Glad to see you are embarking on the fine art of Martial Arts 
Here's a pointer or two
MA is accurate : The base accuracy for any scrapper powerset is 75%. MA has a base accuracy of 85%, making it the most accurate powerset a scrapper can take.
It's all about the damage With MA, there are no constant debuffs associated with your attacks (eg. def debuff with katana/claws, acc debuff with DM) But some of the attacks DO have status effects.
Thunder Kick - Disorient (Low chance)
Crane Kick - Knockback (medium-high chance)
Dragon Tail - KnockDOWN (high chance)
Eagles Claw - Disorient (medium chance)
Going PvE? Then take my advice: FORGET about taking cobra strike or crippling axe kick. They're basically MAs "status" moves. CS gives high chance to disorient, and CAK give high chance of immob. However, they do really sucky damage, and although the chance of them inflicting status on an enemy is high, it gets comparatively weaker against lts/bosses/EBs/Avs. Anything lt or higher, and it's really not worth the endurance required to use it 
Warriors Challenge is,like all scrap-taunts, a judgement call. If you want that extra bit of aggro, take it, but IMO it's really not worth it. The best way to get someones attention is to kick'em in the jimmies The best way to ensure your teammates don't get aggro is to take out the offending baddies as quickly and efficiently as possible, not trying to get em riled up by making inappropriate comments about their mothers
Anyway, hope that helps
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Going PvE? Then take my advice: FORGET about taking cobra strike or crippling axe kick. They're basically MAs "status" moves. CS gives high chance to disorient, and CAK give high chance of immob. However, they do really sucky damage, and although the chance of them inflicting status on an enemy is high, it gets comparatively weaker against lts/bosses/EBs/Avs. Anything lt or higher, and it's really not worth the endurance required to use it
[/ QUOTE ]Cobra strike is very effective for taking an lt out of the fight. The chance of status is very high if not 100%, and does not get lower with enemy rank getting higher AFAIK.
Also, CAK was changed with I6 and now does higher damage than storm kick, so currently the only powers in MA not worth taking are warrior's challenge and, to a lesser extent, thunder kick.
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FORGET about taking cobra strike or crippling axe kick. They're basically MAs "status" moves. CS gives high chance to disorient, and CAK give high chance of immob. However, they do really sucky damage
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Actually, they changed CAK a while back. Its damage is now somewhere between Storm Kick and Crane Kick.
Icelock - Ice/Storm Controller
Command Bot 1 - Bot/Traps MM
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Cobra strike is very effective for taking an lt out of the fight.
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Agreed - it's always my first move against +3 Sappers.
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The chance of status is very high if not 100%, and does not get lower with enemy rank getting higher AFAIK.
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It's a guaranteed mag 2 disorient.
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Also, CAK was changed with I6 and now does higher damage than storm kick, so currently the only powers in MA not worth taking are warrior's challenge and, to a lesser extent, thunder kick.
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Actually, while they have buffed CAK, it's incredibly long animation time and status effects which don't stack with anything else I have meant I dropped it for Thunder Kick, which is quick and can be dropped into nearly any attack chain.
Warrior's Challenge sounds like it might be useful in PvP...
"I know 653 ways to kill a man. Fist to the face is #56."
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Cobra strike is very effective for taking an lt out of the fight.
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Agreed - it's always my first move against +3 Sappers.
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It's pretty much my first move against everything! With TK, CS and EC you have three chances to disorient. Add flurry or punch from the pools and you've got an extra chance to disorient and you can keep lts or lower from attacking until you have 'arrested' them.
UNION @Flitz 50, Lead Hose 50, Red Rag 50
DEFIANT Rose Bloodthorn 34
VIGILANCE Captain Caledonia 20 - Yeah, I made toons on the French server coz we only had 4 back then (might have to transfer/recreate them on one of the US servers)
..and many more!
Here's my build, hack it to shreds I am flame resistant.
Have included notes on the more intresting choices at the bottoms. Atm level 44+ Is purely speculation.
Hope this helps you to make any choices..
