Elder Scrolls Online: The 4 Best Healer Builds

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Human Made

Penned by Angus Green

Angus is our resident Elder Scrolls Online specialist. He lives in Eugene and is a teacher by day.

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

Healing in Elder Scrolls Online is a role that’s sometimes taken for granted, but we all know a good healer can make or break a group when playing challenging content. Healing in ESO requires players to keep their allies alive and increase their group’s overall damage with buffs and other utilities. The proper sets and skills can really make a difference!

You can heal well with any class if you have the right setup, but there are certainly specific classes that make the task go more smoothly. Of course, class familiarity does play a role in your performance — you might heal better on your Dragonknight than a perfectly optimized meta build. So which healer is right for you?

In this guide, we’ll cover the best healer builds in ESO according to recent updates. Let’s dive into ESO’s best healer build choices for keeping your team alive and happy!

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Best Overall Healer Build: Magicka Templar

Race: Breton (High Elf or Khajiit) | Mundus: Thief | Food: Solitude Salmon Millet Soup or equivalent (5395 health, 4936 magicka) | Attributes: 64 Magicka

Magicka Templars are the best healers in ESO due to their access to amazing class heals and strong group buffs. The Warden healer comes close, providing different utility, but Magicka Templars still rank #1 in Dungeon and Trial groups. You can’t do much better than this build, so it’s our pick for the best healer build in ESO right now.

Bretons are a great choice race-wise, but you can heal great on a Templar with any race. Bretons have the advantage of very easy magicka resource management, with 2000 extra magicka, 130 magicka recovery, and 7% reduction in magicka abilities. High Elves and Khajiit are right behind Bretons in terms of viability. 

Skills

You’ll want to use Radiant Aura instead of Elemental Drain, as it applies Minor Magickasteal to all enemies around you in a twenty-eight-meter radius for twenty seconds. Slot this on the bar you use the most, as it also grants you Minor Fortitude, Endurance, and Intellect, increasing the recovery of each of your resources by 15%. Breath of Life will be your main burst heal, as it brings someone back to high health from the brink and can heal another injured teammate for around a third of the amount.

Purifying Light is known for the great damage it provides, but it’s important to activate a passive that works well alongside it. Other skills in the Dawn’s Wrath skill line aren’t useful for healers, but Purifying Light provides a decent heal to allies close to the enemy it was cast on, and synergize well with Prism (which gives you 3 Ultimate) and Illuminate (which grants Minor Sorcery to you and your group for twenty seconds).

Extended Ritual is a cleanse ability that is one of the major reasons why Templars are so coveted in veteran content. It cleanses up to five harmful effects from the user immediately, while allies can activate the Purify synergy to remove all harmful effects from themselves immediately while gaining a nice heal as well.

Luminous Shards is another classic Templar ability that’s very recognizable, as it looks like a shower of light over the battlefield. It provides the Holy Shards synergy that restores 3960 magicka or stamina (depending on which is their major resource) and also restores 1980 magicka or stamina (depending on which is not their major resource). This is great because, in most cases, synergizes will just prioritize giving you back one resource, so getting both can better help your magicka allies roll-dodge with some much needed stamina.

Finally, Channeled Focus is your source for Major Resolve and Ward, increasing your physical and spell resistance by 5948. Standing within the rune will amplify this by another 50% to 8922. 

Build

Easy starting set alternative: 5 Law of Julianos (craftable), 5 Sanctuary (Banished Cells), 2 Monster Set / Willpower Set

Spell Power Cure (from White Gold Tower) is one of the best healer sets in the game. You can use Vestment of Olorime instead since it provides the same buff, but SPC is easier to activate consistently. When you overheal a target, they’ll gain Major Courage for five seconds, increasing their weapon and spell damage by 430. This should be easy to pull off given the Templar’s access to so many great healing abilities.

Our second set is Stone-Talker’s Oath (from Rockgrove). It functions similarly to the other beloved set, Hollowfang Thirst — after using a fully charged heavy attack, you place a soul bomb on the target. The bomb explodes after ten seconds, restoring 5% of the damage it received during that time as stamina and magicka to up to twelve group members in a sixteen-meter radius. It maxes out at 2240 stamina and magicka, but compared to just getting 1750 from Hollowfang Thirst, this set really wins out for any group with stamina players on it. 

