Very interesting guide. The synergy of these two sets is really noticeable even for me - and I'm a new player without 1 month of game yet. My first and main char follows those sets, obviously one or two screw ups were done and waiting the lv 24 respec to be fixed, otherwise it is ok.
As I mentioned tho, I am a real novice around CoH and would make some comments and doubts, everyone feel welcome to reply to these.
1) I never went to PvP yet, and frankly dont think about going there till 30-some (after another respec if needed - for now my objective si REACHING that level). So my thing so far is PvE, both teaming and soloing. Would you do any modifications on tha build in order to be versatile and useful both Teaming and Soloing, or it is already?
2) I just love Sniper as a 1st hit; with slotted DO dmg, Power Up and eventually Dmg inspirations, I feel like it does a decent starting punch, and the eventual knockdown allows an approach for Energy Punch > Power Thrust (knockdown again) and if by then it isnt dead, Slug would do the job. Comments on this tatic? Seems to work fine for me but as I said, I am a starter.
3) I absolutely want Superspeed on my build What would you remove from the one posted above?
I'll eventually make what I plan to be my build on that Hero editor and put it here,; please comment it when I do so.
All in all, great guide, interesting comments, pretty helpful.
- Dual Blades Stalker Guide
- Mastermind guide to Pain Domination
Hehe thanks for the compliment, as for the questions.
#1 Actually ran the finished Fred back down at 15 through a posi TF a few nights back. Myself, scrapper, defender, another blaster. Even with just slug, energy punch, bone smasher, and beanbag she performed a LOT better then I was initally expecting given our rough start. Even early game you can see how much damage energy melee does with build up. Against the Circle ghosts it was much pain for that extra fun. The classic run right at the boss with build up and reds, punch punch slug combo worked to drop them as well. So all in all I'd say its a good pve build even at that level before you get bigger toys. And another arguement against buckshot early, it just doesn't have the damage you need and gyps you out of a powerful single target attack chain.
#2 Perfectly valid tactic for where you are levelwise. Just like I say above anything snipe can do now full auto does better late game. For what may as well be sniper level damage across a whole pack, the only downside being it's a dot.
I tried a respec to put sniper rifle back in for a strech, but it just didn't fit with the more fast paced style of high powered aoe's backed up by hard hitting energy melee attacks. And I noticed 90% of the time whatever I had lined up for a snipe was dead before it went off. Unless it was a boss of course, but at that point I was better off opening with total focus to render said boss a non threat.
The other reasons would be if you do take super speed, then you can dash in before a boss sees you, pop him with power thrust's 100% knockback chance (unlike a snipe) keep running at him, and probably get off both energy melee hits + slug early game, or a total focus late game, before he's up or build up wears off. For again more damage.
In DO land sniper rifle is great, but lethal resists ramped up + higher mob hp + better late game attacks all add up to snipe just not fitting in. Though if you do want to keep it it kinda ties in with #3
#3 Leaping gone, speed in.
CON: speed pool means you miss out on the resists from leaping, but break frees can offset this mostly in pve.
PRO: You've got hasten instead, and who doesn't love your attacks coming up faster? That and it frees up a 3rd pick so you can keep sniper rifle in the build, but were it me I'd take conserve power a lot eariler then 49. Hasten also means a much faster drain on the end bar. So pairing it with conserve should offset this, and get conserve up that much faster to boot.
Hope that helps out.
It seems I've had bad information on Energy Punch and I've been underrating it. The old SherkSilver hero planner isn't perfect and in particular had bad data on Energy Punch. It listed brawl index for power thrust, energy punch, bone smasher as 2.2, 2.77, 4.56 respectively. Making energy punch seem only marginally better than the power thrust I already had.
This is, as you know, incorrect. It's right for Power Thrust, but Energy Punch is better than double Power Thrust, and Bone Smasher is roughly triple. Oops. This clearly makes Energy Punch a much more interesting option than it seemed.
