kat/ela?
Difficult due to the difficulty of getting good ranged and AoE defense with a secondary that provides none of either. But should be doable with the right build. I've NOT actually tried to put together a build like this, though, so this is just general rather than specific experience talking. If it were me, I'd assemble a good build first before committing. Well, no, actually I'd probably just play it 1-50 first since it sounds like loads of fun for leveling, THEN figure out if it was worth going further with it.
Edit: Won't top the pylon charts, but with the right build, won't be too far off the pace either.
Edit 2: The build to place on the pylon charts might look significantly different than the build to solo AVs. Doing both at once would probably be compromised at both. Not that compromises are bad. A compromise might make for a better all-purpose build.
"That's because Werner can't do maths." - BunnyAnomaly
"Four hours in, and I was no longer making mistakes, no longer detoggling. I was a machine." - Werner
Videos of Other Stupid Scrapper Tricks
Wow my first post and I get a reply from one of the scrapper board all stars! lol it does look like it would be a fun combo and I'll try it out for sure, if nothing else it will be a fun ride to 50.
Current 50's DM egen scrapper and stonestone tank
Good compromise build? like i said I'm interested in trying for a min\max build for the first time and here on the scrapper boards are the highest amount of number crunchers. (hey i might have a low post count but I've been lurking here for a looong time) My only real issue is I don't wand to do shields right now just cause I see way too many running around I like to be different.
So where should a first time min\maxer start? I'm not set on kat\ela but I'd like to find something a little different that I can work on as a project with the goal of AV and pylon soloing. Any and all advise is welcome, thanks
Current 50's DM egen scrapper and stonestone tank
Well, all builds are compromises in some way. There's no best build for everything. What I'm saying is that if you build Katana/Electic for maximum possible DPS for pylon soloing, you might not have the survivability you need for AV soloing. And if you build it for the survivability for AV soloing, you're not going to have the highest DPS.
A low-compromise AV and pylon soloer is Dark Melee/Shield Defense. Also worth considering is Fire/Shield, which has a little compromise on the survivability front (it "must" pick up Aid Self) but gets better AoE for general game play. But both are very popular builds, at least on the forums, so don't fall into the category of "a little different." But I think ONE of the following three items will likely need to go:
- a little different
- great for AV soloing
- top times for pylon soloing
"That's because Werner can't do maths." - BunnyAnomaly
"Four hours in, and I was no longer making mistakes, no longer detoggling. I was a machine." - Werner
Videos of Other Stupid Scrapper Tricks
Thanks. put that way I think I can forgo the top time pylon soloing. I'm more interested in being able to solo AV's, and doing it with a slightly different build. And please keep in mind that this is going to be a long term project for me, I'm not going to be able to IO right away at least not the expensive ones.
So with those thoughts in mind is Kat/Ela a good idea or is there a better choice for a "different AV soloing project build"?
Current 50's DM egen scrapper and stonestone tank
So I'm thinking about making my first all out AV soloable toon and wanted to see what people thought of this combo. I ussually build for concept but I want to try building a more min\maxed toon. As I don't farm and play kind casually this would be a work in progress for a while. (I do have a couple 50's so I can help fund him a little) Anyway just looking for advise on this combo both lvling and at 50 with AV soloing\pylon soloing etc the end goal. Thanks in Advance!
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With ELA's end recovering ability, I can't help but think END just won't be as big of a concenrn for a Katana/ELA, so it comes down to defenses and DPS.
GC-SD-GC-GD-Repeat I was able to get to, except for a 4.5 second downtime on Hasten...add in roughly 30% defense to melee/smashing/lethal, to stack with the resists and heal, and likely end drain...I can't help but think one wouldn't need the use of Divine Avalanche all that often.
But it's an extremely expensive build...and possibly better can be made...but my goal when looking at it was trying to get the best DPS, and as much Defense as possible.
But another consideration with the build is that to keep the END up to keep running the DPS chain, means redraw and using Energize and Power Sink (And again, I only think the end is sustainable...haven't done the true math on it).
