IO's for Newbs, Casual Playas, & Cheapskates [I9]
By
Atilla_The_Pun,
Posted on: 2007-09-28 11:40 in Player Guides
1 Introduction + Who the heck am I?
Who the heck am I? Just yer average friendly neighbourhood Canuck with the propensity fer bashin Skuls, Hellions, an the like. 
Been playing since somewhere around I2. Tankers are my specialty, but I do also have an affinity for crunching numbers.
When I9 dropped, it was like a whole new world opened up for us. I could see the potential, and dove right in. So many numbers, so many possibilities. I was quick to adapt. Unfortunately, not everyone was. So many numbers and so many possibilities can be quite daunting. Many people saw Invention Origin Enhancements [IOs] as just plain frustrating. Not everyone likes crunching numbers. Not everyone has the time.
And the prices! In a free market, youre going to have to compete with others for the best stuff. That includes all the fancy recipes and the expensive salvage required to craft them into enhancements. So if you dont have the time or Influence/Infamy [Inf] spend, what can you do?
Well, did you know that with multi-aspect set IOs, you can achieve that same or better bonuses with the same or less slots than you could achieve with Single Origin Enhancements [SOs]? This applies to nearly every power that accepts set IOs.
That means you can take your character slotted out with those old an busted SOs, and significantly improve the power and fun factor using multi-aspect set IOs. Were talking more accuracy. More recharge. More endurance reduction. More of whatever you need. All with the same number of enhancements slots, and sometimes with less. And thats all before event starting to consider set bonuses.
How bout if I told you that you can do this all on a limited budget? If that sounds good, read on.
2 Purpose of this guide
This guide has 3 main purposes:
[*]An eye opener to the world of multi-aspect IOs.[*]A quick reference guide to go from your old SO slotting to new IO slotting, and cheaply.[*]A learning tool that will enable you to come up with your own creative IO slotting.
Some of the first complaints that sprung up when I9 dropped were all the good sets are too expensive or this set has crappy bonuses and that set is useless. The first two are largely true. There are very expensive sets, and there are sets with crappy set bonuses. One thing I learned, is that despite crappy set bonuses (who needs 1.65% immobilize duration reduction anyway?), set IOs are far from useless.
As hinted in the Introduction, you can still improve your character just from the multi-aspect IOs, completely ignoring any set bonuses. You see, the total bonus from a multi-aspect IO is better than any SO.
Where an SO has 100% bonus (to the base of 33.3%) to one attribute, a dual-aspect IO has 62.5% bonus to two attributes. Thats 125% total bonus, or 25% better than an equivalent SO. With triple-aspect IOs, you get 50% more total bonus. With a quad-aspect IO, you get 75% more total bonus. They may not look great right away or on their own, but when you add a bunch together, you can get slotting that would require several more lots if you only had SOs to work with. If you dive right into the examples in the meat of the guide, youll see this right away.
Now, all this time, were talking about not worrying about set bonuses, and were also talking about spending less Inf. Well, they go hand-in-hand. Good set bonuses carry a premium on price. Those IO sets with crappy bonuses are all cheap to buy on the market. Some you can purchase and craft for less than a level [lvl] 50 SO. Seems far-fetched? It isnt.
Thats what this guide is about: [i]How can I improve my character with IOs when I dont have an unlimited amount of time and Inf to spend?[i]
3 IO overview with links
The Invention System has got to be the most complimented thing to be added to this game since Enhancement Diversification [ED]. To go through all the details of Inventions and how they work would be a guide in itself. This guide assumes basic knowledge of IOs, IO enhancement scaling, IO crafting, and selling/purchasing IOs/recipes/salvage at Wentworths or the Black Market [the market].
What I will do is provide you with three very useful links. Two links to websites that I almost always have open when IO crafting, and one link to a hero planner that can help you plan character builds with IOs.
The first link is Paragon Wiki. Its basically your definitive online encyclopedia for all things Paragon City and Rogue Isles. Your first stop is here. This will teach you everything about the Inventions system from the ground up.
The next link is City of Data. If youre looking for any piece of data regarding CoH/V, youll find it here. The Inventions page will give you data on every IO set, their set bonuses, and salvage required to craft them.
The last link is Mids Hero Designer. That page will take you to where you can down load a very good hero planner that will allow you to plan your heroes/villains using IOs.
[Late Additions]
Inventions 301 Building Blocks for Superior Slotting
The No Numbers Guide to I9 for the Casual Player
Guide: Introduction to Inventions 1.0
Viva Las Vegas intermediate guide to IOs (I9)
(Note: You can consider this the Acknowledgement page, too. I used Mids Hero Designer to do most of the calculating for me...to think I used to do all this on a calculator!... and I used all the above links as references. So thanks to all who contributed to the above tools and sites. )
4 How to use this guide
The original purpose of this guide was to crush the myth that slotting IO sets can reduce the effectiveness of your character, and that SOs are still the better choice. I believe there are several reasons some people are under this impression, including the overall complicated nature of the Invention System and the fact that slotting some full IO sets can give you bonuses worse than you had before with SOs.
