Stam DK Tank -> boon and traits?

gentomann · September 2016

Hi, my orc stam dk tank for dungeons/vdsa needs some new clothes. i wanna go 5 footman, 5 tava, 2 engine guardian/2 bloodspawn - might stick to engine guardian as i am lazy and 6% proc rate doesnt sound much to me. for traits, i use infused on big parts and dunno what do use on the others. reinforced?sturdy?divines? usually i go divines but i actually dont even know what mundus to use. right now i run serpent but is kinda useless due to blocking. i thought about atronach for more chains, but i am really not sure about that.

so tanks out there, what traits and mundus do you prefer?

Autolycus · September 2016

Atronach would be useful for you. The magicka recovery will enable you to cast skills like Igneous Shield more often too (other than chains, which is reason enough on its own for vDSA), which effectively allows you to trade magicka for stamina (Helping Hands passive). You could also use the Tower for stamina.

You don't really need Footman. I would sooner do 5 Tava's, 2 BS, 3 Agility (healthy or robust, optional) and 2 Endurance for your 1H&S. Blood Spawn is a lot more reliable than most people tend to give it credit for based on tooltips alone. Here is an excerpt from a post I made about Ultimate-Regen tanking. It's a bit out of context (and prior to knowing any of the sets in One Tamriel), so go here for the full post if you like:

I know it sounds like a low proc rate, but it's a 6% each time we take damage. I'd note here that the tooltip specifies "when being hit" but in practice, AoE damage and DoT effects can proc this too. I've stepped in and out of Kena's lightning walls intentionally to proc Blood Spawn to generate War Horns for damage phases. When we consider that best case scenario means we are getting hit by a large number of enemies, the proc on BS is virtually guaranteed. Worst-case scenario, there are no adds and only a single enemy attacking us once every second, on average. In this particular scenario, the proc rate on Blood Spawn is much closer to that of what the tooltip actually states, however we are still not accounting for DoTs. The end-result is one that caters to support tanks, rather than the Indomitable Wall; said tank could do better in terms of mitigation by using different sets, but BS is the cherry on top that completes the build. I've personally tried other combinations of sets, but in every scenario that ugly gargoyle is providing the most benefit to the group, at the very least given the possible combinations in today's game.

As for traits, I recommend doing Infused on your big pieces (chest, legs, head) and the others are at your discretion. A couple of sturdy pieces will benefit you if you don't have a lot of reduced block cost. Divines could be useful if your mundus is pertinent to your tanking build, but in most cases for tanks the mundus is mostly supplementary.

AverageJo3Gam3r · September 2016

Blood spawn procs constantly since its on any damage. It is BiS for DK tanks. More ultimate = more resources. Plus more warhorns means faster clears.

Also, footmans is garbage. It effectively mitigated ~2% damage. Don't waste a 5pc bonus on this. Use ebon armory if no one else in your group is using it. If they are, use akaveri dragon guard.

For traits, I'd go 8 sturdy if my blood spawn was perfect traits. Permablocking is easy on DKs with some sturdy pieces, and blocking mitigates waaaaay more damage than stacking resistances.

Tower trait for more stamina.

gentomann · September 2016

does the bloodspawn ulti gen not have a cooldown? looks like its a must-have if it doesnt.
i might think about footman again. ebon and dragon would be hard since i dont run trials at all..

xRIVALENx · September 2016

Personally I would swap out my Footmans for Desert Rose to keep my magicka bar topped up.

*Edit*

As for traits I would run sturdy or divines. No point in using reinforced when you can easily achieve 30k+ resistance without it. For Mundus I would roll with "The Ritual" or as Autolycus said, the Atronach stone. The Serpent really has no benefit when holding block, stamina recovery will come from heavy attacks and pots.

AverageJo3Gam3r · September 2016

You can buy ebon and dragon guard in guild stores. In 1T they'll be easier to get, too.

Brrrofski · September 2016

I go infused on big bits, sturdy on small.

