Making A Tanker

I have a reason for making this thread, it's because I am interested why people make their tankers and would hope that some people would be interested in talking about themselves.

So if you have a Tanker, then what powersets combos do you have and why? Why the concept and what type of intentions?

Also;

Is there anything you feel that is too hard to accomplish with it that you would like to?

Is there anything that you find that you can't do with it or any part of the game content that you never seem to be asked to be main tank for? (I certainly think that if X type of tanker never gets asked for Y TF then how the hell are they supposed to learn to conquer it?)

Me briefly, I make tankers because they symbolize the best type of hero out there (read sig) but then even by being a Master of Distraction as Tankers are you can save people. I tend to go Dark/Dark, Stone/Stone, Ice/Ice, Fire/Fire for straight out obvious a combination and for the not so obvious I went WP/DB or Inv/SS, Shield/Mace, that's not all but they are probably my main ones. Each one should not only test me differently but test teams differently too as when it comes to the various content I will have my limits to get around. I like walls to climb over so to speak and anything seemingly impossible is simply another wall. I would write more but I have got to go to work in 15 mins XD (nights).

I always have a concept before delving into the creator. Only 2 concepts made sense as Tanks: A Stone/Stone that was supposed to be a rogue Troll, but my interest was sidelined by other things. Then I made an Invuln Tanker... i picked EM as the secondary, because I felt that SS was overdone paired with Invuln. However, even though I've leveled her to 50 and I'm IOing her out, I've found that it's not the best combo (I've got capped def, but one AoE later, half of my foes are wandering away and it's like getting hit with a huge debuff. BLARG!). Still, I like the character a lot =)

I called him Genovese. Genovese comes from the Genovese Syndrome or Bystander Effect. Except my Tanker is no bystander. The name Genovese isn't his real name, it is merely a reminder, so that no one forgets, to not standby and do nothing, to do something may stir others into also doing something even if it is phone the police, to distract may buy a victim enough time or cause an assailant to run.

Check here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitty_Genovese

When making Genovese I had no idea Rorschach of the Watchmen Comic began fighting crime after reading about Kitty Genovese in the Newspaper. Sharing a similar origin with Rorschach without knowing is kind of cool.

I first made him a WP/Mace, basically a guy with a pipe wrench. He's basically meant to represent a would be, natural hero, picking up what is available to him as a weapon to aid someone in need. His travel power should be riding a Motorcycle swinging the wrench ideally. Due to my Scrappers I didn't level him far which is a good thing because along came shields with the manhole cover which is again, improvising with what is available to him, so now it's re-roll Manhole Cover/Pipe Wrench.

Heraclea, the character, existed in my drawings well before she was created in-game in December, 2004.

If I could have picked anything I wanted to, she would have been Super Strength/Super Reflexes. But Super Strength was the defining characteristic, and thus she became Inv/SS, because Super Strength was only available to Tankers.

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

I like tanking because it's in your face, active, and you're really looking out for other people. I like being able to take damage and cover my team, but I also like that Tankers are solid, solo, as I often run in teams and solo.

If you're really trying to protect your teammates and be a smart Tanker, you'll be really active, which I like. Some other archetypes feel a bit too laid back, in comparison. A lot of the other ATs are fun, but Tankers are really where it's at for me.

I have tons of Tanker concepts. Sometimes the rationale for making that particular concept as a Tanker is simply the availability of the powersets -- there are no Axe Scrappers (so far).

Sometimes the driver behind the concept is wanting particular powerset combos, sometimes it's pure concept, sometimes it's costume-driven.

L'Oriflamme: named after the Oriflamme, the "golden flame of France," the banner the French Kings rode to war behind. Fire/fire/pyre Tanker. As soon as I thought of the name I knew she had to be fire/fire; although she predates the Fire sets being ported to Scrappers, something about being the embodiment of kings riding to war makes Tanker feel more appropriate anyway.

In the old days she did well enough, relying on teammates when spawns got too big. I still want to IO her out and see how she fares in modern content, AE and ITF and STF, that sort of thing. The offense is nice, the sturdiness used to be decent even for team tanking, but I'm aware it's not the most rugged Tanker combo (and rightly so, given the offense).

