Help Scarlet Be a Better Blaster

Circuit_Boy · 12-08-2010 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scarlet Shocker

Sapping seems to be a futile ambition - mobs recover End so fast it is almost impossible to prevent them attacking and in PVP it's a complete waste of time. End mod is pointless as a form of attack

This is untrue.

If one's only experience with Endurance Drain comes from Power Sink, Transference, EM Pulse, or EMP Arrow, one might believe that, but there's a very good reason for that: none of these powers have -Recovery Debuffs. Short Circuit, Tesla Cage, and Thunderous Blast all have a 100% chance to apply a 100% -Recovery Debuff on foes hit for 8 seconds (Tesla Cage), 10 seconds (Short Circuit), or 20 seconds (Thunderous Blast). In other words, foes CANNOT recover any Endurance at all for that period of time. The only exceptions are Carnies, who are generally immune to -Recovery Debuffs overall (though not Endurance Drain), and Malta, who are generally resistant to Endurance Drain (but not -Recovery Debuffs).

It's a tactic I use all the time, particularly on Bosses and "true" Elite Bosses (those that weren't originally Archvillains/Heroes but busted down to Elite Boss status due to mission parameters). I used it on Trapdoor earlier this week. I've soloed Snaptooth that way, as well as the Shivan Decimator in the Mender Silos Orouboros mission (not the Task Force). I set Tesla Cage on auto after draining Trapdoor's Endurance to 0 with Short Circuit -> Power Sink. He never got a hit off after that, though his "reflections" did (though their damage is fairly minor). Try it--you'll see.

You can mezz an Elite Boss. Unless the Elite Boss is either a busted-down AV/Hero or the Elite Boss has melee defense powers that grant mezz resistance, they can be mezzed just like any other Boss can be. You need to stack two applications of a mezz power on them. This is one reason maxing mezz duration and recharge is so important for these powers.
(Electric Blaster tip: If you drain their Endurance to 0, any Endurance-using toggles they may have--including mezz resistance toggles--drop and you can mezz them much, much easier.)

Archvillains (fully-powered or depowered--if there are pink triangles of death, it's a busted-down AV/Hero) are different beasts altogether. They are between 54-80% resistant to Endurance Drain and -Recovery Debuffs, as they're 54-80% resistant to -Recharge Debuffs (Ice & Psychic Blast), -ToHit Debuffs (Dark Blast), Defense Debuffs (Radiation Blast), and many other debuffs. While the "pink triangles of death" are up, they've got Mag100 mezz resistance, which is impossible for a single PC to overcome. I've heard reports of soloing true Archvillains, though I generally take those with a grain of salt.

Nemu:

You can't get Hasten into that build, as you've already used four Power Pools. Also, using Basilisk's Gaze on your Holds, and only 4-slotting them, means they're not going to cut it. Their hold durations, at a mere +54.38%, are going to be too short to hold a boss/elite boss.

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Angelofvalor · 12-09-2010 03:35 PM

Scarlet please do not listen to these people who are telling you that not blapping is ok as an ele blaster, it is far from ok, you should read amythests guide on the blaptroller yes it is somewhat outdated but still pretty current on most things, you jump in end drain, then blap away real fast then run back make sure you use ss, then you shoot from a far or you can throw ball lightning first then end drain, anyways end draining is part of your defense always use those kinds of tools first and you will be safe as long as you watch what you are doing.

Ele/ele is meant for blapping if you want a pure ranged blaster then you would want energy paired with mind, or ice with mind and etc you get the idea, ice secondary also has some safe ranged powers.

And then there is corrupters which are based more off damage, if your not blapping with an ele/ele blaster then your doing it all wrong.

I am considering remaking an ele/ele myself.

Circuit_Boy · 12-09-2010 03:42 PM

Mystic_Amethyst, the author of the "Blaptroller Guide", and I are good friends.

However, "blapping" isn't the only route. Electric / Electric is perfectly viable as all-ranged. On teams, "blapping" is going to put you at a disadvantage, for reasons I've already outlined in this thread regarding AOE damage output versus single-target melee attack damage output.

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Angelofvalor · 12-09-2010 07:28 PM

I hate to admit it but ele is a mix of st and aoe but paired with ele you have more st then aoe in the first place, and do not forget even the end drain abilities are for melee range this is why it makes sense if you stay at range your going to loose out on a decent amount of damage there is no disadvantage if you play it right.

Circuit_Boy · 12-09-2010 08:56 PM

Actually, there are disadvantages to staying in melee range.

First, you lose the alpha strike advantage. Properly slotted, with Aim or Build-Up, Zapp can one-shot a minion. With both Aim & Build-Up, Zapp can one-shot a +2 minion. Foes that are one-shotted do not get an opportunity to return fire. They're DOA. This is a massive advantage of ranged over melee. On +x/x1, where x=0-2, one-shotting a minion reduces incoming damage by 1/3 (there are typically three minions per spawn on solo missions set +x/x1).

