New 50! How to trick out?

I (finally) have my new 50*, a KM/WP Scrapper Villain. How do I get him into the incarnate stuff? Conventional Wisdom says "ITF", but my online availability is pretty limited, and there doesn't appear to be any reliable way to find/join an ITF.

I was able to drop into a BAF and LAM last night and that made some progress, but I'd love to fill the Alpha slot and get the level shift as intended.

If I post on here with "ITF on XXXX Night", can I find someone willing to run it an enough people to participate? I've mainly done solo content, so I'm very limited on my experience regarding TFs and the like.

* = He's my 3rd 50, but the first that I've tricked out with sets and I've not really teamed with the others aside from a few BAFs on my Brute, Murderous Mime.

Given what you're telling us - I'm not sure why you would be able to fit a BAF in, and not an ITF.

I am pretty sure that my thought process is not with the majority.

But, I'll tell you what I think, well, because you asked.

There are teams capable of finishing an itf in well under 30 minutes. Honestly, it takes almost that long to get a BAF formed, except in peak times. Even so, the fastest I've ever formed one is about 10 minutes, with all the switching and zoning and such.

There are those who love to do itf as a "shard run" - meaning anything from kill all, to kill most or kill what's in the way. They fail to realize that they could almost the same number of baddies by doing a different task force, and then another within the same time frame of one kill all ITF.
(team composition would, of course, make the accuracy of the aforementioned statement vary) - Moreover, by doing Kahn, Itf, Statesman and Lady Grey Tf speed style, they will have had the option of choosing an incarnate component in lieu of merits. If shards are indeed the goal, this is the smarter way, I think.

Kahn tf - 20 minutes with poor debuff
Itf - 15, maybe 20 minutes.
Statesman - 20 minutes, - maybe 30, again, depends on teams experience
LGtf - also about 20-30 minutes.

A kill most itf - could be as short as 45 minutes - but that same team could also rip through the 4 tfs mentioned speed style and come away with far more salvage.



The whole point behind doing the incarnate trials is not really for threads - not directly - but for incarnate salvage - the reward table at the end.

The salvage, as I'm sure you've learned by now, comes in 4 classes:
Common, uncommon, rare and very rare.
As they are called - for most of my toons, the rares and very rares are just that - rare and very rare. In my mind, it is far easier to do 4 weekly tfs and combine shards to make that tier 4 alpha than to use rares and very rares.
It is my playstyle to make the most of my time when I can. So, I don't take the time to do a BAF or LAM unless I'm pretty sure of success. That's why I've always waited until my toons were level shifted with a t-4 alpha. I got into that habit before the iTrials came along. I still do it that way. Fighting +4's is not my idea of a fun time. +3 is plenty hard enough with the scaredy cat way I play.


Yet, given your difficulty and solo nature, I don't think any of that is going to suit your style of play. You may be better off waiting on the incarnate solo path.

However, should you find yourself making time for BAFs and LAMs
here's my priority:

Level Shift.

Forget about Judment, forget about interface. The incarnate path for best results begins with Lore and Destiny.

Now, I already can hear some folks tell me -"Hey, Ukase! Judgement and Interface unlock first!"
Yes, they do. And I say, "so?"
Save your threads and salvage, don't break down you astrals or emps until you get your first piece or rare salvage.
You can only get level shifted through tier 3, which requires a rare plus a couple of

7 commons = 140 threads
1 uncommon = 60 threads
1 rare = Get a drop - don't use 340 threads to make this, and don't use 8 emp merits(160 threads) unless you have so many threads that you can craft all the common components needed to make everything tier 4. Otherwise, you're wasting your resources. (unless you're just in a big hurry to make a Clarion for the UGT - shameless plug)

Usually, by the time you get a rare drop, at least one slot is unlocked. I would still create/craft nothing, except items for the Destiny. It is the most useful for trials. Lore pets are only useful 5 minutes out of 20.

Also, it gives you a level shift. Same with the Lore.

So, for me, in order, I create Destiny, Lore, Judgement and Interface.
Once I get the destiny and lore to tier 3 - I'm 50+3, now I work on the other stuff.

Then, it's just a matter of grinding away.

Oh, let your leader know through a tell if it's your first time on a trial - that way he/she can take measures to inform you as best they can on what's expected.

You may also wish to take a look at the player help section and review the guides on the other trials, UGT, MoM, Keyes, TPN. They give odds of better salvage - and in my mind, a lot more interesting than the other two - but you may not be there yet. (I've done a bunch, it gets dull)

Hope that wasn't too much - I tend to overthink things.

Ditto that. I hardly ever even build a Judgement or Interface until after Destiny and Lore are slotted to T3. Level shifts are highest priority.

