City of Heroes - Live Forum Archive

Stalker Guides and FAQs

POST-ACTION

This thread is for posting Guide or FAQ links for Stalkers. Please create your guides in the "Player Guides" forum (since posts in that section do not roll off) and link the thread here. Also, do not post your guide in this thread - only the link to your guide. For non-Stalker guides, check the master list of all Guides in the Guide to Guides.

Failing any clear identifier from the poster, I will go by the original post date vs. Issue releases (I1: 6/30/04, I2: 9/17/04, I3: 1/5/05, I4: 5/5/05, I5: 9/1/05, I6: 10/28/05, I7:6/6/06, I8 :11/28/06) - e.g., if it was posted in March/05, it is an I3 Guide.

Guides appearing here were gleaned from links posted in one of the "Guide to Guides" threads (the Stalker GtG or the GtG threads in the "Player Guides" forum). We cannot sift through the hundreds of individual threads to find a posting, so be sure to 1) place your guide in the "Player Guides" forum, nowhere else and 2) post a link to it in a "Guide to Guides" thread!

STALKER (See Scrapper Guides for some Primary power discussions.)

** GENERAL
The Stalker Guide (v1.1) (Aleksander) [I6]
SDT: A Stalker's Role (Group PvP Guide) (Slyfe) [I6]
The Ultimate Stalker Guide! (Mageman) [I6]
Stalkers Galore: 8 Man Stalker Teams (Strategy) (Govtmorgue) [I6]
Things Every Stalker Should Know (Choff) [I6]

[color=red]***PRIMARIES[/color]

** CLAWS
Harbingers Claws/Regen Stalker Guide (NefariousB) [I8]
The Velvet Slayer's guid to live long. Claws/regen (Aenix) [I6]

**DARK MELEE
Scrapping with Style - A Guide to the Dark Melee/Ninjitsu PvE Stalker (FreelanceWizard) [I7]
Dark Melee/Dark Armor Stalker Guide for pve (Innocta) [I7]

** ENERGY MELEE
Issue7 - Stalker PvP Guide (EM/Nin/BS) - New Build (Elernet) [I7]
Pink Pom-Poms of Death v.2--The EM/SR Stalker Guide (Shadow_Poison) [I6]
Energy/Energy PvP/PvE Stalker (v.1.0) (Aleksander) [I6]
Energy Melee - A Comprehensive Stalker Guide (Tulzar) [I6]

** MARTIAL ARTS
An idiot (Hankoshas) guide to MA (Hankosha)[I7]

** NINJA BLADE
A Ninja Blade/Ninjitsu Stalker guide to PvP (Serpentosen) [I7]
Rundown of Ninja Blade/Ninjitsu Powers (Uplink_OoT) [I6]

** SPINES
Guide to Making/Playing a Spines/EA Stalker v.2 (TypicalHero)[I7]

[color=red]***SECONDARIES[/color]

**DARK ARMOR
Dark Melee/Dark Armor Stalker Guide for pve (Innocta) [I7]

**ENERGY AURA
Guide to Making/Playing a Spines/EA Stalker v.2 (TypicalHero)[I7]
Energy/Energy PvP/PvE Stalker (v.1.0) (Aleksander) [I6]

**NINJITSU
Scrapping with Style - A Guide to the Dark Melee/Ninjitsu PvE Stalker (FreelanceWizard) [I7]
Issue7 - Stalker PvP Guide (EM/Nin/BS) - New Build (Elernet) [I7]
A Ninja Blade/Ninjitsu Stalker guide to PvP (Serpentosen) [I7]
Rundown of Ninja Blade/Ninjitsu Powers (Uplink_OoT) [I6]
Secondary Power Strategy: Ninjitsu Guide [I6]

**REGENERATION
Harbingers Claws/Regen Stalker Guide (NefariousB) [I8]
The Velvet Slayer's guid to live long. Claws/regen (Aenix) [I6]

**SUPER REFLEXES
Amauros' Guide to SR Scrappers (and stalkers) 3.5 [I6]
Pink Pom-Pons of Death v.2--The EM/SR Stalker Guide (Shadow_Poison) [I6]

(last updated by milk weasel 1/11/07)

Blaster Guides and FAQs

POST-ACTION

Looking for Players to help with guide link posts

POST-ACTION

I've finished updating the Corruptor Guides and sent it, so no need for anyone else to start that one.

I do however fully agree with moving the guides to a wiki. It would be extremely easy to keep updated and get started, since likely most of us would add all the guides for you.

Looking for Players to help with guide link posts

POST-ACTION

will there be a "dibs" style thing so that multiple people don't run through doing the same one only to have the quickest typer get the coveted title?

