Big Rock Candy the Mountain (Warforged 18f/2rog Evasion Stalwart Defender)

[Anthios888]

2012 H-ELF ROCKCANDY IS HERE!

Big RockCandy the Mountain
Warforged ac intimitank
18 fighter/2 rogue, Stalwart Defender

Constructed with sugar, spice, and an eye for raid tanking, this hulking green brute is just the character to catch the attention (and appetite) of DDO's bosses. Formerly at the vanguard of tank builds, RockCandy is now outpaced by easy-to-heal half elves and human tanks. However, if you're wanting your warforged to become a tank, this remains one of the great autonomous automaton warforged builds.

Using the stalwart defender PRE line, this 18 fighter/2 rogue build is supremely survivable. With a potential for 90-100 AC in a raid party, evasion, standing DR 6/- with a shield (more blocking, of course), nofail intimidate on every raid boss, and the ability to be reconstructed through healing curses, she makes a mean raid tank. In a typical raid party, half of the party members may be able to help heal with equal benefit from reconstruct and healing.

But that’s not all! This wall of warforged is more flexible than she appears. When intimitanking isn’t needed, she has greater two handed fighting, power attack. There is enough UMD for nofail reconstruct scrolls and shield 10 wands, and pick lock just for fun!

Fun, flexible, mean and green, this tank is no longer the flavor of the month, but may yet re-emerge if DDO introduces better docents, warforged repair amplification, curses or other boss effects requiring warforged immunity, or other warforged boosts.

in the big rock candy mountains, all the cops have wooden legs,
and the bulldogs all have rubber teeth, and the hens lay soft boiled eggs.
The farmers trees are full of fruit, and the barns are full of hay,
Well I'm bound to go where there ain't no snow,
where the rain don't flow and the wind don't blow,
in the big rock candy mountains.

SUMMARY

• 120% healing amplification, healable by repair
• 946 hit points
• Evasion
• 25% damage reduction (improved shield mastery)
• 6 passive DR from stalwart defender
• 95+ armor class
• Nofail intimidate
• Healable by clerics, favored souls, bards, artificers, sorcerers, and wizards
• Not just a turtle hiding in its shell -- decent DPS mode with 2-handed weapons

ALIGNMENT: doesn't matter

STATS

Here are the stats for a basic 32 point build with DDO store tomes. Tanks are great candidates for TR, because they benefit from every extra stat point, whether you are getting more intimidate or armor class or hit points. The only minimum stat requirement is 13 INT and 13 DEX to qualify for Combat Expertise and Dodge. If you don't have access to tomes, just raise these stats enough that you can qualify for the feats with the tomes that you can get.

(48) STR: 16 Base + 3 Inherent + 6 Enchantment + 3 Profane + 3 Exceptional + 6 Stance + 5 Level + 2 Boat + 2 Fighter Strength + 2 yugoloth
(30) DEX: 15 Base + 3 Inherent + 6 Enchantment + 1 Rogue Dex I + 1 Exceptional + 2 Boat + 2 yugo
(42) CON: 17 Base + 3 Inherent + 7 Enchantment + 3 Exceptional + 6 Stance + 2 Boat + 2 Racial + 2 Yugoloth
(12) INT: 10 Base + 3 Inherent - 1 Baphomet
(20) WIS: 06 Base + 3 Inherent + 6 Enchentment + 2 Boat - 1 Baphomet
(24) CHA: 10 Base + 3 Inherent + 7 Enchantment + 2 Boat + 2 yugoloth

FEATS
1 mithral body
3 toughness
6 toughness
9 power attack
12 improved shield mastery
15 skill focus: intimidate
18 bullheaded

1 two handed fighting
2 dodge
4 mobility
6 shield mastery
8 improved critical: slashing
12 improved two handed fighting
14 greater two handed fighting
16 combat expertise
18 exotic weapon proficiency: bastard sword
20 improved sunder

Suggested past life feats:

• Barbarian (10 HP. Active feat: +2 intimidate, +20 HP)
• Fighter (+1 to-hit, +1 tactics. Active feat: +1 max dex bonus, +2 intimidate)
• Paladin (+5% healing amplification. Active feat: +3 hit/damage)
• Rogue (1 sneak damage. Active feat: +1 to all skills, 3/day 60 second +10 sneak damage)

SKILLS
It doesn't matter what level you take your skills. You need

• Enough in Tumble to use while wearing a tower shield (very important)
• Max Intimidate
• Max UMD (so you can use heal scrolls, shield wands and other buffs)
• 10 ranks in Jump (jump is the best skill in DDO)
• Remainder in Balance (so you can get back up

ARMOR CLASS BREAKDOWN

Can I use all of this dexterity? Here's how you figure out how much dexterity you can benefit from in all this heavy armor.

