Young_Tutor

1.) I wouldn't go for more +recharge, though I would continue to look for more efficient ways to get the +rech (ie long-term swap out sets for LOTG +rech, that sort of thing).

2.) Even a little extra +def is a good thing. Shadow Fall is +5% unslotted, manuevers +3.5%, the steadfast protection IO will get you an additional +3% to all. With a minimal amount of slotting for defense, that's like running a small purple at all times. If you 6-slot thunderstrike, that gets you +3.75 ranged, Stupefy 6-slotted is 3.13% ranged. That's not exactly soft-capped, but its pretty respectable. Combined with all your to-hit debuff, your resistances, and your heal, and you'll be a lot more survivable.

3.) If you haven't done so already, getting all the usual suspects (numina's, miracle, performance shifter, knockback protection, stealth IO, etc) is typically worthwhile. You might also want to look at the Kismet +to hit, the aegis psi/status protection IO, among others.

4.) For DDD, you might also want the cloud senses +neg damage proc for Fluffy. Other procs that I really think shine given your spamming of TT/NF are the Ragnarok knockdown proc and the Grav Anchor hold proc. Both of those in your chain will dramatically increase your ability to serve as a poor man's controller.

If there is room, I need this badge on my Rad/Dark defender.

I have a Rad/Dark Defender. I need this badge. I like helping folks out.

Obitus, Uber,

Just a few random observations to throw into your discussion. Just my $0.02

1.) It seems to me that bringing SO builds into the conversation is a little unreal. Someone with a level 50 SO build isn't going to be able to follow the discussion in the first place. Its not about the relative merits of purples vs the alpha slot, or even numina/lotg/miracle; they'd get a huge leg up simply from slotting yellow recipes.

2.) I don't think that either one of you would disagree that (in general) when leveling/outfitting a character, stuff like LOTG/Miracle/Numina would take precedence over purple sets. You can slot them sooner, they are more easily available, etc. Outside of PLed toons, its hard for me to imagine a character these days standing at WWs and deciding whether or not to buy LOTGs or a Purple . . . for goodness sake, why didn't they slot those LOTGs earlier so they could enjoy them while leveling?

3.) On the other hand, I could easily see a level 50 standing at WWs and thinking "should I add a purple set to *this* character, or nicely kit out 2 of my alts?" And I don't think that question has an easy answer because there are going to be too many variables, it would be an intensely personal answer. If you enjoy having one super-awesome hero, eeking small amounts of awesome might be worth it. If you didn't see the need for it, it would be insanely stupid.

4.) As far as exemplaring goes . . . in general I think purples are *awesome* simply because their global bonuses are available at every level, no matter whether you have access to that power or not. And while level 50s probably value the +recharge from purple sets the most, level 15s get a lot of milage out of the +acc and + rec (though rec will be relatively less useful after the changes to stamina). Sure, you *could* make a special exemplar build and for the sake of argument purples might not be the best choice for that one . . . but at that point, haven't we veered a little far into the realm of extreme min/max?

4.a) Not that I have a problem with extreme min/max, I have mad respect for numbers crunchers. That said, I think a discussion about the best way to min/max *implicitly* stipulates that the extra 10% performance (or whatever) is worth it. That kind of discussion *assumes* its better to have one awesome character instead of 3-4 really good ones. (And also, if you are going to have 2 builds on one character, you really aren't talking about kitting out 3-4 other characters anymore).

4.b) Also, at the point when we get that far in the weeds about the relative merits of high-end IO builds, its worth noting that anyone with the understanding of inventions, the market, builds, & etc to follow it *also* has the knowledge such that getting influence via the market is fairly trivial and simply a matter of desire. At this point, we really aren't talking about casual players anymore. I agree that people who complain that purple sets are too expensive for "casual players" coming from SO-builds are probably missing the boat. If you are *that* casual purples won't get you the biggest bang for the buck in the first place.

4.c) Obitis, I'm sure there are some great exemplar builds that don't require purples to function at peak effectiveness . . . but at the same time, I think its clear that in some cases, purples *would* be the superior choice when exemplared. In certain level ranges, +acc and +recharge are simply not available. To the extent that one wants to exemp in those level ranges and to the extent that +acc and +recharge are what one wants to emphasize, purple sets aren't simply the best choice, they are the *only* choice. I think its a bit much to simply dismiss purple sets' value while exemplared.

