Ex_Libris

As Lobe crashed through the outer wall, Nathan started motioning for the group to run through the hero shaped holes leading out of the building.

"Go! Ill take the rear guard" He said, standing between the group and the advancing fifth column. "This wont last very long, but it will hold them back for a minute or two... Ill be right behind you."

Nathan absently wondered if his new sheilding power would work to hold back the advancing regiments but decided it was too late to think it over and just activated his repulsion field, gritting his teeth against the strain of so many bodies pushing to get through it.

"I really cant hold this for long!" He yelled, the strain obvious in his voice. "Get out!"

Awsome set!

The only bug I've found so far is while flying, hitting combinations involving X (down), such as holding W then pressing X to descend, reads an error "unable to read bindset" and then screws up the set, leaving it backwards (in fly when it should hover and vice versa).

I believe the problem lies somewhere in the X button, since that is what always toggles it when pressed in combination with S or W.

Great guide! Thanks a lot

It wasn't the largest crowd Visio had ever seen, though not really the smallest either. Mack Saliforth's Travelling Side Show hadn't performed this close to Paragon City in years. But then again, sideshows like MacSaliforth's don't draw the same crowd they used to. Not like the old days where a town would hear of your coming and begin celebrating a week in advance. These days, to gather a crowd, you have to stalk them like meat and catch them unawares. And even then, it's like performing for deer caught in the headlights of death's last stroke.

But one thing still hadn't changed. The one thing that kept Visio on stage, performing his sleights of hand and more mysterious arts: the eyes of the younger children that had yet to lose their wonder. Oh, there were still your drug addicts and bullies, plotters, schemers, manipulators, all those that would find a way to cheat you. But the young children hadn't had enough time to be corrupted. They still found joy in something as simple as a quarter appearing from their ear, their nose, their hair. While all the while, their older siblings were trying to figure out how to pocket the coin for themselves and whether there were more where that one came from.

Very few in today's crowd had the much hoped for look of wonder. Though not unexpected this close to Paragon. Paragon City, with its high walls, lax security, drug runners and street hustlers. This is no place for children. This is no place for silent wonder. Not in this city where the mailman has been replaced with drug runners, where the police are in more fear than those they swore to protect, where death waits on every corner, in every alley, on every rooftop. Yet for those few small faces, Visio stepped out on the stage...

Visio never liked to have a "routine" as so many magicians do. He liked to play to the audience. Play WITH the audience. Every show, different than the last, just as the crowd was different. And so it was that he never used the rose he had stored up his sleeve.

In the crowd sat one of the faces he longed to see... full of wonder, if not hope. Her hair was dirty, tied up with twine, and with a wilted daisy tucked within. It was times like this that Visio felt a stirring. Within his very soul? Perhaps. The truth was, he knew not what or how or why. But at times like this, he could perform a magic that went beyond sleight of hand, beyond misdirection. To him, it was REAL magic. And so it was, that waving his hand before the wilted daisy, the dying flower was restored, and upon it appeared the most beautiful butterfly. Alighting briefly upon the girl's nose, then soaring free above the crowd.

How was Visio to know, that following the butterfly with his eyes would bring an end to hope? An end to joy. He had heard of the gang whose members were approaching the crowd. Easy to name them by the dark robes they wore, with wild fringes of reds and yellows. Masks of hatred painted on their faces. The Circle of Thorns. Magicians who practiced dark arts to exert power over the innocent. "Life Mages" some of them were called... but all they bring is death.

The first audience member dropped before Visio could even issue a warning. Dark blasts of power showering down upon the crowd. Without quite knowing how, Visio managed to blind one of the Thorn Wielders as it took aim at a young child. Then, wanting so badly to return the pain they had inflicted on the innocent, he simply... wished it... and saw the Thorn Wielder writhing in pain. But there were too many.

