Back at It

Been away from the game for a few years and returned w/ a new account. (wife has the other ones). I got my SD/SJ tank to 50 soloing almost exclusively. I've seen a lot of builds for SD/everything but SJ and I think I get the basics. I understand positional def vs. typed def and whatnot, but I am getting a bit confused over the Set bonuses from certain IO sets. What I am looking for is some basic direction. Back in the day I had an inv/ss build with a dip into the medicine pool for aid self. With the fitness pool built in and a travel power without having to take a prereq first, it feels like I should have a lot of freedom in my build and I'm sure I do, but I don't want to skip anything that might be common sense nowadays. I'm not sure on what kind of resistance I should have to compliment my defense based set or if I can cap defenses easily or really have crunch things to get capped.

I have heard that I need tough and weave and that putting a Numina's something or other in health frees up a slot. These are the types of tips and tricks I am really looking for. Are there any sets (LotG for example) that are must haves and are any not worth the cost?

A sample build would be great, but I'm mostly looking for some tank wisdom so I can build my own tank.

Thanks,
Tex

PS - what happened to all the BBQ?

Alright, first a few general words of advice and then I'll get down to the sample build.

As a Shield Tanker, the Defense you get from your primary is positional, so you'll want to build on that. You want to get your Melee, Ranged and AOE defense numbers to 45% as this is the softcap in regular (non-Incarnate) content. For reference, the Incarnate softcap is 59%. I wouldn't worry too much about that, since often you'll be teamed for incarnate content and with three allies in range, Phalanx Fighting will elevate you to the Incarnate softcap by itself. That said, if you do plan to main tank often in endgame incarnate trials, it might be worth pursuing incarnate softcap levels of Defense without needing Phalanx Fighting.

You mentioned Tough and Weave - you will want these powers to give you more Resistance and to give you a bit more Defense. You can hit the softcap without any IO Set Bonuses at all if you make use of Combat Jumping, Weave and Maneuvers. Once you've hit softcap, you can focus your remaining slots on your attack chain. Luck of the Gambler +Rechage IOs and the Numina +reg/+rec and Miracle +rec IOs are also good buys. The Numina and Miracle are uniques but the LOTG is not and you can have up to five active in your build. The other IO to consider is the Performance Shifter chance for +End, which works well slotted in Stamina.

It's not easy to get significant levels of Resistance from IO Set bonuses, so once you're happy with your levels of Defense (you may need to get a bit from Sets if you choose not to take Maneuvers - some don't like having to run another toggle, which is fair), focusing on Recharge is likely the best bet. Shield is a rather offensive powerset to start with, having a strong AOE attack and a +Damage power in the set, so leveraging the old axiom "a good offense is the best defense" makes good sense here. If you can afford them, purple damage sets will pack quite a punch and also give good recharge bonuses. The sample build below doesn't use purples, but you could easily fit them in if you were so inclined.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.957
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Sample: Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Shield Defense
Secondary Power Set: Street Justice
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Deflection -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(7), LkGmblr-Def(23), LkGmblr-Rchg+(23), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(25), ImpArm-ResDam(25)
Level 1: Initial Strike -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(9), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(17), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(21), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21)
Level 2: Battle Agility -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(3), LkGmblr-Def(3), LkGmblr-Rchg+(17)
Level 4: True Grit -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(5), ImpArm-ResDam(5), Mrcl-Heal(11), Mrcl-Heal/Rchg(11), Mrcl-Rcvry+(15)
Level 6: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(7)
Level 8: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A), Taunt-I(9)
Level 10: Taunt -- Mocking-Taunt(A), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg(13), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng(15), Mocking-Acc/Rchg(39), Mocking-Taunt/Rng(40), Mocking-Rchg(40)
Level 12: Phalanx Fighting -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(13)
Level 14: Heavy Blow -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(33), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36)
Level 16: Sweeping Cross -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37)
Level 18: Combat Readiness -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(19), GSFC-Build%(19)
Level 20: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(36)
Level 22: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(37)
Level 24: Rib Cracker -- MotTanker-Acc/Dmg(A), MotTanker-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), MotTanker-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46), MotTanker-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(48), MotTanker-Rchg/Res%(48)
Level 26: Shield Charge -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(27), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(27), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29), FotG-ResDeb%(31)
Level 28: Spinning Strike -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(31), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(31), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), Posi-Dam%(48)
Level 30: Boxing -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A)
Level 32: One with the Shield -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(39)
Level 35: Shin Breaker -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(43), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 38: Crushing Uppercut -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(40), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(43), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 41: Tough -- TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(42), TtmC'tng-ResDam(42), TtmC'tng-EndRdx(42)
Level 44: Weave -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(45), LkGmblr-Def(45), LkGmblr-Rchg+(45)
Level 47: Grant Cover -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A)
Level 49: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(50)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
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)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), P'Shift-EndMod(37), P'Shift-End%(39)
Level 1: Combo Level 1
Level 1: Combo Level 2
Level 1: Combo Level 3
------------

