Looking for suggestions on the most effective AOE AT combos

[DrBasics]

Hi everyone! Never made a scrapper since coming to homecoming servers and I wanted to try one out now! Okay, so AOE characters...

When I say most effective, I don't mean "use this skill once and then wait a minute before you can use it again". I also don't mean "kill all the minions and maybe LT's too, then spend the next 5 minutes hitting the bosses like a wet noodle."

 

Thanks for all your suggestions guys! I love this community!

 

 

[oOStaticOo]

Elec/SD/Mu would be your best bet.

[Camel]

Dark Melee/Fire Armor/Blaze. Burn backed by a saturated Soul Drain and Fiery Embrace will 1 shot practically everything but a boss. Smite/Siphon Life/Midnight Grasp will kill any boss that was just hit by your burn. Throw a Fire Ball in there and.... You get the idea.

 

[Camel]

This is my personal favorite Scrapper. You mentioned AoE… But also mentioned not hitting things like wet noodles. Dark/Shield/Blaze is a top tier "do it all" Scrapper. Soul Drain + Against All Odds + Shield Charge + Fire Ball is pretty substantial AoE and once you do your AoE chain you can mow down everything else with single target. melee. This is my personal build!
 

Hero Plan by Hero Hero Designer 2.23
https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Blaze Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Smite -- SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprCrtStr-Dmg/Rchg(25), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25), SprCrtStr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(27), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(27), SprCrtStr-Rchg/+50% Crit(29)
Level 1: Deflection -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(5), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(13), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(13)
Level 2: Shadow Maul -- SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprScrStr-Dmg/Rchg(19), SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(21), SprScrStr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21), SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(23), SprScrStr-Rchg/+Crit(23)
Level 4: Battle Agility -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(15), RedFrt-EndRdx/Rchg(15), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(17), RedFrt-Def(17), RedFrt-EndRdx(19)
Level 6: True Grit -- NmnCnv-Heal(A), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(7), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(7), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(9), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(11), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(11)
Level 8: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(9)
Level 10: Siphon Life -- OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg(A), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End(39), OvrFrc-Dmg/End/Rech(40), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End/Rech(40), TchoftheN-Heal(40), TchoftheN-Acc/Heal(43)
Level 12: Active Defense -- HO:Membr(A)
Level 14: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(50)
Level 16: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 18: Dark Consumption -- PrfShf-EndMod/Rchg(A)
Level 20: Phalanx Fighting -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A)
Level 22: Super Speed -- WntGif-ResSlow(A)
Level 24: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 26: Soul Drain -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(29), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(34), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), Obl-%Dam(37)
Level 28: Grant Cover -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A)
Level 30: Tough -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(31), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(31), UnbGrd-Max HP%(31)
Level 32: Midnight Grasp -- Hct-Dmg/Rchg(A), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Hct-Acc/Rchg(33), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(33), Hct-Dam%(34), CldSns-%Dam(50)
Level 35: Shield Charge -- Arm-Dmg/Rchg(A), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Arm-Acc/Rchg(36), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Arm-Dam%(37), FrcFdb-Rechg%(46)
Level 38: Weave -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(39), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(39)
Level 41: Char -- Lck-Acc/Hold(A), Lck-Acc/Rchg(42), Lck-Rchg/Hold(42), Lck-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(42), Lck-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(43), Lck-%Hold(43)
Level 44: Melt Armor -- ShlBrk-DefDeb(A), ShlBrk-Acc/DefDeb(45), ShlBrk-Acc/Rchg(45), ShlBrk-DefDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(45), ShlBrk-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(46), ShlBrk-%Dam(46)
Level 47: Fire Ball -- Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(A), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(48), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Rgn-Knock%(50)
Level 49: One with the Shield -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit 
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run 
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(3)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-EndMod(A), PrfShf-EndMod/Acc(3), PrfShf-End%(5)
Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve 
Level 0: Portal Jockey 
Level 0: Task Force Commander 
Level 0: The Atlas Medallion 
Level 50: Agility Core Paragon 
Level 50: Pyronic Core Final Judgement 
Level 50: Reactive Radial Flawless Interface 
Level 50: Banished Pantheon Core Superior Ally 
Level 50: Rebirth Radial Epiphany 
Level 50: Assault Radial Embodiment 
------------

 

 

[Wavicle]

Titan Weapons is great for both AoE and Single Target.

