Critique/Help me improve my build please

[Speed Freak]

This will be my first foray into tanking. I heard good things about bio, and about claws. I wasn't aware that they apparently didn't get used TOGETHER much 😛 So I Frankenstitched together about 3 different builds trying to come up with something functional. Any helpful comments, critiques, rebuilds, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Especially helpful would be any advice on Incarnate slotting. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

 

Cerastus - Hero Tanker
Build plan made with Mids' Reborn v3.6.6 rev. 3
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• Primary powerset: Bio Armor
• Secondary powerset: Claws
• Pool powerset (#1): Speed
• Pool powerset (#2): Leaping
• Pool powerset (#3): Fighting
• Pool powerset (#4): Leadership
• Epic powerset: Dark Mastery
  

──────────────────────────────

Powers taken:

Level 1: Hardened Carapace

• A: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance
• 5: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance
• 7: Unbreakable Guard: Endurance/RechargeTime
• 7: Unbreakable Guard: RechargeTime/Resistance
• 23: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime
• 48: Unbreakable Guard: +Max HP
  

Level 1: Swipe

• A: Superior Might of the Tanker: Accuracy/Damage
• 9: Superior Might of the Tanker: Damage/Recharge
• 9: Superior Might of the Tanker: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• 11: Superior Might of the Tanker: Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• 13: Superior Might of the Tanker: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• 43: Superior Might of the Tanker: Recharge/Chance for +Res(All)
  

Level 2: Inexhaustible

• A: Numina's Convalesence: Heal
• 13: Numina's Convalesence: Heal/Endurance
• 15: Numina's Convalesence: Heal/Recharge
• 15: Performance Shifter: EndMod
• 17: Performance Shifter: EndMod/Recharge
• 17: Performance Shifter: EndMod/Accuracy
  

Level 4: Environmental Modification

• A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
• 5: Shield Wall: Defense/Endurance/Recharge
• 46: Shield Wall: Defense/Endurance
• 46: Shield Wall: Defense
• 50: Shield Wall: +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All)
• 50: Kismet: Accuracy +6%
  

Level 6: Adaptation

Level 8: Ablative Carapace

• A: Panacea: Heal/Endurance
• 19: Panacea: Endurance/Recharge
• 19: Panacea: Heal/Recharge
• 21: Panacea: Heal/Endurance/Recharge
• 21: Panacea: Heal
  

Level 10: Hasten

• A: Invention: Recharge Reduction
• 11: Invention: Recharge Reduction
  

Level 12: Evolving Armor

• A: Steadfast Protection: Resistance/+Def 3%
• 25: Ribosome Exposure
  

Level 14: Combat Jumping

• A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
  

Level 16: Spin

• A: Armageddon: Damage
• 34: Armageddon: Damage/Recharge/Accuracy
• 37: Armageddon: Recharge/Accuracy
• 40: Armageddon: Damage/Endurance
• 40: Armageddon: Chance for Fire Damage
• 42: Cleaving Blow: Accuracy/Recharge
  

Level 18: DNA Siphon

• A: Preventive Medicine: Heal
• 23: Preventive Medicine: Heal/Endurance
• 25: Preventive Medicine: Endurance/RechargeTime
• 31: Preventive Medicine: Heal/RechargeTime
• 31: Preventive Medicine: Heal/RechargeTime/Endurance
• 31: Preventive Medicine: Chance for +Absorb
  

Level 20: Follow Up

• A: Invention: Recharge Reduction
  

Level 22: Boxing

• A: Invention: Accuracy
  

Level 24: Tough

• A: Gladiator's Armor: TP Protection +3% Def (All)
  

Level 26: Genetic Contamination

• A: Superior Gauntleted Fist: Accuracy/Damage
• 27: Superior Gauntleted Fist: Damage/RechargeTime
• 27: Superior Gauntleted Fist: Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime
• 29: Superior Gauntleted Fist: Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime
• 29: Superior Gauntleted Fist: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime
• 46: Superior Gauntleted Fist: RechargeTime/+Absorb
  

Level 28: Weave

• A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
• 43: Shield Wall: Defense/Endurance
• 45: Shield Wall: Defense/Endurance/Recharge
• 48: Shield Wall: Defense
• 48: Shield Wall: Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 30: Maneuvers

