The Blaster - Subarchetypes
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The Blaster, as mentioned on his description page, is a long range support specialist that is capable of dealing a great deal of damage. Depending on the power combination, however, the Blaster can have very unique and different capabilities. These different combinations could be called "subarchetypes", as they vary from the strategies required by the main.
Elementalist: The Elementalist is the most common type of Blaster. While other Blasters may use their power to attack from a range, the Elementalist IS his power. Thus, he has an almost instinctive control over his element, to the point where he can use it equally well as defense and to attack at hand to hand range. While he's not immune to damage (even if enveloped in flames, for instance, he can still be hurt) it's still dangerous just to get NEAR him. Some Elementalists do damage automatically to those who stray into range, while others can slow or stun them. The strategy of this kind of Blaster is basically to try and hold his opponents, and split up groups until he can muster the firepower to take them out. Staying out of hand to hand range is necessary, although most heros of this type will have Hover, and thus be able to stay out of reach. There is some difference between the secondary effects of this type, for instance, Ice Blasters are usually better able to root than Fire Blasters, but don't do as much damage. This would effect strategy. Likewise, the Secondary Sets included in this subarchetype can have very different capabilities. It is generally accepted that the Fire, Ice and Electric Secondaries are not quite as strong as Energy and Devices. This is because they lack strong status effect powers, while Ice may be able to slow and hold foes, you must be at close range in order to use them, and they do not do as much damage as the Energy attacks. Since the Elementalist typically stays at a distance, he doesn't have a chance to use his status effects. Ice is a bit better than the other two, and Fire is generally regarded as the worst, but these Secondaries are typically used only in a defensive capacity, as a last resort.
Commando: The Commando is a skill-based superhero who uses weapons training and military tactics to even the odds and do damage to the superpowered villains that he faces. He isn't likely to have Hover, to keep himself out of hand to hand range with his foes, so instead he uses various kinds of non lethal weaponry to slow down and stop his opponents. Because the Devices power set does not provide a melee attack, however, there is no reason for the Commando to close to hand to hand range. This makes his strategy different from the Elementalist, who is more about overwhelming force than skill and movement. The Commando is more likely to move while firing, and use his secondary attacks such as Caltrops to slow his foes as a group. He can also use the stealth capabilities of Cloaking Device and Smoke Grenade, or even Invisibility from the Power Pool. The strength of the Devices Secondary is in its ability to support a sneaky, cunning strategy involving the placement of traps, and defenses that offer some protection against incoming attacks.
Sniper: The Sniper can be a skill-based hero with a rifle, or a hero with powers that simply can't be used close up. This limitation effects his strategy, as he either cannot root his foes, or has to rely on devices instead of his "super" powers. Either way, it is almost certain death if he lets an opponent get too close, and so the Sniper concentrates on taking out his opponents from the longest range possible. Hover, of course, makes being a sniper very easy, maybe too easy. The Sniper doesn't HAVE to hover far out of range, though, he can use stealth and strategy to pick his targets and single them out from a distance. The point of the Sniper is to eliminate his opponent long before he can even reach the hero. He will likely use long range, fast reloading attacks, using Secondary Powers to increase his accuracy and damage. Should an opponent get too close, he will run and strafe around his foe. The Sniper, really, is the opposite of the Martial Arts Blaster, below. Rather than worry about which Secondary is the best to support his strategy, he simply ignores it, concentrating solely on his Primary. The Martial Arts Blaster typically concentrates more on his Secondary, or at least tries for a balance between the two.