Here's the build, but mind you this was just an excersize in me looking at Mids and seeing what I could come up with (money being no object...I really want to restate that part as I used 7 PvP IOs in the build) and basically just passing time...
| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1405;712;1424;HEX;| |78DA9D935B4F134114C767E9D652BAA52D4BE5DE024AB9946EA94F7231C408262A2| |4951A7D51EBB28CD0A46E9BDD3EE89B1F0004C5E88BBC79FD08C627BF8F771FBDD4| |73993631BEB981FF6FF6EC3973E63F9D59BFBB6208717F5968DDE7AAB6EF974B8E6| |7D7EBD20B959C8A741D29424288642B5A5E975529AD4B76C376ED743BBA226F4BD7| |97D66A553A0DAFE294CF7A776A5EE282BB233DE936ACD6205AACD5AAD6F9CAF64EA| |3E26E1BEAADE14ADFEFA297525DCAAD180DD7A4BD253D7FA7523757EB15C7BA26ED| |7ACD2DAFDB7E437AF7FA6155D3F0BF87CBA3A71914990E210A223E45989C66CC106| |6B284DC7B80293E44A1405355331A7E31B284EE59469E10CF11662DC247A8D25495| |F683E6EBF8C9F845E8FACD68120C11407C82AA80AA0A702F9D7BE9DCAB939BE4B84| |9813B6BE02BC8BE02C122605C1CBBCCD82074960841C80BF1EC22941358FA191A86| |55287C8AD6300E59110E7544B29435FB174290105535D18B3098145F609A980AC5F| |A603022029095E05020C1567AD84A0F5B99642B9D9067AA3CF3116D46EF21E309E1| |E453C257689164937A7298567A7C849122A4D284B151820ED3F6A969FBE2D4A9DF6| |4F4125249C221E40DA83331708BFC0D6E321CC2F01643125265817EBFC1628694DF| |21DEC9FD10BAA69036F28C4E4EEE88F018BEA4558BF43C99195D602C32960863671| |8CB64E07B147F328DAAC677E9CB893DC603C63E6FCF01E3212101BD2694ED09B69D| |61DB19B69D61DB26E44DA98336F59C4AA75F305E325EF15578CD7843E881AAACB29| |D1D23DB0710B2D4322D9E3BCF4730CF4730CF47B0C047B0B004D003A217CAE6784F| |C41C970DEBEDDB097FF088B57F22455D5D4588681449EBEDDBD90CC7DBF7E07F9FB| |7466BBAF04617E815942288761547D7516EE0EB4D1CD938DA4471F0B5F9CE682D38| |761AD7358FB280B2889284F5895DCC0C45402228064A14A51B25861247315106518| |E509A7F005DF7F381| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|
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Thanks. put that way I think I can forgo the top time pylon soloing. I'm more interested in being able to solo AV's, and doing it with a slightly different build. And please keep in mind that this is going to be a long term project for me, I'm not going to be able to IO right away at least not the expensive ones.
So with those thoughts in mind is Kat/Ela a good idea or is there a better choice for a "different AV soloing project build"? |
One completely different possibility would be Fiery Melee/Super Reflexes. For all that the forums say that it's a great AV soloer on a budget, I have the feeling that not very many people actually play them. Kind of a shame, because it's a great AV soloer on a budget. I think it depends on how much you're willing to work for the rewards. Katana/Electric should be just as good, but will require more investment in both time and influence.
Me, I'd go Katana/Electric. I'm strongly considering starting one, actually. I probably won't turn it into an AV soloer, since I've got several of those already, and two are Katana, but I think it would be a fun toon to play.
"That's because Werner can't do maths." - BunnyAnomaly
"Four hours in, and I was no longer making mistakes, no longer detoggling. I was a machine." - Werner
Videos of Other Stupid Scrapper Tricks
Heck, I've considered rerolling my Katana/Fire as a Katana/Electric, because I have so much fun on my spines/electric.
Too bad she was level 35 when they announced they were porting electric to scrappers, and pacted to my wife's DB/Fire.
So, I probably won't have a katana/electric anytime soon.
I say go for it, it should be a very nice combo to play.
Comrade Smersh, KGB Special Section 8 50 Inv/Fire, Fire/Rad, BS/WP, SD/SS, AR/EM
Other 50s: Plant/Thorn, Bots/Traps, DB/SR, MA/Regen, Rad/Dark - All on Virtue.

