New to Scrappers. Thoughts on STJ/Rad?

[lokiie1984]

The last time i made a scrapper was probably back in 2004. Never did much with it either from what i can remember. I did however level a stj/bio stalker to 50, which i really enjoyed. So i'm curious what the differences are between the two archetypes, obviously besides the built in stealth on stalkers.

 

I've been interested in trying radiation armor for a while but just never found a melee archetype i really enjoyed. Personally i do really like the street justice effects and feel but no clue how it is on scrappers. So any thoughts would be appreciated. Or if there is another primary that pairs better with radiation, feel free to suggest that too.

[nihilii]

Both powersets are excellent choices and should go well together. Going from stalker to scrapper, you will find StJ gets an excellent extra attack in Rib Cracker - not necessarily the damage itself, but that it does native -RES, rare and prized for melee characters.

 

AoE can be a bit disappointing by scrapper standards, it's once again just Sweeping Cross and Spinning Strike (if you care to take these powers at all). But! If you're open to IOs and specifically procs, you can proc out your PBAoE heal, Radiation Therapy, to turn it into a decent PBAoE damage. Later on, Ground Zero can also be procced to get close to mininuke levels. So /rad does a good job fixing lackluster stj/ AoE, good synergy in that sense.

 

Beyond that, if you're looking at the highend, one of the best attack chains (if not the best) would be Crushing Uppercut -> Rib Cracker -> Shin Breaker -> Moonbeam/Zapp -> Rib Cracker -> Shin Breaker. Lucky you: Moonbeam comes in the same epic as Shadow Meld, for a +DEF buff perfectly complementing Radiation's pure resistances.

There's of course other ways, just as valid, to build the combo. Rad Armor is fairly versatile in offering you +RES to all, decent healing/absorb, some PBAoE damage options and an aggro aura. It has great end recovery too if you don't want to wait for Incarnates. Your level 2 passive gives surprisingly potent end recovery (it won't show up in Mids, but it rises as your end lowers). Particle Shielding comes with sizeable if unenhanceable +recovery. Radiation Therapy and Ground Zero can both take a Theft of the Essence proc.

Solid powersets on their own, solid choice together.

[SeraphimKensai]

I have an incarnate stj/rad and it's just like the above poster said. You'll want to proc out rad therapy and ground zero, and then be sure to get Shadow Meld.