Defender Experiances.

Ok, I just looked at my Freedom Server, and noticed that iv made mostly Defenders.

I have :

Dark/Dark
Sonic/Sonic
Traps/Rad
Storm/Elec
Cold/Ice

Each of these Defenders can Solo, and work there powers to control better then many Controllers iv teamed with, and do more damage as well.

In team settings, these builds provide alot of support without sacrificing there offensive capabilities, and can solo rather well.Some of these defenders I dont have past level 24 yet, and they already provide substantial support.

While some of my others are level 35+, it kinda urks me when im spamming every few minutes, that im looking to join a PUG, or team, and I get alot of /tells asking me what I am, and dissmissing me if im not a Empath, or Rad.This, im rather used to, and getting on a team takes alot of work, since they dont want the Defender you play.

Iv decided, that its not worth the time sitting there for a hour, and sometimes 2, before a team decides they will grab me up.So iv been making my own PUGs, and I purposely dont grab up the player that sends out a Broadcast, "healer lft".

Iv lost a few people making a team when they tell me to grab up the healer, and I refuse, so they leave.Makes it a little furstrating, but theres usually some people out there that will try to team with me, out of faith, or curiosity.

On many occastions, the team requests that I up the difficulty of the missions, they are just to easy.Considering that its usually just me as the only Defender on the team, I occassionally grab up another Defender that doesnt try to be a Healer, but a Defender, and we complelty Dominate the missions, and the team steamrolls through them, without a healing Defender.

Im not sure if Defenders are just that powerful, or if iv learned how to use them so well, that everything I play can overpower anything, or if Defenders just get a bad rap in general.

Iv broadcasted "lvl 35 Dark/Dark Defender, lft", and have been passed up many times, for the person braodcasting that they are a healer.

Its kinda funny to see that happen, because with a properly played Dark on a team, you pump out heals that make any Empathy blush, and they come out rather fast, thanks to your Dark Servant, who by him self can do the healing to help keep the team alive if your -toHit debuffs just wernt enough.Iv yet to have to sit back and do any real healing on my Dark, and I rarly touch that button because my Dark Servant spams the AoE heal that gives over 350 HP every cast, every 5 seconds, and the Servant tends to be up close in combat, close to the team anyhow.

Then iv got my Sonic Defender, this bad girl can give 68% damage resiatance to a Soft-capped Player, like a SR Scrapper, or a SD user, making them effectivly as powerful as a Granite Tanker.Not to mention the ability to cap a resistance Tank to capped resistance, making him pretty much invinsible, while taking down the mobs damage resistance by 50% total in 2 moves.Iv also done teams with this Defender, and not had a healer.If its dead too quickly to do any real harm to the team, whats the point of that healer?

Then one of my favorite Defenders iv made.A Traps/Rad.This build is rather fun, and I can easly be a Wall of Defense, and DeBuffs.I also dont have any toggles to worry about, so I can freely just blast away with my AoE Attacks.By the way, if you think Poison Trap is fun from the watching them Puke factor, why dont you jump right beside that Tanker on the team, and set a Step Mine after you do a couple AoE attacks, and youv just about Obliterated that mob.(It hits frickin hard!)The Rad Blasts Secondary also aids in harder +4 missions, because it allows the team to hit the baddies alot easier through using my attacks.It does so much, that a healer isnt needed after I alpha mobs.

Ok, next up we have my Storm/Elec Defender.This build is just extreemly volitile in a team, and very survivable solo.When you can do alot of deBuffs, from dropping resistances, to contained KD, to -toHit, and extreem Endurance Sapping on your attacks, the mobs kinda stand there, waiting for the killing blows.Theres just no real reason to have a Healer when youv sapped a mob in a couple hits, and they have no endurance to attack with.Fun build.

