Frozen_Burn
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Posts
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Joined
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Just a some initial thoughts I noticed...
Capped defenses are always good, but only really necessary when soloing, imo. When teamed, you'll be splitting aggro, which means less attacks you have to 'deflect' and less chances of you being hit. So with that in mind....
Do you really need 3 travel powers? I realize you're going for the BotZ ranged set bonus, but it's quite a minor bonus to warrant taking 2 extra travel powers, imo. I think you would have a better overall build if you took other powers. If you need 3 travel powers for a concept, that is one thing... but if you're going just for that measely 1.25% range bonus, I think you would be better served taking more useful powers...
Ice Sword is a nice melee power for those times when foes rush you. And they will rush you occassionally--otherwise, ice patch has no use!
You can also 6 slot it with Mako's and get a really nice ranged def bonus.
Picking up Manaeuvers can also help your ranged (and overall) def.
Hibernate is a great power for when things just get totally overwhelming.
Frozen Armor is a good S/L def power too for those times you get bum-rushed (ice patch is good, but won't stop all incoming attacks--sometimes they get an attack or 2 in first before they 'slip').
Freezing Touch is another great hold and an opportunity to slot more Basilisk's Gaze. It can be useful for when bosses (or others) rush you and you don't want to work through the animation of Bitter Freeze Ray (assuming you've already used Freeze Ray on it or something else). Plus having 3 holds is REALLY nice.
As for Blizzard slotting, I hate to see you gimp the damage of the power by slotting for ToHitDebuff. I realize you're going for the ranged def set bonus, but that isn't a trade off worth making, imo. If you're using your 'nuke' and dropping your end bar... you want your foes dead. Even though Blizzard is DoT, they still won't be hitting you: they'll be too busy flopping, running (slooowly), or they'll miss with just the base -20% THdeBuff +whatever def you have.
Ideal slotting for Blizzard, imo, is 5 Ragnarok's (no proc needed) and a generic recharge IO. If you are the type to not use your nuke that often and only on rare occassions, then 5 Posi's and a recharge IO is ok. Otherwise, forget about set bonuses and franken-slot it for full damage and recharge.
Hoarfrost may not be needed if you can get to HP cap (1606 HP) with set bonuses.
Again, you don't have to have capped defenses to have a strong and survivable character. You can also always chew a luck insp for when things get heated and until you can cool it down. -
Other things to consider about Total Focus:
- Even though it is now a Mag 3 stun, it is a guaranteed stun. Bone Smasher's Mag 3 stun only has a 60% of taking effect and Energy Punch's Mag 2 stun only has a 30% chance to take effect. There will be times when you will not be able to stun anything by just using BS and EP. So even though you can't stun a boss in one hit, you will at least have a better success rate with TF + BS than you would with BS + EP.
- It still does a ton of damage at 197.97 (base). As Miladys pointed out... it gives a great defiance buff and when chained it can be quite effective and deadly.
I had skipped it on my blaster and opted for Stun instead so I could have the guaranteed Mag 3 stun with only 1.8s of cast. But I later respecced out of it and took TF instead... my rationale is, as a blaster, if I'm going to throw an "attack" at a foe, I prefer to do damage--even if the cast time is longer.
My /energy is an AR so i don't get Aim, but my attack chain to kill the target = BU + BS + EP + TF + EP + BS. Usually, nothing survives that, but in the rare times it does, I'll use Power Trust for funsies and then shoot it.
But if I'm more concerned about stunning the target, I'll open with BS and follow up with TF, then EP if needed, and if it's still not stunned, BS is recharged and I can use that again. -
Quote:Interesting. I think you're the first person I've heard that slots endurance reduction first. I'm not saying that's bad--it's just interesting to hear other's points of view. I usually hear of people slotting Damage first!Originally Posted by PuceNonagon
2) The first slot in every power gets an EndRed DO.
3) After endurance has been addressed, focus on Accuracy, Recharge, and Damage, in that order.
Personally, I prefer to put an Accuracy in the first slot. Nothing is worse or more aggravating to me than spending endurance (even reduced endurance)on something that misses--if I'm gonna click it, it better hit--even if it does little damage.
Secondly, i slot end redux and thirdly, damage.