This guide has now evolved into a resource for players that might be overwhelmed by the complexity, might not have the time to learn all the ins and outs, or might not have the Inf to just by all the best IOs and be done with it. Hopefully the size of this guide doesnt overwhelm the already overwhelmed.
You see, one of the features of the Invention System is that slotting full sets may not be the best way to slot a power. This message is key, and must be conveyed to as many players as we can. Currently, set IOs are a bit deceiving in that the best set bonuses are usually had by slotting full sets. The reality of it is, we must make a choice between either the best attribute bonuses (Acc, Dam, Rech, etc.) or the best set bonuses (or something in-between).
Because the intended reader is for new players or players with limited time to spend earning Inf, the IO sets used in this guide are all what many refer to as mid-tier sets. These are sets like Focused Smite, Multi-Strike, Ruin, Harmonized Healing, Titanium Coating, etc. These sets may not have great set bonuses, but they are all inexpensive and readily available on the market. The point is that were trying to improve you characters power and fun-factor on a limited budget, buy improving your attribute bonuses using multi-aspect IOs.
If you are looking for the best possible slottings, with the best possible set bonuses, this guide is probably not for you.
However, anyone can use this guide to learn how to mix and match set IOs and common IOs. After using this guide a while, you should all be experts, and you should be able to come up with even better slotting than the ones Ive put into this guide.
Now to the gritty:
[*]This guide is largely made up of IO slotting examples. There are a total of 75 examples contained in this guide. I would love to add more examples to future versions of this guide, so feel free to add any or request any examples in the Guide Thread.[*]Some examples are attempts to match typical SO slotting either using less slots, or adding other useful bonuses that werent available through conventional SOs. You will be able to directly compare the %bonuses between the typical SO slotting examples and the possible IO slotting examples.[*]Other examples are attempts to try to maximize certain attribute bonuses further than you could with conventional SOs. [*]SO slotting is presented in orange text. If you are looking to match a particular SO slotting, you can scan the guide quickly looking for orange text.[*]Calculated IO attribute bonuses are presented in yellow text. If you are looking for certain attribute bonuses, you can scan the guide quickly looking for yellow text.[*]All IO sets are chosen based on being cheap and available, and do not require any rare salvage. (If I have made an error, it needs to be corrected.)[*]In many cases I have tried to minimize costs by trying to minimize the level of IOs. In any case, it is certainly fine to slot higher-level IOs (they will only serve to better your attribute bonuses). In some cases, there is also no harm is using lower-level IOs if you dont mind the decrease in bonus.[*]I have avoided including lvl 50 IOs because the crafting costs tend to be very high.[*]I have attempted to match the order of presentation of IO sets and set IOs used by Paragon Wiki. This should make is easier to flip back and forth from here to there as a reference.[*]Remember that the most important part of the example slottings here is not the particular recipe set, its the multi-aspect IO. A lvl 30 Focused Smite: Acc/Dam is as good as a lvl 30 Smashing Haymaker: Acc/Dam, or even a lvl 30 Crushing Impact: Acc/Dam. Feel free to substitute any IO with the equivalent in another set. You may want to do this depending on the availability of the enhancement/recipe you need.[*]There is no reason someone who is willing to spend more Inf couldnt substitute any of the suggested IO-slottings with IOs from better sets in order to achieve better bonuses. In most cases, Ive tried to suggest as many IOs from the same set as possible so that set bonuses could be taken advantage of wherever possible.[*]There are no hard and fast or ultimate slottings here. The possibilities of mixing and matching are nearly endless. Feel free to use this guide as a quick reference, but I encourage you to use it to learn to come up with your own imaginative slotting. Teach a man to fish, as they say...
5 Melee damage
Example 1:
This example draws on my Tanker experience. Almost invariably, I used to six-slot my melee attacks this way:
even SOs: 1xAcc, 3xDam, 1xEnd, 1xRech
--------------------
33% Acc, 100% Dam (95% w/ED), 33% End, 33% Rech.
With IOs, Ive found a really easy, and really cheap way to achieve the same bonuses:
lvl 25 Focused Smite: Acc/Dam, Dam/End, Dam/Rech, Acc/End/Rech
lvl 45 common: Dam
--------------------
36% Acc, 100% Dam (95% w/ED), 36% End, 36% Rech.
Thats the same bonuses, but with only 5 enhancement slots. You now have an extra slot that you can add more accuracy, end reduction, recharge with. You can also enhance a secondary effect that you might not have slotted if you didnt have that extra slot. And of course, you can use that extra slot somewhere else in your character build (who hasnt wanted extra slots to play with?).
Plus, theres no reason you cant go with higher lvl recipes and get slightly better bonuses (w/ lvl 40 Focused Smite: 43% Acc, 43% End, 43% Rech).
NOTE: Throughout the guide you might see a lot of cases where lvl 25 set IOs are mixed in with a lvl 45 common IO. You might think, What good does that do to my lvl 22 character? Well, the idea is that you should be able to settle with a lvl 25 common IO and upgrade it later. In this example, using a lvl 25 enhancement means living without about 5.6% damage enhancement. If you wanted to, you could upgrade every 5 levels and close that gap as you go.
