Is Range Underrated?

[Gentoo]

I have been playing a Psi/Energy blaster lately and have been having fun blasting at extreme range.

Psi is the farthest range blast set. Energy secondary has Boost Range on top of that. 

I  am hitting things at draw distance. Can barefly see what I am shooting at, and they are nowhere near close enough to shoot back.

I may be mistaken, but it seems that sometimes they come towards me to attack but then give up and go back. Perhaps I am out of aggro range?

 

Easier to pull off in zones than in missions of course, but in missions there are still some long stretches of space, and its is amusing to fire down a long long corridor. 

 

Anyone else play this way? 

 

 

Edited June 23 by Gentoo

[Frozen Burn]

33 minutes ago, Gentoo said:

I have been playing a Psi/Energy blaster lately and have been having fun blasting at extreme range.

Psi is the farthest range blast set. Energy secondary has Boost Range on top of that. 

I  am hitting things at draw distance. Can barefly see what I am shooting at, and they are nowhere near close enough to shoot back.

I may be mistaken, but it seems that sometimes they come towards me to attack but then give up and go back. Perhaps I am out of aggro range?

 

Easier to pull off in zones than in missions of course, but in missions there are still some long stretches of space, and its is amusing to fire down a long long corridor. 

 

Anyone else play this way? 

 

 

 

Yes, I've done this too - it's quite fun!  🙂  And yes, them turning back is because you're out of aggro range and they lose interest despite you taking away their health.   🤣

[Heatstroke]

1 hour ago, Gentoo said:

I have been playing a Psi/Energy blaster lately and have been having fun blasting at extreme range.

Psi is the farthest range blast set. Energy secondary has Boost Range on top of that. 

I  am hitting things at draw distance. Can barefly see what I am shooting at, and they are nowhere near close enough to shoot back.

I may be mistaken, but it seems that sometimes they come towards me to attack but then give up and go back. Perhaps I am out of aggro range?

 

Easier to pull off in zones than in missions of course, but in missions there are still some long stretches of space, and its is amusing to fire down a long long corridor. 

 

Anyone else play this way? 

 

 

 

 

My short answer is YES.. range is underrated.. not everyone is built for it, and I would think most people dont think to take advantage of it. One the original forums there was a guy names SnipeFu who wrote a guide about Snipes and using range to your advantage. After getting the crap stunned out of my by a Tank Boss I took that guide to heart.

 

My first every character Airhammer in his original build had three damage range Hami-Os in every attack. My SG mates used to joke that I would finish the missions from inside our SG base. I would show up to Hami Raids and take out Mitos from outside the Goo.. 

 

Currenty because he is more of an IO build now.. he has a level 53 Centriole in almost every attack. PowerBolt has 146 range.. 194 if Boost range is up... The Snipe 275 range.  364 with Power Boost up.. and one if his favorite tactics is to Mix Power Push in with attacks to keep foes at a distance with knockback and continue to pummel them from a distance. He is a master of SnipeFu.

Even Energy Torrent which is normally 40ft range is now standard blaster range of 80'..

 

yes range is VERY underrated IMO

Edited June 23 by Heatstroke

[kelika2]

I take advantage of out of combat snipe +range for cone attacks

I slot range into my cone attacks (not psi attacks since psis thing is longer range).

and one (1) blaster has boost range but thats only to really real teleport.'

 

been wanting a rifle/energy for boost range but thats just too many binds to manage and i dont wanna do that out of laziness

[Akisan]

Range is underrated, yes.  Especially if you do any CCing: any mob you can immobilize outside of the range of their attacks may as well be Held - and immobilize powers tend to be fast recharging with long durations. As an added bonus, AVs don't have special protection vs. immobilize, so you can easily mitigate AV damage this way.

[Gentoo]

Other than Psi (longest range) and Energy blast (for the knockbacks), what would you recommend for an extreme range based character?

I'm enjoying this so much I want to make more of this kind. I'm guessing /energy is the key.  So maybe any primary would work?

[Sovera]

Range is nice, but, Blaster is the wrong AT for it. Stick to something like a Corruptor/Defender or a Sentinel. Half of the Blaster's kit is for melee range and not being in melee range means doing half the damage.

 

A Corruptor can stay at range since most of the buff sets don't ask to be in melee range. If buffs are not your thing then Sentinel. While Sentinels do less damage than a Blaster lets be fair that a Blaster using half their kit are about Sentinel damage anyway.

