Tank (v3.0): When Push Comes to ... Daze

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Disclaimer: Well it has been over a year since Tank (v2.0): When Push Comes to Shove was last updated and there have been many new options for him introduced in Martial Power 2 (MP2) and Player's Handbook 3 (PHB3).  This time around I am going to attempt to write Tank as more of a guide than a specific build, because there are many, many choices out there depending on what you as a player desire.  That being said, by the end of this "guide" you will see exactly how I envision Tank and also have a good amount of discussion on other available options.  Because I am writing this as a guide and not just a build I will be using the standard color rating system; although you will mostly only see blue, sky blue, and gold options discussed.  Also, because this is more of a guide, Tank is completely gear independent and has many various options for the player to choose from so that you can tailor him to your playstyle.  That being said though, no matter what you are going to end up with a fighter that is tougher than your average bear, smashes his opponents senseless, pushes foes across the battlefield, and is most importantly fun to play.  Enjoy.

Tank (v3.0): When Push comes to ... Daze
Dwarf Fighter (Battlerager) / Iron Vanguard / Demigod


Tank


[u]Race[/u]
Dwarf - In my opinion, dwarf is the strongest choice for Tank, because it offers the greatest amount of defensive feats especially when playing a battlerager.  Due to all of Tank's pushes though, dragonborn is also a strong choice because of draconic arrogance.  Lightning breath dragonborns also can get a very nice close burst push with the right feat selection.  If you want to focus more heavily on DPR, then dragonborns are for you; if you want to focus more heavily on defense, then choose a dwarf.  I also, believe that throughout all feat selections and racial features, dwarves have a little bit more to offer and that's why I chose dwarf.  You may also want to pick any of the STR/CON races such as minotaur, goliath, or warforged; although I don't feel any of these have the feat support offer by dwarf.

Class
Fighter (PHB) (Battlerager) (MP) - Fighter is by far the best choice here; Fighters hit hard, are sticky, and tough.  Also, they have the best feat selection and a very good array of powers that use pushes and prones.  Furthermore, battlerager vigor makes fighters very, very hard to kill.  Another choice would be one-handed weapon talent as it raises your attack bonus which is very important and also gives access to the feat, forceful opportunist, which combines two feats into one that a battlerager would pick.  [color=Purple]Tempest[/color] and [color=Purple]two-handed[/color] are both not great choices, because Tank needs a shield to make most of his pushes possible, and his pushes become the most important part of him.  [b]Warden[/b] offers similar possibilities to a fighter and Tank could be created using the Warden; however, Fighter just does everything better with the exception of saving throws.

[u]Paragon Path[/u]
[color=Gold]Iron Vanguard[/color] (PHB) - Tank uses a lot of pushes and is meant to be both hard-hitting and tough, thus Iron Vanguard is the best choice.  Enduring Warrior actually recovers hitpoints and makes Tank even more survivable, while Trample the Fallen provides Tank with his highest bonus to damage output.  While, Frontline Surge lacks in the epic tier, the rest of the class is all very strong.  Dreadnought is another strong choice if you plan on focusing more defensively at the expense of your damage, and Unfailing Resorces is amazingly good, especially if your DM uses a lot of debilitating effects to deal with defenders.  In my opinion though, even if you plan on a more defensive character, Iron Vanguard is the better choice, because it gives you more pushes, which means more damage but also more stickiness and survivability in the epic tier.

[u]Epic Destiny[/u]
Demigod (PHB) - Really Demigod is the best choice here, but I left it sky blue, because there are so many other choices.  And truly, your Epic Destiny doesn't change nearly as much of your character as your class and paragon path, so it's hard to say that Demigod defines Tank.  Demigod is such a great choice, because it offers bonuses to both main attributes, a deathproof feature and a utility power that offers an insane amount of regeneration; and all of that is before we even consider Divine MiracleAdamantine Soldier is a good choice if you want to play more defensively; however, I would much rather just wear plate armor to gain damage resistance and save my epic destiny.  Eternal Defender is another decent choice, but frankly a lot of the features don't match up any better than Demigod and the utility power is completely wasted due to Hammer Rhythm.  Also, Undying Warrior is a surprisingly good choice.  While all the features and powers are meh at best, Undying Stamina is actually pretty good if you have long days without rest.  Tank also gets many ways to use his healing surges each encounter, so Undying Stamina wouldn't go to waste.  And finally, [color=SkyBlue]Reincarnate Champion[/color] is a great choice that allows you to dip into dragonborn racial feats such as [color=SkyBlue]draconic arrogance[/color], which are awesome.  However, be warned that you will have so many feat choices available that it might make you go crazy trying to figure out which ones to cut.  Reincarnate Champion is a good choice if you want to get a little bit more damage potential in your build.

[u]Ability Scores[/u]
Strength - Obviously the skill that dictates all of your attacks and most of your damage is the most important.  As a dwarf, I start with an 18 here and boost it every chance I get.  As a warforged, minotaur, or goliath you might want to start with a 16 before racial bonuses.
Constitution - Constitution is actually very close to being gold here, because it benefits your hitpoints, your temporary hitpoints, your damage, and many of your powers use it.  However, it is still less important than your ability to hit your targets.  As a dwarf, I start with a 14 before the racial bonus (16 after) here and boost it every chance I get.
Dexterity - It raises one of your defenses and also provides a bonus to initiative, but none of your feats or powers will use it, and you wear a shield to help with your reflex also.  I start with a 10 here.
Intelligence - This is your dump stat.  Absolutely nothing you use will benefit from it.  I start with an 8 here.
Wisdom - Wisdom provides a lot of bonuses for Fighters, and can become a secondary ability score, but Tank doesn't use any feats or powers that benefit from wisdom and so I only start with a 11 here before racial bonuses (13 after).  Depending on your feat selection you may want to raise this though.
Charisma - Charisma is another dump stat that doesn't benefit you at all and the only reason it isn't red is because some players might want to use intimidate.  I start with a 10 here.

[u]Skills[/u]
Athletics - You'll be using athletics a lot to help navigate the battlefield and it is one of the better choices for you, especially saying it plays off your main ability score.
Endurance - Endurance will help keep you alive in some skill encounters and provides access to some decent utility skill powers.  It also plays off one of your main ability scores.
Intimidate - Intimidate is my third choice and I choose it over [color=Blue]heal[/color] because of the the level 6 utility power, [color=Gold]Everybody Move[/color].  Everybody Move is an auto-hit, AoE push encounter power, which is just amazing for Tank to help with minions and also positioning.



