Tanking with an Ice/Em tank

Summary

I am going to talk qualitatively (and sometimes quantitatively) about tanking with my Ice/Em tank. I will be verbose.


Playing an Ice tank is fun for me because I like seeing the slow and agro attracting effects of Chilling Embrace. With EA and Hibernate, you have a lot of resources. I think only once did a mez ever get through Wet Ice, and it covers all the mez's I ever encountered in PvP. I have played side-by-side with Stone tanks, and they simply are much tougher with Granite running. There is no comparison. However, I like mobility, so Granite does not appeal to me. Invulnerable tanks sometimes seemed tougher, but I cannot be sure as it seemed that I usually had more aggro. Being an Ice tank meant that there were many times I survived because of using my powers and tactics just right. Most of the time, I could not count on sitting there and taking damage just using my own powers against red and purple mobs. However, that challenge is fun. Energy Melee with WH, ET and TF is just plain fun.

I dinged 50 last week (my first 50) with my Ice/Energy Melee tank. It was maybe my ninth or tenth toon, and it has been my favorite toon to play, and to be explicit, that estimation is based on my preferences. It was a pretty fast climb, especially after Energy Absorption (EA). I did not take the fitness pool, by the way, so I wanted add how that worked out.

Because of how I built and played my tank, he was a roller coaster ride to play. This is almost literal as I felt like I was going up and down. My end and health were often swinging wildly. By paying attention and playing carefully, I was able to keep my tank alive and doing well. It was a very active style of play, which I liked a lot.

It was tough at times in the early levels mainly because of endurance and having to be careful about how much aggro to take on, but after the late 20s, I started to feel really versatile. By the late 30s, I was feeling great. It was always fun though. You cannot take damage like a Stoner, but for quick, hectic, and mobile tanking, it was fantastic. Also, you have layers of powers that together help you to survive. That is important to remember. You just don't turn on one power and become safe, you use many powers at the right time. Also, you count on your team.


No Stamina

There were many powers that I wanted to take, so I made the tradeoff of not taking the Fitness Pool, which saved me three powers. There were many times when I could have used more endurance, and many times I lost all end. However, most of the time, I did not. Remember, this was a trade off, so some pain is expected.

I made sure that I put an End Redux on attacks and other big end powers. Once I got SOs, it helped a lot. Once I got EA it helped much more. Hibernate helped again. Before EA and Hibernate, I used Rest to help recover between fights.

To make this work, I had this pattern (which only worked really well after EA and SOs). Enter a spawn, hit EA to get end and aggro, help to arrest the spawn and repeat. The important thing was that by the time the spawn was gone, I was usually really low on end. That was not a problem. I went to the next spawn, hit EA and totally filled my blue bar. This became automatic such that if EA did not refill my end, I was surprised. Now, if teammates use KB to scatter the mob before you EA, you might not get back all end. I had 1 recharge on EA along with 2 End Mod and 3 Defense, so 2 or 3 mobs would often be enough to fill my end. It is important to note that EA works best when there are enough mobs, usually at least 3. So it is not enough to be fighting the last mob, probably a Boss or Lt. and use EA; it barely helps. Hence, EA worked best for me when I was low but not out after the last mob dropped, then using a full spawn to recharge. (Defense is another reason to want a whole spawn; see below.)

There were many times when I had to turn off a toggle because I was low on end and had no way to get back any quickly. Such choices are part of the roller coaster ride. It sort of sucks, but if you remember what you get 95% of the time otherwise, well, at least for me, it was worth it.

Oh, I always turned off my travel powers and sprint to save endurance unless I needed them to get around. A key bind made that quick and easy.

A note about losing all endurance. Frozen Armor (FA), Chilling Embrace (CE) and Wet Ice (WI) all recharge and activate quickly. When I lost endurance, I was always able to turn my toggles back on right away. I always start with WI to prevent mez. Hence, even when you detoggle due to no end, you can get your protection back very quickly. This was a nice surprise for me after having so many other toons who took time to get back powers. You will see what I mean and how big a help this is. Mainly, zero end meant that I had to stop attacking, not stop tanking.

Hibernate really helps. It recharges end and health really quickly, maybe in 15 seconds or so, but I almost never kept it on that long. I had 3 Recharges and 2 Health enhs on it, so in about 8 seconds or so, I was fully healed, and usually near full or full on end. During that time, I would not lose aggro. (I put 2 Taunt Enh. on CE and Taunt.) Hibernate was a boon so many times. You too will learn to love it.

