The above points about the efficacy of stalkers in large teams are largely true, and I will tend to agree with them. In a long fight, stalker aint the best, but comparing them to a brute is like comparing a blaster to a troller. Totally different. Brutes are supposed to love long fights, but dont do as well in short fights, stalkers love a short fight, but dont do so well in a long one.
And in terms of damage mitigation, see that mob cowering next to me? Yep that was my Touch of Fear. See that Mob on its back, yep that was a shockwave, and so on. The effects are there, just less noticeable than when a whole spawn is wondering around stunned.
However, this guide was intended to help stalkers play solo and in teams of large and small size, and does have warning about playing in a large team. I didnt want this to be a "stalkers are suxxorz on teams you noob" thread. So please leave discussions on how good stalkers are to the stalker thread.
Do feel free to add any of your own usefull tips and hints on playing a stalker though. Or just the things not covered in the guide that you would like to see eliminated from stalker behaviour.
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Brutes are supposed to love long fights, but dont do as well in short fights, stalkers love a short fight, but dont do so well in a long one.
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Depends. A long fight for a stalker could be Stalker versus 20 NPCs of same level. Tier9 and try to defeat them. A short fight would be Stalker Versus AV/Hero. We know the result already 
. I would rather say that it depends what NPC faction you fight and the rank they have also. For example, a ninja blade stalker versus Freakshow boss. Could be painful. or a regen stalker versus Knives of artemis. Ouch 
.
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The above points about the efficacy of stalkers in large teams are largely true, and I will tend to agree with them. In a long fight, stalker aint the best, but comparing them to a brute is like comparing a blaster to a troller. Totally different. Brutes are supposed to love long fights, but dont do as well in short fights, stalkers love a short fight, but dont do so well in a long one.
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I was looking at it from the point of view that CoX is a team based game, and the stalker, whilst they can be effective on a team, what can they do that another AT can't? Say I'm assembling a team for a diffcult 8 man SF. I can choose members with any AT. What would induce me to choose a stalker?
In that sense you can compare blasters and controllers. If your team needs more damage, you want a blaster. If you want damage mitigation and buffs you choose a controller.
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And in terms of damage mitigation, see that mob cowering next to me? Yep that was my Touch of Fear.
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But a dark brute can do they same, whist being less squishy, and a dominator, corruptor or even a MM has more powerful fear abilities available. Dark stalkers can do it, but other ATs can do it better.
I really should do something about this signature.
PRAF i am not disagreeing with you at all. I was responding to Cognito's comment that stalkers have no form of damage mitigation, which they do have, just not as noticeable.
At the end of the day, who you invite to your team is up to you, and I usually will try and avoid too many stalkers on team (2 can be effective when played well together, more is usually just a liability).
So to conclude, I will ask again that any discussion on the good and bad points of stalkers move to the stalker forum where they belong.
Please leave this thread for usefull hints about playing a stalker, especially if its ways to avoid annoying your team and how to be more team friendly, and of course praise for me :P
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PRAF i am not disagreeing with you at all. I was responding to Cognito's comment that stalkers have no form of damage mitigation, which they do have, just not as noticeable.
At the end of the day, who you invite to your team is up to you, and I usually will try and avoid too many stalkers on team (2 can be effective when played well together, more is usually just a liability).
So to conclude, I will ask again that any discussion on the good and bad points of stalkers move to the stalker forum where they belong.
Please leave this thread for usefull hints about playing a stalker, especially if its ways to avoid annoying your team and how to be more team friendly, and of course praise for me :P
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As you say, stalkers have some damage mitigation. Its just that they have less than any other AT I can think of.
The guide is good. But I think the point is that Stalkers labour under such huge disadvantages in teams that it is a real challenge to get them to pull their weight. I have never seen it done - even close. And it adds insult to injury when it is often the stalker who is "last man standing" due to their uncanny ability to avoid aggro.
Long may this thread continue. The craft of PvE stalking seems very hard and this guide is very welcome. I would suggest that isolating the problems of PvE stalking is part of the solution.
I would LOVE to see stalkers doing at least OK in team PvE, but have yet to see it happen.
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their uncanny ability to avoid aggro.
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Nothing uncanny about it, Stealth generates negative threat.
