tidge
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Posts posted by tidge
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10 hours ago, biostem said:
I've generally taken to playing a melee AT or a Sentinel, in part due to their ability to lead a team from the front. Given that playstyle, what kind of Blaster could fill a similar role? Please note that I am not looking for some build that can pull this off only after spending large sums on IOs and I'd prefer they not rely too heavily on Incarnate abilities. Thanks for reading!
My hot take: Spending on Enhancements (for a Blaster) is to do these things for a Blaster who wants to be seen as a "team leader"
- High global recharge, to AoE and aggro lots of enemies
- High defenses to survive the above
Mileage may vary, but if Very Rares are off the table, here is what I would go for:
- The Teleportation pool, to quickly get teammates around zones...
- ...especially Combat Teleport, to get to where your melee buddies are (use macros for self-positioning)
- I would pack debuffs, particularly AoE -resistance. A stronger single-target debuf for GMs/AVs is appreciated... you can do this through relatively inexpensive slotting and power pools choices.
Ultimately it is going to be about Quality-of-Life for your teammates.
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What kind of Priest are we talking about?
A Ninja/Trick arrow MM could fit an occidental Priest.
A Dark/Water Blast Defender could be a more western take, with the ritualistic powers of healing and holy water.
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55 minutes ago, Ghost said:
Not sure why you are struggling to understand his point.
Quit focusing on the AFK part. It’s the part about NOT CONTRIBUTING that he is referencing.He is saying that since you are OK with people earning rewards for no effort, you should have no problem with him joining your team. You do all the work, while he sits back and reaps the benefits.
The thread title isn't about players not contributing to teams it is about ToT leeching. These are not the same, as described in this thread.
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If a player is following a team into missions, then they literally are not being AFK. It is a mental stretch to equate a team member not contributing in every mission (and somehow getting into all of them) with the behavior attributed to MMs parking henchmen in the PI parking lot.
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19 minutes ago, Ghost said:
You’re missing the point of what he is offering.
He is saying invite him, so he can do nothing and get rewards, while you do all the work.
Just like the AFK MMsAn AFK MM won't be able to get into a mission and get rewards if I don't invite them. How is this situation analogous to a player that doesn't join a ToT league?
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10 hours ago, Clave Dark 5 said:
You're deflecting from what I'm saying. I never said "open world." As I've detailed before, please call me next time you start a mission - farm, story arc, AE mission, etc. - and let me come along, I can bring an MM. Pretend you can't get rid of me while I stand around with my pets set for Aggressive, maybe I'll auto fire a heal or something... You won't do this of course because that's allowing me to reap from some of what you sow, or "leeching."
If in invite a player on a mission arc, which is giving me pretty much all the agency... which is not nearly as applicable to what the title of this thread implies. But hey, if the MM wants to join an Aaron Thiery arc and knock out cell doors to help me get doorbuster they are welcome!
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8 hours ago, Clave Dark 5 said:
I don't think it is possible to demonstrate regular "XP harm", even if it is possible to imagine "hypothetical XP harm."
I could turn that around (not possible to prove it either way), but fair point. How about those drops though, recipes? The occasional purple? I am still offering again to come shadow you through your game play to demonstrate this effect but sadly no one's taking the suggestion! 😃
so this feels to me like a "get away from my always-restocked fishing hole" situation.
Well... maybe don't skip over issues I've covered above (again) and you might have a better understanding of the viewpoint.
"Shadowing" me in open world zones is going to have a negligible effect on "occasional purple recipe drops". I can't think of a single time when I've gotten a Purple (or PVP) from open-world defeats. I fight a large number of even-con critters when cleaning up Kings Row and Croatoa too. Most of those spawns are minions, so if you want to go ahead and clean them up for me (and reset the events) don't wait... just go and defeat them yourself please! Set yourself up as a multi-box in those spawn areas (pick Grim Vale in Croatoa) to get that "AFK feeling".
Nearly all my Purple/PVP drops come from running solo missions at x8, with occasional (PVP) drops from low-level teamups. My crude estimates are that it takes about one hour of "defeating all" (solo) fully-stocked (x8) 'regular' missions to have a 50-50 chance of getting a Purple (or a PVP) recipe. I mention this because while (actively!) playing in a PI league I get very few recipe drops relative to what I get solo even when there are no 'leechers'. I saw someone say they got a Purple Drop, so it isn't out of the realm of possibility... but such a drop is already highly improbable.
The demand for actions seem to come from a place of entitlement, I'm not skipping over any rationalization; I am recognizing that this level of upset from "X is more entitled to fight enemies at spot N than anybody else."
If the ToT leagues would move to different places these "issues" wouldn't exist.
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1 hour ago, NiteCloak said:
That's an expensive build. I noticed +5 on set IO's. I didn't even know you combine Set IO's?
I didn't mean to cause sticker shock!
There are different strategies for ATO/Very Rare/Winter ownership. I used to simply market to get them but I have a glut of merits so they are often used. My SG base has accumulated plenty of catalysts as well as attuned PVP and other commonly used pieces that came as drops or converter roulette. I typically use the attuned PVP pieces until I can swap in level 50s (which get boosted). If you play enough content you will accumulate PVP recipes and merits long before level 50. If you keep playing at level 50, you will accumulate Catalysts.
I usually force the new character to pay for its own boosters and common IOs. I'm all over the place when it comes to "where do HamiO/DSyncs come from?" in any given build... could be I earned and kept them, could be I bought them. My market habits have become "wasteful" in terms of Inf and Merits, but that's me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Generally: before level 50 I am using leftover Overwhelming Force or attuned PVP sets until I lean into the Very Rare pieces. I see the main advantages of the Very Rare sets as being the (commonly occurring 4- and 5-piece) global bonuses to Accuracy and Recharge... plus they way they exemplar down. Almost all AT play better with these Global bonuses, but I can only think of one character in my stable (a War Mace Scrapper) that felt like it has painfully slow until the Very Rare Global Recharge helped the attack chain.... most ATs can play just fine without them.
