Marksmanship Sniper/Sharpshooter Gunslinger Compendium

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Marksmanship Sniper/Sharpshooter Gunslinger Compendium

Outdated as of April 9, 2013
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This compendium is focused on optimizing a Marksmanship Sniper or Sharpshooter Gunslinger for end-game flashpoints and operations.
For the purposes of this compendium, a Marksmanship Sniper or Sharpshooter Gunslinger is defined as any sniper whose skills include Followthrough or any gunslinger whose skills include Trickshot.

All abilities and skills referenced in this compendium are from a sniper’s perspective, although the mechanics are identical for gunslingers in nearly all cases. For a translation of terminology used by the mirrored sniper and gunslinger advanced classes, see section I.2.

Quick Answers to Common Questions:

1. How should I spec?
2. Which stats do I want?
3. What's the rotation?

Contents
I.1.	Abbreviations
I.2.	Mirrored Terminology
II.1.	Abilities
II.2.	Skills
II.3.	Rotation/Priority
III.1.	Stats
III.2.	Gear
III.3.	Consumables & Relics
IV.	Resources

I. Abbreviations and Terminology

I.1. Abbreviations

I.1.1. General Abbreviations

Abbreviation	Definition
AoE	Area of Effect
BiS	Best in Slot
CC	Crowd Control
DoT	Damage over Time
DPCT	Damage per Cast Time
DPE	Damage per Energy
DPS	Damage per Second
DR	Diminishing Returns
Eng	Engineering
GCD	Global Cooldown
IA	Imperial Agent
Leth	Lethality
MM	Marksmanship
Ops	Operations
PvE	Player versus Environment
s	Seconds

I.1.2. Ability and Skill Abbreviations

Abbreviation	Definition
AP	Adrenaline Probe
CB	Cluster Bombs
CD	Corrosive Dart
EP	Explosive Probe
FT	Followthrough
IP	Interrogation Probe
LT	Laze Target
OS	Orbital Strike
RF	Rapid Fire
RS	Reactive Shot
SoS	Series of Shots
SN	Sniper’s Nest
SS	Snap Shot
SV	Sniper Volley
TA	Target Acquired
TD	Takedown

I.2. Mirrored Terminology

This compendium uses sniper ability and skill names.

Reference the Smuggler/Imperial Agent Terminology Mirror Dictionary for a complete translation list from sniper to gunslinger terminology and vice versa.


II. Skills, Abilities, and Mechanics

II.1. Abilities

II.1.1. Attacks

Followthrough
Followthrough
Imperial Agent (Sniper)

Energy: -10
Range: 30m
Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 9 secs
Damage Type: Weapon
Mirror: Trickshot

Fires a well-controlled follow-up shot at the target that deals (LvlRankDmgAmnt * 0.227 + WeaponDamage * 2.27) weapon damage. Only usable within the 4.5 seconds immediately following a Snipe or Ambush.

– RANGED attack, ENERGY damage – This is our defining ability as MM snipers. FT’s DPE is extremely good, making it one of our highest-priority abilities for sustained single-target DPS. We should generally strive to use FT as often as its cooldown allows.

Ambush
Ambush
Imperial Agent (Sniper)

Energy: -15
Range: 30m
Activation time: 2.5 secs
Cooldown: 15 secs
Damage Type: Weapon
Mirror: Aimed Shot

Fires a high-powered shot that deals (LvlRankDmgAmnt * 0.329 WeaponDamage * 3.29) weapon damage. Must be in cover to use.

– RANGED attack, ENERGY damage – This is our hardest-hitting single attack. Although its cooldown is 15s (or 12s with 3/3 skill points in Rapid Fire in the MM tree), the cooldown doesn’t start until after the activation time is finished, giving Ambush an effective cooldown of 17.5s (or 14.5s) before skills or effects that reduce its activation time. Ambush gains a bonus 20% armor penetration through the skill Precision Ambush.

Snipe
Snipe
Imperial Agent

Energy: -20
Range: 30m
Activation time: 1.5 secs
Damage Type: Weapon
Mirror: Charged Burst

Shoots a target for [?] weapon damage. Can only be used from cover.

– RANGED attack, ENERGY damage – Snipe is one of our lowest-DPE abilities, but required for regular use of FT. Using Ambush at every opportunity is enough to allow one out of every three FTs, but Snipe is needed for the other two out of three. We should only use Snipe as a filler ability if there are no other available options.

Takedown
Takedown
Imperial Agent (Sniper)

Energy: -15
Range: 30m
Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 12 secs
Damage Type: Weapon
Mirror: Quickdraw

Attempts to take the target down with a single powerful shot that deals (LvlRankDmgAmnt * 0.27 WeaponDamage * 2.7) weapon damage. Only usable on targets at or below 30% max health.

– RANGED attack, ENERGY damage – Our “execute” ability is only usable on targets under 30% health. Its DPE is below that of Ambush and SoS, unless we have the 4-piece Field Tech PvE set bonus, which pushes it well above both. As of Patch 1.4, it also works like Snipe or Ambush, opening up a 5-second usage window for Followthrough.

Series of Shots
Series of Shots
Imperial Agent (Sniper)

Energy: -20
Range: 30m
Channel time: 3.0 secs
Cooldown: 15 secs
Damage Type: Weapon
Mirror: Speed Shot

Unleashes a series of shots that deals ((LvlRankDmgAmnt * 0.098 WeaponDamage * 0.98) * 4) weapon damage over the duration. Must be in cover to use.

– RANGED attack, ENERGY damage – SoS deals 4 hits over 3 seconds, and each hit can crit and trigger Reactive Shot, so using SoS within 10 seconds before Ambush virtually guarantees a RS proc for Ambush.

Orbital Strike
Orbital Strike
Imperial Agent

Energy: -30
Range: 30m
Activation time: 3.0 secs
Cooldown: 60 secs
Damage Type: Elemental
Mirror: XS Freighter Flyby

Calls in support from orbiting warships, dealing ((LvlRankDmgAmnt * 0.177 SpellPower * 1.77) * 3) elemental damage over 9 seconds to all enemies within 8 meters of the targeted area. Standard and weak enemies are additionally knocked down by the blasts.

– TECH attack, ELEMENTAL damage – This 1-minute cooldown (45 seconds with the skill Pillbox Sniper) AoE ability hits hard enough to be used even on single-target fights, assuming the target remains within OS’s AoE. Of course, if there’s a phase that spawns adds that need to die, save OS for that.

Explosive Probe
Explosive Probe
Imperial Agent

Energy: -20
Range: 30m
Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 30 secs
Damage Type: Kinetic
Mirror: Sabotage Charge

Puts an explosive probe on the target that detonates when the target takes damage, dealing [?] kinetic damage to the target. Standard and weak targets are additionally knocked down and set on fire, dealing [?] additional elemental damage over 3 seconds. Can only be used from cover.

– TECH attack, KINETIC damage – For pure MM snipers, EP is simply a medium-DPE filler ability that should only be used if energy would cap otherwise; however for the MM/Eng hybrid sniper, EP is extremely efficient and worth using at every opportunity.

Corrosive Dart
Corrosive Dart
Imperial Agent

Energy: -20
Range: 30m
Activation time: Instant
Damage Type: Internal
Mirror: Vital Shot

Fires a dart at the target that deals [?] internal damage over 15 seconds.

– TECH attack, INTERNAL damage – This DoT deals internal damage, so it ignores armor. MM snipers shouldn’t aim to keep this up 100%, but it can be used this as a filler over EP. Additionally, CD is instant and doesn’t require cover, so it makes a good filler while repositioning.

Interrogation Probe
Interrogation Probe
Imperial Agent (Sniper)

Energy: -20
Range: 30m
Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 18 secs
Damage Type: Energy
Mirror: Shock Charge

Summons an interrogation probe that clings to the target and deals ((LvlRankDmgAmnt * 0.055 + SpellPower * 0.55) * 7) energy damage over 18 seconds.

