Ukase

At that low level, you are not wrong. A DO is better than an IO. (until a few levels when the DO no longer boosts anything) The only reason I had an IO in it is because it was the only thing that dropped that I could put in it.

I'm not sure, but I don't think there's ever been a time someone asked me a question about the game or the market in the game, or farming that I didn't take time to answer. It's almost always a welcome diversion to ensure someone gets multiple options for whatever direction a newer player wants to go. I probably disappoint some who ask what the "best" this, or the "best" that is, and I tell them there is no best. It's all subjective. Different judgements have tradeoffs. Some have better accuracy - which came as a big shock to me. Some are more "explosive" with a faster animation, It all depends. Clearly there's going to be some things that are "optimal" and somethings that will be less so. But they have to want the additional engagement. That is, they have to ask for it. I've never turned anybody down yet.

Well...I appreciate everyone's perspective. Honestly, I do, that's why I asked. What I've done today is simply give away 1-3 of the main PvP procs to non-50 characters I saw that weren't already IO'd to the gills. I gave priority to redside, as I figure any reward for playing there is better than nothing. But there weren't that many! So, I went to Talos, Steel and Atlas and I think Pocket D and gave some away there. This was on Excelsior; gave away 21 of them. I'll give away another 21 this afternoon. Tomorrow I'll choose another server, and rotate servers at least until I run out of what's in my tray. I've got bids in for another 108, replenishing them as I take them out and I'll probably wait a week after the last server and hope I don't run into the same characters again and again. If you want these - here's a few tips: Don't be hidden. I'm using /search for the lower level zones and putting the character names in a target macro. If I find you, I'll give, but if you're already 50 and already kitted out, I wouldn't see the point. For that matter, if you're level 10 and it looks like you already have them, (per character info/powers - it shows set bonuses) I'll probably overlook you on purpose. Oh - if your name is offensive to the point where I wonder why you haven't been generic'd already, I'll overlook you. There's too many decent names still out there. You do you, but I'm not gonna reward characters with names that gross me out.

322 Billion as of last counting a week ago. So, I appreciate everyone's perspective. As much as I like the idea of a costume contest, I'm all too aware that a costume that looks great with one graphic setting may not look the same with another - so those are out. I thought about hide & seek. But, perhaps I can borrow a bit from @Yomo Kimyata and a bit from @Troo (your practices of giving, not your inf!) and give things away to red side lowbies at random. Part of me felt like 20M isn't worth moving my character and felt it wasn't enough. Then I thought about 50M, but that's really only enough to get a couple sets of IOs. That's generally why I think more is better - but I also don't want to rob anyone from the joy of hustling and learning where and how to get this and that, as opposed to just using /AH. I suppose it's all relative.

So, there's a proverb that states many counsels assure victory...so before I do something that I think is a good thing, I'm going to ask here what everyone's thoughts are about it. I have a lot of influence. More than enough to make my next 300 characters, unless prices go way higher than they are now. Possibly even the next 500 characters, depending on whether I wanted to buy now, or craft IOs instead. I've seen a name of what must be a newer player based on the questions I've seen asked in these forums, and I'm just tickled pink to see the questions as it means 1) newer player and 2) smart enough to ask for help without begging someone to just do it for them. So, I thought about gifting them 500M or even a billion..but what impact would that have on their enthusiasm to play? Anecdotally, I've had mixed results with large gifts. I gave an entire build to what I think is a genuinely hard working person, a parent of a small child. I know they didn't have time to sit in front of the computer and reset farms - they had to commute to work and put the time in. So, I hooked them up for a new build. Still haven't seen this controller they were supposed to make, but I gave it freely with no strings. Even so, they might come on once a month to play, if that. Before the gift, I saw them 3-4 times a week. Could be a coincidence. Another time, I spent a good hour answering questions via tells after some answers I gave on the help channel. Hooked them up with the requisite sets of Winter-Os so they could make their own farmer. After about 6 months, they emailed me 500M because they were feeling guilty about all the inf they were earning. I never saw it as a loan, but as a gift, but they repaid me (and overpaid), which earned them some solid credit with me. I've given away a couple of winter sets that someone needed to finish their build and 200M - after a week, they stopped playing. I've seen this happen at least a dozen times, where I'll give away some inf - and these players just seem to disappear and stop playing. It's not a real big deal, not at all sweating the influence. What I am sweating is if I am ruining their fun by taking away the inherent "carrots" the game has to offer. I mean, if the game were simply the beta server where I could go insta-50, immediately get my characters t-4 incarnate..I doubt I would play beyond just testing the character out in a market crash or Apex/Tin Mage. Am I spoiling things by giving things away? Is the gift too large? How much is too much?

