Luigrein

With the caveat that my FF experience especially is pretty rusty: I had a Grav/FF on live and I've run a Time/DP on homecoming (funnily enough, same character RP wise, but I decided to mix up the powersets on any rerolls from live.) Time does feel like a more well rounded set, but the mez protection is a really attractive feature on FF. FF also asks for a lot less commitment than time, both in slots and in business while playing. My time theoretically has perma mez protection from incarnate abilities, but she also has 4-5 abilities she would really like to have on autocast. Sometimes my reminder to refresh my mez protection buff is getting mezzed. FF by contrast, is bubble the team every couple minutes and toggle on dispersion. Done. So I guess what I'm saying is: If you want to emphasize your buff/debuff abilities time is probably a better choice, if you want to emphasize your control abilities I'd go FF.

For what it's worth, I had an ice/db back on live that I liked, so the pairing certainly works. I think end game wise I pretty much cycled the vital and sweep combo, used more of them while leveling. Aggro control was phenomenal. You can still have aggro through a hibernate recovery in emergencies, just saying.

I admittedly am going off ancient memory here but I was under the impression power strength differences generally come from AT modifiers rather than baked in differences*. The controller version having better mez protection somewhat tracks there, they have better mez modifiers than defenders**, but I would expect corruptors to be closer to defenders on that front? I don't know the mods off hand but they were generally losely tiered into things your primary is known for>things your secondary is known for>other things. *powers that summon psuedopets were a somewhat recurring issue that necessitated baked in differences for them. **which I definitely remember being a topic of discussion once upon a time, some defender primaries have powers that are primarily control effects, which were numerically stronger when used on controllers despite it being their secondary set.

Seconding dark for team defense. In addition to the tohit debuffs you can immobilize enemies and stun the minions. It's no full on control set but taking even just the minions out of action is some decent damage prevention.

I'm sure I had more tanks back on live but my Stone/stone/energy (rolled pre ED, once solod the end of a Hess TF) and my Ice/DB/Ice (aoe aggro machine with a yo yo blue bar, skipped stamina when you had to pick it) are the ones I remember. My Bio/Psy/earth on homecoming has been pretty fun too, got a dark/staff waiting in the wings for when I someday get back to playing enough to finish my get 1 of each AT to 50 goal.

Super informsl guide, I've taken a dark/regen sentinel to 50 but it was a pretty casual run and I haven't been really trying to number crunch him. Slotting suggestions will be for the most part generic SO/IO slotting. Fast healing: Passive so kind of hard to gauge it's impact, especially if you start with it. But I mean, it's more regen. This could be a good place for some of those heal set procs, but if you have a choice between here or health put them there. It's a stronger power than health so shotting for effect means more. Reconstruction: Taking actual damage? Heal it back up. If you aren't taking a lot of fire you won't need this. Mine spends a lot of time sitting there doing nothing. But when you want it, it's really nice to have. Slot for healing first, recharge and end reduction as desired. Quick Recovery: It's stamina but better. Who doesn't want more endurance. Like the note on fast healing above, could be a good place for procs but put them in stamina first. Instant Regen: Set and forget toggle power. This doesn't boost your regen like it does in the other sets, but the constantly refreshing absorb helps mitigate regens usual vulnerability to burst damage. Slot for healing. Dismiss Pain: Another passive but having higher HP makes regen effects better so probably a good one to toss a slot in. Can also take heal procs but I'd put them in either of your other heal passives first. Integration: Your other core toggle. Mez resist and regeneration. Take it. Slot for heals. Resilience: Another passive this one damage and stun resist. I reccomend taking this for 2 reasons. 1, layering of mitigation is really good so putting some resistance over your regen is solid. 2, it can be a good place to throw those resistance set unique IOs. 2.5, if you ever have to revive yourself with an inspiration, you get to not be stunned. Second Wind: It's a self rez power with the added perk that it can be used like a second reconstruction. I personally like self rez powers but it's very much a personal taste thing. Either way, probably wouldn't add slots. Moment of Glory: Defensive build up. Need to soak an alpha for the team? Pop this and no worries. Slot for recharge. Power pools: Fighting is a really solid choice here, tough helps your regen count for more and if you are IOing for defense you may as well get weave too.

