[ QUOTE ]
My point is that the vast majority of blasters will never reach that damage cap, let alone have any real reason to need to exceed it, so why make such a huge deal about it?
[/ QUOTE ]
You are honestly attempting to convince me that neither new or experienced players won't slot all damage in thier attacks? While on the surface this seems reasonable, player behaviour does not validate your conceptions.
New players will slot it and not know about the cap.
Experienced players will know all about slotting and slot 1 ACC / 5 Damage.
Under no conditions will the vast majority of players slot thier attacks any other way.
Range is inefficient. Testing will show players not to bother.
Endurance Reduction is ingored by new players. Experienced ones take Stamina.
So, yes, I do think that every player with a Blaster is hovering near 300% from enhancements alone.
Yes, I do believe that players will take Build-Up once it's available.
It's perfectly possible that 30+ percent of all Blasters can reach the cap all by themselves. Sorry, this is a real issue. 
[ QUOTE ]
The biggest problem here is that while blasters are supposed to have the damage top title, every AT's base attack is about the same. This makes it so that at higher levels, every AT can acheive the same damage potential.
[/ QUOTE ]
False. Base damage for Tanks is 80%, Base damage for Controllers and Defenders scales weirdly but is in the neighborhood of 66%.
Scrappers and Blasters are the only ATs that share 100% brawl damage, and only thier damage scales linearly.
[ QUOTE ]
Who's for Blaster Build-up getting 200%!
[/ QUOTE ]
Are you joking? This would be utterly useless. My Blaster's damage is self capped at level 22, and I don't see how buffing myself for an extra 4% is getting anywhere....it sounds like a really big buff, though! 
Currently playing:
Infaerna Who knew Fire/Fire Brutes were fun to play?
[ QUOTE ]
But, every villain and ther children outranging me has nothing to do with my slotting. I have (2) ranges in my Ice Blast. (2) Ranges in my Freeze Ray, etc.
[/ QUOTE ]
Unless you find range insanely useful, try slotting damage or endurance reduction instead. The range boost isn't helping you anyway, from what you've posted...
Just a thought.
Currently playing:
Infaerna Who knew Fire/Fire Brutes were fun to play?
[ QUOTE ]
First shot, theoretically at 400% damage cap, 1432.13
Second shot, theoretically at 400%, plus a 25% Rage inspiration, 1508.23.
[/ QUOTE ]
Strange. a 5% boost. So, either the "400%" calculation is wrong....or Rage only boosts base damage. Actually, if Rage only boosts base damage you're still seeing some kind of cap, since that 5% boost divided by 4 comes out to a 20% buff, not a 25%....weird.
I'll log in and experiment now...
Currently playing:
Infaerna Who knew Fire/Fire Brutes were fun to play?
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I'm still failing to see how this is such a common situation, please provide some exampels so I can better understand.
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Well, if "Common Situation" means a team with a Defender OR Controller and a Blaster with build up....er, I'd say....a LOT. Why, you don't see Denfenders or Controllers team with Blasters very much?
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Maybe I'm playing with the wrong people, but I've come across few that use Assault fully slotted anyhow.
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Apparently So! You're unaware that Assault can't be slotted....if only it could be
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Fortitude usually goes to the tank in a group.
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Playstyle thing. I always Fort the Blasters, they need both Damage, Accuracy and Defense way more then melee characters do.
[ QUOTE ]
Accelerate Metabolism and Siphon Power are minor buffs.
[/ QUOTE ]
As best as I can tell, exectly the same as Fortitude, 25% damage buff.
[ QUOTE ]
Honestly, you'd have to have a complete 8-man team made specifically to hit every single damage buff there is specifically focused on you to make it that great of a concern for 500% to be a significant figure.
[/ QUOTE ]
Cool. I've found the source of the evil! Ok, let's look at this another way. You're looking at the 500% number, I'm looking at the 400%.
Even 410% is a large amount of damage that would go undone. So even a small amount above the cap is signifigant.
500% may be too high, heck I'd be quite happy with 433%. We aren't getting that, though.
[ QUOTE ]
I'm still convinced that a cap change wouldn't affect even three quarters of the blaster builds out there.
[/ QUOTE ]
I could be convinced that the number is that low....maybe. So you consider 25% of the Blaster population not enough people to be concerned about? Hmm...
