BaronZealot

Whenever I've ever wanted to use Disable Earning XP, it was because I didn't want to level up and miss content (usually Mayhem/Safeguard missions or missions which grant the O-portal or trying to get the Praetorian Moral Choice badge). Ideally you would want to put this off as late as possible to not waste XP. However often you have to do it quite early due to mission and arc complete bonuses. This is especially true since you don't even earn double Inf when using the "Disable Earning XP" option.

GuyPerfect, I was asking for double Inf, no XP for the option above the one you're highlighting. I want the "Disable Earning XP" options to be the same as the "XP While Exemplared" option.

Along with this could we get the No XP Option to work like exemplaring used to? With double Inf? Right now it appears to cancel the XP instead of shifting it into Inf like I expected it to.

To be clear, it's only tanks with Dull Pain (Invuln) and other hit point powers (like the Will Power auto power) that are already at or near the HP cap.

After some thought, I think that NCSoft could handle account names and global handles separately. Change the account names as planned (possibly excluding trial accounts inactive longer than a certain time), but change global handles based on seniority (veteran badges) with the veteran getting to keep (random for same time?).

By the way if you never logged in with your trial account, it won't have assigned a global handle. It seems every time I log into Test I have a different global handle there because they've done a database wipe since I last logged in (fairly infrequently). There probably also isn't a conflict unless your first character on the trial account is the same name as your EU global.

I went with a Defender because I have Altitis badly enough that I'll never get to see the really cool powers in Cold Dom if I went Corr.

Out of curiosity I decided to do a paper Stalker/Scrapper comparison for AV bashing.

Assumptions:

-Martial Arts (available to both and attack chains are going to be similar)
-110% Global Recharge so that all powers recharge soon enough to have a smooth chain
-All powers effectively in queue so that the only gap in powers is activation time adjusted for Arcanatime
-Placate and Focus Chi (Build Up) are slotted with 3 level 50 Recharge IOs
-Attack Powers are slotted with a full set of Crushing Impact (optimal enhancement slotting for enhancements)
-No damage procs
-Stalker attack chain is FC->AB->EC->CK->Plac->AB->then repeat EC->CK->CAK->SK until 30 secs are up from when Focus Chi is first pressed
-Scrapper attack chain is FC->then repeat EC->CK->CAK->SK until 30 secs are up from when Focus Chi is first pressed
-Attack Chain Damage is averaged to include crits: 31% for Stalkers (7 teammates in range) and 10% for Scrappers (non-minions)
-Eagle's Claw for Scrappers has an extra 5% crit chance (if I'm reading City of Data right the extra crit chance for Stalker EC was removed without changing the description? City of Data also seems to say that Scrapper Storm Kick has an extra 5% crit chance too, but I'm considering that a typo for now)
-It takes 13.2 sec to finish animating the second AS
-At the end of 30 s Placate and BU are up again and the cycle repeats except that Stalkers have to wait 20 s for another AS instead of 10 s as in the first cycle and Scrappers don't have to Placate

Results:

Stalkers are clearly better for the 1st ~5 sec and pretty close up through 15 sec depending on how the crits fall.

Stalkers are a little weak at the 10 s mark because Placate eats up the last of BU without contributing direct damage.

Global damage buffs (sets, buffs, or red inspirations) favor Stalkers a little more, but not much. Lots of damage buffs would favor Scrappers since they have a larger cap.

I typically start slotting IOs at level 22 (previous levels go by quickly and I typically don't worry about slotting too much before then).

Frankenslotting is very effective--especially for Ranged and Melee attacks. You can get Ruin or Maelstom's Fury very cheaply (5-20K inf or less for the recipe hero-side with pretty reasonable salvage requirements most of the time). Any 2 Acc/Dam and then some Dam/Rech or Dam/End or some triples. Then you can forget about that slot until you can replace it with the set you're going for. This is really good for when you're leveling quickly and can't spend the time to constanly update SOs.

And then there are the powers like Mind Link that beg for Frankenslotting. Or slot-starved builds like Kheldians where you're going to be more effective with Frankenslotting then you may be with going after sets. And then there are things like the slow sets and some of the mez ones that are really poorly designed and you have to Frankenslot if you want all the right enhancements.

[ QUOTE ]
I think for many of us, Smurphy, unless someone else tells us early on, it takes a while to understand the whole 'Frankienslotting' way of getting maximum effect from an ability by using 2 (or more) sets in a power. It's taken me almost a year.

[/ QUOTE ]

In my mind the reasons to Franken-slot are:
<ul type="square">[*] Set Bonuses (especially the two-three item ones)[*] Slot-starved configurations [*] Powers that really benefit from a secondary attribute (End or Rech)[*] Powers that have not benefit from one of the secondary attributes (Strength of Will and Recharge)[*] Powers that use poorly designed sets (Mez powers, early snipe sets)[*] To incorporate a Proc from a set you otherwise wouldn't use[*] Not enough Inf to complete the set you're working on all at once[*] The set you are working on has enhancements you don't care for[/list]
This compilation helps with some of those decisions, but not others.

[ QUOTE ]
I guess the analysis of using mixed and matched sets would take too long and people who truly want to maximize effectiveness would do it themselves. I really think the work in here is impressive but I don't understand much of the usefulness of focusing on slotting the maximum amount of a single set.

It's like a min/max guide that doesn't have the min/max options for people who don't min/max.

[/ QUOTE ]

Perhaps my use of the word Exhaustive wasn't really justified, but my purpose was to show what the various sets offered and to give some minimal franken-slotting advice. To do things like show what the advantages of Crushing Impact are over Mako's Bite and the worthlessness of trying to slot using the Slow sets and the disadvantages of the Mez sets.

Plenty of people talk about which set bonuses are worthwhile, while I don't see as many people talking about the enhancement options from the sets. I didn't include tons of franken-slotting options because there are too many options and there are so many different needs. I included the big tables for Schedules A, B, C, and D as starters/helps for that purpose.

But mostly at heart I'm a numbers person that's interested in the patterns, but don't really have the patience for hardcore min/maxing.

I see this compilation as a starting point for those that are interested in the numbers. Probably more for those looking to eliminat major flaws in their builds. If you want to crank the most out of it you'll have to run the numbers yourself (and include the set bonuses). Planners like Mids' help for that, but they too have flexibility limits.

The Baron's Exhaustive Guide to IOs

Schedule B

We’ve already seen Range enhancements in the ranged damage and targeted AoE damage sets. Other Schedule B enhancements are defense buff, damage resistance, to hit buff, and to hit debuff.

Schedule B SOs values at relative levels:
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Rel. Lev. SO Equiv. IO 3 /w ED
+3 23.000% 39 57.350%
+2 22.000% 35 56.900%
+1 21.000% 31 56.450%
0 20.000% 26 56.000%
-1 18.000% 24 51.800%
-2 16.000% 21 47.200%
-3 14.000% 19 41.800%</pre><hr />

I’ve listed the equivalent levels that are the same or greater. Rounding favors Schedule B slightly more for the +3 SO level as the level 39 IOs are just barely below the +3 SO level. For Schedule B IOs a level 39 IO exactly equals a +3 SO. The Schedule A “95% Rule” becomes the “56% Rule” for Schedule B. Schedule B enhancements are the least powerful enhancements. Here are the values for a wide range of IOs at 5 level increments in the “SO range.”

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Equiv 25 30 35 40 45 50
A 6S 6.000 64.280% 65.810% 66.800% 67.880% 68.870% 69.950%
B 5S 5.000 61.400% 62.675% 63.500% 64.400% 65.225% 66.125%
C 4S 4.000 58.520% 59.540% 60.200% 60.920% 61.580% 62.300%
D 6D 3.750 57.800% 58.756% 59.375% 60.050% 60.669% 61.344%
E 5D1T or 3S1D
3.625 57.440% 58.364% 58.963% 59.615% 60.213% 60.866%
G 2S3T or 3S1T
3.500 57.080% 57.973% 58.550% 59.180% 59.758% 60.388%
H 3D3T 3.375 56.720% 57.581% 58.138% 58.745% 59.302% 59.909%
J 5D 3.125 56.000% 56.797% 57.313% 57.875% 58.391% 58.953%
K 3S or 4D1T or 1S4T
3.000 54.320% 56.405% 56.900% 57.440% 57.935% 58.475%
M 3D2T 2.875 52.640% 56.013% 56.488% 57.005% 57.479% 57.997%
O 2D3T or 1S2D1T
2.750 50.960% 54.233% 56.075% 56.570% 57.024% 57.519%
Q 2S1D 2.625 49.280% 52.404% 54.425% 56.135% 56.568% 57.041%
S 4D or 2S1T or 1S3T
2.500 47.200% 50.575% 52.500% 54.600% 56.113% 56.563%
T 3D1T 2.375 45.040% 48.674% 50.575% 52.570% 54.399% 56.084%
V 1S2D or 2D2T
2.250 42.880% 46.323% 48.550% 50.540% 52.273% 54.163%
W 1D3T 2.125 40.720% 43.971% 46.075% 48.370% 50.146% 51.931%
Y 2S or 4T 2.000 38.400% 41.620% 43.600% 45.760% 47.740% 49.700%
AA 3D 1.875 36.000% 39.188% 41.125% 43.150% 45.006% 47.031%
AB 2D1T 1.750 33.600% 36.575% 38.500% 40.540% 42.273% 44.163%
AD 1D2T 1.625 31.200% 33.963% 35.750% 37.700% 39.488% 41.294%
AF 3T 1.500 28.800% 31.350% 33.000% 34.800% 36.450% 38.250%
AH 2D 1.250 24.000% 26.125% 27.500% 29.000% 30.375% 31.875%
AI 1D1T 1.125 21.600% 23.513% 24.750% 26.100% 27.338% 28.688%
AK 1S or 2T 1.000 19.200% 20.900% 22.000% 23.200% 24.300% 25.500%
AM 1D 0.625 12.000% 13.063% 13.750% 14.500% 15.188% 15.938%
AN 1T 0.500 9.600% 10.450% 11.000% 11.600% 12.150% 12.750%</pre><hr />

