MOAR AOE!

[FiveDiamondJack]

What is the best combination for ridiculous, sustainable AOE damage? 

 

Research tells me it's either Two Weapon Fighting or Savage.  I've played Claws a lot and the set does have some decent Aoe for sure, but it does seem like the king of AOE carnage would be TWF or Savage.

I'm also pretty sure it's EA or BIO for the secondary as well.  Thoughts from the Stalker Lords?

[Senbonbanana]

I'm no "stalker lord", but I think the sets with the best AoE are elec and savage.  I have an elec/ea stalker that has loads of AoE damage with truckloads of ST damage.  I plan on rolling a savage stalker as soon as a good concept comes to mind.

[Saikochoro]

You best bets are probably savage/shield or electric shield. Dual blades / energy aura is also very good for both AoE and single target. 
 

I think the top out of those three is probably savage / shield. Insane AoE and insane single target. 

[brasilgringo]

i agree with savage/shield ... savage on its own has Feral Charge and Rending, both up fast, and you can add the PPP AOE (Mu for example) ... imagine shield charge on top of that.

[Sovera]

On a Scrapper? Claws, TW, Savage, Radiation Melee. Claws might not put our ridiculous numbers but once you're at a point of chaining Follow-up, Shockwave and Spin without gaps we can't argue that things haven't been blended. Radiation Melee is beastly in a passive AoE sort of way with a 100% procced out Irradiated Ground killing the surrounding pack while we're killing a boss.

 

On a Stalker? Mostly Savage but honorable mention to Ice with the amazing Frost and the T9 Icey Aura thingy.

 

People talk about Electric melee a lot but I don't see it. A mininuke every 30 seconds and a 3 second animation Thunderstrike pale before non stop blending but that's true for everything, Frost and Icy aura and etc.

[XaoGarrent]

Elec/Shield is the Stalker AoE meme.

[drbuzzard]

I'll second the good word for ice melee. It's got 2 very solid AOEs and cold is not very resisted. Couple that with freezing touch, which is one of the best single target attacks in the game, the whole set is very under-appreciated. The main weakness is the lower number of attacks and the fact that the tier 1 is complete garbage. You basically have to add something from out of the set to have a good single target chain.

[tidge]

Not a Stalker Lord, but I've played a Spines/Bio with several cones and PBAoE: Spine Burst, Ripper and Throw Spines from the Primary, and DNA Siphon, Parasitic Aura from the Secondary. I left Genetic Corruption (secondary) on the table. This is a very active combination of damage-dealing powers.

 

Sustainability means different things to different folks. The build I have (plus Accolades, before Incarnates) has plenty of Recovery/%+Endurance and can sustain attacks with perma-Hasten running (and a recharge on Build Up of 24 seconds, not considering the %proc). It's defenses are peculiar (30%+ on Fire/Cold/Energy/Negative), but it wasn't built to stand in one place and take a beating. If THAT is likely to happen, Shadow Meld is available to exceed soft-cap numbers on Defenses. On teams, the character has more than enough defenses to not worry. Playing solo I control the flow and pace of the combat. /Bio had other tricks to deal with incoming damage.

 

Here's the current build. I tend to go heavy into set bonuses (leveraging Global +Recharge), and I don't worry about optimizing attack chains. This is a leveling/exemplaring build. If you are only playing 50+ content, I think it should be possible to drop one 'attack'.

 

DNA Siphon is good enough (when slotted) that it really should be taken earlier in the build, but I wanted Hasten in the build before taking the lvl 32/35 attacks ASAP. 

Throw Spines is a good candidate for franken-slotting (with HO Centriole: Dam/Range).

