The Martial Artist/Super Reflexes Handbook [I10]

TABLE OF CONTENTS
(to jump to a section, use the 'Find' function in your browser - Ctrl+F on Windows - to search for the bracketed four-letter combination.)
- <INTR> Introduction
- <YMAR> Why Martial Arts? Why Super Reflexes?
- <MAMG> Martial Arts Move Guide
- <SRMG> Super Reflexes Move Guide
- <GNRC> Generic Power Pools
- <EPIC> Ancillary Power Pools
- <FOES> Enemies


INTRODUCTION <INTR>

Hello!

I'm AstralFire, and this is going to be my first attempt at writing a useful guide. I've only been playing City of Heroes a short while, but I've gotten some heavy playtesting and discussion done about the finer arts of MA/SR on the road to 50... most of which had to be done with an excessive expenditure of time, given that the newest guides I could find were from Issue 6. Information that's still definitely serviceable, sure, but enough time has passed that I felt we needed an update. So here we are.

The main purpose of this guide is to help people with this particular powerset combination in PvE, but it should still provide some useful information for those of you with only Martial Arts or Super Reflexes (you poor unfortunate souls.) I just want you to know that I haven't played either powerset not in tandem with the other (yet), so you should take what I say with a handful of salt.

Now, the title of this particular guide includes the word 'Handbook'. The idea is, I am not going to post my build and tell you to follow it. I think that's a poor idea. Rather, I am going to give you an overview of all the possible choices one can make in their career as a Martial Arts/Super Reflexes, and let you make the decision yourself. I highly suggest making use of multiple respecs so that you can really get a feel for your character. I am much the better for my many gimpspecs than I am for my final sexspec.

One day I would like to update this guide for PvP, but I'll need much more experience before I feel I can do that well.

WHY MARTIAL ARTS? WHY SUPER REFLEXES? <YMAR>

Why Martial Arts? Martial Arts is probably the most visually appealing scrapper set. The majority of its moves demonstrate to their victims that you are both highly skilled and that you mean business. Compare this to Katana (very pretty, but looks about as dangerous as ballet) or Broadsword (dangerous. staccato. ugly?) and it strikes a nice middle ground between the flourish and the fury, the style and the smash.

From a technical standpoint, the Martial Arts set is pretty good at single-target lockdowns - it comes with decent secondary effects to make up for its much lower crowd DPS. This lower multi-target damage is part of what makes Martial Arts more difficult to carry to high levels - it gets an early single-target boost with the extremely powerful Crane Kick at a mere level 8, but taking on groups will be a bit of a chore before you can get Dragon's Tail (26) and your Ancillary Power Pool AoE.

Why Super Reflexes? Super Reflexes is not as immediately appealing as the ever-popular Regeneration, which is crazy out of the gate with its nearly limitless Endurance. SR can be a bit of a chore at lower levels, and it essentially requires a minimum of 8 of its 9 powers taken at bare minimum, greatly restricting your power freedom. Despite these things, if you are willing to stick with Super Reflexes until your mid-20s, you will notice a sharp increase in survivability - even greater than a regen's increase.

This will only improve further with time, as your final pieces fall into place with Evasion at 35, and Elude at 38. Upon hitting 50, I've noticed that I generally outlast other scrappers with Regeneration and Invulnerability in difficult situations. Dark Armor tends to jockey for the pole position, though. In particular, many of the usual tough foes - Carnies and Malta Sappers, for example - won't be so tough. You will have some enemies that tend to just rip you apart, but these are few and far between. With the amount of inspirations you save up from steamrolling Invincible normally, these special critters with high to-hit bonuses are just another splotch on the roadside.

Unfortunately, though, it is true that these two powersets put together do mean that you will be waiting a while to perfect your build - if you're looking to finish your concept early, Martial Arts/Super Reflexes is not for you. But when they do fill out... enemies will be running from you. And you will give them no recourse.

MARTIAL ARTS MOVE GUIDE <MAMG>
All Power Information is gained courtesy of Red Tomax's Guide to City of Heroes and Mids' Hero Designer. I highly suggest that you use one of those two in order to get detailed numbers. Better yet, use both.

Thunder Kick
The fast-recharging and weaker technique of the opening MA pair, Thunder Kick does respectable damage and has a slim (1 in 10) chance of disorienting an opponent for 7 seconds, which is good solo damage mitigation earlier on. Disorients make opponents get a swirly symbol over their heads, and they wander about at half-speed, only occasionally attacking. At only a Magnitude 2, anything higher than a minion won't really notice, unfortunately. Its stun's unreliability makes it nearly impossible to stack the Magnitudes to overwhelm tougher foes, and this makes Thunder Kick a mediocre move in the later game. Grab it to level with for sure; evaluate grabbing a pool power attack instead on a Respecification Trial.
[u]Slotting[u]: Thunder Kick, like all damage attacks for a MA/SR, should be six-slotted. Go for 90+% Damage at least; the others are up to you. I reach for 40-60% Endurance and Accuracy, and fit in whatever Recharge I can. Always try to meet your minimum for Accuracy first. Crushing Impact and Mako's Bite are the best full sets, but you can get good performance out of mixing sets to get the most raw numerical benefit. If you have a free slot, throw in Touch of Death or Mako's Bite's chance for damage IOs. When mixing and matching, realize you can often pull from the much cheaper Stun IO sets.

It is also very possible to slot Thunder Kick with stun sets instead; doing so with Razzle Dazzle will get you some nice bonuses to two of your defenses, and give you a 1 in 5 chance of a Mag 2 Immobilize, which may be more useful if you get Web Grenade, Tenebrous Tentacles or Crippling Axe Kick. However, given Thunder Kick's already low damage and its low chance for stun, I'm not sure how good an idea this is. You would have to spam the attack constantly to get a good benefit to disorient, in which time you might have killed the opponent with a better offense. If you do go this route, I suggest waiting for mid-levels to slot with Stun so that you have a stronger attack chain.

Storm Kick
The slower recharging technique of the opener moves, Storm Kick is fast-casting and hard-hitting - it is the second best attack of Martial Arts for Damage Per Second of Activation Time. (DPS-AT; others refer to it as DPA.) Get this, keep it, love it.
[u]Slotting[u]: Storm Kick, like all damage attacks for a MA/SR, should be six-slotted. Go for 90+% Damage at least; the others are up to you. I reach for 40-60% Endurance and Accuracy, and fit in whatever Recharge I can. Always try to meet your minimum for Accuracy first. Crushing Impact and Mako's Bite are the best full sets, but you can get good performance out of mixing sets to get the most raw numerical benefit. If you have a free slot, throw in Touch of Death or Mako's Bite's chance for damage IOs.

Cobra Strike
Cobra Strike is the closest thing to a 'controversial' move this powerset has. Doing absolutely worthless damage, it has a long duration disorient of Magnitude 3. It can definitely be a useful move at lower levels; the problem is at higher levels. Most Controllers focus on Immobilization or Hold for their secondary effects, meaning that it's harder to stack mags to overcome bosses; at higher levels, the lieutenants and minions die too fast to worry about Cobra Strike.

However, I've always liked the attack - it's a punch! Martial Arts needs more punches! - and RedLynne offers us this:
[ QUOTE ]
Cobra Strike has a 20 second recharge and a 12 second stun duration. With +95% Stun Duration and +86% Recharge Reduction (ie. 3 Stun SOs and 2 Recharge SOs plus Quickness) those numbers "reverse" to become 10.7 seconds recharge and 23.4 seconds stun duration. With that kind of performance you can perma double stack Cobra Strike quite reliably on a single target (such as, say, a Boss) since the recharge is less than half of the duration. This gives you a reliable MAG 3+3=6 Stun that you can maintain for as long as you don't miss with Cobra Strike, and it'll only take you 12 seconds to reach the double stack, perma-Stun point (assuming you don't MISS).

[/ QUOTE ]

Yet another guy more intelligent than me, Scrapulous, notes that things will be a bit harder at higher difficulty levels like Invincible; stuns on enemies wear off much faster. You'll need to to work on high-recharge builds to gain the most advantage from this, either way. It's a very valid technique, and should work well for the /SR going for something a bit different.

Also, on a non-SR note: if you're a Dark Armor secondary, I highly suggest picking this up since Oppressive Gloom stacks to Mag 5 - overcoming bosses - and is reliable, unlike Eagle's Claw, Thunder Kick and Pool Power Boxing/Flurry. Toss in the occasional disorient from those attacks, and you will occasionally overcome Archvillains! I definitely recommend going for it if you can, but given how hard SR is on your power selections, be careful. Your first priority is an attack chain.

As a visual note, Cobra Strike is actually a punch. Those of you going for a more streetbrawler look should consider that.
[u]Slotting[u]: Accuracy, Duration, and Recharge are your highest priorities here if you want things to double-stack. 5 slots, mixing IO sets with standard IOs, will get that for you. I'd throw in a 6th for Endurance, but that could be my time without Stamina speaking. Alternatively, consider high-slotting with Razzle Dazzle or Stupefy for the IO Set bonuses to defense.

Focus Chi
It's Build Up. Get it. Its damage increase will be less appreciable at higher levels since it doesn't multiply bonuses from Enhancements, but effectively +50% damage at level 50 for 10 seconds is still huge, even if it's not as big as +100% damage at level 10.
[u]Slotting[u]: Three Recharges will do until you can afford to get three Membrane Hamidon Exposure Enhancements.

Crane Kick
A slow casting, hard-hitting sidekick, Crane Kick is the biggest boost to young Martial Artists; available at a mere level 8, Crane Kick is both the best Martial Arts attack in terms of DPS-AT, and the best in terms of 'soft' damage mitigation; offering a huge knockback to keep foes off of their feet and away from you. Make sure you learn to position well before using the attack though, or the knockback may irritate teammates. It's also the outright second most damaging attack in the Martial Arts set.
[u]Slotting:[u] See Storm Kick or Thunder Kick. Not much variety on the attack slotting, really.

Warrior's Challenge
If your secondary is Super Reflexes, don't get this. You don't have the powers to waste, and Crane Kick will usually suffice.

If your secondary is Invulnerability, how do you not already have the aggro? Invincibility!

If your secondary is Dark Armor, how do you not already have the aggro? Death Shroud!

If your secondary is Regeneration... I guess if you have powers to waste.
[u]Slotting:[u] Two accuracy SOs or 1 Accuracy IO at 50 will suffice.

Crippling Axe Kick
After Cobra Strike, the second-closest thing Martial Arts has to a controversial move. Crippling Axe kick deals mediocre damage - roughly double Thunder Kick's, with a slightly lower DPS-AT - with a slow cast time and bizarre secondary effects. Immobilize -and- Slow? Anti-Fly? Nothing stacks with your other secondary effects? What? Only a 50% Chance to overcome Lieutenants?

