How To Make Things Die: Serps' Guide to Nin/Nin!

Captain_Yar_Har · 08-01-2008 12:48 PM

[u]Introduction[u]

Hello. You know me, so I'm not going to introduce myself. However, I will say that I've been playing my Ninja Blade/Ninjutsu Stalker since Issue 6, and yes, AC, Ninja Blade does exist now, since it's the name of one of the weapons you can choose to wield if you choose this set. However, for all intents and purpouses, I will refer to this combination as Katana/Ninjutsu, because they are almost exactly the same.

So, you want to be a Stalker, eh? Did your poor pink pom-poms get nerfed into the ground? Did you try Bane Spiders, only to realize that they're lame watered-down versions of the Stalker, the king of everything? Or maybe you've played a Blaster and got tired of dying.

This guide will explore, in detail, how to make things die - wether it be against mindless NPCs who will provide little challenge for you, or against players, who might have some shred of skill. If you've never felt the awesomeness that is making things die in a split second, or if you're already on your way to level 50, this guide should provide all the information you need to keep on stabbing.

So, without further ado, here's the actual guide. Read at your own risk.

[u]Stalkers: The Other Blaster[u]

If you are reading this guide as an introduction to the Stalker AT itself, here is some general information about the Archetype.

Stalker Inherant Power: Assassination

This is what makes you different from those Scrappers over on the other side of the fence. This power is closely tied to Hide, the first power choice in every secondary that you cannot skip, and if you could skip it, you wouldn't because I would personally assassinate you for being so foolish if you did. This power is also closely tied to Assassin's Strike. I will explain how Assassination works on it's own, with hide, and with Assassin's Strike.

First off: You will always have a base 10% chance to score a critical hit with your attacks, always, always, always. Unless you're using an inherant (Brawl) power or temporary power. Then you will never, never, never crit. Unless the power crits on it's own. Then you will... You get the point.

This is a very small bonus in the lower levels where most of your attacks will be used from hide. When hidden, your attacks will always score a critical if they hit, UNLESS they are cones or area of effect. This is an unfortunate thing for many Stalkers who cannot automatically crit with their strongest hitters, namely Ripper, Golden Dragonfly, and Eviscerate. AOE or cone powers will have a 50% chance to crit, normally.

So, in hide you have a base 100% chance to crit, and outside of hide you will have a 10% chance. Those powers mentioned above that are small cones will have a higher chance to crit without hide.

In addition to this, your ability to score a critical outside of hide will increase by 3% for every teammate within 30 feet of you. As good as this sounds, teammates won't always be that close to you. This perk is best in AV or Hero fights when the team is usually piled around the enemy.

Another main thing about it, is how it works with your signature attack - Assassin's Strike.

If you use AS from hide, and hit, you will do extreme damage. Not like "Hey, I did half of this guy's health in one blow," I mean EXTREME damage. Like the kind of thing that will make people who don't know how to PvP cringe. This is the thing that causes people to want you to be nerfed. But it won't be nerfed. Laugh at them, and then kill them.

AS also has an effect called Demoralize. This power is only in PvE, but works very well. If you use AS on an enemy from hide, and hit, and the target survives the blow (That part makes no sense conceptually,) everybody in a gigantic area will have their accuracy debuffed by a small amount, and will have a 25% chance of being hit with a magnitude 5 Fear effect, which will make things twice your size cower as you rip them and their friends apart. This is the "Nice thing" that Stalkers get, that will amuse you for many stabs, punches, dark skull things, etc to come.

That is Assassination. It is where most of your damage will come from. Without it, you will do Tanker-worthy damage. Embrace Assassination. Love Assassination. Assassinate with Assassination. Team with Assassination. Sleep with Assassination. Eat with Assassination. It is everything you are.

Stalker Primary Rundown

These are brief summaries of each Stalker Primary.

Energy Melee: Considered the "Best" Stalker primary for PvP, and on teams fighting against NPCs it is definately the worst. It still holds it's own as a decent solo set, as it can drop 3 or 4 targets in short order with a few ridiculously hard hitting attacks that almost match AS's power. It stuns enemies, is the king of single target burst damage, and has a few powers that look very cool. Drawbacks are lack of AOE damage, high endurance cost, slow recharge, and the pom poms look ridiculous.

Spines: Also known as Banana Melee, this set offers a good mix of Single Target and AOE damage, sort of a jack of all trades set for Stalkers. It has a few ranged powers, which can help in PvP. Slow animations and lots of DoT make it all around sub-par in PvP, however. The DoT from your spines will interfere with Placate, making you quite vulnerable.

Dark Melee: This set is perhaps unkillable in PvE, with stacked -ACC on your enemies and defense from your secondary powerset making you nearly impossible to hit. Fast animations excluding Shadow Maul, which everyone has if they took Sands of Mu anyways. Low single target and AOE damage for a Stalker, but "Chainsaw" builds with lots of recharge using only the fast activating powers seem to do well. In PvP your secondary effect is made useless, because Defense in general is broken when figthing players. More on this later.

Claws: The fastest, and probably lowest damage set for Stalkers, with a few ranged powers that make it very similar to Spines. Low end cost, but low damage make it good yet bad in the lower levels, but Focus makes a huge difference.

Martial Arts: Also known as "lol MA." This set is like Energy Melee with inferior stuns and damage, but faster recharge and activation times, which surprisingly is not a good enough trade-off to make this a good set. Recent buffs have made it decent, but still sub-par.

Electric Melee: The PvE set. You will get many AOEs, or at least, powers that will hurt multiple targets quickly, later on in your career. Recent buffs have made Chain Induction a very takeable power, while Thunder Strike and Lightning Rod provide most of the punch of the set. Lighting Rod does not crit, but it also does not drop hide, giving you a free crit with AS or Thunder Strike, or whatever else you feel like using. Beware, however: This set's Single Target damage is inferior to other sets. Not reccomended for fighting anything with more HP than you in PvP.

Dual Blades: Since it has come into existance, it has been considered the worst Stalker Primary time and time again. Decent AOE damage, slow activations, lower damage, and the need to stick around and activate multiple powers in a row to get combo bonuses to have meaningful secondary effects, makes this set very unimpressive in PvE and PvP. For this reason, buffs may be coming soon, but I still wouldn't roll one.

Stalker Secondaries

Basically, I wouldn't reccomend playing anything but Ninjutsu, Regeneration, or (for PvE) Willpower. Regen and WP are currently being hurt by the broken Stalker HP cap, making Ninjutsu the only good option. And if it gets Nerfed, we'll all have to assassinate Castle, assuming he doesn't nerf that too.

Dark Armor: Good AOE mezzes for migitation, but Resistance and AOE toggle powers don't fit well with the Stalker theme, even though you'd think all Stalkers would be Dark Armor. "Dark Evil Dragon Master Summoner Lord Demon" would be a very common name if this set was any good (And if you could make names that long.)

