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You'll either 5-slot your snipe with Sting of the Manticore or 6-slot it with Extreme Measures if you're going for set bonuses (defenses, mainly). 99% of my snipes are 5-Sting of the Manticore. Rarely do I snipe out of combat, unless it's my opener; but that's very rare. Mostly snipe is used insta-cast in combat for better sustained DPS. The snipe change was huge; and it's even sillier on Scrappers (get snipe in some epics, except they have a chance to crit!). Here is my current build for my AR/Dev (mostly on the cheap, no purples, but both ATO sets I buy with Merits (600 each)😞

Personally, I view /devices as the most powerful blaster secondary (except vs. /energy if pvp'ing). That said, I usually skip Caltrops and Time Bomb. Everyone skips Time Bomb except super slow solo players. Toxic Web Grenade - mandatory, but I usually 6-slot it with Enfeebled Operation for MASSIVE smashing/lethal defenses. Incredible set, if you can spare the slots (and you should). Caltrops - there is an argument for caltrops, proc-monster style, but it really is lackluster compared to trip mine or most any AoE else, really. Handy if you can fit it in, but I would not plan for it. I suppose as a 1-slot "oh shit" power it is ok... Taser - is freakin' awesome! Not just a nice stun, but a hit-like-a-truck stun. Fast, good energy damage, close range (pseudo melee power, but still ranged). I always take it. Usually put 4 devastations in it (+HP and 3% dam) Targeting Drone - must have, really nice power, ½ of the main reason you should want to play /devices. I slot it with two Adjusted Targeting for 2% dam bonus, as slots are tight on an AR/Dev survival build (that I have). Smoke Grenade - often passed over by those who don't play very well. Don't skip this, it's a game-changer. I usually 2-slot if with Dampened Spirits (2% dam buff) and enjoy a little -ToHit (about -6.3%) but the real power is the -perception. Incredibly useful in team and solo! Field Operative - must have, excellent "free toggle", the other ½ of the main reason you should want to play /devices. I slot it with 3 numina + 2 efficacy adapters + 1 LotG global rech. proc. YMMV. The regen is really strong (and it's better than absorb, about as good as /fire's +heal). Recovery is strong, defense is OK. So many slotting options with this one. Probably THE BEST blaster free toggle in the game, by a LONG SHOT. This is what all other blaster secondaries wish they had. Trip Mine - some skip it, I take it. It's really decent damage, is NOT interruptable (which is good or bad, depending, mostly good). I 6-slot this one, as it's a great AoE filler, as well as a fun solo playtime power (set 5-6 of them and bring the mobs over... boom!) Time Bomb - as anyone with just over 1 brain cell or more will tell you, skip it. I suppose if you tried really hard you can come up with one dream scenario where it's handy or useful, but in reality, it's a wasted pick. Take trip mine instead, never look back. Gun Drone - silly and lame, but a ghetto aggro magnet and mule for a sweet rech-intensive pet set (4-slots for 6.25% recharge, etc.) That's about all I have to say about that.

I figured it out: you have to run the 32-bit client of the game; HeroStats does not work with the 64-bit one. Seems it just doesn't work. It's already been discussed in the forums, so I'm stopping this here.

Does HeroStats even work still? I vaguely remembering trying to get it to work, but was unsuccessful.

Just realize, a $alignment or $morality would be great, too (currently I use $side, but that's either Hero or Villain). I'd like to have Rogue / Vigilante / Hero / Villain via either a new variable ($side could be "Red" or "Blue" or leave as-is).