Atronach mundus for magica recovery. I sit at around 1500 magica recovery

gentomann · September 2016

thanks for now guys. what i should have said is that it is now and will be a low-cost build(anyone remembers the poorman in diablo II? good ol times), so ebon is definately out - just checked the prices, thats too expensive

Autolycus · September 2016

gentomann wrote: »

thanks for now guys. what i should have said is that it is now and will be a low-cost build(anyone remembers the poorman in diablo II? good ol times), so ebon is definately out - just checked the prices, thats too expensive

The recommendation I made earlier - 2 BS, 5 Tava's Favor, 3 Agility and 2 Endurance - is a very low-cost approach to DK tanking, at least compared to what you'll pay for something like Akaviri Dragonguard or WW Hide. Use healthy Agility rings instead of robust to further limit the cost (and may be the preferable trait anyway). Endurance, although it may differ between platforms, was 5k or less per sword and per shield, last I checked.

gentomann · September 2016

Autolycus wrote: »

gentomann wrote: »

thanks for now guys. what i should have said is that it is now and will be a low-cost build(anyone remembers the poorman in diablo II? good ol times), so ebon is definately out - just checked the prices, thats too expensive

The recommendation I made earlier - 2 BS, 5 Tava's Favor, 3 Agility and 2 Endurance - is a very low-cost approach to DK tanking, at least compared to what you'll pay for something like Akaviri Dragonguard or WW Hide. Use healthy Agility rings instead of robust to further limit the cost (and may be the preferable trait anyway). Endurance, although it may differ between platforms, was 5k or less per sword and per shield, last I checked.

yeah thats an interesting approach, but i think each of the 3pc bonuses from agility and endurance are not very useful

Liofa · September 2016

Atronach for mundus . Infused on big , Sturdy on small pieces .

Standart setup for a tank is , 5 tava's + 5 alkosh + 2 blood spawn .

I know you probably don't have Alkosh so you can run like this :

3 Transmutation (1h/s both bars and necklace)

2 Endurance or Agility rings depending on which resource you need .

Unless you play like someone who just began ESO and jumped to dungeons as a tank , you will never run out of resources . Both Magicka and Stamina .

Good luck !

Autolycus · September 2016

gentomann wrote: »

Autolycus wrote: »

gentomann wrote: »

thanks for now guys. what i should have said is that it is now and will be a low-cost build(anyone remembers the poorman in diablo II? good ol times), so ebon is definately out - just checked the prices, thats too expensive

The recommendation I made earlier - 2 BS, 5 Tava's Favor, 3 Agility and 2 Endurance - is a very low-cost approach to DK tanking, at least compared to what you'll pay for something like Akaviri Dragonguard or WW Hide. Use healthy Agility rings instead of robust to further limit the cost (and may be the preferable trait anyway). Endurance, although it may differ between platforms, was 5k or less per sword and per shield, last I checked.

yeah thats an interesting approach, but i think each of the 3pc bonuses from agility and endurance are not very useful

Saying this from personal experience? The phrase "not very useful" is simply not an appropriate way to describe their use in a DK tank build. These sets are being used to clear vMoL and the various hardmode bosses in all trials, and there is a reason they are still being used. At the end of the day, it's up to you. But I would still urge you to try it before you write it off. At the very least, they are a superior option to Footman, and cheaper too.

When One Tamriel goes live, there will be better options. Also, the 3pc Endurance is unnecessary; what you want is 3pc Agility and 2pc Endurance (for the health). And of course, if tanking trials is not your thing, then none of this matters; you can do pretty much anything and still successfully tank a vet dungeon.

gentomann · September 2016

Autolycus wrote: »

gentomann wrote: »

Autolycus wrote: »

gentomann wrote: »

thanks for now guys. what i should have said is that it is now and will be a low-cost build(anyone remembers the poorman in diablo II? good ol times), so ebon is definately out - just checked the prices, thats too expensive

The recommendation I made earlier - 2 BS, 5 Tava's Favor, 3 Agility and 2 Endurance - is a very low-cost approach to DK tanking, at least compared to what you'll pay for something like Akaviri Dragonguard or WW Hide. Use healthy Agility rings instead of robust to further limit the cost (and may be the preferable trait anyway). Endurance, although it may differ between platforms, was 5k or less per sword and per shield, last I checked.

yeah thats an interesting approach, but i think each of the 3pc bonuses from agility and endurance are not very useful

Saying this from personal experience? The phrase "not very useful" is simply not an appropriate way to describe their use in a DK tank build. These sets are being used to clear vMoL and the various hardmode bosses in all trials, and there is a reason they are still being used. At the end of the day, it's up to you. But I would still urge you to try it before you write it off. At the very least, they are a superior option to Footman, and cheaper too.

