Stalker: what, why?

[InstaGoat]

Relative newb here, wondering something.

Today I met the stalker for the first time, or whatever that enemy ninja is. I knew the taunts were bad news, but when I actually met him I fell apart completely. He shows up, is visible for a felt 10 seconds, then turns invisible and another 5 seconds later I am dead. Cue his Victory proclamation, and me feeling completely stunted.

I was doing a solo low level mission to try out a new stance, and this was not what I expected. What is this thing? Is it in the game to cut players who have been doing too well when they start down to size? I met the grustrag three when playing with a friend, and they were no problem compared to this.

 

So my question is, what is this thing, why does it exist, and how do I not get humiliated next time?
Many thanks in advance for your answers!

Cheers
Insta

[Dhrekr]

5 minutes ago, InstaGoat said:

So my question is, what is this thing, why does it exist, and how do I not get humiliated next time?

Stalker is kind of meant to trash you the first times you meet him. He is a nasty dude filled with hate, and the first times he'll kill you.

Experience is the only way to prevent Stalker from murdering you. He does telegraph his attacks in a way. In the future you will unlock a specific... weapon mode... that will allow you to kill him very easily. In the meantime, you defeat him like this:

- Have weapons with different elements. Stalker can adapt his elemental resistence to your damage, meaning that you'll do less damage unless you can switch elements.

- Be extremely mobile. Stalker will kill you easily if you stand.

[Snydrex]

He cannot actually go invisible.

You need to be aware of your surroundings, as in look around, because as he's taunting you, he'll 'fake appear' around you. When he says "Your sentence is death!" Or a final taunt, he'll appear, kneeling somewhere nearby, before getting up to attack you.

He is strong, and if you're new, then probably hard to beat. What you need to do is take cover often, and if there's nothing in between you and him, MOVE. No, I mean it. Don't stand still. Jump, roll, glide, do whatever while you try to shoot him. Use warframe abilities sparingly, as he can disable them with ease.

He's not that bad when you get used to his encounters, and will die prettymuch instantly later on when you get stronger..

Edited February 28, 2018 by Snydrex

[(PSN)Awesomenisticus]

Keep playing...

Not knowing your point in the story, can't reveal too much...

[Shalath]

We can't really answer that without some fairly major spoilers but rest assured he won't be a problem forever.

Firstly try to keep a lot of different elemental damage mods as he quickly builds resistances to them so once the damage numbers start to fall off switch to another weapon. I've heard that he has issues finding you if you jump on a crate or similar.

As I understand it he is there to make players fearful he will turn up and generally to wreck your day but the chances of him turning up are fairly small. Once you complete the quest The Second Dream all will become clear.

[(XBOX)DS Monkfish]

He's there for a reason, but it's story-related and you'll find the answers to your questions as you complete more quests. I don't want to spoil anything for you so I can't really say much more than that... but he's supposed to freak you out right now. 

As far as non-spoilery tips go, have a variety of different elemental weapons handy, roll dodge and flip like a badass, and do not stand still!

Before you know it you'll be laughing at him when he shows up, so for now enjoy the terror.

Good luck, Tenno.

[tastic]

if marked for death after killing a boss, usually Vor he comes and attempts to kill you or by killed by you.  If you have no decent weapons equipped you can run and avoid him for a time and he gives up and leaves the mission, but he also triggers the locked door alarm so if you need to run you have to lockpick quickly or make a lockpick and use it to get away.

To counter him going invisible use the mark feature and he will be marked in red on you mini map, then you either stand and fight or run

[chaotea]

A good tip is to use your location tagging shortcut to tag the stalker (aim at him and press it). This will highlight him with an 'enemy' mark. It will help you keep track of him as he teleports about.

 

The stalker is summoned randomly on you should you get a 'Stalker Mark'. You get these marks when you kill bosses. When the stalker appears, the mark is removed.

[(PSN)l-p4p-I]

Basically, Stalker is like the 'punisher' of all Tenno. Everytime u kill a boss (Vor, Jackal, Rapor, etc), The Stalker marks u for killing him. U receive only 1 mark for each boss killed, but u can accumulate more than one killing many bosses. The probability of he appearing is very low. Besides this, u can increase chance accumulating marks killing many bosses as u can.

If u dont want get rekt for him, try ur best weapons n' ur most tanky frame.

Edited February 28, 2018 by (PS4)p4p1Ch4lon
Grammar

[LordPreda]

26 minutes ago, InstaGoat said:

Relative newb here, wondering something.

Today I met the stalker for the first time, or whatever that enemy ninja is. I knew the taunts were bad news, but when I actually met him I fell apart completely. He shows up, is visible for a felt 10 seconds, then turns invisible and another 5 seconds later I am dead. Cue his Victory proclamation, and me feeling completely stunted.

