2.0 Engineering Sniper - Defense focussed Video

[BaineOs]

Kind of reluctant to post this in one respect. I wanted to make a couple of PVP vids for myself as my interest is waning considerably and fancied a few momentos. However in the process of doing so I found myself writing a few comments.

 

So ok here's a video of a voidstar I had last night and I thought it was a good example of what I feel is a good defense using the engineering tree. People say that snipers are all about damage yada yada yada....I happen to disagree strongly.

 

That's not all we're good for, we're good for so much more than that.

 

Just a disclaimer first:

 

 

1. This is NOT a video that's meant to illustrate insane god like skills so if that's what you're expecting it's not for you.
   
2. Whilst playing this warzone I wasn't focusing on damage so if you want to see a lot of damage/kills being done then this is not for you. I hardly ever focus on pure damage, I do what's required to win the warzone
   
3. This is not a ranked video it's a normal wz and I'm pugging alone, this is geared towards Engineering Snipers that tend to pug (well it's what I was doing when I captured it )
   
4. As I said I made this for my own use enjoy it or not view it or ignore it, it's up to you
   
5. There's a comment near the end saying notice this guy, it's out of place and should be at the point when I've slowed it. Just a way to give credit where it's due
   
6. *edit* Forgot to mention some of my comments are very situational, you have to make a judgement whether it's the right thing for the team you're with. Its just to give people an idea (thinking of what I call blind dpsing and the bit at the attack phase)
   

 

Anyway perhaps it'll help a couple of people, perhaps not...regardless hope some people enjoy it

Edited May 3, 2013 by BaineOs

[BaineOs]

Another one, this time a Novare Coast

 

Posting it because sometimes you just get that certain feeling before the warzone starts and some people are very persistent

[Ilmarius]

Good stuff, nice to see some engineering sniping for a change.

What build are you using?

[Sardonyyx]

I also glad there's more engineers out there. I feel like its not a difficult spec, and takes a lot of time to master. Got a lot more priorities than most classes, and more dots than others as well, so managing all those and rolling around, while being awesome with bubble placement is going to make a valuable player. My raid team loves me when I run this spec, burns down adds insanely fast, I can pretty much solo the snipers on thrasher leaving the other 3 to wail on him.

 

Keep on rollin'

[BaineOs]

Good stuff, nice to see some engineering sniping for a change.

What build are you using?

This is my build, I play around a bit with heavy shot, precision ambush and lethality but when I do so I almost always miss the added control I get with heavy shot.

 

Can see several times in huttball situations (other vids of mine) where I'm lining myself up to shoot someone off a ledge only to remember after I haven't got heavy shot (doh!!!)

 

I also glad there's more engineers out there. I feel like its not a difficult spec, and takes a lot of time to master. Got a lot more priorities than most classes, and more dots than others as well, so managing all those and rolling around, while being awesome with bubble placement is going to make a valuable player. My raid team loves me when I run this spec, burns down adds insanely fast, I can pretty much solo the snipers on thrasher leaving the other 3 to wail on him.

Ya bubble placement, haven't really got the hang of that yet with the way I play the class, something I've got work on

 

There's definitely more things to think about in 2.0, as an engineering sniper as you do get 2 entrench's, shields and rolls plus the slow we get with plasma probe.....I actually find myself using entrench a lot more than I have been before due to the change. When you know you have another in reserve it comes in very handy in occassions that you wouldn't normally use it. I think it's this part of the spec that puts people off

Edited May 12, 2013 by BaineOs

[Sardonyyx]

Yeah bubble placement is important, 20% damage reduction for all raid members is nice. In Ops it's useful too, my tanks call out for it when they're out of cooldowns. I'm a tank cooldown lol. The roll makes it really easy to do on demand too.

 

I love the spec though, so fun and useful. Not to mention the awesome AOE damage from Oribital, roll, and plasma probe. Spam able frag grenade is nice too.

 

Tbh I kinda miss the way EMP used to work in pvp, and how if little scoundrel decided to run away I could shock him from 60m lol. But the new changes make it to where I'll kill said scoundrel before he even knows I'm there.

[BaineOs]

The roll makes it really easy to do on demand too..

You're right of course but I pug most of the time and so in pvp I tend to use the roll's for getting out of trouble or getting somewhere else quick, probably why I don't tend to use it much

[Sardonyyx]

Definitely use it whenever you're on a door, or can roll into a wall when you're using it offensively, you want to try and make one target eat all of them. It's very useful that roll, lol. Does a lot of neat stuff.

