Pistoleer Archive

This is a copy and paste job. I'm just after feed back from pure pistoleers. I must admit I tend to use TKM alot more than pistols, which tend to be used by me to place dots on someone. Feed back would be appriacted. Abox FreelighterI still have your notes from version v1.1 so you don't have to repeat them, I just haven't put them in yet I'll get around to it in the next version I swear

Okay This is a lot more spaced on then version 1.1 and also have a few corrections. With the change in delays of armor and weapon switching some of the marcos may need a /pause xx command in them. As my computer has been down the last 3 days I have been unable to test the times. Also I will be posting this on the pistoleer and TKM forums to get some feed back from them. My next step is to write up more concise weapons specials and more information in other sections such as foods, more tactics and the such. I got somegoodfeed back from version 1.1that I will try to added as well as somecolour and maybe a contents. I will be waiting from feed back from the TKMs and pistoleers beforewriting up the1.3 versionthough. Need to go do some stealing from other guides... Imean research, yeah research

The Triple Threat: PvP Guide

So you have become the triple master, Smuggler, Pistoleer, Teras kasi Artist and are looking to take on the bad guys with your excellent skills. You go overt, go on a raid and die in seconds to the Poison throwing Jawa rifle shooting freak. This little guide is the help you defeat that l337 dood with a little dirty fighting

Equipment:

The most important thing in a PvP battle is your equipment. What it boils down to is you want the best of the best.
We are lucky here as we do not have to spend a fortune on weapons (except the Geo blaster, which is still relatively cheep compared to some weapons). You can pick up VKs, republic blasters, dx2 for next to nothing and slice them yourself. What you are looking for is a good damage slice on the VKs, you’ll be hitting speed cap anyways, and a good slice on your pistols. Unless you have tapes then you will not be hitting the speed cap on some pistols specials so a good speed slice is just as good as a good damage slice, sometimes better. I stress if you want to use pistols in PvP then get a geo as well. This thing will increase your success dramatically.
Good armour is what will keep you in the fight. It’s no good having that krayted 400 damage geo-blaster if your sent back to the cloner before you realise your in a fight. You are looking to get stun layer armour. 42% stun layers if you can, without riflemen, fencers and pistoleers will take you apart in a matter of seconds. If you can try to get good base slices on the armour. 30%+ base slice will take most stun armour up to 80% base which is what you need. You have the advantage here as you do not need to buy multiple sets of suits and take them to a smuggler. You can buy each piece and slice it till you are happy with it. If you can not afford a full stun set then I at least recommend buy a helmet a chest piece if possible. The helmet will save you from that Jawa rifle wielding mad man I spoke of before. The chest will help some against fencers and pistoleers, though without a full stun suit they still have an advantage. You also want a create of PSGs, These protect you against energy and the deadly stun damage. Get the best ones you can afford, be warned they are expensive and do not last long. Again slice them till you get a few good base slices, encumbrance is useless here. Once you get a few at 55%+ you are good to go.
Note for PSGs. These will block only a few shots before they break apart. Before you enter a fight unequip check condition and if it is still in good condition re-equip them. If you are in a raid you will need a few ready to equip as the old ones break.
Food is what you need to last a fight. The normal is vasarian brandy and vangnerian canape which boost the mind stats which helps against riflemen, bounty hunters, fencers and swordsmen that all attack the mind and will delay you dieing from combat medics. Check out good chef vendors. Pikatta pie is useful as dodge food, you will be hit only a few times with the dodge mod from pistoleer as well. The cocktail of food and drink is up to you. Find out which works best for you. If you find yourself getting knocked down a lot get some Thakitllo which anti-knock down food. Cho-nor-hoola is used to reduce poison in PvE, tester have declared it is useless PvP. There are foods out there that help. I like to use 2 brandies 1 canape and 1 Verculpti. This give me a nice all round HAM. I’ll put spice in this category as well. Only two worth mentioning Pixie and moun, have both on you and ready, it’s not always your mind that goes first.
Skill tapes are also a wise investment for people looking to get into PvP. As many already know, a master pistoleer only has +74 pistol speed, so in order to cap speed when firing last ditch you need a 1.0 speed pistol. Most geo pistols have a speed around 2-2.6 seconds, so skill tapes will be necessary in order to cap speed when firing last ditch. Also, accuracy tapes can help you hit defence stackers.
Power Ups are a most. You can get them from most weapon suppliers or artisan vendors. You are not always looking for the 33% damage power up. If you do not have speed tapes or a 1.0 pistol you will not reach the speed cap for last ditch. So if you want to use last ditch a lot then try to get a high speed modifier on the range power up. You are looking for power ups with 3 stats on them. The second stat will be half the first and the third half the second. 33%-16%-8%. Max damage, min damage power ups are also useful if you can find them. If you find a Max/Min damage, speed range power up buy all the stock. Always put power ups on weapons before a fight and a have a few spare ready to equip if a power up on a weapon runs out. Remember, you can not remove these from crates while in combat.