Example 2:
Dont care about endurance reduction as much as accuracy?:
even SOs: 2xAcc, 3xDam, 1xRech
--------------------
67% Acc, 100% Dam (95% w/ED), 33% Rech.
With IOs:
lvl 25 Focused Smite: Acc/Dam, Dam/Rech, Acc/Dam/Rech
lvl 30 Kinetic Combat: Acc/Dam
lvl 35 Smashing Haymaker: Acc/Dam
--------------------
80% Acc, 101% Dam (95% w/ED), 36% Rech.
Again, very close to the same bonuses with SOs, but with 1 less slot (and a bit of extra accuracy, too).
Example 3:
Can I get down to 4 slots?:
lvl 30 Focused Smite: Acc/Dam, Dam/End, Acc/Dam/Rech
lvl 45 common: Dam
--------------------
39% Acc, 101% Dam (95% w/ED), 22% End, 17% Rech.
Example 4:
What if I want to try to max out both accuracy and damage?
lvl 40 Focused Smite: Acc/Dam, Dam/Rech, Acc/End/Rech, Acc/Dam/Rech
lvl 25 Kinetic Combat: Acc/Dam
lvl 25 Smashing Haymaker: Acc/Dam
--------------------
103% Acc (95% w/ED), 107% Dam (96% w/ED), 19% End, 63% Rech.
Thats almost 9 SOs worth of bonus in 6 slots!
Example 5:
How about if I want to max out damage and recharge?
lvl 40 Focused Smite: Acc/Dam, Dam/Rech, Acc/End/Rech, Acc/Dam/Rech
lvl 30 Smashing Haymaker: Dam/Rech, Dam/End/Rech
--------------------
63% Acc, 107% Dam (96% w/ED), 37% End, 102% Rech (95% w/ED).
Just slightly more than 9 SOs worth of bonus in 6 slots.
5a Parry/Divine Avalanche
Example 6:
For some melee attacks, enhancing the secondary can be more important than slotting for damage. Parry and Divine Avalanche [DA] are examples of an attack where slotting for defense buff is most important. A typical SO slotting of Parry/DA might be:
even SOs: 2xAcc, 1xRech, 3xDef
--------------------
67% Acc, 33% Rech, 60% Def (56% w/ED).
With IOs, we can take advantage of multi-aspect enhancement to add some damage, endurance reduction and extra recharge:
lvl 40 Focused Smite: Acc/Dam, Acc/End/Rech, Acc/Dam/Rech
lvl 40 Serendipity: Def/Rech, Def
lvl 40 common: Def
--------------------
63% Acc, 43% Dam, 61% Def (56% w/ED), 19% End, 63% Rech.
Note: Higher lvl IOs can allow us match the accuracy bonus of the SO slotting, but the cost is considerably higher.
5b Siphon Life
Example 7:
Siphon Life (and other health-draining attacks) is another example of an attack where enhancing the secondary can be more important than slotting for damage. A typical SO slotting of Siphon Life might be:
even SOs: 2xAcc, 1xRech, 3xHeal
--------------------
67% Acc, 33% Rech, 100% Heal (95% w/ED).
With IOs, we can take advantage of multi-aspect enhancement similar to how Parry/DA was done above:
lvl 40 Focused Smite: Acc/Dam, Acc/End/Rech, Acc/Dam/Rech
lvl 40 Harmonized Healing: Heal/Rech, Heal
lvl 40 common: Heal
--------------------
63% Acc, 43% Dam, 101% Heal(95% w/ED), 19% End, 63% Rech.
Slightly less accuracy, but with much better recharge and some extra damage and endurance reduction.
Note: Higher lvl IOs can allow us match the accuracy bonus of the SO slotting, but the cost is considerably higher.
Example 8:
Sometimes a balanced accuracy/recharge/heal approach is taken:
even SOs: 2xAcc, 2xRech, 2xHeal
--------------------
67% Acc, 67% Rech, 67%.
With IOs:
lvl 40 Focused Smite: Acc/Dam, Acc/End/Rech, Acc/Dam/Rech
lvl 40 Harmonized Healing: Heal/Rech, Heal
--------------------
63% Acc, 43% Dam, 19% End, 63% Heal, 63% Rech.
With this example, you get slightly less key bonuses, but you save an enhancement slot because this configuration only requires 5 slots. Adding a Bonesnap: Acc/Rech or a Harmonized Healing: End/Heal/Rech can improve some of the key bonuses to taste.
Note: Higher lvl IOs can allow us match the accuracy, recharge and heal bonus of the SO slotting, but the cost is considerably higher.
Example 9:
Since Siphon Life is an average attack (does similar damage to Air Superiority), we might want to maximize damage if it is in our regular attack chain. Here is an example of what we can do:
lvl 40 Focused Smite: Acc/Dam, Dam/End, Acc/Dam/Rech
lvl 30 common: Dam
lvl 40 Harmonized Healing: Heal/Rech, Heal
--------------------
43% Acc, 102% Dam (95% w/ED), 24% End, 63% Heal, 43% Rech.
