Forever Scrapper Contest: The Matching of Powers (part 2 of ?4?)

[Yomo Kimyata]

Howdy folks:

 

We are ready for the next step in the process!  I'm so excited!

 

We have chosen 8 scrapper primaries (and 4 also-ran) and 8 scrapper secondaries (and 4 also-ran).  Now it is time to match primaries and secondaries and to set up the competition  brackets to see which will win my eternal affection as my Forever Scrapper(tm).

 

Here's my objective for this round.  I am going to ask you your opinions on how you would match up these powers for the most *balanced* set of eight scrappers (and if you so choose, the most balanced set of four also ran scrappers).  Then we will set up a competition bracket and I will eliminate choices at three points:  leveling to 50; T4-ing Alpha; T4-ing all incarnates.  By the end of it all I will have experienced or re-experienced most of the sets and I will hopefully have an idea of what I want to play forever and hopefully you will have been entertained and made some inf on the way.

 

Here are the eight primaries:

 

Claws

Dark Melee

Energy Melee

Katana or Broadsword

War Mace

Martial Arts

Staff Fighting

Dual Blades

 

Here are the eight secondaries:

 

Bio Armor

Energy Aura

Shield Defense

Super Reflexes

Radiation Armor

Invulnerability

Ninjitsu

Dark Armor

 

The also-ran primaries and secondaries:

 

Stone Melee

Savage Melee

Radiation Melee

Street Justice

 

Stone Armor

Electric Armor

Ice Armor

Fiery Aura

 

Each of you who gives me your opinions on full matchups for the first 8 gets 100mm inf if you leave your global name in the comments, and an extra 50mm inf if you provide matchups for the also-ran as well.  Bonus rewards at my discretion.  Again, I'm not looking for the one best matchup and seven meh; I'm hoping for 8 solid contenders.  I'll settle for just matchups, but would appreciate any color or additional ideas.

 

Here's an example, of what I mean, straight up now with no lines to read between: (This is just for the also rans)

 

Stone Melee/Electric Armor -- The heaviest endurance user matched with a big endurance recovery defense.  The weaker resistance-based secondary set has its survival helped with the great mitigation tools (knockdown) from the primary.

 

Street Justice/Stone Armor -- StJ seems a pretty vanilla offense (I don't know it well so I may be wrong) and let's pair it with (what I think of as) the overall strongest defensive set of the group. 

 

Radiation Melee/Ice Armor -- Two damage auras!  Slow attacks but Chilling Embrace helps keep enemies in range for them.  Don't need much button pressing from the secondary.

 

Savage Melee/Fiery Aura -- Consume takes a long time to come up, so a low endurance primary is nice.  Savage Leap (w/ a knockdown proc) then Burn would be a nice 1-2 punch.

 

 

Thanks for your attention.  I'll probably keep this open until the beginning of August.

 

Cheers!

 

To be paid:  @Skylancer, @TungstenShark, @Thermostata, @Without Pause, @Nemu, @Scarlett Angel, @Xmurrder, ALL PAID

 

Edited August 21, 2022 by Yomo Kimyata
Editing is good for what ails you.

[BrandX]

I say go for Staff/Bio.  Two powersets with stances in each one!  Also, I don't recall seeing it used much, so uniqueness!

[Stormwalker]

Hmm... OK, I'll take a shot at this.

 

Claws/SR  -  Claws is very recharge-hungry, and so Quickness is a good asset to have.  Also, this is just one of my personal favorite combinations to play.  Claws has lots of tools in its  bag of tricks, and /SR's largely set-and-forget nature lets you make the most of them.

 

Energy Melee/Energy Aura - Yes, this is potentially an overpowering combination, but the two sets work so well together I can't help but recommend it.  It's thematic, and the heal in Energy Aura helps offset the self-damage from Energy Transfer.  Also, Energy Melee is another set that needs its recharge, and Energy Aura provides that.  My Energy Melee/Energy Aura has quickly become my single favorite character to play. 

 

Katana/Dark Armor - Katana adds some defense to go with DA's resistances, but DA isn't so dependent on the additional mitigation as to require you to nuke your DPS for it.  I have a friend who mains Katana/Dark Armor and loves it.

 

Staff/Bio - Staff is a lot of fun, but it needs all the offensive help it can get.  Bio gives you that.

 

Martial Arts/Ninjitsu - it's thematic, and the extra defense from Storm Kick (I think it's Storm Kick, anyway) will be helpful when leveling.

