Fiery Melee Secondary:
In this guide I will use the Brawl Index for the damage of each attack. Like the Stone Primary, I will suggest IO sets that will help fill in the holes created by running in Granite armor. Since your recharge is slowed, you will need more attacks than other tanks to fill in the attack chain.
Also, stone tanks work best in larger teams. Large teams mean large mob sizes. The best way to deal with large mobs is AoEs. Fiery Melee (with an epic pool) gives us 3 excellent AoEs, more than any other tanker secondary. My strategy is to jump in with teleport and drop all 3 AoEs. Any survivors can be picked off with single target attacks (2 or 3 melee + 1 ranged)
Lvl 1: Scorch single target melee
Damage: 2.4
Recharge: 3 sec
Accuracy: 75%
Animation time: 1.67 sec
End: 4.37
Rating: 3/5
Slotting: (5-6) 35% dam, 20% acc, 25% rech, 20% end redux
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Crushing Impact (5-slotted for recharge)
Description: A pretty standard first attack. The damage is weak (so is the animation), but the recharge time and endurance dont cost you much. Since you have to take it, you might as well use it and the quick attack helps fill in your attack chain.
Lvl 2: Fire Sword single target melee
Damage: 3.64
Recharge: 6 sec
Accuracy: 75%
Animation time: 1.83 sec
End: 6.86
Rating: 3/5
Slotting: (5-6) 35% dam, 20% acc, 25% rech, 20% end redux
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Crushing Impact (5-slotted for recharge)
Description: Like scorch, fire sword has a pretty short animation time, but doesnt do a lot of damage either. I skipped this attack because with 3 AoEs I dont use a lot of single target attacks and took Greater Fire Sword instead. If you do a lot of soloing, you may want to take this one.
Lvl 4: Combustion (PBAoE)
Damage: 2.89
Recharge: 15 sec
Accuracy: 75%
Radius: 15 ft
Animation time: 3 sec
End: 13
Rating: 5/5
Slotting: (6) 35% dam, 20% acc, 25% rech, 20% end redux
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Sciroccos Dervish (2-slotted for regen), Obliteration (3-slotted for damage buff, 5-slotted for recharge)
Description: This is my opening move after I teleport into a mob. While most tanker PBAoEs have a 8 ft radius, this one is 15 ft making the area of effect almost 4 times as large. Only foot stomp (super strength) and tremor (earth melee) are as wide. Why is the radius important? When you first teleport into a mob they are more scattered. This helps you grab agro and do significant damage at the same time. The fact that this attack does damage over time (DoT) is another reason to open with it. Once the mob comes in closer and gets snared by your mud pots you can drop your other 2 AoEs. Get it and 6-slot it.
Lvl 10: Taunt Targeted AoE
Damage: 0
Recharge: 10 sec
Accuracy: 75%
Range: 70 ft
Radius: 15 ft
Duration: 41 sec
Animation time: 1.67 sec
Rating: 5/5
Slotting: (1-5) recharge, taunt duration
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Perfect Zinger (3 slotted for regen, 4-slotted for recharge, 5-slotted for damage buff)
Description: If you dont take taunt, you are not a tank. Period. You are a scrapper with weak attacks and not doing your primary job which is to keep the agro on you. Many tanks will tell you that they can grab agro with just their aura and their attacks, but sometimes you cant. Sometimes the stupid blaster agros a second mob. Sometimes the mob scatters from Rain of Fire. Also, if a blaster does enough damage, they can pull agro off of a tank if the enemy is not taunted. There are many reasons to take taunt and they are worth spending one power on.
If you are planning to use this toon in PvP, you will want to slot for accuracy as it can miss, but in PvE, taunt is autohit. Personally, I put extra slots into taunt for one reason: the set bonuses on Perfect Zinger are awesome.
Lvl 16: Breath of Fire Cone attack
Damage: 3.73
Recharge: 10 sec
Accuracy: 75%
Range: 15
Arc: 30 degrees
Animation time: 2.67 sec
End: 10.2
Rating: 1/5
Description: As much as I like AoEs, Im not a fan of breath of fire. The short range and narrow cone make it hard to hit more than one or two enemies. A blaster or controller can use cones more effectively because they can move around so enemies are lined up. Cones are also more effective at range where their area of effect is greater. As a tank you dont want your enemies at range, you should be right in the middle. Since you can only hit a couple of enemies at a time, the long animation time makes this power pretty weak. I took it early on since it was my only attack with range, but I later dropped it with my first respec. Once you get to the epic pools, you will have several legit ranged attacks to choose from.
