Poison Bloom's guide to Claws/Super Reflexes
By
Edgewater,
Posted on: 2006-08-12 21:16 in Player Guides
Nice guide!
Thanks, I figured it was about time I gave back to the community.
"The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern." Lord Acton
Madam Enigma's History
An excellent guide for sure for a travel pool-less Claws/SR. I would add the following options for Claws/SR players as well, keeping in mind that your build is excellent by itself 
These are just options for players that I feel work for Claws/SR that others can choose from based on personal preference.
Of all the skills listed in the build above, the ones that are most droppable from least valuable to most valuable are:
- Swipe
- Laser Beam Eyes
- Hurdle or Swift
- Spin
- Focused Accuracy
Swipe is a nice power but a bit redudant in the later game. It still looks really nice though and is a good power early on. But it is skipable since you can maintain a constant attack chain even without it.
Laser Beam Eyes is great for concept characters and does add a nice ranged attack, but given the number of scrapper attacks already, it too can be dropped unless you really want more ranged attack options
Hurdle or Swift are mainly quality of life powers. I personally have both myself as the extra mobility is really useful for a Super Reflexes scrapper as there are times when you need to back off quickly or close the gap fast with an enemy. Also combined with quickness and Elude's movement bonuses a SR scrapper can move very fast without a travel power.
Spin is a nice power but more of a play style choice. The damage is "ok" but it is also Claw's only true aoe attack(Eviscerate and Shockwave are cone). If you find yourself dealing with large numbers of enemies more often, it is a good pick, but it is definitely an optional attack.
Focussed Accuracy. Many people swear by this power and I admit it is nice. However, it can add a lot of drain to an already end heavy Super Reflexes scrapper. Plus, followup combind with the natural accuracy of claws makes Focused Accuracy far less valuable in PvE situations except against Arch Villains and the like. If you PvP, however, this power is really not skippable if you can help it. But, if you are primarily a PvE player, I'd consider FA optional.
So what about substitutions if you choose to drop one or more of these powers? My recommendations in order of most valuable to least valuable:
- Aid Other/Stimulant -> Aid Self. These two powers are very useful for a Claws/SR as they have no natural heal themselves. The primary reason not to pick these is simply because they don't fit well with the "concept" of a Super Reflexes scrapper. However, that doesn't decrease their value to a Claws/SR any. With SR's defense ability, Aid Self's interrupt time becomes a minor concern at best, and it provides a much needed heal for the architype. The main drawback of Aid Self is you'll need to "spend" another power on either stimulant or Aid Other, both of which will have little value to a Claws/SR. As to which to pick, either or is fine, just go with the one you feel will suit your play style/grouping style more.
- Combat Jumping. An excellent power for a Claws/SR. It not only grants additional mobility, it also has a minor increase in immoblization protection and defense. The defense portion is really key. While it is a small bonus, Combat Jumping costs almost no end and as a Claws/SR your defense is already so high that numerically, even the small bonus combat jumping provides can be very useful. An excellent choice of a power and it synergizes well with hurdle and/or makes a nice substitution for hurdle.
- Assault and Tactics. While the bonuses are less for scrappers than other ATs, these are two still nice toggles that synergize very well with Claws' Follow-Up attack. Definitely recommended if you plan on PvPing a lot and can afford to fit them in, and still nice choices even for a PvE player who wants a less expensive "middle ground" option to Foccused Accuracy.
- Hasten. Quickness combined with Claws already rapid attack speeds makes hasten not that valuable to the build. However, it can be useful for one specific power: Elude. Hasten and Quickness combined, while not able to make Elude permenant, can reduce its downtime signifigantly. If you find yourself prefering to run with Elude as much as possible(especially if you PvP once again) Hasten can be a good option. Keep in mind, however, its benefit will be small for every other power outside of elude.
- Air superiority. While at first glance this power looks like it wouldn't fit well with Claws/SR, it does have a use in fact. It is a reliable knockdown attack. Combined with Focus and Shockwave you can pretty much constantly keep any foe knocked down that you are capable of knocking down. It is something to consider in a build, but not necessary either.
