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ISSUE 7 - Stalker PvP Guide (EM/Nin/BS) - New Build by Elernet
This guide is an Issue 7 alteration to the
Stalker PvP Guide (Energy Melee / Ninjitsu) by Elernet - written to fulfill the requests for it from various people. So, before I move, on, let me answer the Most Frequently Asked Question of all:
I see you use a different build in this guide then in the Issue 6 one. Do you think that the old build from the I6 guide is obsolete? Does this mean you think the new build is better?
NO. It does not mean that I think the build in the original guide is obsolete. Nor do I think that this build is strictly better then the old one. The two builds are very different in some aspects. Where one shines, the other lacks. Where the first lacks, the other shines. They sport a different approach to the game. So "why did I change my build?" then. Its pretty simple, really. I got bored. I PvP a lot, and playing the same build for a few months just got old. So now its a new build and a slightly different playstyle. I strongly encourage anyone interested to read both versions of the guides and decide which fits closer to your desired playstyle!
This guide represents my opinion on effecient PvP as a Stalker in general and as an EM Stalker in particular. Everything in this guide is taken from pure PvP perspective - and from PvP perspective only. It assumes some knowledge of the game and background concepts.
THE TABLE OF CONTENTS:
(Since this guide have slowly grown to be so huge.)
IDEOLOGY
STALKER PRIMARIES
ENERGY MELEE
STALKER SECONDARIES
NINJITSU
STALKER PATRON POWERS
BLACK SCORPION
TIPS AND TRICKS
MY BUILD:
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
[color=/00ff00]PVP VIDEOS[/color]
IDEOLOGY
First, some general mind-set background...
PvP as a Stalker differs from that as any other avatar since they are specifically designed as stealthy hit-and-run assasination characters. In my opinion, this is exactly how one should play them. Get in, attack, get out. No, this does not just aply to AS, and by no means suggests only landing one-two hits or over-relying on the AS itself, but after the initial attack and a few follow-up moves, you should be out of there. I believe that a Stalker should focus on a brief, deadly, all-out assault. If the target is still alive and you think you can manage to finish them off fast enough, do it. If you have doubts, get out. Just come back in a minute and try again. This is especially true for an EM Stalker, who sports high front-loaded single-target damage with horrific recharges and endurance costs.
As far as running goes, some people will whine about you running and try to provoke you into staying instead. Just laugh it off. The bottom line is, there are many very good reasons why you can and should run when necessary. First, its a valid strategy that works wonders in a lot of situations regardless of what the whiners say about it. Second, everyone plays the game how they want to play it, and a simple "I felt like it" is a perfect explanation anyway. Third, think about it this way... As a Stalker - especially a Stalker that follows this type of guide - you invest heavily into your mobility. You spend power-choices, slots, and such on it. You do so to be able to escape from people and to catch people with ease whenever necessary. Meanwhile, you sacrafice the "alternative cost" of taking up a few additional combat-related powers or slots instead. Your opponents, on the other hand, often have not made the same choice. They invested more in combat and less in mobility. And thats fine and dandy - but not a reason for them to whine when they can not compete with you in either catching you or running away from you. Its the price they paid. Simply put - "If you can not catch me or run away from me, that's your problem."
Now, certainly, one can scrap with a stalker - and even do so very successfully - but only in limited situations. Most of the time in buzy PvP zones you will be ganged up upon if you try to fight it out with someone. Even in one on one duel-style fighting, the best way for Stalker to fight is to kite and rehide whenever possible (and well-timed Placate is the key).
Anyway, in light of all this, I believe that one should maximize Stalker's offensive capabilities and not worry about defense as much. I understand that many people try to build defense up a lot - especially those used to Scrapper-like combat, but for assassination-focused Stalkers it comes down to this:
- Often, if you have stuck around long enough for your defensive bonuses to matter, you have stuck around too long in the first place. ***
Note: I know that there are many players - good players - who would disagree with all of the above. That is perfectly fine. Please understand that this guide is geared towards those who do agree, and that you are more then welcome to simply continue onto some other guide that suits your views better.
