Six-Six

And therein lies the rub. I respect the Malta because of sappers, tanky gunslingers that freeze my psionically-challenged blasters, and the takes-forever-to-kill gun drones. So when I come across a mob with 2 sappers and 2 gunslingers conning red or above, I have to stop in my tracks and figure out the best approach. Same goes for a hard-hitting widow, a Mu and a spider queen. Which one do I target first? I hate Positron because he's tough and packs a punch... which is why I love facing Positron more than I enjoy beating down on Overdrive or Manti (other than the fact that Manti's a dick). It's fun for me because they can kill me (most of my toons are perma-death). I'm sure there are those who would deem them not worth their time. Which is fine, they don't have to play them. they can stick to council or what have you. I seriously doubt that the things you proposed would tip the balance and get them to play otherwise. Let them have their fun while you have yours as long as one doesn't prevent the other. It seems that (from your reply at least) the the problem is not the enemy mob type, nor the PUGs that prefer to avoid them, it's that your haven't found the right people to team with yet or again. I'm sure you'll somehow bump into like-minded players sooner or later. Until then, good luck and enjoy

If you're really after shards... for some reason or the other... then I may have a way to "farm" them. They're just regular drops as you play content any content, but from what I've noticed, they tend to drop less than threads. One way to get shards is to join iTrials where you can earn a Notice of the Well/Favour of the Well. I think WST ones do this (sorry, haven't played incarnate content in a while). You can then breakdown or side grade these into shards or shard-based components.

you, good sir, have obviously never tried to hold A REAL werewolf. Their behaviour in-game is as expected and is honestly one of the most realistically-emulated ones I've seen so far. I've never seen another group behave this way when being affected by powers that are intended to do the opposite. May I introduce you to my friend Romulus over here... wait, where did he go??? Romy! Git back here.

I'm trying to read between the lines here, so forgive me if I'm way off. But it seems you've found your nemesis in Carnies. It sounds to me they're giving you a harder time (more than other foes at least) and therefore wish to get extra compensation for your efforts. 1) I personally don't think XP is a big issue. The P2W lady and I have long been on non-speaking terms; and on regular XP gain, I still get enough XP to the point that I have to turn XP off every now and then as not to out-level certain contacts. Also, the Circus peeps (on redside) appear around mid-30s. at that level, a few hundred additional XP from the summons in question would be negligible. 2) Decoys ARE annoying, but I believe they're there for a purpose. Even when the summoner dies, they linger, but they don't really follow you much. I think they're there to throw a monkey wrench on you target_nearest_enemy_alive macro or your tab targeting. You can ignore them and they shouldn't bother you if you're paying attention to what your hitting. 3) Illusionists are vulnerable to holds and stuns/disorient. knock em silly and take em down with ease. Another way, if your hold wasn't blessed by the RNG gods, is to take note of their dress colour. Their summons will have different dress colours so you can identify the original and take them down. IIRC, you can ignore the summons and they vanish after a while. Also if they do get to phase, it doesn't last long and then they dish a weak attack that's a tell tale giveaway that they're vulnerable again (like Fake Nemesis and his giant popsicle stick). Also, if you want XP for killing one of their illusions, then the flip side is Trollers should have an HP penalty when one from their phantom army is killed... which sort of defeats the purpose of the illusion and the power. For you it might be Illusionists. For another bloke, it may be the the Seneschals or Ring Mistresses... or Devouring Earth Sentries and their Cairns... or Sappers, Rikty Monkeys, or something. Just think of it as a weakness of your particular toon. The weaker you are against it, the more satisfaction you get when you overcome it.

I'm with @EyeLuvBooks. I'm struggling to find the reason for such a request. This would put a bias against AE and part of its intended purpose/exploit. Also AE has some really good content other than farms--some are even better than the built in content. While it would seem natural or logical to "force" a newcomer to experience the regular game, it is highly subjective. If I came to the game with the intent of solely PvP, or pure team support, I don't really need to know the lore and story of it all. I just need to build the illest toon to achieve my purpose. Incidentally, I enjoy the original content and have been playing it over and over the long way. However, my kind of fun is not for everyone, so let them do what floats their goat as long as it has very little effect on my personal goat. 😃

Don't know much about blue, but red-side, some contacts have prerequisite accomplishments before they're opened up. Like the kill 1000 longbow or certain mayhem missions (the one in St. Martial... Ian the Shark, I think, will introduce you to one of two contacts after a successful mayhem. I've honestly never tried doing the mayhem over to see if he'll introduce me to the other as well). Also, there are the Epic AT exclusive extended arcs for WS, PB and Arachnos. The PB one is quite well crafted, better than the Spiders' IMHO. I created a WS just for the emo-chick's extended arc. 😃

I remember something similar with the Spymaster and Salestra. I was standing at the first crossroads from the entrance, yet both of them "slipped" past me without me seeing them. That's one helluva cloaking device.

