Problem entering AE and living to tell the tale

[Diantane]

1 hour ago, Albion said:

I got to applaud you, sometimes we land on an already stablished crowd with our own personal way and there is clashes neither side could be proud of, takes strong character to steer the wheel away from such courses, thanks for the reply and will be looking forward to what you can achieve in our loved game, if you need some inf to slot the basis of your end game and happen to be on Excelsior let me know.

I moved to Excelsior from Everlasting about six months ago because of the higher population here. I can lead a team or join another in the wee morning hours (impossible on Everlasting). A few days ago I led a team through every arc in the Hollows (I disabled the XP @ 15 on a rad/rad sentinel).  The players were quite excited to be there as they had either never seen the arcs or not in ten years. Especially the Julius the Troll and Talshak the Mystic arcs.

 

Created this character the same day after reading about the interesting synergies within. Got him to 7 by grinding in Atlas and the Hollows. Then joining a radio team in PI and one in Founders. At 24 they disbanded and I started my project to farm/level the character. Currently 38.

Edited December 21, 2021 by Diantane

[Without_Pause]

2 minutes ago, Diantane said:

You mean doing a respec to get the IO's away from the character?

Correct. Do a respec. Load all of the IOs you want to keep into the 7 trays you get so non are deleted. Store the ones you want to. You can reslot ones if there are some, but I think that would be a rare case. If I use 1-2 common IOs for a power, see Hasten, I can see slotting level 50s in it.

 

In short, the game kind of holds your hand 1-20. This is why by 22 I start slotting level 25 IOs and only slot something different if I am going all in on IOs. I have leveled many builds to 50 using nothing but level 25 commons.

 

One advantage of getting a character to level 50 is using catalyst drops so you can take a non-common IO and make it attuned. This means the IO is the level that you are up to any level limit it has. It also can be slotted at the minimum level for its range. A level 13 IO can suddenly be slotted at level 7 and go to level 25+.

[Diantane]

21 minutes ago, Without_Pause said:

Correct. Do a respec. Load all of the IOs you want to keep into the 7 trays you get so non are deleted. Store the ones you want to. You can reslot ones if there are some, but I think that would be a rare case. If I use 1-2 common IOs for a power, see Hasten, I can see slotting level 50s in it.

 

In short, the game kind of holds your hand 1-20. This is why by 22 I start slotting level 25 IOs and only slot something different if I am going all in on IOs. I have leveled many builds to 50 using nothing but level 25 commons.

 

One advantage of getting a character to level 50 is using catalyst drops so you can take a non-common IO and make it attuned. This means the IO is the level that you are up to any level limit it has. It also can be slotted at the minimum level for its range. A level 13 IO can suddenly be slotted at level 7 and go to level 25+.

Pretty amazing that this was in the game. I've also been reading about the incarnate system and was impressed on how extensive it was. Looking forward to that. Is there anything there that would aid in farming?

[Diantane]

1 hour ago, Dazl said:

 

Farming is pretty boring and not a method I would want to level up a character either. However I do use my farmer to power level new alts. Some alt's I'll PL to 50, others I may just PL to 35 and give them a decent IO build and run them to 50 normally. All you really need is one farmer on a second account and you would be set. Heck some of us might be happy to help you with that. I have no problem helping PL new farmers, just not thrilled about doing it for non-farmers just so people can level a toon faster without even trying.

I wouldn't have to be a sitter as I've got some experience now. Only, I have not been able to get past +1x8 yet. Having some difficulties with even that, but okay until I level once. Can't gain two full levels on one map anymore. 

[Without_Pause]

1 minute ago, Diantane said:

Pretty amazing that this was in the game. I've also been reading about the incarnate system and was impressed on how extensive it was. Looking forward to that. Is there anything there that would aid in farming?

I consider a build complete when I have done three things. IO out a build, get the four stat boosting accolades for HP and End, and then T4 all of the Incarnates. Personally speaking, the IOs are the biggest jump. I was doing +2/x8 on level 25 commons when I was level 50. I went +4/x8 after adding in the budget build previously linked. The other two is just making things easier/faster. First time run through of going all in on Incarnates will take you 30+ vet levels to do so. If you ever build up Empyrean merits, you can convert 50 over to a Transcendent Merit which can be transferred between your characters so the next one to go and get incarnated can have an easier time.

