Thanks for the kind words, chaswolf! Glad you found my guide helpful. I'm sorry to say, however, that I'm officially canceling my account tonight. I've just experienced everything the game has to offer, and the gameplay is starting to grow stale. I might pick it up when Bioware releases some substantial content updates, but until then it just has nothing more to offer me. Bioware has asked that I let them know when I can no longer update the guide, which I am about to do. What this means for the guide, I have no idea. That is why I'm giving permission to anyone who wants it to copy and repost the entire guide or any individual piece of it. You have complete freedom to do with the guide as you wish, with no need to cite me as the author. Hopefully that way it can continue to help the Sniper community. Thanks to all who offered suggestions, constructive criticisms, and words of encouragement. Good luck, have fun, and as always, thanks for reading! -Woody

I can say with complete certainty that I am constantly knocked out of Cover while Entrench is active. It's one of the main reasons I am getting so frustrated with the class in PvP. I'll go into cover and activate Entrench and Ballistic Shields, and every single time someone just knocks me out of it within 5 seconds and I lose access to Ballistic Shields for a few minutes. That said, I have to agree with the OP (and Kink! Very well said!). Besides some fairly minor issues, the Sniper class as a whole is fine. It's only when it comes to pvp utility that you really start to see the gap between the Sniper and the other dps classes.

I honestly never had any issues leveling as an Engineer spec, though I didn't really start putting points into the Engineer talents until around level 18 (not counting Energy Tanks, which I took right at levels 11 and 12, though I'm now hearing ET might not be the best talent...). You can see my point-allocation order in the Engineer tree from the handbook. It's the exact build I played. As long as you make good use of Ballistic Dampers (i.e. exiting and re-entering cover when the 3 charges are used up), you really shouldn't have a lot of problems with most pve encounters. And once you get Lokin, your healer, things get stupid easy. By that point you should have Shield Probe, and even though you might not have been able to spec it yet, the combination of Ballistic Dampers and Shield Probe is enough to keep you safe while Lokin keeps you healed. As far as rotations go, it really depends on the encounter. For instance, if I'm up against an Elite and several normal mobs, I'll blast the Elite with my Ambush+Explosive Probe combo (which also puts the Cluster Bombs on him). Then I'll Flashbang the group, Corrosive Dart the Elite (which doesn't break the effect immediately), Shatter Shot, Debilitate, Interrogation Probe. At that point the others have probably come out of stun, so you can activate your Shield Probe and toss out a Frag Grenade and/or Suppressive Fire, and you might need to throw out a Cover Pulse/Leg Shot to get any brawlers off of you. Depending on your energy levels, it never hurts to throw out a basic attack. So there's just 1 example of the kind of rotation you can use as a Sniper. Really there are so many different situations that you're going to find yourself in that you just need to experiment and see what works. You can also download the fantastic Sniper spreadsheet (linked at the top of the handbook) and start putting together assorted rotations there. Hope that helps, and good luck!

I can say my Engineer spec never really had any issues until I hit the 50's bracket. I'm sure a lot of it is a lack of decent gear, but when you hit 50 is when you really start to see the gap between class usefulness in warzone pvp. Also, please remember that dps is one of the least important factors in the current warzone setup. Take Huttball, for instance. Many times all killing your opponent does is put him back in his starting area, between your ball-carrier and the goal...

Ha, yes, my mistake. I was trying to get the post in real quick before I had to go, and it didn't even occur to me that that was the case. The Sorcerer is still able to dish out as much damage as us while also healing and having access to massive CC. It simply can't be considered fair when 2 different classes each do, say, 150k damage in a warzone, but where 1 can heal and CC and run around while dealing damage, the other one is stuck hunkered down in 1 spot, and is at a severe disadvantage if he gets knocked out of cover or has to move from his stationary location. Anyway, I'm spending so much time defending these views that I feel like all I've been doing lately is trash-talking the Sniper. I just want to clarify that I love the class and that with a few minor adjustments (and maybe 1 or 2 major adjustments...) it will be competitive with other classes in PvP. As it stands, where other dps classes gain extra strengths, we gain nothing but a hindrance to our playability, and that is my primary concern with the class. Our damage output is fine, and our survivability is fine. It's our warzone utility and complete reliance on the unpolished cover mechanic that really sets the class back.

