Silent Method's Guide to Ranged Fire/Fire Blasters

1) Discussion of all powers in fire blast and fire manipulation, especially with respect to building a "pure" ranged blaster.

2) Brief discussion of power pools with respect to fire/fire blasters.

3) Discussion of ancillary (epic) power pools with respect to fire/fire blasters.

4) Possibilities and effectiveness of slotting normal Enhancements and Hamidon Origin Enhancements.

5) Presentation of my own build for Captain Dna, a level 50 fire/fire/elec ranged blaster, with and without Hamidon Origins.

Please bear in mind that I'm not going by what anyone else says, mostly because I've yet to hear people's in-depth commentary on fire/fire blasters. I'm simply going from my own experience. Realize that my playing style may not suit yours.

1) Fire Blast and Fire Manipulation Explored for Ranged Blasters

Fire Blast:

Flares - With relatively low damage and a medium animation time (which is long, compared to Fire Blast and Fire Ball), Flares is sometimes skipped over. However, it seems to be a bit underrated. With Hasten, fire blasters can spam - at low levels, this is very effective - Fire Blast and Flares almost consecutively. Flares is a good "filler" move - not part of the initial attack chain, but it's nice to use while waiting for the stronger attacks to recharge.

Fire Blast - One of the staples of the "Fire Blast" set, for obvious reasons. Decent damage, a nearly non-existent activation time, and a fast recharge make Fire Blast a must-have power; definitely choose this over Flares to begin with. Fire Blast also has slightly more range than Flares.

Fire Ball - Another must-have for any ranged fire blaster. It truly shines in PvE on large teams - because it doesn't scatter mobs like Energy Blast, Fire Blast is often considered the "AoE champ" of blaster primaries - but it's also effective against single targets. The problem, early game, is recharge and endurance cost. With a single endurance and recharge SO, Fire Ball solves infinitely more problems than it creates. However, it sucks a good deal of endurance for low-level blasters. In general, though, it deals good AoE damage (with damage over time, like most fire attacks) and has a very short activation time.

Rain of Fire - In my latest Issue 7 build, this is the only Fire Blast power I skipped. I've yet to test its effectiveness with the new change that allows powers like Rain of Fire to be boosted with Build Up. It's really a matter of preference. Rain of Fire causes PvE enemies to scatter, thus shooting fire blasters in the foot because more spread means less effectiveness for AoE attacks. Its damage is decent, over time, but I've yet to see it put to effective use - and as someone who took it at a low level the first time through, believe me, I've tried.

Fire Breath - An absolutely amazing attack, available at level 8. Fire Breath deals 3 ticks of fairly high damage in a cone; as such, it outdamages Fire Ball and Fire Blast once its 3 ticks have passed. I would term this power another must-have for all ranged fire blasters, especially high level ones, who can (as I'll discuss later) implement Centrioles (Damage/Range) to further augment the already impressive range of this attack.

Aim - Ah yes, Aim. While most would probably agree that Build Up (last I heard, 80% damage and 50% ToHit boost for Build Up) is indispensable for damage-seeking blasters, I've never taken Aim until now. Aim (again, last I heard) boosts ToHit by 80% and damage by 50%; it couples nicely with Build Up. The problem is, Aim is relatively superfluous on the PvE front. With Build Up and even just a single Accuracy SO in each attack, fire blasters scarcely leave much alive - let alone miss anything - in their opening salvo of attacks. However, Aim is "nice to have" if you have the room for it, which I do as of issue 7. Most PvPers will probably tell you Aim is a must-have, and I'd agree, at least for the PvP aspect of it.

Blaze - As it's described in-game, it's a short-range but devastating attack. Blaze is indeed almost melee range; however, it too is a must-have for ranged fire blasters ('cause let's face it, "almost-melee" is still better than melee for ranged attackers). Its damage is only surpassed by Blazing Bolt (a snipe, which takes a long time to activate) and, obviously, Inferno. Blaze's activation time, like most Fire Blast attacks, is very short, and it isn't too hard on endurance and recharge time.

