Companion TANK: Azandar or Bastian?

ADarklore

Right now I have Bastian as my main tank, and on PTS I had him set with Vigorous Heavy armor and Quickened jewelry and weapons while also running Telvanni Efficiency crafted set and he could tank everything and anything without dying. However, I like it that Azandar gives shields and buffs to the player, which IMO seems like it would make him a better tank than Bastian; Bastian's tank skills offer nothing to the player.

So I'm curious how many players are going to be using Azandar as a tank after Necrom launches, and what build will you be using? Or will players remain with Bastian or Isobel as a tank?

Update: Oops, forgot that Bastian's Basalt Barrier does offer a damage shield to players.

deejayvee

I've got Bastion set up as a tank and have switched Isobel to be a tank. So I think I will use Sharp as a second ranged dps (with Ember) and Azander will join Mirri in the heals/support role.

Snamyap

Azandar has no 20% damage reduction skill far as I know.

ADarklore

Snamyap wrote: »

Azandar has no 20% damage reduction skill far as I know.

Sure he does, it's called Ritual of Salvation found in the Fighters Guild line.

phaneub17_ESO

I don't count Basalt Barrier, it usually breaks in one hit and you lose out on the healing bonus that comes with it making it kind of useless in most situations. If the healing bonus persisted for the full 6 seconds then it would actually be something worth slotting, for now though its a cast and gone by the next incoming attack. Drake's Blood both reduces damage taken and heals him making it the best tanking ability out of all of them. I usually put Kindle after that, if does drop down a second time its a back up, the only problem with this ability is he can waste it on someone else nearby.

Damage Reduction > Damage Shield. Azandar has two Damage Shield abilities, both are dependent on different stats with one based on his max health and the other on weapon power. Damage Shields don't take into account armor mitigation or damage reduction so they are consumed quickly because they take full damage. In most 1 on 1 boss fights its fine, its when he starts taking on multiple targets is when both shields get depleted very quickly. You want them to have at least 2 Damage Reduction effects, they stack multiplicatively. Ritual of Salvation secondary condition is additive to its own base effect making it stronger than 2 separate damage reduction effects.

Sharp-as-Night is currently the best second choice tank for me. Snow Squall heal is based on his max health for both components, the burst heal and the heal over time; it also only targets himself. There's no wasted cast like with Kindle, Quick Fix, or Blessed Sacrament; also no disappearing from battle like with Twilight Mantle. Cold Snap damage is also affected by his max health, but that's just weird as it's not really a tanking ability from a companion's standpoint, but I guess they did it for completion sake to match the player's version.

Sleet Mail provides both a damage reduction effect and a weaker Major Resolve. I've heard some people say his Major Resolve is flawed or a "bug" for being so weak with 1802 additional armor not the standard 5948. As far as I know, no player's sourced version of Major Resolve can affect companions. His lower Major Resolve cannot over-write a player's version of Major Resolve from what I've seen. If you don't have your own Major Resolve then he provides you with one and it can stack with player's Minor Resolve.

The amount of armor Sleetmail provides is enough to get him to maximum armor cap with the best possible companion items equipped with a shield without the need for player's sourced Minor Resolve which can come from Blessing of Protection from the Restoration Staff skill line. Alternatively you can choose not to use a shield using dual-wield, two-handed, or an Ice Staff with Sleet Mail and Minor Resolve while still reaching companion's maximum armor cap too. If I were to dual-wield tank for example I could have Sleetmail, Ritual of Salvation, and Razor Cape; tripling his damage reduction effects and still have room for Snow Squall and one other ability.

ADarklore

I just tested Azandar with 7x Heavy Bolstered and Quickened weapons (1H/Shield)/jewelry with me in Order's Wrath and Telvanni Efficiency.

I ran him with Abor's Aug. Ward, Scathing Rune, Ritual of Salvation, Shields of Erudition and Zone of Recuperation. He never struggled once. In fact, he seemed to handle things a lot better than Bastian. His constant throwing out shields and heals to me along with buffs from Recuperation were definitely helpful as well.

I ran him against multiple world bosses, several of those had multiple bosses, I also ran through Crypt of Hearts I, and he handled everything like a champ.

phaneub17_ESO

Do what works for you just keep in mind while PTS gives you access to all possible options, stay realistic with what you have available to you on Live.

ArchMikem

Companions can wear crafted sets now?

phaneub17_ESO

ArchMikem wrote: »

Companions can wear crafted sets now?

Well, there's a coming crafted set that you wear with the set bonus granting companions 50% quickened.

ADarklore

phaneub17_ESO wrote: »

Do what works for you just keep in mind while PTS gives you access to all possible options, stay realistic with what you have available to you on Live.

Yes, and I've been trying to do relative calculations based on purple gear on PTS and my blue gear on Live. But a couple percents here and there won't make or break a build. A drastic drop sure, but thankfully there isn't a ton of difference between blue and purple.

disintegr8

Why bother asking a question in 'General' that is only relevant to people with access to PTS?

Please let people find out for themselves when they get the content.