Replies: 106
Hey everyone, I’m Geraint (@GeraintAmbrosia) from the EU Megaserver, member and Dungeon Mentor of the social/casual guild Alith (http://www.alitheso.com)
I thought I’d share my Dragon Knight PvE tanking build(s) “The Blockade” with you all.
Please be aware that the following build variations are for endgame PvE tanking only, I don’t do PvP.
The skill points spent are only for the mentioned build, feel free to spend points in other skill lines with your remaining points (all heavy armor passivies are a no-brainer anyway but also nearly all of the light/medium passives are good, plus other passives of course).
My build lists Champion point allocations for a character with 90, 150, 240, 300, 360, 420, 501 champion points as well as a split for stamina or magicka DPS for vWGT Flame Atronach boss.
Changes for Dark Brooderhood are in green
Latest update:
June 12th, 2016 – build video for Dark Brotherhood DLC
June 4th, 2016 – build overhaul for Dark Brotherhood DLC
[spoiler]
October 2nd, 2015 – build overhaul for Imperial City, build update video
May 10th, 2015 – added new section “Food & Drinks”, made changes to champ point distribution for 90, 120, 150 & 180 points, removed 360 champ point setup, changed trait recommendation for the gear to reinforced, adjusted skill use on bar 1 & 2 (personal preference).
April 26th, 2015 – included video section & City of Ash video
April 7th, 2015 – Weapon trait recommendation change
March 23, 2015 – old CP video removed & corrections on CP passives
January 23rd, 2016 – build overhaul for Orsinium DLC, build update video
[/spoiler]
Values with purple 3 stat food buff, hardened armor & Lord Warden buff (5 gold sturdy pieces, 2 random – don’t have Lord Warden set in sturdy yet)
[img]https://i.imgsafe.org/2e6103460d.png[/img]
Build video (Status: Dark Brotherhood DLC)
Race
I personally use an Imperial for the health & stamina passives but the build works for pretty much any race.
I also used a Dunmer DK to test the build, no problems there.
Attribute distribution
If you are NOT an Imperial, Nord or Orc you might want to put all attribute points into Health otherwise you can stop at ~30k health (including food & buffs), for example I have a Dunmer DK too and split it 40 Health / 24 Stamina but 12M / 40H / 12S is also an option here.
Some say that 25k health is enough but not everyone runs with a top end gear group so I’d suggest at least 30k.
If you are Imperial, Nord or Orc you can distribute even more to Magicka & Stamina if you want.
Food & Drinks
I’m using purple 3 stat (CP 150/160) food.
Star Sign
I found The Atronach (magicka regeneration) a really good choice if you are already used to trial tanking and it’s my suggestion for experienced tanks that are already familiar with this build.
Otherwise you can also choose either The Tower (Stamina) or The Mage (Magicka) instead.
Champion Point distribution
The CP setup is based on using the Lord Warden Set option when tanking – in case you are using Bloodspawn you can redistribute the CP from “The Lord” to “The Lady” (into Hardy and Elemental Defender).
If you want to be a stamina DPS at WGT Flame Atronach boss fight
[spoiler]
Please note that for the stamina dps setup “Blessed” will not be used!
Setup for 90 points
Warrior Star Signs
The Lord – 30 points into “Heavy Armor Focus” (more p.def.)
Thief Star Signs
The Lover – 30 points into “Arcanist” (magicka regeneration)
Mage Star Signs
The Ritual – 15 points into “Mighty”
The Ritual – 13 points into “Thaumaturge”
The Ritual – 1 point into “Precise Strikes”
The Ritual – 1 point into “Piercing”
Setup for 150 points
Warrior Star Signs
The Lord – 30 points into “Heavy Armor Focus” (more p.def.)
The Lady – 10 points into “Elemental Defender”
The Lady – 10 points into “Hardy”
Thief Star Signs
The Lover – 30 points into “Arcanist” (magicka regeneration)
The Tower – 18 points into “Warlord” (reduces stamina cost of spell & abilities)
The Tower – 2 points into “Magician” (reduces magicka cost of spell & abilities)
Mage Star Signs
The Ritual – 35 points into “Mighty”
The Ritual – 13 points into “Thaumaturge”
The Ritual – 1 point into “Precise Strikes”
The Ritual – 1 point into “Piercing”
Setup for 240 points
Warrior Star Signs
The Lord – 30 points into “Heavy Armor Focus” (more p.def.)
