Dark Dove

Jokes are funny and cute, but one person's idea of what makes a Tanker a Tanker does not invalidate another. I agree with your version, and also, Tankers use stealth, the same way other AT's do, and have been for a long time. There's no reason both can't coexist.

Cloak of Darkness is an integral part of Dark Armor's defensive suite. Tankers definitely sneak around, and have been for a very long time. I think it is also an identifying power of the set, just like Energy Cloak is for Energy Aura.

Numbers look nice but in practice most power sets function so similarly in actual gameplay that you'll come to find out it doesn't really matter much. Even considering your fine print text, you usually can't achieve numbers that actually matter more without expensive IO set builds like defense softcaps and resist caps, and debuffs in today's version of teaming are great but nearly as expendable as healing; damage and defense softcaps are all that matter anymore in real gameplay, barring certain outlier situations. Everything else is gravy, you can embrace the gravy and play a corruptor, it isn't a bad thing. Pick some powersets that are particularly useful on a corruptor or at least don't lose anything big by going corruptor (energy blast loses nothing except inflated knockback, for example, making it a great set for corruptors, and Ice/Cold and Water/Cold function very well for corruptors, there are a lot of examples that work well) and give it a shot. It's just as fun as a defender, stop procrastinating, you got infinite character slots, go, hunt, kill skuls!

If your positional defenses are at softcap (45%) and your smashing/lethal resists are reasonably high (75-80%+) and you have enough recharge in the build to power your essentials, you should pick Musculature in most cases, and if you are having endurance problems I might opt for the endurance modification path within musculature instead of core. Ageless Destiny can completely fix all endurance issues as well, for incarnates, so the need to devote an alpha slot to Cardiac for endurance reasons is fairly low. If you aren't at softcap defenses or need more resists, then it is a good time to consider something like Cardiac or Agility(for defense). These become less useful once your IO set build is strong enough to not need those benefits, and Musculature is usually the path to strive for efficiency. Generally with Alpha slots and incarnates in general you just need to assess your build's weaknesses and plug any holes that incarnates can cover. I usually preach Musculature (sometimes Intuition depending on AT) because Damage is the luxury state of build; if you're doing great in all other areas and you can afford to use your alpha on Musculature, you're doing something right.

Ice is about as safe as you want it to be. Freeze Ray (level 8 ) and/or Bitter Freeze Ray (26) will take any dangerous enemies out of the fight. You can slot two heal enhancements and two endurance enhancements in frigid protection early for some survivability and end management, and it also slows enemies and reduces damage. Ice patch at 20 makes enemies bounce and do nothing. I don't think you'll need much more than that, slot things for damage, accuracy recharge and endurance, you'll be fine, it's a strong, safe solo build. You can get knockback protection from base empowerment buffs for a couple cheap salvage, and at level 1 you can buy the amplifier buffs from the P2W vendor for something like 2000 inf per hour up to 8 hours that will give you mez protection and some other nice bonuses if you want to really maximize your early game.

