New Dawn

You tell it like you think it is. I never wasted energy down repping you, but I do remember when I use to daily bring someone out of the red leaving you in it

You can read the down rep messages?

I don't have that option for some reason. I'd rather read what people want to say on the boards. If it's not on the boards and it's a down rep comment then it's done by someone who likes to crawl back under their rock.

Suffice to say it wasn't me. I guess some people like to set people off.

Stuff like this doesn't make sense:

It's actually perfectly okay to say what your preferences were, but to say things like "you will" is abit over the top. I for one was going "What? No I wouldn't, sod that". It's best replaced with "you might" or "going by other peoples opinions..".

You done something right bringing it here first, because I am a big believer in the best guides being built up by the community that are "fanbois"

Every tanker type is different, so alternative ways need to be found. If I never second looked at things because it wasn't doing what a stonetank could then I'd be one of them numb nuts thinking you'll need a stonetank and an empath with CM for the STF. I could probably go with a firetank and a good "I'd qualify them" stormie or trick archer.

This Tanker section is full of people who have pretty much ate, drank and slept tanks the difference being that we all have different regards as to what is real tanking. If I taunt controlled it and no one else is getting hurt, I am tanking to me.

I plus repped ya too (I don't down rep). I did use to look for those down repped for bull reasons and uprep them out of it using search, but I been playing CO and STO alot lately, with a little bit of Aion. Paragon Studios is a Studio of Devs etc I believe strongly in so still sub.


Right Mr Communist. I apologise for my wording but I was trying to get you to pull it, then I pull mine and for maybe you then to gather more understanding.

If it's what you want to keep then keep it. I'll bookmark it to log in to make sure it gets plenty of views as a sign of support.

If you feel that Firetanks are only better than Fire Scrappers then your just as bad.

If I struggled with something, I wouldn't expect that of other people. I wouldn't write like that would be the result. I've tanked the STF with a Scrapper for Scrappers. I damn well know any type of Tanker can do it better. If I don't suceed with something I look at the problem deeper. OP clearly doesn't know that healing flames stacks to give good Toxic res. Better to come here with the questions than the answers.

On the plus side which I do find, a big positive, it was posted here before the guide section. I have way too much confidence in the Tanker AT than most people that's for a reason and a given.

Feel free to pick fault with my attitude towards your post. I found that from reading it, you came across as though you not only, thought that you knew all there is needed to know but you've practically got a good reliable crystal ball sitting with you. Also did you do surveys?

Allow me to rephrase your whole post to lose all the points I've disagreed with. This is very quickly what I'd do with it.

Starting here:

Fiery Aura/Dual Blades.

So you want to make a Fiery Aura/Dual Blades tank. If you are looking for a fun and very different style of play, you may find yourself pleasantly surprised. Here are some basic things to consider if you choose to play a FA/DB Tank.

1) You CAN become a Tank NOT a “Scranker”. Fiery Aura is an extremely offensive power-set that trades survivability for damage. You can kill mobs faster than the vast majority of tanks and atleast find soloing to go much faster than the average tank.

2) Fiery Aura/Dual Blades is unique..or atleast rare and under rated.
On the surface it can be less survivable than most tankers but it just means it takes more brains than braun. Most of the time you may feel like you occupy a strange location in between Scrappers and Tankers but there is still a valid role to play.

Fiery Aura Overview.

Fiery Aura is the Offensive Tanker Primary. Of the 9 powers in Fiery Aura, 3 are offensive, 5 are defensive and one is a “rez” power, which could be defined as a mix of offensive and defensive. Burn causes enemies to run away in fear but if you time your best AoE right they will come back. Fiery Embrace is only fully effective with Fire Based attacks and this is to favour fire melee which has no secondary effects.

Dual Blades Overview.

