Azrael Tank Ratings.

[Golden Azrael]

Tanking Tip.

 

Read Sovera's Tanking Trinity thread: 'The Brunker.' 

 

By testing a common variable eg. Fire Armour.  They try to test how different Melee sets compare eg. Ice, MA and Claws.  Some are more offensive.  Some safer.  Some inbetween.  You'll have to read their thread to find out. 🙂

 

All three I haven't tried WITH Fire Armour.  But I know from having played those Melee sets (from my in theme Tanks and on my Scrapper...) you'll have a lot of fun.  

 

You could test all three.  Roll them.  Take them up to L10.  And I'm quite sure you'll take one of those much higher.

 

Note.  Sovera has also happened upon the Fire/Stone Tanker.

 

Having tried one as a B****, you'll find any Fire/Stone Tank compelling to play.  Alot of fun.

 

Azrael.

Edited June 8, 2022 by Golden Azrael

[Gobbledigook]

5 hours ago, Golden Azrael said:

 

The Tank patch was a huge step in the right direction.  Which, to a beginner Tank or CoH player, they'll be grateful for, without knowing it.

 

In fact, I don't think the Damage for Tanks didn't go quite far enough.  I'd hand out a sustained 'Rage' button (without a crash...) or equivalent mechanism to ALL Tanks.  Giving it at least the values of 'Assault' from Leadership.  Or a double hit proc mechanic.

 

It's quite ok that each Tank gets it's own style of Damage Buff mechanic.  Energy recently got the Total Focus mechanic, Rage is awaiting a 'fix', Radiation armour has it's brilliant Tier 9 which buffs Res' plus Damage.  Shield has it's damage toggle.  Bio has an impressive T9.  Ice had a 'buff' pass.

 

Azrael.

I am not sure about the handing out more damage to Tankers lol. They are in a good spot now and that is noticeable by more people playing them, which is a good thing.

 

Bill's comparison is probably Tanky built Brutes vs Dps Tankers. They will be much closer if built that way, but a Brute can build for dps and do a much better damage than the Tanker. A Tanker has a much easier time building to tank and that is it.

 

I build my Brutes with dps in mind with decent survival and then i group up and receive buffs that turn me into a full tank but with much better damage. If i wanted to turn a Brute into a full tank then i would just roll a Tanker lol.

[Golden Azrael]

Beginner Tank Challenges.

 

Level 1-5.  Street Sweep Challenge.  Hellions.  

 

Test your yourself against a single Helion in Atlas.  You'll notice he can't hurt you much at all.  Even without your 1st Armours Tier 1 and 2.

 

Next?  Surround yourself with 3 mobs.  And rather than clobbering just one mob out the three?  Pass the damage around to test your 'Punvoke' which is a way of agitating mob aggro' through physical violence. 🙂

 

After that.  Try 5-8 mobs surrounding you.  You'll find the 5 mobs 'doable' if you get a wriggle on with taking them out.  But keep an eye on your health bar.  With the count of 8 mobs, you may need to pop a luck inspire and eat that green health inspire.

 

Have a crack against a single mob Boss.  Get the feel of how hard they hit (and they do) and how long the fight will take.

 

L6-10.  Hollows Challenge.  

 

You'll get your Wincott Contact and be given missions against the Outcasts and Trolls.  Try those missions on +0x1.  Now exit the mission and try this on -1x4 and -1x8.

 

Using inspires (eg. Lucks, the odd green and blue...) you have the temporary 'Reach' to take on more mobs.  A luck inspire will mean you'll deflect many of the blows/attacks of a mob when you're surrounded.  And depending on your armour and chosen attack set you can test how much aggro' you can take and how fast you can 'take out' the mobs.

 

By lowering the difficulty but increasing the 'width' of the mobs in missions you can deal damage 'Wholesale.'  This is where you grind a mob down 'over time.'  A blaster may insta-kill in a few shots and a scrapper will eat things for breakfast very quick.  Tanks take a wider, more global view of the battlefield.  But it IS satisfying.  You can take it and dish it over time.

 

x4 and x8 'wide' settings give you moAR mobs in a mission.  By varying your mission multiplier of mobs you can stress test your Tank even at an early stage.  

 

Of course, you're ultimate test from Flux (the next contact on from Wincott) will give you FrostFire, the fabled end of arc mission.  Probably the most iconic mission arc in the game.  Can you -1x8 it?  

