jack_nomind

You're in luck -- I just posted a guide to a very simple, effective SD/MA build earlier tonight. If you don't have Pines hero builder, you can get it from here; it's enormously helpful in viewing and discussing character builds.

Regen pairs well with anything with a parry and/or a knockdown. Titan Weapons, Staff, Katana, and Ice Melee are all worth considering. Titan Weapons is a notorious endurance hog but Regen doesn't have an issue with that. It also benefits from +rech, which you'll be building anyway for IH/MoG/etc. Finally, the bursty nature of TW works alright with Regen, since you can plan your Regen clicks to happen after your Momentum drops. Probably the strongest pick but there are just a ton of TW melee out there right now. Staff is an amazing set with a lot of tools. It can significantly improve your survivability, since aside from the parry it also has a +resistance buff attached to Body stance finishers with Sky Splitter. The damage is good, but not quite as good as TW; and losing a combo point to activate a regen clickie can hurt you. A strong second. Katana really only brings the parry to add to Regen, but it also does best with a lot of +rech and you won't need to go out of your way to build for it. It's also got a wide selection of weapon models, unlike either Staff or TW. Ice is an oddball since it doesn't offer a parry, but it does offer a lot of soft mitigation in the form of -rech on most attacks and Knockdown from Ice Patch. It does reasonable damage and has an amazing DoT in Freezing Touch, and as an added bonus only a few enemy types have significant Cold resist (although you might be miserable in the holiday event).

I appreciate you, Shinobu.

Super Reflexes on Scrappers, Brutes, and Tankers has a sweet spot that is growing increasingly more narrow. It works very well for a low- to moderate- cost build against moderate difficulty content in the late-game. At high levels of build investment, many other sets can achieve better overall mitigation and quality-of-life. Very difficult enemies undercut its primary defensive layer with accuracy buffs that often allow them to eat away its mitigation. And early in the leveling process, its total lack of AoE defense makes it feel far more fragile than it ought to. Although having weaknesses or even outright holes in basic mitigation is common for defense sets, SR doesn't have any kind of toolkit to respond. So there are the changes I'd propose to SR to help keep it competitive, ranging from least-impactful to most-impactful. Any numbers here anticipate Scrappers and Brutes. [*]Re-order Agile (level 4), Dodge (level 16), and Lucky (level 28) to Lucky at 4, Agile at 16, and Dodge at 28. The delay in melee defense 'completion' is actually a minor positive, since it reinforces set synergy with Parry-type powers. [*]Add sustain and additional Defense Debuff Resistance to Practiced Brawler. I'd propose having an enhanceable 10% heal/40% regen buff, an unenhanceable 10% global endurance discount, and an additional 10% Defense Resist. The intended behavior is for SR players to be able to stack these buffs with high recharge, synergizing with the Speedster theme of the set and creating a higher-level build reward. [*]Add to and improve the status resistances on Quickness (but not the global recharge buff); 200% sleep, 100% hold/stunned, and 20% to endurance, recovery, and recharge resistance (additional to the existing 40% recharge resistance). Most of these are thematic, reflecting the ability of speedsters, martial artists, and the like to escape traps; mechanically, the only particularly relevant one is the improved recharge resistance buff, to avoid Practiced Brawler failure. (The other buffs do have a low-level impact in mitigating or avoiding PB failure as well.) [*]Add PvE elusivity (anti-accuracy) to Focused Fighting and Evasion. SR is hurt more than any other set by +3/AV accuracy multipliers. A -10% anti-accuracy (x/1.10 effective acc) on Focused Fighting further helps the SR character through low- and medium- levels by reducing the defense softcap vs same-level minions to ~41%. An additional -20% (x/1.30, total, effective acc) on Evasion fully negates AV accuracy bonuses, leaving only the level differential bonus. [*]Rework Elude entirely. None of the other melee T9s are as non-interactive as Elude; in function it merely reprises the set as it is. This is of course an echo of an earlier SR implementation, but its legacy era has passed. The replacement for Elude should do the following: Interact multiplicatively with the rest of the set. One With The Shield is a good example; as a +resist power on a mostly +defense set, it multiplies the user's survivability. Be better to use than to avoid using, and better to take than avoid taking. It doesn't have to be a "mandatory" power pick, but an example of this type of power is a self-rez; even with no enhancement slotting whatsoever, a self-rez has a clear use that justifies taking it as an optional power. When it's available (when defeated), a self-rez is typically better than either a wakie inspiration or a hospital trip because it keeps the character in the action and usually helps keep them from immediately going down again; the player doesn't have to hesitate over whether or not the power is going to just hurt them more in a couple minutes. Remain a long-cooldown clickie. Too many clickies hurt a character by interfering with attack chains, but staying as a slower clickie synergizes for the same reasons as Practiced Brawler. Remain thematically appropriate. Rise of the Phoenix is a great power, but cloning it here would be out of place. So my proposal is: After-Image. Whether by ninja magic, extreme speed, or just a clever trick, you seem to be in multiple places at once. Your duplicate taunts your enemies, drawing their attention, and uses weaker versions of your attacks. After-image costs a large amount of endurance and a little health to activate, but as long as the after-image is alive you regenerate health and recover endurance faster. When the afterimage is defeated or expires, the collapsing paradox releases a wave of energy that knocks down enemies and can leave weaker foes disoriented for some time.