Ironclad: Another one that was name-driven. I'm a Civil War buff. As soon as I got the name (yay!) I knew I had to make a Tanker; the question was, what sets? Stone was (and still is) the hardiest; but the look wouldn't work. Fortunately you can do metallic skins very nicely and the shiny Invulnerability graphics don't detract. A clouds-of-steam aura at level 30, some rust on the extremities, and a cannon muzzle mounted in the chest (the "ring" chest decoration, tinted black), and the look is done. Super Strength works for the set (a hand weapon would be weird) and the Hurl power can serve as my cannonball, with a little imagination. Recent changes to Inv have made the character much stronger defensively; with (significant) IO investment, this guy can face anything any other character can face. I bring him, or the next one on the list, out for the nastiest content.

Easter Island: Stone/Fire, of course. Wanted a tough tanker to protect my friends during heavy fighting. In the medium-old days, post-GDN but pre-IOs, that meant Stone. Fire was the best area damage available for a primary that needed no mitigation from its secondary. Once I decided on the powersets for these game-mechanic-driven reasons, I found a concept to fit. I like the concept, though, and the character gets compliments, so it worked out well (I have to like the concept in order to keep playing the character for long).

The Last Minoan: I like knockdown; I have a few characters with it (including the SS tanker above) and wanted MORE knockdown. Some thought led me to Shield/Axe. The double-bitted axe reminds me of the labrys, the double-bitted bronze axe that was the symbol of the Minoan kings of Crete. The labrys gave its name to the labyrinth, home of...the Minotaur, of course. I hadn't used any of the rather generous selection of horns the Devs gave us in the character creator. Time to make a minotaur! Gotta be a Tanker (no Axe for Scrappers, and need to be tough; I don't like V-side as much). No figure-8 Minoan shield type in the creator, but a round Greek Hoplon will do in a pinch.

The Sewer Knight: As soon as I saw the manhole-cover shield option, this concept was born. Pipe wrench and bucket helm (he cut slots in an actual bucket) complete the accouterments of this escaped mental patient/vagrant in his fight for justice!

So far the last two are still young.

I like Tanking for several reasons; it's nice to help out the team, for example. But another determinant is the way people are allergic to the star. I wind up forming teams a lot and setting the missions and cajoling the group along; it's sometimes easier to also be the point man / main Tank myself, although if I find a decent player I can delegate that role.

Lastly, I feel strongly that defensive powers are more superheroic than offensive powers. We can already kill someone from space and destroy entire cities; what we can't do is shrug off the effects of modern weapons. Durability is the quintessential super-power.

My favorite tankers name is Chill Axe. I know, goofy name. Only her friends know her real one.

The concept came first. While locked in mortal combat with an ice wyrm, she was frozen solid. The ice kept her perfectly preserved in a state of suspended animation. As she was not technically dead, the Valkyries couldn't take her to Valhalla, so it was decreed she would be found and returned when her country most needed her.

She was revived during the battle for Norway in WWII. Tyr (via the Valkyries) gifted her with an ice shield, formed from the ice which hand imprisoned her, and super human strength and endurance. She still however, uses her own axe, which has been refined for her.

During the war she fought by night, and became a legend to her enemies.

After the war, she devoted her time to learning about the modern world. When the 5th Column, then the Council rose, she came to Paragon City, and joined the Super Group the Chosen of Valhalla to fight the good fight.

After that, I dove into the creator.

I love playing this tanker. She is active, and very protective. She is always the first into combat, and will do everything to bring her teammates back alive.

My first tanker, Watcher's Hand (and second character created) is a homage to my favorite NPC in a fantasy RPG. That character, a mace-wielding cleric, became a Invul/Mace tank--though if shields had been around back then, I would probably have gone Shield/Mace.

Sounds trite, I know, but I have invented a modern backstory for him that I think really works, and that I swear I'm going to make into a fanfic someday. The one thing that is consistent with the original character is that his abilities are god-given; which has been the impetus to create a couple of other "Watcher" variants.

Though I made the first Watcher a tank because it fitted the character best, since then I've kept making tanks (I think I have 5 or 6 that get play time) just because I like the AT so much. As a matter of fact, I just started a new one on Freedom so I'll have one for Tanker Tuesday tomorrow!

I was late to the tank game but they're so much easier / cheaper to build because of the higher base defenses and/or resistances.

I recently finished my super tank (INV/SS):

- Inv like resistances
- softcapped defense with 1 enemy in melee range to s/l/f/c/e/n
- near perm DP
- capped HP with DP running
- 48.5hp/s regeneration when HP capped
- no purples
- no PVP IOs
- no unstoppable, it's not needed

It is over the top and a little unnecessary, but it's pretty slick and it's fun to watch him completely own things in almost every situation.

He is my most survivable character to date.

