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I think it was issue 27 page 2. IIRC The Fast Snipe range was normalized to 80 feet (100 feet for Psi?), whereas before I think it was 150 feet. As we all know, it doesn't take much for AI critters to run away. Personally: I miss the ability to draw a distant spawn to our fighting force as well. On Dark, this really bugs me, as my Umbral Torrent is slotted to have a range of 104 feet!

As soon as I am tempted to think that "names should be released": I imagine that the name was released, but somebody else wanted it more than I did and got it before me.

One of the deepest personal mysteries involves the current iteration of Fast Snipes: Do I burn a slot just to increase Range? I hate that the range of these was cut. I suppose I wasn't vocal enough when everyone was crying about the potential loss of %proc, but the Range lost is much more severe. It probably bothers me more on my Dark Blaster because of the DoT and Debuffing that makes enemies scatter to the four winds...

Have "clowny" send a global tell, right-click to invite.

Temporal (and /Time) secondaries are only "easy" for me in this way: I generally don't bother using the attacks until the mobs get to me. I definitely don't Blapper with my Dark/Temp. Here is my build, with a different take than above: Dark Temp Blaster: Level 50 Magic Blaster Primary Power Set: Dark Blast Secondary Power Set: Temporal Manipulation Power Pool: Sorcery Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Force Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Gloom -- SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg:50(A), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(3), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(3), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(5), SprDfnBrr-Rchg/+Status Protect:50(5), SprDfnBrr-Dmg/Rchg:50(42) Level 1: Time Wall -- HO:Endo(A) Level 2: Umbral Torrent -- HO:Centri(A), HO:Nucle(37), CldSns-%Dam:30(46), PstBls-Dam%:50(48), JvlVll-Dam%:50(48), OvrFrc-Dam/KB:50(46) Level 4: Mystic Flight -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB:50(A) Level 6: Time Stop -- GldNet-Acc/Hold:30(A), GldNet-Acc/Rchg:30(7), GldNet-Rchg/Hold:30(7), GldNet-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold:50(9), GldNet-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold:50(40), GldNet-Dam%:50(43) Level 8: Moonbeam -- StnoftheM-Acc/Dmg:50(A), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx:50(9), StnoftheM-Dmg/ActRdx/Rchg:50(11), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(13), StnoftheM-Dam%:50(13), GldJvl-Dam%:30(39) Level 10: Chronos -- GssSynFr--ToHit:50(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg:50(11), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx:50(15), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx:50(43), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx:50(43), GssSynFr--Build%:50(45) Level 12: Arcane Bolt -- Apc-Dmg:50(A), Apc-Dmg/Rchg:50(15), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(40), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx:50(40), Apc-Dam%:50(42) Level 14: Kick -- FrcFdb-Rechg%:50(A) Level 16: End of Time -- SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg:50(A), SprBlsWrt-Dmg/Rchg:50(17), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(17), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(19), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(19), SprBlsWrt-Rchg/Dmg%:50(27) Level 18: Tough -- UnbGrd-Max HP%:30(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx:30(42) Level 20: Temporal Healing -- Prv-Heal:50(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx:50(21), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg:50(21), Prv-Heal/Rchg:50(23), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx:50(23), Prv-Absorb%:50(25) Level 22: Weave -- Rct-Def:50(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx:50(25), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg:50(27), Rct-Def/Rchg:50(34), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(36), Rct-ResDam%:50(36) Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(45) Level 26: Life Drain -- TchoftheN-Heal:50(A), TchoftheN-Acc/Heal:50(29), TchoftheN-%Dam:50(29), GldJvl-Acc/Dmg:50(31), GldJvl-Dam%:30(31), CldSns-%Dam:30(31) Level 28: Future Pain -- Hct-Dmg:50(A), Hct-Dmg/Rchg:50(37), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(37), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx:50(39), Hct-Dam%:50(39) Level 30: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A), Ksm-ToHit+:30(46) Level 32: Blackstar -- Arm-Dmg:50(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg:50(33), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(33), Arm-Acc/Rchg:50(33), Arm-Dam%:50(34), Erd-%Dam:30(34) Level 35: Personal Force Field -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP:50(36) Level 38: Time Lord -- GldArm-3defTpProc:50(A) Level 41: Rune of Protection -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(A) Level 44: Tenebrous Tentacles -- Ann-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Ann-Dmg/Rchg:50(45), Ann-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(48), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(50), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(50), Ann-ResDeb%:50(50) Level 47: Aim -- RechRdx-I:50(A) Level 49: Temp Invulnerability -- Ags-Psi/Status:50(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Defiance 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 -- UnbLea-Stlth:50(A) Level 2: Rest -- IntRdx-I:50(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Run-I:50(A) Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End:50(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%:50(A) ------------ EDIT: Key features (for me) Chronos is on auto-fire, it fires every 22-ish seconds with a 90% chance of the extra %Build Up The level 44 power (in this build, Tenebrous Tentacles) is a toss-up. I used to have Repulsion Bomb. As is, the build has "too many attacks" but I liked the set bonus as well as some %-Res. Time Wall is primarily to trigger other effects from the secondary. If I could get a %-Res piece in it, I would slot this differently. I want as much +ToHit as possible to boost damage from (Fast) Moonbeam. This is why the Kismet piece is in Maneuvers.

