Stalkers always, bar Spines, get the short end of the AoE stick.
I was quite miffed when Eviscerate got changed from a Cone to an ST attack. I would have minded less if they'd given it a less stupid animation and a shorter animation time to boot. But hey.
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.
 |
Quote:
Fix'd.|
Originally Posted by Techbot Alpha
Stalkers always, bar Spines, Electric Melee and Dark melee, get the short end of the AoE stick.
|
That said, I actually have to agree with Brandx, kind of. MA without Dragontail looks not as amazing...I could care less about the lack of AoE, but without the animation, I can't push myself to stick with my MA stalker.
Quote:
I forgot about that! And if I recall that change came much later in Stalker Claws too!|
Originally Posted by Techbot Alpha
Stalkers always, bar Spines, get the short end of the AoE stick.
I was quite miffed when Eviscerate got changed from a Cone to an ST attack. I would have minded less if they'd given it a less stupid animation and a shorter animation time to boot. But hey. |
So there is precedence for this.
However, with my suggestion this has less to do with wanting AOE, and really me just wanting the attack for it's animation.
I LOVE THE SWEEP!
I mean really, I didn't see it do all that much more for me in damage, on my MA/WP or MA/Regen. But I love the attack for it's animation!
BrandX Future Staff Fighter
The BrandX Collection
Quote:
Leo gets it! *nods*
|
Originally Posted by Leo_G
Fix'd.
That said, I actually have to agree with Brandx, kind of. MA without Dragontail looks not as amazing...I could care less about the lack of AoE, but without the animation, I can't push myself to stick with my MA stalker. |
BrandX Future Staff Fighter
The BrandX Collection
Heh, I forgot Elec, as I sometimes do. But Dark? Really?
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.
|
Quote:
Maybe Leo can really leverage Shadow Maul for all it's worth every single time?
|
Originally Posted by Techbot Alpha
Heh, I forgot Elec, as I sometimes do. But Dark? Really?
|
BrandX Future Staff Fighter
The BrandX Collection
Quote:
Actually, I can. In fact, that's all my SD/DM tanker does is shadow maul/sand of mu stuff, at least solo anyway. If there's more than 2 foes and they stick to melee range, I average 3 foes every time and it's not uncommon to get 5. It just takes a side step and foes that aren't huge that take up a lot of space.|
Originally Posted by BrandX
Maybe Leo can really leverage Shadow Maul for all it's worth every single time?
|
But I don't understand why people consider Dark Consumption or Soul Drain as 'AoE' in DM. Yeah, if you have ridiculous amounts of +rech you might be able to use it once a spawn but that's an outlier example for not much AoE gain. I'd be better off leveraging Shadow Maul as that thing recharges way faster to begin with and hits harder.
Stalkers and their hidden criticals crap have always annoyed me. On the one hand, you WANT Head Splitter to be a cone so it can hit more people. On the other hand, you DON'T want Head Splitter to be a cone since then it only has a 60% chance to score a hidden critical. It's one of the many things which cripple their AT on a technical level. Personally, I feel they should have gotten their own sets, or at least have received a new power or two. Aside from Ninjutsu, this didn't happen.
On Martial Arts itself... I don't know. The one Martial Arts Stalker I have uses a large metal arm, so Dragon's Tail probably wouldn't have fit visually anyway, especially with digitigrade legs. On the performance side, I'm not sure it makes much of a difference, considering I feel Martial Arts is already one of the better sets for Stalkers. Dragon's Tail really isn't a very good AoE. It's more like a token power so Martial Arts isn't Dark Melee to begin with.
I definitely WOULD NOT want to lose any of the single-target attacks off the set for an AoE which isn't all that strong to begin with. It looks cool sometimes, yes, but not cool enough to justify the performance shift. Not unless there's a larger, more universal fix for Stalkers.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
|
Quote:
With the new changes to MA, why would one want to use Thunderkick?
|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Stalkers and their hidden criticals crap have always annoyed me. On the one hand, you WANT Head Splitter to be a cone so it can hit more people. On the other hand, you DON'T want Head Splitter to be a cone since then it only has a 60% chance to score a hidden critical. It's one of the many things which cripple their AT on a technical level. Personally, I feel they should have gotten their own sets, or at least have received a new power or two. Aside from Ninjutsu, this didn't happen.