 

L11-20.  Steel Canyon Challenge:  Outcasts.

 

Outcasts rule the streets.  But that was until you appeared on the scene.  You're about to change all that.

 

Get a Radio mission that features the Outcasts.  Start?  Try it on -1x8.  Then exit before completion (you can get a few levels by repeating this mission...) and as you reach L16, can you try it on +0x8?

 

Canyon Challenge Two.  Outcast Bosses!

 

You can keep repeating an Outcast radio mission to hone your wide setting tactics and sporadic use of inspires.  OR!

 

GO after the BIG MAN!  The CaHuna.  Lead Fire.  Lead Electric.  Lead Stone.  Pay insane amount of XP chunks and influence.  With your Double XP buff on?  You'll see your level bar pinks move up dramatically after each Boss win.  Be careful, though.  A Lead Fire Boss and his Fire Imps are not to be taken lightly...  Popping the odd luck inspire 'just to be sure...' (fire hurts...)

 

L20+.  The Talos/Striga Challenge.  Warriors.

 

Here you can move to +0x8.  Can you do +1x8 as you level in your 20s?

 

L30+.  The Brickstown Challenge.

 

Freaks.  All the best Freaks are here.  Please, stop staring at me.  Find a radio mission with Freakshow.  Can you stand up to +1x8 Freaks?  Or Push it to +2 as you traverse your L30s?  Can you mix it with a Freak Tank?  Can you cope with the end draining shenanigans of the Super Stunner?  This may well develop your sense of tactics and endurance as those Freaks will rez from the dead and take you all the way.

 

How is your end bar?  Do you run out of end?  (Have you got enough End Reductions in your toggles or expensive attacks?

 

L40+.  The Council Death Match Challenge.

 

It's you or them.  Gdm Vamps.  Annoying Warwolves wit their slap and run tactics.  And those Sniper Shooters killing your attack chain with 'slow' debuffs.

 

So, what you going to do about it?  Run and Hide?  Eat grapes in Tank Hospital?

 

Settings to try +0x8, +1x8, +2x8, +3x8, +4x8 as you progress from L40-Super DING L50.

 

L50+.  Council Obsession 'How Fast Can you GO?' Challenge.  Damage.  Whole sale.  FAST.

 

As you choose your 1st Alpha, choose wisely.  Still have an end problem?  Cardiac will slice all your end costs.  It will, at Tier 3 limit incoming damage.  Need MOAR damage?  There's Muscularity.  And many others.

 

This Alpha will give you a 'Level' Shift.  You'll notice how much easier things are.  Compare how fast you can clear a Council mob now to how it was in your L40s. 

 

(Why Council mobs?  Why not?  They hit hard.  They slow.  They -to hit debuff.  Some of them are quite a robust to nail.  A good baseline mob challenge for new Tanks.)

 

Note.  Of the Top Ten Tanks in this Thread?  How are all the Tanks different?

 

Azrael.

 

Edited June 9, 2022 by Golden Azrael

[Golden Azrael]

Tactics.

 

Punchvoke.  Giving each mob a 'smack in the kisser' each.  Hitting a mob will ensure you have his attention.

 

Taunt.  You can use Taunt to stifle the mobs Range and bring them closer to you where you can deal 'The Gift.'

 

Pull a mob (basically by hitting one or taunt several and running to a given place) to a pillar, a corner or someother 'blind spot' hiding place from the mob.  They will follow you.  Let them cluster on you.  It's more efficient to deal your attacks and for any damage auras you have to work on them whilst YOU work on them with melee.

 

Big Man.  You can just wander into a mob and take them to the cleaners, Johnny on the Spot.  For some, this is more efficient.  Depends on how many you are taking on and what your capabilities are.

 

Pop a Luck.  If it's a big mob?  Take a Luck (purple) inspire to absorb the 'alpha' initial aggression.

 

Work the Boss.  If you have boss settings on.  He's the Apex of the mob.  And most likely to really hurt you.  But you have to watch the accumulative damage from the rest of the mob too.  Work on him whilst giving the odd punchvoke to the rest of his minions.  Once he falls?  The rest of trash is being taken out much easier.

 

Azrael.

[Golden Azrael]

For NEW Players.  