My response is specific to the level 6, level 32 powers. The currently available Hami-Os would be wasted in such powers.

Here is a subtle point about Hami-Os (all AT, all powers) Even if they can be slotted into a power, it doesn't mean that "all" enhancement aspects of the HO will work in the power. You can tell if a "part" of an HO will work if you can slot a common IO into the power. If the power doesn't take certain common enhancements, those portions of an HO will do nothing. This is subtly different than for Enhancement Sets. Some enhancement sets will include attribute enhancements for which you cannot slot a common IO... the enhancement from such sets WILL contribute to enhancing the power. My suspicion is that the HO you are specifically looking at are only boosting the Endurance cost, and nothing else.

As I wrote: the Maximum Targets (5, I don't think this has changed), the relatively short duration (base 14 secs as opposed to base 40 secs for Tanks?) as well as the need to actually HIT with Provoke, I don't think it is nearly as useful (across all content) as simply generating AoE Threat through other means. As a comparison: I have several different AT that leverage the Presence pool. I have two characters (with Provoke) that I run in a LOT of high-level team content. The nature of these teams makes it such that we commonly split up, so some (non-Melee) players end up taking aggro from large groups that they can't exactly handle (think: elements of Imperious TF or on Market Crash maps) and so I will deploy my Scrapper or Widow or Bane to help them out. The Threat level for Stalkers is higher than MMs, the threat level from VEATs is the same as MMS. When I take Provoke, I almost always 6-slot it with Mocking Beratement. My experience is that it is extremely difficult to get an entire spawn (from a x8 team) off of an even level teammate who has the aggro by just using Provoke. If I actually want to get the entire spawn off of a teammate, I have to juggle damage and debuffing to help them out. If you think this is simply anecdotal, I have a more pure anecdote... those same characters have been able to peel single-target aggro from Brutes as well as from a couple of (poorly played, poorly constructed) Tankers... so I am aware of how Provoke can be used, I just think that its most of its values is inherently limited to a relatively small number of circumstances (*1). Even ignoring the role that Debuffs (and DoT) play in generating threat, debuffing opponents is almost certainly going to speed up enemy defeat times (by the henchmen). I am not unaware that I am making the opposite of my typical conclusion in threads with the quest "Do Tankers need Taunt?" (TL:DR, my answer is "Yes"), but my answer is different (primarily) because Taunt is different than Provoke. (*1) The most obvious (to me) circumstance where the Mastermind absolutely wants to (and has a chance at) generating more threat than the henchmen is when facing single, hard targets that have no more than four nearby allies (who won't be otherwise quickly defeated/controlled). If you are facing large spawn sizes, there is likely to be more stray aggro generated by Henchmen AoE than you could hope to "manage" with Provoke alone. If you are facing small spawn sizes, turn the henchmen loose! Of course I haven't played all MM primary/secondary, so if your MM has no alternate mechanism of generating threat then by all means go with Provoke. I certainly think that if you are going Tankermind it is much more important to pick up Tough and Weave from the Fighting pool.

