Tigers Tale: Reflections of a Lv. 50 Claws/SRer (Its a guide!)
[u]Part 1: Reflections[u]
I hit 50 a few months back with C. Tiger, and it was one of my most fun, rewarding, and at times challenging experiences that I have had while playing CoX. A lot has changed over the past year and a half that I have been playing him, and as such this guide has been a challenge to write up.
When I first started playing tiger he was considered the wimpiest of the wimps, lowest damage Primary with the worst secondary damage mitigation wise. A year and a half later many buffs have come down the pipes. Now he stands as a middle of the road character with solid DPS, and a middle of the road secondary in /SR.
I actually enjoyed Claws in all its facets, so much so that I recently re-rolled a Claws/Dark scrapper. It is truly a great primary, and as such I will try to give my best opinions of how various powers will work with different secondary options.
That is enough of this old timer rambling; onto the meat and potatoes!
[u]Part 2: Powers[u]
The Primary: Claws
Name: Swipe
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Brawl Index: 2 hits of 1.111 and .8333 = 1.9444 BI total
Endurance: 5 end
Animation Time: 1.5 seconds
Recharge (Without Quickness): 4.5 seconds
Recharge (With Quickness): 3.48 seconds
Secondary Effect: None
Level First Available: 1
In Game Description:
A series of quick swipes with your claws. Does minor damage but has a quick recharge rate.
Swipe was just awful when I first rolled my scrapper; horrible damage, 3+ second animation time, very similar to barb swipe, but even lower damage. Now it is a solid attack, and while certainly not a heavy hitter, a solid choice for a starting attack. I personally like the animation of it better than strikes now, and as such chose it over strike on my new claws/dark.
Recommended Slotting: 1 Acc, 3 Damage
Name: Strike
My Rating: 3 out of 5
Brawl Index: 2.7777
Endurance: 6.5 end
Animation Time: 1.5 seconds
Recharge (Without Quickness): 5 seconds
Recharge (With Quickness): 4.17 seconds
Secondary Effect: None
Level First Available: 1
In Game Description:
You perform a deadly strike with your claws. This is a basic attack that deals a moderate amount of lethal damage.
A solid attack, and it has always been so, however with the recent animation changes its once great animation was changed to something similar to jab from super strength, but with claws. Personally I do not enjoy the new animation nearly as much and as such will not be picking this one up on my claws/dark scrapper, more due to a power selection crunch than anything wrong with the power. Another solid starting attack, and it served tiger well from 1-50.
Recommended Slotting: 1 Acc, 3 Damage
Name: Slash
My Rating: 4 out of 5
Brawl Index: 3.666
Endurance: 8.5 end
Animation Time: 1 second
Recharge (Without Quickness): 8 seconds
Recharge (With Quickness): 5.62 seconds
Secondary Effect: Def Debuff, lasts 5 seconds
Level First Available: 2
In Game Description:
You perform a slash with your claws, dealing a good amount of damage, but with a longer recharge rate than Swipe or Strike. This attack can reduce a targets defense, making him easier to hit.
Ah, so that is where my beloved Strike animation went. This used to look horrible in my opinion, with a baseball pitcher windup and pitch animation that made me cringe every time I saw it. Now it has one of my favorite claws animations, and a nice secondary effect. I recommend it highly as I am finding it very helpful with my new scrapper.
Recommended Slotting: 1 Acc, 3 Damage, 1 recharge
Name: Spin
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Brawl Index: 2.7777
Endurance: 10 end
Animation Time: 2 seconds
Recharge (Without Quickness): 16 seconds
Recharge (With Quickness): 12.70 seconds
Secondary Effect: None
Level First Available: 6
In Game Description:
You spin around in a circle, attacking everyone within melee range with a strike attack.
This is a nice beginning to what will become an AoE monster of attack chains, and is incredibly useful at early levels. The endurance cost used to be on the high side with a cost of 19.5 end, but was lowered dramatically recently. I found it very useful in the lower levels, especially versus large groups of oranges and blues in the hollows, however its usefulness starts to wane in the later game, or so it did with me.
