Rathulfr

At level 22, you should be able to slot everything with level 25 generic IOs for under $2-4 million Inf. These are basically the equivalent of -1 SOs, and they don't ever have to be replaced. At level 27, start adding level 30 generic IOs, which are the functional equivalent of +1 SOs, and you won't need to buy anything else until you get to level 47+, when you can start thinking about IO sets. Craft the 25/30 generic IOs yourself, or buy them from /AH for no more than 50-75K Inf each. If you get any uniques/procs along the way, craft and equip those, as you level up: levels don't matter on most of the unique/proc IOs. This means that you can spend 20-25 levels just making money: earning Inf, selling rares/recipes, etc. Good luck, and have fun!

You can never be too rich, too thin, or have too much defense, IMO. I have Scorpion Shield on my Archery/Tactical Arrow Blaster. Here's a build I'm considering for my main villain. Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Wrongbow: Level 50 Natural Blaster Primary Power Set: Archery Secondary Power Set: Tactical Arrow Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Concealment Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Snap Shot (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage (3) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance (3) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge (5) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (5) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (7) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge Level 1: Electrified Net Arrow (A) Enfeebled Operation - Accuracy/Recharge (7) Enfeebled Operation - Endurance/Immobilize (9) Enfeebled Operation - Accuracy/Endurance (9) Enfeebled Operation - Immobilize/Range (11) Enfeebled Operation - Accuracy/Immobilize/Recharge (11) Enfeebled Operation - Accuracy/Immobilize Level 2: Aimed Shot (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage (15) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance (15) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge (17) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (17) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (19) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge Level 4: Combat Jumping (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed (19) Luck of the Gambler - Defense (21) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance Level 6: Blazing Arrow (A) Superior Defiant Barrage - Accuracy/Damage (21) Superior Defiant Barrage - Damage/RechargeTime (23) Superior Defiant Barrage - Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime (23) Superior Defiant Barrage - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (25) Superior Defiant Barrage - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime (25) Superior Defiant Barrage - RechargeTime/+Status Level 8: Hover (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range (27) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance (27) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points) Level 10: Fly (A) Flight Speed IO Level 12: Explosive Arrow (A) Overwhelming Force - Accuracy/Damage (29) Overwhelming Force - Endurance/Recharge (29) Overwhelming Force - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (31) Overwhelming Force - Damage/Endurance/Recharge (31) Overwhelming Force - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge (31) Overwhelming Force - Damage/Chance for Knockdown/Knockback to Knockdown Level 14: Jump Kick (A) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage (33) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance (33) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge (33) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge Level 16: Aim (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff (34) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge (34) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge/Endurance (34) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Recharge/Endurance (36) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Endurance (36) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up Level 18: Ranged Shot (A) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Accuracy/Damage (36) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Damage/Recharge (37) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (37) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (37) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge (39) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Recharge/Chance for Fire Damage Level 20: Eagle Eye (A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End (39) Performance Shifter - EndMod Level 22: Acrobatics (A) Endurance Reduction IO (39) Endurance Reduction IO Level 24: Stealth (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed (40) Luck of the Gambler - Defense (40) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance (40) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge Level 26: Maneuvers (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed (42) Luck of the Gambler - Defense (42) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance (42) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge Level 28: Agility (A) Flight Speed IO Level 30: Upshot (A) Recharge Reduction IO (43) Recharge Reduction IO Level 32: Rain of Arrows (A) Ragnarok - Damage (43) Ragnarok - Damage/Recharge (43) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (45) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Recharge (45) Ragnarok - Damage/Endurance (45) Ragnarok - Chance for Knockdown Level 35: Scorpion Shield (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed (46) Luck of the Gambler - Defense (46) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance (50) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge Level 38: Gymnastics (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed (46) Luck of the Gambler - Defense (48) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance Level 41: Tactics (A) Endurance Reduction IO (48) Endurance Reduction IO (48) Rectified Reticle - To Hit Buff (50) Rectified Reticle - To Hit Buff/Recharge Level 44: Assault (A) Endurance Reduction IO (50) Endurance Reduction IO Level 47: Afterburner (A) Kismet - Accuracy +6% Level 49: Invisibility (A) Karma - Knockback Protection Level 1: Brawl (A) Empty Level 1: Defiance Level 1: Prestige Power Dash (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Slide (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Quick (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Rush (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Surge (A) Empty Level 1: Sprint (A) Endurance Reduction IO Level 2: Rest (A) Recharge Reduction IO Level 1: Health (A) Miracle - +Recovery (13) Numina's Convalesence - +Regeneration/+Recovery Level 1: Hurdle (A) Jumping IO Level 1: Stamina (A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End (13) Performance Shifter - EndMod Level 1: Swift (A) Flight Speed IO ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1453;661;1322;HEX;| |78DA6593DB6E12511486F7C020A54039154A2D1481160A580AB6EAA5566D8DA635D| |81ABD24534A60120264A0562E7D03AD1A137BC09A7ABAF181B49E1EC0C3A58931B8| |60FD209109CC37B3D6BF0E7BED3DABF7AE58DE5DBD7F4148D6CB25A556CB5EA27B3| |DAF196F28F52D4D2909BA86EE68957261A3B26DA4170F04D935A55CC86F2617B55C| |31AF3526BBE6F5AD6AB5A2D593B7945C5DCD29A5ECA2A655B6852553A994922B79A| |5AA960BE6CECB72492D14EB8ECEF3B5F25DB5A66EA825B5DEB075A59B79AD5654AB| |E34B553597ECE65F557279BAB59F1B5EEA678AFE3ED1BD5A06B14F48CB427700369| |9F273F09079E20573C9DC17FB4062DF43E6D00EF88839FC187CC2F4539484580975| |4750770475EDA86B475D27EA7A6898FA4E704BA777733EE72873D4CE0C90D7C01A8| |341C8EC93981E1DA8677A65D0C034517E23F21BDFEB3AB6931FC063A6993426EE5F| |98C2DC579060C69ACCC7FA8ECDF711FCC49CFC0C7E01BF32DD94CFCAB17A6B86109| |2C5A99BE01AB80E126CA8633BE27E822FC157E06B66F80DF89619A22807621DCFB8| |76789739B507EE8307CC4893791811C2C573915C4F395F6487E9A5FEDDF0B9DB834| |89B4404B4926F8C7DFA31EC5714FB15C57E451D4C0769C7A11D8736066D0CDA18B4| |1763424CB0564C600F9AD4A39FD727F9135C3F0EB6CF7B006B0F9CE1BEE3F3E002F| |3F459F01C789EF9DB4EA3475F21F4358BBE66D1571A7D1D510FD3383FD3FF69E7A0| |75D13A67906F06739AEB72976ABA28DF1ED349DA04669B80260D0A8F10499CC3E41| |F825F1636D2A7604BFD629B4FEE7DABF4A34B04E5EE27D86AC507BCA9014B7AC032| |3F605918B0ACF45B82BC4719B9F7ED0B29C1B61FC3BD6E24719D1EA2B2B0DCE6597| |DFFE7A3A1B1FE67BF1E67D182B3F8AD5F8F73F117C301D1F4| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

