I see this topic went in the direction that I was having a lot of questions in.
I made a new topic based on this idea, and now I read there is some advice here on later game slotting, but I still wonder if it is worth all the influence to get your blaster a little more 'dodgey' in later game?
I'm just hitting this dilemma now because I can't go to town on two toons.... I enjoy my Dual Pistols blaster FAR more than I have any other blaster ,but for an AT comparison, I just don't know if he's worth the playing time, and influence requirement to IO up at 50. Does it really make a big difference? I guess you can see my other thread started in the blaster forum, but I am curios how you guys would compare the end game 'capability' of a well slotted Blaster vs. a well slotted Scrapper.
Nekron: Beam Rifle / Poison Corruptor and Slayer of Evil!! (Exalted)
Intergalaktic: Fire / Time Corruptor (Exalted)
Elektro - that is the issue isn't it?
I have characters that I took to 30 and found I wasn't happy with where they were going and the powers didn't do what I wanted for the concept.
On other characters I don't really care for them even from the beginning but leveled them up because it is nice to have a Kin to buff a team in a TF, it is nice to have a tank who you can switch to, it's nice to have a controller when needed and it's nice to have a pure damage blaster at times.
I have built blasters both ways - where I try and survive and where I try to just deliver the utmost damage and damn the torpedo's if I die - First one to Valhalla buys the beer!
In my opinion the latter was the most fun - whether I lived or died meant nothing to me - debt is just karma paying you back for all the damage you are doing! Let my team try and keep me alive and I will try and destroy every living thing faster than they believe possible. Min/Max? Nope just Max - Maximum damage!
Seriously on my high level blasters - I have aid self, temp rez power from the market and 2 rows of purples, 2 rows of breakfree's and the rest blues so I can keep pounding damage - I never "keep" reds or yellows they are meant to be fed immediately into the damage machine.
I was tanking on a team with my Blaster - a guy joins and says what the? I said damage is the best mitigation and proceeded to unleash all the fires of hell onto them - I took damage but never slowed down. They all died - I was in the red popped heal self and was healed by the controller on the team and rolled on to the next group - they guy only stayed for one mission he said watching my health drop constantly was making him too nervous!
As a Blaster aggro and debt are the ultimate complement. You got their attention and they don't like you enough to send their very best attacks 
Blasterlock is very fun.
Quote:
My Fire/MM chains Blaze - Blast - Flares - REPEAT while being soft-capped to smash/lethal. Maybe that's not "Average" but it's doable |
Originally Posted by PleaseRecycle
the average fire blaster ought to be chaining flares -> blast -> flares -> blaze. DS of 6.8 in 4.67 seconds.
|
Quote:
Very nice answer. |
Originally Posted by Infernus_Hades
Elektro - that is the issue isn't it?
I have characters that I took to 30 and found I wasn't happy with where they were going and the powers didn't do what I wanted for the concept. On other characters I don't really care for them even from the beginning but leveled them up because it is nice to have a Kin to buff a team in a TF, it is nice to have a tank who you can switch to, it's nice to have a controller when needed and it's nice to have a pure damage blaster at times. I have built blasters both ways - where I try and survive and where I try to just deliver the utmost damage and damn the torpedo's if I die - First one to Valhalla buys the beer! In my opinion the latter was the most fun - whether I lived or died meant nothing to me - debt is just karma paying you back for all the damage you are doing! Let my team try and keep me alive and I will try and destroy every living thing faster than they believe possible. Min/Max? Nope just Max - Maximum damage! Seriously on my high level blasters - I have aid self, temp rez power from the market and 2 rows of purples, 2 rows of breakfree's and the rest blues so I can keep pounding damage - I never "keep" reds or yellows they are meant to be fed immediately into the damage machine. I was tanking on a team with my Blaster - a guy joins and says what the? I said damage is the best mitigation and proceeded to unleash all the fires of hell onto them - I took damage but never slowed down. They all died - I was in the red popped heal self and was healed by the controller on the team and rolled on to the next group - they guy only stayed for one mission he said watching my health drop constantly was making him too nervous! As a Blaster aggro and debt are the ultimate complement. You got their attention and they don't like you enough to send their very best attacks Blasterlock is very fun. |
But still... is it worth the influence? What is the goal? Do you get the bang for the buck from your blaster than you would with a different AT?
