SnipeFu's Definitive Guide to Energy Blasters V3.0
By
Airhammer,
Posted on: 2004-11-09 13:44 in Player Guides
Thank you very much!
That was exactly the info on Snipe I was looking for!
When I slot snipe next time, I shall definitely put an interrupt reducer in it. I will say however, that if you have knocked an opponent down (and there are no others nearby) you can usually get snipe off before he fires again, even without interrupt reducers. So again, more choice as to how you want to slot it.
BTW, you mention a "jousting" technique - seeing as jousting normally consists of riding up to the other guy and using your momentum to smack him on the way past ( :-) ), I'm not sure what this technique is in CoH terms - could you give us a runthrough of the technique you're talking about?
Moth Twiceborn, Slan, Mr. Long
Jane Droid, 43 Earth/Emp, Alix Frost, 43 Ice/Eng
Warlock Krelleth, Level 50 Zombie Mastermind
Virtue Server
"Some people find fault as if it were buried treasure"
What a great guide, thank you much for writing this. I hope to learn with every guide written!
You have activation times of 2 for both Bolt & Blast? Is that right? I haven't played my en/en blaster for a few months, but last I checked, it was 3 for Bolt and 1 for Blast.
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
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One of the best Energy blasters I know ( MsKnight, w00t!!1!)
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Awww Thanks Snipey!
/e blushes
Snipe touched upon how to use different powersets/pools together, ex. Build up from most secondaries, Hover and the Concealment pools, but how about some other opinions on synergy? Like someone who took the jumping pool and uses SJ & hover to attack and combat jumping for defense? Or the altruistic blaster w/ group fly who can keep his non-melee teammates out of melee range while attacking? Lets hear some ideas!
FYI if you want to take part in a Hamidon raid around L50 you'll need to have snipe 6 slotted. For the raid it'll need to have range enhancements on it, otherwise you'll be defeated
after every shot.
Oh and BTW, here's my additional take on Nova (since Devs are looking at AoEs)...not EB or ET b/c frankly they aren't nearly powerful enough to be an issue. Nova is great. It is great fun. But it's probably on a par w/ thunderous blast and inferno in damage albet higher on the "HaHa that was cool!" scale. It balances with a long recharge time, openness for attack while activating (w/out stealth +SS), the endurance drain, and the variable damage ((States posted how this works) to mobs in a group), there is a balance that should not require a nerf.
For fun tho, use it on a group a top a roof in Bricks w/ you teammates standing at ground level looking up. We may not get preciitation in Paragon City, but we can make it rain!
I have to tell you, I've been using your guide from day one and it's spot-on. Thank you for taking the time to write it! Excellent work!
The Jousting technique invovles basically running past an enemy and clicking say a melee punch or power burst as you whiz by, you will only be in melee range of the foe for a split second but you will hit them anyway as you zoom past. Doas that make any sense? It's kinda early and my brain isn't full functioning.
The Legion of Freedom
By the way, we invite anyone in game to play with us and/or chat. Snipe's a bit busier than I (lil' baby snipe-ettes). Even those of you on different servers, if you create an alt on Virtue or move a character when server moves come available. Doc Vortex just joined our SG (Legion of Freedom, we're a bunch of LoF'ers) after playing several alts on a different server and is having a great time!
A suggestion and a question...
Suggestion: For each power above would you add a line under Range: that says Suggested Slotting: and then list your suggested slotting? You may even have to do a couple of these for each one as sometimes it depends on the build, but I think that would be nice for a quick reference.
For instance for Energy Torrent:
Suggested Slotting: 1 Accuracy, 1 Cone Ext, 4 Damages
Suggested Slotting (Device Blasters): etc, etc.
Question: Why hover 6 slotted instead of Combat Jumping/SJ/Acrobatics? These are so strong for defense, I kinda thought they were crucial to all Blasters. You have me wondering if I could dump all three slots for one Hover... I mean, with Hover 6-slotted with something can you get over all walls, etc?
Thanks again for your excellent guide.
Another addition to "Jousting" - If you can time it right, hit jump right as the animation starts going. Most (all?) attack powers require you to stop and execute the animation. However, if your airborn, you'll continue along your path. It works even better with ranged attacks, no matter how short the range is.
With Super Speed and Super Jump, I've been able to hit melee attacks, and land 100 yards away right as the animation finishes.
If you can't picture what I'm saying, look me up in-game sometime, and I'll be more than happy to demonstrate.
