WP is great. It's tough as hell and you will have minimal downtime. It's also basically fire-and-forget; toggle on, go to town. It will treat you well solo or teamed and benefits greatly from easily-acquired set bonuses such as defense or +hp.
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WP is a great set, it's the love child Invul and Regen had together.
You'll have Psionic defense and resistance, most sets in the game might get one or the other or neither, but WP has both. You're S/L Resistance is quite good, and your E/N/F/C defense is solid. You'll have regeneration this side of a Regen and an awesome amount of recovery.
It's major weaknesses are that it has no self heal and it's S/L defense is abysmal, but with the proper slotting/IO set bonuses you can mitigate it.
My advise is slot for S/L defense first, E/N after and then global recharge. Hasten is great to have, but you don't need it. Also with your high recovery you can use Leadership powers much easier.
Divine Avalanche from Katana makes the Smashing/Lethal defense less of a problem.
Even on SOs you can have capped melee and lethal defense during your level up journey with a couple of stacks active.
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Correction, Divine Avalanche gives Defense to Melee and Lethal, not Smashing and Lethal.|
Originally Posted by Hai Jinx
Divine Avalanche from Katana makes the Smashing/Lethal defense less of a problem.
Even on SOs you can have capped melee and lethal defense during your level up journey with a couple of stacks active. |
And I say go with Katana/Willpower. Willpower is very Weapon friendly. You'll almost never have any redraw from Willpower, aside from the use of Strength of Will. As mentioned before - it's very fire and forget.
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Willpower is a good 'set it and forget it' powerset. It's pretty much the opposite of Regeneration in terms of things you have to click to stay alive. I found it kinda boring though; it definitely goes for substance over style, but style has a substance all of its own, especially when you're a superhero.
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Or if you don't like weapon redraw. 
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I disagree. |
Originally Posted by DoctorWhat
My advise is slot for S/L defense first, E/N after and then global recharge.
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You already have decent resistance to S/L damage, but almost no resistance to E/N damage. I opt for E/N defense first, THEN S/L defense.
Fill the holes in your defense first, then worry about adding to the strengths.
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Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
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yes - that is what I said. |
Originally Posted by bAss_ackwards
Correction, Divine Avalanche gives Defense to Melee and Lethal, not Smashing and Lethal.
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Smashing and lethal is less of a problem -- because Lethal is not such a problem and melee smashing is not such a problem.
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I'll "ditto" this. s/l is considered to be not only by far the most prevalent damage type, but many (most?) energy attacks have a smashing element as well. WP's 55ish percent resists (with Tough) to s/l are nice, but won't keep you alive against more difficult challenges with Def that's less than 10%. |
Originally Posted by DoctorWhat
My advise is slot for S/L defense first, E/N after and then global recharge. Hasten is great to have, but you don't need it. Also with your high recovery you can use Leadership powers much easier.
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I built my /wp scrap exactly as DrWhat advises and arrived at soft-capped s/l def, high e/n (37%) and "enough" recharge. I am pleased with the results.
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You can pair Willpower with any primary powerset. Making Willpower very newbie friendly. Also it's a secondary that doesn't necessarily need set IO's to be good.
Yep, build for S/L def first and foremost.
Gonna disagree with the S/L defense strategy. Yes, you want to get as much as you can, but it's not the priority. I prefer to prioritize HP, E/Ne defense, and then S/L.
I think folks under estimate how powerful Divine Avalanche is, in terms of survivability. DA alone will make you really tough to kill. While it doesn't cover everything, it's deficiencies aren't significantly improved by adding more Lethal or Smashing defense. Comparatively speaking, you'll get more survivablity from additional E/Ne defense Will Power because you already have a sizable chunk of it, via Heightened Senses.
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Kat/WP is a sick combo and currently my favorite toon to play.
Slot for E/N def, go get shadow meld, enjoy life.
As for Incarnate stuff, I would go with Musculature and Rebirth +Regen. I never die if I'm paying attention. The only stuff it can get froggy with is anything with major -defense debuffs, as you have very little resistant to those. Cims and PPD generally, everything else is easy business. Divine Avalanche really helps with Cims though.
O and Desmodos is spot on.
Melee def is inherently going to take care of a ton of smashing attacks. So DA has it covered.