The Lady – 20 points into “Elemental Defender”
The Lady – 20 points into “Hardy”
The Lady – 10 points into “Thick Skinned”
Thief Star Signs
The Lover – 30 points into “Arcanist” (magicka regeneration)
The Tower – 40 points into “Warlord” (reduces stamina cost of spell & abilities)
The Tower – 10 points into “Magician” (reduces magicka cost of spell & abilities)
Mage Star Signs
The Ritual – 50 points into “Mighty”
The Ritual – 28 points into “Thaumaturge”
The Ritual – 1 point into “Precise Strikes”
The Ritual – 1 point into “Piercing”
Setup for 300 points
Warrior Star Signs
The Lord – 30 points into “Heavy Armor Focus” (more p.def.)
The Lady – 30 points into “Elemental Defender”
The Lady – 30 points into “Hardy”
The Lady – 10 points into “Thick Skinned”
Thief Star Signs
The Lover – 30 points into “Arcanist” (magicka regeneration)
The Tower – 47 points into “Warlord” (reduces stamina cost of spell & abilities)
The Tower – 23 points into “Magician” (reduces magicka cost of spell & abilities)
From 300 point onwards I use a 2:1 point distribution for Warlord to Magician
Mage Star Signs
The Ritual – 53 points into “Mighty”
The Ritual – 35 points into “Thaumaturge”
The Ritual – 1 point into “Precise Strikes”
The Ritual – 1 point into “Piercing”
The Atronach – 5 points into “Melee Weapon Expert”
The Atronach – 5 points into “Bow Expert”
Setup for 360 points
Warrior Star Signs
The Lord – 30 points into “Heavy Armor Focus” (more p.def.)
The Lady – 37 points into “Elemental Defender”
The Lady – 37 points into “Hardy”
The Lady – 16 points into “Thick Skinned”
Thief Star Signs
The Lover – 30 points into “Arcanist” (magicka regeneration)
The Tower – 60 points into “Warlord” (reduces stamina cost of spell & abilities)
The Tower – 30 points into “Magician” (reduces magicka cost of spell & abilities)
Mage Star Signs
The Ritual – 53 points into “Mighty”
The Ritual – 35 points into “Thaumaturge”
The Ritual – 1 point into “Precise Strikes”
The Ritual – 1 point into “Piercing”
The Atronach – 15 points into “Melee Weapon Expert”
The Atronach – 15 points into “Bow Expert”
Setup for 420 points
Warrior Star Signs
The Lord – 30 points into “Heavy Armor Focus” (more p.def.)
The Lady – 47 points into “Elemental Defender”
The Lady – 47 points into “Hardy”
The Lady – 16 points into “Thick Skinned”
Thief Star Signs
The Lover – 30 points into “Arcanist” (magicka regeneration)
The Tower – 70 points into “Warlord” (reduces stamina cost of spell & abilities)
The Tower – 40 points into “Magician” (reduces magicka cost of spell & abilities)
Mage Star Signs
The Ritual – 73 points into “Mighty”
The Ritual – 35 points into “Thaumaturge”
The Ritual – 1 point into “Precise Strikes”
The Ritual – 1 point into “Piercing”
The Atronach – 15 points into “Melee Weapon Expert”
The Atronach – 15 points into “Bow Expert”
Setup for 501 points
Warrior Star Signs
The Lord – 30 points into “Heavy Armor Focus” (more p.def.)
The Lady – 60 points into “Elemental Defender”
The Lady – 60 points into “Hardy”
The Lady – 16 points into “Thick Skinned”
Thief Star Signs
The Lover – 36 points into “Arcanist” (magicka regeneration)
The Tower – 88 points into “Warlord” (reduces stamina cost of spell & abilities)
The Tower – 44 points into “Magician” (reduces magicka cost of spell & abilities)
If you really want you can also distribute the 6 points from Arcanist to Shadow Ward (old Block Expertise) in the Shadow tree to gain another 3,5% block cost reduction.