I like the way you play your blaster though... sounds like a fun way to live... or die.
Nekron: Beam Rifle / Poison Corruptor and Slayer of Evil!! (Exalted)
Intergalaktic: Fire / Time Corruptor (Exalted)
Very good question Elektro, but I think the answer really lies within yourself. I have a couple of characters that I have put massive amounts of money into, although I am not a Min/Maxer by any stretch. DP isn't the best of the best when it comes to powersets numerically, but quite frankly I find it a lot of fun to play. It all boils down to how much fun you are having with the character. If you like it, then it's worth investing in, if not then it's not.
Quote:
It isn't yes or no, but a matter of degree.|
Originally Posted by _Elektro_
Very nice answer.
But still... is it worth the influence? What is the goal? Do you get the bang for the buck from your blaster than you would with a different AT? I like the way you play your blaster though... sounds like a fun way to live... or die. |
First, if you don't chase Defense you won't, in my experience, really feel any advancement from, say level 34 on. Maybe you'll get a cool APP power, or if you are lucky your secondary power rocks, but your capability won't really increase much.
The first level of increased power comes from getting to 30% defense. At this point you really start to notice the increased defense and it's easy to cap with Purple inspirations when you need. If you don't want to dump lots of influence into the build then go for, say, 30% S/L and 15 to 20% in others. You can do this through normal play by running tip missions to go villain and grab Scorpion Shield, and then using tip missions to gain Hero Merits to pick up Kinetic Combats.
Increasing power level no longer requires you to play the market or farm in the traditional sense; you should be able to slowly build out using tip missions and hero merits. If you are market savvy you can but and sell recipes and then buy what you want, if not then you can get a new recipe every 2-4 days of play. Tip missions should only take like 45 minutes to complete.
Also, recipes don't bind. You can accelerate the process by running tip on two different characters.
Moonlighter
50s include MA/SD, MA/SR, DP/Elec, Claw/Inv, Kat/Dark, Kat/Fire, Spine/Regen, Dark/SD
First Arc: Tequila Sunrise, #168563
Is it worth the influence?
It is a journey not a destination. You just slowly add things - get combat jump and its better. Then get your 41 level power and its better. You add some shields and some Mez resistance and its better.
On a blaster for me its my character concept and damage. I just want vast quantities of orange numbers. Not concerned with death or debt - I always get swift 3 slotted with run speed and combat jumping so I can zip back and forth over the top raking them with damage. Then jumping back over them.
Obviously getting a couple steadfast or anti-knockback IO's of some flavor and boosting the mez protection. I really think it is more of the mindset you use going in.
On a team I let the melee go in and count to 4 - then let fly with everything I have.
Quote:
As others have said, it's up to you. If you like the character, you'll continue to like it (most likely). Especially if you have gotten into the 30s with it. Any AT is worth IOing out if you enjoy the character. Me, I slot most of my Blasters for Ranged damage, and I enjoy them the more they can dodge stuff. Grabbing Aid Self is nice for the inevitable hits that make their way through, of course.|
Originally Posted by _Elektro_
Very nice answer.
But still... is it worth the influence? What is the goal? Do you get the bang for the buck from your blaster than you would with a different AT? I like the way you play your blaster though... sounds like a fun way to live... or die. |
And really, there are a lot of sets that are not THAT expensive and are still beneficial to your character. I made an IO build for a Blaster when I came back to the game (right after IOs were introduced), and I was able to slot that character as I leveled up. He had one lucky big drop that he sold, but all of my characters I have made since have made good money just selling what dropped for them. I can now afford to start getting IOs for them sooner rather than later, but they would all be able to do it on their own. If anything, it's even easier to do now with the merit system.
Basically, I don't have any characters that do not get IOs. I find the IO system fun, and it makes my characters even more fun to trick them out. If you like a character, I would say it's worth doing.
