Where do you put your purples?

[ninja surprise]

This question is based a little on set bonus confusion and also wanting well-slotted characters.

Do purple set bonuses only stay active to three levels below the power choice? i.e. if slotted in a level 30 power the bonus disappears at level 26? Or do you always keep all purple bonuses?

 

And based on that do you prefer to put purples in your big hitters, or put them in low level powers so you keep as many bonuses as possible in Posi 1?

[Sovera]

https://archive.paragonwiki.com/wiki/Exemplar_Effects_on_Enhancements

 

Place them in your heavy hitters. Purple sets aren't actually super great (though their damage procs are very good) but they do give 10% recharge which is a precious commodity. You don't need to blindly slot in purples just because.

 

For example the Apocalypse Ragnorok purple set:

 

- It will give 0.07% endurance recovery, 6% resistance to fire and cold, 15% accuracy, 10% recharge, and finally 6% resistance to psionic and toxic damage. The recovery is good (but really small), fire and cold resistance isn't very important since not many enemies even do fire or cold damage in the end game, the accuracy is good, the recharge is why they are slotted in the first place, and the toxic and psi resistance could be good but it's niche since not enough enemies do toxic/psi to warrant building for it on a generalist character.

 

 

The same power that takes an Apocalypse set can also take a Bombardment set:

 

- 5% to range, 2.25% resistance to smash and slash, 7% accuracy, 5% recharge and 4.5% resistance to negative and energy damage. Of these only the 5% to range is of dubious utility. The smash and slash is the most common damage so it's good to have, the accuracy is good to help reach the cap of 95%, the recharge is good, and energy/negative is the second most common damage type and 4.5% is a nice fat bonus. Where possible I've stopped slotting Apocalypse and always take Bombardment.

 

 

If you intend to examplar just remember to use attuned IOs (don't attune them yourself though, it's too expensive. Instead buy them already attunned from the AH).

Edited September 12, 2020 by Sovera

[Sir Myshkin]

To pull more specifically from what Sovera linked to:

 

Set bonuses

Set Bonuses are always on, even if the power in which the Set is slotted isn't activated, and even if that power is greyed out due to exemplaring! However, you do start to lose the bonuses if you exemplar more than three levels under the level of the IOs in the Set.

Let's give an example:

Let's say you have a full set of six Set IOs in a level 41 power. Three of the Set IOs are level 30, the other three are level 20 – so, you're getting 5 Set Bonuses from the six Set IOs.

Now, if you exemplar down to level 35, the power is greyed out because you're under the level of the power. However, all five bonuses are still working! Level 35 is higher than the level 30 and level 20 IOs.

Now, if you exemplar down to 27, you still get all 5 Set Bonuses because you are within 3 levels under the level 30's.

However, if you exemplar down to level 26, you've gone too low for those 3 30s, and so, it's like they don't exist. However, at level 26, you're still over the level of the three 20s, and so they still 'work' and are giving you the first two bonuses of the Set.

The Set Bonuses of Purple (Very Rare) Sets and PvP Sets are immune to the effects of exemplaring. However, the aspects of the power that they buff (e.g., Accuracy or Damage) are affected by exemplaring just like any other enhancement.

 

As for where to place them, put them where you find them the most needed/useful, but be mindful that they tend to focus more on damage and recharge than they do on accuracy and endurance which can be hindrance for some higher-costing powers, and two of their bonuses are designed in a way to try and offset that a bit but don't necessarily fully compensate.

[ninja surprise]

5 hours ago, Sir Myshkin said:

The Set Bonuses of Purple (Very Rare) Sets and PvP Sets are immune to the effects of exemplaring. However, the aspects of the power that they buff (e.g., Accuracy or Damage) are affected by exemplaring just like any other enhancement.

 

This is what I was wondering about.  So if I have Apocalypse slotted in Gloom at level 41 for the +10% recharge bonus, I still keep that bonus on Positron TF? Power is grayed out but bonus still active?

I think I'll need to experiment with some Ouro flashbacks to see what stays active while exemp'd.

