✔ Updated 2026-10-17Verified against Enshrouded 1.0 (hotfix 1.0.0.2). Skill costs and effects come from the 1.0 game data (build 1267041).
Overview
The Tank holds enemies in place so the rest of the group can deal damage. Its skills raise your armor (Heavy Plates and Shiny Plates add up to 12% physical and magical armor from gear), add resistances when you are surrounded (Tower and Warden), and pull enemy attention onto you (Nemesis).
Tanks also have a strong solo loop: parry, overpower the enemy, then finish with a Merciless Attack. Snap restores mana on every Merciless Attack, Bash deals damage on parry, and Breach makes overpowered enemies take double melee physical damage for a few seconds.
How to play the Tank
- Hold block and time your parries. Power Parry and Heavy Handed fill Stun Bars faster.
- When an enemy is overpowered, use a Merciless Attack. Opportunity adds up to +120% to its multiplier.
- In groups, Earth Aura gives every ally within 12 m up to +10% resistances, and Nemesis keeps enemies on you.
- Martyr is a co-op safety net: if you die, nearby allies are healed for half their health.
Core skills
These are the skills the build depends on. Values are the in-game numbers at max level.
| Skill | Cost | Effect at max level |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy PlatesTank | 1 pt × 3 | Physical Armor points from equipped items are increased by 12%. |
| Shiny PlatesTank | 1 pt × 3 | Magical Armor points from equipped items are increased by 12%. |
| Earth AuraTank | 2 pts × 3 | You emit a protective aura that increases Physical and Magical Resistances by 10% for you and all allies within 12 meters. |
| TowerTank | 3 pts | While there are three or more enemies within 20 meters, you receive 10% increased Physical Resistance. |
| WardenTank | 3 pts | While there are three or more enemies within 20 meters, you receive 10% increased Magical Resistance. |
| NemesisTank | 2 pts × 3 | Increase the attention you draw from enemies by 30%. |
| BashWarrior | 2 pts × 3 | Parrying enemy attacks bashes them for 30 Blunt damage. Bash damage is increased by your Strength attribute. Parry You can block when equipped with any Melee weapon, Ward, or Shield. A well-timed block will parry the attack and fill up the enemy's Stun Bar. Wait to see a flash on the enemy or projectile to perform a parry. |
| BreachWarrior | 3 pts | Overpowered enemies receive +100% increased Melee physical damage for 3 seconds. Overpower Attacking blocking enemies or parrying their attacks fills their Stun Bar until they become overpowered. Overpowered enemies are open for Merciless Attacks. |
| Merciless AttackCore | 2 pts | Perform a Merciless Attack by pressing [Contextual Action] to deal +500% damage to an overpowered enemy. Overpower Attacking blocking enemies or parrying their attacks fills their Stun Bar until they become overpowered. Overpowered enemies are open for Merciless Attacks. Wands, Staves and Bows cannot perform Merciless Attacks. |
| Thick SkinTank | 5 pts | Gain one point of Constitution for every two levels of the Flame. |
Skill order: level 1 to 50
Each stage builds on the one before it, and every skill is connected to the tree. The point totals are exact. "Points available" assumes you have collected the Shroud Roots (1 point) and Elixir Wells (3 points) in the biomes you have finished at that level, on top of the 2 points you get per level.
Levels 1–15: block & punish
53 / 65 pointsParry, Merciless Attacks and early health.
- Power ParryCoreLv 3 · 3 pt
- Merciless AttackCore · 2 pt
- OpportunityCoreLv 2 · 2 pt
- ConstitutionTank×11 · 11 pt
- Heavy PlatesTankLv 2 · 2 pt
- BashWarriorLv 1 · 2 pt
- Warrior's PathWarriorLv 1 · 1 pt
- Shiny PlatesTankLv 1 · 1 pt
- AbsorbTankLv 1 · 1 pt
- StrengthTank×11 · 11 pt
- Heavy HandedWarriorLv 1 · 1 pt
- SlasherWarriorLv 1 · 2 pt
- Swift BladesWarrior · 4 pt
- Barbarian's PathBarbarianLv 1 · 1 pt
- Titan EdgeBarbarianLv 1 · 1 pt
- Whirlwind CrescendoBarbarian · 3 pt
- SteadfastBarbarianLv 1 · 2 pt
- FinesseAthleteLv 1 · 1 pt
- EnduranceSurvivor · 1 pt
- RunnerSurvivorLv 1 · 1 pt
Levels 16–35: armor & control
136 / 140 pointsArmor scaling, crowd resistances and the shockwave.
