Ukase

This magic number varies widely for me. After all, profit is profit. But, the AH slots are somewhat limited, at least per character. Initially, I didn't market much, but used merits to get catalysts - back when they were selling for 5m each. And then, I found a different sort of niche, where I would just catalyze ATOs and winter-Os and sell those. That was a very profitable time, as it was all before the winters ever went on sale. The ATOs were selling for 6-8M, and the Superior versions, particularly Brutes, were going for 15-20M The Winters were selling for about 18-24, and the Superiors were selling for 27-35M. It was tedious grabbing unslotters and catalysts from email then, just as it is now, but you could go a little faster before it stopped letting you take more. Finally, I had enough to do actual manufacturing, as opposed to improvements or just conversions of merits to items to sell. And I had enough to do it on a decent scale, and finally to an obscene scale. Just this morning, I discovered 3 of 5 alts that were selling stuff had each made over 1B overnight. Mind you, that doesn't happen every night, of course, but it does happen. And, since the MS event, it's been happening faster- that is, in some niches, one alt was able to sell 197 items for almost 1.5B, and relist another 160 or so items, all within 10 hours. I am not sure if my competition in this area is just taking advantage of the MS by playing and not marketing, if they gave up, or if the demand has seriously increased. Perhaps both. But you asked about margins. Prior to page 5, my margins were about 5M per transaction. Now, it's closer to 3.5M. As far as percentages go, it's sometimes a bit more than 50%, and sometimes a bit less.

Please understand - I am not in the majority. At least, I wouldn't think so. My favorite task force is dependent upon the AT I'm playing. If I'm on a ranged character, I cannot think of anything more fun than Apex. Particularly the battle with Battle Maiden. Dodging the patches, is for me, a lot of fun. There's a brief warning, and if you aren't stuck in a lengthy animation, plenty of time to get out and keep firing. For me, that's a hoot. But, if I'm melee, I don't particularly enjoy jousting to avoid these patches, and I'm not certain how my characters would fare if I left them in the patch. So, my melee characters tend to avoid that trial. The things I like in a task force are straight lines - like the paths in the Eden Trial. You're at a point, you're going forward, tackling what's in the way. I don't really like having to zig and zag. I certainly don't want to enter a map that's a portion of one of the zones, unless it's a narrow part of it without having to jump over buildings to proceed. I like silly dialog from the npcs. I don't particularly like cut scenes. It would be great if once you had Master of TF, the cutscene would not show. Or simply tell the story in another way. The best trial in the game is Eden Trial. I don't mind speeding it, but I don't mind clearing it, either. Mind you - that takes a lot more time.

I am not certain what circles you run in, but I don't think I've EVER seen a team with most having leadership toggles running. Certainly not a pug. I could see a fairly cohesive SG that relays various build suggestions prior - but certainly not a pug.

I can see what you're saying. Sure. For me...here's my thinking, and while a LOT of people would despise it, let's take note of the idea we don't have our lore, nor our destiny level shifts outside of incarnate content. Would it be so bad to simply disable judgement outside of incarnate content? And for that matter - why can we use lore in non-incarnate content? We don't get the level shift from lore, why do we get to keep the pets? And yeah, I personally LIKE having judgement and lore pets available outside of incarnate content. But, I get it. Fighting Adamastor, we had 3 teams, and suddenly I'm surrounded by lore pets. Why? Not like we need them. If it were a team of 3 or 4, sure. But 24 supers tackling a dummy like Adamastor? Overkill.

