The purpose of this thread is to highlight and detail the numerous issues with the Sniper and Gunslinger classes, with the conclusion that these classes are badly designed and need to be reworked in order to be up-to-par with other classes in terms of playability, team utility, solo friendliness and PvP viability (both solo and in premade teams).

 

This thread will not offer direct solutions; this is not a buff/nerf X thread, only an issues list with reasoned explanations. As such, the list will begin with bugs and mechanics issues pertaining to the Sniper Advanced Class and the Agent class in general, continue on to specific PvE/PvP/Endgame PvE issues, and it will end with Quality of Life issues.

 

I recognize that a thread of this kind will be biased toward my experience as a Sniper. I will try to keep that bias in check, but I will not deny that it exists. That said, I do want this to be as objective as possible and as such I will not be directly comparing class abilities or playstyles save for the few areas where it is necessary to do so.

 

 

Bugs and Issues

 

Ability Delay

 

While this issue currently affects all classes, Snipers and Gunslingers are more devastatingly affected by this bug than others, due to their reliance on precise timing of instant-casts and long activation time abilities as well as the clunky Cover mechanic. The Sniper/Gunslinger is extremely dependent on their core abilities landing consistently, to the point that Accuracy is arguably the most important Sniper/Gunslinger stat, and the delay issue severely hampers the classes' damage and survivability.

 

Update: It appears the bug with Channeled Abiltiies and Natural Cover has been fixed, but several problems still remain, including the ability delay and "Cannot See Target" issue.

 

Entrench (and Gunsligner equivalent) Not Consistent

 

The Entrench ability, and its Gunsligner equivalent, is not consistent in stopping crowd control effects. Certain abilities like Electrocute and Force Pull ignore the skill completely, while others are only blocked sometimes. NPC knockbacks are the worst offenders, with a seemingly random chance to be stopped. Boss level NPC abilities' are never stopped, making the ability worthless in Flashpoint and Operation encounters (more on that later). This issue needs to be looked at immediately, as the Sniper/Gunslinger has little enough survivability when not CCed.

 

"Cannot See Target"

 

This is both a bug and a general issue. The bug seems to shwo itself in certain PvE maps, where even the slightest terrain difference can cause the sniper's skills not to fire, with the "Cannot See Target" error message. This is most devastating in certain Class Quest encounters, such as the battle with The Eagle. Aside from this issue, though, it is extremely easy for an NPC or Player to break Line of Sight against a Sniper, especially in the PvP maps. While not a make-or-break issue for the class, losing a target at the last millisecond of a would-be Ambush/Aimed Shot killshot is extremely frustrating, especially as the player needs to move and set up in Cover again to re-take the shot. More on Cover later.

 

 

 

Solo PvE Issues

 

Class/Planet Story Quests (30+); Post-Cutscene Battles

 

Snipers have an extremely difficult time with the many post-cutscene battles prominent in the Class and Planet storylines. Sniper and Gunslinger survivability and damage output relies heavily on positioning and getting the first shot, but after a cutscene the player is not given time to set up, get into proper range, set the right Companion, etc. For the Sniper specifically, the later Class/Planet storylines are nearly impossible to complete without at least one death. Kaliyo is extremely gear dependent after level 30, and Vector is hardly better. Doctor Lokin is far and away the best choice against Elite enemies, but against swarms he does not last long. Scorpio is extremely difficult to gear up, requiring Droid parts and the rarest of all weapon types, the Techstaff.

 

The lack of strong Companions to supplement the Sniper/Gunslinger's very limited survivability makes doing these post-cutscene battles an exercise in frustration at best.

 

Ground-Targeted AoEs, and the Elites that Love them

 

At later levels especially (45+), Elite enemies with the ground-targeted Fire Probe AoE are barely possible to solo as a Sniper/Gunslinger. The AoE is placed immediately upon the player entering Cover, forcing the player to either move or take half of his health in damage in the time it takes to fire off one Ambush/Aimed Shot or Snipe and Followthrough. This forces the Sniper/Gunslinger to move around, in which case he cannot put out enough damage to kill the Elite before he or his companion dies (and he dies shortly afterward). More on this issue later.

