[Video] Controlz - Sniper PvP

[madtycoon]

This is my second pvp video on my MM Sniper. It shows pure pug warzones and some duels on US Pot5. I wanted to display peeling, controlling, multi-targetting, objective play and overall CC use. This isn't a frag damage video, eventhough it is swtor so there's going to be a lot of stupid burst.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91E1HYXaJYI

 

I've been playing my sniper the last couple weeks and my play isn't perfect, but its getting better. I try very hard not to dps into defensives and make a conscience effort to refresh things like ballistic dampers and not blow evasion at stupid times. I make mistakes in my rotation every now and then (mostly because of ability responsiveness on things like followthrough) and sometimes i'll ambush without the speed proc. I haven't adjusted yet on hitting esc to stop my casts and I need to use shatter shot more.

 

Thanks to those who were in the video. I tried to only feature geared opponents. <3

 

Any criticism/comments are appreciated.

[Asvarduil]

Good video!

 

You should make a playlist so we can see your first (and, hopefully future ones!) If I run into you in a TotH video, I'll be sure to give you a proper shout-out!

[Blasphemerr]

Neat video. Yay CD timers!

 

I'd be cautious about being on the ledge even as a sniper. It wouldn't take me more than 5 seconds to respec zealous leap/obliterate which is what happened in the video--you guys just luckily killed the ballcarrier before it could pass.

Edited February 15, 2013 by Blasphemerr

[AngelofCain]

You chose a really bad operative to feature. I'd of just walked around and capped while you were running to scramble instead of following like he does.

[Enexemander]

Great video.

 

I've seen you playing, so I was a little worried I might make the highlight reel .

 

Keep them coming!

[AngelofCain]

Great video.

 

I've seen you playing, so I was a little worried I might make the highlight reel .

 

Keep them coming!

 

I've seen him play and I was wondering if I was in there, but nooooo he choose a bad operative.

[NogueiraA]

4:17 Sniper need a nerf. Root needs to fill resolve.

Sentinel had 0 chance against so many tools, CC breaker? pff...

[cashogy_reborn]

good video. seen you in WZs a few times, youre pretty good

[Amebia]

You are so bloody annoying to fight against

 

*waves fist *

 

 

Wait wth cash

 

Thought you were on the bastion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Kal'ray Gunnery commando

Edited February 15, 2013 by Amebia

[NoTomorrow]

I don't like to criticize fellow snipers, but you have room for a lot of improvement.

 

1. Interface, get rid of that double abiilties, I don't see what advantages it could provide you. Instead of having your eyes focused on a much smaller area of cooldowns, you dilute your sight focus over the entire monitor.

 

2. Your engagements with classes you are supposed to counter (marauders) are extremely long with a lot of useless moves. Your duel with the carnage marauder and focus sentinel should have ended at least 10 seconds sooner.

 

3. You go into entrench, than immediately move out of it repeated times, when there is absolutely no reason to do that.

 

4. You are wasting your CC and don't use it strategically when it is really needed. A lot of stuns, flashbangs are being thrown in a situation when there were not really necessary. Instead of using them as a response to enemy abilities, you just throw them randomly. Also you waste these cooldowns in situations when your team vastly outnumbers the opponents, thus you don't save your CDs for later moments.

 

5. because of (4), you are needlessly filling resolve of players when you shouldn't. Let me tell you one thing, against a carnage marauder, RWZ quality material, you will be DEAD if you fill their resolve they way you do now.

 

6. You seem to be heavily influenced by some of your other classes experience. Try to get rid of whatever bad habbits you have acquired before, especially the unnecessary movement out of cover while against zerg. This is just asking for trouble at pulling / leaping to you.

 

7. Unprocced 2,5s ambushes, just don't.

 

8. Positioning, there are a couple of times you just position yourself in places where your enemy can easily exploit them. Or you don't take advantage of oppostunities that maps offer you. On ancient hypergates you should stand on the pedestal in the middle to deny enemy of being able to LoS you.

 

9. You use grenades with MM 1vs1 in situations when the enemy doesn't have any special defenses against your ranged attacks.

 

 

4:17 Sniper need a nerf. Root needs to fill resolve.

Sentinel had 0 chance against so many tools, CC breaker? pff...

 

LOL a nerf for what? Are you saying that focus is underpowered and doesn't have enough tools?

Edited February 15, 2013 by NoTomorrow

[Amebia]

What he said^

[POPsi]

the music is very good, thanks for that (the video is cool too )

[madtycoon]

Thanks for all the comments

 

Good video!

