The Wall of Fire (Fire/Fire) and the Four Rules of Tanking


Aluminum Man

 

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Part I: What is a Fire Tanker? What’s Up With This Wall of Fire Thing?

So, you’ve decided you wanted to play a tanker. Excellent choice! While tanking is not for everyone, it does hold an important place in City of Heroes. You get to protect your teammates, but you also get to leap in and pound on your foes. Though certain tank builds may do better in either of those “tanker” categories, a Fire/Fire Tanker is in a unique position to do both effectively.

This may come as a surprise to some- when Fiery Aura is mentioned on the forums or in game, the perception most CoX players have of it is that it is a bit weak for a Tanker. Not quite tough enough, perhaps. Pure hogwash, that. A Fire tanker may not be as tough as a Stone Tanker in Granite, but they can still tank-- even when paired with Fiery Melee, an entirely damage focused secondary (most other Tanker secondaries add some sort of mitigation via knockdowns, slows, etc.). Fiery Aura works from personal experience and by the numbers… my Fire/Fire Tank has soloed and teamed (being the main tank on the team, too) through nearly all of CoX’s content.

How about by the numbers, though? For those who don’t know, the reason Fiery Aura doesn’t have the resists of other tank sets is because of that whole “wall of fire” thing-- Fiery Aura is more offensively oriented than any other Tanker Primary than Shields, which it is arguably on par with for damage. And while its resists are lower than most other Tank sets, Fiery Aura has an awesome regenerative ability. You will take a fair amount of damage, but you can recover from it-- which is something that can’t be said of your opponents.

So, the goal of this guide is to do two things: to show that a Fiery Aura Tank truly is a wall of fire (a hero that can both defend a team and add to its damage, not to mention doing well running solo), and how to make that happen. A Wall of Fire Tanker is truly an asset to soloing or to any team in CoX, so these are worthy goals for this guide and for you as a CoX player.

While this guide is not intended to be the be-all, end-all guide to tanking or even Fire tanking, I am aiming to make it as comprehensive as possible for both of those approaches. First, I will break down each of the powers available to a Fire/Fire Tanker (Part II-IV), discuss Incarnate abilities that become available at level 50 (discussed at the end of Part IV), then look at slotting approaches/potential builds (Part V), and then discuss strategies and tactics for Tanking, summed up in my Four Rules of Tanking (Part VI). Enjoy, and I hope this helps you gain an appreciation for the art of tanking: Wall of Fire style!

Part II: Fiery Aura Overview

The numbers (base for the powers- not enhanced) for the following were found using the in game numbers system, City of Data, Mid’s Hero Designer (both of which can be found at Paragonwiki), and certain knowledgeable forumites (thanks!). Advice on each comes from me and my play experience, as well as from a lot (perhaps too much) reading of the forums and other player’s approaches. All info is current as of I19.

Blazing Aura: Available at Level 1, Toggle

Damage Scale: .22 Accuracy Scale: 1 Endurance Cost: .52 end/sec
Activation Time: 2.03 sec. Recharge Time: 4 sec. Radius: 8 feet

Some powers, you can debate whether you should take it or not. The only debate that would involve Blazing Aura is when to take it. It’s a constant wall of fire about you, doing damage to your foes, so what’s not to like about that? However, it does cost a fair amount of endurance, which can hurt your blue bar to drop significantly when used with your others powers--especially at low levels. Now that Stamina is inherent, you might be able to take this power earlier than level 22 (when I used to argue for it). With how much endurance it uses, waiting until SO levels (level 22) might be best still. However, there are advocates that say it can help your damage a lot prior to level 22, so there can be benefits to taking it sooner. Mind your endurance bar whenever you take it, and manage accordingly.

Fire Shield: Available at Level 1, Toggle

Resist/Protection: 30% (Fire/Smash/Lethal), 10% (Cold), and Stun
Endurance Cost: .26 end/sec Activation Time: 1.67 sec. Recharge Time: 2 sec.

Fire Shield is the first of your two shields, and one that you will have on most of the time (though it might be turned off for to help with endurance use prior to Stamina), since it protects you from the most common damage in the game, as well as from being disoriented. The resists in a Fiery Aura tank aren’t as great as those in other Tanker primaries, but this can still get the job done most of the time. With Stamina being inherent now, you can probably take it and use it all the time even below level 10, but do realize it's still going to be an endurance drain.

Healing Flames: Available at Level 2, Click

Resist/Protection: 20% (Toxic for 60 sec.) Endurance Cost: 10.4 end
Activation Time: 1.5 sec. Recharge Time: 40 sec. Heal: 25% health

Healing Flames has been changed over the years, but it’s always been useful. Now, it’s EXTREMELY useful, and should be picked up as soon as possible. Out of the box, it will heal 25% of your health every 40 sec., and it’s easy to get those numbers to about 50% of your health every 22 sec. when you get to the single-origin enhancement level. Some have said using a heal doesn’t match up with their idea of being “tough” or a tanker, but they’re suffering from a perception problem. People don’t think Wolverine is a panzy, and it’s the same with a Fiery Aura tanker. With Healing Flames, you are a Wall of Fire that can keep taking punishment, hit after hit. Just when your foe thinks that you’re down, you flare up like a Phoenix and heal your wounds-- tough as ever and able to continue dealing out the punishment. If the game engine could handle it, dismay would be painted over your foe’s faces after you fire this off. Good stuff!

Temperature Protection: Available at Level 6, Auto

Resist/Protection: 30% (Fire), 20% (Movement Slow, -Recharge), 10% (Cold)

Temperature Protection used to be a terrible power, and easily skippable (Cold damage is pretty rare in game, and you can cap your Fire resists with just Fire and Plasma Shield). The lazy part of me could wish it had stayed that way, because now I want to find a way to fit this power into my build. The reason for that is you can get a 20% resist to slows and –movement with this auto power. Because Fiery Aura is resistance based, you will be hit by everything (unless you go for defense in your build from pool powers and IO set bonuses), so being able to resist the all too frequent slows in this game is helpful. If you can track down a –slow resist IO from the Winter’s Gift set, that will up you to 40% resist to slow, which is nothing to sneeze at (though enough slows will still stack up, unfortunately).

Admittedly, Temperature Protection is just a small boost to performance, but it is still a useful boost- making it a worthwhile to pick. Better to have some slow resist than none, and it’s a good spot to throw in a –KB or Steadfast +Defense IO, both of which are desirable on a Fire Tank. Fit it in when you can, but there are plenty of other powers that are a higher priority (though this is even easier to do now that we have inherent Fitness).

Consume: Available at Level 8, Click

Endurance Recovery: 20% (per foe), +5% recovery per target hit, +50% resist end drain
Damage Scale: 0.4 Accuracy Scale: 1 Endurance Cost:0.52
Activation Time: 2.03 sec. Recharge Time: 180 sec. Radius: 20 feet

Like Healing Flames, this is another power you’ll want to grab as soon as you can on your Fiery Aura tank. It will help you get through the pre-SO level doldrums (when you make it to single-origin enhancements at level 22, you can reduce your endurance use a lot, not to mention your recovery in Stamina), and let you fight for longer without resting for your entire career. Unfortunately, it hasn’t received the Healing Flames treatment and still has a long recharge time. Why Energy Absorption from Ice Armor gets a third of the recharge time AND buffs defense, while Consume recharges in 3 minutes and does some piddly damage, I may never know (it does a little over a third of the damage of Scorch, your weakest single target attack, and recharges in 180 seconds as opposed to 3 seconds). That being said, it’s still a worthwhile power because of the endurance recovery, and you can get the recharge down to about a minute and a half without too much work.

I complain too much, though. Consume was also recently buffed so that each target hit by it gives you a temporary boost to your recovery, and some resistance to end drain. I would have still rather had its recharge lowered, but this boost does make the long recharge easier to bear: your recovery is increased for a time as it recharges, and end drains won't hurt as much (and you'll get hit by everything without defense in your build as a Fiery Aura user)

Plasma Shield: Available at Level 12, Toggle

Resist/Protection: 30% (Fire/Energy/Negative), Hold, and Sleep Endurance Cost: .26 end/sec
Activation Time: 3 sec. Recharge Time: 2 sec.

This is your other Tanking shield, and therefore a must have. It rounds out your other resists to damage in CoX (other than Psychic), as well as giving you your other mez protection. Be glad mez protection is so easy for a Fiery Aura tanker now. For the first few issues, we had to fire off Burn before fighting to get our mez protection, and we liked it! *looks sheepish* Well, no, not really. Things are much better now, that’s for sure. If you're facing endurance issues earlier on in the game, you can debate turning this toggle off, unless your opponents do a lot of FEN damage, or have a lot of holds and sleeps. Once you can manage it, though, you should always have this on.

Burn: Available at Level 18, Click

Damage Scale: 1.08 Accuracy Scale: 1 Endurance Cost: 5.2
Activation Time: 2.03 sec. Recharge Time: 25 sec. Radius: 8 feet Mez Resist: -12.975 Immobilize, 100 sec duration

Wow, Burn. This power has been nerfed like crazy to the point where I did not like taking it on my build anymore- then brought from its downtrodden state, to one that is quite awesome. Craziness. I am certainly appreciative that these changes were finally made. So, as things sit, Burn is once again a must have power. Burn puts down a 360 degree arc of fire around your tank, hitting 5 targets with one big hit of damage, then doing nice damage over time-- but only if you can keep your opponents close: within 8 feet of you, which is less than Fire Sword Circle and almost half of Combustion’s (foes are only affected while in the patch). Thankfully this is rather easy to do with a Tanker's ability to generate aggro, and also because Burn no longer causes fear in foes! Woot!

