City of Heroes/Scrappers

This page should serve as a general tips page for scrappers. Any builds that you might want to add, feel free. However, please create your own page from a link here. To do so, edit this page and add your link to the builds list by typing [[City of Heroes/Scrappers/My Build|My Build]] Click save and then click on the link that you just created, from there you can write your own wiki page.

General Scrapper tips and tricks

No solo criminal wants to tangle with a Scrapper, because bets are that only the Scrapper will walk away. In a one-on-one fight the Scrapper is unmatched and can even take on any Yellow and most Oranges and walk away.

Pick off your enemy one-by-one whenever possible. Many criminals hang in groups though, so if you need to take them on, make sure you're at least 75% health first, with a healing inspiration or two on standby. Groups of Whites are rarely a problem, but more than two Yellows can prove tricky. That's where Taunt manouvers come in.

Regardless of level, always take out healers and summoners first. If there are no healers or summoners, take out the biggest danger. The Teleporters of a group are best left until last though - chasing them may get you into trouble with other warriors, and they always come back.

In group play, you're not there for pure glory, but for your co-fighters the Tankers. While they soak up the damage (which they can take) you give assistance with your heavier damage and faster speed, or peel some of the weight off Controllers and Defenders who got too close to the action.

Many of the Scrappers' primary attacks have low endurance costs (especially compared to the other Archetypes) so you should stock up on healing and damage Inspirations instead, especially for solo missions. If it's a choice between healing or damage, take healing. When it comes to secondary powers, yours is the defensive type. Since you'll be hammering away hard and fast at the enemy, Auto Defences should be your first option, so you don't need to worry about toggling those powers.

Scrapper Primaries

Spines

A Spines scrapper is covered with big spikey spines. Not only can you hit someone with the spines on your fist, but you can fire spines at a single target or at everyone within range. Most of the attacks only do moderate damage, but because you can easily hit multiple foes the total amount of damage can really add up. Spines scrappers are AoE kings and can devastate large numbers of minions. They also enjoy the rare privilege of having a good ranged attack. All attacks contain a small dose of poison, which slows your enemy down. Spines also has the benefit of being the only Power Set that can deal Toxic typed damage. All Spines attack have a weak toxic damage over time component.

Powers

• Barb Swipe: A low damage, single target attack with a rather long animation. This not a power that seasoned Spines users take.
• Lunge: A decent single target attack that will serve a Spines Scrapper through most of their career.
• Spine Burst: The first AoE attack that Spines gets. Decent damage, good range PBAoE attack with a long animation time.
• Build Up: Inreases damage by 100% and accuracy by 66% for 10 seconds. A great power, especially in the earlier levels of the game.
• Impale: A high damage, single target, ranged attack with a long animation. Impale has an immobilize and -Fly status effect on any targets hit by it.
• Taunt: Forces a PvE enemy to attack the taunter. Locks the targeting reticle on the taunter in PvP.
• Quills: A PBAoE damage toggle. Decent range, very low damage per second. Don't let the low damage fool you, the total damage output from Quills adds up fast; especially in long fights or against large groups.
• Ripper: Arguably the second best attack in the set. High damage, 90 degree cone attack with a moderately long animation. Ripper can knock down enemies, and knock back weak enemies.
• Throw Spines: Very decent damage, ranged, 90 degree cone attack. Easily the best attack in the Power Set.

Claws

This power set may remind you of a certain member of the X-Men. The Claws power set is versatile. You will not excel at any one thing, but you don't have any glaring deficiencies either. Claws is the only scrapper power set besides Spines to have a ranged attack. There are some decent single target attacks, some good cone attacks, and an AoE. Always worried about Endurance? With Claws, you'll never worry about it again, as it's light.

Powers

• Swipe:
• Strike:
• Slash:
• Spin: AoE. Spin with your claws out. Useful for those ugly situations when you get surrounded.
• Follow Up:
• Confront: The Claws' Taunt. Good for peeling enemies off your pals, or getting them to attack you rather than going into a group.
• Focus: Claws' only range attack. Hurls an attack at an enemy and gets their attention, with a good chance of Knockback - handy for explosive enemies. You may want to put an Enhancement into its Range.
• Eviscerate:
• Shockwave:

Martial Arts

Once considered the worst Scrapper power set, Martial Arts was heavily tweaked during Issue 2. There are a lot of attacks which can knockdown or disorient a target, and plenty of decent single target attacks. When it comes to fighting large groups of villains all at once, a Martial Arts scrapper will have a harder time of it, though the one AoE attack, Dragon's Tail, available at level 26, is very effective. All Martial Arts attacks have an innate bonus to accuracy.

