Level Up! (yeah I stole it...) Double Xp Weekend

[CmdrSlack]

I haven't earned influence since lv 36.  I've spent the last four doing solely prestige gains and am just now running out of the reserve cash I built up in the early 30s.  EDIT -- That's because I had to buy a ton of new stuff....my scrapper hadn't been respecced since ED went in.  I use regen instead of SR, so some of my slotting may not make much sense for you (I don't need as much in the way of end reducers).

Smite & Shadow Punch:  3 Dam SO, 2 Acc SO
Shadow Maul:  3 Dam SO, 2 Acc SO, 1 Recharge SO (I may swap this for a 3rd Acc, I also run hasten three-slotted with recharge SOs)
Dark Consumption:  3 Endurance Mod (the one for end gains, not end use reduction) SOs, I believe I have two Accs in there as well
Soul Drain: 2 +to-hit, 2 damage, 2 recharge all SO
I don't use Siphon Life because, well, Regen.
Midnight grasp:  see previous post.

From regen, I did not take reconstruction, and I have yet to take revive or moment of glory -- I'll be taking revive after I take an epic pool

I use combat jumping for added defense, I plan to take acrobatics here or there if I can...I have so many respecs that it doesn't really matter what I do -- I can just redo it all at 50.

I also have taken leadership for the added defense power, this may get repsecced out if I don't have enough room for more powers.

Oh yeah, I also have the fitness pool.  Stamina is 3 slotted with the end gainers.  SO, of course.

IMO, you should be able to afford all SOs without much hassle, especially once you get your origin-specific shop in FF.

Now if only I could find the next one for me.....my FF store maxes out at 40.

[Strazos]

No no, you're slotting makes sense. With the way mine are set up right now, my endurance is nearly infinite, even while hastened. Though in the last couple of levels, Siphon Life has put somewhat of a hit on that when I have to use it, and Midnight Grasp takes a Lot of Endurance, so in extended fights, if I am using both of those a lot, my Endurance will eventually wind down.

That's also why I don't have Dark Consumption slotted extensively - I only really need to use it in emergencies. Same with Blues - I usually give them away if grouped, or simply burn them off to make room for possible more useful inspirations.

The one part of your slotting I am wondering about is Soul Drain. With those damage enhancements...does that add to the damage you do while under the resultant buff, or does the initial "drain" hit just do a bit more damage? I thought it was the latter, which is why I don't slot damage into it; I figure, once I am buffed, everything around me is going to die in short order anyway, so a couple more points from the drain are not going to mean much.

Also, on your slotting of MG, and sort of DM in general: why did you slot the debuffs only into MG? Just wondering. Also...I was getting so much combat spam once I actually got MG that I didn't get a chance to check this, but...do the tendrils always "proc" when MG hits, or can MG hit but not give the immoblize? Just wondering, because when I first got it, the attack seemed Very innaccurate. Even now, it may not be as accurate as I would like.

[CmdrSlack]

I usually lead off with soul drain.  Now that I think about it, I maybe don't have damage in there, but recharge instead.  It's sad, but I can't recall off the top of my head.  I do know that I've had damage in there -- it's fun for the tiny minions like rikti monkeys....let those little buggers swarm you, pop the soul drain and WHAM, you 're dishing out damage and hitting like nobody's business.  Plus, no more monkeys.

I also use the fear ability (name of which escapes me) early on in fights vs bigger nastier guys like LTs and bosses.  I'm working on the slotting, but it'll end up being 3 Acc, 2 tohit defbuffs, and 1 fear.  That in concert with MG makes for a mob that just won't swing at you and can't really hit if he does. 

The MG debuffs do work as far as I can tell, especially when stacked with the fear ability. 

My basic goal is to keep myself alive while my powers like Instant Heal and Dull Pain recharge.  I'm still getting used to IH being an activateable and not a toggle.  That's going ot end up 3 heal, 3 recharge, just like Dull Pain.  I try to add heals to all of my regen powers so that I'm rarely taking damage that isn't instantly healed.  I use mainly those "new" orange inspirations, defense, damage and accuracy.  I always get a shitload of blues though.  It's rather annoying...which reminds me...I need to put a storage area into the base so I can  pawn those off on teh others in the SG.