For your monster set, your best options are Symphony of Blades (from Depths of Malatar) or Earthgore (from Bloodroot Forge). Symphony of Blades focuses on sustain, giving 570 stamina or magicka back to group members who are healed while under 50% of their primary resource. Earthgore activates when you heal a teammate who’s under 50% health, creating an AOE of red mist that heals for upwards of 30K health over ten seconds. They’re both great sets, and can be switched out before fights to give your team the necessary sustain or burst heals they need to get through the encounter. Stone Talker can be used on just one skill bar, so the (Perfected) Grand Rejuvenation (from Dragonstar Arena) is a great choice for a restoration staff. Illustrious Healing gives group members 117 magicka and stamina every second for four seconds, which does wonders for sustain during extended battles.

Champion Points: Essentials in Order

Warfare: 20 Eldritch Insight, 20 Blessed, 50 Soothing Tide (slot), 50 Swift Renewal (slot), 20 Precision, 50 Enlivening Overflow (slot), 20 Elemental Aegis, 20 Hardy, 20 Blessed, 50 Fighting Finesse (slot), 20 Tireless Discipline

Fitness: 20 Hero’s Vigor, 50 Boundless Vitality (slot), 50 Rejuvenation (slot), 50 Fortified (slot), 30 Tumbling, 20 Defiance, 30 Fortification, 20 Tireless Guardian

Craft: 50 Steed’s Blessing (slot), 75 Liquid Efficiency (slot), 30 Rationer (slot), 50 Treasure Hunter (slot), 50 Steadfast Enchantment

Best Overall Healer Build (A Very Close Second): Magicka Warden

Race: Breton (Argonians, Khajiit, or High Elves) | Mundus: Thief or Mage | Food: Solitude Salmon Millet Soup or equivalent (5395 health, 4936 magicka) | Attributes: 64 Magicka

This build is a close second to the above #1 best healer build in ESO. In Trials, you’ll often see the two healer slots taken up by a Warden and a Templar. Wardens are naturally great healers, providing solid buffs and strong healing for their group. They’re my personal favorite for healing, as their nature-based heals are more aesthetically pleasing, and the Minor Toughness bonus they grant makes Pug groups much easier to keep alive.

Bretons are usually the go-to race for Wardens due to their easy magicka sustain. Argonians, Khajiit, and High Elves are also great choices considering their affinity for magicka and healing.

Skills

Magden healers are great for their Maturation passive, which gives players Minor Toughness after being healed by the Warden. This increases the players’ max health by 10% for twenty seconds. This makes for an easy 100% uptime during fights, boosting everyone’s ability to tank heavy blows with the extra health buffer.

The Warden’s healing skill line, Green Balance, increases the healing potency of its skills by 2% for every other Green Balance skill slotted. In theory, using only Green Balance skills on one skill bar, you could get 12% extra healing from each, but there are more effective combinations. Stacking Illustrious Healing with Budding Seeds, for example, can be especially effective, as the large healing AOEs provide a good area for Olorime to proc in.

Budding Seeds has a pretty short six-second duration, but its Harvest synergy allows a player to gain additional healing as necessary during tough encounters. One of the most useful skills that the Magden has is Enchanted Growth, because it works as a pretty efficient group burst heal while also providing Minor Intellect and Endurance, boosting the group’s magicka and stamina recovery by 15% for twenty seconds. 

Build

Easy starting set alternative: 5 Law of Julianos (craftable), 5 Sanctuary (Banished Cells), 2 Monster Set / Willpower Set

The best set for a Warden to use when healing is (Perfected) Vestments of Olorime (from Cloudrest). Whenever you cast an ability that leaves an effect on the ground, Olorime will place a circle of might there for five seconds that applies Major Courage to those inside for twenty seconds. Because this effect can occur every ten seconds, 100% uptime should be no problem. The increased 430 weapon and spell damage you and your teammates gain from Major Courage increases group damage and healing by a significant amount, and the healer needs to take up the role of providing it. SPC can be used instead if you have bad luck with teammates standing in the correct location. 

The second set is Stone-Talker’s Oath (from Rockgrove), which has dethroned the use of Hollowfang Thirst. Proccing off of a fully charged heavy attack, a soul bomb is placed on the target that explodes after ten seconds, restoring 5% of the damage the target received back to teammates within sixteen meters as magicka and stamina (to a maximum of 2240). This set really helps to better manage resources for teammates, and it’s a nice upgrade to give teammates both resource types as well. 

