Poison Massacre: A Spines/Regen Guide for i7
By
DarkBlaster_NA,
Posted on: 2006-05-19 14:07 in Player Guides
Poison Massacre (continued)
Here are some tactics that you can use while playing your Spines/Regen.
Attack Chain
Here is my end game attack chain on a single target.
Impale-->Ripper-->Lunge-->Impale-->Lunge-->Ripper (Repeat)
A pretty solid attack chain, that should be great. BTW, that is WITH HASTEN and TWO RECHARGE SO'S IN IMPALE AND RIPPER.
Here is my herding/large mob attack chain.
Throw Spines-->Spine Burst--> Ripper-->Throw Spines-->Impale (Repeat)
Great effectiveness on large groups.
Best Partners
The best partners for a Spines/Regen are the following...
Kinetics: They use Fulcrum Shift, you have Speed Boost, and maybe Increase Density. Makes you a killing machine. Absolute killing machine.
Empathy: This kind of goes without saying, but as a tag team, an Empathy and a Spines/Regen are great. With Fortitude, the RAs, Clear Mind, and the Heals, Empathies make Spines/Regen even more effect as a killing machine.
Fire Blaster: Fire Blasters are THE AoE Blasters and you are THE AoE Scrapper. Hm...what does that mean? AoE carnage. Watch the mobs drop as you spam Throw Spines and Spine Burst, and the blaster spams Fire Ball and Fire Breath.
PVP
Spines/Regen is notoriously known in PvP Zones especially. Let me give you a few tips for PvPing.
1. Use Impale. Impale has -Fly. So what does that mean? Anyone who has Fly as their travel power is screwed. Hitting them while they're in the air is especially fun. 
2. Don't spam your AoEs. In PvE, Throw Spines and Spine Burst are king, but here in PvP, they need to stay in the sandbox. They don't do near enough damage to one target which is mostly what PvP is all about, and use too much end. These will lower your DPS, especially Spine Burst.
3. Don't be afraid to use Quills. One thing people think is that Quills is just for herding in PvE or for some more AoE damage. Not true. Remember how Spines has -Recharge and Slows? Well, imagine your target getting hit with some damage and that every second. It might not be much, but it will annoy them and it will hurt them. Mind games are a big part of PvP, and Quills is the Quizzler.
Hope these tips have helped you, thanks for reading!
Look me up on Triumph @I Hate Clockwork if you have questions or send me a PM here on the forums.
A few minor corrections on some of the stats you listed. Some will be a pleasant surprise.
Spine Burst, Quills, and Throw Spines hit a max of 10 targets. Ripper can hit 5.
Impale has an 80 foot range. :-)
Quills hits once every 2 seconds, and the 1.04 END is also every 2 seconds. :-)
Goodbye and thanks for all the fish.
I've moved on to Diablo 3, TopDoc-1304
Ah, thanks a bunch. Heh, Hero Planner has got some numbers off then I guess, heh.
About the AoE's, I read a topic about AoE limits, thought I saw 16, guess not.
Thanks alot.
OMG, I just noticed something thanks to Center Energy, my friend. In my build, I have Resilience, NOT CONSERVE POWER.
Very sorry about that.
That is a very good guide. I reached lvl 50 a little bit after i6 came out, and thus don't have as jaded view as some of the pre-regen nerfing.
I picked up MoG when I could at lvl 38. I played with it for almost a month, hating every second of it. I accidentally toggled it on during a fight with an AV.... Personally I call it MoBD - Moment before debt!
MoG: if you are fighting at Heroic (at lvl 38) Get this power! It means you are playing like a doof and you can herd all the baddies trigger it, and AoE them to death.
YOU SHOULD NOT BE PLAYING HEROIC AT LEVEL 38!!!!!!
If you play invincible, especially against, Carnies or Nemesis, you will not last long.
Spines/Regen is still my favorite build, however, I added some different teammate helping and self helping powers toward the end of my build.
Note: I don't have build-up in this current build, mostly because I wanted superspeed instead.