Powers

• Thunder Kick:
• Storm Kick:
• Cobra Strike:
• Focus Chi:
• Crane Kick:
• Warrior's Challenge:
• Crippling Axe Kick:
• Dragon's Tail:
• Eagle's Claw:

Broadsword

Blow for blow, the Broadsword is the heaviest hitting primary. Broadsword tends to be slow and use a lot of endurance, but can deal crushingly powerful blows. There is one cone attack and one AoE, but the real strength of the set lies in the single target attacks like disembowel and headsplitter. Every time you hit an opponent with your broadsword, it will reduce their defense, making it easier to hit them again.

Powers

• Hack:
• Slash:
• Slice:
• Build Up:
• Parry:
• Confront:
• Whirling Sword:
• Disembowel:
• Head Splitter:

Katana

At release, the animations for Katana were identical to Broadsword. With Issue 2, the animations were completely redone, and much improved. Katana uses less endurance than Broadsword, but doesn't hit quite as hard. It is faster, though, so the damage per second is good. It's a well rounded and effective primary. Like the broadsword, every time you hit an opponent with your katana, it will reduce their defense, making it easier to hit them again.

Powers

• Sting of the Wasp: Basic bread and butter attack power.
• Gambler's Cut: Faster, weaker version of Sting of the Wasp.
• Flashing Steel: A wide, shallow cone.
• Build Up: Increases accuracy and damage long enough to make 3-4 attacks.
• Divine Avalanche: Minor damage, 20% melee defense.
• Calling the Wolf: Single target taunt.
• The Lotus Drops: Melee range AoE. Not a heavy hitter, but effective in a crowd.
• Flying Dragon: Hits hard, often knocks opponent upward.
• Golden Dragonfly: Your strongest attack. Often knocks opponents down. Tiny cone effect.

Dark Melee

Dark Melee has the greatest variety of powers. Not only are there three solid attacks, but there is a power to help you recover health, and one to help you recover endurance, and another that can make an opponent cower in fear. Dark Melee excels at damaging a single target at a time, but some of the utility powers depend upon being surrounded by a crowd. All Dark Melee attacks reduce an opponent's accuracy, making it harder for them to hit you. Most Dark Melee attacks cause some negative damage, which is less likely to be resisted than the smashing and lethal damage which most other Scrapper primaries inflict.

Powers

• Shadow Punch: The usual quick but low damage starting attack. Useful when starting, but can be dropped in later respecs once you have other attacks.
  • Brawl Index: 2.33
  • Endurance: 6.5
  • Recharge: 3 seconds
  • Animation: 1 second

• Smite: Slower but more powerful version of Shadow Punch. They make a nice one-two combination attack for most of your early career.
  • Brawl Index: 3.66
  • Endurance: 10.0
  • Recharge: 6 seconds
  • Animation: 1 second

• Shadow Maul: Your best attack in the entire pool, for one reason: it's a cone attack. With a bit of practice you can hit upwards of three villains every attack with this, and the damage isn't small to begin with.
  • Brawl Index: 6
  • Endurance: 11.0
  • Recharge: 8 seconds
  • Animation: 3 seconds

• Touch of Fear: With the changes to fear, this is now a very useful power. 20% accuracy debuff, coupled with a greatly lowered attack rate make this power a wonderful damage limiter. With enough recharges, can be stacked on bosses, and allegedly AV's.
  • Endurance: 12.5
  • Recharge: 8
  • Animation: 1 second

• Siphon Life: Depending on your secondary, it can either be a life saver, or completely unnecessary. Very high endurance for not much health. However, it does damage, and is yet another 5% accuracy debuff which will stack with all your other attacks. Not a bad little package if you have the endurance for it.
  • Brawl Index: 2.78
  • Endurance: 22.5
  • Recharge: 15
  • Animation: 1 second

• Taunt: Generic single target taunt. Generally lots more useful powers you could be taking.

• Dark Consumption: PBAoE attack that restores 33 endurance per even-con minion hit? Get it immediately at 18, and six slot recharges as soon as possible. Stamina? Who needs stamina?
  • Brawl Index: 2.22
  • Endurance: 1.0
  • Recharge: 3 minutes
  • Animation: 2 seconds

• Soul Drain: This makes a wonderful couple with Dark Consumption. Another PBAoE that boosts your damage and accuracy by 12.5% per enemy hit. In big groups the bonus from this will make Dark Consumption take minions to 50% and Shadow Maul one shot lt's. Two recharge rates make it come up together with a six-slotted Dark Consumption.
  • Brawl Index: 2.78
  • Endurance: 22.5
  • Recharge: 2 minutes
  • Animation: 3 seconds

• Midnight Grasp: While the damage is not that much more than Shadow Maul, and is single target only, this final power has two useful qualities. One, it also immobilizes, useful for those runners, and two, it's entirely negative energy damage, which is resisted a lot less than the half smashing component of Shadow Maul.
  • Brawl Index: 6.33
  • Endurance: 17.5
  • Recharge: 15 seconds
  • Animation: 2 seconds

• Dual Blades:

Scrapper Secondaries

Super Reflexes

The idea behind Super Reflexes is very simple: don't get hit. If you don't get hit, then you don't get hurt, and you also don't suffer the secondary effects of many attacks, like knockdowns, stuns, etc. Some of the powers also increase your accuracy and attack rate, and many of them are conveniently automatic.

