Mine seems powerful to me. I could pull up mids and look at the numbers, or you could.
In the end it's all about whether you're having fun with the powers. I love Energy, using the numbers and my own experience, I've seen where I might hit a curb of sorts. Not a problem, just something I'm keeping in mind.
There's some arguments out there about Fire doing the most damage, but I think if you consider Energy brings it's own mitigation in the form of Knockback, you'll have an easier time soloing.
Red Tomax has a compilation of the stats on all the powers
http://tomax.cohtitan.com/data/power...etype.php?at=2
And Paragon Wiki has an explanation of the Defense mechanic
http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Defense
And this is a spreadsheet showing you just who would be most resistant to your attacks at any point in the game.
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=115749
Hope that helps.
Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.
Isaac Asimov
Energy Blast does standard Single target and AoE - I tend to think of it as the baseline blast set.
Power Bolt and Power Blast do the same damage as most 4s and 8s blasts (ie all except fire). Power Burst does the same damage as Cosmic Burst, Bitter Ice Blast, or Blaze minus the extra DoT (which is Fire's secondary effect).
Explosive Blast and Energy Torrent do similar damage to most Blaster AoEs. Fire them off one after the other to open and they'll both trigger before anyone gets knocked out of the way.
(The Snipe and Nova do standard snipe and nuke damage too I believe).
Energy Blast attacks can also all be slotted with the dirt cheap Explosive Strike damage proc 
You could also slot the Force Feedback +recharge proc. Could make for some interesting burst damage during long fights.
Something Energy gives you leverage over in the long run is enemies with a resistance to particular damage types. iirc, damage is resisted individually and not as a sum vs the stronger resistance like the way that defense is handled. So you can maintain some kind of edge over enemies that are resistant to Energy or Smashing, where Fire gets pushed down in some venues.
Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.
Isaac Asimov
Damage-wise, Energy Blast is middle of the road in both single-target and AoE: Not too good, not too bad.
What it does have is lots of mitigation. The knockback in it is greatly underestimated for how much survivability it can add to a character.
Head of TRICK, the all Trick Arrow and Traps SG
Part of the Repeat Offenders
Still waiting for his Official BackAlleyBrawler No-Prize
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Originally Posted by Rush_Bolt
Damage-wise, Energy Blast is middle of the road in both single-target and AoE: Not too good, not too bad.
What it does have is lots of mitigation. The knockback in it is greatly underestimated for how much survivability it can add to a character. |
I think it's also greatly underestimated how irritating Energy Blast truly is to a lot of people. My god I hate this set. Except hate is not even the word. It's more like it depresses me, because it looks so awesome and performs so frustratingly.
Having knockback in a few attacks is great. Having knockback in every single attack is sadistic. Where other Blasters get to blast indiscriminately, Energy Blast has to hold back to avoid ticking off the entire team. It may be the middle of the road in AoE on paper, but in practice, on a team, it's behind everything else. You know you're frustrated with a set when you spend half your time trying to minimize or eliminate it's secondary effect.
I know this marks me as the "l2play" guy with some people, but seriously I have never felt as disappointed or irritated by a character as I did with my two attempts at playing Energy Blast.
I don't want to discourage you from trying it, but it is definitely not a set for everyone.
I like Energy blasters.
I've had more complaints about my Shockwave-happy Claws scrapper to be honest. Energy blast knockback is more controllable, I think.
OMG! How like, totally kewl are these characters?!1
I just started an energy/mm project, and I have to say I'm loving it so far. The graphics are nice, and the set just makes you feel powerful blasting enemies with bright lights. The sound effects sometimes get to me though, but at least it's not as bad as some... and hey, that's what the volume control is for.
As far as the practical side of the set, I'd agree with others. It's the signature blast set. It doesn't massively out perform nor does it suck. I haven't had any problems with the knockback so far, in fact, I kind of like it, but I can see how Oedipus_Tex feels.
Just try it for yourself.
@Ninth Cloud
Justice
I love my energy blaster he was my first 50. I think it has decent power behind it. Fire is prob number one but i think my energy or my sonic is right behind it. It is all about how much fun you have with your toons...that is what makes them seem powerful
Definately a middle of the road set damage-wise. It's got a whole handful of knockback and other tools. Check the guide in my sig for more in-depth info. The only drawback with Energy is its lack of any decent AoE damage. However, with the new force mastery set AoE, that gap can be covered up slightly, and the knockdown isnt bad either.
