Power Burst – I think this is one of the more misunderstood powers of the set, and is therefore not as popular as it should be. Power Burst is a short range blast so you have to be close to the mob to fire it off. The plus side to it is that it does fantastic damage and has great knock back. If a mob is getting close you can fire this off and unless they are conning red or purple, if you hit, they go flying away. Using the “jousting” technique with this power makes it even more awesome. After snipe (and nova) this is the highest damage dealing attack in the set. I suggest slotting this with 1 accuracy and as many damages as you can fit into your build. Some people opt to put a range enhancer in here and that is also a good idea if you are looking to shoot it off from a bit farther away, however the range added is fairly minimal. One range enhancement in Power Burst will boost the range from 20’ to 24’. Mastering the jousting technique can eliminate the need for range. Again the more damage the better, but even poorly slotted this attack does significant damage. This is an attack that can one shot minions if used in conjunction with either aim or buildup and fairly slotted.
Cost: 12
Activation Time: 2
Recharge Time: 10
Range: 20
Recommended Slotting: 1 accuracy, 5 damages
Alternate slotting: 1 accuracy and as many damages as you can fit OR 1 accuracy, 1-2 Range enhancers and 1-4 damages.
Devices Slotting: 6 damages
Brawl Index: 3.1111 Energy 2.1111 Smashing


Sniper Blast – As my name may suggest I am partial to this attack. This is your damage dealer. It is a great opening attack if you are soloing and a great starter attack in a group after agro is taken by someone else. It has a +20% chance to hit which is almost like having 1 accuracy SO built in. In V1.0 I suggested not putting in an accuracy enhancement in this power. I have found that I like to hunt things a few levels above me and I was missing more than I wanted to, I have therefore put 1 accuracy in this power and am very happy with it. Note, if this is used strictly as an opening attack on your build which may be the case you will most likely be using the Build Up + Aim combo which will way over-cap your accuracy.

The way I have slotted this is 4 damage SOs, 1 accuracy, and 1 interrupt reduction SO. I know interrupt reduction is not such a popular SO but I have put it in for these reasons: with a 6 second animation time it is very easy to interrupt this power and like this it is only a good/dependable opening attack. Firing a snipe off in a battle that has already taken off becomes very difficult unless all the mobs are held. What interrupt reducers allow me to do is ensure that the snipe will go off after only 2 seconds or so even if I am hit during the rest of the animation. Taking into consideration the significant endurance cost of this attack and the damage potential, it is a very nice way to go. Also after the first 2 or so seconds I am free to move around the battle as I wish to place myself for the follow up attack. The interrupt reducers basically make snipe a viable attack to be used in combat. For those who don’t need an accuracy enhancer 2 interrupt reductions in snipe will leave almost 0 interrupt time, I have tested this, the interrupt time is negligible with 2. If you need to save slots in your build, stick in 4 damage SOs and use it as an opener. You may opt to slot this differently; it all depends on your play style.

Snipe can also be used for “pulling.” Taking into consideration where an enemy is standing and facing in relation the rest of his mob one can manage to kill or pull one enemy from a pack without causing the rest to notice. This technique is an art and takes practice to master but can come in extremely handy under certain circumstances.

Note: Orange con minions will be one shotted using Build Up + Aim + Snipe. That is the maximum damage for one shot. Reds will be left with a sliver of health. Buildup + Snipe can also drop an orange minion with no resistance to energy or smashing.

Note: The current Hamidon strategies have people with snipes placing 6 range enhancements in to allow snipers to be out of Hamidon’s range. This may change with the new Hamidon, but is still useful to know in case you choose not to 6 slot Snipe.

Cost: 16.5
Activation Time: 6
Recharge Time: 12
Range: 150
Accuracy: +20%
Recommended Slotting: 1 accuracy, 1 interrupt reduction, 4 damages
Alternate slotting: 2 interrupt reductions, 4 damages OR 1-6 damages OR 1 accuracy, 5 damages.
Devices Slotting: same as above without the accuracy enhancements.
Brawl Index: 5.5556 Energy + 2.1111 Smashing

Aim – nuff said. 100% accuracy boost and a 62.5% damage boost. Slot this with recharge reduction, because the more often you have it the better. This power does NOT need accuracy to hit buffs, but if you have the slots you could and should at least 3 slot it with recharge reductions to make it come up faster. With 4 recharge reductions in this and in build up you can pretty much cycle through the two alternatively and have one of them up all the time. This is very nice to have in battle. This power lasts for 10 seconds.

