Newbie Help

[cgargano]

I am new to COH and tanking generally, but wanted to give it a shot.  I am looking for a tank spec that would be good for a new player that isn't overly complex, holds up well at 50 (though wont be doing any hard mode stuff) but still does decent damage.  Sorry if that is not a lot to go on for suggestions, but I like the concept of red/rad or dark/dark but not sure if either of those fit what I'm looking for so pretty much wide open.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  

[Sovera]

1 hour ago, cgargano said:

I am new to COH and tanking generally, but wanted to give it a shot.  I am looking for a tank spec that would be good for a new player that isn't overly complex, holds up well at 50 (though wont be doing any hard mode stuff) but still does decent damage.  Sorry if that is not a lot to go on for suggestions, but I like the concept of red/rad or dark/dark but not sure if either of those fit what I'm looking for so pretty much wide open.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  

 

The leveling is fast if you stick to teams and use the double XP (if you're really new then browse the guide in my signature) and IOs being transferable means you can try different characters without spending a penny re-buying everything.

 

My usual advice when this question pops up is Fire Armor/Ice Melee since it works well and the squishyness of Fire Armor is mitigated by Ice Melee's Ice Patch. In the meanwhile the lesser Tanker damage is helped by Fire Armor's Burn and Fiery Embrace.

 

With inspirations and teams providing buffs pretty much any thing that you choose will work so it's a matter of choosing what you'd like to try. Just keep in mind it's not a waste. Money earned or IOs bought can be transferred to the next character.

[C U R S E]

You listed Dark/Dark as a possibility, which is pretty strong. I would suggest Shield/Dark as a possibility to your list. My Shield/Dark is my favorite and is such a great pairing. 

[CloudMouse]

Dark/Dark is a great tank at high levels and once built out, completely sponge. But unless you see it past 50 with enhancement sets and incarnates, it can be tricky to manage it's endurance consumptions as its protections are toggles. I have a 50 Dark/Dark/Dark Patron - it's pretty untouchable, can jump into anything and hold aggro, or play offensively and help - but not lead - team damage. HC tanks hit a lot but they aren't *really* the high damage dealers. Brutes can get up there, damage wise, but they come with a trade off (not as survivable as tanks generally speaking). 

 

Rad/Rad can be a very good tank build. 

 

Honestly the key to trying anything out in COH is to have inspirations ready to eat, that way any stat holes the ATs create can be smoothed over a bit in combat, help you get a sense for what the build can do. 

 

 

Edited March 5, 2023 by CloudMouse

[Warboss]

I think the following would be good choices to start with Rad/Fire, or Rad/Axe. Rad Armor, in general, provides a couple of heals in the armor set, and is pretty easy to build for survivability once you get the Fighting Power Pool. With the Theft of Essence unique in Radiation Therapy you're pretty much guaranteed to fill your Endurance bar as long as mobs are around you (yes, this works for Dark Armor too, but it's less reliable). The changes to Battle Axe, make it hard not to like the set, especially with Axe Cyclone's ability to draws mobs to you in combat. Fiery Melee has good damage out put and, hey, it's FIRE! There are other sets you can go with as well, nothing really pairs badly with Rad. Rad can be color tinted to "Dark" if need be.

 

**caveat, it's well known that I'm a Rad Armor, Fiery Melee and Battle Axe fan. Even so, I think they would be appropriate sets for someone starting out. Especially once you figure you all the magic and tricks that can be done with Axe Cyclone.  Rad/Dark would be a strong contender as well (based off the options you've been looking at).

 

** Insert shameless plug** Also, stop by a Tanker Tuesday, see sig below, you'll be able to see many different play styles and builds in action. Plus many of the posters from the Tanker threads participate in the event, so you can ask questions in person.

 

 

[C U R S E]

It all depends on your  set pairings and how you build them. Dark/Dark can be loaded with procs to the guill, and still give you survivability that is stupendous. My Shield/Dark is awesome sauce, and his damage is Uber. The choice is how you build them, as I see too many tanks who hit like wet paper bags.

[Hjarki]

Probably my go-to for a tanking Tanker is Radiation/Staff/Energy.

 

Radiation is one of the best armor sets from a pure Tanking standpoint. It's a resist/regen-based set so you don't end up in a situation where the difficulty ramps up and the opponents blow right through your once-soft-capped-defenses. The weak resists for Radiation (every set has them) are a near-perfect Cold/Dark/Psi - all damage types that aren't very hard-hitting but primarily worrisome for their debuffs. Radiation has slow resist against Cold/Psi (and can be capped with IO sets) and you can use Focused Accuracy from Energy to cover hit debuffing. Radiation also has endurance recovery so you never run into that mid-level problem of constantly gasping for endurance. Radiation also has an auto-hit taunt aura, which can come in handy.

 

Staff is probably the most defensively-focused melee set around. It can provide enormous amounts of M/L Defense (and from early on, making it easier to level than many sets) as well as Resists (or other options) from the ultimate attack. While its single target damage isn't anything special, Radiations -regen means that's far less significant solo (and, of course, no one really cares about the minor differences in Tanker dps in a group setting). Staff's AE is strong, especially with 10-target Cones. I run Flight as one my pools, so I can hover above enemies (sometimes out of range of their melee range with Staff's extra two yards of range) and sweep entire spawns with those Cones. While leveling, you'll be stuck with just Precise Strike and Guarded Spin for about half your journey, but you can do a lot with just those two attacks.

 

Energy is really for the early mentioned Focused Accuracy to cover -perception/-hit debuffs. It also provides another healing mule (I use it for Regenerative Tissue) to save you a slot you'd otherwise waste elsewhere.

[Braddack]

i Have an Willpower / Staff Tank who plays like a charm.

 

As Willpower has no clickies its an very easy and releaxed Playstyle.

 

AT 50 i play at +4/ x8 and have no problems, even firefarms dont scare me.

 

 

[ClawsandEffect]

For someone new to both the game and tanking in general, I'm going to second the Willpower suggestion. 

 

It's a purely autopower and toggle based set, so you don't have to worry about remembering to click a power to keep yourself alive. That frees you up to focus on learning how to position yourself and work on aggro management to help keep your teammates alive. 

 

As far as your offensive set goes, pretty much anything will work pretty well with Willpower. I have a Willpower/Dark Melee tank that just doesn't die. Ever. The insanely high regeneration in a mob paired with a self heal that you don't have to think about using because it's also one of your better attacks is just gold. 

[hakurr]

On 3/4/2023 at 7:16 AM, cgargano said:

I am looking for a tank spec that would be good for a new player that isn't overly complex, holds up well at 50 (though wont be doing any hard mode stuff) but still does decent damage.

i think your best choices would be Willpower / Invulnerability these are very simple to run powers after these i would look at electric it as well is a simple to run power but does have click powers to restore your end and health as far as secondary power Dark Melee would complement willpower and Invulnerability very nicely due to the added heal attack and endurance refill and + to damage and to hit 

Edited March 21, 2023 by hakurr