All I'll say is I use to feel the exact same way as you about blasters. But I finally put enough money (IO's) into one (a fire/devices) and it really makes a huge difference. A ranged defense of about 40% and AoE of about 30% combined with hover and in my case caltrops to really make sure nothing gets close. Add in tough + temp invulnerability for close to 50% smash/lethal resistance. It is maybe still not as tough as a scrapper can be, but I have definitely lost that "squishy" feeling. Now its my favorite character and my scrappers feel slow.
I tend to go for around lvl 30 IO's even for most of my powers, so I can even exempt pretty low and still be pretty tough.
Stick with it and get those IO's.
An Elite Boss is a very tough opponent for the average solo blaster. I have level 50 blasters with some IO sets who get defeated by Snaptooth even using tons of inspirations. Of the suggestions I read, hover-blasting seems to be the way to go against Black Scorpion.
The one suggestion I didn't see mentioned is to recruit a tank or scrapper to help you whenever you run into an Elite Boss. I know it sucks to have to call in help, but that's the way the game is designed. Sometimes you just gotta call in some muscle. It happens in comics and in the game.
Good luck!
Ultimo, having a good build setup for your Blaster is pretty key. I usually try to be able to stack my holds or disorients so I can handle bosses (so choosing secondaries and primaries helps there) okay, but juggling them with KB powers works great for Energy/Energy. No matter what, keeping out of melee (unless those you're in melee with can't fight back) is a very good idea for a Blaster: ranged attacks usually do less damage. This can be even better if you up your ranged defense to about 30%. That works pretty well with my blasters that I've gotten into the higher levels.
Do realize that sometimes the RNG will hate you, and you might get hit more than usua. If you're out of melee, though, you should hopefully be able to survive it... especially if you pick up a shield from your epic.
Also, hitting hard and fast is a good idea for any fight. EBs kind of make that tricky, so popping a purple or two like you did is a good idea, as is an orange just in case. Case in point, Sefu Tendaji of the RWZ arc was tricky to beat for my Kat/SR Scrapper, but my AR/En blaster soloed him quicker and actually a little easier than the Scrapper... though he did use a couple insps to do it.
Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc: Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory
Funny you should mention Sun Tsu - I'm *sure* he was a Blaster based on
and I moseyed on by her...
his approach to tactics... Musashi (of 5 Rings fame) thinks more like a
Stalker imho, but there is a LOT of synergy between a Stalker and a Blaster
in terms of tactics and mindset...
If you take some of their lessons to heart for your blaster, I'm sure you'll
be a lot more successful with him - ie. Pick your fights, manage the battle,
and remember that dead guys are the least dangerous and you'll be well
on your way to having fun with your blaster imho.
Since you're mentioning names, Kalinda was one I skipped. If I recall, I
was on a rescue mission, and she was in the way (thought she conned
as an EB to me, but it's nbd), so I dropped a Shivan on her to give her
something to do
I did enjoy the arcs - especially the stories. It was kinda fun dragging my
Blaster out of the market for a couple hours.
Thanks for your effort in putting them together.
GL & Happy Hunting,
4
I've been rich, and I've been poor. Rich is definitely better.
Light is faster than sound - that's why some people look smart until they speak.
For every seller who leaves the market dirty stinkin' rich,
there's a buyer who leaves the market dirty stinkin' IOed. - Obitus.