The Corruptor Primaries

[Wordsalad]

After building ~20 Corruptors, (I thought I had a problem until realizing some people have way more) I wanted to share my views/thoughts on their primary sets.

I haven't had enough time with all the secondaries as I always get tunneled into a Kin/Time/Nature build and only have a little experience with Marine/Ice/Storm. So I'll just be focusing on the primaries in this post.

Now first and foremost this is totally subjective and as always rule of cool/style/concept/fun to play is always the most important thing, I've seen that most everything can clear content with a little luck/skill/planning and I'm not a min/max'r by any means.

With that being said I'd like to hear everyones thoughts on these, don't bash anyone thinking you favorite primary is better then they think but give reason, remember like I said this is just subjective and primaries play vastly different with different secondaries.

 

So here is my list.

 

1. Ice - I think this set is very well done if not a bit repetitive. You get some good ST attacks with holds, a nice cone and 2 Location AOE that work good for Scourge. The debuffs are nice, slow is always a good debuff in my book. It does feel like you get a couple ST attacks and then an AOE then about half way through leveling you get better versions of those 2 ST attacks and a better version of the AOE. I dislike PBAOE on "Support Mage" style characters so this sets playstyle really works for me. Adding a snipe is my only real complaint.

 

2. Water - Most may put Fire here and I wouldn't argue, I just find Water a well rounded set and the build stacks > finisher mechanic I find it fun and engaging. ST, Target AOE, Location AOE, cone, multiple damage types, -def debuff, this set has it all. With the new ST buffs this may overtake my Ice main. No snipe but I think it has enough variety that doesn't hurt the set that much.

 

3 Fire - Everyone loves a "Fire Mage" lol. Good ST, Target AOE, Cone, Snipe, what's not to love! Only reason I don't play more Fire is I'm not a fan of the PBAOE, only thing I'd change personally or make the whole set more conducive to playing in the pack as every other skill plays at range. Great set though.

 

4. Electrical - Another well rounded set, ST, Target AOE, Snipe, Hold, even a Pet, and I don't mind the PBAOE as much as it's not a T9 and can easily be dropped for how you like to play. The pet is kinda iffy w/o control but if you know when/where to have it out its a nice little DPS boost. The -end is a great debuff and super funny to watch mobs run around and not be able to do anything.

 

5. Storm - Another well rounded set, varied damage types and targeting, some debuffs and KD. Only thing that bugs me is I feel groups move so fast and this set needs to set up before maximum carnage, but when it does its a blast!

 

6. Beam Rifle - I don't know where Beam Rifle is in the "meta" as I hardly every see it in groups but I enjoy it. Great single target with a cone and Target AOE for T9. The Disintegrate mechanic is interesting and works good for AV's. Only thing I would change is Piercing Beam hitting more targets, wtf is a 3 target narrow cone? Just make it a chain. Oh and maybe a stun but killer set IMO

 

7. Duel Pistols - Another personal pick but I do see DP in groups more. It's a flashy, quick casting set that has a cool theme. Switching between damage type for the situation is also a great concept. No snipe on a ranged weapon based set is odd and another narrow cone AOE that has way too much cast time. But most of the skills are good.

 

8. Radiation Blast - Set is designed to be in the middle of things, with close AOE, Cone and BPAOE. -DEF is a great debuff. Played it with /Nature and worked quite well. Not always my playstyle but good change of pace and different for a Corruptor. Maybe give the T9 a heal or regen effect since you're in the middle of it all.

 

9. Seismic - Only reason I think I ranked it this low is because as I generally go "Flyer" I just don't get 100% out of the set. It has good skill diversity with ST, cone, snipe, target AOE and location AOE. You just need to be near the ground to take full advantage of the set. Also your group will kill everything before Meteor has a chance to cast...

 

10. Dark Blast - Cool set thematically with cool attacks and customization. No Target or Location damage AOE's, all cones so you need to play just outside the pack. -Hit is good early/mid but falls off later. Damage is workable but not the best, also PBAOE T9. Give it some damage!

 

11. Sonic - Went back and forth on this and Dark, both very cone heavy with a PBAOE T9. This has -Res which is better I think, I didn't enjoy the theme as much as Dark and both could use some damage!

 

12. Psychic - Has all the ingredients to be good, and maybe I just couldn't jive with it but I found it lacking in style and abilities.

 

13. Assault - Who doesn't want to be the Punisher? I don't with all the Knockback this set has...

 

14. Energy - What if every skill had Knockback?

 

15. Archery -  I want to like Archery so bad, I've tried to make a few, good skill types and cast times but nothing special about it, no debuff, just Lethal damage and really bad damage at that. This set needs some love. give it a damage boost or maybe a bleed effect, something to make it interesting I love it for theme but just can't play it in current form.

 

This post was a bit longer then expected. You don't need to make something as long as I did but if you have a top 3 or 5 or something along those lines please post.

[Erratic1]

6 hours ago, Wordsalad said:

Also your group will kill everything before Meteor has a chance to cast...

 

No, they won't. You've no reason to wait for someone to run in, but should be dropping it on groups before people arrive. Moreover, because of the delay, if you immediately use Upthrust, it goes off at the same time. And there is no end of hilarity of dropping a Meteor on a group in a small room.

