Ring of Fire - Your one and only control power

Score

1 of 5

Unslotted Strength

6.2 x Brawl

Defiance Boost

7.7%

Summary

Hit a target with it and freeze them in place for a few seconds. Also does fire damage over time.

How to Use

You have to take it, but it's fairly useful anyway (mostly when soloing. For example, for tough enemies, root them in place with Ring of Fire then drop Rain of Fire (assuming you took Fire Blast as your primary powerset.

You can also use it to freeze runners in their tracks, but I found that anything tough enough to resist my damage for more than a few seconds tended to resist immobilization anyway. In the end, I found it to not be very useful at all.

Recommended # of Slots and Enhancement Priority

	( Default Slot Only ) I never found much use for this so I didn't give it any slots beyond the default. 40%   Accuracy (40% Minimum) Default: 75% With max 100% enhancement: 150% If you take this at all, it's for control. Make sure it doesn't miss. 0%   Damage (0% Minimum) Default: 149 points With max 100% enhancement: 298 points It does about as much damage as Fire Blast, but takes a long time to do it. If you want to slot it up, you can, but I had better things to do with my slots. 0%   Endurance Reduction (0% Minimum) Default: 7 end With max 100% enhancement: 3.5 end Didn't slot enough to bother with this. 0%   Recharge (0% Minimum) Default: 6 sec With max 100% enhancement: 3 sec Didn't slot enough to bother with this. 0%   Range (0% Minimum) Default: 50 Feet With max 60% enhancement: 80 Feet Didn't slot enough to bother with this. 0%   Immobilize (0% Minimum) Default: 2 sec With max 100% enhancement: 4 sec Didn't slot enough to bother with this. Help The enhanceable properties of this power are listed in order of importance. Hover the mouse over each for detailed information and a description.

Fire Sword - Strong single target attack, but melee range

Score

4 of 5

Unslotted Strength

6.8 x Brawl

Defiance Boost

8.8%

Summary

Whip out a sword of fire and beat stuff with it. It can be annoying because of the short animation delay of forming your sword if it wasn't out already, but that can be mitigated with the right combo.

It's nearly as strong as Blaze (from Fire Blast) so it's good to have, but I would focus on other powers first. You'll have plenty of attacks to go around so if you find yourself at a point where you don't have any other powers you really want to take, pick up Fire Sword then.

Don't get me wrong, it's powerful, just that if you have a ranged power that works instead, why use it? Most of the time I forget I even have it unless I'm fighting a tough enemy like an AV or GM.

Recommended # of Slots and Enhancement Priority

	( 4 Slots ) 4 slots is enough 40%   Accuracy (40% Minimum) Default: 75% With max 100% enhancement: 150% Standard. 85%   Damage (85% Minimum) Default: 160 points With max 100% enhancement: 320 points If you take it, make it worth it! 30%   Endurance Reduction (30% Minimum) Default: 10 end With max 100% enhancement: 5 end Didn't slot enough to bother with this. 30%   Recharge (30% Minimum) Default: 10 sec With max 100% enhancement: 5 sec Didn't slot enough to bother with this. Help The enhanceable properties of this power are listed in order of importance. Hover the mouse over each for detailed information and a description.

Combustion - Meh.

Score

2 of 5

Unslotted Strength

1.6 x Brawl (to each target)

Defiance Boost

6.1%

Summary

Longish activation time and it doesn't do much to the enemy so it's no wonder why so many people skip this power. I used to use it in my AoE combo, but found other powers that are faster activating and more powerful so I eventually dropped Combustion entirely.

Recommended # of Slots and Enhancement Priority

	( 4 Slots ) 4 slots is enough 40%   Accuracy (40% Minimum) Default: 75% With max 100% enhancement: 150% Standard. 85%   Damage (85% Minimum) Default: 39 points With max 100% enhancement: 78 points If you take it, make it worth it! 30%   Recharge (30% Minimum) Default: 15 sec With max 100% enhancement: 7.5 sec Didn't slot enough to bother with this. 30%   Endurance Reduction (30% Minimum) Default: 13 end With max 100% enhancement: 6.5 end A little end heavy, but not for the recharge it has. Buff recharge first, then this. Help The enhanceable properties of this power are listed in order of importance. Hover the mouse over each for detailed information and a description.

Fire Sword Circle - Looks cool, great damage, what's not to like?

Score

6 of 5

Unslotted Strength

432% of Brawl

Unslotted Strength

432% of Brawl

Summary

You whip out a fire sword, swing in a circle and land with a fiery blast. There's minimal delay to this power and it looks really damned cool.

How to Use

As a PBAoE you need to be close. It's best when you have lots of enemies crowded together which is good for doing low level hunts for badges or when someone else has occupied your enemies (tanks or controllers for example).

The way I get the most use out of it is by treating all AoE powers in my combo as PBAOE. I run to the crowd, fire it all and then back away to pick off survivors with my ranged attacks. It's good to open with Rain of Fire to slow and distract the enemies so hey don't run out of range too quickly.

Recommended # of Slots and Enhancement Priority

	( 5 Slots ) A great power. Both in looks and effect. I'd give it 6 slots every time if it had any other effects to buff that would require it. 40%   Accuracy (40% Minimum) Default: 75% With max 100% enhancement: 150% Standard. 85%   Damage (85% Minimum) Default: 133 points With max 100% enhancement: 266 points Standard. 50%   Recharge (50% Minimum) Default: 20 sec With max 100% enhancement: 10 sec It's pretty slow. Try to bring it back as soon as you can. 20%   Endurance Reduction (20% Minimum) Default: 18 end With max 100% enhancement: 9 end As always, reduce as you can, but prioritize other things first. Help The enhanceable properties of this power are listed in order of importance. Hover the mouse over each for detailed information and a description.

