INTRO
Welcome to the wonderful world of AR/DEV/MUN. This is for all you gun nuts who play CoH and cant go outside and shoot your annoying neighbor. Just log on, make one of these heroes, and go Full Auto on stuff. I call it therapy. Some things you need to understand, you are AR which means no Aim and no Nuke. You are DEV which means you have no Build Up and no decent melee attacks. You are MUN which means no decent toggle armor. You are AR/DEV/MUN which means the majority of your damage is Lethal which is resisted a lot later on in the game. If you ever wanted a challenge and did not want to play a TA/Archery defender or a Fire/Fire tank without acrobatics or tough, then this is for you. This is how I compiled the information; 50 levels of learning, 4 respecifications of powers, all the TFs and Trials minus those god awful long Shard ones, immense calculations of numbers using 10th grade calculus algorithms and data, and my own personal experience. For starters, you have been granted the use of a Multi-Purpose-Combat-Weapon which most refer to as a frankengun. It does everything but shave your face.
NAME: power name
LEVEL: earliest level of acquisition
END COST: how tired you get pulling the trigger
ACTIVATION: how long it takes you to pull the trigger
RECHARGE: how long before you can pull this trigger again
RANGE: how far out you can make new friends
LISTED DAM: standard game damage level listing
ACCURACY BONUS: AR has inherent accuracy for being a drawn weapon, as does Archery. Most are +5%.
DAMAGE: unslotted damage
DAM TYPE: my guess is that it will be Lethal
THOUGHTS: Some tidbits of information I recorded on my journey to searching for that one elusive xp to lvl
GRADE: my rating out of a possible 5
SLOTTING: my recommended slotting for the power
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: if I could change this power it would be like this.
POWER SET PRIMARY: ASSAULT RIFLE
For the life of me I do not understand how pulling a trigger can make me tired in minutes. I can spend all day at the range shooting off thousands of rounds and get emotionally tired of changing magazines, not pulling the trigger. AR should be the most END efficient of all the blaster primaries. As far as build concepts go, you can go one of three routes: cone heavy (Buckshot/Flamethrower/M30 Grenade Launcher/Full Auto/Ignite), single target heavy (Burst/Slug/Sniper Rifle/Beanbag) or a mix of the two. I prefer a mix since I solo a lot.
NAME: Burst
LEVEL: 1
END COST: 5.202
ACTIVATION: 2.2 sec
RECHARGE: 4 sec
RANGE: 90
LISTED DAM: Moderate
ACCURACY BONUS: +5%
DAMAGE: 3.00 (4 ticks of .75 each)
DAM TYPE: Lethal
THOUGHTS: The good news is that Burst does not have a Knockback effect so you can use it to pull one lone villain (as opposed to Slug/Sniper Rifle). The bad news is that it does a paltry damage compared to Slug (also available at lvl 1). The secondary effect of lowering the targets defense is so negligible- dont even bother slotting for it (unless you have HOs). I had this power slotted for debuffs thinking it would make a difference, when in reality I just made the target madder and the Burst damage less damaging. Mediport education showed me the errors of my ways. I still put this sucker on auto-fire whenever I fight GMs/AVs/Hami etc. Old habits die hard I guess.
GRADE: 3
SLOTTING: 1 Acc/3 Dam (maybe a range or an end reducer if you have the slots to spare)
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: increasing the defense effect of Burst so it is noticeable.
NAME: Slug
LEVEL: 1
END COST: 8.528
ACTIVATION: 1.87 sec
RECHARGE: 8 sec
RANGE: 95
LISTED DAM: High
ACCURACY BONUS: +5%
DAMAGE: 4.56
DAM TYPE: Lethal
THOUGHTS: I remember the days before ED and the HO nerf; when you could slot this sucker with 6 DAM/RANGE HOs and not even think about using snipe. This power was uber then. The hami assisted range was somewhere in area of miles and the damage was just sick. Now, this power is just better than average because of the High damage and because it is available at lvl 1 so you can run around with a high damage attack power in Atlas killing stuff and laughing at your same level controllers and tanks take something like 30 minutes to kill an even con minion. Dont get me wrong, Slug is still a good power; but you should not pull with it. It has a knockback effect which will alert other villains near your target. That can sometimes lead to exciting times with an accelerated heart rate.
GRADE: 5
SLOTTING: 1 Acc/3 Dam /1 Rech/1 End Rdx
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: If Slug was part Lethal/part Energy to simulate Armor Piercing Ammunitions.
