In a nutshell, I want to know when I can pick my second energy-builder. The next bit just explains why, in case anyone has any thoughts.

I have a character, mainly DD, and I'm planning on giving him a good mix of short and long range moves. My problem is that I only have one short range energy-builder, and I can't start using long ranged moves until I get a long ranged energy-builder, because otherwise I'll run out of energy and have to get in and use my EB.
For the record, I have 2 short ranged moves (including my EB) and a long ranged move. I'm at level 8 and I haven't gotten any new moves.

You don't.

Wtf? Seriously? Man.
Should I just "respec" (still using CoH terms) and get a long range energy builder, then? I'll get enough short range moves to keep it balanced, I assume.

That's usually how it works. Telekinesis has a lot of melee stuff for its power list, and the energy builder is a ranged attack. I don't like it, myself, but until they change things, that's how it is.

Depends on your build really. Some of the melee energy builders do nice things with their advantages which you might be looking to, ahem, take advantage of.

Or not.

It's really up to you and what kind of character you're building.

Also you can still lead in with a long range attack. Depending on your RECOVERY stat. A lot of long range attacks can be tapped. And that can draw the aggression of the enemies, as they close and you close on them you can then start building energy. Also there's other ways to build energy (like blocking with a shield that gives energy for blocking, or blocking in protector mode). So there's flexibility in your tactics.

It all really boils down to what you want to do and how you want to do it.

If you take the force shield at some stage, when you block it'll convert incoming damage to energy. I nearly always do that on my characters. Hit them till your energy drops, block till it builds up again (usually one or two big hits does it) then start hitting them again.

There are quite a few ways of getting energy that don't rely on your energy builder. Depending on just what your build is, one of those ways may work for you. Force Shield was already mentioned and is quite good (and even better with Force Sheathe). Several passives either restore energy or reduce costs. If your close-range stuff is martial arts, you may be able to make use of Momentum. You could gear up for REC, END, and/or INT. You could lead with a ranged power that pulls your target into melee, so your energy builder can get to work.

Or you could respec to a ranged energy builder.

Take a look at what's available, and make a decision.

I play a pure supernatural toon, 90% of my skills atm are ranged (chains) but my EB is a melee-type. And to be honest, it never has been a problem. A large part of the enemies out there can fight in melee, and most range types aren't standing that far away.

Besides when you lvl you can nu the Metabolic Metabolism-upgrade for some skills, it gives you the change to return energy. And at tier 2 or tier 3 you can get a skill called a "Secondary Energy Unlock" this type of skill gives you an extra ability to give you energy (for example, Spirit Reverberation gives you energy for each defeated Feared enemy. Killer Instinct gives you energy for each critical hit with guns. Thermal Reverberation gives energy when you are near fire. And so you got many more.) Every build can have energy problems at low level, but when you reach 20 you shouldn't have any energy problems really. And if you do have a energy problem, then it is a good idea to Retcon your character.

I think it'd be awesome if we got a second energy builder at say. . 30 or something. It'd be nice to have a character who could have both a sword and bow energy builder, or brawling/claws, etc. depending on the fighting style of the character. As it stands though, I agree that there are many great ways to build energy.

Defiance actually works like a charm, although I think the energy gain is Con based. I noticed a great drop in its effectiveness on a non-con character, so I had to spec out of it for something else. Also there's a darkness power that slowly drains your health and shoots your energy up, and can also give you a 50% damage boost temporarily with an advantage. The real disadvantage of that is you become immune to healing, so it's more of a solo tool than a group one imo. It stacks with other damage effects though and the energy boost is great in an emergency.

I think it's called Dark Insurgence, or something along those likes.

If you want to be able to make a large ranged attack to start a fight, REC should be one of your super stats. It sets your equilibrium higher so you generate more energy outside of battles. That way you could start with a full charged attack and close to melee to use your energy builder to get back to full again.

Beyond that accelerated metabolism on rapid hitting attacks, and reverberation or other energy building passives are great for regaining energy without relying on your energy builder.

The easiest to learn with I found was definitely a ranged energy builder on my first character, and at level 8 it's likely going to be the last time you can afford to retcon an energy builder without using a full retcon.

One thing most people don't realize about melee energy builders is they will pull guys from outside of melee range. So you can pull a group to you or force a ranged enemy into melee range with it.