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Playing Commando With a Blaster Rifle (instead of Assault Cannon)


RoninRanion

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Ok, this is going to get weird, so stick with me...

 

I guess this is a vanity build/fun/weird build because it's mainly about looks/lore, but I want to play a commando type dps trooper who uses a blaster rifle, not an assault cannon.

 

People tell me to go dps Vanguard, but dammit to hell I don't want to be hitting mob's with my rifle (stockstrike)! It's a rifle! I want to shoot things!

 

But I ALSO don't want to use an Assault Cannon; they're fugly as fug!

 

I want to have a toon with light'ish armor (think biker scout, or Endor rebel commando) who uses a blaster rifle for ranged dps.

 

Some will tell me to go Imperial Agent, and I would, except all my friends are playing pub! So I have to find a way to play this sort of character on pub side.

 

So basically I'm thinking I'll play a standard dps Gunnery Commando, but use a blaster rifle over the cannon. I know my dps will suffer.

 

My concern is, will I get kicked out of groups? lol

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My concern is, will I get kicked out of groups? lol

 

Short answer, yes.

 

Long answer, yes.

 

Anyway, the only commando that can use a blaster rifle is one without an orange one (unexcusable - you get given one at level 10 when you pick commando) or a healer (because they dont run off ranged damage but rather off tech power - which is the same for blasters + cannons).

 

HOWEVER

 

I will say you can reach ~97% of the DPS potential of an Assault Spec vanguard without using stockstrike ever before the DoT buffs. Considering that spec is hitting ~3.9k average in dread forged gear, that would be a 3.8k dps spec while sitting at 10 meters the entire time. While it isn't the 30 meters you'd want from a commando, its still a lot more than a commando trying to run without an assault cannon (Full auto is the big damage dealer for gunnery commandos, and thats a ranged attack. And a big component of burst for gunnery commandos commandos is High Impact Bolt, which is, you guessed it, ranged! And Charged Bolts, which is completely required for Assault Commandos rotation is... Restricted to Assault Cannons!)

 

So yeah, if your only issue is playing a vanguard requires hitting things with your gun instead of shooting them with it, just go vanguard. You're gimping yourself significantly less by going 10-meter vanguard than by going blaster-rifle commando

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Should you ever decide that Combat Medic is the way to go, blaster rifles will not affect your effective healing since it is based on Tech Power rather than weapon damage.

 

The only gimped portion would be your dps, but that is hardly any concern of combat medics unless in pvp.

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Thank you for your frank, and informative response.

 

I'm new to this game (very new) so, please explain why Vanguards have to be at 10 meters?

 

It doesnt have to be at 10 meters, however most of your important abilities are 10m in range, with just stockstrike, hammer shots and high impact bolt having different ranges.

Assault Spec requires a lot of use of ion pulse to reset the cooldown on high impact bolt and make the next one free, while putting incendiary round and assault plastique on the target on cooldown as well, so 10 meters is as far away as you can get without gimping yourself

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People tell me to go dps Vanguard, but dammit to hell I don't want to be hitting mob's with my rifle (stockstrike)! It's a rifle! I want to shoot things!

 

Yeah, it's not fair. Instead of stockstriking things, bounty hunters get to rocket punch people. Much cooler, really. You do get used to it. The problem with using a blaster rifle is Charged Bolts (as noted above, but I don't think it was emphasized enough). It's one of only two abilities that require an assault cannon, but it's absolutely critical to maintaining your ammo in a fight for both Gunnery and Assault. I question whether it's even really a bright idea for solo content.

 

The AC was one of my biggest issues with starting a commando, but again as said above you do get used to it. You'll always feel a little silly carrying these huge honking weapons around on your back. But hey - look at it this way - ACs are some of the most visually distinctive weapons in the game because of their size so there's incredible variety. When was the last time you really thought the hilt of a lightsaber looked really cool? Not often, I'd imagine since only the blade is really all that visible.

Edited by Luneward
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  • 1 month later...
You don't need charged bolts. Grav round is better in every possible way, dealing more damage, taking the same amount of energy, same activation time, reducing the targets armor, allowing you to use high impact bolt, and useable with rifles. You can unlock it at lvl 20 under Gunnery. Edited by griephswalder
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You don't need charged bolts. Grav round is better in every possible way, dealing more damage, taking the same amount of energy, same activation time, reducing the targets armor, allowing you to use high impact bolt, and useable with rifles. You can unlock it at lvl 20 under Gunnery.

 

BUt you lose about 10% DPS by using a rifle instead of a cannon.. as DPS spec it isn't really smart :p

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BUt you lose about 10% DPS by using a rifle instead of a cannon.. as DPS spec it isn't really smart :p

 

Not necessarily. I parsed it once a long time ago and found it averaged to around 5-10% damage difference, while not optimal you could easily do 95% of the content in this game as a blaster-rifle gunnery commando. I do it on my own commando sometimes.

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Not necessarily. I parsed it once a long time ago and found it averaged to around 5-10% damage difference, while not optimal you could easily do 95% of the content in this game as a blaster-rifle gunnery commando. I do it on my own commando sometimes.

 

True. But lets just say that if I see a rifle-using Mando I'll be kinda quick on the kick. If said Mando desn't pull his weight, kick is sure to happen. If he pulls his weight then go for it. Don't play a class in an unintended way if you can't play it correctly.

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Not necessarily. I parsed it once a long time ago and found it averaged to around 5-10% damage difference, while not optimal you could easily do 95% of the content in this game as a blaster-rifle gunnery commando. I do it on my own commando sometimes.

 

Take your average cannon, extract all of the mods, put them in a rifle. No difference.

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There is. Weapon Damage is higher on an Assault Cannon than on a rifle.

 

And yet tech power remained the same. This means specs that relied on tech power are unaffected by the weapon choice.

 

I.E. Combat Medics.

 

Well, I suppose not being able to use Hail of Bolts and Charged Bolts put a dent into the "Combat" part, but I use a rifle myself. Only time I found annoying was not being able to use Hail of Bolts to interrupt multi-caps in pvp.

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