Best Blappers?

[InvaderStych]

m   a   r   t   i   a   l            c   o   m   b   a   t

 

 

Seriously.

 

Here's mine; not the best or most traditional build, but one I like so much I'm actually struggling to start another toon.

 

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[FUBARczar]

7 hours ago, InvaderStych said:

m   a   r   t   i   a   l            c   o   m   b   a   t

 

 

Seriously.

 

Here's mine; not the best or most traditional build, but one I like so much I'm actually struggling to start another toon.

 

 

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Yeah Martial is fun!

 

One question, why combat teleport?  Perhaps consider Infiltration from the Concealment pool.

[DarknessEternal]

If you're considering /Elec remember that Thunder Strike is only good for knocking a bunch of guys down, since only tiny energy component is AoE damage.

[FUBARczar]

1 hour ago, DarknessEternal said:

If you're considering /Elec remember that Thunder Strike is only good for knocking a bunch of guys down, since only tiny energy component is AoE damage.

That control helps a lot.  Just today a group of six of us did a +4/8 all-range team on the Freak/Voz story arc (The Graveyard Shift (Hero, Level 20-29)) and I was playing a fire/elec blaster.  I was the defacto Tanker/Blanker on the team and Thunder Strike was Priceless.

[Haijinx]

On 5/18/2021 at 10:02 AM, FUBARczar said:

/Ice is also fine for blapping, Ice patch can be very effective.

 

this is what my fire/elec looks like

 

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Shiver is no slouch either

[InvaderStych]

1 hour ago, FUBARczar said:

Yeah Martial is fun!

 

One question, why combat teleport?  Perhaps consider Infiltration from the Concealment pool.

 

Addiction. 😄 Once I got accustomed to <mouse4> as targeted CT on a few melee toons I just can't not have it if melee is in the cards.  I briefly toyed with the idea of swapping Leadership for Concealment, or perhaps even Leaping for Flight.  We'll see how I feel after kitting out the rest of the iSuite of powers, lol.

 

Love me some CT, but I'll grant that the build makes some sacrifices to keep it.  <shift>-WASD macros are actually quite useful for bounding in/out of melee and various doom patches.  But not practically any faster than leaping/hovering out of danger.  I do find it more accurate/less-hectic for me, but that's some serious YMMV commentary there, lol.

 

BoS is the gem though: twice the range of CT.  It's nutty the way one can cross instances and attack from crazy angles with it.

[DarknessEternal]

Combat Teleport is so slow though.  You can't even melee a runner with it.

[Onlyasandwich]

37 minutes ago, DarknessEternal said:

Combat Teleport is so slow though

It's basically instant. You can definitely queue up a melee power behind CT on a runner and it will activate as long as you hit it right after CT.

[InvaderStych]

On 6/13/2021 at 5:15 PM, DarknessEternal said:

Combat Teleport is so slow though.  You can't even melee a runner with it.

 

Um... I mean, if the gallery will permit me a moment of well-intentioned levity ...

 

... why would my blaster need to use a melee attack on a runner? 🤣

 

Joking aside though, CT is 0.3s.  It is faster than using the follow button while running Hover+Evasive Maneuvers over all but the shortest of distances to a static target.  I have been testing this on a scrapper to decide if she can drop CT, so far, no, not planning to drop it.

 

Catching runners with my scrappers that use CT is just a matter of either timing as @Onlyasandwich correctly pointed out, or simply timing it for when they turn to fire from range. Easy-Peasy.  Furthermore, CT will follow runners along the Z axis, around corners, and through windowed walls into corner offices or council pill boxes. Heck, it will follow them through real walls in many cases, as long as they are in range.

 

More specifically for /Martial ... Reaction Time is a huge -spd debuff (I'm running Gravitic Core to stack that -spd/-rech and it works a treat) so runners aren't going anywhere all that fast anyway.  Also, KP->SK->CT->KP->SK is the best mini-game to play with bosses.  Sure, could burn them down faster, but running solo where's the fun in that?  Full Disclosure: I rarely use KP on teams unless there's a real reason - usually pushing something pesky off me or pushing some potential runner back into the scrum.

 

That said, chasing runners is not even remotely CT's most frequent or most beneficial use case, but that's both a thread derailment and very much a matter of personal taste.  Personally, I can cross an instance much faster, position myself more precisely, and escape danger with less anxiety when I use it.  There are players with tons of practice with Flight that could say the exact same thing about their setup.

