Can't figure out E^3 build
One possibility is to live without thunderstrike. You won't need it to fill out your attack chain and it lowers your DPA when you use it anyways. Its a "flavor" power in a build that is already full of flavor, and very tight.
One possibility is to live without thunderstrike. You won't need it to fill out your attack chain and it lowers your DPA when you use it anyways. Its a "flavor" power in a build that is already full of flavor, and very tight.
|
Some of my thoughts:
* I hate lightning field. I see no real use besides getting aggro and destroying your end bar. "Damage in melee range, very slowly" is not a recipe for Blaster success that I've ever seen work. I suppose it looks really stylish, though.
* If you're going to be in melee range for Short Circuit, you might want to consider both Havoc Punch and Charged Brawl, which do spectacular damage in a very short time. I prefer Charged Brawl to Thunderstrike. The AOE damage on Thunderstrike is very low- it's pretty much melee singletarget damage with AOE knockback.
Mini-guides: Force Field Defenders, Blasters, Market Self-Defense, Frankenslotting.
So you think you're a hero, huh.
@Boltcutter in game.
OK, I'll strike thunderstrike and, yes, I can swing a 10m Celerity for my dude. Heck, I'm bidding on the recipe to craft 'n sell with another toon. I'm just such an altaholic it stresses me to put anything of worth in a toon I've only had a handfull of hours.
Made 1.5 mil with Dark Hareman tonight, so in a few days he'll get his second build started and pop a celerity into sprint.
Is this a Superior Invisibility type stealth or does it need to be stacked w SS?
I'm really liking this toon so far. I like blasters and the electricity fits well with the Batman-with-a-mustache-and-rabbit-ears look.
Thanks for the adivce guys. I'll play with Mids sometime that it's not 1:13 and I have to wake up at 5:20. [I am dumb]
The Stealth IO is "Standard stealth" so you'd probably need to stack it with either Stealth or Superspeed. Short Circuit is a long activation in pointblank range, or I'd say it's enough by itself.
The one IO that I recommend for every Blaster at all times is a -KB; +Stealth is very nice to have, though.
Mini-guides: Force Field Defenders, Blasters, Market Self-Defense, Frankenslotting.
So you think you're a hero, huh.
@Boltcutter in game.
Newer Version incorperating advice.
The gist, if you don't want to pore over it:
Kept the first 10 levs since they aren't that bad. Needed Stealth for full invis w Celerity +Stealth. Added CJ for some defense and immob protection. Other than that, only taking Hasten and Hurdle/Health/Stamina for pools.
Left out a primary power to get CJ, Zapp. It was a tossup between Voltaic Sentinel or Zapp. I like pets, but I'm occustomed to Phantasm and Phantom Army. If VS is dumb as a rock, I might want to pass on this, though with my AR I never use snipe, though Zapp doesn't have the kb so pulling with is might be nice.
I know the advice is to skip TS, but man, but it sounds killer. Though, it is dropped.
APool is getting to cone, getting another 3 mag on the holds, more defense, and EMP, which I'm not sure about.
I'm picking up Aim and Build-Up before getting more attacks because I feel they rock. No new attacks until lev 22.
[That might have been longer than poring over it.]
