I've done some serious thinking about this as i've rolled a dark/dark and had some practice with one in the RV event yeah its true if it misses it is a fairly long animation time but the thing is dark/ is lacking on actualy attack powers as it is so i'd rather take a moderate attack over a min attack.
I would and have taken it.
Who said stalker snipes are bad ? i love mine .. popped a blaster in RV for 411 damage the other day coz he was daft enough to try and use defiance.. altho in dark/ case it wouldn't be worth taking as you'd need the extra attack from the PPP's.
If you want my advice i'd drop midnight grasp and pickup shadow mall and have 3 attacks and use the PPP's for holds.
Defiant's GoEH/MILITIS METUS
Actually, if I'm taking Shadow Maul then it's instead of the Shadow Punch. I'm going to try and make a sort of Stalker+mini-controller, I'll have the AS to down an enemy, then a fear, immobolize and hold to help control the situation.
So thanks for the help, my character is only level 3, so I'll just remake and start with Smite, then get Shadow Maul.
well i did mean take punch,mall and smite.
Not sure if your going to PVP with this but generaly immobs hardly ever work as everyones got CJ or some form of immob protection.
Defiant's GoEH/MILITIS METUS
I might PvP here and there, but I don't plan to concentrate on it. I'll be getting Midnight Grasp for the Superior damage as well anyway. Even if they don't get immobilized they'll still be hit for damage.
Surely you don't take Midnight Grasp for the immobilization... but for the damage (which is slightly higher than Shadow Maul - and significantly higher than Shadow Punch)?
Shadow Maul - getting a couple of goons lined up and taken by the cone = glee. I can't speak for Captain Figures and Stats Chelsea ( 
) but I would recommend taking the power and learning how to utilize it.
Almost every new DM player makes the error of not getting shadow punch 2.
Hasten on 1 recharge in every attack and you got a unstopable chain..
Shadow punch/smite/air sup shadowmaul..press it with timing and you can bash a brute away within 30 secs:P..
okay stalkers work different then scrappers..but if you find yourself out of hide its just a great combo..I personaly think DM is the best scrap set for stalkers cause of that
Shadow Maul is pretty sick damage. Its annoying that it only has 50% chance to crit from hide though..
The 4second lockdown when using it is kinda annoying as well, especially since you cant use inspirations during that time. I feel like they should give you a Defense bonus during that time to make up for the somewhat deathwish use of it in certain situations. I mean you move like youd be Neo from Matrix, so why wouldnt your defense increase during that time?
My only stalker who is only a lowbie, is DM/EA. He may yet get binned as I can see the Shadowmaul getting you killed a lot in PvP. Maybe not from the guy you are beating on, but i'd certainly relish catching a stalker in the throws of a shadow maul with Nikta or Joust.
What i did enjoy was using Shadow Maul in PvE. I find it quite easy to use the cone. I target the furthest away mob, click the power so its primed and then position mobs inbetween me and the target. When im in range, the power fires. As mentioned about the Crit chance just isnt high enough to warrant using. In PvE, if you are considering being anything other than a Boss / Lt killer in big teams, it could be the route to death? I mean, lining up 3 minions for a decent shadow maul is time consuming. Most probably could have nuked a boss or a couple of Lts in that time.
I hate to delete toons, but my DM/EA might be going for something with a bit more PvP scope. Just not sure what yet. Really would prefer a weapon wielding stalker, so i guess Claws / katana here i come.
I decided to make a Stalker alt, and went with Dark/EA, now I'm pretty sure I know which powers I'll be taking, but my main problem is with Shadow Maul... Should I take it? Sure, it looks cool when it connects, but it still has a too-long animation, and if you miss you look like a soon-to-be-dead idiot. Also, aligning for a multi-hit is too bothersom and annoying.
So, am I right in taking Shadow Punch and Smite, or should I be taking Smite and Shadow Maul?
If you need to know my final power selection, there you go:
Dark Melee: 8
Shadow Punch
Smite
Assassin's Eclipse
Build Up
Placate
Siphon Life
Touch of Fear
Midnight Grasp
EA: 7
Hide
Kinetic Shield
Power Shield
Entropy Shield
Energy Drain
Conserve Energy
Overload
Soul: 2
Dark Blast
Soul Storm
(I heard bad things about the Snipe attack)
Pools: 7
Hurdle
Health
Stamina
Hasten
Super Speed
Combat Jumping
Stealth
Total: 24
Of course, with Energy Drain and Conserve Power I might not even need Stamina, in which case I don't really need Health either... Hmm. Well, any help will be appreciated, the most important question is about the Shadow Maul.