Open letter to blasters

[MunkiLord]

13 hours ago, Murcielago said:

Roll an Elec/Shield Stalker. Its the most blaster melee out there

I like the way you think.

[Jeneki]

On 8/16/2019 at 12:45 PM, GM Fiddleback said:

THAT ONLY HAPPENED ONCE today!!!

 

If Rise of the Phoenix isn't contributing to your attack chain, you're doing it wrong.  😛

 

Edited August 18, 2019 by Jeneki

[RikOz]

Early on in my World of Warcraft career, I ended up always declining group invites from Death Knights. Why? DKs have an ability called "Death Grip" that allows them to target a distant enemy and yank them to the DK's location. The first couple times I teamed with a DK, while I was on my paladin, the DK just stood in one spot, while I ran around trying to hit things with my sword, only to have my targets repeatedly Death-Gripped out from under me.

 

I was all, "Look, the point of teaming up to complete a quest is that two people can kill the requisite number of mobs faster than one person. You deciding you want to kill everything yourself completely defeats the purpose of teaming, so I'm going to leave this team now."

 

EDIT: I should point out that I'm describing open-world quests, not instanced content.

Edited August 18, 2019 by RikOz

[GM Fiddleback]

50 minutes ago, RikOz said:

Early on in my World of Warcraft career, I ended up always declining group invites from Death Knights. Why? DKs have an ability called "Death Grip" that allows them to target a distant enemy and yank them to the DK's location. The first couple times I teamed with a DK, while I was on my paladin, the DK just stood in one spot, while I ran around trying to hit things with my sword, only to have my targets repeatedly Death-Gripped out from under me.

 

I was all, "Look, the point of teaming up to complete a quest is that two people can kill the requisite number of mobs faster than one person. You deciding you want to kill everything yourself completely defeats the purpose of teaming, so I'm going to leave this team now."

 

EDIT: I should point out that I'm describing open-world quests, not instanced content.

Ermmm..... sorry.....  I don't wish to offend, but....

 

Why didn't you just stand next to the DK and swordify everything it pulled next to it?

 

(Also, forgive my lack of WoW knowledge if that is somehow preempted by the way the power works. I'm just going off your description of it.)

[RikOz]

1 minute ago, GM Fiddleback said:

Ermmm..... sorry.....  I don't wish to offend, but....

 

Why didn't you just stand next to the DK and swordify everything it pulled next to it?

 

(Also, forgive my lack of WoW knowledge if that is somehow preempted by the way the power works. I'm just going off your description of it.)

Well, it was "early" in my career, so I probably didn't think of that 😄

 

But seriously, sometimes the quest had other objectives, or there were two quests in the same area - like one quest was to kill X number of a certain kind of mob, and another quest to enter a (non-instanced) cave to fetch an object or rescue a prisoner. My usual modus operandi was to head for the cave, killing any mobs along the way and then killing the mobs in the cave, and usually by the time I arrived at the prisoner or MacGuffin, I'd fulfilled the kill count. So I found it really frustrating when the DK would stand 50 yards from the cave entrance just yanking mobs around.

 

This was also a time when the the Death Knight class was brand new, so a lot of DK players thought that Death Grip was really neato and used it gratuitously. Many even had macros that would cause their character to yell, "GET OVER HERE!" every time they used it, apparently in emulation of a character with a similar ability from some arcade fighting game that I never played.

[Myrmidon]

56 minutes ago, GM Fiddleback said:

Ermmm..... sorry.....  I don't wish to offend, but....

 

Why didn't you just stand next to the DK and swordify everything it pulled next to it?

 

(Also, forgive my lack of WoW knowledge if that is somehow preempted by the way the power works. I'm just going off your description of it.)

Adapt, improvise, overcome.

[InfamousBrad]

The bosses are not dying before you get to them. (Or if they are, the difficulty's set too low for this team.) Why are you chasing minions and lieutenants?

[Razia]

On 8/15/2019 at 10:35 PM, QuiJon said:

Not my job to make someone elses day fun. I made my characters to have fun with myself. Not to worry about others having fun, and if  you are not finding your new brute or stalker fun, that is hardly me or my blasters fault. I play melee toons also. First off a stalker is going to have those issues period. You expect 7 other players to all wait until you are set up and ready to do a ass strike every mob? Don't be stupid no team is gonna do that. And as far as playing a brute I have never been on a team with a lack of things to attck or kill no matter the team makeup. So either you are just not cut out to be a brute or you are doing something really wrong. Sorry if this comes off as rude, I just kind of get tired of posts asking for people to stop doing what they are intended to do (blaster attacking mobs) in order to accommodate someone elses good time. I play the game for my good time, watching mobs get taken down is not fun, if I wanted to do that I would just door sit in an AE farm.

