There are two things about electric blast. First, it seems to recharge a bit slower, do less damage, underperform etc. Second, it is the BEST defender blast for endurance drain especially coupling that with transfusion and transference. It is more than barely scraping by, it's quite workable. From my opinion which might not matter. Electric blast is best for my in-your-face style of kinetic attack.
To your first point, I am glad you noticed, a lot of people overlook, the -damage that you get from siphon power and fulcrum shift, along with the general recharge reduction from siphon speed, which indirectly debuffs damage. This point shouldn't make a difference in your selection between electric and dark blast though, since it's there for both.
The deal I have with /dark is that the kin needs to dart in and out of what I call 'kinetic range' (not quite as close as melee) to maximize cones for dark, or rad or sonic for that matter. As a counter-argument, I LOVE the ranged nuke on the electric blast.
Finally, I like Aim in electric blast for when transfusion just HAS to hit.
Triumphant Defenders Forever
Psylenz FF/Psi, ArticQuark Storm/Rad, Symon BarSisyphus Bots/psn, Max VanSydow Thugs/Dk, Cyclone Symon Bots/stm, Blue Loki Ice/Cd, Widow 46526
HelinCarnate:OMG it is so terrible. I have the option to take 3 more powers but no additional slots. Boo F'ing hoo.
well my idea for this toon was to be mostly in melee ( or i guess kinetic range) and the sapp from elec and - to hit from dark would both be equally helpful. however, just from my experience on my elec blaster, his damage was never where i wanted it to be and i had a feeling that the defender counterpart was no different. Also from what i've heard a /dark defender can be pretty damaging. but idk :/
EDIT: i had also debated about going /ice but i wanted something new and ive done ice far too many times
Positron's i13 letter: We are trying to make PvP more accessible to new players, while giving experienced PvP'ers the advantage that comes with formulating tactics around the new systems we're putting in place. PvP from now on will be on our priority list. If something isn't working out, we'll be in there tweaking it and making it work, for the entire future of the product, not just Issue 13.
My favorites for kinetics are radiation and electric. Radiation, especially with irradiate's heavy -def help the kinetic targeted attack hit. It's a support set for the kinetic primary.
Electric, however, is complimentary. Endurance drain is all or nothing: kinetics puts electric's drain in the "all" category. Transfusion does an endurance drain, useful for helping your health as your attacks sap energy. Transference saps quite a bit of energy, but does nothing to keep it from coming back...short circuit's -recovery does more than enough of this. Electric has a tough time getting a good attack chain, but that's no problem with kinetics, with its +rech and extra clickey powers. (Siphon power and transfusion come back pretty quick, so you can throw those between blasts. The extra hold from electric is also nice against tricky foes, giving just a touch of mitigation to the purely reactive/proactive kinetics. All the +damage keeps electric's lower damage more than respectable.
Did I mention short circuit? This is a thing of beauty with kinetics...fully loaded with end mods with defender level -end values, this is a monster. In the katie hannon task force, short circuit and transfusion kept the witch gasping helplessly. With another kin/elec, a quick mission in DA ended up a fight against a helpless Adamastor, who didn't have the energy to wheeze.
My two bits.
I made my Kin/Elec with the intent to be the ultimate Endurance Drainer -- but he was made back in the days when Endurance Drain was more effective than today. One shot of Short Circuit used to drain most of the blue bar, but not any more.
Draining Single targets is easy . . . Transference to drain them, Short Circuit to keep them drained. The hard part is AoE end drain. I'm able to accomplish it in one shot, not quite as often as I would like, by firing off Power Build Up before Short Circuit or Thunderous Blast.
One of the main reasons Elec Blast is lacking damage is the lack of a third, more powerful blast. Instead, we get Sparky, who fires off ten Charged Bolts. A lot of folks hate Sparky and skip him -- I like the "set it and forget it" nature of a short-lived pet. He does enough damage to make it worth while in my opinion.
On my Kin/Elec, I actually took the Snipe to add to his damage. If a foe is drained and unable to attack, I have enough time to fire off my snipe before having to drain him again.
Does the damage buff from Fulcrum Shift make up for Electric's lack of damage? Some, but not entirely. But there are some other benefits. Having a hold (Tesla Cage) is wonderful for a Kinetics defender -- you get your own battery who sits there doing the "zappy dance."
(My Kin/Elec is an Egyptian-themed character named "Sultan Battery." Say it out loud.)
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
Kin/Elec is a great combo, IME. Short Circuit + Transference and bosses are rendered impotent. Fulcrum + SC + BL is nice AoE damage. Elec lacks a tier 3, but so does Dark, so that is a wash. Elec has Aim and VS. IF you can remember to use VS, it is very helpful. If summoning the damn thing every minute is too annoying, it is much less helpful. That is a playstyle thing only you can figure out, but even without Sparky, Electric works well (My Kin/Elec does not have VS, but my Emp/Elec does, I have not taken it yet on my Elec/Fire blaster, haven't made up my mind yet if I will). The lack of a tier 3 blast is mostly made up by using Tesla cage early in order to eliminate the most dangerous foe before you even start to fight.
