Help picking a secondary for AR/

[pawstruck]

Of /time, /plant, and /rad, which do you guys think is best for Assault Rifle?

 

I like /plant because it's kinda unique, but I think there's some anti-synergy with the AOE sleep and AR's many cones.

 

/Rad is very cool too, but has tons of melee/pbaoe. At least /rad has some +rech.

 

/Time is probably objectively the best, but I'm so tired of /time...

 

Thoughts?

[Zect]

I'm going to say what I always say in these types of threads. You ready? Here it is:

 

Define "best".

 

With that said, here's a possible analysis based on what seems to be your unspoken assumption that time is good for your purposes.

 

There are a few reasons why time is usually considered strong as a 2ndary. 1) Its DPS support power is of the self-buff type (+rech) which makes it easy to build around and exploit, compared to enemy debuffs (weakened by purple patch) or damage auras (requires close range). 2) Its strong melee attack, future pain, does decent DPA (97, above average) while offering access to an unusual damtype for diversification purposes.

 

It also has a fairly standard power layout (always valuable for a set like AR that is very biased in favor of taoes in terms of power type), 1 more power that can fit resistance uniques, access to hold sets for set-muling purposes, and a pretty stupid amount of slow res. All told, a munchkin's wet dream. Please nerf it.

 

Rad and plant both have access to holds and a fairly standard power layout. However, rad's DPS support is also of the self-buff type, while plant's is a debuff (-regen). In fact, rad has 2 powers that give +rech - you get 20% from metabolic and then another varying amount from beta decay (only when foes in range). And while rad does have some melee and pbaoe attacks, they're pretty shit - I don't always take them myself if the primary has enough aoes of its own. Skipping them is actually not that bad for AR, which is a top 3 set or close to it.

 

So if you don't intend to melee a lot because you'd rather stay at range and use your cones, and prefer sets that offer DPS support through self-buffs, rad seems to be the set that better fits your objectives after time.

 

Edited September 4, 2023 by Zect

[Tacheyon]

If you are looking to stay at range why not Trick Arrow?

 

Now that the redraw has been revamped it isn't as bad as it once was.  And plenty of One Man/Woman Army concepts you could create with it.

[honoroit]

devices always seemed (to me) to be an AR kinda look.

 

combat tp for in out on the bombas and stuff.

[biostem]

OP, have you considered Earth Manipulation?  It has some very handy tool to keep enemies at range, or make them at least regret getting close.

[Frozen Burn]

 

On 9/3/2023 at 3:36 PM, pawstruck said:

Of /time, /plant, and /rad, which do you guys think is best for Assault Rifle?

 

I like /plant because it's kinda unique, but I think there's some anti-synergy with the AOE sleep and AR's many cones.

 

/Rad is very cool too, but has tons of melee/pbaoe. At least /rad has some +rech.

 

/Time is probably objectively the best, but I'm so tired of /time...

 

Thoughts?

 

I would not suggest any of those for AR as they aren't very synergetic - all 3 of those lend you to be in melee range for the PBAOES, which is counter-intuitive for AR's cones.  But I certainly would do any of these if it was for a specific concept you were going for. 

 

Range support secondaries are best with AR:  Energy (especially with boost range to ensure getting more in your cones), Devices, and Trick Arrow are your top choices, imo.  

[arcane]

I like my AR/Plant just fine, though all you really need from the secondary is the build up and the sustain.

[Onlyasandwich]

Plant is a great secondary for range focus. Its melee powers are not so amazing they can't be ignored, and it has a lot of great control to offer at range. 

[pawstruck]

On 9/3/2023 at 8:45 PM, Zect said:

I'm going to say what I always say in these types of threads. You ready? Here it is:

 

Define "best".

 

(snip)

 

 

A really solid analysis of each of the three sets. I wish I'd read it a bit earlier, ha!

 

I ended up trying both /rad and /plant, and Zect seems right on just about every point. Mechanically, I think /time would be quite superior synergy. Unfortunately I couldn't re-imagine my character ("Green Redneck," LOL) with /time. I have to really beef up the conceptually "normal" sets - pistols, swords, etc. - to get myself to believe they'd really be superheroes. If I get the feeling I'm playing "regular guy with gun," my interest in a character wanes. 😞

 

Anyway, I did AR/rad to 16 and AR/plant to 25.

