Dragon's Immortal Tank (Updated for 1.2)

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COYG wrote:

Hi, just wanted to say thanks to the build maker. It works great, after respecing from a GS marauder that was so fragile. It happened to me to die only when i faced 2 bosses in spring (?) map, where the 2nd one blew the 1st corpse. That's all. Items below

Spoiler

80/85/80 ele resists, 75% block, 46% for spells 4k hp, 9k armor, 550 es, 10k dps. Cheers

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bidoof01 wrote:

I was excited to make use of this build then saw your life constantly drops to dangerous levels in your vids, so not much of a tank after all.

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Heartstrings wrote:

Dragon, would you recommend helping Oak in Merciless for the extra endurance charge, or just kill him and grab the skill point?

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Apolyon34 wrote:

First off I just want to say thanks to Dragon for posting this guide this build has been a blast :) I thought I'd take the time to post some of my opinions of the build, as in some areas they are quite different to yours and would be eager to know what you think if you have the time.

My tree and gear

Spoiler

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgEAAecEswUtCAgMfQ6tEH8UIBjbGS4aMho4GlUdFCFgJvgn7SjFKaUyCTKJNug26TfsQKBDnEd-TDVQR1BQUWBT31RJVcZXDVfiWGNYr1jbWfNfP2BLYSFko2VNZadmnm5pcql07XTxdud35Xrve4x82YQMhNmE74zPj0aQVZMdlZubg57NoLSiAKcIpzCnhKmVq8WsqqyvtPm4k7ndvqfAD8Aaxp7G2M9l0NDSIdJN1I_ZYdrd4mHjaudS65_sOO8O707wH_O-8932SPe--tL7qg==

Currently level 87, I took the 18% physical damage and the endurance charge because back when I made the marauder I was following the nooby friendly guide. Obviously I'm looking forward to changing my endurance charge to a skill point when that feature is implemented... Though I will keep the 18% phyical damage as it's better on average than any available nodes (yes limb hewer gives 32% but when you account for the nodes leading up to it, its less powerful)

edit: I actually should have taken the 8% attack speed from Cruel Kraityn as I think its more dps with multistrike. Just another thing to look forward when they allow changing bandit rewards :)
side note: used to have mind and matter but I traded it for more dps.

And a gear showoff

Stats
3841 life // 3258 after reserve
896 ES
25467 dps // 37633 single target if I swap splash for added fire
81/86/81 res
11717 armor // 32643 with a 95% granite
65% block // 40% spell block
169 life regen
2% physical life leech
Negative 60 chaos res - my 'achilles heal'. Though I haven't had much trouble with chaos damage as seething pots are a godsend. I'm trying to get my hands on some 30 chaos res boots but I'm quite picky so that could take a while.

The main principle of my tree decisions is this: Enough defensive nodes to be a god without too much sacrifice of the fun stuff. By 'enough defence' I mean that when played properly I can't be killed by anything except;
-Vaal smash
-Chain corpse explosions on a reflect pack

For everything else my defences are enough with correct usage of potions. I have left any health/block nodes that do not lead to more powerful nodes untouched. With 3300 life after reserves and 900 ES I am rarely in danger. Admittedly for some end game bosses I could be more tanky but with correct use of potions I have little or no danger of dying to them (and I'm in a group which trivializes most encounters).

Determination V Vitality and the power of regen
With 3 health potions I can't personally see huge value in life regen. Even before I got soul taker and removed my blood magic gem I would do fine in maps with no life regen. It just meant my potions got a nice workout rather than being reserved for bosses (or not used at all). For this reason I prefer determination to boost my armor as it greatly increases the power of grace and any armor nodes I choose to pick up.

Block V Armor V Life
My block is at a respectable 65% and 40% for spells which I find to be more than sufficient. Cap would be nice but it just feels like a waste of points to me. Even with the cap there is a 1 in 4 chance of being hit. For these times I'd rather have a nice armor pool so any more defensive points will be spent getting the duelist and marauder clusters of 50% armor, which for me equals roughly 5k armor (dependent on determination with inner force) per cluster. Either that or mind and matter I havn't decided.

The reason I'd get the armor nodes instead of the remaining 6% life nodes is this: with this build it feels like life has an effective 'cap' where no more life is required. It's just a buffer for hard hitting bosses who's damage is invariably physical based. Once around 3k life and 700 or so ES has been reached it seems more logical to me to reduce the damage per hit rather than the buffer. I realize I am not making a solid argument here but after testing with 20k+ armor pre IR nerf it just 'feels right' to me :P.

Inner Force
7 auras (TS unaffected) x 1.18 effectiveness! I don't see how this is not worth 5 points. If you can get your hands on a soul taker there is a powerful axe damage cluster on the way so it will only require one extra filler point.

Unwavering Stance
I feel this node is overrated without CI. I rarely get stunned and when I do, what of it? It's just a 1/4 second break from doing damage and it doesn't effect my ability to run away from enemies because I never do ;) I prefer the 5% base evasion chance.

And last a quick word on Soul Taker
This axe is so ridiculous! Being able to swap blood magic for Melee physical damage is huge especially when you reach the higher dps ranges. For me it was a 10k dps increase (15k - 25k).

Not only that but it no longer costs 134 life every time I attack! This reduces the need for health regen. I have removed my 1% regen node in the templar tree and will probably do the same in the duelist tree.

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Juhazzz wrote:

edit. Got myself a new helmet today, I like it. Sure looks ugly, but the stats compensate the looks :3