Endgame content Bio / Staff Tank?

[Imaginary]

So, I've been back for a month or so and I'm interested in running the endgame stuff. Which I haven't been able to find teams for, but if I did I'd want to be strong enough to tank what there was out there hitting me. This means the LGTF, ITF, and DASF at 4 stars. So I put this together, and I'm curious if it's tough enough and what modifications I would need to make to be able to manage the aggro in these TF's. There's not a lot of guides to the four star content I can find, soooooooooooooooooooooo..................... I'm asking here.

 

I've avoided frankenslotting much in preference for the toxic / psi resistance on the purple sets. I've also skimped on perma-haste so I could have better core resistances. Should I pump more into that to get myself Ablative Carapace, Parasitic Aura, and DNA Siphon more often? Am I going to be able to hit enough to get Guarded Spin or the bonus from Sky Splitter? 

 

I'd just rather not waste anyone's time by being incompetent at tanking a TF they've run dozens of times.

Thx.

MooThwackaWhack - Hero Tanker
Build plan made with Mids' Reborn v3.7.5 rev. 21
──────────────────────────────

• Primary powerset: Bio Armor
• Secondary powerset: Staff Fighting
• Pool powerset (#1): Speed
• Pool powerset (#2): Fighting
• Pool powerset (#3): Leaping
• Pool powerset (#4): Leadership
• Epic powerset: Soul Mastery

──────────────────────────────

Powers taken:

Level 1: Hardened Carapace

• A: Unbreakable Guard: +Max HP
• 3: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance
• 3: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance
• 5: Unbreakable Guard: RechargeTime/Resistance

Level 1: Mercurial Blow

• A: Superior Blistering Cold: Accuracy/Damage
• 5: Superior Blistering Cold: Damage/Endurance
• 7: Superior Blistering Cold: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• 7: Superior Blistering Cold: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• 9: Superior Blistering Cold: Damage/Endurance/Accuracy/RechargeTime
• 9: Superior Blistering Cold: Recharge/Chance for Hold

Level 2: Inexhaustible

• A: Numina's Convalesence: +Regeneration/+Recovery
• 11: Numina's Convalesence: Heal/Endurance
• 13: Numina's Convalesence: Heal
• 13: Numina's Convalesence: Heal/Recharge
• 15: Power Transfer: Chance to Heal Self
• 15: Power Transfer: EndMod

Level 4: Environmental Modification

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

Level 6: Adaptation

Level 8: Ablative Carapace

• A: Numina's Convalesence: Heal/Recharge
• 19: Numina's Convalesence: Heal/Endurance/Recharge
• 21: Numina's Convalesence: Endurance/Recharge
• 21: Doctored Wounds: Heal
• 23: Doctored Wounds: Heal/Recharge

Level 10: Super Speed

• A: Celerity: +Stealth

Level 12: Evolving Armor

• A: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance
• 23: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance
• 25: Unbreakable Guard: RechargeTime/Resistance
• 25: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime

Level 14: Kick

• (Empty)

Level 16: Eye of the Storm

• A: Armageddon: Damage
• 29: Armageddon: Damage/Recharge
• 29: Armageddon: Damage/Recharge/Accuracy
• 31: Armageddon: Recharge/Accuracy
• 31: Armageddon: Damage/Endurance
• 31: Armageddon: Chance for Fire Damage

Level 18: DNA Siphon

• A: Numina's Convalesence: Heal/Recharge
• 33: Numina's Convalesence: Heal/Endurance/Recharge
• 33: Numina's Convalesence: Endurance/Recharge
• 33: Touch of the Nictus: Accuracy/Healing/Absorb
• 34: Touch of the Nictus: Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge

Level 20: Tough

• A: Gladiator's Armor: TP Protection +3% Def (All)
• 34: Steadfast Protection: Resistance/+Def 3%
• 34: Impervious Skin: Status Resistance/Regeneration

Level 22: Staff Mastery

Level 24: Taunt

• A: Perfect Zinger: Threat/Placate
• 36: Perfect Zinger: Threat/Placate/Recharge
• 37: Perfect Zinger: Threat/Placate/Recharge/Range
• 37: Perfect Zinger: Accuracy/Recharge
• 37: Perfect Zinger: Threat/Placate/Range
• 39: Perfect Zinger: Chance for Psi Damage

Level 26: Genetic Contamination

• A: Superior Gauntleted Fist: Accuracy/Damage
• 39: Superior Gauntleted Fist: Damage/RechargeTime
• 40: Superior Gauntleted Fist: Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime
• 40: Superior Gauntleted Fist: Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime
• 40: Superior Gauntleted Fist: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime
• 42: Superior Gauntleted Fist: RechargeTime/+Absorb

Level 28: Hasten

• A: Invention: Recharge Reduction
• 39: Invention: Recharge Reduction

Level 30: Combat Jumping

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

Level 32: Parasitic Aura

• A: Numina's Convalesence: Endurance/Recharge
• 42: Numina's Convalesence: Heal/Endurance/Recharge
• 43: Numina's Convalesence: Heal/Endurance
• 43: Miracle: Heal/Endurance/Recharge
• 45: Miracle: Heal/Recharge

