What should I be playing?

I came back after a two-year break and I need something new.

Dual Pistols is the only new Blaster-set in Going Rogue, correct?

How has everyone found it so far? I mean in the very nerdy, DPS as it compares to other sets, PvP-viable sense, not the "it looks cool when I spin around and shoot bullets"-sense. I'm one of those nerdy players who creates characters with a theme just as long as that also aligns in a fairly viable min/max sense.

I already have:
Energy/Energy - 50
Ice/Energy - 50
Ice/Elec - 33-ish
Psy/Mental - 22
Sonic/Mental - 10
Pistols/Device - 3

And maybe one or two I'm forgetting. For some reason, I'm just not feeling the Psy/Mental or the Ice/Elec now that I've returned. I played the Sonic/Mental for three levels yesterday, but I'm already becoming grated by Howl, which seems horribly narrow and I'm sure the rooting/animation will eventually get me killed.

Maybe I could get to enjoy the Pistols/Device, but I sort of hesitated on playing a BRAND NEW character, thinking that I should wait to start in Praetoria or whatever.

So it's possible I may not even start another character until next week when GR releases. But I still would like the advice going into it, as well as any suggestions on how to best enjoy the sets I have (aside from the 50's, of course).

Thanks.

... what, no Fire/* blasters?

(I haven't tried Dual Pistols myself, but the last three non-Fire blasters I made all made me wish they were Fire.)

Ohh, that's a qualifier I should have included. I just can't get into Fire/. I think it's the lack of any default secondary effects. I need something with a little more oomph other than just more damage.

It is middle of the road DPS wise. Good AoE after 32. Optional controls with Swap Ammo and the single target ranged control.

If you liked your Energy blaster, I can't see why you wouldn't like Dual Pistols. One of the nice things about Dual Pistols is you can turn on extra damage when you don't need those controls.

What's your playstyle? Do you like standing out of melee, or do you like being able to mix it up a bit? I would think you're fine with the latter, given your En/En, but I don't want to assume.

Elec/Elec/Elec was pretty fun and different for me. You could hold a lot of stuff, end drain, blast, and scrap. Pretty versatile and played different from my AR/En even (who also used Hurdle and Combat Jumping to leap in and out of melee), and especially my Archery/Devices (who hovers out of melee or uses cal trops to stay that way). I'd also recommend Archery a lot. Very fun set: love the "thwip! thwip!" sound it makes, too.

I'd say finnish off your Ice/Elec, that's a fun controllerish combo.

and I'd start of on Dual Pistols with another secondary, something with Build Up, and more useful powers that you can't get from the power pools.

Ive been personally adoring my DP/NRG Blaster, alot of fun to play and able to mix it up a bit when it comes to it.

Have you tried rad blast yet?

I'd highly recommend rad/mm. Or if you want more AoE, rad/fire.

I really like Rad Blast, but I've played a Corrupter to 50 with it, and sporadically on a Defender.

Does it feel a lot more powerful on a Blaster?

My playstyle is generally that of a blapper; I hop in and out of melee all of the time. I also play controllers a lot, so handling a situation appeals to me.

I think the Dual Pistol intrigues me the most at the moment, but what secondary would really mesh well with it? I think I'd prefer to skip Energy and Elec - How does Mental mesh with it?

I second the Rad/MM suggestion. Lots of extra oomph that you are looking for. Even Laser Beam Eyes feels powerful with 6 slotted Thunderstrikes

Rad/Fire gets my vote. It's the blaster for crazy awesome people. Irridate+Firesword Circle+Neutron Bomb=OMGWTFBBQ!

I have been wanting to like DP, but it feels so slow to me after my Energy/Energy. Granted my Energy is 50 and has some purples, but Torrent, and Explosive blast are much faster.

I cant stand the two big single target hitters either. Neither is that much slower than Energy's big hitter, but they sure seem so when I play them.

I do love HOB though, lots of fun.

I was underwhelmed by DP during closed beta. It's damage is only comparable to energy blast while using incendiary rounds. Any of the other types of ammunition puts it at second to last for damage output.

If you don't like gun-fu you'll hate the animations and I would recommend avoiding the set completely for that reason alone.

DP as it stands now is not a good blaster set though it is a decent defender secondary/corrupter primary.

The only thing that DP excels at is the sheer number of procs that you can pack into it.

I'll add my vote to rad/fire. If you like to blap (and I do) this is the combo that's for you.

I was gonna put in my vote for Elec^3 blaster because you can slot chance for stun in every single attack and it's a fun blapping set... but then I remembered lolelec.

Looking at the powersets again, I decided to play /EM once more. This time I paired it with the Radiation Blast due to suggestions from this thread, but I was thinking...

What the hell do you use for a PvE attack chain?

I've never been one for X-Ray beam - The eye-attack just has too long of an animation and doesn't flow, so I'll probably end up with the weaker, but faster recharging and animating Neutrino Bolt.

Eventually I would like to PvP with the set (particularly zone, though I don't know how often that occcurs on the Infinity server these days), but we're more concerned with PvE here.

So, suggestions and approached for PvE'ing with the set? I assume some sort of high-wire blapping is the only way to make the most out of the combo, with a little bit of Neutrino Beam, hop in, Irradiate, Cosmic Burst, Bonesmasher, Total Focus, hop out, Neutrino Beam being relatively standard. I'd probably skip Electron Haze because it would conflict with that approach with the smallish cone and knockback.

Any antecdotal experience to sway me from this course? Or support it?

Thanks.

Anyone, anyone?

X-Ray Beam's animation is no worse than any other Tier 2 attack. Electron Haze's 25% chance of knockback and shallow cone are not particularly compelling reasons to skip it, especially when you have access to Boost Range. Power Boost will help you lock down troublesome mobs or bosses with your single-targets stuns.

Run with that. It's a blaster, not rocket science.

Boost Range increases width?

I've started it, and I've got the eyes. I don't know what it is, but the attack feels slow to me, and I guess I just don't care for the animation. I'll probably stick with it over Neutrino though; I have that on my Corrupter, where I feel it's better used with the Scourging.