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I'm not the OP (and I'm ignoring the Endurance question for this specific reply) but I am a great fan of 6-slotting 'Build Up' powers with 6xGaussian's set... especially on high-(global) recharge builds. The set bonuses are very good for scrappy/blappy play, and the Build Up can be ready every 21-30 seconds with a nearly-guaranteed extra Build Up (from the proc) as well. One of the set bonuses is an extra (2.5%?) Recovery IIRC. I would look very hard at slotting three recharge reduction IOs. I think two (boosted 50+5) IOs are as practical a slotting as possible for recharge, for most (<6-minute-recharge) powers.

This weekend I had a (correctly labeled) 'Defeat All Longbow' mission... but what a PITA. It was Regent Korol's 'Defeat All Longbow' (and stop Reeves from escaping).... I should have let him escape. The map contained the very tall, multi-level 'waste processing' Arachnos base room... filled with Longbow Spec-Ops. I spent an hour mopping up that map (at +0/x1!) because of their cloaking tech and tendency to fall off the ledges and ramps. The mission also includes new Longbow spawns... very frustrating.

I'll just add this to the above: Once your toon has Incarnate abilities slotted, it is easy to run 45-50+ content at x8, which will improve your chance at those high-end recipe drops (while also netting you XP, Inf, etc.) Kudos to @Carnifaxand @Turric for pointing out something that may not be obvious to folks who 'casually' review builds posted in the forum: 'Expensive' IO sets are not always the best choice for builds. The biggest advantage of them IMO is that ATO, Purple and PVP IOs scale with level... but in terms of set bonuses (some repeating of Turric's post): Winter IOs: Generally for Fire/Cold/Slow resists (ad Defense), with an emphasis on Positional Defenses Very Rare (Purple) IOs: Generally for Global Accuracy and Global Recharge. These sets also tend to NOT have much emphasis on Accuracy as Damage. ATOs are a mixed bag, Global Recharge is a common thing to 'chase', usually with many pieces. PVP: A really mixed bag in terms of set bonuses (in PvE); I think it is safe to say that most post-50 'power builds' don't leverage many set bonuses (procs will be favored) There are quite a few 'bargain-priced' damage sets that offer strong Defense numbers, global Recharge bonuses, Endurance assistance. I have a couple of uncommon sets that I usually prefer over the rare sets: Mocking Beratement over Perfect Zinger, Undermined Defenses over Touch of Lady Grey, Thunderstrike over just about anything. Running level 50 content you should be able to afford entire (attuned) sets of these by simply selling common IO recipe drops to a vendor (~100 kINF each at level 50). On Marketeering: I can understand how folks might find spending time in the auction House boring... but what are you doing with your (uncommon) recipe and salvage drops? Invest some INF to craft and convert the uncommon recipes and you can get a much better return than just selling them to a vendor. Rare recipes can make a profit as well, but the salvage investment cost is much higher.

I'm not familiar with Volcanic Gasses, but I have only found a few limited instances where slotting proc(s) into holds was a better choice than just trying to improve Global +Recharge via set bonuses.

I have separate tabs exclusively for "Help" and "General". "Combat" has been modified to only look at (non-healing) attack rolls. I'll modify this when I am studying damage effects. I.e. "Who is hitting me for what?!" Private, GM and SG Messages appear in every other tab: "LFG" is LFG + Zone events + Broadcast "Personal" is used in missions. It has the the cut-scene, NPC dialog as well rewards and the team chat. I like having a 'log of the world'. If warranted, I usually have another tab for "Pets", if I want to see exclusively what is going on with the pets. AH messages are unevenly applied. Usually those are in "LFG".

I deeply appreciate being on the F'N D### axis.

I will typically only run my Primary/Secondary toggles 'all the time'. Often it is in these where the status protection is coming from, as well as some unique effects modulo the AT and the set. Tough is almost always the last toggle I activate. If Endurance isn't an issue and if I am specifically facing S/L damage I will have it on. I happen to think that S/L resistance is over-emphasized in a lot of builds. Capping S/L resists may mean something in farms or specific content, but the game isn't as focused on soaking S/L damage as you might think by reviewing certain builds. I rarely run with Combat Jumping on, as I weirdly like to have Ninja Run on all the time. I try to have Immobilization resists without relying on Combat Jumping. I will keep Maneuvers and Weave on, as those are contributing to my defenses. Other Leadership toggles depend on teammates and/or content. Many toggle powers act as mules for my builds, whether they are run or not. Inspirations (Purples first, then Greens, then Oranges) are perfectly fine choices to make over running toggles.

