Now that Stalker Cloaking is slightly better, I feel I can ask this question. Which faction do you think is best for the Stalker subclass, and why? Do you think the NC Stalker is better because of it's more subtle cloak/uncloak sounds, or is the TR better because of the Repeater? Does the VS have the stealthier activatable knife noises? Who has the better pistols for stalking? (Though we all know Commi/Xbow wins.) You can back up your choices with logic and damage numbers or just use the "I like dis." excuse.
All the knifes are about the same really, but the VS have the worst pistols so not them. The Magscatter kinda sucks but the rest of the NC pistols aren't bad. TR gets the AMP which even though people trash it for not being accurate, accuracy doesn't matter when your up close, plus the repeater is utterly amazing. Also claymores. TR gets my vote.
I play VS and I do not see real advantage for it for a stalker, except the base camo, which is not enough to make me feel loved. I'll votre for TR too. Their repeater often make me feel jaleous.
TR. Middle ground in terms of cloak audio Repeater & AMP are both superb for a stalker. Claymores: Instant detonation means less assists & more kills. Also easier to use as a trap since you can crouch right behind it. Lockdown equipment means the most bang for your buck when you hack a terminal & pull a flanking Prowler or MAX.
I consider best stalker weapons to be the crossbow and the commissioner, so it really comes down to visuals for me. I'd say VS wins for being the least identifyable, if you change to a cross-class helmet. NC used to have bright yellow lights, not sure if they still do. TR just has too much red faction color. It got slightly better after the last visual update, but not good enuf. For other weapons, all factions have outliers. TR get the most ammo in Inquisitor / Emperor, and good burstdown in Repeater / AMP, but lacks in ranged options. Arguably, Desperado and Spiker perform just as well as them in the burstdown. NC gets the mag-scatter, which is a one-trick pony for knife combos, arguably useless now that power knives exist. Rebel is nice for suppressed headshots at close range. OHK on a headshot after an EMP. Limited usefulness, since only works within 10m with a suppressor, while the crossbow can do the same with a bodyshot from 30m. VS got crap pistols other than Spiker, but other roles are covered by NS. TR don't get to run through a crowd of people and throw mines at them, since claymores don't work well for it - so I've heard. People say that claymores make a better actual mine, but I'm not sure. It really depends on a placement, I guess, but I've run past claymores just as I've run past other mines, and while other mines would at least do some damage in the back, claymores leave me totally harmless. That's a good point, shows I got miles to go as stalker infil. Taking vehicles into equation didn't occur to me.
Either TR and Vanu have the two decent pistols with 325 certs,the Emperor and the Manticore,both are good weapons for start,but whatever faction u pick,the NS weapons are all good and can be selected in all characters u have in the same account. I mean if u create a NC char and build a Underboss pistol,later u can create a Vanu char and still have the pistol. Btw i recommend for beign good stalker,the Blackhand for longer distances or Crossbow or Commie for close quarters.
it depends if you want to play lone wolf or in a small stalker team and what weapons you want to use if you want to play in a small stalker team you need to go VS, i find it easier to find a stalker team if you want to play with ES weapons TR but i agree with iridar51 stalker needs commy or x-bow
Since you specifically mentioned Stalker, the faction colors seem a moot point to me when you're in "deep cloak" where a Stalker spends much of their time. - N/A Hacking a v-term or e-term is not something specific to a Stalker or a Hunter. - N/A A seasoned Auraxian should be able to distinguish and/or hear faction cloaking/uncloaking sounds rather reliably. -N/A So..... that pretty much leaves weapons choice as my determining factor in this opinion poll. - Applicable I only play TR at the moment but have enough experience with NC and VS weapons to know I favor TR slightly over NC and the Desperado. When I start rolling my VS cloaker I will roll with a Beamer, just like in PS1, but it is not the easiest of the faction specific sidearms to wield reliably. Specifically I love the Repeater and the AMP. They are both just beastly at belly to butt range and the Repeater has some, albeit limited usefulness at mid-range. My overwhelming reason is actually applicable to both Stalker and Hunter suits. The Claymore. It being a shaped/directional charge gives it the advantage for inconspicuous, hidden ambush/corner kills. I actually feel the VS got the short end of the AI minestick with the Proximity Mine. Sure it's a big glowing Frisbee you can toss really nice into a crowd, but that's not conducive to long kill-streaks... and it's still a big glowing Frisbee. The Bouncing Betty is slightly less conspicuous looking as a large glowing can of tuna, but it also isn't shaped/directional. The Claymore is just better suited to being placed around corners, which is the surest place to get AI mine kills I feel. Sure a savvy NC or VS can still spot a Claymore and detonate it with small-arms fire or toss an EMP grenade and remove everything but I still feel it is the least conspicuous AI mine and being shaped/directional gives it the advantage of focusing its blast radius optimally at corners/choke points. I know people have said they can run by Claymores but that just proves you can run by all of them at any given time. That being said, for the aforementioned reasons the Claymore seals my vote for the TR.