Now, buffs can make end a non issue. A Kin/Emp/Rad can pretty much solve all your end problems. As I formed my own PUGs, I usually had at least one (if I could). With this in mind, not having Stamina was a good trade off. I had the other powers that I wanted which I could use.

In summary, yes, you can skip the Fitness Pool, but it is not always easy going. I would say this: having no Stamina can be managed, and for me, that management was fun. Get used to your endurance getting low, then rejoice when it is blasted full.


Health

Aid Self was a huge help. I used this often, especially before level 45 to keep myself alive. For various reasons, the mid to late 40s were pretty easy, so AS was not used as much (but still saved me many times). For most of the time, I had 1 Interrupt Reducer. Except for Damage Over Time attacks, it usually was not interrupted. Adding a second made it work more reliably. I used it a lot between battles to top off my health, so downtime was minimized.

Hoarfrost is really needed by the 30s, but due to slotting needs it fits better in the early 20s. It is a big help to take huge alpha strikes. Many times I was saved because I was able to activate Hoarfrost, so I tended not to use it unless I needed it. Many of those times I tried to use AS first, but it was interrupted.

Hibernate is simply fantastic. When your defenses, your teammates, Aid Self and Hoarfrost are not enough, Hibernate will be. (Well, almost always :-&gt I bound it to the 0 key on the number pad so that I can quickly hit that key to activate Hibernate. Many times I was down to almost no red with mobs trying to pound me only to be saved by Hibernate. Still, there were times I died because it was not recharged, so it will not always save you. But it will save you a lot even after all else has not been enough. I should say that maybe 10 times I hit Hibernate, saw the ice form around me, and then died anyway. Those were odd things.

As usual, defenders/trollers can often make the healing issue moot. During those times, HF or Hibernate often are all you need for those rare emergencies.


Defense

Mobs, in general, start off with a 50% chance to hit you. (Of course, mob accuracy bonuses, buffs, debuffs and Aracanaville knows what will change it.) I want to show how even small amounts of defense help when stacked.

First off, Wet Ice gives you 1.1%. We are down to 48.9%.

Frozen Armor or Glacial Armor are a big help, but they are not enough. You will need to supplement them. With 3 SOs, they will give you about 26.5% defense. We have now cut the chance to hit us to 22.4%. That means you cut roughly in half the damage you would otherwise take.

EA gives you 2% for the first mob, and then 0.5% for each mob after that, up to 14. It is not hard to get 6 to 8 mobs with EA, so let's use 7, and that gives 5.5%. That does not sound like much, so add 3 SOs. That makes it 8.6% roughly. Still, that does not sound like much. However, it is, and here is why. You have the mobs down to 22.4% with FA or GA (and WI). 8.6% is 62% of 22.4%. That means you can drop 38% of the remaining damage using EA. 38% is a big drop. The point to note is that though 8.6% is small, we are using it against 22.4% rather than 50%. And later, when we add more defense, we will be going against 22.4% minus 8.6%, or 13.8%. (A reminder, we get the benefit of EA for 45 seconds based on how many mobs were affected when it was activated. Hence, activating it in a full spawn helps a bunch with defense and will top out endurance. Using EA on a few mobs will help endurance but not as much with defense. That must be done sometimes, but if you then attack a large spawn, you will not get all EA benefits. Hence, unless I know that there will time for it to recharge, I sometimes suffered through low endurance to finish of a mob so that EA would be ready for the next mob.)

To get more defense, we need to use Power Pools. In my case, I took Super Jump, so Combat Jumping was a natural choice. (Well, I took Combat Jumping, so SJ was the natural choice. :-&gt Combat Jumping gives 2.5%. With 3 SOs, it gives 3.9%. Again, not much, but against 13.8%, it is a drop of 28%. Again, that is a big jump. We have the mobs down to a 9.9% chance to hit us. We have reduced the damage down to a fifth, or by 80%. Pretty good. Still, I want more. And fortunately, the next defense goes against only 9.9%.

I had to choose another power. I decided against stealth powers as the defense is reduced once you draw aggro, which as a tank you should do. Weave is tempting because it is rather large for powers from Power Pools. However, there are 2 prerequisites. Yes, one of those is Tough which helps against Lethal/Smashing. However, both of those use a pretty good amount of endurance, and we don't have Stamina, so I chose to skip those. (Remember, we want to stay at a end usage balance such that we are low but not out of endurance before we get rid of the last mob.) Maneuvers gives 2.5% too, but it uses even more end than either Tough or Weave, so I skipped it too. That pretty much leaves Hover. I was reluctant at first, but after having Hover, I was very happy (but we have to wait until aggro management to hear the full story).

