Look at blasters in the comics - they are almost never entirely without defenses. Punisher? Wears bodyarmor. I'm sure he didn't need to wait for "level 41" to get it either... Johnny Storm? He melts bullets before they hit him, and can dodge pretty well. Iceman? Attacks slide off of his ice skin and he can form shields of ice to protect him. Etc. Etc.
All blaster secondaries have a single power everyone must take: the first one. If this power was turned into an automatic +def or +res (smash/lethal/own element), it might help us all to survive a bit longer.
Energy: power shield deflects attacks and resists negative energy. +def, +res (smash/lethal/neg energy).
Electricity: magnetic field deflects attacks and resists energy. +def, +res (smash/lethal/energy).
Fire: shield of flames destroys incoming missiles and resists fire. +def, +res (smash/lethal/fire).
Ice: ice coating resists and deflects incoming attacks. +def, +res (smash/lethal/ice)
Devices: kevlar shirt. +res (smash/lethal), slightly higher than what the other sets get since it doesn't get +defense or an elemental resistance. Some mez resist to make up for the weakness of the armor would also be nice. Stacks nicely with the auxiliary pool.
Winner of Players' Choice Best Villainous Arc 2010: Fear and Loathing on Striga; ID #350522
Actually love these ideas.
What percent are you looking at?
Remember since its a starting power you can't be over shadowing the tank even at low level defense wise. But I'd think a solid 12.5 % would be in line. I would suggest against toggles since you have no mezz protection.
12.5 is actually a very solid amount scrappers can not get this much from even inv to start with they get like 10 % but since you never get anymore a temp lead isn't too much really. It won't last long but it could really help.
By the way I have no poblem raising the blaster damage cap to the same point as scrapper and even flip flopping the caps assuming crits are allowed to surpase it. BUT Blaster must not be able to reach the new cap without help. That means they can not buff themselves by only using built in power buffs from their primary or secondary. It should require outside help. Red pills, defender/controller buffs you get my meaning.
One thing I keep seeing is how powerful scrapper AoEs are. Its really not true. Only spines has decent AoEs and even then its only at the top levels and as good as his are they don't match most of your level 32 nukes. His recharges faster but does it really do damage equal to Nova or Auto? It's not his damage you need it more solid defense. And he's not coming anywhere near his or even your damage cap when he's doing this. Try broadsword or katana their AoEs are ok but not even in the same league as your worst. My pal plays Ene/Ene and I have a BS/Regen my AoEs are used to grab the opening agro so he can Nova them. The damage compaison is well just not even close. Yes a boss might survive but then again if I did my part I whirled on the boss so likely he's dead. He also has another AoE (I don't know the name) that is pretty nice at knock everything off me and doing some great damage along the way. Knockback is a real great thing for a blaster and it why I think my next blaster will be Ene/Ene. I like it to keep things away. But its not enough to keep a blaster alive. That I have seen first hand and I want my blaster pals to be more solid that way.
Another thing to think about before asking for too many defensive power. A regen scrapper built by the cookie cutter uses 40 slots for defense. 40. That leaves only 27 total slots for travel powers, attacks, and fun stuff. That alone reduces significately the damage of the scrapper compaired to the blaster. And it is something that has not yet been mentioned. Again blasters need something and from what I've seen a little resist could help, and I'd have no problem with the damage change I mentioned earlier try both see what happens. If its too much we can alway tone it down, if its not enough we can always add. I think what needs to happen is something needs to be tried. For good or bad there needs to be a change then testing and evaluation to see what we have done. Blaster need help how and how much needs to be tested.
The minus recharge and minus speed are crap at the things we fight at the higher levels. And we pay out the wazoo for end. The holds are most certainly NOT crap--but then, a lot of the other blaster sets have a hold/disorient. Ice does have a second one in place of a sniper attack. Frankly, I'd rather have the sniper attack though freezing a boss is always fun.
I recently disagreed with someone about AR's single target damage--it might have been Ohms but I think it was Mord--and I said I didn't think AR was as far behind ice as people thought. Then I started playing an ice blaster again. Boy, was I wrong. The animations are sickly fast. I don't know how energy is but there's no way any other blaster can keep up with ice in single targets. You can just lay out a world of pain in the blink of an eye.
