Shadowstorm06

This is a different way of asking: how about in a vacuum? What I mean is, I know Rad and Bio are the go tos since they bring damage and with a team buffing behind them, they are just power incarnate. I guess the same could be said about Fire Armor (specifically your Fire/SS build!). But what about in a pure, stand alone setting? I know this is mostly theory crafting!

Good call out Sovera. I guess the only reason I didn’t mention Fire Armor/MA is because I run FA so much on my brute and have a Fire/SS parked right now. I could see Fire/MA being really strong as well. I know Stone Armor has been a recent exploration for you. How did you feel Stone/MA compared to Fire/MA?

The combo does seem to have very little weaknesses. With the recent changes, it seems like it can pump up the offense as well.

THANK YOU for writing all of this up. Absolutely amazing. Stone/MA does seems strong across the board. Not sure how I feel about Granite and how it looks 😂 but it could be a good “oh crap” button. Shield/ and Rad/ seem most meta, although I hear a fully built SR/ is something to behold. Is there any one combo that you feel works best for HM stuff?

Hi all! Really torn on what primary to pair on my Martial Arts Tanker. My main goal is for endgame content. These are the ones I'm looking at: Dark Armor: Brings great resists, best heal in the game and some defense of it’s own. MA should let it hit some soft caps for defense. Could see this being incredibly tough. Has a damage aura and Oppressive Gloom’s disorients can stack with some of MA’s moves. Rad Armor: Great resist set all around, with a nice absorb and heal. MA has a few Force Feedback opportunities that can push recharge so the PBAOE’s for Rad can fire off more! Shield Defense: Seems like the optimal “turtle tanker.” Can hit incarnate level defenses. Shield Charge and AAO can help pump up the damage for MA. Decent AOE with Shield Charge + Dragon’s Tail. I read somewhere that @Werner did some crazy things with it. Stone Armor: Seems still very strong outside of Granite. Eagle’s Claw while in Granite form would probably be pretty funny though. Not sure how to build Stone, but it seems to not really have much in the way of "holes." Super Reflexes: Is there ever such a thing as TOO much defense? Lol. I haven't ran SR, but hear it can be crazy good on a Tanker. Is there one you feel is toughest? One that is most well rounded? What is your favorite pairing with MA?

Checked out the build, loved it. Did some slight messing to fit in some -res procs. QQ for you though: how is endurance? Seems like we are running really high with not enough recovery. Are you able to lean on Energy Absorption?

Will check it out as soon as I’m home!

Absolutely! Going to use your Absolute build and play around with Fiery. I’ll shoot it over once I have a work up. I have a KM/Ice Stalker, excited to see how it goes on a Tanker.

@Infinitum I deep dived in this and I love how you switched your stand on Ice Armor. Shows how open you are! Would you have any thoughts on a Ice Armor/Fire Melee build?

That was how I was looking at these sets, really leaning into Regen and maybe some melee defense and getting the resists to a point where I can max most with the tanker proc. Darkest Night would probably work great with the Elec Armor/Dark Melee. I’m afraid of the endurance consumption on Dark Armor/Elec.

I’ll check this out when I get home! I hear Shield/BS really shines on a Stalker, but the combo has always FELT like a Tanker to me haha.

Hi all! Pretty much the title. I started the Electric + Dark theme post and want to run a tanker combing Darkness and Electricity. Leaves kind of two options: Dark Armor/Electric Melee or Elec Armor/Dark Melee. Dark Armor/Electric seems like a good “control” tanker stack oppressive gloom with stuns. Also, Lightning Rod is too cool and Dark Armor brings arguably the best heal in the game. Would have to go Cardiac or Vigor for this to help with endurance though. Elec/Dark Melee will have lots of endurance recovery and some heals itself. Not nearly as much control, but decent AOE damage and can probably keep going and going and going. Which would you recommend for endgame, fully built out?

Absolutely, I feel like aesthetically this one fits REALLY well haha

Good to know! I know a lot of people plan Ill/Dark, so I thought this sounds like a fun alternative.

