Freedom Fury's Issue 5 AR/Dev Guide
By
deadboy_champion,
Posted on: 2005-10-04 19:34 in Player Guides
Addendum and errata:
1. Ignite can miss on high level mobs. While it appears to be hitting the target, ignite issues out less ticks on damage. Accuracy bonus is +100%, but ignite can miss. Ignite does not require line of sight to hit. You can use this power around corners.
2. Buckshot and M30 grendade will not knockback opposition when the mob is +2 or more. The effect will be a knockdown.
3. Full auto has a chance for a critical for each of the 18 ticks of damage it does. This shows up as double damage. This critical chance has always been there but most players (including myself) often forget about it.
4. Full auto now has a 60 second instead of a 25 second recharge. This was a change in Issue 5.
nice guide.
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nice guide.
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Isn't it a bit out of date with mention of perma hasten and six slotting damage and all. Don't see any reason for you to bump something before ED.
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nice guide.
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Isn't it a bit out of date with mention of perma hasten and six slotting damage and all. Don't see any reason for you to bump something before ED.
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Even though it's a bit out of date - FF goes into tactical as well. Perhaps the above poster liked what FF described and wasn't really trying to "bump" it moreso just comment on FF's thoughts.
@Deadboy
nice guide. I am trying to finalize another respec for my AR/dev blaster, who has been frustrating.
Is an ED/i6 update gonna come out.
Seems there has been dev recognition that this build is disadvantaged - any i7 fixes you are aware of?
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Is an ED/i6 update gonna come out.
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IIRC FF posted an ED build but I alas it never made it to here before it was beleted.
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Seems there has been dev recognition that this build is disadvantaged - any i7 fixes you are aware of?
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Other than what's been posted in the test forums on a thread by Revolver Law I've yet to see anything of Red name status for Devices 
. However a large number of suggestions have been made in the Blaster forums.
@Deadboy
Is this guide still use-able with i9?
Power selection and tactically speaking sure but what I9 brings is IO set bonuses which are completely tailorable based on you how much influence you have, the market and which direction you which to go to.
Take a peek at www.paragonwiki.com for more info. Basically list your powers out then list out what type of Sets and Bonuses you're going after....
@Deadboy
As Deadboy said if you are interested in how the powers play and how to use them to gain success then this is still a very useful guide to any AR Dev Blaster.
What it will require is that you can keep the changes of ED in mind for the slotting (simple rule, no more than 3 of the same SO in a power).
The I9 changes are pretty much the same for everyone so any commentary on them will be useful for you to read. I would start with Paragonwikis very comprehensive pages on the Invention System.
There are some things that will be useful to any character (like increased End Recovery) and to any character without Status Protection (like Knock Back Protection), but otherwise the IO Sets you might want to pursue are the ones that have the bonuses that look good to you and the ones that you can get the recipes and salvage together for. The last point can be a killer as some of the rare salvage needed for the more powerful Sets is going for very high prices at the moment, up to 5 Million Inf a piece.
Regards, Screwloose.
I am not young enough to know everything.
How to Look Stuff Up Yourself - It's Fun and Easy
Looking for Powers Numbers try City of Data.
For Fraks sake read the Guides and FAQs
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Version Control
Draft version posted 3/8/05
Proofed 1.0 version posted 3/9/05
- Added strategy section
- Corrected several word smithing issues
- Added information about APPs, inherent accuracy and smoke grenade features
Draft version 2.0 posted for public review 10/1/05
- Brought guide up to issue 5 changes
Public version 2.0 posted 10/4/05
Credits and References
I would like to first acknowledge the many knowledgeable posters who have made this guide possible. In particular, MrBurke for his Assault Rifle/Devices Damage Guide; Deadboy_Champion for his expertise on all things devices and his research on ancilliary power pools; my fellow Legion of Freedom members: Bayani, Faou, Karma Cop, Kurse Darkstone, MsKnight, Ohms, Rainbow Avenger and SnipeFu; and Revolver_Law for furthering knowledge of the AR/Devices set with his well reasoned and well researched posts. Much of this work has been liberally borrowed from their research and I would like to express my gratitude upfront.
Introduction
Assault Rifle/Devices is a power set with an infamous legacy. A power set favored by power gamers in the early days of Paragon City, this blaster combination has had numerous balance changes through the issues. In issue 1 and 2, caltrops and smoke grenade were changed. Both powers were adjusted to prevent exploits that made arresting villains nearly risk free. In Issue 4 and 5, suppression, global defense changes and a reduction to full auto has made the Issue 5 version of the AR/Devices blaster less powerful than its earlier incarnation. Nonetheless, what remains is a balanced but still very potent power set that lends itself to a methodical style of play. If you like plowing ahead, attacking at will, this set is not for you. A well-speced AR/Dev blaster can successfully take on any configuration of enemies in the game short of an archvillain. It is an extremely good solo build, is flexible enough to work with any group and offers a mix of single target and area of effect (AoE) attacks for sources of damage.
This guide is written to bring the knowledge of the AR/Dev power set in line with the changes made to the game with Issue 5. The most significant changes instituted by Issue 4 was the introduction of player versus player (PvP) combat and the suppression in travel powers used during combat. This guide focuses on the player versus environment (PvE) game. I detail PvP options and strategy in a small section at the end of this guilde. The most significant changes for the AR/Dev blaster instituted by Issue 5 were the aforementioned changes to defense powers, the increase in the recharge for full auto and an AoE limit of 10 imposed on all ranged cone attacks (affects buckshot, flame thrower and full auto).
