Solo'ing not viable IA:Sniper

[Jadenn]

I'm lvl 27atm and played a sniper to beta all the way to 37. In no way have i ever had trouble with solo'ing through. Well i take that back, maybe in beta during the beginning cuz i was kinda noobish and was figuring out everything, but by the time i got to my mid 20's and on things started to smooth out greatly.

 

This time around with live and early access, i'm beastmode. Mobs die quick as hell, Kaliyo is just as well geared as me since i've been very careful in maintaining and picking the right gear and upgrades for both me and her. Mobs die fast, elites, strong, groups, whatever it is. I burn through quests and mobs. I started 2 days later then some of my guildies but have already surpassed most of them. So when you say sniper is not a solo'able character, i beg to differ.

 

There are many factors as why you are having trouble. For one you may not have the optimal gear for you and your companion at your level. Two, not using all your tricks or you are not maintaining your energy right and running low alot. Starting off with high recast abilities first so they are available to you again later in the fight if it even goes that long. Don't blame the class, see what the problems are first then try to fix them.

[fftemplar]

I'm a little confused by this now.

 

I've been hearing people soloing heroic 2+'s with no problems towards the 20-30 range. This boggles my mind in certain cases; laze target+explosive probe+snipe+ambush (for the long cast energy regen), would only take about half a strong equal level's health down. That's in combination with Kaliyo. Both our gear is level-equivalent and commendation vendor'd (as much as available, anyway) along with flashpoint drops.

 

So, like I said, I'm seriously confused because I feel like using three of my highest burst DPS abilities should do what many people are suggesting. Soloing BT at 11, for example...did you kill the four boss group by the giant chest? I simply do not see how that's possible. The sniper/melee hit like trucks and Kaliyo goes down within 30 or so seconds. This is in combination with four elites. I am simply lost as to how you did this.

 

It's not as if I don't understand rotation/proper CCing/ energy conservation. Keeping to the 3-4 range is critical in most cases, I get that. AI know which abilities to use, why use them when, based on several guides explaining it and trial and error. SO what exactly am I doing wrong? I expect some of you will suggest that I'm lying when I say that using that first rotation does as much as I've said. I am MM with the proper DPS talents up to Diversion.

 

I'm simply curious here, if anyone has some advice or mysterious setup that bolsters my damage output to the implied levels. I love Sniper, I love the cover mechanic, and I can solo most things, but an elite with 2 strongs (for example) with proper rotation, CCs, DPS burn, cover and re-cover (for the ballistics), I cannot get through. Maybe kill 1 or 2 of them, but my companion and I die in the end.

 

Anyway, I hope that anyone has advice for me, I'd love to hear it. I'd appreciate not hearing the usual elitism people like to wave around, I'm just very confused on the matter.

Edited December 20, 2011 by fftemplar

[AlkalineKitten]

Soloing BT at 11, for example...did you kill the four boss group by the giant chest? I simply do not see how that's possible. The sniper/melee hit like trucks and Kaliyo goes down within 30 or so seconds. This is in combination with four elites. I am simply lost as to how you did this.

 

 

If you kill the Captain, you don't fight them, you get a different solo boss. Easy to snipe.

[wessik]

I'm a little confused by this now.

 

I've been hearing people soloing heroic 2+'s with no problems towards the 20-30 range. This boggles my mind in certain cases; laze target+explosive probe+snipe+ambush (for the long cast energy regen), would only take about half a strong equal level's health down. That's in combination with Kaliyo. Both our gear is level-equivalent and commendation vendor'd (as much as available, anyway) along with flashpoint drops.

 

So, like I said, I'm seriously confused because I feel like using three of my highest burst DPS abilities should do what many people are suggesting. Soloing BT at 11, for example...did you kill the four boss group by the giant chest? I simply do not see how that's possible. The sniper/melee hit like trucks and Kaliyo goes down within 30 or so seconds. This is in combination with four elites. I am simply lost as to how you did this.

 

It's not as if I don't understand rotation/proper CCing/ energy conservation. Keeping to the 3-4 range is critical in most cases, I get that. AI know which abilities to use, why use them when, based on several guides explaining it and trial and error. SO what exactly am I doing wrong? I expect some of you will suggest that I'm lying when I say that using that first rotation does as much as I've said. I am MM with the proper DPS talents up to Diversion.

 

I'm simply curious here, if anyone has some advice or mysterious setup that bolsters my damage output to the implied levels. I love Sniper, I love the cover mechanic, and I can solo most things, but an elite with 2 strongs (for example) with proper rotation, CCs, DPS burn, cover and re-cover (for the ballistics), I cannot get through. Maybe kill 1 or 2 of them, but my companion and I die in the end.

 

Anyway, I hope that anyone has advice for me, I'd love to hear it. I'd appreciate not hearing the usual elitism people like to wave around, I'm just very confused on the matter.

