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I skipped the Hollows on my "every Blueside" contact; I think you need to start that before level 10. IIRC, I did not get offered Aaron Thiery as a contact (or I was given a choice but choose an alternate) so I did his arc through Ouroboros. You will know if you have all the "old school contacts" (for your level) if you complete a Safeguard mission and the police contact doesn't introduce you to anyone new. There are newer contacts that you simply walk up to to begin their arcs.

I don't think you did anything wrong; there are some contacts that will offer all the same missions as other contacts. In my recent run through this exact exercise, I got the "Rescue the Fortune Teller" from a completely different contact than the one you get if Ouroboros is used. Before leveling up, do a Safeguard mission as well. If you collect the exploration badges at every 5 levels it will save you some effort later. At low levels you only have to do 3 radio missions to get a Safeguard.

Level shifts: I will (almost) always run normal content at +1 after unlocking+slotting Alpha (and typically keep this for solo low level content); I (almost) never run solo at +4; I simply don't find the rewards to be worth it.... although if I am running Incarnate content (which I rarely do) I do turn up the difficulty to match Incarnate shifts, otherwise some content would be too boring, Spawn size: I'm almost always slotting sets as I level, so usually by level 40 I will turn up the spawn size to x3 or x4, depending on if I am getting bosses that count for badges and if I want faster XP. More than that and I find it is a bit of slog pre-incarnate. With a full kit and incarnates, I will happily run +1x8 (or +0x8) and do solo "defeat alls" to farm drops. The drop rates don't care as long as the enemies don't con gray. If playing with others: I am happy to turn up difficulty and spawn size, no matter the level content.

My stand-bye: "TODO: Write Dialogue"

I have a memory of what must have been in the first month of Live: My first character (Inv/EM Tanker) was on a Positron TF in which slowly every quit. I want to believe that the first left after an hour, but after 4 hours most everyone had had enough. In those days, I don't think you could START a TF without a minimum number of players... so I logged off for the night, and the next day I decided to try to finish it by my lonesome. And I did! It wasn't pleasant. Fast forward to 3+ years of Homecoming: On a lark, I will often take characters through that original arc... I'm shocked at how much easier it can be with a semi-kitted character.

Writing only for myself, and my personal feelings: I am not bothered, nor do I personally believe a line is crossed by applying the artistic tools to make a costume that looks like a well-known comic book character(*1), I definitely think that copying the names (even tangentially) is firmly in the realm of violation, combining the names and costumes is bad behavior. I also feel that copying costumes and powersets pushes the character over the line. I wouldn't be surprised if those get genericized when caught in public. (*1) For players that simply want to experiment with costumes, the facemaker(s) can let you have alternate body types, so with that done (AFAIK, only available in public zones) and all the extra costume slots you can be free to redesign costumes in the privacy of a SG base. I doubt anyone is digging through the many costume slots to discover that Dark/Dark Tanker "Freddy Whipperwill" has a Wonder Woman cosplay costume that he sometimes wears in his SG base. If your non-obvious infringing name gets caught in public (including standing outside of AE), don't be surprised when the hammer falls.

Another (negligble) change I'd like to see, but one that probably cannot be implemented: In COMBAT ATTRIBUTES I'd like to be able to monitor "Last ToHit ROLL", simply to be able to immediately see how cruel RNGesus is acting.

I think I'd like a small change where the CLUES from TIP MISSIONS don't vanish as soon as the EXIT button appears, that is: a player ought to have the chance to read them before the player exits the mission.

I want to add my confirmation: I started Ganymede, in his final mission I used Null the Gull to become a Rogue and completed the mission. I then started Scratch, and on his final mission turned Vigilante to complete the mission. I believe this is when I got the badge. I always entered that final Arachnos mission and defeated at least one enemy before switching, I don't know if this makes a difference. I wanted the map to be instanced before I switched. I then went to Ganymede to get the intro to DJ Zero, but I still had the Scratch arc in my mission list, so I changed to rogue to clear it out (otherwise he won't talk to a blue-sider). I then switched back to blue side (vig) but that was not necessary.