 

https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Hero_Accolade_Powers

[Diantane]

Got a new question that came up as I was farming. Have been using many inspirations as they come in so quickly anyway. Just wondered if there was just so high you could go (cap) for damage, accuracy and defense? Figured out that the F2W vendor could stop sending me rez's (which are harder to get rid of - right click/delete) and break frees.

 

Edited December 21, 2021 by Diantane

[Bionic_Flea]

Yes, there are caps to every player stat.  Some are universal, some vary by AT.

 

Here's a list from the Wiki:

https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Limits

[Pzn]

19 minutes ago, Diantane said:

Got a new question that came up as I was farming. Have been using many inspirations as they come in so quickly anyway. Just wondered if there was just so high you could go (cap) for damage, accuracy and defense? Figured out that the F2W vendor could stop sending me rez's (which are harder to get rid of - right click/delete) and break frees.

 

Yes insp are great.  The normal strategy for farming is to invest in IOs to cover your accuracy, defenses, and resists while using your inspirations primarily to boost damage.  The more resilient your farmer gets the less you'll need to rely on them to survive.  You can right click on an inspiration that you have 3 of and convert those to 1 of any other type.  Don't disable too many inspiration types at p2w because you can convert the ones you don't need and disabling reduces insp drop rate.  Awakens are good to block since they are annoying to clear.

Edited December 21, 2021 by Pzn

[Ironblade]

20 hours ago, Diantane said:

One problem with making it on the market. If you win, someone else loses. They influence you gain comes from somewhere (somebody).

That's like saying that you're losing money when you go to the grocery store.  Technically you are, but you are receiving something you perceive as valuable in exchange for your cash.  Everyone who buys something on the market does so voluntarily.

 

 

8 hours ago, Diantane said:

Many players may say they make influence when they farm, but it's costing me.

Well, I would say you're not really farming yet.  You're still leveling.  You have to make the investment in time and money to get a character ready for real farming.  Having said that, you can put together a farming build really cheap.  No one has to farm at +4/x8.  I put together a cheap second build for my fire/fire brute and I run at +0/x8.

 

[Ukase]

2 hours ago, Diantane said:

 

Well right before you posted this info I upgraded my SO's to level 40 😞 Should I make common 45 IO's at 42 or wait until the 50's. No way can I afford sets (even level 50 recipes might be out of my reach, but I can do some of them and work up to the rest).

With level 40 SOs...at level 43, they're going to be rather useless. 
The inf you spent there, well...it could have been spent on level 30 IOs of the same type, and even if you couldn't get ALL of them that you wanted, you'd not have to rebuy them again. 

There's a lot of ways to proceed from here. 

I can pull back the curtain later in this thread, (not this post) share some useful paths to take, I can just gift you a large sum of inf so you can buy Common IOs right now, and then, maybe work your way, one day, to the very useful IOs that give set bonuses - which may be more than you're willing to do, from what I can tell. 

You mention the cost of these things being ridiculous, and compared to some other enhancements, I suppose that is true, in a relative sense. 

But, consider the idea that when you slot a given "Set", it's like a free enhancement that you didn't have to buy, and if the set is attuned, it works as you level up, getting stronger each level, and it scales down if you exemplar. (unless you exemplar too far below the level in which the set would normally occur) 

There's no need to use those,(set bonus IOs) of course. But, if the right recipes drop, and all you have to do is craft them (later when you reach 50), you'd be rolling in influence at that time, why wouldn't you? 

At level 50 - other than inspirations or p2w buffs you might buy, you don't really have expenses. So, as you play, it adds up. Even solo, it adds up. On a team, the kills come quickly, the inf pours in. The last time I paid attention, a kill most ITF, I think I got about 20M inf. 

If the only thing that's stopping you from proceeding to 50 is the cost of the enhancements, you let me know, I'll drop some inf on you, if you like. Not so much to take your motivation away, but enough to buy all the Common IOs you might need. 

[Hedgefund]

To OP - if you're planning to stock up on basic IOs, buying lvl 45s already crafted is great for the bargain hunter.

