Elec Blaster or Sentinel?

[drgantz]

I've often heard that Elec Blast is one of the lower ranked Blaster sets.  A recent poll showed Elec to be the top Sent sets.

I have a 50 Elec/Elec Blaster.  I like it, but  have to be careful because if I get close to drain end, I  often die.  I made an Elec Sent, and I can drain better.  Of course, my Sent is still low level.

I asked in the Sent forum which is better, and they all said Elec Sent.  Do any of you think that Elec Blaster is better, or do you think that Sent is better?

Btw, my Blaster is Elec/Elec/Elec while my Sent is Elec/Energy

[arcane]

Electrical Blast may be better on a Sentinel relative to other sets, but, at the end of the day, a Blaster is nearly always preferable to a Sentinel regardless.

 

IOW: because a lower tier blaster is better than a top tier sentinel, blaster technically still wins here in my book.

Edited October 26, 2023 by arcane

[Ringo]

The Shocked mechanic is a big boon to the damage potential of Electric Blast and is worth pursuing even if you're not trying to use End Drain as soft control.  So if you're not able to use Short Circuit without dying then you're definitely missing out on the top tier of Electric Blast.  It doesn't make the Blaster version bad, but it definitely doesn't feel as good as it can.

 

Sentinels have 1) an easier time not dying in Melee and 2) a faster recharging Thunderous Blast (90 sec for Sentinels, 170 sec for Blasters) which is the most powerful end drain in the Electric Blast set.

 

Similarly the Electric Blast set feels good on Defenders because they have a notably higher end drain percentage in each power (unlike Corruptors whose end drain % is only slightly higher than blasters/sentinels) which gets you those good Shocked values.

 

IMO Elec Blasters work great if you get their survivability up, or if you just prefer to have a ranged nuke over the PBAoE of other sets.  Plus Elec Blast is one of the few sets (along with Rad Blast and Sonic) that performs better with multiple copies on the same team.  More end drain equals more damage for everyone!

[Thraxen]

Sentinel. I think it’s Tesla cage, but it does real damage on a sent and isn’t just a hold power. 

[twozerofoxtrot]

Kitted out with sets so you have some marginal protection? Blaster, hands down. Your primary survival mechanic is killing more, faster.

 

Solo, "organic" enhancement acquisition with limited or no set bonuses while leveling? Sentinel is going to feel better.

 

 

In short, a microcosm of Sent versus Blaster across the spectrum. 

[SeraphimKensai]

I have at this point a fully IOd lvl 50:

1. Elec/Ninja Blaster
2. Elec/Fire Sentinel
3. Dark/Elec Defender
4. Elec/Kin Corruptor

So I'd postulate that I have a reasonable degree of experience with Electric Blast.

 

I tend to build towards survivability of +4 solo content. My blaster has soft capped typed defense to all except psi and toxic, and it kills faster than the Sentinel and Defender. The Corruptor lives at the damage cap due to fulcrum shift and caps melee/ranged/energy defense, it also has quicker thunderous blasts than the blaster due to 2-3x stacked siphon speed. The Defender lays down to hit debuffs, saps, and had soft capped def to m/r/a, I've used this to tank AVs through numerous TFs as it also has provoke. The Sentinel has the fasting recharging nuke, and pairs molten embrace nicely, while having ranged def and sentinel resistances.

 

Honestly electric blast can be great on any AT. It largely comes down to how you build it, and discovering how much damage you can manage. Each of my electric blast toons are fun to play and I use them for different purposes. If picking between the blaster or sentinel only, I like the playstyle of the blaster better (also it's concept toon named after my daughter that I made a couple weeks leading up to my daughter's birth).

[Snarky]

My Elec Temp Blaster does way more damage than a Sentinel and is way more survivable.  Built for range, ranged defense, and has multiple "oh crap" buttons

 

I have given up (since 6 months ago?  a year?) trying to share stuff from MiDs, since the mids team took the easy export feature out behind the shed, screwed it, killed it, screwed it again, buried it, dug it up, and screwed it one more time.

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by Snarky

[EnjoyTheJourney]

For the OP, if keeping an electric blaster alive is challenging, then consider an electric / super reflexes sentinel. Take the absorb / mez protection power instead of practiced brawler, cap those positional defenses, and put almost everything else into recharge and damage. Build as a hover-blaster for even better survivability, if you'd like. 

 

Those who say their electric blaster would out-survive an electric blast sentinel may not have run an electric / SR sentinel before. If they ran one with a good build then they'd probably quickly change their mind about the "blaster vs sentinel" survivability comparison. 

