The Shot Heard Around Paragon City - SCORE Public Release

[Taceus Jiwede]

I agree it is an amazing change to the game.  To much delight, I discovered that targeting drone from devices will give insta snipe unslotted.

My new Energy/Devices blaster is running around at level 10 with insta-snipe.  It is so nice being able to just throw snipe into the attack rotation like a regular attack.

[Nightmarer]

Wellllll my Mids disagrees.

It was always KD, check the magnitude, KD is low magnitude KB and Focus was always 0.67 mag which effectively translated in KD. It is exactly what the enhancements are doing, lowering the KB mag to 0.67

[Azrael]

Yes the upgrade to snipe is fantastic.

Still gathering some io for my blaster to permanent boost snipe

Let me know how you slot your Tactics power to do that.  (And the rest of your build.)

Perma-hasten and Insta-snipe with perma Energy discount are the long term IO aims.  Getting the build to play as fast as possible.

I'm using AIM/Build UP/Boost Power to tag team the 'auto trigger' on instal-snipe until I get Tactics slotted out with the unique IO I need.  Snipe's trigger seems to come up just when I need it (using Hasten.)  As long as I space the 3 'boosters' out I get snipe as I need it for each combat situation.  Ticks round just nicely with Hasten. 

It's now a fluid and essential part of the attack chain.  It can now be used in combination with other powers.  Fluid and combo-maker.  Two massive changes...never thought the day would come.

...along with the game chancing 'perms-energise' (I'm 6 seconds short of perms-energise.)  Great to play with the massive end discount.

There are sundry combat situations where I'd have been toggle debuffed, slapped, stunned...disoriented, on the ground getting a kicking, one-shotted or out mobbed.  Wolves, Vamps, Crey Tanks, Freak Tanks don't have it so easy now.  Can take on small mobs quite easily and there's the rinse repeat nova for greater ambition.

Meanwhile, In Founders Fall...

Snipe...*  Sniper sniped.  *remember me you sniped all those years ago?  Welllll....*snipe.  *Sniper bounces on the ground...  (It's a long wayyyyy down...)

Azrael.

[Zombie Man]

Let me know how you slot your Tactics power to do that.  (And the rest of your build.)

Regularly slotted Tactics plus a Kismet: +6% Accuracy should do it.

Because it's misnamed, it's actually +6% ToHit.

[Vee]

Insta snipe without to hit padding is on homecoming beta now ftw.

[Taceus Jiwede]

Insta snipe without to hit padding is on homecoming beta now ftw.

I am not thrilled about that upcoming change.  I really don't know why they have to mess with a good thing.  If it was just giving everyone Insta snipe to be nice than I get that, but they are changing so much about the power.  Recharge time, a new IO set to pick snipes.  Instead of doing all that, just leave it the way it is, or lower the ToHit requirement to like a single small yellow.  This is a perfect example of "If it's not broke don't fix it"

It's a really, really bad change IMO.

[Vee]

Idk i've yet to play a blaster with a snipe since the changes. And i hadn't taken a snipe since first ever blaster on live. Sounded pretty good to me from reading the initial post but peeps seem upset about it so who knows how it'll end up.

[Azrael]

I am not thrilled about that upcoming change.  I really don't know why they have to mess with a good thing.  If it was just giving everyone Insta snipe to be nice than I get that, but they are changing so much about the power.  Recharge time, a new IO set to pick snipes.  Instead of doing all that, just leave it the way it is, or lower the ToHit requirement to like a single small yellow.  This is a perfect example of "If it's not broke don't fix it"

It's a really, really bad change IMO.

Completely agree.

Azrael.

[saipaman]

Changes in general are out of control.

[Vee]

Yet to be one I haven't liked. Jury's out on the snipe one but it's not like they could make snipes worse than they were on live.

[Azrael]

[Azrael]

Regularly slotted Tactics plus a Kismet: +6% Accuracy should do it.

Because it's misnamed, it's actually +6% ToHit.

The Kismet wouldn't go in tactics?  It's part of a defense set?  So only in a defense power eg. Combat Jump?  Weave?

See my post above.  What DID I do wrong?

Azrael.

[Vee]

CJ, weave, maneuvers, stealth, hover, basically sounds like you'll need to take something just for the kismet. Cj would be most useful since if you were the hover type you'd have it already. Though I do hear the insta snipes with combat disabled by pff are op.

[Azrael]

CJ, weave, maneuvers, stealth, hover, basically sounds like you'll need to take something just for the kismet. Cj would be most useful since if you were the hover type you'd have it already. Though I do hear the insta snipes with combat disabled by pff are op.

I've played a Bubble/En Defender as a 'Hover Type.'  I quite enjoyed ping pong with deflection bolt (is it?) with it's 100% guaranteed (?) knock back.

Yes.  Of much of the advice saying you needed to just take the 'Kismet IO' - not one really talked about you needing Weave, CJ, Stealth.

So you can put the Kismet IO into Hover? 

If that is the case, thenperhaps I should respect from flight into hover. 

