Lockpick

What is the problem we are trying to solve in this thread? My take is that vet level rewards end at 99 and people like to be rewarded, thus there is a need for rewards beyond 99. Incarnate powers will likely be at tier 4 by 99, so continuing with thread and EPs is no real incentive to progress beyond 99. I like to see characters with high vet levels because to me it shows dedication to a character. When I see someone with high vet levels I am amazed to see numbers in the hundreds, much less thousands, and many of these characters become known on their server because to earn those vet levels they have been playing the game in a visible manner. People like Veracor or Boy Band become known and appreciated, which leads to a sense of community. In one way, this recognition is its own reward. More people would likely progress further down the vet level path if there were rewards for doing so, which I think would expand that sense of community. I consider expanding the sense of community a good thing. The reason why I don't progress very far is I get T4 and want to try new power sets. That is why I tied my vet level suggestions to providing rewards and allowing character branching. I know these incentives would have me continue down the long term vet level path. Anyway, enough rambling...

To prevent AFK farmers from receiving vet rewards. If some of the reward suggestions I and others have offered for vet levels are implemented it would be wise to make sure those rewards are earned through game play and not exploits.

I have been making suggestions about ways to improve Vet Levels, but it seems this thread is getting hijacked by AE Farming, so thought I would throw out other suggestions that I believe would be good for the vet level system. Dev Choice AE missions should be allowed to earn standard rewards including Vet Levels All other AE content should offer only AE rewards and should not reward Vet Levels AE content should cap the amount of XP and Influence that can be earned in a 24 hour period similar to how some content caps rewards (SSA and Hami come to mind)

Other ideas for rewards for Vet Levels: Add a extra story arc slot for AE at a certain Vet Level Add slots for Sprint or Brawl at certain Vet Levels Make Ninja Run or Beast Run inherent at a certain vet level and add slots at certain vet levels Make a core travel power (SS, SJ, TP, Fly) inherent at a certain vet level and add slots at certain vet levels Allow this inherent to violate the power pool rule of 4, but set it so you cannot select a power twice Example: I have 4 power pools on my character and I get to Vet Level 800 and I can now select inherent Fly. I did not have the Flight pool previously and it would have been unavailable based on the rule of 4, but as an inherent I can take it. Example: I get to Vet Level 800 and I can now select inherent Fly. I already have Fly in my build, so I have to respec to get the inherent Fly, but I can no longer choose the Fly power in the Flight travel pool. However, the Fly inherent would count towards the power pool powers needed for powers. Example: Air Superiority and inherent Flight would count as 2 picks in the Flight pool, so I could select Afterburner. You might want to make the slots in the inherent powers only take basic IOs to prevent high Vet Level characters having an advantage, but maybe if they get to that high of a vet level they deserve a minor advantage. Add a minor auto power at a certain vet level; maybe something similar to the base temp powers

I like the system as is for the most part. My highest vet level is about 27, so I haven't gone the distance because once I get T4 incarnates I start an alt. My suggestions are probably not realistic, but I'll throw them out there anyway as I think they might give some incentive for progression beyond Incarnates. It would be interesting to see some data points on how many people actually achieve high vet levels. At Vet Level 100 allow a character build to select a different secondary power set I am a DP/MC Blaster and once I hit Vet Level 100 I can go to a separate character build and I can select a different Blaster secondary, so I could be a DP/EM (for example) At Vet Level 200 allow a character to add a new slot to either Swift or Hurdle At Vet Level 300 allow a character build to select a different primary power set I am a DP/MC Blaster and once I hit Vet Level 200 I can go to a separate character build and I can select a different Blaster primary and secondary, so I could be an Archery/Devices (for example) At Vet Level 400 allow a character to add a new slot to either Swift or Hurdle (the one not selected previously) At Vet Level 500 open a new character build for 4 total At Vet Level 600 allow a character to add a new slot to either Health or Stamina At Vet Level 700 open a new character build for 5 total At Vet Level 800 allow a character to add a new slot to either Health or Stamina (the one not selected previously) What I think might be interesting is to take the character build idea and then allow advancement based on Vet Levels: I am a DP/MC Blaster and once I hit Vet Level 100 I can go to a separate character build and I can select a different Blaster secondary, so I could be a DP/EM (for example) I progress the secondary based on Vet Levels, so my next power selection for the secondary would be at Vet Level 104 If I am already at Vet Level 150 I would have all powers in the secondary available for selection

Thanks for the feedback. I was looking at DNA Siphon as a recovery tool; didn't really think about it as a damage power. I'll try it as damage. I guess Parasitic Aura and Boundless Energy should be good for recovery and regeneration. I'll also switch out Initial Strike for Heavy Blow. Not sure why I took Initial Strike, I think it was because my Stj/SR has it. I have been avoiding Bio for some time because of the look of the set, but guess I can come up with a concept that makes it work.

