This is a post for me to scream out how awesome the Gunslinger class is in PvP, because I just need to get it off my chest to share the class’s awesomeness with you all.

 

I played a Jedi Guardian (first character), then a Gunslinger, then a Sith Sorcerer, then a Mercenary, and then a Jedi Sentinel. I pvped with them all at lowby level and level 50. Out of all the classes I played, I felt that my gunslinger can turn the tide of battle more than my tank, healer, or other DPS classes can do. The second closest in performance is my Sentinel. But the Sentinel can be shutdown easier because it is a melee class, and it is also more “selfish” as in save himself more than helping others.

 

Many people felt that the cover mechanic is a handicap and we are just stationary turrets, but that is so wrong.

 

My favorite spec is Sharpshooter, 33/7/1. With this spec, I have solo beat every class, even tank assassins and operatives. I have even solo beat a tank assassin and his guarded sorc healer in a 1v2. Of course, not every player is super duper good. But that does not make the Gunslinger’s potential any less.

 

I will explain some of the most awesome tactical things that Gunslingers can do to dominate the battlefield, which may not be obvious to everyone:

 

1. Protect healers or other players:

You may think, “What? We are not tanks.” But the thing is that we can transfer our defensive abilities to other players in PvP, and no other class can do this better than the Gunslinger. Often I setup my cover right next to the healer. Any melee who comes to kill the healer gets my knockback, dirty kick, aim shot knockback, leg shot root, flash grenade, and a face full of shots until dead. I switch my target immediately to any melee attacking the healer while CCing others, and then drop them dead one by one. I can handle up to 3 melee train for my healer. If the healer is good and realize that I am protecting him, he will heal me and add in his own CC and can last a long time. Add in Scramble Field when the train is a big one. If the healer has his tank guarding him, then we are not going anywhere. Same tactic against range focus fire on your healer; CC with flash grenade and shoot the attackers. I think the only time I failed to protect my healer is when there were 4 melee train on him and he ran too far away from me, behind a pillar and out of my LOS too. Lol

 

This is where I felt my Sentinel is inferior, his defensive cool downs can only save himself. lol

 

2. Incredible burst on the offensive, pick off weakened targets and assist DPS:

When I am not on the defensive for myself or for a teammate, and am on the offensive, I pick on squishes and people with half a health bar left, and can drop them real fast. If they ran out of range or out of LOS, don’t worry about it and let your teammate finish them off and get on the next weakened target. Keep it up and the enemy team is half dead and pushed back before you know it.

 

3. Good defense:

All the solo kills happened when I was solo defensing a door or a node. Same as above in “1”. Save dodge and cover shield for last. Time Dodge to activate it when a hard hit is about to come, like Ravage and Serious of Shots… etc. Positioning is very important, try to position somewhere where it is hard for enemy range to hit you and hard to enemy melee to get to you. I usually stick close to a healer. Lol Don’t forget Hunker Down to protect against AoE and CC.

 

4. Mobility is still good.

Yes, we can’t leap around like knights or speed boost like Consulars. But we still can run and shoot. Leg shot is great for stopping runners. If the runner is a squishy, I will leg shot and set up my cover as close as possible, so I can drop him before they run again.

 

Finally, gunslingers are sexy. Male or female, we are too sexy for the galaxy. (Rhythm for the win!)

shhh, dont tell anyone.

Every class is good if you're geared against ungeared, or you actually know how to play.

I love GS also, I am currently level 39 and love it. I was doing SS but am trying Sab and I love it. I put out good damage and do well protecting, Awesome fun.

Every class is good if you're geared against ungeared, or you actually know how to play.

 

True, but only to some extent. The potential of the GS far surpasses all the other classes that I played. I actually feel that I can protect a healer better on my GS than on my guardian tank because its ability to disrupt focus fire, although it won’t show up on the score board. My Mercenary can do similar damage output to my GS, but the arsenal of defense is nowhere near the GS. My Sentinel can wreak havoc on the battlefield, but he needs a lot of good support, because he is often the target of focus fire and chain CC. My GS can support others really well. Sentinel also can’t protect friends like the GS can.

 

My guardian gets owned by pyrotechs all the time. My GS eats them like cabbage.

