Sniper Ability, Tactical Item, and Set Bonus Feedback

[Delani]

It would make more sense Lore wise to just give them a second roll like Operatives. Which I would also not like to see snipers have.

 

Snipers are already really strong in pvp and the only counter to a good sniper is a Fury Mara or another Sniper,

 

This new ability to “phase walk” is too much and will make them OP as hell.

 

It is an overpowered ability for this class for sure.

[FlameYOL]

The more I think about it, Phasewalk for snipers is extremly overpowered because you cannot leap to them while they are in cover. And most classes only have 1 maybe 2 gap closers rather than a "jump to an enemy" move. Snipers would be able to maintain distance for ever.

 

They would be able to control there enemies forever and maintain distance.

 

I couldn't have put it better myself, this is going to make Sniper more broken than Mercs during 5.0, or 4.0, or whenever you couldn't kill Mercs no matter how hard you tried because of their damn OP self-heals.

[Balameb]

And now this... I have no idea what these Devs are doing or thinking

My guess at this point is that they have very few internal testers to make the "main" balance and those that use Mercs and Snipers are kind of bad in their gaming and they end up adding more DCDs than what are actually needed in those classes.

It has been almost 3 years since 5.0 and we still have no answer as to why Mercs have Responsive Safeguards. I used to think it was a skill intended for PTs and they were too embarased to admit they made a mistake to put it on mercs so they left it there. But this phasewalk for snipers is something else.

Imagine the average player in pvp that neglects most of it defensive cooldowns. Then think how the game will balance with a couple of those in the main testing team.

 

And all player feedback looks like is being wasted.

Whith player testing at most they make minor adjustments, but all the feedback they get here that demonstrate they have no clue in what they are doing, is being ignored.

The posts about Sorcs/Sin changes were a lot of time before PTS and they made no changes besides people showing all the things that are bad. For example BW insists in adding effects to the Knock Back ability when those effects do not relate at all with the need to use a Knock Back in the first place.

[Delani]

My guess at this point is that they have very few internal testers to make the "main" balance and those that use Mercs and Snipers are kind of bad in their gaming and they end up adding more DCDs than what are actually needed in those classes.

It has been almost 3 years since 5.0 and we still have no answer as to why Mercs have Responsive Safeguards. I used to think it was a skill intended for PTs and they were too embarased to admit they made a mistake to put it on mercs so they left it there. But this phasewalk for snipers is something else.

Imagine the average player in pvp that neglects most of it defensive cooldowns. Then think how the game will balance with a couple of those in the main testing team.

 

And all player feedback looks like is being wasted.

Whith player testing at most they make minor adjustments, but all the feedback they get here that demonstrate they have no clue in what they are doing, is being ignored.

The posts about Sorcs/Sin changes were a lot of time before PTS and they made no changes besides people showing all the things that are bad. For example BW insists in adding effects to the Knock Back ability when those effects do not relate at all with the need to use a Knock Back in the first place.

 

Yea, knockbacks are used to create distance from your enemies. Adding DMG reduction is only good if you make a mistake.

[Darthanimus]

Tentatively happy about these changes, to all the haters who think snipers have too many defensive abilities, I would say, we need these to make up for not having the self heals of sorcs, mercs, opers etc.

[TheDramaKing]

Just to understand, at BioWare people are allowed to drink at work? Who is responsible for this stuff? Does he even play swtor? Edited August 2, 2019 by TheDramaKing

[ottffsse]

Instead of giving them phase walk they should have given them a "trapping" type of ability. Kind of like a mini aoe diluted electro-net.

[vXCozmoz]

Scattershot - Penetrating Blast does splash damage to targets around the primary target and causes your next Follow-through to deal splash damage.

 

This had me thinking. Since we do use Scattershot and especially Follow Through often in MM spec rotation I'm not sure adding some aoe splash dmg to it is good. Becasue let's say you are playing Arena or even regs, someone is using a well timed CC like flashbang or anything that lasts longer then the regular 4sec hardstun, you still want to shoot the guy next to him who is not CC'ed, maybe a healer. This splash thing, won't it mess up the CC for PvP atleast?

 

For more aoe cleave I guess or MM rotation will be changed. Yes I know you can't have a 100% rotation in PvP but you get what I mean.

 

As for the PW discussion for Snipers, even tho mine would be happy, looking at the bigger picture and better for the game and all the rest, no just no! Give them a 2nd roll or something then in set bonus or this new tactical stuff but PW for this class is close to game breaking. Just saying. So I fully agree it should not be given to snipers regardless of spec.

