Stormwalker

The Girl in the Picture (featuring: Serina Willmore, a.k.a "Kitten America") The laminated paper card felt impossibly flimsy in her hand. It was hard to believe, she thought, that it had survived the incident at all, much less come through it completely undamaged. Even so, there it was, the same as it had been before... when everything around her had changed. To look at it was almost to turn back time, to a more innocent day. The dark-haired girl in the picture smiled back in the face of her stare, cheerfully oblivious to the chaos which had overtaken the world around her. There were times when Kitten almost envied that naivete, when she missed being able to look at the world without seeing the evil that lurked around every corner. Perhaps, as some said, ignorance truly was bliss. No, she told herself. Ignorance is merely ignorance... and naivete was a dangerous characteristic in Paragon City. Still, there was a certain innocence about the girl in that picture that she wished she could have back. Her gaze shifted to the writing beneath the picture. "Serina Willmore", it read, identifying that face to any who might gaze upon it. It had been her name before. Legally, it was still hers, and she still used it sometimes... but it felt almost alien to her now. Distant, as though it rightly belonged to another person. In a way, that was because it did. Unlike her pefectly preserved SERAPH ID badge, Serina herself had not gone through the incident unchanged. When her experiment exploded, hundreds of glass shards had ripped through clothing and skin, and each fragment had been coated with small amounts of altered genetic material. SERAPH had wanted to know what Council super-solider serum would do to hero DNA; by the time they pulled her out of the rubble of the lab, she was a walking case study. Since then, it didn't seem right to call herself Serina anymore. Serina was the girl in the picture; fair skin, dark hair, that irrepressible cheerful smile. Serina didn't have a cat's ears, or claws, or fangs, or a tail, and she definitely didn't have white fur and bright red tiger stripes from head to toe. Serina might have liked those things; she'd always loved heroes, after all, even the slightly strange ones. It was why she'd been studying metahuman biology. It was why she had been a lab assistant at SERAPH. Ultimately, it was how she'd become someone else. It wasn't just the body... her mind was different, too. She thought a little more quickly, acted more on instinct, chased down hunches as though they were fleeing prey. That was an apt comparison, she thought, as she did THAT, too. There was no mistaking the predatory instinct; she loved the hunt, and relished the fight. Hero work came naturally to her, as though she were born to it. She ran and jumped and felt the wind ripple through her fur, and she reveled in the sheer exhiliration of it all. Serina hadn't been like that. Oh, she'd been friendly, bubbly even. She'd loved life with a passion, every bit as much as Kitten did now. She'd never been violent, though, and never much of a thrill-seeker. Serina was a girl that was afraid of roller-coasters, and would never have dreamed of jumping off a twenty-story building, or walking through the alleys of the Row at night. No, she could hardly call herself Serina at all, no matter how much people told her the name suited her. It just wasn't her anymore. She walked to the window, casting open the curtains to let the sun's brilliant light spill into her darkened apartment. That was something else she'd gained... an appreciation for certain small pleasures, be it a good stretch, a scratch behind the ears, or even just a warm sunbeam. She always insisted to anyone else that she was more girl than cat. To herself, privately, sometimes she wondered. From the window, even with it closed, she could hear the sounds of mayhem. Back Yard Football, she'd heard they called it. She'd asked the Rambler about that once, since he'd lived in the Row all his life, and it seemed to be a local tradition; he'd just shaken his head and smiled. Still, it looked like they were having fun, and what was wrong with that? If a few Skulls got mauled along the way, they probably deserved it. She could hear other sounds, too... downstairs, in the training room, Nanodrive was sparring with someone. Empty Sky, probably, but it was hard to tell. The Row's old buildings were heavily built, and Ember had chosen the strongest one they could find to convert into a base. That she could hear anything happening two floors down at all was an artifact of her enhanced senses. It sounded like they were enjoying themselves, too. It was almost a surprise... when she'd first joined the group, she hadn't thought Angela was capable of fun at all. Maybe she was learning to lighten up a little. She looked down at the badge again, turning it over and over in her hand. She wasn't sure why she had pulled it out of the drawer. Part of her wasn't sure why she had kept it at all. Maybe it was like that ex-boxer from the Rogue Isles had told her when they'd talked in the D. "You have to remember where you came from," he'd said. There was truth in it. She worried, sometimes, about what she was becoming. Her feral side was enticing, and when it came fully to the surface, the results could be frightening. It had saved her life just the other day, and psosibly some of her teammates' lives as well... but the level of violence she'd found herself capable of was more than a little bit scary. Somehow, she didn't think Serina would have approved. Walking over to her dresser, she stuck the badge up in the corner of the mirror. There, she'd have to face herself every day. Her old self, and her new self, too. Maybe she could find a balance there. She couldn't go back to being Serina again... and she didn't really want to. But she owed it to the girl in the picture to be someone that girl could be proud of. To be the hero she had always wanted to be. She smiled. It was a cause she could live for. And to that end, there was work to be done. She looked across the room at the window again, and that smile grew into a fanged grin. It was a beautiful day... and the city was calling. [Author's note: "Back Yard Football" is a reference to the writings of another player/author on the original CoH forums whose stories were largely centered in Kings Row; I included it as a nod to their worldbuilding efforts. Sadly, I don't remember their name now to credit them properly for it.]