[Yomo Kimyata]

My primary on Live was a BS/Inv scrapper, and back when HOs could affect things they strictly weren't supposed to affect I had three D/range HOs in Headsplitter.  Tremendous.

 

[tidge]

My Hot Take: If a Blaster is going to make "Range" the primary focus of the build, unless effort is put into making the ranges of all the attacks roughly equivalent the effort is not well-directed.

[Triumphant]

It's really fun to make these kinds of characters but this specific gimmick is more a hindrance than a help on lots of indoor maps (caves, apartments, etc.), because tight rooms, corners, and narrow confines only allow you to put some much distance between yourself and the target.

 

I find too frustrating for standard play but, on the right maps, it's a hoot!

[pawstruck]

I got my Psi/Nrg to 47 doing this. It is fun in a "cheat code" sort of way. In outdoor maps, absolutely nothing except elite bosses with fly is a threat at all. It's like playing with damage off.

 

Combine that with, as you say, being able to kill enemies without even seeing them, and you're just playing Dance Dance Revolution with your keyboard.

 

I know lots of people like to "push" post-IO CoX and be totally invulnerable, but to me that's not a game.

[Akisan]

4 hours ago, Sovera said:

Range is nice, but, Blaster is the wrong AT for it. Stick to something like a Corruptor/Defender or a Sentinel. Half of the Blaster's kit is for melee range and not being in melee range means doing half the damage.

 

/TA would like a word.

 

Range is an excellent mitigator for incoming damage - not all builds can just sit in melee range and be fine (hence the existence of tactics like hover blasting and jousting).  Also, our secondaries aren't "Melee" (all attacks, like a tank or scrapper) - they're "Manipulation", a mix of melee damage, controls and utility powers (designed to keep us alive by either keeping foes at bay or quickly burning down any that do reach us).  Yes, melee attacks (usually) hit harder than ranged attacks, and some secondaries lean into this, but that's not the only viable strategy.

 

2 hours ago, tidge said:

My Hot Take: If a Blaster is going to make "Range" the primary focus of the build, unless effort is put into making the ranges of all the attacks roughly equivalent the effort is not well-directed.

 

And this would be one of the reasons why the nerf to Fire Mastery > Char hurt so much - it lowered the effective range on my controls to 100 ft (from 135 ft), which is in range of most return fire (most enemies have 80-100 ft range on their ranged attacks).

[KC4800]

Range is great for patrolling zones and outdoor missions. It has limited value indoors.

 

I have an AR/Dev that has beaucoup range for sniping. I enjoy that, patrolling and such. When I am in an office building, I am glad I have Caltrops and Full Auto. Drop a toe bomb, and a gun drone around a corner. A blaster has to have tools for everything, or else it will crap out on tasks it isn't built for.

[SuperPlyx]

5 hours ago, Sovera said:

Stick to something like a Corruptor/Defender or a Sentinel

 I'm sorry but what? Sents have terrible range compared to blasters and no snipe! Isn't this about playing at range?

[Sovera]

27 minutes ago, Akisan said:

 

/TA would like a word.

 

Range is an excellent mitigator for incoming damage - not all builds can just sit in melee range and be fine (hence the existence of tactics like hover blasting and jousting).  Also, our secondaries aren't "Melee" (all attacks, like a tank or scrapper) - they're "Manipulation", a mix of melee damage, controls and utility powers (designed to keep us alive by either keeping foes at bay or quickly burning down any that do reach us).  Yes, melee attacks (usually) hit harder than ranged attacks, and some secondaries lean into this, but that's not the only viable strategy.

 

 

And this would be one of the reasons why the nerf to Fire Mastery > Char hurt so much - it lowered the effective range on my controls to 100 ft (from 135 ft), which is in range of most return fire (most enemies have 80-100 ft range on their ranged attacks).

 

Yes, I'm aware of TA.

 

 

Just now, SuperPlyx said:

 I'm sorry but what? Sents have terrible range compared to blasters and no snipe! Isn't this about playing at range?

 

Terrible does not mean non existent. With ATOs slotted in and whatever other stuff a Sentinel usually ends with something like 60y range. Not stupendous compared to regular ranged characters but enough to start combat out of agro range and fight out of range while hovering.

