Dragonknight Post-Morrowind Tank

Armor Types

Gear and Item Set Info

Gear

The gear you want will change based on what your level is and what you have access to.

Below Level 30

Here you want to go with whatever you can find, ideally using a piece each of Light and Medium Armor, both with Training as the trait. This will help you level those skill lines up for when you start gaining champion points. 

At or Below Level 50

Here you want to start to get your item sets. If you hav access to a crafter, go with a 5 piece Whitestrake's Retribution (requires 4 traits researched, found in Shadowfen/Rivenspire/Greenshade), and the rest whatever else, again with 1 Training light armor and 1 Training medium armor piece.

Alternatively, get a 5 piece set of Twilight's Embrace (3 traits, Deshaan/Stormhaven/Grahtwood).

Below Champion 160

.Here dungeons get harder. Get you a set of Tava's Favor to combo with your Evasion skill and run Normal or Veteran Crypt of Hearts (either one or two) to get a set of Ebon Armory. Don't worry about monster sets right now, focus on getting at least one jewelry piece in Ebon Armory. Between jewelry, armor and your weapons on your bar you have access to 12 slots (3 + 7 + 2). This allows for you to have two sets of 5, potentially with a set of 2.

Ebon Armory saves lives.

Tava's Favor helps you keep your ultimate up.

At or Above Champion 160

Now your priority is to get Aggressive Warhorn if you don't have it, which is the Assault skill line ultimate. If you do, great! You can shift your priority to what you would've been doign next: running Crypt of Hearts again and again, along with veteran or normal White Gold Tower until you get 3 pieces of Jewlery between the Ebon Armory set and the Brands of Imperium set. You want to make sure that both sets are always active, regardless of which bar you are on.

You will also be going for the Engine Guardian (monster) set from Darkshade Caverns II if you aren't an Argonian. Once Morrowind hits the main sevrers, Dragonknights will be nerfed hard when it comes to their resource management with the Battle Roar changes. If you are an Argonian, then you have two options: Scourge Harvester monster set from Wayrest Sewers II for the increase on sustain or the Engine Guardian set anyway if you are still having sustain problems.

You will want to keep mutliple monster and normal sets locked and in your inventory in case you have to change your role or your setup.

Alternative Monster Sets include:

 - Lord Warden (Imperial City Prison) (for fights with heavy spell damage your group will stack together)

 - Swarm Mother (Spindleclutch 1) (for fights with lots of adds)

Sets that can replace Brands of the Imperium (not Ebon Armory) include:

 - Willlow's Path (Craftable) (not ideal because you don't regenerate Stamina while blocking, but still nice to have)

 - Daedric Trickery (Craftable in Morrowind DLC) (I expect it to be pretty good because of the extra buffs)

 - Sanctuary (Banished Cells) (Decent if your healer isn't taking this)

 - Aspect of Mazzatun (Ruins of Mazzatun) (It could be a good alternative to Engine Guardian)

As always, you want 1 Light, 1 Medium and 5 Heavy for your armor setup.

Other Notes

Attributes - All into Stamina, unless your health is still 30k health even while buffed. This lets you change your role to be an Offtank in the scenarios where someone can do your job better than you. This can happen, so be prepared for the rare occasion when it does.

Traits - Infused on Head, Chest and Legs. Sturdy on everything else. Robust or Healthy on Jewelry. Defending or Infused on Weapons.

Enchantments - Use Legendary-rank cp 160 Prismatic glyphs on your Infused pieces, or all of them if you can afford it (congratulations if you can!). Otherwise, apply Health enchants until you hit at least 30k health while buffed and with food. Then put the rest of your enchantments into Stamina.

On weapons, you want Crusher. On jewlry, you want ability or block cost reduction.

Food - Increase maximum Health/Magicka/Stamina.

Potions - Restore Health, Increase Armor and Increase Healing (Beetle Scuttle/Butterfly Wing/Mountain Flower)

Munuds Stone - As a Breton I use The Lady but as an Argonian I would use The Ritual.

General Info

Objective

Be the main tank for trials and the only tank in 4-mans, especially in group-finder runs where you can't depend on your teammates as much. This build isn't designed for fast levelling, rather as a powerful end-game tank build.

FAQ

Why argonian?

Because of their Resourceful racial passive. Zenimax plans to make it so the healing is a nerf if you are above 38,500 in the attribute and a buff if you are below. This. Is. Insane.

You don't need 40k health for trials, even with the nerfs I expect to only need about 30-35k health.

Can I play this build with x race?

Of course you can. Technically, every race can tank. Some are just better than others.

For example, I currently tank with a Breton. I spec more into the Heavy Armor Mastery node in the Lord constellation to make up for their insane level of spell resist, to the point where I hit the softcap with only Hardened Armor. You just have to make the changes you need. An Altmer will be able to spam Igneous Shields to restore their stamina, for example.

What About Bloodspawn?

If you feel you need the extra resistances, go right ahead. However, the ultimate generatio isn't as useful in trials if you have a fixed warhorn rotation. Warhorn also doesn't give back as many resources, so it's not neccessary in the least.

Priority Passives

Ardent Flame - (if you have extra skill points)

Draconic Power - (all)

Earthen Heart - (all)

One Hand and Shield - (all)

Undaunted - Undaunted Mettle (all if you have extra skill points)

Light Armor - All except for Concentration and Prodigy

Medium Armor - All except for Agility

Heavy Armor - All of them

Champion Point Tips

Pre-Morrowind

Red

45 into Hardy

45 into Elemental Defender

30 into Thick Skinned

80 into Quick Recovery

(Alternatively, put 90 into Heavy Armor Focus if you are a Breton)

Blue

75 into Melee Weapon Expert

80 into Blessed

45 into Elfborn

Green

75 into Tumbling

75 into Arcanist

50 into Warlord

Build Rating