Doc_Phantom

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I can?t talk about ice, both energy torrent and explosive blast do less damage then their fire blaster counterparts. (IIRC, both are moderate for fire, minor for energy) The fire blaster will therefore always be able to kill higher level mobs with the 2 attack combo then eng blasters can. This will result in at least 30% more HP for the fire blaster, and therefore 30% faster leveling.

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Good information. I have only played an energy blaster for a few lvls, up to 8 and am unsure about the exact statistics, especially since I did not slot specifically for AOE/cone.

Now, I do notice that energy gets energy/smash for torrent and it's labelled in Hero Planner as moderate. Actually, Explosive blast is the same. So, you "should" be doing identical dmg as ice for the cone for equally non-resistant mobs. I also noted that Torrent recycles in 8 seconds, as opposed to 16 for ice/fire cones. This means you can get 2 off in the same time. The problems with this are lack of immediate followup AOE/cone at low levels and knockback scattering them.

Of course, Hero Planner could be wrong with the numbers and my hypothesis is completely incorrect, since I don't have in-game experience with this build. I do know that other stats are off, like the end cost for the rain, which states 30, but can't be more than 12-15, based on the fact I can cast it with much less than 1/4 of the end bar left.

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Lightning_Fast, what defines an AOE blaster is the ability to kill a large pack of mobs in a single salvo. Fire has Fire Ball + Fire Breath, which will kill a pack in one salvo. Assault Rifle has Flamethrower and Full Auto which each can do the same. For Energy, Energy Torrent plus Explosive Blast will not kill a pack.
For Electricity, Short Circuit plus Ball Lightning will not kill a pack. For Ice, Frost Breath plus Ice Storm will not kill a pack. Thus, Fire and Assault Rifle can level using AOE quickly and effectively and the others cannot. That is why they are AOE powers and the others are single-target powers. Using Fire and Assault rifle, you will level fastest using your AOE powers on large packs of close-to even cons. For the others, you will level fastest by taking a few of the highest-conning minions you can take down efficiently.

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Untrue. With a build containing build-up as a secondary (despite losing a slot to acc), you can 2 shot equal minion groups with Ice. I would suspect energy can do the same but might have issues with knockback moving groups out of a tight bundle with no followup AOE or second cone (until late levels). Without buildup in my secondary, I can 2 shot -1 lvl groups of minions. I am still left with any lts/bosses, which also happens with my fire primary. Additionally, I could argue that the cone is instant, instead of DOT, and actually kills faster... but I would have to digress as rain then takes it's time to finish them off.

Also, you failed to mention one more tool to a solo powerleveler, in your original post. Find other like-built, but importantly... equal level, toons and group with them. Instead of grouping in the traditional fashion, just be in the same zone... working on your own groups. You will lose 1/2 xp per mob, but gain a grouping xp bonus. Provided you both do your jobs efficiently, both of you will gain xp 30-50% faster than you can solo. Add more toons in the group to increase this further... but it gets hard to find the right people and make sure they do their job (not go afk for 30 mins) when you are seperated and xp just keeps scrolling in the window. Again, they should be the same level (or +/- 1 lvl if you have to), and properly built for the same purpose.

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Finally, for those who are still new to the whole blaster thing, the fire blasters being an "AOE build" just means that they have just one AOE, fire ball. Very nice attack and I use it all the time, but that is the extent of their AOE superiority.

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All right I see bull [censored], let's set the record straight and include Fire Breath in there. You must be half asleep or not paying attention. Add Fire Sword Circle and Inferno for kicks.


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I know reading is too much for most, but don't reply if you didn't take the time. First, fire breath is a cone and as I also said, other blasters have almost identical cones, so this is not a defining "AOE" attack for a fire blaster. Second, I was obviously talking about primaries only, as there is no mention of any secondaries relating to AOE.

