Golden Azrael

''Fighting to survive...in a world with the dark-est powurr!' Azrael.

Perhaps the new Tanker should also realise. It's not just Resistance, Luck or Health. Tanking Tip. Mitigation can come in coming enemy Damage can take many forms. Damage+ buff. -Dam incoming buff. -To hit. Slows. An Ice Mat. Power Sinking a Mob's End. Azrael.

Though, you got me thinking there. For the 'new comer' Tank who wants to test out their Tanking chops out periodically as they level. Are there basic certain without BUILD OUT TANK feats of strength tests eg. Do a Hollows mission -1x8?, Complete the ITF as Captain of the Team or the 'advanced' Pylon test as they near L50 and on. Azrael.

Yeah. I think B***** were squealing at their damage cap hedge being trimmed? Whilst Tanks were having theirs raised. They're lucky I'm not on the Dev' HC team. I know exactly how to create that distinction between them. Happily, though, I think the recent Tank patch and the design passes of certain attack sets have closed the 'gap' and made Tanks much more distinct. I for see over improvements. But this is a where Tanks are now for the Beginner Guide. Azrael.

I managed to Cap a Sonic/Sonic blaster for S*L and Range. 'Junior Tank' class. But nothing beats the Real Thing, ofc. It's still funny when Blasters face plant by over reaching the Tanker's lead. As somebody once quipped to me on Live. (I was running energy/energy Blaster...) 'Ha, ha...Azrael thinks he's a tank.' (I was on the floor, face planted.) Azrael.

Yeah. It takes the 'sting' out of the L1-20. Especially if you're doing all that on your 40th alt. It's a personal choice whether we use it. It adds a massive difference to the Q of Life in the game and to new comers too for all ATs. You're wondering why I like your New comers guide so much. I didn't know about this until I read your guide. 😄 But as a recent convert. I'm keeping mine my P2W buffs. Great for the new and vet player alike. That and the double xp? I'm a keepin'. Azrael.

I'd argue the reverse. I couldn't do +0 or +1 or I'll get my head caved in going that wide. But allowing me to hit above my weight by lowering the setting allows me to achieve volume early on. Any tank who hasn't tried this? It's a revelation. Tanks were tippy tappy fat boys that ran out of steam. Now, they're are lean, powerful mother truckers. They radiant power. If any class was OP? It was B*****. Azrael.

That's the thing, though. If you sat me down at gun point. I'd say, 'Give me the game at Issue 3 and my Gdm perma-hasten and no IOs or market whatsoever.' But given the P2W server, we have the choice to play how we like. For some the amplifiers make the game too easier. Perhaps those new to CoH or to Tanks may not think so. When CoH 1st started back on HC, many zoomed to L50 and kept on doing so with each alt. I didn't 'get it.' But I guess that's how they liked playing the game, by-passing the game almost entirely. Some don't like farming. Or AE. Some don't approve of any of the stuff from P2W or are selective in the things they want. Some like the Double Xp. Some want to 'earn' it (the hard way) old school style. I'm not overly fussed about The magic pool. But I do think Origin based powers were long overdue. And also how they interact and make an impact on the origin type of your AT and how that interacts with mission content. I don't think any of this has been resolved satisfactorily yet. Azrael.

High praise indeed, you Diamond Geezer. Thank you. Because that's a darn good, nay, excellent guide. 🙂 With my recent run of 'ten tanks' in a row...I've come to realise that Tanks can self farm, without a team. I did this at L50...then found I could do it with certain tanks at L45 then 40 than in my 30s. Then realised. Why don't I try this from the get-go in the Hollows? You just have to lower the difficulty level in accordance with your armour output and your attack output. Trade secret. Using this -1x8 approach on a Tank, I've left the Hollows at L18 and my recent record at L20! (Serious? Serious!) As proof of my self-love thesis. My 2nd trade secret? If you leave the Hollows around L14? I go 'Boss' killing in Steel Canyon. All the Lead Fire/Stone/Elecs pay insane prices of XP/Influence. That will take me to L20 and Talos!!! Then at L21-+ I whoop Az on Warrior Tips and Street Sweeping. It works for me. Distinct from common wisdom I guess. Azrael.

...it's the old damage vs XP over time. The faster you can spin the xp/wheel on a wide setting the more cha-ching you'll make. It's a combat equation. How long does it take to kill for the rewards in xp/influence from a given build. For the new tank. Are you single target? Do you have an end problem. Can you hit hard enough. Are you AoE. Can your single target tank cope with wide settings. Are your settings too high? Questions. If it's taking too long, the tank does have the capacity to achieve that holy grail...'yet.' Azrael.

Top Tanking Tip here from Linea! I think this is an important distinction in combat. Do you want to grind all day on a Boss? Or keep to 'general' trash on wide settings? Grinding bosses will slow you down whilst the rest of the trash give you a kicking. I know one player who likes to go narrow and high. (Complains about hospital visits...) That's fine if 'that's your thing.' But don't complain about 'being broke' at Level 50. Azrael.