@Mazzo Grave
Webmaster Grave, Virtueverse!
Energy/Energy Blaster Guide
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Originally Posted by BackAlleyBrawler
you *******!!!!
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I beg to differ. Energy Blast has standard AoE damage. |
Originally Posted by Black_Marrow
The only drawback with Energy is its lack of any decent AoE damage.
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Energy Blast has two AoEs (both of which work from range, which is nice). Both do around 0.9 damage scalar.
Same as Electric Blast, Archery and Dual Pistols.
Fire and AR pull ahead as AoE specialist sets.
Ice Blast has two very good AoE's, but Ice Storm's on a long recharge. Ice is the odd one out, but roughly on a par with Energy Blast.
Psi and Sonic are bottom of the heap with one AoE and three low damage ones respectively.
Fire, AR - above average AoE.
Energy Blast, Electric Blast, Archery, Dual Pistols, Ice - average AoE.
Psi Blast, Sonic - below average AoE.
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Rain of Arrows puts Archery ahead - it's ranged AoE, short-recharge and crashless, so I would put it in the AoE pool rather than the nuke pool. Archery is below AR for AoE output but ahead of Energy Blast.
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Originally Posted by DrMike2000
I beg to differ. Energy Blast has standard AoE damage.
Energy Blast has two AoEs (both of which work from range, which is nice). Both do around 0.9 damage scalar. Same as Electric Blast, Archery and Dual Pistols. |
Quote:
He was responding to someone that said it lacked decent AOE damage, which I agree with as well.|
Originally Posted by Ben_Arizona
Rain of Arrows puts Archery ahead - it's ranged AoE, short-recharge and crashless, so I would put it in the AoE pool rather than the nuke pool. Archery is below AR for AoE output but ahead of Energy Blast.
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To the OP, Energy Blast is quite fun. I've quite often heard that it's a middle of the road set, but it'll be up to you to see if you like it. I personally like blasting everything away (literally), so Energy Blast is great in that regard. You might have some people complain about KB, but as long as you are smart about it, you should be okay. As it is, you can ignore people complaining about KB when the targets you are knocking back are dying in a few seconds anyway. That's usually what happens on my Blasters with KB.
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
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I think this is the reason we don't get more complaints, or as many complaints as I'd expect due to the kb. We have huge and loud effects and flying dead people. The team knows we rock the socks.|
Originally Posted by Ninth Cloud
The graphics are nice, and the set just makes you feel powerful blasting enemies with bright lights.
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I've got mine colored white with a hint of orange, so they know it's me. I also color fire pure white for the same reason.
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I just went and recolored my blasts to something theme oriented and yet wholly unique from what i've seen on other blasters for a similar reason.|
Originally Posted by Postagulous
I think this is the reason we don't get more complaints, or as many complaints as I'd expect due to the kb. We have huge and loud effects and flying dead people. The team knows we rock the socks.
I've got mine colored white with a hint of orange, so they know it's me. I also color fire pure white for the same reason. |
Energy Blast is a set I'd actually label with a mild learning curve. And it's a curve you don't get with most blasters. Ice, Fire, Psychic. Those generally don't have any knockback worth speaking about, let alone the intensity of knockback involved in EB.
Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.
Isaac Asimov
Quote:
Circle straife so you pop them into a wall, or make sure your shot will kill them, or you can kill them in one more shot.
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Originally Posted by Mercator
Energy Blast is a set I'd actually label with a mild learning curve.
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Yeah, I know, his rankings just seemed off to me for the reason I stated. I agree that Energy Blast is middle-of-the-road for AoE damage, which is sufficient for me.|
Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim
He was responding to someone that said it lacked decent AOE damage, which I agree with as well.
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Personally I like my en/en blaster quite a bit. She has a "patriotic superhero" theme (the character is originally loosely modeled on Star-Spangled Kid), and I've colored her attacks so that her ranged and melee attack chains each cycle between red and blue. It looks nice and kills enemies great.
Yeah, you're right about Archery, Ben. It should be classed in the High AoE group due to rain of Arrows.
My analysis compared non-nuke AoE's, but thats a bit of a false distinction for AR and Archery. Possibly for Dual Pistols as well, althought Ive heard mixed reports about the crashless nuke there.
With decent recharge you can use Rain of Arrows or Full Auto on every spawn, which makes them easy to count as part of your standard attack routine. Hail of Bullets... not so much. It's only usable every 2-3 spawns and it tends to get you killed if you aren't careful.
