User blog:Alias3002/Experimenting with Rhino's broken blog

This will be an ongoing thing so I plan to add more and revise.

What you should know about the Stalker:


 * Has a saboteur role in gameplay.
 * Main purpose is harassing enemies and beacon capture
 * The stealh DOES have a 1 second activation delay
 * Stealth does not mean invincibility
 * Good at capturing beacons and not dying for at least 7 seconds while in the process
 * Killing is only done through guerilla warfare.
 * Has good survivalability compared to most light bots

 Setups for the Stalker


 * Magnums - This is the classic or "recommended" weapon in the description and is the most common setup. Its not the best setup and the turning speed improvement of robots has made it not as effective since one can't play ring around the heavy anymore. The advantage is that it delivers constant damage but the enemy has to be exposed 100% of the time in order to deal damage.
 * Pinatas - I find this to be the best setup for the stalker. It is currently dethroning the magnum as the ideal setup for the stalker for the same reason why people perfer orkans over tarans. Reload time syncs well with stealth cooldown. The burst damage takes only 2 seconds to unleash so that the other 5 seconds can be used to run for cover or get in extra missiles or both. The disadvantage is that it can't hit jumping robots very well but the reality with jumping robots and missiles is you still can to an extent but you have to know how to aim.
 * Aphid - This setup about playing it safe and staying away while still trying to run for beacons. The huge advantage is being able to hit robots over while taking cover over low buildings. Aphids are situational so it is a really good setup while other cases not so much. Low accuracy, shield/fast bots, and tunnels are its down sides. Its ideal against heavies and you can take advantage of dealing full damage when a jumping robot is about to land.
 * Punisher - I never actually used a punisher stalker but I know how punishers work. Its almost works the same way with thunders as its max range is 500m and its optimal range is within 200m but it has a 10 second reload time. Good for taking down anciles. If you plan to go in and shoot someone, I would first shoot for 3 seconds to get to accelerated state before you go into stealth mode to maximize damage.
 * Ecu - This is mainly for beacon capturing and its not very common to see. It might be seen during an event for running beacon tasks.
 * Molot - I wouldn't use molots or you should use something else with more firepower if you plan to camp.
 * Spirals - Not enough firepower. Don't use.
 * Pin - Not enough firepower. No one ever uses pins on a stalker anyway.
 * Gekkos - Whether or not this is a good setup is questionable. Its main purpose is really to piss people off but a gekko gepard might be a better alternative if the use of gekkos and mobility is desired.
 * Noricums - Don't use.

General Advice

I think the biggest problem for stalker pilots is they go on a suicide mission and set themselves up to die fast. Try to get in at least 2 or 3 attacks before death. If you're going to suicide, do it with a purpose. Grab a beacon or hold it as long as you can. Try to flank rather than be at the front of the pack and the center of attention. The stalker is fast and sneaky so use you're speed to your advantage. Use your teammates as cover for your attacks to keep the attention off from you so stealth isn't necessary all the time. Have situational awareness and know your surroundings. Know where the enemies are other than the one(s) in front of you. This will help avoid being flanked or ambushed. When taking center beacons, its better to run from the side and grab it. Running from the front only encourages the enemy to prepare to take it back immediately after you take it. Sometimes the most dangerous spot can work if there are no other places to go. Your teammates can play a role in moving their attention from you to them or if they kill them for you.</li>  Don't stealth too early. Sometimes they're not paying attention to you even after you attack so stealth when they notice you. Precautions Thunders can still hit you even on a flat surface and I would pay special attention to elevation if you are elevated and then are lower than you, they still damage you. People will try to use elevation to hit you so watch out. <p style="font-weight:normal;"> Stealth saves you most of the time however some robots, especially the fujin can still hit you while in stealth mode. Gareths and galahads can hit you somewhat.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> Be aware of where your teammates are if they are close since they can ruin your stealth if the enemies shoot at them and they hit you. People also can use the vertical auto-aim of nearby robots to hit you but I don't find it to be much of a problem.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> When it comes to stalker fights, the magnum stalker is superior with constant damage and no reload. At this point, stealth isn't very helpful unless elevation comes into play and if the other stalker setups don't retreat or utilize cover, they will die.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> If missiles are involved, especially tulumbas or pins, be aware of walls. The stalker is too low for griffins to hit stalkers but they always try anyway and if you are near a wall or up against it, you will be hit.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> The one second delay can mess up your timing so you need to act fast against ambushes or jumps because the 1 second difference is all it takes to losing a lot of health or dying.