I have to say, this post just boggles my mind. Truly. Of course, these days, that doesn't take much. Saiyajinzoningen - thank you very much for the break down of how things used to be. I tend to be one of those that just hit the nuke button and don't think about any of that. Some of you may not be aware, but the OP is smart. And he's not deliberately trying to troll. Now, I do think he's made an error, perhaps conflating what he would appreciate with something else. I can't say with certainty. I do trust that his heart is in the right place. There's a lot of things that "ruin" the game for me. Some are really bitter-tasting pills that take me a while to choke down. But, ultimately, I digest them, as disagreeable as the taste was. I have to continually remind myself that I'm not willing to invest the resources of time and money into making my own server just to do it my way. Thankfully, within reason, I'm allowed to point out reasons why I think something shouldn't be the way it is, or the way it might become. As to nukes, personally, when I use blizzard, it's not usually the opener. I'm still expecting an endurance crash, and am always a bit surprised when I can keep my toggles on. The changes that have occurred for just the blaster AT are numerous. Most of those changes have been for the better - and when I say better, I mean that my character is easier to play, survives when in earlier times, it might not have fared so well. Inferno seems like a riskier proposition to me. The idea of nerfing a power that is already quite laden with risk doesn't make sense to me, despite the effort to explain it. Our OP mentions a problem with the end game. I am wondering what problem he is wanting to solve. If a nuke or judgement takes down a group - there is another group after that. If your team is so nuke heavy that the clear times are just ridiculous, I say "Well done!" If it is not broken, please don't fix it.

14. When you are not level 50 and are participating in a zone event, and you suddenly find that you who are NOT level 50 and are suddenly the team lead - recognize your league leader cannot promote the 50 on your team to be the team lead. But YOU can! And should!

Shhh...don't let that get out. The pleas for donations will go up!

Thanks. I'm getting a little queasy; thinking about what must be over 100K enhancements crafted...and I could have been getting a 25% crafting discount. Granted, it's not really a big deal. I've got characters with those badges, but only certain characters craft. I only saw these discount coupons by chance. I just never paid attention to the perks of those day jobs, because, well, so often they're meaningless. Like "Out of combat end recovery". Like, who cares about that? I don't need end recovery when I'm out of combat. (although, back on retail, I did run out of end trying to tp across Indy port - perhaps I could have used it then.) I'm more shocked and embarrassed about not knowing about it than anything else. I mean, I market a lot. I craft hundreds of enhancements a day. I should have known.

So, I saw this just today. Ordinarily, I have a few characters that I didn't enjoy playing so much reserved for crafting and such, because my more active characters will tend to have their loot just dropped off, rather than deal with it. In any event, one of my characters that I had stashed at various day jobs sees this: No, not boasting about a purple drop - wondering about this "use discount option" What I don't know is how many discount coupons I have, nor how I got them in the first place. I thought Wentworth's, but that day job gives brainstorm ideas. So, unless it's giving them both - I've no idea. I did a search and came up dry. What patch notes carry this information?

Without giving a lengthy history of playing habits, I took advantage of the MS event a couple of times - generally in the 30's when I grew impatient for those 3 slots. So many things needed slots! A character I hadn't played in 3.5 years, I was just loading in because I wanted to keep the name, and it already had all the day jobs, and I was going to make a tank next, so why not this one. All those days job powers made for some nice buffs, too. I really didn't remember MS giving tons of xp from last time, because I am pretty sure I was on a 50 for it. I had 2xp running, and in 3 minutes, I went from level 9 to 16. I was a bit irritated, because it never occurred to me to delete the 2xp buff. I didn't remember any 10x XP, I just knew my farmer couldn't PL my alts this fast. That XP bar was feeling faster than heal other from an emp at one point! So, I quit and spent some time playing. Then I got smart and used it to unlock my incarnate slots in lieu of the Alpha unlock arc. Then I got smarter and used it to get more vet levels for more emp merits on alts that already had t-4 in everything. Having more emp merits means more choices. Some days, I don't mind going to DA and running through those arcs. Some days, I don't mind doing an iTrial or three. They're fairly fast, except for UGT, (my personal favorite) But, some days, I don't want to do either. Having the emps stashed means I can make t-4's of something on the fly, if I need to, such as the advanced lgtf. It's also a fine time to grab those leadership badges and healing badges. And damage taken badges, etc. While I do enjoy the ingenuity of the poultry pick-up and the green costume change, and can appreciate the creativity of the appearances and names of the npcs, my melee characters do not enjoy these events because of targeting issues. Targeting through a pet, and then hitting f...and by the time I get there, that target is dead. It was strange to me that I could keep the GM targeted, and attack it easily without using a pet. But the others, they'd appear, fade, then appear again. Ranged characters, no problem. But for melee, it just wasn't that much fun. I do intend to take advantage of gaining more vet levels, to a degree, but I also have another couple of characters I need to try. But I've already written about 4 more paragraphs than people like to read. Can't help it. I tend to over-explain.

