That One AT...

[SeaLily]

Blasters.  Blastersblastersblasters.  And then when I wanted to be something other than a Blaster... I played a Corruptor.

A lot of people kept telling me how much Blasters sucked, but I'm pretty sure they were crazy.  Because they're a ton of fun.  Sure, I died a lot, but that was fine.  And on my Energy/Devices Blaster, I basically never died anyway(a quick dash out of enemy range with my speed-boosted Hover, some Aid Self, and then a return to the fray with full health got me through anything).  And they were about to be EVEN BETTER!  and then the game shut down oh no whyyyy

Corruptors were a lot of fun too, though they were just "heres some different secondaries for your blasting" to me once the side-swap stuff was removed.  Honestly, when CoV was kind of it's own isolated thing, I didn't even touch Corruptors- I just kept playing Brutes and Masterminds.  Brutes because of the smashyness, and Masterminds because I could have dancing robots and who wouldn't want that?  And those were fun.  Scrappers were fun too.

But it always came back to the ranged damage for me.  Defenders were alright, but Blasters were where it's at.  (and Corruptors ain't bad either)

[blacksly]

Main AT that I didn't "get" was Scrapper, followed by Blaster. And Stalker, too.

Reason is that I found that all ATs did damage, while the other ATs had "other things" that they did. Control, buff, debuff, manage aggro, etc. But when the character's only purpose was to do as much damage as possible, regardless of buffing, debuffing, controlling the target, etc, it got boring compared to other ATs.

Not boring compared to other games, since even Scrappers/Blasters/Stalkers had their controls and debuffs, but compared to the non-damage abilities of other ATs, they didn't do much besides deal damage.

[goodtime]

Kheldians and Widows, it seems.   At least those were the only three archetypes I never took to fifty.  I would have liked to, though.   

Loved me some 'trollers, though. 

[Thunder Glove]

Most of my characters were Brutes and Masterminds, with a growing number of Dominators and a few Tanks.  I was just starting to get into Controllers when the game shut down, after a long time ignoring them.  I was really enjoying my Dark/Dark controller and wish I could have gotten him to 50.

As for ATs I just couldn't seem to get into...

All the EATs.  I loved my Crab Spider conceptually, but I couldn't really figure out how to play him very well.  The same for my Widow, but I ran out of steam with him at level 10.  My Nightshade never made it out of the single digits before I got fed up with him and deleted him, and my Peacebringer only got to level 20.

Scrappers definitely were a class that just never clicked with me.  I didn't dislike them, I just didn't actually enjoy playing them.  I never quite figured out why.

I never played a Corruptor or Defender that I actually stuck with, though I had plenty of ideas for both classes.  I couldn't get into the proper stealthy mindset to play a Stalker (I much prefer less-subtle melee characters).

And, again, I liked my Blaster on a conceptual level, but he was way too fragile for me.  (I got him to 50+1 right at the end; maybe I would start struggling less as he got even more Incarnate powers, but I never got the chance, and I was in no rush to raise another Blaster to 50)

So, basically... most of them.

[Triplash]

Reading through these, I gotta say... it reminds me of how much I enjoyed playing with people who liked different ATs than I did. When teammates preferred a different playstyle than you, it really brought home just how different the various ATs were, yet at the same time how comparably powerful they were relative to one another.

You could run a team of any eight ATs at all, it didn't matter a bit. You'd still melt anything in your path. But watching the different ATs at work, it really felt like it was different characters using different tactics, and not just eight copy-pastes of the same build. I always loved that part.

[Safehouse]

Reading through these, I gotta say... it reminds me of how much I enjoyed playing with people who liked different ATs than I did. When teammates preferred a different playstyle than you, it really brought home just how different the various ATs were, yet at the same time how comparably powerful they were relative to one another.

You could run a team of any eight ATs at all, it didn't matter a bit. You'd still melt anything in your path. But watching the different ATs at work, it really felt like it was different characters using different tactics, and not just eight copy-pastes of the same build. I always loved that part.

That's the beauty of this game. Every archetype was functionally compatible with the others when it came to teaming, while being perfectly acceptable soloing. Even controllers, while difficult, were soloable (my illusion/time for one). I loved how all of these came together, and seeing what everyone thinks of the different archetypes is so fascinating!

And I loved teaming (on the rare occasions that I did it) so much for that very reason.

[Dollhouse]

I was a late arrival to Controllers, but once I finally came up with one with a concept I loved so much that I couldn't not level her up, I ended up loving the AT. But even loving the character from a concept/RP standpoint wasn't enough to get me to take my one and only Mastermind past the late 30's (and I made her in the first week of CoV...). I just never enjoyed playing the AT.

I liked every other AT, although I don't think I ever properly figured out Dominators and I never actually got a Kheld to 50 (had capped Widows and Fortunatas, though...).

