tidge

Bah, I should go back and edit the post above, but this is more of general comment: I usually don't recommend to try to put %damage pieces in Mastermind attacks, unless: They are part of a set that will be slotted anyway They are AoE Masterminds have a terrible damage scale, so the %damage will improve the damage output of (only) the Mastermind... but it is IMO far better to improve the DPS of the Henchmen (and Pets). When looking at my proposed slotting for Howling Twilight, I think I would recommend swapping out the Positron's %damage piece for the Annihilation %-resistance. The +MaxEnd from Annihilation is something I consider valuable enough, I might swap out the other %damage piece for another Annihilation piece for some more Endurance and or Recharge improvements.

Not bad advice, but MOST of the Robotic attacks now do Knockdown, not Knockback. I put the Soulbound Allegiance %BuildUp in the Battle Drones. I haven't looked at the proposed build (sorry no MIDS) Here is my (page 5) Robotics/Traps build for reference: /Traps has more skippable powers than /Dark Miasma IMO, so choices would have to be made. The Traps secondary changes that come to mind immediately are: Caltrops ->Tar Patch, slotted with only 2x 50+5Recharge IOs (saves 4 slots, but costs some set bonuses) Acid Mortar -> Howling Twilight (A) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy): Level 50 (*) Javelin Volley - Chance of Damage(Lethal): Level 50 (*) Absolute Amazement - Stun/Recharge: Level 50+5 (*) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Stun/Recharge: Level 50+5 (*) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50+5 (*) Ragnarok - Damage/Endurance: Level 50+5 Force Field Generator -> Darkest Night, with similar slotting (as a baseline) (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50 (*) Luck of the Gambler - Defense: Level 50 (*) Defense Buff IO: Level 50+5 EDIT: I overlooked that Darkest Night is a toggle, so it should get some Defense/Endurance slotting, certainly in that third slot. Poison Trap seems like a simple swap to Petrifying Gaze, but I would replace it with Fearsome Stare, that will double as a type of AoE immob: (A) Cloud Senses - Chance for Negative Energy Damage: Level 30 (*) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge: Level 30 (*) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/ToHitDebuff: Level 30 (*) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 30 (*) Glimpse of the Abyss - Chance of Damage(Psionic): Level 50 Now: The new powers from /Dark Miasma that I would want are: Dark Servant (A) Cloud Senses - Chance for Negative Energy Damage: Level 30 (*) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/ToHitDebuff: Level 30 (*) Cloud Senses - ToHit Debuff: Level 30 (*) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 30 Twlight Grasp (A) Theft of Essence - Chance for +Endurance: Level 30 (*) Touch of the Nictus - Chance for Negative Energy Damage: Level 50 (*) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Healing: Level 50 (*) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50 Normally I only include the %+Endurance while leveling, but MMs can burn Endurance at a rather high clip. I want to note that the Robotics new Maintenance Drone is absolutely fine for the henchmen, so skipping this Dark power would seem odd, but I think for the Robotics Primary it is justifiable (sorry teammates!) Petrifying Gaze (A) Gladiator's Net - Accuracy/Hold: Level 50+5 (*) Gladiator's Net - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge/Hold: Level 50+5 (*) Gladiator's Net - Chance of Damage(Lethal): Level 50 (*) Unbreakable Constraint - Chance for Smashing Damage: Level 50 (*) Ghost Widow's Embrace - Chance of Damage(Psionic): Level 50 (*) Neuronic Shutdown - Chance of Damage(Psionic): Level 30 The important differences between the /Traps Poison Trap and the /Dark Petrifying Gaze are that Poison Trap is AoE and provides -Regen, making it IMO superior for almost all content. I am not sure I would dedicate as many slots to this power (on Dark) in a final build. I would probably want it for solo play. To fit three new powers in the build, my initial thoughts on what to probably sacrifice: Mace Beam Volley (even though it gives up a %-Resistance chance). Rather than give this up... ....I would probably have to NOT go into the Flight travel pool, giving up Hover, Fly, Group Fly, Evasive Manuevers, and using either Infiltration (Concealment pool) as my travel power, or... knowing myself... I might just make these choices (not saying what level to take them, just the power swaps) Hover -> Mighty Leap (Experimentation) Fly -> Twilight Grasp Group Fly -> Dark Servant Evasive Maneuvers -> Weaken Resolve (Experimentation) Mace Bean Volley -> Wall of Force (Experimentation) I have found a key to success with Robots is the application of -Regen (for hard targets) and -Resistance (for both large spawns and single hard targets). Tar Patch will go a long way to cover the -Resistance, yet I would still try to work the same %-resistance piece (I use Annihilation in ranged damage AoE) to help the henchmen stack damage. The experimentation pool helps with this. I also like the AoE cone of Wall of Force to keep aggro on the user (here, Mastermind). I also appreciate that Wall of Force can be taken at a much lower level than an Epic attack! The single-target Hold is not considered for the reasons I outline above. Again, about me: on a Mastermind I don't think I would be able to leverage the single-target attack to as great an effect as I would by picking a different power. If you are down to a single target, I imagine it is better to debuff it for the henchmen than try to control (or even %damage) it myself.

