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Generally (for me) I (eventually) have a plan for each character that I will take to level 50 that involves: Being able to solo "survive" (or self-rez) large spawns via defense/resists/controls Being able to solo "defeat" large spawns Typically I try to do this via power choices and slottings, but the Inspiration tray and SG buffs can also play a part. I'm never trying to build level 50+ characters for +3/+4 solo content... I can understand the challenge but I simply don't enjoy what I see as a grind. Once I have a level 50, I'm pretty comfortable taking it through any content with any PUG because I know what I can do and I can alter/leverage my play style to improve team performance. For example, if content demands a particular debuff... I may end up spamming the debuff in a way I would almost never do while playing solo. I have a few characters at level 50 that I don't particularly enjoy playing on level 50+ hard-mode PUGs mostly because those characters are so single-focused that I can't really change what they bring to any rando PUG. An example of this is my War Mace/Invulnerable Scrapper. He can do a little bit of extra herding, but otherwise he's just a hard-to-defeat melee machine. There isn't a lot of changing of tactics with this sort of character, even with my various power pool choices.

Spend levels 1-5 dead and then enjoy living through levels 6-50.

You have certainly given me some things to think about! If I sacrificed Repulsion Field I could fit another LotG mule into the build. I will be doing some experiments with toggles and unslotters to see if I can learn anything.

Heck, with fast-travel options: Original Positron TF solo is relatively pain free.

I'm guessing the 13% is assuming an auto-hit? This feels like one of those cases where a ToHit roll would also come into play. I've been fooling around with (Epic) Force Mastery's Repulsion Field (with a KB-KD piece and Endurance Reduction) to backup Seismic Shockwaves. I do see adjacent enemies getting knocked down, but I haven't done much specific testing to see if its rate is particularly good. It's been years since I tried this, and I want to say that I almost always give up on the idea of a toggle with knockdown.

After a little bit of experimentation with Burn in a level 41 solo mission at x3: It does seem like I am getting reasonable %damage chances on the cast, which is pretty much what I was hoping for. I have a feeling that it is Combustion that will come out of the build, keep Consume with a pair of recharge IOs, and shuffle some of the slots that had been penciled into Combustion. They almost certainly won't go into Consume, it is very likely I'll tweak the build to run some sort of Defense toggle at a mid/lowish level to include a Kismet +ToHit piece to support the (Fast) Snipe. In this little round of testing, I was trying to make more of an effort to use Combustion, but it still didn't feel as if it was fitting into solo combat particularly smoothly. I was facing Crey (and getting blinded quite a bit) so while it was nice to have this as an extra (non-targeting) attack I'm still not sure it was all that necessary.

I am work-slopping (sic) a Seismic/Fire Blaster. My current (still leveling, so I'm not soloing x8 content yet) build has the following four powers, and I don't think each will survive. I do want some PBAoE for enemies that get stuck in walls/ceilings, and for when I get dog-piled. Combustion: In practice, this power rarely gets used. In my final build plans it is 5x slotted with Scirocco's Dervish. Consume: I have this only slotted with 2xIO recharge, because 3 minutes is hella long to wait. I had considered trying to make this into a mini-%damage nuke, with something like: (A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50+5 (*) D-Sync Conduit (EndMod/Recharge): Level 53 (*) D-Sync Drain (EndMod/Accuracy): Level 53 (*) Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage (*) Eradication - Chance for Energy Damage Ultimately as a Blaster, I didn't need %damage from a PBAoE, so that's why I thought straight recharge was better. However: the recharge time is still excruciatingly long. I still use it, but only when I am really noticing that the blue bar is sagging. I have penciled this for removal from the first level 50 respec. Burn: I use this more than Combustion; I think it is because for lower-level content I simply have less of a need for a PBAoE. I have to do some more testing to see if the %procs fire on cast (not thinking about pseudo-pet %procs) as the plan currently is to go with (A) Superior Avalanche - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50 (*) Superior Avalanche - Damage/Endurance: Level 50 (*) Superior Avalanche - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50 (*) Scirocco’s Dervish - Chance of Damage (Lethal) (*) Eradication - Chance of Damage (Energy) (*) Obliteration - Chance of Damage (Smashing) Hot Feet: I planned nothing fancy with this, as I was unimpressed with it on a Dominator. As you can see I value the Slow more than the Damage. (A) Ice Mistral’s Torment - Slow/Endurance: Level 50+5 (*) Pacing of the Turtle - Accuracy/Endurance: Level 50+5 I can't speak for using an Overwhelming Force %Knockdown piece in Hot Feet... I don't remember %damage pieces %proc-ing very often in it.

