Mister D's Lowbie and Newbie CoX Guide

[Razor Cure]

 

MisterD’s City Newbie Guide

 

• Choose a global name that DOES NOT make you sound like a twit.

• Basically any combination of Power Sets and Archetypes are decent. There are very few ‘bad’ sets, and even those have some great powers.

• If you make a melee class, generally, defence sets perform better than resistance sets, due to game mechanics.

• Weapon sets (like axe, katana, etc.) often do Smash or Lethal damage, the most commonly resisted in game. Don’t be let down by lower damage numbers.

 

• Hero Side (blue side) IS generally more populate than Red, making it easier to get a team. Also the Sewers are a great way to get a few early levels.

• Visit the P2W (on the map) person and pick up some of the prestige powers, like the attacks/buffs and travels.

• Sands of Mu, Blackwand, Nem staff. The ninja/beast run and steam/jetpack are great extra attacks and movement powers.

• Join a Sewer team in Atlas.

 

• The bank (blue) and mayhem (red) missions give temp powers and change every 5 levels (5-9, 10-15 etc.).

• Go to Kings Row (blue)/Port Oakes (red) and visit your Broker (the broker section of the mission tab) to get a scanner/paper. Doing 3-5 of these missions will then give a Bank mission, and a new contact upon completion.

• Contacts have single missions (one offs) and Story Arcs, a series of linked quests, usually with better rewards and Merits.

• Before doing a bank/mayhem with a team, make SURE everyone has the same idea. I.e. to all rush to the bank right away, or fight there.

• Going to the Hospital in these missions will respawn you on the same map, in jail for Mayhems.

• Mayhem missions DO live up to the name. They can be brutal as lowbies. Once you enter the bank for the first time, WAIT for the ambushes at the door.

 

• Being a lowbie can be hard. Running on +0 difficulty (changed at hero Corps/Fateweaver) is a good idea, even in a big team. It can be very easy to run out of endurance and be unable to do anything.

• Teaming is a great way to get out of lowbie hell.

• The Death from Below trials give Temp buffs that last to level 22 and help a lot. Use the LFG and it will start right away if you have a full team, or lock the event for the number you have.

 

• Travel powers can be taken at level 4. But the free P2W ones work fine in a pinch.

• Fly looks great, and seems super popular. But it is kind of useless for anything BUT flying. Hover (the ‘combat’ version of fly, not the travel Fly, separate power) is SO slow.

• Super Speed may take a bit to get the hang of, but also grants a pseudo ‘stealth,’ letting you run by (mostly) higher level baddies. Turn it off in combat.

• Combat Jumping gives Immob protection. Anyone who has fought low level Circle of Thorns will know how often they come up.

• Acrobatics stops Knockback (again, lowbie CoT LOVE using that). Also, in a pinch, fly/hover can function as knockback protection.

 

• There is an Invention Origin enhancement that gives you KB protection also. The sets are Karma/Steadfast prot/Blessing of the Zephyr and can be slotted into defence/resist/travel powers.

• It is the SINGLE best IO that any build without built in KB prot can get. They are fairly cheap in Merit cost (salvage/merit rewards).

• Getting extra ones and selling them on the Auction House is a great way to make some early money.

• Merits come from Story Arcs. Also, the Signature Arcs (icons on the relevant zone maps) give 20 merits the first time, and take about 15-45mins.

 

• Melee power sets, or others with a lot of toggle powers, should have at LEAST one Endurance Reduction (2 is better) enhancement in each power, or you’ll run dry.

• 3 Slot Stamina and fill it asap.

• If a power has an Accuracy listed in the info, it means it CAN miss and needs (in almost all cases, an Acc enhancement).

• Slotting attack powers with 1 Acc is ok, unless you want to fight +2s and beyond all the time.

• Endurance red in AoE powers is a good idea, they usually cost a lot.

 

• If you have a Buff (buff is a power that boosts a team mate), USE it. If you have to be asked, you aren’t doing your job.

• Most shield buffs (bubbles, cold, therm, sonic) are AoE now, and apply to everyone around the target.

• Tell the team if you need a sec to buff them.

• Try (to some degree) to play according to the Class. If you have an emp healer, don’t spend all the time attacking.

• Just because you are a Tank class, does NOT mean you ARE a tank at low levels.

• Brutes and scrappers (and anything with good buffs) can ‘tank’ just fine.

• As a Mastermind, use the commands, especially Heel. Make your pets stop once a mob dies, so they don’t rush off. Also, the Follow/defend mode lets them take damage directed to you.

• Stealth is good on a Stalker, especially if you team a lot. Recall friend is also handy.

• Bosses typically need TWO applications of a Mez (hold, stun, immob) to lock them down.

 

• There are 3 types of Enhancement, Dual Origin, Single Origin, and Invention Origin.

• DO’s are basically crap and just sold.

• SO’s are good, but you need ones with the same Origin (picked in char creation, natural, mutant etc.). They can be slotted 3 levels below the actual level..i.e. a level 25 SO can be slotted when you hit 22.

• SO’s also decay, and are useless 3-4 levels lower than your current level. Meaning buying them every 5 levels WILL get pricey.

• Invention enhancements are crated from a recipe (either a drop, bought from the Auction House, or with merits/tickets) and need various Invention Salvage to craft.

• They NEVER decay, and always give that same bonus, so at level 22, it is a good idea to craft level 25 Common (acc/dam/etc.) IOs.

 

• Task Forces/Strike Forces are a series of linked missions, forming a suitably epic Story, giving by various famous in game characters.

• They usually need 4-8 team members and take 90-120 mins, but allow more time if people are inexperience.

• The levels of the missions have a set range (10-15 etc.) and you must be the minimum level, but can also be any higher level. If no one if the max for that range (such as everyone being 13, not 15) it will adjust down.

• The difficulty will go of the leader’s settings. Most TFs give a good amount of xp, and don’t really need to be set over +0 or +1.

• If team members enter a mission while the leader is in another zone (or a 2nd version of the same zone), the difficulty will default back to +0. This also applies for any normal mission.

• A lot of the higher level TFs have some really hard hero/arch villain fights, so have some debuffs and buffs certainly helps.

• As an example, my level 11 MM did Posi1 and 2, and hit 22 by the end.

 

• Get a –KB IO. It is the single best investment you will make, and will make play much smoother.

• Invention sets are generally better in the level 30-50 range (to get the max stats, set bonuses themselves don’t change with the enhancement level).

 

• Supergroup Bases are very handy, and can have things like Storage for salvage and enhancements, Teleporters to all zones, an Oro flashback portal, Inspiration selling, and a Med Bay.

• All items are currently FREE (if you don’t know why that is good, don’t worry) so go ahead and go nuts.

• Ask someone for help building if you are confused.