Powers Overview
The Assault Rifle primary has one of the more unique activation animations in the game. Upon activating one of the attack powers, a combination assault rifle-flame thrower-shot gun magically appears in the hands of your hero. This Franken gun remains in your heros hands during combat, but will disappear after a short time if unused. The activation takes only a second, but it is a full second that your hero has to spend in drawing her gun before shooting. A lot can happen in the City of Heroes in the span of a second, so many experienced players have their heros gun out before attempting to arrest any villains. This activation animation also has an impact on the use of powers that does not involve pulling out your Franken-gun: the gun has to be put away, and then redrawn when using one of your secondary powers in between attacks.
Primary
Assault Rifle has a good mixture of single target and AoE attacks. The main type of damage is Lethal / Smashing. There are many villain groups that are resistant to this damage type in the latter parts of the game, so this is a disadvantage in the late game. To compensate, many of the assault rifle powers have an inherent accuracy bonus of five to one hundred percent. The use of targeting drone from the secondary power set increases the accuracy of the power set even more. The primary power set also contains two powers that deal mostly fire damage and possibly the best ranged disorienting power in the game. The slotting recommendations assume Single Origin (SO) enhancements are being used.
Burst a quick DoT (damage over time) attack that damages a single target four times in rapid succession. Burst also slightly debuffs a targets defense; however, in my experience, this debuff is so negligible that it can be ignored. Still, the power is fast, endurance efficient with decent range. It is an excellent power to use for pulling early in your heros career. The damage type is 100% lethal.
Recommended slotting: 6 damage enhancements
Slug A single target attack that does 100% lethal type damage. The damage comes in the form a single attack volley that has a chance to knockback the target. This is AR/Devs bread and butter single target attack, and is used from the time your hero acquires the power all the way to security level 50.
Recommended slotting: 6 damage enhancements
Buckshot An attack consisting of 100% lethal damage that spreads out from the rifle in a 30 degree cone out to a 40-foot range. This is the first available AoE attack that can be chosen from the Assault Rifle power set. The attack offers more chance to knockback the opposition than slug, but does roughly 60 percent of the base damage. From a damage over time perspective, buckshot is more efficient than either burst or slug if it damages more than three villains within its cone area of effect. With the AoE limits in Issue 5, buckshot can affect up to 10 villains in its cone.
Slotting alternatives:
4 - 6 damage enhancements as damaging power
3 damage and 3 range increase enhancements less damage but with more range (and hence wider cone); range = 64 with 3 range increases.
3 damage and 1 knockback distance enhancements as a pseudo-control / knockback power with the ability to finish off villains with minimal health remaining. Please note: knockback enhancements only increase the range to which opponents are knocked back not the percentage of its occurrence
M30 Grenade An AoE attack that does a mixture of lethal (67%) and smashing (33%) damage. The attack is circular and damages villains centered around a targeted enemy. The attack does roughly the same amount of damage as buckshot, but uses more endurance and has a longer recharge. On the positive side, it knocks back foes better than slug and has a significantly longer range. Unfortunately, the power does not take additional knockback enhancements. With the AoE limits in Issue 5, M30 can affect up to 16 villains as a ranged AoE.
Recommended slotting: 4 6 damage enhancements as a damaging power.
(Note: M30 does not take knockback enhancements; what a pity!)
Beanbag A single target disorient (stun) that deals minimal smashing damage. This power can stun any minion or lieutenant with a single application. Two applications can stun a boss and possibly an archvillain. Range is around 60 feet, but the fact that it can be used at a distance without drawing agro makes it indispensable to temporarily remove a troublesome opponent out of a fight. This power is not typically slotted for damage but to increase the potential stun (disorient) duration and to cut down on its recharge time. This power is much underrated and almost mandatory to take to survive the late game.
Slotting alternatives (will vary depending on length of stun desired and whether or not another disorienting power is chosen in the players secondary). Please also note that the stun duration of beanbag was reduced in issue 4. It now has a default stun duration of approximately ten seconds for an even level minion.
Recommended slotting:
1 disorient duration enhancement
1 - 3 disorient duration and 1 3 recharge enhancements
Sniper Rifle The most damaging single target attack with the longest range of all attacks in the power set. Sniper rifle takes about five seconds to activate, during which it can be interrupted (the power deactivates if your hero is damaged or when your hero moves). With the potential for interruptions and a recharge time of about 12 seconds, sniper rifle is often used as a single-target alpha strike (the strike that initiates combat with the opposition). Sniper rifle delivers 100% lethal damage but does roughly 40% more base damage than slug. Even with its disadvantages, sniper rifle has great tactical value in that it allows the delivery of superior damage at range and time to activate other attacks as the opposition closes. Sniper rifle also has an inherent accuracy bonus of 25%.
Slotting alternatives:
6 damage enhancements as a damaging power
4 5 damage, 1 interrupt reduction and/or 1 range enhancements as a damaging power to be used during combat and not just as an alpha strike
Flame Thrower An AoE attack that damages opposition up to 40 feet in a 45 degree cone. Flame thrower delivers 100% fire damage over eight ticks approximately one second apart. Flame thrower has an inherent accuracy of 30%. Because it is fire damage, this attack is useful against lethal/smashing resistant opposition that becomes more prevalent in the late game. Also, much of the undead opposition (Banished Pantheon, Council Vampyrs) are highly susceptible to fire. Damage is superior and over eight seconds, does approximately 70% more base damage than burst (assuming both powers are unslotted the difference is more when both are fully slotted with damage enhancements).
