Power sets overview

I decided to make a quick overview of the pros and cons of various sets that I've played as well as some generic advice. This is for any new characters that wish to create a stalker.

Also, since I haven't played ALL the sets, some are missing. It would be great if someone could post some info about the missing sets in a similar manner in this thread, and I'll add them in (if I can still edit the post that is ).

OK, here it goes. Wish me luck!

Primary set

Energy Meele
Pros:
- high single target damage
- chance to disorient enemies
- does energy damage, which is less resisted than lethal and smashing damage. AS does pure energy damage, which means it's a lot easier to take down enemies in PvE.
- has a stun power (good for PvP)
Cons:
- the only AoE power in the set is the final power, and that leaves the player disoriented.
Well, I can't think of any more cons to the set, apart from the fact that it doesn't have some of the pros of other sets.

Ninja Blade
Pros:
- a small accuracy boost to all ninja blade attacks
- lowers the defense of targets
- has a few AoE powers, but all must be in meele range
Cons:
- deals lethal damage, which gets resisted quite a lot
- the accuracy bonus is rather small, and the defense debuff doesn't really give that much of an advantage
- if you don't have the blade in your hand, you will need to wait a small bit for the "pull out sword" animation; this can be quite annoying when using powers from different power pools (those hide the sword)

Spines
Pros:
- deals toxic and lethal damage. Toxic is very rarely resisted.
- it's one of two sets that have a ranged ability (Impale, whcih also can immobilize enemies, good for PvP)
- quite a few AoE powers
- attacks can slow down enemies (-speed, -recharge)
Cons:
- some of the damage is "damage over time"
- because of the ammount of AoE powers, it doesn't have as many strong, single target powers
- AS deals lethal damage, so it's not as effective as EN in PvE

Missing sets: Martial Arts and Claws.

Secondary set

Energy Aura
Pros:
- it's shields are "damage" based. This is both good and bad. It helps to play early in the game, as the first shield will protect against the most common damage types: lethal and smashing. It's bad, because they offer no protection to psionics at all, and don't really offer more defense than other sets.
- Entropy shield protects against TP Foe in PvP.
Cons:
- shields are "damage" based (see above)
- Entropy shield is a toggle, which means it can be "knocked" off
- Overload offers no protection against psionics

Ninjitsu
Pros:
- a very "general" power set, offering a little bit of everything (has defense, a heal, and a few more extra things)
- defense is "positional", which means that it can defend against ANY damage type
- mez protection can't be "knocked" off, and protects against fear and confuse
- Danger Sense offers a small boost to perception; you can easily spot stealth using enemies in PvP
Cons:
- Caltrops don't have -fly; enemies can fly off
- mez protection doesn't protect against knockback

Regeneration
Pros:
- offers quite a boost to health (well, it's what it's supposed to do, right? )
- besides allowing for a quick HP gain (Dull Pain, Reconstrution), it also allows for faster HP regeneration (almost every other power)
- unlike other sets, doesn't require as many toggles
Cons:
- MoG is kind of a strange power to be in this set
- doesn't offer any defense apart from the defense in Hide

Super Reflexes
Pros:
- positinal defense, and quite a lot of it in the end (highest defense from all the sets)
- Quickness provides a fair +recharge boost
Cons:
- Elude can't be used to attack
- to get the highest defense, almost all powers are needed

General Stalker guidelines:
- get the core stalker powers ASAP: Assasin Strike, Build Up and Placate
- get the "core" of your secondary set; be it defense or regeneration. The most important skills are usually at the very beginning. Those will almost always need to be slotted well.
- get mez protection ASAP; every set has such a power
- IMHO the stalker gets fun after lvl 24, when you have all the core skills, stamina, and a travel power. That's the moment when a stalker becomes complete for PvE. So if you find it a drag, try to "get through" to lvl 20+. (Again, this is only my opinion)
- While Hide doesn't work like expected in PvE (if you attack a mob and enter Hide, he'll still see you), it can still be used to your advantage: run away and wait behind a corner. When the enemy comes, you can hit him for double damage.
- Do Not Be Afraid To Run! Even in teams!

OK, that's about it. Feel free to comment, and it'd be great if someone could post some info on the missing sets.

This post is not intended for veteran stalkers; they most likely know what they're doing. This is for new players, to get the most out of their new charaters.

Ninjitsu
- mez protection is not permanent (but with 3 SO recharge reduction enhancements, the "window" where it's off is around 15 seconds)


Thats wrong .. with 3 recharge SO's you get an overlap of about 5-10 seconds

Are you sure? I'm almost certain I can't keep it permanently, and I got it 3 slotted with SOs.