I’d only recommend that if you use 4 sturdy pieces and 3 infused.
Mage Star Signs
The Ritual – 100 points into “Mighty”
The Ritual – 35 points into “Thaumaturge”
The Ritual – 1 point into “Precise Strikes”
The Ritual – 1 point into “Piercing”
The Atronach – 15 points into “Melee Weapon Expert”
The Atronach – 15 points into “Bow Expert”
[/spoiler]
If you want to be a magicka DPS at WGT Flame Atronach boss fight (my prefered choice)
[spoiler]
Setup for 90 points
Warrior Star Signs
The Lord – 30 points into “Heavy Armor Focus” (more p.def.)
Thief Star Signs
The Lover – 30 points into “Arcanist” (magicka regeneration)
Mage Star Signs
The Apprentice – 30 points into “Elemental Expert”
Setup for 150 points
Warrior Star Signs
The Lord – 30 points into “Heavy Armor Focus” (more p.def.)
The Lady – 10 points into “Elemental Defender”
The Lady – 10 points into “Hardy”
Thief Star Signs
The Lover – 30 points into “Arcanist” (magicka regeneration)
The Tower – 18 points into “Warlord” (reduces stamina cost of spell & abilities)
The Tower – 2 points into “Magician” (reduces magicka cost of spell & abilities)
Mage Star Signs
The Apprentice – 30 points into “Elemental Expert”
The Apprentice – 20 points into “Blessed”
Setup for 240 points
Warrior Star Signs
The Lord – 30 points into “Heavy Armor Focus” (more p.def.)
The Lady – 20 points into “Elemental Defender”
The Lady – 20 points into “Hardy”
The Lady – 10 points into “Thick Skinned”
Thief Star Signs
The Lover – 30 points into “Arcanist” (magicka regeneration)
The Tower – 40 points into “Warlord” (reduces stamina cost of spell & abilities)
The Tower – 10 points into “Magician” (reduces magicka cost of spell & abilities)
Mage Star Signs
The Apprentice – 40 points into “Elemental Expert”
The Apprentice – 40 points into “Blessed”
Setup for 300 points
Warrior Star Signs
The Lord – 30 points into “Heavy Armor Focus” (more p.def.)
The Lady – 30 points into “Elemental Defender”
The Lady – 30 points into “Hardy”
The Lady – 10 points into “Thick Skinned”
Thief Star Signs
The Lover – 30 points into “Arcanist” (magicka regeneration)
The Tower – 47 points into “Warlord” (reduces stamina cost of spell & abilities)
The Tower – 23 points into “Magician” (reduces magicka cost of spell & abilities)
From 300 point onwards I use a 2:1 point distribution for Warlord to Magician
Mage Star Signs
The Apprentice – 40 points into “Elemental Expert”
The Apprentice – 40 points into “Blessed”
The Atronach – 10 points into “Melee Weapon Expert”
The Atronach – 10 points into “Staff Expert”
Setup for 360 points
Warrior Star Signs
The Lord – 30 points into “Heavy Armor Focus” (more p.def.)
The Lady – 37 points into “Elemental Defender”
The Lady – 37 points into “Hardy”
The Lady – 16 points into “Thick Skinned”
Thief Star Signs
The Lover – 30 points into “Arcanist” (magicka regeneration)
The Tower – 60 points into “Warlord” (reduces stamina cost of spell & abilities)
The Tower – 30 points into “Magician” (reduces magicka cost of spell & abilities)
Mage Star Signs
The Apprentice – 50 points into “Elemental Expert”
The Apprentice – 40 points into “Blessed”
The Atronach – 15 points into “Melee Weapon Expert”
The Atronach – 15 points into “Staff Expert”
Setup for 420 points
Warrior Star Signs
The Lord – 30 points into “Heavy Armor Focus” (more p.def.)
