Blue_Centurion

Thanks Gavin, I will try this. As long as the rewards are reasonable I will be fine. With as many alts as I run I am very comfortable running 1st levels lol. Love the supernatural reference also. My wife has been wandering around since that episode played randomly saying "Sam, of course, is an abomination." and busting out laughing.

Invulnerabilty/Dark Melee. Way powerful. Light AoE damage, Incredible Survivability, High ST damage. Take taunt ASAP. Taunt keeps all attention on you, with Dark you get extra survival powers (a second heal, and later in the build a very strong End recharge). Very sweet tank IMO

I can level a toon to 20+, usually to 30 pretty easy even on mediocre/bad PUGs. I mean, these days you can sewer run to 10. it is after 20 that things get really slow if you cannot find the "dream team" that is smooth and playing all day. That is the hole AE used to fill for me. Sad panda.

I wouldnt go down this road Hew. We established way early in this discussion that not all players who roll up tanks do it so they can do the perceived job of the tank in COH. Scroll through the pages for a lively discussion :-)

The only use I have for AE is soloing. Finding teams can be tough, at times, on any server. Finding good teams is truly a matter of luck some days. Those who farm, er play, AE are even less likely to 1) run PUG groups 2) Be a decent team if a PUG group. In my opinion. Just my own belief.

So I was using AE to level my strange creations. A few hours invested, a few levels. Could do it even with tanks, although it took longer.

Now, however, the latest nerf has made the rewards in AE less than the rewards for regular gaming. I know that was the point. I know there was massive abuse.

However, I would like it if I could find a way to regularly solo toons for decent time investment to reward ratios. This is easy for say my brutes. Just run regular missions. Brutes eat everything. For tankers, not so much. Same with dominators (especially at low levels). Also true with blasters. In fact, I find it easy only to solo with Brutes and Corruptors. Maybe I am just not great at the game. Still, I have been playing almost 3 years straight. I wish I could solo with toons designed more for support roles. AE seemed like the logical place for this to happen.

It seems like I might be able to tailor missions for support toons. I have tried my hand at it once, and have yet to publish an actual mission. Its almost like you need someone to show you. Talk about counterintuitive setup for the thing. Also, now with extra nerfs, if I happen to add something the devs do not like, my mission goes to almost no experience. In essence what I am saying is AE is complicated to write on for the uninitiated, and even if you manage to get something written there is a good chance the Devs hate some part of it and it will net you almost no rewards. So, no, I do not plan to write missions.

The missions I have been using have all been nerfed, of course. All the standard "Devs Choice!" and "Favorite of Everyone"!!!! missions are almost exactly like the missions already in the game. For me, these are very hard for non-heavy melee toons. I have soled the entire redside every story/arc on a brute. I have soled to 20 every story/arc blueside on a blaster. Gave it up there, way too hard to even unlock some missions.

In essence I am complaining that AE, the one shot at custom missions for odd characters, has been shut down.

After I finish my dark/dark tank run I am gonna do an Invulnerabilty Tanker. I will try to make this guy as sturdy as possible. My question is: Is it really better to try to cap Health, or shouldn't I be trying to put all my efforts into capping res/def, since that will be what really determines survivability? Also, assuming unlimited funds, can you really have your res/def and health too?

I appreciate all the responses here. Longtime brute player, occasional Tanker. My Brutes do not use taunt, cause that aint how I roll. My tanks are definitely not Scrankers, in fact they are more Tanktrollers. So having these links are important for me. I can delve down as far as I need to understand how i am affecting enemies.

THanks Sarrate for the up to date info. Guess I'll actually have to open something and read though lol.

Did I ask this wrong? What I meant to ask is if the Tank power taunt needs an accuracy enhancer in it? If it is autohit then no.....

But since you did all the work and responded I will read this as soon as I get my desk cleaned from some work so people dont start screaming at me :-)

I think a post that starts out with insert "SET OF CHOICE" sucks is great. It brings out those who know how to run that set. I had just started a dark/dark tank a few days before our poster set up this thing. Wow, I have really been listening to those that post here, and have learned a lot. Thanks everyone, and thanks to that original hater.

Thanks for the guide. It was 6 years old. Also, never specifically said taunt was autohit on AVs.

Okay, gurus of the tanker world...Is taunt autohit all the time against everything PvE?

