Kingpin Tatsulow guide: skills, build and team roles
Overview
Kingpin Tatsulow is a Legendary Fire Tank from the Nocturna Faction in Invokers: Titan Legacy. He combines DEF-based attacks with a personal Shield and team Deflection, so building his defense also builds his damage. Allies who place debuffs make him hit harder, and critical hits feed his Mana and shorten his cooldowns. His protection has a real cost: some of the damage prevented on allies is redirected onto Tatsulow, who has to survive it.
His attacks scale from DEF, and Draw Strength's Shield scales from the Damage Dealt rather than from his MAX HP. He has no direct heal to replace the HP he loses through Deflection, so pair him with a healer.
Fully Awakened and before Gear, Tatsulow has 396 ATK, 1,195 DEF and 12,704 HP. His attacks scale from DEF, so his ATK matters less than his DEF.
Skills To Prioritize
Draw Strength attacks enemies in a rectangle in front of Tatsulow and creates a personal Shield based on Damage Dealt. At Level 10 the ratio is 60% and the Shield lasts 15 seconds. Max Level increases the ratio to 70% and lowers the base cooldown from 22 to 20 seconds. It isn't a Shield equal to 70% of his MAX HP, and it isn't given to the whole team. Because damage feeds the Shield, don't count on a large Shield until you've seen how much damage the Skill deals in your fight. Critical hits also reduce a random active cooldown, so a balanced critical build helps.
Reverb Crater attacks a main target twice and then the enemies around Tatsulow. It gives Deflection to nearby allies: 25% for 16 seconds at Level 10, rising to 30% at Max Level. Deflection sends that share of incoming damage to Tatsulow. It doesn't reflect damage back at the attacker, and it isn't free damage reduction, because Tatsulow pays for it. If several allies take heavy damage together, he can receive a lot of transferred damage, so time your healing and Shields around it. Critical results on the area hit can also shorten the Skill's own cooldown, but that depends on the enemies hit, so don't count on Deflection staying up permanently.
Pound Fools gains damage for each debuff on its target, reaching 20% per debuff with a 90% cap at Level 10 and a 100% cap at Max Level. It also gives Ultimate Mana on a critical hit. Allies who place debuffs improve his damage, while DEF keeps supporting his own build.
Collect Dues attacks twice and gives Titan Mana on each hit. At Level 10 the amount is 190 normally or 380 on a critical hit instead. Max Level makes those values 200 and 400, with an 800 Mana Ultimate cost. The critical amount replaces the normal amount; it isn't added on top. This is Titan Mana, separate from the Ultimate Mana that Pound Fools gives.
If you want Tatsulow to protect your team, prioritize Reverb Crater, as Max Level raises Deflection from 25% to 30%. If you want him to keep himself alive while he deals damage, consider upgrading Draw Strength first, as Max Level raises its Shield ratio from 60% to 70% and lowers its cooldown. If Titan contribution and focused damage matter to your team, upgrade his Ultimate.
Build And Team Support
Build DEF first, then HP, then RES, up to about 300 for Bosses, with more for Arena. DEF supports both his attacks and his survival. After that, add Crit Rate and Crit DMG so his critical-hit bonuses trigger more often, but don't give up survival for them, because he can die from the damage he redirects. He has no debuff that needs Accuracy to land, so Accuracy isn't a priority. Tatsulow has native Bloodrot and Manashock Tolerances.
For Relic Sets, Defense Relics raise the DEF his attacks and survival scale from, and Health Relics add the HP he needs to absorb Deflection. Crit Rate Relics and Crit Damage Relics help his critical-hit bonuses trigger and hit harder, and Resistance Relics help stop him being disabled while he soaks up damage.
Bring a healer or shielder, because Tatsulow can't recover the HP he loses through Deflection himself. Allies who place debuffs also make Pound Fools hit harder.
Arena, Bosses And Spires
In Arena, Tatsulow protects allies while dealing damage of his own. He has no Taunt, so don't rely on him to force enemies to attack him or to stop their active Skills that way. His protection comes from shielding himself and sharing his team's incoming damage.
In the Fire Spire, his area attacks and team Deflection help your team through waves. He has no healing or revival, so bring recovery for repeated waves. Watch his HP when several allies are hit at once, because a Tank that absorbs transferred damage needs recovery as well as a large DEF number.
Awaken
Awakening boosts an Invoker's stats significantly. Bonuses from Relics, Accessories, the Trophy Room, Tactics and Titan leader bonuses apply to base stats and Awakening stats alike, so unlocking the Awakening nodes is critical to maximise Tatsulow's potential.
Unlocking each Titan node at Star 2, 4 and 6 adds a second to Titan Invokation, taking the total from 12 seconds to 15.
Review the Awakening guide for more detail.