If you can afford the uniques/procs for your build now, go ahead and start collecting them now. Most of them work the same regardless of level, so it doesn't really matter which you get. If level does affect a specific IO, you can always sell it and then re-buy it at the desired level when you respec at 50 (and you will respec at 50). Keep the current crafted invention IOs (non-set IOs) until you're 47, then start collecting your IO set pieces. I had level 25 and 30 IOs slotted until I was 50, and it was fine. You won't be able to equip purples until you're 50 anyway. And, as has been suggested earlier, if you plan to play down-level and want to keep your set bonuses active, buy attuned instead of max level IOs. But if you don't care about that, buy max level IOs and then boost them as you progress. Earning enough merits/Inf to buy boosters for all of them is part of the fun! ;D

As an Archery/Tactical Arrow Blaster, I'm privately protesting Trick Arrow because it's pretty bad and I'm pretty petty, too. ;)

oldskool sent me a private message with some additional recommendations about using Unbreakable Guard to increase my melee/smashing/lethal defense and resistances. What a difference! I used this information to settle into this as my final build. Thanks, oldskool! Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 2.22 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Rathstar: Level 50 Science Sentinel Primary Power Set: Energy Blast Secondary Power Set: Willpower Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Fighting Hero Profile: Level 1: Power Bolt (A) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Accuracy/Damage (3) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Damage/RechargeTime (3) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime (5) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (5) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime (7) Superior Opportunity Strikes - RechargeTime/Chance for Opportunity Level 1: High Pain Tolerance (A) Unbreakable Guard - +Max HP (7) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance (9) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance (9) Unbreakable Guard - RechargeTime/Resistance (11) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All) (11) Impervious Skin - Status Resistance Level 2: Power Blast (A) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Accuracy/Damage (13) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Damage/RechargeTime (13) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime (15) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (15) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime (17) Superior Sentinel's Ward - RechargeTime/Chance for +Absorb Level 4: Fast Healing (A) Panacea - +Hit Points/Endurance (19) Preventive Medicine - Chance for +Absorb Level 6: Power Burst (A) Superior Winter's Bite - Accuracy/Damage (19) Superior Winter's Bite - Damage/RechargeTime (21) Superior Winter's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (21) Superior Winter's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (23) Superior Winter's Bite - Damage/Endurance/Accuracy/RechargeTime (23) Superior Winter's Bite - Recharge/Chance for -Speed & -Recharge Level 8: Hasten (A) Recharge Reduction IO (25) Recharge Reduction IO Level 10: Indomitable Will (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed Level 12: Fly (A) Flight Speed IO Level 14: Hover (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed (25) Luck of the Gambler - Defense (27) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance Level 16: Aim (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff (27) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge (29) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge/Endurance (29) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Recharge/Endurance (31) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Endurance (31) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up Level 18: Explosive Blast (A) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback/Accuracy (31) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback/Recharge (33) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback/Damage/Endurance (33) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback/Damage/Recharge (33) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback/Accuracy/Damage (34) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback to Knockdown Level 20: Quick Recovery (A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End (34) Performance Shifter - EndMod Level 22: Mind Over Body (A) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance (34) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance (36) Unbreakable Guard - Endurance/RechargeTime (36) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime Level 24: Up to the Challenge (A) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Endurance (36) Numina's Convalesence - Endurance/Recharge (37) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Recharge (37) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Endurance/Recharge (37) Numina's Convalesence - Heal (39) Numina's Convalesence - +Regeneration/+Recovery Level 26: Focused Power Bolt (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage (39) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance (39) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge (40) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (40) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (40) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge Level 28: Heightened Senses (A) Defense Buff IO (42) Defense Buff IO Level 30: Maneuvers (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed (42) Luck of the Gambler - Defense (42) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance (43) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge Level 32: Nova (A) Superior Avalanche - Accuracy/Damage (43) Superior Avalanche - Damage/Endurance (43) Superior Avalanche - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (45) Superior Avalanche - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (45) Superior Avalanche - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge (45) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback to Knockdown Level 35: Resurgence (A) Recharge Reduction IO Level 38: Strength of Will (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3% Level 41: Boxing (A) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage (46) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance (46) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge (46) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge Level 44: Tough (A) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance (48) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance (48) Unbreakable Guard - Endurance/RechargeTime (48) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime Level 47: Weave (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed (50) Luck of the Gambler - Defense (50) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance (50) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge Level 49: Afterburner (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed Level 1: Brawl (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Dash (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Slide (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Quick (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Rush (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Surge (A) Empty Level 1: Sprint (A) Unbounded Leap - +Stealth Level 2: Rest (A) Recharge Reduction IO Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift (A) Flight Speed IO Level 2: Health (A) Miracle - +Recovery Level 2: Hurdle (A) Jumping IO Level 2: Stamina (A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End (17) Performance Shifter - EndMod ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1451;672;1344;HEX;| |78DA6594C94F535114C6EFA30F4B294399C7822D435BD042D5BD8982260612681D9| |64D0397F6C9B3346D1365E9BFE0C68D0C1A0770DAF95F38EE1C715A234405748587| |7E9F85A42F6D7EAFDF39E7DEEF9E7B6FC7AF8D543D3D7BFDA4326A4EDB895C2E1ED| |3E9BC95D6B6333665E9F49456F2544413F9542E9FC83AE547E7FF8C7834914EEAE9| |F0685A6793F3F153529E6F2F0647F48C4EE774F89265DB99B9AB3AAB2A27E6E6EC7| |02CA3F5B4BBF07AC6B692A97C6DE17D4C27A6753697B232D588ED85AC74B27D3463| |4D85F7474D6467E3E33291CECEB78A995EF96E04149FDD72F5D6542A62AAB277E47| |BD0FC407E040F7D027550CA0CD6FE7520F61BACD82277C0CA63A4570ABCA6DA0CB0| |546A8DE718AFEA05F912AC7945BE063D6FC0A4CCEBC0BC86C38771EBD7C19F326E3| |9C72D5F417EFD2AD8F8907C04363F269F807ED921276A0DE7A02A68AD644AE67461| |4EE56A320A9A5B92DDC857EE1EE4B944AB865656CDBCD646B0DD03FE128FB5F4587| |BB70CB17B60E77DF201D8B542AE825B525BC7DABA35F8EEFA0C1EFE427E25BF81BE| |EFE065594303FBD67013E3F96E8033126B42CCD1C43DF4710F7BB6C93FE0B390522| |DDCF79649ACA9270AF6C6C8F3E405B0FF22B82DFEDBE8BF6D013DEB5F2497C0C032| |799BBC03CE8AC70EFAEFE8DAD35C2A44D649DFBD18D7E165DF43EC7B887D1F68007| |7C443373D74DF426F0616C845F0C812B94CB287B678F073CFFD3C1B5744EBE3D9E8| |6BC1F936C44F907E821302BFA98E4E925132063A247790BD1F64EF87D8FB21F67E8| |8BD372537CCDC30D719E13A235C6784EB54CD4A0DD3EB30733BCDE27D978F3C6AA0| |44192E512225CAF112E54489326616FF1FE4C2E29C4D98C57BAF0CF6CFE59130B4D| |DF54A89B3C6E09DDA38A89D939780A97E1CD482C8DBDCD70C83E7DBC3F3FD0F47F1| |E6D1| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

