The Scrappers Guide to Leading a Team.

***Warning***
This guide is not intended for the eyes of other AT's, simply having a "Scrapper alt" is not good enough. If other AT's do read the following guide, keep in mind that this does not represent the view of all scrappers, just most of them.

So you are an experienced scrapper and have taken on all this game has to offer, AV's, Giant Monsters, 8 man Spawns, Elite Bosses, and more than a few Minions, Lts, and Bosses. Well its time to move forward to that final frontier... Leading a Team. Now I'm sure the first thought is going to be "T-eam?" some know they exist, while others have simply heard stories about Heroes together for some reason.

Okay, so this "Team" is in fact heroes working together combining their strengths and covering each others weaknesses... Now wait... A team of 8 Scrappers doesn't count, nor does 7 with one of those equally wild Kinetic Defenders. Back on track, now a team is a diverse mixture of hero AT's that are working together to take down large groups of foes with ease. Yes, we know that you can solo spawns designed for 4 to 8 man teams, but listen... teams make it much quicker with a lower level of threat. Yes, part of the thrill that is a scrapper, is the narrow line you walk between victory and defeat, but teams can tear through enimies quicker than you could ever hope to by yourself.

Of course the idea of a team might still be repulsive to some, as bad experiences can leave deep scars. The blaster with their flashy energy launching attacks that managed to get in the final blow of the boss you were working hard to take down, or that Tank who decided they can jump head first into the group telling you to "Follow Them" Yes this is all part of the group experience, but remember as a scrapper you do everything exceptionally well, this is the weakness the developers saw fit to attatch to your AT. If mastering all aspects of the game are not enough to sway you to join up with others, think of the stories you can tell the other scrappers. You can explain how no only did you rip that Praetorian to shreds, you led your "Team" to victory.

Glad to have you onboard, now that you understand the basics of the Team and its purpose, its time to talk about leading. I know.. I know.. you were your own leader on those other teams you joined, but now its time to wear that gold star. If you are still new to not only leading, but teaming as well, have one of those heroes with the blue shields build a team for you and then take it from there, but if you feel up to the challenge we will start you on the road of "Techniques for building an effective team"

The Techniques -
First, stop inviting other scrappers, I mentioned before 8 Scrappers does not count for the purposes of this team. Okay, now in ideal conditions, one of each AT with no overlapping powersets in the defender/controller, is what we are looking for. Do not forget about those crazy Aliens, I know you usually target them first when you see them, but in this case they are close enough to be on your side to fit your purposes.

Okay, when looking for members, there are several ways to go about finding them, but by far the most effective involved the "Search" button on the team window. I know, for the longest time, I too thought it would help me search out targets, but all I saw when I hit the button was names with symbols and numbers. After some extensive research I have learned that this search function is in fact used to build a team. You can search by Level/AT/Origin/Name or Zone to find people to team with you.
You will see the Phrase "LFT" often, this means that yes this person is actively Looking For a Team. If this is the only thing that is mentioned and they are near your level, simply invite them. If the are + or - 5 Levels from you pay attention to the next part.
Another common thing you will see is "PST" or Please send tell... Yes, I know it would be easier to send them a kick in the face where you end up doing a backflip off it, but keep in mind, these people want to seem like they are "Needed" Politely ask them, if they would like to join a team. Include in your response, your level, the level of foes you will be fighting and the purpose of your team. (Street Hunt, Missions, or TF). With this strategy you will be sure to let them know that you believe their skill is needed to help you get through this mission. ..... ...... Okay you can stop laughing, remember this is about taking on the final challenge to your character, leading a team.

Some things to keep in mind when recruiting, Heroes of lower in level will bring even less to the team. Also, heroes above your level may not want to join because of a lack of XP, do not jump at them quickly challenging their skills, for them the game may be about something more than taking down every villian in sight.

If you find that the following description for each AT was too long skip ahead until you see ***

So you have your team, one of each AT, lets break down their roles on this grouping you have going. Keep in mind that under you all other AT's are equally important, but with skilled players no one AT is required in a group aside from you of course, who is the leader. (For the sake of argument we will say the fact that you are a Scrapper is a coincidence)

First lets look at the defender. Your first instinct is to probably think that these heroes are around to keep you alive, well in some sense they are, but not by putting green numbers above your head. These heroes with the blue shield have a great many tricks up their sleeve, but you will quickly see they possess several glarring weaknesses.
The good - They can increase your own potential as well as weaken your eneimes (I know it takes some of the fun out of it, but keep in mind they are helping you) Some can restore your hitpoints while others shield you from being hit, all in all these things are pretty nice to have around. The best part is when things are going smooth they can join in and attack with you, well from range usually.
The bad - Yes that can greatly add to your team, but these heroes have basically nothing in the way of defense outside team buffs that can also effect them. With addition of Power Pools (Things that make us kill quicker) they can have some defense, but will never amount to the levels of another scrapper. Also when they hit, they don't hit as hard, although they do try.
Strategy - Defenders do not often spend all their time in the heat of battle, instead opting to remain at a safe distance. When teaming with them, it becomes your responsibility to become aware of the battle, not just the one around you, but the battle the team is engaging in. When you see enimies run after the defender go chase them and hurt them bad.

