One thing I usually try to point out to new blasters that I didn't see in the mini-guide is aggro management on teams. AKA, you don't usually want to lead with your AoE attacks.
In my experience at least, throwing a Fire Ball or similar into a group before aggro is distributed or the tank has aggro well in hand is an easy ticket to debt. And pulling with Fire Ball is even more likely to accomplish this.
Not that you can't do these things when you know what you're doing, but you have to know when it's not appropriate.
Maybe worth mentioning that there's nothing wrong with running away on a blaster. I do this often, especially if I didn't initiate the battle when soloing. I prefer to surprise things rather than be surprised, so I'll bolt...then I come back and clean things out.
Kiting isn't always immediately obvious to brand new kids.
A link to a guide on how to single pull would be useful.
Awesome stuff. Loved your FF satanic bible too. 
I was just thinking to myself, 'I wonder if he's going to emphasize just how important BU & Aim are...' then you did. I might've mentioned something about the 2 sets that don't get them though.
I might've also added something about waiting for the teammate whose job it is to get shot to, well, get shot first. Most of those will also assist in getting the enemy into a nice & AoE friendly clump. Maybe too much detail for a quick guide.
Also in the category of too much detail might be some ruminations about the value of burst damage, esp for a class whose mantra is killing to survive. I dunno, it's hard not to get things get carried away and I think you did a great job at a concise summary of how to play an effective blaster.
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
There is something better than pulling with Fire Ball or another AoE.
Pulling with Fire Breath, or a similar short-range, slow-animating AoE.
I would consider adding a bit about taking advantage of the secondary effects of the powersets, i.e., you mentioned KB, but a quick discussion of taking advantage of *all* the secondary effects such as the slows from Ice, -Res from Sonic, etc.
I think that it can be easy for a newbie to look at things and decide to go with Fire because that's damage with a side of damage without seeing that each primary/secondary has something else to recommend it depending on playstyle.
Altoholic - but a Blaster at Heart!
Originally Posted by SpyralPegacyon
"You gave us a world where we could fly. I can't thank you enough for that."
Very nice guide, Fulmens.
But, that's what we expect from you. 
About the only things I would add are:
(1) If you don't want to spend millions on an IO, you can get Knockback protection from Acrobatics in the Leaping pool.
(2) There are secondaries which offer utility: Ice and Devices. Both, though, are probably more useful to solo Blasters than teaming Blasters.
(3) Aid-Self is your best friend. Yes, it's interruptible, but it's still easy to use in the middle of a fight as long as you have a power which can distract enemies for a few seconds (i.e. Power Push, Caltrops, Ice Patch, Lightning Clap, etc).
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One thing I usually try to point out to new blasters that I didn't see in the mini-guide is aggro management on teams. AKA, you don't usually want to lead with your AoE attacks.
In my experience at least, throwing a Fire Ball or similar into a group before aggro is distributed or the tank has aggro well in hand is an easy ticket to debt. And pulling with Fire Ball is even more likely to accomplish this.
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Really? Because that is exactly what I do, lead with Fire Breath and Fire Ball and then run in with TF and Bone Smasher on the boss. I guess I must be crazy
Virtue: @Santorican
Dark/Shield Build Thread
As an introduction, it was perfect. Yes, people who have been playing blasters forever all have their own tricks, their own ways of doing things, and volumes of tips, but for a new blaster, you covered everything.
I especially liked the bit about he blaster sense. Yeah, I hear that voice quite a bit. "I'm gonna die unless I run away right now." usually, that's followed by a trip to the hospital and an "I knew that was gonna happen..."
119088 - Outcasts Overcharged. Heroic.
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Really? Because that is exactly what I do, lead with Fire Breath and Fire Ball and then run in with TF and Bone Smasher on the boss. I guess I must be crazy
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There are definitely times and places for that strategy! Soloing it's pretty much the way to go, and it can be effective teamed if you know what you're doing. But seriously, would you recommend that strategy to a new blaster on teams? If you don't have enough oomph to clear out at least the minions with that opening salvo, you're in for a world of hurt...
Might want to add a note about when is and is not the proper time to use your nuke. A new blaster will probably need to know this.
IE, it's never a good idea to start off an AV fight by nuking.
-Largo
Founder of A.G.O.N.Y. Supergroup on Victory
Member of Thought Sanctum VG on Victory
Member of St0rm Batallion SG on Guardian
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Might want to add a note about when is and is not the proper time to use your nuke. A new blaster will probably need to know this.
IE, it's never a good idea to start off an AV fight by nuking.
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Rain of arrows and full auto are both great for clearing the battlefield of the lesser annoyances and damaging the av, blizzard as well
I think I hit on most of those points in Point 3- briefly, but then it's a short guide.
I may have gone a little light on secondary effects, though. Lemme see if I can add that in briefly.
Mini-guides: Force Field Defenders, Blasters, Market Self-Defense, Frankenslotting.
So you think you're a hero, huh.
@Boltcutter in game.
