tripthicket

At the risk of poking the bear, with all those alts, is there any archetype you haven't played yet, maybe because you didn't think you would like it, or it looked too complicated, or something? Same question for everyone, actually. I myself have yet to do Kheldians or the Arachnos ATs since Homecoming stood up (and the Arachnos never). Not that I think they're bad, just...maybe a little too different? Dunno.

And I restarted my main, NRG/RA Sentinel, 50 and mostly-done Incarnates, about 850 badges, morphing to NRG/NRG Blaster, same as my main back on Live (why do we still call it 'Live' when we're actually playing today, now, live, too?). No double XP, a single DFB to get those badges, running actual contact missions in AP & Kings Row. Have even turned off XP-earning twice so as not to outlevel content. I'll skip the Hollows, since I did most of that not too long ago. Lvl 10 (kinda accidentally), so with XP again turned off, will run KR contacts until they tell me to go away. The goal is to hit as much content as I can along the way to 50, and who cares how long that takes.

I laughed hard at this. Even showed it to The Boss, who, being a long-time CoX player herself, completely understood. She doesn't suffer from this perfidious disease, however; when she makes a character, she plays that character until she gets it to 50 and then completes its Incarnate journey. She has dozens of 50s and is on a break now. "Call me when there's another new powerset," she says. ================================================================== Here's another thing I often feel, and I wonder how many of you ever feel this way. I have many characters that are stalled in the mid-30s or low-40s, mostly idle while I chase new shiny after newer shiny. Almost all of these characters are based upon some build I found on these forums, like @Redlynne's No-Get-Hitsu Tank. What I sometimes feel like I want to do is start these characters over, and play them right this time, without any clearly-defined definition of 'right,' just a nagging feeling that I've 'done it wrong' somehow. Not having goals is probably contributing a lot to this feeling; after all, 'Get it to 50 so I can kit out the final build fully' is a very broad goal. Prolly another treadmill, albeit a very big and long one. Sheesh, sometimes when I'm really feeling burnt, every character I play, no matter what type and no matter the content, seems like I'm just mashing buttons until a target falls, then mash buttons until the next one falls, and so on. Maybe I should start drinking. 😜

It has helped me to 'say' all this out loud, to clarify it in my head as to what I've been doing. I was like 'I'm making too many alts!', which was the case, focusing on the 'too many' part of 'too many alts.' I didn't really have a purpose for these alts beyond wanting to play with a new shiny. And I wasn't really doing anything with them, abandoning them quickly for another shiny new alt. That got me in a recent slump of doing the same ol' content obsessively over and over again, which is, yeah, a rut. Cue the Dissatisfaction Mambo. It was never really about how making new alts had become a problem. And all of your feedback has been very helpful; thank you all very much!

Greycat, I should have mentioned that, as you're right, playing with others makes things more interesting almost as a rule. Certainly faster. 🙂 I retyped this sentence three times to reflect that I mostly solo, but that's not really true, once I think about it. Maybe 90% of my play (or more) lately consists of: DFBs, PI radio/mission PUGs, and mothership raids. I don't currently belong to any SGs (aside from my personal SG, with base used for storage and transport hub). I was a member of 3 or 4 last calendar year (1 at a time), but I chose poorly, and my time with them was inevitably fruitless. frustrating and short. I have not 'fallen in' with a company of people I could connect with and run with on a regular basis. I blame my own reclusive nature for this.

Not trying to take you out of context, but this phrase really struck me, because I kinda believe this about my behavior. I just haven't stated it so explicitly. "BEAM RIFLE! Wow, that looks neat! I gotta get me one of those!" "Plant/Kin Dominator! Wow, this post I just read makes this sound so delicious! I gotta get me one of those!" "/Sonic Defender! Everybody says they're great! I gotta get me one of those!" I really have been like this. I needs to get offa this merry-go-round.

I have a (mea culpa) Spines/Fire Brute on a second acct that I use for farming Influence and powerleveling characters on the main acct. I rarely run it just for the Influence anymore, especially since the 'nerf.' Maybe that can be one of my goals: run it however many times to get X amount of Inf, instead of just 'Run it to get Inf.'

Good advice, this, which I'll be taking. What I'm most bemoaning, however, is not that I'm 'losing the race' to get characters to 50, but that my behavior lately has gotten me stuck doing the same small pool of content (create character, tutorial, DFBs, and little else). I do like the idea of setting a goal, like the ones you describe.

