Golden Azrael

That's an idea. And that way, the AoE dam from Whirling hands won't seem so anaemic. Tying into the 'Rage' thread, I'd like to see 'Rage' replace Build UP in all tank melee sets. That would give the likes of EM, Ice and stone a great shot in the arm. Azrael.

Brilliant in its simplicity. Yes, Captain Powerhouse, you nailed it. Increase duration and no crash of any kind. Yes please. Send it to live. 😄 Straight away! 😛 What's not to like? With the boost end and acc proc taunt with added base dam? Massive step forward to tanks to feel more tanky!!! So all other non-ss tanks aren't left in the shade? Replace all the other tank's build ups with Rage. And the Tank class is BACK. (TM.) That's it. Buff said. Azrael.

That's a decent 1st whack at a build. You've prioritised signature powers. Makes sense to me. See my message to you. Part of me wants to roll a storm/ice to test it for myself. It looks very powerful with the debuffs and ice is a great blast set. Complement one another nicely with the slows and holds. Nicely rounded out with elec RP choice to keep the RP build theme going. Perhaps it would be a good idea to post the original SO build to see where you are currently at. Discuss the problems of the current build and that would provide more context for making suggestions regarding IO sets? In terms of myself, I try to get as 'clean' an SO build as I can and then I can build IO sets based upon an understanding of what the build requires. Azrael.

You have a point there. I tried a beta tank Rad/Titans L50 last night with incarnates. *Insane. It puts SS with Rage and something middling like....Energy Melee firmly in the shade. (But, hey, they put teh DMG in to woo back the subs, right? You can't blame them for that even if it is hard wired game breaking? Loads of AoEs, loads of damage....loads...just loads. A revelation to me. But it's fun.) That said. 'Rage.' I've got this theory that ALL tanks should have it. As an 'in built' 'press button' to replace 'Build Up.' Stone melee, Energy melee. Others. They seem archaic compared to eg. Street fighter or especially Titan. Just old fashioned. You can tell they were the earlier sets. The simple solution is just to swap out Build for Rage. One press for another. That would immediately give to hit and teh damage to ALL tanks for peak battle situations. To make it more engaging. I'd like a 'Build Up Rage' bar (ala Domi) to build up the rage which you can 'press' for 2 mins. And it wouldn't take that long to build it up again as an aggro' magnate. So it wouldn't be down for that long. No crash. No nothing. With IO sets? Perma. As a defence brute? My shields/ss has enough problems. Started with so so defence (23%) at L50 is pretty rubbish. And the res' is pretty so so. Sure, it's not a tank. But what I'm trying to point out is that once Rage crashed it takes my 23% which is crep enough down to 3%. it's auto to death power. You can't quite 'get going' with it. You just build up your fury bar then you have to duck out of battle. Rage feels punitive. As a compromise? The 2nd stack could crash. But the 1st stack left untouched. That's a good idea to start with. To get it to really compete with Titans? 2-3 stacks? (I recall on live I could briefly get 3 stacks...) And because I was defence capped the defence nerf crash wouldn't be that punitive because I had a 1 billion build that could cope. But in game? For SOs? Like 'auto snipe.' It's the same argument. Why should you have to set build to make something better when it should work well out the box and Rage doesn't. It interrupts game play. Does Superman stop 2 mins into a fight and go, 'So, Brainiac...got a bit of a headache....my defences have suddenly gone limp...' It doesn't really make sense. A 'controlled' rage is what we're looking for and is something that should be able to be done for at least 1 stack. Two would be nice with a -res on the 2nd. And an end/def crash on the 3rd stack? ie. The more angry you get the more befuddled you get with the increasingly intensity. ie. You're not thinking clearly so mistakes start to creep into your combat. A gradually lessening of -res then -def/-end makes sense then. Again. I'd make Rage, game wide for tankers. Stone melee and Energy melee and Ice melee (don't get me started....) would be transformed by such a boost and compete on a base level with brutes. A clear water between the brutes and tanks. Brutes get higher ultimate damage and building capabilities. Tanks have higher base and a constant sustained boost (which gameplay wise, would be nice if a Red Rage BUILD UP' bar could be added to give game play a bit of excitement - builds anticipation. Maybe wouldn't take that long to build compared to a Domi because as an aggro mag' it would built up really quick AAANNNND 'PRESS!' Here we go.... Azrael. "I have a new Super Strength tank now. I wasn't going to take Rage, I don't like the crash. If this change goes through and works as intended, I actually might take Rage." I can't quite bring myself to drag it out my powers tray. It is 'godly' but FLAWED. It's got that annoying, I'm testing combat now without it. It's caused my brute to die that many times. It just crashes defence based alts. Big meh for that. "Hell I would even vote with single rage, no crash and Jab and Punch moved up to have better damage." I'd second Jab and Punch having better damage. Very mediocre. But the same can be said for Energy melee. Very meh. Maybe even stone fist could do with a boost. And ice's Ice melee. If all sets had rage instead of bu then that would address those in one fell swoop. " 7 hours ago, johua said: I think that crashes in general are an unnecessary punishment indicative of poor game design choices by the live devs earlier in the game's life, and it was pretty evident that they were moving away from punishing mechanics such as crashes toward the end of live, given the blaster update. So, yes. I think it should have no drawbacks that can't be mitigated. " True. Fair comment. "

