Hmm tbh I havent seen enough of rad or TA defenders in PVP to really comment, I cant imagine them being too bad though. TA would propably work a bit like a troller, stacking debuffs instead of holds, and rad has AM and can nerf at least one player quite efficiently. Dunno if rad is strong enough to be that much more useful than a /rad-troller though.
Test out by all means, lets make pvp team fights 
TA is pretty versatile and can adapt a lot but is probably better suited to zone PvP than arena but I don't think i've ever seen one in PvP to be honest. As for rads, they're great. Given that most pentads have a /regen for the scrapper(though it seems to be getting replaced by /SR since I7), a rad can really mess up something that is otherwise annoying to kill and a big threat.
The main problem with defenders is they're a LOT harder to play than something like a tank, stalker, scrapper etc so there aren't enough good ones about to really show how important they are. A defender who can stay alive will turn most battles around with heals/buffs/debuffs but the main problem is that as soon as one shows up he's gank material.
Enervator is a very good kinetic defender and if he's left in a zone to buff, becomes a real pain. I've seen empaths make a huge difference and in some one on ones with an ice blaster recently it was very frustrating to keep missing while he hit everything and done ridiculous damage thanks to the empath buffs he was getting that just made it a completely pointless battle and I couldn't even compete.
I've not seen many Rad defenders about but I have seen several Rad corruptors who can cause problems and they're very welcome when there are so many spine/regens about.
If I was in a team and got offered a good defender or two scrappers/blasters/tanks, I'd take the single defender everytime.
The main drawback of defenders though is that they rely on teamplay and that's still quite rare to see in a lot of the zones, making them one of the less popular PvP AT's
TA is quite targetted though isn't it, so I can imagine that it would sometimes be hard to use effectivly in the PvP zones. Might be better on the smaller Arena Maps?
Personally I've had a fair amount of fun playing both my storm and my kinetic defender in the PvP zones. They do need a reasonable team to survive though and they have to keep moving or they die pretty quick
Rad has issues in big teams or big maps. Nice for smaller matches, mind.
I'd prefer a /Kin troller over a Kin/ defender, personal preference. I'd say Emp and Sonic are the strongest PvP Def sets, with TA coming along closely though not for the same reasons. Storm and Dark are funny, both can do well, but those sets are much better geared to PvE.
TA in pvp? well keep in mind i aint build for pvp. dont think its possible for a Ta/a defender 
Anyway, TA is more of a debuff and die set. i have never won a fight.
The perks from TA is glue arrow and acid. glue slows everyone down, and acid plays with stalkers hide. and thats what i get my jollys from.
Well i sure as hell wont get it from winning
Just keep in mind, i aint build for pvp, never will be
@Inkwave ..(darn merge)
My level 50 rad/elec is PvE / team built, but I have had some test server fun with a PvP / solo modified build...
As to the comment about Rad defenders not being in useful as Rad trollers - bear in mind that Defenders will have considerably more powerful debuffs (aprox 150% i estimate), since it is a) their primary and b) they have a greater multiplier for debuffs than trollers. So I dont entirely by this argument.
Solo, Rad is probably your set of choice, as it one of the offenders set of choice (/dark is another popular, and TA not bad).
My advice for Rad/Elec in PvP
Acrobatics is a must.
AM as soon as possible. You live by your debuff toggles. Getting held means downtime on your toggles.
LR / RI / EF are, unsuprisingly, musts.
Radiant Aura is more useful in PvP than PvE, suprisingly.
Most of the other set is missible, although Choking Cloud can be fun vs stalkers, and the mighty hold and End effects of EMP can be amusing.
From electric:
First two tier attacks vital for an effective attack chain (bear in mind your worst problem is do to enough damage).
Telsa Cage is a must.
Short Circuit not as good as PvE, although still attractive for your End draining tactics.
Voltiac Sentinel is very good. Keeps on shining when you are held.
The rest is missible. Aim and Snipe has its obvious attractions, especially when you are holding an enemy.
Under no circumstances take the nova - out of end = out of debuffs = dead meat.
PvPing as a defender is a real challenge, but Rad/Elec is one of the least bad PvP'ers from a solo perspective. You will certainly give Regen scrappers a heap of trouble with your slows and -regen.
Team wise, its not bad by any means, but id go with a buff set in a team.
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rad or TA
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Rad or TA Defenders have place only as kiters in large scale battles. They are 2 of those sets that need specific tasks in PvP situations with specific targets and good targeting and knowledge of their set. The ability to bring down the mobility and and the accuracy of specific targets is their strongest role. This is one of the reasons such sets excel in large scale battles and open pvp maps when there is proper coordination and tactics from a PvP team.
(Dont expect to find many such situations)
PvPing as a defender gets daft if u try to solo for 2 reasons:
1) Inability to take down targets fast enough
2)The amount of aggro u attract due to the blue sign appearing next to your name (THE GUY HAELS THEM PWN HIM)
As Extremus said: In PvP if u wanna play defender go for a buffer.
Rad/psi roxx, and ever since they nerfed toggle dropppes. These guys are a must in team PvP.
A Paragon Defender
Well for my 2 inf worth as an Emp/Energ Def I have had a good amount of sucess in PvP both Zonal and recently in the Arena duoing with Hammer (who posted above) on his Energy/Energy Blaster. As TG eloquently pointed out soloing in the zones can be a total nightmare but a few of you will have seen me float about RV not dieing too much but I dont go looking for trouble, of course if I stay still too long it'll find me Gank the squishy/buffer is a common tactic but it is used for a good reason.
In my experince in the Zones on teams you really can shine as an Empath and make a huge difference in any fight if you are good enough to stay alive, which in my experience is a balance of well timed self heals, good mobility and a team you can trust to help you out and realise keeping you up and running is well worth it. In particular Fortitudes defences and Clear Minds Status Prot and allways handy +Perception can have a massive effect making your team so much more effecient.
