Incarnate Abilities Buyer's Guide: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 00:31, 19 March 2024

Player Guide Notice

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Caveats

This is written for Homecoming: City of Heroes Issue 27, which has the following differences from the Live Incarnate System.

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Alpha Slot unlocking is no longer required. Incarnate XP starts accruing the moment you turn Level 50. (Trapdoor can still be fought by heading to Ouroboros and doing the Mender Ramiel arc, but it isn't required any longer.)
Incarnate Shards, while still issued, have been de-emphasized in favor of Incarnate Threads.
- Shards still drop, but only apply to Alpha Slot abilities and purchasing Incarnate salvage to craft Alpha Slot Powers only.
- Astral Merits are present in Incarnate Trials as rewards, as well as SSA Arcs as a once a week reward.
- Notice of the Well is still offered for WST rewards. Apart from being one of three pieces of salvage to craft a T3 Alpha power, it can also be rolled over into 40 Incarnate Threads, and is the only way to make Favor of The Well (32 Shards + 2 Notice of The Well tokens) to craft a T4 Alpha power (or also to convert to 100 Threads: see Convert > Incarnate Shard > Upgrade).
- All slots have recipes that use Incarnate Thread components, including Alpha, which has alternate Incarnate Thread recipes beneath the Incarnate Shard recipes in the same listings.
- It is also possible to convert Incarnate Shards to Threads, but involves spending 1,000,000 INF per day to make 10 Shards into 10 Threads, or wasting Shards at a ratio of 2:1 (10 Shards can make 5 Threads, any time, fee-free.)
Incarnate XP still needs to be collected to unlock slots, which now occurs with normal gameplay for a Level 50 character. Physical and Psychic Incarnate XP unlocks the first five slots, Alpha, Interface, Destiny, Judgement and Lore. Advanced Psychic Incarnate XP then begins to accrue to unlock Hybrid, which always unlocks last. XP Boosting, Patrol XP and server events are ignored: Incarnate XP awards separately from regular XP.
Incarnate Trials are still available, but are no longer the only way to progress characters through Incarnate XP/development.
- Any Level 50 eligible content drops Incarnate Shards and Threads.
- The Veteran Levels system awards Incarnate Threads, Empyrean Merits, and other tokens for gameplay past Level 50 for 99 "Veteran Levels" worth of progress. At Level 100, the rewards stop and players need to seek other avenues for Incarnate progress.
- Hamidon Raids now award 4 Empyrean Merits once per 16 hours on completion.
Empyrean Merits are the primary reward currency for Incarnate Recipes past Tier 1 and Tier 2.
- Tier 3 powers require one piece of Rare Incarnate Thread made salvage, costing 8 Empyrean Merits.
- Tier 4 powers require one piece of Very Rare Incarnate Thread made salvage, costing 30 Empyrean Merits.
The Entire Incarnate Salvage system (with one key exception below) is character-bound. Salvage, shards, threads, and tokens such as Notice/Favor of the Well are bound to a character, cannot be traded, and cannot be emailed to others or yourself.
- EXCEPTION: If a character finishes their Incarnate progress and has excess Empyrean Merits, 50 at a time can be converted to a Transcendent Merit at any Merit Vendor and emailed to a character on the same account to use instead.

With all of that in mind, here's an explanation of how the Incarnate Powers "tech trees" work in-game.

Incarnate Abilities: Convert Window Notes

The Incarnate system is designed to push players to make costly mistakes, such as purchasing a T1 power when a T4 is already slotted. Doesn't harm a build, but it wastes resources.

Keep in mind the following:

Incarnate Shards and Incarnate Shard Salvage ONLY applies for the Alpha Slot. Once Alpha Tier IV is unlocked, remaining Astral Merits and Incarnate Shards are best used for Thread Conversion.
Salvage Types CANNOT be mixed. Incarnate Shard Salvage CANNOT be used for Incarnate Thread Recipes and vice versa.
Once Salvage has been crafted, unused Salvage can be converted back into Incarnate Shards (1 per Breakdown) or Incarnate Threads (varies on rarity) to use elsewhere, but at a loss. It is important to craft only what you need to complete a recipe.