Thunderous Blast is a great nuke. Its best advantage is totally removed on a Kin though, because you will want to get into melee for FS first. 
Pop a blue and then transference right after though is nice.
My Kin/Dark is lvl 18. My Kin/Elec is 50. I really like /Elec for defenders.
Why Blasters? Empathy Sucks.
So, you want to be Mental?
What the hell? Let's buff defenders.
Tactics are for those who do not have a big enough hammer. Wisdom is knowing how big your hammer is.
I actually wrote up a small guide about Kinetics/Electric Blast sets... I hope this helps.
Electric
Main Entry: electric
Pronunciation: i-'lek-trik
Variant: or electrical /-tri-k&l/
Function: adjective
: of, relating to, or operated by electricity electrically /-tri-k(&-)lE/ adverb
- Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary
Blasters and Defenders share this power set but their approaches couldnt be more different. There are only a couple of toolbox powers, like Tesla Cage and Short Circuit, but for most part it is mostly attack powers. The interesting thing about this set is the endurance recovery side effect. As you blast sometimes you will get endurance back from the draining effect. Its a nice bonus but dont rely on it. This effect activates infrequently and the amount gained back isnt consistent.
The Electric Blast set is often used by Kineticist due the nature of the electricity in City of Heroes. Electricity drains endurance every time you are damaged by it. Adding this with the natural endurance draining effect of some Kinetics powers develops a synergy between the two.
Power Breakdown
Charge Bolt: Light attack power that recharges quickly. Blasters get the choice of taking this power or not. As a Defender you have to take it. The utility of the power will see a steady decline as you level. In the mid game it becomes a filler attack to hit as part of your cycle. Late game youll find that you hit it out of habit more than anything else, because the damage doesnt phase anything at this point.
Lightning Bolt: This is your damage foundation for the set. You get it at second level and will use it throughout your career. Its a solid attack power.
Ball Lightning: Ranged AoE attack. This attack is similar to Charge Bolt except it hits everything in about a 15ft. area. This makes it more useful than Charge Bolt and worth slotting for damage.
Short Circuit: Your bread and butter. This power drains endurance of targets within a 20ft. area around you and halts their recovery. Cycling this power as fast as possible will keep you alive. Once you floor the endurance of your targets they just stand their looking at you while you beat upon them.
Note: this power will not drain Malta Sappers of any endurance. Actually no endurance draining ability works on a Sapper.
Aim: Bonus to hit, minor bonus to damage. Hitting your targets more is always a good thing and the damage bonus is nice. It has a long recharge time unless you slot it for recharge so I find that its usefulness is somewhat diminished. This is one of those powers you either use a lot or hardly use.
Zapp: Sniper attack. It does a nice amount of damage, but if youre more of a melee based character you are unlikely to use this power on a consistent basis. You will likely find other power more useful to you.
Tesla Cage: Single target hold. Mid to late game you will start running into Malta Sappers. I believe that the developers put this power in this set to deal with them. This is the power I ended up replacing Charge Bolt with in my attack chain. Slot it for Hold duration and you can lock down a target for the whole fight.
Voltaic Sentinel: I guess you could call this a pet. You summon a ball of electricity and it zaps things. It only last for about 45 seconds and it basically hit random targets with Charged Bolts. Be careful if you summon it and have to travel, cause he will zap things as you run by them drawing agg. I found that I didnt have time to recast him over and over during combat.
Thunderous Blast: This is your Nuke. I does a lot of damage to a large area. It also leave you drained of endurance and unable to recovery endurance for awhile. Ive found that putting a endurance modification enhancement in it will sometimes offset the drain effect but this is spotty at best and shouldnt be relied on.
I dont consider myself a master at Kinetics, but I believe the experience Ive gain for playing so long might be helpful to other. I wouldnt categorize this as a guide per say, but more of a list of observations about this power set.
Kinetics
Main Entry: kinetic
Pronunciation: k&-'net-ik, kI-
Function: adjective
: of or relating to the motion of material bodies and the forces and energy associated therewith
- Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary
Kinetics is an interesting power set for Defenders. Most of the set rely on a certain amount of defensiveness in nature. Whether its accuracy debuff, defence buffs, or just massive amounts of healing. Kinetics seems to be more offensively minded than the other sets. Sure there is a fair amount of damage mitigation, but who gets the benefit of that? You and your teammates do. It could be in the form of damage buff/debuff or speed buff/debuffs.
There was once a quote about Kinetics Defenders not being able to make a team any more successful, just faster at doing what they were already doing. This is true to an extent. A Kinetics Defender can indeed make a successful team more efficient and a struggling team successful. The team has a lot to do with it, but you can hedge your bets a bit with some well timed Transfusions and Speed Boosts.
Power Breakdown
Transfusion: This is your only heal ability. You must target an enemy and a healing area will appear around your target. This power is perfect for melee support. There are two side effects of using this power. One, it drains about 20% of your targets endurance. Two, it has a regen component to it. The regen is little known and I dont have numbers on it, but it comes in handy when you need to overcome an Arch-Villian or Giant Monsters regen.