• A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
  

Level 32: Parasitic Aura

• A: Panacea: Heal/Endurance
• 33: Panacea: Endurance/Recharge
• 33: Panacea: Heal/Recharge
• 33: Panacea: Heal/Endurance/Recharge
• 34: Panacea: Heal
• 34: Invention: Recharge Reduction
  

Level 35: Eviscerate

• A: Multi-Strike: Accuracy/Endurance
• 36: Multi-Strike: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• 36: Multi-Strike: Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• 36: Scirocco's Dervish: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• 37: Scirocco's Dervish: Damage/Endurance
• 37: Scirocco's Dervish: Accuracy/Damage
  

Level 38: Shockwave

• A: Ragnarok: Damage
• 39: Ragnarok: Damage/Recharge
• 39: Ragnarok: Damage/Recharge/Accuracy
• 39: Ragnarok: Recharge/Accuracy
• 40: Ragnarok: Damage/Endurance
• 43: Ragnarok: Chance for Knockdown
  

Level 41: Taunt

• A: Perfect Zinger: Chance for Psi Damage
  

Level 44: Assault

• A: Invention: Endurance Reduction
  

Level 47: Vengeance

• A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
  

Level 49: Super Speed

• A: Microfilament Exposure
  

──────────────────────────────

Inherents:

Level 1: Brawl

• (Empty)
  

Level 1: Gauntlet

Level 1: Sprint

• A: Invention: Endurance Reduction
  

Level 2: Rest

• (Empty)
  

Level 1: Swift

• A: Invention: Run Speed
  

Level 1: Health

• A: Numina's Convalesence: +Regeneration/+Recovery
• 3: Miracle: +Recovery
• 42: Numina's Convalesence: Heal/Endurance
• 45: Numina's Convalesence: Heal
• 45: Miracle: Heal
• 50: Regenerative Tissue: +Regeneration
  

Level 1: Hurdle

• (Empty)
  

Level 1: Stamina

• A: Performance Shifter: EndMod
• 3: Performance Shifter: EndMod/Recharge
• 42: Performance Shifter: Chance for +End
  

Level 6: Defensive Adaptation

Level 6: Efficient Adaptation

Level 6: Offensive Adaptation

Level 49: Speed Phase

 

 

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[Sovera]

Not working. Could you drop the file instead?

[Speed Freak]

Sure thing.

Cerastus - Tanker (Bio Armor - Claws).mbd

[Sovera]

Some small things:

 

- Shockwave does a knockback. You want to mitigate it and not exacerbate it with another knockback proc in there.

- Follow-up is an attack. It needs to land in order to give the accuracy and damage boost to your other attacks.

- You had Vengeance toggled on which gave a skewed idea of the build's numbers.

- DNA Siphon is your primary endurance recovery tool though it also heals. But for heals you have Ablative, and for endurance you only have DNA Siphon.

- Focus is one of Claws better attacks.

- Eviscerate is a pretty slow attack that is not strictly necessary as Follow-up, Slash, Focus, repeat, is all you should need for single-target damage.

- Assault is pretty bad. If you really want it you can take it but we're talking a 5% damage boost in reality.

- Toggling Offensive Adaptation lowers your defenses in 7% so it needs to be accounted for.

 

 

So, here's what I'd use. I ignored raising S/L defenses since you're a Tanker who will have 90% S/L resistances anyway (raising S/L defenses would be more important on a Scrapper I feel). The build ends with 79%, but don't turn your nose up since a second ATO stack slotted in Follow-up (it stacks up to three times though three is unreliable and two is more of the norm) will increase that in 6.7% pushing those 79% into 85%. You will want Barrier as your Destiny (pick the 120 second version) and even when most of the decaying defense/resistances it gives has run its course it will still give a permanent 5% to defenses and resistances.

 

E/N resistances are the weak spot of the build and even pushing for it it's still only at 49%. You will be relying on your E/N defenses which are softcapped and which will protect you. Until they don't when you face enemies who debuff defense AND do E/N attacks. Then you need to rely on Ablative and Shockwave.

 

Speaking of Shockwave it is your trump card in challenging Bio's relative squishyness regarding debuffs. It can feed itself with the Force Feedback proc and it will keep on putting enemies on their back with the current slotting so you get a lot of breathing room for your regeneration to kick in. Just keep Follow-up, Slash, Shockwave, Spin, repeat for AoE situations.

 

The Force Feedbacks procs in Focus and Shockwave will help your defensive clickies to return faster which is needed as Bio relies on those to survive.

