Questions on Water Blast

[Yomo Kimyata]

I'm happy to be pointed in the right direction, but I'm having troubles finding anything accurate from this decade, so I figured I'd throw it out there.  I'm mostly a melee player, but I've got a bunch of water/*** alts, mostly corruptors, and I've really never bothered to level them up.  I'm slow levelling a water/cold right now (currently at 32), and answering some of my own questions as I go, but wanted to check the pulse of the group mind such as it is.

 

1.  Does "+Wet" actually do anything yet, or is this a placeholder for a possible future dynamic?

 

2.  What powers are people skipping?  I'm picking up some dislike for Steam Spray but I personally find it indispensable, properly slotted and with some extra range.  So far I've only passed on Aqua Bolt, but as I progress I may look to drop something else as my recharge picks up.

 

3.  What's the consensus on which power to save for Tidal Power?  I don't feel the extra healing from Dehydrate is worth waiting on; both Water Burst and Geyser use up all stacks and give extra damage (which is great) and extra % for knockdown/stun (which is less great -- I'll get that from other sources).  I've been using it for Water Jet, and this is one of the rare instances where I will stack procs like mad since you get to use the power twice in quick succession.

[Bionic_Flea]

Wet was briefly linked to Arsenal Control where something having the wet tag triggered additional effects when using Arsenal, including immobilization that many wanted included in the set.  It was ultimately removed as a trigger from Arsenal.  It's possible that wet flag is still there as a vestigial thing or there may be some future combos with wetness.

 

I have skipped either the T1 (Aqua Bolt) or the T2 (Hydro Blast, and Steam Spray.  I used to hate cones but I'm starting to like them more but only when I have several.  I don't like having to juggle range for just one attack.

 

I only "save" tidal power for Geyser and Water Jet, otherwise I generally ignore it and just fire whatever is next in the rotation.

[UltraAlt]

4 hours ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

1.  Does "+Wet" actually do anything yet, or is this a placeholder for a possible future dynamic?

 

4 hours ago, Bionic_Flea said:

Wet was briefly linked to Arsenal Control where something having the wet tag triggered additional effects when using Arsenal, including immobilization that many wanted included in the set.  It was ultimately removed as a trigger from Arsenal.  It's possible that wet flag is still there as a vestigial thing or there may be some future combos with wetness.

 

Yeah. I see "+ Wet" in-game, but it isn't in the wiki.

 

4 hours ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

2.  What powers are people skipping?  I'm picking up some dislike for Steam Spray but I personally find it indispensable, properly slotted and with some extra range.  So far I've only passed on Aqua Bolt, but as I progress I may look to drop something else as my recharge picks up.

 

Aqua bolt is a quick recharge which helps building +Tide Pool quickly, so I don't skip that one.

 

4 hours ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

3.  What's the consensus on which power to save for Tidal Power?  I don't feel the extra healing from Dehydrate is worth waiting on; both Water Burst and Geyser use up all stacks and give extra damage (which is great) and extra % for knockdown/stun (which is less great -- I'll get that from other sources).  I've been using it for Water Jet, and this is one of the rare instances where I will stack procs like mad since you get to use the power twice in quick succession.

 

I use it for dehydrate if I need the heal. Otherwise, I mainly use it for water burst at this point (because it knocks enemies/soft hold).

 

I only have water jet one slotted, so I don't even use that in the main rotation yet. I don't have geyser at this point. I can't tell you how great an impact it has on either of these, but I'm assuming it is a noticeable difference like it is for dehydrate and water burst. 

 

But wiki,

water jet - "If you have 3 Tidal Power and you activate this power, it will have an enhanced effect causing Water Jet to cast slightly faster and *immediately reset the recharge of Water Jet."

geyser -  "If you have 3 stacks of Tidal Power, Geyser will have a 100% chance to disorient affected targets."

 

*Confirmed on Water Jet. if you have 3 Tidal pool (showing the ring), you can set it off and then immediately set it off again.

[Bionic_Flea]

55 minutes ago, UltraAlt said:

Yeah. I see "+ Wet" in-game, but it isn't in the wiki.