I’ve kept the same case codes, but omitted cases that are not currently available in the game. I’ve not included Quadruplets in the above chart because the only Schedule B Quadruplet caps at level 25 (the Salvo Acc/Dam/End/Range–see the ranged damage section for the value of a quadruple aspect Range IO at 25). I’ve also not included any combos with more than 4 Triplets because the 5th Triplets in Def and Res sets also cap at 25.

Teleport

Teleport is set up the same as the other travel powers except that Range is Schedule B.

Jaunt Range Range/End End
Time &amp; Space Manipulation Range End (Proc)

Additionally, universal travel sets like Winter’s Gift also work.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> End Range
2 Slots Jau @ 50 68.90% 41.29%
2 Slots T&amp;SM @ 50 42.40% 25.50%
2 Slots WG @ 50 26.50% 41.29%</pre><hr />

For those who want more Range than offered by one of the sets, the same combo as is useful for Hover can be used. Note that Recall Friend can also be slotted for Range, but this is only useful in big zones or maps like the Shadow Shard and the Woodsman trial.

Combo Range Range Range/End

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> End Range
3 Slots Combo @ 50 26.50% 57.04%
3 Slots Combo @ 40 24.13% 56.14%
3 Slots Combo @ 30 21.75% 52.40%</pre><hr />

Defense Buff

The main place people encounter Schedule B enhancements is with Defense and its sister enhancement Resistance.

Karma Def/End Def/Rech (Proc)
Kismet Def/End Def/Rech End/Rech Def/End/Rech (Proc)
Serendipity Def/End Def/Rech (End/Rech) Def/End/Rech Def (End)
Gift of the Ancients Def/End Def/Rech End/Rech Def/End/Rech Def (Def/Proc)
Red Fortune Def/End Def/Rech (End/Rech) Def/End/Rech Def (End)
Luck of the Gambler Def/End Def/Rech (End/Rech) Def/End/Rech Def (Def/Proc)

Note that GotA and LotG have what I’m calling Def/Proc enhancements they give doublet values of Defense and have a universal bonus (movement and recharge). Defense sets only give End and Rech enhancement if you slot past 4 enhancements.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> End Rech Def
2 Slots Kar @ 30 21.75% 21.75% 26.13%
4 Slots Kis @ 30 60.90% 60.90% 36.58%
6 Slots Ser @ 40 95.92% 67.55% 56.57%
4 Slots Ser @ 40 43.43% 43.43% 56.57%
4 Slots Ser @ 30 39.15% 39.15% 54.23%
6 Slots GotA @ 40 67.55% 67.55% 58.75%
6 Slots RF @ 50 97.49% 73.78% 57.52%
4 Slots RF @ 50 47.70% 47.70% 57.52%
6 Slots LotG @ 50 73.78% 73.78% 59.91%</pre><hr />

Most Defense powers are either toggles or relatively-quick-recharging, non-stacking buff powers. A few powers that really benefit from recharge are the Arachnos Widow Mind Link powers, Ice Armor/Energy Absorption, and some “Tier 9" powers such as Regeneration/Moment of Glory and Super Reflexes/Elude. Franken-slotting schemes that remove or emphasize the Rech are:

Option 1 Def Def/End Def/End/Rech
Option 2 Def Def/End Def Def/End
Option 3 Def Def Def/End
Option 4 Def Def/End Def/End
Option 5 Def/Rech Def/Rech Def/Rech Def/Rech
Option 6 Def/Rech Def/End/Rech Def/Rech Def/End/Rech

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> End Rech Def
Option 1 @ 50 47.70% 21.20% 51.93%
Option 2 @ 50 &amp; 40 48.25% 0.00% 58.31%
Option 3 @ 50 26.50% 0.00% 57.04%
Option 4 @ 50 53.00% 0.00% 54.16%
Option 5 @ 50 &amp; 40 0.00% 95.19% 56.13%
Option 6 @ 50 42.40% 91.78% 54.16%</pre><hr />

Option 1 can be done with either of the Level 50 sets, so it is not uniquely a franken-slotting option. You can also swap the End and Rech pieces if you want a high endurance reductions option or a light recharge reduction options.

Damage Resistance

The resistance sets are organized much like the Defense ones. As with some of the Def sets, there is a Res/Proc enhancement in Steadfast Protection. SP is the only current set with two “Procs.”

Steadfast Protection Res/End Res/Proc (Proc)
Impervious Skin Res/End Res/Rech End/Rech Res/End/Rech (Proc)
Reactive Armor Res/End Res/Rech (End/Rech) Res/End/Rech Res (End)
Impervium Armor Res/End Res/Rech (End/Rech) Res/End/Rech Res (Proc)
Titanium Coating Res/End Res/Rech (End/Rech) Res/End/Rech Res (End)
Aegis Res/End Res/Rech (End/Rech) Res/End/Rech Res (Proc)

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> End Rech Res
2 Slots SP @ 30 21.75% 0.00% 26.13%
4 Slots IS @ 30 60.90% 60.90% 36.58%
6 Slots RA @ 40 95.92% 67.55% 56.57%
5 Slots IA @ 40 67.55% 67.55% 56.57%
6 Slots TC @ 50 97.49% 73.78% 57.52%
5 Slots Aeg @ 50 73.78% 73.78% 57.52%</pre><hr />

The 4-slotting and franken-slotting options are covered in the Defense section as they are essentially the same. Res powers that benefit from heavy Rech slotting are the heal/toxic resistance powers like Regeneration/Reconstruction and Stone Armor/Earth’s Embrace and these probably benefit more from Heal slotting and some of the “Tier 9" powers such as Regeneration/Moment of Glory, Invulnerability/Unstoppable, and Force Mastery/Force of Nature.

To Hit (Buff and Debuff)

To Hit Buff and To Hit Debuff use the same scheme as Defense Debuff, except that they are both Schedule B (To Hit Debuff was once Schedule A, but it was decided that this made Dark powersets too powerful, especially Dark Miasma).

Tier 1 ToHit ToHit/Rech ToHit/Rech/End
Tier 2 ToHit ToHit/Rech (Proc)
Tier 3 ToHit ToHit/Rech ToHit/Rech/End (End/Rech) ToHit/End (Rech)
Tier 4 ToHit ToHit/Rech ToHit/Rech/End End/Rech ToHit/End (Proc)

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> End Rech ToHit
3 Slots T1 @ 20 12.80% 28.80% 32.73%
2 Slots T2 @ 20 0.00% 16.00% 25.03%
6 Slots T3 @ 50 73.78% 97.49% 57.52%
4 Slots T3 @ 50 47.70% 47.70% 57.52%
4 Slots T3 @ 40 43.43% 43.43% 56.57%
4 Slots T3 @ 30 39.15% 39.15% 54.23%
5 Slots T4 @ 50 73.78% 73.78% 57.52%</pre><hr />

The 4 slot T3 option can also be achieved with T4. This 4 slot option is best for toggles. For click powers it is better to use the Rech singlet in preference to the ToHit/End doublet.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> End Rech ToHit
5 Slots T3 @ 50 47.70% 88.07% 57.52%
4 Slots T3 @ 50 21.20% 88.07% 51.93%
4 Slots T3 @ 40 19.30% 80.82% 48.37%</pre><hr />

Schedule C

The only Schedule C enhancements are the interrupt time enhancements. The only sets that contain Int enhancement are the sniper attacks which have already been discussed. I don’t expect this to change because they are the only type of power to consistently be interruptible.

