Malcolm – Necromancer PVE Tank Build

Malcolm – ESO Necromancer PVE Tank Build

This tank is designed to generate ultimate faster than any other build in The Elder Scrolls Online. Not “sometimes”. Not “in theory”. Consistently. Relentlessly. On demand.

Yes — Malcolm can tank. Aggro control, positioning, crowd control, boss management — all the traditional responsibilities are fully covered.

But that is not the point of this build.

🛡️ A Tank Built to Fuel the Group

The primary role of Malcolm is to produce as much ultimate as possible — not just for you, but for the entire group.

This setup uses four dedicated ultimate-focused sets while sacrificing none of the core tank requirements.

You still have capped resistances, a strong health pool, excellent sustain, solid stamina for blocking, reliable CC, and the ability to take a hit. Everything a tank needs — and then a lot more.

⚡ How the Ultimate Engine Works

Every potion you drink grants 44 ultimate to you — and to three other group members thanks to Arkasis. There is a 30-second cooldown on the effect, but multiple Arkasis users stack.

Combined with a 29-second potion cooldown, you’re generating resources faster than normal and waiting only a single second for Arkasis to trigger again once available.

On top of that, Bloodspawn can grant 13 ultimate once every 5 seconds, passive ultimate regeneration provides 3 ultimate per second for 8 seconds when you light attack, heavy attack, or take damage, and Decisive adds bonus ultimate to every gain from any source.

Your race contributes an additional 5 ultimate every 10 seconds. And then things start getting ridiculous.

🔨 Drake’s Rush, Heroism & Group Power

With Drake’s Rush, a single bash grants Major Heroism to you and three group members for 12 seconds. That’s rapid ultimate generation every 1.5 seconds.

After 18 seconds from the initial bash, it can be applied again — resulting in a 12-second uptime with only a 6-second downtime.

Stack that with Arkasis for the group and the result is — frankly — absurd.

Add the new Scribing banner skill and you also provide Minor Heroism, bonus health, magicka, and stamina based on nearby corpses — while also creating free corpses for yourself.

⚔️ Back Bar Tricks & Tank Freedom

The back bar uses an Asylum two-hander — not for damage, but for advantage.

When enemies are low health, spamming execute can generate up to 12 ultimate per hit depending on their remaining health. This turns execute phases into an ultimate printing machine.

Normally, two-handers lack the defensive bonuses of Sword & Board or Ice Staff. That problem is solved with the Bracing Anchor Champion Point slottable, giving you full block mitigation on both bars.

Yes — you tank comfortably on the back bar too.

☠️ Necromancer Bread & Butter

And then there’s Necrotic Potency.

Every corpse on the ground can be consumed for 6 ultimate, plus an additional 10 ultimate once every 16 seconds.

Your pets and resistance buffs count as corpses. That means you don’t even need enemies to die. This is completely insane.

You are no longer “just” a tank. You are a group engine.

💀 Key Strengths of Malcolm

• Highest ultimate generation potential in the game
• Major Vulnerability from Colossus with extremely high uptime
• Group-wide ultimate generation via Arkasis, Drake’s Rush, and Heroism
• Free corpses, resource buffs, and group support from the new banner
• Capped resistances, high health, and true tank survivability
• Heavy use of Necromancer class skills — not a generic tank

This build is designed primarily for dungeons and arenas, but in experienced hands it performs exceptionally well in trials — especially as an off-tank or dedicated ultimate generator.

Maintain your buffs, heavy attack between big hits, control the field, and consume every corpse you see. You will be shocked at how efficient this becomes in The Elder Scrolls Online .

One final note: none of the builds on this site exist in isolation. Everything is designed with group composition in mind.

Try pairing this with FEED or the Ultimate variant of Nature’s Bounty. These builds are created separately — but built to work together on purpose.

There’s plenty to discover. See if you can spot the synergies.