If you're torn between Tanker and Brute to the point of choice paralysis, I suggest you roll one of each and play them to the mid-30's to find out which you like better. Personally I'm disenchanted with Brutes since the tanker AoE buffs. Brutes used to be the go-to for me all the way, but the damage vs survivability gap has shifted, and since so much of the game is based around AoE damage now in fast moving teams, Tanker's huge AoE potential and high defensive potential just suit me better. If I was going to solo a lot, I'd pick a Brute, they are I think unarguably better at solo content. Both when built correctly will work great in any situation though. There really aren't any powers that are so bad they are unplayable, and there are few instances where something is just so much better on one AT over another that you shouldn't ever play the inferior one (even the best examples, like Elec/Shield stalkers, still play AMAZINGLY well on Tankers, Brutes and Scrappers.) Here's an easy way to look at it though. If you're picking an attack set that has smaller AoE's that are included in the tanker AoE buff, you're probably going to get a much higher AoE efficiency out of a tanker with that set. If you're picking an attack set without that, or that has AoE's that aren't all included in the tanker AoE buff (Super Strength, Mace, etc), then you may get a higher performance out of something like a Brute or Scrapper/Stalker since the AoE's will generally function very similar on either side but the benefits of AT choice will be weighted to the higher damage AT. Let me suggest Dark Armor / Energy Melee (self main shameless insert). Very high single target output for a tank, strong AoE output for a tank, heavy control with Oppressive Gloom and Whirling Hands/Crash stacking disorients, great aggro control with double AoE toggles that taunt, high survivability with Dark Regen up every less than ten seconds, oppressive disorients and big resists/defense. Damage and survivability with very good aggro control pretty much covers helpful and hold your own. Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.7.2.10 https://github.com/Crytilis/mids-reborn-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Mutation Tanker Primary Power Set: Dark Armor Secondary Power Set: Energy Melee Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Flight Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Death Shroud -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(3), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(3), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5) Level 1: Barrage -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(7), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(7), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9) Level 2: Dark Embrace -- GldArm-ResDam(A), GldArm-End/Res(9), GldArm-RechRes(11), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(11), StdPrt-ResKB(13) Level 4: Bone Smasher -- SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(17), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(19), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(21) Level 6: Obsidian Shield -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), GldArm-ResDam(23), GldArm-End/Res(23) Level 8: Dark Regeneration -- Acc-I(A), ThfofEss-+End%(25), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(25), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(27) Level 10: Murky Cloud -- UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(27), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(29), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(29) Level 12: Cloak of Darkness -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Ksm-ToHit+(31), Rct-ResDam%(31), ShlWal-Def(31), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(33), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(33) Level 14: Energy Punch -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(33), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(34), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34) Level 16: Whirling Hands -- Arm-Dmg/Rchg(A), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Arm-Acc/Rchg(36), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Arm-Dam%(36), FuroftheG-ResDeb%(37) Level 18: Taunt -- MckBrt-Taunt/Rchg/Rng(A) Level 20: Total Focus -- SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg(A), SprMghoft-Dmg/Rchg(21), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), SprMghoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), SprMghoft-Rchg/Res%(39) Level 22: Kick -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A) Level 24: Tough -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(39), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(40), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(40) Level 26: Oppressive Gloom -- HO:Endo(A) Level 28: Build Up -- GssSynFr--Build%(A) Level 30: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(40), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(42) Level 32: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(42) Level 35: Power Crash -- SprGntFis-Rchg/+Absorb(A), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42), SprGntFis-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(50), SprGntFis-Dmg/Rchg(50) Level 38: Energy Transfer -- Hct-Dam%(A), Hct-Dmg(43), Hct-Dmg/Rchg(43), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), Hct-Acc/Rchg(45) Level 41: Gloom -- Apc-Dam%(A), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(45), Apc-Dmg/Rchg(45), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46), Apc-Acc/Rchg(46) Level 44: Dark Obliteration -- Rgn-Dmg(A), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(46), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(48), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(48) Level 47: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 49: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 2: Swift -- HO:Micro(A) Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(13), Mrc-Rcvry+(15) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(15), EndMod-I(17) Level 1: Energy Focus Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon Level 50: Ageless Radial Epiphany Level 50: Void Radial Final Judgement Level 50: Assault Radial Embodiment Level 50: Degenerative Core Flawless Interface ------------

You'll have to refer to my reply on your Tanker thread. I think my judgment was that they're both good, on a Tank, but I would probably pick dark due to biased personal preference even if shield is more optimal. If you're looking for PvP-centered advice though I'm not the one to ask, I only know the PvE side of things well. Stalkers might be better overall for PvP, regardless of sets. I just don't know.

The tanker version of Savage benefits greatly from the Tanker AoE buff. Even the cone (Shred w/resist debuff proc) is worth taking on a tanker, and you don't even need to bother building all of your stacks of blood frenzy to get a good size AoE out of Rending Flurry, it's already big enough to do work (and obscenely huge with full stacks). Tanker Savage is pretty fun. Stalkers are great too though...

Dark Armor on a stalker isn't as optimal as shield defense. Dark is a resist set and doesn't translate well from the scrapper/tanker version, and Stalkers tend to thrive on defense based or layered defense/resist sets like Energy, Shield, Invuln. That doesn't mean Dark would be bad, you could still build it right, but you're losing some defense from the loss of Cloak of Darkness into Shadow Dweller, and you're losing the damage aura; it's just not as good on stalkers as other AT's that get it. Shield however loses a far less important power for hide, and can still be built almost equally as tough as a scrapper version. Shield is great on stalkers.

Stalkers lose one power in their secondary, replaced with Hide (which, in turn, offers some small defense value, so you lose a little less in the trade), compared to a scrapper. They have slightly lower hit point cap. Otherwise they are identical to Scrappers defensively. You need to pay attention to the secondary though, because some secondaries lose a more important power for hide than others. Some sets are built differently as well, like Invuln powers that have different effects compared to the scrapper version. All in all, the difference is slight when considering a fully built character.

