Frostburn - Warden Build PvE - ESO

First and foremost, this is NOT a meta build. If that's what you're looking for, then there's no point reading on. If, however, you're looking for a fun tank build, then here's something I've been having fun with.

This build revolves around two things: the Chilled status effect and the Tundra's Maw Class Mastery skill. Chilled applies [Minor Maim, and, if you're holding a Frost Staff, also applies Minor Brittle. With Tundra's Maw, however, we can also apply Major Brittle. The goal of this build is therefore very simple: apply Chilled to everything on your screen, and let your group reap the benefits. The sets are therefore very flexible, but there are a few options that will make your life a lot easier. The build's sustain comes from the Bountiful Harvest Class Mastery skill, the Atronach Mundus Stone, and, of course, the Warden's Betty Netch skill.

We intentionally use Frost Staves WITHOUT investing points into Tri Focus. This allows us to use our Stamina pool for blocking while leaving our Magicka pool free for casting. Another benefit of this approach is that our Magicka can naturally regenerate while we block, whereas our Stamina will not. However, since our Magicka will regenerate, we can use the Bountiful Harvest and Bull Netch skills to regenerate stamina passively while blocking, allowing us to keep our block up indefinitely.

Sets:

Being a tank, we want as much Heavy Armor as possible to increase our survivability. However, feel free to swap some pieces for Light and/or Medium Armor to reap the benefits of their respective passives and take advantage of Undaunted Mettle. Just be aware that the fewer Heavy Armour pieces you have, the less tanky you're obviously going to be.

Recommended sets:

These are the sets I recommend using on the Front Bar.

• Frozen Watcher. This is the only set I would say is non-negotiable. This set provides free Frost Damage just by blocking - something that we do a lot of as a tank - and it only comes in the Heavy Armor variant, making it perfect for a tank build. This set allows us to apply Chilled without even having to attack!
• [Ice Furnace]. Since we're constantly dealing Frost Damage, this set is a great option for outputting free damage. Again, this set only comes in the Heavy Armor variant, making it a perfect tank set.
• Elemental Catalyst. This is a great set for debuffing enemies.
• Icy Conjurer. Applying a minor debuff (like Minor Brittle from Chilled while holding a Frost Staff) is guaranteed to summon an Ice Wraith, providing another source of Frost Damage.
• Winterborn. Dealing Frost Damage summons an ice pillar that deals more Frost Damage.

On the Back Bar, you can use an Arena Frost Staff like Wrath of Elements (synergises very well with the Elemental Catalyst set) or Crushing Wall (more damage). The Wall of Elements skill also procs weapon enchantments, so be sure to enchant your Back Bar weapon with Crushing and get the Infused trait to boost your group's DPS.

For the Monster Set, there are a couple of good options:

• Iceheart. This is great for survivability and provides a passive source of Frost Damage; even though we don't have a particularly high crit chance, we have so many sources of damage that it's extremely easy to proc this set's special effect. 
• Nunatak. This is another set that provides passive Frost Damage just by dealing Frost Damage, and is a source of Minor Brittle without requiring the Chilled status effect.

Skills:

Order of skills obviously doesn't matter, and some of the skills are interchangeable between bars depending on what you find most convenient.

• Front bar:
  1. Inner Fire -> either Morph. Outside of Scribing, this is the only Taunt available to this build. The Morph doesn't really matter. Inner Rage is nice for providing more synergies to your group, while Inner Beast applies Minor Maim and Minor Vulnerability. Go with whichever Morph suits your group composition. You'll be casting this skill a lot, so I'd suggest keeping it on the Front Bar.
  2. Budding Seeds. Good for survivability and can proc Bountiful Harvest. This can go on either bar, but I like to keep it on the Front Bar to remind myself to cast it. Try to keep this up as much as possible. The heal is obviously nice, but we want to proc Bountiful Harvest as much as possible to maximise our sustain.
  3. Polar Wind. This is a nice survivability skill. I like keep this on the Front Bar as an emergency heal.
  4. Deep Fissure. Applies AoE Minor Breach and Major Breach. Great against bosses and groups of enemies. This can go on either bar, but try to keep it up as much as possible. Not only is the debuff really strong, but this also procs Savage Beast for free Ultimate generation, and having at least one [Animal Companions] ability on each bar increases Magicka and Stamina recovery by 20% thanks to Flourish.
  5. Gripping Shards. Nice for slowing down groups of enemies, and another chance to apply Chilled. This can go on either bar.
  6. Permafrost. Guaranteed to apply Chilled. This can go on either bar, but I like to keep it on the Front Bar to boost Frozen Armor. We have really good Ultimate generation thanks to Bountiful Harvest, so we can spam this pretty often.
• Back Bar:
  1. Bull Netch. DO NOT USE Blue Betty. This build already has Magicka recovery through skills and the Mundus Stone. We also don't spec into Tri Focus to prevent blocking from consuming Magicka. While blocking, our Magicka will therefore be able to recover as normal while our Stamina will not. Bull Netch enables us to regenerate Stamina while blocking, allowing us to keep our block up for longer. This skill costs nothing, so it should be up 100% of the time. This can go on either bar.
  2. Ice Fortress. Great for survivability. Keep this up as much as possible. This can go on either bar.
  3. Weakness to Elements -> either Morph. A redundant source source of Major Breach. However, the Morphs are very useful. Elemental Susceptibility is free damage, while Elemental Drain applies Minor Magickasteal. If you already have Minor Magickasteal in your group, go with Elemental Susceptibility for the free damage. Keep this skill up as much as possible against bosses.
  4. Elemental Blockade. Free damage, procs weapon enchantments, and another opportunity to apply Chilled. Great against bosses and groups of enemies alike - try to keep this up as much as possible. I like to keep this on the Back Bar so it can proc Crusher.
  5. Growing Swarm. Applies Minor Vulnerability and provides free damage. Like Weakness to Elements, this skill should be kept up as much as possible against bosses. This can go on either bar, but since we won't be casting it as often as some of the other skills I like to keep it on the Back Bar.
  6. Enchanted Forest. Great for survivability, Ultimate generation, and can proc Bountiful Harvest. Feel free to slot this on the Front Bar so you can spam it.

Champion Points:

• Warfare:
  1. Thaumaturge. Boosts damage from Chilled and any other DoTs.
  2. Salve of Renewal. If we have any negative effects, Bull Netch will automatically remove one of them every 5 seconds; this can proc Salve of Renewal to give us free healing. I would argue this is a must-have for any Warden build.
  3. Reinforced. As a tank, we're constantly blocking, and so we can use Reinforced to give us a free damage shield every 10 seconds. Alternatively, you could swap this for something like Biting Aura or Untamed Aggression for more damage.
  4. Soothing Tide. Increases the healing of Budding Seeds and Enchanted Forest, improving our survivability and allowing us to proc Bountiful Harvest more easily.
• Fitness:
  1. Boundless Vitality. More health = more tanky.
  2. Fortified. More Armor = more tanky.
  3. Soothing Shield. Blocking an attack has a chance to heal us.
  4. Rejuvenation. Improves our sustain.

So, how do you play this build? It's very simple: taunt and block. That's pretty much it. The Frozen Watcher set will apply Chilled, thereby applying Minor Brittle and Major Brittle, and your group will take care of the rest. Of course, you'll also want to keep your skills up to maximise your sustain and damage output, but those are details.