Scrapper Guides and FAQs

POST-ACTION

Ian's Guide to the AoE Scrapper (Spine/Dark)

my guide is up

Ian's Guide to the AoE Scrapper (Spine/Dark)

POST-ACTION

Charging headfirst into a mob of 15 +3 enemies, unleashing a torrent of poisonous spears in all directions, killing all but the boss before your teammates have a chance to rush in. Watching your health drift steadily down only to spring back to full. Enemies cowering around you, unable to attack as numbers stream rapidly above their heads. If that sounds fun to you, then this is how you do it. My play style is an extremely foolhardy one. I rush in and hope I kill everyone before they can kill me. I do die, but only when I make stupid mistakes of my own. Thats the kind of play this build is tailored to.

This was a very hard build for me to play. Until around lvl 30 I was very weak and couldnt do anything impressive when I was solo. Until the build is complete its unimpressive. But when all the powers combine and their slotted properly its a beauty to behold and even better to play. Enemies fall around you like butter on the sun. There is nothing you dont have a defense against, no Achilles tendon. Because of this the developers gave you less resistance than most sets, but the rest of the powers more than make up for it.

There are many other ways to play this build. A friend of mine didnt take any of the AoE powers and focused on single target attacks. I have no idea why. I chose these sets because I wanted someone who focuses on AoEs. If thats what you want to try, then the advice below should help you. But I recommend you read other guides to get multiple opinions on the sets.

These are just my opinions and my slotting for the powers I took. I'm not saying you should do exactly as I've done, just letting you know why I did it. It would be rather difficult to emulate this build, because it's my favorite hero and it's the one that got the most HO loving.

I wanted to build an AoE centered character, and a friend suggested these two sets. I looked into them and decided it would be fun, especially since back then nobody played DA since it would be more of a challenge. So of course, my build suggestions are made with AoEs in mind. Bot would probably give you different suggestions since he didn't take any of the AoE powers on his spiner.

To start off, here's my opinions on each of the spine powers.

Barb Swipe - This is a pretty lame power. It has a long animation and small amounts of damage. I skipped it outright, after making the mistake of taking the similar power on my claw scrapper.

Lunge - Seeing as you have to take this or Barb Swipe, I suggest choosing this. Animation is shorter than BS and does more damage. The longer recharge might be rough for a low lvl, but once you get a few powers it won't be noticable at all.

Spine Burst - A great AoE. With a larger area than the toggle AoE damage powers, and does more damage for the hits. Also has a nice slow to it that will keep enemies closer to you if they're trying to run away.

Build Up - I've never known anyone not to take build up. Boosts your damage for a few seconds (which for this build is considerable, since it affects alot of targets).

Impale - A nice ranged power for taking down flyers and keeping runners from getting too far away. Can also pull other mobs towards you.

Confront - I originally used this power to pull other mobs to me to keep as many in the AoEs as possible, but found that Impale does that job just as well and also has numerous other beneficial qualities (damage, immob, -fly) that made it worth taking in place of this.

Quills - A nice AoE that continually hits enemies and reduces their speed and recharge. In an AoE centered build this is crucial.

Ripper - Since I'm all about AoE's it means I'm always in the middle of mobs. With enemies stacked around me this power works very well, since it has a small cone that usually hits 2 or 3 enemies for a large amount of damage.

Throw Spines - I didn't take this power because in order to use it most effectively I would have to jump out of the mob, cast it, then jump back in. But the damage from this wouldn't be enough to outdo the other damage I'd normally be doing already in the center. It could be used when first jumping into the mob, but I didnt feel it was worth taking, as my build was very full and it wouldnt be used often.

Dark Armor Powers

Dark Embrace - You have to take this power. You should take it anyways, it resists the most common damage types in the game.

Death Shroud - Another nice AoE that does damage that is rarely resisted. Larger DoT than Quills, works great along with it.

Murky Cloud - Resistance to more damage. This damage isn't as common as the Dark Embrace ones, but they do happen and it's nice to not get hit as for as much damage. Also the resistance to End Drain makes sappers not an issue, for you at least.

Obsidian Shield - The mez resistance power. Take it, wear it with pride. Also a nice psionic resistance, so you can take over in those rare missions when your teammates cry at their inability to stand up to squishy little psionic enemies.

Dark Regeneration - This is the best self heal in the game, in my opinion. If it hits one person you get about 1/3 of your health back. So hitting 3 or more enemies with it will fully heal you. It also does some damage, but I wouldn't recommend slotting for that. Recharge so you can heal more often (you'll need it if you play like I do) and endurance reductions are the way to go. It starts off at 33.8 endurance per use, which is 1/3 of your bar in an already end heavy set.

