The scrapper for me

Ok, so there are several hundred(thousand?) threads pertaining to the idea of others throwing out combination of power sets in hopes of shutting up the poster. More likely than not, the thread is forgotten, dead, or a combination of the two.

Up until this point, I have focused on scrapper builds that sum up what most would call...fun? My two lvl 50 scrappers are claws/inv and ma/wp, neither combination claims a spot at the top of the DPS charts or reigns supreme here on the forums, but nonetheless, I played these sets to the appropriate level cap. With GR offering some decent content for those who own a capped crusader, I have been on the hunt for a scrapper combination that solidifies what Iv'e always done with scrappers(play for fun while kicking butt...do those go hand in hand?). I am more or less a perfectionist, my costume, power choices and sets must be 100% correct, or I drop the toon.

Now, on to what will help you all decide on what could possibly "shut me up". I'm looking for something that incorporates high survivability with a relatively fun play style. Just moments ago, I created a dm/elec to lvl up at the same time as this scrapper to give me a more strategic route of play in case i get bored of just staying alive while i make a sandwich. The primaries I am most interested in are Katana, DB, and electric. While secondaries can vary, SR is the one set that I cant help but to want to love, but have yet to do so, so if possible, some suggestions with SR in mind will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all for your help, and I hope to hear back from all of you....yes even you Werner, even though I cringe at the thought of kat/regen-dark

Kat/ and DB/ would both pair well with /SR, as Quickness will help you attain the high levels of +Recharge needed to run their highest DPS ST attack chains, which deal similar damage. If you're looking for an AV soloer, then I'd recommend either of them. They are both similar as far as AoE potential, which is to say, moderate. Kat/ gets the nod for ease of leveling though, since DA will help soft cap Melee Def early on.

Electric is better for AoE and less spectacular for ST damage. If you're looking for more AoE, then Elec/ might work out. I have an Elec/Shield sitting at 29 because I was dissatisfied with the ST damage output. The caveat to my experience is that I solo a great deal and the ability to take out hard targets is something I both do and enjoy, so farming-oriented toons and I don't tend to mesh well.

I was debating whether to pair Elec with SR to maintain the alpha from LR, or to just put a sword with it. I'm still not certain what will peak my interest. For some reason, pairing katana with SR makes me feel like im wasting DA, i dont know why.

As for Electric, is the ST dmg bad enough to make the ride to 50 unenjoyable?

Hmm, I never thought of it that way. To be honest, I want a Kat toon really bad, but at the same time, DB seems like such a fun set, that I'm about to pair DB/SR, and call it a day. I'd do a kat/wp if it wasn't so common.

The reason I'm playing a dm/elec, is because of how rare it is. Several weeks ago, I mentioned the combination on the forums, and why I felt it would be a great scrapper. I still have seen maybe one other of it's kind.

I guess what my decision will come down to is, do I want elec/sr or db/sr. Either way, neither offer SR anything but dmg.

Interesting point, precisely why before that combination, kat/elec held my vote, and if im not mistaken, received a rather large rating on the pylon solo. I think Werner did a dps calculation(of someone elses attempt?) and it was fairly high. Of course, this was only even possible due to DA, but its still something that I keep in mind

On both of my scrappers(ma/wp and claw/inv) I invested most of my time on the ride, and really was dissapointed after I started spending inf on their builds.

How sturdy is your ma/wp? It was my favorite scrapper for the longest time, but for some reason, cant stand up for too long. I know I havent invested enough time and inf into him as I need to, but still.

Im looking for a scrapper that I will fall in love with and keep playing through GR and beyond. Is that answer happy enough? lol. Seriously though, basically a combination that I will actually get into. It can survive, and look cool while doing so.

One of the coolest combinations I have seen is DM/SR. I remember 6 years ago (almost) playing a new alt in KR and seeing a guy run by me named "Spectre" who was a DM/SR.

What struck me about the combination was how well -tohit and +def could work together and just about made one of my own on the spot.

Years later I actually did and DM has alot to offer SR. Specifically Siphon Life.
Add in one of the best buildup powers in the game and decent ST damage, would make this combination a great "Hard Target Hunter". Although not at the top of the AoE heap, I figure taking Fireball combined with a well-placed Shadow maul will do some decent AoE.

For me Shadow Maul has gone from love to hate and back to love in my heart. Once you get the hang of it and use it properly it pumps out excellent damage. Its efficiency is decent enough that you can even use it on single targets if you dont have anything else ready to fire off.

I recently levelled a DM/SR up to 28, and as far as scrapper combinations that I have tried, its the fastest I have ever gotten one to that level.