Have all this stuff ready for a fight. It’s no good having the moun in a crate when entering a fight as you will not be able to get it. Have it out in your inventory and ready to use. I like using the third tool bar for my foods, spice and PSGs ready to take with a touch of a button.

Combat Macros:

There are whole guides to making macros and there uses. A few useful macros I use in PvP are:-

Centre of Being (This will keep you alive longer, use it always when using unarmed. Does not work with pistols)

Macro name : CoB
/ui action clearCombatQueue; (clears combat queue)
/CenterofBeing;
/pause XX ( this is found by looking at your coB duration skill and adding +1 to it for example 36 + 1 would make for a 37 pause)
/macro CoB (avoids the /ui action toolbarSlotXX command to loop)

States (Will increase the damage you do on an opponent and lessen the damage he does on you, get all these states stuck on)

Macro name : States (Very important and most people forget them. If intimidate sticks twice then duration will last twice as long. If toon is a wookie add wookieRoar)
/ui action clearCombatQueue;
/intimidate;
/intimidate;
/unarmedStun1;
/unarmedBlind1;

Dizzy + Knockdown (This increase the chance a opponent will be dizzied and drop to the floor, the posture change from unarmedLunge1 is useful against people that have taken knockdown food or pistoleers and fencer who have higher defence to knockdown than posture change.)

Macro name : DKD
/ui action clearCombatQueue;
/unarmedDizzy1;
/unarmedKnockdown2;
/unarmedLunge1;

Bleed (Adds a nice health bleed to distract your opponent)
Macro name: bleed
/ui action clearCombatQueue;
/healtshot2;

DeathBlow (saves time to having to use the menu)

Macro name: DeathBlow
/unarmedHeadHit1;
/deathblow;

Tool Pane Switching (Usefull for quickly switch tool bars)

Macro name : TKM
/ui action toolbarPane00;

Macro name : Pistoleer
/ui action toolbarPane01;

Macro name : Foods
/ui action toolbarPane01;

Feign Death (Only useful if TEFed or if you are in a group that’s going to last longer than you)

Macro name: PvPFeign
/ui action clearCombatQueue;
/ui action toolbarSlotXX (This points to a armour remove macro which is very important and you don’t want to feign with armour as it will get trashed.)
/pause 01;
/feignDeath;

Powerboost (used to cut down on toolbar space, pause timer can be used witch tells player when pb is about to run out)

Macro name: Powerboost
/sit;
/pause 1;
/meditate;
/powerboost

PanicShot

Macro name: PanicShot
/ui action clearCombatQueue;
/lowBlow (choice to add this line. Some prefer it in, some do not)
/panicshot;
/peace;

Armour/Clothing (Macro can me found in any macro guide.)

