Is SS GS not viable in PvP anymore after 1.2?

[derekleong]

Just had a heartbreak when I received a comment that my SS GS that I've been pvp'ing with till WH should make way for DF GS.

 

What are the thoughts of the other GS?

[KshatriyaDharma]

My opinion of SS:

 

Pros

Highest burst

reduced cd on hunker down

reduced cd on flyby - which is the best aoe in the game.

ballistic dampers

Diversion - the accuracy and cover debuff

 

 

Cons

White dmg - hits all defence types. Quite poor on heavy armour and tank specs.

lower sustained dps compared to DF after the initial burst

 

 

 

 

My opinion on DF:

 

Pros

Yellow dmg - tech, not affected by enemy defence

high sustained dps

Increased mobility

 

Cons

literally no defence

lose the reduced aoe cooldown

lose the reduced hunker down cooldown

takes 3 GCD's before your burst kicks in

 

 

 

The play style of both is quite different. I am quite torn at the moment between the better utility of SS over the better sustained damage of DF at the moment. But both are viable in pvp in my opinion.

[Bartes]

well, this is quite situational and based on lucky proc but new Burst Volley, sometimes, practically grants SS infinite energy while in cover (coupled with Fox Hole ofc).

 

So far in both PvP and PvE I noticed big difference in energy drain. Maybe in PvP it is less noticable coz I need to leave cover often but during FPs I have no problems with energy now.

[Arehonn]

It's all about preference and playstyle. SS is very viable.

 

- You can eat up 7-10k of someone's health in the blink of an eye.

 

- You're an area denial specialist,

 

- With a healer you become a spot tank.

 

- You don't have to worry too much about energy drain unless you're careless.

 

I switch from Dirty Fighter to SS ( currently DF right now ) and I love both specs. Both can be beasts in PvP, but I prefer SS in PvE.

[Synavix]

Do not go DF over SS unquestionably. A lot of it will depend on play-style, role, and group setup. I'll personally be going SS once premades are released to compliment the DF gunslinger in our group and provide quick burst on healers. For messing around in solo queues I've been playing DF a little more often.

[Morticoccus]

I still prefer SB, you only need to sink 9 points into the SS tree to get the best of both worlds, energy regen and massive AOE from SB and ballistic dampers from SS.

 

And yes I do realize 9 points is a lot, but every last one of them is worth it.

[Blurps]

While 1.2 brought boosts to both Sab and DF they weren't large enough to make either tree mandatory for PvP. Gunslinger is now in the fortunate position to have 3 working trees with varied playstyles and somewhat different specific purposes ( they are still all DPS-ish of course ).

 

Certain builds may be more suited to the role your group expects you to fill though,

Edited April 23, 2012 by Blurps

[jsalemi]

And the boosts to our damage in 4 of our attacks is going to make us even better, regardless of tree (though SS will probably benefit the most).

[Puumeri]

I still prefer DF or DF/Sabo hybrid for mobility and more damage.

[Sogui]

Just had a heartbreak when I received a comment that my SS GS that I've been pvp'ing with till WH should make way for DF GS.

 

What are the thoughts of the other GS?

 

SS got buffed today. I got top damage in over 100 straight warzones on my SS spec Gunslinger between 1.2 and 1.21.

 

Whoever says that SS spec isn't good for PVP needs to unsubscribe and stop making ignorant comments.

[taugrimtaugrim]

Just had a heartbreak when I received a comment that my SS GS that I've been pvp'ing with till WH should make way for DF GS.

 

What are the thoughts of the other GS?

 

SS GS has been really effective in PVP in the 10-49 bracket, and I've had my teeth kicked in by Snipers / GSs at 50.

 

So I'm not sure why people have the perception (even before 1.2) that SS isn't effective in PVP. It can deliver some of the most compact burst damage in the game, from range.

[HeavensTerror]

Still feel SS has the best burst dmg of all three. Sure you get more dmg with the others, but dropping targets faster is more important then overall dmg.

[taugrimtaugrim]

Still feel SS has the best burst dmg of all three. Sure you get more dmg with the others, but dropping targets faster is more important then overall dmg.

 

Agree with this.

 

Dropping people is what SS excels at. SS GS is the only spec / class I've played where I can consistently reach a 50+% ratio of killing blows to kills. That's a simple reflection of the superb finishing capability - from range - that SS has.

[Sogui]

Still feel SS has the best burst dmg of all three. Sure you get more dmg with the others, but dropping targets faster is more important then overall dmg.

 

I would even disagree with this. Nobody was putting out parsed combat logs which showed dirty fighting doing more than sharpshooting on target dummies. At most you could say they had roughly even damage.

 

Then you could consider the nature of warzones, sometimes you only have a few seconds to shoot at a target before it dies - what can SS do? Charged burst, trick shot, quick draw. Name 3 GCD's that any other spec can do for the same amount of damage... or if you have quick aim up it would be aimed shot, trick shot, quick draw.

 

Point is: Sharpshooters can quickly drops lot of damage on targets and move on, this is well suited to the nature of warzones and ensures we are doing close to optimal DPS at all times despite very non-optimal circumstances. In the end, I couldn't find a dirty fighting or engineering spec that could come close to me in terms of warzone damage.

[dougan]

Also, this.