 

If you set up ass strike as a stalker these days, you're doing it wrong. Especially in a steamrolling team.

[QuiJon]

7 hours ago, Razia said:

If you set up ass strike as a stalker these days, you're doing it wrong. Especially in a steamrolling team.

That was kind of my point. His original post was saying essentially "hey blasters, I am just a brute let me kill something and stop attacking so I can do something" And yet think about the same thing if a stalker said "Hey team, would you please let me have a chance before you all start attacking to get off my hidden ass strike" they would be laughed off the team. So I put the same idea forward, why would a team that doesn't need you apparently slow down its play to simply make you feel useful cause you are on a brute and they are on blasters? In doing so he is essentially asking half the team to stop playing so he can play, so to that I say if this is your problem then you solve it. Solo then you are not competing for kills with teammates. 

[QuiJon]

On ‎8‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 10:43 AM, Rathulfr said:

 

No, the Blaster's not here: he's on the floor.  The one with ranged attacks next to the melees is the Sentinel.  😉

 

The sentinel should be easy to find, he is the one that even though he is using his powers is actually still doing less damage then the brute that can not find targets to attack.

 

[schrodingercat]

On 8/18/2019 at 4:25 PM, GM Fiddleback said:

Ermmm..... sorry.....  I don't wish to offend, but....

 

Why didn't you just stand next to the DK and swordify everything it pulled next to it?

 

(Also, forgive my lack of WoW knowledge if that is somehow preempted by the way the power works. I'm just going off your description of it.)

I want a power called swordify.

[Sovera]

On 8/19/2019 at 11:00 PM, QuiJon said:

The sentinel should be easy to find, he is the one that even though he is using his powers is actually still doing less damage then the brute that can not find targets to attack.

 

We should team sometime.

[Llewellyn Blackwell]

Yeah sorry OP, you see I have this ability called drain psyche, it feeds off large groups and I prefer to reach those groups first to soak get a nice large group hit. I then follow that up with nuking that group, and since I am regenerating a ton, then fly into the other large groups to hurl psi tornadoes and let world of confusion make them tear each other apart while spamming my 2ndary pbaoe. Go down a different tunnel and kill other things to speed up the run, Or focus your energy purely  on Bosses who manage to survive a few seconds longer then the horde.

 

/e Sings "The party is in chaos and the outlook is dire, its time for a blaster to step into the fire.  The games a jungle and the party close to extinction, the blaster must seize the moment and kill with distinction. Rule 1 stay focused, use Concentration! Rule 2 Have fun and use imagination. No time to waste when foes are waiting, so Aim well and start decapitating!

 

When it comes to blasting, I am top of the class. While others are hiding I am kicking some ass! I know the best form of defense is attack! I know what I am fighting for I am a blaster at war!

 

Life is a big game when its over your done for, Im taking my aim for the maximum high score! Only the toughest will survive in this arcade. So follow me and see just how a blaster is played!"

[subbacultchas]

On 8/19/2019 at 8:54 AM, Razia said:

If you set up ass strike as a stalker these days, you're doing it wrong. Especially in a steamrolling team.

I tend to agree with you. But, and you know there was going to be a but, I've got a situation where I do use it in teams. Hear me out and tell me if you think it's justified or not.

I play a Psi/Shield Stalker, and as you know Shield Charge doesn't break stealth. So when teaming with larger groups, I will target one of the bosses, then Shield Charge into the group. While they are bouncing, I will AS the boss as stealth didn't break, then followup with Mass Levitate, then Spring Attack, and usually one boss is dead and I've moved on to the next with single target strikes. This way one boss is dead, most off the rest of the mob is dead or at death's door, and the other bosses are soon to follow.

Edited August 23, 2019 by subbacultchas

[Razia]

12 hours ago, subbacultchas said:

I tend to agree with you. But, and you know there was going to be a but, I've got a situation where I do use it in teams. Hear me out and tell me if you think it's justified or not.

I play a Psi/Shield Stalker, and as you know Shield Charge doesn't break stealth. So when teaming with larger groups, I will target one of the bosses, then Shield Charge into the group. While they are bouncing, I will AS the boss as stealth didn't break, then followup with Mass Levitate, then Spring Attack, and usually one boss is dead and I've moved on to the next with single target strikes. This way one boss is dead, most off the rest of the mob is dead or at death's door, and the other bosses are soon to follow.

Maybe I did say that wrong, it's not that I am telling others how to play their Stalkers. But I was adressing those complaining that they cannot AS on a steamrolling team. Then I am playing Streetjustice/Super Reflexes and crushing upercut hits for more than AS so I am opening with that. Waiting for the AS Animation is just something that does not work for me. 

