Stam DK Tank Question

Jayplay · January 2017

So I have watched countless Youtube videos on Stamina DK Tanking, and I've came to the realization that most of these builds are for like end game, I'm totally new to this game, and I'm level 35 ATM on my DK. I've dumped all of my Attribute points in Stamina, I'm just curious as to what the best skills are to use that I currently have unlocked at LVL 35. If someone could help me out building my Primary Bar and Back bar I would GREATLY appreciate it. Any other helpful forum threads are appreciated too! Happy ESO.

pizzaow · January 2017

The bar setups for lvl35 and endgame are very similar... most of the key skills you need unlock very quickly. Here is what I use for endgame and I'd recommend for beginners too.

Front Bar: (used for boss fights)
1. Puncture - > Pierce Armor (main taunt) - This is a must have, taunts the boss and debuffs him. Hit at least once every 15 seconds, but you can use as often as you'd like (just don't use all your stamina)
2. Low Slash - > Heroic Slash - This debuffs the boss (so you take less damage), and most people grab the heroic slash morph so you gain ultimate faster
3. Spiked Armor -> Volatile Armor - It took me a while to realize how important this was. It adds a Big amount of resistance and (once you've leveled up dragonic power) you gain 12% extra healing when it's up. Definitely practice keeping this up
4. Defensive posture -> absorb magic. This is rarely used, but very nice to have on your bar for the passives. Don't touch this for now; just enjoy the lower block cost and less damage you will take simply by having it on your bar.
5. Obsidian shield ->igneous shield - Creates a small shield, and gives your group a small shield too. And, gets much better once you've unlocked passives... since spamming this will restore 5% of your stamina. There will be fights where you run low on stamina and have extra magic; in those cases hit this.
u. Warhorn if you have it, otherwise I'd recommend Dragonknight Standard -> Standard of might. This does a lot of DPS and will often kill any adds during boss fights

Back Bar: (used for trash mobs)
1. Inner fire - hopefully you've unlocked this (if not, unlock ASAP - it's difficult to tank many dungeons without a ranged taunt). If you don't have this slot one of the options mentioned in spot 5
2. Fiery Grip -> Unrelenting grip. Your job as a tank in trash mobs is to stand in the center and group everyone. Use this to pull ranged adds in (archers, mages, etc.)
3. Dark Talons -> Choking Talons. Similar to above, this helps keep groups together; this will prevent things from running away
4. Vigor, but you likely don't have this, so Dragon Blood. This is your heal. In most dungeons you shouldn't need it, but it's nice to always have it. Once you get Vigor, swap out dragon blood for vigor.
5. Flex spot. Try out different skills here... sometimes I like to run igenous weapons to buff the group, sometimes I'll run noxious breath to debuff the boss, sometimes I'll slot Shield charge for a gap closer (some bosses warp around)... find a skill you like and put it here
u. Magma Shell - Use this if you need a couple seconds revive someone. However, if things are going well either use Warhorn or Standard. Another option is Ferocious Leap... The damage shield is nice and since the cost is so low I usually don't have to wait very long to use this again once the shield has worn off.

Good luck!
... I should mention this is mainly for group content. With these bars your damage is going to be abysmal, making solo play very slow and painful. If you're looking for something more solo-friendly then look into one of the stam DK DPS builds

Jayplay · January 2017

pizzaow wrote: »

The bar setups for lvl35 and endgame are very similar... most of the key skills you need unlock very quickly. Here is what I use for endgame and I'd recommend for beginners too.

Front Bar: (used for boss fights)
1. Puncture - > Pierce Armor (main taunt) - This is a must have, taunts the boss and debuffs him. Hit at least once every 15 seconds, but you can use as often as you'd like (just don't use all your stamina)
2. Low Slash - > Heroic Slash - This debuffs the boss (so you take less damage), and most people grab the heroic slash morph so you gain ultimate faster
3. Spiked Armor -> Volatile Armor - It took me a while to realize how important this was. It adds a Big amount of resistance and (once you've leveled up dragonic power) you gain 12% extra healing when it's up. Definitely practice keeping this up
4. Defensive posture -> absorb magic. This is rarely used, but very nice to have on your bar for the passives. Don't touch this for now; just enjoy the lower block cost and less damage you will take simply by having it on your bar.
5. Obsidian shield ->igneous shield - Creates a small shield, and gives your group a small shield too. And, gets much better once you've unlocked passives... since spamming this will restore 5% of your stamina. There will be fights where you run low on stamina and have extra magic; in those cases hit this.
u. Warhorn if you have it, otherwise I'd recommend Dragonknight Standard -> Standard of might. This does a lot of DPS and will often kill any adds during boss fights