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I know interrupt reduction is not such a popular SO but I have put it in for these reasons: with a 6 second animation time it is very easy to interrupt this power and like this it is only a good opening attack. Firing a snipe off in a battle that is already taken off becomes next to impossible unless all the mobs are held.
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Interrupt reduction SO is not needed. I had 3 of these in my Zapp for my Electrical Blaster and you could not really notice a difference. They have been removed and are never going back.
For one you are Enegry you get knockback so use it. You knock the Mob(s) on there butt and then you use your Sniper attack while they are getting up.
Even if they do stand up and shoot you your attack is past the time it can be interrupted 98% of the time.
And if your opening with your Sniper attack why in the world would it get interrupted?
Hover 6 slotted (speed does increase w/ level, as I found when I exemplared this weekend from 47 to 20 for the Positron TF) gives you a vertical movement power to suppliment SS, and is helpful in the 40+ Shard zone.
SJ gives you the horizontal and vertical movement powers, and is incredibly fun, but using the SS+Hover combo prob. sacrifices defense for making you invisible when adding stealth. I'd say it's a playstyle apples v. oranges difference. Both offer benefits! If you're curious wait until you get another respec then before you choose your power copy yourself onto the test server.
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Hover 6 slotted (speed does increase w/ level, as I found when I exemplared this weekend from 47 to 20 for the Positron TF) gives you a vertical movement power to suppliment SS, and is helpful in the 40+ Shard zone.
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That's wounderful infomation but why you noticed the difference in speed for Hover from lvl 47 to 20 is because you don't have SOs in hover anymore when you EX down 
you may not even of had Hover fully sloted by the time you got to lvl 20.
FAN-tastic! Thanks ever so much, you've provided some great insights!
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That's wounderful infomation but why you noticed the difference in speed for Hover from lvl 47 to 20 is because you don't have SOs in hover anymore when you EX down you may not even of had Hover fully sloted by the time you got to lvl 20.
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Good, but slotting stays the same when you exemplar down. Statesman posted to this b/c the programming involved to alter the enhancements down would've been rather involved (and they seem to have better uses for their time! 
). So all things being equal, a character (fully slotted) exemplared down will be more effective than a regularly leveled character. Also it's been noted that base Fly speed increases with level, so I was pointing out that base hover speed increases as well.
Also, I believe Snipe mentioned the difficulty in using sniper shot during a battle due to the (long) interruption time, so his point I think was that it was more useful, as you said, during a fight!
Good feedback!
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Interrupt reduction SO is not needed. I had 3 of these in my Zapp for my Electrical Blaster and you could not really notice a difference.
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Just to clarify what you may already know (apologies in advance if this is the case), interrupt reducers don't reduce the animation time. Your Zapp still actiavates for 6 seconds, but with interrupt reducers, you can be hit, move around, etc after about 2-3 seconds or so. I agree with the rest of your post and don't advocate them myself, but there are people who like to hit cap with BU+Aim with their snipe attacks and use interrupt reducers instead of damage for maneuvering or whatever.
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
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I know interrupt reduction is not such a popular SO but I have put it in for these reasons: with a 6 second animation time it is very easy to interrupt this power and like this it is only a good opening attack. Firing a snipe off in a battle that is already taken off becomes next to impossible unless all the mobs are held.
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Interrupt reduction SO is not needed. I had 3 of these in my Zapp for my Electrical Blaster and you could not really notice a difference. They have been removed and are never going back.
For one you are Enegry you get knockback so use it. You knock the Mob(s) on there butt and then you use your Sniper attack while they are getting up.
Even if they do stand up and shoot you your attack is past the time it can be interrupted 98% of the time.
And if your opening with your Sniper attack why in the world would it get interrupted?
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Hey Zife. Part of what you say is true, however if you are fighting more than one enemy at a time AND want to use a sniper attack, then an interrupt reducer comes in very handy. If you are fighting only one mob then you ar eright knock back will handle the job for you.
There is a huge difference in interrupt times with 1 or 2 interrupt reducers in a snipe attack. 3 seems to be overkill because I tested with two and the interrupt time was down to less than a second.
The Legion of Freedom
You don't group much do you Ziffe. What he's saying is sniper is one of your most damaging attacks, granted. But once you've attracted the attention of a pack of villains, the chance of getting off sniper without interruption is slim. Even in a group setting this happens. Unless the tank has the FULL attention or you have an awesome controller.
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You don't group much do you Ziffe. What he's saying is sniper is one of your most damaging attacks, granted. But once you've attracted the attention of a pack of villains, the chance of getting off sniper without interruption is slim. Even in a group setting this happens. Unless the tank has the FULL attention or you have an awesome controller.