 

War Mace/Shield Defense - Again, there's thematic synergy here, and it should be an overall strong combination

 

Dark Melee/Invulnerability - Siphon Life should give you a nice survival tool on top of Inv's overall durability, and the -To Hit on Dark Melee should play well with /Inv as well.

 

DB/Rad - DB is one of the more versatile primaries.  I honestly don't know much about Rad, having never played it, but I understand it's overall pretty strong.

 

I haven't played most of the also-ran sets, so I'll pass on those as I can't give an informed opinion.

 

My global is @Skylancer.  I hope this was helpful.

[Bill Z Bubba]

1 minute ago, Stormwalker said:

Martial Arts/Ninjitsu - it's thematic, and the extra defense from Storm Kick (I think it's Storm Kick, anyway) will be helpful when leveling.

 

Scrappers don't get the extra defense. For some stupid reason.

 

Thirding on staff/bio. 3 forms and 3 adaptations or just go +body/offensive for max +damage.

[Stormwalker]

4 minutes ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

 

Scrappers don't get the extra defense. For some stupid reason.

 

Thirding on staff/bio. 3 forms and 3 adaptations or just go +body/offensive for max +damage.

 

Ah, you're right, I forgot about that.  Still, MA/Nin is thematic and they're both good sets, so they should play well together.

[Erratic1]

7 minutes ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

 

Scrappers don't get the extra defense. For some stupid reason.

 

Thirding on staff/bio. 3 forms and 3 adaptations or just go +body/offensive for max +damage.

 

People complain about Bio being clicky (I disagree, but people do), and this sounds like the land of clicking. 

[Stormwalker]

Just now, Erratic1 said:

 

People complain about Bio being clicky (I disagree, but people do), and this sounds like the land of clicking. 

 

Eh, not really.  You aren't constantly changing forms in Staff.  You just pick whichever form is appropriate to the fight you're in and stay in that one.  Usually this is Body, but the others do have uses.

[Erratic1]

Claws/Energy Aura -- Follow Up wants recharge and in a crowd you'll get plenty to start up the Cuisinart.

Dark Melee/Invulnerability -- A classic

Dual Blades/Super Reflexes

Energy Melee/ Shield Defense -- 《BAM》 You're Dead! 《BAM》 You're Dead! 《BAM》 You're Dead! 

Katana or Broadsword/ Radiation Armor

Martial Arts/Dark Armor

Staff Fighting/Ninjitsu

War Mace/Bio  -- This could tradeoff with Energy Melee/Shield with primaries swapping secondaries.

[TungstenShark]

For the eight that made the cut:

Claws and War Mace both want Recharge. Claws/SR is a classic combo; War Mace/Energy Aura so you can be strong and pretty.

Dark Melee/Invul is a great pairing as DM’s -To Hit works beautifully with Invul and you also get a heal.

Katana/Ninjitsu – Another classic and thematic pairing.

Martial Arts/Shield Defense – You can choose some punch animations for some of the MA attacks, so this gives you a real Captain America vibe when fighting.

Energy Melee/Bio – Just a single target powerhouse with passable AoE. You will get some truly ridiculous damage.

Dual Blades/Rad Armor – Rad gives you a little bit of everything and let’s you play DB how you want (whether combo-focused or non-combo).

Staff Fighting/Dark Armor – These were the two left over. I have not tried Staff, but I think it provides some End relief in one of its stances, which is of great help to DA, which can be very End-hungry until you IO it out. DA is an amazing resist set!

 

For the also-rans:

Savage Melee/Fiery Aura – This would be better as a Brute, since the DoTs are not affected by a Scrapper’s improved crit. Lots of numbers flying everywhere.

Rad Melee/Stone Armor – Also better as a Brute due to the DoTs and again, lots of numbers flying everywhere with two damage auras.

Stone Melee/Elec Armor – Stone Melee is end hungry and Elec helps offset that.

Street Justice/Ice Armor – That’s what was left over (I don’t have much experience with either).

 

Global: TungstenShark

[lightpunch]

Tried to keep your notes about what you're looking for in mind, and to create the most "balanced" builds, tried to think about how I'd match sets to counteract the criteria they fail the most at. Also tried to go for not necessarily obvious combos, but some classics are that for a reason.

 

Energy Melee + Shield -- Energy melee is the ST king, but if you're going to solo not just effectively but satisfyingly, it needs AoE help, and I find waiting for ancillary/patron powers for AoE on a damage AT to be frustrating. Yes, Shield Charge is available at the same level you get access to ancillary/patrons, but requires no additional pick investments. You'll be one of the ST kings in the game with acceptable AoE. You won't have a click heal, but the only heal-possessing primary is better paired with a different secondary.