Hibernate rocks. Azrael.

Hello Captain Powerhouse, 🙂 When I think of tanks. I think of 3 things. 1. Aggro. Lots of it. Should be able to pull twice that of a brute. If a brute can pull and hold 8? Make the tank's 16. (though part of me would love a return to Hollows herding....) 2. End. More of it. So base to 120. *nods. Good move. 3. Damage. Base increase would be nice for soloing. Yes. However. See my comment about ALL tanks getting 'RAGE' as a 'press' button (maybe instead of BU? Easy swap out?) using a Rage Bar that you fill up. Then? RAAAAARRRRR! a. Regarding the changes to increased 'punvoke' with a taunt global proc off powers? Makes sense. You're an aggro magnet. And the more you dish it? The more aggro you can generate. Which is fine? Because that's your job. b. Increased range partially linking to the above? Yes please. Eg. Whirling hands on the tank? It was Energy's only AoE attack. It had creppy damage but I liked it 'cos' only AoE. To have it doing more range and more damage off base or as a product of increased range? Sound. Long time coming. You're a tank. You're the superman. So when you whirl your hands....it radiates out and all in the aggro mob of 16(?) feel your force. c. Base end will help with soloing. (The above would go hand in glove with it.) Solution to making Tanks more distinct. 1. A red bar that fills as tanks are getting hit is a good idea (a bit like the Dominator button....) and when it fills up? All tanks get 'Rage' (from the SS) set. Replacing BU (maybe?) Simple. And tanks get the flat boost they need for soloing. It's simple. Elegant. Rage gives a controlled anger vs furies 'the madder hulk gets...' mechanic. So you get better boosted base dam for soloing with better taunt off attacks and increased range on that damage. But when you 'really lose' it you click that button and it gives you a peak sustained damage for 2 minutes like Rage? And then you build up (pun intended) to it again. You could called the red bar 'Build Up' or 'Rage.' Consider it. It's quite different to Brutes. A controlled, sustained rage that you have to build up for. vs Brutes constant state of rage building and losing. 2. Brutes, to me, less resistance than a tank? If a tank is 100%? Superman area. Make Brutes about 85%. Hulk territory. 3. Taunting. You taunt twice the aggro any brute can. Exponentially so. Or an order of magnitude better. If a Brutes is 8. You're is 16. If the Brute can hold 1 mob? You can hold two. Maybe 3(!) mobs with some leakage in the latter. Ultimately, all you have to do is make Tanks MORE so. 🙂 Ie. What is a tank doing 'so so' damage? Why do they run out of 'puff' upto L22? Why can't they they have more than 5 mob aggro? Or 8? Put your diff' settings on x8 and the tank should be able to hold most of that aggro. A substantially large mob. Perhaps two mobs with 'some' leakage if over zealous blasters don't behave. Why can't each punch ADD to the mob size...the more aggro you create teh more you generate and hold? Ergo? The tier 1 and tier 2 mechanics could be essential in generating and holding MORE aggro and sustaining that. Tiers 1 and 2 could have their damage and recharge boosted to support this global taunt proc through punchvoke. Long have i wondered why tanks where left in the doldrums. This radical patch isn't that radical in truth. It's only what I would have expected. Obvious changes in many ways. And the reasons why I don't play tanks all that much. Though I do like them. I have two tanks. Stone / Will Power. Love stone melee. But it's end hungry even with two toggles for stamina. And secondly. I think the base damage sucks. It's mediocre. And build up is somewhat of a band aid. Replace it with Rage? Double the damage output via a 'Build UP Rage' mechanic and You get rage for 2 mins at a time....with 2 mins to build it up or something care of your punch voke proc off tier 1 and 2 powers. The other thing that annoys me in teh stone melee set? it's that the AoE power I do get that does knockdown? Does no damage what so ever. Minor would be nice. Moderate would be better and help me solo! I want to booshakka x8. Hard to do that with slow and mediocre single target attacks. Energy Melee. With Invincibility. Sure, the defence aura and resist set is nice and all. But Energy is slow and it's damage turgid in the lower level. One AoE with 'meh' damage in Whirling. So the base boost in damage and end most welcome to help last the fight in lower levels. Let's face it. If you can fight a mob of 8-16 you'd be a fit fella and not running out of 'puff.' So higher base end makes sense? Brutes Tough, hit super hard and narrow. Higher ultimate damage through Fury. Exponential Fury....vs Tanks Super tough, Hit hard as base (super hard with Rage BUILD UP) and wider. High damage under Rage Mechanic. Sustained Rage. These are clear distinctions that the devs need to keep sight of. I don't see why the Brute gets a groovy mechanic and the tank doesn't. The builders are a clever mechanic that gives the player a bit more excitement to their play. Helping make tanks 'less dull.' That all said. These 'hardly over zealous' (afterall, they did have their hollow herding nerfed back in the day....) changes are a welcome step in the right direction. I hear plenty of confusion in the brute vs tank debate. But it's very clear in my mind they are different types of behemoth. Think of the classic Types. Superman tank vs Hulk brute. They're very different. One is about invincibility and the other is about raw damage. Superman can get mad. Ergo. 'Controlled and sustained rage' ie. In context to a peak moment of a fight. Vs? Hulks constant bear with a sore Az Fury. That, to me, is very clear and my proposals above allows both mechanics to be true to that distinction. And yes. I'd say Superman is about taking way more punishment on another class level to the Hulk. The Hulk, however, is no tissue paper. The Hulk in the comics always took a kicking before his rage provided the hitting power to over come the threat to his 'strongest one there is.' Again. This is another clear distinction. So the tank takes and absorbs far more damage. Twice, at least, the mob size...(with the excitement for the player....of trying to hold a 3rd mob when the AT has to really, really push it....) It's a very clear base rock of the AT. So the numbers of mobs/aggro have to reflect that. Push it. Push it harder. Brutes. Can take about a mob before it starts to hurt with their lower res. Make it about 80-85%. More than a scrapper (is there's about 75%?) so that would peg a Brute about 85%? Then, for me? the tank has to be about 95%. Short of kryptonite i.e. specific damage types like eg. Magic or Psi? You're smashing and lethal is pretty much impregnable. I'm enjoying this thread even more than the sniper changes thread. I'd like the devs to, yes, do the above. (Not sure about swapping out the tier 1 or 2. That's not the problem...the utility of them is....and could do with higher base damage in both. So if you ONLY wanted to take two attacks and hammer out your def/res' build? You could do that with a Rage Button and Hasten.) And lastly. For the love of GAWD. Ty for the proposed changes to the 'end drop' on Rage. It's gotten me killed so many times on my brute. That and the end drop on hasten are a double whammy that can hammer your end bar to the last quarter. (Yes, folks, I DO have x3 end reduction in Knock Out punch....and yes x3 in Footstomp....and yes, x2 end reds in my fireball epic attack....and x2 ends on all the other powers in my attack chain bar Shield Charge.) A simple end reduction before you start a fight is welcome reprieve from the end drop misery. However, props for keeping the end drop mech' if you overlap rage x2. In that context, it makes sense. Just not as 'standard...' It's got to the point where I just want to remove Rage from my tray because of the end drop with hasten. It's punitive. I have to get an Incarnate power to solve this? Meh. It's like Snipe's I need 2 powers, an IO set plus rub my belly and tap my head to get insta snipe. 😛 Azrael. PS. For the love of god, any chance of giving Energy's tier 1, 2, 3 attack rotation some damage love? I think there's a thread somewhere on this topic.

