Ma/Rad scrapper advice

[Rachyrach]

Hello fellow heroes

 

Looking for some advice on how to slot rad - been thinking about a scrap build for a while and settled on this combo.

 

Thanks in advance!

[InvaderStych]

While I really shouldn't speak to MA/ as I haven't actually built one out fully, even back on Live I only really toyed with it, here are some quick notes on /Rad ...

 

... bearing in mind that others will have a better plan if you are looking for maximum value from set bonuses.

 

I used Unbreakable Guard in Alpha and Proton (5 pcs in the T1 so I have the +MaxHP piece, 4 in the T3) for the melee defense bonus, mostly, but the eng/neg resist is nice to have as well.

 

Gamma Boost is a good place for Heal/Endurance unique pieces, freeing up slots that might normally go in Health/Stamina.

 

Fallout Shelter is a good place for the two +3% defense uniques (I have it at 1 endredux, Gladiators 3%, Steadfast 3%, Imperium Psi Resist, Aegis Psi Resist)

 

Radiation Therapy: Theft of Essence Chance for +End all day long.  If you primarily run on teams, slot it up with damage procs for a mini-nuke, if you primarily solo focus on heal and a little recharge (to keep the proc rate up).

 

Beta Decay: Achillies -Res, unless you have an attack in your regular rotation where it will fire more effectively.  I used that piece and an Enzyme Exposure for a little extra -To-Hit and EndRedux.

 

Particle Shielding caps on a Scrapper at +796 HP, and mine is overslotted for Absorb at the moment.  That said it holds 3pcs of Numina's and 3 pcs of Preventive Med.  H/R, H/E, H/E/R for Numina's; H/R, H/E/R, E/R for Preventative.

 

Ground Zero - Acc/Rech from Armageddon, boosted to +5, the rest are dmg procs.  I don't use Epic (purple) dmg procs here because GZ at 100% slotted recharge still has a 90% proc rate at the standard 3.5PPM.  The 4.5PPM Epic procs are better leveraged on powers with faster recharge, imo. Eradication, Lady Grey, Shield Breaker, Scriocco's, and Obliteration.

 

Meltdown - Common RechRedux boosted to +5.  Take this power for the 41.5% damage boost.  Seriously.  The extra Res is a nice to have, and the crash is functionally irrelevant.  If you need a place for Resist Set uniques (see Fallout Shelter) they can also go here.  I know, not everyone loves a T9, but if you ask me, /Rad scrapper without Meltdown is a wasted opportunity for a significant damage boost.  Tanks/Brutes get a lower boost (33%, ish? iirc) rendering it less useful on those builds.  Tank/Brute can usually get to their resist caps without it.

 

Build-Up+Gaussian's while inside Meltdown is +241.5% damage before any set bonuses, insps, or Assault Hybrid Core.  With full stacks of Hybrid Core add in another +/- 80% boost.  When I was still running my Kat/Rad redside, add the Villain alignment power into (and a few +dmg bonuses from sets) that and it's near-as-makes no difference to the +dmg cap (400%) without insps or outside buffs.

 

Even though I need to tune up my build, I hope that info helps.

 

Depending on your theme, Soul Mastery is a good fit with /Rad for Shadow Meld.  With ToE, Particle Shielding, and Gamma Boost keeping the blue bar happy a /Rad scrapper shouldn't need to dip into Energy Mastery for Conserve or PhysPerfection.

[Gulbasaur]

I ran a rad/rad brute to 50 ages ago and I'm now running a rad/rad stalker through story arcs. Rad is one of those sets that goes from good to really good by abusing recharge. 

 

Beta decay is very strong. You can put a -res IO in it without too much hassle and the -ToHit is always useful. It can make up the equivalent of about 5% defence in melee range with a few slots in. Note that because of all the debuffs it has a fairly high threat rating, meaning you might pull more aggro in groups than you mean to. 

 

Particle Shielding is great and I recommend you frankenslot it for heal/recharge. I tended to leave it on auto on my brute. 

 

The two heal AoEs can take a luxurious amount of damage procs. It's also fun to be a healscrapper at times if you want to go that way. 

 

Gamma boost is a nice place for some extra endurance procs, turning an already good power into a very good power.

 

Meltdown is one of the better T9s. The crash is basically meaningless (especially compared to other T9s, some of which can kill you. 10% endurance and a 10 second debuff is nothing). 

 

Otherwise, build it a little bit for defence. I don't think it's a set that needs soft-capping because of the massive absorb shield and the big-ass heal you've got. 

Edited November 14, 2020 by Gulbasaur