Want to build the best tank i can

What armor should i go for and what weapon and shield? I dont want to use a spear and turtle all the time. That's not to say i wont have my shield up a lot. I'm kind of doing this now, i got in to one pvp with the stone giant (green set found in the garden) but i didnt have the stamina to med roll. This got me killed pretty quickly via bs after bs. Is this something i MUST avoid at higher lvl's as well? Is the fast roll the only way and is med roll viable? Also is fat roll a death sentance?

Currently my plan is the black iron set with the shield and a zwie, use havels and ring of fav + what ever stamina i need to get med roll, I have some faith for cure and one atune slot, should i lvl faith more? i have the spear thing from sunbros is it effective? Was also thinking of the gravlord sword I like the move set but idk how well it translates to pvp?

Lastly I will mainly be looking to help with boss fights and would like to be able to straite tank them, but i wouldnt mind doing some pvp. Can i do this? and can it be done with one set up or am i going to have to make gear souly for pvp and pve? Thanx a bunc to any one who answers any of the Q's here.

Welcome to the forums.

If you want to go great shield, eagle is the lightest at 6. With black iron set if you raise endurance a little over 40 it allows you to med roll, gives you 5 pounds for a light elemental weapon (something like a reinforced club, battle axe and of course that early elemental spear which you don't want) and you can have the ring of steal protection instead of havel's.

Elemental upgraded is the easiest way to pump vit/end especially if you
go with a light weapon. Considering all the weapons the reinforced club
is, in theory, a good candidate: good base damage and the scaling wasted
with elemental path isn't that much. Of course the handling and reach
are a different story.

If you really want the zwei swap havel's ring with steel protection. That might also give you "space" for a better shield.

Early magic and miracles also kinda depend if you go elemental. If so, weapon buffs are denied.
At low intelligence shield enchantment is too short, heal is too weak, only barely useful in pve and souls arrows a mere nuisance...
However if you go for the true tank build your high vit coupled with a pyro glove ready to unleash power within are a good match.

Giants Armor has the highest physical resists in game, but Black Iron comes really close and looks cooler, as well as having great flame resist. The Black Iron shield is a great option, but Artorias' shield has the highest stability (aside from a crystal+5 tower shield but that's not very viable) and decent resists, it also blocks buildup of all negative effects except for possibly Lifehunt. You could use a curved sword or kat with the tank. Lower your shield long enough to take a swipe, then back behind it. You shouldn't be open long enough for them to hit you no matter what weapon they're using, just be wary of bs and know when to two hand it and do some damage. Mid roll is completely viable, and will be even more so once the DLC comes out, or if you're on PC, it is already.

what sl? med roll is viable specially if you wanna tank, all you need is havel's shield since it has really good stability and the best res out of all the shields. i would even go with fat roll and do something ike this http://tinyurl.com/8pafgwr the crossbow is for people that run away when in low vit.

Maybe you'll like something like this. The build can tank 2 greatsword hits, and has the highest stability shield. The Murakumo is an excellent one handed weapon so your shield will be very useful, and when low on HP you can switch to an elemental Pike and go turtle mode. The only thing that worries me about this build is the low 1500 HP, which I would choose Fap ring and a SK shield and lower End for more HP.

http://m.mugenmonkey.com/?c=4597729377092864

Greatshield of Artorias blocks no status aliments in PvP.

what ice said. i was very disappointed when i saw that which is the reason i LOVE my spider shield (which is my favourite shield since the bandit was my first build i made) and it block poison from those annoying poion arrows its awesome.

I always wanted to do a build with a Greatshield of Artorias. I just love the classiness of the shield.

i think if youre gonna use a great shield you might as well use the best greatshield. havel's res are just too good to pass up.

I'm on PS3 and am looking toward the DLC, so the egale shield is good now there going to drop the phy dmg reduction to 95% so cant use that. I get what youre saying about havles shield but, it's just so damn ugly and it really looks like im gonna go with the black iron set, so looks like black iron or artorius both require 34 str and weight 16 black has 10% better fire art has 10% better magic and 5 more stability. the magic im not worried about, but that 5 stability im not sure how big a differance that could make? Iron flesh an option?

I'd really like the build to look right, as in look like a big badass knight so id like to stay with some sort of non elm sword. It dosnt have to be a ultra GS i just figured the zwie with its reach and high base dmg would let me take advantage of mistakes more easily, and i like flattening people But i rather like the look of the claymore, bastard, and sunlight sword. hmmmm hmmm

Well I just made a build, check it out (Clicky here), I went with the Black Iron since it gives great defences and looks awesome, The Serpent Sword since it does the around the same damages as a +15 Zwei but is much faster and the shield of Artorias since it has the highest stability. And if you want to Med roll, use Havels ring instead of the ring of steel protection, I just put that there for the extra defence.

Also the Claymore/Bastard Sword is only really worth it if you are going for a split build, equal in both STR and DEX.

Almost all of the greatshields suck.

Havel's Shield is really impressive in its defensive values (ignoring the fact you don't want to use it on looks for a second), but the 50 STR requirement, and the 26 EL means that you'll probably be fat-medium rolling with Havel's Ring on. The 50 STR also implies a STR character, and all the good ones are very heavy. Its buff is amazing though, and using i 2 handed, and then quick swapping it, is a great tactic if you can do it.

The Stone Greatshield also has pretty good defensive values, but has a high (although more likely reachable) STR requirement of 38, it also weighs only 20, which makes it fairly likely you're medium rolling with moderate armor. But the 80 Stability isn't worth that weight over the Sliver Knight Shield, which has a great 76 and only weighs 5. The Stone Greatshield also only had 40% more magic resist (which is, indeed, huge) to the Sliver Knight's Shield, but the same defenses everywhere else. Those do not make it worth using over the Sliver Knight's.

The Giant's Shield, is in the same boat (81 Stability, 20% more magic, 10% more lightning, weighs 18 and needs 36), the other ones start getting less impressive, Greatshield of Artorias has that amazing 88 stability, but I don't think it blocks poison, toxic, or bleed in PvP whatsoever. Attacks I've blocked and stopped with another shield, seem to go right through this one. It DOES have amazing stability to Sliver, but it has only 10% more magic, 5% more fire, and 25% LESS lightning, it really sucks compared to Sliver on that lightning damage, the most common damage type for people who don't go +15. The Black Iron Greatshield is pretty much the same, it has a great 85 stability, but its defensive values don't make it the 16 EL worth it, same magic, 15% more fire (which is a good 90%, very high) and 15% less lightning. It would be better in a fire arena, but lightning is still more common and 75/65 is more solid than 90/50. The Tower Shield is better in comparison because it 'only' weighs 13, which is a possibility, and it has 86 stability, but 15% less lightning.

The Eagle Shield has been nerfed (as you said) to 95 physical damage reduction, but it still the best one for the stats, the reason it wasn't used that much before is because parrying, or at least the ability to, is really important in PvP. New greatshield DO NOT deflect anything I've fought against, which since the PC is really slow, only 5-7 people. Balder Side Sword, Katanas, Greatswords and Clubs do not bounce. If you can't parry, a Katana user will just come up and spam attacks at you, and you will bleed to death unless you can attack behind a shield.

The Bonewheel is special, its better as a weapon and not as a shield.

The new Cleansing Greatshield, I think, SUCKS. It has a great stability, and good defenses across the boar, but when you're looking for those %, the Dark Hand is so much better for the fast block, and not tank. It weighs too much for not having 100% physical reduction, and it will suffer from spam attacks the most. You cannot tank with this shield, and you can't fast roll (most likely) with it, its not worth it.