Wildwind

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  1. Wildwind

    Claw/SR?

    I play Claw/SR on my main, and it's a blast for several reasons.

    1). Softcapping /SR is easy, which leaves you a lot of room in your build for offense. Combine this with the fact that you can slot four different purple damage sets in Claws (melee, ranged, PBAoE, Targeted AoE), and the ease of slotting LotG +rech in an /SR build, and you can achieve crazy levels of recharge without really sacrificing anything.

    2). The aforementioned Shockwave. A lot of scrapper sets (WP, Inv, even DA) can't fully take advantage of Shockwave because they want to be surrounded with enemies. /SR can, and Shockwave becomes a beautiful mitigation tool as well as good offense.

    3). The speed. Quickness is just a great power. Aside from the fact that running around like a mad thing is fun, the extra speed makes dashing in and out of combat to make best use of Shockwave easy. Plus, when you're that fast, chasing runners (not that you need to, with Focus) and/or things you knockback is painless. Also, the inherent Slow resistance makes certain enemies much less annoying. Slot a Winter's Gift, and even x8 spawns of Knives of Artemis can be managed without going into molasses mode.

    4). No need for travel power. Sprint + Quickness + Swift + Ninja Run has you covered.

    I've played a lot of different scrappers, and in my opinion Claw/SR is by far the most fun.
  2. /WP is EASIER to survive with than /Regen, since the Regen playstyle is very demanding at the high end. I wouldn't say that WP is more survivable, though.

    That said, with all the defense debuff, regen debuff, and end drain/recovery debuff running around in the level 50 game, I find my claw/SR dies much less than my KM/WP or Katana/Regen does. So I'm not sure you're necessarily improving your survivability much by changing from SR to WP or Regen.

    Sure, /SR is a one-trick pony... but it's a very good trick.
  3. My personal preference for an /SR is Claw.

    There are a number of reasons, but three stand out. The first is that Claw's inherently low endurance costs mesh well with end-hungry SR; I'm able to run Focused Accuracy full-time on my Claw/SR and be end sustainable in my single-target attack chain. Also, Claw has the ability to slot four different purple sets in its primary (Melee, Ranged, PBAoE, Targeted AoE). Since softcapping an /SR is relatively easy, there is a LOT of room to build for offense, and being able to slot multiple purple sets with their recharge bonuses and procs makes you a hyperspeed Cuisinart.

    The third reason, though, is the most important, and that is Shockwave. Especially when soloing, Shockwave is an unbeatable mitigation tool, and it does very nice damage at that. As an /SR, reducing the number of enemies attacking you at any given time is the single best way to augment your defenses; even at the softcap, 5% (and sometimes more) of incoming attacks will hit you, and enemies flat on their back are enemies that aren't attacking. Combined with Focus, Claw has strong (and reliable) knockback/knockdown to neutralize dangerous foes.

    On top of this, /SR's speed bonus (via Quickness) and Shockwave's large cone make setting up the attack relatively painless. With just Sprint running, my Claw/SR's run speed is over 47mph.

    Claw/SR, at least in my experience, produces a kind of frenetic, madcap playstyle that feels more "super" than anything else I've ever played in the game.

    It's a whole lot of fun.
  4. It's kind of funny. I typically run my tip missions at x5 on my claw/SR (though she just got her level shift and I am thinking I will probably go to x8 now), and she doesn't usually have problems with Carnies, even though I frequently see two Master Illusionists in a spawn. The biggest problem I do have with them on my SR is the AoE end drain when they die, which has a 30% acc bonus baked in. If I take down two many at once (easy to do with a Claw), my blue bar can nosedive really fast, especially considering my build is BARELY end sustainable as it is.

    Of course, the difference between x5 and x8 on a Super Reflex scrapper is pretty significant. The random number generator gets to take a lot more potshots at you on x8. Part of me kinda regrets not running on x8 before getting my level shift, because it would have been an interesting challenge... but I'd never have been able to finish my tip missions every day like that. Takes too long.

    That said, my Master Illusionist strategy is pretty straightforward.

    1). Kill the Dark Servant(s)
    2). Kill the Phantasm(s)
    3). Kill the Master Illusionist(s).

    Mixing Spin into my attack chain in crowds generally takes care of the summoned illusionists along with the rest of the spawn.

    I have *some* psi defense from Weave and Combat Jumping and the +3% defense IO, which helps. I also run Focused Accuracy which helps a LOT at dealing with the tohit debuff from the Dark Servants. I still kill them first, because if I let them live too long, bad things start to happen, but I don't start whiffing the first time they hit me.

