Best Sets to focus on Sniping

I am looking to create a toon centered around sniping. This means I would like the hardest hitting, fastest recharging, fastest Interupt time possible. Some Ranged defense would be nice as well. While I am focusing on being able to Snipe, I do not want to ignore the other 15 powers in my Primary/Secondary. This will primarily be a solo/Duo build(though the other half of the duo will be subject to change) Any suggestions on building a Snipe focused blaster?

(Not looking for builds just suggestions, but if you have a build handy thats fine)

Psi Blast
Energy Manipulation
Cardiac Alpha

Psi Blast starts with the longest reaching powers, Energy Melee boosts range, and Cardiac Alpha also boosts range. You want to fight from a distance, that's probably going to be your best bet.

Archery/energy will also work well - like the psi blasts, the three main archery blasts are also 80 foot base range. Archery also has a 90 foot range crashless nuke - as a matter of fact, that nuke almost certainly will have a longer range than you can see. Once you reach 50, hami dam/ranges will also be your friend.

For ranged defense, go thunderstrikes in all your single target blasts and red fortunes in anything that you slot up for defense (like weave). Plus combat jumping and the 3%, that'll give you a good solid base to build on. Also, strongly consider fighting from hover - that'll give you a bit more def, and let you leverage that ranged defense better.

I would go archery/energy/munitions with cardiac. 2 snipes, 3 ST at 80 ft base, and a 90 ft base nuke. Oh, and one of the snipes is a mini nuke.

I have a toon that is a sniper. Its an AR/EM/Munition (no alpha yet its only 41). The build I have is perma boost range so your snipe attack is really far and all your other attacks become mini snipes. You may also want to put an interupt IO in your sniper attack so you can snipe a move a bit.

Radiation Energy Manipulation Blaster

If you do a comparison in MIDS between the snipe attacks you will see that they are pretty much the same. Cast times are fractions of a second different. DPS wise there are some differences, If you are looking at fire for example you have to wait until level 26 to pick up this sniper attack. Yes it does about 37 points of damage more per hit but you would have to wait 14 more levels compared to Radiations sniper attack to get it.

Beyond what I mentioned above the rest is pretty much all the same.. Some snipes come at lvl 12, 18 and 26.

I think if anything is going to be a big deal is what OTHER effects is your snipe offering.

I believe that Radiation Sniper attack has a nice advantage since it reduces the targets Defenses by 21%. I do not know if it stacks against itself. I do not know if it stacks with another attack. So if your duo were both Rad snipers would the target get 42% debuff. If it can solo stack that would be very nice. 2 hits from sniper would almost floor a bad guys defenses. Either way a sniper hit will open the door for other attacks to have a better chance of getting through. Attacks that don't get through have no effect.

The minus recharge from Psionic is nice as I have been shut down from several Psi attacks from mobs. But I have not been shut down by 1 attack from a Psi mob or even 2. So I do not think you firing off Psi Lance attacks will be devastating a mob. If anything you will probably kill them before the -recharge comes into play. In AV fights it might matter, but again if your gonna try to fight an AV with snipe attacks even if its duo snipes, I don't need to tell you its just not going to happen that way.

So this bring me back to my Radiation snipe. I think more hits getting in are a win.

Now Energy manipulation.

I have a Arch EM blaster. I can say the following;
1. Boost Range can put me so far away that some times I think there is glitch where if your too far and you hit you score no damage. Then there are times I hit from so far its almost a delayed reaction. I see them move for a second and then they are dead. It almost appears as if I missed. Again either way Boost Range is going to put any snipe attack which already has the ability to put you out of normal range TONS further back then needed. So 2 snipes from boost range for sure will be killing bosses.

2. EM has Build Up and rad has Aim, add this in with Boost Range. I think its pretty nice.

3. With some decent recharge these powers will be ready just about anytime you need them. So no worries about not being able to do this during big fights.

4. Between EM and Radiation you have enough powers that can slot set bonuses to allow you to obtain Range Defense cap and not gimp your build. So you will be picking up powers and slotting them with some decent attacks. Further this build also allows you to pick up Aid self and Aid Other which as a blaster is really nice to have.