 

Dark Melee + SR -- SR is the king of defense, resisting defense debuffs, and not much else. To stay interesting (to me), it wants utility and some options in case those two strengths fail it. Dark melee has -tohit, helping to make you the GOD of can't-touch-this. If that fails, you get the one primary set with a reliable self-heal that wants to be a part of your regular attack chain. Basically, this might be the most unkillable pairing possible of these 8 sets. And the mechanics of soul drain, dark consumption, and even the new ToF (yes I know the damage isn't top tier, but I enjoy it as a melee aoe soft control, and at max soul drain, it's a fun time) keep the playstyle interesting.

 

Claws + Radiation Armor -- I don't love Claws. I know it's one of the top performing sets, but I've just never enjoyed the animations or feel of the set. So from my perspective, it's about giving claws what it wants (+rech) and giving me what I need (something to make it enjoyable), so I'm bringing in maybe my favorite set in the game, Radiation Armor. Your +rech will help you reach claws' ideal attack chain; you have multiple means to heal/boost your health; you've got one of the best armor set tier 9's in the game, with a navigable crash. And proc'd out? Forget about it. Claws/SR will be an ST buzzsaw with fantastic AoE too. A kill-before-you're-killed pairing, but Rad has several oh shit buttons to keep you going.

 

Dual Blades + Energy Aura -- For those who think WM/EA isn't pretty enough. EA may take a sliiight hit with the new patch, but it's still a well-balanced, well-performing set. +Rech will help DB reach the recharge heights it wants to be a top performing DPS set, while DB's combos and fun EA utility powers will keep the playstyle dynamic and interesting. The flourish of the DB animations and glow of EA will also make it a very visually appealing character to play, assuming none of the animations bug you.

 

Katana/Broad Sword + Dark Armor -- Swords bring your +defense to add some extra mitigation to Dark, while not being overly taxing on endurance compared to some other primaries. Swords also lack mitigation in most of its attacks, which DA can help with through CoF or OG. Dark regeneration has some fun proc opportunities, and in general the breadth of slotting options available across both sets will allow you to have fun with slotting unconventionally, if that's what you're interested in doing.

 

Staff + Bio Armor -- Here are two sets I want to love, and have tried to love, but whose limitations or playstyle just haven't clicked for me. So why not try them together? Bio will give staff the damage boost it needs to get its ST closer to other primaries, while staff's +def and mitigation will help occupy foes you want to keep nearby to take advantage of bio's draining/aura abilities. By the time you're reaching 50, endurance shouldn't be a problem, so you'll be able to stick with the +dmg stances for both of these sets.

 

Martial Arts + Ninjitsu -- These last two pairings lose some of the flair of previous pairings in terms of playstyle, but make up for it in thematic coherency, which can satisfy some of those "fun to play" feelings. MA/Nin is the pseudo-stalker of the Scrapper world -- Shinobi-Iri + Eagles Claw have extra high odds of critting, while the KB, stun, and -def powers of the primary and blinding powder give you some fun proc options. Nin doesn't need much help -- it's got good defense, a stealth ability, a heal, and an end booster. They're two solid flavors that taste extra-solid together.

 

War Mace + Invulnerability -- For those who like the prettiness of DB/EA but want something a little more understated. Like MA/Nin, neither of these sets needs much from the other to work. WM packs a heavy punch and has a good mix of ST and AoE, while Invuln offers everything except protection against Psi to keep you going. WM's mix of disorients and KB will also help Invuln take fewer hits, never a bad thing for a hybrid or resist-based armor set.

 

 

Much briefer thoughts on the also-rans, though I do love some of these sets:

 

• Street Justice + Fiery Aura -- StJ has a good mix of mitigation techniques, and its fast playstyle will work well with FA's "kill before you're killed" style.
• Stone Melee + Electric Armor -- Stone has endurance issues and wants recharge to keep its AoEs going. Electric needs mitigation to make up for its total lack of that and protect its resist-only nature.
• Radiation Melee + Ice Armor -- Three offensive auras (two damage, one debuff), endurance assistance to support RM's cost. 
• Savage Melee + Stone Armor -- Savage offsets Stone Armor's intense energy costs. Savage's DoT damage + Mud Pots + Brimstone seems fun (not an expert on savage).

 

Last tidbit, not as a recommendation because we're already on part 2, but just my own journey: I've been trying to find a forever scrapper myself, as most of mine just don't compare to my favorite tank (and it pains me to say that). Right now, slow though she may be, I'm really enjoying the experience of leveling my radiation melee/bio armor scrapper. The DoTs and contamination and the siphon heal, it all just makes for a very enjoyable build that I'm confident is going to hit like a bomb by the end. Maybe my 3rd lvl 50 with bio armor will be the charm!