Unfortunately, you have high defense, and that's it. Super Reflexes has no damage dealing moves or healing methods. Sooner or later you will get hit, and it will hurt. Super Reflexes is the gambler's defence. As long as you don't get hit, you can beat any enemy. Finish off each enemy as quickly as possible.

Powers

• Focused Fighting:
• Focused Senses:
• Agile:
• Practiced Brawler:
• Dodge:
• Quickness:
• Lucky:
• Evasion:
• Elude:

Invulnerability

Invulnerable scrappers get hit, but it doesn't hurt so much. They can develop resistance to all attacks except psychic ones. They also get a pretty good boost to their defense, so they don't get hit all that often, either. It's a very powerful set. Issue 3 reduced the maximum amount of resistance attainable, but also removed the self root from one of the main powers. Invulnerability is still a very powerful defense. Stuff just doesn't hurt you very much.

Powers

• Resist Physical Damage:
• Temporary Invulnerability:
• Dull Pain:
• Resist Elements:
• Unyielding Stance:
• Resist Energies:
• Invincibility:
• Tough Hide:
• Unstoppable:

Regeneration

Regenners have no defense and almost no resistance. They get hit a lot, and it hurts a lot. But they get better! All damage, no matter where it comes from, can be healed in just a few seconds. Of course, if you get hit again during those few seconds, things could get dicey. A regen scrapper tends to go from perfect health to near death and back again in a wild see-saw which can drive a defender crazy, but as long as the incoming damage is less than the rate of regeneration, a regen scrapper can survive anything.

Powers

• Fast Healing: Auto power. You must take this power, and cannot respec out of it. Fast Healing increases the rate at which you recover hit points. It is more effective than Health, from the fitness pool, but much less effective than Integration or Instant Healing. It's probably not worth slotting.
• Reconstruction: This works like a Respite inspiration. Once you get Instant Healing, you probably won't use Reconstruction very often, but it is helpful at the lower levels.
• Quick Recovery: Auto power. Increases the rate at which you recover endurance. This is a great power! It deserves six slots. It works like Stamina, from the fitness pool, but it is much better. You should always add slots to QR before you put slots in Stamina.
• Dull Pain: Click power. Temporarily increases your maximum hit points and heals you by the amount of the increase. Adding heal enhancements will not increase the amount by which your max hp goes up, only the amount you are healed up to the new max. Can be made "perma" with enough recharge enhancements.
• Integration: Toggle. Massive protection against all status effects, like disorient, knockdown, sleep, etc. Wonderful! Also provides a boost to your healing rate which makes Fast Healing pale in comparison. Probably good to give it six slots: maybe an endurance reducer, all the rest heals.
• Resilience: Auto power. Provides a small amount (around 5%) of resistance to smashing and lethal damage. Also gives resistance to disorient. Not a very important power, and probably not worth slotting.
• Instant Healing: Click Power. This is the essence of the regen powerset. Dramatically increases your healing rate. Has a large endurance costs. Most people slot two endurance reducers and four heals.
• Revive: Works a lot like an awaken inspiration. Not a very popular power, since you can always carry awakens. Standing back up while a fight is raging around you is a good way to get extra debt, anyhow.
• Moment of Glory: Click power. Shuts off your regeneration, but gives you huge resistances to everything except psychic attacks. The opposite of everything regen is supposed to do, but very helpful against some enemies, like Malta Sappers. Can be made "perma".

Dark Armor

Dark Armor contains the most diverse collection of powers. Some powers offer resistance, like Invulnerability. Cloak of Darkness boosts defense, while also providing stealth. Dark Regeneration heals you. There are also powers to frighten, disorient, or damage your opponents. Before Issue 3, Dark Armor was considered the black sheep of scrapper secondaries. Now that it is possible to have status protection and damage protection at the same time, expect to see DA grow in popularity. The heavy endurance costs of running multiple toggles is still an issue, though.

Powers

• Dark Embrace:
• Death Shroud:
• Murky Cloud:
• Obsidian Shield:
• Dark Regeneration:
• Cloak of Darkness:
• Cloak of Fear:
• Oppressive Gloom:
• Soul Transfer: