (1 health, 1 spell resist buff)

Or

*5 footmans
*5 hist bark (1 armor, 1 health, 1 health recovery, evasion while blocking bonuses)
*2 alessias bulwark/deaths wind (1 armor bonus)

Or

5 willows path, 3 footman, 2 engine guardian, 2 alessia (super sustain build)

Or… if you are brave…

5L-1H-1M, armor master + willpower jewelry + 2 bloodspawn/engine guardian + 2 torugs pact…  with shuffle up 100% of the time and a good bloodspawn proc rate, you are looking at somewhere around +21,000 armor with all your bonuses from gear.  that is not including the base with a heavy chest, medium legs and 5L, which I believe will net you somewhere around 7,000-10,000 base.  Add in a minor resolve/ward for another ~1,000 armor, and you are looking at very close to capped mitigation (33,000).  In LIGHT ARMOR?!

Alternate possible combos :
-2 torugs pact
-4 song of lamae
-5 kagrenacs hope

-4 spectres eye

-4 magnus

-2 bloodspawn
-2 lord warden
-1-2 molag kena

-5 julianos

General rotation for boss fights:

Buff with shuffle, green dragon blood, hardened armor; taunt with pierce armor and weave heavy attacks with giant fist/igneous shield for stamina restoration and ultimate generation; bash to interrupt heavy attacks and boss skills; block as needed.  Keep your maim from heroic slash and taunt + debuffs from pierce armor up at all times.

On bosses, keep your fire DOT up from burning embers. Maintain green dragon blood at all times for HoT and stamina recovery; block cast hardened armor/shuffle when you need to refresh the buffs.

For magic boss fights, you can stack harness magicka shield on igneous shield for increased mitigation if needed; alternatively, absorb magic works nicely to burst heal with a stamina cost if the boss uses projectile spells and while slotted increases block mitigation.

Structured entropy is featured because with mages guild passives maxed out you can get an empower on your next attack, including standard of might for some heavy DPS. The slotted health is nice when you swap back to your staff bar for buff refresh.

UPDATE:  i am now using 5 light divines, 1 medium divines and 1 heavy reinforced; 5 armor master (v15), 2 engine guardian (v16) and 3 health willpower jewelry with reduced magicka cost on them.  Unbuffed health is 28k on shield bar.  Unbuffed magicka is 15k, stamina is 10k.  Magicka regen is up over 1,000.  I have ~33k spell resistance with hardened armor and shuffle active; 28k physical.  Physical resistance i am working on increasing by putting points in the Lady CP “light armor” passive, which increases your physical by a % while wearing 5 light…  This basically bumps my buffed physical resist up by a huge chunk.  Only 21 points in it at the moment, but as i gain more CP i will improve that number further.  Also considering i am wearing mostly v15 purple armor and sword/shield, i would be closer to 30k physical and up over 35k spell resist in v16.  Still getting my rotation down in endgame before committing to the v16 golds.

• This topic was modified 1 month, 1 week ago by  mrowmrif2.