N00B guide

[DeadSockPuppet]

And another N00B question.

It seems I die alot, at least once per mission.  Is that the norms, to just bonzi in to figure it out?

I HATE dying.  But if that is the fastest tactic to figuring a scenario out, I guess I will learn.

...gene

Until update 1.6 drops (on 2/28), just deal with it.  The way to handle this pre-1.6 is changing with the update so don't waste time working on this now.  

Here's some info that's always helpful (regardless of what version we're on).  Toughness is how hard it is for you to be killed.  The big factors in this are your HP (based on your stamina stat) and your damage mitigation (based on your armor).  There's other things that tie in, but HP & mitigation are the biggest keys to staying alive.  

HP is pretty easy, obviously the more you have, the harder it is for you to die.  The higher your stamina, the more HP you have.  

Damage mitigation is based on your total armor.  The higher your total armor, the higher your mitigation and the higher your toughness.  In order to have the highest armor you can get, you want your gear pieces to be as close to these max armor ratings as possible:

Chest - 2003

Mask - 1001

Pads - 1668

Pack - 1334

Gloves - 1001

Holster - 1001

Pre-1.6 you could roll Armor as a major stat and add up to 1263 on chest and pads, up to 959 on pack and up to 673 on holster.  Armor is being removed as a major stat for 1.6, so ignore those numbers right now and if you have them on your gear either reroll it off or subtract it from the armor value on the piece when determining how close the piece is to max.  

So, to make your toon less squishy, increase your toughness by upping your HP & damage mitigation (armor).  

 

[genedjr]

Thanks for the data.  That is very useful info.  My toons are lvl 25, one I run solo, one I run as dps with my son running shield/agro.  I think I know how to tune the DPS toon, but what about my solo toon?

 

[DeadSockPuppet]

I personally like toons that are high toughness and then skill or DPS, you can't cause damage or fire off skills if you're dead.  

For my toons that I tend to run solo one has a 4pc Predator's Mark build and one has a 4pc Banshee build.  The Predaror's Mark build would work for both DZ and non-DZ, but for me I prefer that one for non-DZ.  The Banshee build, on the other hand, is great for DZ because you lose a lot less when you get killed.  

Im also currently working on building a high end (no set pieces) build and have yet to test my builds in the new update (1.6), so I might need to make some changes to the above.  

 

[genedjr]

OK just a bit of new information - 

At level 28, all vendors were selling only "superior" (Purple) gear.  I believe starting at about lvl 20 I saw vendors with one or two pieces of superior.  At 29, the Advanced Weapon Vendor sells high-end (Gold).

I have been getting high-end weapon sets and materials for a while. I believe lvl 25 was the first drop.  But with zero blueprints, fairly useless.  But it was not until my son and I hit 29 that High End gear/weapons were available.  I was hoping for a gradual move with High-End being rare but available at much lower levels.

Anyway, my son and I will hit 30 during next weeks session.  Now we can start with some end-game stuff.  :1_grinning:
My solo toon is lvl 26 - be a while for that one to get there.

...gene

 

[genedjr]

Another N00B issue is gear-sets.  Can I safely assume that this is only end-game (lvl 30)?

...gene

 

[Oh. daesu]

Another N00B issue is gear-sets.  Can I safely assume that this is only end-game (lvl 30)?

...gene

Yep, only end game.

 

[genedjr]

OK both my duo-toon and my solo-toon are lvl 30, 192 and 174 gear scores respectively.  I am beginning to understand gear sets - what fun!  My question here is do I really care about gear sets before world level 5?  I see getting a set and combining sets as great fun and exciting, but again, is it really necessary before world level 5?

thanks

...gene

 

[DeadSockPuppet]

OK both my duo-toon and my solo-toon are lvl 30, 192 and 174 gear scores respectively.  I am beginning to understand gear sets - what fun!  My question here is do I really care about gear sets before world level 5?  I see getting a set and combining sets as great fun and exciting, but again, is it really necessary before world level 5?

thanks

...gene

Using sets (or an all high end "set") is better than a 6 piece Frankenstein build.  You'll get the additional benefits of 2, 3 or 4 piece sets (depending on what you used), which gives your more than just the individual piece benefits.  

