You won't be as 'sturdy' a tank as say a Granite, Inv, or WP tanker. That said, you should be able to tank pretty much anything the game throws at you. I played a Fire/Stone tanker that was a beast. If Fire works for the concept, give it a whirl.
Also Stun resistance + Toxic Resist + Heal makes you king of the sewer teams. Suck it Vahzilok.
They ALL float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float too!
@Starflier
If you search through the last few months of posts you'll see several conversations about fire/? tanks, including a few on this page. The fire primary by itself is considered one of the weaker sets concerning damage taking, but that doesn't mean it can't be a good tank. Adding in Tough and Weave from the fighting pool helps with it's survivability pushing S/L resists up to the 70% range with proper slotting and Weave will give you some starting defense as well. There are some folks who've pushed their fire tanks S/L defenses to the soft cap (45%) with IO set bonuses, and have given themselves some pretty good Nrg/Dark defenses as well.
Some recent threads about fire/? here: http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=198141
here: http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=199284
here: http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=196961
here: http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=195261
and here: http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=201283
There are a few more then that, but those are some I'd already linked to.
Throwing darts at the board to see if something sticks.....
Come show your resolve and fight my brute!
Tanks: Gauntlet, the streak breaker and you!
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Originally Posted by PapaSlade
Rangle's right....this is fun.
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Originally Posted by Starflier
You won't be as 'sturdy' a tank as say a Granite,
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Couldn't help myself. But really I agree with most of what he said, and IO's and sets can make up for a lot weaknesses, of course at a price.
SD with whatever is the fotm, if you're unsure how dedicated you're going to be sticking with your fire tank through 50 and buying sets, roll a shield tank and don't worry about it.
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I don't what to say, this is so unexpected. All I can say is this.
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Originally Posted by Tank_Washington
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They ALL float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float too!
@Starflier
Ok, since the begining of City of Heroes, Fire tanks were meant to be the more offensive style tanks.. not much has changed. I have had one since I first started when they said they were horrible tanks, and when they changed burn and everyone got rid of theirs, I kept mine. I am proud to have kept mine all these years. and it is one that I still play when people want me to grab my level 50 tank.. (I have two level 50 tanks and working on more, I am a tankaholic)
Magma Boulder: SL 50 Fiery Aura/Stone Melee/Fire Epic -- Virtue
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That was the intent. There are now better sets to build an offensive tanker around, which is the real problem with Fire. |
Originally Posted by Sephar
Ok, since the begining of City of Heroes, Fire tanks were meant to be the more offensive style tanks.. not much has changed.
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Willpower is a better set for any tanker meant to have a sustainable offense. Quick Recovery is always there when you need it, unlike Consume.
Shield gives you a damage bonus and an excellent attack. Both of those sets can be easily made tougher than a fire tanker as well. Shield Charge is actually useful and not inconsistent with the tanker role, unlike Burn. Against All Odds is a better damage boost than Fiery Embrace, and works just as well with any secondary you choose.
Without a working Burn, Fire's claim to be an offensive oriented tanking set is simply no longer tenable. It is, however, slightly useful as an aggro dump, although unlike Caltrops there is no slow in it.
<《 New Colchis / Guides / Mission Architect 》>
"At what point do we say, 'You're mucking with our myths'?" - Harlan Ellison
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To clarify, the way things are now is a far stretch from how they were designed at the beginning of the game.|
Originally Posted by Sephar
Ok, since the begining of City of Heroes, Fire tanks were meant to be the more offensive style tanks.. not much has changed. I have had one since I first started when they said they were horrible tanks, and when they changed burn and everyone got rid of theirs, I kept mine. I am proud to have kept mine all these years. and it is one that I still play when people want me to grab my level 50 tank.. (I have two level 50 tanks and working on more, I am a tankaholic)
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At the beginning there were two intents in the design based on pairing the elemental primaries. Fire/Fire was Resistance/Offence while Ice/Ice was Defense/Control. The others were scattered in the middle of both scales.
There was a time when Fire/ could cap S/L resists with Tough and tack on enough +def from Weave to take on a map of wolves and laugh about it. Then the offensive pairing with /Fire would make you a killing machine.
Since ED, GDN, Aggro Caps, and many...many....many Burn nerfs this has changed to what we have now.
I just wish Burn didn't make enemies flee. Then, the set would be worth it. Don't get me wrong, I occasionally get out my Fire Tankers, and I have some fun, but they sure are frustrating at times.
Lewis
Random AT Generation!
"I remember... the Alamo." -- Pee-wee Herman
"Oh don't worry. I always leave things to the last moment." -- The Doctor
"Telescopes are time machines." -- Carl Sagan
Yeah, but if you can get an AoE immob, then you can have the best of both worlds. You can immob the crowd to keep them from fleeing. Or, if they're handing you a beat down, you can use Burn to MAKE them flee. I have a fire/fire brute with the AoE immob from Mace Mastery (Black Scorpion).
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
Sure, I knew about the Brute option. I will become more excited about my Fire Tankers when THEY can do their own AoE immob, or when Burn no longer makes enemies flee. Either one. 
In the mean time, I'll still play them, but only on occasion. No biggie.
Lewis
Random AT Generation!
"I remember... the Alamo." -- Pee-wee Herman
"Oh don't worry. I always leave things to the last moment." -- The Doctor
"Telescopes are time machines." -- Carl Sagan
The nutshell is that I'll have to dip into a lot of pools to be as efficient a tank as say... Inv? OK, thanks. I'm interested in Fire because it not only fits a concept I had in mind, but its also the least common Tanker primary, with SD and WP being the most common ones.