[u]Feats[/u]
1: Weapon Expertise (Hammer) (PHB2) - From using a +2 proficiency weapon to missing your weapon talent, Weapon Expertise becomes even more important than it already is in some builds.  Taking this as your first feat helps you immediately balance out your low attack bonus.  Also, you must be using hammers in this build or you're doing something wrong.
2: Dwarven Weapon Training (PHB) - This feat provides a nice damage bonus for heroic tier and also allows you to use a craghammer, which really if you're going to use a hammer, you might as well use the biggest one you can find.  You can retrain this to [b]Weapon Focus (Hammer)[/b] at epic levels, but I personally just prefer using a craghammer.  I like taking this early on, because damage is always important no matter what level.
4: Dwarf Stoneblood (MP) - This is one of the reasons dwarves are a great choice for Tank.  At level 4, you'll be gaining 8 tHPs from your invigorating powers and at level 30, you'll be gaining 22 tHPs from them.  It's a very nice bonus to your survivability.
6: Shield Push (PHB) - Shield Push is already good by just allowing you to negate your opponents attack action against an ally, but at epic levels with the appropriate feats, it becomes even better.  As I've said, Tank revolves around pushing enemies and this is one more push.
8: Mobile Challenge (D378) - Mobile Challenge doesn't seem great by itself, but it is actually very important in this build to erase the biggest drawback of Shield Push.  The drawback of Shield Push is that you are moving your target to a nonadjacent square and therefore your stickiness decreases, because you can no longer hit your opponent.  Mobile Challenge remedies this by allowing you to shift after the target and remain sticky; it provides both stickiness and mobility.
10: Hammer Iron (PHB3) - This feat gives you another push; this time on opportunity attacks.  While not as beneficial as on combat challenges, it gets much better with feat support and Trample the Fallen, as you'll see.  As a note, you can retrain this to [color=Gold]Knockback Swing[/color] at epic tier, which does the same thing but also on a miss.
11: Opportunity Sidestep (PHB3) - Opportunity Sidestep is exactly the same fix for Hammering Iron that Mobile Challenge is for Shield Push.  At this point both your combat challenges and opportunity attacks are versions of Tide of Iron.
12: Hammer Rhythm (PHB) - This is one of your big damage boosts.  It also guarantees that you'll be doing some damage no matter what.  One of my favorite feats, because it makes you feel better about missing.
14: Dwarven Durability (PHB) - This is a great boost to your survivability by making your healing surges better and giving you more of them.  Another reason why dwarves are so great.
16: Hindering Shield (D385) - Here is a great feat.  It makes all of your forced movement slow the target also, which is good enough on its own.  But at epic levels, it becomes much, much better and serves as one of the must-have feats for this build.
18: Mighty Battlerage (MP) - This just provides a moderate bonus to your damage.  It's nothing spectacular but helps make Tank a little more threatening.  Also, as a note Defender of the Wild and Crippling Crush are a great way to get even more damage during the paragon, but their benefit is lost at epic levels when you will no longer be slowing enemies.  Furthermore, if you don't want to wear chainmail armor you can take Armor Proficiency (Plate) here so that you can start wearing tarrasque plate and getting damage restistance.
20: Dwarven Recovery (MP2) - Tank suffers from a lack of saving throw support and this feat helps remedy that.  This feat gets even [color=SkyBlue]better[/color] at epic levels with the right feat support.
21: Overwhelming Impact (MP2) - This is the best feat this build has, and if there was a color above [color=Gold]gold[/color], I would use it.  At this point, your at-will Tide of Iron, opportunity attacks, and combat challenges all daze your target.  Daze reduces your enemy to one action per round, which makes you more sticky and better at surviving, because you'll take less damage.  If your mark tries to move away, you daze it and end its turn without ever letting it move.  It if shifts away, you daze it and ends its turn.  If it attacks your ally, you push it away negating the attack and daze it ending its turn.  Overall, you become very, very sticky.
22: Epic Recovery (MP) - This gives you a third wind, which has its own benefits, but also synergizes very nicely with Dwarven Recovery.
24: Dual Challenge (MP2) - As if you weren't sticky enough, you can now mark even more enemies, which is very nice saying that your powers will tend to gravitate towards single target attacks.
26: Stoneheart Warrior] (MP) - It might not seem that great saying you are already only using a minor action to use second wind, but a free action allows you to use it on anyone's turn.  For example, an enemy can deal a lethal blow just to have you retort by using second wind immediately before and either making the attack miss or give you enough hitpoints to endure it.
28: Bludgeon Mastery (PHB) - Here we have a nice damage boost.  Tank doesn't have a lot of abilitys that trigger off of critical hits, but it is still beneficial in increasing damage.
30: Martial Resolve (MP) - A great feat that I wish I could fit in sooner.  Daze, stun, immobolize and weaken are some of the greatest enemies of a defender and this helps remedy them.  Used with Epic Recovery and Stoneheart Warrior, it becomes even better.

[u]At-Will Powers[/u]
Tide of Iron (PHB) - Tide of Iron allows for a lot of battlefield control and can allow you to completely disable enemies by pushing them over ledges or at least knock them prone.  At epic levels, it becomes an at-will push and daze that deals CON damage.  This is your best power, but at heroic tier you may want to use Brash Strike instead as it will do more damage at the sacrifice of a little control.
Crushing Surge (MP) - Here is your endless pool of tHPs.  At level 4, it will give you 8 tHPS; and at level 30, it will provide 22 tHPs, which is over 10% of your maximum hitpoints.  Some players might stay away from this and take Brash Strike instead; however, I believe that if you are going to play a battlerager, you should try to take full advantage of it by taking as many invigorating powers as possible.

[u]Encounter Powers[/u]
1: Hack and Hew (MP2) - Here is a great example of why I started liking battleragers again after MP2 came out.  It's a dual mark and offers two guaranteed attacks and is invigorating too.  A much better choice than any other low-level invigorating powers, but powers like [color=Blue]Passing Attack[/color] and Shield Bash are still worthy contenders.
3: Bull Charge (MP2) - Another nice power from MP2.  It offers a good amount of utility by pushing and proning, and it's invigorating.  Also, after Trample the Fallen it deals a good amount of damage.  Compared to all other powers of the level, it is the clear choice.
7: Echoing Assault (PHB) - Here we have a power that doesn't fit that much thematically but offers a lot of damage for a level 7 encounter power especially with a bonus from CON.  Bloody the Field is another good choice if you don't feel you need any burst powers; but it loses usefulness while [color=Blue]Come and Get It[/color] gains it at later levels.
11: Frontline Surge (PHB) - For the next 9 levels, this is somewhat nice, but at epic levels it becomes just a slightly better version of Tide of Iron.  Alas, it's here to stay though.
13: Crumpling Slam (MP) - Replaces Hack and Hew.  Now this is a power that starts off with nice utility, but after gaining Trample the Fallen, it becomes very, very damaging for the level.  It's also an invigorating power.  Both [color=Blue]Anvil of Doom[/color] and [color=Blue]Appalling Crunch[/color] are strong contenders, but in my opinion neither offers as much bonus through damage and utility as Crumpling Slam.
17: Minotaur's Charge (MP2) - Replaces Bull Charge.  This is just a complete upgrade to Bull Charge without sacrificing anything.  And while there are other push powers at this level, there are no others with all push, prone, and invigorating.
23: Colossal Strike (PHB) - Replaces Echoing Assault.  Another fully beneficial replacement.  A strong pushing attack that also prones the target.  Both [color=Blue]Behemoth Wrath[/color] and [color=Blue]Warrior's Urging[/color] are worthy contenders.
27: Behemoth Wrath (MP2) - Replaces Crumpling Slam.  It was good at level 23, and it is still good at level 27.  However, if you feel that you need more multitarget attacks then both [color=SkyBlue]Invigorating Fury[/color] and [color=SkyBlue]Cruel Reaper[/color] are great choices.  Cruel Reaper is the most damaging power you can select at this level, but Invigorating Fury ensures that the majority of your encounter powers are invigorating.

[u]Daily Powers[/u]
1: Driving Attack (MP2) - A very nice daily from MP2; double push and prone plus invigorating.  This power is one of the most damaging for the level and stays competitive once you get Trample the Fallen.  [color=Blue]Unstoppable Advance[/color] is a nice choice, but is replaced by feats at level 11, and lacks it's fully usefulness until much later.  Also, [color=SkyBlue]Villain's Menace[/color] is very nice, but Tank lacks many of the multiattack powers that make it truly great.
5: Cometfall Charge (MP) - This power has good damage, but that's about it.  [color=SkyBlue]Bedeviling Assault[/color] is probably a better choice for saving against a solo encounter, but I made the choice aesthetically here as Cometfall Charge is more thematic.
9: Bone Crusher (MP2) - Here we have a nice power for killing a solo boss.  Here we have another invigorating power too.  If you are looking for a multitarget daily than [color=SkyBlue]Terrifying Impact[/color] provides much more multitarget control.  Alternatively, [color=Blue]Victorious Surge[/color] yields a great form of healing, although at this level you'll already be hard enough to kill.
15: Boulder Charge (MP) - Replaces Cometfall Charge.  Here we have a power that takes full advantage of pushing.  If used correctly, it can damage, prone, and daze several targets while allowing you a direct path to the deadliest target.  It's also an invigorating power, which is nice.  [color=SkyBlue]Unyielding Avalance[/color] is another strong choice both defensively and offensively and provides a good amount of control.
19: Relentless Assailant (MP) - Replaces Driving Attack.  Here we have a very nice healing power that still deals adequate damage.  If you are looking for a sticky solo power then pick [color=SkyBlue]Strike of the Watchful Guard[/color]. and if you desire more area of effect then [color=SkyBlue]Devastation's Wake[/color] is a very good choice.
20: Indomitable Strength (PHB) - A power with a push, prone, daze, and a healing surge sounds good to me.  Saying we're stuck with it, it's a good one to be stuck with.
25: Earthquake Smash (MP) - Replaces Bone Crusher.  We have another nice area control power.  Now it's not a great power saying it doesn't push and therefore daze the secondary targets, but the main target gets dazed and everyone else is knocked prone.  It's also an invigorating power and the other strong choices are mostly just other group marks.
29: Force the Battle (PHB) - Replaces Relentless Assailant.  There isn't any question here.  Force the Battle is the best daily power available and although it mgiht not seem like it fits Tank's theme, you have to remember that it is allowing him to use either an invigorating at-will or a pushing at-will very often.  Sounds like it fits perfectly.

