Archery and Tanking

vonqball

So, I'm reworking my muni/might tank. Some of the recent changes busted up his build synergy.

I have been running storm of arrows with the relentless recurve knockback advantage on him, to proc enrage and provide a big aoe... and just to look cool. And I want to get a few more archery powers on him... but I don't want total dead weight powers.

Explosive arrow can have a challenge adv... and I was wondering if "where's the kaboom" also triggers challenge. A challenge two'fer seems vaguely useful.

Any other thoughts on useful ways to shoot sticks at folks in a tankular capacity?

Oh, my main damage will likely be might/hw or bestial... with some muni stuff tossed in for tactical spice.

flowcyto

I'm a bit confused by the request, since you mention Archery, but also Muni, Might, HW, and/or Bestial. I could give you a full Archery Tank build, if you want a reference (it's not really ideal, mostly cause Archery is still an non-reviewed set). Otherwise, I'm not really sure what to give you, as it's prob even trickier to try to mix Archery and Muni w/ some melee sets for a Tank.

Also, Storm of Arrows isn't the one w/ the KB adv, but I assume you meant Torrent of Arrows. Anyways, aside from Torrent, are there any other attacks between all those sets that you def want in there?

cptmillennium

While Torrent of Arrows w/advantage can proc Engrage and Pulverizer with the knock, you're also knocking mobs way away from you, which can be a problem if you plan to use melee as your heavy attack.

Gas Arrow can take Challenge, and Storm of Arrows can root mobs and also take Challenge, so you could root groups in the middle of two DoTs with double Challenge while keeping them away from you and your team. Depending on what the rest of your build looks like it might be worth looking at Trapped from the Overseer spec, which increases everyone's damage against rooted targets by up to 9%.

vonqball

Sorry about the confusion Flowcyto. I wasn't really asking for a build with this post. I just wanted input on any archery powers that could (conceivably) be decent additions to a mostly melee tank build.

Cptmillennium, I don't find the knockback on torrent of arrows (ty for correction there Flow) too bad, on this particular build. Mostly because I have no ego to speak of, which makes the knock just a few feet. Ofc, that also means that the damage sucks. Torrent is useful for applying challenge on a huge swath of real estate though.

flowcyto

Yea, Torrent of Arrows for a tank would mainly be there to tag things from afar w/ Challenge, while still allowing full movement. It's actually better to use it from further out since it's only a 30-degree cone (assuming you can move or close the gap quickly w/ a lunge and/or travel power). It's not too useful to a tank using melee when you've already gotten close, though (unless a group of mobs happen to pop in, and a ways behind your main target).

Since Archery is a small and basic, there's nothing in there I would go out of my way to put into a melee build. Gas Arrow is okay as an instant cd, I suppose, but it is a bit costly to use in a melee tank build- esp as a ranged attack that cannot crit, bleed, knock, etc.. I suppose Storm of Arrows is an okay spherical AoE regardless of range, but whether it will work decently w/ a melee unit will depend on the rest of the build, and it still has a short cd to contend with. Explosive Arrow w/ adv is also a bit costly to weave in for melee, and may not really be worth the trouble (theme/looks aside) over just using normal melee attacks w/ decent base dps. Also, from quick testing, Explosive Arrow w/ adv only seems to apply Challenge once per use, and only to the main target- the delayed charge doesn't seem to apply Challenge in of itself.

vonqball

Ahh wells. Thanks for the input you two!

I hope we get an archery rework soon, and that it add some more cross-set synergy. Maybe I should flesh-out some of my ideas and make a suggestions post.