Muse to my Ears

I wrote a guide for shield/ice tank

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=267798

Power pools

Fighting- Usually a great idea for any tank. more defense and resisitance is always a great thing. Would totally recommend it.

Concealment- not really that great for a tank...but you could always get grant invisility to help control the arrgo your team may face.

Flight-a good choice for ya...but i'm almost positive frozen aura wont get set off unless you're on the ground...but dosent matter if you dont choose that power. Shield Charge does work in the air though

Leadership- buffs are always handy and since tanks tend to outlive everyone (usually) you could even go as far as getting vengence. That's a lot of slots and will seriously mess with your endurance running all of these...you could always pick and chose one or none...all depends on your build.

Medicine-I would seriously recommend taking this. I know how silly this seems, but really, we cant deny the fact that things get past our defenses. Taking aid self and using it shouldn't be a problem if you slot it some because of all of your abilities. Ice patched, held baddies that are knocked down and slowed shouldn't stop you when you have high defenses. I strongly recommend this. Even if you wanted to go as far to take the rez... How awesome would you be? a rezzing tank? wierd and awesome

Presence- great for those of us who want to make sure no one is getting hit but us. Very good for of soft control.

Speed- hasten always rocks and ss isnt bad either. does well with popping up in the middle of groups.I could even go as far and say whirlwind...nah...i wont go tht far :P

Teleportation- I chose this for theme purposes, but over all is the fastest traveling power and looks cool. recall friend is always loved as well.




good combo tactics (some epic talk here)

Ice patch + anything = awesome

after gathering your foes or while about to jump in make sure you have against all odds (if you took it) and do freezing touch. make sure against all odds is on. click build up and then do shield charge and then frozen aura. ice patch and then taunt. (or taunt then ice patch)

* make sure against all odds have enough time to understand that you are surrounded to get the extra daamge boost.*

Depending on your epic (mine was ice)

you can also (if you chose ice for your epic) do ice storm to help keep arrgo and do DoT on whatever might be left.

(if you choose ice epic) you can combine both holds (freezing touch and then epic) on one boss, or two others. i tend to use this on foes that are attacking my teammates.*remember freezing touch is melee*

(if you chose earth mastery) you can combine the sleep in salt crystals and frozen aura. Do frozen aura first though for max sleepage.

(If you choose fire epic) combine fire ball to your aoe to make a deadly tank. * make sure and use melt armor on the boss. Melt armor can be your lead in more before shield charge and other aoes.

(if you chose energy) you can combine energy torrent with ice patch to increase maximum knockdown



Well that's it for my little guide. This was a little more work than I expected, but it was fun. I thought it hilarious this was the first thought that popped in my head in what to do with this random slot of time I had today. I hope this guide helps you get a little clearer idea of this set...this guide could loosley related to other defense sets like possibly the ice/ set of tanks and also possibly as a /ice secondary idea. It was my first tank and a great transition for defender/troller primaries and a fun different kind of beat for tanks.If i get more free time like this again I will update the post with more information, but this is all the time I have for today. I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did. Happy tankin y'all.

Freeze sucka!

Ice powers are usually my favorites I love any type of water powers *wink wink devs*
Ice is very handy because of it's many effects and this is still the case even for tanker melee.

These wonderful abilites are slightly lowered in power, but are given a tremendous gain in control. I wont suggest any powers except for a couple, bu tit's your toon so you make it how you'd like.Lets look over the cool powers shall we?


Frozen fist avail lvl 1-(melee)minor damage (cold/smashing) foe -recharge-speed

You have to take this. I'm sorry...but it's good as a fill in power between all the others.



Ice sword avail lvl 2- (melee) moderate damage (cold/lethal) foe -recharge-speed

pretty cool looking. Get it if you like it. some people dont take it because of story concept...but whatev


Frost avail lvl 4- (cone) moderate DoT (cold) foe -recharge-speed
(10' range 90 degree arc)
Pretty good cone and I'd say take it, if not for the fact then to hit multiple targets. once you find its general reaching radius, it's easier to use. I really would sugges not skipping it just for the fact that it hits multiple units and does pretty good damage on them.DoT is still damage.



