Call Me Awesome

I'm going to buck the trend a bit and suggest Spines; Quills will help with WP's infamously weak aggro aura and it's going to give you a ton of AOE. You can use the metallic spines option to fit your techno theme. If you're feeling a bit squishy then I'd go with either Kat or BS for Parry, both are solid sets with Kat being faster but lower damage and BS being slower and harder hitting. If you want a set that really FEELS like it hits like a truck how about Stone Melee? Fault is an excellent attention-getter and takes lots of damage Procs; since it has a fairly long out of the box recharge those procs fire pretty reliably, I have three on CMA and I usually get at least two firing on most all the mobs in the AOE. And of course Seismic Smash hits like an out of control bulldozer with a MAG 4 hold built in. Fitting the theme may be an issue but you can use the crystal customization and color it as an energy effect maybe? Solid holograms ala Star Trek Holodeck? Electric Melee isn't bad by any means, I'm playing an Elec/Shield stalker that works extremely well, but with tanker numbers the set may let you down a bit lacking a single heavy hitter.

Dang, I have the wrong IO slotted? Duh. I wonder where I've goofed with the other 3%. I don't know of any temp powers active; while I do click the Secondary Mutation power I don't always get the same power and my defense numbers have held steady the last 3-4 levels. Well, for now I'll not worry about it. I did have Tough slotted differently in an earlier build and I guess I pulled the wrong IO out in the Mid's version. Once I hit 50 I'll likely go back and shuffle things a bit and see if I can improve the build, although it's been pretty effective so far. The dual TP nukes followed by Thunder Strike tends to melt everything but bosses, and they're up every other mob on a team.

With my Fire/Regen Stalker I built for S/L soft cap defenses and it works great. If I get in over my head I have 3 clickies, Reconstruction, Dull Pain and Instant Healing. If things go really wrong or I'm likely to eat a nasty alpha I have MOG for 10 seconds of godmode. Yes, I do have to pay attention, but the build is surprisingly durable throughout the vast majority of the game. Is it the equal of, say, Shield? No, but it's quite effective. Without IO bonuses it would struggle but you can fairly easily patch over it's problem areas... Kinetic Combat with it's S/L defense and the knockdown proc work wonders at keeping you alive by keeping the mob on it's butt.

