Imperial Guardian Firedrake (Tank) build will provide efficient tanking with self and group buffs, also minor self heal. These are the facts that you will need along with dungeons and trials!

Now, first, I highly recommend an Imperial for this Dragonknight tanking build because they are awesome about sustainability! They have lifesaver racial skills for a tank, Tough Imperial Mettle and Red Diamond. The Diplomat passive is good, too, but not much as the other skills. Still, Diplomat will increase your experience gain for the One-Handed and Shield skill line.

Before getting into the guide deeply, I must confess that this build will not be easy to learn.

May Akatosh be with you, Adventurer!

First, I will not keep you busy by telling you how Inner Rage and Pierce Armor skills are crucial for tanking characters. So, let us keep it clean and short. Inner Rage must always be under your control; it is a well-known skill that deals Magical Damage and Taunts the targeted creature; by doing so, you will damage and taunt them for 15 seconds. Also, a ranged ally can activate Radiate synergy which will cause Magic Damage over a couple of seconds. Pierce Armor will afflict the enemy with Major Fracture and Major Breach. These will reduce their Physical and Spell Resistance. In addition, will taunt the targeted creature for 15 seconds.

While using this build for group buffs, you must stay nearby your allies, and if it is needed, you must get them to your side by writing in chat or in voice chat. This is not a crucial part of this build, but for example, if your allies in the area of Overflowing Altar when you activated that skill, they will surely activate Blood Feast synergy, and it will give them healing for x% amount of their Max Health. The most important part of this build is to keep you alive, even when your allies fell; if they fell, I guarantee that you can revive them all with a couple of scratches and continue to fight!

If you are using this build for tanking, you have nothing to fear! Because Akatosh will always be with you. Keep your Hardened Armor and Igneous Shield always up, and when you or your allies are near you, use Overflowing Altar. Hardened Armor will provide significant protection against damages coming from creatures, while your Igneous Shield up and grant them damage shield, too.

Now, assume you are stuck with a couple of extremely aggressive creatures, and your healer fell; in this phase, you will need Green Dragon Blood. Do not forget that you are a Dragonknight, and Green Dragon Blood will always save your character from falling. It will give you x% amount of your missing Health.

Unrelenting Grip will show its effectiveness if you use it when your allies are surrounded by annoying creatures. Use the Unrelenting Grip skill to take them close to you.

Choking Talons will provide good control if there are lots of enemies. Also, any ally near the talons can activate Ignite synergy which deals a good amount of Flame Damage. We chose this instead of Burning Talons because Choking Talons makes the enemy deal less damage. Burning Talons works to deal more damage to enemies. However you can use Burning Talons, too, but I recommend Choking Talons to protect nearby allies.

Now, let’s talk about Ultimate Abilities. Well, there are some Ultimate Abilities that you can use in certain situations. The Aggressive Horn is good enough to increase you and your group’s Max Magicka and Max Stamina. Also, it will give Major Force and increase Critical Damage for you and your allies. Still, there are healers who already using this Ultimate Ability. So, it may not be needed, but you still can use it. The other Ultimate Ability which I found effective for your sustainability is Magma Shell. You ignite the molten lava and limiting incoming damage x% of your Max Health, also dealing a minor amount of Flame Damage to nearby enemies for a minimum of 10 seconds. The good thing about this Ultimate Ability is when you activate it, nearby allies gain a damage shield up to 100% of their Max Health for a minimum of 10 seconds.

As you can see, your current situation in the dungeon or trial really changes the Ultimate Ability usage. If no one uses Aggressive Horn in your group you are free to use it, go ahead. But when you and your allies are stuck with bloodthirsty creatures, do not hesitate to use Magma Shell.

Now, we're going to talk about one more controversial skill. However, first of all, I would like to point out something; Being a tank isn't just about surviving. While surviving, you must give your group members as much time as possible and give them enough buffs. Here, I think, one more skill should come into play; Igneous Weapons.

Igneous Weapons charge you and your grouped allies' weapons with Major Brutality and Sorcery. This is increasing Weapon and Spell Damage x% amount for a minimum of 45 seconds.

Tanking with Dragonknight may need some of your Magicka, too. So, if you are out of Magicka, you cannot be able to use Igneous Shield, Green Dragon Blood, Hardened Armor, Choking Talons and Unrelenting Grip. Most importantly, you cannot be able to use Inner Rage. Well, there is a skill which you can bargain with Oblivion to gain Magicka if you are out of Magicka.

Balance is the skill you need to restore Magicka. By using this Balance, you are sacrificing your health in exchange for Magicka. In addition to that, you will gain Major Resolve, and both Physical and Spell Resistance. For this reason, Balance is the most important thing if you are using my build.

Well, the above comments are for active abilities you can use in the field. Still, there are things you must consider before using this build. The passive abilities, food, potions, Mundus, and the pieces of equipment you must use. I will just put the names of the passives and the pieces of equipment, so you can find them very below, after the active abilities.

If you are a veteran player, you can try out this build on your Imperial Dragonknight tank character. If you are starting the game for the first time or are not much veteran, I recommend you use this build carefully. In time, you will get used to it, but as always, do not forget that "these builds and every build on the internet you found only because to let you warm up before building your main character, with your own build". This means, keep up to try to create your own build in time, I mean try theory crafting.

I hope this build will help you build your own build and give you an amazing experience of tanking!

The Alliance is optional, choose whatever you like; this was my first character since 2014. I still love this character and it is a really good experience to play with it.

The race should be Imperial. At least, I suggest Imperial. Because their Racial Passives are very good for tanking builds. Alternatively, you can choose Nord or Orc, too.

Now, the important thing about this build is being a good and tough Dragonknight! So, your class should be Dragonknight. The best tanking skills are still there for Dragonknights. Though, you can tank with Templar, Nightblade, Sorcerer or Necromancer, too. But they are really unnecessary classes for tanking; of course, if you want some challenge, go ahead. But for this build, we go with Dragonknight.

The Lady Mundus stone will give you an extra and good amount of Physical and Spell Resistance. So, this will be wise to choose for the boon.

There are two good types of food for this build and any other tanking builds; Withered Tree Inn Venison Pot Roast and Longfin Pasty with Melon Sauce. If you have the right materials and skills, craft them for yourself. If not, you can ask your friends or guildmates, or you can simply buy from guild traders.

The potion option is definitely is Tri-Stat. It will give you Health, Magicka, and Stamina. Alternatively, in any case, you can use Essence of Health, Essence of Magicka and Essence of Stamina, too.