I'd get Oppressive Gloom, some minions are dangerous for the team (well a lot of minions can be dangerous to squishies) and keep them wandering is good mitigation and adds to your tanktrolling. Plus OG doesn't noticeably drain your health (if my scrapper can run it without noticing your tanker will too) and is good to go with the normal slot (1 acc or 1 acc/mez HO is enough, I like to slot 2 absolute amazements for the recovery).
EDIT: OG, unlike Cof, has normal accuracy. Plus I don't think OG will help you a lot solo since tankers can withstand a lot of damage, I meant for you to take it to help the team.
Personally I believe either aura is best utilized when stacked. CoF through DM and OG through any other secondary with stun. I don't see a worthwhile benefit when combined with a secondary which does not stack fear/stun and can be avoided. Also I believe tough is mandatory for DA, 70% res S/L is apple pie.
When choosing between CoF and OG, it's easier to stack OG with a secondary or ancillary, not as slot intensive to make effective as opposed to CoF, and has hardly noticeable endurance use. If there's one to pick between the two, it's OG. But it is not a must have, again to me it is best stacked. You're perfectly fine tanking with just Death Shroud.
I totally agree with Jebe, but also have always kinda wondered how much the cloak of fear toHit debuff helps. If you're building for defense, it might be nicer.
Also, Kioshi: I wouldn't say that OG has a totally negligible cost to your health. Before I took OG, I thought it was just a constant slight HP drain. However, it is actually based on how many enemies are near you (or perhaps on how many you actually hit?). According to Mid's it's 4.45 damage every 2 seconds, per enemy. That's 2.23 dps. To put that into perspective, Health gives you 3.13 hp/s (6.23 slotted). So, just three enemies nearby cancels out slotted Health, and as a tank you're regularly jumping into crowds of at least ten enemies! Also, you take damage even if the enemy isn't stunned by it (lts. and bosses).
All that said, I still love it 
Well Peter despite the numbers, I never felt that the drain from OG makes a real difference in practice, and I've tanked on my scrapper on a lot of occasions (carnie missions, invul tanker getting shredded, so I take point, radiation robots mission debuffing the ice tanker's defense, I take point, etc). Even maintaining 5+ enemies in my field I never noticed it to be detrimental to my toon.
Anyhow, for a tanker, I'd only get OG to protect the squishies and be a better tanktroller because minions are usually lulzy for a tanker (except sappers and such, but even then DA gets end drain protection).
I would go the ancillary pool route. Ice Storm and Shiver in Arctic Mastery would be a good addition for more crowd control.
"I am a Tank. I am your first choice, I am your last hope." -- Rune Bull
"Durability is the quintessential super-power. " -- Sailboat
Peter,
I agree with Kioshi. The health lost is less than you generate with health. And besides, your DA tanker has one of the largest single heals in the game, he doesn't need the regen lost compensating for OG.
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I totally agree with Jebe, but also have always kinda wondered how much the cloak of fear toHit debuff helps. If you're building for defense, it might be nicer.
[/ QUOTE ]
It's nice but I generally only take it when I'm able to stack fears, namely with DM, or in the future if a build allows--with the presence pool. At this time, it's a nice addition to my positional and energy defense since I primarily socketed for soft capped S/L defense.
I am inclined to agree. I have experienced OG and CoF, and found them less than worthwhile. The only remaining issue is Weave versus a third tier auxiliary pool, and I'm probably going to omit Weave. Adding to the slight defense I get from my tanker stealth power that I avoid turning on if I can because of the fugly issue is probably not worth the drain of another costly toggle.
