Consolidated Guide (Current with Issue 9 Updates).
I Want To Be A Lawn Mower
A Guide to the Spines/Dark Armor Scrapper
The AoE King
Now with 17% more grass clippings per sitting.
Update as of June 5th, 2007
Recently I discovered that this guide came up missing for some reason on the forums, and I have an idea what happened (unintentionally wiped from the boards on a mod cleaning spree). With the incursion of Issue 9: Breakthrough! On our hands now, it was probably a good incentive for me to come back to this guide and work out the new Invention Origin enhancements for Spines/DA. Ill swing through all the material here and hopefully catch any old errors if there were, and incorporate some of the old forum discussion into this updated guide.
My initial thoughts when I started looking at the Invention Enhancements (IOs) was something along the lines of omg [censored] bahroken. That roughly translated into something good for us Shadowy Spined folks. Pre-I9 the Kings (ie: AoE Kings {Spines/DA}) were already pretty powerful, and now its like weve been handed a plate of gold and given the key to the city in fear of retribution to the devastation we will now ensue to not only minions and lieutenants, but to bosses, elite bosses, and potentially even AVs and other players on a wider scale.
The IOs available to us are on a pretty wide scale, and we have plenty of options to pick from. With this guide Ill incorporate what I saw as being the best choices for Spines/DA and how they overall affect the play style from here on out. Some things Im speaking on mainly are the Set Bonuses we can now achieve through the invention system; one thing in particular being the chance to gain upwards of a 14.5% recovery bonus, potentially erasing all endurance concerns this build once had. No Downtime = Bloody Mess
[u]Introduction[u]
Spines/Dark Armor, a scrapper combo that sometimes gets overlooked, and somewhat shadowed behind the growing popularity of Spines/Regeneration PvP power. A Spines/DA holds some secrets about its power that shows up in popularity every few months then wanes back into the darkness from which it came. I have watched this happen so many times in the past year that I decided it was time to give people a guide and a good look at what Spines/DA is and what it can do, and also to try and cut down on the fifteen threads on the build that keep popping up bi-weekly. (Since the original conception of this guide, that amount was trimmed down significantly, and people are looking specifically for these guides).
Spines is a very intense set, but matures a bit late before you get the solid powers and the strength of the slows it can provide. Similar goes for Dark Armor, it is a very powerful secondary (especially with Issue 9), but it is very endurance heavy, running multiple toggles and requiring toggle-juggling against different mob types you face in order to save yourself some endurance from time to time. Combined it will take some patience and some time to become used to the sets combined, and to fully bring out the devastating capabilities of the powers. (And with I9s Invention System, we can hope to limit these issues even further).
Quickly referring to the guide name: Yes, a Spines/DA is virtually an in-game lawn mower. Anything conning +2 and lower falls to you with almost no effort, +3 and up takes a little bit of work, but youll do fairly well regardless. Of course this wont fully happen till around 25-30 when you start to really slot your powers and start throwing SOs and IOs into your builds, but it is definitely worth the wait.
On a side note concerning IOs: They are fairly costly at the open of I9, and the market will scale to more appropriate prices of course, but that doesnt change that some rarer recipes are going to cost a prettier penny. Im suggesting from personal testing that holding off on really incorporating large quantities of IO sets into your build until after 30. Pre-30 SOs are still better than IOs outside of some set bonuses, that doesnt really balance you out though.
Once you hit 32 and can slot 35 IOs, thats a good time to start incorporating some basic IOs into your build, Reason for this is because once your level 30 SOs turn yellow at 32, a 35 IO will be like a 36 SO, and that bonus wont change as you level like it does with SOs. IO bonuses are static with levels, this makes them very powerful after 30 since at that point, youll be getting more bang for your buck at a continuous rate.
If you happen to have roughly forty million influence on the toon at the time and want to start working with sets early, then I wont say you cant do something like that. Im looking at the average player who, if theyre lucky only is working with anywhere from 500k to 2mill in funds; 20mill if they managed to find and sell a wings recipe, at that point they have a little more freedom to splurge on stuff at 30-35.
