how are blasters supposed to solo?

[Thraxen]

I play this game to team really. You can solo on this game but likely waaaay more fun games to play solo. 

[Scarlet Shocker]

Blasters are pretty obsolete in this game these days.

 

If you want to solo, you've many better options.

 

If you insist on soloing a blaster at anything /4 then try sliding down a gravel slope sans t-shirt and then take a salt bath. It will be less painful

[Biff Pow]

It varies by powerset. Energy can knock everyone down, Sonic can put everyone to sleep. Fire's lack of mitigation really limits your options.

[Sunsette]

On 4/30/2024 at 4:53 PM, Groundworm said:

I returned to CoH a couple of weeks ago after having not played for 3 years. After trying a number of my old characters, I decided to start anew to relearn the game. So I made a bio/axe tanker and I've been enjoying him.

 

Now that I understand more, I tried my old level 40 fire/rad blaster. Took him into a mission at +0/4 and... he dies with every group. Literally. He's got tough, weave, and maneuvers but the moment a mob gets to him, it's all over. The mission I tried was an Oranbega map, so close quarters fighting (in the narrow passages) is unavoidable. This is about the opposite of fun, and I'm not sure what to do.

 

Get a knockdown IO, put it in fireball, don't slot recharge in fireball at all. Overwhelming Force is the only one you can put in at level 40. Get global recharge elsewhere.

 

Spam fireball, lots of things will die while you'll be pretty safe. ~25% of them will get knocked down. (When you can slot Ragnarok at 50, this will improve to ~36% of them!) Chew inspirations, make sure to deactivate ones you don't use or need much -- for me that's usually yellows. I have binds to combine small and medium blues and greens into purples and reds that I fire regularly. 

 

Don't ignore your T1/T2 primary or T1 secondary. They can be fired while you are mezzed. I literally defeat enemies in my sleep all the time.

 

Aim+BU to start fights, I usually open with a ranged AoE and then quick snipe the most dangerous survivor immediately afterwards.

 

Blasters are *extremely* good solo ATs for most content, they are simply not as forgiving when you mess up. I basically turn on +2x4 at level 10 (Blue), 20 (Red), or 30 (Gold) and never turn it off, eventually graduating to +3x4 or higher around 40. For Red and Gold I still run +1x2 for most of the levels after 10 before I go to +2x4.

Edited May 2 by Sunsette

[Jacke]

On 5/1/2024 at 4:44 PM, Bionic_Flea said:

In my experience, there are two basic ways:

 

1) Carefully -- Pull, stay at range, strafe, use defensive inspirations and temp powers.

 

2) With reckless abandon! -- Load up on red inspirations, Aim+Build up and blow your enemies to smithereens before they know you are even there.

 

What the Flea said (he is a wise Flea).

 

Further and maybe a bit differently.

• I love love love Secondary Devices and especially that wonderful power Targeting Drone.  Turn it on, it become a big opening attack Damage Buff as well as a constant Damage Buff.  Better, it does this with just its base slot slotted with a +3L ToHit SO or a L50+5 ToHit IO.
• While Aim & Build Up can help, using those Powers interrupts what Blasters need to do: BLAST.
• Blasters need to defeat the threats faster than those threats can defeat themselves/the team.

 

• The key power that allows this to happen for Blasters is actually in the Secondary Powerset: the Sustain Power.
  • Whenever the Sustain Power(s) become available, they should be taken immediately in a good tough Blaster build.
  • Two examples: Devices' Field Operative, Atomic Manipulation's Metabolic Acceleration.
  • Most Sustain Powers are toggles, but some are click Powers, and Darkness Manipulation's is a Ranged Attack.
  • Besides other effects, they provide a lot of +Rec and +Regen.
  • Back when Invention Origin Enhancements were available but Fitness wasn't an Inherent Pool, on my Assault Rifle / Devices Blaster I got as many +Rec IO set bonuses possible so I could limit the Inherent Pool to just Swift (which I used to speed up Hover), not needing Stamina, freeing more Power Picks for other powers.
    • Then I didn't have to worry about the Blue Bar, just about worrying not getting in too deep.
  • But now with Sustain Powers, a reasonable Blaster build only has to worry about the Blue Bar when being Sapped and worry about Health when in way too deep.
    • Blasters with a good build and that Sustain Power working for them are like a mini pseudo Ranged Regen Toon.
• That's the foundation of a good Blaster.

