StrikerFox

Variety between the Stalker primaries would be welcome. If they can find a way to make it work so that it's still comparable to BU, I would be all for it. I like the idea of having FU and BF since they can build AF. Not sure how they and Soul Drain, Power Siphon and Staff Mastery stances would interact with ATO2.

I agree with you, you're suggestion totally makes sense. I did a couple runs using that chain and ended up with 124s and 125s, for 437 dps and 435 dps. Switched back to the original chain and got 110s for 476 dps. It's the exact same build. No reslotting was required to go from one chain to the other. I probably need to do more testing to figure out why. Guessing it's just bad rng. Random misses and proc activations. Wish I could post videos. People used to tell me where I'm messing up back during live.

Back during live, I was able to solo and beat almost all the GMs with StJ/SR. I couldn't defeat Jack in Irons and Lusca, though it wasn't really SR that was the problem. It was their heavy smashing damage resistance. Wasn't able to bring their hp down fast enough. The only thing I would be concerned about is Energy Transfer doing damage to yourself since SR doesn't have a heal. Maybe less with SR's scaling damage resistance.

Tried a EM/SR Stalker on Beta. Using [BU]-AS-TF-[BU]-ET-BS-EP-repeat attack chain. Time of 103 secs, for 500 dps. T4 Musculature Core Alpha T4 Degenerative Core Interface T4 Assault Hybrid (Not toggled) It worked out well. Stalker's Guile crit TF every other cycle, ET's cast time was always 1s thanks to two stacks of EF. I think that's really good for a first try and can probably still improve by a lot. Getting more recharge and eliminating EP from the chain would knock off a bunch of time.

I was going to test EM on Beta and if I like it, pair it with EA on Excelsior. Fairly easy to softcap to most damage types, decent resistances, end mitigation and a heal. Funny thing, I created the hero on Beta, 99% fully IO'd using the freebie menu, when I noticed the "Auto Enhance" button. Never seen it before so I pressed it. Nothing seemed to happen until going back to the enhancement screen. It switched all the IOs slotted into full sets of Razzle Dazzle, Serendipity and other random sets.

As per Paragon Wiki: https://archive.paragonwiki.com/wiki/Preventive_Medicine:_Absorb_Proc This enhancement has a chance every 5 seconds to give you an absorption barrier. If your health is between 31% and 75%, this power has a 10% chance of triggering. However, if your health is less than 31% there is a 100% chance of triggering. This effect can only trigger once every 90 seconds. Pretty sure it's a 5% chance between 76% and 99%. I have never seen it proc when at full health.

In this scenario, I would use Ragnarok's KD chance IO in Photon Grenade and keep OF in Drones. If you don't need the IO set bonus, I would frankenslot PG with: Accuracy and Endurance. Ragnarok KD chance IO Superior Frozen Blast chance to Immobilize Annihilation chance for Resist Debuff Absolute Amazement chance for -tohit debuff That's a pretty cool power that I never really looked at. An AoE stun and can be slotted to KD, immob, apply -resist and -tohit debuffs. Winner winner, Rikti dinner!