And if you fail said mission, you lose a slot. 😃

If it was on Reunion, then it was me. I don't own it on any other shard. And the only other shard I play on is Everlasting, occasionally. 😃

Not really joining the contest, but I have a sonic/sonic blaster Bad Vibes (villain, of course). He's a project toon that doesn't train at all. That means only T1 primary, T1 Secondary, Origin prestige power, Brawl, Health, Stamina and Sprint with one slot each. Currently level 15. Going strong so far, I'm curious how he'll fare when beginner's luck runs out.

When we want your opinion, we'll give it to you. =D

I can attest to elec/elec's "tankiness". I play solo most of the time and a couple of pets (voltaic and galvanic -- with galvanic being available very early on) is nice to bounce off heals and buffs from. I was surprised when I bumped into AVs and EBs and survived solo. wasn't expecting that at all. Dark/, Kin/, and Traps/ are also some of my faves on fenders. Storm is fun if you enjoy KB when you're alone like I do. maybe not as strong as the other three I've mentioned, or maybe I just suck at building it. I've heard good things about Time, but I haven't levelled up mine enough to be able to comment. Poison is another one I've been wanting to try, also heard good things about it. As for secondaries, as long as you keep in mind that you won't be one-shotting foes, then you can devise a strategy around it.

A lot less Skulls in the Isles. Better wildlife (snakes and arachnoids and of course spiders) Circus is set up all year round in St. Martial... filled with scantily clad ladies... and gents from the Carnival Cooler sounding badges Nicer caves, really overall atmosphere is not sickeningly bright and cheerful Casinos Ferries instead of Trams. much cooler and less cramped. ocean breeze is also a plus. less people getting mugged most places are Family-oriented... or owned... or controlled... or protected

IIRC, when you're done editing, you're TP'd to the default placement of the entrance portal. Now, if you moved the portal to another room, then you still get TP'd to where it used to be. This has happened to me as well. And even when TP-ing to base after dying, I end up half in the floor even though I didn't raise the floor or lowered the medical thingy. I just use /stuck to get out.

Ok, so I've now seen some female crabs... and they look just like male crabs.

There are no jobs in Praetoria, only your duty as a citizen. For the Emperor! 😉 Just checked the wiki, because I know my goldies (who haven't gone Primal) have some of the ones you mentioned. I don't want to check each toon atm, though. https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Praetorian_Day_Job_Badges For Clubber, you need to go to Pocket D not Studio 55; it's just another door/portal near the entrance. kinda easy to miss, but easier to find than the Pocket D side.

@Nerva, could you share your build? I'm curious on how you frankenslotted Maturity, Patience and Eloquence. Must've ended up with some very nifty set bonuses. Good on ya, mate.

It's cool. Each to his own as to what floats his own goat. Incidentally, I started with 3 builds on 1 widow--1 pure claws, 1 pure fort, 1 hybrid (claws + psi). But the Roleplayer in me couldn't reconcile their different personalities when I played. So now I have 4 widows: One is a pure Fort build . One is a darts + claws, one just claws. Two are level-capped at 10 and 38 for SG/RP purposes, both claws. 😃

Sorry, my man. Third World internet isn't there yet. If you find yourself in Reunion, I have a new gig running... two actually. One is no training. So all toons only get T1/T2 primary, T1 secondary, Sprint, Stamina, Health, Brawl and Origin Prestige Power. NO REST! and with just one slot each. It's a little tricky, but doable, especially with a well coordinated team right from the character creation stage. Solo, it's tough. I have one up to 20, the rest are only level 10. I'll see how it goes when beginner's luck runs out. Oh, did I mention no deaths? The fear of dying is what makes it fun. Another group only trains until level 10. Also got one to 20 while the rest are at 10. I'll see how the pioneers do then I'll decide if I'll continue to play hobo (same as your rules above) and no P2W or seek some hand-me-down IOs from alts. This is your fault, you know. You're the one who showed me this way of playing. 😃