On teams, Buckshot will do more total damage, but soloing without a third single target attack behind Slug and Bone Smasher I have found bosses to be a challenge. Without Hasten it'd be really, really hard. And the damage of Buckshot can even get you in trouble on early teams when even if you have a tank it's not like a low level tank typically has a taunt aura.
Slug, Bone Smasher, and Flame Thrower seem like the 5-star attacks in the early levels. But I'm much more undecided now as to which of the 4-star attacks to take to augment those 3. (I'd call Burst a 3-star attack, Stun and M30 a 2-star)
Question for you on Ignite-- nearing the point where I'm picking it up. Can you use Ignite effectively on targets that have been disoriented by Beanbag or Bone Smasher?
At level 23, decided to get the Medicine pool a bit earlier than I had initially planned. It's difficult to decide when to cut loose and "unleash hell" with Build Up/Flamethrower/Buckshot. This combo does a lot of damage but doesn't exactly kill stuff instantly and whatever is left standing is REALLY mad at me.
Ideally I pick on a single target or two while the aggro gets a little distributed, or the mobs get whittled down and then I finish the pack with my AoEs. But if the team is struggling with a spawn I have to quickly decide if I need to launch the strike early and hope I can take the retaliation. Hoping Aid Self helps me with that.
Not sure on exact BI's but i do know from expereience that build up + bone smasher + energy punch or slug would drop most even con minions in a heartbeat, and put a serious hurting on LT's and up. If it was a mob weak against smashing, sometimes bone smasher alone could be the kill hit.
Recently did a posi TF ex'ed down, the five main powers I had then being build up, slug, energy punch, bone smasher, and beanbag. If I had buckshot then instead I'm honestly not sure if I would have been as effective. 3 hard single hits > then 2 and 1 aoe that just makes everything angry is how I look at it. Given that i was one of the main bashers of those blankity CoT ghosts (gogo energy and smash) i'm really glad I had energy punch all the more.
Buckshot is left out for a few other reasons as well.
#1 lethal resists do suck when you encounter them. Even slotted out buckshot just doesn't do the damage you need (side note: I'm not taking into inventions into account, that needs more study)
#2 you have full auto and flamethrower already by 32, that and build up will leave barely anything for buckshot to hit.
#2a on a big team where'd you would get the most use out of it, mobs just won't be living long enough to make it useful enough. As the tanks and scrappers should be mopping up anything your inital alpha strike didn't drop.
#3 it's not just the fact that it makes mobs alive and angry, but it also leaves you with one less hard hit (energy punch) to drop anything that does aggro onto you. Or anything you might happen to aggro on purpose. 
As for hasten...I'm honestly meh on the power despite it's boosts, more meh as there's no one power i'd drop to get it. Short of conserve power, and that's my 49 pick. Beanbag is too useful to pass up, power boost is essential to the mez protection, stimulant you need for aid self. The only two you could drop are ignite (see below) and -maybe- stamina if you use I9 sets to slot out health for +regen. Big maybe that though.
Which attack to add to the big 3? Currently energy punch, no contest, it's the other 5 star. And i'd kill right now to slot it or bone smasher with the pounding slugfest set. My ice/ice tank LOVES the extra 8% regen. And 10% more disorient chance on top of what energy melee does? What's not to love? Though i need to look more into I9 goodies for powers like burst and buckshot, heh and revise the whole guide for I9 while i'm at it. 
As for the ignite question? Not a chance, stunned mobs wander too much for ignite to be that useful. I got good milage out of air sup and ignite for a bit. But the big 3 points above sum up why I do feel it's a good power to take.
Regarding unleashing hell so to speak, the real best time is the start, when the tank soaks aggro, bunches mobs around him, then the aoe's can be used for max effect. When things start going south mobs tend to be scattered, multiple people are getting aggroed, and aoe's are less effective. That's another reason I like energy punch over buckshot, for blapping mobs dead, and if they live pulling them off other squishies.