- Super Jump. Probably the best travel power for a Claws/SR should you choose to take one in the first place. Primarily because both combat jumping, and to a lesser extent air superiority, have value to a Claws/SR scrapper. Since SR is very demanding power wise, Super Jump makes a logical choice as a travel power if you really choose to take one. It also fits very well thematically with the Build.
Anyway, very nice guide up above These are just some options as I personally see it for those who want something slightly different but not lose any real effectiveness.
Once again, thank you. My current build has boxing and tough but not spin and hurdle. You have some very good points about which powers are skippable. I totaly agree that swipe and spin aren't needed. FA is rarely turned on and just in the build for PvP. I understand the fourth tier body mastery power is decent for juggling as well, but I didn't take if for concept reasons. Arial Superiority would also be a good choice for juggling tactics.
"The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern." Lord Acton
Madam Enigma's History
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Early on attacks do enough damage to get by. However defense is rather low still. Because of this I slot defense in focused fighting and focused senses first. By level five I have my toggle defenses three slotted. While Training enhancements let me slot more before hitting the cap, I hold back because any extra slots beyond the first three I put in now are wasted at level 22. While I dont know the exact value when slotted, its a significant chunk of defense with SO enhancements. The first two toggles get slotted with three defense for now.
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In the very early levels you will run into endurance problems a lot if you try to run both toggles. I recommend taking Agile before FS since it does not cost End and the ranged shots at low levels is a lot less.
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Swipe, Strike, and Slash will be my mainstay attacks throughout the characters life so I begin slotting those next. These I take my time with, making sure I keep them even. Once more I stop adding slots once I have slots for my eventual SO enhancements.
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I too add slots without planning for a respec. Generally 1 Acc and 3 Damage to all attacks that I use regularly. I skipped Swipe. Spin does more damage although the End cost is quite high. I think the claws set would be perfect if Spin was put later like the area attack in the Katana set.
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At level six I get my entrance power for the fitness pool. I chose Swift because it combines well with my secondary. Swift, Quickness, and Sprint will combine to give me near super speed running speeds. Its not a true travel power, but serves nicely. Slotting swift can wait however.
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Yes. If you know your way and don't putz around, you will find yourself getting to mishes faster than ppl with travel powers. The largest obstacle is vertical movement.
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At level ten Practiced Brawler unlocks. This is a click mez protection power. With two SO enhancements its perma so I make sure I get a second slot in it ASAP.
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I generally don't bother with the second slot right away. The only enemies you really need it for are the Lost until you get into your 20's. If you can hold off on doing your FrostFire mish until you get this, you will see how lame he really is.
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With level twelve I pick up the first of three auto powers from Super Reflexes. It was available sooner, but it was more important to build an effective attack chain first. So far the defense isnt critical. As with all other +defense powers from the secondary, this will be slotted three defense.
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Again, I would take Agile earlier and wait on FS till lev 8 or 12. My Claws/SR is almost level 33 and still only has 1 slot in Agile, but will get a couple more at 34.
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At level fourteen I get health. This power is easy to overlook. By its self it isnt going to save you in a tough situation. The regeneration boost does combine well with SRs +def powers however. It also reduces down time between fights. It will eventually be slotted with three heals, but that can wait until I have spare slots.
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Easy to overlook? No way! It really makes a huge difference. If you get hit a couple times by a boss you can back out of melee range and with Agile scaled up due to your low health, you can get a tick or two of health to try and finish him off (esp when you get Focus and can kill from range).
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Level sixteen gives the second of three passive defense powers, this time for melee attacks. Very handy. Even if the +def isnt attractive, the scaling resistance these powers give is.
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I held off on Dodge until level 30 on my claws (my Claws is named Serrated Angel, so I took Hover/Fly in my 20's for concept reasons). I noticed the lack of Dodge compared to my Katana scrapper who took it much earlier, but the difference wasn't really bad till level 28 or so.
