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Doing a little Mids, I easily got my Melee defense to 33%, though going for Smash/Lethal defender would be better most likely.|
Originally Posted by Candlestick
My favorite Blapper right now? Rad/Fire. Melee AoE blapper. It's not for the faint of heart.
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My Rad/Ice, I got 30.6% Smash/Lethal and 31.9% Energy/Neg defense, not to mention 27% Melee and 25% Ranged defense.
Edit: Not that I did that with Electric Mastery, meaning 46.1% Smash/Lethal and 30% Energy resist before Surge of Power, which brings capped those and approx 50% resist to everything but Psi.
50s: Bla- Arch/Mental Cont- Mind/FF, Earth/Cold, Ill/Therm, Earth/Rad Dominator- Plant/Psi, Elec/Earth Corr- Fire/Storm, Arch/Sonic, Rad/Kin, Beam/Sonic, Psi/Time Stalker- Elec/SR Def- Storm/Dark, Emp/Psi, Dark/Elec, FF/Arch, TA/Ice, TA/Elec, Kin/AR, Cold/DP, Traps/Psi Scrap- Fire/Shield Tanker- Dark/Mace, Ice/Kin Brute- Claws/WP, SS/Energy, BS/Elec
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On my Fire/Elec, I usually have no problem running the damage aura on teams, and don't have Thunder Strike, so that's a non-issue.|
Originally Posted by Wiggz
I don't have the numbers to crunch in front of me - obviously - but I'd be willing to allow for the sake of argument that, in a vacuum, solo, fire may beat out sonic for dps, if only because of how fast the tier 2 power recharges. I would think that high recharge builds would actually favor Sonic though. Keep in mind that its not Sonic vs. Fire however - its Sonic + Energy vs. Fire + Electric, meaning that you have to compare Electric's attacks at normal damage with Energy's attacks benefitting from -Res. And again, every possible buff, whether its defiance, inspirations, team damage buffs, Build-Up + Aim, etc. all end up benefitting the sonic/energy more than the fire/electric.
I really like the way Stun and Screech can stack with all of the inherent disorient in /Energy not to mention the total mob shut-down ability of every spawn with Siren's Song - particularly a Range-Boosted, Power-Boosted Siren's Song. On any kind of team, even duoing, the -Res will result in more damage than Fire/Electricty does and soloing you get far more mitigation. All of Fire/Electric's AoE damage (assuming you use it) puts you in tremendous jeopardy from aggro as a Blapper in my opinion, when you're better off killing things one at a time very, very fast. In my Blapper build I don't have Howl or even Dreadful Wail for that very reason (though I am considering reworking Wail back in as a panic button of sorts - having BU + Aim is just too good not to have an outlet for). |
Anyway, not an easy way to "prove" anything here, so I'll just back out and let the OP make up his own mind - any blapper is a fun ride. This really makes me want to finish my fire/elec actually, only three levels to go. Looking at Mid's at a possible chain of Flares/Blaze/Flares/Charged Brawl looks like a lotta fun.
question how does a sonic/electric stack versus an energy melee one?
"...well I have wrestled with reality for thirty-five years, Doctor and I am happy to state I finally won out over it." Elwood P Dowd (from the movie Harvey)
Electric is better.
More attacks and better end management via power sink, lets you keep going and going and going...
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Sonic/Energy is easier to solo 22-40. Serious control.|
Originally Posted by Nemu_
Electric is better.
More attacks and better end management via power sink, lets you keep going and going and going... |
First off, you have Siren's Song to sleep entire groups. It is a wide cone with good range (and that's BEFORE Boost Range), an incredible duration and quick recharge. You can definitely keep entire mobs indefinitely mezzed with this one.
So, once you've put everyone to sleep, all you need to do is decide who you want to die and in what order - obviously you start with Bosses who would still be wide awake. Screech and Stun let you stack disorient on a target quickly, though you don't need both for any less than Boss protection... and once you start hammering on them you have sonic attacks with -Res to make the energy attacks really hit hard, and energy attacks themselves that all seem to stack a stun component on top of what is already there. Oh, and there's even Power Boost to extend durations if you find the need.
I won't argue that Electric is better for large teams where you have someone managing your aggro and someone else doing your mezzing for you so all you need to do is kill-kill-kill... pretty much all that matters then is damage and endurance management, though it must be noted that you don't get Power Sink until 35. Siren's Song, for comparison, becomes available at 18, meaning it can be pretty much fully slotted by the time you reach SO's.
But if you want to be able to solo very effectively as a Blaster long before you have millions of influence to dump into a 40+ build, Sonic/Energy is the way to go. On teams, everyone benefits from your -Res, particularly vs. hard targets granting a greater cumulative damage than Fire or any other primary... there may be better blasters, but for my money, nothing blaps better than Sonic/Energy.
