AOE vs ST builds

Yeah should also be noted that Quantum's AoE powers are infuriatingly well balanced against each other to the point that it took me like 16hrs of dedicating min:maxing for its AoE rotations for the guide, so probably a bit harder to see any issues on Quantum. For Water/Ice/Atomic/Rage the ST/AoE thing'll be bread & butter for them where it's like "**** yes! multiple targets!"

AoE matters: ideally, your AoE rotation/weapon can also produce solid Single Target or be adjusted to Single Target without a dedicated Armory change (though strict separated AoE/Single Target produces "slightly" better numbers, ask yourself if 2K/s is worth the changeover time, extra Artifacts, and the inability to switch output literally by changing attack sequence) - if it can't, it can't, here nor there.

COU has a spammy add-filled Boss Fight, BOP: Volcanic has a spammy, add-filled Boss Fight, open-world Boss Fights ALL have adds, et cetera. AoE is too useful not to have on the table.

since the scoreboard was changed to report boss damage, this is no longer a reason. I don't know anybody who cares about that column these days.

There are a few fights in the game where AOE is definitely preferable. The first phase of the Validus fight where you're fighting 2 sub-bosses and a bunch of adds. Atlantis Crown of Thorns at the end where you have 3 sub bosses at once. (Actually, the way Atlantis was designed the whole DLC favored an AOE build)

For the most part though, the past few episodes have heavily favored single target fights.

Well in my league when they talk numbers they are talking the big number not the boss column. Especially in a fight like first boss in coue I'm not sure why you'd only care about boss damage.

I think those adds in COUE count a little towards boss damage. I lose big there and then catch up next 2 bosses(any power except gadgets and mental). Especially to electric dps

Hmm cannot confirm or deny lol. Are you saying lose big in the boss column but catch up in the single target boss fights? I haven't heard that before.

I stand corrected then. Most people I run with are totally focused on burning down the boss as fast as possible.

Yeah I would say that's everyone I've just personally never heard anyone immediately comparing the boss column when running casually or comping its always total damage. Even in a mostly single target fight ill find myself getting excited when the adds come out bc as electricity thats where I shine. If all anyone cared about was boss damage I'd have changed powers a long time ago. But just a difference in philosophies I suppose.

Yea, in the boss column. Catch back up over the last 2 boss fights

I'm Electric and I'm generally running my AOE build. Very rarely do I change it per situation. The reason is there's always adds so I think of it as more crown control especially since Electric ST is meh vs other powers. Let them beat up the boss and I'll cook the adds and chip in on the boss.

Because killin adds a tick faster doesnt really net anything productive in most cases. Adds dont generally pose a threat so they dont need to die a tick faster whereas a boss can kill u in the blink of an eye so the boss is the threat, thus damage vs the boss matters far more.
Hats my line of logic anyway

I'll chime in that myself and most friends/ league mates only look at 2nd column. I personally am not zipping around trying to kill all adds asap. I'm lazy. Boss, yeah nuke that punk.

If we are dps comp'n, we just decide if it's going to be 1st or 2nd column competition

Tanks die during add phases of elite bosses all the time. The same guy who posted a video of a four man clear said for the most part when the tank dies in the first boss fight its during the add phase.

With a pet focused Source Shard build, I feel like I'm always lacking in the AoE department. I started to just focus optimization on ST and mostly disregard AoE. I do have powers in the loadout that can hit multiple targets, but if the adds don't matter, I don't even use them so the damage don't split and I focus on boss. Overall damage in scoreboard is for janitors

It seems like many of you are taking this moment to kind of talk down to those scoreboard chasers lol. That's fine. At the end of the day if a dps comp gets uploaded to YouTube with a billion bet on it they aren't looking at the boss column. And if you are an endgame dps chasing the best gear and the best number and you are also not trying to have the highest scorecard at the end then you are in the minority whether that's right or wrong.

What was the last elite raid where the adds didn't matter?

Pets split so they aren't terrible at aoe but I hear what you're saying. For my source toon, I just swap out vengeance for soul bolt now and it's good to go. Hv isn't the greatest but the pop does ok. Frost breath would probably be the better iconic or even sonic shout but I ain't buying more armories and artis just for hallway clearing.

I don't disagree but look at it a bit differently. Not every run is a comp but I do like to compare myself vs others. If they're super speed zipping around all hyper and I'm half asleep using flight and taking my time even getting to weapon tap them, I'm not looking at their 1st column so they can outdo me by 10mil that run and it's irrelevant because I didn't even try. There's no reason to play hyper all the time so if some want to, ok. Some don't.

But that 2nd column? Everyone is trying. Playing field is level. That can always be used as a measuring stick.

As I said, any dps comp can easily be either column. Just needs to be decided on prior. Big numbers in that 1st column usually just mean someone gets there 1st most of the time.

If you're going SOLEY based on column 1 vs column 2, more than half of the powers lose at the character creation screen unfortunately.

overall damage helps those powers that suck at ST, maintain value.

and to be fair, some powers suck at AOE and shine in ST.