For whatever it's worth, I've got four characters that can run as a Tank (Ice, Earth, Rage and Atomic) but so far I've only set up two of them to do so. The Rage tanking mechanics didn't appeal to me so I've only got him set up as a damage character and I've simply never sat down and explored Tanking with my Atomic character at all. I can't really say I have a preference between the Ice and Earth styles of Tanking, either. They both do the job well and fit in with how I tend to play so there isn't a favorite for me.
Earth it has the least risk / mechanics to try to learn on top of being 1st to pick up on mechanics in content
In my own personal experience, I would rate the powers like this: Ease of LEARNING - 1- Ice 2- Atomic 3- Fire 4- Earth 5- Rage Favorite for Endgame Tanking after having Learned how to do it - 1- Rage 2- Ice 3- Atomic 4- Earth 5- Fire
I went with Rage, since I love the heck out of the DPS side, and wanted to level a rage tank. Still in the works though.
So the question is about preferences and not about what is more effective (well, at least that's how I understand the topic), I'll just write which tank I like best and why Perhaps I'll start with those that I don't like and end with those that I like Atomic tank, interesting idea ... but it seems that every aspect of this power is flawed: Aura and Healing? an interesting idea, but while playing you notice that supporting the aura and healing with the help of a combination takes the lion's share of the time and that you have almost no time for something else (I'm exaggerating ... a little ...). Shields? Group shield is a great idea, you really feel like the protector of the group ... but at the same time your personal shield is so weak and healing through combinations is so slow that it becomes difficult for you to tank without an additional shield, such as HS..... Combinations? interesting mechanics ... but at the same time (even after the last changes, and here the point is not only that you are interrupted by NPCs, but also that you yourself have to interrupt combinations in order to block, dodge or counterattack ...) they are so susceptible to interrupting that after a long game it's just tiring ... Highest Basic Defense? 90% good ... the problem is that any tank other than fire can end up raising it to the same level or higher .... Color gamma ... you know? I might "forgive" all of the above ... but yellow is what killed "Light" for me on the side of the villains ... As a result, for me personally, a Atomic tank is a continuous compromise ... a compromise is not bad, but when it is in everything ... it's damn tiring ... Ice .... the most primitive mechanics of all tanks. All tank mechanics are tied to one action- the use of a shield. Even an increase in defense is tied to the use of a shield, any shield ... It's effective ... but boring ... you use HS, not because you need it, but because it can change color and thus add at least some variety ... However, you can use ICE ELEMENTAL and additional slots for skills ... which you fill with additional shields ... ha, ha, ha ... so funny that it is even sad ... The Earth, is interesting already because it offers two different styles of play. With and without a pet. Without a pet, the game looks like ice - though not so primitive, increasing defense and absorbing damage are two different mechanics, besides, the Earth has the most interesting shield, which is a separate game mechanic in itself. But a truly unique tank, the Earth is made by playing with a pet, transferring damage to a pet, tracking the vital signs of both your character and your pet, a mechanic for protecting yourself, a mechanic for healing a pet ... The only thing I don't like about the earth is the lack of self-healing ... Rage. If you describe the essence of rage in a few words, then it will be: big risk, big reward. In my opinion, the most efficient tank. Very high survivability, various mechanics (healing itself and damage delay, shield, life theft ...). The better you play, the greater the reward and the less risk. But at the same time, this is the only tank where the highest threat to your life ... this is your main tanking mechanic ... and this risk can never be completely eliminated (well, unless you dont use your biggest trump card ...) ... My problem with rage is that- the older I am, the less risk I like ... Fire ... for a long time fire was considered the weakest tank, but after the last changes it is not, for me personally, now it is second only to rage ... like ice, this is the earliest tank, but unlike ice it does not suffer from monotony ... As fire you can focus on different styles of play, you can focus on healing or add more shields. Even concentrating on healing, you have a very large selection of healing mechanics, the use of which changes the pattern of the fire game. Unlike other tanks, you have more choice for artifacts (believe me, the opinion that fire requires a very specific set of artifacts is a myth). Fire is very demanding on the number of SPs ... but at the same time, fire has the greatest return on a large number of SPs.
