Using stalker with a pistol is the way to go. For TR the repeater is a good choice, but I'm thinking about the inquisitor now for it's range. The crossbow is a nice midrange weapon and does well if your target does not move after the first hit, but I had trouble getting guys on the run (this could be my problem as I am not good at leading targets with bolt actions either). Up close, the regular bolt does about the same as a knife so a 1 hit + knife is doable. For it's range, I'd prefer the crossbow with an SMG. With stalker, I had teams of enemies pass me by without knowing I was there in the room with them.
Also you should remember that the crosshair changes colors now when an enemy present inside it within a certain distance. I have no idea if the Stalker helps you with that but given how I was caught with it so far, I'd say no, you are not immune to that.
Give the emperor a try. The inquisitor is hard to reach that full auto ROF while remaining accurate. Emperor is also one of the few pistols where the minimum damage really reaches out, 167 out to 15m, and when trying to remain accurate you don't want to be clicking faster than 400rpm anyways imo. Its down to taste and I'm just saying, don't write off the emperor, a lot of people think its bad, and a lot of people are very wrong.
I have changed my opinion of stalker cloak. At first I thought it had the same stats as it did on test server (I tried it before and during the downtime to the live update with stalker) and at that time the duration on it was horrible, about as short as the nano cloak and longer recharge time. Suffice to say that I bought all ranks but the last (missing 300 certs) when I found out that the duration was so high and fast recharge. Im a expert knife user so xbow+knife is kinda a given, also it leaves standard infantry with less than 10% hp after a headshot. So if they dont die from previous injuries then your sure to get a critical assist if playing in squad.
I haven't used it yet outside of VR training, but it does seem like a fun style of game play. What I have seen that has been driving me bonkers though, is how this cloak is being abused to ghost cap a recently captured hex. As soon as the hostiles move on, ghost capping begins. I don't have a flashlight yet, but for now, I've made it a point to do a full 360 of full auto before I leave a capture point to make sure there aren't any dudes hidden in a corner or something. I'm not complaining or calling for a nerf, it's just this cloak will force us all to adapt our tactics and load outs a bit. I think right now we are seeing a lot of people using these cloaks because they are new and shiny, and people are experimenting with the ways they can use/abuse them. Once the newness wears off, and people get more flashlights, I think these will slowly become less common. It is a pretty big handicap to give up your primary weapon after all.
Bushes work better than the cloaking device. If we could carry those around with us, then people would have overpowered Infiltrators on their hands. With that said, in an enemy base with a lot of activity, you're not going to have the luxury to keep that cloak off. You're relying on the cloak to ensure that you aren't noticed by those whom pass (talking moderate distance away from you here)...you're trying to get behind enemy lines and deeper than the other classes can. Well, save for the Light Assault...they do similar in a different way thanks to the jets. In an actual infiltration situation, having to turn on or off the cloak at all is counterintuitive because you've already given your presence away by that godawful sound that can be heard from nearly render range. The sensor darts, motion spotter, and detect darts come right out...and people flick on flashlights. This is what I experienced last night...while I was hiding in a bush with Stalker. I just happened to turn off the cloaking device for the increased regeneration speed...then I just told everyone to put their flashlights away because I was just drinking tea. I was actually using the sound to lure people into proximity mines last night. People have started using the cloak sound to alert them to when an Infiltrator is trying to hack their turret...so I'll now drop a proximity mine and uncloak a considerable distance away...which prompts them to freak out and bail from the turret. They explode instantly and I go on my way. The problem isn't that Infiltrators don't know how to use the cloaking device...it's that the cloaking device is only one facet of stealth (which is inconsistent) and many of the other facets of our class are completely counterintuitive to stealth. The recon darts give away our presence, the cloaking sound is extremely loud and gives away our presence, etc. Sound and your radar signature are extremely important to stealth...and our class weakens these capabilities through our mechanics/ability weakness. With that said... In regards to Stalker Cloaking, I still don't know. I don't have the Crossbow right yet, and I'm sure I'd be having much more fun if I did even despite my current thoughts towards the cloaking device itself. Judging from the comments throughout this thread though, it's what I expected it would be...an ambush cloaking device that leaves you extremely immobile. I'm not sure if the bump to 20sec would have helped with this...but I like rounded numbers.
