Planning for when Beta drops on Live

[capricorpse]

Hello everyone, I am excited about the new changes for Blasters and considering some options.  I'll note beforehand I've never really gotten into playing as a character using a weapon set, so it's very unlikely I'll do archery or guns.  Maybe the beam rifle if the synergy is so extremely on point, i've never used it.  But I'm fairly concept-driven and I'd rather have powers. 

 

First, I def want to try the new Sonic Manipulation set.  I'm considering between Psychic or Sonic blasts, because I like crowd control (i am a dominator main) and they both have a stun that can stack with Sound Cannon.  Also the FX animations would mesh nicely.  However I'm not sure if the hold mechanic with migraines etc will be reliable enough to instead go for something with a hold in the primary set, ie Electric or Dark?  I'm not as interested in Electric but I've not played it much so who knows.  It does have a PBAoE which could be a good one-two with the one in sonic.  I'm drawn to Psychic blast because I like knockdown, and psy tornado can be used from melee or range, unlike the cones in sonic blast. 

 

The other thing I'd like to try is Energy Manipulation, to play with the new variable Stun mechanic.  Again, thinking about a primary set with a stun or other synergy, so probably Sonic/Energy.  Does that seem like a good mix?  Does Power Boost affect the debuff strength of the -resist in all of the sonic blasts?  Does Boost Range affect the length of the cone attacks?

 

Bust also, what are yall looking forward to building?  I haven't done a lot with Blasters recently but I think I'm going to try a bunch of the sets that were tweaked, would love to see what other people are thinking. 

[Carnifax]

Power boost doesn't affect resist buffs or debuffs. Def buffs and debuffs, ToHit buffs and debuffs, Slow debuffs (but not recharge), Heals and mezzes are affected. Definitely not Resist (anything with a Resist buff should be coded to totally ignore +Special) or my Time/Sonic would be totally nuts.

 

I'm not sure about Absorb, regen and recovery. 

Edited November 15, 2020 by Carnifax

[Nemu]

Some of the changes on beta will be a boon for melee blasters. /ice in particular will be a monster secondary with frozen aura doing damage now. /ninja is in a great place with the melee power damage buffed to blaster scales, the crit mechanic is unique among blaster secondaries and it just feels cool to see that text floating overhead. /sonic manipulation is decent, the hold gimmick is not super reliable but it'll do in the age of top end IO softcap builds.

 

I'd skip sound cannon because it's a cone and doesn't jive with your typical melee blaster setup. Cool name though, but that's about it. Pair sound manipulation with a primary that doesn't have many cones and you have a decent melee blaster.

 

Sound blast/energy is a bit too ST focused. You can set yourself up for some bigger melee hits with the -res but damage and speed wise it will feel slow. I wouldn't recommend it if you are planning to build something that does decent ST and AoE. If you are set on sonic blast then pair it with something that has a bit more AoE as a secondary, it might work well with /mental manipulation.

[Pzn]

I think psi/sonic would be a great combo.  When psi blast was ported to blasters some of the numbers were tweaked and it's a really high performing set.  TK blast hits way harder than the defender/corruptor version even after accounting for AT modifiers.

[capricorpse]

thanks for the tips, i'm very excited to roll up a Psychic/Sonic blaster tonight after work!  tick tock, tick tock...

 

I'll probably also play with the new teleport pool changes, I can see that Fold Space power being great setup for the PBAoE attack and debuff in Sonic.  

[DreadShinobi]

For an /energy manip character id recommend dark blast or water blast for the great synergy with power boost. Boost range is also great with the cones in dark blast and steam spray.

[Carnifax]

On 11/24/2020 at 9:30 PM, DreadShinobi said:

For an /energy manip character id recommend dark blast or water blast for the great synergy with power boost. Boost range is also great with the cones in dark blast and steam spray.

Yikes. Boost Range + Umbral Torrent. You'd be hitting enemies 2 maps over.