First: Any Tanker combo can solo on Invinc (CL5). The hardship comes in doing it quickly (they all do it comparatively safely).
That being said, my advice would probably be Will Power / SS.
WP is probably the easiest Tanker to play (all toggles, passives and one moderate panic button). It isn't the toughest out of the box, but with Tough/Weave and some judicious IO slotting I think you'll find the levelling experience and outcome very desireable (based on your criteria).
There are of course tons of other builds to choose from and you may have a concept in your head already of what way you want to go from a thematic point of view.
Invulnerability is the classic and probably most well rounded of the Tanker primaries, while Stone Armor is the toughest and Fire Armor and Shield Defense contribute the most damage of the Tanker primaries.
Hope that helped.
Thank you! That does help Kruunch. I really don't have a specific concept in mind yet but I have a relatively good imagination and have found that I can develop some sort of concept for most any power sets......... Ok say that I did go Willpower/Super Strength, what would be some good power choices/slotting decisions or a build with "Why to take this power" and some reasoning about it. I have read the Willpower/SS guide by ironsmiter and Heraclea however both of these are slightly outdated as rage no longer causes you to stop attacking and if I go willpower/SS I would go with SJ as my travel power and most likely run CJ at all times.
"I brought you into this world and I can take you out and make another one just like you" -Father
"If I bother you so much why would you want another one just like me?!" -Son
As a first tank I would be a little cautious about WP due to the weak taunt aura... it's capable with a good AOE secondary in experienced hands but you'll have to work at holding aggro.
Invuln is my overall favorite tanker primary with Stone Armor as a runner up. Built right an Invuln can rival the durability of the Stone tank in Granite and it does it without Granite's penalties.
Secondaries are mostly a matter of preference, all of them will work. I've found /EM to be frustrating due to lack of damage until the late 30's; I took the character to 50 but it's still my least favorite. Personally I really like Fire Melee and Stone Melee; there's always the "default" pairing of /Super Strength with an Inv tank.
COH has just been murdered by NCSoft. http://www.change.org/petitions/ncso...city-of-heroes
I recommend stone/fire for what you want to accomplish.
I should warn you, stone/fire, pre-granite is squishie (not mitigation in the secondary).
I would recommend wp/ss or invul/ss as a first tank.
I had soooo much more fun with them than my stone/fire, esp in the earlier levels.
Post 35, my stone/fire became much more fun (turn off granite when solo), but the -speed is very annoying.
I recommend wp/ss or even wp/fire for a first tank. avoid the endurance problems that plague most of us prestamina, great overall tank. If its pain to level, you wont want to play it.
edit: wp/ does have a weaker taunt aura, but the power taunt will more than compensate. Its your first tank, no one expects you to be the aggro king (thus, the taunt power recommendation).
50 Tanks: Invul/ss, Fire/ice/fire, Ice/em, Stone/fire
WP/Stone, dark/dark, shld/mace
50 Other: WS, SS/dark/sc brute, BS/Regen/WM scrpr, fire/fire/force blaster, rad/kin corr, mind/rad ctrl, ill/storm cntrl
I think Invul/ is a great choice also.. Ice/ would be my second suggested Primary.
Secondaries.. although most mitigate one way or another I actually like /EM the stacking of stun is just..... fun to me.
One the one hand, nothing is tougher than a stone tank running Granite and this is the preferred tank for 'high end' stuff (like the Statesman TF). However, granite armor gimps your movement and damage and a lot of people really don't enjoy that. Stone is kind of a specialized set for the uber tough content.
Invulnerability would be a reasonable choice. You can face anything in the game and don't need IO's to be able to do it. I've tanked Lord Recluse in the STF on my invuln and, when I got my Master badge, we had an invuln tanking.
Having made those comments, I don't think one of the requirements for your first tank is that he should able to tank the STF. I would suggest building a tank for the other 99% of the game and not worrying about Lord Recluse.
Lots of tanks can handle 8 man spawns on invincible. Sure, stone and invuln can do it. So can ice, shield and willpower. I don't have a 'feel' for dark armor (and, frankly, haven't even looked at the numbers on it). I would not suggest fire for a first tank as it's kind of squishy and you're specifying big teams on invincible. Can a fire tank handle that? Yes. Can someone new to tanking handle it using fire armor? Maybe not.
Overall, I would say you should pick a set that is 'friendly' to players new to tanking. I would suggest invuln, ice or willpower. Shield is also not bad but it doesn't give you any assistance with hit points or endurance, so I consider that a black mark on the 'first tank checklist'.
As for picking from one of those three. I dunno. Have you got a concept in mind? Not everyone likes the 'look' of ice. Some don't like the look of invuln. Have you picked a secondary? Some work better with certain primaries than others.
