slainsteel

Eh, but this doesn't soft-cap all even with granite form; how will it deal with Lord Recluse? :-\

None of those tanks have a travel power? How do they get around?

Only problem is, if your build is not specifically tailored for Granite Form, I doubt if you can hit s/l cap without granite, and a full cap with granite? Without a full soft-cap with granite form, granite will be as weak or even weaker than a WP with 700% regen and full def caps.

Could you post your build? (also take a look at mine if you get a chance)

@Katie: Any clue on how a WP does against Recluse?
@ClawsAndEffect: Any suggestions on the WP build? Also, same question, any experiences (yours or others) with going against some super-AV's with a WP versus stone?
@Local_Man: If one won't stay in Granite most of the time, then what would be the point of stone armor? Are there any other benefits non-granite stone offers over WP?


So basically, the major question of the day is, how would this WP build do against Hamidon or Lord Recluse

If it is worse, but not much worse (as in he'll survive), then WP is a clear winner. If he will do really badly (i.e., die if not popping greens every few seconds), then it comes down to, well, how many seconds

Simple thing is, if I am slotting this guy this aggressively, I'd want to be able to use him on the toughest missions (with good teams giving backup).

I actually have a Arch/MM 50 and a Fire/Dev 50 the exact opposite!
My problem with fire is mostly the blaze, otherwise I love fireball.

My Arch/MM, when he 'gets' to use RoA, he rocks - but most TF's I've run with him have been lower level ones (he got to 50 recently) with higher levels with full IO's examplar'ed down, so most bad guys are emptied out within seconds of of us getting there.

I can 'see' how amazing RoA must be, but haven't had a chance to try it as much yet.

On the other hand, my fire has been great; on Lady Grey, almost all my team members died with two riders left, one of which got onto me - that guy only had about 35% ranged def then, no s/l, but he managed to solo an elite boss standing in his face without having to run, uhh, much

I've also mostly played a fire (also have a Fire/Fire 50), so I honestly have very little idea about how well an archer *really* plays.

Basically I want a pure ranged blaster - goes melee only once in a while and only to drain stamina; WoC is there only in case he goes melee, enemies would be too confused to hit him much

Other than that, I don't particularly like crowd control or stunning. I have mace's immob and hold, in case I really need to hold a mob, otherwise I am good with just shooting from the background. Knockbacks are also useless to me since I am 'always' on a speed slotted hover and if needed, I can just run back.

I have builds that are close to perma haste and capped s/l (can cap only either s/l or ranged, can't do both ), but I am really confused about the primary.

Pros of Fire:
.) Fireball is a targetted AoE with great range; Fistful of Arrows does less damage, has less range and is a cone
.) Higher damage on almost all attacks
.) NO redraw between Psychic Scream and other fire attacks (primarily paired with fireball)

Cons of Fire:
.) No usable nuke; Inferno is a, melee (so doesn't suit my playing style) and b.) drains all end, i.e., making my almost a squishy (I depend on tough/weave/hover/Scorpion Shield a lot for defense)
.) Blaze is TOO short range for my comfort
.) Fire Breath doesn't do much for me due to it being a cone, secondly a cone without much range, AND having a long cast time
.) Rain of Fire is useless for me. I fight in teams that control the mob + aggro depending on the tank; who frequently switches. My job is never mob control and Rain of Fire's damage by itself isn't enough to justify the slots

Pro's of Archery:
.) RoA! This is a majority of the reason why I am so stuck on archery. HUGE damage; location AoE, and with my build, recharges every 17 seconds or so
.) Blazing arrow has a lot more range than Blaze
.) Low end cost, multiple attacks that work with my play style; attacks are quick and low end in general

Cons of Archery:
.) Lower damage overall
.) Lack of a quick targetted AoE like fireball, leaves me only with the two cones (fistful of arrows and psychic scream)
.) Lethal damage; particularly bad against robots
.) (major irk) Redraw animation after either hitting concentration or using psychic scream


Comments? Suggestions? Experiences?

I've got two solid builds up (WP is expensive, but I am willing to afford that one expensive Gladiator's Armor piece )

I love both builds, except I am not sure which one I really want to spend my inf on.

The things I really want are, in order of preference,
a.) Survivability - I HATE my tank dying or having to run. I want a tank that can stand in front of most AV's and shrug it off like a ant bite
b.) Speed of fighting - basically I don't really want to have to wait between mobs, like ever :-\
c.) Damage - Even though this isn't "as" important, but it is still important. My concern with my stone tank is that due to his low hasten, his damage output will be low
d.) Help the team - basically, if my tank should help keeping other people alive, as is his job

A few constraints,
.) I can afford maybe 'one' really expensive set/item (like a glad's armor or one expensive purple set). I can muster up to about 2bil inf that I am ready to blow on this one guy, but not much more; of course, the cheaper the better
.) I already have a lot of LOTG's and other unique's stocked up, so those really aren't much of a concern
.) No Hami's; I can never be on a specific time, so no raids for me
.) With stone, I _need tele and speed. The idea is to keep him in Granite form all the time, then tele around and have decent run speed (maybe not sprint, but not walk either)
.) I don't like relying on inspirations or temp powers; I like my character to be good to go at any point

I *LOVE* stone's resistances + def, but I am very concerned about psi defense and of course, usual playability (I don't plan on playing it in non-granite form, there is no point). WP is fantastic all around, but I am not sure how much of the one off damage he'll sustain from powerful AV's will be covered by his regen.

* I went Electric due to it's awesome AoE's; I really mostly use my tank in a team, so though single enemy damage is kinda important, but only kinda.

So, here are the builds - I've had a lot of amazing help from my SG (Go American Legion!), I am looking for more tweaking and/or comments from experienced players to help me make up my mind.


WP/Electric (it is slightly glitched with the stamina thing, ignore that),