Edit: Attached are files that can be use to look over a build that I was following for my electric / SR / electric sentinel. There are better builds for pure speed runs and a dedicated 4* character would probably have a noticeably different build (or not be a sentinel at all, in truth). But, it's a kind of "generalist" build in that it works at least reasonably well when exemp'd to a Posi 1 up to 4* runs and for basically everything in between. 

Having a template for a build is probably better than having no template. 

Wizard of Lightning - Sentinel (Electrical Blast - Super Reflexes - Electrical Mastery),v2.mbd Wizard of Flames.pdf

Edited November 6, 2023 by EnjoyTheJourney

[Snarky]

4 hours ago, EnjoyTheJourney said:

Those who say their electric blaster would out-survive an electric blast sentinel may not have run an electric / SR sentinel before. If they ran one with a good build then they'd probably quickly change their mind about the "blaster vs sentinel" survivability comparison. 

Playing a fully ranged Electric Blaster with softcap ranged defense gives you 1) A LOT more killing power than a Sentinel.  (Dead things do not shoot back) 2) A build so lazy that you can cram on lots of get out of jail free cards

 

here is the thang:

 

For your amusement (and mine) I have altered a character I have on live to be a "Blanker": a Blaster who builds more like a Tanker.

 

The impetus for this was a new player who was doing what I considered very odd things with a Blaster build.  But was offering up decent fire support in 4/8 AE farms with only a moderate number of face plants.  I thought to myself...remember that electrical blaster you parked....

 

I have made many runs at Sentinels.  A half dozen 50s, many hours gaming.  Many TFs.  Never found what i wanted.

 

This....monstrosity....may indeed be that Sentinel.  I do need to play test it.  Just got it respec'd and noticed I could shave one more slot.  Back to mids for the final build.  Will respec and playtest this week.

 

Build goals. 

1) Tanky as possible with a number of "O crap!" buttons/solutions.

2) Fully Ranged

3) More damage than a Sentinel.  (I cheated on that one I know)

 

Achievements.

1) 45.01% Ranged Defense while in combat ( = 45%)

2) 75.56% Smash/Lethal Resistance.  Standing stone cold just running passive toggles all the time. (Yeah, I know right?) ( =75%)

3) Phase Shift available for 30 sec about every 50 seconds or so.  So long suckers.

4) Personal Force Field. Available about every 9 seconds. This was the power the AE Blaster was abusing that got me thinking...

5) Force of Nature available every 5 minutes.  This beauty gives a 2 minute window of +35% resist across the board along with +100 End Recovery.  There IS a crash at the end.  See above for possible solutions. Hide, pop a sm blue, use either of the other two o crap buttons.  Not a Invulnerable melee toon.  The crash is dealable with in my opinion.

 

As always feedback is appreciated.

 

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.5.7
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Blanker: Level 50 Magic Blaster
Primary Power Set: Electrical Blast
Secondary Power Set: Temporal Manipulation
Power Pool: Concealment
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Force Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Lightning Bolt -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(3), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7)
Level 1: Time Wall -- TraoftheH-Acc/Rchg(A), TraoftheH-EndRdx/Immob(7), TraoftheH-Acc/EndRdx(9), TraoftheH-Acc/Immob/Rchg(9), TraoftheH-Dam%(11), TraoftheH-Immob/Acc(11)
Level 2: Ball Lightning -- Artl-Acc/Dam(A), Artl-Dam/End(13), Artl-Dam/Rech(15), Artl-Acc/Dam/Rech(15), Artl-Acc/Rech/Rng(17), Artl-End/Rech/Rng(17)
Level 4: Stealth -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(19), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(19)
Level 6: Charged Bolts -- SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprDfnBrr-Dmg/Rchg(21), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(21), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(23), SprDfnBrr-Rchg/+Status Protect(25)
Level 8: Aim -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(25), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(27), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(27), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(29), GssSynFr--Build%(29)
Level 10: Chronos -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(31)
Level 12: Zapp -- ExcCnt-Acc/Dmg(A), ExcCnt-Dmg/EndRdx(31), ExcCnt-Dmg/ActRdx(31), ExcCnt-Dmg/Rng(33), ExcCnt-Dmg/Rchg(33), ExcCnt-Stun%(33)
Level 14: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel(34)
Level 16: Grant Invisibility -- Rct-ResDam%(A)
Level 18: Phase Shift -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 20: Temporal Healing -- Prv-Absorb%(A), Prv-Heal(34), PrfShf-End%(34), PrfShf-EndMod(36), EndMod-I(36)
Level 22: Time Stop -- Lck-Acc/Hold(A), Lck-Acc/Rchg(36), Lck-Rchg/Hold(37), Lck-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(37), Lck-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(37), Lck-%Hold(39)
Level 24: Kick -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A)
Level 26: Tough -- RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctArm-ResDam/Rchg(39), RctArm-ResDam(40)
Level 28: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(40), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(40), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(42), LucoftheG-Def(42), Ksm-ToHit+(42)
Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(43)
Level 32: Thunderous Blast -- SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsWrt-Dmg/Rchg(43), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45), SprBlsWrt-Rchg/Dmg%(45)
Level 35: Personal Force Field -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 38: Time Lord -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A)
Level 41: Repulsion Bomb -- Bmbdmt-Dam(A), Bmbdmt-Dam/Rech(46), Bmbdmt-Acc/Dam/Rech(46), Bmbdmt-Acc/Dam/Rech/End(48), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(48), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(48)
Level 44: Temp Invulnerability -- RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctArm-ResDam/Rchg(50), RctArm-ResDam(50)
Level 47: Time Shift -- ImpSwf-Acc/Slow(A), ImpSwf-Dam%(50)
Level 49: Force of Nature -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Defiance 
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Swift -- Flight-I(A)
Level 1: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(13), Mrc-Rcvry+(39)
Level 1: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(46)
Level 49: Quick Form 
Level 14: Afterburner 
------------