Using a third-party script or macro to perform more than a 1:1 keybind is explicitly and specifically prohibited by the Code of Conduct. What post are you referring to?

orange salvage is effectively capped at 1 mil inf by the developers. so any orange salvage you have will sell for near that much.

I'm working on setless, plain IO only builds as a challenge and to provide a learning aid for newer players. This one is a Tanker which hits 59% defense to all positions with one ally in range, by using Storm Kick. As an SD tanker, it also provides 20% def to all nearby allies. I've left two picks and one power pool option open for any choice of travel or supplementary powers; one option is to drop Physical Perfection and get Injection, Aid Self, and Field Medic to add some direct self-healing and endurance recovery. Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Science Tanker Primary Power Set: Shield Defense Secondary Power Set: Martial Arts Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Deflection -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(3), DefBuff-I(3), ResDam-I(5), ResDam-I(5), EndRdx-I(7) Level 1: Thunder Kick -- EndRdx-I(A), Acc-I(7), Dmg-I(9), Dmg-I(9) Level 2: Battle Agility -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(11), DefBuff-I(11), EndRdx-I(13), EndRdx-I(13) Level 4: Storm Kick -- EndRdx-I(A), Acc-I(17), Acc-I(19), Dmg-I(19), Dmg-I(21), RechRdx-I(21) Level 6: Cobra Strike -- EndRdx-I(A), Acc-I(23), Dmg-I(23), Dmg-I(25) Level 8: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(25), EndRdx-I(27) Level 10: Boxing -- Empty(A) Level 12: True Grit -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(27), ResDam-I(29), ResDam-I(29) Level 14: Phalanx Fighting -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(31), DefBuff-I(31) Level 16: Tough -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(31), ResDam-I(33), EndRdx-I(33), EndRdx-I(33) Level 18: Against All Odds -- Taunt-I(A), EndRdx-I(34), EndRdx-I(34) Level 20: Weave -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(34), DefBuff-I(36), EndRdx-I(36), EndRdx-I(36) Level 22: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(37), DefBuff-I(37) Level 24: Warrior's Provocation -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 26: Maneuvers -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(37), DefBuff-I(39), EndRdx-I(39), EndRdx-I(39) Level 28: Crippling Axe Kick -- EndRdx-I(A), Acc-I(40), Dmg-I(40), Dmg-I(40), RechRdx-I(42), RechRdx-I(42) Level 30: Shield Charge -- EndRdx-I(A), Acc-I(42), Dmg-I(43), Dmg-I(43), RechRdx-I(50), RechRdx-I(50) Level 32: Grant Cover -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(43), EndRdx-I(45), EndRdx-I(45) Level 35: Dragon's Tail -- EndRdx-I(A), Acc-I(45), Dmg-I(46), RechRdx-I(46) Level 38: Eagles Claw -- EndRdx-I(A), Acc-I(46), Dmg-I(48), Dmg-I(48) Level 41: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(48) Level 44: Physical Perfection -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(50) Level 47: [Empty] Level 49: [Empty] Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Gauntlet Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Health -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(15) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(15), EndMod-I(17) ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1416;554;1108;HEX;| |78DA65945F53DA4014C5774990A220502A821A34562A10C032ED7B6BE58FB532E38| |C7D6732B0854C99C8243CD4C77E92BEF7A1DFAC7FBE417A654FD00D9981DFECC93D| |E7DE6C5806DF3AA95FFDEFEF184F5DCC6CDF1F7EB6DDAFC24BDC8E1CE18E047BB81| |2F431A43EEC882FC2F545EB76EA88D9385C967077206642B406B6B770ECD9F0DC5B| |F82C7D7377376BF59CC974E1B893D472752DEC392D32E1622C3C7FEACC65E9408C9| |D91E38A7C77EE8C5A5D577893FBE1C0F617C2BB2FD22415FA74D2F4C51F660BE2AC| |4C68EB2C16A1DE50B9614ABE2F305C81C6A06DEC493E335476A90F977D748EDCCD0| |853A6CA73CAD7309B062D8BFCE72191FF22A425F981BC71CC1687B7004F01B545B0| |4FB325649F5802FE22B8072FA7579794792C19D0C57AE4DA922E6DEB04D5E04143E| |547AA4D2F1F3F88A5F1B4E50835EA90C10E65E02B8347214D9597949B436EAE2D35| |D354A9536E1EB979F432C197214D9505F2EC604776507312E105EDF02E766417BB9| |5235F09BD4A91FA57214D953DCAD99739F17D68A77853A786CA9AA5F2133DBF01AF| |016F0DDEBAA1B26DA9BC22EF21DEDF2166AB830D53659F663CC6AFE938BC873E4DE| |437917B49B515E45650DB44ED99A1F287C65855E6F22AFC67E04F9ACF9239DC3AC2| |EC60B0BA0EF4D519644B99D5F4D5890EEA6B775FAF29ED35E5CD9AF2764DB97EAA3| |4E554373A1A93C69755C92C9D60A904BF3757FF008CC3F1F751E31C67671BFCF3B4| |BE2AB57F8F5A8C632FB6C12CF81F6B9DC283| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

