Statesman, issue with your position on blasters
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I have no problem soloing post release 2. In fact I think the changes are quite refreshing.... fact is I haven't had to change a single tactic or stratagem. I'm complaining about proposed changes. You just ran in and started flapping your gums. And having played a blaster to level 41 of course I'm more qualified to talk about it 's strenghts and weaknesses.
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No, you're more qualified to speak about your build and presumably you'd be expected to have a larger clue. But there are Ph.D.s that I know who have none, and in a like vein there you are.
You were whining, predicating a decline in Blaster fortunes based on current changes.
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Just so that my stance is clear, I do think that blasters need some help, since mobs are now tougher. What I have issues with are the scrapper nerf calls. It's ridiculous to say we have better AOEs and overpowered defenses. Not all scrappers are Inv. It sure doesn't help the blaster cause when a few are outright lying and exagerrating or just clueless. And doesn't anyone have a blaster friend or scrapper? Why the heck are we at each other's throats?
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I have no problem soloing post release 2. In fact I think the changes are quite refreshing.... fact is I haven't had to change a single tactic or stratagem. I'm complaining about proposed changes. You just ran in and started flapping your gums. And having played a blaster to level 41 of course I'm more qualified to talk about it 's strenghts and weaknesses.
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No, you're more qualified to speak about your build and presumably you'd be expected to have a larger clue. But there are Ph.D.s that I know who have none, and in a like vein there you are.
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zip it.
you're the one who came here with the "change your tactics" crap... You didn't single out any paticular build..... You generalized... At least I have some knowledge of the blaster late game. Maybe I fly a cessna and not a 747.... butI'd still be a better flyer than some moron who hasn't even seen a cockpit.... 
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Just so that my stance is clear, I do think that blasters need some help, since mobs are now tougher. What I have issues with are the scrapper nerf calls. It's ridiculous to say we have better AOEs and overpowered defenses. Not all scrappers are Inv. It sure doesn't help the blaster cause when a few are outright lying and exagerrating or just clueless. And doesn't anyone have a blaster friend or scrapper? Why the heck are we at each other's throats?
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Nerfing scrappers would be dumb. And unnecessary. I don't see all that many people calling for a nerf to the AT. What I see is non blasters shouting for blaster nerfs. Because "we don't need teams" Post lv 32 controllers don't need teams. see them getting throttled with nerf calls? nope.
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As an aside to Blaster melee damage, it's also the most damaging melee attacks in the game. Even more than the melee classes. Just a random tidbit of info.
[/ QUOTE ] considering the risk of engaging anything at melee range as a blaster they should be the most damaging.....
to tell the truth they shouldn't even be there.
My apologies to the thread, I won't continue to roll in the mud.
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Sorry Heph, you're right. There aren't that many nerf calls in this thread. Just the other one and I sort of let that spill in here.
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To do this, the Defense - minded Blaster must run 3 toggles, Hasten, and toss Smoke Grenade. That's quite the En cost for that much Defense --
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Not bad considering for 4 powers and 15 slots (18 if you count the inherent), and three toggles I get 40% defense and 30% res.
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SR scrappers can get 60% with just one toggle.
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What toggle is this? Do you mean Elude? Keep things in perspective. This is a 38th level power, and Perma-Elude is something that only DM will be able to pull off with any kind of effectiveness due to the endurance penalty. If you plan to respect powers out to save on slots, be prepared to either never exemplar to check out early level content (new or missed) or do it and find the experience even MORE painful than it would have been.
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BTW, if we wanted to talk about the ease of CoH post-30th level, I wouldn't be opposed to studying the Tanks, Scrappers, Controllers and Defenders. Do the Controllers or Tanks have any fear once they reach 30th level? Seems like the ones I meet are bored because their jobs become too easy and they end up re-rolling....
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Fear? Yes, I've lived in fear since Lv 16 when I tanked Dr. Vahzilok. My defenses kept me alive, but I couldn't do enough damage to overcome his natural regeneration. It was a stalemate. Even if I can tank purples, compared to some other ATs, it takes me eons to finish a fight, even now that I have more and stronger attacks.