I love GS also, I am currently level 39 and love it. I was doing SS but am trying Sab and I love it. I put out good damage and do well protecting, Awesome fun.

 

I tried Sab and Dirty Fighting also, but I didn’t like them as much as SS because:

1. Switching target to do damage is too slow. I can’t kill off the melee trains on my healer fast enough due to setup required to do damage.

2. I couldn’t fight back good assassins and operatives that try to pick me off. They both can remove all debuffs on them with an ability on short cooldown. When they wipe off all the dots and charges on them, they can dps me down before I can dps them down. In my experience, SS spec has the best chance to kill stealth when they jump on you.

 

To all players trying the GS: The GS is hard to learn. It is a very tactical class that requires a lot of thinking and battlefield awareness, both in the current fight and in the entire warzone. But once it is learned, it feels good to play even if the game was lost.

Yup had my GS since launch, it really is one of the best kept secrets. SS right now(favorite spec) and my burst is just as good if not better then my Vanguard AS.

Yea, they can do insane damage if you play them right.

It's surprising that they never been mentioned ever as far as I know as OP.

Yea, they can do insane damage if you play them right.

It's surprising that they never been mentioned ever as far as I know as OP.

 

People try to, but they really don't know how to counter us. With that said, range is our best friend.

Yep Im out there wrecking people as a clicking backpeddling keyboard turner with my sab-slinger.

 

My spec is 10/31/0

 

Operatives are my kryptonite and tanks are a pain, other than that I can kill you in one rotation.

 

I love when marksman snipers try and throw that gas can thing at me, as a sab slinger most of my good moves are bombs and grenades that I dont need cover for...

 

Its a great class now shut up before u get us nerfed. Its squishy if focused.

GS PvP is fun in the 1-49 bracket before Expertise comes along and rains all over the parade, but the fun tails off immensely at 50 as it always does.

My favorite spec is Sharpshooter, 33/7/1. With this spec, I have solo beat every class, even tank assassins and operatives. I have even solo beat a tank assassin and his guarded sorc healer in a 1v2. Of course, not every player is super duper good. But that does not make the Gunslinger’s potential any less.

 

My BM Sage laughs at MM Snipers, you know why? i got a Wh GS and i know all the flaws that specc has and i know what i must NOT do when fighting a MM.

 

Is a matter of knowing your enemy.

Been playing a Sniper since game launch, leveling a GS now so I can have it on both sides. best class ever

Yep Im out there wrecking people as a clicking backpeddling keyboard turner with my sab-slinger.

 

My spec is 10/31/0

 

Operatives are my kryptonite and tanks are a pain, other than that I can kill you in one rotation.

 

I love when marksman snipers try and throw that gas can thing at me, as a sab slinger most of my good moves are bombs and grenades that I dont need cover for...

 

Its a great class now shut up before u get us nerfed. Its squishy if focused.

 

That "gas can thing" also reduces your accuracy by 45%, so I wouldn't say it's completely useless. I throw it at marauders/assassins all the time.

GS PvP is fun in the 1-49 bracket before Expertise comes along and rains all over the parade, but the fun tails off immensely at 50 as it always does.

 

Yes, being new to bracket 50 sucks. But once you grind out the gear, the GS will be as good as it was in 1-49 bracket. If you are playing in a server against a lot of WH guys, then you won't feel the same as you were in 1-49 until you are on the same gear level.

My BM Sage laughs at MM Snipers, you know why? i got a Wh GS and i know all the flaws that specc has and i know what i must NOT do when fighting a MM.

 

Is a matter of knowing your enemy.

 

I rarely 1v1 in WZ, I always stick with someone. GS can do well in 1v1, but shines the most in team tactical play. The only time I did 1v1 is when I had to defend a node/door alone because the pug decided to all zerg another node/door. lol I would never solo attack a node/door with my GS like I would dare to try with my Sentinel.

 

When I do end up 1v1 with a madness sorc/balance sage, I go melee range with them. I know they like to kite around trees, because that is what I do with my sorc. lol Use flash grenade, leg shot, knockback root, and dirty kick to make them stand still for a few seconds, then use heavy hitters like flyby, aim shot, and speed shot to hit. When they are on the move, use blast whip and quick shot. I have won fights against sorcs with this unconventional strategy, the melee gunslinger strategy shocks some people.

