Anyone who says only blappers put out decent damage has their head so far up somewhere unmentionable they can see the backs of their own tonsils.
Wait til you get range-boosted Full Auto.
My Ice/Ice is completely range-based, I enjoy nothing more than watching blappers run around taking a lot of damage and not being very effective because I'm killing things before they can re-target and run over to them.
AR has so many cones and AoE's (Take. Them. All.) that you can just stand at the back giggling gleefully as everything falls over.
It's viable. And how!
As for AR advice... prepare to spend your life rooted. FA and flamethrower basically root you forever. But that doesn't matter. Sniper Rifle's brill with a couple of interrupts, very powerful. You probably won't need melee powers as against-the-wall support, as you've got very decent KB/control in the form of Buckshot, M30 grenade, and Beanbag. Or you could just stick down an ignite patch.
Take ignite, the DPS is immense and the recharge is measured in microseconds. You'll not use it in most fights, but against static stuff (ITF control panels, cysts, anything held/immob'd/on an ice patch) the damage output is just obscene.
Everything else in the set is more or less a no-brainer - Beanbag will work well with /En's stun on bosses. After about level 34, your modus operandi will be Flamethrower>Full Auto>Buckshot>M30>Rinse and repeat.
DON'T eat muffins while I'm developing you.
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My only tip is to put the fist Nrg attack on auto (the one you have to take) then any mob that gets too close you can target and they go flying... 
Saved the [censored] of my fire/nrg a number of times.
AR/En can do some of the best AoE damage of any Blaster. Power Boost, Boost Range, Flamethrower then Full Auto and there'll be nothing left, maybe a Slug for a boss or M30 if you missed one or two. I'd suggest getting Energy Punch and Bone Smasher for quick melee damage if they get too close, and as said Power Thrust on auto will work well too.
Not sure on Ignite personally, not very useful when soloing tbh and in teams things usually go too quickly to use it effectively (unless duod with a Controller 
), but on the bright side it can do insane.. No, Godly damage against EBs/AVs if they can be immobed.
I am the Blaster, I have filled the role of Tank, Controller and Defender
Sometimes all at once.
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Gunsmith Cat is a AR/NRG blaster. Which has none of the melee powers taken (aside the very first lvl one, which i put on auto)
Works very well as a totally ranged character imo. I took flight for her travel power and she can hover out of reach from lots of things. Boost range gives silly range. Also picked up LRM Rocket from munitions, that with range boost and build up is quite powah
And the freezing rifle is nice coupled with ignite. Ignite is also invaluable on Archvillains and such, as those won't run from the effect. Or something immobile, like objects and such.
Gunsmith Cat is one of my favorite chars, she's immensly fun to play, and ripping thru a group with full auto every 25-30 secs or so had a nice feeling to it
If anyone intrested i can post my build for her, when i get [censored] from work, how she is atm. Not too expensive slotting i believe She's not perfect, but i like how she has come out, i'm sure lots of people can tell me how i could've done her better
Please Jst hit level 21 and im finding i almost have too many slots. Thinking about taking aid self since im ranged, hmmmm not sure. But yeah this is the first blaster that iv ever really enjoyed and can see myself playing for a long time
Plus i like custom weapons . . . . . .
Thanks for all the hint/tips as well
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Just a quick one, I'm making an AR toon for concept and didn't want to take Dev so was thinking EN. My question is: Does the power boost effect work on the fear of ignite?
Oh and if your worried about pure range being not very good, I built my en/en blaster with 35% +dmg from sets and now hardly have to use the mele powers, bein able to one shot +3 minions with snipe without aim or BU is funny.
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Thinking about taking aid self since im ranged, hmmmm not sure.
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Definitely worthy. Both my level 50 ranged Blasters have Aid Self, and wouldn't give it up for the world. Tough to fit in, depending on what else you want. I had to choose between Acrobatics and Aid Self.
DON'T eat muffins while I'm developing you.
Pants! Turkey Magnates! A man in a box! Rogue AI! Come one, come all, to arc ID 10107 - It's [i]'Not as long as some other arcs'[/i]!
I dont know if PB works on the fear effect of AR. However knowledge of the game engine would say no as its not an enhanceable secondary effect. Would be much like powerboosting burn.
Powerboosted AA just seems to effect the confusion of it, not the fear effect.
"Well, they found my diary today.
They were appropriately appalled
at the discovery of the eight victims
They're now putting it all together.
Women wrapped in silk
with one leg missing
Eight legs, one body, silk,
spider, brilliant!"
It won't affect the Afraid Fear effect of Ignite because its technically a pet casting it (the ignited patch) rather than you.
Even if you were casting it the Afraid works as a quick ticking, quick duration (0,75 sec) Fear so it wouldn't really be effective anyway (you'd only make them flee in terror for another 0.75 seconds, they'd flee the AOE and return to normal).
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It won't affect the Afraid Fear effect of Ignite because its technically a pet casting it (the ignited patch) rather than you.
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Yet BU and sortlike buffs do buff the pet (as long u cast buff before ignite).
I got a AR/ice, pretty much my most enjoyable blaster. Ok the /ice part is weak (but u get a stacked hold and icepatch), but AR is really fun to play with.
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It won't affect the Afraid Fear effect of Ignite because its technically a pet casting it (the ignited patch) rather than you.
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Yet BU and sortlike buffs do buff the pet (as long u cast buff before ignite).
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Some buffs buff some pseudo-pets, some don't. For example Hasten will buff Lightning Storm but doesn't do a thing to Spectral Terror.
I don't think Power Boosts are ever passed down the chain to any pseudo-pets though.