The drawbacks to this power are that on activation, flame thrower will root your hero for one to two seconds, allowing the opposition ample time for a counterattack. Further since the damage is delivered over eight seconds, villains can often fire off counter attacks even though they are eventually arrested by the total damage delivered.
Flame thrower and buckshot has exactly the same range but a 15 degree difference in the width of their cones. With the AoE limits in Issue 5, flame thrower can affect up to 10 villains in its cone. One additional item of note is that the cone affects all villains at the point when the power is activated even if they are subsequently knocked out of the area of effect. You can witness this anomaly when you activate flame thrower right after mobs are knocked back from a trip mine. The mobs are still affected even if they are no longer in the area of effect.
Recommended slotting: 6 damage enhancements
Ignite Another AoE attack that functions differently than the other AoEs in the power set. Ignite delivers 100% fire type damage and is targeted to a location rather than an enemy. Because it is a locational storm type power, ignite has an inherent accuracy 100%. Ignite will not miss unless you are targeting very high level mobs (+6 level mobs for example). Ignite is a controversial power because of several features. Because it shows up as a patch of fire, villains can step out of the patch to prevent further fire damage. The patch is also fairly small and it is difficult to enclose many villains in the patch without using the environment (e.g., herding the enemies against a wall to have multiple enemies occupy the same space). Ignite also delivers damage over 30 rapid ticks and while the damage over time is substantive, uncontrolled enemies can launch counterattacks during the period they are taking damage. Some players love the damage, the fact that the power never misses and that ignite takes up little endurance. Others consider the power useless or situational unless the mob is somehow held or controlled in place while the damage over time takes place. With the AoE limits in Issue 5, ignite can affect up to 16 villains; however, the area of effect is quite small and it is difficult to get more than 4 or 5 in the ignite field.
Recommended slotting: 4 6 damage enhancements
Full Auto the final and defining power of the primary power set. As an AoE attack, full auto delivers 18 ticks of 100% lethal damage over a spread of 5 to 6 seconds. Full auto has an inherent accuracy bonus of 35% which makes it among the most accurate of the primary powers. The damage is delivered in a narrow 10 degree cone with an 80 foot range. While at first the narrow width of the cone seems limiting, players discover that they can almost always enclose the entire targeted mob in the cone by just backing up from the target. Damage delivered by full auto is superior and with six damage enhancements, full auto will arrest even con opposition with a single application. As an additional bonus, full auto has a short recharge (25 seconds) and will not leave your hero drained of endurance like the other level 32 blaster powers. The short recharge means that with perma-hasten (hasten is active all the time), your hero can fire off her full auto attack every 13 seconds (sometimes multiple times per battle).
The drawbacks to this power is that the power delivers 100% lethal damage, delivers the damage over time and will root your hero during the 5 to 6 second length of the full auto animation. The last drawback (the 5 to 6 second root) is potentially the worst drawback because enemies can run up to your hero and deliver a powerful attack while your hero is still occupied with going through the full auto animation. Skilled players, however, have learned to mitigate this drawback significantly.
Like flame thrower, full autos cone affects all villains at the point when the power is activated even if they are subsequently knocked out of the area of effect. Mobs are still affected even if they are no longer in the area of effect.
Recommended slotting for PvE and PvP: 6 damage enhancements
Secondary
Devices is considered, along with Energy, to be the most complete and full-featured secondary power sets. There are no powers in this secondary that are useless, and several powers in the set are very good. The set adds defense, offense, utility and control; it is a bag of tricks that no other secondary can match. The only drawback of this power set is the lack of build up which can allow a blaster to significantly increase her damage for ten seconds. To compensate, this set possesses targeting drone which enables an AR/Dev blaster to slot every attack power with only damage enhancements and trip mine, the best AoE attack power from a secondary power set.
Web Grenade A single target immobilize that snares the affected target in webbing that immobilizes it to the ground. The affected target cannot move, but can fire off ranged attacks. The power is also useful for grounding flying opponents such as Outcast Shockers and Freakshow Stunners. Although it cannot be slotted, web grenade also offers a small recharge effect. Also, two applications will immobilize a boss great to know when you are taking on Paragon Protectors. Multiple applications of web grenade has a very noticeable effect on a villains attack rate. Range is about 50 feet.
Slotting alternatives:
1 2 immobilization duration enhancements
1 accuracy enhancement shorter duration but better chance to stick the effect
Caltrops An AoE slow that also delivers a small amount of damage. Caltrops are thrown by the AR/Dev blaster as a patch spikes on the ground. Enemies within the patch as it is thrown or traversing through an existing patch have their movement slowed and take a small amount of damage. The power is useful to create a barrier between your hero and incoming melee damagers. The opposition will either be slowed by the caltrops or will have to move around them to get to your hero. This power is typically not slotted for damage but for the slow effect; the damage done by this power is very minor. Note: caltrops has been buffed for PvP in Issue 4 to make it effect super speeding and super jumping heroes.
