MrTPF

Thanks for the build. I see what you mean about the 'blaster, not blapper' thing. I really love the melee moves in /energy myself. Interesting how you slotted Energy Torrent - what's it like with 3xDmg? I was planning on using it more as a soft control since the base dmg seems rather disappointing.

Hey guys, hope you're enjoying the snow Thanks for the replies!

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interesting build; my En/En main's gone down the vanilla Fitness route

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Yeah, I have several other chars using Fitness, and that's one of the main reasons I'm hoping to get away without it on this char. It sometimes feels like the 3 choices obligatory from Fitness are taking away the excitement of my character, or perhaps 'uniqueness' for a better choice of word. It feels pretty dull having the same pools all the time, and I know that goes against good common sense because I thanked the Gods when I finally got Stamina on my main, but hey...

Btw, Standoff, I wouldn't mind seeing your en/en build if you're ok with sharing it. PM would be fine.

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Not having tried the double EndRdx slotting/no Fitness approach I couldn't give a definite yes/no on whether it's workable or not, but it looks like it's at least worth a try

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Before my post I tried to figure this out with the attack planner on my hero builder. I threw in a couple of attack chains, and the final endurance levels were below zero - though I'm not sure I was doing/interpretting this right.

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I'd highly recommend Boost Range - with 3xRechg it's close to perma even without Hasten, and while its up your regular attacks have snipe-level ranges,

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Ooh, I missed that observation. Thanks very much, that's excellent advice from both of you!

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Given the nature of the team I'd say explosive blast is droppable, from all of you preferably. It'll shoot those mobs left, right and centre and most likely out of the Stromie's snow storm. At least with Torrent it scoops them in a particular direction, so you can push them towards stormie carnage,

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You make very good points. People see a KB-heavy team and think "ZOMG THE CHAOSS!!!11", but we like to think there is order to our chaos. Therefore, I agree with what you're saying, but I'm at a dilemma whether or not to drop this for concept reasons. I might have a play on test and see how it feels.

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Whirlwind without an EndRdx or Stamina may be a bit ambitious

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I would suggest droping explosive blast, whirlwind

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Heheh, I thought whirlwind might get that response. Our stormie provides _excellent_ herding and control with hurricane and gale, but there are times when things get a little out of hand. Also, if he goes down, all hell breaks loose. I figure whirlwind would be a great emergency button and also handy to support his hurricane in doorways or large rooms for herding when things are looking dangerous. Plus it fits my KB-tastic concept rather nicely. Of course, it could be that whirlwind sucks for herding since it is KD/KB as opposed to repel. I appreciate your points, but I'm gonna have to think about this one.

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This will leave you room for stamina. If you want the leadership pool, you'll find end a HUGE problem without it.

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The toggles were my main worry.

Thanks for the input both. VERY much appreciated. I'd welcome some more views on the above ideas. Also, could Aim use some ToHit buffing?

In the meantime, I'll try some more builds and post them here for review if that's ok.

KERBLAMO!!!

Okie, I'll have to make sure what I have and get them to SG-capable level of readiness (ie do the police band mishes) and then I'll give you a shout. Likely be next week as I'm away this weekend. Hope this is ok.

Hello fellow blasters. I'm relatively new to blasting, and would very much appreciate some advice/opinions/critisism on several builds I'm considering for my energy/energy blaster. Please be gentle with me

He's primarily PvE, and almost exclusively groups with two other energy/energy blasters and a storm/energy defender as part of an experimental KB-heavy team. This means no tanks, no h34l0rz, etc. We are currently lvl19 and having great fun.

I'm going to try and put down my thoughts and reasoning in the clearest way I can, apologies in advance if I make a mess of it. There are just so many things going round in my head at the moment

Please ignore the lvls at which I've slotted enhancements - I was having trouble with the builder.

Ok, so, potential build #1:

