On the fear/-to-hit in AS, I wouldn't mind having this made to always have an effect as has been suggested, but the question is Was it intended to only have the effect if you didn't defeat the mob?
Shadestorm, Love the ideas you're throwing around, but have some questions/comments/suggestions about them.
Was thinking of a similar idea as the placate as I was reading earlier posts in this thread, I like how this is presented.
Most of this will probably about implementation/mechanics of how it would work.
About the distraction, do you think it should only be in effect when the mobs have aggro/are engaged on your teammates? And/or only effect up to the number of teammates engaged?
Basing it on just the number of teammates might cause some issues/concerns I think, depending on the intent of implementation.
Example, on a group with multiple stalkers, one question is whether other stalkers in the hidden state should or should not affect the distraction bonus. Thematically they probably shouldn't. Or if there's a teammate not even near the mobs you're fighting, it's also questionable whether they should enhance the buff or not as well.
About the damage buff, I know numbers are most likely just as an example and can be adjusted, but is the intention for the stalker with a full team buffing them 7 people at 20% each to fully hit that 140% max buff in the 2 seconds? From the 'The larger your team, and the longer you remain hidden before striking, the more damage you will do to any enemy you ambush from hide.' makes it seem like that isn't the intention.
Without limiting the distraction to combat only it could allow stalkers to mass up the full bonus while moving from group to group. This may or may not be desirable depending on the intent of implementation.
Another question, if limiting it to combat only, would the damage boost clear when the team has all left combat mode? The next group wouldn't have been distracted by anyone until the team gets there. This should not preclude the stalker from starting to amass a damage boost on the next group they come across as the teammates engage if the stalker remains in hide during the alpha.
How about teammate pets? Should they count for distraction? And which types should be in/excluded?
Basing this bonus on an area around the stalker would probably be the best way to start on forming how this would work mechanically, similar to how the stalker extra crits are set up. This would eliminate getting a buff from teammates who aren't in the same fight as the stalker.
Thoughts on how to determine if a teammate will provide a bonus... Hidden status should probably disqualify that teammate for the duration. Determining combat status might be trickier depending on what is available to look up... Aggro list might work, if the teammate is on the aggro list of nearby enemies they provide the boost.
Clearing the boost after combat... if done by aggro lists once the final mob dies there shouldn't be an aggro list for teammates to be on, so that could be used. Or possibly if there's no enemies in the range that teammates need to be in as well that could also be used...
On the hide distraction bonus, combat/out of combat probably wouldn't matter, as the quicker hide would be mostly useful during combat, and the stalker would probably have already gone back into hidden status before the team gets to the next group.
Even if what I'm thinking here isn't very feasible, at least putting my thoughts out on this idea can at least help by bringing another view and perhaps spark ideas in others as to how it could be done better.
Again, love the idea Shadestorm. It gave me something interesting to mull over, and perhaps my thoughts on it can help further the idea.
So, ;facepalm emote coming with i17?