What you could do is go with whichever set you have the most of or run some functional kind of 2-2-2, 3-3, or 4-2 build until you can get to WT5, at which point you can begin collecting pieces and sets that you're specifically looking for.  

 

[genedjr]

Using sets (or an all high end "set") is better than a 6 piece Frankenstein build.

Right now all I have is Frankenstein.  But alas.

question 1: I have been opening cache's as I get them.  Is there any point/benefit to saving them for when I am WT5 (currently WT3)?

question 2: It appears that Phoenix credits are shared between toons - is that true?

question 3: WT4 requires a gear score of 205, but the high end and gear sets seem to be all 204 - will the math just work out or is there something special I need to do?

Solo gear score now 196 !!  And having a blassttt!

...gene

 

[Oh. daesu]

Right now all I have is Frankenstein.  But alas.

question 1: I have been opening cache's as I get them.  Is there any point/benefit to saving them for when I am WT5 (currently WT3)?

question 2: It appears that Phoenix credits are shared between toons - is that true?

question 3: WT4 requires a gear score of 205, but the high end and gear sets seem to be all 204 - will the math just work out or is there something special I need to do?

Solo gear score now 196 !!  And having a blassttt!

...gene

Q1: No, no benefit. The cache will always be a the tier you got them.

q2: Correct. The cap is now 5000, which makes it easier when you have multiple toons.

q3: hmm... don't follow. 

 

[DeadSockPuppet]

Q2: PXC are the only things your toons share (with the exception of putting gear, weaps, mods in your stash), everything else (mats, credits, blueprints, keys, etc.)

Q3: You're probably correct in seeing that WT 4 starts at 205.  It's probably GS 205 to GS 229 and WT 5 is GS 230 to GS 256.  The idea is that when you're at the top of the tier you have the best or highest level gear and when you move into a new tier your gear will be just undergeared.  Once you get yiur first piece of 229 from WT4, you'll jump over 205.  

 

[genedjr]

question 3: WT4 requires a gear score of 205, but the high end and gear sets seem to be all 204 - will the math just work out or is there something special I need to do?

OK, I can now answer my own question - tiers open a few gear score points below the gear score range.  example, WT5 opens at gear score 224 for gear 230+.\

...gene

 

[DeadSockPuppet]

DeepFriedDave posted up this spreadsheet on Twitter for those looking for help.  

 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTVMQtx5IxLanEbL9SrmcvqKTopowkpaq0wRUJmrLoVUPPdkWysMFRPGno86aUUIYTBHtIk9XhJ53Rt/pubhtml

While he says it hasn't been updated for 1.6, it would still give a starting point.  

 

[genedjr]

Thanks for all the help.  While I am learning about gear sets and HVT and daily's and the lot - I no longer feel like the N00B thanks for all of you.

...gene

 

[DeadSockPuppet]

Thanks for all the help.  While I am learning about gear sets and HVT and daily's and the lot - I no longer feel like the N00B thanks for all of you.

...gene

That's what the community is here for.  Keep the questions coming if and when you have them. 

 

[genedjr]

OK - I am still a N00B!

What determines if a recal (or actually anything else) uses phoenix credits or just credits?

...gene

 

[Oh. daesu]

OK - I am still a N00B!

What determines if a recal (or actually anything else) uses phoenix credits or just credits?  I wanted to change a weapon and it wanted PC - but I changed other stuff - alot - and it wanted credits (which I have over $30M)

...gene

Weapons are in PCs plus kits (wherename) and Gear is in credits

 

[DeadSockPuppet]

OK - I am still a N00B!

What determines if a recal (or actually anything else) uses phoenix credits or just credits?

...gene

If you're short on PXC, buy a bunch of gear caches from the vendor in the BoO and you can "farm" PXC as each case is worth like 18-24 PXC in addition to the gear you get.  You can also farm HVT and get PXC. 

 

[genedjr]

yep - I am good, just wanted the magic formula  :8_laughing:

...gene

 

[DeadSockPuppet]

yep - I am good, just wanted the magic formula  :8_laughing:

...gene

We hope to answer these kinds of questions with the podcast, EP 1 should be released hopefully in the next few weeks.