Blaster late game strategies, tactics, and build goals

[Snarky]

If any of you have looked at my Blaster builds you know I tend to build for ranged defense.  Preferably with a ranged set like Elec, Ice. Beam, etc. 

 

I recently started a Fire Mental with....NO defense.  Just building for ACC, Rech, and maximum lulz.

 

There have been faceplants.  But I am getting a nice rhythm going with a team usually now.  (Still experiencing some floor time).  Now I can tell when I can unleash and when my itchy button finger must wait.  When to stay at range and AoE (5 cones and a ranged ball) or when to jump in for the PBAoE madness.  Right now at 42.

 

How is this strategy affected at 50, in Incarnate Trials, and with the new content?  Time will tell.  OR you guys will!  Can a defenseless Blaster use wise avoidance to get past most high end game situations.  Or do I have to rebuild as a Blastank?

[SeraphimKensai]

You gotta realize before IOs we were all defenseless blasters. Having mobility and understanding the content you're facing and having high situational awareness can set you apart from others.

 

I still occasionally get asked why I move so much while playing PvE, and I tell people it's a holdover from being a PvPer and while there's truth to that.

 

If I reposition to let a tank absorb agro, or avoid NPCs heavy melee attacks or things like Night widow's Blind or other mobs specialties. I'm able to keep on keeping on.

 

With that mindset/skillset you can play a blaster without needing softcapped defense and hardly ever die.

[Meknomancer]

T4 barriers, lots of amplifiers, teammates buffs. Most important thing is your positioning. You need to be close enough to get hit by the buffs without the person using them clicking on it and wondering 'why did the camera just spin round to the blaster thats 50 feet away hovering in the air out of range? screw them they're on their own i'm not chasing after them to give them my cold shields :p'

[Frozen Burn]

You do not have to capped or even near capped in defense to be survivable.  As @SeraphimKensai stated, we were all defenseless for years and survived quite well by kiting, moving, and repositioning ourselves during the fight. 

• Leading your aggro to the Tank, Brute, or even Scrapper (even they sometimes have aggro auras) to pull mobs off you. 
• Run towards your healers - not away (like I see SO many blasters do as they faceplant).  
• Use inspirations!  SO many forget about these.  
• Use your controls!
• Switch targets as needed:  to control pesky foes while you burn the trash / burn the trash with AoEs while you focus on the pesky LTs, Bosses, EBs, AVs.

My main / namesake is an Ice/Fire/Fire blaster - and I play him aggressively in melee range and rarely die.  I play incarnate trials, HMs, and increased difficulty TFs/SFs.  Until recent changes, I always ran Clarion to keep Hot Feet from detoggling.  I have a PvE build, but use it to farm +4x8 when I'm desperate for purple drops or money for an alt.  People have asked me for my build and are shocked when they learn my stats (posted below).  It just goes to show, you don't HAVE to have capped def/resist to survive.

 

If I do die, it's usually because I forget to take an inspire or 3.  But I have a lot of control with these powersets (3 holds, Bonfire to KD, Blizzard to KD, Ice Storm to make them slowly try to run (+ a KD proc), and Hot Feet to add to their slow scatter).  Most people skip the control powers in their sets (and I have on some builds too), but they add to a blaster's survivability if used properly.  

 

Another tip/trick for blasters that not many use or realize....  Max HPs + the Preventative Medicine +Absorb Proc: 

• The proc is great and can be a life saver.  ALL blasters (and squishies) should have it.  Most know this.  However... 
• I build most of my blasters at or near the HP cap (1847 HPs).  Most people are around 1400-1500 tops.  That extra 300-450 HPs generally means you can take a couple more hits before falling and it gives more time for the Preventative Med proc to grant you "bonus" absorb HPs so you DON'T drop.  This is just something else that usually lets me survive fights while all other squishies (and sometimes scrappers and brutes) are searching the ground for that "contact lens they dropped."  🙂  

 

Frozen Burn's stats...

 

Spoiler

Most people would NEVER play like I do with stats like these.  lol  Even I sometimes look at it and think "I've got to respec and change things" but then - this toon plays perfectly fine and is fun as hell - why change it?!  😄  

 

 

 

 

But @Snarky, I am glad you are finding your rhythm with and are enjoying that blaster.  Blasters are my favorite AT and I like all the different combos.  Some combos lean towards staying at range while other are just screaming to be in the middle and in the thick of things.  I let the powers tell me how to play it.  And some need to bounce between the two - which sounds like that's where you are with yours.  

