Hi there, Taskmaster is a really cool character, I particularly liked him when he was training young heroes in the 50 State Initiative after Marvel's Civil War.
PLEASE NOTE! Making a Ranged + Melee toon is hard! You realize this Jack-of-All-Trades will be outperformed by a pure Ranged or a pure Melee character. Also realize that when you left the game, CO was very Area-of-Effect oriented, big area attacks. Now, the content such as these queued 5-man Alerts actually favour Single-Target more.
So to mitigate that disadvantage, I made someone who was a Single-Target specialist. Most builds have both a Single-Target and Area-of-Effect component. This was a calculated trade-off, as a lot of times you actually want to focus-fire on a Single-Target anyway. The guys that like large Area-of-Effects...those guys are just drawing aggro for you, allowing you to pick off minions 1 at a time. There is a bonus, however; some elements for Ranged + Melee toons give you a new Stealth ability that makes for an awesome Alpha Strike (or, if someone else has agro, allows you to backstab). Here's the build, followed by my thought process:
PowerHouse (Link to this build)Name: HackmasterArchetype: FreeformSuper Stats:Level 6: Dexterity (Primary)Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)Level 15: Intelligence (Secondary)Talents:Level 1: The GlacierLevel 6: AcrobatLevel 9: Healthy MindLevel 12: CoordinatedLevel 15: Quick RecoveryLevel 18: ImpresarioLevel 21: NegotiatorPowers:Level 1: StrafeLevel 1: Straight Shot (Rank 2, Split the Arrow)Level 6: Reaper's Caress (Rank 2, Rank 3)Level 8: Night Warrior (Rank 2, Rank 3, Silent Running)Level 11: Form of the Tempest (Rank 2, Rank 3)Level 14: Bountiful Chi Resurgence (Resurgent Reiki)Level 17: Molecular Self-AssemblyLevel 20: Masterful Dodge (Unfettered Strikes)Level 23: ConvictionLevel 26: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)Level 29: RebirthLevel 32: Resurrection SerumLevel 35: Parry (Rank 2, The Elusive Monk)Level 38: Focused Shot (Rank 2, Rank 3)Travel Powers:Level 6: Acrobatics (Versatility)Level 35: Hover DiskSpecializations:Dexterity: Combat Training (3/3)Dexterity: Gear Utilization (3/3)Dexterity: Deadly Aim (3/3)Dexterity: Expose Weakness (1/2)Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)Vindicator: Modified Gear (2/2)Mastery: Dexterity Mastery (1/1)For conceptualizing, explaining, and for leveling, I've organized an order to these powers and we'll follow that sequence here.
Superstats: DEX, Con, IntDex improves both Ranged and Melee, whereas Ego only does Ranged and Str Melee. Thus, Dex is the best option. Con as a secondary is still common, the same survivability strategy as when you left the game. Int is for energy management, so after around level 20, you can focus on simply attacking and doing lots of damage.
The Signature Weapon Powers: Strafe, Straight Shot, Reaper's CaressThese are your Bow and Sword attacks. The Shield is mainly cosmetic as underwerekng pointed out, from the Golden Age set.
For your energy builder, I favoured Ranged over Melee, thus Strafe. That's because if you're ever in a situation where you actually need to use your energy builder, Ranged is more versatile and safer.
Straight Shot is a pretty decent Bow attack. CO favours Ranged in many situations; anyone who played a pure Melee toon knows the pain of enemies being kited away from you. This is for minions mostly.
Reaper's Caress is a good bleed-applying Sword move, used for things like bosses. In boss fights, usually there is someone Tanking and holding their position, these are the best times to whip out the Sword.
The Ranged + Melee Passives/Forms: Night Warrior, Form of the TempestAll decent builds need Passives (that just get slotted) and Forms (that need to be activated when you get KO'd, but they're charge-cast and forget). Most of them are very specific for Ranged, Melee, Support, etc. roles. The only decent option for you is actually Night Warrior (added after you left) and Form of the Tempest.
Night Warrior just buffs both Ranged and Melee, that's basically why it's there. However, since you're getting it anyway, there's an added bonus; it lets you go into Stealth mode. When you go into a Mission or a Building, just activate it. You'll be ignored by enemies and what's more, you actually get a free bonus attack power that basically gives you a Rogue Backstab (you can do this from the front, too). Super-damaging, very fun. Form of the Tempest enhances both your Ranged and Melee and actually feeds energy the more Critical Hits you have.
Night Warrior is actually a lot of fun, I have a Predator homage that is built around that move plus a boomerang move. While we chose it for enhancing both Ranged and Melee equally, I think this is a lot of fun for a particularly dastardly Taskmaster.
The "Standard Package" (all those moves): BCR, MSA, Masterful Dodge, Conviction, Ego SurgeSorry for the abbreviations, as these are such common powers found in many builds...because they are all very good.
BCR is a self-heal, you have to activate it like every 10 seconds after it cools down. MSA is an Energy Unlock that gives energy whenever anything is cooled down. It becomes a sort of perpetual energy fountain, and is enhanced by the next powers.
Masterful Dodge, Conviction, and Ego Surge are the most popular temporary self-buffs/heals, and also have a cooldown timer. These work with the above MSA. You actually won't need your energy builder, Strafe, at later levels due to these powers (unless in emergencies, so it's still worth having it as Ranged).
Revive Yourself and Others: Rebirth, Resurrection SerumBeing KO'd happens, so this is your self-revive and revive item, where I chose the one that looks like injecting a fallen person with a syringe gun for Taskmaster's look and feel. You're playing with Mrs. Saroven, so this is a good power to get to help her.
Final Powers: Parry, Hover Disk, Focused ShotI put the Block power late...it's a trade-off. You can put it earlier on, perhaps taking it right after Form of the Tempest (then follow the sequence, BCR, MSA, etc.) The best Block powers are either Force Shield (due to a little trick it has with its Advantage, Force Sheathe) or Ebon Void (a self-healing Block), but since those are so divergent from Taskmaster's look & feel, I went with Parry instead. Thus, I don't think it's very important, thus its late addition.
You also get another Travel Power...and I recommend Hover Disk. It's because Taskmaster could ride on the Green Goblin's flying bat skateboard thing. And it's also because of the next power, Focused Shot.
Focused Shot is almost unique as a 120 ft Ranged Bow attack (the only other move is Sniper Rifle). You can outrange even Cosmic Bosses, whose range is 100 ft. The idea is that your character can float at just over 100 ft. above them with Hover Disk (or Flying or Jetpack) and repeatedly snipe them. A very useful strategy for major and seasonal bosses.
These powers are less Mission Critical, especially Focused Shot. You might actually swap that in and out with other moves; remember in the Powerhouse you can spend a few Gs to undo your most recent power choices.
SpecializationsAn addition after you left, Specializations are leveling up points that don't give you new powers, but improve your stats, such as your Critical Chance. I'm not sure what to pick after level 30, we can decide that later when you see if you're using Ranged or Melee more.
ConclusionSorry for the long post, no time to write a short one. This is a themed build based on the Bow and Sword. Given the choice, I would prefer pure Ranged, something like Lightning Arc and Hurricane/2 Gun Mojo and Lead Tempest instead. However, at the same time, this gives us an excuse to play with Night Warrior, which is really quite good and very fun.