Really, Energy and Dual Pistols are very similar sets. DP's "nuke" is usable more often but Energy's kills a lot more stuff, and both have similar tier 1 - 3 blasts and a cone + targeted AoE. DP gets a stun / hold instead of a high KB shove and a long recharge "line" attack (that I really don't call an AoE since it maxes at 2-3 targets) instead of a snipe. But Energy gets Aim and slightly better damage, so overall I prefer it to DP. Energy Blast is pretty much dead average for damage output, but the KB actually makes it a fairly safe solo set and it's just a lot of fun to play.
Cascade, level 50 Blaster (NRG/NRG since before it was cool)
Mechmeister, level 50 Bots / Traps MM
FAR too many non-50 alts to name
[u]Arcs[u]
The Scavenger Hunt: 187076
The Instant Lair Delivery Service: 206636
Code:
Not bothering to fix the formatting. DPA bakes in Arcanatime.Energy Blast Dam Act Rech End DPE DPA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Power Bolt 62.56 1 4 5.2 12.03 52.66 Power Blast 102.60 1.67 8 8.528 12.03 55.52 Energy Torrent 60.06 1.07 12 11.856 5.07 45.50 Power Burst 132.63 2 10 10.4 12.75 59.10 Sniper Blast 172.67 4.33 12 14.352 12.03 38.47 Power Push 16.76 1.1 8 8.528 1.97 12.70 Explosive Blast 56.31 1.67 16 15.184 3.71 30.47 Nova 304.98 3 360 20.8 14.66 96.27
Energy Blast is middle of the road ST damage and actually decent AoE, but only on paper. In reality, because of scatter, the ET+EB combo can't be performed reliably and it sinks to the low end. ET by itself w/a 45.5 DPA is very good for a cone. By comparison, Fire Breath is only 37.81. Of course Fireball is 66.31. Fistful of Arrows is also comparable at 43.13, but has a lower recharge making it easier to spam (and no KB either).
ST-wise, the T1 & 2 are standardized for DPA/DPE, but the T3 heavy Burst is sadly slow animating. Blaze, TK Blast, BIB & Blazing Arrow all knock it out of the park. Still, better than Shout and sets that don't even have a T3 blast.
Nova's teh uber. Even tho Inferno & Blizzard do more (and Blizzard is DoT), Nova will always be my Favorite. Nuke. Evah!
So yeah, damage wise, Energy is middle of the pack. What you think of the KB is entirely up to you. My own personal stance is, En is great solo, good duo, okay 3-4 sized team, teh sux on big teams.
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
My energy/energy blaster makes me smile.
Current obsession:
Coffee!!!
Quote:
I have found that ET+EB is pretty reliable. There are times where I lag or fat-finger it, but those are rare.
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Originally Posted by dave_p
Energy Blast is middle of the road ST damage and actually decent AoE, but only on paper. In reality, because of scatter, the ET+EB combo can't be performed reliably and it sinks to the low end. ET by itself w/a 45.5 DPA is very good for a cone. By comparison, Fire Breath is only 37.81. Of course Fireball is 66.31. Fistful of Arrows is also comparable at 43.13, but has a lower recharge making it easier to spam (and no KB either).
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Why Blasters? Empathy Sucks.
So, you want to be Mental?
What the hell? Let's buff defenders.
Tactics are for those who do not have a big enough hammer. Wisdom is knowing how big your hammer is.
ET + EB is pretty reliable as long as you queue up the Explosive Blast while the Torrent is still animating and you aren't lagging. If EB starts to animate before the ET knockback actually occurs it should target everything even if ET scatters them by the time EB actually fires. Any slight delay in activating EB will mess that up though.
Cascade, level 50 Blaster (NRG/NRG since before it was cool)
Mechmeister, level 50 Bots / Traps MM
FAR too many non-50 alts to name
[u]Arcs[u]
The Scavenger Hunt: 187076
The Instant Lair Delivery Service: 206636
I was on a team yesterday [a terribly dysfunctional pug to begin with] that gradually gathered my Wetlander Drone, Energy^2, a Gambit clone energy blaster, and a kheld who stayed in nova.
Rock!
I need to get a team of all energy^2 going some day.
Hey all.
Where does energy blast stand compared to the other primaries in terms of ST and AoE damage? I imagine it's pretty low on the list for AoE, but what about single target?