While Fiery Aura seems like a Tanker Primary turned on its head, Dual Blades’ major problem is that it has no specialization at all. A jack-of-all-trades, Dual Blades allows the user to score combos that can produce Knockdown, Boost Damage, lower Defense or produce DoT. Dual Blades does not benefit from some of its secondary effects unless it can score 3 consecutive attacks. This can be a source of constant frustration that will not end until either you can properly IO your Tank or know your targets. Some targets are easier to connect with than others. On the plus side, Dual Blades does have a number of neat features. It has 3 good AoE/Cone attacks,Attack Vitals. If you can use that alot, you'll achieve great aggro control and damage output. When combined with Fiery Aura’s offensive capabilities, you can do some very impressive damage.

Styles of Play.

Many of these styles of play can be combined, but playing more than two strategies will be difficult.

Defense Soft-Cap Oriented.

Many Tanking enthusiasts consider this to be the most efficient, logical style of play for tanks. You can take the Fighting power pool, possibly the leadership power pool. You can buy IO’s that increase your Defense bonuses. Doing this however has a price; first, you will be giving up either Dual Blade Combos, Fiery Aura Offensive Powers or your Ancillary powers. Not harsh if your very happy using Vital Strikes alot. I recommend against it for Fiery Aura/Dual Blades. Fiery Aura has no innate powers that boost Defense.

Recharge Oriented.

Fiery Aura’s great chance of producing a survivable, long-lasting Tank is building for recharge. Rather than attempting to augment the Resistance & Defense stats of the Fire Tank, we build for recharge so that the Tank can spam his heal which adds a small amount of Toxic Res but this can stack to large amounts. By consistently regenerating 50% of his HP every 10-15 seconds the Fire Tank can survive for a very long time. This approach also makes Rise of the Phoenix a much more useful power because it will regenerate quickly for many moments of beauty made along the way. Hasten will obviously be an integral part of your build.

Combo Oriented.

Of all the mistakes made with Dual Blades, the most common is attempting to take all 4 combos. While these combos are fun and you will certainly want to try all of them to decide which ones are best for you, taking all 4 is for many, a terrible idea. Blinding Feint to Vital Strikes is pretty damn well valued for its AoE DPS and its not to shabby on a ST. With This will allow you to take only 4 primaries, 5 if you choose to take Taunt. If you choose to go for combo orientation, remember that accuracy will be of paramount importance. If you don’t hit, you don’t get a combo or as good aggro control.

One of the most useful approaches to Dual Blade Combos will be combining your Knockdown attacks with Fiery Aura’s Burn. Because Burn causes enemies to Panic, a Fire Tank may want to keep his enemies immobilized, held or knocked down. The best immobilizes and holds you’ll have access to will be single target and not particularly useful for this purpose. But you will have access to 3 Knockdown attacks, 2 of which are AoE. By carefully timing your Burn patch with the Sweep combo you can keep a group of enemies in the patch long enough to kill most minions and lieutenants.

Fiery Aura Power Rundown

Blazing Aura
One of the bread and butter powers of Fiery Aura. If you aren’t taking the offensive powers in Fiery Aura you’ve completely missed the point.

Fire Shield
Another unskippable power. In addition to providing you with Resists, Fire Shield provides you with Disorient protection.

Healing Flames
One of the most important powers in the Fiery Aura set. Slot it for recharge and heal as quickly as possible. In addition to providing you with most of your survivability, Healing Flames can be stacked to boost you up to 60-80% resistance to Toxic damage. While you can slot for Resist, this isn’t as useful to you as healing and recharge.

Temperature Protection
If you have to skip a power, this is the one to skip. While Temperature Protection provides you with Cold Resistance and Slow Resistance and the power requires very little slotting to be effective.

Consume.

Another potentially skippable power. Some people skip this power because it has a long recharge and an accuracy check but there are many reasons to take it. First, Fire Tanks only have 3 toggles so your Endurance expense will be lower than many other tanks. In addition, Consume has impressive range, and most importantly it only costs 0.52 endurance to use! This means that you can wait until the very last second to activate the power, giving it more bang for its buck.