On Martial Arts itself... I don't know. The one Martial Arts Stalker I have uses a large metal arm, so Dragon's Tail probably wouldn't have fit visually anyway, especially with digitigrade legs. On the performance side, I'm not sure it makes much of a difference, considering I feel Martial Arts is already one of the better sets for Stalkers. Dragon's Tail really isn't a very good AoE. It's more like a token power so Martial Arts isn't Dark Melee to begin with. I definitely WOULD NOT want to lose any of the single-target attacks off the set for an AoE which isn't all that strong to begin with. It looks cool sometimes, yes, but not cool enough to justify the performance shift. Not unless there's a larger, more universal fix for Stalkers. |
BrandX Future Staff Fighter
The BrandX Collection
some part of me thinks that stalker would honestly be a much better AT if Placate and Hide were also inherent powers.
Click here to find all the All Things Art Threads!
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
City of Heroes is a game about freedom of expression and variety of experiences far more so than it is about representing any one theme, topic or genre.
|
Quote:
Then use Disembowel >_>|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Stalkers and their hidden criticals crap have always annoyed me. On the one hand, you WANT Head Splitter to be a cone so it can hit more people. On the other hand, you DON'T want Head Splitter to be a cone since then it only has a 60% chance to score a hidden critical.
|
A crit Disembowel will do 470dmg 100% while a crit Headsplitter will do 630dmg 50% of the time.
It's about opportunity cost. Use the headsplitter crit if you can line up 3 or more guys (pretty easy if you practice) and use the disembowel crit > headsplitter to just take stuff out. The difference between the doing headsplitter(crit)> disembowel vs disembowel(crit)> headsplitter is like 80 dmg. Not really something to get *that* worked up over, IMO.
Quote:
atleast they removed the endurance cost from hide. That was a much needed QoL.
|
Originally Posted by AzureSkyCiel
some part of me thinks that stalker would honestly be a much better AT if Placate and Hide were also inherent powers.
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by VoodooGirl
[*]Watching out for the Spinning Disco Portal of D00M!*
|
Quote:
Because it looks cool, and because it adds more attacks to an attack chain without requiring me to sacrifice slotting for recharge or dealing with the right headache that is Inventions.|
Originally Posted by BrandX
With the new changes to MA, why would one want to use Thunderkick?
|
Because Stalkers lose one attack for Assassin's Strike, which is generally not useful in the middle of combat, they also lose out on the number of attacks they have to their name.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Leo_G
Then use Disembowel >_>
A crit Disembowel will do 470dmg 100% while a crit Headsplitter will do 630dmg 50% of the time. It's about opportunity cost. Use the headsplitter crit if you can line up 3 or more guys (pretty easy if you practice) and use the disembowel crit > headsplitter to just take stuff out. The difference between the doing headsplitter(crit)> disembowel vs disembowel(crit)> headsplitter is like 80 dmg. Not really something to get *that* worked up over, IMO. |
I've said it before - I want to see Stalker cones guarantee a critical on JUST the enemy you have targeted, with the rest of the targets sharing the standard 60%. I'm not sure if that's technically possible, but it would go some way towards making Stalkers feel bugged than they do now. Placate bugs, aggro distribution bugs, awkward Hide mechanics, demoralisation effects fizzling if your target dies...
The AT is solid, more or less, but only when it comes to numbers balance. When it comes to the mechanics which make the AT work, it honestly feels like a half-***** job, which is a shame because Stalkers ARE fun to play. And I say this as a fan of AoE. Even as single-target strikers, they're still fun enough to make it worth the play.
*edit*
On the "just use Disembowel" side of things, Electrical Melee has no decent hidden critical power. Jacob's Ladder is a cone, Thunder Strike only has a guaranteed critical on its smashing damage part (which is about as much as Havoc Punch) and Lightning Rod doesn't score criticals. Best guaranteed critical damage the set can pull off is an even split between Havoc Punch, Chain Induction's initial jolt and Thunder Strike's smashing damage component. That's pretty bad for guaranteed criticals, to be honest, especially with how hard it is to get in a position where those are viable, and especially with how often Placate gets interrupted before you're done animating it.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
|
Quote:
It could be possible, in theory at least. If they used a modified version of Chain Induction.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
I've said it before - I want to see Stalker cones guarantee a critical on JUST the enemy you have targeted, with the rest of the targets sharing the standard 60%. I'm not sure if that's technically possible, but it would go some way towards making Stalkers feel bugged than they do now. Placate bugs, aggro distribution bugs, awkward Hide mechanics, demoralisation effects fizzling if your target dies...
|
Maybe?
