Why play Corruptors?

[Billbailey96]

So when I first played CoH, I was introduced to Corruptors as the "villian version" of blasters when CoV came out. Post Going Rouge and now in Homecoming you can play Corruptors on either side. Same as Blasters. So the question I have for yall is "Why play Corruptors? What sets them apart from the other ranged damage ATs?" I'm interested in them. I just really don't know how to play one. 

[lyra]

it is great class for teams. you can help with dmg or support.i have a bow/nature with only 3 attacks and full focus on heals/buffs.

[Billbailey96]

3 minutes ago, lyra said:

it is great class for teams. you can help with dmg or support.i have a bow/nature with only 3 attacks and full focus on heals/buffs.

Wouldn't a defender do the same thing? 

[ZemX]

Corruptors are not really the "villain version of Blasters".   The whole notion of assigning counter-parts on villain-side from hero-side is a bit flawed because it's never been exactly a 1:1 thing.   Generally, the Redside ATs were designed to be more offense-oriented versions of Blueside ATs.   Corruptors are essentially just Defenders with the powersets flipped around so the offense is primary and the buff/debuff secondary.  

 

They honestly don't end up being that different than Defenders and ever since Defenders got a bit of a boost to their offense when solo, Corruptors haven't been exclusively the choice for those who like to play buff/debuff solo.

 

There's no Redside Blaster, on other words.  All the ATs are generally designed to be a bit more offense-oriented than their blueside counterparts, but that couldn't be done to Blasters so instead they spread the offense out to all the red ATs and added Masterminds instead of creating a new top ranged blaster type.   Some people will still try to tell you Masterminds are the redside Tankers but this is b.s. and always has been no matter what some Live dev is rumored to have once said.  

[Snarky]

Corruptors twist the forces of the universe to do their bidding. As a corruptor, you might strike your foes down with blasts of fire, entomb them in ice, infect them with radiation, or curse them with pure darkness. 
 

And they had me at twist the forces of the universe…

[lyra]

defender: better buffs/debuffs and less dmg

corrs: more dmg and not the strong heals/buffs etc. but still full working.

 

i would pick defenders only for full focus on support even if they can do dmg with stronger debuffs.

 

[Billbailey96]

Thank you @ZemX that was very helpful. 

[Billbailey96]

1 minute ago, lyra said:

defender: better buffs/debuffs and less dmg

corrs: more dmg and not the strong heals/buffs etc. but still full working.

 

i would pick defenders only for full focus on support even if they can do dmg with stronger debuffs.

 

That's fair

 

[JediDave]

6 minutes ago, Billbailey96 said:

Wouldn't a defender do the same thing? 

 

That's like asking if a brute/tank wouldn't do the same thing. Or a human HEAT/Sentinel. There's a lot of overlap and the things that do make them different is usually up to preference. 

 

Scourge is fantastic against big targets, and solo/small teams it's pretty nice against just bosses. If you want more damage or getting  you nuke earlier in level, go corruptor, but if you want to get fulcrum shift or overgrowth earlier, go defender. 

 

On paper, they probably are the 2 most similar classes we have, but in practice, you'll feel the damage difference and your team (and sometimes you yourself) will feel the buff difference. Unless you're going kinetics, then the buff numbers don't matter much since 2 FS is going to cap you and sb gives the same +rech either way. 

[Troo]

1 hour ago, Billbailey96 said:

So the question I have for yall is "Why play Corruptors? What sets them apart from the other ranged damage ATs?"

 

Corruptors are one of the best all-round archetypes. 

 

Blasters blast. They rotate tee shirts that say "Glass Cannon" "Death is my Bestie" "Don't Mez Me Bro" "Pew Pew"

 

Corruptors are a great way to learn the game from a ranged perspective. A little Blaster, a little Defender, a little Controller all mixed together like your favorite cookie. Yum.

 

Blasters, you'll know where all the hospitals are in each zone. The more practice the better they get and they can absolutely be built to be tough via 'kill em first'.

 

Edited July 18 by Troo

[lyra]

1.bow/nature

2.assaultrifle/traps

 my favorite corrs.tried a bunch of other combos but did not like the playstyle.

 

inherent powers also make a big difference.

 

defenders: 

Endurance Discount: Reduces power activation cost based on teammates' health loss; more injured teammates and larger teams increase the discount.

