Looking for an interesting Hate-Tank build

[PyroSkink]

Hello,

I'm currently looking to make a viable hate-tank, with some degree of self sufficiency. I dont wanna be a massive resource drain for my party! I was wondering if anyone could help me with selecting a good build to follow as I am fairly new to the game. I have 32 point builds unlocked.

Currently I'm looking at:

Godhand http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=228369

The Shadow Knight http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php...84#post3942684

I would love to know if these would be viable for me to follow. Please point me to other viable builds if you know of them. Would be good to see anything i havent come across yet..

Thanks!

[FrozenNova]

Listed in sig is my 32. 18 paladin/2 monk scion build, a khopesh user with comparable AC to The Shadow Knight* and excellent self-healing by way of quicken and maximize. Slow to gear, of course, though this will apply to every decently versatile tank. The scion is viable as all three prestiges - DoS for AC, KoTC for non-tanking damage, HoTD for large self-healing bonuses and immunities.

In terms of AC it stops just short of the sustained 91 AC for exhausted Elite Horoth missing on a 19 - though with epic gear this is reachable. (Whether you want to slug out epics on an AC toon is up to you).

While DPS with the khopeshes isn't bad, paladins without the EO bonus are on the lower end of the spectrum already, and the small dps sacrifices to allow for 32 points and such don't help matters. It will never be the dps machine a barbarian or fighter or rogue can be, unfortunately.

In terms of hate - between divine righteousness, DoS II's passive bonus, the DoS set bonus, twin khopeshes and potentially additional incite gear - I've never had a problem.

*The same 84 buffed with easy gear and no yugo pots if you assume Shadow Knight doesn't have a non-tanking full-aura DoS stalking him =P

Oh. Before you regret it, the scion's level progression is made awkward by the requirement for +2 tomes. It's not a toon you want to make your first way to 20 with.

[PyroSkink]

Thankyou FrozenNova, I had heard that 18/2 builds may be a good option from players in game. Its good to see a suitable example of that. Looks solid all round. The self-sufciency look particually appealing....

Tomes probably wouldn't be too much of a hurdle as i could buy them from the store if need be.

Though, is the whole AC hate tank going to be hard to achieve as a new player? Would i be better going with a 'I've got millions of HPs' style of tank? The godhand seems to lean towards this with its fighter lvls. However it seems to lack that degree of being able to look after itself. Instead relying heavily on a healers resources?

So if anyone could weigh in on the current viability of a Godhand build I would appreciate it. I know the build itself is quite old now, looking at the dates on the post. Plus the original creator has left the game, so it no longer being updated! But i do really like the high strength and constitution, plus the ability to stun. Unarmed is also probably my favourite of the fighting animations. It may be just me or does 2WF animations lack some 'omph' compared to the other two? lol.

Also, is it just me or is it very hard to hit anything when dual wielding before you pick up ITWF? Any character I've made has to rely on a 2 hander for a long time it seems. :S

[ImFour20]

Thankyou FrozenNova, I had heard that 18/2 builds may be a good option from players in game. Its good to see a suitable example of that. Looks solid all round. The self-sufciency look particually appealing....

Tomes probably wouldn't be too much of a hurdle as i could buy them from the store if need be.

Though, is the whole AC hate tank going to be hard to achieve as a new player? Would i be better going with a 'I've got millions of HPs' style of tank? The godhand seems to lean towards this with its fighter lvls. However it seems to lack that degree of being able to look after itself. Instead relying heavily on a healers resources?

So if anyone could weigh in on the current viability of a Godhand build I would appreciate it. I know the build itself is quite old now, looking at the dates on the post. Plus the original creator has left the game, so it no longer being updated! But i do really like the high strength and constitution, plus the ability to stun. Unarmed is also probably my favourite of the fighting animations. It may be just me or does 2WF animations lack some 'omph' compared to the other two? lol.

Also, is it just me or is it very hard to hit anything when dual wielding before you pick up ITWF? Any character I've made has to rely on a 2 hander for a long time it seems. :S

I ran with the GodHand build for 2 lives and really enjoyed the Healing Amp. Getting to ~217% with ship buffs iirc(without epic claw set) but that is full Heal Amp on DT Armor(so it would vary in incite gear).

The DPS for the godhand build is there. I doubt you'll pull aggro from any well built, well played barb/fighter DPS build. . .but some dont always focus 100% on dps so you can see yourself steal aggro sometimes.

Stuns on Godhand were amazing for me(dropped the dodge feat and got stunning fist with the new changes to it). Kensai 2 and the enhancements were nice for stunning fist and power surge rocked for trips and stunning blow.

i will most likely go back to it when I grab my 3rd fighter past life.

[FrozenNova]

Thankyou FrozenNova, I had heard that 18/2 builds may be a good option from players in game. Its good to see a suitable example of that. Looks solid all round. The self-sufciency look particually appealing....

Tomes probably wouldn't be too much of a hurdle as i could buy them from the store if need be.

Though, is the whole AC hate tank going to be hard to achieve as a new player? Would i be better going with a 'I've got millions of HPs' style of tank? The godhand seems to lean towards this with its fighter lvls. However it seems to lack that degree of being able to look after itself. Instead relying heavily on a healers resources?

So if anyone could weigh in on the current viability of a Godhand build I would appreciate it. I know the build itself is quite old now, looking at the dates on the post. Plus the original creator has left the game, so it no longer being updated! But i do really like the high strength and constitution, plus the ability to stun. Unarmed is also probably my favourite of the fighting animations. It may be just me or does 2WF animations lack some 'omph' compared to the other two? lol.

Also, is it just me or is it very hard to hit anything when dual wielding before you pick up ITWF? Any character I've made has to rely on a 2 hander for a long time it seems. :S

Well, yeah. AC Hate tanks are generally referred to as the most gear intensive characters there are. I don't really see this as 'more difficult', just 'more stuff to do when you cap'. Any decently built AC Hate Tank can play as a suitably potent dps while he's gearing up, so it's not a huge issue.

Horoth (Elite Horoth usually being the AC Tank's final nemesis) is unusual in the sense that ~half (Varies with difficulty) of his damage comes from his completely unavoidable damage over time effects, which AC won't help you with. You'll still need a healer - just with AC, they won't mind too much. This is on top of his fatal disintegrate - while a relatively low DC, that natural 1 will hit 400-600 damage - and if the tank falls in elite ToD, that's often enough the end. That's why it's important for the tank to have high hitpoints especially when tanking him. Non-barbarians and non-fighters-with-seven-toughnesses can usually make up the gap with yugoloth pots and defensive stance, but it does mean that the max-hp tanks get a leg up on survivability.

Raeyal has a harder time healing while in AC mode - it usually means he has significantly lower healing amp, and combat expertise doubles spellpoint costs. It also drains agro with the two seconds of non-swing time, but that's not usually an issue.

TWF really does take some ramping up time. On anything other than a max strength toon, you're going to have issues hitting with power attack while you level, often to the extent that it's wiser to go THF instead. ITWF doesn't actually grant to-hit bonuses, just allows you to hit more often. Personally I love the TWF animations at full BAB while hasted and throwing in haste boosts - everything else feels lethargic. Can anybody say, blender?

And yeah - fighter/monk variants are pretty popular now with the changes to stunning fist (character level rather than monk level).

[Thoradin]

Something for you to glance at

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=329642