Am I doing something wrong? Stalker = SuperSquish!

I've played all but the unlock ATs if only up to level 10 or so. I've always skipped Stalker even though I usually play Rangers or Rogues (not Rouges as some people say)... I'm not sure why but it just seemed a little odd as far as Supers go.


Well I have one now - Elec/Nin and SOCK! BAM POW!!!! I am nearly dead after every fight. I'm only lvl 5 but I can say this is without a doubt the squishiest I have ever felt in this game.

I know AS is coming, but seriously am I doing something wrong?

1. Hide
2. Run up to White/Yellow/Orange thing
3. Donkey Punch to the back of the head. It gets very very angry
4. I unhide and followup with my less-powerful charged brawl
5. rinse repeat spamming attacks
6. I almost die. Sometimes I do die.

I'm not bank-rolled - I make characters from scratch and start them fresh. So its the same for each AT for me. But this feels WRONG. I can't kill fast enough and I seemingly have no defense.

So is this just how it goes? And until when?

Finally, does anyone have a levelling build (or simply what to skip) on an elec/nin?

Thanks - now I'm gonna go put a steak on my eye...

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I suggest you reroll your character and get rid of Charged Brawl. Its damage is a joke compared to the rest of the electric set.

Sounds like your biggest problem is being killed before you can take out the bad guys. This will become less of an issue once you get your self heal and a few attacks. Get to level 12, slap on a few DOs, and see if it gets any easier for you.

Electric Stalkers are late bloomers. Their only non-AS Single Target attack worth noting is Havoc punch, so leveling can be a pain if you're solo.

Personally, I went from level 1-22 with only Havoc Punch and Assassin's Shock. It wasn't easy at all, but I grabbed Chain Induction at level 22, and Thunder Strike at level 26, and things became a lot easier. Once I hit level 32 and got Lightning Rod, it became a whole lot of fun. I'd use Lightning Rod out of Hide instead of Assassin's Shock in a big mob, and finish off what was left with Thunder Strike, Chain Induction, and Havoc Punch.

Ninjutsu starts to pick up its pace in the 20s after getting your self heal and slotting SOs. Once you start throwing out Knockback and Stun with Thunder Strike and Lightning Rod, a lot of enemies won't even be able to hit you.

This is a build I threw together in about 5 minutes. It isn't perfect, and you could probably get acrobatics earlier than I selected, but it it should give you an idea of what you're building towards.

And now, let the roasting of this build by more number-savvy and anal retentive players commence!

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

Sample Elec Nin Stalker: Level 50 Magic Stalker
Primary Power Set: Electrical Melee
Secondary Power Set: Ninjitsu
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Concealment
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Havoc Punch -- Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Mako-Dam%(3), Mako-Acc/Dmg(5), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(13), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(40), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(42)
Level 1: Hide -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(46), LkGmblr-Def(46), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(50)
Level 2: Ninja Reflexes -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(3), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(11), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(15)
Level 4: Danger Sense -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(5), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(9), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(15)
Level 6: Assassin's Shock -- Mako-Dam%(A), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7), Mako-Acc/Dmg(7), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(9), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(11), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(42)
Level 8: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 10: Combat Jumping -- Krma-ResKB(A)
Level 12: Placate -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(13)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A)
Level 16: Kuji-In Rin -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(17), RechRdx-I(17)
Level 18: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Numna-Heal(19), Heal-I(19)
Level 20: Stamina -- Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(A), Efficacy-EndMod(21), Efficacy-EndMod/EndRdx(21), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc(42)
Level 22: Chain Induction -- C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(23), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(34), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(40), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43)
Level 24: Kuji-In Sha -- Dct'dW-Heal(A), Dct'dW-Rchg(25), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(25), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(37), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(43)
Level 26: Thunder Strike -- Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Oblit-%Dam(27), Oblit-Dmg(27), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(31), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(37), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43)
Level 28: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(29), RechRdx-I(29)
Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(31), RechRdx-I(31)
Level 32: Lightning Rod -- Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Oblit-%Dam(33), Oblit-Dmg(33), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(33), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(34), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34)
Level 35: Blinding Powder -- CoPers-Conf/EndRdx(A), CoPers-Conf%(36), CoPers-Conf/Rchg(36), CoPers-Acc/Conf/Rchg(36), CoPers-Acc/Rchg(37)
Level 38: Kuji-In Retsu -- RedFtn-Def(A), RedFtn-EndRdx(39), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(39), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(39), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(40), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 41: Acrobatics -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 44: Dark Blast -- Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46)
Level 47: Shadow Meld -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(48), RechRdx-I(48), LkGmblr-Def(48)
Level 49: Stealth -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Assassination

