What's Up With Interplanetary Stalker?

Borderlands 3 FL4K the Beastmaster
#1

Has anyone seen anything in a video or online giving any insight into this ability?

Every other ability that provides stacks tells you how many stacks and how long they last. This one only outlines the stack count for the unique bonus and it’s duration, not the first bonus mentioned in its own paragraph.

Is it to be assumed that this buff is ONLY applied IF there is a unique bonus buff active? Does this mean we’ll usually only have 3 stacks of this except in areas where combat includes a mix of at least two of the enemy types here?

If this is so, can the ability read in the other direction? Introduce the actual stack count first and follow it as “additionally, for each stack FL4K will also gain an additional % weapon damage” or something cause it’s reading really inconsistent right now lol

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#3

Here’s my consistency issue.

Paragraph separators are used to explicitly outline a difference OR to emphasize a point. In this case, it’s functionality.

If both the base bonus (first paragraph) and the unique bonus (second paragraph) have the same stack size and duration consistency, then why not identify that appropriately?

As it reads, the unique bonus has to be assumed to wear off after a short time (maybe a minute after the last kill, maybe less), but it definitely won’t persist “until” death as they’ve been very clear in that kind of mechanic in previous abilities.

Honestly, someone with GBX should just take a look at this and fix it because it’s one ability that reads very confusing and I know that’s not what they want lol

I am also very aware this may be an unimportant thing. I recognize my autism is sometimes very nit picky about consistency. Just tell me to ignore it and enjoy the game lol

#5

Notice how they outline the stack count and duration in this one? This is the consistency issue I’m having. This information is missing and confusing - at best.

Also note how the second paragraph IDENTIFIES its focus by outlining that it’s still talking about Furious Attack and adding a modification to it. This is the consistent way that these abilities are done, but for some reason IS simply doesn’t do this for the “primary” bonus (since it doesn’t identify it as a primary or secondary, we’re going to identify it as a primary until GBX does otherwise since they put it first).

So every other ability specifies a focus or just adds to the previous. IS specifies a new focus in the second paragraph without linking and I’m really just looking to understand if the primary has its own stack count, what that is (if it does), OR if it’s just there when there’s a unique bonus? (I believe it’s the last option, personally, as that makes the most sense to me based on implied patterns. I’m a weird mind haha I apologize)

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#7

Any updates on this clarification? I can’t seem to find anything but speculation.

Cheers!

#8

This skill never gets over 3 stacks on the bar, and is always just one skill icon no matter how many kills you make or what kinds of enemies you kill. I would be very surprised if it actually gets more than 3 stacks worth of that primary bonus given the way it is tracked visually. It certainly doesn’t feel like I’m building up more than the 30% worth of this skill in a mobbing run and I definitely feel like I’m losing between fights too when the stacks decay.
What I’m really not sure on is how it stacks the enemy bonuses, since it doesn’t, at least visually, track each enemy type separately.

#10

Hey, @layenem, thanks for making this post. I realise it’s going on for 20 months old now, BUT(!) I have the same query. My understanding (reckoning) is this; basically it would read better if there were line breaks before the penultimate and final sentences. And also if they hadn’t confusingly used the word “unique” twice in the same paragraph to refer to two different concepts. E.g. if you replaced the second usage of “unique” with “stack type”.

So for example;

///
For each stack of Interplanetary Stalker, they and their pet gain a bonus to all damage dealt.

Additionally, they gain a unique stacking bonus depending on the type of enemy killed.

Each [stack type] bonus can stack up to three times.

Each stack decays after a short time.
///

So, first things first, everything listed is a “bonus”, and each “bonus” can stack up to three time. I.e. For every kill, a damage bonus of +10%, up to max 3 stacks. And on top of that, if those three kills were human, then the +15% action skill damage is also x3 for the duration of those 3 three stacks.

If the stacks decay is 30 seconds(?) and you killed those 3 humans in 10 seconds, you have a remaining 20 seconds before the first stack wears off and so on.
If 10 seconds later you’ve killed 3 robots;

  • Your max stacks are still at 3, so the standard-damage bonus is still +30%.
  • You’ve got 10 seconds left of the 3 stacks of bonus action skill damage from the human kills
  • And now you have 3 fresh “additional” bonus stacks of the robot kill corrosive damage for 30 seconds.
  • 10 second later with lets say no kills, and the human kill bonus stacks have worn off, but you’ve still got 20 seconds left of robot bonus stacks.

The only thing I’m unsure of (except for still being unsure of the whole thing), is whether the original +10% damage bonus stacks (from the human kills in the scenario above) wear off after those original stacks decay, leaving with you with no standard-damage bonus and only the robot/corrosive damage bonus, or whether the new damage stacks overwrite the old? I guess it must be the latter.

  • Get a kill?
  • Fresh damage and pet stack.
  • No matter what.
  • Fresh stack.
  • Then additional bonuses stack and decay in their respective rights.

I originally wrote this skill off when I first started playing, which I did with a FL4K/Rakk build. Then I moved onto the other two Action Skills/Trees. However, I’m just coming back to it now, and I’ve realised this skill is only really worth anything when you stick 3 points on Big Game. Not so much for the additional 30% damage boost (which is nice), but for the time bonus. Because in the example above I used 30 seconds, but I’m pretty sure it’s closer to 10 or 15. Which means unless you’re in a slaughterhouse, you’re rarely getting full effect. But once you extend that decay window, you really notice the difference as you go into battle after kills 1, 2, 3, and then you’re in! Let’s GO! Especially if one of those kills was a badass and you’ve doubled down on TMDG.

Anyway, thanks for the OP. Writing this all down has been helpful and cathartic for me at least, even if it just sounds like ramblings to every else hahah.

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