I know about the level of control in sonic/energy.
Depending on what you solo that much control is overkill. I soloed on my fire/elec just fine before level 40 and before I purpled her out. Siren's song is safer but I put much more value on cj+hurdle and some sort of invis to get the first drop on the target.
If I were a sonic/anything I'd probably use siren's song, but I won't miss it if I find myself without it. Jousting and breaking los and all sorts of blaster tricks has done more for my blaster than any control ever will.
For that very reason I advocate going ranged defense over S/L, because you'll never be in melee for more than a split-second if you know what you are doing, and you can always force mobs to shoot you because of your mobility.
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I don't think its overkill - one power to put everyone to sleep and then another to keep your current target stunned - even if its a boss - while you kill it quickly. Secondary effects of your attack powers that stack with your initial mez rather than giving you more sleep or counter-productive knock-back. Sounds like just the right amount of control to me.|
Originally Posted by Nemu_
I know about the level of control in sonic/energy.
Depending on what you solo that much control is overkill. I soloed on my fire/elec just fine before level 40 and before I purpled her out. Siren's song is safer but I put much more value on cj+hurdle and some sort of invis to get the first drop on the target. If I were a sonic/anything I'd probably use siren's song, but I won't miss it if I find myself without it. Jousting and breaking los and all sorts of blaster tricks has done more for my blaster than any control ever will. For that very reason I advocate going ranged defense over S/L, because you'll never be in melee for more than a split-second if you know what you are doing, and you can always force mobs to shoot you because of your mobility. |
Now no selection of powers will ever make up for good play - or lack of it, obviously - but comparing jousting and breaking line of sight to 'any amount of control' seems tenuous at best. If you use combat jumping and some sort of stealth to 'get the drop on the target', whats preventing the other four targets in the group from beating the snot out of you while you kill the first one?
Whatever works for you is great. I think its commendable that you've been resourceful enough to make up whatever lacks your power sets might have through superior play. Me, I'd prefer to pair my superior play with the power sets that most effectively accomplish my goals.
Having said that, I think we can all agree that there aren't really any bad power sets or combinations, just varying levels of play ability... its far more important that you enjoy your character. I think green or blue fire is far cooler for instance than the sonic 'rings', and my favorite blaster thus far has been and likely always will be my Fire/Ice.
But I'll stand by Sonic/Energy as the best, most effective Blapper. The past several years or so have convined me of that.
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Electric has a damage aura (not useful if you plan to use Siren's, but it does add up if you can use it safely) and a bit better single target DPS. However, Energy does almost as much DPS while providing significantly more mitigation since every attack has a chance to stun. Based purely on damage, Electric is better but Energy is a bit safer.|
Originally Posted by DreamsRazor
question how does a sonic/electric stack versus an energy melee one?
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Looking at utility powers, Electric gives you Power Sink so endurance is a lot easier to manage, while Energy gives you Conserve Power which helps some but has a far longer recharge. Energy also has Power Boost, which helps with keeping bosses stunned and lets you sleep a group for an insanely long time, and Boost Range for times when you aren't using melee.
Overall I'd consider Sonic/Electric a bit better for a S/L softcapped Blapper build and Sonic/Energy better for a lower defense build. Once you have enough defense to skip Siren's you can run Lightning Field, open up with Howl for the -res, and start smashing things. Non-S/L bosses will be a bit more annoying though since you can't use Power Boost -> Screech -> Total Focus to stun them for half a minute like Energy can.
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
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Good information.|
Originally Posted by StrykerX
Electric has a damage aura (not useful if you plan to use Siren's, but it does add up if you can use it safely) and a bit better single target DPS. However, Energy does almost as much DPS while providing significantly more mitigation since every attack has a chance to stun. Based purely on damage, Electric is better but Energy is a bit safer.
Looking at utility powers, Electric gives you Power Sink so endurance is a lot easier to manage, while Energy gives you Conserve Power which helps some but has a far longer recharge. Energy also has Power Boost, which helps with keeping bosses stunned and lets you sleep a group for an insanely long time, and Boost Range for times when you aren't using melee. Overall I'd consider Sonic/Electric a bit better for a S/L softcapped Blapper build and Sonic/Energy better for a lower defense build. Once you have enough defense to skip Siren's you can run Lightning Field, open up with Howl for the -res, and start smashing things. Non-S/L bosses will be a bit more annoying though since you can't use Power Boost -> Screech -> Total Focus to stun them for half a minute like Energy can. |
If you decide to go with Sonic/Energy, I'd suggest a slightly different tact with Bosses (S/L or not):
Power Boost + Aim + Siren's Song to sleep the group, then Screech and Stun on the Boss to lock him down. Then Build Up -> Shriek -> Scream -> Energy Punch -> Bone Crusher ->Total Focus. If that's somehow not enough to kill him, chances are one or more of the three melee attacks have stunned him long enough to cycle through the attacks again. Lather, rinse, repeat, then Siren's the group again before deciding who's going to die next. Particularly in solo situations, AoE attacks can only hurt you.
