Update 2: 2/26/14

Google doc for questions and voting

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AtS6aucNXnGndFNtdDN5UTJGLW9ZNGcydEFOUTR2aFE&usp=sharing.

Like the previous round of brainstorming, submit your questions in this thread, and i will add them to the google doc. Before our deadline is up we will vote on which questions we want to ask the Combat Team. I am thinking first week of June for voting with the week after for paraphrasing, fine-tuning, editting of the chosen questions.

You can submit as many questions as you like.... but please keep in mind one person submitting too many questions may end up convuliting the entire process. I suggest pick a handful of quality questions and avoid questions that are similar to one another, questions that do not open dialogue with the combat team, avoid yes or no questions, avoid questions that try to compare against melee classes, no questions about why Pyro Mercs are OP (they are bugged) and lastly avoid questions that can be answered by the forum community itself.

Reference: http://www.swtor.com/community/showpost.php?p=7243376&postcount=14

Update 1: Original post

Starting up brainstorming on what the forum Snipers and Gunslingers want to ask the devs this coming June 6th 2014.

Eric has given the go signal to start brainstorming on the class questions

Instead of creating two separate threads for Snipers and Gunslingers, I'd like to put all the discussion in one place.

Similar to the previous round of Class Rep questions, i think it would be best to have two separate discussion threads, one for PvE and another for PvP. Anyone can submit their questions and after a period of time (we have until June) , we will vote on which 6 questions we want to ask the Developers about our class.

Like last round's Q&A.. requesting the help of more experienced PVP forum Snipers like Escarli or anyone in discussing the core issues Snipers/Gunslingers are faced with in PVP.

Need reference, but iirc, BW is balancing PVP around arenas and not warzones (?). If that is the case please keep PVP discussion with arena balance in mind.

all the changes, where will they lead the engineer tree to?

will we see more gadgets, like plasma probe following its target doing slightly dmg to the ppl around, a machine gun turret, mines or surface oriented buffs/shields?

when, WHEN! will we get back our Orbital Strike?!

Need reference, but iirc, BW is balancing PVP around arenas and not warzones (?). If that is the case please keep PVP discussion with arena balance in mind.

Paowee any chance you can get Eric to clarify that? Personally I don't do ranked arena warzones my only experience with them is limited to the ones you get when queued for normal warzones.

The other thing to bear in mind with me is I'm an engineering sniper whilst I have played the other specs in the past it's been a long time (read over a year) since I played either spec for any length of time. I'm not able to really comment on any other spec except engineering/saboteur.

The thing that irks me the most about engineering is scatter bombs. BW have already said in the previous class questions that it was never meant to be rotational, that is was only meant to be for a bit of fun whilst rolling and with that said they were fine with using it in what we call wallbanging.

They need to take a long hard look at that particular ability/talent. It's a lot of fun and effective but totally OP. It's also awful gameplay. with stealthers you stand next to a wall wait for them to appear, debilitate and proceed to wall bang. Works almost every time. With non stealthers you simply go up to a target against a wall, same tactic and same result....or you cover pulse them, debilitate and then wall bang...same result.

From what I've read from the pve'rs if you take the damage scatter bombs does out of the equation the spec doesn't look good on the dps boards/parsing board...whatever you call it

If the pve aspect is true then to me that's evidence enough that it's broken when you add to that how pvp'ers use scatter bombs then it just confirms it. The amount of damage a pvp'er can do in normal warzones with careful use of wall bangs is just daft.

As for the recently announced changes.....I don't understand the change to entrench. What's the point of it? I don't think it's needed. I'd actually prefer if this didn't go live because it takes away some of the positioning skill of using it so it is in essence, dumbing down the skill not improving it.

The shield probe change, ok fine.

The change to evasion? Very controversial, I can think of situations where it it'll be useful but it's not something anyone asked for not to mention it's really got up the backs of the other classes. All in all it's very surprising and therefore I believe it'd be worthwhile having an explanation as to why this particular change has been decided.

