DB/WP Stalker build request

[Minotaureus]

Hey guys- Freshly back to COH and I don't know how to create a build from Pine/Mids. Any advice on a Dual Blade/Willpower Stalker build? There's not much on the old forums. Can I jsut copy paste a scrapper build of the same?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Erydanus]

Apologies I'm not going to be able to directly and authoritatively answer your question but I have some general advice at least.

 

First regarding builds. Unlike a scrapper, a Stalker specifically has to worry about Hide, Assassin's Strike, Placate, and Build Up. Sure Scrappers have Build up too but Stalkers use it differently.

So I think looking at old scrapper builds would be useful for a reference but not necessarily a template. For instance I didn't check which attacks go into which combo chains in the sample I just made for this post, so maybe they should be taken in a different order? Worth checking.

 

With the addition of inherent fitness pool a lot of builds suddenly had 3 slots freed up. Then, with moving the actual travel powers to level 4 without needing a pre-req, a lot of builds maybe lost another slot (though powers like hover and combat jumping are still great). Then as of i25 everyone gets ninja run or beast run ON TOP OF having both hurdle and swift, so some people are just completely skipping travel powers.

 

But what does this actually mean???

 

It means that you can take every power in your primary and secondary and you will still have 2 levels (24 and 30) where you you HAVE to take pool powers (unless you're a Soldier of Arachnos, they get enough extra powers they can't; I'm unsure how Kheldians are on this front either.) It basically used to be you'd start a build and ask what power(s) were you going to skip and now you don't have to. That's great because skipping powers is a problem in Dual Blades because you really need to take all the attacks because of the combo system it uses. The only thing you really need to worry about now is the order of powers from 1-20 and if you want to take an optional travel power.

How to plan a build - Basic

 

What I like to do when planning a build is I fire up Mids/Pine and first I pick my starting powers and then I skip ahead to the higher level powers, because you're surely never going to want to delay your ultimate attack from level 32 to later, right? So I click powers like that and lock them in at their minimum level (but don't do the whole set that way just yet).  Then I look at my secondary and I often lock the higher level powers in, along with anything really crucial like anti-mez. Then I lock in anything that's just really good.

 

Now I'm currently playing a Psi-Blade/Willpower Stalker and I just hit 30. Looking at the last three powers in the Willpower set they are Fast Healing at 28, Resurgence at 35 and Strength of Will at 38. I wouldn't "lock in" a self rez and while I did take Fast Healing at 28 I was not taking much damage so I could have put that off if I wanted something else. Strength of Will I'd be certainly grabbing at 38, I might grab an epic power at 35 (I have a whole other topic about that) but looking through the rest of the secondary the big standout for me is Indomitable Will since it's anti mez. Mind Over Body and Heightened Senses are also the shields for the set so I'd lock them in.

 

Going back to the primary you must have your assassin's strike ASAP so lock that in. Build Up and Placate are important but flexible. From there I would just start picking a mix of attacks and support and slot in any travel power when you want it. Honestly if you took a travel power in the low 20s it would probably be handy; the zones start getting bigger and taller at that point.  I like a bit of an attack chain so early on I tend to grab all the attacks and try them out even if I can't fully slot them all right off. We are given a lot of free respecs so it's not a big deal to juggle things around. Anyway, doing that I came up with this sample power selection list for you:

 

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.96

Level 1: Nimble Slash

Level 1: Hide

Level 2: Ablating Strike

Level 4: Power Slice

Level 6: Assassin's Blades

Level 8: High Pain Tolerance

Level 10: Mind Over Body

Level 12: Placate

Level 14: Build Up

Level 16: Indomitable Will

Level 18: Vengeful Slice

Level 20: Heightened Senses

Level 22: Super Jump

Level 24: Reconstruction

Level 26: Sweeping Strike

Level 28: Fast Healing

Level 30: Combat Jumping

Level 32: One Thousand Cuts

Level 35: [Take epic pool power or Resurgence here]

Level 38: Strength of Will

 

I filled in jump just randomly. Teleport is also good, and as a stalker having recall friend is nice because you can run to the end of a task force mission and recall your team and speed things up.As far as slotting, in SO levels I just spread them out. I try to get 1 acc, 1 damage, and 1 recharge or end redux on each attack. For shields, 2 defense/resist and 1 end reduction. I just stick extra slots on whatever attack I am using the most or liking, etc. Don't forget to at least 2 slot stamina.

 

I'm sure someone will have more specific advice but I think this would be ok for leveling and maybe help you understand how to get going with your own builds. I recommend you fire up the planner and do some experimental builds. After you get them, ask yourself what content you like to do. For example, maybe you like running Synapse task force a lot because it pays a lot of merits. Think of the level of that and ask yourself what you'll have at that level. (Like I mean if your favorite thing ever is the Cavern of Transcendence Trial you're obviously going to want a travel power or recall friend in before 14.) By doing that you can check to see if you're made a build that's going to be a problem at a certain level range, either leveling or doing task forces. Honestly I think it's more of an issue for support characters but it's good to think it through as a damage focused character too.