Great work on the icons. Especially the Energy set. Any plans on co-ordinating with SCORE to update the icons in CoH to hi-res? Looks like you've already started. Makes the icons much clearer. Lord knows the text in the game gives me eye strain. Too small and almost blurry. Good job. Azrael.

Hello Modest, Ty for your reply. Advice noted. 🙂 I tend to take 'all' the powers of 1st and 2nd sets. Because there are lots of sets and alts I never tried on Live. And my vow if the game came back (YAY!) I would try out sets that I never got the chance to play. Rad/Sonic combo AV killer being one of them! Having tried them out as 'they are' I will potentially respect and customise the alt and see if any powers are red herrings. Or powers I don't use 'that much.' Sometimes that editorial evaluation can take 50 levels. In Short, this seems like it will be fun, customisable and something with great potential. Taking on Trolls in the Hollows showed me that. Even/Yellow cons in Bricks are no trouble whatsoever. And If I just focus on a boss manno on Manno I take him down to the mat. The idea of soloing anything at L50 is appealing. I wondered why their was a discreet amount of Radiation defenders at L50 wandering around. I didn't 'get it' on live when I rolled a Rad/Rad defender. (Thought the attacks where weak....) Now? I get it. Boy do I get it. This is just the beginning. Capped range def', capped res', res' to status effects and no end problems? Where do I sign up? Oh. I already have. 😉 I like the animations of the anchors. But maybe you're right. Maybe the animation just lags the 'instant' effect. It gives the impression of being sloooow when you put down Lingering, Rad' infection and Enervating....successively. I see I have much to look forward to at L50. Is this regarding your build? Or the 'any' set IO build based upon the key anchors? If it's anything like my FF/En build I have a lot to look forward to. I'll take set IO tips from your build. Ie. Which sets produce the best bang for buck in key buffs and attacks. What epic set would you suggest to go with it? Epic Dark? Patron? Regards, Golden Azrael.

Last night we were taking on +4 x8 Arachnos (yes, with Bosses.) If we drew another mob...eventually the debuffs (the one area of my build which is weak....no debuff resistance..) would eventually take the sting out of us and slow down our heavy hitting attacks...that coupled with Psi attacks. We got quite far into the Morality map before calling it a night. But a moral victory. We got to the square at the end having cleared a path. 😄 I have a Rad/Sonic. I wonder if a Dark/Rad would be a cool duo with it... Golden Azrael. PS. We're currently rocking at +4 x8 or +3 x6 (which seems a sweet spot for time vs reward...) Having loads of fun smashing Nemesis. At least a million influence a mission if not 1.5 - 2.

