Warden PvE Build: The BarBearian.

Skullstachio · September 2023

Update timeline: TU 39
Class: Warden (may or may not come with a right to "Bear" Arms.)
Attributes: 64 Stamina.
Mundus Stone: Thief for crit chance.
Race: Orsimer (Orc)
Affliction: None (but optional in overland.)
Strengths:

Nearly 90k Damage on target iron atronach dummy (Less with nunatak but increases group critical damage and buffing the team through the major brittle utility value.) but may change in a real combat scenario.
about average survivability.
plenty of buffs and debuffs to offer that can help group compositions.
Plenty of un"bear"able puns to work with.

Weaknesses:

Overall Sustainability in solo content, less so in group comps and with tri-stat potions, some selective frugality is required when using abilities.
Requires ramp up of buffs/debuffs and DoT effects to keep up consistent damage on average.
Complex rotation that is interchanging on the fly in real combat scenarios.
Mobile fights are detrimental to Stampede, Barbed Trap, Nunatak and Winters revenge, not as problematic in well coordinated group comps.

Main Weapon and abilities:

Charged Blooddrinker Ice Staff with Frost enchantment: Increases status effect chance by 365%. frost enchant brings chilled and minor brittle to your group (while actively wielding a frost destruction stave), allowing them to deal more critical damage to affected targets while also helping allies take less damage themselves from affected targets.
Cutting Dive: Main form of spammable damage and always procs the first tick of it's 10 second bleed damage with every application, has a small chance to proc hemorrhaging status effect, it also brings your group off-balance if the target is hit from 7+ meters away.
Barbed Trap: Takes 1.5 seconds to arm, targets that trip it take bleed damage and even more bleed damage over 20 seconds while also granting minor force for the duration of the bleed, has a pretty high chance to proc the hemorrhaging status effect.
Deep Fissure: Stir a group of shalk that attack after 3 seconds, dealing magic damage to all enemies in front of you and applying major and minor breach to them, reducing their armor by a combined value of 8922, has a small chance to proc overcharge on affected targets.
growing swarm: a powerful 20 second bleed damaging attack that deals area damage to any targets near the affected target, best saved for tougher enemies as well as for applying minor vulnerability with a small chance to apply hemorrhaging status effect.
winter's revenge: A decent 12 second frost damaging area over time ability which deals 30% more damage whenncast with a frost destro staff while also applying a small snare to affected enemies and has an enhanced chance to apply the chilled status effect
Wild guardian: this is double-barred and remains the same on the main weapon backup. The perfect ultimate ability to have, deals bleed damage, has a strong frontal area bleed every now and then, and has a strong ultimate ability that is best used on low health targets. (While also good for Bear hugs) the best part: the wild guardians attacks have a high chance to apply an independent hemorrhaging status effect to it's current target which stacks with your hemorrhaging status effects.

Main Weapon Backup and abilities:

the Maelstrom's Infused Greatsword with weapon damage enchantment: on top of increasing weapon and spell damage by 452 for 5 seconds (see stampede), this can also increase the amount of flat damage done by your direct damage abilities by up to 560, especially the direct damage of the chilled status effect amongst others like sundered, diseased, concussed and overcharged status effects.
Lotus Blossom: Grants heals on your light and heavy attacks for a full minute, used primarily for the major savagery/prophecy buffs and also triggers maturation alongside any other heals mentioned.
Bull Netch: primarily for Stamina sustainability and one negative effect removed once every 5 seconds or on recast, the major brutality/sorcery buffs are an added bonus to the already impressive damage to be dealt and in group compositions, there may be longer lasting sources of major brutality/sorcery.
Carve: Deals impressive up front bleed damage and has a 12 second bleed which can stack in duration up to a max of 32 seconds while also gaining a small 6 second damage shield.
Arctic Blast: a very powerful burst heal for when your in a pinch, but primarily used for close range AoE frost damage every 2 seconds with an enhanced chance to apply the chilled status effect. This ability is also a flex spot for if you need to provide auxilary heals via Budding seeds for burst heals or any other ability of your choice but damage wise, arctic blast is the better option for its chilled application.
Stampede: Deals Critical Physical damage up front, activates the effects of the Maelstrom's Greatsword, and the Area DoT can be used not just to damage targets but also to keep near 100% uptime on the weapon damage enchant on the weapon, provided an enemy stays in it.
Wild Guardian: See Main Weapon and Abilities.