Second, Charged Brawl and Havoc Punch lose their damage-per-activation advantage over Charged Bolts and Lightning Bolt if it takes you approximately one second (0.94 seconds for Charged Brawl, 0.85 seconds for Havoc Punch) to close with your foe or to chase down a fleeing foe. If it takes you more than about one second to close with your foes, the ranged powers have the damage-per-activation advantage. In City of Theory, it takes 0 seconds to close with foes, they never move out of melee range, and players never fatfinger keys; in City of Heroes & City of Villains, however, foes don't stand in one place for very long.

Third, if you count damage-per-second (that is, both Activation Time + Recharge Rate), the advantage goes to Charged Bolts (DPS 12.51) and Lightning Bolt (DPS 10.61) over Charged Brawl (10.06 DPS) and Havoc Punch (9.33 DPS).

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Nemu_ · 12-10-2010 06:55 AM

A blaster, I hate the term blapper, that makes use of both his primary and secondary is always going to be at an advantage over a ranged or melee only blaster of the same powersets simply because he has options. There is no need to compromise between ranged and melee or ST and AoE when building certain blasters, elec/elec for example.

The loss of time when approaching an enemy can be addressed by firing your ranged attacks while in motion. I can't count the number of times I used a short ranged power such as blaze mid hop while approaching a foe, land right next to it as the animation finishes and immediately follow up with CB+HP. The loss of time is negligible especially considering the fact that the melee powers hit so hard that it'll take more than one ranged attack to do equivalent amounts of damage.

Most mobs on a team setting will die to a couple volleys of AoE, certainly the minions, at which point it becomes much more economical endurance wise to finish off more resilient foes with hard hitting single target attacks.

I find it much easier to settle debates on topics like this in game. Take your blaster and an elec/elec/elec blaster built by other people's standards, fight against 3 minions outside of portal corps and note the end results. If staying in range is as superior as you claim it to be then the results should speak for themselves no?

Circuit_Boy · 12-10-2010 11:04 AM

And I've done that before, and it's yielded similar results every single time. The perceived advantage of the melee powers is largely illusory. (By the way, three +0 minions isn't much of a challenge, seriously. Rather, take on the paired Circle of Thorns Death Mage bosses hanging out outside Portal Corporation. I used to eat them for lunch when I got truly bored, back before recyclable Rikti War Zone missions, Police Band Radio missions, and Alignment Tip missions.)

I'm bringing up the math here because it backs up my (extensive) in-game experience. I've used every attack Electric/Electric/Electric has. I've had the melee ones, and dropped them for reasons outlined above. In-game experience has consistently shown me that the melee attacks are just as situational as the snipes are.

There's actually a fourth disadvantage that the melee attacks have that ranged powers don't have: you don't get to choose your battlefield. With the ranged attacks, you can position yourself in a spot more advantageous for yourself (near a corner, for example) or at least less advantageous for your foes (i.e., foes that spawn close enough to another spawn that the second spawn is guaranteed to see you if you close into melee).

You said there's no need to compromise between ranged & melee or single-target & AOE, but actually, that's not true, because we only have a limited number of powers we can select and, more importantly, a limited number of slots to allocate. Your own previous build is proof positive of that: you eliminated Short Circuit, which is one of E^3's AOEs and necessary to make Electric Blast competitive in AOE with Energy Blast (I've run those numbers and posted them to this very board numerous times). Without it, you are, most certainly, "gimped" in AOE--even moreso than an Ice Blaster, and their AOE potential (Frost Breath & Ice Storm) is piddly. If you want to do well with Endurance Drain and mezzing, too, then you do, indeed, have to choose.

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Nemu_ · 12-10-2010 04:44 PM

I drafted this build in 5 minutes. It's got a good balance of AoEs and ST, ranged and melee. Hasten + 50% global recharge + ranged softcap + 40% s/l resist, 13.5% global damage bonus, invisibility, end drain capabilities and 3 holds. Oh, the set bonuses exemp down to level 30 so you can tear through those mid level TFs.

I think whatever I sacrificed in this build, I ended up gaining a whole lot more in exchange.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.90
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Blaster
Primary Power Set: Electrical Blast
Secondary Power Set: Electricity Manipulation
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Concealment
Ancillary Pool: Electrical Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Charged Bolts -- 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: Electric Fence -- 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 2: Lightning Bolt -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(13), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(13), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17)
Level 4: Ball Lightning -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(17), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(19), Posi-Dmg/Rng(19), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(25)
Level 6: Short Circuit -- Erad-Dmg(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(31), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(36), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), Efficacy-EndMod(37), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(37)
Level 8: Aim -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 10: Havoc Punch -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(31), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(33), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Mako-Dam%(34)
Level 12: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 14: Super Speed -- Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(A), Zephyr-ResKB(27)
Level 16: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 18: Tesla Cage -- Lock-Acc/Hold(A), Lock-Acc/Rchg(34), Lock-Rchg/Hold(34), Lock-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(36), Lock-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(45), Lock-%Hold(50)
Level 20: Charged Brawl -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(21), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(21), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(23), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(23), Mako-Dam%(25)
Level 22: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 24: Kick -- ExStrk-Dmg/KB(A), ExStrk-Acc/KB(40), ExStrk-Dam%(43)
Level 26: Tough -- HO:Ribo(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(27)
Level 28: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(29), HO:Enzym(29)
Level 30: Stealth -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), HO:Enzym(31)
Level 32: Grant Invisibility -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 35: Power Sink -- Efficacy-EndMod/EndRdx(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(43), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(45), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(50)
Level 38: Shocking Grasp -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(39), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(39), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), Mako-Dam%(40)
Level 41: Static Discharge -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(42), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(42), Posi-Dmg/Rng(42), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(43)
Level 44: Charged Armor -- HO:Ribo(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(45)
Level 47: Shocking Bolt -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(48), BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(48), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(48)
Level 49: Surge of Power -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- ULeap-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Defiance
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(50)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), P'Shift-End%(37), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(46), P'Shift-EndMod(46)

