Rathulfr

No worries, mate, just checking in to see what was up. I decided to go watch The Falcon and the Winter Soldier with the wife.

No worries. This just turned into one of those things gnawing at the back of my mind that I had to chase down to satisfy my own personal curiosity. Logical inconsistencies irk me to no end, so I tend to get overly focused on resolving them. Otherwise, I can't sleep (honestly). I guess it's part of my own personal brand of Crazy™. Sorry about that. (edit) BTW: Wrathfrost hit 38 last night and is locked in at that level, with XP earning now disabled. I'm looking forward to our future adventures as an SG!

I don't need money: I have plenty. It's the principle of the thing. I just made a second build with SOs. It cost over 2M (approx) to equip the slots with level 35 SOs, and then another 2M (approx) to upgrade them to level 38. I'll get another round of upgrades at level 37, which will probably be another 2M. So over 6M total by the time I hit 38. That's chump change: but it's more than I spent to craft the level 30 IOs. Three level 38 SO damage enhancements (+38.3% each) in one power maxes out at +97.2% (with ED). Meanwhile, three level 30 common IO damage enhancements (+34.8% each) in one power maxes out at +95.7% (with ED). So staying with level 30 common IOs would cost me nothing but a 1.5% loss in power, while buying SOs gains me 1.5% but costs me 4-6M Inf that I didn't need to spend. A level 30 common IO is functionally equivalent to a maxed out SO. There's functionally no difference between between a common IO and an SO: each only boosts one attribute. I can see a reason to resist level 40+ common IOs (because they are definitely superior to SOs), but I don't see a problem with level 30 or under, because they're basically offering the same benefit. But I'm not trying to be contrary: I'm just pointing out that there's no logical reason to prefer SOs over level 30 common IOs, aside from a few percentage points of enhancement. The common IOs actually offer less benefit than +3 SOs, so that's keeping with the spirit of the restriction to prevent being OP at level 38. (Edit:) This table from the HC wiki shows the relative values of SOs versus IOs. If the goal is to maintain level 38 characters with full-strength +3 SOs, then level 30 and level 35 common IOs should be allowed. While stronger than a +0 SO, the level 30/35 common IOs are weaker than a +3 SO. 33.33 +0 SO 33.6 Level 21 Dual Set IO 34.7 Level 18 Triple Set IO 34.80 Level 30 IO 35.00 +1 SO 36.66 +2 SO 36.70 Level 35 IO 38.33 +3 SO (yet another edit:) On a lark, I just bought a full set of level 35 common IOs from WW for a different level 35 character, and spent around 3M. I never spent more than the crafting price. This is less than it cost me to buy a complete set of level 35 SOs and then upgrade them to 38. So I definitely recommend going with common IOs (level 30 or 35) if you don't want to spend money on SOs.

Agreed. However, as I indicated, I already have bins full of level 30 common IOs that I've already crafted, so buying more SOs is just spending more money. But I'm willing to comply with the will of SG: I'm looking forward to the fun.

I already have a level 34 Sentinel (Ice Blast/Super Reflexes) that's already equipped with level 30 common IOs. Do I need to respec to replace those with SOs? These are the only powers that have IO set procs in them (which I usually do with all of my alts, more or less). All of the other powers have level 30 common IOs (as pictured). I have plenty of Inf to buy SOs: I just don't like doing it because it's waste of money. But if you really want me to remove the common IOs, I'll respec.

Can we include level 30 common/generic IOs, instead? They're functionally equivalent to +1 SOs. I have a SG base full of these that I use for alts, which I'd prefer using instead of buying SOs. (edit) Am I too late to join the fun? I'll either repurpose or level a 38 for this.

Cash on hand: usually around 100-200M. When I want more, I break out the Spines/Fire Brute farmer for a few hours. I don't think I've ever had more than 500M at any one time. When I have that much, it's usually just to buy a complete build of IO sets for an alt.

Does this mean you're getting off our lawn? 😄

I lewt teh hat. (edit: proof)

My first reaction to the OP subject line was: "How does one make 100 millimeter profit?"

We're all bozos on this bus.

Incarnate Trials are "end-game content": they are Task Forces for level 50+ characters. Task Forces are series of missions connected by a single story arc, played by a dedicated team from start to finish (team members cannot be added after starting), and their levels are fixed to a certain range for the duration of the TF (team members must meet minimum level requirements, and never go over maximum, even they earn enough XP beyond maximum level). Here's the link for the Homecoming Wiki to help you get back up to speed on game details, like Enhancements: https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/

For new players, I recommend Scrappers or Brutes if you like melee combat, and Sentinels if you like ranged combat. These 3 are great for (re-)learning game fundamentals. Sentinels are the new AT that are basically "ranged Scrappers": primary sets are ranged attacks, while secondary sets are damage mitigation (similar to those offered to Scrappers and Brutes). Sentinels don't hit as hard as their Blaster/Corruptor counterparts, but they're a lot more durable at lower levels. After you've played awhile with these 3 ATs, you can then branch out into others (Tanks, Blasters, Corruptors, Controllers, etc.). Finally, the Hero/Villain Epic Archetypes (HEATs/VEATs), like the Widow, are meant to be challenging for players who have already mastered the fundamentals with other ATs.

