Should work fine as a main tank.
And SD isn't really any harder to get early attacks then other Tanker primaries (in fact I think I have more attacks on my SD/DM Tanker then I had on any other Tanker up through L26 or so (with my normal compliment of Hasten and Stamina yada yada yada)).
Will I need tough/weave?
And also, whats with the click based mez protection? please tell me that can be made perma.
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Will I need tough/weave?
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The larger the groups you're in, or the higher your difficulty rating, the more you might want them. Are they needed? No. But you may want them if you tend to end up on teams fighting tougher enemies.
Soft-capping your Defense values through IOs is another way to go.
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And also, whats with the click based mez protection? please tell me that can be made perma.
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Yes it can, with only SOs. One will get you close. Two will let you double-stack for a time, and three will ensure that you can have it perma even if you get debuffed a bit.
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
hmm, as far as money goes, I'm well off, but by no means a multi-billionaire, is capping defense quick and moderately cheap? if so, I'll go for it, but if it is anything well over probably, 350mil, it'll be pushing my money stores.
Good lord, 350? My 35 SD/Axe has spent maybe... 10, and with one or two allies in range can hit soft cap no problem. Still planning on Manuevers and some more IO bonuses to edge myself closer. But yea, if your limit is 350, you should have no problem 
Sweet, I can shoot for that then!
Yeah with tanker base numbers it is not too hard or expensive to soft cap defense.
Scrappers/brutes are a bit pricier due to needing more sets/more expensive sets to get it done.
For 350 mil you should be able to work a nice build out of Wentworths.
I have a 50 Shield / Ice Melee tanker, and everything you've assumed is more or less accurate. I had frozen fists and frost as my "attacks" for the first 20-odd levels. After a respec, I had frozen fists and kick, plus ice patch.
You'll want to pop some taunt IOs into Against All Odds to get its taunt's duration over 2 seconds, but after that, you're not noticeably worse than other tankers at holding aggro, and the hold helps.
I'm currently IOing my way out of Weave, but it's very easy to cap with that and Combat Jumping, for the record. Trying to reach the cap without weave involves investing in some rather pricey sets (Obliteration and Touch of Death) to get there. I recommend sneaking a Steadfast Protection unique into Deflection or True Grit as soon as possible. It's the best possible IO investment you can make in terms of adding some defense. Also, the Call of the Sandman chance to heal proc can be put into Frozen Aura. I have one sitting around the SG base for when I respec, and it should be some help with incidental hits.
You should be fine for most of the TFs in the game. Speaking from experience, Lord Recluse in Statesman's TF is doable but difficult, and if you find yourself tanking him, have your team deal with the red tower first.
Here's the build I am aiming towards. There is some wiggle-room, obviously, but this is the best I've come up with:
Oh, and be aware, if you use Mids' to plan a build, that Phalanx Fighting will believe you always have 1 person in range. In-game this is not necessarily true, so reduce the totals you're looking at accordingly or toggle it off and add 5% in your head.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
Maeda Ranbei: Level 50 Mutation Tanker
Primary Power Set: Shield Defense
Secondary Power Set: Ice Melee
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Arctic Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Deflection -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(3), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(3), S'fstPrt-ResDam/EndRdx(7), ResDam-I(19), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(46)
Level 1: Frozen Fists -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(11), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(11), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), T'Death-Dam%(40)
Level 2: Battle Agility -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(5), EndRdx-I(5)
Level 4: True Grit -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(7), Heal-I(9), Heal-I(19)
Level 6: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(9)
Level 8: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 10: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(13)
Level 12: Taunt -- Mocking-Taunt(A), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg(13), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng(15), Mocking-Taunt/Rng(23)
Level 14: Health -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(15)
Level 16: Against All Odds -- Taunt-I(A), Taunt-I(17), EndRdx-I(17)
Level 18: Kick -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(21), P'Shift-End%(21)
Level 22: Ice Patch -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 24: Super Jump -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(25), Zephyr-ResKB(25)
Level 26: Shield Charge -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(27), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(27), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29), Oblit-%Dam(31)
Level 28: Phalanx Fighting -- DefBuff-I(A)
Level 30: Freezing Touch -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(31), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(33), Lock-Rchg/Hold(34), Lock-%Hold(34)
Level 32: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(33), RctvArm-ResDam(33), RctvArm-EndRdx(34), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 35: Greater Ice Sword -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(36), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(36), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37)
Level 38: Frozen Aura -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(A), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(39), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(39), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40), CSndmn-Heal%(43)
Level 41: Block of Ice -- Lock-Acc/Hold(A), Lock-Acc/Rchg(42), Lock-Rchg/Hold(42), Lock-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(42), Lock-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(43), Lock-%Hold(43)
Level 44: Ice Blast -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(45), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(45), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 47: Build Up -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(48), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(48), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(48), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(50), GSFC-Build%(50)
Level 49: One with the Shield -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(50)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
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[u]Set Bonus Totals:[u]<ul type="square">[*]14% DamageBuff(Smashing)[*]14% DamageBuff(Lethal)[*]14% DamageBuff(Fire)[*]14% DamageBuff(Cold)[*]14% DamageBuff(Energy)[*]14% DamageBuff(Negative)[*]14% DamageBuff(Toxic)[*]14% DamageBuff(Psionic)[*]11.8% Defense(Smashing)[*]11.8% Defense(Lethal)[*]9.25% Defense(Fire)[*]9.25% Defense(Cold)[*]12.7% Defense(Energy)[*]12.7% Defense(Negative)[*]3% Defense(Psionic)[*]14.9% Defense(Melee)[*]16.8% Defense(Ranged)[*]15.5% Defense(AoE)[*]1.8% Max End[*]10% Enhancement(RechargeTime)[*]39% Enhancement(Accuracy)[*]2.5% Enhancement(Held)[*]9% FlySpeed[*]105.4 HP (5.63%) HitPoints[*]9% JumpHeight[*]9% JumpSpeed[*]Knockback (Mag -4)[*]Knockup (Mag -4)[*]MezResist(Held) 7.7%[*]MezResist(Immobilize) 8.25%[*]MezResist(Stun) 2.2%[*]6% (0.1 End/sec) Recovery[*]10% (0.78 HP/sec) Regeneration[*]3.13% Resistance(Negative)[*]2.5% Resistance(Psionic)[*]9% RunSpeed[/list]
Oh, and for the record, Arctic Mastery is probably not the only way to do this, I just liked being able to stack the holds without things looking weird.
Ok, here it goes, I was(and am) sitting at work, and I was hit with inspiration for my next character, that will begin upon my arrival at home! An SD/Ice Melee tank, but I know nothing about shield, and everything about Ice.
As far as I can tell, SD is frontloaded, like I wont have any room for any attacks before, I can't even estimate accurately, 22 maybe?
I'd like to augement my defense with Ice patch and freezing touch, and focus eventual IO-ing on Regen, effectively giving me the big 3 in survival.
How well will I hold my aggro? I'm not overly concerned with my "arrest"-speed, but I'd like to be able to solo comfortably if necessary. And as this player, am I primarly a small team tank?(I assume yes) or will I be able to fill the role of a big team tank?
I'm hoping to make this char my TF runner, capable of leading teams to victory.
*edited* For grammar!