So I've long been a fan of both Electric and Dark/Shadow type powersets (thus the username Shadowstorm :p) I guess I like the cracklin power of electricity mixed with the flow of shadows/dark. The juxtaposition of light and dark. Anyways, I'd love to create a hero that represented this and combined Electricity and Dark in some way. I want to share a few of the combos I have in mind, and I'd love for you to share which you think works best! Or, if you have a suggestion of your own, pleae let me know! Some that I've been brewing over: Dark Armor/Electric Melee Tanker: This one was recently posted about and I think it makes for a really cool "control tanker." With Dark Armor's shadow look and bright electric melee attacks, I think this one might be the most aesthetically fitting. Seems like some nice control on the combo, and Lightning Rod truly feels like a God like power! Elec Control/Dark Assault Dominator: This one seems to have some nice synergy and aestheics as well! Elec control has an interesting sleep power, decent endurance recovery and endurance drain, all of which are boosted by Dark Assault's Gather Shadows. Perma Dom will probably make you feel like a Light/Dark God haha Electric Armor/Dark Melee Tanker: The inverse of the first combo. Maybe not as aesthically neutral (it'll lean more electric) but with two endurance recoveries and two heals, this combo seems like it'll be the energizer bunny and just keep going and going and going 😂 Storm/Water Blast Defender: Storm kind of has some electricness to it with it's controls and thunderclouds. For Water Blast, I was thinking you could color it all black and it would look like you are controlling darkness. Perhaps Storm/Storm would be more fitting? Electric Control/Dark Affinity Controller: I'm not sure how Electric Controll is on a controller, but I hear Dark Affinity is the business. Dark Melee/Shield Scrapper: Now this one is a little off the wall, but Dark Melee Soul Noir mixed with Black and Gold has a cool look. For Shield, you would just use the Electric Shield and Electric aura. Maybe go Zapp/Ball Lightning as well.

That is my fear with the Shield/SS pairing. I wasn't sure if the rage crash for it was minimal/easily mitigated, or if it neutered the pairing.

I appreciate this, especially the call out on the Entomb slotting. Quick follow up question: Does something like power transfer to heal or preventative medicine absorb go off in a passive power like Harmonized mind? Endurance would be a challenge. Would have to maybe look at Cardiac for it.

This is great info, thanks.

For a Shield Tanker, would you recommend Super Strength or Fiery Melee? Fiery seems like it might be the more consistent performer, with decent AOE and ST. You also don’t need to worry about defense dropping from a rage crash. Shield Charge + FSC + Combustion seems like mayhem. Super Strength seems like it might have higher peaks and lower valleys. Rage + AAO seems like it’ll really ramp damage. The rage crash on a primarily defensive set is concerning though. Shield Charge + Foot Stomp is probably tons of fun. Which would you pair with Shield Defense?

This set seems to do quite a bit of everything! I was digging through @Ston's melee testing and was quite pleased to see how well it perfomed. Decent damage, good AOE with Dragon's Tail, +Def to ALL with Storm kick. I like how, compared to live, how you can mix up punches and kicks now. Are there any Tanker primaries you feel mesh well with MA? I was looking at Elec, Rad and Shield myself, but I'm open to suggestions!

I have noticed an issue when using Fiery Melee on my Tanker, and it shows in costume creator as well. The Fire swords are not fully rendered (you used to be able to see their full shape). Also, when using combustion, you get the sound effect, but no explosion animation. Has anyone else run into this?

A cool concept came to me today involving Trick Arrow and I want to run with it. I’m leaning pairing it with DP, but I’m open to some other secondaries if anyone has suggestions. How is Trick Arrow to play? Is it a more difficult set (for someone who hasn’t played Defender before)? I hear there are “macros” you should set up when playing the role?

I’ve looked at Titan Weapons on a Scrapper paired with Bio. One of the reasons I was thinking MAYBE it’d run better on a Tanker is because, since they are tougher, it gives you more leeway to build up momentum. I could be completely off on this though!

This begs the question Yomo: which is your favorite? Or top 3? Haha

Great questions. I'd be looking to IO the hero out. I primarily plan on teaming and love to push the difficulty.