You technically can tell if you will be mezzed by looking at the icons on your (de)buff bar.* That said, I still agree with the sentiment. I do check my buff bar periodically but I'm not sure I could ingrain "check buff bar before form shifting" into my habits if frequently shifting was common practice. *Reading the buff bar for this does require some game knowledge of what the icons mean and what powersets have CC riders that may not be indicated on the icon. If you have any color blindness issues that second part may be trickier, although you can generally figure it out by watching your enemies.

Yeah as has been said, teleport technically already ignore obstacles. If you can get your cursor there and it's a valid target area you don't need line of sight from your character. It was the premier power for getting outside the map for that reason. If I recall correctly, and it's been a while so I may not, the "reflection" on the floor of city hall was actually a translucent floor with a mirrored city hall underneath it. It was once upon a time possible to teleport down there and do things like sit on the "ceiling" for screenshots. Practically with a camera anchored on our character your ability to pull off out of line of sight teleports is limited. I'm not sure the camera CAN be un anchored from our character but it's another potential way to boost teleport.

I didn't go through the whole thread so apologies if I'm repeating things said. I don't think LRTP was ever a bad power, it was held back by a few things. *It was gated behind investing in the teleport pool, which by my understanding is the least popular travel power. (Somewhat understanably so, it's far chunkier than a toggle. And the advantages gained by that are pretty niche.) *It didn't offer any combat ability. It's a nice general QoL ability, but you don't take it to help your build, you take it because your build can afford a power choice. (Or multiple choices if you didn't want the earlier powers) *It was largely made redundant by being able to base portal from anywhere. (Which is going away now, but with LRTP changing at the same time who knows if this would have changed anything.) All that being said, I don't have particularly strong feelings about whether it should be a pool power or an accolade. The new/combined powers do seem pretty sweet and of the current and beta TP pool powers, LRTP probably translates to an accolade version best.

ok running out of time on my lunch but as a proof of concept, partially completed build with 17 unused slots, 6 unpicked powers, and a couple that are basically placeholders and could be moved to another ability (like boxing being slotted up) So it's got some room for customization and/or shoring up more defenses S/L/E/N/P defense capped, 20s for the other defenses, 64% S/L resist, 62%F/C ETA: toggling on granite changes that to def capped and resist capped to all but psionic Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.7 https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 49 Magic Tanker Primary Power Set: Stone Armor Secondary Power Set: Staff Fighting Power Pool: Teleportation Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leadership Hero Profile: Level 1: Rock Armor -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFrt-Def(3), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(3), Rct-ResDam%(15), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(31) Level 1: Mercurial Blow -- SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg(A), SprGntFis-Dmg/Rchg(39), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), SprGntFis-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), SprGntFis-Rchg/+Absorb(40) Level 2: Stone Skin -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), GldArm-3defTpProc(5) Level 4: Teleport -- Empty(A) Level 6: Mud Pots -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(31), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(34), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), Obl-%Dam(36) Level 8: Rooted -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(9), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(9) Level 10: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(11), RechRdx-I(11) Level 12: Brimstone Armor -- Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Ags-ResDam(13), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(13) Level 14: Boxing -- OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg(A), OvrFrc-End/Rech(37), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End(37), OvrFrc-Dmg/End/Rech(37), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End/Rech(40), OvrFrc-Dam/KB(42) Level 16: Tough -- Ags-ResDam(A), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(17), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(17) Level 18: Crystal Armor -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFrt-Def(19), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(19) Level 20: Weave -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFrt-Def(21), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(21) Level 22: Earth's Embrace -- NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(A), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(23), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(23), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(25), NmnCnv-Heal(25), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(27) Level 24: Taunt -- Empty(A) Level 26: Minerals -- RedFrt-Def(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(27), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(29) Level 28: Maneuvers -- RedFrt-Def(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(29), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(31) Level 30: Eye of the Storm -- Empty(A) Level 32: Granite Armor -- GifoftheA-Def(A), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx(33), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(33), UnbGrd-ResDam(33), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(34), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(34) Level 35: [Empty] Level 38: [Empty] Level 41: [Empty] Level 44: [Empty] Level 47: [Empty] Level 49: [Empty] 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 -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), Prv-Absorb%(7), Pnc-Heal/+End(15) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(5), PrfShf-End%(7) Level 1: Combo Level 1 Level 1: Combo Level 2 Level 1: Combo Level 3 ------------