Target selection? Two schools of thought #1 the above as you describe it. #2 (and my favorite) Run RIGHT at the biggest target in a pack, usually the boss. And pummel him into the ground with the "5-star" hits. Build up on a minion is a waste when there's a boss or lt asking for it. Just make sure you do #2 AFTER the tank soaks the alpha, unless you find floor yummy. As aid self won't save you from a lot of incoming fire, even less so until you slot interrupts and have power boost. Or add PFF from the force epic.
For real fun mix and match, jump in, pummel a boss, then tap back and jump with flamethrower already at the ready, and enjoy the carnage. Lots of ways to go about it, just depends on the mobs and moods. (least in my case hehe)
Hope this helps to answer the questions.
Intro
The Original concept for this build started waaay back during the "city of blasters" heyday, and before pvp was in, much less being debated. Pretty much a time when melee blasting was thought to be a debt magnet "range = defense" And blapper was a four letter word, or a suggestion to reroll as a scrapper.
Quite the change now given the popularity of energy melee as a PvP set. And the fact blapping has become a semi popular, all but accepted playstyle. So it's with a bit of admitted personal arrogance that I enjoy being ahead of the curve on this one. And enjoy watching a pet project to prove people wrong became not only a favorite toon, but one of the best powerset combos out there for PvE (which this guide covers) and PvP to a lesser extent as well.
Special thanks also goes to the Legion of Freedom crew on virtue, notably Fury Flechette and Rainbow Avenger for their input, corrections and suggestions on the first draft of this. That and all of LoF for just being too damn cool. =p
The concept.
First off this build and suggested style is not a "Blapper" (though it does play pretty heavily that way) is not a "Hybrid" cause of range and blaps together, and is not an "AoE'er" or "Master of cones" This build to me upholds the whole point or ideal of what being a blaster is. That's damage, damage, and more damage. Regardless of the mobs, the situation, what gets thrown at you, and most importantly the range you're at. By late game range is less of a defense then it should be, more so when mezzing gets involved. So this is a suggested build made to take advantage of those times when close range combat is a better idea if not the best idea. Not to mention make AR/Eng into an AV smiter by the 40's. And when range is merited? Hehe that's when it's time to put out enough damage to make even fire blasters blush. The pool and EPP picks made to synergize with the rest to lend that survival ability every good blaster needs.
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The Powers
That said lets look at the powers themselves, and sorry math majors but there are no numbers in this guide. BI's, durations, and all that are not as important to me as the "feel" or "flow" of how powers work together. And how they perform past the numbers. Good numbers don't make for good builds or good players. Learning what you can or can't do does.
Assault Rifle
Generally an underrated set, and gets a bad rap because of the many lethal resistant mobs in the 40's. Notably malta for the sheer annoyance factor they bring. That and it takes some blame for being weak (wrongly so) as it usually ends up paired with devices and more lethal damage. (not the best secondary ever for this reason) Personally I think AR is one of the top blaster sets for many reasons.
#1 Swiss army damage with flamethrower's extreme fire dot, and ignite's ability to rack up hits as well. Most of the other blaster primary sets lack a secondary damage type. So these two are handy to have.
#2 Beanbag, it's a make or break power for the set and lends that extra bit of survival ability the way freeze ray or tesla cage does.
#3 Conetastic attacks and a fast acting nuke. Not as impressive as Nova but full auto is usually up when you need it, and shreds packs for the right amount of damage when a big boom would usually be overkill. That and it won't leave you popping blues after. The cones themselves and an aoe in m30 (if you take it) with build up lay waste to anything that's a minion, most lt's, and leaves herds nice and thinned out. Which leaves bosses without many baddies to help them out.
As for the actual powers. Slotting is added when it's a power in the build.
Burst: Skippable. The damage is too little, roots you slightly longer then slug, and the -def is not worth it when your best defense is a dead mob. Take it's big brother, there's no room for small powers here. If you have to take it though? Be planning to devote 6 slots and the FOTM combo of 2 acc 3 dam 1 rch. It might be worth it come I9 and inventions, but thats a damn big maybe.
