The Velvet Slayer's guid to live long. Claws/regen
By
Aenix,
Posted on: 2005-11-13 11:31 in Player Guides
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Swipe -why swipe and not strike? Cause swipe is fast and can intterrupt for a longer period. Remember, your goal is quickness hence why you don't want slash.
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I thought Swipe had a pretty long Animation and that Strike was a better choice at level 1and Slash at 2 (Slash has the same length animation as Swipe but with a Debuff and slightly more damage).
...I don't respond like this normally but, you've forced me to. Have you even seen slash in action compared to swipe? HELLO! Swipe, instant hit with DoT. Slash has a 2 second wind up like you're about to throw a fast ball. Not to mention this build is about speedy attacks/hit and run without standing there for even 1 second (which you'll have to stand there for about 3) for the next power to recharge. It's hit hit placate, kill. The only way you can get that windup out of the way is doing it while hidden and if you do that while hidden for the buff instead of Assassin strike, I would prefer you to delete your stalker and make yourself a brute or mastermind.
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...I don't respond like this normally but, you've forced me to. Have you even seen slash in action compared to swipe? HELLO! Swipe, instant hit with DoT. Slash has a 2 second wind up like you're about to throw a fast ball. Not to mention this build is about speedy attacks/hit and run without standing there for even 1 second (which you'll have to stand there for about 3) for the next power to recharge. It's hit hit placate, kill. The only way you can get that windup out of the way is doing it while hidden and if you do that while hidden for the buff instead of Assassin strike, I would prefer you to delete your stalker and make yourself a brute or mastermind.
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Three things....
1) I'm asking because I DON'T know the class well, and I assumed you wrote it to help familarize people with it.
2) Swipe has an very long animation as well (like flurry, it happens during the attack, as opposed to be before it), does less damage then Slash, and doesn't have the Defense debuff.
3) Have you looked at the actual Stalker Forums? Just about every guide and build Suggest staying AWAY from Swipe for the reasons I cited above in #2, which is why I was asking in the first place.......
Swipe= teh suxx0rz
Yeah, sorry but the info in swipe is just funny. Fast? It has the exact same animation time as Slash. I'm not saying slash is better, well yeah I am, but it does have it's faults. But swipe just plain outsucks every other attack in the game.
Level 50 is a journey, not a destination.
▲Scrapper Issues List - Going Rogue Edition▲
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Yeah, sorry but the info in swipe is just funny. Fast? It has the exact same animation time as Slash. I'm not saying slash is better, well yeah I am, but it does have it's faults. But swipe just plain outsucks every other attack in the game.
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Now, now... I'm sure there are other attacks that out-suck Swipe. I just can't think of any 
Actually, come to think of it, you're right, it does out-suck everything else, _including_ the pools.
E.g., even Flurry's 0.9937 DPS is better than the puny 0.8 DPS of Swipe. Jump Kick would come close enough at 0.8680 but it's still better than Swipe. (And Jump Kick at least can cause knock-up/knock-back.) Kick from the Fighting pool? (A.k.a., the "don't take that one" power.) 1.1666 DPS, or almost 50% better than Swipe. Of course, anyone getting the Fighting pool will take Boxing instead, at 1.7592 DPS, or more than _twice_ the DPS of Swipe.
All DPS relative to the Brawl Index, of course. The numbers for Swipe are taken from the Character Builder, which lists only 2.43 seconds as its activation time. Going by the 3 seconds everyone else seems to assume, Swipe would be even worse.
All the other numbers are taken from this thread:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showf...part=1#4120067
The numbers in the Character Builder would make the pools actually look even better compared to Swipe.
Geesh, I shudder to think that someone would read this thinking it's some expert guide and ending up with Swipe.
Personally... I hate Swipe... It's one of the worst Claws power for a Stalker IMO, considering it's DoT, has a slow activation, and has bad damage... Slash is just such a better power, especialy when the I7 buff to Claws comes around, Swipe will be totally unnecessary.
No Focus at 18??? Focus practically defines Claws as it stands, in both PvP and PvE. Ask anyone, I'm sure all will agree not taking Focus ASAP is hurting yourself... badly...
This game needs Guitar Blast.
Swipe at this point is a bad power. I disagree with the OP and recommend against it. This will change after I7. Strike and Slash are much better until you get Focus.
Also, take Focus at 18. Trust me.
ok here's what i have...
first off great guide i believe you have captured the essence. Like some of the others have been saying, go with strike for the first attack. I played swipe till the first respec, and i just wouldnt suggest it. However if you are going for longevity of your toon and plan on taking it to 50 or at least above 24(first respec if i remember correctly) dont worry too much about what you have for your initial attacks the fun really begins after you get rid of em anyways IMHO. Just make sure you are busy hittin buttons and doing damage, im a big fan of personal preference. I like the "knock em to the ground and beat em while they lay there" strategy myself, and until you get focus Air superiority might do the trick.
