I think it'll work out fairly well. Ninjutsu is a defence set and Ninja Blade has parry so they work well together.
And of course, what's not to like about ninjas?
Eastern Standard Time (Australia)
is 15 hours ahead of
Eastern Standard Time (North America)
which is 5 hours behind
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
I'd decided to roll up a Nin/Nin a few weeks back and just hit 28, a very strong performer and for the soloist it breezes through missions. Being a longtime bluesider I have to admit the stealth you have at your disposal is amazing, but I will say I did feel a mix of emotions while taking down a redcon Leoknight EB, lol.
Take a look at this most excellent of guides, lot's of good stuff there.
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=124950
Man of many alts on Infinity/Test
Less then a dozen 50's, red & blue, lotsa 20ish/30ish
Scrappers, 'trollers, Brutes & Stalkers round out the stable.
I just hit 26 today on my nin/nin stalker and I'm having the time of my stalker life with the ninja moves and the ninja booster and stuff. I hear it's not the greatest in pvp but I'll give it a try anyway. My only advice is skip smoke flash as it sucks...lol Personally I skipped flashing steel too as the cone is too small but that's up to you.
Oh and being a first time stalker, you may not know, but in a team you have something like an extra 3% crit chance for each team member on board, or something like that.
I took the plunge and created Pleasant Surprise last night on Infinity. I played solo for a bit, then duoed with Mr. Tealeaf's level 14 or so Soldier, then we added a dominator and a mastermind for a few missions. When I called it a night she was five bubbles into level 10. Here is her build up to now.
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Pleasant Surprise: Level 11 Magic Stalker
Primary Power Set: Ninja Blade
Secondary Power Set: Ninjitsu
Power Pool: Leaping
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Sting of the Wasp -- Acc(A), Acc(3), Dmg(5)
Level 1: Hide -- DefBuff(A)
Level 2: Gambler's Cut -- Acc(A), Acc(3), Dmg(9)
Level 4: Ninja Reflexes -- DefBuff(A), DefBuff(5)
Level 6: Assassin's Blade -- Acc(A), Acc(7), Dmg(7), Dmg(9)
Level 8: Super Jump -- Jump(A)
Level 10: Build Up -- RechRdx(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Assassination
------------
Set Bonus Totals:------------
Set Bonuses:
On the advice of the guide Cupper linked, I skipped Flashing Steel and don't plan on picking it up. My attack chain right now is Hide --> Build Up --> Assassin's Blade --> then melee with Sting of the Wasp and Gambler's Cut, plus my vet attacks (I have all of them) as needed. My attack chain has no holes and I've already taken Brawl and my origin power out of my tray. Next on the drawing board is slotting Build up with two more recharges, getting Danger Sense, then a fitness power, Placate at 14, Status Protection, Health, and Stamina at 20.
So far she's a blast. Not tank tough, but then, at this level, neither are real tanks. She feels a bit more delicated than my samed aged scappers did, but then, she also has obviously better burst damage. Makes me wish I had tried a stalker earlier.
I'm Tealeaf, and I approve of this message.
See [URL="http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?p=2134817#post2134817"]Useful Tagging for the good of the Forum[/URL], my guide to tags.
Hi TeaLeaf,
I don't know about the "beginner stalker" part, but Nin/Nin makes a fine
stalker for either PvP or PvE - My primary stalkers (on diff servers) are
both Nin/Nin and I've had excellent success.
A few thoughts for you to bear in mind. It's an ST killer, without range
or AoE to speak of. As such, managing aggro is important for that build.
Secondly, in PvE especially, Divine Avalanche and Caltrops are beautiful
things. DA will let you easily softcap your melee defense and scrap out
boss fights that otherwise could be difficult for squishies, and trops will
mitigate incoming attacks as PvE mobs will spend much of their time
trying to run out of them rather than attacking you.
Third, if you get trops, get TpFoe. The synergy is simply too good to
deny, and it's a fabulous way to "divide & conquer" when you get mob
spawns that are either too close together or too nasty to deal with as
a whole.
Finally, at least the way I play it, it's a very deliberate and tactical
playstyle with plenty of ways of dealing with PvE foes. Played well
and carefully, you should be virtually impossible to kill unless you
get sloppy or overly aggressive (ie. bite off more than you can safely
chew) 
If you're used to playing scrappers that simply rush in and start wailing
on stuff this might not be the build for you, and you might want to look
at /regen, or possibly /wp which can be a little more "reckless".