I've run into a puzzling situation. I've a level 42 Elec/SD stalker that I've IO'd fully... looking at the build to date in Mid's it shows defense numbers roughly 6% LOWER than I'm getting in game. I've been over the build and both are enhanced exactly the same... in fact the Mid's build is reflecting level 50 IO's while the game build runs the gamut from around level 30 to some attuned that are 42. I'm obviously not complaining that I'm getting ~6% more defense in game than Mid's shows but I'm puzzled as to why. The in game numbers hold up both in combat and outside of combat. Here's the build as it currently is, I've flipped the IO's out of the powers I don't as yet have. As I mentioned, in game I have across the board roughly 6% more defense than Mid's shows. Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Unseen Bolt: Level 50 Natural Stalker Primary Power Set: Electrical Melee Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Sorcery Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Speed Ancillary Pool: Blaze Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Havoc Punch -- OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg:50(A), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End/Rech:50(40), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End:50(40), OvrFrc-Dmg/End/Rech:50(42), KntCmb-Knock%:35(42) Level 1: Hide -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A) Level 2: Deflection -- GifoftheA-Run+:40(A), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx:40(3), GifoftheA-Def:40(3), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:40(5), LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(39), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx:50(43) Level 4: Battle Agility -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A), GifoftheA-Def:40(5), GifoftheA-Run+:40(7), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx:40(7), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:40(39), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx:50(43) Level 6: Assassin's Shock -- StlGl-Acc/Dmg:50(A), StlGl-Dmg/Rchg:50(9), StlGl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(9), StlGl-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(11), StlGl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(11), StlGl-Rchg/Hide%:50(13) Level 8: Jacobs Ladder -- Obl-%Dam:50(A), Obl-Dmg:50(13), Obl-Acc/Rchg:50(15), Obl-Dmg/Rchg:50(15), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(17) Level 10: Combat Jumping -- Ksm-ToHit+:30(A), LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(46) Level 12: Mystic Flight -- WntGif-ResSlow:50(A) Level 14: Boxing -- Empty(A) Level 16: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(17) Level 18: Chain Induction -- TchofDth-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:40(A), TchofDth-Dam%:40(19), TchofDth-Dmg/Rchg:40(19), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx:40(21), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg:40(21), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:40(23) Level 20: Tough -- GldArm-RechRes:50(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx:30(23), UnbGrd-Max HP%:50(25), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:50(42) Level 22: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I:50(A) Level 24: Weave -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A), GifoftheA-Run+:40(25), GifoftheA-Def:40(27), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx:40(27), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:40(39), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx:50(43) Level 26: Thunder Strike -- AssMar-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(A), AssMar-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(29), AssMar-Acc/Dmg:50(29), AssMar-Dmg/Rchg:50(31), AssMar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(31), AssMar-Rchg/Rchg Build Up:50(31) Level 28: True Grit -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(A) Level 30: Build Up -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(40) Level 32: Lightning Rod -- Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(A), Obl-Dmg:50(33), Obl-Acc/Rchg:50(33), Obl-Dmg/Rchg:50(33), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(34), Obl-%Dam:50(37) Level 35: Shield Charge -- Obl-%Dam:50(A), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(36), Obl-Dmg/Rchg:50(36), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(36), Obl-Dmg:50(37), Obl-Acc/Rchg:50(37) Level 38: One with the Shield -- RgnTss-Regen+:30(A), Prv-Absorb%:50(46) Level 41: Char -- HO:Endo(A) Level 44: Fire Blast -- Empty(A), Empty(45), Empty(45), Empty(45), Empty(46) Level 47: Fire Ball -- Empty(A), Empty(48), Empty(48), Empty(48), Empty(50), Empty(50) Level 49: Hasten -- Empty(A), Empty(50) Level 1: Assassination Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+:50(A), Mrc-Rcvry+:40(34) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%:50(A), PrfShf-EndMod:50(34) Level 50: Spiritual Total Core Revamp ------------ ------------ Set Bonus Totals: 20.5% DamageBuff(Smashing) 20.5% DamageBuff(Lethal) 20.5% DamageBuff(Fire) 20.5% DamageBuff(Cold) 20.5% DamageBuff(Energy) 20.5% DamageBuff(Negative) 20.5% DamageBuff(Toxic) 20.5% DamageBuff(Psionic) 11.13% Defense(Smashing) 11.13% Defense(Lethal) 4.88% Defense(Fire) 4.88% Defense(Cold) 3% Defense(Energy) 3% Defense(Negative) 3% Defense(Psionic) 15.5% Defense(Melee) 3% Defense(Ranged) 6.75% Defense(AoE) 5.4% Max End 2.5% Enhancement(Max EnduranceDiscount) 43% Enhancement(Accuracy) 70% Enhancement(RechargeTime) 7.5% SpeedFlying GrantPower Preventive Medicine (10% chance, if Scourge) 126.5 HP (10.51%) HitPoints 7.5% JumpHeight 7.5% SpeedJumping MezResist(Confused) 43.75% MezResist(Held) 43.75% MezResist(Immobilized) 43.75% MezResist(Sleep) 43.75% MezResist(Stunned) 43.75% MezResist(Terrorized) 43.75% 8% (0.13 End/sec) Recovery 42% (2.11 HP/sec) Regeneration 20% ResEffect(SpeedFlying) 20% ResEffect(RechargeTime) 20% ResEffect(SpeedRunning) 15.75% Resistance(Smashing) 15.75% Resistance(Lethal) 6.75% Resistance(Fire) 6.75% Resistance(Cold) 3.75% Resistance(Energy) 3.75% Resistance(Negative) 30% SpeedRunning

Question, will it let you pair StJ with Shield? I seem to recall that's not an option just like Claws & Spines (and possibly some more I'm not thinking of now). If I was rolling a StJ Stalker I'd probably think of Invuln, Rad, Elec or possibly SR.

True, outside of someone hitting the Barrier Destiny Incarnate power you'll never see the defense hard cap. The RESISTANCE hard cap is 90% for Tankers & Brutes, 85% for Keldians and 75% for everyone else as I recall.

HO's are the equal to 2 or 3 SO's worth of enhancement in a single slot so they're very useful in a slot tight build. For example, the Cytoskeleton HO enhances Defense, To Hit and End Reduction... three things an Invuln wants in Invincibility. It gives you 9 SO's worth of enhancement in only 3 slots and fully enhances every aspect of the power. Set IO's don't give the same amount of enhancement even at 50... a dual aspect IO gives roughly 2/3 of an SO of enhancement to two different things. The only exception are Purple IO's which enhance more than an SO's worth to each aspect. If you're looking to maximize enhancement value in the minimum number of slots then HO's are the best, you just don't get any set bonuses. A top end build will usually have both Set IO's and a few HO's in it. Frequently I end up with an attack that I can't find slots for, so I use a Nucleus HO (Accuracy/Damage) to squeeze more damage and accuracy out of it. Many of the Epic pools have a hold or immobilize as a prerequisite so rather than having a useless power or wasting slots I toss a Endoplasm (Accuracy/Mez) into it and call it good. And of course lots of people want to enhance their travel speed and endurance reduction so you have the ever popular Microfillament (Travel/Endurance) HO. Of course some are dirt cheap (Cough, Centriole (Dam/Range)) while others get really pricey. This is due to the usefulness and rarity... Centrioles drop more often than Microfillaments and are less useful. In the old days HO's gave you a 50% enhancement to each aspect, AND there was no ED cap. As a result slotting 6 Nucleus (Acc/Dam) into an attack was wildly popular getting you +300% damage and accuracy.

I had a Rad/Rad on Live named Bogus Wave, mirror shades, speedo and a tan😎 I'd actually forgotten I'd rerolled him a few months ago as a Water/Rad Corruptor until I found him in my character list and played him to 35 yesterday. (In fairness, he was already sitting at 29). That being the case I've decided to go Rad/Kin and call him Harpo (Marx of course). The costume designer kind of let me down a bit since I couldn't do a "Harpo Wig" but I did get a reasonable overcoat and the rest of the appearance. Bonus points for anyone old enough to know about Harpo Marx 😜

I played it on a Scrapper with StJ/Invuln... there's just something that makes you grin when you kick the bad guy in the nuts. Bonus points because he was minimum height😁😁 Honestly I can't think of a truly bad pairing for it although I'd tend to avoid click happy sets. Pick a strong secondary so you don't have to worry about stopping the butt kicking to avoid dying... scrapperlock is a definite danger with this set on any AT.

I had a Spines/Electric scrapper at 50 on Live and it was a beast. I went hard for defense on the IO's and ended up very durable apart from some edge cases. I've never played with Rad so I can't speak for it but the numbers I've seen look good. Invuln is always good but it's a mixed resist/defense set and Scrapper numbers limit it's durability. As I recall Electric does need to stay on the ground or it has the same KB issues as Fire and Dark... the KB protection only worked if you were on the ground. I remember getting knocked back just jumping over a group to get at them from another angle.

You're absolutely correct, I didn't even notice the green dot on Hurl Boulder. Turning it off brings the Mid's numbers to within 1% of the observed numbers in-game. Now I feel like an idiot for missing that, I was too busy looking for the error and didn't see the forest for the trees. The suggestion of Superior Gauntleted Fist is interesting, unfortunately I'm not sure where I'd get the slots. I suppose I can swap it out with the Eradication in Tremor. Loosing S/L resistance is a non-issue; I'm only using Tough as a mule and don't run with it active. Making that trade and tossing Hecatomb into Heavy Mallet does get me another 6% E/N resistance, but it costs me about 4% E/N defense and 2.5% S/L defense. At the moment I'm not sure that's a worthwhile tradeoff. Looking at other possibilities the options I've thought of don't seem to offer enough benefit to justify the change and most end up costing me in another area.

