what are the best specs to go with my stone armor?

i'm a newby, and right now the character i'm using most is a lvl 6 stone/stone mutation tank named obsidion hulk in the victory server. i'm curious about a few things.

in case i decided to rebuild my tanker is there a better choice for a weapon type for my stone tanker than stone?

also is there a better power source then mutation for a stone tanker?

what type of new locomotion should i choose at lvl 14? i would of chosen jump like the hulk, but a faq i read said not to choose jump, because it sucks.

and do you have any other advice for a newby to this game stone tanker who might want to get their character to lvl 50?

i have played other mmorpgs like w.o.w. where i have a lvl 70 dual spec dps/tanker dwarf paladin named stromboli, a lvl 67 dps warrior named rambozo, and a lvl 53 dps mage named midgeto all on the uldaman server. also i play phantasy star universe, and psobb.

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First off, welcome to the forums and to the game!

That said, let's discuss a few things.

Firstly, the choice of origin means very little in this game. So whether your Tanker is mutant or magic makes very little difference. It's player choice, so base it off of how you see your character as having gotten his powers.

Secondly, if you re-roll your Tanker, choose whatever powerset you want. It's going to mainly depend on what you want to do with it. The different sets handle different situations...well...differently. Some have more control, some have more damage. Some have more Area of Effect (AoE) damage, others are more single-target oriented. So we'll need to know more on what you want to be able to do here.

Secondly, most Stone Armor characters choose Teleportation (TP) as their travel power. Why? Two of your main powers (Rooted and Granite Armor) slow you down, and prevent you from jumping over things. So TP gets you around these hurdles. The other travel powers are just fine, but on a Stone Tanker, you get less value out of them.

Secondly, don't necessarily rush through this game like you might in WoW. This game is more about the journey than the destination. If you rush to level 50, you may find that there's less there to do than you might think. Enjoy the ride up.

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Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"I was just the one with the most unsolicited sombrero." - Traegus

k, thanks Aett_Thorn for the advice so far. i'm interested in maybe playing pvp some on a team maybe in the future, and also pve on a team, and also going solo through the game. what offense type build set would be best for tanking pvp, and tanking pve, and for going solo all with stone/granite armor?

and what melee type(s) deal the most damage for a tanker for a single opponent, and against a group in pve or pvp?

also what vet powers should i choose when i get there? and i'm gonna choose teleportation for my travel power.

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My suggestion, if you want to solo for any significant portion of your time, is that you don't make a Granite-only build. Take a few of the pre-granite armors and slot them -- Rock Armor , Stone Skin, Minerals, and probably at least one of either Crystal or Brimstone. You might consider the Fighting Pool (Tough and Weave) as well -- not needed in Granite, but they can buff you acceptably when not in Granite form. And the reasoning is that Granite slows down your movement and attacks and drastically lowers your damage.

So for soloing, when you won't face such large spawns, you will do better damage and get ahead a lot faster staying out of Granite form. Use Granite as a panic button when things start to crumble, but stay out of Granite to kick more behind.

As far as what secondary to take, my thinking on this is to go one of two ways: either one of the more area-effect-heavy sets (Fiery Melee, Battle Axe, War Mace) to stand in groups and mow 'em down, or go with Super Strength, because its damage buff power, Rage, unlike the build-up powers won't be as badly affected by Granite's recharge penalty. (It's up for two minutes instead of ten seconds, so you can get off a lot of attacks before it fades or recycles).

Fiery Melee is probably the highest damage output of the sets I listed -- its disadvantage is it offers no damage mitigation effects, like knockdown or debuffing. But Stone Armor can be so tough that you don't really need mitigation from your attacks, so FM's disadvantage doesn't affect you as much.

I don't know much about PVP, but I think Stone Tankers will probably have to be part of a team; they're too immobile in Granite to fight other players effectively, and too vulnerable outside Granite (in PVP, that is, where players can pick on the weaknesses of the non-Granite armors. It's not so bad in reglar PVE play).

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If we are to die, let us die like men. -- Patrick Cleburne
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The rule is that they must be loved. --Jayne Fynes-Clinton, Death of an Abandoned Dog

My stone/axe tanker doesn't get out much any more, but when she does, she solos in Rooted only. I don't think any tanker needs tough or weave solo. Stone surely doesn't, especially if when things get hairy you still have Granite to hide in and eat some inspirations.

Dark Melee might be good for a team oriented Stone tanker. You have -tohit in most everything, which would work well out of Granite, since without it Stone is mostly defense. Stone doesn't need AoE help to hold aggro. The first couple attacks are fairly fast recharge. You get an extra self heal. You get recovery. You get a superior Build Up that's also an AoE attack. These things make DM a favorite attack set, and they would seem to mesh well with Stone's needs.

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<《 New Colchis / Guides / Mission Architect 》>
"At what point do we say, 'You're mucking with our myths'?" - Harlan Ellison

If you haven't done so already make sure you take time to read the PvP forums. Also, this wiki site has great information about powersets etc. and links to even more information.

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