http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#400rsrbbRoRZbIbbRob.1

 

The idea behind this build is simple. This sacrifices the top of the marksman tree to get cluster bombs and interrogation probe. AoE damage goes up a lil bit. This makes Orbital Strike very deadly and other AoE skills actually worthwhile to use. Its very good for soloing and grouping. I do run into energy issues if I am not careful, though.

 

In very short fights, you pretty much stick to snipe, ambush, followthrough, headshot.

 

In medium duration fights you use explosive probe since you get all your energy back thanks to upgraded cluster bombs.

 

In longer fights you through in interrogation probe (for dmg) and series of shots (to conserve energy).

 

When you are not cc-ing, make free use of AoE skills since they no longer suck.

 

I am currently 49 (my last point will go into aoe crit damage as shown) and this build was good throughout. Still, it really started to shine at 48 when explosive probe became energy efficient. I constantly have to dump threat since I get agro all the time. This tells me I get some respectable dps. In the absense of a dps meter, this is all I have as a metric.

 

Instead of stacking any one stat, I tend to balance out everything between crit, power, cunning and surge.

 

The burst is very high on this build. I still don't feel all that great in warzones but I have some decent burst for open world pvp (which matters since I am on a pvp server).

 

Anywho, just wanted to share.

just the build i use except that i have 2 points in lethality instad of explosive engeneering.

better energy than pure sniper and a nice dot.

for pvp just exchange the reduced energycost of probes vs the slow on the dot-probe

Good build, i dont know why you added the area crit chance and why not add +6% crit with lethality.

I've been end game raiding on Heroic/Nightmare with this spec lately. I'm still trying to figure out if I like it better than pure marks for enrage timered fights where sub 30% dps is so critical.

 

One thing I would recommend is to drop Heavy Shot for Evasion, and like others have mentioned, move the 2 points from Experimental Explosives to Leathality.

Ive currently been endgame raiding as MM but was thinking of changing to this spec except changing the 30% crit dmg aoe to +4% chance to crit in lethality. I am sure that both of these specs are very close on dps. Just really need a meter to check.

Ya, Im a bit torn there. Giving up 30% more aoe crit dmg vs 4% more overall crit is a toughie. I will test a bit more but I suspect you guys are right.

i tested this spec when i first started using it a couple weeks ago on that mob in hoth at approx 1300 dps, not to mention energy is alot easier to mantain with cluster bombs I suggest using this spec for max dps and funs

The 23/16/2 spec is what I use. (MM up to Recoil Control, Eng up to Imperial Methodology, and 2 in Lethality)

 

From some initial simulations, it seems to compete favorably with the standard 31/7/3 while allowing for easier energy management, a more stable rotation, and one more on-the-run option for times when you can't sit in cover. (It's tough to beat the repeated BOOM-BOOM-BOOM of the cluster bombs, too. )

 

If you're interested in a full analysis, follow the Imperial Agent section on SithWarrior.com -- I'll be making a long and detailed post about different sniper specs sometime this week or over the weekend.

Edited January 18, 2012 by Tibbel

I went ahead and switched 2 points to lethality as suggested after hitting 50. Its definately better to put those last two points into lethality.

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#400rsrbbRoRZbIbbRoZb.1

 

I'm not sure what the advantages a full 31 point MM build has over this one. This just seems much better.

 

As far as gear for this build, I've been going with a more balanced approach. I steer away from alacrity items (probes off the gcd/instant and less use of SoS). Instead, I shoot for 100% accuracy and then balance out my cunning, power, surge and crit bonuses.

 

Anywho, I would strongly recommend this build to any sniper. You can level with it easily and it seems viable at 50 (just got there, will know more after I do a couple more HMs and some ops).

I'm going for this build: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#400rsrbdMoRZbI0roRZb.1

 

This is aimed slighty more towards PvP, but should work in any PvE situation as well.

 

Why did I take:

Diversion: A nice debuff to throw on bosses, every little helps. Also useful to get other pesky players out of cover.

Heavy Shot: Although not very useful in a group environment (even abit annoying) it's still good solo and in PvP.

Snap Shot: Questionable I know, but I've gotten so used to the cover + instant snipe that I can't be without it anymore.

Vitality Serum: A toss up in this tier, but extra survivability is never bad.

Inventive Interrogation Techniques: Slow mechanics are never to be sneezed at.

Lethality: Again a toss up, but I prefer single target dps over AoE.

 

Why didn't I take:

Imperial Demarcation: Not finding myself using the skill THAT often.

Sector Ranger: Seems too situational.

Sniper Volley: Not sure about how good it is. Besides, this build has enough procs and charges to keep track of.

Vital Regulators: Probably not bad but VS seemed better.

Calculated Pursuit: Too situational. Only really good if Snap Shot is active at the same time.

Efficient Engineering: This was hard to decide, but it does buff a skill I don't have access to. Might go for it if I find myself energy starved.

Experimental Explosives: Decided to pick single och AoE.

 

What ever you take, I believe MM/Engi get's the best and most fun out of the sniper class.

15% increase ad probe and all AoE, I dont even use sniper fire much anymore i spam surpressivepressive which base damage is 2000+ over 3 secs 15% is a extra 300 damage with high crit I recommend at least 33+ crit and since the surge nerf i keep mine at 72% as for cunning and power. The program I made calculated a .44 variance between damage output stacking cunning is a damage decrease of 44% per point if you want bug hits big crits just stack crit/power/surge the crit will make up for the loss of cunning get the 20% decrease armor reduction for ambush and also use shatter shot for an additional 20% I'm orbital strike spec as well and am picking up field tech BM so 40% reduction to armor and having 107% accuracy with special attacks ive been able to hit 3-4000 over a 3 sec channel of supressive fire and my OS has topped 4k... OS flashbang surpress fire corr dart works wonders