Electric Armor: I have never played this set beyond level 10, and that was on a brute. But Resistance powers, 2 un-wanted utility powers, and the fact that you would probably need to take every power to be effective... Yeah, don't ever make one of these.

Energy Aura: Better than Electric Armor because it is defense. The godmode power suffers from the broken HP cap. Do not roll one of these unless you think it will be buffed.

Super Refexes: Even though this set was around first, this is "The other Ninjutsu." Slightly better-than-Ninjutsu Defense, and a +Recharge power are the only things this set has going for it. You must take every power and slot it well to be good, and you lack the Control powers and heal of Ninjutsu.

Regeneration: If you ignore the fact that Dull Pain is basically worthless nowadays, this set is very good. You have two god-modes, neither with crashes, a self heal, good mez protection, and enough regeneration to actually notice it. If you don't take Ninjutsu, take this or Willpower.

Willpower: Suffers in the same way as Regeneration does, but this set offers a mix of resistance, defense, and regeneration. The staple power here is Rise to the Challenge, which will make you regenerate HP very, very quickly... In PvE. This is not a PvP set.

And, not that you've seen all the powersets that are terrible, here are the ones that are godly.

[u]Ninja Blade[u]

Here, you will take your first steps in becoming a Ninja, and eventually you will master the art of making things die. Here is a list of the powers that will make you hurt things. A lot.

Gambler's Cut

This is a very fast attack with a nice animation of you performing two cuts across your enemie's torso, doing relatively low damage. This power, especially with IOs, recharges ridiculously fast. It is an attack chain filler in PvE, but more of an "I'm taking this because I have to" power in PvP. I reccomend this over Sting of the Wasp.

Slotting: 2-3 Damage, 1-2 ACC, 0-2 Recharge

Sting of the Wasp

This power is slightly slower but deals more damage than Gambler's Cut. As this build is all about being fast, I reccomend respeccing out of this in the later levels, but using it in your attack chain until level 26, when you get real attacks. You slice your enemy diagonally relatively quickly. Very unimpressive, but at level 1, can't expect anything better.

Slotting: 3 Damage, 2 ACC, 0-1 Recharge

Flashing Steel

I have seen people in the late 20's with this power and the first two powers, as well as every other power in the primary except Build Up and Placate. If you do something like that, I will make you die. This power is -only- an attack chain filler until level 26, or earlier. Respec out of it as soon as you get a third attack. You slice horizontally in the least impressive way imaginable, and can hit a few foes. It does not auto-crit, as it is a cone.

Slotting: 3 Damage, 2 ACC, 0-1 Recharge

Assassin's Blade

I have already explained this power, but because it is so godly, I will do it again. This is you. This is what makes others hate and fear you. It kills things before they have a chance to react, and if it doesn't, everyone around you will start cowering, and for good reasons; this power is usually followed by a stab-fest that will kill everything in a sort of horror movie fashion. Texas Chain Saw Massacre? Hows about Rogue Isles Katana Making Deadness of Things? I would watch that movie.

This power is best used on Bosses. It will not kill them outright, unless they are a few levels below you, or if you have some serious buffage on you, and that means that the mob around the boss will be debuffed and have a chance of being terrorized. Killing bosses is also your main role, followed by scrapping it out with the minions.

This is one of the best animations in the game. Ask Angry Citizen, also known as "The other Nin/Nin Stalker." By the way, I am "The Nin/Nin Stalker," not him. He doesn't have what it takes to write a guide about Nin/Nins after the Stalker buffs and Inventions, thus I win. Muhuhahaha. The animation consists of you crouching down low, katana in your left hand while your right hand is placed on the bottom of the hilt. After a brief pause while you aim for your prey's organs, or face, and contemplate slaughtering his buddies, you push the sword into them, which usually results in them dying. See? You made them dead! You're already on your way. After you hold the sword inside of them long enough for them to realize, "Oh my god, I'm going to die," you pull it out, and stand in a Ninja Pose until you move or finish off your foe. The sound that accompanies the stab sounds something like "KerSHEEK," followed by the unmistakable sound of blood spilling, even though your sword is still inside of them. Gah, immersion breaking!

Slotting: 3 Damage, 2 ACC, 1 Recharge

Build Up

This is another neccessary power if you want to make things die. While your larger, more primitive Brute allies will often hold off on this power until they have an attack chain, you know better. You want this power. Immediately.

Slotting: 3 Recharge, 0-3 ToHit Buff

Placate

This power bestows upon you the ability to make a single enemy forget you ever existed. You wave your arm at your target and you dissapear. Other targets will be able to see you and attack you, and this artificial hidden status does not provide any defense like Hide does. However, the person you use this power on is completely unaware of your pressense. I'll help to put this in perspective.

Drew: Hey, Bob?
Bob: Yeah?
Drew: You ever get that feeling that you're being watched?
Bob: Nope... *ASSASSIN'S STRIKE!* *Placate*
Drew: Hey, uh, Bob... You look a little dead there. Maybe you oughta take a brea--*ASSASSIN'S STRIKE!*

That is what Placate will allow you to do. A free critical every 31 seconds with SOs, so long as you aren't hit before you attack. Does that sound awesome? It should. This, allong with Build Up and AS, make you you. Take these three powers immediately, or you will hear mysterious knockings on your door, and when you open it no one will be there... Or will they? *Assassin's Strike*

Slotting: 3 Recharge

Divine Avalanche

Now that you've passed the miserable lower levels and you have started on your path to becoming a Stalker, you will get powers that will define your powerset. This is your signature Katana attack. There is only one other power like this in the game; Parry, from Broadsword. Stalkers do not get Broadsword. This means that your Stalker buddies, assuming that they are not Katana, will not get this power.

"Well, what gives? It looks like it does minor damage and doesn't even lower their defense like my other attacks." Quiet, you. You do not fully comprehend the sheer awesomeness of this power. The animation is a quick parrying stance, as though you're having a lightsabre battle, followed by a whack on the head. The same damage as Gambler's Cut ensues, but every application of this power grants you 15% Defense to melee and lethal attacks for 10 seconds.

Now, 15% resistance would be less overwhelming. But in a game where enemies are so unskilled that 45% defense will render them useless, and the fact that Ninjutsu offers almost 30% defense on it's own, this power makes you unkillable in melee, where you will do 99.9% of your fighting. It also makes bullets, arrows, and any other sharp or pointy projectiles less likely to hit you. It is good to always trust this power in the later levels when you have it slotted. Jump into a mob the size of which any Brute would hesitate to engage, and spam this power. Not only will you likely survive, but this power fits in with your attack chain so well that you will be able to make things die while taking minimal damage yourself. If Stalkers had gods (They are their own gods,) they would pray to Divine Avalanche.