So I chose Hover as my last defense power. It gives the same value as Combat Jumping: 2.5%, with 3 SOs, 3.9%. This will be against 9.9%, which means we drop the remaining damage by 39%! Again, 3.9% might seem small, but not when compared to only 9.9%. You can see the value of stacking defenses. (The miracle of sliding down the hyperbola.)

With those defenses, we have dropped the 50% chance to only 6%!! (Assuming EA gets 7 mobs, etc.) We will be taking only 12% of the original damage. That makes a big difference.

Also, because it is defense, mez effects that depend on being able to hit you through your defenses will miss much more often.

So, that is the lesson of stacking, and it will help you keep alive. (You still cannot compare to a stoner, but at least you can do your job.)

Now, we have gone through all that work to get a good defense. Whew. However, any purple inspiration will be pretty much cap you. If am Emp puts Fortitude on you, or a bubbler helps out, you can cap again. As nice as that is, you will not always have that kind of help, so the strategy of stacking is a good way to ensure consistent results in the absence of that other help. BTW, when an Emp puts Fortitude on you, you really will notice the difference. If they also put Adrenalin Boost, Holy Majoley!!, you will feel god like. I never ask for that, but I do hope. :-)

Don't forget, that CE slows the attack rate (32%), so that effectively lowers the damage you will receive, and it also has a damage debuff (14%). Add those in and the mobs are doing a tiny fraction of the damage they could otherwise do.

Finally on defense, FA is good against attacks with a S/L component, while GA is good against attacks that have an Energy component. So you have to make sure you choose the right one, or do as I did: have them both running. (Yes, a bit of wasted end, but most of the time it was fine, and I liked not having to worry about what damage mobs are more likely to do.) There are other attacks against which your defense will not be as effective or not effective at all. Those don't have happen as often, and for me, I still managed well enough. You do have AS, HF, Hibernate and your team after all.


Aggro Management

This is what I considered job one. As I made it a point to be the one who formed the PUG teams, I was the leader. Being the tank too I got to decide how we attacked. It was my goal to make the pace of attack as high as safely possible. That meant doing just enough and not more. I got many compliments on my tanking in regards to safety and good xp rates with players looking for repeat invites, and that was very satisfying. Being an Ice/ tank is a good AT for aggro management. This build worked well for me. You have Chilling Embrace which is like glue. EA and Whirling Hands (WH) are terrific too. Of course, normal attacking will punch voke. Still, CE is your best power. Watch mobs running after another toon turn to attack you, and you know its power. (You will see a faint blue cloud form around affected mobs.) It often is enough to run around near to mobs that have been scattered or are going after another to get them to come to you.

(The following is more general than Ice/ tanks, but I want to discuss it anyway.)

First, I have three bindings for aggro management: "Ready to attack?", "Attack!", and "I will pull a spawn to here. Plz, don't attack until I say." I would use the first after I had decided how I would start the attack. Then after I was ready for the team to attack, I would use the second. The third is for pulling. I almost always used these, and the team could follow me better that way. (BTW, those messages form thought bubbles that help other toons find you when they have to look up to see what is going on.) Players quickly get the rhythm of the attacks and can time their powers to great advantage if you are good about giving them this feedback. It is wonderful to see AoEs, buffs/debuffs, Fulcrum Shifts, etc, go off almost instantly after I get aggro. It helps me stay alive because the aggro I have attracted often would batter me pretty bad (giving me that roller coaster ride).

A big part of aggro management is deciding which spawn to attack and how.

Make sure you have the viewed pulled back so you can see everything.

(The how part was much, much easier with Hover. I put 3 Flight enhs on it, and I cannot over emphasize enough how much it helped to be able to fly up to, over and into a spawn. Hover is a wonderful aid to a tank. Most of the time it is fast enough in combat with 3 SOs (and great when AM or Speed Boost was applied). I have tanked with running, combat jumping and TP, and Hover worked by far the best for me. There were maps with elevated walkways and corners that were no problem because I would float out far enough to look around the corner without attracting aggro, or avoiding caltrops and similar things. CoT caves are no problem either. Really, Hover was fantastic.)

Choosing which spawn was often easy: the next one you find. It was when there were multiple spawns too close together that picking a spawn was really important. In those cases, unless I was with a really strong team, I would do something to one and only one spawn to pull it away from the other spawns. The easiest way to do that is to find a line-of-sight obstruction (which can even be a tree or a box), Taunt a Lt or Boss, and then duck behind the obstruction. (Hover works great for this.) Be patient and let the mobs collect. Sometimes you have to tell the team to wait for it. Once the mobs have gathered, I dart out with Hover and grab aggro, usually using EA and Whirling Hands (WH), then use that bind to tell the team to attack. This works really well and is pretty fast. This is also fun, but I want to keep the pace up, so I only do it when I think it is really needed. Also, try not to do the Taunt right next to the team in case AoE attacks come.