Modest, (You're so modest!) Love the build with smileys. Some people used to use this 'pick up and read' style back on the 'live' forums. Simple. Easy to follow. Good man. Your post inspired me to roll a Rad/Sonic (something I'd long threatened to do....) but I did so when Big Rom' on the ITF thwarted my FF/En defender when my DUO partner and myself reached a stalemate with the final AV. We beat Requiem....but Big Rom' kept moving around. We couldn't lay the smack down on him constantly as he kept running away. Buck...buck...BUCKAWWW! I'm at L33 and I thought I'd report in. It's a revelation in a hard work sort of way. I was running x8 +1 experiments in the Hollows vs Trolls. Backed up with inspires of course. Yellow and whites are where it lives. Or oranges if it's just one boss. But I find with Defenders in general of the Dark/Rad/FF defensive variety. Your defences are only as strong as the to hit/accuracy of the mobs you're against. Eg. Even with putting the Radiation Infection on a Freak Boss? He'll generally put a 'BOK!' on my head. Stunned. Messed. So the fight goes belly up real quick. As you lose the anchor to all the other mobs you annoyed with Radiation Infection. *"You radiation us? We kill you, man!" Hospital Express. However, when it works, most of the time. It's glorious to put R' Infection down. Rush over to a mob and stand next to them while melting them. Radiation infection is glorious. I keep the settings on +0 x1. I've turned bosses off. As post 30, chances are you're going to get 'boKKed' on the head. Current slotting? 1 end, 2 defence debuffs and 3 - to hit. About 48% - to hit and about -54% Defence debuff. Something like that without checking means that whites and yellows are in deep, deep trouble if I cosy up to them. I then put down the dam debuff. Enervating Field for the resists as well. Keeps any shots that get through to a minimum. Revelatory as well. But boy, I'd have to disagree that either are 'quick' acting. They are achingly slow to activate. Could both do with a chunk of time trimming off. (If we thought the snipe took ages to activate....) Especially when a scrapper has your mob dead before you can activate it. That's how slow it is. Choking cloud. I like it. Every time it hits? You don't get hit. So it's soft armour. Plus I think it's funny. I melt them whilst choking. It takes care of the trash white cons whilst you take down the lieu' or boss. Tested it extensively in Steel and Bricks. I like this. 'I'm going to attack you...uh...UH...can't....breath....must....' Meanwhile, I'm melting him. Take that Mr. Crey. On live. I couldn't see the fuss of this power. I agreed it was lame. But now, every layer of soft armour that stop you getting hit? Fine by me. It does however, have a .65 end problem. I shovelled x3 end red IOs in this. And it's still about .39 end or something. Coupled with Enervating Field? You have some heavy end anchors on your recovery. And achingly slow in battle. I find it best to place them from a discreet distance away. But if you get messed in the middle of a mob? PANIC! (Come on, come on...why are you so slow recharging....and no....no...so slow activating....oh...I'm dead....) So my strategy is to boost damage through Assault. But double end the attacks. (I even had Shout x3 end red. But have dropped back to x2.) I had the 1 Damage SO but double end red in attacks because the end would cascade down and the toggles would anchor the recovery from going up swift. 1 end red on toggles. Nope. Not in my book. As a defender, you can't hit as hard as blaster so you have to use your attack chain again which drains more end. So my idea is to double end the attacks and floor the amount going out. That said. You reach a point where you're not doing enough damage and have to use your attack chain again....and slowly your end bar will go down. I'm now x2 Damage and x2 End red. And I've got that nice balance of the end bar resisting going down and the damage 'fair' for 2 or 3 shooting whites and yellow mobs. Shout is a nice big hitter with AIM. I like AIM because it is burst damage. And I find there are times in pitched battles where it provides the relief in battle. Like a moment of inspiration or a power stunt. EM Pulse. Used it. I took it. But...losing your recovery for 22 seconds is that last thing I need. Guess it needs 1 acc (or two....), 1 hold, 1 mod, 1 recharge. I haven't slotted for that yet as my slots needed to go into two slotting dam in my attacks so I don't have to repeat teh end chain because damage is modest. I was finding up to L32? My end was emptying to zero after activating toggles and an attack chain or so. Very end heavy on toggles and even though the end cost