Fun, solo (missions) stalker recommendation

[FenrisWolf44]

I am looking to have a go at what will be my first stalker. They will be exclusively solo, doing missions from 1-50 only. I appreciate all combos are more than capable, and I'm not looking for min-max. What I am looking for is a primary/secondary that gels well, and most importantly is a lot of fun so I'll want to stick with it.

I've tried every set on a Brute, but I appreciate they are different on a Stalker, so looking for any expertise.

 

Many thanks.

[ZorkNemesis]

While it was a couple years ago that I did it, my second level 50 on Homecoming was a Ninja Blade/Super Reflexes Stalker.  The positional defenses of SR made him untouchable and with a recharge focused build helped by Quick Reflexes he's able to dish out continuous strikes.  Flashing Steel is also nice to have since it lets you keep some AoE and it's up every two seconds or so.  Once I had the speed build in place it was a lot of fun just slicing my way through everything, though having to reapply Practiced Brawler every so often does break up the chain at times.

[Troo]

Energy Melee.

While I prefer pairing it with Regeneration I get that may not be everyone's cup of tea. Anything with a heal should pair well.

 

If you like splashing AoE damage Electric/Shield might be to your liking.

 

Classic synergy: Dark Melee/Super Reflexes.

 

Ice Melee if you wanna be different.

 

 

[queequeg77]

I'll second the Energy Melee vote. I have a EM/Energy Aura stalker that just rules. Once you get good recharge going, it crushes single targets.

 

Build Up + Total Focus (auto crit) + fast Energy Transfer + Energy Punch + Assassin Strike (auto crit) + fast ET = dead Elite Boss in 6 clicks.

[Croax]

If you want to level it solo i would not recommend Elec/Shield. it shines very late game lvl 45+ and will be not that enjoyable while leveling. It is one of the strongest Stalker combos but only when you have access to all the needed tools.

 

Energy Melee/Energy Aura as stated above is nice from start to finish.

 

Beginner friendly Attack sets: Energy Melee, Ice Melee, Psionic Melee

Beginner friendly Armor sets: Energy Aura, Invulnerability, Stone Armor

 

You can find builds for any Stalker combination in my signature. Use them as you like or change them to something else. Have fun playing a Stalker!

[Chelsea Rorec]

EM/Bio

I have a Bee girl who is a minature destroyer of worlds.

Nothing compares to it.

It will ruin you for all other stalker builds.

[Without_Pause]

4 hours ago, Croax said:

Beginner friendly Attack sets: Energy Melee, Ice Melee, Psionic Melee

Beginner friendly Armor sets: Energy Aura, Invulnerability, Stone Armor

Me being me, I'll object to saying Psionic is beginner friendly as well, I'm a well known critic of the current state of Insight. The obvious sub for me is StJ. Yes, I know it has combos, but whatever. It is still the best overall primary for Stalkers and it plays smooth. Ice melee is the best overall Stalker primary if you want to go on the defensive side of things and is the best version of Ice melee in the game. Any of the secondaries listed I'm fine with although I have less experience with Invul, but it has a single click so that's pretty user friendly. What little I did do of Invul as a Stalker I did like.

 

Also, I loathe long animations so my Em/ea Scrapper is currently stuck at 37 because I find TF's animation not fitting to my style. It will as a set absolutely hit like a truck though to where I've lost count for how many times I overkill things. Is Em stupid good? Yes. I just prefer other sets. I also do prefer it on other ATs for the added AoE. Again, a Stalker will get three attacks which will absolutely move health bars so I understand why people love it.

 

Dark/sr will be a classic combo and Dark/shield will be great as well. I'll just point out that since Stalker's version of Dark doesn't get Dark Consumption, Dark/ea can be a nice alternative option as I find I use Energize a bit for the reduction in end cost compared to just a flat out heal.

[tidge]

The Bio Armor secondary is very friendly for solo in 1-50. The auto powers and the 3-in-1 Adaptation, cover a lot of areas that early builds (which lack slots) will have. It offers Mez resistance early. It has an Absorb click. DNA Siphon can become a rapid-cycling AoE attack with very good %proc options, It's really a thing of beauty when fully slotted.

 

If you have Inf (or merits) from another character, I have a few general Stalker Enhancement recommendations for the solo leveler (subject to level limits):

• Put the Kismet +Accuracy (really +ToHit) in Hide. You will almost always have this toggled on (curse you Kidnap/Rescue missions!) and the bonus is too important to pass up.
• Add the global PVP pieces from Shield Wall and Gladiator's Armor asap, as every little bit helps, especially when soloing the entire game.
• Don't bother with a Stealth Enhancement in Sprint, you won't need it except in very specific circumstances and even in those it will be of marginal benefit.

[Troo]

On 4/18/2022 at 2:38 AM, Chelsea Rorec said:

It will ruin you for all other stalker builds.

On 12/9/2021 at 9:06 AM, Chelsea Rorec said:

 

Ceiling cat is deciding which NPC to kill first.

 

these are excellent posts.

 

 

Edited May 9, 2022 by Troo

[Chelsea Rorec]

lol

[JStacy337]

Can I throw my preferred solo Stalker in the mix? Kinetic Melee/Energy Aura was the first Stalker I rolled when Homecoming came online and has been my benchmark moving forward

[Saikochoro]

My favorite stalkers include:

 

-dual blades/EA

-street justice/EA

-dark/shield

-ice/shield

-energy/EA

 

As you can probably see from that list: I recommend either energy aura or shield defense as the armor. Take your pick of the attack set.

[ScarySai]

STJ OR Energy/EN for a well rounded damage god. I like STJ more on a stalker.

 

Ice/invuln for an absolute tank, also exemps well.

 

Kinetic melee isn't horrible either, would also pair that with energy.

 

Elec/shield for an aoe telefragging monster.

 

 

[Apparition]

I have been enjoying Staff Fighting/Stone Armor as of late.  For a Stalker, it’s an AoE machine.

[Nostromo21]

No love for Rad/Rad, which I went with for a theme build on my stalker miss Roentgen...seems to go alright. Should I not level her further (I parked her at 14 a while back), if it's going to be a horrible solo experience, or severely underpowered or missing some key defense at higher levels perhaps...? All her toggles sure do look rainbow puuuurrrttttyyy though! 😉

Edited September 16, 2022 by Nostromo21

[Six-Six]

I'm partial to dual blades and claws purely for thematic purposes.... maybe I'll include ninja blades, but only if you're holding the cleaver. Most of the other powers, while strong in their own right, I just don't see in my head as part of an assassin's toolkit. Dual blades also has that combo mechanic, that if you get bored with your standard rotation, you can play around with those just to keep things interesting on your way to 50.

As for secondaries, I'm a big fan of Ninja and SR, both of which pair well with the primaries above, again thematically.

I'm not a big fan of stalkers myself primarily because I can't see the costume I worked on. But I recently learned that if you don't choose Min FX for Combat Jumping, you can almost see your character (not the costume) in the screen.

[dzyp2]

I have energy melee on a few scrappers and it is godlike. Stalkers will have a little less AoE but I'm sure it's still outstanding.

I like playing sets on stalkers that are best on stalkers which means I love ice melee on a stalker. Great AoE and ST. I have an ice/stone that I adore. I've only played stj on a stalker but stj/energy is also incredibly good... just less aoe than ice/stone.

Edited September 9, 2022 by dzyp2