Recommended slotting: 1 3 slow enhancements
Taser A single target melee disorient. Taser stuns minions and lieutenants with a single application and stuns bosses with two applications. The biggest drawback to this power is that has to be delivered as a melee attack, at close range. Taser stacks with beanbag in the primary set in that they both are disorienting attacks. Taser and beanbag attacks delivered in succession have enough magnitude to stun bosses. By switching between taser and beanbag, you can achieve perma-stun, a state in which the effected boss target is perpetually stunned and thereby helpless to resist your other damaging powers or to retaliate. The stun lasts approximately 10 seconds on even level opposition.
Slotting alternatives:
1 disorient duration enhancement (just as a means to stack stuns with a more fully slotted beanbag)
1 2 disorient duration and 1 2 recharge enhancements
Targeting Drone Possibly one of the best secondary powers in the game if it didnt also come with possibly the most annoying background sound in the game. Targeting drone conjures up a small metallic cube that circle around your hero adding a significant boost to accuracy when active. With some investment in enhancement slots, targeting drone will allow your hero to slot all her ranged attack powers with all damage enhancements, forgoing accuracy enhancements. Targeting drone works with all of the primary attack powers but does not provide an accuracy boost to ignite, caltrops, trip mine, time bomb or auto turret. There are no reliable numbers on how this power boosts accuracy, but generally most players find that three or more enhancements reliably allows their heroes to hit up to red con enemies. As a general rule of thumb: 1 enhancement to hit up to yellow, 2 enhancements to hit up to orange, 3 enhancements to hit up to red, 4 or more enhancements if taking on purples.
Slotting alternatives:
3 6 tohit buff enhancements
3 5 tohit buff and 1 endurance reduction enhancements
Smoke Grenade A targeted, AoE accuracy debuff that appears as a dark cloud discharged from a lobbed grenade. This power was fixed in Issue 2 as to not provide near 100% accuracy debuff (for a while, smoke grenade became the only defense that a blaster needed).
Smoke Grenade's debuff did not change in Issue 5; however, the to hit rate of mobs have:
Reduced Lt. base Accuracy to 57.5%.
Reduced Boss base Accuracy to 65%
Reduced Elite Boss base Accuracy.
Reduced ArchVillain base Accuracy from 90% to 75%
Reduced Giant Monster base Accuracy from 90% to 75%
Accuracy debuffs work a little differently than defense enhancements in that it lowers a mobs chance to hit versus increasing your defensive elusiveness. An unslotted smoke grenade is a 10% accuracy debuff. An even con minion has normally a 50% chance to hit you. Smoke grenade degrades 10% of the minions accuracy, (10% of 50% is 5%) which is 5%. So a even con minion which is affected by an unslotted smoke grenade on will have a 45% chance to hit you 50% - (10% of 50%) = 45%
Fully slotted with 6 accuracy debuff enhancements smoke grenade provides almost a 30% accuracy debuff:
10% * (1 + 6 [.33]) = 29.8 % or rounded up to 30%
Aside from Elite Bosses here are the new values for smoke grenade:
Even level mob percentage to hit when affected by a 6-slotted smoke grenade / normal chances to hit
Minion: 35 % / 50%
Lt: 40.25% / 57.5%
Boss: 45.5% / 65%
Elite Boss: Unknown
AV/Monster: 52.5% / 75%
Smoke grenades effect does not stack if thrown by a single blaster; in fact, the previous debuff is removed and then reapplied. The power does stack if thrown by multiple blasters.
The power also provides stealth in that smoke grenade significantly reduces the aggro range of affected mobs. This allows the AR/Dev blaster to give her party the ability to skip some troublesome mobs and functions as a poor mans invisibility.
The drawbacks of this power are that since smoke grenade is targeted, it can miss and is something you must remember to throw before engaging the enemy. Also, since Issue 4, smoke grenade can aggro a mob if thrown to closely to the mob! The advantages are that it provides benefits to the entire party (both stealth and accuracy debuff) and is a click-power which does not have a continual drain on endurance. Further, smoke grenade is still effective even when your hero is stunned this is an underrated aspect of this power.
In PvE play, the easiest way to throw a smoke grenade without aggroing a mob is to activate the power and then run towards the mob. The smoke grenade animation will trigger as you run the maximum of the smoke grenade throwing range. This is a near fool proof method of applying smoke grenade. In previous issues, a devices blaster was able to throw smoke grenade in the middle of a mob without fear of reprisals. In Issue 5, throwing a smoke grenade in the middle of a mob (even if the blaster is stealthed by other means) will cause them to notice the blaster (they will then attack!) One additional note: issue 4 introduced suppression which disables stealth and stealth like powers for 10 seconds after an attack. This unfortunately affects smoke grenade. So in the event that you are able to defeat a mob quicker than 10 seconds, applications of smoke grenade within that window of suppression will not provide stealth (though it will still provide the accuracy debuff).
Slotting alternatives:
1 tohit debuff enhancements useful for stealth only (must be used carefully)
6 tohit debuff enhancements useful for stealth and as a defensive power
Cloaking Device An improved stealth power. Provides full invisibility unless right next to the villain mob. Cloaking device, unlike the stealth pool power, does not have a movement penalty. Like stealth, cloaking device stacks with super speed to provide improved invisibility which will make your hero undetectable except for villains such as snipers or Rikti drones who have improved powers of perception. Cloaking device also provides some minimal defense (numbers not known in Issue 5) with a 20% improvement with each slotted defense buff SO enhancement. The global defense changes impacted this power severely in Issue 5. I no longer recommend slotting this power at all, though I do recommend that the power be taken for its stealth. Changes in Issue 5:
* The defense value of cloaking device is reduced
* Upon attacking, 50% of the defense of cloaking device is suppressed
* Cloaking device is subject to stealth suppression which disables stealth/invisibility for 10 seconds after the last attack.
