The Long Dark Tea Time of the 30s...

So, the way I approach the game...

there are two types of levels:

The first are Power Levels. Whenever I get a new power, I'm excited and happy. I can do a new thing! Yay! I love this feeling.

The second are Slot Levels. Whenever I get to one of these, I'm not so excited. I mean slots are nifty and all - and yay, I can improve my new things. But in the end, I'm nourishing a sense of disappointment, because I don't have a new thing to do.

so... once 32 happens, I start looking at that vast wasteland of levels that will only give me slots, before I can get another power, at 35.

And since levelling seems REALLY slow above 30, I just get dejected.

By now, I have a few 32s, one 35, one 38, and thanks to the encouragement of some friends, a 50.

But that long wasteland between 32 and 35, and 35 and 38... (and further into the 40s)

How do you guys handle it? Do slots make you happy?

Sure, powers are nice, and get all the glory, but slots do all the heavy lifting. The thirties are great for fleshing out your toons powers.

Nice Hitchhikers reference though.

Depending on the build, level 30+ powers can really alter a build. I do like the extra slots since inherit Fitness means builds have minimal slotting until then. The 30s are a great time for any WST that you can do.

Run the WST's on a team that isn't speed running it for what's likely to be a levels worth of exp if not more the 1st time you run it.

Above 35 head to Cim and find teams running steamroll/clearmost/what ever your server calls a run that kills everything in the way but doesn't spend an extra 40 min clearing side passages ITF's for great xp.

Head to RWZ and run the entire set of contact arcs from the zone contacts at 40 and up this should get you a few levels depending on what your diff setting is at.

Once you hit 45 I find that alternating between a story arc one day and a STF/ITF/LGTF pick any two combo platter the next day keeps the xp coming in fairly fast and the levels flying by.

I love the 30s. I mainly play characters that get their core powers before level 30, as relying heavily on something that only comes in late bothers me, so my situation at level 30 tends to be most of the powers that I want but few slots between them. This is also where I begin purchasing my final IOs, so the slot levels in the 30s are like a series of little gifts of power strength and set bonuses. The 40s are so much less relaxing, you suddenly have your epic to worry about slotting and the looming incarnate powers trouble your every waking moment. Oh, just me then?

I haven't felt that way about the 30s since XP smoothing. It used to be I'd get bored in the early 30s, abandon, and roll a new alt. I think it was at least a couple years before I actually got one to 50. Now it's not a problem at all.

I don't wait until level 50 to start IO'ing my toons. So for me the wealth of slots in the 30s means I finally start getting my powers slotted up right, and to the point that I start getting meaningful set bonuses. It's different from getting a new power, but seeing my defense/recharge/etc. go up as I slot new IOs with every level is satisfying in its own way. I could see that for those who wait until level 50 to IO those levels could be much less enticing.

i LOVE the 30s because it means i get more slots to flesh out powers that are really need them.

Of course, i tend to play a lot of SS toons, and getting all those slots into FS is just plain old fun.

I actually think in terms of Power Levels and Slot Levels too. I have two characters, both Dominators, stuck in the 30s; one at 34 and another at 32, levels 35 and 38 seem ages away and I don't generally slot IOs until I hit 50 because I have terrible luck with drops and rolls which makes funding IOs difficult and any inf I do get is used to slot up my 50s anyway.

So yeah, I find levels 32-41 to be very arduous and unfulfilling because of the lack of new shinies to play with.

I love the 30s.
Its when I start completing IO sets. I often find the power levels a bit disappointing - picking up say Combat Jumping or Weave at level 35 is often a bit of a non-event. It does of course depend on the power sets.

But even a new cool power is rarely that great until the following slot level when I can 4-slot it.

If I was running on SOs until level 50, I imagine I would find the 30s quite dull.

I actually like those levels because I can finally get some breathing room on slots.

33 often takes me very, very little time, because I've got this shiny new tier 9 power that I can go use, and it'll be that much better when I can put three more slots in it. Time probably passes normally for others, but for me it's Nova Time.

A lot of my characters get stalled in mid-30s when I find out I've seen all of the primary there is to see, and I'm just not into it. My oldest character, a fire/fire blaster, is stuck there. If I could just get a couple more copies of Fire Ball and Fire Sword Circle, I'd push on for more levels. Hot Feet? Eh.

The 30s are nothing compared to what they once were before XP smoothing. I pretty much breeze through them these days. But back in Issue 6 I thought I'd never get my Scrapper out of the 30s, especially the late 30s. It's never been officially acknowledged, but there was definitely a leveling speed bump in that level range back then. It makes sense when you consider the game originally launched with 40 levels. It was a way to keep people playing a bit longer before maxing out and possibly leaving.

WARNING: I bold names.

I don't make new characters very often, but when I do it generally has a purpose. I create characters that I want to be able to perform certain functions on a predetermined budget. I map my builds out in Mid's ahead of time, almost always making tweaks along the way, and the reward is generally when my goal is reached.

That's not to say that the leveling up process can't be enjoyable. I basically have two formulas for this...

-If I decide to play on my big server (Virtue) which does not happen very often, I have full teams in Praetoria, and TF's/Tip teams pretty much at all times to look forward to. Never a dull moment!

-If I make a new character on my home server (Protector) it's honestly, probably either because a friend offered to help me level that new awesome build I just made (and then I usually delete it once it gets to 20... Hope you're not watching!)

Or for the sake of just playing with members of the community for designated events.

If it's a character that I really think I'll get a lot of mileage out of, I tend to level it on my own, getting a feel for everything, etc. and teaming occasionally.


Either way, I enjoy each level because if it's a character I'm concerned about getting something out of, every step is a step closer.... And if it's a character I'm just playing for the lulz, well I'm probably going to delete it anyways...


All that said, there's nothing like playing a character that you really love to 50. Every level up is a progression, and once you hit 50 you can start progressing in even more exciting ways through IO's, Accolades, and Incarnates as you see fit. I know that when I love a character, I am proud of its' journey and its' potential and I keep both in mind throughout the entire ride.

I love hitting that level range, because I finally start getting three slots per level. Powers are great and all, but they need slots, and until the 30s, there aren't enough available for all the powers obtained by that point. I finally feel like my character starts to become powerful in the 30s. It's not a long, dark time for me. It's when light at the end of the tunnel starts to show a clear opening beyond which I can see blue sky and clouds.

I've never really hit that kind of problem with the 30s—at least not consciously. In fact, I tend to look forward to being able to slot out all the powers I've gotten. Generally speaking, the 30s tend to fly by pretty quickly if you run on TFs and large teams.

Money for slotting hasn't really been a concern since I've started marketeering. There are certain recipe sets that are cheap to buy and craft that sell crafted for several times as much as they cost to make—Crushing Impact, for instance. Once you've crafted and sold a couple dozen of those, you're sitting pretty for anything short of purples; if you need more cash, just craft and sell a few more.