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Dark Hareman iv: Level 48 Technology Blaster
Primary Power Set: Electrical Blast
Secondary Power Set: Electricity Manipulation
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Concealment
Power Pool: Leaping
Ancillary Pool: Electrical Mastery
Hero Profile:
------------
Level 1: Charged Bolts Empty(A)
Level 1: Electric Fence Empty(A)
Level 2: Lightning Bolt Empty(A)
Level 4: Ball Lightning Empty(A)
Level 6: Hasten Empty(A)
Level 8: Hurdle Empty(A)
Level 10: Stealth Empty(A)
We are here w/ 1.5m inf
Level 12: Combat Jumping Empty(A)
Level 14: Health Empty(A)
Level 16: Aim Empty(A)
Level 18: Build Up Empty(A)
Level 20: Stamina Empty(A)
Level 22: Havoc Punch Empty(A)
Level 24: Short Circuit Empty(A)
Level 26: Charged Brawl Empty(A)
Level 28: Tesla Cage Empty(A)
Level 30: Voltaic Sentinel Empty(A)
Level 32: Thunderous Blast Empty(A)
Level 35: Power Sink Empty(A)
Level 38: Shocking Grasp Empty(A)
Level 41: Static Discharge Empty(A)
Level 44: Shocking Bolt Empty(A)
Level 47: Charged Armor Empty(A)
Level 49: EM Pulse Empty(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint Clrty-Stlth:15(A)
Level 2: Rest Empty(A)
Level 1: Defiance
Thanks again. Didn't include block since there's no enh besides me showing the Celerity + Stealth. Speaking of which, man, the market's all bare and wonky. Hard to believe that the low Celerity's don't get marketed. I'd want as low as possible for exemp reasons.
So you're going to skip Lightning Field but keep Short Circuit, a PBAoE power? Plus most of the secondary is melee, so why not take the extra ticks of damage? It's not bad slotted with 3 end redux.
And skipping Thunderstrike? That's the best melee power in the /elec set.
Lightning Field+Ball Lightning+Short Circuit+TS to clean up.
Tesla, Shocking Bolt and EM Pulse is overkill - you shouldn't need 3 holds on a Blaster to survive. Skip out on the 3 holds and take the Fighting pool to increase your survivability.
Here's my suggestion. If you feel you need a hold, swap out VS for Tesla Cage:
01: Charged Bolts => Empty(1)
01: Electric Fence => Empty(1)
02: Lightning Bolt => Empty(2)
04: Ball Lightning => Empty(4)
06: Hasten => Empty(6)
08: Short Circuit => Empty(8)
10: Havoc Punch => Empty(10)
12: Aim => Empty(12)
14: Super Speed => Empty(14)
16: Hurdle => Empty(16)
18: Health => Empty(18)
20: Stamina => Empty(20)
22: Build Up => Empty(22)
24: Lightning Field => Empty(24)
26: Voltaic Sentinel => Empty(26)
28: Thunder Strike => Empty(28)
30: Combat Jumping => Empty(30)
32: Thunderous Blast => Empty(32)
35: Power Sink => Empty(35)
38: Kick => Empty(38)
41: Static Discharge => Empty(41)
44: Charged Armor => Empty(44)
47: Tough => Empty(47)
49: Weave => Empty(49)
So you're going to skip Lightning Field but keep Short Circuit, a PBAoE power? Plus most of the secondary is melee, so why not take the extra ticks of damage? It's not bad slotted with 3 end redux. |
Lightning field lets 'em know you're there sometime in the first two seconds.
The "extra ticks"... it is my belief that my half-life in melee range of any decent spawn is about four seconds. That is, if I'm in melee range for four seconds there's a half chance I die.
That's two ticks of Lightning Field. Which is about 2/5 of Ball Lightning damage. Which isn't really going to make much of a difference, I suspect.
Now just because I'm loud doesn't mean I'm right, but these are my beliefs: It gets you killed, it burns your endurance bar (equivalent of having Ball Lightning on auto, on top of all your other attacks) and it doesn't help that much.
The Ball Lightning comparison that I keep using may not be exactly right- it's based on math i did for Death Shroud, which turns out to be 1/5 of a standard AOE (Claws/Spin, Fireball, Whirling Sword/Axe/Fists, all those damage scale 1 things) per tick for both damage and endurance, five ticks in 10 seconds.
Mini-guides: Force Field Defenders, Blasters, Market Self-Defense, Frankenslotting.
So you think you're a hero, huh.
@Boltcutter in game.
Tesla, Shocking Bolt and EM Pulse is overkill - you shouldn't need 3 holds on a Blaster to survive. Skip out on the 3 holds and take the Fighting pool to increase your survivability. |
Oh, you're serious!