I avoid slotting rech in my attacks early on because it causes you to attack faster and thusly, burn more endurance overall. You basically negate the end reduction you slotted. (Hasten does this too early on--and then the end crash on top makes it worse!) At the low levels, I can wait a second or two for a tier 1 or 2 power to recharge. The foes aren't that bad or damaging at the lower levels and I can take a hit or two, or just kite. Plus, I gain endurance during the time the power is recharging.
But that's just my preference, playstyle, and rationale. -
Welcome to the game, Cnorwood!
Dual Pistols is fun and Electricity Manipulation is a great secondary set. And combined, they can be very potent together.
/Elec leans towards you being in melee: 7 of your 9 powers are melee or PBAoE powers. And DP's big power, Hail of Bullets is one big fun and damaging PBAoE. So.... you're going to want to build your character for surviving in melee range to get full usage out of your powersets. So I hope you don't mind getting up close and personal with your foes!
Picking up Tough from the Fighting power pool will help and if you can fit Weave into your build, that's good too. Combat Jumping is good for immobilization protection (and some defense) and Acrobatics (also if you can squeeze it in) gives some hold protection and Knock Back protection. There are also IO enhancements that grant KB prot too. And certainly pick an APP or Patron Pool and take one of the various shields offered to stack with Tough/Weave/set bonuses. Maneuvers from the Leadership pool can help as well. And you're going to want Hasten.
/Elec also has a big advantage and that's Power Sink. It's auto-hit and recharges in 60s base. With Hasten and moderate set bonuses, you can get Power Sink to recharge in ~30s. Only downside is that it has a 12ft range so you have to be close. But with full slotting, you can fill your end bar off only a couple of mobs.
For set bonuses, you'll want to build for max HP; decent +Recharge to get HoB, Power Sink, and all your other attacks back faster; +regen and +recovery; and finally, as much +defense as you can get. Mids' Hero Planner can really help out with this. You can get it from the Titan Network: http://www.cohtitan.com/
DP/Elec can be a beast of toon and you should have fun playing it. All the powers in both sets are good and have thier uses, imo. So you'll have to take/drop what is important to you and your playstyle.
Again, welcome to CoX and have fun!!
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Welcome to the game! AR/Dev is a fun combo and I really enjoy mine. As ClawsandEffect stated, slotting endurance reduction in each of your powers early on REALLY helps as well as 3 slots of end modifications in Stamina.
The devs have done a great job in recent issues in leveling out the playing speed over the levels. Levels 10-20 and 35-40 used to be a horrible grind, but not much anymore.
There are fun Task Forces you can do starting at level 10 which really help you level faster as well. Positron in Steel Canyon offers 2 Task Forces for lvls 10-15+ and Synapse in Skyway City offers a TF for levels 15-20+ (and then there are MANY other task Forces after that). There is also the Cavern of Transcendance Trial in the Hollows for levels 12+. That is fun too.
If you're feeling a grind... it may be because you're in AE. You should really get out and experience the content of the game--it's really quite good and it will get you used to how the game really works. AE is fun and a nice add-on, but you're missing out on a whole amazing world if you keep your nose in the AE building.
You also might be feeling sluggish because, sadly, /Devices is a slow moving set: 1) you don't get any of the melee attacks to add into your attack chain like most of the other blaster secondaries; and 2) in the upper levels 28+... Trip Mine, Time Bomb, and Gun Drone take significant time to set them up and that slow's your damage per second (DPS) down too. (I love those 3 powers and use them all the time, but it does slow you down when solo and are tricky to use when teamed--but fun nonetheless!)
After you join a global chat channel on your server, that should help you team more often and should help you level better. (Also to note, you get an XP bonus when teamed.) Also getting out of AE and/or Atlas Park will help too! Most people who are actually "playing" are not in Atlas Park--Atlas has become a "hang out" spot, a place to hold costume contests, and/or other types of events. Try going to a level appropriate zone King's Row, Steel Canyon, and Skyway City and using "Broadcast" in those zones. You're also coming up on lvl 15 where there is some great content in Faultline form lvl 15-25.