You can also move up to a spawn, attack (or EA) a mob/mobs, then run back some obstruction. This is sometimes the only good way to do it, but I prefer Taunt as it saves the time it takes me to get to the mobs. Also, the team does not lose sight of me as much when I use Taunt. Running to a spawn sometimes means you are out of sight, and it can be distressing to a team to see you lose a bunch of health. (Remember, you will lose health a lot, but you won't die much.) Also, sometimes the spawns are so close, you might draw aggro from two of them when you run up and attack one.

Sometimes spawns are intermingled. Don't worry. Pick an LT or Boss on the edge and Taunt it. That will bring the spawn associated with that Lt or Boss. More than once I used the bind to say I would pull one spawn and then another team would say something like, "There are multiple spawns?". Then I would pull as described and 1 spawn would come and the other would remain.

It is important to Taunt or otherwise affect a Lt or Boss (as opposed to a minion). Sometimes if you only affect a minion, the rest won't come.

Again, pulling slows the pace, so only do it when needed. Blasters will sometimes offer to use a snipe, but almost always, that is not needed. The team usually should be able to handle an entire spawn. The only reason to pull a spawn is to keep other spawns from being aggro'd by accident. Sometimes it is helpful to move a spawn to a more convenient area. But breaking a spawn down mob by mob is almost never needed.

After combat has started, keep an eye open for extra aggro. Taunt is really useful because it is ranged. Hover shines here too because you can quickly go up an over the mobs, toons and pets that are in the way.

Watch the team's damage bar. If a player is being hurt, help them. Trust in CE to hold aggro. Many times I ran over to a player to help out, took out that mob (see below for the wonders of Energy Transfer and Total Focus), then turned back to see the rest of the mobs trying to make their way after me, still pissed off at CE.

There are arguments about how a tank might not be needed. I have played with good and bad PUG teams. As a good tank, I can really help. I can help keep the team together as they learn to work together. I can separate spawns. I can take alpha strikes. I can aggro the AV. I can keep an eye open for players in trouble. Sure, some teams are so good that I am not as needed as a tank. (With EM, you will do good damage in the late 30s and after.) Still, even in a good team, problems can happen. In all cases, I can make it so the team has less to worry about. If you are a player that wants to worry about aggro, then maybe I won't be a good addition to your team. However, if you like to focus more on other things, then a good tank will be a plus. Ideally, as soon as the last mob is down, I am moving onto the next spawn with no break in between, except the time it takes to move to the next spawn. The team can focus on taking out the mobs as fast as possible, most of the time not having to worry about retribution. The get used to that very quickly, and that is clear when for some reason I suddenly get killed. Often after a few seconds, another toon would drop, then two or three more, then another and so on. Scrappers with MoG or Elude would survive, or some player who was really good could too. But usually, it would be a wipe unless I can get rez'd quick. I can see that for good or bad, I was keeping aggro rather than the team having to worry about it. Of course, I have been on teams where I die and the team is just fine. Thus, I go from absolutely needed for smooth and efficient play to optional as the rest of team mates. Mostly though, in PUGs, the former is much more common.


Damage

You will be lacking in attacks for a while. You can get 3 attacks, including Barrage, early on. However, you will not be satisfied with those. Whirling Hands is great, but still not a killer. I was happy to get it, and fighting spawns solo was faster. I never took Icicles because of the endurance cost. It is Energy Transfer and Total Focus that really shine. When you get 3 Damage SOs on ET, you can sometimes take out LTs with one hit, usually 2. With buffing or debuffing, this happens a lot. So many, many times I have Hovered up to a mob, ET'd them and they were down. Or I have helped another toon who was slugging it out, and bam, finished off the mob. It is fast, uses a little end, and does huge damage. Yes, it will take some health, but you will almost never notice. ET is one of the best parts of an Ice/Em toon. TF is great too. It is not as much damage, is slower and takes more end, but the nearly guaranteed stun is terrific. I often lead with TF to stun and drop toggles, then used ET. I felt very powerful at 40 once I got those powers slotted up. With Hasten, a Recharge, and some buffing from a teammate or 3, and you can really do damage.