[oOStaticOo]

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.962
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

oOStatic ChargeOo: Level 50 Technology Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Electrical Melee
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Mu Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Havoc Punch -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(3), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(3), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(5), SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(7)
Level 1: Deflection -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), Ksm-Def/EndRdx(29), Ksm-Def/Rchg(34), Ksm-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(37)
Level 2: Jacobs Ladder -- OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg(A), OvrFrc-End/Rech(7), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End(9), OvrFrc-Dmg/End/Rech(9), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End/Rech(11), OvrFrc-Dam/KB(11)
Level 4: True Grit -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), RctArm-ResDam(42), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(42), RctArm-ResDam/Rchg(42), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(43), Prv-Absorb%(43)
Level 6: Battle Agility -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), Ksm-Def/EndRdx(17), Ksm-Def/Rchg(27), Ksm-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(29)
Level 8: Thunder Strike -- SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprScrStr-Dmg/Rchg(13), SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), SprScrStr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), SprScrStr-Rchg/+Crit(17)
Level 10: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 12: Combat Jumping -- ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(A), Rct-ResDam%(40)
Level 14: Build Up -- RctRtc-ToHit(A), RctRtc-ToHit/Rchg(48)
Level 16: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 18: Chain Induction -- Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg(A), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(19), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(19), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(21), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21), Mk'Bit-Dam%(23)
Level 20: Phalanx Fighting -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), Ksm-Def/EndRdx(43), Ksm-Def/Rchg(46), Ksm-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 22: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), Ksm-Def/EndRdx(23), Ksm-Def/Rchg(25), Ksm-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(27)
Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(25)
Level 26: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)
Level 28: Grant Cover -- Ksm-ToHit+(A)
Level 30: Tough -- RctArm-EndRdx(A), RctArm-ResDam(31), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(31), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(31)
Level 32: Lightning Rod -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(33), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(34)
Level 35: Shield Charge -- SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprCrtStr-Dmg/Rchg(36), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), SprCrtStr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprCrtStr-Rchg/+50% Crit(37)
Level 38: Weave -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), Ksm-Def/EndRdx(39), Ksm-Def/Rchg(39), Ksm-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(39)
Level 41: Mu Bolts -- SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg(A), SprWntBit-Dmg/Rchg(48), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(50), SprWntBit-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(50)
Level 44: Ball Lightning -- SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg(A), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx(45), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(46), SprFrzBls-Rchg/ImmobProc(46)
Level 47: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 49: One with the Shield -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit 
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run 
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(40)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A)
Level 0: Portal Jockey 
Level 0: The Atlas Medallion 
Level 50: Agility Partial Core Revamp 
------------

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[Murcielago]

The problem with Elec/SD is that it has average ST damage. Dark/Shield has pretty poor AoE damage even with Fire.

 

Dark/Fire is a good combo but it's going to be pretty weak against harder targets like EBs/AVs.

 

Fire/Shield would do less damage than Dark/Fire while being significantly more resilient and have better AoE than Dark/Shield.

 

War Mace/Shield is tragically underplayed, it has some good damage mitigation with knock down and does some really good single target and aoe damage.  

 

Bio Armor is another option, I haven't played it much but it seems like it is extremely durable and adds a lot of damage multiplier though probably a little less than shield. 

 

Titan Weapons by far does the most amount of ST damage, I don't know about AoE, but it also is horrible for endurance consumption until later in the game.

 

I'd say go for either War Mace or Fire Melee with Shield or Bio or just make whatever combo sounds cool and enjoy playing the game lol. 

[Call Me Awesome]

Another vote for Elec/Shield here.  Admittedly I've only played the Stalker version but it's a phenomenal AOE beast.  ST damage is admittedly lower than some of the top ST sets but for AOE it's hard to beat once it matures.  Elec/Shield/Pyre for Lightning Rod/Shield Charge/Fireball/Thunderstrike/Chain Lightning.  Once that finishes you'll find the spawn is gone except maybe a boss who's on his last leg.  With decent recharge that combo is available every 30 seconds... in the meantime pound away with Thunderstrike and Chain Lightning until the big hitters come back.