[u]Utility Powers[/u]
2: Boundless Endurance (PHB) - A low-level regeneration that scales well through your career sounds like a perfect choice for your first utility power.  Also, there aren't that many other great choices at this level.
6: Everybody Move (PHB3) - I love this power.  It's an auto-hit, AoE push usable each encounter.  Unbreakable is a good choice; however, is viable if your party doesn't like taking extended rests.  Everybody Move has a lot more uses in my opinion though.
10: Reactive Surge (PHB3) - Helps give you another way to spend a healing surge each encounter, which is much better than Defensive Resurgence, which was the previous healing utility power for this level.  At this point, you probably won't need a leader to heal you anymore.
16: Fury's Resurgence (MP2) - Here we have a healing power that gets somewhat overshadowed by the last two utility powers, but makes up for it by offering a way to shrug off almost all ongoing conditions.  At level 30, you will only fail your saving throws granted by this power on a 1.
22: Inspired Resurgence (MP) - Another heal per encounter power.  At this point you are your own personal healer and as long as you have the healing surges to support yourself, you should not be dying any time soon.  [color=SkyBlue]Instant Getaway[/color] is nice if your DM tries to really disable defenders but no other utility power at this level matches Inspired Resurgence in terms of healing.
26: Divine Regeneration (PHB) - Regeneration 28 all encounter long.  Can't beat recovering 1/8th of your life every round for free.  And saying we don't have a choice here, it's a good power to end up with.

Equipment
[color=Gold]Chainmail Armor of Enduring Health[/color] - By the time you get this, you'll have 3 seconds winds per encounter.  That's a second wind, a third wind, and a fourth wind.
Chainmail Armor of Dwarven Vigor (AV2) - Not a great choice for a dwarf, but still has a slight benefit; it is definitely inferior to Dwarven Armor.
Dwarven Chainmail Armor (AV) - Regaining hitpoints as if you spend a healing surge is way better than actually spending a healing surge.
Chainmail Armor of Resistance (AV) - Nice if you are facing a dragon or anything else that might be using guaranteed elemental damage.
Meliorating Chainmail Armor (AV) - If you can keep moving in a day, this can grant a large bonus to AC.
Wall Chainmail Armor (AV2) - Can help deal a little extra damage with Trample the Fallen and mitigate damage, but nothing special here.
Chainmail Armor of Durability (AV) - Here we have a very nice armor for boosting your healing surge value, which as we've seen you can use a lot.

Distance Throwing Hammer (AV) - This is eventually a very nice item to have for when you can't reach your targets and the only choice is to throw a large bludgeoing object at them.
Aftershock Craghammer (AV2) - Here we can get a free prone, which means extra damage on a critical hit.
Defensive Craghammer (AV) - With two second winds per encounter this can grant some nice bonus to defense and allow easier interrupts with stoneheart warrior.
Foemaker Craghammer (AV) - Some nice bonuses to marking enemies and a little extra damage on criticals.
Thundering Craghammer (AV) - A daily push attack for when you don't already push and daze.  Not a horrible choice.
Avalance Craghammer (AV2) - A prone on critical hits and a bonus to charges makes this a good choice.
Knockback Craghammer (PHR:D) - Here is my favorite.  It's a push on critical hits, which means a daze and it also gives you the opportunity to control the entire battlefield by pushing enemies wherever you want them to go.

Iron Armbands of Power (AV) - Damage on every attack is usually always better than any encounter or daily power available.
Bracers of Defense (PHB) - These can save you 10 damage each day.  Nothing special, but not horrible either.
Diamond Bracers (AV) - These things are good.  You can gain damage resistance against whatever is hurting you the most in one encounter.
Bracers of Might Strike (PHB) - You'll be making more basic attacks than most classes, but these still are not as good as Iron Armbands of Power.

Boots of Rapid Motion (AV2) - These are nice boots for their level as they can make you faster and help you get out of an ongoing slow effect.
Boots of Free Movement (AV) - These boots are a better version of Boots of Rapid Motion by helping you get out of debilitating effects.
Rushing Cleats (AV) - Typically you won't want to push anyone more than one square, but it can be beneficial in some cases.
Steadfast Boots (AV) - If you have a good spot to defend, these can help increase your defense every encounter.
Battlestrider Greaves (PHB) - A bonus to speed helps make up for being a dwarf.
Boots of Speed (AV) - A +2 bonus to speed is better than a +1 bonus.
Boots of Teleportation (AV) - If you get them, enjoy 'em because they are really good.

Parry Gauntlets (AV) - These provide another bonus to defense whenever you use second wind.
Gauntlets of the Ram (PHB) - Once again, you usually won't want to push more than one square, but these can help when it is beneficial to knock someone off a ledge.  Strangely enough, these are my favorite gloves.
Strikebacks (AV) - A bonus to opportunity attacks and an extra MBA each encounter.
Gauntlets of Brutality (AV2) - If you manage to land an attack against one of the creatures you knocked prone, then this is a nice damage boost.

Casque of Tactics (AV) - Your initiative is not great and it helps if a defender has a higher initiative, so this is a good choice.
Helm of Opportunity (AV) - Due to a lower wisdom score, this helm really helps increase your stickiness by increasing your chance to hit with opportunity attacks.
Coif of Mindiron (AV) - This will help you shake off most daze and stun effects, which can be very problematic for you.
Hood of the Wolf (D364) - Gain Darkvision.  Enough said.
Coif of Focus (AV) - Similar to Coif of Mindiron in that it helps prevent dazes and stuns.

Amulet of Physical Resolve (AV) - This helps you shake off immobility effects, which can really be a problem for defenders.
Cloak of Distortion (AV) - This cloak can help you mitigate damage from targets you can't reach.
Cloak of the Walking Wounded (AV) - Here is my favorite choice.  Your second wind now heals over more than half your hitpoints.  This gets even better when you can use it twice per encounter.
Collar of Recovery (AV) - A boost to your healing surge value is always nice.
Life Charm (AV) - Automatically succeeding on death saving throws makes you much more difficult to kill.

Ring of Regeneration (PHB) - An extra healing surge, a bonus to your healing surge value and regeneration makes this a very nice choice.
Ring of Heroic Health (AV2) - A free healing surge and bonus hitpoints whenever you use an action point.
Ring of the Fallen (AV2) - More healing from your second wind and from healing surges during short rests is a nice bonus.
Ring of Ramming (AV) - Another bonus to the distance you can push your enemies.
Iron Ring of the Dwarflords (PHB) - Yet another way to gain a bonus healing surge.

Belt of Vigor (PHB) - A bonus to your healing surge value is nice if you don't already have it from another item.
Belt of Raging Endurance (D380) - An extra healing surge and damage resistance is a nice combination.
Belt of Blood (AV) - A large bonus to your healing surge value while bloodied.
Backbone Belt (AV) - A +4 Bonus to defense after a second wind is better than a +2 bonus.
Sash of Regeneration (AV2) - This is a really nice belt to gain some extra free hitpoints while bloodied.  A pretty good choice if you're not trying to boost your healing surge value.

[u]Tips, Tricks, and Strategies[/u]
When to Push 'em All In and When to Hold
Requires Tide of Iron, Shield Push, Hammer Iron, Opportunity Sidestep, Mobile Challenge. and Ring of Ramming, Knockback Hammer, Rushing Cleats, or Gauntlets of the Ram
Obtainable at level 11

A fighter needs to be close to his marks in order to make the mark very meaningful.  It's important, that is why Tank invests so many shiftings feats to balance his pushing feats.  If you want to lockdown a target, you will want to shift after a push and stay close to them.  However, sometimes it's more beneficial - or beneficial in a different way - to actually push an enemy far away from you.  That is why items such as a Knockback Hammer is useful.  If you have the opportunity to push an enemy off a ledge and out of the fight, then you have the option to.  If you push several enemies at a time and can push them far enough, you'll be able to position them on the battlefield better.  You can push enemies into dangerous zones around the battlefield or anything else you can think of.  It's important to know when you want to stay with your target or if you can contribute more by pushing them a few extra squares.  Having the proper feats and item choices helps ensure that you can do either when it is most appropriate.

When Push Comes to ... Daze
Requires Tide of Iron, Shield Push, Hammer Iron, Hindering Shield, Overwhelming Impact
Obtainable at level 21

Obviously this is Tank's best trick and really the most defining feature of the build in epic play.  You get pushes on your at-will attacks, OAs, and CCs.  Those pushes also slow the target from Hindering Shield, and then those slows turn into dazes from Overwhelming Impact.  In short, your at-wills, OAs, and CCs all daze the target.  If you can get a prone in there from either an encounter or daily power or just a ledge, you are practically stunning the target.

Cancelling Push
Requires Shield Push
Obtainable at level 6

It's been around forever, but its still great.  When an enemy disobeys a mark and attacks an enemy while adjacent to you, just use shield push to move him out of range and cancel his attack.  It's simple, effective, and fun.

