Summary
ESO Update 51 makes several changes that significantly reshape the meta. Some previously weak classes now have S-tier value in specific roles, while established meta picks have fallen. For healers and tanks, the key is not raw HPS or survivability. Every class can generally survive and heal endgame content; buffs, debuffs, sustain, ultimate generation, and unique utility determine their real group value. To adapt your builds quickly, buy The Elder Scrolls Online Items and get the gear and consumables you need to optimize your class for its new role.
Update 51 Healer Tier List
S Tier: Arcanist and Templar
Arcanist is arguably the strongest overall healer. Curative Surge provides powerful burst healing for mechanics such as cage checks, while mitigation and passive healing improve group survivability. Its biggest advantage is Inscribed Ward, which grants Major Force for 10 seconds after healing or overhealing for 100,000 health. With 11 other players, reaching this threshold is easy, making Major Force much easier to maintain and potentially freeing support slots from Force sets. Erudite's Rigor also provides strong ultimate generation.
Templar is the surprise S-tier healer. Bastion of Light can generate around 580 ultimate per minute in a typical raid and potentially around 800 with optimized setups, allowing a barrier roughly every 19 seconds. More importantly, Templar can generate enough ultimate to maintain a Slayer set, which requires about 10 ultimate per second for perfect uptime. It also provides strong HPS, Purify synergy, and sustain through Luminous Shards. Its main drawback is a demanding ultimate-focused rotation.
A Tier: Warden
Warden remains an exceptional support healer. Frost Cloak provides Major Resolve, while Minor Toughness increases group health by 10%. Update 51 adds Major Brittle through Tundra's Maw and Major Heroism through Bountiful Harvest. Warden can maintain Chilled consistently, making these effects reliable. However, the tank generally maintains Major Brittle more easily, keeping healer Warden in A tier.
B Tier: Nightblade
Nightblade may have the strongest raw HPS while providing difficult-to-source defensive buffs such as Major and Minor Cowardice. Transfer and Catalyst also provide excellent ultimate generation. Its limitation is that most of its unique value is defensive, while optimized groups generally prioritize offensive utility.
C Tier: Dragonknight, Sorcerer, Necromancer
Dragonknight has exceptional ultimate generation through Lead from the Front and can combine it with Standard of Might for additional weapon and spell damage, but DK tank or DPS usually provides these effects more efficiently.
Sorcerer has excellent burst healing for mechanics such as the cages in Sunspire and Sanity's Edge. Its Calculated Defense and Exploitation utility is useful but can also come from Sorcerer tank or DPS.
Necromancer remains a powerful raw healer, but Boneyard and Colossus are already likely to be supplied by Necromancer DPS, reducing its value as a healer.
Update 51 Tank Tier List
S Tier: Sorcerer and Warden
Sorcerer tank is an excellent bailout option because of its survivability and sustain. Calculated Defense provides group value, while Streak is useful for pre-pulling enemies and stacking encounters. It can also deal surprisingly strong damage while tanking, making it effective as a support-DPS hybrid for score pushing.
Warden tank provides Major Resolve, Minor Toughness, and reliable Major Brittle through Tundra's Maw. Although healer Warden can achieve better Major Heroism uptime, Major Brittle is generally more important. Its gate utility is also extremely valuable in trials with repeated add waves, where placing gates at spawn locations can improve clear times.
A Tier: Nightblade and Dragonknight
Nightblade tank can reliably maintain Major and Minor Cowardice while staying in melee range. It can also maintain Cutthroat's Focus, providing a 5% damage-done bonus when its dodge condition is met. Its main weakness is execution difficulty.
Dragonknight tank is the class's strongest role in Update 51. Lead from the Front supplies Major Berserk, Standard provides additional weapon and spell damage, and DK also supplies Stagger, Minor Brutality, and Igneous Weapons. However, Standard positioning and Stagger management require more precision than the S-tier alternatives.
B Tier: Arcanist and Necromancer
Arcanist is one of the beefiest tanks but has limited group utility. Rune of the Colorless Pool and Minor Resolve are useful, while maintaining Major Force through Inscribed Ward is difficult from the tank role.
Necromancer tank offers Major Breach and Minor Vulnerability through Boneyard, Major Cowardice and Minor Protection through Agony Totem, Major Vulnerability through Colossus, and excellent ultimate generation. However, Necromancer DPS already supplies much of this utility while contributing more damage.
C Tier: Templar
Templar tank can technically provide useful support effects, but the role cannot exploit them as efficiently as the healer. Bastion of Light has limited practical uptime, shards are more useful to the tank itself, and Ritual positioning can make Purify synergy inconsistent. Its survivability is also comparatively weak.
