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I don't like the exploit myself (and don't bother with it)... yet I think there is likely a conjunction of different possible reasons why it hasn't been addressed, including: It may not be straightforward to directly stop the changeling exploit without mucking something else up about the Kheldians. There is probably not consensus on how to improve performance of the Kheldians in the absence of the exploit. I can't speak to #1, but even without using the exploit I often get glitchy results when trying to change forms! As for #2, I think that 'performance' is somewhat subjective. Personally, I find the Nova form to be great up until about level 16, and not long after it becomes a drag. The Dwarf form is a solid tanker, but IMO miserable in terms of clear times. Pure human forms have their own issues, presumably 'for balance'. <- I don't think any of this is news, but it is how I feel about the Kheldians. I understand the suggestions to make the 'human forms' more resilient and/or do more damage... but those suggestion (my opinion) seem to go against the idea that tri-forms are the core identity of the HEATs. Personally, my suggestion to 'improve Kheldians' would lean towards better (i.e. more complicated) scaling of the damage powers in the (especially) Nova and Dwarf forms. The Nova attacks are essentially low-tier attacks that never really get any better (even with slots) than equivalent low-tier Blaster attacks, but the Nova's never get anything else (unlike Blasters). The Dwarfs (available at level 20) are a little better, but their melee attacks are very much low-tier Tanker attacks, they never get the equivalent of a T6+ melee attack (without exploiting changeling). I'm not suggesting new attacks get added to the Nova/Dwarf forms, more that the attacks could maybe be given different (scaling higher) base damage values at higher levels (of the character) for those forms, in such a way that exemplaring down gets the 'correct scale'. They should maybe not be as powerful as the higher-tier human-form attacks, but there ought to be a reason to NOT default to changeling exploits to clear and survive enemies.

I suggest learning how to blast without relying on the epic pool powers to keep you alive. /s Less sarcasticly: the epics/patron pools aren't uniform by design. The dev team isn't keeping a defense or resistance toggle out of player's build until level 41, the game offers pools with different power choices in them, available at different levels, that scale with the level of availability. The utility of that scaling will be different for different players, I don't know why anyone would insist on making all the sets the same.

My comments are not about "totally overpowering". My personal opinion is that a Blaster shouldn't need an epic toggle, yet if they somehow do, there is no content between levels 30 and 36 that require one. Player's (edit) not should ask for 'pure buffs' without proposing a rebalance. The need to take a pre-req choice, and an availability at a later level are part of the factors that make Frozen Armor better (IMO) than other 'toggles' that don't require those things (or a Patron unlock).

The non-patron Epic Pools don't all get a def/res toggle at level 35, nor do the available toggles all take the same sets. (I'll ignore the actual effects of the toggle, except in one case). Arsenal's Body Armor, level 35 Auto power Resistance sets only Dark's Murky Cloud, level 35 toggle power Resistance sets only Electric's Charged Armor, level 38 toggle power, Resistance sets only Fire's Fire Shield, level 38 toggle power, Resistance sets only Force Mastery's Temp Invulnerability, level 38 toggle Resistance sets only (PFF is a level 35 defensive toggle, but it doesn't allow players to make attacks) Ice's Frozen Armor, level 41 toggle that allows both Resistance and Defense sets. At level 41... Frozen Armor looks like an outlier, but it provides better options than the other Epics, and IMO even Scorpion Shield's (level 35) options. An enhanceable 10% S/L defense is excellent! The only similar options for Blasters come from long-recharge pool powers that require even more pre-requisites (e.g. Unleash Potential) If you want to propose shuffling the order of the power picks, there does need to be an accompanying proposal as to how to rebalance the set. Based on the non-Patron sets, it would be far more likely that the "toggle" would end up at level 38 across-the-board, which would still require a pre-requisite power pick. The toggle powers currently available only above level 38 would have to sacrifice some things.

