MA/SD.. Cant decide how to slot.

So I made a Martial arts/ Shield defense in hoping for a a different scrapper other than the generic Elec/SD scrapper. I was hoping that it could do something substantial with the buff on cobra strike, and it hasn't seemed to really kick in yet. I'm level 45 and im not familiar with either Martial arts or shield defense.

Posting your build will help, as well as telling us what you exactly want from your build.

I recently fully slotted out my 50 MA/SD and she absolutely rocks.

I would say Phalanx Fighting is quite worth it. Keep in mind that it's an easy 2+% def even without teammates surrounding you, and its another place to slot a LotG.

My own build does not have Grant Cover, but only because I couldn't fit it in (yet). I know that one of my friends swears by it on his SS/SD brute for ITF runs.

Some points from looking at your build:

Don't use KM sets. SD's strength is on positional defense and ideally you want to be softcapped on all positions.

Max out the defence in deflection, that's far more important than what tiny bit of res you get out of it.

Max out your +hp in true grit, again that's more important than the tiny res in there.

I would use 5 Scirocco's instead of Obs in dragon's tail, due to the end burn.

You want near max rech on BU, so you can fire it off whenever SC is up.
Edit: or throw in a full Gaus set as its perfect for capping pos. defence.

I'm not sure if it's really worth slotting eye beams with Apoc's, I know that my scrap has her chain filled with just 4 MA attacks.

No more advice?

Erm, I did posted a link above and PM'd you about it. It should be a really helpful guideline for figuring out how to softcap your */SD.

I don't have mids atm, as i'm away from my normal computer, but i'll toss out some points at the risk of echoing what has already been said.

--Ignore s/l/e/n/f/c/psi defense.

--Focus on getting melee/ranged/aoe def to 45%. This is the type of def that your armor toggles give you, and are the type of def bonuses you want to be chasing.

--To that end, Do not slot Kinetic Combats, Reactive Armor, or Rectified Reticle.

--You are wasting slots in Boxing, Phalanx Fighting (def slotting in PF only goes towards def added when in range of teammates), and (i'll argue) with slots devoted to Zepher, and to slots in Physical Perfection.

--Use a steadfast 3% def in deflection, battle agility, or tough.

--Aegis in Tough can give you AoE def. 6 slots of Gaussian's in Build Up will get you 2.5% to each position, as well as other good bonuses.

--In PP, the actual values of the power are kinda low, so you can be fine with a +end proc in there (as well as in stam), unless you need to put uniques in there too, or have extra slots to spare.

--I'd put 2 recharge into Active defense, since it can stack and improve def debuff resist that way.

--As far as slot rearrangement, i'd yank em from boxing, pp, PF, and the 4th slots of LotGs (using the def/end, def/end/rch, and def), and build up from there. Slotting a kismet +6% to-hit unique will help lost accuracy from the LotG bonuses.


Hope that helps. On my fire/shield/blaze, i got mileage out of a ST hold (basilisk's) and a ST ranged attack (thunderstrikes) to help with def. Just food for thought.

Here is my lvl 50 build. All positions are soft capped and the build is fun to play. In I19 when fitness become inherent I plan to add Fly, OWTS, and GC. I would like to figure out a way to max DDR by 3 slotting AD, but need to figure out the best way to manage this change.

Hope this helps with your slotting...

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.81
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

War Shield: Level 50 Natural Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Martial Arts
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Storm Kick -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(3), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(5), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(7), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(23), T'Death-Dam%(40)
Level 1: Deflection -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(11), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(13), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(13)
Level 2: Cobra Strike -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(5), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(7), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(19), Mako-Dam%(43)
Level 4: True Grit -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(40), GA-3defTpProc(40)
Level 6: Focus Chi -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 8: Crane Kick -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(9), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(9), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(23), T'Death-Dam%(45)
Level 10: Active Defense -- HO:Membr(A)
Level 12: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 14: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(15), RechRdx-I(15)
Level 16: Battle Agility -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(17), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(17), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(19)
Level 18: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Mrcl-Heal(46), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(46), Numna-Heal(50), Panac-Heal/+End(50), Panac-Heal(50)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(21), EndMod-I(21)
Level 22: Super Speed -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(25), Zephyr-ResKB(25)
Level 24: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 26: Dragon's Tail -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(A), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(27), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(27), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(29), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(29), FrcFbk-Rechg%(31)
Level 28: Boxing -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(31), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(31), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), T'Death-Dam%(46)
Level 30: Tough -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A)
Level 32: Eagles Claw -- 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 -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(A), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(36), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(36), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37), RechRdx-I(37)
Level 38: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(39), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(39), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(39)
Level 41: Focused Accuracy -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(42), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(42), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(42), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(43), GSFC-Build%(43)
Level 44: Physical Perfection -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(45), RgnTis-Regen+(45)
Level 47: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), Zephyr-Travel(48), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(48), Zephyr-ResKB(48)
Level 49: Phalanx Fighting -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Clrty-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
Level 4: Ninja Run
------------
Set Bonus Totals:

• 16% DamageBuff(Smashing)
• 16% DamageBuff(Lethal)
• 16% DamageBuff(Fire)
• 16% DamageBuff(Cold)
• 16% DamageBuff(Energy)
• 16% DamageBuff(Negative)
• 16% DamageBuff(Toxic)
• 16% DamageBuff(Psionic)
• 12.88% Defense(Smashing)
• 12.88% Defense(Lethal)
• 12.25% Defense(Fire)
• 12.25% Defense(Cold)
• 12.25% Defense(Energy)
• 12.25% Defense(Negative)
• 6% Defense(Psionic)
• 19.75% Defense(Melee)
• 18.5% Defense(Ranged)
• 18.5% Defense(AoE)
• 45% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 37.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 15% FlySpeed
• 170.67 HP (12.75%) HitPoints
• 15% JumpHeight
• 15% JumpSpeed
• Knockback (Mag -8)
• Knockup (Mag -8)
• MezResist(Held) 14.85%
• MezResist(Immobilize) 14.85%
• 7.5% (0.125 End/sec) Recovery
• 62% (3.466 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 1.575% Resistance(Smashing)
• 1.575% Resistance(Lethal)
• 6.25% Resistance(Negative)
• 15% RunSpeed

But, while i try to see his, I used that post and basically made my build into a moderate Fire melee/ Shield Defense build, it looks good and within my price range.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.81
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Amazing .: Level 50 Natural Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Martial Arts
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Blaze Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Storm Kick

• (A) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage
• (3) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance
• (3) Touch of Death - Damage/Recharge
• (5) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (5) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (7) Touch of Death - Chance of Damage(Negative)

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
• (7) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
• (9) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
• (9) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
• (11) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
• (11) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
• (13) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge

• (A) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance
• (13) Numina's Convalescence - Endurance/Recharge
• (15) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Recharge
• (15) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance/Recharge
• (17) Numina's Convalescence - Heal
• (17) Numina's Convalescence - +Regeneration/+Recovery

• (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff
• (19) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge
• (19) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge/Endurance
• (21) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Recharge/Endurance
• (21) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Endurance
• (23) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

• (A) Jumping IO

• (A) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage
• (23) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance
• (25) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (25) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (27) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge

• (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range
• (27) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance

• (A) Miracle - Heal
• (29) Miracle - +Recovery
• (29) Miracle - Heal/Endurance
• (31) Regenerative Tissue - +Regeneration

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
• (31) Recharge Reduction IO

• (A) Performance Shifter - EndMod
• (31) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge
• (33) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge
• (33) Performance Shifter - Accuracy/Recharge
• (33) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy
• (34) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End

• (A) Accuracy IO

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO

• (A) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Damage
• (34) Scirocco's Dervish - Damage/Endurance
• (34) Scirocco's Dervish - Damage/Recharge
• (36) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (36) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Recharge

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
• (36) Recharge Reduction IO

• (A) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance
• (37) Aegis - Endurance/Recharge
• (37) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge

• (A) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage
• (43) Mako's Bite - Damage/Endurance
• (43) Mako's Bite - Damage/Recharge
• (46) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
• (50) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (50) Mako's Bite - Chance of Damage(Lethal)

• (A) Obliteration - Damage
• (37) Obliteration - Accuracy/Recharge
• (39) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (39) Obliteration - Damage/Recharge
• (39) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (40) Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage

• (A) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance
• (40) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
• (40) Gift of the Ancients - Run Speed +7.5%
• (42) Gift of the Ancients - Defense

• (A) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Hold
• (42) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Recharge
• (42) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge/Hold
• (43) Basilisk's Gaze - Recharge/Hold

• (A) Shield Breaker - Accuracy/Defense Debuff
• (45) Shield Breaker - Defense Debuff
• (45) Shield Breaker - Accuracy/Recharge
• (45) Shield Breaker - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
• (46) Shield Breaker - Defense Debuff/Endurance/Recharge
• (46) Shield Breaker - Chance for Lethal Damage

• (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage
• (48) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance
• (48) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
• (48) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)
• (50) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

• (A) Empty

• (A) Empty

• (A) Empty

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