Spaghetti Betty

Thanks for typing all of this out! I didn't feel like doing it. Also, EM still pulls ahead in lategame ST damage even after all the overpowered nonsense that is an IO'd /SS Tank. Good points, but I still stand by Hurl being not great. An SS will already have to take Jab/Punch which can mule ATOs. All of the other slottings you suggested can replicated on much more powerful Epic blasts, which any /SS Tanker worth their salt should be dipping into regardless. Lol. This is not a false statement! You and I both know Rad/ doesn't need DEF, but some inexperienced players may see not being able to build it as a detriment. That would attribute to Rad/EM being a subjectively smoother ride.

There are some options available like this depending on the AT of your toon. If there's an Epic pool with a weapon option, you can spec into it, respec out, and keep the cosmetic weapon forever!

Both will be very strong combinations into the high levels, but they each have their own quirks that lend themselves into vastly different playstyles. Rad/SS is more inclined to an all-round offensive approach. While getting off to a very slow start, what makes SS a strong choice is actually dipping into other pools for offensive options, as Rage's massive +DMG and +Tohit bolsters them to levels higher than a majority of SS's actual attacks (Jab, Punch, and to a lesser extent Haymaker all have lower base dmg to account for Rage and Hurl is just not great). Rage's crash makes it difficult to build defensively, and you'll have to eye your blue bar, but Rad Armor is self-sustainable enough to keep you pretty safe at all levels of content while having a damage potential that would make some Scrappers jealous. As a Rad/EM progresses, it'll definitely have a smoother experience than a Rad/SS. No defense crash to worry about. Doesn't really require any tricks to build effectively. EM will also end up having superior single target damage compared to SS, and doesn't need to dip into other pools to achieve that. It'll have less AoE punch (YMMV, some players swear by Power Crash), but the trade in ST damage is worth it. If you want a Tank you can build defensively without sacrificing a lot of damage, this is probably the way to go.

"Lazy toons" for me will always be Tankers. It could just be because that's where I feel most at home, but it's nice being able to focus on the flow of combat without having to eye my HP constantly.

The Hellgiver, Fiery Aura/Super Strength Tanker

Firecracker Takoyaki, Fiery Aura/Dark Melee Tanker She's a spicy octopus girl!

I've recently been playing a Rad/Earth/Levi Blapper that decimates anything put in front of it. And it gets decimated just as quickly, too!

Tankers!

Hooray for personal problems!

Cross Punch is absolutely a fantastic choice, and it's not for AoE. Cross Punch is fantastic for the slotting opportunities you get from it! One of my big gripes about Dark Melee is how vital it is to get Soul Drain perma, but how difficult it can be to do so without big trades in other areas of the build. Cross Punch can be proc'd out the wazoo with a bunch of helpful stuff like an FF Proc and a Chance for -Res and can put out damage comparable to Smite. This makes it a great addition to your rotation if you can fit it in. Also, Shadow Maul is a great power! I don't understand the hate for it.

I don't particularly care for it, no. There are very few instances in the game where there's such a massive amount of incoming psi damage that not building protection towards it is a detriment, and even those instances come at a point where tactics, Incarnates, etc. can be used to overcome rather than trading slots for more built-in protection.

Exposed! You can start an Advanced Difficulty Aeon SF or ITF in the Task Force Settings window. Running a Relentless Aeon SF + the additional Vanguard Fight will net 30 PAPs. Running an Invincible ITF gives you 20. Instead of suckering noobs into sacrificing themselves in pvp, I think it's much more fun suckering noobs into dying 300 times in a 2 hour raid! Daj Bože!

If the concern is gaining prisms, then all the best players know the most efficient way is Advanced Difficulty TFs, so lead some of those, since you're clearly one of the best!

I think they're great! As much as they are "the same" gameplay wise, they do have their own large impacts on the story whenever they're implemented at a key level. One of my favorite aspects in the lore was how their conflict was basically a hand-wave at first, but then culminated into a large scale invasion by the 5th that transcended time (and dimensions, too!). The one constant in all of this is that Requiem always wins. While the Council have taken a backseat to that (losing the battle of time itself and most of your lieutenants to your greatest rival tends to do that), I'm sure there's plenty of lore reasons to plan a resurgence of some sort with them. I do hope to see them bolstered in some way in the upper levels. Anyone who has solo'd a squishy through the early levels can tell you that they do tend to shred anything without sufficient protection. I remember when Galaxies were added to Council. They did a pretty good job of bringing the pain, but that was before IOs and the ability to slot your own Slow RES. IMO, Council/5th are the perfect candidates to gain Leadership buffs. They are rank and file soldiers that should have some degree of formation training. Makes sense to me. My favorite Council/5th storylines are of course Striga, Kahn TF, ITF, and a special mention goes out to the bonus 5th Column boss fight in the Aeon SF!

I still love doing sewer runs! An alternative lvling path for my alts is to get to lvl 3 and go solo sewer diving. Having an SG teleporter is really handy because I can go train there after dinging a couple of times. For a real fun romp, head into the Abandoned Sewers around level 32 and wander around there for a bit. You can also find named Vahzilok spawns down there that scale to any lvl and count towards a badge!

From what I understand he has his toon parked there handing SG invites to people that pass through Ouro. I can't confirm it myself, I have my own SG for my alts.

I love speedrunning! It coincides with my favorite way to play the game - absolute chaos. Now, I wouldn't consider myself a die-hard speedrunner that's always looking for the next best time, but flexing the skills is a nice source of dopamine. Some of times I'm the proudest of are: Classic ITF - 11:xx (I forgot how many seconds) 4* ITF - 36:xx Synapse - 40ish minutes (that was a while ago) 4* ASF (Vanguard fight included) - 50ish minutes (I was drunk that night so don't remember exact time) Tinpex - 21 minutes and some change combined As a side note, I've gotten the KM ITF run down (yes, a KM, no mob skipping) to 31 minutes before. It's easy to keep times low if you're in the tanking seat!

My Elec/Elec Tank has it slotted with a kb -> kd and an FF proc. It does a great job keeping mobs stunned/knocked and supercharges my recharge. Obviously that has diminishing returns vs a solo mob, but pretty good for a 2 slot investment.

It's very slow with not great return. Also, since it's both a single target attack and an aoe in one, its math gets pretty weird. Not very worth it. I agree with a lot of this! I wouldn't have considered it if Elec wasn't the primary in question. The alternative is to take Jacobs Ladder, which in itself isn't a very great power. Sure Ladder can help build Assassin's Focus, but proc'd Cross Punch still has better DPA and contributes way more to the build overall in the form of proc opportunities and its own inherent bonuses. Unrelated, but if you want an AoE-focused stalker with a bunch of convenient powers, might I suggest Staff Fighting?

Sure, but I'd ask to give slotted Cross Punch at least a small test. I only ever slot Boxing/Kick to mule set bonuses, but Cross Punch is a diamond.

A quick and dirty and it doesn't look that bad to me! Redacted - Stalker (Electrical Melee - Radiation Armor).mbd Now, granted, I'm one to throw caution to the wind and dish out as much damage in the smallest amount of time I can. It's much more fun killing things, and dead things can't hit you, and things die when you kill them! We get Incarnate clickies for the surviving part. I'd rather have 3 nukes!

Radiation Armor. Become the AoE Stalker with 2 more nukes.

Well if you would've asked I could have given you the ~200 that were clogging up my storage space!

The "panda hate" thing was simply started by 1 guy that wanted to start a class war between the various panda toons and the sudden explosion of penguin toons on Excelsior. I wouldn't consider that real racism, even if that 1 guy is incredibly persistent in trying to make it a thing.