Blast 'em faster, or just don't get hit? (+recharge vs. positional defense)

Good day-period to you, gentlebeings. I am Mace Ironhead, and this is my post. I'll be here all week, so don't forget to try your waitress and tip the veal!

I've got a conundrum here. After reading over a good chunk of the blaster boards, I can't decide on which is better for an IOed-out blaster - heavy recharge bonuses, enabling you to defeat everything faster, or softcapped defenses (specifically, softcapped ranged/AoE defenses and hoverblasting), enabling you to better withstand attacks.

I'm currently levelling up a rad/devices blaster, so I used those powersets in the build. If you have any recommendations on powersets for either type of build being discussed here, let me know!

Both of these builds are somewhat speculative, and rather on the expensive side (especially the recharge-focused build).

I'd like to know what you think. When you build a blaster, what do you go for? I'm leaning towards the defense build, but that may be due to the fact that I usually play scrappers/tankers, and have a more complete knowledge of defense/resistance sets.

Here's the defense build:

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Supermutant Prime Build 1: Level 50 Mutation Blaster
Primary Power Set: Radiation Blast
Secondary Power Set: Devices
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Force Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Neutrino Bolt -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:50(3), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:50(3), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(5), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(5), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(7)
Level 1: Web Grenade -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 2: X-Ray Beam -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:50(9), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:50(11), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(11), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(13), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(13)
Level 4: Irradiate -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 6: Electron Haze -- Det'tn-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx:50(7), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg:50(9), Det'tn-Dmg/Rng:50(48), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(48)
Level 8: Aim -- GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx:50(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg:50(15), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx:50(15)
Level 10: Targeting Drone -- GSFC-ToHit:50(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg:50(17), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx:50(17), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx:50(19), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx:50(19), GSFC-Build%:50(21)
Level 12: Combat Jumping -- Zephyr-Travel:50(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx:50(21), Zephyr-ResKB:40(23)
Level 14: Hover -- Zephyr-Travel:50(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx:50(25), Zephyr-ResKB:40(25)
Level 16: Swift -- Flight-I:50(A)
Level 18: Health -- Numna-Heal:50(A), RgnTis-Regen+:30(23), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:50(27), Mrcl-Rcvry+:40(27), Mrcl-Heal:40(29)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod:50(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg:50(31), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc:50(31), P'Shift-End%:50(33)
Level 22: Fly -- Frbd-Stlth:50(A)
Level 24: Cosmic Burst -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:50(33), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:50(34), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(34), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(34), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(36)
Level 26: Smoke Grenade -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 28: Cloaking Device -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:30(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:50(29), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:40(31), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:40(33), RedFtn-Def:40(36), RedFtn-EndRdx:40(36)
Level 30: Trip Mine -- Erad-Dmg:30(A), Erad-Acc/Rchg:30(37), Erad-Dmg/Rchg:30(37), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:30(37), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:30(39), Erad-%Dam:30(39)
Level 32: Atomic Blast -- Erad-Dmg:30(A), Erad-Acc/Rchg:30(39), Erad-Dmg/Rchg:30(40), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:30(40), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:30(40), Erad-%Dam:30(42)
Level 35: Boxing -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 38: Gun Drone -- ExRmnt-Acc/Rchg:50(A), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg:50(42), ExRmnt-Dmg/EndRdx:50(42), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(43), ExRmnt-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg:50(43), ExRmnt-+Res(Pets):50(43)
Level 41: Tough -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx:40(A), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg:40(45), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:40(45), Aegis-ResDam:40(45), Aegis-Psi/Status:40(46)
Level 44: Weave -- S'dpty-Def/EndRdx:40(A), S'dpty-Def/Rchg:40(46), S'dpty-Def:40(46), S'dpty-EndRdx:40(48), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:40(50)
Level 47: Personal Force Field -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 49: Temp Invulnerability -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/EndRdx:30(A), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(50), S'fstPrt-ResKB:30(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 1: Defiance
------------
Set Bonus Totals:

