tidge

I feel like I get Threads (and Shards, on some content) on sub-50 content. Certainly from leveling up. I sort-of get the point about fully slotting everything vy the time Hybrid is unlocked, but if that is the case, why bother wanting to have all the Incarnate powers slotted?

Simply my hot-take: Wanting to have a lot of alts isn't a good reason to make it easier to T3/T4 than it already is. I can see that there is little functional difference between a level 50 with a full-kit of character-juicing enhancements and an IO-only build with all the incarnates. As a practical matter, we're only talking level 45+ content... and most of what the game has to offer at 45+ isn't "Incarnate". I can almost imagine having a level 50 that somehow I've unlocked all the Incarnate tiers but somehow don't have any/enough Incarnate salvage to equip, but in my imagination this feels a LOT like a character that has been farmed up and hasn't been all that engaged with the game. I'm not anti-farming by any means, but this seems like a big request for JUST MOAR.

I find Kheldians to be fun, but they can be a drag in solo play, depending on content and settings. With Dwarf form, they can survive a lot, but even leveraging every possible trick at their disposal I find them to be incredibly slow at clearing maps, and if the difficulty is turned up they can have a LOT of trouble clearing spawns. Up through level 20 I think the Nova form gives an incorrect assessment of how useful that form can be: Because Nova form can be taken relatively early, it is possible for a "hover blaster" to have five ranged attacks, with two of them AoE. The early game (at +0x1) isn't really balanced for a single player to have so many attacks, the trade-off comes because those Nova attacks never really get better, so above level 20 it is basically like trying to fight critters with a whole lotta low-tier ranged attacks. Fortunata are much better in my experience, I'll provide a cautionary note that depending on which attacks are taken some enemy groups can be a PITA to clear (because of resistances).

How about when a thread gets mod-disappeared, the OP is sent a polite explanation of the rationale?

I am also opposed to adding Hasten to a build "just because". I definitely see reasons to add it, and as noted wanting to use specific, often short, attack chains can be a valid reason for including it. I sometimes add Hasten when a build has a specific, long-recharge power (6-10 minutes) that I really want available ASAP. In general, I don't like the costs that Hasten brings. MMV, but here is what I see as its negatives: The direct Endurance sag at the end The burning of more Endurance by more button mashing The drive towards perma-Hasten (more slots to support this, possible using the auto-power choice) Burning a power pool pick on Speed These can of course be mitigated, but to do so often costs more freedom-of-choice in any given build. The one reaction I have to almost all builds that have Hasten included before level 12:

Twilight's Son: "THEY ARE EATING THE KHELDIANS!"

I kinda hate when I am scrolling badges and accidentally select a new title. Could we get a prompt for this action?

Yes. I personally don't care for any of the "Incarnate Content" (not a hater, more like lingering "meh" from Live subscriptions), but I don't think any of them needed to be "Incarnate Level" content. Obviously these have been scaled for the higher power levels, but whatever tie they have to "gotta be an Incarnate" seems very tenuous to me.

I'm starting to think that Homecoming's changes in the area of "SO" have sent all the wrong signals.

I've found that Psychic Tornado offers me a chance to move in close to activate Drain Psyche (or any other PBAoE).

My plan was also to go Epic Force, but mostly for the ability to mule multiple Resistance pieces. I'm only at level 30, and I've had the spawn sized turned up for a bit... the defense numbers are definitely an issue for solo play. It feels very "classic CoX" so far. (not a bad thing, just writin')

Levels won't matter for the level 50 build. I don't use MIDS so a saved build is attached. I tend to take the powers in the same order while leveling as shown in one of my level 50 builds. I occasionally make a few exceptions, but I don't think those applied to the Warshade. For leveling up, I usually don't use more than 3-slots in attacks unless: There is a specific set bonus I want I feel like I need that power slotted (usually because of %damage) Because the HEATS Nova form is somewhat dominant until level 18 or so, I have over-slotted the Nova form attacks and then respecced once the Dwarf form is available. I don't think the original game was well-balanced (at +0x1) for so many ranged attacks at that level. At higher levels, those attacks are somewhat weak sauce. IMO it's like trying to take a level 30 blaster through content with just T1, T2 and two pool power attacks. I skimp on resistances while leveling. I will often add globals earlier while leveling until I can shuffle them into a mule power. build-WarShade.txt

I think the separation distance causing a drop is a reasonable price to pay for powers that can be applied (as toggles) to both enemies and allies.

