Hello and welcome!

This guide features some builds I've made and personally used for frontline tank characters.

Keep in mind those are theme-focused. Which means I'm not going to get random dips into 5 different classes that make no sense just for the sake of getting the highest numbers possible... Let's leave the extreme min-maxing for the folks playing on Unfair.

All of the builds in this guide get enough defense (70-75 AC) to tank 99% of enemies in the game on Core difficulty. Except for the final boss of course. But you're not supposed to just sit there and tank anyway...

Cover photo source.[www.artstation.com]

In case you're wondering if those can work for a main character, the answer is: yes, but I don't recommend it.

Due to how mythic paths work, the main character is the one with the highest damage potential, except for some niche cases. So, focusing the main character on damage would be way more effective for your success in the game. Because of that, I wouldn't recommend building your main character 100% defensively or support-oriented. Not saying you can't do it, but that would require a fair amount of previous game knowledge, especially in good party composition.

The classes chosen on this guide were chosen specifically for their defense/support capabilities. You can still use those same classes on your main character, but building them focused on damage will always be a better choice. I mean, if you're playing on normal, you'll probably be just fine with them. But for Daring or higher, consider a more offensive approach.

A classic 'sword and board' tank in heavy armor, because I really like the fantasy. :D

Pros:

• Simple and easy to use;
  
• Good defense potential;
  
• Respectable damage and hit bonus.

Cons:

• Gear and buff dependant;
  
• No utility, which makes it harder to fit in a party, being mostly a meat shield that does some damage. If that's what you want, great! If not, consider using one of the other builds in this guide.

The idea for this one is to fully focus on defense. Defender of the Hearth gives a nice 20% damage reduction for a few attacks per round. We go for the Stalward Defender prestige class later on for the extra defensive stance and flavour. It's simple and honest. And yes, that's 2 classes with Defender on their names.

Heavy armor is a must! You can use any 1-handed weapon you want with this one. Choose one early and stick with it forever. For shields, I recommend Heavy Shields, since Tower Shields apply a -2 chance to hit due to their size and additional penalties on athletics and mobility. If you do want to use Tower Shields, just equip them anyway and accept the penalties. No big deal.

I mean, you could pick Tower Shield Specialist instead of Defender of the Hearth and the build remains exactly the same, but losing weapon training and the block ability just for the sake of negating the -2 penalty is not really worth it.

If you can't select the Defender of the Hearth class, you need to install the free DLC Visitors from Morta.

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Here's an example of how is the character looking AC-wise at level 20, with some random equipment I had and common buffs. Nothing crazy, no extreme min-maxing needed.


You then add +2 for Defensive Stance, +2 for fighting defensively if needed, along with other situational buffs like legendary proportions, skald totem etc. If you're using tower shields, that's an extra 4-5.

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Another shield and armor tank, with basically the same defensive potential as the previous one, but bringing a little bit of utility this time. A good mix of offense and defense while being DEX-based and using medium armor this time.

Here's a list of the available shields[pathfinderkingmaker.fandom.com]. For shield bash, you should use the spiked variants. I recommend light spiked shields for lower penalties (higher hit chance > a bit of extra damage).

Pros:

• Good defense and damage potential;
  
• Offers all the basic divine buffs, most of those being extended for 24h later.

Cons:

• Requires a few hit bonuses to compensate for the penalties of two-weapon fighting;
  
• Requires a bit of micromanaging on abilities and spell slots. We'll get Abundant Casting for more slots, however, having another divine caster (like Daeran or Camellia) in the same party helps a lot.

AC demonstration at level 19:

Without considering niche situational buffs, defensive fighting etc.

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Take Warpriest - Shieldbearer on every level.

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Please note that this is only a recommendation of good buffs. You should choose which spells you pick according to what you need and what's already available from your party.

A great addition to any party, the Sensei combines superb defensive capabilities, good damage output, and a lot of good party buffs like bard song, barkskin, restoration, mass true strike, among others.

This is one of my favorite builds from the ones I've created, and I've used it on several runs.

For weapons, pick any 1-handed monk weapon (Sai, Kama, or Nunchaku). Sai has the most available unique options. You can use a quarterstaff until you find a good 1-handed replacement.

Pros:

• Simple and easy to use;
  
• Doesn't need a lot of gear to function;
  
• Especially good to support ray casters with true strike.

Cons:

• Fewer bonus feats compared to other monk subclasses, so we can't expand it too much for more damage;
  
• Activating the buff song is a normal action, so you can't activate it and attack in the same turn like bards can. The alternative is activating it before combat, but that won't always be possible;
  
• No dirge of doom. :(

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AC breakdown

This is the base amount with equipment and common buffs (mage armor from potions). You then add the other variables when attacked:

• +4 fighting defensively;
  
• +3 wings;
  
• +4 defensive spin;
  
• +4 crane wing.