Archetype: Scrapper
Primary Powers - Ranged : Martial Arts
Secondary Powers - Support : Regeneration
01 : Fast Healing hel(01) hel(3) hel(5) hel(15)
01 : Thunder Kick dam(01) dam(3) dam(13) acc(33)
02 : Storm Kick dam(02) dam(7) dam(11) acc(37)
04 : Quick Recovery endrec(04) endrec(5) endrec(7) endrec(13) endrec(40)
06 : Focus Chi recred(06) recred(42)
08 : Crane Kick dam(08) dam(9) dam(9) dam(11) acc(15)
10 : Hurdle jmp(10)
12 : Hover endred(12)
14 : Fly endred(14)
16 : Health hel(16) hel(17) hel(17) hel(23)
18 : Integration hel(18) hel(19) hel(19) hel(25)
20 : Stamina endrec(20) endrec(21) endrec(21) endrec(27) endrec(40)
22 : Dull Pain hel(22) hel(23) hel(37) recred(46) recred(46)
24 : Resilience damres(24) damres(25)
26 : Dragons Tail dam(26) dam(27) dam(31) dam(46)
28 : Instant Healing recred(28) recred(29) hel(29) hel(31) hel(34) recred(34)
30 : Hasten recred(30) recred(31) recred(40) recred(50)
32 : Eagles Claw dam(32) dam(33) dam(33) acc(34) dam(39) dam(43)
35 : Reconstruction recred(35) recred(36) hel(36) hel(36) recred(37)
38 : Combat Jumping defbuf(38) defbuf(39) defbuf(39) defbuf(43)
41 : Focused Accuracy endred(41) endred(42) endred(42) endred(43)
44 : Laser Beam Eyes dam(44) dam(45) dam(45) acc(45)
47 : Energy Torrent dam(47) dam(48) dam(48) acc(48)
49 : Conserve Power recred(49) recred(50) recred(50)
-------------------------------------------
01 : Brawl acc(01)
01 : Sprint Empty(01)
02 : Rest recred(02)
Ok so there maybe useless slots etc, If so please say! I am new to this "maxed out at" thing.
1. No MoG yes thats right folks!
Answer - Anything that is an auto hit such as caltrops, gun turrets etc, will get through. The slow tick that these powers generate will grind that health down... fast!
In PvP MoG is useless against controllers, though I dont often PvP..
With a base of 71% damage resistance, even 1 SO in D.R will place you at the cap of 75%. So if you take it slot with defense.
MoG offers no defence to toxic psionic damage. Psionics being a failry large part of the later game...
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Overall, I7 is a buff to defense in my opinion. But MoG is a huge exception. The whole point of the power was that the DEF was so freaking high that you could floor most anything you'd reasonably expect to fight. Now that 50% DEF (or really 45% I suppose) is the new maximum, now that the floor is higher -- now that MoG doesn't offer any DEF or RES whatsoever to Toxic and Psionic damage -- the power is a shadow of its former self.
[/ QUOTE ] - stolen from the us forums. IMO a very good assesment of to why the power is useless....
If you wanna take it slot 3 recharge and 3 defense. Untill I7 comes anyways.. Then maybe drop the defense slots..
Cobra Strike?
Answer - Yeah must admit I fancy this power. However at the moment it is awaiting any free respec's we are given.
It was ignored in favour Combat jumping. For a lot of reasons, the added defense, the extra agility, low damage etc.. However disorient would have been good. You may sense I am tied with this power, because well, I am!
Crippling Axe Kick?
Answer - Though its recieved buff's has a slow and -fly effect IMO still not worth it. Low damage in comparison to other powers, long animation time and tbh how often are you fighting flying opponents? (Unless you PvP)
All in all, I love Ma/Reg, it's slightly matrix'y, looks vaguely realistic (not pulling a massive broadsword out from no were for example), Its mix of powers is brilliant and in later game you have the ability to become a PvP God. What else do ya want?
K
Elude?
UNION @Flitz 50, Lead Hose 50, Red Rag 50
DEFIANT Rose Bloodthorn 34
VIGILANCE Captain Caledonia 20 - Yeah, I made toons on the French server coz we only had 4 back then (might have to transfer/recreate them on one of the US servers)
..and many more!
Enhancement Diversification? (link)
Slotting more than 3 of the same SO in a single power is a waste.
G-Force
Love new CAK, hate the lowered TK, so I got CAK instead of TK.
I have SK, CAK, CK and EK (Focus chi too) from the primary. I dont have dragons tail cause I PvP a lot and dont really use him in PvE.
I really like i6. Its actually strange, I didnt feel damage nerf cause CAK, EK and CK got such a big boost. I dont have a chain before EK (no chain in Sirens), but I survive cause hasten is more up than down.
A Paragon Defender
Martial Arts is the only scrapper set i have not taken, done all the rest, so i've just started a MA/REGEN and wanted to know what MA power is not worth taking, as i've no idea what any of them are,
your expert advice would be wellcome.
many thanks