Recommended Slotting: 1-2 Acc, 3 damage, 1 recharge, 1 end redux
Name:Follow Up
My Rating: 5 out of 5
Brawl Index: 2.222
Endurance: 11.5
Animation Time: 2 seconds
Recharge (Without Quickness): 15 seconds
Recharge (With Quickness): 12.08
Secondary Effect: 37% bonus to damage 33% bonus to accuracy
Level First Available: 8
In Game Description:
You perform a feint attack the deals moderate damage. After this attack hits, it gives you a large bonus to accuracy and damage for a brief time.
I for one have always been a fan of follow up over buildup, even pre-ED when it would lower your overall DPS. The constant accuracy buff for me more than made up for it as did the added damage of the attack. Now post-ED I highly recommend this attack/buff, and with quickness and a recharge SO it can give a permanent buff.
Recommended Slotting: 1-2 Acc, 2-3 damage, 1-2 recharge, 1 end redux
Name: Confront
My Rating: 1 out of 5
Brawl Index: None
Endurance: None
Animation Time: 3 seconds
Recharge (Without Quickness): 3 seconds
Recharge (With Quickness): 2.4 seconds
Secondary Effect: Ranged, Taunt
Level First Available: 12
In Game Description:
Challenges a foe to attack you. Useful to pull a villain off an ally who finds himself in over his head.
Confront has its uses I suppose, however for me the benefits never outweighed the power choice crunch and as such I have never saw the need, especially with claws, and the pulling power of focus as a ranged attack.
Recommended Slotting: 1 taunt duration
Name: Focus
My Rating: 5 out of 5
Brawl Index: 4.5555
Endurance: 10.5 end
Animation Time: 1 second
Recharge (Without Quickness): 9.5 seconds
Recharge (With Quickness): 7.75 seconds
Secondary Effect: Ranged 40, 100% chance of knockdown
Level First Available: 18
In Game Description:
Projects a burst of focused power that you can project a short distance. Focus deals high damage and can possibly knockdown your foe.
Focus was the set defining power for me, and where claws as a whole really turned around and shaped up into a nice set. I cant say enough good stuff about Focus. Quick recharge, great damage, ranged. I couldnt imagine skipping this power.
Recommended Slotting: 1 Acc, 3 damage, 1 recharge, 1 range/end redux
Name: Eviscerate
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Brawl Index: 4.7777
Endurance: 14.5 end
Animation Time: 2 seconds
Recharge (Without Quickness): 12 seconds
Recharge (With Quickness): 9.31 seconds
Secondary Effect: Increased chance of critical hit chance.
Level First Available: 26
In Game Description:
You spin and slash violently, eviscerating all foes in a wide arc in front of you. This attack has an exceptionally good critical hit capability, better than other claw attacks that can sometimes deal double damage.
Eviscerate is a love it or hate it power. I love it, but then Im a big fan of small cone high damage attacks like this, and Shadow Maul. I can understand why some hate it. The animations is the longest in claws next to perhaps spin, and the damage is just barely better than Focus, however that first time you hit 3-4 enemies with one eviscerate, and two drop due to crits, you will fall in love to.
Recommended Slotting: 1 Acc, 3 Dam, 1 Recharge, 1 End Redux
Name: Shockwave
My Rating: 5 out of 5
Brawl Index: 2.7777
Endurance: 17 end
Animation Time: 1 second
Recharge (Without Quickness): 13.5 seconds
Recharge (With Quickness): 11.88 seconds
Secondary Effect: Ranged Huge Cone, 100% chance of knockback.
Level First Available: 32
In Game Description:
Projects a shockwave of focused power that can travel a short distance. Shockwave travels in a wide arc in front of you dealing moderate damage, and possibly knocking back foes.
Shockwave is another you love it or hate it power, and again I love it. I find it infinitely useful, especially when combined with one of the coned powers from the ancillary pools, you can really clean house. I am a big fan of knockback, and find that combined with Focus and a corner you can chain juggle a boss. This is another power that got a hefty endurance reduction as of late as it used to take a quarter of your endurance bar to fire off.
