It all snapped back one day when I was teamed up with Meringue and a few of his cohorts from the Divine Felines. We were checking out some creepy cult that was all robes and glowy-eyes, when we walked up on this portal. No sooner did I look at it than these demons just started appearing and setting everything on fire! They were all over the place. They couldnt hurt me, so they ignored me, going after my friends instead. Just as they closed in on Meringue, he yelled at me to Know your role, Meatshield! I was so stunned I couldnt move. I was rooted from shock in an unyielding stance that seemed to last for hours. We eventually got the upper hand again, but when I went home I was still reeling from the fight
and Meringues words.
Here are my powers as they are currently slotted. And if youre wondering, thats a Hammi-o in Jab. Improves the stun and the damage. That and the other stun make it very reliable, but its a recent addition.
The stuff you cant see is Jump Kick, with one ACC and one DAM, Super Jump with just one END REDUX, Swift with one RUN, Health with 3 HEALS, Stamina with 3 END MOD, Conserve Power with one END REDUX and 2 Recharges, and Focused Accuracy with an END REDUX.
I wont go into the details of what each power does, and after 2 years of respecs and freespecs, I cant tell you in what order I took them. There are many excellent guides in the Tanker forum that crunch numbers and give you reams and reams of data on the individual powers. I have AT guides in a binder going back to Through the Looking Glass. One of my new faves is Hegemon's Guide to INV/SS Tanking in Post-I6 Paragon City; It has a lot of great information on aggro even though I disagree on a few power choices, but well get to that later.
After much thought and introspection, Ive come to a place where Im at peace with myself and what I do. People out there need me; if its not a fire in Steel Canyon, its a spy ring with hostages. Someone has to protect what civilization has worked so hard for. I wont let that one beating stop me
. Being gentle with crime will only get you run over. And I wont ever take another beating without a fight. I cant stop being human just because Im super-human.
Im writing this to talk to you about STYLE. These powers are a reflection of a fighting tanks playstyle, which is vital to handle changes to powers. Playstyle is what makes you have fun playing the game. Change in an online game is going to happen and you have to be able to play through the changing statistics. My particular style is a goal I set for myself: A hero thats going to keep my attention and keep me pecking at keys (cause Im neurotic like that
Its not a game if Im not involved.) One who is not an END hog and does some good damage solo while being an asset on teams. If this is not your particular style, then I hope you still enjoy the story and learning how I do my thing.
Part of my new outlook is related to a new-found sense of dedication. Some people run in, thinking theyre invincible. They have so much going at once that they burn out. Medirex, Grubb, Toggle-boy; they all just gave up after making a huge splash. Some of them were trying new doses of Superdine confiscated from Trolls. Things with names like Hasten and Temp. Invulnerability. Some got bad batches, and some got better, but I feel so old thinking of all the heroes Ive met and never seen again.
In COHs earlier issues, and even some today, I constantly debated END issues due to too many toggles and yet needing defense. Stamina is the difference between a Tank and a Meatshield. Without it, you can turn on toggles and stand there, maybe go out to get a bite to eat, catch a movie, but you cant do much of an attack chain without eventually dropping toggles, especially in long battles against AVs or GMs. To me, thats not tanking, thats watching TV, so I skip toggles and use my END for damage.
I skipped Temp Invulnerability because even though its a great bonus, its a Toggle. It can fall against Malta Sappers or Clockwork and it costs END
for Smashing and Lethal protection. For which I already have scads of protection with the slotted passives which use no END and are always on. And Invinvibility. And SG temp powers. Bleh.
I also skipped Hasten because it just encourages me to burn through end, and becomes a liability when paired with Rage. Im a Rage junkie for its ACC bonus and added damage, but if its up, Ill hit it, putting two Rages up and shortening my duration on the second one because the crash prevents me from attacking when it drops. Thats more time Im a Meatshield, and not a Tank. While Hasten is great for Dull Pain and Unstoppable, its not really needed in the later part of the game. Attacks recharge quickly, and even on the hardest difficulty you can handle your own quite well without Hasten.