1 hour ago, SeraphimKensai said:Very rare and PvP IOs should never be attuned via a catalyst because they already work down to lvl 10, so +5 boosting them is the only logical choice.
Just repeating myself: PVP recipes will drop at all levels, so I typically craft and attune these at whatever level. The attuned ones can be slotted very early in a career and will level up with the character, as @Frozen Burn wrote. It is easy to pull those out of a build during a respec or simply with unslotters. As was written above, the Auction House can be used to 'convert' to/from attuned, for a price.
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Here is my Water/Nature Corruptor.
I wouldn't say it is the greatest possible build, but I found myself trying to thread many different needles with respect to enhancement set choices and power picks.
SpoilerLevel 50 Science Corruptor
Primary Power Set: Water Blast
Secondary Power Set: Nature Affinity
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Sorcery
Power Pool: Concealment
Ancillary Pool: Dark Mastery
Villain Profile:
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Level 1: Corrosive Enzymes
(A) Accuracy IO: Level 50+5
Level 1: Hydro Blast
(A) Superior Malice of the Corruptor - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50
(*) Superior Malice of the Corruptor - Damage/Recharge: Level 50
(*) Superior Malice of the Corruptor - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50
(*) Superior Malice of the Corruptor - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
(*) Superior Malice of the Corruptor - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
(*) Superior Malice of the Corruptor - Recharge/Chance for Negative Energy Damage: Level 50
Level 2: Water Burst
(*) Superior Frozen Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50
(*) Javelin Volley - Chance of Damage (Lethal)
(*) Bombardment - Chance of Damage (Fire)
(*) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)
(*) Impeded Swiftness - Chance of Damage(Smashing)
(*) Force Feedback - Chance for +Recharge
Level 4: Mystic Flight
(A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance: Level 50+5
Level 6: Whirlpool
(A) Undermined Defenses - Defense Debuff/Recharge/Endurance: Level 50+5
(*) Tempered Readiness - Endurance/Recharge/Slow: Level 50+5
(*) Ragnarok - Damage/Recharge: Level 50+5
Level 8: Arcane Bolt
(A) Apocalypse - Damage/Recharge: Level 50+5
(*) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50+5
(*) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50+5
(*) Apocalypse - Damage/Endurance: Level 50+5
(*) Apocalypse - Chance of Damage (Negative): Level 50
Level 10: Regrowth
(A) Panacea - Hea/Recharge: Level 50+5
(*) Panacea - Heal/Endurance: Level 50+5
(*) Panacea - Endurance/Recharge: Level 50+5
(*) Panacea - Heal/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50+5
(*) Panacea - Heal: Level 50+5
Level 12: Dehydrate
(A) Superior Scourging Blast - Damage/RechargeTime: Level 50
(*) Superior Scourging Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime: Level 50
(*) Superior Scourging Blast - Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime: Level 50
(*) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Healing
(*) Touch of the Nictus - Healing
(*) Touch of the Nictus - Chance for Negative Energy Damage
Level 14: Wild Growth
(A) Unbreakable Guard - Endurance/RechargeTime
(*) Unbreakable Guard - RechargeTime/Resistance
(*) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime
(*) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance
(*) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50+5
Level 16: Enflame
(A) Superior Frozen Blast - Damage/Endurance: Level 50
Level 18: Tidal Forces
(A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up
(*) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50+5
Level 20: Wild Bastion
(A) Preventive Medicine - Heal
(*) Preventive Medicine - Heal/Endurance
(*) Preventive Medicine - Endurance/RechargeTime
(*) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime
(*) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime/Endurance
(*) Preventive Medicine - Chance for +Absorb
Level 22: Steam Spray
(A) Superior Scourging Blast - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50
(*) Superior Scourging Blast - Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime: Level 50
(*) Superior Scourging Blast - RechargeTime/PBAoE +End: Level 50
(*) Touch of Lady Grey - Chance for Negative Damage
(*) Javelin Volley - Chance for Lethal Damage
(*) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)
Level 24: Spore Cloud
(A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50+5
Level 26: Geyser
(A) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage
(*) Annihilation - Damage/RechargeTime
(*) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime
(*) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
(*) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime
(*) Annihilation - Chance for Res Debuff
Level 28: Infiltration
(A) Shield Wall - +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All)
(*) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
(*) Reactive Defenses - Scaling Resist Damage
(*) Kismet - ToHit +6%
(*) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Protection (4 points)
(*) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance
Level 30: Overgrowth
(A) Adjusted Targeting - Endurance/Recharge: Level 50+5
(*) Adjusted Targeting - Recharge: Level 50+5
Level 32: Rune of Protection
(A) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All)
(*) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
Level 35: Dark Consumption
(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
Level 38: Hasten
(A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50+5
(*) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50+5
Level 41: Dark Embrace
(A) Unbreakable Guard - +Max HP
(*) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance
(*) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance
(*) Unbreakable Guard - Endurance/RechargeTime
Level 44: Soul Drain
(A) Armageddon - Chance for Fire Damage: Level 50
(*) Armageddon - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50+5
(*) Armageddon - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50+5
(*) Armageddon - Damage/Recharge: Level 50+5
(*) Armageddon - Damage/Endurance: Level 50+5
(*) Eradication - Chance for Energy Damage
Level 47: Grant Invisibility
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
Level 49: Stealth
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
Level 1: Brawl
(A) Empty
Level 1: Scourge
Level 1: Sprint
(A) Quickfoot – Endurance/Running Speed: Level 50+5
Level 2: Rest
(A) Empty
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift
(A) Flight Speed IO: Level 50+5
Level 2: Health
(A) Miracle - +Recovery
(*) Panacea - +Hit Points/Endurance
Level 2: Hurdle
(A) Jumping IO: Level 50+5
Level 2: Stamina
(A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
(*) Performance Shifter - EndMod
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8 hours ago, Clave Dark 5 said:
Their pets fire at whatever gets nearby, not only minions. And please don't characterize this as "how MMs play" in the first place, because you're suggesting every person who plays an MM plays this way (not true), and it's also not a related topic.