I just want to preface this with: Play what you want, there is no content thst you can't run if you put a bit of thought into your build, with any powerset combo. I personally like stone armor even if it didn't age super well into IOs. You can make a perfectly serviceable stone tank without taking granite. It's not THAT different from using any other tank set. You'll still be less mobile than other tanks (rooted is your mez protection and also limits your mobility) but you can avoid the damage and recharge hits while lessening the mobility hit. The main catch to using granite as a panic button type power is, you are probably going to be shoring up your defenses with IOs for outside of granite. This A: gives you some wasted stats when you turn granite on, and B: doesn't leave you as much build room to mitigate granite's drawbacks. By no means are either of those huge problems, if you are rarely in granite they won't come up much, but they are considerations. On the plus side, stone armor has a psy defense toggle! Psy being THE tank defense hole isn't as true as it used to be, but it's still a noticeable trend. I'm at work now but I might try to throw a build together later when I get home. Please note while I think my builds are decent they are not cutting edge min maxed.

That was my first thought seeing the side effect called migraine too. "Oh look, sonic powers giving people headaches is back." That being said, while I wouldn't be upset if they changed it for realism concerns... it's far from the only game mechanic that would be up for examination.

I'm not going to pretend I've mathed it out and proven it's strength, but I personally am a fan of putting some hamis in there so it can have good accuracy damage and cc without necessarily needing 6 slots. (Procs in the last slot/s maybe?) It won't be super quick about it, but it can take a boss by itself.

While I agree that on teams full of people with thought out builds empathy has trouble providing much value. Although to be fair, this is true of basically all defensive utility at that point, empathy just leans further into defensive than average for buff/debuff sets. That being said, unless you are only playing in a static group with your empath (at which point, you could plan your builds around having an empath on deck) all your teammates not needing defensive help is not always the case. People with defenses that haven’t been softcapped love fortitude. Heck sometimes the ones that are softcapped do, because they aren’t softcapped to [damage type/position X]even if they are to others. By no means am I saying empathy is going to be the standout support set on optimized teams, I’m just saying it can be pretty good in other places. random tangent: If I were to build an empath now I would probably skip absorb pain, but man back in the pre ED days I loved it for heart attack tankers.

I would look for set bonuses that help my build and go from there. That said, there isn’t really a wrong answer here. I personally prefer set bonuses and consistent damage over basing some of my damage on RNG (even if the total damage may trend higher) but that’s a matter of taste more than a definitive answer. As long as it has enough accuracy to reliably hit the rest isn’t a huge deal.

I believe I know why this is. 1) Incandescence boosts healing recieved by applying a heal resistance buff. Similar to the way resistance debuffs from our abilities make enemies take more damage, a heal resistance buff would make heals more effective. 2) Some heals are flagged as unresistable, meaning they will do their normal amount and not check resistance. Both PB self heals are flagged as unresistable as are I'm sure several other self heals scattered across power sets. 2b) While this is a bad thing in the case of incandescence, it's a good thing if you ever get hit with a resistance effect that reduces the amount you heal. It's not the most common effect thrown around but it is a thing. Off the top of my head I believe Hami applies it, not sure where else it would be offhand.

I’ve got a lv 50 bio/psy tank and I’ve never felt crippled by the damage type. All the attacks deal a second damage type as well, either lethal (also not great vs robots) or smashing (generally good vs robots). I’m sure you won’t be winning awards on kill speeds vs robots (I only have the 1 tank so far so can’t personally compare) but it’s never felt painfully slow to me.

In my experience, it’s nice to have but it doesn’t need to be heavily invested in. Anything near me is generally handled by auras/gauntlet, but the taunt power can be pretty handy for pulling an enemy off of someone from outside melee range. Sets without a taunt aura probably will get more mileage out of it. (I know all auras on tanks taunt with gauntlet, but ones that rely on damage ticks tend to be less reliable about it. Or at least this was the case, the recent tank changes may have shaken it up a bit.) You can tank for a team without it, but you may need your team to slow down a little and let you establish aggro for a second before they start lighting things on fire.

Dark/Stone can definitely stun packs of mobs, including bosses. That said, without an immobilize they will wander around while stunned. You can solve this with web envelope although it will need to be applied twice before bosses are immobilized. Knockdowns from tremor may help as well. Also to consider, keeping enemy attention on you is a form of control as well, as long as you are able to take the hits regardless it's decent mitigation for the rest of the team. After all that... I tried my hand and making a build anyway lol. It can theoretically permastun any non-AV while still having softcapped melee defense, and capped S/L/P resists always, N/F/C will become resist capped once you start taking damage and/or stacking might of the tanker. It is not an endurance light build, incarnates aren't factored in but a cardiac alpha and/or ageless destiny is encouraged.