As far as when and how to join incarnate-supportive stuff, there's a lot of luck to it, honestly. There are only a few regular, predictable trial runs. Beyond that, there's usually a decent amount of pop-up trial activity afternoons, evenings, and especially weekends. Finding it is mostly a matter of popping into RWZ to see if a group is gathering, and/or watching the global channels.

It's easier if you're a person who is familiar with the trials and willing to lead them, because sometimes there's a lot of folks ready to form up around a leader. Not everyone enjoys the leader role though, and some days are simply quiet. Either way, it's just a matter of time.

As a very broad statement, you may wish to avoid Underground, TPN, and MoMayhem until you have at least the Alpha level shift. Those trials have some powerful opposition that can trivially flatten an unshifted character. However, sometimes you luck into a strong league of shifted characters who don't mind bringing along a few folks hoping for good IXP. Trials like UGT and Mayhem will punish a league with too many unshifted characters, though.

If the MSR kills your card, I'm sad, because it used to kill mine - and so did the UGT. And the UGT was way worse for me than the MSR ever was. Even with a smaller league.

We ran a UGT just now and had 4 that didn't even have a level shift. They felt it, I'm sure, despite pretty good buffs.

In the higher trials, level shifts are important- but since I know you can read, just let me know, you're more than welcome to tag along. Historically, those that ask questions on the forums are far more likely to be literate -which is a necessity to succeed in incarnate trials, I'd say.

The only time when it gets to be a problem is when the same people are bringing their unshifted toons and never bring the ones that have the strength we need. There have been times when I had to cancel a UGT because we just didn't have enough people that were level shifted. 4 or 5 is about as many as we can handle and still be sure of success.

And, it's the ones that aren't level shifted today that will help my unlevel shifted empath out tomorrow.

Now I haven't been online at nights (mainly due to work/rl stuff) but I will agree with what Ukase/FCM have said already.

The lvl 50 TFs/SFs are the ones that give you the components needed to craft the powers/abilities in the Alpha slot.

That means, ITFs, LGTFs, STF, LRSF, Khan and Barracuda (as well as the MSRs in RWZ) all give a specific component.

So if you can get an ITF going, try the others; never know


Edit:


Oh and congrats on the 50!


Also you can look at this site below:

http://goingrogue.na.cityofheroes.co...lpha-slot.html

At the bottom of the page it shows what TF/SF gives which component (as well as the alpha slot itself)....although it's old since it still has only the first 4 Alpha abilities/powers there but you get the idea.

Speaking only for myself, I have few reservations about bringing an unshifted character to most of the trials, because on the balance I also frequently bring my 50+3s. Sometimes I help carry the league, sometimes the league carries me. It's all in the balance.

I take the same approach to the MSR. Some weeks, I bring an incarnate 50 to help the raid go smoothly. Other weeks, I bring a 30ish looking for XPs.

That's with all the obvious caveats: as long as there are enough 50s/shifts/clarions/etc for the trial to go smoothly. A given league is affected by the mix of level shifts and incarnate buffs in addition to the archetypes present. I'm not inclined to be a burden, but I do feel that I (along with many others) have invested enough time and energy to lean on the indulgence of an otherwise-capable league once in a while. So, I certainly don't mind seeing some unshifted folks in the trial as long as our chances of success are still very good.

Ukase has probably the most personal principle of anyone I've seen in that regard. Me, I'm a bit roguish by comparison.

I haven't been around as long as these other guys, and their wisdom and knowledge of the game is unsurpassed so they are always good to grab info from.

For me personally, once i unlock my alpha slot i try and hop on a baf. with just about 1 baf run (depending what drop you get at the end) you can easily slot your 1st tier alpha power. run a couple more and ive quite frequently been able to get my alpha to 3rd tier in 1 or 2 hours, which gives u the +1 lvl shift.
Like the guys said up above, baf and lam's are about the only trials you want to attempt with out the +2 - +3 lvl shifts depending on the team.

Once i get alpha to T3 (Tier 3), i tend to go for interface, cuz with my play style i enjoy the debuffs that are in the majority of them. which i solo alot out side of incarnate trials, so the incarnate +3 is less of a priority to me, unless i just really want a toon to do a UGT or a MoM.

3rd Tier destiny and lore both apply an incarnate level shift, which gives you the +3 factor, which is only used in incarnate trials.


As for KM/WP...that is my personal favorite build. Those are the power sets for my main toon on Liberty, and both are extremely fun sets to play with.
If ya need any help with the build or what not, send me a tell and we can chat it up.

my global is @Karmaa


And Gratz on 50!

*cough*

I tried ice tanking ... could not stand it at any level range, neither low nor bumped to 50 with good equipment on the test server. I dunno what's wrong with me, but whatever it is I can live with it. :P