The Controller - Yes I know at first glance these things look like defenders, they may even smell like them, but rest assured they are not defenders. Controllers primary purpose is to stop you from getting hit in a variety of ways. Some will simply stop foes from running away, yes it takes away from the chase, but fear not they will still fight back. While others stop your prey from reacting at all (Leave these foes alone, there is no honor or satisfaction in defeating a held foe) On the bright side these hold effects are usually short. One of the other tatics of the controller is they can turn enimies against each other, leave these alone too until they start to hit you again. Finally some controllers can actually summon something to help them fight, despite your best efforts you will not be able to attack it, think of it like another scrapper, only ten to thrity levels below you with nowhere near your potential. Controllers also have the ability to do what some defenders can as far as buffs and debuffs, only to a lesser extent, like you use your defense so will these heroes use their secondary powers (They keep you alive, but are not responsible for taking down enimies)
The good and the bad - Pretty much the same as the Defender, not enough difference to make note of. These heroes can protect themselves a bit better, but again still nothing compared to a scrapper.

The Blaster - This AT has the sole purpose of Dealing Damage... Yes I know that is what you do and you do it well. The difference, most of the time they can sit back and shoot stuff with out it shooting back. (Yes, not much of a challenge, but we are not here to question this kind of action) Instead of having any real defense, they instead have another powerset made up of melee attacks. If you pay careful attention some of these can produce more damage than you, but fear not they are in no way equal to you. They lack any way to keep themselves alive, and when even a few enimies are on them will need almost constant attention from the defenders/controllers. You can attempt to save them, but they are a bit lower on your priority list.
The good- Blasters do damage, there hardest hits still pale compared to your criticals, but they do have many attacks.
The bad- Well as you may have noticed, it is a running theme that these AT's have very little to zero real defense, so you will have to look after them.

Khelds - Stop starring at them, okay then, this AT is an interesting addition to any team. Usually to some degree they posess the skills of other AT's but to less extent. They have some powerful attacks, but they are not as constant as the blaster, Khelds posses some powers that look like a controllers but lack the ability to constantly manage the actions of foes, they can have an Impressive defense yes even rivaling yours, but again, do not fear they are not equal to you. With each of these strenghts they also have a weakness that balances them. At times some may look like they can perform on a level equal to yours, this is true, but it is not something that they can do as often.
The good- These things are great on teams, they seem to have a tool for every task.
The bad - The ones good at everything, are seldom great at one thing for long. As a scrapper, you are constantly great at what you do.

The tanker - At first glance these often larger heroes may attempt to overshadow you, both in physical size, and their surface apperance in combat. They will try to be the first one in, trying to quickly surround themselves with as many enimies as possible. Yes you can do what they do, and every so often you should show them this. This is not done in an attempt to lower morale, but instead done to re-affirm your position as leader. Remember you have the gold star and have more responsiblities. These "Tanks" are often made in your Image as they attempt to strike a blance between an Offense that will bring the toughest foe to their knees, and a Defense that will stand against any onslaught the villians can throw at you.
The good - They are the most similar AT to you, they are also in the middle of the fight with you. They are to be given much respect for that. Also many of these Heroes are effective at getting enimies to attack them, instead of others, if this is the case, seek out the enimies that aren't after the tank and take them down. These heroes will need no extra attention with you, have them fight by your side and all will go well.
The bad- The offensive side of this AT is quite a bit slower than what you will be used to. Some can hit rather hard, but can not do so anywhere near as often as you.

***
The defender is basically like having a full tray of varried Large Inspirations, only you can't control when you use them, but they do regenerate.
The Controller, All medium Sized inspirations, again cant control them. In addition, they can duplicate the secondary effects of some scrapper attacks. (Immob/Disorient/Hold)
The Blaster - Lots of Big Red Inspirations
The Tanker - Lots of Big Orange and Purple Inspirations, with a few Red ones.
The Kheld - A full tray of varried small inspirations. with a few Mediums.
***

Yes, I know, when they first told me there were other AT's than scrappers, I was shocked as well, but there you have it, a brief rundown of what they can and can't do. Who you will have to look after, and who will be standing beside you in the fight. Keep in mind, that none of these AT's can balance their ability to defeat foes with their defense as well as you, so they will need to look out for each other and you will too.

Now that you are leading this team, communication will become essential. As a leader, you will often have to break scrapper lock, to throw out commands in the early battles until things begin to run smoothly. Unfortunately, Go. Hunt. Kil Skuls will not always cut it, and at times some strange terms will be thrown at you. Here are a few and the meaning behind them.