Recommended Slotting: 1 Acc, 3 Dam, 1 Range, 1 Recharge Redux
The Secondary: Super Reflexes
Name: Focused Fighting
My Rating: 5 out of 5
Recharge: 4 seconds (toggle)
Endurance Cost: .38 end a second
Buff Provided: 13.875 % Melee Def, Confusion
Level First Available: 1
In Game Description: You become more evasive to melee attacks while you have Focused Fighting activated.
This power is exactly what it appears to be a solid amount of melee defense, and some minor confusion defense. You have to take is so you might as well like it, and for an opening power it is solid.
Recommended Slotting: 1-2 end redux, 3 def
Name: Focused Senses
My Rating: 5 out of 5
Recharge: 4 seconds (toggle)
Endurance Cost: .38 end a second
Buff Provided: 13.875 % Ranged Def, Perception
Level First Available: 2
In Game Description: You become more evasive to ranged attacks while you have Focused Senses activated.
This is the second toggle in /SR, and is your primary ranged defense. While it isnt necessary per say, I would highly recommend it. Also the +perception is very helpful if you wander into PvP.
Recommended Slotting: 1-2 end redux, 3 def
Name: Agile
My Rating: 3 out of 5
Recharge: Auto
Endurance Cost: Auto
Buff Provided: 5.625% Ranged Def, Passive Res buff at low health
Level First Available: 4
In Game Description: You become innately more Agile, and are able to avoid some ranged attacks. This power is always on and will permanently increase your defense against ranged attacks.
A passive ranged defense. It is helpful, no doubt, however not absolutely necessary. I would recommend it more for the passive low health resistance than just about anything. With all 3 passives it is a very helpful recent addition to /SRers.
Recommended Slotting: 3 def
Name: Practiced Brawler
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Recharge: 200 seconds (click)
Endurance Cost: 15 endurance
Buff Provided: Protection against, knockback, hold, sleep, disorient, immobilization
Level First Available: 10
In Game Description: Your training has allowed you to become a practiced brawler and turn you into a fighting machine.
It would be rather foolish not to take this. Many consider it to be the best status protection on the hero side of the game due to its click nature. For me I found it an absolute necessity, however I removed half a point in my rating for the rooting 2 second animation that goes off, and can be quite annoying when you have a draw type weapon.
Recommended Slotting: Quickness + 2 recharge SOs makes this permanent. If you are going without Quickness you will need to add another SO, or a ++ DO.
Name: Dodge
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Recharge: Auto
Endurance Cost: Auto
Buff Provided: 5.625% Melee Def, Passive Res buff at low health
Level First Available: 16
In Game Description: You have the ability to innately dodge some attacks. This power is always on and will permanently increase your defense against melee attacks.
Of all the passive Def powers I would recommend this one first and foremost as you will be fighting in Melee range the most.
Recommended Slotting: 3 Def
Name: Quickness
My Rating: 4 out of 5
Recharge: Auto
Endurance Cost: Auto
Buff Provided: +recharge, + run speed, + fly speed
Level First Available: 20
In Game Description: Your quick reflexes allow you to move more quickly than normal. This power is always on and permanently increases your attack speed and movement rate.
Personally I love Quickness, a passive that increases your recharge rate, priceless! While again it is not a necessity, I would drop Agile or Evasion before I dropped Quickness. It helps, not just with slotting, but if you have a status effecting power in your primary, like Focus, and being able to cycle it more quickly can be essential.
Recommended Slotting: 1 flight/run speed
Name: Lucky
My Rating: 3 out of 5
Recharge: Auto
Endurance Cost: Auto
Buff Provided: 5.625% AoE Def, Passive Res buff at low health
Level First Available: 28
In Game Description: Your super reflexes make you appear innately lucky. This power is always on and will permanently increase your defense against AoE and cone shaped attacks.
Lucky came as a much needed breath of fresh air at level 28, as AoE damage was seriously ramping up at the time, and it was beginning to become dangerous to be in the center of the fray. While it isnt absolutely necessary, I would still recommend it.
