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Sniper Vs merc?


Darth_Bond

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my main is an operative healer, full clear sm TFB atm, im thinking of levelling a ranged dps ( i already have a 50 marauder, not a big fan of melee dps tbh though)

 

Im trying to decide which one to level to 50 as a rdps, i asked my guild they said they need a sniper more than a merc dps, in general there are also more mercs around than sniper dpsers, iv always been one to play the numbers, always figure out which class is played the most etc...play out the odds etc etc...

 

 

But i dont like the cover system very much...its still a little weird and strange to get used to...

 

in terms of dps numbers who comes out on top? merc or sniper? and which merc tree is considered the top pve dps tree?

 

 

thanks!

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Cover takes a while to get used to, but once you get there its awesome. I have also yet to play a Merc so I might have missed some things about the class. Also worth noting, of the 4 classes I've maxed, Agent has by far the coolest story, especially when comparing the Act 1s.

 

Things to consider for the Sniper:

- Party shield

- Instant 20% armour debuff, last 45 seconds (other classes can do it too, but ours is instant and lasts longer)

- Better defensive CDs

- Entrench stops you being stunned/pulled/leaped to (great in PvP and for Kephess)

- Uninterruptable and +20% ranged Defence in Cover

- 3 exceptional DPS trees for both PvE and PvP.

 

Things to consider for the Merc:

- Can off-heal and has no CD on res

- Heavy armour

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....the whole concept of a ranged dps is to be fluid....

 

Oh? I thought the concept of a ranged dps was to be able to deal damage from far away, guess I was wrong! :p

 

Sarcasm aside, I find the Sniper very fluid in all three skill trees. Many people struggle with the concept of Cover for half your skills. With practice, the use of cover becomes second nature, it's all automatic for me. Hell, I even try to take cover while playing my non-sniper characters!

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Oh? I thought the concept of a ranged dps was to be able to deal damage from far away, guess I was wrong! :p

 

Sarcasm aside, I find the Sniper very fluid in all three skill trees. Many people struggle with the concept of Cover for half your skills. With practice, the use of cover becomes second nature, it's all automatic for me. Hell, I even try to take cover while playing my non-sniper characters!

 

It does become very natural, especially if you use cover in place instead of rolling for cover which can be unpredictable. It`s also very fun. I didn`t think I`d like it because I usually prefer melee, but it`s really great. Marksmanship, anyway. And the damage you do if fairly insane. If you get sick of being ranged, you can always throw caution to the winds and shiv someone for around 5000 damage, just for a change of pace ;)

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I tried to like the snipers but i just cant....the whole concept of a ranged dps is to be fluid....and the cover mechanic just plain ol sucks...it makes the class so mechanical....and rigid

 

All ranged DPS involves casting, meaning that all RPDS ACs have to stand still to do optimum damage. What cover amounts to is a whole bunch of bonuses for gunslingers & snipers when they're standing still. Just bind crouch to middle mouse and you'll just find yourself using it without even needing to think about it.

 

I have a rakata-geared lv50 commando (merc mirror) and a lv40 sniper, the sniper is my favourite by far. Especially in PvP. The only thing I really miss is stealth scan.

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It does become very natural, especially if you use cover in place instead of rolling for cover which can be unpredictable. It`s also very fun. I didn`t think I`d like it because I usually prefer melee, but it`s really great. Marksmanship, anyway. And the damage you do if fairly insane. If you get sick of being ranged, you can always throw caution to the winds and shiv someone for around 5000 damage, just for a change of pace ;)

 

Is this true? 5k damage from shiv?

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  • 5 months later...
I tried to like the snipers but i just cant....the whole concept of a ranged dps is to be fluid....and the cover mechanic just plain ol sucks...it makes the class so mechanical....and rigid

 

Trust me, as a lvl 50 merc, we are a pretty stationary class if you use certain trees. If you go pyrotech, fine, but if you choose arsenal, you will be standing there just like a sniper cept you got no cover.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Trust me, as a lvl 50 merc, we are a pretty stationary class if you use certain trees. If you go pyrotech, fine, but if you choose arsenal, you will be standing there just like a sniper cept you got no cover.

 

Very true - both are pretty stationary. Sniper due to cover, Merc (Arsenal) due to need to channel.

 

I have and play both - just to keep things interesting I do mix it up a bit at times and run to melee range for a Rocket Punch or Shiv finisher.

 

I hear tell that the Engineering Sniper is a bit more mobile and hybrids a bit more so.

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I tried to like the snipers but i just cant....the whole concept of a ranged dps is to be fluid....and the cover mechanic just plain ol sucks...it makes the class so mechanical....and rigid

 

As others have mentioned, Mercs are stationary despite not needing cover due to almost everything having a cast timer. Infact, my sniper (marksman) feels much more mobile than my merc (arsenal, which you should use for PVE) since the sniper can proc an instant snipe anytime he wants and have followtrough and takedown available on relatively short CDs (and explosive probe on a much longer one) while the merc only has heatseeker missiles and railshot, both of which needs to be used as soon as they come of CD while the sniper is a bit more flexible in that regard.

Basically, a merc that is forced to move has to resort to his basic attack unless he's lucky and HSM or RS just came off CD - a sniper that is forced to move enters cover again for a split second before doing so and does an instant snipe, gets back up and uses followtrough/takedown on the next GCD(s), or if explosive probe is off CD, gets back in cover just long enough to throw one out before he can keep moving. The sniper armor debuff is also isntant, so he can take the chance to renew that while moving if needed too.