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Spelling my name right would be nice for one and I group lots just not in groups bigger then 4 unless for TF or SG needs me.
I was solo for about 2 months do to my friends playing Lineage 2 hence I know a lot about powers and snipe. My point is that you can get Snipe off in the middle of battle because if there is a will there is a way and you can do it without interrupt enhancements.
But if your planning on using Snipe as a first attack on a big group and then use 2-3 other powers and use Snipe again while there is 4 or more left in that group and you are in the mobs attack range. You do that you deserve to get interrupted.
Great guide! I've got energy blast on my Defender, and I must say I enjoyed reading about the set from a Blaster's perspective. Defenders can't get Buildup, but we CAN get things like Enervating Field, Accelerated Metabolism, Siphon Power, and Fulcrum Shift to improve our damage output.
My only real comment to the guide is regarding your description of Hover/Fly. I've been using a set of binds developed here one the forums that give me excellent mobility during combat. This has saved me from having to 6-slot hover to make it a viable travel power. The additional power slot is worth it, I think, as those 5 enhancement slots might be better spent elsewhere (especially at lower levels when slots aremore precious).
Cheers!
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Great guide! I've got energy blast on my Defender, and I must say I enjoyed reading about the set from a Blaster's perspective. Defenders can't get Buildup, but we CAN get things like Enervating Field, Accelerated Metabolism, Siphon Power, and Fulcrum Shift to improve our damage output.
My only real comment to the guide is regarding your description of Hover/Fly. I've been using a set of binds developed here one the forums that give me excellent mobility during combat. This has saved me from having to 6-slot hover to make it a viable travel power. The additional power slot is worth it, I think, as those 5 enhancement slots might be better spent elsewhere (especially at lower levels when slots aremore precious).
Cheers!
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Well it was a personal playstyle decision for me mostly. I suck at binds and moacros, I can't even get my battle call to get out =S
I saved one power slot vs 5 enhancement slots and never have to wonder like I did back when I had fly, "why am I missing so damn much? Why is my end gone? OH DAMN! I forgot to switch to hover!"
The hover thing was just a suggestion. Many people love it others don't.
The Legion of Freedom
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Well it was a personal playstyle decision for me mostly. I suck at binds and moacros, I can't even get my battle call to get out =S
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MsKnight looks around...sheepishly presses the F10 key...grins then runs away... 
So THAT'S why I haven't seen you say "HULK UP!" since the Bastion TF!
Runs away again...
Yeah somehow F10 was replaced with READY! and I don't know how to get it back again.....
The Legion of Freedom
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Hover 6 slotted (speed does increase w/ level, as I found when I exemplared this weekend from 47 to 20 for the Positron TF) gives you a vertical movement power to suppliment SS, and is helpful in the 40+ Shard zone.
SJ gives you the horizontal and vertical movement powers, and is incredibly fun, but using the SS+Hover combo prob. sacrifices defense for making you invisible when adding stealth. I'd say it's a playstyle apples v. oranges difference. Both offer benefits! If you're curious wait until you get another respec then before you choose your power copy yourself onto the test server.
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I don't want to hijack this thread, but would you mind posting a link to how to copy yourself to the test server? I want to try this. Also, once copied, is it easy to reconfigure your powers?
Character Copy Tool
This will copy your character to the test server. Visit the training room forum as it has all the info you need. You need to download the test server first and that takes a good hour or two.
Also your character will copy exactly as is, you can not change3 anythying unless you have a respec. What most people do is complete the respec trial, select respec as the prize, log out, copy the character to the test server, try all the new things they want, rinse and repeat as necessary.
The Legion of Freedom
Hello Again Heroes! I guess its time for version 3.0 of my guide as there is yet more content I wish to add to make it even more complete. FYI I am a level 50 Energy/Electric Blaster, this guide is all my opinions so feel free to critique and discuss as you wish. My goal is writing this guide is to give those interested an outline of the power set, what it does, and what you can expect to accomplish using the Energy Primary. What I have purposely avoided doing is giving a cookie cutter outline of what is the optimal build, I believe the game is more enjoyable when one makes their own, well informed, decisions.
