A powerleveler's guide to blasters (very long)
By
45th_Parallel,
Posted on: 2004-06-14 07:36 in Player Guides
Arzenal22, any blaster can kill swarms/monkeys easily, in fact so can many classes. That does not mean you have an AOE character. It is simply a loophole which, by the way, is fixed on test. As I said right in the opening of my guide, I did not base any of the advice on exploits, things that I knew would get nerfed. Underlings are getting nerfed, as everyone knew they would. Now when the patch goes live, suddenly your 'AOE' blaster isn't anymore. But the AR/Fire blaster is still AOE-ing packs because they truly are AOE blasters.
Its no different than fire tankers. Everyone with half a brain knew that they were getting way too much experience through a loophole that the developers hadn't anticipated. Everyone knew they were going to get nerfed. And they did. Now we have a glut of fire tankers all complaining about how useless their characters are because they based them on an obvious exploit. You may try to claim you are an AOE class because of a loophole, but that doesn't make it so. As soon as the patch goes live, go back and AOE your monkeys for 20 exp a kill and tell me how well an Ice blaster is at AOE exping.
Alaron, you did notice my mention of Nova and Inferno was not in the core powers for powerleveling but in the 'rest of the powers that are purely optional' section. In other words, those are the powers you DON'T need for powerleveling. After getting a powerlevel core, a blaster will still have a number of powers and slots left to choose. Nova and Inferno are just plain fun powers, and since by 32 you will have your powerleveling core intact and complete, there is nothing wrong with picking up the ultimate power in your set, its not like you have any powerleveling skills left to pick up at 32 (well not counting Assault Rifle, but their ultimate is a powerleveling skill.)
Nova and inferno are not worthless. If you powerlevel to 40 and then quit, what is the point? Do you do absolutely nothing else along the way? Try one of the task forces, for instance. The powers may not be available all that often, but they are fantastic every time they cycle. What's not to like about a one-shot kill on every minion you are fighting that also nearly kills all lts and heavily damages bosses? And the only penalty is that you have to turn your toggles back on after you pop down a couple of those endurance inspirations that hardly get used otherwise.
Defensive powers are necessary, I did mention that clearly in my guide, and smoke grenade is the best one you can pick up. And it is worth slotting. I advised against slotting the defensive pool powers because Defense Buff enhancements are only 20%. Smoke Grenade is a debuff, with 33% enhancements. Wow, it seems like often I end my posts with 'Just one more reason to love Devices'. Buildup is great and all, but I'd never give up devices unless I was playing a character just for fun.
I two shotted a group of 8 red minions in Dark Astoria, and killed the purple LT with the remains of my buildup/aim time.
Why exactly do you need a guide to leveling with a fire blaster again?
Let me sum it up for you:
Find big groups of things that are around your lvl. Walk up with stealth on if you have it, hit buildup/aim, then do firebreath/fireball and toss yer flame bolt and blaze at anything left alive.
If there's stuff still left alive, run like crazy.
Woo hard. I'm 24 in 2 weeks, playing like... every other night for a couple of hours and an hour in the mornings when I can.
Kind of a difference from my scrapper who's 28 after around a month and a half of the same kind of playing.
Electricity has very few attacks. Thats why its not as good as the others. If you have a scale where 1 is the hardest, and 10 is the easiest, and AR is 10, and Fire is 9, if Electricity is a 7 while Controller is a 2, does this mean Electricity blasters suck? I'd say 7/10 for levelling is pretty good.
But is a 7 a 10 as good as a 10? No.
For AoE, why not try Invisibility? Ought to be able to drop a trip mine wherever you like.
Abyssal Shade, 50, DM/Regen, Virtue
Meltdown Girl, 49, Rad/Psy
Proud member of Evolution
RIP Hamidon(12/21/04, 22, 23)
This is certainly one of the most helpful single threads i have found since Ive started playing a blaster. Everyone's comments give a great well rounded look at just about everything, though I skipped some of the 20+ pages I have to admit.
The build recommended for the Assult Rifle/ Devices blaster was frighteningly close to what Ive chosen as a CASUAL PLAYER. I power-gamed myself to utter boredom with EQ and refuse to do so in this game. Simply my choice. As a result I am in my high teens only after 3 weeks (~10 hours a week).