Schedule C SOs values at relative levels:
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Rel. Lev. SO Equiv. IO 3 /w ED
+3 46.000% 40 114.700%
+2 44.000% 35 113.800%
+1 42.000% 31 112.900%
0 40.000% 26 112.000%
-1 36.000% 24 103.600%
-2 32.000% 21 94.400%
-3 28.000% 19 83.600%</pre><hr />

As can be seen, Schedule C enhancements are twice as powerful as Schedule B enhancements and are slightly more powerful than Schedule A enhancements. The ED standard for Schedule C is 112%.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Equiv 25 30 35 40 45 50
A 6S 6.000 128.65% 131.62% 133.69% 135.76% 137.74% 139.81%
B 5S 5.000 122.88% 125.35% 127.08% 128.80% 130.45% 132.18%
C 4S 4.000 117.10% 119.08% 120.46% 121.84% 123.16% 124.54%
E 3S1D 3.625 114.93% 116.73% 117.98% 119.23% 120.43% 121.68%
G 2S3T or 3S1T
3.500 114.21% 115.95% 117.15% 118.36% 119.52% 120.72%
K 3S or 1S4T
3.000 108.85% 112.81% 113.86% 114.88% 115.87% 116.91%
O 2D3T or 1S2D1T
2.750 102.11% 108.47% 112.19% 113.14% 114.05% 115.00%
Q 2S1D 2.625 98.744% 104.81% 109.03% 112.27% 113.14% 114.04%
S 2S1T or 1S3T
2.500 94.625% 101.15% 105.18% 109.20% 112.23% 113.09%
V 1S2D or 2D2T
2.250 85.963% 92.645% 97.303% 101.08% 104.55% 108.17%
W 1D3T 2.125 81.631% 87.943% 92.341% 96.740% 100.29% 103.71%
Y 2S or 4T 2.000 77.000% 83.240% 87.380% 91.520% 95.480% 99.260%
AB 2D1T 1.750 67.375% 73.150% 77.175% 81.080% 84.545% 88.168%
AD 1D2T 1.625 62.563% 67.925% 71.663% 75.400% 78.975% 82.441%
AF 3T 1.500 57.750% 62.700% 66.150% 69.600% 72.900% 76.350%
AH 2D 1.250 48.125% 52.250% 55.125% 58.000% 60.750% 63.625%
AI 1D1T 1.125 43.313% 47.025% 49.613% 52.200% 54.675% 57.263%
AK 1S or 2T 1.000 38.500% 41.800% 44.100% 46.400% 48.600% 50.900%
AM 1D 0.625 24.063% 26.125% 27.563% 29.000% 30.375% 31.813%
AN 1T 0.500 19.250% 20.900% 22.050% 23.200% 24.300% 25.450%</pre><hr />

There are only 2 Int Doublets and 4 Int Triplets (and no Int Quadruplets) in the sniper attack sets. I’ve removed cases from the above chart that use more than that.

Schedule D

The only Schedule D enhancements are the Knockback Distance enhancements. The knockback sets contain all of the Schedule D enhancement IOs outside of common IOs. I don’t expect this to change or that there will be more KB sets added soon (outside of a purple set as a long shot).

Schedule D SOs values at relative levels:
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Rel. Lev. SO Equiv. IO 3 /w ED
+3 69.000% 40 172.100%
+2 66.000% 35 170.700%
+1 63.000% 31 169.400%
0 60.000% 26 168.000%
-1 54.000% 24 165.300%
-2 48.000% 21 141.600%
-3 42.000% 19 125.400%</pre><hr />

Schedule D enhancements are three times as powerful as Schedule B enhancements and 1.5 times as powerful as Schedule C enhancements. These are the most powerful enhancements by far. The ED standard is 168%.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Equiv 25 30 35 40 45 50
A 6S 6.000 192.93% 197.43% 200.49% 203.55% 206.70% 209.76%
B 5S 5.000 184.28% 188.03% 190.58% 193.13% 195.75% 198.30%
C 4S 4.000 175.62% 178.62% 180.66% 182.70% 184.80% 186.84%
D 6D 3.750 173.46% 176.27% 178.18% 180.09% 182.06% 183.98%
E 5D1T or 3S1D
3.625 172.37% 175.09% 176.94% 178.79% 180.69% 182.54%
G 2S3T or 3S1T
3.500 171.29% 173.92% 175.70% 177.49% 179.33% 181.11%
H 3D3T 3.375 170.21% 172.74% 174.46% 176.18% 177.96% 179.68%
J 5D 3.125 168.05% 170.39% 171.98% 173.58% 175.22% 176.81%
K 3S or 4D1T
3.000 163.17% 169.22% 170.75% 172.28% 173.85% 175.38%
M 3D2T 2.875 158.12% 168.04% 169.51% 170.97% 172.48% 173.95%
O 2D3T or 1S2D1T
2.750 153.07% 162.70% 168.27% 169.67% 171.11% 172.52%
Q 2S1D 2.625 148.02% 157.21% 163.46% 168.37% 169.74% 171.08%
S 4D or 2S1T or 1S3T
2.500 141.83% 151.73% 157.68% 163.63% 168.38% 169.65%
T 3D1T 2.375 135.33% 146.02% 151.89% 157.54% 163.36% 168.22%
V 1S2D or 2D2T
2.250 128.84% 138.97% 145.85% 151.46% 156.98% 162.33%
W 1D3T 2.125 122.35% 131.91% 138.42% 144.92% 150.59% 155.65%
Y 2S 2.000 115.40% 124.86% 130.98% 137.10% 143.40% 148.96%
AA 3D 1.875 108.19% 117.56% 123.54% 129.28% 135.19% 140.93%
AB 2D1T 1.750 100.98% 109.73% 115.68% 121.46% 126.98% 132.33%
AD 1D2T 1.625 93.763% 101.89% 107.41% 112.94% 118.63% 123.74%
AF 3T 1.500 86.550% 94.050% 99.150% 104.25% 109.50% 114.60%
AH 2D 1.250 72.125% 78.375% 82.625% 86.875% 91.250% 95.500%
AI 1D1T 1.125 64.913% 70.538% 74.363% 78.188% 82.125% 85.950%
AK 1S or 2T 1.000 57.700% 62.700% 66.100% 69.500% 73.000% 76.400%
AM 1D 0.625 36.063% 39.188% 41.313% 43.438% 45.625% 47.750%
AN 1T 0.500 28.850% 31.350% 33.050% 34.750% 36.500% 38.200%</pre><hr />

There are 3 KB Triplets and no KB Quadruplets. I have not included any currently non-existent cases in my table.

Knockback

Knockback enhancements are very powerful because they are on Schedule D. Because the Devs know that many people don’t like KB, they made some of the set bonuses very powerful. Kinetic Crash in particular has some very attractive bonuses at 4 and 6 slots. In practice, only dedicated KB powers like Storm Summoning/Gale and Force Fields/Force Bolt really benefit from KB slotting. Be aware that slotting KB enhancements in a knockdown power changes the way the power works by making it knockback. Slotting KB enhancements in knockup powers is a little safer as it just alters their “hang time” and doesn’t change the distance they go much. In addition, Leaping/Acrobatics may be slotted with KB enhancements to increase KB resistance, but at this point you cannot use KB sets.

Volley of Velocity Dam/KB Acc/KB Rech/KB
Explosive Strike Dam/KB Acc/KB DAM (Proc)
Kinetic Crash (Dam/KB) Acc/KB Rech/KB Rech/End (Dam/End/KB) Acc/Dam/KB
Force Feedback Dam/KB Acc/KB Rech/KB Rech/End Dam/End/KB (Proc)

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc Dam End Rech KB
3 Slots VoV @ 20 16.00% 16.00% 0.00% 16.00% 86.63%
2 Slots ES @ 20 16.00% 16.00% 0.00% 0.00% 57.75%
6 Slots KC @ 50 47.70% 68.90% 47.70% 53.00% 173.95%
4 Slots KC @ 50 47.70% 21.20% 26.50% 53.00% 132.33%
5 Slots FF @ 50 26.50% 47.70% 47.70% 53.00% 168.22%</pre><hr />

I don’t really have any “best practices” advice for slotting KB other than to say if you are going to slot for KB, look and see if you have the slots to 4- or 6-slot KC. See the Schedule A and Schedule D sections for more combinations.

[b]Resources/Credits[b]

Fulmens’s Intermediate Guide to IOs

Paragon Wiki Enhancement page
Paragon Wiki IO scaling page

Paragon Wiki ED page–I’d found a page that had simpler formulas, but I can’t find it any more. If you want the simple version, just distribute through the slope and simplify. Of course, if you know what that means, I don’t need to tell you how.

Home of Mids’ Hero Designer and SuckerPunch’s Online Planner

Healing

As with many other types of sets, the gem of the healing sets is its "secondary" level 50 set, Doctored Wounds. Like Crushing Impact, DW has pretty good set bonuses too.