Slotting: 2-3 Defense, 2 ACC, 1-2 Recharge

Soaring Dragon

Yes! Finally, after 26 levels you've gotten your first real attack. If you're like me, you probably died inside every time you followed up AS with Sting of the Wasp. But no more. This attack will do twice as much damage, knock enemies into the air (Useful for fighting those stubborn Romans who don't like to go down), reduce defense, and make you feel all tingly inside. You spin around and diagonally cut your enemy in half, sending them flying upwards. It's a fast animation (Although not nearly as fast as Gambler's Cut,) that will leave enemies thinking "The hell was that?" if they aren't already dead. Take this power immediately, as this is what you will use to make things die all the way to 50 and beyond.

Slotting: 3 Damage, 2 ACC, 0-1 Recharge

Golden Dragonfly

But wait, it gets even better after level 26. If you've been wishing for a power that will make enemies dead even faster, your prayers have been answered. You jump into the air and bring your sword down on your enemy, which can knock them down. The drawback of this power is that it's a tiny cone that offers no meaningful AOE damage and does not automatically crit from hide. This power will have a slightly better chance of critting outside of hide, but you will, like many other Stalkers, agree that this is no tradeoff. Bug castle until he fixes it. Until then, this attack, when it does crit, will do crazy stupid damage, and I daresay if it were just a little bit stronger it could match AS when it crits. When it doesn't crit, it will do more damage than Soaring Dragon. There are two ways to use this power: If you are using it from Hide, then you will definately want to position yourself in a way that you can hit 2 or possibly even 3 enemies. While this takes a lot of practice, this can occasionally make you say, "Wow, that was satisfying," assuming you score multiple crits. There will be times in your career when you use this power and one-shot kill two or even three enemies, and when you do, give yourself a Ninja pat on the back. However, if you are not confident that the power will hit more than one target, use your crit from Hide on Soaring Dragon, as it is more consistant.

Slotting: 3 Damage, 2 ACC, 0-1 Recharge

Now that you know all about how to make things die, there's still the art of not being made dead yourself, which will be very useful. This art of not getting killed is also referred to as...

[u]Ninjutsu[u]

Hide

I have explained most of what this power does already. However, there are a few things that you might want to know as well.

One, it costs no endurance. Nada. Zilch. What the hell is that word, anyways? Zilch. Whoever came up with it must have been high, or maybe he had a Katana stuck in his neck and he couldn't make any other noise to let us all know that he was dead. Cry us a river, Mr. Zilch Man. Oh wait, you can't, because you're dead. Serves him right.

Secondly, when you are in the hidden status, you will have incredible AOE defense, meaning that if you stand next to a brute and someone throws a grenade at him, odds are you'll sidestep the explosion (Don't ask how, you're a Ninja) and still have your free hidden crit with which to make someone die. The power also adds some less major defense to melee and ranged attacks while you are hidden. If you are not hidden, these defenses will be reduced greatly.

Thirdly, after attacking, you will regain your hidden status in 8 seconds. If you are hit or attack again in this time, the timer will reset. Note that if you use AS and miss, you will keep your hidden status, but this does not transfer over to regular attacks.

Fourthly, never, ever detoggle this power if you are fighting. Not that you won't still kill things; but having this power on confers absolutely no negative effect, whatsoever. Sure, an idiotic teammate might run up behind you and get eaten by the mob... But that's their problem. If you are turning off other toggles to get back more endurance, keep this on, even if you have to train your natural reflexes to do so.

Slotting: 1-3 Defense Buffs.

Ninja Reflexes

This is your first toggle power that will make anything in melee bounce off of you. Stacked with Divine Avalanche, you will be nearly unhittable in melee. This also grants you some resistance to defense debuffs, and will get greater as the levels go by. Take this power immediately.

Slotting: 3 Defense Buffs, 1-2 Endurance Reduction

Danger Sense

This is your other toggle. This will make anything that isn't in melee less likely to hit you. It also gives you more resistance to defense debuffs. Another great thing is it's +Perception, which will allow you to see absolutely anything in the game except some Stalkers. This is mostly a PvP bonus, but it is nice to see your team yell "I'm Blinded!" while fighting Arachnos, but you can just keep killing things to your heart's content.

Slotting: 3 Defense Buffs, 1-2 Endurance Reduction

Caltrops

This is the first skippable power in this set. Others will say that it doesn't actually do anything, and that it's damage is negligible. While it's damage is completely worthless, this power tends to make enemies run around, attacking less. I personally took this power, because it can make a difference in PvP, and because it does offer noticeable migitation agaisnt NPCs. If you have room for it, which, you probably should, as I did, then I would take it. Note that this power is permanant out of the box, but you can stack it with recarge buffs.

Slotting: 0-3 Recharge, 0-3 Slows

Kuji-In Rin

If by this point in your career, your stabbing lifestyle has been threatened by Holds, Stuns, Immobolizes, Sleeps, or any other kind of Mez effect, this power will help a lot. I will mention that it is reasonable to put this off a few levels, but the further you go through the game, the more you will need it. It has two drawbacks, namely, the lack of resistance to knockback powers, which most Stalkers, including me, live with. The other is that it is not permanant out of the box, and won't be unless you have 2 Recharge SOs in it. This power is good because it resists every single mez in the game. While others will cower in fear, attack each other, or otherwise be locked down and turned into playthings, you will never need to fear these effects in PvE. However, against other players, stacking mezzes is much more common, and thus you will want to be careful when facing Controllers or Dominators. This power also gives you very decent resistance to Psionic damage, making Brutes want to kill you for it, but unfortunately for them, you'd totally kill them first.

Slotting: 3 Recharge. It's perma with 2, but any slow effect will give you a short period of downtime, which is a death sentence in PvP. You will have the slots for this, and if you don't, you're doing something wrong.

Kuji-In Sha

This is the power that Super Reflexes and Energy Aura users hate you for. Used with Divine Avalanche, or indeed, just with your shields, makes you very hard to kill. Unslotted it is a 25% Heal every 60 seconds, with stackable resistance to Toxic damage every time you use it. This is basically the same thing as Reconstruction, only this power makes you a Ninja.

Slotting: 3 Heals, 3 Recharge

Smoke Flash

You may be looking at this power, sitting at level 27 and thinking, "I can't wait for my AOE Placate power! Whoosh!" Well, I hate to break it to you, (Not really, I love it) but this power is worthless. "Guh? But I can haves another free critical, and it's totally an AOE!" I'd like to respond to that will a big ol' Lex Luthor WROONG. This power is only an escape tool that will make enemies stop attacking you, assuming you get all of them with the small AOE and the fact that it isn't autohit. It will not grant you hidden status, and it's animation is painfully long, making it very possible, nay, likely to get you faceplanted mid-animation. You shouldn't need this power to save yourself, and if you do, you're doing something wrong. If you've followed this guide so far, then it's likely that you need to stop fighting two mobs at once.

Slotting: I have seen people take this power because there is nothing else to take in the 40's, which is reasonable. In that case, slot it with 1-3 Recharges.

