Blood Red Arachnid

The implications of those statements are more profound than that. If I say that there is a problem with targeting regarding stalkers, and your response can be summarized as "it takes practice and skill", then the issue has been shifted from the problem to me. This subsequently implies that I am

*Lacking skill (ergo am bad at the game)
*Have not practiced (ergo am ignorant)
*Do not know what enemies should be ASed (ergo ignorant).
*Have not attempted to practice (ergo am stupid or lazy)
*Do not know what binds are (ergo am ignorant)

And this slippery slope always turns into a ****ing contest where whomever is right is whomever is the one with the greatest distance (more skilled). These subtleties are picked up, both consciously and subconsciously, by other readers and denotes me as such.

However I digress.


Any player who plays as a stalker has already encountered this delay and always tries to accommodate for it for every future use of AS, or any interruptable power. The double-tap effect doesn't help either, since I have had many consecutive failures to que up, hinting that this ping displacement can last anywhere up to three seconds on nearby servers. I quickly learned to not attempt the consecutive use after a few times where I would fail to use my snipe four times in a row.

I play rather smoothly low graphics w/ highspeed cable internet connection, so I assume that this issue might have to deal with the server. If the case is like that of Rakion, where glitches in position would run abound (note, years old experience on it, may be outdated), then this presents a very real issue that divides ideal behavior from game-capable behavior.


I said this to another person, but debates often go tunnel vision on us, so I'll repeat:

Given that my vexation with stalkers is the difficulty in which AS can be used and the lack of benefit from accomplishing AS, the content of my argument will be oriented around it.

The stealth facet of AS doesn't stop retaliation, and thus the delayed response isn't too valuable. Even when killed instantly, critters are capable of firing off a counter-attack the instant they are hit, letting them get in a last laugh before collapsing. In a few instances this has resulted with me and my target having a mutual death; a rather hilarious occurrence. Regardless, the non-aggro during failure and aggro on activation don't provide any new diversity in potential recipients for the AS, or any other uses. The targets remain the same: Enemies that are an immediate threat and cannot be killed quicker through other attacks. The only thing that those benefits really do is prevent AS from spectacularly failing should it be fired off without being interrupted.



There is not a player in the game that does not attempt to streamline AS usage as much as possible when they have it on their stalker. All players try altering their camera angles, alternate means of targeting, finding the sweet spot for positioning and timing to prevent interrupt, and practice this every moment their stalker is on a team. That, or they give up on the AT.

The reason why dominators and blasters don't suffer from as big of a problem with quick targeting is due to their AoE being able to just bowl over the problems they might have. On large teams, aggro is dispersed, and AoE effects can hit nearly the whole mob just by targeting the rough middle. The two classes also fight at a distance, meaning that potentially dangerous critters can be easily spotted since they'll be running right at you, making themselves a much easier target. Finally, when a stalkers AS fails, the other blaster/dom on the team dies, so it's a mutual gamble.

I suppose that would mean we agree on this point.


I never assumed it was the only advantage either. My vexation with stalkers is the difficulty in which AS is used and the lack of reward for successfully doing so, so the content of my argument will be centered around it.

AS isn't taunt... also I was already referring to the whole team when I said things like "substantial threat". I guess I missed it out on the proofread, but it should be "If substantial mitigation from demoralize" instead of AS.



All of these things contribute to the problems regarding AS. Not just one at a time, but in full concert with one another. From the things that are avoidable, to the things that require great finess to work around, and culminating from the lack of substantial reward for doing so. Don't get me wrong: AS does plenty of damage when done right. But, is it worth all of the trouble of dealing with it? I say thee nay. And this poses a real balancing problem:

Stalkers are always inevitably compared to scrappers due to their similarities. To warrant one's use over another, one has to have substantial benefits the other does not, and vice versa. The benefits of the scrapper include higher base damage, higher critical hits under most circumstances, higher build up, higher HP, and more AoE damage. The benefits of the stalker include higher overall damage when 5 or more teammates are within 30', an innate stealth, good AoE protection, and high burst damage with controlled criticals and Assassin Strike.