Triage Heal/End End/Rech Heal/Rech Heal/End/Rech
Regenerative Tissue Heal/End End/Rech Heal/Rech Heal/End/Rech (Proc)
Harmonized Healing Heal/End End/Rech Heal/Rech Heal/End/Rech Heal End
Miracle Heal/End End/Rech Heal/Rech Heal/End/Rech Heal (Proc)
Doctored Wounds Heal/End (End/Rech) Heal/Rech Heal/End/Rech Heal Rech
Numina's Convalescence Heal/End End/Rech Heal/Rech Heal/End/Rech Heal (Proc)

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> End Rech Heal
4 Slots Tri/RT @30 60.90% 60.90% 60.90%
6 Slots HH @ 40 95.92% 67.55% 95.92%
5 Slots Mir @ 40 67.55% 67.55% 95.92%
5 Slots Mir @ 30 60.90% 60.90% 91.99%
6 Slots DW @ 50 73.78% 97.49% 97.49%
5 Slots DW @ 50 47.70% 88.07% 97.49%
5 Slots DW @ 40 43.43% 80.82% 95.92%
5 Slots DW @ 30 39.15% 73.56% 91.99%
5 Slots NC @ 50 73.78% 73.78% 97.49%</pre><hr />

Mir and NC use the same scheme. If you drop the End singlet enhancement, this is also the same for HH. If you substitute the End/Heal for the End/Rech as your dropped enhancement in DW, the Heal and Rech columns swap.

If you like the Dark powersets (or Kinetics), one of the things you might have noticed is that there is no Acc in any of the healing sets. The following heal powers require accuracy: Kinetics/Transfusion, Dark Miasma/Twilight Grasp, Dark Blast/Life Drain, Dark Melee/Siphon Life, Dark Aura/Dark Regeneration, Umbral Blast/Essence Drain, and Umbral Aura/Dark Dwarf Drain. All except the first two are also moderate damage powers (Dark Regeneration is minor damage). With how common accuracy is as a set bonus, you probably don’t need more than one Acc common, but some people might want to know what their 4 slotting options are. Any of the sets other than Tri and RT can do this combo:

Heal Heal/Rech Heal/End Heal/End/Rech

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> End Rech Heal
4 Slots @ 50 47.70% 47.70% 97.49%
4 Slots @ 40 43.43% 43.43% 95.92%
4 Slots @ 30 39.15% 39.15% 91.99%</pre><hr />

Franken-slotting is a better option if you need more Rech. For franken-slotting, it’s usually best to do the highest level you can since you are giving up all or most of your set bonuses.

Option 1 DW Heal/Rech NC Heal/Rech Mir Heal/Rech HH Heal/Rech
Option 2 DW Heal/Rech Heal/Rech/End NC Heal/Rech Heal/Rech/End

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> End Rech Heal
Option 1 @ 50 &amp; 40 0.00% 95.19% 95.19%
Option 2 @ 50 42.40% 91.78% 91.78%</pre><hr />

Option 1 is 6 even SOs for the price of 4 slots. That’s a pretty good deal!

One damage franken-slotting option that I’ve come up with is:

Heal/Rech Heal/Rech Heal/End/Rech Acc/Dam Acc/Dam/Rech Dam/End/Rech

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc Dam End Rech Heal
6 Slots @ 50 47.70% 68.90% 42.40% 97.49% 73.78%</pre><hr />

Mez sets (Hold, Stun, Immobilize, Sleep, Confuse, Fear)

All the Mez sets are set up identically.

Tier 1 Acc/Rech End/Mez Acc/End Mez/Range Acc/Mez/Rech
Tier 2 Acc/Rech End/Mez Acc/End Mez/Range Acc/Mez/Rech (Proc)
Tier 3 Acc/Rech End/Mez (Acc/End) Mez/Range Acc/Mez/Rech Acc/Mez
Tier 4 Acc/Rech End/Mez Acc/End Mez/Range Acc/Mez/Rech (Proc)

Where Mez = Hold, Stun, etc. Tier 1 &amp; 2 go from 10-30 and tier 3 &amp; 4 go from 20-50. I do not like the way the Mez sets are organized. My main problem is that they are seriously deficient in recharge and what Rech there is, is hard to get without overloading on Acc (many single-target Mez powers come with an Acc bonus). I would prefer it if they were set up like a damage set, such as Targeted AoE (with Mez swapped for Dam--End and Rech should also be swapped) in order to get more bang for our set buck.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc End Rech Range Mez
5 Slots T1/T2 @ 30 60.90% 43.50% 39.15% 13.06% 60.90%
6 Slots T3 @ 50 95.11% 53.00% 47.70% 15.94% 95.11%
5 Slots T3 @ 50 73.78% 26.50% 47.70% 15.94% 95.11%
5 Slots T4 @ 50 73.78% 53.00% 47.70% 15.94% 73.78%</pre><hr />

Some franken-slotting options I like are:

Option 1 T3 Acc/Mez/Rech T4 Acc/Mez/Rech T1 Acc/Mez/Rech T2 Acc/Mez/Rech
Option 2 T3 Acc/Mez/Rech End/Mez T4 Acc/Mez/Rech End/Mez T1 Acc/Mez/Rech T2 Acc/Mez/Rech
Option 3 Acc/Mez/Rech End/Mez Mez/Range Acc/Dam/Rech Dam/Rech Dam/End/Rech

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc Dam End Rech Range Mez
Option 1 @ 50 &amp; 30 76.48% 0.00% 0.00% 76.48% 0.00% 76.48%
Option 2 @ 50 76.48% 0.00% 53.00% 76.48% 0.00% 99.53%
Option 3 @ 50 42.40% 68.90% 47.70% 88.07% 15.94% 73.78%</pre><hr />

A good number of Mez powers also do damage. The last option gives you some good values without having to shell out the Inf for HOs.

All of the Mez types other than Fear have purple sets. They are all structured the same as the damage sets with the Mez substituting for damage.
Purple Mez Mez/Rech Acc/Mez/Rech Acc/Rech Mez/End (Proc)

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc End Rech Mez
5 slots Pur @ 50 59.62% 33.13% 89.92% 101.86%</pre><hr />

Intangible

So far there are no sets for intangible powers. This is the only type of enhancement not involved in a set. I suspect that most players don’t slot intangible powers heavily, and if they do, they favor recharge over intangible for more control.

Slow Movement

The slow sets are horribly designed. They offer a little of everything and a lot of nothing. It would be great if there were sets that offered different emphases, but with only 4 slow sets that are all set up the same way, it just doesn’t work. In my mind a good core slow set should be set up like the debuff sets, but with some Range possibly thrown in, specializing in Slow, Rech, End, and Range. Additional slow sets that offered Acc and Dam could be designed, but most powers where the emphasis is the slow do not need those aspects enhanced. The slow sets seem to be designed around Ice Melee attacks or possibly Fire Control/Hot Feet, but they don’t offer enough Dam to be worthwhile for those powers.

Curtail Speed Acc/Slow Dam/Slow Acc/End Range/Slow End/Rech/Slow
Impeded Swiftness Acc/Slow Dam/Slow Acc/End Range/Slow End/Rech/Slow (Proc)
Tempered Readiness Acc/Slow Dam/Slow Acc/End Range/Slow End/Rech/Slow Acc/Dam/Slow
Pacing of the Turtle Acc/Slow Dam/Slow Acc/End Range/Slow End/Rech/Slow (Proc)

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc Dam End Rech Range Slow
5 Slots CS/IS @ 30 43.50% 21.75% 39.15% 17.40% 13.06% 81.39%
6 Slots TR @ 50 73.78% 47.70% 47.70% 21.20% 15.94% 98.29%
5 Slots PotT @ 50 53.00% 26.50% 47.70% 21.20% 15.94% 95.11%</pre><hr />

For most slow-emphasis powers (as opposed to damage powers that also slow), the best policy is to throw a few common IOs in the power. You can also franken-slot the End/Rech/Slow triplets.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> End Rech Slow
4 Slots @ 50 &amp; 30 76.48% 76.48% 76.48%</pre><hr />

One last thing to consider is that many slow-emphasis powers already have very strong slow components. One common IO will put your foe at the speed floor with extra to spare unless they are resistant to slows.

Defense Debuff

Defense Debuff was a second wave IO addition. It is set up the same as To Hit and To Hit Debuff, except that they are Schedule B.

Exploited Vulnerability DefDeb DefDeb/Rech DefDeb/Rech/End
Achilles' Heel DefDeb DefDeb/Rech (Proc)
Undermined Defenses DefDeb DefDeb/Rech DefDeb/Rech/End (Rech/End) DefDeb/End (Rech)
Touch of Lady Grey DefDeb DefDeb/Rech DefDeb/Rech/End Rech/End DefDeb/End (Proc)

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> End Rech DefDeb
3 Slots EV @ 20 12.80% 28.80% 54.40%
2 Slots AH @ 20 0.00% 16.00% 41.60%
6 Slots UD @ 50 73.78% 97.49% 97.49%
4 Slots UD @ 50 47.70% 47.70% 97.49%
4 Slots UD @ 40 43.43% 43.43% 95.92%
4 Slots UD @ 30 39.15% 39.15% 91.99%
5 Slots ToLG @ 50 73.78% 73.78% 97.49%</pre><hr />

The 4 slot UD option can also be achieved with ToLG. This 4 slot option is best for toggles. For click powers it is better to use the Rech singlet in preference to the DefDeb/End doublet.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> End Rech DefDeb
5 Slots UD @ 50 47.70% 88.07% 97.49%
4 Slots UD @ 50 21.20% 88.07% 88.07%
4 Slots UD @ 40 19.30% 80.82% 80.82%</pre><hr />

Endurance Modification

EndMod is set up like DefDeb except that it substitutes Acc for End and the Tier 3 bonus enhancement is EndMod/End.