– TECH attack, ENERGY damage – Only reachable in a MM/Eng hybrid build, this DoT is mitigated by armor but still hits harder than Corrosive Dart. We prioritize it over CD but below several other abilities, so IP may not always be used precisely on cooldown.

Rifle Shot
Rifle Shot
Imperial Agent

Range: 30m
Activation time: Instant
Damage Type: Weapon

Fires 2 quick shots, dealing [?] weapon damage.

– BASIC RANGED attack, ENERGY damage – This ability deals very little damage but is useful because it costs no energy. When using an energy-cost ability would drop us below 60% energy, we should use Rifle Shot instead.

Fragmentation Grenade
Fragmentation Grenade
Imperial Agent

Energy: -20
Range: 30m
Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 6 secs
Damage Type: Kinetic
Mirror: Thermal Grenade

Throws a fragmentation grenade that deals [?] kinetic damage to up to 5 enemies in an 8-meter radius. If the primary target is standard or weak, it is knocked down by the blast.

– TECH attack, KINETIC damage – Frag Grenade should be used as our primary AoE (when OS is on cooldown). Its numerous advantages over Suppressive Fire include its instantaneity and higher DPE.

Suppressive Fire
Suppressive Fire
Imperial Agent (Sniper)

Energy: -35
Range: 30m
Channel time: 4.0 secs
Damage Type: Weapon
Mirror: Sweeping Gunfire

Sprays a wave of bolts over the target area, dealing ((LvlRankDmgAmnt * 0.0277 WeaponDamage * 0.277) * 9) weapon damage over the duration to up to 3 targets within 5 meters.

– RANGED attack, ENERGY damage – SF’s DPE doesn’t compete with Fragmentation Grenade if there are 4 or more targets or if the targets are moving, and requires standing still for the full 4.5-second channel to deliver all of its damage. For these reasons, we should generally prioritize Fragmentation Grenade over Suppressive Fire; however, it’s wise to keep in mind the occasions when a SF could be useful.

Overload Shot
Overload Shot
Imperial Agent

Energy: -17
Range: 10m
Activation time: Instant
Damage Type: Weapon
Mirror: Quick Shot

Blasts a target for [?] weapon damage.

– RANGED attack, ENERGY damage – This ability is weak and very rarely useful. Its strength is allowing mobility, but IP, CD, or dropping momentarily into cover for an EP or SS Snipe are all better filler options when movement is required.

Headshot
Headshot
Smuggler

Range: 30m
Activation time: Instant
Damage Type: Weapon

Fires a carefully placed shot that deals [<1>] weapon damage to weak and standard targets, and [<2>] weapon damage to strong targets. Only usable on incapacitated targets. Shares a cooldown with Cheap Shot. Fires both blasters if dual wielding.

– RANGED attack, ENERGY damage – Usable only on “incapacitated” targets, this will not generally be usable against bosses. If there are adds which can be stunned or knocked down, though, this gets high priority because it costs no energy. It has a 45-second cooldown, but it’s difficult to complain about a hard-hitting free attack.

II.1.2. Group Utility Abilities

Ballistic Shield
Ballistic Shield
Imperial Agent (Sniper)

Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 180 secs
Mirror: Scrambling Field

Deploys a ballistic shield that spans 10 meters around you, reducing the damage taken by all allies that remain inside by 20%. Lasts 15 seconds. Can only be used from cover, and exiting cover ends the effect.

– This defensive cooldown reduces damage to all ops members who stand within it. Coordinate each fight with the ops leader about when to use this very powerful ability.

Distraction
Distraction
Smuggler

Activation time: Instant



– Being able to reliably interrupt important fight mechanics is a valuable ability to have in an ops or flashpoint group. We should bind Distraction to a key we can strike quickly on demand.

Debilitate
Debilitate
Imperial Agent

Energy: -10
Range: Melee (4m)
Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 45 secs
Damage Type: Energy
Mirror: Dirty Kick

Does [?] energy damage and stuns the target for 4 seconds.

– When Distraction is on cooldown, Debilitate can be used as an alternative interrupt. Bosses are immune, and this ability requires melee range, but it could be effective against an add. It can also be used defensively to reduce incoming damage by stunning an add, giving its target 4 seconds of reprieve.

Flash Bang
Flash Bang
Imperial Agent

Energy: -10
Range: 10m
Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 60 secs
Mirror: Flash Grenade

Detonates a flash bang that blinds up to 5 targets within 5 meters for 8 seconds. Damage causes this effect to end prematurely.

– Also ineffective against bosses, Flash Bang can be a useful kiting or damage-reduction tool against adds. Because there is a delay between when we throw it to when it hits the target, only abilities with long activation times can be reliably interrupted by this ability.

Cover Pulse
Cover Pulse
Imperial Agent (Sniper)

Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 30 secs
Mirror: Pulse Detonator

Detonates an emergency charge that knocks all nearby targets back several meters and immobilizes them for 5 seconds. Damage dealt after 2 seconds ends the effect prematurely. Only usable in cover.

– Bosses are typically immune to knockbacks (although at least one flashpoint boss actually requires them), and care should be taken not to scatter adds or otherwise make it more difficult for a tank to maintain aggro on them. Occasionally, a well-placed Cover Pulse can beneficially reposition a target (or even serve as an alternate interrupt), but this will generally not be a commonly-used ability in group PvE.

Countermeasures
Countermeasures
Imperial Agent

Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 45 secs
Mirror: Surrender

Activates countermeasures, instantly lowering threat by a moderate amount.

– As MM snipers, we have very strong burst, so we should make a habit of using this ability during or shortly after our opening salvo to avoid pulling aggro from the tank. Even if we don’t always need it, it doesn’t hurt to use anyway because it doesn’t cost anything.

Diversion
Diversion
Smuggler (Gunslinger)

Range: 35m
Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 60 secs
Mirror: Diversion

Throws a smoking canister at the target, reducing its accuracy by 45% for 9 seconds and exposing the target from cover for 6 seconds.

– An extremely powerful defensive ability that must be specced into, this cannot be used against bosses. It can, however, be used as a sort of soft CC to greatly reduce incoming melee or ranged damage from a hard-hitting add. Coordinate with the ops leader about whether this could be useful, such as when a non-tank is tasked with temporarily holding the attention of an add.

Leg Shot
Leg Shot
Imperial Agent (Sniper)

Energy: -12
Range: 30m
Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 15 secs
Damage Type: Weapon
Mirror: Leg Shot

Fires a shot that deals (LvlRankDmgAmnt * 0.08 + WeaponDamage * 0.86) - (LvlRankDmgAmnt * 0.1 + WeaponDamage * 0.86) weapon damage and immobilizes the target for 5 seconds. Damage dealt after 2 seconds ends the effect prematurely.

– Occasionally, a hard-hitting melee add can be rooted to buy survival or taunting time for a tank. We should consider that healers will still be generating aggro on that target even if there’s nobody attacking it yet.

Shatter Shot
Shatter Shot
Imperial Agent (Sniper)

Energy: -10
Range: 30m
Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 5 secs
Damage Type: Weapon
Mirror: Flourish Shot

Fires a high-impact shot that deals [?] weapon damage and reduces the target's armor by 20% for 45 seconds.

– Reducing the boss’s (or other target’s) armor increases the damage it takes from the entire ops group’s kinetic and energy damage-dealing abilities. Because other similar effects from other classes take time to stack up, we should use our Shatter Shot at the beginning of an encounter. Note that its effect does not stack with other armor-reducing debuffs. If there is a friendly juggernaut or arsenal mercenary in the group (guardian and gunnery commando are the republic mirrors, respectively), then the armor debuff will generally be maintained by those classes’ normal rotation. If not, then it’s up to one of the snipers to reapply Shatter Shot every 45 seconds. Shatter Shot also applies the trauma debuff, reducing healing received by the target by 20% for 9 seconds. While this is extremely useful in PvP, it could also be useful in a flashpoint or operation encounter in which a boss receives healing during the fight.

