Kyriani

Maybe I didn't word it right but that is essentially what I was trying to say.

The +10% recharge bonus from an epic ATIO set is the same as the 10% recharge bonus of typical epic IO sets. So it is not possible to get a 6th 10% recharge bonus by using an epic ATIO set when you're already using 5 epic sets that provide 10% recharge bonuses.

I'm going to take your mention of power pool customization as a promise that we will see power pool customization before the year is out however irrational that sounds!

In all seriousness I am glad that particular issue is whirling around the mind of someone on the dev team. It's long overdue and I daresay every single player right now will sing your praises if you can make it happen soon... and not "trademark devspeak soon" but reality soon. no pressure!

DA serves ME. I do not run trials anymore. I really have no desire to. I do however wish to continue progressing on incarnate powers on my characters... which until I22 is like paper cutting my delicate parts and pouring salt on them with how slow it is. I22's content is going to give me a ton of stuff to do and at the same time let me advance my incarnate progression at a pace that isn't glacial all without having to step foot into a trial. Sure it wont be the breakneck pace of trial advancement but I am ok with that. For me that serves quite well.

Maybe I am not understanding what you're trying to say but if I am understanding correctly I'll try to explain.

Epic IO sets (this includes ATIO sets that have been "catalized" into epics) as well as PVP IO sets will always grant their set bonuses no matter what level you exemp to. I've tested this myself to be sure.

Two reasons, however, to not "catalize" your ATIO sets...

1) If you catalize then only lvl 50's can use em... which means you cant send em to a new alt of the proper AT to use from lvl 1 on. You could only swap it between lvl 50s of the same AT.

2) If you already have 5 epic sets in your build you may end up with overlapping set bonuses thus going beyond the "rule of 5" limit and "wasting" set bonuses (a biggie would be the 10% recharge bonus). If you already have 5 epic sets you can avoid "catalizing" the ATIO set and get it's not inconsiderable 8.75% recharge bonus on top of the x5 10% recharge bonuses you're getting from 5 epic sets.

Encouraging teaming is not the same as defining MMORPG as "teaming required if you want to get anything done". It's a simply foolish argument to say that the "massive multiplayer" means anything than what it says... a massive amount of players (not that you are saying otherwise but others involved in this thread have). The devs do not believe that silly notion. They wanted to get a more "traditional endgame" model into COH and did so successfully. But they are also adding alternative content for those not interested in the "traditional endgame" model.

Honestly right now I don't consider there to be a real "solo" path for incarnate advancement. Not in the sense of it being something you can actively pursue and make reasonable progress with. I22 changes that dramatically. I will always agree that the group content should be the faster method of advancement. That doesn't mean that a slower (but not glacial pace) form of advancement cannot co-exist with it for those inclined to solo or small groups.

It's still true regardless.

Soloable incarnate content does indeed await the masses. Sure the last mission given at the end of the arc is to "complete the DD trial" but that is irrelevant. The fact remains that with I22 players will now have the opportunity to engage in incarnate content that does not require a large group and is outside the trial format. Players who prefer solo and small group content will have the option to advance their incarnate powers without running trials. No amount of "poo pooing" the ending of the dark astoria changes that fact. If anything the ending of the arc encourages the soloist to at least do the trial once for the story and there is NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT.

The bulk of the game from 1-50 is mainly soloable/small group but there IS content that is designed for groups. I22 is not intended to suddenly do away with group content. It does however give soloers/small groupers the chance to engage in the incarnate system without running trials.

I daresay I22 says you're wrong my dear. Soloable incarnate content for the masses awaits!

Not that this means team based/trial content will stop. But the devs are NOT by any stretch of the imagination subscribing to the ridiculous notion that MMO = team focused exclusively. City of Heroes had never been of that mind till incarnate content reared its head and now that the trials have settled into a fairly varied array of options, the devs are now adding in a way for the introverts, soloers and small groups to engage the system as well.

The easiest way I can think of to do this (and is the way I tend to do it these days) is when you decide to make a new character plan out the build so you have a road map of what you want/need. Then as you level and pick up reward merits/alignment merits buy what you need as you go. It becomes part of the leveling process and not something you're going too much out of your way to do!

Now obviously if you're sticking to only level 50 IOs you wont spend your currencies till about 47 but ultimately it shouldnt be too much out of the way effort to set yourself up. But ideally? you'll want to grab the game changer IO's at much lower levels. For example... at 17 I always give the character a lvl 20 miracle proc in health... at 18 the performance shifter proc in stam... at 27 they get a lvl 30 numina proc. Depending on the character I may give them a lvl 10 +stealth IO for sprint and lvl 10 -KB IO for their travel power at lvl 7.

Stuff like that can really alter the feel of the character through the entirety of the leveling process.

I'm by no means an ebil marketeer or drowning in billions of inf but... I typically have anywhere from 500 mill to 1 billion inf on hand at any given time. I periodically spend to trick out a character and then rebuild my funds. What I do to make inf? I simply use my characters to get alignment merits... whether via direct alignment merit gains via tips/ssa's or by converting reward merits with some influence. Then i use the alignment merits to by high prices recipes, craft them and sell them. This typically gets me about 120 million inf for 2 merit items and about 70 million for 1 merit items. Figuring out what will sell and how fast is pretty easy. I never buy a bunch of the same thing to sell though. Usually its one of each high ticket item and let them sit till they sell... collect my inf and spend it on the things I want. That said... when I need a high priced item (every single toon of mine gets the miracle and numina uniques for health) I simply use the alignment merits so I dont have to spend out of pocket. The trick isn't always to make money... but to curb spending by acquiring things you'd normally pay for through other means. If you're going to spend inf for something buy a recipe not a crafted enhancement. You can use AE to generate tickets for salvage and spend a fraction of what it costs to buy one already crafted.

