New Players - Enhancements (DOs & SOs - use em)

[Robotech_Master]

16 hours ago, swordchucks said:

Selling rare salvage is a good strategy, but you can also use Reward Merits to buy saleable salvage (converters, boosters, catalysts, etc. - you want to check the AH for the going rates and do the math to figure out which gives the best merit to influence ratio).

Or, you know, you could get into Enhancement conversion for fun and profit. Maybe not so much fun, but potentially a whole lot of profit.

[gameboy1234]

5 hours ago, Without_Pause said:

 

I'll gladly take end reduction over recharge during early levels.

I"d actually say the same thing.

 

One accuracy first, then a Damage or some other boost (Heal, Immobilize, Sleep, etc.) to the power's main function, then an Endurance Reduction (End Redux).  Then feel the power out and decide what to do next.  Often I go another damage and one recharge, but not always.  Depends how it feels in play.

 

You have to be careful with End Redux and Recharge.  Both of those work differently than other Enhancements, they have a natural diminishing returns built-in, over and above ED (Enhancement Diversification).  You often don't want to slot more than one, because the next one doesn't do nearly as much, so one is the max.  Only in special cases do you want to use more than one EndRedux or Recharge.

[Lost Ninja]

6 hours ago, Robotech_Master said:

Or, you know, you could get into Enhancement conversion for fun and profit. Maybe not so much fun, but potentially a whole lot of profit.

I did TYVM...

 

Major reason I can slot out all three of by accounts at low levels, went from around 3 million, to 150 million in about ten days. After three sets of 25 & 35 IOs plus some procs... completely changed how I use the AH too. 🙂

[Lost Ninja]

9 hours ago, srmalloy said:

Do the exploration badge run for AP and KR, then make yourself an SG base with a teleporter linked to Echo: Galaxy City, run Galaxy's exploration badges, then go to the tram in Echo: Galaxy City and go to Echo: Atlas Park, and run the exploration badges there. That will double your merit accumulation to 20, and you go back to the Echo: AP tram, take the Ouroboros portal to Ouroboros, run up the spire to get the exploration badge, which gives you an Ouro portal you can drop (but not use until 14), then go back to AP.

Yeah didn't realise that Echo:AP had different badges to normal AP, found that out last night when I went on an adventure between TFs. 😄

[swordchucks]

While it isn't a tip for new-new players, there is a very good use for 24,000 influence.

 

Mail yourself that much cash. Make a new character and skip the tutorial. Get the cash and go to the P2W vendor. Down under temporary powers are three kinds of amplifiers. Buy 8 hours of each of those (since their price is based on the square of your level, this is only 1k an hour at level 1).

 

The amplifiers are powerful enough that you can reasonably skip all enhancements while they last.

[The_Cheeseman]

Low level characters get a bonus to their base accuracy ("Beginner's Luck"), so accuracy TOs and DOs aren't particularly important. If you get the massive To-Hit buff from DfB, you shouldn't have any accuracy issues until 22. I would assert that any benefit you think your character derives from accuracy TOs is placebo effect.

[Yomo Kimyata]

If inf is no object, and there's no reason should ever lack it, I'd go with IOs starting at level 12.  They aren't great, but they are better than nothing and they don't expire like TOs and DOs.  I generally craft/buy generic IOs starting at level 12 and then work in attuned IO sets when I hit certain level milestones like 17.

 

TOs and DOs are vendor fodder.  I suggest selling them and using the proceeds towards your IOs.

Edited October 5, 2019 by Yomo Kimyata

[Leogunner]

21 hours ago, The_Cheeseman said:

Low level characters get a bonus to their base accuracy ("Beginner's Luck"), so accuracy TOs and DOs aren't particularly important. If you get the massive To-Hit buff from DfB, you shouldn't have any accuracy issues until 22. I would assert that any benefit you think your character derives from accuracy TOs is placebo effect.