I sit in my zen of not being able to do anything right while simultaniously not being able to do anything wrong. Om. -CuppaJo
It is by caffeine alone that I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning. It is by caffeine alone that I set my mind in motion.
Quote:
I don't know. I know powers like Thunder Strike use a tiered effect system, where some effects have a range of 0 while others have a range equal to that listed for the power. However, since Cones are essentially AoEs focused on you and covering only a slice of their full circumference, setting their range to 0 will probably make these effects unable to hit anything. It's all fiddly under-the-hood stuff that we haven't been told much about. Arcana will probably know.|
Originally Posted by KianaZero
It could be possible, in theory at least. If they used a modified version of Chain Induction.
Maybe? |
Really, when it comes to Stalkers, I have three major gripes that I feel make them feel bugged:
1. "Pseudo-cones" that are balanced as single-target attacks don't get guaranteed criticals.
2. Hide is unreliable, as ambushes see through it, and enemies on teams can still attack you even if you take no aggressive action just because you enter their threat list as part of the team which attacked them.
3. Placate is a crapshot. Sometimes it persists through multiple damage ticks if you placated after the enemy powers fired, so you can score a hidden critical. Sometimes you get interrupted before your unreasonably long Placate animation is even done playing. Plus, placated enemies will remember you and chase you down if you left a debuff on them.
Of those three, the first one is the only one that's relevant. Stalker multi-target attacks have a low chance to score hidden criticals, at least as compared to the 100% chance of single-target attacks. This is done so that Stalker AoE isn't overpowered as it would otherwise be, but it leaves many powers underpowered for the purposes of a Stalker.
Dragon's Tail is one such power. It looks cool, it adds a decent amount of AoE damage, but it would end up replacing a single-target attack, and thus compromising a single-target attack chain, which is really where Stalkers shine. Martial Arts is thus far the only Stalker set I've played that had this solid an attack chain this early in the game, and this persists even until later on. Compared to something like Electrical Melee, or even to something like Katana, that's pretty good. I wouldn't want to mess with that performance.
Though at the same time, I would like to see an alternate animation for Dragon's Tail to the effect of Zangief's Lariat
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
|
Quote:
i.e., it isn't in the context of balance which is what you're arguing about.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Aside from Disembowel being a scale 1.9 attack and Head Splitter a scale 2.6 attack, it's a matter of principle.
|
Quote:
| A Stalker's greatest power is his ability to deliver massive front-loaded damage, so it makes sense I'd like to deliver that with my strongest attacks for massive criticals. However, many Scrapper sets' strongest attacks are cones or AoEs, which shoots that idea full of holes. |
Quote:
| I've said it before - I want to see Stalker cones guarantee a critical on JUST the enemy you have targeted, with the rest of the targets sharing the standard 60%. I'm not sure if that's technically possible, but it would go some way towards making Stalkers feel bugged than they do now. Placate bugs, aggro distribution bugs, awkward Hide mechanics, demoralisation effects fizzling if your target dies... |
Quote:
| On the "just use Disembowel" side of things, Electrical Melee has no decent hidden critical power. Jacob's Ladder is a cone, Thunder Strike only has a guaranteed critical on its smashing damage part (which is about as much as Havoc Punch) and Lightning Rod doesn't score criticals. Best guaranteed critical damage the set can pull off is an even split between Havoc Punch, Chain Induction's initial jolt and Thunder Strike's smashing damage component. That's pretty bad for guaranteed criticals, to be honest, especially with how hard it is to get in a position where those are viable, and especially with how often Placate gets interrupted before you're done animating it. |
I do like playing my Brutes and Scrappers, but I can tell by how they function, speaking independently of the powerset, that their existance skews what semblance of balance the game has. That's why I don't actually use them when trying to discuss balance but can compare their performance to Stalkers and gauge that their performance is still adequate.