Then we have my Cold/Ice.This one is kind of a slow rise to power build.At earlier levels, just like a Fire/Kin Controller, it kinda sucks, but when you get in the level 28+ range, it really takes off.It offers some KD in Sleet, and so many SLOOOOOOOWS that if you play it just right, no one attacks, or moves....ever.However, the Gem of the set is Sleet.It drops damage resistance by 30%, for the entire area it hits, just like Freezing Rain.Then if you want to do the math for Frost Breath, then for Ice Storm, yeh....thats gonna hurt!For earlier levels, id say this one needs help with the support, but it really gives its self that support when its in a team anyhow, by using the ice armors in its primary on other players.Which commonly, dont need a healer after you shield them.

Now, these are just my assesments and how I play my Defenders, and id have to say, that its kind of interesting that people dont perfer a mob stopper, or a steamrolling Defender on a team.Defenders are capable of so much more then the majority of players use them for.

To be honest, iv only ever seen 1 good Empathy Defender in the entire game since iv played from the release of CoV.(Vet player, new account.)

What made this guy a good Empathy, is that he acctually attacked, and made sure people knew he was "Off Support", like how people mention they are "Off Tankers", and gladdly fired off a heal here and there when it was needed, but was even more glad to fire off his Electrical Blasts that helped alot in damage, and Sapping mobs.

Im not sure if iv ever make a Empathy Defender, but I have been thinking about making a Empathy Controller.

Im not agenst playing Controllers, but I find them to be a bit lacking in some areas that Defenders excell.So if I end up making a Empathy Controller, its either going to have Fire, Plant, or Gravity as its Primary.Mainly because itll bring some offense to the table, and offense normally helps alot more in the long run with a Empathy, then someone sitting back trying to spam heals, and failing at the job.

Most likly itll be Plant, simply because it offers alot of tools and damage to a single primary, allowing Empathy to make better use of its abilities.

Now, I know there are some of you out there that have some more interesting Defender builds then I have, tell us your experiances with this class of hero, and it may inspire newer players to step out of whats suggjessted, to whats functional, and fun.

I don't get how you manage to find such a high percentage of idiots when looking for teams. I've never been kicked from or refused a team for not being a healer and my Defenders are a TA/A and a Traps/AR.

But yeah Defenders in general are overpowered in a team setting, some more than most.

Yes, you can't judge a Emp on how good they are by if they attack or not. I've had TL who expect me too and others that get upset when I do. Really it depends on how well the team is doing in the mission. For me, floating about the fight with one eye on the team bars and the other on how the fight is looking is pretty attention-intensive. I doubt few can fault me for not wanting to get locked in a attack chain while I try to keep the team alive and at max-buff.

But then, I've been known to keep CM up on most of the team in a CoT mission.

So unless you're a emp/ dark, sonic, rad, (etc) that does added goodness besides just pretty damage points above their heads... not going to get all upset if you take a pause to focus on your emp duties.

To the OP:
Try joining global channels- RF2009 has a lot of experienced players who are frequently setting things up. (It replaced Radio Freedom; the channel was full of players who no longer played, so they couldn't be kicked out of the channel, and new players couldn't get in.) I'm sure there are other good channels on Freedom.

Generally the people who do what you're doing (spamming LFT, or PUG LFM or whatever) are also new to the game and have come from a game where that's how you form teams. Those are also the games where you form teams with a tank and a healer, or the teams don't work.

tl;dr version: Don't be a wallflower, form your own teams.

Umm, guys, I wasnt pointing out, or complaining about how I have a hard time getting teams, I was trying to make a post with some of your Defender experiances that would be a helpful read to new players who come to the forums, to try to assist with stopping the unfortunate H34lz3r builds out there, that really make Defenders look bad.

Obviously the point wasnt grabbed the way I exspected it to be.

Well, today, not a long long ago, there was a defender in a long lost shard teaming with some blasters, a lot of blasters, actually 7 of them. During a near team wipe the defender used his assemble the team. Horrified, the blaster gasped, were you trying to be a <Richard> by tp'ing me into that big group of Arachnos? To which the flustered defender replied , no I was trying to set up Howling Twilight and do a group rez! It was a perfect location on a platform with fluffy at the defender's side, spamming his fluffy twilight grasp in a nice cloud of Chill of the Night. Sadly, not one blaster was rezzed, and the defender himself was soon overwhelmed by the 8 man spawn of Arachnos.