Slug: Great range, great pull power, and a solid quick punch before it's being enhanced by boost range pushing it to sniper rifle distance. Handy finisher as well for anything the energy melee hits don't drop. Paired with a build up + sniper shot it's a quick 1-2 punch to drop a single target, but when you can do the same later with full auto and flamethower to a whole pack, and total focus drops bosses, why bother?
Any way you do slice it though slug is a vital backbone power early on, but later it will play second fiddle to the AR cones and a fully slotted bonesmasher/total focus. All the same don't neglect it's slotting. It's a long road to 32 and 38. (Reccomended Slotting: 2 acc 3 damage 1 recharge)
Buckshot: Passable damage, and buckshot scores points for having the same recharge as slug, yet being a cone attack with knockback as well. For this build though there's just no room to sneak it in, and once you get the big cones + energy hits there's just no real need to have it. It doesn't make it a bad power though. Depending on personal playstyle and pool tweaking it could be slipped in, or you could pass on energy punch and take this instead. Just not my way of doing things. A build up + energy punch + bonesmasher hits hard and drops a target fast, a build up slug + buckshot leaves them angry.
M30 Grenade: Every set has one of these I swear. I really just don't like this power and consider it the black sheep of the AR set. If it did a little more damage, or cost or a little less end, or heck both then it might be a better power. But overall it's just not worth taking. The other big downside is it's much more random knockback. While buckshot blows mobs straight back M30 has a bad habit of scattering them everywhere depending on where you aim, which is BAD when you need nice tight packs for your cones. Don't bother with it.
Beanbag: Take it, slot it, use it! With a stun mag high enough to pop Lt's it can take powerful threats out of a fight from the first level you get it. All the way up to 40+ targets late game (sappers anyone?) Before total focus you can also pair it with bonesmasher for a chance to even stun bosses. But that's a big gamble I wouldn't trust all the time. It's big use really is the tactic of mezzing them before they you mezz you. But it can also keep nemesis lt's stunned if you want to save them for last, or keep the DE ones from spamming those oh so lovely eminators on you. Slotted out with SO's it's enough to perma stun a single target as well, so watch that recharge if you want to keep annoyances out of the game. (Reccomended Slotting: 2 acc 3 stun 1 recharge)
Sniper Rifle: interruptable, single target, and just too slow. In the time you fire one snipe you already could have fired off slug, energy punch, and bonesmasher for a lot more damage. Slug makes a better pull power with boost range putting it up to sniper rifle range. And as stated above a build up snipe for one minion is useless when you want build up for your energy melee hits, or a flamethrower + full auto alpha strike that takes down a lot more then just one target. The one novel use i've found for it is outranging nemesis snipers, but it's a slow method of dealing with things. The one real use I did notice was that build up + sniper rifle + full auto was enough to drop non lethal resistant lt's. But only +0 or +1 ones, and when do most teams fight those?
Flamethrower: the last three AR powers are the gems of the set, and this first one can do some insane amounts of damage when the situation is right. Build up makes it scary enough. But when you pair it with build up and boost range a well aimed FT can cover an entire mob pack. And when you follow up with further hits *coughfullautocough* it makes it hard for most anything non boss to survive. The end cost though makes it a bad idea to use this power on any remaining targets or a single straggler unless you've got RA or another end buff up. Your other powers are for mop up, but as an alpha strike opener (more so on teams) you'd be hard pressed to find anything better. Like any big blaster aoe though do watch out for the incoming aggro you'll bring. And remember to always aim at the back of the pack. Unless you enjoy walking up to crispify only 1 mob while all his friends get angry. (Reccomended slotting 2 acc 3 damage 1 recharge, or 1 acc 3 damage 1 recharge 1 range)
Ignite: If ever there's an odd power, and one that spawns mass debates about its uses and real effectiveness Ignite is in the top 5. The short version is it leaves a ranged patch of fire that spawns a "pet" which does 30 very rapid ticks or "attacks" (depending on how one looks at it) of fire damage, damage mobs run from like they do burn patches. On the surface and in general not the most useful sounding power ever. Till you take into account three big points in it's favor.
