Sovera

You don't need to build specifically for the ITF. My 'squishy' Fire Armor tanks the ITF all the time. Straight on, face first.

You don't find many because the combo is not particularly good for the objective. There is a Farm Fresh guide over the guide section and they cover many different builds.

If we could convince the devs to make one of the color choices in the palette be 'invisible' it would solve all the problems everywhere and no more requests for minimal FX since we could carefully tailor all our auras. Is this one too obtrusive (all the Adaptations in Bio Armor for example)? Color it 'invisible'. Does this power have a too loud effect and we don't like to be constantly spewing vapor (Beta Decay, Irradiated Ground)? Color it 'invisible'.

Yes. As I said there is a little known effect of ED that once exemplared the maximum non boosted value of an IO takes over. If it is 42% then 42% comes into play instead of the 53%. Even at max level the gains are so minimal but people do it for bragging or under the erroneous assumption they are shaving a lot. The real use of boosters (with the tax of losing set bonuses) is that it allows to save a few slots here and there. Two slots in Hasten instead of three, etc. And I'm deep into build making when I say this. Regardless despite being unhappy the devs have not made noises to remove them, and on the contrary helped with the use (kudos btw, it is welcomed).

The stacking effect for the endurance cost is quite brilliant IMO. Like most things such as Fly being considered OP despite everyone able to buy a jetpack for 5k the cost of Teleport is a relic from the past. There is no travel power that sucks so much endurance that it may simply turn off. The fact Teleport is clunky as heck is enough of a downside by itself without the need to artificially add another just because 'fastest travel power'. If in a straight line. And in open air.

Nothing will be as good as the first mission of Pandora. Set it to -1x8, no bosses, and you have 25-ish fake nemesis spawning as -1 lieutenants that can be killed in two hits. Ignore the other enemmies and run around finding fake nemesis. Once the map is clear just log off and back and the mission will reset for another 25-ish fake nemesis.

We accept mule powers because we have been indoctrinated into it. Most of the time the T1 and Punch is not even serving as a mule (and yes, some people take Kick and put a FF proc in it, but I'm just 🙂 Good luck hitting anything with zero accuracy). Sometimes they do serve as mules which makes the point they are not useless and would have been picked. But this was attempted back on live and it did not work, and then re-attempted recently and it did not work either. With all the copies of CoH's code around someone brave could try to untangle things and then offer the solution to the devs.

I give up.

Taking a break is good. I've taken two since CoH HC returned. And it sounds like you need it too since you are in such a state that numbers are unable to break through, and explanations are hitting a wall. Have a good break, Arthur.

No, they don't. The improvement is minimal. I have screenshots somewhere of a +5 purple set exemplared down to Positron part one and the same power with a non boosted purple. But instead of talking it's better to show. So, as seen here. One second shaved of recharge with full +5. 5 points of damage with full +5 0.12 endurance shaved with full +5.

There is minimal improvement in the stats. A lot of boosting is done by people without a clue. They will happily brag about their '+5 all IO boosted build' when really, what? Compare a five slotted purple set and the same set +5. Exemplar down to Posi 1 and compare the same set fully +5 and not. The difference in stats is pretty minimal since there is a cap in place. That's why it hurts my Hasten's recharge when I exemplar down. For example at 50 my two +5 recharge IOs in Hasten gives 53% which allows me to reach the ED cap with just two slots, but once I exemplar down this value is immediately cut to the cap of 42%. That's why three level 25 IOs in Hasten would give me 95% to recharge from level 22 to level 50, but my two +5 recharge in Hasten leave me at 75% at level 25. Regardless, this is just my opinion on the subject and if the devs hate them they hate them. I'm just glad I can skimp on a few slots here and there. As America's Angel said we have more build diversity with them.

I see boosters as such a non entity I'm surprised to hear the devs hate them. I save one slot in Hasten/Fiery Embrace with them at the cost of hurting my recharge once exemplared. I +5 things here and there like the slots in Assault from Leadership and my one non proc slot in Stamina. I may +5 the damage/endurance purple to increase endurance reduction a bit more. Anything else is a non thing since boosted IOs break bonuses once exemplared.

