Facebook
Reddit
Email
Discover how to create the best Tank build in Avowed, with recommendations for skills, attributes, weapons, companions and leveling progression!
Avowed is a first-person RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. Set in the Pillars of Eternity universe, the game takes place in the Living Lands, where you are uncovering a secret mystery. A Tank build in Avowed is capable of withstanding significant damage, controlling the battlefield, and supporting your team effectively.
Choosing the blocking and taunting abilities is crucial for being a tank player in the game. Allocate points to the attributes that complement your Tank build and enhance your effectiveness in or out of combat. However, it’s essential to balance defense with stamina management. In this guide, we’ll discuss the best Avowed Tank build along with useful gameplay tips and the gear to choose from.
Everything You Need To Know About Tank Build Guide in Avowed
Tank build in Avowed offers a playstyle centered on absorbing damage and protecting allies. Our build focuses on attributes like Constitution and Resolve, enhancing health and damage resistance, allowing you to withstand significant enemy attacks. Abilities such as Clear Out and Into the Fray enable you to manage multiple enemies effectively. Tank builds often focus on melee combat, making it challenging to engage distant enemies. For being a tank player, you need to equip heavy armor as you will be fighting the enemies in the frontline during combat.
War Hero is the best background because it provides a robust foundation with increased health, stamina, and resistance to status effects, making it ideal for tank-focused playstyles. Skills like Charge, Shield Bash, Parry, Unbreakable, and Toughness are best to unlock for the Avowed Tank build. Consider upgrading them to higher ranks to maximize their effectiveness. Marius and Giatta are the two best companions that we include in this build to aid you in combat. Use taunts and AoE abilities to keep enemies focused on you. However, this build has low mobility due to heavy armor and requires proper stamina management.
| Tank Build Pros | Tank Build Cons |
|---|---|
| High Durability | Limited Ranged Capabilities |
| Crowd Control | Stamina Management |
| Team Support | Low Mobility |
Tank Build Features & Mechanics
Below are the essential best Tank build features and mechanics for Avowed:
- Background: War Hero
- Attribute Points: Might, Constitution, and Resolve
- Weapon Choices: One-handed sword, Shield, Mace
- Best Skills: Unbreakable, Barbaric Scout, Into the Fray, Survivalist, Parry, and Shield Bash
- Recommended Companions: Giatta and Marius
- Best Consumables: Krakenhorn, Raw Bleathorn Milk, Grog cleanses
Related:
Background
War Hero is the best background for the Tank build in Avowed. You need to focus on durability and frontline combat – the War Hero background is highly recommended. This background is ideal for players who prefer close-quarters combat and absorbing damage as it emphasizes physical prowess and resilience. You need to equip heavy armor for War Hero as it offers superior protection, allowing you to absorb enemy attacks effectively. Choosing this background enables you to unlock exclusive dialogue choices that reflect your gameplay.
Background plays a pivotal role in shaping your role-playing experience. It affects your dialogue options and determines your starting weapon during the tutorial. Your initial allocation of attribute points across six stats is also influenced. However, they do not restrict your access to any equipment or abilities as the game progresses. Regardless of your background, you can use any equipment and abilities. Avowed enriches your character’s backstory and provides initial attribute distributions and dialogue options by selecting the background.
Attribute Points
Might, Constitution, and Resolve are the best attributes to focus on for the Tank build in Avowed. Optimizing your tank build involves strategic allocation of attribute points to enhance durability and combat effectiveness. We recommend you focus on these attributes to bolster your character’s resilience and stamina, making it crucial for frontline engagements. Might enhance your damage output and carry capacity. Invest in the attribute points to boost your offensive capabilities. This makes sure that you can effectively engage enemies in combat.
Constitution increases maximum health and resistance to poison and bleeding effects. Allocate some points in this attribute to improve survivability. This allows you to withstand more damage in battles. Resolve is the best attribute to focus on because it increases maximum stamina and efficiency. Increasing your Resolve attribute allows you to maintain stamina for sustained fighting and quick recovery from critical hits. You can earn additional attribute points upon leveling up, offering opportunities to customize your build. Also, you can enhance your attribute points by using the consumables you acquire while progressing. You can select 27 attributes at a max level of 30. Below are the attribute points distribution for the Tank build.
- Intellect: 1
- Might: 13
- Constitution: 5
- Resolve: 5
- Perception: 1
- Dexterity: 2
Weapon Choices
Choosing the appropriate weapon is essential for the Tank build in Avowed. A one-handed sword is your primary weapon, a Shield acts as an off-hand weapon, and a Mace is a secondary weapon. Sword offers a balance between damage output and stamina consumption. You can pair it with the shield to increase defensive capabilities, providing increased block efficiency.
