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P2W offers a limited set of no-charge enhancements for powers. The Auction House often has IO pieces at all levels available for cheap, as players seek badges (and associated rewards) for crafting IOs at all levels. The best rewards IMO are for crafting 25/30 and 45/50 IOs, so there should be no shortage of those. If you are playing a character on a "slow climb" (that is, no double-XP, just doing content at a relaxed solo pace) by the time you can slot level 25 IOs, you are practically at the point of maximum efficiency relative to the original game (modulo Enhancement Diversification), at least as far as you will be able to tell. Not every IO will be 5 Inf, but they should be completely affordable. Take the University courses and you can even get one (at level 10, 15 or 25) for free. By level 30, you should have no problem doing the Summer Blockbuster event. One of the reward choices is an attuned "Universal Damage" Enhancement. These are a perfectly fine for one of your attacks, and also sell (in the auction house) for somewhere in the neighborhood of 9MInf if you don't want to use them yourself.

I think applying the quoted criteria to other ATs would cause massive revolts... let's say Blaster Primary T9s. It's always felt 'wrong' to me that many of the Armor T9s are completely skippable, (and worse, likely detrimental to a build if actually used) but skipping an offensive T9 would result in a character not living up to the promise of the AT.

Yay! Discussion of slotting choices! Perhaps obviously, my attitude about slotting choices varies depends on power recast times (inherently fast cycling powers typically get set bonuses or few slots) and AT (melee ATs usually don't get +Range pieces). I did want to write a couple of minor things I find myself doing with that "last, non-proc slot". I am almost always picking some piece that adds to Accuracy, occasionally it is just an IO. In cones, I often go the D-Sync/HO combo of Acc/Range and Damage/Range.... although I pay attention to what the final range of the cone will be... on some characters I try to keep all the (AoE) ranged attack powers roughly the same. Note that Bombardment has both a %damage and a 2-piece set bonus of Global+5% range, and Positron's Blast includes a Damage/Range piece. Procable (longer recharge) holds: I find that Gladiator's Net (PVP set) typivcally offers a better combination of what I want (boostable Acc/*) plus useful set bonuses than any other choice... although I have at least one character that uses (only) 2-pieces of Unbreakable Constraint (for a small boost to Recovery). Every once in a blue moon one of my builds will have a power (often a proc-heavy attack, but not always) for which there is no good choice of a single piece from either PVP (boostable to 50+5), HO/DSync (combinable up to 53), Superior (or ATO, or Winter) that effects the attributes I want.... often this is a combination of Accuracy and Endurance. For example, Melee AoE doesn't have a straight-up Accuracy/Endurance Reduction piece in those categories, so I find my builds using a boosted Multi-Strike at 50+5 instead. There are a handful of other powers that cannot slot IOs but can slot (boostable) pieces from other sets where I will use this trick on level 50 builds. For example Mind Link/Link Minds cannot take Recharge IOs, but can take (boosted) Adjusted Targeting pieces.

I offer no disagreements with the general premise "Those original T9s are disappointing!"; I am in agreement with the assessment of teh power sets that I have played. I want to offer an overlooked power that I think could offer some addition insight into how to possibly revamp some of the t9 powers: Unrelenting This is (one of two) capstone powers in the Presence pool. It is a self-rez power, but that aspect of it not the reason to take it, you take it for the healing, recovery, recharge and damage boosts. I think the power is very well-balanced for a power pool: It is available at a low level balanced by requiring 2 other pool choices (*1) It has no downsides (i.e. no 'crash') balanced by its very long natural recharge time, and is only 30 sec duration It provides boosts that every AT can use, although mileage may vary w.r.t. the +20% Damage depending on AT I've always slotted Unrelenting with enhancement sets, but it doesn't require them. (*1) I feel that the page 5 change making T9s available at lower levels offers a slight improvement in 'game balance' for a reason beyond just making the T9s available earlier... '3rd choice' pool powers get 'squeezed' if players opt to take most primary/secondary powers when first available, and I find the Presence pool to be annoying to try to make good use of the mandatory choice of Pacify/Provoke/Intimidate (pick any two). ------ The "poor old T9s" need something to make them worth picking, and probably should be evaluated with the following in mind: They should be balanced around "SO only", so that means ignore any potential to slot them as Enhancement piece mules. (But don't eliminate that!) They should not be weaker than an inspiration (in effect or duration) As a "capstone" power, the 'click powers' really ought to offer multiple benefits (I am thinking passive boosts) in addition to whatever the click does 'crashes' need to be reassessed. The 'rest between spawns' is from a different era that the game has long since evolved away from.