Other concerns of mine, plasma probe. People don't like the way people move out of it avoiding the damage and therefore people have suggested a couple of ways for it to be changed. I'm against all of those changes I like the way it currently works and would like it to stay as it. I don't see any problems here at all.

As for orbital, I can't for the life of me think they'll give engineering snipers some skills to boost the damage to what it was before so I'd like further information on what they have planned with that. It's pointless to suggest any changes and not much point debating how they might change it, we need to know what they have planned before we can really comment on it.

Update 2:

Added googledocs section. See the original post.

Arenas are exactly the reason for the 2.7 changes. I am glad to see most of them. Not happy about the changes to flash grenade, but not a deal breaker. I like the change to hunker down and dodge. Finally, Gunslinger/Sniper gets the equivalent of a "get out of jail free" card that every other class has had for a while. The other classes that are whining about the change to Dodge can go eat a ****. Hunker down change will help alleviate the issues of focus target AoEs and wasting the skill since you can pick up, move out of AoEs and reset with it still available for the remainder of the time. A capable Gunslinger/Sniper will draw a lot of attention and focus fire and even with our damage reduction abilities we can't withstand all of it.

Can we get Orbital Strike to at least be equal to other classes AoEs? Currently FF/OS does 3108 damage over 12 seconds, though looking at Sage's Earthquake it does 3714-4036 slows by 30% and 30% chance to knockdown in a 6 second channel. Sentinel/Guardian Cyclone Slash 1608-1856 instant cast (include Smash/Force Sweep and glad they are nerfing that a bit, but still hits way harder than any other AoE attack). I understand this is a nerf due to PvE use, but the extent of my PvE is doing Black Hole dailies and the rest of my time is on PvP. Seriously, players don't even try to get out of the way of it nowadays because it hits like an auto attack. At least before it could be used for area denial.

For Arenas and some PvE, Combat Sentinels are preferred over SS/MM GS/Sniper for single target dps. That really shouldn't be the case. It should be split, but Combat Sents bring an additional utility to the fight that other classes don't. What does a SS/MM bring to the table other than ranged dps? We don't have very many CCs compared to some other classes. Our dps does not exceed any other class. We can't heal others. We can't taunt. We can't tank. Oh, we can't be leapt to, but that is not true because Knights/Warriors have their Zealous Leap from 10m that is single target, hits for 3000-3500 and immobilizes.

What does a Gunslinger/Sniper in any spec bring to the fight/warzone that no other class(es) bring? This is the question I have for the community and the devs. We did have the ranged AoE CC, but that is getting nerfed due to the whining from other classes. Right now, the answer I see is...nothing...this is why we are commonly bypassed for other classes.

We need to speak up strongly about improving this class or we are going to continue to get nerfed due to the whining of the other classes while the other classes continue to get buffs.

The main issue with gunslingers and snipers right now is survivability in arenas. Warzone survivability isn't really an issue, but that isn't the environment they are balancing around currently. The original changes in 2.7 looked like they might address that some, but the devs changed their minds. They have stated they will give us some survivability in the future, so I am going to save any questions on that until then.

A big question I have had for a while that I am hoping to get addressed is the issue of set bonuses. The problem is in both PVE and PVP, but more so PVP in my opinion since the Flyby nerf. The current PVP set bonuses are for 8-man warzones and provide very little benefit in arenas. The current 4-piece PVP Field Tech/Professional gives an insultingly low dps gain with the nerf to Flyby and essentially gives us nothing but a longer stop-cap ability in warzones, where some classes get +15% crit to a main ability for their 4-piece. The current 2-piece PVP Field Tech/Professional is nice, but the close-quarters design of the arenas and the plethora of obstacles to break line of sight make the extra range situational at best. Many snipers and gunslingers choose to take either of the 2-piece scoundrel sets for the small amount of added survivability. My question is this:

Are there any plans to update the Field Tech/Professional PVP set bonuses to something more useful or possibly make the Professional set its own bonus that provides gunslingers and snipers some benefit in arenas?

