Sonic Melee for Scrapper

[Zugzwangz]

How is everyone liking the new powerset for scrapper? I tried it and couldn't get too far before I had to reroll. I didn't feel like I was doing much damage and it felt like a slog getting through content. 

 

For those that do like it:

What do you like most about it? What -- if anything -- would you change? What do you think works well in the set? Do you think it's a good set thematically? 

 

For those that do not like it:

What do you dislike most about it? What -- if anything -- would make the set better? Does anything work well in the set? Do you think the set has potential?

 

Since I didn't like what I experienced with it, I will answer the latter.

I dislike the animations, damage, and the attune mechanic. It would make more sense if attune was a self-stacking buff you accrued while striking the same target. Making Sonic a ST melee tycoon may provide the niche it needs. Not sure if anything works "well", as I didn't get too far into the leveling experience. I suppose that makes my opinion invalid. 

 

I'm curious to hear others' thoughts. 

[SomeGuy]

Liked:

 

The -RES Debuffs for most of the attacks (not DMG...only the Whisper attack does that tyme of -RES).

 

Dislike: 

 

"Meh" damage. Wasn't even mid enough to make up for the -RES on most of the attacks.

The set is to ST oriented. Yes, I know I primarily build for ST, but this is just silly.

Attune is to weak for how awkward it is. 

 

I'm not sure what the goal with this set was. Maybe it was posted somewhere and I missed it. Either way, if there was a goal, I feel like it was missed. @Zugzwangz has a decent idea about attune. I figure just throw it out with the bath water and have each attack do a % of what Attune does now. Or a toggle that applies the buff to each attack. Something. 

Edited December 1 by SomeGuy

[bAss_ackwards]

Mine is at 41 right now and it feels on the weaker side. The damage tax  for the utility the different attacks have feels a bit much at the current iteration. Almost every attack also has a long cast time, some of which don't hit until later in the animation. It's never satisfying when someone swoops in with a faster attack and kills what you were just about to.

 

After using Attune for quite a bit I don't use it much anymore unless its a hard target. The opportunity cost doesn't seem worth it. Personally I'd rather Attune do good damage on its own, have normal recharge for a T2, and apply its effect - rather than the power being available to use at all times.

 

Still, having more ways to Scrap is always appreciated. I get to come up with new characters with their themes, with different power combinations. For now, looking forward to kitting this one I'm working on.

 

Animations could have a more dynamic flair to them. You are causing sonic destruction in melee form.

[mistagoat]

Got my Sonic/SR scrap up to about 40 last night. Im running duo with a buddy on a Sonic/Electric Brute. 

We have both mostly stopped using Attune on anything less than a boss. It's just not worh it if its not a hard target. That being said, when we do encounter hard targets, Sonic seems pretty good at melting them. We ripped through Hopkins in record time last night! We're going to try him again tonight at a higher diff to see if it still does well.

Outside of those hard targets, its pretty mediocre at mobing. I like the speed of the clap and the pbaoe and they can do some decent work but they are the lower damage higher recharge type of powers and they don't feel very strong so it feels lacking in aoe.

I like the interaction of Attune and Strident Echo. All those DOTs are pretty nice on a boss+. I like the speed of the whole set, both recharge and activation. It feels fast like claws. I can make an aoe chain from Clap, pbaoe (forgot the name), Clap, Earsplitter, repeat. Clap can essentially be used every other attack.

Attune is undercooked. It seems like its supposed to be the cornerstone of the set but its so clunky it's just not getting much use. I currently have it 6 slotted but if I were to respec i think id give it 1-3 slots max. 

I'll get it to 50 but i dont expect it'll get much playtime after that unless some big tweaks are made.

 

[Thraxen]

I’m trying to think when I was more disappointed by a new melee set but can’t. Hopefully some like it. Animations are weird but I don’t make it far. I only made it through one dfb which I know isn’t much at all. 
 

I read through the powers and stuff during beta and now and can’t get it. I’m gonna try it again soon cause I’m addicted to melee. 

[espectro]

Is this a set that can benefit from procs, or just meh all around?

[espectro]

I was also wondering if attune is autohit or not. I see that it accepts acc enhancers.

[BrandX]

6 hours ago, espectro said:

Is this a set that can benefit from procs, or just meh all around?

 

I was averaging 1:30 Pylon times (using Ston's method of testing).   On Beta we see Earsplitter is getting more damage against Attuned Targets for 20% more damage (instead of the 10% it did).

 

Not sure if the additional time of the bonus to Echo/Thrust will make a big difference.

 

Looks like the AOEs will do more damage if used around an Attuned target, but I'm not 100% sure on that, but honestly, I never had issues with the AOE myself, except that I wanted Sonic Clap to be as good as Cross Punch on attuned targets.

[SomeGuy]

8 hours ago, espectro said:

Is this a set that can benefit from procs, or just meh all around?

 

 

Meh, all around. I put in extensive time testing the set with and without procs. 

 

You've got to do some crazy BS with running hybrid all the time just to get the set to give OK performance compared to other sets when they have Hybrid on. With Hybrid off? The set is absolutely less then mediocre. The only time I got good pylon times was when I was running Hybrid. I NEVER got impressive results (just frustration actually) doing missions with it. It's AOE is that bad. I've seen some ideas and proposals to make Attune less of a hassle, and how to make it beneficial to boot, but I don't foresee those sorts of things happening. 

 

I was running SM/ENA and only was able to get times in the mid 1s using Hybrid. I've got multiple characters that are X/ENA that get better then those times and do NOT have to rely on hybrid. I was really hoping the set to be a force multiplier at a minimum, like the ranged sonic sets, but alas....it is not.

 

At least poor DPS performing sets like Kinetic Melee and Dark Melee give back to a team in noticeable ways. Sonic Melee does not.

 

So, yes, It does benefit from procs. Also yes, it is meh all around.