Ice blasters probably pay too much end for their powers and they really don't need the range limitations. However, I don't think they are suffering and really won't be suffering when Blizz works properly again.
Can I kill a boss faster than a scrapper? No. However, when there's four bosses in a group (which I see all the damn time in our big groups) I can cycle between them at speeds scrappers can only envy. I MIGHT rival a scrapper in boss killspeed.
I would ask that blasters remember that while one of us doesn't create envy in scrappers, two or three of us can. Having three blasters in a group is like having three fire tanks or spines scrappers. There's not a lot lft for anyone to do.
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Look at blasters in the comics - they are almost never entirely without defenses. Punisher? Wears bodyarmor. I'm sure he didn't need to wait for "level 41" to get it either... Johnny Storm? He melts bullets before they hit him, and can dodge pretty well. Iceman? Attacks slide off of his ice skin and he can form shields of ice to protect him. Etc. Etc.
All blaster secondaries have a single power everyone must take: the first one. If this power was turned into an automatic +def or +res (smash/lethal/own element), it might help us all to survive a bit longer.
Energy: power shield deflects attacks and resists negative energy. +def, +res (smash/lethal/neg energy).
Electricity: magnetic field deflects attacks and resists energy. +def, +res (smash/lethal/energy).
Fire: shield of flames destroys incoming missiles and resists fire. +def, +res (smash/lethal/fire).
Ice: ice coating resists and deflects incoming attacks. +def, +res (smash/lethal/ice)
Devices: kevlar shirt. +res (smash/lethal), slightly higher than what the other sets get since it doesn't get +defense or an elemental resistance. Some mez resist to make up for the weakness of the armor would also be nice. Stacks nicely with the auxiliary pool.
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how about energy is res smashing/lethal/energy/neg energy but the energy resistance is slightly lower than that of an electric secondary resitance?
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Thought I'd post a further explanation about the Blaster damage explanation in "Ask Statesman."
That was - and is - the reason why Blaster damage is capped lower than Scrappers. I did forget to add that the ranged attacks of mobs deal less damage (typically) than melee attacks - and the Blaster is generally the target of raned attacks.
But many issues have come up - most notably, the perception that Blasters are too fragile at levels 35+. Their damage potential does not compensate for their low hit points.
And, of course, there's the complaint that some Secondaries have too many melee attacks - something that the Blaster avoids at all costs.
At the moment, Scrappers, and to a lesser degree, Tankers, are being analyzed. Once we establish a baseline, then we'll be in a better position to look at Blasters.
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That's an epic understatement. If a +40 "hero" is assigned a "babysitter"....there's a problem.
See, its all about perception.
We noticed it.
Some see our damage in atlas park and then close their eyes, and never notice it.
Obviously our perception stat is higher than average!
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See, its all about perception.
We noticed it.
Some see our damage in atlas park and then close their eyes, and never notice it.
Obviously our perception stat is higher than average!
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it has to be, otherwise we'd always be at the debt cap.
actually I meant non-blasters. I mean, most people notice when something stings them.
But you gotta have a pretty high score to notice that upgraded (sharpened) lance back in arroyo or spot how blasters die faster than we're told they do!
First to say that a scrapper is in a "riskier" position than a blaster and therefore his damage cap should be higher is foolishnes.
A scrapper or a tanker with their armors, defenses, cloak of fears, draining life toggles, point blank area effects (such as fire tanks) can take more dmg to themselves than a blaster can. So what the ranged attacks of a mob do less dmg than the melee attacks... when a blaster is hit by a crey power tank, they go down no questions asked.. wheather by melee or by grenade. A scrapper or tanker gets hit by this and they shrug it off.. especially after 30th level.
You say the base line is 3 white mobs. I have yet to see a blaster at 30+ take 3 white mobs and not be wondering if they are going to fall and get debt (hence the nickname debt magnets). I have, however, seen Tankers take on slews of mobs without getting much more than a splinter in their pinky. Case in point.. traveling through Perez one day, searching for badges with my defender alt, there i see a fire tanker running from 50 (no exxageration) hellions. I target him thinking he may need a heal.. but his health is full. He runs them into a corner and soon enough all 50 are dead. I kept my target on him and his health never dropped below 3/4s. Show me any archtype, besides an illusion controller at 32+ level that can do that. Is that what you call a base line?
