Yoru-hime

I have a rad/fire brute that I use for farming and do not AFK farm. I got into it for the rewards, but I have more influence than I really need. I'd say that for me farming is almost a zen thing. Sometimes I want to TF or badge hunt and sometimes I just want to log in and mindlessly cut loose while listening to music. Nights like that, farming is very relaxing and satisfying.

Null is standing on a truck parked toward the redside elevator.

This seems consistent with the other filters available via P2W. The market argument is fallacious. The market is seeded because the devs want there to be a price cap on certain items. If player behavior changes to the point that said price cap is threatened, they'll simply reseed more often or in larger quantities to protect it. The sky is not going to fall on Wentworth's just because fewer farmers list white salvage.

Congratulations on 50! Some contacts, particularly older ones have one-off missions that only show up in Ouroboros if there's a badge attached, but they generally don't offer much in terms of story or interesting gameplay. You've listed TF/SF/Trials and Safeguard/Mayhems. Most of the other things you may not have seen aren't that big a deal, but if you're trying to do a grand tour of the content, here's some possibilities I can think of: The various Zone Events and GM spawns. The Invention tutorial at the University (do it redside, it's much more entertaining) The old school origin contacts Blueside (they're not that interesting, but it's an alternative start to Habashy or the DFB treadmill) The Epic Archetype missions. These are only available to PB/WSs or Widows/Arachnos Soldiers, respectively.

Things absolutely never heard in-game: "Player X really isn't pulling their weight. They're not trying to run a Hasten-less build, are they?!?"

That could almost be rewritten to say: "Who needs your Primary to Solo?" I think I counted two uses of Empathy through the 2 minutes of that I watched before boredom kicked in. The rest was a weak Energy Blaster juggling an enemy with Knockback while very slowly pecking him to death. And that was pretty much the correct way for that character to play it. Given the level, Regen Aura wasn't available so there wasn't anything else in the Empathy toolbox that would have been of any use in that encounter. There are other Solo Empath/? posts, guides and videos out there, but they all come back to the same idea of working with one powerset pretty much tied behind your back. I don't think that Empathy is so overpowered in teams that it needs to be that weak solo to compensate somehow. It's more an artifact of design decisions that date all the way back to beta, before anyone knew what playing CoH would really be like. I'm not sure that I'm sold on the OP's specific methods for getting there (seem kinda convoluted), but the end goal of making Empathy more functional without a team seems very reasonable.

FFXIV does what it does very well and the music is wonderful. I played for a while, but the DPS queue and all the forced teaming broke me. I still buy every OST they release though.

I've run into that problem before, having a group of characters all get caught in the same level band so trying to run the same content. I feel like for me it's around 20-30 when they all start feeling funneled into Striga and/or Croatoa to unlock TF contacts. I try to vary the starting path for my characters if I can. DFBs, Habashy/Stockwell, origin contacts, AE EB farms. Might even try red or goldside now and then if I get really desperate.

I don't think it's a matter of managing the cooldown as swapping out to one that is best-suited to a given TF or Trial before it launches. I'd mostly see this for Destiny, but I suppose that if you know a teammate is going to be providing all the Endurance you could need for the next hour, you might swap out from Cardiac to a Musculature for the extra kick.

Getting an invasion in the one zone that you need to clear a hunt mission or having Babbage fail to show up in your TF can definitely be annoying but I wouldn't really support shortening events. Not everyone has the luxury to play every day. That said, there are more alarms going off than are probably needed. Particularly the overlapping ones. Trying to build a response team to hunt bombs in Steel is usually pretty futile when there's already a league fighting Rikti on the hill in Talos. Cutting the number of zone alarms triggered per wave by a third or so might make it easier to create event groups and reduce the inconvenience to uninterested players.

Yup, they should definitely roll a Peacebringer instead. 😉

I respectfully disagree with the above. This a game. Play the way that is fun for you. If you're here, odds are the only way you'll create a character that can't succeed and contribute in the basic game is by deliberately trying to fail. You may not be able to solo at max difficulty, but that's not necessary unless it's something you choose to strive for. Discover for yourself what's fun. Maybe in the end, you'll decide, like Herotu, that you just HAVE to be playing the best powersets for maximum power and effectiveness. Maybe you'll just find that one powerset or AT that captures your heart and nothing else ever really compares. Maybe you'll find joy in playing quirky builds and combinations that no one else has ever tried. Maybe it'll be a blend of them all, depending on your mood. Whatever that answer is, if you're enjoying your time here (and being cool to others) then you're already doing things right. If you hang around CoH, you're probably going to be making a lot of characters, so start with one that appeals to you and then let yourself experiment whenever the urge strikes you. Some of my favorite characters are ones that I saw someone talking about on the forums and thought "That sounds cool! I'll give that a shot." One of the great things about CoH is that alternate characters are strongly encouraged. No one character needs to be a massive and continuous time investment to keep up with the Joneses. Sure, you can choose to devote a lot of time to a single character, but if you find one that you get to mid or even late-game and decide "this just isn't as much fun", shelving them shouldn't be utterly soul-crushing. Also, you have virtually unlimited character slots, so unless you just really want to re-use the name, you never have to delete one. Just set it aside and maybe down the road you'll decide to give it another try.