Since I have so much time on my hands, I've been theorycrafting some builds I really don't need or have time to play (already have over 30 alts, fully IO'd out and incarnated). Anyway, I do not have a Radiation Blast blaster, and I don't have a /Temporal one on the Homecoming shards, so I thought: here's a combo I don't have yet! I usually shoot for capped S/L/E defense on my blasters (thus, Scorpion Shield) I usually go the hover/fly/afterburner travel route. I usually avoid Hasten, as I often have all the pool powers picked. I usually go Stealth, just for speed-running through TFs and such (stealth + stealth IO in sprint). Well, I was able to hit 3 out of the above 4. Instead of stealth, I went Combat Jumping - both for added defense as well as "i hate being immobilized" which happens (and it lasts a while!). Was thinking to proc-mule Irradiate, but the Universal Damage set (all 6) seems to fit the bill. I like all the bonuses (+dam, +hp, +def, +KB prot) and with the KD proc, it turns Irradiate into a ghetto control power! Alternately, I was thinking to 2+4 is, with two -Res procs and four Eradicates. The problem with going that route is the end cost and recharge; it feels like I want to irradiate and damage more often than proc... I'm torn on this one. The rest is fairly straight forward blaster slotting. I ended up with 28.5% damage (set bonuses only, add 10.5% from assault for 39% total), decent recovery, S/L/E softcap (45%+). Have great travel power (afterburner is so much fun) and hover-blasting, even when going in for the irradiate/nuke/end of time stuff is nice. Ghetto control if I leave universal in irradiate, plus ST stun with cosmic burst (yeah, it's slow activation, meh); mag 3 hold with Atomic Blast. Mob nuking would be within the 10s of first of aim/bu: Aim+Chronos (buildup) while flying in (stealth+IO) and positioning myself; Irradiate (fast cast, KD from proc) ~240 dam Nuke (slow, but holds) ~ 1065 dam End of Time ~ 363 dam Realistically, the above would only be for incarnate/post-50 stuff. I imagine the pre-50 content (teaming) going as follows: Nuke (Atomic Blast w/o aim or BU, maybe just BU for damage) Finish off stragglers/boss with ST or Aim + BU Irradiate + End of Time Finish off stragglers/boss with ST Here's the build I threw together and may build: Would love to hear comments/critiques!

Another thing with Immobilize powers, 6-slotted Enfeebled Operations nets you a whopping 4.06% smashing/lethal defense in a single power. I don't know of any good blaster build that builds for positional, but either way, 4.38%(!) melee is also provided with 6 slots of enfeebled. Not bad at all, if you have the slots to spare (and for 4% you should). Best immob set in the game for defense. Period. You want high defenses, especially for a blapper build like /Temporal essentially forces you to be.

I second what @Hopestar said, AR is definitely the "at range" set with the "normal" attacks. The ignite/flamethrower is gravy when teamed and a mob or AV is locked down, but the activation time, range limit, etc. is not great for a sniping build. That said, while /EM is great because of boost range, I'd rather go AR/Devices, as the snipe gets MORE boost/buff from /Dev and it hits like a TRUCK. Plus /dev is the best blaster secondary in the game, so you have much better survivability and utility than all other sets. It pairs exceptionally well with AR. That all said, AR is not the greatest for damage, but it is the most satisfying "at range" set to play in my experience.

All true, Disruption Arrow is a bit slower on the recharge, and Poison's 2 debuffs are fast/applied often. It's a toss-up, I suppose. However, endurance use and speed of debuffs are all really quick with TA. Short cast time, small end cost. Well, I paired it with archery, so I'm not really attacking like I am with my Poison/Dark defender. TA/Arch is definitely the low-attack, constant debuffs everywhere. Like Poison, the -regen is not great; however, unlike poison, TA provides every debuff in the game, where poison has the ghetto ST heal and anti-mez and rez. Meh for those, but if one needs a 1-slot (default) throw-away power, Poison has strong options (I usually take the anti-mez, but sometimes wish it was the rez). I always take the heal for 6-slotted set bonus Preventive Medicine. It was either the heal or the stun (Dark Pit) from the blast set, and it's only mag 2, and a bit meh. At least the heal is "something" for the team, and a better set mule.