We all know that the game is all about AoE, but I honestly don't feel ST needs to be broken to compensate.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Of those three, the first one is the only one that's relevant. Stalker multi-target attacks have a low chance to score hidden criticals, at least as compared to the 100% chance of single-target attacks.
|
Quote:
| Dragon's Tail is one such power. It looks cool, it adds a decent amount of AoE damage, but it would end up replacing a single-target attack, and thus compromising a single-target attack chain, which is really where Stalkers shine. Martial Arts is thus far the only Stalker set I've played that had this solid an attack chain this early in the game, and this persists even until later on. Compared to something like Electrical Melee, or even to something like Katana, that's pretty good. I wouldn't want to mess with that performance. |
Quote:
That's not entirely true. There are several powers which are, in practice, cones, but are actually balanced as single-target attacks, and Head Splitter is one of them. It has the damage-to-cost and damage over time ratio of a single-target attack, not an attack with its cone range and angle. The same holds true for both Dark Maul and Jacob's Ladder. You can argue that that's not the case for Stalkers, and that with Stalkers, these powers suffer for being cones, but that just means Stalkers get even more gimped versions of Scrapper primaries, which I don't think is an argument that they really need.|
Originally Posted by Leo_G
No it doesn't. You want to deliver the massive front-loaded damage with your most strongest attack, you can. Simply *use* it properly, i.e. Headsplitter is built and balanced to hit several foes in a line. If you can't be bothered to try to BU+crit multiple foes in a line with it, then you probably have no business using it for a purpose it isn't for >_>
|
Powers like Head Splitter/Golden Dragonfly have always been both described and treated as single-target attacks for which the ability to hit multiple targets is a secondary effect, and this is coming from developer commentary and in-game resources. This is true across Scrappers, Brutes, Tankers and really anyone else who has access to melee.
Additionally, powers aren't and don't have to be balanced against each other one-on-one, so there's no need for Eagle's Claw to be equal to Head Splitter. It's a question of set-to-set balance, which I actually feel favours Martial Arts on a Stalker.
Quote:
| Stepping away from my argument for a moment...I honestly don't know many that would complain over losing the weakest power of the set for the PBAoE back. MA losing Thunder Kick? Who cares? Cobra Strike is better! Use that! |
Again, I'm sure you can make an argument for massive recharge slotting or Inventions or Incarnates and how the game has been moving into the realm of skipping attacks and focusing on global recharge, but that's really not the point. Inventions are not the point, and Incarnates are stuck at 50. Recharge slotting does work, but again - when slots permit, and that still doesn't happen until the later levels.
I like Martial Arts for Stalkers as it is and feel no particular desire to have Dragon's Tail. You can choose to try and convince me or ignore me, but you're still arguing about the status quo, and "it doesn't break anything" has never been a successful argument as far back as I remember.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
|
Quote:
And yet they can hit more than one target. These powers only suffer for being cones if you don't hit more than one target. Otherwise, it's like hitting several foes with Midnight Grasp with a chance of doing double the damage. Is it just me or are you specifically discounting that part? That you can possibly get Midnight Grasp crit damage on half of 5 enemies?|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
That's not entirely true. There are several powers which are, in practice, cones, but are actually balanced as single-target attacks, and Head Splitter is one of them. It has the damage-to-cost and damage over time ratio of a single-target attack, not an attack with its cone range and angle.
|
Quote:
| Powers like Head Splitter/Golden Dragonfly have always been both described and treated as single-target attacks... |
Quote:
| Additionally, powers aren't and don't have to be balanced against each other one-on-one, so there's no need for Eagle's Claw to be equal to Head Splitter. It's a question of set-to-set balance, which I actually feel favours Martial Arts on a Stalker. |
Quote:
|
It's not a I don't know if it's intentional, but you complete to miss or ignore the point. I'm not saying that Thunder Kick is so great. What I'm saying is that having ANOTHER ATTACK is great, and Thunder Kick is still significantly better than Kick and Boxing. I don't and can't use Cobra Strike INSTEAD OF Thunder Kick, but I can use it IN ADDITION to it, which is what I do. Show me a way to take Cobra Strike three times and I will gladly lose both Thunder Kick and Storm Kick. Be like what Genin get with their upgrade - "Another Shuriken" for a total of two identical powers that amount to one power which can be used twice. Again, I'm sure you can make an argument for massive recharge slotting or Inventions or Incarnates and how the game has been moving into the realm of skipping attacks and focusing on global recharge, but that's really not the point. Inventions are not the point, and Incarnates are stuck at 50. Recharge slotting does work, but again - when slots permit, and that still doesn't happen until the later levels. I like Martial Arts for Stalkers as it is and feel no particular desire to have Dragon's Tail. You can choose to try and convince me or ignore me, but you're still arguing about the status quo, and "it doesn't break anything" has never been a successful argument as far back as I remember. |
Perma-hasten would have been Stalker's Perma-domination, really. And certain buffs would favor Stalkers over Scrappers.
