Really on the fence between Fire/Ice/Fire and Fire/Atomic/Fire...

[Story Archer]

So, quick breakdown of playstyle and what I'm trying to accomplish: I prefer to remain at range as much as possible (little to no Blapping), try to group but end up soloing at least a quarter of the time and my build priorities are, in order: 1) damage, 2) soft-capping ranged defense (if possible) and 3) having a pair of single-target holds I can stack on bosses when needed. I'm also not in a situation where funds are unlimited and generally assume that I have to work primarily with non-purple IO sets, though I might be able to sneak one or two in there. In the final build I plan on taking all of the Fire powers except Flares and possibly Rain of Fire. 

 

I'm fairly experienced with /Ice but I've never played /Atomic. Since I will probably end up with four powers from either Secondary set with three of them essentially being copies of one another (Chillblain/Electron Shackles, Build-Up/Ionize and Freezing Touch/Positron Cell), so Frigid Protection vs. Metabolic Acceleration has to be the deciding factor here, I think. I love the larger radius of Frigid Protection (30' VS. 15') but the Regeneration, Mez Resistance and Recharge benefit provided by Metabolic Acceleration seems to make it the clear winner. Am I reading this right?

 

TIA for any insight.

Edited September 14, 2023 by Story Archer

[Story Archer]

Here's what I'm kind of working on at the moment (Fire/Atomic/Fire). It gives me two stackable ranged Holds with potential for higher Mag, focused almost purely on staying at range and gives me positional defense of 25% Melee / 35% AoE / 45% Range with nice S/L Resistance and 515% regen. It only uses 1 purple set (Superior Blaster's Wrath).

 

EDIT: I've swapped out Bonfire @44 for a single-slotted Radioactive Cloud because that seemed like the better '@h s#!t' button due to its quick animation time. The duration isn't long, but it's long enough for me to get somewhere safe.

 

 

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(Is that the best way to share the data chunk? I haven't had much luck figuring out how best to import Mids)

 

Edited September 14, 2023 by Story Archer

[Without_Pause]

A single slotted Radioactive Cloud isn't going to be that effective. I would have kept in Bonfire, but with the KB to KD proc. No Beta Decay which is a one slot wonder with a -Res proc and has +Recharge?

[Without_Pause]

1. This is a 'I have money to burn build' due to the Winter sets.

2. I tend to due 5+ walkthroughs for a build before I call it good.

3. The last build I called final got more lookovers than any build to date.

4. I have yet to play it, but I might use it as a template for my own Fire/atomic.

5. I really should put more -Res procs in it.

 

 

Adam Fry - Blaster (Fire Blast - Atomic Manipulation).mbd

[Story Archer]

3 hours ago, Without_Pause said:

A single slotted Radioactive Cloud isn't going to be that effective. I would have kept in Bonfire, but with the KB to KD proc. No Beta Decay which is a one slot wonder with a -Res proc and has +Recharge?

I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. My thoughts on the two powers mentioned:

 

I should get a pretty strong boost in accuracy from sets and powers like Tactics or Aim, so I figured I could get away with single-slotting it. My intent was to only use it in the rare instance I find myself getting surrounded (as if from an ambush or a tank wipe). Slots are at a premium in the build and Bonfire's 3 second activation time just kind of turned me off. I'll admit though, now you've got me reconsidering six-slotting Char and using those slots on Radioactive Cloud instead.

 

I actually at one time had Beta Decay in, single-slotted just as you said with the -Res proc, but then I realized that I would basically get no benefit from either the +Recharge or the -Res unless one or more foes were within 15' of me. I'm not a Blapper, and since my playstyle is better suited to staying back and attacking at a distance, it seemed like a waste of a power slot and an unnecessary endurance drain. I've got pretty good +Recharge as it is.

 

 

Edited September 15, 2023 by Story Archer

[Story Archer]

2 hours ago, Without_Pause said:

1. This is a 'I have money to burn build' due to the Winter sets.

2. I tend to due 5+ walkthroughs for a build before I call it good.

3. The last build I called final got more lookovers than any build to date.

4. I have yet to play it, but I might use it as a template for my own Fire/atomic.

5. I really should put more -Res procs in it.

 

 

Adam Fry - Blaster (Fire Blast - Atomic Manipulation).mbd 42.55 kB · 0 downloads

 

Yeah, that's Wintered out for sure.

 

I noticed that you had Vengeance checked on it, though - those bonuses would really only apply after ally has died, so I'm not sure you can rely on those benefits all the time. Once you toggle that off, my build actually has better Defenses, Resistances and Regeneration, so its worth considering.

 

I made a few additional changes - I pulled the second slot and the IO's out of Ionize and Aim - they only got me 4% in damage bonuses and 3 seconds faster recharge. I dropped them into Weave and Maneuvers to get me to 4-slotted Luck of the Gambler, adding another 18% Accuracy.

