Whats the Best Tank Power?

Discussion in 'Gotham City (General Gameplay)' started by Yvtq8k3n The 7, Jan 20, 2021.

  1. Yvtq8k3n The 7 Well-Known Player

    Well, I was curious to know how all the tank powers are doing across the board after the tank revamp 2.0
    In order to do that I used the DCUO API and the following queries.

    Retrieve the highest cr 331 (limit 100)

    Retrieve the power type in English:
    {"power_type_id":"2324","name":{"en":"Ice"}}
    {"power_type_id":"2666","name":{"en":"Fire"}}
    {"power_type_id":"2784","name":{"en":"Earth"}}
    {"power_type_id":"1992462","name":{"en":"Rage"}}
    {"power_type_id":"6902","name":{"en":"Atomic"}}

    Retrieve all Tank Power players with combat_rating=331

    Retrieve all Tank Power players withcombat_rating=330

    Retrieve all Tank Power players withcombat_rating=299


    Using this data collected, It is possible to summarize the Top Tank powers based on the population.

    Top Tank Powers
    Fire - 301
    Rage - 276
    Earth - 178
    Ice - 161
    Atomic - 91

    According to the data it seems Fire went from one of the worst to one of the best.
    I have missed feeling about rage, I still wanted the 5% defense for SM, but the numbers show rage is still going strong;_;
    I don't have much to talk about Earth, sorry earth fans;_;
    I think Ice still needs some love specially for adds otherwise it will be a just a only bosses tank. I was hoping for new exciting Iconics that could solve Ice problem, but at this point all my hopes are very low.
    Atomic at this point needs a complete overhaul, combos and tanking are a bad premise, one of the goals of the tank is to avoid tanking the most amount of damage possible, if u just spamming combos you gonna take it all like a man.

    Glad to hear opinions;) 5% defense for rage plz;)
    • Like x 1
    Yvtq8k3n The 7, Jan 20, 2021
    #1 Last edited by Yvtq8k3n The 7, Jan 20, 2021

  2. Magnificent Loyal Player

    I've been Fire since Beta and we've had our ups and downs. I effing LOATHE the Fire Soul combo counter component with the fiery passion of a thousand, thousand suns but the extra mitigation has finally but us around where we should have been all along, defensively speaking.

    I'm not sure why they re-jiggered the way our stats worked, the way they worked before felt much better with the overall theme of how the powerset itself worked; we just needed more mitigation from our Defense. Had they just scaled up our Defense to match what we have now, even without the 5-hit combo from Fire Soul (if the old Dom and Resto bonuses were in effect now), we may have still been very viable.

    At the very least I wish they would remove the necessity of the 5-hit combo (that's ridiculous for tanks) and give us that extra mitigation as permanent, also change our shield to be a regen-on-hit (similar to Burning Determination).
    Magnificent, Jan 20, 2021
    #2

  3. L T Devoted Player

    That seems about right to me-- Fire and Rage should be about tied for best performing tank now, taking Rage's crash potential into account.
    I'm surprised how many people still tank as Ice at end game-- with all the shield penetration I don't know how anybody does it. The last update where the breakout can reset is a cool addition but I rarely notice it happening (not that I play a ton of Ice).
    Earth is in the middle. It's like the sweet spot of tanking.
    When released, Atomic combos could counter-- they were how Atomic Tanks were supposed to fight, and it worked really well. Revamp got rid of the counters and made DPS easier but kinda ruined tanking. The last update added some CC resistance and extended the length of the Aura when you don't combo. Atomic still has problems. If you don't have a billion adds that need juggling all the other tank power sets are better. That having been said, it's fine for tanking open world or regular raids.
    L T, Jan 20, 2021
    #3

  4. Red Wáve Well-Known Player

    Your Data seems flawed to me.

    You've extracted the amount of Toons with Powersets capable at Tanking, with cr331 and cr330, both requiring Elite Gear locked behind Renown.
    Aaaaand... 299... o_O Entry level of Wondervers.. I'll assume you meant 329, witch does not require Elite Content.

    Are these Toons capable of Tanking or "just dps, sry"?

    I've only ever Tanked end-game with Fire and Ice. The only end-game Elite Instance I have ever successfully Tanked have been HQe with Ice. I've Healed, Trolled and/or dps'd every Elite Raid at-cr since BoP, so take my views with that grain of salt.


    Every Tank Power is capable of Tanking any normal Content, with a decent player, no more than around 180 SP, white mods, Arts 80-120.

    Rage is the only Tank I've personally seen Tank any Elite Raid at-cr (CTe) without Arts, just using it's Tank mechanics and an exceptional player, probably with high SP.
    The addition of mid-battle cutscenes allowing Rage to Rage Crash, out of players control, have cost it its spot as top dog in FGS and CU.

    I personally dislike Rage, for the puking animation on it's DoT (ew), it's lack of a good native Might ranged Loadout, and about every 10th Toon I see being named "Rage[something]" usually Nature, Electric, Munition or Quantum based on fotm since Prec-nerf and Nature-fix/nerf.

    The change to Fire Souls amount of hit-counter needed for max defense buff, buff to Immolation and the addition of Everyman Prototype, have all made Fire an excellent Tank. Its high native damage potential both melee and ranged and everyone Burning everything with AHV is likely a main attraction as well.

    Fire was my first Main. It was one of the first Powersets I tried and the first I fell in love with. Just the feel of Engulf, Backdraft, Mass Detonation, Fireburst makes a very enjoyable 1-30 experience for me :D

    Ice is the Tank I've most commonly seen in FGSe and CUe. It's always been a solid Tank, rotating Shields being its Tank-mechanic makes it the easiest to learn and execute. Its lack of native AoE Pulls and self-heals being its main drawbacks. The addition of the Lasso-Artifact (game is currently down for maintenance, and I can't remember its exact name :oops: ) have solved both.

