Ability discussion: sunbeam and solar flare beam

I use solar flare beam in GW and GW2. It is a bit more obvious, but turret mode is always a bit of a gamble, especially with the proliferation of soldiers and their ZPGs as a plant! Also, losing mobility is normally not a great idea in general. That being said, they can be quite effective and as you post, putting your healing flower down nearby can really help.

One of BfN's largest failings is the lack of damage drop off, so again as you point out, why this weapon has it and so many don't is quite the head scratcher.

Time to beam your enemies with the power of the sun!

SUNBEAM

Sunbeam for the Sunflower is kind of a weird ability to have on Sunflower in my opinion, and while this is not a bad thing particularly, it is more of a offensive ability compared to a supportive ability, unlike most other abilities that support characters have. This is a great way of being able to deal decent damage to enemies with Sunflower, however, as her primary weapon is not that great of an offensive weapon since she is better suited to the healer role. The damage output with this ability is very significant, but it leaves you rooted in place so it is risky if you wish to use it. Being able to heal allies while in this state would be nice but also would be overpowered, so I can see why this is not the case. However, a good synergy is to use Heal Flower or Sunny Side Up near you, depending on what game you are playing, just before activating Sunbeam, for some temporary healing which can help keep you or your allies alive during this ability. I do not end up using this ability often as I prefer healing allies, although I do use it from time to time and I do not mind using this ability occassionally.

GW Alternate Abilities

Solar Flare Beam: This ability takes longer to activate and resolve overall, and you get less ammo, however you deal greater damage with this ability. The beam also looks green instead of yellow and has a different cosmetic look as well. This ability can be useful to use if you want to catch your enemies by surprise, if you can set it up without enemies noticing, you can dish out damage even more quickly and possibly vanquish them before they can react. I like using this alternate ability occassionally, I have not used it much but do think it is a cool alternate ability.

BFN Alternate Upgrades

Recharge (2 upgrade points): You gain ammo for your Sunbeam whenever you get a vanquish with it, which means you can actually use Sunbeam for longer and possibly get more vanquishes. This can be really useful if you like to use Sunbeam and are able to get multiple vanquishes, but it will leave you at a greater risk of being vanquished for longer. I feel this upgrade is balanced and having a way to gain ammo for Sunbeam can be really useful for extra potential damage, as this is Sunflower's main way of dealing damage.

Stuffy Sundrop (4 upgrade points): Whenever some damage is dealt with the Sunbeam, sundrops appear at your location. This gives you a way to heal yourself and allies around you by using Sunbeam. I find this upgrade is excessively useful if you want to support your team as much as you can while using Sunbeam. You get rewarded for dealing damage with your Sunbeam, by being able to keep you and your allies nearby alive, and it is quite easy to achieve this as well.

Conclusion

The Sunbeam is an interesting ability to have, by default you lose your supportive abilities while in the Sunbeam state, although this ability is the main way that the Sunflower can deal any kind of significant damage. This damage comes with a risk of being easily vanquished in your vulnerable state, although the BFN upgrades can help to make it more powerful and the Solar Flare Beam alternate ability can be useful for dealing damage even more quickly at the cost of a longer delay and less ammo. This can be a really useful upgrade by my standards, but it is good to determine which sorts of situations it would be useful to use in, when you can get a lot out of it.