
ESO Templar Leveling Build
Build Written By: Dottz Gaming – PC NA
Role: Damage Dealer, Tank, and/or Healer
Patch: Update 39
Table of Contents
Introduction
Welcome to DottzGaming.com’s Templar Leveling Build for the Elder Scrolls Online! This build is intended to act as a framework for someone to follow while leveling a Templar, whether it be a magicka damage dealer, a stamina damage dealer, a tank or a healer. This is not a traditional “leveling build”, but rather a framework that shows you some of the most commonly used setups for each role. This enables you to pick and choose from a list and mix and match how you like, thus preventing you from feeling like you have a static leveling progression! You will be able to experiment with different abilities as you level up, and come end game, you’ll not only have a lot (if not all) of the most commonly used abilities leveled up and morphed, but you’ll know which of these you like the most and works best for you.
Templar’s make a great first character for new players due to the fact that they have a dedicated healing line, and new players can utilize that out in their adventures helping them stay alive through tough quests.
For those of you who are very new, Templars are your priests and holy warriors of the game. They are the best healers in the game, boasting an amazing arsenal of tools at their disposal when playing a healer. They can though still perform in the dps and tank roles, though, so do not think you’re forced into playing a healer when you choose the Templar.
Once you are level 50, you become CP 10 and will be able to use the Champion Point system. For basics on the CP system, click here.
For the some extra explanation on the guide’s format, please check the above video.
Setup
Magicka DPS
RACE
- High Elf
- Breton
- Dark Elf
- Khajiit
GEAR
- 5 light
- 1 medium
- 1 heavy
- Destruction Staffs (Front/Back Bar) OR Destruction staff/Restoration staff (for PvP)
- Note: The gear weight spread is a recommendation, not a strict rule for leveling. If you get better pieces as you level, feel free to replace them (just try to have more of the main gear weigh than the others)!
ATTRIBUTES
All in magicka
VAMPIRE vs WEREWOLF vs MORTAL
Mortal: Remain a mortal. Neither vampire nor werewolf will give you anything you need as you’re leveling.
MUNDUS
Thief
POTIONS AND FOOD
Potions: Magicka
Food: Not mandatory, but if you can find some, try to get stuff that increases either your health, magicka, and/or magicka recovery.
ABILITIES
You want to do your best to have 1 ability from each class tree on both your front and back bar. When you gain experience, whether it be from killing monsters or quests, the abilities on your active bar are the ones that gain experience as well as their respective skill lines. Another cool trick is if you have abilities on a skill bar you want to level up, you can switch to that bar when handing in a quest or completing a dungeon to give them and their skill lines a surge of experience. You’re going to notice i frequently recommend the first skill of a skill tree as a choice, just to obviously help you start getting that skill line leveled. If you want to level another weapon or skill tree without using that weapon or skill, simply placing a skill from that tree on your ability bar helps it gain experience when you gain experience on that bar. You dont have to use it!
Abilities
- Restoring Light -> Cleansing Ritual -> Ritual of Retribution
- Restoring Light -> Rune Focus -> Channeled Focus
- Restoring Light -> Rushed Ceremony -> Honor the Dead
- Dawns Wrath -> Sun Fire -> Vampire’s Bane
- Dawns Wrath -> Solar Flare -> Dark Flare (PvP) or Solar Barrage (PvE)
- Dawn’s Wrath -> Backlash -> Purifying Light
- Dawn’s Wrath -> Radiant Destruction -> Radiant Oppression
- Aedric Spear -> Puncturing Strikes -> Puncturing Sweep
- Aedric Spear -> Spear Shards -> Blazing Spear
- Aedric Spear -> Focused Charge -> Toppling Charge
- That will have you charge the enemy, if you want to stay at ranged then Piercing Javelin -> Aurora Javelin will be your ranged CC of choice.