I was just doing a quick search, I suspect that I quickly looked at one of the enemy group versions of Taunt and not a Tanker power.

IIRC, there are some subtleties when considering Taunt/Confront and Provoke (Presence Pool) and 'Taunt' Auras. Those who feel more authoritative should fee free to correct elements of this post. I have not played as many hours with the new HC Aggro rules as I have preceding the change. Taunt/Confront are supposed to be auto-hits (PvE) , although any %proc slotted into any such power will require a "toHit" check, and I am reasonably sure this is also in addition to the "%proc" check as well. ToHit checks are required in PvP. I was under the impression that Taunt is much more than 5 targets, and that "5 targets" was the limit from Provoke. Confront is supposed to be single-target... I'm not sure I've ever taken it. City of Data shows 5, maybe I am remembering the effects of Gauntlet on Tankers? 5+Gauntlet seems believable; I've been running some solo arcs with a tanker at x3 and a single Taunt seems to grab "all but 1 or 2" mobs in a spawn. (*1) Provoke always requires a ToHit check, and (from memory) supposed to have a target cap less than that of Taunt, but City of Data shows a target cap 5 16! In practice (corrected, I was looking at an AI power, not an AT power), I don't ever recall a non-Tanker (I don't play Brutes, sorry) with Provoke drawing attention of very many enemies., even with a 6-slotted Provoke. (So sue me, I like the Mocking Beratement bonuses!) One of my characters with >9999 Reward Merits (equivalent) is a Fortunata who uses Provoke to help squishy allies being overwhelmed as well as to attract scattered enemy groups for faster team clearing, so this isn't an unused power. In my experience: Damage Auras < Taunt Aura, both are rather inferior forms of holding aggro for teams when moving out of aura range.... especially for AT without Gauntlet. I only mention this because there is a a huge difference in necessary aggro management between playing solo on a character and when on a team. It's most noticeable on lower level TFs at x8 (Posi 1 or 2) when a character with a damage aura aggros several spawns in a room but doesn't actually HOLD the aggro. (*1) I've had better results (i.e. aggro grab in solo) using a ranged cone against enemies, only following up with a Taunt if necessary (to reduce their range) to draw them closer, maybe because I can force a ToHit roll against more targets? The mechanics of why do some enemy AI simply decide to run all the way across a map, and how far they choose to run have been a mystery to me since the days of Unyielding rooting players in place. I have a vague memory of changes being made to prevent Fire Tanks from simply farming XP via DE Swarms, and of course it makes no sense that an enemy would stand still in a damage patch, but sometimes it is so silly to see certain enemies scatter as they do.

I gotcha. I started fooling with Wall of Force because: I got used to the travel power (having taken it on a specific character), and I always take a travel power, Once the travel power is taken, the barrier to entry is one (of two possible) single-target ranged power (each is proc-able, or for set mules in 'unorthodox' builds I suppose)... I have always taken the debuff Weaken Resolve (better %proc rates!) The pool includes a perfectly good LotG mule power as well. On melee characters, I don't even bother to worry about enhancing range (as I often do with cones, also because 'lazy'). PVP Acc/End/Recharge 50+5 is just fine, even if it nibbles at the proc rates. 2-piece bonuses from either Javelin Volley or Bombardment is usually how I roll, depending on AT. I personally don't slot it with the %-Resistance from Annihilation, but I wouldn't argue with anyone who did so and took the 2-piece +MaxEnd bonus from that choice. As for Epic/Patron powers... sometimes there are some sweet choices! I can see something like Melt Armor speeding up defeat times.. at least if you were to time its use for when you have multiple Boss or high-resist LTs close by, because of the inherently long recharge. AFAIK, this power does require an accuracy check, and given the inherently long recharge (200 seconds?) I think I'd rather just rely on the 30 second single-target recharge of Weaken Resolve for when I need it and drag the undefeated Bosses/Lts to the next spawn. If I want a lil' bit of %-Res I can always add thet %proc to the Wall of Force cone too! Also part of my personal math is this: I rather like it when my (post-50) melee builds play the same (that is, same powers to click) across a wide range of content, including low levels. Having ultra-cool Epic powers but not having them available in low level content makes me somewhat sad. YMMV.

I'd like the record to show that nerfing %procs will have a bigger effect on other ATs that have neither the DPS nor the survivability of any of the classes under discussion here. Carry on.

