Spaghetti Betty

Calamity Drive

I have a Dark/Rad scrapper with Fold Space and it's probably my most fun toon right now. I can aggro, do a (very) tiny bit of herding, and then Fold Space to create a nice and tight group to cap Soul Drain. With Soul Drain capped, Ground Zero ends up doing a respectable amount of damage. Lots of active mitigation between the two sets as well, and you get a lot of freedom for slotting.

My new EM/Bio Stalker

Thanks for the quick replies. @Meknomancer I was checking my set bonuses really closely. The build sits on the rule of 5 for a lot of bonuses but doesn't go over. I agree. Hurl kinda sucks, but it makes a great IO mule. The Force Feedback slotting was more because I was being thrifty and didn't want to slot a bunch of Winter IO's. I took your advice, moved some slots around, and dropped Tactics for Conserve Power. with Cardiac, my resting end drain was less than 1/s. I feel like what we came up with was a great budget version. @Hyperstrike That build is insane. I'm going to be studying it for a while to figure out how you got the defense and resistance numbers so high without sacrificing any recharge. I guess I'll have to bite the bullet on the overall cost because I'm so interested in giving it a whirl. Thanks a bunch.

This was previously going to be a Brute, but due to the recommendation of some forum members, I decided to try a Tanker instead. The end goal was softcapped positional defense even during rage crash, and trying to mitigate the demand for endurance as much as possible. How this could possibly be further improved is beyond me. Maybe some wizard will grace their presence and blow my build out of the water. This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.2.19 https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Science Tanker Primary Power Set: Super Reflexes Secondary Power Set: Super Strength Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leadership Hero Profile: Level 1: Focused Fighting -- Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(3), Ksm-Def/EndRdx(3), Ksm-Def/Rchg(5), Ksm-EndRdx/Rchg(5) Level 1: Jab -- Hct-Dmg(A), Hct-Dmg/Rchg(7), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), Hct-Acc/Rchg(9), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(9) Level 2: Focused Senses -- Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(11), Ksm-Def/EndRdx(13), Ksm-Def/Rchg(13), Ksm-EndRdx/Rchg(15) Level 4: Haymaker -- SprGntFis-Dmg/Rchg(A), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg(15), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(17), SprGntFis-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(19), SprGntFis-Rchg/+Absorb(19) Level 6: Practiced Brawler -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 8: Agile -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(A), Rct-Def(11), RedFrt-Def(21), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(21) Level 10: Taunt -- Empty(A) Level 12: Evasion -- Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(23), Ksm-Def/EndRdx(23), Ksm-Def/Rchg(25), Ksm-EndRdx/Rchg(25) Level 14: Dodge -- RedFrt-Def(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(29) Level 16: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 18: Hand Clap -- SuddAcc--KB/+KD(A), RopADop-Acc/Rchg(31), RopADop-EndRdx/Stun(31), RopADop-Acc/Stun(31), RopADop-Acc/EndRdx(33), RopADop-Acc/Stun/Rchg(33) Level 20: Knockout Blow -- SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg(A), SprMghoft-Dmg/Rchg(33), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), SprMghoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), SprMghoft-Rchg/Res%(36) Level 22: Lucky -- Ksm-ToHit+(A), Ksm-Def/EndRdx(37), Ksm-Def/Rchg(37), Rct-Def(50) Level 24: Boxing -- Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg(A), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(36), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(37), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), Mk'Bit-Dam%(48) Level 26: Quickness -- Run-I(A) Level 28: Rage -- GssSynFr--Build%(A), RechRdx-I(39) Level 30: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(39), UnbGrd-ResDam(40), UnbGrd-Max HP%(40), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(40), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(42) Level 32: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(42), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(42), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(43) Level 35: Hurl -- FrcFdb-Dmg/KB(A), FrcFdb-Acc/KB(43), FrcFdb-Rchg/KB(43), FrcFdb-Rchg/EndRdx(45), FrcFdb-Dmg/EndRdx/KB(45), FrcFdb-Rechg%(48) Level 38: Foot Stomp -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A), ScrDrv-Dam%(45), ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg(46), ScrDrv-Dmg/EndRdx(46), ScrDrv-Dmg/Rchg(46), ScrDrv-Acc/Rchg(48) Level 41: Super Jump -- Empty(A) Level 44: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(50), RedFrt-Def(50) Level 47: Tactics -- ToHit-I(A) Level 49: Elude -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Gauntlet Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(27), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(27) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PwrTrns-+Heal(29) Level 50: Cardiac Core Paragon ------------

