Tanker Sets that Exemplar well

[Epoh_Imagiro]

Hello- I'm looking for a tanker build that can go fro 50 and incarnates to 5 and back again w/o suffering too much for it. 

[Sovera]

There should be plenty but instead of spamming I'll just offer one I think works well: Fire Armor coupled with Martial Arts. By level 20 it has both the complete ST and AoE rotation if you take Cobra Strike instead of Crippling Axe Kick.

[nihilii]

Claws is excellent for exemplaring. By lvl 24 (= 19 exemplared) you've got your monster PBAoE (Spin), your ranged attack (Focus), and an array of 3 more ST attacks with fast recharge to choose from.

Bio is crazy good because Bio is crazy good, and this is true in exemplar as well. By lvl 6 (= 1 exemplared) you have full mez protection, S/L resistance, F/C/E/N defense, +maxHP, +regen, +recovery, and last but not least Adaptation - the boosts of Offensive Adaptation in particular are that much more potent at low level, relatively speaking.

 

Another option I like is SR, in exemplar you can get to softcapped defenses by the teens if not sooner which makes a mockery of almost all low level content defensively.

[Epoh_Imagiro]

@Sovera  Thank you for sharing your build.

@nihilii Thank you for your insights, do you have a bio/claws build you could share?  Or SR/Claw?

[Sovera]

1 minute ago, Epoh_Imagiro said:

@Sovera  Thank you for sharing your build.

 

I didn't share a build 😄 But it's the Turtle in my signature.

[Snarky]

Inv SS.  Hard hitting atracks at low level. + to hit once you get Rage.  Invul is a beast start to finush

[nihilii]

10 minutes ago, Epoh_Imagiro said:

@nihilii Thank you for your insights, do you have a bio/claws build you could share?  Or SR/Claw?

 

I don't have a build for either unfortunately!

[PLVRIZR]

2 hours ago, Snarky said:

Inv SS.  Hard hitting atracks at low level. + to hit once you get Rage.  Invul is a beast start to finush

If you go that direction, here's an idea:

 

NUTCRCKR v6.0_I27p5 update - Tanker (Invulnerability).mxd

[Epoh_Imagiro]

3 hours ago, Snarky said:

Inv SS.  Hard hitting atracks at low level. + to hit once you get Rage.  Invul is a beast start to finush

I like invuln quite a bit, but SS makes my skin crawl- unless I'm just using it poorly.  I've been playing in mids for an hour with invuln/dm and I can't seem to come up with a cohesive plan for it.

 

51 minutes ago, PLVRIZR said:

If you go that direction, here's an idea:

 

NUTCRCKR v6.0_I27p5 update - Tanker (Invulnerability).mxd 5.66 kB · 1 download

Thank you for sharing the build, I'll definitely take some tips from it's construction.

[Snarky]

6 minutes ago, Epoh_Imagiro said:

I like invuln quite a bit, but SS makes my skin crawl- unless I'm just using it poorly.  I've been playing in mids for an hour with invuln/dm and I can't seem to come up with a cohesive plan for it.

 

Thank you for sharing the build, I'll definitely take some tips from it's construction.

Invul Dark is one of my favorites.  here are some ideas.

 

If I was going to revisit I would DEFINITELY move into Darkest Night.  I have switched to that on all my Dark Brutes. Unless I was just running the I dont give a F Durable.....Because that build is really fun.  

 

 

invul Dark tank durable 5.1.mxd Tanker Invul Dark Lich.mxd

[Parabola]

SS would be my poster child for a set that exemps badly, particularly on tanks. I want aoe early and something that approximates to an attack chain. Dark, claws and savage would be where I'd start looking.

 

Armour sets are all a bit too reliant on having all their pieces in place to be really effective at low levels. Some are of course better at it than others though. I've been impressed with the revamped stone armour at all levels. Rad is also notable for being good against vazhilok which is useful early. Dark armour can do quite a lot of early tanking with heavy investment in dark regeneration. Ice is also a set I feel is better early on, it achieves decent defence numbers and the aura really helps.

[PLVRIZR]

11 hours ago, Epoh_Imagiro said:

I like invuln quite a bit, but SS makes my skin crawl- unless I'm just using it poorly.  I've been playing in mids for an hour with invuln/dm and I can't seem to come up with a cohesive plan for it.

 

Thank you for sharing the build, I'll definitely take some tips from it's construction.

My pleasure.

 

Here is Heraclea's build (God rest their soul), and my version, which is my take on the same combo:

 

Heraclea_InvDM.mxdDARKNESSREIGNS v4.0.mxd

[Epoh_Imagiro]

6 hours ago, PLVRIZR said:

My pleasure.

 

Here is Heraclea's build (God rest their soul), and my version, which is my take on the same combo:

 

Heraclea_InvDM.mxd 5.1 kB · 0 downloads DARKNESSREIGNS v4.0.mxd 5.1 kB · 0 downloads

One of the things that got me looking at invuln/dm was one of Heraclea's posts- they put out so much good info but I could never find their build- ty for sharing it.