Update 51 Raid DPS Tier List
S Tier: Nightblade
Nightblade is the uncontested raid DPS leader. Swallow Soul now grants 10% damage done while active, pushing its single-target damage ahead of competing classes. It combines exceptional single-target damage, burst, execute performance, and competitive trash damage through Power Extraction and Soul Cleaver.
A Tier: Necromancer and Templar
Necromancer falls from S tier after the loss of double-bash weaving, reducing single-target potential from roughly 210k to 195k DPS. It remains one of the strongest AoE classes and is particularly valuable in encounters such as Dreadsail Reef and Rockgrove. Colossus and Boneyard also provide important group utility.
Templar receives major offensive improvements. Aetherial Lance remains a powerful DPS set, while Judgement's Brand and Balanced Warrior were buffed. Balanced Warrior now scales weapon and spell damage from total armor and the number of Templar abilities slotted, making Templar a legitimate meta DPS.
B Tier: Arcanist and Sorcerer
Arcanist is excellent for difficult trifectas despite lower raw DPS. Passive penetration and critical-damage bonuses simplify group compositions, while Pragmatic Fatecarver combines strong AoE with defensive shielding.
Sorcerer can reach roughly 210k single-target DPS when Power Overload and Signet are usable. However, Calculated Defense reduces practical DPS when it must provide group utility. Its exceptional sustain remains valuable, particularly for MK Sorc builds. Where Power Overload cannot be used, its damage drops considerably.
C Tier: Dragonknight and Warden
Dragonknight struggles as a pure DPS class. Landslide and Pyrebrand changes are not enough to compete with the top classes. Its main raid value comes from Zenkosh, since its natural DoTs, Burning uptime, and Wildfire Embers make maintaining Zen easy.
Warden has fallen after repeated passive nerfs and changes to Shattered Path Signet. Around 190k DPS is respectable, but it remains 10–20k behind the leading options. Since Warden is also an excellent support, using it as DPS is difficult to justify unless the composition requires it.
Update 51 Solo Class Tier List
Solo rankings consider damage, survivability, sustain, and utility in Maelstrom Arena, Vateshran Hollows, Infinite Archive, and solo dungeons.
S Tier: Dragonknight, Warden, Arcanist
Dragonknight is the ultimate survival class. Solar Flare helps sustain resources, Talons provides crowd control, Shatter Spike Mantle supplies AoE damage and defensive value, and Magma Shell offers an exceptional emergency tool. Its damage is moderate, but its sustain and defenses make difficult solo content much easier.
Warden independently provides Major weapon damage through Netch, Minor Breach through Shocks, Minor Brittle, and substantial critical damage. Small defensive adjustments can greatly improve survivability without sacrificing much DPS, making it particularly strong for high-level Infinite Archive pushing.
Arcanist combines passive penetration and critical damage with Major Brutality, powerful AoE, and exceptional defense. Pragmatic Fatecarver deals huge damage while shielding the player, while passive Crux generation allows frequent powerful casts.
A Tier: Nightblade
Nightblade has some of the best solo burst. Power Extraction or Sap Essence provides AoE damage, healing, and Major weapon damage, while Relentless Focus and Incapacitating Strike provide exceptional burst and execute potential. It can destroy older encounters before mechanics begin.
Its weakness is mitigation. Despite strong healing tools, it lacks the defensive safety of the S-tier classes in newer content.
B Tier: Necromancer and Templar
Necromancer can annihilate older content with powerful AoE and extensive self-buffs, but its glass-cannon nature becomes dangerous in newer encounters.
Templar is a balanced solo choice. Radiant Oppression provides strong burst, Vampire's Bane supplies Major Savagery, and its passives provide critical damage and Minor Berserk. Its spammable also provides strong healing based on damage dealt.
C Tier: Sorcerer
Sorcerer has strong burst, excellent sustain, Major weapon damage and critical buffs through Crit Surge and Bound Armaments, plus additional penetration from Exploitation. However, its single-target focus and weaker AoE and critical-damage package keep it in C tier.
Best Classes to Main in Update 51
Update 51 has no single class that dominates every role. Nightblade is the strongest raid DPS, Arcanist and Templar are premier healers, and Sorcerer and Warden are top tank choices. For solo content, Dragonknight, Warden, and Arcanist offer the best balance of damage and survivability. To optimize your chosen class, The Elder Scrolls Online Items can help you secure the right gear sets and enchantments to excel in your preferred role.
