Consolidated Tanker Improvement Ideas

I'd like to see.

1 Raising the damage cap so that Tanks can benefit from team buffs

2 On the basis that the game engine allows for this, a "Bonus to Defence". As we all know minions have x value to hit depending on the defence of the target, with Lieutenants and Bosses having a higher chance to hit. Tanks could have all mobs having the same flat rate to hit as a minion, irrespective of whether they're boss etc. This would benefit Tanks of all levels and would allow them to have a defence advantage over other AT's even at the cap.

I had a request from Profit who's unable to post atm to add a suggestion he has for Invul, "resist physical dmg needs to be switched with tough hide".

-> TT MA Arc ID 1755 -> Join TankHQ -> Media -> @AceMACE

So I had this idea pop into my head today... would be REALLY interesting.

What if Tankers had inverse fury?

Call it:

ANGER

Power Description: The Tanker LOVES to be the center of attention, when he is not he is mad, so mad that his attacks will hit MUCH harder until he regains that aggro.

The Tanker has a bar that is just like Fury, only its filled up. When its filled up it gives a huge damage boost. NOTE: For this to work the Tanker damage cap would have to be raised an additional 200%.

At full bar, the buff gives 200% more damage.

*HOWEVER* as the Tanker is attacked the bar begins to deplete, very fast the more attacks made against the Tanker. Even if the Tanker is tanking a single opponent the bar will begin decreasing, if the Tanker aggros a group he will only have the damage bonus for the first few attacks and after that the bar will be nearly depleted.

If the Tanker is not being attacked the bar begins to refill at a steady rate.

What does this accomplish?

This gives the Tanker:

• Burst Damage: For initial Attacks the Tanker will deal huge burst damage
  
• Increase Sustained DPS when not being attacked. This allows multiple Tankers that aren't tanking to deal much more damage.
  
• Keep Tanker DPS at the same level when being attacked. Thus, a Tanker even being attacked by one opponent will see the bar begin to deplete.
  
• Increase Threat Generated. If the Tanker wants to grab the attention of an enemy, his attacks will deal tremendous damage and pull threat.
  
• The mechanics will also prevent the Tanker from being some sort of Uber Farmer because once he has aggro the bar depletes.
  

I think something like this has been discussed before. The problems are that first, conceptually, it makes little sense. It would make a Tanker effectively weaker against multiple foes. Or put it this way, the longer a Tanker fights, the weaker he becomes against a single target. Might as call it Winded.

Second, if Taunt is used prior to attacking, the first volley of fire at the high end of the game could practically wipe out the damage output.

It's kind of like penalyzing a Tanker for fulfilling its design purpose.

I remembered another old, old idea I used to like: Charge!

Tankers get a click power called "Charge", which gives a very short period of invincibility and increased movement. It has a very long recharge solo, which shortens based on team size.

I'm actually kind of on the fence about it today. I like to keep the non-attack clicking down to a minimum, so adding another one doesn't sound fun. But I thought I'd throw it out there anyway.

How about a power called, for arguments sake "Resolute"

This has similar mechanics to Fury, but it builds as foes attack the Tank not when the Tank attacks.

As foes attack, the Tanker gains:
A damage buff (obviously not as much as Fury on a Brute)
Each mob attacking has a -to hit applied to it (whether this is solely when attacking the tank or also other team members?)

This would have the benefits of adding a damage boost, both solo and in teams
Increase the survivability of the Tank both solo and in teams
Applying a debuff would increase threat and as such ability to hold aggro.

I haven't seen any train of thought better than this one. (Though I admit skipping most of the details of this thread, and gave up on the "PM tanker changes" one too.)

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but here's a thought that recently struck me. Mind you it's probably too gimmicky, or stepping on other ATs a touch, but here goes. Once again, I don't think it's needed, but I'll throw it out here anyway.

What if tanks had a "Inspiration" bar. Give tanks an subtle AoE team buff that provides a miniscule mez resistance. No Mez protection, just resistance. The more a tank gets attacked and lives the more the mez resistance improves for the team. Nothing over powering. Nothing that steps on defenders or other true buffers. This would also keep it from becoming overpowering on Leagues with multiple tanks. Have it use a mechanic similar to fury, but with a quicker decay. The tank dies, the "inspiration" is gone.

Tanks need to be better at Tanking. By that I mean they should be allowed to agro cap higher. They should have a better chance to grab agro back from Blasters, Brutes, and other agro stealers. Raising the # affected by taunt and the threat modifier would be a good start. Now that you got that agro what do you do with it? Tanks need to be (slightly) more survivable in levels 1-49. They need to have more debuff resistance for their armors. They need to be able to shrug off getting whammied by Super Stunners, Carnies, and those pesky dudes with the Blue rifles in Malta. And other gimmicky mobs. They need to be able to partially resist the "nstant Death" patches being implimented in the Incarnate Trials. And other cant miss/auto hit/ late game incarnate trial meta-game changing mechanics that are becoming "everyday". Well, if game changing "you're dead" is becoming everyday, than Tankers need to be buffed against them, cause the only thing a Tanker has is high survivability and a ton of attitude. Yes, i am saying in 50 to 50+ game Tanks need to be a lot more survivable. A 50 Tank should be able to go into a Lambda and not get walked on like weak uncle Willy. Sure, they may not be able to hit much, or affect much, but they should at least be able to make it to the mission objectives (or down one hall...) without constant faceplanting. They are supposed to be tough, right? And the BAF? Auto hold for grabbing agro, screwing the team? Who designed that? What is Tank supposed to do, not hit or taunt? I guess grab adds. But do not attack the AVs. Hear, sit there and hold a lolli, we'll let you know when we need them moved again. Just stay away from me you ring generating freak.

OK, thank you.

Wow 11 pages of posts.
Mind if I just jump to the end and add in my 5c that may have been raised already?

As a way to make Tanks more resilient remove the ED values for their Primary powers only so Def/Res SO/IO's are more effective.

So instead of the current ED we remove the ED cap.
Current ED Numbers.
Def Enh ED%
+40% 10%
+50% 30%
+60% 85%

Example:
Deflection (Shield Defence)
Base 15% Def.
Slot it with +70% Def. No ED = 25.5%
Current ED = ~23.55 (ish close enough )

This only affects Primary powers, not CJ/Tough/Weave/Maneuvers/etc.
This gives a slight boost to Def/Res making it easier to S/C and get closer to Incarnate S/C.
If this is not enough have this affect all the Tanks +Def/Res powers including Power Pools.

Thanks Ultimus.

The idea (IF it is possible - if not oh well) is that only Defence and Resistance would be exlcuded from ED.

Dont know if this is possible or how much of a pain it would be to do and not break at some point in the future.

On a side note - Arcanaville responding to one of MY posts - ohhhh its almost like a FPARN. How about a ARTMP (Arcanaville Responded To My Post)?

Just wanted to let you all know that I'll be leaving for holiday vacation in about an hour, and probably won't be looking at this thread until next Thursday. At that point, I will go through any posts that appear in the meantime, and add them to the front posts.

Happy Holidays, all!