---------------------------------------------
Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
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Name: Kerblamotron
Level: 41
Archetype: Blaster
Primary: Energy Blast
Secondary: Energy Manipulation
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Power Blast==> Acc(1)Dmg(3)Dmg(5)EndRdx(17)EndRdx(25)Dmg(31)
01) --> Power Thrust==> Acc(1)
02) --> Energy Punch==> Acc(2)Dmg(3)Dmg(5)EndRdx(19)EndRdx(34)
04) --> Energy Torrent==> Acc(4)Dmg(29)KB_Dist(29)
06) --> Power Burst==> Acc(6)Dmg(7)Dmg(7)EndRdx(17)EndRdx(25)Dmg(40)
08) --> Sniper Blast==> Acc(8)Dmg(9)Dmg(9)Dmg(31)IntRdx(37)
10) --> Bone Smasher==> Acc(10)Dmg(11)Dmg(11)EndRdx(19)EndRdx(37)
12) --> Build Up==> Rechg(12)Rechg(13)Rechg(13)
14) --> Hasten==> Rechg(14)Rechg(15)Rechg(15)
16) --> Super Speed==> Run(16)
18) --> Conserve Power==> Rechg(18)Rechg(23)Rechg(23)
20) --> Aim==> Rechg(20)Rechg(21)Rechg(21)
22) --> Assault==> EndRdx(22)EndRdx(27)
24) --> Whirlwind==> KB_Dist(24)
26) --> Tactics==> EndRdx(26)EndRdx(27)TH_Buf(31)
28) --> Power Boost==> Rechg(28)
30) --> Stimulant==> IntRdx(30)
32) --> Nova==> Dmg(32)Dmg(33)Dmg(33)Rechg(33)Rechg(34)Rechg(34)
35) --> Explosive Blast==> Acc(35)Dmg(36)Dmg(36)Dmg(36)EndRdx(37)
38) --> Total Focus==> Acc(38)Dmg(39)Dmg(39)Dmg(39)EndRdx(40)EndRdx(40)
---------------------------------------------

The main difference between this and another potential build is forgoing Fitness powers in favour of squeezing in some Leadership buffs and Stimulant. I figured Stimulant might be helpful because, apart for O2 from our stormie, we have no real mez protection and it's beginning to hurt. I considered Assault and Tactics because, well, we're blasters and more dmg/acc is never a bad thing. I know they are only around 10% buffs unslotted, but if the other two blasters in our team took both as well, then it would stack rather nicely, right?

I'm not sure on best slotting of the leadership toggles. I've slotted only one accuracy per attack due to the Tactics theory.

In the absence of Stamina, I'm considering slotting most attacks with good endurance reduction. Is it unrealistic of me to try and play on this slotting and Conserve Power alone? The stats from the hero builder's attack planner are scaring me, and yet I've seen lvl50 en/en blasters on these boards swearing they get by just fine.

On the other hand, and please correct my assumptions here if needed, the team would receive a minimum of around 30-ish% buff to accuracy if all three of us stacked Tactics. That's around one additional accuracy SO per attack power. So a question I'm asking myself is, if I took Stamina instead of the Leadership and Medicine powers, could I devote more accuracy and/or damage slots to my attacks instead of endurance reduction, worry less about running dry since I've got no toggles, and still be as effective accuracy/damage-wise?

I'd appreciate some opinions on the above.

Ok, and now some general energy/energy-related questions. I was thinking of slotting some range in Power Burst but I heard the base was being improved soon - any truth to this? I'm not sure on the most efficient slotting for Conserve Power or Explosive Blast - could anyone help there? What is the general opinion on the powers I've skipped, ie Stun, Boost Range and Power Push? Since this is supposed to be a KB-heavy team, I like the idea of Power Push - could I subsitute any power in my build for this and remain effective? Any suggestions on where to slot more KB would be cool too.

Thanks for the input.

I have deceive on my illu/kin and (confuse) on my mind/emp and love it on both. You've pretty much already been given the general pro-deceive consensus (at least by experienced players) and some rather cool tricks to use. I won't repeat it all, except to say a neat trick I often use on my illu/kin with no travel power (especially when soloing) is to confuse a minion before hitting him with siphon speed without aggro from the group.

Hey there, That accolade is only for exploration badges, right?

If so, I _think_ I still have KR and Bricks in range of the one's you're missing. Though it's been a while since I've checked this. I'll get back to you on this, send me a global to remind me. I'll next be in-game likely tomorrow evening (out tonight).

If anyone else is missing any, I have other alts at lvl8, lvl12, and lvl19 that could help with the badges for you.

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What does everyone feel about Agile and/or Dodge?

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Unlike most people I find Aid self much more useful than the autos

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I can see why you'd say that. But does this mean the general consensus is to take agile and/or dodge?

What does everyone feel about Agile and/or Dodge?

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Put me down as reserve, I'll do my best to make it but not _entirely_ sure atm.

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Apologies, Sewer Trial team. I won't be able to support you tonight. Have fun and good luck with those smelly baddies!

Thanks everyone for the replies. It has taken me a while to find my way back here, but the responses are greatly appreciated.

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On a defender I'd say it's a must-have, on a controller it depends on whether you want to focus on empathy or your primary.

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Well, I'm currently lvl36 so I've already taken all the primaries I want, and unless something changes in a big way I won't be adding any slots to them. If I respec'd AP into my build it would most probably be at the expense of Animate Poo, which is currently 3 slotted and which I've been considering dropping for a while.