Visio didn't see the mage that was positioned behind him. Did not see the twisted staff in its hand. And so did not see the dark blast that would knock him unconscious. But before the blackness took him, he did see the explosion... the Life Mage that brings nothing but death... but then, only darkness.

--------------

The sun was low in the sky when Visio came to. The mud before him, soaked with his tears and blood. And within arms reach lay the trampled form of a once white daisy. Behind him, the burning embers of the traveling wagon crackled and smoked. And before him stood tall and unforgiving, the walls of Paragon City. The charred remains of a few adult bodies lay strewn about. But all else was gone.

Visio almost wished it was the children's bodies that were charred and destroyed. For if they were not here, they were most surely prisoners of the Circle. Soon to be victims of some dark rite. And Visio was helpless to stop it.

NO! Not helpless. Even from here, Visio could hear the call from Paragon City. A need that could not be filled by superadine, nor corruption, nor hate. A need that touched his heart, a call that would lead him to a new life, a new purpose: "I NEED A HERO!!!!"

I personally think they should ditch Short Circuit and give us [electricity] a 3rd nuke, even though "waaaa they have moderate/heavy as their first powers" the heavy [lightning bolt] takes 4 or so seconds to recharge even with a green SO and a DO, doing 60 damage with a damage SO... And the moderate does 40 or so damage with 2 DOs Hmmm... as I say wait until PvP and the end drains... muahahaha

--Enron
level 21 Elec/Fire Blaster, Pinnacle [Tesla Cage ownz!]

[ QUOTE ]
I'd like to see you guys skipping hover and then getting owned by Freak Tanks and speeded Ink Men. You can't hop around like a little bunny with those. The tank doesnt care about little tacs on the ground, he'll knock you down with his m30, run straight over caltrops and 1-hit you. Now please tell me an example where jumpin around would be more effective than hovering.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just kill them. The guys you mentioned can be 1-shotted. Speeded ink men have a tendancy to flee as well, so your worry there is catching them which you're not going to do with hover. You can also just keep them at range.

In any case, if you like hover, play with hover. It's not that bad a choice. It's just not the best choice from a strict powerleveling perspective. Mostly cause it ties up an entire power pool.

-Brae
-36 Elec Blaster
-leader Knights in Tights
-virtue server

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not sold on the last two powers - SJ and Acrobatics. I think they'd be useful, I'm just not sure if they're optimal or not -- but from what I've heard of Full Auto, it's awful. No firsthand experience with it, though.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's auto turret you've heard bad things about.

Going the CJ, SJ, Acro route at the end gives you resistance to immobilization, hold, knockback/down, and a better way to transverse messed up zones like Faultline (SS sucks in that zone). The only reason I would say not to go with these is if you were losing out on other key powers.

[ QUOTE ]
why skip Raiin of Fire, i find it usefull when i solo'd in Perez Park ( i'm only 16 )
could you tell me why to skip this power , and what to keep instead

[/ QUOTE ]

The damage on RoF scales very poorly. It also makes things scatter, which is typically not a good thing for a fire blaster.

Hmm. Following this guide, I pieced together an AR/Dev build, and I'm looking for thoughts on it.

Archetype: Blaster
Primary Powers - Ranged : Assault Rifle
Secondary Powers - Support : Devices
Slot[01] Level 1 (Starting Primary) : Burst /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[02] Level 1 (Starting Secondary) : Web Grenade /Acc
Slot[03] Level 2 : Slug /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[04] Level 4 : Caltrops /Slow,Slow
Slot[05] Level 6 : Swift /Run
Slot[06] Level 8 : Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[07] Level 10 : Targeting Drone /HitBuf,HitBuf,HitBuf,HitBuf,HitBuf,HitBuf
Slot[08] Level 12 : Sniper Rifle /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[09] Level 14 : Super Speed /Run,Run
Slot[10] Level 16 : Smoke Grenade /HitDeb,HitDeb,HitDeb
Slot[11] Level 18 : Flamethrower /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[12] Level 20 : Health /Heal
Slot[13] Level 22 : Stamina /EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec
Slot[14] Level 24 : Cloaking Device /DefBuf
Slot[15] Level 26 : Beanbag /Dsrnt
Slot[16] Level 28 : Trip Mine /Acc,Acc,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[17] Level 30 : Combat Jumping /DefBuf
Slot[18] Level 32 : Full Auto /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[19] Level 35 : Super Jump /Jump
Slot[20] Level 38 : Acrobatics /EndRdx

