Advice for a MA/DA stalker build

Hello everyone. I've been playing CoX for over 5 years now, and have dabbled in just about every power combo at some point, but have never been great at the number crunching and IO set stuff. This is mostly due to the amount of time I'm able to put into the game being limited. I spend what time I have to play, and so my builds can sometimes suffer. I rarely have a whole lot of inf to play around with, and then feel a bit overwhelmed by the variety of sets available for each type.

I've had a character idea in mind for some time that was a MA/DA stalker, but playing the combo in reality was pretty punishing, especially because I am often either solo or with just a friend or two. I could barely get the character out of the gate before getting really frustrated with it.

However, I started this combo up after the recent GR release, and feel much more positive about the MA damage output. This, combined with the recent changes to the DA toggles really has me feeling like I could have some fun with it. Sure, it may not be as uber as some possible combinations, but it might not be sheer torture.

With this in mind, I was hoping the stalker community might be able to offer some advise on a build for this character that might take advantage of some of what IO sets might have to offer for this combination. It doesn't have to be perfect, and I'd rather it not be so expensive that I'm not able to actually use it for years, but anything constructive would really be appreciated.

Thanks!

By the way, Crippling Axe Kick (which looks like a punch in my setup) is amazing. In my early levels I was able to crit one-shot yellow minions OUT of hide. Pretty freakin' cool.

Has no one been playing this combination?

I've got one growing, but he's oh so very young - and being neglected in favor of the KM/Dark that I'm also growing, which is in turn being neglected by the old EM/Regen I decided to pick up again.

So yeah. Don't know enough to give any advice. There's a DM/DA build example in the guide in my sig (scroll waaaay down) that I think is soft-capped - It's Desdemona's (used with permission), whom you might recognize as the author of a MUCH better DM guide than mine, and it covers DA to boot.

I figure at least the DA side of his build will help you, even though it is for scrappers.

I've played a MA/DA *scrapper* for awhile, though he's often mistaken for a stalker at times... XD

... Well, from my experience I'd say that the combination is always going to be a bit challenging no matter how you cut it. Both sets tend to eat up a lot of endurance, so rest stops tend to be become a part of your regular routine. Invest in the Fitness pool (hey, that's why they're making it an inherant after all). Consider sacrificing some of your damage-lite attacks for Tough and Weave from the Fighting pool, since you'll mostly rely on quick-hit ambush tatics no matter what you do, though MA's soft control tends to help keep the mobs from taking you apart at their leisure. As is only sensible with DA, pick up both Dark Regeneration and Soul Transfer as soon as you can, then invest heavily in them, particularly when it comes to accuracy. And knowing how Soul Transfer tends to work, you shouldn't be afraid to "make death part of your attack chain"... Debt doesn't tend to mean much anyways.

Sadly, I'm not all that great at writing up or putting together builds, so I can only give general advice on the subject, most of which is common sense. But hey, when all else fails, just remember that it's just a game and that you're playing you character because it's fun, not because it's easy or because it came recommended by someone else's guid.