Slice Droid
Slice Droid
Smuggler

Range: 30m
Activation time: 2.0 secs

Hacks a droid, incapacitating it for 60 seconds. Damage causes this effect to end prematurely. Only one droid can be sliced at a time.


– Although this is not effective against all types of target, its lack of cooldown or out-of-combat requirement makes this a fantastic CC against non-boss droids. Coordinate with the ops leader about when the CC of a droid might be helpful.

II.1.3. Other Abilities

Adrenaline Probe
Adrenaline Probe
Imperial Agent

Energy: +50
Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 120 secs
Mirror: Cool Head



– The optimal use of this ability is to use it as soon as its energy return will not cause you to cap energy. By proactively bursting with an energy-negative ability sequence just before AP’s cooldown is finished, we can use AP again immediately off cooldown to maximize the number of uses per encounter. However, we should plan around periods during which we will be unable to attack to avoid using AP for unneeded energy regeneration.

Shield Probe
Shield Probe
Imperial Agent

Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 45 secs
Mirror: Defense Screen

Summons a probe droid that projects a shield around the Agent, absorbing a moderate amount of incoming damage for 15 seconds. Does not break stealth.

– During periods of unavoidable damage, this ability should be used as often as possible to reduce our damage taken. This ability does scale with our “bonus healing” (which factors in power and tech power, but not cunning), so its optimal use is during a temporary boost to power, such as from a relic or adrenal.

Evasion
Evasion
Imperial Agent

Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 60 secs
Mirror: Dodge

Increases your chance to dodge melee and ranged attacks by 100% for 3 seconds. Does not break Stealth.

– This increases our defense chance by 100%, to a total of 105% (or 125% for ranged attacks if we are in cover). Note that force and tech attacks ignore defense, so this is ineffective at avoiding those types of incoming attacks, which includes most AoE effects. Occasions in which we are attacked by a melee or ranged attacker should be rare, but in those cases this ability can be life-saving.

Sniper Volley – This skill is only reachable by a pure MM build. It provides 50% increased energy regeneration and 10% increased alacrity for 10 seconds. The increased energy regeneration is multiplicative with the energy regeneration from Sniper’s Nest and with base energy regeneration, which depends on our current energy level, so SV should be used at a time when the following SoS will put us as close to 60% energy as possible to avoid capping at 100% energy. Because SV resets the cooldown of SoS, its optimal use comes directly after a SoS finishes channeling, allowing another SoS to follow immediately. This special SV sequence {SoS – SV – SoS – Snipe – FT – OS} should be the only time we significantly delay the cooldown of FT, and since SoS is channeled and OS has a long activation time, this sequence receives a substantially higher benefit from alacrity than any other sequence we perform.

Target Acquired
Target Acquired
Imperial Agent (Sniper)

Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 120 secs
Mirror: Illegal Mods

Increases alacrity by 20% for 10 seconds.

– The 30% accuracy granted by TA should not make a large difference in damage against operation bosses, assuming we are at the accuracy soft-cap of 110% special accuracy; however, it will still remove the chance of Rifle Shot being dodged by the boss. Additionally, gunslingers’ off-hand attacks will nearly always hit, resulting in a much more noticeable DPS increase during TA. The 15% armor penetration which is also granted by TA will increase our energy and kinetic damage by approximately 10%, assuming Shatter Shot or an equivalent armor debuff is already applied. (The damage increase will be less if there’s no armor debuff up, so we should be sure to refresh it before using TA if it will fall off during the next 10 seconds.) The only difference TA makes in our rotation is that as pure MM, we should prioritize EP over CD while TA is active.

Laze Target
Laze Target
Imperial Agent (Sniper)

Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 60 secs
Mirror: Smuggler's Luck

Increases the critical hit chance of your next Snipe by 100%.

– This 100% crit chance only applies to Snipe, but we should still use LT immediately off cooldown even if Snipe is not our next planned ability. The effect lasts 20 seconds and there will never be a period of 20 seconds in which we do not use Snipe (outside of very unique fight mechanics), so immediately getting this ability back on cooldown allows the maximum number of uses over the course of a fight.

Entrench
Entrench
Imperial Agent (Sniper)

Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 60 secs
Mirror: Hunker Down

Entrenches you into cover, becoming immune to all controlling effects. Only usable in cover. Ends prematurely if cover is exited. Lasts 20 seconds.

– Most boss fight mechanics ignore this CC immunity, but we should still experiment with new mechanics to test whether this ability is effective against them. Pure MM snipers can spec into Siege Bunker in the 6th tier of the MM tree, which reduces damage taken from AoE effects by 60% while Entrench is active.

Escape
Escape
Smuggler

Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 120 secs

Breaks you free from all incapacitating and movement-impairing effects.

– This will remove all CC effects as often as every 2 minutes. Escape doesn’t work against all fight mechanics, but it does work against some. It generally doesn’t hurt to experiment to see if it works against new mechanics, since it doesn’t cost anything to use other than its own cooldown. Many fight mechanics occur more frequently than every 2 minutes, so in those cases a strategy should be developed regarding when to use Escape and when to save it.

II.2. Skills
II.2.1. Optimized Skill Builds

The following two builds have been optimized for maximum DPS. Which performs better for each sniper could very well depend on stats, on the mechanics of each fight, and on the intuitiveness of the rotations for each individual player. Simulations suggest that the pure MM spec is capable of higher stand-still DPS; however, the MM/Eng hybrid spec may perform better in fights with large amounts of unavoidable or unpredictable movement.

Pure MM: 31/7/3
This spec takes all the DPS-boosting skills in the MM tree, and spends the remaining points on incremental increases low in the Eng and Leth trees. With consistent and solid sustained DPS, a pure marksman is the quintessential sniper. Pure MM relies heavily on being in cover as much as possible, both for maximum energy regeneration and because of our relatively few attacks that are available for use out-of-cover.




MM/Eng Hybrid: 25/16/0
This spec forgoes Sniper Volley and Imperial Assassin from the top of the MM tree to reach into Eng for Cluster Bombs and Interrogation Probe. With superior burst damage and an additional out-of-cover ability, the combination marksman-engineer has a solution for every situation. Because MM/Eng has access to Cluster Bombs with Imperial Methodology, more of our energy can be generated independently from Sniper's Nest; therefore, we are less affected if we must leave cover.

II.2.2. Specific Skill Notes

Marksmanship

Tier	Skill	Importance
1	Cover Screen	Optional
1	Steady Shots	Essential
1	Marksmanship	Important
2	Heavy Shot	Not Important
2	Ballistic Dampers	Essential
2	Precision Ambush	Essential
2	Imperial Demarcation	Optional
3	Snap Shot	Essential
3	Diversion	Optional
3	Reactive Shot	Essential
4	Between the Eyes	Essential
4	Sector Ranger	Important
4	Rapid Fire	Essential (pure MM)
4	Sniper's Nest	Essential
5	Recoil Control	Essential
5	Followthrough	Essential
5	Pillbox Sniper	Important
6	Imperial Assassin	Essential (pure MM)
6	Siege Bunker	Optional
7	Sniper Volley	Essential (pure MM)

