Sir_Lionheart

Most of my melee toons have some Defense component, whether it is positional or typed, and I generally IO my melee toons for Defense. I'm a bit unsure of how to go with my Fire/SS, which has no inherent Defense.

Just speaking in broad terms, is it wiser to build towards typed or positional Defense? Or a mix of both (ie one Type, one position)? Skip Defense altogether and go HP or Regen?

Pardon for the somewhat-threadjack, but is there a minimum/average DPS number a Scrapper should have to solo AV's? No, insp or temps. Thanks.

Thanks for all the replies.

I'm going to skip Torrent b/c of the KB, so will be taking Petrifying Gaze instead, and I want the Tentacles. Would Dark Blast or Nightfall be a better option? Are they good as attacks, or used more as set mules?

I generally like Brutes better than Scrappers mainly because of the sets that have not ported over yet, and secondly because of better survivability.

But as for playstyle, my Brutes actually fight more like Tanks than Scrappers. So to me, there is a clear distinction between Brutes and Scrappers. On Tanks and Brutes, I gather a group around me and try to punch the crap out of everyone, either to hold aggro for my teammates or build my Fury, respectively. On Scrappers, I tend to focus on specific targets until they are defeated and go on to the next one.

So for me, fighting on a Tank/Brute goes like: toggle-smack-toggle-smack-toggle-smack…. whereas fighting on a Scrapper is like: toggle-smack-smack-kill-toggle-smack-smack-kill, toggle-smack-smack-kill… So even when AT's will be able switch sides, what toon I play will be dictated by how I feel like playing, as it would for choosing any AT.

I have a DM/SR Scrapper that is still has a way to go til 41, but I am planning to pick up Dark Mastery, for concept reasons. I was planning to pick up Petrifying Stare, Gloom/Nightfall (one or the other) and Tenebrous Tentacles.

I believe Dark is one of the lesser used Epics, and I only looked at the stats briefly, but that other than maybe Gloom, the powers seem rather underwhelming. Has anyone had any experience with them, and can tell me how good/bad they are, or if there is synergy with DM/SR? I will likely end up taking Dark anyway, to try it out, but any information on what to expect is appreciated.

I know this is an old thread, just wanted to relay my story.

I just finished IO'ing out my Ice/Stone the other day and wanted to test her out. She's got one purple set (for Stun), but otherwise I don't think anything else too outrageous. She's around 48% to S/L and slightly less on E/NE. The F/C isn't too great, but that doesn't bother me too much.

I had recently finished the Midnighter arc, so I was in Cim and decided to run a couple Roman missions. I take the first mish from Daedalus at +2/x8 (not Marcus, I got them confused), and I get Arachnos. I figure no problem, and dive in.

Basically, I got pwned embarrassingly fast any time I tried to go at a full group toe to toe. Eventually, I resorted to corner pulls to thin them out a bit. Even so, things got tight many times. Both Hoarfrost and Hibernate were needed and used quite liberally.

I don't know if there are other powers or strategies I could have used that would have served me better, but in this mission, Hibernate came in very, very handy.

For best early level survivability, I'd go with Kat or BS/WP because of Divine Avalanche/Parry. Most baddies you face in the early levels will have attacks either in the melee or lethal variety.

I have Tough on all my Tanks, but only because I wanted Weave on all my Tanks. Tough is useful, but not "necessary", and I often leave it untoggled.

At the minimum, it is a useful mule to hold a Steadfast +Def/Res IO.

I am trying out and Ice/Elec Tank, as well. Only up to 19, but in theory, the two sets should mesh well for the reasons you outlined.

Ice/Fire is a pretty established and effective Tank combo, and Elec Melee is similar in that it is a good PBAoE. But with some cooler powers, IMO (visually, anyway; don't know how the numbers match up).

[QUOTE=Airhammer;2975079]

I am Avalance level 50 Ice/Stone tank. Bewteen taunt. chilling embrace and icicles you might not even realize there is a team. And between Fault and Tremor I can either keep you nicely stunned or flat on your back.. You chose.

QUOTE]

Cool, I have an Ice/Stone named Avalanche Girl. Very fun.

I'm thinking of making a new concept toon, who is going to be "normal" (no powers), so was thinking of trying DP/Dev.

