I have a regen and if i could i would respec it to a defense set.
I'd say it largely depends on how you play.
I stand by the developers intention of the class. The stalker is an archtype that is not designed to engage in consistent and continuous melee combat. I've flat out told people who play stalkers as they would play a brute or scrapper, they are doing it wrong.. Short of a red name saying that they (the developers) have decided to change the entire point of stalkers, I'm not likely to change my stance.
A stalker is really designed to hit a single target hard... then disappear. I've taken both an Katana / SR and a Dark / Dark stalker to 50 by playing them as stalkers should be played, and really, on a team, when they do their jobs properly, both of the types I've tried perform quite well.
Solo, I'd actually say the Katana / SR is a little less annoying to play. Couldn't give you any hard reasons why, but I enjoy the Katana / SR a lot more than my Dark / Dark.
If you're dead set on trying to be something you aren't, and match a brute for hanging around in combat, or match a scrapper for taking on mobs, you are going to want a defensive set, and you are going to want to soft-cap. Even then, as it sounds like you've found out, all it takes is one hit and you an still be road-kill.
With the drastic changes made to stalkers since their introduction to the game you still refuse to look at stalkers differently? /boggle
Back on topic. I suggest trying out a DB/nin. Very survivable even before you softcap it. Ninjitsu is just a very well rounded set with ample defense and a good bag of tools and tricks to fall back on.
EDIT: Nah not going to bother.
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Personally, I think the intention for how stalkers are to be played since the start of the game has not been changed. Stalkers, by and large, are meant to hit hard and fast. But what you do from there depends on the situation.|
Originally Posted by Roofles
With the drastic changes made to stalkers since their introduction to the game you still refuse to look at stalkers differently? /boggle
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Even at the start of the game, I doubt it was ever meant to be a hit-and-run deal. But it was obvious that you didn't try to engage the enemy directly unless you had no other options. Hold them, sleep them. Anything but sit around and let them beat on you or turn tail and come back 10min later.
As for the OP topic: I think it's more about mixed mitigation rather than just resistance. Having a heal ontop of defense or resistance or some other combo is what will make you feel survivable. Even if you pick up a resistance set, you can build up a little defense so with inspirations/team buffs to make a huge difference. Same with a heal, get it recharged as fast as you can and as cheaply as possible and it won't even matter if you're hit or not because you can get it back.
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I agree completely. I went w/ ninjitsu (which gives u a heal), and for my patron i went w/ Mako's powerset (gives u hibernate). I found it gave me a little flexability w/ my stalker, especially when there wasn't a brute in my team. I've seen players be successful w/ both types, so i guess it comes down to a question of playstyle.
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Originally Posted by Leo_G
As for the OP topic: I think it's more about mixed mitigation rather than just resistance. Having a heal ontop of defense or resistance or some other combo is what will make you feel survivable. Even if you pick up a resistance set, you can build up a little defense so with inspirations/team buffs to make a huge difference. Same with a heal, get it recharged as fast as you can and as cheaply as possible and it won't even matter if you're hit or not because you can get it back. |
thanks for the input guys. I decided to go woth Ninjutsu after all. (Martial Arts pack had something to do with that 
)
Any tips on softcapping that? I also hear mixed opinions about smoke bomb but have never tried it for myself before, is it just subjective?
Also, I am the type of stalker that won't go pretending I'm a scrapper. My toon is a ninja and thus operates like a ninja. Any mission with a boss, that's his target, not the minions. The brute can clean them up while I make everyone's job easier by scouting ahead and ripping bosses apart before they can clobber the doms and corrs on the team. Soloing he may find him self in a tight spot here and there, but my smoke bomb/caltrops will hopefully help out on that. But ultimately, he's a EB/AV killer in the making.
Dunno if he'll pvp yet, one of these days, maybe.
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Given the number of times my stalkers have outlived all 7 teammates in hard battles, I'd say you still don't understand this game and what stalkers can do. In Recluse' Victory, AE farms, and just normal missions on very high difficulty, I've had my /nin and /SR stalkers the last standing in fights many times. Sometimes, I've even finished the spawns so the rest of the team could rez. Anyone who thinks the stalker is made for hit and run and not to stand and push continuous damage just doesn't understand the game or what stalkers are capable of. Since the big stalker overhaul and buff a few issues back, the stalker has become my preferred toe-to-toe melee character for strong damage plus great survivability.|
Originally Posted by je_saist
I'd say it largely depends on how you play.
I stand by the developers intention of the class. The stalker is an archtype that is not designed to engage in consistent and continuous melee combat. I've flat out told people who play stalkers as they would play a brute or scrapper, they are doing it wrong.. Short of a red name saying that they (the developers) have decided to change the entire point of stalkers, I'm not likely to change my stance. A stalker is really designed to hit a single target hard... then disappear. I've taken both an Katana / SR and a Dark / Dark stalker to 50 by playing them as stalkers should be played, and really, on a team, when they do their jobs properly, both of the types I've tried perform quite well. Solo, I'd actually say the Katana / SR is a little less annoying to play. Couldn't give you any hard reasons why, but I enjoy the Katana / SR a lot more than my Dark / Dark. If you're dead set on trying to be something you aren't, and match a brute for hanging around in combat, or match a scrapper for taking on mobs, you are going to want a defensive set, and you are going to want to soft-cap. Even then, as it sounds like you've found out, all it takes is one hit and you an still be road-kill. |
RagManX
"if the market were religion Fulmens would be Moses and you'd be L. Ron Hubbard. " --Nethergoat to eryq2
The economy is not broken. The players are
is it possible to cap hp with the accolades like BIB and HPT? Maybe with some set bonuses too? What would the average stalker's HP be when capped anyway?