10 max dex bonus in red dragon docent

5 mithral body
3 Enhancement fighter armor mastery III
2 Mobility

10 max dex bonus in alchemical tower shield

4 alchemical tower shield
3 stalwart defender III
1 tower shield mastery I
2 Mobility

Self-buffed AC

10 Base
01 Dodge feat
05 Combat Expertise Feat
10 Dexterity Modifier
03 Stalwart Enhancements
04 Stalwart III Stance
05 Mithral Body
10 Armor bonus +7 red dragon docent
01 Alchemical Armor Ritual
05 Protection
04 Insight (Heightened Awareness IV alchemical shield or weapon)
02 Dodge Goggles
03 Dodge Bracers of Wind
01 Dodge Bracers
02 Stalwart Defender Tower Set
10 Alchemical Tower Shield
01 Alchemical Shield Ritual
03 Abishai set
04 Natural armor wisdom yugoloth potion
01 Haste
02 Airship
87 AC

Raid Buffed

01 Ranger Barkskin
04 Bard Song
02 Recitation
01 Artificer
95 AC (2 more with Epic Templar's Bulwark instead of Mithral Tower Shield)
05 Blocking
100-102 typical raid ac if actively blocking

114 max AC: Stars aligned with Siberys Paladin, Favored Soul, and Fighter Armor Class Boost

HIT POINTS

20 Heroic Durability
10 Draconic favor
200 Fighter 20
44 Toughness feat 2x
30 Fighter toughness III
30 Racial toughness III
30 Greater False Life
20 Toughness item
20 Large Guild Augment
45 Greensteel
320 +16 constitution modifier
20 Yugoloth potion
20% Stalwart Defender
946 HP

INTIMIDATE

23 ranks
3 skill focus: intimidate
2 bullheaded
2 400 coin lord favor
7 charisma stat modifier
4 intimidate IV enhancement
6 stalwart defender
1 spider cult mask
5 gloves of the claw
6 greensteel
4 Large Guild Augment
15 enhancement intimidate item
2 luck
2 bard song
83 Intimidate (nofail for current endgame)

Future proof: Want to increase your intimidate even more? Consider Epic Brawn's Spirits for another +5. Increasing charisma by getting a +7 item, +1 exceptional, +2 exceptional, tomes, more starting CHA will get you even higher. Past life feats suggested above can also get you many more. I have stopped with 83 because that is the mark to intimidate both Epic Lord of Blades and Epic Lailat.

How to use intimidate. It might take some practice, but first understand how intimidate works. You make a roll that is added to your skill, and that is compared with the monsters around you to see if you succeed.

A successful use of the intimidate skill sets your threat with a monster equal to the highest threat opponent, plus a small buffer based on your size-modified intimidate skill. Additionally, you gain a +50% threat multiplier to all attacks (melee, ranged, and spells) for 6 seconds after successful intimidation. If you have a shield equipped, you will instead gain a +100% threat multiplier for 12 seconds. These effects are applied as a buff to the character and are called Intimidating Presence and Intimidating Presence (Shield), respectively. Note that some rare monsters do not follow the normal threat mechanics.

So don't be afraid to let your allies whack on the raid boss, because you will benefit by grabbing their aggro the next time you hit intimidate. Better to risk letting aggro turn for one moment than make the raid take all night.

