Snakebit

It seems their is quite a bit of "Blasters shouldn't get into melee" mentality out there. If you feel that is true, you may want to skip the /fire secondary altogether, because all of the powers in it require you to be at melee/pbaoe range with the exception of combustion, which has a diameter as large a fireballs, but doesn't do enough damage ON IT'S OWN to justify taking it for that purpose.
If you want to play /fire, you need to set your mind to "melee is ok", because the reality of gameplay is that you will be in melee, and being in melee doesn't mean you lose.

Some people think that burn still offers status protection. It does not and has not since Issue 3 when the immobilize protection was removed.

Their is a some debate over Rain of Fire. Some people love it, some people hate it. I neither hate nor love it, but find it to be a detriment to AoE blasting. If you play an AoE heavy blaster, you will begin to dislike anything that breaks up your nice neat package of xp into a messy scattered package of debt. I will concede that it can be effective at area denial, but in solo play you won't need it, and in team play you shouldn't need it. If you find yourself needing an area scatter on a team, you are probably on the wrong team.

Teaming:
Any blaster is going to have troubles with Pick Up groups. This is especially true of fire fire blasting, especially prior to single origin enhancements. Take my advice, and quit a bad team. Like immediately. You'll get enough debt on good teams when you're having fun, so you don't need the frustration of getting debt on a bad team.

Debt: As I learned to play (back when mission debt was equal to non-mission debt and the mission bonus was smaller and xp was earned at a slower rate, and their was no exemplar system), I kept quite a bit of debt, especially in the 18-24 and 32-38 level range. Scads of it. Very often at the cap.
If you decide you want to become a good blaster, you must accept the fact that you will be defeated, and you will sometimes get defeated a LOT. It's ok. Really.
Life will NOT get easier for you as a blaster as you progress in the levels. All you have to look forward to is a horde of status effects coming into play as you approach the epic powers. Nothing a blaster gets in game will make blasting any easier. However, as you progress through the journey to 50, you will find yourself becoming defeated less often. Not because of your powers, but because of your skill with your powers. You'll find that when you play other toons, you're better at playing them than quite a few people running around in Paragon. Don't give up because of debt.

A note about my DPS comments:
It has been proved that achieving a high DPS is more efficient for experiance gain than having a high burst damage. On that note, if you want efficient xp gains, you don't want to play a fire/fire blaster anyway.

I considered including aoe pulls, but felt that might be a bit of an "advanced" tactic for a guide aimed at newish players, or players new to blasting. I figured that as a player learns the ins and outs of a toon they'll pick that kind of stuff up.

Thanks!

Nicely done.

I'd like to add a comment about bonfire from the blaster Flame Mastery epic.

This is a pulsing low damage high KB placeable click with a fairly large diameter, and is an outstanding area denial tool and can occasionally be used as a control tool, especially in tight quarters where the walls are closer than the KB range.

It provides a very nice backstop for defenders and controllers to keep out of melee, and can be used to defend a tank or scrapper that are in over their head.

Here is my current build I'm playing.
It is important to note that this is the 5th respec of this toon, so the slotting order may not be appropriate for your play.

