SWTOR - Sniper For Dummies (3.0)

Guide for players in Story Mode in Nightmare

I am Alestörm, from the guild , on the Mantle of the Force server and I return for this 3.0 to update my guide of 1241 pages (which Onidra is happy to put in shape! Thank you Onidra?). Like last time, I will offer several reading levels to satisfy the young first and the old rogue. This guide is largely PvE oriented and of course subjective.

Sniper is a purely DPS class. It has 3 complementary disciplines. His style of play has changed little with the 3.0 apart from the loss of hybrid discipline. He did not gain any new abilities, although some new versions will replace the old ones.

Index and conversion Sniper -> Maverick

I link to the excellent correspondence work from Stephantasy. The correspondences are recalled below.

Sniping -> Burst Charged

Shooting Series -> Double Shot

Corrosive Dart -> Decisive Shot

Overloaded Shot -> Rapid Fire

Frappe orbital -> Cargo XS

Leak under cover -> At full speed

Fusil Tires -> Tir en Salve

Landing -> Opportunism

Amorphous Target -> Smuggler's Luck

Frag Grenade -> Thermal Grenade

Suppressive Fire -> Burst Fire

Diversion -> Diversion

Adrenaline Probe -> Cold Head

Target Acquired -> Illegal Modifications

Ballistic Shield -> Scrambling Field

Shield Probe -> Defensive Screen

Evasion -> Dodge

Countermeasure -> Surrender

Entrenchment -> Hold on

Pulse Cover -> Pulse Detonator

Flash Grenade -> Blinding Grenade

Droid Hack -> Droid Hack

Legs shooting -> Legs shooting

Shattering Shot -> Sweep Shot

Slash -> Blaster Blow

 

Ranged shooting

Ambush -> Accurate Shot

Continuity -> Cunning shot

Penetrating Breath -> Penetrating Shots

Sniper Volley -> Burst Volley

 

Engineer

Explosive Probe -> Saboteur Charge

Interrogation probe -> Electric charge

Electromagnetic discharge -> Sabotage

Plasma Probe -> Incendiary Grenade

 

Virulence

Grenade Corrosive -> Shrapnel

Slaughter -> Injury shot

Weakening Breath -> Hemorrhagic Blow

Fatal Shot -> Deadly Shot

 

• The 3 disciplines of Sniper
• The discipline of Distance Shooting
• Fatality discipline
• Engineering discipline
• uses
• Equipment
• Useful capacities
• Conclusion

 

The 3 disciplines of Sniper

The Sniper has 3 DPS disciplines, the hybrid disciplines having disappeared in 3.0.

• Disciplines TàD (or Ranged shooting): a very complete discipline with great ease in changing targets. Today the only one to have an excellent burst.
• Virulence disciplines (ex Fatality): DoT discipline with little burst but easier to change target since 3.0. Its basic cycle is very easy to approach with very good mobility during the DoT phase.
• Discipline Engineer (Engineering): the AoE discipline which has been given a more stable cycle since 3.0. It always reveals all its effectiveness thanks to the machine-gun bombs posed by your roll, which gives it an atypical style of play.

A downright subjective summary of my vision of the 3 Sniper disciplines:

The principle of talent trees has completely evolved with the disciplines. Suddenly, the mobility or survival skills formerly available for a particular discipline are now accessible to all. The old discussion on skill trees therefore shifts to the choice of utilities, choices that may vary depending on the discipline or the bosses. The Sniper is also very provided on this aspect.

• Some abilities of the Marksman are now only available in certain disciplines: Ambush in ranged shooting, Explosive probe in Engineer.
• In Ranged Shooting discipline, a new ability Penetrating Shots replace the Shooting Series in the cycle, for increased armor penetration.
• In Virulence discipline (ex-Fatality), a new ability Tir Fatal (and not Tir Virulent, it is necessary to follow!) comes to be inserted in the 1 s of free of the old cycle.
• The Engineering discipline has been greatly overhauled. The Frag Grenade installs an electrification DoT and Electromagnetic discharge finds an effect close to pre-2.0. Finally, the reuse times have been adjusted to allow a stable cycle.
• La Frag Grenade is now single target. Sorry for the PR ... but hey, the Grenade Flash mono-target had already prepared for the ridiculous and the orbital wet firecracker had continued the job well.
• Most abilities can now be cast out of cover, with the notable exception of the Suppressive Shot and Orbital Strike. The hedged position is still to be favored for reasons of survivability.

 

Discipline Distance Shooting

Principle of discipline

The discipline of Ranged Shooting is based on the triggering of Continuity. This ability triggers after 2 Ambush immediately after a Ambush, after a Penetrating Breath complete and less than 30% after To land. A natural cycle of priority then emerges. To these capacities, we can add the use of Corrosive Dart which must always be present on the target as well as the Sniper Volley to have 2 Penetrating shots right now.

New 3.0 for Ranged Shooting?

• Le Penetrating Breath replace the Shooting Series. She places an armor debuff on the target, which now makes use of the Shatter Shot useless in JcE.
• La Corrosive Dart Increases ranged damage received by the target by 5% via the "Lockdown" debuff. One more reason for her to always be on target.
• The loss of Explosive Probe to 3.0 added to the old nerf of the Orbital Tickle to 2.6 make that only the filling capacity remains Ambush and Overloaded Shot.
• Le Ambush benefits from an interesting new passive while Overloaded Shot can be made free through the use of "Premeditated Pursuit".
• Amorphous Target in Ranged Shooting now allows you to crit the next Ambush, and no longer the next Ambush, which is a real up.

