Valentyna

Thank you!!! That is exaclty what I was hoping someone would have.

Mmm, I would only take your cone attack if you ha an epic with no targetted AoE (like Ice) or one you don't wnat to use (like primal forces - KB is bad). The whole _point_ of taking fire is to get Fireball, so I see Nightfall as superfluous here.

And Imobs exist to allow controllers to establish containment on archvillains. I would never take one on a dom. This is double true on a dark dom, now I stop and think about it, since fear keeps enemies in place to some extent as well, and so one needn't worry about them wandering off when stunned.

No, it's entirely my fault. I screwed up and put ED instead of DR in the title, and now I don't think I can change it. Stupid me, but in my defence, this game (or maybe just these forums) have me rather conditioned to assume that anything bad or incomprehensible is all ED's fault. LOL

I did manage to find a spreadsheet calculator utility Arcanaville created years ago, and I'm trying to figure out how it works (or if it's still accurate) But I admit, I was kinda hoping someone would give me a simple, straight answer, like, "it doesn't really get significantly better after ~50% bonus, or whatever.

EDIT: Grrr... under DR even. It helps when I remember the right terminology. :P


Hi all. I'm sorry to create new thread to ask a very simple question. I tried, but my search-fu is week.

The question is this: What is the practical cap on +dmg under DR? What is the point where (like defence does at atound the 20-22% mark) adding more has it's impact diminished so greatly as to be almost literally pointless?

I have heard it said that one should build for ~30% global +dmg from IOs when designing a blaster or other damage dealer. How far is the cap above that? I ask because, of course, it matters in terms of temproary +Dmg buffs. Is there any point, for example, to slotting the new Dominator architype enhancement proc, or if I already have +30% from IOs? Is there a real difference between Gather Shadows and Embrace of Flame, or does the extra ~50% +dmg from Embrace get eaten by ED anyway?

I probably should think of some non-dominator examples, LOL, but I think you all get what I'm asking.

Thanks a lot!

Fire also Embrace of Flame which is a lot more bonus damage then Gather Shadows.

I am trying to decide between a Dark/Fire and Dark/Dark dom for my new I22 character, and I must say I am TICKED to hear that the CCs are in dark/ are busted. I guess I'll have to keep my fingers crossed for a fix, but thanks for the info!

What kind of DPA does midnight do with proper jump canceling? It looks bad on paper but I admit, animation glitching isn't something I've ever seen in this game (perhaps because I just don't play at a high enough level).

Currenty trying placate out as I level (I always respec out of my "SO Build" when I hit 47 anyway, so I figured I might as well see first hand). Nto too impressed so far, but it's only the first day.

Still trying to decide what to replce moonbeam with. I mean, you're clearly right - there's obviously no point in having 2 fight opening assasination powers on one build, and I feel that seven seconds and more is longer than the average team is willing to wait for me to get the party started. Right now I just replaced it wiht dark blast in the build, but as I said, I'm open to suggestions.

No kidding. You know I was actually a supporter at first? I honeslty dos ee where they're coming from. but I feel that the specific changes being good are bad is almost besides the point. The real problem, that I dont' remember anyone realizing at the time, is that makign teh PvP gaming SO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from the PvE one makes it impossible to do casually. Your character must be buitl specifically for PvP and nothing but, and newbies have no idea how any of their things or working (or, more accurately, why they're suddenly nto working they way they "should"), and you can see the result fo raising the barriers to entry like that in empty zones and arena leagues with a half a dozen teams.

No, hun. As I said, the PvP build is a different build. You get two of them now. It is more accurat to say that it is impossible to stack more than 20% defence or so while fighting under DR - the actual mechanics of defence are unchanged. It is quite easy to get up to about 20% from set bonusses, of course, which is a major reason why no one really favours sets like SR and Ninjitsu in PvP. I choose electricity over traditaional powerhouse regen, giving uyp the long recharging second heal and uberness of MoG for an easy time getting to the 40-50% resistance DR-cap, faster movement, and Power SInk (because nothign makes other palyers rage like -end).

