thematic sniper and just pistols, viable?

sakuratamaki · October 2012

The primary theme of my new toon is being a sniper, while having small arms and maybe (not necessary) some martial arts to defend myself when forced/cornered at close range.
So without taking any rifles or big guns except for the sniper rifle, is it possible to make a crit "sniper" with decent dps for PvE and alerts?

Also should i get quarry, kinetic manipulation or targetting computer for my passive and for the primary SS is dex or ego better?

williamkony · October 2012

Problem with Sniper Rifle is that you're not going to be able to use it after the first shot unless you have allies keeping the enemy off of you.

One option to help with that is a Flight power, but I suspect that would go against the theme of the character.
Another possible power choice would be Evasive Maneuvers with its advantage. 50% chance to wipe all the threat you've accumulated.

You're only going to be able to take out one enemy in PvE groups before they all swarm you, making you unable to use Sniper Rifle again until the next fight.

As far as passive goes, probably Kinetic Manipulation. It's a bigger initial boost than the other two, and both Quarry and Targeting Computer require being in combat for a few attacks/seconds before their secondary effects come into play. (Intelligence/Ego boost, and Critical Chance/Severity.)

As for Primary Superstat, I'd recommend Ego. More bonus damage from Concentration, more bonus damage from the stat itself, more Severity from Ego-stacking, and a little bit of extra Critical Chance from secondary stats (one of which should be Dexterity).

crashen17 · October 2012

Being based entirely around the sniper rifle might be a bit difficult, due to it breaking on damage. I have a similar toon who uses martial arts, single pistol, and assault/sniper rifle, that works fairly well. There are some overlapping weapon skins between sniper rifle and assault rifle, namely the something-something Jeffie Assault Rifle.

Still, if you are dead set on pistols, sniper rifle and unarmed combat, this is a variation of the one I use to great success:

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name:

Archetype: Freeform

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

Talents:
Level 1: The Invincible
Level 6: Tireless
Level 9: Covert Ops Training
Level 12: Negotiator
Level 15: Impresario
Level 18: Quick Recovery
Level 21: Field Ops Training

Powers:
Level 1: Gunslinger
Level 1: Two-Gun Mojo (Rank 2, Close the Gap)
Level 6: Holdout Shot (Stim Pack)
Level 8: One Hundred Hands (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Night Warrior (Rank 2, Rank 3, Silent Running)
Level 14: Form of the Tempest
Level 17: Dragon Kick (Rank 2, Lashing Dragon Tail)
Level 20: Sniper Rifle (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Overdrive
Level 26: Smoke Bomb (Concussive Escape)
Level 29: Parry (The Elusive Monk)
Level 32: Ego Surge (Nimble Mind)
Level 35: Masterful Dodge
Level 38: Bountiful Chi Resurgence (Rank 2, Resurgent Reiki)

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Swinging (Flippin')
Level 35: Teleportation

Specializations:
Dexterity: Combat Training (3/3)
Dexterity: Power Swell (2/2)
Dexterity: Expose Weakness (2/2)
Dexterity: Quick Reflexes (3/3)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Locus (2/2)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Vindicator: Modified Gear (2/2)
Mastery: Dexterity Mastery (1/1)

The main idea is that you open with either Sniper Rifle (it's important to skip tungsten rounds, otherwise it will lose the damage bonus from stealth) or Assassin Strike, and rely mostly on two-gun mojo (or assault rifle, in my normal build) for damage, getting energy from overdrive, generating crits for focus, and reducing the cost with power swell. You can switch over to sniper rifle if you aren't getting hit. If you start taking damage (like by pulling a boss on you), you can switch to one hundred hands & dragon kick, which with the parry and dragon kick advantages, will give you half decent dodge/avoidance while feeding bcr ticks and becoming self-sustaining through rush. If things get too intense, you drop a smoke bomb (i'd rather it were smoke grenade, but that is unreliable to wiping threat and putting you back into stealth) and reset the fight.

I took hold out shot just due to power restrictions. In my build I use implosion engine, but whatever. And while focus improves melee damage more than ranged, I run in the ranged damage role, so it kinda balances out, and I am probably at the soft cap for +damage anyways (I don't know for sure, I am no good at maths or cryptic scaling). Concentration would improve the ranged damage, but would really limit the use of the melee attacks. You could also trade one hundred hands for bullet beatdown, and use killer instinct in place of overdrive, but thats your preference.

Ok, long post done, hope this helps, or at least gives you a jumping off point, especially when it comes to making working hybrid characters.

This is the assault rifle/sniper rifle skin that I like:
http://www.champions-online-wiki.com/wiki/JF_Jeffie_Heavy_Blaster

sakuratamaki · October 2012

Thanks for the suggestions and the night warrior idea that i didn't think off looks very interesting.

crashen17 · October 2012

Yeah, I've become a real big fan of Night Warrior. The universal bonus damage and reduced charge time are great for everyone, and the damage penetration is helpful for munitions, since they get hurt more by damage resistance. Plus it gives enough dodge/avoidance to work with, given proper specialization and gear, and the stealth is just fun. With blue gear at 40, I find myself fairly successful in alerts and solo. I won't be top damage all the time, but in a longer fight I can pull out ahead pretty often, and if I find myself in trouble I have tools to survive until the situation changes. Plus, it's pretty fun having the versatility.

jennymachx · October 2012

I have a character whose concept is based around sniper rifle and smal arms herself. Two powers that I rely on to avoid enemies interrupting my sniper rifle charge are Ego Placate and Evasive Maneuvers with the advantage that eliminates all aggro for a short period of time. To help maximize DPS I have Dex as SS and have Quarry, Lock 'N' Load and Toxic Nanites. Toxic Nanites not only adds a nice DoT bonus but it has an advantage that roots the target that is useful for the obvious reasons.

You will have to accept the fact that there will be situtations where you would find difficulty in just relying on sniper rifle-evade tactics, especially when you're solo'ing, and make up for it with your small arms attacks. I'm in preference for small arms finese myself and have SMG that works well for both single targets and groups. It has an extremely fast rate of fire so it's ideal for hitting crits as often as possible. Alternatively Two-Gun Mojo + Lead Tempest work just as well.

samuraiwing · October 2012

This is the build I use for my pistols/sniper character. While I haven't tried Gravitar yet, it does very well in regular alerts, unity missions and lairs.

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name:

Archetype: Freeform

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

Talents:
Level 1: The Marksman
Level 6: Acrobat
Level 9: Coordinated
Level 12: Healthy Mind
Level 15: Negotiator
Level 18: Quick Recovery
Level 21: Impresario

Powers:
Level 1: Gunslinger
Level 1: Two-Gun Mojo (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Bullet Beatdown (Rank 2, Not Without Incident)
Level 8: Quarry (Rank 2, Fair Game)
Level 11: Concentration
Level 14: Bountiful Chi Resurgence (Rank 2, Resurgent Reiki)
Level 17: Overdrive
Level 20: Lead Tempest (Rank 2, Tread Softly)
Level 23: Evasive Maneuvers (Rank 2, Sleight of Mind)
Level 26: Masterful Dodge
Level 29: Sniper Rifle (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 32: Retaliation
Level 35: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)
Level 38: Lock N Load (Rank 2)

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Athletics (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Jet Pack

Specializations:
Dexterity: Combat Training (2/3)
Dexterity: Gear Utilization (3/3)
Dexterity: Evasion (1/2)
Dexterity: Deadly Aim (3/3)
Dexterity: Quick Reflexes (1/3)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (1/3)
Guardian: Locus (2/2)
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: Dexterity Mastery (1/1)

thematic sniper and just pistols, viable?

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