Tank Teaming in the 30's

Hey guys,

I'm still testing out a few of my favorite characters after nearly a year away from the game.

One of my fave's was as an old tanker I made (pre I/O era) and I dusted him off, found him broke, and in dire need of a respec.

He's still pretty darn effective without the best of I/O's but I found teaming with him VERY difficult. I think he's level... 31.

I do find ONCE I'm on a team, it goes really well, and you get the old 'I'll friend you' messages, and compliments on tanking, but it's -finding a team- that I'm having trouble with.

I don't have a lot of content on this guy yet, but I'm always LFT.... but this character is hard pressed to get an invite. This has happened over 4-5 evenings and I started to wonder is this a common problem for a tank in the 30's?

No I am not in an SG. As mentioned, I just came back a few weeks ago. I was just disappointed in the lack of team invites for this guy and wanted to know if it was normal or not? (I moved this guy from Guardian to Freedom in hopes of fixing the problem, but no luck.)

Thanks.

Okay, what're you doing to get on teams?

Standing around in *INSERT ZONE* going "L31 Tank LFT?"
Using some of your server's global channels to network with people?
Using the boards to find teams?
Starting your own teams when all else fails?

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Yeah, hanging around and hoping for an invite usually won't work, even on the "high-pop" servers most of the time, no matter what your AT.

As Hyperstrike says, definitely go and find out what the main global channels are for your server.

Are you waiting for an invite, or are you actively seeking one? More often than not, I find just stating your level and AT in broadcast is of little use. And when it does work, it's usually the classic PUG horror group.

I use the search tool and look for people already on a team. Then I use this handy little bind:

/bind (insert button) begin chat /t $target, Excuse me, but could your team make use of a $level (primary/secondary) tank?

So all I do is click on a person's name, hit the bind, and hit enter. You can add more to the bind, like maybe a description of your play style so they know you're not just gonna sit around. I find more often than not that this will find me a team when my SG isn't on. Some people may get annoyed by this, but you probably wouldn't want to be on their team anyway.

And of course, you can always for your own team. Don't be timid about it, most people are probably in the same situation as yourself. They're just waiting for someone to send the invite. Good luck!

ok. Thanks for the replies.

Just wondering if it was just me. To be honest the only character I have this issue with is my 31 Tank, so I was just wondering if it was a population thing or....?

So thanks for the advice.

I usually form my own teams for this very reason but oddly as soon as I finished the team I was on last night I received a message asking if I wanted to join another. I was going to go to bed but I thought I'd take advantage of not being the leader for once lol.

Like I said, I was just asking for opinion. I certainly didn't mean to tell people they don't 'invite me enough' or something of that nature.

The reason I wanted to know if anyone else had this problem was to get a sense of :

Is it the archetype? (That's a whole other discussion on whether people know they need a tank, or there are too many tanks, etc. etc)

-or-

Is it a population thing at level 30+?

Because if it's just me, that's ok. I'm ok with forming teams. Probably not now because my tank is very dated, but eventually.

The reason I said it doesn't happen to my other toons is not so much my choice of naming convention (though I don't think any of the names would offend anyone. , but instead I was wondering if it was just people think they do better without a tank, or bad luck, or his level.

Just sort of an informal poll. While my tank is a lot of fun, I did get a lot of teams with him a year ago. So I wondered if it was just me or I'm seeing the result of a population drop.

Thanks again.

I reckon the population sub 45 is very shabby until GR comes out.

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As others have mentioned, "networking" will be your best long-term solution to your teaming issues - building up a base of players who are reliable teammates.

Most servers have a badge channel for teams looking for badges, including TF/ SF badges and the like. Although such channels are generally used only for looking for badge teams, they can help you build a base of teammates for non-badge-related, "everyday" teaming. There might be other channels on your server that specifically cater to normal teaming. There could even be social channels that can help provide teammates, or help you build a network base.

I think what u should do is get on a certain global channels and see if that helps but I would still like to know how are you looking for a team. That might be the problem, Ive noticed on freedom a lot of times everyone is doing AEs and missing out on all the other benefits of the game, it is sad when I see a lvl 50 that has less badges then me when i am on a lower lvl toon even with out my vet rewards. Why don't you bring your tank to tanker Tuesday when it comes to freedom.

Finding teams is something people post about from time to time throughout the forums, and it has little to do with your AT (there are some who are like the posters in this thread that only look for certain types, but that's not the only approach... plenty of people like me just look for whoever is on and take whatever people want to bring. All Tanker teams can do great, same for Defenders, Controllers, etc. No need to be picky at all).

Anyway, some simple tips to help with finding teams:

1. Make global friends. Do this after you have teamed with someone a couple of times or if they make a really good impression. People have a lot of alts, and this guarantees you will be able to find them no matter what. This ensures you'll have a pool of reliable teammates, and probably someone that will play at the same times as you (something people can forget when looking for people).

2. Find an active SG. Easier to find teams this way. They are out there, so post in forums, track them down after teaming with them, etc.

3. Most importantly, join your server's channels. These have developed as the place for players on each server to hang out, post that they're about to start a mission, TF, etc. This makes things better and less scattershot than just broadcasting. It's also easier to get to know people here, as it uses their global name, not just the character they are on currently.

Case in point. I have had a couple of alts on Champion for Tanker Tuesdays, but never really noticed TFs or anything starting while playing there at odd times (Victory is my home server). If I were to go with that experience, I would wonder if not much is going on around Champion. But then I joined the main channels, and suddenly saw lots of chatter, TFs starting, etc. Channels are where the activity is at.