[CBRGhostRider]

LOL, very nice stuff OP. NC was epic when the same guy kept coming back.

 

I just switched to engineering today when I hit level 45, can you advise me on what the typical rotation is?

 

I can see a well defined rotation for MM or lethality, but I'm just kinda winging it for Engineering. I put my interrogation probe on target, then explosive probe, SoS, then ambush, snipe. Throw in frag grenades every now and then. Will start using PP now that I have it, but I'm still a bit lost on what priority order to use.

 

Also, is there a specific time I should wait to use EMP discharge. Seems pretty nice that it resets so many cds, but I'm always afraid I'm not making optimum use of it.

 

How would you advise playing a typical offensive vs. a typical defensive strategy?

 

[sorry for thread hijack, feel free to point me to existing threads if you like].

[SpoeMeister]

You've got my sub! Nice vids

[BaineOs]

LOL, very nice stuff OP. NC was epic when the same guy kept coming back.

 

I just switched to engineering today when I hit level 45, can you advise me on what the typical rotation is?

 

I can see a well defined rotation for MM or lethality, but I'm just kinda winging it for Engineering. I put my interrogation probe on target, then explosive probe, SoS, then ambush, snipe. Throw in frag grenades every now and then. Will start using PP now that I have it, but I'm still a bit lost on what priority order to use.

 

Also, is there a specific time I should wait to use EMP discharge. Seems pretty nice that it resets so many cds, but I'm always afraid I'm not making optimum use of it.

 

How would you advise playing a typical offensive vs. a typical defensive strategy?

Ghost dude, soz for the wall of text! it's longer than I thought but also shorter than what I could have said

 

A number of question you have there dude, I'm not always the best person to ask because I see many different situations which changes the way I'd choose what skill to use but I'll give ti a shot.

 

To be honest I don't really think about any particular rotation as such as it all depends on what's happening in the warzone. The big burst engineers have is essentially explosive probe + series of shots so everything else fits around that.

 

Our spec is entirely situation because the plasma probe is a great utility as well as a key component to our damage rotation. For a basic rotation try this:

 

Interrogation probe, Plasma probe, explosive probe, series of shots

 

The rest of the skills for me work around that. The IP + PP will stun them for 2 secs so if they start to move away you can leg shot them. Of course what you can do is to IP then Explosive probe before PP. This will make the EP explode upon placing the PP making them take more damage in a short space of time as well as giving you more time to keep them inside that PP (which means they take more damage).

 

The cooldown on PP is such that it's useable against single targets and for it's obvious AOE use.

 

About frag grenades. I know some engineering snipers prefer it but I prefer snipe. That's mainly because after a full SOS you have got 3 stacks of Electrified Railgun. It only lasts 6 secs but it can be refreshed by Snipe, as sniper builds 1 stack. So for constant use and damage I after that basic rotation I tend to use snipe until the cooldown is off SOS. If you're quick you can do an ambush inbetween the SOS and snipes and still keep the 3 stacks up. Frag grenades can eat up your energy quickly so I only tend to use it when I'm purposely AOE dps'ing or when I need a quicker to dish out damage if takedown didn't finish the job (my targets have a nasty habbit of being healed up when they're almost dead bah!)

 

EMP discharge, well I guess it has become more difficult to choose when to use it and I guess in one respect the more you play the sniper the more you'll get to know when it's best to use it. It also depends on what your own personal playstyle is. I've always been a mobile engineering sniper rather than the kind that likes to sit still for long periods of time. So in civil war/engineering I tend to use EMP discharge more often to help go between the turrets/bunkers with Covered Escape.

 

In huttball I'll tend to use it for CE across the fire/acid on attack (and sometimes defense) but also to use entrench. In one of my huttball vids you see the enemy is coming up the ramp to go across the first fire pit and there's myself and one other sniper sitting there doing our stuff. I hit my entrench, the other one doesn't so the obvious happens he gets propelled backwards I don't. So again it's situational, entrench can become the must have in huttball if there's a lot of combat going on at mid whereas elsewhere it's very helpful to use it for Covered Escape so you can use your CC abilities to aid your team.