Build Up - Kicking it up a notch

Score

5 of 5

ToHit Boost

15%

Damage Boost

100%

Summary

Buffs your ToHit and Damage for about 10 seconds.

How to Use

Just remember that the boost only lasts 10 seconds use one really powerful attack (like a Nova) or several very short activation attacks (Blaze and Fire Blast for example).

Recommended # of Slots and Enhancement Priority

	( 2 Slots ) 3 is definitely better if you want full recharge AND an IO set bonus, but I've typically needed the slots for other things and went with 2. 60%   Recharge (60% Minimum) Default: 90 sec With max 100% enhancement: 45 sec It takes a while to come back so buff this as much as you can. 0%   To Hit Buff (0% Minimum) Default: 15% With max 60% enhancement: 24% It's not really necessary, but if you do go for set bonuses, you'll probably end up with some of this. 0%   Endurance Reduction (0% Minimum) Default: 5 end With max 100% enhancement: 2.5 end Recharge is all that matters, but if you buff anything else for a set bonus. Help The enhanceable properties of this power are listed in order of importance. Hover the mouse over each for detailed information and a description.

Blazing Aura - For a Tank maybe, but you? Eh...No

Score

0 of 5

Unslotted Strength

0.5 of Brawl per Tic

Summary

A minor toggle PBAoE that does very little damage in slow tics. It's practically worthless considering that most battles will end before you managed to hit them more than two or three times. Especially if you are moving in and out of melee range. It's just not worth the endurance drain.

If you take it, slot end reduction first (it takes 0.78/s endurance!).

Consume - Endurance recovery that you really need

Score

4 of 5

Unslotted Strength

0.9 x Brawl

Defiance Boost

3.3%

Summary

Fire this and suck endurance while doing a very small amount of damage to any enemies in a small radius around you.

How to Use

Firing powerful fire attack after attack followed by endurance recovery and continued attacks… It's hard not to feel god-like. Anyway, it's a fast activating power that drains endurance from enemies surrounding you. Normally for a blaster, this is a problem, but if you use the AoE chains I recommend, it's not. Also, you can't pull the perfect Nuke combo without it (Aim+BU+Inferno (or other Nova)+blue inspiration+consume).

The neat thing is that it damages everything around you at the strength of a brawl hit and increases your endurance for each person hit. That's just cool.

Recommended # of Slots and Enhancement Priority

	( 3 Slots ) 3 is enough though I ended up using 4 because of a good set bonus and for better buffs. 50%   Accuracy (50% Minimum) Default: 75% With max 100% enhancement: 150% Don't miss. It doesn't help if it misses. 70%   Recharge (70% Minimum) Default: 180 sec With max 100% enhancement: 90 sec It's useful both for regular combat and for your nova so try to bring it back more than once every 6 minutes. 50%   Endurance Modification (50% Minimum) Default: 20% With max 100% enhancement: 40% 20 endurance for each target hit is ok, but not if you only hit one or two enemies. Buff this up for better performance even against fewer targets. 0%   Damage (0% Minimum) Default: 22 points With max 100% enhancement: 44 points It only hits for an amount equal to a single brawl hit so don't worry about damage. 0%   Endurance Reduction (0% Minimum) Default: 0 end per second With max 100% enhancement: 0 end per second It requires a ridiculously small amount of endurance to launch. I don't even know why you can enhance this. Help The enhanceable properties of this power are listed in order of importance. Hover the mouse over each for detailed information and a description.

Burn - Hotly debated online (no pun intended)

Score

5 of 5

Unslotted Strength

7.5 x Brawl (to each target)

Defiance Bonus

13.4%

Summary

Blast fire at your feet and free yourself from any immobilization effects while damaging the snot out of any nearby enemies.

How to Use

When I first started planning a F3 blaster, this power wasn't given much credit online, but to undervalue it would be a big mistake. First of all, it does a lot of damage. If you play it like a PBAOE attack that just happens to also save your butt now and then by freeing you from immobilization, you'll get a lot more use out of it.

Due to it's nature of scattering enemies, it can be used to protect areas and hold doorways, but that's bad if you don't want them moving. Use it as your last AoE attack (Fire Sword Circle and Combustion (if you have it) first).

Best case scenario is when your enemies are already stuck with an immobilization or hold power (what do you know, something you can actually use Ring of Fire for!).

Recommended # of Slots and Enhancement Priority

	( 5 Slots ) A great power, though sometimes undervalued. 40%   Accuracy (40% Minimum) Default: 75% With max 100% enhancement: 150% Standard. 85%   Damage (85% Minimum) Default: 133 points With max 100% enhancement: 266 points Standard. 40%   Recharge (40% Minimum) Default: 25 sec With max 100% enhancement: 12.5 sec You might even go higher here. Considering its strong dual-use capabilities, having it available when needed is a good idea. 0%   Endurance Reduction (0% Minimum) Default: 5 end With max 100% enhancement: 2.5 end Considering its power, it's a very inexpensive power. Help The enhanceable properties of this power are listed in order of importance. Hover the mouse over each for detailed information and a description.

Hot Feet - Burn! Just... slowly

Score

1 of 5

Unslotted Strength

0.6 x Brawl (per tic)

Summary

Slows and does damage to enemies in a small radius around you. If you work hard enough and build your defense and resistance enough to be a Blapper, you could use this and use it well. The power itself is very good because the slow synergizes with burn and other PBAOE powers and it does ok damage (even better with "Chance of Damage" IOs).

However, because of how fast you do damage already and the low defense you have naturally, it takes a lot of effort to make this useful for a blaster compared to a Tank or Scrapper. I recommend skipping it.