My Forever Scrapper Contest (part 1b of 4, Scrapper Secondaries)!

[Yomo Kimyata]

There's going to be a bit of cut and paste from my last post, but this is an entirely different post with entirely different rewards!  

 

Greetings!

 

I've been all scrappers all the time for a bit now, but I have yet to find *THE ONE* that makes me want to play it as my main forever.  Maybe it doesn't exist.  Or maybe I will find it with your help!

 

Over the next few months, I will test out eight new scrappers.  Eight different primaries.  Eight different secondaries.  There will be a bracket but only one will win.  And that one may or may not become *THE ONE* for me.  But some of you will earn yourselves some inf along the way if you so choose.

 

I foresee a many-step process:  choose eight primaries; choose eight secondaries; create a balanced set of eight characters; create a balanced bracket; level each one to 50; eliminate four; T4 each to alpha; eliminate 2; T4 each to all incarnates; choose a winner.

 

In this thread (part 1B), I ask you for your input on scrapper *SECONDARIES*.  Vote for (up to) eight of (in your opinion) your best scrapper secondaries.  In return for your input, if you list your global name in the thread, I will send you an email with 50mm inf, no strings attached.  Here's your chance to lobby for your favorites!  

 

What am *I* looking for? 

 

I would like a scrapper that can run +3/x8 content solo at level 49 and +4/x8 at 50, not necessarily at zerg speeds, but not one that has to skip certain enemy groups or downgrade difficulty ratings.  I think that's probably a reasonable assumption with just about any scrapper.

 

I prefer active secondaries to set-and-forget secondaries.  I'm a button masher at heart.

 

I'm not super fond of mez protection that is not in a toggle.  I can work around it though.

 

I don't need to be soft- or hard- capped in things.  Good enough is good enough.

 

I'm still a sucker for "non-traditional" stuff.  My bio and radiation armor builds are generally full of all kinds of mitigation-causing procs.

 

I prefer as minimal fx as possible for the most part, and any hints or tips to pass on to minimize the mandatory stuff are welcomed!

 

Most importantly, I want to have animations (and sounds, although I usually play muted) that I can stand to play to 50 and beyond.

 

Thank you for your input and thank you for voting.  If you want to vote and don't want inf, great!  If you want inf and don't want to vote, terrible!  But remember, this is not a cheerocracy.  I'm not necessarily going to pick the eight popular winners.  I will close this poll in a month as well.

 

Happy hunting!

 

EDIT:  Tracking payouts here.  If you are not on this list and you want to be let me know!

@obsinious, @TungstenShark, @Skylancer, @Nemu, @Valnara1, @Dracomicon, (PAID)

Edited July 15, 2022 by Yomo Kimyata

[Doomguide2005]

     Thank the gods you said secondary.  That's easy for me.  SR is at the top, everything else is a diversion.  Fun, frequently played even but it still isn't SR.

     Now primary is another thing.  While I love Claws, it definitely isn't the runaway choice.

[Erratic1]

While I am not exclaiming its virtues, I half wonder if Stone's low showing is due to expectations of using Granite. I have a Granite-less Stone Brute who happily leaps into groups without issue who is build a lot like you would on build a Bio (which as I post has the highest number of votes)--a mix of Defense with holes backed by Resistance.  The biggest difference going from a Brute build to a Scrapper build I can see would be shifting two slots around and swapping one IO set to drop Smash/Lethal to the Scrapper resistance cap and bringing up Fire/Cold from being close to cap to actual cap. Of course some of its ranking could also be due to having to have some minimal amount of stone covering your body being aesthetically unpleasing (again, in a way similar to Bio).

 

TLDR: Stone is probably down in the rankings for reasons that do not have to do with its actual functionality.

[ninja surprise]

44 minutes ago, Erratic1 said:

TLDR: Stone is probably down in the rankings for reasons that do not have to do with its actual functionality.

 

Also: Stone Armor was the newest, so takes time to catch up. It can be good but if Yomo is noise-sensitive, Mud Pots sounds a little like someone chewing. It can easily be silenced with the sounds mod though.

3 hours ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

Most importantly, I want to have animations (and sounds, although I usually play muted) that I can stand to play to 50 and beyond.