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Just build for it all |
Originally Posted by Desmodos
Gonna disagree with the S/L defense strategy. Yes, you want to get as much as you can, but it's not the priority. I prefer to prioritize HP, E/Ne defense, and then S/L.
I think folks under estimate how powerful Divine Avalanche is, in terms of survivability. DA alone will make you really tough to kill. While it doesn't cover everything, it's deficiencies aren't significantly improved by adding more Lethal or Smashing defense. Comparatively speaking, you'll get more survivablity from additional E/Ne defense Will Power because you already have a sizable chunk of it, via Heightened Senses. |
The only RCH you need to build for is enough to get the damage output you're seeking. So imo, RCH is the least important (especially if you're just building for survival).
HP bonuses you get just building for increased defenses, so I wouldn't worry about that as much either.
Defense is where it's important to build for, at least in my experience, when it comes to WP. And I think you want to build evenly for the S/L/E/N Defenses with a focus on S/L, as like mentioned, WP already comes with a sizable E/N Defense already.
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The focus on S/L is largely wasted. If you are soft capping to S/L/E/N then the debate is entirely moot. If you're trying to make the choice between S/L or E/Ne, then E/Ne is the superior choice. Keep in mind these statements are made is specific context to Kat/WP. Without Divine Avalanche, the focus would shift towards a focus on S/L.
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Originally Posted by BrandX
Just build for it all
Defense is where it's important to build for, at least in my experience, when it comes to WP. And I think you want to build evenly for the S/L/E/N Defenses with a focus on S/L, as like mentioned, WP already comes with a sizable E/N Defense already. |
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With all of this talk about slotting for defense, I have to simultaneously point out and ask: Since RttC includes an important, though small, tohit debuff, this could help by effectively adding to defense in most non-AV situations, yes? It's a point to keep in mind if you're making sacrifices to get defense gains (especially if you're striving for a particular defense value). Though, if you're making your build to solo AVs it's probably not the best thing to rely on.
(You can also consider frankenslotting RttC for both regen and the debuff. I've done that when I've had extra slots available.)
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The problem with the tohit debuff is that it's very small (3.75% for scrappers), resisted by both the purple patch and rank resistances (AVs are not the only ones to resist debuffs), only applies to targets within 8 feet, and only to up to 10 targets at a time. If you're in a situation dangerous enough that you might actually *need* the debuff, you're probably fighting foes against whom the debuff will have almost no effect. I certainly won't turn down the presence of such a debuff, but neither would I use slots to enhance it or count on it to do anything in particular.
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This is all very true, except 3.75% is not very small in my view. When coupled with defense set bonuses, as far as I can tell, it can bring up the attack calculation to softcap in normal settings (when you're already at ~41%). If you're scrapping on regular missions solo, with the added taunt of RttC, an 8 foot range is within melee and is often ok. 10 targets at a time is fine if you're solo, provided you're not playing at more than x3 heroes (or so) in your notoriety settings. All I'm saying is to keep it in mind. I would never encourage anyone to slot for the -tohit over something else but you're slotting and have a couple slots available, I'd say it's reasonable (e.g., to use extra slots to perhaps raise your HP with two Dark Watcher).
The resistance debuffs do happen on more than AVs (and I knew someone would bring this up hence the qualifier, "most non-AV situations" :-). Slotting approaches and skill levels vary so wildly, that it's easy to start flame wars (and in my forum lurking, I've seen plenty). I am just saying that it still seems like a valid thing to consider given the OP's stated intentions, i.e., soloing through the CoH storyline.
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Originally Posted by pinrail
With all of this talk about slotting for defense, I have to simultaneously point out and ask: Since RttC includes an important, though small, tohit debuff, this could help by effectively adding to defense in most non-AV situations, yes? It's a point to keep in mind if you're making sacrifices to get defense gains (especially if you're striving for a particular defense value). Though, if you're making your build to solo AVs it's probably not the best thing to rely on.
(You can also consider frankenslotting RttC for both regen and the debuff. I've done that when I've had extra slots available.) |
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Originally Posted by Muon_Neutrino
The problem with the tohit debuff is that it's very small (3.75% for scrappers), resisted by both the purple patch and rank resistances (AVs are not the only ones to resist debuffs), only applies to targets within 8 feet, and only to up to 10 targets at a time. If you're in a situation dangerous enough that you might actually *need* the debuff, you're probably fighting foes against whom the debuff will have almost no effect. I certainly won't turn down the presence of such a debuff, but neither would I use slots to enhance it or count on it to do anything in particular.
