Stalker

Stalker

* Statistics

## Mech Information

Stalker is a medium energy attacker mech. He is the first mech to be introduced via Crate rush instead of the progress path. Stalkers ability can be seen as a combination between Brickhouse and M.D., allowing him to deal 1.5x damage and heal. This does come at a price though, as Stalker takes 1.25x damage from weapons when in predator drive, doesn't heal continuedly but only when it kills an opponent and doesn't affect its teammates. This makes Stalker an aggressively oriented mech that can use HP as a resource instead of a finite healthpool. Stalker also has the same amount of HP as an Ares without shield, making him one of the strongest mechs on the field and a favorite of many players.

## Upsides

Stalker has a huge healthpool, high speed and medium energy capacity. Combining that with his powerful ability that not only gives him an edge by practically dealing 50% more damage than your opponents as well as healing stalker when defeating an enemy makes Stalker a force to be reckoned with. Although Stalker does take 1.25x damage to itself when in predator drive, he deals 1.5x damage himself, so this equates to a 1,25x damage advantage over your opponent in a single mech encounter. Because Stalker can heal back up after a kill he can leave an encounter with the exact amount of health he had and get out of dangerous situations by picking off low health mechs. This makes Stalker a hard mech to deal with and is almost impossible to outdamage.

## Downsides

While Stalker is very powerful in a single mech encounter, his predator drive can actually hinder him when fighting two or more mechs at a time or fighting mechs out of your range, as the receiving damage boosts symmetrical nature outweighs your own damage boost in those situations.

## Strategy

### Using:

Stalkers unique ability allows it to adapt a very unique playstyle where you can be more reckless, as your healthpool is a lot more flexible. Killing mechs that are damaged and alone should be your focus when low on health, while committing to stronger encounters should only be considered when your health is high. Being able to play more reckless than other mechs however doesn't mean you don't have to rely on cover and stand in the open, as your health is still valuable and should only be sacrificed when necessary.

### Countering:

Stalker, while very strong in a single mech encounter, is quite weak when facing two opponents at once. Using this too your advantage is your best bet when facing stalker. Brickhouse is the only mech that can effectively outdamage Stalker, as his ability is one-sided while Stalkers ability is symmetrical, allowing Brickhouse to deal 1.75x damage while Stalker can only deal 1.5x damage if both their abilities are active. Flanking a Stalker can also be highly effective.

## Builds

* Arc torrents: This build gives you the ability to outdamage any opponent while also being great at picking off weak opponents due to the nature of the magazine
* Carbines: Works like Arc torrents, but with bullets
* Missile rack: Using Missile racks high burst allows you to take less damage, somewhat mitigating the predator drives downside
* Disc launchers: This build allows you to use Stalker at any range. Disc launchers synergise especially well with stalker because the enemy dosen't even have to see you for you to kill them, and disc launchers have fairly low damage (not including back-hits), but stalker's predator drive can boost the damage to incredible heights. Disc launchers also have a large radius, allowing stalker to kill multiple enemies and get lots of healing. this also allows stalker to counter shadows.
* Rocket mortar: Just like with Brickhouse, rocket mortars on a stalker makes for a deadly combination. This build also doesn't suffer as much from the symmetricity of the predator drive
* Gauss rifle: Although Gauss rifle is often seen as an underwhelming weapon, it is highly effective on Stalker.