The Disavowed.

It's hard to tell from the video, what I *think* I saw was: A patron pet was out/summoned (i.e. 'not dead') The summon power recharged while the pet was still alive The summon power was clicked while the pet was still alive The pet died when its original timer (from previous summons) expired, frustrating the player because now they have to wait the whole cooldown period again. If this is what happened: It's not a bug, as it is the default way many pet (not henchmen) powers work. This is particularly noticeable with Crabberminds: if you have summoned 3 Spiderlings (*1), 1 dies and you resummon to get the full roster of 3 again, all three will expire when the original batch go kablooey. This is different than how henchmen work, and obviously this is not observed on other pets that don't have an inherent self-destruct timer. If the new summons destroyed all of the (remaining) original pets (like how respawning a FFG before the old one blows up gets you a brand new one) then we wouldn't see this. A potential workaround is that the controlling player could create a macro to toggle between destroying the old patron pet and summoning a new one. (of course, macros won't show cooldown timers) I suppose it is fair to make a suggestion that this be changed (to force destruct then summons), but I don't think it is a bug. As a practical matter: this is only observed for players that have an embarrassingly huge amount of global recharge... and whose patron pets don't get defeated before they would naturally expire... so it feels like a 'first-world problem' to me. YMMV. Without considered potential (enemy) slows; whenever I have a patron pet in the build I try to have just enough global recharge so that the patron pet summon power is a couple of seconds shy of (what might be called) 'perma'... specifically to avoid this potential frustration. (*1) I suggest Spiderlings is the easiest to observe this phenomenon because the cooldown for Spiderlings is inherently short enough that slotted recharge plus global recharge bonuses can easily have the power recharged before the Spiderlings self-destruct by themselves. IIRC the Disruptors have the same timers as the Patron pets.

I agree with @Maris; Water Blast is crazy good for AoE damage. I'd go so far to write that putting Water Jet in a build is probably hurting total DPS against anything except single, high-HP targets (which is a small fraction of gameplay for most circumstances)... for most ATs and pimary/secondary powerset choices, I can always find a better power to take in its place... and that is certainly true for the slots I would otherwise put in Water Jet. Furthermore: The Homecoming Devs recently implemented a further improvement to Water Blast in that Tidal Power isn't wasted on a miss. For me, this was a previously a relatively minor annoyance (and was the biggest reason to skip Water Jet, IMO), but after this change I find myself paying slightly more attention to Tidal Power.

I always use (key/mouse) binds for things like: target nearest (alive) enemy (within view, obviously) quickchats teleportation type powers (to get to someplace close by that I can see) Rarely: I will set up keybinds for combining Inspirations, or for Mastermind controls. I used to set up keybinds to target teammates (for support), but in the current Homecoming such a trick yields only marginal benefits and varies too much between 'support' powers and classes for me to optimize. I always use macros for things like: location-target (powers, pseudopets); the default is almost always 'my selected target' with the non-select backup being 'at my feet' Teleportation powers (always a 'TP to selected target', characters with ranged cone attacks also get a 'backwards ~20') Kheldian form switching I will occasionally add macros for emotes, tells based only on whimsy. As I wrote above: Many quality-of-life changes have either eliminated the needs for macros, or marginalized whatever play improvement I used to get from them.

I don't ever remember using Placate (or its equivalent) on AVs, but in a different era of the game (when it was harder to have set bonuses) I would definitely use Placate when solo against Elie Bosses, just to get a breather. This was typically for lowish level characters that burned through their Inspirations. It's a perfectly fine power to have when leveling, kudos to those who keep and use it in their finished builds.