I'm not sold on the last two powers - SJ and Acrobatics. I think they'd be useful, I'm just not sure if they're optimal or not -- but from what I've heard of Auto Turret, it's awful. No firsthand experience with it, though.

Anyways, comments are more than welcome.

he has hurdle

Lose time bomb.

How's this for a template? I already reached lvl 14, which is why I have Buckshot and why it's 3-slotted . The only thing I couldn't figure out is where to put in Maneuvers. I guess if I didn't take Buckshot I would've had room for it. Is it really that good? Or could I just 3 or 4-slot Combat Jumping with Def buffs and be ok? I don't really feel like re-rolling.

Archetype: Blaster
Primary Powers - Ranged : Assault Rifle
Secondary Powers - Support : Devices
Slot[01] Level 1 (Starting Primary) : Slug /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[02] Level 1 (Starting Secondary) : Web Grenade /Empty
Slot[03] Level 2 : Burst /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[04] Level 4 : Buckshot /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[05] Level 6 : Combat Jumping /Jump,DefBuf
Slot[06] Level 8 : Caltrops /Slow
Slot[07] Level 10 : Targeting Drone /HitBuf
Slot[08] Level 12 : Sniper Rifle /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[09] Level 14 : Super Jump /Jump,Jump,Jump
Slot[10] Level 16 : Hurdle /Jump
Slot[11] Level 18 : Flamethrower /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[12] Level 20 : Swift /Run
Slot[13] Level 22 : Stamina /EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec
Slot[14] Level 24 : Cloaking Device /DefBuf,Rchg
Slot[15] Level 26 : Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[16] Level 28 : Smoke Grenade /HitDeb
Slot[17] Level 30 : Trip Mine /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[18] Level 32 : Full Auto /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[19] Level 35 : Ignite /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[20] Level 38 : Time Bomb /Dmg

As Sly held the wounded Deth in his arms, the group about him stared at his somewhat poorly timed display of affection, and 5th Column soldiers converged on them from all parts of the building, the building itself began to shudder and moan. A sudden shift of the hallway they were standing in sent dust billowing and broken pictures (that had somehow remained on the wall), to the floor. Most of the group had to fight to keep their balance.

A group of 5th Column appeared through the dusty haze, looking around wildly as the shift in the building caught them by surprise as well. The two groups stared at eachother for a year-long second, then the floor shifted again. This time cracks appeared all along the ceiling and a deafening tearing of rebar and concrete flooded the air.

Someone mentioned that maybe it was good idea to leave now, which Lobe thought was a very good idea. He didn't like the way The Lady Deth looked and, even though he knew he could handle the 5th Columnists ahead, he didn't want to endanger the nice Lady any more than was necessary. Besides, his friend, Sly Fox didn't look too good either.

Lobe had learned few rules of life - he just didn't have the personality to remember them. One that had stuck, however, was that if there wasn't a door available, make one. So, turning 90 degrees to his left, he shouted, "Follow me! Yup," and proceeded to walk through the walls, one after the other, until he had breached the outer one and dropped to the ground, 1 floor below. Looking back up at the hole he had created, he offered, "Jump. Lobe will catch you, yes I will, yup."

"AOE Ice builds" - Now that's an oxymoron

Krikkit,

thanks alot for that post,
am also a elec/energy here, lvl 25 (who is considering superspeed).

