Archery/Devices - no need to slot accuracy?
The math is correct so yeah, as long as you don't fight higher con enemies you should be mostly ok. The one exception is Rain of Arrows. The power says it has a high accuracy modifier but from testing it seems like the pseudo pet it summons (which performs the actual attack) has an accuracy of only 1.00x so you'll definetly want some accuracy in Rain of Arrows.
The math is correct so yeah, as long as you don't fight higher con enemies you should be mostly ok. The one exception is Rain of Arrows. The power says it has a high accuracy modifier but from testing it seems like the pseudo pet it summons (which performs the actual attack) has an accuracy of only 1.00x so you'll definetly want some accuracy in Rain of Arrows.
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Devices blasters need to slot all pet and psuedo pet powers for accuracy. The reason is that buffs copy over to the pets/psuedo pets including their remaining duration.
Targetting drone pulses every .5 seconds and has a duration of .75 seconds. That means that the buff doesn't last long enough for anything but direct fired attacks.
That means that you'll need accuracy slotting on:
Rain of Arrows
Trip Mine
Time Bomb
Gun Drone
Additionally with the new defiance comes 2 things to be aware of.
1) Blasters can fire their tier 1 and 2 primary and tier 1 secondary power while mezzed.
2) Mezzes do not detoggle non-offensive powers but do supress thier effect.
What that means is that while you are mezzed Targetting Drone still drains endurance but does not give any benefit. Therefore if you wish to actually use this portion of defiance the following powers will also need their own accuracy slotting.
Snap Shot
Aimed Shot
Web Grenade
You may actually be better off skipping TD and slotting sets that give global bonuses to accuracy and the kismet unique since these sets have built in accuracy in the enhancements and the global bonuses are not lost while mezzed.
-Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein.
-I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo Galilei
-When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty. - Thomas Jefferson
You may actually be better off skipping TD and slotting sets that give global bonuses to accuracy and the kismet unique since these sets have built in accuracy in the enhancements and the global bonuses are not lost while mezzed.
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It has always been my philosophy to ensure accuracy of your powers so that some secondary benefit doesnt get disrupted and you become unable to hit. Make it so the bad guys can't weaken you. Slot the powers. Forget TD even exists.
-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
I look at Targeting Drone as just a bonus. If anything, slot for 1 accuracy instead of 2 like most other sets would have to.
You may actually be better off skipping TD and slotting sets that give global bonuses to accuracy and the kismet unique since these sets have built in accuracy in the enhancements and the global bonuses are not lost while mezzed.
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"Oh great, ANOTHER skippable power in /dev, just what it needs!"
my ar/dev's build lost Cloaking Device to Manuevers yesterday (as he's a super speedster who has a stealth IO slotted and is going for ranged defense), now I realize that Targeting Drone is also redundant in the Age of IOs.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
*scurries off to Mids*
The Nethergoat Archive: all my memories, all my characters, all my thoughts on CoH...eventually.
My City Was Gone
I did the math on this a while back. If you have decent accuracy set bonuses then TD is easily skippable. Even without them you can replace it with a Kismet and Tactics, you lose a bit of to hit but provide a nice buff to your team. Personally the only reason I still have TD on my AR/Dev is that I haven't quite convinced myself I can manage without the to hit debuff resistance (I enjoy fighting carnies ).
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Another blow against /dev as a secondary, but it'll be fun to play around with replacement powers and slotting in the context of my 'uber ranged defense' build...
The Nethergoat Archive: all my memories, all my characters, all my thoughts on CoH...eventually.
My City Was Gone
This gave me a sinking feeling.
"Oh great, ANOTHER skippable power in /dev, just what it needs!" my ar/dev's build lost Cloaking Device to Manuevers yesterday (as he's a super speedster who has a stealth IO slotted and is going for ranged defense), now I realize that Targeting Drone is also redundant in the Age of IOs. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. *scurries off to Mids* |
My Arch/Dev/Munitions is my salute to Anime' character. I wanted to try to build him without TD just because it didn't fit into his ancient oriental theme. When I first sat down with mids I was worried that it wouldn't work the way I wanted it to but I have lots more acc than I need even without TD just because the sets I slotted have acc built into the enhancements.
I'm entirely happy with him (he dinged 50 without even the first debt badge. My first and only blaster to be able to make that claim. My Sonic/Ice came close but didn't quite make it)
The only powers he has from the secondary are:
Webnade
Caltrops
Trip Mine
Time Bomb
none of the others fit his build or are not required because of IOs.
Taser is out because of it's extremely short range. Caltrops lets me stack Cryo Freeze Ray on a boss in about 6 seconds in relative safety.
TD is replaced by set bonuses.
Smoke Grenade and Cloaking device are replaced by a single IO (Celerity Stealth) and my travel power of choice SS.
Gun Drone was lame for a long time and is still the worst pet power in the game since it suffers all the worst negatives and has little in the way of positives. It also failed to fit my concept and frequently got in the way of setting trip mines or a time bomb.
I use the Nemesis Rifle for my Epic so it's all good as far as concept goes.
-Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein.
-I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo Galilei
-When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty. - Thomas Jefferson
Okay, so the amount of +acc, Kismet, etc. available through IO's may Targeting Drone moot at the high end / post 50, but I'm one of those guys who has never even MADE it to 50.
What about all the time I'm gonna spend in the 20-40 level range, where I don't have epics or the time/patience/money for IO's?
Gaussians chance for build up is enough for me to want to keep Targeting Drone.
If we are to die, let us die like men. -- Patrick Cleburne
----------------------------------------------------------
The rule is that they must be loved. --Jayne Fynes-Clinton, Death of an Abandoned Dog
-Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein.
-I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo Galilei
-When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty. - Thomas Jefferson
Okay, so the amount of +acc, Kismet, etc. available through IO's may Targeting Drone moot at the high end / post 50, but I'm one of those guys who has never even MADE it to 50.
What about all the time I'm gonna spend in the 20-40 level range, where I don't have epics or the time/patience/money for IO's? |
The only thing that it really is helpful with is Acc debuffers most of which you fight in that range are going to be CoT. YOu have other tools as an arch dev to use to deal with them.
-Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein.
-I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo Galilei
-When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty. - Thomas Jefferson
I wouldn't drop Targeting Drone, even though I have plenty of accuracy bonuses: I'd say it's a bonus of the set that it is there. There are skippable powers in Devices, but I don't think Targeting Drone is really worth skipping.
Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc: Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory
I wouldn't drop Targeting Drone, even though I have plenty of accuracy bonuses: I'd say it's a bonus of the set that it is there. There are skippable powers in Devices, but I don't think Targeting Drone is really worth skipping.
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On the exceedingly rare occasions that I am hit with enough acc debuffs to drop me below 95% (even vs +4s mind you) a single small yellow insp is enough to turn the tide back in my favor. (And this is of course assuming that the 59.1% to hit buff from Aim is not available because it is not yet recharged.)
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.707
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Nasu No Yoichi: Level 50 Natural Blaster
Primary Power Set: Archery
Secondary Power Set: Devices
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Medicine
Ancillary Pool: Munitions Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Snap Shot -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(3), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7)
Level 1: Web Grenade -- HO:Endo(A)
Level 2: Aimed Shot -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(7), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(9), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11)
Level 4: Fistful of Arrows -- Det'tn-Acc/Dmg(A), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx(13), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg(13), Det'tn-Dmg/Rng(15), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), HO:Centri(17)
Level 6: Blazing Arrow -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(17), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(19), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(21), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21)
Level 8: Aim -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(23), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(23), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(25), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(25), GSFC-Build%(27)
Level 10: Caltrops -- CtlSpd-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(A), ImpSwft-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(27), TmpRdns-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(29), P'ngTtl-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(29)
Level 12: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(33), RechRdx-I(33)
Level 14: Super Speed -- Clrty-Stlth(A)
Level 16: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 18: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+(31)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), P'Shift-EndMod(31), P'Shift-End%(31)
Level 22: Explosive Arrow -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(33), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(34), Posi-Dmg/Rng(34), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), FrcFbk-Rechg%(36)
Level 24: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), Krma-ResKB(36), Ksmt-ToHit+(36)
Level 26: Stunning Shot -- Stpfy-Acc/Rchg(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun(37), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx(37), Stpfy-Stun/Rng(37), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg(39)
Level 28: Trip Mine -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(39), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(39), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 30: Stimulant -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 32: Rain of Arrows -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(42), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(42), Posi-Dmg/Rng(42), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(43)
Level 35: Time Bomb -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(43), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(43), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45)
Level 38: Aid Self -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(A), Dct'dW-Heal(40), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(45), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(46), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 41: Body Armor -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A)
Level 44: Cryo Freeze Ray -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(46), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(50), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(50)
Level 47: LRM Rocket -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(48), Posi-Dmg/Rng(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(50)
Level 49: Resuscitate -- RechRdx-I(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Defiance
Level 4: Ninja Run
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-Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein.