Lets also look at the slider. Blasters for the most part have to keep their slider at soft shelled taco.. Tankers and scrappers however, keep theirs at Titanium gonna take on Galactus and the gods of Mount Olympus.
Blasters have become the red headed step child of the CoH game. Even the ancillary power pools of blasters, with few exceptions, are no more than secondaries from the blaster sets. I am a fire/ energy blaster my ancillary is fire mastery and my power slots for those i would have gotten at a lower level if i were a fire/fire blaster. Granted there are exceptions like the force fields. But at 41st level to have a force field single slotted does very little against a 41st level mob. You would never see a force field defender walking around at 41st level with it single slotted because at that point it would be useless to him.
You also say that Scrappers are involved in melee.. and this is true... until the ancillary slot where they gain a ranged attack. So at 41+ the scrapper and the tanker gain a ranged attack, more hit points than any other archtype, do more dmg thn any archtype, take more dmg than any archtype. Its no wonder that 50th level tanks are the primary source of quick powerleveling.
But scrappers and tankers are not the only ones with a definite unbalance to blasters. Take a look at defenders. My 35th level storm defender with electric as secondary took out a 50th level blaster in the arena.. why? Because my secondary blasts do almost as good dmg as the blasters (they are after all blaster primaries) and my defenses are much greater. My defender solos better than my 50th level fire blaster any day of the week. At 35th level he is taking on 4 or 5 red cons to him without really blinking an eye. Most of the time he is letting voltaic sentinal, tornado, and lightning storm do most of his work while tesla caging any that those dont take care of.
This brings me to controllers. You claimed earlier that controllers do little dmg in comparison to the other archtypes. This holds true up until about 32nd level. Once a controller gains his or her pets, they become unstoppable. Now i heard the arguements that this is to compensate for the controller not being able to solo at the lower levels. Blasters are debt magnets because they can not solo at any level beyond 15th.. unless they are real smart and real lucky. Controllers can solo at all levels. Let me give an example. Grav controllers are the best soloers in the game at lower levels. They can hold opponants while dmging them and thier holds are the best in the game, lasting almost an entire fight. Mind controllers have no problem soloing since psychic attacks are seldom resisted and have little defense against them. Illusion controllers are the same way... blind/spectral wounds. My 9th level Illusion controller did on average more dmg to a mob than a 9th level blaster did because spectral wounds is hardly resisted. Once the controller gains pets, all bets are off.
Illusion controller pets are either invulnerable or have such massive attacks the controller needs do little but heal them. A 38th level illusion controller can be a 10 man group all unto himself. Phantasm/Phantom army. One is indestructable with taunt abilities the other is a blaster who can summon more of his kind. Fire controller can summon up to 4 imps making them a 5 man team unto themselves.
So my question is thus... if tanks, scrappers, controllers, and defenders can do more, take more, and defend against more, than a blaster can... where is the role of the blaster.
I have seen 46th level controllers, tanks, scrappers, and defenders, take on entire groups of mobs and walk away as if nothing happened... i have seen each of these archtypes set their mission sliders to the highest point available and not blink an eye. I have seen blasters fall to mobs 3 levels lower than them in single combat because a blaster has not the dmg accuracy or defenses to do much against the onslaught. You will be hard pressed to find a blaster that does not have a hard time after 30th level doing anything on their own.
As a side note... if scrappers and melee types place themselves in riskier positions because of being in close.. why is the blaster the first to fall in most group settings... I can answer that as well. because their attacks draw lots and lots of aggro... And that, is where the real risk lay.
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I have yet to see a blaster at 30+ take 3 white mobs and not be wondering if they are going to fall and get debt (hence the nickname debt magnets).
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What? Bah ha ha ha. If you cant take 3 white mobs easily no matter what AT you are you have serious game playing issues. Hell 4 of my attacks can one shot a white minion.