Passives: while we will be using all non-pvp passives, the most critical ones will be mentioned for better understanding and context, and in alphabetical order.

[*] Advanced Species: This passive helps with Critical Hit damage on the front bar and makes the warden all the more "critically dangerous."
[*] Bond with Nature: the heal from this passive will make spamming cutting dive and when other animal companion abilities expire, a good way to consistently heal a small amount on top of the heal from being an orc, having lotus blossom active, etc.
[*] Elemental force: on the front bar, this will work for all abilities and enchants even while wielding the frost staff, but it will notably stack with Glacial Presence for some seriously maddening status application.
[*] Fighters Guild: Again, on the front bar, but as we have barbed trap, it will get us 3 ultimate per kill (banish the wicked III), 3% extra weapon damage (Slayer) and the trap dealing 10% extra damage (Skilled Tracker) on top of having 15% less cost (Intimidating Presence).
[*] Glacial Presence: this will increase the chances of applying chilled to enemies with winter's embrace abilities while also increasing the amount of flat damage done by the chilled status by a good amount scaling to your highest offensive stats which stacks with the Maelstrom greatsword buff.
[*] Maturation: good for groups, but when healing yourself, the 10% max health buff helps with surviving tougher fights.
[*] Medium armor passives: these will help with increased weapon/spell damage, better sprinting, stamina recovery, stamina cost reductions, etc.
[*] Orc Racial Passives: Passive healing when dealing damage once every 4 seconds, extra max health and stamina, reduced sprint costs and sprint faster while also having 258 extra weapon and spell damage.
[*] Piercing Cold: provides a 12% Damage done bonus on your front bar since it uses a frost staff, the backbar only gets 2% but the back bar is mostly for buffs and debuffing targets.
[*] Tri-focus: this will give us a damage shield when we heavy attack to get resources back (beware of blocking costing magicka), and also dips with destruction expert for magicka sustain and ancient knowledge for surviving some nasty blows from targets.
[*] Undaunted Mettle: as we will have armor in 5 medium, 1 light and 1 heavy, don't sleep on having 6% extra Max Health, Magicka and Stamina on to of what is gained from the Light And Heavy armor skill lines.

Set pieces:
Dro'zakars Claws: Found in Moongrave Fane, this sets 5 piece bonus alone (which is 103 weapon/spell damage per bleed effect on the affected target.) can grant a warden up to a whopping 618 weapon/spell damage when you stack the hemorrhaging status from yourself and your wild guardian bear (2), carve, cutting dive, growing swarm and barbed trap. (or 721 weapon/spell damage if you go dual wield on front bar and also count twin slashes, but it is arguably less damage since piercing cold gives 2% damage done for anything that's not a frost staff and you lose the extra 10% from wielding a frost staff.) and that is on top of the other bonuses on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th piece bonuses alongside the extra 129 weapon/spell damage on the 5th piece, plus it pairs well with the next armor set on the list. Word of advice, have 5 pieces Dro'zakar in armor so getting it golded out isn't as much of a hassle.

Blood Drinker: found in Bloodroot Forge, this mean 5 piece set gives your bleed damaging attacks 20% bonus damage done, it also applies to the hemorrhaging status effect and makes your wild guardian even more wild, plus as the 5th piece bonus is fixed at 20% regardless of quality, golding out the jewellery for it isn't as big an issue (unless you really need to maximise the 2nd, 3rd and 4th piece bonuses), but golding out the blood drinker ice staff is a must for best possible damage on the front bar where all the damage is being done after buffing up from the backbar abilities before swapping.

As for the Helmet/Shoulder slots: there are two distinctive choices by far that I found to be quite good.

one heavy Slimecraw Helmet and the Mora's Whispers light shoulder makes for an excellent bundle of Critical hit Chance provided enough books in shalidors library have been read, but it is more on the selfish side of things when it comes to group comps though despite the DPS increase it offers in the crit department.
The two-piece Nunatak set, while not as good an option for overall DPS to the wearer in comparison to option One, it does provide a small increase in survivability through the one-piece granting 1487 armor, but the two-piece is real good to use as it Creates a 6 meter area under the target (same radius as Winter's Revenge and Arctic Blast) which deals frost damage every second while applying a 40% snare on targets affected, and if hit four times become immobilized and afflicted with Major brittle for 4 seconds which lets you and the group deal 20% extra critical hit damage to that target, but if said target is still in the area, the major brittle can last about 6 seconds since it refreshes the 4 second timer even if the target is already affected with major brittle with each additional tick of damage from the Nunatak frost damage, probably longer if frost damage is dealt in sequence from multiple players using frost damage and wearing nunatak themselves.