 

I'd love to plan for more purple sets - like Superior Defiant Barrage in Blaze - but I simply have too many alts and no supporting SG to speak of, so I have to assume that I'm always going to be operating on a budget.

Edited September 15, 2023 by Story Archer

[Without_Pause]

If you want to stay at range, Bonfire would be a much better power to use. Actually, I don't see why you would take Chilblain, secondary T1s aren't required, and not Ice Patch if you went with /ice. I just think you want a 100% ranged Blaster and Atomic is built for melee, so you aren't really getting much from it. 

 

Not the first time I built something only to see I was building around the idea a Def based power being clicked on. Yeah, I would redo that build. I would make sure Ranged was higher. The Winters were essentially there to cap F/C so switching those out would push towards getting S/L/R higher. 

 

Update. I went and stripped the Winters and purple. I'm still at like 38%-39% ranged, but higher than yours for S/L. That might work for me since it plays better in melee anyway.

Edited September 15, 2023 by Without_Pause

[Story Archer]

37 minutes ago, Without_Pause said:

If you want to stay at range, Bonfire would be a much better power to use. Actually, I don't see why you would take Chilblain, secondary T1s aren't required, and not Ice Patch if you went with /ice. I just think you want a 100% ranged Blaster and Atomic is built for melee, so you aren't really getting much from it. 

 

Update. I went and stripped the Winters and purple. I'm still at like 38%-39% ranged, but higher than yours for S/L. That might work for me since it plays better in melee anyway.

 

I think you still have to take either T1 or T2 at 1st level regardless.

 

I'm actually really enjoying what I'm getting out of /Atomic. As I said, most of the powers I would take for the build are functionally identical anyway and the difference makers seem to work better on /Atomic for me. You're right, I definitely prefer a dedicated ranged Blaster.

 

I went back at things and I'm trying something a little radical. I dropped Fire Breath, leaving me only a fast-recharging Fireball for AoE whenever I'm not nuking with Inferno. However, that has allowed me to take and six slot Positron Cell, Radioactive Cloud AND Char, giving me a host of Hold options to really stack up the control when I need to. I've got my Ranged / AoE Defense up to 45% / 40% AND this build is going the Sorcery route, letting me take Rune of Protection for a nice +20% Resist All/Mez Resist whenever I think I'm going to need it. 

 

I'm still a little on the fence about that last part, trying to decide if I'm better off with that or Hover or CJ instead.

Edited September 15, 2023 by Story Archer

[Story Archer]

Alright, this is what I think I'm going to go with. A couple more purps than I'd normally have, but it's got my Ranged / AoE Defenses up to 45% / 42%, my universal recharge up to 70% before Haste and has all of the Hold control I mentioned before. No Rune of Protection here, but I do get Hover back, which is just too valuable a tool for ranged Blasters.

 

 

[arcane]

I find your lack of damage procs disturbing 😉

[Story Archer]

1 minute ago, arcane said:

I find your lack of damage procs disturbing 😉

 

Where would you suggest I put them? Honestly, I don't have a lot of experience with procs. The build seems pretty tight - almost every set requires 6 slots or the defenses start collapsing...

[arcane]

1 minute ago, Story Archer said:

 

Where would you suggest I put them? Honestly, I don't have a lot of experience with procs. The build seems pretty tight - almost every set requires 6 slots or the defenses start collapsing...

Well, that’s one way to build. I just prefer offenses over set bonuses on Blaster. I use Barrier/inspirations/teammates for survival and don’t pursue defense bonuses at all. With that in mind, I would typically have 2 damage procs in Blaze, 3 in Blazing Bolt, and 5 in Char. Probably some in your secondary’s heavy hitter too. But, again, that’s if you can stand life without defense bonuses.

[Story Archer]

Just now, arcane said:

Well, that’s one way to build. I just prefer offenses over set bonuses on Blaster. I use Barrier/inspirations/teammates for survival and don’t pursue defense bonuses at all. With that in mind, I would typically have 2 damage procs in Blaze, 3 in Blazing Bolt, and 5 in Char. Probably some in your secondary’s heavy hitter too. But, again, that’s if you can stand life without defense bonuses.

This mostly theory for me at this point, as I haven't played a Blaster to L50 yet. It may well be that with proper positioning and team buffs I wouldn't need a fraction of the defense I'm building here. If it plays out like that then I'll definitely reconsider and look at going proc-heavy, but I end up playing solo so often that I can't help but skew towards self-reliance a bit more.

[Without_Pause]

I tend to do them over D/R when I can, but I also build out for Defense, so I'm not going proc heavy. I also solo a lot and like pushing the envelop in terms of diff setting.