Adrenal Adjustment EndMod EndMod/Rech EndMod/Acc/Rech
Energy Manipulator EndMod EndMod/Rech (Proc)
Efficiency Adaptor EndMod EndMod/Rech EndMod/Acc/Rech Acc/Rech (EndMod/Acc) EndMod/End
Performance Shifter EndMod EndMod/Rech EndMod/Acc/Rech (Acc/Rech) EndMod/Acc (Proc)

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc End Rech EndMod
3 Slots AA @ 20 12.80% 0.00% 28.80% 54.40%
2 Slots EM @ 20 0.00% 0.00% 16.00% 41.60%
6 Slots EA @ 50 73.78% 26.50% 73.78% 101.47%
5 Slots EA @ 50 47.70% 26.50% 73.78% 97.49%
5 Slots EA @ 40 43.43% 24.13% 67.55% 95.92%
5 Slots EA @ 30 39.15% 21.75% 60.90% 91.99%
5 Slots PS @ 50 73.78% 0.00% 73.78% 97.49%
4 Slots PS @ 50 47.70% 0.00% 47.70% 97.49%</pre><hr />

The little bit of endurance reduction in EA is probably worthwhile for a lot of endurance modification powers. Since most (unless they’re auto–in which case 3-slotting PS (+ the proc if you can afford it) like Case V in the first section is a decent idea) need a hit check, the Acc is useful, although I wish it didn’t come at the expense of most of the End Reduction–even some End Drain powers have significant activation costs. Exceptions that don’t need Acc and are not auto are mostly in “Tier 9" powers such as Invulnerability/Unstoppable and Super Reflexes/Elude, but slotting for End Mod is probably not the first priority.

Taunt

Brute and Tanker Taunt as well as Scrapper and Arachnos Widow Confront are auto-hit for PVE, but have standard accuracy for PVP. Kheldian Dwarf Antagonizes requires a hit check but have a 50% inherent bonus to Acc. The Presence pool taunts, Challenge and Provoke, have standard Acc. In addition, Tanker and Brute attacks (but not damage or taunt auras–these can only be slotted with Taunt common IOs due to a bug that was not easily quashed) and Crab Spider Omega Maneuver can be slotted with taunt sets. PVPers and Presence pool users will likely want to slot common Acc IOs or double up the upper tier Acc/Rech enhancements, as these are the only Acc in the sets. All pure taunts, including the Presence pool taunts, no longer cost any endurance.

Annoyance Taunt Taunt/Rech Taunt/Rech/Range
Triumphant Insult Taunt Taunt/Rech (Proc)
Mocking Beratement Taunt Taunt/Rech Taunt/Rech/Range (Acc/Rech) Taunt/Range Rech
Perfect Zinger Taunt Taunt/Rech Taunt/Rech/Range (Acc/Rech) Taunt/Range (Proc)

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc Rech Range Taunt
3 Slots Ann @ 20 0.00% 28.80% 7.70% 54.40%
2 Slots TI @ 20 0.00% 16.00% 0.00% 41.60%
6 Slots MB @ 50 26.50% 97.49% 28.69% 97.49%
5 Slots MB @ 50 0.00% 88.07% 28.69% 97.49%
5 Slots MB @ 40 0.00% 80.82% 26.10% 95.92%
5 Slots MB @ 30 0.00% 73.56% 23.51% 91.99%
5 Slots PZ @ 50 26.50% 73.78% 28.69% 97.49%
4 Slots PZ @ 50 0.00% 47.70% 28.69% 97.49%</pre><hr />

Four-slotting MB by also dropping the Taunt/Range gives:

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Rech Range Taunt
4 Slots MB @ 50 88.07% 12.75% 88.07%
4 Slots MB @ 40 80.82% 11.60% 80.82%
4 Slots MB @ 30 73.56% 10.45% 73.56%</pre><hr />

Since taunts are limited to 5 targets, I would tend to favor Rech. It should be remembered that the basic taunt mechanic is a factor of threat (linked to AT), range (closer), duration remaining (longer), and how much damage you’ve done.

Movement (Fly, Jump, Run–Not Teleport)

All of the movement enhancements are the same, except that the teleport sets grant Range which is Schedule B and so well be discussed later. There are two tiers for each travel power. In addition, there are planned Universal Travel Sets which effect and can be slotted in all 4 types of travel powers--the first of which, Winter’s Gift, which will be introduced for the Winter 2008 event and possibly I13 will introduce others.

Tier 1 Move Move/End End
Tier 2 Move End (Proc)
Winter’s Gift Move Move/End (Proc)

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> End Move
2 Slots T1 @ 50 68.90% 68.90%
2 Slots T2 @ 50 42.40% 42.40%
2 Slots WG @ 50 26.50% 68.90%</pre><hr />

I rarely see Super Jump or Super Speed recommendations for more than one movement IO/SO. I’m not certain on the exact caps, but I believe you hit the run and jump caps before you hit the ED cap. Fly, however, is much slower than the other two and may benefit from more slotting. I believe even Fly hits the flight cap with 2 level 50 common IOs, but Hover benefits from full ED-cap slotting.

Combo Move Move Move/End

The second movement singlet can be from the tier 2 set or a common.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> End Move
3 Slots Combo @ 50 26.50% 96.70%
3 Slots Combo @ 40 24.13% 95.20%
3 Slots Combo @ 30 21.75% 88.95%</pre><hr />

One of the first things I stumbled across after I9 was Fulmens’s Intermediate Guide to IOs.

which contains a lot of useful heuristics. The basic premise served me pretty well for a while, but eventually I wanted to be able to nail down minimum requirements to ED-out stuff like damage on my attacks. A month or so ago, I created a “giant spreadsheet of doom” for personal analysis. I’ve been meaning to write a guide to share the highlights for a little while. This is the result. For the TL;DR folks, the short version remains Fulmens’s guide.

SO Equivalents (Schedule A)

Schedule A SOs values at relative levels:
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>Rel. Lev. SO Equiv. IO 3 /w ED
+3 38.330% 40 97.249%
+2 36.663% 35 96.498%
+1 34.997% 31 95.749%
0 33.330% 26 94.993%
-1 29.997% 24 87.992%
-2 26.664% 21 78.993%
-3 23.331% 19 69.993%</pre><hr />

Assuming that 3 SOs grant 95% extra is a good rule of thumb. That is almost exactly the case for even level SOs. +3's grant a little more at about 97.25%. How do IOs fit in?

IOs scale with level and from level 26 and above IOs are in the “SO range” although SOs as low as level 19 are equivalent to “red SOs.” Set IOs have bonuses (Fulmens calls them “gravy”) if they have multiple aspects, i.e. if you add up all the aspects they add up to more than a single aspect IO (S). Double aspect (D) are 62.5% (130% total), triple aspect (T) are 50% (150% total), quadruple aspect (Q) are 43.75% (175% total) of each aspect.

I’ve compiled a chart for several cases in the SO range at 5 level increments:

