Is Sniper Rifle Any Good?

circleofpsi · January 2016

So, not touched this game in a while, in building builds wise, so I'm "back" in a way, so Hello! peps!

I do want to ask, however how viable Sniper Rifle is, and how strong it is, as I have seen a few topics out there, saying this and that. Any information is welcome, to Maths of its damage, to how good it can be in combat, etc

Thanks

Legion!

flowcyto · January 2016

Good as an opener, good for certain encounters where certain mobs have issues reaching you when long-range. But as a sustained dps tool, its not that good even if ur not getting hit to be interrupted.

If ya want a Sniper build, I'd prob use Targeting Comp as the passive. Normal KI + Conc Muni setup, and have something like AR to use if ur under-fire but still want a (less) long-range attack. SR is pretty straightforward so ya can load up on extra stuff like on-next hit powers or dual AOs to go w/ it.

Sample SR dps build:

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Archetype: Freeform

Super Stats:
Level 6: Ego (Primary)
Level 10: Dexterity (Secondary)
Level 15: Constitution (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: The Void
Level 6: Ascetic
Level 9: Acrobat
Level 12: Shooter
Level 15: Quick Recovery
Level 18: Wordly
Level 21: Impresario

Powers:
Level 1: Steady Shot
Level 1: Assault Rifle (Rank 2, Mow 'em Down)
Level 6: Killer Instinct
Level 8: Concentration
Level 11: Targeting Computer (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Gatling Gun (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Sniper Rifle (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)
Level 26: Resurgence (Rank 2)
Level 29: Evasive Maneuvers (Sleight of Mind)
Level 32: Toxic Nanites (Rank 2, Nerve Damage)
Level 35: Imbue (Rank 2)
Level 38: Implosion Engine

Travel Powers:
Level 6:
Level 35:

Specializations:
Ego: Force of Will (2/2)
Ego: Insight (3/3)
Ego: Follow Through (3/3)
Ego: Sixth Sense (2/3)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: Find the Mark (2/3)
Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Vindicator: Offensive Expertise (2/2)
Mastery: Ego Mastery (1/1)

squirrelloid · January 2016

Sniper isn't any good unless you happen to have a VB-A1A Eagle Rifle stashed away somewhere, and then only if you can sit at 120' all the time.

Rocket Launcher does about as much damage as Sniper Rifle (~10% less), only 3/4 the charge time (ie, higher dps), and without ruining your shot if you take a hit while charging. Oh, and has an AoE effect without wasting 2 advantage points.

2gm trivially out-dpses sniper rifle (almost twice as much). So does assault rifle.

And now that some enemies outrange sniper rifle, there's pretty much no reason to use it except sniper tanking frostie. And people will yell at you for exploiting because you're doing the one thing sniper rifle is any good at.

xrazamax · January 2016

Sniper can be outrageously good on an AT that focuses on high crit chance. It won't take care of mobs for you and doesn't do the highest DPS, but if you want spike damage then you will love it.

circleofpsi · January 2016

Humm, thanks people I do have a Gun-Slinger build, that is solidly useing pistols only:

http://powerhouse.nullware.com/powerhouse.html?v=12&n=&d=1527AIKWTRH0000800082058404890083059G0134033B0388008I038F037N04K80K8G040ckr438W0ca1

Whuold Sniper Rifle fit well in her build? (Mostly removing Toxic Nanites for Sniper Rifle)

Yay or Nay?

theravenforce · January 2016

I personally use Sniper Rifle Rank 3 as a VPS (Variable Power Slot) on Bionic Bullet's build. She's a full munitions build and as flow said, it's good as an opener, but on my own personal build, if I invested more I would probably be able to get much better damage (currently sitting at 15k sans AO

)

flowcyto · January 2016

Yeah a normal Pistol Muni build can also work sticking SR in, though keep in mind that all the pistol powers are limited to the 50ft range.

circleofpsi · January 2016

flowcyto said:
Yeah a normal Pistol Muni build can also work sticking SR in, though keep in mind that all the pistol powers are limited to the 50ft range.

Ok-doike

gorinzachian · January 2016

squirrelloid said:

Rocket Launcher does about as much damage as Sniper Rifle (~10% less), only 3/4 the charge time (ie, higher dps), and without ruining your shot if you take a hit while charging. Oh, and has an AoE effect without wasting 2 advantage points.