Epic Power Pool

I tried Pyre Mastery because I wanted to try Fireball. It was, however, out of concept, and Fireball was cool, but it felt like WH. I switched to Artic Mastery and was very happy. No DoT, which is good, and Ice Blast does more damage than Fire Blast. Block of Ice was a reliable and fast hold. Ice Storm. Mmmm, Ice Storm. I love that power. It has a long recharge, but with 3 recharges and Hasten, it usually was ready for each spawn. The main problem with it is the scattering of the mobs it causes. But with CE and the chill effects, they often don't get far. If you have a troller, you can expect a hold or immob to keep the mobs in place. In fact, most of the time I would wait for a troller to do that then activate Ice Storm. Or, a troller would get sick of me scattering the mobs and would fire off a hold or immob to counteract the mobs running away. Either of those worked great. Also, Ice Storm is useful to give you a breather if you are taking a beating as the mobs will run instead of attacking you. It also works great to distract a new spawn that was aggro'd (as Ice Storm is ranged, you can fire at the spawn when you see them get aggro'd).


Miscellaneous

Good keybindings help. Messages to the team are easy to use that way, and there are sets of powers that can be turned on or off easily. I list some below.

We all know that sound when we power down due to low or zero end. As I mentioned above, most Ice/ toggles turn on very quickly. With the key bindings, it will become second nature to toggle on the defenses as soon as that sound is heard. I was surprised by how well that worked. After a while, you don't worry about powering down except that you won't be able to attack until one way or another you get back your end -- at least you can protect yourself and Taunt.

My favorite teams usually had 3 blasters/squids and 3 defenders/trollers and a scrapper. Most blasters I have teamed with like being able to blast away, especially with their 9th tier power, and with three of them and buffing, one of those is usually available. I teamed with up to 5 blasters, and that works too, but I prefer the security and general problem snuffing powers of trollers/defenders. I have had very good luck with 7 defenders/trollers, but it is not always possible to get that many. I have had lots of scrappers too, but some of them start to rush ahead to engage other spawns, so it becomes too chaotic for my tastes.

It is important to keep in mind that as a tank, you enable the other players to focus more on their strengths by reducing the amount of aggro management they have to do. The blasters and scrappers will do the most damage, and will do more if the defenders/trollers can do their part. One tank can make that go more smoothly especially with PUGs or players who are not experts.

Typically, I formed the teams, and many players seem to like not having to worry about recruiting. Of course, many have friends with whom they want to play, so I always entertained their requests to have a friend join, assuming SKs if needed were available.

I tended to invite players who were my level or lower. I wanted to ensure that the players would get good xp. With the teams that I would make, fighting mobs 2 or 3 levels higher than me would work well. Sometimes some players would be 4 levels less than me, so it could be tough for them to contribute much damage, but only a few complained. Being on the team was always voluntary. I did not mind if players left suddenly for whatever reason. It was often hard to find enough players around my level, especially in the 40s, so I was quite happy to invite players 10 to 15 levels lower if there were mentor.

I tended to allow KB to be used as the other players wanted. I know some players hate KB, but I thought it could be managed or tolerated. I would sometimes ask KB users to delay if the situation would call for it. In general, I did not want to tell players how to play (except to let me lead the attacks and not to draw extra aggro). If the team was doing well, then I did I not see a reason to restrict tactics. As long as aggro was being managed properly, I tried to minimize restrictions. Oh, pets and teammates (and even you) will sometimes accidentally draw extra aggro. I tried not to make an issue of that. Almost always, I could head over to the next spawn and get aggro, and sometimes a troller would take care of the problem themselves.

I respec'd several times as I figured out what worked well. I started with Teleport, which I really like, but Combat Jumping is needed, and there are not enough power slots, so I switched Super Jump. Early on I used Barrage, Energy Punch and Bone Smasher. Barrage is not a big attack, so after I while I did not use once my attack chain included ET and TF. I changed Energy Punch to Air Superiority. The stun from EP happens just sometimes, but the knockdown from AS happens almost every time. Plus, with Hover, AS was great to send a flying mob to the ground to be swarmed by the team. That was particularly fun in Croatoa against those witches.

I had bad days when my tanking was sub par. Try to learn from your mistakes. Sometimes you will feel pressure from the team to attack several spawns at once when you think it might too risky. Sometimes the team was right, sometimes there were not. If they are right, you had a good battle. If they were wrong, you got a team wipe. A team wipe can often be a slow process to recover from, so I usually decide to be safe. Sometimes several team wipes occurred in sequence. Often better tanking would have helped, but did not do a good job. Perhaps you will go through that. I just accepted it and tried to be careful.


Bindings

Here are some of the bindings that I made. Of course, change the keys as you see fit.