Am intending to 6-slot tesla to boost the hold duration and reduce the recharge rate as much as possible so that it's more usable on bosses. Am tempted to 6-slot short circuit too, but will see how that plays out (havent got the skill yet) -may also take the power boost skill from the energy line to further augment this.

Let us know what you think of Total Focus!

I'd like to see you guys skipping hover and then getting owned by Freak Tanks and speeded Ink Men. You can't hop around like a little bunny with those. The tank doesnt care about little tacs on the ground, he'll knock you down with his m30, run straight over caltrops and 1-hit you. Now please tell me an example where jumpin around would be more effective than hovering.

secondaries:
Knockback = not hitting you
Slow = not hitting you
end drain = still hitting you

devices:

cloaking device = not getting hit
smoke grenade = not getting hit
targetting drone = not missing
trip mine = nice aoe damage

[ QUOTE ]
Its just that the
secondary effect is so bad. Ice has slow, Energy has knockback,
you get the terrible endurance drain. Lacking a third big nuke
hurts, but is livable. Giving up a strong secondary effect is
what makes Electricity inferior to both Ice and Energy

[/ QUOTE ]

How are those secondary effects so strong and make you continually disrespect elec? Knockback and slow? Oh wow! My secondary powers can do both when I need them to. End drain isn't great (basically only useful against bosses), but knockback and slow aren't so great themselves as secondary effects. And, devices is quite overrated as a secondary. I have absolutely no need for cloaking device, smoke grenade, targeting drone, trip mines, etc. As an elec/ice blaster, I can start the fight from far or even run into a mob of reds, start the fight there, and not have to worry about dying. Oh yeah, ball lightning is quite nice as an aoe attack.

[ QUOTE ]
I have Nova, my friend has Thunderous Blast (poor guy chose Electricity).

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm the "poor guy" he's referring to. I have a level 16 Elec/Elec blaster that I abandoned when I changed servers. I now have a 36 Elec/Energy blaster. I certainly do some "power leveling" but I also do a lot of "missions for fun". I spend most of my door missions recruiting a young sidekick to tag along with me, just for the fun of it.

Charged Bolts, Lightning Bolt, Zapp are my 3 primary attacks. I pretty much use Ball lightning just for swarms, or a weak 4th attack. I have Power Thrust on auto fire. Not for the damage, but for the knockback effect if anything gets in melee range.

Thunderous Blast is literally a blast. Every time it refreshes I use it. It's got a *huge* area of effect, and will take out orange or red minions, or yellow LTs with out any worries. Losing all your endurance is not a worry. Anything that lives though the initial blast is also drained of endurance, and basically 1 bolt from defeat. Pop a couple inspirations and you're fine. The only real downside is losing any toggle powers.

[ QUOTE ]
Hows *this* for a challenge? Write a powerleveling guide for electricity/electricity

[/ QUOTE ]

Electric blasters level up just fine. That's not his point, his point was simply that the other blasters do it faster. Having had a lot of time spent as an elec blaster, I have to agree. Our secondary ability on electric attacks (endurance drain) is useless and the lack of a 3rd single target attack leaves us relying on zapp.

And rely on it I do. Coming across groups of mobs it's always zapp target 1, c-bolts and l-bolt target 2, zapp target 3. Zapp rarely gets interrupted anymore, but in cases where I am worried about that I'll pop off tesla cage, it fires reasonably quickly, especially compared to the cast time of zapp.

The biggest weakness electricity has vs Ice or Energy, the other single target blaster types, is vs bosses. With only 1 hold, don't expect to be holding bosses too often. Ice can cycle it's 2 holds, and Energy just knocks them on their backside. There's a couple bosses that just give me a hard time, Chief Soldiers for instance.

Taking out LT's are no problem though, Anything you can't kill in 2 shots you can cage first, then kill at will.

As for power leveling, in the 20's I went hunting for Totems and Mages in Dark Astoria, single pulling them (thanks super speed) and then kiting them around. Level 30 I just wrecked swarms. It was pretty ridiculous, 1 Ball Lightning, just cast it, then run on to the next pack, sometimes I'd get there after the spawn had already been activated by someone else and they'd started to move around, this is a pain, cause you want to blast them right when they're appearing and in a cluster.