(T1) Cover Screen – This is a defensive skill that triggers when we leave cover. We spend most of our time in cover, and most attacks we take in operations are not subject to defense, but some are.
(T1) Steady Shots – Improves the damage of two of our most frequently used abilities by 6%. Not very interesting, but still beneficial to DPS.
(T1) Marksmanship – Bosses have a 10% defense chance, so this skill goes a decent way toward reaching that accuracy goal. These percentage points of accuracy are also not subject to diminishing returns, increasing the relative value of accuracy rating we get on gear.
(T2) Heavy Shot – Primarily a PvP and soloing skill. Knocking back a target in group PvE generally reduces the tank’s effectiveness at holding aggro and reducing incoming damage, so having a knockback tied to one of our essential abilities could cause unwanted effects.
(T2) Ballistic Dampers – Defensive skill. When incoming damage is expected, jumping out and back into cover can greatly reduce the damage we take. Since there are few DPS skills in the first two tiers of the MM tree, this is one of the best places to put filler points.
(T2) Precision Ambush – Gives +20% armor penetration to Ambush, which is one of our hardest-hitting and most energy-efficient abilities. This stacks with Shatter Shot or other similar armor debuffs.
(T2) Imperial Demarcation – Reduces the cooldown of Leg Shot. Not generally very useful for group PvE since bosses are immune to CC. This could possibly be taken over another defensive skill early in the MM tree if there is a situation in which kiting a non-immune add is required.
(T3) Snap Shot – Excellent for maintaining a rotation while repositioning, but doesn't improve our stand-still DPS at all due to the 1.5s GCD on instant abilities.
(T3) Diversion – Very useful for reducing damage from a single target for up to 9 seconds. This is not usable against operations bosses, but could be helpful against hard-hitting adds in some situations.
(T3) Reactive Shot – When this procs from a Snipe or SoS crit, Ambush’s DPCT is nearly doubled. This is very beneficial for both sustained and burst damage.
(T4) Between the Eyes – A simple DPS gain. Also slightly increases the reliability of Reactive Shot procs.
(T4) Sector Ranger – This is strong for single-target rotations which include Orbital Strike, and nearly essential for burst AoE phases.
(T4) Rapid Fire – As of patch 1.3, RF passively reduces the cooldown of SoS and Ambush by 1 second per point. This is much more important for pure MM than for MM/Eng because pure MM will also take the skill Imperial Assassin, increasing SoS’s average damage considerably. In contrast, MM/Eng will have access to IP, which serves as an additional high-DPE filler ability to use when SoS is on cooldown. Ambush’s cooldown reduction is less useful because its cooldown also includes its activation time and therefore doesn’t align with FT’s 6-second cooldown, so Ambush will still only be used an average of every 18 seconds. With 3/3 points in this skill, pure MM will not always couple SoS with Ambush during an optimal sustained rotation.
(T4) Sniper's Nest – Energy regeneration is a heavily limiting factor to our DPS, so increasing it allows more frequent use of higher-damage abilities. We aim to spend as much time in cover as possible, so this skill is nearly universally beneficial to all MM snipers. See section II.3.1.A for more information about how this skill increases our DPS.
(T5) Recoil Control – Vastly increases the DPE of Followthrough. This skill is essential.
(T5) Followthrough – Our most important ability for sustained damage due to its excellent energy efficiency. If you are MM, you take this skill.
(T5) Pillbox Sniper – Entrench is ineffective against most boss fight mechanics, so the value of this skill is primarily based on the cooldown reduction of Orbital Strike. It can be a DPS gain if we can manage enough time and energy to use OS more than once a minute, although that possibility will depend on the mechanics of each individual fight. If Siege Bunker (tier 6 of the MM tree) is taken, this skill can help us benefit from that more often.
(T6) Imperial Assassin – Boosts three of our most efficient abilities. Essential if we are going for Sniper Volley, but must be sacrificed if we want to use a hybrid build.
(T6) Siege Bunker – Reduces AoE damage taken by 60% while Entrench is active. For fights that have significant unavoidable AoE incoming, this will be essential for survivability. If AoE is avoidable, however, then it’s still best to just move out of it and use the Snap Shot skill to maintain the rotation.
(T7) Sniper Volley – This skill provides 10 seconds of 50% increased energy regeneration and 10% increased alacrity, and additionally resets the cooldown on Series of Shots. This is a strong ability on a 45-second cooldown; however, it must be used at the right time in order to supply its full benefits. See section II.1.3 for details about its optimal use.

Engineering

Tier	Skill	Importance
1	Engineer's Tool Belt	Optional
1	Energy Tanks	Important
1	Gearhead	Essential
2	Explosive Engineering	Important
2	Vital Regulators	Not Important
2	Stroke of Genius	Not Important
2	Vitality Serum	Optional
3	Cluster Bombs	Essential (MM/Eng Hybrid)
3	Efficient Engineering	Important
3	Interrogation Probe	Essential (MM/Eng Hybrid)
3	Inventive Interrogation Techniques	Not Important
4	Imperial Methodology	Essential (MM/Eng Hybrid)
4	Calculated Pursuit	Not Important
4	Experimental Explosives	Not Important

(T1) Engineer's Tool Belt – Reduces the CD of Fragmentation Grenade, which allows Suppressive Fire to be completely ignored in most situations, increasing our sustained AoE DPS and greatly increasing our burst AoE DPS.
(T1) Energy Tanks – Increases maximum energy to 110 and the range of the highest energy regeneration bracket to 66-110. Beneficial for sustained DPS and very beneficial for burst DPS.
(T1) Gearhead – Increases cunning, which is simply a benefit to DPS.
(T2) Explosive Engineering – Increases AoE damage (including Orbital Strike) as well as the damage done by Explosive Probe. Clearly the strongest T2 Engineering skill.
(T2) Vital Regulators – A very small heal attached to an ability that we shouldn’t wait to use reactively. There are better choices for filler points.
(T2) Stroke of Genius – In group PvE play, Cover Pulse is a very situational ability, making this skill only rarely usable and even more rarely actually useful.
(T2) Vitality Serum – A very slight increase to survivability. No benefit to DPS.
(T3) Cluster Bombs – A powerful increase to Explosive Probe’s damage. Essential for MM/Eng hybrid builds.
(T3) Efficient Engineering – Increases the DPE of Explosive Probe and Interrogation Probe. Very good synergy with several of the other skills in the 1st – 4th tiers of Engineering.
(T3) Interrogation Probe - A strong DoT with a high DPE, increased by Efficient Engineering. Note that it deals energy damage, which is mitigated by armor.
(T3) Inventive Interrogation Techniques – Adds a slowing effect to Interrogation Probe. Bosses are immune, but this skill could be useful in some situations where an add needs to be kited.
(T4) Imperial Methodology – This is perhaps the strongest skill in the Engineering tree that is reachable by MM snipers. This turns a good burst ability in Explosive Probe into an excellent sustained DPS ability as well by doubling the number of cluster bombs applied by EP and causing each CB detonation to return 5 energy.
(T4) Calculated Pursuit – This skill allows Overload Shot to cost no energy for 6 seconds after leaving cover. The effect has a 20-second internal cooldown. With the skill Sniper’s Nest, it’s best to remain in cover as much as possible, but when we must leave cover, the internal cooldown on this ability makes it impossible to depend on. Even if we could make full use of it, the small difference in damage of Overload Shot over Rifle Shot, coupled with the fact that it could only be available for an average of one out of every three Rifle Shots, makes this skill a poor return on skill point investment.
(T4) Experimental Explosives – This is a strong skill for AoE, but there are alternatives that are strong in more situations.

Lethality

Tier	Skill	Importance
1	Deadly Directive	Optional
1	Lethality	Important
1	Razor Edge	Not Important
2	Slip Away	Not Important
2	Flash Powder	Not Important
2	Corrosive Microbes	Not Important
2	Lethal Injectors	Not Important

(T1) Deadly Directive – Increases alacrity by 4%. Alacrity is a poor stat for us, so this skill won't be one of our best.
(T1) Lethality – The +3% critical chance applies to all of our attacks, and makes this a pretty good DPS skill. Any points we have left from other trees should go here.
(T1) Razor Edge – Shiv’s DPE is quite low and its use requires melee range. Not a strong skill for Snipers.
(T2) Slip Away – Could be handy in some specific situations, but there are DPS-increasing skills that are better spots for these points.
(T2) Flash Powder – Bosses are immune to Flash Bang, so this fairly weak defensive skill is largely useless in group PvE.
(T2) Corrosive Microbes – MM snipers’ Corrosive Dart isn’t potent enough for this to be worth reaching into the second tier.
(T2) Lethal Injectors – This is a decent increase to Corrosive Dart’s overall damage, but CD doesn’t get boosted enough by other MM mechanics to make this skill worth reaching into the second tier.