] "say Ready to attack? $$ emote point"
SHIFT+] "say Ready. $$ emote taunt2"
CTRL+] "say Attack! $$ emote attack"
CTRL+Z "say Zzzzz."
SHIFT+Z "say Gratz!"

SHIFT+p "say I will pull to here. Plz, don't attack until I say."

UP "powexec_toggleon glacial armor$$powexec_toggleon frozen armor$$powexec_toggleon chilling embrace$$powexec_toggleon combat jumping$$powexec_toggleon wet ice"
DOWN "powexec_toggleoff glacial armor$$powexec_toggleoff frozen armor$$powexec_toggleoff chilling embrace$$powexec_toggleoff combat jumping$$powexec_toggleoff wet ice"

RIGHT "powexec_toggleon super jump$$powexec_toggleon hover$$powexec_toggleon sprint"
LEFT "powexec_toggleoff super jump$$powexec_toggleoff hover$$powexec_toggleoff sprint"

CTRL+RIGHT "++autorun$$++up$$powexec_toggleon super jump"
CTRL+LEFT "+backward$$+up$$powexec_toggleoff super jump"

NUMPAD0 "powexec_name hibernate"


The Build

This build is better once you get TF and ET as you would otherwise have only 2 attacks until 16. I did not need Taunt as much until the late 20s, so I put it off until 30. (But I was so glad to have it, I think I might have tried to find a way to fit it in earlier.) You could skip one slot of Taunting from CE and Taunt. You could drop Hasten, but it really helps in my opinion.

To be sure, you might want other powers or to rearrange the order of powers, and please, do so. For me, this was the result of lots of anguishing over how to get as much as I wanted as soon as I could. Sometimes I put a power ahead of another because I wanted to make sure it got the slots it needed, or conversely, I would have been forced to put slots where they were not needed. For example, I would have wanted Aid Self before Hoarfrost, but I would to allocate slots differently that I wanted, so I took Hoarfrost first so that the 21 slots could go to it (rather that Stimulant). Though I want tanking to have priority, I too wanted to be able to do damage, so I sometimes made choices that made me do better damage as long as I felt I could still tank well. And doing damage is a good tactic for a tank sometime.

It is a toss up between Aid Other or Stimulant. Both are useful when they are needed at all. There were many times when I was able to help with Aid Other, but I eventually switched to Stimulant. I finally did a Hami raid, and I wished I had Resuscitate, but I chose Build Up instead.

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Exported from Ver: 1.7.5.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
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Name: FreezerGeezer
Level: 50
Archetype: Tanker
Primary: Ice Armor
Secondary: Energy Melee
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01) --> Frozen Armor==> DefBuf(1)DefBuf(3)DefBuf(3)
01) --> Barrage==> Acc(1)
02) --> Chilling Embrace==> EndRdx(2)Taunt(7)Taunt(7)
04) --> Bone Smasher==> EndRdx(4)Acc(5)Dmg(5)Dmg(23)Dmg(42)
06) --> Wet Ice==> EndRdx(6)
08) --> Combat Jumping==> DefBuf(8)DefBuf(9)DefBuf(9)
10) --> Hasten==> Rechg(10)Rechg(11)Rechg(11)
12) --> Hover==> DefBuf(12)DefBuf(13)DefBuf(13)Fly(15)Fly(15)Fly(23)
14) --> Super Jump==> Jump(14)
16) --> Air Superiority==> EndRdx(16)Acc(17)Dmg(17)Dmg(42)Dmg(43)
18) --> Whirling Hands==> EndRdx(18)Acc(19)Dmg(19)Dmg(34)Dmg(37)
20) --> Hoarfrost==> Rechg(20)Rechg(21)Rechg(21)Heal(43)Heal(43)Heal(46)
22) --> Stimulant==> IntRdx(22)
24) --> Aid Self==> IntRdx(24)Rechg(25)Heal(25)Heal(31)EndRdx(33)Heal(46)
26) --> Energy Absorbtion==> Rechg(26)EndMod(27)EndMod(27)DefBuf(31)DefBuf(31)DefBuf(34)
28) --> Glacial Armor==> DefBuf(28)DefBuf(29)DefBuf(29)
30) --> Taunt==> Taunt(30)Taunt(33)
32) --> Hibernate==> Rechg(32)Rechg(33)Rechg(34)Heal(37)Heal(40)
35) --> Energy Transfer==> Acc(35)Rechg(36)Dmg(36)Dmg(36)Dmg(37)EndRdx(42)
38) --> Total Focus==> Acc(38)Rechg(39)EndRdx(39)Dmg(39)Dmg(40)Dmg(40)
41) --> Block of Ice==> Acc(41)
44) --> Ice Blast==> Acc(44)EndRdx(45)Dmg(45)Dmg(45)Dmg(46)
47) --> Ice Storm==> Rechg(47)Rechg(48)Dmg(48)Dmg(48)Dmg(50)
49) --> Build Up==> Rechg(49)Rechg(50)Rechg(50)
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01) --> Sprint==> Acc(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Empty(1)
01) --> Gauntlet==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Rechg(2)
---------------------------------------------

Excellent guide, very well written and makes great suggestions. Thanks!