 

 

Having a good combo of sounds and animations is super important! I have a blast with my Savage/Bio toon, Fleas. Minimal FX makes it look like he just has some bugs hopping off. I like the Savage slashing sounds and Bio's slurping sounds. It's a good pairing of clicking activity and can solo the Eden trial.

But for a good quiet combo I like Dark Melee / Super Reflexes. It's my main main. WELL.. except Soul Drain can be loud when you hit the target cap. 

Ice Armor has some nice sound FX like an iceberg breaking and clicks for healing, and endurance/defense.

I want to like Fiery Aura except Blazing Aura makes my eyes hurt the way it pulses.

Ninjitsu, Shield, and SR are all pretty quiet. But Shield and SR are set-and-forget unless you click the Mez; Ninjitsu has two clickies for End and Healing.

Dark has some spooky noises if I recall correctly.

I haven't played Radiation, Invulnerability, Willpower, or Regen enough to remember those sounds.

[Seed22]

Bio Armor.

 

 

Every other set is...existent. Rad Armor gets a special mention.

[Sovera]

1 hour ago, Erratic1 said:

While I am not exclaiming its virtues, I half wonder if Stone's low showing is due to expectations of using Granite. I have a Granite-less Stone Brute who happily leaps into groups without issue who is build a lot like you would on build a Bio (which as I post has the highest number of votes)--a mix of Defense with holes backed by Resistance.  The biggest difference going from a Brute build to a Scrapper build I can see would be shifting two slots around and swapping one IO set to drop Smash/Lethal to the Scrapper resistance cap and bringing up Fire/Cold from being close to cap to actual cap. Of course some of its ranking could also be due to having to have some minimal amount of stone covering your body being aesthetically unpleasing (again, in a way similar to Bio).

 

TLDR: Stone is probably down in the rankings for reasons that do not have to do with its actual functionality.

 

 

Scrapper forums. Stone does not get a taunt aura. I'd bet two cents that's the reason. Gods know I'd like to try a Claws/Stone.

[Erratic1]

28 minutes ago, Sovera said:

 

 

Scrapper forums. Stone does not get a taunt aura. I'd bet two cents that's the reason. Gods know I'd like to try a Claws/Stone.

 

I get that it is a problem for some people, but runners have just never been that big of an issue to me.

[Gobbledygook]

2 hours ago, Erratic1 said:

While I am not exclaiming its virtues, I half wonder if Stone's low showing is due to expectations of using Granite. I have a Granite-less Stone Brute who happily leaps into groups without issue who is build a lot like you would on build a Bio (which as I post has the highest number of votes)--a mix of Defense with holes backed by Resistance.  The biggest difference going from a Brute build to a Scrapper build I can see would be shifting two slots around and swapping one IO set to drop Smash/Lethal to the Scrapper resistance cap and bringing up Fire/Cold from being close to cap to actual cap. Of course some of its ranking could also be due to having to have some minimal amount of stone covering your body being aesthetically unpleasing (again, in a way similar to Bio).

 

TLDR: Stone is probably down in the rankings for reasons that do not have to do with its actual functionality.

 

The reason I don't play Stone Armor is the appearance, honestly.

[Erratic1]

1 minute ago, Gobbledygook said:

 

The reason I don't play Stone Armor is the appearance, honestly.

 

I admit annoyance that it covers the chest symbol on my character. Why on Earth have a chest symbol option and create armor powers which cover the chest (other than full body transformation)?

[BrandX]

The leads match up to what I expected so far.

[Obsinious]

