SnipeFu's Definitive Guide to Energy Blasters V3.0
By
Airhammer,
Posted on: 2004-11-09 13:44 in Player Guides
ok cool and thx
Hey Razor,
Not gonna disagree with Snipe here lol. Just wanted to add my 2 influence.
There's nothing wrong with the Leaping pool. I use to have CJ on my character but found i needed something else to round out. Being limited on powers to pick and have room for the epics, I decided to make some changes. Before the respec I had from flight: hover, air superiority, fly; from leaping: combat jumping; from concealment: stealth, invisibility; and fitness: hurdle, health, stamina. Afterwards I ended up with all of fitness; concealment: stealth, grant invisibility, phase shift; flight: hover and fly; and speed: hasten and superspeed. I do miss CJ, it was nice to have the extra height from it but I had to make sure everything I picked was what I wanted and can use during combat.
Maybe if they raise the power amount cap, Ill pick up all of the leaping line but until then I have to make due.
As far as indoor missions, I do many. I love them just because its fun to fight through them. Mostly from what I've read about Acro is that it doesnt give that much protection and you can get the same kind from inspires. Honestly dont know. My feelings about it was because of my build and not wanting to use slots for powers that i dont use or dont want just to get a power that offers minimal protection.
But again, just like Snipe said, these builds are what we were wanting out of our characters, you may not like how something works and do something different. 6 slotting Hover for me was too slow for my needs, and I needed the slots in attacks than in def. I run stealth and hasten all the time so I have those def added to my own, and if needed i have hover. I just make sure to take the mezzers out quick. 
Anywho back to busting bad guys....
As always...
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I noticed none of you are big fans of CJ/SJ/Acro so I was wondering, are you posting mostly outdoor street hunter builds? I'm not a huge fan of the street grind method of levelling so I do a lot of door missions, both solo and in teams. Also, with no CJ or Acro, these builds have pretty much abandoned any kind of mez protection. Not a criticism, just an observation. Might I be better served taking CJ and then eventually Acro for some mez protection instead of 6 slotting Hover if I prefer missions to outdoor street grinding?
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Hey there, good question. For me it's playstyle. I love SJ on my scrapper, but for my playstyle as a blaster I can't fit it in:
I dip into the speed pool for hasten to quicken my attack rate, and SS helps w/ the concealment stacking important w/ setting up my Nova (I could prob SJ in, but I'm not that precise at it).
I prefer to stay out of melee range so flying via hover is the way I go.
One could SJ into a position one could adjust using less than 6-slotted hover, but again for my purposes the SS/hover combo works best for my blaster.
By all means use what's best/most fun for you (the general "you").
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MSKnight--just wanted to thank you for your very detailed look at my build! I haven't responded yet because you gave me so much to think about. I've already made a few changes.What do you think of adding one range enh to Power Burst? Would it then be as long ranged as Power Bolt or Power Blast? That might be a nice addition to my ranged attacks, too, along with PP.
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You're welcome Jury.
Power Burst has a base range of 20' whereas bolt/blast have 80'. Each SO will increase range by 20%, so that'll only be 24' for Burst. I tried it and it wasn't enough of a difference to me. Stacking SS and stealth I can get close enough to a grp so that I can buff up, snipe (longest animation), then combo w/ some string of bolt/blast/burst. W/ good control over your travel power you can quickly move farther out to use bolt/blast then come in for burst. BTW P Push has a range of 70' I think, maybe 80' but no further.
I just want to thank everyone who has made this guide a positive area for energy blasters to sound off about our AT. Thank you for accepting this guide and providing so much positive feedback.
When I hit 50 I will try and update the guide with my feelings on the journey and what else can be brought to the table.
My post is on FIRE baby! Fire Fire fire fire heeheeheehehe!
The Legion of Freedom
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Ms Knight would you please review the build I posted on this thread and give me your analysis ???