 

Discipline

Precise rifle : Increases the critical chance of Suppressive Fire by 15% and the damage of its critical hits by 30%.
=> Suppressive Fire becomes the first choice in terms of area damage thanks to this ability coupled with the Imperial Efficiency utility which increases Suppressive Fire damage by 1%.

Focused shot : Sniping reduces the channeling time of the next Ambush by 0.25s. Cumulative 2 times.
=> This talent requires you to launch at least 2 Ambush before each Ambush to reduce its channeling time to 1.5s.

Sniper nest : Increase cover regeneration rate by 1 per second while in cover
=> Since 3.0, all the capacities of the basic cycle are launched without cover. However, it is essential to be in cover as often as possible, especially because of this talent.

Recoil control : Throwing 2 Ambush in a row, a Knockdown, an Ambush or finishing a Penetrating Breath triggers the continuity.
=> The key to Ranged Shooting. The cycle is just about triggering continuity in different ways.

Portable Bunker : Increases the duration of entrenchment by 3s. Additionally, when you take cover after using the cover escape, you activate the entrenchment for the first 3 seconds.
=> As entrenchment is an extremely interesting buff (anti-bump, survivability), getting it every time you roll out in a Ranged Shooting special is pretty cool.

Sniper Volley : Immediately ends the cooldown of Penetrating Breath, increases base Energy regeneration rate by 2 points per second, and increases Alacrity by 10%. Lasts 15s.

=> The ultimate spell of the Ranged discipline, which is not an attack but an offensive buff. It allows you to launch 2 Penetrating Breaths in a row, which allows a big burst.

Refined shots : Allows you to place 1 charge on the target for each Ambush Fire, stacking 3 times. Each stack increases the damage and critical rate of Sniping Fire by 5%. Lasts 15 seconds
=> An up of Ambusive Fire which makes him the 1st choice as a filling capacity, instead of fire the Explosive Probe and the Orbital Strike.

 

Single target rotation

• 1 level
• 2 level
• 3 level

As said in the introduction to the discipline, the cycle naturally arises from the spells that trigger the Continuity. Throw 2x Ambush before'Ambush allows to reduce its activation time by 0.5s.

(repeat)

The cycle changes slightly when the Sniper Volley is available. This will be available every 4 cycles, since its CD is 45s and the cycle lasts 12s.

(Resume the classic cycle)

Another small change to integrate when the target goes under 30% of life, it is necessary to integrate the To land :

Those who follow will have noticed that I do not use the Continuity that triggers the 2x Ambush, I go directly to the To land. In terms of DPS, it is more profitable not to use it to resume the classic cycle. However, energy management is more difficult since 3.0 with the loss of the 4-piece PvE bonus which reduced the cost of the game. To land. As a result, it may be useful to still use the Continuity additional for energy management reasons.

I placed the To land after the 2x Sniping, but eventually it can be placed anywhere in the cycle (as soon as possible once under 30%), with or without using the Additional continuity depending on the energy level.

This cycle simply turns on its own, since the Penetrating Breath andAmbush have a cooldown of 12s, which is the duration of the cycle.

There are times when you wait for theAmbush finish his CD to resume the cycle? Use a Rifle Shot in the meantime, and we end up at Level 2?

The aim is to integrate the Corrosive Dart in the cycle to take advantage of its damage over time.

New in 3.0 is the increased ranged damage received by the target from the Corrosive Dart of 5%, which makes essential the constant presence of this DoT on the target, or in any case of the "Lock" debuff which lasts 45s. For energy management reasons (more obvious if we integrate level 3 of this guide), I recommend always placing the Corrosive Dart just before Penetrating Breath. The latter is not energy intensive since since 3.0, the cost of channeled spells is spread over their duration.

In fact, the duration of the Corrosive Dart is 18s, which means that it does not need to be refreshed at each cycle.

For this level, we will do a little math. But not too much, I promise! We stop at the level of additions;). In the following calculations, the impact of alacrity is not included as it would decrease all CD's and cast times by the same coefficient anyway.

Here is a classic Ranged Shooting sequence:

The duration between the 1st and the 2nd Sniper's volley is 41 seconds, while the CD of the Sniper Volley is 45s. The diagram above is therefore impossible, we have to do an additional normal cycle before being able to redo a “Sniper Volley” cycle:

Here we have a duration of 53,5 seconds between the 1st and the 2nd Sniper Volley. This means that the Sniper Volley remained off CD for 8,5 seconds. When you know his big gain in DPS, it makes me very sad (like the Panda, understand who can).

The solution consists in keeping the 1st diagram with only 2 normal cycles between each “VS” cycle, but by slightly lengthening the cycles for a total duration of the macro-cycle greater than 45s. To do this, simply add Ambush in each cycle. My preference is to place it before the Ambush, which allows the Critical Buffs of the “Refined Shots” passive to be placed before the ambush during the 1st cycle. And above all, the Ambush are roughly grouped together, which for me decreases the risk of forgetting it.

With this configuration, the time between 2 Sniper Volley is 45,5 seconds, which maximizes its use. The consequence is an overall gain in DPS despite the lengthening of each cycle: the addition of a Ambush with the passive "Fine shots" no longer a risk of loss of DPS.

Note: in practice, there is less Corrosive Dart by macro-cycle, since its duration of effect is 18s. The vacant GCD can be replaced by a Ambush or a Rifle shooting depending on the energy.

