No offense, but this isn't that great.
It doesn't take into account that Stamina isn't a super cool power for all builds, or that some builds benefit VERY little from leadership, etc.
My kinetics defender already runs fast, jumps high, heals, and buffs end, all better than the fitness pool. So, how do your ratings have that as being more important for me than all other power pools?
I disagree HUGELY will Leadership being second ranked. Unless hero builder is wrong, maneuvers costs .40 EPS to run, which is about 24% of inherent endurance recovery. For what...1.65% defense for some ATs? 1.65% defense for 24% of our end recovery seems unwise. Overall, the leadership pool can be great or really horrible on a toon, in my honest opinion. It can be exceptionally horrible on scrappers and tanks struggling to manage endrance.
Combat Jumping...9.5? [censored]?
A jump boost that becomes insignificant, a defense boost that is extremely small, and minor immob resistance? It doesn't cost a lot of end to run, but I mostly take this power because it's not Jump Kick.
Some other points:
-Acrobatics is a great power. Ask the Fire tanks and DA scrappers. Knockback for melee toons can cut efficiency into pieces, which makes acrobatics a very valuable power for those that choose it for knockback protection. If a squishy is going for mez protection, they probably already want combat jumping anyway.
-Whirlwind is very useful in some builds and tactics and useless in others.
-Fly doesn't take more end than the other travel powers. Ever used Teleport?
-Recall Friend is a stellar power on some heroes, such as 'ghosters,' empaths, etc.
-Your review of the concealment pool ignores the fact that a VERY common reason people choose it is to ghost missions.
-Boxing is the highest DPS pool attack.
-Kick and Jump Kick are nothing alike. Kick does more damage, and isn't the crappiest attack in the entire game.
-Your review of tough sucked. Your other powers cover l/s damage IF you're a tanker or scrapper and even then it provides a nice amount of protection for those who take it.
-Weave? Weave got a higher rating than tough? Tough provides MUCH better protection overall.
-Your view on everything is "can I use this on myself?" Some of us like powers that help teammates.
-Aid Self is extremely common among tankers and scrappers. It can be used during combat, as can the other medicine powers.
-Resusitate is a great power for those who wish to fulfill that role on a team.
-I have the Presence pool on a tanker. Invoke Panic is fantastic, Challenge is great for pulling, and Provoke is great for managing aggro pre-taunt, as well as handling out of control situations where taunt isn't enough.
Overall, your guide wasn't good at all. Your powers were reviewed based on how they benefit a very specific build and playstyle. Making a general guide means making understanding not everyone has a hero built like you. Also, you drastically overrated several defense-based powers...Combat Jumping, Weave, and Maneuvers put together are usually less effective than Tough by itself.
I found the advice on what powers to take to be rather insulting. Your power pools would SUCK on a lot of toons.
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As I said in the beginning, if you are a normal player, you will take a travel pool, the Fitness pool, and have little room left for anything else.
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I guess I'm just not a normal player. *sigh*
I found that some of this would be useful to a very new player as a guide that is all wrapped up in one post. I agree with Miss though that it seems very geared to just what the op found useful, even though the op states that the opinions on the boards was taken into account. Like Miss I'd personally disagree with putting leadership into #2. It is a popular choice however. Not necessarily a good choice for most builds but it is popular anyway. The biggest problem I have with it is that the it's so easy to have your toggles knocked off if you are the AT's that actually benefit the most from it (Controllers and Defenders) and for scrappers and tanks that dont have to worry about being detoggled it provides almost nothing. This is mostly true if soloing or playing in small groups though. I've seen teams made up of nearly all tanks and scrappers all running leadership make it quite impressive. My personal picks would be 1. a travel power (take your pick, they are all better then sprinting) 2. stamina 3. hasten 4. sprint or hurdle (to make your travel power better) 5. air superiority (I almost always take flight pool for my scrappers just for this power) 6. aid other (I've saved many a life with this). It really comes down to what you enjoy the most and seeing how each fits with your character, thanks devs for introducing respecs into the game! The only pool powers I find really really bad are jump kick and uh, I guess thats it, although I really hate the animation on kick from the fighting pool and agree that it really sucks you have to choose between two attacks before you can take tough. It would be great if the fighting pool either offered an auto power (like low percentage auto defense or resist or anti slow or something). Maybe turn it into a "defense" pool instead of a "fighting pool".
I read the guide from start to finish, and while there were some generalities that maybe shouldn't have been included, please do tell besides a Kinetics who really isn't helped, greatly, by the fitness pool and stamina. My Warshade would have killed for it, my storm controllers can't live without it, my MA scrappers eat so much end with there attacks if I didn't have it there I would have to sit out 1/2 the fight.
As a pvper, or even someone who just goes into the zones, tactics is vital. And yes, my scrapper has it, and yes, on a team where there were three scrappers, a spines a broadsword, both regen, and myself, MA/Invulnerable, I hit more, and as such, died less. That was in my 30's so I am sure those numbers would change, but come on, debt in your 30's is where it hurts the most.
And just go with me for just a second, but perhaps if as the scrapper, in the middle of the fight you weren't running around healing people and were instead fighting, maybe those same folks wouldn't need to be healed. Just a thought.
And yes, until just recently, fly was the slowest travel power and cost the most endurance. While porting uses a lot of end, you went farther, faster. Fly used a lot of end and you got there last.
