Thinking about devices mines and explosions

[Fireburn]

So....the thought came to me to try out /devices, wich i never really got into before. The primary set will be Archery, so i started to plan how it should play, keeping things at range, caltrops tro make enemies flee, the awesome to hit buff from targeting drone, etc.

 

Then it came to trip mine and remote bomb. Well, uhm. I really don't know what to think about them. First question: are procs good on trip mine, or should it be slotted for set bonus?  I hear it's a good power for those players who like to solo and play it slow and steady, laying a minefiled to pull mobs onto. Wich may not be my style. I wonder if the mine damage can be pumped by procs or not.

I was going to ask a similar question about remote bomb. looks like rpocs in it should rally up the numbers....then i looked at the recharge again. 360 seconds. Even with very high recharge builds, that's an attack every 90 seconds. is it really worth it? maybe not. a mule power? perhaps.

 

I'm a bit dumbfounded by these two powers. tempted to let loose big BOOOMMM explosions but not sure if it's effective or not. Can someone share some insight on them?

[Forager]

Remote bomb is something I took for the lols because the character was "done." It is really fun, but highly situational. If there's an ambush or you get swamped or hit with -recharge. The only downside to it is that I forget I have it so I don't set it in advance ever.

 

Trip mine sucks.

[Maelwys]

Trip Mine on a /Devices Blaster is actually decentish because it's uninterruptible.

Trip Mine on a /Traps (anything except a MM) is total whittle.

 

Unfortunately neither are worthwhile for offensive procs because they self destruct and vanish before damage procs get a chance to activate. But they're a decent spot for gaining set bonuses (5 piece Armageddon minus the proc?) and can make good use of a Force Feedback +Rech.

 

Edited May 7 by Maelwys

[Fireburn]

Mmmmhh, do you mean that them being kb powers, the force feedback proc has a chance of firing when you activate the power, like storm summoning pseudo pets? in that case, i can them useful for at least that purpose

 

[Adeon Hawkwood]

Remote Bomb isn't bad but as you noted the recharge means you won't use it that often. However the damage is high enough that can be used to effectively skip a spawn, especially when combined with Rain of Arrows, you pretty much just have the clean up the bosses. Personally I have it on my AR/Dev blaster but it's more a case of taking a power because I have room rather than because I absolutely needed it.

 

I wouldn't bother with Trip Mine, now that the interrupt was removed it's not awful and can be worth it if you need some extra AoE (basically treat it like a melee range PBAoE attack) but Archery is generally fine with the AoE that it has.

[Maelwys]

36 minutes ago, Fireburn said:

Mmmmhh, do you mean that them being kb powers, the force feedback proc has a chance of firing when you activate the power, like storm summoning pseudo pets? in that case, i can them useful for at least that purpose

 

The Force Feedback +Recharge Proc isn't an offensive one. As long as a power takes Knockback set IOs you can stick a FF Proc in it and that Proc will then get a chance to trigger "on power activation" (instead of "on inflicting damage" or even "on inflicting knockback/knockdown").

Therefore if you're using Trip Mine as a PBAoE attack (and you should) then you'll be granting yourself a rather hefty regular recharge buff... and getting your Nuke (e.g. Rain of Arrows) up faster whilst inflicting decent AoE damage? More than worth it IMO.

 

The fact that you can't Damage Proc it up stops it from being overpowered; but it's still a good power pick if you're utilizing it as a set mule + a FF Proc.

[Fireburn]

Ok, thanks for your answers. i think i will pick remote bomb and see if i enjoy it....then, if i have powers to spare ( and i think i will ) use trip mine for the purpose you described. off to shoot bad guys now!

Edited May 8 by Fireburn

[lemming]

Trip mines are a situational, harder on usual steamroller teams, but if you have the chance to set them up, they're great.

 

I find when I'm solo, I can put down a few while getting a drink, come back and trigger the ambush that shows up where I just put down a field.

 

Remote is a good spawn clearer.  That's one where you can put the remote on a boss, then snipe him and blow him up as your shot hits which will clear much of his group.

[Fireburn]

Reached level 30, and picked remote bomb.  the visuals alone make it worth it 🙂   i didn't expect the blast to be so big.  too bad it can't be available more often, but it's still fun to set off such an explosion!

[dragonhawk777]

If your running your Arch/Dev blaster solo more then Trip Mine has some nice uses.  If you arent in a rush then you can stack trip mines on top of each other and get quite a number of them down before they time out and start detonating.  Not sure the exact number but it can one shot an elite boss or take a good chunk out of an AV.  In teams its not much use but for slower paced solo play then its useful, it just depends on your playstyle.

[Frozen Burn]

I love my Archery/Devices Blaster - TONS 'o fun!  I have both Trip Mine and Remote Detonator.  

 

AS people say, Trip Mines are are better solo or if you're teamed and you know where an ambush will spawn, they are very useful.  Like in the Miss Liberty TF - 1st mish... we know wher the AV will spawn, so while the team is destroying cables, I'll drop about 20 mines where the ambush will be so that after the cut scene - BOOM!  The mob is decimated and AV hates me.  😄  He hates me more when I put a remote detonator on him and blow up him or any remaining mobs.  🙂  

 

Take both, slot both, and have fun!

[Midnight Mystique]

I have played a lot of /devices blaster, for a long while it was the only secondary I really liked. On all of them took trip mine for two reasons:

 

1) If you drop it at your feet just before you open up with either your snipe or a tier 9 you get a HUGE defiance boost, like 26%

2) If a bunch of mobs get close to you despite a field of caltrops it tends to knock them on their ass.

 

If you are tight for slots, then either stick with the single slot and put a KB/KD io in it or if you can spare one extra slot, stick an FF+recharge in it as well.

Obviously if you have a primary with a PBAOE tier 9 it also makes a nice combo with that - stealth in, plant a trip mine then queue up your tier 9.

[Fireburn]

Thank you all for your answers. Taking the time to lay a ton of mines might not be my style, but i admit i hadn't thought about the defiance boost on the opening salvo. That is useful indeed. 

In my planned build i had 2 slots to spare so trip mine will end up  with two superior avalanches for slow resist, and with intuition alpha it will reach 98% enhanced damage. Plus a force feedback proc

Edited Wednesday at 10:56 AM by Fireburn

[Auroxis]

I would double-check that FFB works in Remote Bomb. I remember testing it a couple months ago and it didn't proc for me once.