Well since I play an Engineer spec, my only real burst damage comes from the Ambush+Explosive Probe+Cluster Bombs combo. SoS does nice damage with Electrified Railgun, but it just never seems to be enough. My experience is typically nailing someone for a nice chunk of damage before getting knocked out of cover, stunned, and murdered...

Thanks for the input, Xtrema. I do have to say that I disagree on a few of your points, however. It's not even that they're wrong, it's just that they miss the point of my previous arguments. For instance, when I'm comparing classes, I'm only comparing like-classes, such as pure dps. As such, you really can't compare a dps Sniper to a tanking Jugg because they are just 2 completely different things. Of course a Sniper is going to out-dps a Jugg, because that's not what a Jugg is designed to do. However, when a Sniper gets out-dps'd by a Sorcerer who can heal and turn invisible, or by a Bounty Hunter who can heal and fly around the map, things start to feel pretty unfair. And it would be one thing if we were just pure dps without any of those extra features, but instead we actually get stuck with an extra weakness. As far as playing a Sniper like an actual sniper, well that went out the window as soon as they gave us a 35m maximum range and a bright red flashing shield. Like others have said, if we had some sort of cover-based Camo ability, maybe then you could play like an actual sniper. But until then, that's just wishful thinking.

I leveled a Sniper (Engineer spec) to 50, and it was a lot of fun, but if PvP is your goal then I would have to recommend another class. I rolled an Assassin, and so far am loving it. Though I'm going the tanking route, I find myself yearning to give the dps trees a shot just because it seems like so much fun. Even the tanking style of the Assassin is very offensive, so it might be something you can get into. It's also fantastic in PvP, since you can dish out damage, guard your teammates, and easily run the ball with a 20-second cool-down sprint that breaks movement-impairing effects. You can also guard cannons exceptionally easily while stealthed. Just hang out guarding a partner and you'll rack up the guard and defend medals, while also providing a fantastic service to your team. It's also one of the more complicated classes to play, so you shouldn't find yourself pressing the same 3 buttons over and over. I highly recommend getting one up to around 30 or so to see if it's for you, because I really think you'll get into it. Regardless of the choice you make, you'll need to get that class up to around 20-25 before you can really make a good decision. It's around those levels that the class will really start to take shape. For instance, the Assassin really isn't that great until you hit 20. Hope that helps.

There's no sense in coming that close to Rapid Fire and not taking it, especially for a maximum-damage build. If possible, I'd move one of the points from Sector Ranger or Heavy shot up there, especially if this is primarily a PvE build. Otherwise I'd look at redistributing those points from Explosive Engineering. Even just taking 1 point out and popping it into Rapid Fire would suffice (and would still leave you with a 10% boost to EP and AoE damage). Hope that helps, and good luck!

I'm a pure Engineer build, and so far it's not really working out for PvP. The Plasma Probe is good for placing over objectives, but AoE damage in general is really only good for getting medals, but not for helping your team. The added defense from Shield Probe is nice, but doesn't really make a difference if you're fighting more than 1 enemy. Ballistic Shields never lasts more than a few seconds, even with Entrench, because the opponent can still just knock you out of cover, ending your Entrench and Ballistic Shields. Overall I'd have to say that the more focused damage of the MM build is probably better suited to pvp than the defensive play of the Engineer, though I'm still in the process of testing it out. (On the other hand, Engineer completely destroys PvE content. Between Ballistic Dampers, Shield Probe, Ballistic Shield, Entrench, and Evade, I've been able to hold aggro on 50 champs while our tank [a companion, no less) was either recuperating or dead...)

