Fix lvl 14-20 'Stamina Gulch'

Perhaps this issue could be addressed by simply removing DOs and TOs, which are stupid anyway. Why should we have this geometric scale of enhancement, rather than just having the same enhancements throughout?

IOs at those levels are no better, but yet more expensive.

Anyway, the problem I have with Stamina is having to pick three auto-powers to get it. While I do accept that is the cost for the power and making it available early or free would not be viable, I HATE having to pick three auto-powers in a row to help get endurance under control ASAP while there's more interesting options saying "Pick me, pick me". Sure, I don't have to get Stamina at 20 or at all, and sometimes I do push it back depending on my needs, but I don't exactly like doing that either.

I wish more combos were like Grav/TA where Stamina helps a lot but is definitely optional. I got away with putting it off until level 49 on that toon because a little bit of end-slotting (one SO worth) and the end-lightness of the attacks made doing so extremely viable.

It doesn't take very long to level from 14 to 20 especially if your in a big team, and the bonus of being in a big team is that you don't get as many end problems because everyone is attacking the same things as you.

Now, i do agree that end management is hard, and that you don't want to give up on the argument for consistency's sake, but i prefer how it teaches new players about end management to how it is annoying for confident players.

That's true. In my first month I've learned to use the attack with the longest animation last, to let a couple of tiks of end come back after the cost and the animation still continues, as well as cooldown for the other moves, etc. It works for me sometimes. I suppose that did teach me soemthing about end management, but when you're a fury-addicted Brute, you get torn often in the heat of the moment. Smashy-smashy!

It seems to have a drastic difference between powersets. I'm an oddball who tries to avoid Stamina at all costs with varied rates of success and noticed that some don't need it. I would advocate shortening the recharge time on Rest since it isn't really "spammable" due to the danger of getting hit while using it.

Most of my characters don't even have Stamina anymore. (Previously, ALL my characters had Stamina. I have since learned much better energy management.) So obviously, I don't see any 'gulch' existing.

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Originally Posted by Dispari I don't know why Dink thinks she's not as sexy as Jay was. In 5 posts she's already upstaged his entire career.

I think either endurance costs or recovery rates need to be reconfigured across the whole game. I don't think I've ever had a character that didn't require Stamina while levelling up, even if they were able to respec out of it later by earning a "better" power.

Some sets, especially the toggled armor sets, absolutely require Stamina to even be able to function at all. Even on top of that, I've had to heavily slot for recovery bonuses with IO sets to keep my SR Scrapper in the blue, and that's with at least one level 50 End Redux IO in every attack and toggle.

Don't get me wrong, I deal with it just fine, and it has slowly gotten better over the years (hell, Enhancement Diversification actually helped Super Reflexes). It's just that every time I build a new character, I look at the powers I want to take with them... and then sigh and mark three off so I can slip Stamina into the build.

I find myself in a rare position of agreeing with Beyeajus... swapping the availability of Stamina and Health might actually be a good idea. But that's just a personal opinion, and I really haven't given any thought to balance other than the fact that I think it'd be totally awesome.

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Originally Posted by Nethergoat it's NEVER too late to pad your /ignore list!

Well, we all get a power at Lv2 which caps your recovery and regeneration.

Of course, its recharge is murder.

Failing that, I could also get behind increased effectiveness of endred enhancements. Remember, the best you can do with any amount of enhancing is to halve the cost.

An open letter to NCsoft

I park my characters at that level in the arena for the endurance buff day job power. I also always get the endurance/defense pet and have no qualms using it often.

I have a DB/WP tank and I don't recall having those same endurance issues, but tanks get QR at 12 instead of 20.

I also generally put off getting hasten until after stamina for precisely this reason. No sense attacking faster if I'll have to stop and catch my breath anyway. Of course, if you are going for superspeed as a travel power, that may not be an option.

Finally, you may consider shutting down some toggles. I sometimes see people running sprint 24/7 and resting after every mob. But even some shields can be shut down depending on what you are fighting.

Stamina has never been nor will ever be required, and I challenge anyone who disagrees to explain how I got six characters to level 50 without it. Going by without Stamina, be it in the low levels or in the upper levels, is not only possible, but not all that difficult with just slotting choices and a wee bit of research. It's not just a matter of throwing endurance reduction at powers, it's a matter of knowing your efficiencies.

DPE is, to my eyes, the MOST important aspect when it comes to this. That's Damage Per Endurance (point) for those taking notes. Examine the DPE of your powers, find out which are the most efficient and use them the most, avoiding the ones that aren't. Cone powers are typically less efficient than single-target attacks, requiring that you hit at least two or three people for them to break even, and AoEs are even worse, requiring four or five people. Some powers, like Flairs, have higher than normal efficiency, and some, like Follow Up, have a much lower efficiency. Between that and DPA - Damage Per (second of) Activation - are keys to making an efficient build. When you pick a specific attack chain, be mindful of its burst cost and be mindful of its efficiency, and you will be just fine.

That, and use Rest. It's what it's for. I'd be in favour of dropping its recharge even more, just for the record.

I am not in favour of doing anything to "tide you over" until Stamina. Those levels are designed to teach you efficiency, teach you which powers you really ought to use and teach you to not expect "perpetual motion" under all circumstances. I really wish more players would do that, instead of grasping for Stamina.

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Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

A reduction in the recharge of Rest would be nice, across the board. The silly thing is that you need it the most at lower levels, and its recharge is arguably slower then. By the end levels, you rarely, if ever, need it.

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Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

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Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

Stamina is the price you pay if you want to pay like a non stop spaz.

It's part of the balance.

You get picky about attacks and slot for reduction you don't need stamina.

Even Brock Sampson doesn't get to go kill mode as long as we do with stamina.

Something else that would be nice is if Rest could take Health and Endurance Modification IO sets like how Run can take Running and Jumping sets and I think Brawl can take Melee sets.

Uh... Rest CAN.

For sets bonuses and uniques, duh!