Teaming as a blaster is easy and boring

[Judasace]

So been playing a DP/time blaster lately and while at first it was fun, the whole stand safely at the back and hose the mob with DPS is getting old kinda fast. So I'm looking to find another Archetype that is a little more engaging and requires more thought than hit these 4 or 5 buttons in the most efficient way possible. I am thinking maybe a Corruptor or Defender, so I need to worry about keeping an eye on how my allies are fairing and managing buffs/debuffs. Also considering a Tanker, dont normally do melee but might be a nice change of pace and require some different thinking. Any thoughts or opinions?

 

You're playing it wrong and gimping your DPS. As a blaster I'm constantly moving, in and out of the nob group, getting into angle, searching for medium helth targets that can be executed with one shot, looking for high value targets that can be taken out before they hurt anyone.. If you're just standing there plinking away from the rear, you're like and MM pressing your pet attack button solely, or a controller letting your pet do the work.

 

A good blaster is active, thinking and strategic, a scalpel when heneeds to be and a club when the team needs that.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

[Nihil]

So I stuck with him and have found some more fun and challenge with higher levels, now 34, and been jumping in with my nuke and targeting bosses for the anchor of my AoEs when clumped so I can easily go into ST on them while EC and BR recharge. I tried the pbAoE in time but found the radius small and the cast to be to slow to be of much use to me, feel it had my better bigger AoEs waiting to be used while I repositioned from using it and often not hitting much with it.

[Scarlet Shocker]

as many have said, melee is a big part of a Blaster's armoury, so you're missing out by not using it, and it is a skill to do it well. That said, it could be that your play style just isn't suited to Blasters that well and you might find you enjoy other ATs a lot more. Given the amount we have and the powers they can wield, I'd strongly advise you to experiment, see what works and what doesn't. Personally my fave ATs are Blasters and Controllers, both of which play quite differently, so give it a go and see what you think.

 

One thing you'll learn soon enough is there are many many different ways to play this game and that's one reason it's so good.

[Gulbasaur]

So I'm looking to find another Archetype that is a little more engaging and requires more thought than hit these 4 or 5 buttons in the most efficient way possible. I am thinking maybe a Corruptor or Defender, so I need to worry about keeping an eye on how my allies are fairing and managing buffs/debuffs. Also considering a Tanker, dont normally do melee but might be a nice change of pace and require some different thinking. Any thoughts or opinions?

Go kheldian. Peacebringers and warshades can blast and tank. You flip between blasty mode and tanky mode as needed and eventually sort of do both at the same time (although you have to flip-flop between forms to manage aggro). They're the ultimate I Get Bored Easily archetypes - they're not the best at anything, but they're very good at quite a lot.

 

Typical experience as a peacebringer teaming with brutes as tanks: buff up a bit, blasty-blast, apologise about knockback, blasty-blast until brute gets down to 25% health, shift into dwarf form and take over on aggro-management duty, wait until only bosses remain or brute is back to 100% then go into human form for some serious melee damage then back to nova for ranged damage.

 

If you have tanks in your team, you'll probably stay in nova (floaty blast prawn) or human mode, but it's handy for when you accidentally pull two sets of mobs - you can fly in, nuke them, nuke them again and then tank out the rest until things get calmer. There's something cool about not knowing what role you're playing until you enter a team - look at the archetype icons in the team roster and think "ah, I'm the tank today" or "cool, I'll DPS until the tank needs help then take over while they recover".

 

You can hit resistance cap fairly easily and more than double your hit points by pressing two buttons. The peacebringer inherent power allows you to be better at whatever your team needs (warshades get better at whatever your team does) so you never feel like you're just coasting along.

[Xeres]

If the game is boring for you as a blaster, thank your tanks.  No, it's not a bad thing at all - it's what happens when people are doing what they are supposed to in a team setting.

 

Boring > faceplant.

[SwitchFade]

Go Warshade.

 

If you be sure to make your keybinds for form switching and tray swapping properly, get ready for this...

 

85% resist all

 

2-3 blasting pets out Perma

 

Self end recovery and heal, every group you kill

 

2 build ups, so massive damage output

 

Tons of aoe damage both ranged and pbaoe

 

All your attacks slow movement and slow recharge enemies

 

Inherent teleport, built in teammate teleport, zone teleport

 

Built in invisibility with only superspeed

 

Mag 3 ranged cone stun

 

Built in flight in blaster mode

 

Built in tank mode with another self heal

 

Warshades are truly boss. Most people don't quite know how to play them, so they move to something less advanced. Make your keybinds properly, and you can simple melt foes. Blasting... Tanking... Capped resist with 3 pets out blasting with you... The list goes on and on.

