MA/SR Gurus Needed!

[Yin]

I need help. Heh. I want Golden Streak to actually be effective, but I don't know if that's possible with SR being as good as one Luck inspiration. What pools help with these two sets? And what powers should I not take? He's only level 23, too, but I want some help before I get towards higher levels and really mess him up. Thanks!

[The Widowed]

Inspirations run out. Powers don't. The Endurance can, but not the powers. And Endurance grows back. :)

Break Frees cost 50 Influence each. Practiced Brawler costs virtually nothing, it lasts longer and it's more effective than Break Free. (Is it better than Escape, though? I'll have to get back to you on that one).

Inspirations can't speed up your attack rate or running speed. Quickness does both.

Inspirations can't help you detect or attack Stealthed enemies like Stalkers or Knives of Artemis. Focused Senses can.

You can still get pounded into the dirt by an Archvillain if you use a Luck, even several Lucks. Elude makes you practically invincible, but beware the Endurance crash....

Yes, I hate hearing the claim that Lucks outmatch the entire Super Reflexes pool; It simply isn't true or, if it is, I haven't noticed any significant advantage Lucks have over SR. What these naysayers fail to consider in their analysis is the end of every mission, where you're eager to get on with the next mission and half your team runs off to their contacts or the Arena to buy more Inspirations. It's even worse if you're way off in the middle of nowhere, like you're way out in the Shadow Shard or you just got done killing hundreds of Devouring Earth during the Eden Trial and you're ready to jump into the Hive tunnels. Having the powers you need on hand means fewer trips to the store.

Super Reflexes can't soak up all the damage like Regeneration and Invulnerability can, but--like Dark Armor--it's better for utility than those two. It's also the best Secondary set for defense against psionics and negative status effects, and when you're going through Carnival of Shadows missions right and left after SL40 you'll be glad you took SR. It's great against those accursed Malta sappers, too. :)

[Blue Bolt]

The two pools I recommend are Fitness and Fighting. Fitness has Stamina, of course, and SR powers is definitely and end drainer. I suggested Fighting too because they nerfed the melee and ranged toggles a while back and Weave is a great way to get that back, if you don't mind another toggle. Did I mention getting Stamina? :P You could avoid getting the auto powers if you wanted too. Practiced Brawler is a must, and I suggest 3 slotting it with SOs so you can perma it. Other than that just go with you're gut, or do what I did and max out all my SR defenses :p

[Graphite]

Talk to Dark. I'm serious. After ED Wu Shu was completely in effective as a scratank and he helped me fix it. Really though, with out knowing what you want to do I don't know what advice I can give.

Aid Self is great, slot it with 3 health and 2 interrupts. Unless I'm dotted, it always works for a good heal.

Tough is nice. The best way to migate damage now seems to have multiple types: some def, some resist, some regen. Some slots in tough plus your passives can go along way.

I like Phase Shift. Yeah its expensive since it needs two previous powers. Stealth and Invis are useful but the ablity to completly avoid damage for 2 mins is quite handy.

Honestly there really aren't any powers I'd advise not getting. They are all good but only if they serve functions you want.

Hmm, on the MA side of things Focus Chi is nice but not neccicarly needed. Crane Kick and Thunder? (the jumping one) are good solid attacks. I use Dragons Tail more so for the knock down then the damage. Never underestimate the Cobra Strike. Once you have it and Eagles Claw, you can disorrent bosses!

[Yin]

Awesome stuff. Thanks!

[Dr Jack Wolfe]

Cobra Strike? Really? It takes sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long to charge, know the nearly guarenteed Disorient has been nice.....but the damage and the charge.

[Masked Revenger]

Cobra Strike? Really? It takes sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long to charge, know the nearly guarenteed Disorient has been nice.....but the damage and the charge.

It;s a must, as far as I'm conserned. Yes, the damage sucks, but the disorient is so nice, and I only use it once per enemy. Usually, I've nearly defeated or have completly defeated that enemy by the time the disorient wears off.

Also, I want to add that Practiced Brawler is a must. I'm sorry I waited so long to get it.

Chris

[Dynamo-Man]

I just created my first "real" MA/SR Scrapper, The Kung Fu Kid, so this thread helps me out too. Thanks! :)

[Yin]

Yeah. I'm sticking with Cobra Strike. I depend on it when the villain gets a little rough. That almost guaranteed disorient is nice.

[Sword]

I've got a MA/SR and a MA/Regen. The MA/SR is really a "super speedster" concept, so he's not really built to use the MA set. (Where's my Speed Melee set dammit?) At some point I decided to amke another MA character to really use the set to the fullest. I've got to say it's so far workign very well.
At the moment I'm using Crippeling Axe Kick, Thunder Kick, Crane Kick and Dragons Tail. Picking up Eagles Claw when I get to lvl32.
In hindsight, I should have taken Storm Kick as well. Perhaps replacing Thunder Kick. Why? Because Thunder is just strigth damage, while Storm has a chance to Disorient. The chance by itself is'nt all that great, BUT if you get lucky you can stack it with Cobra Strike and Eagles Claw. Also, I could use it in an attack chain instead of Crane Kick. The KB on Crane makes it sometimes annoying to use sicne you have to chase enemies around.
In teams he's great for eliminating troublesome mobs. Like Sorcs, Voids and Sappers. In large teams I'll spot the troublesome mobs in a group, leap in and hit one with CAK (Immobing and slowing him), one with CS (Disorient) and if there's a third, trip him over with Dragons Tail. Then I starts beating the tar out of them.

[Masked Revenger]

Sword, that sounds pretty much like how I use MR in teams, especially large teams. The Tanks are crowd controll, but my MA scrapper's job is to tackle the larger, more difficult mobs, especially the ones that have special effect powers.

On smaller teams, I usually find my job is to protect the squishies, especially blasters. Even though Tanks have punchvoke, blasters always draw agro, and one or two mobs will break away from the Tank and head to the blaster. My job then is to stop them from reaching him as he takes out the bigger mobs surrounding the Tank.

Chris