I recognize that the OP was asking about Blappers rather than Blasters, and the two have very different play-styles. Jousting, running around kiting or trying to constantly break line of sight as another poster suggested is far from a 'blapping' playstyle. There are excellent and potent blasters who don't blap at all, so I'd suggest defnitely figuring out what feels most comfortable - and fun - for you.
Funny, I don't consider people that use siren's song and then pick off foes one by one blappers either. Have you seen a real bunny hopping blapper delivering jousting death all over the battlefield? And you don't joust away from the spawn, you joust from one enemy to another so you land next to your next target setting it up for the kill.
Learning how to move, how to position yourself, how to use LOS, how to use inspirations, how to exploit enemy ai does far more for your overall competency as a blapper, and as coh player, than siren's song, I can assure you that. And once the survivability issue is addressed by IOs siren's song and it's kin are nothing but IO mules at best, wastes of time at worst.
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That's kind of funny actually. I suppose those controllers are just rotten players, eh? Let's keep in mind that when you're 'bunny-hopping all over the battelfields', that most battefields, especially in missions are actually very small rooms. You do know where the 'apping' part of blapping comes from? It comes from scrapping, and its been a while since I've seen scrappers 'bunny-hopping all over the battefield', jousting and working hard to break line-of-sight.|
Originally Posted by Nemu_
Funny, I don't consider people that use siren's song and then pick off foes one by one blappers either. Have you seen a real bunny hopping blapper delivering jousting death all over the battlefield? And you don't joust away from the spawn, you joust from one enemy to another so you land next to your next target setting it up for the kill.
Learning how to move, how to position yourself, how to use LOS, how to use inspirations, how to exploit enemy ai does far more for your overall competency as a blapper, and as coh player, than siren's song, I can assure you that. And once the survivability issue is addressed by IOs siren's song and it's kin are nothing but IO mules at best, wastes of time at worst. |
We'll just have to agree to disagree. As someone who plays a lot of different characters from every AT, level 50 is often an ending of sorts rather than a beginning for me, and I prefer characters who depend on their powers level 1-50 over characters who don't really come into their own until you can drop hundreds of millions of influence on them late in the game. I don't farm, I don't power-level and by level 25 I like to have an effective, versatile and capable character, not the beginnings of something that might one day be really cool... if I ever get there.
For the OP and anypone else following the discussion, this is the build I'm currently playing using standard IO's. I'm an endless tweaker, and some of the slotting will probably get changed around a bit, but for the moment this is what it is. She plays as a straight up blaster until level 22 or so - and very effectively I might add - and then once Sirens gets its slots and enhancements begins to follow the types of attack chains I was referring to before.
One of the things I'm torn about is Hover. Its usefulness to a blaster - especially a soloing one - can not be under-stated at early levels. The question becomes whether or not to keep it for versatility's sake once you get higher up. I'm currently thinking I might eventually drop it, moving Boxing into its slot at 6, Moving Energy Punch into the 22 slot and then taking the nuke (Dreadful Wail). Any Blaster with access to Aim AND Build-Up without taking a nuke is probably limiting his potential on a team.