    Having high regen (around 300%, when my build is finished it will be 335%) and as many +HP bonuses as I could cram into my build helps a lot here.

    All of that said, Master Illusionists are pretty high on the list of things that are dangerous to my /SR. They fall somewhere behind Devouring Earth (in general, and especially Quartz droppers), Rulaaru eyeballs, and the masses of Bane Spiders you get in any high spawn size Arachnos mission.


    My Willpower, on the other hand, utterly laughs at Master Illusionists... and then gets whomped by the Dark Ring Mistress I didn't see at the back of the spawn. Regularly. I am not sure what it is about Dark Ring Mistresses that just destroy my /WP scrapper, but I have just learned to accept that they must go down first always. I guess it's probably the Mask.

    I think the biggest shock I have had recently, though, is realizing that with the prevalence of defense debuff at high levels, my /SR is much harder to kill than my /WP on the whole these days. And more fun, too.
  5. Now that my KM/WP build is almost complete (all I lack is the PvP IO), I am turning my attention back to actually building the Claw/SR that has been my favorite character for ages. It's by far the most expensive build I've undertaken, but now that I am starting to understand how to make inf in this game, I feel like I can actually build this, and if I'm going to make the investment, I want to do it right.

    That said, any comments/suggestions would be appreciated.

    I am not 100% sure what I am going to slot in my Alpha on this build, but I am thinking of going Musculature for the Damage and Defense Debuff. Suggestions on the best alpha for this build would also be appreciated.

    Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.91
    http://www.cohplanner.com/

    Click this DataLink to open the build!

    Kitten America: Level 50 Science Scrapper
    Primary Power Set: Claws
    Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes
    Power Pool: Speed
    Power Pool: Fighting
    Power Pool: Leaping
    Power Pool: Medicine
    Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery

    Hero Profile:
    Level 1: Strike
    • (A) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage
    • (3) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance
    • (3) Touch of Death - Damage/Recharge
    • (5) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
    • (5) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
    • (7) Touch of Death - Chance of Damage(Negative)
    Level 1: Focused Fighting
    • (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
    • (23) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
    • (25) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
    • (25) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
    Level 2: Slash
    • (A) Achilles' Heel - Chance for Res Debuff
    • (7) Hecatomb - Damage/Recharge
    • (9) Hecatomb - Chance of Damage(Negative)
    • (9) Hecatomb - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
    • (11) Hecatomb - Accuracy/Recharge
    • (11) Hecatomb - Damage/Endurance
    Level 4: Focused Senses
    • (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
    • (27) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
    • (27) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
    • (29) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
    Level 6: Spin
    • (A) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
    • (13) Armageddon - Damage/Recharge
    • (13) Armageddon - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
    • (15) Armageddon - Accuracy/Recharge
    • (15) Armageddon - Damage/Endurance
    • (17) Armageddon - Chance for Fire Damage
    Level 8: Follow Up
    • (A) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage
    • (17) Mako's Bite - Damage/Endurance
    • (19) Mako's Bite - Damage/Recharge
    • (19) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
    • (21) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
    • (21) Mako's Bite - Chance of Damage(Lethal)
    Level 10: Practiced Brawler
    • (A) Recharge Reduction IO
    • (23) Recharge Reduction IO
    Level 12: Agile
    • (A) Defense Buff IO
    • (29) Defense Buff IO
    Level 14: Hasten
    • (A) Recharge Reduction IO
    • (31) Recharge Reduction IO
    Level 16: Dodge
    • (A) Defense Buff IO
    • (31) Defense Buff IO
    Level 18: Focus
    • (A) Devastation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
    • (33) Apocalypse - Damage/Recharge
    • (33) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
    • (33) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Recharge
    • (34) Apocalypse - Damage/Endurance
    • (34) Apocalypse - Chance of Damage(Negative)
    Level 20: Quickness
    • (A) Run Speed IO
    Level 22: Boxing
    • (A) Accuracy IO
    Level 24: Tough
    • (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
    • (34) Aegis - Resistance
    • (36) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance
    • (36) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
    Level 26: Weave
    • (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
    • (36) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
    • (37) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
    • (37) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
    Level 28: Lucky
    • (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
    • (37) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
    • (43) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
    Level 30: Combat Jumping
    • (A) Defense Buff IO
    • (31) Winter's Gift - Slow Resistance (20%)
    Level 32: Shockwave
    • (A) Ragnarok - Damage
    • (39) Ragnarok - Damage/Recharge
    • (40) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
    • (40) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Recharge
    • (40) Ragnarok - Damage/Endurance
    Level 35: Evasion
    • (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
    • (42) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
    • (42) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
    • (43) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
    Level 38: Elude
    • (A) Recharge Reduction IO
    Level 41: Focused Accuracy
    • (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff
    • (43) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge
    • (45) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge/Endurance
    • (45) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Recharge/Endurance
    • (45) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Endurance
    • (46) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up
    Level 44: Physical Perfection
    • (A) Miracle - +Recovery
    • (46) Miracle - Heal
    • (46) Regenerative Tissue - +Regeneration
    • (48) Healing IO
    • (48) Endurance Modification IO
    Level 47: Aid Other
    • (A) Healing IO
    Level 49: Aid Self
    • (A) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Recharge
    • (50) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance/Recharge
    • (50) Interrupt Reduction IO
    • (50) Interrupt Reduction IO
    ------------
    Level 1: Brawl
    • (A) Accuracy IO
    Level 1: Sprint
    • (A) Run Speed IO
    Level 2: Rest
    • (A) Recharge Reduction IO
    Level 1: Critical Hit
    Level 4: Ninja Run
    Level 2: Swift
    • (A) Run Speed IO
    Level 2: Hurdle
    • (A) Jumping IO
    Level 2: Health
    • (A) Numina's Convalescence - +Regeneration/+Recovery
    • (42) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance
    • (48) Numina's Convalescence - Heal
    Level 2: Stamina
    • (A) Endurance Modification IO
    • (39) Endurance Modification IO
    • (39) Endurance Modification IO
  6. Wildwind