 

Everything in Water Blast but Tidal Forces and Dehydrate adds a +wet flag regardless of what the Wiki says or doesn't say.  In questions of what powers do, City of Data (CoD) is second to none.  https://cod.uberguy.net/html/powerset.html?pset=blaster_ranged.water_blast&at=blaster

[UltraAlt]

25 minutes ago, Bionic_Flea said:

+wet flag

 

As I said, I see "+ wet" in-game on the power descriptions, but I don't see any icon showing "wet".

where are you seeing this "flag" in-game?

[Bionic_Flea]

The only visible thing, at the moment and as far as I know, is the combat spam that says you made "name of critter" wet.

 

Hmm . . . I wonder if you are hit with that in PvP you get an icon. . . . BRB

 

Edit:  Apparently not.  At least I am not seeing an icon OR combat spam for wetness on the target character.  I see combat spam for wet on the attacker.

 

WAIT!!:  There is a short lived graphic of water falling off the target for a second after hitting with a water blast attack other than dehydrate.  It's like the water dripping aura you can get in the character creator.

Edited July 25 by Bionic_Flea

[Yomo Kimyata]

2 hours ago, UltraAlt said:

*Confirmed on Water Jet. if you have 3 Tidal pool (showing the ring), you can set it off and then immediately set it off again.

 

That's my whole point.  If you had Water Jet slotted with 2x A/D hammi and 4x 3.5 damage procs, based on the proc calculator you'd have about a 2/3 chance of each proc going off, but if you save Tidal Power for it you get it up instantly again, and I think the proc chances should be roughly the same.

[tidge]

My Water/ Blaster's Primary choices:

 

Spoiler

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 / Global 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 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 18:              Tidal Forces       

 (A) Adjusted Targeting - Recharge

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

 

 

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 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

 

No lean into %damage, because Blaster. The Secondary I use is Atomic Manipulation, and I have that set's Build Up at level 10. Corruptors may have to make different choices.

 

I skipped Water Jet because I came to believe it was only really helping with total DPS when it was "Enhanced" (and hitting), and that trying to get to that combination was costing me DPS. Even after the change to prevent Water Jet from burning Tidal Power on a Miss did not help. I concede that on a non-Blaster Water Jet might be a key component of an attack chain, but as a ST-attack I was unimpressed with it.

 

[UltraAlt]

2 hours ago, Bionic_Flea said:

The only visible thing, at the moment and as far as I know, is the combat spam that says you made "name of critter" wet.

 

Hmm . . . I wonder if you are hit with that in PvP you get an icon. . . . BRB

 

Edit:  Apparently not.  At least I am not seeing an icon OR combat spam for wetness on the target character.  I see combat spam for wet on the attacker.

 

WAIT!!:  There is a short lived graphic of water falling off the target for a second after hitting with a water blast attack other than dehydrate.  It's like the water dripping aura you can get in the character creator.

 

I see.

Well, I haven't actually looked for it.

But I see what you are saying.

 

It might have been to complicated or caused lag to apply wet to moving targets the way say oil slick is applied to a surface that can be set off by fire or electricity to cause AoE fire damage.

 

I'm assuming that cold would get some kind of bonus on wet targets, fire would have decreased damage, and nothing else would be affected ... at least I'm assuming water blast is fresh water and not salt water (in which case, potentially electricity could get some kind of bonus).

[Yomo Kimyata]

To answer some of my own questions about Tidal Power (and I asked the question before I had picked up Tidal Forces when you can get it on demand):

 

If I'm building Tidal Power organically, I'll try to use it on Water Jet for aforementioned reasons.  Sometimes I'll use it on Water Burst because 100% knockup is useful v. bosses (unlike 100% mag 3 stun).

 

If I'm hitting Tidal Forces (aka Build Up) I'll use it on Geyser just because it's got a higher base damage to be boosted.

[Uun]

15 hours ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

If I'm hitting Tidal Forces (aka Build Up) I'll use it on Geyser just because it's got a higher base damage to be boosted.

If you're not already aware, Geyser's base damage increases with each stack of Tidal Power. Since Tidal Forces also provides 3 stacks of Tidal Power, you're effectively getting an extra damage boost.

