Tank build, would like some feedback

rhazael1984

Hi, i've not played since well... 778 days according to the last character i logged in and there's been quite some changes I see, presence is no longer required for tanking I heard.

So i've decided to start a toon from scratch and make it a tank but with all the changes and me not wanting to read to through 2 years of patch notes I turn to you with advice on my tank build so without further ado:

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

Powers:
Level 1: Electric Bolt
Level 1: Lightning Arc (Rank 2, Crippling Challenge)
Level 6: Sparkstorm (Electric Personality, Challenging Strikes)
Level 8: Invulnerability
Level 11: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 14: Force Shield (Force Sheathe)
Level 17: Conviction
Level 20: Shadow Embrace (Fatal Allure, Challenging Strikes)
Level 23: Concentration
Level 26: Gigabolt (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 29: Bountiful Chi Resurgence (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 32: Void Shift
Level 35:
Level 38:
Specializations:
Constitution: Fuel My Fire (3/3)
Constitution: Tough (3/3)
Constitution: Resilient (2/2)
Constitution: Adrenaline Rush (2/2)
Protector: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Protector: Bulwark (2/2)
Protector: Debilitating Challenge (2/2)
Protector: Resolute (3/3)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (1/3)
Guardian: Locus (2/2)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: Find the Mark (2/3)
Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
Mastery: Constitution Mastery (1/1)


The thing i'm wondering about is if I can get around with my energy needs with the current setup or if i'll need to basic and obviously if it's effective or not, mind that i took shadow embrace for thematic purposes instead of thunderstorm/strike (w/e lightning has) and i'm also kinda on the fence about sparkstorm.

So please do give me some constructive feedback so I can get back into the game

deadman20

Personally, I would only take Sparkstorm if I had intentions to be up close and personal. Since you don't really have a lot of melee orientation, you might be better off trading it out for Thunderstrike. Since you intend on being a tank, self-heals are pretty important. If Darkness is a part of the theme, you could possibly try using Lifedrain or Summon Shadows+Advantage. I think in your case the latter would be great since it allows you to continue using your own abilities while the minions steal the life for you and even triggers MSA.

The build itself will work, but I really have no idea what your going for in your character, so I can't make any decent suggestions without potentially compromising their theme.

flowcyto

Lightning Tanks are quite efficient if built right. Here's an example of one:

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

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

Talents:
Level 1: The Glacier
Level 6: Field Ops Training
Level 9: Healthy Mind
Level 12: Boundless Reserves
Level 15: Investigator
Level 18: Quick Recovery
Level 21: Negotiator

Powers:
Level 1: Electric Bolt
Level 1: Lightning Arc (Rank 2, Crippling Challenge)
Level 6: Ionic Reverberation
Level 8: Concentration
Level 11: Invulnerability (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Thunderstrike (Rank 2, Rank 3, Challenging Strikes)
Level 17: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Masterful Dodge
Level 23: Gigabolt (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Force Shield (Rank 2, Force Sheathe)
Level 29: Unbreakable (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 32: Circle of Arcane Power (Rank 2)
Level 35: Ascension
Level 38: Ego Surge (Nimble Mind)

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)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Vindicator: Mass Destruction (2/3)
Mastery: Constitution Mastery (1/1)

Since the core of the build relies on a maintain (LArc) heavily for ST threat, I went w/ the MD + Unbreakable combo (which I dun normally do) cause either AD can run in the BG while you channel. A power like CoDP or CoAP is also good for this sort of build cause LArc locks you down during the channel - you'll likely be planting urself in place when it comes time to tank the big baddie.

For AoE threat, ya have a couple of potentially good options- it'll just kinda depend on how ya like to play or what attacks ya prefer. I'd recommend either Lightning Storm & Energy Wave w/ rev polarity (latter clumps up mobs for LStorm to hit everything), Sparkstorm toggle + Elec Shield (close range, can gain threat while blocking, but is trickier to run), or Gigabolt + Thunderstrike (former for long-range heavy hits, latter as cheap & quick means to apply CS- since Gigabolt lacks a CS adv). Ofc, if its okay for the concept to use something like Shadow Embrace, then that's fine- as long as it has CS adv for threat.

Only other thing to make sure for Elec is that you have a good means of applying Negative Ions- mainly to buff LArc's dmg/threat. Thunderstrike or Ball of Lightning can both do this just fine.

The Energy Unlock could be either Ionic Reverb + End, or MSA + Int (latter assuming ur regularly using a cd like TStrike, Ball of Lightning, or Conviction). Defiance can also help ur energy generation greatly (w/o needing much else), though I went w/ Invuln + CoAP here since ya picked Invuln in ur original build. Overdrive + Rec could also work as the EU, but only if ur main AoE attack is also a maintain or a toggle.

aiqa

I'd:

• Drop BCR and rank conviction. If you want a secondary heal bionic shielding or emphatic heal are both better than BCR for builds that can't make use or resurgent reiki.
• Get at least one AO and one AD (ego surge + nimble mind and masterful dodge)
• Get a power to apply ions (ball lightning or thunderstrike)

For energy ionic reverberation can give you more energy than MSA, but you'd need to focus more on lightning powers for that to work. For instance if you change shadow embrace to hurricane (+ lightning adv) that could work good.
You can also just get higher INT, that would help with cost reduction, energy from MSA and energy from concentration. DEX is not really needed, so you can safely ignore that and stack INT as high as you're willing to drop CON. And if that still leaves you low on energy, you could change DEX to REC.