 

Global: Thermostata

Edited July 20, 2022 by lightpunch

[Without_Pause]

DB/ea. I feel like Claws needs less recharge while DB needs more for me to pull off the needed combos. /sr has a higher base recharge, but in decent enough sized mobs, /ea can win out. Plus, /ea offers -recharge so in essence it offers a greater net change in recharge between you and the mobs. (I see lightpunch added this before I finished)

 

Savage/ice. Yes, it is better on a Brute, BUT, Savage is offense heavy with lacking mitigation. /ice adds in a def based set and the ability to keep mobs around you with the -speed which will be nice for all of the DoT action you are bringing. Both sets are end friendly and Savage brings its own +recharge which again pairs nice with the -recharge /ice offers.

 

StJ/stone. Stone is one of the best overall armors. StJ is a rather well balanced set in terms of ST, AOE, mitigation. StJ has maybe(I forget) the second best cast times outside of specific attach chains. The biggest issue for its AoE is the size of the AoEs. /stone adds in a damage aura to help fill in that hole. 

 

Global: Without Pause

 

 

Edited July 20, 2022 by Without_Pause

[Xandyr]

The only scrapper I have is an Energy Melee/Ninjitsu. It is a solid choice. With Energy Melee, it's mainly ST damage, but WOW! The crits are insane! And while it's mainly ST, Ninjitsu gives you enough defense to dodge most attacks while you're slaughtering mobs one by one. The Heal and the +end recovery are Godsends, as they recharge just quick enough that you'll have them up when needed.

 The most fun part about this combo is seeing when ET or TF crit, and you brag to your teammates about doing 1200-1500 points of damage (or more). It's flashy enough to keep your interest, but not a "I'm the absolute best ever and nothing will kill me". It's nice having a bit of a challenge. It keeps the  blood pumping. Will you die? Maybe. But IF you do, you can guarantee that you made it difficult for the enemy to do so, and you took several baddies with you.

 

I've been thinking about making another scrapper. However I'm almost afraid I'll be disappointed in any other combo.

 

global name is  Scarlett Angel

Edited July 20, 2022 by Xandyr
Added global name

[Errants]

Had this debate myself, with my Pokemon post. Was interesting to do it for someone else, and try to see how diverse I could make it.

Claws/SR - Claws has the active, SR the passive mitigation. SR gives +Rech for blending, lets you focus on scrapping. A @Bill Z Bubba classic, even if they've gone traitor to the Tank side... (I keed, I keed)
Dark/Bio - Add a little more mitigation for Bio, and a little more AoE for Dark Melee. Both want to be surrounded for PBAoE buffs. And both could be recolored to make some terrific, liquidy themes.
Energy/Shield - I'm going for this myself, off of recommendations here... don't see a reason to deviate. Stupid damage Primary, backed by solid mitigation and MOAR damage from the secondary. Main caution (and one I haven't tested yet) is how obnoxious clipping on the shield could be. Yes, the only down check to this combo is cosmetic.
Mace/Energy - Stronk/Pretty. Crunch. WM/EA so gud! (do I really need moar copy on this? A heal, +End, defense for +Rech, and stupid damage/mitigation from Mace vis bonks and KD/U - plus, a skippable T9 ult)

MA/Invuln - If you're gonna kick someone in the face... do it with STYLE. Shiny fashion, flipping out. Ed Gruberman would approve. Bonus points for making this one a Hover scrapper just for the joy of wire-fighting with floating Dragon's Tail and Eagle's Claw.

Staff/Dark - Staff has cones and AoE, and not great damage, but a tasty +EndRed toggle... And Dark Regen LOVES being cheaper to cast. Active mitigation from stunning (always run a Primary with stuns with DA) and KD/U, range for runners. And once you lick the End issues, change it up for more damage. Also - broom/dust ball concept. Sweeping up grime AND crime!
Sword/Radiation - Either will work, I'm biased to Katana from history, but BS gives bigger CRUNCH. Rad is nearly a full package, but the bonus of -Def on your foes and +Def from your utility strike will make it even better. Bonus if you grab one of the more elemental/chunky sword options... wielding radioactive ore!
Two Sword/Nin - Huge, green skin, blue bandana. Twin Ninja Swords. Enough utility from /Nin that you can focus on Dual Blades. Combos come close to the absurd chain, and are MUCH more viable without a 14% failure rate. Make sure to go Weapons Mastery for MOAR ninja shenanigans.