5.) I would agree that anyone who slots purples solely in order to go from 260 recharge to 275 recharge is getting into the realms of dimishing returns. And I would agree that there are *plenty* of sets where you can get a more than decent amount of recharge. At the same time, it seems intuitive to me that if you are at 260 recharge *without* slotting any purples, you've likely made some *significant* build trade-offs. For example, if a scrapper has 2 sets of crushing impacts slotted, they have the same +recharge and + acc as if they had one hectacomb and one mako's or touch of death . . . but with the purple and one other, they *also* get +dam and + def. Is that worth it? Depends on your build, what else you would do with the influence, what you value, etc. But it seems clear to me that the extra amount of +recharge isn't the *only* think that matters. Its the ability to get more of other stuff while keeping a certain level of + recharge.

6.) I have a couple of characters who are already maxed out with +recharge, and I am thinking of what to do with the Alpha Slot. I could go with +recharge, and sell some of my purples . . . or I could go with something else in the Alpha Slot. Sure, I could sell my purple sets and get enough influence to kit out 5-10 alts . . . but I *already* have the purple sets, and I *don't* have 5-10 alts where I lack the $$$ to do what I want with them.

7.) On the other hand, I *do* have 5-10 alts where I've got enough influence to buy everything I'd like to slot with them except buy a couple of purple sets . . . and for *those* guys, the Alpha Slot is a no-brainer. At least at first. So I do see the Alpha Slot as driving down some of the demand for purple sets. That said, +30% damage over the ED cap is pretty sweet and I think it would be very, very difficult to get that via IO bonuses and would involve a lot of build tradeoffs. Whereas +30% recharge is just 2 purple sets. Its expensive, but influence is cheap.

Just a few thoughts while the servers are down! :-)

I'm going to give some advice from a different perspective . . . putting off a respec till level 47 in order to slot level 50 IOs is a bit of a waste. If you are planning on spending a billion influence on this hero once you hit 50, you can afford to use one of your vetspecs now and just slot over whichever IOs you want to replace.

The power available in IOs makes leveling to 50 that much easier and more fun. Whether slotting for nice set bonuses or frankenslotting, there's something for everyone.

On reflection, you might want to take a strong look at the leadership pool, also. You'll be bringing some noticible + def to the table with Shadows Fall. Why not make it better with Manuevers? At lower levels, the extra + def will go a long way as compared to at higher levels when folks will have more of their own defenses fleshed out. And if that makes sense to you, then consider also assault and/or tactics (especially if you want to focus more on support and less on blasting).

A lot of it depends on playstyle. I'm more of an offender, so I dig having some solid blasts on hand. Even if you're more inclined towards support, having some potent offensive tools in your kit can be useful. Don't neglect TT! :-)

This is something I've given a fair amount of thought to. A couple of things to keep in mind.

1.) You'll have access to all primary, secondary, and pool powers up to *5* levels over your exemplared power, as well as all temp powers.

2.) You'll have the benefits of all enhancements slotted . . . but depending on your level and how far you are exemped down, the enhancement value will be scaled down according to a formula http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Exemplar...n_Enhancements . You can do some funny things with frankenslotting set IOs to minimize this effect. The big thing is that enhancement values under +20% don't get scaled down so long as you are exemplared at level 21 or above. You can use +x/+y set IOs level 25 or less, or +x/+y/+z set IOs level 43 or less and get full value for the enhancement.

3.) You'll have set bonuses to the extent that you are within 3 levels of the lowest level of the set. For example, if you have 2 level 33 set IOs, 1 level 35, and 1 level 36 of the same set, you'll have the 4 slot bonus at level 33, the 3 slot bonus at level 32, and the 2 slot bonus at level 30. This isn't directly related to the level you choose you power at, because while exemplared you have access to set bonuses even if you don't have access to the power . . . so long as the IOs are w/in the level range. And you can do some neat tricks with this, too.

4.) Generally you'll only be exemplared down for TFs or maybe PVP. So there are cutpoints where you can worry about whether or not you'll be effective at that level. If you're just going to help someone with a random mission, its probably going to be okay either way.