Rack 'Em Up
Requires Everybody Move, and Gauntlets of the Ram, Ring of Ramming, or Rushing Cleat
Obtainable at level 6

This trick uses Everybody Move along with bonuses to your push effects to position enemies where you want them.  By pushing certain enemies further than others you can group them or just spread them all apart.  You can push them into a dangerous zone created by your wizard or just off a cliff.  Dragonborns can do this a little better with dragonbreath and the right feats, but it's a good control power in any case.

Rack 'Em Up and Bowl 'Em Down
Requires Everybody Move, Boulder Charge, and Gauntlets of the Ram, Ring of Ramming, or Rushing Cleats
Obtainable at level 15

Here we have an extension of the previous trick.  You can use Everybody Move to reposition a cluster of enemies into a straight line by pushing some further than others so that they all line up nicely and then use Boulder Charge to a much greater effect by hitting them all.  Everybody Move is a minor action so you can even do it all in one turn and take a move action.

Dodging Attacks with Second Wind
Requires Stoneheart Warrior
Obtainable at level 26

If your DM just landed a big hit on you that knocked you unconcious, just use your second wind as a free action before the attack every occured.  Furthermore, if he just barely hit, you can cancel the attack by boosting your defenses with second wind.  And finally, with Epic Recovery and Armor of Enduring Health, you can do this three times per encounter.  Cloaking of the Walking Wounded makes it even more effective by recovering twice the hitpoints.

Conclusion
Tank is a hard-hitting, tough and sticky fighter that revolves around pushing his enemies.  Battlerager Vigor is a nice boost to damage along with Trample the Fallen and it also provides a consistent source of temporary hitpoints to provide cushioning while your utility powers will make sure you can heal any real damage you take in an encounter.  Also, Overwhelming Impact is perhaps his most important feat because it turns his at-will, opportunity, combat challenge, and most of his encounter and daily attacks into dazes.  Being able to constantly daze enemies helps control the battlefield, increase stickiness, reduce incoming damage, and frustrate your DM.  Overall this makes Tank a very good defender.

Finally, I am posting this here so that you the community can disect it and provide feedback on how to make Tank even better and also possibly inspire a few people to use Tank in their own campaign.  So any questions, comments and even criticisms and very much appreciated.  Thank you.

Just wanna say that I'm glad you're still working on Tank. Your original build is what turned me on to defenders in the first place!
I don't know what you feel about being magic item dependent, but I've been working with similar builds this past few weeks, and came about 2 ideas:
 
one of them uses Son of Mercy for the slow effects on every attack against your target, which in turn enables you to use Brash Strike. Salve of Power allows you to have 2 enemies under Lawbreaker's Doom, so you don't need to be pushing your enemies around if you don't want it.

the other solution I found is somewhat cheese, but I think it works just fine for me. Use a Lightning Craghammer to give all your powers the Lightning keyword. Mark of Storm lets you slide all enemies hit with your attacks, which in turn trigger Overwhelming Impact.

For even more cheese, take Lyrandar Wind-Rider as your pp, now you have your CON modifier to damage in all your attacks and +1 to all your attacks...

Great build btw.
Great build! BTW, did you consider Bloodhound Style? While you'd lose the push and the damage attached on your turn, an at-will that dazes whenever you hit seems like a good option...
Just wanna say that I'm glad you're still working on Tank. Your original build is what turned me on to defenders in the first place!



Ditto.

Nice to see a new version of this.  I played Tank 2.0 whilst BRV was still OP and I'm sure it made my DM cry himself to sleep.
Nice - its good to see the iconic Dwarven Fighter is still just as hardy as ever, and its always good to look at the survivability powers and feats when constructing any character just to say 'Hmm, what can I get here to make my character just a bit more like Tank?'
Can't seem to find Hindering Shield anywhere, which article was it in?  I searched the entire dragon with no luck, also not in compendium or character builder.  Searching this site gets only this post as a hit.
Can't seem to find Hindering Shield anywhere, which article was it in?  I searched the entire dragon with no luck, also not in compendium or character builder.  Searching this site gets only this post as a hit.



It's a Paragon Feat from the Shield Fighter Article in Dragon 385
What do you think of revenant (with dwarven or dragonborn past)? Revenants have pretty good resilience feats too.

IMAGE(http://www.nodiatis.com/pub/23.jpg)

Bravo!

I, too, played Tank 2.0 back when Battlerager's were OP. I got to solo an elite soldier and thanks to my effective DR of 13, I didn't even lose 1 surge worth of HP.

I love this new version. Dazing at-will is so powerful. Personally I would go Dreadnought though, just because any DM forced to actually face this Defender regularly will go out of his/her way to stun/daze/etc. the hell out of you as vengeance.

-Malk
Just wanna say that I'm glad you're still working on Tank. Your original build is what turned me on to defenders in the first place!

Thank you.  I hope this version doesn't let you down.
I don't know what you feel about being magic item dependent, but I've been working with similar builds this past few weeks, and came about 2 ideas:

Those are definite possibilities and actually free up a lot of feats in the build, but I wanted to present Tank without any item dependence or cheese.
Nice to see a new version of this.  I played Tank 2.0 whilst BRV was still OP and I'm sure it made my DM cry himself to sleep.

Yeah, and to be honest, I really disliked battleragers after it got nerfed because it requires invigorating powers and pretty much all of them at the time were miserable.  Fortunately MP2 came out with a lot of new powers and made battleragers good again.
Can't seem to find Hindering Shield anywhere, which article was it in?  I searched the entire dragon with no luck, also not in compendium or character builder.  Searching this site gets only this post as a hit.

As has been pointed out, I mistyped the source for it.  I will go change that now.
I love this new version. Dazing at-will is so powerful. Personally I would go Dreadnought though, just because any DM forced to actually face this Defender regularly will go out of his/her way to stun/daze/etc. the hell out of you as vengeance.

Dreadnought is a definite possibility as I discussed in the PP section, but mostly because it can shake off conditions so easily.  Other than that, it's not all that great compared to Iron Vanguard and I wanted to pick a PP that is completely useful and doesn't just offer one feature mostly.  If you're having problems with your DM stunning/dazing/immobolizing/etc. you, then yeah I might take Dreadnought.
Thanks for this Gnoob.
Tank has always been a major inspiration to me since his first draft.

I'll be bookmarking this page for sure.
I am White/Green
Gloves:
- There's a set of gloves that gives brutal 1.  It's not all that *much* damage, but it's every swing, and I figure that it's at least worth mentioning in company with "bonus to defense when you second wind".
- Antipathy gloves can also be useful for a defender - particularly one who can slap on slow as an at-will.  For that matter, the frequency with which you'll be handing out slows in paragon tends to suggest that your party members might well want to invest in this too.

Arms:
- he's wearing a shield, but you don't even consider any magical shields here?  There's one that gives a nice, healthy DR vs ranged attacks that might be worth at least taking a look at.  AV1 I think.

Side thought: might be worth taking a look at party synergies - what works particularly well with Tank.  Antipathy gloves in paragon are an example, and in epic, Tank works really well with anyone who can hand out prone at-will (mostly PM types, but also one of the fighter at-wills, and to a degree one of the druid at-wills as well.  Barbarians who are willing to keep around a level 5 rage are excellent proners for one encounter per day, and so forth)
Gloves:
- There's a set of gloves that gives brutal 1.  It's not all that *much* damage, but it's every swing, and I figure that it's at least worth mentioning in company with "bonus to defense when you second wind".
- Antipathy gloves can also be useful for a defender - particularly one who can slap on slow as an at-will.  For that matter, the frequency with which you'll be handing out slows in paragon tends to suggest that your party members might well want to invest in this too.

Arms:
- he's wearing a shield, but you don't even consider any magical shields here?  There's one that gives a nice, healthy DR vs ranged attacks that might be worth at least taking a look at.  AV1 I think.

Side thought: might be worth taking a look at party synergies - what works particularly well with Tank.  Antipathy gloves in paragon are an example, and in epic, Tank works really well with anyone who can hand out prone at-will (mostly PM types, but also one of the fighter at-wills, and to a degree one of the druid at-wills as well.  Barbarians who are willing to keep around a level 5 rage are excellent proners for one encounter per day, and so forth)

The gloves that give brutal 1 would only be a good choice if you retrained to weapon focus and stopped using a craghammer.  Otherwise, you already have brutal 2.  I guess I did completely forget about shields, if I have time tonight, I will list a few good choices.  Also, I would like to start working on a tip, tricks, and strategies section, but that might be a little while from now.  Thanks.

Great to see the new Tank! I used Tank 2.0 as a base guide for my Dragonborn Battlerager Fighter that is just about to hit paragon, and I'm glad to see that many of the updates to your build match my own thoughts.