So, this thread is just a place for me to post bits of story that I've written about my characters. Feedback is welcome. Some of these bits are very old ("The Girl in the Picture" dates back to Issue 2 or 3, I think, whenever I first created Kitten America) and may seem a bit dated. But they're part of the character histories nonetheless. I have quite a few of these, but rather than posting them all at once I'll just post a bit at a time.

I also have to vote for my Claws/SR. There is just something about that combo. It makes beautiful mayhem. The fact that "Kitten America" is also one of my favorite character concepts I've built just makes it even better. Dark Melee/Dark Armor is also just way more fun than it has any right to be if you look at the raw performance of the sets involved. They just work together beautifully, with Dark Armor's damage aura covering Dark Melee's lack of AoE, Dark Melee's To-Hit Debuff boosting Dark Armor's survivability, etc. Starting to get the same feeling out of Energy Melee/Energy Aura, except that in this case the sets actually have the performance to back it up. DB/SR is starting to get pretty fun as Skyfencer starts to get into the levels where SR comes into its own. But Claws/SR will probably always be my favorite. There's a reason it's been mentioned three times in this thread already. Oh, and I've been completely shocked by how much I'm enjoying my Ice/Ice blaster. I never knew a Blaster could be this... capable. EDIT: Thinking about it, I think I know why Claws/SR is so fun. You take SR's inherent speed boost, and combine it with the lack of click powers, and you have the perfect platform from which to deploy Claws' seemingly limitless bag of tricks. Ranged attack? Got it. With Knockdown, even. PBAoE? Of course. Freakin' huge cone (with knockback, which can easily be slotted to knockdown)? Got that, too! Oh, yeah, and between Focus and Shockwave you can dribble a Zeus Class Titan like a basketball, and who doesn't love that? SR gives Claws everything it needs - +recharge and a very solid overall defense - and then gets out of its way and lets Claws be Claws.

My most hated faction to fight is definitely Sky Raiders. Between the Force Field Generators and the constant flying/teleporting away they are just really annoying and not fun. I also hate Paragon Protectors because of MoG and Unstoppable. Sitting there whiffing on an enemy that really isn't a threat but just won't die is obnoxious and a stupid mechanic. My favorite faction to fight really depends on what character i am playing. Kitten America, for example, really loves thrashing Malta, for reasons that are a combination of theme and also SR not having significant problems with Sappers.

Ember Soulfire says, "Schedules are things other people have," and tries her best not to let herself be bound by them. Of course, being the leader of a supergroup - even a small one, and especially a supergroup like hers, founded as a place where those with troubled pasts like her own can find their way as heroes - means having to meet with government officials far more often than she would like, and they are particular about their schedules, so she tries very hard not to be late to those meetings. Kitten America is only in a hurry when there are lives at stake or some other form of crisis. Everything else can slide. She is, after all, part cat. As with many things about her, she wonders at times whether her pre-transformation self would have disapproved. Skylancer is remarkably punctual, but has been known to violate city-zone flight speed limits making that happen. Of course, she is sometimes late to her college classes because emergency calls won't wait. She has no secret identity, so her professors will generally let this slide since they know she's a hero. The Smokemeister is a teenager with ADHD, and is only ever on time because of his girlfriend's telepathic proddinng. Blaze Atomica can fly faster than light and she still manages to be late. All the speed in the universe won't help you when you leave after your appointment was supposed to start. Bladewhisper always arrives exactly on time, and entirely without warning. You think she's going to be late, and then suddenly she's there and you didn't see her coming. Seladri insists that she isn't late, but that Earth's clocks have all become desynchronized from galactic time and that you are all early. Star Charger says that Seladri is late, that Seladri is making things up, and that even if her claims were true, the only time that really matters for most purposes is that of the planet that one is presently on.