STALKER PRIMARIES
This is MY PERSONAL BIASED VIEW on how the Stalker Primaries currently compare against each other. Please, do not be offended by it if you disagree. Also, please remember that
any of the stalker Primaries can be made very deadly and effective in PvP as long as you build your character well and play them right.
If you do not think this section is correct, if you do not agree with anything I say in here - great! Can we now agree to disagree and move on? I do not see why people react so harshly to this section, given that it specifically says that its my personal and biased view. Please, can you just skip it if you don't like it and not start arguments about it - trust me, you would be very far from the first person to do so. Thank you.
As things stand right now, I believe (again, my opinion) there are 3 Stalker primaries which are most successful in PvP.
Energy Melee:
+ Energy Melee (EM) is the highest straight up front-loaded single-target damage set. It hits the hardest. It also disorients (and thus detoggles) the target, which is extremely useful. EM also does Energy/Smashing damage which is pretty nice, since it is not as resisted as some of the other types (pure Lethal or Smashing damage for example).
- The main downside of EM is its total lack of range of any kind. Also, it has very slow recharge rates - limiting EM's effectiveness in any sort of prolonged encounter. It has heavy endurance costs. It has less attacks then some of the alternatives - having Stun instead of one. Finally, it lacks any AoE.
Spines:
+ Spines is *the* ranged choice of Stalker Primaries. It does pretty good damage, has pretty good speed, and it has a Toxic damage component, which is the least resisted of all Stalker damage types. But the best part is that Spines has very nice range capabilities. It is easilly the best over-all Primary from pure ranged Stalker perspective. Spines has Immobilize and -Fly which are both neat.
- Spines is a very well-rounded set and does not have any striking down-falls. That said, DoT components in attacks is one sometimes. But basically, its the tradeoffs - the exact opposites of its upsides. Its not as damaging as EM but not as fast as Claws, etc.
Claws:
+ I am a big fan of Claws, despite the popular outlook. The way I see it, Claws is sort of half-way between Spines and EM. It is the hybrid melee-range choice. Claws is a very fast attack set, both in terms of move animations and recharge times - and will be even more so once I7 is live. Thus it can be very dangerous. Claws has very nice endurance costs, and thus is also a neat scrapping set, allowing one to duke it out more with border-line targets. Finally, Claws has Focus - arguabely the single best PvP attack for which I personally have a weak spot. It easilly brings a squishy to half life if it crits with build-up - that is, from range. It also knocks targets down, has incredibly fast recharge rate, and is very dangerous used properly. Focus + Hasten + Quickness + 3DMG/3ACC/1RCH is a thing of terror in many a situation.
- The main downside of Claws is its Lethal damage type - which is highly-resisted. Also - save for AS and Focus - its single attacks are not as heavilly-damaging, as a trade of to their speed.
Out of these three choices, EM is probably the most effective Primary versus Tanks, Scrappers, Brutes, certain MasterMinds, and other Stalkers - due to its burst damage output. Spines is probably overall best versus squishy targets - if just because its that much easier not having to chase good kiting squishies all over the place. For example, if the target is moving, it is very easy to follow up your initial AS with a ranged attack from Placate for a finisher - without having to catch up again as with EM. (And if the target is standing still and is a squishy, any Stalker of any AT will pretty much take them out provided he knows what he is doing.) Again, Claws is sort of in between IMO.
Martial Arts and
Ninja Blade:
Well, to be honest I do not think these two are on par with the other three at least for the time being. They do decent damage and have nice perks and all that, but they just don't have anything special about them and do highly-resisted types of damage. Basically, I could say that as all-melee sets they are simply not quite on par with EM - while lacking great ranged capabilities of Spines or Claws to make up for it. Currently, there are 3 melee-only sets, one ranged set, and one hybrid-melee-range set. There are many trade-offs to consider when choosing which way to go - but if one does end up selecting the melee-only route, EM is the obvious choice of the 3. I like both MA and NB and I have definately seen people do great in PvP with them, but all things considered I would not advice them from a pure PvP perspective.
