tripthicket

Somehow I overlooked the following guide, written by Sunsette way last summer and VERY helpful for the Energy Blast Sentinel-player such as myself. Even better, further down in that same thread, Sunsette fulfilled a request for an Energy Blast/Radiation Armor build, the very thing I'd been questing for, as follows. (This looks like a duplicate link, but it does indeed go directly to the post that I'm talking about) So, I download the build in Mids Reborn, print it out, and prepare to follow it. Hit a trainer, think I'll just switch from one build to another rather than use a respec. *huh* My alternate build is already named 'IO Sets.' I switch to that; powers selected, slots assigned but all still empty. Looking further, I see this build obviously has already followed Sunsette's guide. *huh some more* I guess I already found my solution (when!?) and, in my altitis, forgot all about it. *grrr* As a small aside, I wondered why Sunsette herself didn't jump in with comments or to point me to her guide. Looks like she hasn't visited these forums since October 1. I hope she's okay. Thank you, Sunsette, for your help that you didn't know you were giving me and for your excellently-written and very-in-depth guide. Be well!

oldskool, thank you so much for replying, and in such detail! As I've perused guides here and there, it has occurred to me that a guide on the ins and outs of using Mids would be quite handy for folks like me, covering things like where to look for accumulating defense or the pros and cons of IO Sets vs Frankenslotting (which can be very much 'It Depends,' I know). You've encouraged me to open up the hood and tinker, which is a good thing. As one would become more accustomed to working in Mids, the flailing need for advice would surely lessen. I've been leery of getting started, but I think I see that it would actually be up my alley; I like organizing with spreadsheets, and this might have similar attractions. As an aside, I should have mentioned that money is no object, not with the state of the game now. I mentioned having kitted-out farmers. I say the following without trying to brag, but just to illustrate how easy it is to get money these days, once you get past a certain point. I got a Spines/Fire Brute to 50 and kitted that one out to the tune of just under 1.2 billion. Don't recall exactly how long that took, but it had to be at least weeks of fairly casual play. Then I made another Spines/Fire Brute, got it to 50 in a few days via PLing with the first Brute (could easily have been 1 day, I guess, but I really don't play more than 2-3 hours at a stretch, and that usually twice a day), and with both of them going in-mission, got the money to kit the 2nd out fully (yup, 1.2 billion) in less than a week. I currently have less than 400 million, but I know that I could have any toon kitted out all the way in mere days. I don't live for farming, but at this point I don't worry about money. Having said all that, I am an altoholic. I've made and deleted hundreds of toons. My main Sentinel I've had since late May 2019; don't remember when he got to 50, but there was no powerlevel involved there. He's languished, unfinished, as I've jumped here and there and there and there, but he's still my fond favorite. I've recently decided I want to concentrate on building a stable of Sentinels of every stripe (we'll see how long that lasts). Knowing what to strive for in Mids would surely go a long way for anyone in helping to build characters. I never mentioned my take on this character. I said Energy Blast was Step 1, and all else builds from that. My first permanent character from Live (back in 2006; yeah, I was late to the party) was an Energy/Energy Blaster. When I built Guy (short for Guirddhain), I don't remember how I decided on Radiation Armor, but I think I just wanted something new in the mix. And I do like what I ended up with. I once told someone that this pairing feels very stable. Even with only level 35 IOs, I don't really have endurance problems, or recharge problems, or Oh-my-GOD-I'm-DEAD problems. I contribute to the takedowns on teams, tho I'm surely outshined in the damage dept, but that doesn't bother me. Solo, I get the job done without real frustration. Not looking to set records on Pylons or AVs or anything else. I do indeed enjoy playing Guy, and I have not been wasting my time with him ( which is not somethingt you said or even implied). So, it's settled. My next project is to get myself familiar with Mids. Having that skill sharpened will only help me with Guy and all future characters. Which is not to say I wouldn't be glad to hear from anyone else who wished to throw in their comments! Again, thanks!

Haven't seen this specific combo discussed, but I might have missed it buried in something else. Full disclosure: I have this Energy/Rad Sentinel already at 50, with some Incarnate work done. I like it well enough; I've always loved Energy Blast anyway. The build isn't optimized; the powers have common slotting, and I haven't even upgraded from level 35 IOs. I've been calling this toon my main, and my badge collector, but I've not yet put in the love to finish him up. Now I'm rolling up my sleeves, but before I really get going, I want to re-evaluate. What's that mental condition where you keep holding on to a bad thing just because you've already put so much time/energy/etc. into it? What do I want to do with him? Everything except farming (I have dedicated farmer toons for that, and they have been fully kitted out, natch). Teaming, soloing, exemplaring, TFs, bank missions, just everything. He doesn't have to be the best in any given category (best defense, best damage, etc.), but I would like him to be the best I can make him at what he is; that is, I'd like him to be the best Energy/Rad Sentinel that can be achieved. I have considered that I might just have to gather a few Energy/ guides and splice them with a few /Rad guides to cobble something together, but I'm not too confident in my own Mids skills. Here's a few specific questions: 1) Would you consider this a decent pairing? Again, doesn't have to be the best. I just would like to know if they're mismatched in a gimping-myself kind of way. 2) What powers would you skip in Energy Blast? In Radiation Armor? 3) Is there a better pairing for Energy Blast than Radiation Armor? I have to say I'm married to Energy Blast for this character, so all else builds on that. 4) Do you have, or have you seen, a Mids build for this combo? If so, imagine me now on bended knee. 😉 Hopefully I've given you a decent idea of what I'm looking for. Any and all replies will be very much appreciated, and I thank you in advance!