General remarks :

Orbital Strike in single target is less interesting than Ambush with the new Refined Shots passive. Only use it in pre-cast situations.

Ambush. It is possible to throw 1 or even both Ambush instantly thanks to the use Dry shot. To do this you have to get up and then squat down immediately 2 times: 1 time just before the penetrating breath, and the other time between the 2 Sniping.

-> get up -> crouch down -> -> get up-> crouch down ->

First, I want to clarify that it is not a gain of DPS. A GCD (Global CoolDown: time between 2 abilities) is 1,5s, just like the sniper cast. The difference will be that the damage and cost of Sniping will arrive at the start of 1,5s and not at the end. Note that this gain of 1,5s is sometimes critical (the 1st droid of the Brontès clock for example). Another difference is that you cannot be interrupted (cut).

On the other hand, getting up and crouching allows you to refresh the use of Ballistic Shock absorbers which reduces by 30% the next 3 attacks that you eat, which can relieve the healers, who will say thank you ... oupa. Personally, I find that the gain in mobility offered by this technique is essential for the 3.0 content which is much more dynamic than the previous ones.

Amorphous Target should be used as soon as possible to get criticism for the next Ambush. Since it is Off GCD, it does not delay your cycle.

Overloaded Shot is a very good replacement for Ambush additional in the level 3 cycle if using the premeditated pursuit use which makes it possible to make the next 4 Overloaded Shots free. This allows for easier energy management and increased mobility.

 

Energy management:

Let us not forget that 2 capacities out of cycle allow us a boost of energy and must be integrated into the reflection when we must choose whether or not we can afford to launch a Ambush additional or pass a continuity when using a Update Terre.

La Adrenaline Probe can be used when going below 40% energy. Above there is a risk that we reach 100% of energy, and therefore that we do not maximize the regeneration of energy.

Target Acquired gives 10 energy. It shouldn't be used for that but it's always good to keep it in mind.

Warning: if neither of these 2 abilities are available soon, it is important to stay above 60% energy, at the risk of ending up in a downward spiral of energy that will leave us mercilessly dry without any guard. -crazy.

 

Changing targets:

This button is extremely powerful in Ranged Shooting. Indeed, during the incantations of Ambush and Ambush and during the channeling of Penetrating Breath, you have plenty of time to change target and continue the cycle without losing a tenth of a second or a drop of DPS. This is why the Ranged Sniper is perfect for balancing the percentages between 2 targets as the strategy often requires, without the other DPS necessarily having to slow down.

To practice mastering this technique, just have fun taking down all the mobs in the trash groups at the same time during your daily days. The blow comes very quickly?

 

Area damage

Le Suppressive Shot became useful since 3.0 due to increased damage, passive buff to critical and critical damage rating, and use that increases damage by 25%. It is the 1st choice in terms of AoE for the discipline of Ranged Shooting. Its channeling time is 6 seconds which can be interrupted at any time, since the energy cost is now spread over the duration of the channeling.

La Orbital Strike is no longer the priority in Ranged Shooting since 3.0 and the lengthening of its casting time coupled with the improvement of the Suppressive fire. It should be used especially in a pre-cast situation, that is to say before the targets are present. Count about 4 seconds between your click and the first damage inflicted (2s of cast + 2.5s before the 1st shot).

 

Burst

• 1 level
• 2 level

A burst is a sequence allowing to inflict a maximum of damage in a minimum of time. This may be required by the boss's strategy (especially when addons appear or when
disappearance of a debuff on the boss). The ability sequence should generally be coupled with the use of a dopant, and in the case of TE, offensive CD Target Acquired.

Here is the sequence that inflicts the heaviest damage in a short duration:

This means that in anticipation of a burst sequence, it is necessary to keep the Sniper Volley in reserve and even if it means doing 1 or 2 additional normal cycles. The boss's strategy is more important than the size of his tail (yes I know, that means that the strategy must be really huge ...)!

Small damage bonus if ever it is possible to integrate

( ) ()

La Orbital Strike Should only be cast if it is possible to pre-cast the spell on the area before the burst phase.

THEAmbush triggers a continuity that can be ignored in a burst situation over a short period of time.

In general, to increase the burst, it is possible to replace each Continuity by Ambush. The energy level will drop quickly, which is why you should use this method with caution, and keep a Adrenaline Probe under the elbow for example.

 

Mobility

Sniper's mobility since 3.0 is still good in Ranged Shooting. Movements are possible during each Continuity because it is possible to move at the end of the previous spell and to cast the Continuity during the movement and then resume the next spell, which leaves a total of 3 seconds to move each time Continuity, or even 4,5 seconds if
we take the opportunity to re-place the Corrosive Dart on target.

To this is added the Leak to Cover which allows you to drive in a straight line for 18m. With a little experience you will see exactly where 18m means and you will easily anticipate your investments. (By the way, you will try to do an 18m roll at home, it's not easy.)

Finally, the Dry Shot use brings more dynamism and mobility to the cycle by allowing the launch of the Ambush instantly, which I think is essential to tackle new content that requires more mobility.

 

Conclusion on the TàD discipline

The Ranged Shooting discipline changed little in 3.0, but saw some of its ancillary abilities permanently disappear from the single-target cycle (Orbital Strike, Explosive Probe) for a more homogeneous cycle with fewer different abilities. It remains THE discipline of changing targets and its burst is always excellent with the new one. Penetrating shots.

 

Virulence disciplines

Principle of discipline

The Virulence discipline is based around Slaughter. Its damage is increased when DoT Corrosive Dart et Grenade Corrosive are placed on the target. It is important to always place the tics of the Weakening Breath on the target before a Slaughter. THE'Slaughter triggers a To land that will have to be integrated into the cycle.