Here's what I'm working on. It was heavily inspired by SwitchFade's DB/EA posts, but I've made modifications to make room for Force of Will for Weaken Resolve. I'm not sure whether I want to keep the epic cone or go back to Tactics for the to-hit bonus. I'm in the upper 30s right now and she's already very hard to bring down unless something just ignores defense. Defense is 51% for S/L/F/C, 57% for energy and 47% for dark, with 62% resistance to S/L. Villain Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.7 https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Yoru DB/EA: Level 50 Magic Stalker Primary Power Set: Dual Blades Secondary Power Set: Energy Aura Power Pool: Force of Will Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Power Slice -- SprAssMar-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAssMar-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), SprAssMar-Dmg/Rchg(5), SprAssMar-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7), SprAssMar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7), SprAssMar-Rchg/Rchg Build Up(9) Level 1: Hide -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(25) Level 2: Ablating Strike -- OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg(A), OvrFrc-End/Rech(9), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End(11), OvrFrc-Dmg/End/Rech(11), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End/Rech(13) Level 4: Kinetic Shield -- Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(25), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg(31), Rct-Def/Rchg(31), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Rct-ResDam%(36) Level 6: Assassin's Blades -- SprStlGl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprStlGl-Dmg/Rchg(15), SprStlGl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), SprStlGl-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17), SprStlGl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17), SprStlGl-Rchg/Hide%(19) Level 8: Build Up -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(13), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(19), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(21), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(21), GssSynFr--Build%(23) Level 10: Entropy Shield -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 12: Weaken Resolve -- AchHee-ResDeb%(A) Level 14: Power Shield -- LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(A), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(36), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(36), LucoftheG-Def(37), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(37) Level 16: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(39) Level 18: Kinetic Dampening -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), GldArm-ResDam(23), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(37) Level 20: Kick -- Acc-I(A) Level 22: Tough -- Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(39), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(39), Ags-ResDam(40) Level 24: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(A), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(40), LucoftheG-EndRdx/Rchg(40), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(42), LucoftheG-Def(42), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(42) Level 26: Sweeping Strike -- Erd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Erd-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), Erd-%Dam(27), ClvBlo-Dmg/EndRdx(29), ClvBlo-Dmg/Rchg(29), ClvBlo-Acc/Dmg(31) Level 28: Energy Drain -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 30: Mighty Leap -- WntGif-ResSlow(A) Level 32: One Thousand Cuts -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(33), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(33), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Obl-%Dam(34) Level 35: Energize -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(43), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(43), Prv-Heal/Rchg(43), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(45), Prv-Absorb%(45) Level 38: Superior Conditioning -- PrfShf-End%(A) Level 41: Physical Perfection -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A) Level 44: Maneuvers -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(45), RedFrt-EndRdx/Rchg(46), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(46), RedFrt-Def(46), RedFrt-EndRdx(48) Level 47: Wall of Force -- Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(A), PstBls-Dam%(48), Bmbdmt-Acc/Dam/Rech/End(48), Bmbdmt-Dam(50), Bmbdmt-Acc/Rech/End(50), Bmbdmt-Dam/Rech(50) Level 49: Unleash Potential -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 1: Assassination Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- UnbLea-Stlth(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(3) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- SynSck-EndMod(A), SynSck-EndMod/+RunSpeed(3) Level 1: Quick Form Level 0: High Pain Threshold Level 0: Born In Battle Level 0: Invader Level 0: Marshal Level 50: Void Radial Final Judgement Level 50: Reactive Core Flawless Interface ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1557;735;1470;HEX;| |78DA659449531A4114C77B60088222026E881B6EE0C612BDA744308B5265CAAA98E| |43245698B5426603198489643B6AAE413E40B64BDE49C6BBE41D6CA25DB31312A26| |39263A69E7FF94A962AAA85FF7BFDF7BFDEFD733A437920D2F4EDE3AC124D7B49AD| 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|F51DA63D4096DAC1E1C6F20BA888D60D40D5E15E78DD0D922161BD65EA23F5109F3| |F81EBEC3F83E5107AF88DC18F52A46FD0BC847DFB9DE591D1F4C759D8DD428B11A2| |55EA34CD4289366C58ACECC99B5719C605E3EFA776012BDD18E2676703786C36DA7| |58A76E4A9453A96A9214C44D58CE082124B31D737C18F1BBE6F84D74C652016747A| |ADD58741ACE8CF159D3F8BC697CD1341E6B16255017CF475F55F80FFCBBF5FC| |-------------------------------------------------------------------| I have another version with Leaping instead of Force of Will that used Combat Jumping for extra Defense and the rest of the Leadership toggles.