[TyrionGraphiste]

Very strong and solid proofs that devs don't know what to do with this game.

Just copy & paste abilities from one class to another IS NOT what players are expecting for a major update!

 

WAKE UP

[Drunken-Monkey]

So, let's sum up, what we got here.

 

4 times roll with the "Repositioning"-set and "Imperial Preperation". In between 2 times "Evasion". If you should really get into trouble somehow (Maybe because other snipers are hunting you), you just phasewalk away. And while you're on the run, you can activate +20% dmg buffed ambushes instant after roll and Hololocate with the respective tactical item.

 

And to this point, I have not taken into consideration all the standard kiting tactics a good sniper uses before or after he pops his real cooldowns. You know: knockback, roots, snares (if skilled into), positioning in general, the small shield probe in between and of course the of all beloved diversion.

 

With utmost politeness I have to repeat the question of a previous poster: Are you allowed to drink at work?

 

Well...I have to admit: Considering double vanish of marauders and aoe-obfuscate of assassins, these sniper changes may look somewhere near reasonable to some people, but I expect snipers to overperform really hard in terms of defensive abilities.

 

Conclusion: Get sober guys, sleep a night or two and reflect on the changes. This should not go live...

Edited August 1, 2019 by Drunken-Monkey

[MandFlurry]

So now snipers are getting phasewalk and predation lmao.

 

Look, it's Total bs, I play Smuggler and Sniper, mainly Smuggler the mirror, and these guy have been Op'd, every pvp'er knows, unless they are lying. 2 Stuns including and blinding grenade that No 1 else has plus heals. WTH.

 

Plus Snaring. AOE.

Edited August 1, 2019 by MandFlurry

[Medullah]

Am I not understanding the 3 charge Laze Target set bonus? You start with 3 charges on your buff bar, and you can use 3 charges in the 45s cooldown period. However, it doesn't seem that builds back up to 3 charges unless you wait 3 minutes - so essentially you are back to before where you only have 1 charge every 45s (which is actually a step down from the previous set bonus since the two charges don't go to your buff bar.

[FlameYOL]

Sniper seems to be in a good position in the PTS, good DPS, Tactical Items for Virulence are in a pretty good spot. Though the set bonus seems a bit meh, I don't know if it a bug or not but like Medullah mentions the laser target set bonus isn't that great.

[Darthanimus]

I played an engineering sniper, I play saboteur gunslinger as a main.

 

I would like to add that the new ability hololocate is a welcome addition to the sniper/gunslinger advanced class. I found that snipers can be easily focused down in encounters such as ranked, because they lack the ability to remove themselves from the fray. This new ability will help incentivize players to try snipers, this I am sure.

 

To keep my testing fair I used the same stats with all the sets these were around 1800 acc 1800 alacrity and 2500 crit. I also tested all of the tactical items and set bonuses in various encounters including arenas, wzs and nim ops.

 

Set bonuses:

Established foothold set bonus: This is a good set bonus, I can't say I saw a dps increase with my testing, but, if paired with pillbox sniper I should imagine this set bonus would be sought after by many snipers.

Repositioning set bonus: I like this set bonus, it has a practical effect that would be useful in many encounters, from raiding to ranked. This is my favorite set bonus, I will be looking to acquire this set for myself in onslaught.

Quick thinker set bonus: I found this to be pretty useless, the timing needs to be so spot on for it to work, given that you have a 3 second window that enables a 2 sec stun, every 1min50s I can't imagine anyone would look to obtain this set bonus. I will not be using this set in onslaught.

Escape artist set bonus: I found this set bonus to be a disappointment. The heals given are really very small and inconsequential, in addition flash bang has a very small radius and a long 55s cool down, it would definitely have to be paired with evacuate as 55s is far too long. If this set did not bring countermeasures off of cool down I would doubt anyone would want to use it. I wont be using this in onslaught.

Precise Trigger set bonus: I like this set, having 3 charges allows more control over your criticals and damage. However, I found that the charges do not reset to full at the start of arenas and in between rounds so therefore reduces the quality of the set bonus and is enough for me to not want to acquire this set in onslaught.

Probe Tech set bonus: This would be a really good idea with some changes. If allies were given a full shield instead of a small shield, and augmented shields modified allies shields too, it would be a really good set, useful in many encounters. Paired with augmented shields (with above changes) and tactical item orbital heal, would make a team support build and make it very sought after in encounters such as ranked or flashpoints when there are no healers present in the team. This is on my list of potential sets I would like to acquire in onslaught.

