biostem

And you didn't say he would be summoned in other zones, leading to the natural conclusion that he simply wouldn't spawn at the altar...

I generally reply in a tone similar to that of the OP, unless, despite your spending nearly a month reaquainting yourself with the game, excluded reading any of the patch notes that came out since then - y'know, something someone might want to check out after such a long absence. Further, I never said that farming was wrong or bad, only that I found it odd that someone coming back after a long break would jump right into it. Maybe express the circumstances surrounding your return a little better next time...

Different strokes for different folks, and all that - I like being able to *only* spend an hour or so to get some "End Game (tm)" content done, rather than the lengthy and highly regimented stuff found in some other games...

Great costume! It does sadden me, though, how so many areas in-game basically wipe out any darker/more subtle tones between costume parts & colors, however...

targetcustomnext "adamastor". It would eliminate the camping, sure, but so would any of the myriad of solutions proposed in this thread. I wonder if they could have the summoning ritual open a portal, which you then have to interact with, to be taken to a small instance of the raised stone area where you actually fight him...

Thankfully the team leader clearly telegraphed that they were a jerk, before you were 1 or more missions into the TF. Honestly, there have been times when I felt like at least 1 player on a team I started was just auto-following someone else with a power on autofire. That being said, I don't think there's any big issue with botting, and more than likely, the team leader was trying to justify rejecting you and your wife...

Some of my thoughts below:

Well, a lot depends upon whether you're going to use the name seriously or ironically, and whether said character will have more of a benevolent or malevolent leaning. Serious & Good: An empathy/storm defender could have a rather regal and benevolent air to it, whilst also portraying a sense of poise & power. Serious & Evil: A necro/dark or necro/pain mastermind would definitely get the idea across of being a cruel and slave-driving ruler. Comedic & Good: A grav/kin controller could definitely "motivate" both allies and enemies, with humorous results! Comedic & Evil: A mind/savage dominator would definitely "get things done", probably with a lot of whining and carrying on along the way, (also, calling birds to attack your enemies is a funny spin on the classic Disney princess motif of having cute animal friends)... Related to the "Comedic & Evil" listing above, a beast/empathy or beast/nature mastermind could take the "animal friend" theme and give it a positive, (albeit violet), bent...

It was kind of silly that you could get full XP for a mob with like only 1 attack then just some ally-only powers - that, and an apparent bug in the double XP buff that had it giving 3x XP, were corrected. It seems weird to me that after being gone for a few years, your first impulse is to either farm or get PL'd by a farmer. Why not reacquaint yourself with the game first...

I really like radiation armor, particularly for particle shielding, which provides absorption, additional regeneration, and a hefty, (though unenhanceable), recovery bonus. You can make it permanent, so just leave it on autofire and you're good to go.

No, but neither does everybody else have an obligation to adjust to your needs. The only party that *does* have a direct ability to tailor the play experience at-will is YOU. YOU can use the tools available to adjust the experience, or otherwise remove yourself from the instance that is causing an issue for you. Note, I am not saying you shouldn't play at all - only that YOU are the only party that can directly and immediately alter the experience to suit your own needs...

Here is another resource explaining what they are and do...

It should also be noted that there are various effects in game that reduce or outright prevent debt, so player experience may vary...

I think I still had smashing & cold in mind when I wrote that...

Lusca should give like 2 merits per "part" - Maybe a few more for the head, since it can only be defeated after all the tentacles...

What if, upon summon Adamastor, there was a big, local warning with a 5-second countdown, after which he phased everyone in a small radius around himself for 60 seconds or so, thereby preventing them from doing anything.

Man, people really don't want to face any consequences for their actions, huh?

Not flippant at all. For me, it's more about not breaking the flow of gameplay. Sure, I could eat breakfrees in anticipation of being mezzed, but it's not as reliable, (as far as keeping enough in stock 24x7), as what I'm looking for.

Probably drop the HoT, then. Other blaster "maintains" do include some status effect resistance, (not protection), so I think that could remain, (or dropped entirely, but field operative from devices has stealth, defense, recovery AND regen).

Mainly for its hold protection. It's minimal, but more important to me.

I appreciate the input, but TBH, KB is the least of my worries.

I have a 50 storm/ninjitsu sentinel. It's a rather nice secondary, but because it has slightly lower defense values and no passive boost to end recovery, you'll need to lean more on the click heal and end recovery powers. Still, the in-built stealth & crit ability is rather nice. I didn't bother with blinding power, so I can't speak to that. Also, the auto power is where you get your KB protection from. Pistols would be a good fit, conceptually, as you could stick with the regular or incendiary rounds, (though the cryo rounds also grant a permanent range boost as long as you keep that ammo type toggle on).

Having gotten both a /Regen and a /WP to 50, what I can say is that WP is better overall, but there are times you really miss that on-demand click heal power which WP lacks.

Just how flexible are you in the character concept? Depending upon how much you are willing to bend the concept, an interesting idea could be a dual pistol/willpower sentinel with the ninja tool mastery APP, so he could also wield a sword. If you wanted something with a bit more of a magical flair, storm, rad, or even fire blast would work nicely, and if you wanted something more low-tech, go with archery. Alternatively, skip ninja tool mastery and go with fire mastery colored white for a sort of "holy fire", plus you can get a PBAoE heal from that if you want a bit of team support.

Yeah, you may have the change the name, but there already exists a precedent for different sets to having powers with the same name, (e.g. Darkest Night in Soul Mastery and Dark Mastery).