Very likely, yes.
Doom.
Yep.
This is really doom.
Judging from what I've seen, it's definitely MA. You may see a few MA at low levels but I rarely see a high lvl MA.
And there is a good reason for it.. MA doesn't stand out at all besides its cool moves.
What's left is to normalize all Assassin Strikes and improve Stalker's old sets (Claw, MA and EM)! You don't need to bring back the missing PbAoE attack. You just need to make the existing ones better! For example, make Slice a WIDER and LONGER cone.
I played MA on a stalker until level 42, where it is currently shelved.
MA is the least common stalker primary for a reason.
Though it has pretty visuals, it gives up the ONE AoE the set had.
It used to be one of the forefront ST scrapper primaries, but that was a long time ago. On stalkers, it was always in the shadow of EM, which did more ST damage (half in the form of the energy type, no less) faster and had about the same level of control (stun, old mag 4 TF, chance to disorient).
Now, EM has been nerfed, but I'd probably still put EM over MA.
There's also DM, which has control, to hit debuff, better ST damage, a heal, and a ghetto AoE (Shadow Maul).
Basically, it boils down to this:
MA Pros:
Not lethal damage
Pretty (Use flight and rocket boots for added effect)
MA Cons:
The control offered doesn't help much
Long animations don't pay off
No AoE
Kicking enemies away from you can be funny, but you're chasing it.
People forget MA has been buffed since the old days. It has two 100% Mag 3 stuns now and its damage output is actually very nice. Probably only Energy Melee beats it out now for single target burst.
My MA Stalker is at 41 and is moving along nicely. But then I've been a MA fan since I6.
But seriously, the set is better than it ever gets credit for (it's like the Invulnerability of melee attack sets; Inv, especially the old Inv, rarely got the forum recognition it deserved as being a very solid set).
People who don't like it probably make build mistakes like skipping Crippling Axe Kick and taking Thunder Kick.
The best comics are still 10�!
My City of Heroes Blog Freedom Feature Article: "Going Rageless?"
If you only read one guide this year, make it this one.
Super Reflexes: the Golden Fox of power sets!
WARNING: I bold names.
Probably, I'm the only level 50 MA Stalker that I've seen =]
Hmm I think I still have my MA/SR Stalker on my deactivated account =x
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Probably only Energy Melee beats it out now for single target burst.
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Lol EM
Doom.
Yep.
This is really doom.
<- Never LOL at EM. (why? idk. cuz I still would love to see it ported on scrappers? xP)
Yeah, gonna go with MA. I've seen a total of two MA Stalkers across the three servers I'm on, over the course of more than two years of playing. MA isn't a bad set in and of itself, but every other Stalker primary has something to overshadow it:
* Claws has Focus and Shockwave (ranged attacks, whee).
* Dark Melee has a self-heal, a fear with a nasty tohit debuff, and one of the best cones in the game with Shadow Maul.
* Dual Blades... meh, nothing here really. This set's all kinds of messed up and I've only seen a few more of these than I have MA.
* Elec Melee has a lot of AoE - Jacob's Ladder, Chain Induction, Thunder Strike, and Lighting Rod (which doesn't break Hide).
* Energy Melee has two hard-hitting single-target attacks other than AS, though they come at the expense of long animation times.
* Ninja Blade has Divine Avalanche, very useful for building up +def to get back into Hide in the middle of a fight without having to use Placate. The reason this set's more common than MA or DB, I think, is because of the thematic pairing with Ninjitsu.
* Spines has Impale and Throw Spines, as well as Spine Burst, and is capable of putting out decent amounts of AoE.
@macskull, @Not Mac | XBL: macskull | Steam: macskull | Skype: macskull
"One day we all may see each other elsewhere. In Tyria, in Azeroth. We may pass each other and never know it. And that's sad. But if nothing else, we'll still have Rhode Island."
"One day we all may see each other elsewhere. In Tyria, in Azeroth. We may pass each other and never know it. And that's sad. But if nothing else, we'll still have Rhode Island."
Dual Blades might be the second least used at least. It doesn't seem to be underpowered, just different, and no two people can agree on what the best build for it is.
MA is obviously inferior to EM. Who puts pom poms on their feet. I mean really. Pom poms are for punchin, not kickin.
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MA is obviously inferior to EM. Who puts pom poms on their feet. I mean really. Pom poms are for punchin, not kickin.
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Actually, I also wonder why MA get's such a bad rep for it's damage.
For example, here are the [u]base damage figures[u] of both MA and EM, without using AS in PvP:
[u]Energy Melee:[u] Chain= Hide+TF+ET
Total Animation time = 5.97 seconds
Total Damage = 482.34
[u]Martial Arts:[u] Chain= Hide+EC+Placate+CK
Total Animation Time = 4.84 seconds (an entire second faster than EM, even with Placate)
Total Damage = 521.22 (almost a 40 pt "base" damage difference, pretty decent)
Furthermore, EC is a pretty reliable stun, coming out of Hide and stunning someone with EC, means that (unless they have massive KB IO's slotted), a solid follow up with CK has the very likely chance of sending them to their backsides, which also means (if you're fast enough) you can keep them around just a "tad" longer than the duration of the stun and maybe finish them off. Such as: Hide+BU+EC+CK+Placate+AS, might be effective enough to work on some squishies.