OVERPOWERED the definition: Overpowered is when an archtype can set a mission slider to full tilt and not blink an eye at the damage being delt to them or the effects of status effect powers such as mez, stun, sleeps, or holds. Overpowered is when a archtype can be a 5 or 10 man team unto themselves and not worry about aggro because the pets take that away from them. Overpowered is when a 46th level controller takes on 12 mobs all yellow cons to a 50th level blaster and doesnt even feel it while the 50th blaster dies numerous times to one yellow con mob. Overpowered is when a fire tanker can turn on one toggle and stand in a group of white cons and take them down without hitting another power (a rather popular way for fire tankers to PL themselves). Overpowered is when a SO is more effective for one archtype than it is for another (such as scrappers having a 500% dmg cap and blasters..the supposed dmg juggernauts have only a 400%..) Over powered is when defense buffs do more for a particular archtype because another archtype has no defenses to begin with.
Basically Overpowered takes the fun away from the game. Ever been a blaster grouped with an illusion controller and said to yourself.. why the heck am i doing anything wasting my endurance with the chance of getting aggro when the phantasms and phantom army will do all that for me? What it means is the Blaster has no role anymore because they can not stand up and do anything.
Statesman said that soloing should be a choice.. Blasters dont have that choice later on in the game, not without taking MASSIVE debt. reason: Blasters cant stand up to an attack... and they cant deal the dmg another archtype can do. Without dmg or defenses a blaster just comes along for the ride so to speak.
You want to know what overpowered is? Take a hard look at a fire tanker or an illusion controller sometime... and see what Overpowered truely is.
*Yawn* More argument by assertion.
You claim a lot of things are overpowered but never define what overpowered is or how the things detailed meet the qualification.
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Basically Overpowered takes the fun away from the game.
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Hint: Fun is subjective.
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You say the base line is 3 white mobs. I have yet to see a blaster at 30+ take 3 white mobs and not be wondering if they are going to fall and get debt (hence the nickname debt magnets).
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i wonder what kind of blaster you've been seeing.. i can take down a pack of red mins np(that's not using my nuke either)...
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Lets also look at the slider. Blasters for the most part have to keep their slider at soft shelled taco.. Tankers and scrappers however, keep theirs at Titanium gonna take on Galactus and the gods of Mount Olympus.
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i set my mission to invincible, i'm a fire/fire blaster. i suggest you do not stereotype too much, until you have a solid build of your own blaster first.
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You say the base line is 3 white mobs. I have yet to see a blaster at 30+ take 3 white mobs and not be wondering if they are going to fall and get debt (hence the nickname debt magnets).
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i wonder what kind of blaster you've been seeing.. i can take down a pack of red mins np(that's not using my nuke either)...
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Well then I guess according to Abysmal you're overpowered. 
Under construction
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You will be hard pressed to find a blaster that does not have a hard time after 30th level doing anything on their own.
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To be fair, my primary blaster is an Ele/Ele and does well on Invincible while solo. He's 43 at the time of this writing.
Electricity has been given the dishonor of being called the "weakest" blaster set, and from a raw damage standpoint I can nod my head in comfortable agreement on that.
However, with all of my attacks 6-slotted for 2 Acc & 4 Dam, I blow up orange cons easily enough. I typically run with Voltaic Sentinel out for the little bit of extra damage. When Thunderous Blast recycles, it's like payday.
If things get into melee range, I can either one-two neuter them with 6-slotted Short Circuit and Power Sink, and/or I can Lightning Clap, and/or I can Phase Shift. I didn't keep Tesla Cage as it would help against only one non-boss target at a time, and that's not what I needed.
The Concealment track keeps me safer when I feel like an endurance drain alpha against a bunch of minions and lieutenants. Sometimes I'll sneak up and Short Circuit + Thunderous Blast + CaB + Power Sink + Ball Lightning + Lightning Clap. That sequence, in that specific order, neutralizes pretty much everything except purples. Sometimes I don't even need to progress past the TB part.
My pool powers are Hover+Fly, Swift+Health+Stamina, Stealth+Invisibility+Phase Shift, and Body Armor. I used to have Hasten, and will probably pick it up again at 44 to increase my DPS by 40% and my defense by 5%.