Just gotta say . . . love the combo of BU + flamethrower + M60 grenade. I just cant wait to start enhancing it! Why arent there more AR blasters around, they rawk!
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Partly because they lack the 2nd boost, Aim. Add up some rooting, redraw (with /secondairy) and mainly SL damage (ignite and flametrower arent really 'spammers'), lets say they are not top of the blaster-chain 
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Build up + Flamethrower + Full Auto = Mini Nuke that is back up every 40 seconds or so, half that with hasten.
Inf is AR/Nrg, and all though i use him as a blapper and not ranged as mentioned here, he is my favourite toon ever and makes it hard for me to play others, as he was so much fun from 1 - 50.
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Build up + Flamethrower + Full Auto = Mini Nuke that is back up every 40 seconds or so, half that with hasten.
Inf is AR/Nrg, and all though i use him as a blapper and not ranged as mentioned here, he is my favourite toon ever and makes it hard for me to play others, as he was so much fun from 1 - 50.
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True, specialy with defiance 2.0 it can bring up some great damage. But if you need to be mobile (pvp perhaps), the rooting is your biggest enemy. (those 2 root you for like 6 seconds?)
I can also combine the corner icepatch/ignite, lovely damage while you can continue on other mobs.
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I have an old-school AR/Dev, and she STILL wipes the floor with zombie hordes.
Try this for an attack chain:
LRM > Full Auto (with 1x Range) > Flamethrower (with 2x Hami Dam/Range) > Buckshot (Add Insult To Injury)
With an exclusively ranged blaster, you do need to make sure you keep a little distance between you and the hordes. Caltrops, Freeze Ray, and Hover are all extremely useful
Is it time for the dance of joy yet?
try having a arch/nrg / both aim+build up
i can petty much attack any mob and kill half-3/4 before they come close to melee.
Wouldn't a Psi blaster be better suited to a pure range build?
Most of the attacks have a higher base range compaired to the rest of the sets.
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Wouldn't a Psi blaster be better suited to a pure range build?
Most of the attacks have a higher base range compaired to the rest of the sets.
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Yeah probs does but AR is there for concept reasons. I just see no reason for me to go into melee range when i have a gun and can shoot them from safety. Just a personal concept of mine.
Edit: Ignore my post since i realise now its just a respone to ranged blasters in general
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I had a Nrg/Nrg blaster that I never managed to get any higher than 35.
I really wanted to get a blaster to 50 so I decided to try again with different sets. I made a AR/Dev and he in now less than 1 bar from 50
Great fun to play & the most fun blaster I have tried. I am even thinking of making another AR after with a different secondary.
I agree that AR is a great ranged set & there is no need to use melee attaks from a secondary set unless in trouble. I find it pointless moving in close to mobs. You can kill a whole mob faster ranged.
50's -
Scrappers - Xtream & Ouroboros Enforcer. Controllers - Vanguard Phoenix, Midnight Protector & Mythical Illusion. Tanks - Stone Cold Sober. Blasters - Ultimate Solution & Crey Prototype. Defenders - Lucifer - Bound. Peacebringers - Xtream Justice. Masterminds - Xtream Malfunction. SoA - Arachnid Lord
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Wouldn't a Psi blaster be better suited to a pure range build?
Most of the attacks have a higher base range compaired to the rest of the sets.
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Spitting out pointy things out of your forehead or trash out a load of bullets along with some lovely flames from a costumizable gun?
Naaah, AR is nicer
Added that tier 1 and 2 are perfect for 2 great IO's. The KB recharge and achilles heal will proc at any time (tier 1/2 can fire through mez).
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(50)MaceX/(50)Encore
Sign the petition, dont let CoH go down! SIGN!
I have never understood why someone would choose to be a blaster then go and take melee powers,if I want to be close up and personal I,ll build a scrapper,a blaster is someone who stands well back picking off the targets that are causing problems for the team.Being a squishy blaster and then putting yourself in harms way is a bit silly unless you are obsessed with debt badges
Prof Radburn controller,Celtic Ice Maiden,blaster,Miss Knockout scrapper,Mistress Davina controller,Stone Hart,tank Split Personality PB.Queen Lostris controller,Fridgid Mary blaster,Shocking Fire blaster Future Elfling defender, Little Weed controller,Capo Angelo MM, Commander Buzzsaw MM, Justice Tank tank all 50,s
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I have never understood why someone would choose to be a blaster then go and take melee powers
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A couple of melee powers can be really helpful, even if they are just something that stuns the annoying mob that insists on being in your face.
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I have never understood why someone would choose to be a blaster then go and take melee powers,if I want to be close up and personal I,ll build a scrapper,
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Been there done that. Scrappers are too easy, being a blapper adds a bit of spice. Plus as you pointed out debt = badges and badges = good.
Out of all my alts iv never really lvld a blaster (didnt really suit my playstyle), but iv decided to roll one now and even though i know AR = lol i decided it was the one for me. (i went AR/nrg btw)
) because i wasnt going into melee. But my case is that with the few seconds of withdraw due to AR wouldnt it be better to pick off the enemies from range and only use my melee attacks as a "trapped against the wall" card?
Now the only playstyle i can even contemplate as an AR blaster is being perma ranged. Mentioned this in a few teams earlier who asked what i was doing ( i wasnt loosing any health, rare for a blaster ?
Im the kind of person who gets VERY annoyed by dying so i am trying to find ways to maximise staying alive and my damage.
Will these tactics make my blaster nowhere near as good as a melee? Or is it viable? I took energy secondary so i can have the self boost powers since i think they'll suit my playstyle better.
Any tips on an AR/nrg blaster please tell
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