Need help with (Gimmicky) SJ/Shield Scrapper

[Pbuckley818]

So I made a SJ/Shield Scrapper, and have been enjoying it. (Tried the combo on Tank but the Damage Numbers kind of sucked the fun out of it) The Idea being I wanted to make a more Selfless/Supportive Melee. The Two combined have some solid Enemy Debuffs and Group Buffs, even if their a bit weak values wise. In a sense it's kind of a "I can't believe it's not VEAT" (Except it most certainly is not a VEAT) except it actually fun to play, rather than a chore. The character is kind of a Captain America by way of Cybernetics concept wise.

 

What I want to do Is to continue with this idea a bit, but I really don't want to screw the pooch to much. I still want to build a solid scrapper with good damage, (Otherwise why play a Scrapper?), I just want to see how far I can take this without screwing the pooch, and was looking for some suggestions, Sense Scrappers have poor numbers on leadership, that seems to be a bad option, (Despite it thematically fitting the character) Force of Will looks interesting as it does have that debuff (Though I heard it got nerfed sense I last used it), having a heal could be nice but from what I understand Medicine is not very good, is the Experimentations heal better (Is trying to grab a heal even worth it? Doubtful).

 

Is Confront worth taking for the utlity? (Dividing Damage output D&D style), even if it's a bit niche and I cant (Or should not) use it to take heat off of a tank? Could I use to to help pull stray enemies to the tank? Or would a good Tank not need that? Obviously it might be good in 2-4 mans with no tank, but is that worth a power slot?

 

So can I get some feedback? Please keep the "this is a dumb idea and your stupid for even trying it" nonsense. I would prefer to keep the conversation constructive, if it's a stupid idea, I will figure it out on my own.

Edited July 14, 2021 by Pbuckley818

[Crysis]

There are no dumb ideas in this game.  Some power sets do NOT work well together, but even a poor pairing is typically do-able given adjustments in difficulty, team makeup and/or tactics.  And, of course, adjusting your own expectations.  

 

I have a SJ/Shield Stalker and actively chose stalker for the role given all the benefits that set offers on stalkers versus scrappers.  I won’t take you down that rabbit hole but it’s a very powerful pairing on a stalker and you effectively play like a low-HP Scrapper but with superior damage with the whole “Crits on Demand” model stalkers get versus more-random crits on scrappers.  So if you love the pairing for theme purposes, I’d strongly suggest you look at building this in a Stalker variant vs a Scrapper.

 

However, even if you do want to build this as a Scrapper, you may see some slotting ideas in the Stalker builds I and others have posted to give you some idea.  Keep in mind your own defensive slotting choices may change a bit because of how Hide works on a Stalker.

 

 

To answer your question specifically about confront on a Scrapper....I’ve dozens and have never taken it once.  If you are running /Shield, in particular, you have a massive AOE that will pull -plenty- of aggro onto you in case you are playing as an off-tank on a PUG or whatever.  And generally speaking I just don’t see much value in taunting (poorly) a target to come to me when I can just hit them with an attack instead.  You have some ranged attacks available to you in the other pools and I’d rather use one of those so my use of END does more than just beckons them....I want to damage them and use that to pull aggro.  

 

And besides, for /Shield, you pretty much want -ALL- the shield powers.  All of them.  Grant Cover offers you some extra DDR and OWTS is a great buff for sustained AV battles and stuff.  You also want to get your recharge high enough that you can double stack Active Defense for the enhanced DDR.  And heck for your incarnates go Destiny Ageless Radial for another DDR buff.  DDR is what keeps a /Shield scrapper/stalker from falling victim to cascading defense debuffs from Arachnos etc and dropping you like a puny insect.  So there’s much better things to spend a power pick on than Confront.  Heck, Teleport is now even a better choice than that.

 

 

 

Edited July 14, 2021 by Crysis

[Pbuckley818]

26 minutes ago, Crysis said:

There are no dumb ideas in this game.  Some power sets do NOT work well together, but even a poor pairing is typically do-able given adjustments in difficulty, team makeup and/or tactics.  And, of course, adjusting your own expectations.  

 

I have a SJ/Shield Stalker and actively chose stalker for the role given all the benefits that set offers on stalkers versus scrappers.  I won’t take you down that rabbit hole but it’s a very powerful pairing on a stalker and you effectively play like a low-HP Scrapper but with superior damage with the whole “Crits on Demand” model stalkers get versus more-random crits on scrappers.  So if you love the pairing for theme purposes, I’d strongly suggest you look at building this in a Stalker variant vs a Scrapper.

 

However, even if you do want to build this as a Scrapper, you may see some slotting ideas in the Stalker builds I and others have posted to give you some idea.  Keep in mind your own defensive slotting choices may change a bit because of how Hide works on a Stalker.

 

 

To answer your question specifically about confront on a Scrapper....I’ve dozens and have never taken it once.  If you are running /Shield, in particular, you have a massive AOE that will pull -plenty- of aggro onto you in case you are playing as an off-tank on a PUG or whatever.  And generally speaking I just don’t see much value in taunting (poorly) a target to come to me when I can just hit them with an attack instead.  You have some ranged attacks available to you in the other pools and I’d rather use one of those so my use of END does more than just beckons them....I want to damage them and use that to pull aggro.  

 

And besides, for /Shield, you pretty much want -ALL- the shield powers.  All of them.  Grant Cover offers you some extra DDR and OWTS is a great buff for sustained AV battles and stuff.  You also want to get your recharge high enough that you can double stack Active Defense for the enhanced DDR.  And heck for your incarnates go Destiny Ageless Radial for another DDR buff.  DDR is what keeps a /Shield scrapper/stalker from falling victim to cascading defense debuffs from Arachnos etc and dropping you like a puny insect.  So there’s much better things to spend a power pick on than Confront.  Heck, Teleport is now even a better choice than that.

 

 

 

 

Looks interesting. Not really a fan of the Stalker playstyle, perefer Scrappers added toughness to the Stalkers Sneak/Backstab gameplay. Also Rib Cracker was a big draw to the power which I'd loose on a Stalker. Was thinking about going Body for better Endurance management (and maybe Lazer Vision with an Achilles Heel Proc) or Blaze for more AoE and AoE -Rez. (With a Patriotic Red and Blue theme) is the extra defense and Luck of the Gambler necessary for double Active Defense? Or can I still get away with one of the other two?