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I don't farm with my Dark/Time/Force, but I'm typically facing x8 spawns (usually with PUG, but also when I solo) and I use Umbral Torrent as my default attack. I'll open with it to bring the distant groups closer to me, and to get Moonbeam (the snipe) into Fast Snipe mode. Most of my builds end up with 2 proc-heavy attacks; ranged attack cones are usually the first one I look at to franken-slot, with increased range the "base" of the cone is reasonably wide. Since Umbral Torrent already has a decent base range, I made sure to include some Accuracy slotting in it. Accuracy bonuses from set bonus slotting (and teammates) only goes so far, and I enjoy running with PUGs in low level content with the difficulty cranked up. Other characters I have with Psychic Scream usually have that as one of the %proc attacks. On my Dark Blaster: Level 2: Umbral Torrent (A) HamiO:Centriole Exposure (37) HamiO:Nucleolus Exposure (46) Cloud Senses - Chance for Negative Energy Damage: Level 30 (48) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy): Level 50 (48) Javelin Volley - Chance of Damage(Lethal): Level 50 (46) Overwhelming Force - Damage/Chance for Knockdown/Knockback to Knockdown: Level 50 When franken-slotting with %procs, I try to keep an eye on the (set) level requirements of the enhancements so that I don't end up with an effectively 'unslotted' power when exemplaring. There are some powers where I ignore this advice (Gaussian's is too good to not include in an early choice "Build Up" power) and with some slotting options you may not have a choice. (See Positron's Blast %Energy in the above example). In your case, without diving into the details of your build (such as global accuracy and recharge) or the exact nature of the types of content you will run with it, the only general piece of advice I will offer is that if you intend to do 'farming', it is probably in your interest to try to match the range of your cone attacks where possible. Blasters don't really need to rely on %damage procs, so even if you are leveraging a 5-piece set bonus you may want to consider using the 6th slot to boost range on some of the shorter cones instead of dropping an extra %damage. YMMV of course, I recommend using unslotters to test different options in the content you typically play against.

The Very Rare, Universal Damage (Overwhelmin Force), and ATO %procs are. Procs are unique for the Winter Sets as well, but I don't know if any of them are "damage procs". Other %Procs (including PVP) can be slotted in multiple powers.

The above quote exactly describes my process, including the converter budget and the target price point. The ONLY quibble I have (and this is more about me than the method above) is that I often slot pieces/sets that the market doesn't 'appreciate'. For example, I think Thunderstrike and Mocking Beratement are very undervalued (uncommons) and the market on Basilisk's Gaze and Expedient Reinforcement (two rare sets with good 4-slot set bonuses) is either feast-or-famine.

The first 50 are for the badge(s), after that it is just to clear out stuff that other players can use for cheap. Just a fer-instance: waiting for a Hamidon raid to start is a perfect time to dump inspirations into the Auction house to clear slots. It doesn't bother me what level of profit (if any) folks may be getting off of those.

Add my voice to the chorus of players who appreciates having capes/wings and auras available to character costumes at level 1. I have some characters for which I don't need/want those, a few who have added them as the 'progressed', and a few that would have really weird looking costume choices without them. I will admit that having a character with wings that can't take a Flight power from a power pool immediately feels a little odd, but those concept characters almost always make such a power pool pick very early... certainly much earlier than level 20. Similarly it feels very odd to NOT be able to have glowing eyes (for example) until level 30, when the character may have a "glowing eye" attack power before level 10.

I almost never vendor (common/uncommon) salvage. The order of checks is usually: Check to see if I have any dropped recipes worth crafting (burns salvage from inventory and SG racks) SG empowerment buffs Check SG racks for necessary refills. I waste SG space but save time (traveling to/from base, using the AH) by keeping ~10 each spares of common/uncommon salvage in racks. Sell extras on the AH When I am doing bulk crafting, I never work with recipes that require rare salvage, so occasionally I have to clean out (via the Auction House) the "rare salvage" SG racks of specific pieces that aren't being used and have a large inventory count. Otherwise the rare pieces are used for one-off crafting of PVP/Very Rares, and certain other Rare recipes. I could be slightly more efficient with storage in my personal SG base (by relying only on the AH for salvage, or using individual character's Vault) but I don't have the headspace (or the desire to maintain a spreadsheet) to keep track of particular salvages/recipes.