I agree with most of what's been said here. You don't need KB-to-KD procs in all your attacks: just the AoEs need them (mostly). You want your single-target attacks to retain their KB, because it's essential for damage mitigation/control. When teaming, just be careful about your positioning, and try to wait for taunts and lockdowns before doing AoE knockbacks. Thinking ahead a few seconds makes all the difference between being a good Energy blaster and the bad one everyone hates. I recommend skipping Energy Torrent altogether, instead of spending the money to slot it with a KB/KD proc IO. Its primary purpose is knockback, and it doesn't do much damage, so there's not much point in taking it if you're going to change the KB to KD, which is slightly less effective. I recommend slotting the Sudden Acceleration KB/KD proc IO in Explosive Blast if you're going to train it. The KB is one of the primary "features" of Explosive Blast, and using it carelessly is guaranteed to elicit groans from many team members. Nova can go either way, depending on the IO set you decide on for your build. Avalanche/Superior Avalanche would be the best IO set, because you can sacrifice the 6th slot for the Sudden Acceleration's KB/KD proc and only lose the set bonus for fire/cold/AoE defense (not a big deal in most builds) -- but it's an expensive set. The best discount IO set for Nova is Obliterate; however, you have to give up a pretty significant set bonus for melee/smashing/lethal defense to put the KB/KD proc in the 6th slot. Overwhelming Force is a third option for Nova, but it's not a good one because it's only a chance to proc KB to KD, and I've heard reports that it's fairly unreliable.

