Best ranged AoE AT?

I know people hate to hear the word 'best' but i'm looking for experienced players opinion on the most effective ranged AT at soloing large groups.

Taking out large groups solo always puts a smile on my face (even against grey groups) but id like to be able to do it against at least evel level mobs.

Thanks for the advice.

Controller, Dominator, Blaster, Corruptor, Mastermind, Defender

Well, I'm a big fan of Fire Blasters with some sort of stealth. You can 2-shot big groups of minions (even con, +1 with either Build Up or Aim, +2 using both) and finish off the remainder with your significant single-target attacks.

Edit: You're squishy as heck if you do this. But it's ... exciting, for sure.

If you're looking for "best" as in "highest damage", the answer is Fire/Fire Blaster. If "best" is some ratio between high damage and being able to not die, then... what Silverado said. There are a lot of combinations whichcan achieve high AoE damage along with the ability to stay alive. You'll have trouble finding build with higher AoE damage than a Fire/Fire Blaster, but it's fairly easy to find a build with higher survivability (since a Fire/Fire Blaster's method of staying alive is "kill them first").

And, since you can't do damage when you're dead, it's a decision to make

Actually, I would say Corruptor followed closely by Blaster, with Defender, Mastermind and Dominator each filling their own little niche. Dominators tend to have close range AoEs, but not all that strong since PSW was nerfed. Masterminds deal lots of damage, but it's low and constant. (No burst damage) And a Corruptor has to lay down his debuffs before really dealing the damage, and buff-based Corruptors are going to perform more like a Blaster.

Controllers are a special case. They can do an extreme amount of AoE damage at high levels, but they aren't going to do that kind of damage prior to 40. And a good portion of that damage will be from Containment followed by subsequent AoE damage/holds. Likewise, Dominators have AoE holds, but don't have Containment on them. I think Blasters and Corruptors are supposed to be the ranged AoE damage dealers, with everyone else dependent on Power Set. (And Corruptors can be pretty dependent on Power Set too)

A Fire/Kin Controller or Fire/Fire Blaster are currently the #1 choices, from what I hear. I think there are plenty of other choices for those who want a little variety, though.

I like Fire/Dark corruptors for AoE. Crazy damage, good survivability, and they mature super early. Best? Doubtful, but still bloody awesome.

Although I'd probably vote for a Fire/Fire blaster if you just wanted to go ******* crazy throwing AoE's around while a tanker held aggro.

Thank you all for your input, I really appreciate it. A lot of great ideas here. Back before i left the last time I remember Fire/Fire Dom's were pretty amazing both single and AoE. Is this not the case anymore?

And forgive my ignorance but im not familliar with "Frankenslotting". Any chance someone has a link to an explanation?

Thanks again!

http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Frankenslotting

it's still Fire/Psi

It really depends on your budget. A Fire/Mental Blaster has massive damage (AoE and single target both) but to be able to hit large groups and live without inspirations requires an expensive build. A Spines/WP Scrapper, on the other hand, does less damage (but still quite a bit) while being a lot harder to kill. Spines/Invulnerability is even better if you can afford a high end IO build. And if you have some serious inf to spend, Elec/Shield is just plain nasty with massive recharge and softcapped defense. And of course there's always Fire/Kin Controllers... you don't have the massive alpha strike of a Blaster but you can lock down the whole spawn and then burn them down safely in a few shots.

Redside, Bots/Traps is just insane with even a moderate IO build. It's not the highest damage AT, but it has tons of AoEs and just doesn't die... the bots are softcapped, the Mastermind is softcapped, and the light show when five full auto laser bursts and a missile swarm all go off never gets old. For the rich who just want to smash huge groups, get a SS/Shield Brute, softcap him, and pile on as much recharge as you can get... Double Rage + Against All Odds + high recharge Foot Stomp is about as good as it gets. Bots/Traps is a heck of a lot cheaper though, and Brutes don't get laser guns and missile barrages.

Dominators have a nice balance of damage and survivability, but a big part of their AoE damage usually comes from a PBAoE, so if you want ranged AoE, I'd say that pretty much rules them out.

The best balance between ranged damage and survivability is Corruptors IMO. Fire/Dark has been mentioned, and for good reason. There are other good combos as well depending on your preference and what kind of slotting options you have available. For all-around performance using just SOs it's hard to beat Fire/Dark though.

What of the Fortunata? Good defenses and a bunch of nasty AoE powers means they can kick ranged AoE butt and not die, plus they get a bunch of buffs, defense, and controls to sweeten the package. Just throwing that out there as another alternative that seems to have gotten overlooked thus far.