Looking for a good Tank build

[tunx1988]

I've been playing for a good while now and I can't seem to find the right build to make a great tank. I would like a tank that has a high AC and high HP. I've seem people on with over 1000 HP and want to make something like that for EE tanking but I just can't seem to get it right. I would appreciate any help with this.

Thanks in advance

[boredman]

Look at this build that can tank but also can do good damage and cc http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=387055 but is gear and destiny intensive.

[tunx1988]

That's a pretty awesome build but I really don't want to go with that much gear as it would completely fill my screen just to make sure I could switch to what I needed. Although I don't mind the intensity of the destinies. All in all I would love to say I could do that build, but I couldn't. Thanks for the advice though.

[WruntJunior]

That's a pretty awesome build but I really don't want to go with that much gear as it would completely fill my screen just to make sure I could switch to what I needed. Although I don't mind the intensity of the destinies. All in all I would love to say I could do that build, but I couldn't. Thanks for the advice though.

If you don't want to get an extreme amount of gear, an EE-capable tank is not for you. :P

[tunx1988]

Its not getting the gear that's the problem, it's having my entire screen filled with gear. I'm sure there is a way to be a very able-bodied tank without having 6-7 types of every gear slot. I know weapons will have to be changed out and all but the actual gear I'm sure can be decreased without losing the ability of being a good tank.

[Kinerd]

I don't see how you can go wrong with a pure Stalwart Defender, and the feat list in the link should serve you pretty well at that. The only thing that changes in EE is the emphasis on extra fortification, which is a gear issue. Running in LD only really matters for AoE DPS and tactics, it doesn't offer much single-target DPS especially against bosses. If you just maxed out Unyielding Sentinel that would be fine for tanking.

Rather than focusing on the specific gear he or she uses, I urge you to focus instead on the philosophy: specifically, that AC is not all there is to defense. Combine AC, concealment, incorp, PRR, Dodge for great success. HP is also relevant, of course, but as a Stalwart you pretty much have to try to have unviable HP.

[tunx1988]

Rather than focusing on the specific gear he or she uses, I urge you to focus instead on the philosophy: specifically, that AC is not all there is to defense. Combine AC, concealment, incorp, PRR, Dodge for great success. HP is also relevant, of course, but as a Stalwart you pretty much have to try to have unviable HP.

Thanks for the advice and I have been looking at the SD but for some reason my biggest issue still seems to be the HP. I can get my PRR and fortification up, but the HP just stays average for some reason. The most recent attempt I made was just going through the creating and starter gear for lvl 4 (veteran status). I wound up with a PRR of about 30 and an AC of just over 30 with tower shield and shield mastery feat, but the most I could get my HP to was 112. I don't know if I'm just over thinking the build and that's good or if I'm thinking right and that is too low.

[Kinerd]

Ah. Tanking is generally superfluous in low level content. There's something to be said for learning how to tank in easier circumstances, but mostly you'll get groups looking at you like you've got three heads. I really wouldn't worry about it until at earliest level 12, when your stance starts to really kick in and content is a little less facerolly.

[tunx1988]

Thanks... I'll give it another try and see how it goes at higher lvls then

[Dieterstrife]

Could if you wanted a bit more defenses than just ac, go medium armor and take Dodge, Moblity and Spring attack in place of the weapon specialization/focus feats. yeah you lose dps (this is more for a human/helf build) but being able to hit 12-14% dodge with around 150prr in Sentinel (Unbreakable, mind you. Don't need to be in Stand 100% of the time, even when tanking) makes for more defense than 165prr and 3% dodge. Granted you also need to use a heavy shield, but that's minor.

People will always tell you "Owe you absolutely MUST have Fullplate and Tower Shields if you want to be any kind of tank"

Nah not really. You just need to be able to hold aggro (not nearly as hard as some people say, so long as you don't have people with tons of aggro gear on trying to me max dps) and survive 3-5 hits before dying in the highest content with heal amp backing you up to make the healers job easier. I've found something like the Seal of Dun'Robar works well for that 4% dodge to add to this, and then the Fabricators bracers are all I use for threat gen 90% of the time.

Granted most people will argue saying that my idea is inferior. And no, you don't need max gear to be able to tank. It may not be cheap, but you can buy stuff off the ah and get plenty far like that. Eventually you can get a really good bastard or daxe (Nightmare is amazing. Oh dear lord I love it) which will help you tank the really hard stuff more efficiently. You really do want a lot of great gear for EE tanking, and a past life or 2 is really preferred (but not mandatory) to be most efficient.

1khp is not hard to break in Sentinel. Hell, I've seen fighter tanks that claim 1 toughness feat (and all enhancements and 50 con, which seems way overkill) standing around at 1500hp.

But like they said. Tanking is pretty useless at lower levels, and fighter s&b tanks work better after they take the capstone. Before that, go buy an alche falchi to swing around if you can't get a better weapon. And yes, just a base alche falchi, un-upgraded.

[Dieterstrife]

Thanks for the advice and I have been looking at the SD but for some reason my biggest issue still seems to be the HP. I can get my PRR and fortification up, but the HP just stays average for some reason. The most recent attempt I made was just going through the creating and starter gear for lvl 4 (veteran status). I wound up with a PRR of about 30 and an AC of just over 30 with tower shield and shield mastery feat, but the most I could get my HP to was 112. I don't know if I'm just over thinking the build and that's good or if I'm thinking right and that is too low.

Ok, after reading a bit more into the thread:

112hp at lvl 4 is pretty good. You won't get a big boost to it until at least lvl 6, but mostly at lvl 12. Without the stalwart stances your hp wont be a whole lot different than other fighters at your level.

[tunx1988]

sorry for the delay in the reply, but thank you for all the info... I knew I needed a bit of gear for EE tanking but some of it just seemed way too much... I see these videos of people with about 5-6 different items for every slot and I'm not even sure how they hold all of it in their inventory... my point behind what I said was not that I could get away with just one set of gear but at the same time I shouldn't have to have 5-6 either... and to be honest I really didn't think about the dodge and all but it's a good idea that I'm seeing more and more often... I did see a video of a guy tanking as a barb (which kinda freaked me out to be honest lol)... but I plan to start this toon probably tomorrow or the next day and I've gotten a lot of good advice... thanks again... but please don't just stop there lol