Also, you can try creating other characters on other servers that are a little more active. Champion is probably one of the lesser populated servers (along with Infinity, and Victory). Freedom and Virtue probably have the highest amount of players on them, but that might be too overwhelming and Virtue somehow became the "roleplaying" server--but if you like to roleplay your character that might be a good place to find friends and teammates. Otherwise, I suggest maybe make a character on a moderate to moderately-highly populated server like Guardian, Liberty, Pinnacle, or Protector. You can certainly find readily available teams and yet it's not overly crowded.
Quote:Something to consider before judging them... most SGs have Teamspeak or Ventrillo (or some other voice communication system) so they can talk while playing and not have to type. It's SO much easier. But they typically don't grant the login info to newbies in the SG... they typically want to see if you'll hang with the game and the SG first and/or just get to know your playstyle and "trustworthiness." In other words, they don't want to give their login info to just anyone right off the bat--they want to know you'll be there and be part of the "team" of players.Originally Posted by Munitions Expert
The SG I joined seem to ignore everyone in chat that isn't level 50
Our SG has Teamspeak and sometimes we forget that there are people on the team that can't hear us and we forget to type to them. On behalf of all players/SGs like this.... sorry. But don't be offended. We just get wrapped up in the mission, the slaughter, the retreat, or the jokes we're telling each other.
...or... maybe the SG you joined could, in fact, truly be jerks.
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Quote:Yes, however it should only be their lower level attacks and not their higher level high damage attacks. And again, this is why I build my elec blasters for damage. To drain your foe's end completely and keep it drained (meaning enough -recov debuff too) using a blaster is very difficult (and even harder with /devices as a secondary). By the time you work at getting their end bar completely down and enough -recov stacked to keep it down (which is very hard for a blaster), you could have just outright killed them by slotting for damage.Originally Posted by shaggy5
Let me clarify one thing. Of course I have been able to drain end from foes. But like my original post stated, they seem to need the very slightest, most minute end to attack, so, in the end, there isn't really much point to no end if they can quickly get that tiny amount and attack me just fine.
I think you'd be better slotting your blaster for damage and try him out that way using a different playstyle to see if you enjoy playing the toon that way. What do you have to lose? what's the worst that happens--he still sits??
Then, if you still want a sapper, make a defender or even better, an elec/elec dominator. Doms play similarly to a blaster and an elec/elec dom can drain a group's end and keep it drained for the duration of the fight--they're pretty cool. -
Quote:Yes, it's still a crash, because it still happens. You just know how to deal with it so it doesn't bother you!Originally Posted by YoumuKonpaku
If the crash doesn't really affect you, is it still a crash?
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Agreed, posting your build would help us to see where you're at with it. And do get the new Mids' build planner as DarkGob suggested--it's awesome!
But also, Power Sink has a base recharge of 60s. So with Hasten and moderate set bonuses, you can get that down to ~30s. It is also auto-hit. So even if you do have end problems... you don't! especially with a fast recharging auto-hit endurance-giver-backer power like Power Sink. just work it more into your attack chain. -
Hmmm... LRM is considered a "nuke"? It does do a lot of damage, but not quite as high as most "nukes" so never really thought of it in that manner, but ok.
Well, LRM is just plain fun and I giggle everytime I use it. Time bomb is the same for me on every successful explosion with mobs flying everywhere...especially when I put a Rain of Arrows on top of it right before it explodes! Full Auto is fun--especially range boosted--but I hate the 10 mob cap.
My top 2 are RoA and HoB--love them both!! They play completely differently so it's like comparing apples and oranges. But if I have to choose only 1 top crashless nuke, I'd have to go with....
Hail of Bullets!
Why over RoA?- I can click once and it activates. RoA requires 2 clicks, once to get the targeting reticle to place it and the second to activate the power. Too many times have i clicked RoA and the "placement" of the reticle didn't take and I had to click it again, or a third time, or a fourth time... That never happens with HoB.
- With HoB, you start damaging your foes as soon as you activate the power (so from click to last damage tick, it's 3.5s or 4.1s if you have incendiary rounds loaded). With RoA, you have 4s of animation +1.8s of delay before the 1st tick of damage hits, then 1s of DoT (that's 6.8s from activation to final damage tick--that doesn't count the time it takes to initially click the power and place it).
- With HoB, I just look cooler while animating than I do during the 4s pause of RoA.
