Why scrap?
'cause you'll be uber 
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...I find it a bit of a button pressing frenzy...
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With the long animations of head splitter and disembowel (I still don't know how you can "arrest foes" with those two) I don't find it a frenzy.
Play an empath for once and you'll know what a frenzy is.
Parry->Head Splitter->Parry->Disembowel is a nice chain if you take hasten. Then I just hit "`" to target nearest target and "F" to get up close and personal, repeat.
Thanks for all of the great responses everyone. I posted on Friday and over the weekend I created a broadsword regen scrapper. I enjoyed playing him up until lev 6--it looks as though the AT isn't for me at the moment. Your posts have made very interesting reading though and it's all helped.
The plus side is that I've realised I like the toughness of scrappers more than the attacks so now I'm giving Tankers a serious try.
As a new member I would like to say how impressed I am with the community overall. You're a good bunch!
Thanks
Doc
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So... Claws/Regen... off to view the guides!
[/ QUOTE ]Don't trust guides on claws right now, as the animations for the three first attacks are changing (to better) with I7.
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Quick note: I'm currently working on an I7 claws guide. Watch this space.
Yep, tamking's much more my thing. My character's level 7 now and I'm looking forward to seeing how he develops. When I was scrapping I wasn't too interested. It's strange really because I'm less actively involved in the action but I like the sensation that I'm supporting the team. It's the same reason I like being a controller but in a very different way.
Doc
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Well I never knew you could speak to Wincott and return to your old contacts, I'll do that for a change.
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It is mentioned by both the contact who gives you the mission to visit Wincott, and by Wincott himself.
The contact that gives you the mission to see Wincott should say something like:
"He could really use your help in reclaiming the Hollows. Of course, we can really use your help here, too. Wherever you'd like to lend a hand, you'll be welcome."
Then, when you speak to Wincott, he should say something like:
"Otherwise, you can keep pursuing leads with your current contacts. I'll still be here if you decide the fight for the Hollows is something you want to be a part of."
It looks as though I should take the time to read instead of just charge around. Thanks for the info.
Doc
of course scrappers are known as the nutters of the game and rightly so !!
so much fun to play and like people have said if your on at odd times you can solo effectivley
go enjoy and remember that the mob isnt "arrested " till the body stops twitching 
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of course scrappers are known as the nutters of the game and rightly so !!
so much fun to play and like people have said if your on at odd times you can solo effectivley
go enjoy and remember that the mob isnt "arrested " till the body stops twitching
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I like that! It's exactly the way I play. Tarah was the first alt I created when I got the game, and I spent many levels of newbieness faceplanting all over the Hollows. Thanks to a lot of patient team-mates, my gameplay has improved dramatically since then and she's now up to level 35, cutting her way nicely through whatever comes her way. I chose the Katana/Invulnerability combo and I think it works well overall, although those pesky CoT missions can be a nightmare due to the fire and ice damage. She can solo well, and hopefully she's a help to whatever team she ends up on.
Decoy Fodder's a martial arts scrapper, and that's fun too, kicking the stuffing out of Hellions all over Atlas!
Basically, I wanted a character which would allow me to charge in (exercising all due caution, of course) and deal out some damage, so the scrapper suits me down to the ground - although I do use the "RUN" option when necessary, to avoid Tarah ending up on the ground...
Just my thoughts
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Well I never knew you could speak to Wincott and return to your old contacts, I'll do that for a change.
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It is mentioned by both the contact who gives you the mission to visit Wincott, and by Wincott himself.
The contact that gives you the mission to see Wincott should say something like:
"He could really use your help in reclaiming the Hollows. Of course, we can really use your help here, too. Wherever you'd like to lend a hand, you'll be welcome."
Then, when you speak to Wincott, he should say something like:
"Otherwise, you can keep pursuing leads with your current contacts. I'll still be here if you decide the fight for the Hollows is something you want to be a part of."
[/ QUOTE ]Would it be possible to change wincott into a normal contact introduction, or make his mish (and while you're at it, the other contact introduction mishes, AND security chief ones) only take the hunt/patrol mission slot, so they don't fully block advancement?
As it is, most new players never realize you don't HAVE to go to the hollows.
I'll say I like Scrappers precisely _because_ of the button pushing. There's always something to do, I'm always hitting something or running towards something to hit it.
To give you a comparison, when I first tried WoW, I just had to start with a Paladin. You know, all noble and good and all that. You know what my impression was? "OMG!!! This is so slow!!!" I'd attack an enemy and watch my Paladin auto-swing his mallet once every 3.5 seconds, while I yawn and occasionally heal myself.