Lvl 20: Build Up Self Buff
ToHit buff: 20%
Damage buff: 80%
Recharge: 90 sec
Duration: 10 sec
Animation time: 1.17 sec
End: 5.2
Rating: 4/5
Slotting: (2-3) 1. Max out Recharge 2. Extra slots can go to tohit buff or end redux
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Gaussians SFC (2-slotted for run speed)
Description: With damage as limited as it already is in Granite form, the 80% damage buff is sweet, if only for 10 seconds.
Lvl 28: Fire Sword Circle PBAoE
Damage: 4.18
Recharge: 20 sec
Accuracy: 75%
Radius: 10 ft
Animation time: 1.5 sec
End: 18.5
Rating: 5/5
Slotting: (6) 35% dam, 20% acc, 25% rech, 20% end redux
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Sciroccos Dervish (2-slotted for regen), Obliteration (3-slotted for damage buff, 5-slotted for recharge)
Description: This is your most devastating attack. Once Combustion has hit the mob and pulled them in close enough for mud pots to snare them, now you can drop the hammer. The animation is just as powerful as the attack.
Lvl 35: Incinerate single target DoT melee
Damage: 5.55
Recharge: 10 sec
Accuracy: 75%
Animation time: 1.67 sec
End: 6.86
Rating: 3/5
Slotting: (6) 35% dam, 20% acc, 25% rech, 20% end redux
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Crushing Impact (5-slotted for recharge)
Description: Like fire sword, incinerate has a pretty short animation time, but deals more damage and for the same endurance cost. I would take this one over fire sword, but its not a top priority. You need another melee attack, but Greater Fire Sword is available at level 38. I would pick one of the two. Personally I prefer Greater Fire Sword.
Lvl 38: Greater Fire Sword single target melee
Damage: 7.2
Recharge: 12 sec
Accuracy: 90%
Animation time: 2.03 sec
End: 12.7
Rating: 4/5
Slotting: (6) 35% dam, 20% acc, 25% rech, 20% end redux
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Crushing Impact (5-slotted for recharge)
Description: More damage than Incinerate, but for almost twice the endurance. If end is a problem for you, you might want to take Incinerate instead. I prefer the extra damage and higher accuracy. The animation is also more impressive.
 
Epic Pools:
Whichever pool you choose, your priority should be to diversify your attacks. You dont have any ranged attacks yet. They also offer a nice ranged AoE giving you a 3rd AoE which, if slotted correctly, allows you to have all three available for every mob. My advice would be to take either Earth or Pyre mastery. They synergize better with the stone/fire build. In either case, you will have to take 2 powers before you can get the AoE. Earth gives you some degree of control and debuff while Pyre gives you more damage.
Arctic Mastery: Rating: 3/5
Chilblain decent ranged attack, but I dont like the immobilize component. You want the enemies coming to you. It is also pretty short ranged (50ft).
Block of Ice A Mag 3 hold which isnt necessary on a tanker, but it cant hurt. Since you have to take this or Chilblain in order to get other Arctic Master powers, this is your better option. It also gives you a ranged attack if you are willing to devote the slotting.
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Ghost Widows Embrace (2-slotted for run speed)
Ice Blast decent ranged attack; something tanks are sorely missing.
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Decimation (5-slotted for recharge), Thunderstrike (5-slotted for run speed), Devestation (2-slotted for regen, 4-slotted for damage buff)
Shiver A cone slow with a very wide arc and good range. Everything in front of you will be dramatically slowed and their recharge cut in half, but only for 10 seconds. Not really worth spending a power on.
Ice Storm Ranged DoT AoE. Besides the good damage (4.2 Brawl Index), it also has a slow component which, in conjunction with mud pots, will make your enemies even slower than you. The only thing I dont like about this attack is the scatter effect. You want the mob coming to you, not running away. It also doesnt look quite right if you are hammering away with fire and then drop an ice storm.
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Positrons Blast (5-slotted for recharge)
Earth Mastery: Rating: 4/5
Stone Prison This single target immobilize does the same damage as Chilblain, but the immobilize is Mag 4 instead of 3. It also debuffs the targets defense by 14%.
Optional slotting for set bonuses: none unless you are willing to devote more slots than this power is worth.
