19 Jan 2007 at 06:32 - 5
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Jazzy
It seems like you are trying to make a tank build for PvE. (i'll kill you if it was intended for pvp)
First off, AoB is fine for a tank build. So to all those people naysaying AoB, just reconsider the circumstances. However, your other skills choices are poor. You do not need healing breeze with mystic regen, nor do you need orison of healing. I suggest conviction.
I have more advice, maybe i'll add later.
AoB, while providing non-strippable armor is an inferior choice for a tank. First off the utility is limited because of the long cool down time on the skill. When he hits Torment, where there are mobs every thirty seconds, he's going to get killed. Granted enchant stripping comes hard and heavy on a dervish but you have conviction, which is 16 less armor than Balthazar but it is easily and cheaply reapplied if stripped. Stack that with something like Mirage Cloak for good evade and you've got all the utility of Balthazar without the annoying cooldown time. I used to use Balthazar in a tank build before I discovered that layered enchantment effects are infinitely superior, particularly if you are going to run mystic regen. Why short yourself on the regen with Balthazar, which does not count as an enchantment? Granted you can only have +10 at a time but the extra is useful for when you get hit with degen effects since it stacks against the degen. I'm afraid I have to back up the others here when I say that AoB is only useful for running from point A to point B.
If he just has a hard on for avatars then Melandru or Dwayna are superior choices for a tank. Dwayna's healing plus hex removal makes it easy to survive even the most brutal assaults, particularly when coupled with Mystic Regen, and Melandru's huge hitpoint bonus and immunity to conditions can just make you a monster to try to kill. Given that a tank is really there to stop melee mobs and keep them from hitting the squishies I'd say that EDA is a better choice for an elite. EDA = 90% chance for them to miss you, with odds like that extra armor is a non issue, believe me I run an EDA build and I am always the last man standing and oftentimes I can pull a party from the brink of a wipe just by outlasting and destroying the remaining enemys. Vow of Strength would be a good one too. With the sheer raw damage output, assuming you have a max damage scythe with a good mod like 15% enchanted, anything you tank shouldn't live long enough to do significant damage to you. Again though the key skill is Mystic Regeneration. As long as you aren't stripping your enchants with reckless abandon you can survive almost anything with that self heal alone.