FotM - Placate popularity

[Zepp]

This may be controversial, but as I have heard on this forum, Stalkers that don't take placate aren't playing their AT right... now, looking at the numbers, there are some sets (Street Justice) with placate at less than 45%. Is their a dichotomy within the community between those that think it is essential and those that think it is the most skippable power in many sets? Or is there a spectrum?

Edited February 5, 2020 by Zepp

[Frostweaver]

It's a spectrum. Some sets benefit enormously from Placate, some sets not so much. and placate itself is a mixed bag... some playstyles it speeds up, some playstyles it slows down.

I have level 50 top-tier stalkers of both persuasions.

The Stalker ATO chance to hide, however, is what has made it from an essential power into a 'can take, can skip' power.

[Haijinx]

I have it on my stalker, but i use it so rarely that it seems pointless.

 

No sense in getting rid of it since i wouldn't have enough slots for whatever I'd replace it with.

 

The chance for hide ATO in Assassin's strike kind of makes is obsolete in "real world" play i guess.

 

 

[Croax]

Placate has his uses but is a highly skipable Power. If you play PVP i would recommend it, but for PVE there are allways something else that would fit better.

 

Con:

• Long animation time
• Can not mule sets
• The ATO does something similar

 

Pro:

• It will save your ass if you take on a AV which was too much for you
• It is godsend for PVP
• If you don't have the ATO during leveling it will be very usefull
• It is a 'one slot wonder'. Just put a recharge reduction in there and you are done.

[nihilii]

Croax says it well. It's really hard to justify Placate when you could just attack and deal more damage + build Assassin Focus.

[Razia]

8 hours ago, Frostweaver said:

It's a spectrum. Some sets benefit enormously from Placate, some sets not so much. and placate itself is a mixed bag... some playstyles it speeds up, some playstyles it slows down.

I have level 50 top-tier stalkers of both persuasions.

The Stalker ATO chance to hide, however, is what has made it from an essential power into a 'can take, can skip' power.

Which are the sets that benefit enormously from Placate?

[Frostweaver]

Generally the slower, higher DPA sets, in combination with armors that do not require constant attention. Where you have a little space to breath between attack chains. Placate can dramatically increase the overall damage. Stuff like Broadsword, Ice Melee, Kinetic, MA, and nrg in combination with low-maintenance armors such as Bio, SR, and click-light sets. Any place where it's worth 1.7 seconds in order to get a guaranteed crit. (In Kinetic and nrg's case, to get a build-up refresh or avoid Killing yourself with ET).

In combo-heavy sets, like DB, StJ, and staff, or sets where the big hitters don't get as much Crit, like NB,  or even 'fast' sets like Claws, or in combination with a click-heavy secondary like regen or nin, Placate, while not a wasted power pick, might actually slow you down or the 1.7 second animation might even (unlikely but possible) get you killed in a 'click to not die' situation. And as previously mentioned, fast sets get more utility from building focus with quicker attacks.

And then there are some 'border' cases like PSI, where insight combo causes a damage spike in greater psi blade that isn't affected by Crit, but the base damage is so insanely High that forcing a Placate Crit is more justified than spending that time on a psi blade attack that only has a 50% chance of giving you focus.

There's also the 'tight build' thing to worry about... Sometimes, even if Placate is absolutely worth it, taking the power pick will force you to give up something else that gives more benefit. Like I would always take placate on Ninjitsu, because two of it's powers are utterly skippable, but I have more important powers to get in Regen.

Just remember though... Placate doesn't help much unless you have some really good defense, because if your defense is low, and you are surrounded by mobs, one of them is likely to break your momentary hide before you can get your fresh crit off. That's one of the reason defense armors are so popular among stalkers. Placate+ATO hide can crank the damage of an attack chain way past sane levels if you aren't getting knocked out of hide every time it pops.
 

Edited September 5, 2019 by Frostweaver

[Without_Pause]

I skipped it on my SJ/ea so far at 23 just to try things out, and I honestly don't feel the need for it. With two more attacks to factor in, it would be like, "Wait, why am I stopping?"

[Haijinx]

I guess its a nice escape hatch type power.  But really with a few ios on EA you only ever need to escape PSI.

 

Psi users tend to die fast though, so still almost never use it.

[StrikerFox]

The only primary I would likely take Placate on, is DB. With enough recharge, it can perma-Empower by using BU-AS-Plac as a part of it's chain. [BU]-AS-[Plac]-Ab-SS-Ab-repeat.

 

Other than that, would only take Placate if I have a spare power pick without any slots to designate to it. Which is pretty much never. Taking a mule power like Stealth/Grant Invisibility and slotting Shield Wall/Reactive Defense uniques, or Aid Other and slotting Preventive Medicine +absorb seems like a higher priority. 

[Frostweaver]

You've never killed yourself with ET? Awww....