The Lady – 47 points into “Elemental Defender”
The Lady – 47 points into “Hardy”
The Lady – 16 points into “Thick Skinned”
Thief Star Signs
The Lover – 30 points into “Arcanist” (magicka regeneration)
The Tower – 70 points into “Warlord” (reduces stamina cost of spell & abilities)
The Tower – 40 points into “Magician” (reduces magicka cost of spell & abilities)
Mage Star Signs
The Apprentice – 60 points into “Elemental Expert”
The Apprentice – 50 points into “Blessed”
The Atronach – 15 points into “Melee Weapon Expert”
The Atronach – 15 points into “Staff Expert”
Setup for 501 points
Warrior Star Signs
The Lord – 30 points into “Heavy Armor Focus” (more p.def.)
The Lady – 60 points into “Elemental Defender”
The Lady – 60 points into “Hardy”
The Lady – 16 points into “Thick Skinned”
Thief Star Signs
The Lover – 36 points into “Arcanist” (magicka regeneration)
The Tower – 88 points into “Warlord” (reduces stamina cost of spell & abilities)
The Tower – 44 points into “Magician” (reduces magicka cost of spell & abilities)
If you really want you can also distribute the 6 points from Arcanist to Shadow Ward (old Block Expertise) in the Shadow tree to gain another 3,5% block cost reduction.
I’d only do that if you use 4 sturdy pieces and 3 infused.
Mage Star Signs
The Apprentice – 75 points into “Elemental Expert”
The Apprentice – 60 points into “Blessed”
The Apprentice – 1 point into “Elfborn”
The Apprentice – 1 point into “Spell Erosion”
The Atronach – 15 points into “Melee Weapon Expert”
The Atronach – 15 points into “Staff Expert”
[/spoiler]
Gear
My armor setup is 1L / 1M / 5H to get the maximum out of the Undaunted passive.
Starter Tanking gear < 299 CP
[spoiler]
Bloodspawn / Lord Warden – Footman / Mark of the Pariah – Hist Bark:
Head – Heavy – Lord Warden / Bloodspawn – Sturdy (Infused optional) – Prismatic enchant
Shoulders – Medium – Lord Warden / Bloodspawn – Sturdy – Prismatic enchant
Chest – Heavy – Hist Bark – Sturdy (Infused optional) – Prismatic enchant
Gloves – Heavy – Footman (divine) / Pariah – Sturdy (don’t know if possible on pariah after DB DLC) – Prismatic enchant
Belt – Light – Hist Bark – Sturdy – Prismatic enchant
Pants – Heavy – Hist Bark – Sturdy (Infused optional) – Prismatic enchant
Boots – Heavy – Footman (default) / Pariah – Sturdy (don’t know if possible on pariah after DB DLC) – Prismatic enchant
For the Head & Shoulders Undaunted set a heavy Head and medium Shoulders would be best, if you are unlucky to find them you can use either armor type to complete the set just make sure to create the Hist Bark belt in the right armor type to preserve the Undauted armor type attribute passive bonus.
You can also replace the Footman armor / jewelry with pieces of the Orsinium “Mark of the Pariah” set if you have it but I think Footman is the better choice.
The traits are all sturdy if possible as you will be at or over the hard cap for pdef & spell resist as soon as Bloodspawn / Lord Warden procs.
If you can’t afford to craft prismatic enchants, enchant the items with any missing attribute enchants that you might need instead
Jewelry – 2x Footman / Pariah ring, 1x Footman / Pariah necklace – block cost reduction enchant on all 3
2x 1h weapon – Hist Bark – Defending – Stamina or Magicka leech enchant
2x Shield – Hist Bark – Infused – Prismatic enchant
I completely removed the Engine Guardian option for this build update, the only way I can see it still working is pumping lots of points into “Heavy Armor Expertise” to get at least close to the pdef. cap again.
You have to decide if it’s worth sacrificing points from Hardy and/or Elemental Defender for it – if you choose to do it then Engine Guardian still works with this build.
[/spoiler]
Endgame Tanking gear > 300 CP
If you have checked the CP setup already you will know that there are (normally) no points put into “Block Expertise” or as it is now called “Shadow Ward” anymore!
You might ask, why Geraint, why do you still call this build “The Blockade” then???
That’s the cue for the new major trait on the gear for the build – Sturdy – and the new Bahraha set (more on that below). Enchanted in gold quality each item will provide 4% block cost reduction, so if you sum it up with 7 items you will receive 28% block cost reduction => that’s 3% more as 100 CP put into “Shadow Ward”, considering it’s in a new (and useless for tanking) tree => you so save quite a lot CP!
