Money-Sink Character, AT/Powersets?

I'm looking for a new character - one to put all those millions and billions of influence into.

Being a long-term goal, I'm looking for something that needs, or wants, an overwhelming amount of pure influence invested.

Because of this, I'm asking - what archetype and powersets would you recommend, that really get bang for their buck once you start tossing mass purples and PvP IOs at them?
I'm not looking for something that can become awesome cheaply - consider this a project with no budget concerns whatsoever - but rather something that really feels every last bit of those five (or more...?) purple sets, something that just keeps getting more and more effective as the overpriced enhancements keep piling up.

My thoughts so far are that perhaps something with awesome buffs to permanentise might be suitable - /Time/, a Dominator or a Peacebringer? - or perhaps some AoE fiend with long-recharge powers like a crashless nuke Corrupter or a Crabstermind... Though there's also the SMASHitude of something like a super-solid Brute or Scrapper... well, to sum it up, I'm lost.

Please offer your suggestions.

Lots of money to create an awesome character that can stand up to anything?

An Elec/SS Tanker. Doesn't need purples or a lot of PvP IOs, but spending a ton of money on it can get it to the S/L Defense softcap, the S/L/E Resistance cap, and has a decent amount of inherent recharge and +dmg for offense.

I think that Elec Armor benefits hugely for set IOs, and Kinetic Combat's are on the expensive side right now.

Hmm... I was looking more towards the 'tens of billions' range, which may be difficult to reach without going crazy on purples and PvP IOs - and Tanker wasn't even on my map to begin with, but I'll certainly have a look at that set combination, see what I can come up with.

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.952
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 50 Magic Dominator
Primary Power Set: Electric Control
Secondary Power Set: Psionic Assault
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Tesla Cage -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(3), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(3), BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(5)
Level 1: Psionic Dart -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(7), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(7), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9)
Level 2: Chain Fences -- GravAnch-Immob(A), GravAnch-Immob/Rchg(9), GravAnch-Acc/Immob/Rchg(11), GravAnch-Acc/Rchg(11), GravAnch-Hold%(13)
Level 4: Mind Probe -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(13), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(15), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15)
Level 6: Jolting Chain -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(17), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(19), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(19), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(21), Dev'n-Hold%(21)
Level 8: Conductive Aura -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(23), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(23)
Level 10: Mental Blast -- Apoc-Dmg(A), Apoc-Dmg/Rchg(25), Apoc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), Apoc-Acc/Rchg(27), Apoc-Dmg/EndRdx(29)
Level 12: Telekinetic Thrust -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(29), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(31), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31)
Level 14: Static Field -- FtnHyp-Sleep(A), FtnHyp-Sleep/Rchg(33), FtnHyp-Acc/Sleep/Rchg(33), FtnHyp-Acc/Rchg(33), FtnHyp-Sleep/EndRdx(34)
Level 16: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(34), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 18: Paralyzing Blast -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(37), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(37), BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(37)
Level 20: Drain Psyche -- Theft-Heal/Rchg(A), Theft-Acc/Heal(25), Theft-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(36), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 22: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 24: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(39)
Level 26: Synaptic Overload -- CoPers-Conf(A), CoPers-Conf/Rchg(40), CoPers-Acc/Conf/Rchg(40), CoPers-Acc/Rchg(40), CoPers-Conf%(42)
Level 28: Subdue -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(42), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(42), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(43), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43)
Level 30: Psychic Scream -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(43), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(45), Posi-Dmg/Rng(45), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45)
Level 32: Gremlins -- Acc-I(A)
Level 35: Psionic Lance -- Dev'n-Acc/Dmg(A), Dev'n-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Dev'n-Dmg/Rchg(36)
Level 38: Psychic Shockwave -- Armgdn-Dmg(A), Armgdn-Dmg/Rchg(46), Armgdn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), Armgdn-Acc/Rchg(48), Armgdn-Dmg/EndRdx(48)
Level 41: Scorpion Shield -- LkGmblr-Def(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(46), LkGmblr-Rchg+(46)
Level 44: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)
Level 47: Tough -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A)
Level 49: Weave -- LkGmblr-Def(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(50), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50), Krma-ResKB(50)
Level 0: Born In Battle
Level 0: High Pain Threshold
Level 0: Invader
Level 0: Marshal
Level 50: Musculature Total Core Revamp
Level 50: Reactive Total Radial Conversion
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(17), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(31), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Domination
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- RgnTis-Regen+(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A)