Already I would have to disagree with the usefulness of Buckshot and M30 grenade for multiple targets. The knockdown and knockback effects on both of these make them excellent for pushing mobs back into caltrops and keeping them from attacking. I just dont understand how these wouldnt be useful in the end-game...(if you can answer with specifics and first hand experience that would be helpful indeed). I also am curious about Ignite, and whether I should bother with Sniper Rifle.
I was a little apprehensive about having putting so many powers into defence as a blaster. I may have done it too early in the game, but the original post still makes me feel that these werent wasted powers. Stealth, Combat Jumping, Hasten (have it slotted once with defence..prolly a waste I know). Its good to know that this will be an advantage in the longrun. I also took superspeed. Clearly a skill that I would never regret taking. Again people: Stealth + SS = increased def+increased speed+great invis. out of just 2 powers. Im hoping to avoid taking any higher forms of invis.
Last note about power gaming and the "I'll be there sooner!" approach: Especially in a new game like this, there is still alot changing...which will effect characters of all levels. All of the mid-level content will be just as entertaining (im guessing) as the high level. Since you cannot pass gear down (what uber gear is there?) and enhancements can only be used at the appropriate levels anyway...There is absolutely no point. It was one thing where, in EQ, you could throw a fungi tunic (regen item) on a character and run around practically invincible for the first 30 levels, but in this game, even if you hand yourself down some influence (or whatever) you wont be able to give your "twink" much benefit at all. I'm not opposed to true PLing at all and it is not an ethics issue for me : simply that to get more bang for your buck you might consider pacing yourself.
The original poster did not mention what he did with his character for fun now that hes level 40 and the rest of us arent. Though I guess I appreciate that he did it for the info he has "shared with the unenlightened masses". You really did answer most of my questions about my build...Thanks
Less than L20 Blaster on Victory
After level 40 you ask?
Well the new patch will make it lvl 50, but for now. With my 40 I love running around and helping lower level character by using smoke grenade. Also I've done the level 35+ TF about 10 times now, and killed Hamidon about 4 times.
There is stuff to do, but not a ton @ 40 for now.
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Arzenal22, any blaster can kill swarms/monkeys easily, in fact so can many classes. That does not mean you have an AOE character. It is simply a loophole which, by the way, is fixed on test. As I said right in the opening of my guide, I did not base any of the advice on exploits, things that I knew would get nerfed. Underlings are getting nerfed, as everyone knew they would. Now when the patch goes live, suddenly your 'AOE' blaster isn't anymore. But the AR/Fire blaster is still AOE-ing packs because they truly are AOE blasters.
Its no different than fire tankers. Everyone with half a brain knew that they were getting way too much experience through a loophole that the developers hadn't anticipated. Everyone knew they were going to get nerfed. And they did. Now we have a glut of fire tankers all complaining about how useless their characters are because they based them on an obvious exploit. You may try to claim you are an AOE class because of a loophole, but that doesn't make it so. As soon as the patch goes live, go back and AOE your monkeys for 20 exp a kill and tell me how well an Ice blaster is at AOE exping.
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monkeys are a loophole? Since when? Its not like im using some obviously broken power like pre-patch burn or caltrops. Im using frost breath. I had to 5 slot it to do any decent damage
Are you saying monkeys are supposed to be harder?
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monkeys are a loophole? Since when? Its not like im using some obviously broken power like pre-patch burn or caltrops. Im using frost breath. I had to 5 slot it to do any decent damage
Are you saying monkeys are supposed to be harder?
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Boy are you going to be in for a rude awakening.
Underlings were giving Minion exp with having much much less health and defenses. As a result, they were easily farmable exp by pretty much anybody with an AoE attack. So no, no obviously broken power, you're just killing obviously broken mobs.
Go copy your character to test and play with your precious monkeys. The exp is about 1/10th of what it used to be.
I wondered why they gave such high XP. hahah, I was exploiting and didnt even know it
arzenal22, it depends what you mean by exploit. It'd consider it more a loophole. It isn't cheating, its just relying on something you know is going to be changed. Its hard to explain, I didn't feel exactly good about killing swarms, but I didn't feel like I was cheating either. I only did it because the amount of exp you can get in any other way is so insanely slow. So its an exploit but not an exploit. Err, or something. I guess we need multiple terms.
Compare that to these level 2 guys parked in train stations. I consider that just plain cheating. That is an exploit, with the full bad connotation of exploit. Its like in beta when you try all sorts of unexpected things trying to find bugs. Except here you find the bug so you can use it to cheat.
