If You Were Castle How would you change Stalkers?
Here are my suggestions, without going "too" overboard, at least in my opinion...
- Increase Stalker "Max Health" (HP Cap) modifier to better match the health increase we recieved a while back.
- Increase Stalker damage modifier to 100, both ranged and melee.
- Increase Stalker damage bonus from Build Up, from 80% to 100%. (I realize that this may somehow be tied to damage modifiers, but I think it's necessary for this class's role.)
- Increase Demorlize Chance to between 35 and 50%
- Decrease ALL ASSASSIN STRIKES to mirror the animation/activation time of Kinetic Melee. Going from 3 seconds to 2.67 seconds. This should be standard.
- Decrease ALL FORMS OF BUILD UP refresh times to mirror Claw's Build Up. Reducing refresh time from 90 seconds to 72 seconds. This should be standard, it's how we quickly eliminate meaty threats for our team, it should be available more often to help us accomplish that.
I think if those changes were implimented, we'd see a VAST improvement in Stalker ability, without going too overboard on changes. I think the changes which I've suggested above would be simple enough to make as well.
Here are some other changes I'd really like to see and I feel would help improve a Stalker's role greatly:
- Add -500% Regen for 30 seconds and 30% -def/-res(all) for 30 seconds to Assassin Strike after a successful strike. Single Target. Call it Crippling (as suggested by DechsK). You're attacking from the shadows without your foe knowing it, in essence he shouldn't even be ready for the attack and thus should have decreased resistance to further attacks. In theme, this fits the concept of AS perfectly. This would help make a Stalker useful on large teams and secure our role as Boss/Single Target specialist.
- Increase the "Increased +Critical" power's effective aoe range by 10-15 feet. This would help in making it alot more useful/useable on teams, as well as helping to increase a Stalkers viability while teamed.
Increase HP cap to about 1900 or 2000.
That is all.
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I'd have to disagree with chaning the recharge on all the build up's to match Claws build up.|
Originally Posted by DarkMaster
Here are my suggestions, without going "too" overboard, at least in my opinion...
I think if those changes were implimented, we'd see a VAST improvement in Stalker ability, without going too overboard on changes. I think the changes which I've suggested above would be simple enough to make as well. Changes I'd "like" to see, but wouldn't lose sleep over if they didn't happen (and don't wanna push it...lol...) :
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Claws bonus is specifically, reduced END Costs and Reduced Recharge times.
Thusly, BU recharges faster for Claw Users.
And while I'm still not for it, if it was done, would the Claw users need their BU reduced even further?
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I like this idea.
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Originally Posted by EvilGeko
1) Reduce animation/activation of AS (and Blaster snipes) to less than 1 second and uninterruptable;
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Recommendations for interior equity:
Reduce all AS activation times to be in line with Kinetic Melee.
Reduce all BU activation times to be in line with Claws and Spines.
Recommendations for rationality:
Make demoralize fire whether the target dies or not.
Recommendations for improved team attractiveness:
Moralize buff activated on any crit from hidden.
Place an AoE back in each set at level 12, allow stalkers to have 10 slots for offensive powers. (This is a middle ground between making placate inherent and the status quo. Ideally, I would prefer to have placate as an inherent, but this would be better balanced with other ATs)
Recommendations for more stealthiness:
Decrease the cooldown on hidden status to 4s.
Eliminate the cooldown if stalker has zero aggro. (this would specifically help /nin)
Decrease threat level when hidden (Illusion Control Superior Invisibility brings troller threat level to 0%)
Fix Placate.
Recommendations for increased burst damage:
Increase the BU multiplier.
Increase the crit multiplier.
Recommendations for DPS:
Damage modifier should match or exceed scrappers.
Recommendations for durability:
Increase max HP.
Increase chance for Demoralize to terrorize.
Enact all recommendations under stealth.
I dont see the point of asking for more health. Stalkers are meant to be squishie, it adds to the feel of the AT. Furthermore whatever 1 shots you at 1600 health will still most likely 1 shot you at 2000 health. I never really had issues with survivablity once they fixed defense in issue 7. As for as the resistance well thats just lol resistance sets. Something should have been done to compensate them many issues ago because positional defense has always been the way to go on a stalker.