- Mage’s Guild -> Entropy -> Degeneration
- Destruction Staff -> Force Shock -> Force Pulse
- Destruction Staff -> Wall of Elements -> Unstable Wall of Elements
- Destruction Staff -> Weakness to Elements -> Elemental Drain
- Light Armor -> Annulment -> Harness Magicka
- Psijic Order -> Accelerate -> Channeled Acceleration
- Fighter’s Guild -> Beast Trap -> Barbed Trap
- Additional PvP abilities:
- Restoration Staff -> Regeneration -> Rapid Regeneration
Ultimates
- Destruction Staff -> Elemental Storm -> Elemental Rage
- Aedric Spear -> Radial Sweep -> Empowering Sweep
- Dawn’s Wrath -> Nova -> Solar Prison
- Mage’s Guild -> Meteor -> Shooting Star
- For PvP: Restoration Staff -> Panacea -> Either Morph
PASSIVES
- Aedric Spear
- Dawns Wrath
- Restoring Light
- Racial
- Light Armor
- Destruction Staff
- Optional: Dual Wield -> Twin Blade and Blunt
- Alchemy – Medicinal Use
- Mages Guild
- Fighter’s Guild
- Undaunted
- Psijic Order
- The other armor type passives
ROTATION
- Try to use any abilities that give you a buff first so they make any abilities you use afterwards stronger or help you stay alive longer.
- You optimally want to use any dots in your build first, so use each dot you have on your enemies weaving a light attack in between each of them, such as elemental blockade, vampire’s bane, and blazing spear.
- Purifying light is a good ability to use when you’re going to deal big damage to your enemy!
- You should have 1 spammable ability in your build to use when all your dots are up and you dont need to buff yourself. In this case, that would be puncturing sweep most likely!
- Use any CC, shields and heals as needed. You want to optimally make sure you have a few of these at your disposal when making a build for general playing.
SETS
While making gear for leveling is not mandatory, some people like to make gear for alts or have gear made when created a new character! These are some good crafted options you can create (I recommend the “Training” trait for all pieces):
Stamina DPS
RACE
- Redguard
- Khajiit
- Wood Elf
- Orc
- Dark Elf
GEAR
- 1 light
- 5 medium
- 1 heavy
- Dual Wield / Bow
- If your main focus is to PvP eventually, use a 2h instead of dual wielding, and even have the option to try 1h/shield.
- You may want to use a 5 heavy, 1 med, 1 light setup if you plan to PvP. Heavy allows you to be tankier at the sacrifice of some damage, while medium pumps out higher damage at the cost of survivability.
- Note: The gear weight spread is a recommendation, not a strict rule for leveling. If you get better pieces as you level, feel free to replace them (just try to have more of the main gear weigh than the others)!
ATTRIBUTES
All in stamina
VAMPIRE vs WEREWOLF vs MORTAL
- Werewolf: Worth choosing if you’re going to be making a PvP focused werewolf build, or if your PvP build only needs 1 ultimate (you can then backbar the ult for the extra stamina recovery).
- Vampirism: Doesnt give that much benefit for stamina DPS outside of niche situations.
- Mortal: Choose this if you don’t want to be a werewolf.
MUNDUS
Thief
POTIONS AND FOOD
Potions: Stamina
Food: Not mandatory, but if you can find some, try to get stuff that increases either your health, stamina, and/or stamina recovery.
ABILITIES
You want to do your best to have 1 ability from each class tree on both your front and back bar. When you gain experience, whether it be from killing monsters or quests, the abilities on your active bar are the ones that gain experience as well as their respective skill lines. Another cool trick is if you have abilities on a skill bar you want to level up, you can switch to that bar when handing in a quest or completing a dungeon to give them and their skill lines a surge of experience. You’re going to notice i frequently recommend the first skill of a skill tree as a choice, just to obviously help you start getting that skill line leveled. If you want to level another weapon or skill tree without using that weapon or skill, simply placing a skill from that tree on your ability bar helps it gain experience when you gain experience on that bar. You dont have to use it!
