Modded Zahua Tank

[rfreeman57]

Hi all, I just started the White March DLC and really wanted to incorporate zahua into my party. I wanted him to take Eder's role as main tank.

 

The thought of an ascetic tank was just too much for me to resist. The tank is gonna take a beating, so why not make him the guy who uses pain as a pathway to enlightenment! Furthermore, monk looks to have some pretty cool CC abilities that may be a bit more interesting to play than Eder's fighter class.

 

Anyway, it's pretty obvious that using zahua with the attributes he comes programmed with wasn't going to cut it, as he was balanced around dps. So I used the console commands to change his attributes to better suit a tank. I also replaced mortification of the soul with defender.

 

I'm currently using:

 

lvl7

mgt 8

con 18

dex 13

per 11

int 10

res 17

 

for reference, here's his stats without the modification.

 

unmodded lvl7

mgt 17

con 14

dex 13

per 11

int 10

res 12

 

Using a stiletto with life drain, a shield, and heavy armor, he still feels feels considerably squishier than eder was. This could just be the area I was in (russetwood has some pretty heavy hitting trolls and ogres), but regardless I'd like to get you guys opinions on how to create this custom monk main tank build. Seems really fun if I can get it working the way i want!

 

Thanks for any input.

[HawkSoft]

My view?

Your companion is no longer Zahua, why not just grab a hireling, far less work

[rfreeman57]

Looks like I didn't ask a specific question. I'm looking to tweak his attributes to better suited a tank playstyle. I'm keeping Zahua due to story reasons, but the question works the same if I was to get a hireling. Which attributes are most important for tank, can I dump might completely? It significantly hurts fortitude, so I was hesistant.

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

Honestly his unmodded stats are fine for a tank i think. The "akagi" build from here is what ive been using with him and it works fine on PotD:  http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=416939844

 

I have been playing the 3.0 beta which gives him three more points of CON.

Edited February 1, 2016 by Dr. Hieronymous Alloy

[Blades of Vanatar]

You don't necessarily need high RES to tank. 14 is plenty. Items/Inns/Food/Salty Mast Whores help build it up in game. Add those points right back into Might. Tanks can also DPS a bit as well. Otherwise the enemy will just bypass you for your squishies in the back row.

 

Give him Heavier Armour, a Retaliation Shield and either his fist or any other One hander. I like the Vile Loner's Lance personally. Easily obtained in the early game. Or Resolution, also easily obtained early on.

 

You don't need to pick all defensive talents. There is a sweet spot in the balance between über tank and tanky DPSer. I like taking W & S then add offensive abilities and talents that complement your weapon choice.

 

If you make him a Tanky DPSer then just toughen the other guys up a bit so Zah can draw aggro.

[rfreeman57]

Thanks for the link to the akagi build! I'll try it after work today.

[HawkSoft]

*Tank* is probably not the most suitable term for PoE as defensive blockers need to have a reasonable damage output or the enemy AI will just ignore them and pulp your squishies. Might be better to think of them as maulers that tie up the enemy heavy hitters and grind them down.

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

Also, don't forget equipment. *Anybody* can be a good tank if you give them the Sanguine Plate and the Shod-in-Faith boots, and for that type of tanking you actually want medium to low Res (combined with high DR and high Con, which Zahua has).

[AndreaColombo]

Imho the best build to use with Zahua is KDubya's Juggernaut. (Zahua's stats are pretty good for that.)

[Gutbuster]

Imho the best build to use with Zahua is KDubya's Juggernaut. (Zahua's stats are pretty good for that.)

 

I'll chime in on this. My latest 2 potd playthroughs have both used the Juggernaut build on Zhaua.

[rfreeman57]

Thanks for all the input! I'm going to try out some of those builds now. I'll let you know what I decide in case anyone is interested.

[rfreeman57]

Played around with several builds and ended up choosing something similar to akagi.

 

Might 16

Con 18

Dex 12

Per 11

Int 7

Res 13

 

Seemed to be a good balance of damage output and survivability while still taking enough hits to quickly accumulate wounds. Thanks for all the help guys!

 

Definitely having a good time with this playstyle and enjoying zahua as a character so far, though they seem to make his philosophical nature seem a bit more silly than I was hoping for.

[Mocker22]

I disagree with your stat choices entirely. No might means he won't be able to hold agro. Remember that in this game you need to do some damage to keep mobs attention. Also for even a tanky monk I wouldn't go above 10 res. Remember that you WANT to get hit and take some damage so you can use abilities.