biostem

There is *something* that permits cutscenes to be skipped, at least in BAF, as we sometimes don't have to sit through it at all...

My guess is that they'd have to significantly rewrite the TFs/SFs in order to work around this limitation; Clearly the game can place mobs without a cutscene, but if they were initially written to include them, then they rely upon them to the aforementioned enemy placement...

"Delay of gratification" and all that - you could get fully IO'd out without having to spend tons on the market, if you are patient and willing to slot a little at a time...

What we colloquially call "demons", at least in the CoH setting, may actually originate from vastly different planes/dimensions. Further, the method or terms under which they have been brought to Primal Earth and in what ways they serve their new masters, (unless they entered our world of their own volition), differs greatly, etc. In short, I envision the Hellions serving as little more than potential sacrifices or vessels for which the CoT can bring forth more ancient members of their lineage or just to harvest some additional magical energy...

That's why my advice is to go with level 25 generic IOs, then replacing those, (either in the same build or on one of your other builds), with various set or other such specialized IOs/HOs/SHOs/D-Syncs/Etc, as you go. Nothing unobtainable and certainly not overly expensive...

Then the issue becomes "Joe donated $1 and got the same reward as me, who donated $100". Maybe a badge that says "I donated to Homecoming and all I got was this badge". 😛

My take is that anytime a group of developers puts any kind of "roadmap" out there, even if qualified with "nothing in this is guaranteed", people will expect said roadmap be dutifully and rigidly adhered to. I'd rather see smaller, much more attainable milestones set, then worked toward until completion - nothing grand or overarching, (at least not that's disclosed or sets some false expectations).

You may want to post in this thread, as this one here is for assistance in coming up with a costume for one of your characters. Cheers!

Here ya go:

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"...