Ironblade

I don't play villains much so the only set I've used is thermal. I have a fire/thermal and I like it. You've got a single target heal, AoE heal, shields and buffs. I've played dark blue-side and it kicks some major butt - Shadowfall, serious debuffs and a powerful heal. Not a clue about Pain Domination.

How much do you have to spend?

I have a level 39 shield/axe tank. All by himself (no one nearby to boost defense), he used to have about 44% melee, 39% range and 42% AoE. That was BEFORE I got Weave at level 38. I haven't used Weave yet since right after I got it, we did the Mender Lazarus arc with a bubbler on the team. My melee defense got as high as 96%.

Some general advice:
Take Combat Jumping - it's a bit over 2% to everything.
Get the Steadfast Protection +def unique - 3% to everything.
How many PBAoE attacks do you have? The Obliteration set (6 pieces) gives 3.75% melee defense.
Blessing of the Zephyr - if you can afford all 3 pieces, you can get 3.13% vs range *AND* 3.13% vs AoE. I have 3 slots in Combat Jumping for this. (I got lucky - I had intended to only use two pieces, but I got the -knockback piece on a random merit roll.)

As for END, the pricey solution is to drop the +recovery uniques in Stamina. The cheaper route is to frankenslot other powers where you don't need full sets for an important bonus. +Recovery is usually the first set bonus (i.e. only 2 pieces). I have a few powers with 2 from this set, 2 from another set, etc.

Also note, the attacks where you ARE slotting full sets, you're generally getting decent END reduction in there. Usually 40% or more. That kind of discount on a few attacks may solve your problems. I can solo (with Tough, but Weave left off) without END problems. Tough has one endred SO.

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Are respec recipes like purple drops (i.e., they have a 1/5000 chance in dropping)?

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Similar, but rarer, I think. I've gotten about 8 purples (which only drop from high level enemies) and only 2 respec recipes (which can drop from almost any enemy).

Since my personal experience is obviously a statistically valid sample, they must be 4 times rarer.

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What is there to do when you hit the maximum level?

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With very few exceptions, everything you could do on the way to 50 is still available for you to do at level 50. For some activities, like the Safeguard missions, you would need the assistance of someone in the correct level range. Practically everything else is accessible to both people in the correct range, and people OVER the 'correct range'.

In addition, there are various activities where being level 50 is preferable. Some of the high level task forces and raids are easier if you're 50, than if you're 48 or 49. Plus there are activities like collecting badges where your level isn't too major a factor.

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is there enough to do when you hit the maximum level, and does it keep fun? just your opinions please.

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Well, there are two divergent paths here. Some people like to continue playing their level 50 character. In fact, I know people who have ONLY ONE CHARACTER (well, really two - one hero and one villain). On the other hand, many people 'retire' their character once they hit 50 and start a new one. The different AT's (classes) are *SO* different that it's like a different game when you level up a different character.

Even within an AT, things can be different. Someone had a wonderful quote in their sig: Playing two different kinds of scrapper is like the difference between playing tennis and playing raquetball. Playing two different kinds of defender is like the difference between playing hockey and playing piano.

I see both sides of it. On the one hand, my first character to hit 50 is still the character I play the most. In fact, I probably play that character more than all my others combined. On the other hand, I have 8 characters at level 50 so far.

So, while "fun" is completely subjective, yes, it stays fun for me.

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Look at the map. You'll see yellow, orange, and red shaded borders.

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IIRC that is a feature of the vidiot-map-pack, and not in the original game-files. But it's been so long since I logged on a computer without that little patch I honestly can't remember

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Nope, it's built-in. I have no map mods installed and my zones are color-coded.

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Considering the entire point of "tl;dr" is to be obnoxious, one wonders what other acronyms fulfill this role. For educational purposes only, of course.

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IBTL
PEBKAC

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You forgot their unshakable belief that what they have to say is a unique snowflake of pure reason which should get everyone's attention before it gets drowned out by the rabble on page 20.

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Good to see the regard you hold for your fellow players in.

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I hold most of my fellow players in high regard... while fully recognizing that there are a handful of muttonheads who fit the above description.

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Check out Photobucket, it works fine for me.

Just remember, it has to be 80 x 80 pixel, and use the direct link.

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Sadly, it doesn't have to be 80x80. The system will take a larger image and compress it. Thus we have bozos using big pictures and/or animated images, which your browser has to download in full.

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We are definitly still here!
my global is a tough one though. it's @Children of DATA

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Oh. I thought that 'CoD' in Homer's skull was a fish reference.