Personally...the combo of targeting drone with those temp powers...just brilliant. I wanted the devices secondary on another AT and sadly realized only blasters have that access. For a different kind of challenge, that accuracy/toHit boost would have been super valuable.

I should add that the first ward arcs, though challenging, thus far have dropped one DO I could use, but the rest have been all Science SOs that my character uses. A nice Heal, a couple of accuracies, recharges, etc. As well as numerous other Common IOs (at level 25 that I still can't use - 2 bars away). So, I've made a new alt, Heuristic Hero, that's now parked in First Ward towards the recipe bonus day job.

I'll just mentally keep track of it. Maybe if I get the first debt badge kind of thing. Fact is, if I wasn't enjoying the character, it wouldn't bother me a bit to delete it. But, I'm enjoying it, so I may as well proceed.

This would be my best guess. The fact that the leader didn't know this - well, it may have saved you from another "Snarky Adventure with a pug".

And...Warden Gorzi has put an end to my excitement. Dude just clobbered me. So...I have to think about this. The rules say delete it. Well, I was having fun with the character, so I don't want to delete it. I'm just gonna give myself a mulligan, a do-over. Yeah, I'll feel cheap and dirty. For a minute. But, hey, points for transparency, right? In the meantime, I'll make another character - rad/ice defender, and see how that one plays out - but it'll sit in a day job for a few days before I start it.

Retirement...lol. I've been having some fun with a challenge toon that abstains from buying anything. Only selling surplus items. Got about a dozen recipes I'd love to craft/convert/sell, but the challenge forbids the use of merits. I could use converters, but the character has only earned ONE so far, up to level 21. At level 50, the restrictions are lifted. So...I have not been afk farming. I have not been marketing in maybe 10 days. Oddly, there have been a number of characters I've moved for day jobs, and they each had a number of completed sales, and the stack of inf gets even higher. Not much just a few hundred million. Before I "retired", or vacationed from the inf accumulation, I did ensure each farmer was capped for converters so I can resume if I should feel the need. I have 3 accounts. Each one has over 75B in email, not to mention each character having 1B on hand. Last tally was 321B. Seems like plenty to me! I just wonder if I'm making a mistake. Yomo might take over the world while I goof off!

Yay, and it's a level 25! And I just dinged 21, lol. I can craft it but can't use it yet. Bittersweet.

So, almost level 21, and I thought to myself, perhaps First Ward would be the place to go for drops that might be more tailored to my origin. So far, so good. Couple of enhancements, one DO, one SO, both usable by science origin. Crafted a Rooting Grasp simply because it was something useful, same with the regen. tissue and Curtail Speed.

I left off Clubber because the Wiki said "out of combat". Who needs endurance out of combat?

This may be viewed as "cheating", but I'm inclined to roll a couple more challenge toons NOW - and park them in specific day job roles that would be impactful: Shop keeper - enhancement bonus (mission completion) Any store Chronologist and/or Survivalist - recipe bonus (mission completion) Ouro or First ward, anywhere Duelist - +Max End Arena Predator - +Recharge PvP zone Cold Hand of Death - Self +res (cold/neg energy) + def (Cold/Neg. Energy) Dark Astoria

So, I read somewhere that on goldside, the npcs drop what you can use. So, I used the tunnel to head to Neutropolis, did some street sweeping and got zip - aside from a common IO I could use, as well as some decent salvage. Maybe 20 isn't a nice enough sample size. Probably not. AM is one of those powers I wait to use before anything that can mez/stun or a boss. I've held off of the good powers like Radiation Infection because, as we're all painfully aware by now - I have nothing slotted in Stamina. It only infects while it's running. Not like it's going to keep infecting after it turns off, so I think to myself - what's the point? I do need to get it, though - and soon, and am hoping in the 20's that more IO recipes will drop. At this rate, it looks like I'll be relying on the set bonus recipes before I get an end mod enhancement or common IO recipe. The first character I did was TW/Bio scrapper, although for that challenge, it wasn't a defeat/delete. TW is a horrid primary, given the reliance on Momentum. I cannot for the life of me fathom how that powerset caught on to be flavor of the month. Well, for the folks who just PL to 50, I can see it. But to play it and level it up....no thanks! But the bio armor is made for this kind of challenge! I would think a stalker, maybe EM/Bio would be a good way to go. Heck, I might make one of those now. (non-challenge) Alternatively, anything Bio on any melee AT would probably be good simply for the adaption options. As I think about it - any blaster secondary, once you get to 18 with the sustain that really increases endurance recovery should be viable - once you make it to 18. But you'd want to hold off of Hasten until beyond that point, if you went that way at all. Any Rad armor should be good, as it's end friendly. As for my rad/dark defender, I am eagerly looking forward to getting some recharge IOs in hasten and AM, as well as moonbeam. I am using that power far more than I thought I would. I chose it primarily for the tohit debuff from the secondary to get me through the earlier levels. I miss a LOT, but they miss me a lot, too. I got a tohit debuff DO a couple of times, and even combined the first, a level 13 with a level 19 successfully, which sits in Dark Blast. If I have to start over, I will definitely keep Rad as a defender primary and try Ice as the secondary. No snipe, but freeze ray...how can I say no to freeze ray? Or maybe water...

