PLVRIZR

Rage does not stack, with my build, but the downtime is only as long as the 10 sec. delay in damage, so it works out well. Only one. I have Hasten on auto-activation. Not a very "clicky" combo, so having to watch for Rage is no big deal. I don't ever need Dull Pain, unless it's to cover blue patches or the other rare unresistable damages. Slow to solo farm, but is a boon to any farm for the herding ability. I have two accounts and put NUT on follow, with Footstomp on auto, and dual box with my Spines/Fire Brute. Drops a +4/8 Big Mobs Tunnel fire farm by about 3-5 min. vs solo with the broot. Yeah, 8-900 million build, but well worth it.

It's called a "Controller" for a reason? 😁 Per the previous comments, you can proc out the holds, that have damage attributes. My only "real" controller is a remake from Live. Ice/Emp. Pre Jack Frost (or ex-ed down), the damage is pathetic, but I didn't create him to solo...as was the philosophy of pre I-whatever Live...the best strategy was a balanced/mixed team. He rocked the house, being able to buff the melee toons with Fort, unlock anyone with Clear Mind, buff the entire team with regen and end and lock down the bosses with ST Ice Block (along with a giant ice patch to create a flopping fish mayhem for all the baddies). There are some days that I miss those days....

I, for one, can certainly attest to that.

@JRanger?

And that's why I usually fall back (exemp down) on tanks. Just be the aggro magnet and the whole team benefits. 😁

Gotta go with the classic Inv/SS, but there are many other combos that are just as tanky. Almost any Inv combo, Stone combo and Shield combo can be made virtually indestructible, in the absence of unresistable damage (like the blue patches in TinPex). Key is to have plenty of DDR, for any defense-based build. Props to @Infinitum and @Hyperstrike for the template that I used for NUTCRCKR, and I run him, when the team needs a "max" tank. He is also built to support the SG in fire farming...so there's that. Other than not paying attention, during the last TinPex for Tanker Tuesday, I cannot remember the last time he was defeated. Tanks +4/8 ITFs, without breaking a sweat. Even without incarnates (but with Invincibility saturated w/ 10 targets), the defense numbers are just silly: With Resilient and Melee (T4) incarnates: https://www.midsreborn.com/builds/download.php?uc=1621&c=775&a=1550&f=HEX&dc=78DA6594594F135114C7EFB453A0A59596525A2814284B5BA0430730714D4C400C4B0D01F4B5293A94894D69DA4224519FC4E54D51C367F02B28FA845FC08D45BF028B0A824FF530FF3BE9904ED2FEE6FCEF99B3DD3B13BF3F6C9F9B1BB9C604FB503A99CF276692997B4AAE2ABE584816D4850CA3CB71F3D6CCD0D4D0F85462E9BC14AB242500AFC4B032A764F28A349A595A4C67945C72564DAB85653F5F8E2B694591A617B3743F5DC8299954619ED9271716D2D28492CCAA9994433346D4D47C812C9B664D6715E5AE4BBBA5B86A5E4550D7F5AC7A479A5CCE298978325F5072CB3EAA44A2DF672BFD09A795B2A28945E82E24329397D82C32B1DFCC982CB25E1BD3AFA2853D1735D1F90C0C3C053B9E80DD2B9C8FC12F9441E01944E1C88C0C7F41F118AC3801EDFFC0AFF49099673499C7052D52D504D81407BF9193458F6C1984583100DAFAC15E993306BE8F3056C91F32571EA1C1AA63D07602DA0FC13E6ADCCACB60D6BC4913BDB48BD55C14AA7F420CF8F1C426B93BF4F08E00E679AE85330846DB4089C2D7E873ADF98108CE1DB07E1BF46D81D14D5ED377708B32B9046DEF8AA2EB0FC4DA11CCAF760C6C1B053BDEA24C9932BAF58CEE37D8A1BAD79CAFC0FA55D0F792EFEC0BAE53E31EBD37CF3832368E826D6360FB0DD044CE5EEECCBC2B48BF4D3537E83BD6F01BB535FE029B0E78CDFB60DF1ED84F35FB79A3CCDF43708BCC4CE19B7924A1999FDB4008DCA1342DBC4BB1852FB6767272A7D60EB02F0C8A1431A87717F4E0B4B43B39EBC0901B1CA49A3AB9B3A5F32ABAEBBAC079118C5CE2BC0C765F01839429ACD71E3E6D48AE62118D221BA0C83DFAC9EF7940F0D1E17D08461F81A74742D28FA0B481ED913F818776C6627A84D8BA499B97FC81F32318114BEF7DB1492CBDDF345614327146AC40E993A2FE1489821F9EBBB6D21BCE8428C4BD336218E2BE413409B731CBAE316C40681727E7C0E024086B481C5AE5333C5355912E162B97E47269A05C1A2C97ACCED277A798A24F85ACCFC8EE25435F59771B8C5A8FC16DCDB8F22E6830923683316B3436BA4B1F94E27FC487F29D