What's New 3.0 for Virulence?

• The duration of the DoTs has been extended to 24 seconds, which can make the cycle less frozen than before 3.0 if you take the trouble to refresh the DoTs less often.
• Le Deadly Shot replace the Ambush dealing the same damage overall, but around 40% is internal type.
• Start a Grenade Corrosive on a target affected by the Corrosive Dart allows to propagate the Corrosive Dart to neighboring targets, making it easier to change targets.
• The loss of Explosive Probe in 3.0 ends the burst of this already very weak discipline.
• Amorphous Target in Virulence now makes it possible to criticize the next Slaughter, and more the next Ambush, which is a real improvement. A live bug causes only the 1st tick of Critical Slaughter currently, which is not the expected behavior.

 

Discipline

Dispersion Corrosive Corrosive Grenade propagates Corrosive Dart to targets it affects, provided at least one was already affected by Corrosive Dart.
=> This new ability allows a propagation of the 2 DoTs which makes it possible to inflict area damage in a collateral manner and to facilitate a change of target since the DoTs will not have to be reapplied immediately.

Slaughter : Deals damage and costs 6 Energy per second. When Slaughter deals damage, each of your poison effects on the target also deals damage.
=> DoTs inflict damage on every Slaughter tick, which is why it is essential that they are present on the target before launching a Slaughter.

Fatal Objectif : Reduces the cooldown of the Adrenaline Probe by 15s. In addition, critical hits from poison effects restore 1 energy.
=> Talent essential to the Virulence cycle. This is why it is necessary to play Virulence with a high critical rate.

Mine Corrosive : Increases the duration of the ballistic shield by 5s. In addition, Cover Leak triggers a corrosive mine that inflicts internal damage to all nearby enemies.
=> The corrosive mine is a real plus in AoE situation but requires a change to CàC.

Corrosive microbes: Corrosive Dart has a 15% chance to trigger 2 times when dealing damage. In addition, the corrosive grenade makes the target attackable for 45s. Attackable targets take an additional 7% internal and elemental damage.

=> Corrosive Grenade poses a debuff that increases internal and elemental damage for the entire raid.

Slicing : Increases the damage done by Sniping, Fatal Shot, Streak, and Slaughter by 5%. Additionally, when Corrosive Grenade and Corrosive Dart effects wear off, they are replaced with a 5 second lingering version that only deals damage if the kill hits.

=> These weak versions of DoTs allow them to be refreshed a few seconds later, which will be essential for the advanced cycle.

 

Single target rotation

• 1 level
• 2 level
• 3 level

The biggest source of damage in the Virulence discipline isSlaughter. It should therefore be used as soon as possible. The pre-3.0 cycle allows easy handling of the discipline:

( OU )

The cycle is broken down into a DoT sequence and a DPS sequence. The insertion of a Rifle shooting after the 1st To land is mandatory after losing the old 4-piece bonus. It may even be necessary to replace a To land by another Rifle shooting if your crit rate is too low and therefore the energy regeneration by the Fatal Objective talent is too low.

The downside to this cycle is that it refreshes DoTs too early compared to their new effect duration of 24s. However, it allows easy management of DoTs and loads of the Weakening Breath which are all launched consecutively.

We find ourselves at level 2 to do better.

The goal of this level is to only refresh DoTs after 24 seconds, while keeping maximum use of the DoTs. Slaughter :

-> -> [DPS] -> [DoT] (repeat)

Behind this obscure diagram hides a cycle that is nevertheless simple and repetitive:

[DPS] = or ( + ) Or ( + )

• La Shooting Series will be available every 2 sequences.
• When the Shooting Series is not available, you must launch a Tir Fatal if energy resources allow, a Rifle shooting otherwise, followed by Weakening Breath. Weakening Breath will also be available every 2 sequences.

[DoT] = ou ou

La Corrosive Dart Grenade Corrosive and Tir Fatal must each be launched 1 time out of 3. Here is the difficulty in raid of this cycle because we must remember which of these 3 capacities we are at, because it is difficult to find the timer of his DoT among all the debuffs posed on the boss by the friends ... And as long as there is another Sniper Virulence, good luck ...

This is what a complete cycle that includes 6 sequences looks like, keeping in mind that each Tir Fatal can be replaced by a Rifle shooting for energy management concerns. :

General remarks

Equipment

To play the Virulence discipline in good conditions, it is imperative to have a high critical rate, around 400 index. This allows for more critical energy return from the Target Fatal talent. Indeed, this discipline has become difficult in terms of energy management since the loss of the 4-piece bonus.

 

La Grenade Corrosive is a DoT AoE. So try as much as possible to place it on several targets at once. In addition, since 3.0, if a target is already affected by the Dart
corrosive then the 2 DoTs will be placed on all targets within a radius of 4m. A good reason to sometimes delay the Grenade Corrosive or change target to
optimal area damage.

Amorphous Target is an essential offensive CD of the Virulence discipline since it allows to criticize the next Slaughter. The most important in Virulence discipline is that it also becomes an aid in energy management since each critical hit of theSlaughter will give you back energy. In this sense, the 6-piece bonus is very interesting in Virulence (the fact that currently only the 1st tick of theSlaughter review after using Amorphous Target seems to be a bug because this is not the case on the closed PTS).

