AR or Beam to go with /Rad?

Been mulling over taking another go at Corruptors. I've decided on /Rad for my secondary, but don't know which of AR or Beam to take for the primary.

I figure Beam has a less resisted damage type, which can only be a good thing. Problem is that it's very single target oriented in what seems to me to be a very AoE oriented game; not to mention working with Disintegrate feels like another Anchor Dilemma (oh, you were trying to use that Nullifier to spread the dot? TOO BAD *KO BLOW*) which I've already set myself to deal with in /Rad. :P

On the other side of the fence--and keep in mind I've never had an AR character--it seems like AR is very AoE focused, to the point where going against a single hard target would make the character look like a limp noodle. But I don't know, does AR hold up well compared to other sets in single target situations?


Basically, does anyone have any convincing arguments one way or the other?

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While I have no experience with beams, AR does have a high-end single-target attack, and a rather strong one at that - Ignite.

Grabbing moderate amounts of recharge, you should be able to keep two of them burning at all times - and while it's not Blaze-level damage, it'll be doing some pretty scary things with those Scourges.

(Web Envelope out of Mace Mastery, or perhaps Electric Fence out of Electricity Mastery, can keep your target in place to be properly grilled.)

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I have used both and have a 50 level blaster with AR and a corrupter currently at level 32 using Beam.

Both are good picks but I have been very impressed with the combo effects that beam can provide. Once you have used Disintegrate there are several attacks that will add to the damage znd cause it to spread to any other enemies around the affected target.

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A day and two level 22s later and I still can't decide which primary I prefer

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I'm liking Beam Rifle more than I thought I would on my lvl 23 Beam/Dev blaster.

That said, you kind of nailed it in the first post. Beam Rifle is largely ST, while AR is mostly AoE. Depending on how you play, particularly while teamed or solo, that could play a big difference. AR's AoE potential is nice if you like to team a lot. On the other hand, I'm finding Beam Rifle absolutely wrecks hard targets, something AR has issues with. AR's ST problem is not that the ST powers are lacking, it's just that there's only two of them (not including the snipe, and Beanbag, which I've never taken).

Another thing to consider is that Beam has aim, while AR does not. I don't really care, but some people tend to get really butt hurt over the idea of playing without Aim or Buildup.

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I have a lvl 50 AR/Energy and a lvl 17 BR/Rad.

The AR/Energy is an aoe machine and is a ton of fun. It can slaughter groups very quickly. Boost Range+Build Up = cones of death.

However, this BR/Rad build is looking to have a ton of potential. Its recharge is very high, it debuffs the pewp out of everything and energy damage is resisted much less than lethal. I also think it will solo better due to its ability to melt elite bosses and probably Avs as well.

Further: I am betting BR/Rad is quite good in pvp. radiaton infection and enerverating field cannot be dodged and you can floor someone's to-hit. And, again, energy is less commonly resisted.

Ar/Energy is a sweet combo and I love it... but I am betting that a fully IO'd out BR/Rad is more effective. I will post here as testing continues...

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I have both and vastly prefer the BR/Rad for big game hunting or teamed missions with a high difficulty setting. If I'm soloing or on a steam rolling team the AR/Rad takes the lead because of it's aoe capabilities. My beamer is currently only lvl 47 but I'm guessing it will be one of my favorite characters to play for incarnate content.

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Beam, like we told you in global

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