Shinobu

I won't argue against Bio Armor for brutes, because Bio Armor is pretty special. In many ways it's similar to what /regen was once upon a time. However, one aspect of Bio Armor is that, somewhat similar to Dual Pistols and Staff Melee, it has a power called Adaptation that presents three different modes you can run in: Efficient, Defensive, and Offensive Adaptation. Offensive Adaptation reduces your resistances slightly, but increases your damage bonus by 31.25% Which is nice on a scrapper. ^_^

Also, converters are your friend. 8)

There are no development tools. Pay attention to what it's costing to run this place: almost $3,000.00 per month (see https://forums.homecomingservers.com/index.php/topic,1361.0.html ). Now you'd only have to run 1 server as opposed to several, but you're not running this on your home computer, and you're paying in excess of $1,000.00 a month to do it. (Although I've heard rumors that there are a few private servers out there, so it's certainly possible.) As for creating new content -- well, if you want to hand-code it I guess that's how it would need to be done.

Brute has a higher resistance cap, 90% vs. 75% Basically, a brute can taunt and tank better, a scrapper has better and more instant damage. But if you're farming with a kin, the brute will not only survive much longer against more enemies but also do a lot more damage. Outside of a farm and/or without a kin to help, it's difficult for a brute to maximize their higher damage cap.

I was just about to write this guide today! You are correct that the rarity types are: Uncommon Rare Very Rare (purple) PvP Attuned/ATOs Archetype IOs that you get from the Hero/Villain and Rogue/Vigilante packs Winter IOs/WIOs, which you get from the winter packs Universal Damage IOs, which is a category that only includes Overwhelming Force from the Summer event And I should note, almost any IO can be turned into an attuned version, and many special IOs can be turned into "superior" versions (you can do this to ATOs and WIOs) so those would form separate categories of those types. Unlike you I intend to give away secrets. Here's how to turn a not valuable IO into a valuable one: Let's say you have a level 50 Rope-a-Dope recipe. Not very useful to most people, sells on the market for next to nothing. Useless, right? Not at all! The thing about this recipe is that there are only two types of Stun recipes at level 31-50. This is true of a lot of non-damage, non-heal sets. Bookmark this page: https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Enhancement_Sets If you scroll down to Stun recipes, you will see that we have Stagger and Razzle Dazzle at level 1-30, and Rope a Dope and Stupefy at level 20-50. (Plus the purple Stun which we aren't interested in at the moment.) This means if you have a Rope-a-Dope that is level 31 or higher, and you craft it and convert to another type of Stun IO (Out of Set Conversion, by type), then your only option is to get a Stupefy IO. Why is this important? Stupefy is a rare recipe IO. NOW you can do a random Out of Set Conversion by rarity (only 1 converter) and get literally any other level 50 rare IO. You might get a Mako's Bite, or a Numina's, or a Luck of the Gambler! Convert several times until you get what you want! Pay attention to the type of IO you get. If you're converting a level 40 IO you might possibly get Gift of the Ancients, and think it's not really something you want. But! This is a defense IO! A conversion by type has a good chance of getting you that Luck of the Gambler you want! Caveat: It is possible to convert until you get a defense IO, then convert by type until you get Luck of the Gambler, then convert in set until you get the +recharge IO that you really want. But going about things this way can be very time and converter intensive. Rather, I suggest you simply do a few conversions until you get something you think is useful, and if it isn't immediately useful for your current build, save it for later or sell it. Now, how does this make you money? That should be obvious: a few converters turns an IO nobody wants into something you can sell for pretty good money. ^_^ Plus, you're seeding the market with things people want, which if enough people do that it will help drive down prices a little. Bonus tip: recipes and IOs on the market ignore level. If I sell a level 31 Luck of the Gambler recipe, you can buy it at level 50, or any level the IO can be that you're specifically set to buy. If your character is level 37 like I am, you may want to search for a level 40 IO that you can slot immediately, for example. Why is this important? It's cheaper to craft a level 31 Rope-a-Dope than it is a level 50, and for the most part they both will convert to the same things (the level 31 has a few more options, such as Gift of the Ancients, as noted earlier), and will sell for the same price. Obviously if you're crafting and converting to get IOs that you plan to use yourself, you probably want them to be the highest level possible. But if you're crafting to sell, this is a nifty little trick to save some money. Also of note: a level 50 melee damage IO can only convert to other level 50 melee damage IOs (for conversion by type), but a level 35 can convert to any damage IO that can be level 35, such as... oh, say, Kinetic Combat? ^_^