#1 It's apparent base acc is through the roof when paired with it's rapid "attacks" I've been informed by Fury and forumites that ignite has been changed so it now has a base 75% acc and not the +100% its reported to have. Yet I've watched an ignite with no accuracy slotted hit foes that all my normal 2 acc slotted attacks bounce off. Now if this is just due to Ignite having a higher inherent accuracy, or just the fact that the fire ticks are so rapid they punch right through I can't honestly say. All the same slotting accuracy isn't a bad idea just to make sure. The recharge is fast enough as it is, though one slotted in doesn't hurt, or a range if that floats your boat.
#2 Even if only a few ticks land Ignite's damage is incredibly fast and rapid. It'll easily do over a few seconds damage on par with most attacks. Paired with a troller holding mobs or any knockdown effect and it's a brutal power. Also a good way to rack up damage on AV's you'd prefer to stay away from when fighting. An interesting point of fact to add is that ignite is also affected by build up. So white not the most practical way to use build up, you can all but double those ticks if you want.
#3 It's quick recharge and low end cost means it's stackable out of the box. Which means that much more damage against held mobs. Even without a pocket troller you can still put it to good use as an anti melee shield dropped in front of you, a finisher for mobs all but dead, a great anti auto turret or DE eminator tool, and a fun way to abuse mobs that have long animations rooting them. It's a tricky power to get the hang of using in terms of placement and timing, but far too handy and damaging to pass up. For the situations where melee isn't an option it's also one more tool for playing the role of ranged support while big hits recharge.
(Reccomended slotting 3 dam at the least and 3 rch if you have the slots for one school of thought, but 3 dam 1-2 acc and 1-2 recharge depending on the other)
Full Auto: Words just don't convey the range boosted built up destructive glee I get every time I fire this bad boy of a power off into a pack, and just watch the orange numbers fly! Flamethrower is bad enough, but when you pair it with the mini nuke of mass ammo consumption it makes for an alpha strike that few mobs can withstand. That's before you realize it's one wonderful ranged support attack fast enough to use multiple times in extended fights. And if you're playing on anything below rugged it's almost a no contest situation.
It may be less damage and a faster recharge but for all intents FA is a nuke. And when boost range is added a nuke that lays down one heckuva field of fire. All the same some of the rules of blaster nukage still apply, and a few important details to keep in mind.
#1 It's best use is as an alpha strike attack, packs scatter but once you tag them they get the full hit.
#2 It does root you for a good while, be ready for this. You're not gonna pop any heals or PFF till after the animation and any possible return fire.
#3 As it does make sure you handle any aggro you're about to bring, or that the mobs are gonna be too dead to care.
#4 Don't waste it on any single target below boss level unless lives are on the line.
#5 It's still lethal damage and as such does fall victim to AR complaints, watch the mobs you're using it on, and keep your flamethower handy too.
#6 Don't gamble on the crit hit doing your job EVER
#7 boost range gives a LOT of range, if you fire from in close to one mob pack, make sure you don't send stray bullets into the group behind the ones you're blasting.
(Reccomended slotting: 3 dam 2 acc 1 rch)
Energy manipulation.
Ahh energy... The set that turns AR from a "good" set into an "OMG!" one. Along with making a good blaster into a "WTFPWN!" one ^_^ The energy melee hits are brutal enough before you pair them and your primary with the 3 big "Boost" powers of the set. That's when it becomes borderline unfair what you can pull off. High damage with in close hits + wide ranging cones + power boost making pool powers that much better = heaven. So without further ado lets get to the goodness.