Recommended Slotting: 3 def
Name: Evasion
My Rating: 5 out of 5
Recharge: 4 seconds (toggle)
Endurance Cost: .38 end a second
Buff Provided: 13.875 % AoE Def
Level First Available: 35
In Game Description: You are evasive against AoE and cone shaped attacks. This power increases you defense versus such attacks as long as it is active.
Evasion is very helpful through the end of the game. I would recommend it along with the other toggles, though it can get endurance expensive with all 3 running.
Recommended Slotting: 1-2 end redux, 3 def
Name: Elude
My Rating: 4 out of 5
Recharge: 1000 seconds (click)
Endurance Cost: 2 endurance to activate
Buff Provided: 45% Melee, Ranged, AoE
Level First Available: 38
In Game Description: You can improve you reflexes, making yourself so quick you can Elude almost any attack, be it ranged, melee, or AoE. Your running speed and jumping height are also increased. When Elude wears off you are drained of all endurance and left unable to regain endurance for a while.
What can I say about Elude, it is one of the scrapper secondary god modes, and can be extremely helpful; however there is one thing that is important to note. With the recent changes in the way defense is formulated slotting Elude with more than one Defense enhancement is almost useless. It is a great panic button, and I found very helpful when dealing with elite bosses in the 40+ game.
Recommended Slotting: 3 recharge, 1 def
[u]Part 3 Pool Powers[u]
Building a super reflexer can be an extremely tight build if you want all of the defense possible, so there isnt a great deal of flexibility when it comes to pool power choices, however there are some solid choices in the power pools so I might as well go into them.
Concealment:
Stealth can be a handy power as can invisibility if you go into PvP, however as a SRer I found that endurance was my biggest limiting factor until well into the high 30s, and so I would recommend steering clear of any powers that will be an additional endurance drain unless again you are planning on PvP.
Fighting:
The first two powers boxing and kick are worthless to a claws/ scrapper, however some other types may find them useful as while not hard hitting, they do decent damage, and have a decent end cost and recharge. Tough as a /SRer is not very helpful. Its end cost is fairly high, and its benefits not to strong as most of your damage should be avoided. Weave...while stacking with the rest of your powers, the endurance cost is prohibitive, and the defense buff is low, lower than the passives.
Fitness:
Unfortunately the Fitness pool is almost necessary as a /SRer. With all 3 toggles running the endurance costs otherwise can be prohibitive, even with an end redux in each attack. The good point is that Health can be a very helpful power. 3 slotted the extra health regen while not astounding, can work wonders against multiple enemies doing DoT. Swift and Hurdle are decent for getting around and moving around missions, and again, PvP, and Hurdle along with Combat Jumping can make a handy wannabe Super Jump in the early levels for getting around.
Flight:
Flight is an interesting choice for a scrapper. Hover can be a decent combat maneuvering power especially with the movement bonuses from quickness and swift. Air Superiority is a wonderful attack, I just cant say enough good stuff about it. Combined with Focus you can juggle a boss effectively. Decent endurance cost, and a 100% chance of knockdown, it can be a fight shifting attack. Fly while being the slowest travel power, does have certain advantages such as the ability to set it on auto and grab a drink while your character makes their way across a zone. Group Fly...I have seen one character type make decent use of it, and that was a bots/ Master Mind with his bots hover blasting in force; for a scrapper, not the best of choices.
Leadership:
A scrapper gets the lowest benefit from the leadership power pool. Along with the high endurance costs of the toggles it is not a recommended pool to dip into outside of PvP. With a PvP build Assault and Tactics can be helpful, more for their secondary benefits of taunt/placate resistance and +perception.
Leaping:
I am a big fan of the Leaping power pool. Combat Jumping is a solid boost to def, and immobilization for an extremely low endurance cost. While I have an in game friend who loves Jump Kick, I would not recommend it. You will have a redraw, and the animation is long enough that the foe knocked down will be most of the way back up by the time you can attack again. Air Superiority is a much more solid attack, with the same benefits. Super Jump is a solid travel power, low endurance cost, and good travel speed, and is my travel power of choice for many of my characters. Acrobatics is useless to a scrapper, and is just an additional endurance drain that you do not need.
