Gonna make an Energy Melee Scrapper...

[Story Archer]

Not sure what secondary I'm going to go with, maybe Super Reflexes so that I can focus on figuring out my new primary.

 

Any builds for Energy Melee out there that you guys are currently enjoying? I want to get an idea which powers are worth my time beyond the obvious.

[Captain Fabulous]

Just my 2 cents, I've tried playing EM on a number of different characters and it's just...underwhelming. I dunno if it's because it's an OG set that never really got much love after release, but I find it really dull.

Not saying don't give it a go, just expressing my experience with it.

[biostem]

The scrapper version of Ninjitsu is quite good, IMHO... it even has a sort of "lite" version of crit-from-hide!

[SomeGuy]

EM/RAD

EM/SD

EM/ENA

EM/BIO

 

Those are my personal fav versions of EM on a scrapper. I go back and forth between the /rad and /sd for my fav. These are always the same power choices I take in EM, regardless of AT:

 

 

Here's the EM/ENA build I have for it:

 

 

https://api.midsreborn.com/legacy/download?uc=1718&c=728&a=1456&f=HEX&dc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
 

 

 

And my EM/SD version:

 

https://api.midsreborn.com/legacy/download?uc=1765&c=744&a=1488&f=HEX&dc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

Edited Thursday at 02:31 AM by SomeGuy

[Story Archer]

Thanks all, for the responses.

[kelika2]

energy/bio scrapper set the bar too high for me and i cant enjoy other scrappers anymore

[Story Archer]

10 hours ago, kelika2 said:

energy/bio scrapper set the bar too high for me and i cant enjoy other scrappers anymore

 

That actually happened for me with Claws/Bio, who quickly became my main (and I loved my Kat/Willpower and my DB/Ninjitsu before that). I'm working on the Energy Melee scrapper now as a little break and I'm pursuing more of a thematic angle rather than trying to break the game.

[Story Archer]

11 hours ago, SomeGuy said:

These are always the same power choices I take in EM, regardless of AT:

 

 

 

Energy Punch over Power Crash? Can you explain that one please? And which powers do you usually find yourself using Total Focus as a set-up for?

Edited Thursday at 01:35 PM by Story Archer

[Maelwys]

1 hour ago, Story Archer said:

Energy Punch over Power Crash? Can you explain that one please? And which powers do you usually find yourself using Total Focus as a set-up for?

You need to take either the T1 or T2; but you don't need to take Power Crash. I imagine Energy Punch is a "filler" there - Barrage can sometimes be useful for the Regeneration Debuff whenever you're fighting a GM... but vs everything else (including AVs) it's typically better to use your Energy Focus stacks to make Energy Transfer "quick" instead.

On my own EM Scrapper; the attack chain is always TF > BS > ET (fast) > Snipe > BS > ET (slow or fast depending on TF crits)
And the ATO2 proc sits in ET; because that way it has two chances to kick in and can potentially affect everything in the chain aside from the very first ET.

EM needs help with AoE damage, but Power Crash is pants. Whirling Hands plus Epic AoEs and/or Secondary Powerset attacks (Ground Zero, Burn, etc) is the way to go IMO.

[SomeGuy]

2 hours ago, Story Archer said:

 

Energy Punch over Power Crash? Can you explain that one please? And which powers do you usually find yourself using Total Focus as a set-up for?

 

I'm not a fan of PC and can't see using it in a chain anyways. 

 

TF - ET - SNIPE - BS- EP Is my chain. I only use EP as filler when needed.

[Story Archer]

53 minutes ago, SomeGuy said:

 

I'm not a fan of PC and can't see using it in a chain anyways. 

 

TF - ET - SNIPE - BS- EP Is my chain. I only use EP as filler when needed.

 

So you only use Whirling Hands for AoE? And is SR an adequate secondary for EM even though it lacks a heal? I've never used ET, much less as part of a steady chain, so I don't know if having a heal needs to be some sort of priority with EM.

Edited Thursday at 05:05 PM by Story Archer

[Story Archer]

16 hours ago, biostem said:

The scrapper version of Ninjitsu is quite good, IMHO... it even has a sort of "lite" version of crit-from-hide!

 

I'm a big fan of Ninjitsu - I love its toolbox and Dual Blades/Ninjitsu was my main for a long time (see below). Looking to try something else out, though it's still high on the list.

