Nova Knight

When you try to figure out what archetypes/powersets your real-life friends, relatives and acquaintances would have.

I can think of two rationalizations that incorporate in-game lore:

1) Its a Nemesis plot. (Isn't everything?) He drugged your hero to make him pliable/unstable in order to use him as a tool. As a result, your hero did a bunch of horrible things until he was captured and deprogrammed/detoxed.

2) Your hero was captured by Crey and subjected to various experiments. As a result, he gained new powers but became unbalanced. Eventually he was captured, restored to sanity and resumed his heroic career.

At any rate, the knowledge of his past (albeit unwilling) crimes can drive your hero to work even harder to fight evil and give him a personal grudge against the specific villain group that used him.

Have you put an Endurance Modification IO in Stamina to increase your recovery? End Mod recipes aren't as common as some others but you can usually acquire them through regular game play.

When I'm playing a character whose powersets offer no protection against endurance drain, I do one of the following:

(1) Use stealth to sneak up on the endurance drainer and take him out before he can attack me;

(2) Use a mitigating power (either one of your permanent powers or a temp) to neutralize the endurance drainer so I can take him out safely (for example, stunning him with beanbag);

(3) Use Teleport Foe to beam the endurance drainer into a death zone to take him out of commission. (i.e. into a mine field laid by a character with Trip Mines)

The main point is to take stock of your assets (primaries, secondaries, APPs, and temps) and adjust your tactics to take out your priority target before he can make your character miserable.

My favorite part of the tip missions is interacting with the Rogues Gallery. It reminds me of comics from my childhood when having a hero "guest star" in another hero's series was a big deal, or one of those monthly "team up" titles. For example, I bought my first Daredevil comic because it had Spider-Man on the cover as a guest star. Same thing with signature villains appearing. It just feels like you're stepping into a fully formed, well-established universe.

I also like how the personalities of the Rogues are portrayed, and the subtle changes each character undergoes depending on the type of arc you're playing. (i.e. Hero vs. Vigilante). Polar Shift, for example, is either an unbalanced, loose cannon or justifiably paranoid, depending on which tip mission you're running.

Similarly, Stalwart's involvement in the Hero tip mission was surprisingly poignant in light of his reason for showing up at the Family drug deal. I didn't expect such characterization.

So yeah, I'm also digging the tip missions.

Spines/Fire scrapper

I have an MA/SD currently at 37 and he's a lot of fun to play. Damage boost from AAO is great and Shield Charge gives you more hard-hitting PBAoE capability.

I rolled up an MA/Regen last night and I also like the feel of it. When you combine inherent Fitness with Fast Healing and Quick Recovery, your character feels supercharged. Very little down time between fights, which makes the game seem more fast-paced.

Don't have any experience pairing MA with the other secondaries you mentioned, but I can recommend both Shields and Regen.

Good observations and well written. The FAQ section objectively presents the pros and cons of the set so players can make an informed decision about whether to choose it.

Your suggestions also made me reconsider certain powers that I had previously rejected, like Smoke Grenade and, dare I say it, Time Bomb.

I'd like to suggest that you mention Teleport Foe in conjunction with Caltrops and/or Trip Mines. As you pointed out, /devices excels in the area of preparing the battlefield ahead of time. Teleport Foe gives you the option of playing divide-and-conquer against problematic enemies and bringing them to you. For example, I have laid down minefields, covered them with Caltrops and then teleported Malta Sappers and Carnie Illusionists into the zone of death. When you're using Cloaking Device, it's relatively easy to get a teleportation lock on the bad guys without drawing aggro yourself in the process. (excluding certain enemies you already mentioned) Because mines don't always blow up when an enemy enters their detonation radius, the caltrops slow down their escape efforts and give the mines more chances to go off.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents. Looking forward to reading the completed guide.

My main character is an energy/devices blaster at 44 and I'm a big fan of the set. For me, the hallmark of Devices is its versatility. It doesn't excel at any one thing in particular but it does provide you with a lot of options. For this reason, I consider it an excellent choice for solo blasters who have only themselves to rely on.

I agree with those who say it requires a patient, calculating playstyle, so it's not for everybody.

As others have stated, combining a stealth IO with Cloaking Device can be very effective. My character does this and things get interesting when fighting the Knives of Artemis. It feels like submarine warfare to me with stealthy adversaries hunting each other to see who can take out the other first.

Finally, placing Gaussian's Chance for Build Up IO in Targeting Drone can partially compensate for the lack of an actual Build Up power. Not as good as the real thing, but nice when it fires off.

I've lately become very disappointed with The Phantom newspaper strip. My two biggest complaints are the glacially slow pacing and the lack of action.

Storylines take forever to play out. It seems like the writer is intentionally dragging things out in order to fill up space. And when the story finally does reach a dramatic climax, the action either takes place out-of-sight or is just plain dull.

The character is roughly 70 years old and originated many of the tropes now associated with comic heroes, such as wearing tights and having eyes disappear behind the character's mask. I guess it's hard to maintain a high level of quality after so long.

It's kind of sad to see a once-great character reduced to mediocrity. I'll continue reading it because there aren't many heroic comic strips left anymore, but without enthusiasm. I wish The Ghost Who Walks would walk a little faster.

I'd consider Hawkeye a good second tier hero. He's been a part of the Avengers but (to my recollection) can't really carry a book on his own. Not as recognizable, iconic or powerful as Marvel's heavy-hitters, but still an established hero in the Marvel Universe.

On the DC side, I think Firestorm qualifies. I've never followed the character, but he's been around a while and interacts with DC's more popular heroes/teams. I remember seeing his book on the shelves years ago, but I'm not sure if he's still carrying his own title.

I appreciate the suggestions KillerShrike. With 2 experienced EA brutes recommending Taunt (you and Jibikao), it's time to try it for myself. Also nice to know that the defense IOs are doable, if not necessarily easy. I'm definitely getting psyched for this character.