(I have all the en/en powers bar power push which, I feel is made almost redundant by the 'insta-snipe' and I don't have the stun power either.  Why stun when you can insta-snipe?)  I don't like the standard(?) practice of the fighting pool plus CJ to put together a defence or 'special' IO build.

Four powers that takes up.  And means I'd have to drop four powers.  What would I drop?  Power bolt?  Energy Punch, Bu-a-shakka Punch and..exploding blast?  At least two of those I like.  I don't use P Bolt all that often.  And the 'mega' punch (Total Focus) is slowest attack in the attack chain.  I tend to like taking 'almost' complete sets e.g. whether en/en or ice/ice or elec/elec.  I've never been that much into taking tertiary powers bar Hasten and a travel power.  I find most of them underwhelming.

vs

Just swapping flight for hover.

Thank you for the reply.

Azrael.

[saipaman]

Yet to be one I haven't liked. Jury's out on the snipe one but it's not like they could make snipes worse than they were on live.

But wouldn't you get more enjoyment out of them if the changes were spaced further apart?

[Vee]

So i can do something the lame way before it gets improved? Pass.

[Taceus Jiwede]

Yet to be one I haven't liked. Jury's out on the snipe one but it's not like they could make snipes worse than they were on live.

The snipe currently on HC isn't the snipe from live.  Its the changed snipe from I24, which in my opinion was in the best spot I have ever seen Snipe.  Instant snipe was already a thing if you had enough ToHit in i24.  This current change they are about to do messes with that and resulted in basically changing the power entirely.  It's about as powerful as T2 power on the Beta currently.  A lot of the changes they have done are good, but this particular one feels completely random and basically unnecessary.  I currently can't see any drawback to the way Snipe currently is, I haven't heard any players complain about it either.  Quite the contrary most people love the i24 changes to snipe.  The one on beta changes so much about the power for really no reason.  It changes the way builds will be done, it changes the way snipe will work and changes the Device set. Why rework something that works perfectly already.  If you want long snipe, don't use aim or build up, or just turn off tactics or targeting drone.  Want it to be instant?  Do any of those things or pop a medium yellow.

Nothing they are changing makes instant snipe any easier to obtain or makes it easier to choose which one you want.  It actually adds unnecessary steps to something that already exists but with fewer steps.

[Azrael]

The snipe currently on HC isn't the snipe from live.  Its the changed snipe from I24, which in my opinion was in the best spot I have ever seen Snipe.  Instant snipe was already a thing if you had enough ToHit in i24.  This current change they are about to do messes with that and resulted in basically changing the power entirely.  It's about as powerful as T2 power on the Beta currently.  A lot of the changes they have done are good, but this particular one feels completely random and basically unnecessary.  I currently can't see any drawback to the way Snipe currently is, I haven't heard any players complain about it either.  Quite the contrary most people love the i24 changes to snipe.  The one on beta changes so much about the power for really no reason.  It changes the way builds will be done, it changes the way snipe will work and changes the Device set. Why rework something that works perfectly already.  If you want long snipe, don't use aim or build up, or just turn off tactics or targeting drone.  Want it to be instant?  Do any of those things or pop a medium yellow.

Nothing they are changing makes instant snipe any easier to obtain or makes it easier to choose which one you want.  It actually adds unnecessary steps to something that already exists but with fewer steps.

The one on test still doesn't 'feel' as good as the i24 beta snipe.

It may say '1.33' cast time on the tin but in practice there seems to be slight delay.

The range nerf was a step back.  (That much seemed an obvious one without playing it.)  It felt like the 'old' Power Burst range which put you in melee range, which, as a blaster, you don't really want to be in unless you're a committed (as in insane?) blapper.  They put that back rather quickly.

The recharge nerf?  A truck driven right through the 'fun' aspect of a speeded up attack chain with a '3rd' heavy hitter single blast power from 'the hip.'  3 seconds longer?  It made the fun attack combos of live achingly long.  I've caught a Leandro message on Discord that says it's going back to 12 seconds.  (With x2 recharge SOs puts it at 7-ish secs.  With Hasten?  Just over 5 sec.  Which it currently is.)  A time nerf seems counter to the idea of having a 'fast' or 'insta-snipe'.  It executes quickly so you can wait longer for it?  uH?

Gamesmanship.  I LIKE the mangement aspect of hitting aim or build up or power boost to activate the instant snipe.  It's been fun.  Now those elements are no longer there (on test) it seems 'emptier' somehow.  I liked deciding when to use the auto.  Is it just semantics I can still 'choose' to use it when it comes up.  But I liked the process of activating it.

IO or not to IO.  That is the question. 

I'm not a fan of hacking out 4 powers out of my build to slot the Kismet, if I'm honest.  Just as I'm not a fan of the post i3 perma-hasten nerf.  And I didn't like the knbk taken out of Power Boost.

A far more elegant solution would be to have 3 to hit in AIM to create a perma-snipe.  (How many people slot aim with to hit anyhow?  Or 6 slot it?)  Or tactics with 3 to hit. 