In the case of swarms, fixing the exp is fine. In the second case, if I was in charge, I'd run through the logs and find every character who did this, delete all those characters, and give the accounts a good long suspension. It'd be simple to write the script to scan the logs, unfortunately gaming companies have historically been stupid on this subject. Oh no, we can't ban a paying customer. They just fail to take in to account the people who quit in disgust in seeing cheaters being pandered to.
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In the case of swarms, fixing the exp is fine. In the second case, if I was in charge, I'd run through the logs and find every character who did this, delete all those characters, and give the accounts a good long suspension. It'd be simple to write the script to scan the logs, unfortunately gaming companies have historically been stupid on this subject. Oh no, we can't ban a paying customer. They just fail to take in to account the people who quit in disgust in seeing cheaters being pandered to.
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Sounds like someone is jealous he didn't know about the swarm sooner, LOL.
How many slots? Perhaps I don't fully understand "To Hit Buffs" because the descript is pretty nebulous. Fully slot it or is it good enough without adding more to it?
My alt is AR/Devices only because my hubby is already Ice/Ice as his primary. Ice is a fantastic power set, but it should be played like a controller who has serious damage output rather than the full on damage only blaster. When played this way, they are extremely powerful, but the techniques described in the original post don't fully apply.
My primary toon is a healer and frosties have serious agro buildup more than even power gamer speced aoe blasters. Just something to keep in mind.
I think the icy blaster is more fun to play and a bit more versatile, but they do lack some of the full-on damage potential for the power gamer method described (specifically a snipe, etc)
I took your advice and switched to an
AR/Dev build, previously played many
of the pure combos, taking ice/ice to 15.
At first, I was wishing I had hover again
until I started to just back up from a
fight (mostly) rather than the round-robin
kiting on the ground I was doing before
~had an aweful string of deaths in 11,
but figured I'd stick it out.
However, I'd like to know if I've lost
any of the added defense I got from
hover by going with this build?
That is, does it really matter if I
actually move around during the
fight to avoid projectiles (obviously
other than melee) such as when
I have a mob just standing and
shooting at me? (I mean, does the
game actually take into account
that it would be harder to hit a
moving target or is it that once
they're locked on, they hit you
regardless?) Do you leave sprint
on during fights, thereby deriving
additional defense with this build?
(I tried this before getting super
speed and it seems to suck endurance)
Or, do you have a bind that
you use which allows you to
switch to superspeed every time
you move during a fight, but
which then switches off sprint
once you stop moving? (if so, please post it)
Thanks,
PT
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How many slots? Perhaps I don't fully understand "To Hit Buffs" because the descript is pretty nebulous. Fully slot it or is it good enough without adding more to it?
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Mashiara, it isn't necessary to write all your posts in bold.
Your posts are not any more special than anyone elses. Trying to make them stand out just makes you look arrogant and selfish.
This guide is top notch. All these people trying to flame Robinson for stating fact clearly just have trouble with reality. This guide was even handed, non biasied and very helpful.
Thanks.
PT4me,
Unfortunately twitch skills are of no use here. I sure tried when I started. Shoot then run around a wall. But I'm sure you have seen it...the game determines whether it hits or not and then the projectile will turn a corner or go through a wall to get to you.
You want to turn sprint off during battles as a blaster. It just prevents you from regening as quickly as you could with it off.
I believe you are getting your defense in this build with stealth. I've also heard hasten has a def bonus too, and you can slot def buf's in it, though most people 6 slot it with recharge to get permahasten.
I for one want to thank you for putting your experiences down in words. I Just starting playing last night but have been reading the boards for awhile. Advice like yours helps both the "powergamers" and the "role-players." Please keep it up.
can u guys tell me how this build looks:
and any pointers u have plz.
How does this look?