It may help to take notes or map out a plan. It is a lot of information to track.

This is a major caution about the entire Incarnate System as a whole.
It is designed for a casual player to lose track during day-to-day progress. This means it is very easy to create the wrong component by accident if one does not pay attention. Most players will need to plan ahead (unlike the Respec system in-game where experimentation is welcome), as the Incarnate System is a lot less forgiving of mistakes.

The Hard(er) Way

Costs are NOT Cumulative except when mentioned at the end: each Tier power is required to be crafted to reach the next higher one, but salvage and currencies start from 0 each time.

Regardless of which recipe you choose to purchase (Power or Recipe Components), the costs per tier is always the same.

Tier 1

To Craft:
Three specific pieces of Common Incarnate Shard OR Incarnate Thread Salvage.

Cost:
Alpha Slot: 12 shards total for one Tier 1 power choice.
Other Slots including Alpha: 60 Threads total for one Tier 1 power choice.

Tier 2

To Craft:
Two specific pieces of Common Incarnate Shard OR Incarnate Thread Salvage (this will recur for the remaining Tiers as well),
AND
One specific piece of Uncommon Incarnate Shard OR Incarnate Thread Salvage for a total of three items.

Cost:
Alpha Slot: 20 Shards for one Tier 2 Power Choice.
Other Slots including Alpha: 100 Threads for one Tier 2 Power Choice.

Tier 3

Tier 3 powers are when Level Shifts (Alpha Slots) and Incarnate Shifts (Lore/Destiny Slots) start to apply, and it shows. Alpha and other slots diverge broadly here:

Alpha Slot Only
Two Pieces of Common Incarnate Shard Salvage, plus a Notice of The Well:

If crafted, a Notice costs 12,500,000 INF, 40 Incarnate Shards, and requires crafting one each of the following Uncommon Salvage (each component also costing 8 shards each + 1 Common Salvage Piece at 4 shards resulting in 12 shards for each single item and altogether 48 shards for all four bought at once):
- Drop of the Well
- Incarnate Infused Nictus
- Infinite Tessellation
- Vanguard DNA Metamatrix
Plus: 2 Common Shard Salvage Components for the Incarnate Recipe itself apart from the above. (8 Shards.)
Or, what most players do: earn one for free at Level 50 by completing a Weekly Strike Target.

Other Slots including Alpha
Thread Recipes start to get harder, too, as well:
Two specific pieces of Incarnate Thread Salvage,
AND
One specific piece of Rare Incarnate Thread Salvage, made with:

25 million Influence
100 Incarnate Threads
And one each of the Uncommon Incarnate Thread Salvage Items (at 60 Threads per piece at 240 Threads for all four at once:)
- Cytolitic Infusion
- Dimensional Pocket
- Gluon Pocket
- Worn Spellbook

Totals:
Alpha Slot: Crafted -- 12.5 mil INF, 56 Shards... or Earned Notice -- 8 Shards and 1 Notice of The Well.
Other Slots including Alpha: 25 mil INF, 340 Threads.

Tier 4

Whatever your feelings on Demon Lore Pets may be, this character is ready for Tier 4.

For Tier 4, there's two pieces of bad news.

1. You cannot progress to Tier 4 on any Slot without repeating the prior crafting path from Tier 1 through Tier 3 all over again, this time crafting the other half of the tree. Two opposite Tier 3 powers are required to be consumed to produce Tier 4. (See the picture to the right: it doesn't matter which two are purchase as long as one is on the left and the other is on the right.)

So Going Back Through Tier 1-3 a 2nd Time:
88 Shards on top of the prior Tier 1-3 crafting
OR
440 Threads and 25 Million INF on top of the prior Tier 1-3 crafting.