1. can we get rid of the Markers that are put on players when we target them or maybe at 55 it goes bye bye?

2. Any chance for a 10 min stealth cool down, That last for a couple of minutes? Maybe even a longer cool down, something like 20 minutes but resets each arena round. This would go a long way to help not get focused F at the beginning.

1. can we get rid of the Markers that are put on players when we target them or maybe at 55 it goes bye bye?

2. Any chance for a 10 min stealth cool down, That last for a couple of minutes? Maybe even a longer cool down, something like 20 minutes but resets each arena round. This would go a long way to help not get focused F at the beginning.

1. That would give pre-mades in voice chat even bigger advantages in warzones by taking markers away. I doubt markers in group ranked aren't a big deal since any serious team is in voice chat calling out focus targets, so I don't see a reason for removing markers from PvP. It just sounds like more work for no impact on the ranked environment. Also, how is this exclusively a Sniper problem?

2. That would be really worthless and incredibly unbalanced. Why would I want to stay in stealth for minutes in an arena? The only reason I could see a player desiring this is to prolong arenas into sudden death or pre-made 4 Snipers and troll the enemy team. I'd rather see actual survivability that fits with the class so I can continue to DPS or quickly disengage rather than use a really long CD stealth that a good enemy team would kick me out of immediately anyway. Also, who has ever heard of a 10-20 minute long cooldown that was not a Legacy ability or a balanced ranged DPS having stealth?

As to the rest of this thread, my group ranked experience is limited so I wouldn't feel confident commenting on PvP balance for Snipers/Gunslingers without someone else providing discussion points. I'll keep an eye on it in the hope of keeping the discussion alive.

I would for Engineering specifically, like to see some Turret like abilities, and more use for the EMP Discharge ability, something like this.

EMP Discharge: Detonates all Cluster Bombs on all targets and resets the Cooldown of Explosive Probe, Covered Escape, and Shield Probe. Also Regenerates 5% Health. 1 min 15 Sec Cooldown.

For all Snipers, I think a new ability called Prone would be nice, and fit with the lore and Real Life Snipers too.

Prone: When You are in Cover you can crouch down further and move to a Prone Position. Increasing your damage by 6%. Increases the Channel Time of Series of Shots by 0.5 seconds. Reduces the Cast time of Ambush and Snipe by 0.5 seconds. Reduces Ranged and Melee defence by 6%. You Cannot be leap to or pulled, all abilities are immune to pushback.

This would be a more Damage based "Stance", Cover is more of a defensive type of "Stance" and the Hold Position passive would be changed to reflect the Defensive stanceness of Cover.

Hold Position: While In Cover, increase Ranged And Melee Defence by 6% and Decreases your Damage by 6%. You cannot be leap to or pulled, all abilities are immune to pushback. Also, when you activate Entrench you get 6% Force and Tech Defence for the duration of Entrench.

This would allow for Sniper "Stances". You get one more defensive stance, and a more offensive stance. Prone is more for when you arent getting focus fired, and Marksman gets 5 extra range on all it's skills when your in Prone. Allowing for more DPS, it doesnt stack with the 5 Meter buff with the PvP 2piece SB. Prone for Engineering will allow for 5% Alacrity when Entrenched. and Prone for Lethality increases the Surge of Cull and Weakining Blast by 30%. I dont really have Talent Names for these new Talents, but that's neither here nor there. I think this change would be a great addition to the Sniper's arsenal, and it seems properly balanced on paper. If there are any OBJECTIONS!!! (Name this Refrence) to this idea, feel free to speak up with them.