Be ready for a fight:
You need a good tool bar setup for PvP, practice on NPCs to get use to where all your short-cuts are and shifting between tool bars. Pull the tool bar down so you have two rows instead of the basic one. You want your most used commands on the top line so pressing the corresponding f key quickly activates it. You don’t need every special or item on one tool bar. Use macros cuts down a lot of space, for examples look at the above macro section, don’t be afraid to try your own. The way I have it set up is to have a bar for TKM, one for Pistols, one for food and the last for armour as part of the armour macro.
The TKM bar has by CoB running, VKs ready to equip, the states and dizzy macros and a separate area for the states again in case one does not stick when the macro is run. I also have Lunge there ready as this is as good as a knock down attack. I like to set some of these specials up as mini macros that clear the combat queue first.
The Pistoleer bar is set up with my pistols and a few specials I use. Last ditch, fan shot. Low blow, panic shot (macro to peace after shot), pistol melee defence1 health shot 3 and the bleed macro.
All the tool bars have my armour/clothing macro, follow/stop follow, the switch pane buttons and most important commands stand, feign death and force of will. I sometimes move things around depending on the situations but that is my own basic set up. Set up your tool bars with what you fell comfortable with.

Buffs:

Okay so you’re all set up and ready to fight. Now get a full buff, all nine stats if possible. Find yourself a doctor with the best stats on the buffs possible. I usually look for at least 2.3k if I’m serious about surviving the encounter. Now find a master dancer and a musician to get your mind sorted. Dancers increase the primary, musicians the secondary stats (more important in my opinion.) If it is not possible to find a dancer or a musician you will have to do with your foods and moun. If you see another PvPer from your side, ask where they get there mind buffs from, they will usually know of someone you can ask. Remember you have power boost as well.

Know yourself:

Okay so you’re buffed, equipped and ready to pick a fight. Before you do, think of what your template can do and what it can’t do.
I view the triple master as leaning closer towards defensive rather than offensive. This does not mean that you can not do serious damage, you do however have to use more tactics than the person who throws poison then head shots you till you are dead. What you are is tank that can take damage and shrug it off. You put all those states on the opponent. You keep them busy taking everything they throw at you while you wear them down. You will find you are hardly ever knocked from your feet or when you are you can get back up very quickly. States will not stick to you as easily as they do others. Your best offensive is your dizzy state and your 3 knock downs and 1 posture change down move, use them. You get this person on there back for ten seconds then that is ten seconds they will not be firing at you. If there mind is low use unarmed head hit or unarmed hit 3.
If you find that TKM is not taking down those HAMs then it is time to switch to your pistols. Last ditch with a geo blaster is a killer and has a stun state effect that will allow you to hit an opponent more often, which includes fencers and other pistoleers with their dodge. Use bleeds and any DOT pistols you have till they stick. If people see that poison ticking they will be concentrating on that rather than you no matter how little it ticks for. If you are using pistols kite the person using your low blow and panic shot or switch back to TKM and try to get them on the floor with another Dizzy + KD.
Note Last ditch vs Fanshot; Last Ditch = 6.0 Damage modifier, 4.0 Delay. Fan Shot = 4.0 Damage modifier, 2.5 Delay. Unless you have skill tapes you will not hit speed cap when firing last ditch without a 1.0 pistol. High speed slices and speed power ups help to reach the 1.0 pistol.
Panic shot is useful in delaying Combat medics for 10 seconds if peace is hit straight after. This will frustrate those CMs from happily throwing there poisons at your group. Just make sure you do not attack them for a further ten seconds or they will be able to attack you once more. Panic shot is also useful against close formations of enemies delaying groups of opponents while the rest of your team mop them up.
Use terrain to your advantage. You are a close in fighter, if you see your mind starting to drop because a rifleman of bounty hunter is firing off head shots then run for cover. Draw them in close to you so you can knock them off there feet. If you are fighting in a city that has a base of your faction then draw them into it, the NPCs will distract them. If you are in the opposing faction city avoid the bases. Don’t be drawn into them, avoid fan shot here.
Feign death is a useful tactic, do not dismiss it as useless in PvP. If you are in city you can feign and still invite people into your group who then can attack any overt due to Group TEF. While they are distracted, Force of Will and you will have all you HAM back ready to fight again. Use it to rid yourself of a TEF if you do not wish to fight, useful in raiding bases for Faction Points.