[u]Lets Get Started[u]
Well start with a healthy look at Spines first. I wont go deliver large amounts of detail on all of them unless I think it becomes necessary for later on, but for now: (Assume all IO Sets give better balance/more benefits than SO or basic IO Slotting)
Spines
Barb Swipe - Simple power, but not effective enough for the build. Its too slow/minimal to account for damage.
Lunge - This power is effectively one (in combination with another) that will carry you to 26 for single target damage. Take this and slot it how you see fit, although by 50 youll have the slots to spare, so go ahead and six slot it.
------------SO Slotting: 2 ACC, 3 Dam, 1 End Reducer.
------------IO Slotting: Makos Bite (Full Set). This set will net the build (mainly) a minor HP boost, Ranged Defense boost, and most importantly a 3% Damage Boost. On top of the Chance for Lethal IO (non-Unique) to this set for a 20% chance for lethal damage every ten seconds.
Spine Burst - This is one of the powers that makes you an AoE King/Lawn Mower, used primarily as your opening attack when you jump into a group; I wouldnt suggest over-usage of this power beyond that. Its initial strike is good, but it is heavy on endurance so be careful with it. Have four slots in it by 20, six by 30 at the latest.
------------SO Slotting: 2 Acc, 3 Dam, 1 End Reducer.
------------IO Slotting: Sciroccos Dervish (Acc/Dam, Dam/End, Lethal Proc, Acc/Dam/Rech) & Cleaving Blow (Acc/Rech, Dam/Rech). Doing four from SD and two from CB gives same IO bonus as if we just did all SD, but this method will give us Set Bonus of 1% Recovery from CB, and still get the main 10% Regen, and 3.13% To-Hit buffs from SD.
Build Up - This power will make you shine as the alpha-damage dealer, however its optional to take this power early on, or wait for it till later. I say this mostly because Build-Up wont benefit you as much pre-20 as it will post 20.
------------SO/IO Slotting: 3 Recharge.
Impale - Unlike Lunge (which youll probably stop using after 26), Impale will continue to be a useful power to you as its got some range on it along with a -fly component to keep your opponents a little closer to home.
------------SO Slotting: 2 Acc, 3 Dam, 1 End
------------IO Slotting: Decimation (Acc/Dam, Dam/End, Dam/Rech, Acc/Dam/End/Rech), Thunder Strike (Acc/Dam, Dam/End). After some review I deemed this the best route for Impale on slotting. Nets the highest Dam/Acc possible while gaining the 12% Regen, 2.25% HP, and 3% DamBuff from Decimation, and the 2% Recovery bonus from Thunder Strike.
Confront - Some may be asking why Im even mentioning this power at all. Reason being is easy: Spines/DA is virtually a tank (with less defense/resistance, but a lot more damage output). Since its possible to pass as the tank on the team (since you do the alpha-thing), this might be a potential grab for you (not that Id suggest it, but its there) for some agro that just might (talking a 1% chance here) slip away from you.
Quills - This, combined with Death Shroud for Dark Armor, make you a King of AoE, a power you can not skip, but can potentially push off for a couple levels. This opens at 18, Id say make sure you have it by 24 though at the latest.
------------SO Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Dam, 2 End Reducers.
------------IO Slotting: Sciroccos Dervish (Acc/Dam, Dam/End, Lethal Proc, Acc/Dam/Rech) & Cleaving Blow (Acc/Rech, Dam/Rech). Slotted just like Spine Burst (and same way Death Shroud and Ripper will be as well). Will net 10% Regen, 3.13% To-Hit, and 1% Recovery.
Ripper - One of two awesome cone attacks youll be able to pick up. Take it, learn the cone angle, and love it.
------------SO Slotting: 2 Acc, 3 Dam, 1 End Reducer.
------------IO Slotting: Sciroccos Dervish (Acc/Dam, Dam/End, Lethal Proc, Acc/Dam/Rech) & Cleaving Blow (Acc/Rech, Dam/Rech). Same reasons as Quills, Death Shroud and Spine Burst.
Throw Spines - Two of Two awesome attacks you are able to pick up. Again, take it, learn the cone, and love it.
------------SO Slotting: 2 Acc, 3 Dam, 1 End Reducer.