 

Base Defenses/Armor Level/Fragile CCs

 

Snipers/Gunslingers wear Medium armor, making them quite squishy. Most Elite or 2xStrong encounters end with the Sniper at dangerously low health levels, making the Sniper class inherently difficult to solo with by design. No other DPS class is as squishy without the means to heal or escape combat quickly.

 

Moreover, Snipers/Gunsligners have only one Hard CC. All other CCs break on damage, making them extremely situational and difficult to use in solo and group settings. Most importantly, though, the only 60-second CC Snipers get is Slice Droid, which must be compared to the other 60-second CCs. Unlike Whirlwind and its Jedi equivalent, Slice Droid is unusable in PvP, has a very subtle and easy-to-miss animation and, of course, can only be used on Droids. While it has no cooldown, it is so rarely useful that it seems to be more novelty than actual CC skill.

 

Slice Droid is a small problem, though. In the scheme of things, Sniper/Gunsligner jsut does not have enough survivability to justify its marginal damage advantage over other classes, if that advantage even exists (impossible to say right now).

 

 

Group PvE: Flashpoints and Operations

 

Cover

 

This deserves a section of its own, really. Cover is an extremely user-unfriendly mechanic that currently makes the Sniper/Gunslinger the least valuable Flashpoint/Operation DPS character.

 

As explained above, Entrench does not work against Flashpoint/Operation boss abilities. Most bosses have at least one control mechanic that takes the Sniper out of cover for at least a few seconds. If a Sniper cannot enter and stay in cover for long enough to use at least a few abilities (Ballistic Shield is rarely usable for its full duration, and it is even rarer to *want* to be in Cover for the full 15 seconds thanks to needing to use "entering cover" mechanics often for full effectiveness), he is at a distinct DPS disadvantage compared to every other class. Moreover, Sniper rotations are very tight and rely on precise timing, which these Boss control abilites screw up; Entrench is meant to alleviate this problem, but it currently does not.

 

In addition, certain buffs (Sniper/Burst Volley, Reactive Shot) are almsot guaranteed to expire before the Sniper/Gunslinger returns to cover, especially consdiering the Ability delay, wasting these buffs entirely.

 

 

See above section for CC issues and survivability vs damage "advantage" issues.

 

 

PvP

 

 

Huttball

 

This map is a Sniper nightmare. Yes, one or two Snipers will help your team thanks to the relatively hard-to-get-to scaffolding areas and overall openness of the map, but any more and your team is severely hindered. Snipers make terrible ball carriers and rarely survive long enough to pass the ball, if they didnt throw it away the instant they received it. Their lack of utility otuside of Ballistic Shield (more on that soon) makes them awful escorts for the ball carrier, too. Their main duty on this map is to stay 35m away from the ball and unload everything onto enemy ball carriers, put pressure on those chasing allied ball carriers and *try* to Flash Bang a group ontop of a flame pit. Throwing in Leg Shot helps, as well. Every other class can do all of that and more, though.

 

Voidstar

 

This is easily the worst of all possible maps for the Sniper/Gunslinger. Close quarters all around, hardly any high ground/sniper's nests/ledges of any kind, extremely easy to lose line of sight. This map was not designed with Snipers in mind and it shows. I can't fathom how this map could possibly be rectified, or how Snipers could be rectified for this map, though more survivability would of course be helpful.

 

Alderaan

 

This map is a lot friendlier for Snipers, however most of the Sniper advantage exists in the middle portion of the map, with the twin balconies overlooking the center capture point. The same Line of Sight problems exist all around, with Snipers being forced to get up-close-and-personal in fights over the side capture points, or they will lose line of sight extremely easily. A Sniper/Gunslinger in the midst of battle is an extremely easy kill, even with healer/tank support. Some high ground on the sides of the map would be nice--or, of course, more survivability.

