Would you rather...?

[Yomo Kimyata]

Over the years, I have seen a lot of posts about "Should I make an X/Y character as AT1 or AT2?"  And sure, you can make a poll or search out past posts on the AT1 and AT2 forums, but now that we have new reactions, why not keep it in one thread?

 

Let me start by asking:

 

Would you rather mostly solo level to 50 (ideally +4/x8 by 50, but whatever you want to handle -- I'm not sure I can handle +4/x8 on non-melee characters!):

 

Defender Trick Arrow/DP (if so, please react "ramen")

Corruptor DP/Trick Arrow (if so, please react "television")

Blaster DP/Tactical Arrow (if so, please react "satellite")

 

?

 

If you wish to give your reasoning please do, but it's not necessary.  And I know, I know, of course "it depends" but I'm asking you, yes you, which one you would choose.

 

And, of course, if you have a similar question, please ask it and set your reaction choices!

 

Happy hunting!

 

[Spaghetti Betty]

If we're talking about a strictly solo experience, I would probably go with the Blaster.

 

/Tactical Arrow has some incredible utility in it for a blaster secondary. I feel it'll also take off sooner and smoother than a corr or def. It can start building a tiny bit of bulk that def/corr TA have to wait for and is also better on End. You don't give up much for it either comparatively.

 

None of the choices are bad though! I would even argue the Corr might perform better at 50 with IOs.

[lemming]

I do have a Blaster that got to 50, though I have thought about doing a Corruptor.

[Parabola]

I'd go defender based on how well both sets take procs and I'd want the higher buff/debuff modifiers to open up extensive proc slotting. Also getting the cool trick arrow toys early is no bad thing.

[Uun]

Tactical Arrow is a fine blaster secondary, but it's quite different from Trick Arrow. Tactical's version of Flash Arrow has a minimal tohit debuff while Trick version's is massive. Tactical also has no -resist. For soloing, I think Trick Arrow offers quite a bit more safety. Either defender or corruptor should work fine, although I prefer the higher corruptor damage.

[Nyghtmaire]

Agree with @Uun and @Parabola. I would likely make a defender as I have fewer (barely) of that AT (and apparently my next Corruptor is a Rad/Dark!!).

[High_Beam]

OMG the DP and any arrow combination!  The constant weapon swapping would make me pull my hair out, and hurt myself . . . with matches.

[Sanguinesun]

All of this just seems like tactically trick questions.

[Yomo Kimyata]

I love that the voting was so close (3/4/5).  I can see the rationale for each choice (and don't get me wrong, I made one of each...).

 

But it got me thinking, so here's a follow up to "Would you rather?"

 

When making the choice between making a corruptor or a defender:

 

- Always defender, they have better buff/debuff numbers (ramen)

- Always corruptor, they have higher damage scalars (bulgaria)

- Corruptor if the primary has a lot of DoT powers in order to take advantage of scourge (television)

- Other specific reason, please describe (satellite)

 

?

 

 

[Parabola]

It very much depends. Lots of dots is a good reason to go corruptor, bigger buff/debuff modifiers are a good reason to go defender. But I've recently made more corruptors than defenders purely because I prefer the corruptor ato's.

[ranagrande]

If both the primary and secondary sets have important buff/debuff elements, I'll probably go defender.

 

Otherwise, I just like corruptors more.

[Hjarki]

On 6/22/2023 at 12:00 PM, Parabola said:

It very much depends. Lots of dots is a good reason to go corruptor, bigger buff/debuff modifiers are a good reason to go defender. But I've recently made more corruptors than defenders purely because I prefer the corruptor ato's.

DoT are generally worse for a Corruptor than a Defender. Scourge only checks when the power effect starts, so having delayed damage means your next attack is less likely to Scourge.

 

Rains are better for Corruptors since the Scourge check occurs on every pulse.

 

In terms of the overall question, Corruptors will almost inevitably deal more damage than Defenders except in some very special circumstances. Corruptors have a 15% advantage in damage and Scourge (over a large enough health total) averages out to +30%. Corruptors also have an additional purple proc.

 

For Trick Arrow, Defenders will deal 1.4x damage from Disruption Arrow vs. 1.3x for a Corruptor, which is about an 8% advantage. Even adding in Entangling Arrow, it isn't enough to counterbalance the advantages above. Moreover, if you're playing at +4 w/Alpha, the value of debuffs is purple patch'd to 65% of its value.

 

There's also a philosophical question of whether you're buffing others or buffing yourself. I'd argue that, in the current game, you should aim to buff yourself (the Offender model) rather than to buff others (the Defender model). The reasoning here is twofold. The first is that you simply don't know what other players need so trying to build a character around fixing the problems of some random player you've never met is folly. The second is that window between solo play (where you only buff yourself) and too-many-buffs/debuffs-to-count play (where losing a small amount on your buffs/debuffs) is very small. So in the majority of content you'll face, any advantage the Defender variant would have will be meaningless.

 

With all that mind, the correct answer is "Trick Arrow/Dual Pistols Defender' because Suppressive Fire on Corruptors is currently bugged.

[kelika2]

if you dont mind the smaller radius on oil slick arrow go blaster.

access to buildup will also be a plus