I'm extremely far down the list of believing that there is a single play style for any AT (or player). I personally play a very engaged MM, I witness other MM players who are clearly not AFK but play very differently. For some content, my "most active" MM will become rather passive (zone invasions, mothership raids) because the henchmen AI is better at targeting enemies than I am!
8 hours ago, Clave Dark 5 said:Now listen: one of the leeches that I kept reporting would often have what I would assume were alt account characters (they were all members of the same SG, all) parked up in the AE building; usually four of them. My guess is they were on the team with the MM down in the parking lot (who wasn't in league), and were leveling up and catching drops without doing a single thing, while the MM below let his pets do the work. Meanwhile, I was down there clicking doors and targeting mobs, rezzing others and serving as anchor - even with one of my MMs. Now tell me who was doing real work and who was leeching. Exploits are expressly disallowed in the rules.
Those characters (multi-boxing?) would have gotten better XP and drops by simply going into the AE and running a farm. Even with a single MM's 6 henchmen getting kill credits from Murder Motel spawns, they aren't getting most (or even very much) of the XP... assuming that the players clicking on doors are actually doing damage to the TRICK spawns. The Bosses/Elite Bosses may or may not affect the XP math (compared to a straight AE farm) but I doubt that henchmen from an "AFK MM" are specifically shifting attention to focus fire on elite bosses.
This past season I anchored a few teams at the PI motel, and occasionally the XP-per-unit-time was carp... even with everyone on my team clicking doors. I don't think it is possible to demonstrate regular "XP harm", even if it is possible to imagine "hypothetical XP harm." When I regularly see multiple characters in the league gaining 20+ levels in a sitting, I am having a hard time seeing how much any non-league player is actually hurting league players.
I understand the feeling that someone else appears to be taking advantage of a situation that some "in-group" of people are already taking advantage of... and so this feels to me like a "get away from my always-restocked fishing hole" situation.
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42 minutes ago, srmalloy said:
You're missing the point; the objection is directly over none of these things, and only peripherally over XP leeching. The people parking AFK MMs in the middle of the murder motel are earning XP off the efforts of the other players in the courtyard without contributing. They're earning XP from attacking mobs that would not be there without other players knocking on the doors. Park an MM all by themselves in the middle of the courtyard and go AFK, and they get nothing; there are no spawns for their pets to attack, because no one is knocking on doors.
If a players is truly AFK, they will get logged out from the open world zone. Otherwise it can be very hard to tell if the player really is AFK or just playing their MM in a very disengaged way. The MM subforum has no shortage of players recommending against MM powers that require active play. That is: very few attacks, spamming things like Twilight Grasp, etc.
My point stands:
1 hour ago, tidge said:Any MM that can AFK solo the level 54s at 'Murder Hotel' can do much better (in terms of XP, reward drops, Inf) from other content... so as far as I'm concerned such a player is basically gimping themselves more than they are possibly hurting a league.
A disengaged Mastermind is, at best, insta-killing the minions. They won't be directly engaging with the 'highest reward' enemies, certainly not at the level of more active players. XP and Inf is proportional to the amount of damage done. The only thing I see a disengaged (again, can't really call them AFK in an open zone) MM's squad of henchmen impacting might be is the reward drop rate, but AFAIK who gets drops is affected by teams... again AFAIK, drop rates for defeating spawns are spread among team members not by rando damage by a solo player.
This hypothetical 'AFK MM' is missing out on GM Merits and TREAT rewards. I don't see this as something to get that upset about. If anything, multiple henchmen have a bigger effect on FPS than on XP.
EDIT: Let's not kid ourselves that Murder Motel in Peregrine was chosen because it adds some arbitrary level of difficulty or 'extra engagement' that makes it more deserving of a certain style of play. It's literally the easiest place for teams (with a level 50) to ToT:
- many doors, with easy lines-of-sight
- hospital is right across the street
- it's in a zone that allows 50s (with or without Incarnate powers) to click doors
- It's close to zone travel options (helipad, base portal, to some extent travel from TUNNEL, Ferry, Ouroboros can all be risk free)
At some level this feels to me like a complaint that 'someone else is taking advantage of the thing I want to take advantage of'. If the MM really wants to defeat mobs (for better rewards, XP and INF) and be truly AFK the AE is literally just behind the PI motel.
Obviously the answer is to move ToTing to a PVP zone, and allow player kills of those who are judged to be playing in a completely inactive way.
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On 11/2/2023 at 10:52 PM, Without_Pause said:
One slot Tar Path. 6-Slot Fearsome Stare with Cloud Senses. Slot Night Fall for Damage. One example would be to 5-slot Positron's Blast with skipping the D/R and then sticking a Annihilation: -Res proc for the 6th spot. You could swap in the -Res proc into Howling Twilight as well, and instead for Night Fall do another damage proc or the Ragnarok: Chance for KD for even more mitigation.
This is the (level 50) slotting I like for Howling Twilight (which should be spammed). The %Energy could be %Fire, depending on taste.
Howling Twilight
(A) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)
(*) Javelin Volley - Chance of Damage(Lethal)
(*) 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
A note about %damage: You will need Accuracy and ToHit to get the most out of %procs. I try to get a mix of Global Accuracy as well as slotting Accuracy in the %proc the powers as well.