Blazing Bolt - While many hold an aversion to all snipes ("It lowers damage per second by a lot!"), I still see Blazing Bolt as a necessity to all ranged fire blasters. It still fits into an attack chain fairly well, especially against single foes like Bosses and AVs. It's also amazing in PvP for its extreme amounts of damage. With a bit of Defiance and perhaps Build Up, Blazing Bolt can one-shot squishier foes (well, issue 7 prevents one-shots from full HP, but the damage over time will undoubtedly do them in).

Inferno - Again, some hold an aversion to blaster nukes for damage per second issues. Inferno doesn't really help blasters to stay ranged, but then, who needs range when everything around you is dead? (...Sorry, "arrested") ... I don't see any reason to skip most blaster nukes, and Inferno is - in terms of damage, including DoT - one of the best, if not the best. Inferno works wonders in large teams and even against "ganking" teams in PvP (yes, it's quite possible and quite fun to take out every squishy in a team of who TP Foe'd you to their "lair" of Caltrops and Ice Patches).

Fire Manipulation:

This is where the descriptions become brief. The focus of this guide is ranged fire/fire blasters, not blappers. While it's true that some have made decent */fire blappers, it's safe to say that */energy and */elec are much more suitable for blapping than */fire is. With any fire blaster who wants to focus on range only, the secondary doesn't matter a tremendous amount; its purpose should be to support Fire Blast's astounding array of attacks.

Ring of Fire - Forced to take it, but think again - it's nice for soloing. At least, it keeps pesky melee Bosses at a safe range. It can also be used in PvP, if it's slotted well enough (provided your opponent doesn't have resistance to Immobilization and/or Combat Jumping).

Fire Sword - Nice for soloing at low levels, but simply not "worth it" later on. Staying in melee range with this simple single-target attack just doesn't cut it.

Combustion - Relatively low damage, melee range. Again, effective as another AoE at low levels, but not a good fit for a ranged blaster.

Fire Sword Circle - This is one of the few */fire attacks that I might have taken if I'd had more room for it. FSC deals good damage (and has finally had its animation fixed), and simply "looks cool." However, it also draws a lot of melee aggro, which sucks for ranged blasters.

Build Up - A must-have, through and through. This is the spark that sets off your most devastating attack chain.

Blazing Aura - Major endurance drain and good at drawing melee aggro; exactly what ranged blasters don't want.

Consume - Tough call here. Consume is generally a good power; however, I don't use it in my own build because the only time endurance is a problem is after Inferno, when either everything's dead or my team is covering for me. If you run high-endurance power pool toggles, consider this power.

Burn - Bleh. Perhaps with a good holder/immobilizer on the team... but Burn simply draws too much melee aggro, much like Combustion and Fire Sword Circle.

Hot Feet - Not a bad attack, but a major endurance drainer and can actually have an adverse effect, if you inadvertently KEEP melee enemies in melee range. Decent PvP possibilities, but it's still something I skip. Auto-hit is nice, though.

2) Power Pools and Ranged Fire/Fire Blasters

This is intended to be a brief overview, and a lot of power pools are personal preference. Fire/fire does not seem to be a set that is "made or broken" by power pool choices. Your desired travel power(s) and desire to help teammates may affect your own choices.