Mr TPF, lvl36 (hope that's not too low), for the Sewer Trial please. Put me down as reserve, I'll do my best to make it but not _entirely_ sure atm. Good to see the CoT team reforming

My main is just below the range for Hydra I think

Good job, team 2 - we wondered how you were getting on Man, those poor Igneous - getting two thorough beatings in the same night!

Well done, team 1! This is the second time I've been the ghost on this Trial and let me tell you - things went so so much more smoothly than the last PuG I tried to help. We may have ghosted it, but the parts that required coordination and teamwork, certainly went down really well. Easy!

Thanks also to Brainease for filling in slot 8 at short notice.

Gratz to all on their shiny new badge So, Uzzi, let's see those screenies!

~Transcendant Ghost

I'm going to watch this thread, and if I'm around on Thursday (likelihood atm is so-so) I'll join the second team. I have a illu/kin with invis, recall friend and deceive that is about 2-3 mishes away from Karsis. We could rush through those with help from the 50s and get the Trial if nobody has the contact readily available. I made that char to help a friend get the badge, but I'd rather fight through, so I can bring on another alt if needed.

Hmm. Coming from you, I'm forced to believe that statement, but my memory feels strongly compelled to disagree. How odd. I could have sworn back in I6 I had problems following up an AP with HA. Hmm.

Ok, assuming the current situation, what do you think of my other questions?

A long long while ago, in a City not so far far away, I had a mind/emp controller - he was my second char in CoH. It was the first time I'd gone empathy in any build and I took AP.

In the early lvls I loved the power. Sure, it put me at risk for a short time, but I managed that in other ways, and the large amount of heal I could deliver made it worth while.

As my troller got into the mid/late teens/early 20s, I remember begining to worry. The in-game description made Heal Other sound far less useful than AP, so I'd not taken it (a big mistake). This ment AP was my only ranged heal and I found myself in situations where it was my only choice for a tank or other team member under heavy aggro.

Of course, I learned that laying down AP on somebody taking damage at a high rate was often a rather bad idea. The damage kept coming and having used AP ment I couldn't heal them again for a short while. You know what happens next.

Last night I tanked an Atta on invincible with mostly purple bosses. The team's empath defender did a good job on helping me with the alphas. I noticed from the buff icons she was using AP quite often.

Initially this worried me. If I took a serious alpha and a badly timed AP, I would definitely faceplant. This didn't happen. As the mish went on, I tried to spot when she had used AP on me and whether or not I was rendered unhealable for a short time. It seemed to me that I wasn't affected in this way.

Has AP changed in the last couple of issues? I don't remember reading any release notes, though my mind troller was last used back in I6 and I took a short break after that so may have missed announcements. How exactly do the debuffs work on AP now?

If indeed the target -Heal debuff is no longer in effect, have they provided another consequence? Less heal, more recharge etc?

If the target debuff is no longer in effect, this makes me wonder about taking AP on my earth/emp, who uses HA and HO. There are some occasions where I can't heal the tank fast enough for example. I wonder if taking AP would improve my support as an /empath.

Then again, my earth/emp is lvl35 and at higher lvls it feels like buffs are more of my role than heals. Do you think AP is a worthwhile choice at this late stage in addition to HO and HA?

Thanks, and apologies for long post. I've got some boring work to do and I'm procrastinating.

I've tried to find players for similar reasons. Things I did: Checked City Game Tracker and City Info Terminal for possible leads, failed, then sent an email to the character itself. He never replied, so who knows if it's expired or not?

I suppose something you can also try is /gfriend nakai. This will send a global friend request and you may get a response if he is active on other chars.

Good luck.

Dammit, I missed it. Did you get it done, Tommy? If not, lmk next time you plan to give it a go. I don't have any other alts within range, but I wouldn't mind taking TPF on an influence run (gotta support my altitis habit!)

Wow, thanks for the detailed responses

Nice thread, Venture and co. I rolled a rad/rad (my first defender) last night as a concept character for a themed SG, so this is exactly the kind of thread I was looking for.

I regularly group with rad/ defenders and can totally appreciate how much they improve the team's effectiveness but I can safely say I know nothing at all about the radiation blast set, save what I've read on nofuture and in-game descriptions. I was tempted to take another secondary, but wanted /rad for my concept. Is there good synergy with the rad/ set? Would I have been better off going for another defender secondary?

I'm still very low lvl, but the /rad components do seem a little cack so far. I've focused mainly on the primary, and wondering if I should perhaps be going for a max/min build on this. Would giving power choice and slot allocation priority always to the primary benefit it in any way, or is it effective enough when balanced with the secondary?