All the ongoing factors were accounted for, except for the past sales on Winter packs (no longer going to happen), I think. The only other 'one-offs' that I think have broadly affected the market have involved what I would characterize as "farmers 'vocal quitting' farming", as a result of some game change. The Vanguard Merit Change, the double-Inf/noXP change, the Empyrean Merit Change all had some 'vocal quitting' (no judgement, honest!), and I saw some market fluctuations (both up and down) in Recipes, Salvage, Converters. I couldn't begin to guess (or predict!) what any of those changes actually had on the market, if any. The only on-going (upward) fluctuation I have noticed is that Enhancement Converter prices on the AH are holding steady above where they had been. Since Emp Merits -> Converters -> Inf was probably the simplest raw conversion for Farmers, I want to believe that the Emp Merit change is partially responsible. There may be occasional fluctuations in holiday salvage, or Prismatic Aethers... but I haven't noticed. EoE are at rock-bottom prices (as they should be). Maybe Ambrosia when the Eden Trial is the Weekly?

If you do DFB only for the boosts (i.e. XP off) I think the defensive boosts will be something like 2% at level 15. Without looking at the build, I think at levels 16 and 17 your fortunes should be able to shift, courtesy of Global Enhancements that can be slotted in Shadow Fall, specifically Gladiator's Armor and Steadfast Protection pieces that give Global Defense boosts, and (eventually) the Shield Wall 5% Global Resistance piece. My Rad/Dark Corruptor (also still below level 20) occasionally runs into problems, mostly because of two effects: The attacks are somewhat slow, and usually require three casts to defeat a single even-level The secondary (Dark) powers are also somewhat slow The first bullet point is mitigated by visiting P2W and getting some prestige attacks. I wouldn't over-slot the primary attacks (three each, Accuracy, Endurance, Damage... if using sets, feel free to sprinkle in recharge). Aside from PVP sets most common %damage procs won't be available until level 20. The P2W %damage are only 2 PPM. Not nothing, and they boost damage IIRC, but not worth holding onto. The second bullet is really only best addressed by 2-lotting Tar Patch for recharge. At low levels you could put a 3rd slot in Tar Patch (for more Recharge) but I'd just get used to it's timer as you level.

I mocked up the following radiation Blast/Dark Miasma level build. I've been playing a Rad/Dark Corruptor Red-side through all of the available content (with XP mostly off, as necessary) to get a feel for how this set does without many slots, and without access to many of the bonuses a higher-level character will have. I am always surprised just how fast it is to level without using XP boosters. I did invest in some P2W Amplifiers, and did some DFB to get some further pre-level 22 boosts. Offense is lowish, so P2W attacks (prestige, temporary) are necessary. No surprises: Like just about every other AT, it is pretty easy to work through +0, x1 content starting from scratch. "Defeat All" missions are of course tedious, especially with XP off. Again no surprises: There are a handful of factions that were problematic before level 15: Snakes were surprising annoying (with their speed) and Vahzilok are not chumps for any low-level character. A few missions spawn higher (and more aggressive) enemies. Slow recharge powers (at low levels) like Tar Patch and Howling Twilight help, but they are not as reliable as on a finished build. As with most characters: I'm not strictly using the same slotting choices as I level. Obviously Very Rare and Superior sets can't be used, and there are some Enhancements that need inclusion earlier for Quality-of-Life reasons. I am experimenting (pun intended) with Speed of Sound as a travel power, as this was the recommendation made regarding the Defender build I posted above which used Combat Teleport instead. For this build: the biggest jump in QoL/play experience is at level 16 and 17. Shadow Fall is an excellent mule for survivability, level 17 provides two more slots in which can be slotted enhancement pieces with a minimum level 20 requirement. The OP asked for the "quintessential" Corruptor... I'm not sure that this build delivers on that promise, not because of any deficiency in what a build like this should be able to do (as a Corruptor)... but more that the chosen primary/secondary sets (Rad/Dark) have effects on combat very similar to what many other ATs can experience... so would a Rad/Dark Corr really stand out? Part of the reason for me taking this through the Red Side is that I want to see how it does when the Heroes of Paragon start appearing as regular enemies.

Assassin's Strikes and Snipes have a couple of things in common: AS and (Slow) Snipes are interruptable AS and Snipes have variable damage that depends on different conditions, including: Hidden/Not Hidden, Slow/Fast, +ToHit I mostly notice AS hitting and not doing damage from Hidden (because it is really obvious), but I can't swear that I haven't had it happen when a Stalker wasn't hidden. Similarly with Slow Snipes, although I feel like (at least on Blasters) I have observed a Fast Snip hit and do no damage (except possibly via a %proc). Since the %proc damage is registered, the game absolutely "knows" that the attack hit, so I think that rules out server/client miscommunication. It "feels" more that the game simply didn't enter any function to apply damage from the power itself. It is as if the game has an unhandled CASE for the 'native' damage. I suppose the CASE could be confused by server/client issues, but frankly there should just be a default CASE rather than allowing NO damage.