I think my problem lately is that I seem to be doing little else than creating new alts, playing them through the same content, spotting a new shiny, creating a new alt, playing it through the same content, spotting a new shiny, etc. None of them get played very much, and with double XP, no money is coming in for outfitting higher-level characters. As an aside, I'm starting to doubt the benefit of the double XP booster to the big picture. Lower-level characters will need to be bankrolled by (not-being-played) lvl 50s or a farmer (which I have but only sporadically use). So while I'm currently sitting on hundreds of millions, even that won't be enough to kit out (potentially) dozens of 50s that would be getting there twice as fast, thanks to the boosts. One idea I've been kicking around is just getting rid of xp boosts (for me) at lvl 35--let that character then start providing for itself! Also, yeah, I too like the idea of having one of each AT (well, the ATs I like, anyway), and in fact, I do. Most of them lower than lvl 15... ShardWarrior, how often would you say you create a new character? What do you think most often influences your decision to make a new alt?

Alts. Alternate Characters. 1,000 slots per server. It's a fact that making numerous alts is a large part of this game's appeal, as there are SO MANY different types of characters one can play, almost all of which can be enjoyed and played successfully to a greater or lesser degree. Reading these forums and more especially playing with others exposes one to new ideas, to new powerset combinations, that keep sparking that interest in playing. And off one goes to character creation! Then the tutorial (or not). Then a DFB or three, maybe some AE leveling, on into Posi 1, etc. By this time, someone with (what they call) severe alt-itis will have seen yet another powerset they start salivating over, and back to character creation. Some of these alts may get picked back up again, and get a few levels. Some languish while the roster of low-level alts grows. Any characters that make it to 50 will likely be just the ones that one enjoys playing the most (which is as it should be). Obviously, the behaviors above describe me, or at least a good chunk of the way my time for playing is spent. Back in the day, I know I made many dozens of characters, spread over almost all of the servers. In the past year, I've discarded dozens of characters that ended up not being played. Some got remade, perhaps the same concept with different powers. Even so, I still have dozens, spread over 2 servers. 6 or 7 50s. 15 to 20 lvl 35 or a little higher. The majority are under lvl 20. In March, I think I made around 25 new characters, with 1 or 2 days where I made 2 in one day. That means, among other things, that despite the differences in the powersets and the needed playstyles for each, I'm running the same small pool of content over and over and over again. That's a great recipe for burnout, so I'm stepping back and assessing things. I love playing this game, but if i get to a point where I don't care much about playing (the same ol' stuff, again), then that's a problem. The obvious solution would seem to be picking up one (one!!!) of my more-developed characters and playing it exclusively for a while. Another thing I'm doing is opening up this discussion. How about you? Do you find yourself making alt after alt (after alt!), never seeming to get anywhere, running a boring treadmill? If so, did you recognize your growing dissatisfaction and decide to do something about it? Yeah? Like, what, dude? I want to make clear that I do believe making numerous alts is a legitimate part of having fun in this game. I'll likely never stop doing it, nor am I advocating that for anyone. Just hoping to see other people's perspective on the 'problem' of (my) poor self-control. 😉

I'm currently leveling a SR/MA Tank following Redlynne's plan. Level 38 now, and I'm liking so far. Of course, I suffer from a (common) deadly duality: altitis and reading these forums too much. I have in mind to open Mids Reborn and start tinkering, using the No Get Hitsu plan as a base to see how far I can get in crafting a Street Justice/Super Reflexes Scrapper that will (hopefully) have close to the same numbers (maybe not possible because of the differences in starting numbers between Tanker and Scrapper). But first, I suppose I should check the Scrapper forums to see if anybody is already ahead of me in that pursuit...

I actually do have that second acct, with that tricked-out Spines/Fire Brute. Have PLed many of my toons, and made many moolahs indeed. I was being a bit facetious, having 6 or 7 50s already, but I do have a problem with new alts and my wandering attention. I think I've created close to 30 in the past 3, 4 weeks. Also, I usually don't PL past 35; after that, I prefer to play them, so as to get a good feel for them. So, have 50s, but don't play them, so no real money coming in. Several, several more sub-50s, so lots more money not coming in. I was already a bit burnt on farming for the money for ALL those alts, and then we got the AE Inf nerf. Ah well. First World Problems in Paragon City, eh? And it was about this time last year when we were all missing this game. I'm stopping to be thankful in the midst of tearing my hair out. 🙂

I've long been idly wondering about the interest there might be for a detailed guide showing exactly where to easily find (lots of) specific enemies required for Defeat badges. For instance, the Infiltrator badge, awarded for defeating 200 Paragon Protectors. There is a spot in Eden, along the northwest edge of the forest occupying the middle third of the map. Many groups of Crey can be found there, like 8-12 in a group, almost all with a Protector, mostly with 2, some with 3, rarely I've seen 4 in a group. A few minutes of hunting and you're done very quickly. I forget what level they are, but their entry in such a guide would include that and other relevant/helpful details. I have a few more like this that I've come across or been shown, and would solicit further entries, ideally for all of the Defeat badges, Hero and Villain and Praetorian. Would any of you find such a guide useful? Edited to add: I guess I idly wondered for too long, and did far too little research on the subject. It seems @Jaack beat me to the punch, and months ago. Not to mention, it's obvious to me that his guide comes from a breadth of knowledge that I just don't have. Good work, @Jaack !