The stealth, not so much an advantage in PvE, given the widespread use of the stealth pool, super speed, stealth IOs, and innate stealth powers. The higher situational damage rate, not so much an advantage, since the only time you'll get 5 or more close up teammates is when you'll have 5 or more other melee classes with you (the maximum being 7). So this leaves you with good AoE defense and high burst damage from controlled criticals and assassin strike. All in all, this means that the usefulness of the stalker rides heavily on AS.

I theorize that the devs are experimenting with moving away from AS, given that Kinetic Melee's Burst has a guaranteed critical hit from hiding, and recharging buildup from concentrated strike (arguably more powerful than it simply being a critical hit itself). If they want to just make AS situational and emphasize controlled criticals, I suppose that is also an acceptable path.

And it ends again with being about my skill level. I suppose that I failed in my attempt to make this argument about the objective merits, or to push these merits away from merely being nags and nitpicks. Know that I am not just complaining: I say there is a balancing issue here.

I will end with a quote from I believe the Count of Monte Cristo:

"Do not fall into the trap of the artisan who boasts twenty years of experience, when in fact he has had only one year of experience-- twenty times."

I will respond with:

There is an ideology of apathy toward dealing with problems that I see often. This is the kind of ideal where, if there is a large hole in the middle of the road, the person would refuse to fix it simply because they can drive by it and expect others to do so. I'm not sure if it comes from some feeling of superiority about being able to do so/discriminating against others who can't, or if someone truly thinks that working around something that is broken fixes it, or if they simply deny that anyone would ever have problems with this issue.

The fallacy is that apathy = opposing point. If I provide a point of contention for myself and/or other players, and you do not have this point of contention, then your lack of discontent is *not* an argument for keeping things the same. The changes aren't made for the people who have problems, not the people who don't. Now, if you can provide some reason as to why it is that things will be messed up or why you personally wouldn't see to either fix the issue/make it tolerable for the benefits it provides, then we'll have something worthwhile to discuss.


AS is not an attack like any other. It is a melee range sniper power with interrupt time, a long activation, and only mediocre damage when non-critical. The high ST damage nature and AT focus of AS means that over-damaging on some weak or weakened critter critically affects the team contribution of Stalkers, akin to a blaster that uses it's nuke on just two minions. The particular critter you kill is of great importance, since there is a vast difference in threat between, say, a longbow flamethrower and a void slayer. The reason why you would use weaker attacks on a weakened critter is due to the fact that AS would be a waste on it, thereby confirming the conditions you just argued against.

It is not subjective that minions crowded around a boss can make targeting that boss more more difficult by being in the way and being prioritized through auto-target for no reason. It is not subjective that other members of your team or their pets move around in the mob, providing instances where the click of your mouse will land on them instead. It is not subjective that enemies are lifted, teleported, knocked back, teleport themselves, summon minions, run around corners, and raise from the dead. This is a bigger issue for stalkers than it is any other AT because of all of the facets around stalkers: Time sensitive single target interruptable preventable high-damage bursts require a lot more precision than just targeting any central critter and firing the Nuke / AoE mezz/ AoE debuff/ Taunt/ PBAoE attack.


Your dodging the issue. The focus of the stalker can fail quite easily (20 or so enemies, 1/20 chance to hit w/ capped AoE defense, ergo good chance for failure), where as by comparison a Blaster's Nuke won't suddenly not work when they get attacked. The whole point, when combined together, being that Stalkers' primary focus is not strong enough and needs tweaks.


I see no reason, then, why it cannot be strengthened or altered.

I find the debate ever rages on about who I am rather than any of the points I bring up. You sound convinced that I am a new player, and whenever this happens there is nothing I can say to change it: If I agree, you ignore all of my points and treat me like an idiot, and if I disagree you will just accuse me of lying then go on anyway. It is unfortunate that what is said isn't as important as who says it.