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Too many alts to list.

1. If you're solo, the spawn sizes will be fairly small. This means that once you get level 6, you're golden since you can guarantee that one less thing will be in the spawn, or if you'd rather you can deliberately not kill a Lt to get the debuff.

2. If you're solo, don't stand around to fight until either your defense or offense is mature. Duck out of LOS and hit them with a critical from Havoc Punch when they chase you.

3. Based on your forum registration date, you likely have a couple of veteran reward powers. These help a lot at low levels and will do more damage than Havoc Punch, even if it criticals. As Sands of Mu is a cone, and has -tohit associated with it, you can use this to clear up minions. The Nemesis Staff can be used to keep a mob busy with the KB or the Blackwand can stack additional -tohit; if you picked the Ghost Slaying Axe I'm sorry.

4. The perception of little/no defense is somewhat correct, but not in the manner you likely think. Your defense is okay initially but is completely negated by 2 hits from a lethal weapon (-7.5% defense each) - which nearly everything has at those levels, and I tend to simply run Hide and leave the toggles off until they become useful (usually in the teens/low 20s).

5. Uhm, as for a sample levelling build, what level did you want your travel power, and did you want Stamina or not?

Here's a semi-random power order:

1 - Havoc Punch (Acc), Hide (Def)
2 - Jacob's Ladder* (Acc)
3 - +1 slot each in Havoc Punch and Jacob's Ladder (Acc in each)
4 - Danger Sense** (EndRed)
5 - +1 slot each in Havoc Punch and Jacob's Ladder (1 Acc ea)
6 - Assassin's Shock (Acc)
7 - +2 slots in Assassin's Shock (2 Acc)
8 - Build Up (Rech)
9 - +1 slot in Assassin's Shock, Havoc Punch (1 Acc ea)
10 - Ninja Reflexes** (EndRed)
11 - +1 slot in Assassin's Shock (Dam), Jacob's Ladder (Acc)
12 - Placate, switch to DO slotting, 2 Acc, 2-3 Dam in each attack
13 - +1 slot each in Havoc Punch, Jacob's Ladder (1 Dam ea)
14 - Combat Jumping/Air Superiority/Hasten***
15 - +1 slot each in Ninja Reflexes, Danger Sense (EndRed)
16 - Kuji-in Rin (Rech)
17 - +1 slot each in Ninja Reflexes, Danger Sense (Def)
18 - Chain Induction (Acc)
19 - +2 slots to Chain Induction (Acc, Dam)
20 - Super Jump/Flight/Super Speed***
21 - +2 slots to Chain Induction (Dam)
22 - Kuji-in Sha (Rech), switch to SO slotting

* - or Charged Brawl; I used Jacob's Ladder because it'll take out minions on a critical pre-AS and has a cone, but CB is better for scrapping.

** - these can be reversed easily, listed Danger Sense first because it covers 2 positions and melee is the easy one to avoid by playing games with the AI

*** - power selection based on travel power choice

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Hey thanks for the info - I'll re-roll him. I've been watching carefully and charged brawl is pretty weak. Also I did get my first secondary power (toggle defense of some sort) and he seemed a little better but I'll reroll since he's so low.

Veteran powers - unfortunately I'm still just a 15 monther... though I had played longer but apparently not =) Been gone a loooooong time.

Thanks all!

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[ QUOTE ]
Hey thanks for the info - I'll re-roll him. I've been watching carefully and charged brawl is pretty weak. Also I did get my first secondary power (toggle defense of some sort) and he seemed a little better but I'll reroll since he's so low.