The key difference for a Dragonborn Tank (as you've pointed out) will be Draconic Arrogance (for Strength Mod additional damage with every push; paragon). Thundering Breath (push targets CON mod squares; paragon) and Concussive Breath (push targets CON mod and daze; epic) feats will replace two of the Dwarven feats from your guide for mass pushing and dazing. Other Dragonborn feats I'm considering include:
  • Bloodied Invigoration - +2 additional temps from Invigorating attacks when bloodied

  • Bracing Breath - +1 bonus to Invigorating attack rolls after using Dragon Breath

  • Dragonclaw Mark - +STR mod damage with Dragon Breath against enemies marked by you (better if you multiclass Warden for mass marking)

  • Enlarged Dragon Breath - Dragon Breath can become close blast 5

  • Hurl Dragon Breath - Dragon Breath can become Burst 2 within range 10

  • Bolstering Breath - Dragon Breath becomes enemies only; allies in blast get +1 to attack rolls

  • Draconic Combat Challenge - +3 damage to Combat Challenge attacks

  • Glorious Victory - Once per encounter when you drop an enemy spend a healing surge

  • Dragonborn Frenzy - +2 damage when bloodied (taken mainly to qualify for Dragonborn Zeal)

  • Dragonborn Zeal - +1 bonus to attack rolls after using Second Wind, and the Dragonborn Zeal Utility Power:
    • Dragonborn Zeal - Once per day when you drop to 0hp or below, as an immediate interrupt, regain hp equal to a healing surge + Charisma modifier, and get your Charisma modifier as a bonus to attack and damage rolls against the enemy that dropped you until the end of your next turn. This is usually a feature of an Epic Destiny, and you can get this at 12th level?! (paragon)


  • Empowered Dragon Breath - Dragon Breath uses d10s (paragon)

  • Dragonbreath Warrior - +1[W] to your next weapon attack after using your Dragon Breath (paragon)

  • Dragon Warrior - Regain your Dragon Breath the first time you are bloodied in an encounter (epic)

  • Draconic Restoration - Regain your Dragon Breath when you use your Second Wind (epic)


The feats that enhance or trigger off of your Dragon Breath attack become much more useful once you can start using it multiple times in an encounter, as well as once Thundering Breath and Concussive Breath add pushing and dazing effects to all hits.

As you said, not as durable as a Dwarf, but potentially more damaging and still a lot of fun!

Edit: Here's a link to a discussion about the Dragonborn Iron Vanguard Pusher build by Skalgrimm.
The gloves that give brutal 1 would only be a good choice if you retrained to weapon focus and stopped using a craghammer.  Otherwise, you already have brutal 2.  I guess I did completely forget about shields, if I have time tonight, I will list a few good choices.  Also, I would like to start working on a tip, tricks, and strategies section, but that might be a little while from now.  Thanks.



Ah.  I admit, I don't actually keep craghammer stats in my head.  Also, you missed a trick there.  It may be worthwhile to retrain DWT for exotic weapon proficiency and weapon focus at epic, if you crave that one point of static damage enough to spend a feat for it.  It is never worthwhile at epic to retrain DWT for one side and then not take the other.  The additional damage from having a craghammer rather than a warhammer majorly outstrips the +1 damage - particularly in epic, where even your at-wills are 2[W].

You're welcome.  I am happy to be of what service I can. 
Arms:
- he's wearing a shield, but you don't even consider any magical shields here?  There's one that gives a nice, healthy DR vs ranged attacks that might be worth at least taking a look at.  AV1 I think

Remember though, if you want to benefit from a magical shield, you can not use any other arms slot items like Iron Armbands of Power.

That said, my Dragonborn "Tank-style" fighter uses the Hammer Shield (Compendium link) to help make up for the loss of some of the Dwarf's survivability (at the cost of the Iron Armbands' damage boost).
Property: When you hit an enemy with an attack power using a hammer while wielding this shield, you gain a +1 bonus to all defenses until the start of your next turn.

Love the guide/loose build, Gnoob!

Couple of suggestion:

1) Maybe use sblocks for the powers and items and whatnot.  It'll clean it up a little bit.
2) Since it's in guide format, I'd suggest presenting options in list format with explanations following each point on the list, rather than mixed into a paragraph.
3) How about an alternate feats section with ones that nearly made the cut?  You could also have subsets of modular stuff, like a set of recommended dragonborn feats, a set that would be worthwhile for a multiclass warden or barbarian, and so on.
4) I'd love to see a slightly more defensive version, too, including some of the defensive feats (e.g. shield stuff).... possibly as one of those feats modules.

Edit: Oh, yeah, and Diamond Cincture deserves a mention, too!  Fort + 1/2/3 minor action heals per day is excellent.

I'd also say that physician's care is dramatically overrated there... Standard action = fail on a heal.  If you're at the point where you're willing to spend a standard action on a heal (giving up all marks for the round, dealing no damage, etc...), there's a very good chance you're taking at least as much damage per round.  Many of my players find it counterproductive even to use their second winds (non-dwarves, obviously) most encounters.

Edit2: Whoops, another note: while the lightning weapon/mark of storm approach is awesome for getting the slow/daze, it's not a push, so you're losing out on a lot of iron vanguard damage (and draconic arrogance damage) for powers that don't push in and of themselves.  Unless you do take Lyrandar Wind-Rider (as the poster mentioned), it's probably not worth it.

Edit 3: Also, Belt of Breaching (lvl 19) is spectacular for durability.  Each time you drop an enemy to 0hp, you can spend a healing surge... and when you spend that surge, you get a free teleport 5. 
[20:53] [SadisticFish] yeah Llamas convinced me
From the Dragonborn Iron Vanguard Pusher thread:
Hahaha, check this power out: Everybody Move, Intimidate Skill Power 6.  Push every enemy in a blast 3 a square as a minor action.  That means STR+CON damage as a minor action once an encounter, and it's just frickin' awesome in its default flavor.  Bax yells so hard at those legion devil minions they just die.  You should totally train Intimidate over Streetwise and take this instead of...Rock Steady, probably.



Definitely something to consider, especially once you get Trample the Fallen at level 16 (or Draconic Arrogance at level 11+ if you're a Dragonborn). Close blast 3, no attack rolls, flawless minion sweeper.
Yeah I think that beats Physician's Care.  I also gotta be a broken record and recommend Shielded Sides to help you out when you're dropping Come and Get It.  And on Come and Get It, how're you making it a burst daze?  Don't your slow-daze feats only work when the attack at the core pushes (which is why I'd take Vorpal Tornado at level 17, but I'm a close burst addict)?
Oh another thought: say you take Defender of the Wild somewhere, like level 18.  Maybe fit Crippling Crush in and just retrain it later.  Then you could use Reincarnate Champion as your epic destiny.  It doesn't bump CON like Demigod and you have to wait until 24 for the STR, but it lets you tap into Draconic Arrogance.  Thundering Breath / Concussive Breath + Draconic Restoration makes for a heck of a lot of fun with minor action second winds (and still more with free actions).  It's feat-heavy, but a fun way to kind of "hybridize" a dwarf's toughness with a dragonborn's DPR without losing critical stuff like the +STR.

And if you keep Tank in chain armor, you gotta get Armor of Enduring Health.  You gotta.  You could use it to remove your need for Epic Recovery, or just let 'em stack and go hog wild.
Have you looked at the Forgeborn feats?  I've recently tried these out and I really like them.  Forgeborn Heritage and Iron Hide Resilience together give you resist 5/10/15 to fire, cold, acid, and lightning, which are pretty common damage types.
Yeah and you can take Wrathful Resurgence for what amounts to 50% more powerful second winds! 

Another reason for Reincarnate Champion: make race #2 Genasi, take Earthshock.  Prone prone prone.
I love this build. Anyways, here's a finished version of the build at level 30...

====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
level 30
Dwarf, Fighter, Iron Vanguard, Demigod
Fighter: Combat Superiority
Fighter Talents: Battlerager Vigor
Divine Spark: Divine Spark Strength
Divine Spark: Divine Spark Constitution

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 28, Con 26, Dex 12, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 12.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 18, Con 14, Dex 10, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 10.


