Judgement and blasters

This is how I see it.

If (-NUKE-)...

Oh.

I don't really understand this whole 'Arrrgghh, xAT is obsolete by y happening' issue. This is a game that DOESN'T need anything. And most people I play with take the first 7 team mates and go with it.

We're not all Min Maxers worried about DPA and DPS etc. I just play to shoot stuff. Blasters do that well from range, others do that well up close, others make it easier for everyone else to do it well. You play what you want to play. Blasters will always have a place cos they don't HAVE to do anything else. I prefer blasters cos I don't have to worry about keeping the rest of the team alive I can just blast. I prefer them over Melee as I often get lost in the powers FX and can't find a target in range.

So I'll keep playing blasters and if people want to take someone else on the team over me cos of it, then I'm fine with that, cos they are to controlling for my liking anyways.

Blaster were behind the curve before Incarnate abilities. It looks like they'll be even more behind the curve after Issue 20.

If you didn't mind Blasters' relative shortcomings before, then you're unlikely to mind afterwards. Some people genuinely enjoy the seat-of-your-pants, hard-mode play style that Blasters embody. Hey, the game is pretty darn easy, so I guess it's nice to have the option to play a disadvantaged AT.

But it is a disadvantaged AT, make no mistake. Even if there were no Judgement slot, the recent (and on-going) emphasis on end-game content would be enough to highlight Blasters' weaknesses. They're not particularly good at soloing, and their supposed team purpose (artillery) is all but irrelevant at the high end, where any encounter that doesn't die to a stiff breeze tends to favor buffs/debuffs over straight damage.

Destiny will help. We can finally get some measure of consistent status protection, or we can choose to shore up our near-non-existent defenses. The problem, as before, is that buffs only modify what's already there. To say that Blasters get the most benefit from Destiny is to say that they needed it most. Personally, I think that Destiny favors ATs that already have status protection, because they have the most guilt-free choice.

Your mileage may vary. If you like the AT as it is, in broad terms, then that's great. Still, I don't see how anyone can argue with a straight face that traditional nukes deserve their many, massive penalties, or that certain power sets couldn't use an upgrade here or there. We don't play a game that enforces distinct team roles, and that's a good thing -- but at least Blasters could be a little better as generalists.

Or, heck, maybe Blasters could like, you know, finally become legitimately superior at single-target DPS without having to resort to melee attacks. It's funny; for all these years the devs have apparently been terrified of what a ranged Archetype could do in theory, and yet Blasters don't even necessarily have access to continuous single-target ranged attack chains without IO recharge bonuses. And then the devs went and gave Doms and Widows that very thing, along with monster controls and/or defenses and Blaster-competitive damage scalars.

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Originally Posted by Iggy_Kamakaze Nice build

*sigh* okay, here's how I see this whole 'x archetype will become obsolete' argument.

Arachnos: excellent defenses, team buffs and some debuffs, very good offense on top of squishiness. With incarnate abilities, gain even better offense, some even stronger team buffs, and a selection of even greater debuffs, and extra pets. (Soldiers can have some already, so even more) Still lack reactive buffs, still have lowish hp when something can get past the defense, lack control except for fortunatas.

blasters: Excellent offense, has the highest ranged damage possible, often has some soft controlls and a good variety of AoE/burst damage options. Gains more aoE with the incarnates, pets to help distract/buff, some strong burst buffs, and excellent debuffs to magnify/augment their excellent offense. Still lack significant self-preservation tools, hard control, big debuffs, and reliable buffs.

brutes: Good toughness, good damage, can control aggro pretty well, lack much range and team buffs/enemy debuffs. Burst damage is okay, but requires prep time to optimize. With incarnetes the gain team buffs, pets to help support them and damage, better burst AoE damage, and get debuffs to magnify their damage. Since their base damage is lowish before fury, -res is very good for brutes as it magnifies their magnified damage, rather than the low base. Still lack reliable range, control, buffs, and much debuffing aside from the procs. Also can attract a lot of aggro with marginal starting armor mods, so they still can get in over their heads at times.

controllers: Good buffs/debuffs, good control, goodish damage, depending on setup. Lack burst damage, have low hp, and often times rely on mez for part of their offense. With incarnation they gain (more)pets to magnify their buff/debuffs, gain even more debuffs, burst AoE damage, and more buffs. Still lack reliable straightforward damage, can still squish if not careful, still have lowish starting damage.