PUT THAT IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT :P

Not my build, just one I had reffered to me in a post before.

I had a goal similar to your own. Here's what I came up with: http://i.imgur.com/tFoPO.jpg

43.95% s/l defense, 3.50 eps recovery and with constant ageless usage I just barely squeak by on endurance when maintaining single target dps, musculature and reactive for even more damage, full health at any time and for any reason, vengeance to trivialize incarnate stuff with the help of my lovely assistant PuG Teammate, and a functional hold for usefulness on LG and elsewhere. Oooh, and complete invisibility for that velvety smooth stealth feeling.

The real reason I went MA/DA though was because I couldn't remember ever seeing one and certainly not one done up all pretty-like. Turns out it's a great combo, especially with a little bit of investment. My suggestion to you is to come up with something similarly weird. Sure a purpled SS/FA is good, but who cares? It's been done and nobody is impressed anymore.

Building an expensive build isn't all that hard. Just fit in 5 purple sets and you will have an expensive build. Actually I think you can fit in 7 purple sets..

Need.. Melee, Hold, Stun, Immob, PBAOE, AOE that's for the purples with the recovery bonuses/acc bonuses

Pet, Ranged are for the regeneration/imp damage sets

Take 5 of them to 5 slots for the bonus recharge. Take 2 of them to 4 slots for the bonus damage or the bonus acc (would take the pet/ranged to 4 slots for the bonus damage myself, and then use the other 2 enhancers in another pet power to futher improve regeneration rates).

That leaves a lot of other avenues opened for building up other aspects of your character.

My Grav/Kin/Primal controller is a multibillion inf build.. though you can easily take blasters, defenders, corruptors and such into the multibillion inf builds as well.

Perhaps an Elec/Energy/Mace Blaster. Ranged, PBAOE, AOE, Hold, Pet in the primary. Stuns, melee, utility powers in the secondary. AOE immob, S/L/E def shield, addition aoe cone attack and second pet power. It offers a bit of everything and will get better with incarnates as well as purple recipes/pvp IOs.

I have a few very expensive builds and not ones where you just throw a bunch of purples at it either.

Here are my pics Electric armor - Its a set that once you IO it out it becomes a beast. Mine is a elec/elec brute and getting just the right build that lets you softcap S/L, high resistance, lots of + recharge, HP/regen as well. To do this you need to put the highest set bonus that you can, lots of kinetic combats, purple sets, and PVP IO's.

Next would either be a Dominator or Warshade, both crave recharge first then getting softcap to S/L always can always help. Doing this will change them both dramatically and can be expensive, but both sets have a lot of places where you can slot some cheap purple sets.

Also an Illusion/Cold Controller would probably be an awesome character to invest massive amounts of inf into.

Make an ill/rad/psi controller with perma phantom army and perma indomitable will!

Expense List:

Purple Sets:
Hold
Confuse
Ranged Damage
Targeted AOE damage
2 pieces of the pet set

LotG: x5

basilisk's gaze set 4pc

decimation 5pc

Enzyme hammi's x3

Can toss in pvp heal set x5 for radiation aura and also throw in the pvp uniques for lawls

And that's just off the top of my head! Should run you up a bit of a tab

Dominator for sure. On the whole, the AT stands to gain the most from high-recharge builds. With judicious use of purples, PvP's, and LOTG's, you can maintain permadom while exemplaring as low as level 25. The primary sets have a lot of nice control powers on long recharge timers. Many of the secondary sets have attack powers with longer recharge times than you find in other AT's, so your attack chains just continue to improve dps-wise as you add more recharge bonuses.