------------IO Slotting: Positrons Blast (Full Set). There was no competition in choosing this for Throw Spines. The Proc IO in this set in a Cone like this power is too good to pass up. The chance to toss in energy damage ontop of lethal and toxic is awesome. Plus the set bonuses of 2.5% recovery, 3.13% To-Hit and 6.25% Recharge Time Reduction.
Dark Armor
Dark Embrace - Not much option in taking this, dont know why youd pass it up anyway. This is your basic S/L resistance (although it comes with Negative and Toxic as well, a plus?).
------------SO Slotting: : 3 Resist, 1 End Reducer.
------------IO Slotting: Impervium Armor (Resistance, Resist/End, Resist/Rech, End/Rech). Just as a side note, this will be one of the harder to achieve IO sets, especially three times over. The Aegis set matches this one and can be swapped, although the set bonuses wont be the same. Impervium Armor (w/ four of the set slotted) net 2.5% recovery and +2.25% Max End. The Impervium Armor also maxes at level 40, but the IO % are the same for this set as the level 50 sets. Another reason itll be hard to obtain.
Death Shroud - This is the base for your coolness, where all your stuff becomes unreal. Downside: This power sucks endurance like a 1960s muscle car with a hole in the gas tank. The other thing is youre probably going to need to take this early on (as taking it later becomes difficult in build planning, and its also a greater source of your damage pre-20).
------------SO Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Dam, 2 End Reducers.
------------IO Slotting: Sciroccos Dervish (Acc/Dam, Dam/End, Lethal Proc, Acc/Dam/Rech) & Cleaving Blow (Acc/Rech, Dam/Rech). See Spine Burst for notes.
Murky Cloud - I could sit and debate when to pick this power for days on end. This power I leave to the masses for when you pick it up. You will definitely need it by roughly 30, but some may want it by 20, others go and grab it at by level four when it becomes available. Personally I think you can get away without taking this power until 30 pretty easily. If you take it earlier on though, be prepared to push some powers off for a few levels.
------------SO Slotting: 3 Resist, 1 End Reducer.
------------IO Slotting:
Obsidian Shield - If you dont take this at 10, log out, turn your computer off, and never play again. (If you skip it till 12, then Maybe Ill forgive you). This is your all-in-one no effects hit you power. Only thing this doesnt cover for is Knock back and Immobilization. And Immobilization resistance. you get out of Cloak of Darkness. Although with IOs, you can pretty much turn Obsidian Shield into a single toggle resist all power with IO 6-Slotting.
------------SO Slotting: 1 End Reducer (3 Resists, but not necessary until 33 when Psionic becomes an issue).
------------IO Slotting: Aegis (Psionic Unique), Steadfast Protection (KB Protect), Basic Resistance IO (x1), Basic Endurance Redux IO (x1). And now is where I was talking about making a single power = prevent all. The Aegis Unique will give you added resistance to Psionic as well as mag 2 resistance to confused, stun, fear, immobilize, hold and sleep. As for the KB Protects from Steadfast, Ill mark a further note in the review a little further down from this.
Dark Regeneration - This is your Survival Technique, and youll want it as soon as you can afford to get it. Definitely have this by the time you hit 18 (which means you either get it at 16, or at 18, if youre waiting till 20, youve messed up somewhere).
------------SO Slotting: 3 Rech Redux, 2 End Redux, 1 Acc
------------IO Slotting: Cleaving Blow (Full Set), Multi Strike (Acc/End, Dam/End). IO wise, this power is a little tricky. It can be slotted with AoE Damage IO Sets just because it does a minor amount of AoE damage when you trigger it. So its possible to finagle this with IO Sets to get some minor extra energy damage in after you take and deal alpha damage. By the set slotting suggested you can do one quick burst round of energy damage equivalent to a tic from Death Shroud. If you dont want to go this route, 2 Rech, 2 End and 2 Acc basic IOs will suffice just as well.
Cloak of Darkness - This is one of two powers from the Dark Armor set that is highly debated and a personal option to the player. Personally I take this and slot it the best I can to keep it running as much as possible. Visually it completely hides your toon, power wise it does a lot in the process. This power has a non-suppressible stealth component, a +perception, and immobilization resistance.