Battle Plan: When entering a battle one must assess whether the fight will be fast or will take time. A fast battle calls for a Buildup + Aim alpha strike combo to maximize and front load all the damage. A drawn out battle should call for alternating between Buildup and Aim cycles as over time alternating will cause more damage per time than combining the two.

Note for Devices Blasters: You can easily opt not to take this power as all your accuracy is in your targeting drone, however the 62.5% damage boost can and will come in very handy for things like alpha strikes.

Cost: 6
Activation Time: 1
Recharge Time: 90
Accuracy: +100%
Damage: +60%
Recommended Slotting: 3-4 Recharge reductions
Alternate Slotting: 1-6 recharges


Power Push – Another one of the more misunderstood attacks of this set and probably the most controversial and the most fun. This attack does negligible damage. What it does have is a +40% accuracy built in and will knock most foes on their tushies. Why is this good? Let’s say you are taking on a freak tank; the last thing you want is for this guy to hit you. Well if you rotate Power Push in to the cycle of attacks every time he gets up, he will be down the entire time and you won’t have to worry about being hit. This power will also save you when things get ugly and you need a few more seconds to escape/finish off an enemy. This power allows you to chain knock back enemies so it can be considered a pseudo status effect or a defensive power if used properly. Now, some people don’t need this or want it. That is fine. It is by no means a necessary power in the set. It is very nice to have. I know very good energy blasters who have no use for it. It is totally up to your play style to decide. I suggest taking it and slotting in 1 accuracy enhancement so you make sure you hit those big bad boys when you use it. The recharge, with perma-hasten, on this power is fast enough to do chain knockbacks and to cycle two attacks in or a snipe between each push.

Taking a boss out of a fight is a great tool and since blasters have so very little defense to begin with anything that can stop an enemy from attacking can be considered quite useful.

Note: knocking back level 1 enemies with this power = fun. I have managed to send one over 80 yards on the test server with this power 4 slotted for knockback.

Cost: 10
Activation Time: 1
Recharge Time: 8
Range: 70
Accuracy: +40%
Suggested Slotting: 1 accuracy
Brawl Index: 0.5556 Energy + 0.5556 Smashing


Explosive Blast – Of all the powers in this set I would say this one is the weakest. Having said that, it can be used to your advantage, when used properly. I use this power in only two ways. The first and most important is as a follow up to Energy Torrent. When Energy Torrent and Explosive Blast are fully slotted and in combination with Aim + Build Up, you can take down even con enemies. The downside to this combo is knock back. After Energy Torrent everyone pretty much goes flying and your targets are spread out. Most of the time with your follow up explosive blast, you will miss a few guys that flew out of the range of explosive blast. I have this slotted for 1 accuracy and 4 damage. The other time I use it is on the rare occasion when none of my other blasts haven’t cycled in. It does less damage than Energy Torrent but can still knock foes back. It is a nice power to have in your back pocket and allows you to do some AOE clean up detail. You can easily skip this power if you wish, after all Energy is by no means an AOE centered power-set, and Explosive blast in particular has high end cost and a long recharge to boot.
Cost: 17.5
Activation Time: 2
Recharge Time: 16
Range: 80
Recommended Slotting: 1 accuracy, 4 damages
Alternate Slotting: 1 accuracy, 1-5 damages
Devices Slotting: 1-6 damages
Brawl Index: 1.1111 Energy + 1.3889 Smashing


N O V A – The end all and be all of the Energy set. Monster damage and a +40% accuracy bonus make this a devastating AOE attack. You want to take this power at 32 and at the very least have it 4 slotted as soon as possible i.e. level 33. Nova has a chance to hit each mob 4 times. It is all based on to hit numbers that are included below but if you DO hit you will hit for at least two (one energy one smashing) with a chance for 2 additional hits. Always use this with Buildup and Aim allowing you to cap both accuracy and damage for maximum effect. Most people like to slot this with two to three recharge reduction SOs as well. I have done this too. The sooner this is up the better. Taking out +4 minions is easily achieved this way. One of the best Energy blasters I know ( MsKnight, w00t!!1!) uses 3 damage and 3 recharge, this allows for quicker recharge and still does insane damage; with that set up all you need to hit the damage cap is some red pills. Always use this with Buildup and Aim and don’t put any accuracy into it. Some have said this is a very situational power, I however say a wise blaster can use this in just about any situation. It can be used as an alpha strike or a team saver when things get hairy.
Cost: 11
Activation Time: 3
Recharge Time: 6 minutes
Range: ~20
Accuracy: +40%
Recommended Slotting: 4 damages and 2 recharge reductions OR 3 damages and 3 recharge reductions.
Devices slotting: Same as above, but taking out +4 minions without Buildup will be a tad harder. Throw a trip mine in there and you’ll be golden, OR 6 damages.
Brawl Index: 2.7778 Smashing + 5.5556 Energy + 4.1667 Energy * 0-2


And there you have it folks. Energy blast.