1. Energy Aura - It's the best, it has nearly everything.  DDR, recharge, end fixing, a heal, toggle mez prot. The only noteworthy weakness is Psi.   Seriously just make 8 different EA scrappers.
2. Shield Defense - Awesome set with a lot to offer.  Positional defense caps, resists to sweeten the deal, loads of DDR, scaling +DMG aura, and an AOE nuke.  It's really just better Super Reflexes.  Two drawbacks, clicky for mez protection and you can't play it with Claws.  You should really play Claws.
3. Radiation Armor - I know what you're thinking, "Resist armors are for Brutes".  Well yes, but you can still easily build to the S/L or Melee soft cap.  Add Ageless Radial for some DDR and ask yourself how often you're out performed by another set with half your resist values and no absorb.  Comes with plenty of endurance, regen, and a scalilng +recharge aura.  Add to that regen debuff, defense debuff, to hit debuff, and easy slotting for resist debuffs.  Finally proc loading your AOE's can really supplement a single target focused set like Energy Melee or Martial Arts.
4. Bio Armor - Offers a lot of consistent damage, along with endurance fixing and good regen.  It is less tanky than most other armors, but definitely still worth making one.  A little too dependent on defense for an armor with no native DDR in my opinion.
5. Invuln\Willpower - Honestly pretty similar.  They're both passive or mostly so, and both are exceedingly tough against Smash/Lethal.  Neither really helps your damage output, which a scrapper kind of wants.
6. Everything else without a taunt aura - Look, you've certainly played the game enough to know how highly you value mobs not running.  I think lots of the other armors are great, so why not play them on brutes?

My top 4 combo picks:

 

Claws/Energy Aura

Energy Melee/Radiation Armor

War Mace/Shield Defense

Katana/Bio armor

 

@obsinious

Edited June 28, 2022 by Obsinious

[Lyrium]

My vote goes for Energy Aura or Shield Defense

 

EnA has everything (except psy defense, well). So powerful it has not been ported to tankers because it would be so OP

 

Shield Defense allows you to cap positionals, increases your damage, and provides a mini-nuke in the last power. BuildUp/Soul Drain andyou can really turn that into a Blaster's nuke

[Sovera]

Go Fire Aura, kill all the things. Er.. I mean, arrest.

 

But seriously, triple proc-ed Burn is crack, it is hard to get away from it once having had a taste of killing most of a group with one click and then it is back up in less than ten seconds. Blasters can keep their 40 second nukes.

 

It -is- squishy on a Brute though. I've given it different pairings but it does not reach the Tanker's durability. Tried with Rad Melee but the heals do nothing with debuffs. So far the best pair is Ice/Fire Armor. Ice is a little dervish of AoE destruction and even if the ST is a bit weaker than is accepted as uber (no 1:30 times here no siree) it still finishes the Trapdoor tests in the same time as the AoE monsters like Rad/Fire Brute or the ST powerhouses like EM/Fire.

 

And of course if we can break LoS we can Ice Patch for a solid 20+% survivability boost. Most of the time not needed, but when it is then its there.

[Fire Chief]

I think ever since shields launched on live I've only had shields on all my scrappers that I've played. Mainly because of all above posts for shields awesomeness but a BIG plus is my theme based All-American char's  😄

[TungstenShark]

Another vote for Energy Aura or Shield, whose virtues have already been sung by others above and are spot-on. Super Reflexes is a great set that matures early without a huge investment. Stone should get more love as well (non-Granite version), but I understand the lack of Taunt aura really bothers some. But outside of that, it is a really solid set. Ice deserves a look as another primarily Defensive set that probably won't get enough love in the voting. Bio has to be mentioned for the extra damage it enables even if it can be a little squishier than others. And Rad is a great set that you can balance pretty well and lets you do fun things.

 

Energy Aura would be my #1 with Shield solidly at #2. The rest would probably be more based on character concept and personal preference.

 

@TungstenShark

Edited June 28, 2022 by TungstenShark

[Stormwalker]

Energy Aura gets my vote, for reasons that others have already expounded upon.  It has almost everything that is good about /SR (lacking only /SR's higher -def resistance), and then brings a number of extra tools to the table.  Built-in stealth with no slowdown in Energy Cloak, taunt aura and +rech in Entropic Aura, a click heal with a built-in end discount for all your powers, and an AoE end steal that provides a small additional defense buff.  The only significant downsides to Energy Aura that I can think of are the Psi hole, and the fact that you have to turn Energy Cloak off for hostage rescue missions because they can't see you to follow you.  Oh, and not being able to see your costume outside of combat while Energy Cloak is active, 

 

/SR would be my second choice, because even though Shield is stronger, Shield also disallows pretty much all of my favorite primaries (except Energy Melee, and I strongly recommend Energy Aura as a secondary for Energy Melee because the heal helps offset Energy Transfer's HP cost) and that prevents me from recommending it.

