Fun Tank?

[damnimgood]

Are any tank powers actually...fun? It seems like the choices are slow, repetitive, or powers that are better placed on a different archetype. I KNOW I'm generalizing, but maybe one of you fine tank expert (tankspert?) folks has a combo that's fun and damaging.

Edited October 26, 2021 by damnimgood

[Erratic1]

11 minutes ago, damnimgood said:

Are any tank powers actually...fun? It seems like the choices are slow, repetitive or powers that are better placed on a different archetype. I KNOW I'm generalizing, but maybe one of you fine tank expert (tanksperts?) folks has a combo that's fun and damaging.

 

Was in a group with a Bio/Staff Tanker this past weekend and she seemed to be having a lot of fast, furious, fun.

[Bill Z Bubba]

Thanks to the recent overbuffs, all tanks do solid damage. Bio and Shield will make that damage even higher.

 

But fun? 100% subjective. I have a great deal of fun with my dark/stone melee tank but that might have a lot to do with fold space. Man, I wish that thing recharged faster.

[PLVRIZR]

I'm old, from the classic pre-I1 and love the Superman/Hulk powersets, so it's Super Strength, for me.  Foot Stomp?  THE most satisfying attack, in the entire game.  Hand Clap?  The Hulk would be proud.  Knockout Blow?  Bolo wind up, hits like a freight train and watch them fly.

[Gulbasaur]

From experience:

 

Rad/rad- a varied, engaging and well-performing set. Rad armour is quite clicky a with high highs and "oh no" lows. Has an ally heal, which you can turn into a small nuke with procs.

 

Dark/dark - perfect synergy with a few fairly unique powers plus it has two control powers built in, which means you actively protect your allies with a mez auras. It haemorrhages endurance, though.

 

Shield/whatever - a bit clicky but has some unusual tricks like a defence aura and a teleport attack. 

 

Kheldians: Dwarf form holds aggro about as well as a brute and has very high resists from a fairly low level. At later levels, you can basically keep those resists while in full DPS mode. Not always efficient but always fun.

 

Time defender - debuffs are an aggro magnet and you've got a lot of them. Surprisingly sturdy, Time is an armour set in disguise.

 

Storm defender - it can't hurt you if it can't stand up. Solid auras make you a very decent tank.

 

Personal favourite tank: fortunata with that power pool taunt. Lots of defence, enough resists, mez protection, confuse, holds, knockdowns and nukes. The only players I can't pull aggro off are tankers and brutes, but they can hold floor aggro while I deal with the AV.

Edited October 26, 2021 by Gulbasaur

[Talionis]

I will second Dark/Stone was an awesome toon.  It controls and Tanks.  I survived things others couldn’t, but it hits a special synergy.  
 

I would also suggest that some of the combo attacks such as dual blades grant a little more strategy and fun allowing you to play to the correct combo at the correct time.  

[Mezmera]

I'll have to agree with the Shield tank.  Fun defense that also offers another potent attack.  It is a bit clicky but its one of the more potent offensive defense sets.  I paired mine with Street Justice because it looks like you're savagely beating enemies down.  Very cool looking set the both of them.  

 

That's staying true to the tank AT.  My favorite tank is my Mind dom.  She has capped positional defenses, high resists and can instantly control so much more aggro than any tank can.

Edited October 26, 2021 by Mezmera

[The_Warpact]

I like my Rad/Ice and Dark/Dark tanks, pretty fun.

I have a Invul/Mace that I'm leveling it's like a kid on a endurance juicebox..so no fun.

I just rolled a Bio/Staff which looks fun just need more time on him.

Finally, a Electric/Psi which so far is fun.

 

My Dark though I tanked Recluse on a 4x8 Ms. Liberty and the Freedom Phalanx on the LRSF. So much fun being that tanky.

[Warboss]

Rad/Fire/Mu Mastery or Energy mastery

[Gulbasaur]

6 hours ago, Mezmera said:

That's staying true to the tank AT.  My favorite tank is my Mind dom.  She has capped positional defenses, high resists and can instantly control so much more aggro than any tank can.

Mind and its monstrous lovechild fortunata training are absurdly good at aggro control. It depends on what people mean by tanking, though - scooping people up into a neat pile for AoEs or holding down three groups at once and keeping their focus off your teammates. 

 

Personally, I find the latter playstyle more fun, but others may vary. I do enjoy a tanker set with soft control, though. 

[Clave Dark 5]

Elec/Mace is a lot of smashy fun, plus you never run out of End!  My build's more for attracting attention that real damage, so when I PUG I get that thrill of walking into the middle of a fight and just randomly braining everyone until they all melt around me.

[PLVRIZR]

5 hours ago, Clave Dark 5 said:

Elec/Mace is a lot of smashy fun, plus you never run out of End!  My build's more for attracting attention that real damage, so when I PUG I get that thrill of walking into the middle of a fight and just randomly braining everyone until they all melt around me.

 

Same with my Inv/SS tanks.  Not DPS monsters but indestructible aggro mongers who put most of the mob on its back, every 9 seconds 🙂

[ZemX]

21 hours ago, Erratic1 said:

Was in a group with a Bio/Staff Tanker this past weekend and she seemed to be having a lot of fast, furious, fun.

 

This is my experience with Rad/Staff.  It was my first ever Tanker and it was a blast to play.  Big, fast, early AoEs on a Tanker.  But as a result, I've had exactly the reaction to some of the other sets I've tried that the OP has.  The "good" ones like Rad Melee and Dark Melee just are kind of dull getting started.  Maybe they are better later on but I am having trouble getting there.   It's subjective though.  "Slow but hits like a truck" just may not be my thing. 

 

[Without_Pause]

Rad is great based on two of its AoEs, but two ST attacks have longish animation times and those keep it in the second tier for me in terms of fun. Sets I got to 50 although not on tanks which are fun for me would be Claws, StJ, and Kat. I'm at level 30 with EM. While it might lack a bit in the fun factor, it is good enough I think I can default to using it when I pick a new build. Savage and Psionic could be top tier for fun if they got reworked(Hemo, Insight). Also working on a Dark/staff which has been fun. I probably have to turn in my Tanker card, but SS is one of the most boring sets I have played. Despite being what it looks like on paper, I couldn't make a SS/elec fun. Slow sets in general don't work for me either.

 

I've only hit 50 with WP and Bio for sets tanks get. I've only IOed out the WP and currently working on the Bio. Current leaning is Bio is better for the fun factor.  I have some Rads, Darks, and Shields at lower levels, but I don't find click mezzes fun. I'll know more when the Rads and Darks get IOed out. Non tanks, EA all day for me. /regen scrapper was great until late game although I never IOed it out either.

 

If I had to pick a build for min/max + fun, I think I would go Dark, Bio, or Rad with EM. I definitely think about a Dark/em for the stacked stuns.

[Bill Z Bubba]

Dark melee pretty much got lost on me after I realized that my preferred chain of MG, Gloom, SL, Smite were all left handed attacks. Got real dull real fast. I know it would have been an absolute TON of work but it would have made me so damn happy to have alternating hand animations for every single handed attack in the game.

 

Edit: To see what I mean, claws swipe on auto with a practice dummy in RWZ. It alternates wonderfully. But claws focus is only right handed. As is followup... unless you're hovering/flying and THEN it alternates. No clue why that is.

 

Edit2: Holy crap... but claws swipe STOPS alternating if you're flying/hovering. MADNESS!

Edited October 27, 2021 by Bill Z Bubba