Elec secondairy can actualy ditch out more damage then the nrg side. Nrg then again has stun chance in every power. Fire is 1 of the higher damage powersets, sonic is all about -res debuff until you can start ditching out damage far beyond any other primairy can do.
Anyway, nearly every blaster have a few blapper powers, mainly because it gives a great extra set of attacks wich can be used to ditch out high damage in very short time.
Yet, as seen your character, you are still pretty low lvl and facing mobs that are quite easier (outside vahz) then later on. Later you will face mobs you would not like to face so nearby all the time (CoT, warriors, rikti etc), specialy if you running around with a not-full-agro tanker. In the early lvls blaster secondairy is 1 of the highest damage powers ingame, reason why they are so populair. As said, the risk of these powers will increase alot the higher lvl you become.
Scrappers do have ranged powers, spines and claw both have at least 1 ranged and will get another 1 at the Epic set. They however are solid to stick nonstop in melee range, blasters often (unless you love debt) need to back out with high risk of getting your deathly blow anyway.
Defenders are supporters, they have the lowest base damage and can never ditch out nonstop insane damage. Tankers can actualy do decent damage, like EM/SS/stone for single target and fire for aoe, specialy with perma rage on SS the damage is quite enjoyable.
The fun part imho, people calling themself blapper the moment they pick 1 or 2 melee powers from their secondairy, while every secondairy have these powers and basicly is part of the blaster set (read discription on coh page).
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Looks like you have experiences only from relatively low level. Especially low lvl people seem to think that defenders are only about healing which is wrong. Im sure your view on ATs will change once you get higher level. Anyway, blapping is very valid tactic, although I think blappers as supbspecies of blasters were born mainly from PVP. They play nicely in PVE as well, of course.
Fire/EM is one of the best blapper combos 
Im sure you will enjoy playing it further
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Defenders are supporters, they have the lowest base damage and can never ditch out nonstop insane damage.
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Not quite true, defender damage is very underrated but the characters have to be built for damage. My future pvp duel toon rad/sonic can dish out jawdropping damage once at high level while at the same time debuffing the enemy so bad their tender parts fall off. For comparison, as I tested out with Stalk-obots lvl 50 rad/sonic, his defenders epic total focus at the end of the attack chain, with all the debuffs will deal about 200 pts more damage than my lvl 50 blasters aim+BU total focus.
Majority or defenders cant dish out damage to rival blasters or scrappers though.
Note the word nonstop, they have their moment of glory in damage (FU + darkstar also nice one), but overall they cant perform this nonstop (unlike a BU/Aim blaster or spamming scrapper). Other hand, let a Aim/Bu blaster do a TF on a fully debuffed mob, it will beat the defender (lets not focus too much solo 
)
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[ QUOTE ]
For comparison, as I tested out with Stalk-obots lvl 50 rad/sonic, his defenders epic total focus at the end of the attack chain, with all the debuffs will deal about 200 pts more damage than my lvl 50 blasters aim+BU total focus.
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Given enough time to do constant debuffery, a defender sonic blast chain will beat a blaster sonic blast chain due to the extra amount of -res debuff.
However most things die before you get to this stage. Of course AVs etc don't.
@Unthing ... Mostly on Union.
Interesting comments, especially all of the buff stuff--I don't really take as much notice as I should in that area.
I've been playing coh on and off for over a year and lev 17 is the highest i've ever been. Why? Well, I'm not sure but the slow down of leving and a new idea for a character are probably the main ones. When I used to play pen and paper dungeons and dragons I was the same: I like beginnings I suppose. Having said that, i am getting pretty tired of the same missions and routines so I should try to get a character at least to his twenties. My main problem is how to maintain interest in the character without thinking of another. My lev 17 was a tanker called Battleflag(ic/rp at times) and i really liked him but after a few sessions of trying to team and struggling i thought: life's too short and indulged my imagination with another character. You see that's another problem, I often can't devote too much time to the game, even when I'm not working. I imagine it's the same for many of us.
BF
Yes, i smell a nice flavor of ...
Altoholic! Thats not a bad thing :P
The thing for dragging yourself past the 20s is focusing on certain powers. Example a fire/ice tanker getting burn at 18, burn cast fear on mobs.. they run away. BUT at lvl20 you get ice patch, a tiny knockdown icefloor wich works _awsome_ with burn. Aka, you NEED that lvl20. Once you get used to that, lvl22 is in sight, Single Origen moment. Combined with healing flames, CJ/acro, shields.. you are 1 nasty tanker that is enjoyable (as decent team based) playable. Most tankers have a hard start, but the higher you get the more tougher you become and 'tankerish' you get. But it has to be your cooky to enjoy playing it.
