A Chat About Alphas

I have probably missed all the really big discussion threads about which Alphas are considered de rigueur for a tank, but thought I would ask anyway

My favourite character is an Inv/SS. While initially tempted by Musculature, I have assumed I am better off just running Rage more often. So I've been building up Nerve since the secondaries look most enticing. But although my build is quite END friendly I have also created a Cardiac and its effects seem more noticeable that Nerve.

So I am wondering what the Tank Gurus consider the best for different Armours?

And do you chop and change Alphas? I think for trials Nerve may be the best option but when running solo or small team, perhaps Cardiac?

Except on my Ice Tanker, I've been going Cardiac on most of my toons, even those who weren't entirely Endurance un-friendly before. Why? It allows me to not even worry about the blue bar except in very prolonged fights, which is always nice. Having some extra damage resistance is kinda nice, but not all that effective, but the extra range I've found useful on a number of characters, especially my Elec/Nin Stalker, who has a lot of powers that it helps. Just think, it offers extra range on Taunt and any Ancillary Pool Powers that you might have, such as Fireball. Mmmmm...long range fireball.

Spiritual is actually pretty nice on a Tanker, too, offering increased Recharge, Healing, Stun, and Slows. The Recharge and Healing can be a great help on a Fire Tanker, for instance, allowing them to get Healing Flames up faster and heal more with it each time. Then you get Burn, Fiery Embrace, and Consume all back sooner, too. On a set like Invuln, it won't help as much, but can bring down the recharge of Dull Pain a bit, if you don't have it perma. And of course, it helps with your secondary. You just have to make sure you keep an eye on your blue bar with everything recharging faster.

For Inv/SS, take Cardiac. Not only do you get a much needed break in endurance usage, but it boosts your damage resistance.

I chose this for my Inv/SS tank and have never been happier.

Essentially the two best, in my opinion are Cardiac and Spiritual. Spiritual is great for Willpower, which relies on a lot of regen, plus the recharge is nice.

And what do you put on your Ice Tanker?

In my opinion, the two best to roll with are Cardiac and Musculature. The decision process goes something like this:

"Is my endurance totally under control and I never ever need to pop a blue? If no, Cardiac. If yes, Musculature."

The other things to keep in mind is that Musculature provides End Mod, which can actually help out on some of the endurance issues in some builds (i'm taking it on my claws/elec, for the added damage, and extra drain on the /elec powers)

I have taken both Spirital, and card on my fire/fire tank Card for long term mish that i need the end, spirital for stuff like hami where I need the extra recharge/self heal.

I'm a fan of Spiritual because it makes Rebirth better. If you reached the Tanker Max HP cap then T4 Radial Rebirth is already awesome, and having Spiritual on top of that gets you about an extra 20 HP/Sec out of Rebirth on average.

20 HP/Sec is a lot, and Cardiac's extra few percentages to E/N/F/C/T resistance can't match that.

However, Cardiac opens up other options such as getting Darkest Night from Soul Mastery instead of relying on Energy Mastery for endurance, so they're both good choices.

For my Ice/Axe tanker, I haven’t started him on the Incarnate path yet, but I’ll probably go with Spiritual or Nerve.
On my Kat/Inv scrapper I switch between Cardiac and Musc. I depends on that I am doing.
I have a dark armor brute that right now I am thinking to take him full cardiac. For my Willpower, Ill go with Spiritual.

I've tried both Musculature and Nerve on different tanks, and noticed no difference whatsoever. None. Might they be noticeable at higher tiers? Maybe. Have used Spiritual and Cardiac on others, however, and the effects were both immediate, noticeable and very, very helpful.

I run a lot of toggles on my tanks. Not only from the primary, but also from the pool powers. My blue bar tends to start flagging in a log fight, regardless of how many extra end reducers I have. Thus, my default position - not only on tanks, but all my melee toons, and all for the same reason - is Cardiac, unless there is some game-making/breaking power that really needs more recharge.

Some take leadership (assault, maneuvers, tactics) others pick up Darkest Night and/or Focused Accuracy..

The base end cost of tough and weave is something like .6EPS.. thats a pretty nefty amount. Cardiac also adds in some resistance and range, and while that range isn't very valuable on a tank, the extra resistance could help push things overboard (especially on willpower, stone, elec, fire, and invuln, which rely on massive resistance to stay alive)

I like Spiritual on my fire/fire. The extra recharge gets my heal up faster and makes it stronger, while making my Rebirth a LOT more powerful.

Cardiac on every single tank except for one so far.. I believe I took Musculature on my Fire/Fire tank..

Cardiac just makes the job easier and the reality is you rarely if ever slot to max out end redux..

All your toggles just got cheaper to run.. all your attacks got cheaper to use..

Cardiac for a Tank is just too much major win IMO...

Even my WP/SS took Cardiac.. He runs Rage on Auto and just laughs at the end bar..

To answer you question, LSK: "The only power pool I take is usually fighting and CJ as extra def for my tank, what other power pool you have?"

1. I have hasten, so usually I have superspeed (to save using another power pool) and leave it on in missions. I like feeling more mobile, more maneuverable, though admittedly this my be entirely subjective on my part.

2. Also have fighting pool.

3. CJ. Not just for the defense, but because it makes superspeed wonderfully maneuverable.

4. Leadership pool. Maneuvers, for more defense. If there isn't anything I prefer to take, I'll go for tactics or assault, too - I have a brute or two with vengeance, as well, because vengeance seems, so darned... brutish!

NOTE: I do have a hovering tank. Can't remember offhand if I omitted leadership, or CJ (which also makes hover much more maneuverable). I love my hovering tank, there is nothing like the rush of all the bad guys clustered under my feet trying to take a swing at me! Bit this tank, burns a fair amount of endurance using ranged attacks from the epic pool, and even vet ranged attacks if need be. (This was my first 50 tank, and based on previous experiences as a blaster, felt there was nothing for getting a bad guys' attention like a fireball between the eyes)

I really have enjoyed this thread - thank you all for posting your experiences and observations with the higher tiers of the different alphas! Great stuff in here!

Two more shards and I'll be going Spiritual on my Inv/Stone tanker. While my endurance isn't 100% under control (yet), it's close, and it's a lot better off than my general state of recharge. I need more Seismic Smash. Lots more.