The choices after 20 for my AR/Dev

I don't think I can make any true mistakes. I have 12 more powers to pick and 12 that I think I want, plus, there's always the respecs.

I only planned Betty Forever [Freedom] to 20 when I started. I think I've made only one mistake, and that was taking the advice to go with Super Speed. It's a viable travel power, if you don't suck at it like I do. I would much much rather fly over Croatoa, for example.

Here's what I have:
= Burst, Slug, Sniper, Flamethrower
= Web Grenade, Caltrops, Targeting Drone
= Hasten, Super Speed
= Hurdle, Health, Stamina.

What I'm definitely picking up are:
= Trip Mine, Full Auto
= Cloaking Device
= Hover, Fly

What I think might be good"
= Combat Jumping [always used this on another blaster]
= M-30 [Reading here, it seems to be all love-it or skip-it. Sounds OK to me.]
= Beanbag [I don't believe people when they say this is good. Testing.]
= Buckshot [Always used it before, but guides diss it. I don't miss it, but need more attacks]
= Body Armor, Surveillance, LRM [Gotta get the LRM somehow, and I like auto powers]


I was thinking getting them in Hover, Fly, M-30, Trip Mine [an ASAP at 28], then Buckshot, Full Auto [ASAP at 32], Cloaking, and Combat Jumping. Then we hit the Ancillary Powers and I go Munitions with the BA, S, LRM.

And I honestly have a very hard time putting in Beanbag even at 49.

Thoughts?

Didn't feel the need to use Mid's for only 12 power choices. I don't think a mistake could really be made...but that's the problem, I don't know.

Beanbag is AWESOME.
I can't imagine playing my ar/dev without it.
Pick the most annoying thing in the spawn and take it out until you want to finish it off- what's not to love.

I got tired of the gameplay imposed by tripmines so I dropped them- haven't missed them at all.

I like Shotgun. I have it heavily slotted with the KB set that has -KB as a set bonus, so it's more for utility and mitigation than damage.

My only other comment is why bother with CJ if you're a flyer?

Playing an AR blaster but skipping Buckshot seems almost as counterintuitive to me as skipping Flamethrower or Full Auto. Since they shredded its activation time, it's a lightning fast cone that does the same damage as M30 or other standard blaster AoEs (Explosive Blast, Neutrino Bomb, Fistful/Explosive Arrow, etc.) with a 8 second recharge that you can slide right into the rest of your attack chain without skipping a beat. It has 50% knockback, but it doesn't send them flying across the room so much as put them on their back for a few seconds for a quick breather.

M30 does the same damage as it, but from double the range, recharge, and almost double the activation time. I took M30 simply because more AoEs = better, but it's probably the most skippable of AR's four AoE attacks if you have other shinies you want to fit into the build in its place. Because M30 has the same range as Full Auto, you can fire it off right before FA so that the grenade will hit just as you're starting to let loose with the hail of bullets. All the targets will still be hit by FA even though many will get knocked back, so they aren't firing back while getting shredded.

Beanbag is a pretty standard single-target mez power. If you're soloing, or in a team situation without much hard control, you can take nasty debuffers/mezzers out of the equation before they can cause trouble, like Sappers, Sorcerors, or BP Shaman. If you generally feel confident enough to unload a hail of napalm and lead until everything stops twitching, it's not that big a deal, but if you do take it, it can be useful sometimes. It serves a similar purpose as a Snipe in most situations, but only takes them out for 10-20 seconds, not permanently. Very much a personal playstyle/choice issue imo.

On the whole, your power choices look solid. If you can afford a Stealth IO to pair with Cloaking Device, which you said you were going to take for sure, then you could respec out Super Speed without a second thought if you really don't like it as a travel power. Ignite is another little gem you might consider taking, if you find yourself fighting single hard targets on a semi-regular basis instead of just a mass of readily AoEable mooks. With only two other single-target attacks, AR is somewhat lacking when it comes to battling AVs and/or higher level, lethal-resistant bosses. Since you are forced to take Web Grenade anyway, you can use it in conjunction with Ignite to put out some VERY respectable single target damage on whatever the unlucky victim of choice is.

I can't comment on AR, never done it as my /traps is an archery but a note on tripmine - I find the best use for tripmine is to plant one at your feet to open each fight. This buys you the following:

1) You get a 26% defiance boost to damage from it - about the best you can get short of time bomb.
2) Melee deterence - any enemy that closes with you will be blown back when the trip mine goes off. If you are doing things right you should have shredded them with your other AoE attacks and the tripmine should finish them off.

My archery/dev's standard tactic is to stealth into cone range, drop a trip mine, throw out caltrop's then unload the AE's on the mobs. Anthing left alive will either not make it to me through the caltrops while I finish them off with single target attacks or get blown up by the trip mine.