Blinding Powder

This is another great tool for migitation. It is also very ninja-like. While it is a small cone, this power makes enemies fall asleep, can confuse minions, and gives a small ToHit debuff. This power is great because it does not draw aggro to you, meaning that you can use this before you start killing things without having to worry about an enemy yelling out, "Hey! A Stalker! Get 'im!" and having someone knock you out of hide. This is a great migitation tool that most people skip because they don't know anything. This is a very good power no matter what you want to do. PvE, PvP, it will still help you in your never-ending quest to make things die.

Slotting: 2-3 Recharge, 2 ACC, 0-2 Confuse

Kuji-In Retsu

Ah, here it is, your god-mode. Often referred to as Elude, but since Ninjutsu is better than Super Reflexes, you can refer to Elude as Kuji-In Retsu. That's right, SR users, we win. The animation looks like you're praying to god, or perhaps Divine Avalanche, and some sort of blue ray protrudes from your hands. And, for the next 3 minutes, you are invincible. Do you know what this means? You can fight almost anything in the game, and survive. On Strike Forces, use this against the AVs and EBs and you'll feel unkillable for the entire SF. This power out of the box takes 1,000 seconds to recharge, grants 45% Defense to everything, makes your running speed ridiculous, and makes your endurance recovery high enough that you won't need to worry about running out, until the power crashes. After the 3 minutes, you will be drained of all of your endurance for a while, making you quite vulnerable. Luckily for you, Hide doesn't cost any endurance, so it will not be detoggled, and neither does Placate, meaning that if a boss is attacking you after you crash, you can Placate them and they'll walk away. Muhuhahaha.

Slotting: 3 Recharge, 3 Defense

Congratulations, you are now an official Ninja. The journey is not over, however, as there are still 12 levels to go, filled with sup-par Patron Powers that will hopefully be revamped and buffed to infinity in Issue 13. Until then, enjoy taking as many bad powers as you want from 41-49.

Captain_Yar_Har · 08-01-2008 12:49 PM

Patron Powers

As bad as PPPs are, there is one set for Stalkers that shines as a ray of hope, that can be useful in PvP and PvE. Leviathan Mastery.

There are two powers from this set that are worth taking:

Water Spout

You summon a tornado of water that will run around, blowing people away, and disorienting them. It is basically autohit, also.

Slotting: 1 Recharge. I didn't have the slots to muck around with this, and it doesn't need any to begin with.

Spirit Shark Jaws

While less appealing than Water Spout, this power can work well in PvP if you need something to stop moving while you make it die. Although not as good as Blinding Powder in terms of consistancy, as everybody and their dog has enough Hold resistance to render this useless, used together with Blinding Powder will make it work, and being Held is a lot worse than being Asleep, since enemies will sit there and watch themselves be killed. It's animation is amusing, but about as un-ninja-like as it gets. A ghost shark rises up from the ground, flipping out and chewing on your target.

Slotting: I didn't have the slots for it, but I reccomend 3 Holds, 2 ACC, and 1 Recharge.

[u]Pool Powers[u]

This is what you will likely spend most of your power slots on after level 40.

Leaping: The best travel power, especially in PvP. It offers all the vertical movement you will ever need, and is twice as fast as fly. The set also offers Combat Jumping, the best pool power if you want unsurpressed movement, and Acrobatics. Acro, while it has been nerfed, will put a band-aid over your Knockback hole. Most Stalkers skip Acro, as I did, and you should too, unless the Knockback hole really, really annoys you.

Flight: The slowest travel power with more vertical movement than Super Jump, although it is largely useless. In PvP, almost everybody you see will have a -Fly power, making you easy prey. Hover is an awful power when compared to Combat Jumping. Air Superiority is a decent attack... For others. You have a perfectly good attack chain, and this power will screw it up with redraw. The only use for this pool is if you want to stab someone standing on Caltrops or some other such power that will unhide you before you can assassinate them, but you will have other tools at your disposal for dealing with those fools.

Teleportation: I have seen Stalkers with this set, but in PvP it isn't very good for getting away. It is the fastest travel power with lots and lots of vertical movement, but it costs a lot of endurance and is very hard to control.

Speed: Used with Leaping, this is a very good set, if you have the slots. Many, like me, take this pool to get Hasten, and you should too. If you have the slot for Super Speed as well, I would reccomend it. Slot Hasten with 3 Recharges.

Medicine: This is a good set, if you don't have a heal. You do. Thus, this is not a good set.

Pressense: Many people take this set for PvP because they can get a fear power, which will work on mostly anybody. Not you, though. Muhuhahaha. Stalkers fear nothing. I would not reccomend this power, as you will be able to make things stop moving with other powers and they will not eat up a power pool choice and 2 power slots. Remember, to get the fear power you need to take a taunt.

Leadership: This is a good anti-Stalker pool, because it offers resistance to Placate, +Perception, and some other random buffs thrown in. This is good if you want to kill other Stalkers in Warburg, but that is a worthless goal to aspire to, as it is much more satisfying to be able to kill things besides Stalkers, which you will not do as well if you waste the two power slots on Assault and Tactics which could go towards better things, like Water Spout and Caltrops, which just do great when you want to reveal other Stalkers.

Fighting: I'm not going to touch this. If you take this pool, then you are not a Stalker, and you are out of the Stalker club permanantly.

Concealment: If you intend to fight other players, then for the love of god, take this pool. Grab Stealth, and slot a Stealth IO into one of your powers, otherwise everybody will see you. As for the rest of the set, Grant Invisibility is not what a Stalker should be carrying around, Invisibility takes away your ability to attack and is obsolete with a Stealth IO, but Phase Shift, given enough power slots to get it, is a very decent "Oh crap" button. I didn't take it, because I'm just too good to need it, but your experiences may differ.

Captain_Yar_Har · 08-01-2008 12:50 PM

[u]Inventions[u]

This is what you do after you hit level 50. So, you've mastered the art of the Ninja... Or have you? IOs can make your character a little better, or much better, depending on how much money you spend. Here are some suggestions for each category of person in terms of money spending.

"I have some money, but I don't want to spend any more time than I need to to put IOs into this character."

In that case, you will want generic level 50 IOs. These are relatively inexpensive (Compared to Set Recipes) and can give you a reasonable boost. From the slottings I have listed above, here are some major changes you should make:

Gambler's Cut or Sting of the Wasp: 2 Damage, 2 ACC, 2 Recharge.

Divine Avalanche: 2 Defense, 2 ACC, 2 Recharge

Hide: 1-2 Defense (This saves you a slot if you have 3 in there already.)

Caltrops: 1-2 Slows, 1-2 Recharge (Saves slots, again)

Kuji-In Rin: 2 Recharge (Saves a slot, but I wouldn't reccomend this.)

Blinding Powder: 2 Recharge, 2 ACC, 0-2 Confuse

"I am willing to do SFs do get more infamy, but I don't want to spend forever getting Purple Sets"

Then you're like me. Here is the build that I have on Mid's, with one Purple Set that is relatively cheap, as it is the Confuse set.