Thanks for all the input, I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes, I think I'll go the way of the fighting pool and try with out aid self as I really don't care for the tricorder, and ELa has a heal in it. I tend to level very organicly powers and slots going where they seem like they would do the best at the time, so I might have to respec eventually. Any further tips or tricks would of course be welcome.
oh, as a side note I'm playing on a Mac so I don't have access to Mids at this time (yea I know it sucks)
Current 50's DM egen scrapper and stonestone tank
One completely different possibility would be Fiery Melee/Super Reflexes. For all that the forums say that it's a great AV soloer on a budget, I have the feeling that not very many people actually play them. Kind of a shame, because it's a great AV soloer on a budget. I think it depends on how much you're willing to work for the rewards. Katana/Electric should be just as good, but will require more investment in both time and influence.
Me, I'd go Katana/Electric. I'm strongly considering starting one, actually. I probably won't turn it into an AV soloer, since I've got several of those already, and two are Katana, but I think it would be a fun toon to play. |
At 50, it is capable of AV no temps/no insp soloing with no issue with Aid Self for when the RNG hates you. It does ~189 DPS with the Incin>GFS>Cremate chain and all around it's a solid toon. Also, while it is possible to build one cheaply and still solo AVs/Pylons, I put a lot more influence into it to make it as tough as I could... I will admit that I wish I had rolled a FM/Shield instead due to the DPS increase from AAO alone, not even considering the added HP and resists.
Kat/Elec lost in my debate to roll it or a Claws/Elec due to concept reasons. I came up with a Claws/ concept I liked a ton and rolled it as a Brute. I may still do a Kat/Elec at some point, as I think it would be a lot of fun to level. My goal for either build was to make it a damage monster, and sacrifice survivability to do so. I don't really know if Kat's top DPS chain + LF is more DPS than Claws/ top chain + Double FU LF, so I'm not sure if I made the right choice from a min/max standpoint.
If I had to pick a '"different" AV soloer, I'd probably try Kat/Elec or possibly Kat/DA. I know Werner and a few others have made Kat/DA more well known forum-wise, but it's still fairly uncommon in-game.
I have a Kat/Ela that I've been playing up for fun. I'm at 33 right now and it's been a blast the whole way, only getting better as I go. As someone who's Mids IO-fu is weak, I was wondering how some of you guys would build it up.
To Werner, I doubt Aid-self would even be a want it in an IO build. As it is with 3 SO recharge and 2 SO heals in Energize, it's up every minute and heals for about half my bar. That could only get better with global recharge bonuses.
"That's because Werner can't do maths." - BunnyAnomaly
"Four hours in, and I was no longer making mistakes, no longer detoggling. I was a machine." - Werner
Videos of Other Stupid Scrapper Tricks
"That's because Werner can't do maths." - BunnyAnomaly
"Four hours in, and I was no longer making mistakes, no longer detoggling. I was a machine." - Werner
Videos of Other Stupid Scrapper Tricks
Heh, we see the same numbers and have opposite reactions. I don't think you're going to have big recharge bonuses out of a survivability-spec'd Katana/Electric. A half heal every, say, 45 seconds doesn't strike me as particularly good. I have a full heal every 15 seconds or so on my Katana/Dark. And while I might go minutes between heals, sometimes I hit it as fast as it comes up. So having Aid Self as your emergency back up heal might be useful, at least if you can pick it up without major sacrifice. On the other hand, if you can make room for Aid Self, you can easily make room for Hasten instead, and get Energize back faster, which might be a better overall choice. So you're probably right.
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My Elec/Elec Brute could take on Cims if she could get them drained fast enough. You relied on the resists to get them drained, then recovered as they stopped doing lots of damage.
That was before the heal.
But I also find it alot tough to drain AVs. So PS might not go far enough on AVs to do that. *I dont remember*
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I haven't done a specific comparison, but my money's on Claws/Electric.
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But I think you know that.

I think the question would be, which one can get their best DPS easier without sacrificing added defense.
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Well, Claw's top DPS is better than Katana's. Add in FU double stacking for LF (which would be the same damage adding ability for both without FU)...I'd give it to Claws.