Thanks Dechs, that was what i was trying to say lol. Yeah, I buy the globals at the lowest level on the market. There were 2 options for the global KB proc at level 10, both in recipe and created form. Karma and a movement set global. One version (the only one available on the market) was selling for 200 mil. I got a level 11 karma for 20 mil :-). I also buy Numina at loest, will be getting some other globals too. Plus i am about to look very seriously at that "Theft of Essence" +ENd for dark regen. will prob buy that tonight and try to grind to 31 so I can add slots and drop it in.

Dark melee is not what I depend on for AoE agro. It is the 3 toggles running that affect all in contact with me. I am also spamming taunt. (cause i like it).

My understanding of I/Os is not complete. But I thought procs would fire only if they are a few levels higher than the level you examplared to. That is why I buy them at the lowest level they drop.

Good idea on the 40th level sets. 2 reasons I do not do this, I like the max bonuses in 50 sets, and 2) I get my TF badges out of the way as I level, and run mostly ITF LGTF on established toons.

My dark/dark build at 29 is tanking +4 freaks for a 8 team. It is SO'd only, except for a Karma KB I/O. I think the dark/dark combo can do fine by itself (I do not plan to I/o it until 47, cause I like the symmetry of an all 50 I/o'd toon) I will be adding more procs though, because those are always best at lowest value anyways. However the dark/dark does good. I would definitely rather by on a dark/dark tank at 29 than a stone/whatever at 29. At 32, well, I still prefer the dark, cause I hate granite, but I won't argue that it is better there, just better for me.

Ah, and there is the true beauty my friend. When I tank for an 8 team I grab all agro and hold on. Doing area damage drops way down on my list of priorities. I am judging whether to pull more, watching squishy's health bars, watching for surrounding mobs, planning next mish, etc. Except ( ta ta ta tah ta tah tah ) when AVs pop up. Then I need ST damage and I am back on serious damage output job. (partly just to hold its attention, but also lets get this AV down fast as possible. And DM shines there. So yes, DM does mediocre AoE. or the worst, or bottom feeds, or whatever. AoE damage is not why I love dark melee. I love it for the heals, I love it for the AoE end drain, I love it for the AoE attack that is a attack boost, and I love the way it is synergistic with dark armor.

Also, if you look at the Scrapper boards you will see 2 sticky's at the top talking about results. One is for high recharge toons (think lotsa purps), and one not. Dark Melee is near the top of both damage dealers for overall melee in the game brutes/scrappers. Cannot be bad on a tank, especially when you get all the other nifty stuff in that set that helps make a tankers life easier.

So much for leveling fast, I have done every TF rtunately I know a TF experienced group that I hang with. Met them Bruting the ITF and they were one of the reasons I investigated blue side again. 2 hours on the POSI last night, slightly over one level. argh.

But yes, it may be time for me to start team leading again. Have avoided that for a year and a half, but as the agro controller it helps to have the settings options for the team. Was on a +4 team yesterday, I tanked it, barely, but the team was grinding slow. Set at +2 we probably would have run so fast through every mob, inspirations dropping like mad, end mish, repeat. So yeah, radio missions here I come.

I am now leveling a dark/dark tank. At 29th right now. I took Taunt at 25 when I respec'd the toon to get Combat Jumping (to put Karma KB prot in). Before that I did not have taunt, and got shadow maul. I attacked a lot, fought my end issues, and tried to hold agro and kill.

When I respec'd at 25 I concentrated on my toggles and taunt. I am really glad I did. This tank is made to sit and taunt. There is a damage aura, a fear aura mag 2, and a stun aura mag 2. I am starting to research how to I/O to maximize the build now. I just got the AoE attack that buffs my damage. I cannot wait to get the AoE end drain. My end issues are not bad now, but I am running 3 SO end red in each toggle and one in each attack. When I I/O am hoping to smooth that out as well.

Not the most sturdy of tanks non-I/O'd, but I am happy. I see the potential to be incredible team agro control, and even do respectable ST damage for AV tanking. Already I have been tanking for 8 person teams running +4 radio missions. It was hard, but doable. Jut taunt, and heal, and attack as a secondary function. Primarily I try to keep the team safe and stay on my feet.

Well Joe, I wasn't really replying to you specifically, but the line of discussion in general. Having said that my Brute (SS/Will) has been the main tank on many Task and Strike force runs. With a little buffing from teammates I am able to take what the game dishes out, even though I am not a tank, Willpower is not the sturdiest set, and my I/Os are all directed at getting more damage down on my opponents.

