Yusaku_777

Well, to answer one question you had about Set IOs versus Basic IOs, I'll give you an example.

Let's take your first attack as a tank, and six slot it for theoretical purposes. Let's put level 50 Basic IOs in it. I'll slot it with 1 Accuracy, 3 Damage, 1 Recharge Reduction and 1 Endurance Reduction.

That gives us bonuses of Acc: 42.40%, Dam: 99.08%, Rec: 42.40% and EndRed: 42.40%.

Now let's slot that same power with 6 level 50 Set IOs. Let's use Crushing Impact. Slotting all six Crushing Impacts at level 50 gives us bonuses of Acc: 68.90%, Dam: 101.47%, Rec: 68.90%, EndRed: 68.90% AND SET BONUSES OF MezResist: 2.2%, HP: 1.13%, Global Accuracy Bonus: 7%, Global Recharge Bonus: 5%, and PsiResist: 2.5%

The individual bonuses from each Set IO may seem small, but they DO add up. You get more effect for the same number of slots. Or you can even use less slots to get a level that you want. The Set Bonuses are just gravy on the cake.

I hope this helps with that question, at least.

I just hit 20 on my Dual Blades/Ninjitsu Stalker. I'm having fun with it. As with any Defense based set, any thing you can do to hamper an enemy attacking you is ideal. Considering you have a PBAoE knockdown combo by level 8, Dual Blades is shaping up to be a nice match with Ninjitsu, for me.

Yes. You need the exact / command for each costume change emote, though. Refer to the wiki for the full list. http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Costume_..._Change_Emotes

Example macro would be: /macro C1 "cce 3 CCBackflip"

This would make a macro named C1, where you do a back flip, and change into the costume in the 4th slot. (Costume slots being numbered 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4)

It's been a while since I've taken my Fire/Fire out for a spin, so I was curious if any changes had been made that I need to be aware of.

In particular, I was curious if the make-enemies-scatter Fear Effect had ever been removed from Rain of Fire (in which case I might pick it up), or if Hot Feet ever got changed to allow activation or effectiveness on a perma-hover character.

Of course, anything else I should know would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! After reading over Awesome's Soft-Cap guide (and bookmarking it), I think I've come up with a build for I19, that works in everything I want it to do. I'm not sure if I'll be able to AFFORD everything, but at least I know what I'm working towards, now.

In the meantime, in order to get everything to fit, I'll have to put off Boxing/Tough/Weave until I19 makes Fitness inherent. But at least I'll get to try him out, in the knowledge that he will get better (assuming I'm done buying all the IOs I need before then anyhow.)

Thanks again for all the helpful advice!

My first character was my tanker, way back in the I3/I4 days. I eventually got him to 50 after ED, but then stopped playing for a while. I'd like to dust him off, and make him all shiny again. I'm willing to drop some inf on him, but I refuse to go broke, just on general principle.

He's a Invulnerability/Energy Melee Tanker, with a preference for Air Superiority/Hover/Fly. Any hints or suggestions to get me going in the right direction? How much is the (ugh) Fighting Pool needed now? Aid Self?

Teach me, that I might learn.

*thumbs up* Great guide, nice job.

[ QUOTE ]
This is...confusing.
The guide is good, with an obvious huge amount of work going into it, but the colors look....welll...bad.

as far as the CONTENT of the guide is concerned, I will reserve judgement, since I happen to quite enjoy the nearly 70% damage boost I can get from defiance, and chasing stuff around all day to melee it means you are lucky if you can fight at above 20%.

Unfortunately, with the damage boost to primaries, and defiance, and the ability to fire off your first two primary attacks while mezzed, I think the pure-melee blaster has gone the way of the dodo. Solo it can still be fun, sort of, but it's a little unfair to expect a team to put up with you putting out half the damage you could be.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I'm a little unsure about the colors myself, but, it was the only way to be sure to break it up visually as your skimming through it a second time for information you want.

As far as the damage output, I call shenanigans. I'm glad you're able to enjoy nearly 70% damage boosts while fighting at range. However, I'm enjoying at least 50% off just my little attack chain of Total Focus, Bone Smasher, Energy Punch, Stun and Power Thrust, in the thick of combat so I'm never at a shortage of targets, and doing a lot more damage in melee range than I would be doing with ranged powers.

The Damage Boost to primaries you mention still doesn't match the damage output of the secondary. You can look at the numbers yourself. Only 1 Primary Blast outdamages Energy Punch, your level 2 power, and that is Power Burst. Sniper Blast does more damage, but you can't use it all the time, considering you're likely to get interupted mid-combat, and Nova does more damage, but again you can't use it all the time, because of the recharge. So, out your entire primary, you have one attack that does decent damage that can be used with any regularity.

I do mention that you should consider taking both starting blasts, to have a way to counteract mez, but I stand by my opinion. A pure melee Energy/Energy Blapper will outdamage and outperform a pure ranged Energy/Energy Blaster, any day of the week.

[ QUOTE ]
Regarding the snipe and boost range: Blaster or defender, if I have a snipe available I take it ASAP. And I slot range in it (DAM/Range HOs provided reaching the appropriate level before I9, HOs are scarce after). Night Widows are (annoyingly) resistant to being held so Aim+Build Up+snipe+anything else usually takes care of them. One of my blasters has stealth (pool) plus stealthIO which gives a degree of emotional satisfaction when you can snipe from 10 feet.


[/ QUOTE ]

As I mentioned, this guide was written for the concept of a melee-focused Blapper, so while Snipe might help out against one or two specific enemies, I still think you're better off just punching the stuffing out of that same target, faster, with just two punches, doing more damage with Energy Punch and Bone Smasher.

Snipe has always been a contested power. Either you don't like it, or you love it. I fall in the first category. I think you fall in the second.

[ QUOTE ]
Wow Yusaka! Lots of good info in here after a quick skim. I have a lv31 Energy/Energy blapper named Sir Liam Gearsley that I recently dusted off after playing my scrapper and controller and I'll have to take a close look at your info once I have some free time. Thanks!

[/ QUOTE ]

Heh, yeah, it wound up a lot longer than I was anticipating. But, it's got pretty much all the stuff people were asking for from my previous version. Hope you enjoy the guide, and find it useful.

The update 4 issues in the making!

Yusaku's Guide to the Energy/Energy BLAPPER [I11]

Maybe now I can do something else with my free time. Warning, it's pretty freaking long.

Part VII: Addendum, Known Bugs, Etc.

I’m including this section to keep all the little follow up notes in one area, and hopefully be able to edit this a bit longer than the rest of the guide.


The Defiance Formula
Damage Buff: 0.66* (0.1 * CastTime) / AreaModifier
Duration: 7.5 + CastTime
CastTime is the cast time of the power
AreaModifier = (1 + (0.15 * radius)) – ((0.011 * radius/6) * ((360 - arc)/5))
If it is a single target attack, Area Modifier = 1


Known Bugs
Stun (Energy Manipulation)
Stun has a known bug in the Defiance Buff it provides. It has a Cast Time of 1.80 seconds, and by the Defiance Formula, should provide a Buff of 11.88% to the Damage. Instead, it is calculating the Buff as if it has a Cast Time of 1.50, and providing a Buff of 9.90% to the Damage. This has been brought to the attention of the Devs, no reply yet.

Total Focus (Energy Manipulation)
Total Focus has a known bug in the Defiance Buff it provides. It has a Cast Time of 3.30 seconds, and by the Defiance Formula, should provide a Buff of 21.78% to the Damage. Instead, it is calculating the Buff as if it has a Cast Time of 1.33, and providing a Buff of 8.78% to the Damage. This has been brought to the attention of the Devs, no reply yet.

Power Burst (Energy Blast)
Power Burst has a known bug in the Defiance Buff it provides. It has a Cast Time of 2.00 seconds, and by the Defiance Formula, should provide a Buff of 13.20% to the Damage. Instead, it is calculating the Buff as if it has a Cast Time of 1.20, and providing a Buff of 7.92% to the Damage. This has been brought to the attention of the Devs, no reply yet.

Sniper Blast (Energy Blast)
Sniper Blast has a known bug in the Defiance Buff it provides. It has a Cast Time of 1.33 seconds, and by the Defiance Formula, should provide a Buff of 8.79% to the Damage. Instead, it is calculating the Buff as if it has a Cast Time of 1.13, and providing a Buff of 7.46% to the Damage. This has been brought to the attention of the Devs, no reply yet.

Power Push (Energy Blast)
Power Push has a known bug in the Damage it does. It should have a Brawl Index of 1.26, with 0.63 Smashing Damage, and 0.63 Energy Damage. Instead it has a Brawl Index of 0.84, with 0.42 Smashing Damage, and 0.42 Energy Damage. This has been brought to the attention of the Devs, no reply yet.

Part VI: Tips and a Build


Leveling Tips
This is a brand new section for me; I’ve never designed a leveling guide before. Forgive me if it seems a little off, in comparison to the rest of the guide.

Level 1-9
Hello, and welcome to the world of beating bad guys up with your fists! You’ll have Power Thrust, one blast, and Energy Punch by level 2. As much as it pained me to use a blast on my melee-focused Blapper concept, at this level, you pretty much have to. I didn’t have either of the two Vet Attacks at the time, since they weren’t around then. You might be able to get away without using a blast if you have them, but odds are, you’ll use your blast from time to time for the first few levels.

Grab Build Up at level 4, and don’t be surprised if you catch yourself giggling like a school girl. Level 6 and 8 should be used in preparation for Fitness or Travel Pools, or maybe you’ll want to pick up your other Tier 1 Blast, to have another attack to use while mezzed. Personally, I just wish that it applied to Energy Punch as well.

As far as slotting during these levels, focus on your melee attacks. Get Energy Punch slotted to at least 4 slots. Get a slot or three into Power Thrust. Slot up your Pool Power attack, if you took one. Remember to fill those slots with Accuracy at this level. You’ll get the most benefit out of that, then Endurance Reduction after that.

Level 10-19
At level 10, you grab Bone Smasher. Prepare to start giggling like a school girl again. 12 is Aim. You’re allowed to continue giggling until level 14, by then it is just silly looking. Now, thanks to the Temp Travel Powers from the first two Safeguard Missions, I actually tend to hold off on a Travel Power until level 22 or so, unless it is for concept. You’ll want to use the powers from 14-18 to get ready for Fitness, or Travel Powers. Pick what you think will be effective, and remember that you can always respec later if something isn’t working for you.

As far as slotting, you’re now edging into DO territory. A DO or two in Accuracy in your attacks, and then some Damage, at long last. You still have to worry about Endurance issues, so consider a slot or two of Endurance Reducers, if you have the space. Melee Attacks always get first priority when slotting time comes up, but don’t forget to drop 2 slots each into Aim and Build Up. I suggest 1 slot into each at a time. Keep those two synched for maximum blappage.

Level 20-29
Congratulations, you’re now in prime territory. You’ve now got Stamina, you’ve now got SOs. You’re kicking butt and taking names. The names are usually “Ow!” and “My teeth!” but hey, what can you expect out of some street punks? The 20’s are actually pretty open in Power Choices. Nothing is a “You have to get this now.” power, so feel free to customize to your hearts content. Same for slotting. Remember to work on your melee attacks first, but after that, have fun.

Level 30-39
The fun stops for a while. Here is where most Blasters and Blappers give up. Lots of Mez effects flying around. Everyone has them. Nemesis show up in great numbers. Evil, evil Nemesis. Enemy hit points go up, while your damage hasn’t. It takes longer to take them out.

Then, you only get four power selections during these levels. 30. 32. 35. 38. But if you can make it to 38, oh, happy days are here again. Total Focus comes into your life, and you wonder how you ever lived without it. Then you get to enjoy the benefits of three slots per level, not just two. A lot of powers get filled out with slots during these levels, so your Blapper becomes even more effective.

Stay strong, Blappers. You just need to make it from 30 to 38. You can do it, right?

Level 40-50
The final stretch. You’ll get access to the Epic Pools. And by now, you should be rolling in Influence, so it’ll be easier to get some of those IOs you’ve got your eye on. The downside is, the enemies get even tougher. Malta arrive. Evil, Evil Malta. The Carnival shows up. Watch that Endurance Bar. And look, the Nemesis are still around. *sigh*

But like I said, it’s the final stretch. You’re a Blapper. You’re not going to let anyone stop you. Just apply fist to jaw, and repeat, until your foes are scattered at your feet. And then one day, you too will experience the joy of a level 50 DING!


A Sample Build
Mainly because someone always asks for it, I’m providing a sample build. Personally, I actually prefer the guides that provide the information about a power, and let you make your own choice about it, over those that provide a build, and tell you why they took each power.

This build is what I use on my Blapper, Petey Quick. This build is my final build. I have almost all of the Enhancements listed here. I think I’m missing 3 special IOs, and 3 HOs. However, he was leveled to 50 on pure SOs. The Invention System didn’t even come out for over a year after he hit 50. He didn’t even have any HOs until he was already level 50.