5c Follow Up
Example 10:
Follow Up is a bit trickier to match typical SO slotting because To Hit Buff enhancements are not part of an IO set. Here is an example a balanced SO slotting:
even SOs: 2xAcc, 2xRech, 2xToHit.
--------------------
67% Acc, 67% Recharge, 40% ToHit.
If you are insistent on at least matching all the above attribute bonuses, using common IOs might be your best option (high lvl common IOs can get you up to 83% Acc, 83% Rech, and 50% ToHit). However, if youre willing to sacrifice some bonus for adding in some damage, check this out:
lvl 40 Focused Smite: Acc/Dam, Dam/Rech, Acc/Dam/Rech
lvl 25 Bonesnap: Acc/Rech
lvl 30 common: 2xToHit
--------------------
63% Acc, 67% Dam, 63% Rech, 42% ToHit.
Note: Higher lvl IOs can allow us match the accuracy and recharge bonus of the SO slotting, but the cost is considerably higher.
6 PBAoE damage
Example 11:
Again, drawing on my Tanker experience, I like to slot all PBAoE attacks with at least one Acc, End, and Rech SO:
even SOs: 1xAcc, 3xDam, 1xEnd, 1xRech
--------------------
33% Acc, 100% Dam (95% w/ED), 33% End, 33% Rech.
With IOs, we can get this by mixing Multi-Strike and Cleaving Blow sets:
lvl 25 Multi-Strike: Acc/Dam, Dam/End, Dam/Rech, Dam/End/Rech
lvl 40 Cleaving Blow: Acc/Dam
--------------------
44% Acc, 100% Dam (95% w/ED), 36% End, 36% Rech.
IOs in the PBAoE sets are a bit different than the ones available in the Melee sets, but we are still able to match the 6-slotted SO slotting with 5 multi-aspect IOs.
Example 12:
An example focusing on accuracy:
even SOs: 2xAcc, 3xDam, 1xRech
--------------------
67% Acc, 100% Dam (95% w/ED), 33% Rech.
Mixing Multi-Strike and Cleaving Blow sets again:
lvl 40 Multi-Strike: Acc/Dam, Dam/Rech, Acc/Dam/End
lvl 40 Cleaving Blow: Acc/Dam, Dam/Rech
--------------------
67% Acc, 116% Dam (97% w/ED), 19% End, 48% Rech.
Another example on how to meet or beat SO slotting with less slots.
Example 13:
PBAoE attacks typically have a longish recharge. Lets see just how much recharge we can get:
lvl 45 Multi-Strike: Acc/Dam, Dam/Rech, Acc/Dam/End, Dam/End/Rech
lvl 45 Cleaving Blow: Dam/Rech, Acc/Rech
--------------------
71% Acc, 116% Dam (97% w/ED), 40% End, 96% Rech (92% w/ED).
Oi. Not bad, eh? Creeping up to 10 SOs worth of total bonus there. And Im sure if you fiddled around a bit you could sacrifice some recharge and max out accuracy if that suits your fancy.
Example 14:
Damage toggles are another popular form of PBAoE attack. These attacks typically have a high endurance cost, so endurance reduction becomes a priority over recharge reduction. A typical SO slotting might be:
even SOs: 1xAcc, 3xDam, 2xEnd
--------------------
33% Acc, 100% Dam (95% w/ED), 67% End.
Multi-Strike appears to be the perfect set for damage toggles:
lvl 40 Multi-Strike: Acc/Dam, Dam/End, Acc/End, Acc/Dam/End
lvl 30 common: Dam
--------------------
67% Acc, 102% Dam (95% w/ED), 67% End.
We are able to save an enhancement slot, plus we are able to get 2 SOs worth of accuracy bonus. This saves me from having to do an example with 2 Acc SOs!
6a Consume
Example 15:
Consume is another one of those powers that is more used for a secondary effect. Typically, recharge is most important, but accuracy is also important when you are in dire need of endurance and dont want to miss! A typical SO slotting might be (feel free to leave out the endurance modification enhancement, it is usually optional and doesnt really affect your slotting as it is not part of any IO set):
even SOs: 2xAcc, 3xRech, 1xEndMod
--------------------
67% Acc, 33% EndMod, 100% Rech (95% w/ED).
With IOs, we can get this by mixing Multi-Strike and Cleaving Blow sets:
lvl 45 Cleaving Blow: Acc/Rech
lvl 45 common: Acc, EndMod, 2xRech
--------------------
66% Acc, 40% EndMod, 106% Rech (96% w/ED).
Well, nothing really special here. Though, using high-level IOs and the addition of the Cleaving Blow: Acc/Rech does allow us to save an enhancement slot.
6b Dark Regeneration
Example 16:
Dark Regeneration is a power similar to Consume, except that it drains health instead of endurance. It also has a shorter recharge, but a very high endurance cost. A typical SO slotting might be (similar to above with Consume, a heal enhancement is optional):
even SOs: 2xAcc, 2xEnd, 1xRech
--------------------
67% Acc, 67% End, 33% Rech.