All, I have never tried Bio, so thought I would give it a whirl. The problem is I have no idea how to slot Bio. I made a build and was hoping for suggestions. My intention was to build for recharge and leverage Shadow Meld for defense. Any thoughts appreciated.

I have a level 50 DP/Ninjitsu Sentinel and several DP Blasters. I just happened to be running the 1st DA arc on my DP/Devices Blaster and then the Sentinel as I try to finish their Incarnates and I noticed the time to complete the mission was pretty close. It made me wonder if the disparity between the classes are overblown. I tend to think the Blaster pulls ahead significantly, but I wasn't sure if any testing has been done against gameplay as opposed to just numbers in mids. I decided to do some testing, but don't want to go to far if this has already been done. My thought is that maybe the survivability of the Sentinel might make up for the lower damage. I tend to doubt it because I think Blaster can be very survivable, but maybe as you scale up notoriety it makes a difference. I am thinking about doing the following runs and tracking the times all the way to +4/8. If this has already been done, please let me know, so I don't waste my time. AT Primary Secondary Notoriety Level Hero Equivalent Time Blaster Dual Pistols Devices 0 1 9:08 Sentinel Dual Pistols Ninjitsu 0 1 9:25 Blaster Dual Pistols Devices 1 2 Sentinel Dual Pistols Ninjitsu 1 2 Blaster Dual Pistols Devices 1 3 Sentinel Dual Pistols Ninjitsu 1 3 Blaster Dual Pistols Devices 1 4 Sentinel Dual Pistols Ninjitsu 1 4 I can't figure out how to delete this table, so please disregard.

I've been hunting in DA and been defeating Tsoo with what looks like Kinetic Melee and Shaman with Electrical and Storm powers. I was thinking my next character would be one of these 2 types of characters that abandoned their villain group to become a hero. I think the Tsoo would be KM/WP, but not sure about the Shaman. Anyone have any thoughts on what would be the best ATs and Power Sets to replicate these characters?

I admit it. I am a serial cheater. I cheat, habitually. I start with a character and things are going well. We get through our twenties and start working on task forces together. We are together every day and we are exploring our limits together. Before we know it we are 50! We have been through a lot. We are meant to be together! We max out our incarnate levels and do our passive accolades together. But then I see a new character. At first it is a bit like flirting, I check out their build and wonder if we would be compatible. I decide to go on a few runs with the new character, leaving my former character idle, to spend time with my new love. Before I know it, I have not touched my previous love for 30+ days. My latest fling is closing in on full incarnates and passive accolades. Is this the one? I wonder...

You are da man! Thanks for putting forth all the effort!

The Concept: The Build Goals: 45%+ defense to Range and S/L Good damage and accuracy Good recharge for HoB, Trip Mine, and Gun Drone The Build: Commentary: I'm keeping the commentary light on this one. I have done pick by pick analysis before in other threads, so many of those points are still applicable. I was building for S/L/R defense, so many of the choices are based on building towards that goal. I wanted to try out Gun Drone this time around and the jury is still out for me on it. It seems like it can help with DPS when I am on teams and it isn't taking the aggro and getting destroyed. I love Trip Mine. I like to stealth into a group, place a Trip Mine, then hit HoB. Absolute carnage. I wanted to try out Victory Rush to see what all the hoopla was about, but it came so late in the build I am not sure it is worth it. I am likely going Ageless, so VR won't provide much impact. Maybe I will replace it with a one slots Caltrops. Speaking of slots this build seems slot starved. I would have liked a few extra slots to place in other powers. I really like Devices, but as I was doing this play through I was often thinking it would be really cool if he had more Grenade powers. Any thoughts on improvements (keeping in mind build goals)?

And what, pray tell, is the mission of which you speak?