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A lot of peolpe like the idea of being a "sapper" and draining your foes end and electric blast does a good job of it--but better on a defender than a blaster. Yes, as a blaster, you are a more effective sapper by teaming with someone else who has end drain as well. But personally, I play/build my blasters for damage rather than end drain. If I want a sapper, I make a defender instead.
I've always found the damage of elec blast to be decent but not top of the line probably because energy damage is one of the top 3 most resisted damage types (along with S/L). But I've never had a difficult time killing anything either.
I can understand your frustration with your blaster especially since you paired it with /devices. Devices is a very slow moving set and really doesn't synergize well with elec blast, imo. I think you would have been better off with with /fire, /elec, /energy, or /mental. Those secondaries have not only have better DPS attacks and utilities, they also have an end drain and/or -recovery power too (or power boost from /energy which enhances your end drain capabilities) to help you be a better "sapper."
For blasters, I have an elec/elec and an elec/energy. For Defenders, I have a storm/elec and a kin/elec. I enjoy playing all 4 of them. I like the concepts I've created for them, I like their powers, and I like what they can do solo or in a team setting.
Sorry you're not enjoying the elec blast set, but I really think it's because you paired it with /devices. If you really want to be a sapper, I suggest building a defender that doesn't require you to constatly buff, like a FF, Sonic, or Cold (which is buff every 4 mins) so you can focus more on draining end and being the sapper you want to be. -
Quote:There are no rules for blaster secondaries--except the tier 1 has to recharge and activate in a certain amount of time due to defiance. And most tier 1's are immobs except for /energy. And sure, /fire and /elec are very similar in nature overall, but /Ice and /Mental play completely different from the others and /devices and /energy are each very unique.Originally Posted by Redd Rumm
Ok im at the end of my rope ill take any secondary the devs want to give a blaster . ive been beging for a MA clone ive been asking for dark assault you name it ive asked for it ,at this point ill take any thing new
I really dont understand the rules for blaster secondaries . i thought it was basicaly ranged primary /mele secondary sprinkled with a few utilites
makeing sets like ma ,ss ,dark mele a possiblity i would even take a clone of the dom stone assault !
But, yes, I too would love to see more blaster secondaries: /Rad Manipulation, /Dark Manipulation (and Dark Blast primary), a martial arts secondary of some sort, and I would even like to see a psy or mental APP set. -
Quote:It was for the extreme high damage. Devs love the "trade off" -- they give you a power that does extreme damage but at a price of losing your end and having -recov for a bit.Originally Posted by Another_Fan
Does anyone have information on why nukes were made crashing in the first place ?
If it was something related to the original target caps or aggro caps, it might not be at all relevant anymore. It could well be something that should have been corrected but just never got corrected because there was no way to bring it to the proper attention.
I do like the idea previously suggested of getting rid of the -recov portion of the nuke. -
Quote:Not a big deal, imo. That crash is acceptable to me and easily overcome with teammates buffs, blue insps, or powers like consume and power sink. And i like that some nukes are high damaging with an end crash and others are slightly less damaging with high rech and no crash.Originally Posted by BlackBellatrix
With topics about how Rain of Arrows is such a great power, it got me thinking... Is there any reason to have the other nukes have a crash? Couldn't they tone down the power a bit, up the recharge and make all the other nukes crashless? It seems to me that Blasters suffer from overkill a lot with their nukes which make them very situational at best.
Heck, you could even keep their recharge time high and just eliminate the crash and keep damage nearly the same, especially in the case of say... Blizzard.
I don't know, I think it's one relatively simple fix that might give Blasters a bit more mileage.
And nobody better change my Blizzard!! It's perfect for getting my end back from the same mob with Consume while the DoT is ticking away!
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Quote:This is an interesting idea and would be a nice option as well.Originally Posted by Blunt_Trauma
Just let me strap my Time Bomb onto a willing teammate (Tank maybe) so he can run in and detonate, or let me throw it like a stachel charge. Also, if the Gun Drone wants to melee, let it explode with moderate AOE damage when it dies.
edited: sp
This just shows HOW much /Devices needs fixing on the whole. The devs give us powers to take, not to skip. (And I don't blame you, Oliin, or anyone for skipping any powers.) But since lots of people seem to skip a lot of the "big and impactful" powers in the /devices set, it's a HUGE indicator to the devs that they need to do something about it. The devs just need to wake up and devote some time to fixing these things. I love new content as much as everyone else and I know it's what keeps people paying every month, but at least once a quarter, I'd like to have a big patch where things are fixed or QoL is added in.Quote:Quote by Oliin:
Well, to be fair, I've always found there's enough skippable powers in /dev that I could comfortably get away with taking two or three of the travel powers.
