-
#15470
snipereknek/gunlingereknek egy kis feedback:
Sniper/Gunslingers are a worthless class.
Some background: I played a Scoundrel to 50 last build and enjoyed myself (minus some issues I provided extensive feedback about), and I wanted to see the IA story line this build as I'm not happy enough with the game at this stage in development to purchase the game at release.
I was the author of the major "Cover still sucks" post last build which had over 400 replies, thousands of views, and developer posts within. I predicted the exact way the cover system would be changed in a previous build in a feedback post, and feel I'm well versed in the Smuggler/Operative class at this stage in development.
Why Snipers and Gunsligers are a worthless class:
They do nothing except DPS, and are lacking relative to other classes who gain utility from simply being able to tank or heal, even if they choose not to.
I understand the allure of wanting to play a pure DPS class in an MMO as I've notoriously played DPS classes in other MMOs and even I cannot bring myself to play an AC that has absolutely no upsides relative to others because I would simply lose out of aspects of the other ACs for no gain.
All choosing Sniper/Gunslinger (or Marauder/Sent as the case may be) does for you is limit your grouping options. You require exactly 0 points in tanking or healing relevant skill trees to complete group content, and I know this by doing it last build on my Scoundrel where I healed all 4-player quest content I could find, as well as every FP I could access. That said, even if you choose not to heal or tank ever, you still gain perks for simply not playing pure DPS ACs.
This is a matter of utility, not play style.
Utility difference between Sniper and Operative ACs
Playstyles (melee vs. ranged) aside for now...
Operatives have stealth, vanish (full threat drop), sap, cleanse, full DOT removal, group stealth, battle rez, non-spec specific energy regen, and the cooldown (15m) removed from their OOC rez.
Snipers have longer range on some skills, Shatter Shot (20% armor debuff), and 20% shield wall for people who stand near you.
For those keeping score at home, an AC that cannot heal themselves at all has 2 less survival abilities than the AC that can without even taking into account the ability to just heal.
Now, you might be thinking "Well, Snipers have no push back, CC immunity 1/3 of the time, and an AOE knockback" but cover has it's own set of caveats, and the vast majority of Sniper utility relies on it.
The counter to a Sniper blowing Entrench for CC immunity is to just stand out of LOS. Operative DPS uses no cast-time damage skills except Orbital Strike so push back is a moot point... and I'm pretty sure Vanishing out of combat is significantly more effective than knocking targets back.
Snipers/Gunslingers vs. Other ranged classes
Let's get one thing perfectly clear: Not all abilities for Sniper/GS are 35m, so they don't out-range people if they choose to go Sab/Engi as all their "good" skills are 30m range.
They also don't have a lot of defensive options relative to other ranged classes, as 2/3 of them are healers, and the 3rd is a tank and is arguably more melee-oriented (much like you can play an Operative as ranged through the common tree, but it's worse than the AC-specific ones.)
Want to play a ranged DPS class with a Gun? Merc/Commando is better in every way, and can heal. Better AOE options, roughly equal range, Sunder armor, no cover requirement, heavier armor... See where this is going?
I've yet to play a Sorc/Sage, so I cannot comment on their effectiveness in damage relative to a Sniper, but from what I've seen (and read about on the hundreds of PvP balance posts) it's not even a reasonable comparison.
Final thoughts:
I have no idea why anyone would play a Sniper. I'm about to delete a level 25 one to restart it as an Operative or might just roll a Merc/Sage. What a fantastic waste of time.
It should also be noted that Snipers do less damage than Operatives from level 20 until ~30, when they get Followthrough because of how brokenly good Lacerate is.