What can an En/En blaster do these days?

[Extor Prime]

My first ever character on Live was an En/En/En blaster. Playing him was a horrid exercise in frustration, but I got him to 50 out of sheer stubbornness. And never played him again. As in ever.

 

I gather things changed a bit since. What can an En/En do these days? Can it solo? Can it crack hard targets or do anything exceptional?

[oedipus_tex]

Putting knockback to knockdown IOs in Energy Blast's AoEs tames its scatter considerably and makes Energy Blast relatively safe to play.

 

I don't think much of the Energy Secondary. It's functional. Honestly doesn't have a ton of synergy with the Energy primary (it works better with sets lots of cones and secondary/mezz effects like Dark Blast, Psi, and Sonic. Matter of fact, maybe I need a Dark/Energy Blaster now. 🙂 )

 

 

 

[Gorgar]

En/en is pretty good at hard targets.  Chain KB is good control.  Probably less so if you use kb->kd IOs, as you eliminate the time mobs spend getting back into range.  I built for ranged defense, didn't even take Hasten, and my tactic is to keep things out of their effective range, which is shorter than mine.

 

Soloing, I put Boost Range on auto, set myself generally on +2/x1 to +4/x1, and use kb to keep things far away from me, including Bonfire, which I have slotted for kb.  It's a lot of fun.  Stuff frequently dies without ever getting within melee range.  The reason I don't make the team bigger is just to keep from getting too many mobs to be able to juggle.

 

Teaming, I usually put Energize on auto (though still sometimes Boost Range) and either target things nobody else is dealing with, Nova the group, or use more single-target attacks on bosses and/or mobs with annoying powers.

 

I like the energy secondary.  For a while I was running Aid Self and Field Medic, which is a pretty good heal on its own, and better if you have time for Power Boost first.  I'm finding Energize is enough healing by itself though, as the extra regen has more time to work while mobs are running back to me.

 

Sorry you're not enjoying it, but I for one love it, to the point that I don't really play other blasters much.  None of the others I've tried come close to being as much fun as en/en is for me, even at low level.

[Seale]

play a /nrg based blaster for me means i run with bind otherwise i die inside :

 

/bind w "+forward$$powexec_name Energize"

/bind s "+backward$$powexec_name Power Boost"

 

write each once and never look back on that toon, it basically just say "when my character move forward using W it use energize, when i move back by pressing s it use power boost".

(avoid side bind is a good way to still use animation skip)

 

now said so : the secondary offer some really nice stuff once you have powerboost perma, but sadly i find that stuff dead usually harm less then just stuff able to get up again, so i usually avoid to play primary nrg.

 

any blaster can solo to a certain degree.... sure it may not be your MoTf run blaster or your 4x8 best toon with /nrg but you still can get some original builds out of that secondary

Edited August 14, 2019 by Seale

[Vanden]

5 hours ago, oedipus_tex said:

Honestly [Energy secondary] doesn't have a ton of synergy with the Energy primary

You kidding? Energy Blast's knockback means even bosses can be rendered temporarily harmless, long enough to dash in and get free hits with Energy Manipulation's excellent melee attacks. It's great synergy!

[Myrmidon]

That all depends on what AT I am playing at the time:

 

 

Main: Trying to destroy my aggro control and my Regen rate by Nova-ing mobs to the four winds.

 

Rad/Fire: Absolutely HATING on the use of Burn.

 

Second Support: Apparently voting “No” on Fulcrum Shift buffs.

 

 

Same old, same old.

[Dissention]

I ran an En/En up to and all the way through the Incarnate trials on live.

Quite possibly my favorite character I've ever built.

I usually focused on single hard targets and barely used my aoe on teams, however now with the KBtoKD IOs I use em all the time since there is no longer an issue.

I agree with Vanden's statement above, /En is great for smashing downed targets and those who manage melee range. 

I played on live at +2/x1 - +3/x1 depending on my mood.

I found him extremely easy to solo and duo with my scrapper friend for any really annoying AV's

 

 

[Haijinx]

I prefer energy/energy/mace for scorpion shield.  That way you can get some really good defense numbers.

 

But it works great.  Especially with KB to KD IOs in the AOE powers 

 

Energize is such a good power that it makes synergy questions pointless IMO 

 

[oedipus_tex]

19 hours ago, Vanden said:

You kidding? Energy Blast's knockback means even bosses can be rendered temporarily harmless, long enough to dash in and get free hits with Energy Manipulation's excellent melee attacks. It's great synergy!

