Is there a guide to actually MAKING a build?

[Mjolnerd]

Does this already exist? I hope it does, but I've checked several times over the past couple of years and never found it; hopefully I've just been using the wrong search terms? It seems like something that should be out there somewhere. Unfortunately, so far I've got nothing but crickets and tumbleweeds.

 

I'm looking for a guide on how to create character builds.

 

Wait.

 

WAIT.

 

Before you reply, let me clarify. People have misunderstood this request before. I'll use an analogy to try to avoid confusion; let's pretend I just said I want to learn how to be an architect and design buildings.

 

• I'm not asking for directions to the nearest store that sells drafting tables. (So please don't provide a link to the website where I can download Mids', I've had it for years.)
• I'm not asking for an explanation of the fundamental uses and purposes of a protractor, a triangle, or a scale ruler. (So please don't provide a link to a tutorial on the basic functions of Mids', I already know what all the buttons do.)
• I'm not asking for a bunch of architectural drawings someone else already produced so I can copy them but maybe move a door from the west side of the room to the north side instead. (So please don't just show me some existing builds and tell me to modify them to suit my needs; that's a fine way to learn at first, but it's only going to get you so far without someone who actually knows what they're talking about to explain the underlying theory and techniques. And besides, I've been doing that forever, now I want to graduate past it to creating my own stuff.)
• I'm not asking to just start drawing whatever I think might work and hope that maybe on the fiftieth try I accidentally design something that won't be immediately condemned as structurally unsound. (So please don't tell me to just screw around in Mids' without direction or purpose until I eventually stumble upon some sort of build-based revelation.)

 

When I sit down at my drafting table with my pencil and my T-square and a blank sheet of paper and say "today I'm going to design a 40-story office building" -- or when I sit down at my computer with Mids' open to an empty new build and say "today I'm going to design a Seismic Blast/Energy Aura sentinel" -- what then? Where do I start? I know how the tools work, but what do I actually do with them to produce a useful result?

 

• I'm asking for a course on architectural design principles. I don't expect anyone here to just drop what they're doing and teach that course on the spot, but... the course must exist somewhere, right? Surely at some point in the past fifteen years someone must have written down an outline of the process, the procedure, the sequence of steps involved in actually putting these elements to practical use. There must already be a class, or a textbook, or at the very least a WikiHow article that explains where to begin, mustn't there? And someone must know where that information is and be able to point me toward the library or bookstore or classroom or YouTube how-to where I can learn it too.

 

Or to use a much less labored metaphor... give a man a build, and he'll have a great alt; teach a man to build, and he'll have great alts for the rest of his life.

Edited December 8, 2022 by Mjolnerd

[UltraAlt]

I don't use mids, so I can't address that.

 

I'm a concept player so I am always building my character from scratch. Always with a concept. Always with limitation inbuilt about kinds of powers I won't take.

 

It's a matter if you are going to be cookie cutter with MIds or if you are actually going to design the character yourself.

Also, if you intend to be designing a level 50, that is a quite different thing than building a character through leveling.

 

So I think clearly for me, the "design" is the character conception that I use as the guide for the character's development/construction in-game.

 

If you are going to build a 40-story building, the foundation is extremely important.

I'm not mini-maxing or cookie-cutting.

I'm tailoring to my character conception.

 

[Nyghtmaire]

I agree with @UltraAlt (except I use Mids like some people use the costume creator - mini game in itself). There are so many character slots and potential combinations, I want to build entities that are mostly self-sufficient and who lean in to theme of their a) primary and secondary, and b) backstory/concept. As far as general principles:

 

1. pick 1 primary purpose of the build. This could be to lean in to the function of armor sets max out resistances or defenses, depending on the flavor of the armor, or get as much recharge as possible if a dominator. 

 

2. aim to have AT LEAST twice as much recovery as testing endurance spent. But seriously, I try to aim for more than that.

 

3. ensure all my attacks can hit (95% chance) +3 opponents at level 50. For leveling, I try to make sure my attacks can hit reasonably well. 

 

4. Then aim for whatever other goals I have for the specific build. This could be aiming to have more recharge for often used, long refreshing powers. 