The energy blaster primary is geared towards single target attacks with some limited AOE damage built in as well. I believe that every power in this primary is good and has its use. Some are more controversial than others as to efficacy. Later I will also talk a bit about pool powers, knock back, and basic tactics of the Energy Blaster. The Energy Primary also has some of the sweetest audio and visual effects in the game. It definitely has a very superhero feel to it. This can be evidenced by the fact that I have started yet another energy blaster and so has my cohort and fellow SG leader, MsKnight aka Energy Star, who I would like to thank and give major credit to for the development of this guide. If nothing else you will have a lot of fun playing this set.
Damage dealt by an energy blaster is split ( I believe 80/20 and 60/40 on others) between energy and smashing damage. All of the attacks have these two elements. This can be good or bad depending on what villain group you are fighting. Some enemies will be resistant to smashing but not energy and vice versa. On the other hand some enemies may be weak to energy, like Freakshow, and this will make taking care of them easier.
A quick note on slotting. The slotting recommendations I make here are geared towards heroes levels 22 and up, meaning when Single Origin Enhancements are available. In the earlier levels when only Training Enhancements or Dual Origin Enhancements are available, I highly recommend adding extra accuracy enhancements to powers over damage. Blasters in general have an easier road to travel for the first 30 levels of the game and can hunt enemies several levels above their own. Accuracy takes a big hit when fighting enemies that are higher levels so it is important to make sure you do what you can to land those blasts. The usual one accuracy enhancement in a blast should be two or even three accuracies at the lower levels. This will help things move along faster as endurance is a big issue in the lower levels and missing only compounds that fact.
Power Bolt this is one of the two bread and butter attacks in Energy. It yields decent damage (approximately 60% of the damage power blast does) and recharges fast enough. Coupling power bolt with power blast, both moderately slotted, will 1-2 an even con minion easily. Slotting this power with one accuracy and five damages is the most balanced approach. I recommend slotting this and Power Blast early on as they will stay with you throughout your entire career as an Energy Blaster. There are energy blasters who dont take this power at all because they feel that more damage can be done focusing on power blast, power burst, and snipe. This is possible, and slightly harder to master since youre giving up a ranged attack, but can be worked effectively if you choose to. My opinion is to take it and slot it early.
Cost: 6
Activation Time: 2
Recharge Time: 4
Range: 80
Recommended Slotting: 1 accuracy, 5 damage
Devices Slotting: 6 damage
Brawl Index: 2.2222 Energy + 0.5556 Smashing
Power Blast This is number two in the bread and butter attacks. I would slot this the same as power bolt. Again, with these two attacks you can mow down minions with no problems. Slotting these two as early as possible is a good idea.
Cost: 10
Activation Time: 2
Recharge Time: 8
Range: 80
Recommended Slotting: 1 accuracy, 5 damage
Devices Slotting: 6 damage
Brawl Index: 2.7778 Energy + 1.7778 Smashing
Energy Torrent This is the first of two AOE attacks in the Energy set and in my opinion the best one. It has several uses. First off it does decent damage when properly slotted. I suggest slotting this with 1 accuracy, 1 cone extension, and 4 damages. Some people opt to go 1 accuracy and 5 damage which is also great. Since I usually use this power to either knock enemies away from me or to combo with Aim+Buildup+ Energy Torrent + Explosive Blast to drop minions I know Im at the damage cap with 4 damage SOs, so I like to give myself the extra angle in case I dont set up perfectly or the enemies are very spread out.
*NOTE* for all except devices blasters. 4 damage SOs + Buildup + Aim will have you right next to the damage cap of 400%. Devices does not get Buildup and has targeting drone so slotting for this secondary is totally different.
I would sacrifice 1 damage SO in energy torrent for cone extension because you will hit many more mobs and for the damage cap reason stated above. The knock back of energy torrent is wonderful for getting mobs off of you when they close in. I believe Energy Torrent has a 60% chance to knockback when it hits. I will also discuss how to drop even con minions with an energy torrent, explosive blast combo in more detail later. Energy Torrent is also a great mob finisher for when you have a lot of mobs at low health. My opinion is to take this and slot it when you can to the max.
Cost: 12.5
Activation Time: 1
Recharge Time: 8
Range: 40
Recommended Slotting: 1 accuracy, 1 cone extension, 4 damages
Alternate Slotting: 1 accuracy, 5 damage
Devices Slotting: 1 cone extension, 5 damages OR 6 damages
Brawl Index: 1.8333 Energy + 0.8333 Smashing
Power Burst I think this is one of the more misunderstood powers of the set, and is therefore not as popular as it should be. Power Burst is a short range blast so you have to be close to the mob to fire it off. The plus side to it is that it does fantastic damage and has great knock back. If a mob is getting close you can fire this off and unless they are conning red or purple, if you hit, they go flying away. Using the jousting technique with this power makes it even more awesome. After snipe (and nova) this is the highest damage dealing attack in the set. I suggest slotting this with 1 accuracy and as many damages as you can fit into your build. Some people opt to put a range enhancer in here and that is also a good idea if you are looking to shoot it off from a bit farther away, however the range added is fairly minimal. One range enhancement in Power Burst will boost the range from 20 to 24. Mastering the jousting technique can eliminate the need for range. Again the more damage the better, but even poorly slotted this attack does significant damage. This is an attack that can one shot minions if used in conjunction with either aim or buildup and fairly slotted.
