Storm Blast is terrible

[LynnD]

I have a Storm Blast corruptor.  My SB is enhanced out. I am lvl 50+.  The damage SB does is terrible, below par compared to other Blast powers.  The SB damage out put really needs to be up higher then it is.  Also, why doesn't it tell you if the individual powers does, light, minor, moderate, high, exemplar, or superior damage.  Over all SB has potential but the damage is just not there.  Plz look it over and fix SB damage out put.

[Snarky]

Description of how much damage a power does in this game….   Oof, they have never been good.  Like, wildly off.  
 

I have not played Storm.  Fixated on an AR journey through the game.  AR has sucked since it was implemented and just now got love.  Not saying don’t hold your breath….but….

 

Have you really delved into the odd mechanics of the set?   Because as I understand it gas a very odd mechanism.  Again, I have not played it.  But I am guessing it would not ever do well on something like a fast moving ITF team.  I was on a kill most plus 4 on my ice dark Corruptor a couple days ago.  Those people covered ground so fast I rarely used Blizzard

[Troo]

39 minutes ago, Snarky said:

Have you really delved into the odd mechanics of the set?   Because as I understand it gas a very odd mechanism.  Again, I have not played it.

 

+1

[Glacier Peak]

That damage description thing was based on a system that isn't really effective anymore, mostly because of inventions (set bonuses and procs). 

 

Powers do follow a standard damage formula based on recharge time, attack animation, end cost, number of targets affected, and positional typing. 

 

On the topic of the power set itself, I've learned that positioning and the mechanics or "gimmick" of the set really comes in to it's own when rotating through the full set of powers and it's knocking back or down effects. 

[Mjolnerd]

I was just saying the other day in a different thread:  
 

On 5/27/2023 at 6:04 PM, Mjolnerd said:

There's a reason it's become kind of a cliche around these parts to point out that every powerset or combination of powersets can be good depending on... well, a lot of factors. Less so nowadays with the player balance shifted more to the hardcore/performance-focused end of the scale as a result of the game dying and coming back. Recently I've seen a lot more "Kinetic Melee only does 95% as much damage as most other sets, it's broken and unplayable" or "Storm Blast takes twenty entire seconds to completely clear a 54/x8 spawn, what were the devs thinking releasing something so worthless?" kinds of sentiments than I ever did on live. But... eh. They're both fine. Perfectly cromulent sets that are fun to play even if they aren't "I win" buttons.

 

It was purposely designed not to automatically be the best choice in every situation, to prevent power creep. It's a blast (zing!) to play, but definitely not something you can use on autopilot; it does require actively positioning yourself and choosing the right powers at the right times instead of just rote cycling through an attack chain. I know it has "blast" in the name, but that doesn't mean it can't offer something besides just the same thing as all the others but with a different debuff attached.

 

And you know what? I hope we see more like it in the future.

[Biff Pow]

It's too bad "Storm Summoning" was already taken because it's a better description than Storm Blast.

[Scarlet Shocker]

[MrAxe]

Gotta disagree. The aoe, knock and debuffing going on makes it very effective. I play in a duo with the Mrs a lot of the time. Our storm blast toons are the first ones we felt we really had to up the rep on. Maybe secondary choices are more important with this set.

[Captain Fabulous]

[Captain Fabulous]

4 hours ago, Mjolnerd said:

I was just saying the other day in a different thread:  
 

 

It was purposely designed not to automatically be the best choice in every situation, to prevent power creep. It's a blast (zing!) to play, but definitely not something you can use on autopilot; it does require actively positioning yourself and choosing the right powers at the right times instead of just rote cycling through an attack chain. I know it has "blast" in the name, but that doesn't mean it can't offer something besides just the same thing as all the others but with a different debuff attached.

 

And you know what? I hope we see more like it in the future.

Brah, do you even zerg???

[JasperStone]

I disagree

50 SB/Sonic Corr T4s

43 SB/Earth Blaster

50 SB/Fire/Ice Sent T4s

 

The Sent really shines with this power-set.

 

 

 

[Go0gleplex]

I also disagree.  I'm running a SB/Time Blaster as a solo and ripping thru mobs. I'm loving the power set.

[blue4333]

any blast set with a delayed damage component such as DOTs always feels less satisfactory than the sets with instant damage. 

good luck trying to keep up with the current team/meta

[Saiyajinzoningen]

Right now im really enjoying my storm/storm corr. Heres what ive discovered

 

Is it slow.............................yes

Is it strong?.......................yes

Is it complex?...................yes

Guzzles end?....................yes

is it fun?.............................yes

 

I solo 99% of the time so i have no issues with this set

however, on teams it might be a tad too slow to perform up to the current pew pew pew.

[JasperStone]

3 minutes ago, Saiyajinzoningen said:

Right now im really enjoying my storm/storm corr. Heres what ive discovered

 

Is it slow.............................yes

Is it strong?.......................yes

Is it complex?...................yes

Guzzles end?....................yes

is it fun?.............................yes

 

I solo 99% of the time so i have no issues with this set

however, on teams it might be a tad too slow to perform up to the current pew pew pew.

guzzles end for sure, which is why I sent sonic for my corr.

I slotted a few unbreakable guards to reduce end cost, it has helped

[Saiyajinzoningen]

8 minutes ago, JasperStone said:

guzzles end for sure, which is why I sent sonic for my corr.