Re: Epic/Patron pools: I'm perfectly ok with the variety of powers in those pools, including what each provides, what level they appear at, and which enhancement sets can be slotted in each. I occasionally get the same feels as the OP, but it is almost never about "looks", or even wanting to toggle an armor ASAP (at level 35)... I'm almost always considering those Epic/Patron powers as a place to slot an enhancement set. Read this as: almost entirely a min-max decision on my part, motivated by my personal desire to have "essentially complete" characters before level 35 using powers from the primary, secondary and non-Epic pools. Specific to Blaster's Ice Mastery... I rather like the variety, progression, and slotting options for it as a set for Blasters. I certainly wouldn't consider either Flash Freeze or Snow Storm to be "wasted picks" for an Ice/Ice/Ice thematic Blaster. If I didn't like either of those powers for thematic reasons, I think I'd also dislike Hoarfrost and Hibernate too... which would probably just drive this guy (points to self) to another Epic/Patron set to get an "armor" toggle.

As noted, the target cap is 10 (enemies). It is typical that my Invuln Tank has more enemies close by than allies. While my Tankers will run Maneuvers, they rarely also have Tactics. It isn't so much that I mind running ally buffs on a Tanker, it is more that the builds get too tight for it.

I think that Spirit Tree (and Triage Beacon) are vestigial powers from a completely different era of the game, in which: Leveling was slow (including different debt profiles) Fitness pool was not inherent There were fewer pool choices with more utility at the levels of Spirit Tree and Triage Beacon, especially (but not limited to) travel powers at level 4. Notice I didn't have to initially list all the other reasons I prefer to not take such powers: Inspirations can be used on-demand Greater accessibility to enhancement set bonuses/globals (regeneration, recovery, but also Defense and Healing/Absorb) 'fast-moving' through maps I agree that there can be content where such a power offers some demonstrable utility; but generally I find them to be inferior power picks compared to other options.

I agree about the pillars, although I think name and costume are typically more egregious. Some folks write-up a bio, some don't. This is not to say that I haven't seen a character with an obvious costume and name from an existing property that also had a bio that could have come from a comic-book wiki. I have a couple of characters that I created after inspiration from another IP (or a remix of more-than-one). Names are right out, and using obvious non-clever names isn't really my thing. If the costume isn't close... pretty much no one should care. If the costume is close, and the name I choose echoes (even slightly) I'll write a bio that makes it clear (at least in my head) that this character is its own thing. When inspired by another IP... I tend to gravitate towards slightly more offbeat choices than "four-color comic books", and for me the challenge is more about finding an AT/power-set combination that can channel the feels more than trying to copy a costume and name.

I smell what you are cooking with the Invulnerability Tank, I have one that performs really well across all content (including boosted Shadow Shard). There may be a case to be made for Super Reflexes. I haven't taken SR Tankers through as much (in terms of variety of) content, but I found them to be more boring than Invuln, at least once I had a handle on how much I could rely on Scaling Damage Resistance and when a burning of the green bar should be troubling and when it was just business as usual. That being said, I do have a few bones to pick with the slotting choices on the Invulnerability primary: I feel like the suggested slotting of Invincibility and Tough Hide is inferior to something like: Level 18: Invincibility (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed (*) Shield Wall - Defense: Level 50+5 (*) Shield Wall - +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All) (*) HamiO:Cytoskeleton Exposure (Endurance/ ToHit/Defense) Level 22: Tough Hide (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed (*) Luck of the Gambler - Defense (*) Kismet - Accuracy +6% Obviously I'm shuffling Scaling Damage Resistance to somewhere else (in place of a LotG), but the Auto boost from Tough Hide is where Kismet should go, and underslotting Invincibility seems like a crime against the AT. I've copied in my slotting showing that I'm trying for +Regeneration boosts in addition to simply boosting the Defensive attributes. 3-slotting Shield Wall would be a good thing for a Tanker (more HP) , but I decided leaning into each of the Hami-O boosts to be slightly preferable. I often drop the Gaussian's %Build up in Invcibility as well. In the current game, Invuln has much less of a "Psi Hole" than in the distant past, so there may be little need to try to patch it, especially if the ATO +Res is in use. MMV based on content I suppose. It also appears to be lacking a Power Transfer %Heal, which is far more important to an Invuln (or any, because of HP) Tanker IMO than an Impervium Armor Psi Resist piece.

Is there a sort of playstyle you prefer? Is there some specific content that you want to focus on or avoid? Storm Blast is perfectly fine on Blasters, but it is slightly slower (in terms of dealing max damage efficiently) than other primaries. The Fire Manipulation secondary leans rather hard into melee range... the primary doesn't restrict you from this, but it is highly ranged focus (like most Blaster primaries). I point this out because having some idea of what you want the Fire to do can give us a better idea of what to suggest.

