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Scrappers should in no way even come close to Blaster damage output.
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Here's the thing: on average, they don't. Can a scrapper keep it up for awhile? Yeah, of course. Can a blaster do twice the damage in a quarter the time? Yep.
Oh, and mez protection:
1) My regen actually gets mezzed pretty regularly.
2) Play on a team? 5/8 of defenders and 5/7 of controllers can give you mez protection.
The whole point is that although a solo scrapper>a solo defender, a blaster teamed with a controller, tanker, or defender can do more than a scrapper in that situation. Like you say, your huge damage ability comes at a price. Just try to make up for your weaknesses.
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Uhm, other than when my Blasters use their nukes, I have never been able to do what my scrappers can do with team support.
With proper support, I tank for 8 man teams with my scrappers simply because the team doesn't have a tank. When my /DA Tanks for teams it is a rollercoaster ride but it is also something that at no time can my blasters can come close to immitating. The pace at which my scrapper agros and dispenses with mobs (key word is agro) far outstrips what my blaster can agro with team support.
The additional HP, mez protection, and self buffing toggles when added to what a team offers multiplys the amount of safety a scrapper has compared with a blaster. The same is true if you compare tanks to scrappers. The Tank is heads and tails better at surviving agro.
Add to this the ability of the scrapper to kill quickly and suddenly Ohm's point about scrappers not giving up much for their offense becomes clear. Compare Stalkers to scrappers for an even more interesting comparison.
I just want to make clear that there is a vast gulf between what a scrapper can handle with support and what a blaster can handle with support. It isn't even close.
I am not saying that a blaster cannot contribute to a team, I am just saying that scrapper defenses stacked with team defenses is not being given the credit that it is due.
I do want to make clear that most of my experience is with Spines/DA and Spines/Regen. I have kept my comments limited to scrapper surviveability due to certain arguements about how my Primary biases my judgement. Leaving the amount of damage a scrapper can put out, out of the discussion Scrappers should definately not be threatened by a blaster boost to either their ranged Primary or their supporting secondary sets. Blasters are not relatively equal to scrappers in the benefit they bring to the team in the upper levels.
Also, I have no idea how you get mezzed solo. In a team, it is even less of a worry unless I am a blaster.
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Scrappers should in no way even come close to Blaster damage output.
[/ QUOTE ]
Here's the thing: on average, they don't. Can a scrapper keep it up for awhile? Yeah, of course. Can a blaster do twice the damage in a quarter the time? Yep.
Oh, and mez protection:
1) My regen actually gets mezzed pretty regularly.
2) Play on a team? 5/8 of defenders and 5/7 of controllers can give you mez protection.
The whole point is that although a solo scrapper>a solo defender, a blaster teamed with a controller, tanker, or defender can do more than a scrapper in that situation. Like you say, your huge damage ability comes at a price. Just try to make up for your weaknesses.
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This argument has gone into semantics; what I believe needs to be done is a summary and a reiteration of main points.
- Blasters do not currently fill the role of a "ranged damage dealer" because they do not do an appreciable amount of reliable, sustained damage at range. To compete with - and outdamage - melee damage classes (Scrappers, mainly), we need to take melee attacks from our secondary. With this taken into consideration, most Blasters (Blappers?) do compete and usually out-do Scrappers slightly - not massively, slightly - in damage. If you compare the best sets to the best sets and the worst sets to the worst sets...
Then you compare what the melee classes have that the Blaster gave up for this slight advantage: defense. Blasters, when they do go into melee to compete damage-wise in the method they are supposed to, lose the one thing they have going for them in any sort of defensive manner: range. Not that range is all that useful, considering most enemies out-range us with their ranged attacks and our lack of defenses anyway still mean we faceplant... but we lose that to actually compete. Scrappers and Tankers... lose nothing.
The point up to argument, really, comes down to two disagreements: one side says that the additional damage is negligible to a point as to not make up for the lack of defense, and the other side claims that, no, the additional damage does make up for the defense - while usually claiming that the defenses really aren't that great.
