I’ve got a level 39 Arch/Dev. My experiences so far have been that the first 25 levels fly by. Because of the bonus to Acc that Archery gets, and the fact that it’s pretty easy on the End bar for a long time, you can actually get by with just 4 slotting your attacks for a really long time.
I skipped Taser, but it’s a toss-up with Smoke Grenade for the last power I pick. I’m waiting until 44 to pick up Explosive Arrow, though I’m debating that now. I went with Super Speed as a travel power, so it stacks with Cloaking Device to give full Invis. This will let me set up Time Bomb in the center of a spawn. If you don’t take SS, you want Smoke, or some other form of stealth to get in close.
Trip Mines are a power that I really really want to like, but can’t. I’ve seen other people use them, and they seem to work great, but mine never seem to work quite right. Also, this character flew through the levels, until 26. Once I got Trip Mine, things slowed down a lot. It takes longer to set up two mines than it does to just perforate them. When I solo, and I mostly solo, I use them to make a “bad touch” zone. I’ll drop one, more if the spawn looks tough, and stand just behind it. As stuff closes to melee, it goes away. If there is more stuff, I fall back to the next one. Also, they can be good for keeping an ambush from sneaking up on you. You just have to remember to watch the power indicator to see if they vanish. I can’t say I’d give them up, but I don’t use them as much as I thought I would.
Time Bomb. Yeah. Set up time is about 23 days. Then you have to hope that something will just happen to still be there when it goes off. On the other hand, you can set it up where nothing is at all. Because of the glacial set up time of this thing, the Defiance bonus it gives is over 50%. Set up Time Bomb, throw Trops, and pop Aim, and you’ve got close to 120% damage buff for a few seconds. It’s really not a substitute for Build Up, but it’s not a bad way to go if you have the time. If you happen to kill anything with it, well that’s just a bonus.
For IO sets, I go with Thunderstrikes in the attacks. I also have both Aim and T-Drone 4 slotted with Adjusted Targeting. That gives a bonus to Acc. A 5th one gives a little boost to Recharge. Stunning Shot gets 5 Stupefy’s, again for the Recharge. I have the Chance for KB in a Defender and don’t feel that it’s a waste. I plan to go with Posi-Blasts on the AoE’s for the recharge, but plan on using the Change for Energy instead of the triple. Mainly because it’s cheaper. On that Defender, I’ve gone this way and Fistfull of arrows will recharge before Explosive Arrow can be fired. This is with Hasten.
I have Hasten on the Blaster anyway because I took SS for travel.
I have, and use, Snap shot. Since it can be used while Mezzed, I can’t justify not having it. Plus, it’s one more spot for a Thunderstrike set.
I like Gun Drone, but it’s situational. Since it follows you now, it will draw aggro as you sneak around. I’ll use it for boss fights. Usually, I’ll sneak in set up a Time Bomb, run back and set up Gun Drone (39% defiance boost, but takes too long to stack with TB), Throw ‘Trops and fire Rain of Arrows, then pop Aim. Yes. Rain takes long enough to hit after the power completes, that if you pop Aim after launching them you will still get the bonus for it.
I know nothing of PvP.