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.4006
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Serpentines: Level 50 Natural Stalker
Primary Power Set: Ninja Blade
Secondary Power Set: Ninjitsu
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Concealment
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Leviathan Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Gambler's Cut -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:50(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx:50(3), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:50(3), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:39(5), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(5), Achilles-ResDeb%:20(7)
Level 1: Hide -- DefBuff-I:50(A)
Level 2: Ninja Reflexes -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:50(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:50(7), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:50(9), RedFtn-Def:50(11), RedFtn-EndRdx:50(50)
Level 4: Danger Sense -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:50(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:50(11), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:50(13), RedFtn-Def:50(15), RedFtn-EndRdx:50(29)
Level 6: Assassin's Blade -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg:40(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx:40(15), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg:40(17), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:40(17), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:40(19), KntkC'bat-Knock%:35(19)
Level 8: Build Up -- GSFC-ToHit:50(A), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx:50(9), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg:50(13), GSFC-Build%:50(21), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx:50(21), RechRdx-I:50(37)
Level 10: Caltrops -- P'ngTtl-Acc/Slow:50(A), P'ngTtl-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow:39(23), P'ngTtl--Rchg%:39(23), P'ngTtl-Rng/Slow:50(25), Posi-Dam%:50(25), ImpSwft-Dam%:30(27)
Level 12: Placate -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(27), RechRdx-I:50(29)
Level 14: Combat Jumping -- ULeap-Stlth:50(A)
Level 16: Kuji-In Rin -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(31), RechRdx-I:50(31)
Level 18: Divine Avalanche -- RedFtn-Def/Rchg:50(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(31), RedFtn-Def:50(33), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:50(33), Acc-I:50(33), Acc-I:50(34)
Level 20: Kuji-In Sha -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx:50(A), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg:50(34), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg:50(34), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg:50(36), Dct'dW-Heal:50(36), Dct'dW-Rchg:50(36)
Level 22: Super Jump -- ULeap-Jump:50(A)
Level 24: Swift -- Run-I:50(A), Run-I:50(37)
Level 26: Soaring Dragon -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:50(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx:50(37), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:50(39), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(39), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(39), Achilles-ResDeb%:20(40)
Level 28: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 30: Stamina -- EndMod-I:50(A), EndMod-I:50(40), EndMod-I:50(42)
Level 32: Golden Dragonfly -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:39(40), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx:50(42), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg:50(43), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg:50(43), Achilles-ResDeb%:20(43)
Level 35: Blinding Powder -- CoPers-Conf:50(A), CoPers-Conf/Rchg:50(45), CoPers-Acc/Conf/Rchg:50(45), CoPers-Acc/Rchg:50(46), CoPers-Conf%:50(46), CoPers-Conf/EndRdx:50(46)
Level 38: Kuji-In Retsu -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg:50(42), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(45), LkGmblr-EndRdx/Rchg:50(48), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(48), LkGmblr-Def:50(48)
Level 41: Water Spout -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 44: Spirit Shark Jaws -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 47: Stealth -- EndRdx-I:50(A)
Level 49: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(50), RechRdx-I:50(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 1: Assassination

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Captain_Yar_Har · 08-01-2008 12:51 PM

"Rawr! I have all the money in the world! What should I spend it on?"

Assuming that I don't find you, stab you, and steal your moneys, here is the build you might use.

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.4006
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Level 50 Natural Stalker
Primary Power Set: Ninja Blade
Secondary Power Set: Ninjitsu
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Concealment
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Leviathan Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Gambler's Cut -- Mako-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx:39(3), Mako-Dmg/Rchg:39(3), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:39(5), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:39(5), Achilles-ResDeb%:20(7)
Level 1: Hide -- LkGmblr-Rchg+:39(A)
Level 2: Ninja Reflexes -- LkGmblr-Def:39(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:39(7), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg:39(9), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:39(9), LkGmblr-Rchg+:39(11)
Level 4: Danger Sense -- LkGmblr-Def:39(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:39(11), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg:39(13), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:39(13), LkGmblr-Rchg+:39(15)
Level 6: Assassin's Blade -- Hectmb-Dmg:50(A), Hectmb-Dmg/Rchg:50(15), Hectmb-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(17), Hectmb-Acc/Rchg:50(17), Hectmb-Dmg/EndRdx:50(19), Hectmb-Dam%:50(19)
Level 8: Build Up -- GSFC-ToHit:39(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg:39(21), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx:39(21), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx:39(23), GSFC-Build%:39(23), RechRdx-I:40(25)
Level 10: Caltrops -- P'ngTtl-Rng/Slow:50(A), P'ngTtl-Acc/Slow:30(25), P'ngTtl-Dmg/Slow:39(27), P'ngTtl-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow:39(27), P'ngTtl--Rchg%:39(29), Ragnrk-Knock%:50(29)
Level 12: Placate -- RechRdx-I:40(A), RechRdx-I:40(31), RechRdx-I:40(31)
Level 14: Combat Jumping -- ULeap-Stlth:39(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+:39(50)
Level 16: Kuji-In Rin -- RechRdx-I:40(A), RechRdx-I:40(31), RechRdx-I:40(33)
Level 18: Divine Avalanche -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:39(A), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg:39(33), LkGmblr-EndRdx/Rchg:39(33), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:39(34), LkGmblr-Rchg+:39(34), Acc-I:40(34)
Level 20: Kuji-In Sha -- Numna-Heal/EndRdx:39(A), Numna-EndRdx/Rchg:39(36), Numna-Heal/Rchg:39(36), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg:39(36), Numna-Heal:39(37), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:39(37)
Level 22: Super Jump -- Jump-I:40(A)
Level 24: Swift -- Run-I:40(A)
Level 26: Soaring Dragon -- Mako-Acc/Dmg:39(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx:39(37), Mako-Dmg/Rchg:39(39), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:39(39), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:39(39), Achilles-ResDeb%:20(40)
Level 28: Hurdle -- Jump-I:40(A)
Level 30: Stamina -- EndMod-I:40(A), EndMod-I:40(40), P'Shift-End%:39(40)
Level 32: Golden Dragonfly -- Armgdn-Dmg:50(A), Armgdn-Dmg/Rchg:50(42), Armgdn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(42), Armgdn-Acc/Rchg:50(42), Armgdn-Dmg/EndRdx:50(43), Achilles-ResDeb%:20(43)
Level 35: Blinding Powder -- CoPers-Conf:50(A), CoPers-Conf/Rchg:50(43), CoPers-Acc/Conf/Rchg:50(45), CoPers-Acc/Rchg:50(45), CoPers-Conf/EndRdx:50(45), CoPers-Conf%:50(46)
Level 38: Kuji-In Retsu -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:39(A), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg:39(46), LkGmblr-Def:39(46), LkGmblr-EndRdx/Rchg:39(48), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:39(48), LkGmblr-Rchg+:25(48)
Level 41: Stealth -- LkGmblr-Rchg+:39(A)
Level 44: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:40(A), RechRdx-I:40(50), RechRdx-I:40(50)
Level 47: Water Spout -- Achilles-ResDeb%:20(A)
Level 49: Spirit Shark Jaws -- Dev'n-Hold%:30(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I:40(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I:40(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I:40(A)
Level 1: Assassination

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Captain_Yar_Har · 08-01-2008 12:51 PM

[u]PvP Strategies[u]

While nothing teaches someone how to PvP like jumping into the zones (Assuming anyone else is there) and fighting things, here are some tips and strategies that you should be aware of:

Stealth IO: Whatever power this is attached to, you need to click that power every once in a while to be sure that you still have the Stealth. The power does not have to be toggled on to keep the stealth active, but you do need to activate it every once in a while.