(minor editing for content and emphasis) When strictly soloing Tankers, I have delayed Taunt but never skipped it. It always makes it back in as an early choice during respecs... simply because I find it to be such a unique power(*1) for Tankers (Brutes just aren't my jam, but I kinda expect them to be running from spawn-to-spawn). I bring up Positron TFs not just because of the low-level nature(*2), but because those large sewer rooms are a place for a Taunting Tanker to shine... especially the one that has two little spawns off to the sides, a boss-spawn visible from the entrance with another boss spawn very close by... a player with an aura can leave a lot of angry stragglers for the rest of the team to deal with before anyone else has even engaged the first boss spawn... and it doesn't take much from an AoE caster to get the attention of another close-by group. (*1) "standing next to" (or "mezzing") an angry spawn (or GM, or AV) is not what I consider "tanking". MMV. (*2) of course, the low-level nature often means that the individual members of a team won't have powers and enhancement bonuses that can be relied upon to deal with large spawns as done in high-level content.... making leaning into the unique abilities of an AT that much more important.

Before pursuing a Crabbermind, I have a couple of thoughts to share: (0) These are pets, not henchmen. They are not at all like a Mastermind, except with respect to slotting choices for Defense/Resists/%BuildUp (Soulbound) etc. The Crabbermind is perhaps the best choice (along with an Invulnerability Tanker) to put a Gaussian's %BuildUp proc in one of the Crabbermind's Leadership powers. VEATs have a solid Damage scale, and the pets will improved the chances to get %BuildUp triggers for the Crabbermind. Masterminds can get similar chances for the %proc, but their damage scales are terrible by comparison. (1) You will need enough Recharge to be able to resummon the T2 and T3 pets, should they survive the entire length of their 'natural' lives. This isn't hard, but it isn't trivial. The T1 summon has a shorter cooldown, see next point. (2) Because they are pets that expire, if you resummon a 'replacement' to join previously summoned pets that have not been defeated: the latest summoned pets will expire per the life of any surviving original pets. In practice, this means that you can't be frivolous with resummoning just because a power has recharged. As for playstyle: In my experience, the pets are basically fire-and-forget. You are essentially stuck with whatever attacks they have so there is no real advantage to trying for melee v. ranged. IIRC I think I have at least two (possibly all three) of the summons slotted with 4xExpedient Reinforcement and the only %procs I try to leverage are Soulbound Allegience %Build up on the big guy, and Overwhelming Force Knockdown on the little guys. I should disclose: I rarely used my Crabbermind build, as a lot of what I wanted to do with the character could be done with the other builds. I never paid close attention to how the difference in DPS shook out (between builds), but it certainly didn't feel like less. I suspect that if you want to lean heavily into primarily Mace attacks the pets ought to help a lot, once you get their survivibility improved.

I hear you, but I don't grok. (Tankers) Loading up on toggles at low levels (with or without running them) without having Taunt seems like a waste of effort; loading up on low-level attacks and trying to spam those instead of Taunting feels like a recipe for disaster. This is just me:I think it is easier to choose a Tanker primary power to delay instead of delaying the choice of Taunt from the secondary.

I'm firmly on the side of "Take Taunt; you don't have to slot it if you don't want to". There is nothing ANYONE has access to that is as powerful as Taunt. Provoke is weak sauce (not an auto-hit, so you practically must slot it) and the single-target Confronts are (ehem) single-target. I try to take it soon enough that it is available for the lowest-level TF/SF. Blue side, Positron 1 (and the Hollow's Caverns) Trial are easy ways to sort 'selfish' (selfish in the sense that they think their natural charm and good looks chosen melee attacks and auras will be enough to control the battlefield) Tankers and Tankers who are explicitly looking out for the teammates.