With a bout of insomnia - why I wake up at 4am when I want to wake up at 5am is beyond me - I check in and realize that the reason a lot of my invention recipes are lacking salvage has been because I've been avoiding npcs that drop it, focused more on pursuing the science origin enhancements. So, I did a one-off mission with some Tsoo, and had some needed arcane salvage drop. On the right - where you see the inherent fitness, but can't see the rest, everything is empty except for the expired defense SO in Combat Jumping. I crafted a regen tissue heal/absorb/end, and an acc/end slow in Lingering Radiation. That's a fair amount of inf that was sacrificed, because ordinarily, I'd turn that slow into a proc and sell it for 2-3M. And that regen tissue would have gotten converted into a Regeneration piece and sold for 3-4M. Inf total is 348,953 at the moment.

So far, I'm having fun with this little challenge. I chose level 18 to boost, and then I think I have 28 and 38, to boost an additional +1 because I figure I'll get maneuvers pool, fight pool and finally epic armor to mitigate the increased difficulty. But If I don't get SOME kind of end mod IO/recipe/enhancement, even with an sg buff, I'm not going to be able to run those toggles. The beauty of Rad/Dark is the excellent debuffs. I just need enough stamina to keep 'em going. And even with AM, that's gonna be tough.

Patience is a virtue.

So, at level 16, I opted to boost my difficulty to +1/1. My reasoning for this was I was hoping that any recipes I got would be level 20 instead of 15. And, of course, fighting Vahzlok for Penny Yin - they drop Science or Science/mutation, and if they're a level higher, I have a bit more time to accumulate more drops. Additionally - and this may sound strange - but the Yin maps are mostly narrow hallways, and at this difficulty level, it's often 2 minions or 1 lt/boss. Easy enough to handle, even without slots, provided I ensure I have some inspirations in case I get into trouble. My biggest hope is for an end mod, followed by some damage IO/enhancements, followed by recharges. I figure I will be level 19 before the accuracies are dead, and then I'll have some serious trouble, as my challenge rules dictate I boost the difficulty to +1 at level 18. I'd expected to have more common IO recipes crafted at this point, but I don't seem to be having much luck so far. Just have to wait and see what the future brings.

The problem with ouro is that you don't get enhancements when running flashback content. I have no rule against it - but see no reason to use it other than for quick zone transport.

Use of merits is not allowed in my challenge until 50. Ordinarily, I would never waste a catalyst in such a fashion, given the way the IOs are bucketed in the AH. I would typically craft the recipes, convert them to something useful and sell them, then buy an attuned for roughly the same price. With the rules of this challenge, however, that's a no-go, at least until level 50, when all restrictions are lifted. If I get that far, lol.

I will say my character is crippled because it is crippled. It cannot function as it normally would if I had it slotted even with DOs. There's more than a few red enhancements at present which means the slots may as well be empty. That is crippled. I made the rule to not team because I, personally, would never want to carry someone else in a mission. Add more players who are largely unslotted like me, and nobody can carry anyone and you'd end up in an increased possibility of defeat and then I'd have to start over. With just me, I have a lot more control and can just SS out of harm's way and not leave teammates dealing with my aggro. What's presumptuous about not wanting to subject other players to a crippled character? I don't get that at all.

Hah, I remember. I wondered if it was possible to re-run it through ouro, lol.

Well, level 13, just did the SSA 1/7, Who Will Die twice, for an accuracy SO each time. No rule against going red side and doing the villain version for another one to put in Gloom. I am anticipating more random salvage for the few common IO recipes I have. Some are level 15, some are 10, which I'll probably sell. Fortunately, endurance isn't an issue with AM running, not like it was with the dark/dark. But, I do miss Shadowfall, because I can't just buy a celerity. It's really ...well, not difficult, but a little frustrating, because even if I get the exact IO recipe I want from the rng, I've got to have double love just to get the proper salvage to craft it. Current inf sits at 134,591. Just enough to pay to craft some IO recipes if I only had the right salvage. Soon, I hope, lol.