Good Luck deciding on your new Scrapper

The reason kat/wp is 'common' is because it's a great combo, the two sets really go well together. Use d/a to cap your melee and lethal, and wp can cap en/neg and fire/cold with io's. WP also gives you crazy recovery abilities, a crashless tier nine that ups your survivability and end recovery, nice survivability vs psi, and great regen so you don't need a heal or greens. It's one of the more versatile combos in the game, imo.

I'm with you on kat/sr, seems like a waste of one of katanas best powers, da. You will get higher dps out of it by not needing da, but then why pair kat with sr when you can get much better dps out of several other sets? DM is the best set to pair with sr, imo, because the heal from dm fills sr's no heal hole. DB/SR is fun too, and you can get better single target and aoe dmg than kat, so if you've got a sword itch, I'd suggest DB for sr over kat.

Electric is a very fun set, one of the better aoe primaries, but provides little dmg mitigation. But if you are focusing on single target, go with kat or db. DB is probably the most balanced providing strong aoe and st damage, along with average dmg mitigation. Katana is probably last in aoe by a bit to db, and second in st to db, but has great mitigation with DA.

I would too recommend Dual Blades if you're going the SR route. It's a very well balanced set, and great fun to play unless you hate the animations.

I've always liked the flashy sets. I just picked up DB/invul that's has been on the shelf for a while (I got the vanguard katannas and tinted them white/black. Seeing those doing 1kc is total sweetness!). I've also tried out odd combos like elm/regen and DB/ela. My elm/regen rules. My DB/ela needs some improvement. In any case, That had me thinking something like elm/sr would be real easy and db/sr would get easy later on... yet, both would still be real flashy.

Nothing is better than Katana. Read up about it. I hit twice with DA and my melee and lethal is capped. Just hit it again every 10 seconds and you stay that way. And that's if I had -2 def before. And I often pop a purple heading into crazy crap, and will hover in the 80s doing my normal chain [both attack and defense in my mind.]

/wp and katana work great together. Slotting the attacks and resistances you could accidentally cap E/N. RttC and DA can make you have a donut of enemies surrounding you, doing nothing, as you chop through them.

I don't think my toon can die. I'll stop, surrounded, and type a response to someone, my melee damage, which I monitor, drops to around 12 and I get pummeled, but RttC heals so fast, and with fast healing, health, etc. It's a great combo.

Some people say it's like training wheels. Nah, it's really fun but it is a little easy, because it's overpowered. [shhhh]. Definately roll one, even if it's not going to be your favorite toon.

I thought mine wouldn't be. I was just cranking out differet ATs and made a katana/wp, naming her the odd name of Trixi Chalk. She's going to be my second 50, either during the ITF I'm going on Monday or the day after as I fight the wall to take care of the last bit.

The only AT I think I like more is a Fire/Ice blaster. The two are totally different.

I have also been dissapointed in Claws. /wp and /electricity. I've been underwhelmed by DB, and I'm deterimined to get a spines to whatever level the suck will stop at.

Katana is pretty fun from Outbreak to 50. Plus, weapon customizations ftw.

I am a Kat person!

For the record my Kat/DA is uber fun and she has even taken down minions while I was away from the keyboard (damage and stun auras ftw for sure). I have tried a few others here and there: MA, Elec, DB, Fire and BS. I have more fun with Kat than anything else (my peacebringer and warshade are tied at the #2 position).

Yep, you correctly interpreted the numbers I posted. I should have posted an explanation, since higher up in the spreadsheet, I already HAD the explanation written out. Forgot I'd done that.

I don't know for certain that you have to wait for the next server tick after a shorter gap. I haven't tested it. I'm not sure I have a build to test it. It's just what makes sense to me based on my understanding of what Arcanaville was saying. If it is the server driving the timing, the server doesn't care that your power is recharged and ready to go before the next server tick, you're still going to have to wait for the next server tick to actually activate it.

I suspect you'd be able to fiddle with the build to get the gap down where you need it without severely compromising it. The compromised build I posted had, I believe, significantly MORE recharge than it needed to get to a single tick gap. I'm sure there's a happy medium.

Yeah, I wouldn't personally want to test DPS on a pylon with a tank taunting. I don't want to make the situation any more unrealistic than it already is. Staying alive is a realistic part of any scenario where applying your DPS comes into play, most specifically Archvillains. Most of them hit harder than a pylon, I'd say, so you want to at least be able to survive a pylon on your own. On the other hand, I don't see a realistic way to include healing into DPS calculations, so if I were trying to confirm my understanding of DPS, I'd want to do it with repeated runs with a taunting tank, or at least have a character that didn't need any active healing.