Second Best tank armor?

want to be the tankiest tank with out going stone =-)

if you're willing to put a bit of money into it... (and i almost can't belive im saying this), Try Invulnerbility.

Granted I made an inv tank the very first day of issue 7, just after the global defense nerf and ED, and inv was stuck in the middle and sorely needed help.

Now, well, my inv/axe tanker has softcapped defenses to S/L/E/N and is sitting at 40% to F/C with just 1 enemy in range, almost capped S/L resist and a self heal that just about caps his hitpoints.

So far i've yet to do this with any other set, though i never use purples, so perhaps someone else out there has another set to use.

Second best nothing. All the survivability in the world means nothing if you can't get where you're going.

Try Dark Armor.

My DA tank is softcapped to S/L/E/N defense and has over 85% resistance to psionic. Dark Armor has the best self heal in the game on a 30 second base recharge (enhanceable to 15, possible to push farther), is practically immune to endurance drain and recovery debuffs, has a perception buff and resistance to debuff, can mez enemies around it in two different ways, and on top of it all, doesn't even die the first time.

Invulnerability is very tough, especially softcapped to S/L/E/N.

Dark is likewise very tough, with a massive self-heal, but has no way to increase its hitpoints outside of set bonuses. Also easy enough to cap to S/L/E/N.

Ice is not quite as tough, but has the best aggro auras.

Shields is incredibly easy to softcap.

Fire and Electric are less tough defensively, but add extra offense.

Willpower has very well-rounded defenses, but has a weak taunt aura.

I have tried many tanks at level 50 (Shield, Ice, WP, Elec).

When they released i18 I started playing a Dark/KM tank and it had quickly become my favourite tank to play.I

I have since slotted it so that it is softcapped to Melee/Ranged/AOE and its survivability is amazing. I went for the Cardiac Radial Boost for the end management and it works great.

I took OG too as a lvl49 power and use it when needed. Is nice for some soft control.

I have tanked the 2 new TF's on multiple occasions without any trouble, while having lots of fun with KM at the same time.

I really like INV but mine is not softcapped unless there is a decent sized group around. However he is very survivable because he has enough defense and perma dull pain.

I just got a Dark to level 50 and I plan to do my first TF with him this weekend. He is Dark Stone and is a serious TankTroller. However he has tremendous End issues. Guess which Alpha I am getting ???

Well, tanking Ghost Widow without spinning around and getting wailed on means softcapped Ranged or Negative Energy defense - that hold is Mag 100, so if it lands, it's going to hold you. That means you're going to want some defense in your primary.

Shield Defense is very easy to do that on, and also has a teleport-nuke and a healthy damage buff for zone PvP.

Invulnerability isn't that hard to soft-cap to E/NE, and has very good S/L resistance into the bargain along with Dull Pain, a great HP boost. Players do a lot less S/L damage than NPCs, but it's still going to be noticeable.

Ice is easier to softcap than Invuln, but has no S/L resist and a bit of a hole to Fire. Does have a DP clone and two aggro auras, though, so you should be able to hold aggro no problem. Surviving it may be something of another matter.

Willpower has the opposite problem. Its survivability is great (defense, resistance, regeneration and max HP are all available in useful amounts), but you're going to have to work on holding aggro with your secondary, because RttC, while very useful for survivability, has a weak taunt component. You can still tank for a team, but it's a lot more active - keep taunting, attacking, and using AoEs as much as you can.

And, of course, Dark Armor. With substantial investment, you can have a Dark tanker capped to S/L/E/N, along with very healthy resistances and Dark Regeneration for a quick refill. Once capped, probably has the best performance against Ghost Widow, thanks to the very high Negative resistance in the set. Mez auras will help you hold aggro for the team, but Cloak of Fear can cause some serious End problems, and Oppressive Gloom tends towards causing scatter, which some AoE heavy teams would rather avoid. All manageable, but also in some need of management.

Otherwise, I'm going to need the rest of that post to help. It seemed a bit... abrupt towards the end.

I would say stone is second best XD and Invuln is best if it is paired with a complimentary secondary like Dark. Gasp XD.

Seriously, I love my stoners but they come with a huge cost and penalties. With my Invuln/Dark I get capped S/L/N/E/F/C, capped HP, self heal, and etc... With this combo I get to have my cake and eat it too.