La To land has an 80% chance to trigger on each of the 4 ticks of theSlaughter. This means that there is approximately a 0.2% chance that it will not trigger during a Slaughter. If necessary, you must replace it with a Deadly Shot or a Rifle shooting depending on the energy level. Maintaining this percentage by devs is a mystery to me ...

On the other hand, the cycle does not change under 30% of the boss's life since the Knockdown is already available after each Slaughter.

 

Area damage

La Orbital Strike although weak, remains the best choice for Virulence AoE damage as it only takes 2s to cast.

La Grenade Corrosive is a DoT AoE, which is quite rare. Adjust this well when the adds are very close to each other for a really good source of damage. Since 3.0, make sure a target is under Corrosive Dart to propagate the 2 DoTs at the same time.

La Leak to Cover. You will have noticed that with each roll you release a foul gas. It's not today's Chile that's struggling to get through, it's the Corrosive Mine skill. Its range is 10m, so you will need to be quite close to the target, which is bad for a distant, but this area damage is good.

Le Suppressive Shot is not interesting in Virulence without the Ranged Fire passive, even with the choice of the Imperial Efficiency utility.

 

Burst

Prior to 3.0, the buff for this discipline was low. With the removal of the Explosive Probe, it is simply non-existent, and will depend solely on your doping agents and offensive CDs. Target Acquired et Amorphous Target.

 

Mobility

The Virulence discipline is a mobile discipline in its level 1 cycle, because the DoT sequence allows free movement of approximately 6 seconds in a row, which is not the case with the level 2 cycle. is even possible to cut theSlaughter after the triggering of the To land without having a significant loss of DPS (and remember that Strat> DPS).

The Dry Shot use can be useful once again to gain mobility on each Tir Fatal, but watch out for energy.

Finally, like all Sniper specs, you have the Leak to Cover which allows you to drive in a straight line for 18m. With a little experience you will see exactly where 18m means and you will easily anticipate your investments.

 

Conclusion on the discipline Virulence

The discipline Virulence (ex-Fatality) was deadly boring before 3.0. It has greatly gained in complexity: its advanced cycle will require good rigor and a high critical level, and energy management is anything but easy with the new set bonuses. Its weakness in changing targets has been mitigated by the spread of its DoTs in AoE since 3.0.

 

Engineering discipline

Principle of discipline

The goal is to maintain 4 DoTs and to do DPS especially with the Explosive Probe and the Series of Shots. AoE damage is very sustained thanks to the Plasma probe Orbital Strike boosted and the Machine Gun Bombs Leak to Cover.

What's New 3.0 for Engineering?

• La Electromagnetic discharge becomes an attack that can only be launched on a target affected by the Interrogation Probe.
• La Plasma probe lasts only 9 seconds, compared to 18 seconds previously.
• Amorphous Target in Engineering now allows you to review the next Explosive Probe, and more the next Ambush.
• La Frag Grenade is still a single target in the Engineering discipline, but it is free after a Electromagnetic discharge.

 

Discipline

Lots of Engineering talents are here to adjust the cooldowns of different spells to allow a stable cycle since 3.0.

The 3 talents Explosive Engineering, Fragmentation Bombs and Imperial Methodology can greatly increase the damage of the Explosive Probe.

Engineer's Tool Belt: Increases the critical strike chance of Fragment Grenade by 10%, and when Fragment Grenade deals damage to its primary target, it regenerates 5 Energy.

=> The fragmentation grenade becomes an energy boost in the cycle since it can be thrown for free after an EM discharge and this talent restores energy to it.

Imperial Methodology : Increases the number of Cluster Bombs dropped by the Explosive Probe by 2. When cluster bombs explode, you regain 5 energy points.

=> The Explosive Probe is expensive in energy, but thanks to this talent, its cost becomes globally zero because the energy will be recovered once the 4 fragmentation bombs have exploded. The cost even becomes positive with the Efficient Engineering talent.

Electrified electromagnetic heavy cannon : When the fire streak deals damage, the target is electrocuted and takes elemental damage for 6s. Cumulative 3 times.

=> The 3 electrocution stacks must always be present on the target. They are maintained by the Series of Fire, but also by the Ambush Fire or the Fragmentation Grenade thanks to the Electrified Explosion talent.

Electromagnetic Discharge deals damage and negates the energy cost of the next Frag Grenade but no longer triggers other abilities. It is mandatory that the target is already affected by the Interrogation Probe to be able to launch the EM discharge.

Grape bombs : Reduces the energy cost of the Frag Grenade by 5 points. When you roll with Cover Leak, you drop 5 Scrap Bombs behind you. These bombs explode and deal kinetic damage to all nearby enemies. Enemies can only be hit by 2 bombs.
=> gives the Escape to Cover talent a devastating offensive aspect, especially in AoE.

Area ranger : Reduces Orbital Strike's cast time by 1s and its cooldown by 15s. In addition, the plasma probe overwhelms the targets it hits for 45s. AoE damage deals 10% more damage to overwhelmed targets.
=> places a debuff on Plasma Probe targets that will increase AoE damage for the entire raid.

 

Single target rotation

• 1 level
• 2 level
• 3 level

There are several objectives to complete to complete your Engineering cycle.

• The DoTs Corrosive Dart et Interrogation Probe (18s) must always be present on the target, as well as the Plasma probe (9s)
• The 3 charges of electrification must always be kept on target. The Frag Grenade Shooting Series and Ambush are the 3 capacities posing these loads, the Shooting Series by putting 3 in a row. It is important to reapply 1 charge every 3 capacities because if the charges disappear, you will have to reapply all 3.
• La Explosive Probe is a very large source of DPS for an overall positive energy cost. Use as soon as possible (18s).