    I was very hesitant to try Ice, coming from a Battle-Tank version of Fire, the rotation of: Hit for Taunt, Shield, Block, Shield, Block, hit for Taunt, rinse and repeat, seemed boring to me. When I finally tried it I fell in love with it. The dps side, while mediocre, looks and feels amazing. The invulnerability in Shields makes for an amazing Superman, Supergirl, Wonder Woman feel.

    I've never personally seen an Atomic Tank being successful in Elites, although I'm sure a search on Youtube could rectify that. It has an interesting Tank mechanic, relying on keeping Aura up, and Comboing for self heals. I once had an League Mate who really excelled with Atomic in any normal Content up to FGSn. With low SP (definately below 200), Refractor 120, EoG 80 and Manacles below 80. Our feeling in FBe was tat it was mainly his lacking Artifacts causing his deaths. But its mediocre damage and a playstyle that feels clunky puts people off from truly exploring it's capabilities, as I see it.

    Personally, I have made a couple Atomic Toons, never gotten any above lvl 15, before deciding it's not a Power for me.

    I don't have much to say about Earth. I know it is the only Tank with 2 different Tank Mechanics. Either keep Brick alive to take damage or use Aftershock. As Main Healer at the time, I was a big fan of the Tank Balance giving Earth greater options to keepBrick alive themselves. Melee Might Jackhammer spam does among the best damage in the game.

    I've made 1 Earth Toon. Got out of my pod on the ship, took a look at the skill list and decided it was not a Power for me.
    • Like x 1
    Red Wáve, Jan 20, 2021
    #4

  5. tukuan Devoted Player

    I don't tank much but I will say you might want to differentiate between best and easiest.

    If I have to tank I will do so on my Ice or Earth toons because you can tank with training wheels. Ice keep your shields up and earth keep your pet up and you are pretty safe. Couple that with a pull and some cleanses and you should be fine for content where the margin for error is lower. You're never going to be the MVP in elite or SM with this mindset but it's good enough to help a smaller group get through a bounty or in regular content.

    ASFAIK fire is similar with the self-heals but I've not really given a go, I have a fire toon but rarely play him.

    From my limited experimentation rage and atomic tanking have a more difficult learning curve and a smaller margin for error, especially rage.

    That said the most effective tanks I usually see tend towards fire or rage.
    tukuan, Jan 20, 2021
    #5

  6. Dark Soldier Dedicated Player

    I was atomic until metal with those jumping robins, it was always a bit tough to combo atomic but that was the last straw for me, id love to go back but until they start making changes to powers that are lacking i wont be.
    Dark Soldier, Jan 20, 2021
    #6

  7. Yvtq8k3n The 7 Well-Known Player

    Ups, may bad:9
    Retrieve all Tank Power players withcombat_rating=329
    http://census.daybreakgames.com/get/dcuo/character?c:limit=200&combat_rating=329&power_type_id=2324 (162 results)
    http://census.daybreakgames.com/get/dcuo/character?c:limit=300&combat_rating=329&power_type_id=2666 (202 results)
    http://census.daybreakgames.com/get/dcuo/character?c:limit=200&combat_rating=299&power_type_id=2784 (129 results)
    http://census.daybreakgames.com/get/dcuo/character?c:limit=200&combat_rating=299&power_type_id=1992462 (119 results)
    http://census.daybreakgames.com/get/dcuo/character?c:limit=200&combat_rating=299&power_type_id=6902 (53results)

    Top Tank Powers
    Fire - 374
    Rage - 251
    Ice - 224
    Earth - 220
    Atomic - 85

    Fire looks a little bit different now xd:)
    • Like x 1
    Yvtq8k3n The 7, Jan 20, 2021
    #7

  8. Proxystar #Perception

    I'm 331 Earth and really enjoy earth, personally I'm surprised the fire players outnumber rage but I guess that goes to show how more improved fire is now, I just personally don't like fire.

    Is that only 58 earth tanks at 331 though, :D
    Proxystar, Jan 20, 2021
    #8

  9. Noble One Committed Player

    this really doesnt proves who is the best, just most picked. fire is normally picked for dps over tank. the top TANK tanks is usually rage and earth with ice usually after them then followed by fire and with atomic coming in last. to be honest atomic needs some love as its been in last for a good while just due to it being to rotation heavy.
    • Like x 2
    Noble One, Jan 20, 2021
    #9

  10. TheLorax 15000 Post Club

    How many of these characters are actual Tank/Dual Role vs can only DPS?
    TheLorax, Jan 20, 2021
    #10

  11. Proxystar #Perception

    Yea that's true, if you could figure out how many of those fire players are actually tanks that could be useful, that's probably useful to know for all powers though
    • Like x 1
    Proxystar, Jan 20, 2021
    #11

  12. Rockhound665 Steadfast Player

    Earth is a much better DPS power than tank.
    Rockhound665, Jan 20, 2021
    #12

  13. Yvtq8k3n The 7 Well-Known Player

    Saddly I cant know for sure if each and every player has tank/dps armor, since i can only see the one that is currently being used. With that said the current cr values try to only include the elite players being extremely likely that each and every single one of them can perform both roles at a decent level of mastery.
    Yvtq8k3n The 7, Jan 21, 2021
    #13

  14. willflynne 10000 Post Club

    The best Tank power?

    It's the one that crushes your enemies, sees them driven before you and allows you to hear the lamentations of their women and children. :mad:

    ...

    Oops, sorry, read the question wrong. :p
    willflynne, Jan 21, 2021
    #14