If all you are planning to do is hit bosses then dual blades might not be an optimal choise.
If you don't use 1000 cuts from hide to wipe out most of a spawn you are doing it wrong IMO.
Oh no, slaughtering bosses will be my specialty, as any stalker would. But the missions don't just have one boss standing there, I definitely want to be able to wipe out a mob if necessary, which soloing will call for, for sure.
Not too many want to team with a stalker I find, so solo survivability is a must, which of course requires us to be able to wipe out entire mobs and live when we need to. The other post up there that talks about being the survivor amongst the other teammates, that's inspiring and is what I'm going to acheive too! 
I'm actually going to go with Katana rather than DB, I don't like having to have each move in the combos to hit in order for the secondary to happen. But katana's -def and nin's +def will be great I believe, just gotta do something about resistance. I hate having to think about depending on Orange Insp's, perhaps some set bonuses will help. I know demonic aura will to once I nail that down.
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The beauty of DB is it's not all about AoE or ST when you can do both. Nothing stopping you from BU>AS>Ablating for a sweep then placate and 1k cuts for added AoE crits.
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Originally Posted by Star_Seer
If all you are planning to do is hit bosses then dual blades might not be an optimal choise.
If you don't use 1000 cuts from hide to wipe out most of a spawn you are doing it wrong IMO. |
Phew thats reassuring, I was afraid you were planning to be one of those horribly inefficient 'hit one guy and the run off and hide' types
only if the situation calls for it, when I'm done with him he'll be able to do anything. Hit n run, or scrap it out, whatever the situation calls for. I want to be able to adapt to anything that is thrown at me. And we'll all probably be getting on teams a lot more now thanks to the crit buff when on teams (just found that out today lol)
I like to think of my Stalkers as "stealthy Scrappers with better burst damage but less HP." 
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Stalkers share the same HP base and caps as Blasters - about 1205 base and 1606 cap. A Willpower Stalker with HPT 3-slotted for heal will have right around 1570 HP, without any investment in IO sets or accolades. It's fairly easy to get a Blaster up to the cap between IOs and accolades, or at least within 50-100 points - I see no reason why a Stalker couldn't do the same.
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Originally Posted by beyeajus74018
is it possible to cap hp with the accolades like BIB and HPT? Maybe with some set bonuses too? What would the average stalker's HP be when capped anyway?
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@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."
awesome, that's just what I wanted to hear, ty skull.
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Definitely the safe way. Some people are too dense. Apparently an entire secondary devoted to passive mitigation, extra crit chances outside of hide, and bonuses to teammates being near is signaling anything but dev intended behavior. |
Originally Posted by TRTerror
Nah not going to bother.
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The same dense person would also argue (and has, with similar arrogance and lack of success) that all trollers should not play in melee. Being prone to generalization and a complete lack of ability to self critique is a recipe for arguments.
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Ninjitsu generally holds that title on the Stalker boards, although there is often debate on that. |
Originally Posted by beyeajus74018
What's the best, or at least most popular secondary for us stalkers?
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It provides a good mix of defense, healing, and active mitigation sources.
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I agree, a good warrior knows his limitations, but a great warrior will figure out a way around them. I like my stalker being able to surpass the intended limitations of a typical stalker.
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Originally Posted by brophog02
Definitely the safe way. Some people are too dense. Apparently an entire secondary devoted to passive mitigation, extra crit chances outside of hide, and bonuses to teammates being near is signaling anything but dev intended behavior.
The same dense person would also argue (and has, with similar arrogance and lack of success) that all trollers should not play in melee. Being prone to generalization and a complete lack of ability to self critique is a recipe for arguments. |
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Originally Posted by brophog02
Definitely the safe way. Some people are too dense. Apparently an entire secondary devoted to passive mitigation, extra crit chances outside of hide, and bonuses to teammates being near is signaling anything but dev intended behavior.
The same dense person would also argue (and has, with similar arrogance and lack of success) that all trollers should not play in melee. Being prone to generalization and a complete lack of ability to self critique is a recipe for arguments. |
my spines/regen stalker leveled from 35-50 pretty much exclusively through ITFs. i may have used AS about 6 times max per run (for AVs basically); otherwise, wasting hide on anything other that trow spines or spines burst made me feel like i wasn't helping my team enough.
I rarely use AS on a team, unless it's at the beginning of our group attack. wipe out the boss/annoying sapper/LB nullifier, and mop up the rest. Had 3 or 4 crits in a row on a team the other day, man I love that new group crit %.
I'll start with BU + AS. Then I'll scrap things until they're dead.
On teams, I'mm BU AS, and scrap until AS is recharged. Then if theres still a boss or something, I'll placate AS, then scrap.
But what I DON'T do is BU, AS, Placate, run and hide until AS/placate is recharged, run in, AS, placate, run, etc.
SO I'm doing it wrong?
Characters!:
Pinny - Scrapper
Shadewing - Defender
@Pinny
if you're having fun, you're doing it right. ^.^
"Scrappers don't want the bit of dignity that Brutes left them taken away by (lol)Stalkers." -Delta_Strider, on Stalker buffs.
Current Project: Hard Goodbye, StJ/Nin
Retired: Blitzwulf, Claws/Nin (50); Perdition's Blade, Night Widow (50)
So torn! I don't know weather to go for a def set or a res set. Softcapped defense is amazing, but if you do get hit with something, no resistance to soften the blow. Resistance is good to have, but useless if you're getting hit enough to make it not matter. What's the best, or at least most popular secondary for us stalkers?