[TheMoncrief]

On 7/25/2024 at 10:34 AM, Yomo Kimyata said:

I'm happy to be pointed in the right direction, but I'm having troubles finding anything accurate from this decade, so I figured I'd throw it out there.  I'm mostly a melee player, but I've got a bunch of water/*** alts, mostly corruptors, and I've really never bothered to level them up.  I'm slow levelling a water/cold right now (currently at 32), and answering some of my own questions as I go, but wanted to check the pulse of the group mind such as it is.

 

1.  Does "+Wet" actually do anything yet, or is this a placeholder for a possible future dynamic?

 

2.  What powers are people skipping?  I'm picking up some dislike for Steam Spray but I personally find it indispensable, properly slotted and with some extra range.  So far I've only passed on Aqua Bolt, but as I progress I may look to drop something else as my recharge picks up.

 

3.  What's the consensus on which power to save for Tidal Power?  I don't feel the extra healing from Dehydrate is worth waiting on; both Water Burst and Geyser use up all stacks and give extra damage (which is great) and extra % for knockdown/stun (which is less great -- I'll get that from other sources).  I've been using it for Water Jet, and this is one of the rare instances where I will stack procs like mad since you get to use the power twice in quick succession.

 

1. Never encountered a purpose behind Wet.

 

2. I skipped Steam Spray. It's actually quite good, especially for a hover blaster, but the set has so much aoe that I could afford to drop something without meaningful sacrifice, and that was it.

 

3. I use Tidal Power for Water Jet if single target, and Geyser if AoE and it's up, otherwise Water Burst. My ST attack chain is Water Jet, Hydro Blast, Dehydrate, Water Jet.

 

[Hjarki]

Skip Steam Spray. It doesn't do anything the set can't already do perfectly well in other ways.

 

Whirlpool is a maybe depending on what else is in the build.

 

Aqua Bolt and Water Jet are key parts of the single target rotation. Water Burst and Geyser are your major AE abilities. You want Tidal Forces to pump up Geyser.

 

Dehydrate and Hydro Blast have the same basic purpose: another attack to consume time between Aqua Bolts/Water Jets. There are some ways to use neither of them, but you tend to need specific support sets/pools and it often leads to an annoying rotation.

 

In terms of deciding between them, the issue is normally whether you need the endurance management. Theft of Essence allows you to make Dehydrate 'endurance negative', so you can reduce your endurance consumption dramatically. However, Hydro Blast will generally create higher dps rotations tat are simpler to manage (since there is no risk of Hydro Blast consuming Tidal Power).

[Glacier Peak]

12 hours ago, Hjarki said:

Skip Steam Spray. It doesn't do anything the set can't already do perfectly well in other ways.

 

Whirlpool is a maybe depending on what else is in the build.

 

Aqua Bolt and Water Jet are key parts of the single target rotation. Water Burst and Geyser are your major AE abilities. You want Tidal Forces to pump up Geyser.

 

Dehydrate and Hydro Blast have the same basic purpose: another attack to consume time between Aqua Bolts/Water Jets. There are some ways to use neither of them, but you tend to need specific support sets/pools and it often leads to an annoying rotation.

 

In terms of deciding between them, the issue is normally whether you need the endurance management. Theft of Essence allows you to make Dehydrate 'endurance negative', so you can reduce your endurance consumption dramatically. However, Hydro Blast will generally create higher dps rotations tat are simpler to manage (since there is no risk of Hydro Blast consuming Tidal Power).

I've been finding Steam Spray to be a great cone - hits hard and fits the powerset theme well, but like you said, it doesn't do anything unique that other powers from the set can do.

 

Great points about Aqua Bolt and Water Jet for rotation to maximize Tidal Forces.

[tidge]

Steam Spray is the off-flavor Damage type, It's a good power to use the Annihilation set in (%-Res), or it is a good attack for just %procs.

[Psiphon]

Not sure why anyone would skip Steam Spray, good AoE damage in a game where AoE is king. 

Personally, I always take it and slot it with either Artillery for the ranged defence or if capped ranged defence allows, Ragnaroks for the extra control that the 'chance for KD' provides. 

 

 

Edited September 13 by Psiphon

[Teklord]

I skipped Steam Spray on my Water/Marine because of Whitecap. I can have a full AOE attack chain without steam spray and Whitecap has me strongly preferring radial AOE attacks. I would consider keeping it in other circumstances.