Suggestions for a build - ultra sponge

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Let me define sponge - I mean someone who'll just soak up the damage and keep on coming.

My problem with toons in any game, be it WoW or CoX is that I usually like to play the rarer frameworks / power sets / etc rather than using the same damn thing that everyone else uses.

For example, in CoH I was a dark/dark defender.

Now here I'm not just looking for a "tank" style build, but I want to avoid the more common powersets (like PA, Munitions, etc) without drastically spreading my abilities too thin.

Consider it a challenge of sorts, but I'd appreciate any and all feedback/sample builds to get me going. I have a might toon but something about it is just..lacking. I'm not sure if any of the MA skillsets would be better or not.

Comments / criticisms please :)

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16 views and nobody with suggestions? Come on, throw me a frickin' bone here :P

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The problem with building something unique in a specific role, especially tanking, is that there are some established abilities that are no brainers:

The ideal energy builder is Force Bolts with Energy Refraction

You must have a defensive passive: PFF, Regen, or Invuln - if you take Defiance or Lightning Relfexes you will be more rare, because you will be inferior

You should take Defensive combo as it stacks up defiance to make you more survivable

Thee above count for only three things but in my mind they limit your selection themeatically in addition to a playability sense.

My first question would be - is this a character you want to tank with, or simple solo with (with a lot of survivability)

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Ideally as much of a brick wall as possible while still maintaining some individuality.

@ PFF Regen and invul - I thought PFF and regen were nerfed so much that invul became the defacto go-to power of choice.

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Invuln was nerfed equal to PFF and Regen - they are all equally good/bad. I've used PFF and Regen post nerf and they both function pretty well. Both of them are pretty similiar in that too many mobs for too long will overwhelm them. The problem with invuln is that while it doesnt get overwhelmed as quickly as PFF or Regen both of those abilities are far superior for tough encounters like 3 tough henchmen or a master villian.

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Any suggestions as to the first few powers I should take? Once again, trying to avoid taking the more common ones unless absolutely, positively required to do a half-way decent job.

If I took defensive combo with the defiant! advantage, skipped invul and instead used regen or PFF would that in theory out-perform invul+defensive combo defiant! stacks in the long run, taking into account most mobs as well as for fighting the tougher encounters?

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Im not sure it would out-perform it - the defiance buff is definitely the weakest of the defensive passives, so if they beat through your regen or PFF will you live longer than characters without a passive defense? Yep. Will you live a helluva lot longer? nope.

I am just saying that PFF and regen perform as well as Invuln, worse in some situations, better in some situations - but overall they are functionally the same. As to the first few levels I would do:

1. Force Bolts
1. Force Eruption (retcon after the tutorial)
5. PFF
8. Defensive Combination
11. Force Shield w/ Force Sheath

Also because the active defenses trigger a 30 second cooldown on other actives, but are on 90 themselves I think it may be worth consider getting Resurg, Indestructable, AND Field surge - that way you can just cycle them. If you combine this with nanobot swarm you can use two of them back to back - I dont see many characters do this and i would qualify it as 'rare'.

Other than that the rest of the build is fairly open - get a heal of some type (psionic healing is a good choice) and take what flavor you like the most. Just make sure you have a mashable AE with challenging Strikes and an ability with crippling challenge on it if you want to tank with this char.

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Thanks, working on it now.

anyone else with suggestions / input? It'd be greatly appreciated. You can always contact me ingame @everittdaniel rather than posting here if you wish

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142 views and only one person willing to offer help? Come onnnn :P

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200+ views, any more comments?

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Once you get around to getting an upgraded block go with either TK shield or Force Shield with Force Sheath. Tapping it either of them every 10 seconds will give you a nice damage reduction. This isn't rare and isn't a must but it does make a significant difference in how much damage you can take.