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SailorET's I9 guide to successful and courteous Task Force preparation
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One great key to completing a task force efficiently is preparation. The lack of inspiration shopping can stall a task force team, possibly even end it altogether. Where can you possibly get vital inspirations like Catch a Breath, Respite, Break Free or Awaken (and their stronger variants)? If you have a SG base with an inspiration storage rack, you can make sure it's stocked beforehand with all of these. Otherwise, you can always make use of the storage space in Wentworth's (if you drag something to a "sale" slot but do not apply a price, it will simply be stored).
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You didn't mention that you can run to the Arena and buy inspirations there too.
Positron can can take a LOT longer as can the Shard TF's, but generally most are about 3 to 4 hours. If you can ghost through them and don't want to kill everything -- which is the problem with Positron -- a lot of the missions are kill all.
I have been on a Positron TF that was into its 7th hour on the second mission (go figure -- we broke up there). Also on a Manitcore TF (different team) we were killing everything -- it was hour 7 and we were in mission 4. It was getting late -- so we decided to stealth the rest as we could. We completed the TF in about an hour.
Main Characters - Virtue:
Manowar - Inv/SS/Pyre Incarnate Tanker
Mr Edward Hyde - SS/Inv/Scirocco Incarnate Brute
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You didn't mention that you can run to the Arena and buy inspirations there too.
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Nor did he mention that the Pocket D bartenders sell all Inspirations—including the Awakens that the Arena doesn't have.
Edit: Well, OK, he did later in the guide, but not at the beginning where he's talking about stocking up.
SailorET's I9 guide to successful and courteous Task Force preparation
Why bother with task forces? There's plenty of reasons. They involve a deep story arc, revealing much of the game's hidden story. They're a serious commitment, doing a large quantity of missions in a few hours. They yield great XP bonuses for those within the level range, and plenty of influence or debt relief for those above. Besides completion badges, they're a great souce for "Defeat X number of Y type villains" badges. You can sometimes gain temporary powers for them; Amy Jonsson is a great example. They also yield great salvage and recipes, including those from lower-level brackets when exemplared (remember, you're accessing recipes from three of the four pools on one TF: Individual villain, Mission completion, TF completion). Completing the Task Force Commander Accolade badge offers an extra 5% health and an extra costume piece.
However, there are other things to consider before starting these missions. The first and foremost is time. Different Task Forces have different time constraints: I've seen quick Katie Hannon TF's that take 15 minutes, and I've seen Numina TF's run over 4 hours. A good guideline is that if you don't have two and a half to three hours free, it's better not to start one. Party composition and particular TF are a defining factor here. Second, the only contact available is the person who gave you the TF, and they don't run a store. Therefore, you need to have good inspirations on hand or have somewhere else to get them from. I'll advise on this later. Next, remember that if you are above the maximum level for your TF, you will be exemplared down to its maximum level. This means that unless you've specifically engineered your build, you might lose powers you have slotted appropriately for (namely Stamina), or possibly even your travel power! Finally, remember that you are stuck with your team. Once you begin a TF, you cannot invite others to your team; if someone quits (or gets kicked), you are down by that extra body for the remainder of the TF.
Gleep_Wurp has created an excellent guide which details TF's as well. Link
Preparation, or So you want to be a Task Force Commando?
One great key to completing a task force efficiently is preparation. The lack of inspiration shopping can stall a task force team, possibly even end it altogether. Where can you possibly get vital inspirations like Catch a Breath, Respite, Break Free or Awaken (and their stronger variants)? If you have a SG base with an inspiration storage rack, you can make sure it's stocked beforehand with all of these. Otherwise, you can always make use of the storage space in Wentworth's (if you drag something to a "sale" slot but do not apply a price, it will simply be stored).