Power Pools I took:
Leaping: Combat Jumping and Superjump - my favorite way to get around.
Fitness: Hurdle, Health, Stamina - read the forums, hurdle makes you go horizontal faster than swift. Swift is better with stealth, but I think stealth is lame - which leads to the next
Concealment: Grant Invisibility, Invisibility....
For those of whom play stalkers - there is nothing more lethal than an invisible scrapper...sneak up, toggle off invis and unleash ripper->throw spines-> Spine burst->impale
or whatever method you follow
I don't recommend pahse shift for a regen scrapper. If you've got yourself into that much trouble, PS will take too long to toggle on.
Speed: I picked up super-speed as a defensive measure. When I get myself into the aforementioned messes, I throw on SS and get the heck out!, also throw on invis for the added defense.
Note: I do enjoy the added speed for getting across Crey's Folly and Eden.
Epic Set: Body Mastery
Focused accuracy tickles me pink. I love it. I have both Stamina and Quick Recovery 3-slotted, so end is not a problem.
2 endurance problems I have:
Malta Sappers, Carnie Ring Mistresses - those are inevitable
Second power I took was laser beam eyes at 49. Why? Because most of my attacks are somewhat ranged...so I added another. Now I can get the runaways from my AoEs with
Throw Spines, Laser Beam Eyes, Impale - that should do the trick.
Here is my build:
xported from version 1.5C of CoH Planner
http://joechott.com/coh
Archetype: Scrapper
Primary Powers - Ranged : Spines
Secondary Powers - Support : Regeneration
01 : Fast Healing hel(01) hel(3) hel(5)
01 : Lunge dam(01) acc(3) dam(5) dam(19) acc(40) slw(43)
02 : Spine Burst dam(02) dam(7) acc(9) acc(36) dam(40) slw(43)
04 : Reconstruction recred(04) hel(7) hel(15) hel(17) recred(45) recred(45)
06 : Quick Recovery endrec(06) endrec(9) endrec(11)
08 : Impale dam(08) dam(11) dam(15) acc(17) rng(19) acc(27)
10 : Hasten recred(10) recred(13) recred(13)
12 : Combat Jumping defbuf(12) jmp(46)
14 : Super Jump jmp(14) jmp(46)
16 : Integration hel(16) hel(36) hel(42)
18 : Hurdle jmp(18) jmp(46) jmp(42)
20 : Health hel(20) hel(21) hel(21)
22 : Stamina endrec(22) endrec(23) endrec(23)
24 : Resilience damres(24) damres(25) damres(25)
26 : Ripper dam(26) acc(27) dam(29) dam(29) acc(31) kbkdis(33)
28 : Instant Healing recred(28) recred(31) recred(31) hel(39) hel(39) hel(39)
30 : Dull Pain recred(30) recred(37) recred(37) hel(40) hel(42) hel(43)
32 : Throw Spines acc(32) dam(33) dam(33) dam(34) acc(34) conrng(34)
35 : Revive hel(35) hel(36) hel(37)
38 : Grant Invisibility defbuf(38)
41 : Invisibility defbuf(41)
44 : Super Speed runspd(44) runspd(45)
47 : Focused Accuracy thtbuf(47) thtbuf(48) thtbuf(48) endred(48) endred(50)
49 : Laser Beam Eyes acc(49) dam(50) dam(50)
-------------------------------------------
01 : Brawl Empty(01)
01 : Sprint Empty(01)
02 : Rest Empty(02)
Kick the Clown - lvl 50 spines/regen - Virtue
Stacks - lvl 40 mercs/poison - Protector
Executive Decision - lvl 28 dark/archery - Victory
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Malta Sappers
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Hehe.. I had the same problem as well but when my spine scrapper hit lvl 47 and able to use Hamidon Origin enchancements, I slotted Impale with 1 ACC 3 Damage/ Range 2 Recharge and guess what?
BTW, thanks for the great guide.