    Stun Capability

    I find on my KM/WP I frequently stun bosses, so KM's stun is pretty effective, even with no slotting for stun at all.

    Once I get my uncommon Alpha (Spiritual Core Boost), I expect it to get even better with the stun duration bonus.
  7. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ramification TM View Post
    Wonder how much lead paint is in those suckers, lol.

    Hate to use bad words like 'Warcraft'. But it would be nice if CoX ever managed to market this game like they manage their merchandice. Statesman figurines, collector cards, w/e. Then have it all available online.
    I want something like WoW's FigurePrints.

    If I could get a statue of my hero Skylancer, preferably in an in-flight pose, I would buy it in a heartbeat. No hesitation at all.
  8. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Blue_Fenix View Post
    I'm pretty sure WoW tracks threat for healing, debuffs, and crowd control, but not buffs and other forms of support. However, the amount of 'threat' generated by healing is usually way way less than what a DPS class will generate through damage output..
    Speaking as someone who has played a Discipline Priest in WoW for quite a fair amount of time, WoW absolutely does assign threat for buffs. If you don't believe me, see what happens when you cast Power Word: Shield while the tank is still rounding up the spawn and hasn't established threat control yet. Do this in a group with a bunch of casters and you'll be dead in an eyeblink.

    Also, I wouldn't support something like this in CoH for the reason someone else above named; the ability to grab almost any eight heroes and have a successful team for most of the content in this game is part of what makes it awesome, and this sort of change would take away from that.

    It might be interesting as something to implement for specific encounters, though.
  9. I don't see some single one-size-fits-all path to power suiting my characters.

    Some of them might come into contact with the Well in some way or another; it almost certainly wouldn't be the rather generic means presented in the Incarnate story arc. It would be something personally tailored to their own character that fit in with their existing story.

    Some of them will simply never attain such levels of power as the Well offers. These characters were never meant to be cosmic heroes. One of them is a guy who is just a little bigger, a little stronger, a little tougher than average. He doesn't even have a costume, and hesitates to call himself a hero at all.

    Still others already have such power or will find it by other means. One of my characters is already the embodiment of a force of nature. The primary limiter on her power is simply how much of it she can wield without losing her sense of self altogether. Another was contacted by an entity whose power would certainly rival the Well's... and the two might well not get along. It's doubtful the Well could do anything for these already-cosmic powers.

    It's... following the game mechanics too closely inhibits the individuality of characters. In many cases, they're more interesting as they are. This isn't to say the Well doesn't have its RP uses; for some characters, it could be an interesting path to follow, and some of mine probably will have their encounters with it. But certainly not all.
  10. I'd love to have a DPS meter for my OWN dps, it would be helpful in optimizing attack chains.

    I don't think the game needs the drama that comes with being able to see everyone else's DPS, though.
  11. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Nayleen View Post
    Hello there,

    Haven't played CoX literally in years and slowly getting back into things.