on sonic is light enough it's what cascades an end bar down. My solution is a minimum of 2nd end reds on defences and attacks. One thing I didn't notice on your build (clearly end isn't an issue for you?) is Victory Rush. This is what I use keep end flying high. But it has a non boost 5 min standard recharge. But when it works? Great power. I also use AM and Hasten in lock step to keep the recharge time for that 'press' at a minimum. When AM and Victory Rush are in lock step? No end issues. But that doesn't last forever. Even with my measures if I'm too enthusiastic with my attack chain? I can suddenly find I have no end and I suspect that Hasten end drop is the culprit. (Hey, where did my end just go?) Sonic as a blast set? -res. What's not to like. Radiation butter... Sonic the knife!!!! I love the one two punch of tier 1 and tier 2. They do great bang for buck damage. With Shout as the big hitter. Shriek is respectable damage over time. It can take bite sized chunks off a white mob. It's fast recharging too and low end cost. I find if I used that and tier two my end bar doesn't move. Then I finish with Shout. Bish. Bash. Bosh. No snipe. But if you AIM + SHOUT? A decent punch there on yellows or whites. And it can hurt an orange. 🙂 It takes a chunk of end....I had it x3 end. But I've dropped back to 2, for now so I don't have to repeat attacks costing more end. It's a balance of dam vs end for me. I like continuous up time. I like to have builds that live in the 3/4s end bar rather than the last 1/4 end bar. Sleep. The siren. A difference of opinion here, Jeffery. 😉 It needs x2 acc to be fair. And yes. A range booster (it's a little short....) and its a much better power right there. Just three slotted as an emergency power. Or to up front sleep a mob then put down your anchors with safety. And any sleep is a good power to me. Its a good 'oh no...my toggles are down, I have been mezzed!' power. Oh bleep! 2 acc. 2 end. 1 sleep. 1 recharge. You have a sleep for half a minute. That's a great power right there. Any mob in bricks? You just take your time..., 'Which one should I melt 1st? Let me see....' Sure, they're real angry when they wake up, though... I wasn't that impressed with the Sonic Nova on Live. However. With Radiation behind it. I'm looking forward to revisiting it. My new philosophy on Novas is? You don't have to wipe everything out. Just hurt them. Real bad. Leave a mob in tatters and pick off the remains. Radiation Aura. You know. It pays you to read the power descriptions as I didn't know it boosted your end and recovery for 120 seconds. Du-OH. Silly me. It's a modest heal. But I only have it 1 x SO for heal. It's better than when I had a training origin in there. 😄 I 'll just it more now I know about the end buffing. Along with AM and Vic Rush....less end issues? As for build. This is an SO build. I'll revisit your advice when it comes time to fit IO sets. My aim was to floor their to hit and their defences and Radiation infection was x6 slotted as a priority. And the one power I haven't mentioned. Lingering Radiation. Great, great power. It floors their movement speed. Even ice aura on blaster isn't this good! -100. You can even get higher than -100!!! 😮 That's with just one x1 SO! (I'd like to put another slow in it!) It's four slotted. 1 acc, 1 slow, 1 end, 1 recharge. But I think this has to be 6 slotted. Maybe an extra acc (it's gotta hit folks....it puts the mob into stasis. Floors their recharge.) Perhaps an extra recharge on it so I can reapply to a boss. It only lasts 30 sec. And the Freak boss that is chasing me? He lasts long er than 30 sec to kill. I see the sense of your build in terms of putting in defence like Manoeuvres (but I respecced out of it at this time...) but burst damage, at this time, is more important to me. I left out the two res powers.... (two, really?) and went for Assault and Accuracy with Victory Rush. To put the Fighting pool in there, Combat jumping, you know, the usual stuff to hack saw a build into a defence build. *Shrugs. I see the point of that. But I don't like hacking builds. I generally like taking most of the powers (rare, in this instance, that I've left out two powers....but I don't plan on doing much rrez and the powers just sit there unused....) Defence is always useful and will stack with the utility of the anchors and the slows. I know the value of defence on my FF/Energy build. I'll revise that aspect of the build when it's time to Set build around L45. Ty for the thread. It inspired me to roll the 'AV' killer. How many times do we see teams of 8 take on AVs without a Rad/Rad and the fight takes ages..? Golden Azrael. PS. Of course I'm taking Screech at L35. 😄