How come no one said SS/Fire Brute yet? There are people MoITF'ing and soloing the LRSF with them on high end builds. Besides that I'd go for a controller, they are the main GM soloers from what I see in the forums (Robots/Traps MM also trivialize the game but they don't even need a very expensive build for that unlike say, an Ill/Cold or /Rad troller)

I said SS/FA, as in "SS/FA is tedious dreck."

Wow, amazing. I just looked at the brute forum and there are only three threads on page one with SS/FA in the title. There are way more than three threads actually about SS/FA, but this has to be the lowest SS/FA index all year.

I appreciate the comments so far, and I've made a sort-of-decision: Dominator it is! I'm pretty attracted by Plant/ and Elec/ both, and /Psi is very attractive with that Drain Psyche, which might even offer the kind of regen shenanigans needed to take down hard targets easily. Then again, Seismic Smash seems to make stacking holds a breeze, and Blaze is also lovely... not to mention the other primaries. And secondaries. Anyway, I'll feel my way around the archetype for a bit until I find something I can stick with in the long run. Thanks.

I chose a Mind/Fire Dom, on the theory that breadth of solo ability is more important than speed. It ain't gonna win any awards for farming speed or single-target DPS (though it's good at both), but the build has minimal situational weaknesses.

Mag 6 controls mean that most anything I fight doesn't fight back. (And Mind's selection of control types is about as diverse as they come, so you're unlikely to come up against opposition that negates all of them.) Anything that the controls miss has to hit me through soft-capped ranged defense and ~50% S/L RES. Most anything with a powerful buff/debuff ability can be confused to my side.

Ill/Rad or Ill/Cold is probably the king, but Mind/Fire's about as close as you can get without relying on silly looking phantom pets.

Also, INV/SS Tanker with soft-capped S/L/E/N and 32% PSI DEF. That one's pretty good too. Those are my two most expensive builds, but really anything can be made ridiculous with equally ridiculous investment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iggy_Kamakaze Nice build

I would have gone with a regen Scrapper or Brute...
They beenfit from recharge more than any other character and they benefit more from defense than any other character. They scream for cash.

Ill/Cold Controller. Great debuffs and team buffs. Needs tons of recharge for perma-PA. Arguably the most powerful character in the game - if you can afford it.

(Earth, Fire, Mind, Plant)/Fire Dominator. Unbelievable control and great damage. Needs tons of recharge for perma-Dom. Earth/Fire and Mind/Fire just happen to be nice PVP choices, too, so you could drop a bunch of inf on an alternate build for either of those.

Crab pet build. They literally do it all. Pets, damage, range, AOEs, buffs, debuffs, defense, resistance, mez protection... even some soft control with the web grenade stuff. Loads of opportunities to vaporize inf.

DM/Invuln/Soul Brute. Definitely pays off with investment. You can softcap S/L/E/N/F/C, get a ton of +HP from permanent Dull Pain, and you've got a self-heal cycling constantly through your attack chain.

Ridiculous amounts of inf, you say?

Fire / fire / fire dom with perma-hasten

You'll eventually end up with a blender that walks an interesting razor's edge of being insanely over-powered and squishy -- you have to be situationally aware to make sure that everything that can be mezzed is mezzed.

And what makes fire / fire / fire so expensive? There's not much cheaping out -- no sleep sets, no confuse sets. No, you're mainlining some of the most expensive IOs in the game to reach perma-Hasten.

Another vote for Ill/Cold. Powerful on SOs, pure cheatyface hax nonsense with a high end IO build.

The most money I've spent is on my EM/SD scrapper, which softcaps defense while adding massive recharge... four purple damage IO sets, one set Panacea, Glad Armor 3% defense, around 5 Enzymes, 5 LotG, 4 x Basilisk Gaze... pretty much across the board expensive stuff. And fun to play.