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Equiv 25 30 35 40 45 50
A 6S 6.000 108.80% 111.32% 113.03% 114.74% 116.45% 118.16%
B 5S 5.000 104.00% 106.10% 107.53% 108.95% 110.38% 111.80%
C 4S 4.000 99.200% 100.88% 102.02% 103.16% 104.30% 105.44%
D 6D 3.750 98.000% 99.575% 100.64% 101.71% 102.78% 103.85%
E 5D1T or 3S1D
3.625 97.400% 98.923% 99.956% 100.99% 102.02% 103.06%
F 5D1Q 3.563 97.100% 98.596% 99.612% 100.63% 101.64% 102.66%
G 1S5T or 2S3T or 3S1T
3.500 96.800% 98.270% 99.268% 100.27% 101.26% 102.26%
H 3D3T 3.375 96.200% 97.618% 98.579% 99.541% 100.50% 101.47%
I 3D2T1Q 3.313 95.900% 97.291% 98.235% 99.179% 100.12% 101.07%
J 5D 3.125 95.000% 96.313% 97.203% 98.094% 98.984% 99.875%
K 3S or 4D1T or 6T or 1S4T
3.000 92.200% 95.660% 96.515% 97.370% 98.225% 99.080%
L 4D1Q 2.938 90.800% 95.334% 96.171% 97.008% 97.845% 98.683%
M 3D2T 2.875 89.400% 95.008% 95.827% 96.646% 97.466% 98.285%
N 3D1T1Q 2.813 88.000% 93.513% 95.483% 96.284% 97.086% 97.888%
O 2D3T or 1S2D1T
2.750 86.200% 91.990% 95.139% 95.923% 96.706% 97.490%
P 2D2T1Q 2.688 84.400% 90.468% 94.042% 95.561% 96.327% 97.093%
Q 2S1D 2.625 82.600% 88.945% 92.436% 95.199% 95.947% 96.695%
R 1D3T1Q 2.563 80.800% 87.258% 90.831% 94.239% 95.567% 96.298%
S 4D or 2S1T or 1S3T or 5T
2.500 79.000% 85.300% 89.225% 92.550% 95.188% 95.900%
T 3D1T 2.375 75.400% 81.385% 85.446% 89.173% 92.331% 95.105%
U 3D1Q 2.313 73.600% 79.428% 83.382% 87.336% 90.559% 93.635%
V 1S2D or 2D2T
2.250 71.800% 77.470% 81.318% 85.165% 88.788% 91.780%
W 1D3T 2.125 68.000% 73.555% 77.189% 80.823% 84.456% 88.070%
X 2D1T1Q 2.188 70.000% 75.513% 79.253% 82.994% 86.734% 89.925%
Y 2S or 4T
2.000 64.000% 69.600% 73.060% 76.480% 79.900% 83.320%
Z 3T1Q 1.938 62.000% 67.425% 70.996% 74.309% 77.622% 80.935%
AA 3D 1.875 60.000% 65.250% 68.813% 72.138% 75.344% 78.550%
AB 2D1T 1.750 56.000% 60.900% 64.225% 67.550% 70.788% 73.780%
AC 2D1Q 1.688 54.000% 58.725% 61.931% 65.138% 68.344% 71.395%
AD 1D2T 1.625 52.000% 56.550% 59.638% 62.725% 65.813% 68.900%
AE 1D1T1Q 1.563 50.000% 54.375% 57.344% 60.313% 63.281% 66.250%
AF 3T 1.500 48.000% 52.200% 55.050% 57.900% 60.750% 63.600%
AG 2T1Q 1.438 46.000% 50.025% 52.756% 55.488% 58.219% 60.950%
AH 2D 1.250 40.000% 43.500% 45.875% 48.250% 50.625% 53.000%
AI 1D1T 1.125 36.000% 39.150% 41.288% 43.425% 45.563% 47.700%
AJ 1D1Q 1.063 34.000% 36.975% 38.994% 41.013% 43.031% 45.050%
AK 1S or 2T
1.000 32.000% 34.800% 36.700% 38.600% 40.500% 42.400%
AL 1T1Q 0.938 30.000% 32.625% 34.406% 36.188% 37.969% 39.750%
AM 1D 0.625 20.000% 21.750% 22.938% 24.125% 25.313% 26.500%
AN 1T 0.500 16.000% 17.400% 18.350% 19.300% 20.250% 21.200%
AO 1Q 0.438 14.000% 15.225% 16.056% 16.888% 17.719% 18.550%</pre><hr />

As can be seen common IOs (singlets) are almost immediately better than even SOs and always better than SOs at higher than level 40. Since they never expire, a good case can be made that common IOs are more convenient than SOs at any level greater than level 25. Most sets are combinations of Doublets and Triplets. In addition there are 4 Quadruplet IOs at this point–two in melee damage and two in ranged damage. There are two in the 10-25 range and two in the 30-50 range. For my analysis, I’m mostly ignoring 25 and below, so none of the above combos have more than one Quadruplet. The following are common cases picked out of the above for when they are the same as even SOs and +3 SOs.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> = 0 SO = +3 SO
K 3 Singlets 26 40
M 3 Doublets, 2 Triplets 30 44
N 3 Doublets, 1 Triplet, 1 Quadruplet 32 46
O 2 Doublets, 3 Triplets
or 1 Singlet, 2 Doublets, 1 Triplet 35 49
Q 2 Singlets, 1 Doublet 39 N/A
S 4 Doublets 44 N/A
V 1 Singlet, 2 Doublets
or 2 Doublets, 2 Triplets N/A N/A
AH 2 Doublets N/A N/A</pre><hr />

All of the cases other than the last 3 cases are at least as good as +3 SOs once you get to the 40s. Even case V is not too bad, maxing out at 91.78%. Case AH isn’t great, but at level 40-50 is better than any 2 SOs.

Schedule A SOs are the most common. Accuracy, Confuse, Damage, Defense Debuff, Endurance Modification, Endurance Reduction, Fear, Fly, Health, Hold, Immobilize, Intangible, Jump, Recharge, Run, Sleep, Slow, Stun, and Taunt are all Schedule A. Schedule B enhancements are based on an even SO of 20.00%. Enhancements on Schedule B are Defense, Range, Resistance, To Hit, and To Hit Debuff. To Hit Debuff was originally Schedule A, but was changed. Schedule C enhancements are based on an even SO of 40.00%. Interrupt is the only Schedule C enhancement. Schedule D enhancements are based on an even SO of 60.00%. Knockback is the only Schedule D enhancement. I’ll go over the other schedules in more depth at the end of the guide.

Melee Damage

By far, the most balanced melee damage set is Crushing Impact. The only reasons to choose another set once you hit 27 is because you like the set bonuses or can’t afford CI (it’s become rather popular and is a little hard to find, especially villain side). The set bonuses for CI are pretty decent too, although that’s beyond the scope of this analysis. CI has 3 doublets and 3 triplets, all with damage. In general you only need 5 of them, save the sixth slot for another power or a proc, unless you like the six-piece set bonus. I prefer to skip the Acc/Dam so that I can get more End reduction and Recharge, but your goals may be different (parentheses indicate the enhancement I leave out as I reduce slots).

CI (Acc/Dam) Dam/End Dam/Rech Acc/Dam/Rech Acc/Dam/End Dam/End/Rech

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc Dam End Rech
6 slots CI @ 50 68.90% 101.47% 68.90% 68.90%
5 slots CI @ 50 42.40% 97.49% 68.90% 68.90%
5 slots CI @ 40 38.60% 95.92% 62.73% 62.73%
5 slots CI @ 30 34.80% 91.99% 56.55% 56.55%</pre><hr />

Mako’s Bite is the “premier” melee damage set. It’s not as good for damage as CI, is rarer, and requires costlier salvage. Some people might prefer the bonuses though, so it remains an option.

MB Acc/Dam Dam/End Dam/Rech Acc/End/Rech Acc/Dam/End/Rech (Proc)

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc Dam End Rech
5 slots MB @ 50 66.25% 93.64% 66.25% 66.25%
5 slots MB @ 40 60.31% 87.34% 60.31% 60.31%</pre><hr />

Purples get more “gravy” than other IO sets. It works out to 53.00% for singlets, 33.13% for doublets, and 26.50% for triplets. So far, there are no purple sets that have quadruplets or enhance anything that is not Schedule A. Purple sets must still follow ED. Hecatomb, the purple set, works out like this:

Hec Dam Dam/Rech Acc/Dam/Rech Acc/Rech Dam/End (Proc)

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc Dam End Rech
5 slots Hec @ 50 59.62% 101.86% 33.13% 89.92%</pre><hr />

I prefer CI for enhancement values, but the reason to get purple sets is for the really good set bonuses.

The lower level sets are listed below at their maximum level:

Bonesnap Acc/Dam Dam/Rech Acc/Rech
Pulverising Fisticuffs Acc/Dam Acc/Dam/Rech Acc/Dam/Rech/End
Bruising Blow Acc/Dam Dam/End Dam/Rech
Pounding Slugfest Acc/Dam Dam/End Dam/Rech (Proc)
Smashing Haymaker Acc/Dam Dam/End Dam/Rech Dam/End/Rech
Kinetic Combat Acc/Dam Dam/End Dam/Rech Dam/End/Rech (Proc)
Focused Smite Acc/Dam Dam/End Dam/Rech Acc/End/Rech Acc/Dam/Rech
Touch of Death Acc/Dam Dam/End Dam/Rech Acc/Dam/End Dam/End/Rech (Proc)

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc Dam End Rech
3 Slots Bs @ 25 40.00% 40.00% 0.00% 40.00%
3 Slots PF @ 25 50.00% 50.00% 14.00% 30.00%
3 Slots BB/PS @ 30 21.75% 65.25% 21.75% 21.75%
4 Slots SH/KC @ 35 22.94% 85.45% 41.29% 41.29%
5 Slots FS @ 40 62.73% 89.17% 43.43% 62.73%
5 Slots ToD @ 40 43.43% 96.65% 62.73% 43.43%</pre><hr />

Both level 40 sets are option (ToD being the better of the two), for anything lower, I would franken-slot to make up for deficiencies.


Ranged Damage

The top ranged damage sets are identical to the top melee damage sets other than the type of Procs and set bonuses they have. Thunderstrike is the same as CI, Devastation is the same as MB, and the purple set, Apocalypse, is the same as Hec. Ruin and Decimation are the same as FS. There is no ranged equivalent for ToD. Maelstrom’s Fury and Entropic Chaos are the same as BB and PF. Volley Fire and Tempest are the same as BB and PS. See the melee section for values and analysis. The only differences are the level 10-25 sets which also include a Range component. Range enhancements are Schedule B like Defense and Resistance, so the values are lower than the Schedule A enhancements we’ve talked about up to here (even Schedule B SOs are 20.00% rather than 33.33%).

