My first blaster!
You've got the right basic ideas: Aim and, Build Up early, batches of AOE and big singletarget hitters.
I'd move Explosive Arrow up earlier, and have stamina at level 22. That may be a controversial choice, but I'd rather have damage powers and be short on endurance, than have endurance with nothing to use it on.
World of Confusion- my wife reports that this power sucks (fire/mental). I didn't take it myself (on a sonic/mental). It is pointblank AOE, which you said something about wanting to avoid.
Epic- I'm not sure what you're going for here. I would rather take almost any power from any epic than Body Armor. There's a very small difference between "Would have died without Body Armor" and "Would have died with Body Armor"- especially at that level, where badguys routinely hit you for 30-50% of your HP. I'm fairly new to Munitions but I would do it for the LRM or not at all. (The LRM _is_ a lot of fun.) You may hate pulling out the frankengun, which is valid.
Another note: You can do a lot of very cheap IO slotting at relatively low levels to save slots and get much better performance at near-SO prices. Check out Capt. Canadian's guide, which is better than my old creaky guide (in sig). Free recharge, free end reduction, cheap enhancements, everyone wins.
Mini-guides: Force Field Defenders, Blasters, Market Self-Defense, Frankenslotting.
So you think you're a hero, huh.
@Boltcutter in game.
1. Snipes suck. It has the lowest DPA, freezes you in place for close to five seconds, is interruptable and really provides nothing. Well, it can serve as a set mule, there's some awesome and cheap sets for them.
2. You want Snap Shot, you won't have an attack chain without it. It's also a good attack.
Fulmens, World of confusion and body armor are fillers.. I honestly can't find more powers that I want heh. I will move things around and maybe pick up the frankengun =) Thanks!
Besserwisser, Having never played a blaster to snipe level I wasnt' aware of the drawbacks, thank you. About snap shot, I was reading another Archery guide that said to stay far away from it. Hrm. I will see if dropping the snipe and world of confusion gives me power space wise.
Thank you both!
My VirtueVerse
My Brute!
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Fulmens, World of confusion and body armor are fillers.. I honestly can't find more powers that I want heh. I will move things around and maybe pick up the frankengun =) Thanks!
Besserwisser, Having never played a blaster to snipe level I wasnt' aware of the drawbacks, thank you. About snap shot, I was reading another Archery guide that said to stay far away from it. Hrm. I will see if dropping the snipe and world of confusion gives me power space wise.
Thank you both!
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The archery guide you were reading that reccomended that was probably either:
[*]an old guide before archery's animations were updated.[*]a pre-defiance 2.0 guide.
Things have changed significantly for blasters in the last year or 2. No blaster should really skip their tier 1 attack any longer.
-Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein.
-I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo Galilei
-When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty. - Thomas Jefferson
Now that your first two attacks can be used while mezzed you need to take them on any Blaster... you'll spend quite a bit of time mezzed at higher levels. As for the snipe, I personally like them for openers... snipe a lieutenant for good damage plus a nice defiance buff, then hit your AoE barrage to finish him off plus any nearby minions. I'm not sure I'd bother taking it for Archery though since Blazing Arrow is almost as strong without the drawbacks.
Cascade, level 50 Blaster (NRG/NRG since before it was cool)
Mechmeister, level 50 Bots / Traps MM
FAR too many non-50 alts to name
[u]Arcs[u]
The Scavenger Hunt: 187076
The Instant Lair Delivery Service: 206636
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1. Snipes suck. It has the lowest DPA, freezes you in place for close to five seconds, is interruptable and really provides nothing. Well, it can serve as a set mule, there's some awesome and cheap sets for them.
2. You want Snap Shot, you won't have an attack chain without it. It's also a good attack.
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I have to disagree with #1 but totally agree with #2 here.
I use the snipes on my blasters. While i don't use them in my normal attack chains...i DO use them as openers/big hitters on stuff i'd rather not have live long...ie SAPPERS. Or, i might use then to tag that runner that took off in that direction ~~> My Psy/Mental blaster regularly one-shots even con and +1 minions with BU+Psy lance and LT's are usually hurtin pretty bad that an extra shot or 2 and they're out of the fight. Stack with aim for even better results. Worth the price of admission to me.