Not everyone likes to 6-slot Build Up like I do, so if all you want is the %proc and recharge... cut that down to 3 slots (1 for the %Build Up, and 2x recharge or 2xHO Membrane)

 

Spoiler

Villain Plan by Hero Villain Designer 2.23
https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Spines Bio: Level 50 Mutation Stalker
Primary Power Set: Spines
Secondary Power Set: Bio Armor
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Lunge -- SprAssMar-Acc/Dmg:50(A), SprAssMar-Dmg/Rchg:50(3), SprAssMar-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(3), SprAssMar-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(5), SprAssMar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(5), SprAssMar-Rchg/Rchg Build Up:50(7)
Level 1: Hide -- Ksm-ToHit+:30(A), LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(7)
Level 2: Hardened Carapace -- UnbGrd-Max HP%:50(A), UnbGrd-ResDam:50(9), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx:50(36), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam:50(36)
Level 4: Boundless Energy -- Pnc-Heal/EndRedux:50(A), Pnc-Heal/Rchg:50(9), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg:50(11), Pnc-Heal:50(11), Pnc-Heal/+End:50(13), EndMod-I:50(50)
Level 6: Assassin's Impaler -- SprStlGl-Acc/Dmg:50(A), SprStlGl-Dmg/Rchg:50(13), SprStlGl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(15), SprStlGl-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(15), SprStlGl-Rchg/Hide%:50(17), Hct-Dam%:50(17)
Level 8: Build Up -- GssSynFr--ToHit:50(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg:50(19), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx:50(19), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx:50(21), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx:50(21), GssSynFr--Build%:50(23)
Level 10: Environmental Modification -- ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP:50(A), ShlWal-Def:50(23), LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(25)
Level 12: Spine Burst -- FuroftheG-ResDeb%:50(A), Arm-Dam%:50(25), Arm-Dmg:50(27), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx:50(27), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(29), Arm-Dmg/Rchg:50(29)
Level 14: Fly -- WntGif-ResSlow:50(A)
Level 16: Adaptation
Level 18: Impale -- Apc-Dmg:50(A), Apc-Dmg/Rchg:50(31), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(31), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx:50(31), Apc-Dam%:50(33)
Level 20: Ablative Carapace -- Prv-Heal:50(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx:50(33), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg:50(33), Prv-Heal/Rchg:50(34), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx:50(34), Prv-Absorb%:50(34)
Level 22: Kick -- FrcFdb-Rechg%:50(A)
Level 24: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc:50(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(36)
Level 26: Ripper -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg:50(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx:50(37), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(37), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(37), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(39), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc:50(39)
Level 28: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(39)
Level 30: Weave -- Rct-Def:50(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx:50(40), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg:50(40), Rct-Def/Rchg:50(40), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(42), Rct-ResDam%:50(42)
Level 32: Throw Spines -- Rgn-Dmg:50(A), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg:50(42), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(43), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx:50(43), Rgn-Knock%:50(43)
Level 35: Moonbeam -- StnoftheM-Acc/Dmg:50(A), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx:50(45), StnoftheM-Dmg/ActRdx/Rchg:50(45), StnoftheM-Acc/ActRdx/Rng:50(45), StnoftheM-Dam%:50(46), GldJvl-Dam%:40(46)
Level 38: DNA Siphon -- TchoftheN-Heal:50(A), TchoftheN-Acc/Heal:30(46), Erd-%Dam:30(48), Obl-%Dam:50(48), ScrDrv-Dam%:50(48), TchoftheN-%Dam:50(50)
Level 41: Shadow Meld -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(50)
Level 44: Parasitic Aura -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 47: Hover -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A)
Level 49: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(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 -- UnbLea-Stlth:50(A)
Level 2: Rest -- IntRdx-I:50(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+:40(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%:50(A)
Level 16: Defensive Adaptation
Level 16: Efficient Adaptation
Level 16: Offensive Adaptation
Level 0: Born In Battle
Level 0: Marshal
Level 0: High Pain Threshold
Level 0: Invader
------------

 

 

 

And here is the code:

 

Spoiler

http://www.cohplanner.com/mids/download.php?uc=1549&c=714&a=1428&f=HEX&dc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

 

 

Edited October 13, 2020 by tidge
cursed code insertion!

