Call Me Awesome

In my opinion yes, it is. I started playing it back in issue 3 in 2004 and I played it continuously until shutdown in 2012. In that time I tried WoW, Star Wars The Old Republic, Champions and several others but none held my attention for long while CoH was running. The customization and power set combinations are a great bonus but what really kept me playing was the community, there just wasn't another community I found like the one here. Very few build snobs or elitist players, this was certainly a game for the casual player and as long as you played your character decently nobody was going to give you grief because you weren't at "optimal DPS" or some such. No "Holy Trinity" of Tank/Healer/DPS, nearly any combination of characters could handle over 90% of the content in the game and most builds could be startlingly powerful... more to the point, most AT's (Classes) simply FEEL powerful to play. As several have mentioned, it's free so go ahead and download it and see for yourself. If you're a solo player I'd suggest playing a Scrapper or Brute since they're straightforward and have enough damage and durability to be forgiving while you're learning the game. I would NOT suggest playing a "Healer" since that play style isn't needed or looked for. Buffs and Debuffs are many times more powerful here than in most games and are far more beneficial to a team than simple healing. As far as powerset choices, most of them are quite functional so pick ones that sound fun. If you want to change your powers (the individual powers you pick as you level, not the power sets themselves) you get a free respec every 10 levels so you can rebuild your character and grab this power in place of that one. Most people you run across will be happy to help you if you have questions.

I'd try Mace/Shield for an Endgame tribute

I've seen some extremely capable fire tanks who could handle anything the game threw at them. Yes, it's weaker in protection than some overall but it's still a stout base to build on. The whole point of Fire Armor was as an offensive tanker as opposed to a defensive one. Stone Armor was the exact opposite, all defense at the expense of offense.

Possibly so. You need to weigh benefit vs cost, most builds I've seen reach 90% or more of their potential with 20% of the cost. Yes, a perma-Phantom Army Illusion/Rad controller is a very expensive undertaking however it's considerably cheaper to build defenses than to build 200% recharge bonuses. Shop around a bit for other sets too... for example in my Invuln soft cap guide I suggested the Kinetic Combat set for S/L bonuses, but also mentioned that the MUCH less expensive Pounding Slugfest set could also do the job if you slotted an additional set of them. Many sets are like that, while the expensive set offers better bonuses you could substitute a cheap set and slot two sets of them for the same benefit at a tiny fraction of the cost.

They can and will strip your defenses in no time since you have no debuff resistance, however with 90% S/L resistance and Healing Flames to patch you up it shouldn't be that bad. I can't look at your build as I'm on my Mac laptop without Mid's but it shouldn't be an issue. I didn't have a lot of problems with a Spine/Electric scrapper back on Live in that situation and your fire tanker should be considerably tougher. Just bad luck with one group of mobs? Check on your actual defense/resistance numbers in game and make sure you didn't get something wrong, or have a brain fart and jump in without something turned on. At a guess you had one of them get lucky and drop your defenses, then others started getting lucky until your defense was in negative numbers and they were more or less always hitting you. Still, a 90% S/L resistance and a tanker's HP bar should have handled it easily. You should have seen a slow drop in your HP that Healing Flames could take care of while you took them out.

I don't really know how to answer that as it's highly dependent on the primary and secondary as well as what your expectations are for the build. For an Invuln tanker you could probably get the vast majority of the maximum durability for $50 million. From there it's all down to how you want to tweak things. Frankly a competent player can handle tanking nearly anything in the game with SO's and a decent team behind you. Set bonuses make things easier sure but what you spend on your build is all up to what you want to accomplish and what you're willing to spend to get there. Most set IO's cost less than a million each even buying them crafted on the auction house; if you're crafting your own then that can drop to MUCH less. Yes, some highly desirable IO's sell for more but outside of a VERY few I don't see many prices over 5 million per IO. I've been doing a lot of marketing recently and I seldom see even the Miracle +recovery or Numina +regen/recovery uniques selling for much over 7 million. Purples, now yes they are expensive but I generally don't look at them in a tanker build unless I'm going for a no holds barred ultimate build.