Every Mastermind primary T9. I don't say this to trigger discussion about 'auto upgraded' henchmen; I actually like the role the second upgrade plays in Mastermind play... I just despise that: There are TWO upgrade powers, one of which comes before the Mastermind can even summon the T2 and T3 The slotting choices for both upgrades are pathetic. At the very least, some of the Global Enhancement pieces that increase performance of Henchmen (e.g., the auras) should be able to be slotted in these essentially mandatory upgrade powers.

Each to their own taste. While BAF is running, there isn't that much time for socializing. Even "speedy and intense" content like MLTF and LRSF offer chances to chit-chat during missions. I am glad that the folks running "league" content like BAF and Hamidon have finally adjusted their directions/advice... it felt like it took forever for league runners to In BAF, direct players to move to the paths the escapees take rather than direct players to doors (and then have to hunt down escapees) In Hamidon, not just blindly call out for league EoE refreshes when there was essentially nothing that would hurt you. I don't want to sound too critical of the league runners (who I appreciate), it's just that while the league runners (in HC) have generally been good about tolerating the learning curve for new players, it occasionally felt like they weren't equally willing to try new things. My favorite content that falls into the category of "we can talk about options" or "let's just do it madcap" is the Miss Liberty Task Force. It certainly runs smoother with some discussion (especially when team composition is less than ideal), but I find the game has some charm when things start to go pear-shaped and the team recovers.

I could be wrong, but I am of the belief that %proc for things like Bonfire only trigger during the initial cast. Full disclosure: My Robotics MM is Robotics/Traps, so I have the Annihilation %-Res piece in multiple powers (to increase duration if it lands) as well as other mechanisms for applying -Resistance. The KB is a part of every tick of Bonfire, and so the OF piece is always turning it into KD. The following is my rough math on Photon Grenade, (I believe that Overwhelming Force %KD is a straight 20% chance per hit target) I may have old numbers, but my inputs for Photon Grenade are: Recharge: 16s Cast time: 2.112s Radius: 15 Arc: 360 With no recharge slotted (i.e. "proc-monstering"): %-Res (Annihilation, 3 PPM): 40% per hit target %Energy (Positron, 3.5 PPM): 49% per hit target %Fire (Bombardment, 3.5 PPM): 49% per hit target %Lethal (PVP Javelin, 3.5 PPM): 49% per hit target %-ToHit (Superior Absolute Amazement, 4.5 PPM): 63% per hit target (-7.5% for 15 sec!!) With recharge slotted from 5xAnnihilation in Photon Grenade (45% recharge?) %-Res (Annihilation, 3 PPM): 30% per hit target %Energy (Positron, 3.5 PPM): 36% per hit target %Fire (Bombardment, 3.5 PPM): 36% per hit target %Lethal (PVP Javelin, 3.5 PPM): 36% per hit target %-ToHit (Superior Absolute Amazement, 4.5 PPM): 45% per hit target (-7.5% for 15 sec!!) As I wrote, the added damage from %procs isn't really my cuppa, and I should explicitly state that Magnitude 2 controls offer no appeal to me. If I was really trying to skimp on slots, I would probably go with Photon Grenade slotted as: Annihilation %-Res Annihilation: Acc/Dam/End (to get extra MaxEnd bonus) Overwhelming Force KB->KD (for the lulz) Finally, either an Endurance IO, or a Javelin Volley piece with Accuracy and Endurance boosted to 50+5. Possibly the Absolute Amazement -ToHit piece to help out the T1 Henchmen.

GMs and AVs are great options. Each will (typically) have AoE, but the single-target attacks against a Tankermind is what you want. The key feature of Tankerminds is (IMO) sharing the damage taken with the henchmen. We can have a chicken-and-egg discussion about which is the effect and which is the means to an end, but from my PoV the Tankermind concept is "surviving harder content via an HP pool" and less "be the tentpole fora bunch of lower level damage dealers".

Here is to all the times I've been reviewing a build out-of-game and I realize I can get that 0.05 MOAR damage...

