Do you factor in Inspirations when working out a build?

I was working on a build in Mids the other day and discussing with a friend and we worked out we could get a couple of abilities to the soft cap quite nicely - but others would be way down.

An alternate slotting gave a far more balanced outcome across most of the relevant Defence types, but was below the cap on all of them but not by much.

After some trial and error we both came to the conclusion that the balanced build was undoubtedly the best all round, but not quite there. But it occurred to us that popping a small purple would get us very very near to the cap and a medium/large would take the build well over it.

There was also enough resistance in the build that one small purple and one med orange would give a very well balanced and very tough all round character that could stick around in a hot zone for quite a while.

That was something I'd not considered before - I normally just go for what Mids tells me and that's it. But then, that's silly, right? I mean, inspirations are there to be chomped, it's their purpose in life and if I can leverage enough balance that one small insp is going to change my life, that's good right?

Except, what happens when I don't have one and I'm getting my backside handed to me on a shiny silver platter courtesy of whoknowswhatnastynesswrappedupintheformofanAV?

Even if I know the bind to combine three insps into one and pop it, there's no guarantee in a tough fight that I'd have what I need.

So that leaves me torn. In an ideal world, of course I'll build everything to the soft cap and beyond... but that's not really doable in the real world. However in general game play, it's a pretty tempting prospect to just bank some purple insps and keep popping them as required and worry about the boss fights on the rare occasions they happen.

I'm just curious as to how others solve that conundrum

"You got to dig it to dig it, you dig?"
Thelonious Monk

If nothing else, inspirations are why I normally pass on the god-mode powers. A boost to my survivability when I need it, regardless of what powers are recharged, and no messy crash.

Generally, no. I don't trust the RNG enough to keep me in supply.

I'll take the "one purple away from softcap" defense values on a build--especially a layered defenses one--if that's the best option, but I never actually assume I'll be using purples all the time to stay softcapped.

I normally don't think about inspirations when I plan a build but inspiration management is highly important in this game! I always save up several purple, one orange, some green, one yellow and one wakie and breakfree.

I do this with a couple of builds, and it works out nicely. The important thing to remember with these builds is that you won't need to pop a purple in every case. If you are sitting at 32.5% defense, that is still pretty good, and can take aggro well enough that you'll kill any stragglers that come your way before they kill you. It is even better if you have alternate means of mitigation (resistances, mezz, stuff like that), for with those you can take the alpha for the group.

You'll want to be popping purples on those special occasions. Those "Oh no, the tank just floored and now they're all heading to me" kind of occasions. Or when you are fighting an AV with endless spawns that can kill you in one punch, or when you are attacked by an ambush.


Not going to lie, it isn't as good as being softcapped. Still works, though.

Exactly how viable this is depends a lot on the build. Willpower scrappers/brutes shoot for 32.5% defense often, for example, because combined with all the other layered defenses WP has that's plenty for most situations, so you only need to pop purples in exceptional cases. It's also useful for leveling, because I find that my characters often have the firepower to deal with large spawns before they have the durability to withstand them, so I use inspirations to fake my way to the softcap and leverage that firepower. Even if I can't fight enough dudes fast enough for it to be self-sustaining, loading up on purples before entering is generally enough to last at least one whole mission.

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Originally Posted by Scarlet Shocker Except, what happens when I don't have one and I'm getting my backside handed to me on a shiny silver platter courtesy of whoknowswhatnastynesswrappedupintheformofanAV?

Honestly, I just don't find that this happens often enough to be worth mentioning. AVs don't generally show up by surprise, for one thing, and if you blew through all your insps on the way to the AV, you're either playing a much harder game than I am or you have terrible planning abilities ;P There's also lots of tools you can fall back on other than inspirations, like Kinetic Dampeners. If you have the Return to Battle vet power, that's a full set of large insps waiting for when you need it most. It's not perfect, and of course being softcapped without insps is preferable, all else equal, but no build is totally invulnerable, and relying on inspirations isn't much of a vulnerability considering how they rain from the sky.

For builds with good healing, regeneration, damage resistance, debuffing (remember to factor in debuff resistance), and/or crowd control I don't particularly feel the need to softcap and just try to work in what defense I can. If I'm going to be in melee, I like to be at least within 1 luck of the softcap. And if defense is all I have, I try to make sure that at a minimum I can cap easily from teammate defensive auras.
Basically, I have no qualms about relying on insps when I get in over my head but I make sure that I don't need them on a regular basis.

