I join Taskforces constantly and run tips when solo, however, I only use merits for converters. Since Week 2, I’ve only ever used merits for Winter IOs, however, this past week has given me all of the Winter sets that I have wanted (and I may pick up a couple more while the getting is good). I don’t keep much ready cash, however, I do have 20 fully IO’d characters between 27-50 (anything below 50 has all of theirs either slotted or waiting for levels in trays) and 5 more in production. I no longer play a character until they possess their entire IO build complement and I really enjoy the game this way. Once the final five are ready, I’ll be able to create and fully lit any characters from the get-go from then on.