I think Mid's may have some numbers wrong, I've finished the build below, Mid's shows F/C resist of 84%, E/N resist of 69.5% and Psi of 55%. In game I get F/C of 77%, E/N of 63% and Psi of 46%... all IO's are the same and all are attuned, all are catalyzed where applicable. I've been over and over the live build vs the Mid's build making sure powers/slots/IO's all match and I do NOT have any Incarnate turned on in Mid's. I'm stumped. Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Call Me Awesome: Level 50 Natural Tanker Primary Power Set: Invulnerability Secondary Power Set: Stone Melee Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Sorcery Ancillary Pool: Pyre Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Temp Invulnerability -- UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam:50(A), UnbGrd-ResDam:50(3), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx:50(3), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:50(5), UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg:40(5), UnbGrd-Max HP%:50(7) Level 1: Stone Fist -- HO:Nucle(A) Level 2: Dull Pain -- Prv-Heal/Rchg:50(A), DctWnd-Heal/Rchg:50(7), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg:50(9) Level 4: Heavy Mallet -- SprGntFis-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(A), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg:50(13), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(13), SprGntFis-Dmg/Rchg:50(15), SprGntFis-Rchg/+Absorb:50(15), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(17) Level 6: Combat Jumping -- Ksm-ToHit+:30(A) Level 8: Unyielding -- UnbGrd-ResDam:50(A), ImpArm-ResPsi:40(17), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx:50(19), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:50(19), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam:50(21) Level 10: Taunt -- PrfZng-Dam%:50(A) Level 12: Resist Physical Damage -- UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam:50(A), UnbGrd-ResDam:50(21), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx:50(23), ImpArm-ResPsi:40(23) Level 14: Super Jump -- Jump-I:50(A) Level 16: Boxing -- HO:Nucle(A) Level 18: Invincibility -- ShlWal-Def:50(A), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx:50(25), ShlWal-Def/Rchg:50(25), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(27) Level 20: Fault -- PrfZng-Dam%:50(A), ExpStr-Dam%:20(27), Stp-Acc/Rchg:50(29), RopADop-Acc/Rchg:50(29) Level 22: Tough -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(A), GldArm-3defTpProc:50(31) Level 24: Weave -- Rct-ResDam%:50(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(31), Rct-Def:50(31), Rct-Def/EndRdx:50(33) Level 26: Tough Hide -- ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP:50(A), ShlWal-Def:50(33), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx:50(33), ShlWal-Def/Rchg:50(34) Level 28: Resist Energies -- RctArm-ResDam/Rchg:40(A), ImpArm-ResPsi:40(34), RctArm-ResDam:40(34), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx:40(36) Level 30: Resist Elements -- UnbGrd-ResDam:50(A), Ags-Psi/Status:50(36), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx:50(36), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam:50(37), ImpArm-ResPsi:40(37) Level 32: Hurl Boulder -- SprMghoft-Rchg/Res%:50(A), SprMghoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(37), SprMghoft-Dmg/Rchg:50(39), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg:50(39), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(39), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(40) Level 35: Tremor -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(40), Erd-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:30(40), Erd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:30(42), Erd-%Dam:30(42), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(50) Level 38: Seismic Smash -- SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc:50(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg:50(42), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg:50(43), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx:50(43), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(43), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(45) Level 41: Char -- HO:Endo(A) Level 44: Fire Blast -- SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(A), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(45), SprWntBit-Dmg/Rchg:50(45), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg:50(46), SprWntBit-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg:50(46), SprWntBit-Rchg/SlowProc:50(46) Level 47: Fire Ball -- SprFrzBls-Rchg/ImmobProc:50(A), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg:50(48), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(48), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(48), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx:50(50), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg:50(50) Level 49: Mystic Flight -- WntGif-ResSlow:50(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Gauntlet Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Run-I:50(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+:40(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+:50(9) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%:50(A), PrfShf-EndMod:50(11), PrfShf-EndMod/Rchg:50(11) ------------ ------------ Set Bonus Totals: 4% DamageBuff(Smashing) 4% DamageBuff(Lethal) 4% DamageBuff(Fire) 4% DamageBuff(Cold) 4% DamageBuff(Energy) 4% DamageBuff(Negative) 4% DamageBuff(Toxic) 4% DamageBuff(Psionic) 16.63% Defense(Smashing) 16.63% Defense(Lethal) 23.5% Defense(Fire) 23.5% Defense(Cold) 15.38% Defense(Energy) 15.38% Defense(Negative) 6% Defense(Psionic) 19.75% Defense(Melee) 10.69% Defense(Ranged) 18.5% Defense(AoE) 5.4% Max End 10% Enhancement(Max EnduranceDiscount) 10% Enhancement(RechargeTime) 7.5% SpeedFlying 351.4 HP (18.75%) HitPoints 7.5% JumpHeight 7.5% SpeedJumping MezResist(Confused) 145% MezResist(Held) 145% MezResist(Immobilized) 145% MezResist(Sleep) 145% MezResist(Stunned) 145% MezResist(Terrorized) 145% 12% (0.2 End/sec) Recovery 36% (2.81 HP/sec) Regeneration 80% ResEffect(SpeedFlying) 80% ResEffect(RechargeTime) 80% ResEffect(SpeedRunning) 20% Resistance(Smashing) 20% Resistance(Lethal) 43.25% Resistance(Fire) 43.25% Resistance(Cold) 29% Resistance(Energy) 29% Resistance(Negative) 14.75% Resistance(Toxic) 43.75% Resistance(Psionic) 0% Resistance(Smashing) 0% Resistance(Lethal) 0% Resistance(Fire) 0% Resistance(Cold) 0% Resistance(Energy) 0% Resistance(Negative) 0% Resistance(Toxic) 0% Resistance(Psionic) 7.5% SpeedRunning

