How do you folks build? Do you make a 50++ build in mids as a starting point or some variation of a leveling build?

[tidge]

13 hours ago, Crysis said:

I don’t think I’ve slotted a single DO/SO since IO’s were introduced.  Levels 1-25 go by so fast that I’ve never found the time or need to do so.  I generally outfit all new alts with generic IO’s until their late 20’s and then start swapping for sets in the 30’s.  Uniques are the exceptions to this however….Panacea, Numina etc.

 

I am similar. I've slotted DO/SO from drops when I am taking the lowest levels particularly slowly, but otherwise by level 10 I am either slotting attuned pieces (starting with ATO, PVP, O-Force, Steadfast Protections, Kismet, whatever) or trying to grab crafted low level IOs... again, only if I think I will be spending a lot of time in a certain level range. By level 20 I am fully committed to using catalyzed enhancements.

 

If for some reason I don't have the pieces I want on hand, or otherwise don't want to slot an enhancement set as a placeholder for what will be a HO, DSync, 50+5 Boosted piece, or Purple set at level 50, I will use level 25, 30, 45 or 50 IOs that I craft along the way.

 

[ZemX]

14 hours ago, Crysis said:

I don’t think I’ve slotted a single DO/SO since IO’s were introduced.  Levels 1-25 go by so fast that I’ve never found the time or need to do so.  I generally outfit all new alts with generic IO’s until their late 20’s and then start swapping for sets in the 30’s.  Uniques are the exceptions to this however….Panacea, Numina etc.

 

Oddly enough, it's Common IOs I hardly use anymore.  Between SOs being available now all the way down to Level 2 and that "Upgrade" button on the enhancement window, nothing is faster or more convenient than slotting SOs while leveling 1-25.  Nor is anything else more effective except possibly frankenslotting multi-aspect set IOs which I think is hardly worth the effort or expense.  Common IOs don't begin to equal SO enhancement values until around level 25, and from 25-30 is when I start moving straight to attuned set IOs, meaning I skip Commons entirely except for specific powers that will never get anything else (Recharge in Haste, Endurance in Focused Accuracy, stuff like that).  And of course, like you said, those uniques and one-slot wonder procs are an exception.

[johua]

I'm one of the aforementioned farmers. I power level to 50 and kit myself out. I also never really do exemplar content so I don't catalyze my builds or anything like that.

[Ravenplume]

Nowadays, I typically don't even bother and just use SOs to 50, unless I have Winters, ATOs, PVPs, or Overwhelming Forces available (or I remember that I have them in base)

 

I also, when I build now, try to do it without a respec, just working with what I already have  I see what sets are available for that type of power, and if there are any set bonuses that may be useful to me, then that power gets however many pieces of that set it can hold, at least up to where the target bonus comes into play.

 

Heck, got several that are well into incarnates now and STILL are on mostly SOs.

[Digirium]

What would help is if the Flashback system was changed to allow team members to come and go after the story arc was started. Unless Flashback is being used to run an old retired task force it should not treat the content available with the same rule as a task force (not allowing the leader to invite after the start).

 

I am in the same camp as others go direct to 50 via help from a specialized farming character on another account. It is direct, it is effective, it is efficient. No messing around with level 20, 30 or 40 builds. I would still like to play the lower level content but feel put off with the limitations on Flashback.

 

Repeatedly leveling up to 50 the old fashioned and now practically antiquated method leads only to burnout and quitting.

 

And that is probably the #1 reason so many of the +1 January 2024 new players have quit.

 

 

 

Edited June 12 by Digirium

[Uun]

2 hours ago, Digirium said:

Repeatedly leveling up to 50 the old fashioned and now practically antiquated method leads only to burnout and quitting.

Speak for yourself. I've been playing since a few months after launch and have been on HC since day #2. I don't farm or PL and only level organically. The game doesn't start at lvl 50. I enjoy playing the content at its intended level.

[Digirium]

12 minutes ago, Uun said:

Speak for yourself. I've been playing since a few months after launch and have been on HC since day #2. I don't farm or PL and only level organically. The game doesn't start at lvl 50. I enjoy playing the content at its intended level.

 

 

Well, bravo but you are "speaking for yourself" you need to acknowledge the other point of view I expressed is shared many times in this post.

[JKCarrier]

I don't know the system well enough to use Mids, so I generally just wing it. I might look at a build online, but as OP pointed out, it's rare to find ones that aren't purpled-out endgame builds.
I mostly solo and just run regular missions.