The one-handed sword can deal melee damage in close-range combat. This weapon in your main hand allows you to eliminate enemies with great physical damage. While facing the enemies in melee combat, your bow is effective, and that’s where your sword comes to save your life. Use the high-level sword for the bleeding effect and piercing the enemy’s armor during intense combat. Each weapon type comes with unique strengths, so selecting the one that complements your playstyle is crucial.
A shield is a kind of tool that can make you tankier and allow you to handle multiple enemies more effectively. Shields allow you to block incoming attacks and possibly counter enemies in melee combat. It provides damage reduction against melee and ranged attacks. However, timing is crucial here as it helps you to mitigate the damage. It also helps you better manage stamina by allowing you to absorb hits without depleting it. You can also use it as stagger resistance because it prevents you from being easily knocked back or stunned. Certain shields may offer protection against magic, so choosing the best one is important here.
Mace is an excellent choice for Tank build Avowed. They have high stagger potential and synergy with defensive playstyles. This weapon type has stun effects that can interrupt enemy attacks, giving you control over fights. Weapons like the Lodestone can increase this effect by increasing stun effectiveness by 20%. Maces use less stamina per swing as compared to the greatswords or axes. You can even pair it with a shield to balance offense and defense effectively. Mace’s staggering effects give you breathing room as tanks rely on Resolve and Constitution.
Blocking with Shield
Shield in Avowed increases your defensive capabilities and creates room for counterattack when used strategically. Press the RMB on or left trigger on a controller to raise your shield and block incoming attacks. Blocking is possible when your off-hand is equipped with a shield. Use abilities like Shield Bash, allowing you to slam your shield forward, stunning, pushing back, and interrupting enemies. Upgrade your Shield to improve their stats, such as block efficiency and elemental resistance.
Taunting
Taunting in Avowed is essential for controlling the battlefield by drawing the enemy’s attention. Skills like Barbaric Scout unleashes a fearsome roar that interrupts enemies and empowers high-level foes. Into the Fray allows you to reach forward to taunt an enemy, pulling them toward you. Taunting basically helps you to manage enemy aggression and maintain control during combat encounters, making it essential mechanic for Tanks.
Perfect Block
The game also features a perfect block mechanic with shields as well, allowing you to time your blocks precisely to reduce the damage. You can perform a perfect block if you raise your shield at the exact moment an enemy attack land. The perfect block leaves the enemies open for a counterattack. A perfect block could let you strike back instantly while fighting the enemies in melee combat.
You can also use some abilities to improve perfect blocking. Nullify damage and control the battle with the help of a perfect block. However, blocking and counter-attacking consume stamina. We recommend you invest some skill points in Parry and Reflect to increase your blocking capabilities. Successfully executing a perfect block not only mitigates incoming damage. Perfect block offers you counterattack opportunities, enemy control, and stamina conservation.
Skill Selection
The game allows you to unlock skills at each level, starting at 2. One level gives you one more skill point to place in one of three skill trees. You can mix and match skill trees, but Fighter and Ranger synergize the best together. Moreover, you can reset skills at any time with gold, though it gets more expensive the more levels you increase.
Levels 1-10 Skills
Armored Grace, Shield Bash, Parry, Barbaric Scout, and Unbreakable are the best skills at the initial levels. Invest skill points to gain the skills that can keep you alive in the initial stages of the game. Passive skills are used to increase damage or survivability, while active skills require essence, and you can’t use them due to their cost.