corruptors: Good buffs/debuffs, good ranged damage, excellent finishing damage. Still a bit squishy. Gain pets that can magnify their buffs debuffs, help lay down damage to get scourges faster. Gain better burst Aoe damage for even faster scourging, gain even more buffs, gain even more debuffs. I've always held corruptors to be one of the best AV damage team members, (due to scourge+debuffs) they get even better with the debuff procs. Still have only medium starting damage, lack control, still squishy.

defenders: Best buffs/debuffs in the game, have ranged damage that can debuff foes. Damage starts off a bit 'meh' before buffs/debuffs are taken into play, still squishy. With incarnation they bring even more buffs/debuffs, burst aoE damage, and pets to magnify their buffing/debuffing. Still lack sturdiness, control, and reliable burst damage.

Dominators: Best control in game, excellent offense. Lack buffs/debuffs, rely on mez for survival, often lack burst damage. With incarnation they gain team buffs, debuffs to magnify their offense, and pets to help assist with buffs and damage. Still lack reliable huge booms & buffs, other debuffs, still a bit squishy.

kheldians: Can be pinch hitters for different roles, have good damage. Lack buffs/debuffs. They gain buffs/debuffs, pets, more burst damage. They still lack significant debuffs to fall back on, buffs, controls, and can still require form shifts for setup.

masterminds: Bring good buffs/debuffs, pets for aggro distraction, good offense, and good survival in bodyguard mode. Still require pet survival/cooperation for best performance, and have limited burst damage. Vulnerable to AoE damage. With incarnation they gain even bigger buffs, more debuffs, more pets, and better burst AoE damage. Still reliant on pets for much of their survival and offense, still squishy beneath all their options, and lack control.

scrappers: excellent damage, good survival skills. Lack buffs/debuffs/controls, limited range, only medium hp if damage starts getting through to their hp. Gain even better AoE burst damage, boosts, and debuffs to augment their high offense. Gain pets to help support them and help defeat foes. Still lack reliable buffs/controls, or other buffs. Only so-so at being an aggro distraction.

stalkers: Best burst melee in game, can escape attention when things get 'hot.' Low hp, lack much AoE, control, buffs, debuffs. With incarnate abilities they gain the AoE burst damage they lacked, buffs, and debuffs to magnify their offense. Also pets to support them and pick up aggro away from them. Still lack reliable AoE/buffs/controls, still squishy beneath offenses, still can inadvertently redirect aggro to toe members at times.

Tankers: Highest toughness, excellent ability to be a team distraction, and have melee offense. Lacks burst damage, ranged damage, buffs, lockdown controls, and have limited debuffs. With incarnation they bring burst AoE damage, buffs for the team, debuffs to help their offense, pets for more offense and even better survival. Still lack big damage most of the time, many control options, or buffs for the team.

Pick a team member. Any single one WILL help you, and will help you in a way no other archetype can. With the incarnate abilities, they bring even more options, often magnifying their strength and covering for the limitations they would otherwise have. But if you look at incarnate abilities as a whole, they are still 'burst' abilities, so the team still will be relying the 'core' abilities of that member.You mix and match them, they all bring their own toolkit, magnify or supplementing each other. Blasters are included- while other archetypes can throw out their big booms, blasters can follow up toasting remainders, or just go ahead and mow down the next group. Blasters can become even better against tough foes or in hard situations, as they can pop a big buff to help themselves and the team survive, and their excellent offense can then weaken anything strong enough to survive.

Relax folks, you'll still have a place.

Heck, the way some new stuff benefits from 'death from afar,' and 'kill it quick,' blasters are the difference between a success and a resounding success in my experience.

First off, nice analysis of all the ATs' affected by I20, though I may nitpick with the details. However...

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Originally Posted by Seldom Relax folks, you'll still have a place.

Don't take offense, but this is a straw man argument. I don't think anyone is saying blasters have no place in the future. I, at least, am saying blasters will have less of a place. Of course blasters contribute, and a lot, and will continue to do so. The question is, do they contribute as much as someone else, and more to the point, does that contribution decrease overall as I20 kicks in? It's my argument to the latter that they will, and this should be addressed.