Dark is a secondary that will work well with any primary. It has all the tools to help keep pets/teammates alive. A strong heal (Twilight Grasp), massive AoE resist debuff (Tar Patch), 2 big -tohit debuff (Darkest Night/Fearsome Stare), a big AoE damage debuff (Darkest Night), an AoE rez/stun (Howling Twilight), an additional pet that heals/debuffs (Dark Servant), AoE +def and resist to E/N/P (Shadow Fall). Plus a decent ST hold (Petrifying Gaze). The only outlying power that I haven't found much use for is Black Hole. I think Dark would still perform great built on SOs. I would build for recharge to use Tar Patch, Howling Twilight and Gang War as often as possible. Pet defense should be at around +50% AoE def and +35% to melee/ranged/all types. So one cast of Darkest Night or Fearsome Stare will put all pets at softcap equivalent. Pet defense tally: +17% - Enforcer's Maneuvers x2 (+8.5% each Enforcer) +5% - Shadow Fall (Moderately slotted) +4% - Maneuvers (Moderately slotted) +5% - Edict unique IO +5% - Call to Arms unique IO +15% AoE - Superior Command of the Mastermind unique IO As for pet IOs, I'm a fan of frankenslotting pets to try increase their survivability and damage potential. Thugs: | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;841;397;794;HEX;| |78DA7592CB4EC2401486A71734081210A280E8D6A48B46A27B130111431312C1CB8| |A542C65622FA42D0696BE90EF608C020B1F4217262EBC24EABA1E3B0D250E9E74FA| |CF7CA7F39FD3C948FD62F4BA7CB583987841936DBB29C9B6A3583A36CE4392ACE21| |68720E661AC0499E6614FD74D43AC777AAABD3AC5777BEDB65894AD8BA684655B97| |51A2669A9A58312EB18DCFB0869D41CA23A57E57B1B0AE188EEC60D358F4E01E563| |B0E36D4085969BFCB64A98B5B62A1235BAAE2F736484337028CDB10F2C30DA14F90| |7C18B1DFA0691EB1473CAC79C43F72440BACA773A78437F8C95E7820BCD7CC18429| |9885F26E2978936884DF4066CC33C8A3DB05ED9D809E1F139CEE381CB085C12BE4B| |E289EC5AFA025D03BD274DA686BE8E882E8F89FE69680C5619C47856993A2998BD2| |39F669F016FF028774C786E404AADBF008FF1FFFFE5ACC851872450649322798A6C| |51649B22558A4801716B3067FC2CE365C37184383FFBBA0059663AFB4E91378A7C5| |0A42C0415F7A7E615617203DC036172F86E3509674C1CDC1F398911B7| |-------------------------------------------------------------------| Bots: | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;777;362;724;HEX;| |78DAF3AD70E159E7DE68CFC028E09C93585C1CEF9B585C925A949B9997C2EA9B989| |E99CCCC0004EC402C8590890F2ECDCDCDCFD30BCA4FCA2FC94C2E964692722A4D4B| |D373492CCA8EF7CD4C2CCE4D64100CC8CFCFD1F3CC2BCB2CCE4CCACCC92CA914018| |BB85614A41665E6A6E695249664E6E7F18205DD32D3334A32F3D2B921BC1C1057D8| |B5203359CF3923B1283D15EABC4A09A083348178172B0314FC6765F80CA40C39199| |8BE0269091606A63016209F8581E5213384766602D36C9110F15016B85E20020230| |8115EC035AC30DB5861B6A0D4F28C4189E97403E1F0B03DF23A0F19C403A02222EF| |005C89765C16D28181C009A2C0935593204A253EA28C4C1529F18C0B44C38445CE6| |3184963B0991FF4F0A90C1F0AD1686880186882186883186880986880F86882F42E| |47F0090CD08956504CB720A3030304365DF720165199165DF6388BCC310F98021E2| |A285B0D1550B1E7DFFDDB4E001FE9F451C188E105DFF0196AE0E99| |-------------------------------------------------------------------| Overwhelming Force is prefered over Sudden Acceleration on T1 pets. OF will give all attacks a chance to KD their target, while SA will only convert Heavy Beam Laser from KB to KD. Brawl, Laser Burst and Full Auto Laser can't KD without OF slotted.

I dislike DB combos on Stalkers. Weaken combo, which might be useful early levels, requires the T9 power to achieve (Stalkers can perform Weaken at level 32, other AT's can use it at level 6). Attack Vitals on Stalkers uses 2 of DB's worst dps attacks in the set (Nimble and Vengeful), negating it's dps potential. Sweep combo has BU in the combo, so it can't be used as frequently as other ATs (Unless relying on random BU recharge from the Stalker ATO2). DB Stalkers does have a great attack chain but requires a lot of recharge to achieve. [BU]-AS-Ab-SS-Ab-repeat. It's a really fast chain, only 5 seconds long. Uses DB's 3 strongest dps attacks. Ab and SS can both slot -res procs (Achilles' and Fury of the Gladiator). Fast stacks of AF. Empower combo (BU-AS-Plac) can easily be integrated, and Sweep combo (BU-AS-Ab) occurs naturally as part of the chain. Actually if you have that much recharge in the build to run that chain, any of the Ancillary snipes could probably be integrated as well. That's if the no redraw feature works with DB. Alternatively, there's also [BU]-AS-Ab-SS-NS/PS-repeat. It would require significantly less recharge to run. Slots saved from chasing recharge IO sets could be used for damage procs. -Res procs are still slottable, Empower/Sweep combos are still on the table as well.

Typo. Change CU to CS. AS-CS-SB-[BU]-AS-SB-MB-SB.