Stone/Fiery - Mitigation from Stone, AoE and more damage from Fiery - Volcano, oil fire, forge (with more metally or crystally SM cosmetic)... concepts galore! Pillars of salt and flame! Make an angel! Make the enemies angels!

Savage/Ice - Hunger... such hunger... The taste of flesh was a necessity in the arctic north, but now... now you crave it again... Cannibal/wendigo/polar bear/anthromorphic orca (those mofos kill for fun). Savage doesn't need much to be useful, which is great, since you want ALL of Ice. Again, both powersets want to be surrounded, so make it happen! TP in, and start shredding.

Radiation/Stone - Rufus, the Demon Core. Criticality THIS! Be a nerdy/WWII/atomic-age reference. Run multiple damage auras. Encase yourself in your shell, and then ruin everyone's day as a result of it! Stone is becoming a new hotness for scrappers, and a little bit of extra AoE and damage never hurt anyone... except your targets.

Street/Electric - StJ Combo system is combo's done right... Build and consume, not locked in chains. Also, amazing (read: obscene) damage... that pays for it with your end bar. Fortunately, /Elec solves that with drains and +EndRed. Quick attacks to minimize delays for mitigation clickies, VICIOUS animations, and some active mitigation on most attacks to shore up the lack of Def from /Elec.

Side note: Bummed I missed the secondary post and discussion... c'est la vie, I chime in here. Also, would've love to mix some of 4/4 2nd Tiers with the 8/8 1st Tiers, but didn't think that was allowed/valid.

[Yomo Kimyata]

On 7/18/2022 at 12:59 PM, BrandX said:

I say go for Staff/Bio.  Two powersets with stances in each one!  Also, I don't recall seeing it used much, so uniqueness!

 

On 7/20/2022 at 12:48 PM, Without_Pause said:

DB/ea. I feel like Claws needs less recharge while DB needs more for me to pull off the needed combos. /sr has a higher base recharge, but in decent enough sized mobs, /ea can win out. Plus, /ea offers -recharge so in essence it offers a greater net change in recharge between you and the mobs. (I see lightpunch added this before I finished)

 

Savage/ice. Yes, it is better on a Brute, BUT, Savage is offense heavy with lacking mitigation. /ice adds in a def based set and the ability to keep mobs around you with the -speed which will be nice for all of the DoT action you are bringing. Both sets are end friendly and Savage brings its own +recharge which again pairs nice with the -recharge /ice offers.

 

StJ/stone. Stone is one of the best overall armors. StJ is a rather well balanced set in terms of ST, AOE, mitigation. StJ has maybe(I forget) the second best cast times outside of specific attach chains. The biggest issue for its AoE is the size of the AoEs. /stone adds in a damage aura to help fill in that hole. 

 

Global: Without Pause

 

 

 

On 7/20/2022 at 1:09 PM, Xandyr said:

The only scrapper I have is an Energy Melee/Ninjitsu. It is a solid choice. With Energy Melee, it's mainly ST damage, but WOW! The crits are insane! And while it's mainly ST, Ninjitsu gives you enough defense to dodge most attacks while you're slaughtering mobs one by one. The Heal and the +end recovery are Godsends, as they recharge just quick enough that you'll have them up when needed.

 The most fun part about this combo is seeing when ET or TF crit, and you brag to your teammates about doing 1200-1500 points of damage (or more). It's flashy enough to keep your interest, but not a "I'm the absolute best ever and nothing will kill me". It's nice having a bit of a challenge. It keeps the  blood pumping. Will you die? Maybe. But IF you do, you can guarantee that you made it difficult for the enemy to do so, and you took several baddies with you.

 

I've been thinking about making another scrapper. However I'm almost afraid I'll be disappointed in any other combo.

 

global name is  Scarlett Angel

 

Thank you for the input, but to qualify for the payout, I need all eight (or twelve) matchups!  Feel free to repost or just edit your initial posts, I'm not fussy!

 

Thanks everyone so far!

[Nemu]

Staff/Dark Armor

 

Synergy = +def weapons sets have synergy with resist based armors. In addition Staff also provides end reduction which Dark Armor appreciates even with the theft of essence proc. Staff also has knockdowns which are additional sources of mitigation that can pile on top of Dark Armor's own arsenal. Finally the knockdowns are sources of FF procs which compliment dark regen.

Drawback = Don't expect to do top DPS with this combo, This build leans more towards survival than damage but I think most dark armor scrapper builds follow that path.