I think at one point I had SS/Fly/TP in order to help a friend get around the shard and then to see what all the hubbub was about whirlwind un-rooting the blast animations and the better stealth with SS. It really didn't impact my capabilities on a team in the slightest. Solo yea a little, but teaming not at all.
Edit: I misspoke slightly. Skippable isn't really the right word. It's more of a lack of "must-have" powers for me than much of anything being 'skippable' (other than time bomb and possibly smoke grenade if you have a stealth IO or use SS for a travel power).
Gun Drone is obviously bugged. It going into melee all started when they made the changes to the Malta version several issues ago. It has been long enough for the devs to fix it and and I'm tired of /bugging it. They need to fix its AI, in the VERY least. I would only hope they will see this thread (and others) and realize that Gun Drone and /Devices on the whole need other major fixes as well. -
Quote:Ha ha ha ha!!Originally Posted by StratoNexus
(or as is more often the case in the group I run with, 3 of us hit spawn A, while 3 hit spawn B and 1 hits spawn C, while 1 of us bops in between all three, then after the AoEs on spawn B go off I switch to spawn A for single target cleanup and maybe another volley of AoEs if necessary, then some of us go help on spawn C while others look for spawns D and E and F...).
(I laugh because I am part of this group StratoNexus is talking about--and it's fun to do this!! Crazy, but fun!)
So to add on to some others' comments and to help bring back full circle to Op's original statements...
Yes, I too purposely herd or jump into the middle of 10 or more +1 mobs with my DP/MM blaster and prefer fighting this way--with this toon and build. This blaster combo lends itself to this particular type of playstyle. And I built the toon specifically to survive in large mobs and AoE them to death--but it's not an uber defense-heavy build like you might think. It's just a well-rounded and AoE heavy build with moderate recharge and defenses and a few extras for surviving inside a large group--and it's VERY successful. Rarely, if ever, do I perish with this toon. And this build cost me about as much as any other toon I have.
However, on the other side of the coin, I do have an Arch/Dev blaster that I spent billions on for maxed out recharge--but it has very little defenses and really, its only defense is its offense. Why did I build it for max out rech then? Purely for fun; and I also wanted to see just how much rech I could squeeze out of it without gimping my powers, toon, or playstyle. So with Spiritual Core alpha incarnate, I'm able to get my Rain of Arrows down to 14.5s rech vs. ~16.8s to 17s on a "normal" build. Do those extra 2 seconds matter on my RoA? Maybe, maybe not. As someone mentioned previously... 1s can be the difference in life and death for a toon. But this toon works best in a team support capacity rather than solo'ing (although I do solo with it successfully but at lower difficulty levels).
...and back to the Op's statements...
So yes, you can max out your rech and spend billions to do so for only a second or 2 off your times OR you can spend "normal" amounts on a decent well-rounded or defensive/survivable build.
As what was also pointed out in this thread, there seems to be a mentality that +rech is the "Holy Grail" but not just for blasters but for ALL toons. You hear it all the time in global channels, "yea! I have perma-Hasten" "I have perma-this" "perma-that" "perma, perma, perma...." So Elektro, it's no wonder you thought building for +rech WAS what you should strive for. But again, as a reminder to everyone, the "Holy Grail" is not just +rech or just +def instead... it's whatever YOU see fit for the toon, your playstyle, and/or budget.
My Arch/Dev's "Holy Grail" is +recharge. My DP/MM's "Holy Grail" is defense/survivability.
Recharge builds and defensive builds both have upsides and lesser-upsides. One is not better than the other on the whole. Some people do prefer one over the other (which is fine), others prefer a balance (which is fine), and others avoid blasters all together (which is absurd)! But building to what YOU think is best for you is always the way to go. YOU are playing the toon, so build it so that YOU have fun with it.
