In Elden Ring, the best Tank build can either be a melee one or the healer, which can deal a lot of damage to enemies, or otherwise, you can build a tank that has a high defensive stat. Making the best build in Elden Ring, like the tank one, requires you to have the best defensive stats so that you can tank and resist all the enemy atrocities without dying.
- Elden Ring offers players the flexibility to customize their tank builds for either offensive prowess or staunch defense.
- With the best tank build in Elden Ring, not only can players tackle enemies single-handedly, but in co-op, the tank can absorb damage allowing allies to focus on dealing damage.
- The Healer Tank build lets players absorb vast amounts of damage while providing the added utility of healing, extending their survivability in battles.
- Attributes like Strength and Endurance are foundational for both tank builds, but a healer tank also requires an investment in Faith to maximize its healing capabilities.
Best Tank Builds In Elden Ring
Here is an overview of the two best Tank builds in Elden Ring showased along with the best armor, weapons, talismans, key classes & attributes.
Aspect | Best Melee Tank Build | Best Healer Tank Build | |
---|---|---|---|
Class | Hero | Hero | |
Attribute | Strength, Endurance, Dexterity | Strength, Endurance, Faith | |
Weapon | Beastclaw Greathammer | FingerPrint Stone Shield | |
Armor | Veteran Set | Twinned Set | |
Talisman | Godskin Swaddling Cloth | Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman | |
Skill | Ash of War: Barricade Shield | Ash of War: Barricade Shield | |
What Are Tank Builds?
Tanking system in Elden Ring is unique as you have the privilege to choose between offensive and defensive tank stats. The Tank melee build can throw some great damage that proves to be a huge support build where you can take out enemies all alone.
The melee tank build in Elden Ring is also great for Co-op, while you face tank all the damage your allies get a lot of free hits where they can knock down the enemies. The other one is a Tank Healer Build, where your Tank can take all the damages without dying.
Melee or Healer, you need to design a perfect build for your tank, only then you can take out all the tougher enemies in Elden Ring easily. Here are the best builds that you must opt for when playing Elden Ring;
Best Melee Tank Build
- Class: Hero
- Attribute: Strength, Endurance, and Dexterity.
- Weapon: BEASTCLAW GREATHAMMER
- Armor: Veteran Set
- Talisman: Godskin Swaddling Cloth.
- Skill: Ash of War: Barricade Shield
Best Healer Tank Build
- Class: Hero
- Attribute: Strength, Endurance, and Faith
- Weapon: FingerPrint Stone Shield.
- Armor: Twinned Set
- Talisman: Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman
- Skill: Ash of War: Barricade Shield
1. Best Melee Tank Build
Hero, one of the best starting classes in Elden Ring, is a perfect choice when building a Melee Tank. In Elden Ring, each class has some default stats as the game begins, which you can then upgrade as you progress.
As the game begins, this class already has an Axe that makes it a suitable fit for the best Melee Tank Build in Elden Ring. Apart from the Axe, with this class, you can easily make a magical character that gives you an early-game advantage.
Attribute
When building a Melee Tank, two attributes that you just need to have are Strength and Endurance. Endurance gives your character the stamina to be Agile and carry all the equipment and Strength because of the obvious reasons as you are going to face tougher enemies. For an ideal Melee Tank Build, you must have 34 Endurance Points and 48 Strength Points. With this, it will be even better if you focus on Dexterity and Arcane.
Best Weapon
Beastclaw Greathammer stats | Value |
---|---|
Physical Damage | 116 |
Magic Damage | 0 |
Fire Damage | 0 |
Lightning Damage | 0 |
Holy Damage | 75 |
Critical Hit | 100 |
Scaling Strength | D |
Scaling Dexterity | D |
Scaling Faith | D |
Required Strength | 20 |
Required Dexterity | 10 |
Required Faith | 18 |
The best hammer in Elden Ring for your melee tank build is the Beastclaw Greathammer. This is a huge knife with a lot of strength that can give enemies huge damage and also can knock them down with just a few hits. Also, its huge size makes anyone in front of it afraid therefore carrying this huge size weapon is all worth it.
Best Armor