I was doing a solo low level mission to try out a new stance, and this was not what I expected. What is this thing? Is it in the game to cut players who have been doing too well when they start down to size? I met the grustrag three when playing with a friend, and they were no problem compared to this.

 

So my question is, what is this thing, why does it exist, and how do I not get humiliated next time?
Many thanks in advance for your answers!

Cheers
Insta

The advice @Dhrekr gave about using different weapon elements like cold or fire only applies to this enemy during and after The Second Dream quest (which is kinda about him). Before that quest his primary advantage isn't damage adaptation, but mobility and the ability to nullify all your powers.

The Stalker is opportunistic. He has a higher chance to come after you when you're running with low-level or unleveled gear, and he marks you for death for every kill of a boss that you have. The best you can do is keep moving, not rely on abilities (remember, he cancels those at range) and always be slightly paranoid, or run with a squad, since he can't really take you if you have help.

[InstaGoat]

So many good answers already, thanks guys! This clears it up really well.

I'll try and enjoy the beatings for now, if he shows up again. Time to go towards those quests!

[LordPreda]

1 minute ago, InstaGoat said:

So many good answers already, thanks guys! This clears it up really well.

I'll try and enjoy the beatings for now, if he shows up again. Time to go towards those quests!

ONE MORE THING!

You asked us "what, why?" You can find more out about the Stalker by scanning him 3 times and reading the codex entry. This is best done either by scanning him as he spawns (because he is stationary as he teleports in, and it takes a few seconds) or by getting yourself the Helios Sentinel, which is a little drone that will scan him for you.

[NinthAria]

Before clearing The Second Dream, mobility is paramount; Stalker's weapons are quite deadly, especially to newer players who may not have maxed health/shield mods, and he can easily dispatch you at range. Try to engage him at close- to mid-range, and find cover or start dodging once you hear his bow charging up. Don't rely too much on warframe powers; he's immune to most damaging and debuffing powers, and can dispel buffs you might normally use to survive tough spots, like Rhino's Iron Skin or Valkyr's Hysteria. Also, take time while he's doing his opening taunts to position yourself properly--he locks down the stage on entry, so make sure you find a room with plenty of cover and space to maneuver before he appears.

A good rule of thumb I use also is to always carry at least one maxed-out, fully modded weapon while death marked. Stalker is nothing if not an opportunist, and sooner or later he will come knocking while you're trying to level up new gear. However, he only gains the adaptive damage reduction that other posters have mentioned after clearing The Second Dream, so if you have a solid weapon on hand as a backup--I tend to go for shotguns, but a good automatic also works, or even a sniper rifle/bow if your aim is good--you stand a much better chance of taking him down when caught off guard.

Should you manage to beat him, he offers some rather enticing weaponry--his, to be specific--as well as a unique nikana stance. Best of luck.

[Curufean]

52 minutes ago, InstaGoat said:

what is this thing, why does it exist,

If you get codex scans on stalker you get a little story about why it hates you so much, until then though it can be briefly affected by abilities like a rhino stomp to make it stand still for a couple of seconds, otherwise keep moving, shoot it in the face and uh...don't die?  I guess.....yeah.  Don't die.  Or if you just want it to go away do die.

[(XBOX)R3d P01nt]

18 hours ago, Snydrex said:

He cannot actually go invisible.

Regular Stalker certain can.  He has the Smoke Screen ability.

17 hours ago, LordPreda said:

He has a higher chance to come after you when you're running with low-level or unleveled gear...

Not true.

[RobWasHere]

Pre second dream Stalker is quite a nuisance. All weapons are dodgeable, but one hit from his Dread and you can bleed to death very quickly. Being to close he may stagger you with Hate. Mobility is key here, and keep an eye of his attacks. Most dangerous one is copy-paste of Nyx Absorb. Don't waste time on defensive or channeled abilities - he will dispel those and CC dont work at all.
After Second Dream his kit changes and try to chase you and wack with War instead, loosing all ranged weapons. That doesnt mean he cant attack at range - he can throw bomb or send a Excal's energy wave. Most dangerous here is laser orb, kinda like Mirage's prism that will chase you. Instead of mobility, equipment variety is a key here. Equip weapons that deal different type of damage.

[GOLDNROD]

The stalker is a bully. He only ever shows up when you're weak. Because you can't chose not to encounter him like regular bosses that means he was intentionally put into the game by the devs to bully you. Before the second dream quest it's not hard to one or two shot him with a well modified hek. But because he's a bully he rarely comes after you when you could actually defend yourself, like when you're trying to level new weapons and such. Luckily the only he does is leave you ashamed and feeling inadequate though so that makes it OK for this unavoidable bully to harass you.

[(XBOX)R3d P01nt]

22 hours ago, GOLDNROD said:

He only ever shows up when you're weak.

Once again, this is false.

[DissentWomble]

Always mark him (default button G)  when he spawns so theres a tag on him so you can easily track him. After that you'll think hes just a mini game after you learn his attack patterns.