I have so many thoughts! I'll try to limit myself to primary/secondary consideration, without offering specific advice. Personally, I don't think "auras" are that important for melee fun. Primary: You probably want a smooth attack chain, but if your "fun solo" content is going to have large spawns, you probably want some sort of AoE from the primary. Secondary: You want to survive the sort of content you find "fun". There isn't much more to it than this! I have fun with a variety of different survival techniques. There is also the question of leveling versus playing with a level 50-build and exemplaring. A level 50-build can leverage set bonuses to cover "defects" that certain primary/secondary choices will encounter when leveling. From experience: a primary like War Mace felt very clumsy to me until the character had enough global Recharge to smooth out attacks. Some secondaries are likely to have odd defensive/resistance holes for long stretches of levels (with or without Global bonuses).

I avoid the market for (non-PVP) Healing/Absorb pool for two (IMO related) reasons: The pieces are all over the place in terms of price The pieces are all over the place in terms of utility My build attitudes about the (non-accurate) Healing/Absorb pieces are cruel/rude/blunt: Panacea +HP/+End, Preventive Medicine +Absorb for everybody. (The latter because it reminds me when I am taking damage) Miracle +Recovery, but only if a character absolutely can't get Recovery or control Endurance (enough) through other means (including playstyle), which for me almost always translates to "before 50, while leveling" Consider (PvP) Panacea sets to backup the unique piece because they can be boosted to 50+5 6-slot Preventive Medicine for the Endurance and Recharge global effects I see a LOT of build suggestions that toss the extra Regeneration pieces in, but unless the build is for a high HP AT, I question if it is really a good use of a slot to add a smidge of +Regeneration as opposed to MOAR defense/damage/recharge, or even something like +Perception.

The triple-rare recipe drops always surprise me... especially because they tend to be pieces that are not in great demand (or have less perceived utility from me). I want to say that some of the "newer" sets' recipes have some like this.

A-yup. The advice I'm going to offer isn't likely to go over well (and isn't radically different than what was described in the OP), but if someone is looking specifically for Gift of the Ancients and can't find them on the market: Explain why (converters, fungibility) they aren't available. Explain how to buy other level 15 things to play converter roulette with to try to land on Gift of the Ancients. Offer tips about certain things that they might land on while playing converter roulette that they can sell for beaucoup Inf. I can't guarantee that the player in question will enjoy, or even understand, why they have to go through this effort for "scrub" pieces, but they will be on the path to learning more about the AH which can only help them when they go looking for other pieces.

I see a lot of recommendation for Bonfire, but I want to offer a counter-proposal. I have one MM that uses Heat Mastery (Thugs/) and another (Robots/) that does not. My experience with Bonfire on my Mastermid is that it is not nearly as effective as it is on my Dominator (even leveraging a lot of the same tricks). I would encourage you to do some testing replacing Bonfire with Photon Grenade (from the MM Robotics primary), and slotting with 5xAnnihilation (include the %Res debuff) and the Overwhelming Force KB->KD piece. I am well aware of the theory of operation to try to keep enemies grouped for the Robots' AoE... I'm just offering an alternative to laying down a fixed patch/pseudopet and offering a straightforward attack. The primary attack should have better %proc chances (than the pseudopet) and it will let you shift attention around the battlefield faster. I take the attack late in my build (level 30) I use the Photon Grenade attack to draw more enemies to the fight and/or debuff/control them. It's not meant to be dealing that much damage on its own; I like the Endurance bonuses from 5xAnnihilation, but you could always go the %damage route in it if you feel like you want to deal more damage yourself. Keep the -Res and KB->KD, and %Fire, %Energy, %Lethal and then go for a 2-piece set bonus from one of the proc sets... presumably boosting Accuracy (if necessary) and Endurance cost (important for MMs).