My "yeah, right" goal build for the character is probably going to look something like this:
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
Ekphobippe - goal: Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Dark Armor
Secondary Power Set: Ice Melee
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Arctic Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/EndRdx(A), S'fstPrt-ResKB(5), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(27), TtmC'tng-ResDam(34), TtmC'tng-EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 1: Frozen Fists -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(3), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(15), P'ngTtl--Rchg%(39), ImpSwft-Dam%(40)
Level 2: Murky Cloud -- ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), ImpArm-ResDam/Rchg(17), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(37), ImpArm-ResDam(39)
Level 4: Ice Sword -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(5), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7), TmpRdns-Acc/Slow(7), TmpRdns-Acc/EndRdx(15), P'ngTtl--Rchg%(43)
Level 6: Obsidian Shield -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/EndRdx(A), S'fstPrt-ResKB(17), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(39)
Level 8: Dark Regeneration -- Nictus-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Nictus-Acc/Heal(9), Nictus-Acc/EndRdx/Heal/HP/Regen(9), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(13), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(34), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42)
Level 10: Air Superiority -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(11), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13)
Level 12: Taunt -- Mocking-Taunt/Rchg(A), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng(46)
Level 14: Fly -- Flight-I(A)
Level 16: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 18: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Mrcl-Heal(19), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(19), Numna-Heal(40), Numna-Heal/EndRdx(42)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(21), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(21), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(42)
Level 22: Death Shroud -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(23), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(23), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(25), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(27)
Level 24: Ice Patch -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(25)
Level 26: Boxing -- Stpfy-Acc/Rchg(A), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx(46)
Level 28: Freezing Touch -- G'Wdw-Acc/Rchg(A), G'Wdw-Acc/EndRdx(29), G'Wdw-Acc/Hold/Rchg(29), Mako-Acc/Dmg(31), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(31), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43)
Level 30: Cloak of Darkness -- GftotA-Def/EndRdx(A), GftotA-EndRdx/Rchg(31)
Level 32: Tough -- ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), ImpArm-EndRdx/Rchg(33), ImpArm-ResDam(33), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(33), ResDam-I(34)
Level 35: Greater Ice Sword -- TmpRdns-Acc/Slow(A), TmpRdns-Acc/EndRdx(36), T'Death-Acc/Dmg(36), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(37), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37)
Level 38: Build Up -- GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(45), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(45)
Level 41: Block of Ice -- Lock-Acc/Hold(A), Lock-Acc/Rchg(43)
Level 44: Shiver -- TmpRdns-Acc/Slow(A), TmpRdns-Acc/Dmg/Slow(45), TmpRdns-Acc/EndRdx(46)
Level 47: Ice Storm -- P'ngTtl-Acc/Slow(A), P'ngTtl-Acc/EndRdx(48), P'ngTtl-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(48), P'ngTtl--Rchg%(48)
Level 49: Frozen Aura -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(50), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(50), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
<《 New Colchis / Guides / Mission Architect 》>
"At what point do we say, 'You're mucking with our myths'?" - Harlan Ellison
Why did you skip Frost and didn't maximize the damage on Frozen Aura? They're your best AoE attacks....
BTW I only bother with Weave on /DA if I'm actively working towards melee defense via set bonuses. With your build i wouldn't take it.
QR
You don't have Frost. You don't take Frozen Aura at 38 and immediately 6-slot for damage. You don't slot Freezing Touch for enough damage. You slot Frozen Fists and take & slot GIS as if they're effective attacks. This is why ppl still think Ice Melee has lousy damage.
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
[ QUOTE ]
QR
You don't have Frost. You don't take Frozen Aura at 38 and immediately 6-slot for damage. You don't slot Freezing Touch for enough damage. You slot Frozen Fists and take & slot GIS as if they're effective attacks. This is why ppl still think Ice Melee has lousy damage.
[/ QUOTE ]
Just for clarification....
"I intended this tanker to be an almost pure team support tanker, not focusing on damage, but rather on team support through melee control, using Ice Patch and Freezing Touch liberally."
Ice Melee does not have lousy damage, it has lower damage than the other tanker secondaries but trades that off for being a heavy soft control set. As such most folks that choose Ice Melee do so for the control aspect rather than the damage.
"I am a Tank. I am your first choice, I am your last hope." -- Rune Bull
"Durability is the quintessential super-power. " -- Sailboat
Pure support tankers know how to pick up massive amounts of aggro w/their AoE attacks. Taking and/or slotting inferior attacks like FF & GIS doesn't do *anything* for you or your teammates. Increasing kill speeds does.