As for #2...I'll echo the statement: You'll want it....definitely. As a blaster...you've got jack for mez protection...so you'll get slammed with those a lot. Having 3 attacks is better than none (T1&T2 from primary and T1 from secondary). This will do you service.
I can't say much on the IO end of things as i've never really dedicated myself to really slotting out my toons with the sets...and not one of my 50's has a single purple set.
LRM...three words. AEWSOME...FREAKING....POWER!!
I went for almost 5 years and never tried the power myself, until fairly recently after seeing a friend use it. So..i second builded it into one my my 50's just to see the potential for myself. With just aim (he's a elec/dev blaster...wierd i know, but it worked) he could ALMOST wipe out every even con minion in a group. If he had access to build up...they WOULD have been toast. This thing is practically a mini-nuke snipe. It's THAT GOOD! My psy/mm blaster is almost level 47 and already has body armor and surveilance. Guess what he's picking up when he dings. Hehehehe. And no frankengun for him...WEAPON CUSTOMIZATION! LOL
And speaking of weapon customization...might i recommend getting your hands on the Talsorian Bow from rikki war zone when you can. I think it was like 100 V-Merits. It's just too cool, imo.
RaikenX is currently seeking new quotes to add to his signature.
Someone say something funny.
That'll do, pig. That'll do.
I find the snipe useful for things like "Blaster has scrapperlock, needs to slow down and let the tank actually get in and take alpha." Yeah, I get hypnotized by the big orange numbers, sometimes.
One popular thing for Blasters to take is [something]/Aid Self. Also for certain builds */Tough/Weave (if you're stacking up various Defense types) has its virtues.
I recommend the Ethereal Shift temp power -five "Get out of death free" cards, renewable with small amounts of inf and planning, every time you're near a crafting station.
Mini-guides: Force Field Defenders, Blasters, Market Self-Defense, Frankenslotting.
So you think you're a hero, huh.
@Boltcutter in game.
I keep debating speccing out of my snipe on my fire/ice blaster. I don't use it much, but there are sessions where I open a lot of fights with it to take out a pesky mob.
Arc ID#30821, A Clean Break
The only problem with defeating the Tsoo is that an hour later, you want to defeat them again!
"Life is just better boosted!" -- LadyMage
"I'm a big believer in Personal Force Field on a blaster. ... It's your happy place." -- Fulmens
Opening with Blazing Arrow is almost the same damage in less than half the activation time. I reiterate, snipes suck.
For the record, you're not stuck with the Frankengun, you can customise it to have a variety of rifles shooting out a rocket.
Heh-
Snap shot = must.
LRM Rocket = thing of beauty.
Surveillance = wonderful (and a great spot to stick some rather nice IO sets you couldn't use otherwise as a blaster). Very handy for mauling that annoying EB- I use it in conjunction with Aim and Build Up, since it does pretty much the same thing, just from the other end
Snipes = situational, but not as bad as all that. Very handy in certain situations.
Body Armour = mildly handy, as it never turns off, costs no endurance, and can occasionally make the difference between living and dying. Also a handy spot for IO sets that, once again, you don't necessarily have any other way to access.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
Since I have a defense based sonic/devices/munitions build I did this with the epic:
I 2 slotted Body Armor, 1 space for a Steadfast Res/Def, the other is reserved for a Gladiator's Armor Res/Def if one ever drops, I am NOT paying what they want for it in the market. 300 million? Uh, NO.
Surveillance is slotted with a defense debuff set, with an Achilles Proc in it.
I also have a sniper rifle that is spitting out a rocket, it's kind of amusing.
Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
Well, after playing city of tanks and brutes, I have decided to make my very first blaster ever!
Since dual pistols is not available, I decided to go with Archery. The main reason I have never made a blaster is due to dislike of the secondaries. I don't like devices, and all the other secondaries just don't fit the concept I have for this character. I finally settled on Archery / Mental Manipulation.