With IOs, we can get this by mixing Multi-Strike and Cleaving Blow sets:
lvl 40 Multi-Strike: Acc/End, Acc/Dam/End
lvl 40 Cleaving Blow: Acc/Rech
lvl 40 Harmonized Healing: End/Rech
--------------------
67% Acc, 19% Dam, 67% End, 48% Rech.
Same accuracy and endurance reduction, more recharge reduction, and extra damage, all with 1 less slot. Nice being able to sneak that Harmonized Healing: End/Rech in there. If you want some heal bonus, the option is add any other Harmonized Healing IO.
6c Burn
Example 17:
Burn is a different type of PBAoE attack, in that it doesnt require any accuracy to be effective. Typically, the goal is to max out damage and recharge:
even SOs: 3xDam, 3xRech
--------------------
100% Dam (95% w/ED), 100% Rech (95% w/ED).
With IOs:
lvl 30 Multi-Strike: Dam/Rech, Dam/End/Rech
lvl 30 Cleaving Blow: Dam/Rech
lvl 45 common: Dam, Rech
--------------------
101% Dam (95% w/ED), 17% End, 101% Rech (95% w/ED).
Maximum damage and recharge, with some extra endurance reduction, all with 5 slots. You can get Burns slotting down to 4 slots using all lvl 50 recipes, a Sciroccos Dervish: Dam/Rech, and some Hamidon Goo, but that is quite expensive!
7 Ranged damage
There are many common slottings for ranged attacks, so lets just blaze right through them (no pun intended for you Fire Blasters 
):
Example 18:
even SOs: 1xAcc, 3xDam, 1xEnd, 1xRech
--------------------
33% Acc, 100% Dam (95% w/ED), 33% End, 33% Rech.
With IOs:
lvl 25 Ruin: Acc/Dam, Dam/End, Dam/Rech, Acc/End/Rech
lvl 45 common: Dam
--------------------
36% Acc, 100% Dam (95% w/ED), 36% End, 36% Rech.
Example 19:
even SOs: 2xAcc, 3xDam, 1xRech
--------------------
67% Acc, 100% Dam (95% w/ED), 33% Rech.
With IOs:
lvl 25 Ruin: Acc/Dam, Dam/Rech, Acc/Dam/Rech
lvl 35 Maelstroms Fury: Acc/Dam
lvl 30 Volley Fire: Acc/Dam
--------------------
80% Acc, 101% Dam (95% w/ED), 36% Rech.
Example 20:
even SOs: 1xAcc, 3xDam, 1xRech
--------------------
33% Acc, 100% Dam (95% w/ED), 33% Rech.
With IOs:
lvl 30 Ruin: Acc/Dam, Dam/Rech, Acc/Dam/Rech
lvl 45 common: Dam
--------------------
39% Acc, 101% Dam (95% w/ED), 39% Rech.
Example 21
Another possible slotting using only 4 enhancement slots:
lvl 30 Ruin: Acc/Dam, Dam/End, Acc/Dam/Rech
lvl 45 common: Dam
--------------------
39% Acc, 101% Dam (95% w/ED), 22% End, 17% Rech.
Example 22
Lets try for some serious accuracy and recharge:
lvl 40 Ruin: Acc/Dam, Dam/Rech, Acc/End/Rech, Acc/Dam/Rech
lvl 35 Maelstroms Fury: Acc/Dam, Dam/End/Rech
--------------------
86% Acc (84% w/ED), 109% Dam (96% w/ED), 38% End, 81% Rech (80% w/ED).
Yowzas! 
7a Ice Blast
Example 23
There are many ranged attacks with secondary effects that can be slotted for. Most secondary effects are not part of IO sets, so they were left out in the above examples. They dont really affect slotting all that much as they are only a matter of adding the appropriate common IO in an available slot.
Ice Blast powers on the other hand, are a bit funky because they can be slotted with Slow Movement IO sets. Here is just one slotting example, but keep in mind there are many possibilities:
lvl 45 Tempered Readiness: Acc/Slow, Dam/Slow, Acc/Dam/Slow
lvl 40 Ruin: Acc/End/Rech, Acc/Dam/Rech
lvl 35 common: Dam
--------------------
84% Acc (83% w/ED), 102% Dam (95% w/ED), 19% End, 39% Rech, 71% Slow.
8 Targeted AoE damage
Example 24
even SOs: 1xAcc, 3xDam, 1xEnd, 1xRech
--------------------
33% Acc, 100% Dam (95% w/ED), 33% End, 33% Rech.
With IOs:
lvl 25 Detonation: Acc/Dam, Dam/End, Dam/Rech, Acc/Dam/End
lvl 40 Air-Burst: Dam/Rech
--------------------
36% Acc, 100% Dam (95% w/ED), 36% End, 44% Rech.
Example 25
even SOs: 1xAcc, 3xDam, 2xRech
--------------------
33% Acc, 100% Dam (95% w/ED), 67% Rech.