I ahve to be honest, though, the only thing a stalker _really_ needs to be good in pvP is Hide+buildup+Sharks. Good old sharks. the powerset choices are more of a thematic choice.

That wa a long rambling thign, wasn't it?

Anyway, yes, I chose to be a stalker largely for PvP reasons, but THIS build is for PvE. I'm working on another one for PvP, but... well, as you say, I wouldn't post it _here_ for advice. Which is a sad comment on how far the PvP community has shrunk since the good old days,b ut... c'est la vie.

It's more a PvP than PvE choice. I just don't have the time to join a proper team and play seriously anymore, and nothing earns rep solo in PvP like a stalker (in general, in any game you play, it's a pretty safe bet that if you want to PvP, the local burst DPS/stealth calss will be your noob-canon of choice).

That said, I actually do like the critical-from-stealth/CC mechanic, and want something a little more tactical than a scrapper/brute.


Also: what would you suggest I replace Moonbeam with? I've considered going Shark mastery for Waterspout, but the fact that it can't be perma'd (with this build) makes me kinda wander waht the point would be. I guess I could just get Dark Blast for some straight up ranged damage that animates faster than my Blackwand veteran power.

Hello all. Never built a stalker before, but I am getting tired of controllers, and wanted to give one a try.

My build is bellow. I had three priorities with slotting:
1. perma hasten
2. Capped HP
3. Melee+S/L defence.

It was pretty much in that order. I guess if I had been ablet to softcap melee defence I would have moved on to looking for damage bonusses but as you can tell, I didn't quite make it there. I feel the character is probably still pretty survivable (for a stalker), but I'm open to being corrected or introduced to alternative ideas (as a controller/blaster player it felt really weird not putting more effort into Ranged Defence, to be honest.


Some questions I really would LOVE to ahve answered by those experienced with the class:

1. Should I take placate? Seems pretty useless in PvE. Like... placate one boss.. out of the 4 that are in that spawn of 15-20 mobs? Wouldn't I rather being doing other stuff? Still, it's such an architypal stalker tool I feel almsot guilty for not having it.

2. Do I need both Assasin Strike and an epic Snipe power? According to Mid's they do almost the same damage under assasination, but for some reason I thought AS powers had higher criticals than normal.

3. Are there any attacks I've taken that only seem good, but in practice, are useless (I'm a little nervous about Thunder Strike trapping me in animation for so long)?



Thank you very much in advance for anyone who can offer any advice.



P.S. I know I don't have a travel power. I have Ninja Run. seems appropraite for a stalker, no? XD


P.P.S. It almost goes without saying these days (sigh) but this is a team PvE build. The PvP build is a different one.



Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.952
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Valentyna PvM: Level 50 Magic Stalker
Primary Power Set: Electrical Melee
Secondary Power Set: Electric Armor
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Havoc Punch -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(3), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(5), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7), T'Death-Dam%(7)
Level 1: Hide -- SW-ResDam/Re TP(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(3)
Level 2: Charged Brawl -- Hectmb-Dmg(A), Hectmb-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), Hectmb-Acc/Rchg(9), Hectmb-Dmg/EndRdx(11), Hectmb-Dam%(11), T'Death-Dam%(13)
Level 4: Jacobs Ladder -- Armgdn-Dmg(A), Armgdn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(21), Armgdn-Acc/Rchg(23), Armgdn-Dmg/EndRdx(23), Armgdn-Dam%(25), FotG-ResDeb%(25)
Level 6: Assassin's Shock -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dam%(13), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(17), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(17), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(19), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(19)
Level 8: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 10: Charged Armor -- TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam/Rchg(37), TtmC'tng-EndRdx/Rchg(40), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(43), TtmC'tng-ResDam(45), TtmC'tng-EndRdx(46)
Level 12: Conductive Shield -- TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam/Rchg(37), TtmC'tng-EndRdx/Rchg(39), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(45), TtmC'tng-ResDam(45), TtmC'tng-EndRdx(46)
Level 14: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(15), RechRdx-I(15)
Level 16: Static Shield -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A)
Level 18: Chain Induction -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dam%(21), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(34), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(36), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36)
Level 20: Lightning Reflexes -- Run-I(A)
Level 22: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)
Level 24: Tough -- HO:Ribo(A), ResDam-I(43)
Level 26: Thunder Strike -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(27), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(27), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29), Oblit-%Dam(31)
Level 28: Energize -- Panac-Heal/EndRedux(A), Panac-EndRdx/Rchg(31), Panac-Heal/Rchg(31), Panac-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(39), Panac-Heal(40), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(40)
Level 30: Weave -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def(50), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50)
Level 32: Lightning Rod -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(33), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(33), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Oblit-%Dam(34)
Level 35: Power Sink -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(37)
Level 38: Grounded -- GA-3defTpProc(A)
Level 41: Moonbeam -- Apoc-Dmg(A), Apoc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Apoc-Acc/Rchg(42), Apoc-Dmg/EndRdx(42), Apoc-Dam%(43)
Level 44: Soul Storm -- UbrkCons-Hold(A), UbrkCons-Acc/Hold/Rchg(46), UbrkCons-Acc/Rchg(48), UbrkCons-EndRdx/Hold(48), UbrkCons-Dam%(48)
Level 47: Shadow Meld -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 49: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
Level 0: Portal Jockey
Level 0: Task Force Commander
Level 0: The Atlas Medallion
Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon
Level 50: Void Radial Final Judgement
Level 50: Reactive Core Flawless Interface
Level 50: Barrier Invocation
Level 50: Storm Elemental Core Superior Ally
------------
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(A), P'Shift-EndMod(39), P'Shift-End%(50)
Level 1: Assassination
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
------------
Set Bonus Totals:

• 17.5% DamageBuff(Smashing)
• 17.5% DamageBuff(Lethal)
• 17.5% DamageBuff(Fire)
• 17.5% DamageBuff(Cold)
• 17.5% DamageBuff(Energy)
• 17.5% DamageBuff(Negative)
• 17.5% DamageBuff(Toxic)
• 17.5% DamageBuff(Psionic)
• 17.88% Defense(Smashing)
• 17.88% Defense(Lethal)
• 6% Defense(Fire)
• 6% Defense(Cold)
• 6% Defense(Energy)
• 6% Defense(Negative)
• 6% Defense(Psionic)
• 29.75% Defense(Melee)
• 6% Defense(Ranged)
• 6% Defense(AoE)
• 63% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 87.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 5% FlySpeed
• 162.6 HP (13.51%) HitPoints
• 5% JumpHeight
• 5% JumpSpeed
• MezResist(Held) 13.75%
• MezResist(Immobilize) 8.25%
• MezResist(Sleep) 4.4%
• MezResist(Stun) 8.8%
• 14.5% (0.24 End/sec) Recovery
• 36% (1.81 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 3% Resistance(Smashing)
• 10.56% Resistance(Fire)
• 10.56% Resistance(Cold)
• 3% Resistance(Energy)
• 3% Resistance(Negative)
• 3% Resistance(Toxic)
• 3% Resistance(Psionic)
• 3% Resistance(Lethal)
• 5% RunSpeed

Dahjee, I believe thats waht they hoped. They've even gone to the trouble of overhauling the entire PvP system to try and make a wider diversity of characters viable, and make PvP play more like PvE - to bring them closer to being part of the same game, as you say. The trouble is... they kinda failed. Even they admit, at this point, I think, that the character builds, as well as skill set even, needed for PvP and PvE have gotten more, not less seperate since I13, and lets be honest - it was never exactly the most balanced PvP in MMO history even before that, was it?

Shall I be the one to amke the obligatory 'anything with sharks' comment? LOL

Honeslty, sharks are awesome! I ahve been told that Electricity is great for melee primaries, but I have never actually played one, so take that with a grain of salt.