Abilities
- Restoring Light -> Restoring Aura -> Repentance
- Restoring Light -> Rushed Ceremony -> Honor the Dead
- Restoring Light -> Rune Focus -> Restoring Focus
- Dawns Wrath -> Sun Fire -> Vampire’s Bane
- Dawn’s Wrath -> Backlash -> Power of the Light
- Aedric Spear -> Puncturing Strikes -> Biting Jabs
- Aedric Spear -> Piercing Javelin -> Binding Javelin
- Aedric Spear -> Spear Shards -> Blazing Spear
- Fighters Guild -> Trap Beast -> Barbed Trap
- Medium Armor -> Evasion -> Either Morph
- Dual Wield -> Twin Slashes -> Either Morph
- Dual Wield -> Blade Cloak -> Either Morph
- Bow -> Volley -> Endless Hail
- Bow -> Poison Arrow -> Poison Injection
- Assault -> Vigor -> Resolving Vigor
- Additional abilities for PVP include:
- Two Handed -> Uppercut -> Dizzying Swing
- Two Handed -> Reverse Slash -> Either Morph
- Two Handed -> Momentum -> Either Morph
- Psijic Order -> Accelerate -> Race Against Time
Ultimates
- Fighter’s Guild -> Dawnbreaker -> Either Morph
- Aedric Spear -> Radial Sweep -> Crescent Sweep
- Dawn’s Wrath -> Nova -> Solar Prison
- Bow -> Rapid Fire -> Ballista
- Two Handed -> Berserker Strike -> Onslaught
PASSIVES
- Aedric Spear
- Dawns Wrath
- Restoring Light
- Racial
- Medium Armor
- Dual Wield
- Or 2h if you plan on going the pvp route
- Bow
- Alchemy – Medicinal Use
- Fighters Guild
- Undaunted
- Psijic Order
- The other armor type passives
ROTATION
- Try to use any abilities that give you a buff first so they make any abilities you use afterwards stronger or help you stay alive longer.
- You optimally want to use any dots or aoe in your build first, so use each dot you have on your enemies weaving a light attack in between each of them, such as endless hail, poison injection, re-arming trap, rending slashes, and caltrops.
- Power of the light is great to use when you know you’re going to deal big damage!
- You should have 1 spammable ability in your build to use when all your dots are up and you dont need to buff yourself. In this case, that would be biting jabs most likely, which also buffs you up with minor savagery!
- Use any CC, shields and heals as needed. You want to optimally make sure you have a few of these at your disposal when making a build for general playing.
While making gear for leveling is not mandatory, some people like to make gear for alts or have gear made when created a new character! These are some good crafted options you can create (I recommend the “Training” trait for all pieces):
Tank
RACE
- Argonian
- Imperial
- Nord
GEAR
- 1 light
- 1 medium
- 5 heavy
- 1h/shield (both bars) OR 1h shield/Destruction Staff (lightning/ice)
- Note: The gear weight spread is a recommendation, not a strict rule for leveling. If you get better pieces as you level, feel free to replace them (just try to have more of the main gear weigh than the others)!
ATTRIBUTES
Magicka: 15
Health: 28
Stamina: 21
VAMPIRE vs WEREWOLF vs MORTAL
Mortal: Vampire/Werewolf dont give us a whole lot of benefits for this role, so we just remain mortal.
MUNDUS
Lord or Atronach
POTIONS AND FOOD
Potions: Health
Food: Not mandatory, but if you can find some, try to get stuff that increases either your attributes or give you recovery
ABILITIES
You want to do your best to have 1 ability from each class tree on both your front and back bar. When you gain experience, whether it be from killing monsters or quests, the abilities on your active bar are the ones that gain experience as well as their respective skill lines. Another cool trick is if you have abilities on a skill bar you want to level up, you can switch to that bar when handing in a quest or completing a dungeon to give them and their skill lines a surge of experience. You’re going to notice i frequently recommend the first skill of a skill tree as a choice, just to obviously help you start getting that skill line leveled. If you want to level another weapon or skill tree without using that weapon or skill, simply placing a skill from that tree on your ability bar helps it gain experience when you gain experience on that bar. You dont have to use it!
Abilities
- Restoring Light -> Rushed Ceremony -> Breath of Life
- Restoring Light -> Rune Focus -> Channeled Focus
- Restoring Light -> Restoring Aura -> Repentance
- Dawns Wrath -> Backlash -> Purifying Light
- Dawns Wrath -> Sun Fire -> Reflective Light
- Aedric Spear -> Puncturing Strikes -> Puncturing Sweep
- Aedric Spear -> Sun Shield -> Blazing Shield
- Aedric Spear -> Focused Charge -> Toppling Charge
- Mages Guild -> Entropy -> Structured Entropy
- Mages Guild -> Fire Rune -> Volcanic Rune
- Undaunted -> Inner Fire -> Inner Rage
- Undaunted -> Bone Shield -> Bone Surge
- 1h/Shield -> Puncture -> Pierce Armor
- 1h/Shield -> Defensive Posture -> Absorb Magic
- 1h/Shield -> Low Slash -> Heroic Slash
- Destruction Staff -> Force Shock -> Crushing Shock
- Destruction Staff -> Wall of Elements -> Elemental Blockade
- Undaunted -> Inner Fire -> Inner Rage
- Undaunted -> Bone Shield -> Bone Surge
- Undaunted -> Blood Altar -> Overflowing Altar
- Fighter’s Guild -> Silver Bolts -> Silver Leash
Ultimates
- Aedric Spear -> Radial Sweep -> Empowering Sweep
- 1h Shield -> Shield Wall -> Spell Wall
- Assault -> War Horn -> Aggressive Horn
PASSIVES
- Aedric Spear
- Dawns Wrath
- Restoring Light
- Racial
- Heavy Armor
- 1h/Shield
- Optional: Destruction Staff
- Alchemy – Medicinal Use
- Fighter’s Guild IF you use fighters guild abilities
- Mages Guild IF you used mages guild abilities
- Undaunted
- The other armor type passives
ROTATION
Tanks dont have set rotations like DPS, use things in your kit as you need them.
