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Scrappers only outperform Brutes on any of the forum-favored tests because of the Scrapper ATOs. Asking for a an improved Brute %proc ATO, to either make them sturdier than Tankers or do more damage than Scrappers is crazy talk. You may as well propose reworking Fury. I don't disagree that the Brute %proc ATO are somewhat meh, but they aren't the only AT with mediocre %proc ATOs. There are several other types of enhancements that offer far worse options.

You have yet to share either what content you do play that you don't enjoy, nor have you described the content you (might?) enjoy.... the only clues we have is that you like to use the word grind to describe how you play, and that you think "piles of inf" is somehow necessary to enjoying the game. You seem oblivious that the HC devs have already removed recognized time sinks, like prestige for bases, easy travel, incarnate xp, etc.

If you are bored by playing the game your way (i.e. multi-box afk farming, selling items on the market), giving you free stuff is not going to improve your interest in the game... because you've somehow already decided that the game is "3 account afk farming". There is literally a whole game outside of Wentworths and AE that offers all the stuff a player needs to kit out characters, as the player actually plays the game. Even the level 50 content doesn't need full kits of pricey enhancements... or all the accolades... or whatever... if the desire is to "play with friends" even a small group of friends can tackle a whole lot of content. Nobody is gatekeeping anyone! The HC team has done a great job shepherding the economy so that the things that drop (Inf, recipes, merits, etc.) are trivial to convert into other things players can use. You literally only have to pick some content you enjoy and roll with it. If a player is bored with some content, there is plenty more variety to choose from... a lack of a superior winter set isn't stopping anybody.

You can't answer any questions, and just want stuff (like "answers") with no effort on your part... I see a pattern.

So your argument hinges on a long-term player that has neither merits nor inf, and is tired of the grind, and wants a full kit insta-50... and also doesn't know how to achieve this... total strawman, or not clever enough to realize they've been grinding the wrong grind. Is this you? Again, is this you? The long-term players who don't have the resources to insta-50 and insta-slot know which other long-term players to ask for help.

You are inventing a strawman: a brand new player that doesn't want to play the game and jump to 50 and buy the world. If a new player wants to play, they will accumulate stuff for their character.... if they get to 50 it will be even easier. *If* that "casual" strawman becomes a real boy... because somehow they "see through the bullshit"?... there are plenty of guides how to generate inf to buy the world. If a player wants to casually experiment with a level 50, and have everything free... there is Brainstorm. The game is already offering everything you want for this ever-shifting argument.

Winters, ATOs and level 50 Purple/PvP recipes I just buy with merits (if they haven't been dropped)... so I guess 450/360 Kinf per Purple/PvP crafting fees? I keep salvage in the base, so I rarely have to use the AH to get any. All the merits (and catalysts) come from just playing the game. I don't really track what they'd cost if I went only to the AH. If there is a loose piece a build needs that I don't have on hand I typically just bid 2 Minf for it... but knowing my own preferences I pretty much always have such pieces (or their recipes, when I want level 50 versions) on hand. My main character probably averages about 100 Merits a day (I don't join Hamidon raids, which would make this trivial)... and merits are a really inefficient way to get all this stuff... but just that one character is sitting on over 9000 merits and 630 Hero merits, not to mention the almost 2000 prismatics, hundred of catalysts, and well over 1 Binf (I do sell stuff on the AH). Typically new level 50s spend about 400 Merits on boosters... but anything leftover gets turned into pieces for future builds. As I noted, I have a handful of other characters I also enjoy playing, they don't hold as much, but they are pretty close. Aside from a short period of active marketing years ago, new characters have been completely funded by drops from existing characters.

Watch! This is how to answer a direct question: For quite some time, I've been tossing a new character 60Minf + 1 Hero Merit, and then inviting them to the SG. At level 1 I usually buy travel powers, some AoE temp attacks, 3x8 hours of buffs... they usually have something like 30 Minf leftover, this is their 'kitty' to play with. The Hero Merit is strictly to convert into things like unslotters/converter roulette, until the character has accumulated merits from playing content. I don't have many alts, and I like playing them, so it is very typical for me to earn 10 levels of the course of a week. "Outfitting" involves popping into the SG base and picking up enhancements... so maybe 10 minutes? The level 50 respec takes slightly longer, but that is mostly because the new level 50 is dropping in crafted IOs (that will be catalyzed or boosted), to leave enhancements for the next character. Along the way I am vendoring/crafting/AHing drops. Typically by the time I'm level 50 the character has more than the original 60 Minf gift... and I've have weeks of fun play.