The current build I have is also pretty damn close to the build I used to level. A few powers got switched around as far as when I got them, but over all, it is my leveling build. Obviously, I didn’t slot Stealth this heavily until IOs came out, same for Stun and Power Bolt. Those were only slotted here for Set Bonuses and Special Effects. To be honest, back in pure SO days, all those extra slots went into Swift, Health and Stamina. I had all three Six Slotted, even under ED. What can I say, I had nothing else to do with the slots. I never used the Medicine Pool. I never had Acrobatics. Heck, I didn’t have Knockback Protection until IOs, and the +Knockback Protection Special IOs.

It’s a highly conceptual build, a pure melee Blapper, with an emphasis on speed.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.30
http://www.honourableunited.org.uk/mhd.php

Petey Quick IO Respec: Level 50 Science Blaster
Primary Power Set: Energy Blast
Secondary Power Set: Energy Manipulation
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Concealment
Power Pool: Teleportation
Ancillary Pool: Force Mastery

Hero Profile:
------------
Level 1: Power Bolt Thundr-Acc/Dmg:30(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:30(43), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:30(43), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:30(46), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:30(50)
Level 1: Power Thrust HO:Nucle(A), B'ngBlow-Acc/Dmg:30(5), B'ngBlow-Dmg/EndRdx:30(15), B'ngBlow-Dmg/Rchg:30(15)
Level 2: Energy Punch C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:30(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx:30(3), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:30(3), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:30(5), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:30(25), KntkC'bat-Knock%:30(27)
Level 4: Build Up HO:Membr(A), HO:Membr(17), HO:Membr(19)
Level 6: Hasten RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(7), RechRdx-I:50(7)
Level 8: Flurry HO:Nucle(A), B'ngBlow-Acc/Dmg:30(9), B'ngBlow-Dmg/EndRdx:30(9), B'ngBlow-Dmg/Rchg:30(13), KntkC'bat-Knock%:30(31)
Level 10: Bone Smasher C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:30(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx:30(3), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:30(3), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:30(5), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:30(25), KntkC'bat-Knock%:30(27)
Level 12: Aim HO:Membr(A), HO:Membr(17), HO:Membr(19)
Level 14: Super Speed QckFt-RunSpd:30(A), QckFt-EndRdx/RunSpd:30(23)
Level 16: Swift Run-I:50(A), Run-I:50(23)
Level 18: Health Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:30(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+:30(36), RgnTis-Regen+:30(36), RgnTis-Heal/Rchg:30(36)
Level 20: Stamina EndMod-I:50(A), EndMod-I:50(21), EndMod-I:50(21)
Level 22: Whirlwind EndRdx-I:30(A), EndRdx-I:50(31)
Level 24: Stealth LkGmblr-EndRdx/Rchg:30(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:30(34), LkGmblr-Rchg+:30(40), GftotA-Run+:30(42), Ksmt-ToHit+:30(42), Krma-ResKB:30(42)
Level 26: Conserve Power RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(29), RechRdx-I:50(29)
Level 28: Invisibility GftotA-Run+:40(A)
Level 30: Hurdle Jump-I:50(A)
Level 32: Nova C'ngBlow-Acc/Dmg:35(A), C'ngBlow-Dmg/EndRdx:35(33), C'ngBlow-Dmg/Rchg:35(33), C'ngBlow-Acc/Rchg:35(33), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg:35(34), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:35(34)
Level 35: Stun Stpfy-Acc/Rchg:38(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun:38(37), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx:38(37), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg:38(37), Stpfy-KB%:38(43)
Level 38: Total Focus C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:41(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx:41(39), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:41(39), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:41(39), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:41(40), KntkC'bat-Knock%:35(40)
Level 41: Personal Force Field GftotA-Run+:40(A)
Level 44: Temp Invulnerability TtmC'tng-ResDam:47(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx:47(45), TtmC'tng-ResDam/Rchg:47(45), ImpSkn-Status:30(45), S'fstPrt-ResKB:30(46), Aegis-Psi/Status:50(46)
Level 47: Force of Nature RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(48), TtmC'tng-ResDam:50(48), TtmC'tng-ResDam/Rchg:50(48), ImpSkn-Status:30(50), S'fstPrt-ResKB:30(50)
Level 49: Recall Friend EndRdx-I:50(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint Clrty-RunSpd:30(A), Clrty-Stlth:30(31)
Level 2: Rest RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 1: Defiance



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Final Words
So, that’s my Issue 11 compliant guide to the Energy/Energy Blapper. I hope you all at least found something useful in here, and maybe some of you are thinking about rolling a Blapper now. All I can say is, I really enjoyed the trip, and had a lot of fun.

Feel free to leave any comments, questions, or criticisms. Especially leave a comment if you find an error in here, and I’ll try and correct it as quickly as possible. Thanks again!

Part V: Ancillary Power Pools
Ancillary Power Pools, or “Epics” as they are known, are your reward for making it to the higher levels. Here you can get armors, or holds, or more attacks, or just neat effects in general.

Like the Energy Blast and Power Pool sections, I won’t be going into a lot of detail here, but I’ll cover the basics, along with giving you some ideas. This is the home stretch!


Cold Mastery
Cold Mastery gives you access to a lot of ice related powers. Some neat stuff in here.

Snow Storm
Rating: 3/5 (This is a good power for a Blapper)
Snow Storm is an AoE Toggle focused on a target. It’s expensive to run (0.66 Endurance per second), but while it’s active, every enemy in the effect has a 50% penalty attached to their movement speed and recharge speed. The downside is that they’ll all agro on you, but on a team, this is a very nice power.

Flash Freeze
Rating: 1/5
Flash Freeze is an AoE Sleep. It has a very long recharge (90 seconds), and only affects Lieutenants and lower without stacking. If you’re going for the Cold Mastery Pool, get Snow Storm instead.

Frozen Armor
Rating: 3/5
Hooray! You can finally get something decent for defenses. And by “decent” I mean a base 10.5% Defense against Smashing/Lethal (you get hit less often) and a base 21% Resistance to Cold (you get hit for less). The funny part is, as low as those numbers are, they’re still over twice as good as Tough and Weave.

Hibernate
Rating: 5/5 (This is a great power for a Blapper)
Hibernate is the crown jewel of the Cold Mastery set. For up to 30 seconds, you’ll be essentially phase shifted, where nothing can hurt you, and you can’t hurt anything. But while you’re hibernating, you’re recovering hit points and endurance at an amazing rate. If you’re taking the Cold Mastery route, it’s for this power right here.


Electric Mastery
Electric Mastery gives you access to a lot of electric related powers. Kind of a sub-par Pool, in my opinion.

Static Discharge
Rating: 2/5
A Cone attack, doing average AoE Damage (i.e. not much). If you’re looking for another AoE attack for some reason, it’s ok.

Shocking Bolt
Rating: 4/5 (This is a good power for a Blapper)
A ranged Hold. If you only want to grab one power from this Pool, this is the one. Good duration, just a hair shorter than the recharge, so it’s easy to stack with slotting.

Charged Armor
Rating: 3/5
The standard Blaster Armor, this time providing a base 19.25% Resistance (you get hit for less) to Smashing/Lethal/Energy, which are three nice groups to cover.

EM Pulse
Rating: 2/5
EM Pulse is another type of Nuke power. It has a larger radius than the rest of the Nukes, but only does damage to Robots. What it does do though, is stuns every enemy around you with a Magnitude 3 Disorient. This would be very nice to work in with Energy Manipulations abundance of stun effects, but EM Pulse, like most Nukes, gives you 15 seconds of -100% Recovery (you don’t get Endurance back). The only positive side is that it doesn’t drain your Endurance to nothing at the same time.


Flame Mastery
Flame Mastery gives you access to a lot of earth related powers. Naw, I’m kidding. Its fire related stuff. I’d rate this as either the best or second best Blaster Epic Pool.

Bonfire
Rating: 1/5
Blah. Bonfire puts down a patch of fire that knocks back anything that tries to pass it. That’s it. It’s great for blocking enemies from getting to you, but as a Blapper, you want them close, not far away. Next?

Char
Rating: 4/5 (This is a good power for a Blapper)
A ranged Hold. If you only want to grab one power from this Pool, this is the one. Good duration, just a hair shorter than the recharge, so it’s easy to stack with slotting.

Fire Shield
Rating: 3/5
Yet another typical Blaster Shield. This one provides a base 19.25% Resistance (you get hit for less) to Smashing/Lethal, 14% Resistance to Fire, and 7% Resistance to Cold. You cover more of the spectrum, but Fire and Cold are two of the less common PvE Damage types.

Rise Of The Phoenix
Rating: 4/5 (This is a good power for a Blapper)
Yes, this power is only useful if you die. But come on. By the time you’re level 47 and can get it, you’ll know that you’re going to die at some point. Plus, it looks freakin’ awesome. And you know you want a Self-Rez.


Force Mastery
No, not that Force. Force Mastery is unique in that all of its powers are designed to make your Blapper tougher to hit. I’d rate this as either the best or second best Blaster Epic Pool.

Personal Force Field
Rating: 4/5 (This is a good power for a Blapper)
Personal Force Field, or PFF, is an amazing power, limited in just one small way. First, the benefits. A base 52.5% Defense (things hit you less often) to everything but Toxic Damage, but even that’s nullified a bit because in addition to Typed Defense, you also get Positional Defense. So as long as an attack has a type like Smashing, Psionic, or Cold, or a position like Melee, Ranged, or Area of Effect, PFF will defend against it. The defense can be enhanced, too. PFF also provides a 28% Resistance (things hit you for less damage) on top of that. You can’t enhance the Resistance part, but let’s face it; you’re not going to be hit that often, and what does hit you has the damage cut by a quarter.

The downside to PFF is the activation time. It is two seconds long, and you aren’t protected until the activation time is up. So, it can’t be used as a true “panic button” power, as you need two seconds lead time. If you get PFF, then get used to predicting when things are really going to head south, and hit PFF two seconds before that.

Repulsion Field
Rating: 1/5
Repulsion Field seems like a good idea, but isn’t. Like Whirlwind from the Speed Power Pool, Repulsion Field knocks away enemies that get close to you. Where it fails is that it has a second longer activation time, twice the recharge time, and a seven foot radius, versus the five foot radius on Whirlwind. The downside to the seven foot radius is that it knocks away people before they get in melee range. And as a melee-focused Blapper, that’s bad.

Temporary Invulnerability
Rating: 3/5
Like the rest of the Blaster Shields, this one provides protection against a couple damage types. In this case, its just Smashing and Lethal damage (the two most common damage types), but the percentages are higher, stopping a base 21% Resistance to it.

Force of Nature
Rating: 4/5 (This is a good power for a Blapper)
Force of Nature is probably the best final power in any pool available to a Blaster. For two minutes, your Blapper becomes a mini-Tank. FoN provides resistance against everything but Psionic Damage, and boosts your endurance recovery another 100%. With slotting, you can actually cap Smashing/Lethal damage at 75% stopped, and get Fire/Cold/Energy/NegEnergy/Toxic Resistance up to 55%. There are two downsides. No Mez Resistance and a hellish long recharge time. But outside of those issues, this power is great.


Munitions Mastery
Munitions Mastery is… different. You get access to your Armor first, and everything else is fired from the Frankengun. Thankfully, you should be able to change the look of the Frankengun now.

Body Armor
Rating: 3/5
Body Armor, the Blaster Armor of the Munitions Mastery Pool, is actually the first power you can choose, which means you don’t have to wait until level 44 to get it. Plus, it is an automatic power, which is always on, so you don’t spend endurance to use it and you don’t lose it when you get mezzed. So, what’s the catch? It provides a very small 8.75% Resistance Bonus to Smashing and Lethal Damage.

Cryo Freeze Ray
Rating: 4/5
Your Blapper whips out the Frankengun, and zap! Your target is held in a block of ice. Nice for taking one enemy out of the fight right at the start.

Sleep Grenade
Rating: 2/5
You launch a Sleep Grenade from beneath the Frankengun, putting everyone in the area of effect to sleep with a Mag 2 Sleep. Nice when you’re solo, that’s about it.

LRM Rocket
Rating: 3/5
Now, if we just take a moment to point and laugh at a power named the “Long Range Missile Rocket,” then we can move on to talking about it. The LRM is an AoE Snipe. A really long activation time, of four seconds, but when you finally do fire, you can hit everyone within 20 feet of your target with an attack just a few hairs under Bone Smasher in damage. So, decent damage, but again, it’s a Snipe, which can be interrupted, with an ungodly activation time.

Part IV: Power Pools
Power Pools are where you personalize your Blapper, really make him yours. Some people will only take one or two Power Pools. Some will take all four. That’s the great thing about this game, you can so easily make something different from everyone else, and it’ll still work.

Like the Energy Blast section, I won’t be going into a lot of detail here, but I’ll cover the basics, along with giving you some ideas. So, on with the Guide!