More information is always good, so I appreciate it. Definitely best to make the most informed decisions possible. While I do understand the math, I'm one of those people who needs to experience it to really appreciate the differences in things like that (very kinesthetic learning style), so I will probably have to do some experimentation with more offensive vs. defensive loadouts to see what feels best in terms of performance. That will be expensive, of course, but this character has absolutely no problems making inf at the rate she clears maps, so I can afford to play around with it some. But now I have a better idea what my options are and therefore what to try out. To clarify what I mean by that a bit is... obviously your build is more suriviable, and only gives up a little damage to accomplish it. The question is, how much do I need the extra survivability? If i can do the things I want to do consistently without it, then there's no need to give up any damage for it. But if I find that the survivability in the more offensive build is lacking for what I want to accomplish, then I need to seriously look at some of your ideas for beefing up my defenses. I did find that with only a little tweaking, I can add a little but of Smash/Lethal resist and a fair amount of Energy/Negative resist while giving up essentially nothing, so at the minumum I will do that much. And then if I find out that I still need to be tougher to do the things I want to do, then I'll look at going further toward something like your build. Whereas, before your feedback, if I'd hit that point, I'd have been back here asking for help again because I wouldn't know how to really make her tougher. And now I do. So, thank you!

Unfortunately, I can only maintain my attack chain (Follow-Up, Focus, Slash for single-target, or Follow-Up, Spin, Shockwave for AoE) when Hasten is up... I think. In particular, I don't think the AoE attack chain (which I use a whole lot, running at x8) is gapless when Hasten is down. I will have to double-check that. So I think I need all that recharge. And I'd rather not give up the damage procs, they make a significant difference in my DPS. At least as the build is currently, I had no problems running Weave and Focused Accuracy full-time. Pretty much the only time I had end issues was if I got hit by a Sapper; they don't hit me often, and when they do, I have Conserve Power and (in the worst case, where I get hit multiple times and completely detoggle) Elude to deal with that (this is half the reason Elude is in the build. The other half being that it's something I can take that is in-concept and doesn't need any slots). It does occur to me, as I look at this, that I can shift one of my LotG +recharges to Elude, as it's a global, not a proc, and Elude doesn't really need any recharge enhancement since I only use it in the very most dire of emergencies (i.e. getting detoggled due to end drain attacks). This will allow me to adopt one of the Shield Wall sets as you have in your version of the build, which will get me a bit of Energy/Negative resist. I should probably consider not muling the Scrapper's Strike global so I can get the 6% smash/lethal resist from its set bonus, though I'll have to put Scrapper's Strike in a different power to do that, as I don't want to lose the Achilles' Heel proc). I could put it in Focus, though I'd hate to lose the damage procs out of the attack that is basically my bread-and-butter. It's a tough call. I think my build has better damage output, but yours is defintiely more survivable. I may hybridize the two a bit. At any rate, you've given me a lot to think about. Thanks!

