Is There a Blapping Guide?

[Herotu]

I was just wondering if there's an existing blapping guide? I can't didn't see one using the search function...

[Grindingsucks]

Not sure.  Blapping is surprisingly straightforward, though.  I got into it just by trying it once, and was instantly converted to that style of play and found I could perform extremely well, with no particular expertise on the play style.  My recommendations:

 

1). Take combat teleport and hover.  Make sure you macro/keybind CT to let you swiftly close and withdraw from combat (both horizontally and vertically).

2). Pick a blaster secondary with lots of melee attacks (atomic, electric, energy, fire- whatever you like the most)

3) Concentrate on making s/l and ranged defense good (honestly, none of mine are super great and my blappers still do really well).

 

Open with snipe.  CT to close range.  Blap.  CT away.  Use inspirations as needed.  Rinse and Repeat.

 

I'm sure more experienced blappers can give you more specific advice, but this has worked wonderfully for me.

 

Have fun blapping!  😁👍

[Doomguide2005]

My first was Fire/NRG, probably around i4 or so.  Therefore no fast snipe or IOs, no crashless nukes, minimal defense or resists (outside of inspires) and no sustain.  And basically I unloaded at range while closing to melee distance with the boss(es) where I then proceeded to use Bonecrusher and/or Power Thrust to neuter the bosses further.  Rarely used Inferno while solo for obvious reasons.  Today it's an Electric/Fire PBAoE monster still getting leveled when the computer died.  Plan on S/L capped defenses with whatever Range defense I can manage.  Biggest issue on Live was lack of sustainable endurance (and Sunset occurring before leveled up and completed the build).  So far his sustain is handling the end consumption just fine and we'll see how the defenses handle avoiding serious mez issues post 40th.  But yeah basically all out aggressively attacking kill them first style backed by defense and sustain to keep it rolling spawn to spawn.

[Nemu]

Knowing when to stay in melee and when to stay out of melee is 50% of the equation

Inspiration use is 25%

Knowing how to joust, especially PBAoEs is 20%

Softcap defenses is the last 5%

 

If you level up a blaster the hard way you won't have the benefit of those defenses during the journey. You are an opportunist, you need o capitalize on opportunities that allow you to get into melee. You can create those opportunities with some primary/secondaries, with others you might need the team to help. Moving is fundamental, it allows you to quickly capitalize on opportunities and just as quickly retreat when those opportunities fade. Combat jumping is great for this, defense, jump control and complete protection from immob is hard to beat. I see other people use hover and tp, inefficient IMO, dipping into two power pools for mobility. I don't recommend hover for melee blasters, it's slow and there are plenty of -fly powers and indoor maps that nullify it's benefit.

 

Inspiration use/combine should be second nature when you are leveling, you might not need to manage this as much when you get to that softcapped build but you will depend on it a lot as you are getting there. You priorities as you are leveling up should be Defense>Breakfrees>everything else

 

Jousting is just another subset of mastering movement. It takes a little skill, especially timing PBAoEs. Jousting PBAoEs means you can inferno 20 feet away from the spawn that you hopped out of so you are not stuck in that 4 second animation helpless in the middle of 3 freakshow bosses swatting at you.

 

Anyone can copy a softcapped build just like anyone can copy a fire farm build and pretend to be a connoisseur about it. If you really want to learn the melee blaster way it's the first 3 that you need to work on.

[Shred Monkey]

You should also be warned.  You'll very often join a team one mission before they all decide to "log off" for the night.  You see, your awesomeness will fill many players with feelings of envy and inadequacy.  This results in players frequently quitting your team to go make a blapper themselves.  #BlasterEnvy is real.

 

[SeraphimKensai]

From i4 on until sunset about 80% of my playtime was catered to PvP. Blapping was all about mobility, which in PvP meant staying alive longer than the other guy as you'd coordinate spikes on primary targets as you'd be either Fire/EM or Ice/EM. Blapping really came about because of PvP, and we wouldn't just stand in melee and duke it out, it was all about the joust.

 

With IO's and more modern power sets, it's incredibly hard to die in PvE, so there's a lot less jousting and more just standing around in the middle of a mob casting pbaoes, and heavy hitting melee attacks while being defense soft capped.

 

The best blappers master the joust, and get that itch to know when and when not to pop buildup/aim. Remember mobility is always key to making a great blapper.

[InvaderStych]

On 3/8/2021 at 9:33 AM, Shred Monkey said:

You should also be warned.  You'll very often join a team one mission before they all decide to "log off" for the night.  You see, your awesomeness will fill many players with feelings of envy and inadequacy.  This results in players frequently quitting your team to go make a blapper themselves.  #BlasterEnvy is real.

 

Can't say I've felt the envy personally, but after rolling my first Blaster here on HC just yesterday and being a melee-centric player all these years (never had anything but scraps and brutes at 50) I can honestly say this Fire/Martial might just be some of the most fun I've had going from 1-18 since the game was new.  Add the massive dmg to the fun factor and I can see where the envy could be very strong indeed!

 

Thanks to all for the tips in this thread!  Blap-Jousting FTW.

 

 

Now if I can just remember that I'm not carrying half a dozen or more protective toggles maybe I'll spend less time looking for spare change on the floor. 🤣

Edited March 24, 2021 by InvaderStych
clarity