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Neutrino Bolt is nearly an attack chain by itself. It's also the Defender attack with the highest dps. You can use it with just 1 Acc/3 Dam until you get spare slots.

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At first I was disappointed by the low damage output but while teaming with a /psi defender I realised that I out-damaged her because I could get in three bolts by the time her blast had recharged. Not too bad then, but is this power really worth slotting much?

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I understand that X-Ray Vision looks cool but isnt

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Totally agree. In fact, I rerolled and missed it out the second time. Shame really, because it fit my concept really well.

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Irradiate and Neutron Bomb make for a decent AoE combo. 6 slots in both if you want AoE damage.

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Hmm. I didn't notice considerable damage from Irradiate, and tbh I took it because the in-game description claims that the defense debuff is 'severe'. Is the debuff capability of this power actually that good, and will it benefit from slotting to that extent? I assume it will stack with the -DEF on my rad/ powers, right?

Finally, any views on the OPs question regarding Stamina?

Thanks

Hi all, got a low lvl en/en blaster on the go and really having fun with him so far. Still new to blasting though and always trying to learn as much as possible about my powersets. Some of the things mentioned above have raised some questions in my mind:

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Energy Punch : Hate.

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So far I love this move, especially when im in close: BU + Bone Smasher + Energy Punch = carnage! Not looking to debate with you but am certainly interested in why you dislike that power so much. Is it just a personal thing, or have I perhaps overlooked something here?


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Nova has been ganked so don't bother with Recharges; better option would be 2 Acc, 3 Dam, 1 KB.

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Not aware of the above... what did they do to it?

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I run my Nrg/Nrg without Stamina, but i agree its not for everyone. Those 3 extra powers ARE fun though

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My blaster is at lvl13 and having serious problems with endurance. Granted, I've yet to buy DOs and slot End Rdx in my attacks, but I was thinking of Stamina at some point. I'd be interested to hear more about your build and your playstyle, and how you can manage without Stamina, in hope I might be able to improve my own.

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Although the power burst change might change my ranged attack ability considerably

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Again, I'm not aware of this, could you elaborate a little on the planned changed? Improved range would be nice!


Thanks all.

Ok, I got you. Thanks all.

Greetings all you chaos freaks and KB lovers

My thanks to all recent contributors in the thread, haven't had a chance to catch up till now. Lots of useful info here, though I'm still unclear on one point:

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I take it the 'Status: Knockback x%' in the power description [in hero builder] is how much KB is applied once you get a successful hit?

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Can any of you help confirm or correct that assumption please?

So I think an update is probably overdue for those interested in how this little experiment is turning out. Our team is currently made up of three en/en blasters and a single storm/en defender. We play regularly together, usually for a couple of hours at least 2-3 nights a week - and let me tell you: this is so much more fun than I ever expected!! I've always avoided KB-heavy teams in the past but, baby, this is simply hilarious fun! I can tell we must be developing a potentially unhealthy love for all the chaos... Even now I feel strongly compelled to hurl a mighty torrent wave at that bank of desks I can see opposite me, just to watch the KB! I wouldn't want to be a scrapper in our team, though I might try it out one night just to see what it feels like. Having said that, we've had three different scrappers join us on separate occassions and they all 'had to go' after a single mish. Oh well.

We're currently around lvl 12 and imho doing pretty well for a team lacking variety in AT and powersets. Initially, the KB was a little too much to handle safely, with mobs splitting all over the place and multiple mobs closing in. But after a short while I think everyone has developed a good feel for their own powers and each others', and we seem to be coordinating our KB much better now to tightly pack mobs into corners or up against walls where we can pummel them to death. All of this was made much more efficient by _Norton_ on his stormy, and I've seen a distinct change in the team's play-style once we all got used to the storm powers and how best to exploit them. I must say, I am seeing storm/ in a whole new light - perhaps because it is at the hands of an experienced user, but most probably also because it suits our type of play.

I've had so much fun in this team so far, and can't be more satisfied with how it turned out. I urge more of you to join us! Commander_Beet, your kin/en is still very welcome to partake in the KB

KERBLAMO!!!

Do you have a confirmed lineup for Synapse so far? I count 5 maybe 6 in this thread...

troller - mind/ff
troller - earth/emp
scrapper - ma/sr
scrapper - kat/dark
blaster - ice/ice
tank - inv/ss

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I hadn't done the Erneste Hess Task Force before, but now that I have I kinda feel like it has more in common with the CoV Strike Forces than the other CoH Task Forces.

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I've never tried CoV and curious as to how the Hess TF is similar to SF's