Has anyone played Water Blast / Tactical Arrow Blaster?

[Greenbone]

For background, I played COH since Issue 1 on live. I have, now, probably 100 alts from pre- and post- shutdown. My favorite alt was always Controllers, which endgame, are gods. The most fun I had was probably my undead pirate BS/SR scrapper who in high levels was always the last standing in any fight, and would be cheered on by faceplanted team as I cleaned up the last resistance. 

 

Blasters have always felt more like mid-game dominators, and I've never found an endgame combo. But I've been dreaming lately about laying down Oil Slick on a crowd and hitting Geyser. Kinda like my old Blizzard days. 

 

Having played so much, I realize that endgame Blasters are probably most suited to AOE/cleaning up the trash while the melee toons take down the big boys. So has anyone played Water/TA? Does it do okay mid and late game? Would love your thoughts. (And yes, I've played most other Blaster combos, but get burnt out on their survivability and switch back to my trusty Trollers - the single target focus of my Scrappers isn't my favorite playstyle - I'd rather light up the entire battlefield).

 

Thanks!

[Uun]

I've played them both but not together. Combo should work well if you're looking to stay at range. Water is a fun set and the Tidal Power mechanic is pretty straight forward. Good AoE but ST is kinda meh. Self heal is a plus. If you slot Tidal Forces with a Gaussian's BU proc, Geyser will take out most of a spawn, and Water Burst or Steam Spray will usually clean up any leftovers. TA is a solid utility set that provides some very good self buffs (+acc, +rech, +def, +perception, kb protection, -tohit resistance). Don't skip Electrified Net Arrow as the T1 - you'll need it to ignite Oil Slick (Steam Spray will also work). Whirlpool should also synergize well with Oil Slick.

[tidge]

I have not played Archery/Arrow on any AT, but I have played a variety of Water Blast characters. Water Blast is IMO an exceptional AoE set... on Blasters I absolutely would pair it with a secondary that offers a strong ST melee option. I'll describe what I did later...

 

My opinion on Water Blast primary powers:

 

T1 Aqua Bolt / T2 Hydro Blast: either is fine, I chose only to take the T2. Basic Blaster choices to 6-slot an ATO.

T3 Water Burst: I put the 6-piece Annihilation set in this.

T4 Whirlpool: Not a %damage power, this is a debuff/DoT power that is a good choice for set bonuses. I used Winter's Frozen Blast here.

T5 Tidal Forces: Delay, but don't skip. I find this to be inferior to the secondary sets' "Build Ups", so I usually work this into the build later if I have another option. It works best IMO when the build has a smoother attack chain that comes with slotting.

T6 Dehydrate: This is a single-target attack with utility IMO. I usually split this 3xTouch of Nictus and 3xGladiator's Javelin, with two %damage pieces.

T7 Water Jet: I always skip this. There was a recent Homecoming fix which addressed my biggest concern with the power (consuming Tidal Power on a Miss!), but I still find it to be a very unreliable source of damage. There are other opinions, I am simply stating mine.

T8 Steam Spray: Classic AoE cone. I also have this 6-slotted with the Annihilation set.

T9 Geyser: The Nuke. Very strong, good extras.

 

I use the Annihilation set multiple times: I like the bonuses, I like the possibility of applying -Resistance in AoEs to speed up clearing of larger spawns (with fewer button clicks). Tidal Power takes some getting used to, I think it works even better if Water Jet is not part of the attack chain. kudos to those who love Water Jet and make it work, I found that trying to use it broke up my typical attack chain in unpredictable ways.

 

Now, about the secondary: I picked Atomic Manipulation as my 'favorite' (so far) pairing because it offers two (combo) Melee attacks, several good utility powers, and two PBAoE. After opening up with the water AoEs, I can Combat Teleport up to the next round of targets and either single-target smash (finish off a hard target) or PBAoE (any surviving scrubs). I skipped the single-target "control" powers for MOAR OFFENSE, adding %damage to Radioactive Cloud.  Tactical Arrow doesn't appear to offer as much in the way of similar types of offense. My impression is that you would probably want Water Jet for single-target on this pairing.

[Greenbone]

3 hours ago, Uun said:

Don't skip Electrified Net Arrow as the T1 - you'll need it to ignite Oil Slick (Steam Spray will also work). Whirlpool should also synergize well with Oil Slick.

 

Doesn't Geyser also light Oil Slick? It does fire damage.

[Uun]

1 hour ago, Greenbone said:

Doesn't Geyser also light Oil Slick? It does fire damage.

Yes 

[Xandyr]

I've got one at 50 with some incarnates.  Whenever I get a chance, I'll pull up my build and take a gander, and pm you or reply here .

  It's a fun set. My concept was an undead pirate as well. (Arrr, tis a good day for ya to die matey! Is my battle cry haha).

 Focus on ranged, and aoe, defense, and stay ranged. Use your team as your shield while you hang back and launch all your arrows for debuffs, then oil slick, then whirlpool, steam spray, geyser. And watch everything melt. And giggle. Don't forget to giggle.