When One Tamriel goes live, there will be better options. Also, the 3pc Endurance is unnecessary; what you want is 3pc Agility and 2pc Endurance (for the health). And of course, if tanking trials is not your thing, then none of this matters; you can do pretty much anything and still successfully tank a vet dungeon.

no offense, but i just dont see the sense of the weapon damage from 3pc agility. havent tried it but i dont know why this should be viable on a pve tank

Autolycus · September 2016

gentomann wrote: »

Autolycus wrote: »

gentomann wrote: »

Autolycus wrote: »

gentomann wrote: »

thanks for now guys. what i should have said is that it is now and will be a low-cost build(anyone remembers the poorman in diablo II? good ol times), so ebon is definately out - just checked the prices, thats too expensive

The recommendation I made earlier - 2 BS, 5 Tava's Favor, 3 Agility and 2 Endurance - is a very low-cost approach to DK tanking, at least compared to what you'll pay for something like Akaviri Dragonguard or WW Hide. Use healthy Agility rings instead of robust to further limit the cost (and may be the preferable trait anyway). Endurance, although it may differ between platforms, was 5k or less per sword and per shield, last I checked.

yeah thats an interesting approach, but i think each of the 3pc bonuses from agility and endurance are not very useful

Saying this from personal experience? The phrase "not very useful" is simply not an appropriate way to describe their use in a DK tank build. These sets are being used to clear vMoL and the various hardmode bosses in all trials, and there is a reason they are still being used. At the end of the day, it's up to you. But I would still urge you to try it before you write it off. At the very least, they are a superior option to Footman, and cheaper too.

When One Tamriel goes live, there will be better options. Also, the 3pc Endurance is unnecessary; what you want is 3pc Agility and 2pc Endurance (for the health). And of course, if tanking trials is not your thing, then none of this matters; you can do pretty much anything and still successfully tank a vet dungeon.

no offense, but i just dont see the sense of the weapon damage from 3pc agility. havent tried it but i dont know why this should be viable on a pve tank

The use of agility is primarily for the max stamina. The max stamina is more valuable for a DK because of the Helping Hands passive, which returns your stamina based on your max stamina, not a flat value. Also, Vigor scales with both max stamina and WD, so your self-healing potential is boosted by both.

The added health from Endurance isn't necessary for easier content, like veteran dungeons. If you tank vet trials (especially hardmodes), you need a larger health pool.

Anyway, if you don't want to use my recommendation, that's your prerogative. This is what many of the top-end DK tanks are using. Even non-DK tanks make use of Endurance and Agility gear, or in some cases, Endurance and Willpower. I only provided the recommendation because you asked for it. There are current DK tanking guides here on the forums that recommend the same things; it's your choice to do something else instead.

Savos_Saren · September 2016

On my Stam DK, I have: 2 Bloodspawn, 5 Black Rose (infused, prismatic enchants), and 5 Akaviri Dragonguard (jewelry, sword/board)

The Bloodspawn and Akaviri sets help keep the ultimates coming (Dragon Leap for solo funzies and Aggressive Warhorn for group content). You get Stam regen from Bloodspawn, Magic regen from Akaviri, and BOTH resource regens from Black Rose. Black Rose also compliments this build because it offers weapon AND spell damage... which, in turn, increases your heals and overall DPS for the group.

I'm looking forward to trying:

2 Bloodspawn, 5 Akaviri Dragonguard, 5 Knight's Errant

OR

1 Troll King, 1 Master's Sword, 5 Knight's Errant, 5 Akaviri Dragonguard

MaxwellC · September 2016

Just go 5 piece ebon,1 chudan. and 5 piece lunar bastion. Your synergies would give your allies shields mitigating their damage (quite sure there's no cool down too!).

Mundus honestly you can go stam recovery, health, or stamina as it'll benefit you for tanking solely but even as a tank who has tanked all vet trials (even maw when it worked) I still have a weapon damage mundus because I'm too lazy to switch XD

acw37162 · September 2016

Sturdy - Harder fights or multiple bossss juggling you at once this is easily the best trait for tanks just for easing the stamina burden

Atronach - Magica regens while blocking stamina does not. DK can consisatntly trade magic for stamina while shielding themselves unless your going for damage tank set up then Thief.

Tavas - Bloospawn all by itself is a beast setup

Add Dragon (can be expensive, hard to farm or find) or

Werewolf Hide (can be hard to find) medium set so jewelry is robust which is another reason you could run attonach over tower.

My personal favorite setup is an adaptation of @Gilliamtherogue 'a Night Blade sap tank; 5 Tavas - 5 Baharas curse - Bloodpsawn. The self healing from Baharas especially with more the one enemy up is *** good.

There is also a gear setup in the new patch where you could get 8 - 10 K Health Regen.