The irony here is that I could easily trade some of that fire/cold resist for more smash/lethal resist by swapping Reactive Defenses sets out for more LotG sets, but then I'd have even more accuracy. And yeah, adding the purples is only going to add even more accuracy on top of that. Mind you, I like having lots of accuracy, and Follow-Up has to hit in the first place in order to provide its To-Hit Buff, but I will definitely admit the amount that I have here is overkill. Here's the planned build, after moving one slot from Lucky to Dodge to trade one of those accuracy bonuses in for a bit more smash/lethal resist. EDIT: Apparently I forgot to fix the Physical Perfection/Health slot swap in this version of the build. Corrected now. This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.2.17 https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Kitten America (current+purples): Level 50 Science Scrapper Primary Power Set: Claws Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Fighting Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Strike -- SprScrStr-Rchg/+Crit(A) Level 1: Focused Fighting -- ShlWal-Def(A), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(3), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(3), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(5), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(5) Level 2: Slash -- Hct-Dmg(A), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), Hct-Acc/Rchg(13), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(15), Hct-Dam%(15), AchHee-ResDeb%(17) Level 4: Focused Senses -- Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(17), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(19), Rct-Def/Rchg(19), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(21) Level 6: Spin -- Arm-Dmg(A), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(21), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(23), Arm-Acc/Rchg(23), Arm-Dam%(25), FuroftheG-ResDeb%(25) Level 8: Agile -- Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(27), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(27), Rct-Def/Rchg(29) Level 10: Practiced Brawler -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 12: Follow Up -- SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprCrtStr-Dmg/Rchg(29), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), SprCrtStr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), SprCrtStr-Rchg/+50% Crit(33) Level 14: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A) Level 16: Dodge -- LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(33), LucoftheG-Def(33), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(34), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(34) Level 18: Focus -- Apc-Dmg(A), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Apc-Acc/Rchg(36), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Apc-Dam%(36), GldJvl-Dam%(37) Level 20: Quickness -- Run-I(A) Level 22: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(37) Level 24: Boxing -- Acc-I(A) Level 26: Tough -- GldArm-ResDam(A), GldArm-3defTpProc(37), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(39), StdPrt-ResDam/EndRdx(39) Level 28: Lucky -- LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(A), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(39), LucoftheG-Def(40) Level 30: Weave -- Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(40), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(40), Rct-Def/Rchg(42), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(42) Level 32: Shockwave -- SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprScrStr-Dmg/Rchg(42), SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), SprScrStr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), OvrFrc-Dam/KB(45) Level 35: Evasion -- Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(45), Rct-Def/Rchg(45), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(46), Rct-ResDam%(46), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg(46) Level 38: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 41: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A) Level 44: Combat Jumping -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFrt-Def(48) Level 47: Focused Accuracy -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(48), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(48), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(50), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(50), GssSynFr--Build%(50) Level 49: Elude -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 1: Critical Hit Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Rest -- EndMod-I(A) Level 1: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 1: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 1: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), Mrc-Heal(7), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(7), NmnCnv-Heal(9), Pnc-Heal/+End(9), Pnc-Heal(11) Level 1: Stamina -- PrfShf-EndMod(A), PrfShf-End%(11) Level 14: Double Jump Level 50: Musculature Core Paragon Level 50: Vorpal Core Final Judgement Level 50: Degenerative Partial Core Conversion Level 50: Robotic Drones Total Core Improved Ally Level 50: Barrier Partial Core Invocation Level 50: Assault Total Core Graft Level 50: Freedom Phalanx Reserve Level 50: The Atlas Medallion ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1522;694;1388;HEX;| |78DA6D93DB521341108667C9C64020404C42389A2502494848C02B4BB43C8054718| |84602DE625826188D616B3794F01ADE78E51DA23E86555E797C061F40407D80D8D9| |FE47972AA9A2BEF4BFF3774FF7CC140F167BAAD5A55B42EB5DA8571C67AB6CDA15C| |B9276A06CD664C39482FE8CD55AB3291BC6ED67D2AE9915236DEEDBB66C34B3D6BE| |6DD5A59309D0A2A8726E15655DCA3CA57BEE24FE8A8BB22A1B8ECC97F7DBD1BAACD| |6E58174444F696FAF9E5F9315ABD6D83D1704DDA06C49B913727F2ED5761F37E943| |F8AE5533F377F6760EB78A15A729EDC3412A9FA6FF5A7B1F5A7BC7A225C4379F107| |3BA287A445DACB0D8B1042E33F55530A6B97C42260D26BF36D5E18A3D6930C3EC9D| |06B3CCFEF7C4882EEE91D9A72AFA4E3873FF29F3E22FF027338A8A4FC9E45715FD5| |73963F43A73E01A38CF1CBC01DEE424F7C91C80D91740C561541C46C551542CD1E2| |2E35A5AEAC70C53A89DD9A3BA796BFFB91CE8E0AF3D23668823B4C4332E3640EA98| |CA134677C40629F9A425F3F776944C028733C0C620A0D3285D514C239EE723CCFBC| |5C0067C139E6448E1A4BE9629DCC11B58DC80C6F2349620CA21643B713A0461FE3C| |A111F66D147E2901AE650818736718539D55E3E461C609669F10816778CA0BB2974| |9342973A2D1A53A318C3F1A4703C291C4F06C79381D92253426014898FF8F88939F| |D19FC027E65E6BE3337C89C54734CA2620E1573A83483CA33BFC133669930A9A632| |89511D87E88D2931FD12F791CA64D570B341DE78A197B94169F26A0FF92376145E8| |3C7CCB937E05BF01D739332CFAA72B3D84342FFF7945BA3BAF7B1E3ECD6CE89B802| |255D69246A068B3F82FF5979724EC4453EF5887EB1A2B977EDC232F890D9B9C94D7| |78EF30C8306F3CC63D6C40B6E2E88F17D98A677838DB55623A4A9E6ECB82758F006| |F3314FF0AAED51098E929E2FA5A027D8F6067F000190D295| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

I do, too, but there is a definite difference between "enjoyable" and "having good performance". KM can be fun, but its performance on a scrapper is not good.

This is the exact build I am running in the game, including the same number of slots in every power, so yes, all the slots are placed. Also, Mids tells me I have no more slots to place.

