Beam/Device vs Fire/Fire

[beradical]

I was thinking of rolling my first blaster, assuming Fire/Fire would be highest dmg like all ATs. Friend suggested I look at Beam/Devices, and it looks awesome, but he warned you can't take all of the best powers and slotting it is hell. But it looks like the pair would be monster PBAoE & ST, vs /Fire which seems to have more weaker AoEs.

 

So can anyone give me an overview of the 2 sets? I would prefer to be in melee but with enough ranged for runners, high AoE & ST dmg for both groups of mobs and AVs. Would one of these sets be better? Or another? 

Edited November 2, 2020 by beradical

[DreadShinobi]

For blasters it is difficult to compare anything to the performance that Fire Blasting offers. The animation time on fireball and blaze put much to shame. Beam Rifle is bogged down by a number of long animation times, including Lancer Shot, Cutting Beam, and Disintegrate at 1.9s, and Piercing Beam at 2.33s. The DPA of Fire Breath looks good in comparison. The DoT on Inferno is also very strong with blaster mods when comparing the two nukes. BR is not really a set that shines in melee, like where you say you want to play. From Fire Manip, Combustion is skippable and FSC isn't all that, but Burn is on point. I'm sure BR/Dev can be fun and a unique pick and playstyle, but if your comparison point is a fire/fire blaster it is a hard comparison.

[beradical]

Ok, sounds like once again the correct answer is Fire. TY!