- Heavy PlatesTankLv 2→3 · 1 pt
- Shiny PlatesTankLv 1→3 · 2 pt
- TowerTank · 3 pt
- WardenTank · 3 pt
- Heavy HandedWarriorLv 1→3 · 2 pt
- BreachWarrior · 3 pt
- ShockwaveWarrior · 3 pt
- OpportunityCoreLv 2→3 · 1 pt
- PurificationTankLv 3 · 3 pt
- Soul LeechTankLv 3 · 6 pt
- AbsorbTankLv 1→3 · 2 pt
- Warrior's PathWarriorLv 1→3 · 2 pt
- SlasherWarriorLv 1→3 · 4 pt
- VeteranTankLv 3 · 6 pt
- BruteBarbarianLv 3 · 6 pt
- Blood RageBarbarianLv 3 · 6 pt
- SteadfastBarbarianLv 1→3 · 4 pt
- FinesseAthleteLv 1→3 · 2 pt
- Crash Down AttackAthlete · 3 pt
- Vigorous DeflectionAthleteLv 1 · 1 pt
- Upwards Slash AttackAthlete · 3 pt
- Blood WarriorAthlete · 3 pt
- RunnerSurvivorLv 1→3 · 2 pt
- KickSurvivor · 3 pt
- EnduranceSurvivor · 1 pt
- ReboundSurvivorLv 3 · 6 pt
- Swiftshot SustenanceSurvivorLv 1 · 1 pt
- DexteritySurvivor · 1 pt
Levels 36–50: 1.0 endgame
172 / 212 pointsGroup aura, aggro and Constitution from the Flame.
- Earth AuraTankLv 3 · 6 pt
- Thick SkinTank · 5 pt
- NemesisTankLv 3 · 6 pt
- Battle HealWarriorLv 3 · 6 pt
- SnapTank · 2 pt
- Vigorous DeflectionAthleteLv 1→3 · 2 pt
- AthleteAthleteLv 3 · 3 pt
- MartyrTank · 3 pt
- One-Handed SpecializationWarrior · 3 pt
The level 50 plan spends 172 of 212 points. That leaves 40 flexible points for quality-of-life skills such as Double Jump, Dessert Stomach or the gathering nodes, or for a second weapon style. Attribute nodes give a flat +1 each.
Best gear & weapons
Item facts below come from the wiki pages updated for 1.0. Set bonuses for the new level 45 sets are not documented yet, so check them in game before you commit materials.
Weapons
Sun Axe
One-handed axe · Lv 40 · Kindlewastes
Perks listed: Cutting Damage, Magic Fire Damage ×2, Piercing Damage, Merciless.
Wiki source ↗Steel Moon Axe
One-handed axe · Lv 40 · Albaneve Summits
Perks listed: Cutting Damage, Piercing Damage, Brutal ×2, Precise.
Wiki source ↗Armor & off-hand
Crestflame Chest
Melee armor · Lv 45
Chest: +251 physical / +140 magical armor – the highest physical value among the 1.0 chest pieces listed here. Crafted by the Blacksmith.
Wiki source ↗Emberguard Chestplate
Melee armor · Lv 45
Chest: +223 physical / +112 magical armor. Crafted by the Blacksmith.
Wiki source ↗Crestflame Shield
Shield · Lv 45
Crafted by the Blacksmith with Smithing Tools (Celestium Bars, Moonstone Dust, Basalt, Fish Scales and more).
Wiki source ↗Utility spell
Shock Wisp I
Spell charges · Lv 12
A wisp that follows you and throws shock projectiles that fill Stun Bars.
Wiki source ↗Food & buffs
You start with 3 food slots and can only have one food of each type active. The Survivor skill Dessert Stomach adds a 4th slot. Health and health regeneration first, then one Melee damage food.
| Food | Buff |
|---|---|
| Beef Stew | +240 Health, +12 Health regen (50 min) |
| Crab Cakes | +280 Health, +21% damage vs Wildlife (55 min) |
| Plantain Curry | +21 Health regen, +9 Stamina regen (55 min) |
| Fried Rice | +10 Stamina, +21% Melee damage (55 min) |
These values come from the wiki's food tables, which were last edited before 1.0 and may have been rebalanced. New 1.0 foods such as Grandleaf Cabbage Rolls, Prickle Pearl Tart, Exotic Fruit Salad, Pearlbloom Nectar don't have documented buff values yet.
Pros & cons
Strengths
- +Very hard to kill, even when surrounded
- +Makes the whole group tougher with Earth Aura and Martyr
- +Parry and Merciless loop still deals solid damage
- +Simple to play
Weaknesses
- −Lower damage than the other melee builds
- −Aggro and group skills are wasted in solo play
- −Relies on heavy gear and shield upgrades
FAQ
Is there a Paladin in Enshrouded?
No class is called Paladin. Players usually mean a shield tank with some healing, which this build covers, and you can add Healer nodes for Water Aura.
Which armor has the most defense in 1.0?
Among the 1.0 level 45 chest pieces on the wiki, Crestflame Chest has the highest physical armor (+251 physical, +140 magical). Emberguard Chestplate has +223 physical and +112 magical.
Does the Tank work solo?
Yes, but swap Nemesis and Martyr for more damage nodes such as Warrior's Path and Slasher. Those two group skills do nothing when you play alone.
Sources
- Keen Games – 1.0 release changelog (Steam, Oct 14 2026)
- Keen Games – “1.0 Combat: changes and additions” (Steam, Sep 23 2026)
- Enshrouded 1.0 skill tree export, game build 1267041 (rossicler/enshrouded-skill-tree, GPL-3.0)
- Enshrouded Wiki (wiki.gg, CC BY-SA 4.0) – item, spell and food pages
Found something wrong after a patch? See contact. We update builds when Keen Games changes the numbers.
