Best combo for AV soloing and pylons

Hi all, i was just wondering what combo would be best for soloing AV's and pylons??, i have already got a bs/regen and a spines/elec both 39 but i dont think you can do it with them. I did see a post by werner and he used a kat/da. Any builds suggested are welcome, i understand that soft capping is nesscary etc so i think i can come up with 1 my self but you guys are the experts . Money is no object but i dont really see the point of purples only for recharge, but if its needed then fair enough.
Also quick question, what is the rwz challenge??. thanks for your help

RWZ Challenge is a fight against a group of level 54 Rikti that includes at least 3 (4?) bosses. It's a stress test for Scrapper builds, in essence.

Most powerset combos can solo an AV/Pylon if built and played properly. Some of the best primaries for it are Dark Melee and Fire Melee, while good secondaries are SR and Shields. The "hardest" to use primaries for the task would probably fall to Spines and Electric. I don't know that you could say there's a "least suited" secondary, since they all bring a lot to the table and can be made even better with IOs. You don't even need to be soft capped, though it definitely helps.

The main thing you want in an AV solo is high damage single target attacks. To make a seamless attack chain, thus boosting your damage per second, you generally need a fair bit of recharge. If you don't see the need for a lot of purples then you might consider a combo like Fire/SR, which has a solid attack chain that can be pulled off with just a little bit extra global recharge and will quickly reach the defense soft cap. Relatively cheap, and very effective.

The Spines/Elec might be a little tough, but you could even turn your BS/Regen into a very capable AV soloer. If you want something new, check out the powersets, find some primary/secondaries that interest you, and let us know! It'll be easier to give you specific advice if you narrow down your goals and likes.

Have fun, and good luck!

Add:
For some ideas on current performance you can check the "Rikti Pylon Results Thread" here: http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=130754
I think the current fastest Pylon solo time for a Scrapper belongs to a Fire/Shield, clocking in at just over 4 minutes. There have been several other very impressive times by other builds, too.

The "best" combo would be DM/SD, because it has the theoretically highest damage output (softcap is a matter of fact, but it does have a nice bonus to HP). However, reaching that DPS requires an obscenely expensive build.

In practice, anything/SD is a killer, as well as anything else that you can softcap and get a decent amount of recharge. /SD is arguably the most expensive one, /SR too is excellent and perhaps the cheapest choice, while /Regen is a true classic if the most engaging of all secondaries. Other sets should be able to solo AVs too, if perhaps with a bit more difficulty.

Of the primaries, anything except ElM and Spines should be fine (those two are AoE-centric and have poor ST damage, but could probably be built as to be capable of taking some AVs).

I assume that by asking for the "best" combo you actually want something that can bring down a Pylon (or an AV) "fast".

The fastest (Scrapper vs. Pylon) kill time that I'm aware of is 3 minutes 58 seconds for 289 DPS and was accomplished by _Mojo_ with a DM/SD.

So DM/SD is probably the "best" combo.

If you roll a DM/SD now, you will run into several problems, though.
1. You can't be sure that noone beats 289 DPS. If someone manages to squeeze 290 DPS out of his FM/SD (or DB/Elec or another combo), your DM/SD won't be the "best" combo anymore. Sorry.
2. Even with unlimited funds you might fail to come up with the build needed to accomplish such a fast kill. Sorry.
3. Even with the right build you might come to realize, that _Mojo_ simply plays his DM/SD better than most other people - maybe including you. Sorry.
4. Even if you manage to get the fastest kill time on a Pylon ever, proving that a DM/SD is by far the "best" combo, you might be disappointed when the Devs nerf Shield Defense because of the imbalance you helped to prove. Sorry.

My advice?
Don't bother asking people for the "best" combo. Try to find something you enjoy playing and make it the best for you.

People say without inventions shields isn't that great but why is it that if you pour an equal amount of influence into say a fire/shield and a fire/sr the shield will always be better?

BTW shields won't be nerfed by the fact that using SOs it is a good set, and is not in anyway over powered.

I personally enjoy Fire/Shield more than Dark/Shield.

Dark/Shield tends to be more survivable because of Siphon Life, but I'd rather tough it out and pop greens as necesary playing a set I enjoy more. It's also nice to not kill your AAO fodder with your damage buffs

I agree DM/Shield is best as in fastest and safest combo for a scrapper. I also believe strongly that any/any can be built to do the job.

Thanks for the reply guys, here are some combos i was thinking of trying, kat/da, fm/sr and dm/sd. You've already said dm/sd is the best but what of the other 2? are they easier to play? i dont mind abit of active defense, as regen is pretty active. Or should i stick with my bs/regen?. Thanks in advance

I slot Siphon Life with three Nucleous and Gogli Exposures. It has 95% to acc, dam, end, heal and with my recharge bonuses I don't need to slot for recharge. With 1950 hp I heal at 261 hp per hit, thats assuming it hits 100% of the time.

I know many will disagree with me, but my MA/SR scrapper solo's AVs (granted i carry a hefty amount of blue insp's even with stamina)

Hi guys i think im leaning towards dm/sd, so i did this build, tell me if ive gone wrong any wheres.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.601
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Click this DataLink to open the build!
Legion: Level 50 Technology Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Smite -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(5), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(21)
Level 1: Deflection -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(3), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(3), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(5)
Level 2: Shadow Maul -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(23), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(23), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25), Oblit-%Dam(45)
Level 4: Battle Agility -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(17), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(17), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(19), RedFtn-Def(39), RedFtn-EndRdx(42)
Level 6: True Grit -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/EndRdx(7), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(9), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(9), ImpArm-ResDam(11), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(11)
Level 8: Siphon Life -- S'ngH'mkr-Acc/Dmg(A), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx(13), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/Rchg(46), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46), Nictus-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(46), Nictus-Heal(48)
Level 10: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 12: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Def(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(13), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(15), Zephyr-Travel(40)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(15), Zephyr-ResKB(21)
Level 16: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 18: Health -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(19), Heal-I(39), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(40), Mrcl-Rcvry+(40)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(31), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(31), P'Shift-Acc/Rchg(34), P'Shift-End%(37), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(39)
Level 22: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 24: Dark Consumption -- Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), Erad-Dmg(43), Erad-Acc/Rchg(43), Erad-%Dam(45), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(45)
Level 26: Soul Drain -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(27), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(27), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(29), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(29), GSFC-Build%(31)
Level 28: Phalanx Fighting -- DefBuff-I(A)
Level 30: Grant Cover -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 32: Midnight Grasp -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(33), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(33), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Mako-Dam%(34)
Level 35: Shield Charge -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(36), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(36), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), Oblit-%Dam(37)
Level 38: One with the Shield -- Heal-I(A)
Level 41: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(42), RechRdx-I(42)
Level 44: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)
Level 47: Tough -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Aegis-ResDam(48), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(48)
Level 49: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(50), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(50), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit

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I'd probably not slot Kinectic Combat into Smite and replace it with Touch of Death. I believe Touch of Death costs less, and it gives you more melee defense.

Also in Active Defense I'd suggest slotting a Membrane Exposure so you can have higher defense debuff resistance.

Over all its a relatively good build. I'd change a few things around but that is a great build for a good price.

I slot it with 4 kinetic combats (because my secondary is invuln) and two touch of nictus, with an emphasis on accuracy because kin combat is light on the accuracy.