Ah, very good point on Health. Will definitely change that. As for the Preemptive, the version of it I have is just a DoT. I didn't find that the -recovery had any real effect at all, and I will probably change to a different Interface at some point. I pretty much crafted the Tier 3 just to salvage something out of it after having already invested in the Tier 2, which was probably foolish. Is Reactive still worth it when I already have 3 -Res procs? I'll probably go Degen, I don't think I looked at that one very closely when I made my initial picks, or I would probably have taken it.. As for the -1000% Resist debuff, I probably had Rest turned on somehow and didn't notice when I exported it. Oh, and I forgot to put in the Accolades. I have Atlas Medallion and Freedom Phalanx Reserve already. Working on Portal Jockey now. Thanks for the feedback!

Of the sets I have personally played, Claws is definitely the fastest map clearer and it's not even close. I haven't played WM, though. For single target damage, Energy Melee is devastating.

From what I have read, the optimal scrapper EM damage rotation (which requires enormous amounts of recharge) is Long ET -> TF -> Short ET -> Bonesmasher -> <something to fill the gap, most people seem to take a Snipe from an epic pool here>. -> Repeat. My experience with my own EM scrapper suggests this is accurate, though I do not yet have enough recharge yet to do this gapless (she's only level 37, after all). I can get close when when there's lots of enemies around, though (she's Energy Aura).

Anyone want to look at my current build and tell me if I am missing anything important while it is still relatively cheap to fix? I know the build is pretty decent based on performance in-game, but I'm also sure there are people out there who are better at SR optimization than me. @Bill Z Bubba, I'm particularly interested in your input given your history with Claws/SR, but I'd like to hear from anyone who has suggestions. Of course, I've already looked at your build and I'm sure you'll see some familiar things. The one change I have pending, other than reslotting my attack sets with purples, is replacing the Sudden Acceleration knockback-to-knockdown with the Overwhelming Force one, which will happen as soon as I get it on AH. Beyond that, I am tentatively planning to move the Scrapper's Strike set from Slash to Shockwave and slot 5-pc. Hecatomb in Slash (retaining the Achilles' Heel proc). EDIT: And I still do not know why Mids insists on exporting my builds as Level 49 when they have taken all powers/slots/incarnates/everything. This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.2.17 https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Kitten America (current): Level 49 Science Scrapper Primary Power Set: Claws Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Fighting Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Strike -- SprScrStr-Rchg/+Crit(A) Level 1: Focused Fighting -- ShlWal-Def(A), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(3), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(3), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(5), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(5) Level 2: Slash -- SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprScrStr-Dmg/Rchg(7), SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), SprScrStr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9), SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9), AchHee-ResDeb%(11) Level 4: Focused Senses -- Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(11), Rct-Def/Rchg(13), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(13), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(15) Level 6: Spin -- ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg(A), ScrDrv-Dmg/EndRdx(15), ScrDrv-Dmg/Rchg(17), ScrDrv-Acc/Rchg(17), ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(19), FuroftheG-ResDeb%(19) Level 8: Agile -- Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(21), Rct-Def/Rchg(21), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(23) Level 10: Practiced Brawler -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 12: Follow Up -- SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprCrtStr-Dmg/Rchg(23), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25), SprCrtStr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(27), SprCrtStr-Rchg/+50% Crit(27) Level 14: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A) Level 16: Dodge -- LucoftheG-Def(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(29), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(29), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(31) Level 18: Focus -- Dvs-Acc/Dmg(A), Dvs-Dmg/EndRdx(31), Dvs-Dmg/Rchg(31), Dvs-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Dvs-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), GldJvl-Dam%(33) Level 20: Quickness -- Run-I(A) Level 22: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(34) Level 24: Kick -- Acc-I(A) Level 26: Tough -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), StdPrt-ResDam/EndRdx(34), GldArm-3defTpProc(34), GldArm-ResDam(36) Level 28: Lucky -- LucoftheG-Def(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(36), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(36), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(37) Level 30: Weave -- Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(37), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg(37), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(39), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(39) Level 32: Shockwave -- Ann-Acc/Dmg(A), Ann-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), Ann-ResDeb%(40), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(42) Level 35: Evasion -- Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(42), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg(42), Rct-Def/Rchg(43), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(43), Rct-ResDam%(43) Level 38: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 41: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(45), NmnCnv-Heal(45), Pnc-Heal/+End(45), Pnc-Heal(49) Level 44: Combat Jumping -- RedFrt-Def(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(46) Level 47: Focused Accuracy -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(47), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(47), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(48), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(48), GssSynFr--Build%(48) Level 49: Elude -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A) Level 1: Critical Hit Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Rest -- Heal-I(A) Level 1: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 1: Health -- Mrc-Heal(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(46) Level 1: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 1: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(46) Level 14: Double Jump Level 50: Musculature Core Paragon Level 50: Vorpal Partial Core Judgement Level 50: Preemptive Total Radial Conversion Level 50: Robotic Drones Total Core Improved Ally Level 50: Barrier Partial Core Invocation Level 50: Assault Total Core Graft ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1487;676;1352;HEX;| |78DA6D93C972125114866F43238684240884CC10208421E944B72E9C62AA3210634| |8DC466C2EB115810262121FC38D2B5766D0C7B0CA95E33B38AECCA00F8007CE7FB5| |532555D4D7F79CF39FE10ED99DD9AE6271EEAAD0BA6F94F2F5FA46CEACE5AB55597| |3E74C4B964D29E8D7BF68351AB21CB9F648D62C331F499A5BB59A2C37526E720694| |62232B4B521A9466BB1EFE6B9C954559AE4B23B7D55AADCA6249EEC8BAE85AA9544| |AC692CC57ADF2A6A7BDC855A52C78DB9F73D6E6FD06393A79556A2D7D37AB96695C| |AF147637B2F97A43D676FBA97A82FE56AB0DADD5A8680AF1C929C4455D646D465D2| |CB0D13107CE33F54530A8B5F980441A442EED2D3BCFBD03DF33CF7F003F323DAF1D| |42F875B14C62A7AAE83C82F398D9750AFE6276A3E24312B95445D763C1CE6D66EF0| |EB8CBBCF004BCC2496E91D80DB1D38D8A01540CA0621F2AAE507087DAA58E0C672A| |91B1536BEF53D3D5795767459ED97F0F3499830550324324F6AA8CDE2467BC4DC61| |ED5534F80A71CEE05FDCC514C5FA6609F9ADEF782338CEE81FBCCC80178084EF240| |AB24F6ABF2FE297646C91884510B62CA31D041CE90528406D9E824E3806A78A0E51| |E21451F78896BC5A699390A1E52C143982E86E962982E8EE9740A1E51176204C713| |C7F1C44F98091C4F02A22A89C2025B12FE0CE757E6C437F03BF88399FAC227B246E| |2A8DACF282AA65031858A695C8C342AA77F6336C2B8DA9D716CD9815788A49A21F9| |CCD1364EDEE15E27D7C131CE3013C195A33632EA1032DD1C34E561AE518CA17A34F| |638A3B10F1E30A70FC197E02BE63A659E513DCEA0C761DDFEFE71AC619BB1B97426| |02576545FFF7D8851667E34FCF7F228F6D464DCCD3D704CDB3C03C3AA3C02B3839A| |3C0B64D3D65BE49D3BBC1113717FD64537D5642B6C5B27D7139685B3CB76BF6A2B6| |C51FB687D107| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

