Fulmens

First thing: You're certainly not poor. For which I applaud you. There are a couple of questions here:
1) Where do you set the line for "Rich"?
2) How much inf do you want?
3) How much time to you want to spend getting that rich?

I don't mean to sound patronizing (I may be giving you the bonus package) but basically, you can get as rich as you want or need.

Until very recently, the most expensive build I ever did was around 150 million inf, so that's where I sort of set the top of "upper middle class." This is obviously a personal thing- I almost never use really expensive toys because I almost never do anything that requires really expensive toys. To put it another way, no amount of IO'ing out your build will do you as much good as teaming with an Empath, Kinetic, etc. even if they're only paying attention half the time.

So, let's assume you want your next project in this game to be "Become Rich." There's nothing wrong with that project, and you don't need a good reason[sic], but you should sort of set your goals and expectations so you don't get there and go "But I thought it would get me chicks!" or something.

Now there are a couple methods. One is what I think of as "Brute force." You farm, or run TF's, or whatever, and you collect one to ten million inf per hour- depending on your level of intensity, skill of teammates, whatever you wish. I think the best use of Merits is still random rolling in the 35-39 range. The ITF/LGTF are probably your best earners on Task Forces, because you can get Purple drops as well as regular cash and prizes. I don't know optimum farming tricks, because I don't do that.

Another is PVP. I don't know anything about PVP and the fabulous prizes you can get therein. The best ones are reputedly selling for half a billion or more, but I suspect the vast majority are selling for 10 to 30 million.

Then there's the Market, where I make my money. If you look at the price of a crafted recipe, and the price of the salvage, and the recipe, and the crafting cost... it doesn't add up. The crafted usually sells for a few million more. You can, therefore, buy ingredients, craft, and sell final products to the impatient for more. There are other ways of making money, but this is the one I use. Don't go into mass production, because if you dump 20 crafted items on the market they won't sell at the price you want. Find three or four things that you would want in your build, and buy up a couple of each and sell them judiciously. Then find three or four others. Never get stuck with a ton of inventory.

You should be able to make (on "low end stuff") half a million profit at least, on each, and on high end stuff... well, I made something like 50 million on a single item once, and there are people who've made a lot more. I'm happy buying for 10-15 and selling for 20-30 million, or buying at 25 million and selling for 40. On a new character I'm happy to buy for half a million and sell for a million or two. Then buy for a million and sell for five.

Right now the market's kind of crazy because, as mentioned, double-XP. It's a great party until the bubble bursts, so only do one or two deals at a time until things calm down.

You think it takes a day for the market to recover from double xp? It's only BEEN a week since 2XP. The fastest the market has ever recovered from 2XP is about two weeks. The slowest was two months; I was starting to think that one was a permanent change in prices...

Over this last weekend some of my leftover "list for a million" common salvage sold. So the madness is by no means over. Your argument is like saying "I went shopping the weekend after Thanksgiving, and the mall was insanely crowded. I don't understand- it wasn't Black Friday!"

... meaning "I'm posting my honest opinion; please only discuss if you agree with me."

And that's where I stopped reading.

This makes me flinch. Many of the people who really want you for a team are... incompetent. Rather than learn what THEY are doing wrong, they look for outside support, continue to die, then blame their outside support. Usually for bad "heals".

My advice is this: Join groups. Make groups. Team with anyone who'll have you. About 10% of any given team will be people who don't suck. Friend [or global friend if they'll have you; if not, don't take it personally] these people and next time you see them online, ask what they're doing. If they have friends who don't suck, get to know them.

Eventually you will have a network of people to team with, and have to get on fewer and fewer pickup groups [or "poor lonely me in the corner, soloing" sessions.]

As far as "What Defender to choose?" The primaries all play VERY differently. A lot of times, I like Force Fields. Because I'm a bad defender. I don't want to be the last-minute-saviour Empath; that's too much like playing chicken with someone else's car. The first time someone thanked me for rezzing them, I wanted to yell "IF I WAS ANY GOOD YOU WOULDN'T NEED IT, WOULD YOU?" Force Fields is for your relaxing experience. You cruise along, keeping people bubbled every 3-4 minutes, and the team does not lose and nobody gets hurt very badly. And if they do? Not your problem. You've already DONE your job. They've got only themselves to blame.

It's been too long since I went force fielding, apparently. I need to relax and turn a buncha blasters into tanks, I think.