Power thrust: If you want to stay at range its a good power. If you want a lil tool for knockbacks and fun with ignite it's a decent power. But overall it's not a power I consider slotting as dead mobs need no knockback. But where it does shine isn't the knockback so much as the positioning it brings. Since you always want your selected target of a cone attack in the back why not boot him there? PT is good for that and the other reasons, but not really noteworthy otherwise. Though you do have to respect any power that knocks a boss on his butt.
Energy punch: Backbone power #2 right behind slug. Quick to recharge, downright crazy damage early, and still impressive totals when you pair it with the big hits later on. the 1-2 of it and bonesmasher solves most problems you come across with ease, and it's one more tool in the AV smite arsenal later on. Take it and love it, much better investment then buckshot. (Reccomended slotting: 3 dam 2 acc 1 rch)
Build up: It's build up, it's more damage, it's ready to go at level 4, do we need to honestly say anything besides TAKE IT! (Reccomended slotting 3 rch)
Bonesmasher: All I can say is if you didn't take this power why the heck did you even take energy to begin with? Paired with build up most anything can say goodbye to huge chunks of life with a single hit. It's energy and smashing offsets AR's lethal, and anything weak to those types like lethal resistant robots will be in a world of hurt after. The stun chances are just icing on the cake for anything that lives through the glowing pom poms of fury. It's one of your main sources of damage, take it, use it every chance you get, and enjoy the carnage. Just remember to not waste it on mobs an energy punch could finish instead. (Reccomended slotting: 3 dam 2 acc 1 rch)
Conserve Power: I'll admit this one lost a bit of it's luster post ED. Before you could perma it with enough recharge, now there's some very noticable gaps. Also if you play with a lot of emps or dedicated teams it's not really needed when the recovery aura starts flying or any other end boosting buff. But when fights drag out (AV's or pvp perhaps) or you run into things that drain you it's a power you'd be glad to have. I'm thinking it'll be my level 49 pick as before then I just didn't have room. Still it's possible to fit in depending on a few tweaks. But it's no replacement for stamina either. If you tweak in hasten or are one of those people who has to have it in every build, you'll want conserve to go with it, otherwise you'll burn that end way too fast. (Reccomended Slotting 3 rch)
Stun: An oddball power but also a borderline useless one with all that energy can do. The animation for one is about as long as full auto, and the duration doesn't seem much longer then beanbag. Overall it's not that great, as why punch a mob to stun it, when you can bonesmasher a mob to drop it, or beanbag from range? Still I did have it in the early game as part of my build, and pre total focus it's a boss mezzer with beanbag. But after you get TF there's no reason to have or take stun. If you do take it, plan to respec out of it at 38.
Power boost: One of the best "must have" powers out there for the sheer utility it can bring to a whole range of different powers, and the buffs it provides. Extra stun durations aside it boosts the minor defense you get from powers like combat jump (every bit helps) turns aid self from a nearly 400 to a nearly 700 hp heal, makes larger def buffs like PFF into nyah nyah can't hit me shields. But best of all adds to the magnitude of mezz resist powers. Meaning it packs enough boost to let acrobatics and it resist fully the first hold that comes your way. Extra immob resists for combat jump, and enough stun resist from it and aid self to take a malta stun grenade and keep on fighting. If that's not a damn good reason to almost have this power on auto activate I don't know what is. And no it doesn't "boost" boost range, you won't be shooting from across the map with both. (Reccomended slotting 3 rch)
Boost range: The gem of a power that makes cones go from dangerous tools into aoe cap'ed pack shredding weapons of mass destruction. Mainly due to something that's still not the most common knowledge along newer players. While boost range + slug just means you hit from father away, boost range and any cone attack means your cone is longer ranged. Therefore the end of the now longer cone is wider as well. Which gives you a lot more leeway when it comes to hitting an entire pack with one well placed shot to the middle. On something like flamethrower which has a wide cone to begin with it pretty much ensures nothing is getting away. "Must have" power for sure if you go this route. 3 SO rch means you can pretty much perma it as well, stack it if you have hasten.
