Six-Six

I don't mind how it is now. I don't PL my toons, so at the lower levels, I like how I have limited powers, slots, and practically everything else. I also have to prioritise accuracy/efficacy, endurance, def/res, damage, etc. while trying not to get killed. Things usually get sorted out around 30-40, 45 for late bloomers. Moreover, never have I ever looked to incarnates to fix my toons' shortcomings. In the interest of averting and avoiding power creep, what aspect of your toon (preferably of equal importance as end reduction) are you willing to give up or trade for such a change?

I apologise in advance for tooting my own horn. I recently found myself with some down time due to connectivity and lag issues. It was so bad that I couldn't even run in game without bumping into buildings. So I thought I'd hit the costume creator until it passes. As a change of pace from my usual Blapper or Brutinator, I was grinding a Peacebringer, whose play time is interrupted by the lag. Though I'm not skilled enough to play bi- or tri-form, I do like the idea of being able to shape shift. I'll give it a go when the toggle suppression patch rolls out... but I digress. So there I was in the character creator. I started without anything in particular in mind. After a few minutes, a Griffin was staring back at me. I decided to make him a Blaster. I've never tried Psi/ on a Blaster before, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I chose /Fire for the secondary primarily because the Griffin costume was asking for it. I really didn't give it much thought since I was just killing time. At first, I couldn't reconcile the synergy between Psi and Fire. Even the power animations didn't want to hold hands with each other. Then I thought, why don't I play him like a bi-form PB... and boom everything fell into place. So I present to you, Salazar the Accursed. He's a collector of odd things... until one of the items that came to his possession had the spirit of a Griffin. He inadvertently releases the seal and the Griffin took control of his mortal form. Both souls fight for dominance; so he had to learn "the mystic ways" just to keep the beast at bay and his sanity in check. Now, they've struck an agreement as to who gets to go out and slay. The fact remains, though, that one of his previous possessions now possess him. The bio will be better (I'm sure). Basically, it's the same formula for DC's Jason Blood and the Demon Etrigan. Game-wise, he has almost all the psi powers and Arcane Bolt while in human form. He gets no stealth or travel powers. He does get limited use of Cauterise from the secondary. But when the need arises, he transforms to the Griffin. The mythical beast, in turn uses all the powers from his secondary, Flame Mastery, and Enflame from Sorcery pool. He does have access to flight, but he fights on the ground on all fours. I've set up the transformation (costume change...with costume emote Light Magic for the rune circle) with the help of PB macros so that the form changes come with the power tray swap. And there you have it. What started out as a time-waster to wait out the lag has definitely become one of my better concepts if not my best one to date. Is he the strongest? I highly doubt it. The segregation of powers may not be in his best interest in terms of the meta, but he can hold his own most of the time. He's really fun to play especially in the context of his concept. Let me know if you have concepts you're really proud of that you can't help but share them. 😃 [Edited a few spelling mistakes]

Yes, you are correct. Yet, while most characters walk, I stride. where most characters stay, I linger. Even in death and defeat, I don't just die, I perish. 😃

Positive and attitude. 😃

I'm afraid I don't use MIDs so I am unable to view your build. Not a build expert by any stretch anyway. As long as it works for you, then the build and choice of powers is cool. 😃 In my experience, Caltrops doesn't proc very well. I usually just stick an Annihilation -res or Pacing of the Turtle -recharge or Ice Mistral's +cold dmg and leave it at that. If I have slots to spare, I pick a set bonus that I need from the 3 I've mentioned. And no, Airburst won't cause knock up.

