Infinitum

"Tanking" in COH isn't required or even efficient. A Tank in COH just like a brute stalker or scrapper is a useful AT but none of them doing what you consider tanking, the most effective way is to blast through maps every AT maintaining their own aggro, preferable with a hard target melee AT or two, or three or none or as many as you want. Tanking in COH is absorbing the alpha and killing the mob. Sometimes not even that if you have enough control and debuff. Because when done right, the difficulty level is set right all is firing the mobs go down fast or are controlled fast. Doesn't matter if you are 8 tankers, stalkers, Scrappers, brutes, controllers, defenders, blasters or anything else. The whole herding to here, or let me gather or look at me while I let this mob pound me isn't the best way to play this game. Now having said this sometimes that's necessary if your teams too weak which brings me back to trying to do stuff too excessively difficult to benefit a team that has no business trying to take on such hard content in the first place. That's like complaining about the system being broken because you are breaking it. A good team no matter the make up has little trouble taking on any content.

This guy gets it. A lot don't want tanks fixed, they just want them broken so you can't team without them. And they don't care what gets nerfed and how it affects anyone to get there. I like the diversity and being able to tank with every AT I play.

Believe me, dont believe me I dont really care, ive done it.

This is a bit of an overexaggeration. If you were on a brute and you had a kinetic or anything that put you at the damage cap, the rest of the team is still killing the mob faster than either brute or tank. Unless you are wanting to centerpiece yourself yourself on the team doing the much higher content for them because they can't. If you are in any situation that requires you to pop inspirations to survive the alpha damage output isn't your biggest worry anyway. The gap in damage between tank and brute isn't so great that it will hurt the tanks survivability. It just won't, because if that were the case the team can't support the content you are playing anyway, which also means the brute isn't getting buffs to increase damage anyway because the team is already dead. If the team does support the content brute, or tank damage is irrelevant at that point because the team is already killing faster than either single target can surpass - which is a good thing ultimately. Absorb agro, alpha let the team do the rest move on to the next one.

If you're in the minority, which you are, balancing a game that would enrage the majority wouldn't be for the greater good and in the end your faction would be the ones taking their ball and running home when that did not happen unless you could somehow realize that the majority may be heading in the right direction. Let's make something weaker to make a few people that can't adapt to how the game is played happy so everyone that was stronger is now more dependent on them. Vs Let's make what's weaker more in tune with what's working great for the majority. Now that I read it that way makes perfect sense to make the first group angry. *rolls eyes*

Now this guy gets it. (if you need a kinetics on your team just to function smoothly, I can start to formulate your problem) especially that part.

Build up + AS + name your proc either double build up and or hide again + AS or AOE + build up proc again you could potentially have triple build up at that point. I have 1 shotted a few bosses like that but 2 shotting is more common. I utilize procs and mechanics to do this. If your blaster sidekick is running with you against +4 unslotted without sets and pops an aoe behind you he deserves to die because y'all are power leveling it anyway and should know better. If the blaster is setted out it will hardly bother it because a lot if the damage will miss it and then everything will be dead if you guys sustain the attack.

So you really didnt make any points there. Because you really don't have a clue what you are talking about. Have a nice day.

You won't need it because you are literally one or two shotting everything. And firing off your AOE every attack chain gets their attention so they have enough agro management if you know what you are doing with them. I literally play every AT like a tank, if I can't play one like a tank - the sets I chose won't allow it for some reason- I stop playing that one and roll something else. My point is, the issues with brutes survivability being equal to tank survivability not being fare is a non issue because you can literally make any AT a tank with defense and other bonuses and power selection synergy especially SR based ATs. The game isn't built around tanks being the only meatshield anymore. I'm not sure it ever was. Tanks have a role though - a super tough easy to build good melee dealer. If that doesn't fit a persons play style its time to roll something that does - because that's what they are and what the do. I've never once been kicked off a team because I couldn't deal enough damage though. If you are looking for a disparity in the game, play on a team of 8 controllers - they don't even have to be setted out - and watch how fast the enemies drop and never even threaten for that matter. I think this game was built around debuff, buff and control more than anything else. All of the melee ATs play fine and are fun IMO. Are there some underperforming sets? Yep in all ATs there is. Power synergy means a lot too combine that with power synergy and set bonus synergy that's how you get the damage on the tanks, the durability from the brutes, and the scrappers and stalkers too for that matter. This game has versatility to do just about anything you want it to do, and that what makes it great IMO that you can tank with a stalker, or blitz maps with a controller super team. Plenty to choose from. I can demonstrate any of what I'm saying here also if someone doesn't believe me for some reason. Im not against buffing tanks either, it would make the 4 tanks I have happier in fact, but there is nothing wrong with them now.

IO SR stalker/scrapper taking over the tank role and doubling-tripling the damage from either tank or brute = true. There's ways in some sets - not all - to make tanks damage on par with brutes. I'm not sure anymore what the issue is aside from bruised or inflated egos with what people feel the tank should do or the brute should not do-they are basically the same AT, because you can make tanks have great damage without having fury ramp up. I have 2 tanks that can tank more content and outdamage their brute counterpart in doing so. How do I know? Because I rolled both sets - tank and brute on beta and the tank was better. I test everything on beta before I roll it out.

Nerfing Brute resistance caps by 5-10% isn't reasonable or minor. How would you then fix all the brutes built for max res that are now past a new imposed cap loaded with expensive set bonuses that now are meaningless? How do you then fix those brutes utilizing incarnate system to cap resistance. I pick resilient and then melee hybrid to get me to those caps. At vet level 48 when you are T4 across the board, restarting at that point to fill the role in a more meaningful way than a power that's not past a cap that wasn't there before isn't efficient at all. Raise the tank res cap to 95% for all I care but leave brutes alone. There's nothing wrong with either AT. Tinkering with res caps either way looks like a nightmare to roll out. Because too many build are built to a different standard with late game content that isn't easy to get or change once you get to a certain level.

lol, appreciate you taking the time to look at this. You do know that if you do fix this, you could easily start your own cult then. You aren't nemesis are you? Are you??