My inspiration tray holds nothing but my strict diet of greens and blues, with one Break Free and one Awaken available just in case. If a yellow or red drops in, I almost always immediately use it before the next attack.
That's my build, and that's my level of effectiveness. I don't put out as much raw damage as a Fire blaster (who does?), but I can put it out consistently and in relative safety.
That being said, prior to level 22 I should have bought stock in the Awaken company. It may have just been a skill issue on my part, but daaaaang did I die a lot.
Why do you think I rolled up a Ill/Rad Controller... I wanted to see what it felt like to be a superhero instead of a superzero.
I'm running mission on Invincible that I sail through with no worries and no death that would have squished my blaster multiple times over. I can take a purple con boss who is +3 to me and not fear any reprisal damage and should I get hit by some I heal myself. I don't solo these missions, I have my own personal army wading through the spawns doing my work for me.
I want my blaster to feel this powerful but considering the post by Statesman that melee is staying in the secondaries and it's a "perception" Blasters have of being weak I figure we're totally screwed. Once my Blaster hits 50 I am deleting my lower level Blaster to make room for a more fun character that can be superheroic. I love blasting but right now there's no point to starting another as the set is in serious need of changes.
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i wonder what kind of blaster you've been seeing.. i can take down a pack of red mins np(that's not using my nuke either)...
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Well then I guess according to Abysmal you're overpowered.
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Never said they couldnt.. All i said was they worry more about falling to the mobs (especially if they are sleep hold stun or mez mobs, or if even one of em is.. or if they are extremely long range mobs such as crey snipers). A tanker or scrapper is not going to feel that dmg (remember ranged dmg is less than melee dmg and scrappers and tankers have a higher resist to all dmg types) so they are going to be able to close on those mobs. Also with protection from sleep and all that, they are going to close on those mobs. The blaster need worry about falling to 3 white con mobs because they cant take the dmg cant get the range and cant do the dmg.
Really that is were you use your brain. Kill the ones that sleep and mezz first (not all of them do).
Even then it takes quite a bit for white con minions to even take a blaster down.
I wonder what level your blaster is at the time of the writing and what power pool sets he has. A base blaster without taking power pool sets that make him a "Blapper" would be hard pressed to take a "group" of red cons to him or her at 30+... I play a 50th level blaster and i can tell you through experience that there is no contest when it comes to other archtypes.
The blaster, as stated in earlier posts, is fine pre 20th level. This is due to the fact that the dmg of mobs prior to that level is relatively low, the defenses of mobs is relatively low, and the chance of comming across a slepp ect type mob is extremely low. Also the range of these mobs at this level is comparable to the blaster range.. and yes a blaster can out dmg a ranged opponant at these levels because of this. Post 30th the game changes and the blaster must come real close to the high range mobs even with snipes to do much against them. As for the Nuke type powers.. if you dont take every one of the enemies down, you are screwed mainly because you have done a short stun to yourself and have no end left to run any toggles.. even if you have a toggle defense such as the force field ancillary.
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I wonder what level your blaster is at the time of the writing and what power pool sets he has. A base blaster without taking power pool sets that make him a "Blapper" would be hard pressed to take a "group" of red cons to him or her at 30+... I
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I suspect this was intended to be a reply to Omegaof9 and not me.
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Never said they couldnt.. All i said was they worry more about falling to the mobs (especially if they are sleep hold stun or mez mobs, or if even one of em is.. or if they are extremely long range mobs such as crey snipers). A tanker or scrapper is not going to feel that dmg (remember ranged dmg is less than melee dmg and scrappers and tankers have a higher resist to all dmg types) so they are going to be able to close on those mobs. Also with protection from sleep and all that, they are going to close on those mobs. The blaster need worry about falling to 3 white con mobs because they cant take the dmg cant get the range and cant do the dmg.
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As a blaster, my best defense is supposed to be my offense.
That's not really accurate.
My best defense is tactics, and I'm not talking about the pool power. I'm talking about aggro management. I'm talking about sniping mobs who have moved away from their buddies so as not to alert them. I'm talking about pulling around corners. I'm talking about concentrating fire rather than stacking AoEs. I'm talking about coordinating with your teammates before attacking.
