forest60

If you can get your tank to 50 do you really need a guide?

I just started a SD/DM character myself and my playstyle matches yours pretty well. I am by no means an expert on Tankers, as my soloing nature pushes me more towards scrapping, but this is what I came up with.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

Level 37 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Shield Defense
Secondary Power Set: Dark Melee
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Deflection -- Empty(A), Empty(11), Empty(15), Empty(23)
Level 1: Shadow Punch -- Empty(A), Empty(7), Empty(9), Empty(11), Empty(13)
Level 2: True Grit -- Empty(A), Empty(3), Empty(3)
Level 4: Shadow Maul -- Empty(A), Empty(5), Empty(5), Empty(9)
Level 6: Active Defense -- Empty(A), Empty(7)
Level 8: Against All Odds -- Empty(A)
Level 10: Battle Agility -- Empty(A), Empty(13), Empty(15), Empty(23)
Level 12: Combat Jumping -- Empty(A), Empty(25)
Level 14: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 16: Siphon Life -- Empty(A), Empty(17), Empty(17), Empty(19), Empty(19)
Level 18: Health -- Empty(A), Empty(34), Empty(34)
Level 20: Stamina -- Empty(A), Empty(21), Empty(21)
Level 22: Super Jump -- Empty(A)
Level 24: Phalanx Fighting -- Empty(A), Empty(25)
Level 26: Shield Charge -- Empty(A), Empty(27), Empty(27), Empty(29), Empty(29), Empty(36)
Level 28: Soul Drain -- Empty(A), Empty(31), Empty(31), Empty(31), Empty(33), Empty(33)
Level 30: Taunt -- Empty(A), Empty(34)
Level 32: One with the Shield -- Empty(A), Empty(33)
Level 35: Dark Consumption -- Empty(A), Empty(36), Empty(36), Empty(37), Empty(37), Empty(37)
Level 38: [Empty]
Level 41: [Empty]
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet

In YOUR build I would definitely move Active Defense up quite a bit as you can't Taunt (or anything else) if you are mezzed.

QR

I'm not set on anything right now. Just looking for options.

Some RL friends and I have decided to make characters specifically to run TFs and our former tanker wants to be the Rad/Rad Defender so I get to tank. I'm a scrapper at heart and I'm a bit worried about his healing/debuffing (he wasn't a great healer in other MMOs.)

So I need ideas on a survivable tank that can still FEEL like I"m doing dmg (the scrapper in me.) I was thinking Dark Armor or Shield Defense....thoughts?

Outstanding! Your work and effort is much applauded.

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i have the settings you posted at the start. what im getting now is mostly effecting the power effects and things like ambient fires in the zones.

the colors are way off and really neon looking.
Neon Fires

Red Mist the red mist is the effect from simply having sprint turned on

Base Portal

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I just bought a computer for my wife (FINALLY convinced her to play CoH !!!) and I'm getting the same effects. If I fiddle with the 3D slider it will go away but I have to do it everytime we log in on this computer.

Running Vista (ugh), Catalyst 7.7, Radeon X1300 (128mb), and using Billz recommendations (slightly turned down.) Not sure what is causing the issue.

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I rolled back to the old Catalyst 7.6 drivers and so far everything looks great (way better than 7.7).

[ QUOTE ]
i have the settings you posted at the start. what im getting now is mostly effecting the power effects and things like ambient fires in the zones.

the colors are way off and really neon looking.
Neon Fires

Red Mist the red mist is the effect from simply having sprint turned on

Base Portal

[/ QUOTE ]

I just bought a computer for my wife (FINALLY convinced her to play CoH !!!) and I'm getting the same effects. If I fiddle with the 3D slider it will go away but I have to do it everytime we log in on this computer.

Running Vista (ugh), Catalyst 7.7, Radeon X1300 (128mb), and using Billz recommendations (slightly turned down.) Not sure what is causing the issue.

