Yep. Multiple copies of a set help to build up specific bonuses to serious levels. My main is an empath with over 20% defense to ranged attacks with his toggles off, thanks in part to multiple Thunderstrike sets. The purple IO sets work the way you thought, though–every enhancement in them is a unique, so you can only have one copy of each slotted in a build.
How you play is a factor too. Buckshot eats a decent amount of endurance for pretty low damage, but if you’re hitting multiple targets at once with it, it winds up saving you endurance in the long run compared to if you you were plinking them down one by one with Burst, Slug, or the worst offender, Snipe. If you’re having endurance issues with Assault Rifle, you’re probably not using its area attacks very well. Because of their assorted limitations, Flamethrower, Full Auto and (especially) Ignite are very cheap on endurance for attacks of their damage level.
In the case of the AR character I was talking about, she’s only level 11 or so, so she only has a handfull of low-level “powers”. Thought I do find it somewhat illogical that a character that uses a mechanical device like a rifle would use Endurance faster than a character like my mutant fire/fire blaster, who is presumably generating her powers herself.
I hear those rifles have lots of recoil. 
Ammo. Gotta stop and reload.
Or let the barrel cool, or swap ammo–“endurance” can be treated as an abstraction of all the things that mean roughly “You can’t attack constantly.”
I do find AR frustrating, though, in part due to the endurance use. My AR blaster, Liberty Valence, is stuck at level 19–probably permanently. I’ve played a /AR defender to 31, but his primary is Traps, so he plays completely differently from an AR/Elec blaster.
Assault Rifle does take a long time to get going. Buckshot is decent, but insufficient when it’s your only AOE. The Grenade is at Energy Blast levels of downright awful, and while Beanbag is a much-appreciated hard control in a set that otherwise has zilch for defense, it’s another early power slot that doesn’t do the core job of actually killing stuff. It takes until Flamethrower before you start to see how the set will actually play in its crowd-sweeping maturity. Even the last tier power, which for most other blasters is just a gimmicky nuke, winds up being a staple power that alters your entire gameplay. It’s a late bloomer, but well worth it if you enjoy murdering hordes of things.
I have yet to get an AR/ blaster past perhaps level 12, but I know Culex is a big fan - one of her early 50s was an AR/Dev who could routinely solo big spawns of +3 mobs.
I like blasters (my first 50 was a Fire/Ice blaster), but I think my favorite AT is Controller - there is something very satisfying about rendering groups of enemies helpless while your minions (in which I include your teammates) pound on them. WoW “crowd control” is laughable compared to the spectacle of a high-level controller. 
Without giving away any spoilers, is the connection between Penelope Yin and the Clockwork King ever fully explained?
While I am far from an expert, I am pretty sure the answer is no. At least to date.
… here he is: http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff71/Drummerboy49/wolkiecoh.jpg. But I’m stuck. where do I log out of this screen/start playing? I can go to a normal screen by clicking the windows key, but this screen stays.
Any help?
Guess y’all know what the “W” stands for, right? 
Thanks
Q
PS: Solved. For some reason the dumb game loaded in safe mode, and I had to start all over loading my toon. I also spent 5 bucks to buy 400 points to unlock a couple of things I wanted him to have.
I’ll need a lot of time to figure this one out, guys. I guess there’s a tutorial somewhere, so I’ll read it and and start over.
Yes, if you notice the lock and shopping cart icons, that means there’s things you selected you don’t own and you need to purchase through the store.
Be very careful what you do in this game, Quasi. It’s not like WoW, where you pay your subscription and you get everything in the game. It’s an a la carte system, and there’s a bunch of stuff that requires purchasing, even if you have a subscription. If you don’t watch out for things that ask you to purchase, you might find yourself doling out money left and right without meaning to or wanting to.
Thanks, Boss
Good to see you back - even if it isn’t in WoW!
Q
[spoiler]Is there something to explain? They’re both psychics, and they talk to each other. Penny is a sweet girl, and is nice to him. That makes her the closest thing to a friend he’s got, and he’s protective of her. Of course, he’s also crazy and obsessive, so there’s a definite creepy stalker element, but that’s all I get out of the two occasions their relationship comes up in the game.
Penny is going to show up more in the future, though, so there could be further developments.[/spoiler]
I was curious because during the mission arc to rescue Mr. Yin from the Lost, one of the clues I got from a defeated Lost said that they’d only kidnapped Mr. Yin to get leverage on Penelope (so she’s somehow important to them), and then said, “There’s a reason the Brain-in-Brass protects her.” (“Brain-in-Brass” being, I assume, the Clockwork King).
Aside from Penelope telepathically leading Praetorian characters (Resistance, anyway) through a mission arc, I haven’t seen any other mention of her outside Faultline; that is, the Yin/Lost/Clockwork story just isn’t developed any further as far as I can see.
Have you played in the Rikti War Zone yet? Some of the Faultline characters make another appearance there.
I’m happy to say that after purchasing the game 7 years ago, the only thing I’ve ever paid for, besides my monthly subscription that is, is the Going Rogue update. I can do everything I want in-game without purchasing any of the chécheres they want us to buy.
Haven’t made it there yet. I need to, seeing as how my main is level 41 now.
I’m in almost the same boat, although I did lay out for a couple of the Super Boosters. I prefer paying the monthly fee to the pay-per-element method. I understand why Paragon moved to the freemium model, but I’m glad that they kept the subscription option. I think it’s far more cost-effective - for $15 per month, I get 12 slots on every server, a bunch of ATs (I think Premium players are paying to unlock controller, mastermind, warshade, peacebringer, widow, spider), invention system, Mission Architect, etc.
I wonder what the lifecycle is for players - how many move from free to Premium to VIP. Would be interesting to know.
I rolled up a new blaster last night that’s turning out to be a lot of fun. Her name is “Brain Cloud”, and her powers are Psychic Blast and Darkness Manipulation. I’ve noticed that Penumbral Grasp seems to be a much more effective and accurate Immobilize than my main’s Ring of Fire.
So I ran the mission for Sela Vermont in Atlas Park to recover the stolen anniversary gifts for Manticore & Sister Psyche, and I’m left wondering — is Synapse supposed to be somewhat socially inept? Because it seems to me that buying lingerie for another man’s wife is something of a major faux pas. Poor Synapse just might end up with that “Gag Gift Arrow” where he doesn’t want it 
I had a fun coincidence yesterday. While browsing DeviantArt for CoH fan art, I came across a talented digital artist/CoH player named Golden Girl. Then, about half an hour later, I ran into her in-game, standing next to Ms. Liberty. She has some fun stuff there in her gallery. A few of my favorites (click the pics to embiggen):
Old Spice commercial spoof with Calvin Scott
Also, what does the “PB” in “PBAoE” stand for? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it spelled out.