Cloak of Darkness - This power is extremely skippable. A slight bit of defense. If you plan to PVP it's helpful against stalkers and stealthers, and lets you get a sneak attack start, but in PVE it's not that helpful unless you want to stealth through missions. Also it provides the immobilize resistance that Obsidian lacks. Its got a very nice aesthetic appeal because it completely removes all your costume components aside from your aura, which has a neat look to it.

Cloak of Fear - This power made me keep my character. Until around lvl 30 or whenever i got it, I couldn't survive solo against orange mobs of 5 or more(before I got powerful attacks too). With this power, even before getting it slotted I was in crey's folly soloing those groups of 10+ orange mobs. The -Acc that this power kicks out is extremely helpful.

Oppressive Gloom - Similar to CoF this power will stop enemies from hitting you. The damage you take from it is minimal (60 damage every 2 seconds maximum now if youre hitting 10 enemies). It is a powerful stun that keeps everyone from attacking you, which is very helpful for everyone on the team.

Funnily enough, before max targets came into the game, we once had so many enemies herded and stacked in small spot that this power was killing me, without a single enemy attacking me. This is no longer possible.

Soul Transfer - When I'm on this alt I feel very powerful. I can kill 20 minions in a few seconds. This also makes me play rather haphazardly and I sometimes get over my head trying to maximize the number of enemies near me. So I die. Then I kick this power on and they're all stunned for a minute or so while I get my ground back. This power is skippable, but when you do die it's nice to pick up right there rather than make the trip from the hospital.

Below is my current build on live. I can't remember when I took each power, but it shows what I felt was most important to slot and I'll say a bit about that too.

lunge - 2 acc, 2 damage, 2 end reducs
spine burst - 3 acc/dam, 3 end reducs
quills - 3 acc/dam, 3 end reducs
build up - 3 recharge, 1 end reduc
ripper - 1 acc/dam, 1 dam, 1 acc, 2 end reducs
impale - 2 dam/range, 2 acc, 2 end reducs

Alot of endurance use comes from the attacks, so I was sure to slot them well for it, filling in acc and dam along with those. The powers I use the most get the most end reductions.

dark embrace - 3 resist/end reducs
death shroud - 3 dam/accs, 3 end reducs
murky cloud - 3 resist/end reducs
obs shield - 3 resist/end reducs
dark regen - 2 end reducs, 1 recharge
cloak of fear - 2 tohit debuffs/end reducs, 1 tohit debuff/acc, 1 end reduc, 2 accs
cloak of darkness - 3 defense/end reducs
opp gloom - 3 end reducs, 2 acc, 1 acc/mez
soul transfer - 1 recharge

Each toggle got 3 end reducs, cause I usually run them all. soul transfer doesn't really need to be slotted, so i threw a recharge in it. fear ended up with 3 tohit debuffs, 3 accs and 3 end reducers. It doens't really need to be slotted for more fear, because it hits so often that it doens't wear off of the mobs. Same goes for OG, but i had an acc/mez that i didn't have a better power to use in.

combat jumping - 3 defense/end reducs
super jump - 1 travel/end
acrobatics - 3 end reducs

I took the jumping set, because it provides acrobatics, which is pretty crucial, imo. With an aoe based character you need to make sure you're in the center and able to move when needed, so being on your butt doesn't work well. the CJ also provides a bit of defense and immob protection, which is great if you didn't take CoD

hurdle 1 jump
health - 3 greens
stamina - 3 end modifications

if you don't plan on taking stamina, you won't make it to 50. the extra regen from health is helpful, since this is one of the squishiest of scrappers.

hasten - 3 recharges

i only took this power becuase i had room and it was extremely helpful to get Conserve Power back up, which I feel is a great asset to this build.

conserve power - 3 recharges
focused acc - 3 acc buffs/end reducs

I don't really need FA, but it helps when I'm pvping against an SR or stalker, or if an AV has an elude power. When I'm getting low on endurance I kick it off, becuase it's probably the most draining of my powers. Conserve power lets me run all 11 of my standard toggles and attack nonstop without running out of endurance. I would suggest this above any other ancilliary power set.

of course, you don't have to follow my build exactly, and you probably don't have 35 HOEs sitting around that you could devote, so try a diff build if you want and slot accordingly. this build is made to be aoe primarily. in fact, before i got hoes i didn't even slot any of my single target attacks, and could hardly manage a boss on my own. But raids happen very often, so dont despair if you dont have any. When you get to 45 you can start picking them up.

Confessions of a Spines/Dark Scrapper (i7)

POST-ACTION

i have a writeup of a guide that i never posted, i'll do so soon

Confessions of a Spines/Dark Scrapper (i7)

POST-ACTION

you're really skipping cloak of fear? that's the best power in the set, imo.