I also can't over emphasize the defiance boost you get from trip mine. I love it on my archery blaster and she at least has aim - on a AR blaster it is going to be a huge benefit. Even if you can't afford to slot up trip mine, see if you can fit it in just for the defiance boost and the KB. Just laying one at your feet takes very little time and is well worth it.

First, Eric, I didn't know about the defiance boost the tripmine gave. I think I'll use them as my doormats for a while.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doctor_Kumquat Playing an AR blaster but skipping Buckshot seems almost as counter intuitive to me as skipping Flamethrower or Full Auto.

I wouldn't go that far, but in my other AR when I'd stay close to the tank to avoid aggro, I would desperately wait for buckshot and flamethrower. But I'm a big fan of rising orange numbers in general and the more the better. Buckshot is getting moved up in the list.

I think I'm going to have to respec to get back the slot that SS took. It's just one, but I want this one right. This is going to be my first 50 and I don't want to get her just right after she's a fifty.

Quote:

M30 does the same damage as it, but from double the range, recharge, and almost double the activation time. I took M30 simply because more AoEs = better

I think that's the reason I'm going to take it. But knowing that it takes so much longer than buckshot is a definate + for buckshot.

Quote:

Beanbag is a pretty standard single-target mez power. [snip] Very much a personal playstyle/choice issue imo.

Well, due to Goat's high praise, I'm bumping this up in the list, probably just after buckshot. But maybe wait on the respec until after I add this. In some ways it sounds super useful, but if I was soloing and saw a purple, I'd walk on by. But, it sounds pretty cool.

Quote:

Ignite is another little gem you might consider taking...you are forced to take Web Grenade anyway, you can use it in conjunction with Ignite to put out some VERY respectable single target damage on whatever the unlucky victim of choice is.

I'll take that into consideration.

Now to puzzle piece everything together again. The only powers in fixed positions now are getting hover and flight asap, and Tripmine and FA are also ASAPs as soon as they are available. I hate to drop out combat jumping, for kb protection also, but something's gotta go.

Great info guys. Pleased no one just threw a build at me, as what I needed was info like this to chew on.

I've got an old 50 AR/Dev that I may respec, but here's my thoughts:
-- M-30 is a decent AoE, with a nice 80 foot range. Save it for the later part of a battle so if you knock something away it's probably dead anyway. It's also good to use when you find yourself suddenly surrounded by bad guys--shoot it at the closest and watch them fly away from you. (50% chance of 3.3 KB)
-- Beanbag... to be honest I never tried it, but I don't doubt it's utility.
-- Buckshot is another solid choice. The knockback is only 50% chance of 1.2 Magnitude, so it's manageable. And as a cone it matches up nicely with Flamethrower and Full Auto.
-- Body Armor is straightforward, just don't put too many slots into it. If I remember correctly you can put a -KB IO in it.
-- Consider getting the Cryo Freeze Ray instead of Surveillence. I use it in the same capacity that most use Beanbag: You can take a Lt out of the fight until you're ready to deal with him. It also pairs well with Ignite (though that may make your head hurt when you freeze a target then light it on fire).
-- LRM... I have a love/hate relationship with this one. It's cool, and you blow stuff up from a long range, but I don't find it useful on teams. After reading up on Surveillence, you'll probably get more use out of Surv than LRM.

And I'll endorse the idea of combining Cloaking Device with a Stealth IO (I put one in Combat Jumping). Makes planting those Trip Mines a breeze.

I'd love to say buckshot is awesome, because I used to use it all the time, but now with Full Auto I find buckshot to be mostly unnecessary, because nothing survives long enough for me to need the extra AoE.

I find more and more often the best attack combo is m30(first)then immediatly after FA, because of the delay to your grenade hitting, you will hit all the mobs you've lined up for FA and likely significantly delay their retribution due to knockback, if not kill them out right. After that flamethrower does more damage so why use buckshot. and also, if they're not dead it might mean there's few enough that single targets attacks are the way to go.

But then, I play an AR/EN so rangeboost is on all the time, meaning Full Auto is going to cover the regular cone whole more easily (as the narrow cone means nothing at long range)

Eventually, you can drop something, it'll be a hard choice because all the AoE's are very good. With Full Auto recharging every spawn (or multiple times per) there won't be need to have em all AFTER that point though.

Also beanbag PFFT, bean bag never got me anywhere (solely opinion, not advice) you ARE going with munitions mastery though, this means you can pick up a hold that you don't need redraw for either, and hold and stun don't stack. [which one do you want (stares intensely) a stun? WRONG! (ignites you while you're held and NOT running away)]

just kidding, that's right, you have an immob with devices. But ask yourself "do I need more control?" if you solo often, taking two mobs out of the fight is better than just one. If you don't solo often, holds better than stun any day.

Lastly, Hurdle will get you what you want out of combat jumping, that is easy indoor speed. At about level 25-30ish it will have scaled up enough that you can clear the 1 floor up bridge railing no problem.