If you don’t use Bloodspawn set but Lord Warden set (like me) instead you will now have to put some points into “Heavy Armor Expertise” to reach the pdef cap of ~33.1k (check CP section).
If you choose to use Bloodspawn set you can redistribute the 30 points from Heavy Armor Expertise to Hardy and/or Elemental Defender.
If you use 7 gold sturdy items I would even go as far as suggesting to remove the “Defensive Stance / Absorb Magic” from you skill bar and replace it with another skill of your choice, making slot 5 on your two bars basically utility slots.
If you don’t run 7 gold gear or only for ex. 4 sturdy and the 3 big slots infused I’d still keep it on your bar(s) or you could also redistribute the 6 points from Arcanist to Shadow Ward (old Block Expertise) in the Shadow tree to gain another 3,5% block cost reduction.
I prefer Lord Warden set as the proc chance got changed to 50% (!) with TG DLC and sadly most of the set sites on the internet still list Lord Warden as 6% proc chance and only granting spell resist instead of p.def. & spell resist.
50% means the proc buff is active pretty much all of the time and close range dps also profit from the shadow orb.
The pdef & spell resist is not as high as Bloodspawn (~3.7k compared to ~6.8k) but the buff is active most of the time compared to Bloodspawns 6% proc chance.
I completely removed the Engine Guardian option for this build update, the only way I can see it still working is pumping lots of points into “Heavy Armor Expertise” to get at least close to the pdef. cap again.
You have to decide if it’s worth sacrificing points from Hardy and/or Elemental Defender for it – if you choose to do it then Engine Guardian still works with this build.
But let’s have a look at the new (set)gear / trait options.
Lord Warden / Bloodspawn – Hist Bark – Bahraha’s Curse:
Head – Heavy – Lord Warden / Bloodspawn – Sturdy (Infused optional) – Prismatic enchant
Shoulders – Heavy – Lord Warden / Bloodspawn – Sturdy – Prismatic enchant
Chest – Heavy – Hist Bark – Sturdy (Infused optional) – Prismatic enchant
Gloves – Medium – Hist Bark – Sturdy – Prismatic enchant
Belt – Light – Hist Bark – Sturdy – Prismatic enchant
Pants – Heavy – Hist Bark – Sturdy (Infused optional) – Prismatic enchant
Boots – Heavy – Hist Bark – Sturdy – Prismatic enchant
Jewelry – 2x Bahraha rings (robust), 1x Bahraha necklace (any trait you still need – I prefer arcane) – block cost reduction enchant on all 3
2x Bahraha Shield – Infused – Prismatic enchant
2x Bahraha 1h weapon – Defending – 1x Stamina or Magicka leech (main bar) – 1x crushing enchant (2nd skill bar)
For the Head & Shoulders Undaunted set a heavy Head and heavy Shoulders would be best to get the highest overall armor stats, if you are unlucky to find them you can use either armor type to complete the set just make sure to create the Hist Bark armor part(s) in the right armor type to preserve the Undauted armor type attribute passive bonus.
If you can’t afford to craft prismatic enchants, enchant the big slot parts with any missing attribute enchant that you might need.
Bahraha jewelry comes tradeable in blue quality only as far as I know but you can still gold enchant it.
Why did I chose Bahraha over Willpower and Agility?
In case you don’t know the set bonus:
(2 Items) Adds 1064 Maximum Health
(3 Items) Adds 967 Maximum Magicka
(4 Items) Adds 967 Maximum Stamina & take 40% less damage from traps
(5 Items) Your damage abilities have a 25% chance to create desecrated ground for 5 seconds, snaring enemies within for 70%, damaging them for Magic Damage every 1 second and healing you for the damage done.
Not only do we get bonus to all 3 attributes, the best part is when this set procs (and many mobs are in the area of effect) you basically don’t need a healer and the healing you get is just crazy!
Yes, you will lose around 500 magicka & stamina but the 5 piece bonus is really worth taking as tank, furthermore with the change to the heavy armor Constitution passive you gain more stamina & magicka anyway.