<h2 style="font-weight:normal;"> Targets and Prey for the Stalker   Easy Targets: Mainly heavy and medium robots. This includes the Leo, Natasha, Fury, Raijin, Butch, Vitayz, Patton, Golem, Boa, and Doc. These robots are easy to hit because most are slow and they don't have any special ability in avoiding damage. The slower the target, the better for aphid stalker. Medium Targets: Mainly shielded and light bots. This includes the Griffin, Rhino, Galahad, Gareth, Lancelot, Carnage, Fujin, and all light robots. These robots have some protection against a type of weapon and move faster so they are better at avoiding damage and closing in on you. Depending on your weapons, some robots will be classified as easier or harder targets. Rhinos, Lancelots, galahad, gareth are easy if you have pinatas but not with magnums or kinetic weapons. Pinatas, aphids, and kinetic weapons have to go through their shields first to hurt them but not with magnums. Light robots and shield robots will be harder for aphid and kinetic/energy weapon stalkers, respectively. Fujin can only use its shield or get away so the moment it turns its shield off is where you can sneak in some damage or run into its shield for non-energy weapons.

Hard Targets: Rogatka, Inquisitor, Lancelot (with ancile), Kumiho, Haechi, and Bulgarsi. These robots will give you a hard time. The dash bots especially are extra hard because they are so good at avoiding damage. Rogatkas can jump over low buildings and close in on you so they are a bigger threat compared to Griffins. If you are using pinatas, don't unload all your pinatas, shoot a couple to get them to jump or dash and then unload all your pinatas. This might not be effective with dashes because they can have two charges so all I can say is good luck. Aphids can sometimes hit them if they are idle but are mostly ineffective. For any other weapon, all I can say is good luck and keep your distance because they will cover ground and ambush very quickly. Their vulnerability is in an open space with no cover.

Stealth Ability
<p style="font-weight:normal;"> This is the special ability of the stalker that makes it hated by other players. The small size of the stalker allows it to not be hit on a flat surface from taller and bigger robots. The timing of the stealth is important as well as using cover as much as possible to your advantage. Its doesn't mean your invincible so it is possible to get hit while stealth and you need to pay attention to elevation.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> When you enter into stealth mode, you should be running to another spot for cover as you shoot if enemies get too close. If the enemy is either stationary or approaching slowly and there is lots of cover, it is generally safe to attack in stealth and retreat to the same cover you're using. This can keep going on unless there are big gaps or little cover. When they start approaching, save the stealth for a retreat rather than a suicide. You don't want to stealth but have no where to hide.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> Before you stealth, you should think where you should run to next and whether you can make there in time. Often times you can start running before they turn around the corner to your next spot. The other thing to consider if you can't reach back to safety, is the spot safe enough to hide long enough for the cooldown. When finding cover, its best to watch where you are going so you run up against a wall backpedaling and waste precious time that can cost you your life. You will make mistakes but you will learn the maps really well next time you backpedal to cover.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> There are times when not to use stealth. Don't use it every time its available, only when you're confronting the enemy to avoid damage. Another key thing is learning not the use it at the wrong time. Don't use it to avoid minor injury. I see people activate it as soon as they are touched only to make it to cover one second later. Another tactic people try to do is waste your stealth. They come out from cover only to go back to it to wait for your stealth to end so its not a good idea to make an offensive move if they're about to make a move on you. Wait for them to make an offensive move first so you know they can't easily hide back.

<h2 style="font-weight:normal;"> Beacon Capture <p style="font-weight:normal;"> When capturing beacons, it is common to find other enemy robots doing the same. This is where pinatas does a better job than magnums since if a gareth comes and you don't have pinatas or pins then you're in trouble. Enemy light robots aren't as difficult to kill as heavy robots. Unless they're robots is low level, you still would have to find cover or cornershoot to kill them. In higher leagues, gareths will get replaced with rogatkas and rhinos and occasionally kumihos.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> Before you take a beacon, especially the middle beacon, you need to consider if there are enemy robots already going after it and if there is cover to determine if its a good idea to run for it anyway. What happens a lot is a stalker will go for the center beacon on Shenzken map for example, and while the stalker is taking the beacon, a taran griffin walks towards it and waits for its stealth to end. When it does, the griffin kills the stalker and then the griffin recaptures afterwards. The stalker ends up wasted so if they are watching the center and are waiting for you to fall in this trap then maybe you should choose another time. You can't be the center of attention.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> Sometimes you have enough time to neutralize the middle beacon without getting hurt. On Dead City, you just have enough time to turn it white and then run away. Same with Yamantau. However, depending on the situation, you may need to die to take the beacon or to hold the beacon for as long as you can. Its generally good to die taking the beacon if its on Yamantau, Shenzken, and to some extent Dead City where taking the center is normally a suicide mission or people are too afraid to. Its also a good idea to stay with the beacon if your team has four beacons to hold four as long as you can such as the enemy's second beacon on Springfield or Yamantau.

<h2 style="font-weight:normal;"> Upgrade suggestions for Stalker <p style="font-weight:normal;"> For using the stalker, I recommend at least level 8 for decent durability and at max level 10. Upgrading to level 9 is best for maximum speed and decent durability. Beyond level 10 and the upgrade times drastically increases to 4+ days so I stop at 10. For weapon level, the general rule is to have your weapons slightly higher than the robot level but for the stalker or other light robots, I recommend upgrading one or two level higher than your average level weapons. I say this because the stalker only has two slots and the upgrade times and costs on light weapons are lower than medium and heavy hardpoints. For example, the level 12 silver costs for the pinata and magnum is roughly the same as a level 11 medium weapon upgrade with upgrades time being less than 2 and a half days.