If the article on paragonwiki is too be believed, the beginners luck bonus diminishes to +5% by level 13. And it's a ToHit bonus, not an accuracy bonus. Having both will make your time against anything higher than +1 bearable. 

[Doc_Scorpion]

21 hours ago, The_Cheeseman said:

Low level characters get a bonus to their base accuracy ("Beginner's Luck"), so accuracy TOs and DOs aren't particularly important. If you get the massive To-Hit buff from DfB, you shouldn't have any accuracy issues until 22.

Beginner's Luck: starts at 15% and decreases to 6% by level 12 (end of TO's/start of DO's).
Hydra accuracy bonus: 12% through level 12 (end of TO's/start of DO's).
Green +ACC TO: 8.7%

15+12+8=35  35/8=.23  Thus, at Level 1, TO's provide 23% of your available bonus.

6+12+8=26  26/8=.31 Thus, at Level 12 (end of TO's/start of DO's), TO's provide 31% of your available bonus.
 

21 hours ago, The_Cheeseman said:

I would assert that any benefit you think your character derives from accuracy TOs is placebo effect.

I would assert that either you haven't done the math or you don't know what placebo actually means.

[The_Cheeseman]

Hydra Accuracy is a +12% To-Hit buff, which lasts until level 22. Not sure where you got the level 12 from.
Beginner's Luck is also a +15% To-Hit buff, scaling down until level 19. I apologize for referring to it as an Accuracy bonus in my previous post, that was incorrect.

Accuracy TOs are an Accuracy bonus, not a To-Hit bonus, and are far weaker than a To-Hit bonus, so they should not be simply added together with the previous two.

 

The combination of Beginner's Luck and Hydra Accuracy alone should have your average hit rate at or above 90% for most of your pre-22 time (which usually amounts to a handful of hours). Since hit rates have a ceiling of 95%, you're not going to be getting a whole lot of benefit from accuracy bonuses, anyway. Even ignoring Beginner's Luck, you will have a base To-Hit of 87% from Hydra Accuracy until level 25 IOs become available at level 22, so even if you slotted a ton of accuracy TOs, you could only get +7% hit rate in total before you reach the cap. I doubt most players would notice a difference between 87% and 95% To-Hit for the short time you'll actually be in that level range (and the difference would actually be smaller, considering Beginner's Luck).

In short, unless you solo at +4 at pre-20 levels, TO/DO accuracy bonuses really don't do much of anything for you. So yes, I think it's placebo effect.

[justicebeliever]

On 10/4/2019 at 9:59 PM, Without_Pause said:

 

I'll gladly take end reduction over recharge during early levels.

Agreed, the 5 P2W enhancements function as a lvl 20 Recharge.  What’s needed is enough endurance to have attacks to use once they are recharged.

[Leogunner]

5 hours ago, The_Cheeseman said:

The combination of Beginner's Luck and Hydra Accuracy alone should have your average hit rate at or above 90% for most of your pre-22 time (which usually amounts to a handful of hours). 

~sigh~...making me do math...

 

It does...until you get to fighting +1 foes.  Then your hit chance drops to just under 90%.  If my calculations are right:

 

Hitchance = clamp(AccMod * clamp(BaseHitChance + ToHitMods - DefMod)

0.81 = clamp(1*clamp(0.65 [65% chance to hit +1 foes, down from 75% of +0 foes] + 0.16 [+12% from Hydra and +4% at level 14] - 0))

 

Throw in the possibilities of +2 or +3 foes and you drop to 70% and below.  Throw in foes with +defense, ToHit debuffs, Endurance drains and you will start feel every miss.

 

2 Acc DOs in an attack gets around 30% Acc and pushes those +2 situations and you're back into the 90% hit chances.

 

For all I know, I'm doing the math wrong but the only reason to suggest not to put accuracy DOs in your attacks early on is if you're hardheaded and want to win a forum debate because you're literally shooting yourself in the foot to try and make more accuracy look bad.  It's not.  Slot DO Accuracy.

