Toughest possible combination for hardcore play?

For myself I'd be debating between SD/DM or Inv/DM for a hardcore
Tank. WP itself is nice in a lot of ways too.

Since you have a regular core group, maybe talk 1/2 the group into Shield Defense. Have anyone who doesn't have SD get Maneuvers ASAP, and the SD players grab Phalanx/Grant Cover ASAP. If respecs are allowed, have everyone grab Maneuvers ASAP and then later respec into Grant Cover etc.

On the same lines it would be entertaining to have an all WP/Regen group with everyone sporting Maneuvers. A few tanks, a few scrappers, and a few brutes having fun.

Thanks for the replys all.

I would say that just goes to show even more that Elec is right up thier with WP and Dark.

Hardcore play.. This is really a concept that I don't understand. Personally, I feel that the concept, itself, is an illusion in this sort of game. If hardcore means not dying in an MMO, what else does it entail? Does not dying mean not allowing use of powers that prevent death? Not using inspirations? How do you explain that in melee, you sit still and trade punches with someone, and when you see a hit connect flush, no damage is taken? Does that mean that whenever my character beats a group of mobs, that he's killing them? If that's the case, GI Justice is singularly responsible for the murder of over two-hundred thousand people, at least; and is still somehow recieving rewards and merit for valor. I'm not attempting to troll or dictate how you pay your subscription fee, but I am asking for you to help me understand this.

Another point: There comes a time when -every- character dies on this game. Sometimes, it's simply unavoidable, but those deaths aid in future tactics and understanding of the inner machinations of the game. Wouldn't utilizing the knowledge from a "dead" hero on your next character to beat that same villian that killed Hero A., be considered as cheating? Does being knocked out exist in this world? Do all real life rules apply, or do you just pick and choose, and consider it hardcore because you didn't take "ye old pavement nap"? I guess motives differ, but I don't understand how one would derive pleasure from this playstyle in any non-masochistic capacity. I wonder if there have been any Tankers that play like this, who have successfully completed a Hamidon raid..

At any rate, I gotta throw my vote in for Shield Defense if we're talking resilience against a broad spectrum of threats.

I have 3 Ice/ tankers, 1 elec/ tanker, one fire/ tanker which I play regularly. Defense based toons are the best, many times in the game, than Resist. But due to the unlucky streaks you may suffer, you might end up deleting it. Does that pull me away from playing defense based sets, no. Unlucky streaks can be countered by getting out. You may feel it coming, 1-3 big hit, ouch, a 4th hit, then I move away, or hit aid self or a self heal if I have one, or HIbernate, and if there is still more danger, then I get out of there.

I have an elec armor tank. The resists numbers on that are very very good. The holes in Elec armor/ I have no idea, maybe toxic or something. Elec armor/ tough like a truck. Other people may talk about end drain holes on WP. Look, Elec armor will laugh at any other set out there when it comes time to talk about end drain AND recovery debuffs. There is simply nothing better out there than Elec armor vs that kind of nuance.

Elec armor has a solid heal which is good every 30 seconds. It also has a recharge buff power and resists to slows.


Pair elec armor with Dark melee. A heal every 30 and another heal every 6-8 seconds.

Try that. Forget Invul. My Elec/ armor has done it all, STF, MSTF, LGTF, MLGTF, Apex, Tin Mage... and the journey 1-50 was a lot smoother than I expected (lower expectation thanks to myths or rumors) (edit).

Try it out.

My Elec armor tank is a tank I also use to PvP and I have beat psy blasters with it too. Elec/SS. My resists in PvE are 81 S/L, and the rest are 56 (neg energy) and up. In PvP, its a cool 80 and up to everything except toxic (before DR).

Preach on Brother Commando!!

As somebody who has played in the hardcore SG. My highest character was 21/22. My tank(Ice/ice) got to around 20/21. From how I did it, I would really look at a build 1-22. If I could hit 22, SO level enhancements kicked in and that's where tanks get rather good if you are just fighting on basic difficulty settings. After that it's how much do you push and how much are you going to solo? Only level 50 in the hardcore SG to my knowledge is a Dark/sr so I would think /dark with Ice, SD, and Invul would be good. Elec/dark would be interesting. It has two heals, but neither are big. I have a low 20s Dark/elec brute and some days I like it, some days I don't. I actually talked to a SG mate and talked me into keeping it saying it does get rather good in the end.

"It has two heals, but neither are big"

Compared to what? Dark Reg?

Energize heals just as much as Healing Flames, plus it has a 30s regeneration componet.

I wouldn't call that small... you want a small heal. Check out Energy Auras heal LOL.

Siphon Life has a very quick recharge. Yes compared to other heals its small... but its up often.