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Both are very good and really, it's all down to your personal preference and/or concept.
Flame:
- Bonfire is good for keeping melee'ers off you. It creates a nice safe haven for those foes that just love to bum rush you.
- Char is a great single target hold that last long and recharges fairly quick right out of the box.
- Fire Shield is a very good shield like most APP shields for blasters. You get S/L + Fire resists, and + a little Cold resist as well.
- Melt Armor is a Def/Resist Debuff power, that is really not that great, imo for blasters because of the 200s base rech.
- Rise of the Phoenix is a really great self rez that will stun any foes nearby (incl bosses) and give you a small window of invincibility.
Force:
- Personal Force Field is a nice "Oh crap!" power to give you high def and resists, but you are not able to attack. It can allow you to run away, if the mobs don't get you during its activation time and there's no DoT. A very good power.
- Repulsion Field is a PBAoE power that can KB foes from you. It ticks too slowly and does not perform as well as Bonfire, imo. It is a toggle so it will cost you end to run it and the more you KB, the more end it costs. ( Bonfire has a higher mag KB, ticks much faster, and costs very little endurance comparatively.)
- Repulsion Bomb is a fun power but a long animation. It is a AoE Knock-down power with a 40% chance to mag 2 stun (only gets minions). It does ok damage.. not great, but ok. Again, a fun power, imo.
- Temp Invulerability is your shield power, but only S/L resists. The S/L resists are a little higher on this power because you don't get resistance to anything else like Fire or Energy (fromt eh electric shield), or etc.
- Force of Nature is an "Unstoppable" type of power that gives you high resists to everything (except psy) and +recovery for 2 mins... then you crash and lose all your endurance and cannot recover end for another 15 secs. (NO HP crash with this power--unlike the tanker version.) This is another great "oh crap!" power that actually allows you to fight while using it.
....Really good powers in both sets and each play a little differently. So again, it's really up to you and your personally preferences and/or toon concept. -
I love the DP/Mental build... It's one my most fun blasters and it is my sturdiest. However, I am nowhere near cap on ANY of the Def/Resist types and Drain Psyche is NOT perma.
I built mine to stand in the middle of +2(x8) mobs and survive. I went for as much positional def i could get, as much +rech for perma Drain Psyche if possible, as much S/L resists, max HPs, and as much extra +regen as possible to stack with Drain Psyche... much like you are trying to do as well, I assume.
However.... I only got to 25%/22%/20% Melee/Range/Aoe def and 30% S/L resists and my Drain Psyche has a down time of 6s (3s with tier 4 spiritual incarnate alpha)... not capped or perma on anything. Except HPs--I did manage to max out HPs and an extra +80% (4 HP/s) regen. Not the greatest numbers, but I can tell you from practical experience, it is still EXTREMELY survivable. I look at the numbers and go... "why am I not faceplanting all the time?!" I rarely, if ever, die. If I do, It's usually because I'm out of break frees--that's my weak point. But I guess the other "tricks" and damage from the powers are enough to keep me alive.
World of Confusion is great for mitigation and really requires 6 slotting with the purple confuse set, imo (especially the Contagious Confusion proc). The proc REALLY shines and does great here and can get bosses and Lts too. The stun from Psychic Shockwave is minor and only gets minions, but it does help if you do not outright kill them. Drain Psyche should be slotted for Heal/Regen since it will cap your recovery (unslotted) from ~3 mobs (and you don't need capped recov to carry you through a fight even on a toggle heavy build like I have).
With my build, I honestly have no fear with this blaster--solo at +2 or higher x8--and on a team where I get buffs... I am godlike. I may chew a small purple or breakfree as needed for higher level mobs (+3 or +4 or AVs/EBs).
Also, you're not going to get capped S/L resists with only Tough and an epic power pool shield... you'll need a sonic shielder, orange insps, or the devs to make a resist bonuses more readily available to us in sets.
Going for Perma Drain Psyche is obtainable, however. I wished i had it, but again, it's not really needed. Typically, you'll level the initial mob (uing Drain Psyche) within 15-20s. Drain Psyche at perma recharges in 30s. So it's not going to be up for the 2nd mob but you should still have some of the buff for the 2nd's alpha, and it'll be back for the 3rd (even if you're not quite at the perma mark like me).