Monster sets as usual are very situational, but I generally prefer to use Earthgore in no-death runs and Symphony of Blades for better group DPS. Earthgore (from Bloodroot Forge) provides a great heal over time that activates when you heal an ally who drops under 50% health. Healing for more than 30000 over ten seconds helps sustain your tank and DPS through tough to handle mechanics. Symphony of Blades (from Depths of Malatar) activates when healing an ally whose primary resource is under 50%, and that ally gains 570 of that resource back every second for six seconds.

Because you’ll be activating Stone Talker with heavy attacks, you can use (Perfected) Grand Rejuvenation (from Dragonstar Arena) that further helps boost group sustain. It provides your group members 117 magicka and stamina every second for four seconds from the initial heal of Illustrious Healing.

Champion Points: Essentials in Order

Warfare: 20 Eldritch Insight, 20 Blessed, 50 Soothing Tide (slot), 50 Swift Renewal (slot), 20 Precision, 50 Enlivening Overflow (slot), 20 Elemental Aegis, 20 Hardy, 20 Blessed, 50 Fighting Finesse (slot), 20 Tireless Discipline

Fitness: 20 Hero’s Vigor, 50 Boundless Vitality (slot), 50 Ironclad (slot), 50 Rejuvenation (slot), 30 Tumbling, 20 Defiance, 30 Fortification, 20 Tireless Guardian

Craft: 50 Steed’s Blessing (slot), 75 Liquid Efficiency (slot), 30 Rationer (slot)

Best Off-Meta Healer Build: Magicka Necromancer

Race: Khajiit (Breton or High Elf) | Mundus: Thief | Food: Solitude Salmon Millet Soup or equivalent (5395 health, 4936 magicka) | Attributes: 64 Magicka

Because most of all healers in the game are either Templars or Wardens, Necromancer healers definitely aren’t as common. They’re surprisingly strong healers, however, and even have the best Uno-reverse style ultimate in the game.

When creating a necromancer healer, we suggest using Khajiit for the way their passives synergize with the Necromancer’s. Bretons and High Elves also make for amazing healers, but a Khajiit’s ability to critically heal becomes incredibly potent when playing off the Near-Death Experience passive.

Skills

Necromancer healers have a fun and bizarre playstyle, and they really come out to shine when their team is doing poorly. In some situations, healing just isn’t enough and players get caught by a insta-kill mechanic. Necromancers can avoid the inevitable wipe with their ultimate, Reanimation, which resurrects three allies in a twelve-meter AOE. Its Renewing Animation morph usually isn’t necessary because sustain is easy on a Magcro healer, so Animate Blastbones can be more useful for its ad clear. This skill is a literal life-saver when you’re down to the last 10% of a veteran boss fight and half of your team dies to a dangerous mechanic.

Braided Tether is an underrated skill that boosts your healing done by 3% while slotted and also heals other nearby allies when you activate its healing tether to a corpse. It does require some angling, as it heals in a small radius around you and through any teammate the tether passes through, so it can be difficult to maintain on group members who move around a lot.

Resistant Flesh is a very strong burst heal that also gives the target physical and spell resistance equal to half of the amount healed. Using this ability puts the Minor Defile debuff on you, which activates the Curative Curse passive to increase your healing done by 8% when you have a negative effect placed on you. 

Build

Easy starting set alternative: 5 Law of Julianos (craftable), 5 Sanctuary (Banished Cells), 2 Monster Set / Willpower Set

Spell Power Cure (from White Gold Tower) is an essential set to use for the Major Courage buff it provides, boosting your weapon and spell damage by 430. You can use Olorime if you prefer, but since SPC activates the buff when overhealing a target, it’s much easier to trigger. Overhealing should be a breeze with the many heals you can place down — if you’re worried a teammate might miss it, using Resistant Flesh on them should guarantee they’ll be overhealed for at least a moment.

Elemental Catalyst (from Stone Garden) is our second set, which Necromancers can activate with ease. When you deal flame, shock, or frost damage, you apply a corresponding elemental weakness on the target for three seconds. Each stack increases the critical damage they take by 5%, maxing out at 15% (as enemies can only have one stack of each). Use Elemental Blockade for shock, Unnerving Boneyard for frost, and Stalking Blastbones for flame damage. 

Symphony of Blades (from Depths of Malatar) is the best monster set for maintaining group sustain. Earthgore (from Bloodroot Forge) should be substituted in case the fight calls for bursty heals. Symphony of Blades increases a teammate’s primary resource by 570 a second for six seconds if they’re healed while under 50% of their primary resource. Earthgore creates a large AOE heal that activates when healing a teammate who is under 50% health. 