When I share my builds, I try to explain my rationale along with playstyle. Of course I realize I just shared a Fortunata build that was an update of a past Fortunata build and gave zero advice on it! In my defense, I had posted that sort of information to death in the past, so some search-fu might reveal it. Generally I feel that there are enough other forum members that offer some play advice, but sometimes requests aren't much more than "anybody got ____?" I wouldn't throw shade at anyone who does little more than share a build in a followup.

Narrator: He was not, in fact, Satan himself. If you choose a Dark Armor set, the toggles will end up giving a character something like a 'smokey cloud' effect (and hide the character too). The powers in CoX won't duplicate what you describe as the modus operandi, I definitely would NOT pick Mastermind as the AT, because Masterminds are pretty obvious in a way that doesn't sound like your description.. the henchmen don't strike me as "manipulation". I think a Dark/Dark Dominator is probably the closest, if perma-Dom is achieved. The primary offers decent controls (including a confuse) plus pets that are shadowy, and the secondary has 'spooky' looking attacks. The main drawback (for the stated concept) is that Dominators make a LOT of direct attacks. Having seen some of the OP's build philosophy, I think a Dark/Dark Controller would probably be better suited for them, simply because the Controller gets the Dark Servant pet (plus Haunts, plus Umbra Beat) and won't have to build towards perma-Dom. Dark/Dark Controllers can end up being very tough and ought to be easier to build. Controller damage comes along with the controls (obviously) but Dark/Dark can end up with four pets from just the primary/secondary.

I think the highest number of Catalysts I've used on a level 50 respec was on the order of 60; that was for a character that was using ATOs (typical) plus several Winter sets (unusual for me) but also happened to have a whole lotta other pieces ready to slot in. Most of those Catalysts were from lowball bids. One habit I had to break myself of was Catalyzing singleton Winter's set pieces in franken-slotted powers, since they are the equivalent of 50+5 pieces. I suppose folks can haggle about the cost of 5 boosters on top of a common level 50 enhancement, but I've found passing the un-Catalyzed Winter pieces to new characters to be another simple form of charity.

I don't really think this approach hurts sellers. This is me, but only to a point....depending on how many Catalysts I've stockpiled and/or the market price of Catalysts determines what I do on the level 50 respec. If I'm leveling slowly enough I may use the AH to catalyze, but I'm a little uneven about this.

This was my immediate reaction as well. Drain Psyche also has a base accuracy of 1.0! I have a Psy/Mental Blaster build sketched out that I'm going to try, here are my planned strategies: I'm opting for as much %damage as possible, to get non-Psychic damage. I kinda hate that I'm doing this on a Blaster, but I'm going to mix it up. +MaxEnd from set bonuses (and accolades, of course), to mitigate not having a true sustain. 12 points of KB protection, because Drain Psyche won't work if I am being ragdolled. +95% Global recharge, no Hasten (Frankly: I worry about the Endurance burn associated with Hasten, especially without a toggle sustain.) Global +Accuracy and +ToHit, for obvious reasons, plus the PBAoE Drain Psyche will need to hit. The plan for Drain Psyche is 3x Touch of the Nictus: Heal/Recharge, Accuracy/End/Recharge, Accuracy/End/Heal. I may end up replacing this with some combination of IOs/HOs/DSyncs... I feel like I'll need to do some testing. Touch of the Nictus is a 30-50 set, so it isn't like the set bonuses cover all the game's content. There are a handful of level 50+5 pieces for Accuracy/Recharge that can be used, and IIRC from similar powers with three slots I can hit ED caps for Accuracy and Recharge and also squeeze in other boosts (End Mod, Health). For +MaxEnd, I'm opting to split Defiant Barrage into two sets of 3-pieces each, and some of the %damage powers will be franken-slotted with 2-pieces of Annihilation. I've also put Unleash Potential in the build at level 24, with plans to 6-slot with Preventive Medicine (Endurance Discount, Global Recharge). This is the 'backup' for Drain Psyche that doesn't rely on nearby enemies. I'm using Weaken Resolve and Mighty Leap to get to Unleash Potential. Weaken Resolve will be single slotted for Accuracy and Defense Debuff, Accuracy to hit a hard target, Defense Debuff to make it slightly easier for the %damage to hit. I seriously considered (and have not completely abandoned) the idea of getting 21 total points of KB protection, because FREEM! The 12 points I have planned are from the 3 unique pieces (Blessing of Zephyr, Karma, Steadfast Protection), and I could add two 3-pieces bonuses of Fury of the Gladiator and a 3-piece Gladiator's Armor for 9 more points. My issue with THAT idea is that I'd have to sacrifice too many other important (to me) set bonuses; I can just craft 10 more temporary points in the SG base. I wish I could do better with Melee defense, but I need to see how the build plays first.

