So, you’ve looked over the archetypes, and the idea of being the most powerful ranged archetype appeals to you. That’s great, but there are a few things to keep in mind.

1. You are not a scrapper or tanker, you should generally avoid melee range with your opponents, if possible.

2. Enhancements and Inspirations are your friends, use them wisely. My personal view is that blasters should focus on Damage, Range and Accuracy for your attack powers. Accuracy, Hold duration and Rapid Recharge rate for your holds/root powers.

3. Flight is not a necessity, but it is a very good idea for a blaster. Only time I recommend flight as an absolute “must have” power is if you take Magic as your origin. Trust me, you will thank me once you move on to King’s Row.

4. Make sure you study the available powers carefully! The descriptions are pretty accurate as to what they actually do, and there are very, very few useless powers available. Make sure you start checking out power pools once you hit 6th level!

5. Keep your team in mind, should you decide to team up. Just because you destroyed half of the mobs by yourself, the rest of your team may be low on endurance or health or both trying to protect your fragile butt. Do not run off w/o them, stick with them until everyone is ready to go, they need you just as much as you need them.

6. Soloing. It can be done, but you must be mindful of what you can and can’t do. Maximize yourself through Enhancements, use Inspirations when necessary, and always fall back to recharge and regenerate.

Okay, the heart of a blaster is in the actual blasting. Your Primary Powerset will dictate what kind of blasting you do.

1. Assault Rifle. Description: A BIG gun. Lethal Damage type.
   The Assault Rifle is a well rounded piece of hardware. It can shoot in bursts, discharge slugs, launch grenades, even set foes ablaze. It’s a very accurate weapon, and some of the powers can give you effects such as knockdown or disorientation. The flame powers give you the added benefit of DoT (Damage over Time).

2. Electrical Blast. Description: Electricity and lightning effects.Electrical Damage type.
   Electrical is a good, solid shot, with the additional effect of draining Endurance from your foes. Powers here are pretty well balanced up the scale, alternating between direct damage, AoE (Area of Effect), root (holding in place) and assists, finishing w/ a big shocker at the end.

3. Energy Blast. Description: Blue and white particle beams.Smashing and Energy Damage types.
   Energy is great because of the 2 types of damage, which can sometime bypass certain resistances, and because of the knock foes to the ground. Pretty much all direct damage attacks in the beginning, one assist power in the mid range, and then some devastating AoE attacks at the upper levels.

4. Fire Blast. Description: Fiery Goodness. Fire Damage type.
   Fire is blessed by having DoT for its secondary effects. Not only do you burn a foe on a hit, they continue to smolder after! Fire is the opposite of Energy, you get most of your AoE attacks somewhat early, then your hard hitting single attacks come later. You still get the obligatory assist power in the middle, and the big boom power at the highest level.

5. Ice Blast. Description: Flying Ice Shards. Smashing and Ice Damage types.
   Again, the two types of damage can help in getting around certain resistances. Ice Blast’s specialty is the ability to slow your opponents. The more Ice damage you inflict, the slower your opponent’s movement and attack rate becomes. Similar power setup as Energy, just opposite. You get a few direct damage powers, then an AoEs, assists and a root, then more direct damage at the end of the line, again, including the whitewash to finish it up.

Your secondary powers are not going to be as overwhelming as your primary, but carefully chosen, they can be every bit as effective in your achievement of victory. Keep in mind also, any primary can work well with any secondary.

1. Devices.
   Most of your devices are non-lethal, only the last 3 devices will cause considerable damage. Starting with a decent root ability, you get a few status effecting powers and an accuracy and defense assist about mid way through. Works well with pretty much any primary.

2. Energy Manipulation.
   If you wish to be up close and personal and want to venture into melee, you can’t really go wrong with this secondary. One knock down punch, and a few others that disorient, you can keep your opponent off balance for awhile. A few Endurance and Damage and Accuracy boosts, rounded off by a huge boost as a final choice, make this a pretty useful secondary.

3. Electricity Manipulation.
   It is great starting off w/ a root, and most of the attacks here will also drain some Endurance, just like the Electricity Primary Powerset. A few melee attacks and a couple of nice AoE attacks are complimented by an Endurance recovery and an Accuracy enhancing ability. Shocking Grasp at the end is a nice surprise.

4. Fire Manipulation.
   Again, you start with a root ability. You get a couple of melee attacks, some nice AoE attacks, and a couple of slowing attacks, along with the Accuracy boost in the middle. You’ll still get the nice little bonus of burning DoT, same as Fire Primary attacks. Burn is nice, as it allows you to get out of most immobilization effects on yourself.

5. Ice Manipulation.
   Ice Secondary Powerset retains the slowing action from the Primary Powerset You get a couple of roots, some useful AoE attacks, a couple melee attacks, and your accuracy booster in the middle. Frozen Aura at the end is a great AoE attack, freezing *all* foes nearby in their tracks.

When you choose your origin, you get a default foe for that origin.