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Thing is, 1606 hps is way too squishy for a melee class. All the other melee classes has anywhere from 800 more, to over double what stalkers have for hitpoints. Nearly 1 shotting means you can actually use your secondary (be it heals, or a t9, or even inspirations) to keep you alive.
Hide being made an Inherent, would alone make a big difference. I think a modest HP increase would also be helpful. It should be below a Scrappers HP still though IMHO
Other than that, I still find Stalkers effective soloists (probably one of the fastest soloers around). It's team-play where it seems most people complain about them. I'm not sure what to change about them that wouldn't completely change what the Stalker is as an AT.
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Damage and a bit of survivability really, with the added survivability being the minor part.|
Originally Posted by RiverOcean
Hide being made an Inherent, would alone make a big difference. I think a modest HP increase would also be helpful. It should be below a Scrappers HP still though IMHO
Other than that, I still find Stalkers effective soloists (probably one of the fastest soloers around). It's team-play where it seems most people complain about them. I'm not sure what to change about them that wouldn't completely change what the Stalker is as an AT. |
One of the things I've found, is people would just rather have a Brute or Scrapper, because they bring more damage and survive better.
If Stalkers had the better damage, I think people would over look the survivability issues on teams, but in most cases, Stalkers are just being out done in damage, and since they're bringing less damage, why not go for the more damage better survival.
Now this isn't saying there arent great players of stalkers who make you look at that above comment and go "pffft" but a general statement.
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Well the problem is what do stalkers bring to a team other than (with a couple of exceptions) single target dps?|
Originally Posted by RiverOcean
Hide being made an Inherent, would alone make a big difference. I think a modest HP increase would also be helpful. It should be below a Scrappers HP still though IMHO
Other than that, I still find Stalkers effective soloists (probably one of the fastest soloers around). It's team-play where it seems most people complain about them. I'm not sure what to change about them that wouldn't completely change what the Stalker is as an AT. |
I like the idea of increasing the crit chance of stalkers and remove the teammate in range check. I probably would increase the damage on single target attacks for Stalkers so there is no issues about which AT does the most melee single target damage (at the cost of the fewest HP).
That still leaves the teaming issue. I'd say Stalkers give some sort of team buff that makes them wanted by the team. Maybe some sort of inherant Assault power.
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Sure. Reduce it by 14 seconds, making Claws users have a 60 second refresh time on BU, this would still be advantageous to the Claws players, as their refresh time on BU would be equal to Placate, making juggling the two powers a Breeze.
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Originally Posted by BrandX
I'd have to disagree with chaning the recharge on all the build up's to match Claws build up.
Claws bonus is specifically, reduced END Costs and Reduced Recharge times. Thusly, BU recharges faster for Claw Users. And while I'm still not for it, if it was done, would the Claw users need their BU reduced even further? |
How's this for a crazy idea? Give Stalkers Bruising. But call it crippling, and add a -regen component too. Stalker marks a target for the team to take down.
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That would actually be a cool idea on top of some of the others suggested.|
Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison
How's this for a crazy idea? Give Stalkers Bruising. But call it crippling, and add a -regen component too. Stalker marks a target for the team to take down.
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In fact, if it was added to Assassin Strike, I could see it being a -res power even. As much as 30% -res, for say, 15 seconds on a single target? I mean...the idea behind AS is that you "snuck up" on your foe and sliced him before he had a chance to react. So in all good sense that would mean that he was "not ready" for your attack, thus his damage resistance against more attacks "should" be lowered...right? Makes sense to me. Maybe you stuck your sword up underneath his plate armor and thus lowered it's structural integrity resulting in lowered protection, i.e. -res?
I could 100% go for that if added to AS, and it's similar to the idea I suggested, but with a "name" behind why the -regen or -res is taking affect: Crippling.
I like this idea so much, I've updated/added it to my previous post lol
What supposed issues do Stalkers really face?