 

Tank mage.

[Nihil]

Yall make a strong case for Kels might have to alt one, do peacekeepers get the zone teleport too, or only warshades?

[SwitchFade]

Yall make a strong case for Kels might have to alt one, do peacekeepers get the zone teleport too, or only warshades?

 

Warshades only.

[Xionian]

Yall make a strong case for Kels might have to alt one, do peacekeepers get the zone teleport too, or only warshades?

PBs get group flight iirc

[Roughtrade]

Boring > faceplant.

If you do not face plant at least once a day, you are playing the game too easy.  Go reset your Notoriety. 

Faceplanting gives me time to refill my coffee and think of what the next thing I will shout when I charge into melee ahead of the tank and drop my nuke.

The nurse in King's Row is really cute, visit her more often.

Debt Badges need earning too.

Plus I always appreciate a change to get off a Vengeance buff.

Also that.

 

[jubakumbi]

Boring > faceplant.

 

Not in my book, evar.

 

I don't play to be bored, I play to keep the boredom at bay.

 

Would rather the whole party was faceplanting and learning new ways to survive over just steamrolling with no risk.

 

No Risk = Boring

Nothing Gooing Wrong  = Boring

Nothing Unexpected = Boring

 

Faceplanting is learning and pushing your build, playing the game, IMO...

[oedipus_tex]

Try a Radiation Blaster and talk to me about this again. :D

[Xeres]

Well different opinions and all.  I can't tell you how many teams I've been on where face planting / wiping became the norm because people grabbed aggro, got the healers aggro because the non-tank decided they can't wait for the tank to do their job before the DPS did theirs, causing the healers to gain healing aggro on said DPS and causing a team wipe / faceplant.  In 2004 that novelty was new and I could deal with it.

 

In 2019, not as much.  So in that respect for me boring > faceplanting.  That's really the context I was talking about.

[joyispunkrolex]

Can you tell me more about the VEATs like their strength and weaknesses or what resources they bring to a team? Or even better point me to such a resource?

 

I played a Fortunata and a Crab Spider to 50 on live. The Fortunata is probably my favorite all-time character in terms of what I call fun in the game. Generally speaking, every VEAT has amped-up Leadership powers in their secondary AND gets bonus values from Leadership, Fitness and Fighting pools. Meaning that VEATs are incentivized to run the work-alike powers from their secondary plus Leadership powers on top of them. Someone who is "doing it right" is giving their team big bonuses to Defense and ToHit, plus some extra attack damage. VEATs are buffing force mutipliers, just by passively standing around being VEATs.

 

The four different VEATs diverge at level 24 (they're actually forced to respec when they train), with Fortunatas becoming Controller/Corrupter-types with several big AoE controls and decent blasts. The Night Widows are sturdier and mostly work in melee. Crabs are very sturdy ranged tanks with some pets (note to people who run Sentinels: do this instead) and Bane Spiders are a more versatile version of a Stalker with some ranged attacks.

[jubakumbi]

Well different opinions and all.  I can't tell you how many teams I've been on where face planting / wiping became the norm because people grabbed aggro, got the healers aggro because the non-tank decided they can't wait for the tank to do their job before the DPS did theirs, causing the healers to gain healing aggro on said DPS and causing a team wipe / faceplant.  In 2004 that novelty was new and I could deal with it.

 

In 2019, not as much.  So in that respect for me boring > faceplanting.  That's really the context I was talking about.

 

Different opinions is the ticket!

 

Even the language you use shows me that we just play differently, it's interesting to examine.

You refer to 'jobs' that must be done 'in order', etc.

IMO, CoH does not have things like healers, for example, that's for other MMOs. :)

Teams that just follow a recipe over and over with no risk are like watching the game play itself, I may as well watch TV (eww).

 

The majority seem to want to play every encounter like it's a progession raiding step, full of caution and risk-averse, gather for buffs, etc.

That's fine by me, it just means I solo more and don't hang around many teams for very long.

To me, it is just a video game and pixels can never really die, taking chances and trying crazy things is the fun of a video game where you cannot die.

 

CoH is a sandbox in which many different delusions can be realized. :)

 

[Sothoth]

So been playing a DP/time blaster lately and while at first it was fun, the whole stand safely at the back and hose the mob with DPS is getting old kinda fast. So I'm looking to find another Archetype that is a little more engaging and requires more thought than hit these 4 or 5 buttons in the most efficient way possible. I am thinking maybe a Corruptor or Defender, so I need to worry about keeping an eye on how my allies are fairing and managing buffs/debuffs. Also considering a Tanker, dont normally do melee but might be a nice change of pace and require some different thinking. Any thoughts or opinions?