Thanks to the ice storm that has totally disrupted my ability to provide any details, I can't say much more than: This looks like a fun exercise! I wouldn't be quick to write off Infiltration. I have a character that is using it (plus a jet pack) as his only inter-zone travel power. It is slower than other options, but I like that I can slot it with a Kismet +ToHit (while leveling) in addition to Universal Travel and using it as a mule for Defense pieces. The Concealment pool also offers easy powers for LotG mules for Global Recharge that doesn't require a complete set. If you do a slow level, Infiltration (taken early) is a good place to add mules.

It's the radius of World of Confusion (8 feet?) that hasn't jived with my dominator builds. There have been generally a few different things getting in the way of my appreciating it: mobs in a spawn will get locked down such that they aren't positioned that an 8' PB radius gets all/most of them the duration is pretty short for a confuse I'm usually planning followup attacks with AoE (often cones) so the PBAoE aura works against this means of dealing damage AFAIK: it could stand to have Accuracy slotted, as well as Endurance reduction slotted... so single-slotting is probably best done with a Malaise's 50+5 piece (which seems like a weird choice, but hey if I want to make it work)... I suppose Dominators could be multi-slotting it for a potential Global Recharge, but I have to believe there are better powers to slot with better sets to get better recharge (i.e. damage sets, or holds) for better returns. I don't have an issue with squishies having (and always using!) Auras, and World of Confusion isn't the only squishy Aura that I have an issue with... my personal criticism is more like this: When I have a power pick of an aura that targets enemies, and that aura comes late in a build (now slightly less true of secondary T8s and T9s, but still true of Epic/Patrons), it had better not require a lot of slots to make "work" or it should force me to reconsider the power choices/slotting and playstyle for the build at levels before that Aura is available. I want to disclose that I am a tremendous fan of Confuses (Especially AoE, but also Single-Target with %Contagious Confusion), so the IMO mediocre World of Confusion simply doesn't measure up in my eyes.

Everyone who has ever taken World of Confusion: "What in the world was I thinking when I took this power? I must have been confused!"

PermaDom is the mechanism by which Dominators can play x8 content (solo or in groups). You need the Mezz protection, you need the control (of an entire spawns, including bosses) and you need the blue bar refill because you WILL be burning end to count the coup. It is quasi-obvious for almost every other AT (maybe not MMs, maybe not AFK farmers) that global Recharge is the mechanism for clearing large spawns as quickly as possible...but Endurance costs and Recovery will eventually catch up...in the case of Dominators the blue bar refill is the crucial element for them to keep up.

Writing only for myself: My Dominators chase PermaDom via set bonuses which require 4, 5, or 6 slots (in addition to LotG pieces), so I don't usually have many slots left-over to dedicate specifically to Epic/Patron pools... so when I leverage them I tend to look for ones with powers that are a good spot to use as Enhancement mules. Psionic Mastery happens to be a good one for that purpose.

I have found the key to solving Endurance issues on Dominators to be "permadom". It's the auto-refill of the Blue Bar that solves the problem, no amount of Recovery, Endurance Reduction, or +MaxEnd, or Global Endurance Discounts will have as big an effect. If possible, try to achieve PermDom without Hasten, as there is an endurance hit each time Hasten expires.

I'm leveling a Water Blast/Atomic Manipulation/Flame Mastery, and I will occasionally double up Bonfire (currently with a Sudden Acceleration KB->KD piece) and Whirlpool. I notice plenty of Knockdown happening, it's not 100% but in my head I associate "missed knockdown" with a missed ToHit roll and not with the %proc rate. It's not so much that I'm trying to keep critters in the Whirlpool, it's more like I have enough targets in the same area that these two powers overlap. (I do like the visual display of them combined!) I agree that Bonfire is NOT a good source of damage (inherent, or %damage), based on my experiences with it as a Dominator and Mastermind. The cast IS a reliable source of Force Feedback %+Recharge for the player, but pseudopet nature doesn't seem to lend itself to %damage (could simply be the recharge of the pet's ticks, could be a "toHit check" for the %damage, could be something else). For this Blaster, Bonfire is simply an initial choice on the path to Fire Shield and Rise of the Phoenix... I hadn't planned on dedicating any extra slots to Bonfire, but I am liking the level of soft control (from the KD) so I'm going to dedicate a second slot to it to have it available more frequently, despite the relatively long ArcanaTime.

