Wow MA is making me like Tankers!

I always found MA very pretty, great animations, I actually dislike the alternate ones. But I never saw anything special about the set. The scrapper version feels meh to me and the Stalker one is worse, you get only ST attacks, all lackluster compared to other primaries.

But... I'm loving my MA tanker! I think they did an excellent job on the set for Tankers, better than any other AT imho.

I'm kind of a sucker for damage (I don't need all my toons to be like my SS/Fire but I never liked Tanker damage that much). So I paired it with SD and wow! AAO really helps, besides walking with 25% def to m/r/aoe since level 4 because of Storm Kick. And of course Shield Charge for extra AoE. That may finally be my first 50 tanker (ice/fire at 35 and fire/fire at 20, all unplayed for like 500 days)

I have three (now two) questions...

1) Mid's list Shield Charge with the same damage for Scrappers and Tankers, is it true? about 113, only Brutes are listed differently at 100.1 (I know, Fury, etc, but I don't have a high level shield scrapper to compare and CoData gives me the numbers for the pet). EDIT: found it on Cod, Scrapper does about 150 damage, Tankers around 113, just leaving the info because maybe somebody else has the same doubt since Mid's list both as 113).

2) What would be a good slotting for leveling? I plan to somehow add Aid Self after epics and such but only after IOs, after all I'll be teaming with my Tanker mostly and solo she's good enough without it. Go for about 40% def (I'll get the steadfast of course asap) and rely on Storm kick (so that I get 50% for extra cushioning). I'm wondering if slotting both HPT and Deflection for Res (and of course hp and def too) is a good idea, with Tough the toon could have great resist numbers for a def based powerset, 47.5% to s/l and 23.8% to the rest except psi.

3) MA is kinda difficult to skip powers since you have to get the t1. So am I correct in thinking about skipping only Crane Kick? I love Taunt even on Broots so it's a no brainer on a Tanker for me. Or is there anything else I could skip? All the attacks look so good except for the t1 and Crane after Cobra was buffed.

I know the tanker damage king is something like Fire/Fire or Fire/SS but I'm tired of Fire toons and wanted to try MA since the different implementation got me excited, and it's a set I've been meaning to try for ages, but on scrappers I stopped at 15 or so because I found it lackluster compared to most other sets. So when you find a set very good on an AT you don't usually play, I say play the damn AT (also the reason I'm rerolling my only defender, a Rad/Psy, to Rad/Sonic, Sonic Blast is great on defs, as Radiation Emission is significantly better as a primary).

Another option would be to build for res, hp, and massive regen but I don't know if I'll survive endgame content well, I know I'll never make a /Sr Tanker because it's only defense - I'm 'disappoint' even on my Claws/Sr with Aid Self, yeah she's awesome most of the time but... getting two shotted once in a while is not cool

Thanks for any opinions! I'm not asking for a build, mostly general directions. Patron/Epics suggestions would be nice too, my Broots use Mu or Soul but I don't think Ma would need Gloom and the Mu Brute is a farmer, I wouldn't get good use of Electrifying Fences on a Tanker as an attack because of no fury. Leviathan and Energy looks like solid picks for me, Energy Torrent recharges fast and Leviathan has arctic breath and a good damaging immob (and Bile Spray but... Breath powers especially vomiting toxic stuff would kinda murder my concept).

I'm glad you're enjoying your tank! After I got a Dark Dark Defender to 50 in I2, I never touched the ranged AT's again. I switched to a Spines/Dark scrapper in I3 (appropriately named Debtmonger). After the scrapper, I started playing tanks and found that I love the playstyle. For the next 19 issues, I played tankers about 95% of the time. I'm not an Elitist like most, I don't play specific builds or anything for damage... I play out of theme. With that said, I still have a clear understanding of Min/Maxing and Elitist builds because I lurk the forums from time to time.

