to work in fitness you need to make sacrifices in most of my respec builds with my invul/em i only have about 4 things from my secondary till after stamina usually the likes of barrage, bone smasher, build up & taunt. everything else in between should be devoted to getting and slotting your primaries and secondaries + stamina and your travel of course
adding a endurance reduction slot on your attacks and toggles will greatly improve your end usage but only add these when you can afford too
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1: Temporary Invulnerability
1: Scorch
2: Dull Pain
4: Combustion
6: Fire Sword -> drop
8: Unyielding
10: Taunt -> either this
12: Combat Jumping
14: Super Jump
16: Breath of Fire -> or this
18: Invincibility
20: Resist Physical Damage
22: Buildup -> drop
This seems imho the best to drop for the fitness pool to get in, those you get in the 20s upto 30 range.
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Fitness is a bugger to fit into low-level tanker builds.
My advice, if you're teaming 90% or more, would be to forego all attacks bar Scorch and Combustion until your 20s. Consider delaying Taunt until then also, relying on Combustion and Invincibility to hold aggro.
If you solo significantly, I'd advise leaving Taunt until later and taking Scorch, Fire Sword and Combustion for damage.
I had this with my Inv/Fire when he was levelling up. There's so much to take and slot, and I found I could never have everything I wanted.
First thing I'd drop is Breath of Fire. The end usage on it is fairly vast, for a pretty small cone. I've recently dropped it completely, as between taunt, combustion and fire sword circle I couldn't really fit it in well.
Then I'd drop BuildUp. It's a wonderful power, but if you're teaming then I say let the other AT's be the big damage dealers; if you can do your job well, they can focus on theirs.
Now the controversial one. Fire Sword. I've just gimped your attack and left you with Brawl, Taunt and Combustion, I know. But the thing is, Inv tanks thrive in the middle of a gigantic mob. That's why you have the monsteriffic defence from Invincibility. I find there's nothing more fun than leaping into the biggest mob I can find, then taunting another big mob over while spamming combustion and FSC. The sheer quantity of orange numbers that start to fly make me grin, and single target hits just can't live up to that.
The only other thing I can suggest is laying off RPD until a later date. The Res is fairly dinky, and I think you'd be better off getting a pool that'll increase your survivability started; fighting or medicine. You'll probably want RPD eventually, to get that s/l res to cap, but it can wait for a bit, probably.
You'll always want slots in your attacks for endurance reduction - slot an endurance reduction in there in preference to armours, it'll make more of a difference overall.
This early on in the toon's career it's difficult to know what you want of it - whether to pick lots of attacks, or lots of defence, or what sort of balance to strike... think about what you enjoy doing with the toon and bias it towards that.
Personally, I find nothing better than being able to take whatever they can throw at me, and do it grinning, so mine's very defensively based, with just buildup, combustion, fire sword circle and scorch. But you may enjoy something different.
DON'T eat muffins while I'm developing you.
Pants! Turkey Magnates! A man in a box! Rogue AI! Come one, come all, to arc ID 10107 - It's [i]'Not as long as some other arcs'[/i]!
hastened dull pain is my thing in those levels.
id read the differences slots make to the powers as you level and be aware 6 DO slots may help if ya happy to use a respec.
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.
EDIT: Thanks for the replies! That answers pretty much all my questions. 
[ QUOTE ]
hastened dull pain is my thing in those levels.
id read the differences slots make to the powers as you level and be aware 6 DO slots may help if ya happy to use a respec.
[/ QUOTE ]
My name is Tom Selleck, and I approve this message.
Hasten's great for bringing Dull Pain (and taunt and aid self if you ever go down that route) and unstoppable and your toggles after a crash back up faster. It helps that I love superspeed with all my heart, too.
DON'T eat muffins while I'm developing you.
Pants! Turkey Magnates! A man in a box! Rogue AI! Come one, come all, to arc ID 10107 - It's [i]'Not as long as some other arcs'[/i]!
I wasn't going to get Hasten... I'm going for a jumping hero (Road Knight is wearing a trenchcoat, it just looks too cool not to take jumping), and with the temptations of the Fitness and Fighting pools, I don't feel like breaking open a fourth power pool. 
Question: Should I just take Boxing to fill out my attack chain instead of Fire Sword? That would lead me to Tough with no wasted power choices... or is FS noticeably better than Boxing? Hmmm:
1: Temporary Invulnerability
1: Scorch
2: Dull Pain
4: Combustion
6: Boxing
8: Unyielding
10: Resist Physical Damage
12: Combat Jumping
14: Super Jump
16: Tough
18: Invincibility
20: Fire Breath
22: Buildup
Argh, too many choices!
Fire sword is infinitely better than boxing, sadly... most of the pool attacks (with a couple of notable exceptions) are only good as filler powers... they'll never do the damage FS will. Can't help you make that choice though.. follow your nose! You've got more respecs if you spadger it up, eventually
DON'T eat muffins while I'm developing you.
Pants! Turkey Magnates! A man in a box! Rogue AI! Come one, come all, to arc ID 10107 - It's [i]'Not as long as some other arcs'[/i]!