Slow road set bonus: This is a good set bonus, as an engineering sniper you use frag grenade in every rotation, so the slows have maximum up time. I think that this is a useful set bonus and will interact with plasma probe well to control enemies. I would consider using this set bonus in regs where I think it will be the most useful.

Parley set bonus: This set bonus didn't work as expected, it was less useful than I thought it would be. To be more sought after, takedown would have to be reset upon killing an enemy and up to 3 afterwards. Currently takedown does not reset if a target dies with takedown, which is a pity as this set could be perfect for finishing mobs or enemy players in regs. Parlay would be perfect if it worked similar in mechanic to reapers rush, being that takedown would reset if a player dies allowing it to be used again on another target with low health.

 

Tactical items.

 

Suppression: This is a very useful tactical item, as engineering it allows me to cast orbital strike, and plasma probe then channel suppressive fire for even more AoE damage. This tactical is perfect for fights such as swarm lord and hive queen. I will definitely be looking to pick this tactical up in onslaught.

Holodefense: Seems like an ok tactical, possibly better for raiding as the 30% reduction affects melee and ranged abilities only. In PvP there are many classes that use tech and force abilities, so I think that it may not necessarily be that popular with the pvp community.

Explosive trigger: Didn't experience a noticeable improvement in dps using this tactical item, benefits include more UI flexibility. I would feel ambivalent upon acquiring this tactical item. I thought this would be my favorite tactical item, but it turned out to be underwhelming. Disappointed.

Orbital heal: This is a good tactical, I like the way it deals damage and heals at the same time, I would use it with vital regulators and defensive safeguards, I would pair it with probe tech set bonus for a support build. I am looking to acquire this tactical item in onslaught.

Technical debt: The worst tactical item, little or of no use in any encounter. The heals are too small, and the cost of shatter shot too great for this to be practical. Using this tactical drained my energy pool as I felt I should keep refreshing it. What makes this tactical item even worse is that it does not pair with debilitating shots, this renders its use as negligible. I will not be using this tactical item in onslaught.

Ruthless interrogation: This is useful against single target encounters, where you do not have to switch targets. It saves a GCD every rotation, enabling and extra filler. It isn't very useful in pvp where target switching is commonplace. I would use general sniper tacticals above this engineering tactical.

Blasting caps: I saw a small dps increase, good against stacked enemies, there are better tactical items I would go for as the small radius of blasting caps lets it down somewhat.

 

I would say that the engineering tactical items are generally underwhelming and not as useful as the general sniper tacticals. I would like to add that I really enjoy the flexibility that the new set bonuses and tactical items afford. Some are more useful then others, with one or two being (in my opinion) close to useless.

[Banthabreeder]

I hate the new (2) or (4) set bonuses.

 

Being a longtime Marksman Sniper I’m really upset what is happening. We’re losing 1) Activating Ambush increases damage dealt by 2% for 15 secs, 2) Reduces the cooldown of Target Required and Illegal Mods by 15 secs, and activating either ability restores 15 energy, and unless you pick the new Bonus set Precise Targeter’s which gives you 3 Laze Targets you lose 3) Laze Target now has 2 charges and its duration is doubled.

 

What’s even worse, if we want to have the Laze Target feature, we are forced to wear (6) pieces of the Precise Targeter’s set which gives us a crappy 2 set bonus of (+2) Endurance and worthless 4 set bonus of (+2) Accuracy. Well, I mostly PvP so I suppose the increase in Endurance barely helps you but we already have Ballistic Shields and Shield Probe, not to mention in our Utilities we have Ballistic Dampers, Defensive Safeguards and Tactical Retreat. Do we really need more Endurance? I thought Endurance was for tanks? As for the whole increase in Accuracy, what a complete waste. You don't need accuracy in wz's.

 

I’m not one of those hard core testers but from what I see this is just lazy. +2 Alacrity, +2 Accuracy, +2 Endurance, +2 this or +2 that. We already get all that from our Mods, Enhancements, Armoring, Augments, Stims. Those shouldn’t be part of our Bonuses. Bonuses should be more creative. These bonuses are just lame.

 

Just my opinion

 

P.S. And no, I don’t know what would be better bonuses for the 2 set or 4 set. If I had a choice, I’d stay with the old pre 6.0 set bonuses over what we’re getting.

Edited August 2, 2019 by Banthabreeder

[DarthYun]

Poison choke not only finishes your own dots but also the ones other snipers/operatives put on your target, kinda like dots used to deplete the old deathfield. Pls fix, it is probably the best tactical you made overall cause it actually achieves a totally new playstyle like you intended with tacticals.

