tanker/stalker duo. Tanker power sets?

So my brother is really into his stalker, and with all of our Duo's so far, he dies alot. He is a spines/DA stalker, level 11.

I have been playing support roles with him mainly, and letting him do the Toe-to-Toe bit, but its not working out, so I want to make a tanker to level with him. Keep the heat on me, and let us both take out hordes of enemies.

So what would be a good leveling powerset for a tanker? Stone/Axe? Ice/fire? Ice/Ice?

I want to be able to walk into a mission with purple bosses and be able to handle them. Or maybe walk into a misson with 100 -1 mobs and destroy them all.

Thanks in advance

I'll admit, I don't think I've ever seen this request before. A Tanker/Stalker combo is an odd one, and one that will likely put the two of you at cross-purposes for a couple of reasons.

1) Group Aggro. If your Stalker friend is waiting right by the boss, and you come charging in, as the mob sees you, but before you can grab real aggro, the entire spawn aggros on the team. This can mean that your little Stalker buddy might be attacked before you even get to grab aggro.

2) AoE versus Single-Target focus. While your friend is a Spines/ Stalker, and therefore gets a bit more AoE damage than some Stalker sets, he's likely going to be the guy you want bringing down the big target. However, you'll need to keep the aggro on the target, so you'll want to be attacking him to. This can mean that you'll both be focusing on the same hard target, instead of the rest of the spawn.


Now, both of those things can be worked out, but I just wanted to warn you that it's an odd combination, and you may need to overcome a learning curve before you can get the timing worked out.


That being said, I think that a Shield/ Tanker could help with problem number 1, since it will allow you to basically TP right into the group and gain aggro before they attack the Stalker. As I think about it, a Shield/Elec Tank might be a good choice, allowing you two Teleport attacks to alternate between while your Stalker friend gets set up. It would be more of a focus on AoE attacks, while still having some ST attacks to get the boss's attention.


Just out of curiosity, what kinds of support sets where you playing with him? I would think that a Support/Stalker duo should be able to do okay.

Paired with a Stalker your single target damage won't be as important as your aoe damage, to spread Gauntlet around and keep the enemies on you. Fire, Battle Ax, and War Mace are pretty good - many AoEs at low levels. Superstrength is 'king' of AoE *eventually* but since you'd have to wait until 38 for Footstomp that doesn't do your brother spine-spamming brother any good.

Without healing you're going to have to be able to patch yourself up. Dark, Fire, Elec, and WP are all good for that.

I'd suggest a WP/Fire tanker. Fire's many aoes make up for Rise to the Challenge's weaker than average taunt aura. WP is sturdy as hell with minimal investment and little need for external buffing.

Lead with Taunt, go in first, and hit Combustion. Nothing besides AoEs should be hitting your brother for the rest of the fight after that.

edit: The situation Aett describes - aggro being split upon the spawn seeing you - is the reason to lead with Taunt to nab the entire group's attention. If you have superspeed or a stealth IO you can get close enough to do this without any chance of overflow going after the stalker and ruining his assassin strike.

I tried fire/kin troller, but I wasnt able to heal him much, and we would get overrun alot, especially when my group root missed a bunch of mobs.

I also tried ill/storm controller, but I didnt like it, and I died alot.

I also tried brute, but the downtime between fights would cause me to suck. (downtime due to us talking on skype, and him needing to regain hp)



What would you suggest? Any archetype and powerset.

Its not that I was leaning towards ice necessarily. I just want to rip through missions with my brother. We have fun obliterating crap that isnt like. . . easy. . . if that makes sense. So we want to be able to obliterate stuff without reducing the difficulty level, and I figured a tanker would be a good choice, since the support route doesnt seem to fit or work out the best with my play style. I like being aggressive lol.

So if you have another suggestion that isnt even a tanker im all ears.

I suggest that you be a Fire Armor/War Mace tank. Paired with his Dark Armor, you'll both be resistance based, but you'll be strong against Fire damage and he'll be strong against NE and Psy. You will have a ton of AoE.