5. Power boost will improve your sniper debuff from 21% t 37% which means one attack with build up, aim, boost range, power boost and snipe is one pretty darn devastating attack and debuff. Might be over kill, but still a nice hit.


The sad part is Power Boost is not until lvl 28 and Boost Range is not until level 35. So by level 12 the best you will be able to do is Aim, Build up and Snipe.

Ok so I am starting to see a trend of taking /EM lol. Honestly, I had pretty much figured that. Thanks for confirming my thoughts. I see that the type of snipe however is gonna be up to personal taste. Seen Archery, Psionic, Rad. I did like the explanation of Rad's alternate abilities of -def. That could be good. So lets refine this Thread a bit.

As most snipes are pretty much the same...What secondary effects would you suggest from the various primaries?

(PS. I am a bit worried about taking Archery for the fact that its Lethel damage. Can a case be made that this is not such an issue as I think? Please convince me as I would love an Archery toon for theme purposes)

Across the powersets, the snipes themselves are indeed more or less the same. Additionally, secondary effects are not too important, especially on the sets that actually have snipes. For example, rad blast's defense, while useful at early levels, offers no actual benefit once you become able to cap your tohit chance at 95% out of your own resources (which isn't very hard). The real question is 'what does the rest of the set offer to support an extreme-range style?' As such, let's break down the sets with snipes:

Archery:
Three ranged blasts (not counting the snipe) with 80 foot range, including the second-strongest non-snipe blaster ST ranged attack (blazing arrow). A targeted AoE with 80 foot range, and a ranged AoE crashless nuke with 90 foot range. Also has an 60 foot range ST stun. The set's secondary effect is 15% extra accuracy, which is actually one of the better secondary effects out there.

Assault rifle:
No 3rd single target blast (which is pretty sad), but the first two blasts are the two longest range normal blasts available, with 90 and 100 foot ranges. Has a targeted AoE with an 80 foot range, and it also has a long range crashless nuke. This one is only 80 foot, and only 10 max targets, but unlike archery you don't need to place a targeting circle, so it should be much easier to actually *use* at very long ranges. Also has an 60 foot range ST stun. Also thematically meshes with the munitions mastery epic pool, which has another long range option. However, the set lacks aim. Secondary effect is 5% boosted accuracy, along with minor knockback or -def on a couple powers.

Electric blast:
Like AR, no third blast, but unlike AR, not much to really make up for that lack. Has an 80 foot range on its first two blasts, at least, along with the standard targeted AoE with 80 foot range. Does, however, have the only ranged true nuke - only 60 foot range, but with boost range it'd still reach out a fair distance. The secondary effect is endurance drain, which is utterly useless at range with the only exception being if you power boost the nuke.

Energy blast:
Has a third blast, but it's of the short ranged variety. Has the standard targeted AoE with 80 foot range. Has a 70 foot range guaranteed KB mitigation attack, which might be useful. Secondary effect is knockback, which could come in handy to keep foes at range.

Fire blast:
Again, has a short ranged 3rd blast, however the first two blasts are both 80 foot range. Has a good 80 foot range targeted AOE. Rain of fire only has a 60 foot range, but does offer a bit of mitigation through avoid AI. Secondary effect is MOAR DAMAGE, which gives the snipe, TAoE, and first two blasts all better damage than other sets. Light on mitigation, however.

Ice blast:
Again, 3rd blast is short ranged. First two are standard 80 foot range, also has two ST holds - 60 and 80 foot range, although the better of the two is the 60 foot one. Ranged rain nuke and ice storm gives the possibility of wiping an entire spawn from 100+ feet while around a corner - if you can accurately place the targeting rings that far. Secondary effect is movement and recharge slows, which, while nice, aren't especially spectacular.

Psi blast:
Has *4* 80 foot range blasts (not counting the snipe), although blaster will domination quite frankly sucks. Has the usual 80 foot range targeted AoE, with a 5 foot wider effect and knockup, but a slower recharge. Has a glacially slow-animating 80 foot range ST stun. Secondary effect is recharge slow, which again is nice but not overwhelming.

