question about classes

Hey guys I'm really new to the game just started today ^.^. So i was wondering what is the best class to pick? I was leaning towards a blaster or a scrapper but I don't know what types i should consider (like fire ice or electric shield ect.) So i was wondering if anyone could help point me in the right direction. I wana be able to have fun but eventually have a good character. Thanks in advance guys :].

One thing you need to learn about this game. No archetype (not class) is "better" than another here. It all depends on what you want to do and what you find fun. They can all be soloed (at varying degrees of difficulty) and they all add to teams. Nothing is gimped. In fact, you'd have to try really hard to make any powersets "unplayable". You can make a ton of "mistakes" in power picking and still be viable.

So, try a few different ones out and see if you like one better than another. The game basically begs for you to have lots of alts anyway.

EDIT: Ha! Serves me right for typing so much.

LEGION OF VALOR - Be a part of the Legend!

Welcome!!

All the classes, or archetypes (AT's), have strengths and weaknesses to them. I generally agree with you that either a Blaster or a Scrapper is probably a good one to start off with. They will each do nice damage on their attacks. The Blaster's damage is a bit higher, but their defenses and it points (Health) is lower. Choose that if you prefer to stay back at range to attack. The Scrapper has better defenses and health - choose that if you want to be in melee range with your foes.

As for the specific primary and secondary powers, they all are generally good and have their strong points. For example, a fire blaster will have attacks that do more damage over time, whereas a cold blaster's attacks tend to slow down their foes when they hit. I'd maybe try one of those first off if I were to do a blaster. For a scrapper, claws is what you'd expect from the name, while fire melee combines some damage over time in the attacks, katana and broadsword use those weapons as attacks, and martial arts has kicks and punches.

For the secondary on those, Willpower (Scrapper) has a good mix of regeneration and defense powers, while others go in different directions. Some primaries work better with certain secondaries, so it kind of depends on what primary set you choose.

Welcome to the game and to the forums, lamo!

Welcome to the game.
You should also checkout the Mentor Project at the top of this forum. there are people on all the servers that can help with ingame questions and general guidance. It also wouldn't hurt to hit up your particular server forum and say Hi and find out the best global channels to use there for finding teams and such.
If you run on Justice feel free to give me a shout my global is in my signature.

If you choose Guardian, call me... @Kay Nova

The very first thing you must decide is: I want to be good (heroes - the blue side) or evil (villains - the red side).

Next you must choose the range of your attack: Very Close (Melee) or Distant (Ranged). The more exposition you get to the enemy, more will be your toon potential on HPs and Defense. If you are right on their faces, hacking around, youll have lots of life and youll be pretty resilient. By the same token, if you stay away and safe throwing attacks, expect to fall easily if they take notice of you... There is one AT that is special on this... it can perform well better at range, but sometimes it need to get close: The Mastermind.

Not entering on the Epic ATs, they are, with their respective colors:

Close-combat
Tanker - This is the "meatshield". A close-quarters warrior focused on survival above everything. The main "Role" of the tanker is Aggro Control (Be the target of as many enemies as possible, and while still dealing damage, keeping the other party members from being attacked).
Brute - A savage killing machine. Sometimes called the side response to the tanker, the Brute is pretty resilient and dishes loads of damage, getting stronger and stronger as long as the battle goes on. It normally (but not always) the red side Aggro Control.
Scrapper - Fast and precise, the scrapper deals damage with sucessive attacks, getting critical hits as they fight. As all close-quarters toons, it has good defense (not as good as the Tanker). It can sometimes do some Aggro Control, but it isnt their focus.
Stalker - Silent and deadly, the stalkers choose their victims and do a devastating attack (sometimes killing their victim with one hit), then retreating to the shadows to prepare another killing blow. They are the master of picking special targets on a mob, sometimes opening space for the other party members to come in, but theirs isnt the role of taking the alpha-strike. Most of their defensive nature is avoiding being hit, not resisting attacks...