---------------------------------------------
Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
---------------------------------------------
Name: Iluminata
Level: 50
Archetype: Blaster
Primary: Fire Blast
Secondary: Fire Manipulation
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Fire Blast==> Acc(1)
01) --> Ring of Fire==> Acc(1)
02) --> Fire Sword==> Acc(2)Dmg(3)Dmg(3)Dmg(9)Rechg(11)Rechg(29)
04) --> Fire Ball==> Acc(4)Dmg(5)Dmg(5)Dmg(7)EndRdx(7)Rechg(9)
06) --> Hurdle==> Jump(6)Jump(40)Jump(42)
08) --> Build Up==> Rechg(8)Rechg(11)
10) --> Fire Breath==> Acc(10)Dmg(13)Dmg(13)Dmg(15)Rechg(15)Rechg(17)
12) --> Hasten==> Rechg(12)Rechg(17)Rechg(19)
14) --> Super Speed==> Run(14)
16) --> Aim==> Rechg(16)Rechg(19)
18) --> Swift==> Run(18)Run(45)Run(46)
20) --> Blaze==> Acc(20)Dmg(21)Dmg(21)Dmg(23)Rechg(29)Rechg(40)
22) --> Stamina==> EndMod(22)EndMod(23)EndMod(27)
24) --> Fire Sword Circle==> Acc(24)Dmg(25)Dmg(25)Dmg(27)Rechg(45)Rechg(45)
26) --> Aid Other==> Rechg(26)
28) --> Combustion==> Acc(28)Dmg(36)Dmg(39)Dmg(39)EndRdx(39)Rechg(46)
30) --> Consume==> Acc(30)Acc(31)Rechg(31)Rechg(31)Rechg(33)EndMod(40)
32) --> Inferno==> Dmg(32)Dmg(33)Dmg(33)Rechg(34)Rechg(34)Rechg(34)
35) --> Aid Self==> Rechg(35)Rechg(36)Heal(36)Heal(37)IntRdx(37)IntRdx(37)
38) --> Combat Jumping==> EndRdx(38)Jump(48)
41) --> Char==> Acc(41)Acc(42)Hold(42)Hold(43)Rechg(43)Rechg(43)
44) --> Bonfire==> Rechg(44)
47) --> Rise of the Phoenix==> DisDur(47)Rechg(48)Rechg(48)
49) --> Fire Shield==> EndRdx(49)EndRdx(50)DmgRes(50)DmgRes(50)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> Empty(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Empty(1)
01) --> Defiance==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Empty(2)
---------------------------------------------


Note that I have 2 slotted aim and build up in this build, and I recommend 3 slotting them in the guide. I decided I'd rather have the slots in hurdle and swift, as I am no longer feeling the 5 second difference in the recharge time of aim and build up are as painful as they used to be.

In this build, no white or yellow conning spawns are a threat unless they have multiple status effecting LT/Bosses (Rikti!), with the exception of the Malta group, as they will often stun me before I can finish the alpha chain if I go in for FSC or Combustion. Usually this applies to Orange spawns as well, depending on the makeup of the spawn. Nemesis without bosses are just fast xp, and I have less trouble with Carnies and KoA than most people seem to, though I'm not sure why.

Aim Build-Up Ball, Breath, Combustion, FSC, Blaze and Fire Sword are my normal routine for opening attacks.

For Inferno, I'll super speed, aim, build up, move in, inferno, use a CaB, consume, and then do whatever needs doing.

On any team that has at least marginal aggro managers, I can usually drop a spawn below +3 before most of the team is getting off their second power. On a team with a fast tank in train missions, very often we will have the team strung out over 50 or so yards as they try to keep up.
(I'm not attempting to toot my own horn, just relaying information.)

I've toyed a bit with slotting out accuracy in firebreath, but I usually play on unyielding or invincible, so I need the accuracy. An extra recharge is nice to have on rugged or below.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em, a conceptual guide to fire fire blasting

Iluminata’s Guide to the Issue 6 AOE Fire/Fire Blaster
DID YOU SEE THAT?

NOTE: This guide covers a very specific style of PVE blasting, from a certain point of view.
Everything below is my opinion, with the exception of certain hard data. I have done no empirical testing whatsoever, and rely on the work of others in regards to hard data. The opinions I present below are based on 19 months of play, and a great deal of input from the CoH Blaster forums. Concern, Pilcrow, Fulmens, Hephaestus, Screwloose, Bayani, Flaming1, SnipeFu, Ohms and many others have made the forums an excellent place to visit and have made me a better player.

The fire/fire set is generally speaking an unpopular set due to some inherent weaknesses that exist in the fire secondary with regards to damage mitigation or utility powers that exist in other set, and the higher level powers are the worst choices in the set.
In comparison to the other sets there is no single target killer. There are no status effects other than the occasional scatter style fear (the type that won’t cause cower) with the exception of an immobilization and a slow. There is no stealth, no fancy bombs or mines. No recharge debuffs and no accuracy debuff. In fact, a /fire blaster has no damage mitigation whatsoever, with the minimal exception of Burn and Hot Feet, both of which are very lackluster in their performance in the blasting role.