Taunt avil lvl 10- (ranged) target area of effect for + taunt

I think it's always a need to have taunt as a tank. Helps to pull off baddies off your teamates if nothing else. I definatley say to take this power...but it's your choice if you think you have enough taunting in your build.



Build up avail lvl 16-(self) +accuracy +damage

Also not manditory, but if you're gonna play the set and say it's not enough damage for you then I would suggest taking this power and slotting it for recharge. IT's handy for soloing or taking care of a boss that is posing problems.


Ice patch avail lvl 20-(location/player based Area of effect) foe +knockdown

This is your bread and butter sugah. slot for recharge and love it like your baby. It only effects 5 people at a time for knockdown purposes, BUT it's fast pulsing so while another gets up, it knocks down another five. Very handy for your survival and arrgo control. By far a must for the /ice secondary. your arrgo will help keep everyone in the 10' radius.
Slot for only one rechagre to reach perma.



Freezing touch avail lvl 28-(melee) high dot(cold) foe +hold

This power is another staple of the /ice power. You can slot in anyways you'd like. People usually forget that it is high damage adn i'm pretty sure it is the strongest attack you have in the /ice.( based on speed,dot, yada yada) You can also slot it to increase the hold which could come in handy for those pesky foes that arent effected by your ice patch...but typically those foes require two holds. ( very possible if you get ice epic) Over all a great power and versitile as well. Who could ask for anything more?



Greater Ice sword avail lvl 35-(melee) high (cold/lethal), foe
-recharge -speed

Again same as ice sword. Your choice depending on your build. Attacks are good, but you have to chose which ones you want.



Frozen Aura avail lvl 38-(PBAoE) moderate (cold) foe sleep

Good to have for the extra aoe, but on teams, the sleep abilites are useless for teams, but handy for solo. Aoe damage is always a plus, espcially for teams. I'd get try to fit it in where you can because Aoe is always welcomed.

Welcome sugahs to my very first and hopefully not last guide. I'm Muse and i'll be your tour guide on this lovely trip into a not so ventured path.
This guide is not meant to for me to tell you the most powerful build, or the best secondary for a shield tank, but rather my experience with this lovely combo how/why I have fallen in love with this build. It has helped me transition into the wonderful world of tanks. (long sentence)

Ground rules-

1st-I am horrid at spelling and almost all forms of grammar. please excuse my dear aunt sally

2nd-I will tell you what path I've taken with this toon, but don't take my actions as "the true path"

3rd- I usually play defenders and tend to play on the more passive side. I wanted to have a toon that wouldn't die in three hits and so looked into different tanks. My first choice for secondary (that sounds weird) was /ice because I love passiveness abilities and ice is full of wonderful effects on your enemies.

4th- I'm not a big fan of numbers and important details, but if need be, just look up the numbers whenever you start to make your toon. all the details will be there neatly categorized for you to decide.

What is a shield defense/ice tank?

Shield/ice is wonderful combo. very sly in nature. The play style is going to consist of the normal run in arrgo and lay the smack down. as a tank your main concern is holding arrgo and doing your best to make sure you other team mates don’t get hurt. my typical lead in with my tank is running in, taunting the baddies and laying down an ice patch. Throw my holds (Ice mastery is needed for two holds) onto the boss and keep taunting and spamming my cone and pbaoes. Now again this play style is meant for fun, as all play styles should be, not for being the best. shields defenses and general abilities couple well with any secondary. Shield is also really adept at taking on any kind of enemy and not really having a general weakness. Queen of all trades. I choose ice because of the effects.ice is known for having a little less damage, but trade off for more effects, I think you'll agree, over time, when you get your abilities, they'll definitely help with arrgo control. The main point of this set is to avoid damage as much as possible. Just because you can take this hits, doesn’t mean you have to.
between the slows of recharge and speed, the knockdown, the holds and even the sleep, you are armed with an arsenal of abilities that couple well with you're other abilities.


Shield abilities and all of the goodness



Deflection-avail lvl 1(toggle) this is +defense to melee(15%) as well as + resisitance(15%) to lethal and smashing.

