tidge

What pieces do you want to slot in them?

Ah, like the OG Deus Ex?

Being able to slot mules into Swift (and other inherent 'running' powers) would make it trivial to add pieces for KB protection and Slow Resistance (so, not counting Swift, this would be 6 additional free slots IIRC). I don't think the devs are likely to make it that easy (via inherent powers) for players to get such things for a one-time investment in an enhancement piece.

I'm struggling with "overalls"!

My macro/binds: /bind shift+lbutton "powexec_name Combat Teleport" /macro_image "StaffFighting_StaffMastery" "BAMF" "powexec_location target Combat Teleport" /macro_image "StaffFighting_AssassinsStaff" "BACK" "powexec_location Back:25 Combat Teleport" 25' back is usually "just right" for followup ranged cone attacks.

IIRC the only 'nerf' aimed at Brutes was the change to the damage cap (twice? once on Live, once on HC).

For non-armor set ATs, I often plan to 3-slot a travel power with Blessing of the Zephyr; it gives the +4 KB protection, enhances travel speeds and adds a smidge more positional defenses. Infiltration is a convenient power to leverage either Travel or Defense pieces.

Self quoting... I *did* revisit the VEATs, and I pretty much did this... up to the point where I felt like I needed the Mace to improve DPS, and then I just accepted that my character sometimes was clobbering enemies with a mace. What I enjoyed most about this approach is that there is a lot of potential for a gun-wielding character; this is manifest in the large number of enemy groups that use pow-pow guns; Longbow, Arachnos, Family, et al. The leadership and survival buffs available to Hunstman/Banes are excellent!

I find the Yin TF to be extremely variable because of the Freaks/Council that can rez/go untouchable. I've duo-ed it well under 10 minutes with a couple of Blasters, our key was to split up and nuke necessary enemies.

I crave more examples, just in case what's viable for you is also viable for me.

I definitely remember doing a LOT of street sweeping (in Brickstown, FF, and then PI) at certain points. I don't explicitly recall the changes to XP-granted, but I remember debt being a terrible obstacle. I still feel a twinge whenever I see the University in Funders Falls, as that was the area I had done sooo much street sweeping in! Larger spawn sizes was always one of the reasons to spend time in Hazard zones, assuming they wouldn't murder you.

I... guess? The map-herding via Unai was a thing in Issue 1. Kheldians were in Issue 3. To the point made by @Greycat... There wasn't that much of a reason to rush to level 50 in the early days of Live. The biggest motivator for me was the extra power picks and all those extra slots. We didn't even have the same considerations for Enhancements back then.

The *only* reason to rush to 50 was that HEATs got unlocked by having a level 50. Obviously this wasn't a thing *until* HEATs showed up. I'm still not entirely sure what the motivation to rush to level 50 is on Homecoming. I can sort of appreciate a player wanting to see what a full level-50 kit can do, but I've never really bought into the argument that goes like "I'm bored with pre-45 content... so instead I want to run level 45+ over-and-over-again."

Easy check: turn off all aura, do a Takeoff in a PVP zone against some critters and look for the TAUNTED!

Since Penny Yin TF was mentioned.... No matter the AT, when I solo it I do it at +0x1, and rarely engage more enemies mobiles than necessary. My (lvl 50) MMs don't take much longer than (lvl 50) Blasters/Scrappers/Stalkers/Tankers, but they do take longer. I've soloed it with other ATs, but those are the AT I'll choose for a quick 40 merits/Notice/etc. The main source of attributable variation among ATs is due to damage/resistance type mismatches, but the Yin TF has a combination of rez (Freaks) and transformations/untouchables (Council) that can add minutes to any run.

For Soldiers, I almost never take a Patron pool unless I am playing a Crabbermind (because of the final pet). Otherwise I find that the pre-Patron powers can do everything I want and demand all my slots. For the Widows, I usually take a Patron pool because the extra AoE powers tend to help with larger spawn sizes. Mu is the set I prefer, mostly because of the animations.

Takeoff also has a somewhat long recharge time that makes it somewhat inferior as a reliable control/threat power. I do tend to take Force of Will on Tankers, in mission I will (if I remember) use Takeoff to knockdown enemies just to make a statement.

I have sets I keep going back to for concept/animation reasons, but I keep getting reminded how underwhelming I find them. I don't really find them unacceptable, but I find them to be low-performing (for my tastes for the AT). Sometimes those sets shine on other ATs, sometimes those sets offer "one great trick" that gets a lot of attention but doesn't rock my world. The old, linked posts about differences in clear times measured in seconds between melee types... not particular persuasive to me, although the relative difference between melee sets does align with my personal perceptions.

For me... it's all about the factions that end up with strong Psi Resists that make it more painful to play than other primaries. This is *hard* for me, as I generally like all of the Psi animations for all ATs.

I've used Infiltration as a character's travel power, usually on really tight Blaster builds where I was going to otherwise "run out of pools" and needed some end-build mule powers for LotG, I might have a character that has a Kismet +ToHit in it (if taken at low enough level), but otherwise it is muling a Winter's Gift Slow Resist or a LotG.

The influx of new level 50s (from Mapserver, from ToT) usually signals more market activity.

From my perspective, the increased PBAoE radius for Tankers (on HC) more than makes up for whatever "fun" Tankers could derive from herding enormous numbers of critters. I was playing a Tanker since Launch day, and except from being able to easily survive hundreds of Rikti Monkeys (after first expansion) it was usually more fun just to play a Scrapper.

I put rare salvage in the personal vault of each character. I have two racks in the SG base for rare salvage... I keep this 'buffet' stocked. If I need a specific rare piece that I don't have, I just AH some pieces that I don't need.

This suggestion isn't practical (because of existing characters, and *all* the history, going back to how Live Scrappers outclassed Live Tankers for most content before CoV even existed) yet here I go: If there is a belief that Tankers, Scrappers and Stalkers all "have their place" (even if not everyone agrees) the melee class that I think is missing is a melee character that debuffs enemies in PBAoE... not completely dissimilar to how the Sentinel AT does something distinct from Blasters/Corruptors/Defenders/Controllers/Dominators. Keep in mind that I consider Sentinels to be essentially Scrappers with Ranged attacks... If a Brute could (hypothetically) see a scaling increase in damage output by debuffing enemy resistance (with or without the way Fury builds damage output) it would at least give them a different role on teams than the other 'melee' types.

I prefer Combat Teleport to other similar powers, yet... I observed some weird behavior (at low level) I rarely see this at higher levels, but I have more to do at higher level so I have not really been paying attention any longer.