Edited October 7, 2019 by Leogunner

[The_Cheeseman]

I never said accuracy was bad, I said slotting accuracy TOs and DO isn't worth your time and/or money considering how weak they are and how little time you spend in the pre-22 level range. Low level content just isn't that hard, and you're better served selling enhancement drops to a vendor to get more cash to buy IOs. It's not that accuracy TOs/DOs are literally useless, but that the opportunity cost isn't worth slotting them.

 

If you simply must maximize your accuracy at low levels, you're better served frankenslotting with attuned set IOs that will automatically scale with your level.

[Leogunner]

22 minutes ago, The_Cheeseman said:

I never said accuracy was bad, I said slotting accuracy TOs and DO isn't worth your time and/or money considering how weak they are and how little time you spend in the pre-22 level range. Low level content just isn't that hard, and you're better served selling enhancement drops to a vendor to get more cash to buy IOs. It's not that accuracy TOs/DOs are literally useless, but that the opportunity cost isn't worth slotting them.

 

If you simply must maximize your accuracy at low levels, you're better served frankenslotting with attuned set IOs that will automatically scale with your level.

And like I said before, selling those TOs and DOs that drop or the cost for 6 or so Acc DOs is chump change.  For the cost of buying the DOs at lvl 12 and 17, it's about the price of 1 crafted lvl 25 Acc IO.  We're talking about 40k for some Acc DOs for your attacks while selling a DO nets you around 1/3 of the price of 1 Acc.

 

And my advice goes along with my previous advice to join a low level TF and complete some story arcs to get some merits.  Having some extra accuracy will make doing that far more enjoyable.

 

And this is coming from a player that LOVES playing low levels more than high levels.  To newbies that have no inf and aren't familiar with the game, I think you're overestimating how quickly one passes into post level 22 territory.  And frankenslotting or attuned IOs isn't really in the equation if the target of the advice has little money.  It's not about maximizing accuracy, it's about better QoL in the low levels for a new or less seasoned player.

[Megajoule]

Girls, girls, you're both right, and you're both wrong:

TOs are nearly worthless in how much bonus they provide (if slotted) and how much inf they sell for (if not).

They're the equivalent of those loot drops in certain other games *cough* that sell for 5-10 copper or give you a whole +2 to a stat if worn (oooooh).

Sell them, slot them, or simply throw them in the trash; it really doesn't make that much difference.

[Lost Ninja]

25 minutes ago, Megajoule said:

Girls, girls, you're both right, and you're both wrong:

TOs are nearly worthless in how much bonus they provide (if slotted) and how much inf they sell for (if not).

They're the equivalent of those loot drops in certain other games *cough* that sell for 5-10 copper or give you a whole +2 to a stat if worn (oooooh).

Sell them, slot them, or simply throw them in the trash; it really doesn't make that much difference.

Vendor Trash.

[The_Cheeseman]

6 hours ago, Megajoule said:

Girls, girls, you're both right, and you're both wrong:

TOs are nearly worthless in how much bonus they provide (if slotted) and how much inf they sell for (if not).

They're the equivalent of those loot drops in certain other games *cough* that sell for 5-10 copper or give you a whole +2 to a stat if worn (oooooh).

Sell them, slot them, or simply throw them in the trash; it really doesn't make that much difference.

I concede this point. You're absolutely right. 😉

[Jeuraud]

13 hours ago, Megajoule said:

TOs are nearly worthless in how much bonus they provide (if slotted) and how much inf they sell for (if not).

TO level Es need to go away.

Keep the TO to make slotting drops easier, but move their % up to DO level and remove DOs all together. Keep IOs at level 10.

This would make the LowB levels a lot easier, which are only easy if you group all the way to SOs.

 

The Acc TO is the only TO I slot, and that is so that I can maintain a 1miss Streakbreaker (90.01%) against +0 MOBS.