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
Quote:
I didn't mean to make it sound like you can't IO out a character without turning on your wife, quitting your job and selling your house, but to go... into some the sets, we are talking a fair amount of time investment.|
Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim
As others have said, it's up to you. If you like the character, you'll continue to like it (most likely). Especially if you have gotten into the 30s with it. Any AT is worth IOing out if you enjoy the character. Me, I slot most of my Blasters for Ranged damage, and I enjoy them the more they can dodge stuff. Grabbing Aid Self is nice for the inevitable hits that make their way through, of course.
And really, there are a lot of sets that are not THAT expensive and are still beneficial to your character. I made an IO build for a Blaster when I came back to the game (right after IOs were introduced), and I was able to slot that character as I leveled up. Basically, I don't have any characters that do not get IOs. I find the IO system fun, and it makes my characters even more fun to trick them out. If you like a character, I would say it's worth doing. |
For this reason I decided that I would only go... balls out on one toon. I prefer to play storylines, and the like, not farm merits. Which I would still do... I'm just saying I prefer story arcs and a bit of badge hunting... that's just me.
What I do find funny is I am hearing people in general kind of taking the position, "hey it's my blaster, so I'm just going to have fun, and enjoy some IO's and enjoy the ride."
What happened to the 3-4 pages of people telling me Dual Pistols sucked? Or was not 'the best' set? Those people have the mind set of min/maxing, but still they play blasters into end game...? Why? For fun? Gee....what a concept.
I do find Pistols a LOT of fun. I am just now contemplating... I've had my fun into the mid 30's with him. I don't know if he's worth IO'ing much _in comparison to my latest scrapper_.
My angle on this is, when my IO'd scrapper walks into a bar full of +3 Carnie Folk, they start wetting their colourful pants. When my IO'd blaster walks into a bar full of +3 Carnie Folk.... then what?
If you tell me it's about the 'ride not the destination', I'll remind those of you about several pages of Dual Pistol slamming with comments like: Not strong enough, too slow, etc.
++edit++
Btw: is there any stat a blaster can leverage that a scrapper, or any AT for that matter can't? Like... damage? Can we cap a blaster higher than a scrapper?
Nekron: Beam Rifle / Poison Corruptor and Slayer of Evil!! (Exalted)
Intergalaktic: Fire / Time Corruptor (Exalted)
Oh, I still think it is a weaker set.
However if you like it - have fun! I tried it and since I don't have a concept character for DP yet - like for instance:
Mab Queen of Winter - she was inspired by the Dresden Files books. She is an Ice/Storm controller and at times was PAINFUL to level. Solo? She can't finish a kill all mission in and hour! In teams she locks everything down. If I was asked how does she rate? I would say even IO'd out she is weaker than many other controllers. But I like her for she was a concept.
A blaster due to the style I enjoy playing - needs first and foremost DAMAGE. I have an Ice/Ice blaster whom I quite like as she is very good at control and damage. I still have to go for all out chaos nothing beats the thrill of a Fire/Fire Blaster. It is a roller coaster ride of damage out versus damage in. Most of the time I win the battle and when I don't - I will next time!
Blasters in a perfect world or while buffed can do the most damage.
I think in pure survivability and damage a Fire/Dark or Spines/dark would pass us with the self heals and debuffs and dual damage auras.
Just a quick question as I try to figure out a way to make my DP/Energy guy a bit.... more... epic.
Some people suggested switching sides long enough to grab Scorpion armour.... I just looked at it, and it gives 'good' defense to Smashing, Lethal, and energy..... What's the deal with that? I thought 'Positional' defense was the way to go... I mean how does that work? A roll to hit gets through, then a roll to see if the 'lethal' part of an attack gets through?
That seems weaker to me than just cranking up positional defense with the means of the Fighting Pool or something like that. I wanted to avoid the fighting pool this time, and just go something like Combat Jumping and the Scorpion Armour.
