Six-Six

There are several ways to become sneaky: 1) You can slot your travel powers (Speed of Sound, Hover/Flight, Combat Jumping/Super Jump, Mighty Leap, Mystic Flight, Combat Teleport) with any of the +Stealth IOs for the respective power. You can even slot Celerity +Stealth in Sprint if you don't have a travel power. This will give you a decent amount of sneakiness to run past enemies. But don't get too close because they will still notice you. 2) You can take Concealment Invisibility/Infiltration. You can't (and don't need to) slot stealth into these because you will already be getting Stalker-level stealth. You can stand in between two enemies arguing and they won't notice you. 3) Some primaries/secondaries have stealth baked into them. All Stalkers have a mandatory first secondary power Hide. Blaster /Devices has Field Operative, Storm Summoning has Steamy Mist, melee's Energy Aura has Energy Cloak, etc. These powers have varying degrees of stealth. And while you also can't stealth IOs into them, you can supplement your sneakiness with stealth IOs and follow the first procedure I mentioned. I usually take a travel power but don't slot stealth into it. Instead, I slot a single Celerity +Stealth in Power Slide. I do this so that I have the option to turn stealth on or off especially with Lead X out missions -- where I need sprint but have to be visible. I can turn on Power Slide when I'm Jumping or Flying I don't mind the end cost when I'm just getting to a door mission. (also it adds a chem trail to my movement). I turn off travel powers when I fight... except for Combat Jumping or Hover. IIRC, Speed of Sound and the running power from Hasten -- sorry, I rarely take those -- gives you a bit of stealth out of the box. That or you're too fast for the buggers to react.

Step out of the game for a second. Go to your CoH folder in the system (I'm on a Mac, so mine is in my Applications folder... not sure how it is with Windows or otherwise) Navigate to coh Folder -> accounts folder -> [your account/login name] folder You should see a Maps folder, playerslot.txt file, and settings.json file Delete the playerslot.txt file and restart the game. Playerslot.txt file is a file that lists your created characters in the order you have placed them (I usually rearrange my toons by AT per page and by level in the Character Selection Screen). Deleting this will reset the order to the default which sorts your characters by creation date. Any missing toons should appear as sometimes the character selection screen puts one on top of another in the slots.

Yes, I was experiencing a similar thing earlier. Although I blamed mine on my tall-green-grass-with-red-fences netgraph. I get booted back to log-in screen several times.

Why not? It takes less than 3 minutes to log in and out. And if your toon is above level 6, you have another year before you have to repeat the process. If you can't be bothered to do such a tiny effort for the name you're refusing to part with, then you shouldn't be so sore if the system enacts its protocols. The devs put in their (free) time, thinking and physical effort to make the entire thing as fair to both camps. I feel the least we can do is play by their rules. I was thinking of a different approach, but can't test it at the moment: 1) A toon with name "Awesomely-Named Man" is flagged with a warning 2) Take another idle alt, one preferably without a warning, and rename switch names with it. 3) Since both toons are idle anyway, you can just wait a day or two before switching the names back. This should circumvent the potentially lost minutes of logging in and out of a toon with a warning.

Judging from a purely grammatical and objective view, I would say the first one is the best. You know what the subject is (Procs) and what about the subject you are trying to communicate [(that they) should be nerfed]. It is a declarative sentence that necessitates no recipient and could be understood by all regardless if they have the power or not to comply. No. 2 has a pronoun that has no precedent nor antecedent, hence it is unclear to whom or what "They" is referring. This makes it a far weaker statement than the first. No. 3 and 4 simply replace the pronoun of the 2nd statement with a more specific group of individuals. While 3 is much clearer than 2, and 4 more so, all three statements are still inferior to the first. However, there is still room for improvement for the first statement. As it is now, it is a passive declarative sentence: You can opt to make it an imperative sentence which makes it an assertive command instead of just a mere stating of opinion. An example is "Procs MUST be nerfed" or "Nerf procs now". Again, this is from an objective and grammar-centric reply regardless of the statements' subject matter. You could easily substitute "Regen" for "Procs" and my reply will not change. Subjectively however, YOU LEAVE MY DAMN PROCS ALONE... and get off my lawn while you're at it. =)

Elec/Elec is one of my strongest toons ever. Rad/Rad sounds like it has promise. I haven't run a Rad Fender, but I did have a /Rad Corruptor. I still haven't figured out his build since his secondary (Fender's Primary) tend to be end guzzlers. But at least most of it's powers are not ally-dependent, so very soloable. Rad blast had me at Eye Beams. Overall a decent set.

Some answers that may or may not help 😃 1. The allocation of Slots and placement of enhancements is your build. And you can build anyway you like. A general rule is to prioritise accuracy (your damage don't mean squat if it doesn't connect) and endurance (being able to actually USE your power is always a plus). Then you address damage/controls, recharge, +chance to something. Some powers require an effort to make them shine, some can be great with just one slot, some you want up all the time, and some powers are skipped. You can check out or request certain builds from people here in the forums (Yes, the community here is awesome). But keep in mind that there are no right or wrong builds. there is only what works for you. I usually peek at builds as a starting point, then tailor fit it to my style of play and/or concept. 2. On your map and contacts window there is a tab called badges. You can keep track of what you've got there. Some if you collect a set, you get an Accolade which gives a power or attribute. The wiki has the information you need to get certain badges; some you can find, some you can earn, some you need an entire league to get. 3. This may have to do with the enemy type and thereby their damage type. Your specific defences and resistances to those kinds of damages will determine how easy or hard a certain mob is. Most of the game content can be done solo, so unless your difficulty settings are off the charts, then you should be faring as well as the next bloke. One of the best remedies for this is to kill everything before they get even get a chance =). 4. The game can be played all the way to 50 on just Single Origin Enhancements (SOs). Invention Origin (IO) sets give you set bonuses. On one hand, set bonuses can really add up to either strengthen a certain attribute (i.e. dmg) or plug holes (i.e. Def/Res for Blasters and Dominators); on the other hand, the choice of IOs and their different combinations can be quite overwhelming. And as a tip from one newb to another, keep an eye on your Fury Bar. As a Broot, you want that bar always filled. one way to do that is to always be fighting, so surround yourself with foes. Also, while you'll see a lot of speed runs being advertised in Looking For Group channel, there are still a number of us who like taking things slow. I hope you bump into your kind and find your tribe. It will definitely lift your enjoyment factor.

It was the same for Beam and AR + Ninja blades. There used to be a technical issue behind it (something about dedicated modelling for each hand + weapon). But I do remember it has been addressed in a previous patch or two. Come to think of it, this is the first time I've heard one for DP/TA. Hmm, must be an adverse reaction to Page 4. Patches have a tendency to mess under the hood. I'm sure the devs will rectify this soon enough.

Good lord, man. Don't by from that lady. She'll bleed you dry! 1 merit = 2 unslotters/3 converters which is easily 2-300k on any given day. 50x300k = 15,000,000 inf. The you've got the salvage + crafting fee to deal with (add another 600k+) as well as a catalyst (1,500,000). Devastation +chance to hold) Attuned goes for 2-3mil tops. Another route you can go is craft a dropped or bought recipe and convert until you luck out. You'll end up using less converters/merits plus it's a fun mini-game, like slot machine or craps. Same goes for ATOs. Waaaay cheaper from the AH.

It's for the notorious recoil from the bow and arrow 😃

I think theme-wise, Martial and Ninja work best with DP. The animations complement each other, much more than the hand powers. Between the two, I would swear by Ninja. I have a 3rd one now. Guns, Swords, and Combat TP... what more do you need? But then again, maybe I haven't mastered Martial as well as I have ninjas.

My two inf: I prefer Combat TP over Burst of Speed. BoF does little damage, gives a negligible dmg boost for a short time and has a minute-long cool down after the 3 burst. CTP, on the other hand gives you a +to hit bonus for a short time, recharges faster for another 3 bursts (and possibly longer range???), and has an arguably better animation. Also, you can make up for the damage boost by 2-slotting Adjusted Targeting in it. Also, with CTP, I use: /bind [key] powexec_location Target Combat Teleport -- TPs me to a bloke in the middle of the mob so I can unleash a PBAoE or 2 /bind [key] powexec_location Back:30 Combat Teleport -- TPs me back 30 ft (while still facing target) so I can Empty Clips /bind [key] powexec_location Cursor Combat Teleport -- TPs me to where my curser is which is usually in the middle of the next mob... or far away from it if I'm low on health or if I just got sapped. Also, DP procs really well and the different powers take a whole bunch of IOs. The possibilities would be a wall of text if I listed them. But a few of my favourites are +smashing, +lethal, -recharge, +to hit, -res. +chance to hold. And depending on the theme of my DP toon (I have a lot... because I likes DP... that sounded dirty, but anyhoo..) Ice Mistral's +Cold, Gladiator's +Toxic, Bombardment's +Fire in keeping with the Swap Ammo line. a lot of powers can also take +energy or +negative energy, as well as +disorient and psionic. There are times when I see a bunch of orange numbers float up with the soul of my dying enemy... too many to discern at once. instead of Medicine's Injection + Aid Self and Force Mastery's PFF, Temp Invul, and FoN, may I suggest Cold Mastery? I think Frozen Armour offers Fire and Cold res, Hoarfrost is much better Heal than (sucky and interruptible) Aid Self, and Hibernate heals you while your invulnerable/phased -- which is far better than PFF as some attacks can manage to penetrate it sometimes. That leaves you with 2 additional power picks. I'm not a fan of Piercing Rounds. So if you drop that, plus the 2 power picks you gained in the previous paragraph, you can take Leadership for more def, more damage, and Tactics -- which if slotted with the full set of Gaussian has really a good 6-piece set bonus. Of course Leadership guzzles end like there's no tomorrow, but a single end redux in Assault and Maneuvres should ease that.

Yes, that happens sometimes. No matter how good something seems on paper or in your head, sometimes actually running it proves otherwise. I've had fun with Dark/Martial and am having fun with Mind/Savage. I tried Ice/Ice and Fire/Fire and didn't really enjoy it as much as I thought. I had more fun Grav/Energy and (a parked) Elec/Elec but even those two are a far second from the first pair. I recently rolled a Fire/Martial so I'll see how he does. I hope you find a keeper.

I think of Dominators as Trollers with a more direct approach. You got your crowd control powers in your primary, and you have more straightforward attacks both ranged and melee in your secondary. While I enjoy playing both, I tend to lean towards Doms for more active (jump into the thick of things and thrash around) type of play. And I agree, you don't need a lot of def/res if things around you are locked down or dead or dying. However, what I've noticed is that most of my doms are late bloomers. They start off decent if you're careful. But as you hit the 30s and 40s, it's when things get really fun. Maybe it's me, maybe it's you, maybe it's Maybeline. I dunno. Give it a chance to bloom. Level 1-20 is rather misleading. Sort your affairs at 20-30 and you should be able to enjoy dominating with little effort the rest of the game. Also, I just tend to set the Domination button on auto.

I will now be spending the next hour or twelve customising costumes. 😃

It's out! Page 4 is out! oh boy. so many costumes to update 😃

If you can, try to get Group Flight. Flying Bots ARE. DA. BOMB. 😃

Heeheeh... I just thought of a parallel: Blaster: Think Green Arrow or Hawkeye. You've got a bag of tricks for every occasion and you use them all. Sentinel: (Can't think of an existing character, but...) You're a heavily armoured, unstoppable bloke... throwing pointy twigs. Again, I may be a tad biased towards blasters. 😃 Edit: As Page 4 dropped, I got the chance to revisit my old toons and I realised something interesting. I respec-ed 2 in particular, a DP/WP Sentinel and a DP/Nin Blaster. Regarding what I said about chasing certain aspects in each AT, I found that Sentinels can have comparative damage with Blasters especially in the earlier powers. My pistols, dual wield and suppressive fire had higher values for accuracy, damage, and recharge. Of course this came at the price of just barely slotting the WP def/res powers, which still ended up higher than the blaster. Take this with a HUGE grain of salt, though. There were countless other factors involved. But the takeaway still remains the same: Your play style and intended use will be the one to dictate which toon you end up liking. That's not to say you can't like both. 😃 Cheers.

Why not roll both and decide which one you like better. But here are my two inf: I learned the game with Sentinels. They are very forgiving because of their armour and the fact that they are ranged which gives you the additional defensive space between you and your enemy to mitigate the melee half of incoming damage. With that, I think SR on a Sent is the best version of SR. You can minimally slot it with just the globals and an end reduction SO here and there and you're still very very tough. So that's bare minimum. My archery/ninjitsu plays the role of the Tank in our All Archer SG. He's nigh immortal. When I got used to the game's ins and outs, I fell in love with Blasters (I have over 3 dozen now). While the Blaster doesn't have any inherent defences and resistance, you can still get some through the Tertiary and Mastery Pools as well as IO set bonuses. Blasters are all about damage both ranged and melee (though Archery/TA doesn't lend well to blapping), and a few CCs. You don't really need much armour if everything around you will be dead in 2 seconds. Between Tactical Arrow and Super Reflexes, you're basically choosing between crowd control and defences. Playing Dominators and Trollers, I've learned that you don't need defences too much if your enemy is either locked down or dead. But with the Sentinel, you won't mind the damage. Sentinels make up for their underwhelming damage with impressive armour. Blasters are the opposite--high damage with virtually no armour. Sentinels also don't get a snipe attack and generally have a shorter range. (I may be a bit biased towards Blasters). In terms of Inherent AT abilities, I found the Sentinel's Opportunity to be very useful in the lower levels, but rather irrelevant in the highers. Blaster's Defiance offsets your propensity to be mezzed... and you will be mezzed quite a lot. [Edit] I'd like to add that if you go the Sentinel route, you'll be chasing End Recovery (for all your toggles) and Damage bonus. For Blaster, the damage is there, so you're after a bit of End, a bit of Def/res (ranged def for hover blasters), and a bit of recharge. A lot of people compare the two ATs, but the truth is they play different. Give both a try, even just to level 20 (shouldn't take so long) or so to see which one fits your style.