Concealment
The Concealment Pool is filled with powers that help you conceal yourself and others. Gasp, what a concept. The one shining thing about this Pool is that you can get powers to slot Defense Set IOs in, which is great for some of those Special IOs.

Stealth
Rating: 3/5 (This is a good power for a Blapper)
Stealth is a great power, with some drawbacks. It makes it harder for enemies to see you (they have to be closer), and provides a little bit of Defense, as well. The drawback is that puts a Movement Speed penalty on you, and that when you do enter combat, the little bit of Defense gets even littler.

Now, one of the nice things about Stealth is that it will stack with the special Stealth IO, to provide Invisibility that you can attack through. It will also stack with Super Speed to do the same thing. It will not stack with the power Invisibility. All stealth toggles are mutually exclusive. You can only have one on at a time. Except for Stalkers. Their Hide Toggle is the only exception. But you’re not a Stalker. You’re a Blapper. Screw the Stalkers.

Another nice thing about Stealth is that since it does provide a little bit of Defense, you can slot Defense Set IOs in it. Slotting it for Defense is just silly, but, slotting it with some of the Defense Set Special IOs, well, that’s not so silly. You can put the +Recharge Speed, or +Movement Speed, or +Accuracy IOs in there, and it’s actually a good fit. You can also slot one of the +Knockback Protection IOs there, which I really recommend if you’re going to skip Acrobatics.

NOTE: The temp powers you can get from doing the quick patrols in Bloody Bay and Siren’s Call are identical to Stealth in every way. Same endurance cost, same recharge, same stealth bonus. You just can’t slot them at all. So, if you want Stealth to use every once in a while, and don’t want to waste a power slot on it, go run a patrol in the first two PvP zones. As a plus, the temp powers are available regardless of exemping.

Grant Invisibility
Rating: 3/5
Grant Invisibility is a nice power, that lets you give high levels of stealth (making the enemies have to be really close) to your teammates. Your teammates can attack with this power on, and it provides a little bit of Defense. This power cannot be used on yourself. And that’s the drawback.

Overall, a nice power, if you’re working towards more of the Concealment Pool.

Invisibility
Rating: 2/5
Invisibility drops a bit in utility with the introduction of Stealth IOs. The main drawback to Invisibility is that you cannot attack while this power is on. And it’s a pain in the butt to remember to detoggle when you want to smack some bad guys. But if you can work around that, it’s nice. I have it myself, but only because of concept, and because I slot it with the +Movement Speed IO, which is always on, even if the power itself is not.

Phase Shift
Rating: 1/5
Phase Shift, the “Oh crap” power that only really works in situations where you have time to say “Oh crap I better turn this power on otherwise I’m going to get my butt handed to me, whew, looks like I’m SAFE!”, or as one of my editors put it, “LOL Phase Shift.”

For those of you who don’t know what this power does, it makes you invincible. No one can hurt you, and you can’t hurt anyone else. Assuming you live through the activation time. Which is long. Really, really long. Add to that the fact that it shuts off, on its own, after 30 seconds.

Personal opinion, if you really want this power, go to Warburg, and run the Patrol there. You’ll get a temp power version of it. Same activation time, same recharge, same 30 second limit. True, it has a 30:00 minute timer on the temp power, but if you find yourself really using all 30:00 minutes of that, at a maximum of 30 seconds at a time, then you can consider working it into your build. Plus, there’s the fact that the temp power is available no matter how low you exemp.


Fighting
The Fighting Pool and I have a bitter relationship. I don’t like it. I think it’s a bad Power Pool. For squishies, you don’t get mez protection, so it doesn’t stay up if you get mezzed, making it pointless, and for non-squishies, I feel they shouldn’t need it at all, considering it only provides a very small amount of Resistance and Defense. You’re better off taking Aid Self, which will restore far more hit points than the Fighting Pool will save.

Boxing
Rating: 2/5
Boxing, a power you have to wait until level 6 to take, does less damage than Power Thrust. The only thing it has going for it is the minor chance to Disorient. But, if you really want one more punching attack, it’s there.

Kick
Rating: 2/5
Kick, a power you have to wait until level 6 to take, does a hair more damage than Power Thrust. It has a chance of doing Knockback. If you really want another attack, I’d take this over Boxing.

Tough
Rating: 1/5
Tough is a crappy power. Seriously. It’s crap. You’ll stop 10% of Smashing and Lethal Damage, assuming your toggle stays up.

Weave
Rating: 0/5
Weave is even worse than Tough. First of all, you have to waste two powers to get here. Then, it only provides 3.5% Defense. Yes, that number is correct. If 100 people swing at you, only an extra 3 of them will miss. What are you even doing looking at this power? I know some people will disagree with me, but I’m sticking to my guns. This Power Pool is garbage.


Fitness
The Fitness Pool is a staple for a lot of people, for good reason. It makes you a little faster. It makes you a little stronger. It makes you have more endurance. Yes, please.

Swift
Rating: 3/5
Swift makes you faster. You run faster, you fly faster. If you’re going with Fly as a travel power, you want Swift. If you’re going with Super Jump as a travel power, you might want Swift (depends on if you want to bunny-hop in missions all the time). If you’re going with Super Speed as a travel power, you probably want Hurdle.

Hurdle
Rating: 3/5
Hurlde makes you jump higher, and further. If you’re considering going without a travel power at all, if you take Swift, Hurdle and the Sprint Power, and slot them up, you can actually move as fast as an unslotted Flyer. It’s pretty quick, and saves you a power choice.

Health
Rating: 4/5 (This is a good power for a Blapper)
Health lets your Blapper regenerate lost hit points faster. It does not give you more hit points, it only cuts down on the amount of time it takes before your next regen “tick.” It also cuts down on the amount of time you spend asleep. As an added bonus, Health can slot the really cool (and ultra hard to get) Special Health IOs that give a huge bonus to Regeneration and Recovery.

Stamina
Rating: 5/5 (This is a good power for a Blapper)
Stamina is great. It gives you back more Endurance per “tick.” And more Endurance is more Endurance. It lets you hit things more often, with less downtime. A really nice power.


Flight
The Flight Pool has to deal with flying. Amazing concept. There are some great powers in here, though

Hover
Rating: 2/5
I have a love/hate relationship with Hover. It’s a very nice power. I just wish it were faster. With slotting, it can get about the speed of a slow sprint, which is ok for indoor missions. If you add Boost Power on top of that, you’ll actually go a bit faster, since it affects movement speed. However, Boost Power can’t really be made permanent, so it’s not a fulltime fix. On the bright side, Hover protects against Knockback, letting you just spin in place in the air for a second, but not flying back.

If you do take Hover, take Swift. And slot them both for fly speed. Oh, one other drawback to Hover. If you hit “F” to follow your target with Hover on, you’ll stop just out of melee range. Tapping “W” will get you close enough to swing at them. A little annoying, but easily worked around with 5 minutes practice.

Air Superiority
Rating: 4/5 (This is a good power for a Blapper)
Air Superiority is an awesome power. Quick recharging, low endurance cost, quick activating, fair damage, and on top of all that, it is guaranteed Knockup. If you hit your target, and they aren’t resistant to Knockback, they flip in the air, fall to the ground, and have to get back up. Pretty easy to juggle enemies with this one power alone. Plus it gives –Fly, preventing your target from zipping away from you. If you’re going with Fly for your travel power, and only taking one other power to get there, take this one.

Fly
Rating: 3/5
Fly is a fun power, just not a great one. It’s great for zipping around, but if you get into combat with it on, you’ll slow to a base hover speed. Not the speed you’ve got hover slotted to, but the base speed. Which kinda sucks. Plus, it’s the slowest of the travel powers, by far. It’s still fun, though.

Group Fly
Rating: 1/5
Ugh, Group Fly. Slower than regular Fly, for far more endurance, and if your teammates get too far from you, they fall. Next?


Leadership
The Leadership Pool is filled with expensive toggles, which do cool things. But, they’re toggles, so you’ll lose them whenever you get mezzed.

Maneuvers
Rating: 1/5
An expensive toggle that provides a very minimal amount of Defense to everyone on your team. Leave this one to Force Field Defenders.

Assault
Rating: 3/5
An expensive toggle that provides a 10% Boost to Damage to everyone on your team. If you’ve got the endurance to run it, it’s not bad at all.

Assault
Rating: 2/5
An expensive toggle that provides a small ToHit Boost and +Perception to everyone on your team. Unless you’re PvPing, this is usually just a so-so power. Really becomes useful against Arachnos, but otherwise, meh.

Vengeance
Rating: 2/5
If you’ve already grabbed two Leadership Powers, you might as well grab Vengeance too, if you can. If one of your teammates dies, target them, hit Vengeance, and everyone around gets a nice boost to HP, Defense, ToHit , Damage, and a nice bit of Mez Resistance as well. True, a teammate has to die for you to use this power, but that’s what AFK people are for. Recall Friend them into a group of enemies, wait for them to die, and hit Vengeance off them. Hell, keep dragging them along for as long as they’re AFK, and really milk their leeching hides.


Leaping
Now we come to the Leaping Pool. Probably one of the more useful Power Pools for a Blapper, it has three highly useful powers. The fourth power could be so much better, but at the moment, it is the fly in the ointment.

Jump Kick
Rating: 2/5
Now, as a melee-oriented Blapper, if you're going to take Super Jump as your travel power, you might consider taking Jump Kick as another melee power in the low levels. To be honest, it's not a horrible power, but it is pretty bad. It's got a decent BI, higher even than Air Superiority, it's got quick recharge, and low endurance cost. It even has Knockup built into it. The downside comes in its activation time (3 seconds), and the fact that the Knockup only happens 15% of the time, so you can't count on it. Air Superiority at least has 100% chance of Knockup, so you can count on it to juggle a target. Jump Kick, well if you take it, just look at the occasional juggle as a bonus, and try not to depend on it.

Combat Jumping
Rating: 4/5 (This is a good power for a Blapper)
Now, Combat Jumping is great power. Let's look at the benefits. Amazingly low endurance cost for a toggle (0.06 endurance per second). Provides Immobilization Protection. Triples your base jumping height, but adds almost nothing to your jumping speed. You'll jump a lot higher, but won't go any further. Then on top of all that, it provides a miniscule defensive bonus, so you're able to slot Defensive Set IOs into it, which is a rare thing for a Blapper.

The downsides are... hmm, let me think about this. Oh, right, the only downside is if you don't have room for it in your build. I don't on my Blapper, and I wish I did. If you're going Leaping, this is a great power to get.

Super Jump
Rating: 4/5 (This is probably the best travel power in the game)
Super Jump is probably the best travel power in the game. Almost no one will argue with you. If you're not tied to a travel power for concept (like I am), then get Super Jump. Almost as fast as Super Speed, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Just don't go into combat with it on. It's an endurance hog.

Acrobatics
Rating: 4/5 (This is a good power for a Blapper)
Many Squishes swear by Acrobatics, for good reason. It provides some hold protection, requiring a Mag 3 Hold in order to get you, and provides a ton of Knockback resistance. If you're going Leaping, then try to make room for this power.


Medicine
If you've got the power choices, Medicine is a great way to go. You can heal others, remove status effects from them, heal yourself, and even raise the dead. The only downside is it's all done with a Tricorder, but as long as you can explain that away as a gift from City Hall, you're set!

Aid Other
Rating: 3/5
A nice power for healing your teammates. You can only use this on other people, not yourself. Hence why it’s named Aid Other. It’ll heal about 15% of their health without slotting. If you use this with Power Boost, you’ll more than double that. It can be interrupted if you are hit or move while using it. If you slot it with two level 50 Interrupt IOs, it cuts the interruption time down to 0.5 seconds, low enough to get past most situations.

Stimulant
Rating: 3/5
Another "help your teammate out" power, this one removes status effects from them, and protects them against it for 45 seconds. It's a Break Free that you administer. Like everything else in the Medicine Pool, it can be interrupted, so if you're going to worry about that, slot it for Interrupt Reductions.

Aid Self
Rating: 4/5 (This is a good power for a Blapper)
This is the whole reason to take the Medicine Pool right here. This power will heal your Blapper for about 20% of their health, without slotting. Obviously adding Power Boost on top of that more than doubles it. Then factor in that it also provides your Blapper with 45 seconds of Disorient Protection, and it's a nice little power. The only downside is of course the interruption time, but with slotting, that can be handled.

Resuscitate
Rating: 3/5
Resuscitate continues the tradition of having a sub par power as the final choice in the Power Pool. Don't get me wrong, Resuscitate is great for what it is, a way to revive fallen teammates. But combining long recharge, needing a teammate to die, not having someone else with a way to revive them around, and the fact that it can be interrupted, and well, you get a sub par power. You won't be ridiculed if you take it, and if you have room in your build, more power to you, especially when you actually need it. Just don't expect that situation to happen too often, and if it does, you really need to rethink who you're teaming with.


Presence
The Presence Pool. I'm almost tempted not to review this one. It's this weird mix of "Wow, that sucks." and "Wow, this is almost cool." I think the pool is pretty pointless, but I'll go over the high points with you.