BTW: Does the Scorpion Armour have a physical appearance? (I hope not)
Nekron: Beam Rifle / Poison Corruptor and Slayer of Evil!! (Exalted)
Intergalaktic: Fire / Time Corruptor (Exalted)
I tried a DP corruptor (not blaster, so YMMV) and it was possibly the weakest character I've ever played next to my old warshade. I could barely take on 3 minions of my level. Bosses were a no go even one on one. EB's? LOL! LT's were as difficult as +2 bosses on my other characters. I paired it with /traps so I did have some debuffs going.
I don't know if it was DP or traps on that character but wow was it sucky. I'm in the process of making a DP/? blaster now. Probably EM.
Traps can take a while to bloom. I've got a traps/dp def, who seems to be at the very least awesome on teams.
Quote:
First, Scorpion Shield has a purple glow. It's not terrible, but with some concepts it can be distracting. Don't even get me started that we have to choose between swapping to Villain for a purple glow or use clunky ice cube armor to get the best protection.|
Originally Posted by _Elektro_
Just a quick question as I try to figure out a way to make my DP/Energy guy a bit.... more... epic.
Some people suggested switching sides long enough to grab Scorpion armour.... I just looked at it, and it gives 'good' defense to Smashing, Lethal, and energy..... What's the deal with that? I thought 'Positional' defense was the way to go... I mean how does that work? A roll to hit gets through, then a roll to see if the 'lethal' part of an attack gets through? That seems weaker to me than just cranking up positional defense with the means of the Fighting Pool or something like that. I wanted to avoid the fighting pool this time, and just go something like Combat Jumping and the Scorpion Armour. BTW: Does the Scorpion Armour have a physical appearance? (I hope not) |
Second, Scorpion Shield is very high defense. I know it says medium, but the actual numbers when buffed are over 16% in S/L and Energy.
Third, S/L is great overall defense to have because a large number of attacks have a S/L component. Stuff you wouldn't think would, like Total Focus, Bone Smasher, Fire Ball, Inferno, Ice Bolt, Ice Blast, etc. Since it's defense, the game uses your best defense against the attack, so attacks with a little bit of S/L are fully mitigated by S/L defense.
Ranged is great for hovering blasters but when you have a primary like DP where you have to get down and dirty in the middle of groups to use your nuke S/L is excellent defense. The fact that you can also cap Energy is bonus since a lot of commonly encountered groups also use energy attacks.
Moonlighter
50s include MA/SD, MA/SR, DP/Elec, Claw/Inv, Kat/Dark, Kat/Fire, Spine/Regen, Dark/SD
First Arc: Tequila Sunrise, #168563
Quote:
I soloed the incarnate intro arc with SOs on my DP Corr so my mileage has definitely varied.
|
Originally Posted by Toony
I tried a DP corruptor (not blaster, so YMMV) and it was possibly the weakest character I've ever played next to my old warshade. I could barely take on 3 minions of my level. Bosses were a no go even one on one. EB's? LOL! LT's were as difficult as +2 bosses on my other characters. I paired it with /traps so I did have some debuffs going.
I don't know if it was DP or traps on that character but wow was it sucky. I'm in the process of making a DP/? blaster now. Probably EM. |
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by PRAF68_EU
Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.
|
Quote:
Quick question; I started a DP/Traps corruptor twice and rerolled due to kill speed. Theoretically it look like I might be able to get good damage, except my -Res trap wasn't available every spawn and by the time I dropped two trapped and fired off my AoEs my blaster basically killed things.|
Originally Posted by Dispari
I soloed the incarnate intro arc with SOs on my DP Corr so my mileage has definitely varied.
|
Have you been able to round out the Corruptor to have a satisfying kill speed? It doesn't have to be blaster good, but I don't want to watch paint peel while I am doing missions either.
Moonlighter
50s include MA/SD, MA/SR, DP/Elec, Claw/Inv, Kat/Dark, Kat/Fire, Spine/Regen, Dark/SD
First Arc: Tequila Sunrise, #168563
nit picking
Quote:
While both of those attacks deal some smashing damage, neither are typed to check for smashing defense, as far as I know.|
Originally Posted by Moonlighter
Fire Ball, Inferno
|
Your point is still very good though and I also recommend both Frozen Armor and Scorpion Shield as very good choices.