 

You should make a playlist so we can see your first (and, hopefully future ones!) If I run into you in a TotH video, I'll be sure to give you a proper shout-out!

 

Thanks. I made a playlist and don't know what TotH is.

 

Neat video. Yay CD timers!

 

I'd be cautious about being on the ledge even as a sniper. It wouldn't take me more than 5 seconds to respec zealous leap/obliterate which is what happened in the video--you guys just luckily killed the ballcarrier before it could pass.

 

Yeah I know. Its happend before heh. I didn't notice the singularity charges in time. He was also lagging or character fallen bugged. I was going to take that clip out, but forgot, because I think i missed the interrupt on the scoundrel.

 

You chose a really bad operative to feature. I'd of just walked around and capped while you were running to scramble instead of following like he does.

 

I don't think he'd have time to fully cap the node if he had done that, but if he had done that and killed me or had a teammate there, yeah definately. I didn't call incoming in that clip or even really cared too much about the cap, because the game was pretty much over. Most their teammates were /sitting afk on their node. It was an unbalanced game from the start, so i just sat on defense the whole game until he showed up.

 

It was either this clip or a duel with an operative on dromund kaas. I liked this one, because it lasted longer than most fights with conceal ops, eventhough we both didn't play it perfectly.

[madtycoon]

I don't like to criticize fellow snipers, but you have room for a lot of improvement.

 

1. Interface, get rid of that double abiilties, I don't see what advantages it could provide you. Instead of having your eyes focused on a much smaller area of cooldowns, you dilute your sight focus over the entire monitor.

 

I appreciate the criticism. My interface set-up doesn't give me problems with vision. I guess I don't understand what you're saying. The double abilities on my bars makes it a lot easier to see when cooldowns are up. Its especially nice for the cover bar to see when things like series of shots is up when you aren't in cover. I have croutch and take cover on the same binds with my cover abilities, because I've noticed the game respondes better when you do that.

 

If I was playing a sniper exclusively and if this was the only game I played, then I wouldn't even have to ever look at my bars aside from maybe the 2+ minute cooldowns and I could have everything smaller and hidden, but that's not the case for me. I have to glance at my bars a lot and prefer the double icons to make it easier to notice when something is off cooldown.

 

It also makes it nice for dealing with the ability responsiveness delay that sometimes still occurs.

 

2. Your engagements with classes you are supposed to counter (marauders) are extremely long with a lot of useless moves. Your duel with the carnage marauder and focus sentinel should have ended at least 10 seconds sooner.

 

Yeah, I agree. I could have milked a lot more damage out in the 2 second windows where roots don't break and could have pumped damage into CC, but I prefer dueling carnage and even rage marauders where I can control the entire fight. I don't want to let them get a couple of seconds of uptime on me, because then its possible to lose. You might not be talking about using things like orbital and face tanking damage, I'm not sure, but I've noticed if you let a carnage marauder have uptime on you, he can get form procs and destroy you through your cooldowns even if you save evasion for ravage.

 

Me and that marauder probably dueled for hours that night. It was like the first or second night I had come back to playing my sniper and I was trying all the specs out. I was purposely waiting with my execute for after his undying rage and I think he knew I was sitting on it, so he didn't end up popping it until my stun/flash were back up and it was too late. I didn't fraps all the duels we had and only recorded the last 3. I wanted to have a duel with him in the video.

 

3. You go into entrench, than immediately move out of it repeated times, when there is absolutely no reason to do that.

 

I left entrench on the duels with the sentinel and marauder. The entrench on the marauder's camo was questionable, but if you don't entrench camo he chokes out of stealth and you use trinket. If I would have saved it, sure I would have had it later for when he got on me and I could have used ballistic shield, but like I said, I'm not going to play it where I'm going to let him have more than a second of continous uptime. I still had root grenade, which we agreed on. I could use root grenade and he could use medpack.

 

If you're talking about the entrench on novare when the scoundrel vanishes... it was to prevent him opening on me or flashing me when he opened. I broke it to stun him off my healer. The game was over and usually when its over I just blow all my cooldowns I have (that's why I cyber grenaded him after the stun).

 

The fight with the sentinel. That's where you entrench... when he's in range to zelous... especially if he trinkets knockback root, because if you don't he can stasis and sweep before you can get a flash off. After the flash I'm going to get distance and legshot with probe, queue up an ambush, especially if he has already used saber ward and pacify.