II.3. Rotation/Priority

II.3.1. General Strategy

Sniper damage is limited by our energy. To maximize our damage over any period of time, we have two objectives:

A. Use as much energy as we can.
This means our energy should start at full, finish at empty, and regenerate as much as possible in between. Over long fights, starting and ending energy levels make a much smaller difference than total energy regenerated.
Energy regeneration rate is based on current energy, and is divided into four brackets. The Sniper’s Nest skill in the MM tree increases energy regeneration while in cover (although it does not function exactly as the tooltip states).

Energy Level	Regen Rate	Sniper’s Nest	Sniper Volley	Both SN and SV
Less than 20%	2.0 EPS	2.4 EPS	3.0 EPS	3.6 EPS
At least 20%	3.0 EPS	3.6 EPS	4.5 EPS	5.4 EPS
At least 60%	5.0 EPS	6.0 EPS	7.5 EPS	9.0 EPS
Capped (100%)	0.0 EPS	0.0 EPS	0.0 EPS	0.0 EPS

Any time spent outside of the maximum-regen bracket, whether below 60% energy or capped at 100%, translates into lower energy regeneration.

Adrenaline Probe returns 50 energy as frequently as every 2 minutes. Sacrificing a small amount of energy regeneration by dropping briefly into a lower energy bracket immediately before using Adrenaline Probe can prevent capping energy (and therefore losing much more potential regen). The optimum use of AP is immediately following an activation-time ability which drops energy into the lower bracket, such as in the following example sequence:

Snipe – AP

This minimizes time spent in the lower bracket while still allowing room under the cap to utilize AP’s full effect.

B. Convert energy into damage at the highest possible rate.
Over extended fights, where energy availability is the primary limiting factor for ability usage, prioritizing abilities and ability sequences with highest DPE allows for maximum overall damage (assuming we are using all available energy). Although the damage done by each ability depends on each sniper’s specific stats and other variables, the following ranking of abilities by DPE should be mostly accurate for all MM snipers. Note that the 4-piece Rakata Field Tech set bonus vastly increases the DPE of Takedown, moving it much higher in the priority. Also, For MM/Eng hybrid values, the damage and energy return from Cluster Bombs and Imperial Methodology are included as part of Explosive Probe.

Single-Target DPE Ranking


Pure MM	MM/Eng Hybrid
1. Followthrough	1. Explosive Probe
2. Takedown (with Rakata set bonus)	2. Followthrough
3. Ambush	3. Takedown (with Rakata set bonus)
4. Series of Shots	4. Ambush
5. Orbital Strike	5. Series of Shots
6. Takedown (without Rakata set bonus)	6. Orbital Strike
7. Corrosive Dart	7. Interrogation Probe
8. Explosive Probe	8. Takedown (without Rakata set bonus)
9. Snipe	9. Corrosive Dart
10. Overload Shot	10. Snipe
11. Fragmentation Grenade	11. Overload Shot
12. Suppressive Fire	12. Fragmentation Grenade
13. Shatter Shot	13. Suppressive Fire
	14. Shatter Shot

For some fight mechanics, burst DPS is also important – fight mechanics such as switching to important adds or periods of line-of-sight interruption. For these situations, time becomes our DPS limiter moreso than energy, so prioritizing abilities with highest DPCT provides the most powerful burst in between periods of inactivity to regenerate energy. Note that some of the high-DPCT abilities are DoT effects, which can lose value if the target dies or becomes invulnerable before the end of the DoT’s duration.

Single-Target DPCT Ranking


Pure MM	MM/Eng Hybrid
1. Orbital Strike	1. Orbital Strike
2. Ambush (with RS proc)	2. Explosive Probe
3. Takedown	3. Ambush (with RS proc)
4. Followthrough	4. Interrogation Probe
5. Corrosive Dart	5. Takedown
6. Explosive Probe	6. Corrosive Dart
7. Series of Shots	7. Followthrough
8. Ambush	8. Ambush
9. Snipe	9. Series of Shots
10. Fragmentation Grenade	10. Snipe
11. Overload Shot	11. Fragmentation Grenade
12. Suppressive Fire	12. Overload Shot
13. Rifle Shot	13. Suppressive Fire
14. Shatter Shot	14. Rifle Shot
	15. Shatter Shot

II.3.2. Synergistic Ability Sequences

Snipe – FT
This is the defining sequence for MM snipers. Followthrough has such a high DPE (nearly double that of Ambush and SoS) that we should aim to use it every time it comes off cooldown. In order to allow that, Snipe (or Takedown or Ambush when available) must be used at least once every 6s.

SoS – Ambush
Because Series of Shots hits four times over its duration, it will very often proc Reactive Shot, which in turn reduces the activation time of the subsequent Ambush. Since the RS effect lasts 10 seconds, a Snipe used during a previous sequence can increase the proc chance of RS even further. With a 40% crit chance on Snipe and SoS, this sequence (including the previous Snipe) will proc RS approximately 92% of the time. Note that as pure MM, we will not always use SoS immediately before an Ambush, but because of the 12-second cooldown on SoS (due to 3/3 in the RF skill), SoS will always be used within the 10 seconds preceding an Ambush.

SoS – SV – SoS – Snipe – FT – OS
The sequence is only available to pure MM snipers. The optimal benefit from SV occurs when it is used just after a SoS, finishing its remaining cooldown and allowing another SoS immediately following. This sequence delays FT by approximately 2.5s beyond its cooldown. Also note that SV’s cooldown lines up with OS’s. Because the alacrity effect from SV will reduce the delay caused by OS’s long activation time, this is the optimal time to use OS as part of the normal single-target rotation. The Snipe in this sequence should be replaced by Ambush or Takedown whenever possible.

II.3.3. Sustained Damage Rotation

Using sequences that take advantage of synergy between abilities, and filling the remaining time with high-DPE filler abilities (indicated as ‘X’ below), the following rotation emerges:
MM/Eng:

SoS – Ambush – FT – X – X – Snipe – FT – X – X – Snipe – FT

Pure MM:

SoS – Ambush – FT – X – X – Snipe – FT –
SoS – Snipe – FT – X – X – Ambush – FT –
SoS – Snipe – FT – X – X – Snipe – FT

Note 1: As Pure MM we will use SoS more frequently than as MM/Eng (3 per 36s vs. 2 per 36s) by using fewer filler abilities (6 per 36s vs. 8 per 36s). This means pure MM requires standing still slightly more often than does MM/Eng.
Note 2: We should use Ambush even when Reactive Shot does not proc. Its damage advantage over Snipe justifies even a 2.5-second activation time. (See this post for more information.)
Note 3: When the target is below 30% health, Takedown should be used in place of Snipe when its cooldown allows.

Common filler abilities include: Shatter Shot, OS, TD, EP, CD, IP (for MM/Eng hybrid), and Rifle Shot. We should prioritize these based on DPE, with the following considerations:

• Shatter Shot is a useful debuff to keep active on the target, especially in group play. See section II.1.2 for considerations for optimal use of Shatter Shot.
• DoT abilities which are still active should generally not be overwritten. The only DoT MM snipers have with a duration longer than its cooldown is CD, so if it is already active, other fillers such as Explosive Probe or even Snipe should be used instead.
• Rifle Shot should be used to ensure that we stay above 60% energy. Keeping an eye on upcoming fight events and on which abilities will be coming up next in our rotation will allow us to use Rifle Shot as needed.

Pure MM snipers should aim to deviate from this rotation only for the special Sniper Volley sequence.