[Triumphant]

Yeah, I don't think a Sentinel is going to get you there, for the type of sniping we're talking about.  Not that I don't like Sentinels:  I love them, actually.  Play them more than maybe any other AT.  They just don't make good long-range snipers, is all.

[Crysis]

There was a time when building for ranged defense+offense on a blaster was pretty much the risk-free way to play.  Hoverblasting entered the lexicon and stayed there for a long, long time.  I still see some people playing that way and it’s neither right nor wrong, but an effective playstyle if you want to dish out damage and take little in return.

 

But many blasters, myself included, play blasters -specifically- because we like the innate risk associated with being up close and personal and having extremely good attacks.  Kill or be killed, go big or go home (er…hosp it I mean).  

 

With so many IO sets allowing me to play a blaster with S/L/R softcapped, there’s no reason to limit yourself to a single playstyle unless you just -prefer- that playstyle.  Range is effective, but I’m not sure it’s the most efficient way to play the AT.  Just one of many.  And depending on your powerset, it may be really sub-optimizing your overall capabilities.  

 

One reason this game is still being played almost 20 years after it’s initial release…..there’s no “one size fits all” in the game itself, let alone each of the AT’s and the powerset selection/slotting for each.

[Heatstroke]

On 6/23/2024 at 7:31 AM, Sovera said:

Range is nice, but, Blaster is the wrong AT for it. Stick to something like a Corruptor/Defender or a Sentinel. Half of the Blaster's kit is for melee range and not being in melee range means doing half the damage.

 

 

 

This has always been the one thing often grinds my gears on CoH. Somebody telling you that the way you are doing it is wrong.. and that you should be doing it this way.. 

 

Play however you want to play.. I like my blasters staying at range.. There is no WRONG way to play.. 

[Sovera]

25 minutes ago, Heatstroke said:

 

 

This has always been the one thing often grinds my gears on CoH. Somebody telling you that the way you are doing it is wrong.. and that you should be doing it this way.. 

 

Play however you want to play.. I like my blasters staying at range.. There is no WRONG way to play.. 

 

Good attitude when advice is offered.

[UltraAlt]

On 6/22/2024 at 10:07 PM, Gentoo said:

Anyone else play this way? 

 

On blasters, I definitely slot sets that have increased range, but I don't slot any range (only) enhances.

I'm more likely to play at the very max distance of a blaster's range while solo than while teaming.

[Snarky]

i have taken range to the extreme with a build like AR/Dev with +range in set bonuses and alpha slot.  this lengthens cones and provides safety.  in my opinion this is the best value for building +range.  

[biostem]

33 minutes ago, Snarky said:

this lengthens cones and provides safety.  in my opinion this is the best value for building +range.  

Cones are one of the few areas where I do actively build for +range, since it really improves their general usability...

[FupDup]

On 6/23/2024 at 12:00 PM, SuperPlyx said:

 I'm sorry but what? Sents have terrible range compared to blasters and no snipe! Isn't this about playing at range?

I don't think his argument was that Sents have great range (they don't of course), the argument is that they aren't as melee-reliant as the average Blaster. Sents really only need to melee for either a PBAOE that some primaries have or an epic pool melee attack if you opt for one. On the flipside, most Blaster secondaries come with multiple melee powers and they tend to have higher DPA than their so-called "primary" powers. 

 

Blasters can and do still choose to go without those melees of course, but comparatively speaking they "lose" more than a Sentinel who chooses not to pick up a singular level 35 epic melee. Excluding certain manip sets like Tac Arrow of course. 

Edited June 26 by FupDup

[Heatstroke]

On 6/24/2024 at 10:42 PM, Sovera said:

 

Good attitude when advice is offered.

  

When the advice is given in a less condescending " you're doing it wrong, you should be doing it this way " attitude.. ill respect it.. 

[Steel]

Don't dismiss Sentinels just yet. My Elec/Bio/Mu with Intuition Radial and frankenslotted ATOs (for 5x the range bonus) has 117ft range on standard ST attacks and 78ft range on TAoEs and cones when in Offensive Mode. My new project is a Psy/Bio/Psi, which iirc will have 138ft range on ST attacks. On my phone, so can't check Mids, but I think 90-95ft range on AoE.

 

These builds still can't compete with most of their Blaster cousins*, but the playstyle is delicious. 

 

 

ETA: * that are build for range

Edited June 26 by Steel