So I'm a bit inspired to try my hand at PvP with this character, any advice about a possible build (keep in mind I have no HOs--just can't see myself spending 2+ hours in mind numbing raiding again...ah those early MMO memories.)

This is as near as I can remember my final build. I know I got a few of the slotting orders wrong but it is pretty darn close. I would not call this optimal but it certainly got me where I wanted.

---------------------------------------------
Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
---------------------------------------------
Name: spine-dark scrapper
Level: 50
Archetype: Scrapper
Primary: Spines
Secondary: Dark Armor
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Lunge==> Acc(1)Dmg(36)Dmg(37)Dmg(39)EndRdx(40)
01) --> Dark Embrace==> DmgRes(1)DmgRes(15)DmgRes(21)EndRdx(40)
02) --> Death Shroud==> Acc(2)EndRdx(3)Dmg(3)Dmg(9)Dmg(11)EndRdx(37)
04) --> Spine Burst==> Acc(4)Dmg(5)Dmg(5)Dmg(9)EndRdx(11)Rechg(13)
06) --> Build Up==> Rechg(6)Rechg(7)Rechg(7)
08) --> Swift==> Fly(8)
10) --> Obsidian Shield==> DmgRes(10)EndRdx(42)DmgRes(43)DmgRes(50)
12) --> Hover==> Fly(12)Fly(13)Fly(23)
14) --> Fly==> Fly(14)Fly(15)
16) --> Dark Regeneration==> Acc(16)Acc(17)EndRdx(17)Rechg(21)EndRdx(23)EndRdx(46)
18) --> Quills==> Acc(18)Dmg(19)Dmg(19)Dmg(36)EndRdx(36)EndRdx(37)
20) --> Cloak Of Darkness==> EndRdx(20)
22) --> Health==> Heal(22)Heal(43)Heal(43)
24) --> Stamina==> EndMod(24)EndMod(25)EndMod(25)
26) --> Ripper==> Acc(26)Dmg(27)Dmg(27)Dmg(29)EndRdx(29)Rechg(34)
28) --> Impale==> Acc(28)Dmg(31)Dmg(31)Dmg(31)EndRdx(39)
30) --> Murky Cloud==> DmgRes(30)DmgRes(39)EndRdx(40)DmgRes(46)
32) --> Throw Spines==> Acc(32)Dmg(33)Dmg(33)Dmg(33)Range(34)Rechg(34)
35) --> Oppressive Gloom==> Acc(35)
38) --> Soul Transfer==> Heal(38)
41) --> Conserve Power==> Rechg(41)Rechg(42)Rechg(42)
44) --> Focused Accuracy==> EndRdx(44)EndRdx(45)EndRdx(45)TH_Buf(45)TH_Buf(46)TH_Buf(50)
47) --> Energy Torrent==> Acc(47)Dmg(48)Dmg(48)Dmg(48)EndRdx(50)
49) --> Recall Friend==> EndRdx(49)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> Empty(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Empty(1)
01) --> Critical Hit==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Empty(2)
---------------------------------------------

Thanks everyone. I will post my final build when I get home, I actually varied but only slightly from my original plan. As for living on the edge and keeping HP in the red, yep Spines/DA solo does that a lot but it really is a nice feeling to whoop so much butt and come out standing (breathing really heavy, covered in blood, sweat, and tears...but standing.)

Sometimes when I read the Scrapper forums and people say things like "What powerset would Wolverine be?" I have to pause while I picture him as a Spines/DA. In my experience no power set encompasses the true embodiement of "Scrapperlock" quite like Spines/DA. Last one standing, wins.

