Rodion

I noticed the following: a friend and I were doing Heather's arc in sync. When we got to her last arc mission I got the drop table (and got a common). My friend got only a thread/merit choice like the repeatables (no salvage choice). He also didn't get the prompt to complete his mission along with mine, and was forced to leave it unfinished.

So we did the mission again for him. At the end he got the regular drop table, and so did I (got another common). That surprised me, as I expected to be limited by the 20-hour limitation.

What is the correct behavior here? Can you get a salvage roll every time you're on a team that completes the last mission of an arc run from a contact in DA? Or was my getting two pieces of iSalvage doing the last mission back-to-back a glitch?

In particular, can a team of 8 players do the first three missions of the DA arcs together, then do each of their final missions one after the other to get 8 components in a day? And is that the intended behavior?

Question: What server are you playing on?

I have never seen people rejected for the AT they're playing on the servers I usually play on (mostly Pinnacle). League leaders basically can't turn people down because getting a full league can be very time-consuming if they're picky. Yes, people will sometimes alt if the league needs a particular AT that it's lacking (often a taunter in Keyes). But that's not the same as locking out half the ATs.

Perhaps you need to create a character in a friendlier venue.

Enhancement converters in I22 will allow you to essentially reroll PvP IOs, giving the potential to turn a cheap PvP IO into a desirable one.

I did not find this to be true. I just made the following conversion, out of set conversion within Category: Melee:

This is balanced by the fact that you can wind up converting a rare into an uncommon as well:

You can also do an out of set conversion by rarity instead of category, in which case you'll never get an uncommon out of the deal, but you'll get an IO from a different category.

One very annoying thing about this conversion is that every time you do it the Rarity/Category selector flips back to Rarity. Which means that you can easily screw up and convert your melee IO into a slow IO if you don't reselect Category every time you put an IO into the Input slot.

Which isn't a problem if you're solo. Which means it's adding to your DPS, allowing you to double-team the spawn and take down enemies faster.

I don't know if Voltaic Sentinel is "worth" it from a damage point of view, but I get it to be able to slot Expedient Reinforcement for the 6.25% recharge bonus and the 3.13% ranged defense bonus.

Since it's perma without any enhancements I just put it out as needed, usually right before attacking a spawn. Its only real downside is the fairly hefty end cost.

All that said, VS isn't high on my list of priorities, and I'll skip it if the build can get more bang for the buck from another power.

I generally pick incarnate powers first to fill a hole in my build, and second to improve an aspect of the character to make it stronger. For example, melee characters with damage resist auras and lots of recharge can go through end fast. Cardiac generally fixes the end problem and adds more damage resistance.

Therefore, if your /DA brute is having end problems you could consider Cardiac, and as a bonus it can also increase Fear duration. Or, if your powers don't recharge fast enough, you could opt for Spiritual, which enhances Recharge, Stun and Healing, all of which are useful for most /DA builds.

Without knowing what your requirements are for your particular character, it's hard to recommend what you should take.

I've outfitted at least 10 characters with these, and I almost never buy them on the market. Alignment merits make obtaining these very easy. I've also gone through spurts of running AE missions for tickets and making bronze rolls at levels that drop KC: Acc/Damage. In a pinch I use reward merits to get the KC: A/D. Some of the WSTs give enough merits to cover this with minimal investment in time.

Actually, you can soft-cap (to S/L damage) an Inv/SS tank pretty cheaply. Here's the build I use, which is based on Call Me Awesome's ideas:

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.952
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Iron Maven: Level 50 Natural Tanker
Primary Power Set: Invulnerability
Secondary Power Set: Super Strength
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Temp Invulnerability -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx:35(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:35(3), RctvArm-ResDam:35(3), RctvArm-EndRdx:33(5), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(46)
Level 1: Jab -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:35(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx:50(5), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:35(17), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:35(17), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:35(27)
Level 2: Punch -- S'ngH'mkr-Acc/Dmg:35(A), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx:35(13), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/Rchg:35(13), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:35(15), F'dSmite-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:35(31), F'dSmite-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:35(33)
Level 4: Dull Pain -- Dct'dW-Rchg:35(A), Dct'dW-Heal:35(37), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg:35(37), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg:35(40), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg:35(43)
Level 6: Haymaker -- S'ngH'mkr-Acc/Dmg:35(A), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx:35(7), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/Rchg:35(7), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:35(11), F'dSmite-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:35(23), F'dSmite-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:35(31)
Level 8: Unyielding -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx:35(A), RctvArm-ResDam:35(9), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg:35(9), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:35(11)
Level 10: Resist Physical Damage -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx:40(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:40(15), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg:40(27), RctvArm-ResDam:40(48)
Level 12: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I:35(A)
Level 14: Fly -- Winter-ResSlow:35(A)
Level 16: Boxing -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 18: Invincibility -- RedFtn-EndRdx:42(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:42(19), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:42(19), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:42(34), RedFtn-Def:42(34)
Level 20: Taunt -- Zinger-Taunt:35(A), Zinger-Taunt/Rchg:35(43), Zinger-Taunt/Rchg/Rng:35(45), Zinger-Acc/Rchg:35(45), Zinger-Taunt/Rng:35(45), Zinger-Dam%:35(46)
Level 22: Knockout Blow -- S'ngH'mkr-Acc/Dmg:35(A), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx:35(23), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/Rchg:35(25), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:35(25), F'dSmite-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:35(33), EoCur-Acc/Hold/Rchg:35(34)
Level 24: Resist Energies -- RctvArm-ResDam:35(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx:40(33), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:40(42), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg:40(46)
Level 26: Tough Hide -- DefBuff-I:50(A), DefBuff-I:50(31), LkGmblr-Rchg+:29(36)
Level 28: Rage -- AdjTgt-Rchg:35(A), AdjTgt-ToHit/Rchg:35(29), RechRdx-I:50(29), Rec'dRet-Pcptn:20(48)
Level 30: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx:35(A), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg:35(36), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:25(42), RctvArm-ResDam:35(42)
Level 32: Weave -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(36), LkGmblr-Def:50(37), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(43)
Level 35: Hand Clap -- HO:Endo(A)
Level 38: Foot Stomp -- Oblit-Dmg:50(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg:47(39), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg:47(39), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:47(39), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:47(40), Oblit-%Dam:47(40)
Level 41: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 44: Physical Perfection -- EndMod-I:50(A)
Level 47: Resist Elements -- ResDam-I:50(A), ResDam-I:50(48), ResDam-I:50(50)
Level 49: Hurl -- HO:Nucle(A), HO:Nucle(50), Dmg-I:50(50)
Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
Level 0: Portal Jockey
Level 0: The Atlas Medallion
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- EndMod-I:50(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I:50(A), EndMod-I:50(21), EndMod-I:50(21)

If the devs gave those percentages it still wouldn't make any difference. Most human beings have no intuitive grasp of probability. Most believe that if they flip a coin 10 times, something must be seriously wrong if they all turned up heads. When you tell them that this is completely possible, with a probability of blah-blah-blah and and confidence interval of blah-blah-blah, they will look glassy-eyed and blame their "bad luck."

If most people truly understood probability, the lottery and casino games based solely on chance wouldn't exist because there wouldn't be enough suckers to make it profitable.

When you come right down to it, it doesn't matter if we know that the chance of getting a VR is 10%. People take that to mean that if they do 10 trials they should get one VR, and if they don't they think something's wrong and there's a terrible bug. People assume that there's some kind of sampling without replacement, and that does not seem to be how the trial rewards work (though, to add confusion to the discussion, it does seem to be how the Super Packs work with the costume pieces).

For this reason, I think random rewards are wrong for vital things like building incarnate powers. It's not fair that some people get better rewards based on random chance; it's a major break from how the game works otherwise.

Until level 50 all characters' progress is essentially the same: all things being equal, two players teaming together will get the same XP and level at the same rate. They'll get new slots and new powers at the same time. But when we hit the trials it becomes a total crap shoot: progress becomes random. Different players get different numbers of threads, which means they can get more iXP than team mates for the same number of kills. They get different salvage drops on trial completion, which means some players may be able to build a T4 power in a few trials, while others might take 20 or more. This is not right.

To ensure that no character's progress is too slow, trial reward rolls should either have a streak breaker, or the rarity roll should use sampling without replacement to ensure people get a consistent number of rares and VRs within a certain number of trials.

Unless the devs change the code to conform to the popular misconception of what "random" is, no amount of statistical information will convince the vast majority of players that the system is working properly.

Can you use the Market? The blaster Damage/Recharge is selling for more (18-50 million) than the Stalker Damage/Recharge (7-25 million). You might actually make inf by selling the one you have and buying the one you want.

It sounds like you're on the right path with using common IOs and salvage.

One thing I'll mention: characters are always very cash poor until level 30-35. Even if you only use IOs, if you depend solely on drops you'll have a hard time keeping your SOs out of the red.

The best way I've found to generate cash (in a way that entertains me) is to run a Fire/Fire brute in one of the fire farms in AE on high difficulty (be sure to use lots of purple inspirations -- as long as your insp tray has empty slots they'll fill up almost instantly). When you get your Fire brute to 30 or so, make many bronze rolls. Keep the recipes that interest you, but check out the sale price for ones that you don't want. Many of them sell for tens of millions each. Most you will just want to sell to the vendor, however.

This won't make you a billionaire, but it can get you 50 million relatively quickly, plus give you recipes you can use yourself.

Once you get a character to level 50 you'll be able to make inf very quickly.

It's really a tricky question, because it depends completely on what mobs you're fighting.

In particular, Nemesis LTs have Vengeance. When they're defeated you'll see your last hit chance plummet, and if enough Vengeance is stacked your to-hit will be floored.

I find the best tactic with them is to save the LTs for last, and then use Build Up or Aim to buff my to-hit for the last few hits needed to take them down.

Exactly.

With the Weekly Strike Task double merit reward, it's not hard to amass 400 or 500 merits on each character over the course of several weeks. And it's now trivial to transfer items to your alts with global email.

Also note that there's a 4-day cooldown on the purchase of each ATO. Which means many people will be required to alt in order to get the ATOs in the shortest possible time anyway.