ClawsandEffect

I don't know if you realize this or not, but you CAN softcap Katana/Dark to all 3 positions without losing too much effectiveness.

Werner has a Katana/Dark at softcap, and I have a Broadsword/Dark at softcap (they are so close to identical in function as to be interchangable, the powers match up that close in what they do)

Here's my thread talking about it. I'd give you specifics, but I already said it all there.

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=189427

Werner will probably chime in at some point. He is wise in the way of the katana.

You can also slot Blessing of the Zephyr in Elude to help with ranged/AoE defense. And it will crank up the run speed in it as well.

Just food for thought.

See, I went for realism with my MA/WP. The character is "me", so I stuck with animations I could actually physically perform in real life (which is everything but the original Storm Kick and Eagle's Claw, and if Storm Kick were not a jumping kick I could do that too)

I haven't gotten to Eagle's Claw yet, so I'll see how it looks in action when I get there. I could perform the original CAK, but I wouldn't, because it's the most awkward looking kick I've ever seen, that leaves you wide open for a counterstrike in the middle of it. So, I opted for the punch.

Try to get up to around 20% to all positions on defense and you will see marked improvement.

Without a build to see I can't really help on specifics. If you have Mid's, put your build into it and post it. No one will be able to help much otherwise.

From what I hear (I have no firsthand knowledge) the European servers are much emptier than the NA servers. Perhaps you could pick up the NA version of the game and see if you like it there better. You clearly speak English, so there won't be a language barrier to get past.

I know quite a few people from around the world that play on the NA servers, so actual physical location doesn't mean that much.

The only downside: You can't keep your characters if you start a NA account. There used to be a transfer feature, but I don't think it exists anymore.

Cobra Strike needs the Clobber treatment. If it got the same buff Clobber got it would easily be the second best power in the set next to Eagle's Claw.

I'm having a lot of fun with my MA/WP. At level 23 he still feels a little squishy, but I know from experience that that will change.

MA's damage isn't stellar, but it's not bad either. It really feels like the set that the rest of the scrapper primaries are balanced around. (kind of like how Energy Blast is the baseline for blasters) Nice grab bag of secondary effects.

Just a point to make here.

Simply by virtue of being a hero or villain, you are no longer "just a normal guy"

A "normal person" would be a civilian who does not get involved in interdimensional wars, doesn't intervene when a supervillain robs a bank, doesn't make an attempt to take over the world or kidnap scientists. Those are things heroes and villains do, not "normal people".

The simple act of deciding to get involved in these things puts you outside the norm already anyway. A completely natural Katana/SR scrapper is not a normal person, because a normal person doesn't grab a sword and start fighting crime.

The only normal people in this game are the civilians that wander around. If you really want to be a normal person, put a suit on in the costume creator and wander around randomly with Walk toggled on. If you do anything else, you're not a "normal" person.

How is it your scrapper leaves things alive long enough for them to run?

My Death Shroud is fine as is, if there is nothing in range of it, it just means I killed it all already.

It's not horrible.

If you're taking it for concept and don't mind that there are much better things you could be spending your picks and slots on, then by all means go for it. If you're going to go with the Presence pool, consider picking up Touch of Fear so you CAN fear bosses. Invoke Panic or Intimidate + Touch of Fear is a feared boss, with a significant to-hit debuff.

Also, pull that Miracle 3 piece out of True Grit and replace with one of the 2 pieces. You don't need End red or recharge, and the heal component is lower on the 3 piece than the 2 piece.

You really don't even need to slot PFF for defense. It gets you well above softcap out of the box. I'd slot it for recharge personally. No sense in slotting it for End reduction either, since you can't do much of anything with it on, and aren't using end.

Riddick is DB/WP
I created a DM/SR vampire-esque character (he's actually a mutant, his backstory says that he's a direct descendant of Dracula, who was also a mutant, but since no one knew what a mutant was back then, his powers were attributed to the supernatural)

BS/Shield scrapper would be one angel possibility. Archery/Fire blaster would be another.
many ways to go on that one.

Hmmm.

Kinda want to try a Dark/Elec myself now.

Siphon Life makes up for the lack of a fast recharging heal in Elec. Elec gets a recharge bonus to help DM. On paper they seem like they should synergize well.

Plus, being surrounded by black lightning sounds cool.

Well, by dropping Build Up you're falling just short of softcap. If that's not a problem, then go ahead and leave it. I mostly use it as a set mule, but it comes in handy before using AoEs. I said that I hardly use it, if you note, I took some criticism for that statement.

(I can't open your build, for some reason Mid's flatly refuses to update past I13)

In your build, try turning Tough off, I don't run it and it could be throwing your end consumption out of whack. It's not even in my tray, it's a set mule for a Steadfast, and a stepping stone to get to Weave, nothing more.

That build should do just fine, you're close enough to softcap that the survivability will go through the roof. You could even replace that Red Fortune in Combat Jumping with a LotG Recharge if you want. It will barely drop your defense and add a little bit of recharge.

Gambler's Cut over SotW because GC has a MUCH shorter animation, allowing it to fit in attack chains better. Since you're not running a high recharge build here, or using an Achille's Heel proc, it may not matter so much.

Good luck with the build, glad I could help some.

(Note: My live build does have Physical Perfection, it didn't exist yet when I put that together, I dropped the rez for it)

Thanks for the plug Werner. It makes me smile that a build I put together impressed one of the guys who inspired me enough for him to recommend it to others.

My build does NOT have a gapless attack chain, it suits me fine though, so I wasn't worried about it. If that is a requirement for you, you will need to tweak it some. Also, my build is just barely endurance sustainable, if you have to hit Dark Regen too many times in a long fight you'll be in trouble.

It has sufficient DPS to solo an AV, as long as they are not too resistant to lethal (Siege and Nightstar may not be beatable with it). It has been proven to handle the RWZ Challenge with style (meaning it was very easy and I could screw around while doing it)

It has trouble with +4/x8 missions, though it can do it if your reflexes are good and you have a streak of good luck. +2/x8 is relatively easy.

For your build, drop the Weapons pool and pick up Body. Physical Perfection is THAT good for a DA build.

I second Werner's advice to slot Divine Avalanche as an attack. Since you'll be using it a LOT, wouldn't you like it to do some damage while you're at it? With just the base defense boost it gives you 30% when double stacked, which you will often do by accident. That means you only need 15% melee defense to softcap (mine is 22%), letting you focus on ranged and AoE defense.

My build isn't the absolute best out there, but it achieves softcap, is relatively endurance friendly, and most importantly, inexpensive. There are some pricey items in it, but I got them as drops over a long period of time, so it was dirt cheap for me to put together. (I still need the Zephyr KB protections and the Miracle +Recovery)

BS/DA and Kat/DA have amazing potential if you build them right. You have the right general idea, but you're making some goofs in your slotting that you need to correct to bring that potential out. I'm not saying you need to build it exactly like I did, but pay attention to what I slotted, where I slotted it, and why I slotted it there. If you do that you will have the knowledge you need to put together your own awesome build.

Dark Armor paired with one of the original sword sets (Katana or Broadsword) can be softcapped to all positions. You give up a little DPS and recharge to do it, but it can be done.

With Claws, the fact that Claws has a fairly cheap end cost on all it's powers is a boon, and Shockwave will help with mitigation after you pick it up. Not softcappable to all positions, but if you can get ranged and AoE to about 40% and S/L to a similar level you should be in good shape. Anything/DA is a beast with around 30% defense on top of the already respectable resists and the monster heal.