Another Great Guide by R_M !!
I've bookmarked it and intend to share it with all my newbie friends.
Centinull
Unless I missed it, you should include some more notes on the importance of power selection order in the respec, in regards to mentoring/malefactoring down, or doing PvP zones.
While many usually make sure they got what they need at their final level, some mess up the order they pick the powers.
This can be very important, like going to a PvP zone, which autoexemplars you to a specific level, but you don't have your status protection yet. Or doing Synapse TF and not having Stamina at 20, and so on.
While slots order doesnt matter here, as you noted, the order at what level you pick the power does indeed matter a whole lot. To bad the respec UI doesn't give any clues here at hwat level you currently are, relatively.
IMO, this must be considered when planning a respec.
Perhaps I should have put something about what order to choose your powers in your build, but I was more focussed on using the interface itself. Presumably, power-order-choice flaws in the build would be caught by people on the forums to which the would-be respecker posts his prospective build. 
You are indeed right that power order choice matters when planning a respec, to make sure that you have the powers you need at the levels to which you exemplar. If I ever do another version (which is kind of unlikely unless the respec interface changes drastically), I'll put something like that in; for now, your comment serves as a decent enough warning in and of itself.
Well done.
If I may offer a suggestion...is it worth discussing planning one's respec to take into account the pvp zone autoexemp cutoffs (25 for Bloody Bay and 30 for Siren's Call)? Even for those who only dabble in PvP, it's worth thinking of those cutoffs when assigning powers during a respec.
Sailboat
If we are to die, let us die like men. -- Patrick Cleburne
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The rule is that they must be loved. --Jayne Fynes-Clinton, Death of an Abandoned Dog
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If I may offer a suggestion...is it worth discussing planning one's respec to take into account the pvp zone autoexemp cutoffs (25 for Bloody Bay and 30 for Siren's Call)? Even for those who only dabble in PvP, it's worth thinking of those cutoffs when assigning powers during a respec.
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In all honesty...things like that really should be included in planning one's build to begin with. I didn't mention it in this guide because this guide actually started out as a section for my next revision of my Rapid XP Gain guide, and would have come right after another new section on where to look for advice on your character build. So I didn't think of putting anything in here about it beyond "come up with your build" because in my mind I already had this whole long section talking about it. It's just, that section is in another guide.
People should put thought into their rebuilds, yes. If I had been meaning to write a fuller respec guide, that looks at more than just the immediate actions surrounding using the interface, I'd probably put something like that in. For the purposes of the guide, I was just kind of black-boxing the redesign process.
At some point--probably when I8 comes around--I will want to revise this guide to mention things like the importance of choosing your powers in the right order, with attention paid to what you want available at which level. (The Hero Builder programs work great for this purpose.) I'll also make note of the fourth respec you get, if you're a villain, when you get your Patron (which apparently is counted as an additional "regular" respec, and thus used in the order in which it is earned, rather than a freebie-like).
This guide has now been superceded by the I8 version.
R_M'S GUIDE TO USING RESPECS
Even with all the excellent guides and good character-building advice in the world, you will probably make a mistake in building your character sooner or later--or maybe you already have. But never fear--that's what character respecification, or respecs, are for. A respec gives you the chance to rebuild your character from the ground up, correcting any mistakes you might have made along the way.
You will have access to 3 "normal" respecs over the life of your character, from doing the Terra Volta Reactor or Nerva Archipelago Thorn Tree Task or Strike Forces, as well as one "freebie" respec (often referred to as a "freespec") that comes along at irregular intervals, such as at major holidays or new Issue releases. If you have used your previous freebie, it will be refreshed when the next freebie is issued. However, if you have not used it by then, you will lose it; you can only have one freebie respec at a time and the new one will replace the old one.
If you have obtained or been given at least one respec, you may be wondering just what to do with it now that you have it. That's where this guide comes in.
This guide will be divided into three sections:
<ul type="square">[*]Considering the Respec will cover things you should consider before you ever begin the respec procedure.[*]Performing the Respec will cover planning, testing, and then committing your new build.[*]The Respec Interface will cover things you should be aware of while actually using the respec system.[/list]CONSIDERING THE RESPEC
Before the question of how to respec, there are a few things to think about in regard to setting up for the procedure.
<ul type="square">[*]Always use your "freebie" respec before using one of the ones you earned from a Task Force or Strike Force. Your freebie will eventually be replaced, but the others will not--and it's always possible you might need them someday if a change to a power important to you comes with no freebie granted. To find out if you have a freebie, as well as to use it if you do have it, type /respec into the chat box. If you have a free respec available to you, the respec screen will appear (and you can simply click "Cancel" to exit from it until you are ready to use it for real); otherwise you will receive an error message and will have to visit your respec contact (Jack Wolfe inside the Freedom Corps HQ in Galaxy City for heroes; Arbiter Lupin standing just east of the trainer in Nerva for villains) to respec. Note that if you have a freebie available shortly before another one will be issued, you may wish to go ahead and use it even if you do not wish to make any extensive changes.[*]Before you begin the respec procedure, you may want to take a screenshot with the user-interface windows enabled. (If you do not already have a macro set up for this, type /screenshotui 1 and then hit print-screen and then type /screenshotui 0 to set it back to no-GUI again.) After you respec, the order of the powers and macros and so forth in your trays will be scrambled up, and having a screenshot handy will help you remember what powers went where.[*]Some people are very careful to plan their respecs to come only when they have reached levels that end in 2 or 7. (22, 27, 32, etc.) This way, they can sell off all the white or yellow Enhancements they currently have slotted and buy completely new green ones of the next rank up after the respec. This has the benefit of "recycling" all the otherwise wasted slotted Enhancements for a much-needed monetary infusion. (Some people will do this even if they do not otherwise need a respec at all, to recover the cash that would otherwise be lost--especially if they have a freebie available and know another one will soon be replacing it.) If this is your first character on a particular server, then this money you recover may well be an important consideration for you; even if not you might wish to limp along for another level or two to obtain the extra benefit from something you would be doing anyway. It would probably be most worthwhile to do it at levels 27 and up, when the sold-off Enhancements would be SOs.[/list]PERFORMING THE RESPEC
Given the rarity of respecs, you should make utterly certain that you do not make a mistake before you burn one. This can take a bit of effort and thought, but in the end the feeling of utter certainty that you have done it right is worth the extra trouble. You can, of course, skip any of these steps that you want to, and you probably will once you get more experienced building your characters. If this is your first respec, however, you had better take as much care as you can.
<ul type="square">[*]Plan first. Use a character-building program such as Sherk Silver's Character Builder to spec out your prospective new build. Use the export function and copy and paste it into a post on the archetype's forum, asking other people to critique the build for possible weaknesses. Make any changes you feel are warranted based on their suggestions, then when you're ready, print out a final version of the build to keep next to your computer for reference when you do the in-game respec.[*]Test next. Copy your character over to the Training Room, and run the respec there. You may wish to copy your character multiple times if you think you will be testing more than one potential build. (If you are using a TF/SF respec, you may want to position your character next to Jack Wolfe or Arbiter Lupin before you copy; if you are using a free respec, you might want to position next to your origin's Enhancement store first.) Slot all your new powers completely, rearrange your power trays, and then go run some missions. This may seem like a great deal of wasted effort, but having the chance to play your build before you commit to it can uncover potential weaknesses you hadn't ever considered. If you find the build doesn't work out as well as you had hoped, return to the first step and try again.[*]Commit last. After running through as many iterations of planning and testing as you feel are necessary, use the respec on the live server. Be very careful to make sure you make no mistakes. After that--you're done![/list]THE RESPEC INTERFACE
When you start to respec, you will be presented with a power selection screen similar to your training screen. You will get to choose each of your powers first, then each of your Enhancement slots. Next you will get to slot the powers with the Enhancements that were removed from the powers, then sell off any that remain and you'll be done. Here are some things to remember to make the procedure easier.
<ul type="square">[*]Because the interface doesn't tell you what level power you are selecting, you should select the powers in the order they're printed out on that Character Builder print-out you made earlier. You may also wish to say aloud to yourself what level power you are selecting as you select it, to help keep from getting confused. Remember that if you do get confused, you can always click the back arrow until you get back to an earlier power--or even until you exit out of the respec entirely.[*]The order in which you add Enhancement slots to the powers does not matter, only the final outcome. You may nonetheless have to add slots to powers in something reasonably close to the order in which you slotted them on the build sheet, to keep from finding you've slotted yourself into a corner.[*]When it comes time to slot the Enhancements into the Enhancement slots, be sure and move any Enhancements you want to keep but not slot into the 10-space row that represents your inventory. You should put any unslotted Hami-Os, Hydra-Os, or Titan-Os in there, even if you have outlevelled or do not intend to use them; you won't get any money for them in the buy-back, so you might as well give them to someone else. And, of course, you do not have to re-slot any Enhancements at all; you can simply sell them all back to buy new ones.[/list]CONCLUSION
The respec is a great game mechanic for straightening out character foul-ups. However, it is a limited resource, so it is important to be sure you get it right the first time. With the advice given in this guide, you should have a much better chance of that.