IIRC, at launch Positron also had a costume that used the circuitry-looking overlay to his costume. I had picked the same for my launch-day character and I was slightly non-plussed to find an NPC with the similar costume.

I used to do the same with the Achilles' Heel piece (in Weaken Resolve), but it felt like a waste of a slot considering that it is still a %proc (on top of needing the underlying attack to hit) and the %proc only lasts a maximum 10 seconds (on the single-target). That is 2/3 the time of the native debuff, yet I felt it was pushing the limit on how much (in terms of slots) I wanted to invest in a another resistance debuff that is itself resistible. Solo: if the %debuff lands, I've only got 10 seconds to capitalize. I feel like this is along the lines of what @Sovera is hinting at when saying some tests skew perceptions of how much %-resistance affects gameplay. For me, it comes down to "How much extra expense (in build slots) do I really want to put into potentially improving team damage (on a single target)?" There is also a high-order complication on the net value of %-Resistance on teams depending on how many different players have the same %-Resistance piece in play. I simply landed on: If I take (and cast) Weaken Resolve, at least my teammates can see me doing that... how much more debuffing can they really expect me to be doing with that power?

I don't like the %proc in Beta Decay. The final %proc rate is not going to be very good. I have the power much earlier in my build and run it (at 50+) with a single Hami-O Enzyme. For every AT except Masterminds and Crabberminds (and possibly control characters with a LOT of pets), I prefer to have the Gaussian's %BuildUp in an on-demand power (i.e. a click) rather than in an aura (which relies on teammates/henchmen/pets), but I don't feel obligated to rehash that discussion. Is the Reactive Defenses Scaling Resistance global in the build? I feel like that is necessary for any character trying to be 'Tanky". Sincere question: How does the build play if you DON'T use Hasten? I have a Water Blast/Atomic Manipulation blaster that has enough things to do (buttons to match)that I don't feel the need to include Hasten in its build. Another point about me: I almost never take Stealth as anything but a mule, so it wouldn't appear so early if I was building the character. If you wanted such a power this early, I prefer Infiltration. It takes the same mules, and if run toggled on it improves running/jumping (which I consider a Quality-of-Life improvement). On the Blaster I mentioned, Infiltration is that character's travel power (Blessing of the Zephyr – Endurance Reduction/Travel can be used in place of the Hami-O). On other builds I will include a Kismet +ToHit piece here, as I almost always keep the power toggled on. Taking the power early allows more mule slotting as I level up. (subject of course to level requirements of enhancements) Level 4: Infiltration (A) HO Microfilament – Endurance Reduction/Travel: Level 51 (*) Reactive Defenses - Scaling Resist Damage (*) Luck of the Gambler – Defense/Recharge Speed Final, subtle point about the choices in Health. Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(42), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(43) I see what the approach is with the three globals, but it is rare (for my level 50 builds) that adding only (i.e. not as part of a set) the Numina's Convalescence global +Regen/+Recovery piece has a noticeable effect. For this character, it is likely that the extra Recovery is having the largest effect on play... but it is possible that simply moving that slot to a high-Endurance cost toggle (and slotting with some Endurance reduction, possibly in combination with another attribute) would end up offering an improved profile for the blue bar. A simple way to test this is to use an unslotter to pull the piece our of the slot and play for a day with it unslotted. FWIW on high-HP Tankers I would (at least) 2x slot Numina's in Health with the second piece being a straight Heal/Absorb, but Blasters are a different beast.