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Okies...you like smashing from above...some melee (E Punch/Bone)...and battlecry emotes 
1. Concern abt. snipers in PI/CF/Bricks/FF in getting SS. Honestly if you don't need SS to get around (you have fly and I figure you like it) consider this: take another power in the concealment pool (you already are considering stealth "armor") then take phase...snipers can't hit you if you're phased...but you are more exposed if you should fight (w/ phase off..whereas stealth + SS can be used in combat). This would be good up through 32 when you get nova. You can decide then if you want SS to stack w/ stealth so you can walk up to nova...oooooorrrrr...you can stealth, hover high, turn off hover then activate nova (and assumedly a cool emote). Note about a couple of things, I noticed my accuracy was a bit lower with this, and nova will go off where it's pressed, not where you wind up. So activating nova while you are dropping could result in nova's center being several feet in the air. Nova is a sphere, so it'll still hit, but you might miss the widest radius. However with practice you can probably get this down and it will fit into your style. Later in the game you can think about swapping Phase for PFF.
As it stands tho', at 26 you have a few levels/powers to play with before reaching the sniping zones.
If you get SS, consider swapping out health for swift...stacked w/ SS you'll be at the travel cap i think.
2. Air Superiority: I tried this on test and didn't like the close range...but it was nice to have another attack when having fun w/ sky raiders in TV. I hear that it's the best dmg power in the pools (for what that's worth) so you might still have fun w/ it, maybe later in the game tho....flying sky tend to be Lts or bosses...tho it is fun fighting them while flying/hovering.
You have rng enh in bolt/blast/ET. Consider this: boost range. it gives like a 54% or 75% base boost (dep on who ya ask). w/ only 1 SO, it recharges immediately after going down.
How's your end? I notice stamina's 1 slotted whereas hasten is 3 slotted. Are your fights done quickly or do you run out of end mid-fight? Might want to balance this. Punch will free up 2 slots, and Aim and BU are good at 3, but it might be too early for that (you gain 3-4 sec w/ each, but you could put these elsewhere.
Oh, and when/if you get Total Focus, you'll need to have a nice new emote to go with it!
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Thano you for your look at my character and I do agree with you that I dont like cookie cutter builds either. I must build according to my chracter vision and my play style.
I do love flying.. Flight gets dissed alot because its not the fastest travel power.. However it is the most versatile, especially for blasters. Being able to stay out of melee range is very very critical to survival. I will be using six slotted hover definitely as it fits my play style.
I have decided to use stealth and SS since I have hasten already. I will make SS part of my OVERRIDE mode ( since they have the same color anyway ).. This will go well when I get NOVA to for my... Death from Above... emote drop out the sky with SS and Stealth on.. BAM !!!!! Death from Above...
My end right now is fine.. because I am not a huge hasten user but I will start slotting Stamina like mad the next few levels.
I will be getting rid of Air Superiority for Power Blast.. I figure if you fly up that close u deserve a MASSIVE attack in the face and the range is definitely better..
Thanks for the advice...
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, it is a fun build. =)
I just want to say that I have enjoyed reading this guide very much, I had started an Energy/Energy Blaster once but found I lacked the knowledge of the powers to make my first Blaster useful beyond being just canon fodder for the mobs. So I started all over again from scratch. A couple of notes though, I noticed on several build plans that they didn't use stealth or used it very late in the build, to me that was a mistake, I took it at level 6 and never regretted it, the same goes for Build up, I took it at level 4. My biggest reason was that if I went alone into a mission with a known Boss, I wanted to get rid of his cronnies first from a distance with sniper shot and then build up and sniper his buns from a distance, you'd be surprised how fast they drop afterwards. My second reason for taking those two early was if I helped someone as an explar, guess what I still have my big power boosts to keep me alive and help them make it much smoother in the end.
Another note, the power called Energy Torrent, while I do plan to get it, I haven't yet, at lower levels it will agro the heck out of everyone your tanks and scrappers haven't aggroed, and guess what ? You've just been turned into a pile of goo and someone has to either rez or give you an awaken to get you going again. Wait on this power until you reach a point that you can Torrent them, then get out of their range. The Lost with their mind monsters and lizard looking thingies, I forget their names, can't use those powers if their on their butts most of the time. A suggested, mind you I said suggested, would be to use knock back on the power slots to insure they hit the ground. Embarrassingly enough I do have a badge that says I've been held by them for an extended period of time, I blushed 3 shades of red when I suddenly got that badge.