2. This is where the simplicity of methods inverts itself: the Alpha Recipe is the simpler one to understand than any Threads Recipe:

Alpha Slot Only
Two pieces of Common Incarnate Shard Salvage plus a Favor of the Well:

32 Incarnate Shards
2 Notice of The Wells

Favor of the Wells CANNOT be earned in-game, they must be crafted.

Other Slots Including Alpha
Like the Tier III counterpart above, another layer of complexity:
Two pieces of Common Incarnate Thread Salvage,
AND
One Very Rare Incarnate Salvage Component.

Each Very Rare Threads Salvage Component requires:

100 million INF
One each of the Rare Thread Component Salvage items:
- Ancient Texts
- Exotic Isotope
- Semi-Conscious Energy
- Superconductive Membrane

Each Rare Thread Component is a nesting doll of threads:

One Rare Thread Component (Forbidden Technique, Living Relic, Self Evolving Alloy OR Thaumic Resonator)
- Four Very Rare Components at 960 Threads + 100 million INF
  - Four Uncommon Incarnate Thread Salvage items at 240 Threads + 100 million INF
    - Four Common Incarnate Thread Salvage items for each one of the above at 60 threads each.

Cumulative Totals

Incarnate Shards (Alpha Slot Only)
Tier Level	Shards Spent	INF/Tokens Spent
Tier I x2	24 Shards
Tier II x2	40 Shards
Tier III x2 (Crafting)	96 Shards	25 mil INF
Tier IV	242 Shards	25 mil INF
Total (Crafting)	498 Shards	50 mil INF
Using NOTW x3	-386 Shards	-50 mil INF
Adjusted Total	112 Shards	0 INF

Incarnate Threads (Any Slot)
Tier Level	Threads Spent	INF Spent
Tier I x2	120 Threads
Tier II x2	200 Threads
Tier III x2	560 Threads	50 mil INF
Tier IV	1,000 Threads	200 mil INF
Total	1,880 Threads	250 mil INF

Both tables ignore power choices: especially Tier II and higher, there are enough recipes listed for any valid combination of powers assuming Tier III left and right side choices are honored.

A Better Way...

Salvage Tables

There are a few places for Incarnate Salvage Tables, or Incarnate Salvage as a reward drop:

Incarnate Arcs and Task Forces which offer Incarnate Salvage as a reward drop. Details in Incarnate Component.
Incarnate Trials, which offer a full range of reward drops:
- All Trials will offer drops of Common or Uncommon Salvage at the very least for any player who stays from start to finish (or if the Trial is completed; failed trials do not get reward tables.). For Behavioral Adjustment Facility and Lambda Sector Trial, only the first two tables are available to players.
- Trials apart from Behavioral Adjustment Facility and Lambda Sector Trial have a higher chance to drop Rare and Very Rare tables in addition to Common or Uncommon Salvage.
- Underground Trial completion is longer than the rest, therefore the Common/Uncommon Reward Table does not apply, guaranteeing a Rare or Very Rare reward table at the end.
Completing all six arcs of the Dark Astoria zone (a.k.a.: the Death Incarnate expansion, arcs from "The Burden of The Past" through "The Choice of Hope - Part 2") has a chance for a Incarnate Salvage table of any variety.

Salvage gained this way skips past crafting requirements dramatically, allowing players to complete Incarnate Crafting faster.

Use Empyrean Merits

Empyrean Merits can speed up Tier 3 and Tier 4 Salvage Crafting with a simpler cost:

8 Empyrean Merits to craft one Rare Incarnate Thread Salvage item.
30 Empyrean Merits to craft one Very Rare Incarnate Thread Salvage item.

Empyrean Merits only work on Incarnate Thread recipes and cannot be traded or used to craft Notice of The Well/Favor of The Well tokens. (Although both tokens can be converted directly into Threads.)

Adjusted Thread/Merits Overview

Knowing how hard it is to craft (or earn a drop of) Tier 4 Incarnate Salvage, this should be a sigh of relief.