So what the heck are you considering playing a Fire/Fire blaster for anyway?
The answer to this is simple: Area of Effect damage monster. With the /fire secondary, you can become a spawn killing machine. Your only damage mitigation in playing this combination is to kill everything in sight as quickly as possible, and fortunately for you, this set has that, and in spades. It is this philosophy that I will discuss. Any recommended power choices or slotting are based around wiping an entire spawn as quickly as possible. Any other power choices fall by the wayside. Yes, there are tricks and playstyles that can make use of the more lackluster powers (rain, burn, hot feet). I personally am of the opinion that your endurance is better spent by simply using a real power to defeat the mob.

I do not discuss DPS as it is totally irrelevant to this play style. AoE blasting is about defeating mobs immediately, not DPS DPM DPH or DPY.
I’m not going to spend much time with numbers, because the numbers I would use are in Sherksilvers planner, available at http://sherksilver.coldfront.net/index.php
If you are really serious about playing City of Heroes, you need to get and be familiar with the use of that excellent program.

The fire Primary-
Flares-Single Target Damage-Long animation and root combined with mediocre damage
Fire Bolt-Single Target Damage-A decent power, but not for us. Rarely used once you start getting your AoE stuff together.
Fire Ball-Ranged AoE-Core power of the set, a must have
Fire Breath-Cone-Another core power, a must have
Rain of Fire-Target AoE- This is NOT a damage power, although it deals damage. It is a “get away from me” power that causes scatter, and we don’t want that.
Aim-This is the self buff for accuracy and damage. You MUST take this.
Blaze-Single Target Damage-This is a huge point blank damage dealer, and is needed to follow up on those few that survive
Blazing Bolt-Snipe- This is the highest damage dealing snipe in CoH. But it doesn’t fit our concept, so we’ll leave it out or unslotted.
Inferno-PBAOE- This is what we are all about. Instant spawn wipe.

The fire secondary-
Ring of Fire- Single target immobilize- It can work well against runners, or to keep a nasty melee attack away from you. Have to take it, but don’t want to slot it.
Fire Sword- Single target damage- A decent melee attack and a much better choice over flares. We want this power, as it does more damage more quickly than flares, and we WILL be up close and personal to use it.
Combustion-PBAOE-This oft maligned power actually delivers decent damage, albeit over a fairly lengthy time. It has a larger radius than fireball, and has a reasonable recharge. It’s a choice to consider late in the build as an alternative to Blazing Bolt.
Fire Sword Circle-PBAOE- A high damage small radius power. It is an excellent follow up to the lead of Fire Ball and Fire Breath, dealing fairly high damage quickly. A core power of our philosophy, so take it and slot it. It does great front end damage.
Build Up-The accuracy and damage self buff.
Blazing Aura-Toggle PBAOE-This power is one of the reasons so many people consider this secondary “gimped”. It is totally useless.
Consume-PBAOE-This is an excellent utility power for recovering endurance. It does little damage, but will completely recover your endurance with 3 mobs in range. You need this power.
Burn-PBAOE-Another reason why this set falls behind the others, and another power to skip for our concept. All it is good for is area denial, as it causes scatter type fear.
Hot Feet-Toggle PBAOE-This is a “control” power with no real control, and yet another reason why this set is unpopular. Slows the bad guys, and causes scatter type fear with a marginal DOT. This power is totally sub-par to every other level 38 power in the game.

Putting it together
We want to be able to flash out of existence an entire spawn in as short a time as possible.
Thus the following powers are essential to our philosophy of Kill ‘em All, Right Now. Get these ASAP and slot them:
Aim, Build Up, Fireball, Fire Breath, Fire Sword Circle, Inferno, Consume, Hasten, Stamina.