I use SOs until level 20 or so, then switch to generic IOs, which I replace every 10-15 levels. If I'm having trouble with endurance, I might throw a proc in Stamina. If I feel like it, and have Inf to burn, I might throw a few sets in random powers. No idea what I'm doing.
Most characters get retired at level 50. I have one character, a Mace/Shield Brute, that I dragged through the Incarnate system long enough to put something in each of his slots. Wasn't much fun, though, so I probably won't do that again. Since I put so much work into him, I pull him back out occasionally to see how many badges I can get for him.
Basically, I'm about as lazy/casual as you can get.

[tidge]

16 hours ago, JKCarrier said:

I don't know the system well enough to use Mids, so I generally just wing it. I might look at a build online, but as OP pointed out, it's rare to find ones that aren't purpled-out endgame builds.

 

For the most part, I think anyone could use a "purpled-out end game build" and use it as a leveling up build, at least in terms of power selections, with some caveats:

1. Replace purples with other sets (Overwhelming Force, PVP) are my choices, or often I just use IOs 
2. Replace Superior with non-superiors
3. Pay attention to slots, especially if your leveling build won't get bonuses... so maybe not immediately 6-slot all the attacks in the order you get them?
4. Endurance/Recovery is pretty important while leveling up, before accolades, power slotting, and set bonuses
5. Some faction of the time I take different pool choices while leveling, but that is either because of experimentation or the build has different needs before set bonuses can come into play.
6. Some end-game builds may have a minimal set of attacks and rely upon global +Recharge to make the build work. This is an area where a player has to learn by experience... but if you only see 3 attacks taken before level 25... that is probably not a good leveling up build.

There are some posted builds that make IMO poor choices for exemplaring or leveling, such as Hasten before level 16 (at low levels, faster cycling powers are not necessary), or no travel power (less critical because of purchasable powers, but it is something of a Quality-of-Life issue for the player and teammates).

 

I don't think it is reasonable for players to post more than one build to represent multiple choices for levels below 50. Writing for myself: Any non-purple/non-HO pieces in a build I post (i.e. normally crafted Enhancements) are pretty much the same ones I use while leveling up. The only corner case I can think of are those pieces that I boost at level 50 will be attuned variants while leveling.

[Azari]

On 6/6/2024 at 12:47 PM, KC4800 said:

I don't use mids. All my builds are by feel. I don't use others' builds, either. I will, however, take heart in comments others make about certain powers, that might make me change slotting.

 

I try to keep an open mind and learn from others.

 

I start every build with SO's and use the upgrade button. I can do that now because I have enough resources to share influence between alts. It wasn't always that way, but it doesn't take long to get that way, for sure.

 

As soon as I get some slots in key powers I look to adding the Archtype sets. Lots of really good set bonuses there that double when you hit 50 and catalyze them.

I collect various people’s mids builds and sometimes I do try them out but I seldom leave them as-is and often gradually mod them until they are nearly unrecognizable as the same build XD.  I use mids builds more as inspiration than anything.   It’s a good way to learn sets you’ve never used before and can save you a lot of mistakes.  

Edited June 13 by Azari

[Harlequin565]

I tend to build in Mids first to see how it will look and get a sense for how it will play at 50. 

 

As I level, I buy attuned IOs when they become available. There are quite a few you can start slotting at level 10 which is super quick to get to. ATIOs if I'm getting them go in early attacks (respeccing out later if needed). Anything that needs the highest level IOs (27/32/50) gets placeholders prior to that, which are often drops that I just craft & slot. When I reach 50, if necessary, I'll respec out the stuff I don't need, convert & sell. 

 

I think it probably depends on your levelling speed. I tend to do a mix of good story arcs (Faultline, Croatoa) and TFs which makes levelling to about 35 pretty quick. By that time, I can start slotting attuned IOs for an endgame build with the sole exception of purples.

[Carnifax]

On 6/12/2024 at 3:42 AM, Crysis said:

I don’t think I’ve slotted a single DO/SO since IO’s were introduced.  Levels 1-25 go by so fast that I’ve never found the time or need to do so.  I generally outfit all new alts with generic IO’s until their late 20’s and then start swapping for sets in the 30’s.  Uniques are the exceptions to this however….Panacea, Numina etc.