Dark Melee:
Dark Melee is somewhat of a strange Primary, unlike all others. It has Fear built-in, and it has an attack-heal among other things. There are both very nice additions to the set. However, I personally am not a big fan of the set. Its neat, but it does not sport anything spectacular. Shadow Maul - one of the set's strongest attacks - suffers greately from a very long rooting animation, as well as from being a DoT attack. Overall, the damage the primary sports is not too spectacular. It seems to lack a wide array of heavy-hitters a'la EM on one hand and to lack a very fast attack chain a'la Claws or MA on the other. The damage type is a plus, but overall the primary just does not seem to be quite on the desired level. I would also advice to stay away from DM from a PvP-only standpoint.
ENERGY MELEE
I use Energy Melee, so this is what I will go over. I rate each power out of 5, as well as provide insight on its uses and effectiveness. Also, I will offer some advice on slotting.
Barrage -
1 - This is a decent power at the beginning levels, yet as you level up, it fades away due to its negligable damage and disorient. I would not take this power for one simple reason - at any point in level-up process, there is always a better thing to add to you character then a very week attack like this. In fact, Air Superiority and even Kick might be better easilly-accessible alternatives. If you still decide to take it, I would not waste too many slots on it - unless you have no better options and really don't know what to do with them.
Energy Punch -
3 - (EP) Decent damage, very fast activation, slight disorient. This attack is not that great overall either. However, given that you have to take one of Barrage or Energy Punch anyway, this is definately the way to go. It does more damage, has better disorient, and can actually be used in your attack chain at high levels with some success - although mostly as last resort. This is what you should pick at level 1 without question. Now, as far as slotting EP goes, there is a sligh catch. Normally, I would suggest 4-5 slotting EP. 2-3 ACC, 2-3 DMG, and then of course 6-slotting it if you have the slots to spare. However, remember - it will not be one of your main moves later on. If you lack the slots or need them somewhere else, it is a feasible solution to leave EP completely un-slotted. This is the route I went in this build - essentially leaving EP as a beefed-up Brawl of last resort of sorts. Now, before you jump on the idea there are couple of things you have to keep in mind. First, you do not get that many attacks overall as EM - so you want to think twice about your attack chain before doing this. Second, you have to realize that this will make it harder to level at the beginning - so it is more of a Respec solution. If you do end up only having the one base slot, or just a couple of slots on it, I would go with ACC. Its damage is not significant enough to make a whole lot of difference in late-game anyway, and its better to ensure it hits when it matters as much as possible.
Bone Smasher -
4 - (BS) This is your next offensive move. Just like Energy Punch, it is very fast (although a bit slower then EP itself) and it deals more damage with better disorient. Again, nothing too spectacular, but I would strongly suggest taking it. You see, since later on EM has a Stun option instead of an offensive move, it does not have as many damage moves as some of the other primaries. So, taking this move can be very important for an attack chain, and it is EM's 4th attack in terms of damage after all. Also, it is fairly formidable when it crits from Hide - even in the later game. Also, sometimes its good to open witht this attack since it is your most 100%-crit-from-Hide move other then AS. basically, to get the most damage out of the critical you get two options - BS and TF. TF is more powerful of course, but TF only has a partial critical and has a much slower animation time then BS does. (Note: However, if you play other ATs with Bone Smasher, don't be fooled by the name - the Stalker's version is not the same. Just get used to it.) I 6 slot BS - again, since EM does not have too many attacks overall, I believe it a good investment to slot well the few ones we do get. 3 DMG + 3 ACC or 3 DMG + 2 ACC + whatever.
Assassin's Strike -
5 - (AS) I don't really need to say anything. If you don't know what this is, look it up. If you don't take this and slot this, don't play a Stalker. That is all. However, I would like to note that this is still not a be-all end-all make-a-stalker move. In fact, it is very far from it. Fist of all, thats a myth in principle. No single move makes a Stalker, and if you disagree with this, I advice you to not play one - you will likely not do well. Second, Placate is actually much closer to that role. But anyway, the point is that you should try to avoid over-relying on AS if you want to really do well. At least, don't rely on it as an opener. Its great for taking out mediocre opponents, but in a good match-up it is often more useful mid-fight after Placate then at the start. Oh, its definately an amazing move if used right - by all means - but don't get too obsessed with it. Absolutely, 6 slots. Again, 3 DMG + 3 ACC or 3 DMG + 2 ACC + whatever. Note that AS does have inherent accuracy bonus of 20%. Whether that means it does not need 3 ACC, since its already accurate - or that it definately needs 3 ACC, to capitalize on it and really maximize your chance to hit versus certain targets... well, thats up to you. I went with the 3 ACC route.