I like seeing your build, as I was considering using one of the alternate builds as a dedicated Resist/Defense Cap/Healing option for the character. Obviously the Fighting pool was going to have to be worked into this second build, similar to what you have done. I was also considering Energy Mastery as the Epic choice, for reasons similar to yours. What ultimately stopped me was I felt like I was giving up "too much" in terms of what I had originally designed my character to do: make LOTS of (AoE) attacks across all level ranges (part of the reason why I didn't take an Epic or Patron pool) and move quickly between enemy spawns. I ended up being so "not concerned" about resists that I pulled out singleton global enhancements. I'm definitely not making any judgement calls on either approach (offense v. defense) as players we get to choose what sort of content we play and on the sort of playstyles we'll use. As another aside: If build 1 is what I posted, and build 2 is more like the direction you are going in, I was considering build 3 to be more of a team-focused effort by using different power choices (likely going deep into the Leadership pool). I have a deep affection for Unrelenting (Presence pool), and think it could be very beneficial to a sack of HP character with no self-heal (like a Shield Tanker) but I can't justify taking two other powers from that pool on a Tanker. Intimidate is fun, but Provoke (with its ToHit roll) and Placate are waste picks for a Tanker. The other piece I don't see (could be my eyes) in your build is the Reactive Defenses: Scaling Damage Resistance. I never mind taking damage on my characters, so I always try to include it. With characters that have large amounts of Health, I do rather like it. In your build, it would be most noticeable against large spawns of specific enemies (Nemesis? Rularuu?) but otherwise I can see why you might skip it.

You went in a very different direction(*1) than I did for the same choice of primary/secondary, so there isn't much I can directly comment on. I will note that I think you will get better Regeneration results in Health by slotting 2-pieces of Numina's Convalescence (Heal, +Regen/+Recovery) If you really want the 3-piece bonus from Preventive Maintenance, move the Absorb %proc into True Grit. I also think that the Might of the Tanker +Res ATO piece is better suited in one of the AoE attacks (I have it in Pendulum, I don't use any of the other pieces). I don't use Swoop, but maybe consider swapping the sets used in Swoop and Chop? I can sort of see what you are going for with Recharge. I also did not %proc out Cleave (that is where I have the Armageddon set). (*1) I went for (solo) positional defenses in the mid 30s, and only targeted resists in the 30%-50% range (without considering the ATO) , but went for as much AoE. My build won't do what you are looking for (defensively), but I'll include it so you can see my choices of attacks and how I slotted them.

Revisiting this (old) post: I can confirm that Colleen Nelson awarded the Shrouded badge via the "Destroy the Rikti Virus" mission to my level 39 character. As an aside: I was rather peeved at my "friend and colleague" Steven Sheridan running out of missions for me without sending me to the map in question.

It is possible to slot level 50 PVP pieces before level 50, of course....subject to the same rules for slotting higher level pieces.

I'm looking for some new cell phone sounds, and I rather like the "Success!" sound when combining enhancements (or attuning). Does anyone know the name of that sound (and it's location in the pigg file, if applicable). I also kinda like the "Failure" noise too.

I typically (eventually) attune a LOT of PVPs, as long as they are below 50. That way I can (later) slot them into new characters at level 10.