It's also advisable to look up specific info on your chosen TF online beforehand. There are a few great guides available on the forums, but for a good resource you can turn to ParagonWiki or Red Tomax's Guide for a mission-by-mission guide of each TF. In fact, it sometimes helps to either print these guides out or play in windowed mode so you can periodically check back on what's next.
Finally, you're ready to build your team. Finding interested people isn't often difficult; if you're scheduling a time well in advance, you can always post on the "Player events" forum as well as the forum for your specific server. On a shorter time frame, you could post a message on your server's badge channel (I believe all servers have one, usually created by a fellow player), or send a few messages on the broadcast channel. Just remember that these broadcast channels only go as far as the zone you're in; If you're starting, say, a Synapse Task Force, you're more likely to find people by broadcasting in Steel Canyon than Skyway (especially considering the position of both the CH and the University there). You can also check the people in your "friends" list; after all, you added them for some reason and you probably already know how to coordinate with them. If you're in a SG, you can try the SG or coalition channels as well. At some point, however, you'll probably have to simply start opening a "find person" window and sending Tells. This is important: DO NOT INVITE PEOPLE TO TASK FORCES WITHOUT ASKING FIRST. Many people aren't interested for one reason or another, and besides, it's extremely rude.
If you happen to be invited to join a task force, please make sure you have enough time available to complete it. Task forces typically end with an archvillain battle, and you really want to have a decent sized team to take them down. There's nothing worse than running through an entire TF only to continually fall to the final AV because your defender had to go to work ten minutes ago. If you might not be able to stay for two hours or more, you should at least inform the team leader before the TF is started; this way they can plan accordingly, and keep you on hand if there's still room.
How should you build your team? Well, typically a good base involves at least one of each archetype. While this rule commonly provides an efficient team, it's not a requirement; I ran a Synapse TF consisting of 5 Blasters and 2 Scrappers as well as a Sister Psyche TF that included 6 Defenders, a Scrapper, and a Tank. If you can choose your team, try to base it on what you're facing on the TF. A few people with Electric Blast can be invaluable on Synapse's TF; Positron, on the other hand, benefits much more with someone with Empathy to combat all the CoT Mezzes and Vahzilok DoT attacks. Sometimes, however, you'll only get a handful of people interested, and you have to remember that a body is still a body and you'll need all the help you can find. Besides, just because you'd rather have a Blaster that's never coming then a fourth Tank doesn't mean they won't add something to the team. Remember, you probably made an open invite to this and people are giving up a large amount of game time to run through this with you. Don't keep them waiting.
OK, let's get started!
Once you're ready to go, make sure by asking if anyone is not ready (that way silence doesn't isn't construed as not ready), and talk to your contact. Odds are you'll start with a door mission, and odds also are that you'll gain the opportunity to call the contact back after the first or second mission (Devs threw this in because we're already changing zones for almost every mission). In case you run out of pre-staged inspirations on the way, you can always head over to the friendly bartenders at Pocket D for help, or just call in a friend or SG mate to pick up some from a contact and trade or give them to you, or, if you don't mind paying extra, you could always put in a bid over-cost at the CH and try to buy them off there.
Another point to worry about is the "leecher." This is someone who follows you to every mission and then stands in the door and collects XP. Now, I can understand if you've regularly been contributing and suddenly need to go afk for a bio break or some real-world emergency. But if you've got someone just generating extra mobs to fight and letting the rest of the party do the work (and you didn't ask for this-- some people like it for the extra XP or challenge), it's acceptible to warn them to stop such behavior, and with repeated noncompliance, kick them from the team. You don't need the extra weight, especially if they're adding more threats to your team (this really matters in Positron's TF, where there's typically around a 6-8 villain per hero ratio).
Otherwise, feel free to go forth, and commence butt-kicking for justice! Enjoy your new Task Force career!!
Global- @SailorET, Justice Server
Sheryl Fiero, 50 AR/Devices Blaster
Louise Fiero, 50 Merc/Traps MM
Various assorted alts
Proudly serving in our military so you don't have to.