Is my intimidate going to be enough? The DDO Wiki contains intimidate thresholds for most DDO raid bosses on most difficulties. Example: Lailat

POSSIBLE GEAR EXAMPLE

Armor class tanking gear, sword and board
Good in Elite Vision of Destruction, Elite Tower of Despair, N-E Lord of Blades, N-E Master Artificer, and other non-epics

Weapons: Epic Templar's Justice, Alchemical Bastard Sword, Holy burst <metal> Bastard Sword of Greater x Bane
Shield: +5 Lifeshield Mithral Tower Shield (Large Guild Augment: +4 intimidate)
Armor: Epic Red Dragon Docent (blue: +7 enhancement, colorless: +1 str)
Bracers: Bracers of wind (LV 16 version: 3 dodge, air guard, blurry, craftable: +1 dodge)
Goggles: Large guild augment (+2 dodge, 20 HP) (Greensteel 6 cha skills swap)
Helm:Epic Helm of frost (7 cha, yellow: Greater False Life)
Neck: Stalwart necklace
Trinket: Epic Gem of many facets (yellow)
Cloak: Envenomed cloak (7 con, 5 resist, blue: Toughness)
Belt: Greensteel Mineral II (45 HP, heavy fort, protection 5)
Gloves: Epic Gloves of the claw (30% healing amplification, 5 intimidate)
Boots: Epic Boots of corrosion (green: 2 luck, colorless: 6 dex)
Ring: Stalwart ring (20% healing amplification)
Ring: Epic Ring of baphomet (15 intimidate, +2 con, +2 str, yellow

Epic Hate/Intimidate Tanking (no AC needed)

Armor: Epic Red Dragonplate (blue: Greter Nimbleness, colorless: 1 str)
Bracers: Epic Bracers of the Claw (+2 con)
Goggles: Greensteel Lit II (+6 cha skills)
Helm:Epic Helm of frost (7 cha, yellow: Greater False Life)
Neck: Stalwart necklace/Shintao Cord
Trinket: Epic Brawn's Spirits (green: +1 cha)
Cloak: Envenomed cloak (7 con, 5 resist, green: Toughness)
Belt: Greensteel Mineral II (45 HP, heavy fort, protection 5)
Gloves: Epic Gloves of the claw (30% healing amplification, 5 intimidate)
Boots: Epic Boots of corrosion (green: 2 luck, colorless: 6 dex)
Ring: Stalwart ring (20% healing amplification) or Kyoshu's Ring (20% healing amplification)
Ring: Large Guild Augment HP Ring, Circle of Hatred (+30% hate) or Epic Ring of the Stalker (Seeker 6)

DPS equipment

Weapon: Epic Sword of Shadow, Alchemical Falcion (earth/air/air), Greensteel Maul vs. Undead (Pos/Pos/Pos)
Armor: Epic Red Dragonplate (blue: greter nimbleness, colorless: 1 str)
Bracers: Epic Bracers of the Claw (+2 con)
Goggles: Tharne's Goggles
Helm:Epic Helm of frost (7 cha, yellow: Greater False Life)
Necklace: Shintao Cord
Trinket: Litany of the dead or Bold Trinket
Cloak: Envenomed cloak (7 con, 5 resist, green: Toughness)
Belt: Greensteel Mineral II (45 HP, heavy fortification, protection 5)
Gloves: Epic Gloves of the claw (30% healing amplification, 5 intimidate)
Boots: Epic Boots of corrosion (green: 2 luck, colorless: 6 dex)
RingEpic Ring of the Stalker (6 seeker, sneak attack)
Ring: Kyoshu's Ring (20% healing amplification)

ENHANCEMENTS

Fighter Armor Class Boost III
Fighter Item Defense II
Rogue Damage Boost I
Fighter Haste Boost II
Fighter Armor Mastery III
Fighter Tower Shield Mastery I
Warforged Brute Fighting I
Improved Intimidate IV
Fighter Stalwart Defender III
Rogue Dexterity I
Fighter Strength II
Warforged Constitution II
Racial Toughness III
Fighter Toughness III
Rogue Wand and Scroll Mastery I
Warforged Healer's Friend II
Warforged Inscribed Armor III
Warforged Power Attack II
Rogue Sneak Attack Training I

LEVELING
Rogue levels at 1 and 8. I liked having evasion around those levels. To maximize skill points, take rogue later.