Here is a simple version of an Engineering cycle:

Start the Shooting Series directly after the Explosive Probe allows a quick return of the energy expended, because although the cost is overall positive, the energy expenditure when throwing the Explosive Probe can put you below the 60% energy mark, which decreases regeneration energy, and that's wrong.

The electrification loads are refreshed every 3 capacities by the Ambush, Then Shooting Series, and finally the Frag Grenade.

It is possible to replace the Ambush Fire or Frag Grenade with other more situational abilities, which have the disadvantage of not refreshing electrification charges:

la Leak to Cover, which allows you to plant grape bombs in its path. Its zero energy cost and high zone capacity make it the best choice, but it requires precise placement so that the bombs hit their target (s) well.

La To land when the target is under 30%. Its gain in DPS is large enough to justify leaving the target without electrification for 2-3 seconds.

Rifle Shooting for energy management reasons (not valid to replace a large fragmentation, which would restore 5 energy).

Overloaded shooting. All the more relevant with the use Premeditated pursuit which makes it free.

The last level is to use Cover Leak as often as possible.

The problem is that she has a 20s CD, while the whole cycle is based on 9 and 18s CDs. Simply put, the cover escape will never be available at the same time in the previous cycle.

In addition, being able to cast this ability every 20s requires a perfect placement which must guarantee several obligations:

• At least 2 grape bombs will hit the target (s).
• We will never face the boss.
• The strat must be able to be followed (package, AoE dodge ...)

In other words, you have to have the underpants well hooked to be able to manage your cycle and the rigor of these investments. And it is precisely the side that gets the adrenaline pumping that makes the Ingé special so special.

General remarks

AoE

The Engineering discipline without the use of rolling is of little interest in raid. It does correct damage in AoE, but you will never have a 100% AoE situation and on single-target phases it is behind the other 2 disciplines.

The placement and movements imposed by the use of the roll gives it an atypical style of play but which exposes you to the hazards of CàC (bump, cleave ...) and the Sniper is not provided to take a lot damage. Relying on your shield probe to save you is like relying on a porcelain plate to take a bazooka shot (not to be reproduced at home. The author declines all responsibility if this should be the case).

Rollbang and Wallbang

Wallbang and Rollbang are the 2 terms used for using Rolling on the spot to drop all of its grape bombs in one place. Rollbang is no longer possible since 2.8. The Wallbang consists of bringing your target near a wall to be able to roll against it. Note that even if rolling against a wall allows 5 grape bombs to hit the target, only 2 will take effect. The added value of the Wallbang is therefore low today, especially for targets large enough to be easily hit by 2 bombs.

capacity

Amorphous Target should be used as soon as possible to get criticism for the next Explosive Probe. Since it is Off GCD, it does not delay your cycle.

 

Area damage

For area damage, this discipline is very extensive:

La Orbital Strike is the priority because it costs little in energy and with anticipation it is often possible to cast the spell in advance. Count about 4 seconds between your click and the 1st damage inflicted (1s of cast + 2.5s before the 1st shot). Its damage is increased in Engineering discipline and its channeling time reduced to 1 second.

La Plasma probe can also be placed before the targets appear. You can therefore pre-cast her just after the Orbital Strike which allows you to place your debuff to maximize the damage of the strike.

La Leak to Cover requires to pass within 4m of the targets. It is therefore necessary to be at CàC with well-packed targets. Its damage in AoE is considerable if the placement is perfect. This ability is essential to the Engineering discipline in AoE phase.

Le Suppressive Shot is not useful in Engineering discipline, unless the Orbital Strike and the Leak to Cover are under CD, the Plasma probe is already placed and you have chosen the use that increases the damage of the Suppressive Shot.

 

Burst

While it was the discipline with the biggest burst in the game before 2.8, the Engineering discipline becomes the 2nd Sniper discipline to have a cardboard burst. The reason is that the cycle has become very closed. The only ability in the cycle that can be replaced is Sniping, Overloaded Fire, or Covered Escape ... Youhou! And that's the same as leaving the target without electrifying charges for about 2 seconds.

All this to say that as in Virulence, you can only count on your offensive CD and your doping agent.

To guarantee a burst at a precise moment, it will be necessary to postpone the use of the Explosive Probe and the Fire Series in anticipation in order to release the following sequence when the time comes:

 

Orbital Strike must be cast in a pre-cast situation. The Interrogation Probe should only be cast if the target is not yet affected in order to cast the Frag Grenade.

 

Mobility

Since rolling is included in the cycle, if you use it for fast movement, it will result in a loss of DPS. In engineering discipline, you have to anticipate all trips as much as possible and take advantage of them to ask / refresh the DoTs.

However, the Engineer is undoubtedly the most mobile discipline for the 3.0 content, because it allows movement at any time of the cycle except during the Shots.

 

Conclusion on the Engineering discipline

3.0 transformed a wobbly discipline with a large decision-making part into a discipline with an established and very closed cycle. All capacities find a perfect place there. Personally I
regrets the lack of freedom offered by this new version, coupled with the transformation of the best burst of the game into a mediocre one.

 

uses

• Skill
• mastery
• Heroic

Dry Shot - Taking cover makes the next Sniping or Mortal Shot instant. Available every 6 seconds.
-> Strong interest with 3.0 for its gain in mobility.

Vital regulators - Heals 1% health every 3 seconds while in cover.
-> Low interest. Relieves healers on low-damage continuous bosses, like Operator IX's P1. But let's be honest, 1% is ridiculous.