I can't speak for tankers taking the presence pool, I only have one, she is level twenty but with taunt slotted for recharge and taunt, I don't seem to be having problems pulling and keeping aggro.
All in all, I have to say that while not complete, and maybe not fitting into all playstyles, after all, who could take all our playstyles into account when discussing the pools, this guide is helpful not only to those who are new, but those who are respecing and want to try something new.
And just to touch on stamina again, my grav/emp, my first 50, thought she could live without it, she did after all have her end instilling power. Let me tell you, auto heal, plus heal other, plus absorb pain can run you out of end pretty damn quickly if you are actually keeping everyone alive. Can some toons be built without it, I am sure they can. Are most better for having it?????? I am going to say I think so.
FREEDOM:
Furious Fate L50 Grav/storm
Elemental Fate L50 Ice/electric
Mortal Fate L50 MA/Invulnerable
Fatal Fury L50 Mind/Psy
and several in the works
TRIUMPH:
7 L50's mostly controllers, mostly gravity.
Thanks for the guide although I think you can't really say that 1 power pool is useless, depending on the playstyle and build, one power pool can be extremelly vaualable.
By the way, Hurdle's primary effect is to make you move faster not higher. If you jump (bunny hop) with Hurdle you move much faster than running with Swift. However, Hurdle doesn't really increase your jump height a lot at low levels. Hurdle is mostly about speed with a small amount of height increase added in.
Conversely CJ principally increases the height you can leap but doesn't affect your leaping speed very much. It also adds air control (you can shift direction in mid-air and don't have that annoying "inertia drift" effect if you have CJ on while flying), some defense and immobilization resistance at an extremely low endurance cost.
Refer to Top Doc's Movement Guide for complete numbers on the travel powers.
Pinnacle
Glowworm * Brrr * Lilinoe
Protector
Kid Trance * Ms. Impala * Red Helen
Virtue
Pooka Pete
The Scrapper mindset does shine through. Many of these powers are too subjective.
I would rank the Presence pool as low as you do on my Blaster and on my Tank....but not on my Brute. Adding the ability to AoE fear on top of a multi-target taunt ability allows me to work somewhat like a Tank while mitigating damage that would otherwise flatten my non-Tank self.
Also, the value of each of the travel pools except Superspeed would be reduced in CoV where vertical movement is just a temp-power click away for anyone over about level 8. I tend to pick SS on almost all my villains cause I just grab Hasten, then SS, and then if I HAVE to go up a long way, I pop the jet pack or jump pack.
a.k.a. Eagle_Thunder
Rule #1 - If your build is fun for you, it's a good build.
(Freedom)
Lord Magnuss - 31 Fire/Fire Tanker, Leader of Fireteam Magnuss
Eagle Thunder - 33 Elec/En Blaster
MediDroid DOC - 22 Emp/En Defender
(Justice)
Pax Imperia - 34 Merc/FF Mastermind
I have to agree - this is very, very subjective and a lot of the numbers seem to be pulled out of nowhere. For example - Air Superiority, which is a truly excellent attack for the mitigation alone, is rated as equal to Maneuvers, a power with dubious benefits and one of the worst cost-benfit ratios in the game. Aid Self, which is absolutely game-changing for some power sets and ATs, is rated lower than Flurry, which is just stupid. No mention is made either of critical data, such as the disparity of Leadership's effectiveness when used by different ATs. This guide fails entirely to take into account the varying usefulness of powers to different ATs, power sets and playstyles.
Very subjective guide.
I am only posting here in case any new players see this: This information is not of much use unless you are playing a Spines Scapper. Even then, the usefulness is questionable.
If the original poster had separated his own opinion somehow, such as with Bold type or as a separate paragraph after each Power, then I might say this is a good place to read the descriptions of the powers as they appear in the game. I'm not saying the poster is a weenie or an idiot, I am only saying this guide is not useful for new players because it is all extremely subjective opinion.
Again, any new players should avoid using this post for any useful information.
Edit: The post also fails to mention how some powers synergize with each other such as Hurdle/Combat Jumping, Hurdle/Super Jump, Swift/Hurdle, Swift/Fly and Stealth/Super Speed. This not a useful guide, it's just an opinion post.
| Issue 9 Fly poses | IO's and ED
| Cycling the Combat Monitor | Load Macros from a Text File |
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I read the guide from start to finish, and while there were some generalities that maybe shouldn't have been included, please do tell besides a Kinetics who really isn't helped, greatly, by the fitness pool and stamina. My Warshade would have killed for it, my storm controllers can't live without it, my MA scrappers eat so much end with there attacks if I didn't have it there I would have to sit out 1/2 the fight.
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Stamina benefits ALL builds. The benefit is what I question. Taking Stamina is slots vs. powers choice, as the same effect (more end during battle) can be achieved using end redux enhancements.
Heroes with the ability to buff their own endurance, powersets that don't suck up much endurance, and most defenders have the capability to get by without it. My ice tanker is respeccing out of Stamina, for instance. How much does Stamina benefit these toons who don't need it? Not worth a 10.0 rating, and it's definitely not as great for those builds as some of the other pool powers.
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As a pvper, or even someone who just goes into the zones, tactics is vital. And yes, my scrapper has it, and yes, on a team where there were three scrappers, a spines a broadsword, both regen, and myself, MA/Invulnerable, I hit more, and as such, died less. That was in my 30's so I am sure those numbers would change, but come on, debt in your 30's is where it hurts the most.