Below is a list, in order, of the skills for the Best Tank Build for Avowed from levels 1 to 10:
| Level | Skill Name | Tree | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | None | ||
| 2 | Charge Rank 1 | Fighter | Dash forward and smash into anything in your way, interrupting enemies and dealing Explosive Damage to break enemy Blocks, destroy walls, and shatter frozen enemies for bonus damage. |
| 3 | Armored Grace Rank 1 | Fighter | Decreases the Stamina penalty for Medium and Heavy armor by 15. |
| 4 | Shield Bash Rank 1 | Fighter | Attacking while holding Block slams your shield forward to Stun, push back, and interrupt enemies. |
| 5 | Parry Rank 1 | Ranger | Time a perfect Block against a melee attack to knock the enemy back and gain an immediate counter-attack. |
| 6 | Barbaric Scout Rank 1 | Fighter | Let out a fearsome roar that interrupts enemies and empowers you against larger foes. Your weapon attacks become Uninterruptable and deal higher Stun. |
| 7 | Constant Recovery Rank 1 | Fighter | After taking damage, slowly regenerate 50% of the last amount of Health lost. |
| 8 | Toughness Rank 1 | Fighter | Increases your Maximum Health by 20%. |
| 9 | Survivalist Rank 1 | Ranger | Food restores 20% more Health and Essence, and bonus effect durations are increased by 20%. |
| 10 | Unbreakable Rank 1 | Fighter | Decreases the Stamina cost when Blocking by 30%. |
Levels 11-20 Skills
Arrow Deflection, Power Slide, Into the Fray, and Reflect are the best skills to unlock after reaching level 11. Upgrade your equipped abilities to make them more effective in combat. You need to enhance your survivability as you’ll be encountering high-level enemies equipped with heavy armor.
Below is a list, in order, of the skills for the Best Tank Build for Avowed from levels 11 to 20:
| Level | Skill Name | Tree | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Parry Rank 2 | Ranger | Increases Parry efficiency by 25 %, dealing greater Stun when Parrying enemies. |
| 12 | Shield Bash Rank 2 | Fighter | Increases Stun dealt by Shield Bash. |
| 13 | Arrow Deflection Rank 1 | Ranger | Melee weapons Block arrows or similar projectiles when Parrying. |
| 14 | Power Slide Rank 1 | Ranger | Your slides pass through enemies and knock them down at the cost of 20 Essence. |
| 15 | Barbaric Scout Rank 2 | Fighter | Barbaric Shout grants Temporary Health and Taunts all nearby enemies. |
| 16 | Unbreakable Rank 2 | Fighter | Decreases the Stamina cost when Blocking by 50%. |
| 17 | Into the Fray Rank 1 | Fighter | Reach forward, Taunting an enemy and pulling them towards you. |
| 18 | Reflect Rank 1 | Fighter | A perfectly-timed Block with a shield or wand reflects arrows and similar projectiles back at the attacker. |
| 19 | Armored Grace Rank 2 | Fighter | Decreases the Stamina penalty for Medium and Heavy armor by 25. |
| 20 | Constant Recovery Rank 2 | Fighter | After taking damage, slowly regenerate 75% of the last amount of Health lost. |
Levels 21-30 Skills
Clear Out and Flurry of Blows are the best abilities to unlock after reaching level 21. Upgrade your skills to the higher rank to make them more effective.
Below is a list, in order, of the skills for the Best Tank Build for Avowed from levels 21 to 30:
| Level | Skill Name | Tree | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Clear Out Rank 1 | Fighter | Spin in a dangerous whirlwind, becoming Uninterruptable and hitting all nearby enemies with your currently equipped melee weapons. |
| 22 | Flurry of Blows Rank 1 | Ranger | Gain maximum Attack Speed, rapid Stamina regeneration, and increased Move Speed for 10 seconds. |
| 23 | Shield Bash Rank 3 | Fighter | Increases the distance enemies are pushed back by Shield Bash. |
| 24 | Parry Rank 3 | Ranger | Increases Parry efficiency by 50%, dealing greater Stun when Parrying enemies. |
| 25 | Armored Grace Rank 3 | Fighter | Decreases the Stamina penalty for Medium and Heavy armor by 30. |
| 26 | Survivalist Rank 2 | Ranger | Unlock recipes for strong healing foods. |
| 27 | Into the Fray Rank 2 | Fighter | Increases the range of Into the Fray by 66%. |
| 28 | Flurry of Blows Rank 2 | Ranger | Flurry Of Blows grants lifesteal to your weapon damage. |
| 29 | Unbreakable Rank 3 | Fighter | Decreases the Stamina cost when Blocking by 60%. |
| 30 | Barbaric Scout Rank 3 | Fighter | Increases the duration by 10 seconds. |
Best Tank Skills Explained
Unbreakable, Barbaric Scout, Into the Fray, Survivalist, Parry, and Shield Bash are the best skills for the Avowed Tank build. Unbreakable is a passive skill that significantly enhances your defensive capabilities by reducing the stamina cost. Barbaric Scout is an active ability designed to disrupt enemies and bolster your combat effectiveness. Into the Fray is an active ability that boosts battlefield control by allowing you to taunt and pull enemies toward you. Survivalist is the passive ability that increases your character’s sustenance. Parry allows you to block incoming attacks and create room for counterattacks. Shield Bash is a passive ability that allows you to perform a shield slam while blocking, which stuns, pushes back, and interrupts foes.