Blasters however shine at low lvl, then they get this superdip, no extra super powers or increase of efficiency (outside stamina, travel etc), so boredom kicks in. I made a AR/ice blaster to use ignite with icepatch, lvl20 at least. Everytime something keeps you going.
katana/Regen scrappers, lvl16 integration (mezz resist), 18 nice aoe, 22 SO's, 26 Soaring dragon, 28 Instant healing, 30 stamina, 32 MoG, 38 Golden something.. every single lvl it makes you look for the next power. And you really feel you getting stronger every lvl.
Trollers have a hard start, but like illusion gets phantom army at a fast start (18). Those 3 little buggers are fun to play with, combined with a decent secondairy trollers become fun to play at later lvl.
Empath defenders are in flavor of parties (put in your search comment) and if you are a nice playing on you can team upto 20ish without much problems. Yet, the other defender sets are just as good, some are even solo quite enjoying to play (i love kin/elec).
As you see, give everything a try. Dont linger too much on 1 AT untill you get bored and just cant get your run. If you lack abit on influence (once you get SO range you need a good 300-500k influence) but are determan to continue the toon, just give a shout, we got some filthy rich people around
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Thanks for all of the comments; they're certainly something to think about. And guess what? I've started thinking of some knew character ideas as a result! I have always been fond of the inv/ss or inv/enr tanker so I might make a serious effort at getting one of those past 20. I like the tank in the long run because most of my characters were armour or battlesuits and i enjoy the gameplay and imaginary invulnerability of it all--that's why I got my tank to 17 really--he felt like a real characer in an rp sense.
Your generousity is appreciated mate, thanks!
BF
I would advice going SS first, to get the hang of it. Energy is 1 of the most damaging sets of Tankers, but only after lvl35 (Energy transfer/Total focus). Before that lvl you are stuck with moderate/low damage but they all do have a chance of stun (increase your survivability).
SS on the other hand is a great set during all lvls. Startoff it gets decent powers, getting nice high damage very fast due Knockout Blow and (abit lower) Haymaker. Rage is awsome to increase damage, Footstomp is by far the best aoe tool (ok, Ice patch is good too) that secondairy of tanker has to offer. Ranged you get Hurl, trow a big pile of rock, very 'real' in rp sences. Together with Inv, great S/L resist at the start, good passive shields although your 'taunt aura' will be somewhat later, but great to get past lvl20.
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Note the word nonstop, they have their moment of glory in damage (FU + darkstar also nice one), but overall they cant perform this nonstop (unlike a BU/Aim blaster or spamming scrapper). Other hand, let a Aim/Bu blaster do a TF on a fully debuffed mob, it will beat the defender (lets not focus too much solo )
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I admit that I, as usual, was thinking about pvp
Anyway, aim and BU arent non-stop either and defender will get aim + power build up.
Sonic attack chain is just as non-stop as any other.. Longest recharge is from TF, which iirc is around 15-20 secs. And rad sonic gets AM+hasten anyway.. AM+stamina+Conserve power for endurance.. It may not be as fast burst damage than from a blaster but definitely good.
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Energy is 1 of the most damaging sets of Tankers,
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Single target. Fire is better for AOE.
As i say '1 of the most', Fire is the other one. But since he was chosing between nrg and SS, i left Fire out of the picture.
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Note the word nonstop, they have their moment of glory in damage (FU + darkstar also nice one), but overall they cant perform this nonstop (unlike a BU/Aim blaster or spamming scrapper). Other hand, let a Aim/Bu blaster do a TF on a fully debuffed mob, it will beat the defender (lets not focus too much solo
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I admit that I, as usual, was thinking about pvp
Anyway, aim and BU arent non-stop either and defender will get aim + power build up.
Sonic attack chain is just as non-stop as any other.. Longest recharge is from TF, which iirc is around 15-20 secs. And rad sonic gets AM+hasten anyway.. AM+stamina+Conserve power for endurance.. It may not be as fast burst damage than from a blaster but definitely good.
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I have to agree that defenders have quite a steady damage output depending on their primary sets. From a kinetic defender´s point of view I can say that a defender with triple-stacked Syphon Speed (+Hasten) and who is permanently fulcrum-shifted to his damage cap sets a dps mark not to be taken lightly... and due to Transference this is more non-stop than a blaster could achieve on his own. For a kin/arch defender the nuke-ish Rain of Arrows can almost be considered spammable. (It is an every-spawn-power... or would be if things wouldn´t drop that fast.)
But back on-topic:
I think a blapper is worthwile if the player knows what he is doing. Especially on higher levels, when enemies take a little more to fall over, you are quite likely to taste carpet if you don´t. This is part of the reason why blappers are not well-received by some players: You don´t contribute to the team by inspecting the floor and many blappers do it that often that their most consumed inspiration is the rez and they know the way from the hospital to the mission door blindfolded. (Another reason why many blappers´ damage output can hardly be considered non-stop.)