Some thoughts on knockback. This concept has sparked very heated debate for and against its usefulness. Both sides have very valid points. Some people, especially tanks and scrappers, can really get annoyed by knock back because an energy blaster will knock mobs they are engaging back resulting in them not being able to hit their targets or losing any defense bonuses they may gain from mobs being in melee range. You must learn to manage knock back in a team setting so it helps more than it hurts. Knock back is a tremendous resource when properly managed. If I am on a team with people who are being hindered by my knock back I simply hover above the mobs I attack. This way I knock them DOWN rather than back. Another energy blaster has suggested moving to the opposite side of your team so knocking mobs back will hurl them towards the team rather than away. I’ve tried this and it can work as well. I will also use my AOEs much more sparingly. Some people will complain about knock back no matter what and to those people I would just say….well never mind. My personal experience has been positive, I have only on 1 or 2 occasions in 50 levels had someone complain about it. Otherwise, if you learn to manage your knock backs well, you can keep entire mobs on the floor for most of the battle.

Used in a team setting, when for example, your team is being overwhelmed, a good energy torrent will send the mobs flying away allowing your teammates a few seconds to recover and HULK UP! (TM Legion of Freedom battle cry) for the remainder of a fight. Used against bosses in a team setting, you can completely take that boss out of the fight. When soloing, however, knock back is probably the most useful for an Energy Blaster, you don’t run the risk of aggravating anyone, and an enemy on his butt can’t attack you.


I will also talk about power pool choices, but this is so dependant on the player’s personality. Please take all of these recommendations with a grain of salt and make sure whatever you choose suits your play-style and allows you to have fun. The test server is an amazing tool for things like this where you can test different powers without committing to them and be able to gauge how much you like them. Use the test server, it is your friend. One note: I do not consider myself a power gamer nor do I try and give people cookie cutter guidance. Having said that…….

As always Hasten and Stamina are pretty much required for you. These allow a blaster to blast longer and faster. I highly recommend going perma-hasten, meaning 6 slots in hasten with recharge reductions so that it’s always on. This effectively doubles your recharge rate on all powers and is like slotting two recharge reduction SOs in all powers. Stamina should also have 6 slots on endurance recharges in it because endurance is always an issue for a blaster and the more you have the better. Are they absolutely required? Most certainly not. Will it make your character much more effective? Absolutely.

Since you will most likely have hasten picking up super speed is a great travel power to pick up and doesn’t require you to open a new pool. The advantages are that super speed is one of the fastest ways to travel and it gives you a stealth bonus. I also recommend picking up another travel power later on in the game for vertical movement as super speed can be cumbersome in many areas due to its lack of vertical movement.

My other two pools are concealment and flight. From the flight pool I only have hover and it is six slotted for flight. I won’t go into lengthy detail as to why I do unless someone asks but basically it acts as a second travel power, has very little end drain, is easier to maneuver than flight, has no accuracy minus, has a defense bonus, is great for chasing runaways, and let’s you be out of melee at all times, and saves me from wasting a power on flight. 6 slots is a lot but hey, it works for me. It’s also much easier to dedicate those slots in a respect trial post level 30 which is what I suggest if you are considering to 6 slot hover. If you’re thinking of five or four slotting it, that’s ok for combat, but not for travel as the difference in speed is huge between each SO. It also enables me to move in all directions during battle, so if I want to set up for an energy torrent explosive blast combo, I hover down to shoot and back up once done.

The concealment pool is another great idea for all but devices blasters. Stealth stacked with super speed makes you invisible to all but a few enemies in the game and can be invaluable for setting up things like Nova right in the middle of a group. Stealth provides a base 7.5% defense bonus and that’s also as good as it gets defensively for a blaster as far as pool powers are concerned. Fully slotted for defense that number bumps up to 16.5% defense. You can also pick up grant invisibility which allows you to have a power that helps in a team setting and phase shift is another fantastic tool for many reasons. Stealth however is the determining factor to go into this pool.

The leaping pool is a great alternative to the flight pool with combat jumping, super jump, and acrobatics. This pool will grant you vertical movement, a small defense bonus, and some limited status and knockback protection.

The teleport pool is a good pool for more team oriented blasters as recall friend is very handy and teleport will give you a fast travel power and the vertical movement lacking in super speed as well.