- Shield Bash- Allows you to stun, push back, and interrupt enemies by slamming your shield forward while blocking.
- Unbreakable- Reduces the stamina cost when blocking.
- Barbaric Scout- Allows you to unleash a fearsome roar, interrupting enemies and empowering your weapon attacks with increased stun and uninterrupted actions.
- Into the Fray- Allows you to taunt and pull an enemy towards you, controlling their position.
- Survivalist– Increases health and essence restoration from food and extends the duration of bonus effects.
- Parry- Allows you to knock back enemies and counterattack after a perfect block.
Companions
Giatta and Marius are the two best companions for Tank build in Avowed. These companions complement your tank playstyle, allowing you to increase your survivability and control on the battlefield. Giatta is the primary supporter that provides active healing to restore health during combat. Her healing and shielding abilities are invaluable for a tank. This allows you to withstand prolonged engagements. Use her support to remain on the frontline, protecting your party members.
Giatta synergizes well with Marius due to his crowd-control capabilities. This combination allows you to manage multiple enemies in combat, mitigating the pressure on you as the tank. Create a balanced and formidable party by including Giatta’s support and healing skills with Marius’s offensive and tactical prowess. Use Giatta Barrier to provide protective shields to allies and Marius Heart Seeker’s ability to increase damage dealt to low-health enemies. Use this setup for robust healing and crowd control, ensuring you can maintain the frontline.
Giatta
| Skill 1 | Skill 2 | Skill 3 | Skill 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purification | Barrier | Acceleration | Reconstruction |
| Essence Generator | Protective shields to reduce incoming damage | Increases the movement and attack speed | Heal and restore health |
Marius
| Skill 1 | Skill 2 | Skill 3 | Skill 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binding Roots | Heart Seeker | Shadow Step | Wounding Shots |
| Entangle enemies | Increases damage dealt to low-health enemies | Devastating Blow | Damage over time |
Tank Gameplay & Tips
Use Marius and Giatta as your companions to support you on the battlefield. You need to craft an effective tank build that involves strategic choices in attributes, skills, equipment, and gameplay tactics. This will maximize your durability and control on the battlefield. Allocate attributes points in Might, Constitution, and Resolve to enhance your survivability and combat effectiveness. Might increase damage output and carry capacity, while Constitution enhances maximum health and resistance to status effects.
Use skills like Armored Grace to mitigate stamina penalties from wearing heavy armor and Constant Recovery to regenerate health after taking damage. Parry is the best skill for the Tank build as it allows for counter-attacks after a successful block. Use the skills wisely to increase your tanking efficiency, ensuring you can absorb and mitigate damage. Equip a one-handed sword with the Shield to provide a balance between offense and defense. Use rmored Grace and Arcanist’s Boots to reduce stamina consumption. It’s best to maintain a frontline presence to draw enemy attention. Pairing Marius and Giatta allows you to get healing support and crown control in combat.
Weapons and Armor
Beginner
| Slot | Item | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon 1 | Last Light of Day | 168 Physical Damage 130 Stun 11 Stamina 3% Crit. Chance |
| Off-Hand | Beetle’s Bulwark | 49 Block 20 Stability 140 Parry 20 Elemental Resistance |
| Secondary Weapon | Lodestone | 242 Physical Damage 234 Stun 18 Stamina 3% Crit. Chance |
| Armor | Stealgar’s Pride | 18% Damage Reduction -35 Maximum Stamina -30 Maximum Essence |
| Gloves | Death Knight Gloves | -10% Stamina cost while blocking |
| Boots | Blackwing Boots | +10% Dodge Distance +1 Dexterity |
| Trinket | Crystalline Egg | Summons a trio of crystal eater spiderlings to fight with you |
| Ring | Ring of Pain Amplification | +15% Critical Damage |
| Ring | Ring of the Founder | +10% Damage Against enemies with full health |
- Last Light of Day: Location is Dawnshore. Killing the Oracle in “Dawntreader”
- Beetle’s Bulwark: Location is Dawnshore. Purchased at Sanza’s Makeshift Emporium in Northern Paradis in Dawnshore for 4,500 Skeyt.
- Lodestone- Location is Emerald Stair. Purchased from Merchant Stephan in Essence of War in Fior mes Iverno in the Emerald Stair for 3,780 Skeyt.
- Stealgar’s Pride: Location in Dawnshore. Found in a chest north of the Yellowband Camp in Dawnshore.