Concealment: Not bad for clearing some of the aggro fire blasters draw with their AoEs. Phase Shift can be used, at times, to "herd up" some enemies and then dropped into Inferno after Building Up.
Fighting: A little extra defense / damage resistance never hurts, but as a ranged blaster, it'd be best to skip this pool unless Tough's Smash/Lethal is a top priority.
Fitness: Take this! There are few powersets in any AT that can't benefit from Fitness. Health can have a noticeable effect, but Stamina - when slotted out with SO's - gives ranged fire blasters almost unlimited endurance, aside from using Inferno.
Flight: Flight can be an effective combo with any ranged attacker. While I'm personally not a fan of flight, it can be a strong ally for ranged blasters whose foes are grounded melee types.
Leadership: Really not worth it, in this case, aside from PvP desires. Fire blasters don't really "need" any more damage. Maneuvers and Tactics aren't awful, but there's no major need for them, either (again, PvP aside).
Leaping: A very nice supplement to any blaster, in my opinion. Of course, I'm biased because I take Super Jump on nearly every toon. However, Leaping has some definite strengths. Combat Jumping's minor defense might be considered negligible, but its freedom from Immobilization is good. Furthermore, Acrobatics is a good addition to blasters who don't want to spend their time - believe me, fire blasters DO draw aggro - falling down and getting back up. *Shrugs* Its minor Hold resistance helps, too.
Medicine: Personal preference here. If you want to be able to heal/buff teammates some, and even heal yourself, then (obviously) consider this pool.
Presence: Unless you're hell-bent on Fear type attacks, there's no need for this among ranged fire blasters.
Speed: I highly recommend this. Hasten makes Fire Blast run smoothly, with an infinite array of attacks (unless you've been -Rchg'd to hell).
Teleportation: Personal preference - no major bearing on gameplay, at least for fire/fire blasters.

3) Ancillary (Epic) Power Pools and Ranged Fire/Fire Blasters

Bear in mind that playing style has a great deal to do with Epic pools.

Cold Mastery: I'm definitely not a fan of Cold Mastery for blasters in general. Hibernate can be a decent "Oh crap! Panic!" power - as can Flash Freeze, I suppose - but lack of a Hold really makes this set struggle compared to the others.
Electric Mastery: My personal favorite for all blasters. Why? Shocking Bolt is a fast animation time Hold, Charged Armor is quite useful (Smashing, Lethal, Energy - all very common), and EM Pulse is... well, fun, I guess. And moderately useful. Static Discharge is a good option, too, but as a fire blaster, you might be getting sick of AoEs by Lv41.
Flame Mastery: Decent set, especially if your character concept is all-fire. Unfortunately, Fire Shield isn't as effective as it could be; Fire-typed damage is not all that common in PvE (though, for PvP, it's nice). Rise of the Phoenix is ever-controversial, as far as I'm concerned. If it's your "thing," go with it, but Electric Mastery seems to offer more than this set.
Force Mastery: Not a bad set at all, especially for ranged blasters. Personal Force Field is decent all-around, be it for stealthing missions or a "panic"-power function. Temp. Invuln. is nice, but it lacks a third set (it's only Smash/Lethal, albeit quite strong resitance). Force of Nature is a bit odd, for a blaster power (it's the same as Unstoppable for Invul types)... but it's decent when taking on a large number of foes for a short period of time. *Ponders* Too bad this isn't Moment of Glory-esque. Imagine MoG coupled with Defiance...! Finally, Repulsion Field can keep melee foes at bay.
Munitions Mastery: This was my initial choice on my own blaster, but I later decided against it. The Freeze Ray is too long an animation time for my tastes, since fire blasters need to pull out guns (unlike AR blasters, which are likely using them already). Body Armor is nice as a passive, but its resistance dulls in comparison to other epic pools' +RES powers. Sleep Grenade doesn't do much, since fire blasters are constantly awakening sleeping foes with AoEs. Finally, the rocket launcher is cool looking and strong damage, but it's simply not - in my opinion - worth taking the other 2 powers necessary to get it.

In short, my own preference is Electric Mastery, after sampling them all - but your playing style may lead you in another direction.

4) Normal Enhancements and Hamidon Origin Enhancements for Ranged Fire/Fire Blasters

I'll keep this as brief as I can...

It's wise to slot all Fire Blast attacks as much as possible, if you're going for a ranged fire/fire build. What's the optimal slotting? If you're going for PvE, it seems one Accuracy SO is "acceptable," so 3 damage, 1 acc, 1 endurance, 1 rchg does the trick quite nicely for most attacks. For PvP, however, you may want more than one Accuracy, so you must turn to either Hamidon Origins or get rid of damage, endurance reduction, or recharge reduction in order to make room.