 

 

[SomeGuy]

7 hours ago, Story Archer said:

 

So you only use Whirling Hands for AoE? And is SR an adequate secondary for EM even though it lacks a heal? I've never used ET, much less as part of a steady chain, so I don't know if having a heal needs to be some sort of priority with EM.

 

 

I personally don't value AOE anywhere near as much as most people do in this game, and PC being a cone very much dissuaded me. Granted, I felt the same way about Crowd Control in War Mace and I am now a big believer. I'll toy with it on brainstorm to see. So, yes, I only use WH for AOE with the set for now.

 

As for SR? I'd be surprised that isn't a very strong pairing with it. I don't have a heal for my EM/SD and I use ET all the time with ZERO negative effects. Food for thought.

 

*Gave PC a serious go with my EM/ENA and...it wasn't exactly game changing. I do not foresee myself ever going out of my way to include this in my EM builds. I've only found one melee cone that isn't a part of my ST rotation that is worth it, and that's Crowd Control.

Edited Friday at 12:33 AM by SomeGuy

[dukedukes]

14 hours ago, SomeGuy said:

*Gave PC a serious go with my EM/ENA and...it wasn't exactly game changing. I do not foresee myself ever going out of my way to include this in my EM builds. I've only found one melee cone that isn't a part of my ST rotation that is worth it, and that's Crowd Control.

I think it's a good pick up for stalkers since they don't get whirling hands. 120 degree arc and 10ft range is comfortable to use (for a cone) and procs very well with a 16s recharge (scrapper recharge is 9s, not as great for procs). It's a 71% chance for 3.5PPM procs, compared to crowd control which procs at 54%. No kb though so you lose the ffb opportunity. War mace isn't an option for stalkers but just for the sake of comparison. Some trouble with power crash is needing to spend energy for the 10 target cap, but this isn't too bad for stalkers as you should be trying to crit total focus. Overall power crash on a stalker hits harder than crowd control on a scrapper when both are proc'd up.

 

Energy melee is very good on stalker too. If OP likes the stealth crit nin offers then stalker is a very strong option.

 

15 hours ago, SomeGuy said:

I personally don't value AOE anywhere near as much as most people do in this game

 

I agree, especially for energy melee. It's really good at specializing as a boss killer. You'd probably want to fit in some aoe from your secondary and epic for when aoe is needed but it's situational. If you're doing typical pack to pack gameplay just hitting bosses should be the most effective strategy since everyone else is probably aoe'ing.
 

[Story Archer]

On 8/21/2025 at 3:28 PM, SomeGuy said:

As for SR? I'd be surprised that isn't a very strong pairing with it. I don't have a heal for my EM/SD and I use ET all the time with ZERO negative effects. Food for thought.

 

Did you mean to say here that you'd be surprised if it wasn't a very strong pairing? Honestly, I picked it primarily for ease of play. I'm glad to know that the lack of a heal wouldn't be problematic.

[BrandX]

On 8/20/2025 at 6:08 PM, Story Archer said:

Not sure what secondary I'm going to go with, maybe Super Reflexes so that I can focus on figuring out my new primary.

 

Any builds for Energy Melee out there that you guys are currently enjoying? I want to get an idea which powers are worth my time beyond the obvious.

 

Currently playing an EM/Psi Scrapper.  Good thing about EM and PSI is the stuns of EM and Aura of Insanity stack and so you can also get the AoI debuffs if EM stuns them while they're in your aura.

 

[SomeGuy]

5 hours ago, Story Archer said:

 

Did you mean to say here that you'd be surprised if it wasn't a very strong pairing? Honestly, I picked it primarily for ease of play. I'm glad to know that the lack of a heal wouldn't be problematic.

 

 

I personally consider x/SR a good set. I'd be surprised the combo of EM/SR isn't good. I am curious how easy it would be to build for. 

[Erratic1]

Got a Stone/SR Scrapper I ran up to 50 and frankly, I do not find SR to be all that. But then, people rave over Rad Armor too and I find it lackluster, so it might just be me.

 

As much as I do like Ninjitsu and generally love Energy Aura (even if I would never pair it with EM due to my obsession with mixed themed powersets), were I building it, I would almost certainly lean towards Shield. That all said, you have a lot of really solid options for pairing with EM.