(Quickly runs off and logs as the */ninjitsu AT to time it.)

EDIT: My apologies, you are right. I'll edit it now.

Chealsea is correct, it overlaps with 3 SO's and no hasten.

very nice guide ^^ to bad that you miss claws and martial tho

I'm fairly sure you can attack in Elude. In I1, SR scrappers didn't used to be able to but they changed it so that now they can and I'm fairly sure it applies to stalkers as well.

Basing this on my CoH Experience, haven't played either in CoV really.

Martial Arts
Pros:
- Strong, Single-Target Capabilities.
- Holds a few attacks with Stun Modules and Knockdown
- Fast executing and recharging attacks.
Cons:
- Damage is so-so. Best served in attack chains.
- Lacks that really big-hitter
- Lacks in the AoE and Cone Department
- Lots of smashing resistances. Easily resisted.

Martial Arts
- Supposedly low endurance usage
- Few attacks you really, really want here. Less slotting .
- Short, Ranged attack and 2 Cones. Fair AoE capabilities.
Cons:
- The 3 last attacks is what most likely will be your main attacks. Not a set that will shine early on.
- Lethal Damage, also easily resisted.
Undefined:
- For Good and For worse, regular Build-up instead of follow-up.

[ QUOTE ]
- Lacks that really big-hitter

[/ QUOTE ]

I wouldnt agree with that, as the only powerset that got a bigger hitter is energi

I assume you mean Claws as the second of those?

[ QUOTE ]
I assume you mean Claws as the second of those?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, just copied and pasted the general idea there. My bad, and too late to edit now.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
- Lacks that really big-hitter

[/ QUOTE ]

I wouldnt agree with that, as the only powerset that got a bigger hitter is energi

[/ QUOTE ]

What I meant was that the highest damage listed for any MA power is Superior. True, only Ninja Blade and Energy Melee have Extreme Damage powers in their set. But on the other hand early all of Spines attacks are ranged ad have a slowing effect, and claws Superior damage attack is a cone.

IMHO, a Superior single-target damage attack for a scrapper set isn't all that. Not when other set have Extremes. Or Coned.

[ QUOTE ]
True, only Ninja Blade and Energy Melee have Extreme Damage powers in their set.

[/ QUOTE ]

Dont count on the things written there.. because if you look in CoH/CoV Builder then ingame the MA Crane Kick is listed as High damage but it got an dmg output (from start) on 5.444444 dmg (smashing) and for instance Ninja blade Soaring Dragon is listed as Supior dmg but it only has an dmg output on 5 (lethal) so actually the MA attack is more powerful but the description make it sound less :P

Eagle's Claw attack has a dmg on 6.333 the same as GDF in Ninja blade.. the only ones gotten a higher dmg is Energi
Were Energi transfer gives 12.6666 dmg 8.3333 of this is energi dmg (low res for most ppl) and Total Focus has a damage on 9.8883 this is numbers i got from CoH/CoV builder and im pretty sure they are correct ^^.. but correct me if im wrong ofc..

If I had access to a High Level Ninja Blade and a High Level MA Stalker I would put those numbers to the test. I don't trust all BI Numbers, it's been slightly misguiding or just wrong at some times.

I downloaded Hero builder to check. Eagles Claw is listed as 6.3333 BI (Smashing) and Soaring Blade (listed as Lethal) is also 6.3333 BI. However according to Soaring Blade's Description it can extend through "multiple foes". If that is true, just one extra hit would make it twice as damaging as Eagle's Claw (pure theoretical and PvE based here).

This means:
A) Display bug, or incorrect input on Cryptic Behalf.
B) Testing of BI numbers are inaccurate.
C) Other factors.

I know Katana (in comparison to Broadsword) have slightly lower damage, and faster activation/recharge time in comparison. Haven't really studied the difference between MA and Katana before though. But for me, in terms of single-targeting there is definetly no question any more (not if I would have to pick between MA and Ninja Blade). Divine Avalance and some measly -Def is worth de nada in comparison to a High Chance of Knockback and a possible Immobilization /w -slow.

Not sure whether it fits inthis list, but another gotcha with ninjitsu.

You can't really do without the 2 defense auras. So in the first 14 levels, you get: 1st Attack, hide, 2nd attack,1st defense, AS, 2nd defense, travel pre-req, placate, travel. What's missing from this list? Yup, the one power everyone reckons you should take, Build Up. So, it comes down to how do you wish to die: faceplant due to getting hit due to lack of defense, or faceplant due to getting hit because you can't kill the enemies as fast as you'd like?