 

This is what I meant by saying I might not be the person to ask, there's a lot of stuff like this that's just situational, one of the best ways to learn might be to watch other vids (Edit: not necessarily mine btw that wasn't meant to be an ad...).

 

Offensive and Defensive strategies well....hopefully the voidstar above shows you what I tend to do there. Generally speaking you have to be aware that in some warzones damage isn't the key to win sometimes it's cc control. Therefore you have to be mindful of when to use plasma probe. There's a time to dps like mad and others when cc is important. It's probably one of the reasons why my dps isn't as high as some engineering snipers. On the other hand plasma probe is very useful as a slow. Don't just use it for damage purposes drop it to help slow people down if the huttball carrier is being chased or if there's a ton of enemies going for the other turret, it helps generate more time for your team mates.

 

I haven't mentioned orbital strike but the combination of plasma probe and OS for both offensive and defensive situations can be amazing whether they are placed on the same ground or slightly different but close (hell even different) locations.

 

TLDR

soz for the wall of text but it's much shorter than what I could have made it .

 

Basic rotation = Interrogation probe, Plasma probe, explosive probe, series of shots

 

My philosphy might be different to other engineering snipers, we're not just good for damage and I play the spec according to the situation. It's probably a result of a ton of pugging having to compensate rather than doing ranked and a lot of premades.

Edited May 22, 2013 by BaineOs

[CBRGhostRider]

Thanks for the detailed advice! I only play my ranged toons every now and then (I prefer melee), so I didn't get around to playing my sniper again until this week.

 

That being said, I LOVE engineering. I honestly won't ever go back to lethality or MM. For my playstyle, it is orders of magnitudes better than MM or lethality. Sniper is just an amazing class. To be honest, I'm only a mediocre ranged player, I am so much better at melee. But even I feel REALLY strong playing engineering... so I cringe when I think what engineering can do in the right hands

 

The whole stealth detection stacks thingy is seriously retarded. I mean 9 times out of 10, I can see stealthies approaching me. I don't know if they forget to pop their blackout/sneak etc. but they are just easily visible.

 

As an engineer, my latest kick has been baiting assassins to attack me. I can see him through his stealth usually, and I start out playing as a non-engineer, using snipe, leg-shot, ambush, keeping them at a distance generally. I make sure I have IP on the stealthy, and entrench running. When he finally closes in.... BAM... PP on myself.. also stuns him. Then EP on him, quick leg shot to detonate EP, trap him, and drop cluster bombs... Then SoS... by that time he's in such a freaking panic, because he thought getting in melee would be the end of me LOL. Of course, then I debilitate him and stun the sucker in the AoE, and finally finish him off. I can't wait to get OS to drop on myself, that will just be the icing on the cake.

 

So glad that when I'm on my assassin I usually only run into MM or lethality types.

Edited June 19, 2013 by CBRGhostRider

[Humio_Ahazi]

It's good to see another engineer sniper play like I do. One thing that I do much differently is I have completely augmented Advanced Fortitude Augment 28. I also run with the Prototype Nano-Infused Fortitude Stim which currently puts my health at 35,020 health in full pvp gear with 2018 expertise. I also run the the Conqueror Relic of Fortunate Redoubt with the Serendipitous Assault. I don't currently have full Conq gear but when I am fully min/maxed this is what I will have.

 

http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/character/867cbf64-81c2-4164-a659-29c99c62a86d

 

Here is my current set up along with the spec that I run.

 

http://oi39.tinypic.com/95u64y.jpg

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#400McMMZrIMrRkbRrzGz.3

 

 

Also some screens of end game stats running this spec.(this is only the spec pre, fortitude augs)

 

http://oi42.tinypic.com/8vrvc9.jpg

 

http://oi43.tinypic.com/2najnmt.jpg

 

http://oi40.tinypic.com/fyigsg.jpg

 

 

EDIT* Just want to add that running full fortitude augs is great for solo defending nodes/doors. It is not unreasonable to be able to hold of 3 opponents for enough time to your teammates respond. And you still have enough single target damage to destroy most people before they even get to you.

Edited June 19, 2013 by Humio_Ahazi

[CrixusBoR]

Nice write up Es'carli.

 

I have a few bits to add not to undermine what you have written. I would like to play more competitive Full Engineering/ Sabotage but sadly with 2.0 Corrosive grenade is just too OP to pass up due to its spamability (dumbing down the class in some ways imo). That ability needs a cool down or an energy increase but I digress…

.

