FourSpeed

I believe a pug was the original plan, but they couldn't get "Frank" to model
for it as he's waiting for yet another M.I.B. sequel...

Rin-Tin-Tin was available however, and the rest is history.


Cheers,
4

I'm way late to the party, but enjoying stalkers as I do, and needing an excuse
to make a new one, I'll see what I can whip-up on Exalted on a "overflow" basis.
Most of my other stalkers are soloists (1 duo'er), so a teamed Stalker intrigues
me.

Sunday afternoons (MST/PDT) are better for me than Wednesdays, but I already
have a number of "pre-planned" sessions I run, and a bunch of active toons
atm, so I'd be a fairly irregular member (hence the "overflow" status).

I'd most likely be making a DM/? (Nin, WP, ?).


Regards,
4

My original main back in I-1 was an Elec/Elec, who went E3 when they eventually
added app/patron pools to the game.

I still play him today, 7 years later.

I also have a Fire/Nrg Blaster that I currently play.

They behave *very* differently.

That said, I enjoy both of them a lot, and either of them can handle any content
I choose to play, very effectively - though *how* they do that is radically different
between them...

The E3 is lighter on DPS, but a lot heavier on Control. He doesn't kill stuff as
quickly, but he can fully lock down an EB or Boss. He effectively prevents mobs
from participating in the battle until he gets around to killing them.

In some ways, it takes more skill to play him well, because he kills things slower,
so aggro management is more important. Regarding End Drain, it's a very effective
playstyle *if* you stay on top of it. It needs to be micromanaged to work
well.

I run this guy on the SSAs, and even exemped down to L20 (no Power Sink),
he can still drain the Boss in mission 1 with Short Circuit and his other attacks.

He just can't do it immediately.

On the other hand, he *can* hold him indefinitely, so it's no problem either way.

My E3 really plays a lot more like a Blastroller. He kills the first guy outright with the
snipe, kills a minion with his T1 attacks, locks down the Boss with his holds and
then drains the lot of them... It's a very safe playstyle if you're on top of it.

On teams, since aggro is usually managed already (by Tank, Brute, what have you),
he'll open up with SC & PS, which drains nearly everyone. Then he'll use his
holds and attacks to selectively eliminate targets.

As for Tesla Cage - don't change a thing... It's one of my most used, and effective
powers, and I absolutely love the Cage graphic...

Sparky, I'd rather he were a proper pet, or yeah, you could dump that entirely
and give me another blast attack... But leave Tesla Cage alone!


The Fire/NRG on the other hand is a much more "true" Blaster. He burns stuff
down before it kills him, pure and simple. He has one hold, and he really only
uses that on runners.

He pumps out enough Damage to kill quickly, and he has capped Ranged Defense to
weather any return attacks. The Energy secondary is useful for handling any mobs
that get within melee range. Bonesmasher, Energy Punch, and Power Thrust, eliminate
those threats or bounce them back out of melee range where they'll quickly
be toasted.


The E3 uses his controls to manage aggro and thrive. The Fire/NRG uses his
ranged defense and DPS to eliminate threats fast enough to thrive.

Both are excellent sets.

The "performance" catergorization is purely arbitrary and solely based on what
you, the player, prioritize as important. For me, it isn't *always* pure DPS.

YMMV


Regards,
4

If I might make a small suggestion, it would be helpful in your guide to include
co-ordinates and a description of *where* the contact is, in the respective zone.

I don't have the co-ords here (at work), and haven't actually run the red-side stories
other than the first one...

Blue Side, the descriptions might be as simple as:

Theoden: SE from the Northern Tram Station in Skyway City.

Binocolo: From Talos Tram, cross the large hill, and he's up on the far ridge on the left.

Kwahu: Facing the Founders Fall Hospital doors, he's a little off to the right.


I know, it took me a little while to find those guys the first time I was looking
for them, so it may be helpful to give players an initial search area, and/or
maybe even the distance from a known marker...



Regards,
4

I've been in there a few times (but not recently).

My understanding was that it was originally intended as the player "waiting area"
for Arena PvP (when it first released).

For reasons I now don't recall, the devs decided to handle Arena queueing differently,
which no longer required that room - making it obsolete and unused.

I'm definitely in the crowd that would love to see this room re-purposed and
used in-game as it's (imho) one of the cooler places to visit.

Failing that, I truly hope they *don't* fix the spot(s) that allow us to get into it.
Those bugs, I can live with, and actually enjoy from time to time...


Regards,
4

Never, ever experienced this...

Never, ever used the "Get All Inf" button.


I suspect a corrolation...


Regards,
4

I'd disagree with "useless" also.

However, at $5 an IO, I'll just stick to Frankenslotting my usual L28's and be
free and happy exemplaring all the way from L25 to L50

After all, it's not like they skip ED or aren't subject to Enhancement Scaling,
so, for me, a percent or two here or there isn't worth that cost by a long shot.

Bah Humbug...


Cheers,
4

These days, Stalkers are far less effective than they've ever been at any point
in the past.

With iStuff, Stalkers are pretty much rep-bait in RV, or at best, a minimal factor
in battle outcome.

Nobody is ever in Bloody Bay, and rarely Warburg, so no factor there either...

Historically, they've been banned or limited on Arena League teams, so minimal
factor there either.

SC is pretty much the only zone where Stalkers can have an appreciable impact
and even there it has been reduced in recent times.

I'd be curious to see the Devs datamining on PvP kills, but I'd wager that Stalker
kills are WAY down from the early days.

So, basically, what you're essentially calling for is Stalkers to be removed from
the game, given that their effectiveness has continually de-volved pretty much
since PvP was rolled out.

Frankly, I'd prefer to see PvP as a whole removed from the game first.

Of course, a better answer would be for the Devs to actually understand PvP
and do it *right* to begin with, but I'm serously doubtful that will occur.


Regards,
4

Sorry, no sale.

Not that I completely disagree, mind you. But, as others have noted, there
are a metric crapton of powers that are "unbalanced", and Sharks would be
one of them on the list.

As a stalker myself, there are two primary concerns I have.

AS - won't kill anybody by itself... I'm actually ok with that.

However, with nearly everyone being a SJ/SS bunny-hopping, super speeder,
AS is challenging to get off in the first place, given it's a melee power, long
activating, and interruptible with movement, all against a foe that can probably
see you at melee range to begin with....

It's hardly surprising that many stalkers simply don't get good enough to use AS
all that much to begin with in PvP.

But the second part, with Stalkers being melee based, is said Bunny Hopper is
gonna be long gone for the follow-up strike even if an AS is landed.

So, even with AS, a ranged follow-up is a key ingredient for a stalker to get a
kill at all against anyone other than a complete moron.

I'm not a fan at all of Sharks being the *only* tool a (bad) stalker uses, but a hard
hitting ranged power is important for a stalker given the current climate.

So, nope - /unsigned


Regards,
4


PS> And yes, Ares - I *do* play in SC, pretty much exclusively, as you probably already know

Simple.

For me, the playstyle is intriguing and enjoyable...

I like planning out a battle and then implementing that plan. It's awesome when it works,
and instructive when it doesn't.

In both cases, I find it fun. YMMV.


Regards,
4

PS> My Stalkers are *solo* toons. It's extremely rare that I'd team with mine.
That said, I do have one Stalker that was intentionally made to duo with a friend,
but it is an exception, rather than a norm.