Assault is +10.5% of the *un-enhanced* damage. For a power 3-slotted for damage, the gain is only about 5%. (the calculatiosn appear all over the forums, so I won;t go into the details).
Tactics is good, but you have to take the "useless" Assault for it.
I'd rather take Focus Accuracy from the Body mastery pool.
Your build is pretty good, spines and regen are pretty strightforward sets when it comes to what powers to take. The choice mostly comes about what order to take things in (for example I took BuildUp earlier and Reconstruction later).
I would drop the leadership pool and I would take Resilience and Torrent instead.
I also like to slot Instant Healing for Health in addition to recharge. I find the default to be too low to fight purples.
You also have very limited vertical movement with superspeed. More exactly getting up places will take more time or more practice (Terra Volta for example). Mostly pointing it out for anyone that might want to copy your build straight.
i must say i always take air superiority and flight at the lower Pre-PvP levels and respec out at higher lvls. Air Superiority at lvl 6 help a lot in both speeding up attacks (impale and AS are my only single target at hat lvl) and taking less damage with its KD effect
Wow, seriously the first and only guide I've ever fully read. There were some great tips there, and btw I NEVER take the stupid scrapper taunt...Debt is all that lies there. I rolled with Spines/DA originally for the uber AoE but found out the cons (especially end) heavy outweighed the pros...Lovin regen though. Kudos on the great guide.
I would say that the cone from body mastery is also very nice, it does knockdown not knockback.
Nothings cooler than Power sled(or whatever)-->Throw spines--> spine burst--> where did all the bad guys go?, oh, there they are on the ground dead! ;D
Please update this guide to reflect the new MoG changes. Great stuff! 
i dont understand what things such as health ((35)) mean can somone help me understand that?
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i dont understand what things such as health ((35)) mean can somone help me understand that?
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If you mean in this context:
01) --> Fast Healing==> Heal(1) Heal(25) Heal(25)
Then Heal(25) means that the slot was placed in the power at level 25 and contains a Heal enhancement. This guide is pre-Issue 9 so it does not include anything about Invention Origin enhancements (IOs). But the basic advice is still good.
"Together we entered a city of strangers, we made it a city of friends, and we leave it a City of Heroes." - Sweet_Sarah
Poison Massacre
Hey there, Shadow_Poison here to give you a few pointers on Spines/Regen.
As you may have noticed, Spines/Regen is a VERY popular build, or, if you will, FOTM.
But it is so awesome, that I think everyone should have one.
Let me show you where Spines/Regen really shines, and where it is maybe outclassed by other sets.
Pros
1. Absolute AoE carnage. Kill groups of +2 mobs in around 5 seconds.
2. It is very hard to die. This is just like every Regen, except you can keep the AoE carnage going.
3. Ranged attacks. You have a blaster range attack and a small ranged AoE cone. These come in handy.
4. Poison. The Poison from Spines -Slows and -Recharges. And it adds up!
Cons
1. Single target fighting. When fighting a target with large HP one on one (not talking about PvP, BTW), it will take you a rather long time compared to MA or BS.
2. End heavy. But, this is pretty much canceled out because of Regen.
3. Alpha Strikes. Just like every Regen, Alpha Strikes are your weakness. But it is even more important for Spines, since you will either herding, or fighting large mobs. (If you're smart)
As you can see, the Pros outweigh the Cons.
Now, let's get on to the powers!
*****Spines******
Barb Swipe Barb Swipe is a pretty odd power. It has the same animation as Swipe from Claws, yet is not hated as much. Many people pick this power up as a filler, since you will be having two single targets attacks until 26 if you go my build. If you pick this up, I suggest respeccing it out. Only around 2.7 BI for a 2.43 second activation.
Lunge This is what I suggest getting at lvl 1. You will be using this ALOT in your early career, and a little in your later. You shove a large Spine on your arm in to your enemy, for around 3.6 BI. Pretty good. Pick this up.