------------SO Slotting: 1 End Reducers.
------------IO Slotting: Basic End Reducer (x1) and or Luck of the Gambler (Recharge Speed Unique). Luck of the Gambler has an interesting Unique that could benefit you overall if you run across it, and Cloak of Darkness would be a good place to dump it (actually its the only place you can dump it if you want to use it). Otherwise one or two basic End Redux IOs will be sufficient for this power.
Cloak of Fear - This power is a personal choice. It has its benefits if you can stack it, but on its own it only effects Minions (unless the enhance terror capabilities are making it possible to boost the badie level this will effect). However, as I originally anticipated, IO sets have given some hope to this power. If youre willing to find a way to toss a few slots into this power (at least three), then you can setup the following:
------------IO Slotting: Glimpse of the Abyss (End/Fear, Acc/End, Chance for Psionic). Essentially this will turn your Cloak of Fear into a mini-death shroud every ten seconds for a damage type that is the least resisted in the game. If you were willing to spare another two slots to either add two more IOs from the Glimpse set to get the 6.25% Recharge Redux bonus, or two IOs from Unspeakable Terror for its 2.2% Enhance Terror set bonus. For a Build thats all about AoE Damage, this may be a route you can take if youre willing to devote the extra slots and influence.
Opressive Gloom - Requires HP to utilize, but the affect is so little you wont notice (Especially with regen bonuses from IO Sets), this is definitely good to pick up, its an auto-hit stun on minions (stacks with any other Stun effect from team mates), and reduces incoming damage significantly. It also requires little to get going.
------------SO Slotting: Stupefy (Acc/Rech and Acc/Stun/Rech). A little accuracy and some extended stun duration from the Stupefy set and youll get 2.5% Recovery off the set bonus. Thats about all youll need for this power to run pretty smooth and get a little extra from it.
Soul Transfer - Its a revive with a big disorient effect. Personally Id say take it given what youll be doing a lot (mob-diving) and the fact youre probably going to die quite often despite some of your better efforts, and the ability to rez right into a stunned mob is pretty awesome. No need to slot beyond the base slot though, with whatever you feel like putting in it.
[u]Review[u]
Thisll be a general overview of the powers and notes regarding all the slotting options, in particular all the information thatd developed with IOs. Im overwriting my original review I had before with something a little more oriented to discussing all the decisions made above that I originally wasnt as clear with. There are also some things I want to bring down here to talk about that I noticed should be mentioned that I really couldnt above without cluttering the rundown.
So overall we have a pretty powerful setup, especially with the incorporation of invention origin enhancements into the build. If you take the overall suggestions and run with them, youll get a pretty quick and efficient Spines/DA at 50, potentially even at 40 with the inclusion of some of the resistance IOs you can start incorporating at 40 since those wont change by 50.
One thing in particular I was looking at while I wrote this was that Spine Burst, Death Shroud, Quills and Ripper all ended up with the same IO setup and I wanted to discuss that a little. Depending on what kind of set bonuses you wanted to work with you could easily swap two of the Sciroccos Dervish for two Cleaving Blows since both sets have Acc/Dam, Dam/End, Dam/Rech, Acc/Rech with the same %s. What I originally was working for was to have the Chance for Lethal Proc in each of those powers (which Ill discuss something on that in a moment). By having four of the Sciroccos you get the 10% Regen (from two) and a 3.13% To-Hit Buff (from four).
Although if you wanted to swap the Acc/Dam and Dam/End from Sciroccos and replace them from Cleaving Blow, you can get the 1% Damage Buff (from having four Cleaving Blows in a power) on top of the 1% recovery bonus. Overall that would net a 4% damage buff, or mix two and two and get the 2% damage buff and a 6.26% to-hit buff between the powers, or however you might want to swap that around for whatever increase. Although 3% Damage Buff and 3.13% To Hit doesnt sound like a bad balance.