NAME: Buckshot
LEVEL: 2
END COST: 10.192
ACTIVATION: 1.87 sec
RECHARGE: 8 sec
RANGE: 40 (30 for the cone at 40 degrees)
LISTED DAM: Moderate
ACCURACY BONUS: +5%
DAMAGE: 2.53
DAM TYPE: Lethal
THOUGHTS: This power is so-so. Not great range, not great damage, the knockback will tick off your tank/scrapper teammates. But it is still decent. I use it primarily as a CRIKIE! GET THE F@#K AWAY FROM ME NOW! power. Those blasters going the DEATH-CONE route will employ it more than I do. Personally I picked it up as my lvl 49 power in my last respec.
GRADE: 2
SLOTTING: 1 Acc/3 Dam (throw a range in there if you want a longer wider weapon fan)
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: increasing the damage output or make the animation of the pellets poke an eye out.
NAME: M30 Grenade Launcher
LEVEL: 6
END COST: 15.184
ACTIVATION: 1.87 sec
RECHARGE: 16 sec
RANGE: 80 (15ft AOE)
LISTED DAM: Moderate
ACCURACY BONUS: +5%
DAMAGE: 2.49
DAM TYPE: 1.6683 Lethal, .8217 Smash
THOUGHTS: I had this power for a few levels and it just didnt seem worth keeping. The animation is cool, the knockback/scatter effect looks nice, but the AOE damage is rather weak compared to everything else (even Burst does more damage). All I found was that M30 Grenade made more villains mad at me for giving them some scratches and my teammates mad for scattering the mob.
GRADE: 2
SLOTTING: 1 Acc/3 Dam
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: make this more like real grenade launchers used throughout the world in terms of destructive ability-increase the damage! Wishful thinking.
NAME: Beanbag
LEVEL: 8
END COST: 10.404
ACTIVATION: 1.9 sec
RECHARGE: 20 sec
RANGE: 60
LISTED DAM: Minor
ACCURACY BONUS: +5%
DAMAGE: 0.56
DAM TYPE: Smash (with 15 seconds of disorient)
THOUGHTS: Correct me if I am wrong but I believe this power has a Disorient Magnitude of 3. Which means it will keep an even con minion stunned so you can kill others with impunity. For a solo blaster, this will save your backside a few times. Better drop 2 Accuracies in it to make sure you hit your target. I did not take this power at lvl 8, but took it as my lvl 28 power in a respect when I was finally disgusted with Ignite. Man I should have take it sooner. 15 seconds of disorient is a lot of rounds down range at a defenseless target.
GRADE: 4 (because I solo a lot)
SLOTTING: 2 Acc/2 Recharge/ maybe a Disorient if you can spare it
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: better inherent accuracy for this power.
NAME: Sniper Rifle
LEVEL: 12
END COST: 14.352
ACTIVATION: 5 sec
RECHARGE: 13 sec
RANGE: 120
LISTED DAM: Extreme (although you could make a case that it is equal in damage to brawl once you get in the lvl 50 missions and everyone is S/L resistant except for blasters)
ACCURACY BONUS: +25%
DAMAGE: 7.68
DAM TYPE: Lethal
THOUGHTS: Being a guy that wears a uniform to work, I could not wait to get this power. I thought it was awesome. Good range, great damage, if it didnt kill them outright, I could follow up with Slug before the target came into melee range. If those two powers didnt kill the target, I still had some distance to run away. Sniper Rifle does have a secondary effect of knockback which is why some do not use it to pull. When I started doing some Peregrine missions, I realized Sniper Rifle, my uber attack, could not kill one even con minion because of the 100% Lethal. Once ED infected us, I found out that at lvl 50 my blaster needed Sniper Rifle and Slug to kill a lvl 44 Ritki Warrior. WOOT for ED! However I managed to slot this attack with DAM/RANGE HOs and run around the PvP zones sniping targets at sick distances (Who just shot me?!?!?!). This attack does not leave a signature, like Ranged Arrow from the Archery set, so PvP targets will have a hard time acquiring where the attack came from. So it still has some value IMHO.
GRADE: 5
SLOTTING: 1 Acc/3 Damage/1-2 Interruptible/ 1 Recharge
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: longer range. 120 yards is really not that far- 150 yards or more would be better. Or better yet, make the sniper round API (armor piercing/incendiary) which would make it Lethal (66%)/Energy (33%).