-def isn't the best on its own, but it allows you to slot a proc in it from the Achilles' Heel set that adds a chance to reduce resistance, which improves your damage a great deal. If you use a 'fist' aura your weapon swings will have a glowing trail in whatever color and style you choose for the aura. Broadsword has several glowing blade options, some of which look more fiery than others.

Depends on what you're farming. Here's a rough build for what I might be more inclined to try. The defense loss is noticeable but not catastrophic; it should outheal pretty much all incoming damage. I think I could probably tweak it to be 'functionally softcapped' with Rise to the Challenge's debuff, as well. but to be honest -- anymore, i'd assume a farmer is running a strong enough Judgement and Lore that build specifics verge on irrelevant.

Hey, yeah, I'd love a Culture District type of zone! particularly if at night the t-rex statutes come to life!

sure; that works out the same as mine, but with recharge suggested over damage if there are no endurance problems. the reason is because you only get about 1/2 to 1/4th the effectiveness from the third damage io depending on what level they all are, vs full effectiveness from a second +rech. if you can afford a tighter attack chain it means not only more hits, but also that weaker powers can be de-prioritized. all attacks, universally, should have 1 end reduction in them while levelling. the second endurance reduction... well. hack with 1 endredux costs by your method ~0.625 end/s, and with two, ~0.485; a savings of ~0.13/s. that's... significantly less dramatic than the savings you were proposing, don't you think? but if that were the only factor, i'd nonetheless agree with you that the second attack endurance slot is more valuable; it's about three times (not eight) as valuable as a second endredux in a set toggle, and about twice as valuable as a second endredux in a pool toggle. unfortunately, hack will likely already be maxed out in slots with 1 end, 1 acc, 1-2 rech, and 2-3 dmg as we've both recommended. toggles must be "over" slotted simply because they have space for it -- and to a small extent, because having a toggle drop is usually much worse than not being able to throw another Hack for a second or two.