 

Global: @Skylancer

Edited July 1, 2022 by Stormwalker
forgot to add global name

[Nemu]

I'll lobby for Ninjitsu.

 

It's a lot better than the stalker version but it's always overshadowed by the obvious candidates. The +end power is truly unique and this set offers you a way to tank LGTF Hami/Mitos through both the -heal and -recovery debuffs without any outside buffs. Defense based builds are easier to build for if you intend to solo +3/8. The low DDR isn't an issue with intelligent play and I know you are fond of active mitigation.

 

It's active, keeps you on your toes, but you do feel like a ninja with your kit.

 

The click mez protection doesn't fit your criteria but I think you'll be able to work with it. The other perceived drawback is the lack of a taunt aura. I never found runners to be that annoying, and having a taunt aura doesn't prevent them from running away in the first place, only how soon they run back to you, so I don't really see it as a big problem.

 

Now imagine pairing it with battle axe. A viking ninja??? A VIKING NINJA!!! The census done in march 2019 shows this combo as a real unicorn, I don't know how many people have tried and stuck with this combo since then but this is a very fun build with a strong immersive theme if you like that sort of thing.

 

@Nemu

Edited July 1, 2022 by Nemu

[TygerDarkstorm]

Global is in my sig.

 

I too will lobby for Ninjitsu like @Nemu. It's a set that gives a little bit of everything, including some stealth and even pairs nicely with primaries like Titan Weapons. I don't have one at the high levels yet, and sometimes I struggle with feeling like I need to make the character some sort of ninja theme, but it's a pretty solid secondary if you want an alternative to Shield, Bio, Energy Aura, etc.

 

However, I do also have to chime in with Energy Aura being awesome. Granted, my experience with it is on my Dual Blades/EnAu stalker, but god damn does she play almost more like a brute or a tank, even in the lower levels. I've been pretty amazed with Energy Aura's durability, even at low levels with only SO's and generic IO's

 

And of course, there's shield which I feel like is almost a scrapper mandatory, lol. But it really does have lots of good stuff to offer, including DDR.

 

Bio is, well, Bio. Capable of doing some pretty neat tricks, but also capable of being as fragile as a flower. I've done some really awesome stuff with my Savage/Bio brute, and then I've had shit one-shot me because it ate through my defenses before I even had a chance to counter them. Granted, she's not level 50 and kitted out yet (still in the high 30's), but if you can make the bio theme work, it's a pretty "top-tier" set in terms of helping with damage output and such.

Edited July 1, 2022 by TygerDarkstorm

[BrandX]

7 hours ago, TygerDarkstorm said:

Global is in my sig.

 

I too will lobby for Ninjitsu like @Nemu. It's a set that gives a little bit of everything, including some stealth and even pairs nicely with primaries like Titan Weapons. I don't have one at the high levels yet, and sometimes I struggle with feeling like I need to make the character some sort of ninja theme, but it's a pretty solid secondary if you want an alternative to Shield, Bio, Energy Aura, etc.

 

However, I do also have to chime in with Energy Aura being awesome. Granted, my experience with it is on my Dual Blades/EnAu stalker, but god damn does she play almost more like a brute or a tank, even in the lower levels. I've been pretty amazed with Energy Aura's durability, even at low levels with only SO's and generic IO's

 

And of course, there's shield which I feel like is almost a scrapper mandatory, lol. But it really does have lots of good stuff to offer, including DDR.

 

Bio is, well, Bio. Capable of doing some pretty neat tricks, but also capable of being as fragile as a flower. I've done some really awesome stuff with my Savage/Bio brute, and then I've had shit one-shot me because it ate through my defenses before I even had a chance to counter them. Granted, she's not level 50 and kitted out yet (still in the high 30's), but if you can make the bio theme work, it's a pretty "top-tier" set in terms of helping with damage output and such.

 

I like Ninja myself.  It lacks defense debuff reduction, but it's a fun set.  Played it with multiple primaries and that END Heal just works so well.

 

Never cared for Energy Aura.  Personally, I hate it.  Can't get into it.

 

Shield is awesome.

 

One thing I found with Bio, is people can play it on Defense a lot more, as the damage may be awesome, but really, outside of AVs, GMs, put it on Defensive and survive more 🙂

[Erratic1]

8 hours ago, TygerDarkstorm said:

Bio is, well, Bio. Capable of doing some pretty neat tricks, but also capable of being as fragile as a flower. I've done some really awesome stuff with my Savage/Bio brute, and then I've had shit one-shot me because it ate through my defenses before I even had a chance to counter them. Granted, she's not level 50 and kitted out yet (still in the high 30's), but if you can make the bio theme work, it's a pretty "top-tier" set in terms of helping with damage output and such.

 

Sounds like you did not follow Bio Best Practices somewhere along the way:

1. Did you just enter a group of six or more opponents?  Pop Parasitic Aura. 
2. Is health going down? Pop Ablative Carapace.
3. Is health lower than acceptable? Pop DNA Siphon.

(1) is proactive and covers most of what needs to be done, (2) and (3) are reactive.

[TygerDarkstorm]

5 hours ago, Erratic1 said:

 

Sounds like you did not follow Bio Best Practices somewhere along the way:

1. Did you just enter a group of six or more opponents?  Pop Parasitic Aura. 
2. Is health going down? Pop Ablative Carapace.
3. Is health lower than acceptable? Pop DNA Siphon.

(1) is proactive and covers most of what needs to be done, (2) and (3) are reactive.

I am, admittedly, not a top tier player by any means, and certainly prone to scrapper-lock; and sometimes my reflexes/brain processing power just suck. I feel like I have followed your list there, but I will be sure to keep it in mind when I go to play that brute again, and double check that I've got some of her defensive abilities slotted.

[Erratic1]

1 minute ago, TygerDarkstorm said:

I am, admittedly, not a top tier player by any means, and certainly prone to scrapper-lock; and sometimes my reflexes/brain processing power just suck. I feel like I have followed your list there, but I will be sure to keep it in mind when I go to play that brute again, and double check that I've got some of her defensive abilities slotted.

 

I meant what I wrote to come across more humorous and light-hearted than it probably did. Despite feeling Bio gets called out for fragility much more than it should, I do not want to suggest it has no failure modes. That said, Bio is the backbone of my sturdiest Brute to date, though I did just start an Invulnerability Brute....

[TygerDarkstorm]

10 minutes ago, Erratic1 said:

 

I meant what I wrote to come across more humorous and light-hearted than it probably did. Despite feeling Bio gets called out for fragility much more than it should, I do not want to suggest it has no failure modes. That said, Bio is the backbone of my sturdiest Brute to date, though I did just start an Invulnerability Brute....

Oh, haha, well it still seemed like good advice and like maybe I missed something because I'm not at the level of play as some of the people here. 😅 I was even making the joke about it being fragile in my original post because I had teamed with a different person using bio (can't remember now if they were a tank, brute, or scrapper) who was having some issues even diving into groups of 54 Council and I was having to help keep him up with my support toon. He admitted he wasn't fully kitted out yet as I joked that Bio seems to have two modes: Awesome, or fragile. 🤣

[Erratic1]

58 minutes ago, TygerDarkstorm said:

Oh, haha, well it still seemed like good advice and like maybe I missed something because I'm not at the level of play as some of the people here. 😅 I was even making the joke about it being fragile in my original post because I had teamed with a different person using bio (can't remember now if they were a tank, brute, or scrapper) who was having some issues even diving into groups of 54 Council and I was having to help keep him up with my support toon. He admitted he wasn't fully kitted out yet as I joked that Bio seems to have two modes: Awesome, or fragile. 🤣

 

The advice was real, just meant the packaging to be more light-hearted. 😁

[Dracomicon]

My first 50 on live was a Broad Sword / Regeneration that I liked more for the backstory than the actual playstyle.

 

My current scrapper is an Electric Melee / Shield Defense for the telenuke fun that it brings. The FX can be turned down on most of it, but you do have the click mez protection. If you add in Spring Attack then it's click boom, click boom, click boom all the time.

 

So my vote was for Shield Defense - 100%

 

@Dracomicon