I did a build before that will be softcapped (and a good amount over it for defense debuff) with a small purple. It didn't turn out good however since as soon as purple is run out i felt the constant attacks that %10 difference makes and i find myself running out of insps more than intended during x8 missions and no new one or convertable sets drops (and trying to convert things into one is a pain). Also insps drop my dps as much as some of my support powers (hasten, conserve power etc)

Now if there would be an in game way to get those dual insps regularly than I would think about them when I made a build. They stay 5 min give at least two small insps bonuses in one and they stay when you die but since they require real money to get they are not viable options.

My new character is the first one I have played where I have deliberately tried to not be at the softcap (I had a not softcapped db/wp but that wasn't through lack of trying!).

However I am still planning for 32.5% defence, so will always be 1 small purple away from the softcap, and I have my resistances and a heal on top of that. I also have Shadow Meld as a back up, and Power Surge on top of that!

I think without all the layers of survivability I wouldn't have done it.

I am also planning on chomping on everything that isn't purple (Or blue because I will probably have end issues) as soon as it drops to make sure I don't miss any purples. I won't specifically load up on them though outside of Master Of X runs.

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Originally Posted by Aggelakis PrincessDarkstar: "RAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHH SOMEONE IS *WRONG* ON THE INTERNET!"

I'd be willing to bet almost everyone factors in inspirations, whether they even realize it or not.

If you build to the magical softcap, and you run into enemies with Def Debuff, what to people plan to do? Just abandon the mish? Plan to make 14 trips to the hosp and back? No; they expect in the unusual situations to use a purple.

If you build to have enough end to cover all your toggles and attacks, what happens when you run into enemies with end drain? Do you just expect you end crash and die? No, people plan to pop a blue.

Everyone plans their builds to the best of their ability to handle as many situations as they can, and use inspirations to cover the gaps created by unusual enemy types or a horrible run on the RNG. That's the nature of the game.

I'm sure there may be 3 players out that that build to be perfect for one situation and then only ever farm that one perfect mish, and that actually just close their inspire tray and forget about it, and happily faceplant when the RNG shows them a protracted bout of hate, but those 3 players are just a bit eccentric.

What it comes down to is, how much to you feel comfortable relying on inspires for? For some farmers, it's only to up the DPS. Everything gets converted to reds. For some, it's just to cover the debuffing situations. For some, especially if you don't feel the need to run on x8 at all times, 32.5% def is more than enough for most situations, especially if they also have good res numbers and/or regen or other forms of mitigation. Each players comfort level on that front will be a matter of playstyle and individual taste.

never

The other 2 players I mentioned with the closed inspiration tray will be along in a bit. ;-)

Not usually no because I'm a pessimist and I can't bear to rely on the RNG to drop the right insp for the right character.

However, I wanted to softcap a fire tank across the board (typed not positional) and I just couldn't do it and maintain damage. (I don't doubt it IS possible but beyond my skill/inf.) So for that one char I got to 33% def and am relying on lucks.

Personally I have always been of the 'save the insps for later' which I admit is ... dumb. I'm slowly using combining macro's for a couple of characters to keep them in reds/lucks etc and that does work.

Horses for courses I guess. I'm a hoarder ....

I was thinking of posting something along the lines of your first post here, Madadh. While it is true that inspiration use can inform one's building process and vice versa, I had a hard time thinking of many examples where I made a concrete build decision with inspirations in mind. A different power pick, a different approach to slotting, what have you. I think that's where the disagreement is coming from. Despite that, my "building process" absolutely involves consideration of what I'll do with inspirations.

@Please: I think you're probably correct as to the source of the disconnect. Thank you for taking the time to shift my perspective, and for playing the role of dispassionate 3rd party.

@Kangstor: Yes, I do realize that. And while I'm very tempted to get into a debate on the role of the subconscious in decision making and whether or not semantics allow the word 'consideration' to apply to subconscious thoughts in a decision, I think it fairly clear at this point that you're just trying to bait a heated response if you've got bring Mars into the conversation. Although, I have to admit, I admire the 'out of this world' wordplay. Well done. I'll just decline the baiting invite though at this point, because it would only serve to go further off topic and really, niggling over precise word definitions at this point in no way helps the OP or addresses his or her question.

I've said my piece on the original question about as clearly as I feel I'm able, so, I'll leave it as is for now, until there is something new on-topic to discuss.