Ok, I had a feeling I should've just went Tanker in the first place anyway. I'll play around with that in mids and see what I can come up with. Thanks all for the replies.

Ok, I wanted to take a crack at a Super Strength/Super Reflexes brute, considering I've never really given SS a shot. Now, I'm not the best Mids wizard, so I wanted a second opinion. I understand the end goal is to double stack Rage and mitigate the crash as much as possible, but is it plausible to be softcapped even with the -def penalty? My other concern is end usage, and I'm really not sure how to deal with that without sacrificing defense or resistance bonuses. Here's my attempt at a build: This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.2.19 https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Dodgy and Angry: Level 50 Science Brute Primary Power Set: Super Strength Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leadership Hero Profile: Level 1: Punch -- SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBrtFur-Dmg/Rchg(5), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), SprBrtFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9), SprBrtFur-Rech/Fury%(9) Level 1: Focused Fighting -- Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(15), Ksm-Def/EndRdx(17), Ksm-Def/Rchg(17), Ksm-ToHit+(19) Level 2: Haymaker -- TchofDth-Acc/Dmg(A), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx(11), TchofDth-Dmg/Rchg(11), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(13), TchofDth-Dam%(13), FrcFdb-Rechg%(15) Level 4: Focused Senses -- Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(21), Ksm-Def/EndRdx(21), Ksm-Def/Rchg(29), Ksm-EndRdx/Rchg(29) Level 6: Agile -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFrt-Def(33), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(33) Level 8: Knockout Blow -- Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg(A), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(34), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(36), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(36), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), Mk'Bit-Dam%(37) Level 10: Practiced Brawler -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 12: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 14: Boxing -- TchofDth-Acc/Dmg(A), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx(45), TchofDth-Dmg/Rchg(46), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46) Level 16: Dodge -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFrt-Def(34) Level 18: Rage -- GssSynFr--Build%(A), RechRdx-I(19) Level 20: Evasion -- Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(31), Ksm-Def/EndRdx(31), Ksm-Def/Rchg(31), Ksm-EndRdx/Rchg(33) Level 22: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(23), UnbGrd-ResDam(23), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(25), UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg(27), UnbGrd-Max HP%(27) Level 24: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(25), ShlWal-Def(50), LucoftheG-Def(50) Level 26: Hurl -- Apc-Dmg(A), Apc-Dmg/Rchg(40), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), Apc-Acc/Rchg(40), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(42) Level 28: Super Jump -- Empty(A) Level 30: Lucky -- Ksm-Def/Rchg(A), Ksm-EndRdx/Rchg(34), Ksm-Def/EndRdx(48) Level 32: Foot Stomp -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A), ScrDrv-Dam%(37), ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg(37), ScrDrv-Dmg/EndRdx(39), ScrDrv-Dmg/Rchg(39), ScrDrv-Acc/Rchg(39) Level 35: Quickness -- Run-I(A) Level 38: Hand Clap -- SuddAcc--KB/+KD(A), RopADop-Acc/Rchg(42), RopADop-EndRdx/Stun(42), RopADop-Acc/EndRdx(43), RopADop-Stun/Rng(48), RopADop-Acc/Stun/Rchg(48) Level 41: Jab -- TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx(A), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg(43), TchofDth-Dmg/Rchg(43), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45), TchofDth-Dam%(50) Level 44: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 47: Tactics -- ToHit-I(A) Level 49: Elude -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Fury Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(3), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(5) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PwrTrns-+Heal(3) Level 50: Cardiac Core Paragon ------------

I have toons all over the level range. Not for any particular reason. I make a character because that's what I feel like playing. I probably spend about 60% of my time soloing these days, so levelling is more of a side effect than a goal. As far as my T4'd and IO'd 50s, I still find them really fun to play, but I was already having fun playing them, and if anything, the incarnate stuff is more of a bonus not really something I factor into a build. When I get there, I'll see what holes that particular character has, and I'll incarnate accordingly, but no planning ahead on that. Never have I once felt that getting to 50 was where the game started. If anything, there's so, so much content that starts at about 22 (also when SOs were available) that I would consider that to be the real start of the game.

