Hi twelfth,
I will reply with some thoughts although there are several of the Ice/ tank vets around who I hope chime in as well.
Most defense sets tend to be late bloomers, but Ice does pretty well right out of the gate I think. It's easy to softcap your defenses to all types of damage except Psi through your primary powers by just adding CJ, Weave and the Steadfast +3% def IO.
Once you get into the mid to late 30s, most things will not be hitting you much. That said there will be enemies that hit you hard, particularly ones the debuff defense like the rad robots in Tina Mcintyre's arc. When they do, that is what Hoarfrost is for, so take that early and slot it up well by the mid 30s.
I would urge you to take Energy Absorption as soon as it available and frankenslot it for recharge, defense and end mod. This is a great defense boost and end recovery to you that also drains end from the foes.
You have the benefit of TWO aggro auras at your disposal rather than just one and I would recommend both. Because of this, many Icers go without Taunt. I took taunt because I like having it for bosses/AVs and Taunt sets have great bonuses but legit arguments exist for and against Taunt.
Icicles is a nice damage aura that I would delay until after stamina as it's a rather large end drain compared to some damage auras - not the worst but still significantly draining.
Chilling Embrace on the other hand is lighter on end so take right away and get an end reduction in it. It's a great aggro tool that has a very nice -damage aspect that helps quietly but meaningfully to your survivability. It also has a significant slow potential which you can play around with in slotting but I have dropped the slows as it makes gathering/herding more difficult and time consuming.
Otherwise, have fun with your secondary looking for ways to grab some typed defenses bonus and recharge. Hoarfrost will cap your HP without a lot of other bonus so don't make HP a primary build focus over defense and recharge.
If you would like specific build help, many on here are awesome with build advice so feel free to post a build plan.
Cheers
[B] GUARDIAN 50s:[/B] [B]Tank[/B]: Ice/Fire, Fire/Fire, DA/SS, Inv/WM, SD/Elec...[B]Scrap[/B]: BS/Reg, Spin/DA, DM/SD, Fire/WP, Claws/SR....[B]Troller[/B]: Ill/Rad, Fire/Kin...[B]Blaster[/B]: Fire/EM....[B]Defender[/B]: D3...[B]Brute[/B]: Elm/ElA...[B]EPIC[/B]: Widow, PB, Crab...CURRENTLY: 45 Stone/Stone Tank...38 AR/Rad Corr...21 Ice^3 Dom
Hey folks. I was planning to start up a tanker on goldside for eventual use on redside. Anyway, I'm looking to build up an Ice/NRG tanker - what information should I know about how this performs in PVE/TFs/SFs?
How does the set progress? Is it a late bloomer? Does it level off in midgame and become meh? Is there anything which is categorically "skippable". Are particular power pools recommended to fill holes?
Also, on an in-game etiquette issue: How do you guys recommend I approach teams who will be looking for me to be an instant-expert in aggro holding and meatshielding? Since I'll be a noobtank, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna screw this up and PO a few teams. Any tips on how to smooth my learning curve?
Thanks for any assists. If you want to post a build, that's fine, but mind you that I'm not a ebil marketeer. Purp'd & PVPIO builds are going to be pretty meaningless to me.
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