The best armor for your melee tanks is Veteran’s armor. This is heavy armor with great damage and Poise stats, thus wearing this will be very beneficial for all your battles.
Veteran’s armor stats | Value |
---|---|
Physical Damage | 18.7 |
VS Strike Damage | 17 |
VS Slash Damage | 18.7 |
VS Pierce Damage | 17.5 |
Magic Damage | 13.5 |
Fire Damage | 14.1 |
Lightning Damage | 12.8 |
Holy Damage | 13.3 |
Immunity | 63 |
Robustness | 90 |
Focus | 46 |
Vitality | 46 |
Poise | 38 |
Best Talisman

The best Talisman, that will go with any of your Melee weapons is Godskin Swaddling Cloth. You can get this inside Spirit Caller Cave after fighting with Spirit Caller Snail. Once you have it, you will recover some of your HP each time you perform some consecutive attacks.
Godskin Swaddling Cloth stats | Value |
---|---|
Weight | 0.9 |
Effect | Successive attacks restore 30 + 3% |
Best Skill
When playing with a Melee Tank, Ash of War: Barricade Shield is the best ability you can opt for as it will not only block the hits but also tank them.
2. Best Healer Tank Build
Unlike Melee Tank, you can go with any class if you want to play with the best Healer Tank build in Elden Ring. However, if you opt for a Class like Hero, which already has some strength-based stats, by upgrading the defensive stats you can have a perfect Build that is skilled in both attacks and defense.
Attributes
Similar to Melee, two attributes you must need to boost are Strength and Endurance. However, as a Healer, Faith is equally important and you definitely to have some Faith Points as it increases the healing you use. For an ideal Healer Tank Build in Elden Ring, you should spend 26 Faith Points, 37 Endurance, and 50 on Strength.
Best Weapon

Attack stats | Defense stats |
---|---|
Phy 139 | Phy 100 |
Mag 0 | Mag 77 |
Fire 0 | Fire 81 |
Ligt 0 | Ligt 79 |
Holy 0 | Holy 75 |
Crit 100 | Boost 77 |
The top weapon for the best Healer tank in Elden Ring is the Fingerprint Stone Shield. This shield is crazy as when at max level it gives 86 guard boost. Therefore, even with less stamina, this is great for blocking all the hits.
Apart from this, its defensive stats are also great as it can block hits and reduce damage from the Elemental hits. Therefore, we don’t have to worry about dodging the attacks as they will reach us when they are extremely weak.
Fingerprint Stone Shield stats | Value |
---|---|
Effect | Causes madness buildup |
Scaling | Str D |
Requires | Str 48 |
Weight | 29.0 |
Best Armor

The best armor for Healer Tank Build is the Twinned Set. The primary reason for it being the best is of course its great defensive stats however, the ease with which you can carry it can’t be taken for granted.
This is a lightweight Armor, thus it doesn’t affect your mobility, therefore, you can move with high speed and heal yourself.
Twinned set stats | Value |
---|---|
Physical Damage | 27.4 |
VS Strike Damage | 25.4 |
VS Slash Damage | 29.6 |
VS Pierce Damage | 25 |
Magic Damage | 23.5 |
Fire Damage | 23.5 |
Lightning Damage | 19 |
Holy Damage | 21.5 |
Immunity | 83 |
Robustness | 135 |
Focus | 53 |
Vitality | 135 |
Poise | 50 |
Weight | 30 |
Best Talisman

The top choice Talisman for the best Healer Tank build in Elden Ring is the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman as it reduces the damage given to you by enemies by 20%. However, this cannot be obtained directly. To get it, you need to head to Bestial Sanctum and find the Dragon Crest Shield Talisman. This Talisman can then be upgraded to get the Dragon Crest Shield Talisman.
Talisman stats | Value |
---|---|
Weight | 0.8 |
Effect | Enormously reduces Physical Damage taken by 20%. |
Best Skill

Similar to the Melee build, the best skill to be used here is Ash of War: Barricade Shield because of its crazy defensive stats which is a perfect fit for your Healer Tank build.
That is all about the Best Tank Builds in Elden Ring. If you are interested, then check Elden Ring BEST Thrusting Swords, Best Astrologer Armor Set, and Elden Ring BEST Fist Weapons guides.
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