Theres a pretty hefty amount of overall stats coming off the set bonuses, based on the suggested slotting some main notes from that are these: 7% Damage Buff, +4.5% Max Endurance, 6.25% Enhanced Recharge Time, 17% Recovery, 64% Regeneration, 15.7% To-Hit. Theres been a lot of talk about even just 5% showing a pretty significant amount of impact on Spines/DA game play so take a wild guess how 17% is going to really show. Essentially youre getting all your toggles for free through this bonus, which is wonderful.
In regards to the Steadfast Protection: KB Protection - two will be sufficient for general PvE play, youll only experience rare KB, however a third will keep you safe from all PvE and be sufficient for PvP. Each one is Mag 4 (40% Resist) so 3x40=120% Resist to KB whereas Acrobatics is Mag 10 (100%) is was once used equally between PvE and PvP (somewhat). So if you can get a hold of three of the IOs and the spare slots, have one in Obsidian Shield, one in Dark Embrace, and one in Murky Cloud.
[u]Outsourcing Powers (Power Pools)[u]
Power Pools often fill in, and also offer some side strategies to builds of all types. Theyre also the source of travel powers (if you so choose to take them, and who wouldnt?). These however will not go into similar break down as the primary and secondary. Ill merely point out a couple pluses, and plenty of reasons not to take other ones.
Fitness - You need Health and Stamina out of this package. Health, despite how little it may seem to help you, is still a boosted regeneration rate, which helps in the long run. And stamina is the crown that makes the King run, so you definitely need to grab, and six slot that power. You can choose either swift or hurdle (or both). Most likely Hurdle, slightly faster, yet gives you some vertical boost, so a good pick over the other. If you plan to PvP, picking up both might be a good idea in the long run if you can find the room.
------------Side Note on Slotting: 3 Slotting Health could be ideal. With Health (if you can get it) Numinas Convalesence (Unique - +Recovery 10%, +Regen 20%), and Miracle (Unique +Recovery 15%, and Heal), those two will net a set bonus of an additional 2.5% Recovery.
Concealment - No need for anything out of this package deal, you already have Cloak of Darkness if you need stealth.
Fighting - People look to this for Tough and Weave mainly. Youll probably never use Boxing or Kick for any unworldly reason. Weave really isnt necessarily (and personally neither is Tough) but Tough remains an option if you want to spare the two power slots to get the extra S/L damage mitigation. Although between all of your secondary, you really shouldnt need this power.
Flight - Free Range motion, single endurance reducer makes it solid, but still the slowest of the travel powers. Air superiority is a good opener to the pool though, if you go that route. Id definitely suggest finding a way to fit Air Sup. Into your early build use if you go this route.
Teleport - Ultimate free range power. Go anywhere you can at the click of a button. Great manipulation on the combat field, although sucks a lot of endurance without some good slotting in it. If you dont mind hooking up a bind for this power, then its pretty good. And you can pickup the ever useful Recall Friend as its pre-requisite. Its a good way to hop into mobs, but the end cost may drag given toggle usage.
Speed - Hasten is a power you definitely should be taking for Spines/DA. Yes it has an end crash for 20 points after its duration, but at the same time it doubles the rate at which you can kill, which more than makes up for that single minute loss that you very well may never notice. As for the rest of this pool, grab SS if you like it and have a spare slot. Awesome horizontal speed, plus when you need it to combine with CoD for a pseudo invisibility.
Leaping - Some folks who take a /DA secondary prefer to swap Combat Jumping from this pool for Immo-Protection. Solely player choice. I wouldnt personally, but, freedom of choice and all. This does however lead into what I believe the best travel for the Spines/DA: Super Jump. This gives you some good x and y axis movement, along with the ability to drop down into mobs to better utilize your AoE goodness. Pre-I9 this also was our only source of KB protection, and you may still want to take this if you need to.
Presence - No, just say No.
Medicine - You dont need no stinkin medicine! RAWR!!! - That was my original view on the Medicine Pool, however after I9 released and Inventions began to open doorways for Spines/DA in several departments, and after some previous PvP discussions regarding Spines/DA, it may be very feasible to include this pool for Aid Self into a build. The chance to free the two power choices is definitely available depending on your play style; and for PvP scenarios you can easily drop Dark Regen for this to fill its place (most because DR isnt nearly as effective in 1 on 1 situations).