Rad blast:
First two blasts are 80 foot, but 3rd is short ranged. Has the standard 80 foot range targeted AoE. Rest of the set is short ranged. Secondary effect is -def, which is nice at low levels, but almost entirely useless later on. Honestly not that impressive for a long ranged style.

Now, after loading all that info on you, which do *I* think is best? It depends somewhat on what you're looking for.

If you want to do the most single-target damage from very long range, I'd go archery. While psi blast has one more 80 foot range ST attack than archery, AR's first two blasts have slightly more range, and fire's first two blasts and snipe do slightly more damage, AR and fire's lack of a 3rd attack, and the fact that psi's 4th long range blast sucks (*especially* compared to blazing arrow - that power does almost as much damage as your snipe!) puts them behind archery in my opinion.

The lethal damage issue is highly overrated, in my opinion. Yes, some mobs are pretty resistant to lethal. However, while it's often not mentioned, there are also mobs which are *extremely* resistant to psi (most mechanical mobs - who are also often the ones resistant to lethal - also carnies are highly resistant to psi but *vulnerable* to lethal). Fire doesn't face much in the way of resistance, it's true, but you also do have the energy melee attacks (which deal smashing/energy damage) if something does prove annoyingly resistant. Yeah, it does involve closing to melee, but occasionally sacrifices must be made. And honestly, you're *still* a blaster. You *still* have buildup, probably aim, and the highest ranged damage scalar in the game outside a nova form kheld. Give minions and LTs some resistance, they're still going down. Bosses, possibly not so easily, but you do have mezzes, KB, and insps if you need them.

If you're looking for long ranged AoE damage, I'd try archery, AR, or maybe ice or fire. Archery has rain of arrows and explosive arrow, AR has m30 and full auto, ice has the dual rains, and fire has fireball and rain of fire. AR's long range firepower is probably the easiest to use since full auto doesn't involve placing a targeting circle. Ice is probably the safest since they both can be cast from around a corner. Archery is somewhere in the middle, however rain of arrows is a *very* nice attack. Of special note, if you're willing to close to somewhat closer range (about 90 feet instead of 180, assuming 3 dam/range hamis and boost range) there is very nice synergy between boost range and the other cones in AR - since cones are arc based, making them longer also makes them wider at their ends, so it becomes quite easy to hit lots of targets with flamethrower and buckshot.

If you want a *mix* of ST and AoE long ranged damage, it's honestly hard to beat archery. It's got top ST damage *and* very good AoE. Don't forget that munitions mastery has what is effectively an AoE snipe in the (redundantly named) LRM rocket, which further adds to the AoE of whatever set you use.

Thank you very much for that breakdown of the various sets Neutrino. I can see your points on Archery/EM. Thats exactly what I need to see.

Sirken:Archery/Energy Melee Blaster will be joining you all in paragon city very soon!

I'd like to second the idea of using Munitions for your ancillary pool. If you like to stand off and snipe, it does have a second snipe.

Je Saist had a good idea with suggesting the Cardiac slot as well. Might not work for other things you want for your blaster, but it will let you up the range on all your attacks, albeit only when you're 50 (maybe down to 45, if I'm reading some of the I20 stuff right... but I might be confuzzled there).

I know you're already going with Archery, but for sake of completeness, Dual Pistols isn't horrible for a sniping idea, either. Piercing rounds is cone, so you can up its range with enhancments, and it doesn't have an interrupt time (not technically a snipe). Bullet rain is also a targeted aoe with a long range, so it can work okay, especially paired with EM.

