I'm doing the 14 day trial...

Beda

I actually got it yesterday and I am actually relieved at what a break it is from the constant elves, orcs, etc. environment.  I went online to the officail forums and found a good Dark Armor Scrapper build.  I created my character and entered the game and began playing.  Well on the build that I printed up it had what enhancements needed to go where.  So in the section Level 1-30 it showed the enhancement placements.  I just don't understand...here is an example of where the guide tells you to put enchancements:

Level 1-30 (SO slotting)

Level: 32

Archetype: Scrapper

Primary: Dark Melee

Secondary: Dark Armor

---------------------------------------------

01) --> Shadow Punch==> Acc(1) Acc(3) Dmg(3) Dmg(5) Dmg(17) EndRdx(27)

So from level 1-30, I use this but i thought when you level higher and the numbers turn red on the SO, they are worthless and need upgraded.  I'm just confused.   I just don't want to mess the placement of the SO so I have to respect.  I mean if your a higher level and you get a higher say Acc(10) enhancement, wouldn't you use that one instead of using a (1) ?  I have no idea.  But I like the game a lot.  I got into an active SG the first night and leveled up to 8 in a couple hours.  I even did the bank quest for the jet pack.  It was a blast.  The SG people were friendly and it didn't seem boring like the typical fantasy MMO's i'm used to playing.  I will be getting this game.

Lidane

I would recommend reading this article from the ParagonWiki. It might help to answer some of your questions:

cityofheroes.wikia.com/wiki/Enhancements

Hope this helps!

bonobotheory

When CoH players discuss builds, the numbers in parenthesis represent the character level where you add the slot, not the level of the enhancement itself. The enhancement level should always be the best you can afford to use.

So in the example you gave:

01) --> Shadow Punch==> Acc(1) Acc(3) Dmg(3) Dmg(5) Dmg(17) EndRdx(27)

At level 1, take the Shadow Punch power, and add a single Accuracy enhancement into the slot.

At level 3, add two slots to the power. Put an Accuracy enhancement and a Damage enhancement into the slots.

At level 5, add one slot. Put a Damage enhancement into the slot. The build should list another power with an enhancement at (5), since you get two enhancement slots at level 5.

At levels 17 and 27 you'll add the final two slots, adding a Damage enhancement at 17 and an Endurance Reduction at 27.

DrowNoble

From 1-30 you get a new power at even levels and 2 enhancement slots at odd levels.  So what your guide is telling you is at level one put 1 accuracy enhancement.  At level 3 you get 2 more slots, so it says add another acc and 1 damage (you'll have 2 acc and 1 dam at this point).

As for the SO's you can't use them til level 22 anyways.  The lowest level SO is 25, and you only have a +/-3 of when you can use and they go red.  At level 12 you can start using DO's, since they start at level 15.  This is only referring to store bought enhancements as it is possible to get one as a drop or a mish reward that is an odd level.  If you take down an ArchVillain, you get an SO 3 levels higher than the AV, so if the AV is 30, you'll get a 33 SO from defeating it.  Must be an "archvillain" and not "elite boss" to get the guaranteed SO.

I'd say talk to your SG members and ask the advice of the scrappers there.  Feel free to ask people you meet on a team too as most people here are rather friendly and helpful. 

I have a scrapper myself (Dark Melee/Regen), so my personal opinion is I disagree with the last one of End Reduction.  Shadow Punch is your low dmg/fast attack power, it doesn't use much end to begin with.  Since all the dark powers have an Acc debuff inherent, I used 2 acc, 3 dam and 1 tohit debuff as my 6 slot build for shadow punch.  Of course since I have both Stamina (fitness power pool) and Quick Recovery (Regen), end is rarely a problem for me so I don't bother with End Reduction enhancements.  With you using Dark Armor, end may become an issue for you later on as you're running more toggle powers.