Tanky Power Armor build?

wrathsoul1

How to build an effective tanking power armor build? I mean, I've been told to add Wrist Bolter w/adv. so it runs with Energy Shield with the Phalanx adv. Is it an effective strategy?

flowcyto

Wrist Bolter's adv is a bit sluggish in practice, and isn't ideal for PA dps. It does allow you to run a PA dps slot (Hand) that's easier on energy use overall, but I usually wouldn't suggest it. Perhaps if you're in lesser gear and struggling w/ energy you could consider it, but I can't say I'm much a fan of it.

Here's a slotted PA tank build (you can also make one that uses non-slotted PA powers for an easier playstyle and less energy consumption, but options are more limited there, and dps/threat potential isn't nearly as high generally):

https://aesica.net/co/herocreator.htm?v=30&n=&d=13480oMQUPTa0000009100970b9C00JA009E009F0J9O03950JON01ER009D09MP01MR0100002sib438W0tak300000000&e=

Super Stats
Level 6: Constitution (Primary)
Level 10: Intelligence (Secondary)
Level 15: Endurance (Secondary)

Talents
Level 1: The Cybernetic Warrior (Con: 10, Int: 10, Rec: 8, End: 10)
Level 6: Healthy Mind (Con: 5, Int: 5)
Level 9: Boundless Reserves (Con: 5, End: 5)
Level 12: Investigator (Int: 5, End: 5)
Level 15: Quick Recovery (Con: 5, Rec: 5)
Level 18: Negotiator (Int: 5, Rec: 5)
Level 21: Amazing Stamina (Rec: 5, End: 5)

Powers
Level 1: Power Bolts
Level 1: Mini Gun (Rank 2, U-238 Rounds, Challenge!)
Level 6: Concentration
Level 8: Defiance
Level 11: Overdrive
Level 14: Micro Munitions (Rank 2, Rank 3, Challenge!)
Level 17: Reconstruction Circuits (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Dual Wrist Rocket Barrage (Rank 2, Rank 3, Challenge!)
Level 23: Resurgence (Rank 2)
Level 26: Masterful Dodge
Level 29: Energy Shield (Rank 2, Phalanx Defense System)
Level 32: Circle of Arcane Power (Rank 2)
Level 35: Circle of Primal Dominion (Rank 2)
Level 38:
Adv. Points: 30/36

Travel Powers
Level 6:
Level 35:

Specializations
Constitution: Unyielding (1/2)
Constitution: Fuel My Fire (3/3)
Constitution: Resilient (2/2)
Constitution: Adrenaline Rush (2/2)
Constitution: Armored (2/2)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: Find the Mark (2/3)
Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
Protector: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Protector: Bulwark (2/2)
Protector: Debilitating Challenge (2/2)
Protector: Defensive Expertise (3/3)
Mastery: Constitution Mastery (1/1)

Last power can be w/e. Included both CoAP and CoPD so you can choose between being more defensive (CoPD) or giving more energy to use all three attack toggles at once for dps (CoAP). You can work w/o the circles, but they can also help quite a bit. R3 of Energy Shield could be better if you're blocking more often, while the Phalanx adv is good for when you're not blocking- its up to you. Protector Mastery can also be a good choice here. Gears mostly for Con, w/ some Int and End/Rec.

warcanch

Suggested changes: Swap Int for Dex, Concentration for Chilled Form, and only put Challenge on MiniGun, now rank3 on a circle of choice.

Obviously for gear, you are going to want the Primary Utility that has a 5% chance for energy proc.

One nice thing about taking Recon Circuits as your heal is if you are using a block TOGGLE, you can activate this then hit your 3 attack toggles without having to hit a separate key to deactivate your block. Because, if you are familiar with PA, if you are using a block TOGGLE, you can't just activate your PA toggles. You need to deactivate your block first. Recon Circuits does this for you. And, once you hit your chest toggle, Recon turns off.​​

flowcyto

Could have more energy issues then (and longer AD cds), but yea, you can go the Dex route w/ Chilled Form if you want. I can't back the suggestion to only have Challenge on Minigun, though, as its AoE reach is limited. I left 6 adv points free anyways, so there's still room to rank the circles more, if desired.

warcanch

There's no point in having all three toggles using Challenge. They don't overlap and they don't stack. Even if there are multiple targets you'd be better off with some (other) AoE w/ Challenge.​​

flowcyto

Uh.. there's a main target and a 2ndary target version of Challenge that can stack independently in AoE situations, and Micro Muni is also the main AoE tag here due to its wider radius. so I'm not sure what you mean by "some (other) AoE w/ Challenge". You can axe the Hand slot's Challenge if you really want that 1-point for something else (even then you could argue that you can target diff things w/ all 3 toggles to spread the primary & 2ndary versions of Challenge around), but I would not drop it on Micro Muni (unless all you do is fight single targets).

warcanch

Not sure what your "need" for having all that extra Challenge. I can't think of any examples of content where it is necessary.

