I have a level 40 might tank I couldn't come up with a concept for until recently. Using the stealth aura, ice aura, and some rock costume pieces I made a big ice sculpture looking dude. Unfortunately, I really don't like most of the ice power set, so I thought, why not mix it up with might?
A few comments on my choices:
My gear kinda sucks, if anyone has a link to a good slotting guide I would really appreciate it.
I only chose three ice powers, ice shield (thematic, I can switch it out if needed), Avalanche (thematic, but I really don't want to drop it). Avalanche does have a knock down component in it that triggers enrage and it gives me a great area threat grabber. Ice Shards is not required, I suppose if I swapped it out for clobber, I would switch beat down for defensive combo. I could go either way, not sure which is best.
I chose two self heals because defiance with the gear I currently have doesn't cover my butt enough. I chose defiance over Invulnerability because I really needed the endurance...
I chose Rising Knee for the single target debuff, it is quick, and triggers MSA.
I wasn't sure what to pick for my last power, I just threw in resurgence because I like having two defenses I can switch between.
PowerHouse (Link to this build)Name: GlacierArchetype: FreeformSuper Stats:Level 6: Strength (Primary)Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)Level 15: Intelligence (Secondary)Talents:Level 1: The BehemothLevel 6: ImpresarioLevel 9: CoordinatedLevel 12: NegotiatorLevel 15: Covert Ops TrainingLevel 18: Paramilitary TrainingLevel 21: Martial FocusPowers:Level 1: Ice ShardsLevel 1: Beatdown (Rank 2, Crippling Challenge)Level 6: DefianceLevel 8: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)Level 11: Molecular Self-AssemblyLevel 14: Enrage (Endorphin Rush, Giant Growth)Level 17: Rising Knee (Rank 2, Flowing Strikes)Level 20: Haymaker (Rank 2, Rank 3)Level 23: Avalanche (Rank 2, Serrated Shards, Challenging Strikes)Level 26: Ice Shield (Rank 2)Level 29: Bountiful Chi Resurgence (Rank 2, Rank 3)Level 32: UnbreakableLevel 35: AggressorLevel 38: Resurgence (Rank 2, Rank 3)Travel Powers:Level 6: Ice Slide (Rank 2, Rank 3)Level 35: AthleticsSpecializations:Strength: Swole (3/3)Strength: Physical Peak (2/3)Strength: Brutality (2/2)Strength: Juggernaut (2/3)Strength: Overpower (1/3)Warden: Fortified Gear (3/3)Warden: Ruthless (2/2)Warden: Tenacious (2/2)Warden: 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: Strength Mastery (1/1)
Comments
Avalanche is just fine to keep, since ya have Defiance energy anyways- though I'd prob get R3 over Serrated Shards.
Only other thing the build is missing is a lunge, but that's not as big a deal for most PvE scenarios, as long as ya have a fast combat TP and a ranged end builder. Still, the lunge could replace rising knee, if ya want (or demolish w/ adv, or ice cage w/ adv).
BCR prob isn't advisable here, since ya lack the dodge for RR and BCR giving ya a 10% final dmg penalty while its up. Getting Unbreakable to R3 (or R2 + enrage adv) would be good, though. Ya already have 2 ADs, a block enhancer, ER from Enrage, and R3 Conviction, so ya should be fine w/ dropping BCR. If ya want more healing still, ya could always add Ascension or Bionic Shielding on top.
Lastly, ya could consider swapping R1 Aggressor for Ego Surge w/ NM adv- less thematic, but will provide much more burst dps w/ the large crit% increase while its up. It'll also boost the crit rate on crit-enabled heals.
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
Made some modifications, I believe I addressed all of your points. Conviction will probably be my MSA trigger.
I wasn't sure if I should put crippling challenge in ice cage or not, so I left it out, if I need it I can steal the points from resurgence. So I got a lunge, and I got ice cage, lol, wasn't too sure what to replace the power with, I really thought I was being smart with the rising knee attack for the debuff :P Let me know what you think! Thanks again!