I see plenty of fire tanks around. My impression is that dark and electric are the rarest armor sets, mainly because they haven't been around very long for tanks.
And yes, SD and WP were immediately hugely popular when they came out. Hell, I camped a name for my shield tank while waiting for the set to be released.
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
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Or, you can play a shield tanker and defeat almost then tire spawn of minions and Lt's in one shot... no outside help, no need for an immob to Burn five enemies - no more than five at a time - and you can add a constant damage bonus to all of your attacks instead of every 90 seconds....|
Originally Posted by Ironblade
Yeah, but if you can get an AoE immob, then you can have the best of both worlds. You can immob the crowd to keep them from fleeing. Or, if they're handing you a beat down, you can use Burn to MAKE them flee. I have a fire/fire brute with the AoE immob from Mace Mastery (Black Scorpion).
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Shield is more offensive than fire.
YMMV---IMO
Ice Ember
Yeah, well Shield has to carry that big, clunky board around and layer-on several toggles and if you want to avoid being mezzed you have to keep clicking that thing.
But I want to light myself on Fire and make minions die without even touching them! And, when my blue bar is getting thin and pale, I want to dive into the next spawn and FWOOOSH! refill my endurance so I can keep right on murd... I mean Arresting the bad-guys!
Be Well!
Fireheart
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Yeah, and?|
Originally Posted by Ice_Ember
Shield is more offensive than fire.
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I have both.
The OP was asking specifically about fire, not looking for a comparative analysis.
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
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I think you're looking at the wrong nutshell. The nutshell is you won't be as efficient a tank as Inv, period. Never. You will be squishier, no matter what you do.|
Originally Posted by MuMuGuy
The nutshell is that I'll have to dip into a lot of pools to be as efficient a tank as say... Inv? OK, thanks. I'm interested in Fire because it not only fits a concept I had in mind, but its also the least common Tanker primary, with SD and WP being the most common ones.
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The only reason Fiery Aura functions at all for tanking is that the game is really pretty easy. You can tank almost anything with any Tanker primary and secondary. You can tank absolutely anything with any Tanker primary and secondary if you use the right external buffs, inspirations, and/or properly chosen IO sets. Fiery Aura succeeds in spite of itself, because the devs put the tanking bar so very *VERY* low in this game.
That's my take on the issue, anyway.
TEH WERDZ ON SKREEN HURTZ MI BRANE!
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Originally Posted by Ironblade
I see plenty of fire tanks around. My impression is that dark and electric are the rarest armor sets, mainly because they haven't been around very long for tanks.
And yes, SD and WP were immediately hugely popular when they came out. Hell, I camped a name for my shield tank while waiting for the set to be released. |
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Originally Posted by Ironblade
Yeah, and?
I have both. The OP was asking specifically about fire, not looking for a comparative analysis. |
YMMV---IMOIce Ember
You said:
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Which is not really expressed in the form of an Opinion.|
Originally Posted by Ice_Ember
Shield is more offensive than fire.
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That would have had, "In my experience..." or "I think..." in it. I'll grant you, Shield is generally considered by the community to be more offensive and possibly even a better set. However, as Ironblade said, the original post wasn't asking if SD was better in some way, but whether Fire was a good Tanking set - and the consensus, variously expressed, was that Fire is just fine!
Be Well!
Fireheart
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Um, no, we're not talking 'efficient', we're talking Different. In terms of straight up, 'stand there and take it like a Tanker' durability, Fiery Aura is less resistant to a lot of damage than Invulnerability. It also does not have built-in Defense (ie avoiding damage). Adding the Fighting pool (Tough & Weave) will raise that resistance and add some defense.|
Originally Posted by MuMuGuy
The nutshell is that I'll have to dip into a lot of pools to be as efficient a tank as say... Inv? OK, thanks. I'm interested in Fire because it not only fits a concept I had in mind, but its also the least common Tanker primary, with SD and WP being the most common ones.
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Where Fiery Aura stands out is in having a Damaging aura-power, which will continually hurt your enemies, as long as they're close enough and you have Endurance to run it. FA also has a very fast-recharging self-heal, which can be leveraged into a powerful 'damage erasing' tool. So you won't Avoid damage as well as other sets, and you won't Resist being damaged as well as other sets, but who cares, you can Heal it, if you survive.
In addition, FA lets you drop a Burn patch, which will damage enemies caught in it and cause them to Try to avoid it. Lots of tactics for using that to your advantage, including carrying a Controller in your back pocket, using it to block doorways, or using it to drive off aggro'd enemies long enough to get a bit of healing up. (BTW: Since you're a Tanker and Burn Taunts the enemy, they will often run right back into the fire, taking more damage, just to get a chance to hit you again.)
And, perhaps my Favorite reason for loving Fiery Aura is Consume! Just when the enemy thinks they have you half-beaten, you tap Healing Flames to fill your green bar and then Consume to fill your blue, and go back to beating the snot out of them. (Maniacal laughter is purely optional, but hard to resist.)
So, you ask if Fiery Aura is a good Tanker set and I say, 'Hell Yeah!' Are there other Tanker primaries that are more durable? Yes, yes there are. Is sheer durability the only measure of a Tanker? Of course not!
Are there people who will argue otherwise? Er, yeah, there are even people who will boot you from a team, because they have an opinion about FA. But you don't really want to play with THEM anyway.
Be Well!
Fireheart
I know that the Fire primary is an offensive Tanker set and I've heard that its not very good for someone that wants to tank. I have a character concept in mind which would require a Fire primary, but I enjoy tanking, so would I be a subpar tank if I use Fire as my primary? Thanks