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Mouse Police DEF RES: Level 50 Natural Scrapper Primary Power Set: Katana Secondary Power Set: Regeneration Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Sorcery Power Pool: Concealment Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Gambler's Cut -- SprCrtStr-Rchg/+50% Crit(A), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(3), SprCrtStr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(3), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), SprCrtStr-Dmg/Rchg(5), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg(7) Level 1: Fast Healing -- Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(A), Prv-Heal/Rchg(13), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(13), Prv-Heal(15) Level 2: Flashing Steel -- SprScrStr-Rchg/+Crit(A), SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7), SprScrStr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9), SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), SprScrStr-Dmg/Rchg(11), SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg(11) Level 4: Reconstruction -- Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(A), Prv-Heal/Rchg(15), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(17), Prv-Heal(17), ImpArm-ResPsi(19) Level 6: Quick Recovery -- EndMod-I(A) Level 8: Divine Avalanche -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(19), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(21), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(21), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(23), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(23) Level 10: Dull Pain -- Prv-Absorb%(A), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(25), Prv-Heal/Rchg(25), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(27), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(27), Prv-Heal(29) Level 12: Boxing -- Empty(A) Level 14: Tough -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(29), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(31), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(31), GldArm-3defTpProc(31), ImpArm-ResPsi(33) Level 16: Integration -- Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(A), Prv-Heal/Rchg(33), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(33), Prv-Heal(34) Level 18: The Lotus Drops -- Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(34), Obl-Acc/Rchg(36), Obl-Dmg(36) Level 20: Weave -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(36), Rct-ResDam%(37) Level 22: Resilience -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(37), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(37), UnbGrd-Max HP%(39), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(39), ImpArm-ResPsi(39) Level 24: Mystic Flight -- Frb-Stlth(A) Level 26: Soaring Dragon -- Hct-Dam%(A), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(40), Hct-Acc/Rchg(40), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), Hct-Dmg/Rchg(42) Level 28: Instant Healing -- Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(A), Prv-Heal/Rchg(42), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(42), Prv-Heal(43) Level 30: Spirit Ward -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A) Level 32: Golden Dragonfly -- Arm-Dam%(A), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(43), Arm-Acc/Rchg(43), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(45), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45) Level 35: Rune of Protection -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(45), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(46), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(46), Ags-Psi/Status(46), ImpArm-ResPsi(48) Level 38: Stealth -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A) Level 41: Moment of Glory -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(48), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(48), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(50), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(50), ImpArm-ResPsi(50) Level 44: Build Up -- GssSynFr--Build%(A) Level 47: Moonbeam -- Acc-I(A) Level 49: Shadow Meld -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Critical Hit 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 -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A) ------------ If I remember correctly, the idea behind this build was A) to get to 45% Melee Defense with one application of Divine Avalanche, B) to build in as much resistance as possible, and C) to amp up regen and get a lot of recharge so that you can keep your click powers recharging. Shadow Meld is yet another click power that can give you a few seconds of massive defenses. Rune of Protection is also a click power that boosts your resistance quite a bit. Anyway, something I came up with for my old scrapper Mouse Police.