Powers that support our concept and should be obtained and slotted at your discretion without interfering with our hot picks above:
Blaze, Fire Sword, Super Speed, Combustion, Stealth, Aid Self

Powers that do not assist in fulfilling our concept and should be ignored in terms of picks and slotting:
Fire Blast, Flares, Ring of Fire, Rain of Fire, Blazing Bolt, Burn, Hot Feet, Blazing Aura
Leadership Pool, Presence Pool, Fighting Pool, Teleportation Pool, Jumping Pool, Flight Pool.

“What?” you say, “I can’t get super jump, or fly?”
I’m not saying that. What I’m saying is that super speed supports what this build does better than the other travel powers, because it has a built in stealth and it is ALWAYS fast. No need to worry about ceilings blocking a jump, or panning around looking for a way to TP out of the fight. No time for that. Just click and go.
Need some vertical mobility? Fit it in. I use hover myself, 3 slotted. Want super jump? Take it. Want to use the fear powers in the presence pool? Get them.

Slotting our powers to maximize our killing spree:
Concentrate on slotting the Core Powers. Aim, Build-up, and Hasten need 3 recharges. Ball, Breath, Blaze all need 1 acc and 3 damage, and either 1/1 for recharge/endurance, or 2 recharges. I personally slot FSC 2x acc 3xdamage and 1/1, but I slot the accuracy higher because it really NEEDS to hit and it’s a bit quirky to use. Consume needs 2 acc 3 recharges minimum, feel free to toss in that third accuracy or endmod. INFERNO needs 3 recharges and 3 damages. Fire sword gets regular 1/3/1/1 as available. If you decide to get combustion, it needs an acc and 3 damages as well. If you have combustion, you will likely be hurting for slots, and need to realize that the damage from combustion comes out in a very lengthy damage over time manner, so I recommend putting it low on the slot priority.
If you take stealth, slot it for end redux, not defense. If you take aid other, it will be later on in your build. I don’t recommend slotting aid self/stimulant. Slot aid other for 2 interrupt reducers and as many heals and recharges as you can fit.

Playing with fire:

In theory, you should be able to Aim, Build-up, and set off your aoe combo’s and defeat the spawn.

Now comes the hard part. Playing a fire/fire blaster is NOT easy. You will draw an enormous amount of aggro during your battles, yet you will have no way to mitigate the incoming damage. This is not so apparent in solo play, because you will have spawns that you have the absolute undeniable ability to wipe. In medium to large teams, life starts to become a little crazy. There are generally more/scattered mobs that you cannot eliminate with your opening salvo, and their aggro needs to be dealt with. The easiest way to accomplish this is by WAITING for your competent tanks/controllers to grab the spawn aggro and lock them down.
AFTER (not before) the aggro has been managed, you’ll want to combo. At this stage, pretty much everything is on its way to meet its maker. Now you’ll need to step into very close range to the largest number of minions and drop your Firesword Circle. Take a very quick look at the situation, and use your best judgement as to applying blaze and firesword. Are there still half a dozen mobs? If so, hold off on the single target stuff and reapply fireball and fire breath. If you have combustion, now would be a good time to apply it, since you have probably seriously hurt everything near you, and combustion will help bring them down. If all that’s left are a boss a few LTs, step back a bit and let the rest of the team deal with them. Your job at this point is to stay alive. Your contribution has been to wipe all the minions. Stay out of harms way so the defenders/controllers can concentrate on the tanks/scrappers. If, after your opening salvo of breath/ball/sword, there are a huge number of minions scattered about but not going down, you are in serious trouble. You are now priority number one for every mob the team is fighting, have probably pulled some aggro off the tank, and the mobs that are held are just waiting to unmezz so they can pound you. You need to assess the situation very quickly, because your health is at this point going away. The defenders are in “babysit the blaster” mode. The tank is frantically trying to regain aggro. The controller is spamming out controls/buffs. The scrappers are working on the boss and LTs. SO. Will your next single AOE attack finish off the mob? If the answer to that is no, you need to make some breathing room, by either breaking line of sight to the most mobs possible, or move far enough away that the mobs have to reposition to attack you. Once your fireball and fire breath attacks are BOTH up again, get back into the fight and finish it up.