I love using knock back to scatter enemies all over the map. LOVE IT! KNOCK BACK to KNDWN? Heresy!!! I dance for joy when mobs get blasted all over the map. Then I blast 'em again and they get boomed even further away! I hear energy has proc for 100% recharge opportunities. Imagine that? So you can knock them back even quicker!!! (Force feedback? I have one of the 'chance for 100% recharge that dropped on my FF/En' defender. Maybe something I can use on my en/en blaster.) Scattering enemies is the 1st thing I want to do. If Tanks, Brutes and Scappers ('I win!') get their nose bend out of shape about that? *tiny violin. Knock back tax. In my eyes? It's hit and miss. I'd like it 100% guaranteed. For all the attacks. Then you have real mitigation. I want the 2ndary effect for Power Boost (i.e. knock back re-instated) so I can go back to knocking grey mobs half way across Independence Port. Knock back Team. (TM.) Golden Azrael.

Ok. Noted. I'm all for overkill, myself. A stack of 4 times on Big Rom would be nice. We have the Anni Proc each. In a couple of attacks. We'll try Rom on even con. We did last time. But we didn't have Diam' at Tier 3 then or Tier 3/4 pets. My disrupter pet has a nasty melt mat. Maybe it is time to have another pop at Big Rom. Golden Azrael. PS. To my duo partner? Check out the incarnates on the AV killer thread.... Maybe a Rad/Sonic defender has a thing or two to teach....? 🙂