Currently playing:
Infaerna Who knew Fire/Fire Brutes were fun to play?
I think you're still taking me the wrong way. Is the blaster damage cap an issue? Sure, I'll concede we could all use as much damage as possible. But is it the single biggest punch that everyone should be touting as the solution to everything? No! All I want is people to start looking at more than damage cap, because damage cap is not the answer we're looking for. I'd really, really hate to see blasters get the reworking that we've been promised only to find that the solution was only a damage cap increase, when that's really only a small part of what we need.
Good point! Sure...what's the best solution to making the Blaster more viable...so far, there is 3 main ideas.
Status protection: The Devs have claimed that this is not happening.
More Defense: Would probably require power changes. Also, the Devs claim that Range is a defense, so it's not likely for more defenses to be added.
More Damage: Arrested Mobs don't attack. This is most likely, however, I'm of the opinion that the chances of a "110%" Brawl index is close to Nil.
The reason that people are mentioning the damage cap as a solution is that...
1. It's an easy change to code - caps have be fiddled with in the past.
2. The Devs are likely to do it if we ask for it.
Is there an improvement option that I'm missing? I imagine that increased range would actually be helpful, but there's a 100 yard targeting limit in the game, AFAIK, so that might not work out...
Currently playing:
Infaerna Who knew Fire/Fire Brutes were fun to play?
[ QUOTE ]
BTW, it seems that inspirations break the damage cap. Here's some figures for you.
Level 36 AR blaster
Weapon: Sniper Rifle, six-slotted 35++ DMG, plus Build-Up.
Target: Level 18 Tsoo minion (Crane Enforcer)
First shot, theoretically at 400% damage cap, 1432.13
Second shot, theoretically at 400%, plus a 25% Rage inspiration, 1508.23.
This experiment leads me to believe that this isn't capped where people say it is.
[/ QUOTE ]
Your level 36 and your enhancements are only level 35++. This means your not at you max potential. You would have to be using 37++ or equivilant to not see Rage make a difference. Your test is in error because your SO's are short by 2 levels.
Raising the damage cap is only one part of the solution. It won't solve the whole problem, only a small part of it, but an important and conceptually significant part in the eyes of many, even if its overall game effect would be minor.
The damage cap is a issue because raising it gives blasters more room to play with it. In the early game, the damage cap isn't an issue at all except in extreme and unlikely circumstances. When you do a Build Up, you see a huge difference, when you pop a Red Insperation, you get results, and when you do it all, for a breif while your a force to be reconned with. By about level 25 you've lost that room, it just doesn't work that way anymore, and you can start feeling the cap.
Just FYI:
Base (100%) + 6 SO's at Level +3 (230%) + Build UP (65%) + Aim (35%) + Assault (18.75%) + One Red Insperation (25% / 33% / 50%) = 473.75% to 498.75%
Just one more teammate buff and it can easily break 500%. We are only asking for 500% here, not the moon and the stars.
[ QUOTE ]
Good point! Sure...what's the best solution to making the Blaster more viable...so far, there is 3 main ideas.
Status protection: The Devs have claimed that this is not happening.
More Defense: Would probably require power changes. Also, the Devs claim that Range is a defense, so it's not likely for more defenses to be added.
More Damage: Arrested Mobs don't attack. This is most likely, however, I'm of the opinion that the chances of a "110%" Brawl index is close to Nil.
The reason that people are mentioning the damage cap as a solution is that...
1. It's an easy change to code - caps have be fiddled with in the past.
2. The Devs are likely to do it if we ask for it.
Is there an improvement option that I'm missing? I imagine that increased range would actually be helpful, but there's a 100 yard targeting limit in the game, AFAIK, so that might not work out...
[/ QUOTE ]
I think the ranged damage stuff would hold water if we we're able to either (A) delivery damage faster with higher attack rates, or (B) Got an increased damage cap. I haven't crunched any numbers...but wouldn't we need perma-buildup + fortitude to cap out at 500% without some sort of critical hit?
After seeing some Arena action, I'm here to say I've seen blasters (with fast responding attacks) obliterate entire teams. IMHO the damage is there, the range is there, BUT the speed at which *we* deliver it is not...