Plasma Shield

Unskippable. It provides you with your protection to Hold as well as the more exotic damage types. Asap take.

Burn

After Burn was given a Mag 50 Afraid effect many Fiery Aura advocates began to advocate skipping it. Burn is useful for a number of reasons; 1) when combined with knockdown, hold or immobilize, Burn becomes a painful and horrific death for your enemies (huge DPE). 2) As a Tank enemies that run away from you can turn around almost immediately due to the Gauntlet inherent power and maybe Blazing Aura. Activating Burn is a form of MITIGATION for your Fire Tank. Enemies will generally turn around and return to melee range within 2 seconds of running out of a burn. But that provides you with 3-4 seconds where they will not attack you while you continue to do serious damage to your enemies. Finally, Burn is the only power within your Primary that provides you with protection from Immobilize but most people prefer combat jump for that.

Fiery Embrace.

If you need another power to skip, Fiery Embrace is a choice. Personally I’d try to find something else to drop but it’s not a bad choice. Fiery Embrace only provides its total 100% damage bonus for 20 seconds to Fire Based attacks, (which makes the Pyre Mastery ancillary pool a good choice) but even an 80% damage bonus for 10 seconds isn’t a bad way to go.

Rise of the Phoenix.

Another power that many people think is worth skipping under the theory of “if you are a tank you shouldn’t be dying”. That’s a cute idea if you’re playing any other Primary but Fiery Aura is offensive. No matter how good you are, you will die. Taking Rise of the Phoenix and slotting it for recharge is an excellent idea. Particularly if you build for Recharge, Rise of the Phoenix is an excellent choice. Being able to explode in a fiery ball every time you die without waiting will allow you to dominate the battlefield. The good thing about is, you may foresee an unavoidable heavy alpha you have to take but be able to carry on/make a recovery immediately after despite taking one for the team!

Dual Blades Power Rundown

Rather than discuss each power individually, it makes more sense to discuss combos as a whole.

Weaken (Nimble Slash + Ablating Strike + Typhoon’s Edge)
1) you have to take Nimble Slash. 2) Typhoon’s Edge is necessary for Sweep, the best kd combo you have. 3) Typhoon’s Edge is an AoE attack, which is good for tanks. On the downside, Weaken is the least impressive combo of the 4. The -def isn't that great.

Empower (Nimble Slash + Ablating Strike + Empower)
Empower is one of my favorite combos. First, the buff it gives you is stackable and second, a properly slotted tank can keep this stacked bonus to very important at times, accuracy and damage permanently on his tank as long as enemies are available. Furthermore, Empower and Weaken share 2 attacks which makes taking and slotting both easier and as Tanks have no choice but to take Nimble Slash, it’s a great pick. Finally, if you mess up Empower you might be able to go for Weaken and if you mess up Weaken you might be able to go for Empower. When I first played my Fire Tank up to 50 I did not take this combo and I regretted it.

Attack Vitals (Ablating Strike + Vengeful Slice + Sweeping Strike)
It’s attack vitals, drools. While the bonus damage is good and works great with Empower, it wasn’t a good choice for my tank. First, it required 2 powers that don’t show up in any other combo. This also meant that if I missed any of my attacks there was no way to revert into a different combination. Finally, it wasn’t as impressive as the Sweep Combo to me and given a choice between Attack Vitals or Sweep, Sweep is the logical choice for me.

Sweep (One Thousand Cuts + Power Slice + Typhoon’s Edge)
I valued this combo for a Fire Tank. Sweep will allow you to knock an entire mob off their feet while they burn alive in your Burn patch. Do not underestimate the utility of this combo. It also provides you with mitigation. Furthermore, with Weaken combo, it might make taking the other powers seem like a much better deal.

Taunt

Does a Tank always need Taunt? Probably not. I still take it on all of my builds because when I am the only tank on a team it’s nice for your teammates to know that you can actually make saves. It's not as good as other tanker taunts which jeopardises the potential standard of DB tankers by a certain amount.