I use Shadow Fall to get the Kismet +ToHit piece slotted too, because it is almost always toggled on. Here is my typical slotting:
Shadow Fall
(A) Shield Wall - +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All)
(*) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance: Level 50+5
(*) Kismet - Accuracy +6%
(*) Steadfast Protection - Knockback Protection
(*) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
(*) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50
I slot Fearsome Stare as follows, to get more %damage in it. Dark Servant just gets the four pieces of Cloud Senses.
Fearsome Stare
(A) Cloud Senses - Chance for Negative Energy Damage
(*) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
(*) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/ToHitDebuff
(*) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/Recharge
(*) Glimpse of the Abyss - Chance of Damage(Psionic)
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18 hours ago, Fireknight013 said:
If you're a Mastermind, and you're not actively commanding your pets throughout a battle, what are you doing? Because you're not controlling your primary means of attack and defense. Don't get me wrong, since we just got off of ToT, I have seen plenty of instances where a MM pet just set on aggressive can be effective. When enemies are everywhere, who cares that one of your minions is just popping away at a zombie instead of concentrating firepower on the Arisen Mummy.....unless that Arisen is attacking me, that is.
I have my own peeve about calling henchmen (which can be controlled) pets (which cannot be controlled like henchmen) 🙂
I'm dropping traps, debuffing the hard targets, and casting AoE at those x8 spawns, or to draw more aggro to me. Basically: I'm usually facing so many different enemies at once that directing the henchmen at specific targets would be inefficient.
My MMs will leave bodyguard mode, but only when:
- An enemy has run away and I want it chased down... 'attack my target' (either the T1s or T2s get this job)
- I'm fighting large spawns of even-con scrubs... because I am so far past the 'defense softcap'.... 'aggressive mode'
- I need some fraction of the henchmen to take the alpha strike... 'attack my target'
- When I'm facing multiple AV/GMs at once, I will usually try to make sure that fire is being focused on only one of the enemies at a time. Often I have to do this through repositioning the henchmen, because dropping out of bodyguard mode can be dangerous... 'goto' or directing the T3 only to focus on 'attack my target'.
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Here is the build I use for my 'enemies seem to be having a lot of trouble pulling themselves together' build I mentioned above. I definitely wanted an 'enemies seem to fall down a lot', but I felt there was only so far I could go with that without picking a set full of attacks that do knockback... hence the choice of a Mind/Poison/Primal Controller with some Force of Will for extra knockdown. There are of course P2W Grenades and Plasmatic Tasers.
This is possibly my most %proc-tastic build; which is important to being able to solo large spawns. IIRC, the leveling up build roughly followed what the final build was. Folks experienced with the control powers and debuffs can probably figure out which ones don't need to be heavily slotted while leveling.
SpoilerPrimary Power Set: Mind Control
Secondary Power Set: Poison
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Force of Will
Power Pool: Concealment
Ancillary Pool: Primal Forces Mastery
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Level 1: Levitate
(A) Gladiator's Javelin - Accuracy/Damage/End/Rech: Level 50+5
(*) Gladiator's Javelin - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50+5
Level 1: Envenom
(A) Shield Breaker - Chance for Lethal Damage
(*) Shield Breaker - Defense Debuff
(*) Shield Breaker - Accuracy/Defense Debuff
(*) Shield Breaker - Defense Debuff/Endurance/Recharge
(*) Touch of Lady Grey - Chance for Negative Damage
Level 2: Dominate
(A) HamiO:Nucleolus Exposure (Accuracy/Damage) Level 53
(*) HamiO:Peroxisome Exposure (Damage/Mezz) Level 53
(*) Ghost Widow's Embrace - Chance of Damage(Psionic)
(*) Neuronic Shutdown - Chance of Damage(Psionic)
(*) Gladiator's Net - Chance of Damage(Lethal)
(*) Apocalypse - Chance of Damage(Negative): Level 50
Level 14: Weaken Resolve
(A) HamiO:Lysosome Exposure (Accuracy / -Defense / -ToHit) Level 53
(*) Touch of Lady Grey - Chance for Negative Damage
Level 6: Confuse
(A) Coercive Persuasion - Confused: Level 50+5
(*) Coercive Persuasion - Confused/Recharge: Level 50
(*) Coercive Persuasion - Accuracy/Confused/Recharge: Level 50
(*) Coercive Persuasion - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50
(*) Coercive Persuasion - Confused/Endurance: Level 50+5
(*) Coercive Persuasion - Contagious Confusion: Level 50
Level 8: Mass Hypnosis
(A) Fortunata Hypnosis - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50
(*) Fortunata Hypnosis - Sleep/Endurance: Level 50+5
(*) Fortunata Hypnosis - Sleep/Recharge: Level 50
(*) Fortunata Hypnosis - Accuracy/Sleep/Recharge: Level 50
(*) Fortunata Hypnosis - Chance for Placate: Level 50
(*) Call of the Sandman - Chance of Heal Self
Level 10: Boxing
(A) Gladiator's Strike - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50+5
Level 12: Mighty Leap
(A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points)
Level 14: Wall of Force
(A) HamiO:Centriole Exposure (Damage/Range)Level 53
(*) D-Sync: Guidance (Accuracy/Range) Level 53
(*) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)
(*) Bombardment - Chance of Damage(Fire)
(*) Javelin Volley - Chance of Damage(Lethal)
(*) Explosive Strike - Chance for Smashing Damage
Level 16: Elixir of Life
(A) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All)
Level 18: Total Domination
(A) Superior Will of the Controller - Accuracy/Mezz: Level 50
(*) Superior Will of the Controller - Mezz/Recharge: Level 50
(*) Superior Will of the Controller - Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
(*) Superior Will of the Controller - Accuracy/Mezz/Endurance: Level 50
(*) Superior Will of the Controller - Accuracy/Mezz/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
(*) Superior Will of the Controller - Recharge/Chance for Psionic Damage: Level 50
Level 20: Tough
(A) Unbreakable Guard - +Max HP
(*) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance: Level 50+5
Level 22: Terrify