- Death Knight Gloves: Location is Emerald Stair. Kill Captain Aelfyr at the end of the Emerald Stair chapter
- Blackwing Boots: Location is Dawnshore. Purchased from Extremely Legal Goods north of Philosopher’a Alley in Northern Paradis for 1,500 Skeyt
- Crystalline Egg: Location is Shatterscarp. Found in an upper area in the Northwest of the mine after defeating some spiders and shades.
- Ring of Pain Amplification: Location is Emerald Stair. Received from Dolina as a reward for defeating Amadio and the Xaureps in the Fortified Xaurep Camp in the northeastern Grim Wetlands of Emerald Stair.
- Ring of the Founder: Found in the Ancient Grotto, on the body of the Idol of Secret Hatred Totem Piece.
Advanced
| Slot | Item | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon 1 | Meteor Blade | 120 Physical Damage 100 Stun 11 Stamina 3% Crit. Chance |
| Off-Hand | Bastion of Solace | 91 Block 20 Stability 380 Parry 50 Elemental Resistances |
| Secondary Weapon | Battletrance | 242 Physical Damage 234 Stun 18 Stamina 3% Crit. Chance |
| Armor | Threads of the Faithful | You and your Companions deal +10% Damage |
| Gloves | Gloves of the Strangler | +15% Sneak Attack Damage |
| Boots | Berserker Boots | -10% incoming Fire, Frost, and Shock Damage |
| Trinket | Cartographer’s Companion | +1 Dex, +2 Perception |
| Ring | Disciple’s Ring | +60 Maximum Essence |
| Ring | Ashfall’s Legacy | +10% Attack Damage +20% Critical Hit Damage |
- Meteor Blade: Location is Galawain’s Tusks. Crafted by Forgemaster Dela at Abydon’s Forge in Solace Keep at a cost of 1 Starmetal
- Bastion of Solace- Location is Galawain’s Tusks. Speak to Mihala after saving Solace Keep toward the end of the Main Story Quest “Our Dreams Divide Us Still.”
- Battletrance- Location is Galawain’s Tusks. Found inside Cavern of Voices to the Southeast of Lost Village. You go here as part of Marius’ Companion Quest. You’ll find this in the room behind Rezvan.
- Threads of the Faithful- Location is Galawain’s Tusks. Sold by Merchant Alonya at Oddments and Oddities south of the Living Archives for 81,250 Skeyt.
- Gloves of the Strangler- Location is Dawnshore. Behind a secret door on the outer wall of Paradis, slightly southwest of the Paradis Hightown gate
- Berserker Boots- Location is Galawain’s Tusks. Found in a chest in the Outcast Cave Camp west of Warden’s Rest.
- Cartographer’s Companion- Location is Galawain’s Tusks. Found on a dead dwarf near the Bounty target Urvolnau west of Berath’s Bounty
- Disciple’s Ring- Location is Galawain’s Tusks. In a chest inside Razvan’s Hut in the Lost Village.
- Ashfall’s Legacy- Location is Galawain’s Tusks. Obtained as a reward from Radut for establishing a peace between Amalia’s Outcasts during the Side Quest “Wardens Warding.”
Consumables
Krakenhorn is a consumable that provides a fixed amount of both Health and Essence regeneration and additional effects that last for 300 seconds. Raw Bleathorn Milk provides you with 10 Health regeneration. Grog cleanses negative effects and is also useful in powerful potions and recipes. You need to take three points into the survivalist skill in the ranger tree. Once unlocked, you can craft advanced food and buffs that drastically increase your survivability, damage, and regeneration.
FAQs about Tank Build in Avowed
What is the best Tank build in Avowed?
The best Tank build in Avowed uses a One-handed sword in the main hand, a Shield as an off-hand weapon, and a Mace as a secondary weapon. Might, Constitution, and Resolve are the best attributes to focus on for the Tank build in Avowed.
Which is the best Background for Tank build?
War Hero is the best background for the Tank build in Avowed. This background is ideal for players who prefer close-quarters combat and absorbing damage as it emphasizes physical prowess and resilience.
Which are the best skills for Tank build?
Unbreakable, Barbaric Scout, Into the Fray, Survivalist, Parry, and Shield Bash are the best skills for the Avowed Tank build.
Looking For More About Avowed?
Thank you for reading the Best Avowed Tank Build Guide. We provide the latest news and create guides for Avowed. Also, watch me play games on Twitch or visit my YouTube channel!