I prefer to level as a Kensei and to spec into Stalwart Defender at later levels. There's just nothing to tank when you're running through the lower levels. Remember that as a Kensei, you would need to take weapon focus/weapon specialization feats instead. If you're strapped for cash both in game (dragonshards) or out of game (lesser reincarnation), don't worry about it.

Either way you choose, you can get great armor class with your mithral body and some rudimentary armor class gear. Remember to stock up on protection/barkskin and you'll save on heals.

BUT I'M A NOOB: tomes, reincarnations, epic gear
If you're looking to make your first tank ever so that you can be the best on your server, this isn't the build for you anymore and you should have a look at half-elf, dwarf, or human builds. Playing a warforged tank has become an uphill battle. If you're looking for a flavor tank or you play with robots a lot, maybe you're wanting to make this build but are intimidated by the gear. Don't worry about it so much, because you can do adequately with basic gear and grow over time. If you're planning without tomes, 32 point builds, or whatever, make sure that you can reach the threshold stat requirements for the feats you need (13 DEX, 13 INT, including tomes), and just go from there. Some people starting out throw out armor class and take a lot of toughness or weapon specialization feats instead, so that they can still tank, be healed easily, and start farming some of that armor class gear. After all, if you're making a tank, you're probably making it easy to run raids, so the gear will come in time. I have seen every raid in this game on every difficulty smoothly tanked by 32 point builds. We happily bring this build to epic lord of blades and the healing amplification is not as big of an issue as many whiners will have you believe.

Selected feats:
1 - Mithral body
3 - Toughness
6 - Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Khopesh
9 - Skill focus: Intimidate
12 - Bullheaded (Or Stunning Blow or Improved Sunder)
15 - Mobility
18 - Toughness

Fighter Feats:

2 fighter - Two weapon fighting
3 fighter - Weapon focus: Slashing
5 fighter - Weapon specialization: Slashing
7 fighter - Improved two weapon fighting
10 fighter - Improved critical: slashing
12 fighter - Greater two weapon fighting
14 fighter - Power Attack
16 fighter - Combat Expertise
18 fighter - Dodge
20 fighter - Greater weapon specialization: Slashing

Rogue feats:
8 (rogue) [evasion]

[cforce]

Yeah __ I love the WF Stalwart Defender template. If I were rebuilding mine today, I'd be going 18 Fighter levels, definitely. (I'm tracking to a Stalwart 12/KotC 6/Rogue 2 instead.)

The one thing I rather see more of here is saves -- namely, Will Save. By my calculation, it looks like you've got:

6 base
5 resist item
4 GH
1 ritual
-1 stat
3 stance (situational)
-------
18

While the 'take you out of action' will saves are hardly commonplace, if you're called on to take aggro in a quest where the casters use a will save spell (say, Greater Command, or Symbol of Stunning), it's very hard to do a good job maintaining aggro.

My personal preference would be to give up one point of AC -- that last point of dex bonus is *very* expensive, because you need:

4 stat points for 16 dex vs. 14 dex. (If you're assuming a +3 dex tome, you have what you need for TWF with 14)
1 feat (Mithral Fluidity) OR 6 AP (Fighter Armor Mastery III)
Another 6 AP (Tower Shield Mastery III)

Using the build resources for the 1 point of AC, you could get 4 more points of starting wisdom, Iron Will, and Warforged Construct Thinking III. -1 AC, +7 will save. I'd also try to find a way to fit in the +6 WIS (maybe on a shroud item) for a net +10, getting up to 28. That won't be "save on a 2", but renders you far less vulnerable to casters shutting down your aggro control.

Again, this is "building for the exception", but I generally like to minimize my weak points when I'm building something for aggro control, rather than maximize my strong points.

[Stanley_Nicholas]

I like the idea of improving the will save here. But alternatively to putting 4 points into wisdom after dropping the starting dex to 14, you could spend 3 more points on cha and one on int, netting you an additional skill point per level and a base 12 cha. Then instead of taking Iron Will, you could take Force of Personality. This would net you one less will save than bosting wis and taking Iron Will once you get a +3 cha tome (assuming you would get a +3 wis tome eventually too, otherwise the will save would both be the same either way), but would have the added benefits of further boosting your intimidate and UMD, and would allow you to put skill points into jump or balance on your fighter levels. Also, the second rogue level could be put off until lvl 10, saving another skill point or two when maxing out UMD at that point. Plus there would be no need to work a +6 wis item into the gear layout.