Generally speaking, the entire situation I presented above takes anywhere from 10-15 seconds, maybe 30 seconds if you are looking at red/purple minions. Your blasting power makes fights end very quickly, either in victory or defeat.

Some thoughts:
If someone calls for a pull, they aren’t talking to you. Forget it. Even if you decide to take Blazing Bolt, don’t use it to try to pull. It does very high damage, and has a DoT component that generates more aggro than you want.
Be patient. Be patient. Be patient. Let the aggro managers do their thing before you start.
There exists no situation where it is a good idea to open with an AOE on a TEAM spawn. You will faceplant enough as it stands. Don’t increase your defeat count by leading the team attacks. Use everything that you see. Ramps. Corners. Stairs. A bypassed quicksand left over by the earth controller. Another blaster who is only too happy to lead the team attacks with ball lighting. Every possible distraction for the mobs gives you just a hair more survivability.
Don’t let debt get you down. You will get defeated. Sometimes it will happen so fast you won’t even realize you were attacked. Sometimes you will struggle and dance and dodge and blast and a critical shot will miss, or the defender will be out of endurance, or the tank will be charging off to the next mob. Try not to get frustrated.

Fire/Fire blasting is City of Heroes in hard mode. But once you have made yourself a good Fire/Fire blaster, you will be a force to be reckoned with. Every mob you see is experience not yet collected. Passing by a group of orange conning minions is an act of mercy. You will get tells and comments in team chat along the lines of “wow, damn, holy ****” quite a bit. Sometimes, you will get on such a roll that other blasters will drop from the team because they can’t contribute. Scrappers will envy you. Controllers will love you. Tanks will pass you inspirations as fast as they can fill you up. You’ll come to the boards and laugh at the “ <insert AT> outdamages blasters!” threads.

I'll post a few build variations later.

6 slotted hover trumps fly in combat because of drift, turn radius, endurance cost, and defense bonus. Hover made the toons that had it easier to control, fly makes them harder to control (in a fight).

[ QUOTE ]
Hover: We might buff it some, at some point. However, it should never be an effective travel power.

Flight: I'll talk to geko about it. No promises. (I got spoiled by the Holiday Jet Pack, too!)

[/ QUOTE ]

Hover was never an effective travel power. It was an effective combat mobility power IF you invested 5-6 slots of single origin flight speed enhancements into it. You guys need to get over your fears of overpowering silly stuff.

10) TYPE IN ALL CAPS ALL THE TIME
11) Uz l33t.
12) Be critical of other players. Call them names, tell them what to do, hit on the female toons (asl?).
13) Start every Sentence with OMG. End every sentence with LOL
14) Demand to be buffed immediatly after the buffs have been granted.
15) Complain about xp constantly
16) OMG wate dun atak the mob, I hve to sell my loot LOL
17) Ignore the comments in the LFG window. (FROTFIRE! My lfg says No Hollows, can't you read? OMG U NOOB IS GREAT XP LOL)
18) Lecture another player on their build.
19) Brag about your elite play.
20) Moderate Broadcast, Request, Forum threads.
21) Invite everyone in the zone to your new SG.

If you look in the Guide to Guide section, you will see that CuppaJoe has very kindly put the Issue number next to the guide as follows (very briefly, just to make the point):

[ QUOTE ]
GAMEPLAY GUIDES
Philotic Knight’s Combat Handbook (PhiloticKnight) [I6]
R_M's Comprehensive XP Gain/Debt Loss Guide v5.0 (Robotech_Master) [I5]
A Guide to CoH For New Players From Old MMOs (Adam7) [I5]
Beginner's Guide to City of Heroes (MapSevered) [I5]
A New Player's Guide to the Post-Winter-Lord World by Amberyl [I3]
(New) Player Guide (Roughneck_Doc) [I3]

[/ QUOTE ]