UPDATE

Final Confessions. Area of Effect, yes I am still addicted. Sadly this has not sated my desire to arrest as many villains as possible in the shortest amount of time. It has, however, satisfied my need to level very quickly (at least for now.) At the end I pushed past levels 46-49 in a blur, I didn't appreciate the arcs for their stories at all. This being my first character to actually reach 50, I was in a hurry. Do I regret soloing so much and the bridging? Nah, I did what I set out to do...make a Spines/DA scrapper and be an AoE god (not that other ATs can't do the same.) One note on that though, I find that I could have done the same thing (and possibly even faster) if I had teamed more. For my play style (not always able to comit to long periods or not be afk off and on) the solo scrapper worked pretty well but when I did team I was impressed at the character's ability to do as well (or even better in some casses) as I did solo.

So now I'm 50 and I've already started my first Warshade to try out more AoE goodness. I'm just not sure I have kicked my Scrapper addiction to go all Alien-Blasty-Triform-ish, we'll see.

I hope this "journal" has helped others interested in Spines, Dark Armor or just AoE fighting in general. Look for me around Paragon City, I'll be the one happily sending villains to the Zig and keeping the city a safer place for everyone.

UPDATE:

Level 44-50--End Red/Resists, Energy Torrent, Recall Friend. These levels were completed mostly through teaming. I went into the Crash Site off and on but with the amount of bosses in the higher level bunches of baddies I found the time/exp to be not as good as before. Teams in PI were tough to get at 44 (not super tough but I did solo quite a few missions.)

Once I hit the second half of 45 things were different...? tells you "How close to 46?" Evidently I had hit that magic level for BRIDGING!! Now I'm an avid reader of the forums so I knew the concept and the benefits of bridging. The first time I was on a bridge/farm team I was actually still 45, but the plan was for me to bridge for his friend when I hit 46... alas, the team fell apart just short of hitting 46. The next day (I had a week off from work) I got a tell from the same person and away we went. Forty Six was easily the fastest level I ever had the pleasure of NOT arresting anything. Bridging was boring as hell, but I was "locked" in my house due to having it painted, so this actually was the perfect time to do it (I could be semi afk with no problem.) I was able to bridge two more times (one at 47 and the other at 49 believe it or not.) My assessment of bridging is: not super fun, but super exp-- you may love it you may not, personally I am still unsure where I stand on love/hate it.

Well the uppper 40s are an AV'palooza. I faced almost (not quite) all of the Praetorian Archvillains and these teams were pretty good experience and generally people played well and we had a good time. On special occassions I found the holy combination of a Great Kineticist (controllor OR defender) and a Great Tank /insert choir of angels!! These special times allowed me to literally shred huge masses of bad guys without fear of drawing aggro or dropping toggles...oh yeah did I mention my LOVE of Fulcrum Shift?

Ironically (or maybe that should be "appropriately") I hit 50 while soloing a mission in Dark Astoria. Much to my disappointment the heavens did not open up and Statesman did not descend from on high to congratulate me on becoming a true hero. Instead the one person that was on in my SG at the time (mid day due to my week off) said congrats and I quietly went on with the mission slightly let down but determined to do my hero duty in rescuing some lost citizen. I ported out and left my Spines/Dark Armor scrapper in Talos Island, level 50 and proud to be a scrapper for Paragon City.

UPDATE:

LEvel 42/43--Rchg (CPower) End Red/Resists. I did some teaming and a lot of stealthing of missions through 42. Conserve Power is wonderful, obviously. Once I hit 43 I popped back into the Rikti Crash Site and went to town. The exp is back where hazard hunting was before I got sidetracked. Sure, sure, there were a few deaths here and there but overall the exp was just too good (worked the Inspiration Tray heavily of course.) A few teams to change it up but for the most part I soloed my way though the Crash Site.

UPDATE:

Level 39--End Red. Finally some more breathing room on END. Went back to the Sewers and had an easier time of it though still the occasional death. Ultimately Crey's Folly is still the best place to be. I did hit Peregrin Island but the entrance mobs are still a bit high to be effective for exp, and few groups want a 39 scrapper.