 

5. if defense is not a primary concern, if possible, I aim for specific break points. Either 20%, 32.5%, or 45%. But if this is not a primary concern, I tend to be opportunistic rather than focused for this area.

 

Functionally, I sketch out a concept on paper first. I like to see a flow of development purely on the power selection level, asking how will this character develop over time (by level) so it will be fun. Thinking mainly with the concept in mind, how can I arrange the powers to get to do cool things at all (or most) levels. 
 

In addition, I plan for some common uniques as early as possible - Numina, Miracle, Panacea, and Kismet. But not always. For example, most blasters can get away with skipping some of the recovery uniques because of their sustain power. 
 

Anything more precise is more AT and combination specific. But as an example, I remade my War Mace/Willpower brute. My primary goal was to raise HP as high as possible. Secondary goals were to have S/L def at regular defense soft cap with the remainder of types defenses at at least 32.5 (including psi). Last, I wanted to make sure each attack that could take a FF proc had one to accelerate my recharge when attacking. That’s not to say that this is the best or most effective way to build this power set combination. But those were my conscious goals for the build, and it gave me a focus on how to select IOs and set bonuses with purpose. 

 

I hope this helps!

[Six-Six]

Short answer is nope.

If you go looking for advice, you'll get a tonne of really helpful ones and then some that sound good but end up not doing you any good or not living up to the hype. You can even get opinions on how others slot a specific power. But keep in mind that what works for other players may or may not work for you.

My point is builds are quite intimate between you and your toon, and should be tailor fit to their needs as well as your play style. Ultra and Nyght have pointed out several good pointers. You can stack up damage or recharge or both.You can soft cap def and res, but those come at a cost... and that cost is slots. you only get a limited number of slots so making a build is making those slots work for your needs. So get to know your powers and how you want to use them; see what holes you have in your chain or your armour and either min-max or shore them up equally... totally up to you. there are no wrong builds as long as those builds work for you.

When I was learning the game, I would look for shared builds and use them as a guide. As I learned more, I'd swap this for that, move those over here. I preferred the ones that came with a lengthy explanation regarding why they slotted a certain way, that way I'll know how to tinker with them. 

[Nyghtmaire]

1 hour ago, Six-Six said:

My point is builds are quite intimate between you and your toon, and should be tailor fit to their needs as well as your play style.

This is a great thesis. Wholeheartedly agree.

 

There’s a thread re “Rule of Cool” - what’s cool, or makes your character stylish or even hilarious — is a perfectly good organizational principle for a build. There’s really very few negative consequences in this game. And other than origin, primary power set, and secondary power set, there are few permanent choices. 

[TheZag]

I imagine there isnt a specific guide since no way is the always correct or only way.  But ive made several builds from scratch through mids and ill share my process.  I generally build with survival in mind since dead heroes do no damage.

 

1.  I take every power that i plan to use in the primary and secondary.  I get my movement power,  hasten,  and boxing/tough/weave.  If the ancillary or patron pool has a survival ability i plan to use i will take that now.  The level and order of taken powers is not important at this point.

 

2.  I put 6 slots in every defense and resistance power.  I place 4 pieces of luck of the gambler in every defense power and 4 unbreakable guard in every resist power.  Then i slot both the +3% defense IOs in tough and the +resist IOs in weave.

 

3.  I look at my defense/resist totals.  This is where you find out how much the set bonuses in the rest of the powers need to be.  Generally im looking at typed defenses since topping off the positional defense is difficult unless you have some powers already that boost it.

 

4.  I add slots to powers and place sets in them based on what bonus i need.  This includes swapping out the defense and resist sets from earlier to get the bonus i need.  I try and keep the +recharge luck of the gambler.  This part along with step 5 are the majority of time in making a build.

 

5.  Those few remaining unchosen powers become set mules for bonuses i need.  Choosing cross punch gives melee AoE sets if your primary and secondary dont have one,  some good bonuses are in there.  Combat jumping for more defense or maneuvers and tactics if i have a ton of extra stamina.  I go back and forth with step 4 quite a few times at this point.  Sometimes i will change a power to have access to different set bonuses.