Cost: 12
Activation Time: 2
Recharge Time: 10
Range: 20
Recommended Slotting: 1 accuracy, 5 damages
Alternate slotting: 1 accuracy and as many damages as you can fit OR 1 accuracy, 1-2 Range enhancers and 1-4 damages.
Devices Slotting: 6 damages
Brawl Index: 3.1111 Energy 2.1111 Smashing
Sniper Blast As my name may suggest I am partial to this attack. This is your damage dealer. It is a great opening attack if you are soloing and a great starter attack in a group after agro is taken by someone else. It has a +20% chance to hit which is almost like having 1 accuracy SO built in. In V1.0 I suggested not putting in an accuracy enhancement in this power. I have found that I like to hunt things a few levels above me and I was missing more than I wanted to, I have therefore put 1 accuracy in this power and am very happy with it. Note, if this is used strictly as an opening attack on your build which may be the case you will most likely be using the Build Up + Aim combo which will way over-cap your accuracy.
The way I have slotted this is 4 damage SOs, 1 accuracy, and 1 interrupt reduction SO. I know interrupt reduction is not such a popular SO but I have put it in for these reasons: with a 6 second animation time it is very easy to interrupt this power and like this it is only a good/dependable opening attack. Firing a snipe off in a battle that has already taken off becomes very difficult unless all the mobs are held. What interrupt reducers allow me to do is ensure that the snipe will go off after only 2 seconds or so even if I am hit during the rest of the animation. Taking into consideration the significant endurance cost of this attack and the damage potential, it is a very nice way to go. Also after the first 2 or so seconds I am free to move around the battle as I wish to place myself for the follow up attack. The interrupt reducers basically make snipe a viable attack to be used in combat. For those who dont need an accuracy enhancer 2 interrupt reductions in snipe will leave almost 0 interrupt time, I have tested this, the interrupt time is negligible with 2. If you need to save slots in your build, stick in 4 damage SOs and use it as an opener. You may opt to slot this differently; it all depends on your play style.
Snipe can also be used for pulling. Taking into consideration where an enemy is standing and facing in relation the rest of his mob one can manage to kill or pull one enemy from a pack without causing the rest to notice. This technique is an art and takes practice to master but can come in extremely handy under certain circumstances.
Note: Orange con minions will be one shotted using Build Up + Aim + Snipe. That is the maximum damage for one shot. Reds will be left with a sliver of health. Buildup + Snipe can also drop an orange minion with no resistance to energy or smashing.
Note: The current Hamidon strategies have people with snipes placing 6 range enhancements in to allow snipers to be out of Hamidons range. This may change with the new Hamidon, but is still useful to know in case you choose not to 6 slot Snipe.
Cost: 16.5
Activation Time: 6
Recharge Time: 12
Range: 150
Accuracy: +20%
Recommended Slotting: 1 accuracy, 1 interrupt reduction, 4 damages
Alternate slotting: 2 interrupt reductions, 4 damages OR 1-6 damages OR 1 accuracy, 5 damages.
Devices Slotting: same as above without the accuracy enhancements.
Brawl Index: 5.5556 Energy + 2.1111 Smashing
Aim nuff said. 100% accuracy boost and a 62.5% damage boost. Slot this with recharge reduction, because the more often you have it the better. This power does NOT need accuracy to hit buffs, but if you have the slots you could and should at least 3 slot it with recharge reductions to make it come up faster. With 4 recharge reductions in this and in build up you can pretty much cycle through the two alternatively and have one of them up all the time. This is very nice to have in battle. This power lasts for 10 seconds.
Battle Plan: When entering a battle one must assess whether the fight will be fast or will take time. A fast battle calls for a Buildup + Aim alpha strike combo to maximize and front load all the damage. A drawn out battle should call for alternating between Buildup and Aim cycles as over time alternating will cause more damage per time than combining the two.