Personally, I think MA looks just fine, the only thing that truely cripples it a little imho, is that Crippling Axe Kick cannot be picked as one of the "first two" power selections, which means that you are either forced to skip it depending on how tight your build is, or go down an extra power selection to get it. Meanwhile both Thunder Kick and Storm Kick are absolute jokes. For Stalkers, move CaK to Storm Kicks selection location, and I think we'd have a winner 
Except that ET is a guaranteed hold and EC is just reliable. Somewhat less dpa, a less resisted damage type and more mez=better than.
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Except that ET is a guaranteed hold and EC is just reliable. Somewhat less dpa, a less resisted damage type and more mez=better than.
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I'm referring to pvp (which is where most stalkers here end up) and there, damage type matters very little. Also, ET is not a guranteed stun, that's TF you're thinking about. In pvp, after the first mez wears off, you go into "mez suppression" which means that no matter how many mez's you have after that, they won't matter, as they will do no good until after the supression period.
And actually, not that I'm checking over the in-game numbers, EC isn't stated as having a "chance" to stun, according to the stats it has a 100% chance to stun. I thought it was an 80% chance, but I guess not anymore. Even better for MA now.
Like I said, MA got a buff and people still hold opinions of it from before the buff. It's way better than anyone gives it credit for. I find it especially good on Stalkers in fact due to the reliable crits Stalkers get. AS>Placate>EC is a very damaging attack sequence. One of the best available to Stalkers.
The best comics are still 10�!
My City of Heroes Blog Freedom Feature Article: "Going Rageless?"
If you only read one guide this year, make it this one.
Super Reflexes: the Golden Fox of power sets!
WARNING: I bold names.
MAs spend most of their time chasing their enemies around.
Plus doing a flip in the air and bouncing off of someones head when you finish them off is just NOT as satisfying as splitting their head in half with golden dragonfly or crushing their head into their neck with total focus.
My favourite however, is eles Lightning Rod. I like to pretend that I am raiden
Does MA still have the squat-thrust AS strike? That's also a strike against it :lol:
At least as a DM-er I shove a GIANT SKULL into the baddies.
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Does MA still have the squat-thrust AS strike? That's also a strike against it :lol:
At least as a DM-er I shove a GIANT SKULL into the baddies.
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Yes...
I think EM, DM, and MA (and any other set that has it) need to get ORIGINAL Assassin Strikes...
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* Energy Melee has two hard-hitting single-target attacks other than AS, though they come at the expense of long animation times.
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LOL, the animations are so long I'm surprised you were able to post this in time before someone else did! 
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MAs spend most of their time chasing their enemies around.
Plus doing a flip in the air and bouncing off of someones head when you finish them off is just NOT as satisfying as splitting their head in half with golden dragonfly or crushing their head into their neck with total focus.
My favourite however, is eles Lightning Rod. I like to pretend that I am raiden
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I acknowledge Knockback bothers some people. Personally, I find it to be a staple of comic book combat and lots of fun. "Chasing down" your target takes all of a second-and-a-half, and Knockback enhanced Dragon's Tail on a Scrapper is downright hilarious.
However, given that KB isn't that well designed in this game (thus the commonplace hatred of it) it's a perfectly valid point of view to hold. Me? I prioritize fun over numbers and efficiency. For others numbers and efficiency are what's most fun, so that too is valid.
Perhaps KB could be reworked in this game to make it desirable. It's desirable in PvP, but in PvE it could use some help to get more people to use it. It's a comic book staple, and deserves a second look. But that's for another thread.
In short, MA is a good second choice for those who already have umpteen EM Stalkers, and it has thematics that make it something special. Every Stalker/Scrapper player is well advised to take a second look at it with an open mind.
The best comics are still 10�!
My City of Heroes Blog Freedom Feature Article: "Going Rageless?"
If you only read one guide this year, make it this one.
Super Reflexes: the Golden Fox of power sets!
WARNING: I bold names.
[ QUOTE ]
I acknowledge Knockback bothers some people. Personally, I find it to be a staple of comic book combat and lots of fun. "Chasing down" your target takes all of a second-and-a-half, and Knockback enhanced Dragon's Tail on a Scrapper is downright hilarious.
However, given that KB isn't that well designed in this game (thus the commonplace hatred of it) it's a perfectly valid point of view to hold. Me? I prioritize fun over numbers and efficiency. For others numbers and efficiency are what's most fun, so that too is valid.
Perhaps KB could be reworked in this game to make it desirable. It's desirable in PvP, but in PvE it could use some help to get more people to use it. It's a comic book staple, and deserves a second look. But that's for another thread.
In short, MA is a good second choice for those who already have umpteen EM Stalkers, and it has thematics that make it something special. Every Stalker/Scrapper player is well advised to take a second look at it with an open mind.
[/ QUOTE ]
it was fun. for awhile there i loved MA, but it got old and tedious. there is only so many places i can kick my enemies into before it stops being funny and i actually start counting my lucky stars when the kb doesnt proc
I have a MA/EA Stalker in the planning stages that will have a KD proc in every attack, and an additional KB proc (from the stun set) in those attacks that will take it. It'll be tough to put all the IOs together for the build, and playing it may drive me crazy, but what the hell I'm gonna give it a shot.
Maybe make enemies take a little longer to get up from knockback, or have it apply a tiny damage boost so that there's not such blinding hatred over it when it happens. I don't personally think it's a big deal, as I usually /follow whatever enemy I'm attacking, so I run after them the same second they get tossed aside. Not everyone does this, though. Hell, I'm not sure *anyone* else does this. Either way, I've never found it a good enough reason not to take an attack.
I do not see a lot of dual blades stalkers so I made one.
What the least popular/used primary power? MA?