NAME: Flamethrower
LEVEL: 18
END COST: 21.675
ACTIVATION: 3 sec
RECHARGE: 20 sec
RANGE: 40 (40 degrees)
LISTED DAM: Extreme
ACCURACY BONUS: +30%
DAMAGE: 5.3336 (DoT 8 ticks)
DAM TYPE: Fire
THOUGHTS: This power is great because of the non-lethal type of damage, because of the insane DoT damage and because it is a freakin flamethrower. This power sucks because of the DoT damage, the heavy end cost, the long recharge and the required rooting of your toon when using this power. Still, I do like this power, even though I once respecd out of it to get ignite but that was a long time ago and I am on medication now for that one act of silliness. If you have a tank on your team who is good at herding (there must be some still out there) then this power is great to use. However it pains me to use this power on a single target when I button-mash in haste.
GRADE: 5
SLOTTING: 1 Acc/3 Damage/1 End Rdx/ 1 Recharge
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: lower the freaking end cost. Why do you lose1/5th of your end for pulling a trigger. Devs- nerf the trigger mechanism so it requires less pressure to get the hammer to drop.
NAME: Ignite
LEVEL: 26
END COST: 5.202
ACTIVATION: 2 sec
RECHARGE: 4 sec
RANGE: 30 (30 ft AOE)
LISTED DAM: Moderate
ACCURACY BONUS: some say it is +100% I do not use it that much to know
DAMAGE: 6.666 (DoT 30 ticks +/- at .2222 per tick)
DAM TYPE: Fire
THOUGHTS: This power requires a cerebral approach I have not mastered yet. It is a drop attack similar to Burn and Bonfire with a Fear secondary effect to boot. IF you are a crafty blaster, THEN this power will do wonders for you. I was never able to master placement of the drop location nor the patience to deal with toe bombing AND ignite. Too many cerebral powers for me to handle, and toe bombing won out. I respecd out of it after I realized the power sat on my power tray collecting dust. IMHO Flamethrower is better for damage, but I do not understand why Flamethrowers end cost is soooo much higher than Ignite. I mean it is the same rifle dispensing the same type of fire; just one is pointed at the floor.
GRADE: 2
SLOTTING: 1 Acc/3 Damage
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: nothing, I still wouldnt pick this power unless the fire lasted for minutes and had insano damage. Others out there may disagree, and I have seen some good uses for Ignite, but this is my guide.
NAME: Full Auto
LEVEL: 32
END COST: 26.01
ACTIVATION: 6 sec
RECHARGE: 60 sec
RANGE: 80
LISTED DAM: Superior
ACCURACY BONUS: +30-35%
DAMAGE: 8.10 (DoT 18 ticks)
DAM TYPE: Lethal
THOUGHTS: I still cry at the nerfing Full Auto took under ED. Prior to ED, it was a power to behold for the sheer damage beauty. Dont get me wrong, it is still good, but not quite heavenly as it used to be. This is your NUKE equivalent, but with some differences. It does not do Extreme damage (aww); there is a required 6 second rooting (yuck); no loss of your entire end bar (yeah); and a faster recharge rate (double yeah). If I could change the game to allow this power to be up every 10 seconds I would quit my job and stay home. You still need to do some quick geometry to have the greatest range fan possible, but if you team with a tank that herds, that will make your job easier. Full Auto followed by Flamethrower on a herded mob equals everyone else on the team bored with lack of stuff to do. Seriously
it is still that good.
GRADE: 10
SLOTTING: 1 Acc/3 Damage/1 Recharge/1 End Rdx (some slot it for range- not a bad idea if you ask me)
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: faster recharge for Petes sake! You can unload a full drum of ammo (200 rounds) from your SAW light machine gun and still reload faster than 60 seconds. Lower the recharge back to the 30 second range at least.
POWER SET PRIMARY: DEVICES
I first thought of James Bond when I took devices as my secondary. Explosives, Stealth, Gadgets etc. Spy master gear! But no, you are not a spy. Just a low health blaster with a possibility of killing lots of villains OR drawing lots of aggro.
