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Adding normal or cross delay to different percs can add a nice touch. Also vary the volume/intensity of various percs (this is like adding delay, but offers more control). For example, maybe you have a snare hit every second beat. Try adding in a quieter snare one tick (assuming 4 tpb) before the normal snare.
Play around with lots of different beats. Randomize stuff and see what parts sound good and what parts sound too weird. Mess with the sound of your percs to get more than just your standard kick/snare/hihat/clap sounds. Try adding in perc instruments that you wouldn't normally use. Don't be afraid to use a particular perc hit only once or twice every 4, 8, 16, or even 32 beats. Don't be afraid to have more than one pattern of some particular perc instrument playing at the same time -- sometimes it is easier to split a pattern into two or three patterns to get the rhythm right (especially if you are using ghost hits or otherwise changing the sound of the perc for different hits).
Most of all, just keep making different beats. I used to have a lot of trouble getting a good beat, beyond any more than, say, a kick and a hihat. I am getting better though, the more I sit around and write.
About sounds, production, or arrangement first... well, you really need all of them (not sure what the different between production and arrangement is supposed to be, though  ). However, I have been concentrating on getting good patterns going, and I am absolutely terrible at getting a good sound. But once I have the pattern, I can always go back and add a reverb/compression/another beat to thicken it up/whatever. So I work on getting the pattern right before I fix the sound. On the other hand, if something sounds atrocious, I fix it right then. The sound CAN influence the pattern.
Hope that helps.
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-brash
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