• 7.5% DamageBuff(Smashing)
• 7.5% DamageBuff(Lethal)
• 7.5% DamageBuff(Fire)
• 7.5% DamageBuff(Cold)
• 7.5% DamageBuff(Energy)
• 7.5% DamageBuff(Negative)
• 7.5% DamageBuff(Toxic)
• 7.5% DamageBuff(Psionic)
• 4.25% Defense(Smashing)
• 4.25% Defense(Lethal)
• 16.8% Defense(Fire)
• 16.8% Defense(Cold)
• 27.7% Defense(Energy)
• 27.7% Defense(Negative)
• 3% Defense(Psionic)
• 5.5% Defense(Melee)
• 31.8% Defense(Ranged)
• 25.8% Defense(AoE)
• 3.6% Max End
• 24% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 11.3% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 27% FlySpeed
• 149.1 HP (12.4%) HitPoints
• 27% JumpHeight
• 27% JumpSpeed
• Knockback (Mag -12)
• Knockup (Mag -12)
• MezResist(Confused) 2.5%
• MezResist(Held) 2.5%
• MezResist(Immobilize) 4.7%
• MezResist(Sleep) 4.15%
• MezResist(Stun) 2.5%
• MezResist(Terrorized) 2.5%
• 15% (0.25 End/sec) Recovery
• 26% (1.31 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 10% Resistance(Smashing)
• 10% Resistance(Lethal)
• 11.3% Resistance(Fire)
• 11.3% Resistance(Cold)
• 11.9% Resistance(Energy)
• 10% Resistance(Negative)
• 10% Resistance(Toxic)
• 13% Resistance(Psionic)
• 32% RunSpeed
• 7.5% XPDebtProtection

• 18% DamageBuff(Smashing)
• 18% DamageBuff(Lethal)
• 18% DamageBuff(Fire)
• 18% DamageBuff(Cold)
• 18% DamageBuff(Energy)
• 18% DamageBuff(Negative)
• 18% DamageBuff(Toxic)
• 18% DamageBuff(Psionic)
• 5.5% Defense(Smashing)
• 5.5% Defense(Lethal)
• 3% Defense(Fire)
• 3% Defense(Cold)
• 3% Defense(Energy)
• 3% Defense(Negative)
• 3% Defense(Psionic)
• 4.25% Defense(Melee)
• 3% Defense(Ranged)
• 3% Defense(AoE)
• 6.75% Max End
• 90% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 3% Enhancement(Immobilize)
• 45% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 5% FlySpeed
• 58.7 HP (4.87%) HitPoints
• 5% JumpHeight
• 5% JumpSpeed
• Knockback (Mag -12)
• Knockup (Mag -12)
• MezResist(Confused) 25.8%
• MezResist(Held) 17.5%
• MezResist(Immobilize) 19.7%
• MezResist(Sleep) 17.5%
• MezResist(Stun) 24.1%
• MezResist(Terrorized) 17.5%
• 11.5% (0.19 End/sec) Recovery
• 62% (3.12 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 2.84% Resistance(Fire)
• 2.84% Resistance(Cold)
• 2.52% Resistance(Energy)
• 4.4% Resistance(Negative)
• 5% RunSpeed

My personal preference is to take a mix of the two. The effectiveness of recharge global bonuses for blasters tends to drop off quite a bit so unless it's a perma-hasten build I aim for about 40%-50% recharge then slot for defense.

I have done both, which can get expensive, on a single toon. I have my defense(solo) build, and my recharge(team) build. Although I do tend to just stay in the Recharge build, I will switch if I know the defense is needed. I also like what Adeon said. Sorry I couldn't help :/

I can't speak on your power combinations but I will say that before I deleted my Energy/Devices Blaster and remade her as Energy/Energy she was capped to range defense and it was nice, but it does'nt compare to having very high recharge.

The utility of Rad Blast see a higher return on investment from having higher recharge than having soft capped ranged defense.