 

I see a lot of players have builds that they could devastate if they were in melee range, but they are too timid to be near foes and stay at range - and they do half or less of the DPS that they could be doing.  It's sad.  So glad you recognize when to go in and when to get out.

 

Just continue playing it and don't worry about "OMG I'm only at 40% def and not at cap!"  You'll be fine.  Just keep using the tools at your disposal and your positioning/movement.  

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2022 by Frozen Burn

[Zect]

IMO, a competently built and played endgame blaster should have the following:

 

• At least 200 raw ST dps (approx. a pylon time of 5:13) and the recharge and eps to sustain this indefinitely
  • At both ranged and melee. Blasters should still have well developed ranged attack chains even if blapping, because there are situations where melee is difficult or unfeasible.
  • Without lore pets, because lores are difficult to keep alive in many situations. They should be treated as a bonus, not reliable dps.
  • I consider this a bare minimum acceptable figure. Optimized blasters can get over double this. Viable brutes, sents and scrappers typically hit at least 200 as well, and they are armored, so there is no reason you cannot outdo them.
• Well developed aoe dps (generally nuke + 2 aoe powers)
• Capped tohit chance vs relative level +3 enemies
  • Again, a bare minimum figure for 90% of what you can expect to encounter. You will have to fight enemies that are at a relative level of +4 to you in hardmode tf's and the later itrials, and there are enemies with defense buffs, e.g. Romans.
• A substantial amount of defense, generally 20% def to all and between 32.5% to 45% to selected types/positions
  • Traditional defense strats are: ranged-only hoverblasting, S/L only, S/L/R, and rainbow (all typed defenses except psi, at least SLEN if not fire farming). Choose based on power layout and playstyle.
• Ample secondary defense stats (S/L/exotic resists, max HP, healing/absorb procs, regen or hps, etc.) - the more the better.

 

On 11/7/2022 at 8:48 PM, Snarky said:

Can a defenseless Blaster use wise avoidance to get past most high end game situations.

 

Sure. However, doing so always comes at the cost of DPS loss due to playing more cautiously, disengaging, waiting for armored characters to initiate, animation time lost while positioning/jousting/healing/using controls instead of attacks, using defensive insps instead of offensive ones, dying due to user error, etc.

 

Defense enables you to play more aggressively, function better in suboptimal teams (few/badly played support characters), avoid dying and losing critical buffs, helps support characters softcap you, and compensates for human error. The last one is a big one. When you play without defense, you are more reliant on your own skills to survive, and people tend to overestimate their own skill level (cognitive bias). None of us are as good as we think we are, and I frequently see players who scoff at defense faceplant and proceed to lose hybrid/lore/hasten/other critical buffs.

 

Of course, don't go the opposite direction and cripple the build to softcap, either. Without DDR and heavy layered defenses you cannot sit and take hits indefinitely like an armored AT.

 

Ultimately, while defense is not a panacea for survivability challenges, some level of defense is recommended and beneficial for all blasters.

 

The type and amount of defense varies based on playstyle. The bare minimum I consider acceptable on any build is approximately 20% def to all, roughly the amount you get from weave, CJ/hover, maneuvers, and both +3 uniques. This requires very little slot investment and takes powers most blasters will want anyway for lotg mules, mobility and resistances. With this amount of defense, a defender non-powerboosted fort will almost softcap you. Vengeance + the weakest level of barrier core will softcap you. We see how even when not aiming to softcap, defense amplifies the effectiveness of other defense buffs.

 

Beyond that, you can chose whether to pursue more defense. Each defense strategy has its own drawbacks, and some sets have a power layout more suited to one over the other. Ranged-only hoverblasters and S/L/R have to be cautious in hardmode ITF, for example, because every nova and fluffy has negative ranged aoe blasts. Recently I have been playing a lot of rainbow blasters, and they shrug off stuff other blasters have to be cautious against. But when they do get hit, the driver has to respond quickly because with no res from an APP shield they die in 1 hit instead of 2.

 

The one defense strat I do not recommend is pure S/L defense. It is very brittle, especially in the page 5 environment.

[DreadShinobi]

Protip: you can have more than 1 build. A softcap build for general use, and a max dps fully proc loaded build for buff heavy teams or when you want to pull out your stockpile of t3 red and purple insps. 

