ClawsandEffect

My build changed by....well, being started.

I hated Gravity with a passion until it got a buff to be good at something. Because I really didn't see much before that Gravity did that another set couldn't do better. Now it has single target damage as a specialty, and the damage is actually pretty nice for a Controller.

I know, I know, I should be in the Scrapper forums. Just wanted to put my 2 cents in. Rolled up a Grav/Time, and I'm having quite a bit of fun with it.

After reading all this....I'm going to skip the ST Immobilize just to irritate Reppu.

Yes.

I have a character who got a Catalyst...that will NEVER be using the ATO set for his AT (scrapper). The only piece I MIGHT use is the crit chance proc, and that's only if I can find a spot to put it that doesn't cause me to rethink his entire build.

I have another character who has plans for all 6 ATOs....who has not gotten a Catalyst yet.

Pay to win is usually a bad thing.

Plus it pisses people off who built their characters through their own effort in the game....as opposed to whipping out a credit card.

You should NEVER have a tangible advantage over another player simply because you have more disposable money than them.

Has it occured to anyone that fixing the problem that caused a massive server crash the other night may have been just a LITTLE more important than making sure one controller's pet works right?

You can't just assume that that fix was a quick one, or that they aren't still working on it. And for the record, the people who fix things like that are the exact same people who do the updating. If they're busy with something else, updates will have to wait.

Just saying.

The devs came out and said any solo path would be much slower than the trials.

Simple fact is: If you flat out REFUSE to ever run an Incarnate Trial, it's going to take you a very long time to get to tier 4 in all your slots. This was known.

I suspect I view Incarnate slotting pretty similar to how the devs do: Getting tier 4 in all your slots is akin to slotting purple sets in every power that will accept them. In other words, above and beyond what the average player is supposed to be doing, and well beyond what you should expect to do quickly.

My favorite was possible from day 1.

Changes have just made him better.

Claws/Regen scrapper in case you were wondering. When I finalize his build I'm going to start attempting some stupid scrapper tricks.

All I need is: Tier 4 Incarnates in: Destiny, Alpha, and Lore. At least tier 2 in Degenerative Interface. A full set of Superior ATOs (so I can soft-cap him to S/L), and about 70 enhancement boosters.

The build I have saved on my computer at home is pretty sick.

You should be fine.

The only thing that might be an issue is the additional recharge might hurt because it will cause you to burn through end faster from attacking faster.

You're probably going to have some endurance problems, but it looks solid otherwise.

I'm going to play devil's advocate here and mention that there is a whole camp of people who feel that new powersets are getting TOO gimmicky.

That said, what do you mean there aren't any new mechanics in new powersets?

Lets look at what's come out recently:

Dual Blades introduced the "combo" mechanic, Street Justice improved upon it by not requiring powers to be used in a specific order. That combo mechanic was added to stalkers to give them a buff in single target DPS. I haven't tested Staff Fighting personally, but from what I understand it is a variation on the combo mechanic.

That one mechanic introduced with a single powerset produced at least 3 different things that were not possible before it came along.

Time Manipulation introduced a mechanic where your power effects changed depending on whether your target is under the effect of another power in the same set. Brand new mechanic that was subsequently used to give Gravity Control a buff (Lift and Propel do more damage if your target is held by Gravity Distortion)

Titan Weapons introduced a mechanic that actually changes the animation of your powers completely if you have Momentum active. The same mechanic was used to allow stalkers to use Assassin Strike outside of Hide with a much faster animation.

Now, the buffs to Gravity Control and stalkers would not have been possible if it were not for 3 completely separate and brand new mechanics introduced very recently. (The Street Justice variation on combos is distinct enough to be considered a new mechanic)

Pretty much all the new powersets introduced within the last year have had completely new mechanics involved in the way the set actually works. And those new mechanics are now being used to make improvements to old sets that would have been impossible to do if the new mechanic did not exist.

So, I fail to see how the game "lacks new mechanics in powersets"

No problem at all man.