Except you're looking at a 5-second cooldown with the rocket launcher. Sniper rifle does not have that limitation to it.

squirrelloid · January 2016

gorinzachian said:

Except you're looking at a 5-second cooldown with the rocket launcher. Sniper rifle does not have that limitation to it.

Yes, but Sniper Rifle has effective cooldown: until next mob. Because you can't use it while you're being attacked. After cdr, i'm willing to bet Rocket Launcher's cd is faster most of the time.

And you could always just use something like Chest Beam...

williamkony · January 2016

squirrelloid said:

gorinzachian said:

Except you're looking at a 5-second cooldown with the rocket launcher. Sniper rifle does not have that limitation to it.
Yes, but Sniper Rifle has effective cooldown: until next mob. Because you can't use it while you're being attacked. After cdr, i'm willing to bet Rocket Launcher's cd is faster most of the time.

And you could always just use something like Chest Beam...

I get around this with Ego Placate and advantage'd Smoke Grenade.

But, even then, it's not usually worth it. Sniper Rifle is most certainly not a group-clearing power. XD

gorinzachian · January 2016

williamkony said:

Sniper Rifle is most certainly not a group-clearing power. XD

Neither is rocket launcher. It's good for seriously weakening them, but it's cd will keep you from finishing them off with it.

Sniper rifle is one of those powers where you can weaken or straight up kill the big guy in an enemy group, before they can engage. Also, with a proper tank, it's used to do serious damage to a boss.

squirrelloid · January 2016

gorinzachian said:

williamkony said:

Sniper Rifle is most certainly not a group-clearing power. XD
Neither is rocket launcher. It's good for seriously weakening them, but it's cd will keep you from finishing them off with it.

Sniper rifle is one of those powers where you can weaken or straight up kill the big guy in an enemy group, before they can engage. Also, with a proper tank, it's used to do serious damage to a boss.

Rocket Launcher will clear groups. Should routinely kill henchmen, and should kill villains if optimized or on crit. Not sure if it ever reaches 'one hit master villains/enforcer' territory, but sniper rifle only does that at 120' with VB-A1A on crit.

And Sniper Rifle's damage seriously isn't that good. With VB-A1A at 120' it does less dps than all the actually good powers, and some not quite so good powers (including, but not limited to, 2gm, assault rifle, lightning arc, skewer, Arc of Ruin, Haymaker, Chest Beam, and many many more). Without VB-A1A, Sniper Rifle's DPS is anemic for its limitations and charge time. It's actually better at generating aggro than damage (because spikey damage seems to generate more aggro than more consistent damage).

Sniper rifle has exactly one niche - fly 120' in the air and shoot at people who can't shoot back. This has precisely 2 relevant uses: Frostie tanking, and Ao Burst tanking (he can't heal if he can't attack you). Most other bosses you might even care to try it on don't let you fly outside their attack range (room size limitations, for example, and it has to be straight up or they'll just move to you if you get aggro). Otherwise there are literally dozens of other powers which will contribute more, including other powers in the munitions framework.

And yes, I have a sniper character with a VB-A1A, and she's mostly a disappointment. I use her 1/week for vigilance, and sometimes bring her out for F+I.

gorinzachian · February 2016

squirrelloid said:

sniper rifle only does that at 120' with VB-A1A on crit.

My soldier AT begs to differ. She's one-shotted supervillains a number of times without a VB-A1A. The highest damage I've seen her do is just under 29k.

squirrelloid · February 2016

gorinzachian said:

squirrelloid said:

sniper rifle only does that at 120' with VB-A1A on crit.
My soldier AT begs to differ. She's one-shotted supervillains a number of times without a VB-A1A. The highest damage I've seen her do is just under 29k.

-no one cares about supervillains. They're basically slightly souped up master villains.
-29k without knowing what you were firing at is meaningless.
-29k isn't that much damage for a 4s firing cycle. Seriously, my Devastator easily deals more than that in 4s against targets like Gravitar. And stuff like 2gm is even better.
-ATs don't suffer the same diminishing returns freeforms do. Non-soldiers will do less damage than that. So i suppose i should have included the caveat 'or you're a soldier AT'. But the OP wasn't going to be, because he's looking for a build.

Compare to Chest Beam: <20% less damage but almost half the time to fire (2.5s at full charge), hits an AoE, knocks, and debuffs all hit targets' damage resistance by 12%.

Is Sniper Rifle Any Good?

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