Thunderclap doesnt do damage, pure and simple. Its crowd control and cool looking, but not for me. I took Jump-kick because I like the crouching posture and had high hopes for the knockback; its still handy when a Psi slows your recharge way down.
For travel, I chose SJ. Fly and Teleport are great travel powers when properly slotted and bound correctly, but not in my concept. Thus, I dont visit the Shadow Shard much. However, I recommend both of them over Super-Speed. In terms of which power truly feels the fastest, Super-Speed excels. However, visit Atlas Park on a truly busy day with SS on, and you better have a stress ball or good shrink handy to handle the rubber-banding and lag.
Me
Ive decided that you have to look before you leap. Its not about being flashy, or being the hardest, or the fastest. Its about standing up for whats right by meeting force with equal force. You dont fry a purse snatcher with a solar blast thatll melt glass, and you dont try to take on the world in one big smack. You protect the people, everyday, let them know that were still working toward a future, and never give up that hope.
Which brings us to:
Playing
When youre playing COH, you have two options: Teamed, or Solo. For purposes of this guide, Ill let Tyger talk about solo first.
But thats enough ancient history, you want to hear about recent exploits. Just last night I was checking out this crazy right-wing paramilitary group, and they have these agents called Sappers that pack some heavy duty weaponry. Well, last night I got this tip about a warehouse, and when I stepped inside I could see the Sapper just down the hall, flanked by the usual flunkies. With the glow of the Sappers gun and smell of ozone he couldnt stand out more if he were wearing a camouflage prom dress. I prepared my self mentally, raising the usual shields, and then grabbed a rock to throw. By the time the Sapper landed from that pelting, I was on top of him with an uppercut that sent him right back into the air. One more jab and he was out. Then all I had to do was wipe up the leftovers. They toppled with a nice slam of my foot.
Take time to size up your opponent. Hit the Tab key to cycle through and identify larger threats lurking in the mob in front of you. Malta all look alike so its sometimes hard to pick out the Sappers, Trolls and Nemesis have click powers they use when just standing around, and not seeing a Shadow Cyst Crystal until youre on top of it will ruin your day beyond belief. If you can pick your targets wisely, it will help tremendously. Solo, stragglers and runners are ok. Its one less critter trying to hurt you, and you can get to them later.
When picking which attack to start with, remember that Ragdoll physics are the best thing to happen to an SS Tanker since Unyielding lost the Stance. It effectively makes the villain lose a turn to pick himself back up. Hurl buys you some time when facing opponents at range; by the time theyre getting back up, you can be there with just sprint. I absolutely love to hit Hurl, press f to auto follow my target, and then queue up Knock Out Blow. Thats twice that theyre unable to act. Hurl also works as a Taunt, which comes in handy later when we talk about groups.
Unyielding and Invincibility are your always toggles; you should always have them on when soloing a big group, but when snooping around a mission first, Invincibilitys taunt can be a liability. I just snoop with Unyielding and Sprint on and hit Invincibility when Im getting ready to pounce. Dull Pain and Unstoppable are your Oh Crap buttons. When you start going down, Dull Pain first, wait till its heal is almost gone, then hit Unstoppable.
Foot stomp, while most useful for its aggro-pulling, still has the Ragdoll effect that Ive come to love. Think of the time the enemy spends on his back as another type of shield. The dont shoot me and bounce instead shield. It does decent damage when slotted right, to boot.
For whaling on bad guys, you cant beat the attack chain of Hurl-KOBlow-Jab-Punch-Jab-Haymaker. With a recharge SO in each, Hasten is a waste of time. Dash with a little Rage for ACC and DAM boosts, and there isnt anyone you cant whittle down to nothing. I found that with an ACC in each attack and an ACC boost in Rage, I can consistently hit anything up to +4. If the secondary effects are slotted to be reliable, you have 3 chances to lay them out with Knockdown and 2 to disorient using the above attack chain. Dont listen to the nay-sayers who would have you take power pools for your attacks.
Lets move on to Teams
Oh, you want to hear something bigger? Well, lets see. I know. There was this awful fight about a month back. I was with Meringues crew again, and it was awful. A massacre. I think Paragonians contact set us up. You see, it was your standard bust disarm and attach a go straight to jail tp card to each of the baddies. Cake, right? I took point as field leader and we found a weapon rack fairly quickly. Then it all turned sour when I got cocky and blindly bumped into a clutch of Sky Raiders.