My experience with MMs, non-tanks with Provoke, and Tankers is that Provoke isn't that useful or necessary for most 0x8 content, with some caveats. I tend to think of Tankerminds as an end-game/late-game concept; in my experience a MM really only needs to build/play for Tankermind-ing if the spawn sizes are going to be very large. Small spawn sizes should offer very little difference in final results between Defensive and Aggressive henchmen status (except that defensive will be slower to defeat enemies). I like Taunt and Provoke, and I like Provoke a LOT more than I like Confront. Having written that, the ToHit check and small target cap of Provoke feel (to me, YMMV) that it is working against the interests of a Tankermind in a majority of circumstances. Even with a (small) number of enemies focused on the MM, a lot of the problems for a Tankermind (and henchmen) are going to come from enemies with AoE attacks. Much of what I want to write will be subject to the specifics of the Primary/Secondary, but an MM who can cycle some sort of AoE attack, preferably with a debuff, DoT, and/or soft-control (a la Knockdown), should be able to draw/keep aggro. Patches and Pseudopets help as well. These sorts of powers offer (generally) more utility (via set bonuses) than the Enhancement sets for Taunt powers. Personally, I don't even try to take MM primary attacks until around level 30. Everyone should be aware of how relatively ineffective the MM attacks are in terms of DPA and Endurance cost, and trying to improve them "too soon" in a build is IMO wasting slots that should go elsewhere. Blah blah %damage from procs blah blah fishcakes. The attacks are best used to debuff enemies and draw threat.

I believe Cytoskeletons are expensive because the folks that want them think like I do: On certain builds, I find that I don't want to invest many slots in a toggle (usually) or click (sometimes) power that could benefit from Endurance reduction and the other boost (or both!), and so a Cyto HO (or two) is a better use of the limited number of slots. If I'm investing in HOs, I want MOAR boosts (up to level 53) and so I need more of them to combine them up to this point. We can argue the merits of certain slots for specific powers, but as an example of a commonly-suggested power that uses Cytoskeletons and also doesn't really need many slots is Tactics. I think there is a similar sort of thinking that keeps Microfilament HO costs high: folks want multiple enhancement boosts (presumably in a toggle like Sprint) but don't want to invest (m)any slots in the power. There are a handful of other useful (IMO) HO but the prices don't rise on them for (what I think to be) the following reasons: There is group-think that other non-HO pieces are better choices for certain powers. The powers that can best (IMO) leverage (some) HOs are considered scrub powers anyway, so "why invest HOs in them?" Writing only for myself: one of the most difficult mental hurdles for me to overcome (in making slotting choices) was to recognize that there are some powers that simply aren't a good use of slots, even for trying to hold set bonuses... and as a parallel thought that sometimes the sacrifice of a slot isn't to move the slot to a different power but to dedicate it to a different Global or %proc. This has led me to invest in HO in places that I don't usually see in posted builds.