So, take your tank, with the lesser rate of damage, and no brute rage. Build that sucker to do as much damage as he can. Or armor him up, or defense cap him, whatever. Have fun. I am having fun running a brute that dishes out insane amounts of damage and can tank the LRSF, the ITF, and anything the game throws at me with a good team around me. Also, I soloed every arc on redside with this guy, and have done some pretty crazy stuff to get badges for him. I like what I got, I hope you like what you got. My only point was to let anyone know, in my humble opinion, that if you were going to build a Scranker (building a tank with an emphasis on damage) you might want to go right to the melee archetype that the Devs did that for you on. But you do not have to. Take your Tank and turn him into a stalker. Go for it, as long as you are having fun.

I would not pair dark armor with anything besides dark melee. Dark Melee has a punch/heal attack (you need this), and a AoE attack/End Recharge (wow do you need this). I think Electric Melee has some end management help, but I seriously would not try dark armor with anything besides dark melee.

Oh, Dark Melee is really good to pair with Invul. It really makes that armor shine, tanking about as tough as it can get.

My main is a Str/Will brute. I have played him completely I/O'd for 3 months straight, no alting. Now I am alting, thank the heavens lol. After studying the boars and running this guy, I would agree with posts I have seen that he must be in the top 5 damage dealers in the game. Someone mentioned stacked rage. It works.

My postulate is that one of the best damage dealer builds can be inverted to create the scranker. It is expensive, I am running 4 full purple sets and a LOTG proc. THat is why the 2 rage keeps happening.

Having said that, DO NOT DO IT!

Wait a few weeks, bring that brute blueside. The sacrifice you are making for brute rage power to get a little more armor + health as a tank (which you say you are willing to sacrifice) is not worth it. Sacrifice that armor and health right up front by taking the brute, get that bonus base damage plus rage, and SMASH on my friend.

Thanks for the help. I got a level 11 Karma, switched to an alternate build with combat jumping, and slotted it there. I have run 25-28 using it and have not been KB yet. Only tanked one AV though. I am running all SOs except for that. As I decide what I/O build I am going with (and as I wait to see if I go flying too often) I will decide whether to drop in more KB protection.

I've just ran a dark armor/dark melee up to 28, started about 4-5 days ago, and I work full time. I just got off a level 30 team running +3 and +4. Granted, it can be challenging, there is the difficulty in enhancing correctly. There is little room for error using SOs. There is the difficulty in timing. When to hit your major heal....too late, you are dead, too early, you are wasting too much. There is the difficulty that almost all good stuff is reliant on being accurate (both heals/fear toggle/stunning toggle). But I am pretty happy with the build so far. I did put in a Karma KB prot. Bought a level 11 for 20 mil. Was not used to running a tank/brute susceptible to that. Other than that I am all SOs right now, but am already starting to look at other procs. I will take this build to 50. Once I/O'd I expect it will tank better than my will/str tank, but not as good as my Invul/Str tank. I may be wrong. If I can get the right mix of I/Os it is possible the build will be stronger. You almost have to I/O the build, it has so much potential out of the box, but will never realize it with SOs. Invul has almost no potential for growth. Softcap it (or get as close as possible) and walk away. The dark armor (in my opinion) is well suited to traditional tanking. It actually has control powers (2 AoEs!!!) built right into it. I have long argued that tankers are really controllers with one tool (taunt) and a build (armors/health)designed to maximize that style of play. That, again, is just an opinion. With a properly buffed dark armor tank you get just about the maximum ability for this style of play offered.

Now, if you want an easy to run tank, take Invulnerability. Or Willpower for super easy, but a little more fragile (even there you get the rez, easy mistake corr).

If you want a scranker, fuggedaboutit. Take the dark melee, pair it with will or shield, depending if you want easy (will) or maximize damage but working harder (shield)

Also, never never never take dark armor for a brute. Those 2 controller toggles kill agro. Dark armor is a little squishy (thats what the best heals in the game are for), and brutes are more fragile than tanks, and that combo aint good.

Or, we could leave it at "dark armor is worthless". lol. I hope you enjoy the tank/brute/scranker you do go with.

my dark armor tank is getting pinballed. what i/os offer good kb prot for a tank?

okay at 24. End problems are not an issue anymore (thanks to half my enhancers being end red lol.

Knockback! Been a long time since i tried a dark armor brute I guess. How do I solve the KB problem?