From the PoV of a Spines/Bio Stalker: Leveling wasn't easy, but the stalker aspect made it fun. I absolutely agree that the combination is much more fun & effective once it has the full compliment of level 50 options (slots, enhancements). I know this is true of many ATs, but I really feel it with this character. One of the two things I disliked about this combination (that I think also applies to Scrappers) is that I initially (during leveling) felt I needed Weave (taken at 30) for Defense and Hasten (taken at 28) for Offense.. which ended up delaying DNA Siphon until lvl 38. IMHO DNA Siphon is simply too good to put off until such a high level, so I respec-ed swapping the power (level) picks of Hasten and DNA Siphon. I have no regrets: DNA Siphon can be turned into a very reliable PBAoE attack (with %procs) that also increases personal performance. Stalker-specific gripe follows, forgive me: The other thing I don't like about the combo (on Stalkers) is Spine Burst. It's fine to have on fast moving PUGs, but it strikes me as out of place on Stalkers. I'm not sure I really grok the reason why the Stalker gets a PBAoE attack at lvl 2 instead of the single-target Impale. (-Fly would be so much more useful when CoT start showing up). I can appreciate the theory of making powers with certain damage scales available at certain levels, but Spine Burst was one of those powers I wasn't happy with until I could use it to hold a Very Rare set. I still grumble on low level SF/TF when I have to use it as part of my attack chain!

Neat idea, but I'd prefer to get conversion/pooling of Hami-Os first.

Oh I absolutely don't want to dissuade anyone from making a Tanky Bots/Dark. I believe that at shutdown that was a very survivable combination; I haven't made one on Homecoming.

I have found that Robots/Traps is somewhat tanky. The 'Bots can all accept Knockback->Knockdown IOs, which contributes to their survivability in most situations. The traps will either disrupt enemies or also draw aggro. The FFG doesn't need much extra slotting to be a big contributor to pet defense.

I agree with @TheSpiritFox. I have a Thugs MM and I think I'd really have to change the concept to make it a viable Tankermind. I just don't think the Thugs behave well enough to be trusted! However, if you want to stick with it... I wouldn't pass up Tough and Weave. Even with Scorpion Shield you will need more slots to add Global IO pieces (as well as set bonuses). The Endurance issues you encounter are real for MMs. Look for +MaxEnd bonuses (sets, accolades) as well as Endurance discounts from set bonuses. If you want to Tankermind, you need to be able to grab aggro... My observation is that rapid attacks will drain your Endurance faster than anything else. My Tankermind (Robotics) didn't even pick attacks until level 30. My Thugs MM attacks only come from an Epic pool. I should be explicit that I went Bots/Traps for a Tankermind since I had lots of ways to grab aggro before personal attacks, and I could (eventually) leverage the attacks into being AoE knockdowns/debuffs to support the ranged-only Robots. With Thugs/Fire, I generally do keep the Thugs on defensive and I try to draw attention with proc-bomb attacks... but because the Thugs have a mix of close/range, they will very rarely stay near me, so I have a harder time balancing offense (from them) and defense (for myself) with them.

FWIW my SJ/WP scrapper had all the power picks I really wanted by level 35. I didn't need/want much else for the concept, so for the next power choices, I went with lvl 38 Tough (2xUnbreakable Guard) <- End discount bonus, plus a mule lvl 41 Shadow Meld (LotG, IO Recharge) <- Mule lvl 44 Weave (6xReactive Defenses) <- Nice bonuses, plus a mule lvl 47 Assault (IO End Reduction) lvl 49 Vengence (LotG) <- Mule I'll toggle Tough and Weave for harder content, and use Shadow Meld only occasionally (see posts above). I forget I even have Vengence, but if I'm in a high-level PUG I'll try to have it ready. Assault is one of those things I will try to toggle for PUGs. I did have to take a fighting pool attack earlier in the build, but I had a gap choice at level 30. I do wish that it was possible to take Cross Punch after only one prior Fighting pool pick. It seems weird to me that a Cross Punch is allowed after taking one attack then one toggle. I have a different Scrapper where I'd rather delay (or opt out of Tough) to get Cross Punch earlier.

I have a vague recollection that (on Live) the argument against allowing the change of the 'stabby' colors was to keep the violence as 'cartoony' as possible.

There is no guarantee that any particular Talos Island mission door on Citadel's TF will spawn close to the Dark Astoria gate, but when it does it is usually after the team has exhausted their Team Teleporter. I will often pop there after the "Defeat Council in Independence Port" mission.