That's one way to do it. Personally, I enjoy learning the powers as I earn them. It helps me figure out how to play the toon. This is why I have 11 spiders. 😃

As expected from you, Crane. 😃 Unfortunately, the ping from my corner of this flat earth to where Torchbearer server and the time difference prevents me from full enjoyment of such. As it is, I'm restricted to Reunion, though restricted is a strong word. Enjoy the ride. A little encouragement for those daunted by the Rules. You get about 20+ mil in chump change for the entire trip to 50. This is just from missions and selling white & yellow salvage (don't sell oranges, they're still kinda rare to drop). This means you might want to hold off on SOs and invest in rot-free crafted enhancements. Recipes for them are cheap and drop often enough. You'll also get more than enough IO Recipe drops to fully kit your toon. This plus converters should get your toon the IOs it wants. Just pay attention to the IO level when converting. Unless it's attuned (20 Merits??? my ass! I can get that cheaper from that other guy over at the... oh wait). As I was saying, certain IOs are not available or are only available at certain level ranges. You can check the merit vendor (under recipes) just to be sure. Again, enjoy the ride. Really wish I could come along.

You say that like staring up a burning demon butt is a bad thing.

I think level 20 is too early to tell if your toon's power sets will work or not. It is after all the level where "beginner's luck" ends. Aside from not having most of your powers, you should still be struggling a bit with end issues. Beasts is strong, even just the li'l doggies. in the coming levels, even if you don't end up taking a healing power for your beasts, make use of Snow Storm, Fog and Sleet. If you slow down your enemies from attacking you, you won't have to heal so much. Once the epic pools open up, you will get access to some nifty powers. You can also tank for your pets, so you're taking the brunt of the attack while they're doing the biting. If so, augment your def/res with set bonuses. If you're not into IO sets, it can still work if slotted properly. Of course you'll fare better in a team. when you're alone, then the onus falls on how good you play, the strategy you use to keep yourself and your pets alive. enhancements and stats can only take you so far. In the end, even the best/most expensive builds can be crap (and vice versa) depending on how you play. I usually test drive concepts for toons until level 20. at that level or earlier, I can get a feel if the toon will work for me and my personal play style or not. I suspect that is your sentiment... that it doesn't work for you. In that case, the OP could be misconstrued as a sweeping generalisation the beast/cold is universally a bad pair up, which it isn't as other people have testified. I suggest soldiering through to at least 35 or 40 to really see how a particular set performs. Also, you have to adapt to what powers are available too you. You don't judge a fish by how well it climbs a tree.

First off, I'd say any and all of the scrapper powers or power combos are solo-able. 2/5ths of my 100+ toons have reached 50 on their own save for the occasional TF (because group chaos is fun). If you're planning to go at it on your own, then have a decent line up of ST attacks vs AoE. You're alone, so you don't want to over do the aggro. ST attacks will be of better use when you get to EBs and AVs. Speaking of tough bosses, you might want to look into some epics that have some sort of hold. Also, are you looking to solo vanilla? +4x8? Running solo, my personal sweet spot is at +3x2 at around level 25-30 ish as it gives the optimum XP per hour for me. something less wouldn't offer enough challenge, anything more would eat up my limited game time per day. But that's just me. Next is the armour. I think Dark, Bio and SR are the best for me, not sure if they will be for you. some armours will tend to be end guzzlers, so at low levels, you may have to postpone taking some powers until your recovery has been sorted out. higher levels it is rarely a problem. Inf should not be an issue. there are cheap sets that give very nice stats and set bonuses. in the same light, some purples are over-rated. In any case, you get about 20+ mil inf total from 1-50 without even touching the AH. Now this is chump change. But you also get about 80 recipe drops (whites not counted). This plus converters should cover your needs. Finally, I think character creation is an intimate and personal thing. It will be your toon. moreover, your preference will choose which power sets/combo appeals to you the most (I like guns and weapons vs glowing hands), and your personal play style will dictate which powers you pick and how you enhance them. Good luck. May you find your perfect toon... or at least one that will ultimately lead you to the perfect one.

I would nominate /Dark as one of the better ones as well as one of the biggest end guzzlers. Super Reflexes is another one of my go-to armours.