Challenge
Rating: 1/5
This is a single target Taunt. That's right; you too can draw agro from even more people, just like a Tank. Except, you know, without the extra hit points, defenses, mez protection. If you really want some of the Fear powers from later in the Pool, this is the power to take, because at least then you're only taunting one target, not a whole bunch.

Provoke
Rating: 1/5
This is an AoE Taunt. All the fun of Challenge, but now you Taunt more people. Yay! Note: This is sarcasm.

Intimidate
Rating: 3/5
Finally, a useful power out of this Power Pool. Intimidate is a ranged Mag 2 Fear effect. That means you can Fear a Lieutenant or lower, or with slotting, try to double it up and Fear a Boss. With a base duration of 10 seconds, and a base recharge of 30 seconds, you're not going to be firing it off all that often. A useful power, you just have to waste a power choice in order to get to it, which lowers it in my opinion.

Invoke Panic
Rating: 3/5
Invoke Panic is a PBAoE Mag 2 Fear effect. That means you can Fear a Lieutenant or lower, or stack it with Intimidate and Fear a Boss. Even though it may Fear more targets than just Intimidate, the fact that it has the same duration, but twice the recharge time, lowers it from a 4 rating in my eyes. But, if you’ve come this far in the Presence Pool, might as well go the distance.


Speed
Ah yeah, the Speed Pool. This is the first pool I took on my Blapper, and I enjoy every single power in it. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

Flurry
Rating: 4/5
Ok, right now, nearly every one of you is going “Four out of Five? For Flurry?! Yusaku777, you must be smoking the crack.” But, hear me out. There are a few things about Flurry that work in your favor, as a melee-focused Energy Blapper. First of all, Flurry has a chance to Disorient. This stacks with Energy Punch, Bone Smasher, Stun and Total Focus. Aside from Power Thrust, if you take Flurry, all of your punches will have a good chance to Disorient your target, leading to less people hitting you. Next, it actually has the highest Brawl Index of all the Pool Powers, by almost half a BI higher than the next closest.

Finally, the long animation time of Flurry works in your favor. Yes, you read that correctly. I’ll admit, it sucks when you miss, but while Flurry is activating, all of your powers are still recharging. That’s the important part, and I’ll explain further. By having a long activation time attack like Flurry, you save it for the last attack in your chain. While Flurry is activating, Energy Punch is still recharging. Bone Smasher is still recharging. Power Thrust is still recharging. It’s easier to build a seamless attack chain with Flurry. The long activation time of Flurry “fills in the gap,” so to speak. Plus, while Flurry is activating, your endurance is recharging, because you’re not using another attack.

The activation time of Flurry is actually less than that of Total Focus, but not by much. I have this power on my Blapper, and I never regret taking it. If you’re going for Super Speed as a Travel Power, consider Flurry. Not before Hasten, but don’t just dismiss it out of hand.

Hasten
Rating: 5/5 (This is a good power for a Blapper)
Ah, Hasten. Even if you’re not going for Super Speed as a Travel Power, consider Hasten somewhere in your build. While active, Hasten takes an extra 70% off the Recharge time of all your powers. Really useful for building a devastating attack chain, in addition to getting Build Up and Aim back that much quicker. If you can fit it in your build, drop three Recharge Reductions in there, and use it every chance you get.

Super Speed
Rating: 4/5 (This is a good power for a Blapper)
Super Speed is the second best travel power in the game. It would be the best, but it has no vertical ability, so take Hurdle from the Fitness pool, and hold onto one of the temp travel powers, and use them sparingly when you want to go up.

As an added bonus, when not in combat or PvP, you get a Stealth bonus to your Blapper while Super Speed is on. With Super Speed and a Stealth IO, or Super Speed and Stealth from the Concealment Pool, you can stand right next to most enemies in the game, and not be spotted; until you attack, that is.

Whirlwind
Rating: 2/5
Whirlwind is another in a long line of nearly pointless Power Pool Tier 4 powers. It’s not completely pointless for a Blapper, though. While active, everything in melee range with you gets knocked back. Your endurance bar takes a big hit for every target hit, even if they don’t get knocked back due to status protection. Conserve Power will reduce the cost of knocking them back by 50%, just like all your other powers while Conserve Power is on. On a team, this power can be very annoying.

Solo, on the other hand, this power can make fights a cake walk. The Knockback keeps your enemies off their feet, and thus not attacking you. If you can manage your endurance, and manage the Knockback so you’re not chasing foes into other groups, you can zip through missions. Consider how much easier a Boss will be to take out if they’re never on their feet to attack you.

Plus, it makes a great costume change power.


Teleportation
And finally, the Teleportation Pool. I personally don’t like this pool, but others love it. As you’d imagine, it has a lot of powers having to deal with teleporting. And if you don’t know what teleporting is, then I have no idea what to say to you.

Recall Friend
Rating: 2/5
Recall Friend allows you to teleport a teammate to your side. Pretty much only used to pull slower friends to missions, or to rescue fallen comrades from the middle of danger.

Teleport Foe
Rating: 2/5
Teleport Foe is used to port enemies to your side. Nice if you want to thin out a crowd of enemies before going in, or if you have a runner, but I personally think it’s pretty “meh.”

Teleport
Rating: 3/5
Teleport has the potential to be the fastest Travel Power in the game. It just has serious drawbacks. First of all, it’s an endurance hog, so you can’t teleport forever and ever, you’ll eventually have to stop, unlike the other travel powers. Secondly, whenever you teleport, you’ll hover in midair for a second. This is useful for when moving over great distances, since you get a second to reorient yourself for your next teleport, but if you want to move around, you can’t. You’re stuck hovering there. That can get very annoying.

If you want to take Teleport for concept, have at. But if you’re not sure what travel power to take, pick something else.

Team Teleport
Rating: 0/5
Team Teleport has to be the Granddaddy of pointless Power Pool Tier 4 powers. Greater endurance cost than Teleport, and abysmally short range, Team Teleport is only ever taken for concept. I would honestly take a Second Brawl if they offered it over Team Teleport. But on the plus side, all your teammates around you teleport with you. Even if they don’t want to.

Part III: Primary Powers: Energy Blast
Now for the "primary" powers of this set. *snorts* Now before I go any further, I must state that, to me, the main benefit of playing a Blapper over a true Blaster is that as long as I play smart, I only agro one bad guy at a time on a team. If you choose a few of the powers from here, that will no longer be true. You have been warned. If I had my choice, I would not have taken either of the two powers available at the start. But, I don't have a choice. Slotting here is up to you, but my recommendation for no matter what powers you choose will always be one accuracy to start.

Now, I'm not including as much detailed info in this part, simply because this is meant to be a melee-focused Blapper guide anyhow. I did include enough to give you the "gist" of things. For more detailed info, check your nearest Hero Planner, or your local Library. Reading is fundamental!


Energy Blast


Power Bolt
Available: Level 1
Rating: 2/5

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 0.63 Smash, 2.50 Energy (3.13 BI)
End: 5.20
Rch: 4.00
Act: 1.00
Cst: 1.00
Rng: 80 ft.
Kbk: 1.16 Magnitude Knockback, 20% Chance

Defiance Buff
Bonus Dam: 6.60%
Bonus Dur: 8.50

NOTE: Thanks to the new Defiance, you can use this power even while mezzed.

Available at level 1, this power fires off a quick salvo of energy bolts, doing a bit more damage than Power Thrust (3.13 vs. 2.22). It also has a chance of Knockback on it, and decent range. A very useful power to the Blapper that wants to nail the runner, or to finish off the minion that he launched away with Power Thrust.

This was the power I chose, for character concept reasons, since it's not as "flashy" as Power Blast. It also recharges quicker and uses less endurance than Power Blast, making it more useful to me, and possibly you. Even though this is a melee-focused Blapper guide, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that both level 1 Blasts can be used while mezzed, and thus should be considered.


Power Blast
Available: Level 1
Rating: 2/5

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 2.00 Smash, 3.13 Energy (5.13 BI)
End: 8.53
Rch: 8.00
Act: 1.67
Cst: 1.67
Rng: 80 ft.
Kbk: 1.66 Magnitude Knockback, 30% Chance

Defiance Buff
Bonus Dam: 11.02%
Bonus Dur: 9.17

NOTE: Thanks to the new Defiance, you can use this power even while mezzed.

Also available at level 1, this power emits a much larger beam of energy, and does almost twice the damage of Power Bolt. The downside is it takes twice as long to recharge. And uses twice as much endurance. It also has a chance of Knockback, so it really is a coin toss which of these two powers you want to grab at the start. Less damage, quicker recharge, less endurance, versus more damage, longer recharge, more endurance. Even though this is a melee-focused Blapper guide, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that both level 1 Blasts can be used while mezzed, and thus should be considered.


Energy Torrent
Available: Level 2
Rating: 2/5

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 0.94 Smash, 2.06 Energy (3.00 BI)
End: 11.90
Rch: 12.00
Act: 1.07
Cst: 1.07
Rng: 40 ft.
Rds: 40 ft.
Arc: 45°
Kbk: 4.98 Magnitude Knockback, 60% Chance

Defiance Buff
Bonus Dam: 2.97%
Bonus Dur: 8.57

Available at level 2, this cone attack does Knockback, and a little less damage than Power Bolt (a BI of 3.00). Opinions are divided on Energy Torrent. This power is an aggro magnet. Looks great, but kills you quick. If you are planning on playing a team Blapper, I suggest you stay away from this power like the plague. You are already in melee range; you don't want to give even more bad guys a reason to beat on you. However, as a solo Blapper, it can keep a spawn off of you. Maybe. The Knockback in it doesn't go off all the time. Which means the one time you need it to knock people away from you, it won't. Personally, I would avoid it. Focus on your strength, which is beating the crap out of one guy at a time, in record time.


Power Burst
Available: Level 6
Rating: 4/5

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 3.13 Smash, 3.50 Energy (6.63 BI)
End: 10.04
Rch: 10.00
Act: 2.00
Cst: 2.00 [Note: See Addendum]
Rng: 40 ft.
Kbk: 3.32 Magnitude Knockback, 60% Chance

Defiance Buff
Bonus Dam: 7.92% [Note: See Addendum]
Bonus Dur: 9.50

Available at level 6, this power fires off a short range ball of energy death. With a BI of 6.63, it is one of only three “primary” powers that are stronger than Energy Punch, your level 2 power. However, is actually the first "primary" power that might be of use to a Blapper. With a range of 40 feet, it's just a quick step closer to melee range, and it has a decent kick to it, with a 60% chance of knocking back your enemy. The downside to it is the 60% chance of Knockback. You can’t count on it to knock your enemy away, and the times that it does, you won’t want it to. The choice is yours, but if you are set on getting a power from this set, it's not a bad choice. Not a great one, but not a bad one.


Sniper Blast
Available: Level 8
Rating: 1/5

Acc: 90.0%, 78.0%, 67.2%
Dam: 2.38 Smash, 6.25 Energy (8.63 BI)
End: 14.40
Rch: 12.00
Act: 3.00
Cst: 1.33 [Note: See Addendum]
Int: 3.00
Rng: 150 ft.
Kbk: 1.16 Magnitude Knockback, 50% Chance

Defiance Buff
Bonus Dam: 8.79% [Note: See Addendum]
Bonus Dur: 8.83

Available at level 8. If you are playing a Blapper, just stop reading now, and skip to the next power. I mean, seriously. By the time this power gets off, you can already be in melee range, dropping 2-3 bad guys.


Aim
Available: Level 12
Rating: 5/5

End: 5.20
Rch: 90.00
Act: 1.17
Cst: 1.17
Dur: 10.00
SPL: +62.50% ToHit to all attacks, +37.50% Damage to all attacks

Available at level 12, this is the first "Must Have" power from the set. Like Build Up, this click power lasts 10 seconds, and takes 90 to recharge. For ten seconds, or about enough time to get off 3-5 attacks, you do about 135% damage. With Build Up and Aim at the same time, you get 2-3 attacks off, and do about 235% damage.

For a more in-depth review, check out what I wrote about Build Up further above.

Power Push
Available: Level 18
Rating: 2/5

Acc: 105.0%, 91.0%, 78.4%
Dam: 0.42 Smash, 0.42 Energy (0.84 BI) [Note: See Addendum]
End: 8.53
Rch: 8.00
Act: 1.10
Cst: 1.10
Rng: 70 ft.
Kbk: 13.30 Magnitude Knockback, 100% Chance

Defiance Buff
Bonus Dam: 7.26%
Bonus Dur: 8.60

This is a ranged version of Power Thrust, except with even less damage. And longer recharge. And greater endurance cost. Yeah. Next?


