Solo'ing not viable IA:Sniper

[Calwin]

Your self heal also heals your companion, so taking an extra 10sec between fights isn't that bad.

[Tachyon-Prime]

I'm not as expert as some others on this post, but from what I can tell so far, I would concur with the folks that say sniper takes a bit of skill to solo.

 

So this in fact would confirm your original post stating that other classes have an easier time soloing than sniper.

 

With BH you can roll up like a tank, fire away with your choice of shot, get hit a lot and still roll with the punches, no problem. (I'm exxagerating but you get the point)

 

The sniper though, like a real-life sniper, takes more of a setup. You have to have your position set right, and your rotation figured out, and you need to have an escape plan if things don't work right (In TOR that would essentially mean dying).

 

In my experience you pretty much have to rely on "Front-loading" all your damage which means take them out quickly. You can't take your time whittling them down like other classes that can take damage (When soloing).

 

But that's what snipers do. Tons of damage. It's all about unleashing force in an efficent manner. Not just blast away with rockets and blasters.

 

This of course doesn't work all that well when you're spawned on top of, but hey this class to me does seem intented to be more of a challenge compared to other classes.

Edited January 5, 2012 by Tachyon-Prime

[NotRonin]

I prefer to use ambush to open as you can be interrupted during ambush activation time. (Freeze grenade happen quite often against strong/champion early in combat). Engineering sniper do not get reactive shot or the 10 meter pushback, and energy regeneration is not as big an issue thanks to EMP blast.

 

Before level 35, there are not many 'big damage' skills for a engineering marksman beyond explosive probe (30 sec recast). Opening with ambush means it'll come up faster in the rotation, which can be the difference for hard battles.

[dracobain]

I will disagree with the ego train in this thread about Snipers being capable soloers. Adequate perhaps if you work really hard at it or stay a minimum of 2 levels higher than your quest chain. I have played with the same group of guys in MMOs since the very early UO days and we have played numerous MMOs so we know each other well and capable players. In a group I am valued cause I bring good dps. Yet, when it comes to soloing they each do the content with considerable more ease than my sniper.

 

I do not mind the challenge though, I figured it was going to be the roughest solo leveling class when I played the game in beta. If you work diligently on yours and Kaliyo's gear, you can make it through solo quests alright if you keep them 1 or 2 levels below you.

 

One of the issues I have as a sniper is if I can setup and get the first shot off I seem to win consistently. However most quests move right from a cutscene into combat leaving me vulnerable. I have to setup, knockback and choose my target and by then the mobs have 3-5 seconds on me. It may not seem like much but it is just enough to turn the tide. I will say that mid 30s were the worst and if you use your shields effectively your survivability goes up considerably.

 

It is a tough class to level but pretty fun and kaliyo's story was just awesome. Our companions, either kaliyo or Scorpio need some attention as they are too squishy with mediocre dps. if there was a companion that could hang in the fight just a little longer, our leveling proficiency could improve a good deal.

 

We aren't broken, but comparing classes my friends play to my sniper I am certainly the least proficient for solo gameplay.

[Ashyn_Dust]

Everyone's saying "The class isn't broken (read as: imbalanced) you just need to L2P." Having beta tested, and literally playing EVERY other class, I can honestly say that Sniper is indeed most definitely underbalanced compared to the other classes. That's a broken process right there, folks.

 

If I can /faceroll through level 18 quests as a level 15 Bounty Hunter, but have to set up each kill during level 18 quests as a level 18 Sniper, something is wrong. That Bounty Hunter is going to outlevel me very quickly. And that's also a broken process.

 

OP's rotation/theorycrafting may be off, some of you have a point. Instead of just crying "More pew-pew less QQ", let's get him to fix it to enjoy the class...

[CalebG]

Leveling speed is not the sole factor to judge if a class is under/over powered. As an Sniper, I move through PvE content at a much slower pace then my Operative and Sith Assassin, but while my Operative and Assassin have no problems clearing PvE content, they can't compare to the sheer damage output of the Sniper in PvP.

 

I think they are fine now. But hey, perhaps if you guys keep up the complaining, and Bioware actually buffs up the Snipers, more power to me!

[Strah]

got a 50bh and a 41 sniper.

 

BH was fairly easy, didn't have many problems, steady and good.

 

Sniper - until 32 it was okay, after 32, when i got followthrough it got good, and when i got SoS at 36 it went absolute faceroll, except some elites, but since i'm running with temple, who is a ranged dps, it's obvious.

[SynergyX]

There are so many people posting here about how good they are and how easy everything is. They are all also probably below level 30. Get above level 30 then talk to me again. By then Kaliyo will be absolutely worthless compared to being just kinda worthless. Silver/Gold mobs can't be burst down in 2 seconds. You have to heal after almost every fight.

 

Sniper is no faceroll class. It does take skill, you do have to use your brain on the semi-hard fights or you will die. If you don't want to die and you don't want to have to think, don't play a sniper.