Well, you just recommended me to take defensive pool powers, so replacing FS with Boxing is exactly that, paving the way for Tough. But it eats so much End... Or should I take Combat Jumping at 6? I can't imagine that tiny defense bonus making a difference...
I'm tempted to leave Taunt out of the equation. After Invincibility, I should be an aggro magnet anyway. Before that, I don't know whether I'm even able to handle loads of aggro in the first place.
Here's another try... I know the inherent resists are rather weak powers, but something about spending half my powers on pools irks me. Thanks to the End I save by not taking Tough, I can spam more attacks...
+---------------------------------------------
+ Built with SuckerPunch's Online Planner
+ http://www.cohplanner.com
+---------------------------------------------
Name: Road Knight
Level: 47
Archetype: Tanker
Primary: Invulnerability
Secondary: Fiery Melee
+---------------------------------------------
01 => Scorch ==> Empty(1),Empty(3),Empty(7),Empty(9),Empty(33),Empty(37)
01 => Temp Invulnerability ==> Empty(1),Empty(11),Empty(13),Empty(43)
02 => Dull Pain ==> Empty(2),Empty(3),Empty(5),Empty(11)
04 => Combustion ==> Empty(4),Empty(5),Empty(7),Empty(9),Empty(33),Empty(37)
06 => Combat Jumping ==> Empty(6)
08 => Unyielding ==> Empty(8),Empty(13),Empty(39),Empty(39),Empty(43)
10 => Hurdle ==> Empty(10)
12 => Taunt ==> Empty(12)
14 => Super Jump ==> Empty(14),Empty(15),Empty(15)
16 => Health ==> Empty(16),Empty(17),Empty(17)
18 => Invincibility ==> Empty(18),Empty(19),Empty(19),Empty(46),Empty(46),Empty(46)
20 => Stamina ==> Empty(20),Empty(21),Empty(21)
22 => Resist Physical Damage ==> Empty(22),Empty(23),Empty(23)
24 => Resist Elements ==> Empty(24),Empty(25),Empty(25)
26 => Tough Hide ==> Empty(26),Empty(27),Empty(27)
28 => Fire Sword Circle ==> Empty(28),Empty(29),Empty(29),Empty(31),Empty(33),Empty(34)
30 => Resist Energies ==> Empty(30),Empty(31),Empty(31)
32 => Unstoppable ==> Empty(32),Empty(34),Empty(34)
35 => Incinerate ==> Empty(35),Empty(36),Empty(36),Empty(36),Empty(37),Empty(39)
38 => Greater Fire Sword ==> Empty(38),Empty(40),Empty(40),Empty(40),Empty(42),Empty(43)
41 => Conserve Power ==> Empty(41),Empty(42),Empty(42)
44 => Laser Beam Eyes ==> Empty(44),Empty(45),Empty(45),Empty(45)
+---------------------------------------------
01 => Sprint ==> Empty(1)
01 => Brawl ==> Empty(1)
02 => Rest ==> Empty(1)
Argh, the more I think about it, the less I can decide.
Invincibility and combustion certainly work well enough for grabbing and holding aggro between them. But be prepared for a bit of grief from people who think you should have taunt - take no notice of that, the proof is in the slightly overcooked pudding.
I could paste in my build with hasten + ss swapped for CJ + SJ, but my build won't be for everybody - I only have the two AoE attacks to speak of, for starters. Plus it's not ready for inventions; I'm still working on that version of the build.
01) --> Temp Invulnerability==> DmgRes(1) DmgRes(3) DmgRes(3) EndRdx(5) EndRdx(45)
01) --> Scorch==> Acc(1)
02) --> Dull Pain==> Heal(2) Heal(5) Heal(7) Rechg(7) Rechg(9) Rechg(9)
04) --> Combustion==> Acc(4) EndRdx(11) Dmg(34) Dmg(37) Rechg(39) Rechg(40)
06) --> Combat Jumping==> DefBuf(6) DefBuf(11) DefBuf(13)
08) --> Unyielding==> DmgRes(8) DmgRes(13) DmgRes(15) EndRdx(15) EndRdx(50)
10) --> Taunt==> Rechg(10) Rechg(17) Rechg(17) Taunt(42) Taunt(43) Taunt(43)
12) --> Swift==> Run(12) Run(34) Run(34)
14) --> Super Jump==> Jump(14) Jump(43) Jump(48)
16) --> Health==> Heal(16) Heal(23) Heal(25)
18) --> Invincibility==> DefBuf(18) DefBuf(19) DefBuf(19) Taunt(21) Taunt(21) Taunt(23)
20) --> Stamina==> EndMod(20) EndMod(25) EndMod(27)
22) --> Kick==> Acc(22)
24) --> Tough==> DmgRes(24) DmgRes(27) DmgRes(29) EndRdx(29) EndRdx(46)
26) --> Tough Hide==> DefBuf(26) DefBuf(31) DefBuf(31)
28) --> Weave==> DefBuf(28) DefBuf(31) DefBuf(33) EndRdx(33) EndRdx(46)
30) --> Fire Sword Circle==> Acc(30) EndRdx(33) Dmg(39) Dmg(39) Rechg(40) Rechg(40)
32) --> Stimulant==> IntRdx(32)
35) --> Aid Self==> Heal(35) Heal(36) Heal(36) IntRdx(36) IntRdx(37) IntRdx(37)
38) --> Unstoppable==> Rechg(38) Rechg(46)
41) --> Resist Physical Damage==> DmgRes(41) DmgRes(42) DmgRes(42)
44) --> Resist Elements==> DmgRes(44) DmgRes(45) DmgRes(45)
47) --> Resist Energies==> DmgRes(47) DmgRes(48) DmgRes(48)
49) --> Build Up==> Rechg(49) Rechg(50) Rechg(50)
Like I say, I like it defensive :P
DON'T eat muffins while I'm developing you.