Personally? I recognize three things.
- Scrapper defenses are nothing to be scoffed at. They're powerful in of their own right; claims that enemies mezz past them easily and that they don't really help out that much are ridiculous.
- Without going into blapping, which requires particular secondaries and builds, Blasters do not fulfill their role as well as they should. Some have AoEs, which give them a different role, but the sets that are not built for AoE cannot fill that role and often turn to...
- Blapping, the result of the whole mess, where Blasters have embraced their weakness - the lack of defense - and admitted that range means nothing to them in an attempt to actually fill that role. My point here? Blappers do fill the damage role, but in accordance to the "deal", they give up too much to do so.
What do Blasters want? To be held to the same level of scrutiny and balancing that the melee classes are - we want to actually get what we pay for by losing all sense of defense. Most Blasters disagree on how to do this, but a consensus can be found usually on one item, and one item alone: balance the secondaries.
We recognize we'll never get defenses; we don't want them, really. We want what we're supposed to have in their place.
We recognize we'll never get mez protection (well, most of us do). We don't really want that, either.
What we want is more of what we do, in more effective, efficient ways. We want to be able to stay at range and have a consistent attack chain without resorting to practically being in melee - which comes to calls for having all attacks have at least an 80' range to them. We want to have our control and buff/debuff style mitigation powers to be more useful - or be available, once again, at range. We, just like Defenders, want to have an inherent power that does not rely on making us go dangerously near death - especially since, as we've already covered, we have no defenses to keep us alive once we reach that point.
Really, we want to be able to do what we're told we should be able to do. Right now, we're not.
@Shenalia
Triumph: Ion Force (SG)
Victory: Evil Triumphs (VG)
Proud member of the Triumphant Defenders Coalition.
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Scrappers should in no way even come close to Blaster damage output.
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Here's the thing: on average, they don't. Can a scrapper keep it up for awhile? Yeah, of course. Can a blaster do twice the damage in a quarter the time? Yep.
Oh, and mez protection:
1) My regen actually gets mezzed pretty regularly.
[/ QUOTE ]
How? I mean, I'm mostly running my BS/Regen through the early 40s right now and I never, ever, get mezzed. Do you go around not running Integration or Reslieance?
Heroes
Dysmal
Lumynous
Sam Steele
Pluck
Wile
Slagheap
Pressure Wave
Rhiannon Bel
Verified
Stellaric
Syd Mallorn
Villains
Jotunheim Skald
Saer Maen
Jen Corbae
Illuminance
Venator Arawn
Taiga Dryad
Tarranos
[ QUOTE ]
Scrapper ranged attacks are slow, infrequent, and rare.
[/ QUOTE ]
Throw Spines, Focus, Shockwave, Torrent, Laser Beam Eyes
versus
Energy, Assault Rifle, Electricity, Sonic, Archery
Yeah, I'll take a large order of Scrapper to go with my team, thanks.
As repeatedly stated by numerous posters, "range = defense" is faulted logic. Not only can a Scrapper take the heat at range (check out a Spines or Claws with a couple ranged Epics), they can crit from range as well as throw out some fast, high damage attacks quickly. Try one of those sets I listed above for Blasters. The animation times leave a lot to be desired (especially when taking rooting into account). So the "rarely ranged Scrapper that sucks at it anyway" argument fizzles fairly quickly when a Spines/Regen/Body can deal out that kinda damage more safely than any Blaster from range with crits.
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... It's actually safer to close with mezzers in the hope that they melee you instead of mezzing you. If you're lucky you got some stat effects of your own...
[/ QUOTE ] This is a VERY good tactic that pisses tanks and scrappers off. It is a tactic that involves weighted risks but after thye hold me they are closing to H2H anyway. Better to be on the offensive.
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Scrappers should in no way even come close to Blaster damage output.
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Here's the thing: on average, they don't. Can a scrapper keep it up for awhile? Yeah, of course. Can a blaster do twice the damage in a quarter the time? Yep.