@TheZag Haha, my inbox is the same: merits, emp merits, recipes, pvp recipes, purple recipes, IOs, chump change... etc. And mine aren't 2 years old either. They're older 😃

This has saddened my otherwise gleeful day. =( But, thanks for what came before it. It was very enlightening. Besides, there is still hope. There's always hope. 😃

my Psi/Martial isn't that high of a level yet, but he's fun. Martial in general is fun for fun's sake. I wish it packed more of a punch, but I think Psi is strong enough for both of them (honestly, I don't need martial for anything other than flavour, but style wins over sensibility). I haven't unlocked throw sand yet, but if it's anything like Smoke Grenade from /Devices or Blinding Powder from /Ninja then I can definitely use it in my rotation. A blaster has no inherent def/res, so anything that has =to hit translates to def in my head. Smoke Grenade can be used to open as it doesn't alert the enemy of your presence, plus it obscures vision so that nearby enemies don't aggro while their buddy is being massacred. on the other hand, my DP/Ninja uses Blinding Powder in the middle of a fight (both chronologically and physically). I'm sorry I can't be of more help. I am not able to view your build since I don't use Mids. Then again, I'll reiterate that style will always triumph over sense, so if your concept uses Throw Sand, go with it and embrace it. 😃

I didn't mean to lower your settings, though that works too. at 20, my broots can usually handle +1x2-4 or +2x1. In fact, with Dark Armour, you want more bodies to feed off form. What I meant was trying to outwit the AI like taunting them to a nice little bunch then Bam with one shot or something. if +0 or -1 doesn't make you feel heroic, then you're defeating the purpose of the game, which is to be a hero. Go crank up the difficulty and try to overcome your challenges. that's what a hero does. 😃

have you read the intended changes for page 4?

I can't begin to assume that what I do would work for your style of play, but here are a few things that work for me. I have a few /Dark Brutes, Scrappers, and Stalkers (sorry i don't play Tanks). And while you may claim that it's not the best armour, it's definitely not as bad as you describe it. both my personal experiences and those of my friends have been quite favourable. In fact, I tried /Dark because of a friend's recommendation that "it is da bomb." In any case: 1) at level 20, SOs give a higher percentage than IOs. I usually swap them at 30 when they start to even out, favouring the IOs if I want to save inf. Sometimes, I wait until 40s or 45 since my toons can pretty much pay their way up until 50. (also, at level 20+, my toons regardless of AT have at least 2 SOs slotted in stamina) 2) just because a power's available doesn't mean I pick it. depending on my level, I tend to look at the end consumption of toggles. Dark tends to have quite a few. Even if the power sounds awesome, it doesn't do me any good if my stamina can't keep up with it. So I end up postponing some of the end guzzlers until I have my recovery sorted out. 3) toggles cost end. Tough and Weave and Leadership are common culprits. Dark has a few. on lower levels, I make sure to dedicate a slot (sometimes 2) for end reduction SOs and leave it at that until I have the slots and IOs/set bonuses to address them. 4) on any toon, I make it a point to have my consumption to recovery ratio at 1:2. have a peek at your combat attributes. try to get your recovery up to 2x or more than what you're using up--that number is you just standing still. Also, +max end bonuses and end discount bonuses help. A bigger blue bar means your getting a bigger chunk back with every percentage. 5) finally, be a little patient. At level 20 you barely have any slots to do anything about your problems even if you wanted to. It's ok to drop a knee from time to time to catch your breath. things will get better as you ding up the levels. I'm not an insp-popper myself, but they do help in your time of need. carry a few blues to get you through the day. And a last note on style of play. You don't have to go Leroy Jenkins all the time. Yes, i know it's fun, but dying too much surely negates that. Try a bit of strategy and cunning. Again, this works for me, and may not suit you at all.

I've had toons that utilise Cryo rounds and Chem rounds for concept and not for utility. And i have toons that also just set it to Incendiary for the extra damage (and the ever-so-slightly better animation effect of tracer rounds) because I had no better powers to pick. I think small damage boost it gives shouldn't be missed too much, especially if you can't afford the power pick. Keep in mind that any DoT on a blaster doesn't matter if your enemies are dead in 2 seconds. I personally like KB and one or two of my alts prefer the standard rounds.

I would think that the Lady Grey one would derive its title from the main players of the TF, the horsemen. On a different note, while I do agree with your point that the 2 unnamed ones stand out like sore toes, I don't think people will notice nor utilise TF names. Would you run to join an LFG post saying "LFM for Soul of the Woodsman" instead of "2 spots for Numi TF"?