With a little tactical patience though, it's a pretty interesting stalker to
play imho.
Regards,
4
PS> I'm a 90%+ solo player, so all of my advice is from that perspective.
Also, if PvP becomes a consideration for you, there are a number of other
considerations to think about as well.
Finally, in this thread I tossed out an example build that is pretty close
to the one I use on Freedom (more PvP oriented) if you're interested...
I've been rich, and I've been poor. Rich is definitely better.
Light is faster than sound - that's why some people look smart until they speak.
For every seller who leaves the market dirty stinkin' rich,
there's a buyer who leaves the market dirty stinkin' IOed. - Obitus.
Spines.
That is all.
Quote:
If you'll notice, you'd see that the OP actually mentioned |
Originally Posted by _Klaw_
Spines.
That is all. |
liking the concept of Nin/Nin in the first post, and then
later went on to actually roll one...
Pertinent advice is pertinent...
4.
I've been rich, and I've been poor. Rich is definitely better.
Light is faster than sound - that's why some people look smart until they speak.
For every seller who leaves the market dirty stinkin' rich,
there's a buyer who leaves the market dirty stinkin' IOed. - Obitus.
Well I whish him well and I hope he tries out spines/nin at some point in the future.
Her. I am a she.
I have nothing against spines. I've played the set on scrappers a few times, and my current alt is in the high 30's. It seemed like a solid set to me, on that AT, and I have no reason to suspect that it wouldn't be on stalkers as well. That said, I've never felt a real connection with them. As I look over my long set of alts, I rarely hear myself saying "Yeah, my spiney! I'd love to play her now!"
Just because one person really loves a particular set doesn't mean that the rest of the ones available to that AT might not be better for other people who have different tastes.
Anyways, I do appreciate all the input I've gotten. I have picked up that this is more of a single target set, and I have to say that so far I'm really digging that. I've got several AoE orientated alts right now, and it just seems refreshing to have a character that is so.... focused. Really a nice change of pace, at least so far.
I've enjoyed playing Pleasant Surprise so much that Mr. Tealeaf also decided to make his first stalker in forvever. He went with dual blades/ninjitsu. I'm pretty interested in seeing how our characters will compare when we duo together with them.
I'm Tealeaf, and I approve of this message.
See [URL="http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?p=2134817#post2134817"]Useful Tagging for the good of the Forum[/URL], my guide to tags.
Quote:
I hope you're not actually detoggling Hide between each fight - it uses no END whatsoever now so there's no reason to ever unHide unless you want to show off your awesome costume (something I do a lot :P). |
Originally Posted by Tealeaf
My attack chain right now is Hide --> Build Up --> Assassin's Blade --> then melee with Sting of the Wasp and Gambler's Cut, plus my vet attacks (I have all of them) as needed.
|
Basically with stalkers, it's wise to toggle it on soon as you log in and forget about it until you log in the next time (barring those vanity moments). This way you don't forget that you didn't have it on and try and mosey through that pack of Demolitionists or something. Plus sometimes ambushes are rushing to your spot instead of to you - if you keep Hide on, they'll miss you completely.
I'd agree with Clave_Dark_5 on Hide.
Turn it on when you log in and don't touch it again...
One really nice perk with it - even when your T9 Retsu power "crashes"
and drains all your End, Hide still works, which eliminates a lot of the
downside... Pop a CaB or hit Rest and you're right back in biz. As long
as you don't have a mob's active aggro it's completely safe.
The one time I do occasionally toggle Hide is with Kidnap/Escort missions
where the "victim" AI is moronic to the point where I find myself wanting
to kill them as a public service to Village Idiots everywhere (eliminating
competition for their job position).
In those cases, I toggle Hide off, during escort, until I see the NPC
ambush chat line, flip it back on to deal with that (they're usually "spot"
ambushes) and then carry on leading the NPC moron to the door
afterwards.
That's the only useful exception I've ever found for toggling Hide.
Regards,
4
I've been rich, and I've been poor. Rich is definitely better.
Light is faster than sound - that's why some people look smart until they speak.
For every seller who leaves the market dirty stinkin' rich,
there's a buyer who leaves the market dirty stinkin' IOed. - Obitus.
My apologies, I wasn't at all clear. Hide is the first thing I turn on when my feet hit the ground, and I don't turn it off ever. When I put Hide in my attack chain I just meant that I wait until I phase out of sight before I attack. I do have placate now, and I use that as well to mid fight if I don't have aggro from some other mob and Assassin's blade is up.