I think you've hit the nail on the head when it comes to travel powers. Flight isn't the fastest travel power in the first place, though it is very convineient. If you are prepared to hoof it a bit (or buy a jetpack), you can squeeze two extra powers in.

Dark Miasma is pretty straightforward. So many its awesome powers are must-haves. They really shine. You'd want to take them anyway. Dark Blast is a little different, so here are some thoughts on its powers with exemping in mind.

In general while leveling part of my calculus in choosing powers is "can I spare enough slots for this power to make it shine?" A power might be awesome when slotted properly, but if its sandwitched between 2 other *more* awesome powers the logical thing to do is put off taking the power till you have the slots to make it shine and pick up something that would be useful straight out the box. Dark Blast has 4 powers that (IMO) deserve a second look in an exemplared build.

1.) Tenebrous Tentacles: I personally love this power and take it when I can get it. But it might get lost in the shuffle, especially if you are trying to slot up other powers. For me, its the little power that can. It debuffs acc, it immobilizes, and its an aoe power. What's not to like? You can slot it up with 4 different sets and there are a variety of interesting procs available for TT. This might blow your mind, but the purple immobilize set has a chance to hold and the purple TAOE set has a chance to knockdown. Debilitative Action is a basic IO set, and has a chance to stun. There are a variety of damage procs, plus some others that you might want to consider. You can turn TT into an "I win" button.

2.) Night Fall: combined with TT, you can pump out some pretty decent AOE damage once you get it slotted up. While leveling you might want to put it off, especially if you team a lot. But in an exemplar build, you want this power ASAP.

3.) Gloom: you've probably thought of Gloom already, but just in case you haven't its a heavy hitter. Throw some tri-aspect set IOs in it, and you're cooking with grease! You might be tempted to leave it out of an exemplared build, thinking that you aren't on the team to do damage, but goldarnit . . . its *really* good.

4.) Dark Pit: pretty much worthless unless slotted. And not *especially* great even when slotted. But I've found it useful while exemplared. Its one more soft control.

Some situational pool powers to consider:

Recall Friend: you have shadow's fall, right? Put a stealth IO in sprint, you're invisible! Not bad if that's what you want to do.

Hasten: for AV fights, bring Howling Twilight back up that much sooner. -Regen powers rule AV fights, and that's a big part of what you'll be facing while exemplared. Note that the Positron TFs don't feature an AV.

With that said, I'm assuming that Twilight Grasp, Tar Patch, Darkest Night, Howling Twilight, Shadows Fall, Fearsome Gaze, and Dark Servant are going to be in your build regardless. I can't think of any reason *not* to have any of those powers within a level or two of when they were available. And you might want to think long and hard before attempting to go without stamina.

I just read this, kind of makes the "we need an alternative to buying purples on the market" argument obsolete:

Positron:

"That’s a new form of currency with which you can buy the very rare drops, the purple drops, in a place that only heroes and only villains can go to, called the Loyalty Lounges.”

http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/87358/page/2

1.) Game is balanced around the idea that you are (at 27) kitted out with SOs.

2.) Yes, SOs expire. Its annoying.

3.) Completing sets can be expensive (especially if you want ones with great set bonuses).

What to do?

1.) First, you are vastly overestimating how much it costs to craft yellow recipes. Rare salvage can run close to 3 million, but the white and yellow salvage (with a couple of exceptions) typically can be bought for much less. Put your bids up at reasonable prices and leave them there overnight, see what happens.

2.) Most efficient way to get bang for your buck at your level is to use yellow recipes as funkey, supereffective SOs rather than for their set bonuses (if you get a bonus, well . . . bonus!). Put in 2 different acc/dam set IOs at level 30 (or 29, or 28, or 31, the difference isn't that great) and you'll get roughly +43% to dam and acc. That's better than using SOs or regular IOs, and of course they'll never expire. Use 2 acc/dam/rech, and you essentially get 3 SOs for the price of 2. Just mix and match cheap recipes.

3.) How to get cheap recipes? Stick to yellow ones, the orange ones use more expensive salvage (you've figured this out already). Some yellow recipes cost more than others (they have better set bonuses). Don't feel like you *have* to use the highest level set IO (as noted above the difference between set IOs a couple of levels apart isn't huge). Put up modest bids and wait overnight for them to get filled.