 

6.  Then i move the powers into the order that i would want if i were to exemplar.  You can drag and drop powers in mids and it will swap their locations.

 

7.  I call it good and get ready to do the respec or start the character and then realize i can get better stats by making some changes.  So i fiddle around again for awhile until im happy a second time.

 

 

My way isnt the only way but i hope it can help you to get started on some of your own builds.

 

[biostem]

21 hours ago, Mjolnerd said:

I'm looking for a guide on how to create character builds.

Just go in there and do it.  If what you're really asking is for a guide on how to create a top-tier effective build, then you're starting point is having a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of all the different ATs, powersets, and IO set bonuses.  Almost anyone can slap together a build that will work for most content, but if you're looking to do things like capping defense or resist values, have some powers be permanently on/available, and be able to pull off some extreme feats, then you'll need that innate knowledge first.  To use your metaphor - nearly anybody can throw together a shack that'll stand on its own for some time, but whether it'll be draft and leak-free, with safe and functional electrical outlets and lighting, needs expertise.  Get that game knowledge down pat, know what works and what doesn't, then putting together a good build should be a piece of cake.

[Zect]

16 hours ago, Mjolnerd said:

When I sit down at my drafting table with my pencil and my T-square and a blank sheet of paper and say "today I'm going to design a 40-story office building" -- or when I sit down at my computer with Mids' open to an empty new build and say "today I'm going to design a Seismic Blast/Energy Aura sentinel" -- what then? Where do I start? I know how the tools work, but what do I actually do with them to produce a useful result?

 

 

First, let me congratulate you on asking a very important question, one that will improve your enjoyment of the game for countless alts to come. I really think that CoX becomes an entirely different and much more interesting game once you learn build design. You're able to express your character concept in more and innovative ways, make a lot of sub-optimal (or, as I prefer to call them, challenge or skill-based) builds work, finely customize a character to suit your playstyle, and improve your play experience regardless of goals. Note that while some scoff at knowledge and draw a false dichotomy between "building for concept" and "minmaxing", both are really part of the singular process called build design; the goals just differ from character to character.

 

As always, the forumites have not given you a straight answer yet, so I will. Note, however, that the following is a discussion of general principles for which there are many exceptions.

 

Build design comprises three parts:

1. What you want to achieve (i.e. design goals)
2. How to achieve it, through the choice of powers, slots, IO sets, AT, etc.
3. Where it can be improved, that is, iterating and optimizing the build based on actual play experience

For #1, to determine the what, we look at the following:

• The meta: what bonuses, powers, IO sets, AT's, etc. have been proven to be most efficient in the current meta. This may give us some broad goals to shoot for, inform us of potential weaknesses, or even direct us to underexplored design spaces. For example, defense is strong in the current meta, so it makes sense to see if we can get some unless it turns out to be impractical. Note, however, that the community has its biases and blind spots, and the meta is not always correct. I've lost count of the times powerful and highly effective powersets are considered "unplayable" by ignorant forumites.
• What is achievable: that is, what levels of stats are realistic given the tools available to us. For example, dark miasma, storm and cold can almost doublestack their -res power, so it is generally worth building for that.
• What play environment or use case the character is designed for: e.g. farming, hardmode, normal levelling, soloing, etc. For example, if I plan to do hardmode ITF, I would note that nictus are a major threat and my build should avoid a weakness to neg.
• What is ideal for the AT/powersets: For example, rad armor is a res set with click sustain. Therefore, "turtling up", i.e. abandoning recharge to focus solely on defense may not lead to more survivability in practice, because part of its survivability comes from frequent use of those clicks which requires high rech. It may also need slow resistance, to avoid losing that rech.
• What your personal preferences are: Last, but most definitely not least, you would take into account your own personal preferences and priorities. You may not want to take powers that are statistically very strong or desirable, for example, because they clash with your playstyle or concept.

Based on the above, we would make a series of judgment calls and decide roughly what kind of bonuses to shoot for, which powers are most likely to be useful, which procs/uniques we definitely want, etc.