I still die, but my kill ratio is outstanding. Debt is a rarity.
I also hang out with controllers whenever I can, because we need each other.
So, no, I wholly disagree with your "The blaster need worry about falling to 3 white con mobs because they cant take the dmg cant get the range and cant do the dmg" assertion.
If you honestly can't take down 3 white cons on your own, then I agree that you do have a problem. You are misinformed, misrepresenting, and/or unskilled.
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Never said they couldnt.. All i said was they worry more about falling to the mobs (especially if they are sleep hold stun or mez mobs, or if even one of em is.. or if they are extremely long range mobs such as crey snipers). A tanker or scrapper is not going to feel that dmg (remember ranged dmg is less than melee dmg and scrappers and tankers have a higher resist to all dmg types) so they are going to be able to close on those mobs. Also with protection from sleep and all that, they are going to close on those mobs. The blaster need worry about falling to 3 white con mobs because they cant take the dmg cant get the range and cant do the dmg.
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a blaster can't take dmg from 3 white cons? may i ask how you built your blaster?? it's true that in the 40s mobs have more status effects however don't you think you're exaggerating a bit??
3 white minions? My 50 can take 2 even level death mages and one of their lt's easily....I laugh at white minions....cept for puppies, they have been abused far too long and there is no reason to make them feel even worse by laughing in their faces.
Just to point some things out...
Scrappers have the ability to go to 500% cap... so what? Not many scrappers will actually use all 6 slots for damage. I mean, yeah, I do but most people use accuracy and end reduc also. With my lvl 50 Katana scrapper I can kill an orange minion in one shot with a 6 slot Golden Dragonfly + build up... while at the same time a lvl 50 fire blaster can do that same kill with four slots and a build up + blazing bolt. I would take a blaster's straight up damage any day because I miss about 50% of my attacks even though I brutalize mobs when they connect.
And take a stab at this thought, my Katana is also SR... the weakest resist type of any scrapper bar none. No resist to anything but holds, yes, I also have the highest defense but that is meaningless if I get hit... same idea as a blaster using melee I need to use my brain to kill things sometimes. If you're looking for brute force a blaster is definitely not for you. The smart player will take their squishy and run around using movement to keep himself alive. Any of the blaster attacks can be fired on the run cept a sniper shot. Ever try SSing past a mob and jumping with total focus? Odds are good you'll hit the guy so well he just dies or is stunned. I do the same thing with GD to make sure I stay alive.
You've also got to take a look at how often the scrapper actually connect their hits vs. the damage. IF a blaster can dish out 200 dmg per hit and hits 4/5 times that is still better than the scrapper that did 250 dmg with 3/5 accuracy. You also have Aim, which is a luxury scrappers do not. If you're going to look at the offensive juggernaut remember who has the greatest acc/dmg ratio. You're gonna hit more often, the shots don't have to be as heavy. Please keep in mind most blaster attacks have statuses attached to them to protect you.
Scrappers sometimes have to concentrate on other things in battle. For example, even though I'm an SR, I use provoke to save my groups from trouble so I keep busy, then I need to take down the bosses first to protect squishies. I have no time to think about attacks when my toggles fall or my elude drops all of my END. I lose a valuable 15 seconds to turn all of that back on while kicking up from laying on my back. All the while I've allowed you (the blaster) to plow the enemy ranks quick and easy. Now if you're dying as a blaster with a melee in your team then that is the fault of the melee. A good melee player will hold the aggro or at least cover you well enough that you don't have to worry.
This argument cannot be looked at from the standpoint of "Who does more damage?". The greater picture is that overall blasters over time will have the higher output than a scrapper. I swing harder and with less accuracy, you blast well enough with precision... it's a trade-off that when played with correctly can definitely make a team great. I can team with my blaster girlfriend all day and not need a healer because we both know how to utilize these power sets to their fullest. It's a live and learn system, I have a 50 in all the AT's so you can guess I've been around the block so to speak. Tried it all and true to my latest main, I love scrappers because of versatility, not damage output.