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name: Glacier
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Strength (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Intelligence (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: The Behemoth
Level 6: Impresario
Level 9: Coordinated
Level 12: Negotiator
Level 15: Covert Ops Training
Level 18: Paramilitary Training
Level 21: Martial Focus
Powers:
Level 1: Clobber
Level 1: Defiance
Level 6: Defensive Combo (Rank 2, Crippling Challenge)
Level 8: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 14: Enrage (Endorphin Rush, Giant Growth)
Level 17: Land Slide
Level 20: Haymaker (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Avalanche (Rank 2, Rank 3, Challenging Strikes)
Level 26: Ice Shield (Rank 2)
Level 29: Ice Cage (Rank 2, Sub-Zero Cellblock)
Level 32: Unbreakable (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Aggressor
Level 38: Resurgence (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Ice Slide (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Athletics
Specializations:
Strength: Swole (3/3)
Strength: Physical Peak (2/3)
Strength: Brutality (2/2)
Strength: Juggernaut (2/3)
Strength: Overpower (1/3)
Warden: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Warden: Ruthless (2/2)
Warden: Tenacious (2/2)
Warden: 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: Strength Mastery (1/1)
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
So my issue with loosing health seems to happen when I start a 5 team, Hard battle station instance and the first group I jump into without having 6 stacks of defiant on me, I end up struggling to stay alive. I know I have the defense cool downs, but I am use to just wading in with an invulnerability tank and just laughing at all the ants trying to tickle my feet. Using resurgence once my health gets half away seems to help a great deal and I can take the other groups out pretty easily once I survive the first group. So I think I am fine without BCR.
I am struggling to keep my enrage fully stacked when fighting small groups. The knock down on avalanche is a 10% chance and it doesn't seem to proc quickly on 3 man groups. I didn't really use ice cage so I swapped it out for Havoc Stomp and that helped with the enrage if I just tapped it. The problem is that I really feel this is becoming more of an all might build... actually it is an all might build. lol
Seems ice doesn't combo well with might. I will look into Bestial Super Natural and see if that works any better. I will also look at Flowcyto's ice tank build and see if I can stomach all the ice powers. Thanks for your help Flowcyto.
If all ur Ice abilities were not for direct attacking, you could still get by w/ the theme being present enough (ice shield, ice shards, ice barrier, ice cage, etc). Another option is using Wall of Ice. Its not great dps on its own (though its erratic nature tends to be better when ur close to the target as is), but it would be thematic and still fine as an MSA trigger. Another option instead of Ice Wall, and to keep Avalanche, is to get Pounce as the lunge, since its a quick Enrage stack and fast/cheap MSA trigger. If ya lead Avalanche w/ Pounce you should get at least one Enrage stack, and proc MSA quickly, so even if Avalanche is not knocking often ya can still roll Enrage when AoEing.
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name: Glacier
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Strength (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Intelligence (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: The Behemoth
Level 6: Impresario
Level 9: Coordinated
Level 12: Negotiator
Level 15: Covert Ops Training
Level 18: Paramilitary Training
Level 21: Brilliant
Powers:
Level 1: Clobber
Level 1: Defiance
Level 6: Defensive Combo (Rank 2, Crippling Challenge)
Level 8: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 14: Enrage (Endorphin Rush, Giant Growth)
Level 17: Wall of Ice (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Haymaker (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Avalanche (Rank 2, Rank 3, Challenging Strikes)
Level 26: Ice Shield (Rank 2)
Level 29: Pounce (Nailed to the Ground)
Level 32: Unbreakable (Rank 2)
Level 35: Ego Surge (Nimble Mind)
Level 38: Resurgence (Rank 2)
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Ice Slide (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Athletics
Specializations:
Strength: Swole (3/3)
Strength: Physical Peak (2/3)
Strength: Brutality (2/2)
Strength: Juggernaut (2/3)
Strength: Overpower (1/3)
Warden: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Warden: Ruthless (2/2)
Warden: Tenacious (2/2)
Warden: 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: Strength Mastery (1/1)
Man was headed off to bed, but that sounds really interesting! Let me test that out. Thanks Carrionbaggage!