NRG/NRG would be my choice as this was my first toon ever made and he excels at fighting from a distance.. I dont even use anything with ranged defense because most things do have anywhere close to the range that I have. I can hit them before they hit me

Ok so this is kinda unrelated to the original purpose of this thread but hey, its my thread..lol

Anyways, Last night after rolling up my Archery/Energy blaster, I jumped on a team with Local Man (who was on his Peacebringer) and ran a single Tip mish. We just used the mish to chat a bit. Well, he logs and I go about my business of meeting my City Council contact and running my initial mishes in AP. I run one mish. No biggie. I take out a few clockwork and call it a day. The second mish however introduced me to an aspect of the game I had Never seen before...The mish again was fighting clockwork but all of a sudden about halfway into the mish a stinkin Void Seeker pops around a corner and blasts me. Now I am fully aware that the voids spawn when you are teamed with a Kheldian but why in the world did this happen SOLO and like a half hour after teaming with Local? Surprised me needless to say. Anyone else have issues with this? Is this normal?

Actually, you can get Voids even after disbanding I believe. I've heard you stay flagged for them until you log once you team with a Kheldian.

I have to say Archery/Energy is a great choice for a sniper. I have an Archery/Energy/Munitions Blaster and he does excellent damage from long range... I use Hover and perma-Boost Range so things rarely get close. If you take one the Cardiac alpha slot line and grab the range boost from that you can have 140+ foot range in your basic single target attacks without even slotting them for range. Add in a couple of damage/range Hami-Os and you reach 175 feet for Snap Shot, Aimed Shot, and Blazing Arrow and almost 200 feet for Rain of Arrows. And with three Dam/Range Hami-Os in your snipe you'll have almost 345 feet... you'll need a spotter to target through just to hit things at that range. And if you go Munitions your LRM rocket will have the same range plus it's an AoE.

And Centrioles (the Dam/Range Hami-O) are actually dirt cheap so it's easy to buy a bunch once you hit 50... at most a few million inf each (less if you're patient), which is easy to save up at 50. Though I'd rather lose a bit of range and slot Thunderstrike sets in the non-snipe ranged attacks... the ranged defense really helps.

***Disclaimer***

I did not originally intend to set out and write a diary about my time as an archery/energy blaster. However, I am having such a good time and it is such a different playstyle than I am used to, I feel that the experience merits being documented.

***End of Disclaimer***

Saturday March 12, 2011

I rolled Sirken up Saturday night. As I was starting a new toon, my RL buddy X43 decided to join me and rolled up a Sonic/Mental blaster. So "Call Back" and "Sirken" set out on their little adventure. First stop, we hit up our contacts in City Hall. By mere coincidence we picked the same origin so our mishes were the same. This led to a bid of speed as we did not have to run both sets of mishes. At level 3, we teamed with a friend on his Kheldian level 30 something. I have to admit, this was mostly to show off my awesome costume and perhaps get some schoolin from Local Man on my Earth/Storm. In any event, we ran his Tips mish and he logged. So Call Back and I continued on our City Hall mishes. At level 5 we logged for the evening.

Sunday March 13, 2011

I logged into Sirken and quickly ran him through the first set of Radio Mishes. Some first impressions of the toon...

I found it odd to slot this character up. Normally, I would slot at least 1 acc and a few endurance redux enhancements. However, as I am strictly focusing on building up my ST attack chain atm, endurance seems to be a non issue. Also, Archery has its naturally higher accuracy. Hmm. What should I do? Well, I did what any crazy blaster does in that situation...I slotted all damage! Snap Shot and Aimed Shot are ok. Fast recharging. I could usually 3 shot most even level cons. Level 4 brought Build Up. That helped LTs in the radio mishes. So far so good. Nothing really blowing my mind but nothing letting me down either.
THEN CAME BLAZING ARROW! OMG! I love this power. With Buildup I was able to fire this power and one shot minions, 2 shot LTs(with snap shot as follow up) and 3 shot any Bosses. That DoT fire damage is excellent. I found myself 1 shotting minions with Blazing arrow and even though I didnt defeat them I would flip targets and could usually rely on the DoT to take them out before they reached firing range on me. I finished up my bank mish and headed to the Hollows at level 6. Quickly ran through Wincott's arc. Picked up the frostfire arc. I logged today at level 8 sitting in front of Frostfire's door.

I know its very early but all impressions are good. Thanks guys for the wonderful suggestion. It definately fits the sniper mode I am going for while still allowing me the flexibility of being a steamroller on teams.