Of course it is worth mentioning that by doing this, you cannot level up beyond 17 until you get a +3 dex tome without giving up the ability to get Greater TWF.

[jmonty]

don't forget the blocking ac since you can hold aggro with intim. is it +5 for defender III?

[TheJusticar]

I do like this build quite a bit, and I also agree with the posters above regarding will saves (and can be easily fixed by giving 1 AC of dodge). My only concern is that it is extremely gear and +3 tome dependent (Litany, gloves and circle ring, for instance, specially hard to obtain). However, if anyone has access to these, not a bad time investment on this build at all.

Godspeed.

[nbhs275]

HMMMMm...can you use a towershield and have evasion running?

[Stanley_Nicholas]

HMMMMm...can you use a towershield and have evasion running?

Yes. From the compendium:

Evasion can only be used if the character is wearing Light or No Armor and is Not Heavily Encumbered.

There is no restriction on shields.

[Thanimal]

Over the last year or so, I've developed a HUGE bias against Sword and Board. cforce has tried to convince me otherwise, but so far has failed. So please take my comments in the proper light: I'm not trying to be negative; I'm just trying to learn.

Through my anti-S&B colored glasses, here's what I see:

In DPS mode, this build has both worse AC and worse DPS than The Hate Monster.
In tank mode, this build has the same AC as, but roughly half the DPS of, The Hate Monster.

Unless I'm just wrong about the numbers (which is always very possible), it seems to me the only advantage of going S&B here is having a full-fledged Turtle Mode with huge DR from an actively-blocking Tower Shield. Is that really useful?

I really want to believe that S&B is worthwhile, because it's such a fundamental aspect of D&D. But I'm having trouble seeing it. Can anyone bring me into the light?

[rimble]

I've worked out something very similar. I worked out a bunch of things, and I don't think the 30 Dex version is worth it...two Feats, all those APs, for 2 AC? It's just bad economics...stick with 26 Dex.

[Anthios888]

Through my anti-S&B colored glasses, here's what I see:

In DPS mode, this build has both worse AC and worse DPS than The Hate Monster.
In tank mode, this build has the same AC as, but roughly half the DPS of, The Hate Monster.

Unless I'm just wrong about the numbers (which is always very possible), it seems to me the only advantage of going S&B here is having a full-fledged Turtle Mode with huge DR from an actively-blocking Tower Shield.

You have an awesome build that I respect very much and would recommend it to others – looks fun! -- but the numbers you’re using to make those kinds of comparisons just don’t give an accurate picture.

You achieve your “peak ac” using clickies, a 20-second boost (I have that too, but didn’t include it), and fighting only against your two favored enemies. You include wearing kamas in wind stance with lightning strike (which doesn't bypass DR on most bosses), and include combat expertise in your DPS mode AC calculation. You can’t really expect to hate-tank with your character using kamas that don’t bypass DR.

When you look at more solid self-buffed and raid-buffed numbers, my build is ahead in AC by 5 to 10 points- and that’s significant. After running elite Towers of Despair, I can tell you that even with AC in the 80s, you get hit. Therefore, every point of AC is a 5% damage reduction. That’s why I built this character to be able to solidly get extremely high numbers while still wearing a khopesh.

You say you hate S&B – I’m with you, that’s why I built this character to also gtwf with khopesh and fighter enhancements. I’m building the Mountain with dps but also high 60s intimidate and the ability to tank exceedingly high to-hit bosses as content gets rougher. That’s why both twf and shields have a place in this character’s play.

I'm happy to compare numbers with you more if you like - but I wanted to keep my response as concise as possible

[Nomical]

I'm impressed by how fast this character has "grown up." It seems like many ac characters are a squishy pain until they get all geared up with 20th raid completions. This gal's only about 2 weeks old, but is already awesome in VoD and has been fun to level with all the way up. Looking forward to getting her booted up and going at Horoth before long!