If it has eyes, you can blind it, if it has blood, you can make it bleed, if it has a mouth, you can make it scream.
The story about Defenders is mainly based (as i read it) on end-game content, powers and setup. The person here never reached higher then lvl17, thinking about a TF, Fulcrum or RoA, siphon and SOs is far beyond its reach. Add the fact he get bored very fast, defender isnt something to 'activly' play to archive higher lvl.
Let's hope he will have a good one on the inv/SS tanker and someday join us on the retart.. ahum, retired club of 50's
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Thanks for all of the comments and advice; I appreciate it. As a result of this discussion I've reinvented Battleflag the tanker and left the blapper idea alone for the moment. The reason I've done this is that I've decided have another try at reaching some higher levels and seeing what the game has to offer. No doubt I'll still be blapping with my fire/energy blapper.
If you see an inv/energy tanker by the name of Battleflag, say hello--you helped reincarnate him!
BF
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But back on-topic:
I think a blapper is worthwile if the player knows what he is doing. Especially on higher levels, when enemies take a little more to fall over, you are quite likely to taste carpet if you don´t. This is part of the reason why blappers are not well-received by some players: You don´t contribute to the team by inspecting the floor and many blappers do it that often that their most consumed inspiration is the rez and they know the way from the hospital to the mission door blindfolded. (Another reason why many blappers´ damage output can hardly be considered non-stop.)
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Aye, very true.. my elec/elec blapper is currently lvl 37 and you really need to pick your mobs carefully or know your team will back you up if you need it before running in headlong. I also often get the remark that blasters shouldnt melee, but thats often countered by a remark why they gave blasters melee attacks in the first place and a little show where you plant half the mob with melee attacks. However I wouldnt dare to run in a big strong group without my end drains... after all I prefer to survive after landing the initial 3 punches (charged brawl, havoc punch, thunderstrike).
"god, how many devs did hami have to sleep with to get ED?"
Total Cat @Stagefright
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TanksI love the ATs toughness but the damage feels weak even if it isnt really
Roll a fire/fire awesome damage
ControllersReally interesting but I tend to envy the more aggressive/active types.
Roll a fire/kin they can solo spawns set for 8, FAST
DefendersInteresting but often undervalued in teams unless you heal. I think I can
probably get a lot more out of this AT if I look at it from a slightly blapper angle.
They turn ATs into Gods
ScrappersGood in short bursts but thats it for me.
Roll a spines/regen or DA massive AoE damage and never seem to Die
BlastersGood but can be frustrating just being artillery.
Balancing death and damage is the most fun thing in the game!
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Erm.. note that this person is a starter, not a elite-player that knows every single bit of the game to play a fire/fire on full glory (elec/fire pwns fire/fire) or without probs a fire/kin troller.
He's probably happy now wacking mobs with his inv/energy
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still say fire/elec :P
Ok, you can say that
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[ QUOTE ]
Ok, you can say that
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Fire/elec is good but elec/elec ftw!!
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Fire/elec is good but elec/elec ftw!!
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so true 
Pffft, my Elec/Fire winzorz over all j00.
Ive recently discovered the blapper pseudo AT and I thought Id start this thread to discuss it. Please feel free to join in if you have anything to say.
Why Im enjoying blapping?
Ive enjoyed playing all of the ATs with scrappers being my last choice. The problem is that whatever AT I choose it always seems to lack something. Heress what I mean:
TanksI love the ATs toughness but the damage feels weak even if it isnt really
ControllersReally interesting but I tend to envy the more aggressive/active types.
DefendersInteresting but often undervalued in teams unless you heal. I think I can
probably get a lot more out of this AT if I look at it from a slightly blapper angle.
ScrappersGood in short bursts but thats it for me.
BlastersGood but can be frustrating just being artillery.
Having said all of that, I suppose concept is a very big issue for me too as blapping seemsto my mind anywayoffer a lot of freedom. When I first started the game I wanted to copy the like of Ironman or Vindicator but I found that neither the tank or scrapper AT fitted the part. Being a blaster didnt really do it either as people were always saying that blasters shouldnt meleeI know opinions vary.
Anyway, the long and the short of it is that now I can melee with great damage and when things get rough I can back off. Ok Im squishy but thats something I can handle( most of the time) if Im careful. In contrast, when Im a tank, I can never really feel as though Im doing too much damageI know I can be but it just doesnt feel like I am. Equally, when Im a scrapper, I can melee but thats it.
Ive got:
A lev 11 blapper: fire/energygreat fun
A lev 5 blapper sonic/elecfeels weak in comparison(possibly superior fire graphics could be part of the feeling) but I think thats because I dont get a good punch until lev 10.
These are all very much just my own opinions and experiences so feel free to ignore or comment as you wish.
BF
PS Hi to Trigger Man--I think that was your name.