SnipeFu's Definitive Guide to Energy Blasters V3.0
By
Airhammer,
Posted on: 2004-11-09 13:44 in Player Guides
im already lookin at that, but is that a good guide to use? he had an elec/ene when he made that
eh?
Give a person a chance to play the game! 
It's a good guide. Energy as a secondary can be looked at as independantly as energy as a primary. Both guides offer numbers as well as observations (and user feedback) allowing one to make up their own mind as opposed to churning out carbon copy characters. You'll be able to make a character/build that you'll enjoy playing, and that's as good a guide as I can think of.
Hey Snipe, just wanted to say thanks for the great guide... took me 31 levels to find it but its been real helpful. 
And this is to all blasters who think about giving up, pull up a chair and listen to my tale.
Up until this weekend, I thought I was happy with my character as I could be. But, this changed after respecing. This respec has breathed new life into my game. And thanks to this guide and some well thought out changes, I'm happily playing better after a brief excursion into the unknown.
Last night was another eye-opening experience, as I was on a team with just SG members. It's something I like to do. The group was made up of 3 blasters and 1 defender. The defender was Sked to me and I had the other two blasters hang back just to see how the mission looked. BTW, the other blasters were lvls 28 and 26, the defender was lvl 20. All could heal.... funny huh. But anywho, after a little problem in the beginning of everyone trying to fight, (after being told not to) I wanted to really test my build and see how much was too much. Go figure huh. LOL. I ended up being able to take on the entire mission just fight by myself and only getting heals when I needed them. Even with a defender before the respec I couldn't do this, so this guide is worth while. During the mission the lvl 26 looks at me and says, "Wow, I didn't know a blaster could solo like this." I typed back to her, "one, I've got you guys healing so don't go trying this without a good healer, but yeah I was doing this earlier and I can solo many of my missions if I wanted too. But I tend to be more hesitant when by myself and make sure to bring along plenty of inspires. 
" She laughed and we talked a little bit about builds then went back to finishing the mission. I did point out to her that I use concealment, fitness, flight, and speed pools. And I loved how this new build has worked out.
So I wanted to say thanks to everyone on here for helping me out, and post a good-old-fashioned war story.
And here's my build for the most part... forgive me if I don't show all the slots cause I'm at work. Here you go....
Energy Primary
Power Bolt (4 slotted, 3 dam, 1 acc)?
Power Blast (4 slotted, 3 dam, 1 acc)?
Sniper Blast (5 slotted, 3 dam, 1 acc, 1 interupt)
Aim ?
Energy Secondary
Power Thrust (1 slot, 1 dam)
Build-Up (3 slots, 1 hit buff, 2 recharges)
Conserve Power (3 slots, 1 hit buff, 2 recharges)
Boost Range (1 slot, 1 recharge)
Fitness
Swift (2 slotted w/ run enh)
Hurdle (2 slotted w/ jump enh)
Health (5 slotted w/ health)
Stamina (6 slotted w/ end recovers)
Flight
Hover (2 slotted w/ 1 def buff, 1 end cost)
Fly (5 slotted w/ fly)
Speed
Hasten (6 slotted w/ recharges)
Super Speed (1 slotted with run)
Concealment
Stealth (2 slotted w/ 1 def buff, 1 end reduc)
Grant Invisibility (2 slotted w/ end reduc)
Phase Shift (2 slotted with end reduc)
As you can tell I rebuilt this character into a ranged player, and I'm having more fun that before. I'll update this later with more slots when I have a chance.
It's nice to have new life into an old friend....
As always see below
Looks good! Though I think your Energy Primaries could by slotted a lot more with damage, in place of stuff like Phase Shift for now. And you definately have got to get Nova. Wow--love it.
That said, you're convincing me once again to drop CJ/SJ and get Hover/Fly. Just looks like a stronger build.