You should finish read the last pages instead of skimming. The argument was made regarding relative speeds. Just because old speed is inferior to new speed does not mean new speed is not inferior to all the other speeds since they too were buffed. But this argument is, it was made, discussed, practical testing has been done, and posted, and there is no need to ignite it once more. As someone who was on the same side as you at the start of this I'm starting to regarding you as a normal feminist regards the vitriolic ones on Twitter. Your arguments make less and less sense and are based on a lot of 'feels', and 'annoyances', and aren't based on anything resembling tangible problems. 'Too much speed' with EM is suddenly a problem because turning it off while in combat is suddenly 'micromanagement' of toggles. The plethora of uses EM brings as a one slot wonder is 'too much and silly'. What in the world is this where something useful that allows to skip wasting slots is being argued stridently? I am going to reiterate one last time before I give up. I cannot make this any more clear. Yes you can hit your old speed cap with your old slotting. Your old speed was 72mph capped. You were unable to go faster than this. It involved using Fly + AB = two toggles. You now reach 87mph with Fly + EM = two toggles.

I'm interested in this. How do we load these demorecords to reconstruct the base once in the game?

It's not by posting on a forum that things will change. I lead. I lead all the time. I did my early stint posting a hopeful '<AT> looking for work!' and then wait twenty minutes posting and no one recruiting me. After a week of this I said screw it. I'll lead. Spend twenty minutes asking to be recruited and it not happening or spend 5 minutes forming a team and doing what I wanted to do. The math is obvious. I've done so much leveling via TFs and using the same names (if there if someone with a v2 or v3 in their name there is a good chance it's me having rolled a different alt. I can't be bothered coming up with a new name, theme and costume for alts so I just load the costume and add a v2 to the name. There was a time I was on Sovera v32 😄 ) that people would recognize me and mention how they had joined one of my TFs. But though I was not like Veracor with a background of introversion I still had the whole 'I've not played this game for well over ten years and don't really have a clue' and had to go through the phase of asking how to start Posi part 2, or not knowing where to go next on a Numina hunt (until it was compiled and now I just post the hunts after the Perez park mission). Rewards. You're not doing Yin on x8 in 20 minutes. It takes me about 50 minutes at best to solo it because Freaks are a pain between heals and ressurects. If you're just doing it for the merits or for the accolade then hey, sure, but the XP between +1x1 and +1x8 is tremendous.

When I return to it. I usually drop a character and play something else. Got a bit boring of having no one to play with so I got struck with altitis. Tried several characters and they all felt squishy or low damage. Not the EM/Bio scrapper, that one hits hard. Plenty of cannon there. But plenty of glass as well. Dropped it, stripped it of IOs. Made two different characters, compared my experience. Re-respeced the EM/Bio and re-slotted it and I'm tentatively re-leveling it again. ...but the experience just made me feel how my Fire/MA baby is such a gem with the early big damage and tough enough. I actually restrain myself and don't use BU/FE in lower teams so they get a chance to play too.

That's why the god devs invented Focused Accuracy and Recovery Serum. I'd almost try the challenge but the thought of soloing ten AVs is a bit... Maybe her resistances aren't out of the whazoo though.

As I have posted here EM has a number of uses other than defense or -fly resistance. Foremost the fact we don't need to waste slots to enhance our flight speed (61 mph without EM, 87mph with). With its cost being lowered to 0.26 it is quite acceptable. If none of my points are of interest, well, yes, change your build as per your desire as is your right. But do so informed.

That's a lot more acceptable to be run all the time. My fruit basket (with a bottle of Jack under the apples) is on your way.