Know your Enemy

If you are besieging a city always watch the radar for red dots, use the TAB key to find any enemies or TEFs that are around. Try to fight one opponent at a time, if taking on more than one opponent check to see which is the weakest, one might not have a doctors buffed, or not taken food to buff there mind, take them out first, they are a distraction but could be a threat if they stay in the fight.
As you spend more time PvPing you notice that you come up against the same people time after time. You will know if you can defeat these people or not from past experience. The hardcore PvP will have the best equipment for their template and maybe more experience than yourself at fighting. These people will more than likely easily defeat you simply because they know what they are doing. Watch and learn from them, they do this every day and better people than you have fallen to them. I have fought people that have beaten me one day only for me to beat them the next because I am ready for their tactics.

Defence is the best offence:

You are a defensive template and as such the use of an offence tactic will more than likely be the death of you. Do not be afraid to run away to heal up or to leave a hostile city when your foods begin to run out or your about to have a moun downer. You will not last long standing around while so vulnerable. Run, hide, heal up wait till you can take the food and spice again then head back. The hit and run tactic is one of the most effective tactic in history. Do not run after that rifleman that is kiting you with a T21, stop run for cover and wait for him to get impatient and come to you. This will sometimes end up as a stalemate with the rifleman waiting for you to come out into line of site and you are waiting for the rifleman to come into range of your knockdown. You will be not doing as much damage as those heavy weapon professions but you will absorb a lot more damage than they can. If you are smart, patient and well prepared you will eventually win the day.

Role in battle:

Personal I do 1 of 3 things in battle as of follows:-
1 Go crazy and rush into a group of enemies hitting them with states and knockdowns while ranged support mop them up.
2 Use dot pistols and spam fan shot into a groups of the enemy.
3 Camp the cloner door. This is a very low and dirty job but someone has to stop the unlimited source of defenders. Use knock downs to hit people as soon as they are at the door and watch them fall to the ground. If only one person has tried to rush past you then finish them off, otherwise target the next and hit them with dizzy. Pay close attention to them CMs that are cloning. Make sure they drop before they are out of the cloner door throwing their chemical death. Taking off your VKs will extend your range for knockdowns.

Tactics against Races and Classes:

Riflemen: apply blind and they won't hit you. Keep them on there backs.
Wookie: HS2 x 20, /deatblow (with your trusty FWG5)
Combat Medic: With a “Full Buff” (Doctor, musician, dancer, cocktail of foods, spice) you can usually surprise them as they are not expecting you to survive long. I’ve had my mind regenerating almost as quick as a poison was ticking and defeated the CM. Another tactic is to run unequip armour macro, FD, wait for the CM to get bored and go away. Refusing to fight most CM's will annoy them as most take up this profession to kill as many enemy players as possible. Denying them of your 22 faction points will greatly upset them. Now wait until they are distracted (possibly by another target or bordom, stand up and scaper and heal up.
Fencers or Pistoleers: You will nearly be evenly matched but I find the triple master usually has the better advantage. Use those states but especial stun as the defences that define these classes will greatly diminish.. These can be very long battles.
Swordsman: Keep them on there backs and you will have no problems against them.
Commando/Bounty Hunters/Pikeman/Carbiners: Keep them on there backs, apply states, you should have little problems with these.
Medics/Doctors: Make sure Blind sticks to them. They will not be able to heal group members.
TKM: Kite them with pistols, or switch to TKM. They should have little success against you as you should have great defences.
Other Triple Masters: Hope that you are more skilled, have better equipment and preparation. If all this is equal it will come down to a long fight with the winner being who is the luckiest.

Additions to the guide have come from the following:
Kago: Poweboost MacroLorenzo: Skill Tapes/Food and Drink
BloodMonk: Intimidate stacking, Pistol attacks, Panic shot marco. Tactics against professions/races