[ *we* refers to certain builds with activation / animation / rooting concerns. I've been posting on this the past few days regarding Fire/Fire...but I think Fire's got it good compared to a couple other sets. I think. 
]
My 2 infl...
[ QUOTE ]
You read me wrong there. I was already taking Build Up into account for the damage cap for every blaster (that uses all six slots for damage, again, not everyone has Tactics or Targetting Drone and generally uses at least one +ACC). Energy is the only set that has Boost Range. And as for Defender/Controller buffs, there are only those three: Fortitude, Accelerate Metabolism, and Siphon Power. So again, you're left with only six situations where the damage cap is breachable, most of which come at higher levels and half of which depend on having that def/troll in your team.
[/ QUOTE ]
Boost range does nothing to improve damage, using that as an argument for why should not get a higher damage cap is laughable at best.
Honestly, FixIt, very few posts on here have been demanding the damage cap be raised. It was the initial situation that prompted this outcry, but 90% of the posts have been geared towards better solutions to the Blaster problem. Improvements to the secondaries, better survivability, faster animation times, rooting problems, enemy range, enemy ranged damage, etc have all been the focus of the topics here.
The damage cap hasn't been the focus of the boards until yesterday when you made it so.
I agree. If I'm not going to ever be able to do more damage. Let me do max damage with less effort. That way I can see a use for those reduce animation time (for point blank snipes) or reduce end. (now I can roll from one fight to the next with, OMG, the rest of the team) or more acc (now I can even hit those elusive reds without them asking if I want to shine their shoes too) OR I can slot reduce recharge (issue for ranged elec not sure how much of an issue it is for other blaster builds) would make the game more fun for me anyway!
But, the damage cap is still insane.
"I thought my faceplants were clearing up my acne."
Um, I've always remembered Buildup as +100% and aim as 62.5%... I really don't know where you got that 65 and 35...
That's the reason its often recomended to ALTERNATE Aim and Buildup, rather than stack'em.
By the mid 20's, most self-respecting blasters are at ~266% or ~300% for devices. That means ~366 while buildup is on, or 362.5 while Aim is on for device users. That's right, with a single small-red-skittle blasters are already capping their damage, team or no team.
This is critical to understand since it makes everything we say about other builds coming too close, equating or in a few comparative choices surpassing our damage. Basically, what you're seeing in the mid 20s and above is us already at or negligibly-close-to the 400% cap mark.
The ONLY reason blasters are even remotely far-ahead damage-wise of everyone in the early game is that we have little else to slot, really. Other ATs are either concentrating on hold-duration or their defensive powers. That's why in the 30s, everyone suddenly catches up to us.
The *perception* that we do great damage is just an illusion brought on by the fact that while everyone's slowly slotting stuff for later, we're working on our attacks [they're all we have anyways]. Afterwards we work on, uh... well, more attacks mostly, and a small handful of utilitarian powers if we have'em... usually stealth. Everyone's topped out their defenses and starts working on dealing damage, to make the killing-in-safety faster. But damage soon starts lagging behind all that mitigation(for both sides, and in ALL its forms) and those defenses/resists suddenly become far far more valuable...
Keep all that in mind when you read all our suggestions, and how most of them don't involve upping our damage cap [or base]...
Here's a goofy idea.
What if Aim and Buildup were treated as linked attacks? In other words, they are a "type 2" attack whereas something like Power Bolt would be a "type 1". A "type 2" attack damages its target whenever the source of the power damages that same target with a "type 1" attack. The damage dealt by a "type 2" attack would be a set percentage of the damage of the linked attack.
To prevent rampant abuse of the system, only one "type2" damage source could be active, and would be the most recently activated.
5 dmg + Aim + BU (now) = 432% (capped 400%)
5 dmg + Aim + BU (proposed) = 266 + 100 = 366% (aim's bonus got overridden in damage, but its accuracy bonus is still there)
Here's where the magic happens.
A defender gives the blaster a 25% damage buff.
(now) 5 dmg + aim + BU = 432% + 25% = 457% (still capped at 400%)
(proposed) 5 dmg + BU = 366% + 25% (type 1 buffed) + 25% (type 2 buffed) = 416% damage
I am using buildup since its a 100% damage buff. The results if one can stack assault on top of it become even nastier, especially if one has multiple assaut leaders on a team.