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Tactics isn't vital for pvp, although a lot of avid PvPers take it. For an AT that unlocks FA at 41, Tactics alone seems a poor power choice, considering it's two powers for Tactics, which is less effective than FA, which only requires one power choice.
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And just go with me for just a second, but perhaps if as the scrapper, in the middle of the fight you weren't running around healing people and were instead fighting, maybe those same folks wouldn't need to be healed. Just a thought.
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I never stated scrappers should run around trying to heal. Why is this entire thread about scrappers and how the pool powers benefit THEM? I took Aid Other on my sonic defender. Combined with the heavy resistances from the sonic set, Aid Other can dramatically increase the amount of aggro a hero can survive.
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And yes, until just recently, fly was the slowest travel power and cost the most endurance. While porting uses a lot of end, you went farther, faster. Fly used a lot of end and you got there last.
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No. Teleport has always been the most end intensive travel power.
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I can't speak for tankers taking the presence pool, I only have one, she is level twenty but with taunt slotted for recharge and taunt, I don't seem to be having problems pulling and keeping aggro.
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Does that mean it's useless for ALL tankers?
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All in all, I have to say that while not complete, and maybe not fitting into all playstyles, after all, who could take all our playstyles into account when discussing the pools, this guide is helpful not only to those who are new, but those who are respecing and want to try something new.
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Not really. It provides very poor descriptions and ratings, as well as incorrect and misleading information.
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And just to touch on stamina again, my grav/emp, my first 50, thought she could live without it, she did after all have her end instilling power. Let me tell you, auto heal, plus heal other, plus absorb pain can run you out of end pretty damn quickly if you are actually keeping everyone alive. Can some toons be built without it, I am sure they can. Are most better for having it?????? I am going to say I think so.
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'Auto heal' is an ineffective use of endurance. "I spam something I don't need that costs end and now I need stamina, omg!"
The guide poorly rates powers, provides inaccurate information, and is very much written from the perspective of a soloist scrapper. It's written as a general guide for all ATs, so different playstyles, builds, and teams should have been taken into account.
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I read the guide from start to finish, and while there were some generalities that maybe shouldn't have been included, please do tell besides a Kinetics who really isn't helped, greatly, by the fitness pool and stamina.
[/ QUOTE ]That would be many Masterminds. While I don't think any Fitness powers are bad, on MMs they are much more optional. My own Merc/Dark went all the way to 50 without Fitness and enjoys the extra power selections greatly.
It's not how many times you get knocked down that count. It's how many times you get up.
This wasn't a bad guide for the most part, and I agree with the usefulness ofq decent amount of choices, but it should have been prempted my a warning that it is written through the eyes of a tank. Its tough to rank the effectiveness of power pools with out considering its value to other AT's.
For example, I think that having mez and KB protection built into your toon is a blessing recieved by most well built tanks and scrappers, but that leaves blasters, controllers, and defenders out in the cold. I've gotten to the point that I would like to start taking travel pools other than leaping, but acrobatics is just too valuable to my favorite characters to even give it much thought.
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Tactics isn't vital for pvp, although a lot of avid PvPers take it. For an AT that unlocks FA at 41, Tactics alone seems a poor power choice, considering it's two powers for Tactics, which is less effective than FA, which only requires one power choice
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Your right and when I respect I will probably respect out of tactics.....but again, it was more then useful for the 35+ levels I used it, I hit more and as such died less.
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No. Teleport has always been the most end intensive travel power.
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If I didn't state it clearly and I don't think I did, teleport uses more end then fly did, but with teleport you went farther, faster. With fly you ran out of end and got there last. Which was true.
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Does that mean it's useless for ALL tankers?
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Okay, what part of "I can't speak for all tankers" do you not understand? I said I have no problem, "I" being the operative word. I did not say it was useless, I said I didn't understand it. Different meaning to understand and useless and if you need me to define them I will.
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Not really. It provides very poor descriptions and ratings, as well as incorrect and misleading information.
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I didn't find it to be misleading and though I've played since the May of 2004 I haven't kept up with every change and don't know every number and percent for everything to call what he said to be incorrect, though I am not sure he ever stated anything as fact - which would have to be done in order for something to be incorrect. Opinions, even those backed by facts as alot of these guides are, should never be just taken and swallowed and a certain amount of testing should always be done on your own. Yes, the fact that Dimension Shift is an "oh crap" power on a team doesn't make it an "oh crap" power. I rarely used it except when I soloed in which case it became an "I win, I just cut the spawn in half" power. So even if the best gravity controller in this game came to me and said "Don't take that power, everyone hates when you use it and it's a waste!" I wouldn't listen. Doesn't make what he said misleading or incorrect, just makes his playstyle different from mine.
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'Auto heal' is an ineffective use of endurance. "I spam something I don't need that costs end and now I need stamina, omg!"