What's easy about my "job?" It sounds like you're referring to grouping, not soloing. If that is the case, then Blasters have nothing to worry about, by that line of reasoning. In groups, they can rely on a good Tanker or Controller doing their "job." The ATs work together, in their "jobs," and everything is great for everyone. That is, of course, excluding the fact that many Scrappers will be able to tank just as well as me at higher levels, and my low damage output will make me a gimped little leech to the rest of you who actually serve a purpose.
Solo, if anything, we're equally [censored]. Even if my defenses don't get nerfed in the future, increased enemy difficulty will be bad news for both of us. It takes me long enough to do things as it is now. Imagine my soloing enjoyment when the enemies get stronger. That, my friend, is why Tankers are "bored."
I understand your concerns about your own Archtype, but don't go thinking that being a non-Fire Tanker is a cake walk. And I'm Invulnerability. I have it easy compared to my sisters and brothers in Ice and Stone. And let's not get started on the soloability of Defenders.
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considering the risk of engaging anything at melee range as a blaster they should be the most damaging.....
to tell the truth they shouldn't even be there.
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I'll agree that they shouldn't even be there.
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My apologies to the thread, I won't continue to roll in the mud.
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You should apologize for posting at all.
First of all the increased prevalence of holds, stuns, and sleeps in the enemies does not place an increased emphasis on defence. Observe that there is no power pool power that grants resistance to these attacks. If they hit, the Blaster is pretty much dead. That means the Blaster has 3 options when dealing with such enemies.
1. Kill the enemies before they have a chance to use the powers.
2. Group with another AT that can provide status effect defense or incapacitation.
3. Do not fight mobs with these sort of attacks.
Second your AR tactics are....shall we say....uninformed.
First of all starting with M-30 is bad. M-30 is not a knockback. It "sends the enemies flying". That means they go in all directions jacking up any chance for an effective alphastrike.
If you lead with Buckshot instead its a little better but you still have to deal with the effect of some enemies getting knocked back and others not. This divides the enemy into 2 groups. The ones that got knocked back and the ones that didnt. Since you can only AoE one of these groups at a time you just seriously hampered the effectiveness of your alphastrike.
Here is what you do. You turn on a buttload of defences and lead with Caltrops. Follow with Flamethrower. Step back a touch and use FA. If your defences are good you should be fine at this point. If your still looking at live Lts toss an M-30 and close the range for a buckshot. That should result in Dead Lts. Now your looking at a boss.
Lets see what you say about the Boss. "kill them quickly". Bzzzt wrong answer. Your not killing that boss quickly. No aim. No buildup. No really good single target attacks that you can use under fire. If the boss is +2 or higher your going to run now. If the boss is +1 or lower you are going to use knockdowns like buckshot with your heavy hitting DoTs and try to keep the boss of its feet. Bosses have lots of knockdown resistance that is true, but Buckshot and M-30 are both high mag knockdowns and Slug isnt bad either.
Rapid fire beanbags? Not happening. Beanbag has a very long recharge time even with hasten. Unless you plan to slot this heavily with recharge your not going to be holding any bosses, even for a few seconds. Beanbag/Taser can be done though but in most cases its risky since Taser is a melee attack.
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First of all the increased prevalence of holds, stuns, and sleeps in the enemies does not place an increased emphasis on defence. Observe that there is no power pool power that grants resistance to these attacks.
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+Def works against all of them, if they can't land they don't matter. But no, there is no 100% effective power against most of them. Even so, high Def has its benefits. I manage to stand in front of Tank Smashers with my Defender and take them down before that lucky shot lands that results in staggering about like a drunk. Add in natural Blaster powers that Disorient and Hold and high Def, while not immunity, has its merits.
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Another of my more recent posts Jor
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That is why outside of the Invuln line, I am not calling for a nerf to Scrappers. They are doing precisely what they are supposed to do.
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Should i continue or will you agree to pull your head out of your a$$ now.
went up against a KoA boss. I had hover, 6 slotted stealth, hasten running.... I popped 8 lucks. guess what?
I still got held... you're right.
You seem obsessed with my as-sal regions, Punisher.
That is true in theory Erratic but in practice it really isnt. You can have every defense in the world as a Blaster and even -1 Cons can and will hold you before you can even finish Full Autoing. I know this from experience becuase i actually do have pretty much every defence available to blasters 6 slotted on my build. I do not fight mobs that can hold. They will stun me effortlessly. All my toggles will drop. I will die.
