How do you fight with a Stalker?

Hello all.

I bought Staff today and was happily making a Staff/Ice Stalker when I stopped in my tracks, backed out of the creation screen, and came to the forums to look for a Stalker tutorial, not for a Staff/Ice tut, but for info on how to play a modern Stalker!

I looked about and am still clueless.

I made a stalker long, long, time ago and the play style was hit with your AS, then run away until AS is back again, rinse and repeat, and whatever you do, do not hit anyone unless you are hidden.

I gave up in disgust.

I have read about the changes to Stalkers and want to try my hand at one again, Staff/Ice,...but how do you play them now???? What are the mechanics???

With my Brutes and Scraps I wade right in and start whacking away..what does a solo Stalker do when faced with a mob????

How do you fight with a Stalker????


Lisa-Puzzled big time.

With the new change, you don't have much delay. If you solo or on a small team, you are mostly likely going to start the fight with BU + Assassin Strike or BU + one of your aoe. After that, just keep attacking until you see 3 stacks of Focus and unleash that awesome Assassin Strike on another target so you don't overkill.

Basically, the new Stalker has a very powerful and fast ST attack. Your goal is to find that annoying target and eliminate. It's not always the boss though because that damage alone can kill off a Lt and save a lot of trouble. IE: Tsoo's Sorcerer, Night Widow, Gunslinger, etc. They should be killed first because you CAN do it fast.


Just don't hit and run. That's so 2007.

Don't take Placate at lvl 12. Use that choice on a defensive toggle or another attack. Some stalkers complain that they survive bad and that's because they chose all the offensive powers first and ignored defensive powers until later. Find a good balance. Placate won't help that much at low level because you don't have the recharge to use it often and you usually don't have a strong follow up attack. If you take one more regular attack, it will help you build Focus too. You can respec it out later if you feel it's too many attacks.

Stab stuff in the face. Rinse, repeat.

Jibikao, I can do that...thank you for taking the time to answer my question

And Agent White, I like your style

Watch Out Paragon City, Victory Server, here I cooooome

Lisa.

Completely agree with Jibikao. Stay in there and fight. I still take Placate, but I didn't take it as soon as it became available on my baby stalker; I took that opportunity to grab her self heal instead, but taking another attack would also have been a good option (if I weren't skipping my tier3), to help build up focus. Have fun! I hope you come to love your stalker(s) as much as I love mine.

AS from hide to start off, but you should be able to stay in the fight and scrap as effectively as a scrapper.

You lose AoE and some hitpoints compared to Scrappers in the abstract, but comparing specific sets that is less true or significant.

Build up stacks of Assassin's Focus and then pop someone.

Placate is basically optional now. If you take it at all, take it late.

If you put the Stalker ATO Chance to Hide enhancement in Assassins Strike, you go right back into hide after your initial opening AS. That makes your next attack a crit.

Stalkers have drastically changed since this update. Much more fun to play. If you manage to get the full stalker IO set put it in AS it gets even better on damage. Pretty much every stalker from here on out should put a really heavy focus towards recharge.

When I'm a lowbie = Make bosses disappear.
When I'm 50 with all the AoE and recharge goodness = Make everything disappear.

Yeah since the change I find I'm using placate less as a means to do more damage and more as a momentary pause against a hard target.

Im looking at only using Placate (if at all) as a kind of OHHH S**T button to break agro from a tough target if/when im in danger of dieing and no other options.
Kind of like a T9 Godmode power without the godmode or the crash and only affects 1 target... doesnt sound that great even then so will prob skip entirely (also allows Recall Friend to be taken earlier )

I still take placate at 12. Its useful and fun. Ever since inherent fitness, I have not had to delay powers much on any characters, so I go ahead attacks, defenses, and placate, as soon as they appear for the most part.

Lewis

I play my Stalker like I played my Stalker back in i6 (EM/SR)..like a Scrapper with a better Stealth Pool!

Yup. I just run into melee and scrap it out!

i22 didn't change that. It made it better!

Just so you know, you NEVER played a stalker like this: AS, run away to rehide, AS, run away to rehide, AS. Whoever told you so had no idea what they were talking about at all.

Now then...How you play a stalker today: You play them like a scrapper, as always. With Assassin's Focus you can choose who to throw a nasty crit to, as well as starting off a fight taking out a particularly nasty boss/lieutenant enemy. Which, as it turns out, is what everyone else is saying.

Oh well, repetition is a good thing!

What are people's experience with "Hide" ATO? I have never gotten a stalker past lvl 33 so far but would like to go back and work on them. After I hidden I find my target in the group of mobs and use Build up and AS then I start scrapping it out.

I do not have have feel for how after using assassin strike and start scrapping how could I make the best use of the special protocol when it triggers. I get into button mashing mode or trying to line a AoE that I could miss the advantage of becoming "hidden" again.

Celtic Fist

Well for the HIDE ATO, it's largely agreed that putting it in AS is actually the best place. AS has a near 100% chance to trigger, won't cause wonkyness with an attack chain, and eliminates the potential for a unwanted HIDDEN AS.

so HIDDEN BU+AS-> reHIDDEN + Crit on next attack simple an easy to work with.

Damn, gotta stock up on Stalker ATOs then. It was pretty cheap when it came out. lol

I play only ninja stalkers now with that out of the way I treat my stalkers like scrappers but with an assassin strike. I have a BS/Ninja and before the new stalker buff I could do +2x8 sometimes +3 with no issues for a short while given it wasnt something evil with end drain or carnies. On teams I AS the boss and since my stalker is a Vig I pop my Fear Incarnate right after. It helps save my stalker and gives time for the tank to charge in. It is also good in a pinch for the squishies. I also took blinding powder to confuse (the purple proc helps so much). I also placed the Rag proc on my caltrops it helps me fight solo and helps the team if there is way to much for the tank to taunt. Other than that my stalkers are just scrappers with a hide and AS. Thats how I play my stalkers.