That doesn't make any sense at all if it was originally not a built-in client side function. It opens a gaping-wide security loophole around their own anti-cheat by being something that a simple Direct3D script can exploit without even being detectable
Using a crossbow outside 20-30 metres is like long range sniping. I was prepared, though perhaps not as much as I could be. I have managed to hit a few moving targets though. I'm slowly becoming more confident with my ability to finish off people who try to run.
the problem with the cloak is mostly to do with the bug that they said they would fix but only made worse. To get the full cloaking effect after you get to you hiding spot often you need to uncloak and recloak. annoying but as I said earlier in this thread it seems to be related to sprinting with the cloak active or activating the cloak while you are running. but toggle crouch and slip around TAKE IT SLOW and use the wraith atv to get close to where you need to go then you can usually get around just fine as long as you are PATIENT. Don't want to wait/STALK kills don't play it. this is not a run and gun cloak it is a targets of opportunity and move. The thing I think make this cloak so interesting is if you know you are being hunted and find a good spot and hide. stay still dart comes up you will not ping. I don't know about scout radar but the only thing that can really be used against that is the new recon device or dark light. As to in game cross bow and this class all the way mid range sniping is so much fun my kill rate jumped just from being able to fight with this combination. other funny aspect is you can leave your player cloaked get up get snack come back and oh look not dead yet.
Scout Radar detects you no matter what, it's basically the big middle finger in the sky...since it's no longer that viable an option on the Flash. With that said, I anticipated that Stalker Cloaking would be more of an ambush oriented cloaking device...so there's still room for me to push my Banshee Cloaking device concept.
Quite impressed with it so far. Very seldom do players ever find me while cloaked stationary. It's amazing in smaller battles. Not sure which weapon to use with it, though. Been using the Desperado with decent success, but I feel I need something with higher spike damage for a quick kill.
You could always try the Rebel. I'm gonna give it a spin for this loadout as soon as I get the certs.
Tried a bit of Stalker + Xbow today. Stalker at rank 2, it was fun-ish. Great for a trolling/ambush style, got quite a few kills just sitting on a rock and picking off any NC that stood still to shoot from cover on Indar. Still getting a feel for the velocity/drop of the bolts though. Also picked a spot in a biolab after NC took it, watched the air terminal and picked off guys going for their aircraft. Lot's of people ran right by me too. I'm sure that will change as people adapt to looking for perma cloaked infis hiding in corners. May try it with my Emperor or Commish eventually, but it's definitely a much slower paced playstyle especially with the Xbow. I usually prefer a faster and more aggressive infiltrator play, but sometimes it is nice to just sit back and pick off easy targets lol.
i have a love/hate relationship with this thing. from one side i love getting into amp tech stations and camping turrets and picking off unalerted foes with my crossbow and FINALLY we got to be fully invisible when standing still. however.... it's bugged and many times it takes ages for the cloak to go to the "deep state" i died many times when crouched and standing still because of thi stupid bug,also when someone gets very close to you the cloak starts to became very visible and your stealth gets screwed. also i just dont get why the crossbow isnt OHK on headshot at 30 M range, i see no way on using it over my commissioner or silienced repeater,weird enough it does only with infiltrators. but in the end of the days the biggest problem is that there is still 0 reason to infiltrate so yeah it's good playng camperstyle 2 until you realize that you are worthless to your team.
As for the cloak bug, side step slightly. They said they fixed that bug....they didn't. Especially coming out of a sprint, it won't go into deep cloak without a little movement after crouching. And the Xbow one shot's infiltrators because we have 100 less health than other class. Commish one shot's infiltrators to the head in close range as well because of that.
Alright, so today I went back to hunter cloak, and I got to say, my opinion of the stalker now is much lower than my initial impression. I've found you can do most of the sneaky assassin stuff with hunter so long as you find a good hiding spot, except that you still have your primary to do much more. The only thing you can't do is hide out in the open or on a point, but let's face it, that doesn't accomplish anything, as the moment you uncloak you die. Although the stalker cloak can be amusing and fun, I'm not going to be hanging up my Bolt Driver anytime soon.
Just went on a 36 kill streak behind enemy lines with stealker xbow... Its amazing. Really simply amazing. Most people I guess won't like it because of the accuracy required but its simply amazing. Those who can't aim stick with your hipfire no skill SMGS. I eat you for food.
