Endgame (lvl 40-60) Solo/Group PURE TANK dps leveling pve pvp thing
Guide by LordDalamar Last update at Jul 12th 2014, 17:58

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Pulverizing Fury 1
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PART 2: Endgame (lvl 40-60) Solo/Group Tank

Part 1 for levels 1-39 located HERE

This is not a squishy DPS build. This is not a mediocre hybrid build that tries to be everything to everyone. This is not a Frankenstein build that tries to sacrifice a few offensive points here & there to help you eek by at endgame. This is a pure tank build designed to survive the worse conditions the game has to offer whether solo or in a group.

This is a continuation of my Early to Mid-game (lvl 1-39) Solo/Group Pure DPS for use from levels 1 to 39. From level 40 and up, DPS and even hybrid builds for Thing are barely viable once you reach the mid-half of Superheroic mode.

This pure tank build makes up for that by offering the ultimate in survivability while sacrificing very little in raw damage. While it can still put a hurting on end-game bosses, it will just take a bit longer to put them down due to the lack of Center of Attention and Aggressive Aura.



Defensive Powers


Hard As Rock - Maxed. Nuff said.

Granite Defense - 15 hard points with 6 more from +1 to all skills (5 from cosmics & 1 from medallion) will put you around 2600 damage absorbed. Broken down, that is 1-3 hits from endgame bosses absorbed or about 1/8 of Thing's total health at level 60. Not too shabby.

Endure Assault - 15 hard points with 6 from cosmics & medallion put you right near 100% damage negated for the duration that the power is used.

Jagged Defender - 1 hard point plus 6 from cosmics & medallion will put a fair amount of slow on enemies and help lower their overall DPS while attacking you.

Guardian Aura - Maxed. Nuff said.

Bold Challenge - Useful for keeping single targets or crowds in line and off the backs of your teammates. Remember, you are the tank. Keep them attacking you and let your teammates finish them off.



Defense & Tanking Strategy


The defensive strategy of this build is pretty simple...keep Defensive Aura and Clobberin' Time up at all times. Keep Bold Challenge & Endure Assault on easy-to-access hotkeys and use them when needed. If you have relics and/or a costume core w/ Invulnerable When You Use A Medkit, keep a steady supply and pop one when things get rough.

You will also have Rockslide Charge as an opener to get their attention and Bold Challenge to keep the enemy's focus on you (and not your teammates).



Offensive Powers


Bash - Your main offensive. It grants a fair amount of damage, hits multiple targets as long as they are all in front of you and an added stun to keep the target(s) DPS to a minimum.

Bruising Punch - Your main Normal Attack. Handy when spirit is low and offers a useful 5 second Damage Buff, for ALL powers, against the target.

Rockslide Charge - Complete with a +move speed buff & knockdown. A great opener and travel power.

Clobberin' Time - Offensive & defensive buffs. Keep it up at all times during battle.

Pulverizing Fury - Thing's Ultimate Power. Though I'm not really impressed with it since it seems a bit buggy right now (see note below) it may be fixed in a future patch. Therefore, from level 30 up, you should be investing heavily in advancing Pulverizing Fury by trading Eternity Splinters to Adam Warlock for Ultimate Power upgrades.

NOTE on Pulverizing Fury: Pulverizing Fury is still buggy. So use it with care. Gazillion stated that they corrected the problem with ultimates being interrupted by adding a CC effect to them in patch 2.14. Great! However, this does not seem to have fixed Benjy's ultimate at all. After testing, it is still interrupted 4 out of 5 times. Nor has Gazillion addressed the issue of Thing's ultimate not applying all of its DoT ticks as it should. A quick tip, Crashing Leap AWAY from the mobs, start Pulverizing Fury and wait for the mobs to come within range of it themselves. It will NOT be interrupted using this method.



Offensive Strategy


Thing's offense is limited but effective in this build. Simply hit Clobberin' Time, Rockslide Charge into the fray trying to line up the mobs in front of you and Bash repeatedly but be mindful of your spirit since this is a tank build that utilizes Endure Assault. When spirit runs low, use Bold Challenge for the spirit buff and then switch to Bruising Punch as your main until your spirit replenishes.



Gear & Equiptment


Stats on your gear should be selected in this order of priority for this build...+Defense (NOT +Physical or +Mental), +Health on Hit, +Health, +Spirit and/or any type of spirit regen on hit or after defeat, +1 to All, +1 to Rockpile, +Energy Defense (in addition to +Defense since Thing is a little squishy against energy attacks at endgame) and +Tenacity. An alternative would be to HEAVILY stack +Dodge but without a fairly high amount stacked, dodge will be nearly useless.

Immortal Spirit of Kirby and Semper Fi are the two key Thing-specific Uniques to keep an eye out for.