Note for Devices Blasters: You can easily opt not to take this power as all your accuracy is in your targeting drone, however the 62.5% damage boost can and will come in very handy for things like alpha strikes.
Cost: 6
Activation Time: 1
Recharge Time: 90
Accuracy: +100%
Damage: +60%
Recommended Slotting: 3-4 Recharge reductions
Alternate Slotting: 1-6 recharges
Power Push Another one of the more misunderstood attacks of this set and probably the most controversial and the most fun. This attack does negligible damage. What it does have is a +40% accuracy built in and will knock most foes on their tushies. Why is this good? Lets say you are taking on a freak tank; the last thing you want is for this guy to hit you. Well if you rotate Power Push in to the cycle of attacks every time he gets up, he will be down the entire time and you wont have to worry about being hit. This power will also save you when things get ugly and you need a few more seconds to escape/finish off an enemy. This power allows you to chain knock back enemies so it can be considered a pseudo status effect or a defensive power if used properly. Now, some people dont need this or want it. That is fine. It is by no means a necessary power in the set. It is very nice to have. I know very good energy blasters who have no use for it. It is totally up to your play style to decide. I suggest taking it and slotting in 1 accuracy enhancement so you make sure you hit those big bad boys when you use it. The recharge, with perma-hasten, on this power is fast enough to do chain knockbacks and to cycle two attacks in or a snipe between each push.
Taking a boss out of a fight is a great tool and since blasters have so very little defense to begin with anything that can stop an enemy from attacking can be considered quite useful.
Note: knocking back level 1 enemies with this power = fun. I have managed to send one over 80 yards on the test server with this power 4 slotted for knockback.
Cost: 10
Activation Time: 1
Recharge Time: 8
Range: 70
Accuracy: +40%
Suggested Slotting: 1 accuracy
Brawl Index: 0.5556 Energy + 0.5556 Smashing
Explosive Blast Of all the powers in this set I would say this one is the weakest. Having said that, it can be used to your advantage, when used properly. I use this power in only two ways. The first and most important is as a follow up to Energy Torrent. When Energy Torrent and Explosive Blast are fully slotted and in combination with Aim + Build Up, you can take down even con enemies. The downside to this combo is knock back. After Energy Torrent everyone pretty much goes flying and your targets are spread out. Most of the time with your follow up explosive blast, you will miss a few guys that flew out of the range of explosive blast. I have this slotted for 1 accuracy and 4 damage. The other time I use it is on the rare occasion when none of my other blasts havent cycled in. It does less damage than Energy Torrent but can still knock foes back. It is a nice power to have in your back pocket and allows you to do some AOE clean up detail. You can easily skip this power if you wish, after all Energy is by no means an AOE centered power-set, and Explosive blast in particular has high end cost and a long recharge to boot.
Cost: 17.5
Activation Time: 2
Recharge Time: 16
Range: 80
Recommended Slotting: 1 accuracy, 4 damages
Alternate Slotting: 1 accuracy, 1-5 damages
Devices Slotting: 1-6 damages
Brawl Index: 1.1111 Energy + 1.3889 Smashing
N O V A The end all and be all of the Energy set. Monster damage and a +40% accuracy bonus make this a devastating AOE attack. You want to take this power at 32 and at the very least have it 4 slotted as soon as possible i.e. level 33. Nova has a chance to hit each mob 4 times. It is all based on to hit numbers that are included below but if you DO hit you will hit for at least two (one energy one smashing) with a chance for 2 additional hits. Always use this with Buildup and Aim allowing you to cap both accuracy and damage for maximum effect. Most people like to slot this with two to three recharge reduction SOs as well. I have done this too. The sooner this is up the better. Taking out +4 minions is easily achieved this way. One of the best Energy blasters I know ( MsKnight, w00t!!1!) uses 3 damage and 3 recharge, this allows for quicker recharge and still does insane damage; with that set up all you need to hit the damage cap is some red pills. Always use this with Buildup and Aim and dont put any accuracy into it. Some have said this is a very situational power, I however say a wise blaster can use this in just about any situation. It can be used as an alpha strike or a team saver when things get hairy.
Cost: 11
Activation Time: 3
Recharge Time: 6 minutes
Range: ~20
Accuracy: +40%
Recommended Slotting: 4 damages and 2 recharge reductions OR 3 damages and 3 recharge reductions.
Devices slotting: Same as above, but taking out +4 minions without Buildup will be a tad harder. Throw a trip mine in there and youll be golden, OR 6 damages.