Welcome to red side, where the villains are OP and your powers don't matter.

This is why I abandoned my */Bio character. Even with Minimal FX selected, the yellow/green* pulsing electrical effect just ruined the immersion for me. Maybe I'll revisit it again some day when I have proper concept for a character with those effects. (*: Yes, I changed the power set colors, which seemed to have no effect whatsoever.)

Yes, attuning 1 of out 6 in a set will "break" the set. I reduces the count of the normal set, and starts the counter for the superior set. They don't overlap. I learned this hard way. Don't attune a set until you have catalysts for the entire set. Or simply sell your non-attuned set on the AH, and then turn around and buy the attuned equivalents to keep the set complete.

I'm not sure I understand the OP question. However, I do have one interesting comment: level 50 crafted IOs (not set IOs) aren't worth crafting and selling casually, even if I have the salvage to do so. Each level 50 crafted IO costs about 4X0,000 Inf to craft with salvage in hand. If I need the rare salvage to craft one, that's another 500K Inf to buy it. But most of these crafted IOs are selling on the AH for less than 400,000 Inf. So there's really no point in crafting level 50 inventions, because I'd be taking a loss to do so, with most of them. Of course, this isn't really a bad thing, per se, as it just means I can equip my alts by just buying their non-set IOs on the AH for less than it would cost me to craft them. It's just kind of a weird thing that people are willing to just sell them at a loss in the first place. *shrug*

The free "Experienced" power was an 15th anniversary gift, which lasted for a month after "launch". It's no longer given to all new characters, but probably will return as a similar event reward in the future.

Tactical Arrow is an excellent secondary for the toggles/passives alone: you don't have to take any of the arrow powers except the T1, Electrified Net Arrow (which I use rarely, most often to get fliers out of my hovering face). Eagle Eye = a toggled Quick Recovery for endless Endurance. Upshot = Build Up Agility = a passive Hasten and movement speed buff Gymnastics = an additional Combat Jumping/Weave defense toggle

+1 this. I always prefer ranged DPS to melee. On live, I primarily played Blasters and Corruptors, but hated the routine face plants. When I first came home here, I recreated my favorite Blasters and Corruptors. And then I tried a Sentinel alt, just to see what it was about. The clouds parted, a light shone down out of heaven, and I heard choirs of angels singing. THIS was what I had wanted to play since that first day back in 2004 when I created my first Energy² Blaster that I then played for 8 years. THIS was what it felt like to really be a SUPER-hero (even if the math doesn't work). I. am. a. SENTINEL! So I retconned my main to an Energy/WP Sentinel, and I won't ever go back. Damage numbers be damned. I can get in there and fight now, not just shoot and kite. I can blast and blast and blast and blast and never run out of end. When the tank goes down -- and they do, occasionally -- I'm standing right beside them, grabbing aggro and taking hits until they get back up. When the team wipes, I do not go gentle into that good night: I rage, rage against the dying of the light, and often end up being the last man standing. That's my brand of fun. Don't give me spreadsheets or IO sets or procs or DPA times. Give me passion and fury and the sense that I'm actually conquering evil. That's what I want. That's what I need. That's why I'm here.

/macro WP "powexec_location target Whirlpool" That's #5 in my Water/* toons' attack bar. I put the Whirlpool power in the slot in the bar above it so I can see the countdown timer. /macro RoA "powexec_location target Rain of Arrows" That's for my Archery toons.

I gladly stand corrected. I was at work and replying off the top of my head, so my apologies for any confusion. :)

I also heart Sentinels. I have two: Energy/WP and Fire/Regen, both just hit 50. Now the hard work begins: earning enough merits and Inf for IO sets! ;D

I've got a problem where I can't slot Superior Sentinel's Ward in my tier 2 primary power after slotting Superior Opportunity Strikes in my tier 1 primary power. I did not have this problem with version 2.21 or 2.22. The error message is: Can't Slot Enhancement "Superior Sentinel's Ward: Accuracy/Damage is mutually exclusive with enhancements in the ArchetypeA group. You can only slot one member of this group across your entire build."

