Primary Powers Better Than Secondary?


Bossa_Nova

 

Posted

I noticed that electrical blast can be either a primary or secondary power set, depending on what class you are. This is probably true for other power sets as well, so I'm curious, is electrical blast less powerful as a secondary set rather than a primary? Is there a difference at all?


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kossimer View Post
I noticed that electrical blast can be either a primary or secondary power set, depending on what class you are. This is probably true for other power sets as well, so I'm curious, is electrical blast less powerful as a secondary set rather than a primary? Is there a difference at all?
Yes, it is. That's because blasters are designed to do more damage than other ranged ATs. Defenders are designed to be better than the other support ATs at buffing, so the damage they deal is lower.


 

Posted

*waits for someone to wander in with long discussion about base damage vs AT modifiers, even though the result is generally the same.*


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kossimer View Post
is electrical blast less powerful as a secondary set rather than a primary?
Yes.


 

Posted

Additionally, the powers are available in a different order (more important while leveling up than at endgame, where the result is the same). So the same power in Electrical Blast is not only more powerful but also available at an earlier level if you are playing a Blaster.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kossimer View Post
I noticed that electrical blast can be either a primary or secondary power set, depending on what class you are. This is probably true for other power sets as well, so I'm curious, is electrical blast less powerful as a secondary set rather than a primary? Is there a difference at all?
Damage-wise, a primary will do more damage than a secondary in most cases.

However in the case of 'blasts' the Defender (and I think the Corruptor to a lesser degree, please correct me if I'm wrong) benefits from stronger secondary effects. A Defenders Sonic Blast attacks' -Res component is stronger as well, I believe it's a -20Res as opposed to Blasters' -13Res. The Corruptor fits in there slightly ahead of the Blaster in secondary effects and slightly ahead of the Defender in damage (I think, could be drastically wrong). I don't think that the -End component of Electrical Blasts is affected by this, though.

Someone with more knowledge is needed to confirm all this junk I posted. Or debunk it.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kossimer View Post
I noticed that electrical blast can be either a primary or secondary power set, depending on what class you are. This is probably true for other power sets as well, so I'm curious, is electrical blast less powerful as a secondary set rather than a primary? Is there a difference at all?
The short answer is... well, there's really no short answer. If Arcana were here she'd say "whether a powerset is primary or secondary is irrelevant," because that's true. Elec Blast does more damage on Blasters than Defenders because Blasters have a higher ranged damage modifier than Defenders. There are powersets like Sonic Attacks that do more damage on Blasters than Defenders, but the -res secondary effect is more powerful on Defenders because of their AT buff/debuff modifiers.


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Posted

I was replying more for the thread topic, which was asking generally (also while I was writing up my response I forgot that the end drain amount doesn't change across ATs and then had to remove that bit).


@macskull, @Not Mac | XBL: macskull | Steam: macskull | Skype: macskull
"One day we all may see each other elsewhere. In Tyria, in Azeroth. We may pass each other and never know it. And that's sad. But if nothing else, we'll still have Rhode Island."

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stormbird View Post
*waits for someone to wander in with long discussion about base damage vs AT modifiers, even though the result is generally the same.*
You asked for it!



You see, it's not a strict rule that primaries be 'better' than secondaries. Each effect that a power has (damage, buff, debuff, mez, etc.) is a scalar multiplied by an "attribute modifier", which is dependent on the AT and the character's level.

For example, [Charged Bolts] deal scale 1.000 * Ranged_Damage energy damage. At level 50, a Blaster's Ranged_Damage modifier is -62.562, so the base damage for a Blaster's Charged Bolts is 62.562 at level 50. Blaster's Ranged_Damage is -10.250 at level 1, so Charged Bolts is 10.25 damage at level 1. Defenders range from -9.300 to -36.147, and Corruptors range from -9.500 to -41.708.

For a counterexample, look at [Entangling Arrow] for both Defenders and Controllers:
  • mag 3 immobilize for 15.000 * Ranged_Immobilize seconds
  • -0.100 * RangedSlow% recharge for 15s
  • -0.100 * Ranged_Slow run/fly speed for 15s

At level 50, Defenders have Ranged_Immobilize of 1.490, while Controllers have 1.863. Both Defenders and Controllers have Ranged_Slow of -1.250 from level 1 to 50. Although Trick Arrow is a Defender primary and a Controller secondary, they have identical -rech and -spd, but Controllers have a longer duration immobilize.


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