Recommended slotting: 1 endurance reduction enhancement
Trip Mine The defining power in the devices secondary. Trip mine when activated, creates a small bomb that is triggered when a villain wanders close to its proximity. A trip mine can be triggered like an attack by stealthing into close range and laying a mine at the feet of the villain group, generating an automatic explosion. There is approximately a one second delay from the detection of a nearby villain and the triggering of the explosion. Smart AR/Dev blasters can take advantage of this, by backing off from the set mine and then launching an AoE attack to add additional damage to that of the exploding mine. Trip mines can also be set as a trap: multiple trip mines are deployed in a rough patch and a villain group is pulled into it by a snipe or an AoE attack. The closing villain group is arrested as they try to close the distance and trigger the mines.
Because of suppression, trip mines are trickier to set in Issue 5. Revolver Law put together a very nice guide on this subject.
Trip mines have a 5 second activation time and roughly a 20 second recharge. With perma-hasten, your hero can deploy about 12 15 mines depending on the configuration of your trip mine enhancements before they start disappearing. A mine will self-destruct and explode within 4 ½ minutes of its initial deploying whether or not there is a villain group near it.
Slotting alternatives:
1 accuracy and 5 damage enhancements - "standard" slotting
1 recharge and 5 damage enhancements - for more but less accurate mines
6 damage enhancement less accurate, but bigger boom
Time Bomb A timed version of trip mine with a much longer activation time (10 seconds), a longer recharge time (about 5 minutes) and much more damage. Time bomb is controversial because of its long setup time and recharge. Because of this, it does not appeal to some players. Even with these disadvantages, time bomb is the most damaging power of the entire AR/Dev set and the only thing within the power set that rivals the damage of the other level 32 blaster nukes. One interesting application of time bomb is stacking it with trip mine: a time bomb can be timed so that its explosion coincides with the explosion of a trip mine.
Slotting alternatives:
1 accuracy and 2 damage enhancements
1 accuracy, 3 damage and 2 recharge enhancements
Auto Turret A stationary pet in the form of a gun turret. The auto turret attacks with 14 discharges of burst equivalent damage over a period of two minutes. Many AR/Dev blasters do not like the meager damage provided by this power and opt to respecify the power out of their builds. What many do not understand is that auto turret is actually a defensive power. While its offense output is meager to decent, it does grab attention / aggro and is excellent in situations where you want the villain alpha strike to hit a pet instead of teammate. In this capacity, auto turret is an excellent defensive power that is useful in taking on archvillains and the boss pairs that show up in the latter parts of the game. Auto turret can be buffed with powers from the leadership pool, made invisible, given a bubble by a force field defender, given more damage from a kinetics defenders fulcrum shift and moved around with teleport friend.
Slotting alternatives:
1 2 accuracy and 1 5 damage enhancements
1 2 accuracy and 1 5 recharge enhancements
1 2 accuracy, 1 2 damage, 1 2 recharge enhancements
6 recharges (you can bring out two turrets at a time!)
Build
I really debated whether or not I should post a build in this guide or not. I consciously decided against it because I prefer not to dictate how you should have fun. If you want a fairly cookie cutter build template, try a search and youll find one. I believe strongly though that the AR/Dev set lends itself to unconventional builds because of pseudo-control powers built into its primary and secondary. Within the power set, you have two disorients, one immobilize, one AoE slow, one aggro-grabbing pet and a whole slew of powers that cause knockback. Experiment, research, ask questions and have fun!
With that said, consider the following as recommendations versus hard and fast have-tos.
IMHO, best powers in each set:
Primary: burst, slug, beanbag, sniper rifle, flame thrower, full auto
Secondary: targeting drone, cloaking device, trip mine
General recommendations for slotting:
* Main attack powers: 6 slot with damage. Other slotting schemes are viable but this is the generally accepted standard.
* Trip mine, time bomb, auto turret: require at least 1 accuracy enhancement because they are not affected by targeting drone. The rest should be damage.
* Targeting drone: 3 or more slots will enable you to hit just about everything within reason
* Cloaking device: 1 endurance reduction
Some considerations:
* Flight, teleport and super jump movement powers all work well with this power set, but I give a slight advantage to super speed because it stacks with cloaking device. If you dont want to take cloaking device and still want to use trip mines, take stealth from the concealment pool or take smoke grenade. Two stealth powers or smoke grenade will allow you to move up close to a villain mob and deploy a trip mine at the feet of your target.
* Hasten will halve power recharge times and is a prerequisite to super speed. You dont need hasten in your build to be effective but it is useful, and I would recommend it. It especially helps in reducing the recharge of your long recharge powers (trip mine, time bomb, auto turret).
* The fitness pool is highly recommended, especially for stamina which you should take between levels 20 24.
* If you want defense, Id recommend slotting smoke grenade instead of taking the fighting pool. You end up with more defensive capabilities but with two power choices taken instead of three. Further, the fighting pool powers were both reduced and their endurance costs were increased in Issue 5. Otherwise, wait for the APPs. APPs such as munitions mastery (body armor) and force mastery (temporary invulnerability, force of nature) and the armors in Flame and Electric mastery provide better than adequate defense.