[skygon]

People still believe that huge dmg number at the end of the warzone is good, it mean nothing in pvp. You cant just spam AOEs to hit 400k-700k+, thats easy tbh but in pvp, mean nothing. DF is good and fun, same as sabo but the SS spec is a killing machine, you´ll hit hard and kill fast, in pvp is all about how fast you can kill a threat and not about how much dmg you´ll do in a target who u cant kill fast enought. And with the energy changes as an SS you cant just keep killing poeple without the need to be worried about the energy.

[Blurps]

SS GS has been really effective in PVP in the 10-49 bracket, and I've had my teeth kicked in by Snipers / GSs at 50.

 

So I'm not sure why people have the perception (even before 1.2) that SS isn't effective in PVP. It can deliver some of the most compact burst damage in the game, from range.

 

SS is too easy to neutralise almost completely outside of a well coordinated premade. DF is more flexible and will usually be better suited to Gunslingers PUGing.

 

Agreed on your other comments though. On my GS I'm rarely top damage but I actually kill people unlike the AoE and DoT spammers.

Edited April 25, 2012 by Blurps

[GalnarDegana]

I'm not seeing a lot of love for the Saboteur spec here! I used SS up through 49, then tried it in the 50 bracket and liked it. But that was in the first month, now with much higher armor values, people learning how to mitigate white damage more easily, etc, SS has fallen by the wayside of a lot of Gunslingers in favor of the DF build. I will say that DF seems to put out more damage for me, especially when playing against heavily armored targets. Plus it is more mobile.

 

That being said, Saboteur keeps me alive, and I almost never lose a 1v1 with Sab. Knowing when to pop your cooldowns is important.

 

It comes down to how you like to play. For me, living through everything is important. If I am alive at a turret or a door in ACW, Denova, or Voidstar then it doesn't get capped. I can hold mid in Huttball almost indefinitely, and grab the ball every time and pass it up to my teammate for a 6-0 game. My kills may only be 8 in that game, but 7 of them were solo kills or killing blows, because I was taking down the few people who tried to get to me at mid.

 

So yes, SS may be very feasible (though less so at 50 than in the pre-50 bracket), but the others are more useful for things other than the juvenile obsession with that big number at the end of the Warzone.

[HurricaneXXIV]

My SS damage in matches actually went down. People tend to die quite a bit quicker. Full WH Sages die in about 7 seconds if they don't find LoS. SS is a very fun spec if you can plop down and pick people off.

 

Sab is my favorite. Shock Charge > Sab Charge > Incid > Flouris > Speed shot is one of my favorite rotations in the game. Highly mobile but you seem a bit less durable, always lob grenades!

 

Lethality is also fun. You spend more time setting up vital and shrap to get a target loaded for your 31st talent to go to work. I love the mobility but it's not as fun as Sab.

 

Gunslingers are amazing right now, you get to control a match and can really win with any of the 3 trees. I'll end up min/maxing when rateds come out but until then I'm going to continue respecing constantly and enjoying the different play styles.

[Deehorsey]

Outside of the burst, one of the biggest reasons I like SS is the lack of dots. Flash grenade, leg shot, and the root on cover pulse are broken by DoTs. If you are playing a GS, you have to know how squishy you are. Effective use of your CC, along with ballistic dampeners is going to give you solid survivability.

 

While I do hate the issues SS face with accuracy, the only real reason I hate SS atm is the changes to cover, which make the spec a lot stiffer than it was before. But ultimately, SS is the most group friendly, with high utility, with some scary burst.

[Baizak]

I am loving my SS build, so much fun to play

[Renita]

While 1.2 brought boosts to both Sab and DF they weren't large enough to make either tree mandatory for PvP. Gunslinger is now in the fortunate position to have 3 working trees with varied playstyles and somewhat different specific purposes ( they are still all DPS-ish of course ).

 

Certain builds may be more suited to the role your group expects you to fill though,

 

I have to agree with blurps, I think all of our trees are extremely viable in pvp. Personally, I prefer saboteur spec, because I enjoy taking on a defensive roll in pvp. I often live longer than I feel I ever have a right to, and I always have an aoe ability up and ready to interrupt multiple people capping a node. However, if you are looking to stay back and snipe single targets down quickly, DF and SS are amazing specs and extremely useful in pvp. You have to play the spec you enjoy the most. You will be better at your class if you enjoy what you are doing. I would recommend putting 2 points in saboteur's utility belt in the sab tree no matter what spec you are. This lowers the cool down on your flash grenade by 15 seconds which is useful, but it also lowers the cool down on your thermal grenade to 3 seconds. I have found this invaluable in defending a node in pvp.

Edited May 15, 2012 by Renita

[NoTomorrow]

All this burst is great until you have to deal with heavy armor classes. It's not bad, but compared to Engineering and Lethality i always feel gimped with MM in pvp.

[Felli]

All this burst is great until you have to deal with heavy armor classes. It's not bad, but compared to Engineering and Lethality i always feel gimped with MM in pvp.

 

Flourish shot and powered up aimed shot help with those classes. A lot.

[NoTomorrow]

Flourish shot and powered up aimed shot help with those classes. A lot.

 

it's not enough, it's really really not enough. One snipe + followthrough + ambush will not bring em down to 30% for the takedown. in 4 GCD assault vanguards have enough time to put elemental dot on you and fire a high impact bolt which by no means is a weak thing.