Slotting the Robotic Henchmen does feel like a calculus assignment! Supremacy only goes so far in helping the (especially lower-tier) henches in non-Incarnate content, and as noted if Endurance slotting is ignored, the henches will end up standing around not fighting. I know the game offers some ways to mitigate inferior Endurance Reduction slotting, but the henches perform best when they don't require micro-management and TLC. I also feel that MMs got a little bit of a raw deal with the ATOs, since they can only be slotted in the Henchmen powers (and for primaries with a pet summons, plus the extremely limited number of secondaries that offer a single power). I don't think any other AT ends up being so severely limited in terms of choice of where to possibly slot their ATOs. I understand that aside from "Universal Damage" there aren't really that many choices of sets for henchmen that can boost Accuracy, Damage, and Endurance Reduction... yet I feel like if I could slot some of the MM ATO pieces in primary attacks, or even pseudo pets I could not just improve the performance of the MMs but have some more variety in my builds too.

I usually only 2-slot Alpha Barrier. (Ribsomes) I see the bonuses you are going for, but I think the slots could be better used elsewhere. I usually 4-slot Gamma Boost. The more Health is smart, but this is where I drop a Power Transfer %Heal and 2x Numina (+Recovery/+Regen, Heal) for extra healing on this resistance-based primary. IMO no Tanker should be missing a Power Transfer %Heal piece. I tend to skimp on slots in Fallout Shelter, treating it very much like a mule (for SteadFast Protection). It has relatively meager base values for enhancing IMO. Radiation Therapy shouldn't need a Theft of Essence +End piece in it. I put the Gauntleted Fist Recharge/%Absorb in it, and two pieces of Touch of the Nictus (Heal/Recharge, %Negative) for the HP bonus. I wouldn't bother with an Achilles' Heel %-Res in Beta Decay; I'd just slot am Enzyme (Endurance Reduction, -ToHit, -Def). You shouldn't need the Endurance Reduction, but I think this sort of piece is the only option to boost both of Beta Decay's enemy-affecting properties. I have only a couple minor notes on Ground Zero: I use 2x (boosted) Fury of the Gladiator in it (Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge, Damage/Recharge). The Eradication %damage is Energy, the same type as Ground Zero itself, I usually opt for off-type %damage when I have the opportunity. I don't sweat adding %Lethal or %Smashing to an Energy-damage attack. Weave looks to be overslotted to chase a bonus, Meltdown appears seriously underslotted. Meltdown is a high-grade T9. I happen to have it 4-slotted with (boosted) Gladiator's Armor, not for set bonuses but for the global and maximum recharge. As for the rest, the only specific suggestions are: I would franken-slot/boost Rage for as much Recharge as you can get out of the three slots, or just use two slots with (boosted) IOs. Even more ToHit isn't nothing, of course... it just may be not needed. You could still have 2 boosted pieces of Adjusted Targeting for level 45+ content with frankenslotting. I feel like at least one (maybe both) of the +ToHit from Rage or the Kismet piece in Combat Jumping is overkill. Melt Armor is probably going to be a more reliable source of -Resistance than any %-Resistance... even considering the long recharge time and the necessary ToHit check. I usually 2-slot this with boosted 50+5 Analyze Weakness pieces (Accuracy/Recharge, Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge). The %-Resistance in Ground Zero is probably fine, but I think you'd get better total damage from another %damage piece.

I feel like you are making a specious argument about slotting choices. There are (by my reckoning) six important "pet" globals that contribute significantly to henchmen surviving, making them better at bodyguard and better at sustaining DPS, From Recharge Intensive Pet damage: Call to Arms, Defense Aura Expedient Reinforcement, Resistance Aura From Pet damage: Edict of the Master, Defense Aura Sovereign Right, Resistance Aura From the Mastermind ATO: (Superior) Command of the Mastermind, Defense Aura (and Recharge time) (Superior) Mark of Supremacy, Resistance (also some Regen, and Endurance Reduction) There is one other "pet global" from Commanding Presence, but I tend to ignore it. There is a Pet-specific %Build Up, but that isn't a global, it is tier-specific. A Robotics Mastermind primary has only 18 potential slots (divided between 3 tiers of henchmen) to slot those six pieces. This is one-third of the potential slots! A Thugs MM has 24. If a MM has a power in a secondary, they might be able to slot a couple of the aura pieces in it... but this is quite rare. Storm has it best I think with Tornado (IIRC it can slot all three categories I listed for MMs), and Traps with Seeker Drones as mentioned earlier. AFAIK there aren't any pool powers for MMs to slot those pieces. A Stalker that wants to slot a global piece from one of its ATO typically has 7 different powers (with up to 6 slots each) from its primary to drop one of its ATO globals in (I know the stalkers ATOs aren't globals, but this is an argument about globals, not procs)