Level 40--End Red/Resists. Added a slot to my Psi resist as that seems to be more prevalent lately. Hit Peregrin Island and did a bit of street sweeping as well as a foray into the Rikti Crash Site...need to stay out of there, that place is CRAZY! At this point I started stealthing Radio Scanner Missions on the highest setting, the exp is pretty darn good. Also got a few PI teams and things moved along pretty well.

Level 41--Conserve Power. While it isn't up very often it sure is nice now that I have CoD running all the time. Still teaming, stealthing and street sweeping in PI for variety. Moving along pretty well (I'm about halfway through 41 atm.) I was very torn between Epic Pools (energy or dark) but my need for endurance won out of extra AE damage/control. I may respec on test and try Dark out but I'm pretty happy with what I have atm and don't see myself needing extra attacks right now. EDIT: Oops forgot to mention that alt-itis has set in again, trying hard to stay focused on the scrapper though...just sooo Attention Defici, hey what's that?!

UPDATE:

Level 35--Opressive Gloom. This is a really nice power. Tearing things up in Crey's Folly just got a little easier. The unknown (or untyped?) damage from Rikti does get a bit annoying and can cause problems (as in a trip to the hospital) but overall the exp is still awesome.

Level 36/37--End Red/Rchg Red. Now things were cooking, a little more Endurance is what I always need. Crey's is still the hot ticket and it is going well.

Level 38--Soul Transfer. My logic for a self rez is that since I solo so much and since I'm pushing the envelope I do tend to have my share of "deaths." I like the rez a lot since when I die it is normally to a huge alpha, so there are plenty of mobs around to Soul Transfer from. The problem is that I have been using it far too often! I decided to try out the Abandoned Sewers and give those Big Squishy Hydra mobs a go. I swear that I have died more times so far (3 blocks of exp) than in the 2 previous levels combined. I guess I have a bit of "scrapper lock" on the sewers. The thing is the groups are either super easy to mow down OR they tear me a new one, and the majority is that they are easy BUT the debt is probably going to force me back to Crey's Folly. Mobs con anywhere from level 38-39 near the entrance with the bosses being Orange/Red to me, and I think that is the problem. Sometimes there will be a large group with 3 bosses and they just put out too much damage when combined with the Lts. and minions.

The build is still munching minions. I did take the self rez instead of TP Friend as I had anticipated, but since I don't team all that often I thought it was a wiser choice.

UPDATE:

Level 30--Murky Cloud. This power doesn't change anything major for me, though it is nice when fighting Freaks. Stuck to Terra Volta for most of this time as the experience from hordes of Sky Raider Lts is just too good. I also did some teaming here and there and ran a few Winter Event missions.

Level 32--Throw Spines. I love this ability. At first I was not using it very effectively at all. I would just click the power and nearest target would pop up and I'd go to town (my normal playstyle.) Then I remembered reading a guide (think it was Screwloose's) about targetting the far side of a group and hopping over them with Throw Spines queued...that did it! Very nice spread and damage with Build Up, Throw Spines, Spineburst...mop up with Ripper and Impale. I cruised through Brickstown and a bit in Crey's Folly for 31 and 32. Brickstown is pretty easy if you stick to the Council (they stand there all nicely lined up for cones and AEs) and pretty safe, plus you can sell all those enhancements that pile up. Crey's Folly is a bit more dangerous but better experience. Crey really give me a run for my money when Power Tanks are around and Rikti crank out the damage so you have to be quick on the heal. Again some teaming some solo, with solo exp generally winning out (good PUG is hard to find.)

Level 33/34--Slots to Throw Spines. Slotting up the level 32 power gets a big smile. I have figured out the power's cone and am using it more effectively now. Found a really good PUG (led by Longbow XVII /nod) but my computer decided that getting exp at a faster rate than I could solo was obscene so it locked up near the end of the mission (made about 2 1/2 "bubbles" of experience on that mission..../sigh.) Crey's Folly is good and I poked my head into Eden to try out the DE and their resists. Eden sent me to the hospital on my first attack. Immobs and quite a bit of knockback from Bosses, will have to revise my tactics for this zone or just head back to Crey's.