On the whole, I don't feel this attack is worth it - Air Superiority makes a better anti-air attack in so many ways, especially since Martial Artists don't have redraw problems.

Of note, Tenebrous Tentacles in Dark, Web Grenade in Weapon, and the Chance of Immobilize from the Razzle Dazzle set stack with Crippling Axe Kick, which is enough to overcome a standard Boss. Something to think about if you go Dark Mastery.
[u]Slotting:[u] If you're determined to get this, either slot it as part of your attack chain or just grab Accuracy for the Anti-Air function.

Dragon's Tail
Martial Arts' only inherent AoE attack, it also does very minor knockback (knockdown on even-level or higher) good damage, and respectable recharge, making it excellent damage mitigation. Try to pair this with Focus Chi whenever possible to counter the limited amount of AoEs at your disposal. This attack is excellent for damage mitigation.
[u]Slotting:[u] As you would your attack chain. Scirocco's Dervish is easily the best IO set, while Cleaving Blow has respectable set bonuses. Mix and match to get the biggest raw boost to the attack if you wish, especially for higher recharge.

Eagle's Claw
The capstone ability for Martial Arts. I mostly use this as a tough minion killer, to be honest; I find it to be an overrated attack. Its DPS-AT isn't much higher than Thunder Kick's, due to its impossibly slow attack time (3 seconds) even though the raw damage of the attack is high. Its extra critical damage chance isn't as notable against Lieutenants and Higher (all Scrapper criticals raise to at least 10% against things higher than minions), and the stun is often kinda out there. It's best for PvP. That said, I'm glad I have the attack. A lot of people think it looks cool, and it can be, but it often looks goofy as well. It's also good for handling runners, since you only have to be in range when the attack starts.
[u]Slotting:[u] As other attacks. When mixing and matching, realize you can often pull from the much cheaper Stun IO sets.

SUPER REFLEXES MOVE GUIDE <SRMG>
All Power Information is gained courtesy of Red Tomax's Guide to City of Heroes and Mids' Hero Designer. I highly suggest that you use one of those two in order to get detailed numbers. Better yet, use both.

Focused Fighting
You have to get this. That's a good thing, though, since this lets you keep up in the opponents' 'bidness'. At low levels, toggle off if you've got health to spare and are running out of Endurance, but remember to put it back on if you need.
[u]Slotting:[u] Three slotted with IOs for Def/End. Unless you have slots to spare, don't bother going for a full set in any of your Super Reflexes powers; the lower slotted effects aren't so great, and it's a lot cheaper to mix and match.

Focused Senses
Exactly the same as Focused Fighting, ranged instead. Don't be in a rush to grab this right away since the lowest enemies have very weak ranged attacks, usually, but try to pick it up early in the game.

Agile
At lower levels, you'll probably appreciate the scaling resists with your beefy scrapper health more than you will the low ranged defense bonus - especially since the resists apply to all damage. Grab this one early. At higher levels, you'll appreciate the IO'ed up defense a LOT, especially when you get toggle-dropped during a Rikti Mothership Raid. Trust me. It will happen.
[u]Slotting:[u] Two to three IOs for defense. Again, don't bother with going for sets unless you've got slots to spare.

Practiced Brawler
A must-have, this is the scrapper's anti-mez. It starts out as the worst protection of its kind as it is click, with a duration appreciably shorter than its recharge. (Avoid Circle of Thorns like hell.) After you get Dual-Origin Enhancements, however, things pick up; once you can get its recharge under 120 seconds, you have access to the best anti-mez of the scrapper sets, since anything that does manage to mez you will not drop the protection from this ability; that means you can Break Free with an inspiration and not worry about immediately being put back under. Double-stacking this power is easy, and triple is doable with exceptionally high recharge builds.
[u]Slotting:[u] Three-slot recharge at lower levels, two-slot with high IOs.

Dodge
See Agile. Melee instead.

Quickness
The only real skippable power in Super Reflexes, Quickness adds an Enhancement Diversification immune DO level boost to your global recharge (includes temporary powers) and a slight movement increase. I went with this over Hasten in the end since it costs no Endurance and is always on, as well as providing a small resistance to slows. High recharge builds grab both, as Hasten by itself adds more than two SO's worth. Regarding high recharge builds, it should be noted that the Recharge Reduction formula inherently has diminishing returns; Recharge Reduction is calculated as 1/(1+X), with X being recharge bonuses. An SO has an X value of 0.33, and Quickness has a value of 0.2.
[u]Slotting:[u] Toss a Run Speed in and forget about it. Don't even bother with Fly. You actually get more bonus to flight speed by overslotting Fly or Hover past Enhancement Diversification limits. It's that bad. If you don't mind always being translucent, you could throw in the Running stealth IO here.

Lucky
See Agile, AoE instead. This one should be grabbed right at 28 to help deal with the growing amount of AoEs you'll be facing. On a respec at 35 or higher (when you get Evasion), though, you can put this one off if you need to.

Evasion
See Focused Fighting, AOE instead. This will patch up the final hole in your defenses. (Only took 35 levels...)

Elude
The Capstone of Super Reflexes, Elude is well worth it, and is one of the best tier 9s in the game; it's definitely the best scrapper Tier 9. (It pushes out Invuln's Unstoppable by virtue of not virtually killing you at the end if you need to keep fighting.) Unenhanced, it immediately takes you to the softcap for PvE defense even if you don't have a single other Super Reflexes power on. This means that even if you somehow get mesmerized during it, they won't be able to hit you anyway. When combined with the Endurance Recovery boost while Elude is on, you become a fighting machine! Additionally, Elude boosts your Defense Debuff resistance to nearly 100% when all of your normal toggles are up. And finally, you get a huge run speed and jump height buff! I almost never have to turn Elude on, but when I do... people regret it.

After three minutes of Godhood, Elude will crash. If you're still fighting, that can be bad, but it's not necessarily death. When you notice your buff icon about to go, pop a Lucky Inspiration and make sure you have a Catch a Breath or better Endurance inspiration. Use multiple if necessary. Toggle on and get back in the fight! (This is made easier by Conserve Power.)

Make sure to bring Oranges and Reds for your Elude time to make the most of it.
[u]Slotting:[u] Three-slot for defense and recharge, as your build requires. The optimum is to get three Def/Recharge IOs.

GENERIC POWER POOLS <GNRC>
All Power Information is gained courtesy of Red Tomax's Guide to City of Heroes and Mids' Hero Designer. I highly suggest that you use one of those two in order to get detailed numbers. Better yet, use both.

Even though Super Reflexes is very demanding in the power selections, you will still have room left over for pool powers. And that is a good thing! That is what makes each character so different.

[u]FITNESS[u]
You're going to want the Fitness pool. Believe me. The Fitness pool is what turns you from gasping for air every fight (and possibly health) to running from battle to battle, hungering for blood. I've done without it on both my original spec and a respec. I regretted every moment, though I got to be a much better scrapper as well for suffering through it. (If you do go without it, you're going to want a lot more End Reduction in your attacks.)

Swift or Hurdle, it doesn't really matter much (for the most part, but more on that below in Travel). Just grab one. Then get Health and Stamina as soon as possible. Health is a tricksy one, though. The obvious solution for both of them is to three-slot each, right?

Well, that's true for Stamina, but reconsider for Health. There are three very good (also very expensive...) Unique IO Enhancements that will fit in your health; they're from the Miracle, Regenerative Tissue, and Numina's Convalescence IO Sets. Respectively, each one provides a 15% Boost to Endurance Recovery, another 25% to Health Regeneration, and a 20% Boost to Health/10% Boost to Endurance Recovery. That may not sound like much, but Health inherently only adds 40% Regeneration, and Stamina only 25% Recovery. Put together, and they effectively are letting you six slot Health and Stamina... for the cost of only three more slots on Health.

I would add those extra slots on Health later on (late-40s), but definitely get them.

[u]TRAVEL[u]
The first consideration for many people when choosing pool powers is how they're going to get around. There are four traditional routes to this, along with one alternative. Of note is the fact that there are temporary power Super Jump and Flight abilities available from the Kings' Row and Atlas Park Safeguard Missions, respectively. These will eventually run out, but careful use combined with Sprint can allow you to wait as long as level 30 to get your method of travel. I wouldn't recommend waiting that long, myself.

[u]FLIGHT[u]
The traditional superhero method of travel; most of the big icons can fly or damn well close to it. Flight is somewhat slow, though not that much; a great deal of its apparent slowness if an illusion caused by being much farther from the ground. Flight is an easy pool to get into with an excellent attack:

[ QUOTE ]
Air Superiority
The best pool power attack, hands down, Air Superiority does more damage than Thunder Kick - on par with Dragon's Tail - and reliably knocks up almost anything it hits underneath an Elite Boss. Regardless of sex.
Anyway, Knock Up (*immature giggle*) is very useful because it makes the enemy spend a lot of time trying to stand; this is especially true for mobs like Freakshow Tank Smashers/Slicers, and Banished Pantheon Totems. The anti-air is only icing. A great attack to have at low levels when your defenses are poor, and a serviceable attack all the way through 50.
[u]Slotting:[u] As part of your attack chain.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hover is not recommended as an entry for scrappers; it moves extremely slowly and follow AI is slightly bugged with it, often landing you outside of melee range. However, those trying to squeeze every single bit of defense they can from the pools may wish to take this anyway.

Flight's capstone ability, Group Fly, is worthless to a Scrapper if you're not planning on raiding the Hamidon or Rikti Drop Ships.

[u]LEAPING[u]
One of the rarer methods of travel in the comics; from the big names, I can only think of Golden Age Superman, the Hulk, Spider-Man, Aquaman and Namor who really use this to get around. It's extremely popular in City of Heroes, however, as it is very quick vertically and horizontally.

Jump Kick is a horrible pool power damage-wise; its only saving grace is the high knock-up for damage mitigation. However,

[ QUOTE ]
Combat Jumping
Is a much better alternative, delivering an okay amount of defense at a negligible Endurance cost. It also allows for quick maneuvering of a fight scene, I've found. I don't even have Super Jump and I've made sure to get it.
[u]Slotting:[u] One defense. Two if you have a spare slot.

[/ QUOTE ]

Leaping's capstone ability, Acrobatics, is incredibly redundant for Super Reflexes; Dark Armor may wish to get it, or they may wish to leave room open for Knockback resist IOs.