[aethereal]

17 minutes ago, ninja surprise said:

This is what I was wondering about.  So if I have Apocalypse slotted in Gloom at level 41 for the +10% recharge bonus, I still keep that bonus on Positron TF? Power is grayed out but bonus still active?

I think I'll need to experiment with some Ouro flashbacks to see what stays active while exemp'd.

I think you lose the bonus if you lose access to the power, it's just that if you slot the set in a power that you keep until low level, you keep the set bonuses.  But I'm not sure.

[Sovera]

33 minutes ago, ninja surprise said:

This is what I was wondering about.  So if I have Apocalypse slotted in Gloom at level 41 for the +10% recharge bonus, I still keep that bonus on Positron TF? Power is grayed out but bonus still active?

I think I'll need to experiment with some Ouro flashbacks to see what stays active while exemp'd.

Everything is explained in the link above.

[Tsuko]

 

On 9/6/2020 at 4:54 AM, aethereal said:

I think you lose the bonus if you lose access to the power, it's just that if you slot the set in a power that you keep until low level, you keep the set bonuses.  But I'm not sure.

I ll just allow me to tell you a short story about Purple set.

 

One day, i took an empty build of my beloved PvP blaster and i slotted a full Ragnarok set on the Level 32 power : Overcharge

 

 

 

After, i go to visit Synapse, my Infos looked that way :

 

 

 

And i launched the level 20 TF, so with a SK down to lvl 24 and my infos was...

 

 

 

As you can see, a purple set on a power ALWAYS give his bonus even if the power carrying the set is not in the "SK level range", so the best way to atomise low level content is not attuned set but purple +5 + ATO + Winter event set.

 

On top of giving 10% more stats, 5 ios are there to allow you to reach certain cap with less io to max out OTHER powers.

 

 

 

So, of course, there are absolutly no need of such improvement in a game like COX designed to be fully played with Single Origins.

 

Of course, in a full team where +4 bosses die instant, you will never feel the diference between a +5 build and a normal build.

 

But, +5 io are better than any other setup for a build, if the build is designed to take advantage of +5 ios.

 

"You got more for your bucks" with +5 ios as one of my beloved IG friend said back in the days about that 😄

 

BUT

EDIT : Kudos to @Bill Z Bubba and IG deeper testings, the following statements are, sadly, not TRUE 😕

 

There is one moment Attuned IOs become optimals for lvl 50 toons AT LEVEL 50 (in incarnate content or not) :

 

For sub 50 max lvl io as Decimation or Steadfast Protection ONLY ON IO with % for stats bonus inside.

 

Here a "classic" Steadfast protection Resistance / defence :

 

 

And there, the same attuned AT LVL 50 :

 

 

 

Here "classic" Decimation :

 

 

 

and there, the very same, Attuned on a lvl 50 toon :

 

 

Edited November 26, 2020 by Tsuko
Errors

[Bill Z Bubba]

@Tsuko I saw the same thing regarding Attuned IOs granting higher bonuses than their set lvl would grant. Turns out, it's not true.

 

While the numbers you see on that enhancement screen DO go higher, when you check the real numbers on the power itself, you'll find that it is NOT being buffed by that amount, but rather only by the actual amount it can hit based on its top level.

 

I was slotting heal powers on the cheap going with attuned harmonized healing, miracle and doctored wounds but it was pointed out to me that what the enhancement screen was showing was a lie. The powers were only being buffed, attuned to not, to the lvl 40 values for HH and Miracle.

 

So, yea, I had to replace a bunch of enhs over several builds due to this.

[Troo]

I love it.

 

It is so simple and yet flabbergasting. (errors in text don't help and should be documented for cleanup)

 

Where do you put your purples? As with much of the game, it depends.. Wherever we can while still achieving build goals. Keep in mind not all uber builds exemplar well.

 

Purples always work.

[Tsuko]

10 hours ago, Troo said:

I love it.

 

It is so simple and yet flabbergasting. (errors in text don't help and should be documented for cleanup)

 

Where do you put your purples? As with much of the game, it depends.. Wherever we can while still achieving build goals. Keep in mind not all uber builds exemplar well.