Random note: With my fighting style being what it is (hazard zone fighting) I am still dieing at LEAST once every level. I really don't mind as the exp flies very fast and to be honest a trip to the hospital allows me to sell all the enhancements that drop. I know some people just HATE "dieing" and I wanted to throw this out so they are aware. This is a fast and furious build that lives very much on the edge, I've gone from very RED hitpoints to full Green too many times to remember and it always gives me a rush.

UPDATE:

Level 28--Impale. Issue 8 has arrived and I respec'd to get Stamina earlier (build to follow) and what a difference it has made. I ran a few Police Scanner missions and did a Safeguard mission solo; tried Terra Volta again at 27 (SW corner Skyraiders) but found the Lts still mostly yellow and kicking my butt...so back to DA, but NOW it is a WHOLE different ballgame. Terra Volta will likely be my new home for a few levels (doubt it will take long if I can free up a few hours in a row.) With my Veteran Reward Respec I was able to also get some cash to purchase level 30 SOs for all of my powers which also made a big difference.

Below is the build I'm using up to 28 and what I plan to do in the future. Any comments are always appreciated.

---------------------------------------------
Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder - (http://sherksilver.coldfront.net/index.php)
---------------------------------------------
Name: Spines-DA Scrapper
Level: 50
Archetype: Scrapper
Primary: Spines
Secondary: Dark Armor
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Lunge==> Acc(1)
01) --> Dark Embrace==> DmgRes(1) DmgRes(15) DmgRes(21) EndRdx(46)
02) --> Death Shroud==> Acc(2) EndRdx(3) Dmg(3) Dmg(9) Dmg(11)
04) --> Spine Burst==> Acc(4) Dmg(5) Dmg(5) Dmg(9) EndRdx(11) Rechg(15)
06) --> Build Up==> Rechg(6) Rechg(7) Rechg(7)
08) --> Swift==> Run(8)
10) --> Obsidian Shield==> EndRdx(10)
12) --> Hover==> Fly(12) Fly(13) Fly(13) EndRdx(39)
14) --> Fly==> Fly(14) Fly(23)
16) --> Dark Regeneration==> Acc(16) Acc(17) EndRdx(17) Rechg(21) EndRdx(23)
18) --> Quills==> Acc(18) Dmg(19) Dmg(19) Dmg(36) EndRdx(36) EndRdx(37)
20) --> Cloak Of Darkness==> EndRdx(20) EndRdx(39) DefBuf(43) DefBuf(46) DefBuf(46)
22) --> Health==> Heal(22) Heal(37) Heal(37)
24) --> Stamina==> EndMod(24) EndMod(25) EndMod(25)
26) --> Ripper==> Acc(26) Dmg(27) Dmg(27) Dmg(29) EndRdx(29) EndRdx(40)
28) --> Impale==> Acc(28) Dmg(31) Dmg(31) Dmg(31) Range(34) EndRdx(39)
30) --> Murky Cloud==> DmgRes(30) DmgRes(40) DmgRes(40) EndRdx(45)
32) --> Throw Spines==> Acc(32) Dmg(33) Dmg(33) Dmg(33) Range(34) EndRdx(34)
35) --> Oppressive Gloom==> Acc(35) Acc(36)
38) --> Recall Friend==> EndRdx(38)
41) --> Focused Accuracy==> EndRdx(41) EndRdx(42) EndRdx(42) TH_Buf(42) TH_Buf(43) TH_Buf(43)
44) --> Conserve Power==> Rechg(44) Rechg(45) Rechg(45)
47) --> Energy Torrent==> Acc(47) Dmg(48) Dmg(48) Dmg(48) EndRdx(50)
49) --> Laser Beam Eyes==> Acc(49) Dmg(50) Dmg(50)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> Empty(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Empty(1)
01) --> Critical Hit==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Empty(2)
---------------------------------------------

