Help me build a natural stalker

[queequeg77]

Hey all,

 

After getting a sentinel, brute, and blaster to 50... I'm keen to try a stalker. I want to love the AT, but have never gotten past the mid 20's, even on live. Mostly because I've never had a concept I liked.

 

But now I settled on a natural, classic Dungeons & Dragons style thief. That means weapon primary and no-aura secondary.

 

Please help me choose:

Primary: Dual Blades, Ninja Blade, Staff (broadsword animations don't fit for me.)

Secondary: Inv, Ninjitsu, SR, Willpower

 

I DFB'd some combo of each to 10ish so far, and the only thing I can really tell is that I didn't like broadsword.

 

Anybody have good (or bad) experiences with a combo of the above? I've got concept, name and costume all ready to go...

 

Thanks in advance!

[Croax]

I would vote for DB/Invul. I even posted a build and comments to it a little whike ago.

[queequeg77]

That build looks insanely tough, Croax. Did you consider working in gloom/zapp to boost damage? or did that interfere with the DB flow?

[Croax]

I saw the axes in DB and made a Viking. Getting a snipe was not thematic. Also DB does not need a snipe to perform well. The flow and damage is good enough. Also the sweep combo is a little bit of area damage before 1k cuts. I never had the need of squeezing more damage out of that combo. 

[kelika2]

StJ/nin

staff/invul or nin or sr

claws/sr

just dont do willpower on a stalker.  no quick recovery is a hard pass on the set

 

 

[Machariel]

On 9/4/2020 at 3:11 PM, queequeg77 said:

Did you consider working in gloom/zapp to boost damage? or did that interfere with the DB flow?

Croax didn't but I did! 🙂 I have a DB/EnA/Mu with both zapp and ball lightning. 

The thing I like about them is that they're attacks that you can weave into a chain without interrupting a combo, which means I can do:

Build Up -> AS -> Zapp (critical) -> Ablating [sweep combo]

which is nice because Dual Blades doesn't have a great "heavy hitter" power like Freezing Touch or Crushing Uppercut to really leverage the ATO hide proc.  Ball Lightning from Hide is cool too.  With a no redraw option I don't feel like it interrupts the DB flow.

 

That said, I'm not 100% convinced including a snipe even is a damage boost.  I think it is, but I haven't crunched the numbers at all.  A high recharge Dual Blades chain is very strong, definitely on the higher end of the Stalker DPS spectrum.  If you want more AoE without going outside Dual Blades for concept reasons (or you like all your attacks to build focus), Thousand Cuts is a decent AoE. 

 

I have taken a DB/Ninjtsu stalker to 50.  The best thing that I can say about Stalker Ninjitsu is that it has a lot of skippable powers and I found it an inconvenient power set.  You get to trade Scrapper's +end power and it's resist and knockback protection power in favor of Caltrops.  Now, Caltrops is a fine power, but... you can do better.  I am not a fan of clicky mez protection either.  But, I enjoyed playing Dual Blades so much that I made the aforementioned DB/EnA and I have nothing but good things to say about the set.

 

If I were to made a "D&D thief" stalker I'd make a DB/SR with the experimentation power pool.  Speed of Sound's alternate 'teleport' mode has a much shorter animation time than other teleports so you can literally teleport behind mobs and shank them with the bladed weapons of your choice.  The rest of the powers in the pool are pretty cool too, but I am eyeing Corrosive Vial with 4 damage procs and 1-2 -res procs.

 

 

[drgantz]

For Primaries, I think  that a Stalker should have a small weapon or no weapon, so I would choose either StJ or DB.  I read somewhere that NB/Kat is better for Scrappers and Brutes.  Also, StJ is one of the best Stalker Primaries because its  combo system synergizes well  with Stalker mechanics.
For Secondary, I would choose SR.  It is a very good secondary.  I wouldn't choose Invuln because I can't see it in character conception of a Natural Stalker.  I don't recommend WP because its self regen is much better for ATTs with more health, such as Scrappers, Brutes and Tankers.  I prefer SR over Ninj because SR has better avoidance and has more protection against debuffs.

[TheSpiritFox]

StJ/Shield or Katana/SR would be my picks. Though you could do dual blades/sr for the rogue effect. 

[Haijinx]

On 9/7/2020 at 6:40 PM, drgantz said:

  Also, StJ is one of the best Stalker Primaries because its  combo system synergizes well  with Stalker mechanics.
 

Very true

 

It has the same AOE as the scrapper version. 

It gets a normal build up - as opposed to the Scrapper reduced damage build up analog.

As you say the combo system works a lot like the Stalker AS crit chance increase, so you do get a rhythm going.   

 

All good things. 

[Imbicatus]

If you want a weapon vibe claws can work as well, there are blade options that look like punch daggers, predator arm blades, or a cestus. And I like claws much more than Ninja Blade or Dual Blades, and Staff on a stalker is lacking because you lose forms. 

[Haijinx]

19 hours ago, Imbicatus said:

If you want a weapon vibe claws can work as well, there are blade options that look like punch daggers, predator arm blades, or a cestus. And I like claws much more than Ninja Blade or Dual Blades, and Staff on a stalker is lacking because you lose forms. 

But doesn't the Stalker staff form just default to the damage one with no power pick?

 

Sounds like a good deal to me.  

[Hopestar]

It is, Staff is best on Stalker.