EM + Hover. I'm testing some more and the behavior may not be completely well tuned. Something is not quite right. I tested EM + Hover and the pylons did 12 KB causing a somersault. The overlaping is no longer happening and I'm solidly at -4 KB instead of bouncing from 4 and 8.. I left combat, disabled and re-enabled EM and now the pylon is no longer doing knockbacks. When I'm hit I am shown 8 KB from the pylon. I am now attacking the pylon and losing EM's defense buff, but I am not being KBed and when I am hit the KB is shown as 8 magnitude. Disabling EM makes the pylon still do 8 KB but now it knocks me back. Re-enabled EM and attacked close to the ground (enough for Burn to be activated). Not being KBed. Tried floating off the floor. Still not being KB. Pylon is sometimes doing 12 KB and I'm not being KBed. Enabled EM and disable all forms of flying. KBs worked. I am... lost... and.. confused... Original test the -KB worked. Second test now I was being KBed non stop. Test a third time and no KBs.

Looking a second time -KB going up to 8 is from an overlap. I don't think those count. But I'm going to check on a pylon. Okay. It is good to re-re-test things. I don't know if there were changes or if it was a leftover from previous pylon DPS tests, but EM is no longer doing anything against pylon KBs compared to my first test. I could have sworn the 8 -KB was not an overlap and was solidly in place but this is not the case now as it keeps on bouncing between 4 and 8. The pylon is tossing me around so I don't see any extra protection. I don't see what KB resistance is doing since resistance diminishes the distance we are thrown backwards, but since it is baked into a power enabling us to fly, and since when flying we are not thrown back but somersault in place...

Don't undersell EM. While it is too expensive to be run all the time Next patch will lower the cost to a much more reasonable 0.26. It serves a triple function: A) Eliminates the need for Fly to be slotted to reach the fly cap. With my build, without EM, Fly will be going at 63 MPH, and while, yes, it can reach 87mph with two slots dedicated to Fly IOs EM takes care of it. B) Having one slot dedicated to a -KB IO is not enough to completely protect against KB. My Fire Armor character has only only one -KB so 4 points of protection, and Lightning Storm, pylon blasts, some attacks from Talon and Enlightened, will go through my defenses and my -KB and make me bounce. Some power sets will ignore this completely and won't care. Again, we can dedicate more slots to -KB IOs or have EM on which pushes that 4 -KB to 8 -KB. For example pylons no longer made my fire armor character bounce around. C) LotG mule. Not all sets care about this, but it is a use the old Afterburner had in taking this and EM takes up the role. Of course that if you have enough slots to distribute for fly speed and for extra KB protection, play a melee with a armor set that offers complete KB covered, or have a power set with enough defense powers that can slot LotGs then it is a less attractive proposition. Otherwise it is a nifty one slot wonder. Also, Hover with another 20kpm tacked on is a 50 kpm in combat movement. AKA no longer old Hover slightly faster than Sprint.

I may be missing something, but your costs seem different than what I have. I've been saying that EM has too high a costs for something that is meant to be on all the time. Bopper said EM's costs will be lower but he probably has insider knowledge. I did notice there have been some small patches without patch notes, but this is from the PTS.

The pulsing toxic damage is unresistable. Using Barrier before the Pylon does not stop me from taking damage. Barrier fills up my toxic resistance and gives me oddles of defense and even so damage happens. So orange insps will do nothing. What Barrier and insps are good for is for ignoring all the mobs surrounding the pylons so said pylons can be burned down in seconds which is the normal way of doing it. In all my time in HC wipes from pylons can be counted on one hand. A few deaths happen, but not from meleers and rather the squishies confronted with a ton of angry mobs shooting everywhere as everyone focuses on the pylon. I minimize this in my runs by popping Barrier before we pull. It does nothing for the pylon but keeps squishies safe-ish. Results have been satisfactory.

Other than the bug, who still exists and is a pain, yes (we can't leave Tin Mage's first map via helictopter and need to relog to clear it) the rest is definitely some first world problems. In close to two years I can count on the hands of one finger the number of times there were wipes on the pylons and it is more likely a squishy died from all the hydras than a melee from the irresistible toxic damage.