Movement: On all of my toons I like to make a bind that switches between Hover/Fly and Combat/Super Jump. If you Teleport, you might want to use this to queue it up so that you don't need to click so much.

/bind numpad0 "powexec_name Combat Jumping$$powexec_name Super Jump"

What this bind will do is, if you hit 0 on the numpad, Super Jump will turn on. If you press it while Super Jump is on, it will change to Combat Jumping.

This is very useful in PvP where you might want to turn on CJ to get unsurpressed movement when fighting. If you are using this for Fly, change Combat Jumping to Hover and Super Jump to Fly. However, this is more of a PvE tip, as using Fly in PvP is not reccomended.

If you want a bind to queue Teleport, then type

/bind numpad0 "powexec_name Teleport"

Moving Targets

If you see a Blaster, Defender, Controller, Corruptor, or Dominator jumping around in PvP, and you can catch up with them, then you will need to stop them in order to kill them. At your disposal, you have Caltrops, Blinding Powder, Water Spout, and Spirit Shark Jaws. For moving targets, BP and SSJ are your better options. You will want to use SSJ first, if you think or know they have Hold Resistance, and then Blinding Powder, which will make them fall asleep, detoggling their Hold Resistance. Now they're held, and the only thing that can save them is you being too slow or a Break Free. Take advantage of their brief helplessnes and drop Caltrops on them, making sure that Breakfrees will not ruin your plan. Then proceed to make them die.

Non-Moving Squishies

If you see a squishy running around with Personal Force Field, not moving because they think they're safe, you have yourself a very satisfying kill just asking to happen. When they stop moving, hit them with Water Spout, which, despite their ridiculous Defense, will disorient them, detoggling them and leaving them helpless. Caltrops, kill. Or skip the Caltrops if you're really eager to spill blood.

If you see a Mastermind or Blaster or Corrupter standing on his series of traps and devices, such as Caltrops, Poison Traps, and Trip Mines, the gods (Divine Avalanche?) are having a good day, and are rewarding you for being loyal to them. While a rare occasion, this is an accident waiting to happen for those overconfidant Trappers, and hiliarity will strike before they realize what is happening. Hit Build Up for extra Accuracy, and throw Blinding Powder at the poor fool. He will be confused, and his own traps will turn on him, blowing him up and choking him and doing all sorts of wonderful nasty things to him that he intended to be for you. Laugh at him, and savor the moment, as these characters are less common than they were in the past. Note that if they have Tactics, they will resist Confuse. Don't worry about Breakfrees unless they spam them, because it will be over before they can react.

If there's any squishie sitting around, standing still, with no form of protection, he is a bad player. Kill him to let him know that you appreciate his newbieness. Laugh, and savor the moment, even though these kinds of players are not uncommon.

Dueling

Don't duel, unless you are in the arena. If you are dueling a Regeneration Scrapper, you will lose unless you are Energy Melee or if they completely suck. Super Reflexes and Invulnerability are not out of your reach, and other Scrapper secondaries are just plain bad. If you are fighting a Tanker, you will lose, or it will be a stalemate.

The arena is very different from the Zones, because you completely lose the element of surprise. Here, you and your opponent will have inspirations, making your mez powers worthless. I do not reccomend fighting in the Arena, because Stalkers that aren't EM don't belong there. You will only win against squishies, and then only certain ones. Most Controllers will toy with you and debuff you into oblivion and back. If you're going to duel, fight Blasters and Defenders. If you're fighing against another Villain, Stalkers will bow before your Caltrops and Water Spout, Brutes will cringe at the sight of Divine Avalanche, Dominators will plain suck unless they're Perma-Doms, and Corruptors will be able to provide a decent challenge. I have no experience dueling VEATs, or playing VEATs, nor do I have any interest in doing so because they're just powerful hybrids. Crabs are Masteruptors, Banes are like Gimped Stalkers from what I've heard, Nights seem to be on par with Stalkers, and Forts are like Blastalkinators. Besides that, I know nothing.

Unfortunate Problems With Stalkers

Placate is broken, and Castle refuses to fix it.

How is it broken, you ask? Well, in PvE, it is less major, but a lot more unknown what causes the bug. In PvP, it is a thorn in our side, and we are all well aware of how it happens, making it possible to work around. If you have any sort of secondary effect that lingers on the opponent, like your -Defense Debuffs, any DoT, Mezzes, etc, Placate will only cause your enemy to un-target you, but they can simply click you again and continue attacking, making you very vulnerable. If you are going to use Placate, use it after AS, which does not break it, and then follow up if you think it will kill your target.

Defense is broken, and no fix is in sight, but there is hope.

How is this broken, then? Well, for one, Players have much, much, much, much better Accuracy and ToHit than enemies, meaning that the soft cap of 45% Defense is meaningless. Heroes run around with Power Boost, Aim, and Build Up, as well as Focused Accuracy, not to mention ACC from Enhancement and Set Bonuses. You will not dodge anything in PvP unless you use Retsu, and even then you will not dodge as much as you should. Also be aware that Defense sets get lower numbers than Resist sets because of the soft cap. If you look at the numbers of, say, Dark Armor, they have much higher Resistance than you do Defense, but Ninjutsu is often more survivable than Dark Armor in PvE. Against players, though, the numbers you see are a lot more meaningful, as in, having less Defense than Resistance will no longer confer the same amount of survivability. We can hope for a fix, but...

Patron Powers blow, but changes are coming.

There have been many speculations that Patron Powers will be respeccable, and for good reasons: Positron deliberately hinted to it in a not-so-vague Haiku of some sort. Of course, since this means that the Devs realize how awful Patron Powers are, it might mean that they will revamp the sets completely. If they were to change the powers without letting us respec between the sets, all hell would break loose. Thus, I am confident that changes are on the way, most likely in Issue 13: All Your Base Are Belong To Us.

The Powersets are completely unbalanced.

As much as it hurts to say this, Ninja Blade is a very poor choice of a set for PvP. In PvE, it's damage is still sub-par. The Devs are currently looking at Melee sets, last we heard, since they recently lightly tapped Energy Melee on the shoulder with the Nerf Bat, so they'll either keep nerfing every Melee set to be on par with Mace and Ice, or they'll buff all the sets to be on par with Electric Melee and Super Strength. The problem with Katana, for Stalkers, is lethal damage (See below) and the fact that we have no reasonable AOE or Cone power. Flashing Steel is suck beyond imagining, and Golden Dragonfly's Cone is way too small to justify the lack of an auto-crit. Hopefully, the devs will realize this and bring Stalker primaries up to bar with Spines and Elec for PvE, and perhaps even EM for PvP.

