Trying to make a PA tank

Comments

• reddestshirt Posts: 50 Arc User

  September 2012 edited September 2012

  I have just started working on a power armor tank build on my own, though my success has been somewhat limited.
  
  I can help with some points however:
  
  * Micro Munitions and Chest Beam use the same slot, and you will never be able to use them together.
  
  * Conviction will be on a very short cooldown thanks to Intelligence superstat, but you will be locked out of using it whenever you have toggles running. It may be useful to go for a heal with longer cooldown. Good examples are Bountiful Chi Resurgence and Bionic Shielding.
  
  * Lack of hitpoints. You may wish to consider making Constitution one of your superstats. Ego is not of paramount importance as a tank.
  
  * Crippling Challenge. You probably want it. Put it on Power Gauntlet?
  
  * Challenging strikes on two powers is not useless but you may find that it is unnecessary. You should have plenty of threat with just the one on Mini Gun.
  
  * Energy Shield will only benefit from Rank 2 if you actually block, ranking it up does not improve the Phalanx Defense System. Blocking cancels your toggles so you will likely not do it very often or for long.
  
  My own build looks like this:
  http://powerhouse.nullware.com/powerhouse.html?v=5&n=&d=1734bPQahid73M09100930H990bQ8039D089F009H0B7F00DL00EI007Q037P03DK057U002W9Y3BYv0tak
  It can take on a 5-man Hard encounter in the Power House, but not very gracefully.

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• bellesorciere Posts: 44 Arc User

  September 2012 edited September 2012

  The main thing I like about chest beam is tapping it for the debuff. I do know how the slots work in that regard, and swapping between tapping the chest beam and sustaining micro munitions was how I played before. Of course, that might be redundant with U-238 rounds.
  
  You prefer regeneration to the other defenses?

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• reddestshirt Posts: 50 Arc User

  September 2012 edited September 2012

  bellesorciere wrote: »

  The main thing I like about chest beam is tapping it for the debuff. I do know how the slots work in that regard, and swapping between tapping the chest beam and sustaining micro munitions was how I played before. Of course, that might be redundant with U-238 rounds.
  
  You prefer regeneration to the other defenses?

  
  Regeneration relies on good gear and defense specializations to make up for the low innate resistance, but I think it might be nice for power armor since our self-healing options are quite limited.
  
  I tanked Gravitar twice with the above linked build today, so it's working out alright. I do have the Heroic chest of avoidance with a dodge mod in it though, I think that's pretty much required with that build.

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• bellesorciere Posts: 44 Arc User

  September 2012 edited September 2012

  Cool.
  
  How does this look?
  
  Your use of munition bots and support drones is tempting, as I used to have those on this character. I might still do.

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• reddestshirt Posts: 50 Arc User

  September 2012 edited September 2012

  Looks good, though you should probably switch Endurance to Recovery. Overdrive scales scales only with the highest of Intelligence and Endurance. A less obvious factor of Overdrive is that it also scales with recovery. Each point of recovery is worth twice as much as a point of intelligence or endurance.
  
  Ranking up Masterful Dodge is likely not necessary unless you plan to go completely without avoidance gear and perhaps not even then. It already pushes avoidance well into diminishing returns on rank 1.
  If you are intent on keeping both actives, it would likely be far better to push unbreakable to rank 3.

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• bellesorciere Posts: 44 Arc User

  September 2012 edited September 2012

  I got impatient and am already playing. I may respec to move stuff around later. Plus, I have a lot of +rec gear on at the moment.

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• bellesorciere Posts: 44 Arc User

  September 2012 edited September 2012

  Resurrecting. I've been experimenting in the Powerhouse and came up with this:
  PowerHouse (Link to this build)
  
  Name:
  
  Archetype: Freeform
  
  Super Stats:
  Level 6: Intelligence (Primary)
  Level 10: Recovery (Secondary)
  Level 15: Constitution (Secondary)
  
  Talents:
  Level 1: The Invincible
  Level 6: Boundless Reserves
  Level 9: Healthy Mind
  Level 12: Investigator
  Level 15: Quick Recovery
  Level 18: Negotiator
  Level 21: Amazing Stamina
  
  Powers:
  Level 1: Power Bolts
  Level 1: Tactical Missiles (Rank 2, Crippling Challenge)
  Level 6: Invulnerability (Rank 2, Rank 3)
  Level 8: Mini Gun (Rank 2, U-238 Rounds, Challenging Strikes)
  Level 11: Micro Munitions (Rank 2, Rank 3)
  Level 14: Sonic Device (Deafening Dissolution)
  Level 17: Energy Shield (Phalanx Defense System)
  Level 20: Overdrive
  Level 23: Concentration
  Level 26: Bountiful Chi Resurgence (Rank 2, Resurgent Reiki)
  Level 29: Implosion Engine (Rank 2)
  Level 32: Masterful Dodge
  Level 35: Ego Surge
  Level 38: Energy Wave (Rank 2, Rank 3)
  
  Travel Powers:
  Level 6: Jet Boots (Rank 2, Rank 3)
  Level 35: Teleportation (Rank 2)
  
  Specializations:
  Intelligence: Enlightened (3/3)
  Intelligence: Tactician (2/2)
  Intelligence: Detect Vulnerability (3/3)
  Intelligence: Expertise (2/2)
  Guardian: Locus (2/2)
  Guardian: Make It Count (3/3)
  Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
  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: Intelligence Mastery (1/1)
  
  
  What I've found is that fuel my fire makes up for a certain degree of energy management, and I can fight almost indefinitely, with that combined with concentration and overdrive. The combination of orbital cannon and implosion device is a lot better than I expected, and following up with sonic device + micro munitions + minigun clears out any stragglers.
  
  I haven't tried tanking with it, but clearing the powerhouse of five person hard spawns (Dogz, Sovereign Suns, and New Shadows, as I was in Vibora Bay) is not a problem.
  
  My biggest concern is, I think, actually tanking. My previous build can handle most situations without much difficulty. I am not even sure I need con as a primary superstat vs. recovery, which is much better energy-wise, but loses about 1500 health. I definitely didn't need two active offenses and active defenses. Is 10.1k health reasonable for tanking the tougher fights? I could handle a bugged generic nemesis in NemCon indefinitely and keep myself up without too much difficulty, but that was with int + con/end as my superstats and 11.5k hp.
  
  
  
  Anyway, this is the recovery build.

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