Weapon, Armor and jewellery trait Enchantments:
You will want stamina enchantments on all your armor, Divines on the Shoulders, Waist, Hands and boots.
Helmet, chest and Leg traits can be flexed for traits of your choice, but you may want infused on them for more stamina from their enchantments.
You'll need Bloodthirsty on all three Jewellery pieces complete with glyphs of increase physical harm for the tiny Stamina recovery on top of the 174 Weapon/Spell Damage.
The Weapon traits are already explained in the main weapons and abilities and the backup bar, but just in case, You'll want charged on the frost staff with a frost damage enchantment, and the maelstrom greatsword has the infused trait with a weapon damage enchantment.

Food items: You'll want Artaeum Takeaway broth for Maximum Health/Stamina and Health/Stamina Recovery, but if your looking for a lesser option in case of crafting issues, Go with good ol' Dubious Camoran Throne which has the same things but with no added health recovery and a little less of each aforementioned stat.

Champion Slot/passives: You will undoubtedly need all the Passive CP stars but you will need the following slottable CP skills:

Fortified.
Boundless Vitality.
Rejuvenation.
Bloody Renewal. (can be flexed for Strategic reserve if needed for passive health recovery, plus Bloody renewal does not proc on target dummy deaths which blows.)
Untamed Aggression. (this affects all damaging and healing abilities and pretty much near the whole toolkit, so good consistency overall while also contributing to the maelstrom weapon effect.)
Wrathful Strikes.
Master-At-Arms. (this affects Bear damage alongside the Next one and also affects The damage from the chilled status effect.)
Deadly Aim. ( Affects the Bear Damage amongst other abilities in our kit and affects almost any DoT effect applied since nearly all DoT's are classed as Single Target, Damage Over Time effects with a few exceptions like the beam from an arcanist's Fatecarver ability or a templars AoE jabs.)
Rationer. (for keeping up the broth)
Liquid efficiency. (for keeping plenty of tri-stat potions for sustainability, or armor potions for solo content.)
Treasure Hunter.
Steeds blessing. (this can be flexed for professional upkeep or meticulous disassembly.)

Rotations (move list):
Back bar.
1: Lotus Blossom + Bull netch
2: LA + Stampede
3: LA + Carve (1-3 times as needed.)
4: LA + Arctic Blast
5: heavy attack. (Only if stamina is lacking, also beefs up stampede and carve for 4 seconds via follow up.)

Bar swap to front bar.
1: LA + Barbed Trap
2: LA + Growing Swarm
3: LA + Deep Fissure
4: LA + Winter's Revenge
5: LA + Cutting Dive (spammable while other non-ultimate abilities are in effect)
6: Guardians Savagery (primarily used at 25% health or less and on very tanky targets health wise.)

Notes:

You can use the moves mentioned in the Rotation Move list "in any order" as some frugality is required in a real combat situation.
only use a Light attack if in 7 meters or closer to your target, otherwise, use Stampede to close the gap. (Except on front bar as we use an ice staff.)
Carve can be used multiple times as needed to max out the bleed duration, particularly on tougher targets.
If an enemy is already affected by an instance of Barbed Trap, wait until there is 1 to 1.5 seconds before using it to have it trigger on the target as it completes.
Following up barbed trap with growing swarm helps as the trap goes off roughly around the same time the growing swarm reachs the intended target, even moreso at close range.
Cutting dive can be used anywhere in the front bar rotation.
Guardians Savagery is best used in the execution threshold for massive damage and when you have at most 4-6 bleed effects on the target
the Hemorrhaging Status effect caused by the Wild Guardian is a seperate effect and can stack with the Hemorrhaging status effect procced from your other bleed damaging abilities.

Feel free to leave some constructive critique (don't hold back either.) and yes I am aware there are other better builds out there with better damage output, but still, gotta have something for everyone right, nonetheless, have a Beartiful day.

Edited to correct a typo and to add where the blood drinker set can be found, also added in missing info regarding weapon, armor and jewellery enchantments and traits.