-I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo Galilei
-When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty. - Thomas Jefferson
Does Targetting Drone provide any +Perception? And I think it has some To Hit debuff resistance.
Either of these could be quite valuable in the right circumstances. But, yeah, the power's more insurance than a way of life these days.
Does Targetting Drone provide any +Perception? And I think it has some To Hit debuff resistance.
Either of these could be quite valuable in the right circumstances. But, yeah, the power's more insurance than a way of life these days. |
Actually that's not exactly right. I'd rather Targeting Drone be buffed in a way that made it as worth taking as it used to be pre-ED. Of course I really don't see that happening any time soon.
MA Arcs: Yarmouth 1509 and 58812
I beg to differ. Below is my Arch/Dev. He has no purples slotted. His global accuracy bonus is +66% (2 SOs worth), each of his powers has between 45%and 66% accuracy slotting from the enhancement values in the chosen set(s). The Kismet adds a 6% to hit buff. All of the above does not include the bonus to accuracy inherent in the Archery primary nor does it take into account the hit buff provided by Aim which is up roughly 1/3 of the time.
On the exceedingly rare occasions that I am hit with enough acc debuffs to drop me below 95% (even vs +4s mind you) a single small yellow insp is enough to turn the tide back in my favor. (And this is of course assuming that the 59.1% to hit buff from Aim is not available because it is not yet recharged.) |
On top of that, I find the perception bonus to be nice (I like not being annoyed by Arachnos when I face them), as is the resist to to-hit debuffs. They're not huge, to be sure, but they are nice. A power doesn't have to do everything a character needs to be useful, just help in rounding out that character, which Targeting Drone can certainly do.
Now, I wouldn't be averse to improving Targeting Drone some, as Devices as a set does need some help. Since the set doesn't have a Build up, I do think adding some consistent +damage to the power makes some sense (it also fits the theme of the power... you should do more damage if something is assisting your targeting). I'm not sure what a good balance point would be with build up so TD isn't overpowered, but even adding +5% to +10% damage would be a nice boost that I would take. If more would be balanced, all the better.
Heck, you could add in a few damage bonuses to a few of the powers, like Cloaking Device and TD. That would be rather interesting, and make the set's powers more worthwhile for all to take.
Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc: Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory
Heck, you could add in a few damage bonuses to a few of the powers, like Cloaking Device and TD. That would be rather interesting, and make the set's powers more worthwhile for all to take.
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Personally I've always thought that it would make sense if the power had some sort of chance for a damage addition component as opposed to a straight up damage buff. Either a small chance to crit or what's probably a 'safer' idea have a chance to add on a bit of extra damage somehow.
MA Arcs: Yarmouth 1509 and 58812
A crit from a Blaster attack would be pretty high damage... I could see a slight damage boost but not that. Not that I would complain about a small chance to crit, though.
Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc: Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory
A crit from a Blaster attack would be pretty high damage... I could see a slight damage boost but not that. Not that I would complain about a small chance to crit, though.
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I'm not a math person so forgive me if I'm laughably wrong here, but in the long run crits basically end up adding the same general amount of damage as a straight up damage buff yes. It's always seemed like more in line with a targeting drone to do something like let a character get off shots on 'vital' points or something on occasion than just do more damage in general. So crits or added damage instead of damage buffs.