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.
okay...
So I worked this little puppy up to have good ranged/AoE and other defense mostly. I skipped fighting pools, and went CJ and Scorpion instead. This is about the best I could afford, skipping Purps and Ham.
The secondary concern was damage. I wanted to be a damage fiend. Thoughts on this build (Damage bonus is 129% btw).
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.91
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Vhaz: Level 50 Mutation Blaster
Primary Power Set: Dual Pistols
Secondary Power Set: Energy Manipulation
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Medicine
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Pistols -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(11), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(45)
Level 1: Power Thrust -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 2: Dual Wield -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(11), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 4: Empty Clips -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(7), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), Posi-Dmg/Rng(40)
Level 6: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(7)
Level 8: Bullet Rain -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(9), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(9), Posi-Dmg/Rng(15), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(17), Posi-Dam%(46)
Level 10: Swap Ammo
Level 12: Suppressive Fire -- Lock-Acc/Hold(A), Lock-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(13), Lock-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(13), Lock-Rchg/Hold(21), Lock-%Hold(31), Lock-Acc/Rchg(39)
Level 14: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(15)
Level 16: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 18: Executioner's Shot -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(19), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(25), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29)
Level 20: Maneuvers -- EndRdx-I(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(48)
Level 22: Tactics -- GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(A), GSFC-ToHit(23), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(25), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(29), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(31), GSFC-Build%(34)
Level 24: Super Speed -- Run-I(A)
Level 26: Piercing Rounds -- JavVoll-Acc/End/Rech(A), JavVoll-Acc/Dmg/End/Rech(27), JavVoll-Acc/Dmg(27), JavVoll-Dam/Rech(31), JavVoll-Dam/End/Rech(37), JavVoll-Dam%(40)
Level 28: Combat Jumping -- Krma-ResKB(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50)
Level 30: Aid Other -- Heal-I(A)
Level 32: Hail of Bullets -- Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(33), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(33), Oblit-Dmg(33), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Oblit-%Dam(34)
Level 35: Aid Self -- Numna-Heal/EndRdx(A), Numna-EndRdx/Rchg(36), Numna-Heal/Rchg(36), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(36), Numna-Heal(37), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(37)
Level 38: Boost Range -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 41: Scorpion Shield -- RedFtn-EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(42), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(42), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(42), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(43), RedFtn-Def(45)
Level 44: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 47: Power Boost -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 49: Web Envelope -- Acc(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Defiance
Level 10: Chemical Ammunition
Level 10: Incendiary Ammunition
Level 10: Cryo Ammunition
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Mrcl-Heal/EndRdx(A), Heal-I(39), Mrcl-Heal(46)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(17), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(21), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(43), P'Shift-End%(43), P'Shift-Acc/Rchg(48)
Code:
P.S.| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1620;776;1552;HEX;| |78DA8D94596F125114C7EF1490969D22140A9442E9625BA6255A6DF5C144ED43939| |2605BFBA49211463A06076449AC4F7E009FDCEA92BAC5F5D93D7E269717B5B6EA78| |CF391768C28B93F0FFDD3973EEFF1CEEBD3399CB271C8C5D3DCA24E7F19252ABE58| |E71ADABD5EE4CA3AED4B5B26E5E5D53AE58196361F124B7A4E845B5209F6828A55C| |56ABD5CBA5DA50F3D972A3522957EBF2BCAE568BEBB98CA26B9546098DBC0BFA9A5| |A55F5BADC1CD8B2E572495EAEA86AC18DC3455529A8D5DA9A567134EF2B9A5E74E2| |4D462D68794D5743F3152D2F370B6694BCCA05C6EB41DEE50CFF853C4C5C86996D7| |08CB2AE3B84FB08DB5DC4E43DC445D64A37B1F31C513655E448B3F4058286E8E7B6| |12E559A44D0C991F206C0F11A38F10938F11A92788309F6512CD985ED3AC37883D6| |F1123EF69F23B4499AB85D225CB04E511A2DCC82ACA5BC9A89B8CBAC9C8450E1EF2| |4B7D4044F8AC1EECDA3006F8D82E1CECDFBBE0B1E317610BB1F72762601B31F2039| |1E0459DE42039A91517E1125737F931378562BC845794F0D21AF5D21AF5D2E20468| |7182B462115A232F2FE113257C710C4DF925808F3FF10B3FFF4BEC27F014117C8E8| |8BCA0969F21E2AF10437C569F68AC2F857E83BCB190300ACD9A703FE70833888183| |88E421C4680211E04661B11BE12D3C1A696A2C6A851B2A114D6289382F111325627| |FB191C1DF843F841D6AD220302C11E34609FAEF96C449F41E5A222C135610C95384| |55449DE70F8BF2C3B4F43BBCFC98301A7363D63E1BC1497020C6ED884917A297979| |FA0596C8296BEC65516DE32796F73EF6911429A4D2C626EBD3670B80C832D7644B2| |E6D62BC3248CC421479CC7F61580534A794670D7B86FD7F83FAE8F8E66033D4B36A| |E2B2059905590D3206740CE822820E740F220C6A7D66CF72C7439077218E408881F| |BE2AD720D30A2F911DC401E2047181B8413C203E907E904D10A3A7FD15303E730F4| |92CB944A7F3CBEED01886BEB6435DD2BC041FAA91247EAF520B78F7AD9D6091AEE3| |91F2DCA0D7F82662FC36610331750B31DDB147E31D917447E44047647F47A4BD0DF| |F00AEC3314C| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|
The last few powers are nearly throw aways so I can slot up. Stuff like.... boost range and power boost... not too sure about at end game.
Nekron: Beam Rifle / Poison Corruptor and Slayer of Evil!! (Exalted)
Intergalaktic: Fire / Time Corruptor (Exalted)
Quote:
If you are going Ranged/AoE I would probably skip Scorpion Shield in favor of Weave. I tend to treat defense stacking as an either/or proposition. Either go S/L, then work on Energy/Negative and Fire/Cold, or forget Scorpion Shield and go Hover + Ranged, with some AoE.|
Originally Posted by _Elektro_
okay...
So I worked this little puppy up to have good ranged/AoE and other defense mostly. I skipped fighting pools, and went CJ and Scorpion instead. This is about the best I could afford, skipping Purps and Ham. |
Going over to villain side, doing the arc, and dealing with the purple glow are all a giant pain in the... let's just say if you are going ranged you would probably be better served sticking with the melee/ranged/AoE world.
Moonlighter
50s include MA/SD, MA/SR, DP/Elec, Claw/Inv, Kat/Dark, Kat/Fire, Spine/Regen, Dark/SD
First Arc: Tequila Sunrise, #168563
Quote:
With traps, especially early levels, you want to use one acid mortar on two or three spawns. If grouping, this will often mean you need to aggro the next spawn very early and make sure to pull them back into the first fight area. Its a bit of learning curve to know when you can pull and when you should just go without the Mortar for a spawn or two.|
Originally Posted by Moonlighter
Quick question; I started a DP/Traps corruptor twice and rerolled due to kill speed. Theoretically it look like I might be able to get good damage, except my -Res trap wasn't available every spawn and by the time I dropped two trapped and fired off my AoEs my blaster basically killed things.
|
With a blaster, you are slotting attacks early and increasing your damage early. With a trapper, you are slotting buffs and debuffs as well as attacks early, so you will indeed see less damage until mid to late game.
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.
Quote:
I came in on the first page and said yet again (said it in a bunch of threads) that Dual Pistols is a middle of the road set... then my account lapsed while I was gone for the holidays, so I didn't comment anymore. To be honest, this topic has been done to death since Dual Pistols was introduced, with some people saying it stinks, and then people that actually look at the numbers and performance point out that it's a middle of the road set. Best I can figure is that people want new sets to be better or almost as good as all the top sets in the game, even though you have to have average performers (or else everything is going to play the same).|
Originally Posted by _Elektro_
What happened to the 3-4 pages of people telling me Dual Pistols sucked? Or was not 'the best' set? Those people have the mind set of min/maxing, but still they play blasters into end game...? Why? For fun? Gee....what a concept.
|
I know I'm hardly the only person to think this, as plenty have said it in other threads. Probably gave up on this thread as it has been said so much before.