As others have written, the boosters aren't really that expensive unless you are doing something like maintaining an alternate build with 50+ boosts (because most content prefers attuned enhancements)... and even then if you play packs or grind merits you should be able to slowly build up your supply. The diminishing returns of enhancement diversification will make many of the boosts marginal anyway, and it is far more likely that only a small number of enhancement pieces in specific will not be subject to ED, no matter the build, if you are min-maxxing by most measures. I always boost common level 50 IOs, because I so rarely use them. Typical uses are: a level 50+5 Endurance Modification (dark blue) in Stamina, if I invest a second slot after Performance Shifter (or have that piece elsewhere, depending on the AT/power choices) two level 50+4 Recharge in Hasten (If I'm feeling rich and bored, I might boost these to +5 but the difference is negligible) A single level 50+5 Recharge behind an Aim/Build Up power when I am only investing 2 slots (with the first going to the Gaussian's %Build Up proc) Level 50+5 Defense pieces (typically 1, never more than 2 on very specific builds) in certain powers... usually Defense powers are mule-ing a LotG +Global Recharge, and I like to eek out a little more Defense than just going for a 2-piece LotG set bonus. This is the sort of thing that is very dependent on the build, and works best for auto powers or spawned pets (FFG) as toggles typically benefit most from a Defense/Endurance combination. Another subtle use: a level 50+5 Damage piece in low-level attacks that have a Hold component <-This is subtle and depends on the power's base damage, but since attacks with holds can take a lot of %damage procs, I have a small number of builds. This is another subtle choice, as the %damage procs that work at low levels often come from sets that also have a straight damage piece that can be boosted and still work at almost all levels, keep reading... PVP sets and Purple (very rare) sets can also be boosted with no affect on exemplared content. My general practices (accepting the diminishing returns) are to: Boost the heck out of Resistance and Defense pieces; e.g. Shield Wall, Gladiator's Armor. Boosting these gets you closer to the point of diminishing returns faster, and can end up saving your build precious slots. I rather like the 2-and-3-piece set bonuses for these as well, so boosting pieces to back up the excellent Globals is a no-brainer. I should note that ONLY the global pieces are unique, so there is nothing from slotting multiple groups of (for example) boosted Resistance and Resistance/Endurance if you feel like it. I want to note that the Shield Wall set includes a Defense/Recharge piece that will contribute to improved recharge times for Mind Link/Link Minds (as opposed to a HO). Boost the non-recharge pieces in attacks which rely on %damage from procs. The recharge can hurt %proc chances, so you have to do the math to check just how bad this is affecting your DPA. some powers have such long recharge times that it barely matters. Some powers have such low %proc chances that you may give up a little bit of %proc chance to improve something like Endurance per activation (for example) because PVP sets typically have something like Damage (or Accuracy)/Endurance/Recharge pieces. Rando comment not specific to Boosters: I don't do deep scrubs of posted builds, but every once-in-a-while I see a build that uses (attuned) pieces in powers taken at low levels that will "cut out" (that is, the set chosen doesn't provide enhancement below a certain level). This can have a serious affect on a character's effectiveness in exemplared content, especially if difficulty is turned up in lower-level missions. The auto-attuned pieces (ATO, Overwhelming Force, Winter), common IOs, PVP and Very Rare sets are essentially "immune" to this effect, so you should keep this in mind when choosing to boost. I always give a pass on low-level choices of Aim/BuildUp that multi-slot (attuned) Gaussian's, because that set is a particularly tasty one to multi-slot and if the choice is to multi-slot it there is very rarely a "better" power to invest for all those pieces. Advanced Problem set: Once you get comfortable with the use of boosted pieces, and the relative trade-offs (including set bonuses) you will likely find yourself considering Hamidon-origin (HO) enhancements to enhance multiple elements of a power using a small number of slots. Unfortunately HO cannot be boosted except by combining them with similar types (including synthetics and titan pieces) and can only be boosted up to level 53. There are a small number of corner cases (IMO) where an HO (or two) is a better choice than one (or two) IO or a piece from a set. YMMV.

I will echo @Ukase, with a little bit of personal flavor: At level 50+, the Heather Townshend (Dark Astoria 1) arc is a straightforward means to accumulate random Incarnate reward drops (~10 minutes at speed) and can have the spawn size turned up to x8 (but not difficulty) to also improve chances of purple recipe drops (~30 minutes to clear each map, depending on the AT and build). As I have written elsewhere, Hamidon raids really aren't my cuppa... but I won't deny that a triple run for 120 merits and an HO drop offer a lot of value for time (once the raid actually starts). I appreciate the raid leaders who run these. I do wish that we'd mix up the approaches for variety, because these have become (IMO) dull repetitive events. Masochist perhaps, but cleaning up a triple-bloom seems a challenge worth under-taking. But I digress... I am quite fond of running the first Signature Story Arc (Who Will Die) as a speed. Characters with DPS can do this in under 7 minutes (plus a cut scene), non-DPS characters can do it in 10 minutes (either red or blue). Run weekly for 20 merits, otherwise 5 merits each run. The first time you run it is independent of the weekly counter, so you can run it back-to-back the first time for 40 merits. The maps and villain placement in this arc are friendly for speed runs.

I agree with all the folks not expecting a large influx of WoW players. There is a lot to love in CoX, and the HC crew are being good stewards, but folks that weren't attracted to CoX (or never came to it) aren't going to suddenly want to join en masse, especially given more modern alternate choices.

Simple, but not exactly easy: Look at the default bonuses for a given (level 50) Hamidon enhancement. the ED penalty for that "schedule" type kicks in at 2x the value of an HO. My own "rules of thumb" for when I want MOAR of a single type of boost (e.g. recharge) are: Single slots: use an IO and Boost to 50+5 If using two slots (and a set bonus is not "worth it"), use 2xIO boosted to 50+5, as this will almost be "close enough" to 3x unboosted IO. Once I have invested more than 2 slots in a power, I am almost certainly trying to leverage either a specific Global effect from an enhancement, a %proc, or I am chasing a set bonus, so I'm not that worried about Enhancement Diversification... except of course to not to "waste" slots that could be better used in another power.