Couple things on using Burn well. You want at least 5 targets close to you when you first use it, so each one is getting hit by that big smack of damage when you first toss it down. Mobs entering after you drop the Burn patch will only be affected by the DoT, and miss out on that big initial hit of damage. Oddly enough, though, Burn can be used well as a single target attack if you're fighting a hard boss, EB, or AV. It only costs 5.2 endurance to use, and it does plenty of damage (a good chunk of it while you are using other attack powers). Burn is just that great: you can use it on a big mob, or on a single hard target.

Now a note on creating a Fiery Aura build that used Burn. Having another AOE to choose from can make things difficult when making a build for a Wall of Fire Tanker. We only have so many slots to go around, after all. For my defensive build, I picked up Burn and Fire Sword Circle, dropping Combustion. Burn is far better than Combustion, even with a smaller radius, so it was a no brainer to me. You'll have to pick and choose for yourself, however. No matter what you do about other AOEs, DO take Burn: it's a must have!

One last thing on Burn. For some reason, it is Fiery Aura's source for Immobilization protection. So you have to make sure to fire it off every 100 seconds so you don't get immobilized (or just use it when it happens, which would be annoying in the heat of combat). I find this "utility" of Burn to be annoying to no end. I would recommend picking up Combat Jumping from the Leaping Pool so you do not have to worry about immobilizes anymore. If you're going to use Burn, use it for the damage, not mez protection. For those who don't know, it used to be where we got most of our mez protection from, and it was quite clunky to use- so don't give yourself the headache in the first place!

Fiery Embrace: Available at Level 26, Click

Damage boost: Fire damage added to each attack for 20 seconds
Activation Time: .73 sec. Recharge Time: 180 sec. Endurance Cost: 7.8

Fiery Embrace was adjusted with Going Rogue, along with Consume and Burn. And wow... the changes are spectacular. Fiery Embrace still has a long recharge, but it's understandable now. Basically, it adds Fire Damage for 20 seconds to each of your attacks, based on the damage slotted in the attack (and any damage buffs on your character). So outside damage buffs affect Fiery Embrace, as does Build-Up. So, if you want a real hefty combo, you can use both at once (or use them alternately). You could also use a damage inspiration to up the damage from Fiery Embrace, besides your attack's normal damage. This means the damage boost is weaker at low levels with fewer boost from enhancements, but it's still worth taking. Toss some recharge in this power and get it back ASAP, it's great!

Rise of the Phoenix: Available at Level 32, Click (Must be defeated to use)

Accuracy Scale: 1 Endurance Boost: 50% Health Boost: 50%
Activation Time: 1.5 sec. Recharge Time: 300 sec. Radius: 25 feet
Untouchable: 15 sec. XP Protection: 90 sec. Immobilize (self): 4 sec.
Stun: 14.9 sec. (Mag 4) Knockback: Mag 8.3

Except for Temperature Protection, Rise of the Phoenix has been the most maligned power in the Fiery Aura set, and perhaps for good reason. While other Tanker set Tier 9s obviously extend that tank’s ability to “live” and fight longer, you have to be defeated to use Rise of the Phoenix! Who wants to be defeated to use a Tier 9, which is seen as a premier defensive power in most sets? Not most, and that’s why people frequently don’t like it.

However, there are some great things about this power. First of all, you will always have a revive power, and as much as people talk about how tough they are and never die, it happens. And when you revive, what a power! You get half your health and endurance recovered, knock foes back, and disorient them! That’s a fine way to get back at those that just defeated you. With all those extras, it’s plenty easy to get all your toggles back on and defeat some of your opponents before they’re able to fight again. Not too shabby, and the animation is fantastically cool (you float up in the middle of a fiery phoenix, sending your foes flying everywhere).

There is another angle to correctly appreciating this power, and it’s similar to the thinking a Fiery Aura tanker has to use with Healing Flames. Rise of the Phoenix is a good power, because it shows that you cannot keep a Fire Tanker down! “You thought you had me? Think again! Boom!” Your toughness comes from never giving up and never backing down. That isn’t something to be maligned, that’s something to be respected. You probably will want to wait on taking Rise of the Phoenix (the 30s and much of the 40s have other priorities that you will be able to use all the time), but contrary to popular belief, I would argue that you actually need to have a good reason to never take this power in your build. With inherent Fitness and three extra power picks, you have even more reason to take Rise of the Phoenix. It only needs its default slot to work well, so pick it up when you can fit it in to your build.


Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc:
Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory

 

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Part III: Fiery Melee Overview

As with the Fiery Aura overview, the numbers (base for the powers- not enhanced) for the following were found using the in game numbers system, City of Data, Mid’s Hero Designer (both of which can be found at Paragonwiki), and certain knowledgeable forumites (thanks!). Advice on each comes from me and my play experience, as well as from a lot (perhaps too much) reading of the forums and other player’s approaches. All info is current as of I19. All powers in Fiery Melee are clicks.

Scorch: Available at Level 1

Damage Scale: 1.08 Accuracy Scale: 1 Endurance Cost: 4.37, -20% resist (resistable) to one target for 10 seconds
Activation Time: 1 sec. Recharge Time: 3 sec. Range: 7 feet

Well, tier 1 attacks for tanks changed a lot with Going Rogue as well. Scorch is your basic Tier 1 attack power that you are “stuck” with, but now that's not so much of a bad thing anymore. Tanker Tier 1 attacks now cause something called Bruising, a -20% resistance to one target that they hit (only one application at a time on a target, so you can't stack this with another attack from yourself or another Tanker, though you can keep it going continuously if you reapply it within 10 seconds). This means that you want to use Scorch often, as it will help you a lot with dropping hard targets.

Another thing to keep in mind is the changes to Fiery Embrace: if you slot Scorch for more damage, Fiery Embrace will do more damage with Scorch as well. All in all, however, Scorch is still a weaker ST attack, so if you can fully slot it for damage, it won't be the end of the world. Older slotting methodologies for rapid recharging powers like Scorch still apply, though: you can slot it normally with some accuracy and damage, slot for some IO set bonuses, slot it with a bunch of damage procs so it has the potential to do a good chunk of damage, etc. With the Going Rogue change, I have slotted Scorch as heavily as I could, but more for accuracy than damage (so Bruising would hit reliably), as I just couldn't find more than a few slots to put in there. Even if you follow this approach as well, you may want to slot this power more as you level up, and then respec out of those slots at a later level (probably in the late 30s once you have Incinerate and Greater Fire Sword, that way it won’t affect your ST damage negatively in the first part of your career).

Fire Sword: Available at Level 2

Damage Scale: 1.64 Accuracy Scale: 1 Endurance Cost: 6.8
Activation Time: 1.33 sec. Recharge Time: 6 sec. Range: 7 feet

I like Fire Sword quite a bit, and I would certainly recommend taking this power. Until you get to level 35, Scorch and Fire Sword are it for your single target attacks, so you’ll be relying on Fire Sword quite a bit against tougher targets like bosses, elite bosses, and archvillains. You could just drop Fire Sword after level 35 and save a power slot, but Fire Sword is a strong enough addition that you’ll want to keep using it (especially if you ever exemp below 35, which I do quite a bit: Fiery Aura is quite good at all levels).

Combustion: Available at Level 4

Damage Scale: 1.3 Accuracy Scale: 1 Endurance Cost: 13
Activation Time: 3 sec. Recharge Time: 15 sec. Radius: 15 feet

This is the first of your many AOE choices as a Fiery Melee Tanker, and Combustion is a solid choice. The animation is a little slower than I would like it to be, but it’s still fun to see your tanker draw power and then throw out a circle of flame at your foes about you. One excellent thing about Combustion is that it is a PbAOE, which works great for a Tanker- just jump in the middle of a mob, and use this to draw their attention and do mass damage. One of Combustion’s other advantages is that it has a radius of 15 feet: 5 feet more than Fire Sword Circle, 7 feet more than Blazing Aura and Burn, and equal to Fiery Breath (but Combustion has the advantage of not being a cone)- all of which makes it useful in a big mob and in drawing attention (which is just what you want as a Tanker).

As noted with the discussion of Burn, however, Combustion is lighter on damage than Fire Sword Circle and Burn. I could only slot for so much after Burn was reworked, so I dumped Combustion. Even if you want another AOE, however, working toward Fireball in the Fire APP might be better than Combustion, since that is a ranged, targeted AOE (even though its recharge and endurance costs are much, much higher). It's something of a tossup for me on my offensive build which you can see below in Part V. I run with the defensive build below more often, and Burn and Fire Sword Circle just melt mobs, and I don't find myself needing too much more. If you like running higher than +1 or +2 levels to you, or being considered as four or more heroes/villains, however, you might want more AOEs to play with. Still, I find FSC and Burn to work fairly well on the new Incarnate TFs with +4 mobs.

Taunt: Available at Level 10

Taunt: 41 sec. (Mag 4), PvE Accuracy Scale: 1 (PvP only) -Range to Target: -75% for 12 sec.
Activation Time: 1.67 sec. Recharge Time: 10 sec. Range: 70 feet

Taunt has been much debated (and changed) over the years. At this point in the game, it certainly is a keeper, as it helps you tank more effectively (it is a guaranteed hit against EBs and AVs, lets you draw in foes at a distance because it is a ranged power, AND reduces the range on enemy’s attacks, etc.). When you should take it is much more debatable. To me, the teens have other priorities, and at that point in your career, you’re just not able or needing to take all the aggro, all the time, of a mob- which Taunt helps you do. The 20s or early 30s make more sense (until SO levels of enhancements, Tankers are not as able to take on an 8-man sized mob), and there is more room in your build at that point (although having inherent Fitness does make it easier to fit in sooner). I have held it off until the 40s, to be honest, and you CAN still tank doing that. Just realize you will need to be more active and attacking a lot, and aware of what the foes about you are doing.

A further discussion of Taunt will come in the Tactics section.