Each individual power is capped at 400% damage bonus. However by allowing blaster-self buffs to be treated as "additional damage sources with damage variable and determined by the curent activated power" it allows a blaster to be a true offensive monstrosity on a team when buffed by others, and do precisely what the game manual says blasters are supposed to do compared to scrappers (overshadow them).
You know, I think I could live without any defenses outside of power pools based on that change alone? I can solo my missions at heroic at 41, even the annoying malta/knives of artemis missions. But right now with a higher damage cap and a same base damage modifier, and with range meaning not a lot (if anything), the "strong soloist" archetype derives a larger benefit from being buffed on a team than the more "team dependant" blaster.
[ QUOTE ]
The *perception* that we do great damage is just an illusion brought on by the fact that while everyone's slowly slotting stuff for later, we're working on our attacks
[/ QUOTE ] Let me refocus this thought. The "perception" is that you do a lot of damage and no one else does snot. The "illusion" is that blasters' comparative damage is supposed to be that much greater than everyoen else's. Blasters quickly feel like no one else should be able to hold a candle to them damage wise, a preception born from reality at low lvls. The question/problem is whether they should have ever experienced such a wide disparity to begin with.
Blasters still remain the damage kings. Until someone posts definitive, and I mean robust and comprehensive testing that shows blasters getting out damaged, my experience tells me that blasters still dominate raw ouput. I've done the Ernesto Hess TF three times. The one time we had one blaster, there is no question the mobs died faster. None. And that is without the blasters using Inferno.
The problem however, we still got the mission done extremely fast without a blaster. Not only that, but having done it with the blaster. I didn't for a minute feel like I needed one. I definitely wanted a tank, a (non-Ill)controller, a scrapper, and a defender.
A solution recommended by a friend is to signficantly increase everyone else's recharge times while upping their damage to compensate. Making it take longer for non-blasters to kill, should make b blasters more desirable.
Right now, we have so many attacks, combat is a lot of button mashing. If attacks took three times longer to recharge, it would force us to be more selective about when we used powers.
'Kay!
Weird, I have this sense of Deja-vu....oh well, ignoring it...
Let's check out 2 different Smashing/Lethal sets from the respective classes...
Assault Rifle:
Burst: 3*B
Slug: 4.5556*B
Buckshot: 2.5333*B (Cone)
M30 Grenade: 0.8333*B + 1.6667*B = 2.5 (AoE)
Sniper Rifle: 7.6667*B
Flamethrower: 5.3336 (Cone)
Ignite: 6.666 (AoE)
Full Auto: 10.8778*B (Cone)
Broadsword:
Hack: 4.5556*B
Slash: 2.7778*B
Slice: 3.4444*B (Cone)
Parry: 2.3333*B
Whirling Sword: 11.1112 (AoE)
Disembowel: 5.4444
Head Splitter: 7.2222
Hmm, Blasters get more cones and AoE's, check. However, if we're assuming that only 4 or so attacks will be fully slotted (very common), we're going to match up powers...
Full Auto vs. Whirling Sword = a wash.
Sniper vs. Head Splitter = a wash, assuming that a snipe power is part of an attack chain. That's not always the case..
Slug vs. Hack = a wash.
Blasters end up having 2 fairly damaging cone attacks the Scrapper doesn't.
The Scrapper can take care of his own Defense, and do close to Blaster damage.
I know who I would rather have on MY team...the Blaster. Because they need help and I'm nice.
A Min/Maxxer? Scrappers every time...
Currently playing:
Infaerna Who knew Fire/Fire Brutes were fun to play?
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The "illusion" is that blasters' comparative damage is supposed to be that much greater than everyoen else's. Blasters quickly feel like no one else should be able to hold a candle to them damage wise, a preception born from reality at low lvls. The question/problem is whether they should have ever experienced such a wide disparity to begin with.
[/ QUOTE ]
The "illusion" comes from the fact that Blasters have given up all forms of defense and damage mitigation with the exception of a few weak holds to be the "damage kings". If Blasters are not significantly outdamaging other ATs, then the sacrifice is completely null. Take away scrapper/tanker defenses, controller holds, and defender buff/debuffs and then I'll say Blasters shouldn't do more damage than other ATs.