 

General PvP Issues

 

Cover Pulse is devastated by the ability delay, but it is almost impossible to use reliably in PvP anyway. As the Sniper needs to be in cover to use this skill, it cannot be used to knock players off of ledges: the enemy will see the sniper set up for a pulse and move away, causing the knockback to be wasted. Or, worse, the enemy will use his instant knockback first (see, Inquisitors/Troopers).

 

Kiting as a Sniper/Gunslinger is very difficult if you are Marksman/Sharpshooter tree. The other trees have slows on their important skills, making their kiting much easier. The Marksman/Sharpshooter must rely on fragile CCs to kite, which rarely works in a group PvP setting. Add to that the Sniper's need to be in Cover to do any damage, and kiting effectively is even more difficult.

 

As mentioned before, Electrocute and Force Pull ignore Entrench. This is not acceptable and should be a high priority fix.

 

Ballistic Shield, the only team utiltiy skill Snipers have, is useless in pvP. Staying in cover for 15 seconds is not only difficult but unwise in PvP (or group PvE), making this skill not only extremely situational but not worth risking being stationary to use.

 

 

Quality of Life Issues

 

All Agent PvP and PvE armor looks the same, save for a swapped color palette. Most other classes have at least two different looks for their PvP and PvE endgame armor sets, but Agents have only one look for PvP and one look for PvE. Not only is this depressing from a customization standpoint, but it makes identifying an Agent's Advanced Class by look that much harder (wasn't it a goal to have classes identified by looks?)

 

Shield Proble absorbs a "moderate" amount of damage. How much damage is this? Since Shield Probe is the Sniper's main survivability skill, it is extremely important that the Sniper is notified of exactly how much damage is absorbed.

 

Scorpio is incredibly difficult to gear up, which makes the last few levels of the game VERY difficult. Scorpio should be able to use other weapons than just Techstaves, and there should be more and better Droid armor rewards at that stage of the game. The Techstaff issue is extremely important; it is nearly impossible to find a Techstaff outside of one or two quest rewards.

 

 

Conclusion

 

Snipers and Gunslingers have a myriad of issues that need to be resolved. Many of these are bugs, but several point to a major design flaw in the Cover mechanic and its use in PvP and group PvE, as well as late-game solo PvE. The key class issues can be summed up as follows.

 

1) Damage Advantage (if it exists) does not make up for the massive hit to survivability this class suffers compared to others.

 

2) Cover is unreliable in tough encounters, making the class extremely frustrating to solo and the least viable Flashpoint/Operation DPS.

 

3) Line of Sight and Ability Delay bugs make the class unplayable in certain instances and extremely frustrating in others.

 

The Sniper/Gunslinger classes need to be looked at, as they are underperforming in all areas of the game.

Edited January 7, 2012 by stealthrider

Bump for justice.

 

Thanks for taking the time to highlight these problems that NEED addressing.

 

I'd also like to add that annoying bug where Ambush/Aimed shot gets automatically cancelled just as you cast it...real pain in the *** that.

Edited December 31, 2011 by ZakMorgan

I agree, a lot of the abilities are buggy as hell and that combined with the clunkness of cover just makes it worse. I kind of regret choosing gunslinger but hopefully in time all the bugs and mishaps will be fixed.

 

Like flash points for example, usually you're always on the move and don't really get a chance to stay in cover. Hutt ball, it's kind of hard stoping the carrier when you have to always stay stationary.

 

BW tried to make a unique different kind of class which is cool, but the reality is MMO games and games in general mobility is very important in every aspect (pvp,pve). In my opinion snipers and gunslingers shouldn't be all revolved around cover. Make it so the player wants to use it, but not where the player is restricted to it.

 

I maybe thinking to hard but this is just the facts. The lack of snares and lesser cool downs only make it worse for pvp. Time will tell though

 

cheers

There is a reason why there are so few snipers/gunslingers. At least in my neck of the woods.