So yeah, I don't do alot of showing off my costume. But that's ok. There are plenty of non-stalkers around who can do that.
I'm Tealeaf, and I approve of this message.
See [URL="http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?p=2134817#post2134817"]Useful Tagging for the good of the Forum[/URL], my guide to tags.
Here's a quick build.
Not quite the same as what you have at the moment but;
-You don't really need a travel power so much on a stalker, even less so now with ninja run. Hide is you best power there.
-KB slotted in Hide. Ninjitsu's one hole.
-Soul mastery is optional, but Shadow Meld is a mini-godmode.
Again, just my take on it. Personally I took Claws/Ninjitsu, and loved it all so far =]
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 50 Natural Stalker
Primary Power Set: Ninja Blade
Secondary Power Set: Ninjitsu
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Gambler's Cut
- (A) Damage Increase IO
- (3) Accuracy IO
- (A) Karma - Knockback Protection
- (A) Damage Increase IO
- (3) Accuracy IO
- (A) Defense Buff IO
- (5) Defense Buff IO
- (5) Defense Buff IO
- (11) Endurance Reduction IO
- (43) Endurance Reduction IO
- (50) Endurance Reduction IO
- (A) Damage Increase IO
- (7) Damage Increase IO
- (7) Damage Increase IO
- (15) Accuracy IO
- (15) Accuracy IO
- (17) Accuracy IO
- (A) Defense Buff IO
- (9) Defense Buff IO
- (9) Defense Buff IO
- (13) Endurance Reduction IO
- (46) Endurance Reduction IO
- (50) Endurance Reduction IO
- (A) Recharge Reduction IO
- (11) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Recharge Reduction IO
- (13) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Run Speed IO
- (A) Recharge Reduction IO
- (17) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Healing IO
- (19) Healing IO
- (19) Healing IO
- (A) Endurance Modification IO
- (21) Endurance Modification IO
- (21) Endurance Modification IO
- (A) Defense Buff IO
- (23) Defense Buff IO
- (23) Accuracy IO
- (34) Accuracy IO
- (A) Healing IO
- (25) Healing IO
- (25) Recharge Reduction IO
- (31) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Damage Increase IO
- (27) Damage Increase IO
- (27) Damage Increase IO
- (31) Accuracy IO
- (37) Accuracy IO
- (37) Endurance Reduction IO
- (A) Damage Increase IO
- (29) Damage Increase IO
- (29) Damage Increase IO
- (31) Accuracy IO
- (37) Accuracy IO
- (40) Endurance Reduction IO
- (A) Jumping IO
- (A) Damage Increase IO
- (33) Damage Increase IO
- (33) Damage Increase IO
- (33) Accuracy IO
- (34) Accuracy IO
- (34) Endurance Reduction IO
- (A) Accuracy IO
- (36) Accuracy IO
- (36) Recharge Reduction IO
- (36) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Defense Buff IO
- (39) Defense Buff IO
- (39) Defense Buff IO
- (39) Recharge Reduction IO
- (40) Recharge Reduction IO
- (40) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Damage Increase IO
- (42) Damage Increase IO
- (42) Damage Increase IO
- (42) Accuracy IO
- (43) Accuracy IO
- (43) Range IO
- (A) Defense Buff IO
- (45) Defense Buff IO
- (45) Defense Buff IO
- (45) Recharge Reduction IO
- (46) Recharge Reduction IO
- (46) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Accuracy IO
- (48) Accuracy IO
- (48) Recharge Reduction IO
- (48) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Slow IO
- (50) Slow IO
Level 1: Brawl
- (A) Accuracy IO
- (A) Run Speed IO
- (A) Recharge Reduction IO
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Zwillinger
GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Captain_Photon
NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.
 |
I played a stalker for a brief while when CoV first came out. I didn't much care for the AT because mine had a glass cannon in melee feel that I like (granted, I may have been doing it wrong). But I've heard that the AT has been beefed up since then. I like playing scrappers. I hope that perhaps stalkers play more like them now, with a few extra abilities to shake things up a bit.
I like the idea of Ninja/ninjitsu, not really sure why. I'd be playing her solely PVE, and often solo since I keep weird hours. Any ideas as to whether this is a good combo for someone fairly new to the whole Stalker Experience?
I'm Tealeaf, and I approve of this message.
See [URL="http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?p=2134817#post2134817"]Useful Tagging for the good of the Forum[/URL], my guide to tags.