-Survival issues? I can't honestly agree. That Scraps have more HP and higher caps feels relative to the Brute > Scrap comparison. Brutes have more because they use more. By 'use', it means they *need* the HP to activate more damage. Scraps require more aggro to 'accomplish' their damage, that is, in a situation the scrap is fighting something, they'll most likely have the enemys' attention. Enemies don't just magically line up for AoE slaughter, one has to survive long enough for the enemies to assemble or have AoEs big enough to not need it (Either Lightning Rod or Shield Charge, even Throw Spines/Shockwave is too small to use on everything without the enemy assembling). Stalkers need even less, as they can unleash high amounts on unsuspecting targets or simply wait for the team to assemble them to unleash AoEs.
-Lack of AoE damage? I will state it again and again. This isn't especially true. Stalkers don't lack AoE damage (see Elec Melee/Spines/DB), they just lack the AoE damage sets (see SS, Fire Melee, Ice Melee or even Warmace). The PBAoEs they lose, while good, are not what melees hinge their carnage on...at least they don't bother mentioning it on the boards. Besides Spin, the other PBAoEs are only moderate, at best. And with the trend of new sets being to introduce a 'trash power' that is will mostly be skipped by the Scrapper/Brute crowd to be replaced by AS, this opinion will slowly be squashed out as people finally realize that *none* of the melees are especially great AoEers. Either they too closely compare Stalkers with Blasters so think they should do similar things, or their opinion of AoE melee is Elec/SD melees or weighing the numbers of damage auras from Hero stats too heavily. Dmg auras are good, but they aren't the 'most damaging melee powers' just because the numbers added up over time.
-Comparative AT balance? I suppose, statistically, Stalkers are inferior to Scrappers by the numbers and Stalks only surpass them with certain sets under certain conditions and only vs STs while surviving better. Honestly, I never considered Brute to be superior to Scraps before the change but that didn't stop the devs from lowering Brute dmg and slightly improving brute durability. I suppose upping Stalker damage and mods would be equally in line. But I don't think they should have higher mods. Being equal melee mods is where Stalks and Scraps need to be. Considering Stalkers get better base crits and improved crit rates on teams should provide the added bonus to keep the ATs in balance. I suppose improving their melee buff mod so that BU = 100% dmg buff would be nice too, maybe even improve Stalker dmg caps some, about as much as Brutes were lowered perhaps, which would only come into effect on teams.
-Team viability? Well, you're a damage AT. Unless you're giving up damage, I don't see why we need AV-soloing debuffs on our attacks too. Other damage ATs don't get huge debuffs inherent to them either and yet you want to buff their damage on top of it? It's either one or the other. I wouldn't mind leaving Stalkers where they are now but handing them some means to lay down debuffs like a more-fragile-but-utilitarian-melee, but then they shouldn't be the tops on damage scales if they're providing even more than Blasters or Scrappers on teams.
What areas should be aimed for to improve the AT?
Burst damage, if at all. As a Scrapper player, I think where their specialty lies is 'scrapping' or just plain DPS button mashing. This is why they outpace Stalkers in straight up combat with no auxiliary factors involved, and that's fine. But Stalkers should probably do better burst damage (releasing a large amount of damage in a short period) with or without auxiliary factors involved. I think this is currently the case but if it's not, just post the numbers. If it's not, then new mechanics to give Stalkers an edge could be leveraged.
Killer Instinct was an inherent change I suggested before that basically rewards the Stalker for defeating foes (could call it bloodlust too, and extend it to just helping to take down foes). But rather than being a buff that just improved damage overall, I'd suggest it augment your burst damage powers (BU, Placate and Hidden Status) and be partially gained by AS. Rather than a bar, it's 'counters', either as an icon in the buff bar or a kind of add-on to the health bar like fury but bulbs instead of a bar. Build up the KI counter then 'spend' them on your burst powers that would improve them in some way.
A different approach could be the CriticalHit Specialist which would just be an added boost to the Stalker critical hit damage. Rather than 2x dmg on a critical hit, making it 2.5x dmg or even a scaling improvement for how many members (like Kheld buffs) would make their critical damage (and AS) greater while on teams than solo.
