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
1. First, if your Exemplar level is 45 or less, you need to cap each Enhancement's benefits to a maximum of 41.5% to any one aspect. This step rarely has a big impact, and most of the time can be safely skipped. 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 (either Common or Set). 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.
2. Look up your Exemplar level and your true level in the following table, and divide the first value by the second. This gives you your scaling factor. Multiply all your 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 |
3. Apply Enhancement Diversification after scaling down.
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.
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).
These reductions do not apply to set bonuses or global benefits.
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 all 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 the original one slot in Tornado (since he can't get the power itself until then), but 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.
- As a point of reference, for characters level 33+, SOs effectively become DOs when Exemplaring to level 18-19, and they effectively become Training Enhancements when Exemplaring to level 10. Characters between 22 and 33 need to drop lower to see the same degredation.