Make it a clone of Scorpion Shield and call it a day. Or add a Scorpion Shield clone into this set. I would definitely take MM more if Body Armor was better, but I end up taking Scorpion Shield most of the time for S/L soft-cap.

Great points, I did check my email to see if I had and Winter IOs still there, but I didn't. I didn't think to use the merits I have in email.

So, what do you do with your merits? You can't take 'em with you...

I just bought 4 Blistering Cold enhancements for 400 merits and I bought the 5th one for $20M. I only had about $25M inf total, so bought the cheapest one I could get. The other Blistering Cold enhancements looked like they would average ~$22M. I haven't used merits to buy enhancements before because I usually play converter roulette, make inf, and buy what I need. I consider myself an average market player. I put in bids on recipes, play the game, when the bids fill, I craft/convert, and put on the market. I usually do market stuff while waiting for a TF to start or right before I logoff. However, since the nerf the prices seem lower and it seems to take longer for me to make inf. I like that prices are lower, but don't like the time it takes to make inf, but trade offs are part of the game and all in all it seems like the nerf was good. For me though I am starting to get to the point of is it just easier to use merits to buy the top end enhancements (purples and winter). I'm not sure if we are there yet, but we are close enough that I made the decision to just buy the enhancements with merits. I am now basically thinking I can get 100 merits per hour and an hour of time for a high end enhancement seems reasonable to me. Anyway, all of this marketing made me think to ask what do the key market players think is the value of 100 merits since the nerf. Any thoughts?

Moonbeam is first, Shadow Meld is next, Defeat is the end

All builds are personal and your build is fine. Some thoughts: A few of your attacks are not slotted fully. I would suggest additional slotting for Single Shot, Toxic Web Grenade, and Charged Shot. These powers are lower damage, but they also work well in attack chains especially if you get mezzed. You can use all of these powers while mezzed, so can still be defeating enemies. You can be defeated easily while mezzed, so the ability to fight back can be critical. One thing to consider is that your true defense is not soft-capped. It is soft-capped when you are out of combat, but when you enter combat your Field Operative defense will drop from 5.95% to 2.97%, so you lose almost 3% while in combat. Hasten: I would 2 slot it with +5 IOs to get the recharge down Penetrating Ray: I like the full Thunderstike set as opposed to the 2 sets of 3. You get 5 set bonuses as opposed to 4, but you have to decide if the regeneration is more important to you than the speed and accuracy. The ranged defense will be the same with either slotting. Blasters have lower HPs, so regeneration is not as important to me. Your accuracy is pretty good, so this a YMMWV.

I hate to be that guy that touts his own build, but here is my build:

All this time I just thought DP was weak. Never thought it was a bug. Hope it gets fixed soon as almost all my Blasters are DP. As a matter of fact, I have so many DP characters my wife is getting suspicious... My non-DP blasters are Archery/TA and Beam/Devices (strong).

My Beam/Devices is completely ranged. He is my first ever Hover blaster (although he doesn't have to Hover). I took everything in the primary except Cutting Beam and Piercing Beam. In Devices I took: Toxic Web Grenade Targeting Drone Smoke Grenade Field Operative Trip Mine - I don't use this when Hovering Perfectly viable to play at range.

Using the temp flight packs make capes look weird. It would be nice to get a temp flight belt that could be used, so the capes would look better.

Oldskool already answered, but thought I would throw in some comments. Judgment - For DP I usually take Void since it is a PBAoE and synergizes well with HoB. I jump into a crowd and HoB and then Void and it's a wrap. Interface - I usually take Degenerative. Destiny - I would go Barrier for DP/MC, since MC it has a good recovery power. I usually aim for soft-cap S/L and Range, so I do not get mezzed often. When I do I always have at least 4 Escape inspirations on me and I also usually take Pistols and Dual Pistols for DP, so I can still attack while Mezzed. I use Barrier to push my defenses to incarnate levels when needed. You also have the option for Inner Will with MC, so may not need Clarion. If you are going all out on +4/8 then maybe Clarion is the better pick, but I don't usually try that on Blasters. Hybrid - I usually go Assault. Lore - I usually go with whatever fits my character concept. Banished are supposed to be top tier, but they are to big for me, so I usually go Tsoo or something else.

Yes, I had the PVP / PVE tag toggled to PVP, so the numbers are much different.