NAME: Web Grenade
LEVEL: 1
END COST: 7.8
ACTIVATION: 1.37 sec
RECHARGE: 4 sec
RANGE: 50
LISTED DAM: none
DAMAGE: none
DAM TYPE: none
THOUGHTS: You have to take it. Not that it is a bad thing, but if I was going to chuck grenades at villains, they sure wouldnt be web ones. Web Grenade has the status effect of immobilization, - fly, and recharge. Targets still fire off ranged attacks, but at a slower pace. That at least is nice. Two applications of Web Grenade will immobilize a Boss and AVs will need about 1 million web attacks to be immobilized. This power shines in two specific instances: PvP zones, and the Croatoa TF first mission. Those witches like to fly away too much.
GRADE: 2
SLOTTING: 1 Acc (unless for PvP-then 2 accuracy/1 range
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: if this power was changed to the razor wire netting from the Predator movies. I would slot this sucker fast if that was the case. Just think, immobilize, - fly, - recharge, and add razor wire lethal damage
drool
NAME: Caltrops
LEVEL: 2
END COST: 7.8
ACTIVATION: 1.07 sec
RECHARGE: 45 sec
RANGE: 25 (20 ft spread roughly)
LISTED DAM: Minor
DAMAGE: 3.05 (22 ticks of 0.1389)
DAM TYPE: Lethal
THOUGHTS: How is it that the Knives of Artemis can kill me off with this power and I cant? Oh yeah they drop massive amounts of caltrops on me at once. A good situational power that gets overlooked sometimes when the action is fast paced. I remember to throw them down when my targets start running away and I wonder why. Caltrops are also good for the PvP zones against some enemies. It wont kill them, but it will make them mad.
GRADE: 2
SLOTTING: 1 Recharge (some slot for damage, if you have the spare slots- go ahead)
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: drop the recharge time down.
NAME: Taser
LEVEL: 4
END COST: 10.19
ACTIVATION: 1.37 sec
RECHARGE: 20 sec
RANGE: 5
LISTED DAM: Minor
DAMAGE: .6944
DAM TYPE: Energy (10 second Disorient)
THOUGHTS: This power has two big drawbacks. One- you need to be in melee range to use it, and why would I be foolish enough to do that; Two- you put your Frankengun away to use the taser. Is it effective? Yes if your target has no status protection. Malta operatives make a killing on their tasers so theoretically you could also. I swear that the Malta operatives have theirs 6 slotted. You could get the same result with Beanbag and be out of melee range and having both is a bit ridiculous. I choose Beanbag since I could disorient someone and still have my weapon out. If your primary is not AR, then you could use Taser to keep a target disoriented for risk free arresting. One Taser shot on a minion or a lieutenant will disorient him, two tasers usually get a boss. Three tasers on an AV will get you a free ride to the hospital (your fault for being in melee range in the first place).
GRADE: 1 (my point of view is that AR blasters should avoid melee range like the plague)
SLOTTING: 1 Acc
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: having the Taser appear in your left hand so you can keep the Frankengun out. Then I would consider it
for a brief second
then still say no.
NAME: Targeting Drone
LEVEL: 10
END COST: 0.028 (toggle)
ACTIVATION: 1.17 sec
RECHARGE: 10 sec
RANGE: 0
LISTED DAM: none
DAMAGE: none
DAM TYPE: none
THOUGHTS: This power provides a bonus to your accuracy and your perception. Will it allow you to not slot your powers with accuracy enhancements? Some argue yes, some no. I am in the no camp. Keeping one accuracy slotted in each power and having TD up is like having two accuracies slotted for each power. If your toggles drop, then you still have slotted accuracy until you can get TD up. I do understand how TD does not buff the accuracy of Caltrops/Trip Mines/Time Bombs/Auto Turret. Those are placement/drop powers not aiming powers and TD does not point out good places for you to drop those powers. My closing statement on TD- if you do not take TD for your blaster at lvl 10, check into a mental clinic.
GRADE: 10
SLOTTING: 1 End Rdx/1-3 To Hit Buffs
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: making TD silent, and/or giving it a range buff since it provides the user some perception. Or making the lasers emitted from the drone hit for Extreme Energy damage if villains move into melee range. If that happens, then my AR blaster will go herd. On second thought no, he will still be allergic to damage.
NAME: Smoke Grenade
LEVEL: 16
END COST: 7.8
ACTIVATION: 1.37 sec
RECHARGE: 15 sec
RANGE: 70 (30 ft spread)
LISTED DAM: none
DAMAGE: none
DAM TYPE: none (sleep)
THOUGHTS: Never took this power. I heard through the grapevine that Smoke Grenade had been nerfed too many times to be effective anymore. If someone has some comments on Smoke Grenade please fill me in. I only use Smoke Grenades at work to obscure my movements or to mark a location on the ground. I guess Smoke Grenade can help you stealth missions, but so can Cloaking Device. Plus Smoke Grenade comes at the same time as I pick up Health.