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Level eighteen brings us to Focus. This is one of the hardest hitting powers in Claws. Its also ranged and fast animating. Have a runner? Focus can knock them off their feet. Its also part of a two power boss juggling tactic. Because focus does knockdown theres less worry about your target going flying backwards.
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This is an awesome power and the main damage dealer of the set. I have it slotted 1Acc, 3Dam, 1Rech, 1EndRed. I normally kick off this power as I run in and generally get a knowdown. Then Follow-Up and Evicerate and by then Focus is back up and they are just getting to their feet.
It should be noted that Focus does have knockback on mobs lower level than you.
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I take Quickness at level 20 because by now Im feeling the crunch of no travel power. Its main contribution to the build is +speed. It also gives a DOs worth of recharge reduction and enough slow resistance to ignore one slow field. The slow resistance isnt too important yet. Slotting will be three run speed, but that can wait.
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Even though I am really tired of running slow, I generally hold off on Quickness until 22. Quickness has a recharge reduction on it and by this time I am already hurting for End and I don't want to spend half my time at 20 and 21 resting. I find having to rest or worse yet, wait for rest to recharge much more annoying than running slow to mishes.
I don't slot this. I think slotting Sprint may be the better way to go for run speed. Also, you really don't want to be *that* fast all the time. Grouping with a Kinetic defender who insists on keeping everyone perma-speed gets kinda dangerous, esp in those annoying CoT cave mishes.
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Follow-Up is a nice attack/buff. Unlike Aim or Buildup, this gem can be perma out of the box.I waited until level twenty-two however because its not a must have power. While nice, the buff isnt required. It does the same damage as Swipe when slotted for damage, so not completely worthless damage wise. This one I slot 1 acc, 3 damage, and 2 to-hit buffs.
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IMO, Follow-up should be taken much sooner (and you can if you skip Swipe!). This is like carrying a trunk of red and yellow inspirations around with you. I slot 2Acc and 1Dam at the moment. I will prob add to-hit when I can. If you are facing +2 and +3 (or greater) enemies, landing this will add Acc to the rest of your chain, hence the 2Acc.
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Stamina I pick up at level 24 because by now during extended fights end can at times be a problem. Focus is one of the three major end hogs in the claws set. Slots however can be added when available. Im still slotting more important things like attacks and defenses.
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I take this at 20 and start slotting at 21. I hate resting.
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Evic, well this powers ok. If taken it demands slots. You can live without it however. This is the strongest attack in the set and has the highest crit chance. Its also got the longest animation and a high end cost.
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I hate the animation time on this one. The cone takes a bit of getting used to and generally I just plan on hitting 1 and if I get more, yay! It also seems to have -Acc compared to the rest of my powers for some reason. I will prob put 2Acc on it.
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I waited until level 30 to get spin because its a high end cost PBAoE. Before now it wasnt needed, but now I can look forward to many Arch Villain fights. Since AVs usually have many minions around them, spin can be thrown into an attack chain to help clear out minions without turning from the AV. This brings us to...
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Since I skipped Swipe, I used Spin a lot early on and much less so now. There is one thing it is really, really good to have for though. You know when the mins get stuck in a wall and none of your targetted attacks work because apparently you can't see them? Usually Spin will hit them.
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Shockwave. Truly a nice power. Unlike Focus. this is knock-back. Its also a ranged cone attack. This when slotted does about the same damage as Strike to everything within a wide cone.
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Yes, I am lev 32 now, so I just got this. The cone is so much nicer than Evicerate. I find it handy if one of my teammates is in trouble, I just turn around and blow the enemies around them away and then go back to taking down the boss or lieu that is just getting up after my Focus laid them flat.
