Nova Knight

Dr. Vahzilok - Colin Clive: the original Dr. Frankenstein; just imagine him saying, "It's alive!"

Lord Recluse - Michael Ironsides: voice of Darkseid, another ultimate villain

Positron - Kelsey Grammer: from the Beast to Frasier to Sideshow Bob, the guy knows how to play geniuses

I appreciate the input. Based on what I've read, I'm inclined to create a blaster with MM as a secondary. Probably go with Fire as the primary. Thanks all.

OK. Thanks for the responses.

Hello all. I've long been intrigued by the various psionic/mental powers but also put off by their weakness against machines. (i.e. drones, bots, mech men, etc.) I was hoping that players experienced with these power sets could answer some questions I have. I'm referring specifically to psychic blast, mental manipulation, mind control and psionic assault.

1) How do you deal with mechanical opponents? Do you pair your psionic power with another that is effective against these foes? Do you find certain tactics to be effective? Do you just avoid enemies of this type? How do you handle it?

2) Do the secondary effects affect machines? I'm not talking about psionic damage, but rather sleep, -Recharge, KB, disorient, fear, confuse, etc.

3) In checking out the Guides on the Blaster boards, I didn't see any dealing with Psychic Blast. Do any exist? Was I looking in the wrong place? Their absence seems rather strange.

I'd appreciate any light you could shed on these issues. Thanks.

With regard to Gun Drone, I just picked it up for the first time ever on my energy/devices blaster. My initial reaction: way cool.

Yeah, its endurance cost is high, but there are ways to deal with that. On my /devices characters, I'm all about versatility and I like having the options that this power affords me. I can tell that, like Trip Mine, it's not for every battle. I'm already starting to get a feel for when and how to use it.

Before using it on a mission I took it for a trial run in a safe environment. (Thank you gray-con villains of Steel Canyon. Paragon City appreciates your sacrifice.) A couple questions come to mind...

1) The firing sequence seems to be activated by proximity. Is this the case? If so, how close do enemies need to get before the drone starts firing?

2) When the drone self-destructs, does this explosion inflict any damage on nearby baddies or is is just for dramatic effect?

All in all, I'm happy with the capabilities of /Devices because it matches my character concept pretty closely. This discussion has also caused me to reevaluate some of my preconceived views about certain other powers in the set. (i.e. I'm taking another look at Smoke Grenade, which I previously disregarded.) Always helpful to debate and see things from other another perspective. Lots of good ideas & info floating around here.

One of my favorite things about /Devices is how it allows you to become the ultimate ambusher.

Try this when cloaked... hover towards a group of enemies, engulf them in a field of caltrops, use web grenade to immobilize your primary target in the caltrops, then open fire. Usually, you can take out your primary target while the others are still scrambling to escape the field. You usually get a couple free shots at the others as well because they're slowed. Of course, while they're all trying to escape the caltrops, they're not firing at you. In addition, the crowded caltrop field is a good target for your cone/aoe attacks.

Good times, good times.

EDIT: forgot to mention how Targeting Drone and Archery's inherent accuracy bonus also help maximize the effectiveness of this tactic.

I got the Mu-sic in me.

"Don't waste your time with contacts in the Hollows, just go straight to Grendel's Gulch. No, you won't need a travel power in there."

We've all been there... The battle is going poorly. Perhaps you underestimated your opponents or had a run of bad luck. Either way, your health bar is leaking like a sieve and you'll probably be dead in 15 seconds. What do you do?

For example, my energy/devices blaster has two "panic button" powers. When he's getting pounded, he may use Power Push to get the enemy bruiser away from him. If there are multiple foes, he may cast Caltrops on his own position to "persuade" the baddies to leave the area.

What about your characters(s)?

Stryker makes some good points about Build Up; many people avoid /Devices because it lacks that power. As with most things in life, there are tradeoffs. You have to choose between a well-stocked tool case (Devices) vs. a really, really good hammer (Build Up). You can make a strong argument for either alternative. It all depends on your play style, your character concept and what type of experience you want from the game.

Can't really comment on /MM or /NRG, but I do have an Archery/Devices blaster around level 22. I play him solo and consider it a very effective combination. I also have an Energy/Devices blaster (my main) at level 37 because I enjoy the secondary so much.

The /Devices powers I've chosen for my main are: Web Grenade, Caltrops, Targeting Drone, Cloaking Device and Trip Mine. My reasons for each are below.

Web Grenade: you have to take it, but it's still a good immobilization power. The -recharge is good mitigation.

Caltrops: great protection for a soloer. Throw these down before opening fire and you can keep from getting overrun when the baddies counterattack.

Targeting Drone: Who doesn't love more accuracy? Also helps conserve endurance because you don't miss as much.

Cloaking Device: the benefits of stealth w/o the movement penalty. Allows you to prepare your attacks and fight on your own terms. (excluding enemies who can see you though the cloak, of course, like Rikiti drones) The ability to lay down caltrops and/or trip mines unmolested prior to attacking is very helpful for a solo player.

Trip Mine: fantastic safety net. You can plant a few of these before attacking and when the baddies charge you, KABOOM. If you slot for recharge, you can put down a decent minefield in a reasonable amount of time. It's like carrying around a bunch of scrappers with you as your own personal bodyguard.

With regard to the remaining powers, I'm planning to pick up Gun Drone because I want to increase my firepower. Never played it but love the concept.

Many Archery blasters also take Taser because they can combine it with the Disorient power in the primary. This allows them to stack the Disorient effects and stun Bosses. I'll probably do this myself.

All in all, I find /Devices a very versatile set for a soloer that works very well conceptually for a Natural-origin hero.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

EDIT: I think I was mistaken in my terminology. Originally had "Gun Turret" but the Red Tomax web site & Mids say it's "Gun Drone," so I changed it.

My reaction to the archetype is similar to the OP's.

When I started the game, I was eager to try out some of the powersets tanks had that their scrapper brethren lacked. (i.e. stone, super strength, ice powers) While I liked the powers, I missed being able to dish out the heavy damage.

In addition, I solo and tanks are at their best on teams.

End result: I concluded that not every archetype is suited to every player and that I was not a "tank person." I deleted my tanks and tried the powers out on brutes. Even though I'm still not 100% comfortable being a baddie, I really enjoy the capabilities of brutes. Fortunately, Going Rogue will soon allow me to have the best of both worlds in terms of powers and hero/villain choice.

I still haven't written off tanks. In the back of my mind are possibilities for "scranker" builds that I might enjoy. In particular, shields and/or willpower look promising.

All in all, I guess that's one of the strengths of the game... the different archetypes all provide different capabilities that appeal to players' different personalities.

So I salute tankers for doing a tough job, but I'm not quite ready to join your ranks. (at least, not yet)

In answer to your question, no, it never gets boring.

One of my favorite things about the set is how well it works thematically for Natural origin heroes. I know that physics makes any power besides Snap Shot and Aimed Shot unlikely, if not impossible, but it still feels like the powerset could exist. (kinda... if you don't think about it too much)

It also has that whole Robin Hood/Hawkeye/Green Arrow thing going for it.

So yeah, I'm also a fan of the set.