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@LSK

My recollection re: the luck of the gambler global recharge bonus is that it is named differently from other 7.5% set bonuses, meaning it appears to be an exception to the rule of five. So, you can have 5 LotG global recharge enhancements in addition to an extra five sets that grant 7.5% global recharge.


http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Rule_o...e_Law_of_Fives

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville ...[I]t would be more proper to say this game is slooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowly dying.

Thanks a ton for the advice and builds. I haven't yet looked at what the mocking set it, but slotting taunt is going to be hard on my soul. Is gauntlet just that broken or was there a nerf to taunt auras or something?

It's gonna take a few weeks to gather the amount of influence I need, but I did pick up a lot of LOTG stuff this morning. I can buy some of this stuff from the market too.

I do suffer from a complete fear of toggle dropping. Is there no need for physical perfection and conserve power? Endurance was a big concern while levelling, but that was mostly solo which, of course, uses a lot more.

Again, thanks a bunch for the advice, this is exactly what I was looking for. Also if taunt is common sense (which is still freaking me out) what do trolls do for fun in the tank forums nowadays?

To nyght i did not know that I was under the imprecation that it also included IOs like that. Thanks for the info. To the OP why would taunt be hard to slot? As for the energy pool i might have good recovery but there has been lot of times I had to click my conserve power on my SD. One other way is to take card as your alpha which will help with lowering your end usage. But also I think that SJ is a lower end build then BA is, I could be wrong though.

Since Justaris didn't mention it, I'll note that the quick 'n easy attack chain is Shin Breaker -> Rib Cracker -> Heavy Blow -> Sweeping Cross / Crushing Uppercut or Spinning Strike. You only need 130% recharge, you can get that easy with 5 LoTGs and 5 or 6 ATOs in Crushing Uppercut.

On the other hand, my StJ/SD plan has close to 160% global recharge and can fire Spinning Strike every four seconds. So you still have something to aim for.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Texan Thanks a ton for the advice and builds. I haven't yet looked at what the mocking set it, but slotting taunt is going to be hard on my soul. Is gauntlet just that broken or was there a nerf to taunt auras or something?

Gauntlet messes with the streak breaker, but other than that nothing's broken. Taunt is just a nice tool to pull targets out of smashing range into smashing range, or for that immediate moment of 'hey you hosers look over this way'. I pick it up on all my tanks and brutes.

Quote:

I do suffer from a complete fear of toggle dropping. Is there no need for physical perfection and conserve power? Endurance was a big concern while levelling, but that was mostly solo which, of course, uses a lot more.

Speaking as someone with a StJ/SD scrap, put the Miracle proc in Health, the Numina's proc in True Grit, a Performance Shifter proc with two dark blues in Stamina, and another PP proc in Physical Perfection and 90% of the time you're solo you'll be golden. For everything else, there's Conserve Power and blue skittles.

Quote:

Again, thanks a bunch for the advice, this is exactly what I was looking for. Also if taunt is common sense (which is still freaking me out) what do trolls do for fun in the tank forums nowadays?

Just stick around for a while, you'll find out!