Is Rad's -def effect really "all that"?

I play a lot of blasters, but every time I consider the Rad primary I'm underwhelmed by the -Def debuff it brings.

What's the point really? Characters that don't have -Def are going to slot for enough accuracy to make your -Def unnecessary, and your own character has to be able to make the initial hits on the target to even apply this -Def effect.

So what does this secondary effect bring to your build? If you short your attacks on Accuracy (anticipating the -Def in your attacks will pick up the slack) you're going to have a lot of trouble with hitting the target on first salvo.

Is the power set just that good without considering the secondary?

I've not played one beyond the mid 20s because i've never been captivated by the set... maybe my large amounts of soloing is the difference, let's hear it from the experts... Thanks!

I've got no clue as to the overall effectiveness of Rad Blasters but I do agree with the general thrust of your post. Defense debuffs are IMHO the least useful type of debuff. That being said it probably means you can go higher with a single accuracy in your attacks than you could without it.

I recently started playing a rad/dev blaster and while I doubt the -def is "all that" as you say... it's tons of fun!

you can slot procs...

- Achilles Heel chance for res-debuff can go in a Rad Blaster.
- Radiation blast has some interesting PBAoEs that can synnergize very well with /fire or /MM
- Adding -def can be useful in some circumstances, and certainly if you don't have a ton of set accuracy bonuses.

For a Blaster with Aim and Build Up it is pretty useless beyond proc-slotting.

On a team it can be handy against cerrtain enemies, like large groups of Rikti Drones. Aim, Irradiate is a alovely starter there.
But often its either not needed because everyones at 95% to hit anyway, or you're facing so much defence that the team still has a very low chance of hitting (MoG-ing Paragon Protectors) and there are better options to deal with them (eg control to stop them MoG-ing).

It isn't really a matter of it being all that, but I will say this much. Find an Ice/ Blaster and have them use Blizzard on a large +4 mob after a couple -def debuffs have been applied and you will shed a tear.

Wouldn't they be using Aim and Build Up before firing off Blizzard, for a pretty hefty +To Hit?

I know it won't cover the entire duration of the power (15s) but does the -Def make that much difference? I'd have though it would be more pronounced with other powers if anything, since non-nukes dont always get the full double To hit buff

-def, like archery's +acc, is a bit meh.

On the other hand, rad blast seems great without caring about the -def, so hey.

Heroes, Villains ♦ Reviews ♦ Retrospect

I recently rolled a Rad/MM blaster, for concept reasons more than anything and although I can see your point, and I'd rather have a more useful secondary effect like res debuff, while reading this I had a thought.

I realised because of Rad's generous helping of AoE powers, you'd probably be able to slot 2 accuracy enahncements into your opening power and just 1 in your other powers, saving space for either extra damage SO's or extra slots elsewhere.

Of course, this only really applies to lower level builds because IO builds tend to have plenty of accuracy bonuses.

Quite frankly, I'm at the point where I think a set could have 8 taunts and Cosmic Burst and I'd be happy. >.>

Heroes, Villains ♦ Reviews ♦ Retrospect

On a team it's not just about how often attacks land. It's about how often Benumb and Heat Exhaustion and Fulcrum Shift and Twilight Grasp and Controller AoE holds hit. While it may not be as obviously great as Resistance debuffing, it's certainly not wasted.

i really like the -def, especially in the low lvls pre SOs

I really have only noticed it via Irradiate on my Rad/Fire blaster. But with the proc abilities of rad blasts, I don't think too much on the subject.

-def on rad blast is just gravy. Its a strong set on its own. Cosmic Burst is bar none one of the best single target attacks you can have. High Damage + Stun! Most of its attacks are also of the ENERGY type with no lethal/smashing split. Which can effect how well you do against certain enemies.

It also allows you slot your AOE attacks with better values then most of the crappy Targeted AOE sets, which have serious crappy END components. One END/RECH from any of the sets in the Defense Debuffs helps alot with getting a decent amount of recharge and endurance reduction on those hefty costing/recharging powers.

Plus it can never hurt to have lotsa -def. Not as effective a secondary effect as sonic's -res or darks -hit. But better then nothing. I do believe it can be very valuable in PvP. Since a lot of toons IO for positional defense but lack the -DEF debuff resists that a few sets have. It can be very effective in helping others take down high DEF builds.

IMO, the largest boon -def grants Rad Blast is the ability to load it up with a TON of procs that most blast sets wouldn't be able to. You can throw in an Achilles Heel, Lady Grey, and/or Shield Breaker (if you can find those) into any/all of your attacks you choose to.

Additionally, it helps a bunch against Rikti Drones on teams where your AoEs ignore their defense anyway and then allow your teammates to hit them, or Paragon Protectors that hit MoG or Elude, since you can stack up enough -def before they hit godmode that you can keep hitting them after. This applies to lots of other enemies that gain more defense as the fight progresses, like Romans. When they clump up around the tank in very large numbers, their Phalanx Fighting can make them tediously hard to hit, but hitting the crowd with Neutron Bomb or Irradiate before they can pack in as tightly prevents that.

1. Procs
2. +4 spawns
3. sidekicked or non optimally slotted teammates that can use the boost.

I praise any teammate that can bring to hit buffs or defense debuffs to the party becuse things roll much smoother especially at lower levels.....mid 20's team taking on +3 or +4 Tsoo, yeah debuff their defense please!

aye forget who said it but i also planned a rad/dev. Been wanting another /dev, started an arch/dev cause i wanted a double stun, but the rad fits a little better i think. It will be rediculously good accuracy between rad blast and targetting drone heh. Can easily slot next to no accuracy in the build, and still be helpful on teams. Yes most of the -defense is wasted, but in the low levels its certainly nice, and the set is pretty decent on its own without the defense debuff. Not so much in the ways of mitigation etc, but its a fun set regardless. And it LOOKS COOL!