How To Play Every Tank Character In Exoprimal

Exoprimal is, at its core, at least partially a hero shooter. And while there are a number of unique characters with novel abilities, capable of inflicting death in a number of interesting ways, at the end of the day they still need to be able to survive long enough to land those abilities. This is why they need someone who can absorb shots, draw the enemies’ attention, and provide them with a wall. They need a tank.

Related: Exoprimal: Beginner Tips

But while there are three tank-type Exosuits in the game, they all feel completely different from each other. Moreover, they aren’t even necessarily suited for the same types of situations. That’s why we’re going to break those characters down for you and provide you with a breakdown of their abilities, as well as advice on how to best utilize them.

Roadblock

There are three tank-class suits in the game. Or at least that is what the game tells you. The truth is, there are two Assault-class units that have some tanking ability and one true tank. That true tank is Roadblock.

Abilities

Roadblock’s Haymaker attack string sees the Exosuit swing at their enemies with its fists. This does okay damage, but you really shouldn’t be looking for kills with it. The primary purpose is for recharging Roadblock’s shield’s durability.

The Ballistic Wall is quite simply incredible. It absorbs a tremendous amount of damage, you can use it as frequently as you like (until it shatters), and you can recharge its durability by landing Haymakers. It is fantastic against dinosaurs and other players alike. It won’t hold against the most bombastic attacks, so don’t get any cute ideas when fighting the Neo T. Rex. Still, against most attacks it will hold strong. When you are fighting against other teams in PvP, or when you are trying to defend a position, this shield will win the day for your team.

When you are defending with the shield, you can use this attack damage every enemy wedged up against your shield. This is a great attack for damaging large groups of dinosaurs. Since it blows all enemies back a decent amount, it can also give you some much-needed space when you are being swarmed.

The Skid Dodge is a rocket-powered dash. In a pinch, it can be used to make a hasty retreat. There isn’t much to this one. It is an evasive maneuver, and it serves that purpose well enough.

If you have ever tanked in an MMO you know exactly what the Taunt ability is for. This is you method for pulling aggro. If you want to get the attention of all the nearby dinos, this is your go-to ability.

When it comes to group clearing attacks, it is hard to argue with the Storm Drive. This is a devastatingly powerful attacks and is brilliantly useful for scooping up and damaging a group of foes. This is great for PvP as well.

Overview

Roadblock is quite simply the quintessential tank-type Exosuit. The Ballistic Wall will keep your entire party safe from oncoming damage, and Roadblock is always capable of pulling the attention of every nearby dinos with its Taunt ability.

As far as PvP combat is concerned, if the two teams are equally matched in skill, but one team has a Roadblock, and the other team doesn’t, the team with the Roadblock will win. It is that simple. Roadblock will be able to provide an impenetrable wall, that your team is able to shoot through. In PvP that is just a tremendous advantage.

However, while Roadblock is a brilliant Exosuit, and quite possibly one of the best in the game, it does have one notable shortcoming: it has pretty lackluster damage output. In this area, it is clearly outclassed by every other Exosuit in the tank class.

Conclusion

When you need a tank, Roadblock is the Exosuit for you. However, in earlier encounters, you may find that the mediocre damage output drags your team down a hair. So, you may want to swap into Roadblock partway through. That being said, if your team is filled with squishy units, Roadblock will be able to help compensate quite nicely.

Krieger

Of all the tanks, Krieger is probably the least tanky of the bunch. Not that this Exosuit isn’t durable, it is very durable. And it does have protective abilities. However, it feels a little more like an extremely durable Assault-class Exosuit.

Abilities

Krieger’s Miningun is extremely potent. It can sustain a prolonged line of fire for a staggeringly long period of time. It does take some time to ramp up, though. It is also worth noting that while it technically has infinite bullets, you will need to cool the gun down after sustaining fire for a prolonged period of time.

Krieger has a signature module that can eliminate the Minigun’s rampup time. This is absolutely a vital investment if you plan to play the character, though you will need to get to level 4 before you can unlock it.

Krieger’s Stunlock Missiles are yet another attack that helps to increase this Exosuits DPS. One of the best qualities of this attack is that you can use it while firing your Minigun. So, whenever it is available you should use these missiles.

Krieger’s Thruster Dash isn’t dissimilar from Roadblock’s Skid Dodge. It is a dash ability. It can be used to get some distance from an enemy. It isn’t stunningly quick, but Krieger isn’t moving any faster than this, so you’ll need to take what you can get.

This is Krieger’s big defensive ability. When you use this ability, Krieger will place down a giant protective dome. It’s better than nothing, and it does shield a huge area, however, you will find that it shatters pretty quickly. Still, it can save your entire party in a pinch.

It also pairs extremely well with the Witchdoctors Repair Field. If your party is getting hammered, you can place the Dome Shield down, and it will provide the Witch Doctor enough time to heal the party back to full.

Large dinos will instantly break the shield, but they will be instantly stunned. So, you can use this move offensively to stagger a big dinosaur.