[ QUOTE ]
A solution recommended by a friend is to signficantly increase everyone else's recharge times while upping their damage to compensate. Making it take longer for non-blasters to kill, should make b blasters more desirable.
[/ QUOTE ]
I can see the result of that immediately. A million cries of "I don't feel like a super hero anymore, I'm just standing around waiting to attack!" Frankly I wouldn't blame them (for once). Not doing anything isn't any fun. That's why holds suck so much.
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Um, I've always remembered Buildup as +100% and aim as 62.5%... I really don't know where you got that 65 and 35...
[/ QUOTE ]
I dug those numbers up a long time ago, and unfortunately can't find the source to quote from, but they always seemed valid and worked for me. If your right though, that means blasters are capable of pushing much further pasted the cap than I stated.
Ok...first off, I specifically said we're talking about late game, team situations. That automatically assumes at least a defender or controller.
Build up is in almost every secondary (4 of 5) and is a 100% damage buff. Aim is in almost every primary and provides a 65% damage buff. 5 slots of max level SO's alone will put you at around 300%. Boost Range is moot as that's what it does...boosts range...not damage.
So...already the average blaster is capable of nearly capping themself on their own.
Now, you add the team (which i specifically said we're talking about 
) buffs. Regardless of who normally gets these buffs now, we're talking about if blasters didn't already hit the cap:
Fortitude(empathy),Siphon Power, Fulcrum Shift(kinetics), Accelerate Metabolism, Mutation (radiation)(for when ya die...it's gonna happen) Assault(pool)
So..like I said earlier, that's nearly every def primay/con secondary. And I'm totally ignoring the red pills.
Now siphon power is a 25% buff from a defender, 20% from a controller Sure that's not huge....fulcrum shift however is that same amount for each mob hit by the AoE and a 50% defender/40% controller around the caster. that is MASSIVE on a team.
Now maybe you are playing with the wrong people, but personally, in the 40's the average sized team i was on was in the 5-8 range, and there was usually multiple defenders or controllers...and i am talking about pickup groups.
Would a cap change benefit blasters? yeah...even getting to 425% in a duo with a defender would be a great boon to damage output, IMO.
And you seem to be mixing your points about base damage across the ATs. Slotting has nothing to do with base damage. Blasters and scrappers simply do more damage than the other ATs. It's not about who slots what and when. Scrapper and Blaster attacks are just more powerful.
You're right about why blasters out damage scraps at low levels, but that's really not the point.
Furio--Lvl 50+3 Fire/Fire/Fire Blaster, Virtue
Megadeth--Lvl 50+3 Necro/DM/Soul MM, Virtue
Veriandros--Lvl 50+3 Crab Soldier, Virtue
"So come and get me! I'll be waiting for ye, with a whiff of the old brimstone. I'm a grim bloody fable, with an unhappy bloody end!" Demoman, TF2
Fact is that in the WORST CASE scenario, a character deals 60% of our damage. And even then, it seems controllers MIGTH be dealing equal-to or HIGHER damage than we can using their APPs.
This is rather serious, especially since that's just on actual damage, and not counting any of the buffs/debuffs/control/defenses/pet-armies that other AT's have all capped out.
Oh great, so we deal an average of 10% more damage, if we ignore the crits than most scrappers [BI is a tiny bit lower, but its mainly due to the lethal damage type scraps get]... Who are virtually immune to status-effects and can easily take 10x our damage.
Oh how wonderful, we get 20% better damage than tankers, who only die because their computer bogged down from having so many enemies taunted around'em that the toggles dropped because they'd autoed the wrong attack while gone to lunch.
Joy of joys, 33% better damage than defenders and controllers, well minus those little debuffs they can use (and all the buffs they can use defensive or otherwise), and that possibly-higher controller APP blasting damage, and the army of fire-imps or phantasms... Which they're dealing out while far safer [my best 'blaster' is currently a Dark/Dark].
Besides, you're better off doing melee damage with those nice defenses once things can outrange everyone; its no different for you while that whole 'ranged defense/advantage' falls apart for those that needed it in the first place...