By the way, I drain death mages on my fire/elec (with only Shocking Grasp slotted for damage as my hard control) with PS and my melee attacks. I don't stay in melee if the situation doesn't call for it, but I have the option if I wished to. A pure ranger doesn't have that option.

Circuit_Boy · 12-10-2010 06:14 PM

Quote:

I don't stay in melee if the situation doesn't call for it, but I have the option if I wished to. A pure ranger doesn't have that option.

Really?

Oh, yeah. Because ranged attacks don't work in melee...

...oh, wait...

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Fortress_NA · 12-10-2010 07:11 PM

If you have Invisibility or Stealth up, and attack, that causes those to de-toggle -- which means that you stop getting the Defense adjustment, except for any Enhancement Set Bonuses you may have in them, right?

NCSoft, Please reconsider your decision to close down CoH. It has an extremely loyal following and enjoys a great amount of free support from the larger community.

I invite everybody to add the above image to your signature as a petition to reverse NCSoft's decision.

Fortress_NA · 12-10-2010 08:51 PM

Okay, here's something I whipped up. Given my inexperience, I expect it to have flaws, so be gentle.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.90
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Petavolt 4: Level 50 Mutation Blaster
Primary Power Set: Electrical Blast
Secondary Power Set: Electricity Manipulation
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Concealment
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Electrical Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Lightning Bolt

(A) Accuracy IO

Level 1: Electric Fence

(A) Accuracy IO

Level 2: Ball Lightning

(A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage
(3) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance
(3) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
(5) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range
(5) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
(7) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)

Level 4: Charged Bolts

(A) Accuracy IO

Level 6: Short Circuit

(A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
(7) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy
(9) Performance Shifter - Accuracy/Recharge
(13) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge
(17) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge
(19) Performance Shifter - EndMod

Level 8: Hover

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
(9) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
(11) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
(15) Luck of the Gambler - Endurance/Recharge
(17) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
(50) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance

Level 10: Combat Jumping

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
(11) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
(13) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
(15) Luck of the Gambler - Endurance/Recharge
(19) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
(31) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance

Level 12: Zapp

(A) Accuracy IO

Level 14: Fly

(A) Freebird - +Stealth

Level 16: Build Up

(A) Rectified Reticle - Increased Perception
(43) Rectified Reticle - To Hit Buff/Recharge
(45) Rectified Reticle - To Hit Buff

Level 18: Tesla Cage

(A) Lockdown - Chance for +2 Mag Hold
(21) Lockdown - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge/Hold
(21) Lockdown - Endurance/Recharge/Hold
(23) Lockdown - Recharge/Hold
(23) Lockdown - Accuracy/Recharge
(27) Lockdown - Accuracy/Hold

Level 20: Stealth

(A) Defense Buff IO

Level 22: Invisibility

(A) Shield Wall - +Res (Teleportation), +3% Res (All)
(25) Shield Wall - Defense
(25) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
(27) Shield Wall - Endurance/Recharge
(29) Shield Wall - Defense/Recharge
(29) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance

Level 24: Boxing

(A) Accuracy IO

Level 26: Voltaic Sentinel

(A) Expedient Reinforcement - Resist Bonus Aura for Pets
(31) Expedient Reinforcement - Endurance/Damage/Recharge
(31) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
(34) Expedient Reinforcement - Damage/Endurance
(37) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage
(40) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Recharge

Level 28: Thunder Strike

(A) Accuracy IO

Level 30: Tough

(A) Resist Damage IO

Level 32: Weave

(A) Gift of the Ancients - Run Speed +7.5%
(33) Gift of the Ancients - Defense
(33) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
(33) Gift of the Ancients - Endurance/Recharge
(34) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Recharge
(34) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance

Level 35: Power Sink

(A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
(36) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy
(36) Performance Shifter - Accuracy/Recharge
(36) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge
(37) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge
(37) Performance Shifter - EndMod

Level 38: Shocking Grasp

(A) Basilisk's Gaze - Chance for Recharge Slow
(39) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge/Hold
(39) Basilisk's Gaze - Endurance/Recharge/Hold
(39) Basilisk's Gaze - Recharge/Hold
(40) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Recharge
(40) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Hold