I want to congratulate @Nanolathe for doing a good job of summarize the 'feels' around the Armor T9s. I can only write for myself, but here I go: The only times I've taken a T9 from an armor is to use it as a IO mule. I suspect someone is muttering"But power sets aren't balanced around IOs!"... I don't care. That is the only value I have ever gotten from them. At this point in the games lifecycle I don't understand the appeal of trying to re-jigger a T9 power as if we were going back to "Issue 0". We have IOs, we have teammates, and we have Incarnates. IMO the T9s should contribute to making the player more self-sustaining. Improving the 'Panic Mode' utility of the T9 powers has no appeal to me. The Pool powers already include powers that can be used as 'Panic buttons' but with no downside (i.e. crash) other than the requirement to pick other other powers from the pool. I'm thinking Unrelenting, Rune of Protection and Epic/Patron powers such as Shadow Meld, Physical Perfection (not really a panic button, but I hope the point comes across), et al. T9s should not be less appealing than a second or third pick from a power pool.

Ah, I see the logic now. Thanks folks.

I only add the Perfect Zinger %Psi to the longer recharging (or AoE) attacks. On faster cycling attacks, there are probably better uses for the slot (even if it goes to another power). Your idea isn't a bad one to try to get some more damage and I am not familiar with Katana so check your spreadsheets! I usually end up 6-Slotting Taunt with either Mocking Beratement or Perfect Zinger depending on what I am chasing (certain Defenses or more Global +Recharge). I have also used a slight frakenslotting of 5xMocking Beratement and the %Psi proc for those times when the extra Global +Recharge isn't really going to matter and I want a 'ranged' attack. YMMV but for most of my builds the bonuses from the common Mocking Beratement set are better than the rare Perfect Zinger. +Endurance, +Defenses and +Recharge FTW.

Large spawns of Soldiers of Rularuu or Animus Arcana are most frustrating for most of my solo builds. Somehow I feel that a significant fraction of the "I want the game to be harder" players aren't challenging themselves against these enemies at +4/x8. The most annoying 'classical' content for me at higher levels are the Nemesis Snipers. Their great Perception and Toxic damage can mess with the flow of an otherwise smooth mission run. They also are in the category of 'I'm not moving, you're moving" mob, so you pretty much have to get to them. Sappers are only annoying for toons that don't build for Defense. By the time they start appearing in missions many (post IO set) builds can have have this covered... or they can spam holds... or can spam nukes. My experience has been that while Sappers have the miraculous ability to spawn behind columns and around corners, there aren't that many of them which appear in any given Malta spawn, unlike the Gunslingers. I find the Gunslingers more annoying because they also tend to stay wherever they spawned and each will eventually hit you with their special ammo.

😛 ffff... ...always forgetting those who know hexadecimal.

Well excuse me for mistaking @Omega-202for the OP... I actually didn't consider that a different poster would enter the thread to criticize my (original) very limited number of comments without actually having anything to say on their own about the original build, except that they approve of the slotting of Longfang (and strongly disapprove of my slight disapproval)!