My Tanker started out as a costume experiment; I wanted a character with Bunny ears, and the idea of a girl with bunny ears that was actually a Tanker appealed. When I was making her, I decided I didn't want the "traditional" Invulnerable Tanker, so I went with a powerset new to me at the time, Willpower. And since I wanted to avoid the "Playboy Bunny" stereotype, I paired WP with a missing eye. Still got the Playboy Bunny stereotype, though, but what can you do? Still took Super Strength, though.

The reason I pushed her to 50 instead of leaving her languishing in the 20s like most of my alts, however, was because she came to feel absolutely indestructable, and that really appealed to me. My previous 50 was a Master Mind, so the gameplay of "invincible" was what I already had sought. And as much as MMs are "easy mode" and trivialise a lot of content, Tankers are far more untouchable.

So my primary motivation behind playing my Tanker is just being completely invincible. I really do feel super when playing her.

Two tankers so far. I always play support toons so it was, Corruptor, Controller, Defender and then Tanker (I always believed Tanking is more of a support AT, it's job being to keep others alive.) . I should have started tanking sooner. I'm so in my niche here. WP/DB and Fire/Fire (being leveled up uberslow).

Too hard to accomplish with my WP/DB? Probably damage. But I'm working on building her with IO sets for damage. She just turned 50 a month ago.

There are people out there who are convinced only a stone tanker can tank the ITF so it was problematic getting her on ITF teams. I lead a lot of generic mission teams, not a lot of Task Forces, but with my tanker now I find myself putting task forces together.

My WP/DB Tanker is a heroic oddity. She joined ELITE in order to acquire contacts to find her sister in the Rogue Isles (an MM I play redside) and is a reluctantly costumed hero. She's my homage to Elektra (of Marvel fame) and Indiana Jones.

My Fire/Fire Tanker is not a typical hero. She was a mediocre athlete who couldn't get become a professional and was hired by a company in order to test out their plasma generating equipment. The company has ties to Crey unbeknownst to, well, anyone.

They're fun to play and I like leading teams so they're an easy choice.

Also... I mean, come on. There's something awesome about being surrounded by reds and purples bashing at you and almost never seeing your green bar move.

After having been playing a nrg/ice blaster into the mid 30's, I wanted something less squishy and thought it would be interesting to try out the tank armor set. I have a tattoo on my arm of a little devil along with the Japanese symbols for "Ko Oni" which is little devil roughly translated into Japanese. So I used that name as a starting point.

So from there, Ko Oni II was created. Since he is a little devil, fire/fire only seemed appropriate. Since he was to be a hero, he became the "White Sheep" of the family doing his best not to win his parents approval of what he did to help others. Ko Oni II was my first tank to 50. I now have 6 other tanks in the works anywhere from lvl 7-50.

My main, while superficially, seems to be Superman on steroids, is actually more of a take on Strong Guy. He didn't exactly ask for his powers, and thinks he's something rather freakish and disfigured.

Still, mashing badguy face helps him cope.

Never underestimate the power of good catharsis.

Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.

My Tankers have all come from choosing power sets first, which isn't my usual approach.

WP/DB became a Xena'esque inspired "Queen of the Amazons" when those sets were introduced.

SD/DM became "Magical Mistress" a magician's assistant who was sucked into an alternate dimension during a live performance. Her boss was dabbling in black market/black magic props and supplies. Again when shields were added to the game.

INV/SS became "Charity Steele" because I couldn't really come up with a good concept other than her mutant abilities give her body metallic resilience/strength. Started her because I hadn't tried this combo since the game went live a zillion years ago.

Elec/Elec will be my next one. Have a couple of names staked out but no concepts yet.


I've been pretty happy with all my tanks, but being a support player at heart, I don't give them nearly the amount of play time they deserve.

I play tankers because they are the closest thing I can get to the comic book heroes I've always liked: Colossus, Luke Cage, Hulk, Superman, etc. Defending teammates and civilian alike. I play a lot of scrappers as well, but I like that tankers have more of a role to play to on teams. It's nice to cut loose and kill stuff, but having a deeper purpose is nice sometimes too.

I've got a lot of tankers.

My first was the Silver Sledge, an Inv/SS created in I4 and my first 50. Conceptualized as 'Hulk-like'. The harder you hit him, the stronger he gets, as the suit he wears absorbs kinetic energy and allows him to redirect. He's done the most of any of my tankers, content-wise, and has tanked some ridiculous situations. I haven't had another 'pure' tanker since getting him to 50.

Eastgate Enforcer is Shield/SS. A normal guy taking up the cause after sitting on the sidelines for a long time. My try at a Shields tanker, and one of two characters that has had art done.