Kitten America (Claws/SR scrapper, white-furred catgirl with red stripes in patriotic outfit) is an obvious Captain America parody. The Smokemeister (Dark/Dark scrapper) is my adorkable attempt to make a Dark/Dark who isn't grimdark Superconductrix (Elec/Elect blaster) is an admittedly lewd double-entendre regarding the "path of no resistance" Patriot Dream (MA/WP scrapper) is taken from the fourth verse of "America the Beautiful", her power in concept is that the more strongly she believes in what she's fighting for, the stronger she gets The Sword of the Stars (Katana/WP scrapper) is a girl who has read too many samurai stories and has decided to take up the sword - but who is a samurai's rightful lord in a land ruled "of the people, by the people, for the people"? Clearly, the people. Thus, she is the sword of the stars (on the flag, that is). Bladewhisper (Katana/Regen) is my ninja scrapper, therefore clearly her Praetorian analogue must be the rather unhinged Bladescream (Broadsword/Regen) And i just think that Krystalyn is a nice name for an ice/ice blaster. Also a pun on her name, which in Japanese is Rin, but she now writes as Lyn (which would be written exactly the same way in Japanese characters). Impulse Drive isn't really anything special now, but back when I was on Virtue on live, she was huge fangirl of Jean Rodman-Berry's "Space Voyage", and would wax lyrical about the adventures of Captain Tiberius and the crew of the Starship Endeavor. Sadly, I was unable to get my favorite character name pun from Live. Datamine was a Robots/Traps mastermind. He was also incredibly neurotic, while his robots were even more gung ho, had decided he was the only one worthy to rule the world, and were practically forcing him into supervillainy at laser-point.