Wall of Force is a very proc-friendly, rapid-cycling ranged cone that I like to add to Tankers. I have never like the Fury mechanic, so I've never 'finished' a Brute build, but Brutes can have this power at the same level as Tankers.

I don't think DP underperforms, so I guess that is a "I don't disagree", at least for my Corruptor. Swap Ammo is, I think, a rather unique mechanic... so without doing any hard number crunching, I'm really not sure where it stands. IIRC the only things that really stood out to me were: The lack of a Snipe The wee cone on Piercing Rounds The first was not a deal-breaker, and the second one was something I came to appreciate. If there is a deal-breaker for me, it is the sound FX.

Within myself, I toggle between loving the animations (and sounds) of Dual Pistols and hating them (some dogs especially hate the sounds). I never quite finished either of my 2 different DP Blasters, but I did take a Corruptor to level 50+. For the Corruptor, the only one of the powers I went proc-spastic on was Empty Clips. Bullet Rain and Hail of Bullets each has a purple proc and a Force Feedback %+Recharge. Otherwise, the primary is all 5/6-piece set bonuses. I fooled around with trying to get %-Resistance in the attacks, but I found it was not speeding up map clearing when solo... mileage will vary with teams, but it is rare I'm on a team that really notices %-Resistance (as opposed to straight-up debuffs). My focus was on global Recharge, as my secondary had powers I wanted up more often, and I leveraged %damage in a secondary power and several patron powers instead. Here is the (retooled for page 5) build for DP/Cold/Soul.

I have opinions on running Synapse at harder difficulties, but rather than share those allow me to offer a simple, general suggestion: Buy some AoE attack powers (Plasmatic Taser, Grenades) from P2W for Synapse. Synapse is a low enough level such that some (especially exemplared) characters may have nothing but single-target attacks (including prestige attacks). I can't offer any suggestions about the knockback (or Endurance costs), but often just being able to aggro more of the enemy mobs in those "defeat all" missions speeds up the TF, no matter the challenge setting.

That sort of con-change can happen at the start of a mission for exemplared characters, or if characters level up, but I am sure you would have noticed if either of those were the case. A week-or-so ago on the weekly Numina, I started that WTF at +1, yet the minions in Mission 1 all conned grey; as a reminder Mission 1 is in the same zone as the contact, so this wasn't a "wait for the leader to zone" issue. I raised it to +3, and the next mission (in Crey's Folly) was as expected. I settled on +2 to avoid drudgery and every subsequent (instanced) mission had the expected levels, if I (as leader) was in the zone or not.

I get that reasoning. My thinking was that I am generally opening with that attack, and that except for the last hard target (among the spawns I can see or get to or taunt) I am most likely to be spamming AoEs.

So how are folks slotting Axe Cyclone? On my tanker, I have: Fury of the Gladiator - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge (boosted) Fury of the Gladiator - Chance for Res Debuff Eradication - Chance for Energy Damage Perfect Zinger - Chance for Psi Damage Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage Explosive Strike - Chance for Smashing Damage Obviously the Force Feedback %+Recharge is an option, but personally I'd rather have the chance to do a little more damage (off-brand) damage that doesn't rely on targeting, especially for enemies like Super Stunners who can be hit during the period after they've rezzed but before they can be targeted.

*clanks shield in agreement*

So here is where I landed with my level 50 (page 5) build (apologies for text formatting): In lower (no Incarnates) content, I have no real Endurance issues; all toggles can be on, occasionally I deactivate all three travel powers (Mighty Leap, Sprint, Athletic Run) when I know I'm going to be in a group of mobs for a significant number of attacks. I've only slotted Alpha Cardiac so far, so 45+ I don't even do that. It's not particularly hard to build a level 50 that can deal with low-level content or excel on PUGs, but I have had absolutely no problem using this figure solo (clears large spawns fast) or on low level PUGs (tanks and groups just fine). This build can either speed through TF missions (and defeat 'final room spawns') or hang back and clean up early dungeon mobs (Think: Manticore or Numina TFs) depending on what the PUG wants to do. This is also true for a LOT of builds, but occasionally I have a character that can't do both. The level 35+ power choices are essentially my 'don't care/don't use' powers, although I will admit I have used Aid Other on NPCs and Aid Self in AV battles after they get a solid hit in on me. If I wasn't committed to the Force of Will pool (and having two extra attacks by level 22) I would like to try this sort of build using the Teleportation pool instead (to have a low(ish)-level Combat Teleport as well as Teleport Target and Fold Space. This would fundamentally change the direction from "do as much damage as possible" to "have as much in my face as possible", so I think I'd make a lot of different choices to Toughen/Weaven the build up. That's what the second build is for! EDIT: I did put Active Defense on auto and never looked back!