Range SO's are effective in Fire Blast, but most attacks in Fire Blast have decent range already, so Dmg/Acc/End/Rchg seems more important. Centrioles, then, the Damage/Range HamiO's, are quite effective. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

General slotting for most attacks: 3 dmg, 1 acc, 1 end, 1 rchg - though you may want more recharges in Inferno and a range or two in Blazing Bolt.

Other notes: I'd at least 3-slot Hasten, Health, Stamina, Aim, and Build Up (rchg's for Build Up, that is) with the proper enhancements.

HamiO's:

Cent: Dmg/Range - Very nice in most primary attacks. Putting one or two in each attack is effective for ranged blasters. Most noteworthy are Blaze and Fire Breath. Blaze's short range can be accomodated for in terms of Centrioles; adding a Cent or two can boost that range a good bit. Fire Breath becomes devastating with one or two Cent's; your affected foes will be far beyond the attack's animation.
Nucl: Dmg/Acc - Obviously, very good for increasing Accuracy (place these on top of Dmg's).
Memb: +ToHit/+Defense/Rchg - Decent for Build Up and Aim.
Micro: Travel/End - Personal preference - most needed with Fly.
Perox: Dmg/Mez - Not too useful for fire/fire. Ring of Fire's damage isn't worth enhancing, nor are any of the mez-causing powers in the Epic pools.
Endo: Acc/Mez - Decent for an Epic Hold, if you take one, and for EM Pulse (Epic) and other mez powers.
Ribo: Res/End - Really only useful for +RES Toggles from Epic pools.
Cyto: +ToHit/+Defense/End - Nice for +DEF Toggles from Epic pools, but not too necessary (for the End reduction) in Aim/Build Up.
Golgi: Heal/End - Only useful if you take Medicine pool, really.
Lyso: -ToHit/-Defense/Acc - Fire/fire lacks any debuff powers like Lysosomes enhance.
Enzy: -ToHit/-Defense/End - Fire/fire lacks any debuff powers like Enzymes enhance.

5) Captain Dna, my level 50 fire/fire/elec ranged blaster, with and without Hamidon Origins

Keep in mind, personal preference is the reason for some of these power pool selections. Also, I do 6-slot Stamina, mainly because there isn't much else to slot in my build at higher levels. But hey, it gives me almost unlimited endurance, even with toggles on. Yes, I take 3 travel powers. SS is fun/fast, SJ is useful for vertical travel and when Slowed, Teleport is good for Shadow Shard / getting out of sticky situations.

Without HamiO's:

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Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
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Name: Captain Dna
Level: 50
Archetype: Blaster
Primary: Fire Blast
Secondary: Fire Manipulation
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Fire Blast==> Dmg(1) Dmg(3) Acc(3) Dmg(5) EndRdx(5) Rechg(9)
01) --> Ring of Fire==> Immob(1) Acc(45)
02) --> Fire Ball==> Dmg(2) Acc(9) Dmg(11) Dmg(11) EndRdx(13) Rechg(13)
04) --> Flares==> Dmg(4) Dmg(36) Acc(36) Dmg(37) EndRdx(37) Rechg(37)
06) --> Hasten==> Rechg(6) Rechg(7) Rechg(7)
08) --> Fire Breath==> Dmg(8) Acc(25) Dmg(31) Dmg(31) EndRdx(34) Rechg(36)
10) --> Hurdle==> Jump(10)
12) --> Combat Jumping==> DefBuf(12) Jump(40)
14) --> Health==> Heal(14) Heal(15) Heal(15)
16) --> Build Up==> Rechg(16) Rechg(17) Rechg(17)
18) --> Blaze==> Dmg(18) Dmg(19) Acc(19) Dmg(23) EndRdx(23) Rechg(25)
20) --> Stamina==> EndMod(20) EndMod(21) EndMod(21) EndMod(39) EndMod(39) EndMod(39)
22) --> Super Speed==> Run(22) EndRdx(46)
24) --> Super Jump==> Jump(24) EndRdx(40)
26) --> Blazing Bolt==> Dmg(26) Dmg(27) Acc(27) Dmg(29) Range(29) EndRdx(31)
28) --> Acrobatics==> EndRdx(28)
30) --> Recall Friend==> EndRdx(30)
32) --> Inferno==> Dmg(32) Dmg(33) Dmg(33) Rechg(33) Rechg(34) Rechg(34)
35) --> Teleport==> Range(35) EndRdx(40) Range(46)
38) --> Aim==> Rechg(38) Rechg(43) Rechg(46) TH_Buf(50)
41) --> Shocking Bolt==> Hold(41) Hold(42) Hold(42) Acc(42) EndRdx(43) Rechg(43)
44) --> Charged Armor==> DmgRes(44) DmgRes(45) DmgRes(45)
47) --> EMP Pulse==> DisDur(47) DisDur(48) DisDur(48) Acc(48) Rechg(50) Rechg(50)
49) --> Swift==> Run(49)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> Run(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Dmg(1)
01) --> Defiance==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Rechg(2)
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With HamiO's, optimal slotting (I don't actually have this exact setup, but close to it):