@ChetManly , your Poison/DP build has me salivating, as I played a Thugs/Poison back in the day just so I could have the two pistols (not to mention the synergy). Would you be so kind as to provide a Mids link, if you have one handy?

You laugh, but now I wanna make one of those cow-like characters, with some version of Sonic powers, and name it 'MOAR COWBELL' O.O Edited to add: Aaaaaand now Everlasting has a Poison/Sonic Defender running around, named THE COCK OF THE WALK BABY MOAR COWBELL indeed. He puts his pants on one leg at a time, but when he's done, he MAKES GOLD RECORDS hangs out on LFG waiting for any and all opportunities. Before that old gypsy woman cursed him for being bull-headed (so that he's now actually bull-headed), he may or may not have been THE Bruce Dickinson. But he sure as hell has a fever...

Every answer has made this clearer and clearer for me; thank you all, again. One of the bigger revelations (which I really kinda knew anyway, but which had gotten lost in my confuzzlement) is 'Follow the power picks, and assign slots as you need them for the leveling journey, then respec at 50 into this finished product.' And even that is not set in concrete. I now have a pretty complete picture of what all happens to everything during exemplaring. Now, if only you guys could do something about this alt-itis problem I have... I mean, I'm never gonna get anyone to 50 anyway! 😆

Thanks to you both. I'd managed to throw up a huge cloud of not-really-relevant details that had my head spinning, and you really cut straight to the heart of the matter in plain and very understandable language.

Starting this thread rather than continue an unintended hijack elsewhere. My persistent confusion revolves around a common thing I see in many 'level 50' builds and what happens when exemplaring with those builds. Many of these builds start assigning slots, as they come, to the first Power (T1 primary) (1, 3, 3, 5, 5, 7, for example) until it hits 6 slots or the intended # of slots for that Power. Then the process begins again with either the second Power (T2 primary) or the other first Power (T1 secondary). There are other Powers that are available to receive slots during each slot-choice level, but they don't get any slots until the others 'before' them are 'filled'. For a level 50 build that is not intended to be exemplared, this method of assigning slots earns a big ol' shrug. But what happens to the Enhancements in the slots so assigned when one does exemplar? Is this method of assigning slots detrimental to exemplaring considerations? What I'm (dimly) envisioning: exemplaring down (say, via flashback) to a level 9 mission. As I understand it, this means you now only have access to all Powers you acquired up to and including level 14 (9 + 5). If you have access to the Power, you have access to the Enhancements' benefits from all of the slots in that Power, with a few caveats. For TOs/DOs/SOs, you're limited to the normal range of the Enhancement (go completely below the range of your level 25 SOs, it's like you have no Enhancements). For common IOs, you still get the benefit of that level 50 ACC, even if you're level 9 (although there may be a scaling element involved?). For set IOs, if you go below the range of a given IO (say, it's available from levels 30 to 50 only), then you lose the benefits of that Enhancement, but not the bonuses accrued from multiple Enhancements from the same set in the same Power (even if you go below its range?). Now we're in that level 9 Flashback mission. I have access to all Powers up to and including level 14. However, slots weren't assigned to the secondary T1 Power until level 15 and later. The last three slots weren't assigned until past, say, level 45. BUT...is it true that, since I have access to the Power (in any given exemplaring example), I have access to ALL of the slots in the Power (and the benefits of the Enhancements in those slots, given the caveats in the paragraph above), regardless of WHEN the slots were assigned? If I have three post-level-45-assigned slots in my example, I still get the benefits at level 9, as long as I have access to the Power, and given the caveats of the enhancement? I've tried to think through the implications of assigning slots as I've described above vs assigning slots more 'evenly' (spreading them around while leveling, instead of fill one, fill the next, etc). I may be making something out of nothing, as I'm unable to envision what actual differences, positive or negative, there may be. Perhaps I'm just overthinking the whole thing, which is completely in character for me.