I'm pretty sure that was me who said that. And it really is a tiny amount compared to the stacks many of us have. And when I say "us", I'm referring to those who frequent the market forum to share what they know (usually strategically - in the sense that they've taught you everything you know about the market, but not everything they know) and share some insights or some tips/tricks/blunders. And, if you read through this forum carefully, (and are capable of learning) and are willing to invest the time, in short order, you'll realize I'm right. It's next to nothing. And the best part, it's not real cash. So, you can give it away, and while you can't deduct it on your taxes, you can feel like you've helped someone in some sense. I've never bought an unslotter. This is why: And that's just one of a few accounts that have bought winter packs and hero/villain packs. Anytime I read someone talking about how they need these, I am always willing to give them away, if I can bring myself to take them out of the email. One at a time. Very tedious. That's why I haven't listed them myself. I use them every so often - like to take out attuned pvps from a character that just dinged 50, and replace them with level 50 equivalents, rather than do a respec.

So, let me try to give some pointers - based on experience from my "only slot what drops, no AH or merit vendor challenge" characters. And I've made quite a few. Fastest way to 50 solo - I did all those runs solo, by the way, because it wouldn't be proper to team with anyone without enhancements. Missing a few is fine. Team buffs can cover a lot of ills, and nobody has ever commented about me missing a target, because (even with the best enhancements, that will happen) nobody is really paying attention to when you miss. They'll notice big dps numbers, but the whiffs, no. Anyway, around level 11-12, you'll begin to run out of endurance more quickly. This is generally because 1) you have more attacks 2) you have nothing in stamina - and honestly, you probably don't have but one or two yellow DOs. And certainly no SOs, unless you did a DFB, but since you're going solo, that's out. Pro-tip: Check the AH for enhancements you might want - because they might be a lot cheaper than at the vendor. Like 100 inf might get it. Now, it may not, but it might. It's worth a look. But, you said fastest. If you insist on melee, Bio armor is the way, because you can switch your armor to efficient mode once you get Adaptation. (level 10 for a brute). I suggest brute because it's just higher damage in the early levels because of fury, and well, despite a tanks superior cones, it's just more damage in general. Mind you - without many enhancements, you're only going off the odd damage DO or SO that drops that you can slot. Fury is a great source of extra damage, and efficient armor can help keep you going more than just about any other armor set. If you prefer range, while the blaster is great once they get the sustain, you're likely going to fare better with a defender. Defenders that are solo get a 30% damage buff. And well, it kind of makes up for not having scourge, which is what a corruptor has. The rule of thumb used to be if solo, go defender. If teaming, go corruptor. Anecdotally, a lot depends on how you slot, but since you're going bare bones, the type of defender or corruptor you go (no to controllers and doms - too end heavy, and you said you wanted fastest. These two ATs can go pretty fast in the higher levels. At lower levels...it's not even close. Not saying you shouldn't, it's just my experience they don't fare well because candidly put - Endurance modification enhancements very rarely drop. It's like 75 to 1 odds of those nifty blue enhancements dropping. So, if you go corruptor or defender, you'll likely want something like radiation..because of AM being available so early. Like level 4 early! Level 2 for the defender. AM gives both ATs the same base recovery of 30%. Kind of like actually having an end mod slotted. Still, it's barely enough once you start trying to get attack chains going. If you do spend any inf on any enhancements - end mods are the ones you'll want to buy. Damage, Resists, defense, accuracy, end reduction...all that stuff drops fairly often. But not end mod! There are some missions/content you'll want to go out of your way to do. First - the invention tutorial. That should give you a free Invention enhancement that will not expire on you. The buff you get from it at level 10 is very low. You'll want to do this tutorial around level 22..so you can get the 25. Ideally, you'd wait until level 40, but surely by that time you'll have 2 pennies to rub together. It's a solo thing, so no problems there. Also - if you don't have one - make an SG base. The only thing you really SHOULD have are the buff stations, or empowerment stations. You use surplus salvage for fairly nifty buffs - like 10% recharge, stamina, run speed, even "Grant invisibility" - if you have the salvage for this -grab it. And use it for your Signature story arc, Who Will Die part 1. An option for a reward is 20 reward merits or (lol) one Accuracy SO. My challenge guys weren't allowed to use the merit vendor, so I grabbed the SO. But - since you can literally piss your merits away on an SO, you'd definitely want the 20 merits. But don't blow a reward merit on an SO, please. That's the worst possible return. You can take those 20 merits, visit a merit vendor, get 60 converters and sell them for 60-70k each. If you want the inf right away, 60k. If you can wait, aim for 70k, and list them for 66k or some such. Might not get 70 without listing for 69,002 or some such, but you can certainly get that inf in that range. That's 3.2M after fees. At least. I'm sure the idea of marketing isn't what you had in mind, but it's not really marketing. It's just getting rid of stuff to get other stuff. Nothing you wouldn't do if you had billions of inf. You probably have your reasons for going solo. I would encourage you to team up every so often for things like Summer Blockbuster. The reward is a nice enhancement that you can actually use until your 50, as it's "attuned" and levels with you. or you could sell it for a very low 5m. But, if you can't do that, then you can't do that. Either way, hope my words didn't bore you too much. And, hope you find your way to an easier time than you might think.