![]() But I think you know that. ![]() I think the question would be, which one can get their best DPS easier without sacrificing added defense. |
I also noticed that claws doesn't seem to speed up its attacks after using click powers like katana seems to do. On my Kat/Elec I can use divine Avalanche and gamblers cut after energize/hasten and it animates in like the time it takes to do a single gamblers cut its glorious!
I am curious what other people can come up because I am having alot of fun with my kat/elec.I tried to make a build with unlimited funds it came out pretty nice with 45 defense , 478 regen 36.2Hp/sec, and enough recharge to run GC-SD-GC-GD when hasten is up and decent aoe if they ever remove redraw.
| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1401;720;1440;HEX;| |78DA9D935B4F134114C767DB2DA5F44EA9DC5A5AAA40AF0BC54B0454A2820962934| |28507059AA58CB049DD36BB1B236F7E008D068C3EA8AF7E07E393DFC7FBAB977AE6| |9C2989F1CD4DFBFFCD9E3D67E63F67672B0F97028C3D5A644AE87A53B7ED7AAD61E| |9ED36B73C157DDF68302F632CDE8DD52BBCC9B9B6AA3BBAA9A74EA24BFC1E376DAE| |2D3779C3B18C46FDAA75BF654557CC036E71D3D1BA8340B5D56A6A370CC7E4B61D9| |437FB078E61EEF7E15DADCDF95E14872BE603C336768DA6E11C4697DB4643BBD6DA| |3BAC5774DBE1D6E110B8CAC1FF89B08757C7C30A2EC6CACC9527E4106A963085E8F| |90088B18F41285064D5B4824F34446F89504444F288B102E2135429B24AF981F3F5| |FD24FC42047E133A8810730B7C862A3755B9DC39184CB1501611293291F014B6E0A| |104C5F31AFDF5BF423C83275E5CB1E3F156011936B04658478CD40871F497A83331| |6D0F54F9683EE6CBE2125FC0835F7AF017312B4156C6C88A176A823221B8499BDE4| |0A4D7105F6186B034191E844192A567717F47501A956F204A5DE9A79DA7A939E3D4| |9C716ACE3835A717AA62349F3BF61243A78F08C788D20BC43758374E796A3C8DD39| |E4A109288A131420AE1826907C90C1BECC0C58E21322CED0DDFC1AD9FBE8B38B345| |D826EC2026A987DF61D951D9C3D112F6D00D1325658B92745826E9784CD299790E0| |929B952EA32BA9FBA449823CC23720B844574AC425546362243EF313780C84710A5| |55CCCB40DE845C7EA2808EF27FA1066959B9F52C85362054A0905A28E3AAC519428| |9A051AFA7119B90AEC9746D1643D36709E708E711E50B88B7D0A319E968E60A1E89| |32BDC9F24D3C5409F5E4DB849F7819B7FE895455F9214244C1484A3DF9363BBE087| |C1AF4F47FAF7781EE74BEF53ED0DB42AA20CAA6186D09D916B73B62A48BD1AE9086| |B8EDBC0F740D872F0A5F7342E6852C0889833FF658647AFD207E210121412121216| |121112131212342DE08E9FC018776F73E| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|
Well so far so good. I've never got into the sword sets before and, wow! DA is amazing, only 16 so far but I've surrvived a few fights where i should have lost, allmost no hp, no end toggles down and 3 baddies trying to beat me up. Just hitting DA every chance i could I was able to keep it double stacked and for a few seconds triple stacked!
So far loving it, I think this will be a very fun ride to 50, then it will still be fun as I try to see how far I can push it.
Thanks for all the advise so far, keep it coming.
Current 50's DM egen scrapper and stonestone tank
Well, Claw's top DPS is better than Katana's. Add in FU double stacking for LF (which would be the same damage adding ability for both without FU)...I'd give it to Claws.