[u]SPEED[u]
Boasting probably the coolest travel effects (burning feet and hands), the Speed pool opens up with two viable but mediocre options: Hasten and Flurry.

[ QUOTE ]
Hasten
I have not found to be worth it; it gets better the more things with really long recharges that you absolutely have to use that you have, and has a huge End drop at the end that is not reducible. You would only really get a noticeable benefit on Elude, Conserve Power, Rest, Cobra Strike and your AoEs. You shouldn't be using Conserve Power, Elude and Rest that often, most don't take Cobra Strike. That's one precious power for a few seconds (at best) off of your AoEs, which you could make up easily with Recharge Reduxes. Two AoEs tend to be sufficient to begin with.

A Hasten/heavy recharge build could aid the Scraptroller style by freeing up TK/CAK/EC to be used in their secondary purpose and focusing on repeatedly hammering Storm Kick and Crane Kick when you need damage; it would require a heavy monetary investment, but it's worth a shot.
[u]Slotting:[u] Three recharge.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
Flurry
Sporting marginally better DPS-AT than Jump Kick, and only a small chance of a Mag 2 Disorient, Flurry jockeys with Jump Kick for the position of worst pool attack. It only gets an entry here just in case someone's going with a disorient build and wants Super Speed.
[u]Slotting:[u] As your attack chain.

[/ QUOTE ]

Speed's Tier 4, Whirlwind, is fun! But crappy. You want the enemies to be grouped near you, so unless you're trying to herd someone into a wall - I prefer Crane Kick for that - this attack doesn't synergize at all.

When coupled with the difficulty of using Superspeed in areas like Terra Volta, I do not recommend this pool for MA/SR Scrappers at all.

[u]TELEPORTATION[u]
This pool is entirely non-recommended aside from concept builds; Scrappers have no abilities for which they might wish to recall their friends, unless they are doing 'ghosting' runs. Teleport Foe is bad outside of PvP; it won't work on anything stronger than a yellow Lieutenant, and is very slow. Teleport itself is the fastest movement power, though, and can be used cleverly mid-fight. If you have the spare room, sure...

Team Teleport, the tier 4, is entirely useless if you have no pets.

[u]FITNESS[u]
Stop the presses, what? Fitness as a Travel Pool? Yeah, I said Fitness.

The Fitness pool's Hurdle provides a huge boost to jumping forward movement speed. A Super Jumper won't notice, but someone used to running will. Three-slotted for leaping, and Hurdle can actually move almost as fast as three-slotted Fly. It would take a long time or a very bumpy terrain map in order for you to noticeably lag behind a flyer.

This choice has the benefit of practically eliminating a pool needed, since almost all scrappers will want to take Stamina and Health in the Fitness pool to counter their Endurance usage, and you cannot take Stamina or Health without at least grabbing Swift or Hurdle. As of my third respec, I personally combine this with Combat Jumping for maneuverability, defense, and height. It's also just a really fun way to get around.

[u]THE OTHERS[u]

Just a brief run-through:

Concealment: Not recommended; again, this is not an AT Powerset combination with a lot of free powers. Stealth uses a *lot* of Endurance for minimal defense gain; 5x the Endurance of Combat Jumping for the same defense. In general, hiding doesn't really pay in this game if you're not a Stalker, /Dev Blaster, going to get bombs in the Rikti Mothership raid, or ghosting parts of TFs. Ghosting usually requires teleport, which would be a two-pool investment on a tight build.

Fighting: Very recommended. Boxing is a mediocre attack, but there's hardly any difference between it and Thunder Kick. (Kick is not very good; it has a very low DPS-AT). In return, you gain access to Tough and Weave, which will raise your survivability dramatically. Weave is a respectable defense boost when stacked with your other toggles; alone, it's not much. A well-slotted Tough not only takes 20% of the bite off of the very common Smashing and Lethal attacks when they do hit you, but when put in conjunction with a very cheap Unique IO from Steadfast protection, gives you +3% Defense to All. This pool, then, raises your defense 10% more towards the soft cap of 45% - it's easy to hit 30% just off of /SR itself - and raises your resistance. Well worth it.

Leadership: The worst pool for a scrapper. You have enough toggles, these are *damn expensive* toggles, and as a scrapper you're often doing your own thing, even in a team.

Medicine: The team-minded scrapper may find Stimulant or Aid Other to be occasionally useful; the real prize is Aid Self. I am not a fan since I dislike wasting 4 seconds to heal myself 20% - especially with 1 second interruptible, even with a defense build - but I know those who swear by it.

Presence: Challenge isn't noticeably worse than Warrior's Challenge, to be honest, but the same problems do apply. Provoke is probably a better entry point so that you can off-tank, but Intimidate is really bad without Invoke Panic to stack. It's not my thing, but it is an interesting option.

ANCILLARY POWER POOLS <EPIC>
Before you decide what APP you want to take at 41 or higher, you must decide if you want to even take an APP. Taking one means you have room for one less pool, less room for picking up the rest of your primary powers. Do you really want to do that?

In the case of Martial Arts/Super Reflexes, I feel the answer is unequivocably, "Yes." Martial Arts is bloody one-minded when it comes to what it does: beating on people, one at a time. Sometimes, you want to branch out of that, and between a Pool Power and/or Thunder Kick, Storm Kick, Crane Kick, and Eagle's Claw, you should have that down pretty well. That said, as always, your opinion may vary. I encourage diversity of opinion, and feel free to take risks with your respecs. You may find something new and clever.

BODY MASTERY: The most popular Scrapper Ancillary Power Pool, Body Mastery is designed to make the scrapper into a killing machine. Body Mastery requires the most investment, and is best when all four powers are taken. It is well-known for its two entry powers: Conserve Power and Focused Accuracy. Three-slotted for recharge, Conserve Power is up often enough that you will rarely have to rest. It can also be used after an Elude crash (or right before); you'll find that your powers cost 1/2 to 1/3 less while under Conserve Power, and I typically quickly gain back a full blue bar even while spamming my strongest attacks with Conserve Power up.

Focused Accuracy allows the scrapper to practically ignore an opponent's defense stats, especially once three-slotted with Cytoskeleton Hamidon Exposure Enhancements. However, it really eats Endurance. Its inherent cost is more than 4 times that of any of SR's toggles... Conserve Power practically exists to work in conjunction with Focused Accuracy. I find the ability unnecessary, though, preferring to actually use yellows. If you have to make a choice, Conserve Power for PvE, Focused Accuracy for PvP.

Laser Beam Eyes has a base damage equal to Dragon's Tail, and a meh DPS-AT with its 1.67 Second Cast Time. What makes it great is that it is Energy damage, a far less commonly resisted type than Smashing. Against high Smashing resist opponents like the Carnie Strongmen and Rikti, Laser Beam Eyes can do as much as Storm Kick. Additionally, it is ranged, meaning that it is excellent for finishing off a nearly dead enemy that is out of reach - runners, or the victim of a Crane Kick, for example. The defense debuff is okay; I make use of it occasionally, but it's not a big deal. Laser Beam Eyes can slot the Decimation unique IO, a 5% Chance for Build-Up. I've once had that activate while Focus Chi was on... you really rip things up with that combination like no one's business.

Energy Torrent is the capstone attack, and I recommend taking it at 47 if you're going to get it, since it needs heavy slotting. Energy Torrent has slightly less base damage than Dragon's Tail, but can easily hit a larger crowd, and is primarily energy damage; this makes it an excellent crowd killer. You'll have to learn to move and position yourself more if you take this power, but it rounds out one of Martial Arts' biggest holes. Note that unlike the Blaster and Defender versions, this Energy Torrent does Knockdown rather than Knockback (like Dragon's Tail.) It is also red, which makes it very distinctive and cool. I find it easy to work this attack in conjunction with Dragon's Tail to keep a large crowd of dangerous enemies off their feet, as well.

DARKNESS MASTERY: The cult alternative to Body Mastery, Darkness Mastery adds scraptroller elements to your martial artist. I really love this APP, almost as much as Body Mastery. Darkness Mastery requires moderate investment; you can get the best from this with only three powers.

Torrent is probably the ideal entry point. Pretend you're a Storm Defender and use it to herd opponents where you need them to go, blinding them in the process. Slotting with Lysosome Hamis to increase both accuracy and the ToHit Debuff is a great idea; one Knockback might be fun.

Petrifying Gaze is a meh ability; at only Magnitude 3, it stops at Lieutenants. It's mostly useful for stopping runners... once every 32 seconds.

Redlynne adds that it is possible to keep enemies in perma-Hold with Duration and Recharges; while that is true, I really can't name any Lieutenant, Minion or Underling-class mobs that I'd rather keep in a risky perma-Hold like that rather than just kill, one which gets even more risky the higher difficulty that you fight on. Her example is Sappers, which don't really bother /SRs. But you may have different mileage with this; I may find myself missing this attack if I spend more time in the Shadow Shard.

Dark Blast is basically the same as Laser Beam Eyes, only with a more useful secondary effect and faster cast time (and thus high DPS-AT). Get it. It is a great ability for all of the same reasons.

Tenebrous Tentacles is a very fun capstone ability and definitely the best Tier 4 of the three APPs. It turns you into a controller once every 20 seconds, and your controllers will appreciate the Immobilize stacking over an area. Slot for accuracy and duration if you plan on teaming with it, or as an attack if your primary purpose is damage; it's not far behind Energy Torrent in raw damage, though part of it is in Damage over Time.

WEAPON MASTERY: The ninja APP, Weapon Mastery is the least common of the three and probably the worst. But it's still pretty good, and has excellent openers - it just becomes iffy if you stick around for the third and fourth powers. A good choice for someone who wants good APP powers with little investment, and space leftover to round out their normal choices.

Web Grenade and Caltrops are both really good - Web Grenade gives you Anti-Fly without having to do all of that annoying jumping around, hoping you get near enough for Air Superiority or Crippling Axe Kick to activate. Also of definite note is the immobilize (Mag 3, and very easy to self-stack with this one) and the -Recharge (even the bosses will notice.) Duration and accuracy are priority on Web Grenade.

Caltrops... If you've ever fought Tsoo or Knives of Artemis, you understand why Caltrops are evil. Enough said. For true evilness, slot the Positron's Blast chance for Energy Damage IO in this.

Shuriken are the worst of APP Ranged attacks, being lethal, lower range and a lower damage index than LBE or Dark Blast. They throw a bit faster than LBE, but this is definitely a skippable power. I'd rather keep them from running with the other attacks. If you use it, use it to pull.