Total: 74.

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Take Monk - Sensei on every level.

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Keeping them in their base classes for the flavour/roleplaying.

In this build, she offers a good mix of defense, damage, and buffs, wielding her characteristic rapier and buckler with light armor.

Pros:

• Good defense and damage potential;
  
• Divine buffs + hexes for added support.

Cons:

• Nothing. She is helpful.

Side note: we'll be using Legendary Proportions a lot, so buy all Dinosaur Bones you can. Check the merchants in Drezen starting at act 3.

AC breakdown at high level (common buffs + equipment).

I forgot Haste, so 71 total. On top of that, Cam will have a natural 5-20% chance to dodge attacks from mythic armor focus. The delicate flower is basically untouchable.

Fun fact: if you use Reduce Person on her after Legendary Proportions/Frightful Aspect, it will negate the size penalty, giving you an extra +3. In case you need the extra boost or don't really like how the character model looks at that size. lol

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Sold at the tavern at act 1. Can also be bought later.


First one found at Tower of Estrod (act 1). You'll be using it until act 4, when you can buy the second one at the Fleshmarkets. They offer the maximum amount of armor and DEX bonus (use Magical Vestments to enhance them).

If you have the Dance of Masks DLC, you can visit the DLC area in act 5 to buy a great piece of armor for her. It was made for this build. Get it from the shopkeeper, close to the blacksmith. It is expensive af though (250k), but money shouldn't be a problem for you at that point.


Use a WIS headband to help with your spells slots.

List of unique bucklers[pathfinderkingmaker.fandom.com]. You can use any of those, just make sure to apply the magical vestments spell on it to maximize the enhancement bonus. For weapons, just complete Camellia's personal quests to get the nice ones.

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Skills: Trickery (max), Mobility (only 3), Perception.
Take all 20 levels into Shaman.

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Mostly the same as the Warpriest above applies here. I'll just list a few notable spells:

• Barkskin (2) is a must since Camellia can't use amulets of natural armor. It will be better than regular amulets for your party until you start to find +5 amulets;
  
  
• Magical Vestments (3) can be used to boost the defense bonus of your buckler and armor, until you find +5 versions or want to keep using one with a lower enhancement bonus. Same goes for Greater Magic Weapon (4) to keep your rapiers relevant until you find better ones;
  
  
• Ice Body (7) gives a few cool bonuses, but will make you take 50% more fire damage. To compensate for this, always keep Protection From Energy up;
  
  
• Legendary Proportions (7) will boost your AC and damage very nicely. You'll use it until level 15, when you get Frightful Aspect, which gives you one more AC and the shaken aura. The AC bonus doesn't stack, so use only one of them at a time.
  
  Only problem is: those effects don't last very long and you'll only have one cast of Frightful Aspect per day. However, at level 16, most of your buffs will have a 24h duration and it won't be a problem anymore!
  
  
• Foresight and Winds of Vengeance (9) should be always up. You'll only need 1 slot for each since they will last for 24h. Take Mass Heal for the remaining slots;

Our favorite local Paladin. In this build, we'll lead her to the frontlines with her horse doing the actual tanking. We'll use Longsword (Radiance) as our weapon of choice to make Iomedae proud.

Her gameplay is quite simple: use a few buffs, heal when needed, charge enemies, smite tough foes, profit.

Pros:

• Simple and easy to use;
  
• Good defense and damage potential;
  
• Mark of Justice, healing, and other paladin support goodies.

Cons:

• Horse will require a few buffs that Seelah can't provide on her own, like Magical Vestments, Animal Growth, Shield of Faith, and Barkskin. Those are easy to find, though.

Horse AC

Add +1 from Haste, and another +3 from fighting defensively if needed. Legendary Proportions also works! :D

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How to upgrade Radiance:

• Prologue: Make sure you find it during the shield maze. It requires solving the color puzzle;
  
• Act 1: talk to Joran outside of the tavern and pick the relevant dialogue option to show him the sword. Later, during the final part of Act 2, you'll meet him again by a forge, where you can ask him to upgrade it for you;
  
• Act 3: find Yaniel while exploring the Midnight Fane, close to the end of act 3, and ask her to empower the weapon for you;
  
• Act 5: you'll get the final upgrade just before a boss fight on Iz.

Attention: always keep the sword in your inventory / unequipped for all those steps.

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Skills: Mobility (only 3), World, Persuasion, UMD for scrolls and wands.
Take all 20 levels into Paladin.

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Skills: Athletics, Mobility.
Class: Bulwark.

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Act 3: one bought from Arsinoe in Drezen, one dropped from the dragon from the Dragon Hunt quest. Use the other pair on Seelah.


Act 3: buy from Arsinoe in Drezen


Act 3: Ivory Sanctum