Thanks.

If you like, as you learn things different from what I have wrote, perhaps you can reply. Especially, I would like to hear about differences. For example, I don't hear or read much about stacking defenses, so I am curious if you don't, how that works for you. I would like to hear about your aggro management experiences, etc.

So if you remember once you are in the 30s and 40s, drop a note.

Of course, experiences similar to mine would be welcome too.

Hey there! My Ice/EM tank just hit 41 two nights ago. I use her most often has a true tankroller, taking and hold mass amounts of aggro while slowing and draining endurance. My build (oddly, i guess) does not include the Medicine Pool. I have my five favorite attacks: ET, TF, WH, Air Superiority, and (only because I have to) Barrage. I am finding so many powers I want in EM as I read the boards, I cant get them all!

I have all the Toggles in Ice Armor (I think) except Icycles (sp?). I usually run WI, GA, and FA all the time. When I am in a team I run CE to hold aggro. I also have Taunt, but I will prolly respec out of that later. I use hastem as much as possible, and SS is almost always toggled on. I also have CJ and SJ for vertical ability. I have the fitness pool (swift-health-stamina). Essentially I play a very fast herding tank with high defense and mezz resist.

Its strange but I find EA works really, really well for me. That extra 2% + 1/2 per critter somehow makes me take a lot less dammage, and I find that EA, then Hoarfrost (after I go below 1/2 HP), then Hasten, then EA again can make me VERY hard to kill even while herding +3's!

One thing I love is that EA stacks with itself. I am not sure exatly how the bonus is applied, but it feels additive (that is, +7 percent or so for the 1st EA, over and above my toggle armors, and 7% above that with the second EA) meaning that my defense against everything except Psi is somewhere in the neighboorhood of 44% (i think)

Course my numbers could be totally wrong, I don't really worry too much about that stuff.

And I don't know how non-ice tanks feel about Hibernate, but I freakin love it. If I pay attention, I am now nigh-unkillable!

Anyway I like your thread, thanx!

I know how you feel about wanting more powers. You have taken the Fitness Pool, and you did not mention endurance problems (in fact, you keep SS on), so the tradeoff is a tough one. No endurance problems vs three extra powers.

I agree the extra defense helps. EA is a great power overall. It really made my tank more fun to play.

Have you fought Carnies yet or Sappers yet? They can drain end so bad that I often lost toggles because I had no end. I wonder how much Stamina will help. When I have teamed with Kins and had SpeedBoost, that helped, so I suspect Stamina will too.

Hibernate made a huge difference for me too. There were times that I needed it to recharge faster than it did, but it really helped a lot. As you said, you can be really tough to kill with it, and for me, the end recharge was a big help.

Have you decided on an epic pool yet?

Thanks for the response.

The word on carnies: I have tnaked up to +2 carnies, and only had my toggles dropped once when I ran headlong into two Master Ilussionists and a Ring Mistress in a large mob.

I was shocked the first time I fought the Malta, and a Sapper got me and wiped out my END. I am much more careful around Malta now.

I will post my build later tonight.

So heres the build for Polar Mama, my favorite toon!