I only solo, no multi-boxing. No judgement, just me wanting to be upfront. On my solo Robotics, I used the MM attacks to draw/keep aggro... with some tricks... so I didn't notice a big change except that I couldn't rely on the henches to nearly-AFK solo things like GMs any more. I'm a 100% aligned with being sour about the lack of a non-hench power in the primaries for some of the MMs to casually slot with the global pieces. At least 'bots got the KB (mostly) removed, which saved a further precious slot on each tier. I was hoping that one or both of the reworked upgrade powers would be allowed to slot those pieces, even if such a thing makes no sense otherwise. I think the "slot tax" was referring to a primary like Robotics, and the globals (e.g. +Def Aura) which only can slot into the actual henches, which means sacrificing a potential other enhancement... could be just an attribute (Accuracy, Damage, Endurance reduction), could be a piece like the %Build Up, could be a %proc, could be for a set bonus. Other sets (like Demons, Thugs) have another non-hench power that can mule those globals with only limited impact to what those powers ultimately bring... so the henches can be "better enhanced" in those sets (because they don't 'burn slots' on global pieces).

I can believe this. Even though the individual damage of the Robotic Henchmen was worse and included KB, the stacking -Regen that required almost no effort by the player was pretty useful for mindless activities like farming, or even AFKing on giant monsters (although the GM revamp had a bigger effect on that). The niche area that got obviously better for Robotics (in terms of clear times) was soloing with only the Assault Bot. I make no excuses for just how niche this is, but I did try it before and after the revamp. It isn't great now, but it was PAINFUL before the revamp. The other Robotics changes were IMO a net plus, with the change to slotting the first upgrade and the Maintenance Drone... those cover a lot of ground that makes it less critical (solo) than before about choice of secondaries. Obviously multi-boxing can cover all sorts of ground (heals, buffs) better than any solo build.

Thanks for the reminder! ... and the trip down memory lane. For my Robotics/Traps build, I vaguely remember trying to leverage Seeker Drones to hold the globals from Edict of the Master and/or Sovereign Right, but my choice of mule powers (and lack of free slots) made that choice a bit of a wash. I also remember being somewhat annoyed that the Seeker Drones could not take Recharge Intensive Pet pieces!

The only part of the game that feels (to me, YMMV) more like a 'time sink' (as opposed to immersion) are those day 0 contact arcs that require back-and-forth travel between a couple of open-world contacts. I do still roll my eyes on the Day 0 arcs that require jumping from zone-to-zone many missions in a row, but that became less of an issue once travel powers became available at level 4 and certainly not a problem with veteran/prestige travel options.

The only time I worry about keeping henchmen alive is at very low levels, with a small number of henchmen. If I am really worried, I take Aid Other (and eventually respec out of it)... think level 10 street sweeping of Perez Park. Otherwise, the henchmen are there to take damage (via bodyguard, or alpha strikes <- not really recommended, see advice above from @Nemu ) and to provide damage. The latter is more important IMO. If the MM is drawing most of the aggro, or has set up some pets/pseudopets to help, the henchmen should be fine... provided they aren't grabbing aggro. The best way for MMs to keep aggro is IMO via AoE attacks and AoE debuffs, Against single hard targets, ST attacks/debuffs are fine. I don't recommend Provoke, because the target cap is smaller than most AoE attacks, and it also requires a ToHit check.

I've had this happen to me, but only when I waited to long and the targeted corpse was de-rezzing.

