Strengths/Weaknesses/"Best" Stalker primaries?

[Seroster01]

6 hours ago, Microcosm said:

This is usually what I do as well. I put the Acc/dam, quad and proc from the set to get the hide chance in there but modify the recharge as little as possible. The other slots are 2 procs and a straight damage io.

I ended up putting a 50+5 Mako's Dam/End in the spare slot, after I realized 2-slotting ToD wouldn't get me to the ED cap with a Musculature Radial. I think even with that I'm a bit under without an Alpha slot, but my character has end problems when he doesn't have a bunch of dead mobs to siphon for +recovery. SO, I figured that getting about an SO's worth of extra End Redux might be a better use of the slot than 5% extra damage. 

 

Anyway, I finally got him to 50 today, and my initial impression of his current performance is best summed up by a quote from The Good Place, but after I thought about it I feel like that might break rules about partial avoidance of inappropriate language or something... So instead, I will follow the traditions of the internet & express myself via an animal gif:

 

I've never leveled a Stalker to 50, so I don't know what I'm comparing things against, but the sheer damage output of this character is insane when compared to my other characters. BU w/ Gaissian's proc + Proc'd out Savage Leap will kill almost any minions it hits before they can respond. Most fights I end up with a few bodies standing upright, because they died so fast that they didn't ragdoll properly. Following Leap with AS>Rending Flurry will kill most LTs that get hit by both Leap & Flurry, and I'm fairly certain I killed at least 1 boss that got hit with all 3. If I have a normal amount of luck w/ the ATO resetting BU, I can do this every 15s or so.

 

But AFTER that is what really amazes me. As I've mentioned, the charact is set up such that AS has a 90% proc chance on the hide IO, & given that AS & Hemorrhage cool down fast enough to be up almost directly after each other, it seems like I can largely chain AS>Hemo a majority of the time vs beefy targets, with occasional pauses for Placate, BU, and/or Moonbeam, as needed. After filling out his build, I solod an AV for the first time in a very long time (I'm generally of the opinion that it isn't worth the time & hassle to do so). I've got 2 procs in Moonbeam & it typically fulfills a "filler" roll in the attack chain, but I do have a question there. I could've sworn that before getting my build into its level 50 form Moonbeam's crit damage was basically double whatever the normal damage portion was, but now it seems to be doing a little more than half the damage of the main hit. Any ideas there?

 

May write some more about this tomorrow, but I need to sleep.

[Yomo Kimyata]

Stalker anecdote:

 

I took my rad/bio out for a day trip on a Posi 1 with a PUG the other day.  Starting the first mission, I asked if we wanted to speed run or play it out.  “Whatever you want, just don’t die.”  Thirty seconds later, one shot and done.

 

People seemed to be impressed that I kept running through and one shotting ruin mages.  I’m starting to wonder if they’ve ever played with stalkers before?

 
As we come to the doppelgängers, I suggest that we should kill mine first, “since I will one shot you.”  As I’m trying to line up AS, the tanker taunts my dopple, who apparently one shots the tank and then takes down the scrapper before I can even get there.

 

tl/dr: rad is a pretty sweet primary too.

[Frosticus]

14 hours ago, Seroster01 said:

Anyway, I finally got him to 50 today, and my initial impression of his current performance is best summed up by a quote from The Good Place, but after I thought about it I feel like that might break rules about partial avoidance of inappropriate language or something... So instead, I will follow the traditions of the internet & express myself via an animal gif:

 

I've never leveled a Stalker to 50, so I don't know what I'm comparing things against, but the sheer damage output of this character is insane when compared to my other characters. BU w/ Gaissian's proc + Proc'd out Savage Leap will kill almost any minions it hits before they can respond. Most fights I end up with a few bodies standing upright, because they died so fast that they didn't ragdoll properly.

savage is true to its name. I also run a sav/bio and often enemies die standing upright for me too haha!

 

 

[Sovera]

I'm finally trying an Ice/Bio Stalker after a false start, and while it began slow and generic with me alternating on going ew about Frost being a cone and giggling as I used BU and Frost-ed entire groups, it really blossomed at 26. At 26 it stopped me doing a rotation on enemies to just go around Freezing Touch in hide, AS outside of Hide, FT again, Frost when both are down. I have Sword Ice for when planting my heels and hitting AVs but for regular missions the gap is covered simply moving around from one target to the next so it gathers dust.

 

Like everyone else has said before me Freezing Touch is like old school Energy Transfer with the casual split second animation of casually reaching out to touch someone and that someone exploding in a shower of frozen blood.

 

The AoE seems... decent, now that I have Frozen Aura to go with.

 

It might be just my impression, but it feels like AVs really hate the -recharge and scamper off all over the map if we don't have an agro grabber tank/brute.

 

I don't need Ice Patch (one of the reason my first Ice/ attempt stalled was me trying to be smart and help the team by laying it down in all tis 3.7 second animation glory, while what I should have been doing is having taken BU in its stead and Frost-ing groups) but I intend to pick it up as one of my late later powers for extreme situations.

 

 

One thing that my Staff Stalker helped me understand is the importance of fishing for Hide procs even if it means holding out for a second or three on our next heavy hitter. In AoE waiting with Frozen Aura to use it after AS, or waiting on FT if AS is almost up.

 

Anyway, it definitely recaptures the old Energy Melee feel of going around one shoting things and using Frost for the ST rotation doesn't feel as abominable as I thought it might. The -res tacked to all the frankenslotting for range doesn't hurt either.

Edited January 10, 2020 by Sovera

[KaizenSoze]

10 hours ago, Sovera said:

I don't need Ice Patch (one of the reason my first Ice/ attempt stalled was me trying to be smart and help the team by laying it down in all tis 3.7 second animation glory, while what I should have been doing is having taken BU in its stead and Frost-ing groups) but I intend to pick it up as one of my late later powers for extreme situations.

 

I use ice patch to keep groups close for Frozen Aura and Frost when you're fighting dangerous mobs like Rikti Mages in a MSR.

 

Drop ice patch. AOE. Caltrops. At this point remaining mobs are running around or flopping.

 

I can kinda of farm this way. Ice patch too keep them close, caltrops are my damage aura, then AOE and AS/FT the bosses. It's tedious, but it works.

 

Obviously, if your group is steamrolling mobs, ice patch is not necessary.

 

When you BU->GuassianBU->FA from hide and all but the bosses drop. That is a nice feeling. To have great AOE and ST on a stalker with our crit control. 🙂