A couple things to note here.
One, if I understand correctly, Invention enhancements don't lose basic effectiveness when you exemp under their level. You'll lose any additional set bonuses they convey, however... +health, +recovery, so on. Which doesn't matter if you're not slotting sets in the first place.
Two, using IOs saves you money. Lots and lots of money.
If you look carefully at the going rates for enhancements at Wentworth's or the Black Market... you can actually purchase some IOs for cheaper than they take to craft. Why? Because a lot of people just craft stuff to get the badges, and sell the results just to get rid of 'em.
A level 35 invention enhancement (36% boost, slightly better than an SO) takes about...I dunno, 40-50k inf to create. I've managed to buy several off the market for as low as 1000k apiece. That's why Obsolete currently has so many IOs slotted. So basically I'm getting an enhancement that's better than an even-level SO...and will never expire...for virtually nothing.
There's even less market demand for the IOs that are less effective than SOs. But Level 25 IOs still give about 32% per pop, which is almost as good. I've managed to buy those for as low as 100 inf. One hundred. Astreal, my blaster, has a few such enhancements that I picked up dirt cheap.
It's an incredible monetary saving there.
Furthermore, I've heard stories of folks making incredible amounts of influence 'playing the market'. Buying low and selling high. I've experimented with this a little; so far Obsolete's made around 1 mil inf this way...which is nowhere near the "15 mil profit in one day" figure I've heard one person cite, but not too shabby either. Especially since I haven't tried that hard.
(I'm just trying to earn enough to buy Rocket Boots. =)
-- Acyl
One, if I understand correctly, Invention enhancements don't lose basic effectiveness when you exemp under their level. You'll lose any additional set bonuses they convey, however... +health, +recovery, so on. Which doesn't matter if you're not slotting sets in the first place.
Two, using IOs saves you money. Lots and lots of money.
If you look carefully at the going rates for enhancements at Wentworth's or the Black Market... you can actually purchase some IOs for cheaper than they take to craft. Why? Because a lot of people just craft stuff to get the badges, and sell the results just to get rid of 'em.
A level 35 invention enhancement (36% boost, slightly better than an SO) takes about...I dunno, 40-50k inf to create. I've managed to buy several off the market for as low as 1000k apiece. That's why Obsolete currently has so many IOs slotted. So basically I'm getting an enhancement that's better than an even-level SO...and will never expire...for virtually nothing.
There's even less market demand for the IOs that are less effective than SOs. But Level 25 IOs still give about 32% per pop, which is almost as good. I've managed to buy those for as low as 100 inf. One hundred. Astreal, my blaster, has a few such enhancements that I picked up dirt cheap.
It's an incredible monetary saving there.
Furthermore, I've heard stories of folks making incredible amounts of influence 'playing the market'. Buying low and selling high. I've experimented with this a little; so far Obsolete's made around 1 mil inf this way...which is nowhere near the "15 mil profit in one day" figure I've heard one person cite, but not too shabby either. Especially since I haven't tried that hard.
(I'm just trying to earn enough to buy Rocket Boots. =)
-- Acyl