How do I use stoic?

[Vt]

I've been using only anarchist for almost 300 hours since I was a noob, but it was hard to holdout at open maps(ex. goat simulator). So I decided to learn other perk decks like stoic or rogue, but I think stoic fits well with my current playstyle.
Is there any tips or things about it?
I still can't get the timing with the flask..

[Thermal Lance]

Outside from practicing? Not sure what I can tell you about the timing. It depends on so many factors it ain't even funny. But, once you'll get the hang of it, you'll die of alcohol poisoning way before the cops get you.

[Seal]

Based on my limited experience with the whisky deck, you have to use Stoic almost like it's the inverse of Anarchist. Almost, as in, you can't leap head-first into 50 ZEALs equipped with photonic cannons and expect to live.

Instead, you'll want to fight off a few enemies (depending on the amount of available cover and how tight the corridor is) at a time and avoid taking unnecessary damage when your flask is recharging. In combination with Stoic 9/9 and a build that allows for easy kills, you should have no problem staying at full, or near full, health.

Edit: Adjusted some information.

[vida]

drink

[Darp]

Originally posted by Tahu:

I've been using only anarchist for almost 300 hours since I was a noob, but it was hard to holdout at open maps(ex. goat simulator). So I decided to learn other perk decks like stoic or rogue, but I think stoic fits well with my current playstyle.
Is there any tips or things about it?
I still can't get the timing with the flask..
:be_wronged:

You use the throwable key (im just kidding)
If you haven't gotten the healing from the flask in the perk deck then it will be hard to master. I'd recommend you use the flask only when atleast 1/4 of your healthbar is temp health or else it'd be a waste (unless on very hard or lower).

[Blue Thunder]

It also depends what difficulty you play in the most. Stoic works best on difficulties Mayhem and above. On Overkill is still usable, but you may not get much of it and it's best to use another deck like Hacker (very good Deck on all difficulties) for that.

If playing on Mayhem, you may want to grab First Aid Kits as deployables in case you get downed or are left with very low HP that you need to heal back up to full, or alternatively, run Hostage Tacker Aced. Other than that, it's just about getting used to when to use the flask, and when to take cover and wait those 4 seconds to let the DoT get removed on its own.

[Dave]

use cover efficiently

[Vt]

Thanks guys, I probably need to use it in real games to get good of it...

[drewbstar]

Stay in cover.
Kill enemies to recover your flask faster.
Get Hostage Taker, and Partner in Crime.
Wear good armor.

Beyond that, it's just practice. Stoic is one of, if not the, strongest perk deck in the game.

Your flask has a pretty long recharge, but you can speed it up by getting kills.
10 second recharge, -1 per kill, -2 seconds if your health is below 35%, meaning getting ~3-4 kills can let you recharge.
The other important thing to note is that staying in cover for 4 seconds (and not taking damage) will also count as a recharge, as if you used your flask. If you're dying, and there aren't any/enough cops nearby to kill, dive into cover and hope you don't get hit.

After that, one of the most important parts of Stoic is its healing function. Any remaining damage over time you're getting will be negated, PLUS 50% of it will come back as health. This is what makes Stoic so good on higher difficulties - lower ones don't do enough damage in small bursts to let you properly negate and heal. DW/DS is great because you can get shot 2 times, then flask, and immediately be back at full health.

This is why Hostage Taker is so important, you'll be constantly healing which will massively decrease a lot of the pressure you need to deal with.