Dumb Answer: I go for the concept(*1). Specific to slotting questions: Slotting is for Damage(*2), with the intent of picking up Global Recharge bonuses from Enhancement sets. The "capstone" powers often are the deciding factor on if I want to include Hasten in a build. Because of Damage, I almost always include Hasten on Stalkers, Scrappers and Blasters... but with Blasters its inclusion isn't guaranteed. I'll play around with different powers while leveling and see if there is one attack I am simply not using before deciding to replace it with Hasten. (*1) I almost never concentrate on defenses or resists, beyond what I can get from mules. One of my suicide/murder hobos relies mostly on the graces of RNGesus and an Epic Power Pool self-rez for challenging content. (*2) %damage for Blasters is never a goal... of course nothing is certain: I am work-shopping a Blaster right now with "too many" attacks in an dumb effort to have not just a single-target ranged attack chain, but also a melee/PBAoE attack chain, AND a ranged AoE %damage attack chain. Discussion point follows: I have a love/hate relationship with %-Resistance (on Blasters). On paper: applying -Resistance for even the short amount of time from a %proc would appear to drastically increase damage, especially for Blasters that are hovering near the damage cap. This can also pay off dividends when teaming, depending on the specific source(s) of -Resistance. Practically (especially for solo): for most spawns of mobs %-Resistance isn't radically reducing the number of attacks I have to make to clean up an enemy spawn. Ideally, the %-Resistance is most useful against the hardest targets/largest sacks of HP... but since "resistance resists resistible resist debuffs" (and "hard targets, GMs, AVs often have deep resistances) I almost always land on using a slot that would be a %-Resistance piece as a different sort of Enhancement slot. A debuff that is part of a primary or secondary (or power pool) is a different beast altogether IMO.

I am a fan of VEATs and Cone-heads, (Vogue-Enabled Attacks with Triangles?) so I approve this message. Some rando experiences of my own with Cone-heavy builds: As @Yomo Kimyata mentioned, if a build contains both PBAoE and Cone attacks, I will usually opt for Combat Teleport with a pair of macros (one to get into base contact with a selected target, one to pop back by 25 feet) and a mousebind (to teleport to a position). Increasing range on cones is useful, but in my experience it is not as useful as: making sure the attacks have accuracy (for the %procs) trying to have the cone attacks have roughly the same range High %proc rates that never hit is not useful. For %proc-heavy builds I used to slot for Accuracy/Range, often now I opt for Accuracy/Endurance. If I can get enough Accuracy from set bonuses (Hello Very Rares sets!) and/or slot the Kismet +6% ToHit into an always-on power, then Damage/Endurance is probably a good call on a character with a respectable damage scale (like a VEAT). If I were to say what I think the advantage of extra-long-range cone attacks are: When PUG-ing, you can use them to get the attention of distant groups of enemies to speed up defeat-all times. This could be both a blessing and a curse, depending on content. YMMV with cones of different ranges... I noticed on a Dark Blaster that I had one cone attack slotted such that it was completely disproportionate to all the other attacks. For AT that don't get a ranged cone attack early enough for my taste, or don't get one at all, I recommend investing 3-picks in the Force of Will pool. I usually go Mighty Leap (one of the fastest travel powers, plus an occasional PBAoE Knockdown), Weaken Resolve (some %proc utility at low levels, IMO it is fine with just Accuracy on final builds) and then the cone Wall of Force (available at level 14).

Don't think we didn't see what you did there.

WWD 5, 6, and 7 are all level 40+

Signature Story Arcs start at Level 10.

To get boosts that expire? Why not run content to use boosts?