Well, you could go with Broadsword for the melee defense of Parry... I haven't played Rad so I don't have any personal experience. I've always been partial to Stone Melee for the knockdowns and solid performance however it's NOT the easiest on your blue bar. Fire Melee is always the go to choice for damage; I've been hearing a lot about Titan Weapons but the long animations may be an issue. From what I've seen Rad Armor seems to be a solid set on it's own so it should work well with most anything you care to put with it. I wouldn't go with Ice Melee or Energy Melee, both were low performers on Live. *edit Doh, just realized we were talking about Scrappers, not Tanks. Well, take the above comments for what they're worth.

I'd been thinking about those two sets; I'm currently leveling a Sonic/Kinetic Corrupter who's in the mid 30's so I think Water may be my choice since I've little experience with it. Back on Live I ran with a dedicated superteam of all Rad or Kin Defender/Controllers and it was loads of fun, the two Kinetics were both Kin/Sonic and I had a Rad/Rad while the others were Ill/Rad and Fire/Rad 'trollers. We managed to kill off Lusca in under 5 minutes at level 25 and pulled lots of other stunts while leveling up. Once I get my namesake Tanker to 50 (currently 43 as of last night) I'll likely start working on the defender. It'll be something different, I had a Rad/Rad, Kin/Rad, Dark/Dark and FF/Energy at 50 on Live.

I've been toying with rolling up another Defender... first one here on Homecoming although I had 4 at level 50 on Live. I've settled on Rad for the primary and am debating on a secondary to pair with it. On Live I had a Rad/Rad that worked fairly well but I'm wondering if there's a better choice. I'm pretty familiar with most of the sets, I'm just wondering what others have paired with Rad and what worked best. While Fire has the damage I wondered if something else might be better with the Defender AT modifiers.