S'all cool man. I didn't build my crab like yours (none of the Crabbermind, Mace-Bane or Gun-Bane builds are like yours), and I specifically didn't suggest different power choices.... I simply made some slotting suggestions on the defensive side. If you post the code for your build we can do actual tweaking. I use the term 'proc-sloppy' to describe a power that has procs but isn't firing them off 'every time'. It isn't meant to be insulting, it is just a short-hand descriptor. Using MIDS, I replaced the slotting I used (6xSuperior Dominion of Arachnos) with your slotting for Longfang an the improvement (ain your favor) is only on the order of 10 more points of damage 306 v 296)...if the proc fires. I'm not factoring the single-target -Res, as I have -Res in the AoE Suppression. In contrast, I compared your slotting of the (Superior) Dominion of Arachnos in Venom Grenade with my slotting of 5xRagnarok(counting no boosts, including the %Knockdown) + a Positron %Energy. Your build is roughly 178 and my build is roughly 175 (not counting the proc) to all targets. I think my proc-slotting is sloppy (because my recharge time on Venom grenade is almost 90% boosted) but a better choice because I would rather more-reliably AoE a %damage proc (or a -Res) than a -Dmg proc on a large group. I have mixed opinions about the %Terrorize portion of the ATO. @Gulbasaurswears by it in Fortunata builds (in AoE powers) but on my Crabbermind it has little noticeable effect in-game; likewise on my no-pets Crab build. As I noted above, I have the soft-control of Knockdown in Venom Grenade instead. I see you have something similar in Frag Grenade, it is the same concept. VEAT can be built in many different ways, but when you post a build asking for advice you might get some.

Crabs can be varied, but only one part jumps out to me: Level 2: Health (A) Miracle - +Recovery (3) Numina's Convalesence - +Regeneration/+Recovery (3) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Endurance Level 4: Super Jump (A) Jumping IO (50) Jumping IO Level 26: Fortification (A) Aegis - Resistance (33) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance (34) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3% (34) Steadfast Protection - Knockback Protection I won't criticize anyone's choice of travel power (or slotting), but I would juggle things in these three powers: 1) Drop the slot from Health (3) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Endurance, move it into Super Jump. My experience is that extra slots in Health aren't usually getting much in terms of Regeneration or set bonuses. If you put the +Max HP piece here, that frees up the slotting in Tough 2) Change the Sumper Jump set to Blessing of the Zephyr This will include 4 points of Knockback protection The three-set bonuses include more defenses (largest gains in positional defenses) The non-uniques can be boosted to 50+5 each. 3) Convert the four slots in Fortification to Unbreakable Guard. You will get an Endurance Discount and more Defense. (You will have to find a home for the Steadfast Protection Global +Def, but I think you can do it, see Tough or Longfang for Example) I chose to 6-slot TT:Maneuvers with the Reactive Defense Set for more Endurance reductions and an 8.75 Golabl +recharge. If you are just chasing Global +Recharge, I think the alterations I suggested above will allow you to move a LotG Global to another power. I think you may be a little 'proc-sloppy' on Longfang (no insult intended, this is how I describe many of my own builds). It already has a base 8-second Recharge, so it isn't the friendliest proc-power. I have Dominion of Arachnos slotted in Longfang. Here's an odd preference of mine: I slot Rest with an Interrupt IO, not Recharge.

On my /Kin controller, I had multiple Travel power IOs slotted (IIRC, only the global Blessing of the Zephyr pieces are unique; the others can be boosted to 50+5 just like PVP pieces) Generally, all my single-target holds will start with a plan for 4xBasilisk's Gaze for the Global +Recharge. I am typically reluctant to try to turn a single-target hold into a 'proc monster'. I usually need slots elsewhere and I am happy enough with those set bonuses from 4-slots. Confuse: Coercive Persuasion (Very Rare) offers good set bonuses across the board. My experience is that the %Contagious Confusion proc is generally wasted in AoE confuses (although FWIW it does improve the 'World of Confusion', as embarassed as I am to admit I know this). My preference would be to put this set in a single-target Confuse because of the proc. Stuns: I've generally been happy with 5-slotting Stupefy for Global +Recharge. My experience has been that it is 'too easy' to get five other 10% Global +Recharge from other powers. Stuns aren't everybody's bag, I know.