 

The reason is, by the time players are able to use 45s they're in one of these camps 

* Using SOs up to 47+ then upgrading to 50s (regardless of SO or IO)

* Using attuned IO sets (that's me)

* Bought IOs at 25-30ish

 

I'm sure there other flavors and there's no need to list them if you, (generic "you", not the OP) do something else.

 

On the other hand, people who pursue crafting badges are required to do some number for both level 45 and 50.  The level 50s they can sell no problem, but no one wants 45s so they're cheap.

 

Note - please have what I call "24 hour patience".  Be willing to let your bids sit for 24 hours before bemoaning the lack of availability when you're at the /AH.

 

For example, here's the last 5 sales for lvl 45 recharge IOs:

 

Here's the last 5 for lvl 50:

 

So, my "24 hour bid" would be something like 50,000 inf.  There no bidders and badge crafters are quick to list something for 1 inf just to get it sold.  I don't want to get bogged down in best bids, my point is that lvl 45 IOs need not break the bank and will function quite well for a basic IO build.

[Without_Pause]

And three level 45 IOs of the same type will be well over the ED cap so I only find them useful in cases of slotting 1-2 of them. Honestly, I would just slot 50s anyway as I have the crafting badges for them.

[Diantane]

46 minutes ago, Ironblade said:

That's like saying that you're losing money when you go to the grocery store.  Technically you are, but you are receiving something you perceive as valuable in exchange for your cash.  Everyone who buys something on the market does so voluntarily.

 

 

Well, I would say you're not really farming yet.  You're still leveling.  You have to make the investment in time and money to get a character ready for real farming.  Having said that, you can put together a farming build really cheap.  No one has to farm at +4/x8.  I put together a cheap second build for my fire/fire brute and I run at +0/x8.

 

I just use SO to fight at +1x8. Have a close call now and again, but I do it every time. Reason: No one said I couldn't 🙂  However with the difficulty I'm seeing, I won't be going over that atm. 

[Diantane]

37 minutes ago, Ukase said:

With level 40 SOs...at level 43, they're going to be rather useless. 
The inf you spent there, well...it could have been spent on level 30 IOs of the same type, and even if you couldn't get ALL of them that you wanted, you'd not have to rebuy them again. 

There's a lot of ways to proceed from here. 

I can pull back the curtain later in this thread, (not this post) share some useful paths to take, I can just gift you a large sum of inf so you can buy Common IOs right now, and then, maybe work your way, one day, to the very useful IOs that give set bonuses - which may be more than you're willing to do, from what I can tell. 

You mention the cost of these things being ridiculous, and compared to some other enhancements, I suppose that is true, in a relative sense. 

But, consider the idea that when you slot a given "Set", it's like a free enhancement that you didn't have to buy, and if the set is attuned, it works as you level up, getting stronger each level, and it scales down if you exemplar. (unless you exemplar too far below the level in which the set would normally occur) 

There's no need to use those,(set bonus IOs) of course. But, if the right recipes drop, and all you have to do is craft them (later when you reach 50), you'd be rolling in influence at that time, why wouldn't you? 

At level 50 - other than inspirations or p2w buffs you might buy, you don't really have expenses. So, as you play, it adds up. Even solo, it adds up. On a team, the kills come quickly, the inf pours in. The last time I paid attention, a kill most ITF, I think I got about 20M inf. 

If the only thing that's stopping you from proceeding to 50 is the cost of the enhancements, you let me know, I'll drop some inf on you, if you like. Not so much to take your motivation away, but enough to buy all the Common IOs you might need. 

Before making this Spines/fire brute I never had the drive to go much further than around 40. But now that I have done what I'm been doing the last couple days by jumping into a large mob (like 20 of them) without being a dedicated alpha tank, and within 20 seconds most of them being dead, I'm pretty fired up and looking forward to see just what else this AT is capable of. Not just looking at 50 being a goal, but what lurks beyond this point.

 

Now I had looted many yellow and orange recipes, but have no idea if any are keepers or not. (as I have never used one before).  Didn't want to sell any to a vendor so when they filled up my available space, I switched over to tickets (no idea what they are for yet, but there must be a reason they are there).