As it happens, Solarverse's lightsaber fx mod helps when I am playing my DB or katana scrappers; even though the AoE's with multiple hits are still louder, the sound is not as sharp and thus doesn't set off my sound sensitivity nearly so much. Sadly, it doesn't help me on my main (claws/sr), where Spin can be really brutal when hitting 10 enemies at once. Oddly, Shockwave doesn't cause this problem even though it generally hits more targets than Spin does. But then, it seems the hit sounds for Shockwave are staggered - the attack actually travels as a wave and the sound plays when it reaches each target, so you get a bunch of successive hits rather than one really loud one. Also, it's hit sound is rather softer than Spin's to begin with. Hmm. Maybe I can just replace Spin's hit sound with Shockwave's hit sound, if I can figure out which files those are. Might help. I may just have to try to specifically find the Spin hit sound and see if I can do something about that. As for the volume sliders, yes, the sound effects slider is the one that I have at 15% currently. Which... reducing it to 15% is enough to solve the issue, but presents the problem of every other sound in the game being way too quiet (obviously) and thus kind of ruining the experience a bit. Also makes it hard to hear glowies even after installing a sound mod to make them louder.

Officially, the engines are produced by Red Bull Power Trains. What involvement Honda might still have, I don't follow it closely enough to say.

Eyeballs, DE quartz emanators, and Nemesis with stacked Vengeance. Those are the banes of SR. This doesn't stop me from running Nemesis missions on x8, but it does mean I'm careful to take out all the minions before I start chomping lt's, which slows me down a whole lot since I can't just Spin/Shockwave down the spawn. Nothing like a crowd of 10 minions each with 4 vengeance stacks to kill you real quick.

Seconded, and likewise. And before you get into the question of whether I think she's smarter than me? Very few people that I have ever met are smarter than me. That's not a boast, it's a statement of fact. But Arcanaville is someone who clearly is pretty damn intelligent, to the point that I'd hesitate to try to make such comparisons. More than that, she has put in the work, which I have not, and therefore her conclusions demand respect. As for "she's been wrong before", who hasn't? Ain't none of us perfect.

No responses? I mean, I know it's not perfect because I found some ways to improve it. Well, at least, to get more defense out of it. It sacrifices a bit of offense to do so. I can get up to 36% melee defense, 33% fire/cold, 32% smash/lethal, 30% energy/negative, 25% psi. Smash/Lethal resist is capped, energy/negative at 25%, fire/cold at 30%, toxic 16%, psi 41%. Not sure if I am going about this the right way at all or not, though. I can't find the build file from my Live WP scrapper, so I don't in the slightest remember how I built her back then. Here is the revised build: This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.2.17 https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Seladri: Level 50 Technology Scrapper Primary Power Set: Dual Blades Secondary Power Set: Willpower Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Fighting Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Power Slice -- Acc-I(A) Level 1: High Pain Tolerance -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(3), GldArm-3defTpProc(3), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(7) Level 2: Ablating Strike -- Hct-Dmg(A), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), Hct-Acc/Rchg(5), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(7), Hct-Dam%(9), AchHee-ResDeb%(9) Level 4: Fast Healing -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(11) Level 6: Fly -- Flight-I(A) Level 8: Blinding Feint -- SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprScrStr-Dmg/Rchg(11), SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), SprScrStr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13), SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), SprScrStr-Rchg/+Crit(15) Level 10: Indomitable Will -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), RedFrt-Def(17), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(17) Level 12: Mind Over Body -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(19), UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg(19), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(21), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(21), UnbGrd-Max HP%(23) Level 14: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(23) Level 16: Rise to the Challenge -- DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx(A), DctWnd-EndRdx/Rchg(25), DctWnd-Heal/Rchg(25), DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(27), DctWnd-Heal(27) Level 18: Vengeful Slice -- SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprCrtStr-Dmg/Rchg(29), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), SprCrtStr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), SprCrtStr-Rchg/+50% Crit(33) Level 20: Quick Recovery -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(33) Level 22: Hover -- DefBuff-I(A) Level 24: Kick -- Acc-I(A) Level 26: Sweeping Strike -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(34), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), Obl-%Dam(36), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(36) Level 28: Heightened Senses -- Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(37), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg(37), Rct-Def/Rchg(37), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(45), Rct-ResDam%(46) Level 30: Tough -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(40), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(42), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(42) Level 32: Weave -- ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(A), ShlWal-Def/Rchg(42), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(43), ShlWal-Def(43), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(48) Level 35: Typhoon's Edge -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(39), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), Obl-%Dam(40), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(40) Level 38: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 41: Strength of Will -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(43), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(45), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(49) Level 44: Physical Perfection -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), Mrc-Heal(45), Prv-Absorb%(46), Prv-Heal(46) Level 47: Focused Accuracy -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(47), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(47), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(48), GssSynFr--Build%(48), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(50) Level 49: Evasive Maneuvers -- Flight-I(A) Level 1: Critical Hit Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Rest -- Heal-I(A) Level 1: Swift -- Flight-I(A) Level 1: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 1: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Heal(34) Level 1: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(33) Level 50: Musculature Core Paragon Level 6: Afterburner ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1410;652;1304;HEX;| |78DA6D94E96E125114C7EFC0502C142A22DD69A10B5028D3D6273015315DD026D4D| |62D22C2A5259900811A252ED157F08B2FA0551F433FBABE865FBAB86B5CF0C0F9DF| |141249C86FE67FCE99FB3FF7CC9DD4AD444FA1903C2934F729335BAB65D2B96AB65| |29155C79ACC6D95CA6679B32EE8674F4B339BAF16ED743DA4723229694A69246E64| |CDCC028565ED3094900559AA4963A3689A95F24D5915CED572D934926671736BDBD| |1BA4E57A4CCBB586EAAC5D266E79DE774A5983316CAF97A2695AD6DCB6A7D80D60F| |D2FF76D388D674261AE48830AF8BF536D12A2659B4289EB0B6D8D54F197E5DDCA16| |40DC9362D646905F50838CDEC8A328FC4C01744AF2E2E50B115C59A152B38402705| |6DCA9B6D82C57B24DAB596BB86CDFE8ABD385E337BDE806F99EE77E07BE6452AEEC| |6132DDD3EAD251E75830EE60625395543CE2F5C79EC2BF88D79FC3BF883D9F79339| |4EC52ED5902BC69EFBC04B14EC8577BD7799971B580153CCA1B3E039E67D2AF2283| |B9E6B7A4B1CC93247AF833930CF0C48E6652AF62A3BDE00DB0880DD14F4A9FDF58D| |62BC24F62BB11F2FC4031207053C0CFEE219067F837F99130D50F0564CFCE1FB2B5| |43CAC1A18DEE3E0E43E78007E64CE7C62C63F33AD54EC57AFA21FC3086318D318C2| |3486A053F21892F5B124826798D145708939BBCCBC4B45E3AAB771F416426F21F41| |6426F61F416466F69BA9D52BB3585315FA52746F0446B049EA3F03C03AF73F0BEE3| |1222A61A8C2DD15598921699F15DECC607E61AC1505B693C660FC613708739FB147| |CCE9C7FC67C1915620EB6C41C8ED3987E78D41B23FA7F3E062B1D629CC5555D6924| |6A38AFBB8EF64C2CB0D7214658DC6F1335B1CE2F7AF03CF3A023F888CD071E3297B| |D04E557F4D107022E1AFF001F1AC3E5| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