Spine Burst This is THE Spines power. When enemies see a Spines scrapper being constipated, they run for their lives. This is a very large PBAoE (larger than Spin, Whirling Sword, etc.) that does more damage than the other PBAoEs as well. You can hit up to 16 targets with this attack, and you probably will be later on. 3.3 BI O_O Large amount of end though, but who cares?! Pick this up, or reroll.
Build Up Another important power for a Spines scrapper. This may be more important for Spines than for any other primary. This lets Spine Burst and Throw Spines do much more damage to many mobs. Very important. Get this eventually.
Impale GREAT power. You will love it when you hit a runner with this. Your second highest single target attack, except it has a 40 foot range! This move is so notorious in PvP, flying squishies will be very scared. This move has -Fly and Immobilizes. Get this, PLEASE! 5.4 BI.
Confront This would make more sense for a Spines, but it's not worth it, not to mention you want AoE. Bad power.
Quills Nice toggle. When this is on, Spines will continually fly out of your body, damaging everyone around you. But it does have an Accuracy check. You need this if you wish to herd, and I can do around 30 damage per hit with Build Up and 3 green SO's, and a Siphon Power. One major disadvantage: 1.04 end cost, per second. I have two endreds in this, even with Regen. I highly suggest this. .42 BI, per sec.
Ripper This is my favorite attack from Spines. You jump in the air and slash your Spines in front of you. This is a cone, and can hit more than one target. Also, this is your most damaging single target attack, I count it as single target. When you hit more than one person with this, it's devastating. Pick this up, please. 6.4 BI.
Throw Spines AWESOME attack. You fling your arm in front of you, throwing a giant wave of Spines. A good name for this attack would be "Sharp Tsunami" This cone is so wide, you won't believe it when you see it. Not to mention it has a BI of 4.1. One of Spines' necessary powers.
******Regeneration******
Fast Healing You have no choice if you want this or not, but I would have taken it anyway. This raises your healing rate 75%. Very useful. Don't be afraid to slot this with heals.
Reconstruction A necessary power. This heals you for 25% of your health every 60 seconds, while giving you 25% resistance to Toxic for a few seconds. That is without enhancements and Hasten too. Great power, I'd six slot it early.
Quick Recovery Some people choose Regen JUST for this power. Losing endurance has to be one of the most annoying things in the game. But Regens don't have to worry about endurance, at least not until the early 30's. This is Stamina on crack basically. 3 slot this power you 3 slot Stamina if you have a choice. Necessary.
Dull Pain Most required power in the whole entire set. At first, this power might not be great, because it has such a long recharge. But with SO's and Hasten, it will be amazing. This power raises your health by 20% and heals for 40% as well. And now you can slot it for heals, raising your HP by even more! 6 slot this please. And get this. Please. For your sake.
Integration Tied for Dull Pain for best power in the set. A toggle that costs .24 end per second and increases your healing rate by 100%, and protects you from every status effect in the game except Fear, Taunt, and Placate. Completely necessary. 3 slot this with Heals, you'll thank me.
Resilience An auto power that protects you that lowers the length of disorient and increases your resistance to Smashing, Lethal, and Toxic by 5.62%. A pretty nice power, get it after you have all the necessary powers.
Instant Healing This power used to be THE power of Regen, no, not Regen, of CoH. But I admit, it was WAY too powerful, and the nerfs were needed. Besides, IH still saves my butt time to time. It is now a click power that raises your healing rate by 600%!!! But...it only lasts for a minute, and the recharge is 650 seconds. O_o Yeah....it is still useful when you're in big trouble, I'd pick it up.
Revive One of the two "WT....F..." powers in Regen. It is a self rez that is pretty much a medium Awaken. Although, you can slot it to heal you for more, or have you recover for more end. Also, with Resilence, this can get you right back in to the fighting. If you have nothing to take, this could be good.
Moment of Glory If you are on the Triumph server, you most likely know what we think of MoG. This power lasts for two minutes, and actually LOWERS your health to 25% of normal. But you get a giant defense bonus of 80% to everything except Psionic and a 40% resistance bonus as well. Thing is, you can't recover health while this is on. That's the weird thing, a power in a set called REGENERATION, and you CAN'T REGENERATE health. Not to mention it LOWERS YOUR HEALTH. Don't look at me....