 

When you reach 50 my guess is that the x2 xp buffs I'm using become worthless or are they still used for gaining something else? You say at 50 I would be rolling in influence. Can't figure out how. It couldn't be the little influence you get from killing mobs is it? Remember on LIVE the trouble I was having being able to afford SO's from the low influence you received as loot. Had the same trouble when I first came to Homecoming, but someone told me about selling enhancement boosters. Course that only helps to buy up to level 40 SO's with some extra change.

 

Have little experience doing task forces. Did Positron 1 & 2 one morning, but don't remember what the reward was (except maybe a badge). But now that I have a character that impresses me this much, I will look into doing more after I get to 50 in a few days.

 

How do you attune an enhancement?

[Diantane]

47 minutes ago, Hedgefund said:

To OP - if you're planning to stock up on basic IOs, buying lvl 45s already crafted is great for the bargain hunter.

 

The reason is, by the time players are able to use 45s they're in one of these camps 

* Using SOs up to 47+ then upgrading to 50s (regardless of SO or IO)

* Using attuned IO sets (that's me)

* Bought IOs at 25-30ish

 

I'm sure there other flavors and there's no need to list them if you, (generic "you", not the OP) do something else.

 

On the other hand, people who pursue crafting badges are required to do some number for both level 45 and 50.  The level 50s they can sell no problem, but no one wants 45s so they're cheap.

 

Note - please have what I call "24 hour patience".  Be willing to let your bids sit for 24 hours before bemoaning the lack of availability when you're at the /AH.

 

For example, here's the last 5 sales for lvl 45 recharge IOs:

 

Here's the last 5 for lvl 50:

 

So, my "24 hour bid" would be something like 50,000 inf.  There no bidders and badge crafters are quick to list something for 1 inf just to get it sold.  I don't want to get bogged down in best bids, my point is that lvl 45 IOs need not break the bank and will function quite well for a basic IO build.

Thanks for that heads up. I will be creating IO's at 42 (as many as I can afford that is 🙂). Of course I'll be looking for bargains on the AH. When I respec'ed before I would save the SO enhancements in my base. So I'm saving inf by going through them. Sometimes I get lucky. I'll do what you said when buying at the AH though. never understood what all those different numbers were for until now.

Edited December 21, 2021 by Diantane

[Sovera]

6 minutes ago, Diantane said:

How do you attune an enhancement?

 

It's good to see you come out of your oyster, Dian. To that and other questions you ought to check the guide in my signature since it's not usually a one-answer-fits-all.

 

I fell into that 'trap' of making my own generic IOS (generic IOs are IOs that have no bonuses attached to them) and like you I got tired from all the crafting. As it turns out level 25 IOs are super cheap. Akin to 50k each or something. If you're doing random missions to level up try doing Positron part 1 (Steel Canyon, big statue in the center where the trainer is), it has low value in merits but you come out with roughly 2.2 or 2.3 million worth in merits. You can do it at level 8 and that one alone pays for all of your generic IOs.

 

In my experience fully slotting a character in generic IOs costs something like 2 million and something.

[Diantane]

Another question about AE Farms. I have double checked on my character to not solo bosses, yet there are always bosses on the farm. They slow it down. If there some way to eliminate them?

[Without_Pause]

13 minutes ago, Diantane said:

Before making this Spines/fire brute I never had the drive to go much further than around 40. But now that I have done what I'm been doing the last couple days by jumping into a large mob (like 20 of them) without being a dedicated alpha tank, and within 20 seconds most of them being dead, I'm pretty fired up and looking forward to see just what else this AT is capable of. Not just looking at 50 being a goal, but what lurks beyond this point.

 

Now I had looted many yellow and orange recipes, but have no idea if any are keepers or not. (as I have never used one before).  Didn't want to sell any to a vendor so when they filled up my available space, I switched over to tickets (no idea what they are for yet, but there must be a reason they are there).

 

When you reach 50 my guess is that the x2 xp buffs I'm using become worthless or are they still used for gaining something else? You say at 50 I would be rolling in influence. Can't figure out how. It couldn't be the little influence you get from killing mobs is it? Remember on LIVE the trouble I was having being able to afford SO's from the low influence you received as loot. Had the same trouble when I first came to Homecoming, but someone told me about selling enhancement boosters. Course that only helps to buy up to level 40 SO's with some extra change.