Exploding Shuriken, with a huge recharge timer - even longer than Energy Torrent and Tenebrous Tentacles - and lethal damage, do nothing really to fill out the scrapper's AoE damage hole, though I've had a friend tell me about pulling with the attack, dropping IO'ed Positron's Blast Caltrops for them to walk slowly over, then Dragon's Tail and another point blank Shuriken. Sounds like a lot of work to me for really slow killing... I would just resign myself to being single target.

ENEMIES <FOES>

A listing of enemies that a Martial Arts/Super Reflexes scrapper will want to keep an eye on (or can safely ignore.) This should help you if you want to farm for XP, Salvage, or Influence. This list is not comprehensive and is under construction. If you'd like to contribute, post below with an explanation. Thanks!

Unusually Easy:
The Carnival of Shadows. The Dark Ring Mistresses will still be a bit of a headache, but what's a game without any challenge? The only thing you should be careful of is getting unlucky and being hit with the End Drain they do on death too much if you kill multiple on a short time. It's not often, but it does happen. I find the Steel and Soulless Strongmen to be a bigger challenge than most of the Carnies, simply because they take longer to go down.

Be careful with Harlequin Fencers - take them down first when you can, or spam your AoE/Ranged attacks. They like to use Parry, which can make them frustrating if you don't. Focused Accuracy burns through Parry though.

Also, be careful with Vanessa DeVore, the head AV of the Carnival. Every thirty seconds, she uses a non-positional attack, which eats through Super Reflexes for more than half of your health bar.

The Malta Operatives: Malta Sappers are traditionally the only thing people hate about Malta, and you'll avoid their attacks most of the time. Go for the Sappers first anyway - because luck isn't foolproof, and your teammates will love you for it - and then eliminate the Malta Gunslingers, who can hit through your defenses if they get lucky.

High-Level Circle of Thorns: They can't hit you, so they can't mez you.

Low-Level Outcasts, Clockwork and Trolls: These guys hit primarily with elemental attacks, as opposed to lethal damage, and are much less prone to dropping your defenses the way Council and Skulls will with their guns.

Unusually Difficult
Low-Level Circle of Thorns: Practiced Brawler isn't very dependable before DOs, and those damned Nerva Daemon Lords are hard to hit and resistant to the damage any scrapper can output (though Dark Melee will really hate them.)

Rularuu Eyeballs: Approach Rularuu carefully if there's an eyeball in the midst. They shred through your defenses like they're not even there.

Nemesis Lieutenants: They're not a threat in small quantities, but if you're facing a large amount of Nemmies with Lieutenants and Bosses rather than Snipers and Minions, the Vengeance-stacking can be murder. Always wipe out the little guys first with Nemesis. That said, I've taken on an entire room meant for 8 of Nemesis by my lonesome, so it's doable if you're careful.

The Vanguard Sword: If you're well-slotted, they won't usually hit you - but all it takes is two lucky attacks and you're dead. I've been hit for 80% of my health before. Go into these fights with lots of Orange Inspirations ready to go.

Devouring Earth (variable): The Crystal and Rock enemies tend to go down fast to high smashing damage, but the Bladegrass-type and Devoured Bosses all take a *lot* of hits. The rock underlings bite it fast to Martial Arts attacks, while the Swarm are a royal pain without a lot of AoEs.

Low-Level Anything With Guns: The -defense debuffs are brutal when you're still new to Paragon City.

Anyway, looks like I'm done! I hope this guide helped you out, and I'll see you in Paragon, eh?

[ QUOTE ]
Cobra Strike
Cobra Strike is the closest thing to a 'controversial' move this powerset has. Doing absolutely worthless damage, it has a long duration disorient of Magnitude 3. It can definitely be a useful move at lower levels; the problem is at higher levels. Most Controllers focus on Immobilization or Hold for their secondary effects, meaning that it's harder to stack mags to overcome bosses; at higher levels, the lieutenants and minions die too fast to worry about Cobra Strike.

[/ QUOTE ]
I keep seeing this mistake made over and over and over and over ... and I wish I didn't have to keep educating people about this.

Cobra Strike has a 20 second recharge and a 12 second stun duration. With +95% Stun Duration and +86% Recharge Reduction (ie. 3 Stun SOs and 2 Recharge SOs plus Quickness) those numbers "reverse" to become 10.7 seconds recharge and 23.4 seconds stun duration. With that kind of performance you can perma double stack Cobra Strike quite reliably on a single target (such as, say, a Boss) since the recharge is less than half of the duration. This gives you a reliable MAG 3+3=6 Stun that you can maintain for as long as you don't miss with Cobra Strike, and it'll only take you 12 seconds to reach the double stack, perma-Stun point (assuming you don't MISS).

This is Boss Killing Power to be able to take Bosses not only "out of the fight" and drop their toggles (if any), but also to keep them "drunkified" until they faceplant at your feet. Cobra Strike doesn't "do the damage" that makes this possible ... but it does do the "damage" which allows you to use a great many other powers with impunity and not fear Boss Damage in retribution. It dramatically improves your survival rate and almost single-handedly (no pun intended) can be tactically game changing.

And for those players for whom 12 seconds is "an eternity" during which the team has not only defeated the entire spawn that was just aggroed, but also moved on to defeat the next floor of mobs and left you two elevator rides behind ... there are other stuns in Martial Arts that can be stacked with Cobra Strike to stun Bosses with while "waiting" through the initial 12 seconds for Cobra Strike to recharge after the first hit. Eagles Claw has a 75% chance to stun and Thunder Kick has a 10% chance to stun (not 20% as stated by the OP). If either of these two attacks proc, they stack sufficiently with Cobra Strike to stun a Boss.

So for my butt-kicking pleasure, the CS+TK+EC trinity is synergistically "unfair" to foes because it basically removes them from combat while I bring them to their knees, in defeat, at my feet. It also takes a tremendous load off your defenses, and the mitigation they have to provide, to "defeat by perma-Stun" first and then be able to mop up afterwards through damage dealing.

Cobra Strike is only controversial for people who don't know:
1. How to slot it
2. How to use it in conjunction with their other powers for maximum tactical effectiveness



And don't even get me started on how game changingly useful Petrifying Gaze is for a Scrapper ... especially since it can be made perma with (again) +95% Hold duration and +86% Recharge. Petrifying Gaze is THE anti-Sapper power, hands down ... although Cobra Strike can also do the job (in a pinch) if you don't mind eating the Sapper's alpha-strike while you close range.

It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for ...

[ QUOTE ]

This gives you a reliable MAG 3+3=6 Stun that you can maintain for as long as you don't miss with Cobra Strike, and it'll only take you 12 seconds to reach the double stack, perma-Stun point (assuming you don't MISS).


[/ QUOTE ]

This is true, and a very good point. I started out playing controllers in this game, and I find the lack of regard that many scrappers and blasters (still!) have for their ST disorients to be shocking.

But your 23.4 second duration is only true of even con mobs. Mez duration scales down as you fight higher level mobs. I haven't got a clue at what rate, but it is noticeable at +2. So I wonder at what point stacking Cobra Strike becomes impossible. I suspect that it's at +3 mobs, and might even be at +2 mobs. Considering how many folks routinely fight +3s and above after they hit their 30s, this may be why you have to work so hard to combat this "mistake."


Scrap

Thank you for the great guide. I've been having trouble getting into my MA/SR scrapper since day one.

Specifically, I've always had a hard time with multiple foes: five or more- like soloing in the Hollows for instance.

I'm going to try again.
As if my Alt-istis wasn't bad enough!

[ QUOTE ]
I keep seeing this mistake made over and over and over and over ... and I wish I didn't have to keep educating people about this.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, now you hopefully won't have to. I'm incorporating this information as soon as I finish this reply. ;D

The thought had crossed my mind once when I was still slotting with SOs (being new to the game, I'd been afraid to mess with IOs just yet) but I concluded that was a bad idea since it would kill my accuracy. I don't know why it never crossed my mind when I became more comfortable with IOs; I guess I'd finally written Cobra Strike off.

Now I'm desperately trying to find something I can drop to put this attack back in - you, ma'am, are a very clever woman and I salute you!

[ QUOTE ]
And for those players for whom 12 seconds is "an eternity" during which the team has not only defeated the entire spawn that was just aggroed, but also moved on to defeat the next floor of mobs and left you two elevator rides behind ... there are other stuns in Martial Arts that can be stacked with Cobra Strike to stun Bosses with while "waiting" through the initial 12 seconds for Cobra Strike to recharge after the first hit. Eagles Claw has a 75% chance to stun and Thunder Kick has a 10% chance to stun (not 20% as stated by the OP). If either of these two attacks proc, they stack sufficiently with Cobra Strike to stun a Boss.

[/ QUOTE ]

However, I don't think *these* are really good points in favor of Cobra Strike. I was speaking from memory; a 10% chance is even worse than a 20% chance (...why yes, I am a master of the obvious!) and EC's very high chance of stun is countered by a very low base stun duration and a high inherent recharge and activation time on the attack. That said, I am definitely incorporating your information (presumably you don't mind?)

[ QUOTE ]
And don't even get me started on how game changingly useful Petrifying Gaze is for a Scrapper ... especially since it can be made perma with (again) +95% Hold duration and +86% Recharge. Petrifying Gaze is THE anti-Sapper power, hands down ... although Cobra Strike can also do the job (in a pinch) if you don't mind eating the Sapper's alpha-strike while you close range.

[/ QUOTE ]

Do sappers really live that long? I don't find them especially tough, personally, just with a deadly offense to resist-based builds. And again, speaking from the standpoint of a /SR, I'm much more worried about a Gunslinger than a Sapper.

[ QUOTE ]

But your 23.4 second duration is only true of even con mobs. Mez duration scales down as you fight higher level mobs. I haven't got a clue at what rate, but it is noticeable at +2. So I wonder at what point stacking Cobra Strike becomes impossible. I suspect that it's at +3 mobs, and might even be at +2 mobs. Considering how many folks routinely fight +3s and above after they hit their 30s, this may be why you have to work so hard to combat this "mistake."

[/ QUOTE ]

Concern noted. Until I can playtest it myself, I'll include that as a note, since I don't know what RedLynne plays at, difficulty-wise. (And/Or until she can inform us.)

[ QUOTE ]

Thank you for the great guide. I've been having trouble getting into my MA/SR scrapper since day one.

Specifically, I've always had a hard time with multiple foes: five or more- like soloing in the Hollows for instance.

I'm going to try again.
As if my Alt-istis wasn't bad enough!

[/ QUOTE ]

Just remember, I'm still new, so my advice isn't perfect (as RedLynne has already demonstrated). Best of luck!