Top Tanking Tip, Sovera. The P2W offers up many delights (most are legal...) from free powers to supplement your attack chain to Double XP buffs to Buffs galore for end, recharge, defence etc. They can all give your TANK a massive head start and Lots of Qs! (Quality of Life.) Azrael.

801? Is this an AE 'Tanker Test' mission? Arc? This 801 stuff passed me by. Anyone? Azrael.

Tanking Tip 6. Once you roll a Tank you like? Get to L50. This is where you'll start to make real money. Each IO (ordinary) drop will get you 100k! Plus all that influence. Plus being able to rinse Council maps at +3x8. Tanking Tip 7. Do Damage Wholesale. eg. In the Hollows you CAN -1x8 on your mission settings. Pop the odd luck inspire. As you get to Steel Canyon? This may become +0x8. This approach came to me recently rather than waiting to my 30s, 40s or 50s to do wide settings. Azrael.

If you're a beginning Tank? MUST READ. Another Top TIP. Go to this thread above. For 'Quality of Life.' 'Pearls of Wisdom.' It will fast track you and get you up and running. (Unless you're a fan of playing like it's still 2003 and rolling boulders up hill...) You might find this Authoritative Beginners Guide to CoH useful. ! I did and I #loosely qualify as a 'veteran' player and I learned loads from reading it. Azrael.

Yeah. It's noteworthy. It can be a couple of defence. 30% end reduction. 30% recharge! Worth getting. Last's 30 mins. That's a long time in combat time. It's free! Azrael.

It is. My friend did that VERY 'glow' eyes back on live and won the costume contest for £1 million influence. It is a cool effect though. And lifts the fish tank to another level. I was quietly steamed with jealousy that he won and I didn't. (Sorry, envy.) Fair play to him. Azrael.

A must read for any beginner Tank who wants to be a powerful Tank. It's jam-packed. I've just discovered this thread. So I'll mine it for 'pearls of wisom.' A sound read. One I'll keep coming back to for all the details. eg. Your noting of which tanks can AND can't fit 'Force Feedback' is noteworthy. It is something I've only recently wrapped my head around with my 'ten tank rolls'. Some attack sets you can. Some you can't. Useful to know if you want a high octane build. Impressive. Azrael.

Erratic makes a few sound and interesting points here. The 'Road of the Tanker.' It's different for each one. And it can be 'a journey.' Any starter tanker needs to weigh this up. But many Tanks suffer endurance issues. You have to be able to stand up...then you need to take a punch...then you need to show you can dish a punch. Eg. Like Erratic says re: Dark Armour, 'Great Set in end but the road getting there...' is wrought with choices to minimise it's expensive endurance. (For experienced Tankers, this is a fascinating dual of the the wits...but may be off putting for the beginner.) So his and Infin's choice of Invulerability? That's probably where I'd go for a starter Tank! Ergo. Pairing up Dark Melee with Invulnerability, like Erratic said, is a shrewd choice. As to your 1st point. True. Though I must add, before the dereliction of TOs? I used to put x4 Slots of TO End Reductions in my Shield Tank's toggles. Just to get the equivalent of SO end reductions BEFORE the move to 'standardise' SOs earlier in the game recently. I was obsessed with End Reduction. In fact. On live? I tried an Ice/Ice Blaster without Fitness Pool as a test (back then) and using x2 or even x3 End Reductions I managed to get an Ice Blaster to behave with Endurance. (That Slow Aura was such an end hog back in the day.) Like you say, 'eventually' is how it is with Tanks. It's a balance of Defence and Attack as you level. Which does the beginner prioritise? Tanker Tip 4. Once you get your 1st three attacks? Prioritise your armours there after. You want to keep yourself alive (yeah.) You can pick 'just' two attacks and just two armours to begin with. Some tanking purists from live? Would pick just one attack and go all out on armours from there on in. Some Tanks are happy with 'just a few' attacks, some like more attacks. That's your choice to discern. Azrael.

And this is true. Very personal and sound post. Contributes the struggle of the 'Starter Tank' dilemma in one fell swoop. Complete with groovy Fish Tank Head Tank. Electric Armour (despite being sap proof...) does have a running battle as you level to try and get the end equilibrium (my phrase for end going out and end coming in during combat) sorted as your Tank matures. You go to the Tanking Ice Parlour or Tanking Cake Shop. You choose. Tanking Top Tip 3. Roll a bunch of these 'Top Ten' Tanks. Test(!) them to L10. One of them? You WILL take to L50. 'Any' of them are 'gods.' Any of them will get you 'there' with the right choices of toppings. Azrael.