How well does Weaken Resolve work on a Stalker fighting AV/GM-class enemies? I've been tempted to switch around my DB/EA to make room for Force of Will. She's got survivability and endurance to spare so if I can trade off a bit of that for some extra killing power against hard targets, that'd make her even more awesome.

Poison options without the spew. Staff options without the breakdancing. Ninja/Beast Run options that don't typecast us.

Even More Minimal FX for Epic pools. If I wanted my character's body to be wrapped in Ice, that would have been part of the primary or secondary. Confining myself to just those that don't provide an unwanted weapon or costume addition can really limit options. So tired of Body/Force/Power Mastery...

To start with, welcome back! An Invuln/? Brute plus a Dark/Dark Controller would probably be my initial recommendation. I'd suggest a Dark/Dark Controller for the support because of the versatility. The heal, fear cone and -tohit help early on with survivability while the -res and -regen debuffs never lose their value even as the attacker matures and no longer has as many defensive holes to fill. Dark/Dark Defender would also work, though popular opinion is that it's been overshadowed by its younger sibling. For the attacker, I'd recommend a Brute for raw destruction. Scrappers could be an option as well, but they won't do as well keeping aggro off the support. Assuming you take the advice for the support, I'd suggest Invulnerability for the armor set though any resistance based set will probably synergize well. Defensive sets certainly work wonders on Brutes, but once you hit the soft-cap there's really not much to gain from adding more defense, which limits your chances for synergy. It's a lot more common for a support character to provide defense and/or to hit debuffs than it is to provide substantial resistance.

I dunno, they usually do releases in the middle of the week, not on a sundae.

Once I have all my Inspiration slots, my right-hand Inspiration column is always Awaken, Break Free, Green, Blue. If I go down, I can mash F5 several times and be ready to go ASAP.

That's going a LONG way back. Here are a few quick links to get you started, but really, the shorter list would be what hasn't changed. Big highlights include: All the new contacts, zones and story arcs Ouroboros The Invention System Architect Entertainment Going Rogue/Praetoria Incarnate Abilities and Content Paragon Wiki is also still a useful resource, with the understanding that it's locked at the end of live so changes made by HC since then won't be reflected. Welcome back!

Agreed. I have a Traps/DP defender that I loved on Live but I just can't bring myself to care about here because of the unstable pet. I either lose it when I need it most or I'm constantly monitoring it to be sure I catch it before it breaks. Neither of these is much fun. Up the Endurance Cost, Recharge Time or whatever if needed, but support set pets that don't just decide to abandon you in the middle of battle would be greatly appreciated. Especially Force Field Generator.

On teams I tend to look at Sleep as a hole card rather than part of the regular rotation. It's useless in the middle of the damage storm, but a well-placed AoE sleep can work as an emergency stop for a badly timed ambush. Even on control-happy characters, I tend to be back and forth as to whether or not it's worth it.

Nope. You'd think GMs would naturally be drawn from the game's playerbase, but really they're a small cabal of folks that go around volunteering to help with running servers for dead MMOs. Joining their ranks requires years of training in translating l33tsp34k, enduring petty insults and passive-aggressive forum posts and understanding fine details that would put even the best rules lawyers to shame. The final ritual for induction includes an oath to never actually play video games again in order to maintain their strict neutrality. The vow of celibacy isn't written, but it's just kinda implied with the rest. :D

Did you hear about the hero that knocked one of Frostfire's goons halfway out of the building? The first officer on the scene found him dangling halfway out of a hole between two windows. When his backup showed up and asked what happened, the old cop just shrugged, "All in all, it's just another Brick in the wall."

My rule is pretty simple: I'm here to have fun and relax. If someone is being a jerk, that defeats the purpose, so I don't want to play with them anymore. It doesn't matter if I agree with every gameplay principle behind what someone says, if they're berating teammates or telling the lead to kick them over their power choices then they're not someone I want around. I'm far more likely to team with the person who is fun and pleasant, even if I think they have room to grow and learn as a player than the one who thinks they're so awesomely amazing that they get to verbally abuse others and stir up strife when people don't play the "right" way. Knowledge and experience are not an excuse for bad behavior. I think the KB discussion here has proved both that even experienced players have disagreements as to how the game should be played as well as how unhealthy it can be to get overzealous about those points of contention. Edit: Coin, click the drop-down next to your name under the banner at the top of the page. You'll find your Ignored Users list there.