I'm with ya my friend, im with ya. I'm glad I took the time to roll my EM to 50+ despite the pig and carnival trick one shot machine it is.

Yes I rolled them all on beta in all forms avail-scrapper, brute, stalker, tanker, before I picked the winning build. I always build for survivability first then damage, and I test in the Rikti War zone how long it takes me to dispatch a lvl54 group spawn in the back of the war zone, and then one of the elite bosses that spawns there. Basically on fire and invul I stayed with the tank because the damage was just as good as the brute but it was a lot more survivable in the fight. With electric armor I always go brute because you can cap resistance but with a lot of work and grind and expensive set bonuses, but thats personal preference-you could go either way, the tank is cheaper actually so you could go that way just with a tad less damage on the tank. Titan weapons is superb on anything, you wont notice much difference here. SR I eithet go stalker or scrapper because you soft cap positional defense no matter what AT you are playing and the scrapper or stalker with set bonuses are just as survivable than the tank or brute but with a whole lot more damage. This is All stuff I compared in similar mobs, not based on scientific numbers but on feelings - what the average gaming experience feels like - watching my health bar and ease of dispatching the mobs. Raw numbers most of the time do not translate to what actual gameplay feels like.

No that's ludicrous, nerf one at and buff another will just lead to the same discussion just reversed 3 months from now. There in reality is no tanker in game issue outside of all the spines/fire brutes farming AE giving the perception tanker damage is bad when it's not. In reality my group often times plays lots of end game content with multiple tanks and brutes with no issues. You can play this game many ways and choose to team with many different types. Nerfing brute resistance caps is no solution, because how would you then address super reflexes across all ATs. Those caps are all the same regardless. That's why nerfing the resistance wouldn't address anything, only ruin a well built synergy that exists for a lot of brute players utilizing them as tanks that only happens once you slog through 50 levels of hell just to get there. You want to see obscene numbers watch my SR/psi stalker take on +4/8 groups with the buildup and hide procs. Ask yourself the question, what would you you pick, a SR brute, tank, scrapper, or stalker? No answer makes that choice OP. Just chosen, then played, then built, then played more. Again you can slot, play, team lots of different ways in this game. Tankers have good damage if you just unlock it. Maybe certain tank sets need work but most are fine, I have a TW, SS, Fire tank that outdamage any brute I have aside from my psi melee when insight and buildup click together on full fury.

It's extremely useful. I either 3 slot with performance shifter or 6 slot. Just depends on what kind of bonus you need. In your case, not going with sets, I would 2 slot it. That last one just doesn't take enough time off it to justify it in my opinion.

That's all you do with insight believe it or not. And you still have build up on top of that. Add in a Gaussian proc and you have triple build up sometimes. Anything is better than what it us now, even a different looking animation would be better than the 3 sec hog that ET is now. Funny thing is it fits with rad melee, and greater psi sword is 2.5 sec but it doesn't feel like it. That's why I'm saying it's more of a flow problem with animation appeal than the actual elapsed time. I've not felt the fun from the old EM set until I gave psi melee a shot. I played it so much for the shear fun of it I was at 50 in 4 days. I want em to feel like that again.

Yeah I like barrages animation too. You wouldn't necessarily change them all. As for the burst damage, that's exactly what I'm talking about doing. It's super easy to get a stack of insight. At that point you are out burst damaging what EM used to be with better flow than it currently has.

Not exactly psi 2.0 but psi-less glowing punch goodness. From playing a lot of newer sets to 50 the last 2 week's, old EM wont stand out anymore. If you base it on psi with a good mechanic like insight it will be better than old EM with a better single target niche.

Psi melee with overhauled animations for EM wouldnt be hard, the animations already exist, and psi melee already has stats. Just transfer, it would actually be an upgrade from where it was before to do it this way. For ET maybe use the alternative animation for melt armor - the cast version with greater psi swords animation time.

I think I've found a solution to fix EM. Ive been playing psi melee, and played it all the way to 50 on my brute. It reminds me a lot of how you would expect em to feel and play. It's fast It flows well It has a cool insight mechanic. It has an AOE better than whirling hands. The only bad thing is if you are looking for punchy, it's just not there. So my thoughts are why not rework psi melee animations for a punchy set and transpose it almost identical numbers and mechanics wise to EM. There is your fix without making EM an outlier again. Plus look at the screen pic, you can do that. Thats burst damage and faster burst damage than what EM used to do.

I dont know much about energy aura, but psi melee is a good set, if you put the Gaussian proc in concentration, then once you get mass levitate and greater psi sword, if you hit concentration, and the Gaussian procs also, with an instance of insight you can accomplish burst damage like that. Its a hard hitter. Thats on par with energy melee but faster, better flowing set, and better AOE.

Asteroid is only one part of what I look for, Praetorian Maria missions I dont see him lasting too long. Those are obscenely good numbers though for a blaster.

Primary: TW, rad or psi. Those all do crazy damage, have unique features that add to the set, and keep the enemy off their feet or contaminated. Electric Armor IMO is hard to beat when you invest in it. I'm working a psi/Elec right now and I think it's going to be the best I've ever produced. Afraid to say it too loud, but it reminds me of the flow EM used to have but with a much better AOE

No not AVs, but I'm having a hard time believing that a blaster can clear a +4/8 praetorian resistance or imperial defense enemy set solo. Its certainly not optimal at best. Thats a lot of damage and debuffing to overcome with an AT that basically has no native mitigation to any of that.