gWrath

Have a L50 Inv/Fire (g0dWrath) moderately IO'd out. I'm an altoholic, but he's my favorite (and first 50). Invulnerability is a solid, defensive set that really shines in a group of mobs. Fortunately, that's where you want to be with Fiery Melee too, since it has some nice PBAOEs (Fire Sword Circle, Combustion and to a lesser extent Breath of Fire).

Invulnerability

You have the basic Inv powers covered (Dull Pain, Temporary Invulnerability, Invincibility and Unyielding). I'm a fan of Tough Hide, though I wouldn't slot it until much later. I would have slotted my attacks before TH.

You're at a point in your build where there are some power choices to make.

At 32, you have an opportunity to choose Unstoppable - a love-it-or-leave it power. Some people like it (because you get almost limitless endurance and your resists go WAY up - it's a nice feeling, trust me!). Others don't (mainly b/c there is a significant crash at the end). There's ways around the crash but the power certainly isn't necessary to have. Since you're new, and if you want to see what Inv is capable of, I'd try it and see how it goes (and perhaps you can respec it out if you don't like it).

Passive powers (besides Tough Hide)...what can be said about these? They were buffed a few issues ago. I'd say that most would recommend RPD > REn > REl. Some skip them entirely. I took REn only - but that was before the buffs. Resist Defense debuff (found in RPD and REl IIRC) are pretty good later on (lvl 40+) and should be useful now too.

Fiery Melee has no status effects like stuns or KDs. So, to achieve the lvl of survivability I wanted, I had to delve into the pools. Boxing/Tough/Weave are good pool choices that work well with Inv. Tough and Weave can consume a lot of end, so be careful. You will feel both if you are running both toggles; they're managable but you'll feel it. I would put at least some End reduction into them (like 1 SO).

Fiery Melee

Kudos to your patience. It seems like your only ST attacks are scorch (your beginner power) and boxing. I couldn't handle lvling without Fire Sword. In any case, I would recommend getting Incinerate and Greater Fire Sword at lvls 35 and 38. Incinerate can be deceiving; it does good dmg but over time so it may not seem that great early on. Greater Fire Sword, well, does most dmg ST-wise. Together, they make a good 1-2 combo vs ST.

I only took one Ancillary Power Pool: char for the hold. Since I wanted to build a pretty tough tanker (delving into Tough/Weave), that was the sacrifice I was willing to make.

All this changes if you are going the IO route. That's a complex topic so I'll hold off for now.

Oh, don't forget you have *two* builds you can play with.

Good luck. Inv/Fire is a fun combo!

Are you suggesting to contact each active contact to activate Cadao? Or to make the point that only active contacts have something for you to do (or direct you to someone else)?

In any case, I don't have many active contacts at this point:

* Anton Sampson, Gordan Stacy, Ginger Yates and Colleen Nelson. I just activated Anton Sampson and Colleen Nelson. All 4 work as intended in terms of granting missions.
* Buck Salinger
* Senator Decimus Aquila
* The Pilgrim

I have contacted each of them (but not necessarily accepted a mission) and none of them directed me to Cadao (nor would I expect them to). The contact I did expect to direct me to Cadao was Peter Stemitz (or Allison King, but I don't have her as a contact)...but he's a dead end.

@ Master-Blade: I don't have anyone before Hugo. He's my first Magic contact (my Tanker's a mutant).

I understand that. I'm familiar with the contact system. I've out leveled many contacts on my other toons. But I hadn't experienced being directed to MA versus "I have nothing for you. Talk to someone else." Also, I thought all contacts appeared on the map regardless of whether we've been introduced. *shrug*

Again, I've outleveled many contacts, so I am familiar with having to go back and work up the contact "ladder" per Origin. For example, say I was introduced to Thao Ku (Magic lvl 15-19 Skyway) when I was lvl 15. But I play other missions and outlevel him. So I'm lvl 22 now and want a Magic contact in the lvl 20-24 range. If I go back to Thao, I would expect him to say "I have nothing for you" but also introduce me to one of the next lvl of Magic contacts (e.g., Piper Irving, Dr. Cheng, etc.).

Here, to get to Cadao, I thought I should be able to activate him through Peter Stemitz, b/c Peter is the previous Magic contact (lvl 30-34 range). But Peter does not give me that opportunity. That's different than what I remember and I've gone through the "origin contact ladder" a lot in the past. I haven't been gone *that* long.

I'm thinking something has changed, very subtle maybe. Like, a Magic contact for lvl 30-34 will not automatically give you a Magic contact lvl 35-39 once you out level it. It has in the past IIRC.

In any case, thanks to all the previous posters. I'll just have to find a way to activate Cadao.

1. No. I only have one.

2. No, I've been through AE missions so I know when I am in that mode or not.

3. Both Miriam Bloechl and Peter Stemitz are inactive contacts. See previous post re: what I did to "activate" Cadao.

4. Lvl 38 Tanker, so should be within range of Cadao (IIRC lvl 35-39). Interesting also that he says to go to Architect Manager (versus the typical, "I have nothing for you").

5. Yes, completed that a couple of weeks ago.

Again, this is the same for Indigo who doesn't show up on my map as well.

EDIT: @Thirty_Seven, the above should answer your question. I only have one mission in my log.

EDIT2: @Ironblade, I quoted exactly what Cadao "told" me (i.e., directing me to MA). I was expecting the typical, "can't talk to you yet," "talk with someone else," blah blah blah. But instead, it directed me to the MA. Unless this is bug, doesn't that seem that the Devs are planning something for Cadao (and Indigo)?

I thought of that too, that I was not able to interact with him b/c I wasn't introduced to him first. So, I went back through my inactive contacts list and found Miriam Bloechl (Magic lvls 25-29, Talos) and Peter Stamitz (Magic lvls 30-34, Founders). I contacted Peter who, if past experience serves me right, should definitely introduce me to Cadao. He didn't (I also called Miriam just in case).

IIRC a previous Magic contact should introduce me to Cadao (either Peter Stemitz or Allison King). Also, IIRC all contacts show up on the map regardless of whether you actually have been introduced to them.

So, I bugged it. The most probable reason for this issue is that I haven't been introduced to Cadao, but for some reason, that's not how I remember them behaving (e.g., they only appear on your map if you've been introduced).

Finally, Indigo doesn't show up on my map either. And when I clicked on her, she says "Don't waste my time. Speak to Architect Studio Manager." Like Cadao, she does not grant me a mission nor does she offer me an opportunity to grab one.

Curious?

Well, I just re-subbed for 3 months and am just getting into the MA. I'm trying a "bell curve" approach:

3 Good (Average) = This is my baseline. So long as the arc has some thought put into it, it should rate at least a 3. The arc should be comparable to most of the story arcs already in the game. Another personal gauge I use if whether I would want to play the arc again. For a 3, I wouldn't be against playing it again though I'm not eager to do so right away.

4 Excellent = Something has to grab me to rate the arc a level higher than average, like well-customized groups, clever dialogue or an interesting plot. In terms of replayability, I would want to play it again to rate a 4.

2 Poor = On the other hand, something has to earn a rating of 2, like major typos, shoddy production, or cliche design. As a benchmark, I'd rate the radio missions currently in the game a 2. In terms of replayability, I wouldn't want to play "2 star" mission again without some improvement.

5 Awesome = It's pretty hard to describe what would quality as a "5" except that multiple aspects of the arc would have to impress me (e.g., a well-developed story coupled with challenging groups and clever dialogue). I don't anticipate giving many 5s. I'll just know it when I see it. In terms of replayability, not only would I want to play the arc again, I would want to tell other people about it and run it with them.

1 Horrible = I probably wouldn't have the patience to finish a "1 star" mission, so I don't see myself rating many (or any) of them. I'm hoping to reserve these for only farm missions.