A Templar’s Tale
Templars in The Elder Scrolls Online are what you pick when you want to be the one standing in the middle of the fight, throwing out damage, stuns and heals, and doing it all wrapped in blinding golden light. In lore and class flavour they’re closely tied to Stendarr and the Aedra—priests and resolutes who have learned to shape “hard light” into spears, shields and radiant flares that scour corruption and mend wounds in equal measure.
Mechanically, that idea is split across three class lines. Aedric Spear is the aggressive, control‑heavy tree: Puncturing Strikes and its morphs (Puncturing Sweeps or Biting Jabs) let you carve through enemies in a frontal cone while either healing yourself for a portion of the damage or gaining strong self‑buffs. Piercing Javelin and its morphs give you a knockback or stun on demand, and Focused/Toppling Charge closes gaps while interrupting and setting enemies Off Balance. Spear Shards drops a lingering AoE that damages enemies and, crucially, gives allies a resource‑restoring synergy, which is why groups so often ask for “shards” from their Templar.
Dawn’s Wrath leans into solar fire and debuffs. Skills like Sun Fire and its morphs apply burning DoTs and snares, while Backlash (now Power of the Light/Purifying Light) stores a portion of the damage you deal to a target, then explodes for a heavy burst at the end of its duration. Radiant Destruction (“Jesus Beam”) executes low‑health enemies at range with a scaling damage multiplier, and Solar Barrage/other morphs provide pulsing AoE damage that also buffs your other attacks. Together, these tools make Dawn’s Wrath the line you reach for when you want to melt bosses, amplify group DPS and keep dangerous targets under pressure.
Restoring Light is the healing and support core that made Templars the default “proper healer” in ESO’s early years. Rushed Ceremony and its morphs provide strong, responsive burst healing; Cleansing Ritual lays down a healing circle and synergy while offering self‑purges; and Rune Focus morphs (Channeled Focus/Restoring Focus) give you armour, block cost reductions and magicka sustain while you stand in them. Passives like Mending and Sacred Ground quietly crank up your healing output and provide Minor buffs to allies simply by virtue of you doing your job. In combination, these skills let a well‑built Templar keep a four‑man dungeon or trial group upright almost single‑handedly, especially when paired with the right gear sets.
That toolkit translates cleanly across roles. As a damage dealer, Magicka Templars lean on Puncturing Sweeps, Backlash morphs and Radiant Destruction to churn out sustain and execute damage while self‑healing through the thick of melee. Stamina or hybrid variants pivot into Biting Jabs and more weapon skills but still keep class dots and debuffs in the mix. As healers, Templars combine Restoring Light skills, Shards and Dawn’s Wrath debuffs to provide both raw healing and strong group utility, and they remain a popular pick for organised PvE because of that mix. In PvP, the combination of self‑healing, purges, javelin stuns and beam executes makes them natural frontline anchors and small‑group duelists—hard to kill if played well and always a threat if left alone.
Visually, the class fantasy is clear. Aedric Spear skills manifest as glowing lances and sweeping arcs of hard light; Dawn’s Wrath throws out searing sun flares and beams; Restoring Light wraps allies in soft, radiant halos. Armour and set choices that fit the theme—Meridia’s Blessed Armor, various golden or white dye schemes, winged helms or tabards with divine motifs—are popular among players who want their characters to look as “holy” as they play. Taken together, it makes the Templar a satisfying choice if you like the idea of a radiant crusader: mechanically flexible, thematically coherent, and always walking into the dark with enough light to share.