UPDATE:

Level 26-- Ripper. Wow, this is so much nicer than the Claws set version. The knockdown is super nice to have. I played around in Terra Volta with the Sky Raiders (some large groups of Lts. and Minions in the southwest quadrant) and found it pretty dangerous. The Captains (Lts) were yellow to me and without serious Inspiration use and sometimes a bit of luck I was making trips to the hospital. The experience was good and the challenge of taking on hordes of Yellow con Lieutenants was good but just not worth the hassle...so back to Dark Astoria! I'm almost done with 26 (ahh the holiday season and family time) and will likely try Terra Volta again at 27 just for kicks. I was tempted by the large groups of Freakshow while there but decided I had a rhythm going in DA.

UPDATE:

Level 24-- Respec! I broke down and went to the Test Server to check out an alternate build. In this one I took AIR SUPERIORITY instead of HOVER and dropped IMAPLE (/sniff I'll miss you, you mighty fastball of doom.) This arrangement allowed me to pickup STAMINA at 22 and CLOAK OF DARKNESS at 24. I loved it...

My Endurance only dropped low on long fights or when more than 1 Tsoo Scorcerer was around to heal the fargin bastiges. I ran some Police Scanner missions on Invincible (stealthed to the end mostly) so that I could check out the Bank Missions (which I ran back on lowly Heroic setting.) Doing this I found a new way to play (stealth to the end) and I'm finding Spines/DA to be a much more flexible set of powers than I originally thought. I really believe that Spines/DA can be either Single Target OR AE depending on the powers you choose and how you slot them. I know it may be obvious to you veterans but it was news to me.

When i8 hits live servers I'll probably keep my build and try stealthing a few missions for variety (don't need Stamina if I'm just clearing one room.) I'm not sure how much Air Sup helped vs. the higher damage of Impale but I intend to find out! As for knockback resistance, well I don't have Hover slotted yet so I rarely even turn it on. Knockback is a pain but I can deal with it for now.

UPDATE:

Level 22-- Obsidian Shield. The addition of OS and SOs made a world of difference. I ran through the entrance areas of Dark Astoria pretty effectively only really worrying about Avalanch Shaman with their damn Immobilizes. Teamed several times and found that a decently sized "good" team can still bring in more Exp per hour than soloing hazard zones. Unfortunately the "good" team isn't always around.

Hit Independence Port for a little while during level 23, just streetsweeping. Seems like the levelling has slowed down dramatically as I can't take huge bunches of white minions like I did in Boomtown without serious risk from Lts. thrown in. Bosses still give me a bit of trouble. I'm not dieing unless I pull a stupid move, just not levelling as fast as I had hoped. I'm not completely outfitted in SOs yet either which would probably make a difference.

Level 24-- Cloak of Darkness. The immobs in DA were getting to be too much so I chose CD instead of Stamina. I'm not sure how much difference the +Def on it makes or if the Stealth component is preventing hits from aggro, but it seems I'm more survivable with packs of White minions. /shrug

I'm highly anticipating i8 so I can try some different configurations with my power selection. I'd like to have Stamina by 24 but not sure how I can do it with Flight since I want Immob and Mez protection, plus the two auras for my AE Hazard zone fighting. I'll have to play around on test for a bit to see what works.

UPDATE:

Level 20/21--Health. This level is insanely slow. In Dark Astoria I had "some" success but the Storm Shaman are a serious pain in the butt. In Striga I'm finding the Lts. and Bosses mixed slows down my "fight and go" style quite a bit. Talos Island isn't bad if I can focus on Warriors but the Freakshow tend to throw me off with their Tesla cages.

This is the first level that I wish I had built differently. I like Hover for the knockback protection (not slotted for speed yet) but I think I'd have been better off taking Air Superiority, dropping Impale, and getting Obsidian Shield. As it stands I may just take OS at the next level instead of Stamina. I'm still okay with END if I toggle off my AEs for a little bit (and keep popping those Blue Inspirations!)