 

Also give us portable ballistics shield tactical so snipers who use it as a personal cooldown can atleast be pulled by a sorc so they are actually useful.

Edited August 2, 2019 by DarthYun

[Darthanimus]

Also give us portable ballistics shield tactical so snipers who use it as a personal cooldown can atleast be pulled by a sorc so they are actually useful.

 

Yes Yes Yes. Balistic shields are not very useful in their present static condition. An enemy in pvp can just run and hide, heal up to full, while you get 1% per second for 20 seconds, not useful at all, when other classes and reset their full HP bar so easily.

[sirytachi]

Hey folks,

 

Ahead of PTS Phase 1.5, let's talk about what Spoils of War has in store for the Sniper! Below you will find the Snipers new ability, the set bonuses that are planned for them, and a list of their new Tactical items. You may see bonuses or tactical items which refer to ability charges. We are introducing new tech in Onslaught which will allow abilities to have multiple charges, meaning you can use them more then once (per charge) and the cooldown will simply add a charge up to the maximum.

 

Keep in mind that all of this is subject to change

 

New Ability

Holo-Locate - Activating this ability marks your current location for 10 minutes. When this ability is activated again, if you are within 60 meters of the marked location, you instantly return to the marked location. Hololocate goes on cooldown for 120 seconds when used to return to the marked location.

 

 

You woke up and thought: 'wow Sniper is not very op, what can we do to make him stay longer? Ahhh yes, besides all the defenses and cures he has we will give him a phasewalk, it will be perfect.

Balancing in pvp? ahh so this they won't call "

 

Not to mention the tactic where he shares his shield with those around him

I particularly predict a pvp made of a group of snipers and gunslingers only.

Congratulations this was perfect and yes I'm being ironic

Edited August 2, 2019 by sirytachi

[Darthanimus]

You woke up and thought: 'wow Sniper is not very op, what can we do to make him stay longer? Ahhh yes, besides all the defenses and cures he has we will give him a phasewalk, it will be perfect.

Balancing in pvp? ahh so this they won't call "

 

Not to mention the tactic where he shares his shield with those around him

I particularly predict a pvp made of a group of snipers and gunslingers only.

Congratulations this was perfect and yes I'm being ironic

 

Sniper/Slinger is an under played class, statistically one of the least used. Besides in solo ranked they don't do so well cause they lack a vanish out ability, force barrier, or an ability that removes them from the fray. Giving them hololocate is much needed.

[PrincessShAmy]

Snipers are my 2nd favorite class. However, Phasewalk of any kind seems ridiculous on a non-force user. Please give it back to Assassins. If there is an uproar from the player base about this it is totally justified, IMO. I would not view it as people whining about nothing.

[ottffsse]

Snipers are my 2nd favorite class. However, Phasewalk of any kind seems ridiculous on a non-force user. Please give it back to Assassins. If there is an uproar from the player base about this it is totally justified, IMO. I would not view it as people whining about nothing.

 

some form diluted electro net (not as powerful as the merc one) but in an aoe would be so much cooler and fit the sniper/trapper theme better.

[JediMasterAlex]

Sniper/Slinger is an under played class, statistically one of the least used. Besides in solo ranked they don't do so well cause they lack a vanish out ability, force barrier, or an ability that removes them from the fray. Giving them hololocate is much needed.

 

This post is so wrong it's laughable. I started playing sniper in solos this season for the first time. While they are difficult to play well, they are really good. Their dcds are excellent. They did not need an escape. And look at the leaderboards. Many of the highest ranked toons are snipers. You have no clue what you are talking about.

[EricMusco]

Sniper set bonuses updated to include 4 and 6 pc bonuses.

 

-eric

[Banderal]

[*]Active Reload - (4) The energy cost of Takedown is reduced by 3 seconds.

 

I didn't know that energy cost was measured in seconds.

[omeru]

Giving snipers a phasewalk and a predation? BW really needs some good developers current omes are *********** usless. Snipers already have too many tools and giving 2 more powerful tool is too much but i guess some SWTOR devs are playing sniper i guess. Good luck hitting more than once to a sniper every 10 sec as a melee it will be like coyote and roadrunner you always think you have a plan to kill a sniper but always you will be dead before even reach them. I hope they start thinking and uccepts their mistakes but when you think time it is too late to make any change since game is far from being ready and they dont have any time to make logical changes since after 8 years they still cant understand you cant deliver an expansion in 2 months. Edited August 11, 2019 by omeru