 

Annnnnd now I'm starting to think I overestimated the recent buffs for AR. Its damage feels very anemic. Maybe it's just because I use DO's/SO's until 30, but damn it feels like I do no damage compared to my Water and Psi blasters... oof.

 

You guys think AR still sucks?

[arcane]

36 minutes ago, pawstruck said:

You guys think AR still sucks?

Nope, AR is probably the third or fourth best blast set now.

[pawstruck]

46 minutes ago, arcane said:

Nope, AR is probably the third or fourth best blast set now.

 

Huh. That's interesting. I just can't get my head around the 10-target cap on the nuke or the massive amount of lethal damage being able to compete.

[kelika2]

i dislike pairing a cone set with pbaoes so none of what you listed is what i would do

rifle/energy.  with only needing buildup and conserve power its a very very minimalist set if all you want is a gun

rifle/arrow.  with the redraw patch its also a nice choice.  oil slick is very very nice.  oil+flame+auto is just dots.

rifle/dev is ok.  its mostly drone + drone for me but sometimes i toebomb with mine+m30

[arcane]

The only set he listed with mandatory PBAoE’s IMO is /Atomic due to Beta Decay. Thorn Burst? End of Time? Easily skippable.

 

That being said /Tactical and /Energy are certainly good picks for ranged builds along with /Temporal and /Plant.

Edited September 6, 2023 by arcane

[UltraAlt]

On 9/3/2023 at 3:36 PM, pawstruck said:

Thoughts?

 

From my viewpoint, pick the one that best matches your character conception.

If you don't have a character conception, I would think of one for each and figure out, based on the character conception, which one will be more fun to play.

[victusfate]

I have an AR/Devices that I resurrected from live, but he's parked in the late 30s. Old man will make a comeback soon. He's an old ornery dude with a gun, and he's sick and tired of all the trouble makers in Paragon City 

Edited December 8, 2023 by victusfate

[Frozen Burn]

12 hours ago, victusfate said:

I have an AR/Devices that I resurrected from live, but he's parked in the late 30s. Old man will make a comeback soon. He's an old ornery dude with a gun, and he's sick and tired of all the trouble makers in Paragon City 

 

HA!  That's the concept for my AR/Energy Blaster... old dude tired of all the gangs messing up his neighborhood.  He picks up a gun and pulled a pair of Crey energy gauntlets off some gang members and is now out being a vigilante.  😄  

[Force Redux]

Git off mah lawn!!! 

[Frozen Burn]

12 hours ago, Force Redux said:

Git off mah lawn!!! 

 

"Damn punks are ruining the neighborhood!"

[Force Redux]

36 minutes ago, Frozen Burn said:

 

"Damn punks are ruining the neighborhood!"

"Back in my day, we didn't have Council! We had Fifth Column, aaaaaand weeee looooved it!"

[Force Redux]

On 9/6/2023 at 10:32 AM, kelika2 said:

i dislike pairing a cone set with pbaoes so none of what you listed is what i would do

rifle/energy.  with only needing buildup and conserve power its a very very minimalist set if all you want is a gun

rifle/arrow.  with the redraw patch its also a nice choice.  oil slick is very very nice.  oil+flame+auto is just dots.

rifle/dev is ok.  its mostly drone + drone for me but sometimes i toebomb with mine+m30

 

Going to agree nicely with TA....the Rambo build. Also Plant is a great ranged pairing...!

[Thraxen]

Thraxo is ar\arrow. Lotta fun. 

[PyroBeetle]

While I do not follow the old Rambo build exactly, I do play AR/TA and have found it to be very very effective.

 

Mine is named Veteran's Vengeance. 

[Nemu]

This is the only accepted secondary and epic pairing for Assault Rifle. If you deviate, the RAMBO squad will get you.

[BazookaTwo]

I went classier than Rambo, with Yeet Shooter, my AR/Sonic. I use Sonic thrust to launch enemies away from me, and then snipe them, as a signature trick. Sonic has lots of hold possibilities, and I can leverage Lockdown +Damage Procs to make my Holds OP. If you're going to Yeet a target you might as well slap a hold on it too!

 

I will probably go Soul Mastery for Power Boost. Which will make holds more epic still, and add to knockback where relevant. I may just do something silly like slot Overwhelming Force into Sonic Thrust to see how it goes, or slot it in Sniper Rifle. The idea being that CC at extreme range is how I keep my hands clean.