stalker + xbow users what are you running in your suit slot?

I carried on with flak armour since that's what I've gotten used to. If I'm honest I've enjoyed not dieing to mines and surviving blasts from other things.

But with the Xbows low ammo pool I've tried the ammunition belt though I'm not convinced it's essential since I die before I've used up all my ammo anyway more often than not.

I haven't played that much of stalker+xbow. I've used the ammo belt with it but it's not that useful because it only benefits you every now and then instead of being a constant buff. I'd probably use adrenaline pump... as a Stalker, you typically move a lot on foot per each spawn, and being able to move faster can further extend the range that you can move without pausing. It also allows you to better catch up with your prey who doesn't have to stop to stay cloaked.

Yes I hadn't considered the adrenaline pump. I see your logic for its use might have to try it.

Your right about the ammo belt. The only time I want it is when im on a streak and run out of bolts before I die. But that doesn't happen very frequently I'm not that good a player!

Grenade bandoleer. EMP is excellent for causing havoc and one shotting several people.

Though I prefer EMPs in nearly every situation, I've found frag grenades to be a lot of fun with stalker in certain situations.

I run the ammo belt as I do run out pretty often. Though the bandolier would be good too since EMPs are pretty boss. Flak is an interesting consideration for when I'm in a more congested area with engis around for ammo as there have been times where allies like to duck into my hiding spot when trying to avoid tank fire and I end up eating it as well lol.

This, EMPs get rid of the primary flaw of the crossbow which is its excruciatingly long time to fire a second shot. EMPs will effectively allow you to bring a group of players down to half health which allows you to pick them off with a single bolt.

I have full ammo as I often would run out of them when behind enemy lines. But this is because I prey on the outskirts of battles. If you like something more aggressive then I can see how grenades would come in handy as well. Emps aside, throwing frags from directions enemies are not expecting is a sneaky tactic. I would even consider decoy if they worked. By the way, Sony, I want my certs back for decoy. Adrenaline pump is a solid choice, but then if you don't have targets just hit instant action. I don't see the flak armor useful as with a crossbow you are at a disadvantage indoors, where mines are more problematic. The stalker cloak also keeps you slow and cautious, therefore are mines really a problem? I almost always see them, and when I don't, I mostly survive with a sliver of health.

Like with sniper set up I usually run ammo belt.
With the removal of terminals it's even more needed.
I have a few times been on such long kill streaks in stalker I've had to sneak to enemy ammo packs and abuse them.

One of my most fond memories doing this was sneaking behind a TR sundy slowly as there were around 50 people on the ledge with AV turrets and snipers and such all pointing to this base with this lone ammo pack waiting for me.
I had two bolts left and I managed to get 36 before I saw people stirring again but I managed to use about another 20 before I died.
Only sometimes do I run out of ammo with the belt but alot of times I do go into the zone of where I'd have been out of ammo without it.

I don't have it certed but grenade belt I think could also work very good, emp into a zerg and OHK everyone with xbow means no one reacts to you after getting hit once, which means more chance of lots of kills.

Proxy mines/bouncing betties are so easy to see anymore, especially when sneaking slowly. Quick crossbow shot and they are done. And even when I am running an aggressive hunter cloak loadout, so many times I see them in enough time to jump out of range and survive. Their detonation seems so much slower than claymores.

That aside, my mention above of tank fire has happened enough times to consider flak. But that is purely situational, and still prefer my ammo belt for the same reasons you mentioned. I'm hardly ever around and engi or friendly terminal (and there aren't enough hackable terminals anymore besides Amerish with the revamp). Sure is sweet to find an enemy ammo pack and leech off of that though

I switch between the following, depending on situation:

- Grenade Bandolier
- Adrenaline Pump
- Ammo Belt

For mixed and/or unpredictable engagements, I generally pick the Grenade Bandolier.

The Adrenaline Pump is what I pick when my EMP Grenades start to run low and I'm trying to conserve them in the same mixed/unpredictable engagements.

If I have reasonable suspicion that I'm going to stay alive for a while (I'm behind a ridge of clueless NC snipers), I run the Ammo Belt.

Now I'm in Bangkok but as i'm back home I will open a ticket for a cert refund for decoy grenades. I'll let you know if that's accepted.

Ammo belt. Else I would run out all the time. (I still kinda do)

EMP all the way you can throw a couple of these babies on an a distracted platoon and oneshot everyone of them

I don't currently have emp nades certed so I think I'll do that before I consider the bandolier to carry more.

I run the adrenaline pump for the same reason mentioned by Cruczi, trying to catch up to someone running away and knife them in the back. Grenade bandolier with emp, never thought of that, gonna try that tonight!

I have two loadouts:

For the Xbow: I tried everything, Finally without a doubt settled on using Bandolier with EMPs. Stalker works well for ambush and you can waddle around safely in most cases even in heavy combat. I also found because the Xbow is suited for ambushes that health kits were not giving me as good a return as proxy mines were. I strongly recommend using proxies to boost your kills, cause distractions, give additional firepower and allow you to plan escape routes so you don't have to defend yourself conventionally.

The other trick i found beneficial was switching to the motion spotters for several reasons. First they enable you to see what direction enemies nearby are facing. Allowing you to move easier on open ground with less risk, and second they provide a juicy piece of bait that you can use to lure players towards a location you want or to ambush them. (Side Note: Spotters won't manipulate or pull enemies from far away since they only can detect the motion spotter once they enter inside the spotters range. Spotters are infact more stealthy to use because of this.)

For the COMMY: I went the other route. I wanted pure flanking prowess so I selected the PUMP for easier knife strikes, and health kits to compensate for more messy situations where I took damage. Radar darts fit better with the higher tempo of movement and allowed for enemy manipulation in a more traditional sense I was used to. Its important to note glowing radar darts can still be used to bait or distract but not to the same effectiveness as the spotters.



Example of COMMY loadout

X bow(with scope) + deep enemy territory means that it's "essential to have the ammo belt" I like a little more survivability vs enemy trackers so I run nano weave most of the time.
the above is for when your fairly good at reading the enemy and choosing your kills. always bring a emp grenade it's useful in all kinds of situations.

I run adrenaline pump. It's handy for getting sidearm-knife combos. I arauxi'd the knife before the stalker cloak came out, and I can definitely feel the difference.

My other choice is the shield capacitor.

This doesn't make sense, but hear me out.

I have been trying to do infil+crossbow and get a good KDR for weeks and I've been having a not-fun time with it.

That is, until last night.

I discovered something that I didn't expect to work well.. Something very basic and very new. The Adrenaline pump is absolutely beast with the stalker cloak!!

Why? Maybe it's because I can get between points faster, allowing for more travel distance before my cloak runs out. Maybe it's because I can outrun my enemies who have spotted my shimmer? Maybe I'm just more attuned to the stalker cloak because I used to play LA with an autoshotty and jumpjets back prior to april of last year practically exclusively. Either way, it was a BLAST.

I just wish I had pushed record during the episode. Such FUN.