not how i'd do it -- my Brute WP builds focus on getting to 'decent' defense with very high hp and regen -- but here you go. softcapped all but psi, capped s/l resist as well, 5 slots left to finish out an attack. Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Magic Brute Primary Power Set: Super Strength Secondary Power Set: Willpower Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Leviathan Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Punch -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(7), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(13), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(15), SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(17) Level 1: High Pain Tolerance -- RctArm-ResDam(A), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(19), RctArm-ResDam/Rchg(42), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(42), Heal-I(42), Heal-I(43) Level 2: Haymaker -- SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBrtFur-Dmg/Rchg(3), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), SprBrtFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprBrtFur-Rech/Fury(7) Level 4: Mind Over Body -- RctArm-ResDam(A), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(37), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(37), RctArm-EndRdx(40), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(40) Level 6: Fast Healing -- Empty(A) Level 8: Knockout Blow -- SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg(A), SprUnrFur-Dmg/Rchg(9), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), SprUnrFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), SprUnrFur-Rchg/+Regen/+End(13) Level 10: Indomitable Will -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(17), LucoftheG-Def(19) Level 12: Kick -- Empty(A) Level 14: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), RctArm-ResDam(21), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(21), RctArm-ResDam/Rchg(23), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(23) Level 16: Rise to the Challenge -- Prv-Absorb%(A), Prv-Heal(43), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(43), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(45), Prv-Heal/Rchg(45), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(45) Level 18: Rage -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(46) Level 20: Quick Recovery -- Empty(A) Level 22: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(33) Level 24: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), Rct-ResDam%(25), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(25), Rct-Def(27), Rct-Def/EndRdx(34) Level 26: Hurl -- SprWntBit-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(A), SprWntBit-Dmg/Rchg(27), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(31), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg(31), SprWntBit-Rchg/SlowProc(33) Level 28: Heightened Senses -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(29), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(29) Level 30: Taunt -- MckBrt-Rchg(A), MckBrt-Taunt/Rchg(33), MckBrt-Taunt/Rchg/Rng(34), MckBrt-Taunt/Rng(34) Level 32: Foot Stomp -- Empty(A) Level 35: Weave -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(36), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(36), LucoftheG-Def(36), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(37) Level 38: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(39), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(39), LucoftheG-Def(39), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(40) Level 41: School of Sharks -- EnfOpr-Immob/Rng(A), EnfOpr-Acc/Immob/Rchg(46), EnfOpr-Acc/Rchg(48), EnfOpr-EndRdx/Immob(48) Level 44: Arctic Breath -- Empty(A) Level 47: [Empty] Level 49: [Empty] Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Fury Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- Empty(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Stamina -- Empty(A) Level 0: Born In Battle Level 0: High Pain Threshold Level 0: Invader Level 0: Marshal Level 50: Agility Radial Paragon ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1496;646;1292;HEX;| |78DAAD93CB6F524114C6E7C2A5580A05CAB394965268A160D1AA2B37265AEBC292D| |4B068E3869076846B1008501F4BFF83D6D6BDCFC4F7FFE3A3BAF5D547E2D2C5F530| |E72B21B95B27B9F9CD7C33DF9C3367EE14EF2FB93F5C7B7849682357EA954EA77CB| |9BDD5958E62A56A6CD80535277D3125968BB22E65A1B4D592ED72A9DB968D6AB716| |E1A925794B363AB2B066D4EBADE63DD9169ED566B35E5836AAB5AED1A8BAD4A8D49| |272D3ADBA2BB2D222DD7B32D894ED4ECD68C5AFB68C8D02EFB922EF1A956EADD228| |172B9DAE6C3F88522A17E99BD1049AE910DBBA108BBA18DA61BA1F314777C13DA6E| |F31F363CFA6C1DBDB28A38BB129E67C024C8269A13C393045B206AFF6C4AE34DB53| |F019537F0EBE600EBD647E22979DBDBA1D71D3889B46BC4C0A8C102775F199563BD| |8231C2635314B23273270BAF944A73CE028D3E5057DA8889FF9855CC3ECB50D8734| |AE8A8F391664DAE8B647B8B2624445B493E241DE9E737C9620F20F22FF30EA16C63| |9F669B55715CA74780FD893FB0EFE609EFE09FE027F333364F3AB0B32357F9E10D0| |C5429EEBFFB537443D022ABB19CA2EC48A16C2AA69304C7311641EC179A37F384AF| |43A3376C84C1E31B3B46C1C7FD6F83BAE5BEC3573EA0DF8167CC59C7ECFFC46AE09| |D47702F1E2A86B1C759EEB5D2CEF6F9FBC6363BFC14CDE06EBCC795A9BC05D24D46| |975E7C9BF6FEA338890C2CE293F8888E900D34F9E597866E1993BC9069E397832F0| |AC5331B2C832BBCBDAC21EF3CC36B8C3DC770B9147967995A5D96F71BDFF4E85924| |5CEA29CB5288B16E5BC45B9605196F5FEBB36572CB3AB3A2649D19432ECA3F7C88A| |79E0EABF6BCC1E5994438B726C51CCFFDC6EB87AFF35E7B836D05F1FE8DF1CE8FF0| |DD395A0FF0FFAD054CB| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

The auction house (/ah in most zones) or by crafting. There's a tutorial you can run at any university that will show you how to craft IOs, and awards you with one by the end.