If "I only want to run TFs" is the constraint, I don't understand the OP complaint: Despite the DfB buffs lasting into the early 20's... that isn't a level 20 "Task Forces"... so I think there is some arbitrary ignoring of moving goalposts.... certainly on the question of "is it legit to run TF/SF for rewards after you have out-leveled the content" when you only want to play "team content". Why is it ok to keep running DfB above level 10 but it wouldn't be OK to keep run a Mortimer Khal TF? Classically (once the game had level 40+ content) I believe there was a "lull" in 40+ content (even discounting the way debt used to work), but I am not seeing it at all on Homecoming. Generally, my level 40+ characters make one of two (non-Ouroboros) choices: Turn up the spawn sizes, because by level 40+ some fraction of my characters can handle larger spawns Run x1 spawn mission arcs that I may have missed along the way, including: Cape/Aura missions Costume & Store missions Vanguard missions PVP zone missions Signature Story Arcs Patron Arcs If I'm really feeling like I've missed out on something (e.g. red-side fighting heroes) ... I will solo Ouroboros content. Ultimately it depends on what I want sooner: XP (larger spawns) or Rewards (more missions, smaller spawns).

While it is possible to street-sweep to collect most defeat badges, there is an invisible (to other players) component of being able to run specific content that yields up enough of certain enemies without having to street sweep. Owning the badge itself conveys none of that information, but players are free to display any earned badge for whatever reason they like.

Background information for reference: My characters are typically Inf, Merit, and Catalyst "rich" from playing content My characters craft recipes and spin the converter roulette wheel I have a SG base with storage (for Enhancements, Catalysts, Boosters, etc.) I will "shop ahead" for enhancements, but I am also relatively happy with a "GET IT NOW" attitude Here is something this occasionally grouchy (points to self) player does as part of respecs: Before I perform a respec, I will: move any enhancements not intended to be used in the respec to the Auction House Grab any non-attuned(*1) enhancements I can incorporate into the (upcoming) re-build. Use non-attuned enhancements and then catalyze(*2) them as appropriate(*3). After the Respec: I put the previously attuned enhancements back into SG storage. Typically: I end up running a LOT of content that has high-level recipe drops (i.e. level 50 recipes), which would not be usable by lower-level characters without being attuned. The level 50 respec allows me to recycle attuned pieces that had been in the leveling build out for the next batch of characters that will be leveling. (*1) During converter roulette, I will land on pieces that are either in short supply or have a typical market price above (arbitrarily decided by me as) 3MInf. If I expect to use that Enhancement in a future build, it goes into storage. (*2) There are only certain classes of enhancement where this is saving any Influence, since the Auction House will allow for auto-attuning, minus the vig and whatever price point the specific piece happens to be at versus the market price of a Catalyst. (*3) Typical (non-ATO, non-Winter) Enhancements that I attune: PVP pieces that are BELOW level 50 <- I never attune a level 50 PVP piece, as it can get converted/boosted into another PVP piece. Luck of the Gambler +Recharge Performance Shifter (%+End, Endurance) Miracle +Recovery, Preventive Medicine %Absorb a couple Defense and Resistance sets that offer bonuses and/or globals that end up in most builds Some commonly used %damage pieces (Auction House prices vary for these, and not all %damage pieces are equal) BTW: I usually do at least one respec in Pocket D to earn the "1 hour spent in Pocket D" badge. I haven't tried this in PVP zones.

It has been years since I even tried to use (let alone install) MIDS, so what follows is not an attempt to bad-mouth a software tool that I don't use... it is a short explanation of why I can't bring myself to use it. I didn't like that MIDS seemed (to me) to need (virtually) a metric ton's worth of extra software packages (along the lines of, but possibly not exclusive to, the .NET framework plus whatever the under-the-hood mechanism is used for database actions) and internet connectivity (this could have been illusory!) in order to work. The last time I went to try an install, the various system changes I was asked to make felt like I was being asked to host a month-long visit from the royal court. (The analogy is meant to convey the feelings of "no other software install has ever asked for that", at least since my days of subscribing to the Microsoft Developer Network) I appreciate that the tool is maintained and that so many people find value in it! I can tell from discussions of builds using MIDS that there are a LOT of powerful options within it to help players understand the effects of all the powers, bonuses, game settings, etc. I simply can't help but wonder if there isn't a way to refactor and/or repackage the tool so that it offers more of a stand-alone solution?