I start a new character when I have an inspiration for one, because of power combinations, costume, name, whatever. Until then I play existing ones. The existing ones get played to: Accumulate Inf/Merits/Drops/whatever for new/future characters Play on 'themey' teams self-accumulate Incarnate components I'm not a great fan of the Incarnate system... especially since we can choose powers earlier, and have easier access to all enhancements. Generally I find the Incarnate powers boring, and I have the feeling that its existence, and the way it can explicitly provide powers that characters otherwise would not have (for the AT), drives many players to a boring sort of focus on 45+ content. Luckily, Homecoming hasn't forced players into a grindy Incarnate system, so players can max themselves out without doing any of the Incarnate content. I should disclose: I usually almost have a post-50 build planned, so I'll respec into that and then give it a whirl through varied content to try it out. I'm not a complete iconoclast, I do try to make sure all my 50s slot an Alpha ability (because Tin Mage/Apex is popular) to +1 level shift, but I find myself making all sorts of oddball choices when I do slot Incarnate powers because there seem to be obvious 'defaults' and they bore me.

I don't like MIDS myself(*1), for reasons that are not relevant to this discussion. It is important that players get a basic understanding of: Enhancement Diversification Basic Attributes of Powers (like Accuracy, Endurance Costs, etc.) Later, it is possible to look into Enhancement Sets and Bonuses. Specifically for Endurance issues, it is probably useful to understand how Recovery works, and for players who spend the green bar: Regeneration. I'm not trying to provide a comprehensive set of links to explain all of the games mechanics (notice no links for how combat/damage works), just the general ones that are applicable to all builds. (*1) I don't use MIDS. From experience, I have a general idea of which sets I want to use (set bonuses are my primary consideration) and how many slots to dedicate to which attributes of a power, depending on the nature of the power. I use an electronic spreadsheet to keep track of slots, and to track the set bonuses I want.

Generally: 1) Unique Enhancements for +Endurance, and Recovery. 2) Accolades for +MaxEnd 3) Set bonuses for +MaxEnd Masterminds... pay an endurance tax for their attacks. Slow down. Also Hasten has an Endurance tax, try to play with out it (I didn't look at the build).