[Mitchman]

I have some pretty decent experience with shield defense as well as bio armor.  (All the toons listed below i have sitting around at 50)

 

Elec/SD - Huge Burst AOE, but like stated above it feels like a lot of the time i am sitting around hitting Bosses with EM's weaker ST damage.

WM/SD - Consistent AOE, obviously not as strong as Elec's AOE but still has enough to get the job done. Good ST.

Fire/Bio - Consistent AOE, with offensive adaptation on + fire sword circle i find it pretty entertaining to light everything on fire. Only negative i have with fire melee is there is so many abilities that just feel week compared to other scrapper primaries.

TW/Bio- Their is a reason this is so overplayed, it has everything that fire lacks. With 3 "AoE" abilities and the knockup effect. The ST is nuts as well. I have kind of retired my fire/bio for this toon it just feels so much stronger. 

Spines/Ice - A slept on build, Strong fun AOE, tanky as all get out, gives for a fun interactive primary and secondary. Lacks ST though as well.

 

*Future Build*

Ice/Bio- This looks like it could be a whirl, looks like a stronger version of fire perhaps? Stronger ST, with a 6 second "Ice Stomp" once slotted. Looks really really fun.

DM/SD - Heard nothing but good things about this setup for an all around general content build.

[Wavicle]

3 hours ago, Murcielago said:

Titan Weapons by far does the most amount of ST damage, I don't know about AoE, but it also is horrible for endurance consumption until later in the game.

If you slot Endurance Reducers in your attacks it does ok, and if you have a secondary with any endurance boost, Regen, Radiation, etc, you should be fine.

[Sovera]

Titan weapons for sure. That set does everything and that includes mystifying ST numbers and AoE.

 

War Mace works very well too, and is second only to Titan Weapons. The AoE attack chain works like Claws.

 

Claws is extremely satisfying to play and I'm surprised I didn't see it mentioned. Follow-Up, Spin and Shockwave (performed floating above enemies for maximum effect) is a gapless chain that rains AoE damage over and over until everything is dead.

 

While Elec/Shield is lauded as *the* AoE set I've played it and wasn't impressed, nor do I really understand the panting the forums do about it. It has no early AoE so it exemps badly with only Chain induction to do the job. Thunderstrike is SLOW and while it may do the job as an AoE it also pretty annoying to run that 3.4 animation. And the master of the set, Lightning Rod, has a nuke's long recharge while not even killing minions on its own? The set also suffers from pretty mediocre ST damage.

 

Same with Fire. One lousy AoE and it's a cone all the way to 26.

 

Spines is *the* actual AoE set but the ST is weak and that makes enjoying it harder when we are whittling down a hard target.

 

For some reason no one has mentioned Staff. Pretty amazing AoE truth be told. It suffers from the mediocre ST syndrome though. I made a Stalker of one to fix the ST and I'm pretty darn pleased about it since it exemps super well and rains AoE damage from early on. But Stalker fixes a lot of Staff's problem both by renewing Build-Up and fishing for Hide procs for crits on our skill of choice.

[nihilii]

On 1/6/2020 at 2:23 AM, DrBasics said:

I also don't mean "kill all the minions and maybe LT's too, then spend the next 5 minutes hitting the bosses like a wet noodle."

Honestly, this is a pretty important consideration. I build all my characters for ST damage with a couple AoEs, and in my experience lieutenants and minions die as a side effect while I focus on bosses.

Numbers tend to support that experience, too. A standard x8 group has 2 bosses. A level 54 boss has 2730 HP. A level 54 lieutenant has 870 HP (that's less than a third of boss HP). Given that AoEing 2 bosses to death isn't so efficient, intuitively you should need at most a third and at least a sixth of your ST damage in AoE damage to defeat lieuts and minions while you focus on the bosses.

It's not always so clear cut because mobs aren't neatly packed for you to hit them all from start to finish, so having some AoE overkill can be useful. But I think people build for a LOT of AoE overkill (outside of an AE farm; it's absolutely justified to go full AoE if your focus is on farming AE).