Both are very good sets. Shield is maybe the optimal choice (Shield is great in endgame) but dark will work very well. Dark can cap most resists without much effort and also reach softcap defense due to cloak of darkness. Dark does not have any defense debuff resistance which means it will have a harder time against cascading defense failures. Dark has some control in Oppressive Gloom and Cloak of Fear, which can mitigate more. It has a skipworthy tier 9 power with the self rez (you can just buy a self rez from the P2W vendor and save a power pick). Dark Regen is amazing as a heal when slotted properly, and shield does not get a good heal in set, which is a big advantage for Dark. Shield will give you higher overall damage with AAO, will also give you a strong additional teleport AoE with shield charge, and it has good defense debuff resistance and can easily cap positional defenses and reach very high resist numbers (not as high as dark but good numbers either way). With a full IO build it will probably hold up under more stress than Dark Armor will and more easily just because of the in-built defense debuff resist. They're both a little shaky leveling up, but I think Dark is smoother to level up with, Shield feels very subpar before a full IO build, while Dark can rely on Dark Regen and control toggles to mitigate before IO's are heavily slotted. Pick the thematic choice or the visual choice you like best. Both will serve you well and play great. If I were going to pick it would probably be Dark... of course.

Okay. Knowing these numbers doesn't benefit the HC team or the playerbase in any significant way and not knowing the numbers doesn't damage anyone or anything. This seems more like a request than a suggestion or feedback. I have some particularly good names, high value names. I don't have a high volume of names but I do have a high quality of names that would be in demand regardless of the playerbase. This feels like a personal attack though, so I'll leave your thread to the HC team as you want, good luck to you.

Fair enough. Maybe they're like me with my characters names, and just ignore repeated requests. Or has everyone from HC gone inactive, since they aren't responding to your questions? I think we need some numbers about how many of the HC team are active or inactive anymore so we can make an educated guess on whether they're ignoring you or have just gone away altogether. I'm joking, and I don't mean anything by it, but do you see what I mean?

What would your educated guess be if you were given the numbers 3,000 , 10,000 , 5,000 ? I've been approached so many times for names that I have that I ignore any request now and just delete emails from people, but I don't see how these numbers can be used to determine if I'm an active player or someone who might be gone altogether, for those who contact me.

If you're given the numbers you seek, what equation will you use to determine if you are being ignored or if the users are gone altogether to satisfy the purpose of your request? Say you've emailed three people in game about names, and they tell you 3,000 , 10,000 , 5,000 , with those numbers how many of the people you've requested names from are legitimately ignoring your requests and how many are just gone altogether?

No, you cannot get them back but you can recreate them here. Welcome home. This is a clean slate, come play, have fun, it's still a great game.

Defender every time. With a different blast set I might choose corruptor but Sonic makes more sense on a defender. I don't even think the choice is close, Dark Miasma is always going to function better on a Defender and sonic is a weak damage set that relies on the secondary effect, which is better on defenders. Corruptor brings almost nothing to the table to make up for the lower debuff, I guess you could say they get their blasts earlier leveling up which is nice? Unless you're tied to corruptor for a conceptual reason, which is a fine reason to pick corruptor, the more efficient choice is pretty clear. Also, just try both.

Working as intended, they are meant to be slotted universally in travel pool powers, not inherent pool powers. The "universal" designation is a little superfluous semantically.

It's not official. Come play. Nothing to lose. It's still a great game.

Radiation Armor has the most useful tools for early game. Put your P2W damage procs in Radiation Therapy and watch things go kaboom, and you get endurance at level 2 with Gamma Boost, and you get recharge boost and defdebuff from Beta Decay. Rad is also very good against tox damage which is what makes Vahz so scary at lower levels. I dunno but to me all that sounds like the winner for my playstyle at least. (Adding Shadow Maul, Siphon Life, Particle Shielding and then finally Touch of Fear by 20 will give you one very decent low level AoE tank by the way, for going past 12 and up to 20).

Invuln wins, unless you're willing to stomach Stone's drawbacks which most people aren't, but if you are then Stone wins. Bio and Rad bring a lot of other stuff to the table, and there's something to be said about a lot of the sets out there after IO's (DARK!), but if you just want something that survives, I think Invuln or Stone is the option to take. Pair with high AoE damage or AoE control/knockdown and you have something pretty great for tanky goodness.