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

[QUOTE=Lxndr;3855054
But that long wasteland between 32 and 35, and 35 and 38... (and further into the 40s)[/QUOTE]

I've had a handful of toons stall out in the 30s and 40s (and only two fifties to my name too), so what I have to say may not count for much but the new slots are always a blessing for me.

Once I'm in the 40s, if all goes well with the epic power set I choose, that just makes it all the more fun. For instance, my name-sake stalker took Ghost Widow for his patron and Shadow Meld and that cool-looking hold (*looks it up* Soul Storm, right?) have actually made a real diff in game play for him when he's solo.

I look forward to each level. Its nice to have new powers but getting them slotted improves them.

My level 38 dom is level-pacted to the alt of a friend who plays about two hours a month. The "long dark teatime of the thirties" doesn't begin to describe that grind.

For me its not the entire 30s - at 35 Storyarc rewards double, and they just keep rising allowing you to solo as well as an average team (one that clears stuff well, but takes forever in between missions - your mission may as well be to park at the auction house). However, 30-35 is pretty tough solo - mobs aren't giving you as much as before (as a proportion) and storyarcs dont give much either. Plus, after 35 you can go on MotherShip Raids without feeling like a sponge (oh, and the Vanguard Arcs give you HUGE completion bonuses).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shubbie Im very good at taking a problem and making it worse.

I love slot levels... they generally make the last power I picked actually worth using. Picking up a cool heavy hitting attack is nice, but actually getting to use it at something approaching full power is better.

Even after XP smoothing I feel like the 30's are too slow. It's probably just mental as I'm actually pretty sure the 40's are slower. There are more good, long, rewarding arcs in the 40+ game, though, with great bonus XP at the end and your powers are all getting very well fleshed out... 40+ the character really starts playing like it "should" so seems to go faster perception-ally for me.

Pre level 20, I'm always looking forward to new powers. After lvl 20 I'm always begging for more slots and a power pick seems totally 'meh' until I have some slots to spend on it.. I can't count the number of builds I have where I'd gladly give away a power pick or 3 for more slots...

I never noticed there is a slowdown at all. I remember when the xp smoothing happened and I played a bunch of my alts just to see and I couldn't tell any changes at any level. Still can't.

Of course, I'm probably the worst person for this because most of the time I don't notice levelling. From time to time I show up at a trainer and go "hey I should level... Wow I have 7 levels stored up, cool" And I get a big chunk of powers and slots all in one go.

I dunno about you all, but I play to have fun. I don't give a crap about what level my character is, I don't have making it to 50 as a goal, I don't make "end game builds" I don't stay on SOs until 50 then start IOing out. I just play and enjoy the game. If I'm not having fun right then and there, I log out and do something else or change characters or something.

And really, if you're having fun, what do you care if you level or not? Are you in a race with someone to get to 50 first? As far as I can tell, that race was won 7 years ago. Enjoy the ride.

Edit: for the record, I enjoy slot levels more than power levels at all points past about level 6.

I'll admit, 50 is not a goal of mine. It was, once, when I needed to hit it to play Khledians. (yay more alts)

49 might be a goal.. because that's my last new power. But I started in issue 0, and '40' is still embedded in my head as the 'last level.'

Now that I've played around with the Incarnate system, I can't say that 50 will ever be a goal of mine again.

Option #1: PL MEH!

I've PL'd, self-PL'd and been PL'd a bunch. It gets you through the worst levels to, well, whatever level you want to be. Sometimes, I just want to get to SOs or I'm just looking for something to bridge the gap between bank missions if I'm going for that accolade. Most of the time, I want to be 50, so I can get shards, easily complete those defeat badges and get my full build in place. I can pick up all the TFs anytime and the arcs through Ouro, so there's little drawback to starting at the end.

Option #2: Avoid opponents that you hate...

Nothing worse than getting torn to pieces by an enemy type that is tailor made to beat your character. Slogging through the 20s, 30s or 40s under those conditions is just no fun. Run arcs you like against opponents that are at least interesting to you and that don't debuff you to uselessness or otherwise bypass what defenses you've managed to cobble together.

Option #3: Get the most out of it...

If I am doing a "pure" run to 50, then I'll tend to run TFs and tips almost exclusively. This maximizes the benefits of slogging through content. It helps to see another 100 or so merits thrown in with each level, along with a couple a-merits. By the time you hit 50, you'll be able to afford a Glad Armor proc easy off a-merits alone. That's ~3B in your pocket or 3% global defense out of one slot - your choice.

Option #4: Don't wait til 50 to fully slot...

Despite all the shiny new endgame content, it's nice to be able to handle the little stuff when the WST rolls around or if you just feel like hitting one of the lower-level arcs or TFs. Though I've been a max-level IO adherent up until recently, I plan to slot L33 IOs and PVP & Purple IOs in my new builds as I can from here on out. I may even change that to L28. This will make all those slots that much more important, too.

Honestly, I'd be happy if levels took 2-3 times as long, and if they just gave me a power AND slots.

Of course that'd make the "level cap" 24?