Level 35: Innocuous Strikes

• A: Superior Might of the Tanker: Accuracy/Damage
• 45: Superior Might of the Tanker: Damage/Recharge
• 45: Superior Might of the Tanker: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• 46: Superior Might of the Tanker: Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• 46: Superior Might of the Tanker: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• 46: Superior Might of the Tanker: Recharge/Chance for +Res(All)

Level 38: Sky Splitter

• A: Hecatomb: Damage/Recharge
• 48: Hecatomb: Damage
• 48: Hecatomb: Recharge/Accuracy
• 48: Hecatomb: Damage/Recharge/Accuracy
• 50: Hecatomb: Damage/Endurance
• 50: Hecatomb: Chance of Damage(Negative)

Level 41: Guarded Spin

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

Level 44: Weave

• A: Shield Wall: +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All)
• A: Shield Wall: Defense
• A: Shield Wall: Defense/Endurance
• A: Reactive Defenses: Scaling Resist Damage
• A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed

Level 47: Maneuvers

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

Level 49: Tactics

• A: Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control: Chance for Build Up

──────────────────────────────

Inherents:

Level 1: Gauntlet

Level 1: Brawl

• (Empty)

Level 1: Sprint

• (Empty)

Level 2: Rest

• (Empty)

Level 1: Swift

• A: Invention: Flight Speed

Level 1: Hurdle

• A: Invention: Jumping

Level 1: Health

• A: Panacea: +Hit Points/Endurance

Level 1: Stamina

• A: Performance Shifter: Chance for +End
• 11: Power Transfer: Chance to Heal Self

Level 6: Defensive Adaptation

Level 6: Efficient Adaptation

Level 6: Offensive Adaptation

Level 1: Combo Level 1

Level 1: Combo Level 2

Level 1: Combo Level 3

Level 28: Form of the Body

Level 28: Form of the Mind

Level 28: Form of the Soul

Level 44: Speed Phase

 

 

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Edited August 16, 2024 by Imaginary

[Spaghetti Betty]

Hullo!

 

I took a peak at your build! While I do think it's very sturdy, I feel like you're falling into a common misconception about what's expected for 4-star content!

 

Advanced Difficulty (especially at that level) is much less about individual toughness and way more about team efficiency! That's not to say you couldn't take your build to a team, but don't expect your own high mitigation numbers to save you from mistakes that the team may be making! You're talking about an environment where mobs will have extremely enhanced accuracy, damage, and armor of their own. It's not unusual for a softcap of 120 DEF and hardcapped RES to everything to be required in a combat scenario (looking at you, Omega K'ong). This is something only team support and Barrier can realistically handle, so consider that your armor instead!

 

What you should actually be looking for in a build geared towards 4-star is Max HP, Global Recharge, damage, active mitigation, and tools to help get you in and out of fights quickly.

 

You can check out my example below!

 

BioStaff4Star - Tanker (Bio Armor - Staff Fighting).mbd

 

As you can see, this Tank is very anemic on the mitigation front, mostly relying on Absorb to soften blows. This is actually pretty ideal! In a coordinated team, Barrier is going to be your armor, so Absorb is the perfect thing to layer on top of that. Even with Barrier up, it's not uncommon to take a glancing hit for ~1k or more from AVs. This is why having a strong Absorb layer and high Max HP is the idea (This build has 3k HP btw)!

 

There are also other things I could touch on here as well. Having multiple travel powers and using them well is a huge boon, since positioning and high mobility are extremely key for runs. You also typically want to have at least 2 or 3 team members with Fold Space, as the last thing you want are mobs lingering outside of AoEs and plinking your squishies. Epic Holds such as Dominate are also vital, as stacking Hold mag on AVs means they can't interact and effectively turns them into punching bags.

 

Oh, and just touching on some Staff things. I feel like Innocuous Strikes and Sky Splitter are just too slow for the output you get! You'll get much more DPS out of spamming Guarded Spin -> Precise Strike -> Serpent's Reach until your hand falls off!

 

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

Oh, and I guess I should also say this build will absolutely not be able to solo anything!

Edited August 16, 2024 by Spaghetti Betty

[Imaginary]

I mean, that build is suicide for even standard pub TF's. But it's exactly what I asked for. Obviously I was building for the completely wrong things.

Fortunately, it's a lot cheaper to put together than what I've got and I can just add an alternate build and play around with these goals. 

 

Which Barrier is the one people use? I assume the core epiphany for the extra duration?

Edited August 17, 2024 by Imaginary

[Spaghetti Betty]

28 minutes ago, Imaginary said:

Which Barrier is the one people use? I assume the core epiphany for the extra duration?

Yes! The idea is that a rotation can be made with multiple Barrier Cores for maximum efficiency. Yes, it obviously requires coordination, but a team of 8 can rotate Barrier Cores to sustain full strength permanently. This provides the foundation of what 4* star teams would be built on top of.