(Reccomended slotting 3 rch)
Total focus: Most look at this and see simply pure wonderful damage. I see the tool that keeps your butt alive and a boss walking round in a daze where he belongs. No doubt that TF is one whopper of a hit, with build up you one shot most low end minions. But where the power shines is it ability to keep any boss (with the notable exception of arachnos crab spiders and shielded fake nemesis unless you stack beanbag) out of a fight with one solid whack to the head. Stunned bosses are non attacking bosses. Bosses stunned by TF and PB are bosses stunned for a looong time. Non attacking bosses = live squishie. And let you keep unloading attacks into them till they drop. Keeps them from pulling nasty stunts like the Paragon Protector version of MoG as well. Take it the first chance you get and don't use it carelessly. Never know when you beat one minion senseless only to see that lt or boss and his friends coming your way. TF has too hefty of a recharge time to waste on small fry.
Again there's two schools of thought here, you can slot it for stuns for that extra insurance (good thing when fighting +3's and up) But as Fury and Rainbow correctly pointed out this build is all about the damage, and power boost handles the extra stun time. So why did I only have two slotted in? Best defense is a dead boss after all. So once you get past the two acc (you don't want to miss) the rest is personal preference really.
(reccomended slotting 2 acc 2 dam 2 stun for the "safe" route 2 acc 3 dam 1 stun for damage and leeway, or 2 acc 3 dam and 1 rch for the pummel them good route, just make sure you keep power boost at the ready)
Pools
Every pick below is pretty much geared to one goal, max survival ability, with I'll admit a dash of PvP ability on the side. No gimmicks here, no it could works, it's all about living through everything coming your way.
Leaping: Combat jump, super jump, acrobatics.
The Obvious PvP choice with the abilities it brings to the table. But a set made even better in PvE as well by our friend power boost. And the set of choice if you want the mobility to be in melee ranged when you want to be. Hard to bring a fight when you're rooted, knocked down, or mezzed all the time. Sleep is the big weakness though in that respect. CJ also shines in the mobility it gives. As a quick tap of a direction and jump has you flying that way at high speeds. Letting you get the drop on mobs a lot easier, or jump back to lay into them with your cones. If you have slots to spare end reducers don't hurt at all.
Medicine: Stimulant, aid self.
Self heals are just too helpful, self heals nearly doubled by power boost are even better. Stimulant is more a filler power, but it never hurts to give the emp who can't clear mind himself a little extra help pre fight. Aid self though is the real reason to take this pool, both for the heal and the built in stun resistance you get. And that's on top of the root and mezz resistance the leaping pool is giving. It's not tanker level resists mind you, but it's enough to elevate a blaster from pure squish status. Just plan to at the very least 4 slot it with 2 heals and 2 interrupt reducers, 2 recharges is the icing on the cake.
Fitness: hurdle, health, stamina
No real need to explain this one, the fitness pool is pretty much a given now 99.95% of the time. The only thing I can really say to go outside conventinal wisdom is to consider actually slotting out health, and put a 4th slot in stamina. The way this build shapes up you have the room for it slotwise. Even 3% more end regen with greens helps to squeak out every last bit. And it gives you a bit of wiggle room on not losing power when SO's go yellow. That and I9 does throw inventions into the mix, but we'll have to wait and see on that one.
APP Force mastery: Personal force field, temp invul, force of nature.
Personal Force field is a premier panic button power, and a great place to hide when you need to make sure Aid Self goes off without a hitch. An amusing way to play pretend tank too and soak an alpha, or just annoy people in pvp trying to get through it and power boost buffing it that much more. Also a fun way to make sure you get in close before firing off that build up + melee combo on anything around you. Temp Invul is a good armor, but it's a toggle armor so nothing that special but extra survival.
