Umbral

It's also got the best DPA of all of the attacks in the set: even with the "overly long animation", it deals a lot of damage because it has a 20 second base recharge (so it doesn't suffer from the Eagles Claw issue of a long animation and a comparatively short recharge time).

I don't think any enemy scaling mechanisms are really needed for */SR, mainly because enemy scaling powers generally go hand-in-hand. I also don't think that SR really needs all that much more: it's already got plenty of survivability going for it (assuming you took the Fighting pool).

The most I would do would probably be to give Quickness a bit of +recov (12.5%, just like Phys Perf) or +end (5%, like the new PPP power) to offset the fact that Quickness has always seemed a bit weak when compared to other +rech powers (and the fact that +rech actually decreases endurance sustainability by increasing your potential endurance consumption). If the ranged and AoE toggles were fused an a new power was needed (something I highly doubt will happen simply because you have to deal with the problems of how to deal with people that are currently using the power that you're "destroying"), I would probably add a passive that provides a bit of +regen (35%) and +res (5% all) to increase sustainability, provide some additional IO slotting options (heal and +def uniques), and bolster the scaling resists a bit (this could actually be added to Practiced Brawler in the current incarnation since it's now the only mez power I can think of that doesn't have some secondary functionality).

I would hesitate to support anything more than those changes because SR isn't an underperforming set compared to the Scrapper average. It's just adding a little bit of slot capability QoL and additional long sustainability that SR is relatively weak on compared to most other sets.

It came out middle of the road using either standard rounds (for the -res from Piercing Rounds) or incendiary rounds (which came out slightly ahead). The time it was really behind was when using either Chem Ammo (with the ridiculously awesome secondary effect of awesomeness; so it makes sense for it to be weaker imo) or Cryo Ammo (and there isn't even a point to using Cryo Ammo as far as I'm concerned). The big problem as I see it with the numbers I provided for that comparison is that I didn't factor in Aim (or the lack thereof), which, while it wouldn't do much to ST damage over time, it's going to have a massive effect on survivability (thanks to lacking frontloading capability). I'm still at the vanguard of the movement to give the [Swap Ammo] shell power Aim functionality.

KM isn't close to the same as DP, though. Power Siphon might cut off frontloading capability, but that's not going to do much considering just how much +dam you'll generate and that it's not on any "squishy" ATs that need to kill things quickly just to survive. KM has nice-to-excellent DPAs for everything but Burst (which, seriously, needs some love as I see it because "ranged attack" isn't enough functionality as I see it to make up for that horrible animation time), a very nice secondary effect, and middle of the road AoE capability. At worst, KM could be described as middle of the road. Dual Pistols could be said to be mediocre and having to work to stay there.

How did heroes get more content than villains in I16? That one didn't have any content added for either side, if I'm not going crazy. In I17, both heroes and villains got the same amount of content for solo and Posi got a (ridiculously much needed) revamp. The most you could possibly claim is that heroes got more content in the last patch (and it's not even all that much "new" content since it's pretty much the same story as before).

This is misleading. The power that summons your fluffy has an acc mod of 2.0, but the actual powers that your fluffy uses have 1.0 acc mods. This 2.0 isn't actually what your fluffy uses (since your fluffy does not use the power that summons him). The same thing happens with the various rain powers (Ice Storm, Rain of Fire, etc): they're listed with a 2.0 acc mod because the power that summons them has a 2.0 acc mod when the powers that are actually used by the pet has the normal 1.0 acc mod with powers it actually uses to accomplish what it does.

Right. Because the data points I've told everyone to look at have been with 10 targets in range and not 5 targets in range, right? Because I've only ever been looking at SD's performance in top end IO situations and never with only SOs, right? Seriously, look at what I've actually said before you try to put words in my mouth. At SO grade performance, SD is simply stronger because it kills faster and is just as survivable (lower survivability is more than compensated for with shorter exposure to danger thanks to higher damage output).

