Why take Devices as a secondary?

I have two blasters (50 Elec/ and 39 AR/) with devices as a secondary. On both, I wish had chosen something else. Both were created when I had less experience and my reasoning was as follows:
1) I liked that I had a stealth without having to going into the pool to get it because stealthing was important to me then.
2) The targeting drone seemed cool and a way to boost acc.
3) The land mines really appealed to me.

Now after playing many secondaries, I haven't found any reason to like Devices or to think about making another. I am wanting a second opinion, though. Anyone want to give input?

Technically Devices does provide you with good ability to keep out of melee but in practice taking Cold Manipulation and the Leadership pool is probably a better option.

From a min/max point of view Devices is pretty weak. If you have the patience to stack Trip Mines it can be very effective solo but that's about it. Most of the time people play Devices because they like the concept and with Traps being available to Defenders and the ability to take a Corruptor/Mastermind Blueside there's less reason to take it for concept either.

I am not a min/max-er, but it's easy to see some of its shortcomings. Thanks for the response.

With my Elec/ I did solo a lot and trip mined to help. WHAT A PAIN! That is when I vowed that I would never use devices again (especially since I didn't like elec/ as a primary, either). I let out a loud scream when I realized I had another toon with devices as a secondary...

Web grenade looks cool? Yeah, that's all I've got. -=shrug=-

Okay, devices isn't great.

But there are some VERY useful powers in it, just not as many as in other sets.

Caltrops is wonderful. Slot it with procs and watch it go.

Targeting Drone is a boon to ACC. It's nice not having to worry about accuracy and be able to slot for damage without worrying about it.

Cloaking Device is a nice defensive/stealth power.

The rest of the set is meh, with very situational powers. I really like Gun Drone, but I can see why some people don't. Others like the mines which I can't stand.

I like Devices if I have a primary and several pools that I really want to draw from and I'd rather not have to miss all those skipped powers from my secondary. It makes for a build that has some flexibility, which is always nice, especially if you are used to tight builds where there are tons of powers you wish you had and couldn't fit in.

I took it because it fit the theme of my character, and looked cool. I still enjoy playing that way, so I'm happy.

I have a few reasons...

1. Downing an EB with nothing but a minefield is awesome.
2. Smoke Grenade allows me to basically raise the defense of my entire team. Couple that with Cloaking Device, and I can stealth through most mobs in the game.
3. Web Grenade is a pretty hefty -recharge, even when the immobilize doesn't catch. I just toss it twice on bosses to stop them.
4. The area denial impact of Caltrops is amazing. With a range-capped blaster (I know this isn't the norm), keeping everything out of melee is basically god-mode.
5. Gun Drone can take some of the aggro that I don't want, and deal a little bit of damage to boot.
6. Targetting Drone is amazing...forget Build Up. I can constantly hit my target as long as this toggle is running. CoT ghosts, and +1's mean absolutely nothing to me. Burst damage for 10 seconds is very highly overrated when you consider "never" missing. Of course you could just put the Gaussian's proc in this power like I did.

I've never used Taser

Drone- You see stealthed foes, add that to leadership tactics, in the upper levels, 40 to 50, you wont be blind when everyone else is. You need very little if any accuracies, though I always put one SO or two DOs in case my toggles drop.

Stealth- Helps very much with solo, and provides decent protection. If slotted right, you can actually avoid a stalkers strike in PvP....just saying.

Caltrops- Even if you dont "like them", they are very advantages, and can turn the tide of battle in a heartbeat. I use them when I see the team in trouble. It helps in healing if you get around a corner and toss them, giving you the chance to catch your breath, turn 3 inspirations into a heal, etc. It also keeps baddies off of squishies when teaming. NEVER toss them at tanks or brutes! They do not like it.

Trip mines- should be slotted for recharge. I toss a smoke bomb (see benefit below) drop a mine, toss a smoke bomb, drop a mine. If you slot it well and take hasten, it will serve you well. Not useful in teams unless you do it as a toe bomb though.