As to the "other" aoe w/ challenge, staying in PA, i'm talking about the ones that aren't a toggle, like Chest Beam and Energy Wave and you can dip into Laser Sword powers for a couple more. Each can have the Challenge and can be used as a wider applier.​​

pantagruel01

The problem with power armor tanking is that PA toggles interact badly with blocking; it takes about a second after you stop blocking for it to be possible to activate a toggle. It's okay for minimal blocking required fights like Kigatilik, but not very usable against a lot of bosses.

warcanch

That's why I liked his choice of using Reconstruction Circuits. It's a Chest slot power. You can activate it while using a block toggle. And, immediately start activating your 3 dmg toggles.​​

aesica

pantagruel01 wrote: »

The problem with power armor tanking is that PA toggles interact badly with blocking; it takes about a second after you stop blocking for it to be possible to activate a toggle. It's okay for minimal blocking required fights like Kigatilik, but not very usable against a lot of bosses.

On top of this, you'll find that (unlike BCR) Reconstruction Circuits will switch off if you block immediately after using it. You have to wait like 1 second or so for it to properly activate, which can be annoying and lame to deal with.

flowcyto

Yea, I have to assume the OP wouldn't use this build in fights where you have to block constantly and be forced into melee range. In that case, there's not many options that stay w/in PA to work with. I guess you could make a Chest Beam-focused build w/ Laser Sword's toggle/form and EU, cause Chest Beam can proc them even on tap, but that has its own downsides elsewhere. Else, you could go w/ an FotT build, but then you have to deal w/ crit rng, and if you're using PA blasts to not have to deal w/ lockouts/delays then those don't have good base dps as is.

Perhaps the better option is to run a dual passive build and let other people tank those fights.

warcanch wrote: »

Not sure what your "need" for having all that extra Challenge. I can't think of any examples of content where it is necessary.

As to the "other" aoe w/ challenge, staying in PA, i'm talking about the ones that aren't a toggle, like Chest Beam and Energy Wave and you can dip into Laser Sword powers for a couple more. Each can have the Challenge and can be used as a wider applier.​​

The build I made didn't add any extra power just for AoE, since Micro Muni can already cover that from upto 100ft, and the attack toggles can be split on diff targets as is. If you wanted to add an additional power just for AoE tagging, that could be fine, but then you prob should have specified that in your suggested changes (and then you may also want Micro Muni's special adv), as I didn't assume one would do that for my build.

pantagruel01

aesica wrote: »

pantagruel01 wrote: »

The problem with power armor tanking is that PA toggles interact badly with blocking; it takes about a second after you stop blocking for it to be possible to activate a toggle. It's okay for minimal blocking required fights like Kigatilik, but not very usable against a lot of bosses.

On top of this, you'll find that (unlike BCR) Reconstruction Circuits will switch off if you block immediately after using it. You have to wait like 1 second or so for it to properly activate, which can be annoying and lame to deal with.

That's just because RC has an activation time and BCR doesn't. Conviction can do the same.

warcanch

Reason I like Recon Circuits is, even though there is an activation time, you can over-ride it and get right to your 3 PA toggles and it has no cooldown, which prevents those other heals from over-riding block toggle.

To be clear, I'm blocking now using my block toggle (bind KEY powertrayexec 1 16). My Recon is on key 1 and the 3 PA dmg toggles are on 2, 3, & 4. I can quickly click 1 then 2 then 3 then 4 (however too quickly and you have to reapply one of the toggles). When my chest toggle activates, it deactivates Recon Circuits. If RC is currently running while I'm blocking, tap that key twice: once to turn it off, second time to activate it and bypassing the block toggle for the 2, 3, 4 button clicks.​​

reapfield

First off, I'd like to apologize for the necro post. I have just one question.

Would this be viable for stuff like QWZ, Cosmics, and other endgame stuff?