Siphon Power: Single target damage debuff, PBAoE damage buff. Very useful early level to help with your damage output as well as mitigating the amount of damage you take. The damage buff portion is center on the caster so allies must be near you to receive the buff.
Repel: Basically it a bubble of kinetic energy around you that knocks back any target that gets in melee range. Each target knocked back with drain some endurance as well as having a constant drain to keep it activated. Not many people take this power due to the knock back effect which seems counter productive to Transfusion and other melee based powers. I believe that the original concept of this power was to be soft control ability, but it is rarely utilized as such.
Siphon Speed: Most people see this power and think, Cool a travel power before level 14! Then they quickly get frustrated with missing with it and drawing aggro. This perception is wrong. It can be used as a travel power but that is not its design. This is a single target speed and recharge buff/debuff. Think of it more like a mini-Hasten and youd be closer.
Increase Density: Ally only buff that give them resistance to smashing and energy damage. It also protects them from Teleport Foe, Disorient, Holds, Immobilization, and Knockback. One side effect is a slow effect on your ally. You can also use this to remove the Stunned effect after an ally rezzes.
Speed Boost: Ally only speed, recharge, and recovery buff. This is want Kinetics is famous for. Affectionately called Crack by most melee types. This is a staple power but very tedious to maintain upon a team. Most people love this power but most Kinetics hate having to refresh it due to its short duration.
Inertial Reduction: Team Super Jump
that pretty much sums it up. I found that this is a much more secure travel power than Siphon Speed. No to hit, you just cast it and go.
Transference: Single target endurance drain/endurance heal. This power ends most endurance issues that characters have. It is targeted so you will have to slot accordingly. Note: this power will not drain Malta Sappers of any endurance. Actually no endurance draining ability works on a Sapper.
Fulcrum Shift: This is the Holy Grail. Even when they toned it down it is still that good. This power can put an entire team at the damage cap and keep them there. Think Siphon Power, but bigger. Target something in a large mob and fire it off. Within that mob its like a Siphon Power went off for everything in the mob. Youll turn Tanks and Scrappers into forces of nature that bring destruction at a whim. If the NPC mobs could feel fear, they would run for their lives at the sound of Fulcrum Shift firing off!
Epilog
I have three level 50 characters. Two Defenders and one Corruptor. The Corruptor and Defender are Kinetics based. Blame altoholism or lack of playing time
I blame Knight Hawk. The character. Hes a Kinetic/Electric Blast Defender. After I got him to 50 everything else seems easy.
Playing from 1 to 50 with him was hard. I wont lie about that. I dont consider myself a bad player, but Ive done things the hard way. I soloed a lot. I did the Respec trial multiple times when it first came out leading me to spend levels 24 thru 30 in debt. I have a tendency to be slightly suicidal with Knight Hawk because I know what hes capable of when Im on my game. Even at level 50 I still spend hours playing him and planning respecs the make him more efficient.
I jokingly told Baztikulous once that if there was a patron saint of debt it would be Knight Hawk, yet I learned so much playing him. So I experiment a lot now but I dont really dedicate myself to any one alt. Mostly I just try to help out others with whatever mission or task force they have. Everything I learned with Knight Hawk I now apply to all my other characters and it makes a difference. Maybe that is why I just cant seem to retire him
Oh well. I guess Ill just have to live with it.
I find the two sets go together very nicely once they've developed.
Kinetics bolsters Elec's low damage.
Electrical Blast provides safety via End Drain and Tesla Cage that a Kineticist needs
The downside is it doesnt come together until the late 20s - early 30s.
Transference -26
Tesla Cage -28
FulcrumShift - 32
Before this you're a low damage Defender with a wonky heal that works in melee range and jousting using Siphon Speed as your best defences.
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Before this you're a low damage Defender with a wonky heal that works in melee range and jousting using Siphon Speed as your best defences.
[/ QUOTE ]
I don't know. +25% or +50% damage is pretty impressive in the lower levels, when your slot poor and enhancements are giving out minimal help. It has been a while since I solo'd a low level Kin though (and the last one I did was a corruptor anyway). Giving out SB at level 12 and your team never needing to stop again is too good for me to bother soloing. 
Why Blasters? Empathy Sucks.
So, you want to be Mental?
What the hell? Let's buff defenders.
Tactics are for those who do not have a big enough hammer. Wisdom is knowing how big your hammer is.
im wondering if the massive damage buff from kinetics helps with elec's below average damage. if not i was also thinking about going kin/dark as instead. anyone have any feedback and/or experience with either?
Positron's i13 letter: We are trying to make PvP more accessible to new players, while giving experienced PvP'ers the advantage that comes with formulating tactics around the new systems we're putting in place. PvP from now on will be on our priority list. If something isn't working out, we'll be in there tweaking it and making it work, for the entire future of the product, not just Issue 13.