 

(Following excerpt from Sovera's 'Brunker' thread.  A ('MUST') Read their thread for details.  Builds galore.  But danger, you might want to roll it and have fun.  Here's an over view.)

 

I quote:

 

"Fire/Ice Melee: the all rounder.

- Pros: This has become my favorite and my recommendation for a new player. Unlike the Martial Arts variant it works at near full potential right out of the box. The damage is good and the build has a very nice power progression. We get a good AoE at level 4 that usually makes me crank up spawn size to 4-5 that instant, we get Build-Up at level 16, then Burn at 18, then the ultimate protection skill at 20 in Ice Patch. At 26 we get our second Build-Up in Fiery Embrace, and at 28 we get the heavy hitting Freezing Touch. Everything afterwards is just padding. It is common to just destroy whole groups of enemies with Build-up + Frost + Burn leaving only nearly dead lieutenants and an half HP boss."

 

It has that balance of wholesale damage and relative safety.  This would suit the 'new' player or new Tanker and offers an alternative to the compelling Single Target 'beginner' Tank in Invulnerability Energy Melee.

 

Azrael.

 

 

[Golden Azrael]

Tanking Tip.

 

Taunt into your Attack Chain.

 

Why?

 

Firstly, it costs no end!  It can stem the outflow of end by giving 'pause' to your relentless attack and thus save you endurance.  Think of Taunt as playing a combat role.  (And it does.)  You can control mobs at range.  You can pull mobs off vulnerable squishy team members who have aggro'd 'too much' aggro.  Narratively, I'll put a mob on its Az with Footstomp.  (Big END user...power.)  Then I trash talk them with Taunt when I've got them on the ground allowing my EQ to recover.  If I'm on a single target or on a particular power eg. Stone Throw?  And they go flying?  I'll 'Ha-Har...!' to boast at my prowess, trash talk them, 'Get up...c'mon GET UP!'  If I get roughed up by a mob and fight my way back into it?  Taunt saves end.  Narratively, I'm saying, 'Dat what you got?  C'mon...'  I use Taunt as a form of 'intimidation' (Narratively) even though the CoH game's HC Dev's haven't set it up that way YET.  I'd be all for Taunt having dam' procs or double hits for the targets you taunt, to hit and/or other random bonuses unique(!) to Tanks.  Make it a compelling choice. 

 

I used to think of Taunt as a waste of time.  Now I know otherwise.  Some may argue that you don't technically need it.  Certainly not to draw aggro'.  Conceptually, I feel you do.  And there are many benefits to it.  I'd argue for HC Dev's to include more. 

 

Tanking Tip.

 

I try to fight with my EQ in the top third or quarter.  Using Taunt regularly to curb Range aggro' helps maintain this.  Better to do this than fight with your end in the last quarter of you end bar.  If you blow out your end, then you're toggles drop and you begin to become vulnerable to knockback, stuns, saps, a general kicking.

 

Tanking Tip.

 

Before battle, take a moment to weight up your opponents.  Do you see Sappers in there?  What about an Arachnos Widow or Fortunta Boss?  What threat do they pose?  How are you going to take down, strategically, the main threat to you?  Are you going to leave the Sapper to last?  (Not a good idea unless you want your toggles around your ankles...)  Eg.  In the Malta.  Is the Titan?  Sapper or Malta Cowboy Gunner the main threat?  Who you going to go for New Kid on the Block Tanker?

 

Tanking Tip.

 

Prevention is better than cure.   Pop a Luck or a Damage BEFORE you enter battle.  Battle Ready is GOOD.

 

Why?  Too late to start hitting those Luck inspires after you get a kicking by wandering into a mob of Arachnos or Carnie.  They'll strip an entire tray of 'comeback' inpires after they alpha beat down you.  (Some veteran players eschew Inspires.  They are part of the game.  Especially for starter Tanks or CoH players.)

 

Better to?  Pop a luck BEFORE you go into battle if you're unsure of the results/consequences. 🙂     

 

Azrael.                                      

Edited June 9, 2022 by Golden Azrael

[Golden Azrael]

End problem?

 

Tanking Tip.

 

This may(!) seem like an obvious one, and this STILL catches me out.  You're not fighting with Sprint on, are you?  🙂

 

True story.  I once left my Athletic Run on in combat.  Somehow removed it from my combat tray.

