secondaries The Best Secondary - VOTE!!

[drgantz]

  On 2/24/2021 at 10:37 AM, Troo said:

um,, regeneration

Expand  

Many say that WP   isn't good for Stalkers.  Since WP is similar to Regen, I'm guessing that Regen isn't good for Stalkers either.

[Carnifax]

  On 2/24/2021 at 10:05 AM, Haijinx said:

The natural type effects thing is already sort of ruined for Stalkers since they all have to be invisible. 

Expand  

Mine is a garden gnome.

 

So I went with the Watchdog Legions explanation with Sweepers / Living Statues. "No-one is going to suspect the harmless pottery gnome in the corner. Better move on... *Urrgh*"

 

 

[Hjarki]

  On 1/27/2021 at 9:28 PM, Saikochoro said:

Shield and Bio both have great offensive potential and can certainly be built tough (especially shield). They do however have tighter builds in my opinion.

Expand  

In terms of Bio, I see this notion of it being an 'offensive' set thrown around a lot - but I view that as a misguided approach to the set. For Scrappers, Brutes and Tankers, Bio is an offensive set because it combines +damage with -resist. With Stalkers, you lose the -resist portion (for a useless Sleep effect) and this actually makes it a defensive set. While you can always switch to offensive if you're in no real danger, it makes a lot more sense to build your character as if you'll always be in Defensive Adaptation because that's what you should generally be using - the defense/resists/etc. you get from Defensive are a lot more valuable than a mere +25 damage.

 

[Saikochoro]

  On 2/26/2021 at 7:55 AM, Hjarki said:

In terms of Bio, I see this notion of it being an 'offensive' set thrown around a lot - but I view that as a misguided approach to the set. For Scrappers, Brutes and Tankers, Bio is an offensive set because it combines +damage with -resist. With Stalkers, you lose the -resist portion (for a useless Sleep effect) and this actually makes it a defensive set. While you can always switch to offensive if you're in no real danger, it makes a lot more sense to build your character as if you'll always be in Defensive Adaptation because that's what you should generally be using - the defense/resists/etc. you get from Defensive are a lot more valuable than a mere +25 damage.

 

Expand  

I am never in defensive stance as a stalker. Not only are you giving up the 25% bonus to damage, minor toxic tick. and the bonus to to-hit, but you are taking the damage penalty of defensive stance as well (25%) on top of that. I would never build a stalker with defensive stance in mind as it is not worth the severe hit to your offensive power. 
 

Bio armor in offensive is still tough enough for pretty much all content if built right. The main advantage it offers is a good damage bonus. If I wanted pure toughness on a build I wouldn’t be choosing bio armor with defensive stance as there are better options in that regard that don’t hit your damage so hard. 

[Hjarki]

  On 2/26/2021 at 6:03 PM, Saikochoro said:

I am never in defensive stance as a stalker. Not only are you giving up the 25% bonus to damage, minor toxic tick. and the bonus to to-hit, but you are taking the damage penalty of defensive stance as well (25%) on top of that. I would never build a stalker with defensive stance in mind as it is not worth the severe hit to your offensive power. 
 

Bio armor in offensive is still tough enough for pretty much all content if built right. The main advantage it offers is a good damage bonus. If I wanted pure toughness on a build I wouldn’t be choosing bio armor with defensive stance as there are better options in that regard that don’t hit your damage so hard. 

Expand  

Consider:

• The last few points of defense/resist/whatever you need to meet defensive goals is the most 'expensive' - you need to make the most compromises to reach it.
• Defensive goals are limits while damage is (effectively) unbounded.
• You're far more likely to receive external defensive buffs than external damage buffs.
• You only need those defensive limits against certain content.

 

With that in mind, building against the expectation of Defensive Adaptation makes a lot more sense. Perhaps it makes more sense if you phrase it "build for offense, not for defense". If you're building against the expectation of Defensive Adaptation, you're building for offence. If you're building against the expectation of Offensive Adaptation, you're building for defense.

[Myrmidon]

  On 1/24/2021 at 6:42 PM, Purrfekshawn said:

Willpower - upsides +END, Capped Environmental and PSI +DEF (EDIT: even worse than INV). Downside is - and very big - Smashing/Lethal Attacks interrupt. Thus don't think it's going to work well.

Expand  

Just to clear this up. Stalker Willpower exchanges Quick Recovery for Hide, which makes it just as susceptible to Endurance issues as most other Secondaries. Even so, it’s still a perfectly serviceable secondary with Invention Origin slotting.

[Myrmidon]

  On 2/24/2021 at 12:30 PM, drgantz said:

Many say that WP   isn't good for Stalkers.  Since WP is similar to Regen, I'm guessing that Regen isn't good for Stalkers either.

Expand  

Willpower takes Regen’s lunch money and makes it walk home with no shoes.

[Meknomancer]

I've tried /bio, /fire, /sr, /shield, /energy....a lot of energy for the simplest of reasons. It requires minimal slotting to get decent defence numbers leaving tons of free slots to throw at epics/patrons which make it more fun. 6 slotted ball lightning from hide is just silly good. 6 slotted snipe. 6 slotted whatever. I just can't do this on any other secondary without leaving massive defence gaps. Throw a lotg def and a def+rech in most toggles and its pretty much good to go run that +4 itf kill all someone posted. 0 end problems. Energy gives you a massive variety of options to build in other power pools/epic/patron sets that none of the other secondaries can match and still be near unkillable. Having said that ice/sd is pretty awesome but my vote went to energy because it allows you to have the most fun with your attacks slotting wise.

[tidge]

I only have /SR and /Bio Stalkers, but I can definitely see Invuln, Shield and EA being strong.

 

I enjoy my /Bio slightly more than the /SR, but it is a "tighter" build (as was mentioned)... with the tradeoff that I don't sweat certain things (Recovery, Regeneration) and get some extra offense.

[Erratic1]

  On 2/24/2021 at 5:22 AM, drgantz said:

My problem is that I like Natural Origin, and EA and Bio don't have invisible effects.

Expand  

Skunks spray musk and octopuses spray ink, both of which are quite visible. Trees ooze sap visibly. 

 

Nature is full of visible effects.

[Troo]

  On 2/24/2021 at 12:30 PM, drgantz said:

Many say that WP   isn't good for Stalkers.  Since WP is similar to Regen, I'm guessing that Regen isn't good for Stalkers either.

Expand  

IF someone is looking for max DPS, the clicking heals can interrupt an attack chains once every minute or so. That said, I have no real problem with regen and +4 content on a stalker.

Knowing when to click what and when-not-to adds an element of timing and skill. Just my opinion though.

[Mezmera]

  On 3/9/2021 at 8:21 PM, Troo said:

IF someone is looking for max DPS, the clicking heals can interrupt an attack chains once every minute or so. That said, I have no real problem with regen and +4 content on a stalker.

Knowing when to click what and when-not-to adds an element of timing and skill. Just my opinion though.

Expand  

That's a big reason why I skip Shadow Meld and go for Unleash Potential if I need that extra boost in defense.  It's a fast animation and lasts longer and in no way inhibits my stalkers when I'm chaining together them big hits.