Compared to my COH martial artist, it seemed _painfully_ slow. It was like a game that's overdosed on sleeping pills. By the time the Paladin swung his mallet twice, my COH Scrapper would have done a whole attack chain and killed a lieutenant or two minions already.
I like my games a lot more lively, even hyperactive, so to speak. So COH's Scrappers are a pretty good fit for my temper.
Finally, sorta unrelated, playing all your characters to level 8 or 10 isn't really the best way to judge an archetype. I've been through the same altaholic phase in I1, and again at various other points, so I can relate. But at some point you start realizing that playing a character to, say, level 22 doesn't take that much more time and lets you see a lot more content. You see new areas, new enemies, new powers (e.g., travel powers, mez protection, etc), have access to new enhancements, etc.
(E.g., the difference between SOs and Trainings is so freaking huge, you start realizing that Trainings didn't even _do_ more than let you learn slotting in a benign and harmless way. It's like playing with a wooden training sword, when compared to the real thing.)
Now it won't change the Scrapper's reliance on hitting the enemy often, but, you know, you might as well give it a try anyway before deciding if the AT as a whole is or isn't for you.
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Why scrap? Hmmmm, the best thing I could say is if it can still be found, is take a look at the Zen Of Scrapping. A tome of sagely scrapper passed down from Scrapper to Scrapper, & was passed onto myself at one time 
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It is still here: CLICKY!
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Okay, did anyone else read this and [censored] themselves laughing while nodding going "yup, thats me"?
On a serious note, why scrap? well, loads of people have said why already. The very first toon i ever rolled was a kat/regen scrapper called Rufus over on union (then found out all my RL friends were on defiant and came over to there). I didn't have a clue what i was doing. Played around with a few ATs til i got fed up with teams wiping cos there were no decent healers about. rolled Willow, after having been on the game for about 3 days. I loved Willow and took her to 50, on the way rolling a fire/fire tank called Charlotte T and another kat/regen scrapper called Matakoshi. I can safely say that i have never had as much fun on this game with any character as i have with Matakoshi.
Now a spritely 46, he rocks. I look at mobs and their colours of red and purple and go "i can take 'em..." dive in and hit stuff til something stops moving. When i solo, its so easy to take on mobs of +2/3 as long as you pay attention to your health (which i never do, so always face plant on teams. ). I've soloed Elite bosses with ease. Hell, i took on nemesis rex as an elite boss and laughed at how easy he went down.
Scrappers aren't for everyone, but if you can get your head in the right mindset you'll have a whale of a time. The game is supposed to be fun, so make it fun. don't worry about debt and you'll learn to love scrappers. personally, i find it highly amusing to dive into a mob, take a face plant and go "hmmmm", wait for integration to recharge then hit revive and get back up. while the +2 boss is still standing on my face. Its just fun. The Zen of scrappers got it right. "you have to be crazy to be a scrapper". damn straight! Scrappers are nuts. when in the hands of someone with the right mindset, build and ability to scrap, you just stand back in awe. Especially when you get Moment Of Glory, or Elude at 38. Hit that and say goodbye to the team (just make sure you're not fighting psychic clockwork ) while you charge through mobs, rooms, and floors leaving a trail of twitching bodies (preferably sappers!) slowly fading away. Mix a scrapper up with a good empath and you can duo just about anything (except the Kronos Titan. its regen is just that bit too fast!), certainly missions on invincible with loads of bosses and lts. I doubt you could duo an AV, though. while scrappers deal loads of damage, they're not enough to beat the regen of an AV.
the best thing i can say to you is just to stick with a character for a while, even if you're *not* enjoying them. I didn't really enjoy Matakoshi much until i got to the 20s. The lower levels take a while, and they can be kind of a drag. But once i hit 22 and got SOs, i was so much stronger. and once i'd respeced and slotted him properly, i just started owning enemies left, right, and centre. It takes a while before you can realise the true potential of an AT. Controllers start off kinda weak and squishy, but in the higher levels (30/40+) can turn the tides of a battle if in the right hands. The days of I4 and a toggle Instant Healing with a regen rate better than that of rest are gone, but all the modifications to the powers and enhancements still haven't destroyed the scrapper AT (tbh, none of the ATs have been destroyed, they're just not as Super anymore). I used to swear by defenders and empathy. Scrappers have made me a changed hero. Scrappers rock.
@Willow R
Main Hero:
Willow R (Emp/Rad Defender, lvl 50)
Matakoshi (kat/regen Scrapper, lvl 50)
Thanks for that Max, I haven't paid too much attention to how I7 will affect toons not yet rolled
"Pride is all well and good but a sausage is a sausage"
For Lent I gave up...
Hope