Ironblade

I think "very few" might be overstating it a bit. I blow all my characters merits on random rolls when they're around level 35, but that's because I prefer my IO's around that level. Therefore, I end up keeping anything I can use and it never sees the market. Also, I never take any random rolls after that. Once my toons pass 37 or 38, I only use their merits for specific purchases.

I think the main reason mid-level recipes were so plentiful previously was because Katie Hannon was the 'TF du jour' every day (every hour, for some).

BTW, if anyone cares, the shut-off time is accurate to the minute.
When I pay rent for one of the bases I run, I log it in a spreadsheet and it automatically calculates 6 weeks and displays on a summary page which base has to be paid next.

That way I don't have to sit in the base and wait for the power to go out (which is what I used to do). As long as I'm one minute past the due time, I'm good to run to City Hall and pay it.

And, yes, my main SG has 31 million prestige in the bank and the rent is 2900. I STILL wait until they cut the power. It's a matter of principle.

Great-looking base, and all that, but I have to ask: why does your base have an ice cream truck?

It's definitely not "pure solo". In fact, there is quite a lot of content where you must be on a team and zero content where you must be solo. Having said that, most of the content CAN be done solo if you want to.

Yes, there are dungeons. They're called 'instanced missions' or commonly referred to as 'door missions' but the ones set on the 'Orenbega cave maps' sure look like dungeons to me.

You'll start meeting moderately big, moderately bad villains at relatively low levels. There are some archvillains you can run into by level 15. Unsurprisingly, the really nasty stuff shows up once you are higher level. By the time you get to the mid 30's, you can't swing a dead cat without smacking an 'AV' (archvillain).

There are also 'GMs' (giant monsters) that wander around in open zones. You need a team to fight those. Preferably more than a single team, for most of them.


And what about the archetypes.
Well, for heroes, I usually recommend people start with a scrapper. You do good damage so you can progress at a decent speed even if you are solo and you have decent defenses. For a villain, I would recommend a brute. Same reasons. The advantage of these two 'ATs' (archetypes) is that they are relatively simple to figure out. You don't have to control pets; you don't have to worry about positioning AoE effects; you don't have to worry about keeping your teammates alive - you just hit stuff. This gives you time to figure out the game mechanics so you can move on to more complex ATs.

And the Manticore TF is next. This task force requires 7 heroes to start and the contact is in Brickstown. Minimum level for the TF is 30.

1. Ironblade - Jenni Everywhere (level 39 warshade)
2. Simian Stalker - War Shield (MA/SR) or Exorcist (Ill/rad)
3. Bete Noire - Madam Pew Pew (blaster)
4. AngelicaVenger - Taxi Glowtick (rad def)
5. Flux Overlord - claws/invuln scrapper
6. Doctor A Scenic - Doctor Sumthin (scrapper)
7.
8.

Well, we had about 12 people show up, found a few people wandering around and ended up with exactly 16. How nice.

The crash really isn't that bad. Have your power monitoring set up to show you your damage buff. When it drops to negative 10,000 or so, only use your temps like the Sands of Mu and Nemesis Staff. Since they ignore all damage buffs, they also ignore all damage debuffs - i.e. they do normal damage while your regular attacks will be doing 1 pt.

No. End reduction doesn't affect power crashes.

hmph! Amazon.com notified me today:

As a tank, I would say defense is more important than to-hit buff.

If you've got big bucks (and are near level 50), get Cytoskeleton Exposure HO's. They enhance to hit buff, defense buff and endurance reduction - best of all possible worlds (which is why they are pricey).

Back in the days before IO's, and before I was high enough for HO's, I had 1 to hit buff, 1 end reduction and 3 defense buff.

We have no indication that the bunny will be a defender.
If everyone else brings a defender, then I will bring one of mine and make you all suffer. I say this because the one I would bring is my sonic/sonic defender Mr. Shouty who only talks in all caps.