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IIRC both Port Oakes and Mercy Island have areas that have this problem. From memory, the Port Oakes problems are in the NE corner (Fort Hades) and in Mercy Island it is in the NE part of Darwin's Landing/Fort Darwin and/or the NW part of Darwin's Landing. I want to say this gets me whenever I am collecting exploration badges in these zones. I have some version of Vidiot's maps installed.

On my Robots/Traps Mastermind I skipped Triage Beacon while leveling, but it came back into the build at the level 50 respec (taken at low level). My experience was that (while leveling) I didn't have the slots to make it as effective as possible and I had alternate priorities to support the henchman (and allies). I find that it helps my specific build quite a bit in x8 content, since I can keep the henchmen where I want them and draw enemies to me. YMMV with fast-moving teams or poorly controlled henchmen/allies.

An extra build is IMO useful for Tankers and end-game content, since it is also possible to make use of boosted (50+5) pieces instead of attuned pieces that may be used on other content. We can argue (as with anything) about the marginal improvements from running with 50+5 pieces, but for end-game content with debuffs the "margins" could end up being meaningful. Even without considering the use of boosted pieces, having a "team-friendly" build with Taunt may motivate the player to leverage some other team-friendly powers from the Leadership pool, which IIRC was boosted on Homecoming for Tanks as well.

Dear Devs... please don't add a "travel power" to the Presence Pool, even to replace Pacify.

"It's Puppet Therapy. The Psychology world has come to recently embrace it after seeing it on Law & Order."

If I am chasing a specific badge (that gives more space in recipes or salvage) I will craft the recipes and just toss them on the AH at discount prices. IIRC the expanded storage is for lvl 25/30 and lvl 45/50 recipes. Yes, Inf to burn... but only to a point. Level 50 common recipe drops usually just get sold (~100K each) to vendors to pay the scrub crafting fees for other recipes.

Except the ones that take the Fitness pool.

I have experienced 'buggy' behavior with that arc if I used Tip missions to fight Carnies. As near as I can tell, that 'defeat X carnies' needs to be done on the streets of Peregrine Island.

I had one character that used the Concealment pool, including Invisibility, extensively... I was completely unimpressed with the shift to Infiltration. I gave it a fair shake, but ultimately it just felt like the change was motivated to simply make all the effects of Invisibility available to players with just dipping a single toe into the pool. I understand that there are some other subtle points, but I thing those are only nibbling around the corners.

When I wanted a Controller that didn't look like it was really controlling (my opinion, YMMV) as much as it was sowing chaos, I went with Mind/Poison. I went all-in on %damage from procs to beef up the damage output. The Poison debuffs are a help against AVs and GMs. With Mind, it is less obvious (from the graphics) what is happening with enemies (compared to any over Controllers) and you don't have to have anything that looks like a pet chasing you around.

You can always try to motivate players to full-kit out their second and third builds. Outside of VEATs (every one), HEATs (multi-form/single-form), Masterminds (standard vs. petless/one-big pet) and builds for specific 50+ content (Attuned? BAH! Boosters FTW!) I have trouble motivating myself to do such a thing.

"Canonically" per a Forbes (?, Money?) listicle. I've seen it attributed to Time, but I'm relatively certain it was a magazine focused on finance.

For me: Gaussian's is in the category of "should be worth more than it is valued at in the /AH", along with Thunderstrike. It doesn't mean I have a swarm of unsold ones, just that for a variety of reasons it isn't a set that is ever in demand. One of the reasons may be that the To Hit piece cons yellow (uncommon), but it is a rare. I personally like the 6-set bonuses it gives, and in most click powers (Aim, Build Up, Chronos, etc.) the slotted recharge from the (attuned) set doesn't move the %BuildUp proc chances below 90%. I can completely understand skimping on slots in such powers (going with just the %proc and a Recharge), but on most of my builds the performance from randomly distributing those slots isn't improved as much as I miss hitting enemies (ehem, Moment of Glory Paragon Protectors).

I use the +Absorb proc strictly so that I don't have to watch my Health bar.

To find those IO Enhancements you need, be sure to visit the auction house: Wentworths, Black Market or /AH in any non-PVP zone.

I tend not to think about using Taunt on Hamidon as much as I think about using Taunt on Lord Recluse.

