My not so secret Shame

To my shame, I never liked Defenders. Playing them that is. I always respected them, be they healors or buffers or debuffers or fruit salad.

However for me, when ever I made one I always felt too squishy, too weak. I felt like grouping was a requirment not an option. There in lies my shame. I respected Defenders, but I never understood them. I could never get the gist of playing that way. Until now.

I pre-ordered GR when I came back to the game after a few month hiatus so I could try out the pistols. The first toon I rolled was Defender's weaker (though at the time I thought it was stronger) distant relative, a Corr. I figured, hey it's got the same debuffs and it does more damage. Win/win. On a lark I created blue side version, a Dark/DP Defender.

By all that I hold holy and true, I will never look back. I have tried to play the Corr. It's not the same. It's not even close. With my Defender I can do things I never thought possible. I have died less on him than any other toon. I can solo very well and when I group...it's like magic.

I came here on the forums to learn more about my new chosen profession and as I read through the posts, the stories others posted about what they did, when they did it, and why they did it and I found myself saying...I did that. I was in a similar situation and I reacted thusly.

So I step here before you, humble and yet pridefull. I realize my past shame but I place that behind me.

I am a Defender. Through me my teams are stronger, faster, able to overcome great obstacles. Yes, I can heal but that does not define me. I can make a foe miss with most of his attacks and those that get through do not hurt as much. I can make a foe slower and take more damage. And with but a glance, I can make a spawn cower in fear. I am a friend in the shadows, an ally in the fields of battle. I am Dark, and I am a Defender.

((ok...so the post I read before writting this was the Defenders Manifesto...))

Welcome to the fold, brother.

There are some bad apples that give us Defenders bad raps, but overall a well played Defender is a rare find. We welcome you, and hope you enjoy your stay.

If you have any questions, we got a home here for you. We'll keep the light on. As I like to say, with each person you meet, there's something to learn. Also, if you have anything specific, feel free to message me on here or in game.

You've been reborn into the game, now the world is in your hands.

Dark miasma is a very solid and versatile set to grasp as your own. Congratulations. From my usual bully pulpit, I would cheer you to use howling twilight even when no one is defeated.

Nice choice!

My first Defender was Dark/Dark, as I weened myself off Blasters, and I was amazed at his surviviability and capability as a solo artist.

Dark Miasma is a great set all round. Since then I've tried pretty much everything and found Defenders to be the most versatile archetype in the game, no two primary sets are alike.

I am impatient in soloing defenders. I just find it slow, but given that most the powers go towards making others look better, teaming was then always a requirement for me. DP however is actually quite nice on defenders and so to solo with that is no problem.

The difference between Defenders and Corruptors is miniscule, and I think it comes down mainly to power sets. So likely there was just something about Dual Pistols that clicked with you, that somehow the greater damage for Corruptors didn't provide. In my own case, though, I had a Dark/Dark Defender that I switched to Dark/Dark Corruptor, and found it easier. YMMV.

My main has always been a Defender, though, and I've got quite a few other Defenders and Corruptors. There's something to be said for that versatility of the buff/debuffs, combined with the simple and direct damage dealing of blasts. It's slow and steady, but always new tricks to try out.

My very first character was a Defender. I built her around the concept of two of my favourite PnP characters, so I rolled up a Kinetics/Archer.

It was my first foray into CoX, so how was I supposed to know it was supposed to be a difficult combination. o.O

Took me a while to understand positional awareness, for both Kinetics and Archery, especially on the AoE's. But I find it most entertaining to use Explosive Arrow to blow straggling foes over to the feet of the damage dealers. It's like X-mas for them, "Oooo, look! A present!"

Welcome to the world of Defenders !

It is truly an enjoyable team support character, and speaking as someone who has played support roles in many other MMOs, I always get a good feeling after a successful team, knowing that my contribution was a major part of the success. Damage isnt the only thing that matters on a team

I especially enjoy groups where everyone congratulates every other AT in the team except the Defender(s). Puts a huge smile on my face knowing that my contribution is subtle and hard to quantify.

You will find the forums pretty helpful when you have questions, but you should be prepared to take criticism well, since there are more ways to play your Defender than you may be used to on other ATs.

Congrats for seeing how fun this AT can be.

My favorite is when the group thanks me for the heals and I have to laugh to myself. I laugh because I know I had to heal maybe once the entire encounter and the fact that they weren't losing health was because I was doing my job correctly.

Thanks everyone for the responses. I love being here and will definitely be in for the long run.

I love my defenders. All of them

Each offers so many different play styles and team aide options.

I, after 4 1/2 years, am playing my first Emp! I chose Nrg as my secondary and so far, it has been a freakin' blast!! Binds set up and ready to roll those heals, cm's etc., it's a really different character style.

Welcome to the fold! We are strong, we are balance, we are Defenders.

Sion

I am new to fenders myself. I am more tanker/scraper in my playstyle. I was one of those who thanked whoever for the heals. Because I wasn't dying or losing health I just assumed it was heals, whether there were green numbers flying around me or not.

Having rolled my first cold/ice fender, I now have a new appreciation for this AT. I was lvl 14 playing a lvl 20 pug team. I afk'd outside for one mission and when I came back I read over team chat this comment "we havent had that defender this mission so I don't know what that did to the team dynamic". They had wiped twice. As a cold/ice I have no heals, but can provide roughly 24% def to all positional types. Before that, I was unsure if I was really contributing much to the team. Now I know better. (to be fair, there was another AT casting steamy mist for additional defense).

That said, welcome to the ranks of the Defenders. I for one am glad I joined.

It's good to see another one joining the fold.

However, it's starting to make me think... what's with all these people joining the Defender fold after a 30% buff while solo, 20% duo, 10% trio and not too much before? I mean, there were some before but it seems odd that there's a lot of people coming out of the woodworks now.

I started playing the game a year ago with a defender and now I'm nearly done lvling my 3th fender to 50. I love playing all of them though, because the playstyle evolves as you do. My first is an emp, and I went from heal-spamming to endurance buffing to everything buffing. Now I rarely hit the heal other/Absorb pain. It's all about the fort, AB, n auras.

Can't wait to tank stuff on mah soon-to-be lvl50 darkdarkdark once i finish slotting.

an inspirational post hahah