Force of nature though... Any power that lets a blaster take on a +1 fake nemesis and a +1 warhulk with barely a scratch is fun enough. But when you watch an even level Bobcat vs FoN and TI only deal about 230 damage to a squishie? Two words. NOT...RIGHT. Basically its a few minutes of turning into a mini scrapper, with the danger of the end crash after. Pair it with the geas of the kind ones accolade though, or hasten, or anything else that boosts attack speed further, and it's downright flipping scary the numbers you'll put out in that short time. Woodchipper on legs comes to mind. This power alone makes taking the force pool worth it.
Per Fury's suggestion again there is also cold mastery to look into. Hibernate replaces aid self and frees up a pool. A +Def armor like frozen is actually affected by power boost unlike Temp Invul. And snow storm means your targets attack less, good thing if you like to melee. Past those general thoughts though I can't comment much on a set I have no experience with. But it's something else to consider.
49 picks.
That last level has a lot of options. As by this point the build i'm basing this off of is only level 47, and has a pool pick free. So it could be conserve power, hasten, assault, even something out there as provoke or teleport foe. All boils down to playstyle and maybe a bit of a test server fun. But with the core of the build done I think it's mostly flavor at this point to add anything else.
Speaking of the build here's what it is in a nutshell. Or what it will be 3 levels from now anyway. Though some things like ignite might be changed later on. Given the possible impact of I9 a LOT of things could be changed. But being almost 50 probably means I'll devote my invention time to other characters. All the same it's been a fun ride to 50 with one of the most enjoyable characters I've ever played. And a powerset duo I'd really suggest giving a whirl if blasting is your thing.
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Name: fred
Level: 50
Archetype: Blaster
Primary: Assault Rifle
Secondary: Energy Manipulation
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01) --> Slug==> Acc Acc Dmg Dmg Dmg Rechg
01) --> Power Thrust==> Acc
02) --> Energy Punch==> Acc Acc Dmg Dmg Dmg Rechg
04) --> Build Up==> Rechg Rechg Rechg
06) --> Combat Jumping==> EndRdx
08) --> Beanbag==> Acc Acc DisDur DisDur DisDur
10) --> Bone Smasher==> Acc Acc Dmg Dmg Dmg Rechg
12) --> Hurdle==> Jump
14) --> Super Jump==> Jump
16) --> Health==> Heal Heal Heal
18) --> Flamethrower==> Acc Acc Dmg Dmg Dmg Rechg
20) --> Stamina==> EndRec EndRec EndRec EndRec
22) --> Acrobatics==> EndRdx
24) --> Stimulant==> Rechg
26) --> Ignite==> Dmg Dmg Dmg Rechg Rechg Rechg
28) --> Power Boost==> Rechg Rechg Rechg
30) --> Aid Self==> Heal Heal IntRdx IntRdx Rechg Rechg
32) --> Full Auto==> Acc Acc Dmg Dmg Dmg Rechg
35) --> Boost Range==> Rechg Rechg Rechg
38) --> Total Focus==> Acc Acc Dmg Dmg DisDur DisDur
41) --> Personal Force Field==> DefBuf DefBuf Rechg Rechg
44) --> Temp Invulnerability==> EndRdx DmgRes DmgRes DmgRes
47) --> Force of Nature==> DmgRes DmgRes DmgRes Rechg Rechg Rechg
49) --> Conserve Power==> Rechg Rechg
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01) --> Sprint==> Empty(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Empty(1)
01) --> Defiance==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Empty(2)
02) --> Rest==> Empty(2)
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Hope you all can find this useful. As done right AR/eng is one powerhouse of a set, and with the right tools goes from squish to smash. Ranged support, melee bashing, and all the tools to keep it going at full power with as little mezz interference as possible. It's got it all in one deadly package, just a matter of knowing what to use when, or just being a bit on the insane side. As my buddies put it over global one day.
"So you're fighting Lord Recluse eh?"
"Yeah but we're ok, fred's blapping him."
^_^