Level 41: Shocking Bolt

(A) Neuronic Shutdown - Chance of Damage(Psionic)
(42) Neuronic Shutdown - Accuracy/Hold/Recharge
(42) Neuronic Shutdown - Hold/Range
(42) Neuronic Shutdown - Accuracy/Endurance
(43) Neuronic Shutdown - Endurance/Hold
(43) Neuronic Shutdown - Accuracy/Recharge

Level 44: Static Discharge

(A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
(45) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy
(45) Performance Shifter - Accuracy/Recharge
(46) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge
(46) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge
(46) Performance Shifter - EndMod

Level 47: Charged Armor

(A) Gladiator's Armor - Recharge/Resist
(48) Gladiator's Armor - Recharge/Endurance
(48) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All)
(48) Gladiator's Armor - End/Resist
(50) Gladiator's Armor - Resistance/Rech/End
(50) Gladiator's Armor - Resistance

Level 49: EM Pulse

(A) Accuracy IO

------------
Level 1: Brawl

(A) Accuracy IO

Level 1: Sprint

(A) Empty

Level 2: Rest

(A) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 1: Defiance
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift

(A) Flight Speed IO

Level 2: Hurdle

(A) Jumping IO

Level 2: Health

(A) Healing IO

Level 2: Stamina

(A) Endurance Modification IO

------------
Set Bonus Totals:

16% DamageBuff(Smashing)
16% DamageBuff(Lethal)
16% DamageBuff(Fire)
16% DamageBuff(Cold)
16% DamageBuff(Energy)
16% DamageBuff(Negative)
16% DamageBuff(Toxic)
16% DamageBuff(Psionic)
6.125% Defense(Smashing)
6.125% Defense(Lethal)
8.938% Defense(Fire)
8.938% Defense(Cold)
10.19% Defense(Energy)
10.19% Defense(Negative)
3% Defense(Psionic)
6.438% Defense(Melee)
13.63% Defense(Ranged)
14.88% Defense(AoE)
1.8% Max End
4.5% Enhancement(Held)
34% Enhancement(Accuracy)
35% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
15% FlySpeed
167.16 HP (13.87%) HitPoints
15% JumpHeight
15% JumpSpeed
Knockback (Mag -3)
Knockup (Mag -3)
MezResist(Confused) 7.5%
MezResist(Held) 17.4%
MezResist(Immobilize) 9.7%
MezResist(Sleep) 7.5%
MezResist(Stun) 7.5%
MezResist(Terrorized) 7.5%
20% Perception
16.5% (0.276 End/sec) Recovery
56% (2.817 HP/sec) Regeneration
13% Resistance(Smashing)
13% Resistance(Lethal)
17.08% Resistance(Fire)
14.58% Resistance(Cold)
14.89% Resistance(Energy)
14.89% Resistance(Negative)
19.28% Resistance(Toxic)
24.9% Resistance(Psionic)
22.5% RunSpeed

------------
Set Bonuses:
Positron's Blast
(Ball Lightning)

2.5% (0.042 End/sec) Recovery
1.575% Resistance(Fire,Cold)
9% Enhancement(Accuracy)
6.25% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
3.125% Resistance(Toxic)

Performance Shifter
(Short Circuit)

5% JumpSpeed, 5% JumpHeight, 5% FlySpeed, 5% RunSpeed
22.59 HP (1.875%) HitPoints
2.5% (0.042 End/sec) Recovery
2.5% DamageBuff(All)
3.125% Defense(AoE), 1.563% Defense(Fire), 1.563% Defense(Cold)

Luck of the Gambler
(Hover)

10% (0.503 HP/sec) Regeneration
13.55 HP (1.125%) HitPoints
9% Enhancement(Accuracy)
MezResist(Held) 2.75%
3.125% Resistance(Psionic)
7.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)

Luck of the Gambler
(Combat Jumping)

10% (0.503 HP/sec) Regeneration
13.55 HP (1.125%) HitPoints
9% Enhancement(Accuracy)
MezResist(Held) 2.75%
3.125% Resistance(Psionic)
7.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)

Rectified Reticle
(Build Up)

1.875% Defense(Smashing,Lethal), 0.938% Defense(Melee)
6% (0.302 HP/sec) Regeneration
20% Perception

Lockdown
(Tesla Cage)

3% DamageBuff(All)
2.5% Enhancement(Held)
MezResist(Held) 2.2%
2.5% Defense(AoE), 1.25% Defense(Fire), 1.25% Defense(Cold)
3.75% Defense(Ranged), 1.875% Defense(Energy), 1.875% Defense(Negative)

Shield Wall
(Invisibility)

10% (0.503 HP/sec) Regeneration
27.11 HP (2.25%) HitPoints
1.89% Resistance(Energy,Negative)
2.5% DamageBuff(All)
1.575% Resistance(Toxic,Psionic)
3% Resistance(All)

Expedient Reinforcement
(Voltaic Sentinel)

Status Resistance 2.5%
3% DamageBuff(All)
6.25% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
10% (0.503 HP/sec) Regeneration
3.125% Defense(Ranged), 1.563% Defense(Energy), 1.563% Defense(Negative)
10% Resistance(All)

Gift of the Ancients
(Weave)

2% (0.033 End/sec) Recovery
2.5% Resistance(Fire)
1.8% Max End
MezResist(Held) 2.2%
2.5% Resistance(Psionic)
7.5% RunSpeed

Performance Shifter
(Power Sink)

5% JumpSpeed, 5% JumpHeight, 5% FlySpeed, 5% RunSpeed
22.59 HP (1.875%) HitPoints
2.5% (0.042 End/sec) Recovery
2.5% DamageBuff(All)
3.125% Defense(AoE), 1.563% Defense(Fire), 1.563% Defense(Cold)

Basilisk's Gaze
(Shocking Grasp)

2.5% Defense(Energy,Negative), 1.25% Defense(Ranged)
2% (0.033 End/sec) Recovery
7.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
Status Resistance 5%
10% (0.503 HP/sec) Regeneration

Neuronic Shutdown
(Shocking Bolt)

MezResist(Immobilize) 2.2%
18.07 HP (1.5%) HitPoints
7% Enhancement(Accuracy)
2% Enhancement(Held)
2.5% Defense(Melee), 1.25% Defense(Lethal), 1.25% Defense(Smashing)

Performance Shifter
(Static Discharge)

5% JumpSpeed, 5% JumpHeight, 5% FlySpeed, 5% RunSpeed
22.59 HP (1.875%) HitPoints
2.5% (0.042 End/sec) Recovery
2.5% DamageBuff(All)
3.125% Defense(AoE), 1.563% Defense(Fire), 1.563% Defense(Cold)

Gladiator's Armor
(Charged Armor)

2.5% (0.042 End/sec) Recovery
Knockback Protection (Mag -3)
1.575% Resistance(Toxic,Psionic)
27.11 HP (2.25%) HitPoints
2.5% Defense(Ranged), 1.25% Defense(Energy), 1.25% Defense(Negative)
3% Defense(All)

NCSoft, Please reconsider your decision to close down CoH. It has an extremely loyal following and enjoys a great amount of free support from the larger community.

I invite everybody to add the above image to your signature as a petition to reverse NCSoft's decision.

Circuit_Boy · 12-10-2010 09:53 PM

With your major damage powers being Ball Lightning and Voltaic Sentinel, how do you intend to do any damage?

Charged Bolts and Lightning Bolt are only single-slotted for Accuracy, Static Discharge is slotted for Endurance Modification (it only does 5% End Drain and no -Recovery Debuff). You've slotted Shocking Grasp for Holds, so it's not going to be doing much damage, either.

The only major powers slotted for damage are Ball Lightning and Voltaic Sentinel. And although I'm the board's foremost proponent of Volty (meaning, I have and use the power, and I don't hate it, but I have an off-and-on again relationshiop with it), it's really not worth six-slotting for any reason. The 10% Resistance is to pets--and Volty doesn't count as a legitimate pet, or even a pseudo-pet. It can't be targeted or hit, so nothing you have will actually benefit from that 10% Damage Resistance, not even you.

To answer your question about Stealth's +Defense, it's cut in half when you attack or are successfully attacked. In the numbers I included above, I used the broken +Defense rating, not its unbroken rating.

Instead of Mids (or, at the very least, in addition to Mids), take a look at City of Data. It'll give you the low-down on every power up to I18.

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Angelofvalor · 12-10-2010 09:56 PM

That makes no sense, and never did I say anything about being pure blapper what you do is shoot off your ranged attacks first then run in to drain then melee a few run back out range some more and etc, with ss its not an issue, if this was really the case the devs would have seen it as an issue, because any blaster that has melee attacks will never be able to read there full potential unless they use them, maybe archery doesnt need to use there blapping much though.

But what you are saying is nuts, that is like saying an nrg/nrg blaster will loose out on damage if they decide to blap and use ranged attacks.

And just fyi I tried the pure ranged aspect and guess what? I noticed a differance with my damage and end drain in general, you do not need to play an ele if your not going to use your end drain abilities, there are other blasters much better for pure ranged like ice/ice or fire paired with mind or ice and a few others. Ele is only subpar if you do not use the end drain capability to its true potential.

I honestly do not think you played enough to groups, you should not have any issues in most teams blapping in teams, I hardly had issues and found it far from just situational, I do not think you are using the right strategys like throwing ball of lightning first, the electric field helps later levels, then you use oh I forget the name of the power been like 2 years, unless they recently changed some game changing aspect to electric/electric there should not be an issue, maybe it is just your playstyle and you have trouble playing it that way but no reason to mislead others.

And you are the only one I have ever heard that saids blapping is situational the only one.

Circuit_Boy · 12-10-2010 10:51 PM

*LOL*

Okay, now that's just damn funny, Angelofvalor.