I figured we were eight healthy super-heroes in our prime, with honest-to-god powers and stuff, what could they do to us? Well, they took down Meringue first. Dynabot 2.0, Paragonian, and I were occupied with the herd, and a couple of porters homed in on Meringues energy blasts and zapped right to his location in the back of the group. There was so much gunfire that I didnt notice until he was gone. Emerald Emily, our healer, went down next. It was so fast I didnt see what happened.
In what seemed like the same moment I noticed the grape-colored pinstriping on two of the skiffs in front of me, Samurai Swan ran into the next room. She was trying to find room to move our wounded, but walked right into another squad of Raiders. She was gunned down right in front of my eyes. Time seemed to slow way down and I kept saw Meringue telling me to know my role over and over as both groups surrounded what was left of us and then in a flash it was over. Everyone was down but me and a dozen troops with guns ablaze. For someone who can take a tank round, I felt so helpless.
Lets say you are the Tanker on a team with one of each AT. Like it or not, your wisest bet is to go ahead and be a Meatshield. An Empath can spend their time healing you, or spend it healing everyone else. That means your taunt is invaluable; only you can take hits that others cant. Use the powers that keep all the villains on you. Foot Stomp and Invincibility hold the aggro of those close, Hurl and Taunt are for the stragglers. All too often, Ive seen a lone villain whos standing just a little ways off take out a team by hitting the squishy heroes hard. You have to watch for these and pull them back to you. Once all the bad guys are herded around you, they are easy prey to AoE attacks from your allies.
However this time, the helpless feelings passed, and all that was left was Rage! I yelled out in a primal bellow and you could see the light go off over the Raiders heads: They knew I was pissed. As they rushed me, I hurled and kicked each of them down the hall, away from my teammates and into an area where I could really let loose. I slammed four up into the air at once, and clocked one with a piece of rock bigger than my head. By the time I had wiped out all but two, my team was rejoining the fight, and I collapsed
exhausted by the fight.
If someone dies, try to move the herd of villains away from them. The deceased can rez and rejoin the fight so long as you keep everyone away from them. Also, set a bind or macro to warn your team when somethings about to hit the fan. When Unstoppable drops, you need to have some inspirations handy or a good healer. Both is preferable. If you have neither, you should warn the squishies that they are going to have to tank until youre back to normal.
After that, Emily used her empathy to allow our Blasters to see through my eyes, and I could pick one of them to see through. It was a weird sensation. Like being paranoid, and having it confirmed.
Practice and preach target thru. If a Blaster, Controller, or Defender targets through your Tanker, they avoid getting aggro, and help keep the villains on you. For your part, watch their health gauges. If one starts going down, click their name and select Taunt. It will affect their target and (if they have their attacker in their crosshair) pull whoevers hitting them back to you.
Its also a good idea to set the powers in the upper right of the screen to blink. When Rage goes down, you cant attack for a few seconds. Watch for it to blink, and hit Taunt or Foot Stomp.
Finally, we found their captain. It was a brightly polished android carrying a multi-gun. His grape-colored pin-striping indicated he had taken down many heroes before us. But it was all right because we had a plan.
Dynabot ran in first, able to withstand the flame-thrower setting the captain threw at us. I circled around, catching his guards by surprise and leading them back to Dynabot. Once I had them where I wanted them, I turned! I slammed my foot where Paragonians X-Ray Beams had spotted a small gas pipe underground. It knocked some of the captains lackeys off their feet when the buildings foundation cracked, and exposed the pipe. Meringue took a delicate shot and everything went Nova! The Raiders that were left went down hard and fast.
Now lets say youre on a team with another Tanker. Ill be honest, I used to hate being on teams with other Tankers. You can almost see the aggro tug-of-war sometimes. Then I learned that this was my chance to let them be the Meatshield, and I can truly be a Tank. Quite a few Tankers will run in, grab the aggro in front of them, and whale on the biggest villain they see. Thats when your practice pulling stragglers comes in handy. Let the other Tanker hold the herd, you pull the whole herd tighter in, then take out the minions. After youve taken them out, youre only left with any Lts and Bosses and your team can switch to more powerful single-target attacks.