I would never buy a crafted enhancement with the intent of attuning it, but I have attuned a LOT of enhancements that I've simply crafted (or converted into). At this point in the (Homecoming) game's life-cycle I am catalyst-rich (and merit-rich, for that matter) so I am completely unconcerned about raw Influence. I play all levels of content so attuned (for set bonuses) is the way for me. There are a small number of times when I will specifically buy level 50 versions of enhancements with the intent to boost them to 50+5. I don't want a set bonus (i.e., the piece is a one-off not giving me a set bonus anyway) The power can take enhancement set pieces that boost effects but not IOs (or HOs), like Adjusted Targeting: Recharge in Link Minds (or Mind Link) which cannot have recharge time boosted by IOs or HOs It's a piece that isn't available in an HO/D-Sync variety (such as Accuracy/Endurance Reduction) It's a piece I'm too cheap to get the equivalent HO/D-Sync. IIRC in almost all cases, the boosts from a 50+5 piece is just under the values offered by a level 50 HO. A classic example for me is choosing to use singleton Universal travel pieces at 50+5 in place of Microfilaments or Accelerations, or a Shield Wall Defense/Endurace Reduction in pure Defense powers in place of a Cytoskeleton

I want to chime in with a sincere THANK YOU for putting the guide together for blue siders. The only issue I have with the guide is that as written, it may not be immediately obvious to an uninformed that the Croatoa arc has to be started before moving on to level 30. It is there in the text, but it seems weird to come after the "before you move on" bit for level 25-29 content. I was playing at launch day, and I have (for the past several weeks) been playing a blue-side character through as much of the content as I can. This has meant TURNING OFF XP and some amount of grinding. That character is currently level 37, here are my thoughts while they are somewhat fresh: I started the character with the typical gift of Influence, in order to buy P2W travel, utility, and temporary attack powers. I did invest in (cheap) amplifiers at low levels but I don't think they were needed. Much of the game has grindy travel between zones, so P2W helps. I also picked up the Ouroboros portal ASAP for the same reason. Full disclosure: I skipped the Hollows arc. There is nothing wrong with that arc, its just that it is essentially designed to let you skip those low-level grindy missions. I have used Oroborous to work on it when I feel like taking a break. I think I've done all the "newer" zones/contacts at appropriate level (including Faultline, Striga, Croatoa, First Ward, Night Ward). I have mostly skipped the PVP zones, although they are trivially repeatable at higher levels so I'm not sweating them. I did have to use Ouroboros to get a couple of Atlas Park missions that I wasn't offered. I also didn't get around to joining a Death from Below until I was already level 20, and I haven't seen a Drowning in Blood offered! I made one peculiar choice: I took Infiltration as my "travel power" (because Kismet +ToHit), which meant that as soon as I got Agent G's Arachnos Disguise I spent an hour traveling to all the blue side zones I could enter (except the Abandoned Sewer Network, curse you Rikti Drones!) to collect all of the exploration badges and history plaques. This has saved me later effort and allowed me to leverage Long Range Teleport as needed. Infiltration also allowed me to "stealth" many missions that would have otherwise forced me to "defeat most" which would have sped up XP. Turning off XP has another peculiar effect that I am sure doesn't apply to most players: I found myself collecting enough recipes and salvage (and vendor-able items) that this character has been able to craft the Invention badges as he goes along. This is particularly important for the 25-30 inventions, as those badges increase salvage storage capacity. The level range 20-30 has a LOT of content, so XP was off for most of it. Crafting and using the Auction House allowed this character to make back every drop of Influence invested in him (and then some) per typical Auction House strategies by level 30. I should not for "badgers": Taking a "defeat all" approach as a solo player will naturally earn many of the defeat badges (YMMV on bosses). I did turn up the team size to get the Croatoan Ghosts badge withing that arc of course. I have been sure to do a single round of radio missions, to collect the exploration badges in the Safeguard missions. again, Stealthing these makes this go really fast without having to earn too much XP. I've also been doing Tip missions (both hero and vigilante), as I find them to be among the better written missions in the game, and usually I blow past the levels 20-29, 30-39 to get all the different perspectives of the various "soft arcs" in them. I was surprised how much of the OG content I enjoyed in the level ranges 20-40. The "feel" of this content is much different than when revisiting (via Ouroboros) the missions as a level 50+. I'd also forgotten that many of the non-badge, non-story arc missions from contacts drop clues about the greater Lore. Thanks again for the guide, and good luck to all who try the OG "slow path".