[cforce]

When you look at more solid self-buffed and raid-buffed numbers, my build is ahead in AC by 5 to 10 points- and that’s significant. After running elite Towers of Despair, I can tell you that even with AC in the 80s, you get hit. Therefore, every point of AC is a 5% damage reduction. That’s why I built this character to be able to solidly get extremely high numbers while still wearing a khopesh.

I think you're a bit off in your math here, although I agree that you do have higher AC than the Hate Monster using like-for-like equipment. Rejiggering the Hate Monster's AC calculations to match your assumptions for end-game equipment, and leaving out favored enemy and fighter AC boost, Hate Monster would clock in at:

10 base
9 DT docent
1 alchemical
11 dex
8 wis
5 CE
2 Tempest
5 Deflection
3 stance
2 Defender
1 Dodge feat
1 TWD
2 Chaosgarde
1 Centered Bonus
3 Dodge
4 Insight
---
68 beholder-proof

Standard self-buff
1 Haste
3 Bark
2 Shield
---
74 self-buffed

So, we're talking 2-to-4 points of difference depending on whether we're talking beholder-proof or self-buffed. Depending on whether you factor in FE, that's another +1: Evil Outsiders+Undead is pretty good tanking coverage for now, but may not be in the future.

So I think this comes out ahead, but by a small margin. I think the argument for S&B tanking at all still needs to come back to the additional grazing hit damage reduction granted by using a tower shield. (Which I think is a perfectly good reason!)

[jmonty]

Unless I'm just wrong about the numbers (which is always very possible), it seems to me the only advantage of going S&B here is having a full-fledged Turtle Mode with huge DR from an actively-blocking Tower Shield. Is that really useful?

sure. it depends on the situation. for example if the healer gets taken out, it is useful to be able to grab the agro of all the mobs while taking little to no damage.

[Thanimal]

Thanks for the detailed response!

A minor clarification: I definitely would never count CE in DPS mode. My claim regarding "DPS mode" comes from HM dropping 5 from turning off CE whereas this gal drops 15 from turning off CE and losing her Tower Shield. And because of Tempest, DPS is higher.

(Dammit! I really don't want to turn this into a "my build teh uber," but it just seems like such a good point of comparison for why I've become so anti-S&B lately. I wish I could compare to somebody else's build to make it obvious that I'm not trying to inflate my own ego, but I'm afraid HM is the most suitable direct comparison. So I'll have to live with any future accusations of being an egomaniac, I guess. )

[Thanimal]

I think you're a bit off in your math here, although I agree that you do have higher AC than the Hate Monster using like-for-like equipment. Rejiggering the Hate Monster's AC calculations to match your assumptions for end-game equipment, and leaving out favored enemy and fighter AC boost, Hate Monster would clock in at:

10 base
9 DT docent
1 alchemical
11 dex
8 wis
5 CE
2 Tempest
5 Deflection
3 stance
2 Defender
1 Dodge feat
1 TWD
2 Chaosgarde
1 Centered Bonus
3 Dodge
4 Insight
---
68 beholder-proof

Standard self-buff
1 Haste
3 Bark
2 Shield
---
74 self-buffed

So, we're talking 2-to-4 points of difference depending on whether we're talking beholder-proof or self-buffed. Depending on whether you factor in FE, that's another +1: Evil Outsiders+Undead is pretty good tanking coverage for now, but may not be in the future.

So I think this comes out ahead, but by a small margin. I think the argument for S&B tanking at all still needs to come back to the additional grazing hit damage reduction granted by using a tower shield. (Which I think is a perfectly good reason!)

While I think counting FE is pretty legit (for now!), counting Shield may be a little more dubious -- that only works if HM takes the "power gamer recommended" path of maxing UMD, and then uses a Wand of Shield(10th) (with a slight chance of failure, but enough to get one before losing patience). Otherwise, HM breifly drops CE to reactivate the Shield, which is probably unacceptable.

So I believe the typical Raid scenario is either a difference of 1 or 3, depending on the HM's investment in UMD.

I actually thought is was 0 or 2 when I did my previous back-of-envelope, so I stand corrected. In the d20 system, a single point of AC can mean taking HALF the damage in the right scenario.

So even though the "1 or 3" difference kinda "sounds" small, it may not be in certain specific situations.

That said, several folks have suggested changes that could alter that comparison all the way to "-1 or +1." So I think I'd recommend against that -- a key selling point of this build is eeking out those last few points of AC.