"Gather" - this is something Defenders and Controllers will call out when they have a buff benefits the entire team. In the spirit of the team, go join them, it gives the others the idea that you need what they bring to the team.

"Pull" - This is an attempted made by a ranged AT to grab the attention of several foes in a spawn so they can be fought seperately from the rest. The only time you will ever need to do this is if there are 2-3 groups in close proximity to one another. At this point you can do the pulling just as well, run up and hit the nearest enemy, leading him and his friend back to the team.

"Run!" - In teams there is such a thing as a tatical retreat, this is caused by the fact that there is not 7 other scrappers on your team. This is one of the risk of teaming with other AT's and is a sign you need to adjust your team's strategy. *Note* You can call for a "Run" if you realize that the other AT's are in danger of being over run, you will often find the Tank staying with you. Finish the spawn then regroup.

Now understanding the AT's their tatics as well as some of their speech patterns your ready to take the leadership role. Lets lay down some general guidelines.

1. You have the choice which missions your team takes on, it is considered polite to ask others if they wish to do some of theirs. Yes they will often be less of a challenge, but if you remember quite a few levels back, there is an option to choose the level which you fight at. (Not everyone can get the best xp/hr off of the hardest setting) Yes, I'm serious...
2. Other heroes will sometimes give you suggestions, while they are not other scrappers, you should at least hear them out as they will have most likely spent more time in team situations.
3. Not all AT's are scrappers, although they should be, they aren't. The ones standing in the back are not "hiding from the fight" they are simply doing their thing at range.
4. When someone screws up, be nice, they aren't scrappers and therefore it will happen from time to time.
5. Do not tell others how to play their character, if they try to play like a scrapper they will end up dead quicker than usual.
6. "Run" does not apply to you, it is just a warning that you are now on your own.
7. Other AT's do not have concepts like Blasterlock, or Defender lock, from time to time they will need a break between fights.
8. The other AT's will need your help staying alive, do everything you can to keep them this way.
9. If you see another hero surrounded by 3 to 8 enimies unless they are a tank they are not "In their element"
10. If the entire team is defeated except for you, it is your job as the leader to recognize the problem and correct it. I.E. Blaster who aggros to early, defender opting to attack when teamates are in need of defending. If these problems persist add 1 - 2 more scrappers to the team, preferably ones who understand the idea of "Teams"

Hopefully after reading this guide, you will understand the basics of teaming and taking on the role of a leader. This guide is simply here to lay a foundation for your understanding, the best thing you can do to master the final aspect of the game is participate in it often, or at least on a semi regular basis. Keep in mind that not every team you build will move along perfectly, but as a leader, part of your goal is to find the problems and fix them.

I hope you enjoyed this guide, some of it was serious, most of it wasn't (This is for the non Scrappers that went against the warning.) As a final thought to all of this... A well built team will run smoothly, but a well played team is capable of Greatness.

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6. "Run" does not apply to you, it is just a warning that you are now on your own.

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You made me spit coke through my nose.

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6. "Run" does not apply to you, it is just a warning that you are now on your own.

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You made me spit coke through my nose.

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But it's so TRUE!

Good one! I need to add this to my signature....

Thanks for that, it explains alot. Other ATs out there, who knew? Does this other AT thing explain where the explosions come from? I was just assuming those guys in the back were just really shy or simply in awe. So they want to be back there, I will stop feeling sorry for them then. Again, great guide.

HA ha ha HA ha ha great guide man

This should be required reading for scrappers.

This is amazing.

quite awesome.
lol

BEAUTIFULL!!!

That is all that needs to be said

I'd like to add a little editorial comment:

Some Blasters will have "melee" secondaries. These Blasters are nicknamed "Blappers" due to their range/melee powers.
Blappers can experience Blapperlock...even if its not as effective as true scrapperlock, it's still cool as all hell. Just make sure the defender is spamming heals when the Blapper goes toe-to-toe with that +5 AV that you've finally reached.

This is a great guide. I have to add that when I would play my scrapper, someone would say RUN, and I thought they wanted me to run to the other mob to start thinning it down. I also checked the wiki for retreat, and, um.... I don't get it. Maybe someone can explain.

This should be added to The Scrapper Codex (someone needs to start one and collect great bits of scrapper wisdom throughout the boards).

And now a reading from the book of MrLiberty....

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10. If the entire team is defeated except for you, it is your job as the leader to recognize the problem and correct it. I.E. Blaster who aggros to early, defender opting to attack when teamates are in need of defending. If these problems persist add 1 - 2 more scrappers to the team, preferably ones who understand the idea of "Teams"

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This made me laugh. Next time I'm PuGing I'll remember the "add more scrapper" idea.

"This soup doesn't taste right. Add more scrapper!"