• 
   
  
• Rotation:

  To be honest I don't really think about any particular rotation as such as it all depends on what's happening in the warzone.

  Totally agree with this. Engineering is probably the clunkiest of all advanced specs to play in ToR but with practise and experience it can be effective and fun to play.
  

'

• Shatter Shot is a very important ability for the Engineering Sniper. It slots into the rotation nicely, and not only will your subsequent shots hit harder due to the applied 20% armour debuff, it reduces all healing the target receives by 20% making it much easier to make the kill. As such, I would recommend starting your basic rotation with it.
  

'

• When the basic rotation is on cooldown, you have a few options to keep the dps going, namely: Snipe, Ambush, frag grenade, corrosive dart and even rifle shot if energy is low.
   
  

  “About frag grenades. I know some engineering snipers prefer it but I prefer snipe.”

  I actually prefer frag grenade but that’s because I favour a highly mobile game. Your rationale for keeping the 3 stacks up is absolutely sound and I will not argue against it. What I would always recommend is using Snipe when Laze Target is off cooldown. In fact, I recommend it in all specs even full Lethality. Regardless of the cast time, an auto-crit snipe is desirable in any burst rotation imo.
   
  Corrosive dart can be used to maximize DPS if you find yourself swimming in energy as you can be in Engineering from time-to-time.
  

'

• Plasma probe (& IP) – I use this mainly for control rather than a dps tool: to slow groups of enemies, aid friendly healers under fire, and to deny an area or caps. I don’t always necessarily keep it on cooldown, I like to try and have it available when I need it. I wish it did more dps – frag grenade can hit harder sometimes! – but maybe I’m being a bit greedy Nonetheless, it’s an awesome ability, and worthy of being a top tree power. Consistent, correct placement of this ability is a key factor in maximising your value as an Engineering Sniper.
  

'

• EMP discharge resets so many wonderful skills it’s a great ability. Primarily I will use it defensively i.e. if I am in a spot of bother and roll/ defence screen is on cooldown then it’s time to use it. Other uses include resetting Adrenaline Probe for more energy and also so that I can perform a double roll to cover a large area in a short space of time. With experience it becomes second nature on when to use it.
  

 

 

 

I LOVE engineering. I honestly won't ever go back to lethality or MM. For my playstyle, it is orders of magnitudes better than MM or lethality.

 

I don’t believe you! The Sniper class is lucky to have 3 viable skill trees and a couple of hybrids with very different play styles. It’s a lot of fun switching, and sometimes I do it after each WZ to keep things interesting when pugging

'

'

Edited June 20, 2013 by CrixusBoR

[lilmanweddle]

I absolutely LOVE Engineering, have been spec'd into it ever since I had enough points for Interrogation Probe, and now at 45 with enough for Plasma Probe things are even better

 

I haven't thought too much about stat priority yet, but as the levels go on I certainly will. I presume a nice amount of crit and surge to take advantage of the AOE multiplier is handy, but should I be looking for a fair amount of accuracy and power too? Would appreciate some guidance.

[CrixusBoR]

I absolutely LOVE Engineering, have been spec'd into it ever since I had enough points for Interrogation Probe, and now at 45 with enough for Plasma Probe things are even better

 

I haven't thought too much about stat priority yet, but as the levels go on I certainly will. I presume a nice amount of crit and surge to take advantage of the AOE multiplier is handy, but should I be looking for a fair amount of accuracy and power too? Would appreciate some guidance.

 

With 2.0 Crit has been gutted as you lvl 50 -55. So, for end game, disregard Crit/ Surge and acquire Power! Lots of it. Be sure to maintain a decent lvl of accuracy (>97%) or you will end up missing too often.

[CJNJ]

Woo an engi pvp thread!

 

To the ambush question I saw earlier

If you want to use ambush in your rotation, you gotta use it at the start of your burst, otherwise a healer can easily just heal your target back to full

 

The rotation posted above is certainly your standard rotation, sometimes I throw EP before PP so they can be stunned thru SoS and tightens the burst. Healers are always trouble tho, but I've been trying a new rotation that's been working well

 

IP-SS-Ambush-EP-PP-roll(way to get it so you roll a small distance)-SoS

 

Been working pretty well actually, if its a sorc heal I'll throw a CD as well. Also seeing as the roll is included you gotta be at mid/close range at the start.