No matter how damage you're bringing, it doesn't mean squat if you don't have the endurance to attack. That's why I usually sort out my end recovery as early as I can. This usually means a couple of end mod SOs around level 15 and upgrade to IOs around 25-30. Some powers in general will consume more end than others, so make sure you slot for that. This is what drives to look at IO sets more carefully as some uncommon ones (yellows) may be more suited than rares or purples (i.e. full set of multistrike has more end-addressing pieces and a better overall damage % increase than Obliteration or Eradication. However, IO choices have other factors that go into them, so it becomes a very personal thing. Also, toggles cost. Some, I dedicate a slot to an end reduction SO, which I only upgrade to a +5 boosted end reduction IO at 50. Leadership's Maneuvres, and Fighting's Tough and Weave are common culprits. Also, when I can, I try to chase after +max end set bonuses. The bigger your blue bar, the more end you're recovering per percentage. end discount bonuses also help, but are not as common. As a general rule of thumb, I try to maintain a 1:2 ratio for consumption:recovery.

Shoyu It means soy sauce 😃 My daughter is getting a tat in japanese characters 😃 醤油

I agree with most of the suggestions mentioned so far. Here're my additional two inf. I apologise if I end up repeating what's already been said. while it would be nice to have new sets, I suppose existing NPCs would be easier to incorporate as alternative skins. some will fit in more than one set depending on specific henchmen powers, I suppose. CoT alt demons:Hordeling Lasher, Hordeling Berserkers, Hellfrost CoT Behemoths: Behemoth, Behemoth Master, Behemoth Overlord CoT spirits: spectral followers, spectral knights, spectral demon lord Trolls: Trollkin, Jutal/Gravdord, Supa Troll Hellions: Blood Brother, Fallen, Damned/GF from Hell Praetorian Clockwork: Cleaners & Sweepers, Mender + Builder, Dismantler/Lifter PPD: Swat Officers, Ghost + Equaliser, Heavy Suit Nictus: Fluffies, Squids, Lobster Council Robots: Zenith Mechmen, Hoverbots, Warcry Dark pets from other ATs: Haunts, Servants, Umbra Beast Spiderbots: Lings, Blasters, Tarantula DE Rocks: Rubble, Boulders, Sentry Wailers: Wailer, Queen, King Yet more alt skins, but less thought put into them: Succubusesses Werewolves Black Knights Arachnos Drones

I've got one of those. My first attempt at Trollers. And man is he fun... and stronk! too strong that I'm almost finding him boring... almost. 😃 I took Experimentation pool for the Ninja Speed-o-Sound (sonic... cough... One Punch... cough), Ninja poison dart, and corrosive Vial. In my head, the poison dart and spectral wounds animation are him thowing shurikens. Incidentally, the poison dart does additional damage after you cast Blind. As for the concept, I think you can go with Kin, Time, Electric, or Dark. I went with Dark. totally depends on how you want to spin it.