An analysis of Bahraha proc rate and testing can be found on the official forum
And in case you don’t know the “new” Lord Warden set bonus here as well:
(1 Item) Adds Spell Resistance
(2 Items) 50% chance when you take damage to summon a shadow orb that adds Physical and Spell Resistance to nearby allies for 10 seconds.
Stamina DPS Gear (White Gold Tower veteran Flame Atronach boss)
[spoiler]
For stamina DPS skills I suggest you check out good builds here on TF as well as gear choice, otherwise I’ll provide you with an easy craftable choice.
Craftable armor alternatives
Head – medium – Hundings Rage – infused – Stamina enchant
Shoulders – medium- Hundings Rage – divine – Stamina enchant
Chest – heavy – Hundings Rage – infused – Stamine enchant
Pants – medium – Hundings Rage – infused – Stamina enchant
Boots – medium – Hundings Rage – divine – Stamina enchant
Gloves – medium – Ashen Grip – divine – Stamina enchant
Belt – light – Ashen Grip – divine – Stamina enchant
Weapon choices
1 x Bow – Ashen Grip -Weapon damage enchant or poison/flame enchant
Jewelry – 3x Agility with weapon damage enchants
[/spoiler]
Magicka DPS Gear (White Gold Tower veteran Flame Atronach boss)
[spoiler]
For magicka DPS skills I suggest you check out good builds here on TF as well as gear choice, otherwise I’ll provide you with an easy craftable choice (and Molag Kena).
Head – light – Molag Kena – divine – Magicka enchant
Shoulders – light – Molag Kena- divine – Magicka enchant
Chest – heavy – Julianos – Divine – Magicka enchant
Pants – medium – Julianos – Divine – Magicka enchant
Boots – light – Julianos – Divine – Magicka enchant
Belt – light – Julianos – Divine – Magicka enchant
Gloves -light – Julianos – Divine – Magicka enchant
Weapons
Bar 1
1 x Master Inferno Staff (DSA) / Maelstrom Inferno Staff / Fighters Guild Prismatic Inferno staff.
Bar 2
2x Torug’s Pact Swords – Precise – Poison / Flame damage enchant
Jewelry – 3x Willpower set – 3x spell damage enchant
You can exchange Kena and/or the special staffs with crafted Torug’s Pact if you don’t have them.
[/spoiler]
Skills
This is the basic tanking setup before you make changes depeding on the situation
Bar 1
1 – Pierce Armor (Taunt)
2 – Burning Embers
3 – Hardened Armor
4 – Coagulating blood
5 – Defensive Stance or Absorb Magic / possible utility slot if you use 7 sturdy gold pieces
U – Magma Shell / Ferocious Leap
Bar 2
1 – Inner Rage (ranged Taunt)
2 – Heroic Slash / Deep Slash
3 – Choking Talons / Unrelenting Grip
4 – Igneous Shield
5 – Defensive Stance or Absorb Magic / possible utility slot if you use 7 sturdy gold pieces
U – Agressive Warhorn / Dawnbreaker morph
Possible utility slots may include for example: Igneous Weapons, Eruption, Inhale morph, Shattering Rocks, Stalwart Guard etc.
Stamina DPS (WGT Flame Atronach) – only example please check other dps guides on TF
[spoiler]
1 – Snipe morph
2 – Evil Hunter
3 – Poison Injection (use only when boss is below 50%)
4 – Coagulating Blood
5 – Flames of Oblivion
U – Flawless Dawnbreaker
[/spoiler]
Magicka DPS (WGT Flame Atronach) – only example please check other dps guides on TF
[spoiler]
Bar 1
1 – Force Pulse / Crushing Shock
2 – Evil Hunter
3 – Elemental Drain / Destructive Reach
4 – Eruption
5 – Inferno (no morph)
U – Shooting Star / Dawnbreaker of Smiting
Bar 2
1 – Burning Embers
2 – Harness Magicka
3 – Engulfing Flames
4 – Coagulating Blood
5 – Inferno (no morph)
U – Standard of Might
[/spoiler]
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I hope this tanking guide helps you in your tanking build decisions, if you have questions or want to comment on it please reply here or pm me ingame on the EU server (@GeraintAmbrosia).
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This topic was modified 4 months ago by
GeraintAmbrosia.