I like using lvl 50 enhancements for the full values they offer. The downside is if you exemplar alot to much lower levels you lose alot of set bonuses. The upside is that lvl 50 enhancements are often cheaper than the "prime exemp level" equivalents. If you dont exemp alot or dont mind losing set bonuses lvl 50 recipes are perfectly fine to use. There's some finesse to it on a case by case basis depending on the character but on average lvl 50 io's are fine.

I always look at the market because I am typically MAKING my inf by selling stuff. Basically i value 2 alignment merits as 120million inf. If I can buy what I need for less inf I will and use 2 alignment merits for something to sell. Once you realize you can make inf hand over fist without much effort or being a marketeer you find a comfort zone with pricing.

Every character is different. My ill/rad controller has no real need of defense. I stacked recharge till the cows came home so I have perma phantom army... what do I need defense for when I have 3 invulnerable pocket tanks to take the aggro and let me pew pew with impunity! Some AT/powersets shine with support in various ways. It's up to you to figure it out. Think of complimentary things. Recharge is great for ill/rad as I said for a WP character its not quite as valuable. A super reflexes character would find regen set bonuses quite the boon vs defense which would do little once they are softcapped. A regen character on the other hand finds defense AND recharge great if they can manage alot of both. I try to use set bonuses to either make up for things lacking (my invuln tank has as much resistance to psi dmg as everything else that isn't s/l and her defense to psi is about 30% as well) or to make key powers permanent (hasten, accel metab, light form, phantom army, etc).

I would say every character is different. Your powerset choices have a huge impact on what exactly you might want/need from set bonuses. For example you might need need as much melee defense if your primary has Parry (or a similar power) or like i mentioned ebfore regen and super reflexes both shine with very different set bonus support.

Mids makes everything easy You can be frugal and still find set bonuses you want. The key however i think lies in my answer to your first question. Once inf becomes less of a limiting factor you'll find that most things will fall into the "affordable" category. About the only things that are long term investments for me are purples and ive never had the inf to buy a pvp unique IO. I typically plan out my builds to not use pvp IO's or purples if I can help it though the control set purples are much more affordable than say the damage dealing ones. Working out a build and then looking at the market prices for the recipes can give you an indicator of the investment needed. That said... alignment merits can make everything happy... both for expensive IO's you may want like LotG +global recharges and for making inf by selling ios you craft from recipes you purchase.

Prestige pricing is the last thing that is inhibiting base development.

The primary thing was development funds. Freedom is starting to change that. But make no mistake it is not some simple matter to just add a system like you are a proposing. And there's also the profit factor. There would not be tons of "content to sell" because there would not be tons of customers. Few people in any SG have base editing permissions and those that do or those with a solo base aren not a big enough base to draw from.

For bases to become "profitable" we'd need a whole new base editing system and that system would likely need the following:

The new base editor would be completely revised. Base data would be stored via text file much like architect missions and costumes are.

Legacy Bases vs. New Bases:
Legacy Bases (the current ones we have) would remain in the game as they currently are. There would be little to no new content added for them though certain bug fixes could probably be addressed (such as say the Pocket D beacon for example). The supergroup registrar would allow the player to swap between legacy base access and new bases access much like swapping specs. When one is active the other is inaccessible. This system will allow those who have an invested interest in the old bases to retain what they have and continue to use it as it is. Both legacy and new group bases would use prestige as their currency for building and all current supergroup base badges and unlockable features would be available in each.

Personal Bases vs. Group Bases:
The new base system would introduce a new type of base for personal use. the personal base is a smaller scale version of a group base with limited features but giving the individual the freedom to explore the system and create something personal for their character. The size of a personal base would be extremely limited. Likely a single plot of a modest size that could be subdivided into smaller areas if desired. Imagine it, if you will, as a 6x6 oversight center plot with all the allowable features of that room plus say 1 more placeable storage and possibly 1 teleport device and 1 beacon. The personal base would use a new currency called personal prestige for building. Since a personal base is of limited scope and likely easy to cap out, personal prestige can only be purchased with influence from the sg registrar much like you purchase sg prestige (though this would have a much more favorable conversion). Personal bases would have an option to be linked to a group base so that players can transition from one to the other without exiting. Personal bases have their own permission controls that the owner can set to preference such as allowing group members to enter their base or access their storage. Personal bases would be accessible after a special mission accessible from the city representative at level 10 and grant an initial allotment of personal prestige for the player to work with. There could likely be a badge associate with unlocking the personal base.

Group bases would function similarly to how legacy bases do in that they use the same sg prestige we have currently and can only be edited by those with permission to do so. New Group bases would also have all the features currently available for legacy bases such as multiple teleporters, medical bay, etc. SG prestige is a single resource. If your sg prestige is tied up in your legacy base you'll have to either dismantle your legacy base to recover that prestige for your new base or earn/buy more sg prestige.


A system like this... especially the "personal base" option is what opens up base building to the masses and makes it feasible to spend development dollars on marketable base upgrades to sell. Until this happens the devs can't justify the expense of making base items to sell.