Rad has a better Aim than Tidal Forces (50% damage vs. 25% damage), unless you really need the Tidal Power stacks (3, I believe)... Both sets (Radiation Blast and Water Blast) also give plenty of -Def which helps Kin, as you really need to hit things to make it work (which you should, but -Def is still helpful). However, water has a lot of -speed thrown in. Both have some knock-down. Rad has a bit more "control" with stun (mag3!) and hold (mag 3; via nuke). Water has a heal, which you do not need (it's slow, too); is mostly smashing damage, which is resisted more than energy, I believe (could be wrong, it might change in the post-50 incarnate stuff). Irradiate can have a variety of usefulness as a proc mule, either all damage or all debuff, etc. Note: PROC's are NOT affected by Kin's +damage (or any +damage for that matter), so maybe using Irradiate for more -Res/debuffs is ideal? I'd also lean towards Radiation blast, as on a defender, it's not bad. I like to go more buff/debuff than damage when I do defenders, so I'd proc things out in the blast set accordingly, and see how it plays.

Poison is a very fast and active set, great for fast-moving teams, as others have said. I have it only on a defender, as it is noticeably weaker on other ATs, it's not a great set overall, but is very fun. I paired it with Dark Blast for the self-heal as well as additional -ToHit / Immob. I do have soft-capped S/L/E defenses, so with the -ToHit, I'm pretty survivable. One of the biggest things I *hate* about Poison Trap is that you have to be ON THE GROUND to place it. Like an Ouroboros portal, the bane of hover/flying toons everywhere. I macro around this, but it just is stoopidumb, especially given that I can place a TRIP MINE on my Fire/Dev blaster who is hovering/flying. FYI: /macro PT "powexecname Poison Trap$$powexectoggleoff Hover" to place the trap, then I re-hover via keybind. It's somewhat quick and seemless, but on such an active build, it's annoying as all get-out. I love Poison/Dark on a defender, I've proc'd out Poison Trap, so it's VERY useful (probably would still prefer Traps' version) and I've proc'd out Blackstar (dark blast's nuke). Lots of blasting with Tentacles and Night Fall, rarely need Life Drain to heal, but it's a decent attack (went 4 damage / 2 heal, just in case). Build is a bit endurance intensive because you're firing off 2 cones and 2 AoE-ish™ debuffs all the time... that does start to out-pace recovery, especially when running the Venemous Gas toggle (which I do, and it's awesome). I can solo most anything, given time... but who can't... Overall, I would say for a fast-moving team, best Defender Debuff set is Trick Arrow, but Poison is up there. Close.

As always, great work keeping the database updated and as close to the game as humanly possible! Is there any plans to completely re-vamp the interface? I mean, ground-up type re-invention / re-imagining level stuff? This (theoretically) can be done separate from the database / numbers stuff, by a separate team...? Just curious.

You never heard the line, "Get to the CharOper!" from Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Basically, you and everyone else has this idea. Hell, I do this on my controllers and defenders! Melee toon? Foggedaboutit, I'm at the next spawn. Blaster? I'm eliminating the next spawn. Yeah, characters are too powerful to league and even 8-man most things. I hope they come up with more 4-man options (like Summer Block Buster) to add variety and slow-down so many can actually enjoy what they bring to the team.

I second this, but with the correct spelling: "Sweet Sixteen" or "Sweet Sixteenth" - and what an excellent, full-circle type of reason: Homecoming during High School (16-yr old's schooling)... and so many RP'ers who want to be 16-yr old children now will have a badge title... >.>

Ooo, never thought about expanding the enemy tag in target_custom_next... very interesting, indeed!

