"new" iTrials and incarnate powers

I got about 8 or 9 toons to +3 by doing BAF and LAM. Then due to real life stuff, I had to take a break from trials for a while. This was right when UG came out. So other than BAF/LAM, I've successfully completed the Keyes a couple times (back when it was hard), and I attempted UG one time, which I wasn't able to finish.

I'm expecting to have more time in the near future, so I want to try the newer trials. Any thoughts on which ones are the most fun and most rewarding at this point? Are any so horrible that they should be avoided completely?

Also, I have extensive experience with the original incarnate powers, but none with the newer ones (vorpal, etc). How do they compare? Basically, are any of them better than what was available originally?

Thanks!

The newer itrials, like the older ones, needed a period of adjustment. Time for players to test them a few times, learn the tricks, discover what works for them and what doesn't. Time for leaders to make binds with accurate instructions. TPN and MoM are pretty simple now and I do not think I have failed either since the first week they went live. UG trials, non-badge runs, take roughly 30-40 minutes to complete (Before it was an hour).

UG awards 60 bonus threads after defeating the Lichen Infested Warwalker; TPN awards 60 bonus threads after defeating Maelstrom the second time. The UG guarantees a Rare or VR reward table as long as you are participating in the trial from start to finish (I believe disconnects can ruin that).

I prefer TPN over MoM. MoM is just like 5 straight AV battles, each with a small trick. Battle 1, avoid psychic burn patches; battle 2, getting EotS to AV; battle 3, defeat AV while protecting/healing Aurora; battle 4, beat AV 3 times before she reaches the well; battle 5, defeat AV within 3 mins. TPN seems to require more teamwork which I enjoy.

I think I'm rambling... There is no trial that is so horrible that it should be avoided. Just read the guides and follow instructions set by the league leader and I know you'll do great in all. Some of it will be confusing but when you do the itrials, it will make sense.

UG: http://na.cityofheroes.com/en/news/g...ound_guide.php
TPN: http://eu.cityofheroes.com/uk/news/g...mpus_guide.php
MoM: http://eu.cityofheroes.com/uk/news/g...yhem_guide.php

Vorpal Judgement can be good if you need the temporary +defense but I would sooner go with any of the others if that is not the case. Incandescence Destiny, I have not found a worthwhile use that would make me choose it over the others.

Among Interface, Reactive is still a solid choice but I have heard good things about Degenerative (-Max hp debuff/minor toxic damage). All the new ones has a damage secondary effect. Some minor; some moderate (I believe some minor damage powers got a 30% damage buff recently). I think it falls down to what you would like for the primary effect (Immobilize, confuse, end debuff etc). And I am still rambling...

My Trial Preferences

BAF is the easiest and perhaps the fastest. It isn't a bad idea to do it once in a while for the Empyrean merit, if nothing else. But it isn't very interesting IMO, which is the down side for me.

I prefer Keyes over Lambda every time. You get 2 Empyrean merits every 20 hours and, at least according to the wiki, it offers a higher chance of dropping a Rare/Very Rare component over BAF/Lambda. Plus, I find it to be a lot less annoying than Lambda; I absolutely despise the acid/grenades gathering "sabotage" phase.

UG is great if you can spare at least an hour. It requires a league leader who knows what to do at each critical juncture, and a league willing to listen, but if you have that and enough Clarions on hand, it really isn't that hard at all. The vast number of mobs you defeat really bump up your iXP (if you need it) and Thread count. Plus you are guaranteed a Rare or Very Rare drop at the end! And the 60 bonus Threads aren't anything to sneeze at either.

MoM is okay, and I know a lot of folks like it, but I don't like all the gimmicks it throws at you. Plus its rewards are no better than Keyes, which means I'd rather just do Keyes and benefit from the higher chance of the R/VR drop at the end.