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Yes, 3.75% to hit debuff will stack with your defense values. Because it's base value is rather small, enhancing it will net you minimal practical gain. Against minions, LTs, and bosses, it can contribute significantly to your survivablity, but only if you have significant amounts of defense to work with it. The closer you are to soft cap, the more effective it becomes.
As Muon Neutrino pointed out, it can be resisted. Higher level mobs will have a greater level of resistance (A.K.A. The Purple Patch). So as a general rule of thumb, all debuffs will only be 48% effective against +4 mobs. 3.75 * .48 = 1.79 is still a significant amount of To Hit debuff when stacked on top of 35% defense.
When fighting AVs, Muon Neutrino's point is completely correct. In addition to level shifting, Archvillains also get additional Archvillain Resistance. A level 50 Archvillain has 85% resistance to all debuffs. At level 54 it goes to 87%. 1.79 * (1-.87) = 0.23 % ToHit debuff, essentially nothing.
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I hate to be the bringer of bad news... but Willpower sucks!!! you're better off rolling a regen
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I'm certainly not trying to start a flame war, and I do agree that the tohit debuff is worth noting and could occasionally be useful. I simply disagree that it'd ever be worth using slots on.|
Originally Posted by pinrail
This is all very true, except 3.75% is not very small in my view. When coupled with defense set bonuses, as far as I can tell, it can bring up the attack calculation to softcap in normal settings (when you're already at ~41%). If you're scrapping on regular missions solo, with the added taunt of RttC, an 8 foot range is within melee and is often ok. 10 targets at a time is fine if you're solo, provided you're not playing at more than x3 heroes (or so) in your notoriety settings. All I'm saying is to keep it in mind. I would never encourage anyone to slot for the -tohit over something else but you're slotting and have a couple slots available, I'd say it's reasonable (e.g., to use extra slots to perhaps raise your HP with two Dark Watcher).
The resistance debuffs do happen on more than AVs (and I knew someone would bring this up hence the qualifier, "most non-AV situations" :-). Slotting approaches and skill levels vary so wildly, that it's easy to start flame wars (and in my forum lurking, I've seen plenty). I am just saying that it still seems like a valid thing to consider given the OP's stated intentions, i.e., soloing through the CoH storyline. |
It is true that 3.75%, as a simple amount of equivalent defense, isn't 'very small' - after all, look at how much effort people go through to chase defense bonuses smaller than that, and to only one type to boot. What I suppose I didn't make clear enough was that I think that 3.75% is 'very small' in light of the other factors reducing its effectiveness.
You're only going to get the full 3.75% against even level minions (I haven't been able to track down the proper numbers, but I definitely recall higher ranks of foes having some resistance to tohit debuffs). The problem is that a WP scrapper with a mature build, especially one that is also concerned with improving survivability through things like tough/weave and set bonuses, isn't going to die to even level minions anyway. By the time you get to opponents who you might actually have to worry about, the amount of debuff you're getting has significantly decreased. When you add to that the fact that it has a target limit significantly less than the aggro cap and doesn't do anything about ranged attackers who aren't going to obligingly come into range, I simply question the assumption that it'd ever be the best use of a pair of slots to enhance it. The two slot bonuses of 2% damage or 1.5% HP that you could get from 2 slots of a debuff set are nothing so earth-shattering that you can't get elsewhere, and the actual enhancement values aren't especially useful either. Obviously you can't say with absolute certainty that it would never be the best use of slots, but I think it'd have to be a *very* unusual build that could do so.
@MuonNeutrino
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So how does Invulnerability stack up compared to Willpower for Scrappers. I know it's great for tanks.
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Invulnerability is definitely up there on survivability. Compared to Willpower on the high end builds, I couldn't say. I only have a high end Invulnerability build between the two.
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I have wanted to make a scrapper for like 1000 years. I have decided on Katana as my primary power. However, the secondary power I have never been satisfied with, I think I have finally landed on WP because it offers a lot of stats protection that the others do not.
So! My question is this: What are the pros and cons of Willpower as a secondary for a scrapper as opposed to the other scrapper secondaries? And is WP something I could easily solo with? This is going to be my toon I solo with and play through the CoH storyline.
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