New/Returning Player Guide -- Christmas 2018 edition

I believe those stopped being given to players a while back, but maybe yours were awarded and you just jever checked the vendor. I don't think new players, or returning players who didn't play during the window in question, will have access to them, but if they do, those absolutely provide a direct skip to WT5.

Each character shares a 150-item stash inventory, and has an individual 120-item backpack inventory, so having multiple toons increases inventory space by 120 items (per level 30 character; lower level characters will have smaller inventories and possibly less stash access).

The benefits to having multiple toons are:

• More space up front
• Each toon has its own LZ boss timer, its own exotic cache (including weekly assignment) trackers, and its own daily assignments, and if you have the season pass each toon gets its own supply drop twice per month
• Build diversity across toons (if desired)

There are 30 unique exotics and 84 unique classified items, so 114 inventory slots would be needed to collect one of everything -- but you will get many multiples before you collect one of everything, and you will want multiples of certain items, plus you will have mods and HE weapons which count against inventory (unless mods are slotted into weapons/gear -- but unslotting them takes up a slot, so this often becomes a management issue).

Because I have three level-30 toons, I have the luxury of extra inventory on each, which has allowed me to collect and manage multiple copies of key exotics, HE weapons, and classified sets, without constantly sitting at the inventory cap. Thus, as I accumulated copies of the House, MDR, Showstopper, Big Al, and various classified pieces, I moved them (through the stash) to the other toons, and now my three toons each have a full set of classified D3 (as an example), with a House, and various other builds as well (technically, all of them, and multiple copies of several).

There is currently not a GE in progress, but no, they are not the only way to get classified or exotic items. Reread the last section -- there are two primary ways apart from GEs, plus exotic caches and Shields. GEs are a limited period option for three or four featured sets to be completed more easily while providing both a global modifier (making the game easier across the board) and another avenue for collecting exotics.

I haven't been able to play since last week (moved, getting internet at the new house today), so maybe the GE countdown timer is active in the GE section of the Terminal, but I haven't seen an announcement on this sub so I expect we are still in limbo over any upcoming GE. The expectation is for one this month and possibly one or more in February (or a week-long 1- or 2-day per GE event). If you stand just outside the GE area (to the right of the optimization station in the Terminal), the doorway acts as a sign detailing the next scheduled GE (if it is scheduled) or the duration of the current GE, or thst there is no current GE.

GEs usually last a week, but fret not while one isn't active -- the LZ boss run and Resistance farming are excellent sources of classified and exotic items.

I realized you're butt hurt about me actually breaking it down.

Heh. Not at all. If your info is accurate and helpful, I'm all for it. Yours is neither, and I'm trying to avoid the spread of misinformation.

If anyone appreciates the game and the story they don't need your advice or help and will want to learn the game and its mechanics on their own.

This does not follow. The game is notorious for its lack of explanations and instruction, which is in part why this sub is so valuable. We had to theorycraft and work things out on our own, and most players, no matter how otherwise independent or interested in the story, will need some help here and there regarding what to do, when, why, and how.

Plenty of people need some help regardless of personal interest and effort. For many, it's a matter of available time and weighing playing versus researching, and it's nice to have guides that lay out the path forward.

What's meaningful is highly subjective.

Not hardly. What is enjoyable is subjective. What is meaningful is that which offers useful rewards.

I really don't know how to explain it to you if you insist on being so obtuse; there are two types of desireable loot in the game: classified and exotic. HE weapons and gear have their places, and obviously mods are HE or superior (purple), but it turns out those (and non-classified gearset items) drop from any enemy in the game.

So objectively players should pursue content which awards classified or exotic items, as these also award all the other types, but players can only improve their builds with the classified and exotic items.

A healthy rotation of the activities is best. . .

For enjoyment? Absolutely. For efficiently gearing up? Not even close.

If anything adds to the Story/Lore after you reach level 30 it is HVT.

HVTs add nothing to story or lore. They were an addition to the game to appease PvE players who had little or no access to the best gear at the time. They awarded items up to GS240, and later GS268, though most of these were LS holsters.

They are a collection of named enemies selected at random which were offered as an end-game activity provided a grind for currency. Whatever utility they offered no longer exists, as their loot tables were not expanded to include classified items, and their exotic loot table consists of all and only two trash-tier weapons.

You are literally wasting your time if you run HVTs in today's game, unless you run them during a GE, for the GE credits, or I suppose if you are impatient with respect to the associated Shield (and cannot wait for a GE), or you are chasing related commendations.

You get the same quality gear by killing redbars, without grinding for target intel -- though you may have forgotten that players who need to gear up likely don't have piles of target intel from exotic and GE caches, so maybe you also forgot that these players will have to chase exotic caches or GE caches (you know, the content that awards the loot they want anyway), else run S&D (you know, something even more pointless than HVTs)...

If you want non-classified gear so badly and zero chance at an exotic (other than two weapons you wouldn't use anyway), kill a redbar.

And seriously, GTFO with that PxC bullshit. Like I said, PxC are easy to collect, as most content hands them out. Nobody needs to run HVTs for PxC, but that's mostly because nobody needs to run HVTs at all, except for GE credits.

What part about what I said is confusing?