 

Beauty of the game. 🍻

[FUBARczar]

On 6/14/2021 at 1:48 AM, InvaderStych said:

 

Addiction. 😄 Once I got accustomed to <mouse4> as targeted CT on a few melee toons I just can't not have it if melee is in the cards.  I briefly toyed with the idea of swapping Leadership for Concealment, or perhaps even Leaping for Flight.  We'll see how I feel after kitting out the rest of the iSuite of powers, lol.

 

Love me some CT, but I'll grant that the build makes some sacrifices to keep it.  <shift>-WASD macros are actually quite useful for bounding in/out of melee and various doom patches.  But not practically any faster than leaping/hovering out of danger.  I do find it more accurate/less-hectic for me, but that's some serious YMMV commentary there, lol.

 

BoS is the gem though: twice the range of CT.  It's nutty the way one can cross instances and attack from crazy angles with it.

And you can't do the same set up for BoS?    

[InvaderStych]

On 6/17/2021 at 2:51 PM, FUBARczar said:

And you can't do the same set up for BoS?    

 

Interesting question; in some ways I have done.  Apologies in advance for the "No One Wants to Real All That ...." nature of this long post, but idk a good way to frame a brief answer, so here goes:

 

BoS is on <mouse5> and CT is on <mouse4> - both are:

 

powexec_location target

 

Both are thumb-buttons on my mouse, right next to each other (quite old Razer, Lycosa maybe? don't remember the model).

 

One could easily sub-in BoS for CT on most of my other macros.  The idea had not occurred to me to do so though as I feel that they complement each other quite nicely.

 

A couple of comments in preface:

 

1. My Fire/MC, as fun and awesome as it is to play is not a "numerically optimized" build, and I fully acknowledge this.  He's solo'd some AVs in the even-level/+1 range, and comfortably plays around +1x8 though I could probably push that a little.  He does not have an optimized attack chain for his power-sets, and only S/L/E are at the soft-cap with minimal resistances. I have never tried to solo him through +4x8 anything, and I have my doubts that the build would stand up to that sort of pressure.  If that's a metric that is important to the reader, then I'm probably not the best person to listen to. 😄

 

2. What I am about to describe below can be accomplished with any chosen form of in-combat travel.  Substitute my BAMF!ing around for leap-jousting or hover-defense to move in and out of mobs/trouble and you've basically got the same thing.  I happen to find that binding CT to <shift-WASD> to port in the corresponding directions to be a very smooth and fast UX for me personally.  That and I freaking love teleportation as a concept, always have.  Finally, theme, lovely, lovely theme.  It just fits. 🙂

 

 

So, with that out of the way, remember that BoS gives 3 shots with a short activation/recharge gap that means the best pattern is <BoS>-<Execute a Power>-<BoS> if the plan is to use BoS on a mob more than once.  After 3 activations BoS is on a long recharge - Mids claims my build has it down to 33s or so, but I suspect that in-game it is longer.  Or at least it feels longer.

 

CT gives me an additional tool to save those BoS 2nd and 3rd triggers either for porting long-distance to the next mob, or porting back into the fray after using CT to escape backwards, sideways, or forward to the far side of the scrum.  So, a typical encounter might look something like this:

 

BoS from (sometimes extreme) range -> <Reaction Time Debuff drops on the mob> -> (Optionally drop RoF if the encounter would benefit from it) -> SK the primary target -> Fireball -> DT for the AoE KD -> <shift-bind> to CT <direction> out of melee-> Blaze -> Fast Snipe -> BoS either back into the mob or to the next mob.

 

With variations depending on targets, etc, etc.  Recall that Gravitic T4 Core is stacking an additional 10% (75% chance to proc, 4 stacks possible) -rech/-spd on top of RT's -20% to each so once RT takes affect and the first few AoEs are fired, nothing is going anywhere anytime soon.  The build is peppered with KD procs and while the one in BoS works a lot better than I thought it would, the one in RoF is probably extraneous.  It does fire, but not as reliably in practice.