See the [I1-6]?
The I1-6 refers to the Issue number. We're currently on Issue 6. Many of the powers described in Guides that predate Issue 5 have been changed dramatically. Probably 98% of the slotting information in the build guides is no longer valid.
If there is no Issue number, you can simply look at the date of the original post and it will tell you when the guide was written. If the guide is more than 3 months old, it is likely that some of the information contained in that guide is out of date.
You may very well be able to contact the writer of the guide by clicking on the writers name and looking at his/her most recent post to get an idea if they are still active or not on the forums. If they have recent posts, and you found thier guide to be useful and wish to learn more about the updated information, you can click on the link to send the user a Private Message. They may very well be willing to assist you, especially if you are polite and use proper grammar and spelling.

Some of the non-build guides such as key binding, CoH vocabulary, gameplay tips, et cetera are likely still valid.

Just because you CAN attack, doesn't mean you SHOULD attack.

Don't just concentrate on what a power CAN do. Know also what it CAN'T do.

It's been said a million times, but I totally disagree with targeting through the tank. A tank has his priorities, and you have yours. They don't always mesh. The tank isn't thinking to himself, "hmm,what's the best target for the blaster?"
(But you had better know what the hell you are doing.)

The scrappers and tanks usually focus on the LTs and Bosses. Wiping out minions will let them do their jobs better. 15 minions have a lot more damage output than 2 LTs and a boss.

Try to help the defenders help you. If you need a buff or a heal, don't make the defender have to work to give it to you. Nothing is more frustrating to a defender than having to chase down teammates to give them a buff, or trying to heal a near-death blaster who is out of line-of-sight.

Don't make the rest of the team have to deal with your aggro.
If you launch a huge series of attacks, your team should be able to expect that your targets are going to die quickly.

Carefully observe what everyone else is doing before you start on a mob. Many times what I do solo simply does not work in a team, because other team members interfere with my normal playstyle. I Don't expect them to adjust for ME.
I adjust for them.

Give the aggro managers a chance to actually manage some aggro BEFORE you start blasting.

Make sure the rezzer has, or has access to, an awaken.

When you join a pug, if you get a feeling that maybe the group won't do well, trust that feeling and bail out.

Don't try to force a situation. If you can't get into position for a good attack, wait. Combat is usually very fluid, especially long fights.

Know your teammates. Screaming for a kinetics defender to heal you when you are half-way to Mars puts a big red flashing neon sign over your head. Telling the Ice/Rad controller to give you Fortitude also puts a big sign over your head.

Know your Enemy. If you have never seen a particular mob before, it's ok to ask about them before you start the mission.
You dont want to find out what DE eminators do while you are trying to energy punch a lesser devoured.

And lastly, don't rely on anyone else to keep you on your feet.
Don't expect a heal, a taunt, a hold, or a buff. If you play assuming that they are coming, you are in for a big surprise.

/em shovels praise upon the writer of the guide.

Good job!

[ QUOTE ]
*sigh I can already feel the maturity of these boards rapidly degrading. I wonder when the Battle.net kiddies will start showing up?


[/ QUOTE ]

I think that you just responded to one

I think that deficiance is a good idea, but implemented poorly.

It kicks in too late, for too little. I have yet to be in a situation where I was happy that defiance was active. I've never felt like "whew, glad I've got defiance, it really saved my butt."

[ QUOTE ]
I have devoted a tremendous amount of time and effort to this game and to helping the community of this game.

This is by far the most extreme thing I have seen happen and I think it is sad.

The changes to taunt, defense, and aoe's will take a tremendous amount of excitement out of this game and make for a not-so-superhero feel.

Please reconsider and be a little more creative in how you want to fix this game. There are other ways that don't involve changing the characters, powers, and game-feel people have spent so much time with so completely.

I feel the developer's vision is in the right place, I also feel the actions they have taken are unimaginative and lackluster.

[/ QUOTE ]

/signed.