Something like Titan Weapons, which does great AoE damage as a side effect of running its ST chain, has an obvious advantage in that regard.

Traditional AoE combos on Stalkers are also good candidates because fast AS pushes any combo in 400+ DPS territory. But Stalkers don't have aggro auras to keep everything nice and tight, which is an added factor.

[Sovera]

1 hour ago, nihilii said:

Honestly, this is a pretty important consideration. I build all my characters for ST damage with a couple AoEs, and in my experience lieutenants and minions die as a side effect while I focus on bosses.

Numbers tend to support that experience, too. A standard x8 group has 2 bosses. A level 54 boss has 2730 HP. A level 54 lieutenant has 870 HP (that's less than a third of boss HP). Given that AoEing 2 bosses to death isn't so efficient, intuitively you should need at most a third and at least a sixth of your ST damage in AoE damage to defeat lieuts and minions while you focus on the bosses.

It's not always so clear cut because mobs aren't neatly packed for you to hit them all from start to finish, so having some AoE overkill can be useful. But I think people build for a LOT of AoE overkill (outside of an AE farm; it's absolutely justified to go full AoE if your focus is on farming AE).

Something like Titan Weapons, which does great AoE damage as a side effect of running its ST chain, has an obvious advantage in that regard.

Traditional AoE combos on Stalkers are also good candidates because fast AS pushes any combo in 400+ DPS territory. But Stalkers don't have aggro auras to keep everything nice and tight, which is an added factor.

This is why I am loving my Staff Stalker. My AoE chain and my ST chain are one and the same, so I click on a boss and keep hitting it while splashing damage ERRYWHERE! DIEEEEEEE! To be honest it is a character I haven't even felt the lack of an agro aura. Yet. It's not fifty and I'm still running +1x8 content.

[crkohl]

5 hours ago, Sovera said:

Claws is extremely satisfying to play and I'm surprised I didn't see it mentioned. Follow-Up, Spin and Shockwave (performed floating above enemies for maximum effect) is a gapless chain that rains AoE damage over and over until everything is dead.

People always sleep on Claws for some reason. KB->KD IOs took Claws to top tier AoE easily. Pure Lethal damage is probably what scares some people, but you shred mobs so fast you won't even notice. 

 

Anyway OP, for what you're asking for specifically, I think you want War Mace. It has *technically* three AoE attacks in Whirling Mace, Shatter, and Crowd Control. I say technically because Shatter is a very slim cone, but it's very easy to hit multiple enemies if you line it up. Whirling Mace is your typical PBAoE. A little slow tbh. But the real bread & butter is Crowd Control. This move is just straight up fun to use, and it's devastating on top of that. I forgot the size of the cone off the top of my head, but it's so damn big. And you'll be constantly knocking enemies down with it. 

 

As for single target, you have a great chain consisting of Jawbreaker, Clobber, Shatter, and Pulverize (not that exact order). Clobber does hilarious damage. Like one shotting enemies damage.

[Sgt. Terminus]

If you are open to something a little different, I recommend Ice Melee.   It has one the best cones in Frost and 10 ft pbaoe's in Frozen Aura "Ice Stomp".   What it lacks for in number AOE's it makes up for in shorter activation times (Frost is 2.27 and Frozen Aura is 2.10) and a less resisted damage type.  In the end, animation time is the one thing you can't change, can't enhance, or shorten (yes I know Titan Weapons has momentum which helps makes it the king).   For me when you get to the end game, things move so fast that I avoid anything with a long activation times otherwise I just end up hitting a bunch of already "arrested" mobs.  And for ST, you have Freezing Touch, just as much raw damage as Clobber, but a 1 second activation time (compared to 1.23 for clobber)!  Plus it holds and can be slotted with another hold proc to instant hold bosses and can take the purple hold damage proc.   Yes it is a DOT but it goes really quick.

 

The weakness of Ice is that you often have to find  replacements for its bad DPA attacks in Frozen Fists and Greater Ice Sword.   That is where Cross Punch (a little more AOE + buffs) and a patron power pool snipe can help you out.   