I'm forwarding these suggestion to the City of Titans team, I hope implementing them doesn't delay the next patch.

Have you no idea what a grind it is to earn the 100Kinf to buy Flying Disc from S.T.A.R.T.? Fun is ruined!

There is one area of the Tanker v. Brute discussion that I feel obligated to point out, and (slyly) point fingers at the HC team who made a big change to the game (that I like!) but sort of gets ignored. What I write below has echoes of @ZemX comments about "what content and play style does the dev team even think about?" The fundamental difference between Tankers and Brutes is that Tankers get an offensive secondary, while Brutes get an offensive primary. Until Tankers start getting their attack chains, not to mention slots to go in the attacks... there is zero chance for Tankers to outperform Brutes in terms of clear times... unless the Brutes are somehow skimping on their own offensive options. When the HC Dev Team lowered the levels at which higher-tier powers (and Epics/Patrons) could be selected, they further shrank the parts of the game where there is a clear difference between these two ATs that often get compared head-to-head. As @Maelwys points out just above: Tankers have a little bit more wiggle room than Brutes for 'surviving' ... but as can be demonstrated by Scrappers, with a lower level of survivability than both Brutes and Tankers and access to the same armors, for a lot of content it is the damage that contributes to faster clear times (and thus in-game rewards). That we had (per Ston) three melee ATs all being able to finish specific non-tivial content within seconds of each other, despite their different areas of nominal excellence and build choices, was to be celebrated.

No character starts with the ability to slot enhancements, except for the free ones from START. I have a deep suspicion you are tying your personal assessment of "performance" as a finished level 50 build. If you just want to test performance, Brainstorm offers everything for free. What content do you consider to be a time sink? You've been extremely circumspect about what content you choose to play in CoX. You keep using the word "grinding" but your are describing "playing".

Brutes don't need to be tweaked. The only Brute-related issue that comes up is for the %proc effect of the Brute ATOs, but Brutes are already "top performers" by commonly recited play metrics, and the only way that another AT looks like it is doing better than Brutes is the Scrappers leveraging their ATOs. IMO it would be a real stretch to motivate Brute buffs (including ATO changes) considering that the Scrapper AT can only be out-performing offensively with the Scrapper ATOs, and the Tankers get extra surviving out-performance because of the Tanker ATOs. If the Brute ATOs deserve to be reworked (more than some other ATOs) then I think the entire Fury mechanic should end up on the table for being revamped. (i.e. non-starters across the board, or the effort will be half-hearted)

Robotics IMO doesn't need the extra "survivability" from Force Fields... I know that this combo seems like a no-brainer, but even on Live it wasn't as good as something like Robotics/Dark IMO. Robotics also don't really need any more KD on HC. MMs with whatever secondary can overcome this classic word of caution I am about to type: I think MMs perform best when they focus on debuffing enemies rather than focusing a majority of effort on keeping henchmen alive. FF makes it easy (through power choices) but other secondaries can do this as well, with a more layered approach to surivability (Marine Affinity is probably tops, including for KD)

The Signature Story arc (Who Will Die?) can be soloed... it is practically designed to be a solo effort, IIRC originally it was gated content for subscribers.

Don't bother pointing me to a definition of a word, if you are going to misuse the word: Playing the game generates rewards. You are effectively saying "every part of the game is a grind". I get it: You are arguing for free stuff (for yourself, or for some hypothetical player), and you think the game is keeping you (or hypothetical players) from doing anything other than "grinding". I don't see it this way. My first engagement with the game generated rewards I used for that first character, and it just so happens that it also generated rewards that I could use for future characters. My experience is not unique, and if players (old or new, but such players cannot be hypothetical) can learn a variety of clever ways to do the same.... none of these strategies require cheats or grinds. There are no "gates" keeping players from these things... they just need to be clever enough to recognize how the content they want to play can yield rewards.

They aren't all immune, my Bots/Traps has Jack and Eochai flopping around. I've never seen Lusca nor Tentacles flop. I can't recall if I've seen any others flop since i28p2.