 

Then there's the time on civil war where I used my entrench on the whirlwind and saved interrupt for the heals. I thought that was a good call. Their marauder got back on, I stunned him... he didn't have a trinket... I legshotted him off and moved out of his attack range... don't see the problem hehe. My mistake there imo was I used ballistic shield without entrench up. I sometimes do that, because I see my teammates getting attacked and know I don't have CC up to stop them from taking damage so my only peel is blowing my shield. But regardless that was a horrible ballistic shield.

 

4. You are wasting your CC and don't use it strategically when it is really needed. A lot of stuns, flashbangs are being thrown in a situation when there were not really necessary. Instead of using them as a response to enemy abilities, you just throw them randomly. Also you waste these cooldowns in situations when your team vastly outnumbers the opponents, thus you don't save your CDs for later moments.

 

5. because of (4), you are needlessly filling resolve of players when you shouldn't. Let me tell you one thing, against a carnage marauder, RWZ quality material, you will be DEAD if you fill their resolve they way you do now.

 

I don't see this at all. Sorry. There's only really 3 CCs I waste that I've noticed in the video, but I haven't really looked it over that throughly. A flash on a healer which he trinketed, but ended up getting demolished by powertechs regardless and a couple knockdown grenades. Usually I save my cybertech grenade CD for when its absolutely necessary. Someones going to die and I don't have anything else up or like in huttball for the ball carrier for that extra root.

 

Using CC on cooldown if you're positive its not going to be broken is better than waiting for like the best time, because honestly that time might not come. If someone is on a sorcerer for example and I run ove rand stun them off, its going to be worth it because now the sorc can free cast... i can follow it up with a legshot, etc. Even if you're up in numbers on a team its still better to use your CC instead of saving for what, the next wave? I mean you keep things controlled where no damage is coming out, now your healers can dps or they can regen a bit.

 

Sure I'll save my like flash or knockback if were about to wipe them in voidstar and maybe only 2 people are left and they have a full door and its either use your flash on the target you aren't focusing or save it for the door. Yeah saving it is better, but not using CC just because its not the opportune time? I don't see it.

 

And if you're talking the duels. I wasted my flash against the slinger. If I would have waiting after diversion, that wouldn't have even been close and against the marauder sure ideally you save CC for their saber ward or pacify, but white barring him isn't the worst thing, especially if you still have root grenade, evasion, diversion to live and now your CC is going to come back up faster. If I had waited in that duel, entrenched and ballistic shield and just done damage and not flashed until I saw saber ward... I could have taken a lot more unnecessary damage. The flash was good regardless because it was on his ravage. imo

 

6. You seem to be heavily influenced by some of your other classes experience. Try to get rid of whatever bad habbits you have acquired before, especially the unnecessary movement out of cover while against zerg. This is just asking for trouble at pulling / leaping to you.

 

Its true. This is the only class I've ever played with this design where its better to just stay stationary sometimes. But moving is important on a sniper. I mean keeping dampers up, legshotting and moving, LOSing is still necessary to survival. If I just face tank with all my cooldowns I can die easily when someone has uptime and I don't have cover pulse or some sort of CC. I know how hard it is to heal slingers who just sit there, cover pulse and don't move to max range in the root and get a big zerg of melee back on them, even if they pop shield and entrench. They'll take retarded amounts of damage if I'm freecasting. I've seen better survival results when I'm moving/kiting in between my roots and CCs when getting focused a lot of the time. Especially if you aren't getting healed.

 

The other times I move is to peel or stop caps. I'm going to peel with like cover pulse if I see 2 melee on a teammate. I'm going to run over and stun an operative's opener. If that means I come out of entrench, fine.

 

7. Unprocced 2,5s ambushes, just don't.

I don't really do this anymore, though i did it a couple times in the video. Unless you're talking in duels which I think its fine to use an unprocced ambush when someone is sitting in the tale end of a root.

 

8. Positioning, there are a couple of times you just position yourself in places where your enemy can easily exploit them. Or you don't take advantage of oppostunities that maps offer you. On ancient hypergates you should stand on the pedestal in the middle to deny enemy of being able to LoS you.

 

Everyone can work on positioning. I usually play back and rarely get ontop of that pedestal. Unless your team is pushed up into them, I don't see the point, because sure you have LoS on them, but its easier for you to get targetted and killed. I'm a defensive player. I play back and try not to overextend. Ideally I'm next to a pillar, but thats something I need to get better at.

