Anthraxus

This right here is me as well.

Unlike with many other tanks, on a well-built Rad/* there's not a huge upside to Cardiac (IMHO); this really unlocks other potential Alpha Incarnate powers like Musculature for even more damage.

Condolences for your (our) loss. Many of us old-timers are starting to glimpse that far horizon at this point. o7

Welcome home! It was such a HUGE relief when I first logged back in (the implications of which are between me and my therapist). Go...hunt...kil Skuls.

I have two fully kitted-out Rad/BA tankers, and they are VERY powerful; also have a BA/Rad Brute who cycles the Rad tier-9 and with Rune of Protection (Sorcery pool) to achieve tanker level resists. One observation is that putting the +recharge proc into the two 360-deg attacks is more than enough if you want to save some slots for something else.

Beware of severe End drain issues pairing Axe/Shield, as both are capable of draining your reservoir by themselves... when paired they can suck you dry in one power rotation.

I can echo every sentiment that you expressed, OP. Welcome back! 🍻

Don't know that answer, but need badly to correct: Tidal.

Yeah @cranebump, the Talos mobs are the new ones.

I was able to make a pretty cool (and tough!) ice-themed tank using recolored Stone Armor/Ice Melee. Stone is now a fantastic armor set, and the fact that Mud Pots has an integral slow effect makes it fit in that way with the ice theme.

My wife just finished levelling her Shield/Axe tanker, and I followed her with a Time/Rad defender. That was a fun ride to 50! 😁👍

I have a 50 Bio/SS tank named "Rikti Hunter K'rang" that absolutely wrecks face; his theme is an alien hunter arrived on Earth following the Rikti invasion, who stayed to help defend Paragon City. 😁👍

To elaborate a bit more... I really enjoy the sort of "mathematics" of building a lvl 50 toon for maximum overall efficiency; tanks in particular can become quite the effective tank-mages in CoH, eventually controlling/crushing waves of enemy factions in just about any radio +4/x8 map. And that's fun...to a point. And just when you think you've got any particular build dialed-in to complete, dominant destruction, along comes one of the "changes" that the OP remarked upon. My latest example of this is my new lvl 50+ Rad armor/Stone melee tank; this bad boy laughs at Council, Arachnos, and Carnies (Oh my!), all without using much in the way of tertiary support powers like heals, inspirations, etc; but in the last few months Circle of all things surprises me with a brutal combo of cold damage combined with -resistance debuff, dropping me to the floor before I can remember that he has several timer-limited tools available to help! I have learned my lesson now, but there was a definite "WTF?!!" moment while I was trying to understand where that much damage could come from. The changes the Homecoming team has made are GOOD for the long term health of the late game especially, but also for the earlier game, where they have made enemies fight using many power sets previously available only to players, and this makes things WAY more fun for me. 👍

Eh, I really enjoy the changes that the Homecoming team has made. Have you considered moving over to one of the other servers?

I'm particularly fond of tanker radiation armor lately, and it provides an extremely smooth ride all the way to 50 due to the comprehensive resists, powerful absorb shield, and fantastic endurance recovery tools; literally any melee set pairs well with it. Also, consider a fourth melee possibility: Axe! On tankers, Axe melee is absolutely ridiculous, especially once you get Axe Cyclone. I currently have three Axe toons at 50, two tanks and a scrapper, and they are all completely OP feeling and super fun to play. Good hunting!