No. Just... no.
Tesla Cage, Shocking Bolt, and/or Shocking Grasp are worth the entire Fighting Power Pool combined. Stackable holds make bosses (and some Elite Bosses) completely irrelevant, whereas the Fighting Power Pool only grants a very modest damage offset that's hardly worth the wasted power (Kick or Punch) to get it.
Fulmens, actually, Short Circuit lets them know you're there the moment you trigger the power. I have Stealth + Super Speed + Celerity/Stealth. Foes are "notified" of the attack the moment you launch it. You'll take the alpha, but (with Power Sink and some luck) not the beta; that's better than most (all?) other Blasters can say, though.
There are ways to make Lightning Field work for a Blaster build, but you had better build around it, because to make it work, you're going to have to slot it. Personally, I'd say the best use of the power is for Endurance suppression after you've fully drained your foes and, later, "Frankenslot" it for a mix of damage/drain, but it doesn't do either particularly effectively. I have it on my Electric/Electric/Mu Mastery Brute, but not on CB himself. Simply put, E^3 Blasters have so many other powers that should take priority that it simply dropped off my radar.
Postagulous, I had EM Pulse for a short while, but found it slightly underwhelming. It recharges far too slowly to be readily at hand, and on spawns you're likely to use it on, you're just better off Thundrous Blasting to bits instead (which is probably also going to be up, since they're on the same cycle). Since it has the same Self -Recovery effect that a true nuke has, you're just not that likely to use it except in emergencies. Also, the Blaster version is a Stun, not a Hold, so it doesn't stack with your Single-Target Holds--it won't Stun bosses in spawns, nor will throwing out a Tesla Cage immediately afterward lock down a boss.
40062: The World's Worst PUG
84008: Jenkins's Guide to Super-Villainy
230187: The Hero of Kings Row
No H8 - 08.04.10
@Circuit Boy - Moderator - Pride global chat channel
*snicker*
Oh, you're serious! No. Just... no. Tesla Cage, Shocking Bolt, and/or Shocking Grasp are worth the entire Fighting Power Pool combined. Stackable holds make bosses (and some Elite Bosses) completely irrelevant, whereas the Fighting Power Pool only grants a very modest damage offset that's hardly worth the wasted power (Kick or Punch) to get it. |
Wow, love the discussion. Here are my responses and, perhaps wrong, reasoning behind them.
Mr HS,
Short Circuit's benefit is the 35% end drain and -100% recovery. If I was stuck, and that's a key word there, in melee, I could spam that every 10 seconds w the right rech red. My main problem with it, as with Lightning Field, is that it is an aggro pig.
I kinda agree with you on Thunder Strike. I was talked out of it but it sounds really swank. Though, it's such a tight build, something had to go. And speaking of having to go, I will drop EMP. I don't need that many holds. And I'm really not big on nukes that punish you. But with Tesla and Shocking Bolt, I can get mag 6 on something at a range of 60 ft. Woot. Another if-stuck-in-melee RUN! power is Shocking Grasp, which will hold the minions, and unslotted will rech in 15 sec.
I don't really dig melee in a blaster, but the secondaries are full of them. [Except for Dev, which I don't really dig anymore.]
As for the fighting pool, I am making a Tanker version of Dark Hareman called Soul Kangaroo. He'll take fighting. If was going to look for mitigation with this toon, I'd really want Vengence. I'm not going to be the first to die if things go pear shaped.
Fulmens,
I wouldn't use SC as an Alpha. I like to play on teams and not solo. So I might run up, hit it, run back. I'm not beating the tank in there.
CB,
Yeah. With SG unenhanceed at 15 seconds, 18.2 end, with a change of returning some, and Mag 3 hold. Shocking Bolt at 16sec, 10 end, and Tesla at 10sec, 7 end. [Uninhanced! 7 end for a 60ft mag 3 hold!] I have to take them. The Devs want me to take them.