2) Slotting for leveling... You don't even need mids for this one. If you're like me, you won't play +0 for long. On a team of 8, I usually bump to +2 until SO's and bump to +3 after 22. I bump to +4 when I feel confident I've built my toon correctly. I like to build defenses first, then build offense... which goes completely against your style of play. I suggest adding in 1 defensive slot per odd level and adding the other slot in a power you plan on using for the next few levels. Once you've maxed out your defensive slots (doesn't take long on shields btw- and don't forget stamina), start focusing on attacks you use in your rotation. Keep going 1+1. I think "relying" on the extra 10% isn't necessary and too risky for my style of play. I'm strongly considering dropping Storm Kick because I'm already at 48% defense- and have no intention of playing incarnates on another tank

3) Odd that you mention skipping Crane Kick... It's numerically the same as Cobra but adds a knockback. I am one of a small group of tanks that doesn't mind Knockback. In a pinch, it will keep you alive.

XXX) I typically use Thunder, Eagles, Axe, Crane, and Cobra. and just push through the same order (recharge and activation makes it almost seamless- I'm playing Electric and have a modest 20% to recharge though). The amount of Single Target damage in that combo is pretty high. On an AoE fight, I typically swap Axe for Dragon's.

On a Defensive tank (Ice/SR/Shield) I usually go for the HP/Regen bonuses. You can get pretty high amounts of regen going.

If you're dead set on skipping a power in MA, skip the 10% defense. Sounds counterproductive, but at higher levels, that extra cushion you need in early levels is completely wasted.

Thanks Beau.

Well the reason I'm skipping Crane is that because it's the same attack as Cobra now (numberwise) - I don't mind KB either, I just hit 'f' for follow if someone KBs my target or chenge targets (have g bound to nearest target) so never bothered me. I could keep any one of them, scrappers usually skip Thunder Kick but we can't and Bruising is good stuff.

The thing also is, Storm Kick, even if had no def bonus, is considered the best attack in MA by the math guys in the forums, ppl in the scrapper section always say it has the highest DPA of all MA attacks and nobody should skip it.

I gave a shot at a build... I didn't even try hard to softcap but wow, got all the resists (and a Kismet which I always have difficulty fitting in) I wanted and the build is even good for incarnate softcap with SK on melee (and almost at ranged - 56.1%). It has 336% regen with accos, not sure how good is that because I never built anything for regen since my IO'ed toons are the kind that can get two-shot (except my SS/Fire Broot and my DM/DA scrapper but they don't need to be built for regen) - I might consider swapping Grant Cover for OwTs (dont mind losing a lil recharge) but it's a long way from there, I tend to level 2-3 alts at the same time:

| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
|MxDz;1501;694;1388;HEX;|
|78DA6594DB4F134114C667DB2DA5A5859642B94B29F44A5B209A9818A322145AA40|
|653F5CDD42D1DDA954D69BAC5C8A3F13FD0441F89FAE6832FC6CB3FE5E55DB19EEE|
|F9288DDD00BF996FCF99F9E69C610BCF363D1FB79FDF148A67C3D04CB3745FAB1FC|
|AA6F3AED63A6E6A86A067B0583BAE8776A574D2648EDF9736E581AC9B3253ACE9D2|
|A89C4FA7F0B6200D293305ADD9D235A3B4DE6C99C2B37774646476A5D6D0EB55AF3|
|5D9D2ABB516CDDCD6ACD890B2E2B786F9FA53DDD4CBBAA1B74E02D986BE9FC9D665|
|B37A522A68664B364F26C948827E37BDF447E9786C3B848F066BAAB08D81E34C758|
|91823A684C58138CF6F05059EB62AAE1354BB18C8774EA88AC11C58E21CF7A1B0D6|
|5A0F623BCA511EB3E6D6981E09EE33872BCCDB9463E71C87FD80B5609539590375E|
|6F41310FB6DD3F91C7C3EE1B8C61E73A43915C5D29C0B1C9725CDC57136D7558E9B|
|451D6651872D8A1942AD86EEB176A9083E0053BC5EE89C138A55873CE57AE1C37BC|
|6B509D26D188136823D36E8AC7E3EABF09B364B53282E002D30CDEBDA491BE75CFB|
|38FA138A30176220FAA452EC04CE36811E2FE06C8BD8F70EF99B428DA77EF3BE8B7|
|FC033E6D25FB00D76BAD2A90B799E414F67D0D3287A1A454FA3E8650CBD0D93A739|
|CEB1CD2DE3DD7FCCD2BAF388993FE53D13EFC1B7CC6D8A09C37718BE13F09D84EF2|
|47C27E13B05DF39CA8D203702DFA932089F699C238D73A45F70BD4E6989387A1287|
|DF0F54C365D47919F76105F76405F7E41DE56550ABCC27CE5BF9CC5CFB027E05BF3|
|17768DD55DC9355F4EBBB9BFE8FA029698EFB79A13994871C370C1F3EF8F02D71EC|
|E80DBE97A33B7C477EF4AE17E7985F179A5D79C9B51B7B05BE6606DF3067D5EEB78|
|07EE81109B5FB656927FBDEAEF6296B7DCAE53EE54A9FB2DBA7ECA9DD2F8C502CC5|
|E5EB7E3FDA7B74A6365C3DEA196B3DE372CFF81FB3F0E4C5|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