I've played since Day One, solo and in groups. Circuit Boy is my main. I've been lecturing on this board about Endurance Drain for six years, so don't tell me I don't know its value. Did you pause your tirade long enough to actually look at the build I posted? It has far more Endurance Drain than any other build posted to this thread. You're attacking a straw man of your imagining there, dude. I've been this board's most vocal proponent of Endurance Drain as a technique. I have no idea where you've gotten the clearly-mistaken idea that I think it's "subpar". I don't think that. I've never said that. I would never say that. I'm infamous on these boards for saying the exact opposite. Repeatedly. For years.

However, everything I said about ranged attacks and melee attacks is true, both mathematically (which doesn't lie), and in-game. It's not "nuts", and if you'd pay one iota of attention to what I'm saying instead of writing knee-jerk responses that completely misunderstand what I'm saying or, worse, ignore it out of some perverse sense of contrariness, then you're only hurting yourself. I've given my reasons, and those are borne out of years and years of experience playing E^3. I've respec'd into--and out of--Lightning Field three times; I've respec'd into--and out of--Voltaic Sentinel just as many times. I've respec'd into--and out of--Charged Brawl, Havoc Punch, Thunder Strike, and even Lightning Clap (though, honestly, I can't find any rational reason to take that sorry excuse for a power). Everything I said about melee's disadvantages is patently true, and anyone who's actually played the game--instead of City of Theory, which so often gets played on these boards--knows it to be true. The melee powers' DPS is weaker. That's just the truth--you can't fight that. Their DPA is also lower if you spend any length of time closing into melee or chasing your foes. That's also patently true. In terms of attack chains, a ranged chain is going to net more actual damage than a melee one once recharge comes into the equation, say against Bosses, Elite Bosses, and Archvillains/Heroes. This is also simple fact, and undeniable.

Here, I'll show you what I mean. I did this video almost three years ago, when my build was more or less settled. It's a Rikti War Zone mission in less than 6 1/2 minutes, and that's with a fairly ridiculous amount of time being spent showing the build in the first place. The mission was set on Invincible, which would now be "+2 Level / x1 Heroes". Notice I didn't fall under 50% health, and most of the time, foes didn't have much time to respond before they were dead?

If you're blapping on teams, then you're not doing your full potential for the team. Period. As I've shown above in this thread, the amount of AOE potential far outstrips single-target melee damage to the tune of two-to-one damage-per-second. And, unless you've discovered the secret to activating two powers simultaneously, you do have to choose to do one or the other. I don't know about you, but my recharge is so fast that I can do Ball Lightning -> Static Discharge -> Short Circuit -> Recycle. If I throw a melee power into that, all I'm going to do is lower my damage-per-second.

You mentioned Superspeeding in and out. I've had SS for... well, years. After ED, however, all movement powers suppress if you actually attack. You are aware of that, right? "Jousting"--a technique I was involved in inventing to leverage Shocking Grasp--is still viable, but in City of Heroes (rather than City of Theory), you get stopped about 10-15' away from your opponent, and SS is suppressed for 4 seconds. If you'd actually played the game recently, you might know that.

You yourself admitted you haven't played in two years. I've been playing--and posting about Electric/Electric/Electric--for over six years.

Thanks for the laugh, dude.

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Nemu_ · 12-10-2010 11:37 PM

Fortress:

Priority one in building any toon is to make sure you have enough powers properly slotted to perform it's primary function. In your case you need a lot more well slotted attacks.

2) When building for defense stick to one defense type. Common choices are either smashing/lethal or ranged defense.

3) The way to build for defense is not to focus on enhancement percentages on individual defense powers, but rather stacking defense bonuses from different IO sets slotted in various powers. A full set of Mako's Bite gives you 3.75% ranged defense, 6 slotting combat jumping with LOTG gives you 2.8% defense to all. One pays off more than the other.

4) Slotting a power with a full set may not always be a good idea. Always keep your goal in mind when building a toon. The 6th slot in posi's blast gives you toxic resist, is that integral to your overall build plan? no? drop that 6th slot.

5) PvP IOs are expensive. Unless you have loads of inf to blow you probably want to plan your build without them.

6) The performance shifter proc gives mobs end back when slotted in a power that affects enemies. The only place you should slot that proc is in stamina.

Download the builds I posted and take them apart. Look at the set bonuses I stacked to achieve my goals. You'll notice some common trends.

Tin_Soldier · 12-11-2010 05:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Circuit_Boy

*LOL*

Okay, now that's just damn funny, Angelofvalor.

I've played since Day One, solo and in groups. Circuit Boy is my main. I've been lecturing on this board about Endurance Drain for six years, so don't tell me I don't know its value. Did you pause your tirade long enough to actually look at the build I posted? It has far more Endurance Drain than any other build posted to this thread. You're attacking a straw man of your imagining there, dude. I've been this board's most vocal proponent of Endurance Drain as a technique. I have no idea where you've gotten the clearly-mistaken idea that I think it's "subpar". I don't think that. I've never said that. I would never say that. I'm infamous on these boards for saying the exact opposite. Repeatedly. For years.