 

I spent an hour in a mission figuring out what was causing a catastrophic end problem...

 

*Please don't tell anyone.  It's just our little secret.

 

Azrael.

[Golden Azrael]

Tanking Tip.

 

So, it's your 1st Tank build.  You've looked at some fellow HC Forum Tank luminary's builds.  But you've managed to build your Tank's Melee Defence 'just shy' of the Melee cap.

What do you do?  Rebuild?

 

Take Barrier Incarnate Power.  This will take you to the cap and over.  Tier 3 (left side) is a good 1st port of call.  This power will also get you a level shift.  Added to your Alpha Core Level shift.  And now you are a force to be reckoned with.  It makes you even Tankier.  Useful for those squishy Tanks eg. Fire Armour.

 

You laugh at the tickling damage of Council on +3x8.

 

Azrael. 

[America's Angel]

For regular content, any tank shouldn't die. So they're all pretty much equal. In terms of pure mitigation Dark/Dark trumps all.

 

For 4* relentless/hard mode? I'd go with a regen brute, or a sr/shield tank.

Edited June 12, 2022 by America's Angel

[Mezmera]

5 hours ago, America's Angel said:

For 4* relentless/hard mode? I'd go with a regen brute, or a sr/shield tank.

 

I agree Shield has tons of upside.  The only thing lacking on Shield is a heal and endurance management especially for those smelters.  The offensive clearing afforded you in Shield Charge plus the soft knockback control is quite strong.  

 

For me Rebirth just wasn't cutting it so I picked up Unrelenting which has been a fantastic addition.  Unrelenting is such a big power for this it has good offensive stats so I can stay aggressive while I'm getting healed which I can take advantage of thanks to Shield's great defense/resist/high hp ability plus it has some decent endurance buff and its a rez.  

 

I also went for Unleash Potential for the endurance boost plus the additional defense/regen boost I won't scoff at.  And there's always the Energy epic pool.

 

I really love my Shield tank for this and I've seen good things from Rad Armor.  A well thought out and played tank will typically shine on Relentless regardless but you still need good support roles for you and your team no matter.  

Edited June 12, 2022 by Mezmera

[America's Angel]

4 hours ago, Mezmera said:

 

I agree Shield has tons of upside.  The only thing lacking on Shield is a heal and endurance management especially for those smelters.  The offensive clearing afforded you in Shield Charge plus the soft knockback control is quite strong.  

 

For me Rebirth just wasn't cutting it so I picked up Unrelenting which has been a fantastic addition.  Unrelenting is such a big power for this it has good offensive stats so I can stay aggressive while I'm getting healed which I can take advantage of thanks to Shield's great defense/resist/high hp ability plus it has some decent endurance buff and its a rez.  

 

I also went for Unleash Potential for the endurance boost plus the additional defense/regen boost I won't scoff at.  And there's always the Energy epic pool.

 

I really love my Shield tank for this and I've seen good things from Rad Armor.  A well thought out and played tank will typically shine on Relentless regardless but you still need good support roles for you and your team no matter.  

 

Will be interesting to see how Shield's lower DDR vs SR fares in hardmode content that does a lot of -def.

 

One thing I love about relentless is that formerly useless powers are now super useful. My SR/MA uses both Elude and Unleashed Potential!

Edited June 13, 2022 by America's Angel

[Mezmera]

59 minutes ago, America's Angel said:

Will be interesting to see how Shield's lower DDR vs SR fares in hardmode content that does a lot of -def.

 

Well on Shield tanks the DDR is quite comparable to SR.  Double stacking Active Defenses gets me to 90% DDR which I can maintain that double stack easily.  SR is an easy build but on tanks Shield gets to be so much more.  Other armors sure that DDR wrecks but Shield is right there with SR plus it has so many other things to bring to the table.

[America's Angel]

3 hours ago, Mezmera said:

 

Well on Shield tanks the DDR is quite comparable to SR.  Double stacking Active Defenses gets me to 90% DDR which I can maintain that double stack easily.  SR is an easy build but on tanks Shield gets to be so much more.  Other armors sure that DDR wrecks but Shield is right there with SR plus it has so many other things to bring to the table.

 

Where you getting the extra 8.2% DDR?