Strike is my filler attack now. After respec i picked up as my main attacks, focus and eviscerate. they are deadly together because of eviscerate's high damage/crit hit chance and focus is another thing to help you live longer, its hard for the enemy to strike while laying on their back. unfortunately the low end attacks will have to do you over till you get to your respec though as its very hard to get from lvl 2-18 with only 1 attack. I use combat jump to get away instead of super-speed. i spose that is personal preference, but i dont think you get a defense bonus with SS, correct me if im wrong. CJ is fast enough when you couple it with the fitness's hurdle. Just a couple of things to think about in planning for the higher lvls, but you pretty much have the lower lvls nailed. Good luck all ye Claw wielders.
post I9 comment:
any attack with the proper slotting can be pretty nasty; try slotting up swipe with all available procs... 2-slot Pounding Slugfest
Apparently, I play "City of Shakespeare"
*Arc #95278-Gathering the Four Winds -3 step arc; challenging - 5 Ratings/3 Stars (still working out the kinks)
*Arc #177826-Lights, Camera, Scream! - 3 step arc, camp horror; try out in 1st person POV - 35 Ratings/4 Stars
just so everyone's clear on the times of swipe strike and slash. here are the numbers:
Swipe
end cost: 2.91
recharge: 1.7 seconds
activation time: 1.5 seconds
Strike
end cost: 4.16
recharge: 3.2 seconds
activation time: 1.17 seconds
Slash
end cost: 5.49
recharge: 4.8 seconds
activation time: 1.33 seconds
as you can see, strike activates and attacks faster, but swipe recharges faster. happy now?
I've tested this out over and over again, asked my questions and so on. With this new toon, I've been seeing myself last longer then any other scrapper before. This will be a guild/build type thing so stick with me. If you have any ideas/thoughts, please reply, I'll be more then happy to test it out myself. I got up to lvl 20 so far and already you can see how this will work.
In this build, your main tactic is hit, run, heal, hide. Simple right? Though the build is also geared so if you need to duke it out, it is perfectly possible to do so. As you will come to find out, one little AoE will ruin your tactic as in any case with any stalker. It's why I take out the flame throwers, no one likes a flamer anyway. Your objective is speed and stealth without picking up powers you wont need and useing the ones you have to their fullest extent.
lvl 1.
Swipe -why swipe and not strike? Cause swipe is fast and can intterrupt for a longer period. Remember, your goal is quickness hence why you don't want slash.
Hide -no other choice, I slotted this 3 times with Defense. When not hidden, you're going to die. If this is your only protection, USE IT!
lvl 2.
Strike -Again, no slash, strike and swipe will be low attack, but fast and furious. I slotted both 2 times with one acc and 2 dmg and works pretty good. These are good finishers and time consumers incase Placate or assassin strike didn't take care of them the first time.
lvl 4.
Reconstruction -This thing has saved my life so many times. 6 slot it ASAP with 3 timers, and 3 heals. This is gonna be the factor of which you live or die.
lvl 6.
Asassin strike -Yes, your pools are available, but assassin strike is your goal. This is your main power. 6 slot this too. 2acc, 3 dmg, and 1 timer. YES! 2 acc! It really sucks when you go to one shot a lut and miss.
lvl 8.
Build Up! -I couldn't tell you how many people skip out on this and practically wave a fan at their enemy. Look folks, it's rather simple, you hit build up, you hit assassin strike, you dominate your apponent. I've brought bosses 2 lvls higher then me down to 1/8 of their health. Then you hide again or use Placate, and use Assassin strike as normal and they're done. How many times do you get to 2 shot a boss?! What other build is there?! Slot this 3 times with timers all accross.
lvl 10.
Dull Pain, the other white heal -Yes, do not use this as an HP buff before battle!!! It doesn't work as well that way, just means they need to hit ya a couple more times. Use dull pain as a critical heal, this will bring you from red to half full. 6 slot this with 3 timers, and 3 heals. You could put a res in their, but how many poisenous people are you going to be facing? In the broad picture, not very many.
lvl 12.
Hasten -gotta be quick, gotta be strong, gotta hustle ladies! This will give you some more defense and will bring up your powers much quicker. it's nice if you're wailing on a boss waiting for build up, strike, and placate to come back up. Slot it 3 times with timers. Note, by timers, I do mean time red, if you haven't cought on.
lvl 14.
Super Speed! -now you can feel the true meaning of hit, run, hide. You take out the big guy, let your team take the aggro again, strike again! It's beautiful really. Yes, you're still gonna be hit, but that's why we have recon and you're gonna be hit anyway without it. Might as well try to be hit less.
lvl 16.
Integration! -tired of being knocked back? Hate being held while running back? well lets put an end to that shall we? I haven't slotted this yet so see what works and go with it. We're getting to where I'm at so most of this stuff will be updated later.
18.
Placate -this is going to let you 2 shot a boss. There's no missing in this, but you do have to be kinda close to put it on something. NOTE: Make sure no one else is hitting you, they can ruin your hide and interrupt the strike.What I do in that scenario is placate the big guy and wale on the minion who's usually the culpret. 3 slot it with timers.
lvl 20.
hurdle -We didn't need stamina so much back then, but now we're running a few toggles so we want to start working on that stuff. I took hurdle to get some height. You can take swift if you feel like it.
This is where it ends for now. I will be updating this as I lvl to show you where I went and why and for future players. If you have any constructive criticism, please feel free to reply here, or msg me on Guardian I'm Velvet Slayer.