I'm still refining this slotting build....it's my first attempt at slotting post-ED so I'm a bit behind the curve of most other people.

[Strazos]

Just wonder, what server are you and your SG on now, mostly?

[CmdrSlack]

We're on Victory.  We play one set of toons on Weds. nights from 8-11 CST.  The rest of the time, it's usually just me fooling around, Jimbo has a couple of toons in the SG as well.  I'm learning to stop worrying and love pickup groups.

ETA -- On not-Wednesdays, I'm usually on late...like 11pm CST or later until sometime in the morning hours, depending on how much I've had to do all day.  I'm currently working on two rather involved research and writing gigs as well as studyign for the CA bar exam, so my late night play sessions are my sanity maintainers.  There's nothing more satisfying than whuppin' up on some baddies after a day of slogging through the 1,466 page legislative history of the Privacy Act of 1974.  There's nothing that can make up for studying California's community property laws, but beating up Nazis comes close.

[Llava]

The enhancement store after 40 is the Invisible Falcon in Peregrine Island.  He's right up there at the front of the zone (or like 20 yards from it, hard to miss him, look for the big crowd standing by him buying enhancements), and he has all the SO enhancements for every origin.

In my opinion, slotting Shadow Maul for recharge is a bit of a waste.  Instead, I'd rather slot Shadow Punch and Smite for recharge, allowing me to keep up a stream of quick, powerful attacks.  Then, once  I've cycled through them all enough that they're all recharging (which is usually a few cycles), I hit Shadow Maul and let it go while the rest of them recharge.  While Shadow Maul may seem a devastating attack, it takes so long to activate that your  DPS actually goes down when you use it.  In the time it takes, you could have activated a Midnight Grasp, Shadow Punch and Smite (which should be WELL more than enough to take out a white or yellow minion).

That's my preference, though.  I only really use Shadow Maul in the above situation or if I have a nice cone set up.

[CmdrSlack]

I've found that it's really useful for me largely because I run at Unyielding or the highest setting (Invincible?) when I solo to make it more worthwhile.  The added damage for orange/red mobs is nice.  Shadow Maul also has the added benefit of keeping the mob you're hitting out of action for the duration of the attack, which kind of ups my survivability.  Heck, I may not have recharge in there, I would have to log in and check.  Doing that would seriously cut my productivity, so I've been guessing at my slotting. :)

[Glazius]

Shadow Maul also has the added benefit of keeping the mob you're hitting out of action for the duration of the attack, which kind of ups my survivability. 

No, it doesn't. That "owowowowowow" animation is completely interruptible.

--GF

[CmdrSlack]

Shadow Maul also has the added benefit of keeping the mob you're hitting out of action for the duration of the attack, which kind of ups my survivability. 

No, it doesn't. That "owowowowowow" animation is completely interruptible.

--GF

That's odd, because I sure don't get attacked while it's going on.

[Llava]

Because the animation stops when they go to make an attack.  It doesn't prevent them from doing anything, though, anymore than them using the same move on you prevents you from attacking back.

It's the same as all "hit-reaction" animations, whether it's the one where you raise an arm to block the attack or the "pummeled" one.  Just decoration, no combat effect.

[Strazos]

Well, the way my stuff is slotted at the moment, I do good damage Efficiently. At least until I have to start spamming Siphon Life, my endurance pool lasts me a very long time. Longer if I don't spam Midnight Grasp.

/shrug   I seem to do well enough as I run missions on Invincible. Only bosses give me a problem...sometimes.

[Sky]

I played on easy mode. With a mastermind.

I'm just not good at games, I guess :)

[Signe]

Me too.  I always play on easy mode.  If this were a single player game, I'd be cheating.

[CmdrSlack]

I played on easy mode. With a mastermind.

I'm just not good at games, I guess :)

Probably not, but your TV is AWESOME at 'em!   :-D

ETA -- smileys ftw