I just rolled a Seismic/Devices myself. haven't played him yet, though. But I have played my share of blasters (I have over 30, about half of them have reached 50), and /Devices is one of my top choices for blasters. While I think that builds are a very intimate and personal thing that is very specific to the toon/concept, I will say that as a blaster, I tend to run after set bonuses to shore up what def/res I lack. with that, I always slot the entire Gaussian set in Targeting drone as it has some really nice bonuses, especially the 6-piece one. The same goes for Aegis, but I usually save that until I get an epic/patron that can take it... if I have slots to spare... I do prioritise the res procs and globals and 2-piece unbreakable guard (again for the set bonus) somewhere. I haven't toyed with seismic yet. But my go-to slotting for primaries usually include 4-piece Thunderstrike for an accuracy boost (6 if you're going for ranged def as a hover blaster), 4-piece Sting of the Manticore OR full set of Executioner's Contract in the snipe, 2-4 pieces of Devastation if you want +damage on top of your + regen (plus I use the chance to hold proc a lot--I like to put this on Taser to turn the stun into a hold), 2-piece Lockdown with the +3 mag hold for tougher targets and damage bonus. KB, I tend to slot with 3-4 Sudden acceleration if I can spare the slots--it gives max end and damage bonus respectively and gives you a chance to address the KB (although I don't because I like KB. If the power with KB is a major damage dealer, then I might spring for Overwhelming Force + the Force Feedback proc. Again, slotting is a personal thing and I will never assume that what works for me and my style of play will work for anyone else. I suggest you take a moment to figure out what your toon needs in terms of set bonuses, then have a look at the different sets in AH. Just have an open mind that some uncommon sets are just as good or even better than rare or purple sets in terms direct benefit and set bonuses. Just because an IO is cheap or expensive doesn't mean it's bad or better. Also, pay attention the the IOs level range as some of them have level caps. This may affect your higher level game play. And finally, some powers work best with just a regular SO (i.e. I only slot a single boosted Recharge on Gun Drone). Yes, the entire slotting thing is a bit daunting especially with all the choices you have. But that is what also makes it fun. I currently have 3 DP/Ninja blappers and all three of them are built differently depending on the toon's personality. 😃

I've got some crazy ones for you. No training. Toons stay at level 1. You only get T1/T2 primary, T1 secondary, Sprint/Slide, Brawl, Health, and Stamina with one slot each. No Rest! You're free to partake the P2W merchandise as long as you can afford it. Your powers do improve as you ding the levels, but you can't add powers or slots. I have 5 of these, the highest at level 20 but all are quietly waiting on a shelf while I attend to my altitis. Similarly, I also have a handful of Gimped toons. I only train until Level 10 then try to get to 50 with only those powers and slots. my highest so far is at (equivalent) level 25 or 6, also gathering dust on a shelf. I've done the Pool Boy challenge which is to only pick pool powers (tertiary) as soon as it opens up at level 4. Had a nice run with my Demons/Kinetics MM. It really opens your eyes to how strong and/or useful some of the pool powers are. Also currently doing a couple of Old School challenges. One of them is with @AboveTheChemist and the rest of the Long Riders, though It's an effort to try to catch them online when I am. An older one is the Reenactors which tries to simulate CoH 2004--only SOs, you have to take 2 powers you'll never use prior to level 14 as a stand in for fitness/stamina; none of the new pool powers, etc. I had to shelf it because I simply can't play on Ever (where the Reenactors SG is) as my connection to that shard does not allow me to play without lag... must be the population, I don't know. I've also successfully completed the Hardcore Rogue-like (or Ironman) perma-death. Did it on a Beam/Devices Blaster. Basically no dying until T4 alpha has been slotted. Also, mandatory notoriety are +1 from level 20-29, +2 from 30-39, +3 from 40-49, and +4 from 50 until completion. Teaming/TFs are allowed as long as it's same level or lower, but I've found PUGs or teams in general to be very risky. Unfortunately, as soon as I slotted the T4, I attempted the Lone Wolf badge (Dream Doctor's last mission solo) and i died before I got a screenshot of the proof of no death. (I tried it again on a duplicate toon and died at 49 haha). Strictly no sitting in AE farms (running AE content is fine, though I didn't), no P2W (especially XP Boost), disabling XP is fine. No IOs or Inf other than what you earn. AH depends on how anal you want to be, although you're not allowed to purchase recipes or IOs. You're allowed to convert what you've crafted--which is where ALL of your merits go. The other challenges aren't as strict with the rules. There was another one that started in the forums, but didn't really come together in-game. The something or the other Diner Challenge (I'll try to look for the link later). The scenario is you're all in a diner minding your own beeswax when you're all hit with a mad science ray and boom you're a hero. The rules are simple: Go find an online dice roller. Set up and roll for AT, then primary, then secondary. You're free to choose your pool powers and epics as you see fit. Costume, you have to click Randomise and then just minor fine-tuning. I rolled an Elec/Fire Stalker. Haven't played him yet.