A lot of good suggestions in this thread, just like the so... stalkers one. To add on to what I posted there, here are a few other screwy ideas:
Team buff - Assassination - For each member on your team, every one of your hide-crits gains an additional 10% chance to apply the debuff. This places grouped stalkers in a position where it is more advantageous to the team for the stalker to use his signature mechanic to benefit the team rather than attempting to compete with other melee ATs for pure damage numbers. It doesn't mean the stalker can't scrap, but as teams get larger, there are probably other damage sources on the team anyway. On smaller teams, the stalker retains his dps utility without becoming overpowered in terms of control mechanics.
Critical mechanics - Give stalkers an additional 10% chance to crit on bosses+. This makes them specifically better suited for sustained DPS against single hard targets than scrappers, while leaving scrappers and brutes the kings of wading in to large groups of foes and beating the mess out of them.
BU - 1.0 please!
Survivability: Def sets are fine, HP is fine, Regen/resist sets REALLY need to be looked at.
Additional REALLY screwy idea (while disregarding any and all other buffs) - Inherent power - Exploit weakness - Stalkers may slot this power to gain increased critical damage, knockdown, knockback, fear, or stun. This power modifies the stalker's critical hits. Base critical damage values remain the same, and all criticals apply a base mag 0.5 knockdown, knockback, fear, and stun. This allows the stalker to build for specific mitigation or damage in terms of criticals at the cost of slotting he could have used on other powers. If granted at level 1, this also significantly smooths out a stalker's lower levels, as enemies have less HP, and are less resistant to such effects in the early stages.
The one suggestion is to remove team based critical percentage and flip it around a bit.
Give all attacks by the Stalker an automatic unenhanceable inherent stacking debuff that increases critical chance on that mob. Have each hit last 10 seconds or so to prevent ridiculous levels of damage to allow "Corruptor-lite" type abilities on teams.
Like this: each normal attack provides a debuff that gives them +1% chance to be crit, assassin's strike would be 2% chance.
This would give some visual feedback to others on the team that stalkers do something useful instead of the "I guess we see less annoying lts and such...?" mechanic now.
Balancing would probably reduce these crits to 1.5 damage though to prevent 10,000+ damage Greater Fire Swords or something.
With this, nothing else should change, not health, defenses, or powers. But you now have something that can assist in taking down the bosses quicker on average on teams.
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Wouldn't this make all Stalker teams insanely good? 8 players layering on the debuff on an AV so that everyone ends up with something like 40% to critical? |
Originally Posted by Savos
The one suggestion is to remove team based critical percentage and flip it around a bit.
Give all attacks by the Stalker an automatic unenhanceable inherent stacking debuff that increases critical chance on that mob. Have each hit last 10 seconds or so to prevent ridiculous levels of damage to allow "Corruptor-lite" type abilities on teams. Like this: each normal attack provides a debuff that gives them +1% chance to be crit, assassin's strike would be 2% chance. This would give some visual feedback to others on the team that stalkers do something useful instead of the "I guess we see less annoying lts and such...?" mechanic now. Balancing would probably reduce these crits to 1.5 damage though to prevent 10,000+ damage Greater Fire Swords or something. With this, nothing else should change, not health, defenses, or powers. But you now have something that can assist in taking down the bosses quicker on average on teams. |
If it was character to character, then if you reduced the crits, you would have to GREATLY increase that +% to crit. This mechanic as you described would have a net effect on average DPS that is far less than defiance is for Blasters. It would slightly assist ST damage against large targets, sure.
Also, without the team +% to critical, the average damage of a Stalker, post-AS, still would not match a Scrapper's unless the target was very large, or of moderate difficulty and no one else was damaging it.
I think this problem, from the OP on, should include "what do you think is wrong with Stalkers?" It is my perspective that Stalkers are slightly less survivable than Scrappers, can only match Scrapper's ST damage post-AS on large tight packed teams, and can't match a Scrapper's AoE capability. That leaves them typically being built around AS. With a low threat level, little AoE, no taunt powers, and so on, I've never ever felt that the interrupt on AS was unfair or a problem.