I know but im not really wanting nova... it doesn't fit with my character and how I play. I wanted Phase Shift and had to drop air superiority and CJ for it and Grant Invis. I've been tweaking this build since day one and ran across Snipe's guide by accident, and thought might as well. I also dropped EB but plan on gettin it back mainly cause i used it as a follow-up to snipe on small groups and I miss having it. Besides I'm leaving room for the Epics so I'm being cautious with my choices.
I did try 6 slotted hover but it wasnt fast enough for my needs, and ended up just keep fly slotted the way it is. The combination of slide and sprint get me around pretty well unless i need to get either by fly (which I use for locating mobs, badges, etc.) and ss (general travel).
I do plan on slotting the primaries more for damage, just tweaking the secondaries to get where I want.
But thanks Jury, and have fun.
As always...
How come no one slots range enhancements.. I find range to be an incredible help when I am playing.. the ability to shott from really far away helps me tremendously.. I can easily hover above people.. out of range.. snipe em.. move in a little closer.. shoot em and zoom back out.. wait till I get hover six slotted.. yeaaaaaaaaaaaah..
The hard things I can do--- The impossible just take a little bit longer.
If numbers are so much more important than a teammate who is fun to play with, forget about the game altogether and go play with a calculator instead. -Claws and Effect-
I've been planning my next respec to sync the recharges on my buffs, so I created a template in Excel. Thought I'd share the results in case anyone else was wondering. 1st column is the # of SO enhancements, and all other numbers in seconds.
# SO US CP Nova BU PB/BR
0 780 600 360 90 60
1 585 450 270 68 45
2 468 360 216 54 36
3 390 300 180 45 30
4 334 257 154 39 26
5 293 225 135 34 23
6 260 200 120 30 20
With 6-slotted Hasten
0 780 600 360 90 60
1 384 295 177 44 30
2 330 254 152 38 25
3 289 222 133 33 22
4 257 198 119 30 20
5 232 178 107 27 18
6 211 162 97 24 16
Notes:
1st row across is base recharge (no SO enhancements)
US = Blaster EPP version of Unstoppable
CP = Conserver Power
Aim and Build Up have the same recharge and duration
PB = Power Boost
BR = Boost Range
The formatting got hosed when I pasted into here, this is the best I could to in the time frame I have.
I don't use range enhancements anymore is due to the fact that I have boost range... another very good power to pick up. I'm working on getting it to recharge faster so I can use it more often. That also frees up a slot to add more damage to the power.
Thanks. I'm thinking of getting boost range in lieu of using mya last 2 enhancement slots for snipe shot (in anticipation for a Hammi Raid).
Man I've been away for two weeks and I gotta say there is some amazing info going up here. Thanks to all who are particpating.
The Legion of Freedom
Well, I replied to previous versions of this FAQ, but they've been abandoned.... I'm not going to re-type the things I said, especially since SnipeFu might start the thread again and abandon this one.
Better to edit your posts than to start new threads....
Bandito, I will try as I did in this thread to only update this one rather than start a new one so if you like we'd all appreciate your comments
The Legion of Freedom
Nevermind gravito I will do you the favor:
[ QUOTE ]
Good guide, but I have a different take on Snipe.... I've got my Energy/Dev up to 35 now, and when I solo missions I use Snipe on at least 50% of the mobs. Maybe it's because I have Cloak and Smoke, but I walk through missions as fast as Snipe will recharge. No risk, unless you miss or draw, which happens rarely....
My point- I easily use Snipe quicker than Aim recharges. No Buildup, but I imagine the same would be true.... I 6-slotted it for damage, and it takes out most +2 minions, some +3. Even cons are a joke.... You may hit the cap with 4 SO + BU + Aim, but if you put those extra damages in you won't need BU or Aim.... I could put recharge enhances into Snipe, but it comes up quickly enough for me to decide on a target and get my timing w/o waiting very often.