As the other half of that DUO, I can testify to the fun we've had and it's exceeded our expectations. I/we can now +4 x8 (with Bosses) a Council map with Vamps, Wolves and Galaxies trying to debuff me. So far, Incarnates...we have: (They weren't quite at that level when we first fought Rom'...) Barrier Tier 3. (We both have Barrier.) Diam' Tier 3. (Both have that.) Hybrid: Support Tier 2 (Both have that.) Alpha: Agility Tier 3. (Both have that.) Ion: Tier 2. (Tath99 has Tier Void Energy.) Lore: Tier 3 (Tath99 has Tier 4 pets...) We tried the ITF on +2 (got as far as the last two AVs.) It was an eye opener to beat the Roman soldiers on +2! It showed our potency. We tried it on +0 and got as far as Rom, having beaten Requiem! A landmark AV for the duo. We first took a swing at Rom' on the ITF before we'd we'd really got into diamagnetic. We were getting hit a bit and running low on end. Things have improved since then, end wise and inc' wise with ...being able to -to hit and -regen whilst on even con. I'm def' getting hit less and my end is no issue. If we get the Tier 4 Diam' Inc' I fancy our chances to have another wing at him. We're nearly at a place where we can try again to DUO the ITF. I've just completed a set build (I was on SOs/standard IOs when we fought Rom') with 3 sets of purples, end is no longer an issue and my defence is much higher (as is the duo's in total.) Capped on range def as well as Energy and Neg En'. And my res' compensate for the weaker Melee and AOE def'. We both now have -res - to hit and -regen. Got x3 -res IOs in my build. And four pets between us. (My disrupter Clockwork puts a nasty melt mat down...) We beat Requiem. 🙂 Just Rom' kept moving around. So we stopped and called it a stalemate. (I was that annoyed we didn't beat him I rolled a Rad/Sonic Defender...who is currently L33. I've used this debuff anchors on a couple of big monster battles already.) So, yes. Any other advice re: incarnates to debuff/-res/melt Rom' over time would be handy. We could try it on -1 diff' and if we win up it to +0. Steam of consciousness over. Thoughts, advice welcome. (i.e.. Any Incarnates better suited to the task of taking down big Rom'?) Golden Azrael.

The idea is to make the Defender MORE so. Golden Azrael.

Yeah, what Sentinel has done for 'blasters' is create a blaster with the defences of a tank. Like wise. A defender with self buff wouldn't have the defences of a tank but that's be a darn good junior tank especially if some of the FF powers added taunt IO slotting. Golden Azrael.

*chuckles somewhat. My duo partner and myself played the ITF (and other 40s - 50 content.) and whilst you're safer against even cons, the higher the diff' e.g. against rad bots? Psi? Or almost anything which isn't smashing? FF, even with us buffing each other and two dis fields running....we're far from being 'over powered' and we've been humbled a 'few times.' A ranged tank. That's the idea. 🙂 A control tank. maybe it's just another flavour of tank or controller. But I think it's a valid 'Offender' idea. As opposed to being slapped around when playing solo. Currently defence on FF is weak and mediocre (along with mediocre damage....) vs any 40s/50s content. Tank Mage. I like the sound of that. Sure, it would be fun to play. That's the idea. The tanks, scrappers and brutes Look at Blasters. They got their self buff didn't they? And insta snipes. (Got three, Ice, En and fire....) It's been transformation for the class. Like wise, Defenders are long over due this simple 'address the element in the room' problem. It's at the very heart of the defender problem. Especially on the FF power. You'd hardly be a 'god' but more a junior tank. You don't get the buffet of varied defences or regen or stamina tricks a WP tank gets. Or the Res' and def' tricks an INvul tank gets. When def' cracks, it really cracks. Wandering around with 16% on Disp Bubble (and that's it?) on the streets of P.I? Sounds like suicide to me. Campaign for Self Buff! Let's the make the defender great again. (Wait, was it ever great in the first place?) Either way. It's like the cinderella of ATs. Forcerella. I coined it. Golden Azrael.

Decent post, Mr. Knight. I approve of you efforts. Golden Azrael.

ah, but you came up with the best idea yet. The one I've wanted since playing Defender FF on live. 😄 Golden Azrael.

It's a fine idea, right there. it adds to the depth of the set. You can 'kinda tank' with Force Bubble on....and then rush back to hide behind a corner, put PFF on....wait for gather, then PFF off and NOVA BOOM! However, having some taunt effects on eg. FB, FB and DF make sound sense to me....IF(!) We can address the main thing holding the Defender back. Self Buff! That makes your suggestion of 'taunt' on certain powers very possible and in keeping. It allows the rise of the much muted 'off class' OFFENDER to power. You get to tank in a different way. A control tank. Good idea. Another idea for Force Bold that would be fun would be a force feedback proc' where the power fires again so you get a double bounce now and again. Me? I love knock back. The more? The better. *(waves stick.) Golden Azrael.