Passive Effect: Does not require activation; Defender’s own health and distant/off-map teammates do not affect it.

Damage Bonus (Issue 17): Up to 30% damage increase when solo or on small teams (level 20+); bonus decreases with more teammates, none with 3+ teammates.

•  

corrs:

Critical Damage: Increases attack damage up to double based on target’s health.
Activation Threshold: No effect until target’s health drops below 50%.
Scaling Chance: Chance of Scourge increases from 0% at 50% health to 100% at 10% or less health.
 

 

[Krimson]

Anyone who has seen me in action knows why: I can fight in melee range in a way blasters can't. Slot accuracy and to hit and targeted heals are as good as armor. 

[SeraphimKensai]

On 7/18/2025 at 10:56 AM, ZemX said:

Some people will still try to tell you Masterminds are the redside Tankers but this is b.s. and always has been no matter what some Live dev is rumored to have once said.  

I may have tanked Hami in the Abyss from time to time back in i9 using an MM.

Edited July 19 by SeraphimKensai
Sorry forgot the end point regarding MMs.

[WuTang]

Honestly, from where I'm sitting, it's probably the best class, or at least it brings more to the table than the rest.

 

At this point, a lil over a year in, I've rolled most ATs. But I always come back to my two favs, Corruptors and Brutes. I have good builds on any 50 that I also have full incarnates on, that include everything but a Controller, a Sentinel, and a Master Mind. These three classes just don't jive with me.

 

Corruptors are pretty strong good damage and good buffs/debuffs/heals

[UltraAlt]

On 7/18/2025 at 10:31 AM, Billbailey96 said:

So when I first played CoH, I was introduced to Corruptors as the "villian version" of blasters when CoV came out.

 

The CoV archetypes are kind of like combinations of CoH archetypes.

Corruptors are blaster/defenders. They do less damage than then blasters (before scourge) [but more damage than defenders] and do a bit less healing/buffing/debuffing than defenders.

 

On 7/18/2025 at 10:31 AM, Billbailey96 said:

So the question I have for yall is "Why play Corruptors?

 

I see them more as an alternative to playing defenders.

I play both ... I play all archetypes. They all have different playstyles (even among the sets chosen). 

I like to mix things up and a character conception player, so I pick a archetype that most fits the character's character conception. 

 

On 7/18/2025 at 10:31 AM, Billbailey96 said:

I just really don't know how to play one. 

 

Inherent Power

Scourge lets Corruptors sometimes do double damage to targets below 50% health.

 

So to get the most of out of them heal/buff/debuff at the beginning of a fight, then look for enemies that are below 50% health and attack them.

Seems pretty direct, but I know it is a bit of a hassle to toggle or click through targets looking for the wounded ones.

 

[Agorazium]

Defender for debuff sets, Corruptor for buff sets. That’s an overgeneralization, but glancing over my roster it’s mostly true. 
 

Defenders shine with sets like Sonic Resonance, Poison and Trick Arrow, since with their higher debuff values they can essentially neutralize spawns, and the stronger -res values add up fast on teams. 
 

You’d be fine playing sets like Electric Affinity, Nature, Force Field etc. on a Defender…I just don’t think the better buffs make much of a difference. Using FF as an example, if half my team already has high defense, a slightly stronger shield is essentially doing nothing at that point. So I prefer Corrs with buff-heavy sets, so that when my buffs aren’t as valuable I’m at least doing decent damage.

 

The only set I would never ever take on a Defender is Energy Blast. The damage is pitiful and Defenders get higher knockback values which is incredibly annoying. 

[Snarky]

I really like (not love) Dark Dark Corruptor.  It might have turned to love if they fixed Black Hole.  But they made it worse.  
 

One of my issues with Corruptors is a common theme in this game.  The Archetype description does NOT match the actual Archetype.  
 

When you look at the AT name Corruptor and know it is a Villain Archetype you expect… evil.  Instead, you get a bunch of healers, buffers, and wet nurses.  
 

I am about to run a Elec/Temp Corruptor for the next Justice Superteamers theme team.  I had to check in that it was okay not to take the personal buffs and run around planting love kisses on each player for my entire time (months) that we will be running the whole time 

 

There should be more …. Corrupt…. Options in the AT secondaries where you do not feel like the team cheerleader.