Dark Astoria is available to sub-50s so we can use the Dark Astoria Base portal to get to one corner of Talos Island on Citadel TFs. To have to run all the way across Talos Island would be self-gimping.

I still don't ask permission before porting Dyned-up Supa Trolls into stores.

Please try to keep the Incarnate discussion out of this threads "balance" discussions, because there is no reason to seriously consider changing Homegame balance as long as Incarnates are part of the discussion. I may be on a different side of this particular discussion, but I want to point out that you are arguing into a dead end when discussing level 50(+) builds and game (im)balance.

The NPCs (e.g. Council Marksmen) that tower above tall/monstrous characters has always bothered me, so often I will also make my characters taller. Or, I just adopt Ninja Run so that my characters are always crouched. Alternately, I will make "kids" or "teen" heroes, and carry the illusion that they aren't done growing. The height bothers me far less than the typical waists of female characters. There isn't enough room in there for any inspirations!

Heh, it was my Vet Level ?? Dominator that helped out the new player who needed help unlocking his Alpha slot.

/callback You misspelled 'minions'.

I have yet to build a no-heal Scrapper w/ Unrelenting (Presence Pool), but I have done it with a SR Stalker (and Fortunata). Unrelenting is a pretty decent power (it also provides a +DMG and +Recharge boost) but it is has an inherently long recharge time... IIRC my Stalker build with it has it available roughly every 2.5 minutes. Typically for a melee type, I will take the Presence pool powers in this order: Provoke (I like the chance hitting multiple targets with it, and I like the Mocking Beratement set bonuses) Intimidate <- Unfortunately as a single-target Fear (with bad Enhancement choices), this is pretty much a waste of a power Unrelenting <- I try to get this between level 20 and 30, and 5-slot it with Preventive Medicine. Pacify can very rarely be useful (1-on-1 with VERY HARD targets), but in my experience that is only in solo content. It is a no-brainer to not waste slots on it. Intimidate can almost serve the same purpose (to get a breather), but the trade off is that it can stack with teammates' Fears but has to overcome enemy Mez resistance. I know that this is not a particularly well-loved set (It would be SO MUCH BETTER is either Invoke Panic or Unrelenting could be the second power pick) but it is something that I'll consider for a variety of builds.

I'll file this into the category of "But Why?" I'd like to have a similar "Hazard Zone" connecting Cap Au Diable and Port Oakes. It would be Red Side, so it would be doubly ignored, but it always bothered me that it wasn't possible to travel between those zones without Ferries, Helicopters, whatever.

I feel like I avoided this part: The pieces that go into Defense/Resistance sets aren't procs, they are globals. A Global piece will generally work down to the lowest level that the piece it will work at. For a PVP or attuned piece, if the set can (typically) be slotted at level 10, it will work down to level 7 (I'm nearly certain of this, but I haven't actually tested). You also don't need to have the power available to get the bonus. For Resistance, I prioritize slotting: Gladiator's Armor +3% Defense (This is a PVP, but can be attuned) Steadfast Protection +3% Defense (and some Resistance) <- This is a low level range piece (10-30), so it can be slotted early, but it may as well be attuned Unbreakable Guard +7.5% Health <- More HP is always useful, and 2-pieces of this set give an Endurance Discount, 4-pieces add resistance to NRG/Neg/S/L. Depending on the AT and Primary/Secondary, I will consider adding the Psi/Mez Resists. I always take a travel power, so if I need Knockback protection I usually use Blessing of the Zephyr in the travel power instead of Steadfast Protection. Okay, so now to answer: "Why don't I toggle Tough?" Now that you know that for a character with few Resistance powers I have taken Tough and slotted it with global pieces, you should be able to see that Tough is providing S/L at only slightly above it's base (11.3% ?) resistance (with some improvement if the Steadfast Protection piece is in it)... so for a majority of fights, Tough being toggled on means that when facing enemies that do S/L damage, instead of 200 points of damage I would take 174 points... if they hit. While there ARE enemies where I want the extra S/L resistance, I generally feel that for high DPS characters the 'best resistance is a dead enemy'. Since Tough is only working against S/L, and I play against all sorts of content across levels, I only toggle it on in very specific circumstances. Bio has the option to switch to Defense Adaptation, it already has Hardened Carapace, and the Global Defense piece Reactive Defenses Scaling Damage Resistance will kick in with damage taken. EDIT: I forgot this wasn't the Bio Scrapper thread!