 

 

Oh, and Bio...I don't allow myself do play Bio any more as Bio is so good it is just too easy of a choice.

 

 

Edited yesterday at 11:43 AM by Erratic1

[Story Archer]

3 hours ago, Erratic1 said:

Got a Stone/SR Scrapper I ran up to 50 and frankly, I do not find SR to be all that. But then, people rave over Rad Armor too and I find it lackluster, so it might just be me.

 

As much as I do like Ninjitsu and generally love Energy Aura (even if I would never pair it with EM due to my obsession with mixed themed powersets), were I building it, I would almost certainly lean towards Shield. That all said, you have a lot of really solid options for pairing with EM.

 

Oh, and Bio...I don't allow myself do play Bio any more as Bio is so good it is just too easy of a choice.

 

I've got a 50 Ninjitsu, Willpower and Bio. Bio and Ninjitsu are far and away my favorite secondaries, but my personal biases generally lead me away from resistance-based sets for Scrappers and away from positional defenses when I can help it (Bio is the exception). I have a /Shield Brut I'm working on and off, but the theme I have in mind for this character doesn't accommodate a shield nor her being invisible most of the time, so I figured /SR would work, in particular because I wanted my game play to focus on the offense and because its visuals are basically non-existent (letting the costume take center stage). I was just concerned about its lack of a heal because EM's big gun drains health and I tend to solo a lot..

[Erratic1]

24 minutes ago, Story Archer said:

I've got a 50 Ninjitsu, Willpower and Bio. Bio and Ninjitsu are far and away my favorite secondaries, but my personal biases generally lead me away from resistance-based sets for Scrappers and away from positional defenses when I can help it (Bio is the exception).

 

Guessing you meant you avoid typed defenses. Yeah, Bio is a special case.

[SomeGuy]

I have no clue if this is ideal, I slapped this together this morning before errands.:

 

https://api.midsreborn.com/legacy/download?uc=1760&c=747&a=1494&f=HEX&dc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

 

I can definitely see this build NOT needing to use Energy Punch as filler. It has....a lot of recharge. It does have Power Crash, Whirling Hands, and Ball Lightning. It has more than 12 KB protection when Practiced Brawler is active. 

 

I can definitely attest that EM/SD is a fun combo.

[Story Archer]

e

2 hours ago, Erratic1 said:

 

Guessing you meant you avoid typed defenses. Yeah, Bio is a special case.

 

Yeah, you got me.

[Story Archer]

5 hours ago, SomeGuy said:

I have no clue if this is ideal, I slapped this together this morning before errands.:

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

https://api.midsreborn.com/legacy/download?uc=1760&c=747&a=1494&f=HEX&dc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
 

I can definitely see this build NOT needing to use Energy Punch as filler. It has....a lot of recharge. It does have Power Crash, Whirling Hands, and Ball Lightning. It has more than 12 KB protection when Practiced Brawler is active. 

 

I can definitely attest that EM/SD is a fun combo.

 

I've got a MA/Shield Brute that I'm trying to get off the ground as well, both she and this one are kinda slaves to their concepts at the moment.

 

EDIT: Updated build below.

 

 

Edited 21 hours ago by Story Archer

[Story Archer]

Alright, this is what I think I'm going to go with. It gives me the legendary single-target damage of EM and still a pretty potent 'semi-AoE' attack chain with Whirling Hands, Power Crash and a juiced up Cross Punch (honestly, hitting 2-3 at a time with each of these is just fine for my purposes). I know that going Fly with a melee character is a little weird, but I've grown to like Hover/Evasive Maneuvers in place of Sprint + Combat Jumping on some non-melee characters so I want to give it a shot, especially since it fits with theme. It's easy enough to fix down the road if I don't like it.

 

Scrapper (Energy Melee - Super Reflexes).mbd

 

Defenses and DDR are maxed and the perma-Hasten box is checked so I should be good to go. I didn't go overboard on defense over the cap, didn't put any real effort into Resistances and adding more +Rech was giving me diminishing returns. Once I get her enhanced and give her a whirl, I'll know what tweaks I want to make, if any. Thanks again for the input, guys, helpful as always.

 

Edited 2 hours ago by Story Archer