With IOs:
lvl 45 Detonation: Acc/Dam, Dam/Rech
lvl 45 Air-Burst: Acc/Dam, Dam/Rech
lvl 45 common: Rech
--------------------
51% Acc, 101% Dam (95% w/ED), 91% Rech (89% w/ED).
9 Sniper attacks
Example 26
Sniper sets, as far as attribute bonuses go, are not really useful unless you are looking to slot Interrupt Reduction. If you are not looking to slot for interrupt, you may as well just refer back to the Ranged damage section.
Here is a possible SO slotting for a sniper attack:
even SOs: 1xAcc, 3xDam, 1xInt, 1xRech
--------------------
33% Acc, 100% Dam (95% w/ED), 33%, Int, 33% Rech.
With IOs:
lvl 35 Calibrated Accuracy: Acc/Int, Acc/Dam/Rech
lvl 35 Extreme Measures: Dam/Int/Rech
lvl 35 common: Dam
--------------------
41% Acc, 111% Dam (97% w/ED), 50% Int, 60% Rech.
Example 27
If we fooled around with 6 slots, we could get something like this:
lvl 45 Exploit Weakness: Dam/Range, Dam/Rech
lvl 45 Extreme Measures: Acc/Range/Rech, Acc/Int/Range, Dam/Int/Rech
lvl 45 common: Dam
--------------------
40% Acc, 103% Dam (95% w/ED), 49% Int, 39% Range, 66% Rech.
Hmm...thats almost intriguing.
10 Pet damage
Pet damage IO sets do not have any +Recharge in them, so they are not covered here in possible slotting. If you need to add recharge, simply add a common: Recharge to empty slots. If youre looking to max out recharge, then check out the Phantom Army example.
Example 28
Typical pet slotting might be:
even SOs: 2xAcc, 3xDam
--------------------
67% Acc, 100% Dam (95% w/ED).
With IOs:
lvl 30 Unquestioning Loyalty: Acc/Dam
lvl 35 Brilliant Leadership: Acc/Dam
lvl 35 Blood Mandate: Acc/Dam
lvl 30 common: Dam
--------------------
68% Acc, 102% Dam (95% w/ED).
This is your basic 5 SOs for the price of 4 slots. Accuracy is easily maxed-out by adding a common: Acc enhancement, but if youre going to use 5 slots, check out the example below.
Example 29
Alternatively, we can use 5 slots and completely max out accuracy and damage:
lvl 30 Unquestioning Loyalty: Acc/Dam
lvl 30 Brilliant Leadership: Acc/Dam, Acc/Dam/End
lvl 30 Blood Mandate: Acc/Dam, Acc/Dam/End
--------------------
100% Acc (95% w/ED), 100% Dam (95% w/ED), 35% End.
The purpose of this slotting is to be able to max out damage and accuracy while adding some endurance reduction. Pretty efficient slotting as its basically 7 SOs for the price of 5 slots.
10a Phantom Army
Example 30
The key to Phantom Army is to max out recharge:
Typical pet slotting might be:
even SOs: 2xAcc, 1xDam, 3xRech
--------------------
67% Acc, 33% Dam, 100% Rech (95% w/ED).
With IOs:
lvl 30 Unquestioning Loyalty: Acc/Dam
lvl 35 Brilliant Leadership: Acc/Dam
lvl 35 Blood Mandate: Acc/Dam
lvl 30 common: Rechx3
--------------------
67% Acc, 67% Dam, 100% Rech (95% w/ED).
Its not much of an improvement, but using IO sets allows you to get 4 SOs worth of bonus in the 3 slots that arent taken up by recharge enhancements.
11 Healing
Theres not too much mystery in your regular heal powers. Its usually a combination of heal, endurance reduction, and recharge.
Example 31
A standard 5-slotted heal power:
even SOs: 1xEnd, 3xHeal, 1xRech
--------------------
33% End, 100% Heal (95% w/ED), 33% Rech.
With 4 IOs:
lvl 30 Harmonized Healing: Heal/End, Heal/Rech, Heal/End/Rech
lvl 45 common: Heal
--------------------
39% End, 101% Heal (95% w/ED), 39% Rech.
Here, we have slightly better bonuses, but using 1 less enhancement slot.
Example 32
A 6-slotted heal power with more recharge:
even SOs: 1xEnd, 3xHeal, 2xRech
--------------------
33% End, 100% Heal (95% w/ED), 67% Rech.
With 5 IOs:
lvl 30 Harmonized Healing: Heal/End, Heal/Rech, Heal/End/Rech
lvl 30 Triage: Heal/Rech, Heal/End/Rech
--------------------
56% End, 100% Heal (95% w/ED), 78% Rech (77% w/ED).
Superior healing with 1 less slot.
Example 33
Many self-heal click powers have long recharge times, so maxing out recharge is as important as maxing out healing:
even SOs: 3xHeal, 3xRech
--------------------
100% Heal (95% w/ED), 100% Rech (95% w/ED).