I think all these 'rage' posts should be moved to a consolidated 'nerd rage' thread to keep the place more organized.

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My empath was fun. That being said, past level 12, a good empath is a buffer, not a healer.

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What you really mean is, "Past level 12, an empath becomes more versatile."

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So to be crystal clear, you must make a teleport BEACON (for the link to the zone you wish to teleport to) and you must make a teleport PAD in order to actually use that beacon.

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I understand your point, but you phrased this badly by using the word "make" both times.
You *BUY* the beacon from the item list for teleport rooms.
You *MAKE* the teleporter itself at a workbench or forge.

So you leave the burners on when no one is in the base? For shame! That's wasteful and a fire hazard!

There is no PK! There is only Zu... um, The_Player.

Sign up Ironshield, lvl 37 shield/axe tank. He's only 2 bars from 38 so he should be 38 by then.

I did this TF yesterday and it was pretty tough. Of course, that's probably because we had one 50, one 38 and everyone else was 35 or 36. Oh, and we didn't bother with SK'ing.

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But Lotus and Zen's are @Lotus One and @Zen Family...either of them can get you hooked up

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And they're certainly still active. They were doing a TF earlier today. Actually, I think they did two.

You missed some annoyance. Every time we tried to enter the first mission, several people crashed *AND* were booted off the team. I've never seen that before. We thought someone might still have an AE mission, but that wasn't it. After several tries, we used my patented method that almost always works when there's a problem loading the mission. Have *ONE* person with a good computer and connection enter the mission and everyone else waits until they say they are in. Apparently, several people zoning in at approximately the same time can do something wonky with the mission server.

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ok guys, i read all your posts and i have to apologize by forming this fast a opinion. I have to remove my wow experience and i will continue to give this game a chance.
Sorry for wasting your time, and when i really tried the game i will repost my opinion about this game.

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Well, if by 'opinion' you mean an update like, "Okay, played a bit more and still think it's boring." you might as well save your breath (or fingers). It goes without saying that our opinions are dramatically different and a generic comment like that really has no value.

However, if, with the perspective of someone new to the game, you see a problem, particularly one that might discourage other new players, we'd love to hear about it. Please note: "CoH is different from WoW" is *NOT* a problem.

If you run into anything that you can't figure out, or just need advice, please come back here and ask us questions. That's pretty much the point of these forums.

If something seems odd, and you were wondering if there is a good reason for it, please ask us. Many of us have been here for years.

If you decide to subscribe, let us know. We can suggest a server to play on, if you have any particular gaming preferences. We can explain about supergroups (similar to guilds), which trial members can't join. We can.... oh, I dunno, shoot the breeze.

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I've noticed sometimes people say this kind of thing purely based on the powersets chosen.

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I suspect some of these comments are from noobs trying to appear knowledgeable.

I recall the episode of MASH where they are coaching Radar on acting cultured. They tell him that, if Bach comes up in a conversation, just say, "Ah, Bach!"

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4. Linking means not wasting time writing it again.

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But you know this will come up again. So this entire explanation should have been posted elsewhere and linked.

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Got it!

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Good God, man! You can't link a thread to itself!! This could cause a rift in the space-time continuum!

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Great. Now set your resolution for both to 1600x1050 (one on each of the 22" widescreens) and world and player detail to 200%, max bloom, 4x anti-aliasing.. etc.
*waits for the 7600 to curl into the fetal position*

Yeah you can dual box on lessor machines, but not with the engine running it is full glory on both.

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I run two accounts on a Core2 Duo with 2 GB RAM and a 7950. My monitor is 22" at 1680x1050. I run player detail at 200%, my bloom is off because I HATE it, I'm at 4x AA, etc.

It doesn't take an uber-powerful machine to run two instances at relatively high graphics settings. Of course, I wouldn't go to a mothership raid with two accounts loaded....

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This issue has plagued me for so long... does anyone know of a way, third-party or not, to increase and/or change the color of your in-game mouse cursor?

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Nope. This has been brought up a few times. Playing on a big monitor at high resolution makes it hard to find the tiny mouse pointer. Never mind if your eyesight isn't the best.

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G15 FTW!!!!

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G11.

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G Force!

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I am losing my effing mind!! they leave Sunday at 6AM for TExas - SIX AM - that means waking up at 3:30AM at least KILL ME KILL ME KILL ME

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i canz borro ur bat for teh task?

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Willpowers taunt aura lasts for 1.25 seconds.

I think it is an oversight and will be fixed, so I am going to play one and build around the issue at current.

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Mistake. It's not a bug or oversight. It's intentional. Do NOT assume it will be changed.