Without_Pause

3-slot end mod into Stamina and Quick Recovery. Anything more than that is facing diminishing returns. Tactics would be 1 end redux and 3 tohit buff on a generic level. Best to look into slotting level 25 IO enhancements as you level. Far cheaper in the long run.

Slot one end redux in attacks and toggles and call it a day. You can get badges for crafting common IOs which will allow you to not need the recipes anymore and thus save you in terms of cost. https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Invention_Badges

Kin/shield scrapper. Scrappers benefit more from +dmg. /shield has a way to crank damage and adds another AoE.

Even if a set is more geared towards AoE, you simply use a diff setting for bigger mobs versus higher level ones. Four ST damage attacks is more than enough for killing bosses.

It is "better" because they can go from point A to B faster which is what matters when power leveling. /rad will be safer. /rad still remains one of the best powersets controllers get.

Spines:

Why wasn't Kin used?

Got it up to 10, but I have 11 characters with one more to add, and while I like it, I am working on others more.

If I ever reroll my Water/nin sentinel and I might, it will be Water/ice. It was the first pairing I thought of when thinking of a reroll.

The problem being there is this forum and Discord already so I'm not sure how much traffic you are going to pull in.

ED was a necessary evil with a poor PR handling.

1 SO for single target attacks. 2 for AoE. 3 damage. 1 end redux. 0-1 recharge.

I ran one in a hardcore SG. Also did the brute version. Currently have a tank version. Just waiting for its turn in the queue in terms of leveling. Back in the day I asked someone from my SG about end game brute version, and they said they liked it a lot.

1. Not many servers so population is fine. Red side will have fewer players. There might be too many people in the newbie areas for blue side. *cough* 2. Scrapper, brutes, MMs, and sentinels. 3. There's A LOT of story content. There's only so many factions and they are broken via level ranges, but the game ran for like 9 years, so there's a ton of content. 4. Just go to a place like Croatoa at some point. Hint, it is the Halloween zone they made official. 5. MMs can be busier to handle although since the pets to the attacking, it might be boring. Peacebringers and Warshades were originally unlocked after hitting 50. Every mission there is someone there designed to kill you asap. 6. IO related salvage and recipes are worth keeping. Little else until end game content happens. 7. I'm trying to recall. Via missions, absolutely. 8. I never found it that bad. I've done a fair bit of soloing while taking heroes to 50. If you team all the time, you can get there at a reasonable pace. 9. Some servers are specified for EU, RP, PVP. I go where the people go so Torchbearer.

Ill/rad. Perma PA, and the needed debuffs. I know scrappers and brutes can do AVs. I'm not sure on GMs.

As someone who detests Shadow Maul, I would look at sets like Claws, SJ, Staff, and Kat. I think all of them have rather good animations to say the least. I ran Claws/regen to 50 once and working on Claws/wp now, although as a brute. I'm pretty sure I got my Kat/sr to 50 as well. Added SJ recently and been looking at Staff, so I think that's another add soon enough. Mere talk of Kat makes me want to roll one again. I slightly like the speed of Claws more, but I have no qualms with Kat.

So many builds and ATs play differently. Don't worry too much about making new heroes and trying out things to see what works for you. I played when it originally came out. I had 40+ characters. This time around I started with 8. Rerolled 7 and added 3 more. I have rolled one character with a power set that wasn't around when I played last, so I have a number to go if I ever get inspired to. In other words, even knowing what I like, I still have over a page worth of characters. A Willpower brute will likely be one of the most straight forward first time characters to use. Select your primary, toggle up, and go.

I would try to global friend whoever I could. You could even ask in the forum for whatever server you play on for people who play red side. A bit of networking will go along way.

(flips coin)

Had a Claws/regen scrapper at 50. It is a very active build since /regen doesn't offer any real mitigation outside of healing/regen. I played a bunch of Kin as well and both combos are very click happy but that worked for me. Others might not want something which can and will go from everything is fine to "Uh oh" in a heartbeat. I did reroll with Homecoming to /wp brute just so I can focus more on using attacks and less panic button pushing. The good news is /regen benefits from IOs when you can add in resists and defense which will make life even better. So, it isn't a playstyle for everyone, but it was a fun ride for me.

I play on Torchbearer, and you practically trip over DFB teams. I have seen three teams being formed in the sewer at one time. I'm on Eastern US time.

One end redux in toggles and one in attacks. I've never felt the end to go with two in an attack unless at DO level. Make sure the single target attacks are slotted as well since they should be getting the most use.

Honesty depends on what you are looking for. Brutes and scrappers are among the best for damage while staying alive. SS/fire or Spines/fire brutes can put out a ton of damage while being fairly safe depending on the situation. As said before, something like a Fire/kin corr or controller can put out quite a bit via teams but are more on the edge.

Grav does get mentioned on the Dom forums. /thorns less so. I never played either. I would grab Pine's Hero builder and post up what you have in the Doms forum to see what can be worked on if anything. Also will help to know what level you are. I think the biggest issue with Grav is how resisted it's damage type is, so even if the single target damage is good, it can come across as weaker.

/sr likely due to the ability to speed up attacks.