However, everything I said about ranged attacks and melee attacks is true, both mathematically (which doesn't lie), and in-game. It's not "nuts", and if you'd pay one iota of attention to what I'm saying instead of writing knee-jerk responses that completely misunderstand what I'm saying or, worse, ignore it out of some perverse sense of contrariness, then you're only hurting yourself. I've given my reasons, and those are borne out of years and years of experience playing E^3. I've respec'd into--and out of--Lightning Field three times; I've respec'd into--and out of--Voltaic Sentinel just as many times. I've respec'd into--and out of--Charged Brawl, Havoc Punch, Thunder Strike, and even Lightning Clap (though, honestly, I can't find any rational reason to take that sorry excuse for a power). Everything I said about melee's disadvantages is patently true, and anyone who's actually played the game--instead of City of Theory, which so often gets played on these boards--knows it to be true. The melee powers' DPS is weaker. That's just the truth--you can't fight that. Their DPA is also lower if you spend any length of time closing into melee or chasing your foes. That's also patently true. In terms of attack chains, a ranged chain is going to net more actual damage than a melee one once recharge comes into the equation, say against Bosses, Elite Bosses, and Archvillains/Heroes. This is also simple fact, and undeniable.

Here, I'll show you what I mean. I did this video almost three years ago, when my build was more or less settled. It's a Rikti War Zone mission in less than 6 1/2 minutes, and that's with a fairly ridiculous amount of time being spent showing the build in the first place. The mission was set on Invincible, which would now be "+2 Level / x1 Heroes". Notice I didn't fall under 50% health, and most of the time, foes didn't have much time to respond before they were dead?

If you're blapping on teams, then you're not doing your full potential for the team. Period. As I've shown above in this thread, the amount of AOE potential far outstrips single-target melee damage to the tune of two-to-one damage-per-second. And, unless you've discovered the secret to activating two powers simultaneously, you do have to choose to do one or the other. I don't know about you, but my recharge is so fast that I can do Ball Lightning -> Static Discharge -> Short Circuit -> Recycle. If I throw a melee power into that, all I'm going to do is lower my damage-per-second.

You mentioned Superspeeding in and out. I've had SS for... well, years. After ED, however, all movement powers suppress if you actually attack. You are aware of that, right? "Jousting"--a technique I was involved in inventing to leverage Shocking Grasp--is still viable, but in City of Heroes (rather than City of Theory), you get stopped about 10-15' away from your opponent, and SS is suppressed for 4 seconds. If you'd actually played the game recently, you might know that.

You yourself admitted you haven't played in two years. I've been playing--and posting about Electric/Electric/Electric--for over six years.

Thanks for the laugh, dude.

I suspect the source of Angelofvalor's belief is this statement:
There's actually a fourth disadvantage that the melee attacks have that ranged powers don't have: you don't get to choose your battlefield. With the ranged attacks, you can position yourself in a spot more advantageous for yourself (near a corner, for example) or at least less advantageous for your foes (i.e., foes that spawn close enough to another spawn that the second spawn is guaranteed to see you if you close into melee).

In your video tere are nine spawns.
In three you are in melee range.
Two are single Lieutenant spawns that are held the entire fight.
One you would have been in melee if you weren't a HoverBlaster.
One's final minion was a Drone and Drone's fight at range.
In one the final minion was held.
In the final fight you held the Lieutenant.
That video was neither about Electrical Blast nor was it about kill speed.
It was about Shocking Bolt.

In teams AoE is god.

If you're using Short Circuit, you're probably in melee range.
If you're using Power Sink you're probably in melee range.
If you're using Shocking Grasp you're definitely in melee range.

Travel power suppression was introduced one week after Issue 4, ED was introduced with Issue 6.
Thanks btw.

You can joust without a travel power.

In your Ball Lightning -> Static Discharge -> run into melee -> Short Circuit -> run out of melee -> Recycle chain how much time do you spend moving?

Siolfir · 12-11-2010 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Circuit_Boy

This is untrue.

If one's only experience with Endurance Drain comes from Power Sink, Transference, EM Pulse, or EMP Arrow, one might believe that, but there's a very good reason for that: none of these powers have -Recovery Debuffs.

Nitpick: Power Sink contains a 30% chance for -100% recovery for 4 seconds, which is the same chance and duration that Ball Lightning has. You'll never be able to keep it applied permanently with just Power Sink, but it definitely exists.

And even the "chance for" drains work well when chained - my EM/ElA Brute was able to sap Deathsurge dry using Mu Lightning (30% chance, -300% recovery for 4 sec) and Power Sink (admittedly, most of the heavy lifting there was cycling Mu Lightning).

Quote:

Originally Posted by PleaseRecycle

it has gone from unconscionable to downright appalling that we have no way of measuring our characters' wetness.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brillig

It's hard to beat the entertainment value of Whackjob Wednesdays.