MM/Eng hybrid snipers also have only one deviation: prioritize Explosive Probe above the standard rotation. In this spec, EP does such high damage for so little energy that losing out on a use over the course of a fight results in a substantial loss of potential DPS.


II.3.4. AoE

MM snipers have access to exactly three AoE abilities: Orbital Strike, Fragmentation Grenade, and Suppressive Fire. We could potentially spec deep enough into the Lethality skill tree to gain a fourth, but this would require making large sacrifices on single-target DPS.

Orbital Strike – OS is easily our hardest-hitting AoE and should be prioritized highest when a group of adds will be hit by even a single tick. OS has a 2-second activation time with the skill Sector Ranger, so the first tick of damage doesn’t occur until 5s after we place the AoE ground template. For targets that are moving, it may be difficult to place OS so that it will hit them.

Fragmentation Grenade – This has a 6-second cooldown, which can be reduced to 3s with the skill Engineer’s Tool Belt. Its damage is applied instantly to as many as 5 targets, so this should be our primary AoE filler in nearly all situations.

Suppressive Fire – This AoE ability is outshone by Fragmentation Grenade in nearly every way:
• Its DPE is lower than that of Fragmentation Grenade against any more than 3 targets, and lower than that of single-target abilities against any less than 3 targets.
• The large energy cost makes it challenging to use without dropping into a lower energy bracket.
• It is channeled, causing required movement or other interruptions to reduce its damage done.
• Its effect is ground-targeted, meaning adds which are moving might avoid some of the damage.
• It only hits a maximum of 3 targets.

The optimal rotation for AoE is to use Orbital Strike if available, and then Fragmentation Grenade with single-target abilities in between. The exception is if there are exactly 3 targets, in which case SF is slightly more efficient; however, if the targets are moving, it is still optimal to use Fragmentation Grenade over Suppressive Fire.

MM/Eng hybrid snipers have a distinct advantage over pure MM in AoE capabilities due to the reduced cooldown of Fragmentation Grenade from Engineer’s Tool Belt and the larger bonus to AoE damage from Explosive Engineering.


III. Stats, Gear, and Consumables

III.1. Stats

III.1.1. Primary Stats – The primary stats are Strength, Aim, Endurance, Cunning, Willpower, and Presence.

Cunning - Increases the bonus damage of all our abilities by 0.20 per point, and additionally increases the critical chance of all our abilities. It also means we’re smarter than other classes.
Aim - Increases our ranged bonus damage by 0.20 per point, and also increases our ranged critical chance. Not all of our attacks are technically ranged abilities, so cunning is always a better stat than aim.
Endurance - Allows us to take more damage before we die. Because unavoidable damage exists in operations, we do need some endurance, but we should not prioritize this over DPS stats.
Presence - Increases our companion’s damage, health, and healing; since we cannot use companions in operations, presence has no place in our gearing strategy.
Strength - Does nothing for us, since we technically do not have any melee attacks. (Our knife abilities are officially tech attacks.)
Willpower - Does nothing for us.

Note: “Bonus damage” does not directly convert into increased damage; each ability has a coefficient to determine bonus damage’s contribution to final damage numbers.


III.1.2. Secondary Stats – The secondary stats are Accuracy, Power, Alacrity, Critical Rating, Surge Rating, Defense Rating, Shield Rating, and Absorption Rating. Note that all of these stats except power are subject to diminishing returns; i.e. the more rating we have already, the less benefit we gain from each additional rating point.

The following graph shows the diminishing returns' effects on stat scaling at level 50:

Accuracy increases our chance to hit targets. Our base chance to hit is 90% with Rifle Shot and 100% with all other abilities, but operation bosses also have 10% chance to dodge our ranged attacks (confirmed in the discussion beginning with this post). Tech attacks cannot be dodged, but since most of our abilities are ranged attacks, we benefit greatly from having +10% accuracy. This is the accuracy soft cap.

Accuracy beyond the soft cap increases our chance to hit with Rifle Shot until +20% accuracy, at which point Rifle Shot will always hit. This is the accuracy hard cap. Because Rifle Shot is a small part of our total damage, the hard cap is not worth pursuing.

Gunslingers’ ranged abilities use both main-hand and off-hand pistols, but have a 33% lower accuracy with the off-hand. This means accuracy beyond +10% still increases the chance to hit with the off-hand portion of special attacks, and accuracy beyond +20% still increases the chance to hit with the off-hand portion of Flurry of Bolts. For gunslingers, the accuracy hard cap for all off-hand attacks is +53%, which is unattainable. (See the Hit Chance table below.) Because of off-hand miss chance, accuracy provides a slightly higher benefit for gunslingers than for snipers.

Operations bosses do not have any avoidance chance against tech attacks, so accuracy does not benefit tech attacks at all.

30% is the limit for accuracy received from accuracy rating.

The Marksmanship skill in the MM tree grants 1%, 2%, or 3% accuracy, and completing all of the companion conversations for the melee tank companion (e.g. SCORPIO or Bowdaar) grants an additional 1% accuracy to all characters within that character’s legacy. Both of these are independent of the DR from accuracy rating.

The following table shows the accuracy percentages and ratings needed to reach each accuracy cap.

Hit Chance	0 Points in MM Skill	1 Point in MM Skill	2 Points in MM Skill	3 Points in MM Skill	3 Points + Companion
100% with Tech Attacks	+0% (0 rating)	+0% (0 rating)	+0% (0 rating)	+0% (0 rating)	+0% (0 rating)
100% with Main-hand Special Ranged Attacks	+10% (329 rating)	+9% (290 rating)	+8% (252 rating)	+7% (216 rating)	+6% (181 rating)
100% with Main-hand Basic Ranged Attack	+20% (892 rating)	+19% (814 rating)	+18% (744 rating)	+17% (679 rating)	+16% (618 rating)
100% with Off-hand Special Ranged Attacks	+43% (unattainable)	+42% (unattainable)	+41% (unattainable)	+40% (unattainable)	+39% (unattainable)
100% with Off-hand Basic Ranged Attack	+53% (unattainable)	+52% (unattainable)	+51% (unattainable)	+50% (unattainable)	+49% (unattainable)

Power increases the bonus damage of all our abilities by 0.23 per point. There is no diminishing return and no limit to the amount of bonus damage we can receive from power. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.


Alacrity directly reduces activation and channeling times. It does not reduce cooldowns, increase DoT durations, or improve energy regeneration. Alacrity reduces the GCD only for abilities for which it also reduces the activation or channeling time (see video evidence here). For example, a 1.4-second Snipe also has a GCD of 1.4s; however, an instant SS Snipe always has a GCD of 1.5s.
The formula for calculating an activation or channeling time with alacrity is: ActivationTime = BaseActivationTime * (1 – Alacrity%)
Because our DPS is mainly throttled by cooldowns and energy regeneration, neither of which benefit at all from alacrity, small increases to alacrity (less than 33%) do not provide much benefit to theoretical DPS. Alacrity does have some value in practice, however:

• Alacrity can help overcome travel time and/or connection latency for procs, such as by allowing an Ambush or Snipe to finish a fraction of a second before FT comes off cooldown, giving time for FT’s availability to be communicated from the server to the game client.
• Alacrity can provide a small amount of downtime during a rotation, allowing time for movements or reducing the chance of getting knocked back during an ability activation or channel.

These effects are not constant throughout or between boss encounters, so how they affect alacrity’s value is impossible to accurately generalize.

Large increases to alacrity (through cooldowns or on-use effects) can potentially gain enough time for an additional ability to be used during a rotation; however, since MM snipers have a rotation bound by a very short cooldown (6s for FT) and several instant filler abilities whose GCDs cannot be reduced, it would take a tremendous boost to alacrity to gain enough time to fit in an extra ability. (Warp speed would be insufficient – we’d need ludicrous speed.)

In general, alacrity is not a strong stat for MM snipers.