Interesting. I wasn't using the analyzer at that moment, but I was using it a few minutes prior.

It'd be nice, but you cannot put both on auto-fire. You can trigger one to try to fire with movement or something slick like that - but if the power is not recharged, you hear that awful noise. It works, but it just doesn't work for me, if that makes sense.

While waiting for Adamastor to spawn, I wanted to check on something. And..lo and behold, I now have zero influence. Or do I? No, I do not have zero influence. But that is the value that combat attributes is showing me. It is an intermittent problem, no doubt the blame goes to the mapserver event. The poor hamsters must be exhausted.

Jerry Seinfeld has stated during an interview that he hates going on vacation. He knows it's not going to be fun for him, but he goes for his family. He essentially stated his real joy comes from complaining. That's why he goes on vacation, so he'll have something to complain about. So..I think the OP is like Seinfeld. Certainly not as funny as Seinfeld, but only content if he can find something to complain about.

I made a new character, and for something different from my normal routine, I opted to do Willy Starbuck's arc. But, the rascal won't give me his arc. I did all the accept/abandon 15 times, and then I just figured he's not going to give it to me until I do a mission for him. So the mission he gives me is "Shut down the Council Recruiting Facility". The HC wiki tells me the name of the boss is random, and I got Archon Manuela. Because this isn't the arc, and there are no reward merits for it, I figured I would just zoom past to this Archon, clobber him and then perhaps get the arc. I hit him once. Mission completes. I didn't touch any glowies, or defeat any other critters. And check out that dialogue... I've got to think this is some kind of minor bug. The dialogue probably needs adjustment to. But before I mention it in the bugs forum, figured maybe I missed some part of the lore that explained it. Also, I think I have to make another level 10 and revisit Willy and see if the glitch repeats before I should report it. You folks come across this before?

By all means, learn from failures, if you can. In that context, it's not failure if you learn. Let me share a story about how ruthlessly funny some people can be. I was tanking Hami for an SG only event. And, like an idiot, with everyone watching, I forget to take the EoE, get clobbered quickly. I rez, gobble the EoE and continue with no issues. Every day for what must have been a month, someone sent me an EoE in my email. And that was just a quick mental error with nothing at stake. I shudder to think of the reactions to getting dead on a Master run. People can be as chill as they want in chat. And certainly, this is quite true. As experienced as I am, I see some great players doing things I just don't have the reflexes and/or manual dexterity to do. And I do appreciate your point. These folks who are less experienced, less knowledgeable and less competent, they will never improve (if they even see a reason to try to) if they don't get exposed to various facets of tough content. And let's face it, Master runs are not really tough content. They're just daunting. I must have done at least 100 regular ms lib or recluse tfs and never died, or even come close to it. But once the Master tag is on...it adds some psychological torture to it - at least it does for me. Cuz I don't want to get an awaken in my email every day for month.