 

Dual Blades/Energy Aura

 

Synergy = Shooting for comboless chain and be able to squeeze procs in at the upper tiers of performance requires secondaries that can help out with +recharge/endurance management/+ACC or -Def. Energy Aura checks two of those boxes. Defensive sets are easier to build for around the comboless goal and EA is easier to softcap than other defense based secondaries. In addition, EA has a taunt aura, something that no other defense sets that can pair with DB has.

Drawback = Energize is a click (that I put on auto) and it'll interrupt your chain every 30 seconds or so. Hasten is another click every 2 minutes. There's also energy drain for those rare times that you might need it. Some might find that annoying enough to look for a secondary that's more passive.

 

Dark Melee/Radiation Armor

 

Synergy = PBAoE proc monster, because procs in rad therapy and ground zero are not enough. You NEED more PBAoEs and MORE procs! Beta decay and Soul Drain ease the need for acc slotting and allows you to slot MORE PROCS!

Drawback = You'll need to figure out whether you want to over invest in +def bonuses or go all out and support the proc strategy.

 

Martial arts/Shield Defense

 

Synergy = Capt America, the closest you will get to him anyway with your top 8 candidates.

Drawback = not the most powerful pairing

 

Claws/Invuln

 

Synergy = Build up proc in invincibility pairs well with Claws and the damage buff can trigger organically without physical activation of a power. Claws low end usage can also help offset invuln's heavy toggle count. Invuln has a taunt aura to keep stuff within SPIN range.

Drawback = Invuln doens't have any other offensive capabilities and invuln builds are pretty boring.

 

Katana/Bio

 

Synergy = +def for Bio is a plus. Quick animations are also a plus for a set whose survival depends on timely clicks. Katana's lethal damage is augmented by offensive adaptation.

Drawback = Squish factor is still high despite the +def from kat.

 

Mace/Ninja

 

Synergy = You are a ninja with a warmace! That's only slightly less OP than a ninja with an Axe!. Ninja has endurance management tools to offset warmace. Warmace is warmace.

Drawback = Lots of clicks

 

Energy/SR

 

Synergy = You intentionally hurt yourself to raise your resistances, so you can save yourself.

Drawback = Other than the "I punch myself so I can save myself" gag, the combo is boring.

 

____________________

Second string picks

____________________

 

Savage/Stone

 

Synergy = Endurance discount paired with an endurance hog of a secondary. In my experience Stone Armor is more endurance intensive than any of the other armors in this tier. Def armors means more LOTG which means more recharge for Savage Leap.

Drawback = The endurance discount might still not be enough depending on how much you proc stuff like Savage Leap and how quickly you can spam it.

 

Radiation/Ice

 

Synergy = Double auras, and ice has end management tools to keep them on. -def helps land more attacks, slows to keep stuff in aura longer (though you really have to slot chilling embrace a good bit for that to be effective), and you also get a conditional heal over time to supplement Ice Armor.

Drawback = Slow animations can really kill the feel of a character. Radiation's contamination gimmick is annoying when you need that radiation siphon heal right now!

 

Stone Melee/Electric Armor

 

Synergy = Endurance management for an endurance heavy primary. Mitigation for a resist based secondary.

Drawback = The combo is solid but this also means I have to pair STJ with Fire Aura.

 

STJ/Fire

 

Synergy = Very little, other than going all out on offense. Spinning strike KD + burn is about it.

Drawback = No synergy, squish factor is high. If you play like a melee blaster you should be fine though.

 

 

I'm only doing this for your money, which you should give ME more of.

 

@Nemu

Edited July 25, 2022 by Nemu

[Xmurrder]

Ok.... so let me just say this much.... I don't claim to know it all.... I just like to make builds I think,  in my on opinion,  would be fun.   Probably too late for in INF,  but if you still feel charitable and want to help a broke man out , my global name is @Xmurrder .  I play with my wife and she makes sure that my toons stay broke while all her toons are slotted.   Lol And anyone else reading that would want to donate,  I would not be offended.  Lol

 

So a little back ground.  Like I said, me and my wife play together.   She gets to be all the fun builds and I always have to make toons that protect her.  She gets to be the blasters,  controllers, dominators and all the things that have awesome looking powers etc.... and I have to run mostly melee toons to take all the aggro. Tanks , Brutes and Scrappers.  So basically on a football team she would be the quarterback , running back and receiviers that gets all the attention and I am the dirty ole offensive line.  Lol 

 

So let's get into it

 

1. Energy / Shield Scrapper.  I love mine.  Energy hits like Mack truck.  I was so very impressed by it.   Love starting off with the teleport nuke aka ( shield bash ) Then start hitting the boss that survived with total focus and energy transfer.   Bye Bye mobs and boss.  