Okay, like I said this is far from the budget build you're asking for. That said, here's a current build for my Street Justice/Shield Defense brute Megamisama (who I have to admit, I haven't recreated on these servers yet.) Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Megamisama: Level 50 Magic Brute Primary Power Set: Street Justice Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Pyre Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Heavy Blow -- SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(3), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(5), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(7) Level 1: Deflection -- RedFrt-Def(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(7), LucoftheG-Rchg+(9), GldArm-3defTpProc(9), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(11), Rct-ResDam%(37) Level 2: Sweeping Cross -- Arm-Dam%(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(11), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(13), Arm-Acc/Rchg(15) Level 4: True Grit -- UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(15), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(17), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(17), Prv-Absorb%(19), Prv-Heal(50) Level 6: Battle Agility -- RedFrt-Def(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(19), LucoftheG-Rchg+(21) Level 8: Rib Cracker -- Mk'Bit-Dam%(A), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(21), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(25), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg(27), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(27), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29) Level 10: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 12: Super Speed -- BlsoftheZ-Travel(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(23), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(25) Level 14: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(29) Level 16: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 18: Spinning Strike -- SprUnrFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(23), SprUnrFur-Dmg/Rchg(31), SprUnrFur-Rchg/+Regen/+End(31), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg(33) Level 20: Taunt -- PrfZng-Dam%(A) Level 22: Boxing -- Acc-I(A) Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(33) Level 26: Tough -- UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(34), UnbGrd-ResDam(36), UnbGrd-Max HP%(36) Level 28: Weave -- RedFrt-Def(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(33), LucoftheG-Rchg+(37) Level 30: Combat Readiness -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(34) Level 32: Crushing Uppercut -- SprBrtFur-Rech/Fury(A), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprBrtFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg(43) Level 35: Shield Charge -- SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(A), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(40), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(40) Level 38: Maneuvers -- RedFrt-Def(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(39), LucoftheG-Rchg+(46) Level 41: Char -- Lck-%Hold(A), Lck-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(42), Lck-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(42), Lck-Rchg/Hold(42), Lck-Acc/Rchg(46), Lck-Acc/Hold(50) Level 44: Fire Blast -- Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Apc-Dam%(45), Apc-Dmg/Rchg(45), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), Apc-Acc/Rchg(46) Level 47: Fire Ball -- SprFrzBls-Rchg/ImmobProc(A), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(48), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx(50) Level 49: Phalanx Fighting -- ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(A) Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), Pnc-Heal/+End(36) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(34) 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 -- Empty(A) Level 1: Fury Level 1: Sprint -- UnbLea-Stlth(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 1: Combo Level 1 Level 1: Combo Level 2 Level 1: Combo Level 3 Level 50: Pyronic Judgement Level 50: Agility Core Paragon ------------ Now the parts that I would want to point out: under totals I'm at extremely high Melee/Ranged/AoE defense. Softcap is only 45% so I'm very much overkill here in a couple of spots. I'm getting a lot of defense from Winter IO sets, and I have a couple of purple sets for recharge, and both ATO sets and also a few pvp IOs (Shield Wall, Gladiator's Armor, Panacea). Obviously for a budge build you will need to avoid most of that but you should still shoot for 45% Melee/Ranged/AoE defense or better, and for that the most important of those expensive pieces is the Glad Armor with 3% global defense. I tend to skip One with the Shield (or similar Defense/Resist Tier 9 powers) precisely BECAUSE I'm already nearly unkillable as built. For a budget build you can probably use that power, would be my guess. Other than that I know Grant Cover is useful to provide some defense for teammates, but I skipped it, and Shin Breaker is as far as I remember a good power but I was going for as much AoE damage as possible so I skipped that. (All of which is another way to say -- there aren't that many powers in either set that are no-brainers to skip, what you skip is entirely your choice.) I'm getting 3.75% ranged defense from a Mako's Bite set, and 3.75% ranged defense / 2.5% AoE defense from a Lockdown set in Char (which really is the only reason I 6-slotted Char). I think ranged defense is one of the harder ones to get for a melee character so you may consider more than one Mako's full set for your build. I don't think of those kind of rare recipe IOs as out of the range of a budget build, but I'm aware that they're selling for around 3 million to 5 million a piece on the market right now (at least the market I checked -- does each server have a different market? I don't even know). I use converters a lot which is a cheap way to transform uncommon IOs into the rare IOs you want more. Otherwise this is just one example of a build for you to look at. You can consider this just an example of one way you can trick out a StJ/Shield brute. With very high defenses and moderately good resists and decent recharge, I like this build. ^_^

It should trigger from that The Hydra Dimension mission though. There's no minimum amount of time you need to spend in the mission, just entering and exiting should trigger the badge. If it doesn't then that's definitely a bug.

I can toss up my own build when I get home. Mind you, my builds tend to be on the expensive side, but it can give you something to look at at least. One of my favorite characters from the old days too. ^_^

I think I've got a good build that I can post when I'm home.

Shield has pretty decent Defense Debuff Resistance, and if you're +5% over the softcap you'll be good most of the time. And if you watch your defenses and pop a purple once in a while, you'll be good nearly all of the time. Mind you, sometimes RNG just wants you to die.