Confessions of a Spines/Dark Scrapper (i7)

POST-ACTION

once you get cloak of fear running the mobs you can take on will suddenly go up a couple levels

Confessions of a Spines/Dark Scrapper (i7)

POST-ACTION

but it sure is nice not to have toggles drop when they take so long to activate

Sonic Resonance Bind Generator v1.0

POST-ACTION

it looked like it worked now, but i didn't have a teammate to test it on when i got it working. however i do go into the "about to do some power" crouch when i hit my numpads

Sonic Resonance Bind Generator v1.0

POST-ACTION

it's a nice thing, but it's not working for me. i put it in c:\sonicbinds and typed /bind_load_file c:\sonicbinds\load_sonic.txt

is there anythign wrong with what i'm doing? my numpad didn't change, in fact the numpad1 i had bound stayed the same

Sonic Resonance Bind Generator v1.0

POST-ACTION

can you give a bit more information? do we put it in notepad to save it as the .bat? will this mess up any binds we already have? and the numbers above our letters or the numpad to the right?

Confessions of a Spines/Dark Scrapper (i7)

POST-ACTION

yeah, it took me a long time to get the slotting just ride to make it most efficient for endurance. i now run 11 toggles and attack regularly without much of an end problem. lots of HOs really helps though

Confessions of a Spines/Dark Scrapper (i7)

POST-ACTION

i have a 50 spine/dark if you want any advice. it's the one i sunk all of my HOs into though, so slotting might be difficult for me to advise you on

Statesman speaks at serious games summit

POST-ACTION

I've been a leader of the most well known SG on liberty, and have had alts in 5 very highly functional SGs there, and only one of them has had anything remotely near a SG costume, which took us months to decide upon and hardly anyone wore aside from when pictures were taken or the like. SG costumes aren't as prominent as you seem to think they are, mr statesman

Guide to Upcoming Epic Archetypes (I6)

POST-ACTION

maybe he deleted it

Ian's guide to an awesome Fire/Rad corruptor

POST-ACTION

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll keep those in mind when I update my build and guide

Ian's guide to an awesome Fire/Rad corruptor

POST-ACTION

I wouldn't say you need to have them, but it's nice because both sets are already endurance heavy and acro is something you'll want on at all times to keep holds from affecting you, so keeping it at minimal endurance use is especially nice.

if you don't want to slot it taht way, try deleting two of them and see if you suffer endurance-wise, then make a decision

Set title?

POST-ACTION

it'll clear it if you don't have the badge associated with that number. the hero and villain numbers are different and might have changed since hte list you're looking at was compiled

Arena matches

POST-ACTION

it's your gladiators vs. another person's gladiators, not your character vs. your gladiators. you need a friend or someone else to fight you

Ian's guide to an awesome Fire/Rad corruptor

POST-ACTION

thanks for your responses

Statesman Interview Transcript!

POST-ACTION

is there another link to the interview? that page won't load for me

Ian's guide to an awesome Fire/Rad corruptor

POST-ACTION

I'm happy with my slotting, i meant advice as to what to talk about that i didn't. The slotting is more of a "this is how i have it" style. and i do need all those end reducs, because even with AM on i can still run out with the toggles up and attacks flying

thanks for the suggestions though

Ian's guide to an awesome Fire/Rad corruptor

POST-ACTION

I'd appreciate any feedback as far as things to add or change. Thanks

milk_weasel

Posts

Joined

Stalker Guides and FAQs

Blaster Guides and FAQs

Looking for Players to help with guide link posts

Looking for Players to help with guide link posts

Scrapper Guides and FAQs

Ian's Guide to the AoE Scrapper (Spine/Dark)

Confessions of a Spines/Dark Scrapper (i7)

Confessions of a Spines/Dark Scrapper (i7)

Confessions of a Spines/Dark Scrapper (i7)

Confessions of a Spines/Dark Scrapper (i7)

Sonic Resonance Bind Generator v1.0

Sonic Resonance Bind Generator v1.0

Sonic Resonance Bind Generator v1.0

Confessions of a Spines/Dark Scrapper (i7)

Confessions of a Spines/Dark Scrapper (i7)

Statesman speaks at serious games summit

Guide to Upcoming Epic Archetypes (I6)

Ian's guide to an awesome Fire/Rad corruptor

Ian's guide to an awesome Fire/Rad corruptor

Set title?

Arena matches

Ian's guide to an awesome Fire/Rad corruptor

Statesman Interview Transcript!

Ian's guide to an awesome Fire/Rad corruptor

Ian's guide to an awesome Fire/Rad corruptor