Mind_Riot

I colored mine green and think of it as Radiation Melee. Balls of energy that sap an opponent's strength...sounds like Rad to me.

Rifle/Rad Corruptor. Good solo, good in teams. Durable because you'll turn your enemies into kittens. AoE more than single target. Some knockback but not ridiculous. Interesting powers: Ignite, Fallout, Mutation.

Nuke them till they glow then shoot them in the dark.

I can only really comment on two of the questions:
I'd go with Aim instead of Targeting Drone. Your natural Accuracy from Archery should do the trick in most cases and the damage bonus will be more useful.

Frankly I wouldn't want to give up either one of Fistful or Blazing. Fistful is a quick cone with nice range, and Blazing hits like a truck and gives you some early diversity in damage type (for dealing with those frakking Clockwork). I'd give up an early Devices power, or push back Stamina for 2 levels, if that would allow you to get both of these early. That said, if necessary I think I'd lose Blazing, if only because its long animation might cause you problems with an attack chain.

I decided to go with Rifle/Devices, and I'm enjoying it so far (level 14). I made the mistake of getting Beanbag too early, so my damage is feeling a little crippled right now; I'll have to put off Sniper Rifle or Flamethrower, or else push Stamina back to 24. Loving Web Grenade and Caltrops.

Just go for a single-target Brute. Remember, Mind=sleep. You're going to help him control if he doesn't have to worry about multiple targets waking up.

After recently rejoining the game I've been bouncing around between different Blasters before I settle on one. I love the Assault Rifle set and I've been thinking about going Rifle/Devices.

I know back in the day this combination was considered uber, but that was a long time back and the game has changed significantly. I'm interested to hear the suggestions/advice/warnings from more recent users.

Plusses:
AOE damage up the wazoo
A nice variety of controls (KB, Disorient, Immobilize, Slow)
Inherent Rifle Acc bonus + Targeting Drone + minor -Def from Burst=less need for Acc enhancements
Raw awesomeness

Negatives:
No Build Up or Aim (I figure I can take Hasten to at least add some damage for big fights, and get something handy with an epic pool if I get that far)
Lack of more exotic damage types (pretty much lethal and fire)
No damage from secondary until late in the game (it'll be hard to pass up Bonesmasher)
Limited single-target damage

I don't care at all about PVP, and I think I'll be primarily soloing. I haven't thought at all about IO slotting or whatever, because with my altitis I have no idea if I'll get that far.

So, what do you gun-nuts think?

I'm running the same combination now, just hit 19. I'd say that you could hold off on Beanbag for a while, it's a nice power but it can wait until after Stamina. That way, you can grab Flamethrower at 18. On the other hand, I would get Build Up ASAP, and slot it early. Those first levels will be much nicer when you can Build Up-Buckshot-Burst-Slug and buzzsaw through anything early on. I haven't tried M30 with either character so far, but I haven't missed it.

Also, Ignite might be more hassle than it's worth for EM. The other Manipulation sets all have an immobilize, which makes Ignite a BBQ. But EM isn't good at keeping an enemy in one place for long. Maybe replace it with Bone Smasher for more single target damage, as AR is lacking in that department in exchange for AOE.

Just one more suggestion...this needs to be implemented secretly. No announcements on the board, not on the Test server, none of that. Just one day, a red ball appears next to, let's say, Back Alley Brawler, like the Monolith in 2001.

If I meet one or two people who I want to put on my friend's list, I consider it a successful PUG. Even if I suffered some debt in the process, or the leader was indecisive, or whatever, if I encountered a couple folks with whom I had fun I'm satisfied.

I absolutely love this idea. Even better, if a hero gets hit by the ball, he gains a special buff...."IT". Does nothing, has no effect, but you're IT.

Imagine the fun a couple of Grav/Energy Corruptors with their Singies could have with this thing.

Even better, make it buffable/debuffable. I'd love to see a radioactive, darkest nighted, adreneline boosted, metabolism accelerated, speed boosted, envenomed Big Red Ball.

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Every AT thinks it is getting short shrift. 3/5 have to be wrong about that.

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It reminds me of the WoW boards--every damn class thinks that they're the worst. Shamans hate being shamans, hunters hate being hunters, mages....you get the point. I think it comes down to 2 basic things:
1. People take these game WAY TOO SERIOUSLY!
2. Everyone wants to feel like the underdog so that, if they do succeed, they can say "I got to 50 as a soloing Empahy/Psy Blast who only took Mental Blast and my only power pool is Leadership and I played with my nose because my hands got bitten off by ferrets."

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What I've always wondered is why some grey-cons have arrows and some don't. Doesn't seem to depend on their level, or their boss/lt/minion status.

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If the effective level of the enemy is 3 levels lower than you, he'll be grey with three down arrows. If he's 4 or more levels lower, he'll be grey, but without any arrows.