Did my Cape and 2nd Costume missions, as well as a couple of Striga Isle missions to get the exp moving.

Confessions of a Spines/Dark Scrapper (i7)

More of a log of my experiences than a guide but some might find it useful.

Confessions of a Spines/Dark Scrapper

This is a work in progress, and I’ll update it as I level and find time to post.

“Hello, my name is Angelus Justicia and I’m a Spines/Dark Armor Scrapper. I’m coming to you because I can finally admit I have a problem. I’m addicted to arresting massive amounts of criminals in obscenely short amounts of time. /sob ...Yes it’s true, I’m an AE junky.”

The following is based on my experience leveling this character, and is more of a journal than a guide. With the help of the boards and many wonderful Spines and Dark guides I developed this character for crazy experience farming. I’ve played since release (with a few breaks to try other MMOs when they released) and I still enjoy doing missions but on this character I decided to go the street sweeping route. Not all of my decisions were optimal but I made them work for me. I died on occasion due to overconfidence, lag, scrapper-lock, or whatever; but the debt never lasted for very long and I learned from those experiences. If you prefer to level slowly and enjoy story arcs then this guide is not for you, maybe you should make an AR/Devices blaster (love mine but man he’s a chore to solo through his 30s.)

...Other info I found valuable...
Thoughts of a Level 50 Scrapper (Screwloose)
Spines/Dark Armor: The Dust Bunny's AOE Guide (Romance)
A Spines/SR Guide (vI6.1) by Funky Pink (Funky Pink)
Dark Armor Overview for Issue 5 (Screwloose)

...The “Guide”...

Level 1-2—Lunge/Dark Embrace/Death Shroud. I joined a Sewer team in Atlas (up to level 18 this was one of two teams I joined, the other I was SK’d at level 12 on a Mother Mayhem team, wasn’t exactly Power Leveling as I only made one level in about the same time it took me to do it solo...though I did get an SO out of it!) The experience was great and the AE power helped a lot.

Level 4—Spine Burst. Still on the Sewer Team

Level 6—Swift. Still on Sewer Team, but looking back I would skip the Fitness pools until later as I wasn’t able to actually progress to Health until much later anyway. Nice to be able to leave Sprint untoggled though.

Level 8—Impale. At this point I hit the Hollows solo. Large groups of mobs and two AEs is the recipe for success. With little in the way of Resistance I focused on green and blue cons. Bosses gave me lots of trouble but Lts. weren’t so bad. I found that running was often the better part of valor. The key to all of my hazard zone fighting is LIBERAL USE OF INSPIRATIONS!! You are arresting so many so quickly that you will refill your stock quickly.

As for Impale: I love the power and the animation (which I hated on claws) is perfect. Good damage, good range, nice secondary effects. Some prefer to leave it out but I anticipate some PvP action and I don’t like the redraw from Air Superiority. With this build you could easily choose Air Supp instead, but I found the range of Impale to be great for runners.

Level 10—Build Up. After getting this power I realized it should have taken it at 6. It is that good. We all know it is good but in an AE build it shines so much more, that bonus damage just got multiplied by however many criminals you can surround yourself with.

At this point I left the Hollows and lurked in Perez Park. Skulls are a better choice than Hellions due to Dark’s resistance to Bone Daddy attacks. I found bosses a bit easier now

Level 12—Hover. I’m not generally a fan of hover but Dark has no knockback protection so it is either this or Acrobatics. I chose flight for both concept and because I don’t want to add yet another end sucking toggle (though I suppose that sounds stupid since Hover is also a toggle...) For “power builds” I suppose leaping is a preferred choice.