(A) HamiO:Centriole Exposure (Damage/Range)Level 53
(*) Bombardment (Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge)
(*) Bombardment - Chance of Damage(Fire)
(*) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)
(*) Glimpse of the Abyss - Chance of Damage(Psionic)
(*) Javelin Volley - Chance of Damage(Lethal)
Level 24: Paralytic Poison
(A) Ghost Widow's Embrace - Chance of Damage(Psionic)
(*) Neuronic Shutdown - Chance of Damage(Psionic)
(*) Unbreakable Constraint - Chance for Smashing Damage: Level 50
(*) 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 26: Mass Confusion
(A) Cacophany - Chance of Damage(Energy)
(*) Malaise's Illusions - Chance of Damage(Psionic)
(*) Superior Overpowering Presence - Accuracy/Mezz/Endurance/RechargeTime: Level 50
(*) Superior Overpowering Presence - RechargeTime/Energy Font: Level 50
(*) Superior Overpowering Presence - Endurance/RechargeTime: Level 50
(*) Superior Overpowering Presence - Accuracy/Mezz/Endurance: Level 50
Level 28: Weave
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
(*) Reactive Defenses - Scaling Resist Damage
(*) Shield Wall - +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All)
(*) Shield Wall - Defense: Level 50+5
(*) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance: Level 50+5
Level 30: Poison Trap
(A) Unbreakable Constraint - Hold: Level 50+5
(*) Unbreakable Constraint - Hold/Recharge: Level 50+5
(*) Unbreakable Constraint - Accuracy/Hold/Recharge: Level 50+5
(*) Unbreakable Constraint - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50+5
(*) Unbreakable Constraint - Endurance/Hold: Level 50+5
Level 32: Alkaloid
(A) Preventive Medicine - %Absorb
Level 35: Power Blast
(A) Apocalypse - Damage: Level 50+5
(*) Apocalypse - Damage/Recharge: Level 50
(*) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50
(*) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50
(*) Apocalypse - Damage/Endurance: Level 50+5
(*) Gladiator's Javelin - Chance of Damage(Toxic)
Level 38: Temp Invulnerability
(A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
Level 41: Energy Torrent
(A) HamiO:Centriole Exposure (Damage/Range)Level 53
(*) D-Sync: Guidance (Accuracy/Range) Level 53
(*) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)
(*) Bombardment - Chance of Damage(Fire)
(*) Javelin Volley - Chance of Damage(Lethal)
(*) Explosive Strike - Chance for Smashing Damage
Level 44: Unleash Potential
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
Level 47: Stealth
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
Level 49: Maneuvers
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
Level 1: Brawl
(A) Empty
Level 1: Containment
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide
(A) Empty
Level 1: Sprint
(A) Unbounded Leap - +Stealth
Level 2: Rest
(A) Interrupt Reduction IO: Level 50+5
Level 1: Athletic Run
Level 2: Swift
(A) Run Speed IO: Level 50+5
Level 2: Health
(A) Panacea - +Hit Points/Endurance
(*) Miracle - +Recovery
Level 2: Hurdle
(A) Jumping IO: Level 50+5
Level 2: Stamina
(A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
(*)Performance Shifter - Endurance Modification
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I held off commenting in this thread until after the event. I'm going to springboard from a recent post, but what I write is not directed at any individual player.
19 hours ago, srmalloy said:It's a question of laziness; with the murder motel building, all the doors face into the courtyard, so ranged ATs can park in the middle and be able to reach out to spawns from virtually every door.
I think the tenor of this thread is akin to "someone else is playing in a way I don't like", and while I don't mind folks venting about a set of peeves I don't think there is an actual problem here that needs to be fixed. Bluntly: "XP Leeching", "Kill Stealing", "Drop Stealing", "Door Stealing" barely rise to the level of a thing. It reminds me too much of the early live days of "someone kill stole my 10th 5th Column while I was patrolling Steel Canyon!" complaints. I'll post my own Halloween playstyle preferences later so folks can take shots directly at me.
I think there is a case to be made that every character below level 40 that is side-kicked in PI is "XP Leeching" (if anyone believes that is a thing). It's not like those unslotted attacks are doing much for the league, and it is rare that I witnessed freshly-minted characters training up and taking powers from the Leadership or Teleportation pool to improve the QoL of the higher-level characters who are doing most of the work. I think I had one freshly-minted (i.e. sub-level-50) character this year, but when I am accumulating levels quickly I try to take pool powers to benefit the league/team, because respecs are a thing.
I don't AFK while on a league... yet I have trouble imagining that some non-league "AFK Mastermind" is really 'stealing' anything from a league. As an aside: there are any number of shared builds in the MM subforum such that it would be legitimately hard for me to tell if the MM player isn't playing the game differently from how they normally play... especially if the MM player doesn't need or want anything specific from clicking on doors. Any MM that can AFK solo the level 54s at 'Murder Hotel' can do much better (in terms of XP, reward drops, Inf) from other content... so as far as I'm concerned such a player is basically gimping themselves more than they are possibly hurting a league. Is it a MM soloing the minions for badges that has got everyone upset? I know that TRICK spawns can also drop event salvage, but that is already somewhat rare and anyone who damages an enemy gets in the pool for a potential drop. Is it this low-level drops and defeat badges that folks are sweating?
My Halloween playstyle:
I join PI league with 'fresh' level 50s. I want the prismatic aether badges. I also want a costume so I can get the tip mission. I don't mind anchoring a team and try to make sure when I drop that the team has another level 50. Once I have the badges I want... I don't need a league to get the tip mission (or XP, or drops, or costumes), but if I feel like leaguing I switch to GM hunting. As was written above: it is trivial to have Incadescence once the slot is unlocked. I feel like I was teleporting leagues around PI for the first two weeks of the event!
I definitely league for zone events. I've been on banner teams that either weren't capable of doing damage or were otherwise disengaged such that I missed out on banner badges.