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Sustainable Damage > Burst Damage and until recently Scrappers had a damage level that capped out at 500% while Blasters were capped at 400%. When the devs finally got around to adjusting Blaster damage caps, they only set them equal to, not greater than Scrappers, an AT with a helluva lot more in the way of defensive capacity. And when they did it, they bumped Scrapper base damage.
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Oh, and mez protection:
1) My regen actually gets mezzed pretty regularly.
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Try it without any mez protection whatsoever. Something the devs refuse to even entertain giving to Blasters. See, that's the ****** in all this. They're insisting on holding Blasters to "the deal" while not insisting Scrappers be held to it as well.
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2) Play on a team? 5/8 of defenders and 5/7 of controllers can give you mez protection.
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I do team, but you cannot expect to have anyone around that can give you mez protection on every team. And here again, how is a Scrapper in anyway lacking with a team the way a Blaster is without one? The truth is, they're not. If anything, a team amplifies Scrapper attributes and as was the common b!tch for so long Scrappers are a hell of a lot less high maintainance than Blasters are. Why bother inviting a Blaster, and they're downside, when you can invite a Scrapper and not have to worry?
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Like you say, your huge damage ability comes at a price. Just try to make up for your weaknesses.
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Here's the thing, I don't have a problem with "the deal". I don't have a problem with riding into battle wearing nothing but a thin layer of gasoline-soaked tissuepaper for protection. I enjoy it, and not everyone can do it. If you want higher offensive capacity, you must sacrifice defensive capacity. If you want higher defensive capacity, you must sacrifice offensive capacity. That's "the deal". Unfortunately, the devs have a scattered approach to how this is applied.
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Here's the thing, I don't have a problem with "the deal". I don't have a problem with riding into battle wearing nothing but a thin layer of gasoline-soaked tissuepaper for protection. I enjoy it, and not everyone can do it. If you want higher offensive capacity, you must sacrifice defensive capacity. If you want higher defensive capacity, you must sacrifice offensive capacity. That's "the deal". Unfortunately, the devs have a scattered approach to how this is applied.
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You're cutting and pasting phrases from old arguments about a game that no longer exists. You're refusing to take the protection that a team can offer, then claiming that your self-martyrdom entitles you (and all the less-stupid people in your AT) to some tremendous benefit. You're arguing about something [Scrapper defenses] that you don't know and won't learn about.
Honestly, do you even THINK about what you're typing anymore?
Mini-guides: Force Field Defenders, Blasters, Market Self-Defense, Frankenslotting.
So you think you're a hero, huh.
@Boltcutter in game.
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As for defiance Vs critical hits... I'll trade any day.
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I'd bet.
Invuln: Dull Pain
Regen: Reconstruction
DA: Dark Regeneration
Give most of the Blaster secondaries a non-interruptable heal and they'd likely find Defiance better than criticals, too.
Edit: Actually, not a half bad idea, that. Would create some nice synergy with Defiance.
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Oh, and mez protection:
1) My regen actually gets mezzed pretty regularly.
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IIRC, Regen has mez RESIST not mez Defense, which greatly shortens the amount of time you spend mezzed. If that's accurate, I can see where a regen might spend time mezzed.
But it's still not comparable to a Blaster's plight, even before you note the difference in survivability between a mezzed regen (with a ton of auto and durational clicks protecting him) and a mezzed Blaster (whose protections are almost entirely toggles or instant clicks like controls and aid self). The Blaster gets the full brunt of the me. Factoring defense in, he's going to likely be dead before it lifts of its own accord, and often, before a teammate can realize he's mezzed and cure him.
(What I wouldn't pay for an icon in the team window that showed a teammate was mezzed. My Blaster wants that even more than my Defender and Controller do.)
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2) Play on a team? 5/8 of defenders and 5/7 of controllers can give you mez protection.
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The devs have said that the mez powers are timered to make it hard to use them preventatively and instead use them reactively. While we can pretend that mez protection is available via teammates, its much more likely to manifest as mez-reaction: Blaster is mezzed, Defender/Controller notices and casts his mez fixer.