This is as far as I can really comment. My Katana/SR is level 30. Since I didn't take Hover/Fly like I did on my Claws, I took Stealth in my early 20's and I took Hurdle at 30 (the lack of vertical was really annoying and it keeps with his Natural Origin)
I think you'll find that by using Swipe instead of Spin as a standard attack chain power there's fewer end issues with claws. Really, focus and evic are one of the biggest drains on my endurance. Also using spin when your not going to be hitting a bunch of foes is well, to me counterproductive. Your paying more endurance then Strike for an attack which does the same damage. It's redeeming factor is it can hit many foes. If your only hitting two however, it's not worth paying twice the end to me. It's not in my current build, but I wish it was during AV fights or when surrounded by 30 foes. Those are situations I face a lot more now.
Now granted, once I got focus, swipe started getting used less before (long animation originally). Now however I find it's a good filler attack. I'm a fan of taking all one's primary powers. Even so I say skip taunt unless you think it's useful. I didn't. Swipe is shippable if you want, but I like it. I'd also recomend it since it's a dirt cheap attack. If your sucking wind badly, swipe>slash is a good solid repeatable attack chain which gives you infinite endurance while using. How do I know this? Because originally those were my only two attacks until level 30, at which point I got spin. That was an attack chain which almost allowed me to solo Doc Vahz as an AV. I clawed my way through Striga with it. Tore through Positron TF using that attack chain. Originally I got distracted by pool powers and kept delaying attacks. I originally took agile before focused senses, and regretted it. I was getting shredded by ranged attacks with just agile for ranged defense, and that's back in issue 4, before GDN.
"The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern." Lord Acton
Madam Enigma's History
Thinking of doing a update for issue nine and inventions. Anyone care to help out, or do I need to test this myself?
"The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern." Lord Acton
Madam Enigma's History
I agree for the most part. I just lost my jump pack, and am now working with raptor pack. However, with my run speed, I normally use the pack only to nav over tall walls or bldgs, so I don't waste time having to go the long way. I am now lvl 28, and plan to start picking up the jump power set as soon as I have all my primaries. I do think you should update your guide, to reflect the changes from Issue 9. What bonus sets are good for a claw/SR scrapper? Which powers would they best be slotted to?
That's what I'm still working on. I've as yet got a few common IO's slotted, but only a single set IO.... And that's a chance for hold in focus. Wouldn't mind some help testing this. I'm not made of inf after all. I ran in super group mode too long.
"The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern." Lord Acton
Madam Enigma's History
Do an attack chain planner. I think the end redux in the attacks missing an end redux would better than an end redux in the toggles. Its better IMO to take longer to get to 0 end and have more attacks to the end bar and then do something small but affordable in to help in end recovery terms.
I dont understand Laser Beam Eyes on any scrapper XD but as long as you enjoy having it thats the main thing.
You might want 2 acc in follow up also. On my scrappers I take on +4s early on and 2 acc is practically a must have, I usually cant hit for toffee otherwise.
I do have a 50 one of these by the way since 2005 when SR was squishie and claws SR was rare (good days). I went largely 2 acc 3 dam 1 end on ST attacks for Bosses and 1 acc 1 end 3 dam 1 rechg on the AoE attacks (for minions while I am at the bosses).
LBE was a RP choice actually. The character is based on a old heroes unlimited character of mine. Was a scientific experiment who had armor like skin, hyper agility, skilled with a katana, and could fire energy from her eyes. However, I didn't like the feel of katana in CoH. I personally like 1 acc, and find focused accuracy helps out with things 1 acc isn't enough for. Since I treat follow up as an attack, weather it hits or not isn't so important to devote more acc.
"The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern." Lord Acton
Madam Enigma's History
Ok, getting ready to farm flashbacks for merits so I can finally test out various builds using IO's. Once that is finished I'll update at last.
"The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern." Lord Acton
Madam Enigma's History
First of all Id like to welcome you to my first attempt at writing a guide. Im not a number cruncher, so I wont bore you with math. Instead my advice comes from in game experience, trial, and error. I spent a year working on my claw/sr scrapper so feel I have some valid insight to pass on. Ill begin by listing my build, Ill then go through and explain it.. Finally Ill discuss the various power pools Ive tried, and why I either recommend it or not. Without further delay, my guide. This is a respec build, but when I respec I pay close attention to level and when I put slots in.