Long Range:
Blaster - The quintessential artillery. He hits from distance, and hits hard. But they are very fragile, and when they get the Aggro, they normally fall. But we all love their hard-hitting damages...
Corruptors - A mix of Long-range attack and support. Their powers deals more damage based on how damaged the enemies are. Think on then as vultures, waiting for the enemies to get weaker then going all in for the final blow. They also can weaken their targets and/or make the party stronger.
Defender - Support focused toon, with long range attacks. When the party strength, or the enemies has too much of it, the defenders walks in, protecting their allies and stripping their enemies of their attacks. Not a big-damage dealer, but very important no matter what is their specialty (be it healing, buffing or debuffin).
Dominator - Crowd-control powers, with lots of aggressive powers in the mix. They immobilize and make the enemies far more vulnerable to the party. As they use their powers they accumulate energy, until it all is released on whats called "Domination Mode", a moment when they are very powerfull and their powers have greater effect. They have a few close-combat powers, enabling the building of the Dom Mode faster...
Controller - Crowd control at its best, mixed with support powers. They can restrain the enemies at the same time they are enhancing the party or weakening the mob bosses. The troller deals good damage, but its normally dished in very small numbers. When they hit a restrained enemy, it takes extra damage.

And then we come to the hard to define...

Mastermind - The Mastermind has a unique kind of power, the power to summon and directly control minions. Most of then are range-focused, but a few prefer melee. When the Mastermind is near their minions, they all get enhanced morale, fighting better (that makes the Mastermind sometimes jump forward into the battle). They also have support powers that they can use to better take care of their minions (and of the party).

All the powersets on all ATs are viable. Even the odd-choices can get pretty powerfull when they are well played. There is a few "flavors" (combinations) that are well established, but they are just that, combinations that got well together... Just read the description of the powerset, and maybe do a quick scan of a few of the powers, and choose what you think will be fun. If you like what you see, go for it!

I have to disagree with KayJMM on his "melee/ranged" classifications.

I play all of my characters in melee, regardless of archetype. And blasters specifically get really hard-hitting *melee* attacks that not taking/using them brings down their damage dealing a *huge* amount.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dispari I don't know why Dink thinks she's not as sexy as Jay was. In 5 posts she's already upstaged his entire career.

My advice is to create a bunch of characters of all Archetypes, all 10 of them if you can manage it. You can usually tell which you like and which cause you problems by level 10 or so. You have plenty of slots, so there's no need not to develop altitis.

The Archetypes in this game are way more flexible than the classes in most other MMOs. You can create Defenders that deal damage, Controllers that get into melee, Scrappers (or Stalkers, Ninjitsu especially) that use control powers, or anything you like. Of course, the Blapper, or Blaster that gets into melee is a common build here that you probably won't see anywhere else.

Just play with it, experiment, and have fun!

Pick the one that sounds neat to you. My first hero was a energy/energy blaster who unfortunately became known as Sparrow1 (She is Sleek Sparrow now {I think} [thanks to the Devs in the winter]) Sounded fun. Blast people with energy and then punch them with the same.

Played her for a while till I saw someone running around with these little fire monkeys and knew I had to have those. The Fire Control Imps are so much fun I have them on 3 of my heros with two more sets on the way.

Occasionally play a scrapper (have a Claws-Super Reflex at 50. She is not as awesome as most peoples but she is still pretty tough.

Finally got my Tank to 50 too. Yaa for Blaze Bunny.

I guess my point, if I actually have one, is to pick something that sounds fun to you and try it. If it doesn't work for you for whatever reason (I'm like that with electric/electric blasters. I've made and deleted 3 of 4...figured I should actually keep one instead of making a new one again) just try something else. Lots to pick from.

Thanks for listening, Bashful Banshee.

Oh yeah. My blaster Sparrow1 hit 46 he other day

Sometimes you'll be surprised by what you enjoy. I'm normally "Damage and more damage" (started Scrapper, moved to Blaster) but I have some Force Field defenders- one of the least damaging types in the game- and I like them a lot.

Also, some things are slower-starters than others (Tanks don't take off in my opinion till level 20-22) so the "You'll know by level 10" may not be accurate for you.

Blasters get more fragile in the late game, although they still do stupendous damage. If you live.

This is a good thread with lots of ideas for a new player. How could we get this stickied so it will be around for others to see?

I'd recommend starting with an Ice/Energy Blaster.

You get great damage, and some decent survivability in the first 10 levels, thanks to early Build Up at level 4, Freeze Ray and your melee attacks. Its a great start for running around Atlas or Galaxy and Kings Row, and getting to grips with the game.

Scrappers don't really come into their own until level 22 onwards, before that they always feel a little bit fragile and a little bit weak to me.

And I highly recommend playing a Blaster first, because you'll appreciate a Scrapper's toughness and mez protection after going without for a while.

You know how WoW has a Leeroy Jenkins player? We have it as an archetype. And it works. Scrappers are kind of cool like that.