Other defender ATs also have good uses but I will leave the discussion of those to far wiser and more experienced minds
All in all I really can reccomend PvP as an Empath, just remember you have a huge sign over your head saying "Gank me now before my team gank you!"
Hope that helps.
Cheers,
White 
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All in all I really can reccomend PvP as an Empath
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Playing a PvP empath is one of the biggest adrenaline rush you can get from the Empathy set.
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All in all I really can reccomend PvP as an Empath
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Playing a PvP empath is one of the biggest adrenaline rush you can get from the Empathy set.
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I love my empath in pvp so exciting and rewarding keeping your squishy teammates alive and buffed
thePhilosopher Martial Arts/Regen/Fire Scrapper
theRegulator Empathy/Energy/Soul Defender
Total Inertia Ice Blast/Kinetics/Psy Corruptor
Total Inferno Ice Blast/Thermal/Leviathan Corruptor
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All in all I really can reccomend PvP as an Empath
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Playing a PvP empath is one of the biggest adrenaline rush you can get from the Empathy set.
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This statement is absolutely true, never a dull moment 
Cheers,
White
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All in all I really can reccomend PvP as an Empath, just remember you have a huge sign over your head saying "Gank me now before my team gank you!"
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QFT (Especially the getting ganked bit )
Empath (look above) has added threat generation due to his name flashing miles away!
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I was wondering how defenders fit into PvP in general and specifically as I have a rad/elec defender.
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Nothing wrong with defenders in pvp. Problem is with sets like rad that a controller could easily do the job well and add a bit more with holds/soft control and what have you not.
You should definately take your defender into pvp. Arena/zone or base. Just remember not to stand still if you're in the zones (unless you're with friends )
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I was wondering how defenders fit into PvP in general and specifically as I have a rad/elec defender.
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Nothing wrong with defenders in pvp. Problem is with sets like rad that a controller could easily do the job well and add a bit more with holds/soft control and what have you not.
You should definately take your defender into pvp. Arena/zone or base. Just remember not to stand still if you're in the zones (unless you're with friends )
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All defender primaries are considerably more powerful than their controller secondaries due to a) it bieng a primary and b) Defender AT having bigger effects on buffs/debuffs.
So controllers never do the job as well as defenders in this regard.
Considerably is too harsh of a word, the power drop off isn't that bad.
To be fair, for example Empathy, many Defender sets would be better as controller secondaries as Power Boost is up so much more than Power Build Up.
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Considerably is too harsh of a word, the power drop off isn't that bad.
To be fair, for example Empathy, many Defender sets would be better as controller secondaries as Power Boost is up so much more than Power Build Up.
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Agreed the power drop off isnt a huge loss. Also valid point on Power Boost vs Power Build Up, though Build Up is available 6 lvls earlier iirc, its still over all weaker than Power Boost.
I like my Blasts and Total Focus to add a little to damage in PvP and the fact that I can focus better on my heals, buffs and Power Pools as I dont have to many powers I want to take and slot heavily from Blasts as opposed to the many, many I'd want from most Troller Primaries All that said a /Emp Troller is definately on my (insanely long ) to do list.
IMO its a lot to do with style of play which is one of the best parts of CoX and in particular its PvP aspect. Overall I would say an Emp/? Def vs a ?/Emp Troller is a pretty even call and tbh they'll both provide a great mix of highs "ZOMG me and my teammates just owned everydamn thing!" and adrenalin packed lows "Behind you!" "Whaaa??... arggh Stalker/Brute .... OUCH!"
Cheers,
White
Illusion/empathy controller is better then empath defender in the pvp zones.
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Illusion/empathy controller is better then empath defender in the pvp zones.
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Because?
All the fun of an empath defender, but with a) superior invisibility/group invisibility, b) spectral terror, c) PA for fire and forget additional damage/making targeting more difficult for the opposition, d) spammable hold is far more useful than weedy defender blasts for when you aren't forting/CMing/healing, e) containment damage all helps.
An illupath is a dangerous thing in the right hands.
What Cap said and the odd Confuse. Ever tried it on a villain's heavy?
CoX 50s: <ill/rad> <ice/ice> <fire/kin> <grav/sonic> <ice/storm> <earth/kin> <kin/elec> <cold/psy> <thugs/dark> <fire/dark> <dark/elec> <night widow> <EM/ninj> <mind/icy>
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Considerably is too harsh of a word, the power drop off isn't that bad.
To be fair, for example Empathy, many Defender sets would be better as controller secondaries as Power Boost is up so much more than Power Build Up.
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I dont know the exact figues... but I estimate 'Trollers are 2/3 the value of defenders. 80% effectiveness from being a secondary and aprox 80% effectiveness of a defender in terms of AT multiplier (judging from the leadership pool anyway).
As you say, no a huge difference, but certainly very significant. Certainly significant enough to say that defenders ara a cut above trollers in this regard.
Anyways, I was posting this as a reply to the opinion that why bother with a defender when a troller does what a fender does AND controls. They do, of course, do what a defender does, its just that do it significantly worse!
Some defender powers are less effective when used by a controller (due to the Primary/Secondary aspect).
Some defender powers are equally effective when used by a controller due to the nature of the power (e.g. Empathy's rez).
Some defender powers are by design more effective when used by a controller (those powers with a control element).
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I was wondering how defenders fit into PvP in general and specifically as I have a rad/elec defender.
I can see uses for them in team PvP to some degree as I would imagine that empath, sonic, kin and FF defenders would be useful but I cant really see where sets like rad or TA would come into there own.
It is probably my lack of PvP experience so could someone please enlighten me.