We risk printing lots more support in order to get a graceful slope built into the parts we make.
//scad.fed.wiki/assets/viewstl/viewstl.html?stl=http://scad.fed.wiki/assets/pages/tree-parts/better-tree-parts.stl HEIGHT 370
Well, better wasn't better. By printing the smaller features at an odd angle the sliced printer path introduced enough noise that nothing fit well. Even worse, the additional support was largely indistinguishable from the noisy print and did not cleanly separate.
We gave up the stagger in favor of printing more parts per run with whatever support made it work. We removed some volume by punching the negative cone all the way through the coupling.
Consider using a round beam between connectors. It will look better and might take less support.