Sure, it's "personal preference", but in my opinion, stripping an E^3 Blaster of damage powers in favor of anything from the Fighting Pool when Holds are available is basically "gimping" him or her. There's no point to it.
If you've got your foes held, you don't need those toggles burning your Endurance, because a foe that can't attack you is doing 0 damage. 47% of 0 is still 0, making that S/L Resist mostly irrelevant (unless you're a tactical moron).
Let's just say in five+ years of playing E^3, the thought of taking the Fighting Power Pool has never crossed my mind. Between the full drain of Short Circuit + Power Sink and the stackable holds in Tesla Cage, Shocking Bolt, and Shocking Grasp, there's just no point. Maybe on a Fire/Fire Blaster...
40062: The World's Worst PUG
84008: Jenkins's Guide to Super-Villainy
230187: The Hero of Kings Row
No H8 - 08.04.10
@Circuit Boy - Moderator - Pride global chat channel
Right, Short Circuit has a great benefit without damage coming into play.
Short Circuit plus Power Sink is one of the great choices for an Elec/Elec.
That's the thing... or, at least, my thing about E^3:
You are very versatile. And, to me, to ignore that is sort of losing sight of what makes E^3 so very awesome (Personal opinion, of course).
You Blast from range (Of course)
You Blap up close (The melee attacks of the secondary are truly terrific. You don't have to be a Blapper enthusiast to find Havoc Punch and the like a useful part of your repertoire)
And you Control (In multiple ways! You have your immob [electric fence], which is very helpful in keeping guys off of you in the early levels, Tesla Cage and Shocking Grasp as solid holds [can never say enough about how friggin fantastic Tesla Cage is... Then use it on a boss, run in and tag that boss with Shocking Grasp and whammo, that boss is held!]... then Shocking Bolt is absolutely terrific! You have three powerful holds [Shocking Grasp's damage over time is nothing to sneeze at either], two holds from long range! PLUS you have your area of effect Endurance Drains! Not to mention your nuke. Use your nuke, pop a blue and power sink for a full End bar and finish them all off!]
The E^3 is about options at your disposal... a variety of methods to take out your enemies.
You can shoot blast from range, run in and knock them around, drain them completely or lock them all down to keep them off of you and/or your teammates as you then pick them apart.
Plus... holds and drain make using your melee attacks and your area attacks much more safe.
And I have to repeat this: holds are a greater defense than a small percentage of defense/resistance.
Anyways... I love, love , love E^3!
I find myself changing up which method I'll use, sometimes on a whim, sometimes based on the enemy, sometimes based on the situation, the team make-up, etc.
I love the hard control of the three holds (If one of them misses on a boss, I still have a third to lock him down with... and the recharge for Tesla and Shocking Bolt are pretty quick).
And, really... the Endurance Drain can easily start off every single encounter. If any pesky enemies are still attacking you or your friends, lock them down with holds.
On a team with a tank not holding aggro to some of the other team members' likings? throw your holds on the enemies breaking rank and attacking you or your fellow squishies.
Did I say I love the versatility?
Well, I do I do I do!!!
Haha... I hope you enjoy your E^3!!
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
I'm in this camp too.
I wouldn't even consider making an Elec/Elec without Short Circuit, Power Sink,
and Tesla Cage and either Shocking Grasp (or Shocking Bolt if you go E3).
Early, SC can be slotted for decent damage and works well with Ball Lightning.
Later, it and Power Sink are a beautiful thing to behold for End Drain.
In the middle and thereafter, Tesla Cage is fabulous - By itself, nicely slotted,
it will keep a LT or less out of the entire fight. In conjunction with Shocking Grasp/Bolt,
it can lock down a Boss.
For me, Blasters are an exercise in aggro management. Sequence holding
the foes is a tactical blessing that Electrical Blasters excel at, and that's
not even considering the fun that is Drain (once you can make it work
consistently).
