Sanguinesun

The 5 cap As I always ask, what specifically are your intended goals for this tank? Goals really define how to build a toon.

Kins had it worse.

Lots factor for people's choices for AE maps for farming(as maps you've cited outside of AE are also in the AE of course). Alot of that has to do with individual AT/powerset/playstyle considerations. 1. The way you create the mobs for the map: powers given(as there is some variation), EB maps or just up to boss only(some believing that their version is more exp per hour overall with faster clears while others based on their recipe of things prefer EBs) 2. Whether you prefer long maps (Dreck's map is arguably the longest/largest) battlemaiden, circus etc as pointed out. Others prefer short fast clears (like meteor) etc. 3. Terrains. Some prefer very flat, some dont mind the junk or other objects, containers, corridors, tunnels, etc as they prefer the funneling/herding aspects of them. 4. Soloing or not, powers chosen, power sets chosen etc. There's a lot of variation on people's builds and their playstyles to the point that it affects influence/hour. Remember you share everything distributed between each person on a farm team of course. 5. Active farming vs AFK farming. Those also shape map and other choices. And more. This is why mileage varies so much in these sorts of threads. As for none AE maps(lets call them missions), due to changes over the years due to mob groups revamps posing challenges(lets just call them for what they're intended to be: spiked speed bumps) and making their exp per hour less efficient. The viability for infl/hour is less optimal than AE due to a host of factors. So all in all, if you're chasing the efficiency in the math, AE. If one is contrarian, bored, or just doesnt like AE, then almost anything one wishes to run as influence is going to be earned appropriate to your level/team regardless of the mission you choose. Only variations will be some things related to rewards(merits(or not) recipe drops, aethers, etc.

You'd be more apt to tell them yourself on here(as all 3 of them post/have HC accounts and one is on the HC player council) or post here on HC or, as most do, simply use discord. Issues do exist with the program but I tend to only report my issues when they occur and not act as a proxy for others who have reticence to use discord or the like.

Toggles have an endurance numeric associated with them. A fee if you will as you already likely understand. Said fee is exacted at specific timed intervals of that toggle. Your recovery naturally(or stamina etc enhanced) then also has a timed deposit that it enables. Your typical attacks or other end usage powers that arent toggles all have their own separate end numerical values that those end fees are exacted from your end pool (bar). This then becomes a recipe, depending on your actions that will cause all or only certain toggles to detoggle. This then is further compounded mathematically by factors from mobs: end drain and recovery debuffing. This is why it is, on the surface, rather difficult for the typical player on the fly to account for the variables that cause XYZ toggles to drop and others to not or for all to drop.

It is going to depend on how you've built your farmer. If you've built well for for your res and def etc already then the best damage oriented alpha would be a logical choice. However if you still have/need a reliance on some other deficit in the build due, then you may have to make other choices. People for example sometimes make builds strongly focused on damage, but then neglect endurance needs, acc, and more. Its always about the recipe, not one specific ingredient.

Indeed. with +recharge cap at +300%, FF's ppm, and more just make it not as efficient as some may think to put FF in any power it can take. 2-3 is often more than enough for most builds, if that. Its all a maths dance anyway, faster recharge of powers means more end use. Too much focus on such can diminish the damage and or other aspects of the toon to make them more capable as well. This is as you and most of us know that people for years delve into the min/maxing and math play with mids or on the test server to come up with what they think is the best(though mids is becoming more and more unreliable sadly with its spaghetti code too(Just yesterday I was toggling and toggling a power on mids and it was causing the stats to almost never consistently give the same numbers from on/off as one would expect that it should. I've even found in the past(and let the mids folks know, recharge % value bugs too. It is what it is as the volume of care needed to replace it with something else is only what a quantum AI would likely be willing to tackle. 😛

Feature creep. That's all that really needs to be said on this.

It is also important to point out that many in the EU opt to play on Excelsior as well for various reasons that I've seen.

Mids reborn also has its own discord where the caretakers of it and others congregate. It also has builds and discussions builds that do not always overlap similar discussions here.

Also keep in mind it utilizes contamination and -def which speaks to why it was likely was designed with that limitation in mind for balance sake to the power set.

