People have asked me what my PvP setup is. So I figured I would try to give a detailed explination of what I am using and why.
Scrapper Agent, QJ, Coulson's (can be replaced with Golden Screaming Eagle), Po4 and Phoenix Pinion
I am using a Scrapper Agent. I use this particular item setup simply because the AI has the least chance of screwing it up in comparison to other setups I have tried. That is the ultimate goal in PvP -- find a setup that the AI has the least chance of messing up and go with it.
The Scrapper Agent, with the right ISOs and Hero Bonuses is a total beast. He can 1-shot just about anyone in the game (sans perhaps Emma non-organic and Colossus). The advantage Scrappers get is enormous. Not only getting double attacks against Infiltrators, but also double attacks against anyone if they have the Scrapper Bonus. Since they do so much damage, this is an advantage that can literally take out an entire team in 2 attacks. As far as the Scrapper disadvantage, it takes Bruisers 1 round to actually become Enraged, so the first time a Scrapper hits them, or they hit you -- they get no advantage. Lately, I have been finding that the Enraged Bonus a Bruiser gets on their 2nd round just isn't all that good.
Coulson's can infact be replaced with Golden Screaming Eagle (GSE). The GSE does as much, if not more damage than Coulson's without the Avengers Coordinated Attack Bonus. I have spoken before about taking your time in the game and not leveling up your agent too quickly. A good example of that is Phoenix Pinion (and Coulson's for that matter). My Pinion is still doing an amazing amount of damage, and the Pinion coupled with Power of 4 can take out 1 or 2 people easily. The Pinion is great because it can bypass anyone who may be blocking, penetrates shields and mirror images, etc. In my opinion, it is pretty much the ultimate weapon in the game.
Remember, your ISO setup is going to be combined with your Hero Bonus. Both together are going to be your final (in fight) setup. So if you look at (mouse over your agent) your stats while actually in the PvP battle, you will see what your combined bonuses are. If you are lacking in any particular area in your ISO setup, you can make up for it with your Hero Bonus. Likewise, if you are OP in any area, you can make yourself more OP by stacking up your hero bonuses there.
For example, if you have a lot of Infiltrators on your team, there is really no point in using any Evasion ISOs. With that said, I'm not sure that the Evasion bonus actually works like it should anyway. I don't like to waste any points on it. PvP fights usually only last 2 rounds -- I rarely see anyone who dodges enough to matter, and I think those Hero and ISO Bonuses would be far better spent on something other than Evasion stats.
With the current setup I am using, I used 1 Chaotic ISO just to put a few more points in all areas. Normally I wouldn't have done that; however in this particular case I wanted to balance the fact that I used so many ISOs on Attack/Accuracy. It worked out well.
As far as my Hero Bonuses, I wanted to give myself a good amount of attack and accuracy without killing my defense. What I do personally is to let my AI fight overnight, then see how they did. Then I will adjust 1 person into or out of attack, then see how the AI does again. I keep adjesting 1 person in or out of a particular stat until my AI wins a lot more than it loses. Sometimes I will overadjust and have to go back to the previous night's Hero Bonus setup. But I honestly think it is possible to slowly adjust your bonuses until you find the perfect one.
You will see that I am 2 Infiltrators who could be moved to Scrappers. I moved them to Infiltrators on purpose because I think at some point the amount of Accuracy/Critical chance(s) you have will simply not progress any further. I am trying out Mockingbird (MB) in PvP right now, which is the other reason I moved 2 people into the Infiltrator slots. Sometimes when MB gets into Combat Reflexes, she will actually dodge an attack. I have seen this happen quite a few times while I was testing with various Tacs. Even though I don't think the Evasion stat really works right, since I wasn't really in need of two more scrappers, I decided I would try to give MB a better chance to dodge that one attack.
The current heroes I am using in PvP are Bruiser WWII Cap my Scrapper Agent. Honestly, you can use anyone else with them and they win a lot of AI fights. I have had success with P5 Emma Infiltrator and have had success with a Tac version of Dr. Strange. I think you could use pretty much anyone. The main reason I am using Cap rather than Colossus is that even if he dies, he will do some damage before he goes. I'm not sure why he does so well, but the Bruiser version is just far superior to the Tac version. Again, I have no idea why. I think one thing is that you rarely see any Blasters in the game at the moment. With the current setup I am using, Cap has a lot of health, defense and attack. His counter attacks do some serious damage. This is not to say that he won't be 1-shot from time to time by someone, but just judging from my testing and my daily Battle Reports, when I put WWII Bruiser Cap in, my scores always go up rather than down.
Remember, a lot of my personal success in PvP has to do with my Hero Bonuses and the fact that I can micromanage my bonuses. This article was done by request, and I make no guarentees that the setup will work for you. So if you try it and it doesn't work, don't blame me! ? ;)
Please see my other articles on:
How to Park Your Agent (info is a little old and process has changed somewhat, but the concept still holds true)
User blog:BrainYak/How to "Park" your Agent
Hero Bonuses Decoded