Far Strike Dam/Range Dam/Rech Acc/End
Salvo Acc/Dam Dam/End/Rech Acc/Dam/End/Range

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc Dam End Rech Range
3 Slots FS @ 25 20.00% 40.00% 20.00% 20.00% 12.00%
3 Slots Sal @ 25 34.00% 50.00% 30.00% 16.00% 8.40%</pre><hr />

In general these sets are too low to consider, which is too bad since they are the only ranged sets with range. They might be an option to fill in a 5th or 6th slot if you need just a little more damage, but that’s the only use I see of them. For short ranged attacks that you want to boost the range on, I recommend using a common range IO in the 5th or 6th slot. Usually the high damage, slow recharge attacks are the ones you want to boost the range on, so they aren’t that proc-worthy anyway.

PBAoE damage

There are only 3 PBAoE sets (plus the purple). They are:

Cleaving Blow Acc/Dam Dam/End Dam/Rech Acc/Rech
Multi Strike Acc/Dam Dam/End Dam/Rech (Acc/End) Acc/Dam/End Dam/End/Rech
Sciroco’s Dervish Acc/Dam Dam/End Dam/Rech Acc/Rech Acc/Dam/End (Proc)

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc Dam End Rech
4 Slots CB @ 50 53.00% 78.55% 26.50% 53.00%
6 Slots MS @ 50 73.78% 98.29% 91.78% 47.70%
5 Slots MS @ 50 47.70% 98.29% 68.90% 47.70%
5 Slots MS @ 40 43.43% 96.65% 62.73% 43.43%
5 Slots MS @ 30 39.15% 95.01% 56.55% 39.15%
5 Slots SD @ 50 73.78% 95.11% 47.70% 53.00%
5 Slots SD @ 40 67.55% 89.17% 43.43% 48.25%</pre><hr />

MS is a much better set for leveling up, but you may which to switch to SD for the set bonuses once you are close to level 50. CB is mostly good for franken-slotting fodder.

The purple set, Armageddon, is again the same as the melee damage purple. See that section for enhancement values.

Targeted AoE Damage

The targeted AoE sets are set up similarly to the PBAoE except that they also include Range and there isn’t any variation in the 4th enhancement.

Air Burst Acc/Dam Dam/End Dam/Rech Dam/Range
Detonation Acc/Dam (Dam/End) Dam/Rech Dam/Range Acc/Dam/End Dam/End/Range
Positron’s Blast Acc/Dam Dam/End Dam/Rech Dam/Range Acc/Dam/End (Proc)

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc Dam End Rech Range
4 Slots AB @ 50 26.50% 95.90% 26.50% 26.50% 15.94%
6 Slots Det @ 50 47.70% 102.26% 68.90% 26.50% 28.69%
5 Slots Det @ 50 47.70% 98.29% 42.40% 26.50% 28.69%
5 Slots Det @ 40 43.43% 96.65% 38.60% 24.13% 26.10%
5 Slots Det @ 30 39.15% 95.01% 34.80% 21.75% 23.51%
5 Slots PB @ 50 47.70% 99.08% 47.70% 26.50% 15.94%
5 Slots PB @ 40 43.43% 97.37% 43.43% 24.13% 14.50%
5 Slots PB @ 30 39.15% 95.66% 39.15% 21.75% 13.06%</pre><hr />

Alternatively, you can use the Dam/End in Det instead of the Dan/End/Range in which case you end up with the same scheme as PB. If you favored End over Range, however, I would use the Dam/End instead of the Dam/Range in which case you would get:

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc Dam End Rech Range
5 Slots Det @ 50 47.70% 98.29% 68.90% 26.50% 12.75%
5 Slots Det @ 40 43.43% 96.65% 62.73% 24.13% 11.60%
5 Slots Det @ 30 39.15% 95.01% 56.55% 21.75% 10.45%</pre><hr />

In general, I prefer Range for cones and End for radial AoEs. Like the PBAoEs, Det is preferable to PB for leveling due to lower cost, but PB has great set bonuses, so you may want to switch when you can afford it. AB, like Cleaving Blow, is mostly good for franken-slotting fodder, but if you have any knockdown powers be aware that the 2 piece set bonus boosts the knockback distance of all knockback powers which may not be desirable.

The purple set, Ragnarok, is (again) just like the melee damage set, Hecatomb. See that section for enhancement values.

Sniper Attacks

All sniper attacks can also take ranged damage sets. If you want to slot for Range or Int, however, the sniper sets are good choices. Other considerations are that sniper sets are much, much cheaper and some of them have good bonuses and Procs. Note that Interupt enhancements are Schedule C (the only one) which are based on an even SO value of 40.00%.

Exploit Weakness Acc/Dam Dam/End Dam/Range Dam/Rech
Calibrated Accuracy Acc/Dam Acc/End Acc/Int Acc/Range Acc/Rech Acc/Dam/Rech
Executioner's Contract Acc/Dam Dam/End Dam/Int Dam/Range Dam/Rech (Proc)
Extreme Measures Acc/Dam Dam/End (Acc/Int/Range) Dam/Int/Rech Dam/End/Rech Acc/Range/Rech
Sting of the Manticore Acc/Dam Dam/End Acc/Int/Range Dam/Int/Rech Dam/End/Rech (Proc)

All of the sniper sets go up to 50, although they start at different levels (10 for EW, 20 for CA and EC, and 35 for EM and SotM).

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc Dam End Rech Range Int
4 Slots EW @ 50 26.50% 95.90% 26.50% 26.50% 15.94% 0.00%
6 Slots CA @ 50 103.06% 47.70% 26.50% 47.70% 15.94% 31.81%
5 Slots EC @ 50 26.50% 99.88% 26.50% 26.50% 15.94% 31.81%
5 Slots EC @ 40 24.13% 98.09% 24.13% 24.13% 14.50% 29.00%
5 Slots EC @ 30 21.75% 96.31% 21.75% 21.75% 13.06% 26.13%
6 Slots EM @ 50 68.90% 91.78% 47.70% 63.60% 25.50% 50.90%
5 Slots EM @ 50 47.70% 91.78% 47.70% 63.60% 12.75% 25.45%
5 Slots SotM @ 50 47.70% 91.78% 47.70% 42.40% 12.75% 50.90%</pre><hr />

Especially considering that all snipes have an accuracy bonus of at least 20%, CA is a poor joke. Based on the extra 4-8% damage enhancement values, EC is probably the best set, although SotM has the “premier” set bonuses and is more balanced for other enhancement types.

Pet Damage

Pet damage sets are all geared (with the exception of the purple set, Soulbound Allegiance, which has the same enhancement as the melee damage set Hecatomb–see that section for values) towards Mastermind and Controller primary permanent pets , which is why they don’t enhance Recharge. Other pets such as Phantom Army from Illusion Control may require Recharge to perform optimally. For these pets, Recharge, if desired, must be added from common IOs (or perhaps from another available set such as a Defense Debuff set like Tornado from Storm Summoning can use). Some pet-like effects such as the aforementioned Hurricane use pet damage sets, other such as Lightning Storm from Storm Summoning use other sets (Ranged Damage in this case), and some pets don’t take any damage enhancement sets at all such as Dark Servant from Dark Miasma.

Unquestioning Loyalty Acc/Dam Dam/End Acc/End Acc/Dam/End
Commanding Presence Acc/Dam Dam/End Acc/End Acc/Dam/End (Proc)
Brilliant Leadership Acc/Dam Dam/End Acc/End Acc/Dam/End (Acc) Dam
Edict of the Master Acc/Dam Dam/End Acc/End Acc/Dam/End Dam (Proc)
Blood Mandate Acc/Dam Dam/End Acc/End Acc/Dam/End (Acc) Dam
Sovereign Right Acc/Dam Dam/End Acc/End Acc/Dam/End Acc (Proc)

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc Dam End
4 Slots UL/CP @ 30 60.90% 60.90% 60.90%
6 Slots BL @ 40 95.92% 95.92% 67.55%
5 Slots BL @ 40 67.55% 95.92% 67.55%
5 Slots BL @ 30 60.90% 91.99% 60.90%
5 Slots EotM @ 40 67.55% 95.92% 67.55%
6 Slots BM @ 50 97.49% 97.49% 73.78%
5 Slots BM @ 50 73.78% 97.49% 73.78%
5 Slots SR @ 50 97.49% 73.78% 73.78%</pre><hr />

BL and BM have the same scheme, so the BL numbers at 40 and 30 apply to BM too. The following numbers are for those that want to 3 or 4 slot BL or BM so that they can slot Recharge for a pet that is not permanent out of the box:

4 Slots Acc/Dam Dam/End Acc/Dam/End Dam
3 Slots Acc/Dma Acc/Dam/End Dam

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> Acc Dam End
4 Slots BM @ 50 47.70% 97.49% 47.70%
4 Slots BL/BM @ 40 43.43% 95.92% 43.43%
4 Slots BL/BM @ 30 39.15% 91.99% 39.15%
3 Slots BM @ 50 47.70% 88.07% 21.20%
3 Slots BL/BM @ 40 43.43% 80.82% 19.30%
3 Slots BL/BM @ 30 39.15% 73.56% 17.40%</pre><hr />

I don’t know that the Devs realize how many non-permanent pets there are, or maybe they did, but thought people could just add recharge commons. Here they are (good chance I missed some): Illusion Control/Phantom Army, Storm Summoning/Tornado, Luminous Blast/Photon Seekers, Umbral Blast/Dark Extraction, Necromancy/Soul Extraction, Thugs/Gang War, Training and Gadgets/Call Reinforcements, Crab Spider Training/Summon Spiderlings, and all 16 versions of the villain patron pets. In addition Electrical Blast/Voltaic Sentinel and Electricity Assault/Voltaic Sentinel have the same duration as recharge, so it might be desirable to put a little recharge into them is case of debuffing. In particular, every villain with the exception of Mercenary, Robot, and Ninja Masterminds has access to at least one.