30% is the limit for alacrity received from alacrity rating.

The Deadly Directive skill in the Lethality tree grants 2% or 4% alacrity independent of the DR from alacrity rating.


Critical Rating increases our chance to deal a critical hit, which does much higher damage than a normal hit. 50% bonus damage is the base for crits, but that bonus can be increased with surge. Dealing higher damage more often is the definition of increased DPS, but crit also provides MM snipers with an added benefit: Reactive Shot in the MM tree shortens the base activation time of Ambush within 10s after a SoS or Snipe crit. Crit’s value is greatly increased with higher surge.

30% is the limit for critical chance received from critical rating.

The Lethality skill in the Lethality tree grants 1%, 2%, or 3% critical chance with all attacks, and several other skills grant extra critical chance to specific abilities. Completing all of the companion conversations for the ranged DPS companion (e.g. Ensign Temple or Risha) grants an additional 1% critical chance to all characters within that character’s legacy. All of these bonuses are independent of DR.

Cunning and aim also increase critical chance with ranged abilities, and cunning increases critical chance with tech abilities. 30% is the limit for critical chance gained from cunning, and an additional 30% is the limit gained from aim. Both of these are on separate DRs from each other and from critical rating.


Surge Rating increases the bonus damage of critical hits. As such, it is more powerful with higher critical chance.

30% is the limit for crit damage bonus gained from surge rating (added to the base 50% for a total limit of 80%).

Several skills grant bonus critical damage to specific abilities, and completing all of the companion conversations for the melee DPS companion (e.g. Vector or Akaavi Spar) grants an additional 1% surge to all characters within that character’s legacy. These bonuses are independent of the DR from surge rating.


Defense Rating increases our chance to dodge (i.e. completely avoid) incoming ranged or melee attacks. We have a base 5% ranged and melee defense chance, and being in cover grants 20% bonus ranged defense chance. Most incoming damage that we should expect in operations is from force or tech attacks, but some are not. Since we are primarily focused on providing DPS, defense rating should generally not have a place in our gearing strategy.

The ability Evasion grants 100% increased defense chance for 3 seconds and can be used to survive brief periods of incoming ranged or melee attacks.


Shield Rating increases the chance an incoming ranged or melee attack will be shielded for reduced damage, and Absorption Rating increases the percentage by which that shielded attack's damage is reduced. Both of these stats require a shield to be equipped, and since snipers and gunslingers cannot equip shields, these stats are useless for us.


III.1.3. Weapon Stats – These stats appear only on weapons (main hand and off-hand): Minimum Damage, Maximum Damage, and Tech Power.

Minimum Damage and Maximum Damage contribute to all ranged abilities. The coefficient at which weapon damage contributes to ability damage values varies between abilities, although no ranged abilities scale particularly better or worse with weapon damage versus bonus damage than any other ranged abilities. Tech abilities do not benefit from weapon damage at all; however, they do benefit from the tech power present on weapons.

For snipers, the minimum and maximum damage of the off-hand vibroknife has no effect on any ability damage calculations. However, gunslingers’ off-hand pistol minimum and maximum damage contributes to ability damage values at a rate equal to 30% of the rate for the main-hand pistol.


Tech Power is simply power that only applies to tech abilities. Because weapon damage values do not contribute to tech ability damage at all, this serves as a way for tech abilities to scale with weapon upgrades to a similar degree that ranged abilities do. Tech power increases the bonus damage of all our tech abilities by 0.23 per point. Like power, tech power is not subject to DR and there is no limit to how much bonus tech damage we can receive from tech power.


III.1.4. Stat Weights – Due to diminishing returns and the interaction between stats, stat weights cannot be accurately generalized for all MM snipers across all gear levels. To find your own, experiment with the latest version of the Sniper/Gunslinger Spreadsheet. (See section IV. Resources.)

A rough, general priority order for stat increases was developed using the Sniper/Gunslinger Spreadsheet and assuming Campaign-level gear. If you are unable to use the spreadsheet to find your own specific stat weights, the following priority list can provide a basic guide:

Pure MM	MM/Eng Hybrid
1. Main-Hand Weapon Damage	1. Main-Hand Weapon Damage
2. Surge, up until ~75 rating	2. Surge, up until ~100 rating
3. Accuracy, up until the soft cap (10%)	3. Cunning
4. Surge, up until ~150 rating	4. Surge, up until ~150 rating
5. Cunning	5. Accuracy, up until the soft cap (10%)
6. Crit, up until ~150 rating	6. Crit, up until ~120 rating
7. Power with crit, such that crit ≈ 150 + 0.25×(ranged bonus damage)	7. Power with crit, such that crit ≈ 120 + 0.20×(ranged bonus damage)
9. Surge	9. Tech Power
10. Off-Hand Weapon Damage (for gunslingers)	10. Off-Hand Weapon Damage (for gunslingers)
11. Tech Power	11. Surge
12. Alacrity	12. Alacrity
13. Accuracy, beyond the soft cap	13. Accuracy, beyond the soft cap

III.2. Gear

III.2.1. Gear Sets – There are three sets of PvE gear with cunning, each with their own set bonuses. Field Tech gear is designed for Snipers, with the most beneficial set bonuses for us. Admittedly, the 2-piece bonus is extremely weak, but the 4-piece is slightly better. Tionese, Columi, Rakata, and Campaign gear can be mixed and combined to count toward the set bonuses. For further discussion about the benefits of our set bonuses, see this post.

2-piece bonus: Causes Target Acquired to immediately grant 10 energy. – This provides such a minuscule benefit that it can pretty much be ignored, although optimal use is to be at least 10 energy below maximum when we use TA.

4-piece bonus: Reduces the energy cost of Takedown by 7. – With this set bonus, TD jumps to just below FT at the top of the priority list due to its vastly increased DPE.

If the best available gear includes PvP pieces, the PvP Field Tech bonus can be worth using:

2-piece bonus: Extends Orbital Strike to 4 ticks over 12 seconds. – If we are able to use Orbital Strike regularly (and hit with all four ticks), then this provides a greater DPS gain than either of the PvE set bonuses, but it’s generally not worth wearing expertise in place of useful stats.

Some gear pieces that can be purchased from commendation vendors (earpieces, implants, bracers, and belt) do not have a Field Tech set. For these pieces, which are not moddable, the Enforcer pieces are typically better than the Field Medic pieces because the Enforcer pieces do not have alacrity.


III.2.2. Mods – For all gear, mods should be prioritized based on the stat weights at your current gear level (see section III.1. Stats).

To decide between two or more potential mods or pieces of gear, compare each option using the Sniper/Gunslinger Spreadsheet (see Section IV) or the general stat priority list (see Section III.1.4). Note that if the results using either method are very close, then the difference between the options is likely within the margins of error for the calculations, for random crits and procs, and for your own execution.


III.3. Consumables & Relics

III.3.1. Stimpack
Stimpacks offer a long-term buff to a primary stat. We want to use the cunning version:

Exotech Skill Stim – Use: Increases Cunning by 128 and Power by 52 for 120 minutes. Persists through death.

III.3.2. Adrenal
Adrenals offer a temporary boost to a secondary stat for a short duration. Power may not always be our best stat, but it is close enough that its immunity to diminishing returns makes it our best choice for a large temporary increase, such as provided by an adrenal:

Exotech Attack Adrenal – Use: Increases Power by 535 for 15s. 3 minute cooldown.

III.3.3. Relics
Some relics have endurance as a static stat (and sometimes some static power with it), plus a usable temporary stat increase effect similar to an adrenal. (An example is the Dread Guard Relic of Boundless Ages.) On-use relics cannot be used within 30s after using another on-use relic (and relics providing the same on-use effect share a cooldown); however, an on-use relic can be used at the same time as an adrenal. For these, similarly to adrenals, a large stat increase makes power the best choice due to its immunity to diminishing returns. These are the strongest types of relics because their effects can be stacked with burst phases.

