Dumb question: How many slots for One with the Shield

How many slots should I plan on putting in One with the Shield? I mean, is it considered a power that I should be looking at six-slotting, or what?

Basically, I just dinged 41, and I'm wondering if I should take it now (yeah, yeah, I know, I've had it available since 32, but I haven't really seemed to need it so far), so I can work towards six-slotting it as I level to 50, or if I should take Foot Stomp now and work towards six-slotting that (I'm thinking the Obliteration set for that one).

Foot stomp now!!!

I only leave one slot in One with the Shield. Look at what bonuses you want from IO's in the power, if any at all.

Ice Ember

Hrm... You have a pretty good point there. I'm probably going to get everything I want in terms of IO Resist Damage or Defense sets in my other powers. And I know I want to six-slot Foot Stomp (for the Oblit set or (big if) the Armageddon set).

Hrm.

I do have a couple veteran respecs sitting around, so at least I can correct some problems I'm seeing right now....

One with the Shield is the perfect place to stick that Steadfast Protection Resist/Defense button if that's the only button from that set you're taking. It will work for you even when OwtS is not active.

<《 New Colchis / Guides / Mission Architect 》>
"At what point do we say, 'You're mucking with our myths'?" - Harlan Ellison

Its enough of an optional power that a lot of people either dont slot it or just use it as an IO set mule, but if you do want to slot it up it opens up some nice possibilities.

With two IOs worth of Resistance enhancement, OWtS gives just enough smashing/lethal resistance to hit the hard cap when stacked with Deflection and Tough.

A single IO worth of Heal enhancement in OWtS stacked with True Grit and the +HP Accolades is enough to cap your hitpoints as well.

Assuming you're already at the Defense softcap (which is quite an assumption, but come on, thats why you're a Shield/ tank, isn't it?) that essentially means you are as well protected against Smashing/Lethal as is possible for 2 minutes, with a nice side of +Res to other damage types to go with your hitpoints, defense and damage debuff.

The "crash" consists of a sudden large dip in your blue bar when the power runs out which might be a problem, except that OWtS also boosts your recovery. Unless you have major endurance issues already, one IO worth of EndMod will probably be enough to prevent you even noticing the "crash," which means the power has virtually no drawback when used in the end, middle or beginning of a long fight.

Personally, I recommend 4-5 slots; 1 Heal, 1 EndMod, 2-3 Resistance.

But thats mostly because I like having a "Whatever, punks, I'm a tank" button.

I'm not at the defense cap yet (I know, bad tanker, no cookie), but I'm not horribly far from it. I'm working on filling out a couple of my attacks with Mako's Bite and Touch of Death, which will help a good deal, provided I can ever afford the pieces I need. Plus, another level, and I should be able to finish 6-slotting Rage with Gaussian's, which will also help fill the gap between where I am and the soft cap. (I'm still probably going to take Weave, simply because of Defense Debuffs...)

Based on what I've seen said so far in this thread, I'm going to try just one-slotting it (putting the Steadfast Protection Res/Def IO in there) to see how it goes. I already have pretty good ancillary damage resists from True Grit (and various little bonuses), and while my Smashing/Lethal could be better, that's what Tough is there for. (I figure a minimum of three slots in Tough, possibly taking it all the way to six-slots.... Impervium armor looks so nice, but I have so many things I already can't afford.)