Breath of Fire: Available at Level 16

Damage Scale: 1.68 Accuracy Scale: 1.2 Endurance Cost: 10.19
Activation Time: 2.67 sec. Recharge Time: 10 sec. Range: 15 feet

This is your second AOE choice, and I find it to be less desirable than Burn, Combustion, or Fire Sword Circle. I will admit up front to not liking the animation (spitting fire doesn’t click with my Fire/Fire Tank’s concept, and Tanks still do not have the option to use this attack with a hand cast, as ranged Fire users now can with I19's animation customization options), but it is more than that. BoF is a cone, and this just does not do as well for tanks as PbAOEs do. Generally a tanker will be surrounded by foes on all sides, and you don’t want to worry too much about positioning with your attacks. I have plenty of other melee characters with cone attacks, and they are much more of a pain to try and line up. Breath of Fire's range isn’t any greater than Combustion, either, so BoF’s slight advantages in damage, recharge, and activation time don’t add up to me. If you’re wanting more AOE than just Burn, Combustion, and FSC, I would say you’re better off going for Fireball from the Pyre Mastery APP, as that is also an AOE power (and ranged at that!).

Build Up: Available at Level 20

Damage boost: 80% (All Types) for 10 sec. To-Hit Boost: 20% for 10 sec.
Activation Time: 1.17 sec. Recharge Time: 90 sec.

If your primary is Fiery Aura (as in this guide), you have a choice to make. You can take this AND Fiery Embrace, for a nice boost to your damage: with both, you can either cycle the two powers, or use them at the same time for a substantial burst increase to your damage (remember that damage bonuses cause Fiery Embrace's Fire damage bonus to go up). You could also choose just one of these powers, to leave room for other power choices. Build up recharges faster than Fiery Embrace, but Fiery Embrace gives extra Fire damage for 20 seconds, so it can be something of a toss-up. Though really, with extra power slots made available to us via inherent Fitness, the best option is to go with both. One other thing to note, unlike Fiery Embrace, Build Up will take IO sets (to hit boost), so that can be advantageous as well if your build has room for those slots.

Fire Sword Circle: Available at Level 28

Damage Scale: 1.87 Accuracy Scale: 1 Endurance Cost: 18.5
Activation Time: 2.67 sec. Recharge Time: 20 sec. Radius: 10 feet

Fire Sword Circle is a very fun power: my favorite AOE in both Fire sets. As you start a spin in mid-air, your fiery sword appears (the same seen in the Fire Sword animation), and you slice all the foes around you, with fire burning and exploding about you. It’s like what figure skating would be if it were a martial art and the skates were on fire (so in other words, actually cool). It also does very satisfying damage in an arc around the Tanker, so positioning isn’t as much of a concern as with Breath of FIre. Without using Fiery Embrace, Combustion and FSC are able to nearly defeat every minion in range (if you use Burn and FSC, minions are down, or will be quite soon from Burn's DoT, and lieutenants aren't doing well, either): I can generally let Blazing Aura finish off the minions after firing off both of these AOEs (while I finish off the boss or lieutenant with my ST attacks). You can imagine how devastating you can be if you also use Fiery Embrace and/or Build Up before using Fire Ball, Burn, Combustion, and/or Fire Sword Circle. The term “Wall of Fire” almost doesn’t do it justice!

Incinerate: Available at Level 35

Damage Scale: 2.5 Accuracy Scale: 1 Endurance Cost: 6.84
Activation Time: 1.67 sec. Recharge Time: 10 sec. Range: 7 feet

Incinerate can sometimes throw people for a loop, because it’s a single target DoT (damage over time) attack. When you hit a foe, the damage is portioned out in 10 ticks of damage. So at first, it doesn’t SEEM like it does much. I have also heard grumbling that all the damage ticks don’t always go off. Don’t get confused- Incinerate is great! You just have to use it properly. When fighting, you should use this power first off against a target (or after Scorch if it's a harder target), and generally against a harder target (let your AOE’s drop those minions). That way, all the ticks will go off on the target, and you will grin with fiendish glee as your foe’s health plummets (the DoT adds up on top of any other Fire damage DoTs you have on the target, plus your other attacks). Excellent stuff, indeed!

Greater Fire Sword: Available at Level 38

Damage Scale: 3.24 Accuracy Scale: 1.2 Endurance Cost: 12.68
Activation Time: 2.33 sec. Recharge Time: 12 sec. Range: 7 feet

Greater Fire Sword is your big daddy Tier 9 attack, and it’s a very satisfying one at that. As you bring your arm up, a Fiery Sword appears, and then you slice down, “splitting” your opponent in two. It’s a visceral and satisfying attack that will also put the hurt on your opponent’s health (besides the initial damage, GFS has an 80% chance to do additional fire damage as a DoT). You’d be nutty not to take this and slot it up completely (you’ll also want to slot some endurance reduction since it’s a heavier attack, and recharge if you can fit it in).

Part IV: Power Pools, APPs, Incarnate Abilities, and the Wall of Fire

The Power Pools offer many choices for a Wall of Fire tank- some toss-ups, some obvious “take it!” powers, and other “don’t touch that with a 10-foot pole” powers (I will be very brief with my discussion of the bad powers). I will walk through and discuss the pros and cons, but as always, make the choice that is right for you (which includes fun as well as efficiency- this is a game, after all!).

Fighting: If you want your Fiery Aura tank to be tougher and able to main tank reliably for anything in CoX, the Fighting set is for you. If you go with the Fighting Pool, Boxing is probably the attack you want. It has the chance to disorient your foe, and won’t knock back your foe away from you (which is what Kick does), something that you generally don’t want as a Tank.

For the last two powers, Tough is a very nice addition for a Fiery Aura tank. It won’t put you at the cap for resisting Smashing and Lethal damage, but it will put you up about 23% to those damage types once you slot it up: combined with Fire Shield, that makes 70% resistance to Smashing and Lethal damage: nothing to sneeze at. It will certainly make a dramatic difference in tough tanking situations. As for Weave, it is also a nice addition for a Fiery Aura tanker. Because Fiery Aura tankers only get resists from their shields, they get hit by just about any status effects that are sent your way, whether they are end drains, slows, etc. Weave is a good way to start counteracting that. With Combat Jumping, you can get to about 10-11% to all damage types, and with IOs, you can go even higher. Good stuff if you’re going for a more sturdy Fire tank.

Fitness: Fitness is now inherent, but you do have to think about slotting those powers. You’ll be running a lot of toggles and be attacking a lot, so having enough endurance to do that will make your job easier (and more enjoyable): this means you want to slot Stamina well for end recovery, and possibly even with a Performance Shifter +endurance proc. These are pricey at times on the market, but you can get them for one Hero merit from running tip missions. Other comments: Health does not need to be slotted up much as a Fiery Aura tanker, as Healing Flames will be up so often for you. I personally toss in a Numina's unique in there (increases your end recovery and regeneration) and call it done so I can have more slots elsewhere. Some do like to increase their regeneration more, though... if that's your plan, just make sure you get more regeneration from other IO sets, as just slotting up Health more isn't going to do too much just on its own. As for the other powers, slot Swift for run or fly, depending on which you want to do faster, while Hurdle is fine on its own. One note with hurdle, it stacks nicely with Combat Jumping and/or Super Jump to jump about and make it over obstacles easily in missions.

Flight: Movement pool powers are mostly about your wants and what fits your character’s concept. That being said, you can dip into the Flight power pool without being a flyer. Air Superiority is one of the best Power Pool attacks, as it does decent damage, and can knock up a foe, taking them out of the fight for a bit. This can be great for an annoying lieutenant, a Malta sapper, etc. Beyond that, go for fly if it fits your character. I find Hover to be a bit clunky for a Tanker, as you want to be maneuverable. However, Hover recently received a buff to its base flight speed, making it more viable for a Tanker’s movement needs.

Concealment: I don’t have much to say about this Power Pool for Tankers. Tanks were meant to be seen and take aggro, not skulk about the map. Stealth can have utility for any character at some point, but Tanker builds don’t benefit much from Stealth and have other power picks that are much more important, I would say.

Leadership: There are some potential conceptual reasons to take Leadership powers, as in some Tanker’s eyes, you can feel like you’re leading your team. That being said, I don’t think Leadership offers enough benefits for Tankers. Other power pools can help you tank better (and therefore your team), and most of my Tanker builds are tight already. The endurance cost of these toggles is fairly high as well, which is hard to bear with your own shields and damage auras running. Take them if you want, but realize what you’re getting into with these if you take any. I can add that with the Cardiac Boost from the Incarnate abilities, it is more viable to fit in a Leadership Toggle or two, even if you already have Tough and Weave. My defensive build has Maneuvers, and my blue bar hardly budges with it running (but keep in mind you have to wait until level 50 to do this, and it's only active with content at that level).

Leaping: Leaping is another movement powerset, so take it if being able to jump for long distances matches your character. A few other notes, however. Combat Jumping is a VERY cheap defensive toggle to run (costing practically no endurance), which opens you up to many IO options and gives you a cheap 2.5% defense to all. That’s not a lot, but it’s great when added to Weave and other IO bonuses. Another good characteristic of Combat Jumping is that it provides all the immobilization protection you need, dropping any need to use Burn regularly for this. Because of all these pluses, I'd be hard put not to recommend Combat Jumping for a Fiery Aura Tanker.

Now to Acrobatics and Knockback: if you’re not going to get IO enhancements that protect you from knockback (though they really aren’t that expensive to get anymore, either on the market or through merits), you HAVE to take Acrobatics as a Fiery Aura tanker. Your regular shields do not protect you from knockback, and there is a LOT of knockback in CoX. As a tanker, you’ll be getting attacked a lot, so you have to be able to withstand knockback reliably. Acrobatics lets you do that. It’s a bummer that Fiery Aura doesn’t protect you from knockback like most other Tanker sets, but that’s the way it is. Find a way to fit knockback protection in, either from IO enhancements or Acrobatics. When looking at what "magnitude" of protection you need, 4 magnitude (one -KB IO) is enough for most KB in the game. If you want to not be knocked about by anything, however... you need to go up to 12. Mag 8 doesn't do much, as most KB in the game is less or more than that. Keep in mind that even at 12, there are some power that can still knock you back, but they're a few rare AVs or special encounters (like bombs during a Rikti raid). I have 12 on my defensive build, and I am only knocked back during those rare times... I rather prefer that.

