Tanker Toughness Test

[The_Warpact]

When you hit the big time on your tank ie IOd, Incarnate, 50, etc. What is the defining mission/arc that you use to test just how Billy badass your build is? Or do you even do a test?

For me I just pl my toons to 50, IO them out and then test it. It's a good sink or swim moment for me. Usually I just go up against Scrapyard and see what I can do. But, recently I was reminded that Operative Grillo has a nice arc involving Snakes, this time I was on my MM on a team and it was on +4×8, and we faceplanted on the final mish several times.

 

Now this final mish has an AV, a ton of snakes, and a f*ck ton of eggs which hatch into alot of damn snakes just in the final room.

Now snakes have alot of -Def, toxic attacks, and some mind control attacks. So to me its a good test, one that my new Rad/Ice tank is going to face pretty soon.

Is there any that you use to test your tank out on or might be a challenge?

[Linea]

I do the following, in the order listed.

1. Fire Farm, or SL Farm - This is a pretty basic level of durability
2. Cimmie Test - aggro three groups of +4 cimmies, making sure to keep the 6 bosses aggroed, then grab your ankles for 10 minutes.  No offensive powers allowed, only defensive.
3. Solo +4x8 ITF - This gets a little hairy on the dps check to kill a +4 AV that runs like a madman, so I don't worry too much if that is the only failure point.  So far it hasn't caused any complete failures, but I have had to use reds on a few low damage builds that didn't have either a taunt nor immobilize.
4. Complete a Solo +4x8 AE 801.2 in the time given (2 hours).  - Just search 801.2 in AE.  If you want harder or easier ones you can search 801 instead for the complete series.

 

Most of my builds regardless of AT can do all of the above.

Edited March 29, 2021 by Linea

[The_Warpact]

1 hour ago, Linea said:

 

1. Complete a Solo +4x8 AE 801.2 in the time given (2 hours).  - Just search 801.2 in AE.  If you want harder or easier ones you can search 801 instead for the complete series.

 

Most of my builds regardless of AT can do all of the above.

I will look this up.

[Max Firepower]

On 3/29/2021 at 12:05 PM, The_Warpact said:

I will look this up.

I would like to hear about your results.

[Sir Myshkin]

There was a pretty big stretch of folks doing an enemies buffed, player debuffed, +4/x8, no insp, no temp, master run ITF which proved to be pretty challenging.

[Hjarki]

Villain groups like Arachnos, Rikti, Rularuu and Carnival are all good choices for testing how Tanker-ish you are. Aside from this, whether or not you can tank Hamidon is a good thing to check.

[Infinitum]

On 3/29/2021 at 10:53 AM, Linea said:

I do the following, in the order listed.

1. Fire Farm, or SL Farm - This is a pretty basic level of durability
2. Cimmie Test - aggro three groups of +4 cimmies, making sure to keep the 6 bosses aggroed, then grab your ankles for 10 minutes.  No offensive powers allowed, only defensive.
3. Solo +4x8 ITF - This gets a little hairy on the dps check to kill a +4 AV that runs like a madman, so I don't worry too much if that is the only failure point.  So far it hasn't caused any complete failures, but I have had to use reds on a few low damage builds that didn't have either a taunt nor immobilize.
4. Complete a Solo +4x8 AE 801.2 in the time given (2 hours).  - Just search 801.2 in AE.  If you want harder or easier ones you can search 801 instead for the complete series.

 

Most of my builds regardless of AT can do all of the above.

Pretty much this, if I fail at these - I go all you have failed this city and scrap the build.

[BLVD]

Be able to stand next to Lord Recluse with the red tower up. This is usually a good test of how my tanks handle KB and end drain.

[tellania]

For those who attempt this, I highly recommend looking at

(in his sig)

 

The only time I face planted on my invul/ss, I either had recovery set to zero (electric control -recovery), or cascade defense failure (radiation -def, and heavy gunners) (rage really helped with the -20% base defense drop for cascade failure, and rage/hasten helped murder me with -endurance (esp with low recovery).   Helps to keep the power attribute window up to monitor.

 

 

Once I targetted the rads and electrics, life got MUCH easier.

Edited April 5, 2021 by tellania
update

[The_Warpact]

On 3/31/2021 at 9:02 AM, Max Firepower said:

I would like to hear about your results.

Took me awhile life, work, blah, blah.

Made it to the 3rd mob before getting cut down. 

Was getting lambasted so fast I couldn't keep up on healing, recovery, etc.

I ran my Dark/Dark/GW tank, I'm going to go back at it again and going to try on my Rad/Ice tank also.

[MTeague]

Just a couple days ago, I was doing the Vanessa DeVore arc in First Ward, where you defend the cemetary against an incursion of Talons of Vengeance. 

https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Vanessa_DeVore_(Contact)#Part_Three:_The_Darkest_Hour

 

We were all lvl 29 (high as you can be without outlevelling the arc).  I think a 6 man team, +2 with bosses. 

We had a Brute, Blaster, Corruptor, Dominator, Controller, MM. Might have been one other. 

It's a hot door. At least it was this time. We weren't expecting it.  We wiped. 

 

So okay, we form back up, get psyched, pop a bunch of inspirations and hop in.

We wipe. FAST. in under 2 seconds per person as we zone in. They just ganked the bejeesus out of us as we materialized.

Even with 4 lucks, there were so MANY talons right there, and some of their bosses and lieut's have brutal debuffs.

 

I decide okay, we need to reset this mission. Only, I can't.  No one else has missions in the Ward, and it's a mixed Hero/Villain team. It wouldn't let me select a Sharkhead mission with heroes, or a Talos mission with Villains. That's when the MM says, "do you mind if I switch characters?".  Sure, just send me a tell.

 

He brings his Stone tank. Now, he was probably a 50 exemplared down. Probably kitted out the wazoo. But of course, even exemplared down to 29, as a TANKER, he still had access to Granite. 

 

Best goddam advertisment for Granite Tank that I ever saw, ladies and gentlemen.

 

The rest of us zoned in and tried to get some damage off before we died. Barely any.  Granite tank is just getting smacked around and taking it like a champ.  Gradually trying to move them away from the door so the rest of us can zone in.  Then once one set was lead away, he'd taunt another set over to him. I think the rest of us still died like 4-5 times EACH just breaking the door (so many more than 16 mobs at the door, was not mechanically possible for Granite to take them all). But the Granite tank?  Just kept going. Never died once. I'm SURE my Inv tank could not possibly take a sustained beating like that. 

 

He was in awe once though. Either that mission, or the one after (stop sorceress serene), something managed to KD him.  Though granite and all his IO bonuses, somehow enough Knock effects were piled on him all at once to successfully ragdoll him even so.

 

I rolled a Stone tank after that group broke up lol.