Back Bar: (used for trash mobs)
1. Inner fire - hopefully you've unlocked this (if not, unlock ASAP - it's difficult to tank many dungeons without a ranged taunt). If you don't have this slot one of the options mentioned in spot 5
2. Fiery Grip -> Unrelenting grip. Your job as a tank in trash mobs is to stand in the center and group everyone. Use this to pull ranged adds in (archers, mages, etc.)
3. Dark Talons -> Choking Talons. Similar to above, this helps keep groups together; this will prevent things from running away
4. Vigor, but you likely don't have this, so Dragon Blood. This is your heal. In most dungeons you shouldn't need it, but it's nice to always have it. Once you get Vigor, swap out dragon blood for vigor.
5. Flex spot. Try out different skills here... sometimes I like to run igenous weapons to buff the group, sometimes I'll run noxious breath to debuff the boss, sometimes I'll slot Shield charge for a gap closer (some bosses warp around)... find a skill you like and put it here
u. Magma Shell - Use this if you need a couple seconds revive someone. However, if things are going well either use Warhorn or Standard. Another option is Ferocious Leap... The damage shield is nice and since the cost is so low I usually don't have to wait very long to use this again once the shield has worn off.

Good luck!
... I should mention this is mainly for group content. With these bars your damage is going to be abysmal, making solo play very slow and painful. If you're looking for something more solo-friendly then look into one of the stam DK DPS builds

Wow, thank you so much! Ill give it a try!

paulsimonps · January 2017

Another good option for your trash bar ultimate when you get to higher levels in PvP is to slot Barrier for the extra regen having it slotted gives you with the support passive Magicka Aid. It also adds a really good oh *** shield for when a healer goes down or you are having a lot of stuff happening and need the extra protection. Most situations you don't want to use it but use Warhorn instead but you never know with pugs.

And another good option for a flex spot or instead of vigor is to use invigorating drain from the Vampire skill line. It gives somewhat good healing for you but ofc you can't block when you do it but most importantly it gives you 15 ultimate over 3s and combining that with the base ultimate regen and minor heroism from heroic slash and you will gain your ultimate back really quickly. And side note, go vampire, its awesome for its regen and the undeath passive.

Other than that the things the other guy said is pretty standard of a set up. I use absorb magic on both bars but my build uses a lot of block cost and I really like it that way, it helps with sustaining in large trash pulls and boss fights with adds. Then combining that with high magicka regen using armor pieces and CP.

Good luck my fellow tank.

kylewwefan · January 2017

Lots of good advice here. Some thoughts, when I was leveling my DK tank as a tank I found it quite hard because of lack of skill points to be effective. Whenever I did solo stuff.....well solo as a tank can be quite slow. Looking back, I would level as a damage dealer, then re spec to tank later. By the time you get close to CP level the squeeze for skill points starts to really strain you.

WoollyWool · January 2017

kylewwefan wrote: »

Lots of good advice here. Some thoughts, when I was leveling my DK tank as a tank I found it quite hard because of lack of skill points to be effective. Whenever I did solo stuff.....well solo as a tank can be quite slow. Looking back, I would level as a damage dealer, then re spec to tank later. By the time you get close to CP level the squeeze for skill points starts to really strain you.

Just wondering, do you mean you would level to cp 160 or 561 and then respec to tank?

Lightspeedflashb14_ESO · January 2017

WoollyWool wrote: »

kylewwefan wrote: »

Lots of good advice here. Some thoughts, when I was leveling my DK tank as a tank I found it quite hard because of lack of skill points to be effective. Whenever I did solo stuff.....well solo as a tank can be quite slow. Looking back, I would level as a damage dealer, then re spec to tank later. By the time you get close to CP level the squeeze for skill points starts to really strain you.

Just wondering, do you mean you would level to cp 160 or 561 and then respec to tank?

He probably means level 1-50 and then 1cp to 160, as it is pointless to get good gear at lower then the gear cap.

Brrrofski · January 2017

Yeh, I would honestly just level up to cp160 mate.

Put down medium armor sets and two handed and just level to 160. Make sure you have a few skills slotted that you'll need to level up.

But cp160 takes no time. I levelled up my first guy as a tank. It's painful.