 

Purples always work.

yeah that's why i dont do any "guides" : i know my english is soooo rusty 😕

 

Maybe in the french dead part of the forum one day...

 

But i feel it as a freaking ghetto to be honnest lol

[Troo]

@Tsukosorry. i meant the in-game text that is misleading.

[BZRKR]

On 9/5/2020 at 3:01 PM, Sovera said:

Where possible I've stopped slotting Apocalypse and always take Bombardment

Just a nitpick, but isn't Apocalypse a Ranged Damage set, and Bombardment a Targeted AoE Damage set?

[MTeague]

My only quibble is that Purples + PvP + ATO are not always always always the best choices to slot into a given power. 

It really depends on what set bonuses you're trying to stack. 

 

Having a purple set whose set bonuses you can keep all the way back to a Posi 1, is nice, of course.

But if you need to stack DEFENSE, you may be better off with a Kinetic Combat or Touch of Death set in certain attacks. 

Sometimes I use Eradication in a PBAE over the corresponding purple set (Rag? Armageddon? I always mix them up).

 

But certainly, if the bonuses the purples bring to the table are worth it to you, then absolutely yes do slot them somewhere.

Particularly if your ATO procs reinforce your main role, like Scrapper, Stalker, Tanker, Brute, etc.

[Sovera]

1 hour ago, BZRKR said:

Just a nitpick, but isn't Apocalypse a Ranged Damage set, and Bombardment a Targeted AoE Damage set?

Quite right. I mixed Apocalypse with Ragnorok.

[Nemu]

These days I value the winter sets more than purples for the slow resist and defense bonuses they give. Occasionally I'll have a build that can fit in purples but I have a lot of builds that don't even use them.

 

I know there are plenty of people out there that still shoot for max recharge but I think slow resistance is more important, so I try to aim for at least 60+% on all my builds. I can normally get 80% on most builds that don't have innate slow resistance, at the cost of skipping purples, which I'm ok with.

[Bill Z Bubba]

15 hours ago, Nemu said:

These days I value the winter sets more than purples for the slow resist and defense bonuses they give. Occasionally I'll have a build that can fit in purples but I have a lot of builds that don't even use them.

 

I know there are plenty of people out there that still shoot for max recharge but I think slow resistance is more important, so I try to aim for at least 60+% on all my builds. I can normally get 80% on most builds that don't have innate slow resistance, at the cost of skipping purples, which I'm ok with.

I think I'll have to look into that for my two fire armor (non-farming) builds. REALLY hate the thought of losing my followup, focus, slash chain but those damn Kheldians slow me literally to death.

[Tsuko]

8 hours ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

I think I'll have to look into that for my two fire armor (non-farming) builds. REALLY hate the thought of losing my followup, focus, slash chain but those damn Kheldians slow me literally to death.

Split the Blistering cold set in 3x2 IO (in brawl, kick and so on) + the unique 20% = 65%,

3 slots Synpase's chock for stam = 10%

 

and Log out in both Ouro and Cimerora to catch the Time lord's Boon special day job :

 

 

Making a 95% resist recharge debuff from scratch on top of 10% attack speed and the 3% resist all of the cimeroran dayjob

 

 

🙂

Edited September 9, 2020 by Tsuko

[ninja surprise]

On 9/5/2020 at 9:36 PM, Tsuko said:

I ll just allow me to tell you a short story about Purple set.

 

Ca c'est tres bien, merci!  When you boost your purples to +5 do you look at the final enhancement value to see if it makes much difference? 

Par example, from my Fire Blaster:

Flares has 88.2% recharge. Original value 2.18, enhanced recharge is 1.16. It is 5-slotted with Defiant Barrage and a level 25 recharge IO.

The Recharge IO at level 25 gives 32% recharge.

Replacing the 25 IO with a level 50 IO that increases recharge rate by 42.2% increases the total recharge enhancement from 88.2% to 95.1% and decreases recharge time to 1.12 sec, a decrease of .04 sec.