Presence: Taunt is better than anything else in this pool when it comes to pulling a foe. Intimidate and Invoke Panic can be great, but you have to get Challenge or Provoke first (both of which are much weaker than Taunt), and a Fire/Fire tank doesn’t have any Fear powers to stack with Intimidate and/or Invoke Panic. You’re probably better off going for other powers, unless you really like the idea of scaring enemies by the mere presence of your Fire/Fire Tank. Fun, to be sure, but probably not all that efficient, since foes that have been feared will return fire if they have been attacked. Since a Wall of Fire tank will have a lot of AOE powers going, your foes are going to get attacked, making Fear effects not as helpful for you.

Medicine: This pool is pretty much not needed for a Wall of Fire Tank. You have your own self heal, and your team will appreciate you tanking better rather than healing or reviving them. If you’re really keen on that ability, you can pick them up from a couple of day job powers as well.

Speed: Another movement pool. Take it if you want it, though I would also recommend taking Hurdle if you pick up Super Speed, to help with the many obstacles that are too high for your normal jumping ability. For the other powers, Flurry really isn’t going to do much for you (especially if you already have Sands of Mu from a veteran reward).

Hasten is a popular choice and will up your recharge significantly. This can be nice if you want to go heavy on your offense or get Healing Flames to recharge more quickly. I’ve found that this isn’t really necessary, especially with IO sets… you can get all of your powers to recharge more quickly, and get universal recharge fairly easily (and enough to make a difference in how quickly your powers recharge). Hasten also drains your endurance a lot and is an extra power pick. Take it if you want it, but it isn’t strictly necessary. This is one of those powers that I find is easier to fit in now with inherent Fitness and the Incarnate Cardiac boost.

Teleportation: This Pool isn’t all that great for a Wall of Fire tank. You can take it for concept reasons, but other travel pools offer more to a Fire/Fire tank, just to warn you. Teleport is kind of clunky to use and doesn’t add much to your maneuverability. Even recall friend is debatable, since I would say a tank shouldn’t be running from a mob if things go south. A tank should strive to be first in, last out (unless you’re running to the next mob and your team has things well in hand), even if your fellow heroes will often fight to be the “first in.” Anyway, a Fire/Fire Tank has a lot of priorities, and I’m not sure Teleport fills any of those well. Still, Teleport Friend can be useful on teams (you can "tanker stealth," or just run through mobs and ignore their attacks, running to an objective in a mission and then teleporting your team to you). It's also an easy spot to drop in a Winter's Gift -slow IO, and it's easier to pick up this power with inherent Fitness as well.

APP and Patron Powers:

I'm just going to touch on these generally, as which pool you go for is up to you and your wants/needs for your character, not to mention how many slots you have to put in these powers (it can be hard to find too many slots for them on some builds). I personally prefer the hero APP sets to the villain Patron powers ones for Tanks. APPs don't require you to do the patron story arcs, making them easier to get (automatic at level 41). I also think they offer you more utility. APPs can increase your damage, as well as including a hold, which I find are rather invaluable for keeping an annoying mob out of fight (like a Malta Sapper, a debuffing mob, etc.). It also helps a lot on Hamidon raids and the Lady Grey TF, as you need to stack holds on certain targets (green mitos) to overcome their regeneration. Having more utility to fall back on is extremely helpful when soloing or on a team. I like the Fire APP for my Wall of Fire Tanking style (for obvious reasons), but the Stone and Ice APPs offer you some nice choices for debuffing, as well as holds. Energy Mastery seems less useful, as Fiery Aura already has Consume to help with its end recovery, and I lean more on recharge and healing flames for my healing needs, rather than regeneration.

The perks of the Patron power sets is that they can immobilize your foes (nice to keep enemies from running away), and you can also get a pet, which can help your damage and just be fun to have. The recharge on these powers are rather high, though, so it may be hard to get them up very often without a lot of slotting and global recharge. Basically, patron powers are fairly nice for doing more damage and debuffing, but not as nice if you want to hold things and have that utility. Decide what fits your character and playstyle, and go with that.

Incarnate Abilities:

I19 offered the start of a major shakeup to how City of Heroes is played, and this affects everyone, Wall of Fire tanks included! They started the Incarnate content for the game, opening up more paths for customization with our characters, and new challenges to face at level 50. I will be adding to this section as Incarnate abilities are added. When thinking about how to approach the Incarnate abilities, it's good to think things through. A good approach for any customization system, is to have an end goal. For costumes, all our customization means squat if your characters look completely lame because you didn't have a strong idea or concept. Same thing for your power and slotting selections. With everything in game, I find out how things work and plan from there, so you'll see that methodology as I discuss Incarnate abilities here, and builds and IO sets in Part V.

The Alpha Slot: With the Alpha slot, you can enhance any of your powers that already accept enhancements. Another way of thinking of this is that the Alpha Slot is a "universal" enhancement slot that can affect many of your powers at once. How you do so is decided by which Alpha enhancement you choose. There are four total: Cardiac, Musculature, Nerve, and Spiritual (the full outline/graph of these powers can be seen on the Going Rogue page). Cardiac mainly lowers the endurance cost of your powers, and eventually ups your resistance and range (if you have a power with those traits), among other things. Musculature mainly ups the damage your attack powers do (among other minor abilities), Nerve ups the accuracy of your powers, and eventually their defense (if any actually give you defense). Spiritual, lastly, lowers the recharge time of your powers, and increases powers that can heal.

Sounds great, right? It sure is, though with a couple caveats. Enhancement Diversification is still in effect, which basically means that outside of Incarnate abilities, you cannot realistically increase a power's abilities beyond a certain level (90-100% for some powers, like those that do damage, 50-60% for others, like those that increase your resistance). However, your Alpha slot allows you to ignore Enhancement Diversification to some extent. The higher the level of your Alpha ability
, the more it ignores the effects of ED (common alphas ignores 1/6 of ED's effects, while uncommon alphas ignore 1/3 of ED's effects... and so on). So, you can use your Alpha slot to do a couple of things: fill in holes in your build that weren't already at the ED cap (if you weren't able to slot too much for damage, accuracy, etc.), take your build to "11" by increasing a power's boost beyond what ED limits, or a little of both. The other caveat is that your incarnate ability is only with you at level 50: if you exemp lower, you will lose it. So be careful of how you build your character, as you don't want to gimp them when they exemplar down. You can have multiple builds to get around this now, so go with what you want to do. Me, I kept my old build that let me exemp well, and I filled in its holes and made it even stronger.

The Alpha Slot and the Wall of Fire: So, what should a Wall of Fire Tanker go for with their Alpha slot? To my mind, it's between Cardiac and Spiritual. Why? Well, Musculature basically is only going to help your damage, as the other things it boosts, most Tanker sets do not do (defense debuff, immobilize, etc.), especially Fire Melee. Tankers also do decent damage, but that's not the main thing they're there to do, making a damage boost not too helpful. Nerve is so-so... you shouldn't need more accuracy in your powers if you're slotting well already, and you aren't going to have many defense powers to increase (Combat Jumping, Weave, and maybe Maneuvers, all of which don't up your defense too much on their own), and having a longer hold duration for an APP power isn't that great, especially compared to what Cardiac and Spiritual can do.

For Cardiac, it's... awesome. You can fit in more utility powers, like Maneuvers or other Leadership powers to help you solo or on teams. Hasten doesn't bug you as much, as you're not using as much endurance to attack, keep up your shields, etc. So it's great for that (and when you are facing end draining mobs). On top of that, though, you can increase your resistance! So that helps out with your Primary Shields, as well as Tough if you take that. With Tough, the Uncommon Alpha slot can get a Fiery Aura Tanker to about 74% resistance to S/L damage (depending on how you slot your IOs). That's significantly better than the ~70% you could get without the Cardiac boost, because of how resistance works (there are other guides on this if you don't know how it works). Without getting in to the numbers, having the Uncommon Cardiac boost slotted in my Fire/Fire tank made him noticeably more survivable than he was before. He can take a LOT more punishment (which is a good thing, given the hard hitting mobs in the new Praetorian Task Forces). And once you get to the very rare level, you can be at about 78% resistance to S/L damage. That is going to be awesome for a Fire/Fire Tank.

Spiritual is also spectacular for a Wall of Fire Tank. You can lower the recharge of your attacks, Consume, and Healing Flames, as well as Fiery Embrace and Build-Up (both of which are going to do more for your damage than Musculature on its own, even though Musculature could help Fiery Embrace some). Also, you can increase your Regeneration in Health, as well as how much Healing Flames increases your health. Spiritual is going to make your Wall of Fire Tank work differently than Cardiac (focusing on damaging and healing more, rather than taking more punishment and running more toggles), but either route can work. I've made both for my Fire/Fire Tank, to use as the situation and team requires (keep in mind that you can only change your Alpha Slot every 5 minutes in game, and you cannot have attacked or been attacked for awhile, so you can't do this on the fly). Decide what will work for your build and go from there.


Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc:
Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory

 

Posted

Part V: Wall of Fire Slotting Approaches

When it comes to slotting for City of Heroes, it is extremely important to know your end goals. If you don’t know this already, City of Heroes has something called Enhancement Diversification, which basically means that you shouldn’t slot for any one characteristic in your power more than three times (with enhancements that are of about Single Origin strength), as Enhancement Diversification kicks in and you will no longer get the full benefits of each enhancement (once you get to Single Origin levels… if you 3-slot three Single-Origin damage enhancements, for instance, each one provides you with about a 33% boost to your accuracy. Taken together, your damage for the power will end up at about 94% or so, once ED takes out part of the percentage).

