All classes in ESO can wear all types of armor: Light, Medium and Heavy. That means you can if you wish even wear heavy armor on your mage, which is something you don’t get to see in every MMORPG. Different classes and play styles can benefit more or less by choosing to wear different types of armor, and below we’ll take a look at all the spells available in particular armor skill lines.
Tip: find out more about how skill lines work in our skill lines guide!
Light Armor
Light Armor is aimed at mages and healers: ranged spell casters who aren’t typically found on the front of the battlefield and don’t require as much protection as melee classes do. As such it’s most popular among Sorcerers and Restoring Light Templars. Light armor skill line contains one active spell and five different passive abilities, most of which give you a bonus on magicka (mana) or additional defenses.
- Active Spell:
- Annulment – Created a 15 point damage shield for 20 seconds, and you take 50% less damage from spell while the shield holds.
- Passive Abilities:
- Evocation (3 Ranks) – Reduces the magicka cost of spells by 1% for each piece of light armor you have equipped.
- Recovery (2 Ranks) – Increases magicka regeneration by 2% for every piece of light armor equipped.
- Spell Warding (2 Ranks) – Increases your character’s base spell resistance by 3% for every piece of light armor equipped.
- Prodigy (2 Ranks) – When wearing at least 5 pieces of light armor the chance of getting a critical hit from an enemy is reduced by 5%.
- Concentration (2 Ranks) – You ignore 3% of your enemy’s magic resistance per piece of light armor equipped.
Medium Armor
Medium Armor is best used on Assassins and Rangers, so typically Nightblades. Medium armour gives you great bonuses on stamina and stamina regeneration, so they can find their place even on tanks. Below is a list of active and passive skills in the medium armor skill tree!
- Active Spells:
- Evasion – Gain 15% chance to dodge for 17 seconds.
- Passive Abilities:
- Dexterity (3 Ranks) – Increases your chance to score a critical strike by 1% for every piece of medium armor equipped.
- Wind Walker (2 Ranks) – your stamina regeneration is increased by 2% for every piece of medium armor equipped.
- Fortress (2 Ranks) – Decreases the detection radius of enemies while you’re in stealth by 3% and decreases your sneak stamina cost by 4% for each piece of medium armor you have equipped.
- Agility (2 Ranks) – Your attack speed is increased by 5% if you wear 5 or more pieces of medium armor.
- Battlefield Mobility (2 Ranks) – Your sprint speed is increased by 2% and stamina cost for dodging attacks is decreased by 2% for every piece of medium armor you wear.
Heavy Armor
Heavy armour is designed for frontline builds, especially tanks. It offers the best damage mitigation and health regeneration stats, so it’s a preferred choice for damage-focused Templars or Dragonknights. Even melee DPS characters often wear heavy armor due to increased defensive potential, and some mage builds can also utilize it.
- Active Spells:
- Immovable – Increases your armor and spell resistance by 17 for 8 seconds, and renders you immune to knockback and disabling effects for the duration.
- Passive Abilities:
- Resolve (3 Ranks) – For every piece of heavy armor equipped your physical mitigation and spell resistance is increased by 1%.
- Constitution (2 Ranks) – Your health regeneration is increased by 2% for every piece of heavy armor you have equipped.
- Juggernaut (2 Ranks) – Increases the power of your melee attacks by 0.5% for every piece of heavy armour equipped.
- Bracing (2 Ranks) – Your stamina cost for blocking attacks is decreased by 10% when you wear 5 or more pieces of heavy armor.
- Rapid Mending – Heals on you are 0.5% more powerful for every piece of heavy armor equipped.
Need to better understand which armor type is best for your class or build? See this question answered in more detail here!