 

Have little experience doing task forces. Did Positron 1 & 2 one morning, but don't remember what the reward was (except maybe a badge). But now that I have a character that impresses me this much, I will look into doing more after I get to 50 in a few days.

 

How do you attune an enhancement?

You gain currency at 50 because you can turn off the 2x xp booster which means you are getting a full influx of currency. You are also getting level 50 common IO recipes which sell for roughly 80k to +100k per each one. A Enhancement Catalyst is what coverts an IO to being attuned. They also convert IOs which can become superior version of them once you hit level 50, see ATOs.

 

https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Enhancement_Catalyst_Salvage

[Diantane]

Sovera. Thanks for the links. I will look at them after my mid day nap.

[TheZag]

5 minutes ago, Diantane said:

Before making this Spines/fire brute I never had the drive to go much further than around 40. But now that I have done what I'm been doing the last couple days by jumping into a large mob (like 20 of them) without being a dedicated alpha tank, and within 20 seconds most of them being dead, I'm pretty fired up and looking forward to see just what else this AT is capable of. Not just looking at 50 being a goal, but what lurks beyond this point.

 

Now I had looted many yellow and orange recipes, but have no idea if any are keepers or not. (as I have never used one before).  Didn't want to sell any to a vendor so when they filled up my available space, I switched over to tickets (no idea what they are for yet, but there must be a reason they are there).

 

When you reach 50 my guess is that the x2 xp buffs I'm using become worthless or are they still used for gaining something else? You say at 50 I would be rolling in influence. Can't figure out how. It couldn't be the little influence you get from killing mobs is it? Remember on LIVE the trouble I was having being able to afford SO's from the low influence you received as loot. Had the same trouble when I first came to Homecoming, but someone told me about selling enhancement boosters. Course that only helps to buy up to level 40 SO's with some extra change.

 

Have little experience doing task forces. Did Positron 1 & 2 one morning, but don't remember what the reward was (except maybe a badge). But now that I have a character that impresses me this much, I will look into doing more after I get to 50 in a few days.

 

How do you attune an enhancement?

 

When you get to 50 the 2x automatically turns off and you start earning influence.  Influence from mobs starts to add up very quickly.  Farmers will measure influence earned in terms of millions per map or millions per hour.  LvL 50 white recipie drops sell to the vendor for 70-100k if you dont need to craft them.  Selling white recipies on the AH is usually less profitable then vendoring them.  Orange salvage is valuable as well,  prices fluctuate but a sale for 500k is easy.  A purple recipe will sell for 15 million easily.

 

My personal recommendation is to put the yellow and orange recipies on the AH to earn some inf now and buy set enhancements later once you get some income generation.  Even if you just stick them in the AH for 'storage' and dont sell them so you can get new recipe drops.

 

You only attune set enhancements with enhancement catalysts and it is done by slotting the enhancement into a power and then clicking that power to go to the combine screen.  Then click that enhancement and choose catalyst from the top left.  They are available from the merit vendor or AH.  You can also purchase attuned enhancements directly from the AH,  their prices are shared with the non-attuned versions.

[Without_Pause]

A lot of the uncommon recipes are sold for peanuts on the market though. It will be pretty obvious which ones are worth something according to the player base. Just start looking at builds here and you'll see some commonly used IOs across them.

[Ukase]

Okay...There's a lot of information you need...and I don't want to overload you with too much at once. So, here's just a tiny glimpse of what 5 seconds with a spines/fire brute with burn on auto, and quills and Blazing Aura toggles on. 



The 8,544 XP and the 20,504 are for lieutenants, not minions. It's just the #125 map, I'm doing them for tickets, as I need a lot of rare enhancements. Some "ebil marketers" are playing with the rare salvage in some fashion, where they are now selling for 500-700k, depending on how quickly you want to buy it. My farmers have no need of xp, so may as well do a couple of runs for tickets and not let those marketers have my influence. I'd pay 500k, but if the bid doesn't go through by the next day, I'll just use tickets. I stash all the rares that do drop in my character's vault, so I can fit more common and uncommon salvage in my standard inventory. It's not always how much you make, but how much you save. 

I try to keep all the inf I earn and to buy as little as possible from the AH. 

