VashNKnives

Storm/nin/cold blaster took my top spot since storm blast came out and only got better with age :) I look for a relaxing stride. I find that Storm blaster so relaxing to play solo +4×8, but if asked this in the past, some other signature characters would have been my signature at the time: Blaster: beam/en; arrow/fire Scrapper: mace/dark Stalker: staff/ice Sentinel: electric ×3 Def: Water/ta; traps/en; storm/dark; Mm: bots/ea troller: ill/dark Dom: fire×3 Many, many others... and even more from back during Live, but also many I should probably reclaim IOs from at this point.

Agreed, narrow cones on melee are a real buzz kill when you end up hitting like a quarter or less of a spawn. I don't see too many people taking the cone judgement attacks (vorpal? and cryonic?) over the others. I have done it for theme but it isn't cool always knowing that you are underperforming just because of aesthetics.

Aggressive. I/Os, combining inspirations, teleporters, reduced impact in failure... basically more fun in most instances because I like mowing down hundreds of mobs, but also I have had less epic team encounters because of how OP some of us make our characters for normal content. I remember several old school battles where we were on pick-up teams in normal content barely surviving or where someone leverages their powers to save from team wipes. Those seem fewer and further apart these days.

Has anyone considered adding cryo rounds or something to the gun drone pet? It seems weird having a pure gun on a control set. Would be cool if it rotated ammo on its own kind of randomly like a mini dual pistol swap ammo.

Exactly what I am suggesting as a hopefully feasible idea for an update to the game. I am very happy with the Homecoming devs' work on this game. They really have shown great care and talent. I hope this is something that they will consider as it almost feels the ancillary pools are incomplete with all the primary and secondary proliferation and new sets.

I spend a lot of time on my characters (build planning and then playing them), and theme always tops my priorities. It would be awesome if we had some additional proliferation of thematic blast powers to melee epic pools and vice versa. It takes something away from the build having to select generic powers because I can't justify the themes available. Also, I wouldn't expect any new animations, just less powerful versions of the existing primary/secondary thematic sets for other ATs to achieve as a ancillary pool pick.

The implications of damage typing is one reason I have enjoyed this game for so long. The strategic considerations this creates do provide positive feedback to those who are in the know as a small reward for digging a bit deeper in to the game mechanics. That said, if you find that you primarily like certain task forces and enemy groups, then I would consider damage resistances, defenses, and special powers of those groups. I play mostly for concept but have abandoned characters that felt too grindy or poor at what they are designed to do. And sometimes the game changes and you just have to keep in mind that it is an MMO with some very gracious and thoughtful developers. The shock and horror I felt testing my almost 50 invulnerability/street justice/dark tank as a fully I/O'd and incarnated juggernaut against the new harder mode of the Imperious Task Force on the test server... I paused that project for now.

I think it would be awesome if all buff-other powers got the same treatment that powers like stimulant received. It may be confusing to new players but playing a sonic resonance character or similar team buffer always feels a bit restrictive compared to sets that give you more tools to solo if you want. That doesn't mean that sets like sonic resonance would receive the full use of their team buffs, but they would have a use for the power picks solo.

I use the ice, energy, and electricity recovery powers almost as soon as recharged. I almost forget I have consume and dark consumption since I use them so little. They are almost like accolades with shorter recharges... That said, as a non-dev plebian, I would be in favor of halving the recharge and/or adjusting the endurance returned scaling to start with one target and decrease with subsequent targets hit. It is probably a designed disadvantage how these powers and the warshade buffs inhibit the associated sets in long one-vs-one fights. However, many of those penalties built in via old design choices have been reduced or removed for other powers (nuke end drain, travel power debuffs, toggle dropping, etc.) I know power-creep ... but is making these sets better in a one-vs-one boss fight that big of deal?

Agreed, cat5 does need more time to cook. Therefore, on teams I play aggressively like an electric/shield stalker looking for the next fresh group to nuke, just with more time to allow cat5 to do its thing before teammates arrive. It is easier b/c of shinobi + I/Os. Usually spawns are close enough that I can help the team and take out the majority of another spawn at the same time, given that I took 5 single target attacks as well as 4 AoEs (counting Ionic judgement). It is less systematic than tank and spank though and not really an option without heavy investment in survivability and something to keep the spawn from scattering. So, I agree the upfront damage of Cat5 (probably from lightning and wind burst) should atleast wipe the minions much quicker and without even needing storm cell.

As a multi-blaster main-er, I really enjoy my T4 incarnate storm/nin/cold blaster and solo fine at +4×8 in DA. It does require a bit of cognizance regarding what order you use what powers and when. It also necessitates forethought regarding what you'd do if something like an ambush happens. I felt I needed snow storm for cat 5, but I love hibernate and frozen armor on squishies anyway. I am still not a fan of having to recast storm cell, but overall the set is aesthetically and functionally pleasing to play when paired with some helper powers, I/Os, and accolades.

I like the masterminds but there are only so many times I want a generic bot, zombie, mercenary, thug etc.. group I'm assuming it was too much or there is some type of concern adding groups like: Praetorian resistance Arachnos Vanguard/Longbow/Kheldian Croatoan Freakshow etc.

My blaster plays very well at +4x8. The only group that gives it trouble is the PPD Kheldians (specifically that one mission in DA)... but that is cascade failure. Storm/Ninja View This Build In MRB

When on a team I am usually racing with or ahead of the front line b/c storm cell is non-aggro. Also damage over time powers don't require you to observe every damage tick (from the previous encounter). However, while I do agree storm cell is a bit of a drag, you have to remember it is only bonus and isn't required. So I lay the baddies out with or without storm cell deployed.... Now, I still stand by my opinion that the storm cell buff should have been an auto-inherit type power that builds as you normally use storm powers like tremors or whatever. Then we could have also had another awesome looking storm power 😀

Not every set is for everyone. After all these years I still haven't made a super-strength character. However I know SS matures to a powerful set especially with recharge. My experience with my storm/ninja blaster now incarnate is that it just needed a bit more debuff/control to really let that damage kick in. Once I got blinding dust, snow storm, extra defense, and some extra recharge it went from a bit chaotic to play to a regularly awesome mob-plow. My difficulty slider jumped at around 35-40 and hasn't looked back. As a reference, I have several blaster mains and have played them as mains since live, recreating them here years ago. This one, with a similarly expensive build, holds up nicely but plays differently. I think having that different experience is a big win for intra-archetype play. BTW, regarding jet stream, I am currently running through the 1st Croatoa arc via ouro and at +1×8 solo exemplared down to level 30 against hoards of roaming Tuantha... jet stream = safety + damage + force feedback proc. It's a 3-slot wonder power for me. Keeping those bosses on their bottoms is a big part of the build.