It's kinda on/off topic, but I just wanna throw out an observation I had back around the release of i27. With Energy Melee going to scrappers and getting a bunch of nice buffs, scrapper ATOs saw a HUGE hike (specifically Critical Strikes) in price - something around 16-18m a pop. I was being cheeky during that time and converting Kheldian ATOs off the market into Critical Strikes for mad payout, since no one plays Khelds. Player demand plays a great part in pricing. I think it shows the most with stuff like ATOs and Purples.

Remember when CoV launched and we were told Masterminds were supposed to tank? I remember a lot of people being upset about that, then Brutes got a huge buff to their survivability, making them solo monsters.

I've gotten compliments on this one in game so I figured I'd share it here Twisted Samsara And here's one that's kinda similar but I'm a fan of it That Which Gazes

Finally got in the mood to resurrect some of my old toons from live and pretty them up a bit Demon Lord Katsu Wolfen Frost

Just wanna throw in my 2 inf here. I have fully tricked out characters that are nigh-invincible, and some that just have SOs at all levels. So I guess that puts me somewhere in the middle? I gotta say, as a long time player, I'm actually really happy with the game balance that we have now. If I wanna blow up some stuff, I can switch to one of my tricked out 50s that require no thought whatsoever, because I've put in the time and resources to make those characters really good, which in and of itself I consider a skill check. Maybe an easier skill check nowadays, but not something instantly achievable by a less knowledgeable player. I also have a group of friends I've been playing with overnight in a small group of usually not-50s. All vets of the game, but as far as I can tell, they don't bother too much with IOs. Those groups tend to be more old school. One tank pulling a majority of groups around a corner so that the rest of the group can handle them soundly. Yeah, it's not the streamrolling I experience on a level 50 god, but ends up being fun and engaging, despite the fact that all of the characters we're playing have flaws, don't do a crapton of damage, or die in a couple of hits. I also have a coworker trying out the game for the first time. He landed on a warshade, and I made a controller. Could you imagine this duo trying to go through the game 15 years ago? Oh my god. but it's doable now because the game is balanced for all levels of play. I allow him to take as much time as he needs to to learn the game, and I can also teach him some oldhead strategies for dealing with difficult groups. If the game was balanced for IOs, it would be impossible for us to progress, I enjoy all of these methods of play, and the fact that both are viable attributes to the balance of the game. I wouldn't change a thing. Well, ok, I think the one thing I would change is the way the game teaches you about itself, since I feel like that's a big factor of how we look at game balance, but I think that's another topic for another day. Also, since we're talking about IOs and difficulty, I'm interested in putting together a group that can complete a +4 Katie TF.

I do have a few unfinished contacts. I'll start by clearing those up and seeing if that fixes the problem. Thanks!

So I'm having an issue where I have no missions in my list for a specific toon, but certain contacts give me a message saying I have too many missions, despite never actually getting one from the contact. A couple of examples: I was speeding through the Dark Astoria storyline (not having done any of the Personal Storylines where you pilot the contact). When I had gotten to Sister Solaris, I had taken a pause in the arc to do other things. A few days down the line I had decided to pick the arc back up, only to be told by her that I have too many missions to start her arc. Fast forward to today, I only need to do the Heroside cape mission to get the Hero 1 memorial badge, but the City Rep says I have too many missions in order to accept hers. The only variable I can really think of is that I've used Null a few times to switch alignments on the toon in question. Would that have caused a bug? Is it fixable?