GRADE: 1
SLOTTING: 1 Accuracy (some advocate slotting debuffs, but recent changes to this power make debuffs less powerful)
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: to make it a concussion grenade or an acid grenade.
NAME: Cloaking Device
LEVEL: 20
END COST: 0.238 (toggle)
ACTIVATION: 0.37 sec
RECHARGE: 20 sec
RANGE: self
LISTED DAM: none
DAMAGE: none
DAM TYPE: none
THOUGHTS: If you do not take this power at all you are crazy. Take it at lvl 20 (or lvl 22 if you want Stamina first). This is your only means of defense not involving running away. Coupled with Super Speed, you can do toe-bombing when you get trip mines. CD is still good for traveling in unfriendly zones without getting attacked for being weaker (like running to Portal Corp in Peregrine Island for your weekly PL session at lvl 20). CD is better than Stealth from the power pools because it does not slow your movement base. The suppression nerfing of CD does make this power a bit less attractive, but not so much as to make CD undesirable. I still do not understand how attacking someone from a distance makes my stealth suit power down. CD does provide a bit of defense to melee and ranged attacks (in the area of 3.75% unslotted) but you would need CD, Weave and CJ slotted up to see any major defense mitigation.
GRADE: 5
SLOTTING: 1 End Rdx (the defense value CD provides is not really worth slotting IMHO)
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: to bump the defense base number to 5% unslotted, or make it available at lvl 16, or GET RID OF THE FREAKING SUPPRESION.
NAME: Trip Mine
LEVEL: 28
END COST: 13
ACTIVATION: 4 sec
RECHARGE: 20 sec
RANGE: 5
LISTED DAM: Superior
DAMAGE: 11.11 (5.56 Lethal/2.78 Fire/2.78 Fire)
DAM TYPE: Lethal/Fire
THOUGHTS: T-Mines are one of the reasons you spent time leveling. You are almost self-reliant at lvl 28 when you get T-Mines, but you really shine at lvl 29 when you can slot it for the first time. Once T-Mines gets 6 slotted (and you should), teammates are almost a thing of the past. You can conduct missions at your own speed knowing you can set the battlefield conditions to ensure your success. Some things you need to know about T-Mines: 1) they will only detonate when you are in close proximity to them, 2) the first villain who gets in the T-Mines killing radius will set it off so pick your intended target carefully and 3) it is interruptible. T-Mines do require practice, practice, practice in order to be a master. But once you do, it is sheer joy setting up Mine Alleys, Mine Baited Ambushes, Toe Bombing, etc. Some instances when T-Mines are useful: 1) TV Trial in the reactor room to protect the reactor and the added knockback effect is good also, 2) You can set up 4-5 mines in a minute(depending on slotting and hasten) which is just enough time for a herding tank to gather the herd and move to your minefield location. That is 4-5 Superior attacks going off at once, and 3) During Halloween Trick or Treating. Just lay 4-5 mines, open door, villains die, lay 4-5 mines in a minute, open door, villains die, etc. 4) When I ignored the Igneous bosses badge, just drop a T-Mine on their spawn location in the Hollows and the badge will come soon.
GRADE: 10
SLOTTING: 3 damage/3 recharge or 1 accuracy/3 damage/2 recharge
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: to make T-Mines available at lvl 2.
NAME: Time Bomb
LEVEL: 35
END COST: 26
ACTIVATION: 4 sec
RECHARGE: 360 sec
RANGE: 5
LISTED DAM: Extreme
DAMAGE: 13.89 (8.33 Lethal/5.56 Fire)
DAM TYPE: Lethal/Fire
THOUGHTS: Time bomb is a really powerful attack designed to equate to the other blaster primary nukes. It is better than the nukes for the simple fact it does not drain all your end; just a quarter of it. It is similar to nukes in its recharge and damage. It is weaker than the nukes in regards to damage activation. Nukes are for the most part instantaneous (yes Blizzard requires a drop location and then click) but Time Bomb has a 15 second lifespan, regardless if your target is near it or not. If you can coincide a tanks herd effort to make it back to your Time Bomb before the 15 seconds are up, then gratz. If not, then wait 5 minutes to try again. IMHO it is not as good as T-Mines because I can stack a gazillion T-Mines in the amount of time it takes one Time Bomb to recharge. That is a gazillion Superior attacks. 3 slotted Time Bomb is rather destructive and useful in certain situations but the 15 second lifespan makes Time Bomb.