Claws/Super Reflexes is a good solid build. With this build I find I can fight continuously as long as I need. While its not strong in the burst damage department, its arguably the king of sustained damage. It animates fast, recharges fast, and takes little endurance per attack. It also offers built in +perception. For PvP this is very handy.
PART I: The Build
01 : Focused Fighting defbuf(01) defbuf(3) defbuf(5) endred(37)
01 : Swipe acc(01) dam(7) dam(9) dam(15)
02 : Focused Senses defbuf(02) defbuf(3) defbuf(5) endred(37)
04 : Strike acc(04) dam(7) dam(11) dam(17)
06 : Swift runspd(06) runspd(46) runspd(48)
08 : Slash acc(08) dam(9) dam(13) dam(19)
10 : Practiced Brawler recred(10) recred(11)
12 : Agile defbuf(12) defbuf(13) defbuf(15)
14 : Health hel(14) hel(43) hel(46)
16 : Dodge defbuf(16) defbuf(17) defbuf(19)
18 : Focus acc(18) dam(21) dam(21) dam(23) endred(40)
20 : Quickness runspd(20) runspd(46) runspd(48)
22 : Follow Up acc(22) dam(23) dam(25) dam(25) thtbuf(31) thtbuf(36)
24 : Stamina endrec(24) endrec(31) endrec(43)
26 : Eviscerate acc(26) dam(27) dam(27) dam(29) endred(40)
28 : Lucky defbuf(28) defbuf(29) defbuf(31)
30 : Spin acc(30) dam(34) dam(34) dam(34) endred(43)
32 : Shockwave acc(32) dam(33) dam(33) dam(33) endred(42)
35 : Evasion defbuf(35) defbuf(36) defbuf(36) endred(37)
38 : Elude defbuf(38) defbuf(39) defbuf(39) recred(39) recred(40)
41 : Focused Accuracy endred(41) endred(42) endred(42) thtbuf(50)
44 : Laser Beam Eyes acc(44) dam(45) dam(45) dam(45)
47 : Conserve Power recred(47) recred(50)
49 : Hurdle jmp(49)
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01 : Brawl enhancement(01)
01 : Sprint enhancement(01) enhancement(48) enhancement(50)
02 : Rest enhancement(02)
PART II Explanations
Early on attacks do enough damage to get by. However defense is rather low still. Because of this I slot defense in focused fighting and focused senses first. By level five I have my toggle defenses three slotted. While Training enhancements let me slot more before hitting the cap, I hold back because any extra slots beyond the first three I put in now are wasted at level 22. While I dont know the exact value when slotted, its a significant chunk of defense with SO enhancements. The first two toggles get slotted with three defense for now.
Swipe, Strike, and Slash will be my mainstay attacks throughout the characters life so I begin slotting those next. These I take my time with, making sure I keep them even. Once more I stop adding slots once I have slots for my eventual SO enhancements.
At level six I get my entrance power for the fitness pool. I chose Swift because it combines well with my secondary. Swift, Quickness, and Sprint will combine to give me near super speed running speeds. Its not a true travel power, but serves nicely. Slotting swift can wait however.
At level ten Practiced Brawler unlocks. This is a click mez protection power. With two SO enhancements its perma so I make sure I get a second slot in it ASAP.
With level twelve I pick up the first of three auto powers from Super Reflexes. It was available sooner, but it was more important to build an effective attack chain first. So far the defense isnt critical. As with all other +defense powers from the secondary, this will be slotted three defense.
At level fourteen I get health. This power is easy to overlook. By its self it isnt going to save you in a tough situation. The regeneration boost does combine well with SRs +def powers however. It also reduces down time between fights. It will eventually be slotted with three heals, but that can wait until I have spare slots.