Archetype: Blaster
Primary Powers - Ranged : Assault Rifle
Secondary Powers - Support : Devices
Slot[01] Level 1 (Starting Primary) : Burst /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[02] Level 1 (Starting Secondary) : Web Grenade /Immob
Slot[03] Level 2 : Slug /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[04] Level 4 : Caltrops /Slow
Slot[05] Level 6 : Combat Jumping /DefBuf
Slot[06] Level 8 : Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[07] Level 10 : Targeting Drone /HitBuf,HitBuf,HitBuf
Slot[08] Level 12 : Sniper Rifle /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[09] Level 14 : Super Jump /Jump
Slot[10] Level 16 : Smoke Grenade /HitDeb,HitDeb
Slot[11] Level 18 : Flamethrower /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[12] Level 20 : Cloaking Device /DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf
Slot[13] Level 22 : Hurdle /Jump
Slot[14] Level 24 : Health /Heal
Slot[15] Level 26 : Stamina /EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec
Slot[16] Level 28 : Boxing /Dmg
Slot[17] Level 30 : Tough /DamRes,DamRes,DamRes,DamRes,DamRes,DamRes
Slot[18] Level 32 : Full Auto /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[19] Level 35 : Trip Mine /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[20] Level 38 : Weave /DefBuf
It sounds like you figured it out. Just keep backing off. Most
fights against minions are so easy, you don't need to bother. But
if you do, turn sprint on and back up. Remember, you can turn
sprint on and off with the press of a button. Most of the time,
you don't need to kite, just turn it on when you do need it.
Once I got superspeed, I never used sprint again. Even if you
keep sprint for a while to max out superspeed with it before you
can get a couple SOs in it, you certainly would never use sprint
in combat. Just use superspeed like you used sprint at the
earlier levels, except its a whole lot better.
Sprint doesn't give any defense, nor does moving. The point of
moving is to stay out of melee combat, against the relatively few
mobs that can hurt you. Most minions can't. Basically, gang
slammer (i.e. Outcast Slammer, etc) and 5th Column Fist minions
are just about the only guys you want to avoid. Well, yeah,
lieutenents and bosses too, but the vast majority of guys you
fight are minions. AR/device has a lot of powers you want to take
at low level, making it hard to find room for defensive powers
early on. Fortunetely, you get Smoke Grenade at level 16 which
is so good, it the only defensive power you need. Don't let me
discourage you from taking more, more is always good, just trying
to say Smoke Grenade is really good.
Once you get Stamina decently slotted, you can keep superspeed on
all the time if you want or just turn it on and off as needed.
Just put it in an easily-accessible hotkey and hit it when you
need it.
And since you are devices, don't forget caltrops. Throw it down
in front of you before any fight that looks challenging and the
fight is a whole lot easier. Just back up a bit and fight, watch
the mob AI as they get to the caltrops, its easy to figure out.
Robinson, check your private messages. I sent you a PM about my build.
Yeah I can't count how many times SS has saved my butt or allowed me to zoom away, rest, then return to finish it! I'm so so glad I went with SS now, it far surpasses fly on my ice build and it makes it very handy to zoom back and forth between zones for whatever reason.
I just got smoke grenade and I can already tell, like that other post is saying, the defense it offers is sick. Also, while I don't plan on doing it as much, I noticed in a couple fights against oranges that if I keep SS on and kite, they don't hit me as much and tend to forget about me even though I'm right in front of them. Can't prove this with numbers, but plan on trying it out as needed. Otherwise, yes, I always use caltrops.
Here's my Fire/Devices build. Robinson please comment:
Slot[01] Level 1 (Starting Primary) : Fire Blast /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[02] Level 1 (Starting Secondary) : Web Grenade /Immob
Slot[03] Level 2 : Fire Ball /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[04] Level 4 : Caltrops /Slow,Slow
Slot[05] Level 6 : Maneuvers /DefBuf
Slot[06] Level 8 : Fire Breath /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[07] Level 10 : Targeting Drone /HitBuf
Slot[08] Level 12 : Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[09] Level 14 : Super Speed /Run
Slot[10] Level 16 : Smoke Grenade /HitDeb,HitDeb,HitDeb,HitDeb,HitDeb
Slot[11] Level 18 : Hurdle /Jump
Slot[12] Level 20 : Health /Heal
Slot[13] Level 22 : Stamina /EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec
Slot[14] Level 24 : Cloaking Device /DefBuf
Slot[15] Level 26 : Combat Jumping /DefBuf
Slot[16] Level 28 : Blazing Bolt /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[17] Level 30 : Rain Of Fire /Dmg
Slot[18] Level 32 : Blaze /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[19] Level 35 : Trip Mine /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[20] Level 38 : Auto Turret /Rchg,Rchg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Nice guide.
holy crap... 2 weeks?
if that is true, i think YOU should be writing a PG thread.
meaning, write one plz!