Tank build and Dex/Katana build (for both sl80 and 100)

Hi there,

I've been thinking about new builds to try out and I've found out that I've never really played a hard hitting tank nor a dex/katana build.Here's what I've tried to build:

The Tank:
http://mmdks.com/3r2x (sl100)
http://mmdks.com/3r39 (sl80)

Dex/Katana:
http://mmdks.com/3r2y (sl100)
http://mmdks.com/3r2z (sl80)

I'm not so sure about the weapons though.Dragon Tooth was my first choice because I know that it can be a very hard hitting thing.Chaos Blade deals a lot of dmg,but has this little hp drain per successful hit (if I've understood correctly).

Would Uchigatana be a better choice?Or do you have generally better suggestions or some tips?

For the tank build, lower your strength to 40 and switch the Dragon's Tooth for the Large Club. Switch Havel's Greatshield for Giant's, Stone, or Black Iron Greatshield. Switch Tiny Being's Ring for Wolf Ring, and Havel's set for Steel armor. Hope this helps.

For the Dex/Katana, I don't even know. I rarely use katanas, and I am almost always on a quality build.

Oh,I forgot to say that I'd like to keep the havels set because of how it looks like!
But I'm not sure...does the steel armor make a better tank set?

It has better physical defense, and is significantly lighter. It also doesn't have a passive stamina leech like Giant's, Black Iron, Golem, Stone, Guardian, and Havel's sets.

Well, there are a few things I would like to note. Due to my experience in the forest for hosting with tank builds, I shall start with that one.

First off, never fat roll. It is a death sentence. Mid-roll is able to dodge most attacks and even roll-bs sometimes. Fat roll leaves you very open to attacks, and it is hard to get the most out of all the extra weight you will have. The extra poise you get from Havels isn't worth it, unless you are one of this maniacs that put wolf ring on as well to be able to tank two hits from an Ultra Greatsword two-handed.

Secondly, Dragon Tooth has no practical purpose other then aesthetics. It is heavier and does less damage then the other hammers, with it's only upside being that it never breaks. So switch to a Great Club or Large Club.

Thirdly, never wear tiny-beings ring. It sucks.

Fourthly(is fourthly even a word?), Havels shield isn't necessary. Is it effective? Yes. Worth ten whole points into strength? No. Stone Greatshield can get very similar results to Havels. Unless you want to use it and the Dragon Tooth for a full Havel cosplay, you shouldn't bother with the weapons.

Now here is the build I propose http://mmdks.com/3r4e Massive health, massive defense, better weapon, mid-rolls, and switch the spells a bit. Magic Barrier is a good choice, even though Stone Greatshield sucks up pursuers like they are nothing. But heal won't help you much. You won't be able to run away and use it in time for it to actually be worth it. By the time it heals you, they will have either backstabbed you or hit you for more damage then you healed, since you are at a low faith. Instead I put on force, which is good if people decide to try to get behind you a lot or you are being surrounded. It will give you at least a bit of breathing room. Also, if you switch the Great Club to Large club, and add one point to endurance, you can wield a mace also. Good for a back-up weapon.

Now for the dex one. Not much to say about it. Dex builds are piss-easy to make, and katanas hardly even need much poise to survive. Like the armor set-up as well. Just change the shield to Balder shield since you have the extra weight, or change the gloves to ones with more defense, then switch the Hollow shield for the Caduceus Kite shield. Better stability.

Oh wow,thanks for the long answer!And generally thanks you all for your help.
I like this build with giants,even with the stamina leech like Panda said.

But I am not sure what gloves to take for the dex build that would be better.Would Knight gaunlets+Cadeceus Kite Shield be a possibility?Or are the few points of poise even important?And are you still silent while moving without having this clirring sound of heavy armor while moving?

Valanor wrote:Oh wow,thanks for the long answer!And generally thanks you all for your help.
I like this build with giants,even with the stamina leech like Panda said.

But I am not sure what gloves to take for the dex build that would be better.Would Knight gaunlets+Cadeceus Kite Shield be a possibility?Or are the few points of poise even important?And are you still silent while moving without having this clirring sound of heavy armor while moving?

Any poise under 31 isn't worth it. The poise from the gauntlets isn't enough to take even a dagger hit.

Hm.I'm wondering because with the Knight Gauntlet I'd have 52 poise but would have to take the Cadeceus Kite Shield which is slighty worse than Balder Shield.With the Chester Gloves I'd have 46 poise and could be able to wear the Balder Shield.Now I'm not sure if those two numbers make the big difference or not.

Valanor wrote:Hm.I'm wondering because with the Knight Gauntlet I'd have 52 poise but would have to take the Cadeceus Kite Shield which is slighty worse than Balder Shield.With the Chester Gloves I'd have 46 poise and could be able to wear the Balder Shield.Now I'm not sure if those two numbers make the big difference or not.

Here is some more info on poise breakpoints.

Valanor wrote:Oh wow,thanks for the long answer!And generally thanks you all for your help.
I like this build with giants,even with the stamina leech like Panda said.

But I am not sure what gloves to take for the dex build that would be better.Would Knight gaunlets+Cadeceus Kite Shield be a possibility?Or are the few points of poise even important?And are you still silent while moving without having this clirring sound of heavy armor while moving?

I am not sure if you are silent, even with only gloves on that are of anything but light armor. I tried on a few armor combinations that you might like, trying to keep it as close to the original as possible. It wouldn't be worth it to have only knight gloves, as it would reach 52 poise, and there are no poise breaks one would want to obtain that are between 46 and 53. So here are some of the the ones that reach 53, which allows you to withstand a two-handed attack from a hammer or a greatsword.
http://mmdks.com/3r4w
http://mmdks.com/3r4y
http://mmdks.com/3r4z
http://mmdks.com/3r50

Thanks a lot for the efforts of finding the best suitable poise builds with this equip for me!I think I will have to try them all out to see what fits me most...The one with the Catarina leggings has definitely the most poise,but I was never a fan of the onion set. :PI am wondering though,why did you replace pyro with sorc and put intelligence points in there?IWouldn't you get the most dmg output with 40 dex?

Edit: Nevermind.I must have seen something else.

If you'd do the tank build you posted,Archmage,for sl80,what stats should I remove?Vitality?

I am admittedly bad at lower level builds, as I hardly touch anything under level 100 due to the fact I don't enjoy PvP much at that level. But here would be something I would do http://mmdks.com/3rip You lack your miracles now, but you will excel at your area better then most people at that level.

Ah well okay,I didn't think about removing the miracles...but I think that's the best way to remain effective with the build!Thanks