Here is the new build:
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name: Glacier
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Strength (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Intelligence (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: The Behemoth
Level 6: Impresario
Level 9: Coordinated
Level 12: Negotiator
Level 15: Covert Ops Training
Level 18: Paramilitary Training
Level 21: Brilliant
Powers:
Level 1: Clobber
Level 1: Defiance
Level 6: Defensive Combo (Rank 2, Crippling Challenge)
Level 8: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 14: Enrage (Endorphin Rush, Giant Growth)
Level 17: Frost Breath (Rank 2, Frost Bite, Challenging Strikes)
Level 20: Haymaker (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Avalanche (Rank 2, Rank 3, Challenging Strikes)
Level 26: Ice Shield (Rank 2)
Level 29: Pounce
Level 32: Unbreakable
Level 35: Roomsweeper (Rank 2, Rank 3, Challenging Strikes)
Level 38: Resurgence (Rank 2)
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Ice Slide (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Athletics
Specializations:
Strength: Swole (3/3)
Strength: Physical Peak (2/3)
Strength: Brutality (2/2)
Strength: Juggernaut (2/3)
Strength: Overpower (1/3)
Warden: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Warden: Ruthless (2/2)
Warden: Tenacious (2/2)
Warden: 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: Strength Mastery (1/1)
I tested it w/ other debuffs that also slow (Snare w/o Root, Disorient, Stagger, Earth Form's aura) and Roomsweeper still KB'd on the slowed targets.
I can only guess this combo works w/ Chill cause Chill *can* lead to a root (which are classed as 'holds' by the game), even if it doesn't always. Similar logic to how powers that don't always apply CC will still proc Manip on each use, like Exp Blaster or Eld Blast taps.
Odd stuff, but that's Cryptic for ya.
*insert The More You Know meme here*
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
I have 319 strength, 165 con, 71 int, 63 recovery, 16 endurance, 10 ego, 10 perception, 23 dex. I was reading that defiance tanks really need 300 con to be effective so I am thinking if I can move some things around I can accomplish this. My secondaries are all purple level 40 gear with strength/con. I was wondering if I should replace them with the armadillo questionite set to get the 25% bonus.
When it comes to primary gear, my gears really bad. I have a legionnaire chest piece in my bank that has less defense than my current piece, but it has 3 slots and it gives me health. I don't know if I should be getting the dodge/avoidance pieces, the health boosters or the cost discount ones so any direction on those would be welcomed.
For this build, I'd prob use a mix of defense and maxHP mods, and lean more toward CD reduction on utility gear since that lowers the timers on Conviction and the ADs. If ya want a bit more survival at the cost of some dmg/threat, ya can mod for some bonus heal in offense gear too, though that's a bit more ancillary.
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
Armadillo is still good, but if ya already invested much in ur 2ndary gear, then I wouldn't fret too much about it. The extra dmg res is nice, but comes w/ an overall hit to stats. I'd say try it if ur still feeling a bit squishy after toying around w/ other things.
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
Armadillo secondaries aren't a bad option, but the extra resistance benefits your resistance-stacked build less than it would others. If it were my character, I'd probably stick with those purple 40s until I could afford to replace them with Q-store Vigilante secondaries (crit or heal, health, health).
What's your attack cycle against single targets? One of the frustrating things about spamming Haymaker is that Enrage's internal cooldown means you're only getting an energy tick every 2 haymakers. Full Defensive Combo > Haymaker > (repeat) would be a more energy-efficient alternative, if you aren't doing that already.
With Frost Breath and Roomsweeper now in the build, you could consider dropping Avalanche unless it's vital for your theme. It's quite energy-hungry, knocks unreliably, and doesn't benefit from Physical Peak's cost discount.
I'm not sure what rank mods you plan to buy. But with your current secondary gear in mind, I'd probably run with 4 CON, 1 STR, 1 INT as primary gear mods, and adjust that if necessary after a bit of playtesting.
It looks like you've got a bit of +REC in your primary gear. While extra REC can be helpful, I wouldn't consider it a priority over superstats in this particular build. As soon as you get hit at the start of a fight, you'll get a large surge of energy from Defiance with your new CON total. If you feel you still need some extra REC in your life, you could consider a piece of secondary utility gear rather than a more valuable primary mod slot. Salvager's Eyepiece and Remission Eyepiece are nice options.
Here's a talent setup that would give you a little extra END, which gives you a larger tank to hold more energy from Defiance's spikes:
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name: Glacier
Archetype: Freeform
Talents:
Level 1: The Behemoth
Level 6: Bodybuilder
Level 9: Boundless Reserves
Level 12: Investigator
Level 15: Amazing Stamina
Level 18: Paramilitary Training
Level 21: Field Ops Training
What's your budget for primary gear? Heroic, Legion, Justice, or none of the above?