I guess what I'm trying to say is... you don't HAVE to be capped on anything or have the perma this-or-that to still have an extremely survivable, powerful, and fun DP/MM blaster.
I am sure there are others out there that can tweak and munchkin out a build with slightly better numbers... but it's not needed. My suggeston is, just play it and slot it as best as YOU think, and I am sure you will find that you are VERY survivable and will have a fun time. -
Quote:I completely agree... I too like the challenge and thrill solo'ing my Eng/Eng blaster--same with my Eng/Kin Corr! MUCH fun!Originally Posted by Bonnes
My Eng/Eng leads a far more dangerous life, but he's way more fun to solo with. I love fighting tough bosses with him, especially Freak tanks.
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Of those 2, the Sonic/MM would be better for solo'ing.
The Nrg/Nrg has great powers for damage, range, KB (which provides some mitigation/survivability), and has great single target damage with Power Burst, Bone Smasher, and Total Focus. It has a really great stunning ability, but they are all single target stuns. It also has very few AoEs which are always handy when soloing. It is fun to play, but I find it works best on a team where other people are drawing some of the aggro off you.
The Sonic/MM provides great mitigation with its AoE sleep, stuns (ST and AoE), fear, and KB (ST and AoE). It also has a buff power with Drain Psyche (I suggest slotting heals for regen rate as this power unslotted will cap your recov rate from just ~3 mobs surrounding you and you really don't need capped recov to carry you through a fight). Sonic has the -res effects that will also help you kill faster. -
I've always just slotted 1 rech in it as I'd rather put the slots elsewhere in other powers. I love Bonfire, but what it does out-of-the-box is perfect for me and I really only use/need it for a safe haven or the many other reasons listed above.
To me, it's a situational power that doesn't warrant the need for extra slots--no matter what set bonuses I might/could get from it. -
Quote:I think this is your biggest crux.... Blasters DO melee and CAN melee quite effectively. Some secondaries are perfect and lean towards a melee playstyle (while others do not). Look at how many of the powers in the /Electric Manipulation set are melee oriented: Charged Brawl, Havoc Punch, Thunder Strike, Lightning Field, Lightning Clap, Power Sink, and Shocking Grasp--that's 7 of your 9 powers requiring you to be in melee to get their full useage.Originally Posted by Quixotik
Blasters don't Melee.
If you are not playing your Elec/Elec in melee range, then you are not getting the full power and potential your powersets lean to--and I can see why you are frustrated with your elec/elec blaster.
If you prefer fighting at range, then perhaps the /Energy, /Dev, or /Ice secondaries are more for you. /Fire and /Mental also lean towards being in melee range, but these sets are also easy for building towards a playstyle where you jump in and out melee range during a fight.
Also, the end drain an Elec/Elec blaster brings can be devastating to a mob and works really well, imo. Throwing just a single End Mod in your attacks is REALLY good and you'll see a difference. Short Circuit however should be slotted for full End Mod, imo, as this will drain most of an entire mob's end and help floor their recovery (then hit Powersink and/or Ball Lightning to drain the rest and keep their recov down).
Powersink is awesome--short range, sure--but it's auto-hit and has a base rech of 60s (~30s with Hasten and sets). Consume from /Fire has a larger range but it also has a to-hit check and its base rech is 180s! I love /Fire, but I'd rather have Powersink's auto hit and fast rech.
I will agree that Voltaic Sentinel is lacking and imo, not worth taking. But that's ok as it gives opportunity to pick up something else to make you survive in melee better--like Tough, Weave, or Maneuvers!
Tesla Cage can use some love from the Devs to make it more inline with Freeze Ray, but it is also a good end drain power too AND it stacks with Shocking Grasp to hold those pesky bosses.
An Elec/Elec blaster can be a beast if you play it to its full potential. You may need to pick up Pool Powers to help your survivability, like Fighting, Leadership, or etc. Then tossing in the Elec APP and getting Charged Armor, Surge of Power and/or EM Pulse makes them just that much more of a force to be reconnned with. -
I LOVE my Arch/Dev blaster and enjoyed playing it from level 1 (as well as my Fire/Fire blaster). And I have even toe-bombed on occassion. But if you want toe-bombing to be your main playstyle, then go with Fire Blast. Fire Blast has slightly faster cast times and very few foes resist fire (while there are more that resist lethal).