I love Claws/Regen as a combo, and I like helping people make theirs as good as they can be. It's very underrated in what it can pull off.

I'm going to attempt some scrapper craziness once I get my build finalized the way I want it. Keep an eye out for future posts.

Okay, here's the rest of what I was going to say.

32)Shockwave: I don't currently have this on my build, but it is a good power for a regen to buy a few seconds of breathing room to heal. You only need 5 slots in it, and Posi's Blast is the cheaper option. This one is a candidate for eventual purple slotting as well.

35)Maneuvers: This power will give you a little more defense. The more defense you can acquire from powers, the less you have to rely on set bonuses. 3 Luck of the Gambler should go in here.

38)Moment of Glory: I explained why this is a good power a couple posts up. It gives you 15 seconds of virtual invincibility. The only thing that will kill you during that span is a Psionic attack that can one or two shot you faster than you can react with a heal. This should get a Luck of the Gambler +7.5% Recharge and 2 generic recharge IOs.

41)Combat Jumping: I would put this power in the build much sooner, but it can go here if you never plan on exemping down for things. I'd slot a LotG +Recharge, a Kismet +Acc, and a Winter's Gift Slow Resistance.

44)Focused Accuracy: Slot 2 Rectified Reticle in this. You should not be running this power full time, only\ when you actually need it to hit consistently.

47)Physical Perfection: Yeah, more regeneration and recovery seems like overkill on a Regen, but I like LOTS of passive regen. This power should mostly be used as a mule for things like Numina's Convalescence +Reg/+Rec and Regenerative Tissue +Regen. It will take another Performance Shifter +End as well.

49)Tactics: 2 Rectified Reticle in this one, and an end reduction if you plan on running it at all.

Health should get a slot or two, and should be slotted like other passive regen powers. You can slot Stamina exactly like you slotted Quick Recovery.

Incarnate-wise, only Alpha and Destiny have powers that are better for Regen.

Alpha should be Spiritual for the recharge and healing boost. (It works just like slotting an SO in a power, if the power will accept an SO of the things it boosts, it will boost that power).

You could also make a case for Vigor or Agility, but Spiritual has the best combination of effects for Regen.

Destiny is a toss-up. You could go with Ageless for the recharge, Rebirth for the heal and regeneration, or Barrier for the defense and resistance. I went with Rebirth, but any of the 3 will work.

The other 3 (Interface, Lore, and Judgement) don't really have any powers that are better or worse for Regen. Go with whatever sounds cool here. I like Reactive or Degenerative for Interface, but just about anything will work.

Hope that helps you wrap your head around what's changed for Claws/Regen scrappers!

I'm considering writing an actual guide for this combo pretty soon, since I've been giving the same advice to a lot of people lately. Having a guide I can point people to will save me some typing.

Okay, here's the bit on slotting. I'll explain why I would slot things a certain way if it doesn't seem to make sense.

Regen wants 2 things above all else: Recharge and additional defense. My slotting advice will help you acquire both. Your recharge goal is at least 55% in global recharge bonuses, with 3 slotted Hasten you will have perma-Dull Pain with that amount.

1)Strike: Slot 4 Kinetic Combat in here. It will give you 3.75% Smashing and Lethal defense. Take the 2 slots you've saved and put them somewhere else.

"But Claws, wouldn't it make more sense to slot for melee defense, since that's where I'll be most of the time?"

No. I'll explain why. Regen has exactly 0% defense debuff resistance. That means any defense debuffing attacks that hit you will debuff you for the full amount of the debuff. The single most common defense debuffing attack in the entire game is machine gun fire. And there is a LOT of it. If you slot for Melee defense instead of Smashing/Lethal, what will happen is you'll engage a group in melee, and their buddies that didn't close to melee will spray you with bullets, which will probably hit you since you don't have much in the way of ranged defense. End result: The machine guns will strip away all that melee defense you built up, and it will do it pretty much unopposed. If you slot for S/L defense instead, those machine guns will have a harder time hitting you. Your defense will still get debuffed, but it won't happen nearly as fast.