The medicine pool is another nifty pool that gives you great team tools like heal other, Stimulant ( which grants status protection), and a rez. Heal self can also decrease down time between battles significantly.

Presence. This is not a pool for blasters unless you really like going to the hospital.

Fighting. This pool has some powers that will grant you added defensive bonuses but at the cost of running lots of toggles and picking up a melee power which doesn’t help a blasters cause much. Blasters interested in upping their defense as much as possible do take this pool and some say it helps a lot. I however don’t recommend going this route. It can be done nevertheless.

Leadership – This is another nifty pool for teams as you can up your teams defense, damage and accuracy. Running these kinds of toggles can kill your endurance very easily and blasters do not receive the full benefit of this pool. Defenders and then controllers receive the greatest bonus from this pool and it is a much better tool for them.


Strategy and Tactics. This again is very dependant on your style but I will try and lay out some ways of going about combat based on what you’re facing.

Monsters and AVs – these battles require, and I mean require, you to be at a safe distance blasting as fast as possible. One melee hit from an AV or Monster can easily drop a blaster and I’ve had this happen to me many times. The most damage an energy blaster can do to this type of enemy will go something like this:

Aim, Snipe, bolt, blast, bolt, Buildup, Snipe, bolt, blast, bolt, Snipe, bolt, blast, bolt. Repeat ad nauseum. This is literally non-stop blasting and the cycling of buildup and aim allows for maximum DPS (damage per second)

Bosses – the easiest way to drop a boss for an energy blaster, assuming they are not resistant to knockback, is to cycle power push in to your stream of attacks every time it comes up as this will keep a boss down the entire fight. After a power push you have enough time to activate snipe before the boss gets up and then you can hit blast or power push again right away. Otherwise after power push you can cycle any of your other attacks in between applications of the push.

Large groups of even cons – Buildup, Aim, Energy Torrent, Explosive Blast. Done. This is enough to drop even cons that do not resist energy. If there is an Lt or two or even a boss in the mix here, follow up with single target blasts until they are down.

Small groups of +1 to +3 mobs (no bosses) – Buildup, Snipe the first. Bolt, Blast, Bolt the second, Burst bolt the third. This should be enough to handle this kind of situation with minions. Lts will require more shots of course. If an Lt has status powers I recommend Buildup, Aim, Snipe, Burst, Blast them first to make sure they are out of the way fast.

Large groups of minions up to +4 – Buildup, Aim, Nova. Done.

Again these methods are very subjective. Please experiment on your own to find your style and best effectiveness on the battle field and use these methods as a guideline, if you choose, on how to go about battles.

I do recommend cycling Buildup and Aim for any occasion where an alpha strike will not finish off the whole pack, as cycling those gives you much higher DPS than using them in tandem. For a fight that will only last a few seconds then Buildup plus Aim is the better way to go.

Synergy with Secondaries

Devices – devices is a great secondary for any blaster AT. It is the Swiss army knife for a blaster. Powers like targeting drone, cloaking device, trip mines, caltrops and smoke grenade make for very safe and powerful blasting. The only downside is that a devices blaster is a slower moving blaster as these things take time to set up. Nevertheless it is extremely effective and fun.

Energy – is probably the best synergy with the energy primary. Tons of self buffs and some very strong melee attacks. Power Boost, Conserve Power, Boost Range are all really nice self buffs whereas Total Focus is the most damaging attack in the game and can stun bosses in one hit. Bone Smasher is also a strong melee attack and a great follow up to Total Focus. This combo also makes for a good blapper.

Electricity – Not a whole lot of synergy here but some pretty good tools for the late game. Power Sink and Shocking Grasp are amazing tools. Power Sink can completely drain mobs of endurance while fully recharging your own. Shocking grasp is a very nice single target hold. Lightning field can be picked up in the late game after Power Sink is slotted and can allow you to basically tank mobs after power sinking them. In the early game it is not so great. Havoc Punch and Thunder Strike are also very strong melee attacks and can allow one to blap very effectively as well.

Fire – Probably the least amount of synergy here. Mostly melee attacks with one power that allows you to recharge end.

Ice – Ice secondary has great tools for holding and slowing down mobs. Ice patch, Shiver, and Frozen Aura all allow you to either hold or slow mobs. The only downside here is that most of them are close range and can put the energy blaster in danger. With some finesse and technique this can also be an effective blaster.

Well that’s as much as I can possibly think of for the time being. I hope this guide helps those interested in the energy blast set. Any and all comments and questions are welcome. Please remember that the most important thing in this game is to have fun and that if you’re not having fun you need to rethink your AT, set, or style and if that doesn’t work well maybe a different game will. Good luck heroes!