Divine Avalanche Scrapper Guide, Version 2.0

Divine Avalanche Scrapper Guide, Version 2.0

With the I3 changes to Katana, an entirely new archetype has come into existence - the Divine Avalanche scrapper. A new archetype? Yes, I would go that far. Divine Avalanche allows you to play an entirely different strategy as a scrapper, acting almost as a tank, combining the best of your defensive power set with the defences of a super reflexes scrapper. Your damage goes down, it is true, but you'll be able to face enemies you never thought possible.

The Divine Avalanche Scrapper has a mindset all his or her own. We do not rely on tearing through enemies before they manage to take us down. We are like a fencer, slowly, methodically taking apart the enemies as they futilely try to hurt us.

What is Divine Avalanche? It used to be known as "Parry", but then it was changed and became a completely different power. With the new activation time, we can use it between every attack without gutting our offence. It is a melee attack that, if it hits, gives us a 20% defence bonus to melee attacks for ten seconds. It has a four second recharge time, and about a 2.3 second activation time. With Hasten, it has a 2.35 second recharge time.

Here is why it is incredible. Properly slotted and used, it can make you virtually invulnerable. I slot it with two accuracy, three defence and one damage. The accuracy ensures it rarely misses. The defence boosts it to a 32% bonus.

32% is good, but Divine Avalanche does something better - it stacks! If you use it between every attack and have Hasten, you can keep it doubly stacked almost constantly. That is a 64% bonus, almost constantly! Add to that the 5% you'll get from Hasten plus any other bonuses you use (Weave is nice, but I personally use Combat Jumping), and you can get 90% or better.

The trick is to find the right chain. Versus a single target, the following chain works very well:

Divine Avalanche
Golden Dragonfly
Divine Avalanche
Soaring Dragon... (you'll need a recharge in Soaring Dragon to make this work, otherwise, add DA/Sting of the Wasp...)

This enable you to keep a nasty enemy on the ground for most of the fight, and be nearly invulnerable during the few seconds it can actually fight back. Against groups, the following works nicely:

Divine Avalanche
Lotus Drops
Divine Avalanche
Flashing Steel
Divine Avalanche
Golden Dragonfly...

Substitute Soaring Dragon for Flashing Steel if you have a nasty boss you want dead, now.

Of course, if you aren't tanking or soloing, you can revert to a standard attack sequence that doesn't involve Divine Avalanche, and do massive damage as a classic Katana scrapper.

What secondary archetype is best with a Divine Avalanche Scrapper? They all have their strengths and weaknesses. Regen is best, since it's +defence is fairly weak, and Divine Avalanche gives your regeneration powers time to work. Dark Armour is also nicely complimented since it has low +def, and it gives you time for Death Shroud to pick away at the enemies. With Invulnerability and Super Reflexes, it's a little redundant, since it improves already good +def powers. However, that redundancy means that you'll almost always have defence capped, and it works well against single enemies (Inv's problem).

So, if you're tired of trying to beat them down before they beat you down, if you enjoy slowing taking apart enemies while parrying their every attack, if you enjoy feeling like a real swashbuckler and fencer, the Divine Avalanche scrapper may be for you.

---

Wrath smash good.

Keep in mind that they removed the +def from hasten. Not a big change, but it's worth keeping in mind.

---

"OOOOPPPSSSS." -Statesman

Was Divine Avalanche hit by the defense nerf of 05? I still use it myself, and believe it is a good power, but I can't imagine it escaped with its 20% boost unscathed.

---

At lvl 23, my kat/regen can take on +3's with a similar strategy. If you can get the baddies in melee range, and stack DA properly..fun times.

---

Global: @Pandemonia

We're sorry. Due to the lack of adequate marketing, user patience has died 90+ days ago. Please try again sans "Soon."

Divine Avalanche Guide, Version 2.0, Appendix A

I've done a bit of research, and you're right. Divine Avalanche was hit by the great defence nerf of '05. According to the Hero Builder, it now has a defence bonus of 15% rather than 20%. That's still not terrible, and gives 23.4% per hit with three defence buffs. I also discovered that the activation time is 2.17 seconds, not 2.3 as I had arrived at by my own testing (still, I was close ).

Hasten was also hit. It lost its 5% defence buff, and it also can no longer be made permanent. This changes things quite a bit. On the plus side, DA's recharge is 3, not 4 base, so that makes it easier to double stack without Hasten.

To spare the people who do the "Guides to Guides" headaches, I won't update the guide until I7 comes out. I7 will make Divine Avalanche super-fantastic again (as opposed to merely fantastic)! From what it sounds like, the new defence "cap" will be 45%, which will reduce everything to 1/10th of its base accuracy. Of course, this will make DA a whole lot more powerful.

In the interim, here are some updated numbers, taking into account my research:

DA (slotted 2 acc/3 defence/1 recharge) - the recharge is new and takes into account the inability to recycle Hasten. - 46.8%
Combat Jumping (1 def) - 3%

Total 49.8%

It's not as overwhelming as it used to be, but heck, whose defence is? However, given the defence hits across the board, this enables the SR scrappers to turn their 27.4% defence into a dominating 74.2%! So, suddenly, DA is a huge boon to the SR scrapper again.

In terms of chains, the following will allow you to double stack constantly (to double-stack, you need to use DA every 5 seconds or less)

Divine Avalanche
Soaring Dragon (with one recharge)
(Wait 0.25)
Divine Avalanche
Golden Dragonfly
Divine Avalanche
Soaring Dragon
Divine Avalanche
The Lotus Drops/Sting of the Wasp (feel free to put Lotus Drops after the first DA if you're facing a bazillion enemies)
(Wait 0.25/0.58)
Divine Avalanche...

This will give you double-stacked DA constantly, and will also give you triple-stacked DA (for 70.2% def) about 12% of the time.

I'll do a guide, Version 3.0 when I7 comes out. Defence is going to be all over the place until then, so I want to wait until it settles. When it's finished, I'll post in this thread.

---

Wrath smash good.

Ebon, you're great. Knowing that Divine Avalanche is going to become a 45% Defence boost in I7, brightens up my day. (Especially when I have a Katana/Regen build) As long as you keep posting on this thread, I'll be right behind you. And before you said that I'd become somewhat like a Tanker? Will I be as tough against an AV? I doubt it, but I'm just curious since I like to try and solo TFs and people told me that the AVs in TFs stay AVs..

---

Great info. My katana/dark is doing very well slotted with three Def. I'm looking forward to seeing the effectiveness of the power in I7.

---

Doesn't your Katana/Dark build waste a ton of endurance? That's what I'm scared about.

---

[ QUOTE ]
Doesn't your Katana/Dark build waste a ton of endurance? That's what I'm scared about.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, missed this response! Sorry about that.

Endurance was a real pain until the early 20's, but Stamina helped a great deal. I put an EndRed in each of my Dark toggles and each attack, which I will slowly phase out as I can afford to slot Stamina further.

I respeced poorly with I7, so I'm currently working up to 24 in a very slow manner so I can run through Terra Volta and change my stuff all over again. I'll tell ya this- I'm sticking with Death Shroud slotted. I ended up slotting it like any other attack (Acc/Dam/Dam/Dam/EndRed) and it's really amazing. If I focus on a defensive style of fighting, it'll account for as much damage as my other attacks combined over the course of an evening's play. Amazing. That power alone makes /Dark worth it for me.

---