Webnade- OK at low level, not one of my high level choices though. It does slow the enemy even if it does not stop them. However, I play X8 so anything that is single targetted is not one of my top choices. It does play well when I go high level low amount, usually for things I just wish to hurry through.

Smoke Grenade- I see little benefit in it's -to hit, if anyone does see much in that way please let me know. However, with a smoke grenade and stealth, you can walk right up to the enemy and plant mines, etc......making it a mine field they have to go through before they get to you. OR, you can trip a glowie and move on.

Gun Drone- I do not like it, and seems a waste of a power to ME. Others may have better play with it, maybe in teams, but I solo or play on small teams too much to choose it.


I left some out that I never much used, for the most part, and I am doing this off the top of my head...LOL. I really enjoy my AR/Device blaster. He is level 50 now, but when I want to increase wealth, I take him out, dust him off, go x8, and watch the cash flow start.
He was very useful in PvP, and had one of the highest ratings of his time when I did PvP (I only did zone PvP, never knew much about the other). In over all play, no other toon has come close. My wife has fashioned her own AR/Dev after watching mine and all that he can do. It takes a bit more than button mashing, but the pay off, TO ME, far outweighs the time. In fact, I am sure I clear out mobs quicker, in the end. It is just that much of the time is spent setting up to watch them go boom.

Only a set with Trip Mines lets you blow someone across the room with a Trip Mine...and onto another Trip Mine.

It's comedy GOLD, Jerry!

My /Devices Blaster can hit +4s for 95% to-hit. In fact, due to the set bonuses I wanted, I couldn't avoid overslotting for accuracy, so if level 55s existed I could probably hit them for 95% too. Unfortunately that means a lot of wasted accuracy, but that's purely the way I set my build up.

I only recently had the magic of Caltrops shown to me. It does need procs to be really awesome, but there's nothing like dropping Caltrops, dropping Rain of Fire, and watching a chunk of the group fall down trying to escape.

The big problem with Devices is that it's a completely different playstyle from other Blaster sets. Most secondaries give you more damage; melee powers, Build Up, etc. Devices is spec ops. Personally, I love it, because I can stealth around and still unleash hell when I want to. Granted, I took Fire/ as a primary, which means my damage output isn't greatly hampered.

I'm not gonna say it's perfect, and it's a byproduct of old game design, but it suits my playstyle and I don't feel like I'm gimped for having it.

It has some obvious powers that could use tweaking, but Devices plays a lot differently from other Blaster secondaries, and I like it for that. Cal Trops and Trip Mines are good area denial powers, Smoke and Web Grenade can be useful mitigation, and Cloaking Device and Targeting Drone are quite useful, in my mind.

It can be outperformed, but my Archery/Devices Blaster is one of the few characters that I'm going to run through the incarnate stuff. It's different and fun.

I see Devices as sort of the Shields of Blasters. Not as good until you get a few key powers.. Devices, you want Trip Mine, Cloaking Device and Super Speed. Go into the group completely invisible, put down the mine under them and while you're putting it down you cue up your primary set's targetted AoE.

It will one-shot +1 Minions, even level Lieutenants (Usually, YMMV) and take a nice chunk off of a Boss's HP. Add in the portable distraction in Gun Drone, ability to never miss and the fact you can just stealth into a group and nuke anyway, or put down a mine and nuke to make up for no Build Up.

It lets you be more flexible with your primary set's slotting, Dual Pistols doesn't even need accuracy slotting for example. Put in extra recharge, more endred, slot damage before accuracy, slot for range even (Who needs Boost Range when you can free up slots for it anyway?) and, IMO, it has many skippable powers, so you can get that Leadership, you can work your way to Resuscitate. Devices can be a far more team oriented Blaster because it lets you be, you just need to think outside the box.

I like Devices because a lot of my blasty-types are meant to be 'natural' origin and Defenders and Corruptors don't get LRM. It's the only real choice. Plus, it has so many crap powers that I don't have to worry about 'finding room' for concept powers.