Pre-shutdown S/L accounted for somewhere in the neighborhood of 70% of the damage you'd run into. It does seem that others are becoming more prevalent nowadays... you'll run into more E/N than F/C as a general rule while Psi is becoming more common. Toxic, aside from Vahz in the lower levels, is extremely rare. It's always best to have layered protection... a good shot of defense along with a good amount of resistance is better than either one alone.

That would put the soft cap against those mobs at 58.75% defense. The simple gist is that you cannot reduce the mob's chance to hit you below the 5% floor so any amount of defense beyond the amount needed to counteract the mobs to hit does not matter (barring debuts of course). The way a mobs chance to hit you is figured is that the game takes the base to hit of the mob, subtracts any defense of the target and then adds the accuracy modifier that LT, Boss and AV's get. That's why LT's and higher mobs will hit you more, they have an accuracy (NOT to hit) bonus that's applied AFTER your defense is calculated. I forget the exact amount of the accuracy bonus but if you're soft capped then minions will hit you 5% of the time, LT's will hit a bit more and I think Bosses will hit maybe 8% of the time due to their accuracy buffing the 5%.

If you're starting from scratch it may be better to think about building S/L typed defenses instead of positional. It's fairly easy to build significant defense from nothing in one type or position but it's far more challenging and can cause a lot of undesirable compromises in the build to get multiple positions or types of defense at an effective level. Last I checked, which admittedly was prior to shutdown, Smash/Lethal defense was the best bang for the buck defense... roughly 70% of enemy attacks had one of those two tags. Also there's a ton of sets offering S/L defense. Trying for say 25% or better defense to multiple threats forces you to gather up a lot of set bonuses which may leave you a bit gimped in other areas. My Blasters I tend to build for Ranged defense of around 40% since they don't spend much time in melee. On the other hand a Kinetic will want to be close to benefit from Transfusion/Transference/Fulcrum Shift so you'll want to evaluate your needs based on that. S/L defense will protect from more than just Melee but you'll also be getting hit by other damage types on occasion. I have to confess to a lack of knowledge on MM's, they're the one AT I've never played to any significant level. If your pets are going to be able to hold aggro then you may want to focus on building them up rather than chasing defenses for yourself.

One thing, you can get all 5 starter enhancements free from the P2W vendor. They're good until around 21 I think when they stop proc'ing and should be replaced. Don't limit yourself to just one of them, they come in handy for DFB.

I remember doing that way back when. I can't remember when the ability to do that was changed but I vaguely recall being... displeased.

I've thought of moving the proc into AS, however I loose either the S/L res from 6 slotting the Stalker set or I loose one set of Kinetic Combat and the S/L defense from it. The build up proc makes sense though and I'll make that change. Boxing is simply a wasted pick to get Tough/Weave and it doesn't fit into my chain so it's kind what the heck on the choice between Boxing/Kick. My attack chain is already more than full without either. The Panacea proc I hadn't though of, sounds like a good idea. I'll be doing a bit of shuffling of powers for a bit more respec friendly build, particularly Recall Friend could be earlier for lower level TF's.

While I haven't played Invuln on a Stalker I have played it on a Tank and Scrapper so I imagine it's similar. Broadsword has it's Melee defense buff with Parry, unfortunately it doesn't stack with Invuln's defenses since Invuln is typed, not positional defenses. It's a good, solid set, and Invuln is likewise a good, solid set. The two just don't complement each other as well as they could due to the miss match in the kind of defense buff each offers. That's not to say the combination isn't capable and won't work, it will work quite well. I just like to try and pair up sets that complement each other if possible. I can't speak one way or another about Savage Melee as I've never played it and only taken a cursory glance at the set in Mid's. From a glance it's going to be a bit more complex to play since it has attacks that build a buff and attacks that use that buff so you'll need to pay attention to the order you fire your attacks off in, kind of like Street Justice. It looks like it's pretty solid though, and the few times I've teamed with someone playing Savage Melee they've been pretty effective. Bottom line, pick whichever set you think fits you. Heck, roll up one of each, take them through a few DFB's to get them into the teens and see how you like them.