It depends a lot on your power sets. In general, you need a certain amount of recharge to hit the highest DPS attack chain you can reasonably achieve... after that any more recharge has very limited benefits. For Radiation Blast you really don't gain a lot of DPS by going from Neutrino -> X-Ray -> Neutrino -> Cosmic to X-Ray -> Cosmic, so you really only need about 40-50% global recharge to get a good solid chain. If you're looking for AoE damage and you want to chain Irradiate -> Electron Haze -> Neutron Bomb... well, you can't without a /Kin or two thanks to Irradiate's stupidly long recharge.

I'd suggest getting around 45% recharge and then piling on as much defense as you can. Softcapping Ranged is good, and Ranged + AoE is better, but getting them to around 33% or so will give you a major survivability boost and one Luck will put you at the cap. 45% recharge and 30-35% defense should be achievable without breaking the bank, especially if you're able to afford LotGs.

Recharge is good, but having a decent amount of defense is also needed. Mobs are always going to fire back at some point, and all the recharge in the world isn't going to help much then if they overwhelm your green bar.

You don't need defense if your enemy is dead.

For what it's worth, I built My Blaster for defense first and recharge second

I build for both recharge and defense. Very few softcapped Blasters of any sort have impressed me, though. They tend to be very endurance-heavy, skip critical powers (I've seen a grand total of 1 range softcapped Fire blaster that took Fire Breath) and have horrible slotting. Advocates of defense over recharge typically fall into the trap of chasing set bonuses blindly.

I agree with Laevateinn's post above
I hit a lil over 30 ranged defense and 66 global recharge on my En/En/Force
A good mix of the two I feel is better then all of one and none of the other.

When I used to go with a divided build on my Ice/Elec, I found that 25% ranged could easily offer you a load of survivablity, but then again my Ice/Elec also has a ridiculous amount of holds for a Blaster.

I built my Fire/Fire/Fire for recharge reduction and endurance, and he's a thing of beauty in a team. As long as I don't try to beat the tank to a mob, I rarely die (and have RotP when I do).

Solo, he's a piece of tissue paper in a typhoon, and I'm planning an alt build that focuses more on Def.

I don't think having a team and a solo build is unusual thesedays.

In your case, you can have both.

And you want both for general purpose use. The only Mez protection a blaster has is not getting hit. You can either kill them fast, be in positions where they can't hit you or don't attack that way or you can simply be hard to hit.

What you might want to think about is picking a type of defense and just going with that. Smash/lethal and ranged are both very popular and then you can build for recharge on top of that. Another tactic is not to softcap but to be about 10% or so below the cap so a single purple will bring you to the cap.

From my own experiences with devices (BTW how is rad/dev playing for you ?) recharge is really important. Its annoying waiting around for the devices to recharge when you need them or you actually want to lay a large minefield.

And just one other note, on your recharge build you have really neglected temp invulnerability.

Although I'm loving my Fire/Ice blaster, I'm learning there are many ways of achieving 'defense', not just through slotting or powers, I'm talking about playstyle as well.

I'm just in the late 20's with my guy, and I've gone the pure offense route. I typically play in groups and I can be fairly aggressive with the godlike AoE powers in Fire without much concern.

In solo play I've recently been Salvage farming and have just gone with a fast, hard hitting style while 'Hovering' above the crowd for street cleaning. Now the alternative is that I use my 'defense' build which includes the Fighting pools, but instead I am enjoying the benefit of more offense, slotting for damage bonuses (which is relatively cheap), and enjoying a modest Ranged defense number achieved mostly through set bonuses.

Some may think this is inneffecient but I guess this is where I go back to my point about playstyle. Personally, unless I'm hunting something that's way over my head, I actually prefer -immense- damage over a very short period of time, and going on to the next mob.

Every mob I drop refreshes inspirations.... it works just fine.

In late game I know I will run into one shot type nasties, but I intend on going the fire shield route.

Personally I think playstyle will really dictate the answer to your question.