That lowers the offensive output of Blasters as related to Scrappers since they spend parts of the combat typing "zzzzzzzzzzzz" instead of actually using their offense. Not to mention the time they take away from the Defender or Controller extricating them (or preventatively buffing them) that can be spent on improving team performance (+dmg buffs, -res debuffs, +rech buffs, etc.) when teamed with a Scrapper.
I'm one of the rare people who thinks the devs position on squishies getting almost no access to mez protection makes sense. But let's not pretend that the kinds of mez protection that squishies can get from teammates are in any way comparable to what melee-ers have inherently. It's a huge factor in the actual damage output of the two ATs, and it's almost never noted in scrapper/blaster comparisons, or at best as a footnote.
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You're refusing to take the protection that a team can offer, then claiming that your self-martyrdom entitles you (and all the less-stupid people in your AT) to some tremendous benefit.
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Refusing to take the protection teams offer? Huh? Where the hell are you even getting that? I solo. I team. Do I take advantage of the support a team gives me while offering them the support I bring? Hell yes. This isn't about Blasters on teams. I'm dealing with a point someone is trying to make that the disparity of Blaster v Scrapper defensive capacity doesn't matter because of teams. My point is that what Scrappers have solo, they also have on teams. Furthermore, Scrappers' lack of fragility coupled with their offensive capacity makes them far more desireable for team invites than Blasters. I5 was supposed to address this problem. Instead, the AT was given Defiance. This damn sure isn't about a game that doesn't exist anymore.
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You're arguing about something [Scrapper defenses] that you don't know and won't learn about.
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Really? Is Scrapper defensive capacity noticably higher than that of Blasters or not? Is Blaster offensive capacity as noticably higher than that of Scrappers?
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IIRC, Regen has mez RESIST not mez Defense, which greatly shortens the amount of time you spend mezzed. It's not comparable to a Blaster's plight, even before you note the difference in survivability between a mezzed regen (with a ton of auto and durational clicks protecting him) and a mezzed Blaster (whose protections are almost entirely toggles or instant clicks like controls and aid self).
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Nope. Integration is 6 mags of mezproofing [used to be 15] along with 400-600% healing. If they've got a "durational" it's either Instant Healing [which is as good as they say] or Moment of Glory [I don't know how good it is, personally]. Without a "durational" they've got about triple-strength Health and a little bit of mez resistance keeping them alive. And we know how Health saves your life when you're getting hammered by red-cons.
I personally consider Regen scrappers like canaries in a coal mine. They'll jump into the middle of anything, and if they faceplant I start taking purples and paying attention.
Mini-guides: Force Field Defenders, Blasters, Market Self-Defense, Frankenslotting.
So you think you're a hero, huh.
@Boltcutter in game.
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IIRC, Regen has mez RESIST not mez Defense, which greatly shortens the amount of time you spend mezzed. It's not comparable to a Blaster's plight, even before you note the difference in survivability between a mezzed regen (with a ton of auto and durational clicks protecting him) and a mezzed Blaster (whose protections are almost entirely toggles or instant clicks like controls and aid self).
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Nope. Integration is 6 mags of mezproofing [used to be 15] along with 400-600% healing. If they've got a "durational" it's either Instant Healing [which is as good as they say] or Moment of Glory [I don't know how good it is, personally]. Without a "durational" they've got about triple-strength Health and a little bit of mez resistance keeping them alive. And we know how Health saves your life when you're getting hammered by red-cons.
I personally consider Regen scrappers like canaries in a coal mine. They'll jump into the middle of anything, and if they faceplant I start taking purples and paying attention.
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FYI: Integration starts at -6 MAG mez PROTECTION and RESIST and ends out at -9 MAG at level 45. It used to be -9 and -12 and before that -15 from 16 on.
The Regeneration buff is 150% with only 100% enhanceable. Three slotted for healing that's a buff of 245%. Six-slotted for heals it's 260%.