 

i'm only level 20, but isn't your rotation wrong? i start with ambush first, laze target, explosive, snipe, rifle shot, then snipe again, takedown when it's available...

[stealthrider]

If I try 2+ Heroics I usually die several times, but can *eventually* solo them.

 

I *always* die during the Elite fights in my class quest. If I don't have the first hit, I don't have a chance. Kaliyo is such a horrific tank even with on-level gear. She has no CC, and I don't have much CC to help her (not having a 60-sec sap for non-droids is painful).

 

I'm level 27 atm, and aside from standard and strong fights I've had massive problems. Even maximizing my CC uptime, my cooldowns and using Kaliyo's skills manually I can barely kill Elite+standard or Elite+strong or 2+ strong groups. And if I don't have the first hit, I have no chance at all. Oh, and if I agro a second group of standard/strongs, I have no chance either.

 

TL;DR Kaliyo is awful.

[BlackMercenary]

One thing you can never say about snipers is that our damage is low, I'm level 27 now and I'm hitting 1200 on each ambush critical; also, I have a 23% critical chance.

 

we sure are a very squishy class, with no heal and one of the crappiest companion ( kaliyo and R2-sumthing) I'm looking forward to getting doctor lokin, but as I've seen, it will take a while...

 

Still, sniper is a class that does not have any way of protecting itself, our only good protection is killing the enemy before he kills you. other classes have heals, defense buffs, stealth, heavy armor... we have a few CC and small defense buffs while in cover, but those can't be compared to any other classes.

 

If you want to play sniper, be sure that you will have a hard time, but it compensates on PvP and high level play. it's very rewarding to hit that 4.3k damage ambush on PvP xD

[MafetKhan]

I honestly have no trouble soloing. Now as a sniper you are not the run up and shoot first ask questions later class. You do have to use some strategy in order not to get into trouble. However, I have some BH guildies that ask me to help them with bosses in their class quests or side quests that I don't have trouble with soloing. I do die sometimes, but if you don't die sometimes the game is probably too easy.

[Fou_Lou]

No problem as Sniper here. But have to say i have like no Comparison because i haven´t played other classes that much.

 

But Player skill in playing his class is vital. Maybe youre just bad paying as Sniper?.

 

Had a similar experience with a Friend. Sith Inquisitor the quest where you get your companion. We both wehre similar equipped and about the same level.

 

I was about 25% faster in the quests than my friend and he even got killed at the last boss where i had no problems defeating him.

[MMOBrac]

If I try 2+ Heroics I usually die several times, but can *eventually* solo them.

 

I *always* die during the Elite fights in my class quest. If I don't have the first hit, I don't have a chance. Kaliyo is such a horrific tank even with on-level gear. She has no CC, and I don't have much CC to help her (not having a 60-sec sap for non-droids is painful).

 

I'm level 27 atm, and aside from standard and strong fights I've had massive problems. Even maximizing my CC uptime, my cooldowns and using Kaliyo's skills manually I can barely kill Elite+standard or Elite+strong or 2+ strong groups. And if I don't have the first hit, I have no chance at all. Oh, and if I agro a second group of standard/strongs, I have no chance either.

 

TL;DR Kaliyo is awful.

 

Whenever I get into Elite fights that I can't setup for before hand I always start with a stun grenade to buy me a few seconds to setup. I backup and cover down than send Kaliyo at my target of chose and start a single target rotation after she gets agro so that she can lock the other mobs down. Once I feel she has good agro I'll start working AOE's into the rotation and might hit my agro reducer about mid way just to be safe. Rarely do I pull mobs off her especially single target ones. Make sure she is in defensive stance (increases agro) and enable her grenade ability (unless you want to sap a droid).

[Kryzen]

I think you don't know what you're doing then.

 

I almost literally drop nukes on everything I fight, and have been able to solo everything minus "Heroic 4 Group" quests - and I don't NEED to be healed.

 

I just don't think you know what you're doing, lol.

 

^ what this guy said

[Rascalov]

I'm glad I found this thread. I'm only level 11 but I've played enough to decide that IA Sniper isn't the class for me. I'm on a PVE server and I want a class that can excel at PVE and soloing. Not being able to take hits and having no heals isn't conducive to efficient PVE play. It seems none of that is a problem for you guys, which is fine. It is for me though.

[Rascalov]

One thing you can never say about snipers is that our damage is low, I'm level 27 now and I'm hitting 1200 on each ambush critical; also, I have a 23% critical chance.

 

we sure are a very squishy class, with no heal and one of the crappiest companion ( kaliyo and R2-sumthing) I'm looking forward to getting doctor lokin, but as I've seen, it will take a while...

