For me, it's about 75% appearance/concept. Once I find a look I like, I try to match it to an At and powersets that fit the theme or concept. Once that's out of the way, I usually run grab some P2W stuff, then run around AP streetsweeping until about level 6. If I get lucky with drops or the inner inspiration temp power, I'll sell them on the AH for some startup cash, then grab some of the boosters before training up. By the time I reached level 6, I should have a good idea about the general feel of the character. From there, I'll usually run some of my own tunnel missions in the AE, as I prefer to solo until about level 22, when I can slot 25 generic IOs, and feel like I actually have something to offer to a team, instead of needing to be carried by them. From that point forward, it's pretty much up in the air as to what others are doing, and I'll run PUGs/TFs/whatever else is being run...