Rock Armor (Granite )

Hi, Not new to coh, but new to rock armor tank/brutes, I know I wanna make a char with Rock Armor , but got a few questions,
1. Whats a good primary , im looking for some dmg and maybe PvP ?
2. Is granite like god? Do i get it and forget the rest?
3. Is this the best tank i can be? if not what else

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Answering the third first - what do you *want* out of a tank? I tend to like fire, others do invuln, Shield is (or was) popular - they all play differently to some extent.

As for granite - while it gives def. to everything, it's also (from memory) gutting your recharge, accuracy and damage. Some people go perma-granite. My stone tanks tend to use it on occasion, but otherwise keep the other armors and swap between them - Granite, IIRC, has a psionics hole (most of the classic sets do) which is why you have some of the other armors.

Primaries... Stone is thematic, but I find it kind of "eh." Highest I have is Superstrength, which is fairly fun (though honestly I pair SS with pretty much anything at some point when making a tank.)

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i was thinking Stone/Ma Tank

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Okay, just about any primary (for brutes) and secondary (for tanks) will work fine with Stone.

At lower levels you're going to be running multiple armor, status resistance, and healing toggles though. So you can conceivably eat LOTS of endurance.

Once you get to Granite, it becomes easier to manage. But Granite has its own set of problems.

1. Your movement is even MORE severely debuffed than it is with Rooted alone.
2. Your damage is debuffed severely.
3. Your recharge also takes a MASSIVE hit.

It's possible to PARTIALLY offset the first with some set bonuses and heavily slotting Swift.


It's possible to PARTIALLY offset the second with set bonuses. But in some cases this can compromise your build's main focus (which is heavily layered defense, resistance and regen).


It's possible to completely offset the final one. But in doing so, you're merely rendering yourself no better off (and usually still lacking, damage-wise) compared to an equivalent tank/brute with another armor set.


While Granite could be viewed as a God Mode, you're not a God. You're simply, when built properly THE most survivable player AT/Powerset combo in the game. You'll hear stories of people who AFK on a Stoner in the middle of a horde of enemies, come back 20 minutes later and find the character not only alive, but all of the enemies either dead or close to it.


As for your third question. There is no "best tank". Electric, Willpower and Invulnerability can be brought within spitting distance of equivalent toughness. Other sets have different types of mechanics allowing them to offset damage differently.


What makes a tank/brute "good" is NOT their power choices. It's how skillfully the toon is played.

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Alot of people who might swear by granite tanks, believe its number one and tend to insist on it in their teams might simply just be as inflexible as a statue doing things the only way they know how. Some people have all types of Tankers, they get all these types to their idea of nigh perfection and find themselves not needing to be on a certain type of tank. Sure a certain type of tank might be momentarily preferable but the game is still doable, and should it not prove doable then there might be some lacking somewhere, like in how something played out in a way it needn't of, an ingames version of a home goal, failed pass, fumble whatever.

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He will honor his words; he will definitely carry out his actions. What he promises he will fulfill. He does not care about his bodily self, putting his life and death aside to come forward for another's troubled besiegement. He does not boast about his ability, or shamelessly extol his own virtues. - Sima Qian.

For your question "3. Is this the best tank i can be? if not what else" You'll be the least likely to die, but tanking involves much more than that. You'll have to work extra hard to fulfill your tanking duties and compensate for the penalties.

Being unkillable means nothing if your team is falling left and right.

This is why as much as I've tried to make Stone armor work for me, I always end up with other armors. There's only so much suriveabilitiy you need in this game.

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I really should do something about this signature.

My main toon is a Stone/Stone/Earth Tanker and I've worked with him for years, smoothing out little faults and bumps, especially as I refuse to take Rooted.

I cant tell you much about numbers or slotting, but I can tell you about my experiances and how ive over come them.

Going granite slows you down to a crawl and makes it impossible to jump, even over the slightest bump. Your recharge rate drops through the floor and your damage gets reduced severely. You can take most things the game can through at you, but -Rec, -Dam, -End and psi damage can screw you up. Badly.

I tend to run Hasten and Geas of the Kind ones alternately to keep recharge rates at a workable level, with Burnout avalible if I get hit by a -rec or I need Earths Embrace suddenly. Geas also helps if you need end faster, especially with carnies -end scream and sappers. Using Build Up keeps your damage output stable, and should recharge fast enough with Hasten. Mud pots helps damage up too. To counter the movement issue, take tp (for atlitude and distance) or Spring Attack to get over small obsticles. Without rooted and decent run slotting you can run fast enough to get around.

Psi damage is your main enemy, as Stone doesnt have any in granite form. Taking Elusive Mind accolade will protect you against a major assault and just hope that your team can get the mob killed before you are.

One thing about granite form that is much more subtle. In granite, you're huge. With so many powers and mobs flying about the place, having something big and visable in your group can help guide the team in certain places and act as a good focal point.

Personally, I use Granite form as a panic button, to take large alpha attacks, or large groups of enemies. Usually I stay in human forms and use Minerals and Stone Armor, with Brimstone and Crystals used as I need it. Human form gives you better recharge, damage output and manuverability.

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Rockshock (Druid Tanker), Medicat (Combat Medic), Dwarf From the North (Ice Mage), Rocket Gal (Energy Blaster), Graveborn (Undead Mastermind), Streeker (Punching Speedster), Op. Sidewinder (Recluse's pet Spider)

I have a stone/DM, and I happen to think dark melee works rather well with stone. While I don't know about being the "best tank" he is ridiculously durable with granite up. However, as others have pointed out, not dying is just one part of tanking, you also have to make sure others don't die.

While I'm pretty good at that too with granite up, the -rech can make things tricky if you have more mobs around you than the agro cap, since your taunt will recharge slower and thus it'll take you more time to rotate through whatever's running after the squishies. And I have have agro stolen from me on my tank using granite, but only by other tanks (and the occasional brute) so I don't consider it that bad.
Also, while being nigh-unkillable is cool, many other sets are "good enough" for durability, especially if you have some support sets helping out.

Going back to your second question, yeah, it is pretty much god mode, but it's the last power in your armor set, so while leveling up at least, you can't forget the rest. Once you've leveled up you could just run granite all the time, although you might want to keep a couple of the other armors for when you don't want to deal with the penalties, or when you have to face off against a lot of psi damage.

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Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart's the memory
And there you'll always be
-- The Fox and the Hound

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I really should do something about this signature.

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Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart's the memory
And there you'll always be
-- The Fox and the Hound

Yeah most of the mez protection is in rooted but I just plain HATE the power. I dont tend to get mezzed very often, but a helpful little purple usually helps.

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Rockshock (Druid Tanker), Medicat (Combat Medic), Dwarf From the North (Ice Mage), Rocket Gal (Energy Blaster), Graveborn (Undead Mastermind), Streeker (Punching Speedster), Op. Sidewinder (Recluse's pet Spider)

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As an aside... Find a Kinetic defender and make them your best friend. Speed Boost makes any movement with Granite viable... and if they slot it right, you can run just as fast as they can with Rooted on as well, if you so choose.

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