Alright, updated. I think I will wait until work tomorrow to edit this further, but I'm next going to try to make a comprehensive list of:

- Tough enemies that /SRs laugh at.
- Tough enemies that are not a /SR's friend.

'til tomorrow!

[ QUOTE ]
However, I don't think *these* are really good points in favor of Cobra Strike. I was speaking from memory; a 10% chance is even worse than a 20% chance (...why yes, I am a master of the obvious!) and EC's very high chance of stun is countered by a very low base stun duration and a high inherent recharge and activation time on the attack. That said, I am definitely incorporating your information (presumably you don't mind?)

[/ QUOTE ]
Mind? Of course I don't mind!
I'd be a lot more annoyed if you ignored me ...

And just think, I didn't even mention the advantage of being able to "switch off" Tsoo Sorcerers in the teens and twenties so that they aren't constantly teleporting around (out of easy reach, making you chase them down), debuffing your accuracy with Hurricane (which, being a melee range only scrapper, can be a problem), or healing all the other Tsoo that you might be beating down at the time.

[ QUOTE ]
Do sappers really live that long? I don't find them especially tough

[/ QUOTE ]
They may not be difficult for Defense-based protections to handle, but they're the absolute BANE of anyone who doesn't have Defense ... which will usually include most of the rest of your teammates under nominal circumstances. And even if Sappers don't usually throw their AoE End Drain attack first normally, it's going to be the second one they toss out (in someone's direction) ... and even if it MISSes you, there's still the AoE splash radius to consider, which just might catch a substantial number of your teammates.

So even though as an */SR you're "better protected than most people" against Sappers, very very few other people will be. So out of concern for your teammates, if nothing else, you need to think of these issues.

And then there's the fact that if you've got Cobra Strike and Petrifying Gaze, both slotted up to perma status, you can take TWO Lieutenants out of the fight ... allowing you to deal with them sequentially rather than in parallel. This is especially important when soloing Kora Fruit missions in the Shadow Shard and you run across spawns of three Rularuu Eyeballs together ... which since they've all got (multiple) attacks that go through defenses like hot butter through toilet paper is a very important tactical advantage.

[ QUOTE ]
And again, speaking from the standpoint of a /SR, I'm much more worried about a Gunslinger than a Sapper.

[/ QUOTE ]
Well, with Cobra Strike slotted up for perma double stack status, you can stop being afraid of those Gunslingers ... especially if they're Boss level Gunslingers.

[ QUOTE ]
But your 23.4 second duration is only true of even con mobs. Mez duration scales down as you fight higher level mobs.

[/ QUOTE ]
Level Scaling Guide
+1 Foes: You have a 65% chance to hit and your powers are 90% effective.
+2 Foes: You have a 56% chance to hit and your powers are 80% effective.
+3 Foes: You have a 48% chance to hit and your powers are 65% effective.
+4 Foes: You have a 39% chance to hit and your powers are 48% effective.

As far as Duration goes, you'll be able to briefly double stack Cobra Strike on a +3 Boss ... assuming you don't MISS, which can be a problem since your base To Hit has dropped from 75% to 48% (ie. PvP-ish accuracy). This is still "useful" in the sense that by stunning a Boss at all, you'll still detoggle them, in addition to buying yourself a little extra time (which to a */SR is a valuable commodity with respect to recovering from damage and staying above the Immortality Line of rate of incoming damage, since extra time allows you regen ticks and lets you respond to your situation).

Against a +4 Boss the double stack of Cobra Strike cannot be reached, but the power can (when slotted as indicated) still maintain a perma MAG 3 stun on a +4 Foe ... assuming you don't MISS. However ... Cobra Strike can still stack its stun with that of Thunder Kick and Eagles Claw to (oh so briefly) stack enough stun to affect a +4 Boss (when they proc) and detoggle them (at least for a couple seconds).

Of course, if you're fighting +4s, you're in over your head anyway ... because if a +4 Boss hits you, you're either nearly dead already or merely waiting for the coup-de-gras to finish the job on you off ... and even with maximal Defense, they'll still have an almost 10% chance to hit you anyway, so it shouldn't take long. Meanwhile, you're going to be whiffing air a lot and even when your attacks do connect, they'll be doing half damage ... so you'll be "engaged" for a while ...


[ QUOTE ]
So I wonder at what point stacking Cobra Strike becomes impossible. I suspect that it's at +3 mobs, and might even be at +2 mobs.

[/ QUOTE ]
The Cobra Strike double stack is still quite effective against +2 Foes, although markedly reduced (but not eliminated!) when fighting +3 Foes. This is when being able to stack with the procs of Thunder Kick and Eagles Claw starts becoming a MAJOR contribution to stunning power.

[ QUOTE ]
Considering how many folks routinely fight +3s and above after they hit their 30s, this may be why you have to work so hard to combat this "mistake."

[/ QUOTE ]
Actually, I think the reason is because there is a perception that Cobra Strike isn't an "IWIN!" button against Bosses when unslotted that the power is worthless.

One other thing that I should point out about TK+CS+EC is that all three of these powers can be 6-slotted with ... Razzle Dazzle. Now while this will mean you'll take a hit on offensive output with TK and EC (approximately -25% once everything gets computed, not including modifiers from other set bonuses) ... but ... in compensation you'll get, from a triple 6-slot Razzle Dazzle ... +6% Recovery, +4.5% Max HP, +6% Stun Duration plus +7.5% Melee and AoE Defense ... which, believe me, brings you darn close to the 45% soft cap on defense. Build in five 6-slot Red Fortune sets, and not only is some of the damage output loss of slotting Razzle Dazzle reversed, but all of your powers now recharge fast enough to return Cobra Strike to near-perma double stack status (it's just a couple seconds shy of perma-double).

Then again ... I don't use Hasten ... so figure in the difference THAT makes if you want it in your build.

The nice compensation is that the stun duration on Thunder Kick is increased to 11.6 seconds, and on Eagles Claw it's 7.8 seconds (with the slotting I'm using) ... which is hardly insignificant, when they proc. And since the recharge on Thunder Kick is so low with the way I've got my powers slotted up, at 1.65 seconds, it's basically got a 10% chance to proc just about every 3 seconds or so. So figure that during an 11.6 second duration following a TK stun, there's three 10% chances of a second stun proccing just from Thunder Kick for another 11.6 seconds. If any of THOSE double stack ... that's a stunned Boss, without Cobra Strike being in play ... and with Cobra Strike already applied, that's three 10% chances to stun a Boss even before Cobra Strike double stacks on itself. So even though the chance per attack is low, I've "stacked the deck" in my favor rather significantly with respect to Boss Stunning Power ... and that's even without including Eagles Claw into the equation.

Suffice to say, whatever I'm fighting usually doesn't do a whole lot of fighting back, since I've essentially got MORE stunning power working for me than an Energy Melee hero/villain can throughput.

Getting to the point where that is even possible requires dedication and some sacrifices ... but believe you me, The Way of NO GET HITSU can be extremely rewarding once mastered.

Simply "getting there" to that point can seem highly counter-intuitive though, not to mention going against the grain of the Conventional Wisdom concerning what powers to take, and how to slot them. But then again, I'm not exactly your "typical" scrapper.

[ QUOTE ]
I don't know what RedLynne plays at, difficulty-wise. (And/Or until she can inform us.)

[/ QUOTE ]
Usually I'm playing at whatever difficulty the team leader is at, since someone else usually has the star. Of course, the reputation slider makes almost no difference when solo farming for salvage in the Storm Palace and fighting level 53 Storm Elemental Bosses that hang in the sky the way that bricks don't.

[ QUOTE ]
Tough enemies that */SRs laugh at.

[/ QUOTE ]
Malta
Carnies
Circle of Thorns
Council (after slotting up Evasion)
Nemesis
Rularuu/Lanaruu (except Eyeballs)
Rikti
Praetorians

And of that list, I'd say the Rikti are the "easiest" to fight, in part because they use so few AoE attacks that it is often possible to detoggle Evasion quite safely.

[ QUOTE ]
Tough enemies that are not a */SR's friend.

[/ QUOTE ]
Devouring Earth with Quartz Emanators out
Rularuu/Lanaruu Eyeballs
Nemesis Lieutenants in LARGE Quantities (Vengance stacking shreds your Defenses)
+4 (and up) Foes
Arch-Villains
Mind Control/* Controllers and Dominators
Accuracy and To-hit Buffs on Foes (which run rampant and are the norm in PvP)

It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for ...

[ QUOTE ]
And just think, I didn't even mention the advantage of being able to "switch off" Tsoo Sorcerers in the teens and twenties so that they aren't constantly teleporting around (out of easy reach, making you chase them down), debuffing your accuracy with Hurricane (which, being a melee range only scrapper, can be a problem), or healing all the other Tsoo that you might be beating down at the time.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm pretty aware of the advantages of Cobra Strike, actually; I had it from 6 to 34. It's useful for that and Sky Raider Porters, among other things (though Porters are more annoying than hard). While you may have to fight a general conception among scrappers that stunning is useless, I don't hold the same opinion. I primarily gave it up due to /SR's unforgiving power selections.

[ QUOTE ]
So even though as an */SR you're "better protected than most people" against Sappers, very very few other people will be. So out of concern for your teammates, if nothing else, you need to think of these issues.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree... which is why I engage the sapper directly with a Knock-Up/Back/Down attack, then kill him. Not to say that stunning is a bad way to deal with them, but it's not the only way to do so without endangering your teammates.

[ QUOTE ]
Well, with Cobra Strike slotted up for perma double stack status, you can stop being afraid of those Gunslingers ... especially if they're Boss level Gunslingers.

[/ QUOTE ]

Being 'more afraid' isn't the same as being afraid. Gunslingers have a hard time getting through my defenses as well. It just means that I can't go AFK on them the way I can with the rest of Malta.

[ QUOTE ]
One other thing that I should point out about TK+CS+EC is that all three of these powers can be 6-slotted with ... Razzle Dazzle. Now while this will mean you'll take a hit on offensive output with TK and EC (approximately -25% once everything gets computed, not including modifiers from other set bonuses) ... but ... in compensation you'll get, from a triple 6-slot Razzle Dazzle ... +6% Recovery, +4.5% Max HP, +6% Stun Duration plus +7.5% Melee and AoE Defense ... which, believe me, brings you darn close to the 45% soft cap on defense. Build in five 6-slot Red Fortune sets, and not only is some of the damage output loss of slotting Razzle Dazzle reversed, but all of your powers now recharge fast enough to return Cobra Strike to near-perma double stack status (it's just a couple seconds shy of perma-double).

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't see the wisdom in high overslotting defense powers that don't need it to get small benefits like this; this is not a powerset combo with a lot of spare enhancement slots.