So, you have to figure out not only what powers to take, but what enhancements to place in each power and how many you need. Invention Origin sets further complicate this (but in a good way) providing you with more benefits to consider. If you slot an IO set, the IO set’s bonuses will be bestowed upon your character. This is of great advantage to any hero, and a Wall of Fire Tanker certainly loves this.

With all these tidbits, it’s quite clear why you want an end goal. You have a LOT of options for slotting, and you want to make sure your Fire/Fire Tanker ends up as a Wall of Fire, not a piddly sparkler kids play around with on the 4th of July.

For a Wall of Fire tanker, there are two useful end goals to shoot for. 1) An offensive build, or 2) a defensive build. Even within these two approaches, you have some leeway when it comes to power and slotting choices. You should still have the same end goal, however… to be a Wall of Fire! You want to tank for your team: to take the heat, and to dish it out. While discussing both approaches, I will try to discuss some power picks you’ll want to decide, as well as slotting. You should also keep in mind my discussion of the Incarnate powers in Part IV (when thinking about how you want to perform at level 50).

A Discussion of Enhancement Slotting

I frequently see people ask whether you need to use the IO sets that are in the game. You can certainly go the basic route with your slotting, and only use Single Origin Enhancements, or Common IOs. However, this is quite limiting to your build. Why? IO sets provide you with a whole slew of benefits. When it comes to just slotting for a power, it’s much easier to get a variety of benefits.

Take an attack, like Fire Sword, for instance. If you are using common IOs, I would recommend slotting for 2 accuracies (so you can hit: no one likes to miss, least of all a Wall of Fire!) and 3 damage (which ups your damage as much as ED will allow in the power itself). You can only have six enhancement slots in a power, and you have already used five, meaning you can only slot for endurance or recharge in this power. You can get by doing this with all your powers, of course, but if you use IO sets, you can slot adequately for accuracy, damage, endurance, AND recharge in six slots, and probably five if you choose your enhancements right. That’s a benefit that is hard to ignore.

Now, if you’re worried about the cost of IO sets, realize that you can do something called “frankenslotting.” What this approach does is use recipes from many different recipe sets to get the benefits you want in the power you are slotting. You do not get the bonus stats from slotting an entire set, but you do get the benefits of using an IO set in your power. This can be a great thing, as there are many cheap recipes on Wentworth’s that you can buy up and then “frankenslot” without breaking the bank. Excellent!

Also be aware that there are many cheaper sets you can slot in your powers. Resist powers have a couple of cheaper sets like Reactive Armor and Titanium Coating (though Reactive Armor has been raising in price a fair amount, it’s still cheaper than Impervium Armor). Red Fortune is a fairly cheap defensive set heroside (it’s somewhat expensive for villains, I’m not sure why there is such a difference). For PbAOE attacks, Multi-Strike and Cleaving Blow are pretty cheap and have some decent bonuses that can help you out. Melee sets are a bit harder… Crushing Impact recipes cost a bit, but they don’t use quite as much expensive salvage as Touch of Death and Mako’s Bite. Focused Smite does not have very good bonuses, making it a cheap buy if you’re only keen on slotting up a power well and don’t care about bonuses (or if you are frankenslotting). Taunt and end recovery powers are more rare, so they usually end up being cheaper (especially for Taunt sets). There are other guides for sets and IOs, so look for them and ask around for more help. You can PM me as well, but there are parts of the forums focused on the markets and inventions, so the regular posters there are pretty knowledgeable.

The Offensive Wall of Fire

Now we’re moving on to the specifics of slotting. First off, what’s the goal for an offensive Wall of Fire build? Generally, you’re trying to take a good amount of attacks (especially Area of Effect attacks) that will up your damage ability. You’re trying to kill your foes before they get you with this approach. You also need to be aware of your endurance use and recharge, as you don’t want your attacks to take forever to recharge, but you also don’t want to run out of endurance as you’re fighting either.

The following build makes use of Mid’s Hero Builder, which I highly recommend to anyone planning out what they’re going to do with their hero (for a more detailed look at the build, click on the data link to open the build in Mid's). This first uses common IOs, but you can easily substitute SOs if that’s what you want to do. To get your powers recharging quicker, this build leverages Hasten. To help out with endurance use, you’ll notice Stamina is 3-slotted, some heavy endurance powers have endurance reduction slotted (realize that it’s your attacks, etc. that really hit your endurance, even more so than your toggle powers), and that Consume will also help you out.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.91
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Wall of Fire Defensive Build: Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Secondary Power Set: Fiery Melee
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Pyre Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Fire Shield -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(3), ResDam-I(15), ResDam-I(19), ResDam-I(25)
Level 1: Scorch -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(31), Dmg-I(42), Dmg-I(46), Dmg-I(46)
Level 2: Fire Sword -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(3), Dmg-I(5), Dmg-I(9), Dmg-I(11), EndRdx-I(15)
Level 4: Healing Flames -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(5), Heal-I(7), Heal-I(7), Heal-I(11), EndRdx-I(13)
Level 6: Boxing -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 8: Consume -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(9), RechRdx-I(25), RechRdx-I(34), RechRdx-I(43), EndMod-I(50)
Level 10: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I(A)
Level 12: Plasma Shield -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(13), ResDam-I(17), ResDam-I(27), ResDam-I(27)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A)
Level 16: Taunt -- Taunt-I(A), RechRdx-I(17)
Level 18: Burn -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(19), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(34), Dmg-I(40), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 20: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 22: Blazing Aura -- EndRdx-I(A), Acc-I(23), EndRdx-I(23), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(34), Dmg-I(42)
Level 24: Temperature Protection -- ResDam-I(A)
Level 26: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(48)
Level 28: Fire Sword Circle -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(29), Dmg-I(29), Dmg-I(31), Dmg-I(31), EndRdx-I(43)
Level 30: Tough -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(45), ResDam-I(45), ResDam-I(45), ResDam-I(48)
Level 32: Weave -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(33), DefBuff-I(37), DefBuff-I(48), DefBuff-I(50)
Level 35: Incinerate -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(36), Dmg-I(36), Dmg-I(36), Dmg-I(37), EndRdx-I(37)
Level 38: Greater Fire Sword -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(39), Dmg-I(39), Dmg-I(39), Dmg-I(40), EndRdx-I(40)
Level 41: Char -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(42), Hold-I(43)
Level 44: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 47: Melt Armor -- Acc-I(A)
Level 49: Rise of the Phoenix -- Heal-I(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(50)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(21), EndMod-I(21)



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So, that’s a Common IO build. Now, what’s an offensive approach look like with IO sets? Sure enough, I do have one approach for you. With this slotting setup, I went for a good chunk of recharge, accuracy, and damage bonuses, while still leveraging Hasten. To help keep this build fairly sturdy, I also grabbed a decent chunk of Smash/Lethal defense. If you go with this approach and find yourself still being too fragile for your liking, you could toss out Fire Blast and Assault to pick up Tough to up your Smashing/Lethal resists, which will have a noticeable impact on the damage you can receive. However, you would have to move slots around, as you’ll want to slot up Tough to get the full benefits from the power (though if you are at level 50, you can slot a Cardiac Incarnate Boost to help with this some). If you want to invest even more in the build and get more S/L Defense, you could slot Kinetic Melees in Scorch and Incinerate, but Kinetic Melees will cost you a lot of influence or merits, just so you know. Without further ado, here’s the build:

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.91
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Grey Pilgrim Offensive Build: Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Secondary Power Set: Fiery Melee
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Pyre Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Fire Shield -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(3), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(15), S'fstPrt-ResDam/EndRdx(19), RctvArm-ResDam(25), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(45)
Level 1: Scorch -- S'ngH'mkr-Acc/Dmg(A), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx(21), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/Rchg(46), Zinger-Dam%(46)
Level 2: Fire Sword -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(3), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(5), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(9), Zinger-Dam%(11)
Level 4: Healing Flames -- Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(A), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(7), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(11), Dct'dW-Heal(13), Dct'dW-Rchg(15), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(17)
Level 6: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 8: Consume -- Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(A), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(9), Efficacy-Acc/Rchg(25), Efficacy-EndMod/EndRdx(42), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc(43), Efficacy-EndMod(45)
Level 10: Taunt -- Mocking-Taunt/Rchg(A), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng(37), Mocking-Taunt/Rng(43), Mocking-Acc/Rchg(46)
Level 12: Plasma Shield -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(13), RctvArm-ResDam(17), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(27), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(27)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Winter-ResSlow(A)
Level 16: Temperature Protection -- S'fstPrt-ResKB(A)
Level 18: Burn -- Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(19), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(34), Oblit-Dmg(37), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(40), Oblit-%Dam(50)
Level 20: Build Up -- Rec'dRet-ToHit/Rchg(A), Rec'dRet-Pcptn(31), AdjTgt-Rchg(33), AdjTgt-ToHit/Rchg(34)
Level 22: Blazing Aura -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(A), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(23), C'ngBlow-Acc/Dmg(33), C'ngBlow-Dmg/EndRdx(34), Sciroc-Dam%(42)
Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 26: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(33)
Level 28: Fire Sword Circle -- Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(29), Oblit-Dmg(31), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(31), Oblit-%Dam(43)
Level 30: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 32: Rise of the Phoenix -- H'zdH-Heal/Rchg(A)
Level 35: Incinerate -- S'ngH'mkr-Acc/Dmg(A), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx(36), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/Rchg(36), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), F'dSmite-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37)
Level 38: Greater Fire Sword -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(39), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(40), T'Death-Dam%(40)
Level 41: Char -- Lock-Acc/Hold(A), Lock-Acc/Rchg(42)
Level 44: Melt Armor -- AnWeak-Acc/Rchg/EndRdx(A), AnWeak-Acc/Rchg(45)
Level 47: Fire Ball -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(48), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dmg/Rng(50), RechRdx-I(50)
Level 49: Fire Blast -- Dev'n-Acc/Dmg(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(21)



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The Defensive Wall of Fire

There are different approaches to making a “defensive” Fire tank. Some people really go for Smashing/Lethal defense, as it’s so common in CoX. I preferred to go for an approach that is going to be of equal strength to just about any encounter you will face in CoX: this build is one that I personally use on my Fire/Fire tank. It has about 22-24% defense to Melee/AOE/Ranged/Psychic damage, which is just about every kind of attack you will face in CoX. I have tanked most of the encounters in-game with this, and done so effectively. One other thing to note is that “Defensive” is a little misleading, as this build can also dish out plenty of damage. There are some expensive sets in here, but there are also a goodly amount of cheap sets as well.