I can believe the above quote from 'personal feels' from the (random) variation in defeat times I will see against zone Giant Monsters. I'm not referring to variation between a Grim Vale spawned Iron Jack and a wandering Iron Jack (for example), or zone-to-zone variation between a KR Paladin and a CF Jurassik. As I wrote above, I have a Robotics/Traps Mastermind that has the same %-Resistance slotting in his attacks (I'd forgotten: I also still have one slotted in Acid Mortar from the secondary to support the primary/patron attacks); I observe a small but noticeable random variation in defeat times for the same GM (using the same number of henchmen) that I attribute (partially) to the %-Resistance proc. I suppose I could unslot those pieces and do more testing, but I'd be breaking up Annihilation set bonuses. I'm not just unmotivated about doing any specific testing... I have the very rare Soulbound Allegiance %BuildUp piece in the Battle Drones as well doing its random thing. To repeat myself: The choice of (AoE) %-Resistance on a Mastermind is (for me, YMMV) something of a no-brainer, assuming that I will be running with Henchmen. a little extra %damage from a proc simply doesn't measure up against effectively boosting the damage of all the henchmen. For players who don't have access to a -Resistance debuff, but desperately want one, Weaken Resolve (from the Force of Will pool) when slotted with nothing but Accuracy is IMO a pretty good choice... it is 100% of the time one of my picks when I want to go deep into that pool. Yes, it takes a power pick (as opposed to a slot for a %proc) but: Weaken Resolve is a 15 second duration, as opposed to 10 seconds The -Resistance is applied on hit, without relying on %proc chance Allows other pieces to go into the slot that would have had the %-Resistance piece, blah blah blah fishcakes There are a couple of %damage procs that can also go into Weaken Resolve. I wouldn't necessarily recommend that option for all ATs, but if a build of mine is (A) going to take the power early and (B) an AT that typically does low damage against single targets, I will almost always try to slot the power for Accuracy plus at least one %damage piece. If nothing else, it then feels like I'm not completely sacrificing an attack to apply a debuff. Most builds end up with enough global +Recharge that this power's recharge time ends up being pretty close to the 15 second duration.

When I am considering slotting a %-resistance instead of %damage, I consider the following: %-Resistance from the same source won't stack with itself, but will extend the duration of the -Resistance. The %-Resistance procs, all have relatively short durations. Attacks have to land in the short duration of a %-Resistance to benefit from the proc. For a great majority of my characters. I don't end up slotting %-Resistance, because for most content I'm (individually, solo) not going to get enough benefit from %-Resistance. Personal exceptions listed below: If a character has a relatively low-damage AoE (with a reliable %proc rate) which immediately can be followed by another AoE in the attack chain that does more damage (than the preceding attack), then the first attack may get a %-resistance piece. My thinking is that a one-two combo like this can soften up a large spawn and then finish a large number of mobs in the spawn. If my character is a Mastermind, I try to add the same %-Resistance piece to multiple attacks, praying that RNGesus keeps the -Resistance going to help my henchmen do slightly more damage. The lower tier henchmen need as much help as can be mustered. My most reliable GM killer is Robotics/Traps; it has 2 Annihilation %-Resistance pieces slotted in 2 different (primary/patron) MM attacks. The hope is that my henchmen are making attacks while the -Resistance is in play, and that spreading the AoE -Res will land on enemies they have chosen to attack (while in bodyguard mode). The Mastermind exception applies to characters that will be playing with large teams. Of course it is possible to use enhancement unslotters to change out at any time. I occasionally do this in AoE attacks on some Tankers if it looks like a team isn't finishing enemy spawns 'quickly enough'. The idea is that if I'm not getting teh attacks in during the %-Resistance period, then my teammates will be.

I can't speak specifically to the original recommendations (builds or playstyles), but I think for the Robotics primary, S/L (non-AFK) farming is probably better. The Maintenance Drone alone should provide more reliable healing for the henchmen. The movement of the debuffs from the Robotic henchmen will have a small effect to be sure, but as a practical matter the main performance I have observed relative to that specific change is that the Robotics MM has to be more active in attacking (most) Giant Monsters/AVs than before... but that the net defeat times of those big-sacks-of-HP are quicker than before the change. (I always was active with MM attacks anyway, so I feel qualified to write the previous statement) The other big change specific to Robotics is that almost all of the henchmen attacks do Knockdown instead of Knockback, this frees up slots. Prior to this change, Knockdown globals were necessary to keep enemy swarms clustered. Yet one more minor improvement, but not specific to Robotics is that being able to skip the T1 power in the secondary allows more freedom of builds. I run a Robotics/Traps and the original forced secondary T1 pick of a single-target immobilize was NOT as good for 'farming' as the T2 Caltrops.

My Water Blast/Atomic Manipulation has positionals of Melee 20%+, Ranged 19%+ and AoE 29%+ from just toggles, Globals, and set bonuses. He also went Epic Flame Mastery, and has Rise of the Phoenix *wink*