 

For #2, we would then select our powers and begin the process of filling them in with IO's, in order to attain our desired enhancement values, procs/uniques, and set bonuses. (We should already be informed of what these are after going through #1.) This process also tends to involve lots of trial and error, swapping in and out different options to see what effects they have.

 

Note that the majority of this step is either about optimizing dps, or optimizing power/slot-efficiency. The reason is that, for utility and mitigation, you typically want to hit specific breakpoints, e.g. 45% def, hardcapped resists, perma-chronoshift, 50% meltdown uptime, etc beyond which more of the stat investment provides comparatively little benefit. However, dps and power choices/slots are two things you can never have enough of. Killing things faster will never be not useful, and power choices and slots are the fundamental currency with which to purchase everything a toon can do. If you're able to achieve your build goals using fewer power choices and slots than expected, then you can spend the excess on other things, or you may find that you have flexibility to skip things you were previously forced to take.

 

(Optimizing dps, especially ST dps is far more well-studied, so I will pass on discussing it here; but the basics would be chosing an attack chain filled with high-DPA attacks, ensuring that high-DPA attacks occupy the majority of the attack chain's animation time, and loading up on damage procs while using the PPM system efficiently. For aoe dps, standards are fuzzier and dpa somewhat less important, but generally we may aim to build a broadside that wipes all enemies of a certain rank and relative level, or pick enough aoes that form an attack chain of their own, typically about 3.)

 

Bearing this in mind, we generally default to the most slot-efficient choices in each category, and each category typically has some very slot-efficient sets,- or sets that provide desirable uniques, that make good default starting points. For example, if you need melee def, you could slot 6x ToD or 6x oblits, both of which offer 3.75% melee def and a damage proc. However, oblit also offers 5% rech, making it overall more slot-efficient. Therefore, oblit is a not a bad point to start in the absence of other factors. (Other good choices in pbaoe include eradication and avalanche, each with their own merits and weaknesses. You may also consider your ATIO's or purples, which are typically slot-efficient.)

 

We then tweak the slotting, using the following techniques to try and improve slot efficiency:

• Double-dipping: Trying to get a particular power's slotting to provide multiple benefits, such as both providing a necessary unique and a desired set bonus. For example, I may slot 3x unbreakable guards (Res, Res/end, triple) for 2.25% e/n res. However, I may notice that I could drop the triple for an unbreakable guard +7.5% HP unique. The missing res enhancement could be made up for by putting a steadfast +3% def, which does have half a dual's worth of res enhancement. For 3 added slots, I got 3 things in 1:  a reasonably slotted res power, a set bonus, and a needed unique.
• Underslotting: deliberately trimming back unnecessary/excess enhancement values, in order to potentially save slots or replace them with non-enhancing pieces of a set (e.g. damage procs). You may find that losing a large enhancement% only reduces the effectiveness of the power slightly, e.g. defense enhancement in hover/CJ. And after slotting your alpha and sets, it is always worth reviewing the enhancement values of each power to see if slots could be trimmed.
• Boosting/frankenslotting: deliberate use of boosted IO's or hami/d-syncs to increase enhancement values in a highly slot-efficient manner.
• Muling: In the event we have an excess of power choices, set mules allow us to slot sets our most-useful powers cannot fit. It also allows us to trade powers for slots because each power comes with its own default slot. For an extreme example of this in action, consider that not many are aware that 2x Celerity provides 2.25% SL res and it goes in Sprint AND prestige sprints. You could take all 4 prestige sprints and slot them & sprint with 2x Celerity, spending 5 slots to get 11.25% SL res. That's a 2nd Tough, and it doesn't even cost end to run.
• Variant slotting: We may slot a set differently than expected, e.g. slotting Consume with pbaoe damage despite it not being a strong attack, or Freezing rain with taoe damage despite only doing about 1/3 the damage of an ice storm. The reason is that some power categories have better IO set options, or offer set bonuses or enhancement layouts that we prefer. This is different from muling, because we still expect the power to perform its listed function, making up the missing enhancement values through the alpha slot, set bonuses, or playstyle changes (e.g. herding up more mobs before using consume, double-stacking freezing rain).

 

The Alpha slot is a special consideration. It can be used in 2 major ways, which often overlap.