336% regen

How many HPpS is that? For the majority of the time, that's what is going to keep your defense tank alive

CK or CS are skippable depending on if you want a stun or kb. For an SD/ tank that can softcap a bit easier, you could skip SK. However, you could also push your defense to 49% and then use SK's buff to hit that 59% incarnate softcap.

I'm running an Elec/MA tank and it's rather beastly. The attack chain I'm currently running is EC>TK>SK>CAK>CS, which is seamless with Hasten right now (probably without once the build is complete). AoE would be EC>TK>SK>DT>CAK.

The reason TK and SK follow EC is because I've noticed a lag in the +dmg from EC. It doesn't kick in immediate but will a couple seconds after EC hits. This is the amount of time it takes me to use TK and SK.

For the Regen question - 240% is 1% hp/sec (for reference). Getting the exact hp/sec would depend on how much hp you have, of course.

Here's my Elec/MA

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.952
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Suzano'o: Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Electric Armor
Secondary Power Set: Martial Arts
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Lightning Field -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(3), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(7), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46)
Level 1: Thunder Kick -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(5), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(13), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), T'Death-Dam%(45)
Level 2: Storm Kick -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(11), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(21), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Mako-Dam%(43)
Level 4: Cobra Strike -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(9), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(19), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Mako-Dam%(43)
Level 6: Static Shield -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(7), Aegis-ResDam(23)
Level 8: Charged Armor -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(9), Aegis-ResDam(19)
Level 10: Conductive Shield -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Aegis-ResDam(21)
Level 12: Energize -- Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(A), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(13), Dct'dW-Rchg(15), Dct'dW-Heal(15), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(34)
Level 14: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 16: Grounded -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), GA-3defTpProc(50)
Level 18: Lightning Reflexes -- Run-I(A)
Level 20: Focus Chi -- GSFC-Build%(A), GSFC-ToHit(34), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(40), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(42), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(43), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(45)
Level 22: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)
Level 24: Tough -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(25), Aegis-ResDam(25), Aegis-Psi/Status(45), Aegis-EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 26: Power Sink -- Efficacy-EndMod/EndRdx(A), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(27), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(27)
Level 28: Crippling Axe Kick -- Mako-Dam%(A), Mako-Acc/Dmg(29), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(29), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(31), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42)
Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(31), RechRdx-I(31)
Level 32: Warrior's Provocation -- Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng(A)
Level 35: Dragon's Tail -- Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Oblit-Dmg(36), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(36), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(36), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), Oblit-%Dam(42)
Level 38: Eagles Claw -- T'Death-Dam%(A), T'Death-Acc/Dmg(39), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(39), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(39), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 41: Focused Accuracy -- HO:Cyto(A), HO:Cyto(46)
Level 44: Physical Perfection -- P'Shift-End%(A)
Level 47: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(48), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(48), LkGmblr-Def(48)
Level 49: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(50), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
Level 0: Portal Jockey
Level 0: Task Force Commander
Level 0: The Atlas Medallion
Level 50: Spiritual Radial Paragon
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Numna-Heal(17), Mrcl-Rcvry+(37)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(17), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(37)

| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
|MxDz;1526;707;1414;HEX;|
|78DA75944973125110C7DFC060080181903D210B26212161842C678D09890B94945|
|10F6AA446F20293E0400DE392DCFC001ED42ABD7A703FF829DCFD2C2E7717ECD0FF|
|2025E514F07BD3EFDFAFFBBDEE47E6F68AF7F5DA9D6342F12E97F46A35775E3777A|
|4E5CAE805232FE871AFDFD8D3CD72B4DC462F619ECDADC82D6956A5962AC9BC6D19|
|F9DC9275BD6CF56336234B526A19DDB20DBD4453763578CA2C4A4B9AB67630F066C|
|BE59296967AC5300BBEFACBAA5128DAF4E6A9BFAD57A4DCF41FA836A5552D1A9550|
|AA62E4B59429ADC26E2EA3576D69EDF6515E31FABEF5D38FB29F72CD29F608A3AA7|
|0DC641EBAC58CDBC4A42A8EF7083C3597B8C473EA65A6F70AB36783397695399B63|
|2E91AFC2715CCA16E214989E22B3CB608E6E33633BCC13E4EB445C277C55F8BAE1D|
|BF91FDFF7B43F17C775B8120AEF6B9ED9B3C07C439A3668DAA07143D309CD3BD2B4|
|43D30E8D079A2E683E92A683F3543BD26CF3669887B3E059E6D819E4400DE2E3758|
|5AF9B6D1F681D3FDB147F2F0DC2AA48CE39EB739F682E087D30CE7549D1F984703E|
|A1970E5EFF0933FA9439FD8C197BCE9C7DC154287E37FB8AEE015ECF49B65E8EA1F|
|662AF7DD86B1FF63ABBC88CCF313F535EFDF546AA39FAEFF1DA0377C1078EFABAAB|
|94E720F21C447D8650CF21D47318F51C453DA751CF08E514C6F9876738CFE17FB84|
|CEB8F602F23DB1C738D6C11C48CD4389F233FC09FE02FE6F86F9C95E0B33E49BE13|
|F09D401F4FA2EF27D1F793E8FB28FA3E8ABE7F4C4B4CA186538B04D529E2E02B9F1|
|033A8E1CC238EA9D2FE34DC430D7D70340086C02E6690B4099C4502DA24B4496887|
|D4C65DA50F3D625A6DDCF45AAC6536D16249B658E65B2C0B2D96748B25AB222C599|
|4BAA53DD0B8CFB52F9EC6FF8250D0CFDFFEDA1CCA45DE4FE00273FC34F36BB3DF14|
|FB7D6FF6C3B906EEA3B60F9959CF7E4538F646D3586F1A5F6B1A9FA38B95C4F80F3|
|D91E8EE|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

@Infini yeah I got to 49.2% melee and 46.1% ranged to take advantage of SK. Surprised how easy it was. Aoe is at 42.3% but I'm keeping SK anyway, I always saw threads on the scrapper forums that SK is the best DPA attack on MA and should never be skipped anyway.

And that's eactly what I thought about CS versus CK, I don't mind energy blasters and PBs KBing my targets but since I use CS so much I think it'll get kinda boring if I have to run after a mob everytime I use CK.

And yes many people are talking about the delay on EC's damage boost. Perhaps it's a bug? But thanks for the tip on using TK+SK right after.

Btw very nice build! I like how you got to 33.5% m/r (without accounting Storm Kick) - I may revise the builds for my Stone/ELA Broot and DB/ELA Scrap since I went for s/l on them, maybe I can get close on defense (and building for s/l is hella expensive).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beau_Hica 336% regen How many HPpS is that? For the majority of the time, that's what is going to keep your defense tank alive

40.3 hp/sec on my slotting with accos, without them it's 35.1, I have no idea how good this is lol.

40 is a good number I typically shoot for 35 as a minimum. For what it's worth, I feel very strongly that HP > Regen for Defense tanks and Regen > HP for resist tanks.

I hope you have a blast with your tank!

Do people find MA to be satisfactory on tankers without damage auras or AAO? I mean for those of you who are addicted to damage? I ask because I eventually drifted from tanks to brutes because I needed a bit more damage.

Thanks,

Lewis