Most of the time I solo for tip missions. I find it to be too much effort to get a ToT team all on the same page for running the tip (for salvage, badges) and coordinating how to play the mission... if everyone even wants to play it. Depending on the character, when I am soloing doors at x1 I may or may not fight the enemies that result from 'TRICK!'... eventually I'll have enough of them around to want to deal with.
I prefer to solo the GMs outside of the high-level zones. I am often finding leftover Unseelie Court in places where I think there is no reason for them to be left behind... but the spawn times are fast enough that (until now) I haven't publicly complained about this level of sloppiness. AFAIK, there is only one commonly used spot that is particularly easy to never aggro an Unseelie spawn, so I don't judge folks on that spot. In order to make sure the entire spawn is cleared: all you have to do is "count to seven" to make sure they are all defeated, and if that is too much effort the pumpkins are a dead giveaway that there is probably a leftover spawn to be dealt with... eventually they come back.
As an aside: IIRC, a league member who is on GM patrol can still get credit for "defeat X" (e.g. for prismatic aethers) but won't get XP or reward drops... so are they "leeching" or are they being taken advantage of?
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Ma'am, this is a Wendy's.
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2 hours ago, biostem said:
How would you go about creating a character whose main schtick is inflicting/cursing enemies with bad luck? I was thinking maybe a mind/dark controller and rationalizing it as you cursing the enemy with weariness, clumsiness, and maybe blindness? Your thoughts? Thanks for reading!
This is the theme of my Mind/Poison/Primal Controller. Everyone who crosses paths with him ends up fumbling and bumbling.
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2 hours ago, Warlawk said:
EDIT: Just so it's clear, I parked him in the middle of some enemies and watched his heal go off then the attributes window immediately reflected the proc.
What is the total Regeneration rate with a level 50 Heal IO?
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1 hour ago, Warlawk said:
Since they reworked the pet sets and made it so you could slot those sort of things into pet upgrades now, they changed the way they apply. In this case it applies as if that proc was slotted into the 45 sec CD heal that the henchmen get from the upgrade so the proc has the appropriate chance to trigger on the casting pet each time it uses its heal.
Is it a great thing and high value? Probably not, but WTF else are you going to put in that upgrade power?
Until someone tests and reports back... I'm reluctant to believe that the +Regeneration piece actually works that way. I'm not saying anyone is wrong as the Necromancy upgrade power seems to work that way, but we know that the Robotics upgrade power (that takes heal sets) does not. The Miracle piece is a +15% Recovery... which maybe the Ninja need and maybe they don't... but I think I'd rather have the Preventive Maintenance %Absorb slotted in it, even if it only works for the MM. If that also works for the henchmen... bonus for them!
3 minutes ago, StrikerFox said:Frankenslot the pets. Pets can get good stats, the pet uniques and the most useful damage procs by frankenslotting. The sacrifice being some of the IO set bonuses will be lost. The only set bonus to keep is the +30% recharge from split SMoS. Lose the SCotMM set, including +AoE def IO, as the pets will have equivalent softcap with Darkest Night running.
The main point I want to make is that the henchmen need slotted accuracy to even have a chance to %proc. The slotting for Oni seems to be leaving a LOT of Damage Enhancement potential unused. Minimally: Edict of the Master caps at level 40... sometimes that compromise makes sense, I don't think it does on the T3. The use of %proc on the T2 looks like a bade tradeoff: two (-1) hench with 4(?) powers that might trigger one %damage and a 10(?) second -Resistance debuff as opposed to always boosting the accuracy and damage of 7 attacks of the T3 Oni. As an aside: if the player had the recharge times of powers like Sting of the Wasp and Gambler's Cut... each under 7 seconds... I'd never sacrifice a set bonus for what the %proc rates would be if they were player attacks. Are the %proc chance that much improved for (two) Jounin?
Disclaimer: I am a believer in trying to get resistance debuffs into play via %proc, but my preference for Masterminds is to have multiple powers (preferably not toggles or pseudo-pets) slotted with the same %-Resistance piece, because each successful re-application of that %-Res will extend the duration of the debuff... and it is IMO pretty much only in long duration fights with a lot of allies (or henchmen) that %-Resistance debuffs have a chance at shaving times. Otherwise I think it is better to simply slot a reliable %damage piece of an different sort of damage type. (because Resistance resists resistable resistance debuffs, and damage is damage.) I prefer to try to do this sort of debuffing with AoE attacks from the MM using the Annihilation piece, which I think could also be slotted in Howling Twilight.
This is just me: I won't trust henchmen defense numbers until I see them in game, specifically because of Level shifts, proximity to the MM (for Supremacy, if nothing else) and enemy debuffs.
The good news is that with unslotters, it is trivial to test alternate slotting for henchmen. For Ninja, I suggest:
T1:
(A) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Damage: Level 50
(*) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50
(*) Overwhelming Force – Damage/Knockback-to-Knockdown
(*) Expedient Reinforcement - Resist Bonus Aura for Pets
(*) Sovereign Right – Accuracy/Damage
(*) Sovereign Right - Resistance Bonus
T2:
(A) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Damage/Endurance: Level 50
(*) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Endurance: Level 50
(*) Soulbound Allegiance – Chance for Build Up: Level 50
(*) Edict of the Master: Defense Bonus
(*) Call to Arms: Defense Aura for Pets
(*) Call to Arms: Accuracy/Damage
T3:
(A) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50
(*) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Damage/Endurance: Level 50
(*) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
(*) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Recharge/Pet +AoE Defense Aura: Level 50
(*) Superior Mark of Supremacy: Accuracy/Damage: Level 50
(*) Superior Mark of Supremacy: Endurance, +Resist (All) +Regen(Pets): Level 50
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I disagree with this advice:
48 minutes ago, StrikerFox said:Slot up the pets to utilize damage procs.