This is... gonna take some time to read through. But at the 'skimmed for concept' level, I kinda love these, so I'm bumping to give myself an easy way to find it again.

Most people now start using IOs around level 22 (so L25 IOs), which are about as good as SOs and don't go red. Basic four-slot approach is 1 endredux, 1 acc, 1 damage, and then either damage or +rech in the fourth slot (damage if you're having endurance problems, recharge if you're not). With six slots for important attacks, you'd one damage and one of damage, accuracy, or recharge depending on the power. Toggle powers usually get four or five slots (2 endredux, 2-3 defense or resist or heal), auto powers get three, and non-attack clicks are highly dependent on the specific power but almost always at least one recharge.

Okay, so I think I should try to explain why I'm doing this without any set IOs at all. There are basically three reasons. 1. New players. I don't mean a setless build is the best midpoint of price to effectiveness. Instead, think of them as a teaching aid. They're new-player-friendly in the sense that they're simple to understand. The existence of a build like this also shows to someone who has never used sets to build a character that despite the community consensus, sets really aren't necessary to play the game at any content level. 2. People looking for a challenge/alternative play. Running the best farmer or ITF soloer is frankly kind of boring. To me, and I think to many other veteran players, those are solved problems. Getting as far as possible on as little as possible is a huge part of the Scrapper ethos, and I don't know about y'all, but I'm a Scrapper in every AT I play. 3. It's a personal challenge to avoid using sets at all in thinking of a build, and requires me to look at power sets in a different way than I otherwise would. I'm starting with melee because it's easiest for me to structure, but I plan to do at least one build of this type for each basic AT (undecided on EATs).

Powers -> Combat Attributes This uh, existed in Live, as well.

I'm a bit stymied because Pine's isn't properly reflecting Defensive Adaptation numbers, and neither does my i24 Mids have those numbers. The in-game power *seems* to suggest Defensive Adaptation adds +3.38% unenhanceable defense to s/l/f/c/e/n, and +1.69% unenhanceable to psi from Environmental Modification, and, uh... well in lieu of typing out the whole mess, let's pretend it's 3% s/l, 2.5% f/c/e/n, and 2% p with one enemy in range from Evolving Armor (all unenhanceable). It's not, but those are some nice, round, euclidean numbers. So with those values, you're about 28% s/l, 30% f/c/e/n, and 20% psionic defense. Those aren't terrible numbers but they could probably be better, especially with kind of mediocre resistanc... oh dear, Pines doesn't actually have the right resist numbers either, does it. well okay, it's all madness.

the above formula is my chief argument for some all-in defense sets having at least a little elusivity in PvE. Softcapped defense doesn't mitigate 90% of damage in a lot of cases where it matters because the relevant enemies have 1.69x or more Accuracy. This is particularly bad when the actual softcap isn't reached for some reason, whether it's a tohit buff or defense debuff. 0.050 x 1.7 = ~0.085, which is bad enough; it cuts 90% mitigation down to 83% and there's nothing anyone can do about it. But a little higher, say 0.075 base tohit, and you're down from 85% 'expected' absolute mitigation to <70%. That can be mitigated with a purple, but that's a little like saying damage can be mitigated with greens.

Do you mean it's unplayable because Soul Drain doesn't provide enough +DMG for your preference, or it's unplayable for some other reason, and also Soul Drain doesn't provide enough +DMG? If it's the former, I think you're again mistaken. If it's the latter, could you elaborate? For what it's worth, my bluntness isn't meant as hostility. I think your opinion is relevant, but you're incorrect on matters of math.