Grim Fandango is an Inv/Dark tanker. He is the living dead, over 100 years old, bound to be an eternal champion. He is possibly the toughest tanker I've ever played. IO'd out he would be a monster.

Stormrazer is Inv/DB and was raised the daughter of an occult professor. She, like a lot of my characters, could pretty much be stuck right into a pulp adventure novel or noir detective film.

Kilauea is Fire/Stone and is the earthly avatar of Pele, goddess of destruction and volcanoes. Squishiest of my tankers, she's solo'd a good number of EB's (all the Faultline EB's), and tanked the Faultline AV's for teams. The Fire/Stone combo certainly gives off the badass impression one would expect from the avatar of destruction.

I have other tankers on other servers (other than the virtue ones, above). A Fire/DM, an Inv/Stone, and others.

WP/SS - 50
DARK/FIRE - 40
INVUL/SS - 50
SD/EM - 40
ICE/ICE - 43
FIRE/FIRE - 30
STONE/STONE - 22

I have a level 10 Fire/Dark that is likely to replace my Fire/Fire, mainly because I want to see just how much survivability the combo has.

That's pretty much the order of fun factor with all of them for me. Oddly, I have only OI'd two of them, WP and SD, and would like to IO the Dark if I get around to it. Although I do plan to take them all to 50 at some point, I have too many other ATs that I like to play as well. I already have a level 20 Miracle unique and a Steadfast Protection: KB or two waiting for my Elec/Elec when the option for it goes live.

My first ever toon was a Fire/Fire/Fire tank, Black Karhu.

I stopped playing him for a little while but have recently started again and realising why I liked playing him so much

BK is great at getting agro having Taunt, Fire Sword Circle, Melt Armour, Blazing Aura and Fireball. However I need to be careful in terms of survivability because his defence/resistance doesn't compare to some other powersets (although I am currently working on a build to change this!) but has happily tanked his way through some of the higher content and task forces.

Ive got a few other low level tanks including a Willpower/Mace, Ice/Stone and Invulnerable/Super Strength each of which play very differently so far. I'm also going to be rolling a Shield/Electric once Issue 16 hits and already have a name holder and costume ready for him

I think I am going to find it a bit more challenging to get/maintain agro with my Willpower and Invulnerable (espcially compared to BK) but with my Ice it seems rediculously easy so far!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zwillinger Quote: 16. Has Paragon Studios redefined "player" to require your mouse to subscribe separately from your keyboard? If your mouse has greater processing power than your gfx card, the answer is yes.

I've always had a bit of a tanking mindset in games. I like to have appreciable damage, but I'd rather be a little slower killing than a glass cannon. My first taste of Tanking was a lvl50 Paladin in DAoC - I enjoyed it a lot in PvE. (Not so much in PvP, switched to a Friar eventually.) My first lvl60 in WoW was also a Paladin before I realized all the problems with their tanking ability. (I was kind of okay with it though, since until raids I could go alternate between dmg, healing, and tanking as necessary. I love hybrids, too.)

In CoH, however, my first love were Scrappers. Why? Tanker damage back then was too low for my tastes. (0.65 mod vs 0.8 now. Ick!) Now, though, things are better, esp with IOs. I also like how helpful I feel in a group. Everytime I hold aggro or taunt a stay mob before it eats a squishy I can see the impact I have on the group. I can set the pace (to keep things moving) as well as trade blows with the toughest mobs in the game. It feels very super. (I used to fancy my DM/Invuln Scrapper as a bit of a Tank with better damage - esp with Invin holding aggro. No longer! There is no comparison between an Invuln Scrapper and a Tanker (esp with Taunt, which I never skip).)

My current favorite Tanker, nay, character, is Brimstone-Preacher (WP/Fire). He originally started as a gag villain (Fire Melee/Stone - fire and brimstone from the Old Testament and all that), but I could never get into Brutes. When WP hit I saw an opportunity to remake him (I felt guilty making him a villain in hindsight), so I did. I like how solid his defenses are, that he can switch from AoE to st damage seamlessly, and that I've been able to learn to hold aggro on him over some sets with superior aggro auras. About the only thing he can't do is solo AVs. (Okay, I did beat Adamastor, but to be fair he has a 25% vulnerability to fire and lethal damage. )

Two of my proudest moments on him: First was a smooth STF run where it wasn't until the leader wanted me to herd the AVs that he realized I wasn't Stone Armor. Slightly misleading name coupled with an awesome group... hah! Second was a 4 man Khan TF I did with 3 friends. At one point I was tanking up to 3 AVs (when they weren't confused!). Finished that run in about an hour flat.