Now if youll excuse me, I have a city to patrol. I got an idea earlier today. You remember the old Popeye cartoon? You know, the one where hes fighting the forty thieves? Well, he gets this herd of thieves to jump into this jar that hes been hiding in, and while their all cramped up he really waylays them. Im dying to give it a go out by the waterworks in whats left of Venice, and I think I know the perfect boxcar.
And last, but not least, there is the ultimate tanking move. Once upon a time it would have been called Box Hunting, but some devs creepy old man in a box analogy really put that to an end. Now I call it Suicide Herding. I only do this if another tank and a controller are around to help me hold them. First, I turn on Invincibility with its Taunt Aura. Then, I pick a target and hit the auto-follow. While running, I select a mob from group B and hit Taunt. I land in group A with my Taunt Aura going and 5 members of group B heading toward me. I look for group C, target one of them, and hit f for auto-follow again. With 10 behind me, I hit Foot Stomp in group C, add another 5 to my herd, and head around whatever corner my group is waiting in.
I didnt have the heart to tell those junior superheroes the real reason Im out here everynight What really drives me to wear this brown jumpsuit and belt. Its that first glimmer of what being a super-hero meant to me. That same joy I felt when all this was new. Deep down inside, I love being in the middle of the chaos. I love to hear the sound of buildings collapsing, the screams of people in need of rescue, the look on their faces when Im the one there. If I had to go back to that boring mundane life before powers, Id become just as bitter and hateful as those I fight. We walk a fine line just for the thrill of it, and many heroes turn to crime. Its not easy being a hero in this city of villains. But as long as Im around, everyone will know Im the one setting things right. That may be selfish, wanting all that attention, but it leaves me with the greatest satisfaction of all.
Meanwhile, at a Paragon Protectorate Training Session...
Growing up, I read non-stop about superheroes Where they lived, what they could do, why they did it everything. The day my powers kicked in, it was like a dream come true. I felt like a whole new person. Even though I had these funky stripes, I was really somebody Not some wimpy schmuck from the sticks, but a bona-fied super-human!
When I first created my Tanker named Iron Tyger back in Issue 1, I didnt even know where the official forums were. I was too busy creating a street-level hero; Someone like Brin Londo aka Timber Wolf of the Legion of SuperHeroes, or Bronze Tiger of the Suicide Squad. I pictured a small guy who could take a punch and unleash a ferocious attack. I started out with the basic powers (RPD, Jab, Punch) and was having a blast. The first levels are all about having fun with few real consequences. I did dumb stuff like slotting brawl and such. At that point it was all about the Ooo, wow! factor.
Pumped up on enthusiasm and adrenaline, I pulled a few good deeds; made citizens arrest on several Hellions and a few Skulls. The silly tights! I dont know what I was thinking; that somehow crime-fighting might be so easy that I could prance around in that get-up. That all changed when I ran into Bonesnapper.
Eventually, I ran into harder enemies, tougher ones only to get beat down, and so I came in search of advice on the forums. I read and read and read about tanks. I even printed out pages of the Player Guide section to take with me and read on my lunch breaks. After all, Iron Tyger was more than just a toon; He was a Concept Character, and I was going to make him the best hero he could be!
After the beating he gave me, all I could do was try to recuperate. While my body mended, I occupied my time with so many projects. I worked. I studied. I took up boxing. I studied criminal tactics. I worked so hard that I started to lose sight of who I am, instead of dealing with that defeat and moving on. I became an unmoving, unresponsive rock.
I followed the advice and did everything the min/maxers advised. I took Temporary Invulnerability. I shunned the passive powers. Iron Tyger became a meatshield. And somewhere inside I realized I was not being true to my creation. I patiently worked towards a respec, then waited for a freespec, then did another respec trial (Yeah, yeah, I could find the forums but didnt have enough intelligence or courage to try the test server. Sue me.) After all that trial and error, here is what Ive done, and what works for me.