biostem

So I've been dipping my toe into blasters more and more lately, and have been loving my fire/devices one. I have and ice/earth which is also quite good, but just can't quite fully grasp the manipulation sets. Obviously the "maintain" powers are fantastic, and they offer different benefits, but I just do not see the allure of taking those melee attacks. I also can't quite understand the "proper" way to use something like reaction time. Anyway, I'd love to hear your advice or tips for better utilizing these sets. Thanks!

That's what gamma boost from radiation armor does - lower health, higher regen, high health, higher recovery. It could be similar to SR's sliding DR buff...

Power sets, while they certainly can bring different things to the table, should be on par with one-another. If they aren't then something is seriously wrong and game balance ceases to be a driving force between such decisions. In your given example of bio armor, for instance, maybe it needs to be dropped down a couple pegs...

I mean, many ATs that have no armor set at all can get by. The question isn't whether regen is "fine" - the question is if it is up to par with other alternatives. I have zero doubt that you can make regen work. I would like it be up there with the likes of willpower or invulnerability. If you find the set fun to play, more power to you, but that isn't necessarily an objective metric to go by... Is bringing a set in line with other such sets power creep, though? Improving something to be on par with alternatives is not necessarily "power creep".

Your outgoing DPS effectively reduces incoming DPS, which goes back to the cycle of your healing outpacing incoming damage. the problem is the nearly every mob at least gets 1 shot off before they die, and therein lies the rub - Even with the extra HP from dull pain, it may not be enough. For me, the trick is how to better equip regen with tools to address that, while staying within the concept of the set...

Maybe there was another city prior to Paragon City, upon whose remains it was built, to make that 1823 date make more sense...

You could ape off of the rebounding/chaining mechanic of powers like trick shot from martial assault and just go with that...

Well, what you define as "a lil - DR" can make or break that difference. That being said, depending upon the specific IOs and their set bonuses, certain ATs or powers can "encroach" on the kinds of buffs/debuffs/mitigation that were previously only available from dedicated powers or sets, so things become muddy...

I should have clarified that I meant if you can out-heal the incoming damage you live, otherwise you die, instead of just using the term "regen". Either way, if you cannot out-mitigate the incoming DPS, you die, be that through regen alone or regen+click heals.

And you are presuming the superior damage ATs *with* the benefit of all the buffs, debuffs, controls, and so on. My point was merely that mediocre damage + buffs/debuffs is on par or better than superior damage in the absence of those things. Perhaps you should be in less of a rush to jump to conclusions regarding the motivations of your interlocutor.

It's because there is no stance in the game for having weapons from 2 different powersets out at once. Even in the case of shields, they had to be handled separately and aren't permitted with some other powersets. You'd need some sort of "keep all weapons drawn" toggle or a pistol + 1-handed sword set...

Interesting. I wonder why they wouldn't just go with a defender, if we're assuming they're focusing mainly on their secondary and the pool powers. I suppose if they were going with a secondary like storm summoning, you could leverage scourge a bit more...

Imagine being able to just teleport target the hostage to the exit...

The closest would be to do something like what sentinels get in their version of regen - some absorb. There isn't really a way to "delay" damage. The problem is that regen is a very binary set - either your regen is greater than the incoming damage or you die. Really, the only way to work around this is to apply debuffs or hard/soft control effects to reduce the rate of that incoming damage. Another option would be to have various regen power stack on even more extra HP - increase that HP pool, and you inherently increase the regen rate and widen that margin for error...

There are tons of costume and aura options. What, specifically, are you going for? Many of the images I found are basically black/dark grey with red and white accents. Are you talking about the biotics, (or w/e their "magic" ability is called in-universe)?

And the superior damage people will do nothing if they faceplant because they can't handle the aggro or incoming damage. We can cherry-pick scenarios all day, but my point still stands: -DR + mediocre damage = no -DR and superior damage.

Or by dropping the enemies' DR via debuffs. "Superior damage" vs an enemy with high DR is basically the same as "lesser damage" vs an enemy with a bunch of -DR on them...

That's interesting - Did that mob become a valid target between the activation and the target check of the power, if you couldn't have targeted them beforehand?

I don't really have a list, per se. It's simply a matter of having "enough" of any given aspect. For instance, you don't need a tanker if you have enough buffs/debuffs and those with them are proactive or responsive enough. You don't need a huge amount of raw damage if you can drop an enemy's damage resistance enough. You don't need a lot of buffs/debuffs if you can sufficiently control the enemies. The problem is that many people often play on PUGs, where there is little communication and everyone is basically soloing in the same instance. Anytime I see these kinds of posts, my first inclination is to ask if you took the time to talk to your teammates, examine your team composition, and derive a strategy that used those resources to their greatest extent...

@Luminara hit the nail on the head - use a location-based AoE power to hit them. There's still a little bit of an untouchable period, but you'll be able to hit them much sooner...

You are the one that brought up the notion of doing things that were "cheatie". My point is that you should not discount legitimate aspects of the game, such as different effects/bonuses that various powersets and set bonuses have to offer. Here's a suggestion going forward - avoid the hyperbole, since inflection or intent does not carry over well in a text-based medium, and don't infer bad intentions where there is none.

OK, so "totally legitimate methods of play". Gotcha. It's like saying it's "Cheatie" because dual pistol sents can get a permanent range bonus when using cryo ammo, or how ninjitsu sents can get a stealth power w/o having to take concealment. Different sets offer different things, and that's not cheating.

OK, and? That's not "cheatie" - set bonuses have certain rules as to how they are applied and such. I'm not sure what your point is? Sentinels also have shorter ranges by default.

Yeah... not being able to "have it all" can stink sometimes...

Don't underestimate the value of range enh's in cones, either...