• To provide stats that are difficult for set bonuses to supply in a slot-efficient manner, by using the part that "ignores ED" as a big set bonus. For example, rather than try to chase lots of individual res bonuses, it can potentially be easier to slot resilient core alpha (often worth between 3% to 5% res to all depending on powerset, essentially a third +res to all unique). +Dmg% is not easy to get in large amounts from sets if you also want def and rech, so blasters may slot musculature instead. etc.
• To make up for missing enhancement bonuses, e.g. rather than try to slot every power for acc, which would consume a large number of slots, it may be more efficient for a controller to slot Nerve instead. This would allow spending slots on damage procs, which are a big portion of controller DPS.

 

You may have noticed that a lot of build design depends on having a considerable base of knowledge: what the meta is, what IO sets are generally good, how your powers work, how they should be slotted, etc. There is a lot of intricacy to the IO system, which is what gives it such replay value. However, there's no need to be intimidated, and once you have the knowledge, the process mostly comes naturally. You don't need to be a renowned artist or michelin-starred chef to enjoy painting or cooking. Think critically when looking at others' builds, never be afraid to try new options, and keep an open mind.

 

Did that help?

 

[Mjolnerd]

This is all a huge help. Thank you to everyone, but especially @Nyghtmaire, @TheZagand @Zect for providing a really solid starting point. I appreciate it!

[Herotu]

On 12/9/2022 at 6:20 AM, biostem said:

Just go in there and do it.  If what you're really asking is for a guide on how to create a top-tier effective build, then you're starting point is having a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of all the different ATs, powersets, and IO set bonuses.  Almost anyone can slap together a build that will work for most content, but if you're looking to do things like capping defense or resist values, have some powers be permanently on/available, and be able to pull off some extreme feats, then you'll need that innate knowledge first.  

This is the key isn't it?

 

I remember a project called, "Hero Designer AI MVP", which was an attempt to negate the requirement for this encyclopaedic knowledge by asking the player what they wanted to do, their targets, budget etc. It's a great idea, but it also seemed to have too many knobs on. It didn't garner the acclaim it should have because it contradicted itself - whilst being presented as an easy-to-use solution to build creation, it also had so many options that it baffled the user me with an abundance of choice.

 

I think the Hero Designer AI MVP could be the solution to build creation, but it needs to make some assumptions regarding the users - and hide a lot of the knobs.

[MHertz]

On 12/9/2022 at 3:25 PM, Zect said:

Build design comprises three parts:

I would add a fourth: what metrics you plan to use to test whether you have reached your goal. This can depend on what your goal is; some things are harder to measure than others. A goal might be “solo giant monsters,” so you can time how long it takes. Or a goal might be “do this TF at +A/xB in C amount of time” which means your metric is built into the goal itself. Maybe your goal is “not stink up the joint so bad with this AT against Carnies” and that’s going to be a play/feel kind of thing, maybe defeats per mission or something — maybe you’ll build an AE map for consistent testing.

 

You might also make a short list of things you don’t care so much about, or which you’re willing to give up; or you might prioritize which of 2 or 3 things is more important than the others. Your 40-story building needs to not fall down, not topple over in high wind, and should house 5,000 workers, but it doesn’t need all that earthquake proofing and the atrium in the lobby doesn’t have to be made of glass. In character build terms, maybe you don’t need a travel power in this build.

 

Hey, just because I don’t do super-optimized builds for all my toons doesn’t mean I don’t know how.

[Nemu]

On 12/8/2022 at 3:49 AM, Mjolnerd said:

I'm looking for a guide on how to create character builds.

 

A bit late to the party but someone asked the same thing a while ago:

 

Once you set your goals and begin plotting a build in MIDS it then becomes a game of slot efficiency and optimization.

 

In that thread I linked a build exercise for another poster, perhaps that will give you insight into overall principals regarding planning and optimizing builds.

 

Identifying holes you need to plug for your builds is an important part of the build making process. Here is an example:

 

This one goes against the defense softcap meta and looks at what elements help with bio armor survival, and plots a course with that goal in mind and explores synergies with the tool kit and how they impact each other. The takeaway here is that not every build needs to be built around defense to survive.

