PVE-only Tank-focused Build (STR + ?)

[Iota]

I'm interested in playing a warrior who is exclusively built for PVE team play with a focus on survivability and aggro-control. Damage is not a concern for this build, just taking a beating while keeping my teammates safe.

Taking a quick look at some guides, many suggest STR+DEX builds, but the main benefit they cite for taking DEX is damage output.

Looking at the attributes, for this kind of build's concerns:

STR provides good Dodge, Health (& regen), & Armor.
DEX adds Hit % at the cost of Armor, Health (& regen), and some Dodge.
INT adds Mana (& Regen) at the cost of Hit %, Dodge, Health (& regen)

STR obviously gives me most of what I'm looking for. Hit% would certainly help with my skills getting the attention of their targets at critical moments, and Mana would help keep skills available on a consistent basis (not just for boss fights). It's possible that gear may give me enough Hit% and/or Mana/mRegen for my needs.

The question I have is just how much actual affect do these attribute bonuses have (compared to how much the stats may just go up by themselves as you level or as you get better gear). How much DEX would I need before I noticed a marked improvement in Hit %, and just how much Armor would I be loosing compared to putting those points in STR?

Another quick question, builds aside: are there any guides or discussions of good PVE tanking practices?

[Sigkill]

Go with Royal Sewer Helm and Royal Sewer Armor, Fury Sword and Fury Shield. Maxed Taunt, Evade, Rage, Iron blood, 3 in stomp, 6 in Hell Scream, and add points accordingly where you want for the rest. Go dual Spec, the hit is worth a few of the armor you might lose.. and you can use the DEX Armor/Dodge ring that adds 8 armor and 2 dodge

[Sun]

All the survivability wont be worth anything if you can't hold threat. Thats why putting some points in dex would be a good idea

[Iota]

All the survivability wont be worth anything if you can't hold threat. Thats why putting some points in dex would be a good idea

So I take it Hit% to land skills > Mana to keep casting skills (and either better than having lousy Hit% and no Mana from a STR-only build).

[Ellyidol]

http://tinyurl.com/4cgby9n - Physiologic's Guide on How Stats Work.

Being a tank, here in PL at least, doesn't only mean taking damage, but also being able to land debuffs/aggro control skills (Hell Scream, Taunt, Beckon, Stomp).

I wouldn't worry too much in putting Int, since roughly 4-6 M/S is very good for PvE already, and that can come from gear.

For Hit%, I'd aim for breaking at least 90%.

Also keep in mind that Dodge > Armour when it comes to tanking, so don't forget to balance them out. (My tank in final gear has 33 Dodge and 180 Armour unbuffed).

If you'd like a general guide, you can check out my Balefort Sewers Play Guide in my signature, and range also has a good PvE guide in this section.

[Mr.Wallace]

I recently had a discussion about how much tanking ability I lost with going dual spec because of the missing str-points. So I used some platinum to find out:

Edit: Changed screenshot, mistakingly wore a ring on the first one.



I'm wearing the exact same set, stats and level 6 stomp. So I gave up 70 health, some health regen and a bit skill damage. Full str adds only 3 armor.

Unless I forgot something important, I'd say there is no reason for going all str. If you don't want the extra effort of dual spec, 173 str and rest dex for level 55 would be a good mix.

[Necrobane]

You want the dex for dodge and hit. Without enough hit, you'll find that your beckons will miss a lot.

[kiitz]

The really really weird thing is that your skill damage didn't necessarily go down...
All Str: 215-240 (avg: 227.5)
Dual Str/Dex: 219-237 (avg: 228)

It closed the max/min range of your skill damage and actually increased average damage by 1/2 a point. I guess this has to do with the weapon DPS contribution to skill damage?

Really interesting stuff.

It is really strange that your armor went up though. That doesn't make sense at all and I can't think of a single thing to explain that. Are you sure you didn't have like a ring or anything else different by accident?

[Necrobane]

You actually only lost 70 hp -> 764.

[Mr.Wallace]

Oops you are right, the numbers confused me! 70 it is of course!

Hmmmmm you might be right with the ring, i will recheck that. But given i have an 8 armor ring, that 142 extra str would give me just 3 extra armor...

Edit: Yip, it was a dex ring that fell off when I switched to full str, changed screenshot. Now it makes a bit more sense, sorry!

[Greyhorse]

This info is exactly what I'm looking for! *runs off to tinker*

[Mr.Wallace]

You want the dex for dodge and hit. Without enough hit, you'll find that your beckons will miss a lot.

Agreed for hit, but i thought dodge just comes from str. Gotta look that up though.

[KaotiicxDream]

My tank build: Full str None points in other attributes... Skills: Buff/Debuffs maxed, 6 stomp, 1 in Crippling and Vengeful Slash, rest of the skill points in SMS (Super Mega Slash)..

Gear: atm Bodyguard shield and axe, Cleaners shield and Fury Helm (The poor mans tanker set)
I'm aiming for Sewer Helm + armor and Fury Shield + Sword