Out of all that it boils down to my suggestion of: Hurdle > Health > Stamina, Hasten, Combat Jumping > Super Jump ( >Acrobatics, but only if you cant afford or find the Steadfast: KB IOs).
Use them wisely.
[u]Ancillary Power Pools[u]
Fancy name for that lack of special stuff we get at level 41+ as scrappers. Whopping choices of Body Master, Weapons Master or Dark Mastery. These are entirely flavor based and I only sought out one power from all three packages, and that was Focused Accuracy. Slotted with two To-Hit Buffs, and two or three End Reducers, it allows you to drop down to 1 Acc enhancement in all your primary attacks and add in recharge or end reducers as you see fit. Body Mastery also has Conserve Power, which could also be a big benefit if you want some un-ending fighting without Endurance concerns.
With the inclusion of Issue 9, the APP choices may be a little more lax now then they were before. Focused Accuracy was a pretty good direction for any scrapper. Now however IO sets make it a little easier to get Hamidon Enhancement style effects without actually hunting down Hami-Os. By that I mean you can manage to get essentially the equivalent of two accuracy, three damage, and one and a half endurance and recharge reducers per each power. Comes out to be the equivalent of eight single origins within a package of six invention origins.
Basically this translates into being able to be less concerned having to pick a specific APP to help your character out, and instead more for fun. Although regrettably there are only three real APPs to choose from as a scrapper so you can go from there as you see fit. Despite having boosted accuracy now with Sets, Id probably still advise taking Focused Accuracy, just means youll be working to break even the toughest defenses. Although I dont think Conserve Power will be as necessary now as it used to be, and easily can be passed up.
[u]Final Review[u]
So in the end what I originally saw as a pretty powerful scrapper was actually capable of getting a lot more powerful with the time and effort spent to gather a few new enhancements. Although it still holds true that Spines/DA is the most damaging scrapper build available to the AT, and does it with a style. The Invention System opened a lot of doors for this build too, which should be obvious by now with how much recovery boosting we can do. Almost the potential to say a scrapper is capable of getting a third Stamina power, once all the unique powers and set bonuses start stacking up a scrapper has nearly a 50% recovery boost that definitely solves a lot of the old endurance problems; and with the KB protection IOs, we no longer need to dive into a power pool three selections deep to get resistance to the only hole in DAs protective shields.
I never thought Id ever advise someone to slot their resistance powers on a Dark Armor with five slots either. Seeing the chance to throw in the Impervium Armor sets and the Steadfast Protection IOs in between Murky Cloud and Dark Embrace. Theres even the chance to six slot them (which was nearly heresy between I5 an I8) to slip in a basic resistance IO and boost the resist capabilities even further to get close to 40%, when before we were stopped at 35%.
Some things that existed from the previous thread about this guide were some questions raised about PvP using a Spines/DA, and it ensued several pages of questions and thoughts regarding the capabilities and restrictions of using the two in combination for PvP activity. While generally people have been seeking Regeneration secondary as their Spines/* choice PvP, */DA still holds its own, mainly for the fact that it has protection now against pretty much everything in the game that could have potentially been a threat, even its own self. This was mainly a direction people avoided this build, that and endurance issues.
To take the build PvP side now, with IOs available, I dont foresee that (outside of the suggested slotting direction) that anything would really need to be changed to the setup outside of swapping Dark Regeneration for Aid Self (with equal six slotting, regardless of Set Slotting, or Basic Slotting). Even though the Aid Self route would force you to surrender a power choice somewhere, its definitely viable, depending on the route you take, sacrificing a later game choice, or an extra APP to fill the extra role. Or even carrying both Dark Regen and Aid Self w/ its pre-req is even possible, which I may even do with my own personal build just to have the on-command ability to heal. I kind of already mentioned this earlier with notes on the Medicine Pool, just as easy to go into more detail here as well to cover the base a little better.
So there you have it, Spines/DA in a very big nutshell. Hopefully this guide has helped you in someway, or opened some thoughts for discussion. If theres anything that looks a little off or a typo somewhere, definitely let me know to keep this as efficient as possible! Ill leave the finally build concept after all of this so everyone can see a finally look at the concept and potential of a Spines/DA post I9.
