Best Primary/Secondary for PURE tank?

Hey guys! I'm somewhat new to CoH, and what I'm really looking for in the game is a pure tank. I don't care about damage, I just want to be able to take it like a wall.

That being said, I don't know what the hell to go with, so I'd appreciate any suggestions you guys might have. So, thanks ahead of time!!

Well walls tend to be made out of stone or brick etc so run with that.

Invuln, Willpower or Stone can all do that more or less effortlessly. They can be made very tough with a reasonable budget later on if you want to get your hands into IOs.

As for secondary, it doesn't really matter that much. Super Strength is popular because it does quite nice AoE damage and it's AoE has a knockdown in it for added mitigation. Bad thing about it is, though, that it's quite endurance intensive and your AoE comes at level 38. I guess Elec Melee would be quite nice with its AoE potential for keeping aggro and also it's soft control (knockdowns).

EDIT: Almost forgot this: don't skip your attacks even if you want to be a pure tank. Most CoX players don't really like tanks who don't do any damage at all. It's OK if you only have a few attacks (like four or something), but only having the one you get at level 1 is bad. It might also hinder your gaming experience because in a team with loads of buffs a pure tank isn't needed so with just one or two attacks you won't be a contributing member.

Wow, excellent information there Sorrow! It helped a whole lot! I guess my next question then would be which secondary does the most damage. So far is seems to be either Electric or Battle Axe, but I can't be sure xD

Stone/fire would be the traditional 'best' mix of survivability and damage.

In granite armour though where survivability is the maximum, damage is always going to be sub-par

Stone/Ice Melee will probably take the cake on this one. Even with just SO's a Granite with taunt, Ice Patch and possible the other aoe taunt power from the presence pool and you've got yourself one incredibly sturdy aggro manager. Ice Patch may only affect 5 targets at once but the other slows from the /ice secondary attacks will help decrease any incoming damage on top of the mitigation that your patch will provide. Bottom line = probably the best pure tank right out of the box.

Ok, so I've narrowed it down thus far.

Invulnerability seems the best choice, given it only has one weakness but it very versatile.

As a secondary, it's still a toss up between Stone, Fire and Axe, but from what I've seen Fire is great for DPS.

Either way, this topic is still open, and if anyone can come up with a reason that one of these choices is better than the rest for a tank I'd love to hear it.

Keep them coming, folks, and thanks for all your help so far! =D

Yeah, I'm with Heraclea on this: the best secondary for a pure tank is darkness, hands down. It has a self heal built right into it. I'd pair it with something that gives you defense, like Ice or Stone.

Stone Armor has that wonderful Granite Armor super tank power, but with the disadvantage that the -65% recharge rate will impair your ability to heal yourself as fast as you might want to.

Ice has the advantage of being able to use Hibernate if you ever get in over your head, and, with 2 End replenishment powers (3 if you count Hibernate) you certainly won't ever run short of end if you're a Dark/Ice tank.

Invuln is certainly a good choice, if you build it right it can rival Stone for durability without any of the penalties a Stone tank has to deal with. For a first tanker I'd actually recommend Invuln over Stone for that reason... the Stoner is tougher but the poor mobility often drives players away from the set.

I don't want to give you the idea that Stone's bad... heck, I have 2 Stone tankers at 50 myself in addition to my Invuln. It's just easier learning the ropes if you don't also have to contend with the mobility/recharge/-damage penalties. To start out with, Invuln is definitely stronger than Stone in the early game... Stone's actually somewhat fragile (for a tank) until level 32 and Granite Armor.

Ok, if you've settled on Invuln for the primary we'll need to figure out the secondary. Super Strength is, of course, the "classic" pairing... and it works pretty well. It's very much single target focused until level 38 though which may be an issue... large AOE's make getting/holding aggro much easier, not to mention aiding in the killing of large groups.

Ice Melee has been suggested and it's not bad; the problem with it is relatively low damage. I understand it's been buffed a bit lately though, maybe someone can jump in about how it stands now.

Fire Melee is an excellent choice for raw damage... and it has two rather nice AOE attacks as well. Relatively quick recharge and relatively low endurance cost makes this an attractive option... be aware that it offers zero mitigation so it won't help your durability.

Stone Melee is the way I went with my Invuln, it offers lots of hard hitting single target damage, great damage mitigation with all the knockdowns in the set (both hammers, Fault & Tremor) and as a capstone Seismic Smash... a very hard hitting attack with a MAG 4 hold... yes, it will hold a boss. The downsides are longer than average recharge and moderately heavy endurance use. If you go this way don't forgo Fault... it's one of the best powers in the set even though it does no damage.

Energy Melee used to be the premiere single target set, unfortunately it's been hit heavily by the nerf bat. I realize some people still like it but personally I can no longer recommend it to anyone starting out. Yes, it still works, but it's overshadowed by most of the other sets in nearly every category nowadays. I have a Stone/EM tank at 50 who I haven't touched since shortly after the nerfs.

That's it for the sets I have personal experience with; for what you've said you want I'd suggest considering something with fair AOE to assist in aggro management. Fire, Elec, Stone, Mace and a few others could be good choices. If you want extra survivability Stone Melee, Ice Melee or Mace could work in there nicely. If you want to add to the team's killpower then Fire Melee or Electric Melee would be good options.

In any event, please check out my guide on the first 20 levels of Invuln... lots of players end up with rather poor builds simply because they don't understand what the important powers in the set are. My guide is linked in my signature and it'll give you a good solid foundation to build your tanker on.

If you are already leaning towards Invulnerability instead of Stone (and it seems you are) take a serious look at Dark Melee.

Invulnerability (one of my favorites) has a hidden drawback it is slightly End intensive. THis is true for many tank primaries. Super Strength only increases the problem, with end hog attacks and rage crash. But Dark Melee has a combat heal, and an AoE that is a nice attack that fills your end bar up! Also, the primary attack Shadow Maul is a cone. Granted it is very short, but with practice you can usually nail 2 with it, sometimes more. I have a 40 Dark/Invuln Brute. I made the build for a concept toon (mummy), and I was so surprised by the synergy of the sets I just kept playing him.

Last note about Invulnerability. Build that thing so that you do not need your tier 9. The crash on that tier 9 is pathetic. It might be a little expensive, but you can take Invul and make it capped without ever needing the "3 minutes of glory before I die" power. GL

With invul, I'd go stone melee, and slot lots for end reduction.

Fault you get reasonably early and is a great tanking tool. Dark melee has no large AoE on any sort of decent timer. It does have some really nice survival tools though.

One thing to remember with all tanks, they will appear quite poor before you get SOs. Don't get disheartened that you can't tank huge groups at low level. Without buffing, few people can. Also don't skimp on attacks too badly, attacking things gets aggro for you.

I agree with Minotaur Invuln/SM is a great combo for aggro management. Fault and Tremor do wonders at keeping the goons off their feet and aggro on the Tank. It's a fun build and the run to 50 is very enjoyable.

I think stone/ice would fit the bill. Though, maybe not PURE enough.

Obviously I'm not about to dispute that Inv/Stone is a very competent choice. CMA was leveled from 1 - 50 under vastly different game conditions than we have today but I have tanked all 6 of the "numbered" task forces in the last year with him and it's still highly effective even in the low levels.

You will struggle in the teens a bit; first with the lower protections that are endemic to the pre-22 levels of all tankers and secondly with endurance. I highly recommend devoting at least one slot in each attack to end reduction... in these levels prioritize attack slotting to accuracy first... an attack that misses is an attack wasted... then toss an end reduction in to cut down on your endurance use. Only then worry about damage and recharge. Remember too that one endred slotted into Heavy Mallet will save more endurance than slotting ALL of your toggles for endurance... your attacks burn far more end than your armors.

Once you reach 20 and get Stamina (you DID plan your build to get the prerequisite powers by then?) endurance becomes less of an issue, but I still recommend slotting one endred in each attack.

At level 22 with an Inv/Stone you'll want Fault... this will become your main attention-getter all the way to 50. Early on just toss an accuracy and maybe a recharge in there, later on the Stupefy set (all but the knockback proc... say no to it) is a great option for inexpensive bonuses. Level 22 is also when you get SO's and suddenly realize that you're a tank and most of these puny mobs aren't a threat anymore.

I run a Inv/SS tank myself. I did have a LOT of end issues, up until Stamina at level 20. Endurance reductions helped, but it was getting Stamina and getting it three slots that let me get it under control.

Now at level 40 I can still run out of endurance, but it would have to be in a very prolonged battle.

I love my Wilpower/Super Strength tanker, but Taunt is its main attention-getter. To have Fissure AND Taunt would be heaven for a pure tanker, especially with Tremor to keep enemies nearby occupied.

Super Strength has great damage for a tanker, but it mostly gets attention with its taunt Aura, Taunt (which I put on almost all my tanks if only to pull enemies away from the squishies when I'm too surrounded to move), and Footstomp, which it gets at level 38. Level 38 was a looooong wait, even though it was worth it.

I recently made a Stone Melee/Willpower Brute, and I fell in love with Fissure. I took it in the 20s after getting both Quick Recovery and Stamina, and I use it with impunity to bounce enemies in their heads.

Stone end up overkill for most things, but it's sure nice on the STF. I mean would you really rather have to worry about not ticking off four of the hardest AVs in the game all at once, or just send in a stone tank with clear mind?

Anyway... I vote WP/SS. It's not quite as survivable, but it's sure fun! Either way I'll vote for super strength.

The question was about a "pure tank". You are right, I have a 50 Will/SS tank, and it is fun. My main is a SS/Will Brute. Fights like a wet cat.

I think why I posted about end issues is my first 50 was a SS/Invul brute. Always struggled with end. Course I prob built him wrong, and tanks are different than brutes.

Still and all, take a look at Invul Dark. I have a 40 Invul/Dark tank, and a 44 Dark/Invul Brute. Both are very serious, strong, easy to run.

In regards to Inv/Dark or Inv/Stone, I prefer Dark. For the most part specifically for AVs. The heal in /dark is more usefull that the KD in stone in those situations and Inv/anything ,built right, won't have much trouble with anything else in PVE. Also, I have found Inv's taunt aura + taunt is enough to keep the attention of masses of mobs without any problem.

I will say that Inv/stone would be more handy vs. large groups of Psy using mobs and more effective on an SO only build.