I'm currently leveling an Energy Melee/Energy Aura (hit 37 last night) and she's a blast to play. Energy Aura is a very strong set, and the synergy is good. Having a heal is nice since Energy Transfer consumes HP on use. The +rech from Entropic Aura is also helpful for getting that optimal attack chain. Not to mention, being a defense set makes getting +rech relatively easy via Red Fortune sets and/or LotG uniques. Also, having a taunt aura is nice.

Yeah, in my experience with MMO's, this is the sort of thing that tends to lead to nerfs. If you're OP, best not to advertise it too loud if you want to stay that way very long.

None of the sets are "unplayable" out of the box. Or anything close to it. Even Regen (actually, at +0x1, Regen might be close to unkillable). Remember, the default settings of this game have missions run at 0x1, no bosses solo, no AV's. By that standard, every powerset is horribly OP. The original intent of the game's balance went out the window a long time ago, because... ...somewhere along the way, the devs realized we like being horribly OP and decided to cater to it. And so now we have ways to become even MORE horribly OP, and things that ought to be completely insane become possible. But running at +4/x8 was never the expectation, and the sets out of the box are not intended to be able to do that. That's in the realm of optimization. And this is why we say that SR is a very strong set, and that Regen, for example, is a weak one. Because SR responds very well to build optimization... and Regen does not. (edited to correct a typo) Actually, just wanted to add. I feel like you're chasing an unattainable ideal. The sets will never be evenly balanced both with and without pool powers. It's impossible. Because pool powers affect all the sets in different ways. The closest thing that can be done is to balance the sets so that they have similar potential.

I have no interest in taking Confront. I'm not trying to do the tank's job. The only reason I want a taunt aura is because the flee code is completely out of whack right now. IEither give me a taunt aura on all my secondaries, or better yet, fix the flee code so I don't need a taunt aura to solo effectively.

Oh, I realize that's the OP's point. I'm just mystified by it. To me, an SR scrapper who doesn't take Weave is basically that would-be hero that says, "Eh, my natural talent is enough. I don't need to actually learn to dodge." Who wants to play that hero? Not me!