This is me. I make a cheapish IO build and start slotting from 27 (other than the uniques and ATOs which go in earlier). I'll also make a more expensive 50 build. When I hit 50 I'll decide if I want to go the Winters & Purples route, but that's only if I'm really liking the build and it'll add a lot. 

 

It's fun and late-30s IO builds can be pretty godly for the content. Feels good to be 37ish and be like "holy crap, can't believe I'm still alive"

[Sovera]

On 6/12/2024 at 11:09 PM, JKCarrier said:

I don't know the system well enough to use Mids, so I generally just wing it. I might look at a build online, but as OP pointed out, it's rare to find ones that aren't purpled-out endgame builds.
I mostly solo and just run regular missions.

I use SOs until level 20 or so, then switch to generic IOs, which I replace every 10-15 levels. If I'm having trouble with endurance, I might throw a proc in Stamina. If I feel like it, and have Inf to burn, I might throw a few sets in random powers. No idea what I'm doing.
Most characters get retired at level 50. I have one character, a Mace/Shield Brute, that I dragged through the Incarnate system long enough to put something in each of his slots. Wasn't much fun, though, so I probably won't do that again. Since I put so much work into him, I pull him back out occasionally to see how many badges I can get for him.
Basically, I'm about as lazy/casual as you can get.

 

As long as you have Mids you can at least have an idea of how things are meant to go and where. So it's a start, one you then modify according to how you play.

 

The thing with leveling builds is that they are the same as the end-game builds so they rarely get a section all for themselves. Three recharge into Hasten or Build-up instead of two. Got a purple in an AoE? Slot Obliterations in it until level 50. A purple in a melee attack? Slot Touch of Death until 50. A purple in a ranged attack? Slot a Decimation until 50.

 

Of course this does entail the person even knowing about these, but because it is again so common (like for example, just this facile example above) that the first time it is mentioned it is now no longer having to be repeated for the next time a build has a level 50 purple slotted in a melee attack.

 

(Before anyone jumps on me I do always offer to make leveling builds for builds I post)

 

 

There is also that once having enough cash (and one's own SG with enhancement tables to bank the IOs) leveling builds become a thing of 'slot all ATOs at level 10' which immediately gets two attacks with a full load, then throwing a Panaceia proc into Health fills that slot and usually is not thought about until 50 unless playing something endurance starved. Because these can be slotted at level 10 it's not uncommon to slot the normal event IOs (Blistering Cold, Avalanche, etc) since these can be slotted in at level 10 as well and there is no more need to thing about those until level 50.

 

All of this turn leveling into 'slot whatever fits in'.

 

 

Anyways, this is all stuff we pick up after months if not years of playing the game. I say when you do find those builds on the forums to just ask if someone will make a leveling build for it and I think there's a good chance that someone will.

[Black Zot]

I always make a 50 build in Mids and work towards that as I level.  The respec interface in this game makes me want to vomit.

[Lusiphur Malache]

Curiosity drives all my builds. Is this AT as broken as people say or does that powerset have no flow to it. I need to find out.

 

First 10 levels are just to see if my play style works with the build. Next 10 are usually "what does this do" levels. Slot SOs, find skippable powers, stop soloing so much and teaming more.

 

Hopefully I have a clue to what I'm doing by 30. If I haven't respeced yet things must be going well. I do a respec at 32 to switch from SOs to IOs. Do patron arc before 35 so I can try my new power on that first ITF. Slot sets when I can until 50 when I do another respec before doing a disgusting number of Itrails and interesting missions that I'm not familiar with.

 

Recently I've been hate watching a stream with players who builds leave me scratching my head. I've made builds trying to see where they went wrong.

Edited July 15 by Lusiphur Malache

[Ukase]

On 6/6/2024 at 4:34 PM, Luminara said:

I make liberal use of the middle-click function

I was ignorant of this function. Thanks. 

[DougGraves]

I make a character and play them to 21.  Then I turn off XP.   I then slot them with SOs and play them to evaluate their powers.

 

I respec them and may create an alternate build as essentially another respec.

 

When I am satisfied with the build I delete them and remake them and replay them to level 21 then turn off XP.

 

Most of the time I just use the build that I made as I leveled. Sometimes I respec because when you respec you can put more slots into the last powers you got.

[Without_Pause]

I do far more of just tossing in whatever IOs I have at those levels and eventually I will pop a respec once I know the character better. Even if I plan a build out in Mid's, I think one of the last builds I finalized took 5+ passes to finally figure out, and it took playing the build with Incarnates to do final configuration. 