 

I hope this helps!!

[Minotaureus]

Thank you that does help.

[Erydanus]

And as an addendum I finally DID take the time to look up Dual Blades and as I thought, Stalkers have an alternate scheme for their combos that reflect that we mostly sneak up behind 1 dude and shank him. It ALSO incorporates Build Up and Placate making taking them earlier more important in one sense. As someone who just played a low level stalker I found I simply didn't need those tools at low levels because nothing was surviving an unbuffed Assassin's blade. It may be that just stabbing things without combos until level 14 is fine too. But maybe not!

 

https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Dual_Blades

 

The first combo a stalker can do is at level 8 and is the knockdown combo: Build UP, Assassin's Blades, Ablating Strike. Therefore, I'd prioritize getting Build Up earlier than I expected.  At least it's logical, all you have to do is your usual build up + strike and if the dude's not dead make Ablating Strike your extra hit to knock him down. If he did die, great, finish on his buddy and knock him down instead.

 

The second combo is at 12 and also starts with Build up, moves on to Assassin's Blades, but finishes with Placate instead of Ablating strike; that's the empower combo to buff yourself. So at that point after doing the assassin's strike you can either buff yourself or knock down a guy.

 

Power Slice isn't actually needed until you take Vengeful Slice at 18 and can do the Attack Vitals combo. So just skip it at level 4 and take High Pain Tolerance there, Build up at 8, and Power Slice at 14. Everything else can stay the same, and if you level with a sewer team you'd probably never even notice the problem in the first place.

 

 

[Minotaureus]

Ok. this is what I've come up with. It's expensive, I know. But is there anything glaringly wrong with this? I've basically frankensteined some scrapper/brute willpower builds and tried to make an educated guess on DB attack slotting. I'll be taking Ninja Run as a Travel Power. I'm a bit concerned about recharge and end drain.

 

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.962

http://www.cohplanner.com/

 

Click this DataLink to open the build!

 

Level 50 Natural Stalker

Primary Power Set: Dual Blades

Secondary Power Set: Willpower

Power Pool: Fighting

Power Pool: Speed

Power Pool: Leaping

Power Pool: Leadership

Ancillary Pool: Weapon Mastery

 

Villain Profile:

Level 1: Nimble Slash -- SprStlGl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprStlGl-Dmg/Rchg(15), SprStlGl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25), SprStlGl-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25), SprStlGl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), Empty(43)

Level 1: Hide -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A)

Level 2: Power Slice -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(40), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(40), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42), KntCmb-Knock%(46)

Level 4: High Pain Tolerance -- RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctArm-ResDam/Rchg(5), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(5), RctArm-ResDam(7), DctWnd-Heal(23), DctWnd-Heal/Rchg(39)

Level 6: Reconstruction -- RgnTss-Regen+(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(50), Mrc-Heal(50)

Level 8: Ablating Strike -- ShlBrk-DefDeb(A), ShlBrk-Acc/DefDeb(9), ShlBrk-Acc/Rchg(9), ShlBrk-DefDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(15), ShlBrk-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(39), ShlBrk-%Dam(40)

Level 10: Assassin's Blades -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(11), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(13)

Level 12: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(46), RechRdx-I(50)

Level 14: Placate -- RechRdx-I(A)

Level 16: Mind Over Body -- RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctArm-ResDam(17), RctArm-EndRdx(17), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(23)

Level 18: Indomitable Will -- LucoftheG-Def(A), LucoftheG-Rchg+(19), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(19), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(21)

Level 20: Vengeful Slice -- SprAssMar-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAssMar-Dmg/Rchg(21), SprAssMar-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), SprAssMar-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprAssMar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprAssMar-Rchg/Rchg Build Up(43)

Level 22: Boxing -- Empty(A)

Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(48)

Level 26: Sweeping Strike -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(27), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(27), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Obl-%Dam(36)

Level 28: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(29), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(29), Rct-ResDam%(39)

Level 30: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(31), RctArm-ResDam(31), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(46)

Level 32: One Thousand Cuts -- Arm-Dmg(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(33), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Arm-Acc/Rchg(33), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(34), Arm-Dam%(34)

Level 35: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(36), LucoftheG-Rchg+(36)

Level 38: Physical Perfection -- Empty(A)

Level 41: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(42), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(42)

Level 44: Heightened Senses -- LucoftheG-Def(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(45), LucoftheG-Rchg+(45), Ksm-ToHit+(45)

Level 47: Fast Healing -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Heal(48), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(48)

Level 49: Strength of Will -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A)

Level 1: Assassination

Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)

Level 4: Ninja Run

Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Prv-Absorb%(7)

Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(3), EndMod-I(3)

Level 50: Assault Core Embodiment

Level 50: Reactive Radial Flawless Interface

Level 50: Agility Radial Paragon

Level 50: Ageless Core Epiphany

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