 

2.  Energy / Electric Scrapper.  Ok, yes I know I am repeating Energy melee , but it just hits soooo hard ! Lol..   But the thing that I like about this build is while I am whooping the bosses butt, lighting field is constantly killing all the minions.  Killing things without even having to focus on them is awesome.   Them dying just cause they are standing next to me.  Love it.  

 

If your still reading,  did I mention I am a very broke man?   Donations are greatly appreciated. Lol that was @Xmurrder incase you missed it. Lol

 

3. Electric / Shield Scrapper.  2 teleporting nukes.  Nuff said.  Lol  I mean really,  how awesome is that ? Lol love the AOE of this toon. I think lighting rod is one of my favorite powers in the whole game.  I love watching it.  Is it the most powerful power in the game?  No.  But dang it's so fun. 

 

4. War Mace / Bio Armor Scrapper.  Not my favorite build,  but I gotta give credit where credit is due.  It is an awesome combo.  But truth be told,  I hate it cause bio puts the carapace on me.  I don't want anything covering up the look of my toons. Lol I spend a long time creating my looks and don't want to have them covered up.  I have made toons that look like Elvis, Ronald McDonald,  Micheal Jackson,  the money man from Monopoly, Alabama Cheerleader. ( yes I'm from Alabama and a big Bama fan. Lol) ....... Anyways,  Elvis just don't look right with a hard shell wrapped around him.  He's the King of Rock n Roll , He deserves better than that ! Lol

 

I gotta stop here... the wife is starting up her PC.  Gotta go try to protect my storage in the base before she gets her little hands all over it.  It's bad when you look at the history of who took things out of storage and she out numbers you like 10 to 1 . Lol

 

Since yall have picked my brain,  i should get to pick yalls pockets.  You can make the email out to @Xmurrder

 

All proceeds go to a worthy cause.  ..... ME ! 

 

And if you see Elvis running around,  don't be afraid to say hey.

 

GOOD LUCK GUYS AND GALLS

 

 

[Herotu]

34 minutes ago, Xmurrder said:

Elvis just don't look right with a hard shell wrapped around him.  He's the King of Rock n Roll , He deserves better than that ! 

 

He's just a Hunka Burnin' Love! (My Elvis was a FirKin 'Troller - back when a Firkin 'Troller wasn't someone who takes the piss).

 

[BrandX]

On 7/18/2022 at 10:59 AM, BrandX said:

I say go for Staff/Bio.  Two powersets with stances in each one!  Also, I don't recall seeing it used much, so uniqueness!

 

Staff/Bio.  Two powersets with stances in each one!  Also, unique, so for a forever Scrapper that's not a bad thing.

Katana/Radiation.  Tough Secondary with a Primary power to give that Melee Defense the set doesn't have.

Energy/Shield.  Straight up power and defense!

Dark/Ninja.  Supernatural Ninja!  Plus some -Tohit to go with that lower DDR.

Martial Arts/Invulnerability.  The Kryptonian!

Dual Blades/Super Reflexes.  DPS and Survival!

Claws/Dark.  Because this was my first ever combo in CoH back during the infamous first winter event!

War/Energy.  Well, that's all that's left and I never cared for either of these two sets personally.

 

 

Stone/Ice.  Because Stone can be made to look Ice.

Radiation/Fire.  Thematic compatible, w/ two Damage Auras

Savage/Stone.  Clawed stone beast!

StJ/Electric.  All that's left!.

[Yomo Kimyata]

I'm going to keep submissions for the top eight for a few more days, but I'm going to start to execute on the "also-rans".  This is 50% due to the fact I'm getting a little antsy; 50% because I have some good ideas for the matchups; and 50% because running twelve scrappers to 50 (and beyond!) is going to take some time so I might as well get on with it.

 

The chosen matchups for the also-rans are:

 

Savage/Stone:  This was a marriage of necessity, as I've been playing another Stone Armor to 50 (and beyond!) and dang Stone of all sorts is very endurance intensive so I need some help from the primary.  Pu'u Wa'awa'a is a proto-Hawaiian demigod who was trapped/guarded by Pele (the Hawaiian goddess, not the Brazilian football player) for thousands of years before gaining his freedom in a recent eruption.

 

Stone/Electric:  Also a marriage of endurance necessity but the other way around.  The Electric Pizza uses piezoelectric forces from his specialized quartz weaponry to power his electronic armor.  He chose his nom de guerre after trying to explain "piezoelectric" to his five year-old niece and they both got bogged down with laughter on "pizza electric".