You're mistaken. My build includes Tough and is calculated with it active, even though it has only 16% S/L resist. Defense and Resistance are multiplicative in terms of survivability, and that little bit does help more than it would seem -- but that's not why I have it. Three powers in SR have scaling damage resistance. With all three, SR gets about 1.5% damage resistance to all for every 1% of health it falls below 50%. So just before death, an SR scrapper is at the resist cap for all damage types. Of course they have so little health left that it almost doesn't matter; the goal is to move that bar closer to a meaningful health total. With 15% S/L resist, the S/L cap is reached at 10% remaining health instead... enough to be realistically meaningful. At that point the SR scrapper is more survivable than almost any other Scrapper secondary in the game. Thank you. But you're mistaken about that, as well. The old Scrapper Challenge wasn't run with "just one" temp power, no matter how much easier Wedding Band would have made it to accomplish.

To an extent, I understand. But I think 1) you're painting yourself into a corner here and 2) even if you got what you're asking for, it won't have the result you want. To explain: 1. You're rejecting the tools already available to you; advertising for a team, making connections on Discord, or starting or joining an SG. I understand those tools might not be as accessible to you as to someone else. The ideal solution though is to find a tool that fits your unique circumstances (and if it's a tool that expands your comfort zone, that's not a bad thing), rather than changing the game for everyone. 2. DFB/DiB replaced AE farms, which replaced sewer runs, all in the space of a few weeks. All of these are popular because they're at a high intersection of efficient xp and low investment. The low investment part is important; starting in the mid to high teens, DFB is actually less efficient for XP than other methods -- but repeating it doesn't require learning anything. Limiting DFB runs is much more likely to push people into some other repeatable low-investment farm, rather than change the teaming environment. The best way to change that environment is to get community members playing the game for its content rather than for their character build, and bringing more and more players along for this. That's going to take community leaders and influencers, and won't happen overnight... but it will happen. I agree that seeing wave after wave of DFB advertisement is disheartening and ultimately bad for longevity. But the problem is deeper than DFB, and a solution that fixes only the surface issue might preclude better, longer-term community responses.