I'm really not trying to be obtuse, but I'm still scratching my head trying to understand; maybe I'm splitting hairs, I dunno. I started to type out one last question for clarification, but after the fifth sentence of the first paragraph, I realized I just need to make a separate thread. Thanks for the answers you gave above.

While avidly reading this thread and fully intending to steal use Rathulfr's build, I am reminded of a puzzlement, one that I see in many 'level 50' (as opposed to leveling) builds. I certainly don't mean to point out Rathulfr as being bad for doing this, nor do I mean to point this out as a bad thing at all. I think I know the 'why' behind it, but maybe I'm off-base. Nutshell: in many of the 'level 50' builds I see, slots are assigned (almost as a rule) to the first power taken (T1 primary), until 6 slots are assigned or the intended number of slots for that power are reached. Then, the next power (T2 primary) starts getting slots or the first of the secondary powers (T1 secondary) begins accruing slots, until 6-or-intended. And so on. There doesn't seem to be any attention paid to how exemplaring might affect the slotting of a given power; this is the build at 50, and that's that. Is that it, that it kinda doesn't matter for a 'level 50' build when the powers get their slots, as long as all the powers get the right number of slots that the build calls for? I will say that it's not that hard at all to 'remake' one of those 'level 50' builds such that the slots are assigned 'evenly' and it all comes out much the same in the end. Just a little bit of time, and I've done it a handful of times already. Sorry for the hijack, and thank you, Rathulfr, for your build and the advice you give above. Energy Blast has been my favorite since I first entered Paragon City in June 2006, and I just can't leave it alone. 😍

For concept reasons, I'm going to be putting together a character that will wield a (magical/legendary) sword. I have a couple of Katana toons already, satisfied with them, but I'm looking for something different for this one. Not Battle Axe, not War Mace, not Dual Blades, not Ninja Blade. Haven't really tried Titan Weapons, but I don't hear good things about the Momentum mechanic, especially during leveling. Pretty sure that locks me into Broadsword for my concept. Research so far suggests that Broadsword is best on a Stalker, so here I am. As for the secondary, I'm reluctant to go with Shield Defense, as seems to be the conventional wisdom, for the same concept reasons, although... I'm asking for your recommendations, suggestions, opinions, and advice as to picking a secondary for Broadsword. I will use this character for solo play and for teaming, not for farming or PVP. Doesn't have to 'specialize' in ST or AOE, in the bestest damage or the most defense. My chief aim in bringing this to you all is to avoid (as much as is possible) false starts and rerolling. I haven't really ruled out any secondary at this point, including Shield Defense, although again I'm leaning away from that one. My brain is a bit fuzzy atm, but I think I remember (misremember?) reading something positive about Energy Aura. Restating for clarity: What's a good secondary for Broadsword on a Stalker?

Hero Designer v.2.6.0.7 (Database Issue: 26, Version: 20.2605) As for the .Net Framework, I tried to find where that is located, and couldn't directly read it, so can't confirm what version I'm running. Is there a difference between Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, I wonder, such that 4.7.2 will install on the latter but not the former? Do you know how I might determine what version I have? I can relate that Mids seem to be working fine for me. I even have the latest update that shows me Electrical Affinity as a powerset choice. Edited to add: Hmmmm. Checking HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full on my Windows 8.1 PC, I determine that the Release entry contains, under Data (in part): 528049. For Windows 10 (10 May 2019 update), the number would be 528040, indicating .Net Framework 4.8. For all other OS, the number is 528049. Unless I really munked up on following the instructions I found on determining my version, I have .Net Framework 4.8. ...I'm pretty sure. 🤔

Well, piffle. Windows 8.1 here (still), and your instruction worked immediately. Thank you, Caulderone! I would like to continue my suggestion for a specific command, contained within the program itself, to open a new window without 'overwriting' the window already open--a second (or third, or fifth, etc.) window. But maybe that's an outdated way of doing things.

Apologies if this has been asked and answered before. Currently, as best I can determine, one can only open one Mids window directly from the program. I'm wanting to open a second window, such that the first window (and its current contents) remain available while the second window is open. I know it's possible, and doesn't crash the program, as I have many times had 3 or 4 builds open at the same time (downloaded from different forum links). Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a direct way within the program to do this. Perhaps I've overlooked it? If some kind soul would point out what I haven't yet found, my enthusiastic thanks. If there isn't currently a way to do what I'm asking, I humbly suggest that such be built in. In every case, thanks for your attention!

Short and sweet: trying to recreate a favorite toon from live, but don't remember how the build went. Will use him to solo, team, support, offend, and make the donuts, so. Any help appreciated! Thanks!