Who is the tankiest warframe without abilities

[ThePhantomMan]

I'm doing a heavy blade melee build and the plan is to always be channeling, so i won't have energy to use abilities with, who is the warframe i should use?

[Hrodgrim]

Channeling is absolutely not worth using. Just use your abilities and be better for it.

To answer your question though, Valkyr is the most durable frame without any powers. An argument could be made for Inaros as well, due to his absurd health pool.

[Dahx11]

Valkyr Prime

[(PSN)Onder6099]

Put Vitality + Rage into Inaros and Life Strike and Quickening, both maxed, into heavy blade and have fun.

[(PSN)Crixus044]

Valkyr Prime and Inaros go back and forth with who is the stronger non-ability tank. The thing with both of them is that they both have powers that really only need to be cast once and that's it. Valkyr Prime with the Warcry augment mod Eternal War can have the ability last almost forever as long as you keep killing, and that will make her armor soar with PS mods, and Inaros has his "one and done" ult that'll add 200 bonus armor to him, which will buff his EHp. Thus, even though they both are the best non-ability tanks, you can afford to cast at least one ability and have it last a long time.

It's unfair to just do powerless frames, because even with a channeling build, there are still frames with abilities that can last through the energy drain. If you're gonna build around a powerless frame though, here's my suggestions.

So including their endless duration abilities, inaros can have up to 13k ehp, while valkyr prime with max power strength would close in at around 18k. Without their abilities, inaros pulls ahead at around 9k while valkyr prime has around 5k. This means that valkyr prime can have a higher ehp if used correctly, but inaros will prevail if you're going bare boned wihout using any ability ever. I say go with inaros if you're adamant about not using abilities, but if you can afford to have one ability up, go with valkyr prime. She's tankier and does more dps because of the increase in melee speed.

Also to note, if you're channeling, you're probably using life strike, hirudo, or healing return, but using life steal mechanics on inaros has less of an effect because his health pool is his main source of EHp and is larger than some of the life steal you're getting, thus you'll only be returning part of your EHp per strike, while with valkyr p, her armor is her secret to tanking, thus you'll max out your health pool every strike, and have a consistently high EHp. This is better for higher level enemies.

Again, your choice, but I hoped I helped you learn a little to make a better choice for yourself.

Edited October 11, 2017 by (PS4)Crixus044

[(PSN)CoolD2108]

You might wanna consider a riven that lowers the channeling cost or using lower ranked channeling mods (life strike r0-1 instead of 3 as prime example. You won't need a higher rank in your life), if not switching it on and off a bit.

Working with rage and primed flow works fine even then as you CAN and WILL get enough damage playing melee, especially when you moderate your ability usage.

 

That beein said, feel free to use chroma or even ash, which are among the better picks in generall. Ash's BS works especially well with channeling (speed affects BS, next to (primed) fury, rivens and arcane strike)

 

Not gonna lie tho. A crit/status build on a slash melee beats channeling any day. It's a nice multiplier for raw damage but not worth the slots or energy you use.

Edited October 11, 2017 by (PS4)CoolD2108

[(XBOX)New Gnu]

Nekros: health conversion, equilibrium, despoil.

[AreeSoothsayer]

I personally run Valkyr with little to no power use. 

 

I use this setup to combat against status proc and those annoying Ignis users and Poison Infested. If you don't have a favorite weapon to use all the time then I recommend Hirudo. The constant health absorbing without channeling makes me pretty much immortal in everything except 80-100 sortie with +damage modification.

[xXDeadsinxX]

Without abilities, Valkyr Prime hands down.

[NeomanSeraph]

I'd argue Nidus but you need to build stacks first. His 3rd and 4th abilities don't use energy and you can use his 3 on an enemy, and then do your channeling blender thing.

[(PSN)Crixus044]

6 minutes ago, SSNeoman said:

I'd argue Nidus but you need to build stacks first. His 3rd and 4th abilities don't use energy and you can use his 3 on an enemy, and then do your channeling blender thing.

This is a good point. I didn't factor him in my post. His problem though is starting up that snowball effect of his. Once it's there though, he's a great candidate for a warframe that doesn't need abilities because he's naturally tanky and his passive is great for what you need.

 

[Niuq]

Without abilities ( this is something many have missed i think )

Inaros   his 4th for extra armor does not require upkeep  or even an energy cost

Handspring rage  steel fiber  armored agility  vitality Pvigor  

Seems to fit your  channeling theme best.  Rage + life strike

Used Galatine P and similar build just to try it on  TlyRegor  sortie today  died once =P but once i got a lil bit of combo counter going was easy face tanking.

Edited October 12, 2017 by Niuq

[FreeWilliam]

If you're talking about Melee, don't forget Atlas and his lovely passive.  You feel properly tanky when you're not getting bounced all over the place.

I spend most of my time with my Atlas either as a melee monster or as a ragdolling machine that uses punching as a primary form of movement.

 

[S0V3REiGN]

Never tested it but it's either valkyr Prime or inaros. With some arcane graces they can tank for a long, long time.