That should be enough.  And far less fussy.  As is.  I've taken tactics.  4 slotted it.  Now I have to dismantle my build to get a 'defence' power when I'm supposed to be a 'snipe' specialist.

I'd argue that both of those could be addressed in snipe, aim or tactics.  Or to put it in slot language.  15 slots and I still haven't got perma-snipe.

Azrael.

[Vee]

Seems like they're just trying things at this point on test to find the sweet spot. The were plenty of folks I saw discussing snipe before they decided to work on it who were in the same spot as Azrael, having trouble working enough to hit into their build. From the beta discussion I've glanced at it seems like there's enough back and forth that there should be a good compromise before anything is pushed live. Tbh anything that makes me even consider putting a snipe in a build is already a huge improvement over live - I took it exactly once, on my first blaster, just useless.

[Taceus Jiwede]

The one on test still doesn't 'feel' as good as the i24 beta snipe.

It may say '1.33' cast time on the tin but in practice there seems to be slight delay.

The range nerf was a step back.  (That much seemed an obvious one without playing it.)  It felt like the 'old' Power Burst range which put you in melee range, which, as a blaster, you don't really want to be in unless you're a committed (as in insane?) blapper.  They put that back rather quickly.

The recharge nerf?  A truck driven right through the 'fun' aspect of a speeded up attack chain with a '3rd' heavy hitter single blast power from 'the hip.'  3 seconds longer?  It made the fun attack combos of live achingly long.  I've caught a Leandro message on Discord that says it's going back to 12 seconds.  (With x2 recharge SOs puts it at 7-ish secs.  With Hasten?  Just over 5 sec.  Which it currently is.)  A time nerf seems counter to the idea of having a 'fast' or 'insta-snipe'.  It executes quickly so you can wait longer for it?  uH?

Gamesmanship.  I LIKE the mangement aspect of hitting aim or build up or power boost to activate the instant snipe.  It's been fun.  Now those elements are no longer there (on test) it seems 'emptier' somehow.  I liked deciding when to use the auto.  Is it just semantics I can still 'choose' to use it when it comes up.  But I liked the process of activating it.

IO or not to IO.  That is the question. 

I'm not a fan of hacking out 4 powers out of my build to slot the Kismet, if I'm honest.  Just as I'm not a fan of the post i3 perma-hasten nerf.  And I didn't like the knbk taken out of Power Boost.

A far more elegant solution would be to have 3 to hit in AIM to create a perma-snipe.  (How many people slot aim with to hit anyhow?  Or 6 slot it?)  Or tactics with 3 to hit. 

That should be enough.  And far less fussy.  As is.  I've taken tactics.  4 slotted it.  Now I have to dismantle my build to get a 'defence' power when I'm supposed to be a 'snipe' specialist.

I'd argue that both of those could be addressed in snipe, aim or tactics.  Or to put it in slot language.  15 slots and I still haven't got perma-snipe.

Azrael.

I agree with all of this.  I am happy they backpedaled on the range and recharge about, those were my biggest gripes.

I agree the "feel" of it is just different.  Something about just doesn't feel entirely right  I also agree on the Gamership part.  Even on my Fire/Fire Blaster who didnt have Perma-Insta snipe I liked using Aim, Build Up, or Inspirations when necessary.  As for my /Devices blaster.  His whole existence was to have perma instant snipe as low as possible.  Which is 10 for an Energy/Device blaster.  Currently, the IO to pick is my biggest gripe.  It seems silly to make people change their builds to pick something they could already pick.

Seems like they're just trying things at this point on test to find the sweet spot. The were plenty of folks I saw discussing snipe before they decided to work on it who were in the same spot as Azrael, having trouble working enough to hit into their build. From the beta discussion I've glanced at it seems like there's enough back and forth that there should be a good compromise before anything is pushed live. Tbh anything that makes me even consider putting a snipe in a build is already a huge improvement over live - I took it exactly once, on my first blaster, just useless.

I will say its nice to see them responding the feedback.  People didn't like the initial Sniper changes and they listened and made some changes until it was ina place they felt was a good compromise between their goal and players wants.  I respect that at least, lots of MMO's with Publishers and full Dev teams blindly commit to changes all the time regardless of feedback.  So it is nice to see.  However, I still think they just call off this sniper change entirely.  To me, it doesn't feel like a player prompted the change.  It seems like something the SCoRE devs wanted to do when the server was private still, and now have the support to do it.  The only problem is the vast majority of us have only been playing for a month and a half tops, not 7 years.  Most of us barely even had time to enjoy the new snipe changes as they were.  I wouldn't say the newest snipe changes are a good thing if the last time you tried a Snipe power was on Live, at least until you try the current i24 changes - its that different feeling.  I agree snipe was less than useful on Live, but the i24 changes to Snipe have made it an entirely different power.

On Live I rarely took snipe besides my main blaster.  Now with i24 snipe changes, I always take snipe because its amazing.  After these newest changes, ill probably go back to never taking it.  Id say try the current snipe as it is, before deciding if these new changes are better or not.  They may be better than on i23 Live, but they certainly aren't better than the i24 Beta changes (IMO)