Alyosha

Thanks for all the assistance.

It's been a long time since I've been in game and, especially with all of the newer content, I would like to work my way through all of it. Has anyone ever come across a comprehensive list? I plan on turning off XP whenever I'm about to out-level the ability to continue or receive a new mission sequence, but I don't know all (or even many) of them or their security level requirements (and "age outs") and would like to try to hit them all during a slow walk to 50.

Any input or fingers pointing in a specific direction is greatly appreciated.

Actually yes, I have. Only been back in game a few weeks but I've not had a single crash since. Then yesterday, post-patch, I've crashed 7 times. Happens randomly... during travel, load screens, populous areas, empty areas... can't seem to find a pattern. If and when I do I'll report it here, but will probably try a full reinstall later.

When attempting to log in to a server that is down the following message is given:

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The game client was unable to connect to the login server. This may be due to a local network issue such as a firewall block, or may be because the login server is down for maintenance. Please check your network settings and try again, or check http://www.cityofheroes.com/servers/index.html for current server status.

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The web address is incorrect and should be changed to http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/server_status/

Thanks

This is brilliant... much more input than I hoped to get. Thanks for taking the time.

Definitely sounds like Willpower isn't the best way to go for what I'm looking for. Stone sounds like it can take quite a beating, but part of being a tanker - at least as I've always played one - is definitely mobility. As soon as I learned about granite reducing that significantly I knew that wasn't the way I was going.

I especially appreciate all of the info on the mechanics of tanking. I didn't notice the option of adding +taunt enhancements to the secondaries damage powers. Go ahead, you can call me a newb.

I think what I need to do is dive in, and I'm going to go with Invuln/Stone to start. Thanks to Call_Me_Awesome's great guides I'm going to work from there for at least 20 levels to see how it goes.

Again, thank you all for your input.

Thank you for this, great way to get started and learn without worrying about screwing things up too bad early.

This is a phenomenal guide that has really helped as I work on my plan for a willpower/?? tanker. Thank you very much for taking the time to share your experiences and expertise.

Let me start by saying I'm sorry. I'm not a fan of those posts begging for help from scratch, for the "best über build!" ... but I'm at a loss and would love whatever help you have to offer. That said...

Hello, my name is Alyosha, and I am a meatshield.

I'm a tank, it's what I love. I keep trying other archetypes but every time I heal or back up the tank in a team I feel like I'm in the wrong spot. I love taking the beating, being in the thick of it, taunting mobs off my teammates, maxing out resists, rushing to be the first in and last out. Bring it on.

So how is one a pure tank in City of Heroes? I don't care much about dealing damage outside of doing what it takes to keep the attention on me. I'm first and foremost concerned about staying alive and taking the brunt of it so others don't have to.

Right now I'm looking mostly at willpower/?, but I'm not at all set on it.

From power pools I imagine I need to grab challenge, provoke, combat jumping, stamina(?), health, tough, and weave. I'd consider taking maneuvers from Leadership.

So... any tips on power set combos? Power pools? Ancillary power pools? Any must haves or must skips? If you've got a whole build layout handy that I can use as a reference, awesome. If you have a few tips that I should keep in mind as I build mine, also awesome.

Thanks for your time.

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If it were a serious character bio, I'd say Science all the way; he ostensibly got the super aspects of his abilities from being irradiated. He's only Mutation if those were latent powers derived from inborn mutant genes.

But if it's entirely meant as a joke character, you can say Natural and it wouldn't be an issue.

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I'd lean more toward natural or Mutation over science, there was no sort of scientific inquiry or process, his powers appeared through natural behavior, the question is was that because of an inherent mutation or not.

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It is a serious character which is why I'm asking... I actually started him as mutation and immediately thought "this isn't right..." Mutation seems to be purely something that was there at birth, and would therefore not be susceptible to his environment.

In part, he is natural since his powers were derived from his day to day, but they were enhanced to heroic abilities. Since part of his abilities include firing radiation from his hands I'm thinking "natural" probably doesn't cut it.

Thank you for your input!

I'm hashing out a character idea and am looking for opinions on my origin choice:

A sunburnt Defender: The Lifeguarder. He's rad/sonic, acquiring his skills ultimately from his experiences as a lifeguard at the beach (i.e. way too much sun [radiation] and yelling at the kids to get out of rip tides [sonic]).

In your opinion, is that more science (accident/incident gone awry), mutation (powers manifested at adulthood, albeit encouraged by his experiences) or natural (intense training and innate abilities).

I'm leaning towards natural and don't really see going mutation. Your thoughts?

I've not been in game since CoV's release so I'm quite out of the know. I'm reading up on inventions and the other issue changes, but I'd appreciate a little input on a blaster power set combination. As a moderate role player, I'd like to keep to a same/same (or same/similar) power set. I'm not overly concerned about the ancillary powers matching, but that would be a nice bonus.

My goal is to be efficient as solo but also a benefit to a group. I'm not looking for godly abilities in AoE, mostly focused on damage, secondarily on crowd control.

So I solicit your opinion and input. Of these, which sounds most or more effective?

Archery/Devices
Assault Rife/Devices
Energy Blast/Energy Manipulation
Electrical Blast/Electricity Manipulation
Fire Blast/Fire Manipulation
Ice Blast/Ice Manipulation
Psychic Blast/Mental Manipulation

I appreciate your time and input, thank you!

One thing I will add to the above post is that this guide is good for even more beyond Powerleveling. I am not really a Power Gamer, but this guide was THEE most helpful I read when creating my Blaster for solo'ing the Story Arcs. It was very well thought out, well put, and solid information that has proven very true for me. I am enjoying my AR/Devices build immensely. Thank you, RSRobinson.

Also, I am considering 6 Slotting Hasten with 5 Recharge and 1 Defense. Point is with 5 Green SOs I am without Hasten for approximately 10 seconds rather than never being without it. Robinson made the point earlier that the key to a solid defense is more powers with 1 Enhancement rather than fewer powers heavily enhanced. Well, consider this one more that doesn't have to be chosen for its defense ability only. Thoughts on this?