 

That's cause you're doing it wrong. The blaster is supposed to run in and fire off his biggest AOE at point blank before the tank taunts so the healer then gets to panic while trying to keep the blaster alive, and the tank fights to regain aggro.

[jubakumbi]

That's cause you're doing it wrong. The blaster is supposed to run in and fire off his biggest AOE at point blank before the tank taunts so the healer then gets to panic while trying to keep the blaster alive, and the tank fights to regain aggro.

 

Wait, we have healers?

The rest sounds about right...

 

:)

[Gentoo]

Even the language you use shows me that we just play differently, it's interesting to examine.

You refer to 'jobs' that must be done 'in order', etc.

IMO, CoH does not have things like healers, for example, that's for other MMOs. :)

 

Well, you CAN Play a healer in COH... you just have to go out of your way to actually make that playstyle work. It means having nobody else on the team who does buffs, having no buffs, and being pure healing. It can actually be a fun way to play, like a goalie, with absorb pain working double time along with your other heals. The more buffs get involved though, the less that is needed, and if you find yourself on a team full of buffers, you've got little opportunity to play goalie.

[Nihil]

Working together as a team to maximize clear times a difficulty level isn't bad and can be a lot of fun. Dont have to do pulls and rebuffs before every pack, as that is boring and slow, but giving the tank 1 or 2 secs (that's really all it takes in this game) so you don't over pull agro and increase chances of multiple dirt naps/wipe is good. I run right behind the tank and then pause a second to pop BU while he starts punching and then jump in Nuke/AoE spam and dont pull more than a random Lt or 2. Need more challenge instead of playing recklessly just up the level adjustment of the mobs, increase the player multiplayer and/or check to throw some AVs in the mix.

[Solvernia]

the whole stand safely at the back and hose the mob with DPS is getting old kinda fast.

 

Play a DP/Martial/Fire blaster and you will never stand at the back again. Teaming as a blaster is only easy and boring if you make a conscious effort to play the game in an easy and boring manner.

 

On Little Bird, I make it a point to open with Bonfire -> Burst of Speed -> Hail of Bullets, right there in the middle of every pack before the tank can even run in. It's fun, although a handful of people who hate fun tend to get pissed when you don't play it safe.

 

(But that's what Rise of the Phoenix is for.)

[jubakumbi]

the whole stand safely at the back and hose the mob with DPS is getting old kinda fast.

 

Play a DP/Martial/Fire blaster and you will never stand at the back again. Teaming as a blaster is only easy and boring if you make a conscious effort to play the game in an easy and boring manner.

 

On Little Bird, I make it a point to open with Bonfire -> Burst of Speed -> Hail of Bullets, right there in the middle of every pack before the tank can even run in. It's fun, although a handful of people who hate fun tend to get pissed when you don't play it safe.

 

(But that's what Rise of the Phoenix is for.)

 

Hm. I went with DP/Martial/Force, but I think I might have to reconsider now...been doing Burst->Dragons Tail->Hail to get aggro.

The -Res PvP proc in Burst works well to soften the crowd.

 

WIth no Rise, I bring extra BFs.

[Solvernia]

Hm. I went with DP/Martial/Force, but I think I might have to reconsider now...been doing Burst->Dragons Tail->Hail to get aggro.

The -Res PvP proc in Burst works well to soften the crowd.

 

WIth no Rise, I bring extra BFs.

 

Yeah. I slot Achilles', Annihilation, and that PVP -res into every power I can, as well as Force Feedback recharge proc. It's brutal and effective.

 

Fire is better than force because you're going to die anyway, it gives you a self-rez and boatloads AoE debuffs/CC, and you can always fluff it as incendiary grenades (if you have incendiary pistol bullets, you can have incendiary grenades too.)

 

You can use Inner Will immediately after an Awaken. Six-slot it with Preventive Medicine in it and you can just walk out of packs of mobs after your inevitable demise.

 

Dragon's Tail isn't as effective as Bullet Rain as an opener. You can put a -res debuff proc and a Force Feedback proc in Bullet Rain and pop it before Hail of Bullets and get practically guaranteed +100% recharge and -res for a few seconds to boot. Bonfire with Overwhelming Force does the knockdown you need to stay alive after teleporting into a pack of mobs, and also works amazing with Force Feedback.