Roderick

The last time I downloaded HeroStats was maybe a month ago, and it worked just fine. I don't believe I used it with any new sets, but that shouldn't matter, because it works by reading your chat window. So long as the messages generated by CoH follow the format it expects, it should be able to pick out any power name from your Combat Log and add it to its output just fine.

If the program doesn't work, or if you just want to ask more questions, you can always fire Skip an email. His address is listed on the Herostats website, and he's really good about answering emails, in my experience.

You get a +1 level shift by equipping a T3 or T4 Alpha Slot Ability. This is the ONLY way to get a permanent level shift in the game right now. You can also get a short duration +1 Level Shift by using an Ultimate inspiration.

Slotting a T3 or T3 Destiny or Lore Ability will grant a +1 Incarnate Shift. Slotting both will stack, so you'll have a +2 Incarnate Shift. Incarnate Shifts are like Level Shifts, but they only apply while participating in Incarnate content (Trials, Dark Astoria, the new Incarnate Arc coming in i24).

Incarnate Shifts stack with Level Shifts, so if you have T3 or T4 in Alpha, Destiny and Lore, you will be +3 in Incarnate content (but still only +1 everywhere else).

It doesn't matter if you have a Mac, PC or Linux, you use the Character Copy Tool (Live to Training Room) to transfer characters to Beta or Test.

Note that the tool only works for the account you are currently logged into the forums with. If you have multiple accounts, and want to transfer characters from a different account, you have to log into the forums on that account (and may need to create a forum account for that game account) to do so.

I'm not talking about a single superfast fly. The base power is supposed to be a fly clone, and the temp power that it adds is an unslottable afterburner clone. Activating the afterburner clone will still make you Only Affecting Self while sped up.

So you won't be getting Superspeed speed while flying with the ability to attack - but you will get Fly + Afterburner without having to burn three power choices.

Both the Public Test Server (aka Training Room) and Beta Server are VIP-only perks.

Whether we as players think they should be available to all or not doesn't matter, the devs have decided otherwise.

I never use that temp, because doing so doesn't defeat Numina, it just despawns he, meaning that her AV XP just goes away with her, so I also have to delete it every time I run that TF.

Some other tasks do that as well - I often have Pacification Grenades left on my bar after a Lambda Trial. Fortunately, those have a timer, and if you try to start another Lam before they expire, they get deleted on you, so it's less imperative that they be manually deleted.

Both.

Max End gives you a bigger pool of endurance to work with. Also, since each tick of recovery is exactly 5% of your max, you get more back with each tick with higher Max End.

End Recovery shortens the time between ticks. By default, they are 12 seconds apart. With 100% recovery, they are 6 seconds apart (1/2 normal length), at 200% they are 4 seconds apart (1/3 length), etc.

By using both together, you can get bigger ticks, more often, for multiplicative benefits. Fortunately, there are a few good sets that give both at different amounts slotted.

If you don't have room to chase both sets, pick up the +Max End accolade powers, and slot for +Recovery.

Just to straighten out all the mixed up information:

-Any character, except Kheldians and Arachnos Soldiers, automatically gain access to Ancillary Pools when they hit level 35. Ancillary Pools are pools like Blaze Mastery, Body Mastery, Munitions Mastery, etc - ie, the Hero Epic Pools before side-switching was introduced.

-Any Villain or Rogue can select a Patron at level 35 and begin doing missions for them. On completing their first story arc, all four Patron Pools will be unlocked for them and a Respec will be granted. Patron Pools are Mace Mastery, Soul Mastery, Mu Mastery and Leviathan Mastery - ie, the Villain Epics before side-switching was introduced.
Kheldians do NOT unlock Patron Pools, but they still get the respec.

-Each character may only have ONE Epic Pool. You may NOT select both an Ancillary and Patron Pool.

-You may freely change to any Epic Pool you have access too during a respec. Likewise, if you use multiple builds, you may have a different Epic in each build.

-Once you unlock Patrol Pools, you keep access to them, even if you switch to a Hero or Vigilante alignment - it is a permanent unlock.

I'm OK with most of it, but...

People tanked for 8-man teams on just SOs for years. Any set can do the job.

Are you Free (never paid anything at all) or Premium (have previously subscribed and/or bought points)? Your answer will change my suggestions.

If you're free, SR is your best bet. It can be softcapped on just SOs (you'll need to take some pool powers that grant defense to make up the last few percent). Adding Tough will get you some Resistance, which SR needs for those hits that get through. Dark Melee is a good Secondary for many reasons, including Siphon Life. Do NOT slot SL as a heal though. It's one of your best attacks, so slot it like one and use it frequently, the incidental healing will usually keep you topped up. I'd recommend Soul Mastery for your Epic, but that would require you to unlock Patron Pools, which is impossible for a Free Hero.
Shield won't get as high on the defense, but it will get close, and it has +Max HP, more Resists, and a -Damage to enemies aura, meaning that it survives the hits that get through more easily. Again, pairing with Dark Melee will be beneficial.

If you're Premium, you have several additional options. You could buy the Alignment System so you can switch sides and get Patron Pools (Don't buy Alignment Change Tokens! The full Alignment System is a permanent unlock for all your characters, costs about the same as a round-trip for just one by tokens. The only drawback is that in-game side switching is time gated).
You could unlock purchase-only powersets. Titan Weapons provides a lot of AoE, much of it with knockdown in it, which is great for stopping enemies from attacking. It also has Defensive Sweep, a power that provides some +Defense to you when you use it. If you go Titan Weapons, I'd recommend pairing it with Fiery Aura or Electric Armor - Both have Resistance and a Self Heal to layer with DS's Defense, a damage aura to add even more AoE, and at least one Endurance Management power - a must have for SO-only Titan Weapons.
Being Premium means that you can also access Attuned Enhancements, either from direct purchases from the store, of from Super Packs.

I was having some financial difficulties around the same time Freedom launched, so I scraped up $50, bought some points, unlocked everything I "needed" and unsubscribed indefinitely - it turned out to be about 5 months. Since then, I've unsubscribed for a single month and used my $15 to buy points a couple times, and once dropped another $50. So I've really only spent about $25 more than I would have had I just remained subscribed - less "extra" over the course of a year than I would have spent had they kept up the 3-4 $10 boosters per year model they had previously.

However, now that things are more financially stable, I may well end up throwing an extra $5 at points on a fairly regular basis, maybe more than that on occasion.