4. Form your own teams. Plenty of people are looking for teams, but fewer are willing to form their own. This is hardly a chore with our ability to bind, cut and paste, etc. Form a team message, and post it on your server's channels, and look for people using the search function. Doesn't take long, and it gets easier the more you do it. People like playing with people they know, and they'll get to know you.

Ah, I generally don't prioritize on my mission teams, as I mostly just want to get a full team and keep it there. TFs are a different matter... I'll usually shout out for debuffs or a Tanker if needed, but most people are willing to swap characters if the team is lacking a bit. Even then, you don't have to be too picky with a lot of TFs. Newer TFs, though... yes, as the devs managed to make them a bit more challenge heavy.

At any rate, I was mostly saying that in general... some people tend to be AT snobs, and for no good reason. The great thing about CoX is about how you can make very diverse teams work. Just wanted to clarify for the OP.

Everyone already said most of what I'd respond, but there is one thing:

Are you in the right zone? A 30 tank should not be in Atlas or SC shouting LFT. Sometimes I'll ask if they want to join my 15 or 25 team, but to them it means a loss of powers, so I often don't bother. Go to RWZ [and exemplar until you're 35] or get sidekicked in Talos. I really don't know where the correct zone for 30 is.

I'll agree that I'd rather have a controller than a tank. Tanks don't deal much damage and if I can get some aggro mitigation by lockdown, it makes it easier on me.

That said, 90% of the time I made my own team. If I shout LFT, I'm going to have other stuff planned like fretting around WW. Blind invites I always turn down. I have had horrible luck with them. I also turn down 90% of invites where they ask me to join their team. Granted, until recently I only ran radio mish teams, but I'm in a good SG now and I'm paying attention to the channels. My old SG was only farming, and I find it boring and feel I've missed some of the content by going up in levelling too fast.

Lastly, the name. This was mentioned before. A name is very important when a person is searching for players. I've had great luck with odd names like Coconut Infinity [my wp/elec tank] and Candyjet [ill/storm controller]. Anything that has illusions to curse words or leet speak, I won't tend to invite them. I fear their playstyle is like their naming. You can hit the random button for your costume, but if you have a horrible name, you get skipped.

Yeah, my solution is form your own team. Unfortunately, I'm not confident in my abilities to lead a TF team.

And for heaven sake, when teamed, don't be the "fast tank." I'll give you one star and never team with you again.

I took a lot of what was said in this thread and mulled it over.

I have a shield scrapper that I have been really enjoying so I thought I would start all over again on a shield tank and play him very differently than my scrapper... and team a lot more.

Within minutes I'm out of the gate with my new tank, doing what I can to see if a lowbie team is firing up. I end up on a Winter Lord team that is mostly high level people... in fact I'm the lowest.

Two people ended up dropping from the team which was full at the time. I make note of it and wonder if they dropped or we should get more?

A response I got from a blaster on the team was something to the effect of:
" OH NO! We lost a tank... Whatever will we do?!?!?"

He went on this sarcastic rant and I had to think about this thread. I realize it may have been his attempt at humour but I couldn't help notice the attitude he took was somewhat mirrored by the rest of the team.

I found this very disappointing and I didn't really say anything in the team window as I wanted to see how this opinion would be reflected in the team without my tainting the conversation.

I really don't know what changed. A game mechanic? A perception of ability? A population fall off?

Honestly I don't know, but I DO in fact recall how easy it was for my 30's tankers to find teams a year ago. I do recall being invited to 'tank'. It was a sought out ability at the time and since I came back from a long break I have a very strong understanding of the difference now from a year ago.

Some of you are suggesting I don't know how to look for a team. I concede that I may not being looking for a team in the most efficient manner possible and I WILL change that; however, it is still a fact I don't have to try that hard for any other toon I have been firing up since my return to this -great- game. (Though it should be noted the tank is the only 31 level character I tried teaming with, every other toon is level 29 or under).

So I will take some of your suggestions and I might just be experiencing 'bad luck' on this as well.

I wonder if the soft-capped scrappers essentially ended the "Tank/Emp/Damage" model. For some content, it's difficult to do without a tank. However, early in the game most have the same defenses (none). Mid-game, tanks gain better defenses but fall behind in damage. By the late stage of the game, when the tank can shine, the damage dealers hit the "Mob? What mob?" mode when they can take many mobs out in ten seconds or less.

In the same sense, the Emp is often shrugged off. Lower level, you HPs are so low, you may die with or without the Emp (though CM vs. CoT is a gamesaver). Upper level, most folks have their self heals or such to off-set the damage they may take with battles that last longer than 10-15 seconds.

Re: WL

The difficulty is dynamic. I've talken a level 5 in there and only gotten wiped out a few times. The reason for teaming is...I guess to have your hp spread bigger or something?

I've also taken a 2 into a zombie fest and didn't die once.

I don't see the point in teaming for that.

Teaming for Rikti, that's another matter. Badges.

Elektro, there's no real rhyme or reason to getting invited. It doesn't matter who I'm playing, I'll get random tells sometimes (or tells from people I know), other times I don't. It really doesn't have bearing on the character I'm playing, either. It happens with Scrappers, Blasters, Tankers, etc.

Your experience is anecdotal, as is mine. But through all the posting and attitudes I've seen, there are some that are picky and some that aren't, and it's going to come out in a wash. Just play and have fun, and don't let other people dictate your fun.