biostem

I'd probably want to be a gravity/force field controller; Imagine how useful you'd be in day-to-day life or the private sector. Heck, you'd be a hit at parties, (unless dispersion bubble, also cures people of intoxication or any other "effects" they may be indulging in). Throw in the medicine pool and a nice APP/PPP, and you'd be prepared for any circumstance...

Here's a good overview of each Alpha slot ability. The damage boost is Intuition's tertiary ability, so you need to get up to the 3rd rank/tier to actually receive the damage boost...

That' the great thing about the Sentinel version of SR - extra recovery!

I really like Intuition in the Alpha slot because it can boost damage, range & holds, (dark blast has one, and you can get a 2nd in your APP/PPP).

What are you comparing your damage output to, though? What enemies are you fighting? What's their level compared to yours? Do you have incarnates unlocked? If so, which ones do you have slotted? There are a lot of factors besides your enhancements that can factor into this...

My general approach is to use the much more affordable, (and never expiring), level 25 "generic" IOs, and once you get to 50, the inf will roll in fairly quickly - you can then work on either buying what you want with reward merits or via the auction house, then replacing those generic IOs as you go, focusing on any set bonuses or other performance areas that you feel could be improved, (for instance, if you are having endurance issues, prioritize getting the panacea, miracle, and Numina's unique healing IOs). You can even use the 2 additional builds you get for free at 50 to slot those set IOs, and keep your main one with the generic ones as a sort of "workhorse" build...

While not the exact same thing as what you're saying, sometimes I'll just log in and fly around various zones and watch what NPCs are saying or see what vistas or unmarked points of interest I can uncover, or just look for nice "photo-ops"...

I know this is only a small segment of your entire post, but I just wanted to comment that this basically describes playing a DP/Bio Sentinel or Staff/Bio Scrapper...

For me, the simplest method is that at each tier, the components have unique 1st letters, so I just remember "I need 2 R1 A's and a R2 B" or something similar... https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Incarnate_Component

Except that those are kind of the entire AT's schtick - to shapeshift, and *all* it costs you are 2 power picks. It's kind of like playing a petless MM - you are certainly free to play that way, and some people can even thrive despite those limitations, but in the end, it is a self-imposed limitation. You may not like the design decisions behind the AT, but the type of changes you are suggesting would only serve to make the HEATs just another bland baseline character...

Sure, but I meant more like reading - once you are literate in a language, it is all but impossible to *not* read anything in that language that is placed in front of you. Before then, it is literally "Greek to me"...

It *is* an easy system, it just isn't clear or intuitive; What I mean by this is that the actual steps/process to do things like crafting and slotting Incarnate abilities doesn't require any special skills, it just requires knowing what windows to open up and which tabs to go to, with the rest consisting of clicking. This isn't to diminish any sense of confusion this might entail, only that once you "get it" it can just make you facepalm at how you were just before it "clicked"...

So kind of an "Atom Cats" vibe?

I'd imagine that some folks fall victim to the sunk-cost fallacy, and would rather rage and vent than cut their loses and move on, as you pointed out...

I would argue that it is even broader than that; If you have a limited amount of leisure time, you may not have the luxury of stopping to hash out various difference in playstyles and/or place expectations on others; "I'm familiar with the AT or powersets you are using, or with this TF, and therefore you should be able to perform at [insert some arbitrary level of performance]"...

With future crossovers with "The Thing" and "Them"...

If you're willing to consider other ATs, consider a Sentinel; You can then take the fire APP to get a PBAoE heal, and something like fire or radiation blast, or even sonic, could fit the concept. If you aren't fond of the radiation armor FX, something like energy aura has a nice glow option to represent that divine aura. You could go with radiation armor for the PBAoE heal/debuff then go with the Ninja Tool Mastery APP so you can have a sword...

I'd just be happy with some *options* besides looking like every other Nova or Dwarf - even if it only extended to tinting said squid/lobster forms, (and I don't just mean the vague aura coloration)...

That's your mistake right there; They may colloquially be called "Epic Power Pools", but in reality they are there to provide some options that fall outside of said AT's wheelhouse - things like controls or group heals that Sentinels don't normally gain access to...

Apart from simply shortening the animation times in question, what if they applied a significant, but unenhanceable damage resistance buff to the caster during the animation times, to both encourage using such powers mid-battle, while also protecting/not penalizing the caster for utilizing such "anchor powers"?

TBH, I'd rather see some sort of forcefield control or attack set, (or at the very least, perhaps some alternate bubble FX for the likes of gravity or mind control.

I got your farm right here!

If you are playing solo and never team, then it is indeed "your own business" as to how you play when and where. When you're teamed, that ceases to be the case. Now, I'm not advocating for some sort of totalitarian domineering behavior on the part of the devs or others in the community, but the fact that you are on a team, by its very nature, necessitates that you compromise or at least adjust your behavior, even if just slightly...

Does that tech exist? Would it not allow the team leader to select the mission? You'd basically have to turn all content in TFs/SFs with some sort of minimum level requirement - I can't see them implementing this. You are not going to force people into a preferred playstyle, short of implementing such draconian policies that nobody will want to play...

All that'd do is redirect new accounts to wolf, warrior earth, or radios in PI...