Mastering Trick Arrow

[Glowman]

I’ve been playing a ta/archery fender and I’m loving it! It’s fun to feel like you have an arrow for every situation. The thing is, with so many arrows it’s impossible to fire them all off in most single fights. 
 

So which trick arrows do you prioritize in what situations?

Typical I open with flash arrow into disruption arrow. I squeeze in an oil slick whenever i can. If fighting robots or more difficult mobs I’ll hit EMP arrow. Then into my aoe rotation (which includes a procced out acid arrow). I’ve arrow is in my single target rotation. 
 

I don’t often use glue or poison arrow or glue arrow except on AVs where I have time to fire off all the debuffs. 
 

How about you? Teach me your ways Master Archers!

Edited July 5, 2021 by Glowman

[Psylenz0511]

Boss fights I lead off with flash arrow and then immediately the EM Pulse arrow because it has a burst -regen that is so tasty. Glue arrow is good when there are lots of minions. Stacking slow debuffs is not the same but almost as good as an AoE hold.

 

edit: Oh wait, did the recent Trick Arrow update take -regen out of EM Pulse arrow? I defer to the TA masters.

Edited July 5, 2021 by Psylenz0511

[Glowman]

No. It still has the - regen. 

[Dark Dove]

Strong team: flash arrow pre-combat, disruption arrow to start the fight, oil slick if it's up, AoE damage powers follow in rotation (Rain / Proc Acid Arrow / Explosive Arrow / Fistful Repeat). EMP for AV/EB's (also an Entangling here or there for AV/EB) or EMP for emergency (tank dies etc).

 

Weak team: flash arrow pre-combat, poison gas arrow to start the fight, then back into the normal rotation.

 

Single target attacks fill in when there aren't enough bad guys left to shoot AoE's (Proc Ice Arrow / Ranged Shot / Blazing Arrow rotation).

 

I find Glue Arrow to be a waste of animation time in almost all situations, it's been dropped from my builds. I almost always have something better to animate.

 

[KaizenSoze]

3 hours ago, Glowman said:

I’ve been playing a ta/archery fender and I’m loving it! It’s fun to feel like you have an arrow for every situation. The thing is, with so many arrows it’s impossible to fire them all off in most single fights. 
 

So which trick arrows do you prioritize in what situations?

Typical I open with flash arrow into disruption arrow. I squeeze in an oil slick whenever i can. If fighting robots or more difficult mobs I’ll hit EMP arrow. Then into my aoe rotation (which includes a procced out acid arrow). I’ve arrow is in my single target rotation. 
 

I don’t often use glue or poison arrow or glue arrow except on AVs where I have time to fire off all the debuffs. 
 

How about you? Teach me your ways Master Archers!

Are you using binds for the AOE targeted powers? Binds allow you to get your powers off faster.

 

I have binds in the first post of this thread.

 

 

[Glowman]

24 minutes ago, KaizenSoze said:

Are you using binds for the AOE targeted powers? Binds allow you to get your powers off faster.

 

I have binds in the first post of this thread.

 

 

I am! I’ll be sure to check out yours as well. 

[Onlyasandwich]

Pretty much what @Dark Dove said, but I actually like glue arrow, especially for solo work.

 

Without glue arrow, mobs can get a bit unruly when oil slick isn't up. This allows you to unload your aoe rotation more reliably against tough spawns when something else isn't holding them in place.

 

Edited July 6, 2021 by Onlyasandwich

[Uun]

For AVs and other hard targets, refresh Entangling Arrow (20% -res) every 30s, Ice Arrow (-20% damage debuff and -67% unresistable secondary effect debuff) every 60s and Acid Arrow (-40% debuff resistance) every 45s.

[Glowman]

@Onlyasandwichthat's something I hadn't thought about. I've noticed when I have soloed I'm constantly backing up to line up fistfull of arrows. Glue Arrow will def be helpful in that situation.

[oedipus_tex]

Here are a few:

• Proc Ice Arrow out with damage procs. It can take 6. Given its longish recharge and relatively fast cast speed, you can cycle it in as an attack without losing too much (in some cases any) DPS. Just make sure you have enough Accuracy to hit targets. Less of an issue if you pair it with Aim.
  • Acid Arrow is similarly proccable; this is especially attractive on archetypes with few AoEs, like Controllers and Masterminds.
• -ToHit (in Flash Arrow) is a Schedule B enhancement. But Power Boost and powers like it affect all attributes equally regardless of schedule. Hitting enemies with Power Boosted Flash Arrow does roughly double the debuff of regular Flash Arrow. This will last the full 60sec duration of the debuff.
• Resistance debuff is retroactive; it doesn't matter if you cast Acid Arrow first and then another debuff, the Resistance stripped away will retroactively apply and magnify any debuffs already on the enemy (from you or teammates).
• Although this isn't unique to Trick Arrow, its more applicable now than before; ground-cast powers do not enforce line of sight. If you can manipulate the camera so that you can click the ground, you can shoot through/around the wall. Particularly useful with powers that are controls because enemies cannot fire back. 