Some very reasonable calls on slotting choices. I can definitely see reducing the number of slots used, and the set bonuses are smart. Specific to my Corruptor choices, I feel I can only speak directly to one of these choices: Originally, I was going to slot 2x IO Recharge 50+5 in Chrono Shift. As I was leveling (that is: I didn't have the uber set bonuses yet, nor boosters) I was noticing that the base Endurance cost (something like 20 End) was keeping it from firing (either on demand, or on auto), which has a complicated cascading effect on Recovery (and Recharge) and was affecting the Quality-of-Life in a noticeable enough way that I started to investigate Endurance Cost reduction + Recharge options. This investigation came around the same time I noticed my very bad decision to try to use Distortion Field as an AoE %damage source, so one of the slots that would have been in Distortion Field ended up being re-purposed for Chrono Shift. I ended up doing number-crunching with HO, D-Syncs, power sets, and 3x End/Recharge (at 50+5) was so deep into Enhancement Diversification I went looking at increasing either the Heal or the Recovery. It came down to Preemptive Optimization (End Mod/Endurance/Recharge) or the second Panacea piece (Healing/Endurance/Recharge). Panacea offered me a 'forever' +2.5% Recovery, so that was the deciding factor. If the +15% Endurance boost was Enhanceable, I very likely would have gone the other way! Pretty much ^this^. Those extra 2 HP of AoE damage at level 50 must be helping, amiright? I have some (economically) wasteful habits that I freely admit to: Because of the content I play, the merit-rich characters almost always just merit-buy ATOs for newish characters I like... if I haven't already bought them and low low prices (and can remember which character has bought them). Similarly, the Catalyst supply is deep. The level 50 respec cycles between catalyzed and non-catalyzed pieces for SG storage (burning up Catalysts rather than using the market to catalyze)...I'm not sure I have ever bought a Luck of the Gambler! The one thing I "make" new level 50s do for themselves is buy (via merits) their own boosters. Usually a new level 50 won't have that much Inf on hand, but will have enough merits. Economically wasteful, but it isn't like saving the Inf is doing that much for me. At some point the only thing I am doing with Inf is buying Envenomed Daggers.

I gave the above post a thumbs-up, but I did want to add this reason why I'd prefer the ability to convert (with an Enhancement converter) or convert via purchase (as with "Event" or "Archtype") using merits. My reason is that there are some attribute combinations that don't exist in an available set to boost., even if the power will take IOs that are part of a Hami/DS. The inherent greater starting values (for D-Syncs, for Hami-Os) means that even using a triple-attribute D-Sync is better than other options. (ehem: Threat / Accuracy / Recharge or Slow / Endurance / Recharge), but often it is just for something that can take both Accuracy and Range boosts (and no regular set piece exists for that type of power). I should note: I almost always (but not always) use Hami-O and D-Syncs because I am trying to conserve slots. I have found a few powers for which there are no good choices of HO/DS even if I intend to frankenslot.

I didn't vote (I don't think) but for me the answer is ALWAYS. I've found it to be the easiest way to get powers that do either/both: Let me slot the precious Globals Run Weave, often slotted for Defense. There are some Epic/Patron that let me do these, but often I want the Epic pool to complement the build and so the pools I want are not guaranteed to offer me powers to put (all) the Globals in. Also, at least for Patron Resist toggles, I tend to want to run those with a set bonus.