Champion Points: Essentials in Order

Warfare: 20 Eldritch Insight, 20 Blessed, 50 Soothing Tide (slot), 50 Swift Renewal (slot), 20 Precision, 50 Enlivening Overflow (slot), 20 Elemental Aegis, 20 Hardy, 20 Blessed, 50 Fighting Finesse (slot), 20 Tireless Discipline

Fitness: 20 Hero’s Vigor, 50 Boundless Vitality (slot), 50 Ironclad (slot), 50 Rejuvenation (slot), 30 Tumbling, 20 Defiance, 30 Fortification, 20 Tireless Guardian

Craft: 50 Steed’s Blessing (slot), 75 Liquid Efficiency (slot), 30 Rationer (slot)

Best Stamina Healer Build: Stamina Warden

Race: Khajiit (Argonian or Imperial) | Mundus: Thief or Mage | Food: Garlic Cod with Potato Crust or equivalent (5395 health, 4936 stamina) | Attributes: 64 Stamina

Healing on a stamina character is definitely not the meta, but it’s still fun to play. Wardens are the only class that can naturally work as stamina healers, so they’re the perfect choice for this type of build.

You’ll want a race that provides stamina and healing bonuses, so we recommend going with a Khajiit or Argonian. Khajiit seem to win out with their extra 12% critical healing, but the Argonian 6% extra healing is strong, too. Imperial is a tankier choice that also offers easier resource management.

Skills

Though it’ll feel a little weird at first, the Stamden can use a mix of decent healing and group buffs to fulfill the healer role. Soothing Spores is the essential skill for the whole build, as it costs stamina and heals allies for 15% more when they’re within eight meters of you. You’ll want to position yourself so you can readily swipe your whole group with this ability — consider swapping to a bow if the melee two-hander is proving troublesome.

Green Lotus is also a great skill, as it heals you and nearby allies when you use a fully charged heavy attack. Echoing Vigor also proves to be a powerful group heal, and also activates the Powerful Assault set. Energy Orb costs magicka, so it won’t be a super strong heal on a stamina build, but it’s worth using for its great synergy to provide your team with much-needed resources.

You should use Growing Swarm regularly to cast Minor Vulnerability on targets, increasing their damage taken by 5%. If you can, use Aggressive Warhorn exclusively to increase your group’s overall damage and save Healing Thicket as a backup when your team really needs extra healing.

Build

Easy starting set alternative: 5 Hunding’s Rage (craftable), 5 Sanctuary (Banished Cells), 2 Monster Set / Willpower Set

Our first set is Powerful Assault (from Imperial City). Assault skills will activate its buff that grants you and up to five other members 307 weapon and spell damage for ten seconds. You should be using Echoing Vigor and Aggressive Warhorn consistently, so 100% uptime should not be a problem for this set. 

Although a magicka-based set, it’s still a healer’s job to provide their group with Major Courage, so Spell Power Cure (from White Gold Tower) is still necessary. The Major Courage buff it gives after overhealing a teammate is just too powerful to pass up. 430 weapon and spell damage gained considerably increases damage as well as healing power, making your own heals much stronger when you heal yourself. 

Symphony of Blades (from Depths of Malatar) is generally the best choice for a monster set. Sentinel of Rkugamz (from Darkshade Caverns 1) can also be a good choice, as these sets both have the same one-item bonus of increased 4% healing done. Symphony of Blades will activate upon healing an ally whose primary resource is under 50%. They gain 570 of their primary resource back every second for six seconds, helping them to sustain their damage or tanking. Sentinel of Rkugamz places a great ground AOE heal that also restores magicka and stamina to allies who stand in its five-meter radius.

Champion Points: Essentials in Order

Warfare: 20 Tireless Discipline, 20 Blessed, 50 Soothing Tide (slot), 50 Swift Renewal (slot), 20 Precision, 50 Enlivening Overflow (slot), 20 Elemental Aegis, 20 Hardy, 20 Blessed, 50 Fighting Finesse (slot), 20 Eldritch Insight

Fitness: 20 Hero’s Vigor, 50 Boundless Vitality (slot), 50 Ironclad (slot), 50 Rejuvenation (slot), 30 Tumbling, 20 Defiance, 30 Fortification, 20 Tireless Guardian

Craft: 50 Steed’s Blessing (slot), 75 Liquid Efficiency (slot), 30 Rationer (slot)

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We hope this best healer builds in ESO guide helps you be the healer that pulls your group through every encounter with confidence and a delightful lack of rezzing. For the latest on Elder Scrolls Online and other popular games, follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter.

Happy gaming!