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Boy you make several assumptions, no wonder you didn't like this guide and thought it was misleading and incorrect. Your reading comprehension is wacked. I never said I ran "auto-heal" all the time, I said when you run auto heal, and use heal other and absorb pain and the others you run through your end that much quicker and it does go quickly. I never said I always had it on. But if you are doing your job then you are always using it to heal those around you, you are using heal other for the scrapper who just has to chase someone across the room and then absorb pain just saved the damn blaster who ran the other way when he drew aggro and is now outside the range of the healing aura and because he drops HP's like fall leaves you have to use aborb pain because heal others won't save him. The controller needs clear mind and so do the other blasters so you are spamming that as well, and everyone wants Fort and the tank is screaming for AB and you should be helping the other controller hold and control as well. Yes, you run out of end, even as an empath if you are a controller. I never once ran around with healing aura on auto just because it was fun and I liked to watch the pretty green color, as you so implied.
FREEDOM:
Furious Fate L50 Grav/storm
Elemental Fate L50 Ice/electric
Mortal Fate L50 MA/Invulnerable
Fatal Fury L50 Mind/Psy
and several in the works
TRIUMPH:
7 L50's mostly controllers, mostly gravity.
While I agree with many of your opinions. The way you phrased them was designed to generate alot of heat 
I would have listed the 4 travel powers first because almost nobody does without at least one of them,much more than any of the rest of the Pool Powers. I can count on one hand the # of characters I have meet without a Travel Pool,the same cannot be said for any other Pool(to include Fitness) 
ummm dont know why aidself is ranked 4.5 i gotta say this whole thing is useless if your gonna mess up ranking aidself
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Your right and when I respect I will probably respect out of tactics.....but again, it was more then useful for the 35+ levels I used it, I hit more and as such died less.
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I never said Tactics was useless, I questioned it's benefit and ranking. Considering the extremely high ranking the powers got and minimal benefit, it was very justified.
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If I didn't state it clearly and I don't think I did, teleport uses more end then fly did, but with teleport you went farther, faster. With fly you ran out of end and got there last. Which was true.
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No.
Teleport is higher end per foot than fly. Teleport also grants less air control, which also means WASTED end.
At Level 14, traveling 255 feet with teleport costs 13 endurance points. You recover 2.83 EPS, making the final cost of travel 10.17. With flight, traveling 255 feet with flight costs 12.23 end points, but you recover 10.01 end points, making the final cost of operation less than three.
Guess how the stats change when you need to travel 310 feet?
Teleport costs 26 end points, and recovers 5.667 end points, making the final cost 20.333. Fly costs 14 end points, but you recover over 12 end points while using it, making the cost somewhat minimal. Which is going to cause you to run out of end first? Teleport. Even if the two are nearly even when the distance travelled is at or slightly over even tp distances, there's still the issue of traveling faster with teleport, which causes end to burn faster, and wasted end when a hero needs to travel a distance slightly over teleport distance, since the power has to be reapplied.
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Okay, what part of "I can't speak for all tankers" do you not understand? I said I have no problem, "I" being the operative word. I did not say it was useless, I said I didn't understand it. Different meaning to understand and useless and if you need me to define them I will.
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When did you say you didn't understand it?
Me: Some tankers take and like presence.
You: MY tanker doesn't need it...but I can't speak for all tankers.
Me: Does that mean it's useless for all tankers?
I'm not sure what you're not comprehending about the above exchange. As a tanker who has the Presence pool, I find the OPs review of it to be crappy. What's your point?
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I am not sure he ever stated anything as fact
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LOL. The OP had a lot of horrible advice, but it's okay, because he never stated anything, 'as a fact.'
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Opinions, even those backed by facts as alot of these guides are, should never be just taken and swallowed and a certain amount of testing should always be done on your own.
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Wrong. Someone choosing to write a guide should provide both facts and advice. The OP provided both, by copy and pasting the CoH power descriptions, and crappy advice and ratings to accompany them.
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Boy you make several assumptions, no wonder you didn't like this guide and thought it was misleading and incorrect.
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I thought it was misleading and incorrect...because it is misleading and incorrect. No assumptions necessary, the OP failed miserably and provided a general guide written poorly. The guide lacks any good information a person wouldn't find in game, then mixes in incorrect facts, horrible ratings, and the opinion of a scrapper. Fantastic, I'll go out and respec ASAP.
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Your reading comprehension is wacked. I never said I ran "auto-heal" all the time, I said when you run auto heal, and use heal other and absorb pain and the others you run through your end that much quicker and it does go quickly. I never said I always had it on.
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I said running auto-heal was a stupid waste of end. If you're wanting to conserve endurance, being lazy and auto-clicking a power is not the way to do it.
Thanks for the insult, by the way. 
I'm not sure why you feel so compelled to defend this guide. It's terrible. There are no in-depth facts, no tips to maximize or slot the powers, and nothing someone wouldn't find in the game. On top of that, the OP wrote the guide for ALL ATs, but it's clearly written from the view of a scrapper. Even so, ranking the Leadership pool as second most important to a scrapper is nothing but [censored]. That pool gains very little from the toggles, and it's a huge endurance investment. Unless a scrapper is /regen, managing end is a pain in the [censored] already without taking on extra toggles.
What should a guide be?
In my opinion, a great pool power guide for all ATs would include facts, numbers, slotting recommendations, and explanations of how certain powers work together, as a previous poster implied.
The OP included none of those things.
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Tactics isn't vital for pvp, although a lot of avid PvPers take it. For an AT that unlocks FA at 41, Tactics alone seems a poor power choice, considering it's two powers for Tactics, which is less effective than FA, which only requires one power choice.