 

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[EnjoyTheJourney]

Great job at making an exceptionally tough blaster. Truly a well thought through build. 

One challenge that can't be directly solved is that defenses can be substantially reduced after one or two hits from enemies that debuff defense. Those panic buttons are particularly great to have because they will probably be needed from time to time. And, a blaster won't be doing any damage while cocooned inside a PFF or when using phase shift. So, on paper a blaster using this build will probably do more damage. In practice, when there's a fair amount of heat on a blaster following this build their contributions to damage can come to a complete stop for a while. 

How much more damage will the blaster build do, though? And is it really tougher? Some food for thought ...

The build given above clears 306 single target DPS against pylons. 306 DPS is not the ceiling for the build. Rather, it's just what my so-so execution can bring about. A very leisurely and very safe trapdoor run takes about 8 minutes with this build. The build can absolutely do that faster in the hands of others. I'm certain of this because I've watched videos of those who are good at trapdoor runs and it is clear that I am truly not at all good at trapdoor runs. 

 

As another test for the build twice it took about 30 minutes to solo the first two missions of the ITF at +4x8, without defeats and without using any inspirations. The first mission went badly both times because I struggled quite a bit to get the camera angle right (not unusual for me), and so it took over 10 minutes for the first mission both times. That is not a quick time to solo the first mission, as about 6 minutes is a better benchmark to meet than 10+ minutes. Still, a test of performance that many builds would fail to complete at all can be done in a reasonable time frame even when driven by somebody whose execution is a long way from "top notch." 

Defeats became very rare at any level of content after the build came together. It's the build. It's not the driver. 

As a final note, the build above drains mobs of a lot of endurance whenever the nuke is cast. Which happens often. It is a frequent occurrence to see most and sometimes all not-yet-defeated mobs with zero endurance a handful of seconds after engaging them, with this build. No T9 for the ITF elite bosses, no elude for paragon protectors, and so on. That can be done entirely from range, which is good for safety. Plus, vulnerability is a foe debuff that is available to all sentinels and it has a noticeable effect on how quickly hard targets are defeated. These are noteworthy contributions to a team that a blaster can typically only partially match. 

Edited November 6, 2023 by EnjoyTheJourney

[Snarky]

2 hours ago, EnjoyTheJourney said:

Great job at making an exceptionally tough blaster. Truly a well thought through build. 

One challenge that can't be directly solved is that defenses can be substantially reduced after one or two hits from enemies that debuff defense. Those panic buttons are particularly great to have because they will probably be needed from time to time. And, a blaster won't be doing any damage while cocooned inside a PFF or when using phase shift. So, on paper a blaster using this build will probably do more damage. In practice, when there's a fair amount of heat on a blaster following this build their contributions to damage can come to a complete stop for a while. 

How much more damage will the blaster build do, though? And is it really tougher? Some food for thought ...

The build given above clears 306 single target DPS against pylons. 306 DPS is not the ceiling for the build. Rather, it's just what my so-so execution can bring about. A very leisurely and very safe trapdoor run takes about 8 minutes with this build. The build can absolutely do that faster in the hands of others. I'm certain of this because I've watched videos of those who are good at trapdoor runs and it is clear that I am truly not at all good at trapdoor runs. 