How would gimping your damage output, esp AoE damage, ever be a good thing? The only thing that explains in that build is slotting FT for some holds (I still never recommend this unless you go w/Perox HOs).
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
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The question is: do I really need or want Cloak of Fear or Oppressive Gloom? As control powers, those powers simply failed to impress, when I had them. They were inaccurate, and ate my endurance or health with very little to show for them, and didn't appear to be helping to keep me alive anywhere near what Tough does.
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In my experience, Cloak of Fear needs Soul Drain to compensate for its lousy accuracy.
A fun thing to do is slot Oppressive Gloom with Stupefy: Chance for Knockback.
Your second build looks pretty spiffy, and is the same way I'm rebuilding my Dark/SS tank, currently at 39. I've thought about deleting it, but it's fun being a ball of light wrapped in darkness.
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How would gimping your damage output, esp AoE damage, ever be a good thing?
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When the damage AoE (Frost = 90° cone, 10 ft range) is smaller than the control AoE (Shiver = 135° cone, 60 ft range)and you are building for control over damage.
"I am a Tank. I am your first choice, I am your last hope." -- Rune Bull
"Durability is the quintessential super-power. " -- Sailboat
Why are you comparing Frost to Shiver when I pointed out 2 gimp *damage* powers that should be dropped (well, you can't drop FF, but damn, I wished you could...)? One is a cone to be picked up at lvl 4 to level and do damage over your entire career. The other is an epic power you don't get til you're 44, and wow, you're right, it's a control power. So other than the fact they're both cones and have cold themes... what exactly begs this comparison? 
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
The fact that Heraclea is asking about her build with the caveat that she is already at level 41 and that she is looking to capitalize on her control abilities. You mentioned Frost as an option but Shiver is a better AoE.
She could plausibly drop Ice Sword for Frost but perhaps the Ice Sword is part of a character concept.
"I am a Tank. I am your first choice, I am your last hope." -- Rune Bull
"Durability is the quintessential super-power. " -- Sailboat
I may well decide to pick up Frost instead of Ice Sword when I hit level 50 with the character. I have Ice Sword now because the character has always had Ice Sword, probably because at level 4 you needed a faster recharging attack, and inertia is a strong force.
I did move Frozen Aura up in my live build; the character hit 41 in the wee hours of the morning today.
<《 New Colchis / Guides / Mission Architect 》>
"At what point do we say, 'You're mucking with our myths'?" - Harlan Ellison
I was talking about her entire build, which is why I mentioned a bunch of powers taken, slotted and skipped. I could care less about which EPP she's considering--I'm just talking about a very poorly planned Ice Melee portion of her build. And who cares what level she is? What do you think respecs are for?
I never said to drop Ice Sword--you can't and have a reliable ST chain. She should drop GIS for Frost (yes, you have to juggle stuff around) and FF should only be slotted as a filler attack, if needed at all. BTW, if she chooses to later, using Ice Blast would be a far better ST option If you're trying to mimic a controller, I suppose Chilblain, BoI & Shiver might be better, in which case Chilblain is still a better attack than FF and from range, though more end intensive.
As for Frost, if you can hit even 2 critters with it, it blows every other Ice Melee ST attack out of the water for efficiency, except for Frozen Touch. You'll need to hit 3 mobs w/Frost to beat FT. Mob for mob, it's actually better than FA, though you'll likely hit way more mobs w/FA making it ultimately the more effective power (though you can hit 5+ mobs easily w/Frost's increased radius). It boggles the mind that ppl still say Ice Melee is low damage (yeah, I've seen the OP say that repeatedly), but skip Frost.
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
My general rule of thumb is to take two of the first three powers of any tanker secondary, and skip one. You think that Ice Sword is better than Greater Ice Sword?