Is QS-BB-SB-AS still the best KM attack chain? I vaguely remember that being the case near the end of live, back in 2012. Nowadays CS and Moonbeam can both be made into proc monsters. BU can be single slotted with the Gaussian's unique getting a double BU for 5s. I average 125s pylon times starting with BU, followed by: AS-CU-SB-[BU]-AS-SB-MB-SB-repeat. Running with Assault Radial Alpha, Degenerative Core, Ageless (For endurance), and Assault Hybrid passive (Untoggled).

How did you get -18% tohit debuff with Flash Arrow? I tossed together a build on beta and FA's base is -6.75% tohit. Slotted aggressively, it would probably have around -10%. Was that including Jounin's Blinding Powder? Edit: Nevermind, I see where I made a mistake. It's -6.75% resistable + -6.75% unresistable. So a total of -13.5% to most enemies, unenhanced. That change alone will improve TA by a lot.

1. The aura follows the MM. I believe they're all now a 20' radius from the MM. 2. All procs only work on the pet it's slotted into. If you were to slot Achilles' Heel into Soldiers, both Soldiers and Medic have a chance to proc it. Both Spec Ops and Commando do not. 3. As for what procs to slot... Beasts: Wolves: Achilles', Lady Grey, Shield Breaker Lions: None. Dire Wolf: Impeded Swiftness Demons: Demonlings: Maybe Impeded Swiftness? Demons: None. Demon Prince: Impeded Swiftness Mercs: Soldiers: Achilles', Lady Grey, Shield Breaker Spec Ops: Achilles', Lady Grey, Shield Breaker Commando: Explosive Strike Note: I recommend only one Achilles' between Soldier and Spec Ops. Necro: Zombie: None. Grave Knight: Achilles', Lady Grey, Shield Breaker Lich: Cloud Senses Ninjas: Genin: Overwhelming Force Jounin: Achilles', Lady Grey, Shield Breaker Oni: Maybe Unbreakable Constraint? Bots: Drones: None. Protector: None. Assault: Explosive Strike, Sudden Acceleration Thugs: Thugs: None. Enforcers: Achilles', Lady Grey, Shield Breaker, Gausssian's Bruiser: Explosive Strike I recommend slotting Overwhelming Force, Soulbound Allegiance, Edict of the Master, Soverign Right, Call to Arms, Expedient Reinforcements, Superior Command of the MM and Superior Mark of Supremacy in all MM builds. They all make pets sturdier, giving them a better chance for survival. I usually double slot SMoS in each pet to provide +30% recharge for the MM. Set bonuses do not affect pets, only the MM. Here's a screenshot of a full set of SCotMM slotted into Bruiser. Everything highlighted in red affects the MM; everything highlighted in blue affects all your pets; everything highlighted in purple only affects the Bruiser. 4. Sovereign Right only affects pets within a 20' radius from the MM. The MM does not get the resist bonus. All pet unique IOs affect your pets with exception to Soulbound Allegiance. That only affect the pet it's slotted into. None of the uniques benefit the MM.

I went the Tough and Weave route. Weave and the def unique IOs adds around +11% def, and allows us to slot attacks for more damage rather chasing sets for random def bonuses. If you pvp, Stealth is pretty decent. Hide + Stealth + Celerity unique makes Stalkers really hard to see.

Mercs really does needs a secondary that allows pet IOs, which unfortunately is only Storm. There's just not enough slots to get all the damage procs, pet uniques and still maintain a decent amount of acc, dam and end redux. Mercs benefit with the Alpha Incarnate pick, moreso than other MM primaries. Slotting such a large quantity of damage procs, on top of the pet uniques, they really need the Alpha pick to get their stats into the green, yellow or red. While pets like Genin, Zombies, Thugs etc, with little to no damage procs, can focus more on slotting IOs for stats. I think if Alpha, and maybe Interface, was added in, the order would still be the same but the totals would be closer. Except for Bots. They would probably be even further behind. Thank you for all the testing. That's amazing work!

I think Ice Arrow can be a good proc monster.

I haven't played Staff since live and haven't tried Bio yet. So no real advice to give. Do you have Mids' Hero Design? If not, click the below link. It's a program used to make City of Heroes builds: There's a thread talking about Staff/Bio already. Some have posted builds on there: I remember Staff's best single target attack chain is Assassin's Staff-Serpent's-Mercurial-Precise-repeat. I think staff is pretty great and can pair with anything. Good damage/AoE, Guarded Spin adds Lethal and Melee defense. Bio is all the rage nowadays. You probably can't go wrong with this combo.