I got the Energy Blast/Time Manipulation Corruptor to level 50, and so it got the level 50 respec/Purples/Superiors/Boosts, The character itself has some peculiar compromises made for concept, so I just wanted to post my thoughts on the Time Manipulation secondary. I did far more franken-slotting than usual for this character; I'm sharing where I landed to listen to any feedback folks may have. Level 1: Time Crawl (A) Pacing of the Turtle - Accuracy/Endurance (*) Pacing of the Turtle - Accuracy/Slow (*) Ice Mistral’s Torment - Chance for Damage (Cold) (*) Impeded Swiftness - Chance for Damage (Smashing) Nothing super-clever here, except that Accuracy is always a priority, then Endurance and I don't mind leaning into the single-target Slow. The %damage is reliable on cast. The set bonus is a freebie, and I felt this was the best option. This needs to hit, not just for %damage but especially for maximum synergy with Slowed Response's debuffs. Level 4: Time's Juncture (A) HamiO:Enzyme Exposure (Endurance/Defense Debuff/ToHit Debuff): Level 53 (*) HamiO:Enzyme Exposure (Endurance/Defense Debuff/ToHit Debuff): Level 53 The Hami-Os are strictly for a marginal improvement in Endurance cost and ToHit debuff. Level 50+5 Dampened Spirits and Dark Watcher's Despair (both Endurance/ToHit debuff) are almost as good. I find this to be a good toggle when facing large spawns, and that it doesn't de-toggle when mezzed is nice. I'll use it when scouring indoor maps for hidden mobs! Level 6: Temporal Mending (A) Preventive Medicine - Heal/Endurance (*) Preventive Medicine - Chance for +Absorb (*) Preventive Medicine - Heal (*) Preventive Medicine - Endurance/RechargeTime (*) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime (*) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime/Endurance This is typical slotting for me. This heal doesn't really need to be taken so early in a build IMO, but level 6 is where I felt it fit. I definitely wanted the healing for low-level TF/SF. FWIW: I didn't slot this until late in the build. Skipped: Temporal Selection. I had it while leveling, and I felt like it improved some of my PUGmates, but frankly teammates are unpredictable enough and I am never entirely sure if they notice they have a buff on them... or that buffs eventually expire. A more team-friendly build should probably have it. If I didn't have LotG mules at levels 47 and 49, I'd probably make it the Level 49 power pick for level 45+/Incarnate content. Level 16: Distortion Field (A) Pacing of the Turtle – Endurance/Recharge/Slow: Level 50+5 (*) Superior Entomb - Endurance/Recharge I played around with this power trying to make it %damage-friendly whjle leveling, Including mixed Accuracy slotting and the PVP Gladiator's Net %damage (a high-rate %proc)... and because it is a pseudo-pet this was terrible. The power can take a LOT of %damage pieces, but the rates are horrible. Dropping the %proc idea let me lean hard into Endurance reduction and Recharge time with a modicum of Slow. Level 18: Aim (from Primary) (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up (*) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50+5 I'm including this power in the discussion of the secondary to provide some extra context for that second IO Recharge 50+5 choice. I try to have an Aim/Build Up power available pretty much whenever I have a Snipe. I will come back to this... Level 20: Time Stop (A) Gladiator's Net - Accuracy/Hold: Level 50+5 (*) Gladiator's Net - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge/Hold: Level 50+5 (*) Gladiator's Net - Chance for Damage (Lethal) (*) Unbreakable Constraint - Chance for Damage (Smashing) (*) Ghost Widow's Embrace - Chance for Damage (Psionic) (*) Neuronic Shutdown - Chance for Damage (Psionic) This is my typical slotting for single-target holds that I also want to do damage. I feel that I almost always get more mileage from the +MaxEnd bonus from Gladiator's Net than I would for any other 3-piece Hold set bonus. While leveling, I had the Lockdown %+2 Magnitude piece in this power, but against high-con enemies the effect when it triggers (and it reliably triggers) doesn't last long enough to make a difference IMO. I like the Hold as much as I like the %damage. I wouldn't judge anyone for using the Entomb %+Absorb piece here. I don't think the Recharge portion of the %Absorb proc will hurt %proc rates that much (I write, based on slotting on another character) Level 24: Farsight (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed (*) HamiO:Membrane Exposure (Endurance/ToHit Buff/Defense Buff): Level 53 (*) HamiO:Membrane Exposure (Endurance/ToHit Buff/Defense Buff): Level 53 (*) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Endurance (*) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Recharge/Endurance This slotting is a brutal assault on Enhancement Diversification; I make no apologies. The Gaussian's pieces are attuned for the travel speed bonus. My attitude to Aim (see above) is to have that %Build Up be available as often as possible, and I don't really need any other enhancement bonuses when it triggers... so the %BuildUp proc is elsewhere. See further comments at end regarding my choices around ToHit buffs. Frankly: the most challenging element of Farsight is getting as many teammates in the 25' radius as possible. Level 28: Slowed Response (A) Analyze Weakness - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50+5 (*) Analyze Weakness - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50+5 (*) Shield Breaker - Chance for Damage (Lethal) (*) Touch of Lady Grey - Chance for Damage (Negative Energy) This is a reliable Resistance debuff that I want available as often as possible, with the added benefit that it reliably dishes slightly off-brand damage types over a large AoE. As a 25' targeted AoE, this is a good source of extra %damage on top of the debuffs. The Analyze Weakness pieces are boosted not catalyzed; I can live without the Regeneration set bonus at lower levels. Level 30: Chrono Shift (A) Doctored Wounds - Endurance/Recharge: Level 50+5 (*) Panacea - Endurance/Recharge: Level 50+5 (*) Panacea - Heal/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50+5 Originally I had planned three different Healing Endurance/Recharge pieces, but after taking a look at the final values after considering Enhancement Diversification (which is still hitting my choice hard) I felt slipping in some extra Healing wasn't having that much of an effect on Endurance cost or Recharge time. The PVP Panacea set was the obvious choice once I was committed to boosting each enhancement. I have Chrono Shift on auto. If I didn't solo as much as I do and I committed to only highish-level content, I'd pull the 120s Panacea %+Heal/+End piece (currently occupying the second slot in Health) and move it here. This build also includes: Level 32: Hasten (A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50+5 (*) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50+5 Level 38: Power Boost (from Soul Mastery Patron pool) (A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50+5 Power Boost is one of the build's "money" powers. Normally for such a utilitarian power I would add a second slot and go for more Recharge reduction, but in practice the single slot of 50+5 leaves it with a timer that is commensurate with both Slowed Response and Farsight to boost those effects. for content where it is available, I use it more often than Aim... because with a +6% ToHit piece in a toggle (for me Hover, but Combat Jumping would work too) I have the Fast Snipe damage boost (IIRC max +22% from +ToHit) available all the time. I could move the Recharge IO from Aim to Power Boost, but as is I leverage the +Damage portion of %BuildUp on attack powers other than the Snipe. I almost pulled the Kismet piece from the build, but I was doing enough low-level content that I wanted its (fast Snipe) damage boost available via the toggle. A further comment: I really wasn't shooting for perma-Hasten, but the build has it when Chrono Shift is also active. the secondary has enough long-recharge powers that I felt I might as well have Hasten available especially for high-level, large spawn content. Solo I play much more relaxed and rarely use Hasten. I boosted the Recharge in Hasten to 50+5 mostly for harmony, and partially because of enemy Slows. There is very little difference between two 50+4 boosts and two 50+5 boosts, if funds/merits are tight.