The only good thing I see for an infiltrator in the VS faction is that when you drive the Wraith, you can pass under the allied MBTs without being turned into a crepe...
Its surprises me that only like one person mentions how far VS proxies can be thrown. However i have no problem using proxymines. Its all about placement the little metal "seams" (usually darker purple in color) are perfect to allow the proxies to blend in. Really though the proxymines are kinda like really fat explody ninja stars. The Betties seem slightly heavier and possibly the thickness is the blame since i have difficulty using them in the same way. Claymores are kinda funny when thrown. Since they only affect a slice of the dance party below, however they don't need a follow up EMP to assure kills. I disagree on the point about mines not being conductive to long kill streaks. Betties and Proxies + one EMP can take out a huge cluster of enemies. I'v always been an NS girl though, so beyond the mines and cloak sounds/ camo it really doesn't make a huge difference to me.
My point about long kill-streaks was more about long in terms of life expectancy and specifically to Frisbee tossing Proxies... anytime you uncloak in the "middle" of or "run through" multiple enemies your life expectancy drops dramatically, hence not "long" for living lol. If you have access to a reasonably close e-term or s-ams and a relatively safe route to a choke point/killzone sure you can go on long kill streaks with just mines. It was the first thing I Auraxiumed and definitely the easiest. I still say the Proximity Mine is more conspicuous than the Betty and even far more than the Claymore, hence the Claymore should be more user or new player friendly to rack up kills with quicker, you Cute Beaver.
I'd say the two aesthetic points are applicable. Faction cloaking may not matter in a deep cloak state, but a Darklight changes that. The NC cloak is slightly better for indoor camo, since the blue is harder to see on the light blue walls. I've had people simply sweep past me with a Darklight as an NC, but my VS character seems to get cancer and die from that little light. Normally a Darklight means we're completely screwed, but I've seen more inexperienced people simply sweep the light around the center oa wall instead of actually looking in corners or on top of points. While seasoned Auraxians can pick up the cloaking sounds and determine which is which, we are a loud game. We have explosions, gunfire, voice callouts, proximity chats, and squad chats to filter through. Chances are some people turn down their sound or wear headphones and lower their volume. The less intrusive our cloak sounds are, the more likely it is they won't be heard. The TR's uncloak wins in this department, as it's the most subtle sound of the three.
But the soft wet sounds of vanu bring joy to everyone :3 I hope the NS faction cloak sound is actually a fart. They really need to bring that back for Black OPS.
Cloak sound: Either TR or NC, TR slip well in a midst and NC has a good vague sound imo. ES pistols; TR win due to the magazines sizes, sheer dps and ease of use but the other two factions pistols are okay as long as you don't silence them. Sidearm silencers are pretty terrible in ps2 because we're dealing with overshields, decreased stopping power, jerky animations and unsatisfying ammo mag size. 10-15 ammo is fine in regular shooters but it just doesn't cut it well enough in planetside. Power knives: Either VS or NC, TR chainblade is loud and can be seen through the cloak. Mines: Claymores hands down are the sneakiest and the easiest to set up and instant trigger. VS up next because they're less oblivious than the NC donuts. Camo pattern / overall sneak when uncloaked: VS has the best run into a crowd potential and NC is up next. The 3 red balls on TR back is a giveaway but they slightly improved the rest, yet not enough in my opnion. Infiltrators should benefits the most from camouflage, NC still need work too, the blue feets looks out of place.
I believe some utuber at some point said it was ****. Bandwagon mentaility ensued. No VS like the beamer now. My guess anyways, and is a reason i hate with a passion youtubers.
Shouldn't you rather hate the dumb people who believe what they heard in a first source and never went to confirm it?
Or maybe VS players don't like it because they have used it? I understand some people like it, but I certainly can't maintain accuracy while trying to spam shots and make use of its high fire rate. I'll stick with my NS pistols.