I'm working on a series of basic-enhancement-only builds for new players or players looking for a unique challenge. The first one is a softcapped DM/SR. I've left the final two power picks open and one pool selection available for players to choose travel or other powers. To publish this at 45% all positions, I had to assign Defense to all six enhancements for the three SR toggles. Changing at least two of those to Endurance Reduction is a much, much better choice for practical play, and the build can still achieve softcap with Hover or Stealth in the fourth pool. Because it's a Dark Melee build and debuffs tohit, it will also have effective softcap against anything it's actually hitting even if its Defense is somewhat below 45% (exactly how much below depends on the mob's resistance to tohit debuffs). Shadow Maul is in the build as-is only for its occasional utility in dealing with minion groups and to fill out the attack chain until Midnight Grasp is available; however, its enhancements and Shadow Punch's could be swapped for better damage so long as SM catches at least two enemies, at a cost of endurance and mobility. Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Shadow Speedster: Level 50 Science Scrapper Primary Power Set: Dark Melee Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Smite -- EndRdx-I(A), Acc-I(3), Dmg-I(3), Dmg-I(5), Dmg-I(5), RechRdx-I(7) Level 1: Focused Fighting -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(7), DefBuff-I(9), DefBuff-I(9), DefBuff-I(11), DefBuff-I(11) Level 2: Shadow Punch -- EndRdx-I(A), Acc-I(13), Dmg-I(13), Dmg-I(15), Dmg-I(15), RechRdx-I(17) Level 4: Focused Senses -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(19), DefBuff-I(21), DefBuff-I(21), DefBuff-I(23), DefBuff-I(23) Level 6: Shadow Maul -- EndRdx-I(A), Acc-I(25), Dmg-I(25) Level 8: Siphon Life -- Heal-I(A), Acc-I(27), Dmg-I(29), Dmg-I(29), Dmg-I(31), RechRdx-I(31) Level 10: Practiced Brawler -- EndRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(27), RechRdx-I(31) Level 12: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(33), DefBuff-I(33) Level 14: Agile -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(33), DefBuff-I(34) Level 16: Dodge -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(34), DefBuff-I(34) Level 18: Dark Consumption -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(36), Acc-I(36) Level 20: Quickness -- Run-I(A) Level 22: Boxing -- Empty(A) Level 24: Tough -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(36), EndRdx-I(37), EndRdx-I(37) Level 26: Weave -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(37), DefBuff-I(39), EndRdx-I(39), EndRdx-I(39) Level 28: Lucky -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(40), DefBuff-I(40) Level 30: Soul Drain -- RechRdx-I(A), Acc-I(40) Level 32: Midnight Grasp -- EndRdx-I(A), Acc-I(42), Dmg-I(42), Dmg-I(42), RechRdx-I(43), RechRdx-I(43) Level 35: Evasion -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(43), DefBuff-I(45), DefBuff-I(45), DefBuff-I(45), DefBuff-I(46) Level 38: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(46) Level 41: Maneuvers -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(46), DefBuff-I(48), EndRdx-I(48), EndRdx-I(48) Level 44: Physical Perfection -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(50), Heal-I(50) Level 47: [Empty] Level 49: [Empty] Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Critical Hit Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Health -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(17) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(19), EndMod-I(50) ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1438;561;1122;HEX;| |78DA75935D73D24014863710445A28A4B52DD0A69096B6140ACAE8BD338A3ACE14C| |5C67B26C2B6646420126AE1D23FE3A5FFCC8F7F100FD9376036E3CE741EF63DEFF9| |D86DB6336FA77FBCF9F69C295B2F4796EBF6CCFED4721C3E4D9A7D9B8FFB9CD1CA9| |9436B30B92F9B0EE703774641120B81B3D7E123CE9B6D6BFA59FC2CAD226D7EC3C7| |2E6F9A77CBDD35BF19F1397759BA3B998C9A57DC72ECF16DC6DFBCB66F8733DA658| |3D0804FDDA1ED68FEFEEDF8ABEDDA9FEC913D5B68AF1CBBDF7C31192C7A1D6B39CC| |224FD39CD29F3F96BFBC0433082D95C58AA02EA84A7C5017EC2C7315E41E21063E9| |4B821F14B12A994ABA06F1A7DD3E8B3253187BEEF28378EBE71D4DB061F49DC93E8| |526E42F48D25D0378FBE79F4B9234F12B3252B422BC273A887791410B3752931256| |68BA550BF580F7BF6C8B309CF26E62A4B7C4F9E0C3C192966801FC89385272BC502| |DE9347F36FDA8B69E87F121067BA26CF8EA8C3761A425348DB1577C0763D5A2C4EC| |ABE70C5F72F5101AC1861AAE42D08AF5AC02415F02CA011A649390738CD013CE712| |E7E4D1C569141DA738C72916142BE1BF5642CD0BC42EF4306BF5303F52EE31BEA86| |3F4AA8197FF610334E3E2252D673A45BD06A851DD2AEEA12AE53D0E6884F93DC358| |1DF7502F0BAD15105FA3B75A87EAEAFD325F662575F52ABD5A24FA24A2B422CAD38| |8F22CA25CADBB30866FA6ABAEDE34537C572A472F5528DECF0D8A224341C6EFB5A6| |28385B0EFCF5AFBF2AB43F6B2DA6E04EB6A53BFA0BCB74CBFB| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

1. Damage boost only works while Power Siphon is up. Enemy damage reduction is always on. 2. Brute Fury gets nowhere near the total Brute +dam% cap. Outside of some Rage shenanigans or eating a tray of reds, I've never seen a solo Brute have to worry about actually hitting the cap. 3. There are no bad Brute defensive sets. Kinetic Melee isn't unusually endurance hungry, so there's nothing in particular to avoid. -Dam doesn't directly interact with any other mechanic (like defense and tohit do), so there's nothing to particularly synergize. Radiation melee and Bio armor are both generally considered overtuned right now, so it's unlikely anything will feel as easy as that... but if you haven't played a shield toon and you have a concept that works for it, I'd suggest giving that a shot.

Basically always level with Energy Mastery for sets w/o built-in Endurance tools, and then respec into something more fun (build permitting) once you're properly kitted. Recovery (and regeneration) work as a % of your total, as do restorative powers and procs. Brute Superior Conditioning adds 5% maxend enhanceable up to 10% (9% with two IOs), so your recovery rate and any procs or other bonus endurance you get improve by 10% as well. The accolades add another 10%. At base, Physical Perfection improves your recovery by 12.5% (enhanceable to ~20%), although it won't increase the effects of procs or other bonus endurance.