I really should do something about this signature.
Wrong word. What was that word I was looking for now...
Ah yes...
Disgraceful.
Nah, when the Brute is the last one standing cos he ran away like a little girl, THAT'S Disgraceful :P
Just wanted to add:
An excellent guide, informative, engaging writing style, and pitched to my personal preferance in guides, high on information/immersion low on number crunching 'City of statisticians' style.
Am currently playing a Ninja type stalker, lvl 35, the name of which may interest the OP 'Tao Te Tzu'.
Although I don't strictly RP my toons in the accepted sense, I like to 'get in character', I don't care if the stalker IS the weakest of sets in some ways, very few character type have 'drawn' me into the game and provided an equal measure of enjoyment.
Top marks OP 
btw, care to have a bash at explaining my choice of global name? The Rad in this context is an old nickname i had and nothing to do with Rad powers
Currently mostly playing:
Indiana Ford: PB, Lady Izza Tramp: Ice/Ice Tank, Stanley Orange: PB, Pu Wu Rad, Storm Troller.
Tao Te Tzu, Stalker.
I'de nearly forgotten about this guide, nice to know people still find it usefull. I might have to update it a bit with the new stalker changes, but reading through it, it all still stands. Now there is even more reason to stick with your team an not just use AS.
Well i didnged 50 with Tao Te Tzu, 1st villian to do so
And absolutely, while AS undoubtedly is still an awesome attack, it's by no means the only attack of use.
Eddy asked for jints for stalkers, well have just done ITF, and found something very useful so will share, but please, any hints i give are aimed at less well informed players than the experts often on here, so no 'pffft we knew that already!'
Ok, on ITF, the surgeons can be a real pain in the bum, so I made a bind to target them, (/bind KEY targetcustomnext Surgeon)iirc
Then before each wave/melee, did a quick surgical strike.
In fact in the 3rd part where the most mobs are was able to take out every surgeon before we even went in properly. I believe it helped the team
I would say to choose caltrops and have it well slotted, that will help all the team, and i went for the mace epic pool, so the spiderlings there are nice for team too.
Once you get your 'God' power with high defence, combined with your mez protection, you can be pretty unstoppable without hide, so do your AS as 1st attack sure, but then just leap around like a wild thing attacking all and sundry and watch those crits light up the screen!
" nights ago on that TF, the team had gone ahead while i answered a phone call (I had told them I was afk a few mins, they said np we'll be fine) I think they had seriously underestimated my part in the affray, they weren't fine hehe
There were 2 survivors, staring grumpily at the mobs which nearly did a team wipe, novas, dwarfs etc
I felt bad about leaving for the call, so jested I would charge in and suffer the same as my team mates...
So with Retsu up, CJ, all toggles on, (no buffs from anyone but myself) I charged in and almost killed the lot before the survivors (who were having a laugh taking bets how long i would last) saw it was actually do-able, joined in, and we took a decent spawn out ourselves.
Now I ain't saying no other AT coulda done it, of course not, the point is a stalker DID.
Have also taken out a full spawn in a full team farming mish, just to see if i could, while team stood back and watched.
Again, of course most ATs could do that, but anyone who thinks stalkers aren't adding to the team really doesn't understand their potential imo.
Lastly, I never see someone wanting an invite in purely terms of 'what dmg/buffs/holds will this player give me, but as a fellow gamer sitting at their PC wanting to have some fun, ad if I get a polite request to join, they're in, and we'll just how to figure out how to use our abilities together, not doing so, will lead to all teams being full of non-individual FOTM toons, and if it came to that, I for one would feel something had been lost from the game.
PWR
Currently mostly playing:
Indiana Ford: PB, Lady Izza Tramp: Ice/Ice Tank, Stanley Orange: PB, Pu Wu Rad, Storm Troller.
Tao Te Tzu, Stalker.
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I suppose Claws has a few AoE attacks now I think about it.
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Claws have a Point-Blank Cone, Eviscerate, which can hit up to four foes in front of you and, Shockwave, a ranged-cone which hits anything in front of you. But Shockwave doesn't do a lot of damage. In fact, I am rather disappointed with Eviscerate which claims it does superior damage. It is only 20DMG Points stronger than Focus and that is a high damage attack.
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