I've just started playing the game, and I must say I really don't like the cover mechanic at all. It feels really clunky and hard to control. I think it needs to go away to make this a far funner class.

 

Or at least, let us take cover for defensive purposes, but dont' require our abilities to have cover to operate.

Good post, as a 47 gunslinger, I can say that leveling have been very frustrating for me. Experienced all the issues/bug mentionned above. Still I will wait for the changes and will stick to my class, anyway my guild need the 5% crit buff.

Good post. But I'd like to see all the bugs with cover fixed before any class changes are put in.

Well I appreciate the post as it does highlight a few issues especially the cover system which annoys me to no end with natural cover at least. The normal anywhere cover works just fine. Still aside from that, most of these issues really aren't issues, just general complaints, and mostly unfounded at that. As a gunslinger myself I havent had any of these issues except in one or two very rare occasions. In pvp I consistently do the most dps on my team despite being a sharpshooter and confined to one spot. The rare trooper will beat me, but that's about it. People seem to underestimate our class and seem to be attracted to the shiny sticks rather than me. In addition I consistently win solo fights when they happen. I know as a gunslinger this shouldnt happen as we need team support, but whatever. People don't seem to realize that if you stay put in cover and just go right back in as soon as you can if pulled you can still easily win. You have plenty of skills to do damage with and enough to get away briefly even in the sharpshooter tree. Everyone underestimates the class. The lack of good positioning in maps is regrettable but hardly game breaking. I can easily sit 20 meters or so away from all the force users and do great, if someone notices me its unfortunate, but it happens and you either kill the interloper or get killed.

 

As for pve, it can be annoying at times, but hardly a problem. As long as you time your skills and judge the mob correctly you can take down anything short of a champion. Heck I can kill some golds with the fish with barely any damage if I do things perfectly. Medium armor is just right with the additional 20% gained from cover. As I said before, I've only had trouble with mobs rarely. As for flashpoints and the like, the solution seems simple to me. Stay away from the boss. If your group is doing it right your tank should be getting beat up, not you. I can't recall the last time a boss pulled me and when it happens its usually the tanks fault for not keeping aggro and I suppose mine for doing so much damage >.>

 

All in all the class seems fine to me. It's just the technical issues like cover not working right that need fixing. People just need to learn how to play the class and move on. The system is perfectly balanced and heck o enjoy both pvp and pve immensly, the former of which I have never enjoyed in any other game. As a sharpshooter I do just fine in the most groped about glass and talent tree. If I can do fine, most others can too if they put some effort into learning the class.

 

That's about all I've got. Good job bioware for making a balanced game. Fix the technical issues and you can take my cash with my blessing.

+1 this needs to be fixed.

Bump for great justice, thanks for the support!

I've just started playing the game, and I must say I really don't like the cover mechanic at all. It feels really clunky and hard to control. I think it needs to go away to make this a far funner class.

 

Or at least, let us take cover for defensive purposes, but dont' require our abilities to have cover to operate.

 

I haven't reached high levels yet and generally restrict myself to questing - but I love the concept of cover, it actually gives the class a dynamic feel. I hope it's never removed - though maybe it could be reworked in some ways I guess if it suffers in competitive play.

+1

 

You make a lot of good valid points.

 

For PvP though I think the biggest issue we have with the cover system is simply the fact that every class in the game regardless of spec has ranged CC, even the melee have ranged CC. So even if you do get a good cover spot once your counter CC immunity ability fades you will simply be CC'd out of cover constantly, which cuts off your access to many of your key dps and CC abilities.

 

When you add this to the fact that your immobile while using cover your highly prone to being separated from your group, which leads you to being picked off by stealth classes.

 

The main problem we have is that you cannot wait in cover for melee to get to you, you have to move ahead of them and stay close to your group if you want to survive and that simply works against the cover system. Stationary classes do not work in a pvp situation. Mobility is key, and its one of the reason 60-90% of every warzone is comprised of classes with OP run speed increases. If you stay in cover you'll either get CC'd from range or the enemy melee will reach you and you will die. If you play without using cover you lose access to a lot of your key dps and CC abilities, and the system just is not responsive enough to try to constant move and redeploy cover.