Which is why @Sovera's Fire/MA "Brunker" tank is so effective. I agree that paired with Shield, the MA benefits are largely wasted.

I'm 57 and bought CoH retail in 2004. At the time, I ran the game on an Intel Pentium3 800Mhz (EB designated Coppermine at a whopping 133 FSB) with RAM measured in MB...128 IIRC and a 32MB videocard. After a few months and new content/issue releases, it became a slideshow, with full teams on TFs. That drove me to build my first self-assembled system, an Intel P4 3.2 Ghz Northwood (OC'd to 4.1 Ghz. The Prescott version could OC a bit faster, but ran much hotter), with a "real" videocard (AMD X1950 256MB). Both of those had floppy drives and I bet the Pentium 4 could run two instances of Homecoming, today. 🙂

Here's my SD/WM tank. Just swap the powersets? https://www.midsreborn.com/builds/download.php?uc=1578&c=725&a=1450&f=HEX&dc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

Here is the actual Farmer's Wife thread with tips/tricks:

Look at "Cheap Farmer's Wife", in this thread:

Thanks to Pep Rally for leading the ITF. Eight tanks, 55 min. @ +3. Much fun and many levels were had. Welcome to the new crew! Also got to team with @SeraphimKensai, for the first time... 😁

I'll be on as MISSADVENTUR, and can form an ITF (WST) team, for anyone interested.

I took it (also decades ago) and passed! If memory serves, it's the Binomial Theorum of Probability. I would think that because the denominator would be 59, it would be 99.9%-ish.

Nope, add me to that list, but I have one column with a rez, breakfree and the two most other emergency needs, for that particular arch/toon.

Very worth it. Here's mine: https://www.midsreborn.com/builds/download.php?uc=1587&c=736&a=1472&f=HEX&dc=78DA65945B53525114C7F78183A24262A860880AE2055482EC03D40878C59C747A2582AD323A48804DBE6797D71EEAB5C7A6971EEB03F419BA7E02F3D64C65DA54A7E5F9AF3DE27066E0C7FAEFBDCEFAAFB539277D3FE1585E4E5D139A63623D5BA96496B2C53559B6A737ABD96A61A328E8BA309F9CB87963E9FAFC6CE6DE7834D648921FDB3209B92C8B15195D5C2DC8F5BC0A3DBC9A96EB524613D9F21A7E0AC7C2C6C67A744E664B85E28AD30C528595D52A45CD66B45892328F85B4CC177285A274274B855C345994E595AD4C3A5BA9CAF296972C8CD227E1A42FEDD4A3306CE2875588B82E2C47A0FE1374FC025DC7C4215DB4873593474D426553F213DDDCD4F018743D023B1F32B7C1BE0760922A6BAAB296E2CA33A07D12BC300B5E9C02DBA7C114255B55B2956D37B05D3BDB6F3E61B27DC731E8A1F9DB049285CD07718AEED8A899CD18A231204C7192C4262E239A46209E50D72D706E88968AC5148F4974AA5138BFB0FBCF60F81318F9088E7D60BE07A7A94C2BD7B6B54E62C8AAE51E6EB98747134A617DB443C3C8A89B36E5B16D1B767E931D37B7A8B9779119D803AD94D1A186D7C1C3F3F2F0BC3CA43E1E5AC04B3BFD54CE03EA94EC51C91E3EB67EF61AE2638BB0E7087B1EFB0ECE52A35D6C4BEFDAC43C2F559865B0FB2EB30AFEA15E7C9A86E9F80E2CA68DFE7DB06F0FECD90587BE82F11DB093ECFAD9AEC5CF23EB7783211718A44DBD6A84BD7CCC7FA96C50F0A1044B1007D9DB207B1D64EF43DC4B983DFFA3E4016ED4362079531EBC9C63DE6166C1F86D708EA634AC0E6FF80A46178FE1D85F104694D7919738EE5794115562F4100FD80C8931F5378F71EB61FDEC7937BA75A12EE334360C31774E6AC0ED17749543A2E683CBFDE6B3E7576863100FCE89C3100F4D11CF86459BC1BB43BFC586F6D1DFB7739B9EA370E02938FA0C8CD41B8ED54BF17A69BC5EBA5A2F35B9E8ADC29261F7504915E4C214A8B1BD75D7043BA19AE075EDCA9B60CD0DDE45CEDE39C67FC702F520 Stats, not including procs or incarnates:

