20ish Questions

Overall Hamios still provide better bonuses but since there are lovely set bonuses which people build for yes, IOs are better.
Correct, a set bonus is for putting X of Y into a single power. Some sets have only 3 pieces others have up to 6.
I think you're asking if there are customizable choices unlockable for shields, yes there are.
Yes you can still get those badges Yes there is, while your enhancemnets will be weakened they still take effect Shivans are from Bloody Bay, Nukes from Warburg, Heavies are from the RWZ

Click the powers tab on your powers tray on the top left it should say 'combat attributes' click it. this will bring up the massive window with everything about your character. you can monitor up to 10 of these at once without this window just right click and select monitor XXX where XXX is what you want monitored.
No problem
Paragon Wiki can answer most if not all questions you have regarding how or what. As to comparisons you're better off asking players.

There are a (very) few things that Hami-os still cover that IOs don't. However, IOs open up a lot of possibilities. 35+, the generic IOs (damage, etc.) are stronger than SOs, and of course don't expire. Set IOs, even when not of the same set, can be mix-and-matched to be stronger than the same attributes of SOs. (Used to have a guide bookmarked for it - search player guides for "cheapskate," think you'll find it.)

Yes to a set. No to them always being a set of 6. They can be from 3-6 enhancements. And you can only fit one of a certain type in a slot (for instance, Crushing Impact Dam/Acc can be the ONLY Crushing Impact Dam/Acc in the power. You can put the others from Crushing Impact in, or, say, a Mako's Bite Dam/Acc in there - the second would be an example of "frankenslotting.")

Yes. See the wiki, "weapon customization" I believe.

Possible to get them still, yes. Right now, everyone's basicallly SK'd to whoever has the star (or ex'd beneath them) - just as a quick and dirty explanation.

Yes, but reduced IIRC.
Shivans - Zone "minigame" in Siren's Call. 5 use pet.
Nukes - "minigame" from Warburg. Both are PVP zones.
Relatively easy to get, as the PVP zones aren't exactly active. I have some explanation (again, see sig) in the PVE'ers PVP guide.
You're going to love my signature. Mini guide to combat attributes moniotor.

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Bloody Bay, Bill

Yes and no. They tend to work very well together, actually, depending on what exactly you want to enhance.

Set bonuses are for slotting more than one of an IO from one set in a single power. Not all sets have 6 different enhancements--the travel ones, for example, only have 3 each, and many different sets only have 4 or 5.

Additionally, only one of each enhancement from a set can be slotted into a single power, so you can not slot 6 Accuracy/Damage IOs over and over again.

There's at least an unlockable Roman one and an unlockable Vanguard one that are available at level 35+.

It works better now, in that everyone on a team is roped to the leader or mission holder. You can now gain experience while exemplared, and you maintain access to any powers you've earned at up to 5 levels above the level you are currently exemped to.

And yes, the team leader will still earn sidekicking badges.

Yes, there is still a benefit, but the further you exemplar down below your original enhancement level, the less effective that benefit is. I believe you start to lose effectiveness with any enhancements above level 30. You will also lose any set bonuses once you go three levels below the level of those enhancements until you return to your normal level.

FYI, I almost never get hit when exemplaring my Katana/SR Scrapper or Stalker, despite not having the set bonuses.

Shivans are temporary powers earned by doing the zone mission in the Bloody Bay PVP zone. For Heroes, the zone is accessible through Skyway City. For Villains, it's accessible through Cap au Diable. Basically, you have to use a temporary power to drill core samples from 6 meteors, then take them to one of the many processing stations in the zone, defeat the 8 automated guns around said station, click the computer inside, then return to the starting contact to earn the temporary power. Your reward is a set of 5 Elite Boss class pet that each last 5 minutes and have a lot of -Regen attacks, making them exceptional for fighting end-game opponents.

Nukes are available in the Warburg PVP zone. To earn them, go into the tunnels below the city and find a scientist held hostage by monsters. Once you have freed him/her, you will be asked to lead him/her back to their lab; doing so earns you a piece of a missile launch code. Once you have 3 pieces, you can choose one of the three launch computers in the underground tunnels (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical) and take the final key to the surface to launch the missile. Doing so earns you one of the three nuke types as a single-use temporary power, with Bio and Chem being highly favored for raid encounters as they will either buff all players in your vicinity (Bio) or debuff every enemy (Chem). The straight nuke is a massive AoE damage power that can be handy, but is rarely requested on raids.

There are two types of Heavies. One is earnable by participating in the Rikti Mothership raid in the Rikti War Zone or some other means of collecting Vanguard Merits (level 35+ only) and trading in 250 for the temporary power at one of the reward stations in the base. The other is the Recluse's Victory Heavy, which is earnable through participating in the PVP zone event; this tends to require a lot of PVP action, so if that's not your cup of tea, then stick with the RWZ variety.

Above the tray that has all your power icons in it should be a tab called "Powers." Bring this up, and at the top of that window will be a link that says "Combat Attributes." This link will display a window that shows numerical values for all your passive attributes.

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

This. Above all. This.

My favorites:


Vanguard Shield & Sword, earned in Rikti War Zone (purchased with vanguard merits -- which are best earned during a mothership raid)



Rularuu shield & sword, earned in the Shadow Shard by defeating 100 Overseer bosses. (Or complete a Shadow Shard TF, or one of several villain story arcs).



My absolute favorite, the Romulous nictus shield & sword, obtained by completing the Imperious Task Force in Cimerora twice.

Actually, it's for defeating Nictus Romulus 5 times. Since some people still separate Romulus from the Nictus and kill them separately, it's possible to succeed with only one Rommie kill, meaning that you'd have to do 5 ITFs to get the sword and shield. And if you manage to get some Rommie kills, but not complete the TF, you will still eventually get them, even if you never complete the TF.

And of course only the Nictus Romulus in the last mission counts, not the non-Nictus version from the third mission.

Gah. Knew that. Had Siren's in mind from a prior discussion.

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