Below is the build with standard level 50 IO's. I haven't even begun researching IO sets yet heh. Please, tear it apart!!!!
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
Gavrial build 2: Level 50 Magic Blaster
Primary Power Set: Archery
Secondary Power Set: Mental Manipulation
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Medicine
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Munitions Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Aimed Shot
[*] (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50[*] (3) Damage Increase IO: Level 50[*] (5) Damage Increase IO: Level 50[*] (9) Damage Increase IO: Level 50[*] (11) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (15) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 1: Subdual
[*] (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50[*] (37) Immobilisation Duration IO: Level 50[*] (37) Immobilisation Duration IO: Level 50[/list]Level 2: Fistful of Arrows
[*] (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50[*] (3) Damage Increase IO: Level 50[*] (5) Damage Increase IO: Level 50[*] (19) Damage Increase IO: Level 50[*] (19) Range IO: Level 50[*] (23) Range IO: Level 50[/list]Level 4: Telekinetic Thrust
[*] (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50[*] (37) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 6: Blazing Arrow
[*] (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50[*] (7) Damage Increase IO: Level 50[*] (7) Damage Increase IO: Level 50[*] (9) Damage Increase IO: Level 50[*] (11) Range IO: Level 50[*] (15) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 8: Hover
[*] (A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 10: Swift
[*] (A) Flight Speed IO: Level 50[/list]Level 12: Aim
[*] (A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (13) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (13) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 14: Fly
[*] (A) Flight Speed IO: Level 50[*] (36) Flight Speed IO: Level 50[*] (36) Flight Speed IO: Level 50[/list]Level 16: Concentration
[*] (A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (17) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (17) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 18: Health
[*] (A) Healing IO: Level 50[*] (43) Healing IO: Level 50[*] (43) Healing IO: Level 50[/list]Level 20: Stamina
[*] (A) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50[*] (21) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50[*] (21) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50[/list]Level 22: Explosive Arrow
[*] (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50[*] (23) Damage Increase IO: Level 50[*] (25) Damage Increase IO: Level 50[*] (27) Damage Increase IO: Level 50[*] (31) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (31) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 24: Drain Psyche
[*] (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50[*] (25) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (27) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (48) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (50) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50[*] (50) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50[/list]Level 26: Stunning Shot
[*] (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50[*] (39) Disorient Duration IO: Level 50[*] (39) Disorient Duration IO: Level 50[/list]Level 28: Ranged Shot
[*] (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50[*] (29) Damage Increase IO: Level 50[*] (29) Damage Increase IO: Level 50[*] (31) Damage Increase IO: Level 50[*] (34) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (36) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 30: World of Confusion
[*] (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50[*] (40) Accuracy IO: Level 50[*] (40) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 32: Rain of Arrows
[*] (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50[*] (33) Damage Increase IO: Level 50[*] (33) Damage Increase IO: Level 50[*] (33) Damage Increase IO: Level 50[*] (34) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (34) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 35: Scare
[*] (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50[*] (42) Accuracy IO: Level 50[*] (43) Fear Duration IO: Level 50[*] (45) Fear Duration IO: Level 50[*] (46) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 38: Aid Other
[*] (A) Healing IO: Level 50[*] (39) Healing IO: Level 50[*] (40) Healing IO: Level 50[/list]Level 41: Body Armor
[*] (A) Resist Damage IO: Level 50[*] (42) Resist Damage IO: Level 50[*] (42) Resist Damage IO: Level 50[/list]Level 44: Aid Self
[*] (A) Healing IO: Level 50[*] (45) Healing IO: Level 50[*] (45) Healing IO: Level 50[*] (46) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (46) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (50) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 47: Hasten
[*] (A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (48) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (48) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 49: Surveillance
[*] (A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]------------
Level 1: Brawl
[*] (A) Empty[/list]Level 1: Sprint
[*] (A) Empty[/list]Level 2: Rest
[*] (A) Empty[/list]Level 1: Defiance
Let me know what you experienced blaster types know! I plan on playing this character as totally ranged, hopefully never setting foot on the ground.
My VirtueVerse
My Brute!