With Orbital Stike nerf to its damage, its activation mechanics should be buffed to make it useful for PvP. Default cast time should be further reduced to 2 seconds. There should be no more casting animation at OS target area to warn opponents its incoming attack. There should be no more delay in its damage; the damage should be instant as soon as casting is finished.

This is an idea...

But I have currently not many complaints about sniper, save the Orbital Strike. I don't mind the flashbang nerf, I mainly used it in arenas on a single target anyway (healer/tank). Also I have some testing to do on Entrench on PTS, but I fear I may not like the change (MM only).

Orbital Strike though. It was told to us it was a PVE nerf (wanting to reduce damage from AOE abilities so they can't be used for single-target rotations). Yet Bioware had no regard for PVP whatsoever with this skill. It's a defensive cooldown we lost and once that was gone, Solo Ranked for example was unbearable. Since I was always focused, it was an offensive defensive cooldown which I put on myself and if people stayed in it, they hurt badly. It should never have been nerfed in PVP. It wasn't OP at all. Just get out.

Then Smash got nerfed (but only to PVE!). Now I know the way skills/skilltree-skills work differently, but is it really that hard to do the same for Orbital Strike?.

This wasn't my question at Bioware, just an insight on Orbital Strike which IMO should be THE most important question for PVP.

P.S. Oh yea, and when can we hear something on the plans with Dodge?

P.P.S. What about the PVP Sniper Setbonuses? Atm the only ones (even barely) useful are the Operative's setbonuses. Which aren't good themselves.

I think the set bonus question is a good one. For ex can we get a dps buff on orbital. or something else usefull like self heal while in cover. just a way to buff pvp survivability with out effecting pve. hunker down purges all hostial effects doge increases movement speed while active lower cool down on ineript one charge of ballistic damper anything that give some survivability offensive increased duration or trama effects lower energy of explosive probe

ps no aoe on flash bang is a killer they should have reduced it range not aoe 10m range would have been fine now how do we get awayfrom focus fire. which is why we get focused as is defence screen is more single target which was fine

I think the set bonus question is a good one. For ex can we get a dps buff on orbital. or something else usefull like self heal while in cover. just a way to buff pvp survivability with out effecting pve. hunker down purges all hostial effects doge increases movement speed while active lower cool down on ineript one charge of ballistic damper anything that give some survivability offensive increased duration or trama effects lower energy of explosive probe

 

 

ps no aoe on flash bang is a killer they should have reduced it range not aoe 10m range would have been fine now how do we get awayfrom focus fire. which is why we get focused as is defence screen is more single target which was fine

-DPS buff on orbital from setbonus should be 100%. That way we're back at 75% it's original damage, though PVE-ers could use it and then we'd get nerfed again... No help.

-Self heal while in cover already exists. It's on the first row of the Engineering tree.

-Hunker down already gives CC immunity, it doesn't need to purge hostile effects. Especially when you already have dodge for that...

-Marksman already has a increased speed buff in skill tree every time you come out of Entrench. (For those that don't know, I tested it. You can come out of cover while entrench is still counting, and EVERY time you get 50%increased speed + immune to movement impairing effects until Entrench is completely over, it giving you its last speed buff)

-Lower cooldown on interrupt (I assume that's what you mean with ineript, good god man, typing isn't that hard) ..... why?

-One charge of ballistic damper. Not sure what you want here.

-anything that give some survivability offensive increased duration or trama effects. Absolutely no idea what you want here.

-Lower energy cost for explosive probe. It's called Engineering spec. High hitting skills cost high amounts of energy. It's how every game works.

-I personally MUCH rather have 1target on 30m than 5targets on 5m. I rarely use my flashbang defensively, always offensively. If you want to get away or survive focus on you, you have: Covered Escape, Cover Pulse, OS (oops, not anymore), Debilitate, and a few defensive cooldowns.

-DPS buff on orbital from setbonus should be 100%. That way we're back at 75% it's original damage, though PVE-ers could use it and then we'd get nerfed again... No help.