 

• The other major component of a good Blaster is knowing how to deal with being Mezzed.
  • The Blaster's Primary T1 and T2 Powers and the Secondary T1 Power can still be used while Mezzed.
  • The second ATO set Defiant Barrage special Enhancement, Rech/Chance for +Status Protection, and its Superior version.
    • Slotted in the Blaster Primary T1 or T2, this allows the Blaster to build and maintain a Mez Protection shield.
    • That means they get their other Powers available despite getting Mezzed.

Put these into a good tough Blaster build and learn how to run the build in the varying combat environments, solo and teamed, Missions and Task Forces.

 

The Sustain Power and the ATO special keep the Blaster blasting.  The Player needs to learn the build and when and how to attack to defeat the mobs and keep going.

 

 

Edited May 3 by Jacke

[Maelwys]

On 5/1/2024 at 10:05 AM, Snarky said:

I run a Fire/Fire/Fire Blaster with NO damage mitigation except maneuvers and the two +3% Def I/Os.  He is impatient, and LOVES to get to a fresh spawn first.  He loves to aim, build up, swoop and Nuke.  If there is another spawn near he will  incarnate nuke them (fire, ranged) and if there is a third spawn nearby he will throw 2 fire rains on them.  Doesnt he get attacked?  Funnily enough, when you light people on fire, even if they survive they are often distracted.  Even video game people.  Oh, since I did not build for defense…. I built for DAMAGE.

I find myself wholeheartedly agreeing with the undead one here.

One of my mostest funnest toons from live was a Fire Blaster that used Rise of the Phoenix as part of their attack chain.
Blasters excel at spike AoE damage; and building for maximum wide-area carnage and simply not knowing how to stay dead is an UTTERLY HILARIOUS and surprisingly effective way to play.

Yes, things like "No Deaths" accomplishment badges and TF runs exist... but a single decently built and non-inebriated Defender can usually stack enough buffs to keep even the most dedicated Leeroy Jenkins fans alive, and in regular gameplay nobody really gives a flying fig about EXP Debt anyway.

[TECHWON]

make  a blapper

[Steampunkette]

There's some really good advice in this thread. Allow me to add a little more:

 

Snipe the everliving daylights out of someone to start the fight. Pick a dangerous Lieutenant, pop aim and build up, and remove them from the equation. Then grab some cover.

 

As a Fire blaster, drop Rain of Fire between you and the enemy group. Sure, overlap -some- but in front of them so they run through it to reach you. The "Avoid Damage" part of the AI may cause some of them to turn around and run away. Since Rain of Fire is a ground target area of effect you can place it around corners while you're enjoying your cover, keeping you from taking all the alpha in one shot.

 

Assess your HP/Defense and how many people are running through the rain. Pop a green if you need it, purples and oranges if it looks like you're going to get run down.

 

Fireball and Breath of Fire as your next two casts on however many of them got through the rain. Then single-target any still-standing lieutenant. The remainder of the spawn should be easy to mop up after that.

 

Mingle in your /Rad melee to tear them up quick and efficient.

 

If you're feeling -particularly- froggy, or none of them run away from the Rain of Fire, drop Inferno instead of fireball/breath of fire for the big AoE damage to wipe the minions, then hit the LTs with your fireball and breath of fire.

 

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

[Novacat]

Don't forget Snipe's range buff helps ensure a decent followup before you round one of them corners.

That 10s of +50% means a base 120ft for fireball (or for ranged-nuke sets, something a little meatier).

[Duckbutler]

The blasters I've played on Homecoming have been quite far removed from the misery of blasters I experienced back on the live servers because they've had so many QoL improvements. Depending on how you build the blaster it can play very kamikaze or it can be quite safe. I built an Ice/Plant blaster - a little fairy to make my daughters happy - and it plays a lot like a corruptor. It's extremely safe and has excellent single target damage and control. AoE isn't stellar because while the rains look good on paper, frontloaded burst AoE from the team usually kills things while I lose half the duration of the rain on an empty room.

 

I mostly team. If I'm not teaming, I fill that time with the market and crafting, grabbing exploration badges, polishing off accolades, and unlocking specific content. I wouldn't play a character that can't solo at all to accomplish those things. It's not fun to feel helpless. The best rewards come from teaming up anyway, though, so don't feel too bad about it. I drop the difficulty to -1/1 while I'm solo hunting those AVs for the Portal Jockey accolade on my melee characters just so I can get the arcs over with and get back to something that will earn merits.

[Uun]

11 minutes ago, Novacat said:

Don't forget Snipe's range buff helps ensure a decent followup before you round one of them corners.

That 10s of +50% means a base 120ft for fireball (or for ranged-nuke sets, something a little meatier).