 

As another test for the build twice it took about 30 minutes to solo the first two missions of the ITF at +4x8, without defeats and without using any inspirations. The first mission went badly both times because I struggled quite a bit to get the camera angle right (not unusual for me), and so it took over 10 minutes for the first mission both times. That is not a quick time to solo the first mission, as about 6 minutes is a better benchmark to meet than 10+ minutes. Still, a test of performance that many builds would fail to complete at all can be done in a reasonable time frame even when driven by somebody whose execution is a long way from "top notch." 

Defeats became very rare at any level of content after the build came together. It's the build. It's not the driver. 

As a final note, the build above drains mobs of a lot of endurance whenever the nuke is cast. Which happens often. It is a frequent occurrence to see most and sometimes all not-yet-defeated mobs with zero endurance a handful of seconds after engaging them, with this build. No T9 for the ITF elite bosses, no elude for paragon protectors, and so on. That can be done entirely from range, which is good for safety. Plus, vulnerability is a foe debuff that is available to all sentinels and it has a noticeable effect on how quickly hard targets are defeated. These are noteworthy contributions to a team that a blaster can typically only partially match. 

Again, the inspiration fir the build was watching a random Blaster help a fire farmer in a large 4x8 map.  Now, solo is different, I grant you.  But with any idiot, er teammate, grabbing agro you are golden.  Also, as any good Blaster knows, you can clean any non EB 17 spawn, even at +4, with a good nuke and some follow up shots.  To take down the defenses it needs to be hit.  Seriously look at the range.  This is not a short range build.  It fires all attacks at long range.  So a debuff attack will have very few follow up hits to sustain debuff.  Because very few enemies lash out at very long range. This is a Blaster stalker with “oh crap” impenetrable shields. It is not optimized to be soloing 4/8. It is optimized to sit with any team as a highly survivable damage dealer.  An A10 Warthog dealing death from afar.  Not the Sentinel AFV serving close combat role while providing fire support. It is an odd duck, which waddles to its own tune.

[Thraxen]

Electric blasts pbaoe is awesome. Skipping this is of course possible but you’re missing out on one the best drains and aoes of the set. And staying at crazy range means your pet is doing nothing. 

[Grimm2]

I don't have an electric blaster, but do have an elec/EA sentinel. I think it's worth playing. In a variety of pug situations, the ability to stand, blast, and end drain has been fun and useful. ST damage is pretty decent. I keep on returning to it in the rotation of favorites. 

[Snarky]

3 hours ago, Thraxen said:

Electric blasts pbaoe is awesome. Skipping this is of course possible but you’re missing out on one the best drains and aoes of the set. And staying at crazy range means your pet is doing nothing. 

Nonpet

[Doomguide2005]

Have two Elec Blast characters.  The Elec/Fire Blaster is a PBAoE monster sitting in the low 40's and a relatively newly 50 Emp/Elec Defender.  Have a great deal of fun with both.  But the blaster clearly does far more damage though the advent of the shocked mechanics and Endmod sets with damage aspects the difference is not as noticeable as it once was as the Defender pretty much flatlines most mobs (+2 or less) very rapidly.  Both pretty much live or die in melee range.  The Blaster just kills stuff like many before they can hurt him much while the Defender takes longer but is perhaps even safer due to foes having zero end to work with combined with HA and RA extremely rapidly.  Mez would present far less threat in a Sentinel I presume with their armor options especially when not heavily IO'd from early on in the leveling process.  And in that way it might be more like the Defender, slower but safer since the main threat to overcome in both Blaster or Defender would be mez as landing mez is going to suppress toggle defenses followed or accompanied by any defdebuffs causing cascade issues.

 

Haven't tried it out yet but working on including a bunch of Tempest -end procs in the Defender to see if I can get around the minimum values of endurance AVs and GMs retain even with drain otherwise draining them as dry as they otherwise can get.  Which seems to be about 15 end.

[Sancerre]

big item to note with sentinel is that max targets is TEN (10) instead of SIXTEEN (16)... and especially for the big t9 nuke.  it is a substantial difference.  may or may not be a deal breaker, but something to consider.

[Frozen Burn]

Blaster ALWAYS over a Sentinel.  Higher damage output and higher target caps, and longer range.  If you have a hard time staying alive as a blaster - learn.  If you still can't, well then maybe a sentinel is for you, as that is exactly why the AT was made - for those who can't handle the awesomeness of a blaster.  😄  

 

 

 

Edited November 8, 2023 by Frozen Burn

[JasperStone]

Yes.

Altitis IS the way