I have other Tankers, but I don't play them as much for many reasons. I'm getting a bit long winded anyways, so it's a good stopping point anyways. I don't want to bore you guys any further.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailboat Ironclad: Another one that was name-driven. I'm a Civil War buff. As soon as I got the name (yay!) I knew I had to make a Tanker; the question was, what sets? Stone was (and still is) the hardiest; but the look wouldn't work. Fortunately you can do metallic skins very nicely and the shiny Invulnerability graphics don't detract. A clouds-of-steam aura at level 30, some rust on the extremities, and a cannon muzzle mounted in the chest (the "ring" chest decoration, tinted black), and the look is done. Super Strength works for the set (a hand weapon would be weird) and the Hurl power can serve as my cannonball, with a little imagination. Recent changes to Inv have made the character much stronger defensively; with (significant) IO investment, this guy can face anything any other character can face. I bring him, or the next one on the list, out for the nastiest content. Easter Island: Stone/Fire, of course. Wanted a tough tanker to protect my friends during heavy fighting. In the medium-old days, post-GDN but pre-IOs, that meant Stone. Fire was the best area damage available for a primary that needed no mitigation from its secondary. Once I decided on the powersets for these game-mechanic-driven reasons, I found a concept to fit. I like the concept, though, and the character gets compliments, so it worked out well (I have to like the concept in order to keep playing the character for long).

Those two are awesome. I laughed when I read Easter Island and Stone Armor. Good show!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Call Me Awesome Quote: Originally Posted by Teehka There are people out there who are convinced only a stone tanker can tank the ITF so it was problematic getting her on ITF teams. I lead a lot of generic mission teams, not a lot of Task Forces, but with my tanker now I find myself putting task forces together. You really hear that? Only Stone for the ITF? I guess the idiots are everywhere.

The ironic part? WP can be more survivable than Stone against a horde of Romans. Once they start stripping your defenses off, all that's left is your res and regen. WP + Tough + SoW or WP + Tough + Insps can hit the same res cap as Stone with more regen. (I've popped SoW at 20% life and regenned to full through 2 mobs worth of aggro.)

To be fair, though, a stock WP w/o Fighting will have a lot rougher time than a powergamed one. I wouldn't be surprised if the average WP Tank on a PUG got slaughtered, despite how well they can perform. No, nothing in the game needs a Granite Tank, but I could see why an average player might think so. Let's face it, just because we can make builds here that can tank multiple AVs, unaided, doesn't mean everyone will. (Could be a time investment issue, or a concept vs power issue, etc.)

My name is Minotaur and I'm a tankaholic

Some of my favourite 50s and their concepts:

Lady Lahar - ice/stone - a lahar is a volcanic mudflow often caused by a snowcapped volcano melting its ice cap during an eruption. Geologist whose powers manifested in her teens.

The pocket rocket - fire/fire - child in red/yellow camo gear with "straight up" yellow hair. This name has significance in the US that it doesn't have here in the UK, got genericed and I got it back. In the UK it's been the nickname of several small dynamic sportsmen, probably the most recent being boxer Wayne McCullough.

Mr Minotaur - stone/axe - my avatar, as a minotaur was always going to have an axe, decided on stone armor, my first 50 Jan 05 played many thousands of hours.

Abrakebabra - fire/DM - Stage magician costume with tophat etc, stage magician and kebab shop owner who got shut down when the inspectors realised he was cooking the kebabs without any gas supply to his shop.

Hand of bast - ice/fire - metal face/hands/feet, cat features and tail, egyptian headdress. Entombed in a pyramid with dead husband, prayed to bast who granted power of warmth. Freed by archaeologists, came to paragon city, decaying slightly, found a scientist who replaced face/hands/feet in metal and fitted refrigeration tech.

Paperless - stone/DB - after seeing Mr Minotaur jump kick in granite, which looked fairly stupid, made to see how silly DB moves looked in granite. Not a great toon, more fun to look at than to play. The name is a play on the fact that he has the rock and 2 blades (scissors).

Xvartacus - shield/mace - a xvart is a type of blue goblin from earlyish D&D, so made him as a xvart gladiator.

My other 50s are fire/ice, WP/SS

I can do pretty much anything I like with most of my tanks, the exception being my fire/dark which I tend to play as a heavy scrapper more than a tank, although I have main tanked many TFs with support.