Don't be afraid to make use of Power Burst- It'll get you through a lot of fights. Slotted, it's almost enough to take out even minions without Aim or Buildup. If you're uncomfortable with the shorter range, practice drive-by blasts with Hurdle/CJ/SS- They only expose you for a split second, effectively increasing the range of the Burst to wherever you land.
Keep in mind that Nova has a ridiculously long recharge time when you're trying to grind out experience. On top of that, it's situational for large groups of minions.... If you've got other powers that you use multiple times in every fight, 6-slot those before you even look at puting damage into Nova. You'll have BU or Aim or both, so Nova will either hit/kill or miss completely.... Extra damage doesn't help too much til you can 4-6-slot it and kill LTs.
One thing I wish I'd realized- Better to 6-slot 2 powers than to 3-slot 5 powers. Concentrate on a core attack sequence, get a solid cycle going, make it powerful, and build from it. Energy is _awesome_ when used well.... The best bet is to find your own playing style, suited to your secondary, and let the rampage flow.
[/ QUOTE ]
And the second one:
[ QUOTE ]
My snipe has gone into the crapper since I posted my previous reponse.... I can't reliably kill even-con DevEarth. I'm Science lvl36, so that's who I want to be hunting right now for the 35+ drops.... Between my slight enhancement downgrade (35++ at 36 is only +1, when I'm used to +3) and some of their resistances, I'm a little slower....
So, as a counterpoint to my above- Definitely get recharges into Aim or Buildup by the time you hit 35, so you can reliably hunt 36-38. If you want to start hitting DevEarths, you'll need Snipe because they don't sit still waiting for you to line up Energy Torrent at those levels....
Of course, I can still go smack the hell out of other +3 spawns if I just want the exp. This is a special case for late-ish game....
[/ QUOTE ]
better? 
The Legion of Freedom
I currently have three SO's in Hasten and three in Build up. I figure once I get Hasten Perma and four SO's in Buildup and Aim should work really well. I just hope I have enough slots to use with that and need to six slot stamina and I really want to six slot hasten..
The hard things I can do--- The impossible just take a little bit longer.
If numbers are so much more important than a teammate who is fun to play with, forget about the game altogether and go play with a calculator instead. -Claws and Effect-
Thanks Snipe_Fu- I take back all the mean things I said about you.
Now that I think about it, though, I didn't really say anything about you. I was just kind of a [censored] because I was bored and sick.... Sorry!
I still don't really buy all of the talk about Interrupt Reducers and Range Enhancers in Snipe.... I suppose that when combined with good teammates, you'll be able to hit the cap with their help.... I suffer from solo-itis, though, so I'm going to opt for one-shot power everytime.
As an aside to the talk of wolves, I had a Scrapper 8 levels below me in Bricks ask the other day if I could herd for him. Not could I provide a Nova for him- Could I run around and gather mobs for him to kill. I laughed for a good minute or two on that one, while I tried to figure out what game he'd been playing up til then....
Well since I post a bit on my observations and occasional opinon I thought I'd put my post where my money is and post my build. Actually the build I'm posting is what I'll be going with when Issue 3 comes out, but I made notes about what I'm changing and the reasons why. Ironically the best thing about the new Force of Nature power is that it made it easy for me to decide to go in this direction (I tried other EPPs, but Force Mastery was the most in-line with my character concept and animations). In my build I strove to make best use of my slots with how I generally use my powers while having the broadest selection of targettable groupings to have fun and keep my play varied. I sincerely hope that this will not be the cause of cookie-cutter builds toward and away from my build, as it's my opinion that the best aspect of SnipeFu's and Pulsewave's guides are that they aren't templates but give players enough information to create the hero they will have the best time playing! Good luck Heroes!