Level sixteen gives the second of three passive defense powers, this time for melee attacks. Very handy. Even if the +def isnt attractive, the scaling resistance these powers give is.
Level eighteen brings us to Focus. This is one of the hardest hitting powers in Claws. Its also ranged and fast animating. Have a runner? Focus can knock them off their feet. Its also part of a two power boss juggling tactic. Because focus does knockdown theres less worry about your target going flying backwards.
I take Quickness at level 20 because by now Im feeling the crunch of no travel power. Its main contribution to the build is +speed. It also gives a DOs worth of recharge reduction and enough slow resistance to ignore one slow field. The slow resistance isnt too important yet. Slotting will be three run speed, but that can wait.
Follow-Up is a nice attack/buff. Unlike Aim or Buildup, this gem can be perma out of the box.I waited until level twenty-two however because its not a must have power. While nice, the buff isnt required. It does the same damage as Swipe when slotted for damage, so not completely worthless damage wise. This one I slot 1 acc, 3 damage, and 2 to-hit buffs.
Stamina I pick up at level 24 because by now during extended fights end can at times be a problem. Focus is one of the three major end hogs in the claws set. Slots however can be added when available. Im still slotting more important things like attacks and defenses.
Evic, well this powers ok. If taken it demands slots. You can live without it however. This is the strongest attack in the set and has the highest crit chance. Its also got the longest animation and a high end cost.
I waited until level 30 to get spin because its a high end cost PBAoE. Before now it wasnt needed, but now I can look forward to many Arch Villain fights. Since AVs usually have many minions around them, spin can be thrown into an attack chain to help clear out minions without turning from the AV. This brings us to...
Shockwave. Truly a nice power. Unlike Focus. this is knock-back. Its also a ranged cone attack. This when slotted does about the same damage as Strike to everything within a wide cone.
Evasion comes at level thirty-five. While some say you can skip it, I personally wouldnt. In the late thirties you begin fighting nemisis. They use tons of AoE attacks. Once this is slotted with three defense enhancements I find I have more slots then I need for critical things.
From here on I begin slotting non-critical things. I add end reduc enhancements to toggles and high cost attacks. I also begin fleshing out my run speed by adding two more runs speed enhancements to quickness, sprint, and swift.
Level thirty-eight gives the final core power, Elude. I add four additional slots to this one. This give me a total of three defense and two recharge in it. I could add one more recharge, but its up as often as needed already.
After I get into the forties I chose Body Mastery for my epic pool. This was sparked by one factor, the character concept originally called for laser vision. Focused Accuracy is a purely PvP choice. This gives me to-hit debuff resistance. A good sized to-hit buff, and +perception. Now I can see stalkers running hide and stealth togather.
Conserve power helps for when my end bar does eventually gets low. Hit this and I can go back to spamming attacks. In fact while CP is active I can gain endurance while attacking.
Laser-Beam Eyes finally completes my concept, and gives a rather nice ranged attack.
My final power is hurdle for one reason, why not? It will boost my vertical mobility, and I cant think of anything better.
PART III: Other Pool Choices
Please remember, these are my views and reasons. Feel 100% free to disagree.
Leadership
Maneuvers: Its a low value for scrappers, but the +def stacks with SRs +def. Slot it or not, your choice.
Teleport
Tp Foe: I used this for awhile in my original build. It is a decent pulling power, but eventually I was able to just bum rush in the situations I was pulling for.
Recall Friend: Its good for helping teams get to missions quickly. I respeced out of it because I kept having teams think I was just a taxi.
Teleport: Its an ok travel power, but very endurance intensive. I found that after getting quickness I never used it if there was a way up on foot near by. Because of that I respeced out.
Fighting
Boxing: before I picked up follow-up it was ok. Its about the same damage as Swipe or Follow-Up. Ok, but I dont need three weak attacks.
Tough: Wow is this not worth it. I had thought the smash/lethal resistance would help, but its too low to be worth it. Its also a huge end drain.
"The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern." Lord Acton
Madam Enigma's History