There is a chap named @Yomo Kimyata who is quite the student of economic theory. He may have mastered it, I dunno. But, if you have two characters, one character can sell a level 50 IO, (invention set, the kinds that give bonus) and another character can buy that same enhancement, only attuned, for the same price. But you have to be careful! If the first character prices it too cheap, someone else will get it before you can. To learn how to make that crafted IO into an attuned IO (or vice-versa), read about that, here: 

As for your p2w XP buff, that stops working when you reach 50, yes. That's part of the reason you're poor now - you're trading XP for influence. Disable that, and you'll be making more inf, for sure. 

As far as what recipes are good, and which are not, there is MUCH to say on that! I have my beliefs, Yomo will have his, other players can and do differ on the value of certain "looted" recipes. 
I could cover that here, and probably should, but others have already laid out how to determine the value of these items. The sad part is - it's boring for many players. Tedious. Not hard, just tedious and somewhat time-consuming until you get used to it and develop a disciplined system for performing these rather mundane tasks. 

In these forums, some players cannot be bothered to determine how to get the most out of a "looted item". So, they sell them at 1 influence, and get whatever the highest bid for that item is at that point in time. Others sweat these details, taking copious notes as to what's being sold, when, how many others are being sold, and what the last 5 prices are and who knows what else they could be tracking. 

When buying items, our player base mostly doesn't treat in-game currency like currency. They will spend whatever it takes to get what they want RIGHT NOW. They can afford to do this because they've played the game a lot. The more you play, the more inf you make. Especially at 50. Once you hit 50, I recommend you keep playing until you've collected a large enough pile of influence to slot your next character how you want to, without waiting around. Maybe 50 million if you're just going to use commons, 300 million if you're going to use IOs that have set bonuses. 

The difference between a brute with set bonuses and a brute without them will vary from build to build. They are not all build the same! Some brutes can do what yours can do while not even controlling the character. They just sit in the center of an asteroid map with burn on auto. Then they play the game with another account, relying on the brute for funds to get the enhancements the character they're actively playing will need. You can do that, too - but you don't need to if you don't want to. There are many paths to take, many options! None of them are wrong. Some may be more optimal. Some may be more fun. Pick fun. Optimal is great, too. If they're the same path, fun and optimal, you win! If it's just fun, you still win. If it's optimal, you win, but it means less. 

Spend some time reading the Market sub-section in these forums. You can learn a lot. Oh, about "rolling in influence", consider all the "looted recipes" after a large map. Each Common recipe can be vendored (sold) to the npc in AE for anywhere from 80-120K influence. A large map will get you a million just in those. The right uncommon or rare recipes, you can sell quickly for 2M. (a pvp recipe is likely to sell for 1.5M to 2M. Craft it, and ...looking at the market now, it will sell for 5-8M, depending on what's going on in that niche when you list it. 

A red fortune recipe can go for a decent price, too. 1.1 to 2M for those as well, because they can be converted easily to an LotG for just a few converters. (once they're crafted, of course) 
Recognizing the value of these items will take exposure to the AH over time. I can't just say, keep and craft these, sell those. 

I craft ALL the yellow, (uncommon) and orange (rare) and purple (very rare) recipes I get. I will stash the purples in my base for use by my characters, and I will convert any and all enhancements I craft into some that sell fairly well, fairly quickly. I've done this since ...June of 2019, I think, and I've over 350Billion now at last count. It adds up pretty quickly, once you figure things out. 

The good news is, you don't need nearly that much to enjoy yourself. Any more than 2-3 billion, as long as you're playing a level 50 character once a week or so, you should be fine. And if you need more, you can play your brute more. 

 

[Without_Pause]

 

[TheZag]

55 minutes ago, Diantane said:

Another question about AE Farms. I have double checked on my character to not solo bosses, yet there are always bosses on the farm. They slow it down. If there some way to eliminate them?

 

If you have no bosses and no AV turned on then that map probably has elite bosses as part of it.  No bosses turns boss rank mobs into LTs and turns elite bosses into boss rank.  You will have to choose a different map with no elite bosses in the spawns.

[Diantane]

Is there a limit of how many recipes can be stored at the AH?

 

NVM -- Saw it on this character @ 195

Edited December 22, 2021 by Diantane