This is the only truly fleshed out bio I've written so far, so I figured I would share it. Beatwing, the orphan turned hero And, one of her costumes is her mother before she died

Ok, I don't have too much experience with this set, but I'll go ahead and throw my opinion on this anyway. I'll try my best to separate my thoughts into points, and I apologize if the post is long and windy, adult beverages tend to do that. When trying this set, I rolled 2 different toons, a stalker and a scrapper. Right off the bat, the stalker version of the set felt way better. I feel like it "trims the fat" so to speak. Power Siphon feels clunky and not worth having. In its current state, I feel like running Assault or Tactics with a gaussian proc does a way better job of increasing damage without as much investment. Now, that's not to say I don't like the concept of Power Siphon, but I feel like it should've been a baked in gimmick to the set rather than a whole click that takes up a power slot. Instead, I have another idea that I'll get to later. Another element of "trimming the fat" that I think makes the stalker version better is getting rid of Repulsing Torrent. Even speaking in a solo experience, this power is extremely situational. Scrappers don't really benefit from KB as much as say a Blaster does, so the power feels unnecessary to pick up. Especially because of the long animation without much reward in terms of damage. Now, it's really hard to say how this power could be changed so that you would want it over, or even in conjunction with, Burst. I feel like Burst already does everything a Scrapper would need Repulsing Torrent to do. So let's talk about what we would replace Power Siphon with if it got baked into the set as a passive. I would suggest placing it with something I would call Siphon Momentum. This is the melee version of Kinetics, right? If I'm supposed to be blitzing down a single target using the T1, T2, and T3 power (and AS, but this also assuming this was the intentioned design choice), why is there no way for me to ensure my target stays right in front of me? Well, what if Power Siphon was a power that sapped your target's speed and gave it back to you as +Rech and +Spd? I feel like that would be a really interesting change, and give a lot of synergy to armor sets that would make it a more alluring pick. For example, if I, as a Regeneration scrapper, would benefit greatly from dealing with incoming damage taken without a huge investment in +Rech and +Res IO set bonuses, I could choose Kinetic Melee, since I know it'll give targets -DMG on hit, and the new Siphon Momentum will give me a nice Recharge bonus to keep things like Reconstruction and Moment of Glory coming up more reliably, and I have more wiggle room to build for things like Defense or Slow Resistance. And then there's Concentrated Strike, to make Siphon Momentum work, I would probably have this power guarantee a refresh of Siphon Momentum based on how many stacks of the now passive Siphon Power. That way, the ideal gameplan is to dump your stacks into your strongest attack to guarantee a nice bonus to your global recharge. The payoff makes it valuable, your T9 is now benefitting fully from your +DMG without as much setup being required (since you don't have to click Power Siphon), and for landing your T9, your other powers come back faster as a result. Oh, and I would also give it increased damage on crit. Maybe not double, since in my suggestion, it would be refreshing Siphon Momentum on hit with enough stacks, but I also feel like this power needs to do increased damage on crit to be worth picking up. I also wanna go on record and say I don't mind any of the animations of Kinetic Melee, except maybe Repulsing Torrent. I feel like cool factor is a big reason why people choose certain sets, and Kinetic melee definitely delivers that. Burst is cool. Focused Burst is cool. I even think Concentrated Strike could be cool if it actually did something worthwhile.

You know, watching warwolves/strongmen/etc. throw presents for Christmas, it really got me wondering. How hard is it to cosmetically change the projectile to other things? Like a car? Maybe even a random object like Propel? Sure, pulling a car out of the ground doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but personally, I think throwing a random heavy object would make the power feel more super strength-y, at least from a visual standpoint.

This was my exact inspiration actually. I feel like robots and mechs come out looking a little same-y, but once we were able to make Beast stance perma, I had to give it a shot. Ended up being one of my favorite toon designs. Too bad we don't have shoulder cannons 😛

This idea struck me the other night. Here's my new Claws/EA scrapper Black Liger Crash

I ran into you in a RWZ group a few nights ago. Fantastic character.