Build-Up -
5 - (BU) Again, a must have power. Build Up greately increases your damage and accuracy for 10 seconds - though more so the damage then the accuracy. Build up has many uses, ranging from standard pre-AS setup (or pre-whatever-opener setup) to helping any of your lower-accuracy moves hit in a critical situation. As an example, Build-Up + Energy Transfer followed by Bone Smasher and maybe one other attack will roughly kill a Defender or Controller in Siren's Call (depending a bit on zone and personal buffs, and given 3 lvl 43 DMG SOs on powers). Build-Up, TF, and ET will do the same in Warburg. I suggest either 1 or 3 or 6 slots on BU. If you leave BU be it is pretty decent as is, but putting 3 recharges in it lets you use it that much more often, which can be nice as you will often Build-Up just to see the situation change or target move and waste it. You could also slot it with up to 3 ToHit Buffs if you have the spare slots. This will help a lot versus heavy-defense targets, and may also vary a little on how you slotted the rest of your attacks. Basically, just put as many slots as you can into BU and fill them up with RCH and THB as you prefer.
Placate -
5 - Ah, Placate. IMO, this is your single best power. Placate prevents a single target from being able to target and attack you for a few seconds, as well as puts you in a pseudo-hide (you can be seen by anyone with any perception, but you still crit as if hidden). This is an extremely versatile and useful power. It can be used mid-fight to get a critical on next attack (this is where we EM's envy Focus), or to perhaps set-up for an AS (this is hard if enemy is good, but effective and helps vs high-perception targets), or to run away from a loosing fight or a sketchy situation, or to simply exclude one enemy from attacking you and proceed to kill another (I have won scraps 1 on 2 with this - without even an initial jump, combined with Stun and chance disorients). The icing on the cake - Placate is ranged. This is especially crucial to an EM Stalker who is all-melee. Furthermore, Placate has no accuracy check, meaning 100% reliability. (Very nice vs bubblers and tier-9 defenses, BTW) Absolutely, a must have power. You do not really need to slot Placate with anything. It does wonders already. You could slot is with RCH, but if you are using 2 Placates in a single fight, chances are you should not be in that fight to begin with - see
***. If you have spare slots, you could also slot it with Range, which is actually pretty neat if you can spare the slots - since that allows you to fire it off that much earlier as you approach someone or as they approach you.
Stun -
3 - Stun does exactly that - it puts a high magnitude disorient on the target. Technically, Stun does damage, but it is laughable. This can be extremely effective as it essentially gives the target to you to play with for about 7 seconds. Also, you can enchance stun, making it last for up to 14 seconds or so. However, there are two catches. First, Stun is slow - very slow. It has a baseball bat animation and takes a couple of seconds to activate. Second, a single Break Free inspiration (BF) or sufficient disorient protection - whether personal or from external buffs - will render Stun useless and a waste of valuable time that could have been spent laying on the hurt. On the positive note, Stun can be used as an alternative to Air Superiority - no, it does not apply -Fly, but it applies disorient instead, so if disorient goes through the target will have to react very fast to avoid hitting the ground. I think Stun is very much a matter of taste. I used to have it (see the
I6 guide) for quite a while, and I like it. Now, I respecced out of it. It has single-handedly won me many a fight - however, it has also been completely useless in many others. Rating of 3 is not very reflective - its more like 1 or 5 depending on the situation. If you do take Stun, you pretty much want to 6 slot it - 3 ACC (since it has such slow activation and is usually crucial to land) and 3 Disorient Duration (since 14 seconds are way better then 7 and its an all-or-nothing type of deal in most cases anyway).