Faves? Dark Defenders and Stalkers, with a shout-out to Tankers, too.

[Safehouse]

I was a late arrival to Controllers, but once I finally came up with one with a concept I loved so much that I couldn't not level her up, I ended up loving the AT. But even loving the character from a concept/RP standpoint wasn't enough to get me to take my one and only Mastermind past the late 30's (and I made her in the first week of CoV...). I just never enjoyed playing the AT.

I liked every other AT, although I don't think I ever properly figured out Dominators and I never actually got a Kheld to 50 (had capped Widows and Fortunatas, though...).

Faves? Dark Defenders and Stalkers, with a shout-out to Tankers, too.

Dark was pretty awesome - I really enjoyed the darkness control that they came up with in issue... what, 21? 22? My favorite single dark power was shadow maul

[Lant]

After all the time I spent making toons to 50, I had a toolbox of epic proportions.  The only AT that I never got into, never liked be it graphics, sound, or playstyle was the Kheldians. 

I prefered brutes or tanks, and after Incarnate Fireball, I felt more like a survivable blaster on a timer.  My favorite AoE doomstick was a Elec/Elec/Pyro Stalker.  Just so many AoEs to throw at the Incarnate stuff, and able to survive most of the end game. 

Getting misty eyed over the loss of my stable of toons now...darn it!

[Twi]

The only thing I really clicked with was my Defender. Every time I took out another class, it was fun, but, eventually something would happen where I wished I was on my 'fender.

Usually when someone screwed up and aggroed all the spawns or suddenly faceplanted or such.

[Triplash]

Even controllers, while difficult, were soloable (my illusion/time for one).

Apparently once you figured out all their tricks, they were beasts. Controllers and defenders were mostly what people used to solo giant monsters

[Safehouse]

Apparently once you figured out all their tricks, they were beasts. Controllers and defenders were mostly what people used to solo giant monsters

When I first started about three years ago, I tried to roll a controller because the description interested me - at once the weakest and the strongest archetype. So it was, like, the third toon I created and it did not work out. After that experience I was like "phht with emphasis on the weakest," deleted it and kept going on with blasters and tankers. How naive I was, because about two years later, when time manipulation came out, (Ooooh I remember, October 2011!) I decided to try one more time, against that voice inside me that was like "no damage, no damage, don't do it, it has no damage!" (that voice inside me was still naive and a little stupid)

Majestique ended up alongside Safehouse as one of my favorite characters. And yes, he really was a beast

[Rust]

The AT I just couldn't "get" were the Masterminds - which was really frustrating, because they had the coolest concept I thought. They just couldn't hold my interest for long and when I finally did seemingly "get" a Mastermind - Robotics/Traps - the playstyle was so mind numbingly slow as to just fritz me completely.

The AT I ended up falling in love with, conversely...was the Dominator. I'd run Blasters, Scrappers, Defenders, Controllers, etc...but when I recreated Thoughtforce as a Psi/Mind Dominator...oh my the fun that was had. Pretty soon I had Dominators is pretty much every flavor of the rainbow. Below the Dominator, I had the most fun being a Brute.

Essentially, the ATs that got stronger over time, as opposed to those that got weaker a la Blasters and Scrappers. Those were my loves.

[Everfreefire]

Defenders were the key one for me. I just didn't have the mentality to remember to keep buffing people. I tried a Dark/ one at some point just because it had no buffs, but that just made me rather play my MMs, who I could keep an eye on buffs, while not worrying about the lesser damage and lack of use for some powersets solo.

I...Think I might have gotten to 30 on a defender once?

Along the same lines, Khelds. I could see how they worked, I just could never really get it to work.

[Rust]

The Epic Archtypes in general never really interested me. I always meant to try out a Warshade and make him a Villain, but I never got around to it. Besides, Teleport is by far my least favorite Travel Power.

[Optimus Dex]

The Epic Archtypes in general never really interested me. I always meant to try out a Warshade and make him a Villain, but I never got around to it. Besides, Teleport is by far my least favorite Travel Power.

 


The Teleport was my biggset problem that kept me from enjoying warshades . I had Peacebingers in single form and multiform at 50. I had a Widow and a soldier at 50, I had a crab at 45 when they pulled the rug out from beneath me. I had started a Warshade on test and got the Sorcery power pool so I could have flight. I loved the flight power.

[Dollhouse]

Apparently once you figured out all their tricks, they were beasts. Controllers and defenders were mostly what people used to solo giant monsters

Yep. My made-just-for-fun Luna Lovegood tribute (Illusion/Kinetic) racked up about a dozen solo AV takedowns (pre-Incarnate, no nukes/Shivans). Perma-Phantom-Army (yes, it was an expensive build...) turns that combo into a pseudo-tank in terms of survivability, and while I had to be patient, she could take out the majority of enemies eventually. There were a good few AVs she couldn't generate the damage to beat, but they never beat her, either. Since she almost never grabbed aggro away from the PA, she could always disengage when she realized she wasn't going to be able to do enough damage.