Pants! Turkey Magnates! A man in a box! Rogue AI! Come one, come all, to arc ID 10107 - It's [i]'Not as long as some other arcs'[/i]!
Power choices, pick them for concept and fun then play around them. Some people will work with you and some will work against you. Teamplayers act to try to help the whole team without exception and we all should choose our friends wisely.
I know i am gonna talk about a fire/fire tank but alot has to do with /fire. Trying to repeat Castle escapades in Dark Astoria i found offense can be the best defense.
More offense = less damage taken + less secondary effects = less fight duration = more xp/time.
More defense = more fight duration + more secondary effects over time = less offense = less xp/time.
Less need for defenders = more need for offenders
Its just about getting the right mix.
Effectiveness of builds can largely come down to who you team with and levels you face and then your also locked into doing levels you can adequately taunt control for the sake of team.
Builds need to be fun and well rounded imo soloing +3 or +4 sappers or a +3 Dark Ring Mistress as an invuln shouldnt have to always be a pant wetter and having more than necessary survival is a waste. Playing right in a typical team you could be gaining from support anyway and your survivability in terms of such and such was there anyway.
So many people havent got a clue about the flexibility taunt can offer and for me its plain view especially for the def set tanks that may have high damage streakbreakers to worry about against AVs and for the res sets they can use it to lower the damage per second upon themselves but for me the real reason for taunt versus AVs for either the def or res set should be for taking damage completely away from the team as and when needed, not cos 52 infernal (who I'd taunt with my scrapper) would kick ya butt in an unideal team make up if ya couldnt kite.
Levelling up you can better keep an extremely useful debuff zone and collect strays into taunt control with taunt as well as autohitting, useability at low end due to no end cost and range being faster than travel power.
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.
@ Wilfred: I like the concept of your build; if I wanted a great attack chain, I'd play a scrapper. I have good experiences with team-oriented play, it makes me feel useful. The hero I have the most fun playing is a kin defender -- I use a buff/debuff chain, and hardly ever click an attack.
I'll probably end up with mostly the same build as you, maybe fitting in Incinerate somewhere to flesh out the attacks a bit. It's supposed to be a very effective damage dealer.
Incinerate's a gorgeous attack... I had to really wrangle with my frontal lobe to drop it. The damage/second for such a dinky amount of endurance... it's droolworthy, to be sure! Trouble is, it was that or one or the resist passives, and I don't think I'd be comfortable dropping either of those!
DON'T eat muffins while I'm developing you.
Pants! Turkey Magnates! A man in a box! Rogue AI! Come one, come all, to arc ID 10107 - It's [i]'Not as long as some other arcs'[/i]!
[ QUOTE ]
The hero I have the most fun playing is a kin defender -- I use a buff/debuff chain, and hardly ever click an attack
[/ QUOTE ]
Wilfreds tank would probably have no need for aid self with your kin.
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.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The hero I have the most fun playing is a kin defender -- I use a buff/debuff chain, and hardly ever click an attack
[/ QUOTE ]
Wilfreds tank would probably have no need for aid self with your kin.
[/ QUOTE ]
I do play with kins, sometimes, and have no need for Aid Self!
Or Dull Pain, usually, but that's another matter.
DON'T eat muffins while I'm developing you.
Pants! Turkey Magnates! A man in a box! Rogue AI! Come one, come all, to arc ID 10107 - It's [i]'Not as long as some other arcs'[/i]!
Hi all
While not a newbie, I am certainly not experienced either (my highest toon is 22), so I'd like some help on making my first tank before I botch him and have to reroll...
Most tanker guides I find are late-game builds with little or no indication of how to play the early levels. I, on the other hand, am chiefly interested in the early levels, because I cannot tell whether I'll take the Road Knight into the high levels. It all depends on how much fun I have with him. I expect to respec after level 22.
So here's what I imagine him to be like before the respec:
1: Temporary Invulnerability
1: Scorch
2: Dull Pain
4: Combustion
6: Fire Sword
8: Unyielding
10: Taunt
12: Combat Jumping
14: Super Jump
16: Breath of Fire
18: Invincibility
20: Resist Physical Damage
22: Buildup
In the respec, I presume I am going to toss out some stuff to make room for the Fitness tree.
I will spend the early levels in teams, but since I'm a newbie tanker, maybe I should drop Taunt and take RPD first, to avoid getting into more trouble than I can handle.
Opinions?