Even more amusingly, I provided all of the tools necessary (and instructions as to how to use those tools as well) to demonstrate that SD is more powerful than all of the other sets when the offensive aspects are actually accounted for (something that you refused to do). I already fulfilled my burden of proof , as I see it (and everyone else except for you), especially since everyone that actually knows the game seems to agree with me while you still seems to be clinging to the argument that SD is somehow only usable when you spend large amounts of inf on it (which isn't even true if you actually look at things empirically).

You know, except for the ridiculously awesome -dam secondary effect that Brutes and Tankers get higher values for.

For ranged damage, no. Stalkers have a .6 range damage scalar while Scrappers have a .5 ranged damage scalar. Luckily, APP ranged and AoE attacks don't use the ranged damage scalar: they use the melee damage scalar (because otherwise there's no point to using those attacks in the least).

Except that they're not.

I'm curious if you actually took my advice or just attempted to and failed miserably. For the assumptions I gave you, those numbers aren't even right. And you didn't even do the adjustment for the improved damage (which increases the value by 25% to compensate for faster kill speed fo SD which was the most important part). Unless you planned on spamming Aid Self ad nauseum (which is what that Aid Self tab assumes), those numbers would be substantially different. Now, comically enough, even with those numbers, I'm still right because you forgot to factor in the fact that Shield is killing things 25% faster. Seriously, with your own assumptions, Shield is second only to Ice and Dark (the values ignore endurance issues so the Dark value isn't really that high). Try again. Maybe you'll actually get it right one of these days.

And that would be the same Castle that didn't realize that Shield Charge was doing way more damage than it was supposed to for an exceptionally long period of time even while some players actively said it was too strong and other people like you said it was just fine. Oh, and then he realized how broken it was and fixed it.

Why yes, because that's an inter-AT balance issue, not an intra-AT balance issue. Are you done with this farce yet?

This is a fun one.

Download a survivability spreadsheet (like the one from this thread). Turn on realistic assumption (like the Fighting pool, Health, etc), thrown in some enemies (I would say 5 is a fair number), and then look at the comparative survivability over the 30 and 60 second time frames (unless you honestly believe that the indefinite survivability time frame is the only one that really matters). Normalize this for the increased damage provided by AAO for that number of targets (125% higher survivability than listed because of the 25% faster kill speed, not including Shield Charge's massive frontloading). Oh look, SD is generating better numbers than any set except for Invuln and Willpower and that's ignoring the frontloading capabilities of Shield Charge wherein it's possible to wipe out entire enemy groups in a single shot.

Isn't math just fun? Seriously, shut up now.

Well, if it's a dream build, you're not really getting particularly good performance out of it. You're not packing on as much recharge as you could and you're barely managing much defense. You seem to have focused a little too heavily on regeneration (something that you really don't need to do since you've already got so much of it) as well, and I'm hoping you intended to get the passive accolades (not that I can tell since you previewed your post and it ate the data link).

Here's mine: Lower regen than yours and I didn't bother slotting Siphon Life for heal, but I'm managing a lot more defense and a good bit more recharge along with everything I need for MG>Smite>Siphon>Smite attack chain goodness. This means that I'm going to be a lot more survivable because I'm not going to get hit nearly as much as you. Keep in mind that this build is going to get some rather major overhauling once GoRo hits in less than a week so I wouldn't start aiming for it right away. It just shows you what you can manage as we speak (Umbral is /glee for Shadow Meld).

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.704
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