* Of all the APPs, Munitions Master is the most thematic since it uses the same gun used for other AR attacks; however, you can argue that it may not be the most effective APP from a numbers perspective.
For more information about APPs, check out Deadboy_Champions Guide on Blaster Ancilliary Pools.
Build Variations
For a group friendly blaster: take caltops (always nice to be able to set up barriers) smoke grenade (group stealth, group accuracy debuff), beanbag (nice to stun that lieutenant or boss away from your fellow squishies) and auto turret (nice to be able to offer a pet that can add to group damage and take boss / archvillain alpha strikes.
For a boss killing blaster: take taser and beanbag (they stack together for perma-stun), auto turret (great aggro grabber), trip mine (great AoE alpha strike), time bomb (can stack with trip mine) and smoke grenade (accuracy debuffs is even more effective on bosses and lieutenants than minions).
For a blaster that is effective, long-range support for archvillain hunting: take trip mine (to set traps), auto turret (soak up initial archvillain alpha strikes) and ignite (when an archvillain is held or controlled, it is the most endurance efficient damager in the AR/Dev set).
Hunting advice
In past issues, AR/Dev players would advise others to eschew missions in favor of straight street hunting. This is no longer conventional wisdom. In Issue 3 and subsequently in Issue 5, the group xp bonus, mission completion bonus and the mission difficulty slider makes performing missions with a group of heroes more rewarding and more fun than going about it alone. Further, in Issue 5, a hero only suffers 50% debt for defeats in missions compared to the 100% just street hunting.
So why street hunt? Well, for one thing, the AR/Dev set excels at it. Also, due to time constraints or if you are like me, a player who plays at odd hours, grouping may not be a feasible alternative. The most important reason, however, is mob configuration. When your hero first start getting your AoE attacks, certain zones are full of enemies that are just begging to be arrested. Cases in point: the cluster of Family muscle men in Independence Port, the huddle of Council in Brickstown, the Freakshow in Creys Folly or the twin lines of Nemesis Jaegers in Peregrine Island. Your primary prey will be minions and lieutenants. With your AoEs, youll arrest them in bunches. Not much can stand up to a trip mine and a burst from full auto. Eat a small rage inspiration, and youll find that you can arrest up to red minions with ease.
Brief guide to places to hunt / do missions:
Lvls 1 5: Do your first contact missions. This will get you to level 5 in about 30 minutes.
Lvls 5 9: Two choices: Kings Row for soloers; the Hollows for groups. I prefer Kings Row, especially the Lost around the North end of the Gish, and the higher level mobs that can be found in High Park or King Garment Works.
Lvls 10 14: The Hollows or Perez Park. In the Hollows, do the Frostfire arc (lots of Outcast mobs and its a nicely designed mission). Hunting blue con skulls or hellions at level 10 and 11 in Perez Park can yield a surprising amount of experience, especially if you solo them. Use caltrops and single target pulling to thin out the larger mobs.
Lvls 12 16: Hunt the Outcasts in Steel Canyon or Trolls in Skyway. Another good alternative is Boomtown, again targeting mostly blue con enemies.
Lvls 15 18: Take on the Lost in the Land of Lost or the higher level mobs in Steel Canyon (Steel Canyon has level 18 baddies near the Green Line Tram)
Lvls 19 22: Lots of options at these levels: Warriors near the entrance to New Thebes (on the road from Skyway); Stirga Island at level 20 (Do the missions! They are very well designed and offer lots of temporary powers.); Independence Port (take on the Family and Council, but be wary of the Tsoo and the Council Werewolves)
Lvls 23 28: Do missions! The Stirga Island and the Independence Port mission contacts offer tons of temporary powers (Wedding Ring, Wolf Whistle, Cryonite Armor, Holy Shotgun Shells, etc.). Past guides have suggested Dark Astoria and Terra Volta, but I believe that hunting is far more profitable elsewhere. Go only to Dark Astoria if you have a 6-slotted flame thrower and beanbag. Otherwise, its not really worth the trouble.
Alternative in Issue 5: Croatoa missions for levels 25 35!
Lvls 29 33: Brickstown lots of spawn. Your AoEs will make short work of them. Ignore the prisoners they give lousy xp. The best targets are the Council when they make form a football huddle perfect for a trip mine attack. Avoid Freak Tanks you can arrest them, but they take forever. Also, stay wary of Crey Energy Tanks and Paragon Protectors both can spell a quick death unless you decided to go with the boss-killer build variant (taser + beanbag).
Lvls 33 35: Founders Falls on both sides of the Red River spawn lots of Circle of Thorns. The Circle have no resistance to Lethal and are easy targets. Also, you can check out Eden and take on the tightly packed Nemesis and Crey minions within that zone.
Lvls 35 37: Do missions! Brickstown near the Zig or take on the Crey and Rikti in Founders Falls
Lvls 38 39: Graduate to Peregrine Island. Stay on the docks and carefully take on the Nemesis there. Trip mine plus full auto should make short work of them there.