Energy Transfer -
5 - This is your 2nd most damaging attack after AS. In fact, it does very comparable damage. It is also lightning fast to activate. Again, there are two catches. First, it eats up a small portion of your life to execute. (No, it does not do that on a miss.) Second, it does not crit from hide. Instead, it doesn't eat up your HP if executed while hidden. However, its damage is very impressive as it is. As mentioned above, I have killed countless squishies without using AS at all - largely thanks to this move. This is one of the best attack moves in the game, and I very strongly recommend you take this power. 6 slot - again, 3 DMG + 3 ACC or 3 DMG + 2 ACC + whatever.
Total Focus -
4 - This is another very high damage attack, your 3rd highest damage move, just below ET. And yet again, two catches. Extremely slow activation time is one - you jump in the air and slowly land and smack the target with your hands - couple seconds wasted. Partial critical from hide is another - about 30% damage increase. Crit on TF is roughly the same damage as ET. Regardless, I strongly advice picking this power up of course. And of course, again, 6 slots is the name of the game. Just like the rest of attack moves, I recommend 3 DMG + 3 ACC or 3 DMG + 2 ACC + whatever.
STALKER SECONDARIES
I think that Stalker Secondaries are actually pretty well-balanced against each other, and all of the options are very nice. Just pick whichever you prefer. I picked Ninjitsu for its most offensive nature (Blinding Powder) and for its versatility (a heal, +perception power, decent defense, offence again - all in one). Also, I like Kuji-In Retsu / Elude better then MoG or Overload. Finally, I dislike defense - see
***, and I dislike toggles (since they are dropped so easilly by many people, at least until I7) - therefore, I
really dislike defensive toggles. However, this is a matter of opinion and if you favor a different secondary - the power to you.
NINJITSU
I am going to run down the list of all the Ninjitsu powers in the same fashion as I did for Energy Melee.
Hide -
5 - You have this by default. Case closed. Slot-wise, I do not slot Hide - see
***, but its up to you really.
Ninja Reflexes -
3 - Melee defense, Sleep, Confuse, Disorient protection. A good power to take if you like to scrap. I don't - see
*** - so I did not pick it. However, without it I do sometimes miss the status protection. The reason for still not picking it is simple - why spend a power on something I can eat a 50 infamy inspiration for? If you PvP well, half a tray of BFs will last you for many long hours. (Yes, it takes time to learn not to chug them all away in first 5 minutes and to avoid needing them in many cases, but once you get it down its not bad at all.) Slots are totally up to you.
Danger Sense -
5 - Danger Sense is a great power in the spirit of Ninjitsu's versatility. You get ranged defense - very useful as after you get a kill, you often have angry teammates of the victim shooting all sorts of things at you as you escape. You get AoE defense - which is double useful both for not getting hurt and for having better chances to AS anyone with AoE aura (Spines Scrappers, etc.) and for perhaps landing that de-toggling Stun on that Hurricaner on a fly-by. Finally, you get +perception, and a darn good one at that, which is of course great for seeing Stealthed heroes, as well as some Stalkers in Warburg. You can combine this with Leadership perception to see Hide+Stealth ones too. So, I favor this power a lot. However, I do not slot it - again, see
*** - but also again, is really up to you.
Caltrops -
3 - You throw caltrops on the ground that slow enemies down. No, these do not have -Fly or -Jump for all practical purposes. So, they are very situational. I used to have them - long ago, before the
I6 build even - but re-specced out of them. They are very effecient vs SuperSpeeders, not much vs anyone else - and a lot of people have more then one travel power anyway. However, they do help you in certain situations. Caltrops also gain some effeciency from the surprise factor - for example, many people instinctively run after an AS. They don't consider other means of escape and don't think about the caltrops. If you have a power to spare I would pick them up, but I would not rate them a high-priority power - I did not have space for them in my build after all. If you take them, you likely want to 3 slot them with SpeedReduction. If you really have lots of slots to spare, you could add Recharge.
