The Fortress Cannon — an Elder Scrolls Online Non-Meta Build
I don’t like to play what’s called meta builds in Elder Scrolls Online. I prefer unconventional or even thematic builds and try to make them work. Most of the times the result is not working out as good as hoped for though.
But the following build is something I enjoy a lot since coming up with it and I also think it’s quite strong while being original and fun. I had the idea of a supportive damage shield build since I came across the Brands of Imperium Set in White-Gold Tower but I never got around cooking up something. Then I saw the The Celestial Barrier build by NastyBengal on YouTube (lower the volume before following the link, don’t say I didn’t warn you!) which inspired me to get back to the drawing board.
So without further ado let me share my build with you: The Fortress Cannon
Introduction
The Fortress Cannon build is made for tanking in PvE but also kinda works as a support role in PvP. Don’t expect big numbers in battle grounds though as damage shields are not being counted at all. The main goal of the build is to keep up damage shields on yourself and your group members all the time in order to prevent damage (of course) and to proc the sets we are wearing which passively cause even more damage shields as well as some damage.
Class and Race
Since this build relies heavily on damage shields I went with my already leveled up Dragon Knight character. This class also has good ultimate generation so we can use the ultimate more often.
My Dragon Knight already is a Dunmer so I didn’t switch race. Their racial bonuses are pretty good for what we want to achieve and since the character is a vampire too the additional fire resistance is helpful as well.
Gear and Enchantments
We want Brands of Imperium set armor pieces which come in heavy and help with mitigation. For monster sets we go with the Infernal Guardian set, preferably one light and one medium piece. Weapons (Sword and Board and Healing Staff) and jewelry will be Trinimac’s Valor set pieces. Of course you can mix and match these if you do have different pieces as long as you get both 5-piece bonuses.
For armor enchants some Tri-stat glyphs will be doing great, as well as magicka cost reduction and magicka recovery on the jewelry.
Skills — Sword and Board
Hardened Armor, Molten Whip, Unrelenting Grip, Pierce Armor, Shielded Assault, Replenishing Barrier
Skills — Healing Staff
Coagulating Blood, Igneous Shield, Choking Talons, Ward Ally, Mutagen, Light’s Champion
You have some options here. You could swap Repleneshing Barrier or Light’s Champion for Magma Shell as this skill might be a good option in certain scenarios like PvP. You could also go with other morphs instead of Choking Talons and Mutagen. Molten Whip is basically a flex slot but I like it as a spammable skill for damage.
Champion Points
Put points in everything that increases healing done, healing received, damage shields, critical chances and so on. We also want reduced block cost and lower incoming damage of course.
Buff food
Something like Longfin pasty with Melon Sauce (Max Health + Max Stamina + Max Magicka) is a good match as we need all resources a lot.
Mundus
I went with the Mage for more Magicka. Depending on your enchantments you could also switch to another one like the Lord for more Health.
Attributes
I think you should aim for at least 13k Stamina, 20k Health and 26k Magicka, the more the better. This is without buff food of course.
I might update this build in the future as I get to play it more or when upcoming game patches will require to adapt. Let me know what you think of the build and leave a clap if you like it. ;)