The passive accolades. I don't mind the explorations. But when you're level 35, have all the tanks and the gears already, finding fakes is tough, unless there's a nem event. I have friend in game that wait until they're 50 to get the accolades. I have no idea why. I like to get invader as soon as I think about it. It's been later recently, with the Patrol XP for exploration badges. I used to have a fire blaster on an alt account get the spiders and family for me in port oakes. Took maybe 30 minutes solo, or even less if I have a group running for them. But, lately, with the frequency of Nem events, I've been trying to get that one more organically. Still, waiting until level 40 to get it...that's just lame to me. At that level, I'm thinking about portal jockey. If I could just spend a billion inf for each character to have all 4 passive accolades, I'd do it. It was interesting the first few times. But 200 and some odd level 50's, all doing Maria Jenkins arc..that's really lame. I might try the red side equivalent, but I have a feeling 1M pts of damage is going to take a lot longer than an MJ arc.

So, my history with MMOs is fairly short. CoH is the only one I've played. I recall being fairly puzzled when I first logged in. I couldn't move right away - mainly because it would never, ever occur to me in a million years to use WASD. Now, I know NOW that there's a method to that madness, but I didn't then. So, as soon as I figured out I could change those keys, I did - to the arrow keys. Those make sense. Want to move forward, you use the arrow key that points in that direction. I say "It works for me", and to a point, it does. But, I can never be a real "speeder" because my method is too slow. Fast enough for most everything else, but too slow to be any kind of real speedster. On every character, V is for the hybrid power, B is for the destiny Buff, n is for the nuke. The three sit on my extra tray in that order. The lore pet is to the left of hybrid. I don't know why I picked it, but L is for my jet pack, or fly if the character has flight (like my PB - most characters will get SS) SuperSpeed is bound to the i key. On some characters, H is bound to Hasten. That's it. Macros for targeted AoEs.

I recall the topic of dental care coming up in grad school. A friend of mine was dating a nurse, and apparently her schooling involved reading about the various efficacy and impacts of certain toothpastes. She suggested we avoid Close-up. Just thought I'd share that. No idea if there was ever anything to it. For all I know, she held stock in Crest. All of that said, in the military, we got a pretty crazy Fluoride rinse. Must have had to swish that stuff in our mouths for 10 or 15 minutes. I've had zero issues with my teeth since then. I can't say it's cause and effect or anything. But, my drill sergeant told us we'd never get a cavity again, but don't dare swallow it. For all I know, it was really bad Kool-aid.

David Wincott story arc - 7 reward merits Flux Story arc - 18 reward merits Julius the Troll - 10 reward merits Talshak the Mystic - 30 reward merits. Not to be confused with Valshak the mystic. That had to be a typo from our OP. That's 65 merits, plus you get 20 bonus merits for completing all the arcs in that zone, plus the Excavator badge. So, 85 merits. Those 20 bonus merits and badge are also available for all these other zones as well.

See, I'm so stupid. I know I'm going to lose my memory at some point, so I use H for hasten. I only use my pinky for the shift key and enter - at least, I think those are the fingers that do that stuff.

Powersets aside, I think the Controller tends to be easier to play. The dominator...just thinking that you might want perma dom, and thinking you might need hasten, now you have hasten and domination - which one do you put on auto-fire?

I saw the recruitment for that. And I said to myself, "Self, that's a master run. Can you tank Recluse on your new, largely untested Tank? Your defense is only about 20%, but your resistance is capped to s/l/e. ... not really sure. Depends on external buffs." Who wants to be "that guy" that blows the MoTF because his build isn't up to snuff. Not this guy. I don't want Snarky making me famous for the wrong reasons. Easy pass. Just go back and read that thread about why all of us seasoned vets are having great stories of disaster pug teams...and the answer is in there.