I'm curious if this is possible (Beam/Traps Corruptor) without relying on Lores. I have no experience with the Bombs in Traps, and I think (depending on attack chain) you want to be trying for as much Knockdown from Beam as possible. You absolutely will want Poison Trap for -Regen, I suggest the Superior Entomb Recharge/+Absorb be in the mix. I'm pessimistic about the chances against most GMs solo because of the i28p2 changes that improved their ToHit and MaxHP. With Lores and Barrier, you stand a chance against several of the softer GMs if you can keep their regeneration down. You shouldn't skip Disinitegrate, and you will almost certainly want a tight attack chain with Aim. Without Barrier and DPS from a Lore pet, I'd worry that most GMs will eventually score big hits on you simply because the fights last longer. This is a scenario where Triage Beacon may actually be beneficial. For Adamastor, you'll probably want Trip Mine.

Gameplay: I wouldn't say the gameplay is "rich", even if I find it rewarding. The basic gameplay is "defeat enemies" with a sometimes addition of "click glowie". It isn't as if there are a ton of alternate win conditions or even strategies that don't require one or both of the above. The only alternate win conditions I can think of are costumes and base building, but those aren't games everyone plays. I guess marketeering might count as a minigame that requires no physical combat. Variety: We do get a LOT of variety within the narrow gameplay restrictions... and via Ouroborous we can even replay a LOT of it... including stuff we missed while leveling up. Depth: Because it is very likely to miss level-appropriate content without disabling XP, I'd say the game is pretty deep. We do get to start blue, red, or gold.

I can't speak for Ice or Stone, as I've never used them as armors... but Invulnerability is nearly perfect, except for its joke of a T9... MHO is that if Unstoppable could be traded for 4 more inspiration slots I think I'd respec immediately to take advantage of it. It can be a mule for an IO without investing any slots, but that is about it for ultimate utility IMO. In my experience with Invulnerability, it doesn't particularly shine at low levels (resistances don't mean much, and toggles drain endurance) without relying on temp powers or global IOs (starting at level 10)... so some ATs may feel 'slower to start' than others... and running all the toggles can make it feel like "where is my sustain?"... but because of the way the resistance are grouped with certain toggles it isn't necessary to keep them all toggled on, or even to take each of them ASAP. For example: I've often delayed Resist Energies until the late 20s because there is some pool power that would be more useful to me below that level. If given the choice between a Dull Pain (+MaxHP, Heal) and an Absorb (with or without a secondary effect)... it would be something of a close call for me. For 99% of the games content I don't even touch Dull Pain.... so a faster recharging Absorb would probably suit me better. It's the last 1% of the content for which I'm comfortable working below full Health but want a heal and +MaxHP before things go truly pear-shaped that would probably get me to stick with Dull Pain... there are just too many extra things I've built into my Invulnerables that kick in once the Green bar starts burning. (Like %+HP, %Absorb, Scaling Damage Resistance). It's possible of course that if I hung sufficiently below top HP and also got Absorb it would go even better... but for some content my Invuln Tanks feel like they can hang longer than my Rad Tanks.

I definitely agree with the @Neiska sentiment that there appears to be a peculiarity amongst some 'measurers' by which nerfs get called for... and both Pylon and Trapdoor metrics contribute to it, specifically with their 'DPS/defeat times'. I was super impressed by Ston's attempt to compare three melee classes... and when each of them solo, across (almost) all of their primary/secondary choices finish certain specific content within percentage points of one another, it was declared to be the end-of-game-balance. To this day, I don't see why three different melee classes achieving parity of completion times (by leveraging all possible tricks at their disposal) is seen as anything except a success for balance.

I don't understand the use of the word "grind" to describe playing the game. No one needs to grind to accumulate stuff... just complete content and get rewards. Some minigames don't even need players to complete content: The costume editor is free (up to level 10), the base editor is no cost.

Please describe to me what this hypothetical player of yours is going to do in game, given that they aren't motivated enough to have stuff from the AH or base storage, unless that stuff is free. I have no preference on how people play the game, I literally just want to know what you think they are going to be doing that isn't

I've seen the same behavior each side, and (from memory) the timer from once side applies to the other side as well. It is possible to rerun the arcs as often as desired for 5 merits, but each 'extra' reward is (essentially) once-per-week. The extra rewards are similarly time-locked, for characters that qualify (e.g. Astral Merits for level 50s)

The first time you repeat one of those arcs, you can claim an extra 20 merits. After the first repeat, you can repeat an arc once per week for 20 merits.