My original first love was the Energy² Blaster, who I played for 8 years. He's been retconned as an Energy/WP Sentinel. My original first villain was an Archery/Trick Arrow Corruptor. She's been retconned as an Archery/Tactical Arrow Blaster. My classic silver age melee super-hero was a WP/Energy Melee Tanker. He's been retconned as an Energy/WP Brute.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I am unable to import this code into Pine's version 2.22. :(

Do you do this by buying IO recipes at the AH and crafting them yourself? Yes, depending on which is cheaper at the moment, as market conditions allow. My basic rule of thumb is never spend more than 50-75K each for a level 25 or 30 crafted IO (non-set IO). A level 25 character with 40 slots to fill, spending $50K per slot for level 25 IOs, will spend 2M Inf. Obviously, some cost more, some cost less, and sometimes I spend the full 75K on those I really want/need. So allowing for that, it's not unreasonable to get up to 4M Inf total. Considering that at levels over 30, each SO can cost between 50-100K each, and they "expire" in just 3-5 levels, buying IOs for 75K that last for 25 levels is a bargain.

At first glance, I thought you had figured out some way to create a cockroach character.

I believe that this post is now obsolete, and AE mission rewards are "working as intended" (that is, -50% XP, unboosted).

I believe that actual target is 97.25% or 97.5% to-hit. And I don't believe that the Kismet +Acc proc is calculated as/with to-hit.

An idea that was once floated back in live was to put in a system to "bank" refunded XP from deleted characters. I've built many alts, gotten them up to level 20 or so (basically as far as it took to get SOs or level 25 IOs), and then decided that I didn't like them for whatever reasons. I put the hours in to level those characters, so I earned that XP. When I delete them, it would be nice if some or all of that earned XP was put into a shared XP bank for my account, which I could then re-use later with newly-created alts. I thought this might be an equitable way to handle this kind of thing. Ultimately though, such a mechanism would require new code that doesn't yet exist. And it would probably introduce new exploits/meta-gaming that would be abused, as with any other system. The first one that leaps to mind is that this means a single power-leveled 50 would simply be recycled over and over as a newly-minted 50. So obviously, it's not a perfect solution. Mitigating such abuses would require a lower bank-to-earned XP ratio, or time-gating, or unlocking according to arbitrary criteria, etc. Working out all of these kinks in a new mechanic is probably why it was never seriously considered back in the day, when there were other priorities.

Sunsette: Thank you so much for your feedback and recommended build. After looking at it, I realized that I was thinking far too much "inside the box". It never even occurred to me to slot melee powers as mules for set bonuses. My mind boggled. And I slotted Armageddon in Nova simply because it was a purple PBAoE set -- I never considered a Universal damage set. I really appreciate your fresh perspective. oldskool: Thank you for your feedback, too. I guess I was so focused on getting a click-heal as an "oh sh*t!" button, that I didn't realize it might not be worthwhile, overall. I also appreciate your take on layering defenses and DDR: definitely food for thought. Ok, let's reconsider this build with a different focus, different priorities. Here is what I'd like to prioritize, in order: [*]Fast, hard-hitting single-target damage. I like my regular 1-2-3-4 rotation of Power Bolt, Power Blast, Power Burst, and Focused Power Bolt. [*]I like being in a tanker's back pocket to spam Nova and Explosive Blast. It's why I picked WP as secondary, so I could survive running into crowds. [*]"Don't mezz me, bro!" I loathe being a victim to status effects: let's maximize our defense/resistance to those. [*]Wishful thinking: how to cap/layer defenses? Maybe just Smashing/Lethal/AoE? I dunno -- the math seems like arcane magic to me? What other changes would you recommend? I'll gladly kick Fire Mastery/Warmth to the curb if I can do better to achieve the above goals. And while I'm dreaming, let's say money is no object. I love my Energy/WP Sentinel, he's my main, and I'm committed to making him the best that money can buy. Or am I deluded? Thanks for your continued feedback.