Six-Six

Animation-wise, MA has alternatives that replace 3 powers with punches instead of kicks. The animation itself is a bit lack-luster and feels somewhat slower, but you do get a nice mix of kicks and (just) right hooks--which might work for you since he'll have his shield on his left arm. I have an MA/Shield and it's a fun toon to watch. Street Justice, on the other hand, feels more organic and gritty (also have one with a shield... as well as super strength... so I guess those anecdotes don't help at all). between the 3 shield brawlers, though, I personally prefer MA... then again, I was consciously trying not to get too close to Captain America... my toon feels more like Task Master or Widow when she used the shield. While I can't be sure of your intent, I think Street Justice would be more of what you're looking for. So TLDR: MA can be a mix of kicks and punches, but looks like he's had some formal training in some form of martial arts SS gives a feeling of more brawn, less brains St.J seems to be the sweet spot for a nice and gritty with just enough finesse Meta-wise, I'm afraid I don't have the authority to give any semblance of advise on which is better and why.

This most definitely smells like a Nemesis Plot:

On Reunion where I frequent, they have a weekly "casual" run of the list you had. On such runs, the league leaders are quite helpful in explaining what the goal is, what the plan is, and what to expect. This is to get players comfortable in the respective trials. I'm sure other shards have something similar. As for task forces, running around like a headless chicken on your first run is... normal I suppose. I don't there's any other way to get your feet wet but to jump in head first. You'd be lucky if your PUG walks you through it (which does happen), otherwise you just get familiarity from repetitive runs. Or you can try them solo. Most of the sub-50 TFs are soloable, depending, of course, on your AT/powers, difficulty and skill.

@Solarverse you're right. I've only ever seen maybe 1 or 2 AE "content" shouts out of every hundred farm invitations. But I do see them. I think it's more of a closed group or solo thing. I usually go solo, or with a friend at the most so no need to go advertise in LFG. other people I know do the same. As for content, do a search for Darmian and Nyx for starters (sorry, I'm bad with names so I can't remember the other creators--I have a list somewhere). Those are really good. Or try one of the monthly Dev's Choice -- that's how I got into AE content. Actually, that happened after I was hanging around AE trying to find a farm to sit in when an Architect invited me to try out his/her work in progress and give feedback. That opened my eyes. Been going in regularly less than I'd like, but more and more recently.

I dunno, but this definitely smells like a Nemesis Plot.

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. 😃