You're asking a catch all/cure all concerning "which is better". Answers you'll get from folks will vary because your specific game play goals dictate effectivity. If you're a gen pop casual play post 50 tank, then any damn thing is enough. If you have specific goals with hard core 4 star content for example, then your choices of powers, builds etc with tanks becomes much more min/max in considerations with some sets becoming not encouraged etc. You've asked though in general so, "anything is fine" applies. As for proton sweep, same thing applies. If you're gen pop, anything's fine. If you've some specific goal in mind for your play, then it may not be as effective a choice. Its not really a debate per se. Since you've noted you've been away for years, the mechanics of defense were changed a couple of years back to where positional defense is now with higher effectivity over damage type defense. Essentially the effectivities were reversed by HC. Someone also already addressed the point concerning s/l from what you'd previously believed as well.

If you're not interested in making specific AT builds known to be the most optimal for farming inf per hour, then you have to accept your milage will dramatically vary in how you make money in game otherwise of course. The more contrarian you become on that, the less you will earn of course. That is a choice. There is a guide you've been directed to in a previous thread of yours concerning farming builds and how to make your own AE farms for such endeavors. That's because you were not building specifically for those farms and that goes back to what I said above. As for SF/TF's if reliant on those for revenue, its going to be in the long run rather slow going. The primary requirement for that though is then having the converters. If you're doing content for other reasons that at the same time earns you merits, then it becomes a bit of a kill two birds with one stone or if you've created an already self sustained influence pool from which to buy converters to then use in that method to get enhancements that you want to sell then for profit, then it becomes alright. But keep in mind this is essentially a revenue stream based primarily on redistribution of influence vs an actual generation of it yourself. AH doesnt actually generate influence. It actually is a limited influence sink with its redistribution between players. There is a distinct difference that may be for some splitting hairs but there is something important to understand from it that has a broader long term effect. This then circles us back to your various threads points of you being more RP immersively focused but having been warned multiple times that you're also putting yourself in conflict with your needs/desires to make money otherwise. You could just simply be a bit more creative in your thinking so that you can justify any methods of play to do what you need but really you're just more or less adverse to doing methods that are the most effective that others employ in a more intentionally contrarian way, as if it is a mark of accomplishment. That's fine but again its also why you're repeatedly coming to the forums voicing frustrations with the challenges that you're encountering. Your self imposed limitations are what's essentially hamstringing you. There are also other methods besides one mentioned and your current honeymoon with converter gambling too. But if that, for now, matches your rp/thematics and reticent to use the other effective methods, and you're happy with it, then that's all really that matters in your desires to play as you wish.

That sounds a bit elitist there, unless you want development and feedback to turn into more of an epistemic bubble. Or is that the goal?

90% of this game, as it is with HC, is truly casual so of course letting concept or themes be your guide is perfectly normal. Challenges start to arise when someone wants to put that frame of thinking into specific goal oriented needs from which conflicts arise that can lead to either a necessity to compromise or completely scrap in favor of building around specific play goals instead. However, also creativity can play a large part in things. One doesnt have to make a rad based powers toon and feel boxed in with it being "radiation" for example, especially when color customization can make things look different for the most part (green to black for example). Turning off characters at specific exp levels in the manner you described from a narrative standpoint sounds like roleplaying considerations so again, that's going to be something that then narrows to varying degrees the characters but since one can play content once 50 at the lower levels and your powers are restricted accordingly, there's less reasons to just simply stop a toon in its leveling in its tracks at those levels. Remember, levels really are not part of the narrative really, they're the practicality aspects of the meta of the game that were implemented as a progression (and originally to keep you subbed). As for avoiding beta server, its function is to allow players to test either their ideas/build plans, content etc as they wish or any upcoming beta testing needs with changes/content of the game. It is then simply a tool one chooses to use and toons made there are not allowed to be transfered to the other servers in the game. Insta pvp toons aren't the same as the beta server ones as they are restricted to pvp primarily and other imposed restrictions. They were/are simply there as an attempt to get people to pvp, as it is for the most part a very very niche thing on HC. Its not set up to be a tool to test things with the same capabilities as the beta server nor should it be. Again you're mainly a theme focused player and that is ok. Many people play as they wish and that's one of the strengths of the game.