I have never tried Titan Weapons on an AT, primarily because I didn't want to bother with (not having) momentum. I have tried War Mace, which (while leveling) I found to be very clunky and slow... but once slotted with global Recharge works a lot smoother. I can imagine how at low levels a Bio/TW tank can feel: you don't really have the slots to make the Bio feel like it is doing much for you (DNA Siphon will be key) and the attacks are probably very clunky.

Advice when leveling up (and you don't lean into enhancement set bonuses) Keep in mind that the Tanker Taunt is an auto-hit power... so if you are always teaming and taunting, accuracy in the attacks isn't as important. For attacks (while leveling) I always start with an accuracy (the CoT ToHit Debuffs can be brutal), followed by Endurance reduction, then other effects. Advanced advice: If your primary has a Defense power that will always be on (Auto or Toggle) consider adding the Kismet +Accuracy (really ToHit) enhancement to it. This is a piece that starts working at very low level, and will boost your "final ToHit" chances in all powers as long as the power is on. Many of the enhancement sets that go into attack powers (and will be ones that most players gravitate towards) will include accuracy enhancements. Attuned versions of these are all I need. Many sets (particularly Very Rare/Purple) also offer global accuracy bonuses for including multiple pieces, so for players that chose to emphasize something other than Accuracy when slotting they don't suffer too much.

Thanks for the kind words. I focused on MaxEnd because: IIRC, there already is a cap on Recovery Players 'spend' the blue bar (i.e. Endurance) via powers of choice, Health is spent by (random) circumstance. Health "expenses" (i.e. the green bar) can already be "managed" via power choices in the VEAT (or bonuses, like everybody else) I see chasing Recovery and Regeneration (at least for low HP AT) as a sort of 'case of diminishing returns'. YMMV on this point, but for my $0.02 after a certain point on many builds MOAR Recovery is not noticeable.

TL;DR The VEAT inherent is weak sauce, considering that everybody gets the Fitness Pool. Many AT can make this complaint: When I was leveling up my VEATs, and while running HOT against large spawn sizes, Endurance was the largest source of grief for me.. and as with many characters it really only gets better with Enhancement set bonuses and Accolades... just as with everybody else. Would it be the end of the world if the VEAT got a straight +MaxEnd inherent instead of +Regen/+Recovery? Such a thing wouldn't make them "obviously better at ____" than any other AT.

Not a Stalker, but I tried the revamped Spring Attack on a Scrapper... "meh" is an overstatement.

The connection between Superadine (and the Trolls) and other dimensions was always something I wanted to learn more about. The Trolls aren't the most imaginative group, so I have long hoped that there was more to their story. I have lived with the disappointment that it was probably nothing more than "drugs are coming from another dimension", which sort of plays out in a Maria Jenkin's mission (again involving Brickstown).

I appreciate @Greycat typing up the long history lesson from the Live Name Release, because I did not have the stamina to do it. It is not incorrect that the Live name release policy had almost no impact.

TL;DR Force Mastery strikes me as a reasonable pool for slotting Global pieces with a relatively small investment in slots. I use Force Mastery on my Dark/Temp Blaster, which I primarily play at ranged. Dark is already debuffing enemy ToHit, so MOAR Defense comes from MOAR (primary) Offense. Personal Force Field is essentially a mule for a LotG and Shield Wall. I'll use it on speed TFs to dash through enemy spawns. Temporary Invulnerability (my level 49 pick) is essentially another mule (Aegis Psi/Status resistance) but it essentially doubles my S/L Resistance when used. I've used Repulsion Bomb, it's fine with a -Res piece, but it is never a bread-and-butter attack for me. I like the set bonus options it offers. I've never used Repulsion Field; I may be biased because of trying similar powers on Live. I certainly could use it in my play style, but I don't really like set bonuses compared to what I can get from different power picks. Force of Nature reminds me too much of the Tanker Invulnerability primary T9 to want to bother with.

I don't know what the motivation was for changing the range of Fast Snipes (PVP?) but it definitely hurt my non-Blapper playstyle. Full disclosure, it also hurt my Stalker/Scrapper playstyle, as my melee characters with Patron snipes can't target those stubborn/cowardly enemies that won't come to me!