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Moridin, its interesting that you say that becuase when most people think about a blaster destroying hordes of enemies in the post 40 game, they are thinking about skills like Inferno
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IMO this is mostly coming from people who have seen the power but never actually used it. These powers are fun but you simply do not use them to level.
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I disagree with this. I just got 47 on my main and ever since level 41 when I got Thunderous Blast, I've used it just about as often as it comes up (hasten 6-slotted at 46; yeah I know I had a sucky build). I solo 95% of the time and have had immensely good luck hunting with TB.
The groups I exp on in Peregrine are always nemesis and come in the following (rough) formats:
- 2 to 5 minions
- 1 lieutenant with maybe 1 minion
- 12 (or so) lieutenants/minions with more lieutenants if there are large groups hunting nearby (I stay away from anything with a boss since the risk/reward is poor)
With single target blasts I can smoke through the first two types of groups pretty easily and they're fairly common. Using buildup and aim I can even take on higher level targets (+2 is about the best risk/reward for me). Great, but that's not going to get me 4 mil to 48 in a reasonable amount of time.
With Thunderous Blast I can destroy just about any group of the last type I care to shoot at up to +3 (or so). It's a little tricky when the lieutenants don't go down in the first shot with vengeance and all but otherwise it's a group I can't even begin to solo. Unless I miss, the minions all die and usually the bulk of the firepower with them leaving maybe 15-30 seconds of cleanup depending on the level of the remaining baddies. Without Thunderous, I can't even approach groups like that and even small groups with multiple lieutenants tend to not be worthwhile.
Here's a rough comparison of the payout considering that finding a fight is my biggest source of downtime (again, nothing with bosses; not worth the risk):
- 1600 - 4000 exp for even level in the first group type
- 2000 - 2800 exp for even level in the second group type
- 12K - 16K exp for even level in the last group type
I average around 3 of the smaller single target battles for every one of the larger battles. A group of the first type at level 50 is going to be a rough fight for me; I just don't hit often enough. A group of the last type at level 50 is far easier with a higher payout so long as the remaining lieutenants don't kill me in their alpha strike (all of the minions I hit will be dead). It is not uncommon for me to gain 20K-35K per pull opening with Thunderous blast.
Why do I do this other than the fact that it's incredibly fun? If I don't use Thunderous while soloing, the number of fights that I can win is smaller thus more down time thus more time per level (and at current rate I won't hit 50 by hour 500). I can double *or more* my current exp/hour by hunting with Thunderous because the single battle payout is so much larger for a similar investment in time.
If it seems like I've obsessed over these numbers, well, I've had a lot of time to think about it.
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When you need 2000 mobs to level killing 10 every 2 min adds up to 60 hours of game time.
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If you want to be picky about it, it's 4050 even level minions from level 38 on up to at least 47 (probably 50 but I haven't been there to know for certain). If I'm not killing 10-20 worth in one shot every fourth or so battle, it's going to take me even longer.
/exa