I love my Earth/Dark – two of my favorite sets! That said, please do not expect to do lots of damage with this combo, but do expect to control everything. You will make large teams on +4/x8 really shine by flooring defenses, locking in place, stuns, holds, debuffs and heals. Do not make the mistake a lot of Darkness Affinity users do and treat Howling Twilight as just an AoE Rez, it's a bread-and-butter power. Besides, hearing Stone Cages and Howling Twilight... some of the greatest power sounds in the game! Your team will KNOW you are there and in CONTROL! (stack HT with Stalagmites for AoE Boss-Stunning). Open with Stone Cages, stun(s), then debuffs. Alternate between Earthquake and Volcanic Gasses; quicksand or tarpatch if needed. That way, ½ the stuff is in one mob, ½ is for the next, and you'll always have things up. PooMan is not much, but he is a ghetto tank, Dark Servant is much better as an additional debuffer/healer... I build for high defenses, because I'm usually the one jumping in and end up taking the alpha. On iTrial or +4 stuff, without incarnate slots, eat a single purple... or have break-free's at the ready (typical squishy stuff). Here is my current build (not going over-board with infamy / merits):

Was it named "Shock Therapy" ? If so, I believe we've beaten it long past its expiration date...

One could, perhaps, come up with a system to weigh "value" based on reads, likes, and replies/quotes. For good or ill. Quoted replies of a certain word-count, probably (eliminate the "+1 / me, too!" useless stuff).

If one cowers away from "Shock Therapy" then what happens when one comes across a Pain Domination defender? Hide? You going to rename Pain to "Discomfort Affinity" or something?

I agree. Just looking at this power, assume 1 acc, 1 endmod: -106.8% recovery debuff (turning off recovery), -28.48 end, -75% regen, -37.5% dam. Now these are defender AT numbers, but with just 1 slot (2 total) of acc and end mod, it's easily a filler (8s rech, 25s duration) and useful on even boss-level dudes. It's a solid debuff, for a tier 1. Sure, I'd rather have a heal at level 1, and a debuff is often better at later levels, after level 10 or so (for Posi 1 & 2 AVs, EBs, etc).

Yeah, I didn't see an old (Shrapnel) version when I looked just now. I still like the compact version (and I can move it to the upper-left of my screen/interface for better cascading). Still, the included one seems to be all there (of course, mine might be over-writing it, as @Jimmy mentioned). OK, so I renamed my latest to remove it (temporarily), restarted the beta client and see there's a 20200323.01 version from GM NobleKangaroo... it doesn't have any of the new sets, I don't see either Shrapnel nor Artillery. I like the idea of adding Mission Complete and creating the macro's (which is good if it's included in the chat-pop menu). OK, the "AUTO ENHANCE" thing is interesting. Great for people who want just IO's/SO's (the sets are too basic for me, but great that you can do this!). Want to replace the Set sections with the ones I did, please have at it, and take it back @GM NobleKangaroo. The only addition I was going to try to do is remove the "Get 10" option, instead of 1-3-5-10, I'd do 1-2-3-5 for sets, as I usually use 2-3 sets, and the 5 is the max one can have anyway, so 10 is useless for set IO's. Keep it as is for the regular IO's, though.

That's an OLD version, if you can patch in the new code; it's been revised (and I added the accolade / badge grant stuff)

It's Artillery in the latest (and one prior) version. Not sure what @Derek Icelord is referring to. Also, what is the "built-in" freebies menu? Is that the one I'm editing or something else?

Just thought of something cool... fixed number of letter AT Abbreviations! Figure 3-alphanumeric or fewer? BLA=Blaster CON=Controller DEF=Defender SCR=Scrapper TNK=Tank PB=Peacebringer WS=Warshade SEN=Sentinel BRU=Brute (or BRT?) COR=Corrupter DOM=Dominator MM=Mastermind STK=Stalker SLD=Arachnos Soldier WID=Arachnos Widow I'd love to have abbreviated powersets, but that might be way too much (e.g. Fire Blast=FRBL, Time Manipulation=TIME, etc. Maybe limit multi-word ones to a 2-alpha+2-alpha 4-letter combo?) Then give an environment variable: $abbrAT and $pri / $sec for abbreviated primary/secondary...