I dont know about your Defender. I dont have one myself. But what i do know is that what your saying in regard to status effects simply does not work in practice as a blaster.
Hmmm. . . Punisher.
RI is a 30% To-Hit debuff from what I hear. Each SO brings that up by 10% (33% of 30 is 10%), so I run at either 60% or 70% typically depending on how I've most recently slotted it. My Defender has no other +Def abilities. At 2 levels above me the power should be 80% effective, or a 48-56% To-Hit Debuff. From geko's comments on SG that means it is cutting their basic chance to hit in half.
Gotta be forgetting something as that isn't enough to allow anyone to stand in front of a Tank Smasher, let alone a Paragon Protectore, and I've done that too at +2 levels.
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Update 2 essentially killed the blaster. I have a good friend, Maklov 41 Fire/Dev who quit CoH simply because he can no longer solo anything without the awesome: cloak, aim, trops, mine, t bomb, fire ball, inferno combo... :'( so basically they've killed soloing blasters altogether which is a shame
I could see you standing in front of such a monster with more hp and the ability to heal yourself especially considering Elec primary and numerous powers in the Rad powerset that slow attack rate.
In regards to stuns/mezzes i had said this on another post but i am beginning to believe that dedicated hold powers like the CoT Mesmerize, Gravity Distortion, and Dominate powers are effected by Tohit Debuff but ignore Defence when determining the tohit of these powers. This would account both for your success against such attacks and for my success against them pre-SG nerf when my defence was still debuff based as well. Dont take my word as gospel though. Its just a theory.
Blasters and Defenders have the same hps. As to healing, if a Tank Smasher hits you with his Disorient, you're not doing anything but praying for a way out.
As to the status effect powers being affected by To-Hit Debuffs but not Def, given the way some Scrappers +Def powers are described, I could believe it. Might have to try it at some point.
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Yes, Blasters and Defenders have the same hp... but their jobs are very different. Defenders are mainly created for team play imho (see my profile; I've written the Empath guide on teh FAQ forum 
) while it's the blaster's job to dish out pure damage, most of it front-loaded aka alpha strike.
For the DEVs to say that they will change the game so that we cannot do what we have been doing for all this time... it's really not fair for those who are used to the gameplay, who expect such gameplay, and who built their characters with such gameplay in mind... now is it? I think not.
Its not fair for them to change the game? I'm pretty sure the liscence for the game indicates play may change. Besides, group function has little bearing here as the discussion is solo play. Groupwise, Blasters remain the big guns and are cushioned by the pressence of others.
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the discussion is whether blasters CAN be effective at soloing, once the DEVs make the changes they tarted they will make.
I proposed that it was becoming less and less likely. Many others agree.
Finally, yes the DEVs have legal right to do whatever the hell they want with this game. But from a community point of view, the game cannot exist without the players, and the DEVs themselves acknowledge our improtance and input. That is why I say its not fair to us blasters to make so dramatic changes in the game, at a point where we spent hours to create characters with the expectation that we will be able to play them the same way in the future.
This is still a serious issue, and we should'nt divert attention elsewhere, like flaming etc.
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JUST GIVE UP AND REROLL
ERRAT DORK SCHOOL OF TACTICS.
defender board ---->
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thank you and good night ladies and gentlemen, Heph will be here all week.
I'd advise arguing with that one. Anyone who takes the time to lecture others on the defensive possibilities on blasters, while proudly displaying to all in their sig their single blaster build at under lvl 20, should simply follow your sign to the def boards.
Personally, and I posted this thread on the general power discussion, I think the solution to all woes, for every AT, is a powerpool soley for mez fx mitigation. Thats really the trump factor for *every* damage dealer. Mez: it kills scrappers and blasters dead. If there was an adequate mez defense, a lot of folks would be happier and view the coming difficulty changes with less stress.
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You know If they did that.... gave us some status protection so I can actually stay at range.... I wouldn't mind the 3 minion=1 hero equation. Unfortunately the devs seem to think that every group needs a mez spammer. "here comes that refrain.... team up" I've had entire teams stunned, immobiled and slaughtered in portal missions. even after a round of clear mind from an empath. everyon got dropped. except the scrapper.... who was soon overwhelmed then layed out like a lounger.