Brawl/Acc
Rest/Recharge
Sprint/Run
Power Bolt/Acc/5 Dam
Power Thrust/Acc
Power Blast/Acc/5 Dam
Build Up/4 recharge (30 sec recycle time)
Swift/Run
Sniper Blast/Acc/5 Dam*
Power Burst/Acc/5 Dam
Hasten/6 recharge
Super Speed/Run**
Hover/6 Fly Speed
Hurdle/Jump***
Stamina/6 End
Aim/4 recharge (30 sec recycle time)****
Power Push/Acc
Stealth/Def
Conserve Power/6 recharge*****
Power Boost/Recharge
Nova/3 recharge/3 Dam
Bone Smasher/Acc/4 Dam******
Total Focus/Acc/4 Dam******
Personal FF/2 Defense Buffs*******
Temp Invulnerability/2 Dam Resistance*******
Energy Torrent/4 Dam********
Explosive Blast/4Dam********
*If it were not for needing 6 slots for range for the Hammi raid, I would save a slot or two here. Note: if you had a power to spare but needed slots and you have energy manipulation as a secondary, you could use Boost Range instead of 2 slots.
**I will be dropping my 2nd run speed enhancement for this build
***Dropped Health for Hurdle. Health regenerates at a speed that decreases time between battles, but not at a rate helpful in-battle. Hurdle will help overcoming objects while running in super speed.
****Upped this from 3 recharges so as to sync with Build up and Power Boost. PB, with one recharge SO has a 30 second recharge. Since PB has a duration 5 sec longer than BU or Aim I activate it first, then BU then Aim.
*****No changes here, but its close in recharge to my slotted Nova, which was very helpful when I used it in leveling.
******Previously I only had damage here as I used them as an alpha-strike combo on a boss right after buffing with BU + Aim (and later adding PB). I noticed however that after this combo I would still need to cycles through my usual attacks (Bolt, Blast, Burst) and still theyd be standing. W/o PB theyd usually recover from disorient by now (problematic as Id be using Power Push on the other boss in the typically Peregrine Island 2-boss groupings). Adding PB as a buff helped by doubling the base stuns (TF and Bone) but I found I frequently missed w/ my 2nd round of TF-Bone. I was/am very tempted to further slot PFF and TI instead of the 5th slots here, but I use this combo often and it is always necessary when facing this grouping, and the consequences of missing both (or even one) are considerable, so I added the 5th slot for accuracy.
*******This is where Id like to add more enh slots into. I gave up Grant Invisibility and Phase Shift for these powers. TI is better personally than GI, but in teaming GI is a great help. The weight of this concern will depend on your playstyle. For me, several of my SGmates have GI so my usual teams are not too badly affected (heh well see if everyone respecs it out!). PFF is a far cry from Phase, but others can buff me through it and it does have an activation time one second faster
and it has a nice look to it! Since its an Oh-crud/runaway power Id be most comfortable with it fully slotted, but alas that cannot be.
********These are only slotted with 4 Dam as 99% of the time I use as an alpha combo with Aim & BU, so accuracy is high and damage is capped.
The current testing version of Force of Nature, without its mezz resistance made this a fairly easy build to decide upon, so ironically thats the best thing about it (FoN). Even the previous blaster EPP version of US was marginal enough for me to have serious reservations about taking it.
Please note that this is my endgame build for L50. In leveling up I had phase earlier (mid 30s I think) to avoid debt and ET and Expl Blast right after Total Focus as it enabled me to hunt larger mobs of blue or white, thereby increasing my target selections and increasing my rate of XP. Also, my selections through L20 (stamina) was primarily concerned (after my basic attacks) with travel powers and end in the anticipation of exemplaring to do the Cavern of Transcendance and the Faultline Trials (although I'm not holding my breath as to when the Faultline one will be available). The Hollows and Faultline both have topography which make hover useful as a suppliment to SS, and at least the strat guide has it that the Faultline trial might be a long battle, so end was a concern, hence stamina.)
