IO Sets with Level Caps... Do you ever use them?

[Yomo Kimyata]

There are two aspects to sets below the level cap:  enhancements (how much it adds to a given characteristic) and set bonuses.  The rules are pretty clearly set out in the wiki, but I will paraphrase:  set bonuses are good until you exemplar more than three levels below the level of the IO, and enhancement bonuses are like turtles all the way down -- still good.

 

Here is an example of a 4-slotted Cloud Senses that I checked for one of my 50s at exemplared levels 50, 39, 29, 19, 9.  For each of the stated levels across the top, I went to Ouro and selected a mission from that level range and I checked the enhancement % from the Enhancements/Manage page.  The four slotted were To Hit Debuff; Accuracy/To Hit Debuff; Accuracy /Recharge; Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge.  Reminder that Cloud Senses is a level 10-30 enhancement, so that an attuned will be good throughout that range.  I measured three different types:  attuned, level 30, level 30 +5 (5x enhancement boosters for each piece).  Here is my sheet:

 

Level:	50	39	29	19	9
ATTUNED
To Hit	34.0%	34.0%	31.7%	13.3%	7.4%
Accuracy	60.9%	60.9%	56.2%	23.8%	13.3%
Recharge	39.2%	39.2%	17.4%	6.8%	3.8%
Endurance	17.4%	17.4%	17.4%	6.8%	3.8%
% Recharge	6.25%	6.25%	6.25%	6.25%	6.25%
LVL 30
To Hit	34.0%	34.0%	31.7%	13.3%	7.4%
Accuracy	60.9%	60.9%	56.2%	23.8%	13.3%
Recharge	39.2%	39.2%	36.8%	15.3%	8.6%
Endurance	17.4%	17.4%	17.4%	6.8%	3.8%
% Recharge	6.25%	6.25%	6.25%	0.0%	0.0%
LVL 30+5
To Hit	42.2%	42.4%	39.7%	16.6%	9.3%
Accuracy	75.5%	75.5%	70.3%	29.8%	16.7%
Recharge	48.9%	48.9%	46.0%	19.1%	10.7%
Endurance	21.8%	21.8%	21.8%	8.5%	4.8%
% Recharge	6.25%	6.25%	6.25%	0.0%	0.0%

 

In the enhancement screen, to hit is listed twice due to how the power works, so I only listed it once.  The percentage numbers are the percentage enhancement, not the percentage of effect.  The final row is basically the four slot set bonus of 6.25% global recharge and whether or not it is in effect.  All these numbers are from the screens and I make no promises that they are taking effect in actual combat.

 

If you look at attuned, you see that all enhancement levels are in effect across all the given levels.  At level 50 you get the same effects as you get at level 39 because it is capped at level 30.  At level 29 you see some reduction.  At lower levels if drops off dramatically since that's how enhancements work at low levels.  Note that the set bonus is in effect at all listed levels, because every level I tested are greater than three levels below the set minimum.  If I exemplared to level 6, then the set bonuses would go away.  I found it interesting that the endurance enhancement did not drop from level 39 to 29 and offhand I don't know why that is.

 

If you look at level 30 IOs, you see the exact same level of enhancement levels across the board.  The only difference is that the set bonuses go away at levels 19 and 9 (and should do so at levels 26 and below since that's more than three levels below the level of the set.

 

If you look at the boosted 30+5s, you have enhancement levels above the level 30 numbers.  This is interesting because you are getting level 35 enhancement levels from a level 30 set.  However, since the set is still at level 30, you lose the set bonuses at levels 26 and below.

 

In short, hell yeah use sets with good bonuses that cap below 50.  Just make sure you cap them and +5 them and understand you will lose set bonuses below a certain point.  Practically, however, it shouldn't matter because every enemy at a very low level is extremely trivial.

 

EDIT:  Attuned lvl 29, 19, 9 Recharge should be 36,8%, 15.3%, 8.6%, I transcribed it incorrectly

Edited July 15 by Yomo Kimyata

[Yomo Kimyata]

And interestingly enough, there are some IOs that provide both attribute enhancement and proc effects.  Two that leap to mind are the Steadfast Protection Res/+def and the LotG Def/+rech.  If you run the same analysis on these that I did above, you will get better resistance and defense numbers respectively from the Steadfast and the LoTG if you +5 them at top level, but you lose the proc effect at more than three levels below the stated level.  If you frequently exemplar below 47, I'd use an attuned LotG, and if you frequently exemplar below 27, I'd use an attuned Steadfast.  But for my purposes, I might be willing to pony up for the 5 boosters to put in a Steadfast Protection Res/DEF lvl 30+5 and get a little more resistance.  Might.

[Sovera]

9 hours ago, Hedgefund said:

In my lifetime I've 3 slotted Explosive Strike, a set that tops at 20, +5ing the two boostable pieces, which takes the values from awful to just a  hair below mediocre.  The proc is nice and I was chasing ranged def.  I wish I could remember which character this was, I'd like to check what I put in the other 3 slots but my recollection was at the end of the day it met my targets.

 

My problem with Kinetic Combat is not the damage, but the set has accuracy in only one piece, offering a hair under 23% accuracy enhancement at lvl 35 and beyond, boosted +5 takes it to almost 29%..  So unless it's a pure mule you have to dedicate more slots to make up for this.

 

Yes, but there are only a finite amount of defense options once having taken Combat Jumping, Weave, Maneuvers, etc. That's where Kinetic Combat comes in for those who want to up their defense.

[Ravenplume]

On 7/14/2024 at 7:38 AM, FupDup said:

A few examples of good sub-50 sets are Touch of Death, Reactive Armor, and Decimation...notice how these all go up to level 40. There is also Cloud Senses that only goes up to 30 but has really good set bonuses (plus the fact that it only competes against one set, and that one set has extremely shitty bonuses). 

 

 

Miracle is another one that caps out at 40, and is perfectly usable as well, not just the unique.

[UltraAlt]

On 7/14/2024 at 3:28 AM, ThatGuyCDude said:

Enhancements with the 'Effective until Level 20/30' nonsense... do you ever use them?

 

I mainly use the procs from those sets.

I don't slot them for set bonuses.

 

That being said, I am starting to level-lock/"no XP" many characters in certain level ranges and may start looking at sets that cap above that level.

[Ravenplume]

On 7/14/2024 at 11:06 PM, MonteCarla said:

 

 

And Cloud Senses (also caps at 30), Luck of the Gambler (caps at 40)

 

 

Luck of the Gambler goes to 50, and starts at 25.  It does not cap at 40.