Elden Ring: Best Tank Build [Weapons, Armor & More]

Master how to make the best tank build in Elden Ring, from strength-focused melee to healer tanks, and boost your gameplay strategy.

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.

Key Takeaways
  • Elden Ring allows players to customize 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.
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Best Tank Builds In Elden Ring

Here is an overview of the two best Tank builds in Elden Ring, along with the best armor, weapons, talismans, key classes & attributes:

AspectBest Melee Tank BuildBest Healer Tank Build
ClassHeroHero
AttributeStrength, Endurance, DexterityStrength, Endurance, Faith
WeaponBeastclaw GreathammerFingerPrint Stone Shield
ArmorVeteran SetTwinned Set
TalismanGodskin Swaddling ClothDragoncrest Greatshield Talisman
SkillAsh of War: Barricade ShieldAsh of War: Barricade Shield
Best ForBest Damage Dealing Tank Build In Elden RingBest Tank Build For Healing In Elden Ring

1. Best Melee Tank Build

Best Damage Dealing Tank Build In Elden Ring.

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.

  • Why I Chose This: I chose the following tank build due to its ability to tank out most of the attacks while dealing some good damage to the opponents.
  • Class: Hero
  • Attribute: Strength, Endurance, and Dexterity.
  • Weapon: BEASTCLAW GREATHAMMER
  • Armor: Veteran Set
  • Talisman: Godskin Swaddling Cloth.
  • Skill: Barricade Shield Ash of War

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.

  • Deals a good amount of damage.
  • Can take many hits.
  • Provides you with high poise.
  • Works great against humanoid bosses.
  • Players can get bored easily.

Attribute

When building a Melee Tank, I would recommend focusing on two attributes: Strength and Endurance. For an ideal Melee Tank Build, you must have 34 Endurance and 48 Strength Points.

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 cause enemies huge damage and knock them down with just a few hits. 

Best Armor

Veterans Armor suit
Veterans Armor suit (Image by eXputer)

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 And Skill

Godskin Swaddling Cloth
Godskin Swaddling Cloth (Image by eXputer)

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%

Also, I would recommend going for the Ash of War: Barricade Shield, as it will not only block the hits but also tank them.

2. Best Healer Tank Build

Best Tank Build For Healing In Elden Ring.

Unlike Melee Tank, you can go with any class if you want to play with the best Healer Tank build in Elden Ring. However, I would still recommend going with the Hero class.

  • Class: Hero
  • Attribute: Strength, Endurance, and Faith
  • Weapon: FingerPrint Stone Shield.
  • Armor: Twinned Set
  • Talisman: Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman
  • Skill: Ash of War: Barricade Shield
  • Focuses on healing your character.
  • The build can take a lot of damage, too.
  • Useful against humanoid bosses.
  • The damage output is low.
  • Why I Chose This: I chose the following tank build in Elden Ring due to its ability to tank a lot of damage and heal respectively.

Attributes

Now, you need to focus on three attributes: strength, endurance, and faith. For an ideal Healer Tank Build in Elden Ring, you should spend 26 Faith Points, 37 Endurance, and 50 on Strength.

Best Weapon

Fingerprint Stone Shield
Fingerprint Stone Shield (Image by eXputer)
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.

Fingerprint Stone Shield stats Value
Effect Causes madness buildup
Scaling Str D
Requires Str 48
Weight 29.0

Best Armor

twinned suit
Twinned Armor Suit (Image by eXputer)

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

Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman
Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman (Image by eXputer)

The top choice Talisman for the Healer Tank build is the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman, as it reduces the damage given to you by enemies by 20%. 

Talisman stats Value
Weight 0.8
Effect It enormously reduces physical damage taken by 20%.

Best Skill

Barricade Shield
Barricade Shield (Image by eXputer)

Similar to the Melee build, the best skill to use here is Ash of War: Barricade Shield because of its crazy defensive stats, which is a perfect fit for your 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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Huzaifa is eXputer's Review Editor, who’s all about RPG games. He’s got several years of experience critically judging games and writing his unbiased thoughts on them. You can also find his content published on sites like Twinfinite & GearNuke. Huzaifa has been gaming for 23+ years, during which he managed to amass 400+ hours on Elden Ring! You can follow his gaming activity on his Xbox and Steam Profiles.

Experience: 5+ years || Previously Worked At GearNuke & Twinfinite || Mainly Covers RPG Guides & Latest Games Reviews || Education: Bachelors in Hospitality.

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