 

My goal with builds often address survival, but what if that is not the primary goal? There are other goals that you can set for yourself and the reward is to "let the build do its thing" Here are some examples of that:
 

This build focuses on dropping patches and taking advantage of an unconventional IO set for a very specific blaster primary for desirable set bonuses conducive to proc bombing a few choice powers. (pro-tip: powers with heavy proc slotting lack ACC, recharge, and endurance reduction, those are all things to consider when building out your set bonuses/plotting out your power picks)

 

Here is a silly but fun build with a wacky goal:

 

This one turns a scrapper into a hover blaster (and it's also very survivable). Once again, I looked at synergies when plotting out the build.

 

Another thing that I see a lot of people that post builds overlook - power pick progression. There are a lot builds out there created just for level 50 without a care to how it performs at lower exemped levels. If you care about that and you see a build with only 2 or 3 attacks by level 30 then that's a red flag. In 99% of these cases there is absolutely no reason to build that way and you can squeeze in enough primary/secondary power picks AND pool picks to ensure a smoother leveling/exemping experience. For example, most of my defense focused blasters will have high 40s range defense when exemped for level 30 content so they can tankmage/speed TFs when needed. I plot my power picks with purpose to allow for that and have a fully viable attack rotation.

 

It does take some knowledge of the game and powersets to get to this level of understanding synergies and critical holes for a build but this game is not sooooo deep that the learning curve is incredibly complex. We all had to start as newbies asking questions on why people do X instead of Y. If you are interested in honing your builds then that inquisitive mindset is good practice as you examine the builds posted on the forums. When in doubt, ask questions, tag me and I'll be happy to chime in.

[Yomo Kimyata]

I'm going to try to avoid the cliche of "it depends," but that's going to be hard.

 

I'd start out by asking how familiar you are with the chosen AT, primary, and secondary.  If the answer is "not very" then I suggest playing it organically to 50.  You're a little light on offense?  Add another attack at the even levels.  Don't know what a power does?  Pick it and find out.  Running light on endurance?  Throw a slot into Stamina or Health and know what IOs will help you directly.  I say this a lot, but respecs are plentiful and cheap.  And if you pick up powers that you like or dislike, you can note whether or not they are going to make the final cut for you.  If you are going to power level the character, then I guess this isn't great advice.  Personally, I like to know a character will be more or less playable in terms of offense, defense, endurance, etc. no matter if I am exemped down for low level content, so I don't make builds that "Oh this will be ok once I T4 my Destiny slot".

 

Another question has to be about your budget.  Most of the builds listed seem to have superior WOs, and that's ok.  Inf is also very easy to come by, but if you don't have it, try to figure out how to get it.  Sometimes you can make a budget cut.  Example:  if you need A/R for a Melee AoE power, you can use a level 53 D-Sync Provocation which gets you +38.3% to both accuracy and recharge, and you can use it multiple times in a build.  It will also probably cost you well over a billion inf, if you can find it at all.  You can use a lvl 50 Armageddon A/R and boost it 5 times for +41.4% to both A and R.  You can pull this off for under 20mm inf, but only one per build.  You can use an attuned Obliteration or S Dervish A/R that will provide +26.5% to each at level 47+, and get it in the 1-3mm range.  Sometimes you cannot make a budget cut:  I think every build needs a Panacea proc, a Perf Shifter proc, Shield Wall proc, Reactive Defenses proc, Kismet proc, Steadfast protection +def, Glad Armor proc.

 

I'll walk you through how I currently build something I know.  I just made a WM/Bio scrapper because I wanted to use the coralax hammer for my costume and I think it looks like a big tooth.  So I made Tooth Justice and his archenemy Cavity Creep (Bio/TW tanker).  I'm very familiar with scrappers, war mace, and bio, so I expect to be mostly leveling this character quickly.  So I open up Mids.

 

First step is figuring out what powers are must-haves and what powers are ASAPs. 