Explosive Blast
Available: Level 26
Rating: 1/5

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 1.56 Smash, 1.25 Energy (2.81 BI)
End: 15.20
Rch: 16.00
Act: 1.67
Cst: 1.67
Rng: 80 ft.
Rds: 15 ft.
Arc: 360°
Kbk: 3.32 Magnitude Knockback, 50% Chance

Defiance Buff
Bonus Dam: 3.37%
Bonus Dur: 8.57

Available at level 26, this move is a weak Power Bolt that hits a group. A ball of energy flies out, and when it impacts, it explodes out in a wave of Knockback away from you; there is a 50% chance of sending the bad guy flying. And the BI is lower than Energy Torrent, which is lower than your lowest Single Target beam. Again, not a power that is very useful to a Blapper, but hey, if you want it, it's yours.

I would like to take this opportunity, though, to dispel a myth that has floated around about Explosive Blast since the Dawn of Time. Explosive Blast does not do Knockback from your target, it does Knockback from you. If you are far away from your target, all the enemies that are hit (and affected by Knockback) will fly away from you. If you are close to your target, all the enemies that are hit (and affected by Knockback) will fly away from you. This includes enemies behind you. I’m pretty sure this is where the myth about radial Knockback started. Some Energy Blaster fired off Explosive Blast at point blank range, and when he saw bad guys on the ground behind him, he figured the Knockback was radial from the center of the blast. It is not. The only way the game calculates Knockback is in distance from you. Thank you, and now back to our regularly scheduled guide.


Nova
Available: Level 32
Rating: 3/5

Acc: 105.0%, 91.0%, 78.4%
Dam: 3.13 Smash, 6.25 Energy (9.38 BI) (100% Chance of this Damage)
3.13 Smash, 6.25 Energy, 4.69 Energy (14.07 BI) (75% Chance of this Damage)
3.13 Smash, 6.25 Energy, 4.69 Energy, 4.69 Energy (18.76 BI) (50% Chance of this Damage)
End: 20.80 Note: This power will take all of your remaining Endurance after activating.
Rch: 360.00
Act: 3.00
Cst: 3.00
Rds: 25 ft.
Arc: 360°
Kbk: 16.60 Magnitude Knockback, 100% Chance

Defiance Buff
Bonus Dam: 4.16%
Bonus Dur: 10.50

Available at level 32, this is your "Nuke" power. Your "Holy crap, this is going bad, GET AWAY" power. In laymen’s terms, you explode in a ball of energy energyness. Everyone around you goes flying away from the Knockback. The damage to each bad guy does vary. The way it calculates Damage is a target gets hit with the base damage. Then, a target has a 75% of getting hit with extra Energy Damage. Then, a target also has a 50% of getting hit with even more Energy Damage. So you’re guaranteed to hit everyone around you with a little less than Total Focus level damage. Some people will just get more hit than others. Remember what I said about the best part of being a Blapper was drawing agro from only one person at a time? This power goes against the rule, but dammit, it's just too much fun.

When this goes off, it takes about 20 endurance to activate. Then, no mater how much endurance you have left, it takes all of it. Leaving you with none. Yeah, none. And you can't recover endurance for short time. On the plus side, not much will have lived through the blast, and if you are with a team, they can clear the rest up without breaking a sweat. Just remember to hit Conserver Power before activating Nova, and then eat a blue candy. You’ll be set.

Part II: Secondary Powers: Energy Manipulation
I am covering your Secondary Powers first, because as a melee-focused Blapper, this is your primary. Out of the nine powers, eight of them are highly useful to you. Well, maybe only seven, the vote is split on Power Boost, but I'll get to that later.


Energy Manipulation


Power Thrust
Available: Level 1
Rating: 3/5

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 1.11 Smash, 1.11 Energy (2.22 BI)
End: 6.86
Rch: 6.00
Act: 1.00
Cst: 1.00
Kbk: 16.6 Magnitude Knockback, 100% Chance

Defiance Buff
Bonus Dam: 6.60%
Bonus Dur: 8.50

NOTE: Thanks to the new Defiance, you can use this power even while mezzed.

Available at level 1, you have to take this power, and frankly, I would take it anyways. You throw a quick right punch, your fists encased in glowing red spheres (more popularly known as "The Pink Pom-poms of Death"), and you hit for low damage. You also send your foe flying at the end of the punch, since this power has a 100% chance of Knockback, assuming the target isn't resistant to it. This power rocks if you can pull it off as the killing blow, since it launches a body out of the mass of enemies around you.

It has a base BI of 2.22 according to the numbers I find, which isn't much, but with three even level Damage SOs, that goes up to 4.33. If you attack during an Aim/Build Up cycle, that goes up to 7.96. Not too shabby. For comparison, the base BI of Air Superiority is 2.7, only .5 BI higher.

Recommended slotting would be an Accuracy at the start, then hold off until your other attacks are slotted before slotting it any further. 3 Damage enhancements are as far as I would go. Slotting for recharge reduction or endurance reduction is sort of a waste, since you won't be throwing the attack that often in later levels, but if you have the slots, more power to you! Slotting for Knockback should only be done if you are looking to play golf on the Skyway City overpasses. Remember, Print Screen is your default Screenshot button.

Note: Knockback Magnitude determines distance traveled, in addition to overcoming Knockback Resistance. Targets generally have no Knockback Resistance, or lots of Knockback Resistance. For example, Increase Density from a Controller provides -8 Knockback. Acrobatics provides -100 Knockback. Scrappers get -10 Knockback, and 10,000% Resistance to Knockback. Tanks are even worse. What does this mean? Base Knockback Magnitude from Power Thrust is enough to get over the weakest Knockback Protection that a target can have, and not even with full slotting will you overcome Acrobatics or Melee Defenses. So, only slot for Knockback if you want distance, you're not going to overwhelm anyone with serious Knockback protection.

Inventions: Power Thrust can slot Melee Damage Set IOs and Knockback Set IOs. Since as a Blapper, you’ll be using this as an attack instead of utility, you’re better off with a Melee Damage Set, since the Knockback Sets don’t provide much in the way of damage. Because the first 2 Melee Damage Set Bonuses are rather similar across the board, it's a matter of which one you'd like to go with. It would work well with a 3 or 4-slotted Invention Set like:
Bruising Blow (3 Slots)(+1.00% Recovery, +0.75% Max HP)
Pounding Slugfest (4 Slots)(+8.00% Regen, +0.63% Defense Energy/NegEnergy, +2.00% Damage)(Because the 4th slot is a "Proc" IO, you also get a 10% Chance of a Mag2 Stun, which meshes well with the rest of Energy Manipulation)
Explosive Strike (3 Slots)(+1.50% Damage, +1.88% Defense Ranged)(Because the 3rd slot is a “Proc” IO, you also get a 20% Chance of Smashing Damage, for a little extra oomph as the poor sucker gets smacked in the face)

Power Thrust could benefit from a little bit of Recharge Reduction, but odds are that you'll make that up in Set Bonuses, or slotting a dual purpose Set IO. The main focus should be on Accuracy and Damage.

Hamidon/Synthetic: If you have enough, you could slot 3 Nucleolus Exposure (Accuracy/Damage) HOs and call it a day. But that really is a waste of HOs. You're better off going with a mix of HOs and IOs.

I personally slotted Power Thrust with 1 Nucleous Exposure (HO), and all 3 Level 30 Bruising Blow (IO). Those 4 slots give me an extra 55% Accuracy, 94% Damage (After ED), 21% Recharge Reduction, and 21% Endurance Reduction. Works just fine for me, although I was really tempted by the new Knockback Set “Kinetic Crash,” but sadly it just didn’t have the damage I wanted for Power Thrust.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 99.97%, 86.64%, 74.64% | 124.95%, 108.29%, 93.29% | 146.17%, 126.68%, 109.14%
Dam: 1.48 S, 1.48 E (2.96) | 1.85 S, 1.85 E (3.70) | 2.17 S, 2.17 E (4.33)
End: 5.15 | 4.12 | 3.52
Rch: 4.50 | 3.60 | 3.08
Kbk: 26.6 Magnitude Knockback | 36.6 Magnitude Knockback | 44.5 Magnitude Knockback
1 IO (50) 2 IOs (50) 3 IOs (50)
Acc: 106.80%, 92.56%, 79.74% | 137.85%, 119.47%, 102.92% | 149.325%, 129.41%, 111.49%
Dam: 1.58 S, 1.58 E (3.16) | 2.04 S, 2.04 E (4.07) | 2.21 S, 2.21 E (4.42)
End: 4.82 | 3.74 | 3.45
Rch: 4.21 | 3.27 | 3.01
Kbk: 29.3 Magnitude Knockback | 41.4 Magnitude Knockback | 45.8 Magnitude Knockback
</pre><hr />


Energy Punch
Available: Level 2
Rating: 4/5

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 2.78 Smash, 2.66 Energy (5.44 BI)
End: 10.19
Rch: 10.00
Act: 0.57
Cst: 0.57
Dis: 2 Magnitude Disorient, 30% Chance
Dur: 5.96 (PvE), 3.57 (PvP)

Defiance Buff
Bonus Dam: 3.76%
Bonus Dur: 8.07

Note: This power has a 5% Chance to drop toggles in PvP.

Available at level 2, this power will be your Blapper bread and butter until level 10. With a slightly longer recharge time and endurance cost than Power Thrust, this low level power happens to be the third most powerful melee attack in the set. It’s also stronger than 5 of the 8 attacks in your “primary” Blast set. Grab this power at level 2, and never regret it. You throw either a quick right or left jab, with your fists encased in glowing red spheres. This attack also has about a 30% chance of disorienting your target.

Recommended slotting would be an Accuracy to start, and three Damage enhancements as soon as possible. I mean it. Your level 3 slots should go into this power, both of them for damage. Ok, I lied. Yes, your level 3 slots should go into the power, but they should be Accuracy Enhancements. Don’t bother slotting for Damage until DOs. Then round it out with either two Endurance Reductions, or Recharge Reductions, or one of each. Your mileage may vary, but the last two slots can hold off until the 20's.

Inventions: Energy Punch can slot Melee Damage Set IOs and Stun Set IOs. Don’t even bother slotting Stun Set IOs in Energy Punch, it’s a waste. You want damage, not stun duration. Since this power is going to eventually be six slotted, you have quite a few options on how to slot it. It would work well with a 5 or 6-slotted Invention Set like:
Kinetic Combat (5 Slots)(+2.75% ImmobRes, +1.50% Max HP, +3.75% Defense Smashing, +5% MovementSpeed)(Because the 5th slot is a "Proc" IO, you also get a 20% Chance of Knockdown, great for damage mitigation)
Crushing Impact (6 Slots)(+2.20% ImmobRes, +1.13% Max HP, +7.00% Accuracy, +5.00% Recharge, +2.50% Resistance Psi)
Mako's Bite (6 Slots)(+3.30% ImmobRes, +1.50% Max HP, +3.00% Damage, +3.30% HoldRes, +3.75% Defense Ranged)(Because the 6th slot is a “Proc” IO, you also get a 20% Chance of Lethal Damage, to make up for the lower damage in the set)

The main focus should be on Accuracy and Damage, but Energy Punch would benefit from Endurance Reduction and Recharge Reduction as well.

Hamidon/Synthetic: You could slot 3 Nucleolus Exposure (Accuracy/Damage) HOs, and add Endurance and Recharge Common IOs to taste.

I personally slotted Energy Punch with 5 level 30 Crushing Impact (IO) (everything but the Dam/End/Rec IO), and 1 Kinetic Combat Chance to Knockdown Proc (IO). Those 6 slots give me an extra 56% Accuracy, 95% Damage (After ED), 39% Recharge Reduction, 39% Endurance Reduction, and a 20% Chance to Knockdown my target.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 99.97%, 86.64%, 74.64% | 124.95%, 108.29%, 93.29% | 146.17%, 126.68%, 109.14%
Dam: 3.70 S, 3.55 E (7.26) | 4.63 S, 4.44 E (9.07) | 5.41 S, 5.20 E (10.60)
End: 7.64 | 6.12 | 5.23
Rch: 7.50 | 6.00 | 5.13
Dis: 7.94 Second Disorient PvE | 9.93 Second Disorient PvE | 11.60 Second Disorient PvE
Dis: 4.76 Second Disorient PvP | 5.77 Second Disorient PvP | 6.96 Second Disorient PvP
1 IO (50) 2 IOs (50) 3 IOs (50)
Acc: 106.80%, 92.56%, 79.74% | 137.85%, 119.47%, 102.92% | 149.325%, 129.41%, 111.49%
Dam: 3.96 S, 3.80 E (7.75) | 5.09 S, 4.89 E (9.98) | 5.53 S, 5.31 E (10.80)
End: 7.16 | 5.56 | 5.12
Rch: 7.02 | 5.45 | 5.02
Dis: 8.49 Second Disorient PvE | 10.90 Second Disorient PvE| 11.90 Second Disorient PvE
Dis: 5.09 Second Disorient PvP | 6.54 Second Disorient PvP | 7.14 Second Disorient PvP
</pre><hr />


Build Up
Available: Level 4
Rating: 5/5

End: 5.20
Rch: 90.00
Act: 1.17
Cst: 1.17
Dur: 10.00
SPL: +15% ToHit to all attacks, +100% Damage to all attacks

Available at level 4, once you get this power, you will feel sorry for every other Blaster set, most of whom don't get this power until level 16, if ever. This click power boosts every attack’s chances to hit and damage for 10 seconds, and takes 90 seconds to recharge. When I first read the power description, I was thinking that ten seconds wasn't that much, and surely another power would be better to get. Then I tried it, and I preach the glory of Build Up forever more. For ten seconds, or about enough time to get off 3-5 attacks, you add 100% of an attack’s base damage onto it.