Brrrofski · September 2016

gentomann wrote: »

Autolycus wrote: »

gentomann wrote: »

Autolycus wrote: »

gentomann wrote: »

thanks for now guys. what i should have said is that it is now and will be a low-cost build(anyone remembers the poorman in diablo II? good ol times), so ebon is definately out - just checked the prices, thats too expensive

The recommendation I made earlier - 2 BS, 5 Tava's Favor, 3 Agility and 2 Endurance - is a very low-cost approach to DK tanking, at least compared to what you'll pay for something like Akaviri Dragonguard or WW Hide. Use healthy Agility rings instead of robust to further limit the cost (and may be the preferable trait anyway). Endurance, although it may differ between platforms, was 5k or less per sword and per shield, last I checked.

yeah thats an interesting approach, but i think each of the 3pc bonuses from agility and endurance are not very useful

Saying this from personal experience? The phrase "not very useful" is simply not an appropriate way to describe their use in a DK tank build. These sets are being used to clear vMoL and the various hardmode bosses in all trials, and there is a reason they are still being used. At the end of the day, it's up to you. But I would still urge you to try it before you write it off. At the very least, they are a superior option to Footman, and cheaper too.

When One Tamriel goes live, there will be better options. Also, the 3pc Endurance is unnecessary; what you want is 3pc Agility and 2pc Endurance (for the health). And of course, if tanking trials is not your thing, then none of this matters; you can do pretty much anything and still successfully tank a vet dungeon.

no offense, but i just dont see the sense of the weapon damage from 3pc agility. havent tried it but i dont know why this should be viable on a pve tank

Neither did I, so used 2 agility.

I then got a few aspect of mazzatun pieces. Neck, feet, belt. 2 blood spawn, 5 Tava's, 2 and 3 mazzatun is what I use. Fury 3 piece is the same I believe (health and stam).

Brrrofski · September 2016

gentomann wrote: »

Autolycus wrote: »

gentomann wrote: »

Autolycus wrote: »

gentomann wrote: »

thanks for now guys. what i should have said is that it is now and will be a low-cost build(anyone remembers the poorman in diablo II? good ol times), so ebon is definately out - just checked the prices, thats too expensive

The recommendation I made earlier - 2 BS, 5 Tava's Favor, 3 Agility and 2 Endurance - is a very low-cost approach to DK tanking, at least compared to what you'll pay for something like Akaviri Dragonguard or WW Hide. Use healthy Agility rings instead of robust to further limit the cost (and may be the preferable trait anyway). Endurance, although it may differ between platforms, was 5k or less per sword and per shield, last I checked.

yeah thats an interesting approach, but i think each of the 3pc bonuses from agility and endurance are not very useful

Saying this from personal experience? The phrase "not very useful" is simply not an appropriate way to describe their use in a DK tank build. These sets are being used to clear vMoL and the various hardmode bosses in all trials, and there is a reason they are still being used. At the end of the day, it's up to you. But I would still urge you to try it before you write it off. At the very least, they are a superior option to Footman, and cheaper too.

When One Tamriel goes live, there will be better options. Also, the 3pc Endurance is unnecessary; what you want is 3pc Agility and 2pc Endurance (for the health). And of course, if tanking trials is not your thing, then none of this matters; you can do pretty much anything and still successfully tank a vet dungeon.

no offense, but i just dont see the sense of the weapon damage from 3pc agility. havent tried it but i dont know why this should be viable on a pve tank

Neither did I, so used 2 agility.

I then got a few aspect of mazzatun pieces. Neck, feet, belt. 2 blood spawn, 5 Tava's, 2 and 3 mazzatun is what I use. Fury 3 piece is the same I believe (health and stam).

AverageJo3Gam3r · September 2016

Just wait for 1T. Dragon guard will drop in east march. Will be easy to farm from delves and dolmens.

Vangy · September 2016

5 tavas + 2 blood spawn + 3 potentates + masters sword + random shield
or
5 tavas + 2 blood spawn + 5 ebon
or
5 tavas + 2 blood spawn + 5 dragon.

All are viable and add a good boost to ur group via warhorn spam.

I use atro mundus for my stam DK. The extra mag regen is really helpful for using chains and talons etc. Traits on gear are either reinforced/infused/nirn depending on which piece. Sturdy/nirn better for small pieces. Infused good for big pieces with hakeijo in them. Reinforced is also good on big pieces to meet the max resist cap. Dont go over it tho. Rmb to account for buffs!