[MonteCarla]

My top Blast sets:

1. Energy Blast (8 level 50s of various Archetypes)
Knockback is a fantastic means of self-protection, and team protection. Yes, it can scatter mobs, and yes, you can mitigate it with KB to KD IOs. If you could drop a "50% chance of Knockdown" special IO into other blast set powers, would you? I think you'd at least consider it. I often put the KB to KD only in my AoEs and have a if I knock it around I have to defeat it approach to single target blasting. You can also knock stragglers into the pack if you're good.
The downside is there are no hard mezzes. Energy Blast is great for keeping a PP or Nem robot from activating their god mode, but it wont turn off a Sorceror's Hurricane.

 

2. Radiation Blast (6 level 50s)

Looks almost as cool as Energy Blast, and has three AoEs as well as Aim, a snipe, and a full strength nuke with a hold!

The -Def is not awesome, as the only enemies you'll need it for, you have to hit them in the first place. But it does allow you to stuff your attacks with damage procs. (see guide in my signature)

 

3. Electric Blast (5 level 50s)

No cones, so both AoEs can be let off in the middle of a crowd without having to worry about positioning.

You can go the sapping route, probably best done if your other powerset helps out. Thunderous Blast is a great sapping power

You can be weird and put a Chance to Heal in each attack, which I have done once. It's not optimal. 🙂

 

4. Fire Blast (5 level 50s)
The queen of damage. Provides no mitigation, so best paired with secondaries that do help your survive, eg Time

 

I tend to mark down blast sets which don't have:

- Aim (which can take the Gaussian proc for a 90% chance of +130% damage for your nuke)

- Snipe (Manticore's set is very nice, plus I like sniping to open a fight.)

- Full strength nukes. A high recharge build with Aim + nuke is awesome.

[Wordsalad]

11 hours ago, Erratic1 said:

 

No, they won't. You've no reason to wait for someone to run in, but should be dropping it on groups before people arrive. Moreover, because of the delay, if you immediately use Upthrust, it goes off at the same time. And there is no end of hilarity of dropping a Meteor on a group in a small room.

 

This was a joke, I just found the cast time a bit long lol

[Gerswin]

18 hours ago, Wordsalad said:

After building ~20 Corruptors, (I thought I had a problem until realizing some people have way more) I wanted to share my views/thoughts on their primary sets.

I haven't had enough time with all the secondaries as I always get tunneled into a Kin/Time/Nature build and only have a little experience with Marine/Ice/Storm. So I'll just be focusing on the primaries in this post.

Now first and foremost this is totally subjective and as always rule of cool/style/concept/fun to play is always the most important thing, I've seen that most everything can clear content with a little luck/skill/planning and I'm not a min/max'r by any means.

With that being said I'd like to hear everyones thoughts on these, don't bash anyone thinking you favorite primary is better then they think but give reason, remember like I said this is just subjective and primaries play vastly different with different secondaries.

 

So here is my list.

 

1. Ice - I think this set is very well done if not a bit repetitive. You get some good ST attacks with holds, a nice cone and 2 Location AOE that work good for Scourge. The debuffs are nice, slow is always a good debuff in my book. It does feel like you get a couple ST attacks and then an AOE then about half way through leveling you get better versions of those 2 ST attacks and a better version of the AOE. I dislike PBAOE on "Support Mage" style characters so this sets playstyle really works for me. Adding a snipe is my only real complaint.

 

2. Water - Most may put Fire here and I wouldn't argue, I just find Water a well rounded set and the build stacks > finisher mechanic I find it fun and engaging. ST, Target AOE, Location AOE, cone, multiple damage types, -def debuff, this set has it all. With the new ST buffs this may overtake my Ice main. No snipe but I think it has enough variety that doesn't hurt the set that much.

 

3 Fire - Everyone loves a "Fire Mage" lol. Good ST, Target AOE, Cone, Snipe, what's not to love! Only reason I don't play more Fire is I'm not a fan of the PBAOE, only thing I'd change personally or make the whole set more conducive to playing in the pack as every other skill plays at range. Great set though.

 

4. Electrical - Another well rounded set, ST, Target AOE, Snipe, Hold, even a Pet, and I don't mind the PBAOE as much as it's not a T9 and can easily be dropped for how you like to play. The pet is kinda iffy w/o control but if you know when/where to have it out its a nice little DPS boost. The -end is a great debuff and super funny to watch mobs run around and not be able to do anything.

 

 

 

 I think you are spot on with the top 4.  All of these sets are solid in all circumstances and excellent in their own niche.  I agree that ice is #1 because it is so versatile with proc potential, mez, DoT nuke, and great single target damage.  Beam and storm are both excellent in their own way, but simply not as versatile as this top 4. 

 

All of the other sets have limitations that you really feel when playing a wide range of content  side by side with one of these top 4.  Even elec feels a bit slow compared to the top 3 in 'DPS check' type of situations.

 

[Glacier Peak]

Fire, Ice, and Water all top 1 if damage (ST or AoE) is the goal. 

[Hjarki]

Seismic is a lot stronger than it may initially appear. All of the powers also reduce the remaining recharge of your Seismic Blast powers. This makes it one of the best sets for procs (since you need to slot so little recharge in the powers themselves) and a set that needs minimal recharge. It also ends up having one of the fastest recharging ultimates due to the set benefit.

[Wordsalad]

5 minutes ago, Hjarki said:

Seismic is a lot stronger than it may initially appear. All of the powers also reduce the remaining recharge of your Seismic Blast powers. This makes it one of the best sets for procs (since you need to slot so little recharge in the powers themselves) and a set that needs minimal recharge. It also ends up having one of the fastest recharging ultimates due to the set benefit.

Building out my Seismic toon is on my to do list as I did like the animations and concept, just gotta get into the playstyle