GRADE: 3
SLOTTING: 1 accuracy/3 damage/2 recharge (if you take it, 6 slot it)
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: to make Time Bomb recharge faster.
NAME: Auto Turret
LEVEL: 38
END COST: 39
ACTIVATION: 6 seconds but it feels like an eternity
RECHARGE: 180 sec (last 120 seconds)
RANGE: 50
LISTED DAM: Moderate
DAMAGE: 3.64 (8 ticks of 0.456)
DAM TYPE: Lethal
THOUGHTS: This is your pet. A turret similar in design to the ones the Malta Operatives drop. So either they stole your design, or you stole theirs. All in all it isnt a bad pet as far as pets go. The benefits of it are its ability to take an AVs alpha strike if you place it in the right spot (it is fairly durable). It can be buffed a bit (invis, force fields) and moved with recall friend (right now at least). The turret fires 8 lethal DoT bursts at targets within range. Each burst takes about 2 seconds to complete, and has a recharge time of ~7 seconds overall from attack start (e.g. ~5 seconds between attacks after burst completion). The turret only lasts for 120 seconds, and has time for up to 14 bursts before disappearing. The hindrances of Auto Turret are its lack of mobility, its 2 minute duration, and rather weak damage. You can use Auto Turret with a large team or solo- makes no difference. I usually place Auto Turret in-between the squishies and the mob fighting the scrappers and tanks. When I solo I place it near my T-Mines and caltrop kill zone with me standing behind it.
GRADE: 3
SLOTTING: 1 accuracy/3 damage/2 recharge (although 1/3/1 is ok too)
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: to make Auto Turret more damaging. Say it shot out 3 Slug attacks in succession. That would be killer. Or better yet make it last longer like other pets.
POWER POOLS
I will let you all know of what I think about the feasibility of the 10 different power pools and an AR/DEV blaster.
CONCEALMENT: Not needed. Cloaking Device takes care of stealth without the mobility suppression. Phase Shift would be nice if you could actually phase through walls in the game, but at the cost of three powers it is not worth it.
FIGHTING: My first version of Mr. Gunslinger was to make a Commando Bob or a Scuba Steve type toon. As such, fighting pool powers were required. This was before I learned about reading up on powers via the CoH forums. All I relied on was the game booklet and my worldly knowledge. Boy was I wrong. Dont make my mistake by taking all 4 fighting pool powers for your AR blaster and think you will duke it out with a villain in melee range. All you get is debt at the expense of picking up a travel power. AR/DEV isnt the Punisher.
FITNESS: it is required just like almost all the other ATs except for an empath or a regen.
FLIGHT: Flying around with a gun and a jetpack is what most of us want to do to emulate the GI Joe cartoons from our youth. Flight is not a bad travel power for your blaster as your cones will work from above the targets/herds quite well. My AR main has flight as well as speed. Hovering while shooting is a good way to arrest villains and stay safe.
LEADERSHIP: My CoH naivety crept in again thinking since my toon was a commando, Leadership pool powers would also work. Wrong again, but not as wrong as Fighting was. Assault and Tactics still have a place for you if you do much PvP. Targeting Drone and Tactics will make you a stalker hunter if you can survive that long.
LEAPING: A good choice if you want to PvP a lot since Acrobatics provides some status defense. SJ is still the fastest way to travel IMHO. If you pick Jump Kick, time to go back on your medication. SJ is nice and fast, but it wont help you in toe bombing.
MEDICINE: The ability to self heal is always good and since you already have plenty of gadgets, one more wont hurt your look. Make sure you slot Aid Self with decrease interruption SOs if you decide to take it. Now, do you take Aid Other or Stimulate? I did not take the medicine pool with my AR/DEV but if I did, I would take Stimulate and use it on the defender or controller on my team just before the fighting begins. Providing them an extra measure of status protection can save your backside.
PRESENCE: Dont even think about it.
SPEED: Hasten and Super Speed. Hasten to make your powers recharge faster and Super Speed for toe bombing. SS plus CD is ghetto invis.