I was today years old when I learned that existed. Part of the reason is that 3 of my blasters are Ice, DP and Water, so I only have 2 blasters with a snipe. (I have lots of corruptors with snipe, but they don't get this buff.)

[Ukase]

So, level 40 fire/rad - running at 0/4. I'm sure you're mistaken. There is no rad secondary for blasters that I am aware of. Maybe you mean Atomic secondary? I think that's what you mean. 

I am someone who used to team - and then go solo - and scratch my head trying to figure out why I would be a cannon on teams, and glass when solo. It's not all about the build. It's also about practice and experience. This is just my own hunch, based on my own experiences - which should not be construed as any specific issue you're having - just something that could be a factor. When you're a tank, you have status protection. Your odds of getting stunned or mezzed are maybe 5%, if that. (assuming you're sufficiently high enough level to get your status protection armor). 
Then you switch to a blaster, and this is no longer the case. With 0/4, your setting elevates the mobs to +1 higher than they otherwise would be. And at 0/4, some of the mobs in there are going to be +1, despite the setting of 0. 

So, you're fire/*...any mitigation has to either come from dps or atomic secondary. The good news is Metabolic Acceleration is probably the best sustain for blasters simply because, while it doesn't prevent holds/mez, it certainly decreases the duration of those holds. There's no real way to illustrate how one player might deal with a certain scenario without a lot of pain-staking time to make screen shots and such. 

I think Kaizen hits the nail on the head, letting you know that CoT are no longer a walk in the park. Simply reduce your difficulty to 0/3, and see if that fares any better. 

The notoriety options being just in that tiny chat bubble are really a great option, and you should feel no shame in lowering the difficulty for certain factions that are known for mez, like Rikti, Freakshow and CoT. 

 

[EnjoyTheJourney]

In the 40s you're starting to see high end mobs, quite a few of which can debuff and mez your blaster in impactful ways. But, you don't yet have access to the higher end IO sets that can help a lot for soloing or incarnates. Thus, level 40+ is a bit of an awkward part of the leveling phase for multiple ATs, especially those that don't have built-in mez protection. After reaching level 50, and especially after getting incarnates slotted, soloing a blaster tends to get easier for a fair range of content.

This observation doesn't in any way detract from the good advice of others, of which there is a lot in this thread. 

[Duckbutler]

6 minutes ago, EnjoyTheJourney said:

In the 40s you're starting to see high end mobs, quite a few of which can debuff and mez your blaster in impactful ways. But, you don't yet have access to the higher end IO sets that can help a lot for soloing or incarnates. Thus, level 40+ is a bit of an awkward part of the leveling phase for multiple ATs, especially those that don't have built-in mez protection. After reaching level 50, and especially after getting incarnates slotted, soloing a blaster tends to get easier for a fair range of content.

This observation doesn't in any way detract from the good advice of others, of which there is a lot in this thread. 

 

Incarnate powers paper over a lot of AT weaknesses. I would not consider a build complete without including them. Unfortunately this can be very difficult to get a handle on when first starting out.

[Lunar Ronin]

Also, passive accolades.  I realize that this won't help you at the moment, but for the future:

 

• Make a second account.
• Make a villain character on said second account that can solo well.  Get it to level 50.
• Run the fourth "Who Will Die?" SSA in either Brickstown or St. Martial at x2 to obtain the Hero Slayer badge.  Congratulations, you've just unlocked Lord Schweinzer in Port Oakes.  You can now run any and all mayhem missions at any time.
• Use your second account that unlocked Lord Schweinzer to obtain the Invader accolade for +5% HPs, which can be done at level one.
• Once your character reaches level 23, use your second account to solo the first two missions of the Moonfire TF at x8 to get the Atlas Medallion accolade.
• Once your character reaches level 35, use your second account to help you obtain the High Pain Threshold accolade, which is another 10% HPs.  Your character now has 15% higher HPs.

 

But follow Nemu's, Sovera's and Sunsette's advice as well.  Positions, pulling, using your CCs, inspirations, setting your difficulty appropriately, using tier one and two attacks while CCed, and IO enhancements are all important.  It can and will get better.  I routinely solo at +3x8 on Blasters at level 50, and lower difficulties before that.  I've also tanked TFs and SFs with Blasters.  Just follow the advice and hang in there. 

Edited May 3 by Lunar Ronin

[Sunsette]

1 hour ago, Uun said:

I was today years old when I learned that existed. Part of the reason is that 3 of my blasters are Ice, DP and Water, so I only have 2 blasters with a snipe. (I have lots of corruptors with snipe, but they don't get this buff.)