 

no need to get greedy but a bump to damage with a 4 piece set bonus would make a team of melee pay for focusing us

 

]Self heal while in cover already exists. It's on the first row of the Engineering tree.

 

again set bonus here a bump to all specs.05% additional would help a lot. 2.7 sage and commando are going to wear everyone down.

 

Hunker down already gives CC immunity, it doesn't need to purge hostile effects. Especially when you already have dodge for that...

 

again 2.7 sage and commando will wear everyone down a second purge on a long cool down will go a long way to match there up time

 

 

-Marksman already has a increased speed buff in skill tree every time you come out of Entrench. (For those that don't know, I tested it. You can come out of cover while entrench is still counting, and EVERY time you get 50%increased speed + immune to movement impairing effects until Entrench is completely over, it giving you its last speed buff)

 

fabulous great escape mechanic

 

-Lower cooldown on interrupt (I assume that's what you mean with ineript, good god man, typing isn't that hard) ..... why?

 

again 2.7 sage is going to be op interrupt more often or longer lock out duration will be huge

 

One charge of ballistic damper. Not sure what you want here.

 

set bonus give 1 charge ballistic dampers every 6 seconds when u take cover same a mm talent just one extra charge so when a d0t uses up a charge and then u get hit by a big attack at least u get one extra charge to soak up some damage

 

anything that give some survivability offensive increased duration or trama effects. Absolutely no idea what you want here.

 

flourish or the sniper version reduces healing received set bnus to increase its duration to counter up time of the self /off heals

 

Lower energy cost for explosive probe. It's called Engineering spec. High hitting skills cost high amounts of energy. It's how every game works.

 

again if u are getting focused and kited some energy management help would be nice this may be op in some cases though

 

I personally MUCH rather have 1target on 30m than 5targets on 5m. I rarely use my flashbang defensively, always offensively. If you want to get away or survive focus on you, you have: Covered Escape, Cover Pulse, OS (oops, not anymore), Debilitate, and a few defensive cooldowns]

 

as for flash bang yes I wont it for defense vs a group of melee focus fire u have never been force lifted or mezes by a commando then harpooned. U need an aoe mez there or it instant death. at least with the mez u can take someone down with u. we will be an kill in arenas with no way to buy time . snipers don't need offence

Ok sry but I can't take you serious. I'm going to classify you as a troll because... well you don't seem to be serious. If you are then I'm sorry for you.

You have to think of consequences on every little thing you want. If they are OP in another case then it's not worth it getting nerfed because of them some other time.

I made a case for any one of the things I said to be a good set bonus for pvp and a very specific case(which could be elaborated on if someone wonted to discuss) on how they effect the meta game no troll

So my question is Does The combat team feel the set bonuses are a tool to balance pvp combat independently of pve If so as a sniper pvper I feel the sniper need help in the meta game vs classes with off heal abilities as there total dps and survivability tools are similar with the exception of losing and healing to full. See My list of propose set bonuses above and consider making one of them a 4 piese set bonus option.

-DPS buff on orbital from setbonus should be 100%. That way we're back at 75% it's original damage, though PVE-ers could use it and then we'd get nerfed again... No help.

 

-Self heal while in cover already exists. It's on the first row of the Engineering tree.

 

Yep, No need to add another self heal

 

-Hunker down already gives CC immunity, it doesn't need to purge hostile effects. Especially when you already have dodge for that...

 

Yep

-Marksman already has a increased speed buff in skill tree every time you come out of Entrench. (For those that don't know, I tested it. You can come out of cover while entrench is still counting, and EVERY time you get 50%increased speed + immune to movement impairing effects until Entrench is completely over, it giving you its last speed buff)

 

Eeh, But when's the last time you got out of cover mid fight while entrenched?

 

-Lower cooldown on interrupt (I assume that's what you mean with ineript, good god man, typing isn't that hard) ..... why?