Regards,
4
PS> I too never once gave the Fighting Pool an instant's thought for my E3.
I've been rich, and I've been poor. Rich is definitely better.
Light is faster than sound - that's why some people look smart until they speak.
For every seller who leaves the market dirty stinkin' rich,
there's a buyer who leaves the market dirty stinkin' IOed. - Obitus.
I know you have a super-tight build, but wanted to throw out some love for Lightning Field.
LF has incredible damage potential. It also supports all of your PBAoE/blapping stuff going on. The catch: you need to either be solo/small teaming it OR be on a large team with a lockdown controller or aggro magnet tanker. It also helps with sapping, keeping bad guys' blue bars dry.
Seriously: run HeroStats and you'll see the incredible damage output over time that LF does when fighting large groups.
Lastly, I am a big fan of taking and slotting Hover for an always-on combat power. It's fast enough to keep up with the group and gives you protection from melee when you need it, not to mention ghetto knockback resistance.
Just my $.02. I do like your power selections overall.
Postagulous, one thing that often gets overlooked in the "debate" (such as it is) over both Thunderstrike and Total Focus is their ability to one-shot a minion (with Aim and/or Build-Up). I don't have TS in my current build, but it's not as bad a choice as its detractors say.
Just remember, there are some players here who appear to think that DPS is a god that must be kowtowed to, never once considering that DPS is irrelevant if you can one-shot something.
40062: The World's Worst PUG
84008: Jenkins's Guide to Super-Villainy
230187: The Hero of Kings Row
No H8 - 08.04.10
@Circuit Boy - Moderator - Pride global chat channel
For me, Blasters are an exercise in aggro management. |
Now an Elec blaster has a lot of damage that is either pointblank, AOE, over time, or all of the above. Those things are highly likely to anger enemies and NOT kill them immediately. Which is one reason why the Short Circuit/Powersink combo is so good. Because they just go "SO MAD RITE NOW" and there's nothing they can do about it until their end comes back, which doesn't even start happening for... ten seconds? Something like that.
The 1-shot on Thunderstrike is definitely a juicy thing- I had it on a Fire/Elec who wasn't doublestealthed, so I never opened with it. I'm going to reconsider it. 1-shot someone, throw damage while their friends are getting up, maneuver and scheme.
My view on the Fighting Pool is, if you're going to go Defense go big or don't bother. One of my blasters is in the 30% range for smash/lethal and close to that on en/neg, and that is approaching "really good." Specifically, it's one small purple from telling everyone JUST where they can go for the next 60 seconds. But it takes a lot of tweaking to get that level of defense [or higher- lots of people go higher] and you don't even start to get there until about level 45. I did not, on my other Blasters, say "Now I have to put together a huge amount of weird IO's and peculiar slotting to get massive Defense." I tried different things and I'm quite happy with the results on them, too.
Mini-guides: Force Field Defenders, Blasters, Market Self-Defense, Frankenslotting.
So you think you're a hero, huh.
@Boltcutter in game.
Whataguy, you're absolutely right. It's the same with my Brute's LF--I ran HeroStats on it about two years ago and I was really surprised. The Blaster version is slightly stronger and considerably larger in area, so I'd expect somewhat even more impressive results.
Truly, the only headscratching power in any of the three Electric sets is Lightning Clap. The Brute version is workable (though in a well-built E^3 Brute, there are lots of better options), but the Blaster version, in its current incarnation, is inexcusably bad. 50% chance to do a Mag2 Stun and radial Knockback (not Knockdown)? If you're building a "sapper" build (Short Circuit, Power Sink, maybe Lightning Field), it actually operates against your best interests. There's no rational reason to pick or use it.