    Have started a Kinetic / SR scrapper, still a baby and picking up some powers along realizing that I don't have to pick stamina anymore

    Anyway, with all the changes that have happened since I've last played, I'm totally a newbie again when it comes to build.

    Anyone care to recommend a decent build ? Gameplay wise, I always duo with my wife, she rolled a Demon summoning / fire mastermind.
    First of all, welcome back.

    I don't have Mids available to me at the moment (I'm at work), but here are some basic guidelines to keep in mind.

    As an /SR, the defense softcap (45%) is relatively easy to obtain to all positions. As such, this should be a goal of your build. Furthermore, /SR is able to cap its resistance to defense debuffs. Defense debuff resistance is distributed among the powers in the /SR set, so you will want to take all of them except (possibly) Elude, which I will get back to.

    My usual approach is the four-slot the three /SR toggles (Focused Fighting, Focused Senses, Evasion). If you are short on influence/merits, you can start using the Red Fortune set, which is obtainable pretty cheaply. You want the Defense, Defense/Endurance, Defense/Recharge, and Defense/Endurance/Recharge pieces, if I am remembering my Red Fortune correctly. Eventually you will want to supplant this with Luck of the Gambler on at least some powers (Defense, Defense/Endurance, Defense/Endurance/Recharge, Defense/Increased Global Recharge)

    You will want to at least two-slot the /SR passives (Dodge, Agile, Lucky). You can start with two level 50 IO defense and later upgrade this to Luck of the Gambler (Defense and Defense/Increased Global Recharge).

    You can only get the set bonuses for LotG five times, so one of those powers will need to have something else in it, be it Red Fortune or Gift of the Ancients or whatever you like. One of the advantages of /SR is it's rather easy to slot five LotG +recharge in your build. /SR itself doesn't really need the recharge, but it's good for your offense. The 20% recharge bonus from Quickness goes in here nicely as well. Some people will tell you that you don't need to take Quickness; that's a matter of personal preference, but for myself I can't imagine skipping it.

    Practiced Brawler generally needs two IO Recharge Reductions unless you have a really high recharge build. If you plan to exemp at all, I wouldn't put less than this in it even then.

    From this point, you're looking at working your way to the defense softcap. You have two tools to help you get there: additional defense powers (Combat Jumping, Hover, Weave, Maneuvers) and defense set bonuses. You'll want to use a mixture of these two.

    For defense powers, I usually take Combat Jumping and Weave. Weave requires the fighting pool, but a little damage resistance from Tough will certainly not hurt you; beyond its defense, /SR offers very little in the way of mitigation, and every bit you can get helps. Boxing is a wasted power pick, but sometimes having a power you don't have to spend any slots in is not a bad thing, either, especially in the era of Inherent Fitness. Also, you can slot the Steadfast Protection res/3% def IO in Tough, and the usefulness of 3% defense in a single IO slot cannot be overstated.

    Hover is another power I'm fond of, especially with the recent fly-speed buffs (and you can run Hover and CJ at the same time for more defense), but obviously is only useful if you want to fly. It's great for avoiding caltrops, though, and Kinetic Melee has no problems with Hover at all.

    I generally six-slot my attacks, as I find that having more end reduction in my attacks is generally more effective than having more end reduction in my toggles. /SR's toggles are somewhat end heavy, but not nearly so much as your attack chain.

    The optimum attack chain in Kinetic Melee requires that you take Quick Strike, Body Blow, Smashing Blow, and Concentrated Strike. This attack chain requires, if I recall correctly, 204% recharge in Concentrated Strike. If you can't obtain this level of recharge in your build, you can cut down the requirement a bit by taking Focused Burst instead of Quick Strike, which lengthens the attack chain slightly. I recommend taking Burst as well, as AoE is good to have, and a great deal of the fun in Kinetic Melee is building up a massive Power Siphon buff and then hitting Burst and watching them all fall down.

    Power Siphon should be slotted with IO recharges, two or three.

    IO sets which can be slotted in your attacks to build defense...

    Melee Damage Sets (Quick Strike, Body Blow, Smashing Blow, Concentrated Strike)
    -Touch of Death (melee defense)
    -Mako's Bite (ranged defense)

    PBAoE Damage Sets (Burst)
    -Multi-Strike (a little melee defense, a little AoE defense, and cheap!)
    -Scirocco's Dervish (AoE defense)
    -Obliteration (melee defense - expensive!)