[MoonSheep]

ice melee is the king of examplaring - frost at lvl 2, the best melee cone available. ice patch also available low down, great for posi TFs

 

ice armor good for similar reasons - chilling embrace and icicles within posi 1 range

 

combined, you hold a lot of aggro and can dish out the AoE

[Pleonast]

Exemplaring (and closely related Ouroboros missions) means you need to be thinking of a leveling build. At level 5 with only four powers, you’ll have your two level-1 powers. I hate relying on P2W, so my level-2 power is an attack and level-4 is a travel power. From there, level-6 is a third attack, and then I take mitigation powers whenever possible. 
 

Tanks just don’t need much mitigation before level 10; you’ll do better killing faster. 

[nzer]

On 2/5/2024 at 3:50 PM, Pleonast said:

At level 5 with only four powers

 

Maybe this is a nitpick, but you'd have six powers exemplaring down to level 5, because you keep powers up to five levels lower than when you actually got them.

[Cyri]

 

 

Serafey Cyra.mbd

Edited February 15 by Jynu

[Cyri]

What I have run on two tanks I have:

Czajen71.mbd

 

What I am thinking of respeccing:

Khoeur90.mbd

 

Or another:

Qoeuralan Rysa90.mbd

 

The second and third appear objectively better than the first...but not sure.  Anyway...I did not wanna make another thread just for a vanity project, so there it is.  Comment if you wish.  If not, understood.

[Snarky]

why?  why necro this thing?  why?

[tidge]

On 5/21/2024 at 8:00 PM, Snarky said:

why?  why necro this thing?  why?

 

Older threads have been (recently) pulled from the soil in which they rest!

 

I think @Pleonast comment was the best one, rephrasing: If you want a Tank that exemplars well, it is necessary to think about what levels which powers are taken.

 

For my Tankers, this essential comes down to: Can this character run through Positron 2 or Synapse on a team of eight and still be Tanking and not lagging? (Lower level Red Side content has less of an obvious need for "Tankers", since CoV didn't launch with Tankers available.)

 

Practically, this means:

• Having a Travel power of some sort before level 16
• Having at least 2, preferably 3, attacks... plus the Taunt. Temporary attacks can supplement, but they won't be slotted (obviously)
• Having enough Defense/Resistance/Healing/Regeneration, whether or not I actual use them is another matter (i.e. not all toggles need to be used for all content, *1)
• Never taking Hasten below level 20, because it yields so little for lower level/exemplared content.

I'll add some comments related to my bullet point about Hasten. Hasten is a power that only affects the Tanker. By level 50, there may be one-or-more powers in a Tanker's build that are yielding net positives to a team which benefit from that extra recharge, but IMO it is unnecessary (and somewhat selfish) to put it in a build so early. Obviously if no other desired power "fits" in the level range final build and it gets dropped in, that is a different conversation. I sort of feel the same about Tankers' Build Up powers... they are good for solo play, but before certain enemies appear (ehem, MoG Paragon Protectors) I don't think a Tanker really needs a Build Up for team play.

 

(*1) In addition to often running on low level TFs without toggles, I often make one other peculiar(?) choice to NOT try to take the Fighting pool early on a final/level 50 build that exemplars down. I am aware of the advantages for many Tankers to add the Fighting pool powers, but as a practical matter I don't find any of the toggles activated to make much of a difference for most content. Having them for Enhancement mules is probably 98% of what my Tankers take them for... but even most leveling tankers should be able to Tank level-appropriate content without +6% Defense/+5% Resist/+MaxHP/whatever.

[Cyri]

18 minutes ago, tidge said:

 

Older threads have been (recently) pulled from the soil in which they rest!

 

I think @Pleonast comment was the best one, rephrasing: If you want a Tank that exemplars well, it is necessary to think about what levels which powers are taken.

 

 

 

That is something very strongly considered.  However, as I build the ACTUAL character, I nearly always adjust the levels the abilities are selected as the respecification is being done.  Though the OP asked for 'exemplar well', I left that detail out because I did not want to over complicate the post or confuse anyone who might find some use of the builds I posted.  Of course, the other reason I left that detail out is that the order I take the abilities is my preference.  Building is like art (in this game anyway), and true artwork is never completed, it is only abandoned.  If I did elect to redo the mids build (in Mids), I'd likely find a reason to change this, or that.  Even now I am thinking about what order or what slotting would be better...

 

I have the list for what I actually took and when for the very first build I posted.  Not sure about the others.  Neither of the selections nor slotting changed (during the actual respecification), but the order did a bit.

 

Also, I turn off all extra things and leave Invincibility on about 6 enemies surrounded.  Most seem to post with Superior Might of the Tanker and Melee Core Embodiment turned on.  I have seen some posting with Dull Pain turned on and so forth.  Again, I post with these turned off because it more accurately reflects what the character/build can do.