Lvls 40+: Portal missions or Shadow Shard. Do missions because this is when archvillains start showing up. Facing an archvillain is among the most exciting things you can do in this game. Dont miss out. You will not be able to solo them, but few ATs can. You can also street hunt Nemesis, Carnies, Rikti and Malta group. Stay with minions or lieutenants and there is nothing you cant handle. Take on bosses, especially Carnie and Rikti mezzers with caution.
Time-tested Strategies
1. Perma-stunning and arresting bosses. Tools: taser, beanbag, trip mine, a stealth power
(a) Stealth to the targeted boss. Use super speed + cloaking device or smoke grenade to achieve the desired invisibility. Make sure you use trip mines and smoke grenades carefully (read the aforementioned advice in this guide!)
(b) Deploy a trip mine at the feet of the boss.
(c) As the trip mine is being deployed, queue up taser. Youre at melee range and invisible so your hero is in no danger.
(d) Attack with taser.
(e) Attack with beanbag.
If the boss is knocked back from the trip mine then you will achieve boss stun without retaliation.
(f) Apply beanbag and/or taser occasionally to maintain the stun.
Arrest at your leisure as the boss drunk walks to its doom.
2. Setting safeties and taking advantage of trip mine knockback. Tools: AoE attacks, trip mine, caltrops
(a) A safety is trip mine set at the point where you will stand to launch AoE attacks. This particularly useful in attacking with full auto or flame thrower which will root you as the attack finishes its animation. The reason why you set a safety is once the AoE is launched the aggroed mob will often close to melee range. The safety will be your insurance policy just in case they are not arrested by your AoE attack. You can also set the mine on top of a patch of caltrops for added safety.
(b) Trip mines have a percentage chance to knock back the affected mob. The mob is knocked back in the opposite direction from which the mine is deployed. So, deploying a mine behind a target, just beyond the trip mine proximity range, can deal a double blow to a target if you set the triggering mine at the feet of the target at the front. The target is knocked back by your triggering trip mine onto the awaiting trip mine. This tactic can be used to arrest bosses or other difficult targets if you opted not to take beanbag or taser for your hero.
3. Mine field. Tools: caltrops, trip mines, any single target attack
The easiest way to arrest difficult targets is to pull them into a group of trip mines in between you and the target. This tactic works best inside door missions in narrow corridors. Outdoors, the villains can opt to run around the mine field (and often do).
(a) Set 3 to 5 mines and throw caltrops on top of them. Caltrops slows the target to give the mines to activate. Set the mines in between your hero and the potential target.
(b) Activate a single target attack or snipe to get the targets attention. Also works great in conjunction with a tankers taunt or scrappers challenge.
4. Double your pleasure, double their pain. Tools: flame thrower, full auto, buckshot (optional)
Flame thrower and full auto can stack causing both DoT powers to inflict damage at the same target at the same time. Please note: can only affect 10 mobs at a time due to AoE limits.
(a) Apply flame thrower to a mob
(b) Back up and then apply full auto to the same mob
You will see two ticks of damage at the same time. Few mobs can stand up against this onslaught.
(Optional) Use buckshot first, and then flame thrower and then full auto to unleash all three cones of damage.
5. Stacking time bomb and trip mine. Tools: time bomb, trip mine
(a) Stealth up to the target(s) of choice
(b) Deploy time bomb
(c) Count to 11 seconds (11 Mississippis)
(d) Activate trip mine
(Optional) Back up with either super speed, sprint or combat jumping and attack with full auto to arrest any stragglers.
This strategy can be used effectively to arrest up to purple minions without resorting to inspirations.
The booby-trapped turret. Tools: auto turret, trip mine, caltrops (optional)
(a) Set a field 3 to 5 trip mines
(Optional)Throw a patch of caltrops on top of the mines
(b) Deploy an auto turret
(Optional) If attacking a boss, try to achieve boss perma-stun by using taser with beanbag. This tactic works great against paired bosses.
Player Versus Player
AR/Devices is possibly one of the most disadvantaged blaster builds in Player versus Player combat. There are a number of reasons for this, but the main reasons are as follows:
* Slow activation times an AR blaster has to draw her weapon before firing. This also has an effect when accessing secondary powers, since a blaster must put away her weapon, lob a grenade or set a mine and then redraw her weapon.
* Mostly lethal damage lethal damage is most resistant damage type among opposing players
* Lack of Aim in Assault Rifle Aim is a great power in PvP because it allows a character to surpass typically unassailable high defense builds. It also increases a characters damage.
* Lack of Build Up in devices Build up allows a character to maximize damage for a short period of time. While this is not essential during PvE fighting, PvP combat favors builds that can provide more high damage bursts versus builds centered on sustained damage.
* Trip mine and time bomb as toggle droppers toggle dropping abilities allows a blaster to remove toggles providing high defense or mez protection. Unless these toggles are removed, certain ATs are difficult to defeat. Other blaster builds have high damaging melee attacks that drop toggles and even stun their opponents. These melee toggle dropping abilities, while risky, are in practice easier to execute. Trip mine and time bomb on the other hand require time to set up and then a means of moving the opposing player on top of the mine. Given the configuration and size of the PvP map arenas, this is difficult to do and choke points are not common. Most devices blasters rely on TP Foe to move an opponent onto the mine(s).
With that said, if you are intent to try your hand at PvP even with these disadvantages, I humbly offer my advice:
1. To be effective in the arena, you will have to respec your AR/Devices blaster to a PvP build. All of your typical opposition will be optimized for PvP, and to have a decent chance, your blaster has to be speced for arena combat.