+def concept: Level 50 Magic Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Regeneration
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Smite -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(3), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(3), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), T'Death-Dam%(46)
Level 1: Fast Healing -- Mrcl-Heal(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+(45)
Level 2: Shadow Maul -- Armgdn-Dmg(A), Armgdn-Dmg/Rchg(7), Armgdn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), Armgdn-Acc/Rchg(9), Armgdn-Dam%(11)
Level 4: Reconstruction -- Panac-Heal/EndRedux(A), Panac-EndRdx/Rchg(11), Panac-Heal/Rchg(13), Panac-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(13), Panac-Heal(15)
Level 6: Quick Recovery -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(7), EndMod-I(48)
Level 8: Siphon Life -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(17), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(19), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(19), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21), T'Death-Dam%(21)
Level 10: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(34), Winter-ResSlow(48)
Level 12: Dull Pain -- Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(A), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(23), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(23), Dct'dW-Heal(25), Dct'dW-Rchg(25)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-ResKB(15)
Level 16: Integration -- Panac-Heal(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(17), Numna-Heal(27), Panac-Heal/+End(27)
Level 18: Dark Consumption -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(31), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(33), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Oblit-%Dam(34)
Level 20: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)
Level 22: Tough -- Aegis-ResDam(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(37), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(37)
Level 24: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(37), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx(39), S'dpty-Def(46)
Level 26: Soul Drain -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(39), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(40), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), Oblit-%Dam(42)
Level 28: Instant Healing -- Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(A), Dct'dW-Rchg(29), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(29), Dct'dW-Heal(31), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(42)
Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(31), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 32: Midnight Grasp -- Hectmb-Dmg/Rchg(A), Hectmb-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Hectmb-Acc/Rchg(36), Hectmb-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Hectmb-Dam%(45)
Level 35: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(39), DefBuff-I(46)
Level 38: Moment of Glory -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(42), RechRdx-I(43), RechRdx-I(48)
Level 41: Focused Accuracy -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(43), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(43), GSFC-Build%(45), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(50), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(50)
Level 44: Super Speed -- Zephyr-Travel(A)
Level 47: Physical Perfection -- P'Shift-End%(A)
Level 49: Resilience -- GA-3defTpProc(A), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
Level 0: Ninja Run

If you want to get technical, the recharge times needed are 2.112 seconds, 4.62, and 4.488 seconds, respectively. Honestly, I wouldn't take another attack. I would just optimize the slotting a bit more and get the recharge you need.

Yes, but not for the reasons you're citing. How you've slotted Tough is simply too expensive for what you're getting. The Titanium Coating 6 piece isn't worth all of the slots that you have to invest in it, especially when you can get more from 6 slotting a power like Focused Accuracy for the 6 piece Gaussian's set. Weave is the real gem for an IO'd DM/Regen however: +def is awesome and the +rech from LotG is even better. Even so, neither of them deserves more than 4 slots.

First off, Perf Shifter procs. Learn to love them. They are the first thing you should slot into QR, Stamina, or Physical Perfection. They are the best things you can put in there. Secondly, yes, your build looks like it has more than enough recovery. 3 end/sec passive gain is generally enough to run all that you need.

Not from scratch, but definitely redo it. You've made a lot of mistakes (like focusing on things like +regen rather than +rech and +def), but it's not a total loss. Look at what I did and try to figure out why I did them (everything in there was done for a reason) and you'll get some good lessons on good design.

It depends. Are you good enough to get 3+ enemies per activation of Shadow Maul reliably? If so, yes, it's better, especially when you pack on some Soul Drain loving. If you suck miserably with it and count yourself lucky when you catch 1 extra target, no, you're slowing yourself down; just buzzsaw through.

Something you might want to consider for AoE damage is taking Dark Consumption: it's not going to do a lot, but, if you use it after a saturated Soul Drain, it'll do some impressive damage and it's a nice power that can free up some slots by getting rid of the need for Stamina. More slots, more power picks, and more AoE damage are always a nice thing in my book.

So now you're trying to parley the SD/SR disparity into a larger scale AT disparity between Blasters and Scrappers? Quite bold of you, but, once again, completely and totally wrong.

First off, by the very merit of their powerset designs, Blasters already have a substantial advantage in damage dealing capacity by simply having more AoE capability. Secondly, Blasters don't need as much survivability because, when on a team, they have range, which allows them to avoid large amounts of untoward damage (from AoEs) that Scrappers have to deal with.

Finally, feel free to ask Castle whether he thinks Scrappers are an overpowered AT. I'll be willing to bet virtually anything that he'll say they're not and do you know how I know this? Castle hasn't done anything to Scrappers as an AT in years: that's why. He's tweaked Tankers, Stalkers, Defenders, Blasters, Dominators, and HEATS. And yet, for some reason, he hasn't tweaked Scrappers. Imagine that.