Anyway, here it is.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.707
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 50 Mutation Blaster
Primary Power Set: Sonic Attack
Secondary Power Set: Energy Manipulation
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Cold Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Shriek -- Acc(A), Acc(3), Dmg(5), Dmg(7), Dmg(15), Decim-Build%(34)
Level 1: Power Thrust -- Acc(A)
Level 2: Scream -- Acc(A), Acc(3), Dmg(5), Dmg(7), Dmg(15), RechRdx(17)
Level 4: Build Up -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(13), RechRdx(46)
Level 6: Hover -- EndRdx(A)
Level 8: Shout -- Acc(A), Acc(9), Dmg(9), Dmg(11), Dmg(11), RechRdx(17)
Level 10: Swift -- Run(A)
Level 12: Amplify -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(13), RechRdx(46)
Level 14: Hurdle -- Jump(A)
Level 16: Conserve Power -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(29)
Level 18: Sirens Song -- Acc(A), Acc(19), Acc(19), Sleep(23), Sleep(23), Range(37)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(21), EndMod(21), P'Shift-End%(40)
Level 22: Boxing -- Acc(A), Acc(42), Dmg(42), Dmg(42), Dmg(43)
Level 24: Stun -- Acc(A), Acc(25), Dsrnt(25), Dsrnt(37), RechRdx(43), RechRdx(48)
Level 26: Screech -- Acc(A), Acc(27), Dsrnt(27), Dsrnt(37), RechRdx(43), RechRdx(48)
Level 28: Power Boost -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(29)
Level 30: Bone Smasher -- Acc(A), Acc(31), Dmg(31), Dmg(31), Dmg(34), RechRdx(36)
Level 32: Energy Punch -- Acc(A), Acc(33), Dmg(33), Dmg(33), Dmg(34), EndRdx(36)
Level 35: Boost Range -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(36)
Level 38: Total Focus -- Acc(A), Dmg(39), Dmg(39), Dmg(39), RechRdx(40), RechRdx(40)
Level 41: Flash Freeze -- Acc(A), Acc(46)
Level 44: Frozen Armor -- EndRdx(A), DefBuff(45), DefBuff(45), DefBuff(45)
Level 47: Tough -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), S'fstPrt-ResKB(48)
Level 49: Weave -- EndRdx(A), DefBuff(50), DefBuff(50), DefBuff(50)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Defiance
Level 6: Ninja Run
And here's the Hover-less build I'm considering respeccing into around level 25 or so.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.707
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 50 Mutation Blaster
Primary Power Set: Sonic Attack
Secondary Power Set: Energy Manipulation
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Fitness
Ancillary Pool: Cold Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Shriek -- Acc(A), Acc(3), Dmg(5), Dmg(7), Dmg(15), Decim-Build%(43)
Level 1: Power Thrust -- Acc(A), Acc(17)
Level 2: Scream -- Acc(A), Acc(3), Dmg(5), Dmg(7), Dmg(15), RechRdx(17)
Level 4: Build Up -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(13), RechRdx(46)
Level 6: Boxing -- Acc(A)
Level 8: Shout -- Acc(A), Acc(9), Dmg(9), Dmg(11), Dmg(11)
Level 10: Swift -- Run(A)
Level 12: Amplify -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(13), RechRdx(46)
Level 14: Hurdle -- Jump(A)
Level 16: Conserve Power -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(29), RechRdx(46)
Level 18: Sirens Song -- Acc(A), Acc(19), Acc(19), Sleep(37), Sleep(37), Range(37)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(21), EndMod(21), P'Shift-End%(40)
Level 22: Energy Punch -- Acc(A), Acc(23), Dmg(23), Dmg(36), Dmg(36)
Level 24: Stun -- Acc(A), Acc(25), Dsrnt(25), Dsrnt(42), RechRdx(43), RechRdx(48)
Level 26: Screech -- Acc(A), Acc(27), Dsrnt(27), Dsrnt(42), RechRdx(43), RechRdx(48)
Level 28: Power Boost -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(29)
Level 30: Bone Smasher -- Acc(A), Acc(31), Dmg(31), Dmg(31), Dmg(34), RechRdx(34)
Level 32: Dreadful Wail -- RechRdx(A), Dmg(33), Dmg(33), Dmg(33), RechRdx(34)
Level 35: Boost Range -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(36)
Level 38: Total Focus -- Acc(A), Dmg(39), Dmg(39), Dmg(39), RechRdx(40), RechRdx(40)
Level 41: Flash Freeze -- Acc(A), Acc(42)
Level 44: Frozen Armor -- EndRdx(A), DefBuff(45), DefBuff(45), DefBuff(45)
Level 47: Tough -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), S'fstPrt-ResKB(48)
Level 49: Weave -- EndRdx(A), DefBuff(50), DefBuff(50), DefBuff(50)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Defiance
Level 6: Ninja Run
Also, please note that I use the Ninja Run, augmented with Swift and Hurdle as my primary means of transportation. Between that, the protect mission temporary travel powers, relatively inexpensive jety packs, the jump pack and other available abilities like mission teleport, WW's teleport, base teleport, Pocket D, base teleportation pads, etc. I haven't really found the need for a travel power. Someone without many of those options may feel differently.
Yes, the -res does help teams out quite a bit.
/Elec will beat /Energy I'm fairly sure - having a third melee (Shocking Grasp) that does alright is a lot better than the long animating Total Focus. At least in terms of DPS. Maybe someone could compare a Son/Elec with a Fire/Elec.
I really like the way Stun and Screech can stack with all of the inherent disorient in /Energy not to mention the total mob shut-down ability of every spawn with Siren's Song - particularly a Range-Boosted, Power-Boosted Siren's Song. On any kind of team, even duoing, the -Res will result in more damage than Fire/Electricty does and soloing you get far more mitigation. All of Fire/Electric's AoE damage (assuming you use it) puts you in tremendous jeopardy from aggro as a Blapper in my opinion, when you're better off killing things one at a time very, very fast. In my Blapper build I don't have Howl or even Dreadful Wail for that very reason (though I am considering reworking Wail back in as a panic button of sorts - having BU + Aim is just too good not to have an outlet for).