[roleki]

As far as I know, I had one of the first - if not THE first - level 50 /TA controllers on Live (almost certainly the first Ice/TA) and have been a huge fan of the set from the minute I got ahold of it.  As such, I never found TA to be that lacking, but following the generous bumps given it by the HC team, it definitely has changed how I use TA in a scrap. 

 

As things stand now, against standard mobs I always lead with Acid Arrow (to maximize debuffs) and follow it with Glue Arrow (to keep things packed).  After that, it's a progression of AoEs (PGA into Flash Arrow into Disruption Arrow into OSA) then I ignite OSA and begin working on single targets/reapplying debuffs.  Entangling Arrow and Ice Arrow I hold in reserve for Olympic-class runners (there's always one or two) and I keep EMP Arrow as a "spare" Clarion.   

 

Versus hardier stuff (AVs, GMs and Pylons) I do switch things around a little, leading off with Flash Arrow into Acid Arrow then straight into PGA/Disruption/Entangling/Ice/OSA/kitchen sink.  On my defender, I fire off EMP arrow right away, but on my Corruptor I'll wait until the target is at about 3/4 health, just because it is fun to watch the last 3/4 take as long to chip off as the first 1/4 did.  

 

I will say, TA is the only type of character that I *always* take hover/fly on, and I prioritize Ranged defense above any other set bonus because it *seems* like things hate being debuffed even more than they hate being killed outright.  I also have all my TA stuff target macro'd in one tray and raw in another; that way I can pick the sturdiest target and lay everything on it quick, but can still see the cooldown timers and fire off Location AoEs manually should the need arise.  

[Onlyasandwich]

One additional note - the only thing I didn't like about my TA/A at first was managing so many click powers. This was the character that finally got me to start using alt+key rather than just shift+key around my wasd for quick access.

 

You definitely want to figure out a comfortable keybind strategy to have these powers easily accessible for optimal performance.

[oedipus_tex]

9 minutes ago, roleki said:

As things stand now, against standard mobs I always lead with Acid Arrow (to maximize debuffs) and follow it with Glue Arrow (to keep things packed). 

 

 

Hey there, it wasn't until assisting with the tests with Trick Arrow that I realized this, but you actually don't need to lead with Acid Arrow. The effect of debuffs is recalulcated against the critter's current Resistance every server pulse, so it doesn't matter if you open with Acid or follow with it. Based on that, I'd generally recommend opening with Flash Arrow if you can, since it won't alert enemies.

 

Also, I forget exactly how the math works out, but just in general the -ToHit resistance in Acid isn't very effective against most enemies. It has something to do with lower caps on -ToHit and the way resistance works. I forget the specifics and would need a power analyzer to see the math again. IIRC Acid is good at lowering enemy resist to -Recharge and -End Mod though because the resistance cap is more favorable to those.

[Uun]

1 hour ago, roleki said:

almost certainly the first Ice/TA

I had a 50 Ice/TA on Victory (Ice Coffee), I'm guessing 2006 or so.

[roleki]

1 hour ago, oedipus_tex said:

 

 

Hey there, it wasn't until assisting with the tests with Trick Arrow that I realized this, but you actually don't need to lead with Acid Arrow. The effect of debuffs is recalulcated against the critter's current Resistance every server pulse, so it doesn't matter if you open with Acid or follow with it. Based on that, I'd generally recommend opening with Flash Arrow if you can, since it won't alert enemies.

 

Good to know; since I am usually on a team, I fire off Acid first so that EVERY tick is giving max effort.  I'm at something like 52 ranged defense (on the Corruptor, would have to dig into the Defender to report out) so alpha doesn't usually bother me. 

 

Key word being 'usually.'

 

3 minutes ago, Uun said:

I had a 50 Ice/TA on Victory (Ice Coffee), I'm guessing 2006 or so.

 

Heh, I was Polarrhoid, on Victory as well.  I don't know the exact date I hit 50, but it was either just before or just as CoV came out; I just know I was in a hurry to finish so I could concentrate on CoV.  It was just funny because everybody I ran into wished me luck.  I'd never had that happen before or since 😉

[JayboH]

On 7/5/2021 at 4:09 PM, Glowman said:

So which trick arrows do you prioritize in what situations?

Flash always (at least now after the changes.)  Glue Arrow.   Disruption Arrow.  Poison Gas or Acid can be used after that but I tend to start attacking first.  it's situational.  Flash and Disruption are musts in every fight if you ask me.  Glue is very useful in keeping the mobs contained in the Disruption area.  Poison is nice for the -damage.  Acid is for harder targets like bosses and up.

[Glowman]

Does disruption arrow splash or pulse from where it lands?

[JayboH]

5 minutes ago, Glowman said:

Does disruption arrow splash or pulse from where it lands?

Pulses from where it lands.  You can see the rings it creates and it's a huge 25 ft area.