TELEPORTATION: Teleportation is too demanding as a travel power which is why I never take it. Although I have seen heroes slot TP for range and it is impressive, I do not have the patience to use TP. Using Fly and flying in the direction of a tram/mission/store that is far away gives me time to bio break, grab a drink etc. and still come back in time. TP would just make me fall from a great height if I tried that. Recall Friend and TP Foe would be the only 2 powers from this pool I would pick- and making a villain appear on a stack of mines never gets old. TP Foe is also good for PvP.
EPIC POWER POOLS
MUNITIONS MASTERY: This is the only epic pool I took with my AR blaster for obvious concept reasons. The Frankengun is the same and it fits my character history. The 4 epic powers arent all that bad, but they arent all that good either.
NAME: Body Armor
LEVEL: 41
END COST: auto
ACTIVATION: NA
RECHARGE: NA
RANGE: NA
LISTED DAM: NA
DAMAGE: NA
DAM TYPE RESISTED: Smash/Lethal
THOUGHTS: As far as armors go this one is at the bottom of the ladder for blasters. The only good thing about it is that it costs no end and it is always on. The bad thing about it is that it resists 8% of all Smash/Lethal attacks but you still take 92% of the remainder. If you 3 slot it equates to roughly 8% (my math maybe wrong but that is what it appears to be in the game). Although it is better than running around with no armor if only slightly.
GRADE: 2
SLOTTING: 3 damage resist (gives 12 % resistance to S/L I think)
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: to bump up the resists to 10% un-enhanced or heck even closer to Stone Skins 12%. This would put the slotted version around 15-18% which isnt too shabby.
NAME: Sleep Grenade
LEVEL: 41
END COST: 19.5
ACTIVATION: 1.87
RECHARGE: 90 seconds
RANGE: 60 feet
LISTED DAM: Minor
DAMAGE: 0.047 Smash
DAM TYPE: Sleep (20-25 seconds depending on level differences)
THOUGHTS: Mag 3 sleep. This power is so-so. I had it once, then respected out of it. Sleep is good for stealthing missions, but if you already have SS and CD, then Sleep Grenade is overkill and you will not use it. If you are a master of cones build, then sleep wont do you any good since every AOE attack will wake them up. If you are a single target build, then sleep may work slightly in your favor.
GRADE: 2
SLOTTING: 1 accuracy/1 recharge
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE:
NAME: Cyro Freeze Ray
LEVEL: 44
END COST: 8.58
ACTIVATION: 1.87
RECHARGE: 16 seconds
RANGE:
LISTED DAM: Minor
DAMAGE: 0.5656
DAM TYPE: Cold
THOUGHTS: Mag 3 hold. This bad boy is awesome. CFR encases your target in a big block of ice, similar to the Ice Blast powers. This allows you to set up your snipe in peace if you are just attacking one individual, or to concentrate on another target until your Ice hold melts. Since it is a hold, you can attack the target without disrupting the hold, not like Sleep Grenade. I use this power almost as often as I use Slug. During AV fights, GM fights, Hami raids, PvP (but only on non status protected targets), this power has a use.
GRADE: 8
SLOTTING: 2 accuracy/2 hold/2 recharge (slotting it for damage is like slotting Brawl for your main attack- just doesnt make sense)
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: to make CFR an AOE freeze hold, or have it replace Ignite from the AR primary.
NAME: LRM Rocket
LEVEL: 47
END COST: 22.75
ACTIVATION:
RECHARGE: 240 seconds
RANGE: 150
LISTED DAM: Superior
DAMAGE: 6.957 (4.139 Lethal/ 2.818 Energy)
DAM TYPE: Lethal/Energy
THOUGHTS: This is your AOE Snipe. Theoretically you launch a surface-to-surface missile at a mob and watch the carnage. This baby does good damage and the knockback effect allows you time to run up and shoot off Full Auto or Flamethrower.
GRADE: 8
SLOTTING: 1 accuracy/3 damage/ 1-2 Interruptible/ 1 Recharge
A GOOD CHANGE WOULD BE: to make it a combo of Fire/Energy/Lethal damage.
BUILDS
I will provide 4 different builds for an AR/DEV/MUN blaster; Cones, Single, Mix, and PvP.
