Scrapper Summary for Rob

Ideas/Feedback for Rob's Scrapper:

Firstly, character concept is the big driver here. Pick something you like and work the powersets around it. That being said, I'll try to give you my perspective on the Scrapper Primaries/Secondaries to give you a little more info to work with.

PRIMARIES:
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Broad Sword - One of the heaviest hitters of the Scrapper primaries. Pretty much whipping around a big hunk of steel that packs a whollop. Slow-ish recharge on attacks, but high damage puts the DPS (damage per second) almost exactly the same as the Katana primary. However, at later levels with recharge IOs and set bonuses, the set deals out some sick damage. It has the Parry attack which is a stackable defense buff for melee, a staple for any Broadsword attack chain. It deals primarily smashing/lethal damage, the most resisted damage types in the late game. Downside is the set is a bit of an endurance pig until you get SO's/IO's. Some knockback/down in the set.

Greg's Take: Great concept set and good at all levels. Early attack chains are solid with excellent take-down potential. I like this one a lot.

Katana - Very similar set to Broadsword power-wise. More stylish animations and faster recharges, but less powerful attacks. Almost exactly the same DPS as Broadsword.

Greg's Take: One of my favorites, bar none. However, not a good choice for a Silver-Age hero. Steel Blossom has this set.

Claws - Great set for a beginner Scrapper. Fast attacks, low endurance usage, fast-firing "Build-up" attack that buffs accuracy/damage, solid attack chain with some nice cones/AoEs. This set's got everything in an easy-to-use package. This is a great set for non-stop Scrapping regardless of the secondary you pick. Deals primarily Lethal damage, which is highly resisted in late game. Some knockback/down in the set.

Greg's Take: If I were going to recommend a starting Scrapper set for a new person, this is it. Easy and forgiving with fast, low-endurance attacks. Also the set could easily lend itself to a Silver-Age character concept (cat man, panther, etc)

Dark Melee - Interesting utility set. Not a raw-damage set, as it has control elements, a built-in accuracy debuff, self-heal attack, single-target Fear, etc. The Shadow Maul cone attack is the identical animation to Sands of Mu, including the rooting effect. Deals primarily negative energy/smashing damage, which is pretty unresisted throughout the game. Damage output is middle of the road with several DoT (Damage over Time) attacks smoothing out the damage curve. Somewhat endurance intensive.

Greg's Take: The utility knife of the Scrapper sets. Also a great concept set with the smoky attacks. Problem is, IMHO, this is a difficult set for beginners. It has some quirks and needs some careful slotting/power selections to make the most out of the set. Take it for the concept and you'll grow into it. Given we have vet reward respecs, there's room for tweaking if you're not happy with how it's progressing.

Spines - The AoE set for Scrappers. Many single-target attacks with some nice AoEs and a built in -rech effect in the attacks. Fast-firing similar to claws, but somewhat endurance intensive. AoE damage is where the set shines.

Greg's Take: Good set, but difficult to get rolling. True AoE capability blooms somewhat late in the build, as you need Stamina to run Quills. Some interesting Silver-Age potential here, but despite my love of AoEs, not one I get excited about.

Martial Arts - Kicks, kicks, and more kicks. All smashing/lethal damage with fairly fast animations and some stuns/slows/knockback effects mixed in. Some of the attacks have some spectacular animations. Less popular than other Scrapper sets.

Greg's Take: Cool set, decent attacks with a few questionable ones mixed in. The mixed bag of status effects (stuns, slows, knockback) is less appealing than a set that's consistent. Decent set for a Silver-Age Natural origin character, but the lack of any punches/hand attacks makes pool power attack selections a must to round out the visuals.

SECONDARIES:
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Regeneration - A quick pick for many Scrappers and a popular choice. No damage mitigation, but tons of heals/regeneration/recovery to make up for it. Integration provides a 100% base regen boost and all the status protection you need at an early level. Dull Pain and Reconstruction are the heals, with Instant Healing coming in later if needed.

Greg's Take: Solid set that lives up to it's popularity. +Recovery bonuses = non-stop Scrapping with no breaks. Set is sensitive to burst damage though, alpha strikes from a spawn can floor you before you can hit the heal powers. Fun and forgiving set, but Tough and Weave pool powers really round it out.

Invulnerability - Same as the Tank set (i.e. Mantlet) with lower resistances. Resistance based set with a nice heal that adds a 40% boost to HP for a while. Very strong set against Smashing/Lethal damage, less so against other types, big hole against psi damage. The only Scrapper set with a Taunt aura.

Greg's Take: Even as a gimped version of the Tank set, it still performs well. This is by far the LEAST popular of all Secondaries though. The Taunt aura (Invincibility) can be a killer drawing excessive aggro without Tank HP or Resistances to take the heat. Still, makes for a tough combo. Passive resist powers are next to useless

Dark Armor - The second most unpopular set, except for AoE builds. Resistance based set with a couple nice utility auras (fear/neg energy damage) and some interesting heal/resurrect powers. Kind of an odd set in that the theme is mixed, somewhat like the Dark Melee primary. No real focus for the set, but a lot of interesting powers. End usage is really high for a lot of the powers though, forcing some early choices to be viable only after Stamina.

Greg's Take: Similar to Dark Melee, this is not really a good set for beginners. The lack of ANY knockback protection in the set also pretty much guarantees needing to take the Leaping pool to pick up Acrobatics. Despite that, the set has some real play-style advantages (stealth/fear etc.) for those that can build some synergy with the Primary they pick. Great pick for a Silver-Age hero with all the dark smoky effects.

Super Reflexes - Probably after Regen in terms of popularity. Defense based set with Toggles and Passive powers against positional damage types. No self-heal in the set and the myriad of good power choices often forces a very tight build. Practiced Brawler gives great status protection and Quickness gives a run speed boost and essentially a +Rech DO level boost to all powers.

Greg's Take: Great set. Matures somewhat late due to the Defense boosts, but a killer set once it hits its stride. Lots of toggles means it's a good match for the Claws primary, there's a lot of synergy there. Quickness + Fast Claws attacks negates the need to pick up Hasten out of the power pool. Good set for beginners, as the set requires little "click" management to be effective. Great Silver-Age powerset (think Flash or Spiderman).

SLOTTING:
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As far as slotting goes for all these different Primaries/Secondaries, there is a great thread here that goes into some detail about slotting recommendations from a TO/DO/SO (primarily SO) perspective. Naturally Issue 9 and the IO enhancements make this even better, but the original post is still solid.

FORUMS:
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I also started a thread on the Scrapper forums here to get some input/recommendations from the Scrapper community on what a good starting Scrapper Primary/Secondary combination would be. Take a look if you get a chance.