I didn't realize it was that important, I just assumed it worked off the super stats. But good to know!
I picked up the vigilante gear. I purchased Vigilante's blostering bracers, Vigilante's hastened eye piece and Vigilante's critical belt. The only problem with this new gear is it has dropped my con by 60.
I use defensive combo X3, then I usually haymaker X2. However, sometimes I defensive combo X6 and then start the haymakers. If I issue a defensive combo more than three times, it is because agro may have slipped. I can switch to your suggestion and defensive combo X3 then haymaker X1 (repeat). That will probably solve my energy usage because I did notice after the second haymaker I was out of juice.
It is very energy-hungry, but if I drop it I would have to replace it with something else from the ice power set, and it is one of the few I actually enjoy using hehe. Ice cage might be good for the interrupt, but I would like to keep Avalanche for now. Unless the mobs stack up, room sweeper doesn't hit them all and I am finding I use it more only smaller groups. I like the effect of frost breath though, and knocking them in the air is hilarious.
I have a character with 400 arms skill and I have been saving up 7s. Unfortunately I don't have any 7 constitution mods yet (but I have some 6s that I plan on using and replacing later once I can get some 7s made)
The recovery piece was a primary and green I think. It wasn't that I needed it, its just what I had when my stats were str/con/rec. I switched to int this time around.
I will respec into that layout and see how it does, thanks!
Uhm, in game money I can pool to around 3k, I have 434 drifter salvage (have no idea where all that other weird stuff is that is required for justice gear. Is it from rampages?). I have 2 keys left, I am on a budget, spending 15 bucks every month to match my wife's wow account cost.
I have three pieces of legion gear in my bank, 2 are primary defense pieces. They are:
Legion's breastplate of freedom (19 def,46 CC resist)
Legion's breastplate of Greater Health. (19 def, 676 Health)
Based on Flowcyto's suggestion I am going to use the Greater Health one.
The other piece of Legion gear I have is Legion's gear of offense (19 Def, 69 Off) a Primary Offense piece. I am uncertain if this is a good piece for a tank...
I also have 2 Mercenary's Gloves of Healing, 1 Mercenary's Gloves of Piercing and 1 Mercenary's Helmet of Speed
Not sure if any of these would be a good fit for a tank... When I slot them, they will be much better than what I have. In any case, really appreciate your help!
Strength: 347
Dexterity: 23
Constitution: 292
Intelligence: 71
Ego: 10
Presence: 10
Recovery: 28
Endurance: 16
Health is 12,774, Energy 99, Offense 400.1, Crit Chance 15.2, Crit Severity 96.2%, Defense 284.2, Dodge Chance 10%, Avoidance 20%
Ran a few bursts for the questionite and wow what a difference. I was easily able to keep my health solid, agro was easier, and all of my endurance issues went out the window. I slotted 4 con, 2 Defense, and 1 cool down reduction. I don't know if I need the intelligence, my con is still below 300. My primary offense piece is a blue 32 called Relentless Handguards, it has two level 4 mods in them but the weird thing is the piece is giving me 529 health, 11 max energy, 13 defense, a total of 88 strength (level 4 mod is strength +37 , the other one is primary stat +15) so the piece must have some strength to it.
Anyway... SO much more awesome now! THANKS!
Gotcha. Fun before everything else, of course. Drop some ice like it's the opposite of hot.
Yep. At the end of each successful rampage, you have a chance to get a token. You need two tokens from each of the 4 rampages, plus 10 Drifter salvage, for each piece of Justice gear (6 of each token and 30 salvage for a full set). Once one of your characters gets a token, their chance of getting another of that token drops dramatically until a new rampage cycles in. So if you want to efficiently hunt Justice gear, run a rampage with several alts, switching to a new one every time you get a token; then repeat when a new rampage cycles in. Because of the random drop rate, token hunting can be rather...frustrating. Justice gear is typically considered a step above Legion, mostly due to its set bonuses, but it's not a large step.
Glad to hear everything is working out well. Sounds like a fun character.
Epic Stronghold
Block timing explained
Good point. "Large step" was some vague wording on my part. I should have phrased that better. What I meant was that a character without Justice gear can still perform well in high-level content (unlike gear creep in some other MMOs), but the extra bonuses are indeed enough for many players (myself included) to hop into the rampage queues.