set bonuses when exemping

I have read through some posts regarding how set bonuses work when exemped down but wanted to make sure I had this correct. I see many builds in the guides section that will slot level 33 IOs so the bonuses will still work when exemped down to level 30, though their reason is mainly for PvP purposes.

I am interested in the same basic concept but more for going back for mid-level story arcs through Ouroboros. so may have a little more room to play with but let's assume I am aiming for missions around level 30.

if I understand the functionality with the new auto-exemp and IO rules correctly, if my level 45 character selects a mission that exemps him to level 30, I will:

- keep powers through level 35

- keep the use of any unique bonuses, like +regen unique, as long as it is in a power that is still active. so all powers up to level 35. believe level of the IO itself doesn't matter as long as the power it is in is active, so this could be a level 45 IO.

- keep the set bonuses for all sets in active powers, where the IOs are no more than +3 levels to my level. so all powers up to level 35 with IOs up to level 33. this is the one that I question I have correct

if the above is correct, is there any reason to worry about slotting level 33 IO sets into a power you acquire at level 44? I am trying to balance cost against benefit when exemped down and it's frequently cheaper to buy a higher level IO than one that's level 30 - 33. most likely due to many others having the same goal as I do :-)

There are two types of bonuses you need to look at: Set Bonuses and Procs.

Procs activate (or attempt to) whenever the power is used. In every case, the IO either says "X% chance to (do something)" or "(does something) for 120 seconds". These IOs will always function, regardless of the level of the IO, as long as you have the power it was placed in. However, their level may still be relevant for Set Bonuses.

Set Bonuses are granted for having a sufficient number of pieces of the set slotted into a single power. If you exemplar, any piece that is more than three levels above your combat level stop counting for the bonuses. Some IOs give a special benefit, like the Luck of the Gambler +recharge, or Steadfast Protection Knockback Protection. These act just like set bonuses, but check the level of the IO that grants the ability only, rather than the full set. Special IOs that count as set bonuses can be identified two ways: 1- They never have the proc terminology in their description. 2- They always show up on the Set Bonuses list of your powers tab, whereas procs do not. Both set bonuses, and special IOs that function like set bonuses continue to grant their bonuses, as long as you don't exemplar too low, even if you exemplar low enough to lose the power they are slotted in.

Purple and PVP Sets are an exception to the above - You never lose the bonus, no matter how low you exemplar, or the level of the IO (in the case of PVP IOs).

If they haven't already, someone will be along shortly to post a link to the wiki page that explains more than you could ever need to know about exemplaring and IOs.

thanks for the help. and that explains why people were putting level 33 IOs into level 44 powers. those set bonuses would still work when exemped down to level 30.

can see where that could give a decent advantage in pvp against someone that was just using straight SOs or non-set IOs.