First I would like to say you did bring up some valid concerns some of which I agree with completely.

 

But second, and more importantly, you should know that much of what you said sounds like whiny ******** to me.

 

I'm a sniper, I leveled Marks spec and have never respecced, not once. I have PVPed in every warzone, in open world, and in PVP areas. I've run flashpoints, several hard modes even, and will be running my first Operation tomorrow.

 

The purpose of this thread is to highlight and detail the numerous issues with the Sniper and Gunslinger classes, with the conclusion that these classes are badly designed and need to be reworked in order to be up-to-par with other classes in terms of playability, team utility, solo friendliness and PvP viability (both solo and in premade teams).

We are up to par, and in some areas surpass other classes and AC's with ease. The class does not need to be reworked AT ALL. It may need some bug fixes and, as you state later in this thread, quality of life fixes - those are far from a complete rework. I think this is an absurd goal to set with this thread that has such good information within it.

 

Ability Delay

I disagree that this is worse for us than others. I do think its a major problem that they're probably already working hard to fix. I'm sure I can live with it for a while yet, it doesn't keep me from doing my best and kicking ***.

 

Entrench (and Gunsligner equivalent) Not Consistent

Agreed. It is inconsistent, and this should be one of the priorities for fixing the class. I'm still not sure this is SO huge an issue though that you're arguing to rework the class for it. Certainly if things were working perfectly we'd be happy with the mechanic as is.

 

"Cannot See Target"

 

Line of sight is part of the class. We have huge range, and we have longer cast times and huge damage. It's a trade, one I make willingly. There ARE bugs with this, but fixed there is no problem with cover, as I have already said.

 

A large number of bugs deserve being fixed, not ignored or reworked.

 

Class/Planet Story Quests (30+); Post-Cutscene Battles

 

I completely agree with you on this subject. The class has the hardest time 30+ with solo quests, our companions have issues (major issues). Despite this we CAN level, and with the proper amount of force, we can do so while even further behind. I have proven this myself by leveling under level in many zones (Hoth+ I was 1-2 levels behind EVERY quest!). I fought orange level elites for my entire time on Corellia nearly.

 

Ground-Targeted AoEs, and the Elites that Love them

 

We're not built to deal with these well. Fortunately, entering cover is cheap and very rewarding, so we can just move and drop back into cover again.

 

That said, you seem to have missed the issue where cover sometimes refuses to allow us to enter it mid-combat. That bug is the only thing related to this that I find problematic currently, and I can live with a few bugs.

 

Base Defenses/Armor Level/Fragile CCs

 

I see no issues with these things. We're balanced around our defenses with our higher damage output. We're squishy glass cannons, maybe, but we're completely capable of crushing an enemy if they are not careful.

 

I ran into a Trooper in Ilum PVP zone the other night. I was with friends but they did not arrive in time. The Trooper brought me to about 10% health while he had only been beaten down to about 50%. I proceeded to drop the last 50% of his health in seconds, winning with a mere 80 health left (less than 1%).

 

Don't underestimate the power of panicked Snipe Spam.

 

Cover

 

Cover and the abilities tied to it are a fantastic part of our arsenal. Its laughable that you'd consider us less desirable than other classes BECAUSE of cover. Really? I can TANK some ranged targets. I provide emergency CC's and damage reductions. My cover pulse protects our healer, other DPS, and provides excellent utility overall (need I mention the final encounter in the Flashpoint "The False Emperor"?)

 

I don't know about you, but the fact that I output both high DPS (arguably highest) and provide excellent utility makes my guild mates want me in their group most.

 

We ran Hard Mode TFE earlier tonight. We had 2 wipes total I think? Smoothest run they've had to date. Not even mentioning our no-wipe quick clear of HM-BT.