 

Best I could do on shield was 81.8%:

Battle Agility = 17.3%
Active Defense = 21.625%
Active Defense = 21.625%
Ageless 120 = 21.25%

 

But yeah, I could see Shield being popular on Relentless for Grant Cover + Maneuvers stacking. Those plus a cold or FF running maneuvers is like ~51%/~67% extra defense!

 

[Mezmera]

47 minutes ago, America's Angel said:

 

Where you getting the extra 8.2% DDR?

 

Best I could do on shield was 81.8%:

Battle Agility = 17.3%  Mine is 29.67
Active Defense = 21.625%  Same
Active Defense = 21.625% Same
Ageless 120 = 21.25%  Don't use this one I use Rebirth

Grant Cover gets you 17.30

 

But yeah, I could see Shield being popular on Relentless for Grant Cover + Maneuvers stacking. Those plus a cold or FF running maneuvers is like ~51%/~67% extra defense!

 

 

All said and done I'm at 90.22% DDR without having to use Ageless which then the Rebirth heal does much more for me.  My Alpha is Agility so I can low slot defense sets and still pull in 70% enhancement values thanks to a good chunk of it being immune to DR which you get to enhance the Battle Agility DDR for 70% too.  Yes Grant Cover giving teammates a 15% defense buff to stack with their Maneuvers and other shields is quite nice for them.   

Edited June 13, 2022 by Mezmera

[Infinitum]

2 hours ago, Mezmera said:

All said and done I'm at 90.22% DDR without having to use Ageless which then the Rebirth heal does much more for me.

 

Ya know that's actually a fairly brilliant idea - i have always stuck to ageless for the recharge rate an extra ddr but for hardened encounters - Rebirth with the + regen would actually be a better choice.  You are actually better than the actual Regen powerset yet again with Second to none positionals and nearly invul level resists at the same time.

 

lol one more method to out regen Regen.  I like it!

 

Thanks for showing this - i used Rebirth on my Rad/ Elec Brute to great effect years ago - but have gotten drunken with Ageless since - as soon as i get home all of my shield tankers are getting a Rebirth option added - maybe my Invul and SR tankers also.

[America's Angel]

2 hours ago, Mezmera said:

 

All said and done I'm at 90.22% DDR without having to use Ageless which then the Rebirth heal does much more for me.  My Alpha is Agility so I can low slot defense sets and still pull in 70% enhancement values thanks to a good chunk of it being immune to DR which you get to enhance the Battle Agility DDR for 70% too.  Yes Grant Cover giving teammates a 15% defense buff to stack with their Maneuvers and other shields is quite nice for them.   

 

Ah nice. I'm rocking Nerve on my SR for similar reasons. (Plus the extra ACC. Helps vs relentless mobs and their insane defense.)

 

How much def is your shield sitting on? I try to aim for 75% to all so a single cold/FF shield takes it to the relentless cap of 96%,

 

52 minutes ago, Infinitum said:

 

Ya know that's actually a fairly brilliant idea - i have always stuck to ageless for the recharge rate an extra ddr but for hardened encounters - Rebirth with the + regen would actually be a better choice.  You are actually better than the actual Regen powerset yet again with Second to none positionals and nearly invul level resists at the same time.

 

lol one more method to out regen Regen.  I like it!

 

Thanks for showing this - i used Rebirth on my Rad/ Elec Brute to great effect years ago - but have gotten drunken with Ageless since - as soon as i get home all of my shield tankers are getting a Rebirth option added - maybe my Invul and SR tankers also.

 

I'd keep Ageless it on the Invuln tbh. 50% DDR is pretty low for a set which relies on defense.

 

(This is pretty much why I've given up on my Invuln.)

 

[Sovera]

39 minutes ago, America's Angel said:

I'd keep Ageless it on the Invuln tbh. 50% DDR is pretty low for a set which relies on defense.

 

(This is pretty much why I've given up on my Invuln.)

 

This is me on my Stone Armor. Handles great, levels great. Then for something that relies on defense it gets it shaved off in a few hits.

[Infinitum]

1 hour ago, America's Angel said:

I'd keep Ageless it on the Invuln tbh. 50% DDR is pretty low for a set which relies on defense.

 

(This is pretty much why I've given up on my Invuln.)

Say what?  Relies on defense?  On resistances - my invuls are 90% s/l and ~70+ for the rest including psi - and that is with 1 stack of MotT.  They are all pretty close to 90 once you figure in the other two stacks which is easy to get.