As it stands, to solidify a defined role, I believe Stalkers need to do as much (or more) ST damage as a Blaster, while maintaining that they are almost as tough as Scrappers. So, if I were castle I would datamine to find the discrepancy in damage between Blasters, Stalkers, and Scrappers, and modifiy the damage modifier and critical chances on Stalkers accordingly. I would not even consider altering the Stalker mechanics so much that (small though it may be) the current Stalker fan base might not be pleased. Removing the interrupt, changing the sets to match Scrappers, and pushing the critical mechanics towards that of a Scrapper's removes what is most of what is unique about Stalkers. It removes the point of playing a Stalker. Most importantly, if we asked "what is wrong?" those solutions suggest that what is wrong is that Stalkers aren't Scrappers. Frankly, that's a silly way to look at it.
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Most of the requests for a higher HP cap are because Stalker's base HP was increased a few issues back, but not their max, so that hurts those sets that are supposed to get more from having powers that increase their HP. That's the main reason I ask for it. Having more HP is a benefit for any AT, and every powerset should be able get something from it equally.|
Originally Posted by EvilRyu
I dont see the point of asking for more health. Stalkers are meant to be squishie, it adds to the feel of the AT. Furthermore whatever 1 shots you at 1600 health will still most likely 1 shot you at 2000 health. I never really had issues with survivablity once they fixed defense in issue 7. As for as the resistance well thats just lol resistance sets. Something should have been done to compensate them many issues ago because positional defense has always been the way to go on a stalker.
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For me, I think any changes should keep Stalkers feeling like Stalkers, and much of my suggestions involve following up on the old changes. So:
-increase the Stalker HP cap to match their earlier base boost
-remove or at least triple the "leash" on Stalker's crit boost from teammates, so it's more likely to happen when a team is spread around a little. Thirty feet means they're practically on top of you, which isn't going to happen much. I can understand not wanting to remove it entirely, but make it more usable.
-Make the debuff from a successful Assassin's Strike automatic, increasing the desire to use it as an opener solo or on teams (but not necessarily always the best).
-Make their Build Up 100% damage
I kind of get where requests for higher damage are coming from, but I wonder if upping the reliability of team criticals and Assassin's Strike isn't enough. At some point, Stalkers are going to get too close to Scrappers, or better.
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'right on top of you'!? Seriously?|
Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim
-remove or at least triple the "leash" on Stalker's crit boost from teammates, so it's more likely to happen when a team is spread around a little. Thirty feet means they're practically on top of you, which isn't going to happen much. I can understand not wanting to remove it entirely, but make it more usable.
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If you're going to make a hyperbole, at least admit it. Hell, Dispersion Field is *25ft* and you don't hear complaints that you have to be *right on top of eachother*. Oh, and Footstomp is only *15ft* yet it alone makes SS the mother of all AoE melee sets? Must be a pain needing everything be *right on top of eachother* to get it to work...
That said, I can understand why people want a boost in the range of the crit aura, but concept plays a role in it too. Since it's suppose to simulate the Stalker taking advantage of the distractions his team creates, you'd expect the team needs to actually *be* engaged to do so. I guess extending the range to maybe 35ft wouldn't hurt, but how many teammates fight further than 40ft away from the enemies for extended periods? The ranged guys gotta come in for their Fistful of Arrows/Empty Clips/Frost Breath/Energy Torrent...often closer than its max range of 40ft to get more foes with them.
And in the situation where lots of enemies are scattered thanks to KB or repel or afraid, that's where the Stalker shines because eliminating single targets without needing to bunch up guys for a +dmg aura or a Soul Drain or what have you is exactly how the AT is designed. In that situation, you don't need the full +crit bonuses to do great.
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| I kind of get where requests for higher damage are coming from, but I wonder if upping the reliability of team criticals and Assassin's Strike isn't enough. At some point, Stalkers are going to get too close to Scrappers, or better. |
Note: I sort of leave out Brutes and Doms from the 'damage AT role' mainly because they can do other stuff ontop of damage. If they can't fully rely on their damage role, they can lean a bit on their other role of tanking or aggro management. Which also points out that, if Stalkers can no longer rely on just doing damage in the fashion they're designed to do it, adding another facet to their role wouldn't be out of the question.