I have never played /Dev, mainly because from the few I've seen in action, an inordinate amount of time seems to go to setting multiple Trip Mines and Time Bombs, which does not really suit me. Would I be gimping my toon too much if I skip these powers? Or if I take them, is it worth just setting one mine per fight?

I rolled a ElM/Inv, for concept reasons, who is now 17. Right now, I am a bit underwhelmed, and wanted to get people's thoughts on this combo at higher (32+) levels, both pre- and post-IO slotting.

My main problem is that ElM feels really slow, not very fluid. Thunderstrike and Jacobs Ladder, in particular, need a little bit of setup for maximum effect. Does it smooth out later? I'm not sure if I should continue with this Scrap, or maybe look into re-rolling him as a Tank. I don't know, so far, the set feels more suited for Tanks.

Personally, I'm a fan of Taunt and think it's a very valuable tool when tanking. I have it on all my Tanks except my Ice/Stone. But I judge Tanks by their playstyle, not their builds, IO bonuses, or whether they have Taunt or not.

Lately, I've played with a lot of Tanks who just plain sucked; some had Taunt, some didn't. What makes a good Tank is to have the proper mindset, and only then will you learn how to utilize all your tools for aggro control. If someone is an all-out Scranker, whether it is by choice, inexperience or inability to grasp the tanking concept, then having Taunt will not magically make them a good Tank. Likewise, a Tauntless Tank, or even Scrapper, who is diligent in using taunt auras and attacks to engage entire groups, can be a highly effective at tanking.

Best thing to do when on pug's is to observe how the first few fights go and adjust your tactics accordingly. There are too many team variables that come into play to get hung up on whether one player has one power from their AT.

Thanks for the replies. I was hoping 300M would be basic yet effective.

I only have 1 fully IO'd toon, but took over a year to slot him, so don't know how much I spent total. Plus, I used a lot of Reward Merits for the more expensive ones.

Just curious, what amount would most of the populace in Scrapper Forums consider to be building on a budget? I mean for a solid, but not overly powerful build?

I have a DM/SR Scrap now at 31, my second SR Scrap after my FM/SR, which I took to 50, and these are my comparative experiences:

My FM was a beast once I softcapped him, but leveling was a very up and down process. He could dish out impressive damage, but couldn’t take it without outside help, and I faceplanted a lot. I admit it was my first try at SR, so maybe I didn't level him up "correctly" in terms of power selection, which could have contributed to his squishiness. I just plugged away because I was looking towards the end build, but overall, he just seemed very fragile for quite a while.

My DM has been more durable in the early going. I'm sure the The ToHit Deb helps a lot, but I also rely heavily on ToF and Air Superiority. I typically like to ToF the Lt's, and use AS on the Bosses, while whittling down the group. I find the combined mitigation is pretty effective.

When I hit softcap, I plan on dropping both powers, as I really don't see much use other than as IO mules. But for the present, ToF is a very good leveling up tool.

I think Ice/Stone is a fun, tanky combo.

I like Ice because it is versatile: a taunt aura that also slows baddies around you, a damage aura, heal/+max HP, End recovery/drain, heal/phase power for emergencies, and resistance to slows. Low on Resistance, if that's your thing, but I think the utility makes up for it.

Stone Melee is a very smashy set. The hammers do respectable ST damage and the two PBAoE knockdowns are great. Nothing like rounding up a bunch of bad guys and knocking them on their butts.

First time I did the arc, I went into the mish all cocky with my soft-capped Fire/SR on a +1/x8 mission, and got owned fast. I thought I just got unlucky, and tried again. Same thing. Then I thought they must debuff Def, so next time I kept a careful watch of my combat attributes. My Def numbers didn't dip, but still got killed. I concluded that they must have some wicked ToHit bonuses, so next attempt I tried pulling from range and fighting 3-4 at a time, which worked OK, until the patrols came from behind. BAM, dead.

Finally, I gave up and asked some friends for help. While I was pissed at the time, looking back it was pretty funny.

I was thinking of this combo, as well. With regard to playstyle, I would think it would be similar to and Ice/Fire, in terms of grouping mobs and then unleashing AoE's. Thunderstrike and Lightnin Rod have KD, and there is also an End drain effect, though I think it's fairly small, but might work well with EA.