[Greenbone]

@Xandyr thanks so much! I'd love to see your build, as it sounds like exactly what I'm building. And I play the game for the giggles, honestly. I've had my min/max toons, but it's the ones I truly love playing that I drive to 50 and love the journey. Hence, my love of Controllers and their flashy powers that melt rooms.

 

I appreciate your assistance.

[Greenbone]

BTW, I just saw a video of this guy KILLING farms on the Water/Atomic Blaster that is built very similarly to what I was proposing to build, but with /TA (see builds in description). Looked like a BLAST!

 

 

[Meknomancer]

On 9/23/2023 at 10:58 PM, Greenbone said:

For background, I played COH since Issue 1 on live. I have, now, probably 100 alts from pre- and post- shutdown. My favorite alt was always Controllers, which endgame, are gods. The most fun I had was probably my undead pirate BS/SR scrapper who in high levels was always the last standing in any fight, and would be cheered on by faceplanted team as I cleaned up the last resistance. 

 

Blasters have always felt more like mid-game dominators, and I've never found an endgame combo. But I've been dreaming lately about laying down Oil Slick on a crowd and hitting Geyser. Kinda like my old Blizzard days. 

 

Having played so much, I realize that endgame Blasters are probably most suited to AOE/cleaning up the trash while the melee toons take down the big boys. So has anyone played Water/TA? Does it do okay mid and late game? Would love your thoughts. (And yes, I've played most other Blaster combos, but get burnt out on their survivability and switch back to my trusty Trollers - the single target focus of my Scrappers isn't my favorite playstyle - I'd rather light up the entire battlefield).

 

Thanks!

 

 

Made one back in 2019/20. Not one of my favourite toons but i don't really like water blast, something to do with the animations and single target attack chain, much prefer my fire or assault rifle /ta blasters. Its still a monster aoe machine and has several attacks that will ignite oil slick like steam spray and geyser but you can toss bombardment procs in any of your aoe's like water burst/whirlpool/glue arrow that will work too. One of the advantages water has is the ability to toss the ff+rech procs in geyser/water burst and hydro blast to get your oil slick up faster. But all the aoe in the world doesn't make up for that awful single target stuff-yes all 3 st attacks take a ton of procs from def debuffs to slows but aqua bolt is minor dmg, hydro blast and dehydrate have some of the games worst animations, the set has no snipe, in fact it feels like it has no serious st dmg at all. You can make up for that by proccing out ice arrow and tossing electrified net arrow into the chain but it always feels like its lacking oomph. Til you team with a herding tank and have a bunch of mobs tightly packed. Enjoy the aoe just don't expect it to match any other set for single targets, even sonic and archery blasters will do better.

[tidge]

2 minutes ago, Meknomancer said:

 

 

...you can toss bombardment procs in any of your aoe's like water burst/whirlpool/glue arrow that will work too. One of the advantages water has is the ability to toss the ff+rech procs in geyser/water burst and hydro blast to get your oil slick up faster. ...

 

I know the comment was about trying to ignite Oil Slick, but I wanted to say that in my experience Whirlpool is a terrible choice of powers to insert %procs.

 

I can see the appeal of the YT build for 'staying at range'. Here is my build which includes the PBAoE/melee goodies. I also did not include Hasten, so if relying on fewer attacks, it is probably a good idea to put it into the build. I don't recommend adding Hasten at level 4, unless the build is only going to be played at high levels.

 

Spoiler

Level 50 Blaster

Primary Power Set: Water Blast

Secondary Power Set: Atomic Manipulation

Power Pool: Concealment

Power Pool: Fighting

Power Pool: Teleportation

Power Pool: Leaping

Ancillary Pool: Flame Mastery

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

Level 1:                 Negatron Slam 

 (A) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Accuracy/Damage

 (*) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Damage/Recharge

 (*) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge

 (*) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

 (*) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge

 (*) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Recharge/Chance for Fire Damage

 

Level 1:                 Hydro Blast        

 (A) Superior Defiant Barrage - Accuracy/Damage

 (*) Superior Defiant Barrage - Damage/RechargeTime

 (*) Superior Defiant Barrage - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

 (*) Superior Defiant Barrage - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime

 (*) Superior Defiant Barrage - RechargeTime/+Status

 (*) Superior Defiant Barrage - Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime

 

Level 2:                 Water Burst       

 (A) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage

 (*) Annihilation - Damage/RechargeTime

 (*) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

 (*) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime

 (*) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime

 (*) Annihilation - Chance for Res Debuff

 

Level 4:                 Infiltration          

 (A) HO Microfilament - Endurance Reduction/Travel: Level 51

 (*) Reactive Defenses - Scaling Resist Damage

 (*) Luck of the Gambler – Defense/Recharge Speed

 

Level 6:                 Whirlpool           

 (A) Superior Frozen Blast - Accuracy/Damage

 (*) Superior Frozen Blast - Damage/Endurance

 (*) Superior Frozen Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

 (*) Superior Frozen Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge

 (*) Superior Frozen Blast - Damage/Endurance/Accuracy/RechargeTime

 (*) Superior Frozen Blast - Recharge/Chance for Immobilize

Level 8:                 Boxing 

 (A) HamiO:Nucleolus Exposure: Level 53

 

Level 10:              Ionize   

 (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up

 (*) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50+5

 

Level 12:              Dehydrate         

 (A) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Endurance/Heal/HitPoints/Regeneration

 (*) Touch of the Nictus - Chance for Negative Energy Damage

 (*) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Healing

 (*) Gladiator's Javelin - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50+5

 (*) Gladiator's Javelin - Damage/Recharge: Level 50

 (*) Gladiator's Javelin - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50

 

Level 14:              Combat Teleport             

 (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points)

 

Level 16:              Beta Decay        

1. HamiO:Enzyme Exposure: Level 53

 

Level 18:              Tidal Forces       

 (A) Adjusted Targeting - Recharge

 (*) Adjusted Targeting - To Hit Buff/Endurance/Recharge

 

Level 20:              Metabolic Acceleration

 (A) Preventive Medicine - Heal

 (*) Preventive Medicine - Heal/Endurance

 (*) Preventive Medicine - Endurance/RechargeTime

 (*) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime

 (*) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime/Endurance

 (*) Preventive Medicine - Chance for +Absorb

 

Level 22:              Steam Spray      

 (A) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage

 (*) Annihilation - Damage/RechargeTime

 (*) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime

 (*) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

 (*) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime

 (*) Annihilation - Chance for Res Debuff

 

Level 24:              Atom Smasher 

 (A) Superior Avalanche - Accuracy/Damage

 (*) Superior Avalanche - Damage/Endurance

 (*) Superior Avalanche - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

 (*) Superior Avalanche - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge

 (*) Superior Avalanche - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge

 (*) Superior Avalanche - Recharge/Chance for Knockdown

 

Level 26:              Geyser

 (A) Ragnarok - Damage: Level 50+5

 (*) Ragnarok - Damage/Recharge: Level 50+5

 (*) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50+5

 (*) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50+5

 (*) Ragnarok - Damage/Endurance: Level 50+5

 

Level 28:              Radioactive Cloud           

 (A) Unbreakable Constraint - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50

 (*) Unbreakable Constraint - Chance for Smashing Damage: Level 50

 (*) Gladiator's Net - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50

 (*) Gladiator's Net - Chance of Damage(Lethal)

 (*) Ghost Widow's Embrace - Chance of Damage(Psionic)

 

Level 30:              Positronic Fist   

 (A) Hecatomb - Damage/Recharge: Level 50

 (*) Hecatomb - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50

 (*) Hecatomb - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50

 (*) Hecatomb - Damage/Endurance: Level 50+5

 (*) Hecatomb - Chance of Damage(Negative): Level 50

 (*) Hecatomb - Damage: Level 50+5

 

Level 32:              Tough  

 (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%

 (*) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All)

 

Level 35:              Bonfire

 (A) Overwhelming Force - Damage/Chance for Knockdown/Knockback to Knockdown

 (*) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50+5

 

Level 38:              Fire Shield          

 (A) Unbreakable Guard - +Max HP

 (*) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance

 (*) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance

 (*) Unbreakable Guard - Endurance/RechargeTime

 (*) Aegis - Psionic/Status Resistance

 

Level 41:              Weave 

 (A) Shield Wall - +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All)

 (*) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance: Level 50+5

 

Level 44:              Rise of the Phoenix        

 (A) Power Transfer: Chance to Heal Self

 

Level 47:              Combat Jumping             

 (A) Luck of the Gambler – Defense/Recharge Speed

 

Level 49:              Stealth 

 (A) Luck of the Gambler – Defense/Recharge Speed

 

Level 1: Brawl    

 (A) Gladiator’s Strike – Accuracy/Damage: Level 50+5

 

Level 1: Defiance             

 

Level 1: Sprint   

 (A) Celerity - +Stealth

 

Level 2: Rest      

 (A) Interrupt Reduction IO

 

Level 4: Athletic Run      

 

Level 2: Swift     

 (A) Run Speed IO: Level 50+5

 

Level 2: Health  

 (A) Panacea - +Hit Points/Endurance

 (*) Miracle - +Recovery

 

Level 2: Hurdle 

 (A) Jumping IO: Level 50+5

 

Level 2: Stamina               

 (A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End

 (*) Performance Shifter - EndMod

 (*) Synapse’s Shock – EndMod/Increased Run speed

 

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

 

[Nemu]

The YT build focuses on recharge and only recharge and the reason it's ripping through +4 mobs is because there are no bosses, the user is overdosing on red pills, and the mobs don't really have anything really dangerous such as mez or debuffs in their arsenal. That type of build philosophy is good for vanilla mobs such as those cherry picked for farms, but you will start to see all the blaster holes rearing their ugly heads against anything that brings debuffs/mez to the table. The lack of single target is really going to sting against bosses as well, especially if you follow the slotting on dehydrate which for that build is nothing more than a recharge set bonus mule.