I do that with my MM toons. One build has all 3 tiers of henchmen, and another only has 1. The latter is more for flavour and RP, but optimised enough to be viable for most content. I also used to have a Dual Pistols Sentinel with 3 distinct builds that switched whenever he switched Ammo type: Incendiary rounds + Mace Mastery was built around damage (haha, on a Sentinel, right); Cryo rounds + Ice Mastery was built around slows, holds and -recharge; and Chem rounds + Ninja Mastery for debuff. I even made a macro button for the switch along with a subtle costume change. Again, RP won over Meta as the build switching reset ALL the cool downs so he couldn't really do it in the middle of a fight. Incidentally, 3 sets of purple IOs, pvp IOs and ATOs made it quite expensive. Not sure if it was worth it. Aside from those, I found that rolling a new toon and grinding it over was more fun than just setting up additional builds. Hence why I have 8 Soldiers of Arachnos and 3 Widow/Forts, each with different builds (i.e. Huntsman, Crab, Bane, Hybrid + X mastery, Hybrid + Y mastery, so on). Besides, each toon (and thereby, each build) takes on its own personality. I also have 3 DP/Dev Blasters... again, each one with his/her own personality and slightly different build. I do have plans to make a 2nd build for my PB and WS when page 4 rolls out to try out tri-form... then again, I just might roll new ones and level them up all over again. 😃 I have a friend who uses 1 build for solo and one build for team. I remember chatting with him/her that the 3rd build is more fluid and tailor-fit for specific content.

I don't recall ever having trouble finding Sakai. He does appear on the map, and I feel the progression is intuitive enough to go to the doors. While I agree it doesn't spoon feed you the information, it does teach you feel around and interact with the doors. As for the powers disappearing from the tray, I run Breakout with almost all of my new toons and this has never happened to me. It has happened to toons that I've created, skipped the tutorial and straight to Mercy, THEN being parked for a few days without doing anything. When I log back to the toon, it's powers are gone from the tray.

What kind of monster sets fire to pandas???

I forgot to add that The Hounds of Love in Reunion, one of the top if not the biggest SG on the shard, runs TFs and Incarnate trials with sole purpose and explicit intent of familiarising aspiring players to one day lead them. They're called "casual" in the LFG, IIRC, and are scheduled weekly; and they're advertised and scheduled differently than the "regular" which almost always coincides with the WST and ones aptly labeled "badge" or MO runs. The league leader and his lieutenants of team leaders do a great job of informing everyone what to expect, what to do, what not to do, and tips and tricks that work; they even answer questions people may have regarding certain parts. Of course there are the hecklers and those who still go off on their own inconsiderate of the entire league. but most of the people there behave like they're on a guided tour. I haven't seen the like in Torch, Indom or Ever (the internet gods won't let me play on Excelsior)

While the intent is noble and community building, the saying "you can lead a horse to water..." may triumph in this situation. I suppose the most you can do is advertise TF/SF Familiarisation Run where 1) it's the opposite of Speed Run and 2) you call out basic story, objective, strategic directions, things to watch out for, etc. to get the team members cozy and comfy enough with the run that they might try it themselves. In the end, it will be up to the person to hopefully do the same, or at least grow the hair on their balls to take initiative to start a TF/SF on their own. The wiki has enough info to get anyone started... again if they wanted to... but the specific experience either from personal mistakes or one handed down by a mentor or trainer will still be invaluable. There was a time that I did learn the ins and outs of most TF/SFs by joining both PUGs and friend-led ones over and over (there are still some that I'm as good as a headless chicken during a prostitution raid) and have lead some myself. I also learned that I'm not too fond of PUGs and that I may not be cut out to be a leader. If a team member bit off more than he could chew, strayed from the group, is about to get ganked, or whatever, I just didn't care. I'm not too anal on roles (healer, cc, etc.) but if you can't pull your own weight, at least keep yourself alive so I don't have to double back and rez you. And spoilers, I won't.

cool beans. I didn't know that. still a newb troller. 😃 I am aware of how awesome deceive is. On a slightly different note, I did try (for the first time) the concealment pool for my Beast/ MM. I use Grant Invisibility on my wolves and lions primarily for theme: they're supposed to be stealthy hunters that sneak up on their prey. I tried monitoring their def and while the description says that the def drops when the stealth does, I don't see it in combat attributes. I don't know how to test it further. Another tangent with Group Invis or Grant invis with teams is something I read in another thread. Some people in teams don't like their costumes obscured by stealth powers. This is apart from what @BrandX pointed out about not using stealth to actually stealth.