Circuit_Boy · 12-11-2010 12:07 PM

Tin_Soldier, in each of those fights, the statement you're picking out holds true: I picked my own battlefield in each one. Did I move into melee? Yes, I did. I never said I didn't. But ranged powers work in melee range just as well as they do at range, and in several of the fights--if you're paying attention--were one-shot Zapps followed by a two-shot Lightning Bolt -> Charged Bolts combo. And that was the point. Meleers can't one-shot foes without taking the alpha strike. Your interpretation is that it's "about Shocking Bolt", but in reality, it was about not taking any shots and it was about taking out the first two minions in a spawn in three hits, taking minimal (if any) damage in the process. You're looking at a minority of the time--1/3 of the foes--when I was in melee range with foes. In several of those situations, if I had closed into melee range, another spawn was close enough to perceive me and I would have had two spawns on top of me.

In Ball Lightning -> Static Discharge -> Short Circuit, there's very little time lost due to repositioning, sometimes none. Short Circuit has a huge radius (20')--it's not melee range. You can stand in one spot and throw Ball Lightning -> Short Circuit and hit the same foes. You can throw Ball Lightning -> Static Discharge, and a short hop into Short Circuit range to hit the rest. Maybe 0.5 seconds, tops. I do it all the time.

Regarding movement suppression vs. ED, both were a long, long time ago. Forgive me if I didn't check ParagonWiki before making an irrelevant misstatement. And I'm thoroughly aware that jousting is possible without travel powers--that Sprint doesn't suppress. However, the point I was addressing was regarding SuperSpeed, which DOES suppress, and everyone who used to Joust before suppression--like I did--knows that what people call "jousting" now is a pale facsimile of the original.

Siolfir, yeah, I'm aware of that, but I wouldn't rely on any power with any chance of -Recovery Debuff below 100% to get the job done. I have an Electric Melee/Electric Armor/Mu Mastery Brute, and it's not nearly the same as having full suppression. In any event, I think it's those Endurance Drain powers--that lots of people have--that leads some people to think "Endurance Drain sucks and it can't keep anything at 0, so they can always hit you". If one's only experience is with powers that have unreliable or no -Recovery Debuff, that's an understandable perception. False, but understandable.

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Angelofvalor · 12-11-2010 08:08 PM

Circuit boy I pretty much stoped reading your post after you decided to get cocky and defensive, you just lost any valid point you had what so ever I do not care how long you been playing, maybe thats your problem you lecture to much, I think I remember you from before, always come in here with a snippy attitude.

Well I got news for you, my experience differs from yours, I will just agree to disagree with you, this is just not worth the effort.

Circuit_Boy · 12-12-2010 10:35 AM

If you want to dismiss peoples' points because of some perceived "attitude", that's your prerogative... ...and your loss. You can choose to learn something here... ...or not.

It's really no skin off my teeth either way.

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Angelofvalor · 12-12-2010 10:37 AM

I apologize Scarlet for this pointless argument if you do searches plenty of threads talk about how blapping with ele/ele has great synergy and many many people follow this path and love it.

Circuit_Boy · 12-12-2010 10:44 AM

There are also plenty of threads about how using Elec/Elec as a ranged set* is perfectly valid, and I've written plenty of times in the past about how the sets have great synergy at range, too.

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Fortress_NA · 12-13-2010 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemu_

Oh, the set bonuses exemp down to level 30 so you can tear through those mid level TFs.

This comment made me go read up on this: http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Exemplar...n_Enhancements

I was not aware of much of this. Though in your build it looks like you slotted enhancements in a specific sequence as if you loose access to slots (3?) above what you are exemped down to?

Something else I was unaware of:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paragon Wiki

Performance Shifter: Chance for +Endurance

...

This enhancement adds a 20% chance to restore 10 endurance. (This IO will grant endurance to enemy targets if slotted in an enemy-targeted power, such as Dark Consumption.)

WTF? So just about any Elec power that can slot Performance Shifter because it drains Endurance, when 6-slotting PS has a chance of giving them back Endurance I just drained?

Build Questions:

* You took both Aim and Build Up, but not Zapp, Thunder Strike, or Thunderous Blast?
* When you slot PS - End Mod/Acc into Recovery, the Acc part of the enhancement doesn't do anything because it's not a Global, right?

NCSoft, Please reconsider your decision to close down CoH. It has an extremely loyal following and enjoys a great amount of free support from the larger community.

I invite everybody to add the above image to your signature as a petition to reverse NCSoft's decision.

Circuit_Boy · 12-13-2010 09:45 AM

Quote:

WTF? So just about any Elec power that can slot Performance Shifter because it drains Endurance, when 6-slotting PS has a chance of giving them back Endurance I just drained?

This would be correct.

Quote:

* When you slot PS - End Mod/Acc into Recovery, the Acc part of the enhancement doesn't do anything because it's not a Global, right?

Also correct, though I think you mean "Stamina" instead of "Recovery".

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Fortress_NA · 12-13-2010 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Circuit_Boy

This would be correct.

That's just whacked.

It should give *me* the endurance, being that it is an attack/offensive power I am using.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Circuit_Boy

Also correct, though I think you mean "Stamina" instead of "Recovery".

Oops. You are correct, sir.

NCSoft, Please reconsider your decision to close down CoH. It has an extremely loyal following and enjoys a great amount of free support from the larger community.

I invite everybody to add the above image to your signature as a petition to reverse NCSoft's decision.