A few standouts in the myriad of alts that I played are: DP/Ninja Blaster. One of my all-time faves. I (still) enjoy levelling them up that I now have a 3rd one. Beam/Devices Blaster and Beam/Traps Corr. Just suspend your disbelief as to how or where he carries all of his gear. Soldiers of Arachnos. Huntsman, Crab, Bane, and all manner of hybrids in between + the different patron powers. I have 8 different combinations 😃 Peacebringer. It has a particularly nice "crunch" to its attacks, even though the damage numbers don't reflect it. I'm not skilled enough to play tri-form, though so I stick with human form only. my second one will be 50 soon on a casual no xp boost grind. Elec on a Blaster, Fender, Corruptor, and Dom. Energy Blast on any AT. Because KB. Savage and Martial Doms. shurikens and sharp nails. what else do you need. DP/SR, Beam/SR Sentinel. SR on a sent can make you forget about how much damage you don't have or how much you're not contributing to the team. haha. Masterminds. Bots/ Demons/ with /Dark, /Rad, /Elec. Currently enjoying the grind with a Beasts/Pain, although I have to be in a certain mood to play my MMs. Not too much into melee, but a few honourable mentions are: Energy/, Katana/, Kinetic/, Martial/, Street Justice/. I tend to prefer Brutes and Scrappers over Tanks and can't-see-my-costume Stalkers Pure claws widow. I haven't fully mastered how to play a Fort, but the widow is fun. And my first attempt at Trollers: Illusion/Dark is promising, but a little too strong for my taste--doesn't seem to offer much of a challenge. There are other promising ones that I haven't listed because i haven't played them enough.

Unfortunately, I don't have a "main" anymore; I have a Current. On a toon that's put together quite nicely, (I'm talking costume + name + power sets + picked powers = concept) as not all of my toons fit the bill, then I only have a handful out of my hundreds of alts. Among these are: Howling Hawk. Beasts/Pain MM. He's a Native American Indian (will try to screen cap costume later). Sometimes, I play him with this playing in the background: Another toon, also one of my favourites, is my name sake Six-Six--DP/Ninja Blaster. He runs around with this in the background: Again, will try to post a screen cap some time. Since most of my toons are tech origin with various cyberpunk feels, I've found the artist of the latter video, Aim To Head, has a nice repertoire of EBM background tunes for my toons. Some of my (ninja-leaning) toons (and a guilty pleasure part of me, if I'm being brutally honest) prefer K-Pop like K/DA as their go-to music. Others, whether carrying an AR or Beam Rifle or demonic blade prefer the heavy death metal music of Arch Enemy or Bolt Thrower. I've only recently done this, and by pure chance of leaving a tab open while I was playing. Turns out the right music helps me get in the zone and in my toons head. 😃

My head canon is: Level 1 to 49 is my toon's journey to earning his full powers. once he dings 50, he's achieved it. To me, this means two things. One is I can keep doing missions that I've missed or join various strike forces... as how my toon was envisioned. Second, it signals the start of a new alt. Powers-wise, I prefer the slots-deprived gimped version of my toon at-level vs the exemplared 50 in running missions. to be honest, the last few levels before 50 already has me losing interest in the toon due to power creep. Incarnate, on the other hand, is a whole new chapter/story that my toon can (but usually doesn't) step into. I'm not too fond of the Well-drinking lore and its implications on my toon's story and his powers. I rarely do incarnate trials, nor do I go through the trouble of purposely unlocking and slotting incarnates. @Techwright are you saying that the act of unlocking an incarnate slot alone affects the toon, even without slotting it? I didn't know this.

I tried it. Had the doggos right in front of the vault door then ordered them to attack target. It worked. 😃 Thank you, you delightful villains.

Thanks to you (and currently slowish connection), I've found myself playing around with widow costumes haha. Here's a spiderman inspired suit. 😃

I remember not too long ago that there were NO female Arachnos soldier NPCs. Then once they (and male widows) appeared, I wondered why I wasn't seeing any female crab spiders. Turns out female crab spiders look exactly like male crab spiders... kinda like how female dwarfs in Tolkien lore look exactly like male dwarfs. haha.