<《 New Colchis / Guides / Mission Architect 》>
"At what point do we say, 'You're mucking with our myths'?" - Harlan Ellison
[ QUOTE ]
It boggles the mind that ppl still say Ice Melee is low damage
[/ QUOTE ]
It's low on damage if you compare it to Fire Melee, Super Strength and Stone Melee.
However it trades some dmg for more mitigation : -rech, -spd, knockdown with Ice Patch, and hold with Freezing Touch. For many people a well built tank primary is enough mitigation in itself for 98% of the game content, and they don't feel they need more. You can also argue that Stone Melee offers almost as much mitigation with the constant AoE knockdown without loosing much on the damage side.
When people roll a /Ice tanker they often choose to concentrate all their effort on the control/additionnal mitigation side of the set, and on the way neglect its damage potential, that is not insignificant, but not the best either.
However, I had alot of fun last time I played a /Ice tanker (Ice Patch ftw !), and I'm looking forward to leveling one soon maybe. Not sure today I would like it as I used to.
Maybe a Shield/Ice could be fun, we'll see
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
It boggles the mind that ppl still say Ice Melee is low damage
[/ QUOTE ]
It's low on damage if you compare it to Fire Melee, Super Strength and Stone Melee.
[/ QUOTE ]
I think your information is horribly outdated. Unfortunately, most ppl agree with you, which is why this myths is perpetuated.
Everything's low compared to Fire.
SS? You know that FA = FS, right? What does SS do for a cone? Right, nothing. Rage gives SS the edge, and Stars' chart (which I highly encourage you to look at if you're not familiar w/it) shows it's enough to take the lead over Ice, I don't think it's by much. Of course Cold is far less resisted than Smashing too.
Stone? Only for ST damage. How often are you fighting 1 mob at a time other than AVs and such? Ice destroys Stone for useful (i.e. AoE) damage.
Ice Melee has absolutely dreadful ST damage, the worst in the game. It has fantastic AoE damage, and if you're a tank, you should care far more about the latter than the former. But hey, if you wanna take the set just for Ice Patch and settle yourself for craptastic damage (go, GIS!), knock yourself out.
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
[ QUOTE ]
You know that FA = FS, right?
[/ QUOTE ]
That isnt correct. FS has a 15' radius and FA only 10', and that's a world of difference (aka 125% surface covered more). You have many melee PbAoEs in the game that would be great if they had this 15' range, and that makes all the difference.
The knockdown is also much more useful as a form of mitigation than a mag 2 sleep.
And FS benefits from Rage too (you cant count one without the other) and those 80% perma dmg buff makes a big difference on a tanker, like a perma build up (with a 10 sec crash every 2 min), you mentionned it.
Another small advantage for FS, but not insignificant, you can slot a FF +rech proc in it which has a chance to proc for every critter hit. This improves your global recharge by a significant margin. Put in other words, once you know this trick you can spam FS a bit more than you can spam FA.
FA has one clear advantage however, it's pure cold dmg, that is less resisted than FS smashing dmg. But this definitely can't make up for the differences I mentionned just above.
I agree on this point :
- Frost is awesome, yes it is. It does single target dmg with a 90° cone, 10' range that regularly hits 4+ targets.
And no, I dont agree on your fast assimilation that AoE = useful and ST = useless. Depends on the playstyle.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You know that FA = FS, right?
[/ QUOTE ]
That isnt correct. FS has a 15' radius and FA only 10', and that's a world of difference (aka 125% surface covered more).
[/ QUOTE ]
I meant for damage. You're right about the radius, but I find that for tanks, you can get most things into that 10' radius. I don't miss much outside of that w/either power, which is to say, I never say to myself, boy I wished FA had an extra 5' radius. If it were a scrapper power, I absolutely would.
[ QUOTE ]
The knockdown is also much more useful as a form of mitigation than a mag 2 sleep.
[/ QUOTE ]
Agreed, but we're talking about damage, as in "Ice Melee" is low damage. Did you really want to get into a mitigation battle bet. SS & Ice Melee?