I honestly dont see why we have a cap at all. what is it there for? All it does is hold us back from what we could do. Imaging packing 15 rages. AV? I dont see an AV? All is see is a burnt carcus on the floor. I just want to be invited to teams. when ever i am preparing for a task force i always hear: get a defender! we cant start without a tank! can you get an ill controller? I never hear [censored] WE NEED A BLASTER!!! All we do is kill people faster. Other ATs do the same thing without taking as much damage, its just that it takes about nine seconds longer. It kind of makes you wonder why blasters even exist...
~the poster formally known as GI_Shmo~
Champion- Always BS/WP Scrapper, Difficult Bots/Dark MM
Infin- Peace Pirate PB
Wayyyy too much thread to read all of it. But, as a scrapper (who also loves blasters I might add); I'd like to mention something...
I do think Blaster damage needs a boost. A *nice* boost, even above my own scrapper damage at the moment. The point of a "glass cannon" I believe is all or nothing attacks right? A blaster isn't hardly this at all though at the moment. Their damage is too low compared to their physical frailty. I think thats pretty obvious to everyone.
I *don't* think nerfing scrappers or tankers is an answer either. We started the game (especially us scrappers) on the bottom rung; and I do not want to go back to that. Scrapper is my favorite archetype because of what it is; so rather than focus on bringing us down, I have some *other* ideas for blasters as well.
More damage is definately something I think we need to see. Another suggestion I have... and I know this is out-of-theme to a degree, but, I think its worth putting out there. There is indeed *ALOT* of melee in the Blaster sets... I'm not saying that there shouldn't be any (Personally, I love the idea of occasionally mixing it up as a blaster, suits my robotic type characters fine, I take Tough for a reason). But; consider switching out a few of the least potent melee attacks for "shield" like abilities.
I'm thinking in the vein of perhaps dropping Energy Punches from the Energy Manipulation secondary, and switching it to something like Tough. Perhaps put in some version of Fire Shield into the Fire secondary. Electricity secondary I'm not sure about but *something* could be done.
Either that or give them their Epic pools sooner. I think the real answer lies in giving them a bit more defense. I know its out of the "glass cannon" concept, but it seems as though blasters won't be getting more damage anytime soon. Rather its looking like Scrappers and Tanks are going to get hacked back down to make blasters feel better. (Which *still* won't fix their problems I might add). Give Blasters help <o.O> not me more nerfness!
The fact is I've studied the damage outputs on my teams for the last few weeks. I'm HIGHLY disappointed by what I see.
Scrappers are dealing HEAVY damage to targets. Ok, they are scrappers right?
Tanks are dealing HEAVY damage to targets. Not alot on the attacks, but HUGE amounts on the alternates (Burn and the like).
Controllers deal moderate damage. Nothing amazing but decent. That is until you get to their alternate powers (Spectral Wounds, and so on), when the damage goes through the roof.
Defenders deal moderate damage. Nothing amazing but decent.
Blasters deal moderate damage. Pure and simple. We get no criticals. Buffs don't seem to do ALOT to help. And the "amazing triumvarate" of Build Up, Aim and Conserve Energy are all so short in duration and such a long recharge it's hardly worth taking them. I've taken my blaster, popped 9 (yes NINE) Focused Rage's, been under the effect of Leadership, and used Build Up, and that first shot (it hit MIRACULOUSLY) did LESS damage than the scrapper's Katana stroke, and he was unbuffed, at the same lvl I was.
Now let's be clear, I don't want a change to the scrappers. I think a change needs to be made to blasters.
Blaster-
Pros-
Range (no wait, many of the baddies out range you, and the others prefer to get up close so you're weak to them)
High Damage (hmmm, I'm really not seeing that whole "shooting a spitball at the blackboard from the back of the room and cracking the slate" thing the description goes into...)
Effects (knockback is a melee character's bane, end drain is good, ice holds are good, fire is ok)
Cons-
Frail
Endurance hogs
Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of blasters. I think they should be just as essentail in the game as every other AT. But right now, look at the team requirements.
Must have a tank.
Must have a scrapper or 2.
Must have a defender or 2.
Must have a controller or 2.
Might have a blaster. And that's only if there is an open spot.
MAKE BLASTERS THE EQUALS OF EVERY OTHER AT.
[ QUOTE ]
[BI is a tiny bit lower, but its mainly due to the lethal damage type scraps get]...