Medicine:
Medicine can be helpful, especially aid self. Many swear by it. Me I cant stand the tri-corder and thusly do not use it on any of my characters. It is a solid power, and while the pre-requisites arent to great for a scrapper (they have their uses, but not in the middle of combat), it can be worth it.
Presence:
I would not recommend this pool. Challenge and Provoke are definitely not recommended, and if you want a single target and AoE fear powers I would recommend rolling a Dark/Dark scrapper as they can make much better use of both, which they receive in their primary and secondary.
Speed:
Hasten is an often debated power. Many swear by it, however with claws/ and its shortened recharges, and especially with quickness, I do not find it anywhere near as useful as pre-ED, and it will help you burn through your endurance much too quickly. Flurry is a decent damage attack with a 3+ second animation. Super Speed can be a handy travel power, especially its stealthyness (yes I know it isnt a word) stacked with the pool power stealth for a sort of invisibility. Overall I wouldnt highly suggest this set for your travel power option at least not with a Claws/SRer.
Teleport:
Teleportation is more of a personal preference set. Many do not like its click and shoot behavior of high endurance cost before it is slotted. Teleport Foe has its uses for pulling, and Teleport Ally can be helpful when regrouping, or in the shard.
[u]Part 4: My Build at 50[u]
Here is a copy of my build at 50. It is how I played the game, and oddly he has never used a respecification on live, so essentially this was my characters build from 1-50. There are certain choices I made out of personal preference such as having both quickness and swift for combat mobility. This is what I came up with and enjoyed. Your millage may vary.
Cosmic Tiger Level 50 Claws/Super Relexes
Exported from version 1.5C of CoH Planner
http://joechott.com/coh
Archetype: Scrapper
Primary Powers - Ranged : Claws
Secondary Powers - Support : Super Reflexes
01 : Focused Fighting endred(01) defbuf(3) defbuf(29) defbuf(31) endred(42) defbuf(46)
01 : Strike acc(01) dam(5) dam(9) dam(11)
02 : Focused Senses endred(02) defbuf(3) defbuf(31) defbuf(31) endred(43)
04 : Agile defbuf(04) defbuf(5)
06 : Spin acc(06) dam(7) dam(7) dam(13) endred(13)
08 : Follow Up acc(08) recred(9) dam(11) dam(25) acc(25) endred(46)
10 : Swift runspd(10) runspd(50)
12 : Combat Jumping jmp(12)
14 : Super Jump jmp(14) jmp(15) jmp(15)
16 : Practiced Brawler recred(16) recred(17) endred(17)
18 : Focus acc(18) dam(19) dam(19) dam(21) recred(21) endred(46)
20 : Health hel(20) hel(40) hel(40)
22 : Stamina endrec(22) endrec(23) endrec(23)
24 : Quickness runspd(24) runspd(50)
26 : Eviscerate acc(26) dam(27) dam(27) dam(37) recred(40) endred(43)
28 : Lucky defbuf(28) defbuf(29) defbuf(37)
30 : Dodge defbuf(30) defbuf(34) defbuf(37)
32 : Shockwave acc(32) dam(33) dam(33) dam(33) conrng(34) endred(34)
35 : Evasion endred(35) defbuf(36) defbuf(36) defbuf(36) endred(43)
38 : Elude recred(38) recred(39) recred(39) defbuf(39)
41 : Conserve Power recred(41) recred(42) recred(42)
44 : Laser Beam Eyes acc(44) dam(45) dam(45) dam(45)
47 : Energy Torrent acc(47) dam(48) dam(48) dam(48) endred(50)
49 : Assault endred(49)
-------------------------------------------
01 : Brawl Empty(01)
01 : Sprint Empty(01)
02 : Rest Empty(02)
Part 5: Conclusions
Claws/SRer is a solid, fun, and exciting set. If you enjoy fast paced action, a mix of ranged and melee attacks, and solid combat maneuverability then I highly recommend this combination. I had a blast playing him form 1-50 and hope that this guide will be of some help to those who may follow a similar path. Best of luck!
Addendum:
Thank you to Buffy for writing an excellent guide
here as I used some of her defense numbers for the /SR section of my guide.
Version 1.0 9/3/06
To the OP: