A powerleveler's guide to blasters (very long)

Hey, I'm kinda new to CoH and just read this thread. Good original post, and many interesting points in the later posts.

I have a AR/Energy Blaster at lvl 16, and my question is if the points made in the original posts (and in later posts) still are valid, after patches etc? I mean, what has changed since it was posted?

Also, I'm kinda unsure about the the usefulness of Energy Manipulation as my secundary power. How do I make the best use of it?

Thanks

Well, Burn...the main thing that has changed since this being posted is that Devices is no longer the clearly superior secondary for blasters. Smoke grenade is being nerfed from a massively overpowered ability into an almost pointless gimmick. It's not a bad secondary with the heavily nerfed SG, but it isn't the best for all playstyles/builds anymore.

If you want to learn about Energy as a secondary, Pulsewave has a pretty good guide here on the boards. Couple things I want to add though. Boost Range doesn't work well with cones (most of AR's AE attacks) and Energy is mostly useful for two abilities...Buildup (get this at SL4) and Conserve Power. Before you ask, Conserve Power is not a replacement for Stamina...it is a supplement...but it's nice. Somewhere you will undoubtedly read about someone who "gets along just fine" with only CP and no Stamina. They are like the 3-legged dog who gets along just fine...functional but not as good as they could be. Personally, I think Energy is a pretty good secondary powerset comparatively speaking.

can you still PL on swarms or have the exps been knocked down to far?

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can you still PL on swarms or have the exps been knocked down to far?

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They've been knocked down too far. They're not even worth shooting at any longer.

/exa

thanks, i thought so, was trying to figure out how they were leveling fast at 8 exps per killl or less

RSRobinson,

I just started playing the other day and from the book alone, I had already decided to play a fire and device blaster, so I was happy to see this thread. I have a few questions about what to put in the enhancement slots.

1. I understand that you are putting damage in the six Fireball and FireBreath slots. Are you six-slotting all the fire powers?

2. How many slots, and what enhancements are you adding, to the Device powers?

3. For the Defensive powers, you said not to add any more slots, that one will do. What enhancements are are you adding?

Maybe these will become obvious as I play, or maybe it is on one of the 25 pages here, but I'm trying to plan out what to keep as I get it.

Thanks for all the great info so far, very enlightening!!!

Hola Xactoman,

I'm no RSRobinson but I'll take a stab at answering your questions based off what I know from other Fire/Dev blasters (I am Fire/Fire).

1. Here is a list of the fire powers that it is probably good to 6 slot: Fireball, Firebreath, Blaze, & Inferno. I believe most F/Ds slot those powers with 6 damage. You will also want to 6 slot Hasten and Stamina with Increased Attack Rate and Endurance Recovery enhs respectively.

2. The big ones in Dev are Targetting Drone (all ACC) and Trip Mine (all dam). Not sure if you are going to use Timebomb or not...though I have heard you can stack tripmine and timbomb attack with Inferno and it is just crazy.

3. Most blaster defense powers are using the Defense Buff enhancements.

Hope this info helps you out.

I read this post when I 1st made my blaster. I considered it the holy grail of blaster help, and yes it contains a lot of good knowledge and tips.....HOWEVER I have came to a very harsh conclusion:

This guy has no idea what he's talking about with the electric blaster set. None. Nada. Zip.

By the time I read this post, I was already a lvl 12 elec blaster, and my heart broke. It just broke.....cause I had a gimped main. Well, I fought on and kept leveling, and now at 32, I'm proud to say: THIS DUDE IS WRONG.

He just hasn't figured out how to use an elec blaster.....and I'm not trying to start a flame war here, but the initial posting of this guide did a LOT of damage for the reputation of the electric blaster set. I'm in Brickstown and FF now....and I can solo Red bosses surrounded my minions. I can fly in and suck the blue off any mob I want and leave them standing there picking thier nose. No, we don't do as much damage, but we are the ONLY defensive blaster set. That's right....we can hold our pray, and have multiple ways of rendering them completely helpless. It will take you longer to level initially with an Elec blaster, but by the time the mid 20s to 30 hit, you "Will Start To Believe".

Even Geko himself has stated that once PvP hits, elec will be THE set to have. He spoke of the clockwork and said if you think they can drain a target, it's nothing compared to another player. We are NOT gimped. Once we DO have PvP, I would be MORE than happy to prove it.

Sorry....I just had to step in and defend my toon (and all the other shockers out there).

I used this guide to build Fire Iron. I'm 31st lvl and loving the build, even after Update 2. I have been criticized for not having Trip Mine, but I don't need it. My Alpha Strike is deadly and I can withstand the counter attacks enough to finish off the mobs. Right now, solo, I'm fighting yellow and orange Crey in Brickstown. Only the Crey Protectors give me trouble, mostly when I'm dumb enough to try to take out a red one. I took out two yellow protectors in one group the other night. I'm nuts!

Hey PixelShock,

I would have to say a great deal of the volume of messages in this thread is electrical blasters defending themselves. Let me summarize so you don't have to read the billions and billions of posts.

Electrical blasters are not teh suck...they just aren't as good at harvesting large quantities of xp by streetsweeping (aka powerleveling) as Fire/Dev and AR/Dev blasters.

With Issue 2's sweet new xp mission rewards elec blasters might actually become the super xp machines....since they tend to excel at mission.

Bottom Line: Don't let anyone else decide for you what is best for your char. Do it yourself and do it because you like the powers. Then you will never be disappointed.

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I read this post when I 1st made my blaster. I considered it the holy grail of blaster help, and yes it contains a lot of good knowledge and tips.....HOWEVER I have came to a very harsh conclusion:

This guy has no idea what he's talking about with the electric blaster set. None. Nada. Zip.

By the time I read this post, I was already a lvl 12 elec blaster, and my heart broke. It just broke.....cause I had a gimped main. Well, I fought on and kept leveling, and now at 32, I'm proud to say: THIS DUDE IS WRONG.

He just hasn't figured out how to use an elec blaster.....and I'm not trying to start a flame war here, but the initial posting of this guide did a LOT of damage for the reputation of the electric blaster set. I'm in Brickstown and FF now....and I can solo Red bosses surrounded my minions. I can fly in and suck the blue off any mob I want and leave them standing there picking thier nose. No, we don't do as much damage, but we are the ONLY defensive blaster set. That's right....we can hold our pray, and have multiple ways of rendering them completely helpless. It will take you longer to level initially with an Elec blaster, but by the time the mid 20s to 30 hit, you "Will Start To Believe".

Even Geko himself has stated that once PvP hits, elec will be THE set to have. He spoke of the clockwork and said if you think they can drain a target, it's nothing compared to another player. We are NOT gimped. Once we DO have PvP, I would be MORE than happy to prove it.

Sorry....I just had to step in and defend my toon (and all the other shockers out there).

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Yep, said that a loooong time ago. Check the early pages

Don't believe everything you read.

People this guide is about POWER-LEVELING.

Electricity and Hover are not efficient components to this, however they are still viable, and so is boxing

double post

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People this guide is about POWER-LEVELING.

Electricity and Hover are not efficient components to this, however they are still viable, and so is boxing

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See? THAT is what that guide has caused to happen. People read a 10 page guide and "assume" that this guy must know exaclty what he is talking about.

Redline, if you saw me hunt solo, it would scare you. I spent two hours last night in bricks taking out NOTHING but Orange and Red bosses surrounded by Lts. and minions. Drop em', hit hasten, move to next bunch. I can powerlevel right beside your toon. After you play with an elec blaster who KNOWS how to use his powers, you will understand that there's nothing wrong with our kill speed. Yes, we take more shots to drop the target, but the target never fires back.

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but the target never fires back.


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OK, now I'm curious. (I personally favor AR but I REALLY like the fact Elec gets their 3 primary attacks right away, makes the low levels fun)

Short answer questions:

1) you never get a return volley of fire from a pack of mobs? Because you END drain an entire pack of mobs at once? Or how? A VOLLEY from 6 yellow minions + 2 orange LTs and 1 red boss will NOW flatten most blasters.

2) at what level did you START to take on "but Orange and Red bosses surrounded by Lts. and minions. " ???

3) What's your build (if you have it handy) ?

4) Do you have Hero Logger? What's your level and xp per hour While in Bricks?

TAC, you cannot dodge the first volley regularly, and this limits the number of mobs you can safely fight. Also certain mobs have attacks that they can use with an empty endurance bar, so it is best to avoid those types.

The mobs brickstown are easy for elec blasters to kill solo for the most part. I can solo even lvl to +1 paragon protectors in groups with little trouble. I will not go anywhere near freak tanks. Rikti are only annoying because it is hard to find a group without one damn adv drone.

They key to using elec is to take on groups that have two lieutenants or 4 minions, and a boss. I go in with trip mine, then immediately short circuit. Against the right enemies, they are made useless in the first volley. I then use a voltaic sentinal slotted for end drain to keep them down while I plug away at them.

I would not claim it is more efficient than Fire/dev or AR/dev, but it is certainly safer to solo with when used properly. It is also excellent for group play as it feels like a defender lite with blaster damage. It is far more utilitarian than the rest of the blaster sets.

TAC - yup...what the Cpt said!
Seriously.....it's not that bad being an electric blaster. It's actually very different from other blaster types. My alpha USED to be PowerUp-Snipe, then start hacking away on the toughest, Tesla Cage the next, and rotate.....but no more.

The game completely changed for me once I decided to slot Short Circuit with endurance drainers. I didn't want to....cause I was obsessed with damage. I finally had a moment of Zen and realized that's not what the power is supposed to do. Once I got Power Boost (which is from the energy set) then things REALLY got crazy. That thing made my Short Circuit UBER effective.

Cpt, no need to worry about freak tanks. I kill em like mad. The ONLY time it gets ugly is if I actually miss with my SS, which usually AIM prevents from happening. I jump in (I have Hurdle) from way back and switch to Hover before I get into Melee range, then pop it. I haven't been smacked by a Tank in weeks. Problem is they usually take off running as soon as you empty their blue.....but that's kinda fun huting them down. Nothing beats being on a team and standing right in front of one saying "Is that all you got Mr. Tank?!?" with everyone laughing.....cause the SS prevents him from getting any blue back for a good 10 - 15 secs.

If I DO miss, and things start getting ugly, I have my Thunderous Blast bound to my rCtrl key as my "panic button". Even if that thing doesn't kill him, we just both run around in circles without any endurance till I get enough to finish him (which with Stamina slotted so high, I always get it back before he does). I can't wait to get TB slotted with more Damage!

TAC, I'm at work right now, but I can post my build later when I'm home. I didn't mean to sound ugly earlier.....it just seems like an uphill fight defending elec blasters on the boards, and it shouldn't be. In the right hands, they are a joy to team with.

Wow, that's friggen cool PixelShock.

Power Burst and Short Circuit, that's the ultimate crowd control.


CptCommunism does a 6 slotted END Drain Short Circuit drain minions to 0? What does it do to LTs? Bosses?

Now this is when I use it with PowerBoost (uhh....which is ALWAYS) and Lts? lol...ZERO. They got squat. Even Orange ones. Red boses are sucked down to 90-95% empty. I ALWAYS follow SS with a Ball Lighting and then SPLAT.....they are completely drained. From there it's just a matter of blasting blasting blasting......and every shot saps a little endurance to ensure they don't get it back.

However, it REALLY sucks when you open a fight with SS over a red boss and it MISSES. I can't explain the magnitude of suck when that happens.

Hmmm. I have to disagree with you concerning your views on Electrical heroes.
Endurance drain worthless? Come on. With Power Sink and Short Circuit, you can drain all endurance from everyone surrounding you. Hit hover and pick them off at your convienence. You also have Tesla & fence, good holding powers. Voltaic Sentinal is the best. I've got mine 6 slotted with damage & with my Hasten six slotted, I can have 2 up at a time. Thunderous Blast does incredible damage. I'll lay down Voltaic, hit buildup, throw a tb, pop a catch a breath, then use power sink to regain my stamina quickly on any mugs left standing. This is terrific for huge mobs. So unless you have actually played a ele/ele blaster I don't think you have much room to speak. I've also got a energy/energy blaster. I find I prefer my electrical. It's even better in team situations. Did you forget that knock back doesn't work well with tankers/scrappers? They have to keep chasing them down. I've not played the tech side of a blaster. I can honestly say I don't know how the damage dealing is. All I know is I have electrical and energy blasters and of the two I prefer electrical.

Well Classic you have managed to repeat the argument that raged on the middle pages of this thread. It's almost like there is an electrical blaster echo...and every few days an electrical blaster has to come on this thread and defend themselves. Let me give you the quick summary.

1. Blasters as an AT are crazy powerful. None of them really "suck".
2. This guide was written in the Pre-Issue 2 era of powerleveling which focused on streethunting large groups of minions.
3. This guide is ONLY talking about powerleveling...and at the time the way you power leveled was to perform alpha strike hits on large groups of the highest con minions you could take down in a single salvo. The large groups part of this can be best done by Blasters who have more than 1 hard hitting AoE attack. That's why AR and Fire are said to be the best. Energy, Ice, and Electrical just can't do this as effectively as AR and Fire.

What does this mean? It means you don't have to defend yourself. Electrical, Ice, and Energy Blasters all can be really effective at what they do...but what they can't do is run up to a 10+ group of orange 5th Column or Crey minions and end them in 2 shots....and do that again to the next group they see.

This guide has some really good info (especially of the Pre-Issue 2 game...some stuff has changed) but when it all comes down to it....play your char how you want to play him/her. Just because you don't follow this guide doesn't mean your char sucks. Have fun.

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Well Classic you have managed to repeat the argument that raged on the middle pages of this thread. It's almost like there is an electrical blaster echo...and every few days an electrical blaster has to come on this thread and defend themselves. Let me give you the quick summary.

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Well, we do appreciate that but let me explain why we keep posting. First off, it's a 50 page spread of posts. When the 1st time viewer comes in here thinking about making a blaster, he's either gonna read the 1st post (highly inaccurate) or YOUR last post (highly inaccurate).

NO, this article is NOT a great resource. It completely tears apart what many feel is an increadibly effective AT. The reason we have to KEEP coming in here and saying something else is because of remarks like this:

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This guide is ONLY talking about powerleveling...and at the time the way you power leveled was to perform alpha strike hits on large groups of the highest con minions you could take down in a single salvo. The large groups part of this can be best done by Blasters who have more than 1 hard hitting AoE attack. That's why AR and Fire are said to be the best. Energy, Ice, and Electrical just can't do this as effectively as AR and Fire.

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No no no no. Every blaster can take on large mobs. ESPECIALLY electrical. We hit build-up, aim, Short Circuit, then Ball Lighting. Now they are all half dead with NO endurance. We are mob dropping machines.

I'm not flaming you bro. I wouldn't want to cause any more screaming that the original post has started....but when you call out an electrical blaster for coming in here and defending himself.....well, we're gonna get defensive.

I don't offer Controllers advice because I don't know anything about them. Perhaps all the people who don't know anything about electric blasters should also stick to what they know.

Well...that's why the first point I listed in my summary is that no blasters suck. Believe me...I have rolled with Electrical Blasters and they far from suck. In fact...they are probably better at doing missions than I am.

But the example you give (and I'm also not trying to be jerk here in the least just pointing out what I am talking about in regards to large groups) says that you use aim+buildup+short circuit+ball lightning and the mobs have zero endurance (which is pretty kewl) and they are half dead. With Fire (and I assume AR...but don't know first hand) though...that is the end of the fight...there is no followup unless there are lieuts or you missed one. You may think that is BS...but I can totally show you.

Again...I'm not even saying blasters that are not Fire or AR suck...I'm just saying that it is hard for them to have the same type of AoE effectiveness. And further more I'm saying you shouldn't have to defend yourselves because some guy wrote a guide. You should play your char the way you want and choose the powers that you want and who cares what RSRobinson or some kook named Fiero Fuego have to say about it.

Does that make sense or is that just a bunch of rambling?

It's a case of taste...

... and what takes an obvious advantage of the game engine.

In this case, once Minion HP goes up the proposed (and, apparently, much debated) 30%, the ability to quickly mitigate their various abilities will mesh rather well with killing them quickly. People who can do both will excel in such a system.

Sorry I am late in my reply TAC.

Depending on the minion it can go from a full bar to 3/4 of a bar. The worst enemies for this are sappers.

Lts. and Bosses usually go down to an eigth of a bar on the first shot if they are the same level as you.

Because it is rare to drain boss endurance completely on the first shot I have a sentinal slotted with end drain as a backup to keep the enemies end down.