I've been kicking around a concept for a Psychic Blast and/or Mental Manipulation character, with a like preference for Blaster. The drive for those sets is that I don't want the character to use weapons, gadgets or obvious elemental-type powers. I also already have /Martial, which I generally find to be a solid secondary for similar concept characters. I have nothing against the Sentinel AT, it's as I already have a Fortunata and I probably want something else from the secondary besides survivability <- read this as me being 'mostly bored' with the Psychic Blast attacks, I have nothing against Sentinel survivability I just feel like a Sentinal might end up playing too much like my ranged Fortunata. I'm aware of how the Psi damage is a really mixed bag... and as I kick Psy/Mental around, I can think of two potential paths for my concept. KBe aware that my personal preference is to have characters have their attack chains not use Epic/Patron powers (i.e. before level 32) Lean into secondary effects/controls more than usual (for me, for Blasters) Lean into %damage (not unusual for me, but unusual for my Blasters) For the first, it looks like Disorient is the way to go. (I won't take the Alcove of Confusion) Weirdly, I almost wish Flurry had a better Disorient aspect to add to the arsenal. It looks like all the other "controls" are single-target.. and I've got another concept character that uses the Fears from Presence, so I want to take that off the table. For the second, I kinda hate planning to use %damage in a Blaster, but there are certain enemy groups that are painfully slow to solo at x8 when using Psi. I also like that Blasters can leverage enhancement set bonuses better than most other ATs. Anybody want to talk me through this? Point out (subtle, obvious) things I am missing?

My Bots Main has 6xPreventive Maintenance in the Maintenance Drone. I think that is an important set (for bonuses) for MMs, and I think it is important to have the Drone's recharge time to be reduced as much as possible. Power of the Depths appreciates MOAR Recharge as well, and is worth taking IMO for a Mastermind. If there wasn't some other set you wanted in it, I would probably Franken-slot with something like 2-slots using a single EndMod/Recharge + Healing/Recharge, both D-Syncs at 53. 3-slots (if I wanted some 2-piece set bonus from Panacea using two 50+5 pieces of that set. My recollection from other, similar powers is that it is hard to see effectively observable improvements in the recharge time after (if the build also has Global +Recharge) so with a third slot it is possible to consider using pieces which enhance more than two attributes and you won't notice much difference. I want to say I have a build somewhere that has something like a 3-slot that uses at least one Healing/EndReduction/Recharge piece in a similar power. Most Interesting (to me anyway) is that Masterminds (and their henchman) will almost certainly benefit more (than other ATs) from both +MaxHP and +MaxEnd. *IF* Endurance/MaxEnd/Recovery is already under control for the MM, simply leaning into Healing/Recharge would probably be fine, even using other attuned Healing sets (but not the %procs, since they won't contribute to attribute enhancements, unless you are trying to get clever with the %procs themselves) [The Maintenance Drone can't be healed, but I don't know if it can benefit from +MaxHP] Personally? The powers I'd also be experimenting with for Robotics/Marines are: Toroidal Bubble, making sure I'm not pushing the henchmen past certain limits, balanced against using it as a mule (Slow Resistance included) Barrier Reef, I feel like I'd start with 4 slots: LotG Def/Global (attuned), an attuned LotG Def, a 50+5 IO Defense, a 50+5 IO Healing... I'd want to see what I could do with the Absorb for the Henchmen. I definitely would not sacrifice Brine (2x D-Sync Siphon is all it needs, or go budget Accuracy and Healing while you save up), and I'd probably 3-slot Whitecap with Fury of the Gladiator (if I had the slots) or maybe 5/6-slots with Superior Avalanche to boost survivability, and get more sweet -Resistance.

Here is mine: This is my post-"Fate Sealed" build. It is a little slow-ish (because Psychic) and it leans hard into "controls".

It's worth testing, but my guess is for a lot of content it could be (at best) a wash. What I like: All(?) of the Soldier attacks will have a chance to trigger the %-Res There are three Soldiers, so more attacks What is probably neutral: You will probably have to make sure the henchmen are focusing fire to get maximum utility from the %proc What I don't like: T1 henchmen need enhancements more than %procs (level shift!) Almost all of the attacks are single-target, IIRC only one of the attacks that could trigger it is an AoE The individual %proc chances don't look to be that good I like the Soulbound Allegiance %BuildUp, and/or the Overwhelming Force KD more than any other %proc for the T1 henchmen. Each of those %procs have a chance to fire on every attack made by the henchmen. The cool thing about %procs in Shifting Tides is that they will still %proc (in the AoE) until the anchor body de-rezzes. A Tide Pool can help to keep enemies huddled.