Blaster survival

I am new to the game and I made a blaster/magic/fire/fire I'm only level 6 and I got there in a team now I'm solo and I'm dying constantly am I doing something wrong ?I mean I can't even make it through the first mission?please help!

hi and welcome to the game...

blasters are the most fragile of all the archetypes, you have to use your DPS to kill quickly the mobs before they reach you, and/or use your powers from the secondary for mitigation. Laters on in higher levels and when you will discover the profits of invention system , you will be able to make a blaster more (or a lot) durable...

Also i have a feeling that you are playing Praetoria, where the mobs are a bit tough for low level toons (especially for new players)

My advices would be theese :
1. Lower your difficulty settings to -1, and raise them again when you will feel more confident
2. Reroll your blaster as a hero in Paragon City, where things are a bit more easier in low levels
3. roll a scrapper or a brute.. those archetypes are more easy to play for new players

You can adjust difficulty

Welcome to the game and the boards. Fire/Fire blasters are some of the highest damaging blasters in the game (depending on who you ask). But as is true will all blasters, the mindset of how you play them is the key. The idea is to do as much damage to them as quickly as possible and run if you need to. It is a "good offense" thing. There are a few good Blaster Guides in the guide section to get you started. Have fun and welcome.


And yes, to adjust your difficulty, find a contact called Hero Corps Field Analyst. They will tweak your difficulty settings.

Blasters die. Frequently. I have my own key to the city morgue. Learn to run when you lose control of the battle. If you aren't in control, you're dead.

This guide in particular is a blaster must read.

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=113226

The fact that you're looking for help here is a good sign. I died so much on my first Blaster that I almost quit the game before reading the Forums.

Learn how to Pull (attracting the attention of 1-2 bad guys away from the herd). If you can whittle down a larger herd of bad guys it makes it easier.

Team with at least 1 other person. It's amazing how 1 other person, even another Blaster, makes life easier.

Stress Accuracy, Recharge and Damage in your slots. With free Fitness End is not as much of a concern early on. As you get the bigger Powers you can begin slotting for it then.

Bring friends to the game to team with or search for a Supergroup to join and team with. Many SGs have experienced players willing to help.

Good luck and welcome to the nightmare!

-Ring of Fire, the first power of your Secondary power set that you are required to take, will greatly improve your survivability. Just keeping the enemies out of melee range will be a huge improvement.

-Speaking of melee... If I were you, I would avoid your melee attacks for the first few levels. Use the distance of your Primary power set blasts to your advantage. Fire Manipulation has a number of useful melee-distance attacks, but I would save them for those few enemies that do not die before they get within punching distance.

-Read the aforementioned guide, it's quite helpful.

-Finally, there is no shame in running. If you are waiting for a power or two to recharge, run away! Get away from their melee attacks to buy yourself some time until you can attack again.

Best of luck!

In addition to what's been said, I suggest you look at some of the Power Pools to improve your solo survivability. Three come to mind:

(1) Stealth allows you to engage in battle under conditions of your own choosing. You can assess the situation (enemy strength and location), decide on a course of action, position yourself and get off the first shot. All of my characters take Stealth at level 6.

(2) Hover allows you to attack from outside your opponents' melee range. (assuming the mission site allows you to get airborne) Even though many enemies also have ranged attacks, removing the danger of melee combat will dramatically reduce the amount of damage you receive.

(3) Hasten reduces your recharge speed, thus allowing you to attack more frequently. The more damage you put out, the faster you kill your opponents and the less danger they pose to you. Just be aware that Hasten is not a toggle power and you will have to let it recharge rather than just letting it run (like stealth and hover).

You can expect to survive more as you gain experience with game mechanics and the use of your particular powers.

Good luck.

Red and Purple Inspirations are more important than Green Inspirations.

Check out this guide.

And as a rule if your standing toe to toe with your foes your going to be face down a lot...

Speed kills... standing still kills you.

If I can make a simple suggestion. I am used to playing squishies and Blasters are definately that. In spades.

First off. Somethings I find usefull.

1) In groups, do not open with an AOE until you have some sort of mitigation. It will attract to much aggro. This is the same thing with AT's who use AOE imobs. Opening with either is getting the alpha on you.

Instead focus on single target damage, and allow the tank/brute to gain aggro.

2) If you are not experienced as a blaster, then avoid being a blapper from the start. Focus on your secondary sure, but range will be your friend in Praet.

3) Hover or Combat Jumping. Early unlocks that really will aid you. I prefer Hover for knockback protection and defense, but combat jumping later will allow for movement and even more defense with Acrobatics, and so is a very viable option.

4) Snipes are great for pulling. Some people hate them and I call those people wrong. Fire's snipe is further down the chain. So add some range to a single target attack to pull more efficiently.

5) your first power is the quickest. Add something like a Decimation/Devistation (Can't remember which one) = a chance to hold. It's not super expensive but will help mitigate damage, and on your quickest attack will proc a hold (Although weak) but allow you to mitigate some damage hitting you.

6) A lot of people like getting toughness and weave. Both are good. I like em, but once you hit your epic pools, I would suggest perhaps respecing out of them in favor of the armors the epic pools offer. Of course that will come much later.

7) Balance your aggro. Firing a chain of devistation is fine but on a team you can rip aggro off of a tank really easy. So best thing is to alternate targets using single target attacks and once weakened hit an AOE to mop them up.

Im am playing a Rad/NRG blaster right now, and my damage will never be as solid as yours will be, so I don't have the luxery of watching things melt like you do. So these things really work for me. I hope they can work for you too.

Here's a low level tip and one that carries for most of the game. Ignore anything that is shooting you from a distance, if they get close they are the most dangerous.

In the low level guys carrying small knives and pistols are usually not a threat (hellions, skulls, lost). If they are carrying a baseball bat or a sledge hammer these are usually two shot deaths for you.

Kiting (the act of running away and fighting is your best friend as a blaster. Master this and you will become more powerful then you could ever imagine. LOL

Pulling is also your friend, the idea here is to fire a shot from your max range, while at the same time running behind a corner/object to block line of sight. Use your lowest level single target ranged attack (aka Flares) for this. If you get good at this you will find that you can reliably pull any enemy out of a group you want to deal with first. Note if they can still see you when the attack lands odd are they will all come a runnin'. I usually accomplish this by running at a corner, jumping shortly before the corner while firing my attack in mid air. The jump will carry you around the corner while the attack is animating.

Target an enemy, queue your attack (the red ring around it) and shoot from max range.

Use closer range attacks as the enemy gets closer. Sure big fireballs are big damage numbers but they also kinda get you killed early on and aren't really that needed.

Find a tank to be your friend.

Stay away from the enemy. Getting punched will clobber you, getting shot isn't so bad usually.

Consider hover and fly as your travel power. Along with being good for getting anywhere you can stay out of melee range and it makes picking your targets much easier.