Fallen Guardian Moze
Something has changed…
And changed for the better. For the longest time, with enemies doing MH10 damage I always hated 1hp/below health-gate builds. Having a big shield was nothing but a useless gimmick, where even the lowest tier mob could gib you with a shot.
With the latest patch, we finally said goodbye to MH10 damage, and 1hp/below health-gate builds are viable again! Or at least they are way less punishing when you play them. This is my twist on it.
Full disclosure: this build is a gimmick build, and the skill tree is optimized to get as much shield as one possibly can during high-density mobbing situations.
This was my only aim, I made this build more as an exercise in pushing shield capacity to its absolute max.
Skill Tree
This does not mean that you won’t do any damage (quite the opposite, as you need to keep Phalanx Doctrine (PD) stacks constantly), and this skill tree and the combination of items listed below will allow a shield base capacity of 362.861.
But this is only the beginning. By using a +5PD Bloodletter we can achieve 30% max shield per stack (and 20% gun damage). I have managed to push this build way over 40 PD stacks, with a recorded max shield capacity of 2.116.732 shield points.
Like an Eridian guardian, Moze’s HP pool will be nothing but shields, so you can (and will) still go down in one hit due to self-damage.
Thanks to the enormous shield capacity (and a more sensible MH scaling) tanking electric barrels, shock troopers traps, and even camping inside Wotan’s inner shield are all possible now!
Class Mod
This is the first of two mandatory pieces of gear. Do you want max shield capacity? Get a +5PD bloodletter, end of the story. Passive rolls are less important than you might initially suspect, but being able to spec 10/5 on PD is an absolute must.
Artifact
Deathless artifacts are generally a horrible way of getting to 1HP.
Nootmad has an excellent video on artifacts where he explains why you should not use a deathless if you plan to go 1HP.
That said, the deathless doubles your shield making it perfect for my use case.
Shield
This is the second mandatory item for this build, a Madcap (triple turtle for best results).
The 75% health and shield upon exiting IB is how the magic is made. Group up enemies strolling around with IB, let them destroy it (so you can maximize cooldown and Big Surplus abuse), and enjoy 25 seconds of augmented shield capacity.
Weapons
The Plaguebearer is an absolute mobbing monster and allows you to clear entire groups of enemies extremely fast. This allows for quick stacking of PD and consequently very high shield capacity.
I have an electric, cryo, and corrosive one, that I swap as needed.
Grenade
This is more of a utility item, but applying rad DOTs to enemies before they are killed by your Plaguebearer can have hilarious effects on groups of enemies, especially if the explosions trigger Torgue Cross Promotion.
Additional equipment
Based on your favorite playstyle, you might want to have with you
Artifacts
You will be shooting a lot of rockets, and you might experience low ammo from time to time. Grab a Cutpurse deathless, slam an enemy and you are good to go.
Atom balm deathless is another valid alternative: after all, you are applying lots of rad DOTs to your enemies. Mind your distance, Torgue Cross Promotion can kill you from a mile away with this combo.
Grenade
A Recurring Hex in cryo version will give you lots of utility if you have flying enemies that would give you no benefit from exploding in a radioactive cloud. Freeze them and watch them fall to their death.
Weapons
Any single target weapon you might fancy, for when launcher mobbing is not feasible. Hornet, Plasma Coil, Trevonator are the ones I use at the moment.
I have a TMTD run coming soon. In the meantime, please enjoy this short video where I break the 2 million shield barrier on bridge TMTD.
And here you have a gameplay example on TMTD