 

Then you add in my normal melee defense target ~50% and then typed which softcap at around 5 targets and increase further from there.

 

Then you have dull pain.

 

My invul is stronger than any shield i have - the long and the short of it is - it cant just rely on defense.

 

If you can play regen - invul should be a cake walk no matter how bad the build is.  Try one of my builds out - Nova Infinitum or Brikhouse would be what I would recommend for shear fun and smash.

 

Invul doesn't need ageless though - its just an added bonus that it has ddr - i had it for the recharge TBH.

Edited June 13, 2022 by Infinitum

[America's Angel]

59 minutes ago, Infinitum said:

Say what?  Relies on defense?  On resistances - my invuls are 90% s/l and ~70+ for the rest including psi - and that is with 1 stack of MotT.  They are all pretty close to 90 once you figure in the other two stacks which is easy to get.

 

Then you add in my normal melee defense target ~50% and then typed which softcap at around 5 targets and increase further from there.

 

Then you have dull pain.

 

My invul is stronger than any shield i have - the long and the short of it is - it cant just rely on defense.

 

If you can play regen - invul should be a cake walk no matter how bad the build is.  Try one of my builds out - Nova Infinitum or Brikhouse would be what I would recommend for shear fun and smash.

 

Invul doesn't need ageless though - its just an added bonus that it has ddr - i had it for the recharge TBH.

 

My Inv/MA:

 

 

(So with the tanker ATOx3, which it always is, this is at 90% res to all.)

 

Here's what happens when I try and solo tank relentless without Ageless...
 

 

And then end drain.

 

And then death.

 

(Side-note: Invuln's lack of confuse protection is also a huge pain.)

[Infinitum]

32 minutes ago, America's Angel said:

 

My Inv/MA:

 

 

(So with the tanker ATOx3, which it always is, this is at 90% res to all.)

 

Here's what happens when I try and solo tank relentless without Ageless...
 

 

And then end drain.

 

And then death.

 

(Side-note: Invuln's lack of confuse protection is also a huge pain.)

 

 

Well - how do you survive on regen? - which has no debuff resistances to speak of.

 

An invul build like that is infinitely better than anything a regen brute can survive.

 

Because any defense you can build would be shredded faster than the invul - and there is no way you are getting 90% res to all on a regen.

 

Either way - if you took rebirth on the invul, and alternated it with melee core - you should be able to solo that with ease.

[Linea]

Oddly enough, for the ASF I found Resist Armors did as well as anything.  I do not expect this to hold true in heavy ddr hardmode content.  Resist armors start to fail at 7 and higher in 801.  But the hardmode devs also acknowledge this, and don't plan on designing anything that I would rate above 7.  So while Resist armor may take a pounding in heavy ddr content, it should in theory still balance out well.  At the very least it should balance out well 'when teamed'.  Ex: Put a few team buffs on a resist cap tank, and you have the equivalent of a perma-T9 juggernaut.

 

My primary hardmode tank is SD/RadM, her ddr seldom drops below 95, and I manage resists as best I can.  Her primary weakness is sappers, and secondary is sustained long term resistances, I can't keep them all capped all the time, just mostly.

 

My secondary hardmode tank is Inv/RadM, not as durable as the SD, lower DDR, but so much easier to drive.  She practically drives herself.

 

Confuse has been the most annoying part of the hardmode I've done.  For lower difficulty hardmode where inspirations are still available, the team breakfrees last 3 minutes.  It's worth it to carry a couple just for the confuse.  You could also swap clarion in for the confuse heavy missions, then swap back to the your normal whatever in the rest.  I normally rune Ageless +DDR.

 

 

 

Edited June 13, 2022 by Linea

[Gobbledigook]

2 hours ago, Infinitum said:

Say what?  Relies on defense?  On resistances - my invuls are 90% s/l and ~70+ for the rest including psi - and that is with 1 stack of MotT.  They are all pretty close to 90 once you figure in the other two stacks which is easy to get.

 

Then you add in my normal melee defense target ~50% and then typed which softcap at around 5 targets and increase further from there.

 

Then you have dull pain.

 

My invul is stronger than any shield i have - the long and the short of it is - it cant just rely on defense.