For Technological, you get the Clockworks, robotic foes bent on the destruction of your refrigerator.

For Mutation, you get to tackle some of the local gangs, the Skulls and the Hellions.

For Magical, you get to face the nefarious Circle of Thorns, which are often found in hard to reach places.

Science places you against the Vahzilok, undead foes that hit very hard.

And finally, Natural pits you against the 5th Column, the last remaining threat of Nazi Germany from World War II.

Now, you’re dressed for success and ready to blast bad guys into next week. Here are a few tips on how you might be a bit more effective in your pursuit of justice.

1. Don’t be afraid to kite.
   Kiting is the act of running around the target, while you continue to drop pain on them. If you wanted to stand there and let them beat on you, this profession is not for you. Keep as much distance as you can between yourself and the target. Either moving around them or transfixing them in place with a root works tremendously well.

2. Don’t be afraid to run.
   If you are soloing, don’t hesitate to run, if you are low on Health or Endurance. Health is the more critical factor here, because you can still kite if the threat is low enough while you regain Endurance. Your teammates may not approve of you running, but if it’s getting down to just you and someone that can rez, suggest a tactical retreat, gain Health and Endurance, then go back in guns blazing, so the Empath can do their job.

3. Use your Inspirations wisely.
   You probably don’t need to pop Inspirations for a small group of foes, within reason. However, coming up on those Boss fights, use them liberally and often! Defense, Accuracy and Damage are best to use right before the fight, Respite (for healing) and Catch a Breath (Endurance recovery) during a tough fight can make the difference between completing the mission or you going to the hospital.

4. Enhance early, Enhance often.
   Like with your powers, there are few useless Enhancements available. You may find some when defeating foes that are useless to you, such as Healing or Resist Damage, but they can still be sold or traded with fellow players. Hovering your mouse pointer over a power in the Enhancement screen will tell you what kind of Enhancements that power will take. Stacking multiples of the same Enhancement will become more effective. If you mix and match, it can provide some additional usefulness, but not as much as stacking the same type. Figure out which ones best fit your playstyle and go from there, for example: You may want faster recharging, or less endurance cost, or more range, or more damage.

5. Use terrain to your advantage.
   Placing yourself in a tactically superior spot can save you a lot of headache. What does this mean? Get on top of boxes, or a wall, shooting down. You can gain a couple of seconds as the foe tries to work its way up to you. Sidestep around corners. If you shoot and duck back behind a box or a wall, the foe can not shoot you, as his line of sight is blocked, have to do this fast though, or their attack animation will start, and you could risk return fire.

6. Consider your Travel Power early.
   Take a Travel Power from the Power Pools at 6th level, you will be grateful later. Ideally, you should choose Hover or Air Superiority so that you can open up Fly at 14th level. Hover can get you out of melee range, making foes rely on ranged attacks to retaliate. This is a lot better than taking a sledgehammer to the face. Hover is also great, if you choose Magical origin when you need to hunt Circle of Thorns members on rooftops in King’s Row. (When you get there, you’ll know what I mean.) Combat Jumping and Hover both offer defensive bonuses, as does Stealth. Super Speed can give you Hasten, which allows you to fire off attacks faster. Again, figure out what would be best for your play style and choose from there.

7. Know your enemy.
   Attacking a group of enemies and suddenly finding yourself getting rocked could be the result of you not checking for a Boss or Lieutenant first. An easily controllable situation can result in a trip to a hospital if you are not careful. Always be wary of yellow, red or purple named foes, especially if the target box (upper left hand corner) indicates a Boss or Lieutenant.

8. Grind when necessary.
   If a mission is proving too difficult for you at the lower levels, run around your city zone and look for random foes to defeat. Gaining a level before or mid mission can make all the difference in the world, even if it’s just for the added damage.

9. Team when necessary.
   This can happen at any level, high or low. You get a mission that you feel is impossible to complete by yourself. Chances are, you could be right. Using the Team functions, located above the chat box, you can find other players that are looking to team up. Send them a tell asking if they would like to participate in your mission. (The command is /t name, Make sure you use the , or the tell will not send.)

10. You’re a hero, act like one.
    This should apply to every Archetype, but we blasters have a little higher responsibility than most of the other Archetypes. Why, you ask? Simple. Because we have more power. If you see a scrapper or tanker going toe to toe with an enemy, check his status to see if he’s doing well or doing bad. If his health is low, and you just saw him get hit for a lot of damage, then sure, help out as the next few hits are probably going to drop him. Or if a Tanker or Scrapper is surrounded by a whole gang of foes, aim for the ones he hasn’t damaged yet. Same applies to Defenders and Controllers. Always consider the other person, because the person you just pissed off could end up being a teammate at some point down the road, and could “accidentally” forget to heal or protect you. Likewise, if they end up “stealing one of your kills”, don’t be mad because you were floating so high nobody could see you, while waiting for your sniper shot to recharge. Just because we *can* decimate all, doesn’t mean we should.