 

For War Mace, I have to take either Bash or Pulverize at lvl 1 and I take Pulverize.  For WM, I'll have enough recharge more or less to run a three-power "AoE" chain (Shatter, Crowd Control, Whirling Mace) and a three-power "ST" chain (Shatter, Clobber, Pulverize) so I really don't need Bash or Jawbreaker.  I *could* take Jawbreaker and slot Pulverize as a mule and just not use it, but we can look at that again later.  I will need Build Up eventually, but not ASAP.  I don't need Confront.  So for now I'm putting in Mids:  Pulverize at 1, Clobber ASAP at 8, Whirling Mace ASAP at 18, Shatter ASAP at 22, Crowd Control ASAP at 26.  I'll put in Build Up at 49 for now so I don't forget it.  All these are in Mids now with the default slot.  However, please note that in real life I did take Jawbreaker so I have two attacks early on and I will respec out later.

 

For Bio Armor, I have to take Hardened Carapace and Inexhaustible at 1 and 2 (because I don't want to take Jawbreaker or Bash).  I consider Inexhaustible the only possible "skippable" power for Bio Armor, but that is not to be skipped today.  Environmental Modification is ASAP at 4 as your mez protection, Adaption ASAP at 10, Ablative Carapace ASAP at 16, Evolving Armor ASAP at 20, DNA Siphon ASAP at 24, Parasitic Aura ASAP at 30.  I will take Genetic Contamination eventually, and that will need a few slots, so I'll place it in at 44 for now.

 

For power pools, I'm at the point where I usually default to Fighting (Kick ASAP, Tough ASAP, Weave), Leaping (Combat Jumping ASAP), and Speed (Hasten).  I'll get Kick in at 6, Combat Jumping at 12, Tough at 14.   Hasten I work in at 28 and Weave at 32.  I need to do some thinking about what I want to do for epics/4th pool, but I'll start with some preliminary slotting.

 

Since Mids gets a bee in its bonnet about when you add slots, I tend to start with a rough estimate of slots and assign them early on.  Every attack/utility power starts with 5 slots, and I can add or subtract later.  Every defense power starts with three slots.  Every resistance power starts with four slots.  Inexhaustible (Perf Shifter proc), Kick (Accuracy), Build Up (Gaussian's proc) all get the default slot.  Hasten gets two slots for recharge IOs.  Combat jumping gets 4 slots, because I generally slot it with Kismet, Luck of the Gambler +recharge, shield wall +res, reactive defense +res.  So now I'm looking like this:

 

Spoiler

https://www.midsreborn.com/builds/download.php?uc=1298&c=481&a=962&f=HEX&dc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

 

Now is the time I start thinking about what to do with my remaining 4 powers.  Bio means a little squishy and a lot of endurance tools.  War Mace means lots of KB for mitigation and for Force Feedback +recharge procs.  I'm going to want plenty of recharge, maybe not enough to perma-hasten, but as much as I can get.  I tend to focus on melee defense mostly, even though Env mod is typed defense.  I could probably use an oh shit power or two and that's what I'm going to look at.  Force of Will with three powers will get me Unleash Potential, which is well worth six slotting.  Mighty Leap at 35 (base slot of Winters Gift slow resist), Weaken Resolve at 38 (two slot with Achilles Heel proc and an accuracy IO), Unleash Potential at 41 and six slots.  That leaves me with only a one hit wonder for my epic, so I'll go with Focused Accuracy from Body mastery and two slot it with Endurance Reduction IOs.

 

I'll probably second guess myself on this, and that's the beauty of it, because respecs are cheap and cheerful.

 

Ok, 7 free slots left.  One into Tough so I 4 slot Unbreakable Guard (with +max hp) and add the Steadfast protection which helps make up a little resist.  One into Hardened Carapace so I can put in the Glad Armor proc and either 4 slot of Unbreakable Guard or 4 slot of Reactive Armor.  Evolving Armor gets either 4 slot of UG or RA as well.  I should be good with the base slot of Health (Panacea proc) and Stamina (Perf Shifter).  My defense powers (Env Mod and Weave) get a LotG +recharge and either:  2 more LOTG; 2 Shield Wall; 2 Cytoskeleton.  I usually go with the last but it's pricey.  Bonuses from defense sets aren't particularly good with low slot investment.  I'm going to put the other "extra" slots into the AoE attacks as well as Ablative Carapace.  For Ablative, I usually 5-slot with Panacea or 6-slot with Preventative Medicine.  Parasitic Aura is so good, and I usually franken slot it with a bunch of DSOs and the stun proc from Energy Manipulator, but for today let's 5 slot it with Panacea.  (Don't forget to switch to Defensive Mode before popping PA, since that adds bonus -res!).