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Except that Tactics is more effective in a group, because everyone benefits from it. And if multiple heroes are running it, the bonus stacks. Plus, it's available 27 levels earlier than FA.
Two powers for a 7% bonus?
NOT worthy of being the second most important pool.
NOT great for the soloist.
NOT as great as FA.
It's two power choices, both of which suck up endurance constantly. As previously stated, the rating and placement of tactics was horrible, especially considering he didn't bother explaining offensive ATs get a tiny bonus compared to suppport ATs
Not sure I agree with a lot of the rankings. (As if anyone else here does)
However, I'd be intrigued to see something like this if you used some sort of checklist they went by to give it a out-of-10 rating. (For example: you get 1 point for being an auto-power, 1 point for being a power most ATs can't get in their normal powersets, -1 per AT who wouldn't approach this power with a 10 foot pole, etc).
I'd suspect that this scale was the OP and his brother sitting in a room, going down a list and applying the same scaling construction workers might use for passing ladies...
Still, I applaud the OP's intent and effort, if not the outcome.
-----
50s: Doc Sharpe (C:I/K), Malan Bloyth (S:BS/Sh), December Blue (T:I/I), Michael X (Mm:R/T), Ultraboy (C:R/K), Zzyxx (Night Widow), plus 4 retired/rerolled
[b]Heard on Teamspeak:[/b]
"First of all, take off your mother's fishnets"
"Zzzzz."
Good guide for a glimpse of what does what. Rating wise I don't think it is very accurate. Some builds don't need some powers: regen, kinetics, some defender builds, some controller builds don't need or really benefit from Fitness; Blasters, and Scrappers don't get that much from Fighting anymore although the defenses are still nice; medicine is a nice pool all the way through for any AT perhaps not as much for healing/rez'ing pools for controllers/defenders/corruptors/MM's; leadership can be very nice and vengeance is a great power sure someone has to die...but people like to have a boost to Def, Acc, and Healing if someone falls in a fight....no one wants to be the second person down.
I think that you did a good job organizing the thoughts and the powers, to much is subjective though when it comes to pools vs. AT's. I think based on playing my AT's (hero's: Tanks, Defenders, Blasters, Controllers, Scrappers. villian's: brutes, corruptors, mm's)
-Leaderhip is not what it once was, and kinda stinks over all. It really shines in a group where there are 1 or 2 others spammming the powers as well.
-Fighting is very subjective; best benefit for Tankers, and Defenders; Defenders can get a very strong scrapper defense/resist from- epic power defenses, fighting and if they are storm, or dark with the AoE stealth/resist/defense
-Leaping is very subjective; but a great set for fire armors, and dark armor builds.
-Medicine is a great pool for everyone, and anyone. I have never had a time that the rez, aid self, and even aid other where not a benefit to the group, and myself.
-Concealment can be a great pool from stealth to phase; phase is an EXCELLENT oh crap power for squishes, GI is a nice bonus for almost all players, and AT's.
-Flight/SS as a blaster (not a Blapper) I cannot see any other set that would help keep them secure, and allow great distance control.
-Teleport is a nice power in small doses I think. Recall friend is the best for its ghostie recall power for a safe rez, as well as lost/slow/no travel power team members; yes there are some.
The remaining few all blend in after that for more personal flare, and function; I think.
Terribly Subjective and One Sided.
I've built multiple builds around Vengeance. It's the "Fulcrum Shift of Defense". If you want really scarey, try Power Buildup+Vengeance, then toss in a side of Fallout.
I've built one build around Resuscitate (other). The build was tremendously successful for small team support, and squishie support.
Concealment is under rated for squishies. If you go squish, one of the things you can do to better reduce aggro is pickup some kind of stealth power.
Boxing is under rated too. It's a good dpa attack. For an extra attack typically recommend Air Superiority first, but Boxing would be second.
Aid Self is a great power, IF SLOTTED. Sure, unslotted it slurps, it's the next best thing to useless if you don't slot it. 5 slots minimum with 2 intrdx and 3 heal. A 3'd intrdx for 6 slots total is debatable. Environment Awareness is critical to it's use. Crystals, Quicksand, Earthquake, or similar powers, or too many dots can interrupt it. Otherwise with 2-3 intrdx you'll be able to use it alot more often than not. Also, turn off /follow, you can't use it while moving/chasing.
Presence and Fear can be tremendously powerful. Highly reccomended for PvP, consierably more meh for PvE due to it's very high cost and very short duration. Still way better than a 1.5.
Ok, not that I agree with all the rest, but those are the only ones that just made me want to scream. 
<qr>
I'm surprised the OP never bothered replying or editing his guide.
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I'm surprised the OP never bothered replying or editing his guide.
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I said right in there that it was my opinion and subjective. I could go into detail about why I chose to rank things where I did, but it would just lead to argument. The healthy disagreement and discussion here has been beneficial (again, my opinion), and I wanted to leave it at that.
There should be a much more relevant way of ranking these powers than the opinion of one person who has played some of them and read the descriptions of the rest...
I agree that this guide is plenty useful, though the wording of some of the descriptions and especially the rankings themselves was pretty much destined to send some into an uncontrollable fury. (has the term "Forum Brute" been coined yet?)
While this was a good start, I reccomend a different method of data gathering before launching the next version...
-Hold a vote, something in each archetype forum to get the ratings as they pertain to each archetype.
