Float like a butterfly, sting like a blapper

So, you like to get in close and unload eh? Attacking from a distance gets a little boring from time to time. Blasters were given melee attacks, so there must be some use to them right? Going toe-to-toe with lieutenants or bosses can be very dangerous for blasters, especially if said villains use stunning attacks. But blapping can actually be a successful strategy, if done with extreme caution and equal finesse.

Well, that may not be entirely true across the board. I can only vouch for energy manipulation attacks. Most of the safety I get when blapping comes from stunning my opponents. The extra burn from fire isn't worth the extra danger. The slowing effects of ice won't slow your enemies quickly enough. The draining effects of electricity could help shut your enemies down, but since ED I don't think this strategy is very effective on NPC enemies, since they generally don't use much end anyway. So, if you plan on blapping, take the energy secondary.

To make a blapper, keep these things in mind: damage, defense, and mobility. You must plan on putting out enough damage to destroy your target. If this is a boss, wait for some teammates to whittle it down. The last thing you want is a melee attack landing on you. Your melee attacks are stronger than your ranged attacks; so are theirs. Defense isn't as available as we blasters would like. Tough is a joke, Weave is too costly, CJ is too minimal, Stealth is suppressed, etc. But one thing hasn't been nerfed yet, and that's status effect resistance. Acrobatics is a wonderful power, because holds are far more common than you'd think, and knockback far more detrimental than it seems (Acrobatics is wonderful even if you're not a blapper; most holds are ranged and can't be avoided by not blapping). Do whatever you can to take it. CJ is also nice to keep you mobile. Teleport can get you out of tough situations, when those immobs just keep on coming. Mobility is incredibly important to keep you alive, because you will find yourself in over your head, and you will need to run. But mobility is about more than running, its about dodging, sort of.

What's this about dodging? If you fly in and out of melee range, you can launch a melee attack and by the time it hits (or misses) you'll be out of melee range. A clever combination of CJ and Hurdle will make your jumps VERY fast (slot Hurdle and see what happens). This will give you the speed to get in, get out, and then hit your opponent. Keep yourself off the ground and you won't be rooted by your attack animations. It's something that takes practice to get it right. This is especially handy with total focus, because standing in front of a boss for threeish seconds can get you killed.

Here are the core powers necessary to float like a butterfly and sting like a blapper.
Power Thrust (no choice anyway)
Energy Punch (why skip it, it's soooo fast)
Bone Smasher (Not that slow, very damaging)
Total Focus (For the real damage)
Combat Jumping (For the floating)
Acrobatics (To not stop floating)
Hurdle (For the floating)

I guess I'm running out of things to say, but I'd like to say Power Thrust is the bomb. Many bosses can be knocked off their feet, and if you're lucky you can launch three attacks before your opponent is back up, maybe even four. Chain an attack to follow the thrust, and it might go off before your opponent flies back. Some bosses have notably slow stand-up times. Generally the bigger ones ... but sometimes they don't fall back.

I thought I'd have more to say. Oh well. Questions? Comments?

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Good stuff & thanks, started a Blapper...but haven't been sure what power pools to take for defensive abilities.

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"Forum PvP doesn't give drops. Just so all of you who participated in this thread are aware." -Mod08-
"when a stalker goes blue side, assassination strike should be renamed "bunny hugs", and a rainbow should fly out" -Harbinger-

thx, but i already made an ice blaster and i'm too far along to do anything

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thx, but i already made an ice blaster and i'm too far along to do anything

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Welcome to COH, home of Altitis. If you don't understand, you soon will...

Nice Review of Blapping, by the way.

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