I recently saw on Infin's thread about the idea of Shield and Dark Melee. What a revelation of synergy. Like wise, I think your suggestion to someone with no tanking experience (and there are plenty of threads with 'Which Tank R Best for...' or 'I'm new to Tanking so which is...') is very shrewd. ...it's a great choice, is Invulerability and Dark Melee. You can't hit me. I can hit you. The more I hit you? The more you can't hit me. Leaving Council Vamps with their jaw hanging off their head. In lay man's terms? The 1st choice stops you getting hit as much and increases your chances of hitting. Dark Melee increases this with a -to Hit Synergy that is difficult to beat. The more you beat down the mobs, the harder it is to hit you or hurt you. Top Choice. Having recently done a Dark/Dark Tank (which was a revelation in Tanking combat...and how to build those layers and how to solve that end problem...) Not withstanding that Dark Melee has come out of the design pass of Tanks very well with eg. Sands of Mu's increase of targets. (Everybody in a mob is getting a Sand Slap.) Touch of Fear now does damage. Floating numbers. You get a long durations BUILD UP etc. And you get End return with Consumption. This would be the 'Mulbery Rules' Thinking Tank's choice. If I'm going to the Tanking Cake shop? I'm buying a Invulnerable / Dark Melee cake. Everybody likes chocolate, right? Azrael.

I think that's a great choice, Infinitum. After my vociferous comments on the Energy Melee Beta Design pass, I was sold at 'Hello.' It is simple and effective and does what it says on the tin. You're 'Tough' and you can Deal Damage. (We're no longer the huff and puff stamina spent 'hits like a girl' Tanks pre-HC's Tank and Energy Melee pass.) Invul/EM go together like a Hammer and an Anvil. For any Starter Tank new to Tanks or CoH? That would be a 'perfect' Tank to begin with. If you want to be 'well ard' and hit like a mother trucker. I re-rolled mine from live. And if you add the Tank design pass and the Re-evolutionary Energy Melee design pass you it gives you all the single target damage you need for 'lights out' damage and much more robust AoE damage. Mobs just melt. Stack Invulnerability's Mob Surrounded Bonus to Def and To hit. And we have a 'winner.' Classic old school tanking. Trucker Tanking Cake. For the record, though. I did have a friend, who on live, 'two slotted' his Tank's Invulnerable armour powers...and 5 slotted all his attacks. He couldn't understand why he was getting his head caved in. And I consider my friend intelligent. He asked me, 'What's wrong with it in your view?' I looked at it, 'Er...your armour powers don't have many SOs in them...aren't you supposed to be a Tank ie take damage?' Where he was focused on Skanking (or whatever it was called.) Tanking Tip. Balance your defence and your attacks. You take damage. That's your job! Build that emphasis in as you level. I'd slot those S*L Armour powers in the 1st two tiers out real quick to 3 slots. Max out what S*L you have as soon as you can. As early as you can. It does make a difference. Azrael.

At some point, the Beginner Tank is going to want to know about 'muling.' (You can end up having that much resistance through a limited build out that you can turn Tough off and still enjoy the Global Defence that will stack to a SO build. To the 'Starter Tank' my Hot Tips would be: You don't need a full built out with IOs to be a good tank. Good primary (and 2ndary) power choices well slotted with SOs can make you a 'good' Tank. Tanking TIP! Adding Tertiary power sets like Fighting, CJ and Leadership can add to your Tanking Powers! And build upon your resistance and defence numbers as well as your accuracy and damage. Tanking TIP 2! Lots of toggles and heavy endurance attacks will cost you endurance and can be crippling if you 'go all out.' So load the End Reduction SOs and test their impact on your endurance bar. My general rule would be 1 end reduction for each toggle minimum. My preference is for 'two' end heavy sets like Dark Armour. Likewise. On Attacks? Two end reductions on attacks that cost more than ten. 1 for attacks less than 10. Azrael. PS. A beginner Tank who develops their understanding of Tanks (I was a very late bloomer in this regard...) then targeted use of a handful of Uniques (like the ones you mention) and 'earning the AT set' through TFs for those merits can take their Tank to the next level without 100s of millions spent influence.

Anybody who's rolled a Tank with Toggles and adds Fighting Pool knows all about endurance costs. I've always done 2 End Reds for Toggles and 2 End Reds for Attacks above '10' and one end reduction for Attacks below ten. Any beginner Tank may need to know that when rolling a Dark Armour Tank, for example. 'I've got an end problem...' etc. We've all been there. But I managed to fix Dark Armour's 'end problem' with End Reduction SOs. Quite easily. Azrael. PS. What IS your Starter Tank for the new Tank player? 🙂

Good call on Storm/Elec (or Ice) Defender. The Defender is a 'different' kind of Tank. Sounds like our 'friend' needs something with lots of buttons and lots going on. So a more 'active' kind of Tank. (See Azrael's Top Ten' Tank Guide - For Tank Beginners, for details.) Azrael.