For example, if you have an attack with a BI of 2.22, like Power Thrust, and you hit Build Up, your attack now has a BI of 4.44. However, it does not take Enhancements into its calculations. If you have Power Thrust slotted so that it really has a BI of 4.31 when it hits, and you add Build Up on top of that, it does not have a BI of 8.62, it has a BI of 6.53, which is 4.31 plus the base BI of 2.22.

As far as slotting goes, there are 3 schools of thought:

The first school of thought, which I follow, is 3 Recharge Reductions; however, I suggest not slotting them unless you can slot Aim at the same time (which you are taking). This way they both recharge at the same time, and you get that much more burst power out of your attacks.

The second school of thought is to slot Build Up and Aim when you can with 3 Recharge Reductions, and use one, attack for the cycle, then the other. You don't get as high burst damage, but you have an increase in damage more often.

The third school of thought is a variant on the first two, but involves also slotting for ToHit buffs. However, this is only useful in PvE if you are planning on fighting +4's or higher. The normal ToHit buff from Build Up and Aim is enough to hit up to +3's regularly. If you plan on PvPing, then slotting for ToHit Buffs is almost mandatory.

Slotting for Endurance Reduction is silly.

Inventions: New to Issue 11 are the ToHit Buff Set IOs. Unless you really want some of the set bonuses, you are better off slotting Common IOs into Build Up, and I recommend doing so with 3 Recharge Reduction IOs. Wait until you can slot 30's, only because at that point are they better than SOs. Eventually, you will want 3 level 50 Recharge Reduction IOs in Build Up. The only things from the ToHit Buff Set IOs that have any interest to me are the new Procs. In the Rectified Reticle there is a +20% Perception IO that activates every time you activate Build Up. If you take part in PvP, this can be a great thing, to help see through Stealth powers. Against Stalkers, every little bit helps, but this would be better off in a power like Tactics from the Leadership Pool, since you don’t want to waste Build Up on the off chance you might spot a Stalker before the Perception Bonus wears off.

Hamidon/Synthetic: The ideal slotting for Build Up would be 3 Membrane Exposure (Recharge/ToHit/Defense) HOs, since they have SO levels of Recharge Reduction and ToHit Buffs, giving you the benefits of 6 slots, in 3.

I personally have Build Up slotted with 3 Membrane Exposure HOs.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
End: 3.90 | 3.12 | 2.67
Rch: 67.50 | 54.00 | 46.20
THB: 18% ToHitBuff | 21% ToHitBuff | 23.4% ToHitBuff
1 IO (50) 2 IOs (50) 3 IOs (50)
End: 3.65 | 2.84 | 2.61
Rch: 63.20 | 49.10 | 45.20
THB: 18.8% ToHitBuff | 22.5% ToHitBuff | 23.8% ToHitBuff
</pre><hr />


Bone Smasher
Available: Level 10
Rating: 5/5

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 5.06 Smash, 2.17 Energy (7.22 BI)
End: 13.50
Rch: 14.00
Act: 1.50
Cst: 1.50
Dis: 3 Magnitude Disorient, 60% Chance
Dur: 9.54 (PvE), 7.15 (PvP)

Defiance Buff
Bonus Dam: 9.90%
Bonus Dur: 9.00

Note: This power has a 22% Chance to drop toggles in PvP.

Available at level 10, this punch, combined with Energy Punch, will constitute the bulk of your blapping. With a BI of 7.22, this monster attack can drop yellow minions in one hit, with Build Up. With the right damage slotting, and Build Up with Aim, followed by Bone Smasher then Energy Punch, you'll start two shoting yellow Lieutenants. It also has a 60% chance of stunning your target. Grab this at level 10, and start really having fun as a Blapper. The animation has you locking your fists together over your head, in the by now familiar red energy spheres, and bringing them down in a clubbing attack on your poor target's head.

Fun Fact: If you do this move as the killing blow from behind your target, it looks like you snap his spine! Fun!

Again, my recommended slotting is one Accuracy at the start, then three Damage right away. Hold off on the last two slots until you have them to spare, and then choose either Endurance Reduction or Recharge Reduction.

Inventions: Bone Smasher can slot Melee Damage Set IOs and Stun Set IOs. Don’t even bother slotting Stun Set IOs in Bone Smasher, it’s a waste. You want damage, not stun duration. Since this power is going to eventually be six slotted, you have quite a few options on how to slot it. It would work well with a 5 or 6-slotted Invention Set like:
Kinetic Combat (5 Slots)(+2.75% ImmobRes, +1.50% Max HP, +3.75% Defense Smashing, +5% MovementSpeed)(Because the 5th slot is a "Proc" IO, you also get a 20% Chance of Knockdown, great for damage mitigation)
Crushing Impact (6 Slots)(+2.20% ImmobRes, +1.13% Max HP, +7.00% Accuracy, +5.00% Recharge, +2.50% Resistance Psi)
Mako's Bite (6 Slots)(+3.30% ImmobRes, +1.50% Max HP, +3.00% Damage, +3.30% HoldRes, +3.75% Defense Ranged)(Because the 6th slot is a “Proc” IO, you also get a 20% Chance of Lethal Damage, to make up for the lower damage in the set)

The main focus should be on Accuracy and Damage, but Bone Smasher would benefit from Endurance Reduction and Recharge Reduction as well.

Hecatomb Rare IO Set: If you’re going to slot the Hecatomb Set, Bone Smasher is the power you want to slot the Hecatomb Set into. Yes, Total Focus is a more damaging power, but you don’t get that until level 38. Which means if you ever exemp down pass 38, you won’t have access to this set. You’re better off putting it in Bone Smasher, which you will have access to for a lot more levels.
Hecatomb (6 Slots)(+4.00% Recovery, +2.52% Resistance Fire/Cold, +15.00% Accuracy, +10% Recharge, +5.00% Resistance Toxic)(Because the 6th slot is a “Proc” IO, you also get a 33% Chance of Negative Energy Damage, making this attack even more powerful)

Hamidon/Synthetic: You could slot 3 Nucleolus Exposure (Accuracy/Damage) HOs, and add Endurance and Recharge Common IOs to taste.

I personally slotted Bone Smasher with 5 level 30 Crushing Impact IOs (everything but the Dam/End/Rec IO), and 1 Kinetic Combat Chance to Knockdown Proc IO. Those 6 slots give me an extra 56% Accuracy, 95% Damage (After ED), 39% Recharge Reduction, 39% Endurance Reduction, and a 20% Chance to Knockdown my target.

If I do decide to try for the Hecatomb Rare IO Set, I will probably go with 5 level 50 Hecatomb IOs (everything but the Dam/Rec IO), and 1 Kinetic Combat Chance to Knockdown Proc IO. Those 6 slots will give me an extra 60% Accuracy, 97% Damage (After ED), 60% Recharge Reduction, 33% Endurance Reduction, a 33% Chance of Negative Energy Damage, and a 20% Chance to Knockdown my target.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 99.97%, 86.64%, 74.64% | 124.95%, 108.29%, 93.29% | 146.17%, 126.68%, 109.14%
Dam: 6.74 S, 2.89 E (9.63) | 8.42 S, 3.61 E (12.00) | 9.85 S, 4.22 E (14.10)
End: 10.10 | 8.12 | 6.94
Rch: 10.50 | 8.40 | 7.18
Dis: 12.70 Second Disorient PvE| 15.90 Second Disorient PvE| 18.60 Second Disorient PvE
Dis: 9.52 Second Disorient PvP | 11.92 Second Disorient PvP| 13.95 Second Disorient PvP
1 IO (50) 2 IOs (50) 3 IOs (50)
Acc: 106.80%, 92.56%, 79.74% | 137.85%, 119.47%, 102.92% | 149.325%, 129.41%, 111.49%
Dam: 7.20 S, 3.09 E (10.30) | 9.27 S, 3.97 E (13.20) | 10.10 S, 4.31 E (14.40)
End: 9.49 | 7.38 | 6.79
Rch: 9.83 | 7.64 | 7.03
Dis: 13.60 Second Disorient PvE| 17.50 Second Disorient PvE| 19.00 Second Disorient PvE
Dis: 10.20 Second Disorient PvP| 13.12 Second Disorient PvP| 14.25 Second Disorient PvP
</pre><hr />


Conserve Power
Available: Level 16
Rating: 3/5

End: 7.80
Rch: 600.00
Act: 1.17
Cst: 1.17
Dur: 90.00
SPL: 119.20% Endurance Discount to all powers

Available at level 16, this power is a no-brainer. For 90 seconds after activating this click power, every thing you do costs 50% less Endurance. And by now you've learned that Endurance is the important thing in this game, not Health. Without Endurance, you're doing nothing. With it, you're kicking butt and taking names.

Now, the usefulness of this power depends on whom you ask. Some builds never have it, some get it right away. Personal mileage may vary, but I know it has saved me some times, and has its uses. A few useful tips about this power: Only activate it if your Endurance gets around 25% or so. The reasoning behind this is that when you need the Endurance, it lasts. Another useful tip comes into effect if you plan on taking your "nuke" power. Most nukes drain all your Endurance when you use them. Before you nuke, hit Conserve Power, pop your nuke off, and then eat a blue candy. The 25% Endurance you just gained back will last a lot longer under Conserve Power, allowing you to fight through the time where you aren't gaining Endurance back. Also, if you happen to take powers like Whirlwind, or Repel Field, Conserve Power cuts down on the Endurance cost from bouncing enemies away.

As far as slotting, 3 Recharge Reductions is the way to go. Conserve Power has an ungodly recharge time, even longer than your nuke power. Slotting for Endurance Reduction only lowers the cost to activate Conserve Power, it has no effect on Endurance usage while Conserve Power is up, and because of that, it's pointless to slot for Endurance Reduction.

Inventions: There are no Invention Sets for Conserve Power. You can slot Common IOs into Conserve Power, and I recommend doing so with 3 Recharge Reduction IOs. Wait until you can slot 30's, only because at that point are they better than SOs. Eventually, you will want 3 level 50 Recharge Reduction IOs in Conserve Power.

Hamidon/Synthetic: It's pointles to slot HOs in Conserve Power, as none of the HOs give a benefit that really helps. Stick with Common IOs.

I personally have Conserve Power slotted with 3 level 50 Recharge Reduction Common IOs.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
End: 5.85 | 4.68 | 4.00
Rch: 450.10 | 360.10 | 307.80
1 IO (50) 2 IOs (50) 3 IOs (50)
End: 5.48 | 4.25 | 3.92
Rch: 421.30 | 327.30 | 301.40
</pre><hr />


Stun
Available: Level 20
Rating: 2/5

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 0.42 Smash, 0.28 Energy (0.69 BI)
End: 10.19
Rch: 20.00
Act: 1.80
Cst: 1.80 [Note: See Addendum]
Dis: 3 Magnitude Disorient, 100% Chance
Dur: 11.92 (PvE), 7.95 (PvP)

Defiance Buff
Bonus Dam: 9.90% [Note: See Addendum]
Bonus Dur: 9.30

Available at level 20, this is actually the first power I would suggest holding off on. I myself don't have it in my build until level 35. In true Blapper fashion, you wind up and lay out a huge haymaker at the poor fool in your way, doing minor damage (a BI of only .69). It does however have a 100% Disorient effect on it. This means unless it’s a Boss or higher, if you hit them, they are stunned. Useful for those [CENSORED] Sorcerers that teleport away on you. A useful power, but one that can wait until later levels if you don’t have the room in your build.

One other thing to point out is the Activation Time, almost 2 seconds of it. That is a long time to be winding up a punch, so if you do chose this power; it's something to be aware of. For example, you might not want to use Build Up or Aim at the same time as Stun. And you might want to be careful about using Stun if you are low on health, since you might get hit again while the animation is going off. On the other hand, with Stun, Energy Punch, Bone Smasher, those three attacks in a row, odds are you just stunned a Boss (100% chance + 30% chance + 60% chance).

Suggested basic slotting is the one accuracy, ensuring that if you do need to hit someone with it, it does hit. Don't even bother slotting damage, that's a waste, but you could slot it with Disorient Duration enhancements, and leave that poor fool stunned for even longer.