 

If a sorc is hitting me and it is not a 1v1, then I will just move out of his LOS and keep shooting someone else that is weakened. Most of them don't overextend themselves to try to kill me, and those that do get zerg by melee teammates. lol

My main was Commando and i thought it's a cool class until i played GS. Now i can't make myself play commando again coz i just don't understand why devs didn't give the class ANYTHING useful in PVP except common shoot skills. So, it seems your lines are getting thicker coz another trooper turns into GS.

Sometimes, it's about the player and not about the class. If someone is "spec'd" a particular way, has good gear, and knows how to play to their spec very well, they will usually do pretty well.

 

It all depends on the player.

I recently rolled a gunslinger after being bored of my other classes, and I definitely agree that this class is amazing in pvp. I am only level 17 but I am very consistently able to burst down priority targets in a matter of a few GCDs.

 

I wanted to ask for some input on a spec. From what I've read and discussed with others, the 3 specs for gunslinger are all fairly balanced around each other and viable in their own right. I am currently using sharpshooter, as I really enjoy the burst that it offers, but I hear great things about DF and saboteur as well. Saboteur seems like a great character to defend objectives with their long duration AoE abilities, but I'm also told that they work much better in very organized pre-made teams than they do in simple pugs, which is the vast majority of the PvP that I do. DF is interesting to me as well, but I worry about the dot-based aspect of the class. I think that DoT classes are able to put out very nice damage numbers, but it always seems that they fall very short when it comes to the burst necessary to really eliminate those priority targets. Also, the ease with which DoTs are able to be cleansed is always such a huge detriment to the viability of the spec. That is just my experience from playing a balance shadow and seeing many other balance/madness players.

 

If anybody has some advice or any suggestions that could steer me in the right path, or perhaps counterpoints to ease my worries about specs, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading my text wall.

I recently rolled a gunslinger after being bored of my other classes, and I definitely agree that this class is amazing in pvp. I am only level 17 but I am very consistently able to burst down priority targets in a matter of a few GCDs.

 

I wanted to ask for some input on a spec. From what I've read and discussed with others, the 3 specs for gunslinger are all fairly balanced around each other and viable in their own right. I am currently using sharpshooter, as I really enjoy the burst that it offers, but I hear great things about DF and saboteur as well. Saboteur seems like a great character to defend objectives with their long duration AoE abilities, but I'm also told that they work much better in very organized pre-made teams than they do in simple pugs, which is the vast majority of the PvP that I do. DF is interesting to me as well, but I worry about the dot-based aspect of the class. I think that DoT classes are able to put out very nice damage numbers, but it always seems that they fall very short when it comes to the burst necessary to really eliminate those priority targets. Also, the ease with which DoTs are able to be cleansed is always such a huge detriment to the viability of the spec. That is just my experience from playing a balance shadow and seeing many other balance/madness players.

 

If anybody has some advice or any suggestions that could steer me in the right path, or perhaps counterpoints to ease my worries about specs, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading my text wall.

 

as long as you learn the ins and outs any of the tree's are viable. Again I swear by the sab slinger and all I do is solo or dual pug.

I love saboteur. Area denial specialist.

my little story:

 

i lvld up to 42 as a sharpshooter, in pvp mostly with only doing my class quests. it was fun. TEH DAMAGE. Coming from a wow hunter which i played years, i loved the new options of baiting people in to my burst, forcing cc into hunkerdown and what not. KICKING EM IN THE NUTS, OR KNOCKING THEM INTO OBLIVION comes to mind. Its a pleasent gameplay. Also the "passive mobility" even sharpshooters have is just so good and completly underestimated for example the unexpected "i kite u there and roll into cover A MILE AWAY from u over there". And i think that's a big point in playing a good gs next to knowing when to go in cover, when and also how to kite, how to knock enemies back behind a corner, when to tank ccs with hunkerdown, or do a flyby 'LOOK I'M AN EASY TARGET, WASTE YOUR DAMAGEZZ ON ME'-action, which i feel gunslinger can do extrodinary well, next to peeling foes off other squishy folks, even if the last 2 are important for all classes.