Ballistic shock absorbers - Entering cover gives 3 charges of ballistic shock absorbers. Each charge absorbs 30% of the damage received by an attack. This effect only occurs once every 1,5 seconds. Ballistic Dampers can only be gained once every 6 seconds.
-> Strong interest. Big survival gain if cover is reset regularly.

Hit and Run - Hitting a target with Slash provides “Hit and Run” which increases movement speed by 50%.
-> Low interest. Useful in case of kiting or when the situation requires CaC / distance round trips (in this case, roll + slash allows a fast course).

Imperial efficiency - Increases Suppressive Shot damage by 25%.
-> Strong interest in AoE situation. This utility is particularly useful in Ranged Shooting, where Suppressive Fire already gets a bonus of 15% additional damage and crit.

Blinding powder - Reduces target accuracy by 20% for 8 seconds after flash grenade ends.
-> Zero interest. Prefer the use of Diversion in PvE, now available for all disciplines.

Cover screen : Increases defense by 20% when leaving cover for 6 seconds.
-> Strong interest in mobility situations. The Sniper will always be more solid in cover, but certain mechanics could impose long sequences out of cover where this utility takes on its full meaning.

Masterstroke - Activating Cover Pulse makes the next Snapshot or Lethal Shot instantaneous.
-> Low interest in PvE. Replaces the Dry Shot (Cover pulse is out of GCD) for a lower frequency of use.

Counter attack - Countermeasures purge negative effects on displacement.
-> Low interest in PvE. Countermeasure cannot be kept in reserve for movement due to the difficulties of dealing with the Sniper's aggro.

Imperial demarcation - Reduced the CD of the shot in the legs by 3 seconds
-> No interest in PvE.

Improved shields - Increases the amount of damage absorbed by Probe Shield by 30%.
-> Strong interest. Greatly increases the survivability of the Sniper. Use this probe as often as possible.

Premeditated prosecution - You gain 4 stacks of “Premeditated Pursuit” upon exiting cover, reducing the cost of Overloaded Shot by 100. Each use of Overloaded Shot consumes 1 charge, and consuming the 1st charge triggers a timing of 20 seconds on these. charges. This effect lasts for 15s but disappears when all charges are consumed or when you return to cover.
-> Interest in judging. Supercharged Shot can become an interesting refill ability if it is free for energy management reasons. It can, for example, replace a Ranged Sniper Fire or a Virulence Drop.

Casemate the Sniper - Reduces Entrenchment's cooldown by 15s, and Cover Pulse knocks its targets back an additional 4 yards.
-> Essential, especially if you take Siege Bunker as Heroic. Otherwise it depends on the fight.

In the Shelter - When Entrenchment ends or you leave cover while Entrenchment is active, you gain the “Shelter” buff, which increases your movement speed by 50% and is immune to movement-affecting effects. Lasts 6 seconds.
-> Strong interest. Essential to the mobility of the TE.

Siege Bunker - Reduces all area damage by 60% while Entrenchment is active.
-> Strong interest. If area damage is frequent, this is the absolute must, available in all specs since 3.0.

Brake series - Each shot of the Shots and Penetrating Shots slows the target by 20% for 3 seconds. The effect can stack 4 times.
-> No interest in PvE

Shields deployed - Reduces all damage taken while under cover by 6% and reduces the cooldown of Ballistic Shield by 30s.
-> Strong interest. Especially if the raid damage is high (Boss to adds, area damage ...).

Disabling Diversion - Diversion also slows its targets by 50% as long as they stay in its range.
-> Low interest in PvE at the moment. (boules de Brontès, Operator Rectifier IX).

Weakening shots: Increases the duration of Shattering Shot's Injury by 6 seconds. Additionally, when Leg Shot's immobilization effect ends, the target is slowed by 70% for 3 seconds.
-> No interest in PvE

Anchor - Reduces the cooldown of Evasion by 30s, Probe Shield by 4s, and Cover Pulse by 5s.
-> Low interest in PvE. Dodge loses its purge effect in 3.0. The only interest here concerns the CD of the shield probe which goes to 16s for a gain in survivability.

Evacuate: Reduces the cooldown of Debilitate and Flash Grenade by 15 seconds.
-> No interest in PvE

In operation, most of the time I use the following build:

• Skill : Ballistic shock absorbers, Cover screen, Dry Fire
• mastery: Improved Shields, Safe
• Heroic : Shields Deployed, Siege Bunker

Hit and Run replaces ballistic shock absorbers if this mobility is required (kiting).

Premeditated Pursuit replaces Deployed Shields for another mobility gain.

Sniper Casemate replaces Improved Shields if the boss bumps regularly or if raiding damage is significant over time.

 

Equipment

• 1 level
• 2 level
• 3 level

Every piece of equipment has to be crafty. The stats that should NEVER be on your gear are: Defense, Absorb, and Shield.

Each piece of equipment must be upgraded with an Stamina / Hint skill upgrade.

Relics should be chosen to increase damage. Some need to be activated, so don't forget to add them to your action bar to use it in combat!

The precision must be set to 100% (110% Techno). Some are satisfied with 99, XX%. I don't like it but it's a feeling in no way supported by numbers so do as you feel. To increase the precision, it is first possible to use the Stamina / Precision improvements because this heading is essential. Eventually (equipment 198), 6 sophistications + 1 improvement or 7 Precision sophistications will suffice to reach this milestone.

