Energy Melee isn't good for Incarnate Trials

I just spent a few paragraphs the other day explaining how EM wasn't worthless nor pointless, about how there're ways to adapt to the long animation times, about how to use that time wisely, about how EM doesn't really suck.

But after finally getting to run some incarnate stuff...well EM is good for soloing and non-incarnate stuff.
I already don't try to use Total Fucus on teams. TF just ends up being a corpse pounder on a decent team. But on the incarnate trials I had to give up Energy Transfer as well. Usually if I can get to the boss a little ahead of the group, I can get in a ET or two. But even when I initiated the attack when the boss was at full health, the boss would be defeated before the attack would deal damage.

The incarnate powers are exacerbating the log animation time problem of Energy Melee. EM is a fine enough set in most situations, but in those trials, I found myself having to forgo the two strongest attacks in the whole set because they were a waste of time--dealing damage to the already dead. Energy Melee without total Focus and without Energy Transfer is about worthless and pointless.

I hope something is don to make it a more fun and playable set in the new end game.

Perhaps, if the animation times aren't going to be adjusted, the damage could be dealt at the beginning of the animation so that it has a chance to do something useful before docking my toon endurance and health.


/rant

I believe there are several AV fights in those trials. I'm pretty sure your team can't destroy an AV before you can get one of your slower attacks off.

I've been playing EN/En as my main since day one, I feel perfectly useful on a trial, team, whatever.

I tend to use my big hit attacks like Total Focus only AV's and EB's. As the OP says, pretty pointless using it on a minion, dead before it even hits. I've got my smaller attacks slotted for recharge so I can keep up a steady stream of attacks, especially with things like Energy Punch which hits fast enough.

Besides, wasting it on unneeded Total Focus just wastes endurance anyway.

It's just a case of knowing what to use and more importantly, when.

Try using Propel as a main source of Damage....

Although the difference is that I get to redecorate the environment.

I do feel you pain though.

I'm not sure how "Only use TF/ET on AVs" and "Spam Energy Punch/Barrage" do much to address the OPs issue.

I mean, maybe it's just me, but what? The answer is to only use your best attacks on one guy every half and hour or longer? Or to satisfy yourself with filler attacks as your definitive source of DPS for 99% of a trial?

Forgive me, but neither of those sound like acceptable solutions to losing 1/3rd of your damage dealing powers, and the top damage dealers at that, except for rare niche situations.

And while it's true that TF/ET aren't unique in being marginalized, Energy Melee's preponderance of long animation times with base long/moderate recharge times definitely makes the set stand out negatively. It's just a glacially slow set, and the tradeoff for that was supposed to be that it hit like a truck. Only there is no payoff when you hit something that's gone from full to dead in the time it takes you to animate. When I played EM, I would often find myself wondering why I bothered to attack even in normal TFs. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be in a trial.

First you say Energy Melee isn't good for the raids.
Then you admit Energy Melee is still just peachy against AVs.

Some two-thirds of the BAF raid is fighting AVs.
A significant part of the Lambda raid is also fighting an AV, and the main part of it that isn't involves concentrating fire on high-HP breakable objects.

...so what's the problem?

The problem is that every other powerset can do the same, and then more.

It's silly how many arguments in these forums are derailed like

Player A : "2 is lower than 3."
Player B : "That doesn't matter at all, because 2 has a beautiful and unique shape completely different from 3! You should appreciate this beautiful shape and not worry about 3 being higher than 2!"

... which is of course missing the point, because if player A wouldn't care about flavor, he'd be using the best option already.

I'm failing to see a problem here that's unique to Energy Melee. On teams, it's rare for ANYONE that's not support to make use of all of their powers if a team is rolling good. Mobs go down so fast you're lucky if you can get more than a couple of attacks off before you're on to the next one.

In my book, this would be a good problem to have. It means your team knows what it's doing.

When I first started beta, Beorn was a stone/mace tanker. I didn't like how much end it used and how slow he was, so when the game first opened up and we started new characters, I switched to Invul/SS but was still unhappy with the end drain and how it didn't seem to hit hard enough.

I switched again in, I think, Nov. 2004 to Invul/Energy because I was led to believe that I could hit REALLY hard if I was willing to suffer damage in turn...

Cool, wait until level 38 to brutalize my foe? I can do that...

Every powerset that has come since... Energy Melee seems to be lagging further and further behind. But, THAT is the nature of an evolving game AND player knowledge base.

We learn tricks, Devs nerf some and leave others intact... We firgure out loopholes, Devs close most or all of them... It is the evolution of the game.

No tank at the beginning would have been able to hit a flying opponent unless you could fly or jump to them. Now, we have APP and PPP ranged attacks plus judgement, not to mention the veteran attacks (how many tanks use a blackwand or Nemesis staff to pull, right?)...

We evolve to the new game. If the heavy hitting attacks are firing off too slow, then use them for AVs (as has been suggested several times already). I feel like I use the heavy shots enough during the escape portion of the trial on Lts (target them as they come to you and toggle the attack and it fires off as the brainwashed Lt runs by you and either kills it or wounds it significantly enough that the next scrapper or brute along the path can drop 'em with a single shot).

We adapted to these trials pretty quickly. The next issue will undoubtedly throw something ELSE at us that some will complain about, but others will keep their heads down and focus on the solutions.

I look forward to seeing what happens next!

For small fights the big guns aren't needed so "So what?" For things like Escapee's you need to work the paths and give yourself some space from others so you nail everything that gets by groups at doors. Yes standing at a door you won't get anywhere.

As was stated in AV fights the main problem would be AV Warnings (like squestered) since if you queue them both up you are unlikely to get away.

Every set isn't designed to work best in every situation. That is GOOD. Immobs and Sleeps were fairly worthless powers before. Now they have a Trial where they really shine.

I'm currently working on leveling up my namesake, an EM/SR stalker, so I can relate to what OP says as I do often seem to find myself swatting at corpses. Then again I do what I can to avoid targeting minions near the center of action (both melee and AoE-ville), or I just fire off those slow attacks and hope for the best. Sometimes my teammates miss and my attack gets through anyway. Toss in some "target the boss first" strategy and I do alright overall, I have yet to have anyone complaining about "the stalker's not contributing".

As I recall, the times I've run archery sets also made me feel like I was just making pincushions of the dead for fun half the time (Black Wand and Nem Staff also do this, across all ATs). I made my peace with it and kept playing.

Sure, I'd love to see the set sped-up, but it still does fine. If it bothers anyone that much, then maybe it's just not the set for them to play, sort of like Kin players who hate to spend "so much time" passing out SB. And be sure to avoid archery!

So I can relate, but not 100%.

Well, I'll have to respectfully disagree, my EN/En Blaster has never felt useless on a trial, I spam my lower tiers attacks left right and centre defeating the enemies with abandon and feel like I'm doing plenty.

Perhaps it's because I'm a Blaster and not a Brute? I dunno.