I recently hit 50 with my Fire/Regen stalker and have been pondering a final build. Currently I'm sitting at 34% S/L defense, 40% S/L resistance and the other resistances/defenses hovering in the 20% range. I'm sure I can improve on those numbers, good defense on top of halfway decent resistance and Regen is a happy place 😉 Here's the current build: Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Fire Dance Current: Level 50 Natural Stalker Primary Power Set: Fiery Melee Secondary Power Set: Regeneration Power Pool: Sorcery Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Teleportation Ancillary Pool: Weapon Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Fire Sword -- KntCmb-Knock%(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(3), KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(3), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(5), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), CrsImp-Acc/Dmg(7) Level 1: Hide -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A) Level 2: Cremate -- KntCmb-Knock%(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(7), KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(9), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(9), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11) Level 4: Reconstruction -- DctWnd-Heal(A), DctWnd-Rchg(11), DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx(13), DctWnd-EndRdx/Rchg(13), DctWnd-Heal/Rchg(15), DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(15) Level 6: Assassin's Blaze -- KntCmb-Knock%(A), KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(17), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(17), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(19), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(19), CrsImp-Acc/Dmg(21) Level 8: Fast Healing -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Heal(21), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(23), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(23) Level 10: Dull Pain -- DctWnd-Heal(A), DctWnd-Rchg(25), DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx(25), DctWnd-Heal/Rchg(27), DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(27) Level 12: Mystic Flight -- Flight-I(A) Level 14: Build Up -- AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(A), AdjTrg-Rchg(29), AdjTrg-ToHit/Rchg(29) Level 16: Integration -- NmnCnv-Heal(A), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(31), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(31), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(31) Level 18: Breath of Fire -- SprStlGl-Rchg/Hide%(A), SprStlGl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), SprStlGl-Acc/Dmg(33), SprStlGl-Dmg/Rchg(33), SprStlGl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), SprStlGl-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34) Level 20: Boxing -- Empty(A) Level 22: Tough -- StdPrt-ResDam/EndRdx(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(34), ResDam-I(36) Level 24: Weave -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(36), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(36), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(37) Level 26: Fire Sword Circle -- SprAssMar-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprAssMar-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), SprAssMar-Rchg/Rchg Build Up(37), SprAssMar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), SprAssMar-Dmg/Rchg(39), SprAssMar-Acc/Dmg(39) Level 28: Instant Healing -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(40), RechRdx-I(40) Level 30: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A) Level 32: Greater Fire Sword -- KntCmb-Knock%(A), KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(40), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(42), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(42), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42), CrsImp-Acc/Dmg(43) Level 35: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-EndMod(A), PrfShf-End%(43), Heal-I(43) Level 38: Moment of Glory -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), GldArm-3defTpProc(45), RechRdx-I(45) Level 41: Targeting Drone -- AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx(A), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(45) Level 44: Resilience -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(46), ResDam-I(46) Level 47: Exploding Shuriken -- PstBls-Dmg/Rng(A), PstBls-Dmg/Rchg(48), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(48), PstBls-Acc/Dmg(48), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(50) Level 49: Recall Friend -- Range-I(A) Level 1: Assassination Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) 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 -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), Prv-Absorb%(50) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), PrfShf-End%(46), PrfShf-EndMod(50) ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1472;677;1354;HEX;| |78DA65944B6F12511886CFC0504A5B2C054A2FD0167B913B82BA7751AC8942A585B| |66A4CEA841C914866C8304D7AF3F61774E152A37B37DEFE86D79F5175E1C6157ECC| |F7DA1A87843C73DEF35DDE7399A9EC96465E5F7E7C5128FEE5B6D6ED6ED72CAD7D4| |F9ADE55CDDA31B5B65B08115C6999325ED2F4868C2FEF98A6D42D2FC95308DDAEC8| |B694F9959634F7F839F677A624EF48BD2BF3EBB22975696A56CBD0C548D530DAF99| |A613628C16F0F565ACDBB564B6FF254596A1D1A04ED419D0A760CD3B273A3973AAD| |467E8BE60D7DBBA275AD7E4B349B244B4BF4DF4B08FC7A1E5127CCABC2B5065699E| |A3A58630EDC26165551F711153B578871C5D6F61390444F55506F00F506516F10F5| |86506F93EAB8E1C17D8DEB0C55992357C132F354055C651E503F0F723DE817409F0| |0FA06D12F887E61F8DFA0BE5EF6EFF66E72BDF00633B206D6985B14EBC3BA7CF038| |098F93F0380D6FD3F0F69436789873C4F002F73C24BF7ED65CFE172E5B8BBD029F3| |3AF53A351F81A859F59F899859FD93AF301D51BE358CFD837B7ADC5BF821FC14FCC| |D39FC12F4C85EE6508FE423DFA09B7970FB2EF6E3C420F33143DC15CC8F20A548A9| |980BB099CFA42180C301743CC87E46E0AA73375A0F2DC3E789F79E610DC03779937| |6917A2D8A968867B27FE6384BCCC600533F0F2887ACEA1E71C6E44023722851B91C| |28D48E146A47123926334C4FAE79FF069A49F818B1C73CBC76F4E3F66093DB3E778| |47B3F095A63A498E51922F393F8BD3BE41F919F4C8FCE6BCDC2F107B9CA1FC3C6E5| |BFE3D6B67DF816FC137CCE207E612ED45017B5148B316558FDFEE5EECE4B93FA4D3| |4E3B948243293A94F30EE58243293B94AA7AFC5D108AADF802C76F7DEF688866F12| |55172ECFDC789A62857E821416B3DE27DFAFE6F7C92E37F9E682E25CE5A0E6757C4| |59FE01FD01E456| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

