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Official Description: "The Scrapper is a fierce melee combatant. In hand to hand, no other hero can compare. But the Scrapper is not as resiliant as the Tanker, and might find himself in a little trouble if he heedlessly wades into combat. The Scrapper's aptitude for melee is countered by a total lack of long distance attacks. Scrappers possess Critical Strike capability. Their melee attacks have a chance to sometimes do double damage."
Primary: Melee
Secondary: Defense
Hit Points: Medium
Damage: High
Icon: Slash - Similar to the icon for a slashing Power, this icon suggests that even an unarmed Scrapper is a dangerous weapon.
Inherent:
Critical Hit - The Scrapper is a fierce melee combatant. In hand to hand, no other hero can compare. All Scrapper attacks have a chance to land a Critical Hit for up to Double Damage. The higher the rank of the target, the greater the chance for a successful Critical Hit. Critical Damage
The Scrapper has the following Power Sets to choose from:
Scrappers may wield different weapons - some may not even wield weapons at all - but they all share a common "theme", in that they prefer to use skill over brute strength. Even so, there are many different types of Scrapper, sometimes even within the same Power Set. The use of different Power Pools may change the strategy of a Scrapper, and some heroes, who draw their main power from the Pool, may simply fall into the Scrapper archetype by default. Thus, there are several "subarchetypes" from which to draw from as a Scrapper player. Follow this link for more examples of the Scrapper and his many strategies.
Tips for playing the Scrapper:
While solo:
First of all, always start your Scrapper by reinforcing his DEFENSES. This may seem contrary to the Scrapper's strengths, but it's far too easy to get caught up in the "coolness" of the Scrapper's attacks and leave yourself vulnerable. Pick defensive Powers first, and Enhance them until they are strong enough that you can survive. THEN go for more attacks.
The Scrapper is not about being the first to strike. If Blasters are beating you to the punch, and that bothers you, play a Blaster. The Scrapper strikes when the time is right, with strategy and cunning. If you rush into combat, you'll be overwhelmed.
Despite what the description says, yes you CAN have ranged attacks. Look at the Claws or Spines Power Sets for possibilities. Most Scrapper ranged attacks are not primarily an attack, though, but a way to slow down or distract the enemy while you close to hand to hand range.
Don't rely on the Scrapper to be able to absorb damage like a Tanker. If you could take damage like a Tanker, you'd do damage like one. Instead, single out your foes, and dart in and out of combat. Your ability to take out opponents quickly is a strength, don't waste it by just standing there while his friends beat on you.
Don't be afraid to beat a hasty retreat. Running away merely means you can recover your strength to come back. And unlike a Blaster, you can keep an eye on your foes to see if they're following you while you slip away.
Movement powers are very important to the Scrapper. The faster you can move, the sooner you can engage in battle, and the faster you can get away. Tankers are slow and sluggish, the Scrapper should be fast and clever. Use strategy, don't just go in there flailing.
Stealth is also important to the Scrapper, as he does not draw attention the way the Tanker's Inherent, Gauntlet, does. The Scrapper is much more able to slip in to a group of foes, take one or two of them out, and dart away before most of the group is aggroed. This can help divide up groups, making them easier to defeat, and can be increased by taking powers which reduce your visibility even further, such as Stealth and Super Speed.
"Runners", or foes that run from you, can be a problem for the Scrapper. One solution is Confront, (or Warrior's Challenge, for the Martial Artist) which should bring a fleeing villain back. It may take a while for this power to open up, so you may want to consider getting it if runners are a bother to you.
Confront is also useful for "pulling" foes to you so you can take them out, without alerting their allies. As with a Blaster, the secret is to duck behind a corner or an object immediately after using Confront. This forces the bad guy to come look for you, instead of just shooting at you from range. Remember that you want to minimize the time it takes to close, because that's time that the foe can attack you and you can't attack back. Making him come to you is as useful a strategy as you going to him.
While on a team:
The Scrapper's Inherent, Critical Hit, is really intended to benefit team play. Although Criticals raise a Scrapper's overall damage, and can really help defeat a foe quickly when they happen, because they are random you can't really rely on them. However, the change of Critical increases against Bosses and Lieutenants, meaning that it is more efficient for Scrappers to fight these foes instead of Minions. In a group, this is the Scrapper's role, he should head straight for the Boss, and begin wailing on him, while the Tanker draws the Minions to him with his Gauntlet Inherent.
If necessary, a Scrapper can tank if there is no Tanker around to do the job, and you can check out the tips for Tankers to get some ideas about how to perform that role. With considerably weaker defenses than a Tanker, however, tanking is almost impossible for a Scrapper without a Defender to back him up. You should be even more careful not to let yourself be overwhelmed, drawing foes to you and your allies with Confront, or dart in and out of the combat so you pull some of the foes away from the main group.
Since a Scrapper is so solo-oriented, he really does not have a set role in a group. Fill in where needed, playing defensively if the situation calls for it, or offensively if you are one of the primary damage dealers. If you have built your Scrapper with some control or healing choices from the Power Pool, or you have some control abilities in your main Power Sets (Dark has some particularly strong Fear attacks) you can use them to support your team as well, if the need arises. Because Scrappers are naturally very self-reliant, you are usually in a good position to help out other teammates, without needing a lot of help yourself, when you get in trouble.
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