Perhaps I misspoke in my OP or my subsequent posts. I DO NOT expect to fulfill a traditional tank role in this game. I do think that I can draw away *some* enemy fire, especially with Ward of Dawn active, but getting aggro in the traditional sense is simply not possible in this context and I do not expect or even want that to change. What I was hoping for was simply that with a name and subclass description such that the "Defender" has, he would be something more than an Orb of Light pooper. I was hoping for a *meaningful* increase in survivability to enable me to better fulfill my role of "Defender": I could run in for a rez in a tight spot where others could not survive (currently Bladedancers are better for this with invis), I could have a more persistent role out of cover for drawing fire (currently Sunsingers are better for this with more damage mitigation talents that have more uptime than ours at their disposal), I could more often go toe-to-toe with a Knight for some melee (currently Strikers are better for this w/ Juggernaut or Shoulder Charge). When analyzing the game's talent trees, it is clear that multiple playstyles are (attempting) to be supported by the options available within each subclass. I think Orb of Light Pooper is a perfectly fine playstyle (indeed, I have done so myself much to my Sunsinger buddy's delight). But, again, with a name and description such that the "Defender" has,, I expected one of those supported playstyles to be higher-than-your-average-bear survivability, even if it is at the cost of damage output (for balance reasons, naturally). Thanks again for the comments everyone!

It should be a bit more tanky, maybe the last grenade should be replaced with a wall of light, that can be used as cover.

Is no one else concerned you cant fire out of the bubble which kind of defeats the object of the power?

Can you explain how the "Unbreakable" skill works? Does it always recharge your force barrier, or do you still have to get a melee kill to activate it? And does the barrier stay indefinitely if you can keep it charged?

Defender is more like a medic.

I love my Defender, but I don't think you'll see the tank you're familiar with in other games. defender has a lot of survivability, and if played right can be very hard to kill, but you still have to play it right since the passives don't really do all the work for you. I remember playing a pally on WoW early on and you could half pay attention and get through most fights. For Defender you still have to be on your game. Knowing when to save and when to pop your shield, rolling the dice and meleeing someone to death when they're at full health, etc. The options and abilities are there for you, but they're still up to you to use them right. If you can, then gods save the darkness from your wrath. Good luck Guardian

I'm currently a lvl 24 defender, though I'm focussing on being an orb of light generator for the team. Even with the perk of continually recovering force barrier I wouldn't try a traditional tank role. For pve, minion mop up and orb generation and boss distraction. For example pop that bubble in a location the boss can see and keep his attention whilst other team mates can get crit shots without being shot at.

seeing as how everyone can grab hate and weapons can be used by eery class , there is no need for a traditional style mmo tank style class

what it think the defender class is going to be is more of a support role. later down the tree you get alot of group buffs when they walk through your ward of light. not to mention the orbs that you drop. if that helps any. again this is just a guess