Being a Lethal Ninja is not a good thing.

In the 40+ range, especially in City of Villains, enemies resist Lethal damage to insane levels. Prime examples being Rikti, Council Robots, Arachnos, Longbow, and Crey Powersuits. Basically, the only Villain Group you will do full damage to is the Carnival of Shadows. When everyone has 5-15% resistance to Lethal depending on which group they are, it's fine. But when most enemies have 40% resistance? No, unacceptable, cut that out.

[u]Conclusion[u]

I've said everything I need to say, and now, if you've read this guide, I am sure that you will make a good Ninja someday. However, if you have any questions regarding Stalkers, you can PM me, as I'm sure there are tiny details here and there that I neglected to mention. Make things die, and remember, I'll be watching. Because I'm a Ninja, and so can you!

QuarianRex · 08-03-2008 11:18 AM

This is an excellent guide. Educational and entertaining. You covered all the bases, both Pros and Cons. I thank you good sir.

Captain_Yar_Har · 08-03-2008 12:49 PM

Whoa, a response! Thanks, this is the best guide I've ever written. I thought the forum needed one of these, since IOs, Stalker Buffs, etc are huge changes that make Angry Citizen's guide out-dated. That, and I was bored.

Neuronia · 08-03-2008 05:21 PM

It is indeed the best guide Serps has ever written, outclassing his Plant/Thorns guide by far.

One thing though, I think they changed player pets to not react as enemies when someone is Confused...so that trick might not work.

I have an old half-SOd Nin/Nin and he's very fun to play...there's usually a wake of dead bodies in any mission he's in, half of those being my party as they die from my over-aggroed mobs.

I'll have to re-read this after a few drinks to see if it gets funnier.

Questions about the game, either side? /t @Neuronia or @Neuronium, with your queries!
168760: A Death in the Gish. 3 missions, 1-14. Easy to solo.
Infinity Villains
Champion, Pinnacle, Virtue Heroes

Yosef_Vanya · 08-03-2008 05:53 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I'll have to re-read this after a few drinks to see if it gets funnier.

[/ QUOTE ]

Everything is funnier to Kara when she's durnk. Typo is intentional.

It indeed was a good read. Very interesting.

Demobot · 08-03-2008 09:43 PM

Great guide. I've been wanting to play a Stalker for a while.

Only error I see is that Stalker Willpower does not have Rise to the Challenge. They get Reconstruction instead.

@Demobot

Also on Steam

David_Yanakov · 08-04-2008 12:49 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Willpower: ...The staple power here is Rise to the Challenge, which will make you regenerate HP very, very quickly... In PvE. This is not a PvP set.

[/ QUOTE ]

Unfortunatly stalkers do not have access to RttC or the other staple, Quick Recovery. RttC was replaced by Reconstruction due to the no agro aura powers for stalkers policy

Excellent guide. It's good to have a well written overview here for people getting into the archetype

Bah. Beaten to the punch. That'll learn me to stop writing posts five seconds at a time during long load screens

Captain_Yar_Har · 08-04-2008 10:58 AM

I didn't know about the Willpower thing. I'll try to edit it, but it might be too late.

Thanks for the replies. I'll have to test out the confuse thing next chance I get, and if it's been changed, I will not be happy

Kinrad · 08-04-2008 01:17 PM

You sir are quite entertaining. Especially if I read the guide really fast and imagine the guy from zeropunctuation saying it.

Also, a good guide. I may actually consider rolling a stalker.

Make a man a fire and keep him warm for the day, SET a man on fire and keep him warm for the rest of his life.
Incarnates: K'lir(Fire/Dark Corr):Hot-House Flower(Plant/Fire Dom):Kinrad X(Kin/Rad Def):Itsy-Bitsy Spider(Crab):Two Ton Tony(Mace/WP Broot):Teeny Weeny Widow(Fortunata/Widow) : Zeroth Law (Ice/Fire Tank)

Captain_Yar_Har · 08-04-2008 02:05 PM

That's the goal of my guides; to make otherwise mundane builds seem interesting and fun!

Next up: Grav/Energy Doms

MrsAlphaOne · 08-06-2008 08:15 AM

Serps, you're awesome and I want you to have my babies

@MrsAlphaOne
Member of the [url="http://www.guildportal.com/Guild.aspx?GuildID=171543&TabID=1451954"]RIMC[/url]
[url="http://www.freewebs.com/mrsalphaone"]DA![/url]
[color=red]Official Beer Wench of PWNZ[/color] Arc 452196 When Madness Reigns over Reason. Play it and PM me your constructive criticism on what I can tweak before Oct 20th. <3 U all

Captain_Yar_Har · 08-06-2008 10:10 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Serps, you're awesome and I want you to have my babies

[/ QUOTE ]

So do I, dude, so do I.

Wait, I'm a dude, aren't you a chick? Or at least as much of a chick as is possible on the intarwebz outside of pr0n?

talnar · 08-07-2008 04:24 AM

2 random thumbs up for the guild this makes me want to dust off my olf nin/nin and kill somone with it

Captain_Yar_Har · 08-10-2008 09:29 PM

Holy crap, they did nerf confuse.

This is un-acceptable. There's nothing unbalanced about traps having a weakness... Why!? Why did they nerf confuse!?

Hot_Alix · 08-12-2008 03:09 PM

A tremendous guide. I have two questions. I have been humbled many a time in RV by a stalker while running hotfeet. I thought it provided protection from AS. I have a Nin/Nin at lvl 10 how rough is the late game?

Guardian
Hot Alix 50 Fire/Kin/Psy:Main
Mora Victory Tri-Ice Tanker
Jasper Stone 50 Emp/ Elec:1st hero
Lady Courage 32 BS/SR
Cleo Cat 50 Ill/Kin
Max Multiplicity 35 MM Thug/Traps

Ripoffs are tacky and taboo. Be original!!

ExKoN · 08-12-2008 10:05 PM

Finally some1 that posted a recent guide... every1 is always rfuring me to those old [censored] guides that are around i6 which are way outdated.

Captain_Yar_Har · 08-14-2008 08:42 AM

[ QUOTE ]
A tremendous guide. I have two questions. I have been humbled many a time in RV by a stalker while running hotfeet. I thought it provided protection from AS.

[/ QUOTE ]

Stalkers have a lot of defense to AOE attacks while hidden, and Hot Feet falls into that category. There is a chance that they will be hit by Hot Feet, but if they are they can simply Placate you. Your best bet is to keep moving, but stop momentarilly if Stalkers are around to give them a chance to get close to you. This will also make it possible for them to be unhidden, and then Fire Imps will have their way with him. It will also mean that if you are AS'd, you will probably be moving away as it happens, giving you time to heal yourself before the Stalkers runs in to finish you.