About super speed: It hands down beats the other abilities, not just cause it's the fastest, or cause you can keep it always on, or cause it's just as effective indoors as out, but the big reason is cause it lets you single pull. Super speed includes a partial cloak ability that lets you run up to mobs without them engaging you. Used correctly, you can attack a mob and pull it out of a pack without the rest of the pack noticing. As long as the mob doesn't die next to them. I've also in a hurry completed entire "find x clues" missions without having to fire a shot.

I'd originally been of the opinion that hover was fantastic. But the fact is that after level 10 or so, you really don't care about melee damage as much, there's very few villains that can get into melee range with you, and even fewer that have a melee attack you worry about. A couple bosses come to mind, but they're few and far between. I have hover, I can't wait to respec and get rid of it. Stealth would have been a much better choice.

I also have to agree that hasten and stamina are a staple. I can't imagine being a blaster without them now. I 6 slotted hasten. I noticed that when they overlap, you don't take any endurance hit.

Here's what i have that i relly like:
charged bolts, lightning bolt, zapp, ball lightning, thunderous blast
tesla cage, power thrust
aim, build up
hasten, super speed, hurdle, health, stamina, combat jumping

By 30 I had all 4 power pools used and not much left, Short Circuit han't been beefed up, so I took Voltaic Sentinal. It's less than impressive. It fires so slow most fights will be over before it has a chance to run it's course. I think I'd rather have had Short Circuit or one of the melee attacks. Perhaps with Short Circuit 6-slotted that would give me the extra edge I need against some bosses. Who knows? I get total focus at 38, whch supposedly has a mod 4 disorient and knockdown. That might be what I'm looking for if true.

By the way, when doing missions with a sidekick I find Tesla Cage indespensible.

-Brae
-36 Elec Blaster
-leader Knights in Tights
-virtue server

I TRIPLE dog dare ya! (Now he HAS to take the challenge!)

Hows *this* for a challenge? Write a powerleveling guide for electricity/electricity

I dare yah! I double dog dare yah! :P

OOC: Hey all, wondering if it was too late for me to jump in? I'm sorry if this post is disruptive, I can edit it out later.

Kings Row. Back in the day, it was actually inhabitable. Breathable air, a normal crime rate, no Thorns...It was a great place to live. Then, the Skulls, Helions, Thorns, and all the damned punks came. It didn't matter how many heros were thrown in...It was still a hell hole. Toki was about 5 when all the punks came running around...He hated it more than any thing. But, now 22 and a licened hero, he had to come back to his home town. He got off the train, his boots hitting the floor. The tall man put his bag down and looked around. "...This place sucks."

wow whats this.. the manifestation of my thoughts? lol would you beleive it, I was thinking of writing this post 15 minutes ago, and now I found it, written almost exactly as i would. heh.. A couple of things however I dont agree on . First, Fly is only slow as hell early on.. when you hit 30+ and gear up with SOs youre no longer a floating bathtub but a rocket . I just don't know what I'd do without my Fly. . Second thing, why would you say that 'm30 simply doesnt cut it later on'? From what I've read, you havent had a chance to test out a 6x SO dmg m30, right? Well it's one of my main powers and I'm extremly happy with it. The best thing about it is it has an enormous splash radius. Pre-level 30 I was exping in Terra Volta on white-yellow minions (mostly freaks and sky raiders). Smoke, flamethrower, m30. All dead except for LTs. Snipe, slug, move on. You're right about the rest though and I just started a Fire/Dev today thats basically identical to what you described as a perfect build, except I'm using hover+flight (just a personal preference).

I didn't read the replies; just want to mention that RS Robinson knows 100% what he's talking about.

...except superspeed can be capped with your original enhancement slot if you choose swift instead of hurdle