Purples - Really?!?!

I dunno, 'Jerk mode' Honoree and Statesman would probably be up there as well.

so yeah...I got into this subject after reading this thread actually, and began to re-evalute the need for purple sets for my main Elec^3 of my namesake.

focusing on global bonuses alone, these are the differences between my current build, and a purpled out one (#'s are current build compared to going purpled out):

Regen: -3.07% effectiveness
Resists: +0.79% effectiveness
Defenses: -9.58%
Recharge: -23.39%
Damage: -3.09%
Total HP: -0.58%
Tech HP: +0.16% (Tech HP is my base hp x resists + (total HP - base), essentially what my HP "technically" is factoring in resists)
Acc: -13.45%
Recovery: +2.05%

TOTAL: -5.62% (with Tech HP factor), -6.35% (without tech HP factor)

now, i havent delved into power differences yet on a 1 on 1 basis, but looking at this, is purpling out really worth all that cash if it will mean a net gain of only around 6% on a good IO build?

(just a note on acc and rech: i have alot in each power allready just the way theyre slotted, it's not that drastic a change between the two builds even tho they are the highest differences here)

i have 102.5% rech with my normal IO build.

133.8% purple build.

the increase on my powers for the most part after doing a 1on1 on each is about a [s]10%[/s] difference


as for acc: even against +3's with my IO build i only go to like 90% chance tohit...

EDIT:

on average the effects on my powers are as follows:

Damage: -2.56%
Acc: -24.89%
Rech: -22.07
End: 6.17%

Total: -10.83 Total -Acc factor: -6.15% Total -End: -16.5% Total Ignoring both: -12.31%

so depending on what i look at here...i have a range of 6-16% inferiority.

I think i may as well do the value ignoring accuracy, as the results are a tad scewed by having rediculously high %'s on the purple build (Short Circuit is at like 280% acc on the Purple) and End use is important even though I have Power sink...

so yeah, i (personally) dont think it is worth the Inf to purple out

eh, i guess it varies from person to person

The problem with your numbers is that most of them dont really mean anything.

For example:

- Slotting endurance reduction is only useful until you have endurance sustainability over your attack chain, so maybe currently you have too much.

- Slotting recharge is only useful until you have a seamless attack chain, but if you don't have that attack chain then recharge can increase your DPS much more than +damage.

- Slotting accuracy is only ever going to give you a 95% chance to hit, so again can be wasted.

What you need to take into account is that with purple sets bumping your global accuracy by something like +45% with 5 sets you can underslot the accuracy in many powers, saving you slots.

Also with the +50% global recharge from 5 sets you can start looking at optimum attack chains, even dropping certain powers that you might no longer use. That will again free up slots and can let you fit in more situational or utility powers increasing the overall effectiveness of your build.

Losing 5% here and 5% there means nothing unless we know how that translates into your attack chain and endurance consumption etc.

PS: I also find it hard to believe you only have a 90% chance to hit +3's with an IO'd build if you built it well. (Please don't take that as an insult)

Edit: And that is the beauty of purple sets. Because the bonus' are much bigger than usual you can get to your targets faster with less slots and powers, letting you have more room to better slot the other powers that don't take the purple sets.

It isn't that purple sets themselves are so amazing, but the knock-on effect they have on your other powers and slotting choices makes the build that much better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aggelakis PrincessDarkstar: "RAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHH SOMEONE IS *WRONG* ON THE INTERNET!"

well, i could post my actual builds here if you really wanna know.

(the +3 example was just something to toss out...)

as for the bonuses you mention, alot of them stem from getting other bonuses.

For example, to get a +rech from a purple, you'll also be getting +acc.

and overall my powers didnt change much in effectiveness between my IO and Purple builds, and little change in my attack chains overall as even with my IO build by the time one of my powers animates the one i need after the next one is done recharging, and so on...

indeed.

only a few build really *need* purples, otherwise you may end up like me and plan to pay millions of Inf for an overall 6% increase in effectivness.

I have to say that I'm very surprised that you are losing recharge on anything on average by putting in purples. Purple sets have the largest set-based recharge bonus anything can give, so you shouldn't be losing global recharge by replacing something with purple sets. Most of the purple sets offer 89.9% recharge slotting for the 5 pieces that aren't a proc. There aren't many non-purple sets that approach that, though you could do it via frankenslotting. (I sometimes don't slot the purple Dam/Rech if I want the proc in 5 slots, something I usually do in a fast-recharging power, and that still adds up to 59.6%).

So what I won't say you can't lose recharge overall from slotting purples, it's pretty surprising to me, and am curious what choices are causing it.

Purples are more of a thing for people that either:

A have self heals or buffs
B Already have strong defense or resistance
C Have lots of hitpoints
D Play support or team defense


I think thats really about it though. Unless you need +recharge for something you wont find yourself using purples very much. So far the only character i've wanted them on is my spines/fire.

Purples provide large amounts of certain bonuses, in particular recharge speed but also things like regen and accuracy (repending on the purple). However, most do not provide any defense bonuses. That means they are very handy for characters who need a lot of recharge but do not need large amounts of defense, such as many Scrappers and Tankers or offensively-designed Blasters and Controllers. Perhaps the build most benefited by purples would be an Illusion / Rad Controller... once you get very high levels of recharge you get Phantom Army permanent, at which point you always have immortal pets taking the aggro and become essentially unkillable even with zero defense.

The other main use for purples is exemplaring. Since they always provide their set bonuses no matter how low you exemp down and the damage-based purple sets are highly overslotted for damage, a fully purpled Blaster or Scrapper can quickly solo or duo a Positron TF... they'll have near SO level damage even after the penalty for exemping plus they'll keep those big recharge bonuses.

Of course, purples are not always better. If you're a SR Scrapper and only need a few defense bonuses to softcap, then purples are great. If you are a Blaster who wants to pretend you're a Scrapper and solo +4/x8 spawns, you won't have room for many purples since you'll need massive amounts of ranged defense. I personally have never used purples, though I plan to on my current Controller... but only because he has a Confuse power and that set is cheaper than some rare non-purples.