1)Fast Healing: Slotted okay as-is. 2 Numina's Convalescence will give you an additional 12% passive regen. I like building for passive regen, others disagree. Up to you whether you want to or not.

2)Slash: Pull one slot out of it and go 4x Kinetic Combat and an Achilles Heel Chance for -Res. 20% chance for a 20% resistance debuff every time you use the attack. nice addition of damage over time.

4)Reconstruction: Pull a slot and put 5x Doctored Wounds in there. It gives you a 5% recharge bonus.

6)Hasten: Take 2 of those 4 slots you saved and put them in Hasten. You want it 3 slotted, and preferably with 5xBoosted enhancements (more on that later).

8)Quick Recovery: Slotted okay as-is. I like using Performance Shifter in it. Including the Chance for +End.

10)Dull Pain: Number of slots is fine. Put 5x Doctored Wounds here as well.

I just noticed you skipped Spin. HUGE MISTAKE! Spin is one of the best PBAoE attacks available to ANY scrapper primary. Fit it in your build and you will not regret it.

12)Follow Up: 4x Kinetic Combat and 2x Rectified Reticle. Adds a bunch of S/L defense.

14)Super Speed: You don't need that many slots here. Now that you get Swift for free, you only need the default slot.

16)Integration: I like at least 2 Numina's Convalescence here. Regen bonus. If you don't care about regen bonuses it's slotted fine how it is. Put an End Reduction in teh last slot.

18)Focus: Pull a slot and put 5x Decimation in here for the 6.25% recharge bonus it gives you. This one can be upgraded to a purple set if you can afford it eventually.

20)Resilience: I'd slot 4x Reactive Armor in here. 1.25% S/L defense bonus is what you want it for.

22)Boxing: You can slot 4 Kinetic Combat here as a "set mule" if you like. if you don't have the slots to spare you should leave it blank and remove the power from your tray. You won't be using it.

24)Tough: 4 Reactive Armor here as well. You can put a Steadfast Protection Res/Def in here too, and I would.

26)Eviscerate: I'd slot either A) 6x Obliteration -or- 3x Scrapper's Strike and 3x Eradication.

28)Instant Healing: 5x Doctored Wounds.

30)Weave: 3 Luck of the Gambler. Including the 7.5% Recharge one.

That's all I have time for now. I'll finish up with the rest of the build later.

Alrighty *cracks knuckles*, I'll give you a quick and dirty rundown.

I've been playing a Claws/Regen scrapper consistently for over 6 years now, and I've put together some pretty good builds, so I'd like to think I have some idea what I'm talking about at this point. I'll probably end up breaking my advice down into several posts, as I'm posting during break times at work.

First off, you don't need to take the Fitness pool anymore. Everyone gets the whole pool for free at level 2. You didn't mention whether you were aware of that or not, so I'm just throwing it out there.

Your power layout looks fine, if you're happy with it it can stay as-is. With a couple caveats.

1) You REALLY want the Fighting pool. Don't slot Boxing unless you want to mule it (more on that later). Slot Tough with 4 Reactive Armor and a Steadfast Protection Res/Def.

2) I would not take Hover on this build. If you need vertical mobility you can get a jet pack in the Shadow Shard for 10,000 influence.

3) Swap Assault for Maneuvers.

4) YOU WANT MOMENT OF GLORY!!!!(!). Seriously, it's literally a moment of glory now. It only lasts 15 seconds, but it caps your resistance and shoots your defense higher than you will ever need for that 15 seconds. It's a good "Oh crap" button, and it gives Regen an ability it otherwise lacks: The ability to take an alpha strike. (the first mass attack of a group of enemies).

So, the first thing you should do is change those 4 things. The rest of the build is set up pretty good. Just some slotting considerations, which I will touch on when I take my next break, as I am running out of time on this one.