 

Still, sniper is a class that does not have any way of protecting itself, our only good protection is killing the enemy before he kills you. other classes have heals, defense buffs, stealth, heavy armor... we have a few CC and small defense buffs while in cover, but those can't be compared to any other classes.

 

If you want to play sniper, be sure that you will have a hard time, but it compensates on PvP and high level play. it's very rewarding to hit that 4.3k damage ambush on PvP xD

 

Another way of interpreting that post: Sniper is great for PVP, not so great for PVE. I wish I'd known that before I started out as IA.

[shaxberd]

I'm still in the low levels but doing fine. This is probably because I took Biochem as my craft skill, which gives me a way of healing myself when the **** hits the fan. Sure, everyone can buy these kinds of heals, but I'm certainly less stingy with it given the stacks and stacks of them I've built up in order to increase my skill.

[Gadzooks]

Sniper isnt any more challenging or more cakewalk than any other class. It depends on the players affinity with the class to determine that.

 

Sniper does however, start to get more and more downtime after each fight as he gets to levels above 35+.

 

Downtime has nothing to do with challenge or skill. It has to do with one simple thing. The ability to mitigate damage done. Snipers first 2 companions suck at mitigating damage, as does the the sniper class itself.

 

More often than not though, your downtime comes from having to heal your poor damage mitigating companion after every fight because skill or no skill, challenge or no challenge, they are taking enough damage to easily drop them to 50% life from one fight. Even decked out in same level blues and purples.

 

The problem isnt the class, and often times isnt the players skill. Right now it seems to be purely the problem of poor damage mitigation of companions, requiring the need to rest after EVERY battle.

 

Downtime after every fight = boring

Games are meant to be fun.

 

Its a good thing some people are more amused by simple things.

[DarthGrimmlokk]

The first thing a lot of you need to understand is that many people in MMO forums LOVE to brag about what they can do, how easy things are for them and how you need to L2P. Don't believe the bluster and bravado of these guys claiming they solo Elite +2 zones by themselves on their snipers. I've seen snipers bragging that they can solo 2 even level elites without a companion. This is nonsense and should be ignored.

[Plastic]

but snipers kill strong enemies in three abilities?

 

solo'ing is laughable as a sniper.

[vitrus]

Im near level cap and i can pew pew any mobs that are not boss's. most boss's no matter how hard i try i just can not kill them (near end game that is) i dont use kalio because i dont like her so maybe thats my issue. but again boss fights take a LOT of planning and skill to beat but even then its luck if you can pull it off aka you crit alot and they miss alot. snipers are very hard to pve but also very rewarding at the same time, many times have i fought a boss about 6 times to finally beat him in a VERY close match and when you win its amazing and you feel a real sense of accomplishment. just my two cents

[Mazikeen]

If you have issues soloing, try PvPing for a level or two. I say this for two reasons:

 

1. PvP is a viable way to level. It is slower than PvE, but it's very viable

2. PvP will teach you how to handle yourself when the crap hits the fan and the mobs are all chasing after your silly @&$

 

I know my own ability to handle bad things happening improved greatly after I PvPed a little bit

[nToxiK]

Downtime has nothing to do with challenge or skill. It has to do with one simple thing. The ability to mitigate damage done. Snipers first 2 companions suck at mitigating damage, as does the the sniper class itself.

 

You really don't need to heal your companion after a fight (unless you need the healing too). Just mount up and dismount and your companion's health will be 100%. If you can't mount up, the second best is dismissing your companion and then recalling will also grant 100% health.

[Monoth]

Hello, currently I'm a level 32 sniper. However I'm finding that (compared to the BH) soloing is a lot harder, sometimes impossible.

This comes as a great disappointment to me as i like the class type. I feel the Sniper does not do nearly enough damage, while taking too much. Moreover the companions do not migate / deal out enough damage to offset the weaknesses of the sniper in PVE.

 

Playing through a BH on beta I had a blast, leveled quick and completed everything solo ( bosses, elites) I died a few times on occasion, but with tactics and planning always came out on top.

 

However with the IA, on multiple occasions I've found myself dying to the same elite multiple times (using stims & medpacks) Finally having to call on guildies to help me out. Not only is the IA harder to play but some of the missions are impossible to complete solo (at a level of progression).

 

This leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth. At this stage in completion I have two companions, A tanky dps Kaliyo, and a dpsy vector. No heals. For such a squishy class I was thoroughly surprised & disappointed my 2nd companion did not have any heals.

 

This set of companions would work , however the sniper does not do enough damage to kill mobs before they kill you (and your companions). This becomes exceedingly frustrating while in pve. After every fight with a normal mob having to dismiss/recall my companion then use my personal heal. Thus significantly slowing my leveling time & the flow of gameplay.

