Auroxis

Radiation Blast is definitely not the go-to for debuffs, as Achilles' -res proc doesn't stack with itself even from multiple casters. Beam Rifle is a different story thanks to its -res and -regen, and Sonic is the king of -res debuffs. Rad blast is nice because of the number of procs you can fit in each power, it's more of a damage set than a debuff set if you go for a full proc build.

Stalker loses out on Irradiated Ground so it should be a downgrade.

I use this one:

There's Soul Mastery for Moonbeam and Shadow Meld, and Mu Mastery for Zapp and Ball Lightning. The snipe can replace Crushing Blow in your attack chain for a bit of extra DPS.

Bio has a lot of synergy with DM. It has a damage aura you can scale up with Soul Drain (which also addresses your AoE issues) and being a resist/defense hybrid it benefits from the -tohit debuffs.

While having offensive utility for content where your mitigation isn't needed is important, keep in mind late-game doesn't only encompass that. Late-game can be hami raids and some incarnate trials, where heals+regen buffs are useful. Late-game can be doing the weekly task forces for double merits, where you'll often play together with very weak characters and those heals+buffs will come in very handy. Late-game can be keeping your team's lore pets alive longer. Regeneration Aura makes you quite tanky with high uptime, and my Empathy build has hardcapped resists as well as softcapped defenses. Then there's the subject of blasts, which a good defender can definitely get some damage out of if built correctly. Whether it be by choosing sonic or by proccing out your blasts.

For regular mobs I'd agree, not for AV's/EB's though.

With the -res debuffs and procs the difference isn't as much. Kin doesn't have -res and while Brute has a higher damage cap it already uses a lot of it for Fury and has less base damage.

Sure, but the tanker is also contributing more -res to a team which can make up for it in AV fights.

Bio/TW Tanker can certainly deal Scrapper levels of damage if you compare it to non-TW/Bio Scrappers. While it's significantly less DPS than its TW/Bio Scrapper counterpart (about 50% of an equivalent scrapper and 75% of an equivalent brute), it's far sturdier while contributing more utility to a team via the ability to tank more reliably and having better -res debuffs. I'm not saying Bio/TW should be the benchmark for balancing tankers, but that while tankers are behind there are currently ways to work around the issue through powerset selection and character builds. Also that the contribution of -res is a bit underrated, though understandably so thanks to bruising not being stack-able at all.

What are you even trying to say here?

I think making it stackable from the same source is a bit much, but I would definitely like making it stackable from multiple casters. As for giving more powers like grant cover, I think it would be a bit tricky to alter all the powersets like that. An easier implementation is one I suggested before, an inherent team (but not self) auto aura that buffs the damage of nearby allies.

Well if that's a kludge then so is repeatedly convincing Statesman or Lord Recluse to only attack you instead of the squishy blaster that's giving them a hard time. It doesn't have to be completely realistic, it has to be plausible.

Obviously you'd have to pass a wisdom saving throw first. Insults in D&D are actually a thing.

Well the aptitude of the tanker is taunting, and good taunts bruise egos after all.

I said that it makes Empathy great, not just viable/useful.

Fortitude increases damage by 31.25% (can be active on up to 7 teammates at once), and Adrenalin Boost lets your nukers go off more often. Plus there's always Sonic Attack to cover up that -res/-regen hole. If you're talking about something like Emp/Psy then yeah, if a team is fully kitted out you won't be bringing much of value outside of insurance. But Emp/Sonic is a different story.

Maybe it's like when a boxer only uses jabs to taunt his opponent, it bruises their ego and opens them up.

Sonic Resonance isn't a very active buffer, you only use your buffs once every two minutes. Empathy and Time would be better choices for a Bard concept. Empathy's RA's and Time's Farsight+Chrono Shift are like bard songs.

One power I'd like examined that hasn't received much attention is Arctic Breath from Leviathan Mastery, as it has a base 88% proc rate for 3.5PPM, can fit two -res procs and 4 regular damage procs on top of having -res built in. It has a low enough cooldown to be usable almost every 10 seconds, which would fit perfectly with the duration of the -res debuffs and fits comfortably into a rotation, potentially adding a -55% resistance debuff to it (-50% on average). I think on sets that can't fit an achilles' proc like Super Strength and Stone Melee this has potential if you manage to build the recharge up high enough. Here's a first draft, recharge might be enough between ageless and cross punch to run: Stone Fist > Arctic Breath > Seismic Smash > Heavy Mallet > Cross Punch > Stone Fist > Seismic Smash > Heavy Mallet Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.1 https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Magic Tanker Primary Power Set: Bio Armor Secondary Power Set: Stone Melee

The recharge is already in a reasonable realm with set bonuses/hasten/ff proc. No need to enhance it and neuter its greatest strength. Sure, but PPM mechanics have been a thing for a while and players are already utilizing it. You can buff Repulsion Bomb without messing up people's builds.

You do not have a monopoly over what makes thematic sense. For me, a tanker is more about being a team player and helping your allies rather than having wider AoE's or a higher damage cap. And the fact that the original devs chose Bruising as a way to buff tankers shows that they at least somewhat shared the same sentiment.

Then buffs should be centered around that aspect of the tanker instead of trying to make it resemble its main competition.

Bruising is definitely a hook, it changes how the class plays in terms of target prioritization and rotations.