I highly recommend taking PB around the same time as TF (and Bone) as itll double your base stun time. Very helpful in taking on boss groupings in the upper levels (as they pair up). If 2 bosses have Lts or minions around I stealth, SS, buff up, TF+BS one boss, go nova, take care of the remnants. Usually Im left with just the two bosses, one near defeat. Plus PB increases your defenses, so is an easy way of helping you earlier in game rather than slotting stealth or hover for a measly 20% increase on their low defense bases.
Lastly, what the build does most importantly is allow me to have fun playing the game, most notably by having four primary ways of initially attacking (typically used in conjunction with Stealth and SS or Hover)
1. Snipe (for long-range, good for the two War Hulk boss duos in the 40+ game)
2. Nova
3. Total Focus/Bone Smasher melee combo (good for Fake Nem/War Hulk boss duos)
4. Energy Torrent/Explosive Blast (for larger groups of minions at range)
I'm going to see if I can respec to optimize my energy/energy blaster at level 30 - can someone post a complete optimized build for e/e blasters at that level for me to use as a template?
did you miss the post directly above yours? Knight's build is as solid as they come for energy/energy.
The Legion of Freedom
Yes, as a matter of fact, I did miss his post. Thanks.
Okay guys I need some help figuring out something, I am currently trying to figure out how fast blast and bolt recharge at with hasten 6-slotted. I'm also trying to figure out if adding a recharge enh will speed them up to be on par with Ice and have a higher rate of fire.
Any help would be appreciated and thanks....
As always see below....
bolt is 4 seconds and blast is 8 seconds so with perma hasten you're looking at about 2 and 4 seconds. No need to really speed that up as you can chain them pretty well as each has a 2 second animation time.
The Legion of Freedom
With perma-hasten you'll have a straight 1-2-3 combo of bolt-blast-bolt. You'll then have a 1-2 second downtime that you can use either for a buff (ex. BU, Aim, CP or PB) or another power (ex. Power Burst for damage or Power Push for damage avoidance).
Now if you buff for an alpha-strike using sniper shot you are faced with a dilemna I go back and forth on. The 10 sec duration of BU/Aim is enough for that 1-2-3 combo, but only 1 or (maaaybe) 2 shots after snipe (due to the longer animation time). So you can either string that 1-2-3 bolt-blast-bolt combo, giving your weakest attack that buff...or fire off blast right after sniper shot...you get a bigger impact from the buff...and you can immediately fire off bolt...but then you have that downtime (from blast really) for a cpl of seconds when you won't be dealing damage. I use both, but probably more often go the "blast" route.
Here's something to consider (I use this in my own build). If you use Aim + Build-up before you attack (initially), you'll reach the damage cap w/ only damage SO enhancements and will have rather high accuracy. For attacks you normally only attack with initially (including "alpha" strikes) you won't need necessarily 6-slot these.
Example: As energy is primarily a single-target damage dealer, our AoEs are not powerful enough to quickly defeat villians (excluding Nova). To mix things up I attack even-con-ish large groups (of minions). I begin w/ a 1-2 combination of energy torrent and explosive blast (after aim + build up), as neither of these are singularly powerful enough to suggest taking on such a group. After this 1-2 combo, the regular attacks (energy bolt, blast and burst) are enough to take care of the remaining health on the mobs.
One doesn't need ET or Expl Blast again (and if Aim & bu aren't recharged, they aren't worth it imo). So what does this mean? If one only uses these in conjunction w/ aim & bu, then 4 slotted these two powers with damage is good enough...leaving you with 4 enhancement slots you can use elsewhere. Total Focus and Bone Smasher can be slotted similarly, however I've found that I use TF and BS twice in a fight w/ an even-con boss, so i like to have a 5th slot for accuracy, but it still allows 1 enh slot free for TF and BS in lieu of 6-slotting!.
These freed up slots (6 in my usage) allow me to fully slot conserve power, hover, hasten & stamina in addition to the usual slotting for the main attacks (snipe, nova, energy blast/bolt, etc) while giving me some extra slots to up the defense in stealth, which I usually have on during combat anyway.