Question for the Nightmare mode snipers out there, what stat should you be stacking overall? Is Cunning the bread and butter stat or is surge better or any other stat better?

I think a lot of it depends on your spec and your current stats. I don't feel like Surge is as useful for a 2/16/23 spec, for example, as it is for a marksman spec.

 

It also has a soft cap; a point where your surge and crit is so high that it's more beneficial to have Power than either of them.

 

But generally, what you want to aim for is Crit @ 40%, Surge around ~80%, then prioritize power. At least I think it's something like that.

 

Cunning is your best stat and I'd personally take 20 cunning over anything else (although it rarely comes down to something that simple, but, cunning is rarely an issue since it's on everything)

Hello, nightmare mode clear sniper here.

 

I play http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#400bZbIZGbbkrrhdhR.1

 

I stack crit/surge pretty much as high as you can get them im at 46.62% crit and 90.50% surge. 103% special attack accuracy and i don't miss on raid bosses.

 

1837 cunning with skill stim. Fully buffed im over 1930 cunning. From what i've figured out accuracy is overvalued and so is power with lethality.

It also has a soft cap; a point where your surge and crit is so high that it's more beneficial to have Power than either of them.

 

Just to clarify, only accuracy has a soft cap.

 

That's not to say that one stat is always better than the others -- quite the opposite, in fact -- but that's not a matter of soft caps so much as a stat's weight being affected by itself and all other stats.

 

To find out your stat weights for your spec at your current level of gear using your rotation, the best way is to plug your settings into the sniper spreadsheet and play around with adding stat points here and there.

Edited February 4, 2012 by Tibbel

But generally, what you want to aim for is Crit @ 40%, Surge around ~80%, then prioritize power. At least I think it's something

 

Where is the math that was used to establish these baselines? Can you provide a link please?

Sorry for the noob question, but this is my first mmo, and i've got a 50 sniper and have been wondering what i should be investing in, my cunning is over 2000 and my accuracy is 101.3 with basic ranged attacks, crit multipier are 60 but i have relics and such to knock it up higher, what exactly is a soft cap, is that like the stat is at the point where it's pretty much not gonna get any better?

...What exactly is a soft cap...?

 

A soft cap is a point above which a stat suddenly is less valuable than it is below.

 

The example in SWTOR is with accuracy because different attacks require different amounts of it before it is value-less. Special abilities (everything except Rifle Shot) have a base 100% accuracy, but our basic ability (Rifle Shot) has only a 90% base accuracy.

 

Let's say we're attacking a target with 8% defense chance. The first 8% accuracy we get reduces that target's chance to dodge against each of our ranged attacks. Once we get up to 8% bonus accuracy, stacking more isn't worth much anymore because all of our special abilities are hitting.

 

Additional accuracy still does have some value because our Rifle Shot is still benefiting from increased chance to hit (this is the "soft" part). Once we get up to the point where even Rifle Shots are always hitting, that's the "hard" cap, because any additional accuracy has absolutely no value.

 

Hope that helps!

Edited February 4, 2012 by Tibbel

why wouldn't you go above 100% accuracy when anything above it makes the shot ignore armor. i'm around 106% for special attacks and will happily ignore 6% armor on targets

Because it doesn't decrease armor, it reduces defensive chance.

Also,

 

Where do you get crit/surge mods? I have Rakata gear and it prioritizes power.

Also,

 

Where do you get crit/surge mods? I have Rakata gear and it prioritizes power.

 

You can take them out of columi/champion. I am not 100% sure but I do not think there are crit/surge enchancements on the sniper battlemaster gear either. Bioware sure screwed the pooch with stats on our gear.

Where is the math that was used to establish these baselines? Can you provide a link please?

 

in general:

ACC to 110% (to overcome raid bosses natural 10% dmg buff)

Crit to 30%

Surge to 75 - 80%

the rest to power.

 

 

Our calculated stat priority list is:

 

Accuracy, up until ~216

Surge, up until ~200

Crit, up until ~300

Cunning

Crit, up until ~400

Surge, up until ~250

Power

Crit, beyond 400

Surge, beyond 250

Accuracy, beyond 216

 

i have 103% accuracy and sticking with just that, i'm not going up to 110

 

http://sithwarrior.com/forums/Thread-Marksman-Sniper-Compendium?page=16

Also,

 

Where do you get crit/surge mods? I have Rakata gear and it prioritizes power.

 

i bought mine off the GTN, you can get L50 mods there...

 

i haven't done any operations at all, i'm only L49

i bought mine off the GTN, you can get L50 mods there...

 

i haven't done any operations at all, i'm only L49

 

Those are not the good ones...

Those are not the good ones...

 

i know... but it's all i could find without doing any operations or flashpoints yet...

 

are there other ways to get "good ones" below L50?

L49 blue mods (you can get those for corellia tokens) are enough for any HM FPs (maybe except optional droid from kaos, and boarding party trio) and normal Ops, there you can go with pugs and gear up pretty fast. Edited February 6, 2012 by Vesperr

i bought mine off the GTN, you can get L50 mods there...

 

i haven't done any operations at all, i'm only L49

 

I have full rakata except chest and helm, and have columni in those slots. I don't know where to get mods that are as good as quality as the default rakata gear. Even PVP T2 is not that great...would be giving up a lot of cunning.

Edited February 6, 2012 by IzaakVoitto

You can now get Rakata (58) grade and Columni (56) grade mod, enhancement and armoring from the GTN : i believe the schematic and material drops off NM mode OPs. On Harbinger, they go for only 200k-500k a piece.

in general:

ACC to 110% (to overcome raid bosses natural 10% dmg buff)

Crit to 30%

Surge to 75 - 80%

the rest to power.

 

 

Our calculated stat priority list is:

 

Accuracy, up until ~216

Surge, up until ~200

Crit, up until ~300

Cunning

Crit, up until ~400

Surge, up until ~250

Power

Crit, beyond 400

Surge, beyond 250

Accuracy, beyond 216

 

i have 103% accuracy and sticking with just that, i'm not going up to 110

 

http://sithwarrior.com/forums/Thread-Marksman-Sniper-Compendium?page=16

 

Don't forget the last bit from that post:

 

Something like that.

Keep in mind that this is for these stat values that were listed. Whether this holds roughly true across a wide range of stat values is still unknown.

 

The best way to find your stat weights are to put your own spec and rotation into the spreadsheet and play around with the stats.

Those are not the good ones...

 

the ones on the GTN are fine.

 

27 crit and 39 surge is nothing to sneeze at.

 

All testing, also, points to Bosses having a bout 8% defense chance... so anythig over 8% accuracy is only helping Rifle Shot and is therefore pretty useless.

I have full rakata except chest and helm, and have columni in those slots. I don't know where to get mods that are as good as quality as the default rakata gear. Even PVP T2 is not that great...would be giving up a lot of cunning.

 

are we talking just the "Mod" slot - if so, then you WANT the ones with the high power (end/cunning/high power) usually Artful or Artful-A

 

The best you can get, crit wise, in a mod slot is like.. 8 on a level 50, so the level 58 Rakata mods might have... 15.

 

Better to take the 40 power.

 

Its Enhancements that have crit/surge. Battle Enhancement is what you're looking for.