Kuji-In Rin -
4 - Confuse, Sleep, Disorient, Hold, Immobilization, and Fear protection - and Psionic damage resistance. Everything at once and then some on top. This is a very nice power to have, as it saves you from a lot of status effects. However, note the same question as with Ninja Reflexes - excepting Psionic damage resistance, a BreakFree will do just as well, and can be used while under the effects unline Kuji-In Rin. Thus, after much consideration and indecision I did not pick this power for the
I6 build. However, now, I switched into it - mainly for the sole reason of being able to field more of different kinds of inspirations in Arena matches. Also, note that this is not a toggle - it is a couple minute activated buff. This means it can not be toggle-dropped, which is great - but, you have to pre-emptively time its usage right. Slot however you wish. A lot of people slot this with Recharge rates, allowing them to pretty much keep the power on permanently. (NOTE: Two Recharges will allow you to run this permanently at level 50, with a tiny overlap. However, if you slot it with 3 RCH, the power
will self-stack. This is very neat for those rare ocasions when you know you are going into a real tough situation - for instance if you plan to attempt a solo gank on a 8-man controller-heavy team. You can time this power right to have 2 instances of it on you as you go in - really beefing out your mez-protection for a bit. Also, having 3 recharges in this power instead of 2 can help in certain situations when you have -recharge on you, where otherwise you might have come short of keeping it on without a gap.)
Kuji-In Sha -
5 - This is a heal. A good heal. Enchanced, it heals me for about half my HP at lvl 40. Also, it adds resistance to Toxic damage, which is neat because it helps vs say Spine Scrappers. They hurt you, you heal and you get resistance to further hurt for a short bit. I definately suggest taking Kuji-In Sha - it has saved my life countless times and tipped the scales to win a fight countless times more. You probably want to 3 slot this with Healing. Again, if you have the slots, add in some Recharge.
Smoke Flash -
2 - PBAoE kind-of-Placate. Sounds good at first, yet has a lot of issues. First of all, this does not pseudo-hide you - meaning it can only be used as an escape means and not offensively. Second, it is an AoE attack which means it is not as accurate - and yes, this one does have an accuracy check unlike the real Placate. Third, it has long activation time. All that considered, I think an additional travel power choice or Phase Shift or even a simple defensive power might be a better investment in terms of escape and survivability. If you do decide to take this, you want to 3 slot is with ACC most likely.
Blinding Powder -
4 - An arc AoE attack that is essentially a confuse and a sleep in one. The confuse on it is a bit flaky. Regardless, Sleep is what makes the power nice in first place anyway. This is a good power to have - especially considering that it is ranged and EM is melee-only set, so it compliments us extremely well. Furthermore, it is very nice to have an offensive capability from a Stalker secondary - a ranged sleep, no less, at that. Sleep is very useful because on one hand few people resist it and on the other it completely de-toggles the target. As far as breaking-on-damage goes - that should not be a big issue for Stalkers given our heavily burst-oriented damage. I suggest taking BP if you can. However, due to its AoE nature, it is not too accurate, so it needs to be slotted with 3 ACC to be effective in PvP. If you have lots of slots to throw around, Recharges are always a plus.
Kuji-In Retsu -
5 - This power gives you huge defense bonuses of all kinds, gives you a very notable speed boost, a not-as-notable but still nice jump boost, and a very nice endurance recovery boost. You can often go into a group of enemies with stacked perception, AS one of them with follow ups, and get out all while being shot/hit at. The downside is that once it wears off, which takes 3 minutes, you have 0 endurance with 0 endurance recovery for 20 seconds - so you have to time when to use this right. Regardless, this is definately a great power to have. I used to not slot it at all for
I6 build - as it was great already and I didn't have the slots. However, now I have it 6-slotted. In fact, it is the only thing in my whole build slotted for defense. Versus Aim + Build Up Blasters and Focused Accuracy Scrappers in RV, its worth it. Standard slotting for Retsu is 3 DefenseBuffs and 3 Recharges.
...
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Claws half way between spines and em? rofl...right
I guess that counts my spine scrapper out of the fun... 
(made me feel godly after it took a stalker 5 AS's to knock off a single toggle)