[ QUOTE ]
And FS benefits from Rage too
[/ QUOTE ]
Uh, yeah, which is why I explicitly said that it was Rage that took SS over Ice even though it doesn't have a cone.
[ QUOTE ]
Another small advantage for FS, but not insignificant, you can slot a FF +rech proc in it which has a chance to proc for every critter hit.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, that's usually a good move, but I 6-slot Obliteration in mine for the def (WP/SS w/capped S/L def FTW!). And, yes, it would increase your overall DPS. Again, I never disputed that SS was better than Ice, but it's not by that much. For pure damage per critter hit, FA = FS. In real terms, FS >> FA, but again, I already conceded this.
[ QUOTE ]
And no, I dont agree on your fast assimilation that AoE = useful and ST = useless. Depends on the playstyle.
[/ QUOTE ]
I never explicitly said that ST was useless, though upon rereading my last post, I can easily see how it can be taken that way. I should've been clearer--of course ST damage is useful. I am however of the opinion that for most of the game, AoE damage is far more useful, and this is doubly true for tanks who aren't likely going to be up against 1 mob at a time, unless it's an EB or up. In that regard, I would take Ice Melee over Stone or EM even if you took away all the mitigation Ice provides. Prolly Axe, DM & DB too, esp if you consider the all lethal nature of the weapon sets.
Bottom line, you can quibble about which sets may or may not edge out Ice (and really, it's just edging out), but to say Ice has low damage is completely absurd. Unless you're trying to solo AVs and Pylons w/your tank, in which case, yeah you should stay the hell away from Ice Melee.
BTW, by a happy coincidence, Stars seems to have updated his charts. Not sure what happened to WM (haven't read his post yet), but it seems to have fallen behind Ice (and DB!) for AoE damage. SS does beat Ice for AoE, but as I predicted, not by much, regardless of recharge. Fire dominates, of course. And, yes, as previously stated, Ice's ST damage is sad.
http://foundersfallshigh.com/__/new_tank.html
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
Here's my Dark/Ice build. Some (most) will question the use of things like Air Burst and such but hey... I don't really care. It works for me, and is incredibly tough. As an aside, if you don't want to slot up Oppressive Gloom, I'd say at least take the proc from Absolute Amazement. I have really noticed it during fights even when it's not stunning anything.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
Stygian Sleet: Level 50 Natural Tanker
Primary Power Set: Dark Armor
Secondary Power Set: Ice Melee
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Death Shroud -- Erad-%Dam(A), Oblit-%Dam(3), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(3), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(15), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(15), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(27)
Level 1: Frozen Fists -- TmpRdns-Acc/EndRdx(A), TmpRdns-Acc/Dmg/Slow(9), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13), Mako-Acc/Dmg(36), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(37), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(37)
Level 2: Ice Sword -- TmpRdns-Acc/Dmg/Slow(A), TmpRdns-Acc/EndRdx(9), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13), Mako-Acc/Dmg(36), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(37)
Level 4: Dark Embrace -- ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(A), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(5), TtmC'tng-ResDam(5), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(11), TtmC'tng-EndRdx(11), ImpArm-ResPsi(31)
Level 6: Obsidian Shield -- ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(7), TtmC'tng-ResDam(7), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(31), TtmC'tng-EndRdx(48), ImpArm-ResPsi(48)
Level 8: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 10: Taunt -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 12: Combat Jumping -- Winter-ResSlow(A)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Zephyr-ResKB(A)
Level 16: Murky Cloud -- ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(17), TtmC'tng-ResDam(17), TtmC'tng-EndRdx(23), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(23), ImpArm-ResPsi(34)
Level 18: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Numna-Heal(19), Heal-I(19)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(21), EndMod-I(21)
