As
close to a tank as it gets, the Assault of Global Agenda is the
dedicated force of damage and more importantly, taking hits for the
team. In PvE there's plenty of hits to go around, and this
class is also the master of dishing out damage over time with the
Minigun. There are a few tricks and loadouts you need to use
to maximize your effectiveness in your role however, and that's what
I'm here to fill you in on!
The
Weapons
Most will tell you that there
are only two weapons for PvE for the assault -- The Minigun and the
Inferno Cannon. They're pretty much clones of each
other, so the choice is up to you aesthetically aside from the fact
that the Inferno Cannon does 10% more damage versus all targets, where
as the Minigun does 25% bonus versus mechanical targets. The
Minigun typically gets the nod from most assaults for the fact that PvE
is almost exclusively against robots.
But why not use the other weapons, especially the ones that dominate in
PvP and AvA? The main problem with the AOE weapons is power
usage. You simply run out of power far too fast to use these
weapons against bosses and minibosses. Having to constantly
hold your fire to regenerate or avoid damaging yourself is frustrating
when enemies have tens of thousands of HP and you can only afford a few
shots before running out of power. Even if you fully spec for
them, the damage output just isn't worth the power woes.
Being able to plant your feet with a Medic and Robotics healing you and
just use the alternate fire of the Minigun-type weapons to
put out thousands of damage at a minimal power cost is simply too good
to pass up on.
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Shoot all you want, minions! Your weapons can't harm me!
Then again, I can't harm you either...
Offhands
You really can't go wrong with
any of the shields. However, a lot of fights including most
bosses and mid-bosses can do multiple types of damage or types that are
not mitigated by your AOE and Ranged Shields. For this reason
you need to be proactive with the usage of them and not wait until the
brink of death to activate them. You can argue that
activating them while at death's door gives your healing comrades time
to get you back in shape, but you might lag, more incoming fire might
hit you than expected, or another combination of factors could occur
that end up in your death ruining the challenge bonus for the
mission. As this is unacceptable, and you don't want to be
the guilty one that causes your team's bonus to be broken, just use
your shields ahead of time!
Perfect Target is optional. This might sound ridiculous, but
the enemy really doesn't care if you have it up or not. They
will shoot whoever they feel like shooting, and maintaining an
opponent's aggression is nigh impossible. You can find some
uses for it still, and it will always save you from death if you
activate it and get to safety. Charging headlong into a
difficult encounter or a room you've wiped on and activating it
immediately can give your Robotics time to get in the room and get
setup, rather than being forced to setup in a sub par position or
hallway from an earlier room. Typically this is not a high
point skill, but with 4 points in it you can still find some
interesting uses such as hitting Rest, and immediately hitting Perfect
Target when near death in an encounter. The durations are the
same then, and you'll exit Perfect Target with full HP and ready for
action.
The only two grenades you should be considering are EMP and
Incendiary. EMP will basically stun every grunt robot into a
quick death, which is actually important in this game. The
grunts are often times the biggest damagers of your party en masse and
a pack of Alarm Responders can be more damaging than a High Security
boss. At the same time, the damage of Incendiary Grenade is
massive and can instantly turn a fight around if it hits a pack of high
priority targets and it can put a hurt on bosses as well.
It's really up to you here.
Skill
Allotment
The entire Built Tough line should be a high priority for you, and most
groups will prefer you actually finish out with a full 7 points to pick
up Super Tank. Doing so will give you well into the 3000
range of hit points before any implants or other skills are even
considered. From there, you have some options. You
can put some points in the general tree and pick up further advanced
protection, or you can go back into the explosive tree and pick up the
3 points in the Assault weapons skills for the Minigun line, giving you
some much needed damage at medium to long range. When you're
feeling shaky about your healer or grouping in public groups in
general, I'd advise taking as much physical protection and health
increasing skill points as you can get and just settle for not being
number one on the damage charts.
Above all else when being a tank in PvE, evade! The same
skills you use on offense in PvE are imperative to use on defense, even
when using a weapon that slows you down like the Miniguns.
You may move slowly, but the enemies will still lead you and at medium
to long range you can still evade them and lower your incoming damage
considerably. Don't feel responsible for your group's victory
or defeat. You are just another team member that is just way
better at taking damage, but if things go poorly you are not the reason
a person was targeted or failed to dodge because he or she was too busy
focusing on repairing their turret. Shake it off and have fun
with the class in PvE!
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