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
Well I already have a name and an outfit and a "basic" concept. I was going to call him, I have the name reserved right now, Insomnious and he hasn't slept for around a year now, and that has given him superhuman abilties........He thinks it was something that he was born with that is just now comeing out, he is a mutant.
"I brought you into this world and I can take you out and make another one just like you" -Father
"If I bother you so much why would you want another one just like me?!" -Son
Heh. Willpower sounds about right, then. Anyone who hasn't slept for a year must be so tired that an explosion could slam them through a wall and they wouldnt' feel a thing. XD
Willpower/SS really is a great combo. My Tanker, Just a Flesh Wound, was able to tank AVs on SOs, and dealth damage comparable to a scrapper. It also looks less flashy than Invulnerability, which may or may not be what you're looking for.
Too many alts to list.
Here's a similar build I did recently for my WP/SM Tanker. It cost me around 60mil (might be a bit higher/lower depending on market when you get around to buying the IOs). This isn't the best possible IO slotting ... just the best bang for the buck that I found. Some may have some better tips. This build can handle AE Boss farms and main tanking all TFs. It also gives you a really good soloing experience (basically an all in one build which I tend to prefer). Enjoy 
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
Kruunch's WP/SS Build (cheap): Level 50 Natural Tanker
Primary Power Set: Willpower
Secondary Power Set: Super Strength
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Pyre Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Mind Over Body -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam(17), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(19), TtmC'tng-EndRdx/Rchg(19)
Level 1: Jab -- Acc(A)
Level 2: High Pain Tolerance -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/EndRdx(3), Numna-Heal/Rchg(3), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(15), TtmC'tng-ResDam(37), TtmC'tng-ResDam/Rchg(37)
Level 4: Haymaker -- C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(5), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(7), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7)
Level 6: Boxing -- C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(9), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(13), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43)
Level 8: Rise to the Challenge -- Numna-Heal/EndRdx(A), Numna-Heal(11), Numna-Heal/Rchg(11), DarkWD-ToHitDeb(13), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(42), DarkWD-Slow%(42)
Level 10: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Def(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(42)
Level 12: Quick Recovery -- Efficacy-EndMod(A), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(15), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(17), Efficacy-Acc/Rchg(43), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc(46), Efficacy-EndMod/EndRdx(46)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A)
Level 16: Indomitable Will -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 18: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 20: Knockout Blow -- C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(21), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(21), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(27), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(27), KinCrsh-Rechg/EndRdx(37)
Level 22: Health -- Numna-Heal/EndRdx(A), Numna-Heal(23), Numna-Heal/Rchg(23)
Level 24: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(25), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(25), P'Shift-End%(43)
Level 26: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(29), RechRdx-I(29)
Level 28: Rage -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(31), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(34), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(34), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(36), GSFC-Build%(40)
Level 30: Tough -- EndRdx-I(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam(31), TtmC'tng-ResDam/Rchg(31), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(33)
Level 32: Weave -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def(33), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(33), EndRdx-I(34)
Level 35: Fast Healing -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/EndRdx(36), Numna-Heal/Rchg(36)
Level 38: Foot Stomp -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(39), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(39), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), Oblit-%Dam(40)
Level 41: Ring of Fire -- Acc-I(A)
Level 44: Melt Armor -- LdyGrey-DefDeb(A), LdyGrey-Rchg/EndRdx(45), LdyGrey-DefDeb/EndRdx(45), LdyGrey-DefDeb/Rchg(45), LdyGrey-DefDeb/Rchg/EndRdx(46)
Level 47: Fire Ball -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(48), Posi-Dmg/Rng(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(50)
Level 49: Heightened Senses -- LkGmblr-Def(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(50), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
------------
[u]Set Bonus Totals:[u]<ul type="square">[*]10% DamageBuff(Smashing)[*]10% DamageBuff(Lethal)[*]10% DamageBuff(Fire)[*]10% DamageBuff(Cold)[*]10% DamageBuff(Energy)[*]10% DamageBuff(Negative)[*]10% DamageBuff(Toxic)[*]10% DamageBuff(Psionic)[*]6.13% Defense(Smashing)[*]6.13% Defense(Lethal)[*]4.25% Defense(Fire)[*]4.25% Defense(Cold)[*]4.25% Defense(Energy)[*]4.25% Defense(Negative)[*]3% Defense(Psionic)[*]9.25% Defense(Melee)[*]5.5% Defense(Ranged)[*]5.5% Defense(AoE)[*]39% Enhancement(Accuracy)[*]31.3% Enhancement(RechargeTime)[*]10% FlySpeed[*]421.7 HP (22.5%) HitPoints[*]10% JumpHeight[*]10% JumpSpeed[*]MezResist(Immobilize) 6.6%[*]MezResist(Sleep) 6.6%[*]MezResist(Stun) 2.2%[*]14% (0.23 End/sec) Recovery[*]96% (7.51 HP/sec) Regeneration[*]1.58% Resistance(Fire)[*]1.58% Resistance(Cold)[*]10% RunSpeed[/list]
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
|MxDz;1419;727;1454;HEX;|
|78DAA593CB4F534114C6E7F641E98BB6022D140AE5DD52BC5 0E3C2C7C24491C408A|
|65A948D4A2E65A48D4D69FA88B230F10FC077A22B773ED72A 46F9077CED4D5CFB5E|
|BBF351CF9C6F68342EBD49BFDFBDD33367CE776666EEFCB44 F888BFB84E13B50B4A|
|AD5C579AB7456565C47AC5ABD621563872BF57A29971FABC6 173293D96C7C7FBD50|
|5C8E2772796995932E214417262C4ECB33B25495E642A1582 CAF9E93951EFDC79C2|
|C4A6966EB657ACFD62AB2B452CB870E95F2925E6BE6D68B3F B3BA5A34670A2BF95A|
|A1B4E2E3AF595AA3F93153A89564B5EAE18F6C59CAE5D0C17 2216766D62A7271CEA|
|AD66465AD8BEA49D2EF839BC4A09F68D845845E6222681246 C5B671608231E111FA|
|69000EBB78EFD65345C3691CE730DB5120CB68438A61241C4 E314CCA64C72C87DD1|
|26AC8B104E4182DCB806418D439A70E7722BC15E1AD08F721 7C1CE19FA926976170|
|4D2E14E341691ED4E4DBB029249F039B8C302DE2C62286BB8 3E39241C6171AF6A23|
|F4EEF3A07B75D62042F33C6AF30B65F05AE312294CFAFBBE5 4F10C6C4274A144022|
|1118E0A1168A0AE9A110A2D2D49C76DDD276B8ED80DB0EB88 DC26D146E872FF0722|
|E4AD48944B64E980EC37418A65B2920A27739729DE774DD00 6EC2C52DC620C57563|
|795B778A2BEAFD0B3BA8BE1E81F6F6DCE1397D771903F780F B8CA1078CB1870C3BA|
|58DE9E563F0DE8733D1873311C74171505CBF8EEB47FFE3D8 8D78883180C91FA997|
|83DAEF208C0EC1F610FCEEA43247741B47BE730DA33F809FC 02FD4D700D4811C156|
|F49137AD712515EE91BDDF8943E7DA9171C3CF11A7803BCC4 BEBF62BCA30CA60E37|
|1FF1164D3E069E001B8CF453C657F231A57D4CC1681AB6D3F 0DBEBF8E3D635E811B|
|3FF8C641CCD5B280C1E493A9A77FABF9E67BEADB5DCC7D4F5 9F5792517242C94925|
|A7949C56622959529253D2D86CCE0EEC5205ED56B247C95E2 5EB2AC8E525F12AF12|
|9F12B695312501254D2AE24AC24AAE4B692C66F6317020D|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre><hr />
Very nice for a budget build. I might wanna slap this on my WP/SS when I get around to replacing my generic IOs.
Too many alts to list.
[ QUOTE ]
Well I already have a name and an outfit and a "basic" concept. I was going to call him, I have the name reserved right now, Insomnious and he hasn't slept for around a year now, and that has given him superhuman abilties....
[/ QUOTE ]
There you go. So ice doesn't fit at all. Willpower seems to fit the best, but invuln could work also.
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
[ QUOTE ]
I should warn you, stone/fire, pre-granite is squishie
[/ QUOTE ]
I'm sure you've got more experience than me, but I'm currently levelling a Stone/Fire. Not sure "squishy" is the proper term. Indeed, if feels tougher than my Inv/SS did at that point (mostly because my defense numbers aren't yo-yo-ing all over the place.
Granted, I'm common IO'ed at 27, but the only things that've really hurt me thus far were the damn Ghost Ship spirits.
And that's with no Brimstone, Crystal, or Minerals.
So I'm not sure exactly how much more awesome Granite is going to be. More defense, sure. And some more resist. But I'm tearing up groups of 10-15 right now and my health bar barely moves (wish I could say the same about the End bar).
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
Hello, I am looking to make my first tanker ever, and after 2 1/2 years of hearing things about certain tank builds I am about as clueless as I can possibly be. I need help, and I figured that this would be the best place to come for it. I want to make a tanker that is able to tank just about anything, from level 54 Lord Recluse to 8 man team Invincible level mob spawns, to solo mobs. I would like to be able to do some moderate damage, enough to solo on at least challenge level 2-3 (depending on what I am fighting). Does anyone have any ideas/builds/hints,tips/information that can help me? I don't have a lot of influence and I cannot afford the most expensive sets however I play a lot and hopefully I will make some influence and will be able to get some of the medium expensive sets.
"I brought you into this world and I can take you out and make another one just like you" -Father
"If I bother you so much why would you want another one just like me?!" -Son