Those are the powers in Spines/Regen. Let's look at some of the power pools I think are most useful for Spines/Regen.
Speed Speed has Hasten, and even with the nerfs, it is a great power that helps Spines out alot. It lets you deal out more AoE and more damage. Super Speed is also a very useful travel power and is very fast.
Fitness "But I thought you said Quick Recovery would...." I said Quick Recovery would make you not worry about end until maybe the early 30's. Well, guess when I want you to get this. You start losing alot of end even with QR later on. I definitely suggest this.
Fighting Tough is still a great power to have for Regen. This gives 11.5% resistance to Smashing/Lethal damage unslotted for .33 end per sec, and you also have the Resilience resistance....I hope. This helps you survive longer, and is very helpful.
Leadership You may be going "WT....F?" right now, but don't please. Leadership isn't just for Defenders and Controllers. Assault gives you a 10.5% damage increase for all attacks, plus resistance to Taunt and Placate. But Tactics is the power you really want. It gives you 7% accuracy, but the real thing is the +Perception for PvP. Very useful.
What's that? You want my build? Ok.
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Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
---------------------------------------------
Name: Poison Thorn
Level: 50
Archetype: Scrapper
Primary: Spines
Secondary: Regeneration
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Lunge==> Acc(1)Dmg(5)Dmg(15)Dmg(15)Rechg(40)Acc(40)
01) --> Fast Healing==> Heal(1)Heal(25)Heal(25)
02) --> Spine Burst==> Acc(2)Dmg(3)Dmg(3)Dmg(5)Rechg(40)Acc(50)
04) --> Quick Recovery==> EndMod(4)EndMod(7)EndMod(11)
06) --> Reconstruction==> Rechg(6)Rechg(7)Rechg(31)Heal(31)Heal(31)Heal(34)
08) --> Impale==> Acc(8)Dmg(9)Dmg(9)Dmg(11)Acc(36)Rechg(37)
10) --> Dull Pain==> Rechg(10)Rechg(21)Rechg(21)Heal(34)Heal(36)Heal(36)
12) --> Hasten==> Rechg(12)Rechg(13)Rechg(13)
14) --> Super Speed==> EndRdx(14)
16) --> Integration==> Heal(16)Heal(17)Heal(17)
18) --> Quills==> EndRdx(18)EndRdx(19)Acc(19)Dmg(37)Dmg(46)Dmg(50)
20) --> Hurdle==> Jump(20)
22) --> Build Up==> Rechg(22)Rechg(23)Rechg(23)TH_Buf(46)
24) --> Health==> Heal(24)Heal(43)Heal(46)
26) --> Ripper==> Acc(26)Dmg(27)Dmg(27)Dmg(29)Rechg(29)Rechg(34)
28) --> Stamina==> EndMod(28)EndMod(37)EndMod(39)
30) --> Instant Healing==> Rechg(30)Rechg(43)Rechg(43)
32) --> Throw Spines==> Acc(32)Dmg(33)Dmg(33)Dmg(33)EndRdx(39)Rechg(39)
35) --> Assault==> EndRdx(35)
38) --> Tactics==> EndRdx(38)TH_Buf(42)TH_Buf(42)TH_Buf(42)
41) --> Boxing==> Acc(41)
44) --> Tough==> EndRdx(44)DmgRes(45)DmgRes(45)DmgRes(45)
47) --> Focused Accuracy==> EndRdx(47)EndRdx(48)EndRdx(48)TH_Buf(48)TH_Buf(50)
49) --> Conserve Power==> Rechg(49)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> EndRdx(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Acc(1)
01) --> Critical Hit==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Rechg(2)
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I suggest getting Tough before leadership, that was just for Warburg, but now RV is coming out, Tough is more important.
That is all I have to say, have fun playing your Spines/Regen!
Poison Thorn, LVL 43 Spines/Regen, Triumph.