 

Huttball

 

Snipers provide excellent damage in a warzone where most other classes are concerned with movement, healing, and movement. We aren't great ball carriers, we don't have much to do but put out damage, but that does not make us useless here.

 

I don't know about you, but I am a force to be reckoned with in Huttball.

 

Voidstar

 

Ah, voidstar. The map has plenty of open areas, and it has very specific areas where enemies focus on (two per section to be precise). There are plenty of opportunities to do what we do best here: open up a can of whoop ***.

 

On offense we're so-so. On defense, we're the kings of the battlefield. I'm disagreeing with you in general here.

 

Alderaan

 

Positioning is the key here. There are good places to be, and bad places to be. If you're out of position you're dead. That's just how it is. If you're in good position and have support, as you say, you're going to do very well. I'd call this neutral.

 

General PvP Issues

 

I completely disagree. 1v1 we're in excellent shape, not a guaranteed win but with skill and proper play we can hold our own against any AC.

 

Most of the abilities you complain about are extremely useful. I mean for christ sake, you whine about Ballistic Shield?

 

Lets say worst case scenario you get to use it ONLY for yourself, and ONLY for 6 seconds while being DPSed before you must run.

 

Thats 6 seconds of 20% damage reduction. That's fantastic.

 

You don't have to be able to use the entire duration of the ability to make it worth using. It's also fantastic for the initial rush into combat in ANY warzone, and ANY PVP area, when with teammates. Nothing wrong with this ability AT ALL.

 

Quality of Life Issues

 

Boo hoo. Shield probe? I don't care what it absorbs, just that it DOES absorb it. It keeps me alive for .05 seconds longer, so be it. I'll use it.

 

I completely agree about Scorpio's weapons, she needs access to electrostaff and vibroswords as well. I don't see why this isn't true for many other companions as well. Why limit it so much?

 

1) Damage Advantage (if it exists) does not make up for the massive hit to survivability this class suffers compared to others.

It does some, you can't discount it completely.

 

2) Cover is unreliable in tough encounters, making the class extremely frustrating to solo and the least viable Flashpoint/Operation DPS.

Frustrating, but also rewarding. Other classes can run around freely, blasting away, la-di-da. They look at us using this "clunky" mechanic and easily dropping targets at twice the pace they are and they are in awe. You tell me what that means. I'm just that good? Or maybe it's not as much of a hindrance as you claim.

 

3) Line of Sight and Ability Delay bugs make the class unplayable in certain instances and extremely frustrating in others.

You're way over exaggerating this. We're fine, we work just fine in every instance. There are bugs, and they need to be fixed, but the AC is fine.

 

 

---

 

We're performing fine in all areas of the game. You're taking a few bugs and issues the class has (and they ALL have some, we're not alone here) and blowing them way out of proportion.

 

I wish you luck. If you just can't handle it I suggest you level something else, maybe one of the perfected bug-less classes you're sure exist. Pick something that doesn't fit with the term "clunky" and whos bugs are only helpful.

 

*cackle*

 

---

 

We're performing fine in all areas of the game. You're taking a few bugs and issues the class has (and they ALL have some, we're not alone here) and blowing them way out of proportion.

 

I wish you luck. If you just can't handle it I suggest you level something else, maybe one of the perfected bug-less classes you're sure exist. Pick something that doesn't fit with the term "clunky" and whos bugs are only helpful.

 

*cackle*

 

The problem is, we don't know how much mroe damage we deal compared to other DPS specced classes. There's no combat parser/log.

 

What we do know is that Bioware intended full DPS classes to deal 5-15% more DPS than hybrid specs, which does not seem to make up for all of the inherent defensive weaknesses of Snipers compared to other DPS-specced classes.

 

Once the combat log is in, we'll see the truth of the matter.

Wait what?

 

Only problems ive encounterd :

Aimed Shot bug (that's why i no longer use static cover)

 

Charged shot not "charging" ie, the sound and activation bar is showing, but the skill is never used.