Personally, I feel Stalkers were rushed at the design stage, and have been left rushed ever since. Castle's additions went a long way towards helping them become a legitimate AT (and I feel they succeeded), but it was obvious he was only doing lowest-cost alterations, because the deeper bugs harming them were left in place.
Why this is relevant is that if I were designing Stalkers, I'd have rebalanced their entire sets to be uniquely their own, like what was done with Dominator Assault sets, or like what was originally done (badly) with Blaster Manipulation sets. These arguments come up because, rather than Stalker sets, what Stalkers get is Scrapper and Tanker sets with a power swapped out for Assassin's Strike and Taunt/Confront swapped for Placate, as well as secondaries with one power swapped out for hide.
If sets are not designed based on a direct pairing between individual powers - as has been said officially in the past, then it stands to reason that there wouldn't be one equivalent power in every set that can be removed to make room for Assassin's Strike, and therefore that the conversion from Scrapper/Tanker to Stalker hurt some sets more than others. It's a slapdash approach which leaves an AT with exactly these questions to be asked about it.
---
To be perfectly honest, I don't believe Stalkers had any business being melee/defence to begin with. They should have been Assault/Defence, or something close to it. But that's just me doing wishful thinking.
When are the servers coming back up? It's been all ******* day.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
|
Quote:
Assault/defense? Bleh. Why?|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
To be perfectly honest, I don't believe Stalkers had any business being melee/defence to begin with. They should have been Assault/Defence, or something close to it. But that's just me doing wishful thinking. When are the servers coming back up? It's been all ******* day. |
As is, ranged blasts usually do less damage than melee with the only advantage being they often cover more area. I'd definitely have kept them just like they are (I have grown to love how the AT plays and have become accustomed to their style. It has made me a pretty aware melee player as a whole, really). But if we were replacing a power for AS, I'd have choosen the tier 1s with the exception of DM which would have had Dark Consumption replaced instead, and Katana/BS would would have had the tier 2 replaced. All their attacks would have had a minor scale increase with a subsequent cost increase and complemented that with specific adjustments to powers (like EC having even higher scale for increased cost, adjusted range on cones like 1kcuts). And rather than scaling crit rates with nearby teammates, it'd be a straight scaling crit damage for each teammate.
It'd be all about the opportunity cost, not about overall dmg output. That's what I like about Stalkers and that's what I would have emphasized. Scaling crit rate gives you improved DPS in scrapping situations. Having your crits go from 2x dmg to 4.25x on a full team means, if you can crit, it will do more than enough to compensate. And when you AS, it *will* hurt. And if you use an AoE, even a dinky one, it will hammer hard when it is used properly.
Quote:
This
|
Originally Posted by BrandX
I keep wanting to make a MA/ Stalker, but Martial Arts without Dragon's Tail is just so...so...so lacking!
|
Quote:
Not necessarily. Most of this discrepancy comes from AT mods, as ATs that have access to both tend to have lower ranged damage mods. A typical Scrapper/Tanker tiering of attacks tends to be scale 0.64 (Jab, Thunder Kick), 1.0 (Punch, Energy Punch) 1.64 (Bone Smasher, Cremate) and 1.9 (Disembowel, Heavy Mallet). This is not too unlike Blast tiering, which goes something like 0.64 (Power Bolt, Snap Shot) 1.0 (Burst, Lightning Bolt), 1.64 (Slug, Lightning Blast) and then all the way up to 2.2 (Power Burst, Cosmic Burst).|
Originally Posted by Leo_G
Assault/defense? Bleh. Why? As is, ranged blasts usually do less damage than melee with the only advantage being they often cover more area.
|
The reason Blaster melee attacks are so strong is because they "cheat." Regular Energy Punch is 1.0, while Blaster Energy Punch is 2.2, and regular Bone Smasher is 1.64 while Blaster Bone Smasher is 2.6. However, when given equal AT mods, there's no reason why ranged attacks can't keep up with melee.