Power Pools

Fitness. Most do, greater pace.

Fighting- If you do choose to take Fighting, don’t feel like you have to take Weave as well. Limiting yourself to Tough is perfectly acceptable as Weave requires significant investments of money and slots to become useful.

Speed-Taking Hasten is a great idea for a Fire Tank. As your best option for staying alive is good rechg, Hasten is an obvious choice.

Super Jumping-If you don't want to bother with Burn (which I do not recommend) Combat Jumping will be a great idea.

Flight - Phoenix concept. A good concept.

Ancillary Pools

Arctic Mastery- One of four choices available to you. Between Chillblain, Shiver and Ice Storm you will be able to absolutely destroy your opponent’s movement leaving them completely vulnerable to your Burn patch. If they can barely run away, Burn becomes a much more useful option.

Earth Mastery-A great choice, versus AVs, the best choice. Quick Sand provides you with an excellent source of Slow and -fly, the slow will help make your Burn patch all the more useful.

Energy Mastery-A good choice for 3 reasons. First, Focused Accuracy will help you guarantee that your combos hit. Second, Physical Perfection will provide you with regeneration and recovery as well as making Consume a less pressing need for your build. Finally, Energy Torrent will give you one more Knockdown attack that you can use to keep enemies stuck in your burn patch. Conserve is good under end drain conditions.

Pyre Mastery- Pyre mastery is very popular. Do not take Melt Armor though, the debuff/time is terrible. Concentrate on Ring of Fire so that you can immob or char to hold in burn. Fire Blast and Fire Ball can increase damage output and pull back targets. These powers make Fiery Embrace seem like a better deal as well.

Most Controllers usually tick me off, their AoE immob ROOM saves the NPCs from being bunched up and affected by everyone elses smaller AoEs. It's like in their world everyone has AoEs that are 30ft radius and NPCs don't have any AoEs at all.

Gratz, I'd take a pew at suggesting that every AT is capable of this but I am still short on how Blasters and Kheldians will achieve it exactly. Also getting the staff is almost an even bigger milestone on some servers.

Gauntlet, same magnitude, hit on target required to then autohit on foes in gauntlet area.. Also of low duration which can turn out to be even lower vs enemies ingame. It scales with levels and it is resistable.

When fighting multiple AVs, it is phenomenally risky to be trying to keep aggro of all of them without taunt. You can maintain one AV's attention in a virtual sense. This can mean that for a few milliseconds the AV was about to hit your mate just then. You can still easily lose the one AV as you'll need tohit, you'll need to be constantly attacking and so have a good end economy.

Not all Tankers have an autohit taunt aura and so everything they do without taunt relies on being able to hit.

Tauntless tankers and Mary MacComber as an example..the scene tends not to be as pretty as it could be.

That's how I see it.

Should you have taunt then know that it not only -ranges but your threat level is affected by range also. The further away you are the less it is.

There are Scrappers who know more than just about scrappers. Same could be said about anyother section. People in other sections probably are sometimes less interested in Scrappers by enough not to care to prove otherwise and/or see anything that is about Scrappers best talked about in the Scrapper section. I know there are Min/Maxxers in game who see no need to come to the forums ever. I think that pretty much, there are people who live in the scrapper section.

Perhaps it doesn't make the game easier enough for most players.

I admit I don't venture into the Scrapper section much, it's maybe only for a period where I am happening to be looking at some Scrapper I have, which has a primary and secondary that is currently being talked about. From the period I had I saw many builds with many PvP IOs included.

From doing so I had even recieved PMs asking who I think the best Min/Maxxer in the Scrapper section is, of which I couldn't give a poo and said so. But from that however, I got the impression that some people maybe coming here into this section to try and min/max as best as they can. Other sections tend to just get people somewhere near and/or started.

I been crossing fingers hoping that GR will change that.