Dragon's Immortal Tank (Updated for 1.2)

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TwyceNyetlee wrote:

Technically you don't even need Tempest Shield with BoR because of the 15% block that comes with it. I'm already maxed on block without TS. I know what your saying but ST doesn't just fall from trees. It's a 20 exalt investment combined with Aegis Aurora your at 24-25 exalts easy not including your other items.

ST - 20 Exalts maybe more
Aegis Aurora - 4-5 exalts
6link- 15-18 exalts
other items - few exalts

This is a crazy expensive build. Only 2% of players can probably afford it. Is it a great build? Absolutely, but for most people its not even attainable.

I understand what I do does require a Soul Taker, and that they are really damn expensive to get. I was farming docks/city of sarn for nearly a week (4-6ish hours per day) with very mediocre IIQ/IIR (about 120/100) on my sporker hoping to find a shavs (yea, I know, lol) but I just got lucky and found a ST instead.

You can still do it without a Soul Taker though, just gotta follow the original guide that was posted. It still works pretty well, but IMO if you are really gonna take it further, then your best bet is to get to farming for some high ticket items to sell or get lucky and find one.

Unfortunately if you like to solo a lot, you are going to have to spend some time just grinding out some farming spots for a while. It's really no different than say D2, where most people would initially make a MF character and then build end-game characters off the good items they would find. If you are determined enough and just stick with it, you'll eventually get what you want. It may not happen in a few days, maybe not even weeks, but that moment will eventually come where you'll find something great. Heck, you'll probably even by then end up hoarding TONS of currency so when you are ready to push further into maps, it'll be a smooth ride to the top.

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Dragon585 wrote:

I will be around a little later to answer some of these questions. Few hours tops, I hope!

Thanks Dragon, appreciate it.
Looking forward for your reply.

Thanks again.

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nel0angel0 wrote:

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Dragon585 wrote:

I will be around a little later to answer some of these questions. Few hours tops, I hope!

Thanks Dragon, appreciate it.
Looking forward for your reply.

Thanks again.

Also i would like to ask you how do u have 18,5k armor?
Is it with granite on?
If yes, how much u got without granite?
I ask this because i have almost the same gear in armor value with your gear as you show in the first page and i got 4,5-5k armor without granite.
Ofc i dont have the LEather and Steel passive yet but i dont think would make SUCH a difference.
Can u explain this please too.

Thanks.

Lets get to it!

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nel0angel0 wrote:

Also i would like to ask you how do u have 18,5k armor?
Is it with granite on?
If yes, how much u got without granite?
I ask this because i have almost the same gear in armor value with your gear as you show in the first page and i got 4,5-5k armor without granite.
Ofc i dont have the LEather and Steel passive yet but i dont think would make SUCH a difference.
Can u explain this please too.

Thanks.

With no auras on I have 8721 armor. Level 16 Grace bumps this up to 11921. And finally, adding level 19 Determination bumps the total to 17881. With granites on, I am over 40k armor. This could possibly explain your death in Jungle Valley, but I have my doubts. I have not had a chance to do that map since the change, but I will be sure and fire one up tonight after I finish up here.

As to your other question about Anvil and Rainbow Strides... I haven't personally thought about it, though I have no doubt someone has already tried it. I am quite content with my setup and you know how the old saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

I do wish I had at least one of every unique though. That way I could try these things without wasting my precious currency. Though some of my gear suggests otherwise, I have VERY LITTLE currency in game. Most of my orbs go to rolling maps, and I still owe my friend Beng 13 more exalts for my Soul Taker.

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Nazaron wrote:

Hello,
I've been using your build for a while now, and had great success in taking down Piety on Merciless with it. I have one question in particular that I'd like to ask though. What is a good amount of Energy Shield to stop at? I've been trying to get the hybrid Arm/ES gear, but noticed that you only have 1 piece of it equipped. So, am I overdoing it? I have over 800 ES on my character, but I haven't gotten to take any passives for ES yet. I've got the idea in my head that the ES is almost like a replenishing HP bar. While it is very difficult for me to die (thanks to your build), there are still some things that really keep me worried. Scorched Earth, Chaos Damage, and heavy hitters (Brutus, Kole, etc.)

In all honesty, there are so many small variations of the build now that it depends completely on your level and gear. My current gear and build, I am pushing for the last 4% block and then more ES since I have taken all the easily accessible hp nodes and have sufficient armor for my needs.

I actually have 2 items with ES on them. My chest and shield. Right now, I am sitting at 1272 ES and am looking to get more in the very late endgame. But as I said above, this is only because I will have exhausted the other stats that I prefer... hp and block. That being said, the more the ES you have the merrier, but you WILL want to find a balance between ES and armor.

If I had to guess I would say 15k armor, as much hp as possible, and as much ES as possible are the goals. Granted more than 15k armor is always nice :) And yes, these are just best guesses, don't take them as the law.

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Nazaron wrote:

How do you cope with the heavy hitters? Also, I noticed that you took away your Unwavering Stance. Could you explain more on that decision? I know that with blocking the Unwavering stance only stops the animation from playing, but is that all it helps with? Isn't that like a stun in itself with you not being able to move?

My guess is that you block enough to avoid detrimental effects from the absence of Unwavering Stance, but I'd like to hear your reasoning for it. Thanks!

My decision to remove unwavering stance came from peer pressure. I was always told that in endgame you would die w/o this passive and I just took it for law since pretty much everyone told me the same thing. But then I got pressured lately by a few people to drop it and see how I felt about it. The results were surprising to me to say the least.

Let us be VERY CLEAR about it. Without Unwavering Stance you WILL get stunned A LOT. But here is the surprising part. It makes no difference whatsoever. While you are stunlocked your ES remains full due to the crazy block chance and Aegis Aurora. So, while extremely annoying at first, saving the points leading up to US is well worth it when you have the gear to survive being stunned repeatedly. This took some getting used to and at first I hated it, but once I realized being stunned posed no danger... I learned to ignore it.

For the heavy hitters, it is all about stacking defenses. Keep enfeeble on them, roll all your endurance charges before going in, and chain granite flasks. If this is not enough then you do not have enough armor and may want to consider investing in a 20/20 immortal call. I would get one of these anyways since it is pretty much the hard counter to vaal smash :)

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apparat07 wrote:

What are you block rates at now?

Currently sitting on 69% but will be spending the next 2 passives to finish with 73% which is close enough to cap for me. Once reaching this, my remaining points, if any, will be spent investing in more ES. I am also considering heading for Inner Force since the slight buff, but more than likely will not waste the points or ever reach the required level.

Running a JV map now. Planning to Fraps boss fight and see how I fare.

Hey Dragon, just wanted to add about getting stunned is that if you have any ES, and as long as it is not depleted, I am pretty sure you already have a 50% chance to avoid stuns. I honestly don't see myself being stunned much at all, but then again with this build you seem to kill fast enough to not really care too much.

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LoknarVelocity wrote:

Hey Dragon, just wanted to add about getting stunned is that if you have any ES, and as long as it is not depleted, I am pretty sure you already have a 50% chance to avoid stuns. I honestly don't see myself being stunned much at all, but then again with this build you seem to kill fast enough to not really care too much.

I didn't know that. Interesting. What took some getting used to for me was the charging mobs. Those seem to always stun when they hit. Doing a map full of rhoas or blackgaurds is really a test on my patience, but as you say it really isn't enough to be concerned about.

Oh, just in case, here's the source Dragon.

http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Energy_shield