 

Gameplay example: TARIS

 

Next I'd like to discuss a questing irk I have with the sniper. Upon arriving in Taris with a guildmate (playing a BH Merc) We both had class quests. He finished his in about 20 minutes, a short quest close to the point of arrival. Thus allowing him to take side quests quickly.

 

However with the Sniper, I've been strung along a series of quests taking me over ALMOST THE WHOLE PLANET. I've been on this quest for over 2 HOURS. I STILL CANNOT TAKE ANY SIDE QUESTS. This marathon, having me travel from bottom to top & back again, fight through mobs for 20 minutes just to get into an instance is single-handedly the most rage inducing quest I've encountered so far. My friend is mowing through the side quests of the planet while I'm stuck on this wild goose chase, which comes with very imbalanced rewards.

 

To anyone reading this considering playing a sniper! If you like dying / grinding this class is for you. However if you don't have a play-partner I'd strongly suggest picking another class.

 

 

 

Your obviously exaggerating your situation, I've had no issues with leveling the sniper solo, make sure your gear is up to snuff and that you upgrade your companions tank gear so she can stay alive longer... you should be mowing down mobs fast with sniper, its at the top when it comes to DPS..... all I can guess is your playing it wrong or you are seriously under-geared...

 

Also are the mobs your level or are you 2-3 levels below them?

[Gadzooks]

You really don't need to heal your companion after a fight (unless you need the healing too). Just mount up and dismount and your companion's health will be 100%. If you can't mount up, the second best is dismissing your companion and then recalling will also grant 100% health.

 

 

Didnt think of this, that is quicker

 

Unfortunately, I suffer from the bug where my companion doesnt resummon after I get off my mount. So that wouldnt safe me any time between fights.

 

When they fix the resummon bug, thanks for the great tip.

 

 

Ultimately, I dont know why companions dont just have super fast out of combat regen.

Edited January 4, 2012 by Gadzooks

[NotRonin]

Sniper soloing is somewhat harder than the other classes until you get a healing companion. Most player will rather DIE than to have the robot as companion, in order to preserve their sanity. It also gets a LOT easier once you have Series of Shots.

 

Firstly, I hope you didn't take the lethality tree. While it shines later on, trying to level with it will be harder than engineering or marksmanship due to the 'damage over time' nature for most attacks. If you did, you should respec until you get Cull. You may also want to change your routine a bit. This is what I do for silver elites around your level: (Engineering spec)

 

Laze -> Ambush -> leg shot(immobolize) ->explosive probe -> shatter shot (reduce armor) -> flashbang (stun) -> head shot -> snipe. By this time, Takedown should be available since the mob is less than 30% health.

 

You want to use Ambush first because of the 2.5 second activation time.

 

For harder elites, I would forgo the flashbang since head shot doesn't work on them, and go with this routine.

 

Laze -> Ambush -> leg shot -> explosive probe -> interrogation probe -> shatter shot -> snipe -> poison dart, then keep sniping until ambush is ready again.

 

Don't be afraid to use the '20 minutes' ability for gold elites.

 

As to 'super elites' which have 40K-60k hp, they're beyond me.

[KoiTarquinas]

I hope this isn't too offensive but it's not the sniper class that is the problem it's you. You had it easymode when you had a healer companion for your first companion and now you think the rest of the game should be that easy. It isn't, but it's not impossibly difficult either. I did just fine until I finally got Dr. Lokin(our viable healer companion) in my lat 30's. Now it's Bounty Hunter style easymode for me too. Don't bother gearing up your RV 48 by the way, he doesn't heal for crap.

 

Now for some constructive ideas for you;

A:Learn which abilities do what.

B:Gear Kaliyo up, at leat until you get Dr. Lokin in your late 30's.

C:Undertsand your limitaions, be prepared to rest in between fights.

D:Practice makes perfect as they say, but if you just can't get the hang of it reroll. You don't have to level your sniper.

 

Good luck!

[bmonday]

I solo'd all the way to 50 as a sniper.

 

With all due respect, if you are having trouble leveling a sniper, you don't play the class very well.

 

And no, don't open with Ambush. That's 2.5 seconds you could be using to restore your energy from some other opener.

[bmonday]

 

Laze -> Ambush -> leg shot(immobolize) ->explosive probe -> shatter shot (reduce armor) -> flashbang (stun) -> head shot -> snipe. By this time, Takedown should be available since the mob is less than 30% health.

 

Using Laze at this point in your proposed rotation would do practically nothing. You know it only works on Snipe, right? By the time you get to the Snipe in your rotation, Laze would have expired.

 

You want to use Ambush first because of the 2.5 second activation time.

 

Actually, no. That's 2.5 seconds of energy recovery time that you are wasting. Use some other opener (such as Laze->Snipe), THEN Ambush, so you can be recoverying energy during the long 2.5s Ambush channel. Besides, you might have earned a 1.5s Ambush if you got good rolls on your openers...