I used the Medicine pool for a while on a Shield Tanker (pre-50), I made a point to use the powers (on teammates in trouble) but they simply weren't useful enough. The only other character that I felt I got mileage out of Medicine was a Mastermind, but that was during the before times, and it was only useful (for me) to keep a small number of henchmen (i.e. when I had ONLY T1 or T1+T2) alive at lower levels... and I was doing crazy stuff like street-sweeping even level mobs in Perez Park. After getting the T3, I respecced out of Medicine.

Ah you sweet summer children. Back in the day, an Inv/EM tanker would have to be rooted in place in Peregrine Island and hope that those stunned Nemesis troopers would eventually rocket back within melee range. If we are negotiating: I won't support Stuns getting any enhancement changes while neither Fears nor Threats have anything like PVP or Very Rare enhancement choice. I'm not asking for much... Fears: Deserve a %Contagious Fear piece (would be especially useful in the single-target fears, which have limited utility at level 50+ content). I'd kinda like an Acc/End/Fear piece to exist as well. Threat: We need a non-D-Sync Threat/Accuracy piece, as there exists non-auto-hit Threat powers. There aren't any mixed Endurance-reduction for Threat powers outside of the D-Syncs. I could use straight-up Acc/End in certain powers. Threat/Range is always a solid choice. I don't care what the 6th piece is, I'm sure many aura builds would like another %damage.

TL;DR: I don't think the case to make the OP change is well-motivated (beyond wanting to get something for less). Something similar was written earlier in the thread (in different ways) that later pool picks are good because there is an additional cost (the prerequisite) picks... and just as later powers in a primary/secondary tend to get "better"(kk, maybe not T9 armors) the investment in a power pool is part of the price of admission. I agree that (by themselves) only Boxing (or Kick) is somewhat of a stinker attack. At least there is synergy from biking both of them, unlike some other pools (ehem: Provoke/Pacify/intimidate, pick any two to get the good stuff). Writing only for myself: The lowering of the levels for which powers are available has done two things (for my play experience) I have fewer opportunities to fit a "shore up weaknesses" choice like the Fighting pool (as early as I used to) I get the accesses to the set-defining powers earlier, so I don't feel like I need to shore up weaknesses so early. If the fitness pool was not inherent, I can guarantee almost every one of my builds would be trying to get to Stamina in ASAP... I write this with certainty because hat is how it was on Live (for me). Inherent Fitness (as well as lowering he level to be able to take a true travel power) were honest-to-RNGesus quality-of-life changes Another personal comment: I rarely take either Tough or Weave strictly for their benefits as a toggle, thanks to Global pieces. I have quite a few builds that use Tough and/or Weave only as mules. As things are now, 100% of my builds use globals (or 120s %procs) in Health and Stamina. If I had an inherent Fighting pool, I'd dump globals in it as well.... just as I do with my auto resist/defense powers on AT which have those. [IMO The game's QoL would severely diminish without Globals and %procs, I don't feel like engaging with a discussion about how changing Globals is the key to getting an inherent Fighting pool... let's just say I don't feel like I need an ever-changing series of cascading changes to have to skip Boxing and Tough when I can just pick a character that gets similar powers through a primary or secondary]