[Fumanchu_Fow]

I'm level 50 and I'm telling you sniper is completely capable of destroying things in pve especially at 50 and you begin to gear out in raid gear. If you go biochem it's even better. I can unleash about 30-40k damage in around 10-15 seconds depending on how often I crit. If the class is to hard though then by all means respec. Once you get doctor Loken and you get him some decent gear it gets much better. Kali is a serviceable meat shield for a while but I wouldn't call her much of a tank since she doesn't take damage all that well but she's good enough to take hits long enough for you to down whatever your fighting. Right now I have the Doctor geared pretty well and I'm in nearly all 136 rating gear. No class in the game can match our burst damage and if you play it right you can sustain damage on par with any other damage class. Throw in that we get some pretty nice abilities like orbital strike, flash bangs, diversion if you spec into it, shield probe and the dome shield and you also get a pretty flexible and handy class for group work. Sounds like a lot of people are stuck at the mid levels or just want something that takes no understanding to play.

[PantheraMorag]

I find it interesting that there's so many different play styles and rotations for the sniper.

 

I've so far not had much trouble with the quests and I can solo most <single> elites, but I fail completely at soloing heroic 2+

 

This is my first pure DPS character, so I'm learning and trying out things, but mostly everything is going well and I keep forgetting to use my medpacks, I keep outlevelling them with 5-10 levels.

Level 23 at the moment, so I guess I should brace myself for it becoming harder.

 

my rotation is:

grenade, dart, [probe], ambush, [snipe booster], snipe, with continuing with snipe, probe and ambush (and energy boost if needed) on elites. If I got runners I use leg shot, if there's a big group I use flash grenade or the explosive thing, and I haven't learned to use take down yet, so I'm not utilizing that properly.

 

I prefer the dart early in the rotation as it's a DOT, and I prefer starting with losing a chunk of energy so that I regen something while using ambush.

On normals I usually either grenade, dart, instant shot, and possibly stab, or I cover and go grenade, dart, snipe (usually dead), possibly instant shot.

 

 

When I die it's usually because I underestimated the size of a group or do a bad pull and end up fighting more than I can out of cover.

 

 

The hardest thing I've played so far is the class story ending on Korriban for the Sith inquisitor, where I as a level 8 had to kill 3 level 10 mob groups again and again. I had a lot more trouble with that then I ever had with my IA.

Edited January 5, 2012 by PantheraMorag

[Nerdwing]

At most, I can handle two Strong (silver) mobs solo. Not EASILY, but doable absolutely. Is this generally in line with other folks experiences here? Are other classes more readily able to do so?

[TUikkari]

It was harder until I got the doc companion, after that everything has been so easy. It is even faster. No need to wait between fights, no need to plan ahead.

 

When I used Kaliyo around lvl 35 and played with my mercenary friend. We talked about it and it was 100% clear that it was a lot easier to solo pve with mercenary than sniper. I suspect that dps classes struggle the most in solo pve.

 

Compared to other mmo I have played, this has been walk in the park all the way. If sniper is the worst solo pve class, then this game has done this properly.

[Sevarrus]

I think if you don't enjoy the class you should stick to something you do enjoy. I rolled a sniper and an operative and my sniper requires a little more thought and time but I enjoy it.

 

I can't feel like the class is under balanced because let's face it, make us more survivable and we fast approach overpowered. Perhaps a non droid ranged cc earlier would help, I dunno.

 

All I know is that if you spent 10+ minutes QQ'ing on the forum, this is definitely not the right class for you.

[Ammata]

I haven't found any problems with my Sniper whilst soloing enemies, she's a level 31 now, and she's leveled reasonably quickly considering I got the game late.

 

The only ones I have trouble with is melee, but I understand that.. And all you do then is stun them and you're set.

 

Every class has it's strength's and weaknesses, so I don't really see the point in comparing how long it takes to level a different class, or how easy it is to kill something with a different class. If you don't like what the Imperial Agent has to offer, or how it's played or how 'hard' it is, then simply don't play it.. And become an easier class.

 

The only thing that urks me is when I'm running around with my BH Mercenary boyfriend and his Sith Warrior friend, by the time I'm in cover the enemies are half health and there's no point in using my big moves, but that's life >.<

[tatatan]

Hi,

I had same problem with sniper. No heal, loong wait after fight to heal yourself and companion. Felt so stationary and slow.

switched to operative and suddenly my gameplay is 100% more fun.

 

Operative is so much more flexible than sniper and you can choose where you put you class points much better (heals, stealth, or range dmg => play what you like)

Much more experiment to experiment with.

As operative i can still snipe, cover. I can go melee. I can disapear and drop agro, if accidentaly agroed more mobs than can handle ... Yes! I can

3 gold elite? No problem. 4? challenge.

 

I played sniper to level 23, then dropped it. Now i'm at 26 operative and love it.