[JJDrakken]

How do I do my builds?  Use Mid's Reborn and whatever concept I came up in my head. I always have a theme/concept before I decide on a build.

 

They usually go here:

 

 

[Crysis]

I should also point out that I’ve learned a BUNCH of game mechanics simply through MIDS.  During the “dark years” MIDS (old MIDS) would often be my idle time waster as I’d try different slotting strategies/power selections/pool selections and then use the various MIDS settings like “show values when attacked.”  That’s how I sort of discovered how much more potent a Stalker could be than even a Scrapper using the same powersets from a ST DPS perspective, but also how much less +DEF you have than you think out of stealth/hide.  Mids wasn’t/isn’t always correct in its values, but it really helps to understand what’s happening with your build in certain situations or versus certain critter attack types.

 

It’s not a replacement for playing the game, but it certainly is a valuable tool for simulating a build.  Of course, with the way the test server works, I don’t know why more people don’t just take their MIDS builds straight there, kit them out, and test them ‘live.’  But once you’ve sort’ve mastered MIDS, you find that theory-crafting is kind of a fun mini-game unto itself.

[Bio-Link]

never used mids, or builds, i use a few days to think of concept and power sets, then run it to 20-30 level to get a feel for it and scrap/respec, then run to 50. after i got all the incarnate unlocked, i respec for end game stuff. i go mostly by feel, so have to run alot of content to really get it setup.

[Ultimo]

Usually, I plan a character in Mids to L50, using only SOs.  I don't want to waste what little influence I have on IOs or sets that I'm going to outlevel, so I just use SOs until I get to 50 (though, none of my characters are there yet).

[Frunobulax]

I frontload the character with everything they're ever going to use, and build as I level because mucking around with my vaults/obtaining sets I've run out of slows down my alt creation to a few a week.

 

Also I like to level in missions and tf's and pretty much every group has io'd 50's absolutely overpowering everything with gear that the mobs were not designed for, and if I'm coated in cheese myself then I'm not at the mercy of our lack of tactics, nor do I have to stand around watching them kill stuff if I don't feel like it. And I like being capable of being able to help a newbie with a roomful of mobs that they've been abandoned to by the rest of the group, on any setting or combo.

 

I build to level (or to check things out that I've never tried before), and then I usually respec at 50 at least once. I don't use mids or anybody else''s builds or whatever. I really like just doing my own thing and then ruminating about it and making adjustments.

 

I also make a secondary build that's just standard enhancements, to swap to in the rare group I find where everybody else is only in the gear that existed when the content that we're playing was created.

 

 

As for my actual strategy for creating a character, I usually make some stupid pun or concept that is almost never serious, and then I consider what at/powers would best embody the stupid pun, or add to whatever theme or joke. And then I slather it with influence and make it work. Some characters are anti-synergy, some are (probably, I don't pay any attention but math is math) on meta, some probably become the meta down the road after changes on this living server.

 

I don't even care about performance/viability on paper, just what I can actually squeeze out of the character myself in real time. Today's third stringer could become tomorrow's all-star anyways, these devs make some great changes and have raised the viability of lots of my characters over the years here on HC.

[kelika2]

Only a few alts that I really really like get purples/atos/pvps.

 

Most of the time its:

Melee: slot for melee damage.  If said melee set has +melee def ability like Parry I slot for ranged defense.  shield and sr get mixed bags of sets to get to all caps

Ranged: permahasten most of the time, ranged defense sometimes.  if a character has "too many attacks" i slot for ranged defense

Support: Permahasten

Kheld: Permahasten

Sentinel: ranged defense most of the time.  Defense sets get mixed bags of sets to get to all caps

 

SoAs are weird.

Crabs are permahasten

Wolves are permahasten

Banes are mixed bags to get to all def caps

And I am not proud of my widows to even say.

[Scarlet Shocker]

Play first, build later.

 

If the toon doesn't grab me it gets dumped. No point in building something I don't like. So I'll wait until I'm sure I'll be keeping it before building something in Mids.

 

I've recently started building "adequate" stuff because that's good enough and not too expensive. If I share builds on line they are never good enough and people dump on them when the reality is they are ok to play in most scenarios.

 

I'm not one of those who has billions of inf oozing from every orifice as some seem to do here so I have to ration my spend a bit too. But it mostly works for me and I've yet to find a character fails having built it to a reasonable standard. Then again I'm not soloing all the things on +27x53 so good enough works well enough