We’re going to be straight with you, Todesregen is pretty underwhelming. It covers a giant area with a marker, missiles will then rain down on said area, sporadically causing explosions all over. This is only ever super useful when you are fighting giant hordes of dinosaurs. Don’t get us wrong, it will still kill a ton of dinos, and even in PvP it will put a lot of pressure on the opposing team and help pin them down, it just doesn’t have the same wow factor as other overdrive attacks.

Overview

There are two questions that need answering here: ‘Is Krieger a good Exosuit?’ and ‘Is Krieger a good tank?’ As a tank, Krieger is only okay. In a pinch, that Shield Dome can be a huge lifesaver, and the amount of space it covers is absolutely massive, so that is great… but that’s it in terms of tanking. Krieger can pop up a shield in a pinch, but beyond that, it is just focused on dishing out damage.

That being said, Krieger can most certainly dish out a respectable amount of damage. And while this suit may not be able to tank hits for its allies all that often Krieger is built like a literal tank, and has the HP would expect such a robust robot to have.

One of the huge advantages of Krieger being so sturdy is that it makes this Exosuit a stabilizer for the party. Support characters won’t have to worry about you as much, and you will be able to pull your weight when it comes to dealing damage. It is worth noting that Krieger can work alongside a Roadblock brilliantly. It can act as a secondary tank, putting up its barricade whenever Roadblock has its shield shattered. And as we’ve already stated, it won’t hurt your DPS output having two tanks, as Krieger does a ton of damage.

Conclusion

If the team is desperately in need of a tank, we don’t think you should default to Krieger. However, if you are looking for an incredibly sturdy Assault Exosuit that can also provide some limited tanking, then Krieger is the Exosuit you are looking for. This also means that Krieger pretty much fits on every team. There is no team that Krieger doesn’t make sense on, unless, that is, the one thing the team needs is a true tank.

Murasame

Murasame is the third Exosuit which is, initially, locked away. Once you have access to this sword-swinging tank unit, you will see that Murasame has a lot of unique perks and feels like it acts as an in-between option when compared to the tank-first gameplay of Roadblock, and the primarily offense-focused Krieger.

Abilities

This is Murasame’s melee combo attack. It does very respectable damage, and is great for clearing out groups of dinos clustered together. However, being completely melee-based, this attack is extremely ineffective against large swathes of the roster in PvP.

This attack does pretty moderate amounts of damage, but its primary focus is drawing the attention of any dinosaur it hits. This is Murasame’s version of the taunt. You will want to use this attack to both draw attention away from your more vulnerable team members, but also to help land more counters. Obviously, this is a pretty ineffective tool in PvP encounters.

This is Murasame’s signature move. The character lives and dies by how effectively they can use the Vajra Counter. When active, Murasame will absorb all damage, once they have absorbed a certain about, they can unleash a hugely damaging attack. They will also be buffed for a period of time after. The Vajra Counter is the centerpiece of Murasame’s gameplay.

The Strafe Hook is an extremely effective tool for traversal. With it, Mursame can scale tall objects, and maneuver quickly around the battlefield. It also has a powerful follow-up attack associated with it.

If you want to just land the attack, you can aim the Strafe Hook at your feet to quickly access the powerful jumping slash.

This is an absolutely fantastic Overdrive attack. The longer you hold it, the more damage you will do. It has a large area of effect and does massive damage. This makes the move both effective for dealing heavy damage to large dinosaurs while also making it a fantastic attack for clearing out large groups. It is very, very good. Probably the best overdrive of all the Tanks. It is easily among the best overdrives in the game.

Overview

Murasame is a very good all-round option for someone who wants to tank but also wants to be an offensive force on the battlefield. Through the skillful use of the Crescent Moon and Vajra Counter, this Exosuit is quite capable of tanking effectively. However, it isn’t nearly as effective as Roadblock’s Shield and Taunt combination.

When you play Murasame well, you will be landing that Vajra Counter attack special frequently, and it is a brilliant way to both clear out mobs AND deal hefty damage to the more powerful dinos. This means that a Murasame who is on their game can both effectively tank and clear out enemies simultaneously. That isn’t even taking into account the fantastic traversal Murasame’s Strake Hook provides or the impressive power of the Meikyo Shisui Overdrive attack.

That being said, Murasame just isn’t a strong Exosuit when fighting other players. Sure, if you utilize the Vajra Counter well, and are able to effectively use your Strafe Hook to close distance, Murasame can battle a number of different units. But at the end of the day, Vigilant is likely going to eat Murasame’s lunch nearly every time the two Exosuits battle each other, and Murasame has almost no way to deal with Skywave. Hell, even Roadblock and Nimbus are tough matches.​​​​​​​

Conclusion

Murasame is an excellent Exosuit for the majority of missions in the Dino Survival mode. When used effectively, Murasame is able to simultaneously play the role of the tank and of the assault unit. This makes Murasame a fantastic option for players looking for a versatile tank or a sturdy assault unit.

However, once you enter into a PvP scenario, it is probably time to swap out your Exosuit, as Murasame quite simply has too many counter-picks working against them. They just aren’t built to excel in PvP matches.

Next: Exoprimal: Complete Support Class Guide