Cones: If you favor the cone build then your bread and butter will be picking cone attacks and powers to assist in cone attacks. You would need to 6 slot at least Full Auto, Buckshot, M30 Grenade, Flame Thrower, LRM Rocket and as many others as you can make fit. Your first lvl choice (Burst or Slug) would be your only single attack power. I would not recommend PvP with this build as the rooting of your attacks will make you vulnerable. This would be the crazy Rambo toon- great for herding teams.
1) either Slug or Burst, your choice
1) Web (required)
2) Buckshot
4) Caltrops
6) M30 Grenade Launcher
8) Swift/Hurdle
10) Targeting Drone
12) Hover (can be any, but Hover and cone attacks work well)
14) Fly
16) Health
18) Flamethrower
20) Stamina
22) Cloaking Device
24) Smoke Grenade
26) Ignite
28) Trip Mines
30) Power Pool
32) Full Auto
35) Time Bomb
38) Power Pool
41) Body Armor
44) Sleep Grenade
47) LRM Rocket
49) Your Choice
Single: This build would favor the single attack powers for less aggro magnetism. This would be the silent sniper toon. It could be used as a PvP toon, but dont expect to win many fights. Your focus would be to attack targets one at a time- a bit slower as a solo toon compared to Cones, but much safer. With that being said, 6 slot Slug, Sniper Rifle, and Burst.
1) Slug
1) Web (required)
2) Burst
4) Taser (just for emergencies)
6) Hurdle/Swift
8) Beanbag
10) Targeting Drone
12) Hasten (you need your attacks up faster)
14) Super Speed
16) Sniper Rifle (slot it for decrease interruption)
18) Health
20) Stamina
22) Cloaking Device
24) Power Pool (Aid Other)
26) Power Pool (Aid Self)
28) Trip Mines
30) Power Pool (TP Foe)
32) Full Auto (not needed, but come on, it is Full Auto)
35) Power Pool (Recall Friend, just a suggestion)
38) Auto Turret
41) Body Armor
44) Cyro Freeze Ray
47) Sleep Grenade
49) LRM Rocket
Mix: This is the jack-of-all trades build. Not great at anything, but good for most circumstances. A healthy mix of single attacks, AOE attacks, and status attacks so you can alter your play style to fit the threat. A good all around team build. My build is similar to this one.
1) Slug
1) Web
2) Caltrops
4) Buckshot
6) Hurdle/Swift
8) Travel Power
10) Targeting Drone
12) Sniper Rifle
14) Travel Power
16) Health
18) Flamethrower
20) Stamina
22) Cloaking Device
24) Beanbag
26) Power Pool
28) Trip Mines
30) Power Pool
32) Full Auto
35) Burst
38) Auto Turret
41) Body Armor
44) Cyro Freeze Ray
47) LRM Rocket
49) your choice
PvP: This is solely a PvP build. You will not the absence of the Fitness pool in order to fit in all the required power pool choices. With this build, you avoid the rooting/interruptible powers until later in your build. This build takes into account PvP zone level maxes. Your dilemma will be whether to slot your attacks for recharge (to attack faster) or for end (since you have no Stamina). Just make sure you bring enough breakfrees for your hunting.
1) Slug (this will be your main attack. 1 accuracy/3 damage/2 recharge)
1) Web (but this time you slot it 2 acc/2 immob/2 range)
2) Caltrops (3 slow/3 recharge)
4) Taser
6) Combat Jumping
8) Beanbag
10) Targeting Drone
12) Burst
14) Super Jump
16) Hasten
18) Super Speed
20) Acrobatics
22) Cloaking Device
24) TP Foe (2 accuracy/2 range) [last power for Bloody Bay usage]
26) Aid Other
28) Aid Self (2 interruptible/2 health/2 recharge)
30) Trip Mines [upper limit of Sirens Call]
32) Buckshot
35) Sniper Rifle (slot it for 1 accuracy/3 damage/2 interruptible)
38) Full Auto [last power for Warburg usage]
41) Flamethrower
44) Body Armor
47) Cyro Freeze Ray (2 accuracy/2 hold)
49) Your Choice
SUMMARY:
I hope this helps out any of you heroes on your journey to that elusive 1 xp hunt. I thoroughly enjoyed my time leveling to 50. Yes it is challenging. Yes it is difficult at times. Yes you will receive your debt and damage badges before you reach lvl 20, but you will/should have tons of fun getting them. You can do good single target damage, good AOE damage, a few holds, self buffs, a little bit of everything all rolled up into one AT selection. Now, Lock and Load and scan your sector.
