Stalker Improvement Idea (Momentum)

Had this idea reading a post from Sam describing how momentum works. I don't feel like pulling up the post, but Synapse described Titan Weapon's momentum mechanic as power swapping. When you hit with a power that grants the user a 'momentum' buff, all your TW attacks then use an alternate power which has a faster activation (basically, the TW attacks, sans the attacks that can only be used with momentum active, are basically 2 different powers that can be called by a self-status mode).

How this relates to Stalkers? Assassin's Strike, of course.

Before:
We didn't have such technology to swap powers/activations by any means, a power was static on all accounts except the numbers when going into a PvP zone.

Now:
The devs have the technology to swap either whole activation animations or possibly the power as a whole. And they can do so via a mode indicator.

So what can/should/must we seek from this? I don't know the possibilities, but flinging around ideas...let's go!

1. Making it so AS has the normal animation while hidden but a faster animation out of hidden. Basically, if the damage weren't to change, it would add a decent ST moderately fast attack to every Stalker attack chain while keeping the balance relatively similar. Depending on how fast it'd be, might result in an improvement to straight up DPS. Non-crit AS does hit with some decent damage...

2. Making AS fast while hidden and slow while not hidden. Making it an attack that is very fast if you use it from ambush but while seen you have to aim it. This would make the opening volley for stalkers easier and compatible with more playstyles but less useful in every un-hidden situation. However, if the attack always crit, you might still get a good use from it if you can manage not to get hit...

3. Swapping AS with something else completely. Although I don't agree, adding AoE to Stalkers is something people often request is necessary. Making AS a hard hitting ST attack while hidden and a decent ST attack with splash AoE regularly might be a possibility...

I think the #1 complaint about Stalkers is the lack of damage, especially AOE. Turing AS into an AOE when not hidden is a very interesting idea. I would couple that with either making Stalker crits +150% or +200% damage and/or making the Stalker melee damage modifier 1.293.

Stalkers don't survive as well as Scrappers, so need to out damage them.

WARNING: I bold names.

I really like #1 idea. Given how I *never* use AS except for from hide, that's a power that's only seeing use about 10% of the time. Which is a bit of a waste, 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.

I remember that post

Honestly, I would like to see all three to the point where I'm really not sure what I'd choose. If I HAD to choose, I'd choose for the one that makes Assassin's Strike less situational in general use, but still situational if you want the Assassination Critical, so I guess my call would still go for Idea 2.

Speaking of idea 3, actually, I have sort of a counter-suggestion on the subject. If the system really does support out-and-out swapping powers depending on a "mode" flag, then this presents us with the opportunity to reimagine Assassin's Strike altogether, into what I'd like to call a "speciality" attack. Let me explain.

A Stalker's Speciality attack, rather than all being close of the same Assassin's Strike, is actually unique to the Stalker's primary set such that it complements the set and balances what the set doesn't have, both in and out of Hide. For instance, if you're playing a Martial Arts Stalker, you have NO AoE whatsoever, so this Stalker's Speciality Attack out of hide would be a decent AoE, while in hide, it would be more or less the same as the existing Assassin's Strike, only with a Mag 4 relatively long stun on top of the Demoralisation effect. If, by contrast, you're running an Electric Melee Stalker, then your Speciality attack out of Hide would be a heavy single-target attack, while from hide it would be an Assassin's Strike with a SEVERE endurance drain and recovery suppression attached to it.

One of the big problems with giving AoE to Stalkers is that not all Stalkers need it. The ones who need it, need it bad. The ones who don't may actually be broken by it. If we are able to tailor the Speciality attack such that out of hide it compensates for the set's weakness while from hide it capitalises on its strength, that might be one HUGE step in the right direction.

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As a side note, many of those suggestions have an implicit pre-requisite: That Assassin's Strike, at least out of hide, be made uninterruptible. Right now, the power is thrice-cursed. It's interruptible so you can't use it in battle, most of its damage is restricted to its Assassination Critical from hide, and even when you do manage to use it in a scrap, it's too slow to be of any real use. Making the out-of-hide Assassin's Strike worth a crap would actually go a long way towards making Assassin's Strike as a whole feel like less of a gimmick, and it would actually go a long way towards limiting complaints about the power's "from hide" performance.

Thanks for posting this, Leo. I feel that if this is acted upon in line with any of your three ideas, this might be as big for Stalkers as the ye olde Stalker fixes.

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 personally still feel Stalkers need an AoE Placate.