Redoubtable

Also: To reiterate something I said in another thread, it's really strange to me that some people apparently think that EATs are the only reward for getting to 50. There are many, many other things that you can't do until you get to the upper levels, so it's not like all of the incentive to gain levels has just been removed from the game. Over the last few years there has been a massive amount of content added in the high levels, so treating this minor subtraction as a sign that the devs suddenly don't want to make people earn things through levelling is ignorant at best, and disingenuous at worst.

I do wonder how many of the people complaining would have rated EATs as a primary motivation for getting to 50 if you'd asked them last week?

I find it really strange that some people apparently consider EATs the only reason to get to 50. Isn't there a bunch of other content that unlocks as you get up to the higher levels? Y'know, powers and stuff? Try running an ITF or a Hami raid on a level 20 sometime and see how far you get.

Ok, here goes:

SS/Elec (50): Inspired by a thread in this very forum which voted this as the best all-around PvE/PvP combo, went on hiatus around level 20 but rebounded to make it to 50 just as PvP died out (bah). Benefited a fair bit from the /Elec revamp, as I was able to drop Aid Self at last and take Weave for some +def. My first big IO build, he's ostensibly my main, mostly running Lady Greys and cutting up +3/x8 Rikti missions for a living nowadays.

Dark/EA (50): My first 50 villain, though she was never really that great to play on the way up. I softcapped her on a whim (and a shoestring budget) a few weeks ago, and found she can now solo AVs. Mildly annoying, considering how much time and inf I spent on my main, who's still a little squishy in general use. My favourite Brute for speedy SFs, as Energy's non-suppressing stealth power makes her ideal for taking out crystals and turrets without attracting undue attention.

Elec/Stone (50): A team-only Brute all the way to 50, good for soaking agro but the Granite/Lightning Rod combo didn't quite work out as well as I'd hoped due to Granite's -dmg and -rchg. I keep meaning to buy IOs to help with some of his shortcomings, but it's hard to justify the cost when I've got other brutes that are more fun to play and still very survivable.

SS/Fire (50): A real blast to play on the way up, but pretty much redundant with my SS/Elec now. Even with SOs, this combo is every bit the farming powerhouse that it's reputed to be.

Stone/WP (41): I originally chose these sets when taking part in an SG challenge, in which a few of us soloed Silver Mantis up to the last mission with spawns set for six (pre-SSK). She was definitely well-suited for the purpose, even with SOs, though the defeat all mission took a while to finish due to a lack of damaging AoEs at 25. I'm surprised that there aren't more of these around, given WP's ability to address the common complaint about Stone's end usage. Only gets the occasional airing nowadays, as something of an exemping specialist.

Claws/SR (27): Showing definite promise after the oft-mentioned SR survival issues in the early levels. I'm kind of bored with pure defense sets, so he's on the back-burner until a side-switch when GR hits.

I should mention that the Dual Pistols stuff is in closed beta, which means that you won't be able to get into the Test server unless you have a beta invite.

...and if you do have a beta invite then it's best not to talk about it in this forum.

I liked this thread better when it was actually about what it was about.

Yeah, that's certainly a risk. Fortunately, the "speedrun or GTFO" mentality doesn't seem to exist so much in the Australia channel. I've noticed that primetime TFs usually advertise an intended speed nowadays when they're looking for members, presumably in an attempt to avoid this issue.

We nearly had a level 18 available to run Tarikoss at +2, but unfortunately they had connection problems and we ended up at +0. Our death numbers were a little high for some reason (I was playing a Dom, which may have had something to do with it), but a good run overall.

It's been so long since I did a TF/SF with +3s that I've forgotten how long it can actually take. I'm kind of glad that I opted not to stick around and see if anyone wanted to run something after the Mantis finished...

I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing - I'm not advocating speedruns with newbies, but there are a growing number of people that are interested in doing ITFs primarily to earn merits. ITFs are fairly quick and usually well-liked, so it's a good one to run with a group of vets on an ad hoc basis.

If anyone on a team I'm leading hasn't done an SF/TF before then I'm medium speed all the way unless we've got limited time in which to finish (though the same can't always be said of the vets on the team).

That really is deliciously evil, tricking people into doing things that they secretly want to do.

Last night there was actually an ad hoc ITF started after 10pm, which I don't think has ever happened before when I've been on. Haven't done Ice Mistral for quite a while, so I'd love to give that a shot tonight if you're around, Min. Maybe I can finally find the entrance to that crystal cave at the end...

Have I mentioned that I love free server transfers (and the people that decided to give them to us)?

Sure are a lot of Aquarians in here...

Happy birthday!

Unless they're playing during school hours, which isn't really conducive to meeting Aussies on any server. Evening hours are always hopping on Justice these days, though.

An interesting idea, good luck with the course!

I like the look of that preview, hopefully I'll be able to participate in this one when it comes around. The Holiday Bash was both fun and profitable, and this looks even cooler.

Anybody want to run a -3 LRSF with me?

Ok, maybe not. I've got characters at the right level for a -2 Renault or a -3 Ice Mistral for the late starters. I'll try to bump my Dom to 17 and add the possibility of a -3 Tarikoss as well, but I don't think I have anything within striking distance of the 20-25 range right now (except my Cirque MM, but he's ineligible on the grounds that he has Jump Kick).

I've often wondered whether you could use Hand Clap as a poor man's AoE stun by combining it with the Mu AoE Immobilise power (which suppresses knockback). Anyone tried this?

Got my prize this morning. Thanks again to Cai for running the contest and providing such a fun arc as the medium. Looking forward to seeing what this teaser is leading up to.

So how did things go last night? SFs aplenty?

This weekend marks the last of this year's holiday madness my household, so I expect to be back on board on a regular basis from next week. I wouldn't mind doing an LRSF sometime in the not-too-distant future, as I'd like to get the Accolade badge for my Stalker. A non-Master run would probably be best so there aren't any accusations of improper placation.

I can't take much credit for my team finishing first, both teams exited the defeat all mission at the same time and my guys pretty much ignored my directions on the last mission. We were just fortunate to have a good combination of players/characters who could take out the turrets semi-autonomously.

There are usually a few players who don't want to (or can't) run Barracuda when we do it, so I'd expect that a second SF would be on the cards for next week.

I believe it's 1600 Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time.

I did a couple of these over the holidays, and they were very well-organised and enjoyable. Highly recommended for anyone who can make it, especially if you're yet to experience a Hami raid.

This guide has some very good info on Crab builds and slotting, I'd suggest giving it a read if you need some pointers.

Token on-topic bit: I'll still be getting on late this Wednesday and next, but I'm up for anything that's still running when I arrive.