I've been back in game for about a month after a two year absence, made 85, and picked up a few AA's that jumped out at me as being necessary, as well as having made a couple of AA blunders, in my opinion. I've also managed to get flagged for Korafax and Convorteum, and picked up a J5 iksar warrior merc whom my guildies have dubbed "Leeroy"
What I've bought since I've been back:
Mnemonic Retention 3&4
Cannibalization 4&5
Forceful Rejuvenation (mainly for Intervention)
Malosinete
Inconspicuous Totem
Virulent Paralysis 7&8
I'm primarily interested in avoiding any pitfalls that await the unsuspecting AA-spender. I read the verdict here on Rabid bear upgrades being more or less worthless, and unfortunately I bought 2 more ranks of VP before looking it up and finding that the only benefit is an extra 6 second duration. I won't be spending 12 AA for rank 9 anytime soon.
I was maxed on healing AA's before I quit, so those will probably be my next focus. Is there a recommended order for greatest impact, or are they all pretty much equivalent these days? I remembered the developers saying that they would probably never add more Healing Adept AA's so I was kind of surprised to see them. Are they as good as the old ones, or watered down?
The gear thing usually comes as a matter of course. I'm not aware of any major upgrades from my previous Crystallos group gear that would be easily farmable with puppy, myself, and Leeroy. Although I do remember reading on another forum somewhere that a shaman was farming named with a merc in Husk. I may have to give that a try and see how quickly I end up at bind. Also working on a couple of the SoD aug quests in my lfg time, specifically Bayle's at the moment. If there's anything super that's an easy solo, I wouldn't be opposed to hearing about it.
Thanks in advance for your valuable advice and hard-won expertise.
(Magelo link to the left updated to reflect current gear/AA status)