4.) Another option is to spend a bit of time checking out the player-designed missions at the Architecht Entertainment center. Instead of salvage, recipes, or enhancements, you earn tickets that can be exchanged for things. Do a couple of missions (don't be quick to click glowies, clear the map) and go to the ticket vendor once you have a few thousand tickets.

My advice would be use them on "bronze recipe rolls" in the level 30-34 range as that would generate a lot of things that you could use at your level as well as stuff you could sell. If you were only trying to maximize profits, many folks like the level 10-14 and level 35-39 brackets. Don't worry, no matter what range you roll in, the recipe will be at your level (or level 30 if you roll in the 30-34 bracket, or the max level for the recipe if you are higher level than the max level for that recipe). You can also buy salvage with the tickets, should you choose.

You know, compared to say WOW I don't understand *what* people are complaining about.

1.) In WOW, in order to "max out" a character, there are certain items that can only be aquired via drops. You cannot buy them from vendors, create them yourself, or trade with other players for them.

2.) Additionally, those items are only available in certain group encounters. You would have to run specific content in order to aquire them.

3.) Some of that content essentially requires not only that your character meet a certain level of quality in terms of pre-existing items, but that the average item level of your group be at par.

The upshot is that if you are a "casual player" who plays the game for a few hours a week, you'll likely *never* be able to max out your character. Its basically impossible.

Compared to COX, everything that drops is available for purchase. With time and effort, you can earn enough influence to purple out your hero without teaming. You participate in every encounter in the game with just SOs. By earning merits or AE tickets, you can aquire every non-purple or pvp recipe in the game.

Preaching to the choir, but the "inflated prices" are an opportunity as well as a drawback to "poor" characters getting enough influence in order to get the IOs they want. It is only an obstacle to people who refuse to sell as well as to buy, people who treat Wentworth's like a store rather than an auction house.

To be fair, there is a rather steep learning curve to being able to maximize the potential of the market. Know what recipes are valuable, knowing how to lowball bids, having the recipe space, storage space in your base, and knowing the most efficient ways to generate recipes, salvage, influence, etc is not very straightforward. It can be tedious and cumbersome. Many players aren't willing to devote much energy to the market mini-game. And in fact, that reality is part of the reason why folks who *do* spend a bit of time learning how the market and inventions work have such an easy time getting rich.

That said, its hard for me to understand the attitudes of folks who simply aren't willing to figure out how the market and inventions work yet are willing to condemn it. Sure, you might not *want* to put in a bit of time to learn the basics about how to earn merits, tickets, sell good stuff, and buy what you want . . . but how does that equate to the system being broken? There's a difference in something being *impossible* for you to accomplish and you being *unwilling* to put in a bit of effort to accomplish something.

Just my $0.02.

Danny, Welcome to COH!

Coming from WOW and Everquest, I think you will find the COH roles a little bit different. As others have said, pure healing isn't the be-all and end-all of "support". While you certainly can play your hero as a "healer", you'll be missing out on a lot of his or her potential.

At the lower levels, you'll find yourself acting like a healer more often, and as the game gets more challenging, you'll find yourself using a wider variety of skills to help keep your team fighting crime. As other heros fill out their personal defenses more, they will rely on your direct heals less. As their powers increase, your buffs will become proportionally more powerful. The heals in empathy are relatively lower level; the buffs are more powerful.

As the strength of enemies increases, the value of your controls will go up. Many higher level mobs have special abilities that are quite dangerous. For some groups, LTs can be more of a problem than bosses. With a quick hold, you can *prevent* a lot of mayhem more efficiently than you could react to the damage via healing the aftermath. Plant has a wide variety of tools to deal with different sorts of threats.

As someone who enjoys playing controllers and defenders, my guard goes up when people talk about "healers". If a team is looking for a "healer" it makes me wonder what their attitude is, whether they understand the limitations of that approach in COH, and whether or not they are looking for someone to serve as a crutch for their own limited playstyle. Yes, in some ways controllers and defenders are "support" classes, but on the other hand some of the most effective teams are made up *entirely* of controllers and/or defenders. COH is flexible, and if you enjoy focusing more on support you can do that well with a controller or a defender. But you can also do *so* much more.