[ QUOTE ]
"So, Lighthouse, any chance of us finding out what-all powers are in Mental Manipulation?” – Bitt Player



Subdual – Subdual deals moderate Psionic damage and may leave the targeted foe Immobilized for a brief time. Immobilized foes cannot move but can still attack. Damage: Moderate, Recharge: Moderate

Mind Probe -- Grip the minds of your foe with a Mind Probe. You must be in close proximity to pull off this attack that wrecks havoc on your foes synapses, dealing moderate Psionic Damage while reducing his attack speed. Damage: Moderate, Recharge: Moderate

Telekinetic Thrust – A focused attack or intense mental power that violently sends a nearby foe flying. Deals minimal damage, but can be very effective. Damage: Minor, Recharge: Moderate

Psychic Scream -- This howl of Psionic energy resonates in the minds of all foes within its conical area of effect, inflicting moderate damage. Damage: Moderate, Recharge: Slow

Build Up – Greatly boosts your attacks for a few seconds. Slightly increases Accuracy. Recharge: Long

Drain Psyche – You Drain the Psyche of you nearby foes, thus weakening their Hit Point Regeneration and Endurance Recovery and boosting your own. Recharge: Very Long

World of Confusion – This toggle powers allows you to cause psionic damage and cause confusion within a group of foes, creating chaos. The chance of confusing an enemy is lower than then chance of damaging them, and it may take multiple hits to affect stronger opponents. All affected foes within the area will turn and attack each other, ignoring all heroes. You will not receive any Experience Points for foes defeated by Confused enemies. Recharge: Moderate

Scare – You entwine a single foe within his deepest fears and cause him to helplessly tremble for a brief while. Recharge: Medium

Psychic Shockwave – Psychic Shockwave is a devastating Psionic attack that wracks the minds of all nearby foes. Affected foes may have a reduced attack rate and may be left Disoriented. Damage: High Recharge: Slow

[/ QUOTE ]

Subdual: All Blaster secondaries except Devices get an Immobilize.
Mind Probe: Moderate damage melee. All Blaster secondaries other than Devices gets one.
Telekinetic Thrust: Melee knockback. Pretty standard.
Psychic Scream: Moderate Ranged Cone. This is unusual, but Mental seems to be weak on damage compared to /Energy or /Fire so it should be fine.
Build Up: Standard for Blaster secondaries.
Drain Psyche: Evidently this is awesome. Probably somewhat better than the /Energy (Conserve Power), /Fire (Consume), and /Elec (Power Sink) equivalents.
World of Confusion: Damage proc and confuse proc toggle aura. I'm guessing 50-67% for damage tick percent and 25-33% for confuse tick percent. Have to see it to judge it. In general damage auras are not terribly popular on most blasters but the confuse might help. The low proc rate on the confuse might not make this terribly reliable.
Scare: Single target fear. Probably melee like Touch of Fear. With the Holds and Stuns available in all the other secondaries I don't see this as terribly over-powered (PVP might be different).
Psychic Shockwave: High damage PBAoE with a 25% chance to stun (if kept the same as Dominators). Castle says this won't be as uber on Blasters as it is on Doms. As of now it's slated to have 36% of Dom damage (at 50).

To me it looks like /Mental will be a decent Blaster secondary and might become the preferred AoE secondary. The only obvious gem is Drain Psyche. I would say that /Energy is still the most "uber." I'm actually a little surprised that there's not more Mez in the set from a concept point of view, but I guess they were concerned about that.

I also wonder how this will mesh with Psi/. There's the subtle name change to Subdual from Subdue. Will Subdual be melee? Then there's what to do with Psychic Scream. Will that be removed from Blaster Psi/? I've seen some in this thread suggest it will be replaced with Aim. That does appear to be the only option considering the statements behind Powerset Proliferation.

[ QUOTE ]
Newbies being killed by other players because of a bug and earning ZERO debt

OR

My team being killed multiple times by an AV or giant monster, all of us racking up bars of debt, because even with 2 corruptor's -regen debuffs we still can't kill them

Hmmm... what to choose, what to choose...

[/ QUOTE ]

As has been pointed out, not all fixes are equal. Some are easy and some are hard. To imply that they fast-track ones that make you're life hard intentionally is assigning malice where there are much simpler answers.

But since you asked... This is a no-brainer. One is a bug that enables griefing (targetted at newbies even) and the other is a bug that makes your gameplay a little easier. Any good development team would choose to prioritize the griefing bug. But I don't see why you're complaining since you seem to want the Domination exploit to stick around.

And the zero debt doesn't make it any less frustrating to the person who just started and kept getting killed by level 50 "heroes." And as for balance or the game just being hard? Those things not only take time to adjust, but in fact are impossible to get "right" because people have differing tastes and skill levels. And as for your example, it's not inherently true because a team with 2 or 3 Corrupters beat 5 level 54 Heroes at that they couldn't pull apart.

For Motorcycle Leathers under Pants on Female figures the Flat Boots clip through the Pants on the back/right leg when she crouches in the "ready to fight" mode.

[ QUOTE ]
Does this mean Stalker Hidden snipes will now outdamage Blaster Aim + Build Up snipes?

[/ QUOTE ]

If I remember correctly, the snipes suppress hide and don't critical.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
so what you're saying is one of us could apply for a job....

[/ QUOTE ]

My wife would like to move back to Southern California...

[/ QUOTE ]

Too bad we're in Northern California.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're in the Bay Area...that's Mid-CA however you split it! *drives out 15 miles and smacks Castle*

[/ QUOTE ]

Too true. Too true. Anything south of Sacramento is Central, Bay Area, or Southern.

Stop stealing our water!

Ahem. Oops. Excuse me.

[ QUOTE ]
I am putting the requirements for Contacts - and their location - in the Prima Guide...

but here was our intent with these Contacts - reward Exploration. Reward people who poke around to find new things. Now, the down side is that once found, these Contacts don't inform the player about what it takes to unlock them.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with what some of the others have said, the contact should have a hint about what it takes to unlock them. Come might be more obvious than others, but dumb luck isn't really that fun. Solving puzzles is.

[ QUOTE ]
This is nothing personal directed at you, but I so strongly believe this idea needs to die, that I believe the time has come to rename them "Alpha Sets" and "Gamma Sets" just because it seems it is impossible to break this notion.

There is absolutely no reason for one AT's primary to have any direct relationship of any kind to another AT's secondary: the actual ATs themselves should have a much greater impact in distinguishing the sets first, and then the internals of the sets should come second, and somewhere on page six hundred and forty five, item number ninty three thousand seven hundred two should be "oh, and maybe other people's secondaries shouldn't be stronger than my primaries."

Scrapper secondaries should have more damage mitigation than most other people's primaries, except tankers. Tanker primaries are more effective than scrapper secondaries because they are tankers, not because the set is a primary. If scrapper defenses were primaries, and damage was secondaries, and tankers were similarly reversed, tanker defenses should still be stronger than scrappers.

Blaster damage in the secondaries should be stronger than most people's primaries, because blasters in general are more damage-centric. Energy punch alone out-does most all controller attacks in controller primaries, and that's both appropriate, and logical.

In general controllers should have stronger control than defenders, and defenders should have stronger buffing/debuffing than controllers, regardless of where those powers are in the sets, as a general rule, all other things being equal.

The whole notion that "secondary" means "lesser" fails in a lot of areas. Scrappers are not "primary damage dealers, with a little bit of defense." By the devs own direct statements, scrappers are supposed to be balanced damage/mitigation ATs - meaning they really ought to have two "primaries." But the way the power trees work, something has to be primary, and something else secondary. Corruptors appear to have a similar balance; they are flipped defenders of a sort, but much more balanced in the buff/debuff and damage roles, similar to scrappers in that sense.

Kheldians are another good example where the primary/secondary distinction breaks down. It is not obvious that kheldians are meant to be "whatever is in the primaries first" and "whatever is in the secondaries second."

The *strongest* case, though, is electric blast. If all primaries should be stronger than all secondaries, then you'd basically be advocating that electric blasters should have stronger end drain than electric blast defenders, and I'm not sure you'd agree with that.

[/ QUOTE ]

If this were the case then Defender damage needs to be bumped way up, since damage is their "gamma" function (as it is with Tankers).

The problem is that in the current scheme Defenders get the shaft in both of their roles except for the heal/buff-bots.