 

It's an incredible deal for blasters with a good cone (read: not fire, one of the few things the powerset is bad at). Since I usually take Intuition Radial, I have 90 foot cones at basically all times since I only use the cone after a snipe.

 

I don't find it to usually matter for spherical AoEs as long as the power already is base 80 ft. range but it's still nice to have.

[Ukase]

34 minutes ago, Lunar Ronin said:

Once your character reaches level 35, use your second account to help you obtain the High Pain Threshold accolade, which is another 10% HPs.  Your character now has 15% higher HPs.

Lunar Ronin's entire post is filled with excellence. Things I have done myself - and I have no idea why I didn't mention it. Just not that smart, I guess. 
I only wanted to chime in that there are some additional requirements for this HPT accolade (and the others) that you can read about here.

[Hedgefund]

It may not be cheap at level 40 (will be 1.6M inf for 1 hour) but the Defense Ampifier from P2W will basically solve mezzing issues (mag 4 protection to all) which is, from my own experience, the first step in my blasters being defeated.

 

The task list of "what to do" should include acquiring Demonic, which has gotten me out of many a jam, whether lvl 50 tank or lowbie blaster, via a pseudo-armor t9 that's available every 9 minutes.

Edited May 3 by Hedgefund

[Lunar Ronin]

8 minutes ago, Ukase said:

Lunar Ronin's entire post is filled with excellence. Things I have done myself - and I have no idea why I didn't mention it. Just not that smart, I guess. 
I only wanted to chime in that there are some additional requirements for this HPT accolade (and the others) that you can read about here.

 

Yep.  That guide is very good.  My only beef with it is the advice to get Freedom Phalanx Reserve over High Pain Threshold.  Just no.  High Pain Threshold is much easier to get IMO.  Rest is great.

[Hedgefund]

Also, if you have this lvl 50 alt on another account, the lowbie can join the 50 for the Unlucky Artifact at level 30.  The lowbie can't start this mission from Ouro, but they are in the band where they can join it, so no need to wait for 35.  Same with the one from Timothy Raymond.

 

Born in Battle can also be acquired early, level 30, with damage farming.  I personally go with this over PJ,

 

 

Edited May 3 by Hedgefund

[Thazager]

I made a blaster that even impressed me, it can solo regular missions and I have been doing it pretty fast.

Its a water/ice blaster. I went from 1 to 29 (so far) all solo. 1 ice power is keeping me from dying, while the water seems to affect some mobs very well, with enough attacks to keep going and endurance regen +50 (base) and +80 (IO 30s). It has a nice heal from water. Powers seem to get boosts when they have orange ring around it.

[Heatstroke]

A lot of it depends on build and playstyle IMO.. 

 

My Energy/Energy Blaster is a master of Snipe-Fu. He used Damage/Range Hamis in every attack.. he always uses Boost range.. He will take most foes down LONG before they close the distance. The occasional foes that can close the distance gets welcome to " The Land of Stun " With Total Focus..  Then there is always the Nuke.. BadaBOOM.. 

 

My Elec/Elec Blaster drains End.. foes with less end will attack less and use weaker attacks. He also has three single target holds he can rely on. 

 

My Arch/TA relies on ranged defense..

 

But the surest way to survive.. take them out first 

[Shred Monkey]

Thunderstrike sets in ranged ST attacks and Artillery sets in ranged AOE attacks.  This plus defense pools can give you excellent ranged defense.  If you can get above 30% range defense in your 30s you'll be plenty safe to solo... then in your 40s and up to level 50 you're going to want to be at 45+ defense. 

 

And then just stay out of melee.  Hover is the easy way to stay out of melee... but I prefer just running and jumping around using the terrain, combined with lining up cones, you do a fun type of dance always 1 step ahead of the attackers while doing effective damage.

 

If you add in knockdowns and slows, you can be extremely safe.  In theory you may think you need AoE defense also, but in reality AoE attacks are generally weak so they aren't going to kill you (unless their status affect does).

 

[Biff Pow]

Melee is where Blasters do the most damage. If you're going to stay at range, might as well be a Sentinel.

[Linea]

I'm not sure if anyone else mentioned it.  But Slot the Blaster AT +status proc in a T1/T2 attack, you can use those even when mezzed and with the proc you can 'sometimes' dig your way out of a mez hole.

 

I go full defensive IO build from level ~10 or however early I can.  Swap out early IO sets at around 20.  That may not be an option for you.