 

The cover really doesn't change anything for the mobility, you simply press your "take cover in place" key right before you start casting, it doesn't cost you any time at all - the only disadvantage is needing an extra hotkey. If you want to PVP, that's also what makes snipers viable while mercs aren't, the cover makes them immune to gap closers and interupts, entrench adds immunity to knockbacks and stuns (removing the last 2 ways available to stop your casts, other than an another sniper/gunslinger using their "force out of cover" ability from marksman tree) and you have plenty of roots and knockbacks to keep people from running up to you.

Edited by steave
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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Thus far, I have to say Sniper > Merc.

 

In my opinion, sniper can put out damage faster and hit harder than a merc. Sniper skills are synergistic, feeding off one another. Merc dps leaves a lot to be desired...

 

And I have yet to unlock HSM...

 

Very painful to lvl my merc, compared to my sniper.

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Thus far, I have to say Sniper > Merc.

 

In my opinion, sniper can put out damage faster and hit harder than a merc. Sniper skills are synergistic, feeding off one another. Merc dps leaves a lot to be desired...

 

And I have yet to unlock HSM...

 

Very painful to lvl my merc, compared to my sniper.

 

You're making judgement on a class when you have not unlocked the big hitter which provides the massive burst you don't think you have.

 

At 55 if both Tracer and HSM crit you're looking at 15k almost at once.

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You're making judgement on a class when you have not unlocked the big hitter which provides the massive burst you don't think you have.

 

At 55 if both Tracer and HSM crit you're looking at 15k almost at once.

 

This. Merc got a substantially big in 2.0, which i think many don't realize. I would still say in terms of sustained DPS and parsing, sniper does more damage. 2.0 however completely changed my playstyle for merc. The class (arsenal spec) can dish out huge burst + AOE DPS if needed and stay moderately mobile. I think it really is just comes down to knowing how to manage your heat management.

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Cover takes a while to get used to, but once you get there its awesome. I have also yet to play a Merc so I might have missed some things about the class. Also worth noting, of the 4 classes I've maxed, Agent has by far the coolest story, especially when comparing the Act 1s.

 

Things to consider for the Sniper:

- Party shield

- Instant 20% armour debuff, last 45 seconds (other classes can do it too, but ours is instant and lasts longer)

- Better defensive CDs

- Entrench stops you being stunned/pulled/leaped to (great in PvP and for Kephess)

- Uninterruptable and +20% ranged Defence in Cover

- 3 exceptional DPS trees for both PvE and PvP.

 

Things to consider for the Merc:

- Can off-heal and has no CD on res

- Heavy armour

 

Heavy armour isn't all that great... Would change that for a defensive cd at all time...

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  • 3 weeks later...

plus merc has 30 sec cd on light version of Entrech (good enouth for most encounters, and entreh is ignored by some mechanics- false emperor for example), but missing roll (but again, BH/Trooper version works on already in roots like Cademinu while roll does not clear roots).

both have ups and downs, I love both (I actually preffer my commando with less buttons to do well- so relaxed game play-, but for harder content - or crappy team - I find sniper more FUN and effective)

sometimes that 35 meter instead of 30 is blessing tho.

Both hit hard, both are good.

 

my advice, do both and find your game style. cover doesnt fit every one (it's not an offense).

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  • 4 weeks later...

Sniper is hands down better I'm sorry to say. Wish it wasn't true. I have both a 55 sniper and gunslinger, and a 55 Commando. Commando is my first love and I stick with it, but when I raid imp side I do so on my sniper. Sniper is just plain better, and offers actual good alternatives if you don't like one of the specs.

 

Commando is good enough that I don't feel bad bringing her to raids, and she is already best in slot for the underworld tier and I just don't feel like kitting out my GS, but I'm honest enough to admit that when played to full potential, Sniper blows merc out of the water pretty conclusively.

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It really does come down to playstyle, ability, and preference. My guild routinely runs HM 55 ops, and I find my merc and our sniper bouncing back and forth in parses. It really comes down to how often our abilities proc. Yes, the maximum potential DPS of snipers is higher than the maximum potential DPS of a merc, but that's only if both are standing perfectly still. Add pretty much any operation mechanic, and you'll see snipers take more of a hit than mercs and you land about even. That said, Snipers will be the better choice for easy damage. If you want to max out Merc DPS it takes a lot more concentration and precision.
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It really does come down to playstyle, ability, and preference. My guild routinely runs HM 55 ops, and I find my merc and our sniper bouncing back and forth in parses. It really comes down to how often our abilities proc. Yes, the maximum potential DPS of snipers is higher than the maximum potential DPS of a merc, but that's only if both are standing perfectly still. Add pretty much any operation mechanic, and you'll see snipers take more of a hit than mercs and you land about even. That said, Snipers will be the better choice for easy damage. If you want to max out Merc DPS it takes a lot more concentration and precision.

 

I'm not sure how you see this as true. Arsenal merc is gonna face pretty much the same setback as a Marksman sniper when moving. Lethality snipers actually do much better if they have to move. My commando does more damage than my sniper but only because my commando is BiS 72s.

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  • 4 weeks later...
I'm not sure how you see this as true. Arsenal merc is gonna face pretty much the same setback as a Marksman sniper when moving. Lethality snipers actually do much better if they have to move. My commando does more damage than my sniper but only because my commando is BiS 72s.

 

Sorry, but it sounds like your problem is either a L2P issue or you are gearing improperly. If played to full potential, sniper and merc DPS is VERY close. If you still think arsenal merc is a "turret" class (meaning the majority of damage is lost if moving), you are not playing efficiently.

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Sorry, but it sounds like your problem is either a L2P issue or you are gearing improperly. If played to full potential, sniper and merc DPS is VERY close. If you still think arsenal merc is a "turret" class (meaning the majority of damage is lost if moving), you are not playing efficiently.

 

kay:rolleyes:

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