 

I dont want to say sniper is bad or anything, this is my personal view (IMVHO), this is my 2c ...

 

My advice is, switch to operative and enjoy the game

 

good luck

[UsulDaNeriak]

i agree, that an equal level elite is no problem for a sniper, if companion is well geared. i am now 43 and gave Kalyio a mostly full set of orange gear and keep the mods updated via medals. there is plenty of stuff rest for me myself.

 

but, how do you guys solo 2 elite in a 2+ mission. this worked for me on Hutta but later it became a pain in the a...

 

i am on engineer spec, i go into cover and buff with shield and entrench (cunn stim and longterm selfbuff is up always). now i usually start with a flash bang followed by my skilled explosive probe, the armor debuff and the dot-drone. now i may need distraction situationally and start directly to burst this guy down with my best shots.

in the meantime, some of the lesser guys charge me and i answer with debilitate, eviscerate, knife and perhaps even cover pulse followed by any instant shot. problem solved.

 

in the meantime, the elite dies and Kaliyo is near to death so my finger is already over the medpack button.

 

but how do you guys now deal with 2 elite plus a strong or whatever guy? Kaliyo now dies much faster and my healing capacity as a sniper is not sufficient. and if the 2nd elite is attacking me, i can handle him as described above. but afterwards Kaliyo is dead and this other elite is still half alive with all my cc are on heavy cooldown. energy is not the problem for me with 2 elite since i got EMP discharge, but the cc to avoid, that the other elite is now beating the $hit out of me without any good defense.

 

do you start kiting now? against a range fighter? how do you guys deal with 2 elite plus trash?

 

i am not talking about droids i could mezz.

Edited January 5, 2012 by UsulDaNeriak

[Obsivus]

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.

 

Strong topic name with no arguments and you suggest people to play another class? jesus....

[Santent]

Im currently 44. I have used Kaliyo as my companion the entire time. Ive never had any problems solo'in elites or any group or pack for the most part. Dont forget about flashbang, its a great tool for some quick CC.

[justinope]

I've had no issues soloing included doing 2 man heroic quests solo. Upgrade Kali's gear as you upgrade yours and she can tank anything long enough to kill up to 2 elites if you use your abilities right.

 

bull fakking shiz

 

all I can say about that, there is no way in HELL kaliyo could possibly tank 2 elites (LET ALONE SILVERS) in average gear of your level. pics or it most definitely did NOT happen

[Mitso]

Solo'd no problem and with very minimal use of med packs. Just gear up kaliyo if its a problem. She was in all greens for me the entire way to 50. With blues/purps it would of been even easier then it was already.

[imtrick]

This is nonsense and should be ignored.

 

It's not nonsense, and it's not just snipers. I have one of each class (and one of most advanced classes), and the 2+ elite quests are all doable solo at level if you're careful and use your companion well. That's true of the sniper and really any other class. It's actually easier on a sniper than it is on many of the others.

[Reeny]

Yea, Snipers are hard to play solo against Elite level mobs.

 

Played a Trooper and it was way easier.

[Zulufoxtrot]

but how do you guys now deal with 2 elite plus a strong or whatever guy? Kaliyo now dies much faster and my healing capacity as a sniper is not sufficient. and if the 2nd elite is attacking me, i can handle him as described above. but afterwards Kaliyo is dead and this other elite is still half alive with all my cc are on heavy cooldown. energy is not the problem for me with 2 elite since i got EMP discharge, but the cc to avoid, that the other elite is now beating the $hit out of me without any good defense.

 

do you start kiting now? against a range fighter? how do you guys deal with 2 elite plus trash?

 

i am not talking about droids i could mezz.

 

As with household chores one of the first things you should do is take out the trash, let Kaliyo die holding the elites aggro, while you take them out. Odds are the Elites will kill you, but you should be able to revive, and get ready to take them down, no problem. Without the trash they seem much easier to me. I agree that it's annoying, and we shouldn't have to in the first place, some sort of heal mechanic other than the medpack would be nice. If not that at least lower the medpacks cooldown so it'll be useful a second time in a longer fight.

[Sharma]

speaking as a level 50 engineer specced sniper who played solo for the vast majority of content, including all class quests, leveling as sniper is definitely viable. only thing i can think of is that OP either didnt keep up with upgrading gear, or doesnt know what he's doing. even after getting doctor lokin i preferred kaliyo because she held aggro decently well and helped end fights faster. sure i had some close calls and the occasional death but it was nothing i blamed my class on, i realized i just needed to play better.

as far as engineering spec, it might have made leveling a bit easier than either marksmanship or lethality (though i dont have experience with either). engineering gives a few more aoe's, better overall aoe damage, a very good dot which doubles as a slow, improved damage mitigation, and improved energy management/regen.

if youre having trouble leveling as sniper, respec into engineering.

[Toat]

I went 1-50 as a sniper using only kaliyo with little problems.

 

You're doing it wrong.