i dont mind resist sets on stalkers too much, however a few things that ive felt stalkers really suck at which makes me less likely to play them
since ive never really had issues with the hp cap and whatnot the biggest reason why i dont like stalkers is the extreme lack of AoE except in the case of elec melee and few other select sets
i just absolutely cannot play a MA stalker because there is not even a single AoE attack, i used to have an MA/ninjitsu stalker and i had problems running with teams higher than size of 3 due to the lack of AoE and the squishiness
things that would make me like playing a stalker a bit more:
- add more debuff component to AS (or change AS in some way as right now most of my stalkers hardly use it much or at all on teams cause its not useful)
- i do also agree with hide as an inherent power to give stalkers a little more secondary to pick from, the +def it adds is minimal but it helps on the resist based sets
- make sure ALL stalker offensive sets have at least 1 multi target attack (can be AoE, TAoE, cone, chain, whatever i dont care just 1 power that can hit more than 1 target)
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Well, that's +21% which is added onto your base crit chance of 10% making that 31% which is pretty close to critting 1 out of 3 attacks (or 33.3%). If attacks with inherently high crit chances (like Eagle's Claw or Eviserate which have 15% crit chance) stack with the +crit bonus, then those attacks have a greater than 1/3 chance to crit.|
Originally Posted by Necrotech_Master
honestly i did not even know the stalkers got bonus chance to crit with teammates near them because it is pretty much not noticeable at all, and i think its a good idea for teaming, but it would have to be of larger radius and give like 5-10% bonus crit instead of 3% (3%x7 team mates is only 21% bonus to crit, which is really rare to get in the first place) and as others have mentioned its still random chance and barely if at all noticeable
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Then there's also the point that pets also can be factored into this bonus, so even if the team is spread out, if you've got a Dom, Controller or MM with close range pets, that can put you closer to that 31% bonus. Oh, and you can pick a pet from patron pools too (one that gives you 3 to boot) to ramp your crit chance from 10% to 13-19% depending which pool you take.
I think Stalkers should have their damage increased to the point where they are a functional inverse of Tanks as far as damage (at least as far as being a single-target specialist) and mitigation capacities. I will not say I know enough about the numbers to say specifically what should change, but I think it would work balance-wise to have a noticeable hierarchy among damage and mitigation among the melee classes. I love my Scrappers, and would hate to see them out-damaged by puny little Stalkers, but if Scrappers can out-survive them due to the larger HP pool, AoEs and extra endurance to keep powers going, being out-damaged would be fair.
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Which would be noticeable if ever it was possible to sustain that crit rate. Unless you are fighting a single tough opponent like an AV, you probably NEVER average 31% crit rate for a mission. THAT is why it's not that noticeable.|
Originally Posted by Leo_G
Well, that's +21% which is added onto your base crit chance of 10% making that 31% which is pretty close to critting 1 out of 3 attacks (or 33.3%).
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| If attacks with inherently high crit chances (like Eagle's Claw or Eviserate which have 15% crit chance) stack with the +crit bonus, then those attacks have a greater than 1/3 chance to crit. |
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| Then there's also the point that pets also can be factored into this bonus |
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I can agree with this actually. |
Originally Posted by Gilia
Wouldn't this make all Stalker teams insanely good? 8 players layering on the debuff on an AV so that everyone ends up with something like 40% to critical?
If it was character to character, then if you reduced the crits, you would have to GREATLY increase that +% to crit. This mechanic as you described would have a net effect on average DPS that is far less than defiance is for Blasters. It would slightly assist ST damage against large targets, sure. Also, without the team +% to critical, the average damage of a Stalker, post-AS, still would not match a Scrapper's unless the target was very large, or of moderate difficulty and no one else was damaging it. I think this problem, from the OP on, should include "what do you think is wrong with Stalkers?" It is my perspective that Stalkers are slightly less survivable than Scrappers, can only match Scrapper's ST damage post-AS on large tight packed teams, and can't match a Scrapper's AoE capability. That leaves them typically being built around AS. With a low threat level, little AoE, no taunt powers, and so on, I've never ever felt that the interrupt on AS was unfair or a problem. As it stands, to solidify a defined role, I believe Stalkers need to do as much (or more) ST damage as a Blaster, while maintaining that they are almost as tough as Scrappers. So, if I were castle I would datamine to find the discrepancy in damage between Blasters, Stalkers, and Scrappers, and modifiy the damage modifier and critical chances on Stalkers accordingly. I would not even consider altering the Stalker mechanics so much that (small though it may be) the current Stalker fan base might not be pleased. Removing the interrupt, changing the sets to match Scrappers, and pushing the critical mechanics towards that of a Scrapper's removes what is most of what is unique about Stalkers. It removes the point of playing a Stalker. Most importantly, if we asked "what is wrong?" those solutions suggest that what is wrong is that Stalkers aren't Scrappers. Frankly, that's a silly way to look at it. |
I wouldn't like to see the uniqueness of Stalkers be removed, as I like thier current role as well, I just think that they could--and should--perform that role better. I made some suggestions a page back, and I think those would really keep the Stalker's uniqueness and it's role on a team, whithout changing things too drastically.