 

The slotting in Swipe, Boxing and Brawl are the last thing to worry about and are just there to consolidate the weaknesses some more. With them your recharge debuff resistance is at 90%. Speaking of debuff resistance I took Focused Accuracy. Partly for the easy 3% E/N resistances, partly because it makes you night immune to having your accuracy debuffed. You can keep it toggled off and only put it up if fighting against Circle of Thorns, Banished Pantheon, Tsoo, etc, any faction that can neuter your ability to hit. Other sets can rely on Build-up with Gaussian to explode their accuracy and bull through the accuracy debuffs but Claws relies on hitting first with Follow-up and it can't hit if debuffed.

 

The empty slot in Follow-up is for the Gaussian proc. I did not slot it in because it would skew the numbers in the build. It will have a low chance to go off but it's a nice 5 second damage boost when it does.

 

DNA Siphon is your heavy duty click. At some point you'll find you're not using Ablative Carapace because DNA SIphon is simply doing everything. Keep in mind it gives health and endurance against live enemies and gives regeneration and recovery against defeated enemies. The regen and the recovery is more helpful, but since it heals for each enemy in range it also doubles as a heal. So if you start the fight and find your HP dipping mid-ways then use it and it will get both health and endurance as well as regeneration and recovery from the mix of defeated and live enemies.

 

What it sucks for is 1 VS 1 because with just one enemy in range it doesn't get enough to draw upon. It's still a tiny heal good for roughly 25% with one enemy but it's not going to help with your endurance as it will only pay for its usage. Those are the times you turn off Focused Accuracy, but eventually you'll get incarnates and the accolades and have a respectful 4.16 EPS not accounting the four endurance procs that Mids does not show.

 

Cerastus - Tanker (Bio Armor - Claws).mbd

 

[Speed Freak]

Thank you so much. Not only for doing this, but also for explaining the thought processes behind the decisions being made going into it.

[tidge]

I don't have this type of Tanker, so rather than make focused recommendations I'll make comments about what would inform my personal build thinking for this type of Tanker.

 

I also would not go heavy into S/L resistances, for a couple of reasons. Let me just say that advice from long ago about how extreme S/L resistances used to improve performance in a certain way don't quite hold true against all enemies. It is better, IMO to try to balance resistances. I might take Hardened Carapace down to only 5 slots of Unbreakable Guard, but that slotting is otherwise what I would do.

 

Inexhaustible is probably where I would slot Panacea. I might gamble on only 5-slots of it, but I understand the thinking for 6. I definitely like having 6 slots for Preventive Medicine somewhere. I'd start with that set in Ablative Carapace.

 

DNA Siphon requires Accuracy, and is an excellent %damage power. My initial thoughts are:

      

 (A) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge

 (*) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Healing

 (*) Touch of the Nictus - Chance for Negative Energy Damage

 (*) Eradication - Chance for Energy Damage

 (*) Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage

 (*) Scirocco's Dervish - Chance of Lethal Damage

 

I didn't see the Power Transfer %Heal piece in the build. This is pretty important for Tankers (it should be better than more +Regeneration, because of HP), and should be in an Auto power. It is entirely possible that you don't need the Health slotting with all those particular Globals, especially if they aren't giving set bonuses. M starting point for Health slotting for Tankers is (because Panacea is multi-slotted somewhere else):

 

 (A) Miracle - +Recovery

 (*) Numina's Convalesence - +Regeneration/+Recovery

 (*) Numina's Convalesence - Heal

 

I find that this is usually "enough". I understand the appeal of more slots for Numina's Convalesense, but I never use more than two myself.

 

Another important piece to fit into (most, but especially) Tanker builds is the Scaling Damage Resistance piece from the Reactive Defenses set. It is worth IMO 6-slotting that set before multi-slotting Luck of the Gambler. I'd even give up Hasten, although I recommend players experiment without using Hasten before taking it out of a build. The fact that it is so early in the build (level 10) makes me think that maybe including Hasten was a gut instinct more than "this is when it fits, this is when I need it".

 

I definitely WOULD NOT delay taking Taunt. I understand why players devalue Taunt, but it is a key piece of Tanker Life. Almost all of my Takers have Taunt 6-slotted with Mocking Beratement. If you are going to only put one slot in Taunt, the piece should probably be a boosted 50+5 Threat/Recharge, and not the %damage piece.