[BaineOs]

I have a few bits to add not to undermine what you have written.

No problem dude, all good points you've made. The grenade v snipe thing is I think down to personal preference. Grenade for me when doing single target damage comes in when they are trying to escape. You know it's that scenario where you know they'll los or go out of range by the time your snipe finishes casting. As we both agree on, engineering is very situational.

[BaineOs]

It's good to see another engineer sniper play like I do. One thing that I do much differently is I have completely augmented Advanced Fortitude Augment 28.

Interesting choice dude, I'd give that a try myself if I had the cash. That's 6K more damage than what I currently have.

[BaineOs]

In one respect this is a better example of defensive play over damage. Made a couple of mistakes but again same kind of disclaimer as the first one, when editing this I remembered CrixusBoR's comments about grenade and that I prefer sniper. There's a time and place and they were all clumped up nicely together so why bother with snipe

 

 

Anyway same disclaimer as before enjoy it or not, watch or not it's up to you I made it for my own enjoyment.

[starcckwalker]

Hi guys,

 

I love my engi sniper, just got 55 a couple of days ago.

 

I find myself in trouble though. Crit rating or Power ?

 

Also,

With 2.0 Crit has been gutted as you lvl 50 -55. So, for end game, disregard Crit/ Surge and acquire Power! Lots of it. Be sure to maintain a decent lvl of accuracy (>97%) or you will end up missing too often.

 

How much crit chance would you end up with with power on every item ? Is it worthwhile given the 30% critical damage buff to AoEs ?

[windogie]

Hi guys,

 

I love my engi sniper, just got 55 a couple of days ago.

 

I find myself in trouble though. Crit rating or Power ?

 

Also,

 

 

How much crit chance would you end up with with power on every item ? Is it worthwhile given the 30% critical damage buff to AoEs ?

 

If you have 300 crit you will have 31% crit without skull tree buff and with comp buff. As for myself I run 150 crit and 300 surge since surge is still very nice up until 300. As for acc don't get acc for pvp as the only attacks that will be dodged are ranged attacks like SoS,ambush and snipe which won't miss often enough to waste point in acc on especially since the only time you really have a attack miss is when you are against a tank. When this happens I usually just use shatter+target acquired since your blowing through their armor and your attacks used to make EP go off wont miss during the 10 seconds of target aquired. Also keep in mind tech attacks like all our aoes and DoTs cannot miss and aren't effected by acc. I also don't invest into alacrity due to fact as en you do not have as much cast abilities and could be using the points towards alacrity in power. Hope that answers some questions.

[BaineOs]

Been trying out some new things and thought I'd try it on a lowbie wz. I had just dinged to lvl 45 on one of my lowbie snipers and got my plasma probe, very first wz was a huttball (my favourite) so decided to go and have some fun. There's a few clips of the wz after that (civil war) as well.

 

The whole thing is just meant as a bit of fun nothing serious.

 

Lowbie Fun

Edited August 3, 2013 by BaineOs

[af_raptura]

Been trying out some new things and thought I'd try it on a lowbie wz. I had just dinged to lvl 45 on one of my lowbie snipers and got my plasma probe, very first wz was a huttball (my favourite) so decided to go and have some fun. There's a few clips of the wz after that (civil war) as well.

 

The whole thing is just meant as a bit of fun nothing serious.

 

Lowbie Fun

 

Man, Engineering seems so fun once you get the plasma probe. Mine is still like level 26. =(

 

I wanted to ask in that Civil War game when you 3 capped them, why was that one defender that got off the speeder unable to interrupt you?

[BaineOs]

Man, Engineering seems so fun once you get the plasma probe. Mine is still like level 26. =(

 

I wanted to ask in that Civil War game when you 3 capped them, why was that one defender that got off the speeder unable to interrupt you?

That was an odd bit of that warzone thats for sure. For a start when I was making a move I noticed they had 2 defenders full health but by the time I'd healed up and dropped down 1 had vanished and the other was down to a third health....only thing I can think of is he was in the middle of respeccing?

 

Not only that after dropping the poor sage I cc the shadow away but that wore off in time that he could have interrupted me but didn't (afk?) and then that other sage that failed to interrupt me. In all honesty I think he just mistyped his keybinds. He started to do a heal, deliverance, so it wasn't that he didn't try.