Inventions: Stun can slot Melee Damage Set IOs and Stun Set IOs. Even though it can slot Melee Damage Sets, I would focus on Stun Set IOs. The majority of Melee Damage Sets focus on increasing the damage of an attack, and since the BI of Stun is even lower than your Brawl attack, boosting the damage of it is almost pointless. On the other hand, you could slot Proc IOs from the Melee Damage Sets, for a little more oomph out of Stun, as long as you remember that the recharge on Stun is 20 seconds to start with, so they won't be going off very often. The number of slots you dedicate to this really depends on how many slots you have to spare. It would work well with a 6-slotted Invention Set like:
Razzle Dazzle (6 Slots)(+2.00% Recovery, +1.50% Max HP, +2.00% Stun Duration, +2.50% Defense Melee, +2.50% Defense AoE)(Because the 6th slot is a "Proc" IO, you also get a 20% Chance of Immobilizing your opponent)
Stupefy (6 Slots)(+2.50% Recovery, +1.88% Max HP, +3.00% Stun Duration, +6.25% Recharge, +3.13% Defense Ranged)(Because the 6th slot is a "Proc" IO, you also get a 20% Chance of Knockback, great for damage mitigation)

The main focus should be on Accuracy and Recharge, but Stun won’t be hurt by more Disorient Duration. Another thing to point out is that with a 4 slotted Stun Set, you get an increase to your Stun Duration, and that applies to all your attacks with disorient effects, like Energy Punch, Bone Smasher and Total Focus.

Absolute Amazement Rare IO Set: If you’re going to slot the Absolute Amazement Set, Stun is the power you want to slot the Absolute Amazement Set into. Yes, you could put it into Energy Punch, Bone Smasher, Total Focus, or even Flurry; but the Absolute Amazement set does not provide any +Damage, so you’d really be shooting yourself in the foot if you put it in any other attack.
Absolute Amazement (6 Slots)(+4.00% Recovery, +2.52% Resistance Fire/Cold, +15.00% Accuracy, +10% Recharge, +5.00% Resistance Toxic)(Because the 6th slot is a “Proc” IO, you also get a 33% Chance of applying a -20% ToHit Debuff on your target, which could be some nice damage mitigation)

Hamidon/Synthetic: You could slot 3 Endoplasm Exposure (Accuracy/Mez) HOs, and add Recharge Reduction Common IOs to taste.

I personally have Stun 5 slotted, with most of the Stupefy Stun Set (everything but the Stun/Range IO). Those 5 slots gives me 69% Accuracy, 47% Endurance Reduction, 45% Recharge Reduction, 42% Disorient Duration, and a 20% Chance of Knockback.

If I do decide to try for the Absolute Amazement Rare IO Set, I will probably go with 4 level 50 Hecatomb IOs (everything but the Stun IO and the Stun/End IO), and 1 Stupefy Chance to Knockback Proc IO. Those 5 slots will give me an extra 60% Accuracy, 90% Recharge Reduction, 60% Disorient Duration, a 33% Chance of applying a -20% ToHit Debuff, and a 20% Chance of Knockback.


<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 99.97%, 86.64%, 74.64% | 124.95%, 108.29%, 93.29% | 146.17%, 126.68%, 109.14%
Dam: 0.56 S, 0.37 E (0.93) | 0.69 S, 0.46 E (1.16) | 0.81 S, 0.54 E (1.35)
End: 7.64 | 6.12 | 5.23
Rch: 15.00 | 12.00 | 10.30
Dis: 15.90 Second Disorient PvE| 19.90 Second Disorient PvE| 23.20 Second Disorient PvE
Dis: 10.60 Second Disorient PvP| 13.27 Second Disorient PvP| 15.47 Second Disorient PvP
1 IO (50) 2 IOs (50) 3 IOs (50)
Acc: 106.80%, 92.56%, 79.74% | 137.85%, 119.47%, 102.92% | 149.325%, 129.41%, 111.49%
Dam: 0.59 S, 0.40 E (0.99) | 0.76 S, 0.51 E (1.27) | 0.83 S, 0.55 E (1.38)
End: 7.16 | 5.56 | 5.12
Rch: 14.00 | 10.90 | 10.00
Dis: 17.00 Second Disorient PvE| 21.90 Second Disorient PvE| 23.70 Second Disorient PvE
Dis: 11.33 Second Disorient PvP| 14.60 Second Disorient PvP| 15.80 Second Disorient PvP
</pre><hr />


Power Boost
Available: Level 28
Rating: 2/5

End: 7.80
Rch: 60.00
Act: 1.17
Cst: 1.17
Dur: 15.00
SPL: 101.60% Added to most secondary effects, and goes up as you level

Available at level 28, this power is... unusual. It adds at least 100% to the base value of most secondary effects. The actual list of what is affected or not is amazingly long and complex, and I'll just link to the two places you can get a full list from: Guide to Power Boost v1.0, and City of Data.

The shorthand version is that Power Boost will boost ToHit effects from Build Up and Aim, Stun durations from Total Focus and the like, Knockback from Power Thrust, Heals from the Medicine pool, and many others. It will not boost damage, or resistance powers, or damage over time powers, or many others. It is kind of a crap shoot as to which it will affect, so if you're going to get this power, check the list in the links, and see what it does for real.

The suggested slotting is 3 Recharge Reductions, because if you're going to get this power, you want it as often as possible. With 3 Recharge Reduction level 50 IOs, you get the recharge down to 30 seconds, having it up 50% of the time. It might be possible to make it permanent with Hasten and Set Bonuses, but it's a lot of effort to go through for that, and I'm not convinced it's worth the effort.

Inventions: There are no Invention Sets for Power Boost. You can slot Common IOs into Power Boost, and I recommend doing so with 3 Recharge Reduction IOs. Wait until you can slot 30's, only because at that point are they better than SOs. Eventually, you will want 3 level 50 Recharge Reduction IOs in Power Boost.

Hamidon/Synthetic: It's pointles to slot HOs in Power Boost, as none of the HOs give a benefit that really helps. Stick with Common IOs.

I personally do not have Power Boost in my build, but if I did, I'd have it slotted with three level 50 Common Recharge Reduction IOs.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
End: 5.85 | 4.68 | 4.00
Rch: 45.00 | 36.00 | 30.80
1 IO (50) 2 IOs (50) 3 IOs (50)
End: 5.48 | 4.25 | 3.92
Rch: 42.10 | 32.70 | 30.10
</pre><hr />


Boost Range
Available: Level 35
Rating: 1/5

End: 13.00
Rch: 60.00
Act: 1.17
Cst: 1.17
Dur: 30.00
SPL: 59.60% Added to Range

Available at level 35, this power is wasted on a melee-focused Blapper. Don't even consider taking it. It does add to the range of any move with range on it, so unless you are playing a teleporting Blapper, or a Half-Breed Blapper who still has a lot of Beam attacks, it really is a waste of a power.

The suggested slotting is 3 Recharge Reductions, because if you're going to get this power, you want it as often as possible. With 3 Recharge Reduction level 50 IOs, you get the recharge down to 30 seconds, making it basically permanent.

Inventions: There are no Invention Sets for Boost Range. You can slot Common IOs into Power Boost, and I recommend doing so with 3 Recharge Reduction IOs. Slot at least 30's, only because at that point are they better than SOs. Eventually, you will want 3 level 50 Recharge Reduction IOs in Boost Range.

Hamidon/Synthetic: It's pointles to slot HOs in Boost Range, as none of the HOs give a benefit that really helps. Stick with Common IOs.

I personally do not have Boost Range in my build, because it's pointless for me.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
End: 9.75 | 7.80 | 6.67
Rch: 45.00 | 36.00 | 30.80
1 IO (50) 2 IOs (50) 3 IOs (50)
End: 9.13 | 7.09 | 6.53
Rch: 42.10 | 32.70 | 30.10
</pre><hr />


Total Focus
Available: Level 38
Rating: 5/5

Acc: 90.0%, 78.0%, 67.2%
Dam: 2.78 Smash, 7.11 Energy (9.89 BI)
End: 18.51
Rch: 20.00
Act: 3.30
Cst: 3.30 [Note: See Addendum]
Dis: 4 Magnitude Disorient, 100% Chance
Dur: 11.92 (PvE), 7.95 (PvP)

Defiance Buff
Bonus Dam: 8.78% [Note: See Addendum]
Bonus Dur: 10.80

Here it is, the Big Daddy. Available at level 38, this will almost certainly be the last attack you get. And frankly, it is the last one you need. Ladies and Gentlemen, the numbers.

Base Brawl Index of 9.89. With three Damage SO's, a BI of 19.30. With three Damage SO's, Build Up and Aim, a BI of 35.40.

On top of that, it has a higher base accuracy than the rest of your attacks. On top of that, it also has Mag 4 Disorient effect built into the attack. What does this mean? It means that you can stun bosses with one punch. With the rest of your powers, anything above a Lieutenant requires multiple applications of an effect to affect it. Total Focus hits your target with a high Mag Disorient, almost guaranteeing that they wander around dazed for 10 seconds. As far as the animation, your Blapper jumps about 3-4 feet in the air, in slow motion, locking his hands together for an aerial Bone Smasher. Once at the top of the jump, you bring your hands down on the head of the idiot who got in your way, reminding him why it's not smart to mess with a Blapper. Get it. Slot it. Love it.

Inventions: Total Focus can slot Melee Damage Set IOs and Stun Set IOs. Don’t even bother slotting Stun Set IOs in Total Focus, it’s a waste. You want damage, not stun duration. Since this power is going to eventually be six slotted, you have quite a few options on how to slot it. It would work well with a 5 or 6-slotted Invention Set like:
Kinetic Combat (5 Slots)(+2.75% ImmobRes, +1.50% Max HP, +3.75% Defense Smashing, +5% MovementSpeed)(Because the 5th slot is a "Proc" IO, you also get a 20% Chance of Knockdown, great for damage mitigation)
Crushing Impact (6 Slots)(+2.20% ImmobRes, +1.13% Max HP, +7.00% Accuracy, +5.00% Recharge, +2.50% Resistance Psi)
Mako's Bite (6 Slots)(+3.30% ImmobRes, +1.50% Max HP, +3.00% Damage, +3.30% HoldRes, +3.75% Defense Ranged)(Because the 6th slot is a “Proc” IO, you also get a 20% Chance of Lethal Damage, to make up for the lower damage in the set)

The main focus should be on Accuracy and Damage, but Total Focus also needs Endurance Reduction and Recharge Reduction.

Hamidon/Synthetic: You could slot 3 Nucleolus Exposure (Accuracy/Damage) HOs, and add Endurance and Recharge Common IOs to taste.

I personally slotted Total Focus with 5 level 41 Crushing Impact IOs (everything but the Dam/End/Rec IO), and 1 Kinetic Combat Chance to Knockdown Proc IO. Those 6 slots give me an extra 63% Accuracy, 97% Damage (After ED), 44% Recharge Reduction, 44% Endurance Reduction, and a 20% Chance to Knockdown my target.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 120.00%, 103.97%, 89.57% | 149.90%, 129.94%, 111.95% | 175.40%, 152.04%, 130.99%
Dam: 3.70 S, 9.48 E (13.20) | 4.63 S, 11.80 E (16.50) | 5.41 S, 13.90 E (19.30)
End: 13.90 | 11.10 | 9.50
Rch: 15.00 | 12.00 | 10.30
Dis: 15.90 Second Disorient PvE| 19.90 Second Disorient PvE| 23.20 Second Disorient PvE
Dis: 10.60 Second Disorient PvP| 13.27 Second Disorient PvP| 15.47 Second Disorient PvP
1 IO (50) 2 IOs (50) 3 IOs (50)
Acc: 128.16%, 111.07%, 95.69% | 164.98%, 142.98%, 123.19% | 179.17%, 155.28%, 133.78%
Dam: 3.96 S, 10.10 E (14.10) | 5.09 S, 13.00 E (18.10) | 5.53 S, 14.20 E (19.70)
End: 13.00 | 10.10 | 9.30
Rch: 14.00 | 10.90 | 10.00
Dis: 17.00 Second Disorient PvE| 21.90 Second Disorient PvE| 23.70 Second Disorient PvE
Dis: 11.33 Second Disorient PvP| 14.60 Second Disorient PvP| 15.80 Second Disorient PvP
</pre><hr />

Table Of Contents:

Part I: Introduction, a few notes, the quick stats, a little bit about IOs, and the new Defiance

Part II: Energy Manipulation; "Your Real Primary"

Part III: Energy Blast; "Oh, you have to take something from here, I guess"

Part IV: Power Pools; "Making a Better Blapper"

Part V: Ancillary Power Pools; “And now for something completely different”

Part VI: Leveling Tips, and a Sample Build; “Only because someone always asks for it”

Part VII: Addendum, Known Bugs, Etc.


Part I: And so it begins
Welcome to my Issue 11 compliant guide on the effectiveness of the Energy/Energy Blapper, a.k.a. "How To Make Your Team Go 'Daaaaaaaaaamn'."

First and foremost, this guide was originally written by me simply because I didn't see a single "How To Be A Blapper" Guide in the list. This guide focuses on the pure melee aspect of a Blapper. If you want to make a ranged Blaster, with some melee powers, you can use this as a starting point, but the main focus of this guide is on being in melee range, as much as possible.

