Fireheart

Heh, that one's pretty cool.

I mean, they're all great, just that the Spaghetti Western is a distinctly different meme than our usual.

Be Well!
Fireheart

Well, the eyes are not quite right... they're not both looking at quite the same place. And the proportions of the face are slightly skewed, but I've had classes in Drawing and Art and this is better than _I_ could do.

Really, do draw More and share it with us! Looking forward to it.

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Fireheart

That is super, indeed.

Please don't take this wrong, but I'm amused every time I see this picture. My insidious evil self, Insists that this is a picture of Johnny Dep playing Ralph Macchio in 'The Karate Kid', even though I know it's not.

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Fireheart

A buddy and I paired twin FF/Energy Defenders, for some really crazy fun. Only times we died was when somebody got too carried away with blowing stuff up and forget to shield her 'sister'.

A couple of times, we picked up a random Scrapper and bubbled them into a 'Nexus of Disaster', then just followed along, picking off the stragglers.

We repeated the experiment with Fire/Storm and Ice/Ice Corruptors and discovered the 'Super-Team Secret' which is that 'too much' of any good thing is a heck of a lot of Fun!

Oh, and two Broadsword/Shield Defense Scrappers, with Leadership, is a 'war crime'.

Be Well!
Fireheart

It may be that Accuracy will not be a problem for you. The 130% reported by Mids is vs an even-level minion, not vs a plus-level Boss, AV, or GM. It also does not account for debuffs.

As for recharge, that is less of an issue than Endurance Reduction. DB is a fast-cycling set whose individual attacks may be endurance-light, but maintaining the attack-stream still puts a strong drain on your resources. Happily, Willpower has nice recovery powers, to offset that - somewhat.

Unfortunately, this thread has not attracted the attention of other experienced Willpower tankers, so we are stuck discussing my own experiences (and, admittedly, my prejudices) which may or may not apply to you.

Whether you will be 'gimped' by your chosen slotting has at least as much to do with your playstyle and teammates, if any, as it does with your build. For instance, I'm usually partnered with a psychotic Scrapper, so I only have to hold the enemy's attention and survive long enough for him to chop them into tiny, quivering gobbets. Best way for me to do that, usually, is to be almost as aggressive as he is, especially when holding aggro with Willpower.

Your needs and experiences may be different, but that doesn't mean I'm trying to sell you a load of moldy bologna.

Be Well!
Firheart

That's Love? I thought it was the triple-chili burritos. (Not)

Welcome to the rest of the servers, DD! Maybe we'll even bump into each other sometime.

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Fireheart

Entirely Awesome!

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Fireheart

This may look a little strange, but it works great.

This is my live build, at level 33.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.94
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Rogue Nightwolf: Level 48 Science Tanker
Primary Power Set: Willpower
Secondary Power Set: Dual Blades
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Leadership

Hero Profile:
Level 1: High Pain Tolerance -- Heal(A), Heal(3), ResDam(3)
Level 1: Nimble Slash -- Acc(A), Acc(5), EndRdx(5), Dmg(7), Dmg(7)
Level 2: Power Slice -- Acc(A), Acc(9), EndRdx(9), Dmg(11), Dmg(11)
Level 4: Ablating Strike -- Acc(A), Acc(13), EndRdx(13), Dmg(15), Dmg(15)
Level 6: Fast Healing -- Heal(A), Heal(17), Heal(17)
Level 8: Indomitable Will -- EndRdx(A)
Level 10: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff(A)
Level 12: Quick Recovery -- EndMod(A), EndMod(19), EndMod(19)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Jump(A)
Level 16: Typhoon's Edge -- Acc(A), Acc(21), EndRdx(21), Dmg(23)
Level 18: Rise to the Challenge -- EndRdx(A), Heal(23), Heal(25), Taunt(25), Taunt(27)
Level 20: Blinding Feint -- Acc(A), Acc(27), EndRdx(29), ToHit(29)
Level 22: Mind Over Body -- EndRdx(A), ResDam(31), ResDam(31)
Level 24: Heightened Senses -- EndRdx(A)
Level 26: Taunt -- Range(A)
Level 28: Vengeful Slice -- Acc(A), Acc(33), EndRdx(33)
Level 30: Assault -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(31)
Level 32: Tactics -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(33)
Level 35: [Empty]
Level 38: [Empty]
Level 41: [Empty]
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump(A)
Level 2: Health -- Heal(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod(A)

For a starter Tank...

If you're solo, or on a small team and don't immediately crank your difficulty to +4x8 (the maximum), then I've found that any of the defensive sets will do just fine and single-target vs AoE offensive sets are irrelevant. It's when your team gets larger and the number of enemies ramps up towards 16 and over, that taunt auras and AoE attacks start becoming important.

It's arguable, but relatively accepted, that Stone Armor is the most survivable defensive set, with layered Defense and Resistance that is awesome, even with only SO slotting. The 'problem' is that the trade-offs of low mobility and a Debuff to offensive damage and recharge make some people crazy - I'm one of them.

Invulnerability and Willpower (and sometimes Shield Defense) are the next tier of popularity. The first two offer layers of Resistance and Defense, in various proportions, while Invulnerability has a large self-heal and HP boost, and Willpower has layers of Regeneration and endurance Recovery, and huge hit-point bonuses, but no self-heal.
Invulnerability says, 'If you can hit me, you still won't hurt me, and if you Do hurt me, I can heal and be even tougher than before." Willpower says, "It's hard to hit me and hard to hurt me, but you can do it - only, if you do hurt me and I don't die, then it will just grow back and meanwhile, I'm gonna be hitting you in the face."
Shield Defense is a Defense-based power, with some hit-point bonuses and some Resistance, but it has no extra heal or regeneration. Shield Defense says, "Ha-ha! Bet you can't hit me! And, if you do hit me, well, I'm tough enough to take a hit. Bet you can't hit me Twice!"