Well, PvM play is a little different. F or one thing its more team oriented for even the casual people, so you might expect there to be, as you say, many roles to fullfill and different optimal builds to fulfill each one. And, in high level team PvP, you do indeed see 2-4 different builds on a given team.

ultimately though, in PvP, everyone needs to be able to look out for themselves at least a little tiny bit, because enemy behavior is not predictable. this reduces diversity still further by reducing drastically the usefulness of tank type characters in any game, and forcing everyone to look effective 'survival techniques' that require the least amount of compromise in their builds - this, for example, is why everyone and their brother has some combination of Hibernate, PFF, and Phase (and the people who don't are usually getting farmed).

Also, in this game at least, PvE is much more balanced, allowing a wider diversity of things to be effective. For example, if I want a PvM healer, I don't necessarily need the highest green numbers to be the best at what I do. I can build a bubbler and do a good job of protecting the team that way. Because Diminishign Returns, and the general prevelance of +ToHit even before that, I cannot really do the same thing in PvP. In PvP support is.... simplified, so to speak, such that whomever has the most possible amount of total healing is the best at it. period. Thats why everyone plays Empathy characters for team PvP - best heals; best buffs. Me with my Thermal pwoers just don't compete because my shields aren't really helping after DR. This is a problem that I feel strongly ought to be addressed, but until it is, it is ludicrous to BLAME those people who want to be healers for choosing the best set for the job and becoming /Emps.

Also its worth noting that most of the reason people deliberately play less than optimal characters is for concept, and people tend to regard PvP as a highly OOC excercise. As an old-fashioned UO player who feels that RP and PvP are logically highly related to one another, I think thats a tragedy of modern MMO gaming, but you can't force people to RP, can you?

All thats almos to one side though. the biggest difference is that PvE is not competitive. I don't need to have the BEST tool for the job in order to succeed. I just need it to be good ENOUGH. the threshold I'm trying to overcome may be higher for some content than others, but its fixed. So long as i have that minimum amount of pwn, if you will, I'm set. I can then waste a few power slots on something I think is cool, or take an epic that fits my characters theme rather than her build, or what have you. In PvP thats not so. there are other people looking for an edge on me, and if they get one, they'll use it to beat me. I MUST have the optimal tool because my enemies will as well, and the objective is to beat them. This is not only true in MMOs, just more obvious and pronounced here. In SP you can get away with a lot of things that you think are just neat. In Multiplayer you need to be better than your opponent, and that basically means you need to be the best.


EDIT: TL;DR.... too bad? Not sure i have a witty summery line, but basically, I think the person above is wrong.

EDIT 2: Isn't that what basically ALL these posts boil down to? LOL. if we actually convinced each other and all came to agree, I can't imagine what we'd have to talk about. :P

An update (I can't believe this thread still exists - yay us!) - the Justice Girls have our own Mission Computer now, and ShadowWings has agread to help put together a raid at somepoitn soon. We were talking about this weekend, though if Xaeon is willing to ahve me, and Shadow is willing to wait, then I think I'd like to go through one as a random participant before I help lead. I'll update this thread... honestly, it'll probably once again be whenever I actually happen to remember, but I'll try to make it soon after we decide ;P

Neither the servcice he's requesting nor the payment he's offering are EULA violations. That being so... its reallyn none of my business is it?

Even if it were, I ahve toa dmit, that I can empathise with someone who has plenty of (virtual) cash to burn and a new build they want to try, but cringes at the thought of grinding up to 50 through normal missions for the trillionth time.

Mmm, point!

Def is also not that good in PvP because DR hits it like a freight train. ~20% is the Diminshing Returns cap. 20% is better than nothing. If you ahve a handry defence power in your build (like Ice armor) no reason NOT to go for it, right? But not high enough to be a reliable defense against all the tactics, global accuracy bonuses, and, yes, BU/AIM/FA type effects.

Basically, what I've learned is to see it as a bonus thing. When you see that 'dodged' animation play as an attack wizzes by, thats a wonderful bonus. But you can't COUNT on it when planning your survival strategy.