Unless a MM build has someplace other than the T1/T2/T3 henchmen to slot the Reisstance/Defense Aura Enhancements... 4 of which don't come from the ATO sets... these will need to go into the henchmen powers. The MM ATOs are worth using 10 of the 18 possible slots. This leave 4 slots across 3 henchmen to play with. I typically have those 4 slots split between the T1 and T2.
For %proc to work in the henchmen, the henchmen will need to have Accuracy/ToHit... keeping in mind that for most of the game content the T1 and T2 will suffer a (negative) level shift against all enemies even-level and above to the MM. You also have to pick a %damage piece that can possibly trigger off of a majority of attacks made by the henchmen. This is why I like the KB->KD and the %Buildup.
My own preference is to make sure to use the Very Rare %BuildUp... preferably in the T1, but Genin are nuts with the KB->KD piece... so their last slot will almost certainly be an Accuracy/Damage piece. The T2 Jouninstill will need an Accuracy boost, so there isn't a lot of room there. I might consider a Boosted 50+5 Fury of the Gladiator Accuracy/Damage plus the Fury of the Gladiator %-Res, but honestly I think I'd just go 2x Soulbound Allegiance Acc/Dam 50+5 plus %Build Up.
EDIT: My bad, Soulbound Allegiance doesn't have a Accuracy/Damage piece! Sovereign Right (Attuned will probably be my choice)
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16 hours ago, bellona100 said:
Update: I finally got Warlawk's build open. I was using an older version of Mids' and it was not compatible with the file.
Warlawk's build is a PoS. There is no kind way to put it. Don't use his build or even reference it at all.
8 minutes ago, Warlawk said:Anything constructive to offer? Specific complaints? Suggestions on things to change? I'm always happy to learn about sets I don't know well but I need something more specific than "it's a pos" to do so.
I didn't put the build into Mids, but I saw some approaches I wouldn't take:
Call Genin T1 has the slotting I would use for the T3 Oni. Generally, I find enhancing the T3 is better than slotting the uniques in the T3 I'd put an Overwhelming Force KB->KD and the Soulbound Allegiance %BuildUp pieces in the T1 henchmen. With those choices, I want 2x Superior Mark of Supremacy in each henchmen, and then fill with the uniques. If possible, add Acc/Damage pieces from sets to boost henchmen stats and get the some set bonuses.
As for /Dark.... my attitude depends on the slots available.
Tar Patch: Generally I go simple with 2xRecharge IO. It isn't a great %proc power, but it is a great -Resistance Power. Enhancing Slow is not really necessary IMO. I am dumbfounded why in this build the 6th slot isn't the last Ice Mistral's piece, as it would give a pretty big boost to AoE defense.
Twilight Grasp is IMO over-slotted, and it is using the wrong set. I would lean to this slotting, with or without the %+Endurance (there may be a better power for it, I'd have to experiment):
(A) Theft of Essence - Chance for +Endurance
(*) Touch of the Nictus - Chance for Negative Energy Damage
(*) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Healing
(*) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
Darkest Night is almost certainly over-slotted for my taste. Until I can drop a single Hami-O Enzyme in it, I will just slot for Endurance Cost. YMMV, but I don't take debuff powers so early in a build if I have better choices.
Howling Twilight: This isn't a terrible choice of slotting, but I prefer the following... this threads the needle for me on Recharge, Accuracy, Endurance, Stun and Damage... with more viable set bonuses. YMMV.
(A) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy) OR Bombardment Chance of Damage(Fire)
(*) Javelin Volley - Chance of Damage(Lethal)
(*) 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
Shadow Fall is an odd duck of a power, in that it can leverage useful uniques and/or go for set bonuses. MMY depeding on henchman protection. I would probably go with:
(A) Shield Wall - +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All)
(*) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance: Level 50+5
(*) Kismet - Accuracy +6%
(*) Steadfast Protection - Knockback Protection
(*) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
(*) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
Fearsome Stare: I would replace the Siphon Insight piece with the %Psionic piece from Glimpse of the Abyss.
Dark Servant: I tend to only 4-slot Cloud Senses, because I don't think there is a better %proc option.
Charged Armor: 2-slot or 4-slot (or more) Unbreakable Guard... 3-slotting this set seems like a waste of a slot to me.
Tactics: On a Mastermind, once I am past one or two slots (going for +ToHit and Endurance) I think I would always go for the 6-slots of Gaussian's in order to get the extra Defense bonuses. My opinion is that I like extra global +Accuracy and +Recharge from Adjusted Targeting, but I like +Movement, +HP, +Recovery and +Defense MORE.
I haven't played Ninjas, but I have thoughts on the other powers:
I don't know how Kuji In Zen is working for the henchmen, but I generally don't trust a %proc piece in such a power. I suspect it is only working for the MM and only for 120 seconds after cast. If it also works for the Henchmen, I suppose recasting it over-and-over isn't a terrible strategy. I would have to monitor attributes of the henchmen before deciding if this is better than just slotting a Preventive Medicine %Absorb (or IO Health) I can't speak for Train Ninja options.
I wouldn't recommend skipping all the Primary MM attacks. I would give up Electrifying Fences... with Tar Patch I don't think the Immobilize is that necessary (and the power comes way late in the build). Taking the MM AoE attack (Fistful of Arrows) as early as possible does the following:
- It will draw aggro to the MM
- It offers a chance for a good set bonus (I like 6xAnnihilation), mileage varies.
- It offers a chance for %proc, if that is how you want to roll. I would absolutely include a %-Resistance piece (again, see Annihilation)
Keep in mind that even with %damage, most of the damage is coming from the Henchmen. Also don't forget the stiff Endurance tax that MMs pay for making attacks. All the extra Global Recharge is just helping the MM burn through Endurance faster.