Some relics, instead of offering a usable effect, grant a proc chance to deal additional damage. (An example is the Dread Guard Relic of Dark Radiance.) The DPS benefit provided by these relics competes with that of similar-level on-use power relics, but it is spread out evenly over the duration of a fight. This means these relics do not provide disproportionate gains during burn phases as on-use relics do. Since on-use power relics share a cooldown, it is recommended that one relic is a proc relic such as this. Note that the proc effect of these relics can crit; the crit chance for the internal or kinetic effects is based on our tech crit chance, and the crit chance for the elemental or energy effects is based on our force crit chance. For this reason, we should avoid the energy or elemental proc relics.

A third type of relic is one with only static stats, such as the Matrix Cube M7-R3. These provide static stat increases, so similarly to the proc relics, their benefits cannot be concentrated into a burn phase; however, they do not trail far behind Campaign-level relics for overall sustained DPS and can be obtained solo outside of operations or flashpoints. The best of these static-stat relics, the Elite War Hero Relic of Boundless Ages, is obtainable only through PvP commendations.

For more information about relics, see this post.

[Tibbel]

IV. Resources

IV.1. SWTOR Formula List

Formulas for damage values and stat scaling can be found in the SWTOR Formula List, originally posted by Freehugs.

>> Click here for a link to the SWTOR Formula List. <<

IV.2. Smuggler/Imperial Agent Terminology Mirror Dictionary

Terminology relating Marksmanship Snipers and Sharpshooter Gunslingers was taken from this list, originally posted by Sol.

>> Click here for a link to the full Smuggler/Imperial Agent Terminology Mirror Dictionary. <<

IV.3. The Sniper/Gunslinger Spreadsheet

Information in this compendium regarding ability damage and stat scaling was generated largely through analysis using the Sniper/Gunslinger Spreadsheet. The spreadsheet was initially created through a joint effort by Tibbel and LB_StorM, and it is maintained by Tibbel. To function correctly, the spreadsheet requires Microsoft Excel 2007 or later (or an equivalent program) with macros enabled.

The current version of the spreadsheet is 2012-10-02. (Size: 1.33 MB)

>> Click here to download the current version of the Sniper/Gunslinger Spreadsheet. <<

[Kaladris]

Moderation Note:

Due to the changes made in 1.2, and to keep the thread as informative and clear as possible, the whole discussion except the changelog from Tibbel was split into another thread which is now locked, but still available for your investigation.
Please see this as an invitation to start a new, 1.2 related discussion according to the form rules, as this should be much easier to hold and keep track of now.

So long,
Kala

[Flyinfungi]

Awesome job Tibbel. Please add the healing debuff ability from shatter shot. This may in the future have PvE applications as well.

"Shatter Shot now additionally inflicts trauma, reducing all healing the target receives by 20% for 9 seconds."

[Tibbel]

(04-13-2012 04:05 AM)Flyinfungi Wrote:  Awesome job Tibbel. Please add the healing debuff ability from shatter shot. This may in the future have PvE applications as well.

"Shatter Shot now additionally inflicts trauma, reducing all healing the target receives by 20% for 9 seconds."

Ah, good point. Somehow, in all these changes, I forgot something.

I'll add that in.

[Sogui]

I'd like to challenge the assumptions about alacrity for pure MM/SS in PvP.

I've been running combat parsers for about 20 warzones today and I've found that my AoE damage + Sabotage Charge almost always falls between 6-13% of my total damage. My personal best was one game where I was literally suiciding into the side node on Civil War to keep 7 enemies from capping. Between the grenades and massive flyby damage (one Flyby earned 33k damage), AoE + Sabotage Charge was around 22%.

Meanwhile I've found that my rotations are much less clean in PvP and that around 55-70% of all my damage is channeled. Using some averages I've concluded that the 2% alacrity per talent point will give a slight DPS edge over the 5% AoE Damage per talent point that your post suggests we use. With the new burst volley, it actually very possible to squeeze in an extra GCD or two in most skirmishes. Furthermore alacrity synergizes with the new burst volley since the best way to take advantage of the energy "surge" is to pop off as many shots as possible since it is extremely difficult to run down energy during this window. Getting the burst volley to go off with illegal mods active had me firing off a 1-second aimed shot - my burst got really crazy for a few seconds and I started having second thoughts about alacrity.

Lastly, 1.2 nerfed healing and buffed damage relative to defenses. With the new healing debuff on flourish shot, the old strategy of overwhelming healers with AoE isn't necessary anymore. It's much easier to use our burst to focus down a healer quickly and with flourish shot to ensure that any instant heals/cross-healing won't be enough to keep them up. Alacrity fits better into this strategy compared to +AOE damage.

Therefore, I would argue that +4% alacrity is a smarter choice than +10% AOE damage. Plus I'm a gunslinger, our Flyby is the most obvious AOE in the game. Even the worst players know the rule about "Don't stand in the fire" and I've noticed that while it's great for area denial - it simply doesn't put out enough damage relative to our other abilities to justify taking +10% AOE.

[Tibbel]

(04-13-2012 12:18 PM)Sogui Wrote:  I'd like to challenge the assumptions about alacrity for pure MM/SS in PvP.

There aren't any assumptions about alacrity in PvP in here.

Quote:This compendium is focused on optimizing a Marksmanship Sniper or Sharpshooter Gunslinger for end-game flashpoints and operations.

That said -- yes, alacrity is much stronger for burst damage than for sustained. Alacrity doesn't increase the DPE of any of our abilities, but it certainly increases the DPCT of several of them. That, plus the increased mobility and reduced chance that an activated/channeled ability will be interrupted makes alacrity a perfectly valid choice in PvP as far as I can see.

Still, this compendium is focused on end-game PvE. There are actually a couple of PvP threads for MM/SS in the PvP forum in which this discussion might fit better.

[Sogui]

(04-13-2012 12:58 PM)Tibbel Wrote:  

(04-13-2012 12:18 PM)Sogui Wrote:  I'd like to challenge the assumptions about alacrity for pure MM/SS in PvP.

There aren't any assumptions about alacrity in PvP in here.

Quote:This compendium is focused on optimizing a Marksmanship Sniper or Sharpshooter Gunslinger for end-game flashpoints and operations.

That said -- yes, alacrity is much stronger for burst damage than for sustained. Alacrity doesn't increase the DPE of any of our abilities, but it certainly increases the DPCT of several of them. That, plus the increased mobility and reduced chance that an activated/channeled ability will be interrupted makes alacrity a perfectly valid choice in PvP as far as I can see.

Still, this compendium is focused on end-game PvE. There are actually a couple of PvP threads for MM/SS in the PvP forum in which this discussion might fit better.

Derp, well thanks for the response anyway. I was going to post in the other SS/MM thread here but that was PvE focused too. I'll try the PvP forums.

[Tibbel]

Small spreadsheet update today, just to refine the damage parameters for Cull and to add expertise to the Item Comparison tool:

2012-04-12 to 2012-04-13 Spreadsheet Changes

• Fixed: The damage parameters for Cull's direct damage component have been updated to the following values from the game files:
  • AmountModifierPercent = -0.640, Coefficient = 0.533, StandardHealthPercent = 0.053
  • Previously, these parameters were based on empirical test data, which resulted in slightly imprecise values.
• Added: Expertise has been added as a stat for comparison in the Item Comparison tool on the 'Stat Weights' tab
• Fixed: The SV Time column on the 'Rotation' tab no longer attempts to divide by zero if SV is triggered by Snipe or Ambush.

The link in the leading post now links to the updated file.

Edit 5:41 PM EDT: Addressed a problem with the SV Time column attempting to divide by zero.

[Cohh]

Hiya! Cohh here, GL Of Carnage over on Bondar Crystal.

Surprised to not see any information on the 0/18/23 here. I've found it to be higher DPS than either of the included above specs.