 

Anyways i got off track >.<, at 42 i felt like lets try the other speccs they provided me with.

 

So first i tried sab, and i loved it, i was even more of a threat. I could kill, or severely hurt an important target, but at the very least i would hinder them a very long time- all with nearly just instant casts. i could deny them areas in a whole new fashion. AAAAAND i suddenly had 2 sorts of damage and another dot and so much more energy and .... as you see i really loved it --> especially that extra UMPF from contingency charges when channeling speedshot onto a double-dotted, stunned, pre sab-charged victim standing in incendiary grenade aoe, followed by .. and so forth, so much fun! and as it often happens they then get really mad, hunting you all over the place and falling for the same, easily set up trap, hilarious, priceless. : D

 

So i thought to myself, what a wonderful wooorld - lets check the red roses too - dirty fighting.

 

I was disappointed, but i guess thats just me. DF to me is just too straight foward and too slow at that, it misses utility, seems more team dependent as in glasscannon'ish, while only bringing damage itself besides the already immense repertoire any gs offers. Also it feels clunky. Yet I do see how it can be good in hands better suited for that playstyle, but for me sadly that is not the case.

 

I am now lvl 47, FINALLY CAN WEAR DEM HATS!!1 and I am a bit worried about max level pvp as a gs, for i want to be viable and not SO MUCH of a sage, if you know what I mean..

Since my only lvl 50 is a sage(heal [dps sage seems lackluster to me]) "sad panda", and even though I can handle myself pretty well, i'd like to be more of an impact than the sage class allows me to be. Coming from that class I've had the experience of completely wrecking the <50 bracket and after gearing up at 50 "just" managing if i ain't ignored/focused a bit to much. ~~, I can see parallels in the first part so far.

 

And then when I eventually get to see a gs in a wz, they are somewhat rare, they usually play poorly, so i can't get a good picture of the capabilities. Therefore i wish this thread to continue and get more traffic as it gives me some insight.

 

 

thanks in advance

a hoping "Gunslingers are the hidden PvP god class of SWTOR." proves true

-me

 

tl;dr BUMP

Edited August 8, 2012 by nemdra

I tried Sab and Dirty Fighting also, but I didn’t like them as much as SS because:

1. Switching target to do damage is too slow. I can’t kill off the melee trains on my healer fast enough due to setup required to do damage.

2. I couldn’t fight back good assassins and operatives that try to pick me off. They both can remove all debuffs on them with an ability on short cooldown. When they wipe off all the dots and charges on them, they can dps me down before I can dps them down. In my experience, SS spec has the best chance to kill stealth when they jump on you.

 

To all players trying the GS: The GS is hard to learn. It is a very tactical class that requires a lot of thinking and battlefield awareness, both in the current fight and in the entire warzone. But once it is learned, it feels good to play even if the game was lost.

 

Yes, on single target SS is better. But I will say I have burned down every class even 1v1 but operatives probably give me the most problems. But when it comes to area damage and protecting Sab is god. I can burn 5 targets while shooting someone else. And be keeping them from being able to cap. So for me personally that's why I love it so much.

my little story: ...

 

As you go into the 50s bracket with a new character, there will be some gear gaps between you and your opponents. Overcoming the gear gaps will suck a bit regardless of class. But once you get at least full Battlemaster with full augments, I say you are good to go.

 

Playing a GS is very tactical, more so when you are out geared and playing with teams. It is not a “Dps until you die or I die” kind of class; that would be the Sentinel class. Lol I will give a scenario as example:

 

There are 2 marauders focusing your sage friend. How do you help him? Or do you help him at all? I would flash grenade and CC the marauders, then reposition myself as close to the sage as possible. When the marauders get close, I would use my AoE knockback and root them. Knights and warriors can’t leap when they are rooted. The sage friend should recover by now. Then I would focus fire the weaker marauder while continue to root the other with leg shot. I can CC one or both marauders from 6-11s depending on their spec and cooldown available.

 

I know there are many other variables that may affect the outcome, like if the marauders are being healed, or if the sage is healer spec or DPS spec, … etc. We just have to react accordingly as the situation changes. If it is just 2v2, two marauders vs. me and sage. I am pretty confident that we can win with our CC and focus fire. If I was a Sentinel, it will just end up my sage friend dying and I killed one marauder in the process and end up 1v1 with the other.