19 hours ago, Warlawk said:I doubt this is a combo I would run as I already have multiple /dark characters and Ninjas is not really my cup of tea as a primary. If I did run it, this is how I would do it (Yeah, I'm a +rech whore, come at me!).
What would you be doing with all that Global recharge? I didn't crunch the sets, but it looks as if the goal is simply to get (close to or beyond) perma-Hasten. As can be seen by some of my suggestions, I wouldn't chase after all that recharge... in fact I'd drop Hasten as well. I may have missed something but I didn't see any powers that really benefit from it, except possibly improved spamming of Howling Twilight.
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2 hours ago, Yomo Kimyata said:
Next time I log in on this character, I will craft them. Convert by category for 2 converters each and I will have 50 Touch of Lady Grey. I will convert each one of those by rare until I have something that I would consider slotting in one of my characters, which is a loose proxy for if something is valuable or not. I think you should have a good idea of what the useful IOs are by now, but if not look at the last 5 trades are (hopefully it's not a bugged display!) and see if it consistently trades over 2mm. Put them on the /AH at a price a little higher than what you think the floor is based on the last 5.
I rarely bother with trying to make beaucoup inf these days, which means I'm not actively hunting recipes to craft... but this is exactly what I do with my recipe drops. I happen to be Catalyst-rich (I play enough with a small stable of characters) so crafted recipes I will use get added to characters, generally at the the level 50 respec, or earlier if appropriate. The AH can attune them for the cost of the vig as well, depending on supply.
Sidebar about my SG base storage: My SG base stores:
- Super-Inspirations (1 bin)
- 4x Enhancements: Mostly the crafted 'useful' Enhancements (attuned or not), I have a few ATO/Winter still in there IIRC
- 1x oddball (Catalysts, Warburg pieces, occasionally Prismatics and some holiday pieces)
- The rest are salvage
This lets me casually craft my recipe drops, allows me to quickly craft any PVP level 10 (or 50) PVP recipes, refill on SG boosts if I am missing salvage.
Characters (and their Vault and AH storage) can also act as storage racks, up to a point. There are a few Enhancement sets and recipes I especially like for certain builds that are kept with some level 50s, but are otherwise ones I don't generally use.
1 hour ago, Sovera said:But I would not make big claims either. '40 mill in 20 minutes' is not something I would claim. First because I'm not a pro marketeer and just dabble, and second because stuff still needs to sell. My claim I posted above ended trickling above what I said because there were lots of IOs that took a while to unload.
(+1)
I don't think I've ever made x MInf in y minutes... because I am lazy and/or patient. When I had my first 5 characters on Homecoming, I dedicated one of them to earning merits, playing level 50 x8 content (for Inf and Drops), crafting/converting for the market and leveraging the Winter pack sales (no longer available). This one character by itself primed the SG base with everything I needed for future characters... including 'starting funds' for P2W goodies. New characters replenish the Inf they spend for future characters (vendors, AH), and they have replenished the stock of attuned enhancements.
I write (and repeat) the above because since I've been doing the above, I think the most actual Inf I ever spent on a single character is probably on the order of 200 Minf (because D-Syncs, and BIN fever). I certainly have spent an amount greater than that if imagining that the Merits, Catalysts, Boosters used on characters were converted to Inf.... but my point is that Inf itself isn't that necessary, but of course having a cushion isn't a bad thing. I simply question the size of that cushion.
I can imagine that there are players who really want to power-level to 50+, and then want to have full-kits. My advice for such a player that does this and has almost no Inf... craft some of the workbench IO drops, slot those, and run lower-level content like crazy. Simply having powers slotted will make such a character pretty powerful for low-level content. Use merits and drops from the low-level content to start the AH journey.
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I'd make a pair of Praetorian Epic Archetypes (PEAT), modeled somewhat after the VEATs. There would be two starting points with two (diverging) paths. I'm lazy so I'll explain them based on male/female, but there are only slightly canonical reasons for this.
Female Path: Starts with a "Resistance/Teamwork" path (like Arachnos Widows), and starts with "Underground" contacts. At level 24, hard choices (i.e. respec) occurs and there are two divergent paths:
- A "Seer" path <- the character is given some autonomy, obviously
- A "Carnival of Light" path
Male path: Starts with a "Police/Training" path (akin to Arachnos Soldiers), and starts with "PPD" contacts. At level 24 is when the "hard choices" happen, with two different options:
- An "IDF" path
- A "Devoured/Infected" path <- this would be a slight change to canon in which the Praetorian mad science is experimenting with hybridized Devouring Earth/IDF soldiers to combat Hamidon
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6 minutes ago, Snarky said:
Lot of good points Tidge. But...fatal flaw.
Assuming people "now know" is a crap bet. Ask any of the endless streams of scammers making money off the endless queues of ignorant people who cannot wait for product X
I think it is a greater logical flaw to make guesses that players know about one aspect of the game (Auction House Salvage) and not about other aspect of the games. I include in this "I want that specific dope enhancement" aspect. I seriously doubt there exits a new player who knows about a PVP Panacea piece and only knows about yellow salvage prices in the AH as some means of getting that piece. I am aware that folks can compartmentalize what they want to know... but I am highly skeptical that any lone player would somehow discover they want certain specific enhancement pieces and remain ignorant about so much of the rest of the game.
Organically, players will get a pop-up about "first piece of salvage" and "first merit reward" but (from memory) the in-game explanation for the auction house comes only at the completion of the University crafting arc.
Bots question
in Mastermind
Posted
The real reason to slot Maintenance Drone is IMO for Recharge (and enhancement set bonuses). I would absolutely take Repulsion bolt for the -Resistance. I think you also ought to be taking the Primary attacks for the same reason. I would probably only slot Repulsion Bolt with a KB->KD and 50+5 or Superior Acc/Dam/End piece (I don't think there is an option for just Acc/End).
Dampening Bubble can hold some Defense globals, so don't skip it out of spite.