 

Street Justice/Fiery Aura:  I'm been playing some StJ and it feels very light on AoE, so a little mitigation in the form of knockdown/stun/terrorize and a little Burn might do the trick.  Hellion Carnate's story isn't as uncommon as it may seem at first -- a young woman from the shady side of Atlas Park who got tired of being a Girlfriend from Hell, went straight, and wanted to help bring a little gender parity to Paragon.

 

Radiation/Ice:  You've heard of the Chernobyl meltdown, right?  But I'll bet you've never heard of the far more deadly Balachko incident.  In the deep north of Siberia, the secret city of Balachko was where Russia did much of its state-sponsored superpowered "research" and was powered by the most powerful nuclear reactor ever made by humankind.  Well, until it melted down, leading to the deaths of every soul in the town except one man.  No one is sure if he was a superpowered experiment, or simply a janitor who got "lucky".  Working name is, well, the Balachko Incident.

 

In a few days I'll make my decisions on the top 8, then we can move on to the next phase of me giving you inf!  I'll make payouts for this thread then.

 

Happy hunting!

 

[Yomo Kimyata]

"Few days" my butt!  Sorry, I've had some unexpected travel.  Let's clear this up so we can get on to the *REAL* contest.

 

I've enjoyed everyone's thoughts and here's what I'm going with at this point in time:

 

Martial Arts/Shield -- You had me at thematic, but adding some AoE to the primary sealed the deal.

 

Staff/Dark Armor -- I'm happy to stance dance early on to make DA more palatable, and Dark Regeneration is a good force multiplier.

 

Dark Melee/Invulnerability -- Perhaps a classic for a reason.  Some defense help in the form of -to hit for a mostly resistance secondary.  Plus, invulnerability is boring but DM is certainly not.

 

Dual Blades/Bio Armor -- Frankly, here I'm matching a pretty vanilla primary with a secondary that might make every other option unbalanced.  My bias is showing but I haven't actually played bio in a long time, so let's keep this interesting.

 

Claws/Super Reflexes -- Honestly, I find both of these to be boring sets.  But this is a fan favorite, and maybe I'll change my mind.  I've done that before, once or twice.

 

The last few I've struggled with a bit and gone over all the options.

 

Energy Melee/Ninjitsu -- I'm going to have to work hard on a theme here.  I've got an evil leprechaun war mace/ninjitsu in his 30s, but I only seem to play him on St. Patrick's Day.  Ninsitju seems like a nice set, but I'm not enthralled with the synergies here.

 

War Mace/Energy -- I fought this for so long, because I will always be in the shadow of strong and pretty.  But there really aren't any shadows, because I'm emitting light, so I guess it's ok.

 

Broadsword/Radiation -- I could have gone with Ninjitsu or Energy, but nah, I want the big glowy sword that will never miss.

 

I'll pass out the inf I promised, and post on the next (final) leg hopefully tomorrow.  What I have been doing with the also-rans is running the same or similar content mostly at double xp and that's a good pattern.  On playing days, I can usually take two alts through a given arc or two, then follow up with the other two the next time.  I talked about making a bracket, but it seems better to just eliminate half at each point.  Example:  When I get all 4 of the also-rans to 50, I will take two of them into incarnates, and then one into full incarnates.  

 

happy hunting!

[BrandX]

Been rolling around with an Energy/Ninja Scrapper.  Feels easy to get the ET (Long) > TF > ET (Quick) > BS > Repeat easily enough 🙂

[Crowcus Pocus]

@Yomo Kimyatawhere's our weekly update? Curious to hear your most recebt experiences.

[Yomo Kimyata]

On 9/15/2022 at 8:00 AM, Falsey said:

@Yomo Kimyatawhere's our weekly update? Curious to hear your most recebt experiences.

 

You like me!  You really like me!!!

 

Thanks for the nudge, I'll be updating in the "Truly Final" thread!

[Crowcus Pocus]

On 9/16/2022 at 5:42 PM, Yomo Kimyata said:

 

You like me!  You really like me!!!

 

Thanks for the nudge, I'll be updating in the "Truly Final" thread!

No, I... I... yes. *scuffs foot*

[Errants]

On 9/16/2022 at 11:42 AM, Yomo Kimyata said:

You like me!  You really like me!!!

 

Thanks for the nudge, I'll be updating in the "Truly Final" thread!

 

Came back to the game after a hiatus. Found a random pile of influence in my mail from Yomo...

Went back and looked at this thread... Damn, nostalgia.

Where is that "Final Thread"? Disregard, found it!

Edited August 13, 2023 by Errants