Salt Crystals A PBAoE sleep attack. What good is a sleep attack to a tank? None. Skip this power. The second you sleep them, your mud pots will wake them up.
Fossilize Single target, Mag 3 hold. Like Block of Ice, single target holds have limited use for a rock tank. Does some damage though.
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Ghost Widows Embrace (2-slotted for run speed)
Quick Sand An AoE slow with some defensive debuff, but not worth taking.
Stalagmites Pretty good targeted AoE. While it doesnt do much damage (2 brawl index), it also debuffs the defense of everything in range by 14% and does a Mag 3 stun to a good number of enemies in the area of effect, albeit for only 10 seconds. Definitely worth taking. (I never took this Epic pool, but Stalagmites would be my opening attack if I did.)
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Stupefy (5-slotted for recharge), Rope-a-Dope (2-slotted for regen), Positrons Blast (5-slotted for recharge)
Energy Mastery: Rating: 2/5
Conserve Power 120% endurance reduction of all of your powers for 90 seconds, but takes 600 seconds to recharge. I always take stamina so I would skip this power. If you have end problems, you might want to take it.
Focused Accuracy 20% to hit bonus, 60% perception bonus and resistant to tohit debuffs. This is a toggle that you can always leave on and not have to worry about accuracy. The endurance drain (1.18/sec) is very high though. A great power for PvP, but rock tanks arent very effective in PvP zones.
Lazer Beam Eyes- A nice longer ranged attack that also debuffs for defense by 14%.
Energy Torrent Read Breath of Fire above if you want my opinion of cone attacks on a tank. Whats worse than a cone attack on a tank? A cone attack that does knockback. I get mad when teammates knock enemies away from me. Im certainly not going to do it to myself. Skip this power.
Pyre Mastery: Rating: 5/5
Ring of Fire I like the song, but not the attack. A single target immobilize like Stone prison, but without the debuffs. Does a little more damage though. Take Char instead.
Char A Mag 3 hold. Thats it. Fossilize and Block of ice are the same hold, except they do damage and Fossilize even debuffs as well. You have to take this or Ring of Fire and this is the lesser of two evils.
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Ghost Widows Embrace (2-slotted for run speed)
Fire Blast Nice single target ranged attack. Does more damage than the ranged attacks from the other pools. Definitely worth taking.
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Decimation (5-slotted for recharge), Thunderstrike (5-slotted for run speed), Devestation (2-slotted for regen, 4-slotted for damage buff)
Fireball If youve ever rolled a fire blaster, you know this is a great power. It does less damage than Ice Storm, but does it all in one shot. The best part about this power is that it takes 1 second to fire off. The 15 ft radius is very nice. It can also serve as a second ranged attack.
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Positrons Blast (5-slotted for recharge)
Melt Armor A decent targeted AoE debuff that reduces resistances by almost 10%
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Analyze Weakness (2-slotted for regen)
(I went with Pyre Mastery on my tank and never regretted it. The third AoE gives you a complete attack chain and Fire Blast gives you a needed ranged attack. I could see going with Earth Mastery though.)
Other Pools:
Concealment (0/5) On a tank? No.
Fighting (4/5) This is an important question you need to ask yourself: How uber do you want to be? Kick and boxing are pretty weak compared to your other melee attacks. Tough is nice, but with stone skin and granite armor, your resistance to smashing/lethal should be capped. Weave on the other hand is a great power to have. It will significantly increase your defense to everything (including psi). Weave is the only power you really want from this pool, but is it worth taking 3 powers? By skipping the other armors you should have enough room in your build. Tough and Weave also give you a place to slot set bonuses like Aegis (2-slotted for run speed) and global enhancements like Gift of the Ancients +run speed, Impervium Armor +psi resist and LoTG +recharge.
Fitness (5/5) An absolute must. You are the slowest thing on two feet and need swift. Health is nice for any tank. Stamina is a requirement on most builds. This is no exception.
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Numinas (2-slotted for regen), Regenerative Tissue (2-slotted for run speed), Performance Shifter (2-slotted for run speed)
Flight (0/5) You cant fly with rooted or granite armor. Skip it.
Leadership (2/5) Wouldnt be terrible, but not worth spending the powers on. Leave leadership to defenders who have more room in their build.
Leaping (0/5) You cant jump with rooted or granite armor. Skip it.
Medicine (0/5) A weak pool, especially on a tank. The heal is interruptible and you will be in the thick of the battle. Skip it.
Presence (0/5) You already have taunt. Skip it.