    Ranged Damage Sets (Focused Burst)
    -Thunderstrike (ranged defense)

    I am personally fond of the Body Mastery epic power pool on /SR's. The extra recovery and regeneration from Physical Perfection are both useful to an /SR (as /SR is somewhat end hungry, and additional regeneration is one of the best things you can add after you have softcapped your defense). Also, Focused Accuracy is very useful for a Kinetic Melee character, as Power Siphon has poor ToHit Buff (7.5%), making KM vulnerable to enemies with ToHit Debuff effects. Finally, Focused Accuracy makes a good mule for the Gaussian's Synchronized Fire Control set and its powerful 2.5% defense to all positions 6-piece set bonus.

    I mentioned earlier that the one skippable power in /SR is Elude. This is still true, but somewhat less so as new content introduces more enemies with ToHit Buff characteristics. ToHit Buff on enemies is /SR's greatest weakness as it allows enemies to get past your softcapped defenses, and /SR lacks the additional layers of mitigation that other sets such as Willpower, Invulnerability, and Dark Armor possess. As such, it is sometimes beneficial to take Elude even when you are softcapped, as a hedge against enemies with ToHit Buff powers. It still won't help you against autohit attacks, though.

    While I've never played KM and SR together, they are two of my favorite powersets in the game, and it ought to be a really fun character to play. I wish you the best of luck with it.

    Have fun!

    EDIT: Two more things I should mention.

    Hasten is nice to have, and if you want to have the best attack chain for KM is essentially mandatory. It's not needed for SR's defense at all, but it does go nicely with Quickness to provide high levels of recharge without having to slot excessively for it.

    The Medicine pool can be useful for an /SR. I've run /SR's both with and without it; if you don't intend to solo AV's, you probably don't need it at all, especially if you took Physical Perfection and slotted it for healing. If you do take it, however, I find that an Interrupt Reduction in Aid Self is not strictly necessary, but can be useful in large mobs where you will be taking some hits even at the softcap. My current /SR has the Medicine Pool, but with only one slot as it was one of the powers I added after Inherent Fitness and I had no free slots for it. I really don't use it much.
  12. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Nihilii View Post
    You quote me while missing the important part. I hate people doing that. It's only one sentence, read the whole thing or don't quote it at all.

    Again, Elude. It's not about the softcap, it's about being way over the softcap. Yes, merely being at the softcap is so good that many (most) people made the choice to drop Elude, but nowadays with more and more tohit buffs thrown around and additional 3 power picks from inherent Stamina I question that conventional wisdom, esp. with my own experience showing that there is significant advantages to defense over 45% in current hard content.
    This is precisely why I spent one of the power picks I got back from inherent fitness on my claw/SR on Elude (the other two went into Aid Other and Aid Self). I had a feeling that we would be seeing more to-hit buffs. That said, I really, really hate powers with full end crashes, and this solution doesn't really make me very happy. I suspect my claw/SR, who was my favorite character to play up to this point, is going to fall to the wayside while my DM/DA and my KM/WP move to the fore.

    That, and my energy blaster, who I've been suddenly having fun with after not being able to enjoy playing her for a long time.
  13. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Shaya Sera View Post
    Must say Hover. Too many still think of it as the bad version from 5 issues ago. It has had many good buffs to it ^^.
    I adore Hover, and not just on Ranged characters. The Hover/follow bug where you end up stopping just outside of melee range is a little annoying, but never ever ever having to worry about that x4 Knives of Artemis spawn and their 10-stack of Caltrops is glorious. Plus you get defense, and these days Hover is actually pretty quick (my hovering characters tend to be around 38mph). The fact that you can run Hover and CJ at the same time for even MORE defense makes slipping a couple of extra LotG +rech into a build easy, too.

    Besides, playing a Dark/Dark hoverscrapper lets me float up to enemies, gesture menacingly at them, and watch them fall over. It's awesome.
  14. For Kitten America (claw/SR/body, level 50) I was able to take tough and weave substantially earlier in the build (yay, better exemplar performance), squeeze the medicine pool back in, and take Elude (not that she needs it). I haven't really tested yet for results.

    The Smokemeister (dark/dark/dark, level 47) got a total revamp. He's definitely quite a bit stronger, now. Have some end issues, but once I get 50 and get my alpha slot, he'll be going into the cardiac tree and that will be no worry anymore. My suspicion is that he's going to be my strongest overall scrapper, at least until I level up my katana/WP.

    Impulse Drive (KM/WP, level 37) didn't have fitness before, so now she just has more regen and more recovery. Bonus! Already strong character gets even better.