 

Aside from that, general insp use matters if you want to play a squishier, more offensive blaster build. Intelligently managing your insp usage weighted against risk v reward and your kill speed can make a proc loaded blaster just as "survivable" as a defensive blaster build so long as you avoid the face plant. Killing faster = more insp drops as well which can make the effect exponential. From there you can extend your effectiveness on your squishier blaster build by avoiding additional damage by improving your positioning, kiting, how you apply your alpha strike, how you receive the enemy alpha strike, what you do during extended combat, how and when to use your nuke and self buffs, etc.

 

To reach any significant level of defense (32.5% or 45%) a blaster must typically pay a much higher slot tax than other archetypes that have better modifiers on pool powers like weave/maneuvers or supplementary toggles like arctic fog, or a whole armor set to work with. Because it takes so much slot investment to reach ideal defense numbers I have found myself to be more satisfied with my blaster builds that forgo defensive investment for more damage procs, offensive utility, recharge, or even just going for +hp or +regen over +def because +def is the most likely buff you can receive from an ally and the easiest stat to buff to game breaking levels with minimal inspiration investment.

 

Know the content you are running. Know exactly how many break free insps you need to bring. Know how to approach a mob encounter with critters that will mez you without needing to use your break free insp. Reduce the number of times you get mezzed by playing better and you will reduce the number of break frees you need to take to the same content when you repeat it.

Edited November 11, 2022 by DreadShinobi

[Uun]

On teams and leagues it's largely a non-issue. Solo, it depends on your primary/secondary and on the faction you're fighting. I've got four lvl 50 blasters fully equipped with T4 incarnates. Water/Martial has a ranged T9, solid melee and a ton of knockdown. Ice/Temporal has a ranged T9, multiple holds and lots of -rech. Dark/TA has knockdown and multiple holds but no melee powers other than the nuke. DP/Ninja has more limited mitigation and no BU/Aim, so requires more strategy. 

[Flat Line]

Personally, I’ve gone will full defences.

 

But, I think there’s a strong argument that the game was better before specialized IOs.

 

I remember a time when Blasters were scary to play, and I loved it.

 

That play style sort of exists on Dominators. But everything can be so tanky nowadays it just gets boring.

 

Thanks for the post though! I’m inspired to make an “old school” no defence / high damage build!

[Snarky]

As usual I have been alting like mad.  And learning things.  This weekend I will rebuild my Dark Dark Soul Blaster to be able to wander i to mobs with mag 4 disorient so I can Soul Drain and Blackstar.  A big reason I have had problems with Dark Blasting.  Now to build and practice.  I will lose some ranged defense but to hit debuff is real

[MistressOhm]

Blasting is Damage First and Crowd Control second.   Also known as "Own The Battlefield" such that the best Defense is always Insurmountable Offense.

 

(These silly Sentinels, thinking they can just blast-scrap their way through, no finesse.  Hmph.)  

 

-------------

 

In all seriousness, being a Blaster means knowing what you're up against, taking on the biggest threat to your own survival and dropping it quickly, while keeping everything else from mobbing your glass-cannon ass... whups! no, you don't get to hit me, I'm not done with your boss yet, STAY THERE until I'm ready for you!  And so on and so forth.

[Shred Monkey]

I max out damage, then use what I have left over to stack on and layer defense.  If I can't get my defense up to a minimum level, I keep working or give up and make something else.

 

When playing, I start by pushing as hard as I can to do as much damage as I can to as many enemies as possible.  If I find myself dying, I consider dialing it back... maybe... sometimes.

Edited November 21, 2022 by Shred Monkey

[Snarky]

I have rebuilt with the double disorient (2+2) but the powers come in real late.  Intil then landing Soul Drain is seat of the pants.  Still play testing but working harder to land it, taking more chances.   At incarnate level I can report do not jump into the mobs at the start of Underground with mag 4 disorient and plan to land PB anything besides ground.   You will definitely land Point Blank Ground though. 

[lemming]

7 hours ago, Snarky said:

I have rebuilt with the double disorient (2+2) but the powers come in real late.  Intil then landing Soul Drain is seat of the pants.  Still play testing but working harder to land it, taking more chances.   At incarnate level I can report do not jump into the mobs at the start of Underground with mag 4 disorient and plan to land PB anything besides ground.   You will definitely land Point Blank Ground though. 

On the other hand, it worked great for me since you had them well distracted for my meteor. 😉