The SG base buff "Increase Attack Speed" is also available! Disclaimer: I typically achieve perma-dom with just set bonuses; no Hasten, no FF %+Recharge. Minimally, I try to work in the Winter's Gift unique for slow resist. As I am pulling so much Global Recharge from set bonuses, there often aren't a lot of opportunities to also get Slow Resistance. IIRC the next 'easiest' is to 2-slot Superior Winter's sets, but because the powers that can take those sets also provide more global recharge with 4 or 5-slots via other sets, I usually don't have a best place for those. I suppose if an attack is franken-slotted with %damage, 2 of the slots in that power could be a Winter's set.

Some drive-by comments. Even though Dull Pain is not necessary for most content, I typically end up taking it early (because of options-at-levels) and slotting it either with Panacea or Preventive Maintenance. For the content I need it, I want it available as often as possible. either one of the Resist _____ powers can be delayed IMO. Personally: I'd never take a Tank without Taunt. When I have a melee toon with some sort of 'aggro aura' I prefer to take Combat Teleport to compliment it. IMO: Every Tanker should have at least one Power Transfer %Heal somewhere. Because of Tanker base HP, the return on HP is greater than the Panacea global. Use both! I also would not sleep on more regeneration (for a Tanker) from 2x Numina (the global, and Heal) in Health. (I'll post a build that doesn't have 2xNumina, but has fast-charging Dull Pain) Hasten is something of a wash IMO. I do tend to take it (at high levels) on Invulnerability Tankers (mostly) to further improve the Dull Pain times in certain content. If it is taking an extra slot, I'd put the Kismet +ToHit in an auto-power like Tough Hide. There is no reason to use an extra slot and dump in a late-level toggle power, if Tough Hide isn't already 6-slotted. Invulnerability has a LOT of powers that can well-leverage Hami-Os. Some set bonuses are worth chasing, others not so much. My own 'baseline' Invulnerability slotting is below. I've left in some other powers that contribute to 'surviving' for my Invuln Tank.

A triple-box MM *is* going to have a LOT of plates spinning to be worrying about choosing appropriate targets for robotic's laser attacks. I've talked with duo-boxers (2xMMs), they tell me trying to focus with the Robotics is too much trouble. I know one who tried it, and went back to mostly playing 2xNecro. The triple-box MMs I watch (who are too busy to talk!) are pretty much just zerging whichever giant monsters they see. My solo Robotics can do that... it takes more time, but it goes faster with (most) allies.(*1) One of the three MMs should be /Marine... because /Marine is a huge force multiplier. Which primaries somewhat depends on the content. If the plan is x8 all the time, I'd go with Robotics for one or two of them, because AoE, resistances and self-heals (with the Maintenance Drone). If difficulty gets turned up (+3), it will be slower going modulo AoE debuffs. /Marine will help, as would /Time. The other one (or two) should probably just be something that can swarm in melee. I have no real preference but Necro is good at zerging. (*1) Robotics is, by itself, something of a 'triple threat': It has debuffs (player controlled, via attacks), resistances and healing (relatively automatically). The secondary can boost each of these... but again, it will be busy. The advantage of 'bots for a multi-boxer (as I see it) is that the Robotic Henchmen are almost 100% ranged attackers, so they are very good at being positioned and providing areas control and/or focusing fire. If the player can handle that while multi-boxing 3 MMs... maybe one of the other three should be a Blaster or Corruptor! The issue I see multi-box MMs having (open world, although this would apply to some instanced content too) is when something like a Giant Monster can make multiple AoE attacks, semi rapid-fire that triggers a cascade of henchmen defeats... this is almost certainly why I see MMulti-boxers avoid solo Eochai and Lusca. Eochai's Pumpkin Patch will tear through a group of henchmen PDQ; Lusca, even with just the ink attacks and cones from a single tentacle can be a problem... multiple tentacles will make life harder for a MMulti-boxer than something like a solo Jack in Irons or Jurassik. The only other GM I've observed MMulti-boxers have trouble with is the Arachnos Flier, but that's more because they can prevent it from landing and allow it to regenerate to 100% with the shields up, not because there is anything inherently tough about the flier.

Keep in mind that -Regen is (now) only from the MM primary attacks. Robotics (prior to this change, the henchmen did -Regen) made it relatively easy to AFK things like Giant Monsters... this is no longer the case. Robotics is perfectly capable of soloing giant monsters (without Lores... or Allies) but it is *busy*. It may be too busy to count on the -Regen for a triple-box. Bots will be perfectly fine for the AoE of course.