 

I suppose that's an option. Is it really any better at this than Sonic or Dark, both of which have powers with guaranteed knockback (which Energy Blast does not, for some reason)? I just hate to see so much potential from Power Boost go to waste.

 

FWIW I just clocked Blackstar with two -ToHit debuffs combined with Power Boost at -79% ToHit for 20 seconds, which is outrageous.

 

(Hilariously, the same technique on a Defender yields an astounding -155% ToHit).

 

 

Edited August 14, 2019 by oedipus_tex

[Vanden]

1 hour ago, oedipus_tex said:

I suppose that's an option. Is it really any better at this than Sonic or Dark, both of which have powers with guaranteed knockback (which Energy Blast does not, for some reason)?

Energy Blast does have guaranteed knockback, in Power Push (and Sniper Blast IIRC). And it can knockback said boss with every attack; unlike Sonic or Dark who only have the one each. (And Sonic's has an accuracy penalty.)

[jdeyoe]

anyone got any good build for the Energy/energy that they want to share i just got back into playing it and have forgotten everything i know about it.  I suppose i could just hash it out and respec in the end.

[Drakos]

On 8/13/2019 at 2:44 PM, Extor Prime said:

My first ever character on Live was an En/En/En blaster. Playing him was a horrid exercise in frustration, but I got him to 50 out of sheer stubbornness. And never played him again. As in ever.

 

I gather things changed a bit since. What can an En/En do these days? Can it solo? Can it crack hard targets or do anything exceptional?

My very first character on live at launch was an Nrg/Nrg Blaster.  I took him to 50 and beyond.  He remained my main the entire time and I loved him.  I'm, sorry that you didn't enjoy playing this excellent combination.

[roleki]

Before you give up on en/en, I strongly encourage you to log into the test server, roll one up to 50, then go over to a level 1 mob and fling it across the map.  If the sight of their lifeless body ragdolling across the screen and clear out of your perception radius doesn't convince you to stick with it, then maybe en/en isn't for you.

 

(Though, admittedly, it's not as dramatic as it used to be on live.  You used to need a spotter to tell you where they landed.)

[Rathulfr]

My retail main for 8 years (2004-2012) was an Energy² Blaster.  I loved him, and brought him back for Homecoming.  But I found myself frustrated by the same problems leveling up that bothered me (namely, repeated squishy face plants). 

 

So I decided to try an Energy/WP Sentinel instead, and was totally sold on that.  I got him to 50+3 T4, and enjoyed every second of it.  I thought I had found the answer, but his anemic damage kept bothering me.  This was especially troubling for tackling AVs and tougher bosses, which seemed to take days (Sentinels never die in combat: they just die of old age while s l o w l y blasting their targets.)

 

So I decided to try a different Blaster secondary to see if that would help.  I rolled up an Energy/Temporal Blaster, because of the -Regen powers in the secondary.  That made all the difference: fully built out, my EB/TM Blaster is almost as durable as my Sentinel, and does way more damage.

 

[FUBARczar]

20 hours ago, Rathulfr said:

My retail main for 8 years (2004-2012) was an Energy² Blaster.  I loved him, and brought him back for Homecoming.  But I found myself frustrated by the same problems leveling up that bothered me (namely, repeated squishy face plants). 

 

So I decided to try an Energy/WP Sentinel instead, and was totally sold on that.  I got him to 50+3 T4, and enjoyed every second of it.  I thought I had found the answer, but his anemic damage kept bothering me.  This was especially troubling for tackling AVs and tougher bosses, which seemed to take days (Sentinels never die in combat: they just die of old age while s l o w l y blasting their targets.)

 

So I decided to try a different Blaster secondary to see if that would help.  I rolled up an Energy/Temporal Blaster, because of the -Regen powers in the secondary.  That made all the difference: fully built out, my EB/TM Blaster is almost as durable as my Sentinel, and does way more damage.

 

/eng is good, eng/ is not

 

I never have trouble doing damage with my Beam/Bio Sentinel. 

[Rathulfr]

6 hours ago, FUBARczar said:

/eng is good, eng/ is not

 

I never have trouble doing damage with my Beam/Bio Sentinel. 