I can't keep up with my own altitis. For every toon I get to 50, 3 more level 1s arise in its wake. Help.

Oh wow, I had given up on this getting responses! Thanks for the feedback, guys. I ended up starting my own. I gotta say, I'm really glad Fault ended up being really good throughout my entire experience with the character. @Hyperstrike, I'll probably end up using that build over the one I drafted up myself. I got to about 130% recharge before hasten but ended up sacrificing a lot of other bonuses in the process, so thanks.

Ok well I guess I'll throw an opinion this way What you like I think my answer to this is honestly the grind and the payoff. Then again, I distinctly remember the grind for the powers being way more arduous pre-shutdown. It made the strength you gain in return more valuable. Now I jumped ship right before i25 hit the live servers, so I don't know if the process was gradually more sped up or if that became the case during the lifetime of this server. I like that the Incarnate stuff makes you feel like a god. That's kind of the point. It's everywhere in the lore. Statesman was virtually unkillable (until some skinny dweeb got a new toy and plot'd him to death). It led to a lot of tension in the Freedom Phalanx as him potentially having a god complex was brought up many times. It's forgotten about nowadays, but doing the arc to unlock the Alpha made you feel like your decision to become an Incarnate was very heavy in the lore. What you don't like Nowadays, I think what I don't like is that the system was unfortunately unfinished. We got all of the strength but none of the content. The Incarnate stuff was never ever meant to be balanced for existing content. It was meant to be balanced for incoming content that never got made. Now, we're just all left as gods with nothing to conquer. I don't think making the grind easier was the answer to keeping the existing content engaging either. If anything, making the god stuff more achievable just made the levelling process feel more bottlenecked, even if it's not intentionally done. You can see this in new players coming into the game. They see all these crazy strong powers going off all at once in this PI radio team they joined because that's what they were told to do by others, and then they're convinced that is the true end goal, unknowing that those powers were designed for something that doesn't exist. I guess the point I'm trying to make is in our current version of the game, Incarnate powers have no place, but are so easily accessible that they became baked into core gameplay anyway. I would say this is the same case with IOs, but IOs do have a place and are strong in a different way. Balance of the sets I honestly feel like each type of Incarnate power does a great job in serving their respective purpose, and aside from some really stinky examples (BP Ravager, Barrier, Ion), are pretty much in line with what we were told to expect. I think it goes back to the payoff argument. How do you nerf Incarnate powers without making everyone frustrated? I'm gonna double down on making them harder to get. Just make it take little longer. Go back to only being able to get threads while doing Incarnate content. Sure, some people are going to experiment and try multiple T1's at once and it may make them take longer to fully T4 out, but I think that comes with making the decision to experiment in the first place. Vet levels giving crazy good incarnate rewards makes it go really fast as well. Personally, I can make an educated guess on what would fit my toon (either numerically or thematically) and spend one day doing steamroll ITFs and another day doing iTrials and be good to go. The crafting system I think it's fine. Sure, the UI is a little wonky, but you're not always looking at it. If any adjustments were to be made, I'd say let us convert shards into threads, and get rid of the cost for sidegrading components. Converting threads into merits is a pretty good idea, too. Where you'd like to see them go I think the biggest noise I'm gonna make about the future is please do not directly nerf the strength of the Incarnate powers. Don't add any new ones either (unless it's new Lore pets. I'm about that). I think the easiest way to make everyone happy is to make the bubble smaller. Being able to use Incarnate stuff at 45 is too good. It's crazy how much Shadow Shard TFs are trivialized by them. But in the same vein, that's not really the fault of the Shadow Shard TFs or the Incarnate powers. Also, being able to grind for Incarnate materials by doing Shadow Shard TFs is a hilarious thought. However, restricting Incarnate powers to only Incarnate content feels too heavy handed when there's barely any Incarnate content to begin with. Wouldn't restricting it to just 50 be a good middle ground? And then maybe down the line when the team feels confident enough, they can make more Incarnate content for Incarnates to do.