I also suggest you pick up some Pool Powers to help your survivability in melee range. Ones to consider: Tough, Weave, Maneuvers, Combat Jumping, Acrobatics, and/or etc. Shields from the APP sets will be critical too. -
Quote:Well, until they put in Dual Pistol Manipulation, you'll have redraw on all the secondaries. Yes, some have less than others (like /EM or /Dev), but you're going to have to deal with it. And besides... you at least look cool redrawing and twirling your pistols (unlike Arch or AR that only draw them from your... invisible back holster?).Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim
I personally don't like pairing MM with weapon sets because of the redraw. It sounds weird at first that I like EM with it, but EM can chain well with itself, or be used before a fight. MM doesn't work quite as well like that, at least in my experience with it. But go with what makes sense for you character, that's what matters most, I would say.
Honestly, I was also concerned with the redraw issue with my DP/MM blaster, but actually, it's not that big of deal. I still level mobs before the tank and team show up and I look cool doing it (imo).
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It all depends on your particular playstyle.
If you prefer staying at range with your blaster:
- /Energy is very good for blasters at range, especially with the Boost Range power. I have a DP/EM/Force and he is a beast at range--but I have to be careful when I go into melee for HoB.
- /Ice can also be good if you like this secondary (i do not, but many do)--it gives decent mitigation and stacks well with cryo rounds.
- /Devices can be good for a ranged toon if you like the unique playstyle it presents. It also themes well with DP. Setting an ambush of Trip Mines and HoB at the same time can be devastating.
If you like being in melee range with your blaster:
- /Mental is my favorite (I built my DP/MM to be very sturdy and to be in melee all the time.) /Mental has numerous PBAOEs that go well with HoB and provides buff and minor damage mitigation with WoC (better with the purple set as Mephe stated) and the minor stun from Psy Shockwave (for mins if you don't outright kill them).
- /Fire is very good too for being in melee--several PBAOEs here too. Hot Feet has a huge range and foes to tend to run away from you (thus providing a little bit of mitigation); Fire Sword Circle is one of my favorites and does decent damage to follow up or pre-empt HoB; and Consume is always handy for refilling your blue bar too. This also themes well with thet Fire APP set.
- /Electric has good PBAOEs like /Fire... Lightning field, Thunderstrike (for KB and stun), Lightnig Clap (for more KB and stun), Power Sink. And this goes well with the Electric APP set.
- Pool Powers suggestions that can be helpful for melee-based blasters (in no particular order): Tough, Weave, Maneuvers, Intimidate/Invoke Panic, Heal Self, Phase Shift, Combat Jumping (immob prot), Acrobatics (hold/KB prot). -
On my Arch/Dev/Mun blaster, I have chased the highest recharge I can get out of the build without sacrificing what I consider useful/needed powers. And when it gets its Spiritual Core Paragon (tier 4 recharge) alpha incarnate slotted, I'll have Rain of Arrows recharging every 14.5s.
...but this blaster is as squishy as bug under your shoe. But in a team setting, I dish out a LOT of damage and have been know to steal aggro from tankers and scrappers. And this build was EXTREMELY expensive and is really only for me... does my team care if my rain of Arrows rech in 16.73s or 14.5s? No. But to me it's worth it and fun.
My DP/Mental/Mun blaster on the other hand, I built for survivability (and moderate rech). Even though I do not have softcapped def and only moderate resists in S/L... it is EXTREMELY survivable and I have no fear when I play it. I have no problems facing off one-on-one with AVs/EBs or playing at +1/+2 (x8). ...I can't do that with my Arc/Dev blaster. This defensive build was expensive, but no where near as much as my Arch/Dev's rech build.
(And I don't know why people say DP damage is bad... I am usually ahead of the tank and leveling the mob before the team gets there--or off on my own mob nearby and finishing an entire mob in roughly the same amount of time as the team).
Anyway... your "Holy Grail" for your blaster is whatever you want it to be (as in life too, I suspect ).... if you feel recharge will suit you best then go for it! if you feel defense is better then go for it instead.