I'm self taught. Though I've been playing since Beta Blue till Sunset, Pre-HC, HC Day 1. I spent a lot time learning on my own and eventually on live folks started asking me for builds it's been going on since then.
If your ask yourself but how, not sure what direction to go. For myself I led teams since Beta. I ran point and also focus on being able to Help team as a whole and SURVIVE anything. No matter what(Sure RNG Gods love to ruin that sometimes). I make sure no matter what toon I'm able to take the Alpha Strikes and handle situation for my team.
I have several sayings since live.
1. Pay attention to your area 110% of the time. If you see someone backing up into another group or ambush otw. Be the ready to handle it.
2. The 3 R's are a must and should be respected and followed. What are the 3 Rs? +Recovery, +Recharge, -Regeneration.
3. Understand the Rules of 1-3-5. So many don't understand that. What are those rules?
A. Rule 1: Unique Recipe Enhancements are just that and thus can only be used 1x in a build.
B. Rule 3: Know that past 3 of same type of enhancement buff, you start getting less gains to point it's useless. Thus 3 Slotting Stam with 3 Endos is all you need. If you try 6 slot that with 6 endos is a freaking waste of slots and returns. This count's for recipes in powers.
C. Rule 5: When it comes to Recipes and bonuses. Your max is 5. What does that mean? If you have 6 Recipes that say you gain +3% Resists to Smashing/Lethal for example. That 6th does not apply.
4. SLOTS...SLOTS MAN, SLOTS. Are honestly hands down the most important thing for a build. Learn how to Min/Max those to your best ability. You get a limited amount to use. That means, taking every power in the sun you can is utterly useless if you don't have the slots to use on them. If you plan to go recipes, that's even more crucial. Understanding that, you'll see why folks have weird powers with no slots. Odds are they are throw away powers or are being used as a Global Recipe Holder, like LoTG 7.5% Recharge Proc.