Once the course of precision has been reached, there remains the choice between alacrity and influx. As several talents already increase critical damage in each discipline, my preference will go more towards alacrity, but given that its two characteristics have a declining return (the more you put in, the less you have!), It does not You should probably not put all your eggs in the same basket, even if it is of little importance before having a full 198 equipment.

Small parenthesis on alacrity: its new operation is much simpler than before. EVERYTHING is faster. Energy regeneration, CDs, internal CDs (such as "this effect is only available every 6 seconds), channeling times ... Concretely, this means that you are doing the same thing but faster, i.e. direct increase in DPS. If with 0 alacrity I do 3000 DPS, with 5% alacrity I do about 3160 DPS.

The choice of a high critical rate (around 400 index) is mandatory to play the Virulence discipline in the best conditions, but not for the other disciplines.

The most suitable relics are "concentrated punishment" and "unexpected assault", to which we can add a clickable relic of the Immeasurable Ages that we will only use on bosses requiring a large burst at a specific time.

Do you have as much life as your tank? Okay, maybe it is foam, but it probably also comes from your modifications which are not optimized. Favor letterless modifications, which provide less stamina and more secondary statistics, that is to say less health points and more damage!

Don't forget to pick up the Hint, but also Aim and Stamina datacrons which will be useful to you.

Here are my statistics objectives in full 192 opti equipment, almost fulfilled today:

As a reminder, you cannot replace any statistic with another in the equipment offered in the game. Secondary statistics on mods and sophi are to be chosen between critical et power, tertiary statistics between precision, alacrity et influx.

In stuff 198, it's still theory for me, so I won't dwell on it. It will be possible to withdraw a Precision improvement. For the rest, I will undoubtedly keep the same proportions, with perhaps the replacement of a Critical mod by a Power mod if I consider the return too declining around 400 index.

Equipment / discipline compatibility

Unfortunately, the best optimization for one discipline is not the best for another, which means having to compromise or to multiply the equipment if we want to be able to play several disciplines in raid.

Virulence requires a very high critical rate for energy regeneration, which increases the number of Fatal Shot in the cycle. Engineering, on the other hand, has a talent buff related to critical hits on most of its abilities, so requires a high critical rate as well to maximize the interest of this talent. But Ranged Shooting already increases the crit rate of most useful abilities, making the gain by crit rating more marginal.

For the influx, Ranged Shooting has a 30% buff per "Imperial Assassin" and Engineering a 30% buff per "Experimental Explosives" which decreases the influx interest for these disciplines but not for Virulence.

The only constant concerns the obligation to be 100% precise (110% techno).

In summary, here is what we can remember from the talents of different disciplines:

For my part, I chose the compromise for the inflow with 222 indexes, and the rest (which is not precision) in alacrity. I'm frankly tempted to give up the influx a little more to increase the alacrity because I think its new 3.0 operation can hurt a lot, both in DPS and mobility (less cast and channel time) because the new content requires moving often rather than long.

For the critic on the other hand, I double 1 piece of equipment either Critical for the Engineering and Virulence disciplines, or Power for the Ranged discipline. You can also double 1 Power / Alacrity coin, for Ranged Shooting and Engineering, by a Critical / Surge coin, for Virulence.

Generally speaking, there is often more DPS to be gained from improving your skill and APM than from a few pieces of gear, and this is especially true with the more dynamic 3.0 content.

Useful capacities

Be careful, the list is long here. These are all abilities that may be of use to the raid at one point or another. On this side, the Sniper is very well stocked.

Ballistic shield : we start with the big boss. This 20 meter diameter shield reduces damage received by buddies below by 20%. It alone makes the reputation of the Sniper. Consult with your healers for the best time to use it, usually at the end of a fight.

Shield probe : duration of 10s for a CD of 20s, modestly effective, it is still to be used as soon as possible, especially if adds target you or an area of ​​damage arrives.

Evasion : Increases defense by 200% for a few seconds. In 3.0, it unfortunately lost its purging effect.

Countermeasure : Decreases the generated threat by 20%. To be used at the end of the 1st cycle then as soon as available. Reminder: a desaggro is always more effective just after a tank taunt.

Entrenchment : avoids being knocked down and therefore being interrupted. Obtain interesting buffs from utilities.

Covered escape : makes a rapid roll over 18m. Very useful for moving. Above all, we are immune to damage for 1.5s. There is plenty of use to be made of this ability! (Boules de Brontès, Marque de Ciphas, Cast of Draxus' dementors ...)

Cover pulse : allows you to repel the adds that accumulate on you or your healer neighbor.

Flash grenade : put an add to sleep for 8s.

Droid hack : puts a droid to sleep for 1 min.

Shooting in legs : immobilizes the add.

Shattering Shot : Adds a debuff that reduces the healing received by the target.

Diversion : Reduces the accuracy of targets in the area by 40% and brings them out of cover. Useful on all adds that hit hard (Clone Kephess, Operator Rectifiers IX…) or that are in cover (Slayer adds).

 

Conclusion on the Sniper

The Sniper is the advanced class that has arguably undergone the least modification since the start of the game, and this 3.0 was no exception. Its 3 remaining disciplines are complementary and allow to adapt to different situations, which makes it compulsory to know several disciplines to participate in high-level content. Its mobility will take some effort given Raid 3.0, despite removing the need for cover for most abilities.

From my point of view, the 3 disciplines have nevertheless lost their complementarity, the biggest problem for me currently being that the Engineering special is the one that inflicts the heaviest damage in single target. The new updates will undoubtedly do good on that side.