Since both sets have typed defenses I would personally advise picking up psionic resist/defense from IOs over shooting for positional defense. It's not that you can't get positional defenses to a decent level with just IOs/incarnates, but against everything but psychic enemies it's not going to do much for you because they don't stack with your in powerset defenses, you just use whichever number is higher. Yes aiming for high psionic defense/resist also limits your build choices some, but I think it's less of a limit than trying to build up positional defenses. To be fair, I'm sure people have put together some great builds that have solid positional defenses, I'm honestly curious now and tempted to see what I can figure out in mids even as a more midrange builder compared to some of the other people around. edit: So I messed around a little in mids and got a Kin/EA stalker (chosen because EA was one of the listed sets and...my stalker is Kin/EA lol) and got a build that is over the non-psi typed softcaps, 31.7% psychic defense, and 55.8% psychic resist. These numbers are with no incarnate abilities, at full health, with 1 target in energy drain. Could the build be improved upon? Almost definitely. But it looks playable at a glance, sure some weird slotting can be found but nothing that kills core functionality. Invuln could probably get higher psychic resist since it has more places to fit in Impervium pieces, for other primaries psychic defense may not be as high as I was able to leverage Kins ranged attack for a 5% defense set bonus.

I had a stone/stone tank on live and he was great. That said: in granite without IOs you will have better survivability than some IOd builds. With IOs you are THE most unkillable thing. The catch is you give up a good chunk of movement, recharge, and damage for that title. Meanwhile solid IO builds are just ever so slightly behind you and give up none of those. Running out of granite you can be a perfectly fine tank, you won’t be in contention for toughest thing ever but the situations that call for that level of survivability border on nonexistent (possibly ARE even.) However, while your recharge and damage are back to normal, you still have a mobility penalty. Rooted is your mez protection toggle and it comes with mobility limitations. If it fits your concept and you like the aesthetics/feel of the sets go for it! You’ll be a little clunky on movement (teleport is the only travel power that plays nice with stone armor) but it’s not like you’ll be a detriment to your teams.

I had a fire/cold/mu back on live that I quite enjoyed. If not for my promise to myself that I would mix up my powerset choices and not exactly repeat things I would have remade him lol. Playstyle wise he was mostly a blaster, shield the team periodically, drop sleet, maybe benumb tougher targets, and run in for heat loss once in a while. Everything else is setting things on fire. (Also? Raining fire and ice at the same time? Great!) Of course, my Time/DP defender also mostly blasts, but I suppose it's another fairly low maintenance powerset. I definitely would feel a little guilty about taking a very busy support set on a corruptor. If I'm not going to have much time to blast anyway, may as well do it on a defender. On corrupters (and controllers for that matter) I prefer a more passive support set so I can devote more attention to my primary powerset. I made a water/dark the other day and he seems fine so far but he's still pretty low level. Can't really weigh in on how he feels later on yet. I will second hoever that if we're talking higher end IOd and/or incarnated characters running content, I don't think it really matters which AT you are bringing to the table, not even as a corrupter vs defender question, just in general. Go a step below that to running at max level without incarnates and maybe a less expensive IO build though and I think ATs have a little more space to shine in their niches. Even then though for support sets I think which support set you are bringing matters more than the AT you are doing it on.

It’s not as bad against robots as you would think. It’s not great either, but every power deals either part lethal (the psi blade attacks) or part smashing (the punches and levitate). Lethal is also generally not great against robots but smashing tends to be solid.

Chiming in to echo the “play a tank you like” choice. There is no tank that can’t be made very durable, some may have a theoretical advantage in X situation but A: your team is usually a bigger factor in that situation than your powerset choice, B: there is probably a Y situation where your set is better, and 😄 if the difference is big enough to cause issues using some inspirations will cover the gap. Just experiment with your powers while leveling/getting a feel for the character. Find the ones you like and the ones you don’t, you get a few free respecs and it’s not particularly difficult to get more. There’s also the alternate build thing but that takes more investment.

Echoing what has been said, while there is the occasional issue of buttons not showing recharge state properly if it’s consistent you are probably running in to your nophase time. You can check! Nophase shows up as a debuff if you aren’t hiding your icons for those.