<h2 style="font-weight:normal;"> Attacking Strategies - Maps

<h3 style="font-weight:normal;"> Springfield <p style="font-weight:normal;"> This map is an okay map for the stalker. While the city side provides cover, there is still a no man's land between the sides and the other half of the map is a bad area for snipers. In domination mode, the map shows the ultimate beacon capturing goals for both spawn points for capturing beacons. There tends to be snipers so I drawn the best routes to avoiding snipers as much as possible. If you're not taking these routes or you're helping with the center beacon offensive/defensive then there are spots depending on your weapon of choice. You can



<p style="font-weight:normal;"> fall in the lock under the two bridges and shoot from above if you have aphids but if not, start walking out of it and aroun d the city part where you can flank any snipers present. Another spot you can use is hiding behind the wall and pole structure at the center beacon for the blue side. This is a dangerous spot but it does work as long as they do n't come out and if they do, you can use the  pole structure as emergency cover. If your on the red side, and the enemy took the center beacon, you can use the bridge as emergency cover as well. For red side, the farm is a good spot that provides cover for the stalker if you can manage to get to it. Normally going around the hill is needed in order to avoid sniper fire.

<h3 style="font-weight:normal;"> Shenzhen <p style="font-weight:normal;"> This is not a good map for the stalker but there are still areas with some cover that the stalker can use. The success of the stalker largely depends on how good you're team is so you can use the stalker wherever its best used. I want to highlight the areas a stalker can use for cover. The parking lot beacon is the worst spot with an open space between the sides. Generally, you have enough stealth time to cross if they're camping near their base if they're standing around the red x's. For one side, the stalker reaches a good spot with lots of cover. The other side isn't as good and is a risky area if the enemy approaches. I highlight this area in yellow as temporary cover. The enemy's base buildings can be used for cover but I didn't bother highlighting all of it. So if the enemy starts approaching on either side, try making a head start if you can if you are using the yellow or green route. The green route is really ambitious but I've done it before. The other beacon with the roof is actually a good area for a 1 vs 1 fight.

There are narrow corridors that the stalker can use to run away while waiting for cooldown to end. This is where pinata stalker excels because right when they come around the corner you can shoot and run away while having to use stealth if you're at the other end. When moving out of a corridor and in the open is where you can get hit by midrangers and snipers so it doesn't always work. Occasionaly you can hide in the orange areas before they come out to kill you. I also wanna say that the lack of low buildings makes this the worst map for aphid stalker. The only tactic you can try if they don't have missiles is cornershooting.

<h3 style="font-weight:normal;"> Moon Map This map is a great map for the stalker and for most setups. The stalker does very well for getting away from damage. On this map, its very easy to flank people with the speed of the stalker but its also easy to get flanked yourself so pay attention to your surroundings. The map shows some tactics you can use for the stalker. The dotted green line means line of fire and yellow line with that the stalker excels at hitting enemies without getting easily killed or hurt compared to a normal bot. On many occasions, the reds will advance through the tunnel and hide around the corner, making it hard to kill them if you have to expose yourself to several enemies which can lead to a quick death. This is where the stalker does well because it

can expose itself during stealth to attack without getting smoked compared to a normal robot. This also works well the same way if the enemy is standing on the second level and the stalker is standing on the ramp. The stalker can easily get away with damage without being in danger. Now you have to get the beacons to win so once you fall off the ledge (going left) or run past the home beacon (going right), this is the point of no return. This is where the stalker can easily get cornered and killed if you're flanked. Another random piece of advice is if you have pinatas or rockets and you're standing in the tunnel and there is an enemy above you, you can shoot through the roof and hurt them. Get within 42/43m or as close as you can and shoot. The blast radius is large enough even for pinata/orkans to hurt them through the ceiling. Be aware of this in case if you're the one on top so the enemy doesn't do this to you. Its a great way to get the enemy off the middle beacon or kill them if you want to capture it. This is generally an easy map since it favors close-range so have fun.

Canyon
This is a bad map for the stalker because of the lack of cover. The success of the stalker largely depends on how many knife fighters there are on your team and the enemy team. You're teammates are you're cover so if you're team is camping and the enemy team is aggressive then you're not going to have a good time. The stalker is generally used to capture the center beacon first and race the other team to it but the majority of times, spawning the stalker first is not a good idea. I would keep the stalker for the later game. Everyone likes to spawn their midrangers and snipers first before their knife fighters so you won't have much support during the first few minutes of the game. Sometimes, your team still keeps camping and the game is just a lost cause so don't get too worked up about dying or losing. Most of the fighting with the stalker will happen around the bridge with the occasion fight on a side beacon or on a mission to take out a sniper. There's not really any tactics I could recommend because it all depends on the where an enemy is present that will make the cover safe or not so it varies each game. The stalker should probably be used for late in the game and for flanking or assasinating. </li>