I thought I'd share some data on my own data collection using my main, Rathstar (50+3 Energy/Energy Blaster with a full IO bonus sets build). Here are the numbers for the same character, but the only difference is live prod versus beta. LIVE PROD Flight Speed Ranged Defense BETA Flight Speed Ranged Defense FS Delta RD Delta Hover 29.95 31.42 Hover 30.16 31.42 0.70% 0.00% Fly 58.63 28.50 Fly 62.41 28.50 6.45% 0.00% Afterburner 30.16 41.10 Evasive Maneuvers 30.16 41.1 0.00% 0.00% Hover+Afterburner 29.95 44.02 Hover+EvaMan 51.64 44.02 72.42% 0.00% Fly+Afterburner 72.95 41.10 Fly+EvaMan 83.89 41.10 15.00% 0.00% Hover+Fly 62.41 31.42 Hover+Fly+EvaMan 83.89 44.02 Fly+Afterburner 79.22 28.50 8.59% -30.66% Fly+EvaMan+AB 102.27 41.10 28.67% 0.00% Hover+Fly+EvaMan+AB 102.27 44.02 28.67% 6.63% https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nxcWqFYZUTLnBXeYklkWuSwMkRNXFj4-3pNegpfWrlo/edit?usp=sharing (edit:) Please note that I had no other powers turned on/active, except for my Incarnate passives and any set bonuses from IOs. So while the numbers may vary from build to build, the deltas/ratios should remain the same.

Geez, I go away for a few hours and we're up to 11 pages? I haven't read all those yet, but I did test things out. Here's what I've learned: Hover's animation trumps both Fly's and Afterburner's animations. It doesn't matter in what order you turn them on/off, or have them in a bind or macro, the Hover animation always wins. Great for "Magneto Flight" fans, not so awesome for those who prefer it the other way 'round. My previous bind (/bind <key> "powexecname Hover$$powexecname Fly") appears to work the same as before: it imitates the mutually exclusive behavior that exists now in prod. That bind will switch back and forth between Hover and Fly. However, if you happen to already have both Hover and Fly active, hitting that macro will turn both off, too. If you leave Hover on and toggle Fly on to run both, you get only the Hover animation. But if you leave Fly on and toggle on Hover to run both, you switch between both animations. Basically, you leave Fly on all the time, and just toggle Hover off/on as needed. So here's my new Hover/Fly macro, which defaults to Fly "always on" and Hover "on-demand": /bind <key> "powexecname Hover$$powexectoggleon Fly" Basically, "powexecname" toggles the named power off and on with every key press, while "powexectoggleon" toggles on the named power without ever turning it off with each key press.

I'm going to play around with different bind/macro alternatives later today to see what works best. It might be as simple as: leave Hover on all the time, and simply toggle Fly off and on, so that its animation trumps the Hover animation. (edit, later after testing:) If you prefer classic flight poses to Magneto Flight, it's as simple as leave Fly on all the time, and toggle Hover on and off as needed. Here's the bind command sequence: /bind <key> "powexecname Hover$$powexectoggleon Fly"

Don't we all?

Dude, you just touched the third rail of CoH forums. I tried that once, and got roasted to a crisp. I hope you've stocked up on greens. For the record, I agree with you. I suggested adding +15% recharge to Swift (which everyone gets automatically), and "nerfing" Hasten to a +50% toggle (instead of click), so that builds that don't really need Hasten would be freer to skip it, while still allowing builds that need it to keep and perma it automatically. Seemed reasonable to me. Boy, did I learn to regret that. Good luck!

That's already a default keybind for me (/bind F12 "powexecname Hover$$powexecname Fly"), and I use it regularly. I was hoping that I could discontinue that and just leave Hover+Fly on all the time. (edit) Just realized that Hover and Fly are no longer mutually exclusive, so my existing macro will turn both on, instead. So now I have to think of how to switch between them with another macro and/or bind... argh, my head hurts.

But if you Hover + Fly together, you "hover", which is not acceptable to me. If possible, I would prefer that the original Fly pose/animation be used out of combat, while the original Hover pose/animation be used while in-combat. If that's not possible, then let me pick my preference at a tailor. Please spare me from having to create yet another macro just to fix the fly pose.

Amen! THIS IS A BIG DEAL. When I fly, I want to look super-heroic.

Yes, a proc for Fold Space that should grab all mobs on the map and can only be triggered from inside a dumpster. 😉

I feel attacked. 😄

Not at all! The more the merrier. Does anyone already have a SG for "Alts With Annoying Builds"? If not, perhaps we need to form one.