Either way, your straw man argument here is a complete joke. We're talking about Scrappers (yes, Scrappers) and how increased damage capacity is functionally mitigation (along with an increase in overall effectiveness) so the very fact that SD Scrappers have nominally lower survivability is a farce because they can kill things fast enough to not need the higher survivability that is supposed to be the balanced factor with other sets. If you want to start talking about inter-AT balance, fine, I can talk about that plenty (probably more than you want) but it's not the issue at hand. If you're going to try to argue, at least try to use arguments that actually apply.

Within the Scrapper AT, SD is overpowered because the cost:benefit isn't in line with what every other powerset. If you honestly want to continue deluding yourself by saying that it's not, that's your prerogative, but I'm going to be over here actually attempting to bring the game back in balance so that there is a numerical reason to play something other than SD. You can say there there are reasons to play something other than SD, but I'm really curious whether you actually believe them or whether you simply want to believe that SD is balanced, even in the face of all of the evidence to the contrary that people that know the numbers a lot better than you (and a bunch of other people that barely even know what the numbers mean in the first place) have posited because you like being overpowered and think that if you convince enough people that the SD is weaker than it really is that somehow Castle will stop paying attention to the people that he has relied heavily upon in the past to actually give him good advice and direction.

Go on and keep arguing with the numbers, demolishing the universe with SD, and then trying to convince people that it's not a set that outperforms everything. I doubt you'll succeed simply because anyone that's played the set can pretty much tell you flat out that it makes everything else look like a joke.

Because Blasters don't have any substantial existing survivability tools. Shield Defense does. It's not even remotely close to the same thing.

You don't need as much mitigation when you're killing things in half the time that other ATs are (and have a tool for massive frontloading of damage so that even fewer enemies are present to attack you after your initial assault). +Dam is itself a survival tool because it shortens the time frame that you're actually exposed to damage. That's honestly why SD still has awesome performance in SOs (and why the "lower mitigation" argument is a complete and utter lie).

Not to mention that it would also suggest more KB/KU than immobilization.

While there was never any contrary rule, the general gist of stun secondary effects was that they were either substantially shorter than their recharge time or they had a completely pitiful chance of occuring. With Cobra Strike and most of the stunning Kinetic Melee attacks, the chances to proc are both higher and provide longer comparative stun times than the attacks of other sets with stun as a secondary effect (consider Energy Melee and War Mace), which suggests that Castle would likely increase those same capabilities if sets with stuns (and potentially other mezzes as well) were reexamined (likely because the secondary effects of attacks that are primary damage dealers are virtually never actually slotted for said effect due to not having enough slots to get to them so there isn't a point in balancing them against a higher assumed value like you would with damage).

Looking at KM, it seems that Castle seems to have decided that long durations (roughly equivalent to recharge time) in attack powers should now be something of a "normal" thing. I expect for other effects to get similar treatment (high comparative uptimes) whenever sets get reviewed.

Or both. Get rid of the ability to cap DDR (so that the set actually has to worry about something that SR doesn't) and reduce the +dam capabilities of AAO to levels that aren't perma-BU. Bam. Set is actually balanced against the existing sets in both top end and normal tier play.

You do realize that, along with the Fury changes, Brutes also had a reduction in their +dam cap so that Scrappers now deal more damage, even at the absolute cap, right? (1.125 * 1.075 * 5 = 6.046; .75 * 7.75 = 5.81)

I think that's what he was talking about. Scrapper at damage cap with FE active would be simply awe-inspiring.

Consume now provides a +recov component for each target you hit for a short period after you activate it (like 30s iirc).

The bigger change (imo) is the Fiery Embrace change. It now provides roughly 45% more base damage while it's active (as additional fire damage) rather than 100% +dam. Massive improvement there, especially since now you don't have to be a pure fire build to get full use out of it.