This is a must to a combo of abilites you need to have running at all time. otherwise you aren’t gonna last to long. Make sure and slot this for defense and resistnace if you'd like. dont recharge for speed. if it drops, it'll be up in no time...but it should never drop. (more on that later)


Battle Agility avail lvl1-(toggle) your second toggle which gives +defense to ranged/aoe(15%)as well as + defense debuffs.(17.3%)


Same as deflection, but you really want to slot up that defense. no resistance to bump up.

Both of these powers will be constantly running all the time, so make friends with them and remember they are what make your play style unique. If you'd like to slot for endurance it would be a bad idea since they will always be on.

*Message* (don’t be a mence in south central while drinking your juice in the hood joke )This type of tanker, like most, doest have defenses to psychic abilities, BUT it's defense to abilities arent based on the normal scales like most tanks like smashing,lethal, etc etc. the +defense to ranged/aoe helps with just that. ranged and aoe attacks. it doesn’t discriminate against type...just the way that it approaches you. ( which we should all make sure and learn a lesson from :P)



True Grit avail lvl 2-(auto) Resistance! Oh thank god. we're not totally lacking
+ resisitance to fire, cold, energy,negative,toxic (15%)as well as a boost to your max hp (10%)

A must have for this set, because lets face it honey, no matter how much we avoid getting hit, whenever you're running into a mob of 50, you aint gonna get out untouched. being strictly defensive isn't what this playstlye about, so make sure and take this power because everyone could use a wee bit more of resistance in something right?

*Message* this power in an auto run so dont worry about toggling it, or having to deal with endurance.



Active defense avail lvl 6-(toggle)resistance to disorient, hold, sleep, fear, confuse, repel, knockback, defense debuff

Your typical mez protection. A must for any tank. A special thing about this power is the defense debuff protection. This is vital for you considering you're all about not getting hit. If your defense gets lowered down then all you really have to rely on is your resistances. Since that's not your strongest suite it's good to have this resistance to defense debuff. ( a couple of other powers in the shield primary help add to your defense debuff resistance and is actually a well known strength of this power set, so don’t fret to much)

*Message* pressing control and clicking active defense activates it immediately as it comes up. This is a wonderful thing to make note of because mez protection is very important. if you get mezzed, your toggles lost some effect and even worse you cant act and you need to protect your friends so slot probably for recharge.


Against all odds avail lvl 8- (toggle)you get + damage(10% for first and 5.5% for others ( max of 10 enemies)) while -the damages of your foes(-7%) as well as a taunt aura.

Now this is the first power that I wouldn't say is a necessity to this. Now after saying that, I took this power and never looked back. Being a tank you'll constantly be surrounded by baddies...or at least you should be. you should be up in there face and beating it into the ground. Though damage is no the first concern for tankers as a general rule, (you got a lot of other things to worry about first) we all can't deny that beating those stupid jack wads who keep hitting you doesn’t feel good. You can have ten guys around you that you can effect and be effected by. This comes in handy with all your aoe abilities and just general control of the situation.


Phalanx Fighting avail lvl 12-(auto) special defense + melee, ranges, aoe

This power gives you a base of unenhancable 5%. Please be aware of this. 5% is great when leveling up through the grind. You also get 3% per teammate that is close enough to you. (8 feet, but only with a max of 3 teammate effect you) so if you have some scrappers on your team they'll help you get better defense. This power is also not necessary in terms of hard core powers needed, but if you team a bit, you'll get more out of this power.

*message* it is an auto power that gives you an extra base defense of 5%. Just remember those facts as well as not having to worry about endurance.

Slot for defense if you'd like, but remember if wont raise the 5%, just the 3%

Grant cover avail lvl 18- +TEAM (not you) defense to all BUT psionic (11.25%-within 15 feet) as well as +TEAM (not you again) resistance to defense debuffs and recharge debuffs

1st.This power never once effects you. Ever. don’t kid yourself. make sure you know this.
2nd. This leads to this power not being taken, but on one of my build for my character Water shield, I have a team build. I again, as stated earlier, play as a defender. Having powers that don’t effect me is usually part of my job description. On my team build this comes in handy especially once you state that you have this power. Scrappers will go from close acquaintances to snuggle buddies who want to have sleep over’s and make smores. Doing this can also up your own defenses if you took Phalanx fighting. IT's truly a win win situation, but only good for teaming...but if multiple shields used this power together...

slot for defense if you'd like , but definitely not necessary

Shield charge avail lvl 26-(teleport ability) high smashing damage, taunt and knockback

Thank the heavens! shield charge will be your best friend in this lovely trip as a tank once you get it. You'll want to use this ability every moment it's available. you click the power, position the teleport and then lets the fun come

*message* If you've chosen to get against all odds, it would be best to lead into the group with another ability to give time for the game to acknowledge that you are surrounded by a horde, then target the middle of the group and do the attack. you'll typically get anywhere from 45%-65% of extra damage depending on the group of baddies. Remember that anything that gives you extra damage is always good Totally recommend taking this...but it's not a must, but you're crazy if you don’t.

Slot for damage and recharge and accuracy


One with the shield avail lvl 32- +resistance (30% s/l 15% to all other but psi)as well as + disorient,sleep,hold,immobilize,knockback and + all damage BUT Psi, + recovery (30%)and + max HP(20%)

This is supposed to used as a "oh crap" power, but because it doesn’t completely drain you of your endurance, it could be used at every point it's up. Many people who believe they are to bas good for powers that have so much to offer will not take this, but I say it's a great power to take in case situations get hairy. IF you have a mob of fifty and you get an ambush and they all have -def capabilities, this would be a good time to use this power. Task forces and even keyes would see this ability used. Again this power will not drain you of all endurance when it's done, or have any nasty effects on you at all other than the endurance. Great to have if you don’t have the money just yet to slot out your toon to your liking , but still want to make sure you're really good even when the the situation has become all but better hits the fan. (please excuse my dear aunt sally...again)

slot for resistance and recharge...could also slot for hp

turning off the sounds helps. I haven't actually play with sound in years. I just turn on some good music and jam out. I agree though. sonic is ugly. just ugly sounding.


I have a controller...I dont know ho wI like them. I like the idea of controllers, but I need a little more damage than that. I love my ice/sonic toon, but I could see where this may not have been the best choice for damage. I guess I should probably try soomething along the lines of gravity/kinetics then....but I love my defenders and tanks so much. I know soon I will probably expand into other playstyles. Been quite fond of SoA lately as well as dom.

Speaking from the stand point of my main being a sonic/sonic defender, I know what it's like to have gotten onto a team and then kicked off because I wasn't a "healer" or "useful".

/rad workes amazingly. I havent played it in quite some time, but /rad was great not only fo rlowbies, but missions with plus 4X8. it is a debuff because honestly...if you aren't hitting them...then you arent doing damage, which is the whole point. Dont take it personally.

I'm happy you choose ice/ice tank. It's really fun and really great at holding arrgo. Ice patch is your best friend and if you tend to go for ice epic powers (which i'v enoticed theme wise, most ice/ice tanks do) yo uwill get two holds which really helps when trying to stop someone who isnt effected by your ice patch. Overall a really fun set. I would suggest medicence pool just to cover the damage you will inevitably take, plus with your defenses, ice patch, holds, slows and recharges on the power, you'll usually be able to get aid self off without a hitch.


If you like tha tplay style, i would suggest shield/ice. you get one more aoe from shield bash and with against all odds and build up from/ice helps make up for your damage. Over all a great set that is very team friendly and a hoot to play my second favorite character

Well, I made a toon for the empath and i've delted her twice now. I think i might also consider sonic. My sonic defender does great damage all on her own so that's good for refrence. I was thinking of getting a patron pet withm my empath as well. you're right. with the patron and the lore pets i'd do really well healing my own team....also considering to possibly make a mm with pain domination for easier solo and playing.
Dark sounds good too, but i'm afraid of over using dark because it it amazing. I love my dark/dark (and soon/dark) defender and catch my self plying that toon and all my other toons say 8 days last played. haha



p.s. I want poison for defender )))


p.p.s. Sonic/sonic gets a lot better as you go and I would suggest you play this "extinct" defender if not only for the fact that there are only a few of us. I know two other sonic defenders and let me tell you...it gets crazy whenever all three of us team.

I wish they put poison for defenders. Oh that would be grand.


I think i'm gonna make that toon very soon now. empathy/psychic. i likes

okay cool thank for the adivce

It's really really hard to wait till I can get fire. plus with time manipulation and thermal i'm already gonna have a lot of work on my hands.

I guess i'll go with psychic then Thank you!

This is exactly why I need to post more. Little things like this run through my head all the time

except empathy. I love being a defender. I love taking care of the team and everyone around me. I love all of my different types of defenders. They all have they're little thing of awesomeness, but I haven't made a permanent person with empathy power.


I had one that got to about 31, but because of my altinitous and some cousins who wanted to make take some spots on my main server, (grr you evil spawns from satan) I lost this toon amoung others. (r.i.p.)

She was a empathy/energy...and even though it went amazingly well (concept wise) for my toon, (white-lighter esk) I want to make it a great toon now.

Now granted I have one of every kind of defender. Here is my list of combos I currently have. I want to try a different secondary, because I want to branch out

sonic/sonic
Dark/dark
Cold/dark
Strom/ice
Forcefield/rad
Kinetics/sonic
Rad/electric
Trick arrow/dual pistols ( p.s. the drawback on the weapons really isnt that bad at all, especially since as a defender on a team you rarely have time to attack when using the trick arrow set and by the time the weapon change happens there is not that much down time at all I promise. try it. fun set. Super versatile if you know your enemies weaknesses and gives you that extra edge )


but basically want to try other secondary effects that might be good. Was looking into psychic because I've never used it on a defender, but I can only imagine the horror stories trying to solo the carnies.

I try to solo with all my defenders, so this will need to be important information because I do solo a lot...but being an empath, I could see not getting that chance much. lol.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
( I have been trying to make this toon for a while...and I decided who better to help then you guys! )

Group hug

1) sonic
2) dark
3) traps
4) cold
5) storm
6) kinetics
7) trick arrow
8) FF
9) empathy
10) Radiation Emission

and yes i totally agree that the best mm is a sonic/sonic because all of "your" extra damage"
Cant wait for mm to have sonic either...or us to have thermal

I agree on the defender for life. I am as well. I love sonics defender because I when I first started out I solo'd a hole bunch and the /sonics damage resistance really added up with her debuffs and it all went really well. I learned a lot of story and went to many places with her. Except dark astoria. ( i don't know why)

I have also tried all the defender primaries and fo ra time there had one of every kind. only one i don't have is an empath currently, but only because I hate looking at green bars...but I will make one once I find a different story.

My second favorite defender would probably be a dark defender. Since /dark blast is known as a staple for defenders I wanted to try dark/ and was amazed at how well the character was even from lvl one. Of course expecting that you only have a few powers at lvl one, the choices from the get go helped me and my team get through the sewers to kings row. ( my firs time I ever made it all the way there) It's a fun and very controlerish/ jack of all trades defender and I truly enjoyed the power sets. esp the pet who makes life way better.

I play other toons of course. Mainly tanks and mm and my fort, but my heart will always be with defenders.

Congrats on defeating him. Great video! Love defenders showing we can handle things on our own whenever we need to

My concern lies with the sonic primary. I love sonic. My first toon and main since then was/is a sonic/sonic defender. I love the play style and power behind the toon, but I would have to agree that it really needs help.The powers numbers seem slightly to low and I think if they were increased just a wee bit that it would make up for the other lacking points. ( no sleep protection/ psi resistance) Switching clarity with sonic repulsion. Clarity is much more useful in a general basis where as sonic repulsion is very situational and honestly...the few sonic defender i've seen never have that ability anyway. (in my few years of player her, I've never respeced in or out of the power) Upping the numbers of the shields would be decently fine for me and I know not every set can have it all, but adding a little more self resistance wouldn't hurt. I mean honestly, I'd say defenders are probably the most diverse class thus far comparabily and unlike others sets, people ALWAYS check what kind of defender is on there team because it's always a different kind and they all bring something different to the team. You see what defenses you have to work with and then adapt your play style ( if adaptable) to maximize the team. Maybe giving sonic more self resistance could make them be known as the "sturdier" defender. With thermal going to hit defenders in the next update, no one will want to play sonic because thermal is like quasi empath/sonics and especially the way things are heading, game wise, with keyes and other things where heals become more nessesary then ever before, I'd defiantly give it some serious thought.