Veteran powers - unfortunately I'm still just a 15 monther... though I had played longer but apparently not =) Been gone a loooooong time.

Thanks all!

[/ QUOTE ]
Well, 12 will still get you Sands of Mu; be sure to pick that up.

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What difficulty do you play on at level 5?

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WARNING: I bold names.

Level 1 solo, as high as level 3 on a running mission team, as high as level 5 on a bank farm with an AWESOME team.

I usually ran at level 2-3 solo until level 26, and then I ramped it up to level 4 and stayed there until level 50. On tough missions, though, I would scale back down to level 1.

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Too many alts to list.

I'm default in terms of level play... at least for now until I'm sure I have my groove.

The change I made (dropping CB) seems to be working. I also found that rather than alpha strike the LT that targeting the minion(s) first helps. I can usually one-2 shot those and then the LT is there to wittle down, rather than 3-4 small DoTs hitting me as I try to take out the LT...

I'll have to look up sands. I have no idea how to access it or any vet rewards...

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You can access your vet rewards by going into your badge menu, and going into your veteran badges. Click what you want to redeem from the badge list (there's a button to the side of the badges that unlock stuff. You can't miss it).

What level are you? At some point, you will probably want to grab your assassin shock power. I usually get mine at level 6, which is the earliest you can unlock it. Assassin Shock is a great way to deliver a HUGE hit to a lieutenant or boss.

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Too many alts to list.

[ QUOTE ]
What level are you? At some point, you will probably want to grab your assassin shock power. I usually get mine at level 6, which is the earliest you can unlock it. Assassin Shock is a great way to deliver a HUGE hit to a lieutenant or boss.

[/ QUOTE ]
Well, the OP said level 5, but they also said they rerolled; I'm guessing they still haven't hit 6 yet but that's just a guess.

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[ QUOTE ]
Well, the OP said level 5, but they also said they rerolled; I'm guessing they still haven't hit 6 yet but that's just a guess.

[/ QUOTE ]

Gimme a break! It's late, and I'm brain-dead from homework. :P

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Too many alts to list.

I'm not sure if this is the informed concensus, but I find that it's really easy to pick up attacks and just ignore defenses in the early levels. The problem is, most meleers get some sort of defense at level 1, Stalkers get Hide. There's a little Def in it, but mainly it's just there to activate your Inherent.

I always break my usual rule about always picking up attacks until I get to level 6, and get a defense as soon as possible, either 2 or 4. Havok Punch should do some nice damage as long as you Crit on it, and make up for not taking Charged Brawl. Then when you get Assassin's Shock, well, then you're ready to go.

I'm about this with Scrappers, too. You don't really want to slot defenses until you get to level 22, because nothing but SOs really makes much difference. But the base power is usually pretty good, for the early levels.

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The advice you've been getting is solid. Stalkers really don't get an attack chain per se until very late, so always pick the highest damaging attack you can get. You can always respec out of it later.

I also recommend taking air superiority at level 10 as your travel prereq. It's decent damage and great mitigation, knocking down an opponent while you concentrate on other things.

Most stalker builds are pretty much all the same:

Level 1 - take higher damaging attack
Level 1 - hide
Level 2 - take highest damaging attack possible
Level 4 - take from secondary
Level 6 - AS
Level 8 - build up
Level 10 - travel prereq (recommend air superiority)
Level 12 - placate
Level 14 - travel

You could also delay travel for later and start the path for fitness, delaying it and relying on temp powers. However, once you have AS and placate, taking out the groups of 3 you typically encounter won't be much of an issue.

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Found Wu's I re-rolled and picked Havoc from the start. Wu's and that are making my day.

I feel better now. Thanks for the advice!

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-QR-

I'd also 2nd the idea of Air Superiority, especially in the early levels. It's a great
follow-up attack to use after your heavy hitter. The knockdown is actually quite
reliable and very effective at reducing counter-attacks from your target.

It's good to know things are going better for your Stalker - GL & Happy Hunting!


Regards,
4

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