 

The combo of BoS and CT gives me some pretty extreme mobility.  Staring down a long warehouse hallway with a footbridge where mobs are standing? *BAMF!* and I'm there.  On one of those tech-base maps where the mob is hiding on a mezzanine? *BAMF!* and I'm there.  That Tsoo Sorcerer or Rikti Lt teleported around the corner? *BAMF!* and I'm there, kicking their face. 😉

 

It's not going to suit everyone's style, but the keyboard macros to teleport Forward/Back/Left/Right with CT do wonders to free up BoS as an attack, and in pure UX terms, I am a lot less clumsy using it than I am trying to hover/jump around. 🤣

 

Also, CT is great for all sorts of little tricks, like skipping to the other side of a jammed door packed with friend or foe. 😉

Edited June 19, 2021 by InvaderStych
Formatting and Clarity. 2nd edit for an annoying typo.

[1seanv]

Blappers aren't about being aoe. They are about hitting really hard.

 

My post was mainly talking about pvp blapping, but having a /MA blapper, I'd still choose em for the boost range and power boost. With ss and boost range you can melee snipe with ease, land a serious stun, and fire your attacks from alot farther away.

 

Not to mention powerboost will boost your heals, regen, defense etc.

Edited June 21, 2021 by 1seanv

[Safehouse]

I'm currently leveling a Rad/Energy blaster and holy crap is it amazingly fun in melee range. It's one of my favorite characters I've ever rolled. It hits hard, and Rad provides some fun AoEs. I can fly, I get to shoot lasers from my eyes, rad has some "ion cannon" like powers. I've been playing a mix of melee and range but I think it could do well as blapper.

 

For sure I second the recommendations for an energy secondary.

[brasilgringo]

4 hours ago, Safehouse said:

I'm currently leveling a Rad/Energy blaster and holy crap is it amazingly fun in melee range. It's one of my favorite characters I've ever rolled. It hits hard, and Rad provides some fun AoEs. I can fly, I get to shoot lasers from my eyes, rad has some "ion cannon" like powers. I've been playing a mix of melee and range but I think it could do well as blapper.

 

For sure I second the recommendations for an energy secondary.

I still can't get past the Neutron Bomb animation .... so sloooooow

[DarknessEternal]

1.67s is pretty standard.

[brasilgringo]

22 hours ago, DarknessEternal said:

1.67s is pretty standard.

Fireball is my standard lol 

[DarknessEternal]

Fire Blast is the only good blast set for several reasons.

[Snarky]

On 6/13/2021 at 3:21 PM, FUBARczar said:

That control helps a lot.  Just today a group of six of us did a +4/8 all-range team on the Freak/Voz story arc (The Graveyard Shift (Hero, Level 20-29)) and I was playing a fire/elec blaster.  I was the defacto Tanker/Blanker on the team and Thunder Strike was Priceless.

My Ice/Ice Blaster is not a Blapper.  But the build is best suited to almost Sentinel range.  Not long range at all.  Just right outside the mobs.  So...Ice Patch and Shiver are remarkably good (when you got not much else!) at throwing the attacking forces into chaos while you cycle through a few more attacks

[subbacultchas]

Currently I'm finishing off my Rad/Mental/Ice blaster, and it's a ton of fun. I don't know that it's the best blapper, but its definitely a lot of fun and has plenty of close range tools to deal with most things. My only issue is that it ended up being a bit harder to softcap ranged than I thought it would be, whereas melee would have hit softcap for incarnates without trying. If only mobs would actually run in and punch blasters, as opposed to forming a circle and opening fire.

Edited July 1, 2021 by subbacultchas

[Chaos String]

I had a Rad/Mental/Ice too, back in the day.  Did S/L farming surprisingly well, before incarnates were a thing.  With softcap S/L, Drain Psyche for regen and sustain, three good PBAoEs (the nuke, the DoT and Psy Shockwave) and two matched cones, you could just jump in the middle of a ton of baddies and spam AoE.  Kind of an AoE blapper.  Pretty fun.  Did okay on teams too.  Single-target damage was suspect, for a blaster.  Fell apart soloing villain groups with mez or a lot of exotic damage, but you could easily plug those holes in today's CoH.  8/10 would recommend giving it a go.

 

My current favorite blapper isn't a really great one per se, as it has no Aim or Build-Up, but DP/Nin for the Deadpool / Deathstroke vibe is crazy fun.  Lots of stabbing.  Lots and lots of shooting.  7/10 almost doesn't suck at all.