With IOs:
lvl 30 Harmonized Healing: Heal/Rech, Heal/End/Rech
lvl 30 Triage: Heal/Rech
lvl 30 common: Heal, Rech
--------------------
17% End, 101% Heal (95% w/ED), 101% Rech (95% w/ED).
Done in 5 slots, with some endurance reduction to help.
Example 34
Some healing powers are toggles, thus recharge is much less important than endurance reduction:
even SOs: 1xEnd, 3xHeal
--------------------
33% End, 100% Heal (95% w/ED).
With IOs:
lvl 30 Harmonized Healing: Heal/End, Heal/End/Rech
lvl 30 Triage: Heal/End
lvl 45 common: Heal
--------------------
61% End, 101% Heal (95% w/ED), 17% Rech.
Cant get down to 3 slots, but with 4 slots we can improve endurance reduction. If you are not looking for any recharge whatsoever, check out the example below.
Example 35
even SOs: 2xEnd, 3xHeal
--------------------
67% End, 100% Heal (95% w/ED).
With IOs:
lvl 35 Miracle: End/Heal
lvl 35 Harmonized Healing: Heal/End
lvl 30 Triage: Heal/End
lvl 30 common: Heal
--------------------
68% End, 102% Heal (95% w/ED).
(Note: Not all Miracle recipes are cheap and available. Some require rare arcane salvage.)
11a Transfusion/Twilight Grasp
There are a couple of heals that require a successful attack on an enemy. With these, accuracy now enters the equation and takes up some slots.
Example 36
even SOs: 2xAcc, 3xHeal, 1xRech
--------------------
67% Acc, 100% Heal (95% w/ED), 33% Rech.
With IOs:
lvl 25 common: Accx2
lvl 25 Harmonized Healing: Heal/Rech, Heal/End/Rech
lvl 25 common: Healx2
--------------------
64% Acc, 16% End, 100% Heal (95% w/ED), 36% Rech.
Unfortunately, we cant fit 4 slots worth of SOs into 3 IOs, so this is really just an example using lvl 25 IOs to meet SO-slotting effectiveness, plus throwing in a bit of endurance reduction. If youre not happy with the accuracy, the lvl 25 common IOs can be upgraded easily (plus, as usual, higher-level IOs will yield better bonuses).
Example 37
lvl 30 common: Accx2
lvl 40 Harmonized Healing: Heal/Rech, Heal/End/Rech
lvl 40 Triage: Heal/End/Rech
lvl 45 common: Heal
--------------------
70% Acc, 37% End, 101% Heal (95% w/ED), 61% Rech.
This is an example of using more multi-aspect set IOs to increase endurance and recharge reduction. Youre basically squeezing 8 SOs worth of bonus into 6 slots. Not bad.
12 Resist Damage
Example 38
Some of you might not use endurance reduction in your resistance toggles because it might not be needed:
even SOs: 3xRes
--------------------
60% Res (56% w/ED).
With IOs:
lvl 25 Titanium Coating: Res/End
lvl 45 common: Resx2
--------------------
20% End, 61% Res (56% w/ED).
With IOs, you can get some endurance reduction with not penalty, and no extra slots, so why not?
Example 39
A standard resistance toggle slotting:
even SOs: 1xEnd, 3xRes
--------------------
33% End, 60% Res (56% w/ED).
With IOs:
lvl 25 Titanium Coating: Res/End, Res/End/Rech
lvl 25 common: Resx2
--------------------
36% End, 16% Rech, 60% Res (56% w/ED).
Well, OK, this example isnt a huge improvement. All it really does add a bit of recharge, which is really only use if your toggles drop. They key here is that if you slotted higher lvl Res/End and Res/End/Rech recipes, you can get up to 45% or more endurance reduction.
Example 40
A standard resistance toggle slotting stressing endurance reduction:
even SOs: 2xEnd, 3xRes
--------------------
67% End, 60% Res (56% w/ED).
With IOs:
lvl 35 Titanium Coating: Res/End
lvl 35 Reactive Armor: Res/End
lvl 30 Impervious Skin: Res/End
lvl 30 common: Res
--------------------
68% End, 61% Res (56% w/ED).
The nice thing about this slotting is being able to save an enhancement slot. This is also a good option for those that normally slot 1xEnd, 3xRes SOs (doesnt save any slots, but its like getting a free endurance reduction SO).
13 Defense
Defense toggles basically mirror the same slotting as resistance toggles, so Im going to blaze through the first few examples. If you want any of my minimally helpful comments, see the above section.
Example 41
even SOs: 3xDef
--------------------
60% Res (56% w/ED).
With IOs:
lvl 25 Serendipity: Def/End
lvl 45 common: Defx2
--------------------
20% End, 61% Def (56% w/ED).
Example 42
even SOs: 1xEnd, 3xDef
--------------------
33% End, 60% Def (56% w/ED).
With IOs:
lvl 25 Serendipity: Def/End, Def/End/Rech
lvl 25 common: Defx2
--------------------
36% End, 16% Rech, 60% Def (56% w/ED).