40062: The World's Worst PUG
84008: Jenkins's Guide to Super-Villainy
230187: The Hero of Kings Row
No H8 - 08.04.10
@Circuit Boy - Moderator - Pride global chat channel
Quote:
... for me they're an exercise in stress management. I play a lot of fire blasters, because of the "BOOM! FWOOSH! Thank you, don't forget to tip your waitress" playstyle. |
same condition ... ie. If aggro is managed, there's not much stress
My PB Kheld is definitely more in the BOOM! style because he always
opened up in Nova (with Detonation first - I which pretty much wraps up whatever minions were present before they
even knew a fight was in progress and then the ST's would clean up the
Lt's... If there happened to be a Boss, that's when I'd drop down into
Dwarf and duke it out... Slow, but, I always enjoyed the "epic" aspect
of two titans slugging it out...
My E3 (just Elec/Elec back in the day) always felt like more of an ST guy
to me (unlike your fire, and my PB). So, in a standard Boss, Lt, Minion
spawn, his typical approach is BU/Zapp = dead Minion, Tesla Cage = caged
Lt... I'm gonna take a return shot from the Boss by then (My toon has
stealth, so often that was the only return shot). At that point, it's Short
Circuit, Power Sink and Ball Lightning... Boss and Lt are drained, and I
can usually finish Lt at that point, OR re-apply Cage, OR, use TC and
Shocking Grasp/Bolt to hold Boss... Lots of options, but generally from this
point, the fight is in the bag, and I've typically only been hit just once.
Originally Posted by Circuit_Boy
Truly, the only headscratching power in any of the three Electric sets is Lightning Clap
|
Lightning Field, and Sparky are both forgettable too.
LF is just too expensive - I only ever used it to get mobs that were stuck
in the geometry, or to look cool in Atlas...
Sparky is Ok, but I found I'd mostly only use him as insurance after a TB
nuke (in case anyone was left while I recovered).
My Rad/Elec Defender uses Sparky far more than my E3 Blaster ever did... YMMV.
Regards,
4
PS> This is all from a solo perspective which is also why it's really aggro
management in my thinking.
I've been rich, and I've been poor. Rich is definitely better.
Light is faster than sound - that's why some people look smart until they speak.
For every seller who leaves the market dirty stinkin' rich,
there's a buyer who leaves the market dirty stinkin' IOed. - Obitus.
This is a levelling build, not a respec. I'm a team player and would like this blaster to do well at range, but also have stealth capabilities to ghost missions and also position for Short Circuit, etc.
There are just too many powers I want and not enough slots. I'd like to take all the primaries and all but two of the secondaries, leaving Charged Brawl and the stun. I'd like Concealment up to Phase Shift, but it's not going to happen.
I have Ninja Run, and with Hurdle I can jump at 53ish mph which is enough of a travel power for me as long as I have an SG portal, train, or Ouro portal handy. Plus a Raptor Pack.
He is currently at level 10. I thought I was working off a sheet when I did the first 10 levels, but I have no record of it. Today, I consider what I did last night to be odd choices.
Below is a hack build that I'm not happy with. I'd like to get invis w/o having SS, and I'm not prepared to spend 10m to get Celerity +Stealth until I'm in my 40s, plus, I alerady picked up Stealth.
Dark Hareman v1: Level 48 Technology Blaster
Primary Power Set: Electrical Blast
Secondary Power Set: Electricity Manipulation
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Concealment
Ancillary Pool: Electrical Mastery
Hero Profile:
------------
Level 1: Lightning Bolt
Level 1: Electric Fence
Level 2: Ball Lightning
Level 4: Charged Bolts
Level 6: Hasten
Level 8: Hurdle
Level 10: Stealth
We Are Here
Level 12: Aim
Level 14: Short Circuit
Level 16: Build Up
Level 18: Health
Level 20: Stamina
Level 22: Havoc Punch
Level 24: Super Speed
Level 26: Tesla Cage
Level 28: Thunder Strike
Level 30: Lightning Field
Level 32: Thunderous Blast
Level 35: Power Sink
Level 38: Shocking Grasp
Level 41: Static Discharge
Level 44: Shocking Bolt
Level 47: Charged Armor
Level 49: EM Pulse
------------
| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
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