 

Question: would SO level Es starting at level 1 really hurt the LowB game, with the limited number of slots available?

 

[Doc_Scorpion]

43 minutes ago, Jeuraud said:

This would make the LowB levels a lot easier, which are only easy if you group all the way to SOs.

The difficulty is largely dependent on your AT, your notoriety settings, and your experience at playing the game.  I've found leveling melee toons on base difficulty pretty easy.

[srmalloy]

On 10/5/2019 at 2:45 PM, Yomo Kimyata said:

If inf is no object, and there's no reason should ever lack it, I'd go with IOs starting at level 12.  They aren't great, but they are better than nothing and they don't expire like TOs and DOs.  I generally craft/buy generic IOs starting at level 12 and then work in attuned IO sets when I hit certain level milestones like 17.

When you hit 12, go do the Invention tutorial for a free IO, and then fit yourself out with 15 IOs, making and slotting additional 15s up until you hit 22. Use your level 20 respec to unslot all your enhancements and save them in your SG storage; after you run a few characters to 22, you'll have enough reserve to cover 90+% of the level 12 slotting for alts. Then make and slot level 25 IOs, and you're on your way.

[Troo]

20 hours ago, srmalloy said:

When you hit 12, go do the Invention tutorial for a free IO

I liked this part for new players. This is the new players introduction to IOs. Expecting to "fit yourself out with 15 IOs" might be a little overselling it.

 

Definitely a sound plan for creating alternate characters.

[The_Cheeseman]

Once you get your first level 50, and start playing incarnate content where the game basically throws piles of money at your face, you can afford to start slotting attuned sets at level 7 and don't have to worry about low level enhancements anymore. This is a major reason why I highly recommend everyone find a character they can stand to play and just force themselves to stick it out to 50. Having a max level character just makes everything so much easier and more accessible.

I literally had to liquidate all the enhancements from all my alts to force myself to level my first character to 50, but those alts are rocking the bling now that my main is tricked out. Trying to min-max inf on low level toons just isn't worth the trouble, in the long run.

[Troo]

Thanks to everyone who chimed in ( even @The_Cheeseman & @Lost Ninja 😀 )

 

It's a big game.

 

There is nothing wrong with using single origin enhancements, even at high levels in the game.

By the time we have 3 or 4 pages of alternate characters (yes, I used all the good names.. sorry) we've long forgotten the low level yellow and orange enemies.

 

Have fun, try stuff, mess up. We get to jump over buildings and friggin fly!!

[Lost Ninja]

13 hours ago, Troo said:

Thanks to everyone who chimed in ( even @The_Cheeseman & @Lost Ninja 😀 )

 

It's a big game.

 

There is nothing wrong with using single origin enhancements, even at high levels in the game.

By the time we have 3 or 4 pages of alternate characters (yes, I used all the good names.. sorry) we've long forgotten the low level yellow and orange enemies.

 

Have fun, try stuff, mess up. We get to jump over buildings and friggin fly!!

Once you're that deep into the game then surely you aren't a new player.

 

My advice to someone who isn't a new player? Play it the way you want. Have fun. Don't kill anymore Skuls (they be endangered!). 😉

[Xeres]

I've never bothered with enhancements at all until level 12 except for the ones that drop.  At level 12 I would recommend DOs.  My rule of thumb when purchasing DOs is Accuracy in attacks, End Mod in Stamina, Defense / Resists in toggles, End Redux in Toggles, Damage - in that order.

 

At 22, I do recommend IOs (not sets yet).  Yes, they can be expensive, but in the long run are worth it.  Now if you're struggling for inf my suggestion to you is if you have a orange recipe you can craft, craft it and see how much the market is demanding for it.  If it's not much, convert it a few times to see.  What you're looking for is a decent set IO that sells - defense, resist, IOs that proc all sell well.  One of these can sell for 4m influence which is plenty at 22 to afford mostly what you need for IOs.