[ QUOTE ]
I have a Nin/Nin at lvl 10 how rough is the late game?

[/ QUOTE ]

Fight Cimeroans and Carnies and you will have no problems. Fight Rikti and KoA and you will cry. Not that I can't own both of those factions, but I'm just that good.

Once you get DA and learn how to use it, you will be nearly unkillable. I hate waiting for the tough guys with lots of HP and Defenses who don't know how to play and are too slow, so I just jump into the mob, and that usually gets the team moving. The best part is, I usually walk out with full health.

Captain_Yar_Har · 08-14-2008 08:44 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Finally some1 that posted a recent guide... every1 is always rfuring me to those old [censored] guides that are around i6 which are way outdated.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good thing, too, since I'll be updating this guide every time they make a notable change to these sets, and it's likely that I13 will have PPP fixes, so I'll include that too.

Vallhallancc · 08-14-2008 04:59 PM

I gotta say, this guide made me try out a Nin/Nin stalker after trying others and deciding I did not like the playstyle of them. 24 levels later I have to say that I am seriously enjoying this combination and actually find playing a stalker fun.

Thanks for the guide, it changed my view on stalkers and made them interesting.

FourSpeed · 09-01-2008 03:39 PM

Enjoyed your guide.

A few supplemental thoughts I'd like to add...

Personally, I like Fly as a (stealthed) PvP travel power for these reasons:<ul type="square">[*] It's hands-off and trouble free -- minimal steering required... [*] It's easy to "patrol" - you can spot targets from quite a distance (esp since Ninja's have
+perception), and you can easily pick your ideal combat spots.[*] Few (if any) folks will get within 10ft of you up there, so even +perception players won't
see you through capped Stealth. At least 2/3rds of players are ground-bound (or jumpers -
ie. mostly ground-bound). Most NPC's are also ground-bound as well... [*] A couple Flight Speed IO/SO's makes it fast enough to track most "targets" [*] Air Superiority isn't usually a factor because the target is dead before they can use it (if you're
setting up your attacks properly)[*] Freebird Stealth is relatively easy to get, and inexpensive, compared to other Stealth IO's
(mine cost 2M iirc), and if you put it in an active toggle (ie. Fly), you're *always* stealth capped -
until you choose to make something die (and barring suppression, it'll still be capped for 2 minutes) [*] As suprising as it seems, many (most?) PvP'ers think 2 dimensionally (ie. they'll look around, but
they rarely look UP (or DOWN).[/list]I agree with you about Acrobatics (I didn't take it). Instead, I put a Karma in... That solves
90% of the KB issues for PvE, and again, if your attacks are set up properly, it's usually not
a PvP problem either.

I agree with your view of Caltrops... Very useful in both PvE and PvP... The PvE AI is dumb
enough to think those 1 hp damage ticks will kill them, so they'll turn to run rather than fight,
which means you get to make them die easier... Players are much smarter, but what they
might not realize is that those tiny damage ticks make a 1-shot AS kill possible (since they're
no longer at full health).

Regards,
4

I've been rich, and I've been poor. Rich is definitely better.
Light is faster than sound - that's why some people look smart until they speak.
For every seller who leaves the market dirty stinkin' rich,
there's a buyer who leaves the market dirty stinkin' IOed. - Obitus.

Captain_Yar_Har · 09-04-2008 02:20 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Enjoyed your guide.

A few supplemental thoughts I'd like to add...

Personally, I like Fly as a (stealthed) PvP travel power for these reasons:<ul type="square">[*] It's hands-off and trouble free -- minimal steering required...

[/ QUOTE ]

When you're at the stealth cap, everything is trouble free. As for the steering, I find Fly boring compared to SJ which is much more active and fun.

[ QUOTE ][*] It's easy to "patrol" - you can spot targets from quite a distance (esp since Ninja's have
+perception), and you can easily pick your ideal combat spots.

[/ QUOTE ]

True, but I can do this with SJ.

[ QUOTE ][*] Few (if any) folks will get within 10ft of you up there, so even +perception players won't
see you through capped Stealth. At least 2/3rds of players are ground-bound (or jumpers -
ie. mostly ground-bound). Most NPC's are also ground-bound as well...

[/ QUOTE ]

Again, this is not a problem with SJ. I am able to stay more than 10 feet away, and even if I jump by someone they won't be able to react nearly fast enough to hit me, and even if somehow they do I can Placate them as I didn't attack them. 10 feet is not a long distance.

[ QUOTE ][*] A couple Flight Speed IO/SO's makes it fast enough to track most "targets"

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd have to outright disagree with this. Even with SJ I cannot catch most things, since other players usually have Speed and Jump to outrun me. Fly is even slower than that, not to mention that awful inertia that goes with it.

[ QUOTE ][*] Freebird Stealth is relatively easy to get, and inexpensive, compared to other Stealth IO's
(mine cost 2M iirc), and if you put it in an active toggle (ie. Fly), you're *always* stealth capped -
until you choose to make something die (and barring suppression, it'll still be capped for 2 minutes)

[/ QUOTE ]

It's true that Freebird is cheaper, but it isn't enough to justify taking such a slow, easily countered travel with no unsurpressed movement like Combat Jumping.

Also, you have to turn Fly off and retoggle it every minute or so to keep the stealth. As inconvenient as it sounds for Fly, it isn't a problem with SJ + CJ, since I can do it whenever without having to worry about falling.

[ QUOTE ][*] As suprising as it seems, many (most?) PvP'ers think 2 dimensionally (ie. they'll look around, but
they rarely look UP (or DOWN).[/list]
[/ QUOTE ]

That's only because they don't expect fliers because Flight isn't nearly as good as Leaping or Speed.

[ QUOTE ]
I agree with you about Acrobatics (I didn't take it). Instead, I put a Karma in... That solves
90% of the KB issues for PvE, and again, if your attacks are set up properly, it's usually not
a PvP problem either.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. I plan on slotting two in. One in Hide and one in Stealth.

[ QUOTE ]
I agree with your view of Caltrops... Very useful in both PvE and PvP... The PvE AI is dumb
enough to think those 1 hp damage ticks will kill them, so they'll turn to run rather than fight,
which means you get to make them die easier...

[/ QUOTE ]

Hm? I never use Trops for damage. The fact is, most NPCs will regenerate HP faster than they will take it. It's used for migitation and keeping players in one place despite BFs.

[ QUOTE ]
Players are much smarter,

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd debate that

[ QUOTE ]
but what they
might not realize is that those tiny damage ticks make a 1-shot AS kill possible (since they're
no longer at full health).

[/ QUOTE ]

Yup. I have done that, too. It isn't so effective at level 50 when everyone will be able to resist enough of AS's damage to make it not one-shot anyways, but it's a good Siren's tactic.

Anyways, thanks for the comments. I already have some new material for an update to this guide, but I want to wait for a good excuse to post it, like a PPP overhaul or a buff to Golden Dragonfly's cone. Either way, my next Nin/Nin guide will be epic.