I slotted a few unbreakable guards to reduce end cost, it has helped

 

 

Thats what im sitting at right now.

Generally i don't have endurance issues anymore unless i try to rapid fire chain lightning which has an insane end cost with a very very low recharge rate

or i fight foes that sap endurance in other ways.

 

[Nyghtmaire]

The meta is boring. Rather, it’s a known quantity; building for it is rather straightforward (mainly because so many players have crunches the numbers, run the comparisons, collected the data, tested the hypothesis, etc. etc etc. and shared here and on Discord).
 

And really, it’s rare anyone needs to build that way. And it sure ain’t to run Council radios in PI. One tricked-out character renders the remainder of the team superfluous - that ain’t a storm/ thing, it’s a “clever use of building and game mechanics” thing.

 

Like the set? Play the set. Don’t like the set? Play something else.

 

 

[arcane]

Only real problem with the set is Category Five taking way too long to do what nukes need to do. 
 

Its single target damage is fine/good. Its AoE damage would be fine/good if it didn’t have the new worst nuke in the game.

[Snarky]

4 minutes ago, arcane said:

Only real problem with the set is Category Five taking way too long to do what nukes need to do. 
 

Its single target damage is fine/good. Its AoE damage would be fine/good if it didn’t have the new worst nuke in the game.

Welcome to what Ice Blast has had to deal with for the last few weeks.

[lemming]

I have a SB/Cold Corrupter that has worked pretty well despite not being slotted very well yet.  Works well in support, so I don't really feel the need to be a main dmg dealer.

 

My Storm/Dark Sentinel  (Was going to be regen, but Dark fit the concept way better. Sorry @Snarky) isn't bad.  My only complaint is the end management, but that's being worked on.

So far, not my sturdiest, but still figuring out the build.  Damage wise when not in a steamroller team, very noticeable.  On a steam roller team, provides a cool atmosphere. 😄

Edited June 2, 2023 by lemming
tagging the undead one

[arcane]

11 minutes ago, Snarky said:

Welcome to what Ice Blast has had to deal with for the last few weeks.

If Category Five was as fast as Blizzard I’d have no complaints.

[High_Beam]

I run a SB/Rad Blaster and have great fun with her and find no real problems with being able to deal with trouble.  As has been said several times, the key is knowing how its uniqueness works and how to use it properly.  Sure there are areas for improvement but again, as several have said here, there are other sets  that are way more long in the tooth that could use some attention.

 

Its new, it's gimmicky at times and I love it because it isn't just a copy-->paste-->reskin and rename power.

[laudwic]

I have to disagree as well, is this set different? yes! Worse? No.

 

I have a 50 TA/Storm Defender first two levels of incarnates unlocked - No problem soloing EBs for Portal Jockey badge

 

Currently having fun with a 45 Storm/Devices/Munitions Blaster.  This character is very effective with both AoE and Single Target.  Solo Storm Cell and Smoke Grenade do a nice job lowering enemy's to hit, in groups it is not always worth the effort.  Solo Category Five is great for EBs, especially if they are in a confined area.  Sure, the damage takes longer, but watching them fall over repeatedly is great damage mitigation and my other 50 blasters didn't take them down faster because while their damage was front ended, they still had to take out the damage that the nuke didn't.  

 

Plus, I'm having great fun in EB, AV and GM fights looking at the de buffs I'm causing in real time using Surveillance from Munitions mastery.  

 

Storm is a fine set, while it may not be 'S tier' it is certainly A or B depending on the willingness of the player to understand it and utilize it to their advantage.

[Bionic_Flea]

What I said in another thread on this issue:

 

Quote

I agree that Storm blast, as a whole, takes too long to take down mobs.

 

With most of the other blast sets if you hit aim/build up or equivalent and then your T9, then the minions are gone, possibly the Lts. too, leaving just the harder targets to finish off.  I am talking about solo and at 50+ with a completed build.  In a team of well-made characters by the time I cast Storm Cell most of the group is dead.  If I don't follow up with another blast Storm Cell is just a debuff and adds no damage.  If I follow up with Cat5 a few bosses will take Damage over Time in the single digits and I'll need to fire several more attacks to kill them off.

 

In other words, it takes me about twice as long solo to clear a group as it does with other blast sets.  However, I find that Storm blast seems safer than some others as the combination of -tohit, knocks, and fear keeps critters off my back.

 

Does the set "work" as it is?  Sure, it can get the job done and it's pretty to look at.  But it seems like it takes too long to build up.  Without Storm Cell, the other powers don't seem to do enough damage and you lose a lot of the mitigation.  I think the set needs a little bit more.  Maybe faster activation; maybe a bit of delayed damage from Storm Cell independent of the Lightning triggered by other attacks; maybe make Intensify boost damage a little more or last a little longer.

 

At least, that's my opinion after having played a Storm/Storm Corrupter to 50+3 along with playing every other blast set to 50+3 in one AT or another and usually several times over.

 

To be fair, several other players agreed with you (OP) in that thread.

 

 

[Glacier Peak]

52 minutes ago, Snarky said:

Welcome to what Ice Blast has had to deal with for the last few weeks.

Ice Blast is an S-tier set tied with Fire Blast for its single target damage output, proc-potential, secondary effects, and "coolness" factor 😁.

 

Blizzard is awesome when used in combination with Ice Storm and Sleet (if you're Cold Domination). The activation time of Bitter Freeze Ray is looooooong ☠️