Honestly the added damage thing would probably be better than crits. Less terrifying damage numbers and you could have it fire off more regularly.
MA Arcs: Yarmouth 1509 and 58812
Well, it's good that you found a build where you don't feel you need it, but I don't think we're in "Beg to differ" territory. For accuracy alone, Targeting Drone can be nice if you don't want to waste slots on a Kismet or a lot of accuracy bonuses, and it's also nice if you aren't going to invest in IOs or before you invest in them (also if you exemp below your level). All of those things are valid reasons to like Targeting Drone, even if your direct build doesn't need it.
On top of that, I find the perception bonus to be nice (I like not being annoyed by Arachnos when I face them), as is the resist to to-hit debuffs. They're not huge, to be sure, but they are nice. A power doesn't have to do everything a character needs to be useful, just help in rounding out that character, which Targeting Drone can certainly do. Now, I wouldn't be averse to improving Targeting Drone some, as Devices as a set does need some help. Since the set doesn't have a Build up, I do think adding some consistent +damage to the power makes some sense (it also fits the theme of the power... you should do more damage if something is assisting your targeting). I'm not sure what a good balance point would be with build up so TD isn't overpowered, but even adding +5% to +10% damage would be a nice boost that I would take. If more would be balanced, all the better. Heck, you could add in a few damage bonuses to a few of the powers, like Cloaking Device and TD. That would be rather interesting, and make the set's powers more worthwhile for all to take. |
The kismet only takes 1 slot I hardly think that is a waste especially considering that you will have extra slots available as a /Dev. If you really need +perception you can either pop a yellow insp or slot a Rectified Reticle Unique in Aim. This IO gives enough +perception to see through smoke.
In low levels TD is not useful especially considering how much end it consumes. (It's end cost is slightly higher than keeping sprint on during a fight). When slots are tight in the early game the +acc in Archery and beginners luck are enough without TD. it's end cost isn't really affordable until stamina which for me left 12 levels from the time I could take it until I could actually use is.
With my power choices there are almost as many powers that require accuracy slotting as there are the benefit from TD. So it still costs me either too much end, doesn't save me enough slots, or costs more slots for the power than I wish to spend considering the low return. In the mid level game I only found it of benefit against CoT. In the high level game only against Arachnos. Since I don't spend the majority of my blue side time fighting either of these groups in these level ranges I prefer a pool power that is more universally usable.
On the matter of /dev needing an update I strongly agree. The problem I see is that any damage bonuses placed in the "non-useful powers" will most likely only be significant if all the "non-useful powers" are selected. For me that would be like having a choice between between being shot or being hung.
The main problem is that many of the devices powers are so underwhelming that they can be replaced easily by a single IO or by set bonuses. It may not be as good as the power but it is close enough that the difference isn't worth the power pick.
-Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein.
-I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo Galilei
-When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty. - Thomas Jefferson
Just expanding on Oliin's thought that would likely require recoding all of the single target blaster powers. Add a 5% chance of extra damage into targeting drone that affects all single target atacks. The extra damage would be a dot over 3-5 seconds that would add up to about the same damage as a single target teir 1 blast. Not sure if making the damage enhanceable would be overpowered but if you code the damage into all the blaster attacks with a check to see if TD is on then you could just let the damage enhancements in the power affect it. You could even have a little message pop up when the damage procs and call it vital strike or something like that. Of course its a coding mess and would probably cause Castle a ton of frustration.
Work in progress no more. I have decided that I'm going to put my worst spelling errors here. Triage Bacon, Had this baster idea, TLR
"I'm going to beat the Jesus out of Satan!" My Wife while playing Dante's Inferno
Hey guys, wondering if you can check my numbers on this:
Archery has +15% accuracy across the board. Targeting Drone gives +13% to-hit un-enhanced.
75% base + 13% = 83% to-hit
.83 * 1.15 = .9545 or about 95% chance to hit, which is the cap (against even-con minions, I know).
So, does this mean that with one or two to-hit enhancers in Targeting Drone, an Archery/Devices blaster can completely skip slotting accuracy in their attacks if not facing really high-level enemies? I'm thinking mostly PvE for this, not PvP.