 

-One charge of ballistic damper. Not sure what you want here.

 

He wants the Set Bonus to give one more Ballistic Dampner, which is quite useless...

 

-anything that give some survivability offensive increased duration or trama effects. Absolutely no idea what you want here.

 

He want's a longer Trauma duration on Shatter Shot, which is completely pointless because when anyone in a Warzone enters combat, they automatically get 35% healing recived reduced

 

-Lower energy cost for explosive probe. It's called Engineering spec. High hitting skills cost high amounts of energy. It's how every game works.

 

I can actually say that, this is workable. EP is a bit high on it's cost, i think lowering the cost to 20 is completely workable.

-I personally MUCH rather have 1target on 30m than 5targets on 5m. I rarely use my flashbang defensively, always offensively. If you want to get away or survive focus on you, you have: Covered Escape, Cover Pulse, OS (oops, not anymore), Debilitate, and a few defensive cooldowns.

 

Why in the flying hell do you use Flashbang on the offencive? it's a purely defencive skill! A forgettable skill at that! I rarely ever use it because it breaks on damage, which is completely retarded, why do stuns break on damage? Can anyone tell me that? Is it "balancing" because otherwise, it's kinda breaking reality, if you get hit with a flashbang, getting shot isnt going to lessen the effects of the flashbang, if anything it's going to kill you! If Snipers or Operatives got a talent that made Flashbang not break on damage, i would totally use it more, if anything i think they could just cut the duration in half, and give it the not break on damage effect. This would be balanced. and make it more useful.

 

replies in Bold.

a small bump to self heals means you can keep on the move hit relocate and fire follow through take cover no los to self heal so a small bump would help in that instance when you are doted and chasing a sage that can't be controlled. secondly it will help in an instance where a sage is close to death triple dot u and bubbles u may be able to survie to get in another attack as would a hunker down purge

1 additional charge on ballistic damber would give ballistic dampers 100% up time that is not ueless.

someone tell me if I wrong but flouris still redusses heal received and is not effected by expertise or wz trama I .never actual tested

the hunker down change is huge for mm that means u can hunker down to avoid a stun then sprint away then hunket down and keep a the aoe dr effects and reset ballistic dampers no small change

and with sages getting egress flash bang will be a major tool to keep them in your scopes no more root and slows as far as fb for a defensice cool down when trying to escape and get away you not attacking which is why it a defensive tool

lets be clear 5 energy is better than any of the above?

1 additional charge on ballistic damber would give ballistic dampers 100% up time that is not ueless.

This is implying I would get out of and back into cover everything six seconds in order to refresh them, most likely while under fire. Why would I make myself vulnerable to leaps, reduce my ranged defenses, reduce my energy rengeneration (MM only), and if in natural cover sacrifice the cover bonus to refresh ballistic dampers while I can not only keep all that, but Entrench (60% AOE reduction in MM) + Ballistics Shield (reduces incoming damage by 20%). Ballistic Damper is good but not worth all of that. Especially since when everything hits the fan I'm more likely to roll away than worry about refreshing Ballistic Dampers.

The devs are already aware that set bonuses suck in this game, so I feel that they'll just reply to a set bonus question with "we're working on it but can't tell you what we plan to do." Plus, aren't the Snipers/Slingers worried about PvP survivability and not if their set bonuses are worth it? I doubt the devs would tie any notable survivability talents to set bonuses beyond 1 second addition on Evasion (like they already have).

Why in the flying hell do you use Flashbang on the offencive? it's a purely defencive skill!

It's not just a defensive skill. Flashbanging a healer to keep his team from being healed is most certainly an offensive move. So is flashbanging a tank to prevent a guard swap so that you can burst someone down. These are often two of the most useful ways to use flashbang in a group scenario (or any scenario that is not a 1v1). If it is a 1v1 I tend to favour the good ol' flashbang --> explosive probe --> ambush (If he breaks it, no big deal; he's gonna eat a hard stun), or flashbanging after he pops a dcd to make him waste it. Don't tell me those uses of flashbang aren't offensive.