AC: 44 Fort: 42 Reflex: 34 Will: 35
HP: 215 Surges: 19 Surge Value: 64

TRAINED SKILLS
Heal +22, Endurance +33, Athletics +26

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +13, Arcana +15, Bluff +16, Diplomacy +16, Dungeoneering +19, History +15, Insight +17, Intimidate +16, Nature +17, Perception +17, Religion +15, Stealth +13, Streetwise +16, Thievery +13

FEATS
Level 1: Weapon Expertise (Hammer)
Level 2: Dwarven Weapon Training
Level 4: Dwarf Stoneblood
Level 6: Shield Push
Level 8: Mobile Challenge
Level 10: Hammering Iron (retrained to Knock-Back Swing at Level 21)
Level 11: Opportunity Sidestep
Level 12: Hammer Rhythm
Level 14: Dwarven Durability
Level 16: Hindering Shield
Level 18: Mighty Battlerage
Level 20: Dwarven Recovery
Level 21: Overwhelming Impact
Level 22: Epic Recovery
Level 24: Dual Challenge
Level 26: Stoneheart Warrior
Level 28: Bludgeon Mastery
Level 30: Martial Resolve

POWERS
Fighter at-will 1: Brash Strike (retrained to Tide of Iron at Level 6)
Fighter at-will 1: Crushing Surge
Fighter encounter 1: Hack and Hew
Fighter daily 1: Driving Attack
Fighter utility 2: Boundless Endurance
Fighter encounter 3: Bull Charge
Fighter daily 5: Cometfall Charge
Fighter utility 6: Physician's Care
Fighter encounter 7: Come and Get It
Fighter daily 9: Bone Crusher
Fighter utility 10: Reactive Surge
Fighter encounter 13: Crumpling Slam (replaces Hack and Hew)
Fighter daily 15: Boulder Charge (replaces Cometfall Charge)
Fighter utility 16: Fury's Resurgence
Fighter encounter 17: Minotaur Charge (replaces Bull Charge)
Fighter daily 19: Relentless Assailant (replaces Driving Attack)
Fighter utility 22: Inspired Resurgence
Fighter encounter 23: Warrior's Urging (replaces Come and Get It)
Fighter daily 25: Earthquake Smash (replaces Bone Crusher)
Fighter encounter 27: Colossal Strike (replaces Crumpling Slam)
Fighter daily 29: Force the Battle (replaces Relentless Assailant)

ITEMS
Dwarven Pitmail Armor +6, Knockback Craghammer +6, Heavy Shield, Iron Armbands of Power (epic tier), Boots of Teleportation (epic tier), Gauntlets of the Ram (heroic tier), Helm of Opportunity (epic tier), Cloak of the Walking Wounded +6, Ring of Regeneration (epic tier), Ring of Heroic Health (epic tier), Belt of Blood (heroic tier)
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======

A couple thoughts: Where is Devoted Challenge? I'd drop Hammering Iron before not taking DC. I also second taking the Forgeborn feats, they are just total win. Stonefoot Reprisal is nice if you have a DM that still likes the try to push the dwarves around

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The new Wolfstone Frenzy at-will combos AMAZING with Hindering Shield and Overwhelming Impact, let you push EVERY adjacent enemy on a hit, dealing con damage, and dazing them. A Dwarf could pick this power up in place of Tide of Iron in epic by taking Reincarnate Champion and the new human heritage feats for it. The unrelenting mountain bonus stance fits well too...making you a super dwarf with it up.
Oh another thought: say you take Defender of the Wild somewhere, like level 18.  Maybe fit Crippling Crush in and just retrain it later.  Then you could use Reincarnate Champion as your epic destiny.  It doesn't bump CON like Demigod and you have to wait until 24 for the STR, but it lets you tap into Draconic Arrogance.  Thundering Breath / Concussive Breath + Draconic Restoration makes for a heck of a lot of fun with minor action second winds (and still more with free actions).  It's feat-heavy, but a fun way to kind of "hybridize" a dwarf's toughness with a dragonborn's DPR without losing critical stuff like the +STR.

And if you keep Tank in chain armor, you gotta get Armor of Enduring Health.  You gotta.  You could use it to remove your need for Epic Recovery, or just let 'em stack and go hog wild.

I like everything you have to say in this post.  Armor of Enduring Health is definitely my favorite and with the right feat support, reincarnate champion becomes really nice.  What would you suggest as the second race?  I heard mention of Wolfblood Frenzy, but I don't know what that is...recent dragon article?

Wolfstone Frenzy is a power out of the recent Dragon article "On Civilization's Fringes: Humans of the Wild".

It has the prerequisite of being Human and taking the Wolfstone Heritage feat. You get to swap Wolfstone Frenzy in place of another at-will power.
Melee Weapon
Attack: Your highest ability vs. AC
Hit: 1[W] + your highest ability modifier, and you push each enemy adjacent to you 1 square.


I could definitely see working this in with the Reincarnate Champion ED. Heck, it's good enough on it's own to consider a Human Tank build from scratch!
Any reason I'm not seeing not to swap to a mace and pick up the dizzying mace feat?  A negative 7 or 8 to hit on almost every attack seems pretty good, even better than hammer rythym. 
Any reason I'm not seeing not to swap to a mace and pick up the dizzying mace feat?  A negative 7 or 8 to hit on almost every attack seems pretty good, even better than hammer rythym. 



Because you can't daze on every attack with a mace, only a hammer. If dizzying mace and overwhelming impact worked together it would make for a stupid broken defender. As is, dazing at-will is incredibly powerful.
Here is another take on the same idea.  This was originally going to be its own thread, but since it's basically your idea with a different spin I figured I would start here.

The idea is not really to be sticky, specifically, but to toss opponents a long distance away and slow them, limiting their ability to join the fray.  Against ranged opponents the goal would be to knock them into something to prone them, then just keep doing that as u stand over them.  I'm debating whether or not I should lose some damage and ditch dwarven weapon training for battering shield to up my push by another 1, or if that might be overkill...  I love Bulls Strength (Augmented 2) for a huge pushing blast as well.

A point to call attention to is that, while it is half artificer, I put nothing into the Int score as all the powers I want from artificer are not based on attacking or Int at all.  Sigils give this guy some much needed damage as well as some other really nice abilities, and Resistive Infusion is +1 AC with a free action 48 point temp hp bomb when bloodied,  as well as nice out of combat healing with the ability to juggle party surges around a little bit.  This is for a 13th level game.

Lemme know what you guys think, and if this is better off sharing in a new thread.

====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
level 13
Dwarf, Battlemind|Artificer, Iron Guardian
Hybrid Artificer: Hybrid Artificer Fortitude
Psionic Augmentation (Hybrid): Hybrid Encounter Power
Hybrid Talent: Battlemind Armor Proficiency
Versatile Expertise: Versatile Expertise (Hammer)
Versatile Expertise: Versatile Expertise (Crossbow)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 11, Con 23, Dex 12, Int 11, Wis 19, Cha 9.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 10, Con 18, Dex 11, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8.


AC: 30 (31) Fort: 26 Reflex: 22 Will: 24
HP: 96 Surges: 15 Surge Value: 30 (36 bloodied)
Power Points: 12

TRAINED SKILLS
Perception +15, Heal +15, Endurance +20, Athletics +9

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +5, Arcana +6, Bluff +5, Diplomacy +5, Dungeoneering +12, History +6, Insight +10, Intimidate +5, Nature +10, Religion +6, Stealth +5, Streetwise +5, Thievery +5

FEATS
Level 1: Hybrid Talent
Level 2: Melee Training (Constitution)
Level 4: Versatile Expertise
Level 6: Wrathful Warrior
Level 8: Dwarven Weapon Training
Level 10: Hammering Iron
Level 11: Dwarven Durability
Level 12: Hindering Shield

POWERS
Hybrid at-will 1: Thundering Armor
Hybrid at-will 1: Bull's Strength
Hybrid Encounter Power: Burning Weapons
Psionic Defense (Hybrid): Blurred Step
Hybrid daily 1: Icebound Sigil
Hybrid utility 2: Restorative Infusion
Hybrid at-will 3: Visions of Terror (replaces Bull's Strength)
Hybrid daily 5: Nightmare Vortex
Hybrid utility 6: Psionic Ambush
Hybrid at-will/encounter 7: Bull's Strength
Hybrid daily 9: Radiant Sigil
Hybrid utility 10: Sigil of Luck
Hybrid at-will/encounter 13: Dizzying Strike (replaces Burning Weapons)

ITEMS
Dwarven Wyvernscale Armor +3, Gauntlets of the Ram (heroic tier), Cloak of the Walking Wounded +3, Heavy Shield, Belt of Blood (heroic tier), Rushing Cleats (heroic tier), Knockback Craghammer +3, Iron Armbands of Power (heroic tier)
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======

I have been working on a Dragonborn pusher that I wouldn't quite call tank, because he is much more of a striker/controller and less of a defender.  Mind you, he is still great at defending and can still take hits, but just not as well as Tank, which lets face it, is hard to do.