I'm currently leveling a BS/Shield scrapper and at level 41 he's at or above the soft cap to all three positions (using Parry to boost the Melee) and is sitting at around 50% S/L resistance and 35-40% to E/N/F/C. On Live I had another BS/Shield scrapper at 50 and the numbers were similar. Now with some IO bonus changes according to Mid's I should be able to almost hit 75% S/L resistance with E/N/F/C above 50% once I hit 50 and finish the build. One with the Shield will get you nearly to the resistance cap for the moments when it all turns pear shaped. I frequently tanked the ITF with my scrapper on Live and it's fully capable of tanking +4 Cims with a mature build. Heck, just last week I tanked a +4/x8 ITF with my BS/Shield who at the time was only level 35. I'm more known for Invuln and I do love the set. However I don't think that Broadsword is the best pairing for Invuln; BS with Parry gives you a significant Melee defense buff while Invuln is built around resistance and typed (S/L/E/N/F/C) defenses so it doesn't get the most benefit from it. Yes, it'll work quite well as both are solid sets but Shield is a better pairing.

Hadn't thought of the Gaussian proc and I'd completely forgotten about being able to slot a stealth IO into Sprint... I had a vague memory that the Dev's had removed that option at some point. I see Mid's allows it, I'll have to see if the game does. *edit* Hmm, so it does fit. That will change a lot of builds of mine.

Interesting, looking at Mids the description of Evasion does not mention anything about taunt. I have to select the power to see that yes, it will take Taunt enhancements.

I've never played SR as a tanker but looking over the set I don't see a taunt aura there? Or am I just blind and missing it? If so that would make tanking with the set... challenging.