 

9. You use grenades with MM 1vs1 in situations when the enemy doesn't have any special defenses against your ranged attacks.

 

Yeah. I wasn't using overload shot much in this video. I'll be honest. The first couple days I told myself not to use it, because I was still getting used to the binds and wanted to get the grenade and free attack binds down first. I use it a lot more right now. There's a subtle difference in the damage and grenade still has its uses for sure (splash damage for caps and won't deflect/dodge - evasion, saber ward, deflection, pacity, etc. when you have to dps into those cooldowns). Shiv is another thing I've gotten better at using in the last couple days.

 

Thanks again for your criticism

Edited February 15, 2013 by madtycoon

[islander]

I don't like to criticize fellow snipers, but you have room for a lot of improvement.

 

1. Interface, get rid of that double abiilties, I don't see what advantages it could provide you. Instead of having your eyes focused on a much smaller area of cooldowns, you dilute your sight focus over the entire monitor.

 

2. Your engagements with classes you are supposed to counter (marauders) are extremely long with a lot of useless moves. Your duel with the carnage marauder and focus sentinel should have ended at least 10 seconds sooner.

 

3. You go into entrench, than immediately move out of it repeated times, when there is absolutely no reason to do that.

 

4. You are wasting your CC and don't use it strategically when it is really needed. A lot of stuns, flashbangs are being thrown in a situation when there were not really necessary. Instead of using them as a response to enemy abilities, you just throw them randomly. Also you waste these cooldowns in situations when your team vastly outnumbers the opponents, thus you don't save your CDs for later moments.

 

5. because of (4), you are needlessly filling resolve of players when you shouldn't. Let me tell you one thing, against a carnage marauder, RWZ quality material, you will be DEAD if you fill their resolve they way you do now.

 

6. You seem to be heavily influenced by some of your other classes experience. Try to get rid of whatever bad habbits you have acquired before, especially the unnecessary movement out of cover while against zerg. This is just asking for trouble at pulling / leaping to you.

 

7. Unprocced 2,5s ambushes, just don't.

 

8. Positioning, there are a couple of times you just position yourself in places where your enemy can easily exploit them. Or you don't take advantage of oppostunities that maps offer you. On ancient hypergates you should stand on the pedestal in the middle to deny enemy of being able to LoS you.

 

9. You use grenades with MM 1vs1 in situations when the enemy doesn't have any special defenses against your ranged attacks.

 

 

 

 

LOL a nerf for what? Are you saying that focus is underpowered and doesn't have enough tools?

 

I'd love to see you post a video like this. Seriously. Not trolling - he did ask for advice. Just so we can see how to 'better' do it.

 

Oh, and as far as your #7, I don't entirely agree. I use unprocced ambushes often - mostly after sniper volley -, they are a free cover pulse when paired with leg shot and then followthrough/grenade under the first two seconds. Not to mention a good means to maintain energy. Of course, my gear allocation is a little different then what you recommend in your guide- your guide was still amazing at getting me to a base level of understanding of how to play the class, and I'm very thankful for it.

 

Oh and #8 positioning, that's always going to be a challenge I suspect. At least for me, I make less mistakes now then weeks ago sure...but I still make them.

You don't get to always pick and choose where you park yourself. Although I agree it better be absolutely critical to leave a good entrench I try my best to make sure I am in a GOOD place before I use entrench

Edited February 15, 2013 by islander

[smellmop]

lolz at the lack of name filtering in this game (idc other than it seemed pretty hardcore at launch)

 

there is a scoundrel healer at about 7:50 or so in the video with the name "Cu'mmblast Inyaeye" wow, just wow

 

nice work on the video, gotta ask tho why the double up on the skills on your bar? Looks like you have everything bound....so ?

[vimm]

I like having controlz on my team.

[Groncho]

hes a good sniper

nice vid

would love to have the "guide" dude in front of me in a wz, not everything can be written, lol sometimes u gotta do what u gotta do ie: TAKE IT LIKE A MAN

[NoTomorrow]

hes a good sniper

nice vid

would love to have the "guide" dude in front of me in a wz, not everything can be written, lol sometimes u gotta do what u gotta do ie: TAKE IT LIKE A MAN

 

Would love for what? Prove that i am wrong or you are better than me or smth? I am trying to be helpful, by providing constructive critism. Comments like "you are a great/terrible sniper" will not help him improve and ejoy the class to its full potential - a state in which he should only fear full deception sins with 3 stacks of recklessness in unranked.

