Recipe
Overview
A Recipe is required to make Inventions (except for Common IOs that have been memorized). You also need Invention Salvage, an Invention Worktable and Influence/Infamy.
Rarity and Drops
Computer-controlled enemies can drop common, uncommon, and rare recipes upon defeat. Each enemy can drop at most one recipe. If a team defeats an enemy and that enemy drops a recipe, it goes to a random team member. The enemy's rank affects how likely it is to drop a recipe, with higher ranks giving higher chances. The enemy's level does not influence drop chances, except that enemies that are too low provide no rewards at all. Drop chances aren't affected by the enemy's faction, either. None of these factors influence what kinds of recipes might drop (other than that they'll always be Pool A -- see below) or how likely they are to be common, uncommon, or rare.
Common recipes can also be purchased at fixed prices from any Invention Worktable.
Completing a mission has a chance of granting a recipe. In teams, each member has a separate chance, so more than one member can get one.
Completing a Task Force, Strike Force, or Trial automatically grants each team member the option of a rare recipe, unless that task has a time limit on how often that reward can be granted and that character recently claimed a recipe on an earlier run.
A recipe can only be used once. Inventing the item associated with a recipe uses up the recipe.
Recipe Drop 'Pools'
Main article: Recipe Drop Pools
Most of the recipes are collectible from simply fighting normal critters, and almost any has a chance of dropping one. Some recipes (Pool B) are only dropped from completing a mission. Some recipes (Pools C and D) are random Merit Reward rolls.
This makes 5 pools from which recipes are drawn:
- Pool A: General Enemies
- Pool B: Mission Completion
- Pool C: Taskforce Random Recipe Roll (formerly Task Force/Strike Force)
- Pool D: Trial Random Recipe Roll (formerly trial and Hamidon raid)
- Pool E: Minions
Pool A is huge. Pools B, C, D, and E are small. Most Enhancement Sets have all IOs in Pool A alone.
Every five levels is a new table for each pool, so what can be found changes as you level. Not all levels have recipes in all five categories.
No recipe is tied to doing a specific task. This is done so people don't plan on farming AVs for rares. So completing any mission will award a random recipe from Pool B for that level, and defeating any foe, be it minion or boss, can award a recipe from Pool A for that level of foe, and so on.
Pool A
According to Positron, the drop rates for Pool A (enemy) drops are:
| Enemy | Rate |
|---|---|
| Minion | 2.666667% |
| Lieutenant/Sniper | 5.333333% |
| Boss/Elite Boss | 7.999999% |
| Archvillain | either 100% or 0%, depending on the AV |
Giant Monsters do not drop Recipes (but can drop Salvage). Underlings do not drop either.
When a Pool A recipe does drop, the Common:Uncommon:Rare ratio is: 32:8:1 (so Common is 78.05%, Uncommon is 19.51%, and Rare is 2.44%). (Again, from Positron)
Pool B
Pool B is for recipes dropped for completion of door missions. When completing a door mission, each team member has a 10% chance of receiving a Pool B drop [1]. Hunt/Delivery/Talk-to missions do not qualify for this drop, but door missions in Trials and Task Forces do qualify.
Pool C
- See also: Taskforce Random Recipe Roll
Prior to Issue 13, recipes in drop pool C were randomly awarded at the end of Task Forces (and, confusingly, all Trials except the respec trial).
Now, random generation of Pool C recipes is only done as a Taskforce Random Recipe Roll at a Merit Vendor, at a cost of 20 Reward Merits per roll. Recipes are generated at your level, or at the maximum level possible for that recipe, whichever is lower. The level range selected in the right half of the Merit Vendor window (10-14, 15-19, etc.) will remove as possible selections recipes whose minimum is above the range or whose maximum is below the range. The level slider at the top of the Merit Window (1-50) only limits the ranges that are displayed, and does not otherwise affect the level of the recipe.
Pool D
- See also: Trial Random Recipe Roll
This article contains information that no longer applies to the current version of City of Heroes/Villains. It is provided for historical purposes.
Overview
The Trial Random Recipe Roll was a Reward Purchase available at Merit Vendors.
<onlyinclude>Prior to Issue 13, recipes in drop pool D were formerly randomly awarded at the end of respec Trials and Hamidon Raids.
With Issue 13, random generation of Pool D recipes was only done as a Trial Random Recipe Roll at a Merit Vendor, at a cost of 30 Reward Merits per roll.
As of Issue 14 this recipe roll was merged with the Taskforce Random Recipe Roll, and can be rolled for 20 Reward Merits, eliminating this reward roll.
Listing
| 25-29 range 5 recipes |
30-34 range 8 recipes |
35-39 range 9 recipes |
40-45 range 9 recipes |
46-50 range 7 recipes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Decimation Acc/Dam/Rech (25-40) |
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 Touch of Death Dam/End/Rech (25-40) |
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 Aegis Res/End/Rech (25-50)
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 Luck of the Gambler Def/End/Rech (25-50)
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 Sovereign Right Acc/Dam/End (25-50)
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 Devastation Acc/Dam/Rech (30-50)
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 Mako's Bite Acc/End/Rech (30-50)
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 Numina's Convalescence Heal/End/Rech (30-50)
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 Sting of the Manticore Dam/Int/Rech (35-50)
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See Also
Pool E
In Issue 10, all Invention Made Costumes were moved to this new pool to increase their drop rate. Costume recipes no longer drop off any critter ranks except Minion. On the other hand, it is possible to defeat a Minion and get both a Pool A and a Pool E recipe.
NPC Value
All NPCs that purchase recipes do so according to the same formulas.
- Uncommon recipes sell for the 100 * level. ex. A level 15 uncommon recipe will sell to an NPC for 1500 influence.
- Rare recipes sell for 200 * level. ex. A level 15 rare recipe will sell to an NPC for 3000 influence.
- Common (non-set) recipes sell according to a slightly more complicated fomula described below:
| Recipe level | divider |
|---|---|
| 10-25 | 8 |
| 30-40 | 5.3 |
| 45-50 | 4 |
First determine the cost to craft the given common recipe. Then use the above table to determine the divider based on what level the recipe is. Finally divide the cost to craft the enhancement by the divider for that level. ex. a level 50 damage IO costs 464,400 influence to craft. 464,400 / 4 = 116,100, the price an NPC will give you for that recipe.
Costume Recipes
main article: Invention Made Costumes
Costume items currently can only be used by the person who makes them. According to the documentation, making a costume item automatically delivers it to Icon or Facemaker for you to use. In other words, you can't invent a costume and then sell or give or trade that costume away. You can sell, give away, or trade the recipe and salvage for the costume, though. Once crafted, these costume pieces are treated like any other unlocked costume piece at the clothing shop and are now always available to be used on the character that crafted it. Prices for adding the costume piece fit the normal curve for costume changes.
Temporary Power Recipes
main article: Invention Temporary Powers
Temporary powers when crafted can only be used by the person who makes them. After they are created, the power icon should appear as normal in your tray and under the powers menu. Like all Temporary Powers, these have a set number of uses before they disappear. Unlike many of their brethren though, you can craft the same power multiple times (requiring that the first is used up).
These powers can not be sold or traded by Consignment House, but the recipe and salvage to make them can be.
Respec Recipes
main article: Respec Recipe
Respec Recipes currently can only be used by the person who makes them. They grant the character who crafted it a Free Respec to use at any time with the Respec_(Slash_Command). You can't invent a respec and then sell or give or trade that respec away. You can sell, give away, or trade the recipe and salvage for the respec, though.