I picked War Mace for my Shield tanker, and it is a very enjoyable combo. I think the greatest benefit of MA is the +Def, which is completely wasted on a properly built SD tank. I have non-SD tanks with DM and Rad, and both are also good. DM is a bit slow, with really only one true AOE (but unkillable paired with Inv) and Rad is (IMHO) clunky, albeit effective. Best of luck, with whichever you choose!

Staff Fighting

Yes, grand fun, as usual (even in the grind of Synapse). We would have made the 90-minute time limit, if the first mish wasn't at +4, LOL. At that, we only missed it by seven seconds. We finished the rest of TF at +2 and, for the most part, did just fine (1:30.07). Babbage took longer than the CK, but wasn't too terrible, considering it was only 8 tanks pounding on him. 😁 I think that's the first time I've had *any* toon (ever, Live or HC) earn the Knight Errant badge, by preventing Paladin from being created. Pretty cool. My overall impression of last night is: "Torch needs more tanks"!!! Thanks again for organizing @Warboss. See you next week on Everlasting.

We are glad to have you back, Brother!

We had a healthy discussion, here: AVALNCH is what I wound up with (Ice/Stone Melee), and he's pretty unkillable and just silly with SGF absorb, MoT stacks and incarnates. Current build: https://www.midsreborn.com/builds/download.php?uc=1396&c=686&a=1372&f=HEX&dc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

Awhile back, I joined an ITF (running my Fire/Thermal Corr.), which was led by an Inv. Sentinel. He didn't seem to really need much (if any) support to face/tank it. I don't even remember what his secondary and epic were. Per your criteria, I would think that's what we're talking about, rather than holding and whittling. I also think a +4/8 ITF is a good benchmark for tanking. Massive defense debuffs, lots of different damage types, tons of EBs and AVs.

This is how I built my homage to Swamp ThingTM. I'm sure there are "sturdier" builds out there, but I had theme-based choices (like a host of chance for self heals) and rely on the absorption shields and AOE heals. He's a "busy" play (lots of clicks), and Rad Melee can seem slow, but he's really hard to kill and a lot of fun. Hope this helps: https://www.midsreborn.com/builds/download.php?uc=1475&c=714&a=1428&f=HEX&dc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

Here's my titular toon (thanks to @Hyperstrike, for much of the non-Granite build). I kept Granite as an emergency button, but rarely need it. It's SS, rather than Ice Melee, but you can plug and play the sets. He's a little end hungry, but only when ex'd down, as Ageless fixes that issue. https://www.midsreborn.com/builds/download.php?uc=1544&c=729&a=1458&f=HEX&dc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

Seven tanks finished both Tin Mage and Apex, in less than an hour...great fun! Also want to welcome the newcomers. Solid tanking, for sure.