Edited February 15, 2013 by NoTomorrow

[Groncho]

Would love for what? Prove that i am wrong or you are better than me or smth? I am trying to be helpful, by providing constructive critism. Comments like "you are a great/terrible sniper" will not help him improve and ejoy the class to its full potential - a state in which he should only fear full deception sins with 3 stacks of recklessness in unranked.

 

both and

why would u fear a class?

[NogueiraA]

LOL a nerf for what? Are you saying that focus is underpowered and doesn't have enough tools?

 

It's clearly unbalanced:

Sniper vs melee

Other ranged vs melee

 

Snipers has 100% advantage, melee do not have 100% advantage against other classes, this is what I'm talking about.

Remove 4sec stun and increase the cooldown in leg shot to 45sec, snipers fixed.

The damage output from snipers and melee classes it's the same.

To be fair, I think all DPS trees should lose the 4sec stun.

4sec stun only for tanks and healers.

[NoTomorrow]

both and

why would u fear a class?

 

Than i suggest you start commenting and proving me wrong, rather than just provide random rant. As for fear, have you actually experienced this matchup?

[islander]

It's clearly unbalanced:

Sniper vs melee

Other ranged vs melee

 

Snipers has 100% advantage, melee do not have 100% advantage against other classes, this is what I'm talking about.

Remove 4sec stun and increase the cooldown in leg shot to 45sec, snipers fixed.

The damage output from snipers and melee classes it's the same.

To be fair, I think all DPS trees should lose the 4sec stun.

4sec stun only for tanks and healers.

 

Snipers do not have a major advantage over any good melee durability spec with all of the melee's defensive cooldowns available. Especially assassins as they have stealth initiative as well.

 

If you are one of these, and can't kill a sniper, that's on your skill level.

[NoTomorrow]

It's clearly unbalanced:

Sniper vs melee

Other ranged vs melee

 

Snipers has 100% advantage, melee do not have 100% advantage against other classes, this is what I'm talking about.

Remove 4sec stun and increase the cooldown in leg shot to 45sec, snipers fixed.

The damage output from snipers and melee classes it's the same.

To be fair, I think all DPS trees should lose the 4sec stun.

4sec stun only for tanks and healers.

 

I understand that you dont like being countered by snipers, but you should play one yourself. You will learn to hate stealthers, and stealther friendly maps like civil war and novarre coast. You will hate healers LoSing you and hate being unable to hunt them down behind the corner. You will be forever forced to walk in groups, being part of the big zerg, because a lone relocating sniper is a juicy target for stealthers.

 

In return you get awesome power over melee. (skilled one will still be a threat for you, an opportunistic, knowledgeble carnage marauder can whipe out good snipers quite often, provided he knows when to pick his fights)

 

Its better to be a melee countered by snipers than a sniper countered by sins. In your case you cam at least choose if you want to engage the sniper, or retreat to fight another day. Against a god sin, you are not being asked if you want to engage him or not. And it usually happens the worst moment for the sniper, if the in knows when to open.

 

I know you dont like being legshot, you probably hate being rooted, but this is exactly what you do with force leap to ther classes, and in the case of carmage you can have a total of 9s root. Legshot has the same cd as force leap. Are you ready to trade you leap roots for snipers loosing legshot?

[Cwild]

I understand that you dont like being countered by snipers, but you should play one yourself. You will learn to hate stealthers, and stealther friendly maps like civil war and novarre coast. You will hate healers LoSing you and hate being unable to hunt them down behind the corner. You will be forever forced to walk in groups, being part of the big zerg, because a lone relocating sniper is a juicy target for stealthers.

 

In return you get awesome power over melee. (skilled one will still be a threat for you, an opportunistic, knowledgeble carnage marauder can whipe out good snipers quite often, provided he knows when to pick his fights)

 

Its better to be a melee countered by snipers than a sniper countered by sins. In your case you cam at least choose if you want to engage the sniper, or retreat to fight another day. Against a god sin, you are not being asked if you want to engage him or not. And it usually happens the worst moment for the sniper, if the in knows when to open.

 

I know you dont like being legshot, you probably hate being rooted, but this is exactly what you do with force leap to ther classes, and in the case of carmage you can have a total of 9s root. Legshot has the same cd as force leap. Are you ready to trade you leap roots for snipers loosing legshot?

 

You're really not at a huge disadvantage to stealthers though because 99% of conc operatives are garbage so all you really have to worry about is assassins, which can give you a hard time yes, but it is still a winnable fight. At least you have the option. Your class is the most balanced in this game.