A lot of good ideas here. I sure hope the devs are still reading this thread. I played an INV/SS tank up to 23 in beta and now have him up to 33 in post-release. Here is my two cents on the issues:
1. animations: I don't think they are too bad. They are definitely more Hulk-like than I would prefer. They could use some improvement and I know the devs have the chops for it. They did an awesome job on remaking some of the Martial Arts moves!
2. Cptn_Courageous did a break down on what each SS power needs and I totally agree. Jab and Punch are pretty useless except as cycle powers to use while Haymaker and Knockout Blow are recharging. On my original build I had Punch six slotted; I respeced it down to two slots and it is about as useful. Hurl's range is weak and Hand Clap needs some love. It's good at lower levels if you need to get a bunch of mobs off your butt in a hurry but that's it. And it really annoys your teammates when they try and use AOE and debuffs because you are scattering mobs all over creation.
3. Tanks vs. Scrappers: Tank defense should be directly proportional to Scrapper offense, as their offense should be to Scrapper defense. I'm no math whiz but have played both ATs and the ratio does not seem to match IMHO.
4. SS secondary is knockback but it got changed to knockdown. If you want knockback you have to slot your attacks with knockback enhancements, and even then it doesn't happen often. Some players liked the change but I do not. I think at least one attack should have solid knockback effect. I loved putting a little "English" (for you pool players out there) on a mob to direct them where they needed to go, mainly AOE effects like Fiery Rain and Ice Patch. Plus it was just plain cool to watch, it really made me feel like I had SS when you hit a mob and they fly across the room!
5. Bottom line is that SS is the weakest of the tanker offense sets. Their secondary effect is weak since when you knockdown a mob they get back on their feet almost instantly, sometimes they just flip in the air and land back on their feet! I am not crying nerf for other sets here, but other sets like Mace and Fire Melee are far superior in damage potential.
6. All in all I like the changes made in update 3. Unstoppable was not meant to be perma. If it was, they would have made it a toggle. Never count on a perma power, in any set or AT, to last as far as the devs are concerned. I respeced it out and now use Unyielding. Thank goodness they took the root out! Now at last we have an effective mezz/hold resist power. It was the Achilles Heel of the set.
The devs have shown they are listening with their changes to UY, Knockout, etc. I hear they are expanding the radius of Foot Stomp on test server and it sounds good from the players I have talked to that are testing. I haven't played my tank for months and now after update 3 I am enjoying him once again. But SS tanks, and tanks in general, still need more work.