Level 22: Acrobatics -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 24: Dark Regeneration -- Nictus-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Nictus-Heal/HP/Regen/Rchg(25), Nictus-Acc/EndRdx/Heal/HP/Regen(25), Theft-Acc/Heal(27), Theft-Acc/EndRdx/Heal(31), Theft-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 26: Ice Patch -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 28: Frost -- AirB'st-Acc/Dmg(A), AirB'st-Dmg/EndRdx(29), AirB'st-Dmg/Rchg(29), AirB'st-Dmg/Rng(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg(50), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(50)
Level 30: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)
Level 32: Tough -- ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), ImpArm-ResPsi(33), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(33), S'fstPrt-ResKB(33), Aegis-ResDam(34), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(34)
Level 35: Oppressive Gloom -- Amaze-Acc/Stun/Rchg(A), Amaze-Stun(40), Amaze-ToHitDeb%(43), Amaze-Stun/Rchg(50)
Level 38: Frozen Aura -- FtnHyp-Acc/Sleep/Rchg(A), FtnHyp-Acc/Rchg(39), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(39), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(40), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40)
Level 41: Greater Ice Sword -- TmpRdns-Acc/Dmg/Slow(A), TmpRdns-Acc/EndRdx(42), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(42), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(43), Mako-Acc/Dmg(43)
Level 44: Freezing Touch -- Lock-Acc/Rchg(A), Lock-Acc/Hold(45), Mako-Acc/Dmg(45), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(45), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(46), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 47: Cloak of Darkness -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 49: Soul Transfer -- RechRdx-I(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Like I said. YMMV, but this is the build that I've grown to love. And yes, I do have all those procs in Death Shroud and I love them.
50 Tankers: Ice/EM, Stone/WM, Fire/Stone, Dark/Ice, Inv/SS, Inv/Dark, Elec/Elec
50 Brutes: ElecMelee/EA, WM/Elec
When I finally get a Dark Armor tanker to 50, I will have a complete set: one of each primary. I have started them earlier and deleted them in frustration. I will admit, the power set has never impressed me much. It seemed to me to have all the aesthetic disadvantages of Stone and Ice Armor and the weaknesses of Fire Armor without any of those sets' advantages, and nothing much to show for those weaknesses either.
My Dark Armor / Ice Melee tanker is currently about to hit 41. I used the i15 freespec to drop Cloak of Fear and Oppressive Gloom, which I found underwhelming or dangerous, in favor of getting Tough into the build sooner than I had planned to. I have two Steadfast Protection anti-knockback IOs now, so that's taken care of. Getting into Tough in lieu of Cloak of Fear hasn't worsened the character's endurance use, and Tough seems to do far more than CoF did for her survivability.
I intended this tanker to be an almost pure team support tanker, not focusing on damage, but rather on team support through melee control, using Ice Patch and Freezing Touch liberally. This is my current power selection and order.
The question is: do I really need or want Cloak of Fear or Oppressive Gloom? As control powers, those powers simply failed to impress, when I had them. They were inaccurate, and ate my endurance or health with very little to show for them, and didn't appear to be helping to keep me alive anywhere near what Tough does.
Or should I focus on more melee control using an ancillary pool, like Arctic or Earth Mastery? This seems to be likelier to synergize with what I planned to do with the character. These are the powers she has now:
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
Ekphobippe - now: Level 37 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Dark Armor
Secondary Power Set: Ice Melee
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Frozen Fists -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Murky Cloud -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ice Sword -- Empty(A)
Level 6: Obsidian Shield -- Empty(A)
Level 8: Dark Regeneration -- Empty(A)
Level 10: Air Superiority -- Empty(A)
Level 12: Taunt -- Empty(A)
Level 14: Fly -- Empty(A)
Level 16: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 18: Health -- Empty(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- Empty(A)
Level 22: Death Shroud -- Empty(A)
Level 24: Ice Patch -- Empty(A)
Level 26: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 28: Freezing Touch -- Empty(A)
Level 30: Cloak of Darkness -- Empty(A)
Level 32: Tough -- Empty(A)
Level 35: Greater Ice Sword -- Empty(A)
Level 38: Build Up -- Empty(A)
Level 41: [Empty]
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
<《 New Colchis / Guides / Mission Architect 》>
"At what point do we say, 'You're mucking with our myths'?" - Harlan Ellison