I do have to agree that just posting a l2p thread without any tips for the players you are insulting isn't as helpful as it could be. I also don't think it addresses the primary issues players have with the Sniper class as it relates to pvp. After all, nobody's really debating the fact that the Sniper can dish out decent damage. It's the fact that we dish out as much damage as the other classes, but instead of also having access to other strengths besides pure dps, we are actually stuck with a pretty major drawback. Several of your screenshots actually prove my point. There are several where you got severely out-damaged by 1 or more Sorcerers. That shouldn't be surprising since the Sorcerer can also be specced into pure dps. However, those screenshots also show that not only did the Sorcerer dish out more damage than you (almost 100k more in 1 case!), he also dished out from 40k to 80k in healing. He was also able to do it all with the easiest energy-management system in the game and without having to hunker down into cover to access his abilities. You can also see that your team lost 3 out of the 7 games where you are in the top 3 damage bracket. That should show you exactly how important pure dps is in the current warzone designs. You can dish out all the dps you want, but if you can't score a point, or control a cannon, or hack a door, then your team will lose every time. And really, there's nothing wrong with just being a support piece for the tanks and healers. The issue, once again, as that a lot of those non-support pieces are able to do what we do, equal to or even better than we do it, while also being able to score those points, control those cannons, and hack those doors with ease. Congratulations on your ability to play a Sniper, but your post does little to help those who are having issues with the class, and thus does little to help you with your annoyance at their complaints, which was the stated purpose of this thread.

Fantastic guide! Keep up the good work!

Hey guys, thanks for the awesome feedback on Sniper pvp viability. I still have a few qualms with the class as it relates to pvp, however: 1. "Interrupts" Target Cover This should simply not be the case. You might as well call it the "Screw the Sniper" ability. No other class is as totally screwed by an interrupt as the Sniper when it negates his/her Cover for 4 seconds. 2. Mobility Other classes that are able to dish out just as much damage as us also have the ability to travel around either faster or more efficiently. From temporary speed boosts, to flying up to platforms, to invisibility, the other classes seem to have an enormous advantage when it comes to maneuverability. Instead of giving us an ability to compete, we get stuck with the opposite: a reliance on a cumbersome cover system. I could see giving us such a drawback if we were able to dish out more damage than other classes, which is our single purpose. But no, Bioware has stated that all dps classes are within 5% damage output of one another, meaning we get saddled with an enormous disadvantage but no real strengths to back it up. On a related note, it's way too easy to knock a Sniper out of cover, considering it's the basis of our entire class... 3. Lack of Utility Similar to the Mobility issue, other classes that do just as much damage as us also have access to other abilities that greatly enhance their pvp utility beyond mere dps. From heals, to crowd control, to the ability to wear heavy armor, it seems that every other class has some other skill to fall back on. Again, it would be different if we either did more damage than the other classes or also had some extra utility ability to fall back on, but no, we get the opposite, a reliance on Cover. 4. Cover-Based Abilities are Useless It is so easy to knock us out of cover that we might as well not even have prolonged cover-based abilities. I can't remember the last time my Ballistic Shield lasted longer than 5 seconds in a pvp match. Even Entrench, which is our anti-cc ability, is negated when we are knocked out of cover... If our entire class is going to be based around the cover system, it shouldn't be nearly as easy as it currently is to just knock us out of it. It would almost be acceptable if the cooldowns on those abilities were reset when we were knocked out of cover, but as it stands I might get 5 seconds of Ballistic Shield before I have to wait over 2 minutes to use it again. Well those are my current gripes with the class. I'm sure I will think of more, or better ways to express those listed above. As always, thanks for reading! -Woody

I find the knock-back from Cover Pulse to be quite unreliable. There have been times where there is no question about the direction the enemy should have been knocked back, but for some reason they flew off to the side instead of straight ahead. When it works, it's great, but it's a shame it doesn't seem to work every time.

Wow Tylerlee, very informative post! Thanks for your hard work!