The City of Heroes Community is a special one and I will always look fondly on my times arguing, discussing and playing with you all. Thanks and thanks to the developers for a special experience.
[ QUOTE ]
But it's still not comparable to a Blaster's plight, even before you note the difference in survivability between a mezzed regen (with a ton of auto and durational clicks protecting him) and a mezzed Blaster (whose protections are almost entirely toggles or instant clicks like controls and aid self).
[/ QUOTE ]
I don't know that I would call two durational clicks a ton. Especially when one is the gimpy MoG. As for autos, again you're only talking two. A regen with Fast Healing and Health three slotted is looking at a 224% Regen buff. Which restores 56% of your HP in a minute. Not bad, but not that demonstrably better.
As for the clicks, Instant Healing is uber when it's up. That's why it's not allowed to be up very long. Ironically, IH was buffed for PvP when they nerfed it for PvE. As for MoG, it's darn near impossible to mez someone with MoG and Integration running, but not impossible. Even then mezzes don't last long at all.
Only problem is that many AT can near insta-kill a Regen in MoG.
The City of Heroes Community is a special one and I will always look fondly on my times arguing, discussing and playing with you all. Thanks and thanks to the developers for a special experience.
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FYI: Integration starts at -6 MAG mez PROTECTION and RESIST and ends out at -9 MAG at level 45. It used to be -9 and -12 and before that -15 from 16 on.
The Regeneration buff is 150% with only 100% enhanceable. Three slotted for healing that's a buff of 245%. Six-slotted for heals it's 260%.
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Thank you both for the clarification.
So it would be fair to say that it's a mixed protection/resist power with less protection than most other melee-ers have?
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Give most of the Blaster secondaries a non-interruptable heal and they'd likely find Defiance better than criticals, too.
Edit: Actually, not a half bad idea, that. Would create some nice synergy with Defiance.
[/ QUOTE ]
Was running a Dark/Dark Corruptor in a themed VG a few weeks ago. Things went south and the team, save for my Dark/Dark, faceplanted. As I stood my ground taking out the remains of three packs of Longbow I jokingly came to the sad realization that there was no way in hell they were going to give Blasters a reliable (and non-hinky) self-heal. That isn't to say I wouldn't want a self heal. I mean, there's a reason why I manage to work Medicine into all of my Blaster builds.
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FYI: Integration starts at -6 MAG mez PROTECTION and RESIST and ends out at -9 MAG at level 45. It used to be -9 and -12 and before that -15 from 16 on.
The Regeneration buff is 150% with only 100% enhanceable. Three slotted for healing that's a buff of 245%. Six-slotted for heals it's 260%.
[/ QUOTE ]
Thank you both for the clarification.
So it would be fair to say that it's a mixed protection/resist power with less protection than most other melee-ers have?
[/ QUOTE ]
No. Integration, Practiced Brawler and Unyielding for Scrappers, Stalkers and Brutes have identical mez protections. Hold, Sleep, Immobilize, Disorient and Knockback.
Unyielding for Tankers is slightly better, of course.
The City of Heroes Community is a special one and I will always look fondly on my times arguing, discussing and playing with you all. Thanks and thanks to the developers for a special experience.
[ QUOTE ]
That lowers the offensive output of Blasters as related to Scrappers since they spend parts of the combat typing "zzzzzzzzzzzz" instead of actually using their offense.
[/ QUOTE ]
On all of my Blasters have have numpad0 set up with a "Mezzed!" tell-bind. Saves time.
On the topic of this necro post. I wrote a while ago, how MMO wizards (Blasters here) get shafted. The reason they get shafted is because it's not possible to give this AT all the versatility that existed in Dungeons and Dragons. There mages could do a lot of things which justified the low armor and HP.
Here Blasters are crippled by the singular focus and role. Ice Blasters do so well because they have a utility, control, that most other blasters lack. */Energy does well in PvP and PvE for much the same reason.
