The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind Guide Training Archetypes Tanks

The Dragonscale

Class: Dragonknight

Race: Imperial

Attribute Focus: Health/Stamina/Magicka

Weapon Types: One Hand and Shield

Armor Focus: Heavy

Mundus Stone: Atronach

Bar 1: One Hand and Shield

Key Abilities

Ability	Description
	Pierce Armor: Morphed from Puncture (One Hand and Shield). This is your main taunt and debuff ability. It applies Major Fracture and Major Breach, reducing the target’s Physical and Spell Resistance. Time your rotation to avoid over-taunting.
	Heroic Slash: Morphed from Low Slash (One Hand and Shield). This is your main damage ability and single-target snare. It applies Minor Maim, temporarily reducing the damage done by the target. Each use also grants Minor Heroism, increasing your Ultimate generation for nine seconds.
	Absorb Magic: Morphed from Defensive Posture (One Hand and Shield). Slotting this Stamina ability increases the amount of damage you can block and reduces the Stamina cost for blocking. Activating it allows you to absorb an impressive amount of damage from the next spell projectile cast at you, healing you for a percentage of your Maximum Health.
	Green Dragon Blood: Morphed from Dragon Blood (Dragonknight > Draconic Power). This Magicka ability restores a percentage of your missing Health. It also grants you Major Fortitude, increasing your Health Recovery and Stamina Recovery by 20%, and Major Vitality, increasing your healing received by 8%. It’s a good self-heal with some long-lasting buffs.
	Unrelenting Grip: Morphed from Fiery Grip (Dragonknight > Ardent Flame). This Magicka ability pulls the target to your location. It also inflicts a burst of Flame Damage and grants you Major Expedition for a temporary boost to movement speed. If the target can’t be pulled, the Magicka cost is refunded.
	Standard of Might: Morphed from Dragonknight Standard (Dragon Knight > Ardent Flame). This Ultimate Ability deals Flame Damage while reducing the damage you take. It’s a great combination of offensive and defensive effects and a big help during solo adventuring.

This is your main Bar. It contains your most frequently used abilities. To benefit from Absorb Magic’s slotted effect, prioritize use of this Action Bar. This loadout offers no empty Bar slots.

Bar 2: Sword and Shield

Key Abilities

Ability	Description
	Hardened Armor: Morphed from Spiked Armor (Dragonknight > Draconic Power). This Magicka ability grants you Major Resolve and Major Ward, increasing your Physical and Spell Resistance. You also gain a brief damage shield that scales off of your Maximum Health. While active, the armor returns Magic Damage to melee attackers. Try to keep this running for the duration of any tough fight.
	Inner Rage: Morphed from Inner Fire (Undaunted). This Magicka attack is your long-range taunt. It also grants a chance that allies targeting the affected enemy can activate the Radiate Synergy, dealing extra damage to the target. Use it to taunt from range or as a Magicka-based alternative to your primary taunt.
	Choking Talons: Morphed from Dark Talons (Dragonknight > Draconic Power). This Magicka ability damages and immobilizes nearby enemies. Affected targets are also afflicted with Minor Maim, temporarily reducing their damage done by 15%. While enemies are held, allies can activate the Impale Synergy to deal additional Magic Damage. Use it for a nice mix of damage, damage mitigation, and crowd control.
	Igneous Shield: Morphed from Obsidian Shield (Dragonknight > Earthen Heart). This Magicka ability creates a damage shield for you and nearby allies. You also gain Major Mending, temporarily increasing your healing done by 25%.
	Magma Shell: Morphed from Magma Armor (Dragonknight > Earthen Heart). Caps incoming damage at 3% of your Maximum Health. Also grants nearby allies a powerful damage shield and deals Flame Damage to nearby enemies. This is an outstanding defensive Ultimate Ability that makes you nearly impossible to kill for nine seconds.

This is your backup Bar. Use it to taunt from range, activate damage shields, and apply group snares. The remaining slot can be used for any ability you find helpful, depending on the situation.

Priority Passives

Invest in all core Passives. The effects offered by One Hand and Shield, Heavy Armor, and your racial/class skill lines are more than nice boosts—they’re essential to your survival.

Equipment Recommendations

Weapons
Priority Trait: Infused
Priority Enchantment: Crushing
You want to have a one-handed melee weapon and a shield equipped at all times. Early on, use the highest-quality weapon/shield combinations you can find. Prioritize one-handed melee weapons that feature the Infused trait and the Crushing enchantment. Consider using something with Decisive as your backup weapon.
For your shields, Reinforced and Sturdy are both good traits. Favor enchantments that boost Maximum Health, Maximum Magicka, or Maximum Stamina as needed.

Armor
Priority Trait: Sturdy or Infused
Priority Enchantment: Maximum Health, Maximum Magicka, or Maximum Stamina
If you’re serving as a group’s main Tank, equip at least five pieces of heavy armor. Try to collect different sets so you can adapt to various encounters. If you’re going for the Undaunted Mettle Passive Ability, make sure your light/medium armor pieces offer suitable set bonuses.
Until you’ve assembled your tanking sets, look to heavy armor pieces that shore up your stats. Health is your priority, but you need a good amount of Stamina and a fair bit of Magicka. Choose the highest-quality armor you can find for your level. Look for head, chest, and leg pieces that feature the Infused trait to get the most out of your enchantments. For the remaining pieces, prioritize the Sturdy trait.
For basic adventuring, you can probably do with swapping the bulk of your heavy armor for medium armor pieces—just make sure you invest in Medium Armor Passives. Otherwise, there’s little point in compromising your survivability.

Jewelry
Priority Trait: Healthy
Priority Enchantment: Shielding
Until you find a set you find useful, prioritize jewelry items that increase your Maximum Health and reduce the Stamina cost for blocking. As you obtain better gear, consider looking for jewelry that increases Magicka Recovery.

Archetype Advice

Even with the best available gear, resource management is an issue. Although Maximum Health should be your first priority, the goal is to balance all of your Attributes. Experiment with available equipment to find out just how much Health you need. The more you can invest in other resources, the better off you’ll be.

Ultimate generation is a key part of your damage and survivability, but the Dragonknight’s Battle Roar Passive Ability also makes it a big part of your sustainability. Heroic Slash is one of your most important Ultimate-generation tools, so make sure you use it.

Choking Talons is an efficient area-of-effect crowd-control tool, but it carries a high Magicka cost. Only use it when you’re near enough enemies to make it worthwhile.

Unrelenting Grip is a great way to pull enemies away from vulnerable teammates or into area-of-effect damage—and using it on a target that can’t be pulled grants a full refund of its Magicka cost. Most bosses are immune to being pulled, so use this ability as a quick (and essentially free) attack against formidable enemies.