The six-slot Razzle Dazzle, while interesting, results in quite a bit more than a 25% damage loss though. It's actually a 50% damage loss on each of those attacks, which is really sizable. (Unless you meant a 25% damage loss in the attack cycle.) Either way, that's a lot of DPS lost - a lot of it burst.

[ QUOTE ]
So even though the chance per attack is low, I've "stacked the deck" in my favor rather significantly with respect to Boss Stunning Power ... and that's even without including Eagles Claw into the equation.

[/ QUOTE ]

And in return, you've lost a lot of power to spamming a low damage, damage unenhanced attack whenever possible. I'm not convinced that's wise. I think something a bit less extreme than that would get the benefits of the 'trolling' part of scraptrolling and keep more of their damage output.

Believe me, I am not discrediting you or your points, and I gladly incorporate them, but I think that if you're wanting to be scraptrollery, Dark Armor makes a much better secondary than Super Reflexes does; in addition to Oppressive Gloom and Cloak of fear, DA is significantly more resist based, so it also benefits significantly more from Disorientation-Fu than a defense build would. Much the same way I found Air Superiority less helpful after my defenses were completed.

[ QUOTE ]
The six-slot Razzle Dazzle, while interesting, results in quite a bit more than a 25% damage loss though. It's actually a 50% damage loss on each of those attacks, which is really sizable. (Unless you meant a 25% damage loss in the attack cycle.) Either way, that's a lot of DPS lost - a lot of it burst.

[/ QUOTE ]
Actually, prior to the respec, I had accuracy, damage and endurance reduction slotted into my attacks ... no recharge reduction. The Razzle Dazzle set has no damage enhancement in it, granted, but on the flipside it does have a "decent" amount of recharge included in it. So doing a little theory-crafting, I calculated the difference in final throughput of DPS on my three main attacks, when computing for animation and recharge time and damage per attack. What wound up happening is that a ~40 DPS attack turned into a ~30 DPS attack after switching to Razzle Dazzle ... rather than the ~20 DPS that I had feared ... in part largely because of the recharge rate (which I'd never slotted for before because my attack chain was "full" of animations already). Then after slotting up Red Fortune five times (+10% Damage combined set bonus) and running Assault (another +10% Damage buff), a substantial portion of my "lost" DPS was restored to the overall build even though I didn't have damage enhancements slotted in my attacks anymore.

Like I said, counter-intuitive ... and the weirdest thing is ... IT WORKS. I certainly haven't "felt" like I've lost a major fraction of my damage dealing potential, while at the same time the number of hits I take has been reduced to approximately one-quarter of what it was prior to the respec. I've "lost" maybe 15% of my damage output in exchange for reducing incoming damage by over 65% of my pre-respec performance. To me, that was a rather worthwhile trade ... and I'm actually "more powerful" now as a result of it. I sincerely doubt that anyone else would be willing to make the compromises that I did though so, YMMV.

It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for ...

The problem with Cobra Strike in this build is MA/SR is a very tight build. I tried it, was impressed with its ability to stun Bosses, but at the end of the day I just didn't need to be stunning Bosses when I could be using my heavy-hitters to simply get rid of them altogether (this is purely just playstyle preference). Also, I was very unimpressed with Cobra Strike in PvP.

For my own build, I took the power pick and slots and put them into getting one more damaging attack out of my primary. If I dropped the Fighting Pool, I could fit CS in. But the Fighting Pool is so absolutely godly on SR it's ridiculous and I know I couldn't play without it. So in the final analysis, for me and my playstyle, Fighting Pool > Cobra Strike.

WARNING: I bold names.

To: RedLynne,

What IS the secondary you're running? Because I really don't know how you have all of these free slots to throw on four-to-six-slotted Red Fortunes or the spare space for Assault, if you're running /SR. It sounds like Invuln or Regen, which are going to have a lot more flexibility to try things like that. I attempted a stun spec with my SR on test today, and it performed approximately as well against Invincible Minions and Lieutenants, but Bosses were giving me trouble and EBs were taking twice as long to go down.

Additionally, it sounds you went from a suboptimal damage spec to an optimal stun spec. If you had neither Hasten nor incidental Recharge Reductions in your attacks, then you're cycling through a lot of weak attacks. I don't build especially for Recharge, but i try to fit it in.

I really liked your guide, AstralFire. Great job on a first attempt! (Actually, great job for any attempt. )

My own MA/SR is quite different than yours sounds like from your guide - largely because he was built around a very unforgiving character concept - but your advice is sound. The last bit on enemies to laugh at / watch out for is in my opinion particularly useful.

One note about triple-slotting though: with level 50 common IOs, triple-slotting gives hardly any benefit against double-slotting unless the quality being modified is numerically large enough in the first place. In Stamina, for instance, a 3rd slot is pretty much wasted. Consider:
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
no stamina: 0% (1.67 End/s)
base stamina: 25%; +25% (2.09 End/s; +0.42)
1 slot: 35.6%; +10.6% (2.26 End/s; +0.17)
2 slots: 45.8%; +10.2% (2.44 End/s; +0.18)
3 slots: 49.8%; +4.0% (2.50 End/s; +0.06)
</pre><hr />

So, a 3rd slot is only worth about a third as much as either of the first 2 slots. In most cases, that 3rd slot would be worth a lot more as an EndRdx in a commonly used attack.

***

Practised Brawler can be made perma with just 1 Rchg IO if you have enough in the way of global recharge bonuses. Though PB stacking would be nice, it's not necessary in most cases. Also, its End cost isn't exactly low and having it fire off too often could be inefficient from an End management perspective.

***

Let me say once more in closing that this is a very nice guide. Good going, AstralFire!

[ QUOTE ]
What IS the secondary you're running?

[/ QUOTE ]
MA/SR/Darkness + Flight, Fitness, Medicine and Leadership.

If you want to see the build details ... Redlynne: "No Get Hitsu" I10 IO Freespec

Oh and before you ask ... yes ... I use Hover as my "travel" power (along with Sprint).

[ QUOTE ]
Because I really don't know how you have all of these free slots to throw on four-to-six-slotted Red Fortunes or the spare space for Assault, if you're running /SR.

[/ QUOTE ]
Actually, the secret was to min/max Martial Arts in the sense that I don't have "more attacks than I can use" like most MA scrappers. Even though I've got "minimal" attacks from Martial Arts, I can still animate an almost unbroken attack chain, and because I'm using fewer powers to do it, I can in fact use my available slots "more efficiently" to maximize those powers that I am (constantly) using non-stop.

Mind you, I'm using a PvE oriented build.

[ QUOTE ]
I attempted a stun spec with my SR on test today, and it performed approximately as well against Invincible Minions and Lieutenants, but Bosses were giving me trouble and EBs were taking twice as long to go down.

[/ QUOTE ]
It REALLY depends on how you build ... and it also depends on what you're comfortable with. Prior to respec (et al.) when using Damage SOs (3 each in damaging attack powers), it would take me "4 attacks" (with a crit being +1 attack for these purposes) to down a level 50 minion while street hunting in Peregrine Island using Storm Kick and Air Superiority. Now after the respec, slotted up with Razzle Dazzles, it takes me "4 attacks" to defeat a Minion with Thunder Kick and Air Superiority. Sometimes "3 attacks" if doing the Thunder Kick/Dark Blast/Air Superiority chain (which has the teensiest fraction of a second of downtime between repeats and cycles in about 5 seconds total) thanks to Touch of Death and the Negative Energy Proc and Dark Blast's less resisted NE Damage. That's essentially 5 to 6 seconds of animations (or less!) per Minion, indefintely, without stopping.

Eagles Claw will often one-shot or set up for a two-shot defeat on Minions, so against these Foes, the DPS loss is practically non-existent. It only makes a difference really against Bosses and Lieutenants, where I might need to animate an extra attack or few ... but on the flipside, I'm taking so much less damage than before that I can afford the loss of offensive damage throughput simply because my longevity has been increased so dramatically by the gains on the defensive side of the equation. Essentially, I'm living higher above the Immortality Line than I was before, so there's less pressure to DEFEAT *NOW* DAMNIT!!!

[ QUOTE ]
Additionally, it sounds you went from a suboptimal damage spec to an optimal stun spec. If you had neither Hasten nor incidental Recharge Reductions in your attacks, then you're cycling through a lot of weak attacks.

[/ QUOTE ]
The charge has been levelled against me before ... but consider.
2x Air Superiority = 1x Crane Kick
If you take a look at City of Data, you'll see that pretty much across the board, Air Superiority has stats that are half those of Crane Kick. Half the damage, half the endurance, half the recharge ... etc. etc. etc. ... which means that in the time it takes some one else to use 1 Crane Kick, I've used 2 Air Superiority attacks ... dumping my Foe(s) on the ground twice, rather than just the once (in addition to stacking the -Fly effect). So yeah, my Damage Per Attack (DPA) might be lower than other scrappers, but my Damage Per Second (DPS) throughput is about the same or only slightly less, rather than being dramatically less by using "smaller attacks faster" because I was able to build an efficient attack chain, and possibly because I'm "wasting" less damage on overkill by using smaller attacks more often. These are, of course, factors that do not yield easily to spreadsheet analysis.

The attack chain I was using prior to IOs was:
TK, AS, CS, TK, EC, TK, AS, (pause) ... Repeat (I think, it's been a little while)
I had all three (damaging) attacks slotted out with +100% Damage (3 SOs), but no recharge reduction (other than Quickness). In part this was because recharge reduction wouldn't have helped, my animations couldn't be accelerated and they were practically chained together non-stop already anyway ... so no help to be found there. Yes I was using "low damage attacks" but I was using them A LOT, giving me plenty of "offensive control" through stun procs on TK+EC and the knockdown on AS, and with hardly any downtime and was able to "chew through spawns" pretty rapidly (for a single-target specialist), relying on my defenses to give me the longevity to out-endure my foes. I never claimed I was "the fastest" scrapper out there, but there were plenty of times when I was the last one standing ... if not the only one left standing when the team wiped (except me).

After the respec to IOs, The attack chain accelerated to the point where TK now recharges almost as fast as AS animates. It's something that isn't inherently obvious looking at the powers list, nor when importing the hash into Mid's Planner to see the specifics ... but it IS something that you can "feel" when playing with the build I'm using. To be honest, I was really surprised that it doesn't "feel" like I've "lost" any offensive power by switching to Razzle Dazzle ... even though I know, I know, that on paper there's no question that I've paid a price in offense in order to maximize my defense(s). This isn't something that yields easily to spreadsheet analysis, so I'm not sure I can adequately explain it to you here in the forums. I guess the only way to REALLY bring the point home would be to arrange for a demonstration on the Test Server sometime.