[SBLOCK]====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Dragonborn Pusher, level 30
Dragonborn, Fighter, Iron Vanguard, Demigod
Build: Guardian Fighter
Fighter: Combat Superiority
Fighter Talents: One-handed Weapon Talent
Divine Spark: Divine Spark Constitution
Divine Spark: Divine Spark Strength
Dragon Breath Key Ability: Dragon Breath Strength
Dragon Breath Damage Type: Dragon Breath Lightning
Background: Occupation - Military (+2 to Athletics)


FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 30, Con 24, Dex 12, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 15.


STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 18, Con 14, Dex 10, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 11.



AC: 46 Fort: 43 Reflex: 34 Will: 33
HP: 213 Surges: 16 Surge Value: 63


TRAINED SKILLS
Intimidate +24, Endurance +31, Athletics +30, Heal +21


UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +14, Arcana +15, Bluff +17, Diplomacy +17, Dungeoneering +16, History +17, Insight +16, Nature +16, Perception +16, Religion +15, Stealth +14, Streetwise +17, Thievery +14


FEATS
Level 1: Weapon Expertise (Hammer)
Level 2: Weapon Focus (Hammer)
Level 4: Shield Push
Level 6: Hammering Iron
Level 8: Bolstering Breath
Level 10: Enlarged Dragon Breath
Level 11: Draconic Arrogance
Level 12: Hammer Rhythm
Level 14: Berserker's Fury
Level 18: Hindering Shield
Level 20: Thundering Breath
Level 21: Overwhelming Impact
Level 22: Draconic Triumph
Level 24: Concussive Breath
Level 26: Novice Power
Level 28: Bludgeon Mastery
Level 30: Empowered Dragon Breath


POWERS
Fighter at-will 1: Brash Strike
Fighter at-will 1: Tide of Iron
Fighter encounter 1: Hack and Hew
Fighter daily 1: Driving Attack
Fighter utility 2: Boundless Endurance
Fighter encounter 3: Bull Charge
Fighter daily 5: Brazen Assault
Fighter utility 6: Everybody Move
Fighter encounter 7: Come and Get It
Fighter daily 9: Terrifying Impact
Fighter utility 10: Reactive Surge
Fighter encounter 13: Crumpling Slam (replaces Hack and Hew)
Fighter daily 15: Boulder Charge (replaces Brazen Assault)
Fighter utility 16: Fury's Resurgence
Fighter encounter 17: Minotaur Charge (replaces Bull Charge)
Fighter daily 19: Oakhammer Rage (replaces Terrifying Impact)
Fighter utility 22: Inspired Resurgence
Fighter encounter 23: Colossal Strike (replaces Come and Get It)
Fighter daily 25: [none]
Fighter encounter 27: Crater Fall (replaces Crumpling Slam)
Fighter daily 29: Force the Battle (replaces Driving Attack)


ITEMS
Heavy Shield, Dwarven Elderscale Armor +6, Knockback Warhammer +6, Distance Throwing hammer +6, Iron Armbands of Power (epic tier), Rushing Cleats (heroic tier), Gauntlets of the Ram (heroic tier), Helm of Opportunity (epic tier), Amulet of Life +6, Ring of Ramming (paragon tier) (2), Belt of Vigor (epic tier)
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======
[/spoiler]

Here's a nice little strategy that you might want to use in combat with this guy.

Rack 'em Up and Bowl 'em Down
You start with enemies spaced in front of you.  Use your dragonbreath as a minor action to push those enemies into a straight line stretching in front of you, dealing damage, slowing and dazing them.  Then charge the first one in the line and use crater fall.  You have now knocked down everyone in the line dealing even more damage.  Now that you have a line of slowed, dazed, prone and half dead enemies.  Use an action point and finish it up with a boulder charge through them all, which damages them one more time and scatters them all in random directions where they remain dazed, slowed, prone and most likely bloodied if not dead.

I think this illustrates how dragonbreath can be used to control a battlefield and set up some nice possibilities.  Heck, you can do this without the action point and boulder charge every encounter, and I am sure actually doing it in a game has a really, really good feeling to it.  With the right items, your push from dragonbreath will be enormous and just remember that you don't have to use pushes to scatter enemies but you can actually clump them all up far away from you.

Overall, I like dragonborn pushers and I think are probably a lot of fun to play.

The Overwhelming Impact epic feat affects only melee attacks. It cannot enhance Come and Get It, a close power, for example.
The Overwhelming Impact epic feat affects only melee attacks. It cannot enhance Come and Get It, a close power, for example.



Good point. That also means it does not combo as well with the Wolfstone Frenzy at-will as only the creature HIT by the attack would be dazed, the rest would just be pushed and slowed. It also does not combo with polearm momentum either, as that specifically only effects targets of attacks. The power will still trigger draconic arrogance and trample the fallen damage at least, as neither of those say anything requiring targets or attacks.
Wow... I just statted out a reincarnate champion version of this guy for a level 24 game I've got coming up.  Dwarf main with draconic arrogance (not enough feats yet to do more than that).  With armor of enduring health, a belt of blood, cloak of walking wounded, ring of regeneration, and ring of the fallen... using a second wind (one of his 3) while bloodied gives him 130hp back at a cost of 2 of his 17 healing surges.

Of course... he's going to need those surges.  Absolutely terrible defenses.  I think a bigger threat than damage, though, is going to to be status effects.  With 29 will and 30 ref, he's probably going to get hit on 2s.  Coif of Mindiron is going to help a bit, and Fury's Resurgence will be clutch.  But... yeah.  Ouch.

He's impressively good on offense, though.  Each time he pushes or prones an opponent, it's 14 auto-damage, along with the daze (no daze on prone alone, obviously).  That's damn solid on top of a base damage output that's already decent.



For the second Past Spirit race, good options seem like:
  • Elf - encounter attack reroll

  • Orc - encounter attack that lets you spend a healing surge

  • Hobgoblin - encounter immediate reaction saving throw for one effect a save can end

  • Warforged - encounter minor action... 3 + 1/2 level THP, one saving throw against an effect dealing ongoing damage, and 3 + 1/2 level HP if you're bloodied

  • Human - amazing feats, on the off chance you want to fit them into your build

  • Longtooth Shifter - Once bloodied each encounter, +2 to damage for the rest of the encounter, and Regen 6 whenever bloodied

  • Razortooth Shifter - Once bloodied, +2 speed and +2 AC/Ref for the rest of the encounter, every encounter

  • I would say halfling, but forcing a reroll is kinda pointless with low defenses

 

[20:53] [SadisticFish] yeah Llamas convinced me
The Overwhelming Impact epic feat affects only melee attacks. It cannot enhance Come and Get It, a close power, for example.

Ah, I missed that.  Well, Warrior's Urging and Come and Get It would still slow the target from Hindering Shield, but that does somewhat reduce how good I thought they were.  I plan on updating Tank today with some of the advice I've been given and changing out Warrior's Urging might be in there.

If you're making this a thread for Tank-inspired builds, can I submit Rhino the blue dragonborn?  He takes a more offense-oriented route through heroic and paragon but uses Reincarnate Champion to score powerful dwarf feats in epic.  Level 30 highlights include fat wads of resist to most elements, a gigantic healing surge value (it's got +STR and +CON twice) that comes with a 50% bonus in temporary hitpoints, two free action second winds per encounter that reload Dragon Breath, and all the usual push/prone madness.

I assume free Weapon Expertise and would probably cut Hurl Breath to make room for it if I had to.

Rhino


====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Rhino, level 30
Dragonborn, Fighter, Iron Vanguard, Reincarnate Champion
Fighter: Combat Superiority
Fighter Talents: One-handed Weapon Talent
Epic Vitality: Epic Vitality Strength
Dragon Breath Key Ability: Dragon Breath Strength
Dragon Breath Damage Type: Dragon Breath Lightning
Past Spirit: Past Spirit (Dwarf)
Past Spirit: Past Spirit (Genasi)
Firepulse: Firepulse Strength
Earthshock: Earthshock Strength
Darkfire: Darkfire Wisdom
Razor Storm: Razor Storm Strength
Earthshock: Earthshock Strength
Background: Akanûl (Akanûl Benefit)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 28, Con 24, Dex 13, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 14.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 16, Con 16, Dex 11, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 10.