Let me guess... your primary blaster is a fire/fire and you felt the need to defend it despite no argument against it? These aren't your kids people, calm down. Live a little. Play some other AT mixes so you aren't so freaked out when you see a post with your AT's type in the subject. "OMG, are they talking bad about my AT mix, should I post without reading? Why not, everyone else does".

I am not going to discuss Ice anymore as the cult mentality is only going to argue anything I say with some unfounded statement. I team with a 34 fire/fire... I know the dmg ability. I play my own, albiet at a lower lvl (17 now).

Anyways, I never purported that an energy melee blaster would be a viable toon to hit lvl 40, much less solo to that level. I can do more dmg than any other blaster per hit, more than any scrapper per hit. Attacks are slow recharges. Risk is higher in melee. I was just letting you know that hit for hit, an energy melee blaster outdamages anything in the game.

Finally, for those who are still new to the whole blaster thing, the fire blasters being an "AOE build" just means that they have just one AOE, fire ball. Very nice attack and I use it all the time, but that is the extent of their AOE superiority. This ball is what defines an AOE blaster (elec/fire/AR) vs a single target blaster (ice/energy) in most people's mind. Personally, I think AR is the only real AOE blaster as they have 3 nice cones and a couple target AOE attacks. The rest all basically have the same thing +/- one AOE attack, as each other.

But hey, the original post was well written and if you wanted to play fire, it definately is fast lvling. I just want it known that there is not a huge difference in battle time per group (up to the lvl 34-36s I have fought at least).

As someone who has played almost all blaster combos out there as alts, including a melee only elec/energy blaster, I have a few comments on ice also. I won't try to "jump on your case", but your assesment is incorrect.

My ice blaster does more DPS than my fire blaster.

Ironically, my energy melee blaster does more dmg per hit than any blaster I have seen, moreso after the recent patch (just get one to lvl 15 w/ melee slotting only and you'll see). My fire/energy does more dmg on a single target with an unenhanced Bone Smasher than my primary Fire Blast does with 5 dmg DOs... but I digress.

The point was to point out powerleveling discrepencies with ice/blah.

Fire breath hits for less dmg per tick over 3 ticks with the same cone as ice breath, which does 2 larger ticks at the same time. The dmg output seems to be almost identical. So, although ice does not have a followup ball-of-fire, power leveling (using your solo definition) is slower, but pretty close, and better than the remaining blasters... although energy can be fun also.

Yesterday I rerolled an old lvl 11 toon (ice/fire) as ice/dev. In about 8.5 hours of play I hit 12.5. I ran only 3 missions up to 12.5 (not including "kill x blahblahs"). Quite opposite of my main toons, but was a test to see his solo abilities.

So, to bore you a tad more, I went to PP at 7. I found smaller groups of 7s until I leveled. I lvled and came back. At this point, I was able to take out 15 -1 groups w/ 1 lt or boss per. The fight would be me lining up a cone, hitting the cone, throwing caltrops, picking off baddies who skirted them or the boss, then lining up and casting breath again as soon as it came up. Unless there was a runner, all dead. Total fight time, about 20 seconds. XP per group, usually 100, which was about 1/20th of level I think. Down time between groups was about 45 seconds as I found another and waited for endurance. Slots? Max possible in ice breath until I got 6, with ice blast trailing w/ a few less (5 in breath at 7, 4 in blast).

So, now that I have some DOs (more if I xfer some influence from my mains), I will have to reevaluate my tactics. I also have Ice Storm, which may turn this into a breath/caltrops/storm battle or some crazy alternative.

So what I am saying... is that my ice blaster can lvl just as quick as my fire (who used to pull buildup/breath/ball/rain combo to take out -1 groups). Same result. Almost identical fight duration. Only difference is lining up the cone 2 times (which fire only did once per battle), which can be a pain sometimes.

GJ on grabbing all those from the beta board and compiling them. I noticed ones I had put verbatim, so I realized what you did. Very nice and I am sure many will appreciate.