Fair warning, there is a "house of cards" aspect (or Jenga, if you prefer that image) to the build I'm using, since there are so many interlocking parts in it. So if you look at my build and start tinkering with it to suit your own needs and preferences, taking bits but not the unified whole, understand that the synergies I've found may "fall apart" on you if you stray too far ...

[ QUOTE ]
I don't build especially for Recharge, but i try to fit it in.

[/ QUOTE ]
Historically, I found Recharge Reduction to be the "enemy" of keeping my blue bar from crashing down to zero and detoggling my defenses. With the IO Respec I was rather surprised to see that even with the (to me anyway) extreme acceleration of my powers through set bonuses, with the completed build I was not "hurting" for endurance ... even when constantly fighting. The net recovery is negative over time, but only very slightly so I'll need to be constantly fighting for over a minute before the blue bar becomes an issue ... and when it does, I've always got Elude to remedy it, just in case I can't "take a break" just then from combat (see: AVs).

It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for ...

Great guide, AstralFire. I've been trying to force myself to make an MA/SR scrapper for a long time, but haven't done it. Thanks for the renewed inspiration.

Excellent guide. I would add only two things to it from my own experiences (playing a MA/SR to 40, so far):

DE should get special mention in the "unusually difficult" section, because if a Quartz (the eminator, not the crystal monster) is out, your defenses go away. Completely. Quartz drops are the /SR equivalent of Voids and Quantums for a Kheldian. If you do not get rid of them immediately, you will be on the ground in seconds.

If you can't afford the GINORMOUS cost of the top-rank IO sets for MA, I recommend Kinetic Combat as an effective and relatively inexpensive (and thematic) alternative. Slot all five of the set in each attack and cap it off with an SO or the Acc/Dam IO of your choice (I went with Focused Smite - it seemed appropriate). With four or five attacks, the set bonuses add up quickly. For Dragon's Tail, consider Multi-Strike.

So what does your build look like?

[ QUOTE ]
If you can't afford the GINORMOUS cost of the top-rank IO sets for MA, I recommend Kinetic Combat as an effective and relatively inexpensive (and thematic) alternative. Slot all five of the set in each attack and cap it off with an SO or the Acc/Dam IO of your choice (I went with Focused Smite - it seemed appropriate).

[/ QUOTE ]
You know, I've looked and looked and looked at Kinetic Combat, and I still can't get past the fact that it's only got a Acc/Dam enhancement for +Accuracy. That's basically DO level aspiring to reach SO level accuracy ... which in my experience is "not enough" for the task. Yeah the set makes you move faster, but beyond that ... I'm kinda unconvinced that it's all that great for melee throughput, for reasons of low built-in accuracy in the set.

It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for ...

[ QUOTE ]
I really liked your guide, AstralFire. Great job on a first attempt! (Actually, great job for any attempt. )

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks! That means a lot to me, really.

[ QUOTE ]
One note about triple-slotting though: with level 50 common IOs, triple-slotting gives hardly any benefit against double-slotting unless the quality being modified is numerically large enough in the first place. In Stamina, for instance, a 3rd slot is pretty much wasted. Consider:
Code:


no stamina: 0% (1.67 End/s)
base stamina: 25%; +25% (2.09 End/s; +0.42)
1 slot: 35.6%; +10.6% (2.26 End/s; +0.17)
2 slots: 45.8%; +10.2% (2.44 End/s; +0.18)
3 slots: 49.8%; +4.0% (2.50 End/s; +0.06)



So, a 3rd slot is only worth about a third as much as either of the first 2 slots. In most cases, that 3rd slot would be worth a lot more as an EndRdx in a commonly used attack.

[/ QUOTE ]

Quite true. I partially triple slot as Exemplaring insurance on things like that, and I should have mentioned it. Unfortunately, for some reason I can no longer edit the topic post. (I might have to bug one of the Mods to do it for me, but I'll have to wait for more significant changes between updates now.)

[ QUOTE ]
Historically, I found Recharge Reduction to be the "enemy" of keeping my blue bar from crashing down to zero and detoggling my defenses. With the IO Respec I was rather surprised to see that even with the (to me anyway) extreme acceleration of my powers through set bonuses, with the completed build I was not "hurting" for endurance ... even when constantly fighting. The net recovery is negative over time, but only very slightly so I'll need to be constantly fighting for over a minute before the blue bar becomes an issue ... and when it does, I've always got Elude to remedy it, just in case I can't "take a break" just then from combat (see: AVs).

[/ QUOTE ]

Then, I again think this is why you got so much advantage from your spec change.

This is my attack chain: Storm Kick, Crane Kick, Laser Beam Eyes. Rinse, Lather, Repeat. Throw in an Eagle's Claw, Focus Chi, Dragon's Tail or Energy Torrent in one of the rare holes. All of those are high damage - particularly the multi-hit attacks - and often add mitigation as a nice secondary. (Small error I made on my opening post that I wish I could fix: Storm Kick is higher DPS-AT than Crane Kick, thanks to its very fast cast-time.) You had Thunder Kick instead of Storm Kick (bad idea, damage wise) and a noticeable early hole in a cycle. Eagle's Claw isn't the best thing to be cycling often either, from a damage standpoint, unless you have little else.

I'm not hurting for end, given that I've had 12 minute fights before (I hate you, Madame of Mystery), so efficiency isn't a problem (though I have extremely high Endurance efficiency anyway).

[ QUOTE ]
Essentially, I'm living higher above the Immortality Line than I was before, so there's less pressure to DEFEAT *NOW* DAMNIT!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

I have been surrounded by 4 red and purple Rikti and gone to make soup, ate my soup, chatted amiably with my friend, then come back about fifteen minutes later to a nearly full (70% or so) health bar while they're still shooting me. Assuming your Mids' build is accurate and not ideal (I assume that's the case from the way you've been talking) you should be able to do the same, although you may not wish to try Rikti; the Chief Soldiers' swords can hurt a bit without Tough, so bad luck may leave you dead against them. But try it.

It's not a matter of "I MUST KILL NOW TO SURVIVE!" - that's blaster territory. It's a matter of sheer convenience. Any spawns in 2-man Invincible for Carnies w/o Dark Ring Mistresses I'd be able to take on using only my toggles, Focus Chi, Boxing and Laser Beam Eyes; I know, because I've done it for fun. It takes forever, but it is doable.

At the same time as dealing considerable damage, I'm also negating a lot of the damage I take from a full spawn; Energy Torrent and Dragon's Tail can 'juggle' very well if you pause a moment between them (use a single target attack or two) to let them finish barely getting to their feet. =p So at the same time as dealing a lot of damage, my defenses and what secondary abilities I do have are contributing well to both my and my team's immortality line. You're taking on just one enemy at a time - a huge hit to damage output.

That is countered slightly by your leadership toggles, but in the time you've held one sapper and stunned another, I've nearly killed both of them, done considerable damage to their team, and they still haven't gotten an attack off.

[ QUOTE ]
DE should get special mention in the "unusually difficult" section, because if a Quartz (the eminator, not the crystal monster) is out, your defenses go away. Completely. Quartz drops are the /SR equivalent of Voids and Quantums for a Kheldian. If you do not get rid of them immediately, you will be on the ground in seconds..

[/ QUOTE ]

Good points, and thanks for the encouraging words! Unfortunately, as mentioned, that'll have to wait a bit for an update since I guess I'll have to run edits via the moderators now. =\

[ QUOTE ]
So what does your build look like?

[/ QUOTE ]

My build's not complete - I'm running off of 'newbie character' funds and have horrible, horrible luck with my drops. (Four MMOs played, my luck never gets any better, I swear...) Additionally, I used this only as a guide and tweaked things in-game, several of my enhancement choices look different in-game. But it is roughly accurate.

Also of note is that it's not extremely polished or anything; I have one respec saved at the moment for 'final IO-fu" and when I start to get appreciable funds I'll begin planning a heavily IO set bonus maximized build.

That said, consider the survivability of this build against AVs next to actually IO'ed out toons, then, to be indicative of just how well the base powers perform together. If I can get that kinda performance with a quite incomplete build...

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.20
http://www.honourableunited.org.uk/mhd.php

Alexis Decker: Level 50 Natural Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Martial Arts
Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Storm Kick -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:53(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx:53(3), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:53(5), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:53(17), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:53(17), Mako-Dam%:40(34)
Level 1: Focused Fighting -- RedFtn-Def:53(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:53(3), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:53(37)
Level 2: Focused Senses -- RedFtn-Def:53(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:53(5), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:53(39)
Level 4: Agile -- DefBuff-I:50(A), DefBuff-I:50(40), DefBuff-I:50(43)
Level 6: Focus Chi -- HO:Membr(A), HO:Membr(7), HO:Membr(7)
Level 8: Crane kick -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:53(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx:53(9), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:53(9), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:53(11), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:53(23), Mako-Dam%:53(34)
Level 10: Practiced Brawler -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(11)
Level 12: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A), Jump-I:50(13), Jump-I:50(13)
Level 14: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:53(A), Numna-Heal:50(15), Numna-Heal/Rchg:50(15), Dct'dW-Rchg:53(42), RgnTis-Regen+:30(43), Mrcl-Rcvry+:40(46)
Level 16: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I:50(A), DefBuff-I:50(43)
Level 18: Boxing -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:53(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx:53(19), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:53(19), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:53(23), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:53(25), Mako-Dam%:53(36)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I:50(A), EndMod-I:50(21), EndMod-I:50(21)
Level 22: Quickness -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 24: Tough -- Aegis-ResDam:53(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx:53(25), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(40)
Level 26: Dragons Tail -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg:53(A), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx:53(27), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg:53(27), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg:53(29), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:53(31), Sciroc-Dam%:53(37)
Level 28: Dodge -- DefBuff-I:50(A), DefBuff-I:50(29), DefBuff-I:50(40)
Level 30: Weave -- LkGmblr-Def:53(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:53(31), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:53(31)
Level 32: Eagles Claw -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:53(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx:53(33), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:53(33), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:53(33), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:53(34), Mako-Dam%:53(37)
Level 35: Evasion -- RedFtn-Def:53(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:53(36), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:53(36)
Level 38: Elude -- HO:Membr(A), HO:Membr(39), HO:Membr(39)
Level 41: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(42), RechRdx-I:50(42)
Level 44: Laser Beam Eyes -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg:53(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:53(45), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:53(45), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:53(45), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:53(46), Decim-Build%:30(46)
Level 47: Energy Torrent -- Posi-Acc/Dmg:53(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:53(48), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:53(48), Posi-Dmg/Rng:53(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:53(50), Posi-Dam%:53(50)
Level 49: Lucky -- DefBuff-I:50(A), DefBuff-I:50(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit



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Kind of surprised that no one has mentioned a near-perma Elude build yet. Fastest recharge I've personally heard of on an x/SR is 255 seconds (75 second downtime), but I know nothing about the build specifics on that toon. I know someone with an 80 second downtime Elude recharge build on their MA/SR, &amp; I just did an 81 second downtime Elude recharge MA/SR build for a friend.