Blasters should not do much more damage than Scrappers. All that does is make Scrapper irrelevant. Blastes should have had control as their secondaries instead of these stupid melee based things.
If I were redesigning the Scrapper secondaries, I would get rid of most of the melee attacks. Blasters should all have single target and AoE immobilizes. They should all have a single target hold. And they should all have aggro (hate) reducers. All PBAoE blasts should be removed. Everything should be ranged. The remaining 5 powers in each secondary could be the flavor. But certain basics would be maintained.
The City of Heroes Community is a special one and I will always look fondly on my times arguing, discussing and playing with you all. Thanks and thanks to the developers for a special experience.
I think we can all agree that Blaster Secondaries have horrible built-in gimpiness.
[I saw a lowbie with Lightning Field on the other day. It made me want to cry.]
Mini-guides: Force Field Defenders, Blasters, Market Self-Defense, Frankenslotting.
So you think you're a hero, huh.
@Boltcutter in game.
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On the topic of this necro post. I wrote a while ago, how MMO wizards (Blasters here) get shafted. The reason they get shafted is because it's not possible to give this AT all the versatility that existed in Dungeons and Dragons. There mages could do a lot of things which justified the low armor and HP.
Here Blasters are crippled by the singular focus and role. Ice Blasters do so well because they have a utility, control, that most other blasters lack. */Energy does well in PvP and PvE for much the same reason.
[/ QUOTE ]
Absolutely correct if you wanted to make a comparison to D&D. I would rather compare compare the game to Deadlands but that doesn't really matter.
What blasters should have had was a way of manipulating the battle at range with either damage or some kind of status effect. That is how they should have been designed for PvE.
The problem is that this can become too powerfull in PvP. The most that blasters can hope for is the ability to deal more damage at range. That is about it. If anyone thinks the developers are thinking about PvE balance, they are fooling themselves. Everything is being judged by two standards, good for PvE and good for PvP, with PvP taking priority.
I would love for some of the status abilities in the secondary sets to be ranged rather than PbAoE or Aura toggles. It won't happen though since it would allow blasters to kill squishies with almost no problem and that is something the developers don't want.
[ QUOTE ]
I would love for some of the status abilities in the secondary sets to be ranged rather than PbAoE or Aura toggles. It won't happen though since it would allow blasters to kill squishies with almost no problem and that is something the developers don't want.
[/ QUOTE ]
That's true. I've always been with you that the devs need to give Blasters the range that is supposed to be their advantage.
The City of Heroes Community is a special one and I will always look fondly on my times arguing, discussing and playing with you all. Thanks and thanks to the developers for a special experience.
[ QUOTE ]
Blasters should not do much more damage than Scrappers. All that does is make Scrapper irrelevant. Blastes should have had control as their secondaries instead of these stupid melee based things.
[/ QUOTE ]Scrappers are irrelevant. 
No, Scrappers are more flexible than blasters. They can contribute equally well both teamed and solo. I don't want my blaster's secondary to be control focused. I do have a lot of soft control (Ice Slick, Shiver, etc.) but I don't need to be a controller.
[ QUOTE ]
Blasters should not do much more damage than Scrappers. All that does is make Scrapper irrelevant. Blastes should have had control as their secondaries instead of these stupid melee based things.
If I were redesigning the Scrapper secondaries, I would get rid of most of the melee attacks.
[/ QUOTE ]
My blapper wishes to register a complaint. I see nothing wrong with the melee attacks other than that's the only kind of damage we see in the secondaries. I'd like to see a mix of melee and range there, even if it costs me a melee attack or two.
But being able to significantly improve my DPS and DPE by closing to melee is a very good thing, and the melee attacks pull that off rather well. I can think of some alternative implementations that might have done the same thing even better, but you can pry my magnified point blank damage out of my cold-dead hands (won't have to wait long either).
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Blasters should all have single target and AoE immobilizes.
[/ QUOTE ]
/Agree - ST immob to start. AE immobs around the 5th power slot.
[ QUOTE ]
They should all have a single target hold.