[Anthios888]

The problem with stats spread as thin as the Hate Monster's are that with only 474 at cap 20 you can be one-shotted by Horoth's disintigrate. Your hp aren't a problem in most content, but are if you're trying to argue that you're the ideal tank for end-game raiding.

AC doesn't matter vs one-shot spells, but hp aside for a moment. For Thanimal's build, I've taken the numbers based on what he wrote in the build. Your numbers above have added all kinds of things, including it seems at least one +4 tome. If you want to suggest gear and tome upgrades to improve the numbers, that's great, but do it in a productive way - in his thread where people interested in his build can see it and decide how practical it is for them.

A note on gear -- gear is a serious part of the creative building process. Deciding on build goals and figuring out how to elegantly fit in what you need to be as good as possible is something I take seriously. I've clearly laid out my gear suggestions in my post, and it is all gear that is reasonably achievable to me for a serious character. I've only included one +3 tome - and that I marked as a long-term upgrade and didn't include in my base AC calculations. I have also responded to requests on many of my builds to suggest modifications for people who can't afford tomes, don't run the Abbot, etc.

Monk builds have lots going for them but also end up spread thin on stat points. Another reason I went with the Mountain's level split is that I'm able to use heal/reconstruct scrolls without fail, use resurrection, and all kinds of other buffs, scrolls, and wands that make play survivable and fun even outside of raids including soloing, and shortmanning. UMD gear is rough to work in and is much more worth it if you're getting nofail heal scrolls.

P.S. Correction - The Mountain loses only 11 ac taking off her tower shield, not 15. A further improvement would reduce that to 10 if I pick up two weapon defense.

[Thanimal]

The problem with stats spread as thin as the Hate Monster's are that with only 474 at cap 20 you can be one-shotted by Horoth's disintigrate. Your hp aren't a problem in most content, but are if you're trying to argue that you're the ideal tank for end-game raiding.

Excellent point.

For X's build, I've taken the numbers based on what he wrote in the build. Your numbers above have added all kinds of things, including it seems at least one +4 tome.

I don't believe so. It's all the equipment mentioned in the thread, and it seems to me that cforce tried pretty hard to make it match up with the equipment of this thread. The one dubious assumption that I didn't catch before is Wind Stance (thus 11 dex instead of 10). That's theoretically available for all-out tank mode, but usually wouldn't be in use. I'm not sure if it should be counted.

If there is specific bogus stuff you see in there, I for one would definitely like to know!

I've only included one +3 tome - and that I marked as a long-term upgrade and didn't include in my base AC calculations.

It appears to me the full +10 DEX in included, which includes the +3 Tome (and +3 exceptional bonus). What am I missing?

Monk builds have lots going for them but also end up spread thin on stat points. Another reason I went with the Mountain's level split is that I'm able to use heal/reconstruct scrolls without fail, use resurrection, and all kinds of other buffs, scrolls, and wands that make play survivable and fun even outside of raids including soloing, and shortmanning. UMD gear is rough to work in and is much more worth it if you're getting nofail heal scrolls.

This is a very good point. That's a huge value add.

I think I might be starting to "get it" now! The more focused nature of the build allows various good things to come along, with two big ones being mentioned above: a lot more HP and FAR better UMD.

Cool! I enjoyed the discussion and learned some things. And on that note, I've just rated the thread a 5 and given the OP rep.

[Athermal]

Hello Rock,

I really like what you've done here. So much so I may do one myself. One question, where's the stunning blow feat? Am I just getting too old school these days? (answer lightly.)

[Anthios888]

I LOVE stunning blow, but this build is pretty tight for feats, not to mention AP. You'd have to drop one of the straight up DPS feats to make it happen. I'm sure you could work it in somewhere if you wanted it - especially until you get to 30 dex by dropping the 2nd mithral fluidity.

[Thanimal]

FYI, just linked over here from a fellow looking for an evasion tank. I believe he was more interested in the relatively pure tank (as opposed to my pet Monk splash option), and think this is the best "pure" evasion tank build/thread at the moment.

Out of curiosity, any updates on the build? Tanking along well in new end-game stuff?