I can't speak to this specific circumstance, but I have noticed that with cones (and possibly other attacks, but for my play style I see this with cones) I hit (or don't target, but this is harder to judge fairly) certain targets in unexpected ways. I attribute this to a combination of button mashing, repositioning (moving, turning) and an asynchronous link between my system and the server. My observation with cones is slightly different (but I think related to) when using a cone attack when rapidly moving... or when playing with others who are 'moving' the enemies. An easy way to see some of this is to buy/use Plasmatic Taser from P2W, as this is a cone with knockback... it is possible to see some (at first glance) peculiar targeting/ragdoll effects. I tend to use both P2W powers Plasmatic Taser and Fragmentation Grenade, so I think I've just gotten so used to peculiar effects with cones and ranged AoE I don't see anything 'wrong'. Occasionally I see something like this with a PBAoE also, where an activated PBAoE hits characters that I wouldn't expect to hit based on the displayed position of the enemy mob.

IMO, the aspect of the game that has made it VERY newbie friendly is the P2W (formerly 'veteran rewards') Attacks and Travel powers, and to a limited extent the buffs that low-level players can enjoy (including inherent Fitness pool). Simply having more things to click on in your power tray is a HUGE quality-of-life improvement compared to the early days of the game (on Live) that had players waiting around to interact with the world because they had no power to use (and no Endurance to do so). It may not be obvious to the new player that these exist, but grabbing some extra attacks and a travel power makes a big difference for low-level characters. By level 16, each of the ATs (maybe not HEATs or VEATs) will have started to feel like its AT, at lower levels most of the classes feel the same (to me anyway).

I certainly think Farmers have been keeping the prices on certain items low, yet there have been many periods (recently) when common salvage has sold for higher than the cost of uncommon salvage. This is IMO a sign of market shenanigans. I suppose it is possible that there is an extraordinary demand on the part of badgers (and there would have to be a LOT of them) who only want common salvage (for common Invention recipes), but this seems unlikely to me... it is tedious but doesn't take particularly long to get all the crafting badges if you have the influence. The SG base buffs don't allow you to craft more than one each (during period of effect) so it isn't as if the common salvage market is being swamped for Increased Perception buffs. I haven't been paying that much attention to the Red Inspiration market, but it seems like folks are still preferentially buying those, which I associate more with active farming (outside of Hamidon raid times).

I agree that Dual Pistols/Martial Combat is probably the most kewl looking group of animations. Rather cinematic, although there are a couple of DP animations that are little too dramatic for long-session 'button mashing'. Street Justice, and to a slightly lesser extent the glowing pom-poms and punch-punch of Energy Melee have always done a good job representing comic-fist-actions, YMMV. The (new) Battle Axe combined with Shield Defense does a kewl job in grouping up enemies... add the Teleport pool for even more options. As far as power pools: The first three powers in Presence are not particularly useful (certain mot in combination) but I think all five powers have kewl animations if you lean into the concept and effects of those powers. In contrast, I grok what Sorcery and Force of Will are going for, but I find them a little to over-the-top... Sorcery for the extra artwork and Force of Will because I cannot reconcile the Hulk-like Foot Stomp of Takeoff in the same pool with the Professor X-like animation of Weaken Resolve.

Your price too steep.

Sorcery is basically a non-starter, as I'm using two powers from Force of Will to get low-level (ish) %damage, including a cone from Wall of Force. It's an interesting thought experiment if Enflame and Taunt could equal the distributed damage from Wall of Force, but that isn't a direction I'm going to go with this character.

So what's your suggestion instead of Aid Self and Field Medic? As in "Here's a power I'll use outside of ITF/Incarnate content".

Let me write this: "Pop an Inspiration" means different things to different players 🙂. Right now, I'm hoarding Blues. I've been playing around with the Medicine pool (Aid Other, Aid Self, Field Medic) pre-50 and with Field Medic, there is no need to worry about interrupts on the heals. The (short, but not insignificant) Endurance recovery on Aid Self is also a bonus, IMO. This will literally be the only character I have that has the Medicine pool (I had it briefly on a MM to help keep henchmen alive during early leveling at HC launch). I'm generally a fan of using Inspirations to excel in missions... it's just that since I was already using the pool as a mule I thought I'd see about leverage it instead of (ho hum) Fighting.