Martial Arts Blaster: The Martial Arts Blaster is a very unique, unusual Blaster that concentrates on channelling his power and using all of his capabilities, including melee, to defeat his opponents. He may use defensive powers from the Pool to boost his defense, to help him survive in hand to hand combat. The Energy Manipulation Power Set encourages this kind of strategy, as it has no root powers. Thus, the hero must be ready to deal with an opponent who gets too close to him, as he cannot slow him down. Fortunately, much as you would expect from a martial arts Power Set, the Energy Manipulation Power Set allows you to channel your powers in a number of ways. You can increase your Primary Powers' secondary effects, and conserve Endurance to prolong the attack. And Energy Manipulation contains a number of attacks that stun or knockback the opponent, as well as doing damage. It is usually a good idea for the Martial Arts Blaster to use a number of high damage melee attacks on a foe that gets too close, before knocking him back with Power Punch, and finishing him off with a ranged attack. While Energy Blast is the natural match to Energy Manipulation, Dual Pistols and Archery could make this concept an non-super, skill based Natural type of hero. Should an actual martial arts based Power Set come out in the future, this would be even closer to the concept. Without the ability to use his fighting skills at range, he would fall back on a weapon to take out those to fast or dangerous for him to catch up with. In its extreme, this subarchetype is sometimes referred to as the "Blapper", because of its hybridization of Blaster and Scrapper tactics. At high level, an Energy Manipulation Blaster has access to several extremely powerful attacks, plus the ability to stun. With this lethal combination, the "Blapper" can fire off a few shots from range, mainly to hold the foe down, and then suddenly close and finish him off with a series of powerful melee attacks.
High Tech Cannon: The High Tech Blaster is really only a variation of the Martial Arts Blaster. He uses powered armor to give himself incredible strength, and the ability to fire blasts of energy. The High Tech Blaster isn't really an armored tank, though, as his armor is actually rather fragile. Maybe the circuitry of his armor is easily damaged by enemy fire, or maybe the hero is a cyborg, and his human parts are exposed to attack. Either way, his body is no more resistant to damage than any other Blaster, although he may be tougher than most. As with the Martial Arts Blaster, the High Tech Blaster can take Tough from the Power Pool to give his armor some defense. He can also use many of the same strategies, using the powers of his Secondary Set to change the characteristics of his attacks. And if his armor is tough enough, he can use hand to hand attacks to finish off allies that get too close.
Psychic Blaster: The Psychic Blaster was added recently, and shares a lot of qualities in common with the Telekinetic Telepath, and the Mind Controller. Mental Manipulation makes this a very flexible and powerful combination, with both Confuse and Scare effects that are unique to this subtype. I even considered including this in the Martial Arts Blaster category, but the truth is the melee attacks don't really look all that physical. In fact, it looks more like the Blaster is waving his fingers in front of his victim's face. :) The Energy Blast and Sonic Assault variations could reflect a Blaster who is telekinetic as well as telepathic, while a hero who cannot use his psychic attacks at long range might use Dual Pistols. Sonic actually makes a very good combination with Mental both due to the fact that the "rings" effect closely resembles Mind Control, and the sleeps and other control powers in Sonic mesh well with Mental's controls. The unfortunate thing is that there really aren't that many examples in the superhero world of this type, as psionic heroes are usually more defensive in nature, and not offensive. Still, a number of villains with overwhelming psychic power could be used as inspiration.
Radiation Blaster: The Radiation Blaster is also a new addition to Blasters, and there is not even a matching Secondary for it yet. The closest current match is Energy Manipulation, with the energy balls colored appropriately, of course. :) Radiation Blast does do Energy Damage, but unlike Energy Blast, it debuffs Defense instead of knocks back. As with the Martial Arts Blaster this makes it likely that the foe will get into melee, and so a strong melee range offense will probably be necessary. Fortunately, the Defense debuffs mean that the Energy attacks will have a very good chance to hit. The best interpretation of this concept is probably one similar to Starfire, who is able to emit an energy field to raise her strength, instead of relying on martial arts knowledge. One unique feature of Radiation Blast is that it has an eye beam attack, which again matches Starfire. (maybe too much...) The debuffs from the blasts can also be helpful to a team, as it allows all of your allies to hit your targets more easily. The damage of Radiation can be a little low, however, although this is balanced somewhat by the fast recharge times. In this the set is sort of like Melee sets like Claws and Super Strength. |