Ahh the DO level. I know some people don’t believe in slotting DOs since the return isn’t great but on this build it makes a big difference. Slot recharges in Build Up if you are tight on funds, then I went Spine Burst. Now you can start taking on those even con groups. Again use your Inspirations! Finish off Perez Park at the Hydra and/or CoT groups

Level 14—Fly. Travel power, get it so you can better sell all those enhancements you keep getting. BOOMTOWN!! Now we are flying (through the exp that is.) Trolls and the Council...are you kidding me? They just line up in perfect formation for AEs I couldn’t sell my enhancements fast enough so I just deleted the lower level ones and sold whenever I made a trip to the hospital. Yes I did get overconfident at a few points during this period, but the exp was so fast that debt was a joke. Stick to groups one level below or even level groups (I even preyed on the green con groups to restock my inspirations.)

Note: Knockback caused me to missfire my Spine Burst on occasion, Hover helped and inspirations were even better.

Level 16—Dark Regen. Man do I love this power! I thought Dull Pain was good but WOW, from red to full HP!! Oh yeah the end sucks hard but just toggle off everything after a fight, wait a minute and you are golden. DOs are really helpful at this point. I’m not doing even and +1 mobs: target the Lt (there may be 2) run in hitting Build Up, Spineburst, Impale, Lunge, Brawl, Origin Power, Smile at the Exp. Sometimes the bad guys get lucky hits and you’ll need to hit Dark Regen OR there are 2 left and health is low so hit Dark Regen, END regens faster than health.

I moved on to groups of The Lost at this point and did I mention USE INSPIRATIONS? Some deaths again here and there while I worked out which groups to fight. Stay away from Clockworks! Even with Break Frees clicked in advance they would Tesla Cage me for half a second but it dropped my toggles, not good. Higher than even cons of The Lost sometimes stunned me so I tried to stick to even con minions.

Level 18—Quills. Yep I took yet another toggle, this one however can be activated while in motion. Quite simply I’m amazed. I can now take on even con groups without Build Up (though BU is still preferred.) The Hero Planners don’t do this justice by listing the damage at so small a number, the ticks seem incredibly fast. Maybe it is just that I’m now stacking damage auras, I don’t know. What is do know is that the build seems to have matured quite a bit with this power.

I’m at the back of Boomtown mowing things down like...well like grass to a lawnmower. I’m a bit concerned as mobs seem to have topped out at level 18 and I’d rather not take on blue cons when I hit 19. I might just have to slug it out.

UPDATE:

Level 20--Health. I'm finding this level to be a bit tedious. In Boomtown the mobs are a level below (or more) so I tried other places. Striga: too many bosses mixed in and levels are even or up. Faultline: I had some success in the back with level 19 mobs but the amount of Lts and Bosses caused me to burn everything I had and almost all of my inspirations. A few deaths in quick succession has me back in Boomtown sweating through Green and Blue con mobs. The exp is still steady if slower. At 21 I'll try hitting Dark Astoria.

...to be continued as I level!

Okay so I've been convinced about Follow Up (been doing a lot of reading to catch up on my Scrapper...damn you CoV!!!) But suddenly I'm seeing a lot of builds that are dropping Eviscerate for the new Slash. Can the animation be THAT good? I find myself easily getting 2 sometimes more mobs when I use Eviscerate and the damage is certainly our best. I know the animation isn't always thematic but I can live with it.

I used to run Strike, Focus, Eviscerate (with Boxing when I had to.) I was thinking in I7 about going Strike, Follow Up, Focus, Eviscerate....and Spin (though I'm almost to Shockwave and will at least try it on Test before locking in.) Am I missing something about the Strike, Slash, Follow Up, Focus combo?

Incidentally I run Claws/Invuln with Tough and Stamina and have very few End problems currently.

Perhaps this belongs in the Scrapper Forum but....with the I7 changes is Follow Up really any good (or was it ever?) My thinking is that though it does provide a damage buff and some small damage on its own, would a build be "better" if you just took another regular attack OR even use one of the new quick recycling attacks you already have.

In other words is the net gain of Follow Up worth using in place of a regular attack, especially given the new recharge numbers?