[subbacultchas]

8 hours ago, Razia said:

Maybe I did say that wrong, it's not that I am telling others how to play their Stalkers. But I was adressing those complaining that they cannot AS on a steamrolling team. Then I am playing Streetjustice/Super Reflexes and crushing upercut hits for more than AS so I am opening with that. Waiting for the AS Animation is just something that does not work for me. 

Nah, I understand where you're coming from entirely. In big steamrolling teams you end up using AS midcombat more than the slow version. I've just found one instance where sometimes I don't, but I don't really think it invalidates your overall point. It's slow otherwise, usually to the point of often losing some dps.

[KvG]

I suppose it is not surprising that this is a topic, so here's my two cents of experience.  Defeating opponents, finding glowies, etc. is what a team does.  When I am on a small team with friends, if the glowies give xp or insp reward, we share them.  If I am on a TF, it's usually about efficiency.  That said, I agree that finding one's toon unable to do much is a drag.  Rather like doorsitting in AE.  While perhaps boring or disappointing, I prefer that to teams who cannot communicate and coordinate and/or that hopelessly wipe out, over and over.  There exists a variety of playing styles.  Being considerate is one of them.  Tolerance for what might be called "cup of tea" preference differences is reasonable.  [To be clear, the vast majority of CoH players are imho "considerate" and then some, often generous, heroic, etc.]

 

Often my blaster will see that the melee toons have engaged the bosses and/or EB, and either direct my blasts there and/or focus on defeating/clearing the surrounding mobs.  E.g. in ITF, I try to take out the Cim surgeons first.

I had enough feedback and could see for myself when teamed with SGmates, that KB could be a genuine problem.  With practice, the "death from above" technique (via fly, hover, jet pack) you either convert your KB to KD or at least reduce how much backwards force you are putting on a target.  (For melee toons who may not understand, KB acts as a soft control, allowing me to apply yet more damage while taking none.)

Given that "kills" are shared when teamed, does it even matter whose what the final shot that defeated Romulus?

*A HAPPY MEMORY FROM JUSTICE SERVER*
I'll never forget speeding over and attacking full out - expecting to get one-shot KO'ed and admiring the floor - which got the AV's attention such that my teammate's scrapper was able to get it together to finish off the AV.  To our mutual amazement, she said, "You saved me."   (This was a top 20 SG on Justice that esteemed melee and often dismissive of "squishy" ATs.)

 

 

Edited August 24, 2019 by JohnR
To add my opinion of the excellent quality overall that CoH/V attracts.

[KvG]

P.S.  I always let the Stalker get their hidden attack strike first.  And so should you.  ;-)

[srmalloy]

On 8/13/2019 at 12:39 PM, Yoru-hime said:

Quoted for truth. I used to feel this way on iTrials with melee a lot. Everything just melted so fast I felt like I rarely actually got an attack off before the AV came out to play.

And it's an ongoing thing in the craziness of a fight during TFs to activate an attack, and by the time your power finishes activating and fires, the target is already dead -- but dead too slowly for it to abort your attack, so you spend the attack for no results. It's a fact of life.

[Frostweaver]

You run ahead of the tanker or brute, you have decided to solo. I will intentionally choose a different path and let you fend for yourself. After all, that's what you want, right?

[Leogunner]

22 hours ago, Frostweaver said:

You run ahead of the tanker or brute, you have decided to solo. I will intentionally choose a different path and let you fend for yourself. After all, that's what you want, right?

If I'm a Stalker, you won't have a choice.  I will always be ahead of you because I can and it's my job.

[Frostweaver]

too bad we aren't talking about stalkers.

[Eva Destruction]

23 hours ago, Frostweaver said:

You run ahead of the tanker or brute, you have decided to solo. I will intentionally choose a different path and let you fend for yourself. After all, that's what you want, right?

You're probably being sarcastic, but yes, actually, that is what I want.  If I run ahead of the tank or brute it's because I can survive doing it and I don't want to waste my attacks on things that the people who are following the tank can easily kill without me.

[Frostweaver]

Not at all sarcastic. If you can split off and do your own thing, you are welcome to do so... It's just that if you choose to do so, I stop taking any responsibility for your welfare.

I take it personally when I am playing a team tanker and my teammates drop. It drives me to be a better tanker. It is MY FAULT. but I feel absolutely zero guilt for a blaster, widow, stalker, or mm that's trying to show off what a badass he is by playing against type. If he survives, great. If he doesn't, he's a braggart. Either way it is no longer my problem.

Scrappers and Brutes I never feel responsibility for. Their job is to take care of themselves and their team... If they wander off someplace and die, it's not only their own fault, but they let down the team.

[Eva Destruction]

Very presumptuous of you to think I want you to take any responsibility for my welfare.  Nothing worse than a tanker coming over to save me when I don't need saving because their ego demands they have all the aggro all the time.  Especially when a squishy who does need saving dies because said tanker hit the aggro cap trying to "save" me.