---------------------------------------------
Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
---------------------------------------------
Name: Polar Mama
Level: 50
Archetype: Tanker
Primary: Ice Armor
Secondary: Energy Melee
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Frozen Armor==> DefBuf(1)EndRdx(3)DefBuf(3)EndRdx(11)DefBuf(11)EndRdx(17)
01) --> Barrage==> EndRdx(1)
02) --> Hoarfrost==> Rechg(2)Heal(5)Rechg(5)Heal(13)Rechg(15)Heal(15)
04) --> Chilling Embrace==> EndRdx(4)EndRdx(7)Taunt(7)Slow(34)Taunt(46)Slow(48)
06) --> Hurdle==> Jump(6)
08) --> Wet Ice==> EndRdx(8)EndRdx(9)EndRdx(9)
10) --> Combat Jumping==> Jump(10)
12) --> Bone Smasher==> EndRdx(12)Acc(13)Dmg(50)
14) --> Super Jump==> Jump(14)
16) --> Health==> Heal(16)Heal(17)Heal(23)
18) --> Glacial Armor==> EndRdx(18)DefBuf(19)EndRdx(19)DefBuf(39)EndRdx(39)DefBuf(39)
20) --> Stamina==> EndMod(20)EndMod(21)EndMod(21)
22) --> Whirling Hands==> Dmg(22)Acc(23)EndRdx(29)Rechg(31)Dmg(31)
24) --> Hasten==> Rechg(24)Rechg(25)Rechg(25)
26) --> Energy Absorbtion==> EndMod(26)Rechg(27)Rechg(27)EndMod(31)DefBuf(34)DefBuf(36)
28) --> Build Up==> TH_Buf(28)Rechg(29)Rechg(33)TH_Buf(34)Rechg(37)TH_Buf(37)
30) --> Super Speed==> Run(30)
32) --> Hibernate==> Rechg(32)Rechg(33)Rechg(33)Heal(37)Heal(48)
35) --> Energy Transfer==> Acc(35)Dmg(36)Dmg(36)Rechg(40)Dmg(43)EndRdx(46)
38) --> Total Focus==> Acc(38)EndRdx(40)EndRdx(40)Rechg(43)Dmg(46)Dmg(48)
41) --> Focused Accuracy==> TH_Buf(41)EndRdx(42)EndRdx(42)EndRdx(42)TH_Buf(43)
44) --> Taunt==> Taunt(44)Rechg(45)Taunt(45)Rechg(45)
47) --> Stun==> Acc(47)DisDur(50)EndRdx(50)
49) --> Air Superiority==> Acc(49)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> EndRdx(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Acc(1)
01) --> Gauntlet==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Rechg(2)
---------------------------------------------


Shes only lvl 44 ATM, and her build wont look like this till after the respec and six more levels, but all the movement and defensive powers are already there. All I am missing is Bone Smasher and Stun (I may add these in last after all they are mostly for extra damage and Mez).

I will say that unless I am on a REALLY GOOD team (people on my SG or friends I know and trust) I dont try to take on anything above +3's, and solo +1s with confidence. Death means nothing to me in PvE (my motto: Debt is good! Builds Character!), but I do try to avoid it as I am also very competitive.

I would say to anyone who has enjoyed tanking before or who think that they might that the career of an Ice/EM is filled with fun and excitement!

One thing more.

Lately I have been noticing that SS seems to eat up more END than it used to. I was just standing aroungd the other day running only SS and SJ, and my END bar was dropping maybe 10%, then filling up, then dropping 10%, then filling up again.

This had not happened befor the most recent patch that I can remember.

A bug, maybe?

I also have a Ice/EM tank and I must say that I enjoy havin him. He is mad fun to play and is always busy whether its taunting, healing, end recovery, or herding. I am proud to admit I am happy that this is one toon that really doesn't require the fitness pool. As for PvE I will say that the most trouble I have would be the higher lvl carnies final end drain. Malta I am very surprise to say that with the slotting on the defense of my tank sappers miss me soooo much with the end drain, very rarely do they get to drain any end *praises CJ & Frozen Armor defenses*. I also will say that i have soloed a couple of AT's/builds in PvP that I would naturally attempt to avoid Necro/Dark MM's. I was very impressed with the battle. The MM faced was a really tactical one and had two powers up on me as I was 33 in Warburg. We tied one to one.

Overall I love this tank far more than any invul toon I have *coughs* ok, maybe not that much, but they are neck & neck. Ice I would say is much more fun to play than invul.

I have lots of questions as far as Taunt in PvP I don't know where to begin. If there are any PvPers that have this build please PM me. Thanks.

it is nice to see how many different ways ppl will play the same kinda toons. and kudos on not taking fitness. i still would take it. i don't ever feel like i am wasting 3 powers. i like to be a jumper so hurdle and combat jump get me around very well. health is also a nice thing for a ice tank. so fitness never seemed like a waste to me.

the other reason why i take stamina is i like icicles. yes it uses alot of end. but the amount of dmg that it will do in a night is alot more then ppl think. of course i make my ice tank a bit more offensive then some. but that comes at a cost, being that i don't take aid self or the fighting pool, but they always seem to be good to go with just hoarfrost and hibernate. finally i would always put 3 recharges in EA. that is one of the most powerful things in a ice tank's arsonal. i go 3 recharge 3 end mods. but everyone plays different. glad you are enjoying what IMO is one of the most fun tanks to tank with