I've been working on my BS/Shield scrapper lately and am currently working out a final build. Right now I've just hit 39 and have about 2/3 of this build in place now with Gift of the Ancients in place of Reactive Defenses and it's working quite well, I'm trying for the maximum durability coupled with the maximum damage output in the final build. Any suggestions? Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Gortak: Level 50 Magic Scrapper Primary Power Set: Broad Sword Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Fighting Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Hack -- Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:50(A), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(3), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx:50(3), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg:50(5), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg:50(5) Level 1: Deflection -- Rct-ResDam%:50(A), Rct-Def/Rchg:50(7), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg:50(7), Rct-Def/EndRdx:50(9), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(39), Rct-Def:50(39) Level 2: Slice -- ScrDrv-Acc/Rchg:50(A), ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(9), ScrDrv-Dmg/Rchg:50(11), ScrDrv-Dmg/EndRdx:50(11), ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg:50(13) Level 4: Battle Agility -- GifoftheA-Run+:40(A), GifoftheA-Def:40(13), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx:40(15), GifoftheA-Def/Rchg:40(15), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:40(17), LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(50) Level 6: True Grit -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx:50(39), GldArm-3defTpProc:50(42), Prv-Absorb%:50(45), Prv-Heal:50(45), UnbGrd-Max HP%:50(46) Level 8: Parry -- TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:40(A), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg:40(17), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:40(19), TchofDth-Dmg/Rchg:40(19), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx:40(21) Level 10: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(21) Level 12: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A) Level 14: Super Jump -- WntGif-RunSpd/Jump/Fly/Rng:50(A), WntGif-ResSlow:50(42) Level 16: Against All Odds -- Taunt-I:50(A) Level 18: Whirling Sword -- ScrDrv-Acc/Rchg:50(A), ScrDrv-Dmg/Rchg:50(23), ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(23), ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg:50(25), ScrDrv-Dam%:50(25) Level 20: Phalanx Fighting -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A) Level 22: Boxing -- Empty(A) Level 24: Tough -- UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx:50(A), UnbGrd-ResDam:50(27), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:50(27), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam:50(37), UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg:50(40) Level 26: Disembowel -- TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:40(A), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:40(29), TchofDth-Dmg/Rchg:40(29), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx:40(31), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg:40(31) Level 28: Weave -- GifoftheA-Run+:40(A), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:40(31), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx:40(33), GifoftheA-Def:40(37), GifoftheA-Def/Rchg:40(43), LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(43) Level 30: Build Up -- AdjTrg-Rchg:50(A), AdjTrg-ToHit/Rchg:50(40), AdjTrg-EndRdx/Rchg:50(40) Level 32: Head Splitter -- ScrDrv-Acc/Rchg:50(A), ScrDrv-Dmg/Rchg:50(33), ScrDrv-Dmg/EndRdx:50(33), ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg:50(34), ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(34) Level 35: Shield Charge -- ScrDrv-Acc/Rchg:50(A), ScrDrv-Dmg/Rchg:50(36), ScrDrv-Dmg/EndRdx:50(36), ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg:50(36), ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(37) Level 38: One with the Shield -- ResDam-I:50(A), ResDam-I:50(42) Level 41: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(43) Level 44: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%:50(A), PrfShf-EndMod:50(45) Level 47: Energy Torrent -- PstBls-Acc/Dmg:50(A), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(48), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx:50(48), PstBls-Dmg/Rng:50(48) Level 49: Focused Accuracy -- AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx:50(A), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg:50(50), AdjTrg-EndRdx/Rchg:50(50) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Critical Hit 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+:40(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+:50(46) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I:50(A), PrfShf-EndMod:50(34), PrfShf-End%:50(46) ------------ ------------ Set Bonus Totals: 12% DamageBuff(Smashing) 12% DamageBuff(Lethal) 12% DamageBuff(Fire) 12% DamageBuff(Cold) 12% DamageBuff(Energy) 12% DamageBuff(Negative) 12% DamageBuff(Toxic) 12% DamageBuff(Psionic) 9.13% Defense(Melee) 7.56% Defense(Smashing) 7.56% Defense(Lethal) 12.25% Defense(Fire) 12.25% Defense(Cold) 6% Defense(Energy) 6% Defense(Negative) 6% Defense(Psionic) 6% Defense(Ranged) 18.5% Defense(AoE) 3.6% Max End 45% Enhancement(Accuracy) 38.75% Enhancement(RechargeTime) 6.25% Enhancement(Max EnduranceDiscount) 15% SpeedFlying GrantPower Preventive Medicine (10% chance, if Scourge) 210.8 HP (15.75%) HitPoints 15% JumpHeight 15% SpeedJumping MezResist(Confused) 102.5% MezResist(Held) 102.5% MezResist(Immobilized) 102.5% MezResist(Sleep) 102.5% MezResist(Stunned) 102.5% MezResist(Terrorized) 102.5% 6.5% (0.11 End/sec) Recovery 40% (2.23 HP/sec) Regeneration 20% ResEffect(SpeedFlying) 20% ResEffect(RechargeTime) 20% ResEffect(SpeedRunning) 15% Resistance(Smashing) 15% Resistance(Lethal) 13.5% Resistance(Fire) 13.5% Resistance(Cold) 27.75% Resistance(Energy) 27.75% Resistance(Negative) 5.25% Resistance(Toxic) 5.25% Resistance(Psionic) 0% Resistance(Smashing) 0% Resistance(Lethal) 0% Resistance(Fire) 0% Resistance(Cold) 0% Resistance(Energy) 0% Resistance(Negative) 0% Resistance(Toxic) 0% Resistance(Psionic) 30% SpeedRunning | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | 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Personally I'd set Active Defense to autofire since you REALLY want that puppy active and have Hasten on an easily reached key and simply hit it when the power pops up. A few seconds without activating Hasten won't kill you, a few seconds without your Mez protection on a scrapper might.