Another note to those who claim SS is a good idea, try running through fault line with only hurdle as your alternate travel power...it takes forever to get through it, I tried it and even with stealth on my side it still took time. I raced a team mate of mine to find the exploration badges and the plaques found in the zone...I lost and they waited for 20 minutes at the gate. They had Fly, the cheater (LOL)
Anyways that's my take on some of this, but the rest is on the money
Dawnstarr
Hey thats the best thing about this thread. It is not a " cookie cutter ' style. Some people like myself build their characters according to concept and not necessarily by min/max... Your playstyle works for you... awesome !!!! and thats what makes this a great post everyone shares individual ideas and it helps someone else !!!
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-
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A suggested, mind you I said suggested, would be to use knock back on the power slots to insure they hit the ground. Embarrassingly enough I do have a badge that says I've been held by them for an extended period of time, I blushed 3 shades of red when I suddenly got that badge.
Dawnstarr
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Great points Dawnstarr. Just one thing, knockback enhancements won't increase the chance of knockback, but they will increase the distance of knockback. Each power has an inherent chance to KB, with powers like Nova, Power Thrust and Power Push having higher % chances.
Oh and don't feel embarrassed about getting the held badge. When badges came out and the respec trial was all wonky I got my first debt badge that day!
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MSKnight--just wanted to thank you for your very detailed look at my build! I haven't responded yet because you gave me so much to think about. I've already made a few changes.What do you think of adding one range enh to Power Burst? Would it then be as long ranged as Power Bolt or Power Blast? That might be a nice addition to my ranged attacks, too, along with PP.
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You're welcome Jury.
Power Burst has a base range of 20' whereas bolt/blast have 80'. Each SO will increase range by 20%, so that'll only be 24' for Burst. I tried it and it wasn't enough of a difference to me. Stacking SS and stealth I can get close enough to a grp so that I can buff up, snipe (longest animation), then combo w/ some string of bolt/blast/burst. W/ good control over your travel power you can quickly move farther out to use bolt/blast then come in for burst. BTW P Push has a range of 70' I think, maybe 80' but no further.
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Kinda the opposite of what MsKnight is saying, in one of those rare moments that lag works for us rather than against us, if you have superspeed you can stay at range for bolt and blast, then click power burst, and then superspeed through the mob cluster. Power burst will begin to activate as soon as you are in range, but by the time the game "senses" that you are in range, you are on the far side of the group, and way out of melee harms way. In essense, burst will fire from outside its range, as long as you can SS into range for a second. I unslotted range out of burst once I got superspeed.
This also works well, with some practice, for things like total focus. Even the villians seem to take a moment to switch from ranged to melee attacks, if they are in the middle of a ranged attack animation and you pull this superspeed trick on them, they will not be able to melee you, but total focus will activate and hit them while you are dozens of yards away. SS skimming a villian so you graze melee range does take some practice. But the nice thing is that if TF misses, there is no melee counterattack, and if you try this on something like a mesmerist, and you actually get slept, at least you wont be sleeping in the middle of the mobs and in sword range.
People say all energy blasters are the same, and those people are not energy blasters I've been in teams with four, count 'um, four energy/energy blasters, and I could tell us all apart by play styles even if you replaced our avatars in-game with identical character appearances. The SS zip-around-like-a-maniac thing, firing in different directions and thwacking things with TF, that would be me.
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I have an Energy/Energy blaster, your tactics seem alot like my tactics.
You say you should have haste from your power pools. I haven't taken that power in 22 levels, and I don't find that I am 'gimped'.
I do have stamina though. I find my endurance goes quickly.
I usually two slot all my attacks with accuracies, just to make sure they hit. is that too much? Is one slotting my attacks enough?
The kill a boss, and LT is definitely what I find. I remember at level 18 fighting level 19 bosses, that my level 20 scrapper would find it hard to fight without inspirations, all on a build up, aim, and Snipe, Power Burst, and a couple of power bolts.
It was so fun.
I would say that at level 22 you can start buying SO's. One SO will be fine for you to hit most targets especialy with aim.