 

Oh, I never had trouble doing damage with my Energy/WP Sentinel, either.  It was just wasn't as good as I would have liked, and seemed to take longer than my Energy/* Blasters.  Admittedly, this is not a fair comparison, given the higher base modifier of Blasters over Sentinels.  In general, I find it's easier to make a tanky Blaster than a blasty Sentinel, but that's a topic for a different thread.

 

[TheOgur]

Fully incarnated with hover and capped ranged defenses I'm fully capable of soloing +4×8 with elite bosses. Keep in mind I never use my lore pets so I wouldn't think most AV's arent out of the realm of possibility. Taking flame mastery and slotting bonfire with overwhelming force means that big packs tend to flop around long enough for me to devastate the group with Nova and judgement nukes. It takes a lot of money to get them there but energy/energy blaster is a ton of fun once it's all said and done. 

[Extor Prime]

Care to share the build? I've had several attempts at building a capped En/En, but never quite seem to hit the sweet spot with defenses.

[FUBARczar]

On 8/14/2019 at 7:01 AM, Vanden said:

You kidding? Energy Blast's knockback means even bosses can be rendered temporarily harmless, long enough to dash in and get free hits with Energy Manipulation's excellent melee attacks. It's great synergy!

yep, bad synergy.  With /energy you want melee, but with Energy/ you get further range between you and target: that's pretty textbook bad synergy.  Really, who want to spend their time chasing foes down?

Edited October 22, 2019 by FUBARczar

[Rathulfr]

On 10/22/2019 at 8:53 AM, FUBARczar said:

Really, who want to spend their time chasing foes down?

Not me!  That's why I rolled a Blaster in the first place, so that I don't have to chase down targets.  I've always thought that the original design of mixing ranged and melee attacks was dumb when I first created my Energy² Blaster, back in 2004.

 

Even so, I have to grudgingly admit that punching bad guys halfway across the zone with the T1 secondary attack is hella fun.  I even macro'ed it with: "How 'bout a nice Hawaiian punch?!"*

 

(*: Those of you old enough to recall when domestic violence was an acceptable trope in advertising for children will get the reference.)

 

Edited October 24, 2019 by Rathulfr

[JackDaniels]

So does anyone in here have an actual build they care to share?

[Nemu]

Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.7
https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Energy blast is terrible for min/maxers and Thunderstrike set sucks: Level 50 Technology Blaster
Primary Power Set: Energy Blast
Secondary Power Set: Energy Manipulation
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Power Blast -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(19), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(19), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 1: Power Thrust -- Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg(A), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(3), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(5), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), Mk'Bit-Dam%(50)
Level 2: Energy Torrent -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(40), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx(40), HO:Nucle(42), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(42)
Level 4: Build Up -- RctRtc-ToHit/Rchg(A), RctRtc-ToHit(7)
Level 6: Power Burst -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(7), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(15), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(17), Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(17), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33)
Level 8: Sniper Blast -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(9), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(9), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(11), Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13)
Level 10: Super Speed -- BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(A), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(43)
Level 12: Aim -- RctRtc-ToHit/Rchg(A), RctRtc-Pcptn(13)
Level 14: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel(15), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(33)
Level 16: Energize -- NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(A), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(43), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(46), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(46), NmnCnv-Heal(48), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(48)
Level 18: Boxing -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(21), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(29), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 20: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(21)
Level 22: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(23), RedFrt-Def(23), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(29)
Level 24: Bone Smasher -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(25), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(25), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(27)
Level 26: Explosive Blast -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(34), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg(37), HO:Nucle(37), Ann-ResDeb%(37)
Level 28: Power Boost -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 30: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Rct-Def(31), Rct-Def/EndRdx(31), Rct-ResDam%(31)
Level 32: Nova -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(43), Erd-Dmg(45), Erd-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), Erd-Dmg/Rchg(45), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46)
Level 35: Scorpion Shield -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(36), RedFrt-Def(36)
Level 38: Energy Punch -- Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg(A), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(39), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(39), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), Mk'Bit-Dam%(50)
Level 41: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(42)
Level 44: Tactics -- HO:Cyto(A)
Level 47: Super Jump -- BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(A), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(48)
Level 49: Vengeance -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Defiance
Level 1: Quick Form
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- UnbLea-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- RgnTss-Regen+(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A)
Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
Level 0: Portal Jockey
Level 0: Task Force Commander
Level 0: The Atlas Medallion
Level 50: Musculature Core Paragon
------------