2. The arena favors builds that offer quick bursts of high damage and the ability to overcome defenses quickly. Without aim and build up, you will not have access to temporary buffs to accuracy. You have instead access to targeting drone. Targeting drone should be 6-slotted with all tohit buffs. This will mitigate somewhat the lack of aim and build up, and will be able to help you reliably hit most opponents.
3. Damage over time powers are not as effective in PvP. This means you need to consider carefully whether or not you have flame thrower and full auto in your build. During the time you are rooted in these attacks, your opponents can come by and hit you with a high damaging melee attack even while taking damage from your attack. Even though they are lower in damage, buckshot and M30 may be more preferable PvP powers than flame thrower and full auto because of their faster activation. All damage attacks should be 6-slotted with damage. Dont use endurance reduction enhancements if you dont defeat your opponents in a few seconds, you will need to run away.
4. Beanbag is the one power in the AR portfolio that makes up for the significant disadvantages. Beanbag is a ranged stun and therefore will affect opponents that use acrobatics as a protection from holds. Beanbag should be heavily slotted with recharge and stun duration enhancements. I recommend allocating 4 6 slots.
5. Prior to Issue 5, I would have advised AR/Dev blasters to bypass cloaking device and instead take the concealment pool to gain access to stealth, invisibility and phase shift. With the changes to phase shift in Issue 5, the argument to take concealment is no longer as compelling. Cloaking device provides some stealth with no movement penalty. And while it doesnt protect as well as invisibility, it also doesnt use up a power pool choice.
6. Teleportation should be one of your power pool choices. With the current implementation of PvP combat, you cannot reliably use trip mines without having Teleport Foe. Teleport Foe should be slotted with at least 2 5 range enhancements. You need to be away from the main battle to use teleport foe and have a safe place to set your trip mines, hence your need for range enhancements.
7. Seriously consider leadership for one of your power pool choices. Stealthed and invisible opponents are quite common and being able to see them before they attack you is an invaluable ability provided by tactics. Other useful powers include assault, which provides taunt resistance and vengeance which provides a number of useful buffs in the event one of your teammates are defeated. Tactics also provides some resistance to fear. Tactics should be slotted with at least two endurance reduction enhancements as it drains a lot of endurance if left on permanently.
8. Suppression-less movement is incredibly important. Most PvP builds use a 6-slotted swift along with sprint, 6-slotted hurdle along with combat jumping or a 6-slotted hover (for a flight speed equal to a lightly enhanced fly). Super speed, super jump and fly are all subject to suppression: a 4 second cool down which reduces your speed to base run and flight speeds. I recommend either going with a 6-slotted hover or just using teleport (which is not subject to suppression). As an AR blaster without melee oriented toggle droppers, you will be fighting at range, so being able to run or jump swiftly to deliver a close range attack is not as crucial as with other blaster builds.
9. Choose your epic power pool carefully. At first glance, munitions mastery looks appealing because the power uses the same gun draw animation as your other AR attacks. Munitions is probably the worst choice to have because of the inferiority of its armor. The armors and protection provided by Flame, Electric and Force Mastery make them a better choice because even though they are toggles, they provide a greater range of protection for damage types and offer superior resistance. The other way to go is choose Cold Mastery. Cold Mastery has a defensive oriented armor which is frankly easily overcome but it has the benefit of having access to snow storm. Snow storm is highly underrated in the arena, and is a good option to take if you desire to keep flame thrower and full auto in your PvP build. While your opposition is slowed by snow storm, you will be able to execute your damage over time attacks.
10. Consider taking whirlwind. Whirlwind offers the ability to knock up your opponents into the air, but this ability is suppressed after the first knock up. The true gem in this power is its ability to provide you the ability to fire off your rooting attacks (flame thrower and full auto) without rooting you in place. This means, you can fire off full auto while running in a circle around your opposition. Whirlwind uses a lot of endurance and should be slotted with at least two endurance reduction enhancements if you are considering leaving it on all the time.
11. Trip mines should be slotted for accuracy, damage and recharge. I recommend 1 accuracy, 3 damage and 2 recharge. This will allow you to set a trip mine every 7 8 seconds. Trip mines have a 75% chance of dropping 1 or more toggles.
12. Do not take time bomb. Even though it is your best toggle dropper, I have never seen or heard of it being executed successfully in an arena setting.
13. Some other things to consider:
a. Learn the arena maps. There are key areas in most of them that will allow you to set your mines in safety and provide good visibility to the field of combat.
b. TP Foes range can be enhanced by targeting through a teammate. Your teammate acts as a scout and targets an opponent which you then teleport onto your awaiting mines.
c. Caltrops have been buffed considerably in Issue 5 and three SOs will maximize the slow affect in caltrops. Caltrops prevent super speeders from moving away easily and it also provides a recharge effect.
d. Web grenade has a fly and a recharge. Please note that the recharge in web grenade stacks with the recharge in caltrops.
e. Assume your opponents will carry break frees to break out of immobilizes, stuns and holds. Only slows are irresistible, hence slow powers (such as caltrops and snow storm) are used heavily.
f. Wily players will often stun or hold a player before applying a toggle dropping attack. The stun or hold will take place but the mez protection toggle prevents it from taking effect. If the mez protection toggle is dropped prior to the duration of the stun or hold ends, the opponent will be affected by it.