Hmm, I played the set back pre-IO on a Defender and was pretty underwhelmed by it; I guess I wasn't missing something great by never trying it on a Blaster (or leveling that Defender past the mid-20's)

I found it fairly useless on my Fire/Regen stalker when I tried it... it only sheds aggro from the targeted mob, not all his buddies who might be pounding on you at the time. While I've only played a couple of Stalkers to 50 I find that there's always a better choice for power selection.

It would be nice, but I doubt it would be easy to do; HO's were coded into the game back in issue 1 or 2 and are treated like SO's. I wouldn't be at all surprised if there's some dependency on converters and set IO's... I don't know if even common IO's work with converters? I assume not. I somehow doubt it's as simple as the converter looking up a table with all the various IO's listed... although if it is then it might be as simple as adding new entries to the table. Nah, the Dev's weren't smart enough to do it that simple... or more likely they had to deal with too many conflicting bits of code.

I guess it's been too long since I looked into that; I'd thought blue was speed boost for him and endurance. I haven't looked at the list since shutdown and I guess my memory was failing... and also, "Get off my lawn!" 🙂

Actually once you hit 45% defense more is for all intents and purposes pointless except against Incarnate foes. Theoretically it provides a buffer against defense debuffs, practically however if you get hit by a debuff it will strip enough defense that 3% won't matter. This is the curse of sets without debuff resistance; once they start hitting they tend to keep hitting and strip your defense. Of the builds above #3 is your best choice defensively. I tend to slot Kinetic Combat sets into single target attacks for the S/L defense and that chance for knockdown hits fairly reliably to put a mob on it's butt for a few seconds.

Oh, how much I hate any "lead out" mission. They're prime choices to drop or auto complete.

You can just go to a safe place and you'll be able to log out instantly. Places like a train station, city hall, super group base and the like. Click on log out, then no countdown timer.

Yeah, it's definitely long term storage. Most of the drives are only accessed once or twice a year on average, some of them haven't been touched since they were stored away. They hold video footage that gets pulled out when a client orders it or when we have need of it for an edit... there's several drives that date to 2006 and haven't been accessed in 10 years. All are stored in a climate controlled area but they sit on the shelf until needed. As a thumb rule the drives with last year and this year's stuff will be accessed monthly on average, as it gets older the access gets much rarer. I'm thinking of buying several drives and copying the old footage over, hopefully before the drives die. I tend to find out a drive has died when I pull it off the shelf and plug it in. Worst case I have the footage on DVD, but that's SD and the drives have the HD footage.

Agreed on the SSD recommendation; I've had both Samsung and Crucial drives for some years now with zero issues. On the other hand the very first SSD I bought shortly after they came out was an Intel and it died after a year... just long enough to outlive the warranty of course. I hadn't realized prices had come down that much, it's been a couple years since I last bought one and they were more than double those prices then. Damn it Hyper, you're making me think about replacing the ~400GB Samsung in my gaming rig with a 1TB. 🙂 I've the SSD boot and a couple of 4TB mechanical drives in the machine now and the SSD is nearly full. Oh, one question, what's your opinion on the most reliable 4TB+ drive for long term archival of video footage? I've been using WD Blue drives lately, prior to that I have a bunch of WD External drives (My Book) on shelves in the closet. I fill about 15 TB or more a year with video footage that I need to archive and I just got bit when a My Passport drive from 2013 died and took a bunch of footage with it (That I fortunately had a backup of).

I don't think LR has been tweaked any; the reason it's easier now is because most people running it are Incarnates. I'd bet they're going to be 50+1 level, have an Alpha slot to boost them, possibly a Destiny Barrier or Rebirth contributing to durability. I probably ran the STF a hundred times on Live and I've made about a dozen runs here on Homecoming.