[BadWolf]

 


The Teleport was my biggset problem that kept me from enjoying warshades . I had Peacebingers in single form and multiform at 50. I had a Widow and a soldier at 50, I had a crab at 45 when they pulled the rug out from beneath me. I had started a Warshade on test and got the Sorcery power pool so I could have flight. I loved the flight power.

Get 'em up to level 6 and it stops being a problem. Thank You, Flying Squid Form! (And does anyone else still type out things like "Flying Squid Form" and quickly count out to see if they're 20 characters or less?)

For me, controllers were the bottom of the totem pole, because I soloed a lot and the low damage was frustrating. That said, I got a fire/kin up to 32...and then about thirty seconds later, she was 50. Because fire/kin after 32 is like some kind of unholy perfected killing machine.

Dominators were tricky for me, because in theory they should have been awesome--controllers with actual damage! But they were also controllers without any heals or debuffs, and you don't notice how good those are to have until they're gone. Think my highest was mid-20s.

Tankers, Corruptors and Defenders were middle of the road for me, because the damage wasn't up there. I had a couple of 50 defenders, though.

Blasters were TOO SQUISHY!

Stalkers were alright, but it felt oddly unengaging to play them because you could just walk right up to enemies and kill them before they knew you were there. You really didn't so much "fight" enemies as "brutally murder" them.

All the EATs fell into a range of "fun, yes, but..." for me. I liked them, but not as much as I liked the archetypes I loved.

Scrappers were my favorite until CoV came out. Hard-hitting, survivable melee types who could mix it up and put bad guys down fast. Especially loved regen, because the blue bar ceased to be an issue.

Then my twin loves, Masterminds and Brutes. Couldn't be more different, but each one hit the sweet spot of what I loved about their respective types. Masterminds were like being Defenders in a team where everyone did exactly what you told them, and Brutes had that crack cocaine Fury bar that just kept dragging you on from fight to fight to fight to fight to fight to fight...loved both of them.

[Kyriani]

I was big into controllers and defenders with tankers becoming a "late love" as well. I never actually managed to get a Blaster very high because most of the secondaries made me feel like I was playing with only a primary set since I didn't want to melee. Devices and later Mental were the only exceptions but both of them were thematically difficult for me to work with. I was finally psyched to make a Blaster when I tested out Martial Manip on the I24 beta. THAT would have been a blaster I could take to 50.

While I always loved defenders in the end I began to have a renewed appreciation for them due to the base values they got on buffs specifically. Using defender mods you could make some very sturdy characters. They might not be uber damage dealers but they could have incredible mitigation if built right.

Although melee wasn't a big focus of my play, I began to see some interesting concept possibilities with scrappers. I had planned out a great staff/energy/soul scrapper using the sorcery pool to make a melee mage character with some ranged capability. All in all thematically it looked great. I am only sorry I never got the chance to see it come to life.

[Optimus Dex]

Get 'em up to level 6 and it stops being a problem. Thank You, Flying Squid Form! (And does anyone else still type out things like "Flying Squid Form" and quickly count out to see if they're 20 characters or less?)

For me, controllers were the bottom of the totem pole, because I soloed a lot and the low damage was frustrating. That said, I got a fire/kin up to 32...and then about thirty seconds later, she was 50. Because fire/kin after 32 is like some kind of unholy perfected killing machine.

Dominators were tricky for me, because in theory they should have been awesome--controllers with actual damage! But they were also controllers without any heals or debuffs, and you don't notice how good those are to have until they're gone. Think my highest was mid-20s.

Tankers, Corruptors and Defenders were middle of the road for me, because the damage wasn't up there. I had a couple of 50 defenders, though.

Blasters were TOO SQUISHY!

Stalkers were alright, but it felt oddly unengaging to play them because you could just walk right up to enemies and kill them before they knew you were there. You really didn't so much "fight" enemies as "brutally murder" them.

All the EATs fell into a range of "fun, yes, but..." for me. I liked them, but not as much as I liked the archetypes I loved.

Scrappers were my favorite until CoV came out. Hard-hitting, survivable melee types who could mix it up and put bad guys down fast. Especially loved regen, because the blue bar ceased to be an issue.

Then my twin loves, Masterminds and Brutes. Couldn't be more different, but each one hit the sweet spot of what I loved about their respective types. Masterminds were like being Defenders in a team where everyone did exactly what you told them, and Brutes had that crack cocaine Fury bar that just kept dragging you on from fight to fight to fight to fight to fight to fight...loved both of them.

 


I hated the flying suid form - the tenatacles moving gave me aheadache. I noticed the same thing with wings in motion. For a while I changed the perspective so I did not see them but it just did n ot work for me.