Not confusing. Incoherent. I was trying to avoid directly insulting you. Here's what you said:

It's highly doubtful you'd have Ninja Backpack so you can't really mix-max classified's and get the additional +1 to a set that way so keep an eye for certain High-Ends (more on that later) or use Classifieds if they provide more main stat attributes or higher defense if it outweighs the gear talent benefit!

That is some incoherent stream-of-consciousness shit.

The ninja backpack is no more or less likely than a House or Big Al. Running the content as I directed will grant the best opportunities, at the least difficulty, of obtaining both classified and exotic items.

Any player who lacks a full classified build (whether 5- or 6-piece) should use the ninja backpack if they have it. Once I collected my first ninja backpack, every non-classified backpack was an instant sell/deconstruct -- with the ninja bag, you simply don't need them.

As I said, if you don't have a ninia bag, run a 4+2 non-classified build, or maybe a 4+2HE build, but do not chase these HE pieces, and FFS don't spend a dime optimizing them. They drop everywhere, and they have blueprints available. For my Relentless TA builds, I didn't grind for a good Relentless backpack -- I crafted twenty electronics backpacks until I got one with +SP.

Without the HE mask ( Refreshed ) any heal you might get from popping SS is negligible without enough Electronics. . .

Nope. The healing rate and various other aspects are affected by SP (not just electronics), but the boost to yealth from popping the box is based on the amount of time the thing has been active.

I knew this was the description from that update, but to verify I tested it with my 10k Relentless TA build, my 9k D3 build, and my 9k Striker build. In all three cases, I dropped and popped a life support SS, and the overheal amount was identical for each. I also dropped the box for ten seconds before popping it, and again the overheal amount was unaffected by the SP. On this toon, my TA build has 370k SP, my D3 build has 122k SP, and my Striker build has 102k SP. For shits and giggles, I put on five mismatched non-electronics pieces (near minroll holster at 1118), with none rolled to SP or haste, for a SP of 80k, and performed the same test.

Same results.

yes the AI is smarter and they will flank you.

If you don't place your deployable skills well, you will hace a problem. Placing a SS from behind cover is just fine. Sticking it to a wall or ceiling is brilliant. Yes, you may get flanked. No, that does not mean SS is useless.

Booster shot (with Nimble or Recovered) retreating into another cover is what will safe you.

Nimble or Recovered? You are recommending an HE holster?

Yeesh. No. Run a classified holster the moment one drops, regardless of which one it is. Swap to a better set's classified holster as they drop. Classified holsters can be freely recalibrated (their major attribute can be changed, plus the lowest minstat can be rerolled), and they should be the first item to be optimized.

The HE items are useful for but a moment; non-classified gearset pieces are a dime a dozen, and they are better than any HE build, and more versatile than a niche Hexo build.

All those benefit from the mask talents no partial mixed together classified set even with ninja-backpack will give you.

Incoherent again, but it seems like you are trying to say the Refreshed mask is better than a ninja bag, even a classified + ninja build (e.g. ninja 3/1/1 or ninja 3/2). That's laughably false.

No mention of DtE or EAD what so ever... Not 1 weapon skill to look for...

This guide is not for builds, but for running content and acquiring the loot required to make a build. First, get the loot, then work on min-maxing.

Lastly, I didn't say you are supposed to use HE pieces over 4 pc classified. Until you do have 4 pieces of a worthy set Rapid/Vigorous chest with Refreshed mask trumps all.

It takes a hot minute to get four non-classified pieces of whichever set. You can buy many of them. There is no reason whatsoever to work on an HE build, when a single LZ boss run will almost certainly provide an item more useful. If you collected everything from an LZ boss run, you would usually end up with something like 10+ non-classified gearset items, 5-10 weapons, one exotic item, and one classified item, plus 15 mods.

You are some combination of misinformed and flat-out wrong. You are also missing the forest through all of these trees. The new/returning player should a) get through the story at whatever pace suits them, b) get to WT5 immediately thereafter, and c) accumulate classified and exotic gear almost exclusively.

There is no reason to run content like HVTs, as it does not provide the desired rewards. There is no reason to run a hard mode mission, even, including the daily, except to fly through the weekly's 10-mission requirement.

There is no reason to worry about HE gear which, if you started an LZ run when you first started reading this comment, is already obsolete. Right now, you can buy two non-classified pieces from 10 of the 14 gearsets, and in three hours that vendor will have new stock, and I'll bet one or two sets could have a purchased 4-piece as a result, never mind the classified item or two from the LZ boss run, and the various non-classified pieces from the mobs killed on the way.

New/returning players with few or no classified and exotic items should put together a build that can solo a challenging mission. That's easy. They should take that build and run LZ bosses, farm Resistance, and chase weekly assignments or Shield caches. Currently, with double FP caches, they should also collect any outstanding intel on their maps.

They should not bother with HVTs, nor with HE gear other than a current and tenpoeary build. Yes, a 4-piece non-classified D3 with an MP5 and two pieces of Nomad or LS is perfect for a new or returning player in WT5 to gear up.

As for my hours, I have four toons with a total of 60 days in game, and at least one of them has been deleted and restarted twice, for probably 1500+ total hours. That is not especially high, methinks, but it spans the life of the game from launch week through the present.

I have been around, through thick and thin.

Your advice is baffling, as it isn't merely wrong, it's not even wrong. It just doesn't apply to the reality of the game. Good luck with that.