As for the aoe nerf: this was the way to go. 35m instant aoe mezz was way out of line compared to other mezzes. I know it has been suggested that it should retain the aoe but have shorter range, though what this would do is remove a lot of the tactical aspect of the ability and instead encourage panic use of it. I much prefer the tactical.

It's not just a defensive skill. Flashbanging a healer to keep his team from being healed is most certainly an offensive move. So is flashbanging a tank to prevent a guard swap so that you can burst someone down. These are often two of the most useful ways to use flashbang in a group scenario (or any scenario that is not a 1v1). If it is a 1v1 I tend to favour the good ol' flashbang --> explosive probe --> ambush (If he breaks it, no big deal; he's gonna eat a hard stun), or flashbanging after he pops a dcd to make him waste it. Don't tell me those uses of flashbang aren't offensive.

 

As for the aoe nerf: this was the way to go. 35m instant aoe mezz was way out of line compared to other mezzes. I know it has been suggested that it should retain the aoe but have shorter range, though what this would do is remove a lot of the tactical aspect of the ability and instead encourage panic use of it. I much prefer the tactical.

I'm so glad YOU'RE the one that agrees. Every point you just said here is exactly how I feel.

It's not just a defensive skill. Flashbanging a healer to keep his team from being healed is most certainly an offensive move. So is flashbanging a tank to prevent a guard swap so that you can burst someone down. These are often two of the most useful ways to use flashbang in a group scenario (or any scenario that is not a 1v1). If it is a 1v1 I tend to favour the good ol' flashbang --> explosive probe --> ambush (If he breaks it, no big deal; he's gonna eat a hard stun), or flashbanging after he pops a dcd to make him waste it. Don't tell me those uses of flashbang aren't offensive.

 

As for the aoe nerf: this was the way to go. 35m instant aoe mezz was way out of line compared to other mezzes. I know it has been suggested that it should retain the aoe but have shorter range, though what this would do is remove a lot of the tactical aspect of the ability and instead encourage panic use of it. I much prefer the tactical.

The main issue i have with flashbang is that, it's a soft stun, if it wasnt a soft stun for Snipers, i would have no problem with it. Half the duration for all i care or make it 30 meters IDGAF, Make it a Hard Stun, while your at it make Electro Dart and Electrocute 30 meter hardstuns for the ranged classes, that would balance them, and give Merc and Sorc more DPS viability in PvP. But this isnt the merc or sorc forums, so ill just keep it on the Sniper. Most of the times that i die in PvP on my level 53 Gunslinger, is due to lack of a ranged Hard Stun (I play Sab) If i had that 30 or 35 meter Hard Stun, i would die atleast 25% less, though i already am like invincible because nobody thinks to kill the AOE DPS, but then Sab also deals pitiful damage if the stars dont align...

The main issue i have with flashbang is that, it's a soft stun, if it wasnt a soft stun for Snipers, i would have no problem with it. Half the duration for all i care or make it 30 meters IDGAF, Make it a Hard Stun, while your at it make Electro Dart and Electrocute 30 meter hardstuns for the ranged classes, that would balance them, and give Merc and Sorc more DPS viability in PvP. But this isnt the merc or sorc forums, so ill just keep it on the Sniper. Most of the times that i die in PvP on my level 53 Gunslinger, is due to lack of a ranged Hard Stun (I play Sab) If i had that 30 or 35 meter Hard Stun, i would die atleast 25% less, though i already am like invincible because nobody thinks to kill the AOE DPS, but then Sab also deals pitiful damage if the stars dont align...

Keep in mind BW is balancing around ranked arenas, not warzones or unranked arenas. A 35m AOE mez in ranked arenas is way too good when compared to other CC in the game right now.