R U Tanker?

Got my brute to level 20 and promptly fled utopia to head to Paragon City where crime runs rampant in the street during broad daylight with Heroes near by. It was glorious! I was shoulder to shoulder with those scrappers that I can't stand to play for some reason. I was standing in Atlas park schooling the have-nots on all the praetorian goodness they were asking me about.

suddenly, without warning... "Infinite Schmoe has invited you to a team. Do you accept"

I almost accepted but wanted to get back to Praetoria and finish off leveling my new troller so I politely declined but then the thought occurred to me.

"Did they want me to pound stuff or were they looking for a meat shield? I wonder..."

On any Cor I play and more so on trollers I have been asked many a time, "R U Healorz?" Now that brutes are allowed in Paragon city and tanks in the Rogue isles, I wonder if the general player base will begin to see that though a brute can be built to tank that many brutes are all about the SMASH!

Oh it just occurred to me that many hero teams will also be wondering what the hell my Tanker-mind is doing group teleporting ahead of the tanker too, Oh I can't wait to see this happen.

Not hat my Stalker is Rogue, I can't wait for the first person to die because they followed me towards the mob not realizing they don't have stealth.

Even before GR, not every tank was a TANK, in the traditional, aggro soak meat shield sense of the word.

I've been on teams with one tank who managed aggro like a Pied Piper, and teams with three tanks that couldn't pull aggro to save my life. Literally. That was actually in the same evening. No one in this game can appreciate a good tank like a Fire/Fire blaster.

Here's a few scenarios I can't wait to see:

1. Invite brute1, invite brute2, invite granitetank1. Someone says, "you sure about inviting 3 tanks? We won't have enough damage!"

2. "We need kin, Boggarts!" "Okies!" Invite kinetic melee toon. "Yarrrrr!"

3. Group already has tanker1. Me playing my brute. They advertise: "LFM need damage!" Me: "Okies! Sign me up!" Them: "No noob, u tank, we need dmg!" Me: "..." /emo

Oh no! People you wouldn't want to team with won't invite you!

My most used Brute is SS/SD. Anyone incapable of noticing the damage unleashed of the superhero analogue of a runaway bus full of freight trains is also likely incapable of actually figuring out how to install the game.

The people who you aren't teaming with are stupid. Not just unintentionally uninformed, the sort who will usually become a good player with time and patience, but wilfully ignorant of the basic elements of the game. By not teaming with them, you're not missing much.

In all seriousness, it might take a while for the hero population to adapt to the damage/x style of villains.

I know not everyone plays in Cim and RWZ, be it normal door missions there or the TFs.

I'll give it time for blueside and redside to become purple
I know my mindset's somewhat against the more specialized roles of heroes, because I've played redside so much.

So far no bad cases since I rolled a Tanker Tank. I have a thread in Tanker section just happy with it being my First and going Villain with it.

I have had many smash brutes in my parties in Praetoria...and I think once the group realized...Whoa this tanker actually herds and holds agro...nice... the brutes follow me around and just go nuts =).

I think that the more people get used to having a Tanker in the group and see how well a offensive built Brute compliments a Tanker...its going to be some great steam rolling going.

I certainly prefer a Brute by my side as I run in... one he can take a hit even if offensive focused...and he really can tear down the strongest mobs sooner as I hold agro..at the same time they can OFF tank the mobs I could not taunt or in range of my electric dmg aura with taunt slots.

The thing is it's pretty darn nice to see the mix...as it becomes more common to see a Villain tanker and or Brute Hero.. I think teams will want both in the party when they realize how well they work together.

I rarely notice what ATs and powersets my teamates have. I just see people who can start fights, and people who can't. The little icon by their name doesn't always have much to do with that.

R U Tanker...most tanks- Yes

Brutes..only some can be good tanks..and some depend on build

I had the opposite problem that most people are expecting. My brute was invited to a team and the lead scrapper thought she was the only one able to tank and that I was only dmg. >.<