 

If you can play regen - invul should be a cake walk no matter how bad the build is.  Try one of my builds out - Nova Infinitum or Brikhouse would be what I would recommend for shear fun and smash.

 

Invul doesn't need ageless though - its just an added bonus that it has ddr - i had it for the recharge TBH.

Shield can get pretty decent resists also. Better DDR but no heal that invuln has. Secondary can cure the heal problem though.

 

I would like to know what content you are doing to require that defence/resist though lol and are you aiming to solo it?

 

[America's Angel]

25 minutes ago, Infinitum said:

 

 

Well - how do you survive on regen? - which has no debuff resistances to speak of.

 

An invul build like that is infinitely better than anything a regen brute can survive.

 

Because any defense you can build would be shredded faster than the invul - and there is no way you are getting 90% res to all on a regen.

 

Either way - if you took rebirth on the invul, and alternated it with melee core - you should be able to solo that with ease.

 

Regen on relentless is hard to play. It's about predicting when certain attacks are coming and using MoG to counter them or react to them (in the case of debuffs) and then cycling stuff when MoG is down to stay alive. (Things like Hybrid Melee, Destiny, the -dam Void, Recon, Dull Pain, Instant Healing, Demonic, Geas, Unrelenting, Rune.) Also helps to have a primary that can spam FF procs.

 

And yeah I've been testing out my Inv/MA on Relentless with various destiny powers alongside hybrid. Ageless was by far the most survivable. Barrier and Rebirth didn't cut it. DDR is no joke at the top end.

 

17 minutes ago, Linea said:

Oddly enough, for the ASF I found Resist Armors did as well as anything.  I do not expect this to hold true in heavy ddr hardmode content.  Resist armors start to fail at 7 and higher in 801.

My primary hardmode tank is SD/RadM, her ddr seldom drops below 95, and I manage resists as best I can.  Her primary weakness is sappers, and secondary is sustained long term resistances, I can't keep them all capped all the time, just mostly.

My secondary hardmode tank is Inv/RadM, not as durable as the SD, lower DDR, but so much easier to drive.  She practically drives herself.

 

Confuse has been the most annoying part of the hardmode I've done.  For lower difficulty hardmode where inspirations are still available, the team breakfrees last 3 minutes.  It's worth it to carry a couple just for the confuse.  You could also swap clarion in for the confuse heavy missions, then swap back to the your normal whatever in the rest.  I normally rune Ageless +DDR.

 

Oh I'm just looking at 4* hard mode Relentless stuff right now. Trying to figure out a supatank that can survive without team buffs for maximum /e flex purposes when team wipes happen. Leaning towards SR at the moment.

Edited June 13, 2022 by America's Angel

[Mezmera]

5 hours ago, America's Angel said:

How much def is your shield sitting on? I try to aim for 75% to all so a single cold/FF shield takes it to the relentless cap of 96%,

 

Mostly 56% for positionals or so to cover the basic incarnate content.  If things get real hairy I can use Unleash Potential to amp up the defenses another 25% which it also gets me 150% regen and 100% recovery.  

 

Paired with that defense my base resists are 75% s/l, 60% f/c, 50% en/neg/tox, and 45% psi and then I have Melee Core and OWtS for Relentless to boost those resists for about another 20%.  

 

Also I have the tanker +absorb proc and entomb +absorb proc slotted in good spots where its pretty sure fire so I'm running a 900+ absorb shield as long as I'm staying aggressive attacking.

Edited June 13, 2022 by Mezmera

[Infinitum]

12 minutes ago, America's Angel said:

Regen on relentless is hard to play. It's about predicting when certain attacks are coming and using MoG to counter them or react to them (in the case of debuffs) and then cycling stuff when MoG is down to stay alive. (Things like Hybrid Melee, Destiny, the -dam Void, Recon, Dull Pain, Instant Healing, Demonic, Geas, Unrelenting, Rune.) Also helps to have a primary that can spam FF procs.

 

And yeah I've been testing out my Inv/MA on Relentless with various destiny powers alongside hybrid. Ageless was by far the most survivable. Barrier and Rebirth didn't cut it. DDR is no joke at the top end.

You can cycle most of that with invul and still have a greater starting position mitigationwise with invul with terms to res and def - and it should be a lot easier - because regen isn't as sturdy as invul by every stat except regen.

 

Over-arching point if you are doing it at all with regen - you can do it with invul.