 

Otherwise, Easy as hell to level, pvp is phun as well

 

(lvl 50 Gunslinger)

 

And on the AOE note, JUST MOVE

Sounds like some serouis L2P issues to me gunslingers and snipers do serouis damage used right, and they have good cc to whats the problem here?

Also small things that are annoying. If you go into cover and get ballistic dampeners, then feel misplaced and go up and replace yourself, you lose the buff and dont gain it until after 6 seconds. I understand why this mechanic is in, but maybe we should get the buff back if we didnt use any of the charges? It is the talent that gives 3 charges of 20% reduction of damage. We also lose the instant snipe talent if we go out of cover.

 

Smoke Screen: For all classes this gives a 45% reduction, but for snipers and gunslingers, this is almost as an effective stun that last for ages, since we cant do anything useful while it is up. Sure i have the ability myself, but im mostly thinking pve now, cause i got annoyed by mobs that tossed them out whereever i stood and disabled me, combind that with fire bombs and drones and i have to move constantly.

 

Oh yeah, regarding range and damage, I would like to see my damage output from 35 meter as well. No numbers showing up!

 

Level 50 sniper here.

While I am only a level 24 sniper I can agree with many things the OP posts. My main beef is with cover. When I target a mob and press the go to cover button I sometimes end up with my back towards the mob or not in line of sight with the mob. I find that highly annoying.

 

And the ballistic damping could be reworked I think. I think this should be reworked so that it is also active while moving. Snipers could use a more defensive skill like that.

Lvl 47 Sniper here, and I've learned to work around most of these issues, but they are all extremely valid points.

 

IMO, the issues with cover are the most severe hindrance to the AC's performance. Going into 'true' cover is far more detrimental than beneficial due to channeled abilities(read: 75% of our damage) being randomly interrupted.

 

Being forced to rely on portable cover is the primary cause of the loss of survivabilitly for snipers, considering that we do have some talents that can make us fairly resilient when in full cover.

Agree with most in the thread. Just hit level 16 and I've experienced everything the OP has mentioned (cept the PVP parts). I also agree with most about moving when aoes target your location.

 

The two major fixes that would solve 90% of my faults with the class would be:

1. remove static cover 100%, make the defense screen a base ability. That way, you just crouch where you stand, instead of trying to live through a 10 second roll animation that puts you in the middle of the group you were trying to sneak up on.

 

2. Add target of target (or focus) to the UI. I cant click through all the jedi to find my target.

 

ideas:

1. make cover reduce aoe damage. debuffs associated like being set on fire can still go through, but reduce the explosion bit.

2. make companion abilities with some idea of how the class works. Having a dood pull a mob behind you so he can "tank it" is just dumb.

Yeah I have to agree with a lot of the op's post, there are a myriad of problems with the sniper atm. Granted the game as a whole is by far one of the buggiest mmos I've ever played.

Thank you for being the person to voice my concerns. It was only this afternoon I left my Sniper at level 45 to re-roll.

 

I'd like to return, but frankly I don't see it's worth.

Agree with most.

 

I find cover far too clunky and unresponsive in PvP, a severe hindrance to our classes. If this were fixed i'd be alot happier with being a Gunslinger. I've no problems with losing LoS in PvP, as it's just the way it goes at the end of the day.

 

I'm fairly happy with my survivability, as I assume we're the biggest glass cannons in the game if specced Marksman/Sharpshooter... It's just that cover thing that gets me heated.

 

I also get the 'cannot see target' thing often, when using Aimed Shot at least, even though my Charged Bursts can be used with no problems in exactly the same spot.

getting the healing companion earlier would help gunslinger a ton

 

Even when you are on top of your cooldowns and rotation there is almost no way to solo any 2+ heroic (except when it gets grey) or champion around your level. Basically anything you cant kill in few seconds will kill you no matter what you do. This works with regular stuff or single yellow elite, but anything more than that = death or almost death guaranteed.

Reporting that I have confirmed that channeled abilities are no longer canceled by hard cover.

 

I recommend changing the OP to reflect this.