Obviously there would be a bigger difference in a power with a base 4 minute recharge, etc.

To me it doesn't matter much whether a power recharges in 1 minute 14 seconds instead of 1 minute 16. But then again I hardly ever take Hasten unless I'm doing a perma-something build.

 

 

Back to my original questions: Since purple set bonuses are always active regardless of whether you have the power, so might as well put them in the big powers.   

[Tsuko]

5 hours ago, ninja surprise said:

Ca c'est tres bien, merci!  When you boost your purples to +5 do you look at the final enhancement value to see if it makes much difference? 

Par example, from my Fire Blaster:

Flares has 88.2% recharge. Original value 2.18, enhanced recharge is 1.16. It is 5-slotted with Defiant Barrage and a level 25 recharge IO.

The Recharge IO at level 25 gives 32% recharge.

Replacing the 25 IO with a level 50 IO that increases recharge rate by 42.2% increases the total recharge enhancement from 88.2% to 95.1% and decreases recharge time to 1.12 sec, a decrease of .04 sec.

Obviously there would be a bigger difference in a power with a base 4 minute recharge, etc.

To me it doesn't matter much whether a power recharges in 1 minute 14 seconds instead of 1 minute 16. But then again I hardly ever take Hasten unless I'm doing a perma-something build.

 

 

Back to my original questions: Since purple set bonuses are always active regardless of whether you have the power, so might as well put them in the big powers.   

To be fair, full (or 5 ios) purple sets are far from being the best way to have optimal DPS.

 

3 Purple or ATO maxing accuracy / damage / Musculature Core T4 + 3 damage procs tend to be the "best" way to go, changing depending of AT / builds (using Hasten / Adrenal Booster / Ageless and others + recharge proc or powers for recharge and tactics / focused acc and, or other To hit sets / ios for to hit buff)

 

So yeah while using only 3 (or 2) purples, fully boosted them is almost a mandatory.

Edited September 17, 2020 by Tsuko

[Heraclea]

I usually pass purples on from my tankers to other characters.  Purples are mostly for characters that need recharge, recharge, recharge, and my tankers seldom do.  They are a lot more beneficial to other ATs in general; a lot of the melee ones were passed to a fire/regen scrapper who does need all that recharge.   On a single target melee attack I'd rather have another Kinetic Combat foursome slotted on a tanker than any purple set that fits. 

[Biff Pow]

I like to split up Apocalypse for the 16% Regen bonuses but that's pretty much it for purples.

[ninja surprise]

21 hours ago, Heraclea said:

I usually pass purples on from my tankers to other characters. 

Same, my Fire/Time Blaster is the first one I've purpled up to get the big blasts recharging as quickly as possible. 

But with my Bio/Dark Melee tank I'm going for recharge and slow resist since the absorb shields seem to be the most important stat (with SL resist capped and E/N defense capped).

[Bill Z Bubba]

I'm a recharge junkie. Gimme my 50% from 5xPurps-5piece and 37.5% from 5xLotG+recharges.

[nihilii]

On 9/9/2020 at 11:56 PM, Tsuko said:

Split the Blistering cold set in 3x2 IO (in brawl, kick and so on) + the unique 20% = 65%,

3 slots Synpase's chock for stam = 10%

This is the way.

On 9/17/2020 at 3:12 AM, Tsuko said:

3 Purple or ATO maxing accuracy / damage / Musculature Core T4 + 3 damage procs tend to be the "best" way to go, changing depending of AT / builds (using Hasten / Adrenal Booster / Ageless and others + recharge proc or powers for recharge and tactics / focused acc and, or other To hit sets / ios for to hit buff)

Also the way.

One does not have to chase maximum DPS and 100% slow resist... but once you get hooked on the stuff, it's hard not to.

[Ukase]

On 9/18/2020 at 1:33 AM, Supertanker said:

I like to split up Apocalypse for the 16% Regen bonuses but that's pretty much it for purples.

I like to split them up for the 3% hp buff. I particularly enjoy playing a character with max hp.