I like this idea. A lot. That, to me, should be what Repulsion 'Bomb' (damp squib....) should be. The chaos bringer. Great idea. That way, 'Bomb' could sync with Force Bubble. I'll have to read the rest of your ideas in detail. And do your post justice. I think, Repulsion Bomb, could also have you at the centre. Turn off Personal FF. Click 'Bomb' and there's a NOVA BOOM of bodies everywhere. With maybe the current Rep Bomb animation casting over your body. It may look more effective that way. Golden Azrael.

Golden Azrael.

Finally! FINALLY!! FINALLY!!! Somebody addressed the elephant in the room. Self Buff. To truly be like the comics, FF needs to self buff, just like Sue can. PFF becomes permeable with suppression. Or quite simply? Like the poster above (Caulderone said....) MAKE THE GDM, FFs (Def' or Ins' self buff.) It's the one thing, yes, the one thing that would elevate the FF choice for def's and make more play it. It's so frustrating to buff tanks (who barely need it....), (blasters who get and and become g*d), Scrappers (who, let's face it, don't need it...) In the way that Sentinels become 'blast scrapper' types.... Defenders could become 'blast tank' types. The tank has a .7 melee damage index. The defender has a range .6 damage index. The defender would be a much more potent AT this way. A 'control' tank. Self buff. To allow a defender to truly tank on (sorry, I mean, ahem, take on...heh, heh, heh....) a more Offender role oft talked about. How can the only member of the team not get those potent buffs? Especially when the defender has the HPs of a can of beans? Can't hit hard, can't defend themselves too well. (Eg. Dispersion Field's paper think defence - even with SOs. The way me and my duo partner circumvent this limitation of the Defender is to x2 FFs with a different 2ndary each. That way, we can buff each other with Insulation/Deflection shields. It's a potent combination that circumvent this 'design flaw' in the Defender AT. Sure, we end up tethered at the ankle. But that makes us work harder for one another for greater overall success. Yes. Self buff is the anchor keystone to transform the utility of the Defender class. Tanks, Scrappers and Sentinels can apply defences to them selves. And they have so much damage and defence and the knock down protection etc... 'What he said.' Golden Azrael.

Had a Mace / Elec' tank on live. It was fantastic. Some solid single hitters and some very nice AoE hitters which can also serve as crowd control. Strategic knock effects too. "n WM every attack feels like it hits like a truck, and most do. Tons of knockup, so it's also one of the better damage mitigating sets." Yup. Hits like a truck. Every attack has that 'hard hitting' visceral feedback. Ouch. OUCH. Not the face, man... I can see the appeal of going brute with this. Azrael.

Which tank would you roll and why?! I've seen a Titan/Willpower tank and I was seriously impressed by it. Made my Ice/Ice tank blush. (Hey, I'm a control tanker...don't judge me by my damage output...I can take the mobs down +2 x6 with loads of inspires and an hour or so...) I saw a Rad/Rad tank and wondered if it would be better as a brute? Plus the powers looked sexy in gold instead of green...(yep, saw one player as rad/rad as brute....) And. Dark. I heard somebody say that you can get perma build up on it with heal and end drain....plus dark has nice dark smack fu. Some don't like Sand of Mu but I love it and Smite. Rolled a dark brute/energy brute on live. It was sheer elegant poetry. Or should that be bloody poetry..? Azrael.

I posted a topic on this a little while back. Maybe it's something that maybe can be looked into re: feasibility. All I'd like would be to eg. /taunt 1, /taunt 2 etc. Like for the fly poses? It seems to be defined per body type. Big man, medium man on the character generator. You get the 'Ahh....' or the 'Hurrh' (which sounds like he's being ill. For the females you get the 'Ha, Har!' or the 'ARRRRRRRRH!' Amazon rainforest scream. I'm fine with either of those. But I'm more a 'Ahh...' than a 'Hurr' man, myself... Best thing is to email the SCORE team. You'd think this could be simple change with a slash command. But who knows. 'CHOICE FOR TAUNT' campaign starts here. Azrael.