 

Let's not forget if things do go south, drop your ice patch and you will be the fixed point your team can rally around while you continue to pump out your attacks and show them who the quicker killer is.

 

For secondaries, the usual suspects Bio and Shield but for something different go Fire (ice patch + burn, damage aura, all the AOE you would ever need), unfortunately your activation time is through the roof then.

 

 

Edited January 7, 2020 by Sgt. Terminus
Adding secondary options

[crkohl]

44 minutes ago, Sgt. Terminus said:

If you are open to something a little different, I recommend Ice Melee.   It has one the best cones in Frost and 10 ft pbaoe's in Frozen Aura "Ice Stomp".   What it lacks for in number AOE's it makes up for in shorter activation times (Frost is 2.27 and Frozen Aura is 2.10) and a less resisted damage type.  In the end, animation time is the one thing you can't change, can't enhance, or shorten (yes I know Titan Weapons has momentum which helps makes it the king).   For me when you get to the end game, things move so fast that I avoid anything with a long activation times otherwise I just end up hitting a bunch of already "arrested" mobs.  And for ST, you have Freezing Touch, just as much raw damage as Clobber, but a 1 second activation time (compared to 1.23 for clobber)!  Plus it holds and can be slotted with another hold proc to instant hold bosses and can take the purple hold damage proc.   Yes it is a DOT but it goes really quick.

 

The weakness of Ice is that you often have to find  replacements for its bad DPA attacks in Frozen Fists and Greater Ice Sword.   That is where Cross Punch (a little more AOE + buffs) and a patron power pool snipe can help you out.   

 

Let's not forget if things do go south, drop your ice patch and you will be the fixed point your team can rally around while you continue to pump out your attacks and show them who the quicker killer is.

Apologies for the second comment so soon, but I completely forgot to mention Ice Melee so I'm glad you did. Another very slept on set. Frost is devastating, especially right after a Critical Strikes proc. I love my Ice/Fire Scrapper.

[Frosticus]

On 1/5/2020 at 5:23 PM, DrBasics said:

Hi everyone! Never made a scrapper since coming to homecoming servers and I wanted to try one out now! Okay, so AOE characters...

When I say most effective, I don't mean "use this skill once and then wait a minute before you can use it again". I also don't mean "kill all the minions and maybe LT's too, then spend the next 5 minutes hitting the bosses like a wet noodle."

 

Thanks for all your suggestions guys! I love this community!

 

 

You prob dont want elec melee then. 

It has a pretty big load to blow but that's about it. Boss killing ability is very low. 

 

You want something with a damage aura or an aoe attack in the secondary. Aoe attacks can come from unsuspecting places like ground zero with procs. 

 

In my attempt to avoid tw/bio I went tw/fire for my aoe scrapper. Tough to say if I'd recommend it but critical strikes in burn ( highly recommend ) leads to all of your tw aoes criting. Fe+bu plus tw attacks is some unbelievable single target burst. 

 

tw despite its unreal performance isnt my cup of tea though. Build momentum roots you which really interrupts progress into the next spawn and tw while momentum is down is not a good experience. It can be frustrating sometimes on teams.

[Ironscarlet]

On 1/6/2020 at 1:36 PM, Mitchman said:

 

Spines/Ice - A slept on build, Strong fun AOE, tanky as all get out, gives for a fun interactive primary and secondary. Lacks ST though as well.

 

 

Just stupid Fun and complete ghost of a build. Like 10 people run it in the whole game and completely underrated.

 

Rolled a brute first until I found out about Bastion. Rerolled scrapper perfect AT for this combo. So much AOE and Crits everywhere. Ice armor leveling  is a breeze but not the best but far from the worse and it never stops getting better. Into IO you become balance and even before incarnate you can cap def and res. Not many armor can do that and on top of that you slow everything.

 

Spine/Ice never has that wam bam of elec/shield but feels way more stable and SAWZ threw mobs like a cold sumerz day.

Edited January 7, 2020 by Ironscarlet

[Wavicle]

18 minutes ago, Frosticus said:

Build momentum roots you which really interrupts progress into the next spawn 

I just want to mention that build momentum does not root you. Pulling out your weapon roots you. If you hit build momentum when you already have your weapon out you will not be rooted.