I haven't run across more than a handful of bad actors on Excelsior myself. I have seen a few "Recruiting for x, must have y" but they're few and far between. The worst case was a Manticore I was on a couple weeks ago where I suddenly ended up with the star after a DC and ended up having to mediate between the former leader and another player who did not play well together. No former leader, I'm not going to kick someone because they were gathering mobs and on occasion biting off more than they could chew. It wasn't a big deal but it did blow up in chat. I sent a tell to the offending player and asked them to stick a bit closer to the rest of us and the problem was solved. Other than that one experience I haven't seen a lot of problems. I admit I don't pay a lot of attention to Help but the few times I've noticed it I've occasionally answered someone's question. More often than not it's fairly newbie stuff like how do I get to x, or what does y mean. I'm an old fart who played from issue 3 to shutdown and then picked up shortly after Homecoming launched. Back on Live I played mostly on Guardian where the player numbers were lower so I have certainly noticed the increase in population, and as always the more players you have the more bad players you see. Personally if someone asks for tips I'll explain and offer suggestions but if they don't ask and aren't being disruptive I'll let them play in peace. If I need to ask them to change their behavior I'll do it in a tell instead of involving the entire team. /kick is always, ALWAYS a last resort and I doubt I've used it more than 5 times since 2004.

I'll certainly need to look into the changes, thanks for the tips Hyper. Of late I've been focused on leveling my Stalker and Blaster so my tanks have lagged back in the 20's... I know, Sacrilege! However, now that both have reached 50 and started Incarnate trials it's time go go back and level something else. Also a bit of market work has built up a bit of a nest egg for IO's... currently my market character's sitting on slightly over a billion inf. Making money is surprisingly easy, roughly 10-15 minutes a day buying recipes and crafting then selling the IO's nets about 30 million per day. Back on Live I had at least one 50 of every AT in the game but Mastermind... never could get into that one... so while Tanks were my first love I played everything. And you know, playing the other side makes you understand your job in tanking much better. Playing a squishy with a lot of damage really makes you appreciate a competent tank, and makes you better understand what you need to do when tanking. I tended to watch the tanks I teamed with and study what they did that worked and didn't work, then apply that to my own tanking. I teamed (and still do for that matter) with good tanks, bad tanks, really terrible tanks and really great ones. I learned a lot from that. How to control aggro, how to position mobs, gather mobs and everything else that goes into tanking. And, of course, how to maximize survivability since as the saying goes, Dead tanks hold no aggro.

Slight quibble, Unstoppable was impossible to perma in issue 4, perhaps also in 3 but my Invuln was too young then to have the power. Perma Unstoppable was an issue 1 thing, back when Unyielding was Unyielding Stance and made you immobile. It was changed sometime before issue 4 to the stats it has now.

Both are capable sets and should work quite well together. My experience with Ice is somewhat limited as I only played one Ice tanker to around 45 on Live right before shutdown but I'm completely familiar with Stone Melee and it offers a lot of soft control with it's knockdowns, the Stun in Fault and the MAG 4 (Yes, 4) hold in Seismic Smash. The only downside to Stone Melee is that it's fairly end heavy and that can be an issue before your build matures.

Not only can't it be perm, in my opinion it's not even worth taking due to the crippling crash at the end. You're better off building for higher defense and carrying a few inspirations for the few situations where things get dicey. On Live I never had Unstoppable (well, not after a brief try with it way back in issue 6) and never needed it. With a relatively inexpensive IO build I never found anything I couldn't tank. The very few edge cases where incoming damage threatens to overcome your defenses are easy handled with the odd orange, purple or green inspiration. They solve the rare problem without any of the downsides of Unstoppable.