You can have a fine build without hasten. I did it for 24 levels. But imagine this.. Imagine having build up and aim available every 30 seconds.. Thats a huge buff to your attacks every thirty seconds and even better if you alternate them between attacks. And when u get to Power Boost and Boost range you will want them up faster to.
SO while not having hasten doesnt " gimp " you. Having hasten does help you.
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-
Hey! Regarding two accuracies, I'd def. say that one SO in them will be good mid-game (20s-39), esp. with build up/accuracy.
Now here's a twist. Since Energy is a boss-killer AT and bosses are harder to hit than Lts/Minions you might want to consider this (I did consided it before I hit 50). IF you want to target say +2 or higher bosses consistantly AND you want to alternate BU and aim, consider a 2nd accuracy. It's harder to hit bosses higher than +1, but if you can it we still dmg well. They offer good xp, but when I used 1 acc SO they were poor xp/minute and dmg/min.
Hey! Regarding two accuracies, I'd def. say that one SO in them will be good mid-game (20s-39), esp. with build up/accuracy.
Now here's a twist. Since Energy is a boss-killer AT and bosses are harder to hit than Lts/Minions you might want to consider this (I did consided it before I hit 50). IF you want to target say +2 or higher bosses consistantly AND you want to alternate BU and aim, consider a 2nd accuracy. It's harder to hit bosses higher than +1, but if you can it we still dmg well. They offer good xp, but when I used 1 acc SO they were poor xp/minute and dmg/min.
Hey folks just needed a question answered if you guys can.
If I have Aim 6 slotted what would the recharge be?
Thanks...
As always..
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Hey folks just needed a question answered if you guys can.
If I have Aim 6 slotted what would the recharge be?
Thanks...
As always..
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Ryker MsKnight has a post on page 2 of this thread with all of the sets recharges and what not. According to his diagram if you have permahasten with 6 recharges both buildup and aim will have a 24 second recharge. meaning on 10 seconds down 14.
The Legion of Freedom
Thanks Snipe I couldnt find it but thats ok.
Just to let everyone know that the build I had posted in another thread is doing great. Last night I leveled to 37 and added some more slots to bolt and blast and enjoyed the extra damage and accuracy they brought to the game. So these guides do work.
But anywho, I hope everyone has a great x-mas and happy new year cuz Ill be home spending time with the munchkins... See you all next year.
As always...
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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.
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There you go.
The Legion of Freedom
Tested (L50 Nemsis minions)
Temp Invul:
Le/Smashing: 22.8% resist (close to States posted target of 22.75%, probable difference due to rounding/decimals)
Personal FF: 28% damage resist (Le/Smashing and Fire tested)
TI + PFF: 51% resistance to Le/Sm, 28% resist to fire.
PFF base recharge speed 30 seconds w/o Hasten.
Heh guess I cant read, but then again Im at school working on a character model and not really paying attention.
Thanks alot and hope to see everyone Sunday if not I'll catch up with you all next year.
As always...
So Basically 6 slotting Aim and Build up would be overkill.. Optimally 4 recharge SO's seems to be the best balance from what I see.
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-
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So Basically 6 slotting Aim and Build up would be overkill.. Optimally 4 recharge SO's seems to be the best balance from what I see.
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definate overkill. 4 should be the max as with that and perma-hasten you can cycle through pretty much non stop between aim and build up.
The Legion of Freedom
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Temp Invul:
Le/Smashing: 22.8% resist (close to States posted target of 22.75%, probable difference due to rounding/decimals)
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Really? I was getting somewhere around 29 -30 % maybe I wrote something down wrong 
@Deadboy
MSKnight--just wanted to thank you for your very detailed look at my build! I haven't responded yet because you gave me so much to think about. I've already made a few changes.
That said, I like your thoughts about TF and I'm going to try it out once I get it and see if I like it. I don't like Melee much, but I do love the idea of disorienting bosses.
I've never heard anyone promote Power Push the way you have...you're making me think it could be a good addition to my build!
What do you think of adding one range enh to Power Burst? Would it then be as long ranged as Power Bolt or Power Blast? That might be a nice addition to my ranged attacks, too, along with PP.