AC: 48 Fort: 42 Reflex: 34 Will: 33
HP: 213 Surges: 18 Surge Value: 70

TRAINED SKILLS
Intimidate +26, Endurance +23, Athletics +25, Perception +24

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +12, Arcana +17, Bluff +19, Diplomacy +19, Dungeoneering +19, Heal +19, History +19, Insight +19, Nature +19, Religion +17, Stealth +12, Streetwise +19, Thievery +12

FEATS
Level 1: Defender of the Wild
Level 2: Weapon Proficiency (Craghammer) (retrained to Dwarven Weapon Training at Level 23)
Level 4: Armor Proficiency (Plate)
Level 6: Enlarged Dragon Breath (retrained to Thundering Breath at Level 12)
Level 8: Weapon Focus (Hammer) (retrained to Dwarven Durability at Level 24)
Level 10: Toughness (retrained to Hindering Shield at Level 11)
Level 11: Draconic Arrogance
Level 12: Crippling Crush (retrained to Overwhelming Impact at Level 21)
Level 14: Ubiquitous Shield
Level 16: Hurl Breath
Level 18: Toughness
Level 20: Reserve Maneuver
Level 21: Stoneheart Warrior
Level 22: Epic Recovery
Level 24: Martial Resolve
Level 26: Forgeborn Heritage
Level 28: Wrathful Resurgence
Level 30: Iron Hide Resilience

POWERS
Fighter at-will 1: Brash Strike
Fighter at-will 1: Tide of Iron
Past Spirit (Genasi): Earthshock
Reserve Maneuver: Bull Charge
Fighter encounter 1: Shield Bash
Fighter daily 1: Driving Attack
Fighter utility 2: Shielded Sides
Fighter encounter 3: Shield Slam
Fighter daily 5: Rain of Steel
Fighter utility 6: Battle Fury Stance
Fighter encounter 7: Come and Get It
Fighter daily 9: Victorious Surge
Fighter utility 10: Everybody Move
Fighter encounter 13: Anvil of Doom (replaces Shield Bash)
Fighter daily 15: Unyielding Avalanche (replaces Victorious Surge)
Fighter utility 16: Martial Redoubt
Fighter encounter 17: Vorpal Tornado (replaces Shield Slam)
Fighter daily 19: Persistence of Blades (replaces Driving Attack)
Fighter utility 22: Martial Supremacy
Fighter encounter 23: Warrior's Urging (replaces Come and Get It)
Fighter daily 25: Reaper's Stance (replaces Rain of Steel)
Fighter encounter 27: Cruel Reaper (replaces Warrior's Urging)
Fighter daily 29: Force the Battle (replaces Persistence of Blades)

ITEMS
Radiant Craghammer +6, Godplate Armor of Resistance +6, Hammer Shield Heavy Shield (heroic tier), Siberys Shard of Radiance (epic tier), Periapt of Cascading Health +6, Coif of Mindiron (epic tier), Strikebacks (heroic tier), Assault Boots (paragon tier), Belt of Mountain Endurance (paragon tier), Cloak of the Walking Wounded +6, Ring of Regeneration (epic tier), Ring of the Fallen (paragon tier), Breakchain Tattoo (epic tier)
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I have been working on a Dragonborn pusher that I wouldn't quite call tank, because he is much more of a striker/controller and less of a defender.  Mind you, he is still great at defending and can still take hits, but just not as well as Tank, which lets face it, is hard to do
....
I think this illustrates how dragonbreath can be used to control a battlefield and set up some nice possibilities.  Heck, you can do this without the action point and boulder charge every encounter, and I am sure actually doing it in a game has a really, really good feeling to it.  With the right items, your push from dragonbreath will be enormous and just remember that you don't have to use pushes to scatter enemies but you can actually clump them all up far away from you.


Overall, I like dragonborn pushers and I think are probably a lot of fun to play.




I posted almost the exact same build in the general Defender thread (and pulled it after a few days due to absolutely no comments). Probably not the place for such things.

Just a few points. The Warden multiclass (Defender of the Wild) and Crippling Crush will see more use until the Epic Tier, when they can add CON again for each Slow effect.  While the Barbarian Multiclass is useful at the upper Tier to get additional Push attacks, it doesn't really help the build at lower levels much. You may want to retrain in the Epic Tier to Barbarian from Warden to get the most benefit throughout the career of the fighter. On such a thought, I would also get Thundering Breath as soon as possible (even before Draconic Arrogance) because pushing as a minor action (even without the increased damage) is SO useful to a Defender. You can create a battle line where there was none before!

Second, the character is much more survivable if you can fit in Paragon Defenses (and later, Robust Defenses), as well as  Encouraging Shield (and later, Epic Will). Bolstering Breath,  Enlarged Breath, and Empowered Breath are ALL great feats, with no argument, but you have to be alive, conscious, and not Stunned,  to use them, and a really low Will defense can hurt you there. I know I am trying to fit at least Encouraging Shield (or Iron Will) into my build early (as I am set to play him at 17).

It's also worth looking (especially at higher levels where the pushes aren't readily available for one handed hammer fighters) at the powers that prone people. You still get the extra damage from Draconic Arrogance and Iron Vanguard, and some of those powers aren't bad either. It may or may not be worth multiclassing to get a Barbarian pushing power if there are good Prone powers for you to choose.

Finally, the pushes are just SO useful as a Defender. I have taken a lot of the standard items to maximize a push as well (Rushing Cleats, Ring of Ramming, Gauntlets of the Ram, Knockback Warhammer), but it is really worth it when playing to think about exactly how far you need to push someone. Even though you can sometimes push 8 or more squares, you get the damage benefits from a push of as little as 1 square, and sometimes, that's exactly where you want the target to be (maybe you might even want to shift adjacent).

Nice to know, however, that I achieved through trial and error, basically the same build that other great minds have found! I had not looked at this thread since the older Tank was a Dwarf Battlerager. That would have saved me some time.
I wonder how a Minotaur version would work out?

Builder Export - lvl 12 example

====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Unstoppabull, level 12
Minotaur, Fighter, Pit Fighter
Build: Guardian Fighter
Fighter: Combat Superiority
Fighter Talents: One-handed Weapon Talent
Background: Aglarond (Aglarond Benefit)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 21, Con 14, Dex 15, Int 9, Wis 19, Cha 11.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 16, Con 13, Dex 14, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 10.


AC: 31 Fort: 25 Reflex: 22 Will: 22
HP: 95 Surges: 12 Surge Value: 24

TRAINED SKILLS
Perception +18, Endurance +14, Athletics +14

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +6, Arcana +5, Bluff +6, Diplomacy +6, Dungeoneering +10, Heal +10, History +5, Insight +10, Intimidate +6, Nature +12, Religion +5, Stealth +6, Streetwise +6, Thievery +6

FEATS
Level 1: Opportunity Gore
Level 2: Forceful Opportunist
Level 4: Mobile Challenge
Level 6: Shield Push
Level 8: Mark of Storm
Level 10: Weapon Focus (Spear)
Level 11: Polearm Momentum
Level 12: Hindering Shield

POWERS
Fighter at-will 1: Tide of Iron
Fighter at-will 1: Footwork Lure
Fighter encounter 1: Hack and Hew
Fighter daily 1: Unstoppable Advance
Fighter utility 2: Pass Forward
Fighter encounter 3: Rain of Blows
Fighter daily 5: Rain of Steel
Fighter utility 6: Daring Shot
Fighter encounter 7: Come and Get It
Fighter daily 9: Thicket of Blades
Fighter utility 10: Mighty Surge

ITEMS
Dwarven Wyvernscale Armor +3, Iron Armbands of Power (heroic tier), Gauntlets of the Ram (heroic tier), Rushing Cleats (heroic tier), Belt of Vigor (heroic tier), Periapt of Cascading Health +2, Coif of Mindiron (heroic tier), Heavy Shield, Thunderbolt Trident +3
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======


Feats
Opportunity Gore - who doesn't like sending people prone on OAs? (also 1/encounter charge proning)
Forceful Opportunist - Push things on OAs and keep up (should work with Opportunity Gore too)
Mobile Challenge/Shield Push - Push people around with your Combat Challenge and make sure they don't get too far away
Mark of Storm - Good if you don't mind using a Thunderbolt Trident/Javelin/Trantyr so that all your attacks are sliding and proning (plus whatever else they could do)
Polearm Momentum - Standard make em prone if you push/slide them around
Hindering Shield (D385) - Keeping things slowed that you hit... yes please

Notes: Paragon Path, not enough CON to make good use of Vanguard, and packing a decent WIS (for Will and OAs), Pit Fighter seems good.

TL;DR: Targets hit with OAs, Combat Challenge, MBAs, and At-Wills will become Prone AND Slowed (plus being slid or pushed around).
Really sorry to ask a silly question, but can you give me the breakdown on how it is 8 temp HP at level 4 with an invigorating power?

Thanks 
Really sorry to ask a silly question, but can you give me the breakdown on how it is 8 temp HP at level 4 with an invigorating power?

Thanks 



Invigorating powers give CONmod THP on a hit.
Battlerager class feature gives additional CONmod THP on any hit (so 2xCONmod with an invigorating power).
Dwarven stoneblood feat gives +2 THP on heroic tier with invigorating powers.

3+3+2=8 THP at level 4

I am White/Green
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