Exemplar Effects on Enhancements
Parent Article: Exemplar
Overview
The functionality of Exemplaring can not take into account when you slotted powers, nor can we dictate which Enhancements to keep if we were to reduce the number of slots you have.
Because of this, we have implemented a system with Exemplaring that reduces the overall effectiveness of your Enhancements based on the level you Exemplared to. This is meant to loosely simulate the fact that you would have fewer Enhancements at any given level.
In addition, this reduction in power does not take into account the "power jumps" that occur for regular players when they hit 12 to 15 and 22 to 25 (as they move from TO to DO to SO Enhancements). Instead it is a smooth curve across the levels. This was done on purpose so that there wasn't "ideal Exemplar-to Levels". For example we didn't want people saying "Exemplaring to 22 is WAY better than exemplaring to 21!" Which would have been the case had we not put in the smooth curve.
Is it an exact science? No, and it was never meant to be. Exemplaring was an extension of the Sidekicking system (which does not increase Enhancement strengths by the way). We realized we would need to reduce Enhancements or else Exemplared characters would simply outshine their Aspirants because they would be better slotted.
—Positron, July 7, 2006
Details
All these adjustments apply only to basic benefits, not to set bonuses or global benefits.
1. The Minor Bonus Threshold. The game doesn't scale down bonuses that are small to begin with. Any individual benefits of 20% or less are unaffected by Exemplaring down as far as level 21. Enhancement benefits of 10% or less are unaffected by Exemplaring to levels 11-20. Benefits of 5% or less are never reduced by Exemplaring. Ignore Steps 2 and 3 for each separate bonus you have that's at or below these minimums.
This step often comes into play with multi-aspect IOs, especially ones that boost three or four different attributes.
2. The Maximum Bonus Cap. If your Exemplar level is 45 or less, each individual benefit is first capped at 41.5%. This is an extra step done before the normal reduction. If your Exemplar level is 46+, skip this step.
This step rarely has a big impact. It only has a significant effect on Knockback Distance and Interrupt Time Reduction bonuses from SOs, HOs, and mid- to high-level one-aspect IOs. It will also reduce the benefits of Schedule A one-aspect IOs of levels 48+, but only by a small amount — less than 1%, even in the worst case.
3. The Actual Scaling. Look up the factors for both your Exemplar level and your true level in the following table, and divide the first value by the second. This gives you your universal scaling factor. Multiply all your affected Enhancement benefits by it.
| Level | Value | Level | Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.022 | 17 | 0.454 | |
| 2 | 0.045 | 18 | 0.486 | |
| 3 | 0.068 | 19 | 0.519 | |
| 4 | 0.092 | 20 | 0.553 | |
| 5 | 0.116 | 21 | 0.587 | |
| 6 | 0.141 | 22 | 0.623 | |
| 7 | 0.166 | 23 | 0.659 | |
| 8 | 0.192 | 24 | 0.696 | |
| 9 | 0.219 | 25 | 0.733 | |
| 10 | 0.246 | 26 | 0.772 | |
| 11 | 0.274 | 27 | 0.811 | |
| 12 | 0.302 | 28 | 0.852 | |
| 13 | 0.331 | 29 | 0.893 | |
| 14 | 0.361 | 30 | 0.935 | |
| 15 | 0.391 | 31 | 0.978 | |
| 16 | 0.422 | 32-50 | 1.0 |
4. Apply Enhancement Diversification to your grand totals at the very end.
Examples
Example 1: You are level 40 and elect to help a friend with the first Respec Trial. You are auto-Exemplared to 33. The value for level 33 is 1.0, and the value for 40 is 1.0, so your Enhancement benefits won't change (1.0 ÷ 1.0 = 1.0).
Example 2: You are level 30 and enter Bloody Bay. Bloody Bay adjusts all characters to a Combat Level of 25. The value for level 25 is 0.733, and the value for level 30 is 0.935, so your Enhancement benefits will scale to 0.784 times normal (0.733 ÷ 0.935).
Example 3: You call your level 50 Scrapper out of retirement to help a team in Steel Canyon. You get Exemplared to a level 13 Controller. Your Enhancements will provide roughly one-third their normal benefit (0.331 ÷ 1.0 = 0.331).
Observations
- As Positron points out, the system is gradual (up to a point). It does not do something simple like downgrade your SOs to DOs if you Exemplar below the first level that SOs are freely available but leave them untouched otherwise.
- The system degrades the character's Enhancements, even in cases where a character would already have six SOs or comparable IOs in the power in question at the lower, Exemplared level. This is an attempt to balance the fact that the character will have more slots overall. For example, a level 26 Storm Summoning Defender cannot have more than one slot in Tornado, but he can have six slots in Steamy Mist. A level 50 Storm Defender who's Exemplared to 26 can have six slots in both. His Tornado will be stronger than the naturally 26 Defender's, but his Steamy Mist will be weaker.
- Level 32 is a key breakpoint. If you are 33 or higher, you can Exemplar as low as 32 with no penalties no matter how big the drop is. If you are 32 or higher and you Exemplar below 32, your penalties will be the same no matter how high you were to begin with.
- Due to Step 1, you can use up to level 25 Dual-Aspect IOs, level 43 Tri-Aspect IOs, and level 50 Quad-Aspect IOs and suffer no bonus reduction unless you Exemplar to level 20 or lower. (Those breakpoints are only accurate for Schedule A benefits. Schedule B's are higher, C's and D's are lower.)
- Example: Slotting Aimed Shot with
- Ruin - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge: Level 40
- Devastation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
- Devastation - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 43
- Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 43
- Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 43
- Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 43
- gives a total bonus of: 93.18% Accuracy, 93.57% Damage, 76.8% Endurance Reduction and 93.18% Recharge Reduction at full effect from level 21 to 50.
- The breakpoints in Steps 1 and 2 don't vary based on the aspect's Schedule the way ED's breakpoints do. The same fixed values are used for all benefits. That means Step 1 is more lenient toward Schedule Bs than normal, and Step 2 is harsher on Schedules C and D.
Set bonuses
Set bonuses shut down if:
- Your exemplared level is less than the minimum level the enhancement can exist at.
- The power the set was slotted in is unavailable:
- Arena settings. [1]
- What about Ouroboros challenge settings?
- Set bonuses do work when a Kheldian is shifted, unlike passives (and contrary to the patch notes).[2]
- Your exemplared level is more than three levels below the level of the enhancement. (Purples are immune to this.)
- Note: The remaining enhancements still give bonuses. TODO You'd swear this'd show up in a guide on the forums, it's explained often enough.
Special enhancements
"Chance for" enhancements are not affected by exemplaring, so long as the power is available. (Naturally, damage scales with combat level.)
These are also unaffected by exemplar level (again, so long as the power they're in is active):
- the big three uniques: Miracle: Recovery, Numina's Convalescence: Regeneration/Recovery, Regenerative Tissue: Regeneration
- Kismet: Accuracy
- Stealth IOs: Unbounded Leap: Stealth, Freebird: Stealth, Time and Space Manipulation: Stealth, Celerity: Stealth
- Rectified Reticle: Increased Perception
These have two-minute properties. (Technically, they're procs too.)
Affected
"Continuous globals" (list) stop working if you exemplar too low.
This is because their special effects are like set bonuses:
- The power they're in doesn't have to be on to get the enhancement's special effect, hence the name "continuous globals".
- The special bonus is temporarily disabled if you exemplar to more than three levels below the enhancement's level.
- The bonus shows up under Set Bonuses in a player's . Menu|Personal Info to view your own, or Actions|Info to spy on someone else's build.