Is There Any Point to Playing Level 50 Bubblers?

Granted, on a team filled entirely with 11-figure builds and full T4 Incarnate slotting, FF isn't that helpful. The further you get from that ideal, though, the more helpful it becomes. If the team is just that good, play something else and enjoy the ride. If it isn't that good, then feel free to break out the bubbler. The benefits of a bubbler aren't typically noticed until they're gone. Everything just goes smoother, even for top-level builds.

FF can bubble anyone, anywhere, at any time. You can't pop Barrier for everyone if the group splits up or even scatters in the same area. Also, players tend to be selfish in their power choices. Clarion isn't very common, so the mez protection offered by a bubbler remains useful to many. Additional defense is always good wherever there is additional to-hit. Few people are softcapped to anything more than S/L or Ranged, which leaves them vulnerable to everything else. AOEs, Psi, and pure E/N/F/C can all cause significant problems.

FF also has Force Bubble and/or Repulsion Field, two powers often ignored by bubblers. Forcing everything into a corner for quick AOE melting is still good fun. Plus, either power can shut down minions in the BAF escape phase. You can rely on the larger area of Force Bubble or toss a Force Feedback +Recharge into Repulsion Field to keep your attacks cycling faster. Sit in the middle of one of the paths and you'll lock them down easily.

EDIT: Defender FF/* builds also enjoy the benefits of Defender-level Leadership. Another 18.75% damage from Assault, 5.5% defense from Maneuvers, and nearly 20% to-hit from Tactics all go a long way toward helping teammates, while providing mez protection to Taunt, Placate, Fear and Confuse.

Personally i think FF should get an added +res component to their shields... Sonic gets debuff and mes protection and +res shields... ice gets some debuff proc, lots of debuff, and def buff ~ ff gets a lot of def buff a little mez proc and nothing else except for some KB stuff that no one cares about.

While +res isn't wonderful or as nice as +def, it seems this would be the easiest way to give bubbles some functionality back. it doesn't have to be a lot of +res, even 10% would be nice.

I've seen a good Force Field Defender or maybe it was a Controller, virturally pin mobs down into corners with Force Bubble, turning battles into turkey shoots, where they we're pinned down and we rarely were hit.

I'd agree with enough incarnates on a iTrial the Destiny powers probably would replace the need for bubblers, but on normal teams of 8, I'd want a bubbler at any level.

Having a 50 bubbler, I would definitely not advise anybody else to make one. Defense is so each to obtain in this game now, a bubbler can be easily replaced in almost all cases. And it adds absolutely nothing else to a team. I'd much rather have a cold, or a dark, or just about anything else.

Obviously bubblers aren't completely useless, but there are just much better options.

I have a 50 FF/Sonic and Grav/FF. You are exactly right that there is no point to playing a level 50 bubbler. At this point I'd rather take a Sonic over a FF simply because there is usually so much defense floating around from other sources.

IO's, Leadership (now that everyone has stamina), VEAT's, Res/Def Aura's (Steamy mist, Shadowfall, Arctic Fog) Things like FF Gens, a team with 3 or 4 barriers is offering you at least 20% defense almost all the time. And lets not forget colds. Because not only do they bring a pile of defense, but some of the best debuffs in the game.

The "FF can pin all minions during the escape phase of the BAF" is silly since a cold can keep up near perma sleet with the reactive interface and *kill* them all instead. LT's included.

So yeah, put that toon on the shelf until the set gets a buff.

It would take 9 people with a t4 Barrier to make a bubbler useless. 12 if we're talking about a trial.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PRAF68_EU Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.

In theory, T4 substitution sounds great, but in practice it doesn't quite pan out that way.

If everyone is slotted out to T4 on incarnate powers, uses a great build, chooses completmentary powers, is on voice together, and pays attention to someone calling for buffs at specific places and times, then I suspect it could work out. The players would know when and where to use and receive buffs, which would last as long as possible and hit as many people as possible. That's the ideal.

In practice, maybe a handful are on voice together, very few of the players involved have more than T3 in anything and likely lack one or more powers, very few have great builds, and very few choose complementary powers. They use what they want when they feel like it, buffing whoever happens to be nearby, or maybe they don't even use them at all, because they'd rather be attacking or talking to friends.

Plenty of players don't even bother to check their powers for grenades & acid in Lambda, let alone use them or give them to someone who will. Players will abandon objectives, leaving the team shorthanded, in order to get into the Lambda cutscene. Players attack held minions rather than free-running lieutenants in the BAF trial. Don't get me started on the idiots who, even after dozens of BAFs, still can't figure out that they should get away from teammates when they have two rings or why they get held.

If you do happen to find yourself on the ideal team, then the bubbler likely won't be as useful. Of course, on that team, you could bring an SO-slotted Stalker and be fine. Outside of that context, the bubbles are worthwhile. I've never seen an ideal league and I don't believe I've ever been on an ideal team since i20 hit. Bubblers were still plenty helpful back in i19 on ideal teams, though.

Regarding Cold vs. FF, it's been hashed out plenty: debuffs and wider radius toggle vs. additional defense (~8% more from Dispersion Bubble), mez protection, and KB/Repel mitigation. Cold's a great set, arguably the best in the game. That doesn't make FF useless or terrible, just not the best. Ask me to choose between the two, assuming the same player, and it'll likely come down to whether the team needs mez protection or debuffs. I'd rather trade a low-aggro melee character and keep both, though.

Sounds like you guys play with some real grumpy and picky people.

I've never had issues with getting in a baf or lambda, even with my non-shifted mm. Not with Mercs/dark or bots/traps.

With so many guys in a league you don't have to be so picky about who gets in!

There's something to this, but I think the naysayers are carrying it to an extreme. Yes, I think the FF powerset is too narrow in focus. No, I don't think that Clarion or Barrier replace it. Not even close. The only time I think that about Clarion is when I am the Clarion buffer, because I can always give myself mez protection. I can't/don't always give everyone else mez protection. I certainly still appreciate bubbles on my characters who have Barrier. Barrier isn't constant. Other Barrier users aren't always near me, and if they are, they aren't always smart about using it.

If you really made this character just for Ship raids, well, I can concede you might be easily made redundant. I think you had that problem before now, and Incarnate powers just exacerbated it. I have to say I wouldn't build a character just for one piece of content like that, and then make it into any kind of badger or the like.

FF Shields are useful, especially in iTrials. If you aren't happy with how useful you feel on Ship raids, then maybe it makes sense to not play the character. I just think it's a bit extreme to be unhappy with the character in general because of that.

I ran an experiment on Friday night. I lead an impromptu Rikti mothership raid on Champion... on a Brute. We had four full teams, and not one bubbler - no one with Force Field nor Sonic Resonance. I employed the strategy that I normally use when we have at least two bubblers in a raid.

It was a complete success.

Why? Because the vast majority on the raid were Incarnates, and those with Barrier and Clarion kept them up throughout the raid.

Now that it is confirmed that bubblers are pretty much useless even on Rikti mothership raids, I'm just going to move that character over to my "graveyard" server where I put all of my retired characters, and make a new Celestial Lord. :\

Today only Masterminds and SO players benefit from Force Field. Other then that anyone who is IO'ed for defense cap might only benefit if doing a Trial which is tougher due to several already mentioned reasons. I have done every Task Force, Strike Force and Trial without a bubbler and never was in a position where I wish we had one. But then again about 95% of my toons are either capped for positional, typed or both.

I think Force Field along with Device is just one of those old sets that really need a secondary option for newer and older players. Basically double powers to choose from so as not to tamper with that silly "cottage rule".