What's the cast time of an ancillary snipe? Is it just the regular cast minus the interrupt time?

A lot of players say no to Destiny but I personally do not mind if it's used. It has a 100% uptime with diminishing return over 2 mins. Some peeps say if Destiny is used, it's cast time should be included in the pylon kill time. What are the outlying powers in the attack chains listed by Croax at the top of this page? MB which is easily integrated without altering IO slotting of a build. SS, maybe SC, but I think most builds take them anyways just because they're AoE. Croax posted a build that could run his chain, Microcosm, your second chain and my chain. You posted a reply saying you altered it by switching procs and splitting ATOs. If you want to find out which chain is better, more should be tested rather than just your own, on any given build. I don't know. Maybe the build just needs to be worked on. 113s and 119s seem pretty average for a Stalker.

It seems like testing results is getting skewed. It should be more systematic. If a build is created, all chains should be tested with that one build. Testing one chain with one build, then testing a different chain with a different build, isn't an apples to apples comparison. Only Alpha and Interface should be active while pylon testing. Hybrid toggled has a 50% up/down time so it doesn't add consistent dps. The results with Hybrid on is only achievable half the time. Variances of 102s-130s pylon times should be explainable. Misclicks or miscellaneous rng. Misses, damage/debuff procs not firing, less instant BU from one run to the next etc. They all tack on time. We can't post videos from HC but record/view it for your own analysis. The main thing to look for is that CU always crits. I also recommend going in game to MENU, OPTIONS, WINDOWS tab, CHAT and enable LOG CHAT. Create a new chat window that only displays DAMAGE INFLICTED. It will create a log in your CoH folder and display damage data. It also provides a more accurate time than using a stop watch. Start time is the initial power used and finishing time is the, "You have defeated Rikti Pylon," line. Subtract the initial time from the end time. The below example shows a pylon being defeated in 2:02/122s. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2020-04-16 23:44:46 You activated the Build Up power. 2020-04-16 23:44:46 HIT Halley Comet! Your Build Up power is autohit. 2020-04-16 23:44:46 Halley Comet HITS you! Build Up power was autohit. 2020-04-16 23:44:47 Readying Assassin's Strike. 2020-04-16 23:44:47 You start Assassin's Strike. 2020-04-16 23:44:49 Readying Concentrated Strike. 2020-04-16 23:44:49 You activated the Assassin's Strike power. *SNIP* 2020-04-16 23:46:48 You hit Rikti Pylon with your Hecatomb: Chance for Negative Energy Damage for 85.66 points of Negative Energy damage. 2020-04-16 23:46:48 You hit Rikti Pylon with your Degenerative Interface for 8.56 points of Toxic damage over time. 2020-04-16 23:46:48 You have defeated Rikti Pylon ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thanks for all the testing. In my head, I don't see the 10s chain being better but I've been proven wrong many times before.

Consider taking Zapp from Mu Mastery instead of Moonbeam. Mids' is incorrect and all snipes from the Ancillary Pools do the same amount of damage. Zapp has an end drain as a secondary effect. It might be enough so that you can stray away from Agility Alpha.

Pretty sure you lose the 4%. Just test it. Combat window open, see the two Hide defense numbers, punch something and check the defense numbers again to see what's missing.

Edit 1: I think it will be a dps loss. AS is StJ's highest dps attack and it's only being used once every 10s. Other chains mentioned uses AS every 6ish secs. Edit 2: I'm pretty sure AS builds 2 combo points so CU will be maxed unless AS or SB misses.

That was the attack chain I used in my initial runs, when the game just came back. For the 90 second times, I used: [BU]-AS-CU-SB-[BU]-AS-SC-SB-HB-repeat. Only one HB in the chain. I can probably improve on the 90 seconds. The day I was testing, including that video posted in that link, I forgot Superior Assassin'a Mark was slotted into Spinning Strike. It was never activated so there were no miscellaneous instant-BU recharges.

I absolutely love you got perma GW! I'm also surprised Hover can hit max fly speed. Looks like Hover is at max fly speed with only one Fly IO. So the second IO isn't doing anything. If you want to jam in Assault or Slowed Response, Tactics is expendable. a Power Boosted Farsight will provide +12.5% tohit, Supremacy adds +10% tohit and each Enforcer Tactics provide +2.5% tohit. So your pets already has +27.5% tohit total (without Tactics).