![]() But I think you know that. ![]() |
Looking more closely, using my old Super Reflexes DPS template, Katana is pumping out 242 DPS while Claws languishes at 226 DPS. However, a different chain with 225 DPS keeps Follow Up triple stacked maybe 2/3 of the time. Let's say triple-stacked full time for our first pass, so 3*37.5%*12.5 = 14 damage per tick added by Follow Up, and ticks every 2 seconds. Nope, not going to be enough to make up the difference, and that was exaggerating the buff. Plus Katana has more -resistance going on. So on closer examination, I'm going to change my mind and say that I would expect Katana/Electric to be capable of higher top end DPS.
"That's because Werner can't do maths." - BunnyAnomaly
"Four hours in, and I was no longer making mistakes, no longer detoggling. I was a machine." - Werner
Videos of Other Stupid Scrapper Tricks
Actually, Katana's top DPS is higher than Claws, but I figured the Follow Up stacking on Lightning Field would probably make up the difference and pull it slightly ahead.
Looking more closely, using my old Super Reflexes DPS template, Katana is pumping out 242 DPS while Claws languishes at 226 DPS. However, a different chain with 225 DPS keeps Follow Up triple stacked maybe 2/3 of the time. Let's say triple-stacked full time for our first pass, so 3*37.5%*12.5 = 14 damage per tick added by Follow Up, and ticks every 2 seconds. Nope, not going to be enough to make up the difference, and that was exaggerating the buff. Plus Katana has more -resistance going on. So on closer examination, I'm going to change my mind and say that I would expect Katana/Electric to be capable of higher top end DPS. |
"That's because Werner can't do maths." - BunnyAnomaly
"Four hours in, and I was no longer making mistakes, no longer detoggling. I was a machine." - Werner
Videos of Other Stupid Scrapper Tricks
Well... they look very similar on my rather cursory analysis, perhaps a 5% difference or less. I THINK Katana can come out ahead with the right build, but I haven't proved it, and I wouldn't bet the farm on it. In particular, I'd hate for you to start over with another build, only to find out later that I was wrong.
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Actually, Katana's top DPS is higher than Claws, but I figured the Follow Up stacking on Lightning Field would probably make up the difference and pull it slightly ahead.
Looking more closely, using my old Super Reflexes DPS template, Katana is pumping out 242 DPS while Claws languishes at 226 DPS. However, a different chain with 225 DPS keeps Follow Up triple stacked maybe 2/3 of the time. Let's say triple-stacked full time for our first pass, so 3*37.5%*12.5 = 14 damage per tick added by Follow Up, and ticks every 2 seconds. Nope, not going to be enough to make up the difference, and that was exaggerating the buff. Plus Katana has more -resistance going on. So on closer examination, I'm going to change my mind and say that I would expect Katana/Electric to be capable of higher top end DPS. |

I went my Dual Blades/Electric Armor myself. My only question is, can I get by without Stamina and still never run out of END.
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Yeah, I'm assuming fairly extreme levels of recharge to run the very best possible chains. I certainly wouldn't be surpised if Claws is better at more down-to-earth levels. I'll open the new window... yeah, for basic slotting, Bill has Claws at the top for Scrappers.
I'm pretty sure you could do a Dual Blades/Electric Armor without Stamina. Haven't tried it, but it certainly sounds doable.
"That's because Werner can't do maths." - BunnyAnomaly
"Four hours in, and I was no longer making mistakes, no longer detoggling. I was a machine." - Werner
Videos of Other Stupid Scrapper Tricks
I haven't played kat/ela, but I'm playing a bs/ela and I have played a lot of elec armor the last few months. I don't see first aid in the build. One reason is that if you take Stamina, as I'm doing, the build is extremely tight, since you're taking the fighting pool as well and neither the primary or the secondary have much in the way of skippable powers. Increasing recharge for energize seems better to me.
It's been a lot of fun so far - I'm a little surprised that kat/ela or bs/ela hasn't ever been mentioned much on the forums.
So I'm thinking about making my first all out AV soloable toon and wanted to see what people thought of this combo. I ussually build for concept but I want to try building a more min\maxed toon. As I don't farm and play kind casually this would be a work in progress for a while. (I do have a couple 50's so I can help fund him a little) Anyway just looking for advise on this combo both lvling and at 50 with AV soloing\pylon soloing etc the end goal. Thanks in Advance!
Current 50's DM egen scrapper and stonestone tank