I'm gonna say something sorta crazy. But while it sucked briefly around level 8, it's been pretty awesome for most stuff since.
My stalker just made 20 and hasn't yet got the melee defense power. Why? Because I took caltrops at 10. And caltrops is an AMAZING melee defense power for a single-target archetype. The fear means that most critters have to run out of caltrops unless I'm hitting them -- so I'm just hitting the one critter at a time, mostly. (Pre-burst, anyway.) Once I had caltrops, the only fight I had to work for was the destroyers attacking TPN in Praetoria; everything else was pretty much cake. Sure, chain ambushes were tedious, but they weren't actually a significant threat.
Post-I19, I'll pick up the melee defense power earlier, but right now, ranged defense is the big thing I need -- for the attacks from all the melee creatures that have run out of melee range to avoid standing on caltrops. Things don't stand in melee with me.
Any tweaks or advice would be appreciated. Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.803
http://www.cohplanner.com/
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Mage Ying Zi: Level 50 Magic Stalker
Primary Power Set: Kinetic Melee
Secondary Power Set: Ninjitsu
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Concealment
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Fitness
Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Body Blow
- (A) Absolute Amazement - Stun
- (23) Absolute Amazement - Stun/Recharge
- (40) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Stun/Recharge
- (42) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Recharge
- (43) Absolute Amazement - Endurance/Stun
Level 1: Hide- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
- (17) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
- (17) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- (19) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
Level 2: Ninja Reflexes- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
- (3) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
- (3) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
- (5) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
Level 4: Danger Sense- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
- (5) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
- (7) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
- (7) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
Level 6: Smashing Blow- (A) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage
- (11) Touch of Death - Chance of Damage(Negative)
- (23) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance
- (34) Touch of Death - Damage/Recharge
- (37) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
- (40) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
Level 8: Assassin's Strike- (A) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage
- (9) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance
- (9) Touch of Death - Damage/Recharge
- (13) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
- (15) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (15) Touch of Death - Chance of Damage(Negative)
Level 10: Combat Jumping- (A) Karma - Defense/Endurance
- (11) Karma - Knockback Protection
Level 12: Stealth- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
- (13) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
Level 14: Boxing- (A) Accuracy IO
Level 16: Caltrops- (A) Ragnarok - Damage
- (43) Ragnarok - Damage/Endurance
- (46) Ragnarok - Damage/Recharge
- (46) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (46) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Recharge
Level 18: Kuji-In Rin- (A) HamiO:Membrane Exposure
- (19) HamiO:Membrane Exposure
Level 20: Kuji-In Sha- (A) Numina's Convalescence - Heal
- (21) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Recharge
- (21) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance/Recharge
- (25) Numina's Convalescence - Endurance/Recharge
Level 22: Hurdle- (A) Jumping IO
Level 24: Health- (A) Regenerative Tissue - +Regeneration
- (25) Miracle - +Recovery
Level 26: Stamina- (A) Performance Shifter - EndMod
- (27) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy
- (27) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge
- (40) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
- (43) Performance Shifter - Accuracy/Recharge
- (45) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge
Level 28: Tough- (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
- (29) Steadfast Protection - Knockback Protection
- (29) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All)
- (42) Aegis - Psionic/Status Resistance
Level 30: Focused Burst- (A) Apocalypse - Damage
- (31) Apocalypse - Damage/Recharge
- (31) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (31) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Recharge
- (34) Apocalypse - Damage/Endurance
Level 32: Concentrated Strike- (A) Hecatomb - Damage
- (33) Hecatomb - Damage/Recharge
- (33) Hecatomb - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (33) Hecatomb - Accuracy/Recharge
- (34) Hecatomb - Damage/Endurance
Level 35: Blinding Powder- (A) Coercive Persuasion - Confused
- (36) Coercive Persuasion - Confused/Recharge
- (36) Coercive Persuasion - Accuracy/Confused/Recharge
- (36) Coercive Persuasion - Accuracy/Recharge
- (37) Coercive Persuasion - Confused/Endurance
- (37) Coercive Persuasion - Contagious Confusion
Level 38: Weave- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
- (39) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
- (39) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
- (39) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
Level 41: Superior Conditioning- (A) Performance Shifter - EndMod
- (42) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
Level 44: Super Jump- (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range
- (45) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance
- (45) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points)
Level 47: Build Up- (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff
- (48) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge
- (48) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge/Endurance
- (48) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Recharge/Endurance
- (50) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Endurance
- (50) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up
Level 49: Physical Perfection- (A) Numina's Convalescence - +Regeneration/+Recovery
- (50) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
------------Level 1: Brawl
- (A) Accuracy IO
Level 1: Sprint- (A) Celerity - +Stealth
Level 2: Rest- (A) Recharge Reduction IO
Level 1: AssassinationLevel 4: Ninja Run