    Bladewhisper (katana/regen/body, level 50) got a substantial revamp as well. I still don't have all the IO's I need for her and am currently broke, so I haven't put the new build to the test yet, but it should be stronger. I am seriously considering taking her villain for a while and going the Soul Mastery route with Shadowmeld, however. Once her Alpha slot is unlocked, the recharge and healing boosts should be... very nice indeed.

    Skylancer (energy/energy/force blaster, level 50) got explosive blast when she didn't have it before. Otherwise, no big difference.

    Red Diamond (energy melee/invlun brute, level 50) is being rerolled as super strength because I hate hate hate hate hate EM.
  15. Here's a thought you might not have considered in terms of powersets.

    Kinetic Melee could pretty easily be justified as a sort of exotic martial arts. In fact, the Tsoo have lieutenants who use Kinetic Melee under the name "Chi Master". I've been having crazy fun with my kinetic melee, and with Power Siphon providing one of the best self-damage-buffs available to scrappers, the set appears to actually be pretty strong. Also, KM's damage debuff should be useful in facing down hard targets.

    I'd say KM/SR could easily do the "martial arts master" sort of thing, and ought to be pretty strong on the overall. It won't have the damage output of /shield, but the survivability is good, and since SR is so easy to softcap you can focus your set bonuses in other areas.

    Beyond that, the sword sets are of course excellent. Both katana and broadsword provide you with an excellent damage mitigation tool on top of solid offense. Broadsword has the advantage of being usable with /shield, of course, but outside of that katana has a little better DPS.

    Of course, the traditional "badass normal" is MA/SR, and with the recent buffs MA is a pretty good single target damage set in its own right...

    Really, you can't go wrong here. Even DB, which is probably the weakest of your options here, is pretty darn good.

    Myself, I'd probably go KM/SR, MA/SR, or as others have suggested, BS/SD. If you weren't trying to avoid /WP, though, I'd recommend katana/WP in a heartbeat as it has the potential to be devastating.
  16. I'm not 100% sure on this (I have resilience, which has disorient resist, on my regen), but I believe it does not rez you stunned anymore (it used to, but I think they removed this some time back). I've been known to Revive right in the middle of a pack of baddies, pop MoG, and get right back to kicking butt.
  17. So. At level 25 on my new KM/WP, and I've been having an immense amount of fun with this character so far. In fact, I'd say she's probably the most fun character I've ever put together. That said, I'm new to /WP, and I'm not nearly as confident in my ability to build it out as I am with /SR or/Regen.

    That said, if someone could take a look at this and point out any glaring errors, I'd appreciate it.

    Build goals are as follows:

    1). Maintain the optimal KM attack chain, requiring 204% rech in CS and 190% in SB.
    2). High defense against likely damage types and high passive regen.
    3). Enough accuracy to hit anything I'm likely to fight.
    4). Must fly and hover at reasonable speeds.
    5). Build is relatively I19 ready, having no fitness pool in play. I19 will just give me more passive regen, more endurance, and more speed.

    Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.803
    http://www.cohplanner.com/

    Click this DataLink to open the build!

    Impulse Drive: Level 50 Science Scrapper
    Primary Power Set: Kinetic Melee
    Secondary Power Set: Willpower
    Power Pool: Flight
    Power Pool: Speed
    Power Pool: Leaping
    Power Pool: Fighting
    Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery

    Hero Profile:
    Level 1: Quick Strike -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(3), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(3), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(7)
    Level 1: High Pain Tolerance -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/EndRdx(43), Numna-Heal/Rchg(43), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(43)
    Level 2: Body Blow -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(7), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(9), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(11)
    Level 4: Fast Healing -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Numna-Heal(40), Numna-Heal/Rchg(40)
    Level 6: Smashing Blow -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(13), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(13), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17)
    Level 8: Fly -- Flight-I(A)
    Level 10: Indomitable Will -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(50)
    Level 12: Power Siphon -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(17), RechRdx-I(19)
    Level 14: Hover -- Flight-I(A), Flight-I(46), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50), LkGmblr-Def(50)
    Level 16: Rise to the Challenge -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/EndRdx(19), Numna-Heal/Rchg(21), DarkWD-Slow%(21), DarkWD-ToHitDeb(23), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(23)
    Level 18: Burst -- Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25), Erad-Dmg(25), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(27), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(29)
    Level 20: Quick Recovery -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(29), EndMod-I(31)
    Level 22: Mind Over Body -- RctvArm-ResDam(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(31), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(31), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(33)
    Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(33), RechRdx-I(34)
    Level 26: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(33)
    Level 28: Heightened Senses -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(34), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(34), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(36)
    Level 30: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)
    Level 32: Concentrated Strike -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), RechRdx-I(36), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(36), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37)
    Level 35: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(39), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(39), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(39)
    Level 38: Strength of Will -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(40)
    Level 41: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(42), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(42), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(42)
    Level 44: Focused Accuracy -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(45), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(45), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(45), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(46), GSFC-Build%(46)
    Level 47: Physical Perfection -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Mrcl-Heal(48), RgnTis-Regen+(48), EndMod-I(48)
    Level 49: Resurgence -- RechRdx-I(A)
    ------------
    Level 1: Brawl -- RechRdx-I(A)
    Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A)
    Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
    Level 1: Critical Hit
    Level 4: Ninja Run
  18. The biggest thing I've noticed about KM, accuracy-wise, is that it has a hard time with mobs that apply to-hit debuffs, or that have bonus defense. Power Siphon's to-hit bonus is only 7.5% (as opposed to Build Up's 20%), and it's not really enough to overcome stacked to-hit debuffs. This was particularly noticeable while I was doing the Posi TF tonight with all the Ruin Mages' bubbles and the CoT spectrals debuffing to-hit with their Dark Melee attacks.

    I try to make a point to carry some yellows whenever possible on my KM. Long-term, I intend to solve this deficiency with Focused Accuracy.

    Edit: Corrected information based on testing I just did that showed that Mids' handling of Power Siphon is wrong. Power Siphon does provide an initial to-hit buff, just a small one, and does not increase it when you hit a target.
  19. Wildwind

    Ninja Run

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by zachary_EU View Post
    Yeah and personally I hate the look of ninjarun. So I can't even think to use that ever. It's not superheroic looking way to travel.
    I have two characters who use Ninja Run extensively.

    One of them is *gasp* a ninja.

    The other one is a catgirl who should run and jump quite a bit faster than a human, but not quite fast enough for superspeed and not quite high enough for superjump. Ninja Run gives her exactly the kind of superhuman mobility she ought to have.

    So, for some characters, Ninja Run can suit just perfectly.

    For my others, I tend to prefer Fly.
  20. To say that the outcome is the same is to say that your entire secondary has no bearing in the outcome... which is really a sad comment on /Regen if it's true. (Not going to comment on /FA, we all know it's squishy, and that's the price it pays for the extra damage).

    I'm not opposed to having some mobs have an increased chance to hit, or an accuracy buff. It's the *magnitude* of the accuracy buff that is devastating in the case of Quartz. Having a mob have an ability that invalidates my entire secondary set is... well, what it is is not fun. I enjoy fighting Arachnos, Vanguard Sword, Malta, and other "nasty" enemy types. I like the kinds of challenges that they throw at me (and yes, even with softcapped defense, these mobs are very dangerous in large numbers).

    Fighting DE on an /SR sucks. It's not a fun kind of challenge. It's really, really irritating.

    This is one ability I would really strongly prefer not to see proliferated.
  21. Quote:
    Originally Posted by UberGuy View Post
    I've got high defense Regen scrappers, and they mess me up enough that I've been wondering why they haven't used them more before now.
    Because they are absolute death on /SR and other defense based sets. When your high defense Regenner faces an enemy with a 100% tohit buff, you still have your entire secondary to fall back on. When an /SR is in that position, all he has to save him is any +res he might have picked up, which is usually not nearly enough.

    When I fight DE on my /SR scrapper--something I try very hard to avoid--I have to kite them all over the map to stay out of the Quartz, because if I don't I die almost instantly.
  22. Quote:
    Originally Posted by BrandX View Post
    How are builds going to be even tighter than they were before? I see nothing but more freedom!

    Now some concepts still might not beable to be filled, but a few more...YES!
    I was referring to the fact that you have the same number of slots and more powers to put them in. Finding the optimal usage of those slots is going to be more difficult now. But that's a good problem, not a bad problem.

    I'm looking forward to it.
  23. This is the best news I've heard in a while.

    Having the Fitness pool inherent is going to be GREAT in the 1-20 game. I'll actually be able to take attacks and toggle defenses in the low levels without having to rest between every spawn because I'm out of end. It's going to make exploring Praetoria way more fun.

    At the top end, I think freeing up a pool choice is going to benefit me more than the three actual power choices themselves. I can see several of my characters delving into multiple travel pools, or leadership, or medicine that hadn't done so before. Builds are obviously going to even tighter than they are now, but I'm looking forward to the challenge of getting the most out of the new options.
  24. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Granite Agent View Post
    Please post your $6B build -- I need some suggestions.
    Per request, the 6 billion influence catgirl. For the record, she appears to be about 6 seconds off of perma-hasten, if I'm reading Mids' right.


    Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.621
    http://www.cohplanner.com/

    Click this DataLink to open the build!

    Kitten America version 4: Level 50 Science Scrapper
    Primary Power Set: Claws
    Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes
    Power Pool: Leaping
    Power Pool: Fitness
    Power Pool: Fighting
    Power Pool: Speed
    Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery

    Hero Profile:
    Level 1: Strike
    • (A) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage
    • (5) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance
    • (7) Touch of Death - Damage/Recharge
    • (7) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
    • (9) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
    • (9) Touch of Death - Chance of Damage(Negative)
    Level 1: Focused Fighting
    • (A) Gift of the Ancients - Defense
    • (3) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance
    • (3) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
    • (5) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Recharge
    Level 2: Slash
    • (A) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
    • (11) Hecatomb - Damage/Recharge
    • (11) Hecatomb - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
    • (13) Hecatomb - Accuracy/Recharge
    • (13) Hecatomb - Damage/Endurance
    • (15) Hecatomb - Chance of Damage(Negative)
    Level 4: Agile
    • (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
    • (17) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
    • (46) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
    Level 6: Combat Jumping
    • (A) Gift of the Ancients - Defense
    • (36) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Recharge
    • (43) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance
    • (43) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
    Level 8: Follow Up
    • (A) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage
    • (37) Mako's Bite - Damage/Endurance
    • (40) Mako's Bite - Damage/Recharge
    • (40) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
    • (40) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
    • (43) Mako's Bite - Chance of Damage(Lethal)
    Level 10: Practiced Brawler
    • (A) Recharge Reduction IO
    • (15) Recharge Reduction IO
    Level 12: Swift
    • (A) Run Speed IO
    Level 14: Health
    • (A) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance
    • (36) Numina's Convalescence - Heal
    • (46) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Recharge
    Level 16: Dodge
    • (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
    • (17) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
    • (46) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
    Level 18: Focus
    • (A) Apocalypse - Damage/Recharge
    • (19) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
    • (19) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Recharge
    • (21) Apocalypse - Damage/Endurance
    • (21) Apocalypse - Chance of Damage(Negative)
    • (23) Devastation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
    Level 20: Stamina
    • (A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
    • (23) Performance Shifter - EndMod
    • (34) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy
    • (45) Performance Shifter - Accuracy/Recharge
    • (45) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge
    • (45) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge
    Level 22: Quickness
    • (A) Run Speed IO
    Level 24: Focused Senses
    • (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
    • (25) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
    • (25) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
    • (27) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
    Level 26: Spin
    • (A) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
    • (27) Armageddon - Damage/Recharge
    • (29) Armageddon - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
    • (31) Armageddon - Accuracy/Recharge
    • (31) Armageddon - Damage/Endurance
    • (31) Armageddon - Chance for Fire Damage
    Level 28: Lucky
    • (A) Defense Buff IO
    • (29) Defense Buff IO
    Level 30: Boxing
    • (A) Accuracy IO
    Level 32: Shockwave
    • (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
    • (33) Ragnarok - Damage/Recharge
    • (33) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
    • (33) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Recharge
    • (34) Ragnarok - Damage/Endurance
    • (34) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)
    Level 35: Evasion
    • (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
    • (36) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
    • (37) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
    • (37) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
    Level 38: Tough
    • (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
    • (39) Aegis - Psionic/Status Resistance
    • (39) Aegis - Resistance
    • (39) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance
    Level 41: Weave
    • (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
    • (42) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
    • (42) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
    • (42) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
    Level 44: Focused Accuracy
    • (A) Endurance Reduction IO
    Level 47: Physical Perfection
    • (A) Miracle - +Recovery
    • (48) Numina's Convalescence - Heal
    • (48) Numina's Convalescence - +Regeneration/+Recovery
    • (48) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance
    • (50) Regenerative Tissue - +Regeneration
    Level 49: Hasten
    • (A) Recharge Reduction IO
    • (50) Recharge Reduction IO
    • (50) Recharge Reduction IO
    ------------
    Level 1: Brawl
    • (A) Accuracy IO
    Level 1: Sprint
    • (A) Run Speed IO
    Level 2: Rest
    • (A) Recharge Reduction IO
    Level 1: Critical Hit
    Level 6: Ninja Run