TPN is actually a pretty good trial for the rewards you get. Leagues have figured out that it is pretty easy to do if you ignore the citizens/telepathists outside and just do the broadcast terminal runs exclusively. As long as people are on their toes when they get Marked for Death (just break LOS for a few seconds until the mark goes away; a mechanic not much different than being "Targeted" by the UG War Walkers), taking down Maelstrom seems (and has been) pretty straightforward. And again, you get 60 bonus Threads, and 2 Empy merits.

Vorpal Judgement

My main toon has both Pyronic and Vorpal Judgement to tier 4 and I like having the option to choose between smashing damage or fire damage. Other than that, it really just comes down to which secondary effect I want (Pyronic gives Stun, Vorpal gives me +DEF), or which visual treatment I feel like watching for the night.

The main difference in rewards between Keyes and TPN/MoM is that the latter 2 can still be used to get Empyrean Merits after the initial reward on repeat runs.

Thanks a lot for the detailed replies guys!

The last thing I'm wondering about is the new Alpha powers. On all my toons I've gone with either spiritual or cardiac. Would any of the new ones be a better solution than those, or at least on par with them?

My main toon has Spiritual and Musculature. I use Spiritual in the iTrials where having a good recharge time on my attacks seems to serve me better than the damage boost because with Street Justice, I can recycle to combo bonus level 3 that much faster. But in normal game content, I like Musculature because it helps me get through mobs at a rate that makes reaching combo level 3 more than once unnecessary.

My build is so END conscious that I don't need Cardiac or any EndMod boost of any kind. But it really bugs me that I can't take out L50 minions with my tier 4 Judgement. The difference between Judgement damage (roughly 428) and L50 minion HP (436, I think) is just enough to leave them with a sliver of health every time. With Musculature, that problem is readily solved.

I took Resilient on my "Ultimate Survival" Stone tank concept... My "Hold Bot" Ice/Dark Corruptor took Intuition... I've used Agility on a build or two... However, I'm still trying to find a build other than Empathy or Pain Domination where Vigor would actually be useful.

Nothing's coming to me.

Thanks all! Lots of good info.

BAF is basically the easiest Trial, expect to see 9001 BAF teams and an occasional Speed Lambda.

Keyes is no longer hard, some of the kiddies are giving it a try now. I've been recently running it alot on my Stalker, since it's the one time in a team setting that Stalkers can almost feel like a real AT.

UG requires heavy coordination. Let me repeat that: Coordination. From CoX players. Write this one off for eternity, it's pretty much impossible.

I have never seen a MoM team. It is probably more difficult than sleeping, hence why nobody does it.

I've been on one TPN team, and haven't seen many more. The biggest complaint I have is that the story writers and programmers seriously dropped the ball by having Citizens to amazing damage to f***ing INCARNATES. TPN takes your game-world immersion and pile-drives it into the concrete. Also it requires people t not use AoE around Citizens, which is like asking a chimpanzee not to throw poo at you.

So in conclusion? Enjoy your BArFs and LAMes, because nobody does anything else, and probably never will until Paragon Studios invents a system which plays the game for you.

Success or failure of Underground depends almost entirely on power gaming your way around a Mag 20 Confusion aura cast by the end boss. I won't call it difficult or challenging, because if you can do that it really isn't. But I won't give it up a thumbs up either, because on some leagues the only way to win is to purposely fall on your sword so you can go to the hospital for more inspirations mid fight. For this reason, for me personally, it's the worst boss encounter I've experienced in a video game in years. Good news (maybe) is the reason for this is mainly the cheezy Confusion, and many leagues build pre-form themselves to get around it (in theory, I've been on several that failed anyway).

MOM and TPN are the kind of thing I played two or three times and don't feel a desire to touch again for a long time. Play them if you want to try them, but I HIGHLY recommend being level 53 first, especially for MOM. I've had runs where I didn't die one time and others with back to back dying. It's the latter that left an impression on me. Try if you want, but play it a few times before forming an opinion. My first few runs of MO in particular were so easy I thought the trial was simple, but the trial opened a can of auto-hit on me and I got to see the miserable side of it too. YMMV.