[Frosticus]

4 hours ago, sacredlunatic said:

I just want to mention that build momentum does not root you. Pulling out your weapon roots you. If you hit build momentum when you already have your weapon out you will not be rooted.

edit: this wasn't sitting right with me. So I went and revisited this in game.

It is 100% build momentum that causes the root. However, if you already have your weapon out it will just do a little stagger step rather than stopping your dead with root. 

 

Drawing the TW in any other scenario does not cause the rooting. No other weapon sets (that I tested) have their build up cause root regardless of weather the weapon is out or not (tested with redraw version). 

 

It hits tw/fire annoyingly hard as I hit fe+build momentum on my way in. It can be circumvented by queing an attack prior to hitting BM.  I appreciate the knowledge as that was a major detractor for me.

 

I will say that tw does not have this disrupting redraw while under momentum and you can pretty seamlessly transition from burn to whirling sword, which is pretty devastating. 

Edited January 8, 2020 by Frosticus

[Bill Z Bubba]

Claws/Fire/Pyre. I clear Brigg's farm 5 times in 30 minutes with this combo. Don't even have to give up solid ST damage.

 

Yes, we should have been allowed to make claws/shield scrappers, dang it.

[Call Me Awesome]

I suppose my experience with Elec/Shield may be biased since it's on a Stalker and I have a very nice ST attack in Assassin Strike to go with the other, admittedly somewhat mediocre, ST attacks.  Still, I can clear the ComiCon AE map in under 5 minutes with my Elec/SD so it's not lacking by any means.  In my build both LR and SC recharge in under 25 seconds so I don't spend any time waiting on them, I unleash my 3 big AOE's (LR/SC/Fireball) which usually kills the spawn, then on to the next and hit them with my other AOE's and ST attacks, then by the time LR & SC are back I'm ready for the third spawn.  Toss in the occasional Ion Judgement and they all quickly decide to lie down and be good mobs.

[siolfir]

15 minutes ago, Call Me Awesome said:

I suppose my experience with Elec/Shield may be biased since it's on a Stalker and I have a very nice ST attack in Assassin Strike

That's what it is - Stalker Electric Melee is the only version with good single target damage, and it lags behind other Stalker primaries - well, other than Spines - for single target. Outside of AS, your best DPA single-target attack is Chain Induction. I still enjoyed playing an Elec/Nin on Infinity (even pre-AS buff) but I'll freely admit that the Stalker version is the only one that will drop bosses quickly.

[Call Me Awesome]

2 hours ago, siolfir said:

That's what it is - Stalker Electric Melee is the only version with good single target damage, and it lags behind other Stalker primaries - well, other than Spines - for single target. Outside of AS, your best DPA single-target attack is Chain Induction. I still enjoyed playing an Elec/Nin on Infinity (even pre-AS buff) but I'll freely admit that the Stalker version is the only one that will drop bosses quickly.

It's a lot of fun to play anyway.  The only Shield scrapper I played is Broadsword/Shield.  I did lots of stupid Scrapper tricks with that back on Live, it was quite capable once I'd taken care of the endurance issues.  I did cheat on IO's and used Parry to make up Melee defense to free up bonuses for other things.

[Wavicle]

8 hours ago, Frosticus said:

edit: this wasn't sitting right with me. So I went and revisited this in game.

It is 100% build momentum that causes the root. However, if you already have your weapon out it will just do a little stagger step rather than stopping your dead with root. 

 

Drawing the TW in any other scenario does not cause the rooting. No other weapon sets (that I tested) have their build up cause root regardless of weather the weapon is out or not (tested with redraw version). 

 

It hits tw/fire annoyingly hard as I hit fe+build momentum on my way in. It can be circumvented by queing an attack prior to hitting BM.  I appreciate the knowledge as that was a major detractor for me.

 

I will say that tw does not have this disrupting redraw while under momentum and you can pretty seamlessly transition from burn to whirling sword, which is pretty devastating. 

came back to say I tested and found what you came back and said you tested and found.

Maybe it's a bug?