Called myself looking through this forum to find mentions/discussions of the Electric/Fire Brute, but missed 'em if they were there. I have lots of toons of all sorts, including farmers (SS/Fire, Rad/Fire, Spines/Fire). I've been thinking of possible farmer combos that I haven't tried (variety in farmer choice helps combat boredom, and lord how the money rolls in). I'll monkey with Pines, but I'm not the sharpest balloon when it comes to builds. Have any of you tried this combo? Did you like it, hate it, yawned, and why? Got a link to a build? Thanks in advance!

Thanks for all the input so far. I just jumped in today without a lot of research. Brute, Super Strength/Bio Armor. Picked the 2nd and 3rd SS Powers. Up to lvl 10, and have picked up Combat Jumping, Boxing, Arcane Bolt and Mystic Flight. With Brawl and 3 P2W powers, I have 8 attacks, so no dearth there. Wishing now I'd chosen the 2nd Bio Armor Power. Ah well. Running missions solo in The Hollows. Have had to use Rest a few times, even going slowly. Without more protection (atm), I find my green bar shrinking faster than I'm used to. Same for the blue bar. Will likely need to learn to lean on Inspirations more than I normally do. I'm using DXP boost, but have avoided PLing to get IOs. The experiment continues!

Saw this idea in another thread, of playing a character that (of course at level 4 and after) ONLY chose powers from power pools (and epic/patron pools), all the way to 50. A challenge to the self. Got me thinking about how that might actually be implemented. So, as a thought exercise, and to get ideas and advice since I'm likely going to try this myself, I'm starting this hopefully fruitful discussion. First limitations that spring to mind: whatever archetype is chosen, whatever primary and secondary powersets are chosen, one is locked into the 1st secondary powerset power. One must also choose the 1st or 2nd primary powerset power. At level 2, one can opt for the 1st or 2nd primary powerset power (whichever one may not have been chosen initially) OR the 3rd primary powerset power, OR the 2nd secondary powerset power. After that, of course, starting at level 4, power choices can only come from Power Pools. Choosing the archetype, primary and secondary powersets for that archetype, and the powers one will take from those powersets, that's the first stage in making a viable character this way. Next limitation is that only 4 Power Pools in total may be selected from. Well, and also one Epic/Patron Pool, so 5 Pools. There will be 21 powers to be selected from these Pools, so obviously multiple selections will have to be made from any given Pool. Just to add the data point, all Power Pools and Epic/Patron Pools have 5 powers each to choose from. Slotting is to be assigned anywhere one likes, with only the usual restrictions imposed by the game, such as a maximum of 6 slots per power. Let's further assume that one can choose as many of the powers available from the P2W Vendor as one is allowed to take (to include travel powers). So. I throw these questions out there. Assuming you are sufficiently bereft of sanity so as to actually undertake this journey, how would you answer the following? 1. What archetype would you choose? 2. What primary and secondary powersets would you choose? 3. What initial 3 powers would you choose (given, again, that 1 of those 3 is not actually a choice)? 4. What Power Pools would you choose from, and which powers from each Pool? 5. What Epic or Patron Pool would you choose, and which powers from that Pool? I myself don't know the answers I'll come up with, but my early thinking has me leaning towards Tank or Brute as the archetype. For Power Pools, some (seemingly) obvious choices are Fighting and Leadership. Sorcery looks good for its mix of attacks, protection and travel. Has anyone actually tried something like this? If so, how did it go for you? Interesting experiment? Dull grind? Unplayably awful? I look forward to your input!

I'll throw a question in here that I have re Incarnate slotting. I read above that the same slotting works across all 3 builds a character has, without the need for slotting everything 3 times. What about respecs? Say you have a character at 50, umpteen vet levels, with an uber-neat build you got off the forums, and every Incarnate slot at T3 or T4. Then you come across an UBERER build that you just gotta have. Respec time! BUT...does such a respec touch your Incarnate slots at all (whether you want them to change or not)? Or is changing Incarnate slotting an entirely different thing?

Well, shucky-darn. Okay, well, good to know, anyway. That was, like, a 60-million-Influence Learning Opportunity. But I should be able to sell the results and get some Inf back. Thanks much for the reply!

Okay, trying to improve an IO set and not succeeding. Also not finding an answer, as I'm actually not sure if what I'm trying to do is possible. Goal: take an Obliteration set (PBAOE Damage) and 'improve' it into an Avalanche set. Using an Enhancement Catalyst only Attunes the IO, and nothing else is then possible. Using an Enhancement Booster makes the IO 50+1, also not a desired outcome. Is it really not possible to do what I'm attempting? Do Avalanche and Superior Avalanche sets (and all similarly-improved sets) only come from Super Packs? Don't need answer fast; my brain needs a rest. 😬 Random thought: if you type a sentence in italics, ending with a period, how would you know if the period is in italics or not?

I see you didn't take Healing Arrow. (ducks and runs) Altho, it would be really funny and fun if that was made an actual thing.