This guide was also rewritten for Issue 11, and to give it a cleaner presentation. A lot of the information is the same as before, but with more detailed info added, along with an overview of IOs for Blappers. Also, it is now pretty long. I have broken up each section into its own post, so feel free to skim to the section that interests you, but I wanted to provide as much information as possible, to those who wanted it. Regardless, here goes.

You may be asking yourself right now, "What is a Blapper?" The Blapper is a shy, unassuming marsupial, who forages for food on a nocturnal schedule, and is often mistaken for an opossum. Wait, my mistake. The Blapper is, quite simply, a Blaster who acts like a Scrapper. Blaster + Scrapper = You get the idea.

There are a few benefits to making a Blapper over the Scrapper, and that is that with Defiance, Aim and Build Up you get greater than Scrapper Damage Levels in melee, with the bonus of at least one ranged attack, which most Scrappers secretly wish they had. You also have the option to pick up the "Nuke" power that Blasters have in the high levels, which can be a lot of fun. You also get access to those three special Blaster Powers, "The Face Plant," "The Run For Your Life," and "The Hero Takes A Knee." All three powers will get much use in your Blapper play.

There are a few penalties to making a Blapper instead of the Scrapper as well. You have far less hit points, and you have none of the defenses that a Scrapper gets. You also get people looking for a Blaster for their teams, and inviting you, surprised to find you in the thick of combat, and unfamiliar with terms like "Pull," "Snipe," and "Wait."

By now you are probably even wondering why in the world you would want to handicap yourself like this, throwing a low hit point Blaster into the middle of the carnage, without even some nerfed defenses to count on?

Because it is such a rush. The thrill you get out of a well played Blapper is unbelievable. Living on the edge of death for most of the fight, watching your new DeFuryance stack up damage buff after damage buff, One Shoting Yellow Lieutenants (Aim, Build Up, Total Focus), Two Shoting Orange Lieutenants (Aim, Build Up, Total Focus, Bone Smasher), and of course, taking out a Red Boss in four hits (Aim, Build Up, Energy Punch, Bone Smasher, Total Focus, Energy Punch) (Of course, it helps if they aren't resistant to Smashing or Energy Damage). The surge of excitement and fun you get playing a Blapper cannot be properly explained. You have to experience it yourself to understand.

And that's where this Guide comes in. I decided to build my Blapper as Energy/Energy. There are other "secondaries" that can be used to blap, the other popular one being Electricity, but Energy works for my concept, so that's what I went with. I'm hoping that this guide will help you decide if being a Blapper is the path for you. If not, no hard feelings, it's not for everyone. If so, I hope you enjoy the trip.


A Few Notes Before We Begin!
All numbers come from City of Data, and Mids' Hero Designer. Yes, I know City of Data is out of date, but it’s still a nice starting point.

And, for the record, I still use the Brawl Index (BI) method of figuring out how much an attack does. I just could never wrap my brain around the Damage Scalar (DS) method. Sorry for those of you who do use the DS method, you're smart enough to do the conversions on your own.

At the very end there will be an Addendum, with all the bugs and errors I found in the numbers while making this guide.

And yeah, this new format was blatantly borrowed from Cyclone_Jack, with permission.


The Quick Stats:
I’ll be using the following layout before your Primary and Secondary powers, to give you the Quick Stats on them. Each power will only list the Quick Stats that apply to them. They are as follows:

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0% [The Accuracy of this power versus Even-Level Minion, +1 Level Minion, +2 Level Minion. It also works out to be what your Accuracy would be versus Even-Level Minion, Even-Level Lieutenant, and Even-Level Boss.]
Dam: 2.00 Smash, 2.00 Energy (4.00 BI) [The BI of your power, broken down by the various damage types, then totaled up.]
End: 5.00 [How much Endurance you use each time you activate this power.]
Rch: 5.00 [How long this power takes to Recharge.]
Act: 2.00 [How long this power takes to Activate; also known as Animation time. This can be greater than the Cast time for the power, and is usually set by the Devs for balance.]
Cst: 1.00 [How long this power takes to actually work. This can be shorter than the Activation time. The main thing is that Defiance Buffs are set by Cast Time, not Activation times.]
Int: 2.00 [If a power can be interrupted, this is how much of the Activation time the power can be interrupted during. Lowering the Interruption time does not lower the Activation time, just how long you can be interrupted during the animation.]
Rng: 5 ft. [How much Range this power has.]
Rds: 5 ft. [The radius of the Area of Effect for this power. Targeted AoE attacks, PBAoE attacks and Cone attacks will have this stat.]
Arc: 5° [The arc in degrees the power will affect. Targeted AoE attacks, PBAoE attacks and Cone attacks will have this stat.]
Kbk: 5.00 Magnitude Knockback, 5% Chance [How much Knockback this power has, and how likely it is to happen. Anything under 1.00 Magnitude Knockback is considered Knockdown.]
Dis: 1 Magnitude Disorient, 5% Chance [The Magnitude and chance of Stunning your target with this power.]
Dur: 2.00 (PvE), 1.00 (PvP) [The Duration of an effect on your target, in both PvE and PvP.]
SPL: 5.00% Whatever [Any special effects that this power has.]


Invention Origin Enhancements:
Invention Origin Enhancements (IOs) are a new addition of Issue 9, and I'm sure by now you've heard many things about them, and might be confused about them. I'm not going to talk about how to make them, or what salvage to look for, or anything like that. What I am going to talk about is what level IOs to use.

Now, I'm sure you're saying to yourself, "Well, I'll just use the highest level IOs I can, for the best percentages out of them, duh."

And I'm sure that you will have no problems using that method of slotting. Except for one minor detail. Exemping.

The way that IOs currently work is thus: If you get a Set Bonus from IOs (using two or more IOs from one particular set), you retain that Set Bonus as long as two conditions happen.

1) You have access to the power.

AND

2) You are not exemped more than 3 levels below the level of the IO.

If you exemp below the level where you can use that power, you lose any Set Bonus from it. If you have a level 50 IO slotted that gives you a Set Bonus, and you exemp to 47, you still get the Set Bonus. If you exemp to 46, you lose the Set Bonus. What this also means, is that if you have different level IOs in a set that gives you a Set Bonus, if you exemp more than 3 levels below the highest one, you lose the highest Set Bonus.

For example: You have a power six slotted with a set. The level of these enhancements is 30, 35, 35, 40, 42, and 50. This gives you Set Bonus 1 through Set Bonus 5.

At level 50, you get all 5 Set Bonuses.
At level 47, you get all 5 Set Bonuses.
At level 46, you get the first 4 Set Bonuses (You have exemped more than 3 levels below the highest IO).
At level 39, you get the first 4 Set Bonuses.
At level 38, you get the first 3 Set Bonuses (You have exemped more than 3 levels below the 2 highest IOs).
At level 36, you get the first 2 Set Bonuses (You have exemped more than 3 levels below the 3 highest IOs).
At level 32, you get the first 2 Set Bonuses.
At level 31, you get no Set Bonuses (You have no Set IOs in the right level range to provide a bonus).

Now let me be clear here. You never lose the Enhancement Bonus from your IOs. No matter what level you are, if you have IOs slotted, you always keep the Enhancement Bonus. If you exemp too far, you lose the Set Bonus. Completely different beast. Also, if you are not slotting for Set Bonuses, it doesn't matter what level the IO is. If you're not getting a Set Bonus out of your slotting, put as big an IO as you feel it needs in there.

So, what does all that mean? If you never plan on exemping, at all, go ahead and slot 50s. But, if you plan on exemping for Task Forces, or to enter PvP zones, or to help out a friend who's got a lower level character, or even to take part in the new Ouroboros Time Travel content, you need to decide what level IOs to slot.

I suggest the following IO levels:

For Powers you get at level:
01-30: Level 30 Set IOs
32-35: Level 35 Set IOs
38-41: Level 40 Set IOs
44-44: Level 45 Set IOs
47-49: Level 50 Set IOs

Why this system? Level 30 IOs are just a hair better, percentage wise, than even level SOs in Enhancement Values. So, even if you exemp below level 27 and lose any Set Bonus, you still get at least SO value out of your IOs. And, as you increase in Security Level, you get the best IOs you can use when you have those powers.

Let's take your level 38 power as an example. At level 37, you don't have access to it. So, it's pointless to slot IOs below that level in it. You won't have access to the power, so you don't get a Set Bonus from it. By slotting level 40 IOs in it, you ensure that as long as you have the power, you get access to any Set Bonus from it. Now, you could slot level 41 IOs in it, for a hair better percentages out of your enhancements. But I like to round my numbers off, a throw back from SO days. It also means that you can slot a set that only goes up to 40 in it, giving you a few more options.

NOTE: Ok, so I wound up changing my mind here. For example, I do use level 41 Set IOs in my level 38 power, but I still stand by the general idea. Levels 1-26, I use level 30 Set IOs. Level 28 power, I use level 31 Set IOs, and so on. The basic theory still holds true.

Now, you could also slot level 25 IOs in your powers, up through your level 24 power, to ensure that you still get Set Bonuses in Bloody Bay, the lowest level PvP zone. However, I have to point out that IOs at level 25 are weaker than even level SOs, so while you may have the Set Bonus, you will not be doing the SO "minimum". The choice is yours.

So, with that out of the way, you can now look at what sets you find interesting, and look at what level you take the power, and now you know what level IOs to go looking for.


Rare Invention Origin Enhancements:
New to Issue 11 are the new Rare Invention Origin Enhancements. Personally, I feel they’re a bad idea, which should’ve never been introduced. Something about the idea of Purple Loot just smacks of World of Warcraft to me, and rubs me wrong. On the other hand, they’re damn cool. I’ll explain briefly here how they impact your Blapper.

First and foremost, you cannot slot these unless you’re level 50. Not even at level 47, like you can with other level 50 Enhancements. You must be level 50 before you can even consider them. Now for the good stuff. They provide a much higher Enhancement Bonus than standard level 50 Invention Origin Enhancements. They also provide Set Bonuses that are much higher than standard IOs do. The icing on the cake is that they provide the Set Bonus no matter what level you exemp to. Let me repeat that, with emphasis. They always provide a Set Bonus, no matter what level you currently are. The little twirly rose on the icing on the cake is that they drop from beating normal bad guys. They’re from what is called Pool A Drops, meaning you don’t need to grind Task Forces or Trials for them, they always have a random chance of dropping from normal enemies.

In the guide below, I list what power I would slot each set into. So, if you’re getting close to 50, and you want to know where I think you should put the Purples, just scan through the guide until you see Purple Text.


The New Defiance:
A recent change to Issue 11 is the introduction of the new Defiance. All you need to remember is that the new Defiance is sexy. So sexy. I’ll try to give a simple explanation here.

All ranged attacks got a +12.50% Damage increase. As a melee focused Blapper, it’s not that important, but it’s something to remember. And yes, you’re still doing more damage with your melee attacks.

All Tier 1 attacks can now be used while mezzed. A Tier 1 attack is any power that can be picked at level 1, regardless of what level you eventually picked it at. In this case, Energy Bolt, Energy Blast and Power Thrust. That means you’ll have at least 2 attacks that can be used while mezzed, if not three. Sexy.

Finally, all Blaster Primary and Secondary attacks now provide a damage buff if they connect with your target. This buff lasts, on average, 8-10 seconds. The amount of damage and the duration of the buff is dependant on what power it is that connects. These buffs stack with each other, and can self stack from the same power if you get them off fast enough. A good rule of thumb is the faster an attack animates, the lower the damage buff. The longer an attack animates, the larger the damage buff. It’s not unusual to have 5 or 6 of these buffs on you at once. So sexy.

The damage buff and the duration of the buff are listed with each power.

[ QUOTE ]
pretty sure that's a pokémon game in there O.o

*trows ball*

"squritle, I choose you!"

[/ QUOTE ]

Hee hee...

Tiena: "PikaShivan! I am doing the chosing of you!"

I honestly couldn't say, LadyJ, it wasn't my piece, but was done for Darkfang and Ravenbane, the players of Captain Galacto and Galacto Girl.

I just used that piece to show PhoenixElement what I was after. ^_^

Wow, wasn't expecting to get a second commission back today.

This time by PhoenixElement , who I must kill and steal her powers.

Another commissioned piece of Tiena, the Solarkinetic , this one inspired by another piece , which was done by the former City of Heroes comic cover artist, David Nakayama .

So, I got another commission of Tiena, the Solarkinetic, by the uber talented Sabtastic , who is a Red Side player, but I won't hold that against her.

Quick, I need Double A's!

Curse you, Luminara. You're making me consider rolling an Archery Blaster.

I have too many alts as it is!

Well done, five stars.

Just found this topic, so here is my recent commissioned artwork of my Peacebringer, the Solarkinetic.

Tiena, The Solarkinetic
The artist is the crazy talented Tatious, who can be found here.