I want to spring off of a few posts, on the topic of 'playing a stalker more like a scrapper'... not so much because of solo v. team play, more to 'keep moving' in solo play. I have a low-30s Stalker right now, with a relatively smooth attack chain. I have both of the ATO procs slotted, and the Build Up has a decent recharge without the ATO proc. The %Hide proc is in the Assassin's Strike. Opening an attack on a (even level, or +1) spawn with the Assassin's Strike feels like a net loss of DPS... because the 'slow' strike is taking a while (and when it misses, I miss the lost time more than the damage) I'm starting to think that putting the %Hide into a harder-hitting power (or a melee AoE) would be a better place for it... because presumably if the %Hide procs, I can followup with an Assassin's Strike. Most of my spawn combats are not from Hidden anyway... so I'm a hair's breadth from just opening with any other attack than the Strike. Am I being wrongly seduced away from slow-but-sweet Assassin's Strike damage for the lure of being able to make a faster initial attack? Does the Hidden status (via the %Hide proc) yield the same damage from the 'fast' Assassin's Strike?

It is a nice idea, especially if Steve Harvey is the warning, but for some items (think salvage prices) the prices fluctuate by powers of 10^3.

My bots trying to take down the last couple rando mobs:

/agree. My main Fortunata takes a different approach than @Gulbasaur, but the advice is the same. I sacrifice single-target damage for AoE and control, so I can end up in longer fights with fewer opponents. My AoE attack chain is roughly: Psychic Wail -> Ball Lightning (-Res) -> Psychic Scream -> Static Discharge - the faster Single-target attacks are filling in the gaps: Dominate, Subdue, Telekinetic Burst, Mu Lightning. My 'Control Chain' is used to either relieve pressure or just because I want the fight to go faster: - Aura of Confusion (a PBAoE that turns enemies against each other) - Invoke Panic (A PBAoE fear from the Presence pool) - Provoke (A targeted AoE from the Presence pool, used just to try to speed up fights) - Confuse (A single-target slotted with Contagious Confusion, only used rarely most days... good for Magnitude confuse on bosses after the PBAoE) - Intimidate (single-target necessary pick from the Presence pool. It occasionally gets used in very low-level content) Notice no Total Domination. With all this to choose from, my build doesn't include Hasten. One of the things I like about Fortunatas is that because of the ease of hitting capped (Positional) defenses from just the secondary, and the ability to construct solid attack chains from just the primary, there is a LOT of design space to play with in Power pools. I won't try to sell anyone on the Presence pool, except to say that Invoke Panic and Unrelenting are great on Defense-capped builds. I will note that my positional defenses are 51.6% Melee, 47.9% Ranged, 41.7% AoE (without Mind Link, without Winter IOs, without the Fighting pool)... the control and healing contributes to my toon's survival. This toon also went into the Mu Mastery pool (for more AoE and a different type of Damage) , but the damage from those attacks is quite soft. I wouldn't recommend those attacks over Spin or Lunge for raw damage. Here is some advice for your specific build: Flight: Slot a Winter's Gift Slow Resistance in there (or a BoZephyr knockback reduction) just because. Aim: If you are including this in your build, I encourage you to try to find a way to 6-slot it with the Gaussian's ToHit buff set. Steal slots from wherever you can... with your recharge it should be available quite frequently (< 30seconds) and it will greatly increase your damage.

Interesting, my memory is different. I certainly remember all the PVP griping about Stun (not so much the power Stun, but players getting Stunned)... if there is one thing players hate, it is being 'controlled'. While I never really went for PvP, staggering players were a nice change of pace from the original stunned enemy behavior; frequently a stunned enemy would stagger-dash away at Mach 2... not great for street fighting. I kept Stun on me /EM Tank for a good long time (for sentimental reasons), but as a single-target attack it is such a niche power that even I respec-ed out of it. I don't mind the secondary Stun effect of Energy Melee at all... it's all the flavor I want. In contrast, I find Street Justice's extra effects are unnecessarily complicated. In terms of re-imagining the Energy Melee set (as opposed to simply adjusting animations and 'damage per animation') I find Stun to be the outlier. My preference is to not replace it with any sort of AoE (assuming EM becomes the premier single-target melee set), but otherwise I'm open to straightforward suggestions. My guess is that many other folks are also skipping Stun, so another ST-attack is probably not warranted. An aura seems like an odd choice, which is why I suggested something else like an Endurance discount or recovery mechanism.

This is correct based on my observations: I've started getting Purple drops at 47 (you can craft them, you just can't slot them), and PVP recipes come at very low levels... I assume they drop over their entire range, but l'm pretty sure the lowest one I had was at level 11.