I kept my “Wall of Fire” goal in mind with this setup. I didn’t want to waste a power pick on Acrobatics, so I fit in a good amount of –KB enhancements. I wanted to take a good amount of punishment, so I picked up Tough and Weave from the Fighting Pool, as well as a lot of positional defense (about 22% to melee, ranged, and AOE attacks). I also wanted to be able to take on Psychic damage from Carnies and Shadow Shard foes, so I picked up a goodly amount of defense and resistance to those attacks (some psychic attacks are only typed as psychic, so going just for ranged, melee, and AOE defense won’t always cover it). I also wanted to do good damage, so I was able to pick up some damage procs in my attacks, as well as a little recharge, accuracy, and damage bonuses.

I have a lot of fun with this build solo and on teams and would highly recommend something like this build to any Fire/Fire Tanker. Do keep in mind that this is a build that leverages the Alpha Slot, so I would not recommend running Maneuvers unless you have a Cardiac Alpha going: it's quite an end drain otherwise, and it's mostly there for a bit more recharge at high levels (using a LoTG +recharge IO).

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.91
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Grey Pilgrim I19 Build: Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Secondary Power Set: Fiery Melee
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Teleportation
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Pyre Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Fire Shield -- ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(3), ImpArm-ResDam(3), ImpArm-ResDam/Rchg(5), ImpArm-EndRdx/Rchg(5), ImpArm-ResPsi(7)
Level 1: Scorch -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(17)
Level 2: Fire Sword -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(9), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(9), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(11), Mako-Dam%(19)
Level 4: Healing Flames -- Mrcl-Heal/EndRdx(A), Mrcl-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(21), Mrcl-Heal/Rchg(21), H'zdH-Heal/Rchg(23), H'zdH-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(23), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(25)
Level 6: Combat Jumping -- Krma-ResKB(A)
Level 8: Consume -- P'Shift-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(A), P'Shift-Acc/Rchg(27), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(48), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(50), P'Shift-EndMod(50), RechRdx-I(50)
Level 10: Recall Friend -- Winter-ResSlow(A)
Level 12: Plasma Shield -- ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(13), ImpArm-ResDam(13), ImpArm-ResDam/Rchg(15), ImpArm-EndRdx/Rchg(15), ImpArm-ResPsi(17)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(A), Zephyr-ResKB(19)
Level 16: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 18: Burn -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(A), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(34), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(37), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(40), Sciroc-Dam%(42)
Level 20: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 22: Blazing Aura -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(A), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(27), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(29), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(29), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(31), Sciroc-Dam%(31)
Level 24: Boxing -- F'dSmite-Acc/Dmg(A)
Level 26: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 28: Fire Sword Circle -- Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(33), Oblit-Dmg(33), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(33), Oblit-%Dam(34)
Level 30: Tough -- TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(45), TtmC'tng-ResDam(46), TtmC'tng-EndRdx(46), TtmC'tng-ResDam/Rchg(46), TtmC'tng-EndRdx/Rchg(48)
Level 32: Weave -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(43), RedFtn-Def(43), RedFtn-EndRdx(43), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(45), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(45)
Level 35: Incinerate -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(36), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(37), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37)
Level 38: Greater Fire Sword -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(39), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(39), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), T'Death-Dam%(40)
Level 41: Taunt -- Mocking-Taunt/Rchg(A), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng(42)
Level 44: Temperature Protection -- S'fstPrt-ResKB(A)
Level 47: Char -- EoCur-Acc/Rchg(A), EoCur-Acc/Hold/Rchg(48)
Level 49: Rise of the Phoenix -- Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- QckFt-EndRdx/RunSpd(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 6: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- Efficacy-EndMod(A), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(25), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc(42)



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Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc:
Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory

 

Posted

Part VI: The Four Rules of Tanking and Wall of Fire Tactics

Being a Tanker means you're tough and can take punishment. So you can just dash into a mob willy nilly, right? Wrong. The above approach can work just fine if you’re a Scrapper (or even a Brute, depending on your approach with them), but not a Tanker. Being a Tanker means you should control the mob’s aggro, and to do this requires good thought and methodology. Here are my four Tanking rules; use them to guide you in controlling aggro effectively:

Rule #1: Make Good Use of Gauntlet and Aggro
Rule #2: Position Your Tank to Best Effect
Rule #3: Use Recovery Powers and Inspirations Effectively
Rule #4: Use Taunt to Your Advantage

Rule #1 Make Good Use of Gauntlet and Aggro

As a Tanker, you have an inherent called Gauntlet that is applied to each of your attacks. Basically, when you land a hit with any of your Primary’s attacks, an AOE effect goes out from your attacks, automatically taunting your foes. This is great, as you want a mob to be focused on you. The upshot of this is that you should be attacking as a Tank. You add to the damage of your team and keep mobs focused on you, and it’s also a lot more fun to be dishing out some punishment (rather than just standing there and taking it on the chin all the time).

Do note, however, that aggro (also known as threat) is cumulative and stacks a few different ways--you don’t automatically keep the attention of the whole mob by attacking once, for instance. Rather than explaining all the mechanics behind gaining and holding aggro, I’ll tell you what it boils down to in practical terms (I’m more of a practical player, rather than digging into the numbers TOO much). First, getting the attention of the mob and doing damage first is a must for a Tanker. Scrapper players brag about how they like to be first in to a mob and “go nuts.” A good Tanker should be willing to put this Scrapper mantra to shame: you want to get there first! This will help you get the mob’s attention and keep it.

Second, be sure to attack frequently so Gauntlet can do its thing. Switch up targets as necessary, but focusing on bosses and lieutenants is going to be best, as they’re usually the most troublesome--most minions will stay on you because of Gauntlet, and the random 1-2 that peel off can be picked up by Taunt or your teammates--and they won't cause too much mayhem in the meantime.

Third, get your aura as soon as you can afford its endurance cost, as this adds to your AOE damage and threat/aggro generation. For many tanks, like a Wall of Fire Tanker, this might wait until SO levels (level 22). However, for sets like Invulnerability, getting it right at level 18 is a good idea. Adjust as needed to your powerset and situation: Fiery Aura Tankers can certainly make things work with Blazing Aura before level 22.

And fourth, be willing to move the mobs around to increase your control of their aggro and damage, as well as putting them in a better position for your team to take out quickly--but more on that in the next section.

Rule #2 Position Your Tank Effectively:

Position to defend your team: As mentioned in the aggro section, jumping in to a mob first is a good thing to do. But equally important is WHERE you go in a mob. Why is this so important? Just like you, many mobs have AOE attacks: some of them cones, some of them auras, etc. This means directing those attacks is a needed thing for a Tanker to do. If you’re following Rule #1, you have the mobs turning to face you because you have grabbed their aggro, so rather than stopping at the start of a mob group, you should try to position yourself in the middle to the back of a group.

This means most cones will be pointed away from your group, and that mobs will have hopefully moved back enough for the rest of your team to avoid the AOEs landing around you. If you notice teammates getting in too close, you can remind them of the danger AOEs provide to them (I have had Controllers and Defenders get mad at me for not controlling aggro when they were standing next to me… so not everyone is aware of how AOEs work- I had control of the aggro, they were just putting themselves in a bad spot). Do note that some builds can take the damage from those AOEs, and some players may choose to take the risk. Your job is to do the best you can with controlling aggro for your team, not control every action of your teammates.

You will notice this effect more against certain mobs. I recently was on a team where some squishies (low HP, low resist teammates) were in the arc of an Archvillain’s cone, and they were dropping fast. I told them to get out of the cone’s radius, and there were no more issues with them suddenly being defeated.

The other advantage of being in the middle to the back of the mob is that you will be able to move on more quickly to the next mob, which is one of the main goals of rule #1. When your team has the current mob just about wrapped up, either run off to the next mob, or get their attention somehow (mobs that are close can be roped in by using Taunt, for instance).

Position for best team chemistry: Wait, what? Chemistry? This is a MMO, not a dating site (ignoring those crazy RPers in Pocket D, of course)! What I mean by this is striking a good chord with your team. With some teams you can just wing it, but if you're having difficulties, don't be afraid of coordinating approaches. I have never had a team react badly when I suggest that I need to dash in first, how to wait a second with AOEs to get the mobs nice and clumped, etc. I have heard people tell horror stories on the forums about tankers that dominated their team and ordered them around... just hint: don't be that Tanker. Have fun and chat things over with your team, and make it clear that you're talking strategy, not ordering people around.

Position to maximize your team's attack potential: This is fairly straightforward to say, more difficult to practice. Note your team's powers and coordinate with them as best you can (this ties in with the chemistry suggestion as well). If your teammates do a lot of knockback, try to grab aggro and pull your foes against a wall to get the most out of the knockback they can unleash. If the Controller you are teamed with has a debuff patch (an AOE power that is centered on a certain section of the map), make sure you don't move mobs out of the patch. And of course, If you're teamed with a bunch of Scrappers and/or Tankers, you can probably run in and go nuts, though leading in with a tanker or two will probably position the aggro to best effect and clump up the mobs more for your melee centered AOEs. No matter what, be flexible and adjust to the situation!