-Make it a group project, get several people together to test out each of the powers for team synergy. With the vet respecs and a couple copies to the Test server, this should be much easier than in the past.
-Use more concrete numbers, I think most will agree that Maneuvers getting a 6 because "it is still always nice to have extra defense, especially for squishies." is evidenece that the numbers have not been considered.
All that is planned fails. All that is born dies.
All that is built crumbles. This will always be true.
But memories remain, And that is beautiful.
This guide grew out of a conversation I had with my brother regarding the uselessness of some of the power pools. I decided to quantify (purely subjective) the value of the pools and their various powers. It is pretty long, but I hope useful.
Without going into the detail of the numbers, I looked at each power and took into consideration every aspect of that power. From its effects to gameplay to which tier it is in. I even took into consideration what is said on these boards! The resulting number is what you will see here on a scale of 0-10.
I will present the pools in the order of their overall ranking which was computed based on the sum of their parts. The pool scores are out of a possible 40 and the individual power scores are out of a possible 10.
Fitness- 31 points
It should surprise no one that the pool containing Stamina is the highest ranking. Every single power in this pool is valuable, which is good because you are forced to take two of them before getting Stamina, the Crown Jewel of pool powers. This pool also got bonus points because they are all Auto powers no toggles, no clicks, just always there helping out; the only pool that has any auto powers.
Swift- (7) You can naturally run slightly faster than normal. This ability is always on and does not cost any Endurance. Very valuable to a lowbie running through the Hollows
Hurdle- (7) You can naturally jump higher than normal. This ability is always on and does not cost any Endurance. Vertical movement is important especially to Super Speeders.
Health- (7) You heal slightly faster than a normal person. Your improved Health also grants you resistance to Sleep. This ability is always on and does not cost any Endurance. Everyone benefits from a faster regen rate, especially squishies.
Stamina- (10) You recover Endurance slightly more quickly than normal. This ability is always on and does not cost any Endurance. Not a must have as many have pointed out, but Stamina makes the game less resting and more fun; and isnt that what it is all about?
Leadership- 30 points
Our first surprise (well, it surprised me). How many expected a travel pool to come next like I did? But when I think about it, this makes sense. This pool provides direct benefits in combat both to yourself and teammates; it provides some status protections; and Tactics helps you see those nasty hidden enemies. The only reason I can think of as to why this pool is not more prevelant in game play is this You have 9 Primary powers, 9 Secondaries; lets say you take 15 of those 18 powers. You have 9 power slots left minimum of 2 are needed for a travel power, and another 3 are needed to get Stamina That leaves us with 4 power slots left. If I want an APP, and only take 3 of the 4 in that pool, that leaves me with one power slot left cant even get Tactics with that. (Pssst, Hasten works though)
Maneuvers- (6) While active, this power increases the Defense of yourself and all nearby teammates to all attacks. The least useful of the Leadership pool; it is still always nice to have extra defense, especially for squishies.
Assault- (7.5) While this power is active, you and your nearby teammates deal more damage and are resistant to Taunt and Placate. Damage boosts for the front line troops, and the Placate resistance is nice in PvP.
Tactics- (9) While this power is active, your Accuracy and that of all your nearby teammates' is increased. Your advanced Tactics also protect you and your team from Confuse and Fear effects, as well as your Perception so you can detect Stealthy foes. The gem of the pool; the simple fact is, you do more damage over time if you dont miss with your attacks. Also allows you to go after reds and purples more effectively. The perception and resistances are nice in PvE and even better in PvP.
Vengeance- (7.5) When a teammate is defeated in combat, activate this power to grant you and your teammates a bonus to Accuracy, Damage and Defense to all attacks. A Vengeful team has no fear, and Vengeance protects you and your Teammates from Fear effects. It also gives you and your team great resistance to Sleep, Hold, Disorient, Immobilize, Confuse, Taunt, Placate and Knockback. This power lost big points for requiring a teammate to die; nevertheless, it still scores big for it fantastic boosts and resistances.
Leaping- 27.5 points
It didnt surprise me at all that Leaping was the highest ranked travel pool. But for concept or the cool factor of the other travel powers, no other travel pool would be taken. This pool has the best first tier power of all the pools, it gives great vertical and horizontal movement, and it provides some status protection that some ATs are sorely missing.
Jump Kick- (4) A good jumping kick attack that may knock foes back. Good if you are looking for another attack power. A why bother attack.
Combat Jumping- (9.5) While active, Combat Jumping increases your Defense to all attacks, and adds resistance to Immobilization. Moderately increases your jump height and distance to melee and ranged attacks with good air control. Other than Stamina, this is the highest ranked, non-travel power in all the pools; and you get it at level 6! It adds defense, gives a much needed resistance (for squishies), and is a mini-travel power all its own which is not suppressed in combat! An easy pick to lead to the most versatile of the travel powers.
Super Jump- (9.5) While this power is active, you can leap great distances and heights, easily jumping over buildings and from rooftop to rooftop! If you attack a target while this power is on, you will temporarily be reduced to a normal jump height. What amazed me when doing this guide is that all the travel powers came out to 9.5. The devs did a great job of balancing the travel powers too bad the other powers in the travel pools werent balanced as nicely. Super Jump is the most versatile of the travel powers The vertical is not as good as Fly, and the horizontal isnt as good as Super Speed or Teleport, but a very well rounded power.