Example 43
even SOs: 2xEnd, 3xDef
--------------------
67% End, 60% Def (56% w/ED).
With IOs:
lvl 40 Serendipity: Def/End
lvl 30 Kismet: Def/End
lvl 30 Karma: Def/End
lvl 30 common: Def
--------------------
68% End, 61% Def (56% w/ED).
Example 44
There are a number of defense powers that maxing out recharge reduction is as or more important than maxing out defense:
even SOs: 3xDef, 3xRech
--------------------
60% Def (56% w/ED), 100% Rech (95% w/ED).
With IOs:
lvl 40 Serendipity: Def/Rech
lvl 30 Kismet: Def/Rech
lvl 30 Karma: Def/Rech
lvl 30 common: Def, Rech
--------------------
61% Def (56% w/ED), 102% Def (95% w/ED).
Nothing fancy here; saving an enhancement slot is the key here.
14 Confuse
And now finally on to the mez powers!
Example 45
A typical SO-slotting:
even SOs: 1xAcc, 2xRech, 3xConf
--------------------
33% Acc, 100% Conf (95% w/ED), 67% Rech.
With IOs:
lvl 40 Perplex: Acc/Rech, Acc/Conf/Rech, Rech/Conf
lvl 25 common: Confx2
--------------------
43% Acc, 107% Conf (96% w/ED), 67% Rech.
Example 46
Another typical SO-slotting:
even SOs: 2xAcc, 2xRech, 2xConf
--------------------
67% Acc, 67% Conf, 67% Rech.
With IOs:
lvl 25 Perplex: Acc/Rech, Acc/Conf/Rech
lvl 25 Befuddling Aura: Acc/Rech, Acc/Conf/Rech
lvl 30 common: Conf
--------------------
72% Acc, 67% Conf, 72% Rech.
Example 47
Can I get away with 4 slots?:
even SOs: 1xAcc, 1xRech, 3xConf
--------------------
33% Acc, 100% Conf (95% w/ED) , 33% Rech.
With IOs:
lvl 40 Perplex: Acc/Rech, Acc/Conf/Rech
lvl 45 common: Confx2
--------------------
43% Acc, 100% Conf (96% w/ED), 43% Rech.
Example 48
Some confuse powers have longer recharges, so maxing out recharge reduction is a priority:
even SOs: 1xAcc, 3xRech, 2xConf
--------------------
33% Acc, 67% Conf, 100% Rech (95% w/ED).
With IOs:
lvl 40 Perplex: Acc/Conf/Rech, Conf/Rech
lvl 30 Befuddling Aura: Acc/Conf/Rech
lvl 45 common: Rech
lvl 25 common: Conf
--------------------
37% Acc, 93% Conf (90% w/ED), 101% Rech (95% w/ED).
Example 49
Lets see how much we can max out with 6 enhancement slots:
lvl 40 Perplex: Acc/Conf/Rech, Conf/Rech, Rech/Conf
lvl 30 Befuddling Aura: Acc/Rech, Acc/Conf/Rech
lvl 45 common: Conf
--------------------
82% Acc (81% w/ED), 107% Conf (96% w/ED), 101% Rech (95% w/ED).
What more could you want or need out of a confuse power?
15 Sleep
Example 50
Sleep powers are not all that commonly used, so were going to focus on a couple of possible SO-slottings for an AoE sleep:
even SOs: 1xAcc, 1xEnd, 1xRech, 3xSleep
--------------------
33% Acc, 33% End, 33% Rech, 100% Sleep (95% w/ED).
With IOs:
lvl 30 Lethargic Repose: Acc/Rech, End/Sleep, Acc/Sleep/Rech
lvl 30 Hibernate: End/Sleep
lvl 45 common: Sleep
--------------------
39% Acc, 43% End, 39% Rech, 101% Sleep (95% w/ED).
Example 51
even SOs: 1xAcc, 2xRech, 3xSleep
--------------------
33% Acc, 67% Rech, 100% Sleep (95% w/ED).
With IOs:
lvl 30 Lethargic Repose: Acc/Sleep/Rech
lvl 30 Hibernate: Acc/Sleep/Rech
lvl 30 common: Rech, Sleepx2
--------------------
35% Acc, 70% Rech, 104% Sleep (96% w/ED).
IO's for Newbs, Casual Playas, & Cheapskates [I9]
Index
1 Introduction + Who the heck am I?
2 Purpose of this guide
3 IO overview with links
4 How to use this guide
5 Melee damage
- 5a Parry/Divine Avalanche
- 5b Siphon Life
- 5c Follow Up
6 PBAoE damage
- 6a Consume
- 6b Dark Regeneration
- 6c Burn
7 Ranged damage
- 7a Ice Blast
8 Targeted AoE damage
9 Sniper attacks
10 Pet damage
- 10a Phantom Army
11 Healing
- 11a Transfusion/Twilight Grasp
12 Resist damage
13 Defense
14 Confuse
15 Sleep
16 Slow movement
17 Immobilize
- 17a Tenebrous Tentacles
18 Holds
19 Fear
20 Stuns
21 Flight
22 Teleport