Brawl Index: 2.7778 Smashing + 5.5556 Energy + 4.1667 Energy * 0-2
And there you have it folks. Energy blast.
Some thoughts on knockback. This concept has sparked very heated debate for and against its usefulness. Both sides have very valid points. Some people, especially tanks and scrappers, can really get annoyed by knock back because an energy blaster will knock mobs they are engaging back resulting in them not being able to hit their targets or losing any defense bonuses they may gain from mobs being in melee range. You must learn to manage knock back in a team setting so it helps more than it hurts. Knock back is a tremendous resource when properly managed. If I am on a team with people who are being hindered by my knock back I simply hover above the mobs I attack. This way I knock them DOWN rather than back. Another energy blaster has suggested moving to the opposite side of your team so knocking mobs back will hurl them towards the team rather than away. Ive tried this and it can work as well. I will also use my AOEs much more sparingly. Some people will complain about knock back no matter what and to those people I would just say .well never mind. My personal experience has been positive, I have only on 1 or 2 occasions in 50 levels had someone complain about it. Otherwise, if you learn to manage your knock backs well, you can keep entire mobs on the floor for most of the battle.
Used in a team setting, when for example, your team is being overwhelmed, a good energy torrent will send the mobs flying away allowing your teammates a few seconds to recover and HULK UP! (TM Legion of Freedom battle cry) for the remainder of a fight. Used against bosses in a team setting, you can completely take that boss out of the fight. When soloing, however, knock back is probably the most useful for an Energy Blaster, you dont run the risk of aggravating anyone, and an enemy on his butt cant attack you.
I will also talk about power pool choices, but this is so dependant on the players personality. Please take all of these recommendations with a grain of salt and make sure whatever you choose suits your play-style and allows you to have fun. The test server is an amazing tool for things like this where you can test different powers without committing to them and be able to gauge how much you like them. Use the test server, it is your friend. One note: I do not consider myself a power gamer nor do I try and give people cookie cutter guidance. Having said that .
As always Hasten and Stamina are pretty much required for you. These allow a blaster to blast longer and faster. I highly recommend going perma-hasten, meaning 6 slots in hasten with recharge reductions so that its always on. This effectively doubles your recharge rate on all powers and is like slotting two recharge reduction SOs in all powers. Stamina should also have 6 slots on endurance recharges in it because endurance is always an issue for a blaster and the more you have the better. Are they absolutely required? Most certainly not. Will it make your character much more effective? Absolutely.
Since you will most likely have hasten picking up super speed is a great travel power to pick up and doesnt require you to open a new pool. The advantages are that super speed is one of the fastest ways to travel and it gives you a stealth bonus. I also recommend picking up another travel power later on in the game for vertical movement as super speed can be cumbersome in many areas due to its lack of vertical movement.
My other two pools are concealment and flight. From the flight pool I only have hover and it is six slotted for flight. I wont go into lengthy detail as to why I do unless someone asks but basically it acts as a second travel power, has very little end drain, is easier to maneuver than flight, has no accuracy minus, has a defense bonus, is great for chasing runaways, and lets you be out of melee at all times, and saves me from wasting a power on flight. 6 slots is a lot but hey, it works for me. Its also much easier to dedicate those slots in a respect trial post level 30 which is what I suggest if you are considering to 6 slot hover. If youre thinking of five or four slotting it, thats ok for combat, but not for travel as the difference in speed is huge between each SO. It also enables me to move in all directions during battle, so if I want to set up for an energy torrent explosive blast combo, I hover down to shoot and back up once done.
The concealment pool is another great idea for all but devices blasters. Stealth stacked with super speed makes you invisible to all but a few enemies in the game and can be invaluable for setting up things like Nova right in the middle of a group. Stealth provides a base 7.5% defense bonus and thats also as good as it gets defensively for a blaster as far as pool powers are concerned. Fully slotted for defense that number bumps up to 16.5% defense. You can also pick up grant invisibility which allows you to have a power that helps in a team setting and phase shift is another fantastic tool for many reasons. Stealth however is the determining factor to go into this pool.
The leaping pool is a great alternative to the flight pool with combat jumping, super jump, and acrobatics. This pool will grant you vertical movement, a small defense bonus, and some limited status and knockback protection.
The teleport pool is a good pool for more team oriented blasters as recall friend is very handy and teleport will give you a fast travel power and the vertical movement lacking in super speed as well.
The medicine pool is another nifty pool that gives you great team tools like heal other, Stimulant ( which grants status protection), and a rez. Heal self can also decrease down time between battles significantly.