Acrobatics- (4.5) While this power is active, you are very nimble and Acrobatic. You can avoid most Knockback effects and are resistant to Hold effects. The weak link in the Leaping pool. It is a cheap pick if you already have Super Jump as your travel, but if you want the status protection of Acrobatics (which is nice for the squishies), you better not want a different travel power because then it isnt worth it.
Speed- 25.5 points
This travel pool is ranked this high for only one reason Hasten. If not for that, the other two non-travel powers are next to useless.
Flurry- (5) Unleashes a super fast Flurry of punches to pummel your foe. Flurry is so dizzying that it has a chance to Disorient the target. We are getting a knockoff of Flurry as a Veteran Reward which the devs have said are not supposed to be very powerful and game changing So what does that make Flurry?
Hasten- (9) You can reduce the recharge time of all powers for 2 minutes. Although Hasten does not cost any Endurance to activate, you can tire easily since your Endurance does not recover more rapidly. After Hasten wears off, you become tired and will lose some Endurance. A great power that many think is as important as Stamina, and it comes in the first tier! Remember earlier when I talked about leadership and said you had one power left? Here it is.
Super Speed- (9.5) You can run at super-human speeds! While running at such speeds, you are a blur, and many foes will not even notice you as you speed past them. If you attack a target while this power is on, you will temporarily be slowed to normal speed. This is the fastest you can move in the game (not travel, that would be Teleport). It also gives you some stealth. Sound great? It is, except for one thing you lack the vertical component.
Whirlwind- (2) You spin around at an amazing speed to create a Whirlwind around yourself. Any foes that enter this Whirlwind will be tossed into the air. The second worst tier 3 power. Next to useless looks pretty showing off under Atlas though.
Flight- 25 points
This is the shiny superhero travel pool. Everyone wants to fly. The first three powers arent bad, but Group Fly drags this pool down. Hover is very useful to squishies and Air Superiority is a great attack.
Hover- (7) For hovering and aerial combat. This power is much slower than Fly, but provides some Defense to all attacks, offers good air control, costs little Endurance, and has none of the penalties associated with Fly. Very slow, but gives great vertical movement at level 6. Gives a little defense and provides semi-protection from knockback and knockdown (you just do a mid-air flip).
Air Superiority- (6) This two-handed overhead melee attack can knock a flying target to the ground. This is the best of the pool power attacks. Provides good damage and a consistent knockdown for some soft control. But like most pool power attacks, not many squishies want to get in melee range too often.
Fly- (9.5) Fly allows you to travel large distances quickly. If you attack a target while this power is on, your flight speed will be temporarily reduced to Hover speed. Your top Flight speed increases with your Level. The superhero travel power! Who doesnt want to fly. The downside of this power in exchange for the total safety it provides to traveling? It is by far the slowest of the travel powers and it uses more endurance.
Group Fly- (2.5) You can endow your nearby teammates with Flight. Be mindful! Your friends will fall if you run out of Endurance or if they travel too far away from you. Group Fly travel speed is slower than Fly. Flying allies suffer from reduced Accuracy. Most people find this to be a useless power. I understand some use it on Hami raids though (never been there myself).
Teleportation- 22 points
In a blink, matter is moved from one place to another (or destroyed and replicated elsewhere if you like Michael Crichton). Sounds like something from the Final Frontier, but you can have it today! A fun pool to play with, but it is the lowest of the travel pools.
Recall Friend- (5) You can Teleport one of your teammates to yourself. The target must be a teammate and can be selected from the Team Window. You can also rescue a fallen teammate who may be in a hostile location, as long as he is on the same map. Range is not infinite, but extremely long and can be enhanced. This power can be interrupted. A convenient power in the very early levels and for those with a revive power. Other than that, not too useful plus you must be on a team which makes it useless when soloing.
Teleport Foe- (5) You can Teleport a single foe directly next to yourself. A successful hit must be made in order to Teleport the target, and some powerful foes cannot be Teleported. This power can be interrupted. Helps if you lack any other pulling powers or for an ambush in PvP. But be prepared for the agro from nearby mobs.
Teleport- (9.5) You can Teleport long distances. Teleport has no recharge time, and can be reactivated without pause, as long as you have Endurance. This is a fun travel power once you get used to how it works. To balance the benefit of being the fastest travel power, it eats through endurance at a good clip.
Team Teleport- (2.5) You can Teleport yourself and your nearby teammates to a targeted location. Teammates must be in close proximity to you. Team Teleport costs slightly more Endurance than Teleport, but you can Teleport your entire team for no additional cost. Most people find this to be as useless as Group Fly, but I hear some Masterminds find a use for it.
Concealment- 21.5 points
This is one of those pools that some ATs will love (squishies) and some playstyles as well (PvP). It is fun to slip by foes, but then, why is the costume generator one of the most popular features of the game? So we and others can actually see it!
Stealth- (5) You blend into your environment and can only be seen at very close range. Even if discovered, you are hard to see and have a bonus to Defense to all attacks. If, however, you attack while using this power, you will be discovered and will loose your Stealth and some of your Defense bonus. While Stealthy, your movement is Slowed. Stealth will not work with any other form of Concealment power such as Shadow Fall or Steamy Mist. Very low Endurance cost. Bonus to defense and stealth is all well and good, but this power is more useful to PvP than PvE. It loses its luster by not stacking with other concealment powers.
Grant Invisibility- (6) Grants a targeted teammate Invisibility. The Invisibility lasts about 2 minutes. While your ally is Invisible, he probably will not be detected unless he attacks a target. If he attacks, he is still hard to see and maintains some bonus to Defense to all attacks. This power works with other Concealment related powers. Now this one stacks and is better concealment. The downside is you have to have a teammate to use it.
Invisibility- (5.5) You can bend light around yourself to become Invisible. While this power is active, you are almost impossible to detect. While Invisible, you cannot attack and can only use powers that affect yourself, however, you do have a Defense to all attacks. This power will not work with other self affecting Concealment related powers such as Stealth or Shadow Fall. This would be a great power except you cant attack and can only affect yourself. So much for being a stalker wannabe.
Phase Shift- (5) You can Phase Shift to become out of sync with normal space. Although you do not become completely Invisible, you are translucent and hard to see. You are intangible, and cannot affect or be affected by those in normal space. Although this power is a toggle, you cannot remain Phase Shifted for more than 30 seconds, even if you still have Endurance. Cannot be used with Rest. The Im in over my head power. I have little tolerance for running away (I am a Scrapper at heart), but it can be useful. And the time limit prevents abuse.
Fighting- 18 points
This pools first tier powers are for melee fighters. Nothing to see hear for ranged characters; but wait my ranged squishy could really benefit from tiers 2 and 3! Too bad, you MUST take a melee power first! I dont like it, but thats the way it is.
Boxing- (4) A decent punch that has a small chance to Disorient foes. Oooo, you get to punch a guy!? I thought Brawl did that
Kick- (4) A modest kicking attack that has a small chance to knock opponents down. Didnt we call this Jump Kick earlier; and didnt that lead to a travel power? Dont bother with this.
Tough- (4.5) While active, you are tough and slightly resistant to Smashing and Lethal damage. Offers resistance to some of the most resisted types in the game. Nice! Wait my existing powers most likely offer something similar ?
Weave- (5.5) While active, you bob and weave, increasing your Defense to all attacks, as well as your resistance to Immobilize. Increased defense and a status protection? Sounds great! I have to take two of these other powers first? Never mind
Medicine- 16 points
This pool sounds like a great idea, and it is for badge hunters and for concept. Beyond that, you probably have more important powers to take first.
Aid Other- (4) Heals a single targeted ally. This power is interruptible, so you shouldn't use this in combat. Cant use it on yourself when soloing missions Interuptibility limits its use even on a team.
Stimulant- (7.5) Frees an ally from any Immobilization, Sleep, Disorient, Hold, Fear or Confuse effects and leaves them resistant to such effects for a brief time. Protection will improve with Multiple applications and as you advance in level. This power is interruptible and shouldn't be used in the heat of combat. This one is actually worthwhile if you have nothing better to get. Its break-free and status protection effects are sorely needed at higher levels.
Aid Self- (4.5) Allows you to heal yourself. This hypo also leaves you wide awake, and resistant to Disorientation effects. This power is interruptible. Sounds great in concept, but again limited use in combat. You have to survive without it to use it, at which time you could just Rest instead.
Resuscitate- (0) Revives a fallen ally, leaving him with full Hit Points, but no Endurance. The Resuscitated target will be protected from XP Debt for 15 seconds. This power is interruptible. Like Vengeance you need a dead teammate to use it, but without any of Vengeances benefits. So right there is major point loss. This would be valuable in the Hollows pre-travel, but as a level 20 pick and having to take two others before it Worst power in the pools.
Presence- 7.5 points
I dont understand why they bothered with this pool. If I can handle agro, I already have a taunt. If I cant I definitely dont want one. The entire concept of this pool is just totally off. I have never seen a squishy (presumably who this pool was designed for) with one of these powers. Now the 2nd and 3rd tier powers are designed to be soft control for the ATs that dont have control such as those that want agro and already have a taunt and so wouldnt need either of the two prerequisites Horrible, horrible pool. I wont even comment on them individually.
Challenge- (2) Challenges a foe to attack you. Use this to pull a foe off of an ally in trouble or away from a mob of foes. Not as effective as a typical Scrapper Confront and Challenge powers. An Accuracy check is required to successfully Challenge a target.
Provoke- (2) This power attracts the attention of a foe and all those around him. Use this to pull several enemies off of an ally in trouble. Not as effective as a typical Tanker Taunt powers. An Accuracy check is required to successfully Challenge a target.
Intimidate- (2) You can threaten a single foe and cause him to helplessly tremble in Fear for a brief while.
Invoke Panic- (1.5) This power causes sheer terror in all foes around you, causing them to tremble in Fear uncontrollably.
Final Thoughts
As I said in the beginning, if you are a normal player, you will take a travel pool, the Fitness pool, and have little room left for anything else. It seems that the devs like it this way and simply provide all the other pools simply to help out badge hunters (Medicine) or PvP players (Stealth). And I still cant figure out what the Presence pool is for.
This is my first guide, and I hope this it has been useful to you. My original intent in doing this was to put together a reworking of the pool powers for the Suggestion Forum, and I still might do that at some point. However as I put this list together, I thought someone could use it in and of itself, so here it is.
Comments are welcome and appreciated. Just remember, this is all subjective and my own opinion you are, of course, free to disagree.