[/ QUOTE ] Let's try and be a little more accurate with this statement. Using the BI as any accurate indication of what goes on in battles can only be justified by a biased attempt to misrepresent the truth.
Every scrapper has either ALL smashing/lethal or in the two exceptions, part smashing part negative/toxic. Martial Arts, Katana, Broadsword, Claws use either smashting or lethal. S/L is THE most resisted damage type in the game. The BI fails to account for that. Nor does the BI account for the time it takes to chase down new opponents. Just so you can attack them. I can tell you that my scrapper has spent plenty of missions with blasters, running over to mob, only to get an invalid target cuz he's already been killed.
[ QUOTE ]
it seems controllers MIGTH be dealing equal-to or HIGHER damage than we can using their APPs.
[/ QUOTE ] APP's???? You're kidding right? These things are available at lvl 41? Can' slot them up until lvl 43. So you're saying the for the last 7 or so levels of the game, it's outrageous that some controllers, if they they choose the right powers, can equal blaster damage? I hardly find that a compelling argument.
I'll be the first to agree that once everyone can slot SO's, blasters become less and less needed. But let's not distort the truth. Blasters do plenty of damage relative the mobs. My blaster teamed with two controllers and I guarantee you that no scrapper could have taken them out as quickly as I did. But the truth is a Tank could have still taken out those same mobs with less risk, just a lot slower. It seems to me, the game has backed itself into a corner. If you make it so missions without a blaster are perceptually much much slower, it'll adversely affect many non-blaster AT's ability to solo.
How do you make me feel like having a blaster is nearly essential when I form a TF? Increasing your damage won't do it. I can already kill all the mobs quickly.
[ QUOTE ]
Thats where you're wrong. Build up is in almost every secondary (not just energy). Assault, while rarely taken by blasters, IS a common power among controllers and defenders, since they get a bigger buff from it.Almost every defender primary/controller secondary has some kind of teammate buff, (I think FF and Dark are the only ones that dont) You know...the teammates that supposedly want you on the team for your damage potential. Wasted potential, since they cant help most blasters damage-wise.
[/ QUOTE ]
You read me wrong there. I was already taking Build Up into account for the damage cap for every blaster (that uses all six slots for damage, again, not everyone has Tactics or Targetting Drone and generally uses at least one +ACC). Energy is the only set that has Boost Range. And as for Defender/Controller buffs, there are only those three: Fortitude, Accelerate Metabolism, and Siphon Power. So again, you're left with only six situations where the damage cap is breachable, most of which come at higher levels and half of which depend on having that def/troll in your team.
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We're talking about team situations here, by the way...late game team situations, specifically, where all of the weakness of blasters are most glaringly obvious. Finding oneself in a situation where you could very easily hit a 500% cap is not at all rare...it's nearly an every fight (in a team) occurance for 4 of the 5 blaster secondaries.
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I'm still failing to see how this is such a common situation, please provide some exampels so I can better understand. In a team with Assault you'd break the cap by maybe 30% (again assuming BU and 6 SOs). Maybe I'm playing with the wrong people, but I've come across few that use Assault fully slotted anyhow. Fortitude usually goes to the tank in a group. Accelerate Metabolism and Siphon Power are minor buffs. Honestly, you'd have to have a complete 8-man team made specifically to hit every single damage buff there is specifically focused on you to make it that great of a concern for 500% to be a significant figure.
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As far as the AT's base damage being the same...wrong again. Scrappers and blasters base is pretty much equal. Defenders do 33% less than blasters. Tanks do 20% less than scrappers. I'm not sure where controllers fall, but again, their base is less than blasters.
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Again you read me wrong. I said "nearly" the same. Scaling, we've done more damage historically because we slot further, sooner. But as soon as the fire tank gets Burn at 18, that's right out the window. Then you start getting the three enhacement slots in the 30s and the scrappers are as slotted as we are. So there's where the problem lies, not in the cap, but in the base.
I'm still convinced that a cap change wouldn't affect even three quarters of the blaster builds out there. It just seems that those that even know about it are building it up to be more than it is and disturbing those that don't know the hard numbers behind it and getting the community unnecessarily riled up about a phantom, when the real problem could use more attention.