 

Now we are down to slotting the attacks, DNA Siphon, Unleash Potential, and Genetic Contamination.  For attacks, I'm going to want to split the Scrapper's Strike 3-3 for the double defense bonus, I want to put at least the proc of the Critical Strikes set in the right place and maybe a few more pieces, I want to 5 slot Blistering Cold and Avalanche for the defense bonuses as well as the slow resist.  A little more clever stuff and I realize I can take a slot away from Pulverize and put it in Genetic Contamination, which I will now slot with 5 pieces of Armageddon (including the proc) and an end red IO.   Unleash Potential can go a lot of ways, but focus on recharge over all else.  It's also a place to triple slot Synapse shock for some more slow resist.  And DNA siphon is my favorite power of all time, and I slotted it for the cheap.  And I end up with:

 

Spoiler

https://www.midsreborn.com/builds/download.php?uc=1661&c=740&a=1480&f=HEX&dc=78DA7594594F135114C7FFED4C05CA262094A50B141110A960E2838A511135511A4830E1B18E65C026B56DDA6AE403F864625CE38BA23EFAA8DFC05705FD026EB8246EA8891AF5C1D43373EEC10B844926F39B73CE3DEBBD377E6EA46A617E743F3C3507D356A1909848E6AD5CCECE97C7CF14AD622A9B81F394D11B1055226EA76D3B36691159493BBA2C1FB1A7ED4CC18E0DA7B289B1FC8C9549251307F2A7B379548F67B3E9D8E1D4CCA9622A3353E5FE8DDA568E7EFCEECF44CEB6A7EAD92A9B4FDA89EC746232954ED71DCAA592B1E1ECD42CC52A14EDFC6C33A5D2E9A4D3E424E6817A4A06F088DE41135E3C1178CA6062C829C2C0B34E7D0D4A26F0434C7E326CC02F81DF0CE5D8C1F09C567B3CFF4392A71B5E57F3823486E6D76BA0D1A316EFE4D07E012F35D3A7D9C28756B8B6AD545299E6DF2CC325D3D5F87199A10A5704AE32D4E03AC34BCAA142F35B6AA240959AC0A8C45FFA869C352ABB8D386628F8CE60D0A26ABD43D5D2A17AE950BD746813FE30F423E0711D2F520EB5DA507CB5782FB61F189AF051E01343333E330C628921488DA8D31AE1ABC363B19D6768C58240DC9941058218E3616CC722AB5E53360D7A031AA496A0D412965AC232ED10C56ED46337E284A94C2C86769C14480A4C99AA049BE10DC50EE86E02B8CB9A0EEC33145CA0841B1CB8C89977E29A57B951BD0953362DBA9B16DC3495ED2D813986CDB82D70C7549D38CFFEA234D536AD139E36F441D92A78470987F4C18710E41CB620241016883074A35D1D1F0A10D10F4044B658B7ECFB6528F60051FD0044D1C65E0AA4E9D2AAF574C9D1E8C543EED55932E9D116FB7A24502F6D1905470D77476CC51181768130C35BAAB64F77D3875DBC8DB661B7C01E8121867EECF5AAFDDE0157729CBCC5F4BEC658E3B45E410B4D7040BF3406708FBD044DE84FC93DB4A51222E6CA4BAA34BA8EE1B8A9DBB9F7912B5FF2AF7420F65FD7CA3BB8F15FD659F16DAD5CDD78F79DDB468B5D7AB55AF060B560AE97E6AE0BFE0191B3DD27

 

Now as I play it, I'm sure I'll find some things that I don't like, so It's not written in stone and I lose zero face by changing my build.

 

Happy hunting!