( Yeah, some of this is a bit much, like a Ribo in Charged Armor - but this is "optimal" slotting, within reason. Take from it what you will... however, I try not to go over 3 enh of one type per power, aside from Stamina )

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Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
---------------------------------------------
Name: Captain Dna
Level: 50
Archetype: Blaster
Primary: Fire Blast
Secondary: Fire Manipulation
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Fire Blast==> NucleExp(1) CentiExp(3) CentiExp(3) Acc(5) EndRdx(5) Rechg(9)
01) --> Ring of Fire==> EndopExp(1) EndopExp(45)
02) --> Fire Ball==> NucleExp(2) CentiExp(9) CentiExp(11) Acc(11) EndRdx(13) Rechg(13)
04) --> Flares==> NucleExp(4) CentiExp(36) CentiExp(36) Acc(37) EndRdx(37) Rechg(37)
06) --> Hasten==> Rechg(6) Rechg(7) Rechg(7)
08) --> Fire Breath==> NucleExp(8) CentiExp(25) CentiExp(31) Acc(31) EndRdx(34) Rechg(36)
10) --> Hurdle==> Jump(10)
12) --> Combat Jumping==> DefBuf(12) Jump(40)
14) --> Health==> Heal(14) Heal(15) Heal(15)
16) --> Build Up==> MembrExp(16) MembrExp(17) MembrExp(17)
18) --> Blaze==> NucleExp(18) CentiExp(19) CentiExp(19) Acc(23) EndRdx(23) Rechg(25)
20) --> Stamina==> EndMod(20) EndMod(21) EndMod(21) EndMod(39) EndMod(39) EndMod(39)
22) --> Super Speed==> MicroExp(22) Run(46)
24) --> Super Jump==> MicroExp(24) Jump(40)
26) --> Blazing Bolt==> NucleExp(26) CentiExp(27) CentiExp(27) Acc(29) Range(29) EndRdx(31)
28) --> Acrobatics==> EndRdx(28)
30) --> Recall Friend==> EndRdx(30)
32) --> Inferno==> NucleExp(32) NucleExp(33) NucleExp(33) Rechg(33) Rechg(34) Rechg(34)
35) --> Teleport==> Range(35) EndRdx(40) Range(46)
38) --> Aim==> MembrExp(38) MembrExp(43) MembrExp(46) TH_Buf(50) (Oops, bump that 4th slot to Acrobatics with an endurance reduction, or something...)
41) --> Shocking Bolt==> EndopExp(41) EndopExp(42) EndopExp(42) EndRdx(42) Rechg(43) Rechg(43)
44) --> Charged Armor==> RibosExp(44) DmgRes(45) DmgRes(45)
47) --> EMP Pulse==> EndopExp(47) EndopExp(48) EndopExp(48) Rechg(48) Rechg(50) Rechg(50)
49) --> Swift==> Run(49)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> MicroExp(1)
01) --> Brawl==> NucleExp(1)
01) --> Defiance==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Rechg(2)
---------------------------------------------