The attack chain is still good &amp; nothing is "gimped"; the only real concern was managing the frequent drop, but since the recharges on Elude &amp; Conserve Power were made to coincide, that problem should be essentially solved.

The only downsides may be the build's cost &amp; how bad defense IMO is borked in intrafaction PvP, but if funds aren't a problem &amp; you're not going to be PvPing against a lot of FA+Tactics+Membranes in BU+Geas using Heroes, the build should rock.

Perm-Elude is really severe overkill (and slightly problematic) in PvE, and given my extremely limited PvP experience, I considered it beyond the scope of what I was going to write about.

If Perma-Elude were truly possible, Hikaru, it would be a great respec build. But the Elude downtime in actuality is much too long for PvE, so just soft-capping all positional defences is probably a better idea.

AstralFire, your build is very similar to mine in terms of both power picks as well as actual numbers. The chiefest difference is probably that I sacrificed Elude for Super Jump. What can I say? I'm a lazy traveller.

Here's my build, FWIW:
All 3 positional Defences at 45%
Psionic Defence at 14.5%
Some S/L Resistance
307% Regen
Net End gain 2.17/s
+60% Recharge
Eagle’s Claw (3s activation/5.24s recharge) -&gt; Dark Blast (1/2.93) -&gt; Storm Kick (1/3.3) -&gt; Crane Kick (2/4.92) -&gt; Dark Blast (1/2.93) -&gt; Boxing (1.07/1.38) is a single-target non-stop combo chain that does about 1,093.3 damage over 9.07s (120.5 DPS). It costs 32.63 End for a net End loss rate of 1.43/s, and is therefore sustainable for about 70s with 100 Max End. The length of this chain is just under 10s, so Focus Chi would not only last for the entire chain, it would affect the first Eagle’s Claw of the next cycle.

There is quite a bit of non-optimal slotting in there for character concept, but it's still a pretty strong build. Practised Brawler is perma with a level 10 IO, but I've been wondering whether to make it a level 50 IO for overlapping protection.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.20
http://www.honourableunited.org.uk/mhd.php

Lin Tie: Level 50 Natural Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Martial Arts
Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Ancillary Pool: Darkness Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Storm Kick -- P'ngS'Fest-Acc/Dmg:30(A), P'ngS'Fest-Dmg/EndRdx:30(3), P'ngS'Fest-Dmg/Rchg:30(3), P'ngS'Fest-Stun%:30(5), KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg:35(5), KntkC'bat-Knock%:35(7)
Level 1: Focused Fighting -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:50(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:50(7), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:50(9), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(9), RedFtn-Def:50(40), RedFtn-EndRdx:50(43)
Level 2: Focused Senses -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(11), LkGmblr-Def:50(11), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(13)
Level 4: Agile -- Ksmt-Def/EndRdx:30(A), Ksmt-ToHit+:30(13)
Level 6: Boxing -- P'ngS'Fest-Acc/Dmg:30(A), P'ngS'Fest-Dmg/EndRdx:30(19), P'ngS'Fest-Dmg/Rchg:30(25), P'ngS'Fest-Stun%:30(27)
Level 8: Crane kick -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg:40(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx:40(15), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg:40(15), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:40(17), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:40(17), T'Death-Dam%:40(19)
Level 10: Practiced Brawler -- RechRdx-I:10(A)
Level 12: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(46)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 16: Swift -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 18: Health -- Numna-Heal:50(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:50(21), RgnTis-Regen+:30(21), Mrcl-Heal:40(23), Mrcl-Rcvry+:40(23)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I:50(A), EndMod-I:50(27)
Level 22: Dodge -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Def:50(25), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(40)
Level 24: Tough -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/EndRdx:30(A), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(31)
Level 26: Dragons Tail -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx:50(29), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg:50(29), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg:50(34), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(37), Sciroc-Dam%:50(43)
Level 28: Lucky -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Def:50(42), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(50)
Level 30: Cobra Strike -- Stpfy-Acc/Rchg:50(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun:50(31), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx:50(31), Stpfy-Stun/Rng:50(33), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg:50(34), Stpfy-KB%:50(34)
Level 32: Eagles Claw -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:50(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx:50(33), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:50(33), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(36), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(37), T'Death-Dam%:40(37)
Level 35: Evasion -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(36), LkGmblr-Def:50(36), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(39)
Level 38: Weave -- GftotA-Def/EndRdx:40(A), GftotA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:40(39), GftotA-Def:40(39), GftotA-Run+:40(40)
Level 41: Petrifying Gaze -- G'Wdw-EndRdx/Hold:50(A), G'Wdw-Acc/EndRdx:50(42), G'Wdw-Hold/Rng:50(42), G'Wdw-Dam%:50(43)
Level 44: Dark Blast -- Dev'n-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Dev'n-Dmg/EndRdx:50(45), Dev'n-Dmg/Rchg:50(45), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(45), Dev'n-Hold%:50(46), Decim-Build%:40(46)
Level 47: Tenebrous Tentacles -- Posi-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(48), Posi-Dmg/Rng:50(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(48), Posi-Dam%:50(50), DblAc-Stun%:30(50)
Level 49: Focus Chi -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- P'ngS'Fest-Stun%:30(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- ULeap-Stlth:50(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit



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</pre><hr />

The nice thing about Eagles Claw is that it has very good DPE. Though its DPS falls behind both Storm Kick's and Crane Kick's, its higher DPE means that its inclusion in an attack chain allows you to pump out more damage before you need to rest.

Also, its higher crit chance and 75% stun chance are pretty nice side effects.

Edit: changed the word 'lower' to 'higher' - bolded above. What a silly mistake.

[ QUOTE ]
Perm-Elude is really severe overkill (and slightly problematic) in PvE, and given my extremely limited PvP experience, I considered it beyond the scope of what I was going to write about.

[/ QUOTE ]

First, this is NOT a criticism of your guide, at all, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I just mentioned the near-perma Elude route because it IS possible &amp; may be desired by some players, whether for PvE or PvP. Also, even for PvE purposes, I don't believe in "overkill", period. If you can feasibly do it, there's really no reason not to. &amp; for PvP purposes, against certain opponents, out of Elude an SR is a punching bag.

[ QUOTE ]
If Perma-Elude were truly possible, Hikaru, it would be a great respec build. But the Elude downtime in actuality is much too long for PvE, so just soft-capping all positional defences is probably a better idea.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ok, you lost me. How is Elude being down for 1 min &amp; 22 seconds "too long for PvE"? Maybe you misunderstood my premise; it's not like you have absolutely no defense whatsoever during the time that Elude is down, you would have a normal 33-35% positional defense to all when Elude wasn't up. I'm not advocating an SR running around "naked" &amp; toggle-less, hiding in a corner after a drop waiting for Elude to come up again.

As far as soft-capping being a better idea than near-perma Elude, I'm at a loss to understand why I would choose to have 45% defense 85% of the time (&amp; then popping Elude when it's up), rather than have 105% defense 74% of the time &amp; then 33-35% defense the rest of the time. How is that a bad thing?

[ QUOTE ]
Ok, you lost me. How is Elude being down for 1 min &amp; 22 seconds "too long for PvE"? Maybe you misunderstood my premise; it's not like you have absolutely no defense whatsoever during the time that Elude is down, you would have a normal 33-35% positional defense to all when Elude wasn't up. I'm not advocating an SR running around "naked" &amp; toggle-less, hiding in a corner after a drop waiting for Elude to come up again.

[/ QUOTE ]

Haha! That'd be quite a sight!

Yeah, the mistake is mine. In my mind, a true Perma-Elude build would not need any other defence toggles or passives, and would therefore indeed be "hiding in a corner" between Eludes.

[ QUOTE ]
As far as soft-capping being a better idea than near-perma Elude, I'm at a loss to understand why I would choose to have 45% defense 85% of the time (&amp; then popping Elude when it's up), rather than have 105% defense 74% of the time &amp; then 33-35% defense the rest of the time. How is that a bad thing?

[/ QUOTE ]

Now you have misunderstood me too. I'm talking about soft-capped defences 100% of the time, not 85%. Of course, Elude still provides more damage mitigation than 45% positional defences (because 45% is just enough to floor only even-con minions' hit rate), but the difference is negligible except in rare situations.

So the correct comparison here is between 45% defence all the time (mine) and 105%/35% defence on a 74/26 ratio (yours). Or, in AstralFire's case, he has 112%/42-44% defence on a 43/57 ratio. In all honesty, I expect AstralFire's build to be the hardiest of the 3, because his Elude-down defences are practically the same as mine and significantly better than yours, and because he has Elude to tide him through bad situations while I don't.

Of course, we're talking PvE here. I know nothing about MA/SRs in PvP.

[ QUOTE ]

First, this is NOT a criticism of your guide, at all, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I just mentioned the near-perma Elude route because it IS possible &amp; may be desired by some players, whether for PvE or PvP. Also, even for PvE purposes, I don't believe in "overkill", period. If you can feasibly do it, there's really no reason not to. &amp; for PvP purposes, against certain opponents, out of Elude an SR is a punching bag.

[/ QUOTE ]

I apologize for coming off slightly frosty. Late night and brevity don't make a good combination, heh. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[ QUOTE ]
As far as soft-capping being a better idea than near-perma Elude, I'm at a loss to understand why I would choose to have 45% defense 85% of the time (&amp; then popping Elude when it's up), rather than have 105% defense 74% of the time &amp; then 33-35% defense the rest of the time. How is that a bad thing?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, performance against the average difficult group would be pretty similar; you'd have Elude at your disposal whenever things got a little too hot.

In PvE I think the main advantage of toggles at or near the softcap is for AV duels or "last man standing in a an eight-man Invincible spawn" battles. Those fights can sometimes last well past Elude's duration, and the large percentage drop in damage mitigation (from about 7% on average for me to about 15% for you) can mean death in some fights. It is a totally valid way to play, too, since (looking at the numbers) if you slotted Elude appropriately, you would more or less be at unsuppressed Superspeed levels of movement at the same time as having huge defenses.