 

Personally, I like SS the best because it gives me the best control and most tactical options. There were times when I played Sab spec or DF spec, and the AoE and Dots broke the CC by friends and end up screwing them over. For example, a Jedi Guardian friend (DPS spec) was being focus by 3 melees. He used Awe to mez all 3 and then try to leap to another friend to get out. I didn’t know he was going to mez and hit the thermal grenade key almost at the same time as he hit mez, then the grenade broke the mez by the time it landed. Then my Guardian friend got stun and killed. If I didn’t use an AoE, his chance of survival would have been much higher. So when I spec SS, I don’t use AoEs at all except flyby. I can cancel flyby half way If something changes.

 

By now, you can probably tell my play style is more like a protector than like killer. Maybe because it was a habit I got from playing a tank class for a long time. Lol

 

If you like burst damage, then go for Sab. Sab has the most burst potential, but a lot of abilities have long cooldowns, which is what I don’t like. DF also feels clunky to me. SS is king for focus firing, there is no doubt about that.

I recently rolled a gunslinger after being bored of my other classes, and I definitely agree that this class is amazing in pvp. I am only level 17 but I am very consistently able to burst down priority targets in a matter of a few GCDs. ...

 

SS is best for focus firing and CC. If your team’s teamplay strategy is coordinated CC and focus firing, then go for SS. Sab and DF breaks CC with AoE and Dots, and are no good for coordinated CC.

 

Sab is AoE and has best potential to burst one target down. If you team’s teamplay strategy is outlasting the other team. Then go for this spec. AoE can help protect nodes and doors during the long battle, and you can kill a target (like an enemy healer) with all your cooldowns suddenly without much assistance from other DPS. Have a few good tanks and healers on your teams. Sab abilities have long cooldowns, so use them wisely.

 

DF is Dot ramp up to burst, and is best at killing tanks. Spec this if your team uses the anti-tank strategy, with bomb spec Guardians and Sentinels, and Assault spec Vanguards. The team strategy behind this is to blow up the tanks ASAP, and everything else crumbles easily afterwards. This strategy is best counter to the heavy tank and healer teams that try to outlast your team.

 

So in summary:

SS spec for coordinated CC and focus fire teamplay (Preferred teammates are DPS sages, Single DPS spec Guardians or Sentinels, and other SS spec GS):

- Good against Anti-tank teamplay, because everyone is squishy on the enemy team. CC and focus fire and they go down easily.

- Bad against tanks and healers outlast teamplay, because tanks are hard to CC (Guarded damage breaks mez on tanks), and can mitigate a lot of damage. They can usually outlast you with good tanks and heals.

 

Sab spec for tanks and healers outlast teamplay (Preferred teammates are multiple tanks and healers):

- Good against coordinated CC and focus fire teamplay, tanks are hard to CC (Guarded damage breaks mez on tanks), and can mitigate a lot of focus fire damage.

- Bad against Anti-tank teamplay, because the enemy team’s damage bypass defense, shield, and a lot of armor. Bomb spec Guardian and Sentinel focuses on force sweeping both the tank and the guarded target, forcing the tank to take a huge burst from sweep bomb and guarded damage combined, and their damage automatically bypass 20% armor. Assault VG’s elemental burst bypass all defense, shield, and armor. DF spec GS’s damage also bypass a lot of tanks’ mitigation.

 

DF spec for anti-tank teamplay (Preferred teammates are bomb spec Guardians and Sentinels, and Assault spec Vanguards, and other DF spec GS):

- Good against tanks and healers outlast teamplay, because most of the team’s damage bypass tanks’ mitigation and can burst down tanks with focus fire.

- Bad against coordinated CC and focus fire, because everyone is squishy on the team.

 

These team strategies are soft rock-paper-scissor, the performance of each individual on the team and coordination between teammates are more important. However, note that the anti-tank teamplay is easier to execute than coordinated CC and focus fire teamplay, with tanks and healers teamplay in the middle. That is why you see a lot of complaints about Pyrotechs and Assault VGs in the PvP forum, because they are easy to play well individually and in teams.