[/ QUOTE ]
/Disagree
Ranged ST sleep, fear, slow - but not hold or disorient
[ QUOTE ]
And they should all have aggro (hate) reducers.
[/ QUOTE ]
This would be nice. Well worth losing one of the lackluster powers for.
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All PBAoE blasts should be removed.
[/ QUOTE ]
I disagree. I like that there can be a price to pay for closing to melee on a Blaster. I think one is quite sufficient, however, and would like to see Blasters get an enemy targeted damage aura (like an EF that does damage) in place of some of their PBAEs.
[ QUOTE ]
Everything should be ranged.
[/ QUOTE ]
Again, I disagree. The control powers that let me fortify my position (PBAE toggle controls, powers like caltrops, etc.) do a great job of protecting my blaster without invading the role of a controller in any significant way. The melee ranged AE controls are fabulous "Oh Crap" powers. The ST controls attached to strong melee powers are another way to make closing to melee with a Blaster as dangerous for the closer as the Blaster.
It's powers like Devices:Taser and Ice:Freezing Touch that I take issue with. No damage. Useless as an "Oh Crap" power. No position fortification. Just a ST melee version of a power that only does a Blaster any good if it's ranged.
One thing I would like to see is more stackability in the secondaries. The Ice Secondary is such a hodge-podge of controls that it's hard to build mag on anyone. Energy's stacking disorients is much better, even though it's less overall control.
Blaster primaries and secondaries aren't as clearcut as ther other ATs. While Scrappers have Offense/Defense and Tankers have Defense/Offense and Defenders have Buff-Debuff/Offense, Blasters are Offense/Offense. Contrary to their titles. Primaries have, for the most part, ranged attacks. But they also have melee-ranged and control "support" powers. But for the most part, it's about offensive capacity. The same goes for secondaries. There are melee-ranged and support powers here as well, but for the most part, secondaries are about offensive capacity. Should the secondaries be reexamined? Heck yes. So should the primaries.
Should Blasters have their melee attacks removed. Hell no. Just because you can't take a punch is no reason to not be able to clobber someone in the face. If anything, it's a bigger rush doing it when you can't take a punch. Seeing as how many powers still require you to close to melee-range, and seeing as how staying at range isn't all that safe to begin with, chopping out the melee attacks would do more harm than good. About the only people that would help would be the folks that insist on refering to Scrappers and Tankers (and Stalkers and Brutes) as "melee classes".
yeah. my regen scrapper NEVER get's mezzed. of course he's a lowbie.
As for my Invul scrapper I can pop unstoppable.... and wear unyielding... most Av's can't mez me then. It takes stacked mezzes from Malaise to even come close. that's AFTER the recent nerf. My blasters carry break frees into every mission or they simply die. Dosen't matter how much damage out put.... by the late game if a mezzer survives your alpha strike and you are at RANGE.... you either have a break-free or you're [censored] dead. It's actually safer to close with mezzers in the hope that they melee you instead of mezzing you. If you're lucky you got some stat effects of your own......
Melee types? I got 3 scrappers and a brute. turn on toggles... kill [censored] dead. carry inspires "just in case" not BECAUSE YOU'D BETTER. In fact blasters are the most vulnerable class in the game. They should out-damage every thing. And like Ohms said... it shouldn't even be [censored] close.
And i can hardly see how a blaster-defender team would fare any better than a scrapper/* team. Scrappers are simply a better investment for buffs. they already have defense, can't be shut down by simple mezzes have way more hit points and higher defense caps. They have the same damage caps, greater base damage and criticals. If I were a defender I know who' I'd fortify.... the freaking tank. The blaster would be in the back hoping for an occasional heal. As for overcoming weakenesses we do that all the damned time. All were asking is for low damaging sets to be brought up. AR-Elec_Archery...... they're [censored] sub-par especially with the risk that comes with using them. Claws is getting buffed and it's used by a class with defenses that are magnitudes higher than anything a blaster can manage.... Is that fair?
[censored] no.