Speed (5/5) Hasten is a must-have for just about any build. With granite armors recharge you need hasten more than anyone. Super speed as a travel power isnt a bad call if you have room in your build since teleport is kind of a pain. I chose to skip it and stuck with teleport.
Teleportation (5/5) An absolute must for a stone tank. You cant run and you cant fly. This is your only option.
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Time & Space Manipulation (2-slotted for regen), Winters Gift (3-slotted for run speed plus slow resistance)
Good guide Magma. Thank you very much!
Two minor technical nitpicks:
Stone Skin will cap your s/l resistance using only the default slot when combined with Granite, so unless you want set bonuses there, you do not need to put any slots into Stone Skin.
You list Crystal Armor as "Resistance: 16% energy/neg energy," but it's defense.
Also, although this is not a technical issue, I would expect a guide to urge newcomers to Granite tanking to be absolutely sure to slot it to the ED caps for resistance and defense. Don't be seduced by set bonuses into under-enhancing your set-defining power. I've seen too many builds with, for example, LOTG six-slotted into Granite or some silly thing like that.
If we are to die, let us die like men. -- Patrick Cleburne
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The rule is that they must be loved. --Jayne Fynes-Clinton, Death of an Abandoned Dog
Magmas Granite-Only Stone/Fire Tanker guide Updated for i13
I have revised this guide because with dual builds, i13 allows you greatly improve the power set and slotting options of a stone tank. Namely, you can now create a build for running granite-only and then a second build for non-granite (soloing and exempting down below level 32). This guide is for the granite-only build.
Why roll a stone tank? Simply put, a stone tank is the tankiest tank around. If you want to be able to jump into the middle of a mob 8 levels above you and not sweat it, than this is the tank for you. When people are putting together teams for a task force and need a tank, their first choice is a stone tank for one reason: granite armor makes you virtually invincible.
However, that doesnt mean you cant do some damage while youre there. A tank spends most of their time in the middle of a mob, so the best attacks for him to have are AoEs. It not only allows him to do some decent damage, but helps to grab agro. The fire secondary not only does the most damage, it has more AoEs with a larger radius than any secondary out there.
While many people cannot afford the more expensive IO sets, I am assuming you can at least afford the cheaper IO sets to maximize your slotting. For those with the means, I have also suggested optional IO sets that will allow you to get the most out of your rock tank. I did not include purple sets in my suggested IOs because most people cant afford them. If you can afford them, go for it. The +recharge in most purple sets is awesome on a granite tank.
Stone Primary:
Lvl 1: Rock Armor
Def: 16% to smashing/lethal + 17% debuff resist
End: 0.26/sec
Rating: 3/5
Description: Your bread and butter armor for the first 31 levels. However, this guide is for a granite-only build, so skip this power when doing your respec.
Lvl 1: Stone Skin
Resist: 10% to smashing/lethal
End: 0 (autopower)
Rating: 3/5
Slotting: (2-3) Resistance
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Aegis (2-slotted for run speed), Steadfast res +defense unique, Impervium Armor (psi resistance)
Description: With no end requirement, this power is very nice to have. More importantly, Stone Skin can run in conjunction with granite armor while Rock armor cannot. Since you have to choose 1 with your first level, this is your only option. With minimal slotting, Stone Skin will cap your smashing/lethal resistance. It also provides you with a place to slot some nice set bonuses to fill in the gaps created by granite armor (see Granite Armor below).
Lvl 2: Earths Embrace
Resistance: 10% toxic
Heal: 40%
Max HP: 40%
End: 10.4
Recharge: 360 sec
Rating: 4/5
Slotting: (4) 50% heal, 50% rech
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Numinas (2-slotted for regen), Regenerative Tissue (2-slotted for run speed), Doctored Wounds (5-slotted for recharge), Impervium armor (psi resistance)
Description: Very important for the first 31 levels when you will take a significant amount of damage, but still useful in granite when fighting psi enemies or high damage AVs like Lord Recluse. When slotted for heal, this will replenish most of your hp. Slotting for recharge is important as it has a slow recharge rate.
Lvl 6: Mud Pots
Enemies within your aura will receive:
Run Speed: -45%
Jump height: -40%
Immobilize: mag 2
Taunt: mag 4
Damage: 0.4 Brawl Index per 2-second tic
End: 0.78/sec
Rating: 5/5
Slotting: (6) IO sets are a must for this power as you have 4 attributes to slot for and only 6 slots to enhance them. Luckily, sets like Multistrike, Cleaving Blow and Tempered Readiness are dirt cheap. Slotting for endurance is the priority, then slot for damage, slows and accuracy.