I think the main focus, honestly, is Assassin Strike. If that's our "unique-ability" then the dev's need to find a way to leverage it better for us. Increase its damage, slightly decrease activation times, add more debuffs to it. On a much "simpler" focus than what I mentioned earlier, I'd like to see these main things changed/fixed for Stalkers:
- Assassin Strike
1.) Cast Time Reduction: reduced from 3 secs to 2.67 secs.
2.) Increase Chance To Demorilize: increase to between 35% and 50% chance.
3.) ***Add Single Target Debuff Secondary Effect: -500% Regen Rate and -35% def/res(all) for 30 seconds after a "successful" Assassin Strike (from either Placate or Hide). PvE Only.
- Build Up
1.) Increase Damage Buff: increase from current 80% to 100%
I put stars next to the "Secondary Effect Debuff" added to Assassin Strike, as I feel that that is one of the most important and AT defining changes that the dev's could make for us. If the dev's were to add this type of secondary effect to Assassin Strike, we would have a much more defined role as Single Target Specialist. Our ability to remove meaty single targets from the battlefield and for our team would increase dramatically. More teams would find us useful as well during EliteBoss/AV Fights since we would not only provide decent damage support, but also a hefty amount of single target debuffing for our team. This type of debuffing against hard targets, and our ability to take out hard targets, is what will purely define our role for this AT.
I think it would be balanced as well, and here's why; those are some powerful debuff numbers, however, they are done to a single target. They are not aoe, they are not toggled, and they can be interrupted as well as prevented from being perma during an ongoing battle. Plus, to apply it you must sacrafice melee aggro and endure an interrupt, it cannot be applied "on the fly". So we wouldn't be stepping on Corruptor/Defender toes anywhere. At most you could have up to two targets debuffed, and for only 30 seconds at a time, and this could be performed through: (Hide)AS target 1-->pause for AS refresh-->Placate-->AS target 2. Not a very formidible way to attempt to debuff an entire mob spawn, so in no way would this suddenly move Stalkers into the Defender/Corruptor Debuff value range on a team. Heck, a Tanker has a better chance of "aoe" spreading his -res debuff throughout a spawn than we could ever hope to. It would, however, make us invaluable against hard shelled single targets.
If there was nothing else ever changed for Stalkers, THIS--the debuff added to AS--is the one thing I'd like to see happen, as I think it would define us best.
If there's a +3 level Elite Boss or an AV on a mission that's giving the team hell, I wanna hear teams say: "Wow, we need a Stalker so we can put a dent in this guy." and not only say "need Blaster, Brute, or Scrapper.....lolstalkerz". These simple changes, especially the single target debuff secondary effect added to Assassin Strike, could make that possible. That's my dream, hope, and solution for Stalkers.
I'll have to second Biospark and Dechs.
I think stalkers should have a 1.130 (which is .005 higher then what scrapper have) melee damage scale, and boost their hp caps to 2007.95. This will allow stalkers to be single target beasts, but due to scrappers having easier access to AoEs, and more offensive secondaries, scrappers will not be put aside for stalkers.
why 2007.95? cuz its right between what they have now (1606.4) and scrappers caps (2409.5) This way stalkers can get more benefit from +hp accolades, set bonuses, and powers (dull pain can be more then a nice heal)