I agree. Playing a fire/fire blaster I found that that starting defiance at 40% becomes a question of diminishing returns.
It's not worth it for me to stand in the middle of an animation waiting for the next attack to go off while I could be instead moving or dropping an inspiration. The damage return for the health loss is marginal until it is LONG past time to heal or flee. I hunted DE, Crey and Nemesisisis for about 4 hours in Eden.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Has anyone been able to tell if using Thunderclap+Stalagmites stacks the magnitude so that bosses are disoriented? I haven't been able to focus enough yet to see.

[/ QUOTE ]

I always get a little confused about such things , the only combination that i have personally tried would be stalagmites+fissure, think it might have a higher magnitude that thundercap though.

Isn't the magnitude difference between Lt's and Bosses 1? i can never remember, but if thats the case, then Thunderclap should be able to do the job no?

I think that made sense

[/ QUOTE ]
I just got Thunderclap, and it has only 1 slot of acc in it, and I can't even tell if it hits. I notice stalagmites hit, but sometimes it will mez a boss or LT, and sometimes it won't. What I'm wondering is if hammering out both will increase the odds of mezzing a boss or lt.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Well I can at least edit the copy up on Coldfront. Just fire me off the change. Still a great guide just got better.

[/ QUOTE ]

Level 28 Power:


Currently reads:

Storm: PbAoE Disorient, low magnitude, will only effect minions.

Should read:

Storm: Thunder Clap - PbAoE Disorient, low magnitude, will only effect minions.

Thanks!

[/ QUOTE ]

Has anyone been able to tell if using Thunderclap+Stalagmites stacks the magnitude so that bosses are disoriented? I haven't been able to focus enough yet to see.

[ QUOTE ]
I am a newbie at this game. I have played a few days and then started looking online. I have really enjoyed this guide. Please, can someone explain these terms to me? I did a search but the results were many and seemingly incidental.

Mez?
Held, slept, immobilized, disoriented, etc
Respec?
respecification of powers, you rebuild your toon
Perma?
Permanent, the power recharges before its duration ends, usually by slotting for recharge (as in permahasten)
Mobs?
Bad guys
Aggro?
Aggro is when the bad guys see you and attack.
Thank you very much.

[/ QUOTE ]
Welcome to a great game!

This is the build I went with after 2 respecs.
Slotting order was kind of tricky.

Mostly I keep her in Hover, which is so damn manueverable with all six slots in Flight.
On the right group, I use SS,Stealth, move to center of OJ mob, nuke, phase shift, run way eat a blue and move on.
Only defense buff is stealth if I have it up, and hover, so moving in for blaze can be tricky, but it will drop a yellow LT with build up, an OJ minion with aim.
I dont have flares or ring of fire on the tray, and hardly ever use blast. Blazing bolt is situational, but strong, and it's easy to make work against purple bosses with hover and stealth going.
Hope consume helps with the post nuke stamina.
FWIW, When I did arena on test, I had the most kills (and probably the most deaths) in each of 7 matches of 4-4 and got owned by quite a few solo's.

Slot[01] Level 1 (Starting Primary) : Flares /Acc
Slot[02] Level 1 (Starting Secondary) : Ring Of Fire /Acc
Slot[03] Level 2 : Fire Ball /Acc,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[04] Level 4 : Fire Blast /Acc,Dmg
Slot[05] Level 6 : Stealth /Rchg
Slot[06] Level 8 : Fire Breath /Acc,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[07] Level 10 : Grant Invisibility /Rchg
Slot[08] Level 12 : Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[09] Level 14 : Super Speed /Run
Slot[10] Level 16 : Build Up /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[11] Level 18 : Blaze /Acc,Acc,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[12] Level 20 : Swift /Run
Slot[13] Level 22 : Health /Heal
Slot[14] Level 24 : Stamina /EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec
Slot[15] Level 26 : Aim /Rchg,Rchg
Slot[16] Level 28 : Phase Shift /EndRdx
Slot[17] Level 30 : Hover /Fly,Fly,Fly,Fly,Fly,Fly
Slot[18] Level 32 : Inferno /Acc,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[19] Level 35 : Blazing Bolt /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[20] Level 38 : Consume---dont have it yet so I dont know how to slot it