[Nemu]

shield charge and tele nukes... lol cute. How about double build up burn crit?

 

Staff/Fire, staff for the AoEs and the +defense to make /fire more sturdy, and /fire for burn.

 

You want sustainable AoE? You can literally spin spin burn all day with that combo.

 

I like savage melee, but do you want to be like Meg Griffin and grow nails as your super power or do you want to be a MF dance legend on fire?

 

Edited October 13, 2020 by Nemu

[Machariel]

IMO the top 4 Stalker AoE primaries are Elec, Ice, Dual Blades, and Savage.  For your secondary you can get a lot of AoE out of Radiation Armor with its 2 large PBAoE attacks (ground zero can hit up to 30 enemies) although armor sets without defense can be a lil awkward on stalkers if you get smacked out of hide or w/e.  Honestly Rad Armor aoes + ball lighting or dark obliteration is a pretty sizable amount of AoE on its own independent of the primary.

 

I usually play a DB/EA/Mu and it's not like an AoE warlord but a few sweep combos and sweeping strike feels like "enough" AoE, for whatever it's worth.  I find that on Stalkers mobs don't stay grouped up around you very well as enemies get bored of missing and wander off and they have no taunt aura and low threat generation so situations where i might really want to use 7 or 8 AoE attacks in a row are pretty rare.

 

[Troo]

elec/shield is very sturdy and splashie with pauses between AoE

ice/fire/fire or ice/fire/elec is actually more AoE, AoE, AoE, AoE, AoE (these AoEs just don't hit as many targets)

 

trying to max AoE on a stalker when scrappers and brutes are available..

[Toxurion]

I have an Ice/Shield stalker that I absolutely have a blast with. Tried my hand at an elec/shield afterwards and it just didn't do it for me the same way Ice/ did. 

 

I did not expect such good results from Crit AS + Hide Proc + Freezing Touch Crit or the Shield Charge + Frozen Aura wombo. It's fun when you pop BU before Charging and a second time before Aura crits. The ATOs for stalker are great xD

 

The only downside I see with /Shield is that my resistances aren't as high as I'd like however my defences are good and my enemies die rather quickly.

[Colder]

Also got a put a vote for ice, just aim frost well and it's practically pbaoe. Either hover or time the jump. Plus frozen aura? 

 

And I love trying AoE stalkers...have a fire/ea and a savage/rad...but solo, shit is always gonna run. Having ice melee to slow then down for the stomping is a necessity IMO.

[Carnifax]

17 hours ago, Colder said:

Also got a put a vote for ice, just aim frost well and it's practically pbaoe. Either hover or time the jump. Plus frozen aura? 

 

And I love trying AoE stalkers...have a fire/ea and a savage/rad...but solo, shit is always gonna run. Having ice melee to slow then down for the stomping is a necessity IMO.

Any if stuff gets really hairy you have a wee Ice Patch to drop. 

 

My Ice scrapper loves his tiny, 1 slotted control power so much. Plenty of times I've been the last man standing on a team, literally as the entire spawn falls over around me as I hoover them to death (that's the only complaint I have about Ice. Two of the hardest hitting attacks feel like you're giving the enemy a quick once-over with a dust buster. 

[Jolly Ogre]

I really don't understand the need for sustained AoE. With Ele/Shield you thunderstrike, lighting rod and shield charge and there is nothing left standing to AoE. The boss is there but single target is for him. When you are done with him and on to the next group everything is recharged. What is the problem?

[Darkir]

44 minutes ago, Jolly Ogre said:

I really don't understand the need for sustained AoE. With Ele/Shield you thunderstrike, lighting rod and shield charge and there is nothing left standing to AoE. The boss is there but single target is for him. When you are done with him and on to the next group everything is recharged. What is the problem?

I assume the problem is things like cimorrea at +4x8 when multiple bosses are around you.