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Sciroccos Dervish (2-slotted for regen)
Description: An absolute must have. This power does everything: it grabs agro and then the slow component keeps them close. While they are stuck to you it deals a small, but significant amount of damage to them. The end drain (0.78/sec) is very taxing so slot this for end reduction right away. I would spend 10 slots on this power if I could. Since you only have 6 possible, I would strongly suggest buying IO sets which will maximize what it can do. Slow sets like Tempered Readiness and Pacing of the Turtle are dirt cheap and the multiple effects are perfect for this power. The only ones you dont want are the ones for recharge or range.
Lvl 8: Rooted
Regen: 100%
Status protection / mez resist: all (except terrorize)
Def Debuff resistance: 17.3%
End drain resistance: 86.5%
Run speed: -90%
Jump height: -50,000%
End: 0.16/sec
Rating: 2/5
Slotting: (2-4) Max out heal first and put any extra slots to end redux
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Numinas (2-slotted for regen), Regenerative Tissue (2-slotted for run speed)
Description: Since you will be running in granite, you dont need the status protection and the -90% run speed, combined with granite, makes you slower than a snail. However, Rooted does 2 things that make it worth taking: The high regen is helpful when fighting AVs and psi enemies. It also provides excellent end-drain protection when fighting sappers etc. You will only need to use rooted in those 2 situations. This power, in addition to Granite armor, is the reason why every rock tank is addicted to speed boost. Make friends with a kin as soon as you can.
Lvl 12: Brimstone Armor
Resistance: 25% fire/cold
End: 0.26/sec
Rating: 1/5
Description: This is a granite-only build, so skip this power. It sucked anyway.
Lvl 18: Crystal Armor
Resistance: 16% energy/neg energy
Resistance: 17.3% to defense debuffs
End: 0.26/sec
Rating: 1/5
Description: This is a granite-only build, so skip this power. It sucked anyway.
Lvl 26: Minerals
Defense: 25% psionic
Perception: 60%
Mez Resist: confuse
End: 0.26/sec
Rating: 1/5
Description: This is a granite-only build, so skip this power. Some may make the case of taking this power when fighting psi enemies, but those enemies usually use smashing/lethal/energy attacks as well and Minerals wont run with Granite.
Lvl 32: Granite Armor
Defense: 20% to all except psi
Resistance: 50% to all except psi
Status protection/mez resist: all (except terrorize)
Recharge: -65%
Damage: -30%
Run speed: -70%
Jump height: 0
End: 0.26/sec
Rating: 5/5
Slotting: (6) 1. Cap out your defense and resistance and then put extra slots into end redux.
Optional slotting for set bonuses: Luck of the Gambler (2-slotted for regen), LotG +recharge global, Gift of the Ancients +run speed global, Aegis (2-slotted for run speed)
Description: This is what its all about. Can you think of another power that renders 4 previous powers obsolete? Granite is that powerful. When fully slotted, Granite makes you virtually invulnerable. You can stand in front of just about any AV or GM and go afk.
At the same time, can you think of another power with this kind of drawback? Probably not. Granite leaves you with 4 major holes, but they can be filled. Heres how I do it:
1. Slow movement <ul type="square">[*]Get swift and 3-slot it for run speed[*]Set bonuses that improve run speed (suggested throughout this guide)[*]Gift of the Ancients +7.5% run speed[*]Learn to use teleport in different situations (you can even bind it to your mouse)[/list]
2. Slow recharge<ul type="square">[*]Get hasten and slot it for recharge[*]Set bonus to improve recharge (suggested throughout this guide)[*]Luck of the Gambler +7.5% recharge[*]Get extra attacks for a longer attack chain[/list]
3. Weak damage<ul type="square">[*]Get build up and slot it for recharge[*]Set bonuses that improve damage[*]Deal with the fact that you are a tank, not a scrapper. Your job is to hold agro while your teammates inflict most of the damage.[/list]
4. No psi defense<ul type="square">[*]Set bonuses that improve psi defense/resistance (Unfortunately psi defense requires 6 slotting the same set which usually means you are not maximizing some of the attributes.)[*]Aegis +3% psi/status resistance (unique)[*]Impervium Armor +3% psi resistance[/list]