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Really? Because that is exactly what I do, lead with Fire Breath and Fire Ball and then run in with TF and Bone Smasher on the boss. I guess I must be crazy
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There are definitely times and places for that strategy! Soloing it's pretty much the way to go, and it can be effective teamed if you know what you're doing. But seriously, would you recommend that strategy to a new blaster on teams? If you don't have enough oomph to clear out at least the minions with that opening salvo, you're in for a world of hurt...
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Of course I would, remember first rule of pulling with a Fire Blaster is always use Fire Ball. 
Virtue: @Santorican
Dark/Shield Build Thread
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Might want to add a note about when is and is not the proper time to use your nuke. A new blaster will probably need to know this.
IE, it's never a good idea to start off an AV fight by nuking.
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Rain of arrows and full auto are both great for clearing the battlefield of the lesser annoyances and damaging the av, blizzard as well
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But this is my main point. If you're teaming with a tank, killing off all the minions and lessers baddies right away with your nuke, when there is an AV to kill, is sometimes bad for the tank. For instance an Ice tank, needs at least 3 sometimes up to 10 targets to use Energy Absorption on to refill his endurance bar and gain a much needed defensive boost. You are not helping him by removing all the minions first and leaving him take the brunt of the AV damage with nothing to EA.
If there's a long drawn out battle, because of not enough debuff, he might be screwed.
A good blaster knows that his main purpose in an AV fight is to deliver his his most damaging single target attacks right to the AV's chest. Pretend the minions dont exist. If the tanker or scrapper kills off the minions because all they have are AoE attacks, then its their problem. You'll know you did what you could to protect and help the tank as best you could.
I know this goes against common sense, but its the way tanks and blasters play best together. Don't kill off all his minions right away.
-Largo
Founder of A.G.O.N.Y. Supergroup on Victory
Member of Thought Sanctum VG on Victory
Member of St0rm Batallion SG on Guardian
What you focus on depends a bit on what kind of tank you have there too. If you have an Invuln or WP tank, those minions are likely doing them more good than harm.
But that's going way beyond the scope of a mini-guide.
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But this is my main point. If you're teaming with a tank, killing off all the minions and lessers baddies right away with your nuke, when there is an AV to kill, is sometimes bad for the tank. For instance an Ice tank, needs at least 3 sometimes up to 10 targets to use Energy Absorption on to refill his endurance bar and gain a much needed defensive boost. You are not helping him by removing all the minions first and leaving him take the brunt of the AV damage with nothing to EA.
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LOL I thought we were talking about soloing when I wrote my reply
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Might want to add a note about when is and is not the proper time to use your nuke. A new blaster will probably need to know this.
IE, it's never a good idea to start off an AV fight by nuking.
[/ QUOTE ]
Rain of arrows and full auto are both great for clearing the battlefield of the lesser annoyances and damaging the av, blizzard as well
[/ QUOTE ]
But this is my main point. If you're teaming with a tank, killing off all the minions and lessers baddies right away with your nuke, when there is an AV to kill, is sometimes bad for the tank. For instance an Ice tank, needs at least 3 sometimes up to 10 targets to use Energy Absorption on to refill his endurance bar and gain a much needed defensive boost. You are not helping him by removing all the minions first and leaving him take the brunt of the AV damage with nothing to EA.
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Well, when I play my Ice Tank I use EA at the start of the battle, since that is when I need the most defense as all the enemies are attacking me. As the battle goes on, I need less and less Defense. If I am low on End at the end of the battle, I'll just refill it at the start of the next battle. So, once I drop EA all Blasters on my team know they can go full throttle.
As for AVs fights, they are usually the last one standing anyways, so the faster the rest of the trash can be eliminated, the faster the Blasters can focus all damage on the AV. A well played Ice Tank isn't going to loose aggro on anything, even an AV, unless they hit the aggro cap of course. 
-= idspispopd =-
[size=1]Arc ID: 3155 - Project Prometheus (Seeking Feedback, now with less invalidation)[/size]
Mostly I'd think of nuking the second you see an AV as "Well, there goes YOUR endurance bar for the whole fight..." but I didn't include anti-AV tactics because it seemed a little specialized. The hard part for me [audience goes "no, really?"] is brevity.
Mini-guides: Force Field Defenders, Blasters, Market Self-Defense, Frankenslotting.
So you think you're a hero, huh.
@Boltcutter in game.
That is a nice enough guide to get them started and on the right track Fulman's, which is what I think you were aiming for but I could be wrong.
Sure there are details and debates on the individual powersets and play styles but your guide gives an idea of what to expect in a nice bite sized piece of text. Something people will take the time to read, rather than just glance at before ignoring it. Good Job.
I am honored, sir, and have striven to live up to the standards you've set for blastardom.
Mini-guides: Force Field Defenders, Blasters, Market Self-Defense, Frankenslotting.
So you think you're a hero, huh.
@Boltcutter in game.
Like it says. I'm trying to write a bunch of mini-guides, aka "that post I keep writing over and over."
I did one on blasting for new kids.
did I leave out anything painfully obvious?
Mini-guides: Force Field Defenders, Blasters, Market Self-Defense, Frankenslotting.
So you think you're a hero, huh.
@Boltcutter in game.