Martial Arts has only one PBAoE attack that I recall, and it's pretty underwhelming. In general I'd say it's an inferior attack set but one that I really love -- the best thing about the set is the way the attacks look and how one flows into the next. Street Justice has more AoE potential and is just more viscerally satisfying. It's one of those sets where they got the animations and sound effects right. In general I think it's the best damage of the three sets as well, just going off memory here though. Kinetic Melee is slow and involves a lot of hand-waving, and I'm not very enamored with the sound effects either. I think this is one of those sets that sounds good on paper but suffers from too much animation time for most of the attacks. I believe you're right that there's more AoE than the other two, but not enough to make up for the slow animation times. However Stalkers get their quick-strike Assassin's Strike power when not hidden, which hits instantaneously for a lot of damage, and that's a huge game-changer, the set goes from lackluster to extremely viable for Stalkers because of that.

Let's not forget that the Homecoming servers are simply the largest and most public CoH servers out there right now, but hardly the only ones. It makes even more sense when you consider that, to keep the Paragon Wiki as it is. Not every CoH server out there will run with the same rules as ours -- in fact, that's one of the reasons there are other servers. So again, we'd need our own wiki, and people dedicated to updating it, or barring that, some good guides for the guide section. ^_^

To me all of these arguments basically come down to the old MMO newbie look vs. being able to look cool right from the start. There's this idea that you shouldn't look very cool if you're a level 1 character, that you have to "earn" the right to look cool. CoH was always different from most MMOs in that how you looked was not tied to level nor gear nor anything "earned". City of Heroes always felt unique in that aspect -- characters could be colorful and have a unique look from the very start. It certainly makes standing around in a starter zone like Atlas Park a great deal more interesting than standing around in any starter zone from a typical fantasy MMO. It always was a little weird, then, that the philosophy of the game was, "You can look like who you're meant to be right away", EXCEPT if you wanted to wear Roman armor, or have glowing eyes, or wear a cape, or have wings. I mean, if I want to create a ghostly warrior with glowing hands, then there's no earthly reason that makes sense to me that his hands should NOT glow until he's level 30. That's MMO logic, that doesn't make sense for designing a comic book hero or villain.

There's an NPC in Ouroboros that has them.

Best is probably Ouroboros missions. I used to run Freakshow Wars arc in about an hour for a good chunk of merits.

Yes, Sudden Acceleration. Pro tip: Sudden Acceleration Knockback to Knockdown recipe is selling for up to 10 million influence each on the market at the moment, and there are none for sale. Kinetic Crash uncommon recipes are selling for as little as 1,000 influence each. 1. Buy several Kinetic Crash and craft them. 2. Buy 30 converters for 10 reward merits from a merit vendor. 3. 2 converters will convert your Kinetic Crash IO into a different type of knockback IO. For level 30 and above the only other options are Force Feedback or Sudden Acceleration. Convert until you have one or several Sudden Accelerations. 4. 3 converts will allow you to convert to a different IO in the same set. Convert until you have your Sudden Acceleration Knockback to Knockdown IOs. (You may need more than 30 converters to do this successfully.) 5. Profit! Or at least you didn't spend 10 million + influence and have to wait for a recipe to even be available for sale. ^_^ 6. Sell any extra Sudden Acceleration KB->KD IOs for a real profit. ^_^

I'll tell you what I do, specifically. I always build for defense and resistance as well if I can manage it. For an AT without inherit defense this means I'll probably want Tough and Weave, Maneuvers, and also Scorpion Shield if I can fit all of those in. For something like a brute or scrapper with inherit defense, I may not need Manuevers, but may still use Tough/Weave, it just depends on how the build works best. I pick powers in roughly the order I would when leveling, and generally assume any attack power I intend to actually use will at least be five-slotted. Powers like Manuevers I usually plan for 3 slots, usually I plan for 2 slots for Health and Endurance. I try to make sure any power I want to slot out to 4,5, or 6 slots is picked early enough to do so. ^_^ After that, I start tossing in sets and try to figure out how much defense I have, how much recharge, how much endurance recovery, and adjust from there to try and get what I want. But like you said, I think everyone does it their own way.

There's a Transact 4 Victory, I believe?

On the one hand, I only started yesterday, I'm only 23, and I have yet to invest in a monacle or top hat. On the other hand, I can already see that this market is ripe for turning a profit. ^_^ Today, a hundred million off a couple million investment. Tomorrow, the world! Or, well, maybe a good build for my blaster first, and THEN the world!

*waves*