I really do honestly thing Executioner's Shot should do a little more damage to help out its longer animation time (since lowering the animation time would make the power look weird). However, it's not far off from other heavy, short range blasts, and is actually on par with Shout there. I'd say Piercing rounds should do -res with any ammo type as well. But I don't know if those are big enough grouses to get Black Scorpion and the other powers people to do more (not sure who is in charge of powers now, to be honest... just know a few that work on them).
For your build, do you want to have a combo of Ranged and S/L damage? I went for Ranged and Melee on my DP Blaster (to stack with HoB), but he relies on the ranged much more. Your S/L defense isn't going to stack with HoB, and getting mezzed will drop a lot of it, so it might be a good idea to get more ranged defense bonuses to go with it. You could get some by pulling some slots from Stamina... six slotting it with Performance Shifter doesn't seem like the best allocation, but it's up to you. Heck, even if you keep that at six, Efficacy Adapter might be better, as it offers a recharge bonus, which is nice for Pistols and HoB. Six-slotting Aid Self might also be overkill, and expensive with a set of Numina's. You can get ranged defense from cheaper sets, and Doctored Wounds is a cheap set that has good enhancement numbers, and a recharge boost at 5 slots.
Also... no punches? Energy Punch and Bone Smasher are fast, and nice to be able to pull out on anyone that gets close to my Pistols Blaster... can easily drop a minion with those, or almost defeat a lt. If nothing else, you can use power thrust on a boss that gets near you and activate one of the punches right after, and you'll smack them while they're flying through the air. You can go back to shooting after that and have an attack or two off by the time they're back on their feet.
Anyway, just some things to think about.
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
Quote:
Ah I see... darn that was a lot of work. lol|
Originally Posted by Moonlighter
If you are going Ranged/AoE I would probably skip Scorpion Shield in favor of Weave. I tend to treat defense stacking as an either/or proposition. Either go S/L, then work on Energy/Negative and Fire/Cold, or forget Scorpion Shield and go Hover + Ranged, with some AoE.
Going over to villain side, doing the arc, and dealing with the purple glow are all a giant pain in the... let's just say if you are going ranged you would probably be better served sticking with the melee/ranged/AoE world. |
Ok back to the drawing board. Not sure about hover over.. combat jumping. A lot of DP seems best to use close to the ground? It could work I suppose.
Alright, back to the drawing board.
Nekron: Beam Rifle / Poison Corruptor and Slayer of Evil!! (Exalted)
Intergalaktic: Fire / Time Corruptor (Exalted)
For what it's worth, my Dual Pistols Blaster is a CJ+Hurdle Blaster, so he can hop in and out quickly as needed. Works well for him, and seems to fit HoB better than hovering around.
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
Yeah, I'm a big exemper (I like being able to play anything on anyone), so I tend to slot IOs in the level 30-32 range to have those powers slotted well, but also have the bonuses for as much content as possible. I haven't found myself wishing for the bonuses in lower level content (under 25 missions and TFs/SFs), to be honest.
Easy to get some from gifts as you run to and from missions, there.
As for making money, now is a good time to start a new character. Started up a Dominator in Praetoria, and he already has several million just from candy cane drops.
Anyway, I'll say it again for Dual Pistols like I did at the start of the thread. I've been playing my Dual Pistols Blaster about 5-10 levels behind my Energy/Energy Blaster, and that Energy Blaster has been my favorite and easiest to play Blaster so far (quite safe to play, comparably, and does good damage). I've found my Dual Pistols Blaster to be roughly equivalent, or a little behind, since he doesn't always have KB mitigation. I wish Executioner's Strike had a bit more damage to make up for its slightlyanimation, and that cold and toxic ammo did a bit more for Blasters, but I'm otherwise quite happy with the set. Gets the job done, and I have to say that Hail of Bullets is awesome... love being able to drop an entire mob about every 50-60 seconds (think that's where the Blaster's current range gets him).
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