Position to coordinate with other Tankers: Tankers are my first love and I play them all the time, but I do frequently play other ATs. That experience has shown me some... fairly dramatic "don't do this!" actions from Tankers. This rule comes from one such experience.

I was on a Dr. Kahn TF a couple months back while playing a Blaster, and I had a terrible experience where I was being defeated constantly--even though I was teamed with two Tankers. The problem was that these two Tankers loved to stand by each other and attack whatever was in front of their face. The problem with that was huge swarms of foes ignored their little circle of gauntlet, and gleefully dropped their teammates as much as possible. They were also less than charitable when I asked them to spread out more so we wouldn't keep dying so much (they told me not to tell them what to do... which was certainly not helping the chemistry of the team).

There is absolutely no need for this when playing with another Tanker:
work with them to grab as much aggro as possible, and don't stand next to each other! Select one tank to be the main guy to jump in first, and then have have the second tank pick up any foes that don't go for the primary tank. As with all the other positioning rules, be aware of your environment, your foes, your team, and adjust accordingly!

Rule #3 Use Recovery Powers and Inspirations Effectively:

A good Tank knows their capabilities (and a Wall of Fire is no exception, even if it is fun to merrily blaze away at all the foes you have around you). That’s where you need to know how to use your recovery powers. Experience guides this in part, of course.

Inspirations: Some players seem to object to using inspirations. Certainly, you want to build your Tanker to be as effective as possible. But there will be times where you want to be a little tougher, have some more defense or offense, etc. Don’t be ashamed to use inspirations at these times. If you know a second mob is coming and your Tanker might be taking a bit more damage than they can handle, up your resists or defense with an inspiration. In fact, certain AV encounters will be significantly easier and better for your team if you prepare effectively with your inspirations (Nosferatu, Ghost Widow, and Recluse in the Statesman Task Force immediately come to mind here).

Recovery Powers:

Not every set out there gets a recovery power: this is a great advantage every Wall of Fire Tanker gets to leverage. That said, Consume does have a long recharge time (180 seconds base, about 90 seconds when slotted decently well for recharge), so you do want to think about when to use it.

For long AV fights, you want to be able to go the distance. Slot Consume well for Endurance Recovery, so you can get a good chunk of endurance from one mob (and slot it for accuracy as well: you want it to hit!). If possible, though, fire it off when your endurance bar is low, and you’re surrounded by foes. That way you’re getting the most bang for your buck from the power. Also note which foes you are fighting, as you may want it up. When fighting Malta, I try to save Consume for those times when a Sapper gets a shot in on me and I need to recover some endurance fast.

Healing Powers:

Healing Flames gets a similar methodology to Consume. If you slot it well, you can recover about 50% of your health every 20 seconds. This means that if you’re in the middle of a fight, don’t use Healing Flames when you have only lost about 1/3 of your health. Wait until you are at about 50% health to get the most out of Healing Flames. You can adjust this a bit as needed, of course. Also, get used to how long it takes Healing Flames to recharge. In some intense encounters, that may not be fast enough. Be willing to use inspirations to shore up your defense or resistance in these situations, or give quick boosts to your health while Healing Flames is still recharging.

For other tank sets, this same methodology still holds true. Dull Pain style powers have a long recharge, and they increase your maximum HP, as well as healing some of the damage you have taken. So, while it can sometimes be worth proactively using Dull Pain before a tough fight, it is usually in your best interest to wait until your Tanker has received some damage before using Dull Pain (though you don't want to take too long: if you're taking more damage, more time with a higher level of HP can be advantageous).

Good enough for recovery powers, now on to using Taunt effectively.

Rule #4 Use Taunt to Your Advantage:

Taunt is a much debated power on the tanker forums. Some argue that you can’t tank without it, while others say it’s not needed at all. I fall somewhere between, and in my opinionated, Wall of Fire way, I would say you should be somewhere in between as well.

What is that position then? I argue that Taunt is useful, but where you fit it in your build is a bit optional. With some of my tanks, I fit it in sooner (as in the 20s), and with others, I wait until the 30s or even early 40s. Because you can tank without it, but I do think you should have it. One added note: it is easier to fit in Taunt more easily and quickly with Inherent Fitness, which came in with I19. You can still hold off on it if you have other powers you would prefer to pick first, however.

As shown by Rule #1, you can maintain the aggro for your team without taunt. Jump into a mob before your team, move about as needed to pick up stragglers, and use your attacks to keep attention from the mob on you and not on your team. That said, there are times where this may not be enough. First off, Taunt is autohit on all foes in PvE, so you’ll be able to keep attention on you even when you can’t hit anything else very well with your attacks (which can happen, especially if you’re fighting the Circle of Thorns, Devouring Earth, or Nemesis). Taunt is also ranged, so you can pick up mobs far away from you without running to them yourself, something which is useful both for you and squishies that may have caught the attention of a mob: taunt’s animation is faster than running to the target (most of the time) and keeping mobs in a fixed area from the start of the engagement can help your teammates out, as well as improve their damage from having mobs clumped closely for maximum AOE damage.

Another great use for Taunt is that it is a guaranteed hit on an Archvillain, which your team will thank you for when fighting an AV. Gauntlet will not always hit an AV (even if your attack landed), and it is possible for a teammate to do enough damage on your target (AV or otherwise) to make them stop attacking you and switching to your teammate. Taunt is not necessarily an “I win” button with aggro, but it’s awfully close--I rarely see Taunt fail to draw in an opponent it is used on. If I fail to use taunt regularly on an AV, I often do see them turning to face the other teammates, which is a bad thing for any tank, I would say.

A lesser known and acknowledged use for Taunt is that it now lowers a mob’s range. What use is that, you say? A simple scenario can show this off. You dash into a mob, blazing away, but you only have a few of them in melee and aoe range. The rest seem content to stand a way and shoot at you with various implements of villainy, rather than getting close where you can burn them with fire. What do you do? If you run towards any of the others, the few around you may decide to shoot you from range rather than follow. What’s the solution? Simple--insult their mother and see them come running.

There are more situations than this where shortening a mob’s range helps, of course. Using Taunt is a good guarantee that a mob at range will be closer than they were before, which is useful on a team or solo.

All of these things make Taunt a useful power, meaning it is a good idea to pick it up at some point for any tank.

Closing:

Well, that does it, folks! I hope I helped provide some good tanking tactics and maybe/hopefully you got tapped into a fun new combination: Fire/Fire!


Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc:
Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory

 

Posted

Quote:
I was on a Dr. Kahn TF a couple months back while playing a Blaster, and I had a terrible experience where I was being defeated constantly: even though I was teamed with two Tankers. The problem was that these two Tankers loved to stand by each other and attack whatever was in front of their face. The problem with that was huge swarms of foes ignored their little circle of gauntlet, and gleefully dropped their teammates as much as possible.
I was on a Barracuda recently and this same problem was present in the final battle though it didn't click in my mind at the time. Luckily, the Brutes were much more respectful than your example.


 

Posted

Yes, if a Brute is trying to tank for their team, the Four Rules of Tanking definitely apply to them, too. People seem to think of tanking as just a "run in there and hit some things" approach, but there really is more to it than that. The only AT I play that can really run in there and not think much are my Scrappers. Sure, I have to make use of my self heals on my MA/Regen, but the team is somewhat incidental to the picture with them. Heh.

I'm glad your teammates were more friendly. I haven't run into too many grumpy types that take suggestions or advice badly, but they do exist. With the two tanks in question, I really did ask first off "Could you guys spread out and make sure you're getting the attention of the mobs? You're clumped up and a lot of them are going after us." When I was told to basically shut up after that, I was a hair's breadth from quitting. I don't mind being defeated, but when it's from bad tactics and people that are rude, I don't really care to do it anymore.


Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc:
Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory

 

Posted

Very nice walkthrough, and a respectable build you got going there. Just one question, though...no Aegis? Not even the +psi resist?


 

Posted

Nope, no Aegis. I went for most of my Psychic defense and resist from Impervium (since the set gives both) and Crushing Impact. Those two also improve your accuracy, recovery, and health, which are pretty good add-ons for a Fiery Aura tank, too. Nothing wrong with Aegis, I just got my AOE defense and Psychic numbers from elsewhere. Oh, and I liked Titanium Coating for the price, +HP, and +melee defense, which I would probably prioritize a bit over AOE, though I did end up getting them to about the same level.


Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc:
Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory

 

Posted

When opening your defensive build in Mid's I noticed that you have taken most of the IO:s at level 35. Is that to make them work when doing some TF:s?


 

Posted

Gah, I need to check this thread more often, sorry about the lateness of my reply.

Yes, I generally take my IOs at lower levels so I will still have the powers when I exemp to most content. I actually have taken to grabbing 31-33s so that I will still have bonuses with the Citadel TF at minimum. I don't have enough cash lying around to slot purples, so it works for me (I have a lot of alts and even alt builds: I'm still working on putting the offensive Fire/Fire build together for my Fire/Fire Tank... just one Obliteration proc away).

Some people prefer slotting higher to get slightly better numbers out of the powers, but it doesn't usually make too dramatic of a difference. There are very few sets in the low 30s that do not put you at the ED cap (or higher) for damage. So slotting higher levels usually only makes a difference in accuracy, endurance, and recharge, but not too dramatically (usually just a few percentage points in the 15-20 level range higher, which doesn't affect performance much). It's easy to pick up a lot of +accuracy bonuses on the way to make up for this, and the same for recharge. Endurance reduction levels don't really need to be any higher for those, either.

Up to you what you feel comfortable with, but this works well for me. Only downfall is that the low 30s recipe market isn't as brisk as it used to be, so you can find yourself waiting a bit for some of the more rare recipes.


Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc:
Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory

 

Posted

Slight update, I edited the builds to include Mid's "data chunks." That should hopefully make sure everyone can grab those builds easily. I still can't get the font in that post to play nice and match the rest of my guide, but oh well.


Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc:
Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory

 

Posted

good look on this info this can improve my level 50 fire tanker


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by TECHWON View Post
good look on this info this can improve my level 50 fire tanker
I have to update for the I18 changes to Fiery Aura, keep in mind. So Fiery Embrace is now more worth it for all attack sets to take, as it adds a fire damage bonus to all melee attacks for twenty seconds. This affect is improved by slotting for damage in an attack, which is important to keep in mind when slotting.

Burn is also worth it again as the Fear component has been removed, and it does more of its damage upfront, rather than being only a DoT. Combustion and Fire Sword Circle do have larger radii and can hit more targets (Burn can only hit five at once), so there are some tough choices for my builds. If I take Burn, what should be dropped out? I'm still working on that bit. When using Burn, remember the front-loaded damage, too. You want five targets in melee with you when you activate it, otherwise anything that comes in after will not receive as much damage (because it is front loaded now).

Last, Tankers received a new ability for their first tier attack, called Bruising. It will debuff a single target for -20% resistance... so it's worth using Scorch on a hard target as much as you can. The debuff cannot stack with itself, but its duration can be increased. It's a nice bonus against hard targets like bosses and elite bosses.


Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc:
Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory

 

Posted

First off, Great guide, i like the practical approach rather than cramming numbers.
Have you updated the defensive build for the I18 changes? from reading your guide i was thinking a good choice to drop for Burn was fire sword, the question i have is what IO set you recommend on Burn ?


 

Posted

Hmmm, forum notification stinks, or something. I wasn't notified of our post as I should have been, sorry.

I was going to update this for the I18 stuff, but then hearing about inherent Fitness made me realize that was going to change things even more, so I figured I would wait until then to revamp the builds.

For my 2 inf, I would say that dropping Combustion for Burn is the better choice. Fire Sword is a decent source of ST damage so you don't want to get rid of it (and one of your few sources pre-35, so until then or if you exemp, you will notice it when it is gone). Also, Burn blows Combustion out of the water: almost a second less for animation time and much more damage. Yes, it has a smaller radius and a small target cap of only 5(so you can't get a mob's attention as easily with it... not that you have too much of an issue with this if you follow my rules to Tanking), but it really is that good.

You can throw down a Burn patch when you are surrounded, followed by FSC, and pretty much any minions hit by both are down instantly (followed soon by other minions that were hit by FSC and then are ticked down by Burn's DoT--after five other targets are gone--and Blazing Aura). If you toss Fiery Embrace into the mix... say goodbye to lieutenants. Combustion and FSC were nice before, but Burn and FSC are just spectacular, it's no contest.

For the change to Bruising with Tanks, I restructured things so Scorch has more slotting. I didn't want that to miss, and I wanted to use it often. That -20% resistance is nice on hard targets.

With I19 and inherent fitness, it's going to be easier to fit in "nice but hard to fit in powers" like Temperature Protection and Rise of the Phoenix, but also to grab a little more out of your ancillaries. My defensive build will also pick up an extra slot by putting that Winter's Gift res to slow enhancement into Teleport Friend. Not sure where I'll put it, but that's nice to have as well. Yes, we don't get more slots, but three more power picks means you can get things like Taunt and Weave sooner, etc. Many, many boosts to Fiery Aura (and other sets) with I18 and I19.


Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc:
Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory

 

Posted

Hey Grey - please do update this with I19 - I'm slowly leveling both a fire/SS tank and a Stone/fire tank and I always refer back to this after a break between playing them. After I18's tune-ups and I19's inherent fitness I see a ton of potential for them so I'd like to see your thoughts as well.


Aluminum Man's Journal: http://diaryofanaluminumman.blogspot.com/

 

Posted

Does Burn still have the fear effect on it? I thought that had been changed for some reason.


 

Posted

Grey Pilgrim, can't wait to see what you have instored your Offensive Build since i19!!


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by LiQiuD View Post
Does Burn still have the fear effect on it? I thought that had been changed for some reason.
That has been changed. (Among other things.) Burn's a must-have, IMHO.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jayroc80 View Post
Grey Pilgrim, can't wait to see what you have instored your Offensive Build since i19!!
/this.

Inherent Stamina makes some one-slot powers more desirable (just so you can keep spreading those slots around,) and some powers that get away with one slot were recently made very useful - like Temperature Protection. And with not having to fit in Fitness, it's a bit easier to fit those into a build.

(And I need to get my Fire/Fire leveled a bit more. It's been languishing. I've run Fire/other things enough, and IMHO the new Burn (and FE) helps Fire/EM - but I don't think I've gotten my Fire/Fire past the late teens. Busy with other stuff)

Looking forward to seeing what changes.


 

Posted

Great guide, I have a /FA brute and IOed it is a very sturdy build. Most folks on the brute boards sum the set up as "run in/attack/die/RotP", but RotP doesn't get as much use as I imagined it would... even on x8 maps with groups like malta.

I didn't read through all the responses, but the -one- thing for me that doens't make sense is its low cold resist values. You would think that a character engulfed in FIRE would shrug off cold attacks with ease.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Memphis_Bill View Post
That has been changed. (Among other things.) Burn's a must-have, IMHO.

Inherent Stamina makes some one-slot powers more desirable (just so you can keep spreading those slots around,) and some powers that get away with one slot were recently made very useful - like Temperature Protection. And with not having to fit in Fitness, it's a bit easier to fit those into a build.

(And I need to get my Fire/Fire leveled a bit more. It's been languishing. I've run Fire/other things enough, and IMHO the new Burn (and FE) helps Fire/EM - but I don't think I've gotten my Fire/Fire past the late teens. Busy with other stuff)

Looking forward to seeing what changes.
Yup, Burn is a no brainer to take again, and thankfully, it's not so overpowered that you have to fear that it is going to be nerfed. Castle put it right in the sweet spot where it is an excellent AOE (and ST attack, actually: pop it out while fighting a Boss, EB, or AV, and it's worth it) but not in territory where you would fear it's going to be nerfed.

I have a lot more single slot things now than I used to. Picked up Recall Friend, as I've found it to be wanted/useful on plenty of teams (and I could slot the Winter's Gift -slow in there and free up a slot elsewhere). With the Cardiac Alpha Slot, I can one slot Maneuvers with a LotG +recharge and not be puffing for air, not to mention upping my damage resists decently.

I really am going to get in there and update this, but I'm partially waiting for Mid's to get the Alpha Slot added in there, and also for my school's semester to get done. Only have time for my own writing and teaching: not a whole lot of time to even play the game or other fun things.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Person34 View Post
Great guide, I have a /FA brute and IOed it is a very sturdy build. Most folks on the brute boards sum the set up as "run in/attack/die/RotP", but RotP doesn't get as much use as I imagined it would... even on x8 maps with groups like malta.

I didn't read through all the responses, but the -one- thing for me that doens't make sense is its low cold resist values. You would think that a character engulfed in FIRE would shrug off cold attacks with ease.
Yeah, I would think the resists should be higher as well, especially with Temperature Protection and all the Fire shields. I'm not a fan of the lack of KB protection in the set, either. Still, it's a fun set and I like it.

It's not as resilient as some, of course, but people seem to think it's not all that sturdy (like you said) which isn't the case at all.


Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc:
Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory

 

Posted

For those interested, my Wall of Fire guide has been updated to I19, to account for all the changes that came for Tanks and Fire/Fire Tanks with Going Rogue, I18, and I19. I obviously could not make Mid's builds that show the Alpha slots, but I do start the discussion of Incarnate slots and the Alpha Slot in Part IV, and I updated my builds for Inherent Fitness and the changes to Burn, Consume, Fiery Embrace, and the addition of Bruising to Scorch.


Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc:
Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory

 

Posted

TYVM Pilgrim. All the work you do is greatly appreciated.


 

Posted

one thing that surprised me a little was going with Efficacy adapter over Performance Shifter in Stamina. I always try to go with at least the proc and the End Mod from that set


On Justice
Global @Desi Nova Twitter: @desi_nova Steam: Desi_nova. I don't do Xbox or PS3

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Essentially View Post
TYVM Pilgrim. All the work you do is greatly appreciated.
Thanks! It does take a lot of work to write this guide (worked on it in the little free time I have for a few months before I actually put it out at first). And the revising took a bit as well. That all feels worth it when I know it helps people out.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Desi_Nova View Post
one thing that surprised me a little was going with Efficacy adapter over Performance Shifter in Stamina. I always try to go with at least the proc and the End Mod from that set
For the defensive one, I have room for three slots in Stamina, and you can get and HP and recovery boost bonus from those. You need four slots to get that from Performance Shifter, and I do not really have room to go for four slots in that build. For the offensive one, that could be a nice add on rather than regular IOs, but I was trying to make that as much of a budget build as I could... even though that's an iffy definition with sets of Obliteration in there. The Performance Shifter Proc is expensive, but you can use one hero or villain merit to get it, actually.

Still, I haven't found myself needing it. The defensive build can go constantly without the cardiac boost, and if you don't have Maneuvers going (found this out when I was on a team without quite enough debuffs, and it took us 40 minutes to defeat Reichsman... Consume and the recovery in the build was enough, and I was constantly attacking him that whole time). With Cardiac... sheesh, my Blue bar never drops and I honestly don't really need Consume unless something has some major recovery debuffs. Even soloing Carnie maps set to four doesn't get me much.

The offensive build is a little lower on the recovery, but it does okay. I've actually found that build to be better when I exemp, and I like the defensive build for anything in the +40s, as it handles the exotic damage in there better. Still, one slot for end mod in Stamina, and one for the Performance Shifter proc is not a good way to go. If you average out the recovery, I believe that 2nd slot with the proc will get you more endurance than just one end mod. But that's averaging it out over time, mind. The proc may or may not be that nice to you.


Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc:
Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory