Ice Tanks seem pretty damn cool to me. Sure, they seem a bit more squishy with them being defense based and not resistance base, but they make up for that with having 2 self heals in Hoarfrost and Hibernate. That should make them like the regen scrappers of Tanks really. Also, when defense scaling comes into play, this should add more to their survivability.
I think the problem most Tanks have nowadays is keeping Aggro in PVE, it seems like it's pretty much impossible for them. I'd go as far as to say that players have adjusted to this and don't really rely on tanks for aggro management anymore(controllers mostly now). Good old Statesman doesn't want you tanking anything bigger than 3 mobs I guess.
That said though, Chilling Embrace just rocks. Slot it with Taunt for PVE and Slows for PVP and you should be better off than most tanks trying to control aggro.
Even though this guide is for PVP based tanks, it should give you some info about the set in general as well. Apparantly in the US, Ice Tanks are the number 1 Stalker Nemesis. Take that AR/Devices Blasters 
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I think the problem most Tanks have nowadays is keeping Aggro in PVE, it seems like it's pretty much impossible for them. I'd go as far as to say that players have adjusted to this and don't really rely on tanks for aggro management anymore(controllers mostly now). Good old Statesman doesn't want you tanking anything bigger than 3 mobs I guess.
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Poor aggro management is down to bad teams or a bad tank, yes "bad". A team either allows a willing tanker to herd and keep control or the tankers build and playstyle doesnt.
Tankers should only aggro what they can keep nowadays, herding up 4 groups only able to taunt one say, most likely ends up planking the team then the tanker = planker.
Statesmans method of tanking whilst i dont like losing any aggro or passing it onto the team but any aggro lost is what single target control powers and scrappers can be used for imo although i dont like the idea of letting any bosses or lieutenents go pick on a squishie. Whilst all aoes can be unleashed on the main bulk of the herd.
He will honor his words; he will definitely carry out his actions. What he promises he will fulfill. He does not care about his bodily self, putting his life and death aside to come forward for another's troubled besiegement. He does not boast about his ability, or shamelessly extol his own virtues. - Sima Qian.
Ice tanks are fun.
The Ice primary only has one meh power ( Permafrost ), all the others are good. Energy Absorbtion is lovely, top up defence + endurance recovery. Hibernate sounded rubbish until I got it and started using it, it has a really short animation time and is up quite often, I find it is more useful than Unstoppable from Inv as there are no real downsides to it, it just means that you have to be prepared to come out of it prematurely ( when/if aggro starts leaving you ).
The other power that is often maligned is Icicles which is a good damage dealing power that does more damage on my Ice tank than any of the other powers. It is lethal damage, but it is still a more endurance efficient AoE than anything in your secondary and does more damage over time too. It isn't as good as Blazing Aura from Fire but is better than Mud Pots.
@Unthing ... Mostly on Union.
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It isn't as good as Blazing Aura from Fire but is better than Mud Pots.
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Not as good for DoT on fiery aura and not as good for the secondary effects of mudpots but then most icetanks would have chilling embrace anyway. Just clarifying cos its bad enough i misread my own posts
He will honor his words; he will definitely carry out his actions. What he promises he will fulfill. He does not care about his bodily self, putting his life and death aside to come forward for another's troubled besiegement. He does not boast about his ability, or shamelessly extol his own virtues. - Sima Qian.
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It isn't as good as Blazing Aura from Fire but is better than Mud Pots.
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Not as good for DoT on fiery aura and not as good for the secondary effects of mudpots but then most icetanks would have chilling embrace anyway. Just clarifying cos its bad enough i misread my own posts
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Yes, I wouldn't use it as a Taunt area. I picked it as an AoE attack, something it is very good at. Chilling Embrace is clearly the taunt Aura for Ice and is part of their defences too.
@Unthing ... Mostly on Union.
Ice Tanks are one of the most fun Tanks to play. They require you to keep your wits about you a shade more....If you don't you tend to get squished!
They have great resistance to Ice, resonable resistance to Fire attacks and def to everything else except Psionics. To help your resistance you can get Tough which helps against the commonest damage in the game - Smashing Lethal.
If you are ice ice then things get a lot better. With Ice patch about half the enemies that would have been attacking your are falling about all over the place! All your attacks slow, combine this with chilling embrace and ice patch and your are a force to be reckoned with.
I've cruised my ice/ice tank to 19 so far with little trouble. It may have little resistance, but chilling embrace means you get attacked less often which makes life nice and easy.
More importantly, turning on Glacial armour has the single greatest sound effect in the game. 
Now in a thread about Regen verus tanks the subject of how effective Ice Tanks are came up once again. And quite a few people came and said they can get a good Ice Tank build and really make it work.
Now this fascinates me as I knew Ice tanks were less popular as they just seemed less appealing and also less effective. I had a level 8 ice tank just prior to Issue 5 and deleted with the intention of restarting but the new nerf news put e off. A shame because I like them.
I just wanted to know how people still use and optimise their Ice Tanks and what they plan to do come I7. Also would be a nice referance for those starting ice tanks. I just may make my Ice Tank all over again.