Presence. This is not a pool for blasters unless you really like going to the hospital.
Fighting. This pool has some powers that will grant you added defensive bonuses but at the cost of running lots of toggles and picking up a melee power which doesnt help a blasters cause much. Blasters interested in upping their defense as much as possible do take this pool and some say it helps a lot. I however dont recommend going this route. It can be done nevertheless.
Leadership This is another nifty pool for teams as you can up your teams defense, damage and accuracy. Running these kinds of toggles can kill your endurance very easily and blasters do not receive the full benefit of this pool. Defenders and then controllers receive the greatest bonus from this pool and it is a much better tool for them.
Strategy and Tactics. This again is very dependant on your style but I will try and lay out some ways of going about combat based on what youre facing.
Monsters and AVs these battles require, and I mean require, you to be at a safe distance blasting as fast as possible. One melee hit from an AV or Monster can easily drop a blaster and Ive had this happen to me many times. The most damage an energy blaster can do to this type of enemy will go something like this:
Aim, Snipe, bolt, blast, bolt, Buildup, Snipe, bolt, blast, bolt, Snipe, bolt, blast, bolt. Repeat ad nauseum. This is literally non-stop blasting and the cycling of buildup and aim allows for maximum DPS (damage per second)
Bosses the easiest way to drop a boss for an energy blaster, assuming they are not resistant to knockback, is to cycle power push in to your stream of attacks every time it comes up as this will keep a boss down the entire fight. After a power push you have enough time to activate snipe before the boss gets up and then you can hit blast or power push again right away. Otherwise after power push you can cycle any of your other attacks in between applications of the push.
Large groups of even cons Buildup, Aim, Energy Torrent, Explosive Blast. Done. This is enough to drop even cons that do not resist energy. If there is an Lt or two or even a boss in the mix here, follow up with single target blasts until they are down.
Small groups of +1 to +3 mobs (no bosses) Buildup, Snipe the first. Bolt, Blast, Bolt the second, Burst bolt the third. This should be enough to handle this kind of situation with minions. Lts will require more shots of course. If an Lt has status powers I recommend Buildup, Aim, Snipe, Burst, Blast them first to make sure they are out of the way fast.
Large groups of minions up to +4 Buildup, Aim, Nova. Done.
Again these methods are very subjective. Please experiment on your own to find your style and best effectiveness on the battle field and use these methods as a guideline, if you choose, on how to go about battles.
I do recommend cycling Buildup and Aim for any occasion where an alpha strike will not finish off the whole pack, as cycling those gives you much higher DPS than using them in tandem. For a fight that will only last a few seconds then Buildup plus Aim is the better way to go.
Synergy with Secondaries
Devices devices is a great secondary for any blaster AT. It is the Swiss army knife for a blaster. Powers like targeting drone, cloaking device, trip mines, caltrops and smoke grenade make for very safe and powerful blasting. The only downside is that a devices blaster is a slower moving blaster as these things take time to set up. Nevertheless it is extremely effective and fun.
Energy is probably the best synergy with the energy primary. Tons of self buffs and some very strong melee attacks. Power Boost, Conserve Power, Boost Range are all really nice self buffs whereas Total Focus is the most damaging attack in the game and can stun bosses in one hit. Bone Smasher is also a strong melee attack and a great follow up to Total Focus. This combo also makes for a good blapper.
Electricity Not a whole lot of synergy here but some pretty good tools for the late game. Power Sink and Shocking Grasp are amazing tools. Power Sink can completely drain mobs of endurance while fully recharging your own. Shocking grasp is a very nice single target hold. Lightning field can be picked up in the late game after Power Sink is slotted and can allow you to basically tank mobs after power sinking them. In the early game it is not so great. Havoc Punch and Thunder Strike are also very strong melee attacks and can allow one to blap very effectively as well.
Fire Probably the least amount of synergy here. Mostly melee attacks with one power that allows you to recharge end.
Ice Ice secondary has great tools for holding and slowing down mobs. Ice patch, Shiver, and Frozen Aura all allow you to either hold or slow mobs. The only downside here is that most of them are close range and can put the energy blaster in danger. With some finesse and technique this can also be an effective blaster.
Well thats as much as I can possibly think of for the time being. I hope this guide helps those interested in the energy blast set. Any and all comments and questions are welcome. Please remember that the most important thing in this game is to have fun and that if youre not having fun you need to rethink your AT, set, or style and if that doesnt work well maybe a different game will. Good luck heroes!
The Legion of Freedom