Sword and board tank

Hey, guys. So I am fairly new to the game and I believe I understand the basics but I've been having trouble coming up with a shield tank build. And I've looked around everywhere for a decent one but they all seem pretty flawed. Can you guys help me out with this, I basically just want a super cookie cutter sword (or whatever) and board tank that basically can't die. I'm playing HC so I find this important and I have fun doing cookie cutter builds like this when I begin (it also helps me learn more). I also don't even have a clue which class to pick, marauder makes most sense to me but a templar is like a paladin I guess so a ton of aura stacking would probably help a lot...but then again a duelist have a lot of defensive stats so I'm at a loss.

Thanks for your time.

"

Zerocloud411 wrote:

Hey, guys. So I am fairly new to the game and I believe I understand the basics but I've been having trouble coming up with a shield tank build. And I've looked around everywhere for a decent one but they all seem pretty flawed. Can you guys help me out with this, I basically just want a super cookie cutter sword (or whatever) and board tank that basically can't die. I'm playing HC so I find this important and I have fun doing cookie cutter builds like this when I begin (it also helps me learn more). I also don't even have a clue which class to pick, marauder makes most sense to me but a templar is like a paladin I guess so a ton of aura stacking would probably help a lot...but then again a duelist have a lot of defensive stats so I'm at a loss.

Thanks for your time.

I dont think there are any builds that "dont die" because everybody would play them. Stack health, res, armor and get some life on hit....best odds you can get.

oh and start praying to a random religious figure for a Kaom's.

there are not * i can never die * builds here in PoE.The best build it would come near to that is the EK (etheral knives) marauder but yeah u will have to pray to some random god to get a Kaom chest which is the tankiest item u can ever have.

http://devmoon.se/poe/characters/acassis/

This is a fairly solid 1H & Shield Duelist - I've used it up to level 55 (died to poor gear and Merciless Kuduku point-blanking me while slightly desynched). You'll have to be a little adaptive, but you can start using the main attack (cyclone) right at level 24 (though you'll have to be pretty careful with mana management - personally I used a mana leech gem for a good while before switching into pure dps).

Also, cyclone is notoriously a bit desynch-y, so you'll want to watch out for that. It is a very survivable build, though; I rarely go under 80% HP and my gear is mediocre. (I recommend a Mightflay for when you hit 35 - they're really cheap to buy and super strong for the level)

Stack block chance + evasion + armor, this wil be best suited for ure sword/board character.

Also like previuesly mentioned there are no "imortal" builds in PoE

Armor = great for small hits, sux for big hits
Evasion = sux for small hits, great for big hits
Block% = great all around but doesnt work vs DoT's ore aoe ground spells (also u need to use %block chance aplied to spells, from certain unique items)

Armor max value is 95% if i am not mistaken (dont get dreamy u wil never reach this amount)
Evasion also maxed at 95% i think (same shit here)
Block value is maxed at 75% (both for hits/spells)

Endurance charges wil grant 5% mitigation(armor %)
Blind suport gem wil greatly improve ure evasion% vs mobs
Block % can't be manipulated.

One thing to take into consideration is the evasion mechanics (check the mechanics thread for how it operates) and how they interact with block%, ure evasion wil reset everytime u block a mob greatly increasing its potential.

Thank you for all of your responses. I was obviously exaggerating about the can't die, I just meant as tanky as it can get, within reason. And yea Koam would make anybody tanky but I'd like to be so without needing it.

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgEBAecCcQSzBS0GOQz3Dq0S4RQgGNsZLhoyGjgaVSFgJCUn7Si1KaUt0jboOtg8LUCgQ5xPfVBHUFBRYFRJVw1YY1nzXz9gS2CIYSFhUmSjZp5wfXKpdO108XnAeu98u3zZgFaE74zPkFWRzp65ns2fy6C0ogCnMKeEqZWsqrndu-3AGsT2xYrGrsbY0iHUj9lh51LnY-nV7Dju2e8O707wH_Iv8kX2SPe--6r-Cg==

this is a build I came across just now, I'm not sure how it fares but it seems pretty solid. I don't know why he didn't take the extra elemental resists and armor though.

http://www.thehealthygamer.com/2013/01/26/path-of-exile-lightning-strike-templar-build-mace-shield/

I also came across that templar build, I like the playstyle it suggests but again I don't know if it is really effective.

@RulerofAsgard that actually does seem very interesting. Thank you.

I just looked at that build u linked and it is flawed, mainly i think because ure going Resolute technique, since ure going 1H ure dps wil already be gimped so u really have to be able to crit to deal some damage. also the path isent fully max/minned.

It would greatly help to know what 1h weapon u want to use, also dev-moons builds are really wel suited for what ure thinking of.

"

Boem wrote:

I just looked at that build u linked and it is flawed, mainly i think because ure going Resolute technique, since ure going 1H ure dps wil already be gimped so u really have to be able to crit to deal some damage. also the path isent fully max/minned.

It would greatly help to know what 1h weapon u want to use, also dev-moons builds are really wel suited for what ure thinking of.

Well yes but considering the terrible accuracy of such a build wouldn't you want RT? I also have seen Krip talk a lot about how RT is always worth taking for any melee build in HC but I don't know enough to argue either way. And what are dev-moons builds?

Also I found an updated version of the templar one, it seems pretty fun http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_187628&feature=iv&src_vid=uwxOR0yRdIw&v=cS0JvEp8mXE Does it seem effective?

I modified his build a bit and added some marauder and duelist nodes, definately needs work but what do you guys think

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgUBAnEEswUtBVsOPA6tFE0UcRjbGS4aMho4IWAn1SftKLUpLimlMok1hjpSOrM62D38QKBBqkNjQ5xEnkbXSn1N2E99UFBRYFO7VElWBFfiWGNY9VnzW69dxl8_YEtgbWCIYVJmnmegcH1xTXKpdO108Xfleu98uHzZgFaDOIZgh3aLjIx2jM-QVZrPnYCdqp3En8uiAKeEqZWsqrBztzG5zbndv9XAGsRYxtjUj90N3fPhc-dS7Djstu0g7w7vTvAf8fTyL_ZI9zL46_zF