One consideration in this is that, since Tankers inherently have improved Resistance and high Hit-Points, when you layer on the added Resistance and Hit-Points of some sets (even the relatively weak levels that a lowbie has), they are really quite tough! By the time they reach higher levels, with more defensive powers and more slots and better enhancements, they become Awesomely Tough.
On the other hand, even Tankers don't have inherent Defense. When you add a Defense-based power on top of that, well, their Defense is Better, but not so great, at lower levels. Still, when they reach higher levels, with more defenses and slots and enhancements, they can be practically Untouchable!
Upshot is, they have different play-styles and different leveling experiences. Your mileage may vary and your experience may be different.

These three have vastly different 'taunt' auras, as well. Invulnerability's aura adds more Defense and buffs your to-hit for every enemy in range - while cranking out some impressive aggro-generation. Willpower's aura gives you even more Regeneration for every enemy in range and De-buffs Their to-hit, so they have a harder time hitting you - unfortunately the aggro-generation is... anemic. Shield Defense has an aura that steals damage-dealing power from your enemies and gives it to you! It also generates plenty of aggro.

I could go on, and analyze each of the other sets in some depth, but this wall-of-text is getting pretty dense.

Let me just say:
Fire & Electricity = Resistance, no Defense, Self-heal, Endurance-siphon, Damage Aura w/ aggro-generation.

Ice = Defense, some Resistance, Self-heal, Endurance-siphon, Taunt aura AND Damage aura for massive aggro-generation.

Dark... Dark is a weird utility tool-box full of odd effects. Resistance and Defense, plus auras that Damage, Stun, Terrorize, and turn your enemies into zucchini... Okay, maybe not that last one. Also has the most massive Hit-point Siphon/Heal power available to Tankers - we're talking a decent chance of +100% healing, in one shot... all you need is a couple of 'donors' and a big chunk of Endurance.

TL;DR version:
Solo & small teams, without high difficulty modifiers, power-sets don't matter a lot.
Invulnerability and Willpower are generally the easiest/best defensive sets.
Both are 'toggle-up and go' sets.
Willpower is cruise-control for the solo/small-team Tanker.
Invulnerability has a better aggro-aura for ease of use on those larger teams with Lots of enemy.
Shield Defense is also a great power-set, can be a bit weak at first, but grows into a monster. Takes a bit more player-attention to operate well.

Be Well!
Fireheart

DD, if it's your own trial account, with the same user info on each, you might try calling/messaging Customer Service about it. Not sure they'll do anything, but it's worth a try.

Be Well!
Fireheart

I dunno, Miss Neko, I thought they'd classified that kitty-kini as a deadly weapon of mass distraction? It might be considered too dangerous for Talos Island. You could try it out on one of the private island/beaches to the north, but it might cause the Ghost Ship to crash!

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Fireheart

Um, Tough Hide has Not been changed in the revamps of Invulnerability, so It's as super as it ever was. However, Unyielding was changed - it no longer debuffs your Defense.

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Fireheart

That last one looks like the Draggynn that shows up in the nightmares of villains who have been 'arrested' by Draggynn. Totally Bas-Add.

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Fireheart

Yeah, really? I mean, that's pretty awesome... unless you didn't draw him?

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Fireheart

You do great, dramatic faces Liz!
And, out of the two pics you posted, I can see a lot of improvement in the second. Body proportions are great, less skewed by perspective.

Keep working the pencils! I'd love to see you posting more often than once or twice a year!

Be Well!
Fireheart

It's supposed to be a PG-13 Forum, is it not?

I suppose we could take a Jimmy Buffet 'Love song from a slightly different point of view' approach.

She looks like she is saying, "Let me show you how good I am at being bad. Do you want to touch my... cat? I bet you do!"

The pose says everything. The cat is just one of those 'entendre' things.

Actually, I'm more worried about what the Cat's pose is saying... "If you want to do anything with her, you have to do it to me, first!"?? Let's just not go there.

I guess I'm responding to CR, that 'we' are not blind to the... cat... and the picture is so very well-done, that the cat is just... extra things that we might not want to think about, clearly.

I'd like to mention that I also like the little Fae drawing a lot, too! I like how you used 'light' and 'shadow' to define the shapes in the Elf-girl painting - you conveyed a lot of detail, without drawing a single 'line'. All of these are interesting expressions of Art and I appreciate them... differently and separately, but also collectively. I enjoy your art, Lady Camille.

Be Well!
Fireheart

I find that, if I keep hitting the address, I do get a response... eventually.
And I don't think it's the connection itself, I ran a tracert on the boards (twice, in case it was a fluke) and got perfectly good times.

However, my Browser seems to have a hideous time, getting a response. I've taken to opening two tabs, so I can read one thing while I wait for a connection to the next one. I've already had a few double-posts, due to an itchy 'Submit' finger and the horrid lag.

Something is borken! Communication has always been an important factor in our community cohesion - even when the Devs weren't talking. Lately, though... If they Were talking, many of us wouldn't even know, because we can't make the connection! Surely Someone, somewhere, knows what is wrong - and Someone, somewhere, knows how to fix it... But they can't talk, because the boards are borken!

Be Well!
Fireheart