I don't disbelieve you've grown comfortable with Stalkers and enjoy the playstyle. I have, as well. But in large part, this is the function of status quo. That's how the AT is, that's how it always was (more or less) so we adapted and learned to play it like that. But it just seems to be to be too... Faceless, and at the same time errant to design Stalkers this way. They could have been their own AT incomparable to others in the same way Dominators are, or indeed the same way as Masterminds, but instead they came out playing like Scrappers with more criticals and less AoE.
Not that there's anything wrong with playing Scrappers, mind you, but it just seems like the AT was rushed so as to use existing assets when its own unique assets, designed with its own unique gimmicks in mind would have made for a much more robust and a much less bugged AT.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
|
Quote:
Looking at Redtomax, not sure if the number are up to date...:|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Not necessarily. Most of this discrepancy comes from AT mods, as ATs that have access to both tend to have lower ranged damage mods. A typical Scrapper/Tanker tiering of attacks tends to be scale 0.64 (Jab, Thunder Kick), 1.0 (Punch, Energy Punch) 1.64 (Bone Smasher, Cremate) and 1.9 (Disembowel, Heavy Mallet). This is not too unlike Blast tiering, which goes something like 0.64 (Power Bolt, Snap Shot) 1.0 (Burst, Lightning Bolt), 1.64 (Slug, Lightning Blast) and then all the way up to 2.2 (Power Burst, Cosmic Burst).
|
Jab is 0.68 scale dmg. Thunder Kick is 0.84 scale dmg. Cremate is 2.04 scale dmg while Fire Sword is 1.64. And while some blasts tend to follow a similar scale, others do not and melee tend to have more of those higher scale attacks while the blasts have snipes and nukes.
As for the assault sets, I haven't played one of my doms in quite a while so really couldn't speak from experience just how good they are. I'm pretty sure they're great but I honestly wouldn't choose them for a Stalker. A Stalker just isn't a Stalker without Lightning Rod, Midnight Grasp, Eagle's Claw, 1kcuts, Throw Spines, and many of the other tier 9s that they will ultimately lack with an Assault set.
Quote:
Blame my rotten memory, then |
Originally Posted by Leo_G
Jab is 0.68 scale dmg. Thunder Kick is 0.84 scale dmg. Cremate is 2.04 scale dmg while Fire Sword is 1.64. And while some blasts tend to follow a similar scale, others do not and melee tend to have more of those higher scale attacks while the blasts have snipes and nukes.
|
I didn't double-check my numbers, for which I apologise, but it's thereabout. Or should be.Quote:
| As for the assault sets, I haven't played one of my doms in quite a while so really couldn't speak from experience just how good they are. I'm pretty sure they're great but I honestly wouldn't choose them for a Stalker. A Stalker just isn't a Stalker without Lightning Rod, Midnight Grasp, Eagle's Claw, 1kcuts, Throw Spines, and many of the other tier 9s that they will ultimately lack with an Assault set. |
When I say "assault," I mean that in the general sense, which is to say a powerset which combines range and melee. Assault sets play in a bit of an... Interesting way. Dominators being squishy, I ended up kiting my enemies, which may or may not be a decent strategy for a Stalker, but I do know I'd use them to scrap with given Stalker level resilience. I just feel that Stalkers should be "dirty trick" fighters, and that includes harassing the enemy from afar.
More than anything else, though, going into a mix melee/range set would have forced developers to re-evaluate their powersets and build them from scratch specifically for Stalkers, rather than doing the least possible to retrofit a Scrapper set to an AT that isn't a Scrapper.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
|
I know there's the cottage rule and all, but I say we pushthat aside and fix this set!
Remove Thunderkick! Add in Dragon's Tail!
I keep wanting to make a MA/ Stalker, but Martial Arts without Dragon's Tail is just so...so...so lacking!
BrandX Future Staff Fighter
The BrandX Collection