SETS
While making gear for leveling is not mandatory, some people like to make gear for alts or have gear made when created a new character! These are some good crafted options you can create (I recommend the “Training” trait for all pieces):
Healer
RACE
- Breton
- Argonian
- Khajiit
GEAR
- 5 light
- 1 medium
- 1 heavy
- Destruction Staff (Shock) and Restoration Staff
- Note: The gear weight spread is a recommendation, not a strict rule for leveling. If you get better pieces as you level, feel free to replace them (just try to have more of the main gear weigh than the others)!
ATTRIBUTES
All in magicka
VAMPIRE vs WEREWOLF vs MORTAL
Mortal: Vampire/Werewolf dont give us a whole lot of benefits for this role, so we just remain mortal.
MUNDUS
Atronach
POTIONS AND FOOD
Potions: Magicka
Food: Not mandatory, but if you can find some, try to get stuff that increases either your health, magicka, and/or magicka recovery.
ABILITIES
You want to do your best to have 1 ability from each class tree on both your front and back bar. When you gain experience, whether it be from killing monsters or quests, the abilities on your active bar are the ones that gain experience as well as their respective skill lines. Another cool trick is if you have abilities on a skill bar you want to level up, you can switch to that bar when handing in a quest or completing a dungeon to give them and their skill lines a surge of experience. You’re going to notice i frequently recommend the first skill of a skill tree as a choice, just to obviously help you start getting that skill line leveled. If you want to level another weapon or skill tree without using that weapon or skill, simply placing a skill from that tree on your ability bar helps it gain experience when you gain experience on that bar. You dont have to use it!
Abilities
- Restoring Light -> Rushed Ceremony -> Breath of Life
- Restoring Light -> Cleansing Ritual -> Extended Ritual
- Restoring Light -> Rune Focus -> Channeled Focus
- Dawns Wrath -> Sun Fire -> Vampires Bane
- Aedric Spear -> Puncturing Strikes -> Puncturing Sweep
- Aedric Spear -> Spear Shards -> Luminous Shards
- Mages Guild -> Magelight -> Inner Light
- Destruction Staff -> Force Shock -> Crushing Shock
- Destruction Staff -> Wall of Elements -> Elemental Blockade
- Destruction Staff-> Weakness to Elements -> Elemental Drain
- Restoration Staff -> Grand Healing -> Healing Springs
- Restoration Staff -> Regeneration -> Radiating Regeneration
- Restoration Staff -> Blessing of Protection -> Combat Prayer
- Light Armor -> Annulment -> Harness Magicka
- Undaunted -> Necrotic Orb -> Energy Orb
- Undaunted -> Blood Altar -> Overflowing Altar
Ultimates
- Assault -> War Horn -> Aggressive Warhorn
- Dawns Wrath -> Nova -> Solar Prison
- Restoring Light -> Rite of Passage -> Remembrance
PASSIVES
- Aedric Spear
- Dawns Wrath
- Restoring Light
- Racial
- Light Armor
- Destruction Staff
- Restoration Staff
- Alchemy – Medicinal Use
- Mages Guild
- Fighter’s Guild
- Undaunted
- The other armor type passives
ROTATION
Healers dont have set rotations like DPS, use things in your kit as you need them.
SETS
While making gear for leveling is not mandatory, some people like to make gear for alts or have gear made when created a new character! These are some good crafted options you can create (I recommend the “Training” trait for all pieces):
Contact
If you have any questions about the build, join our discord server and ask @Dottz about the build!