Pistoleer Archive
Thread: Guide: What Special Attack Should I Use?
Introduction
One of the most commonly asked questions on the SWG Pistoleer board is "What special attack should I use?" The answer usually given is something like, "BodyShot2 if you be pre-Master, FanShot or BodyShot3 if a Master, Stopping Shot if you have a really fast gun or the Expert Bounty Hunter line." While mostly correct, a more precise answer can be offered. What follows are tables giving the highest Health Damage-Per-Second (DPS) Special Move at various combinations of Pistol Speed Skill and weapon speed. Only Pistoleer specials and Pistol Speed modifiers reachable by the non-Bounty Hunter Pistoleer are here considered, and solo PvE is the focus (that is, only Health damage is considered relevant -- in group hunts or PvP Action or Mind damage "wasted" in solo PvE might actually be important -- but is here ignored).
Additional caveat: this analysis only tries to consider the single target case; as of this writing, FanShot is still AOE, which makes it easily the best group enemy special in most cases -- but it is to be nerfed.
Pistoleer Specials and Health DPS
There are in fact only four Pistoleer specials worth spamming (data taken from the Pistoleer FAQ except correction to Stopping Shot damage):
Pistoleer/Marksman Specials with Total HAM Damage and Delay
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Special Damage Multiplier Delay Multiplier
BodyShot2 2.1 1.8
BodyShot3 2.5 2.4
Stopping Shot 5.0 4.0
Fan Shot 4.0 2.4
But the above is not the entire story, for the two BodyShots target Health, while the others hit random HAM pools. Four-sevenths or 57% of random HAM attacks over time hit a Health pool body part (chest, left arm, right arm, hands); because some small percent of a random pool shot's damage drains from the two pools other than that corresponding to the body part hit, the percentage of Health damage over time from random HAM attacks is usually reckoned at 55%.
Adjusted, the "Health damage multiplier" and Delay for the four shots is this:
Pistoleer/Marksman Specials with Health Damage and Delay
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Special Damage Multiplier Delay Multiplier
BodyShot2 2.1 1.8
BodyShot3 2.5 2.4
Stopping Shot 2.75 4.0
Fan Shot 2.22.4
Were there no speed cap, BodyShot2 would be the best Special in every one on one, PvE encounter. But there is a speed cap, and so as his Pistol Speed skill and weapon speed improve, the Pistoleer needs to switch to other specials as BodyShot2 (and later, FanShot and BodyShot3) runs into the cap.
There is yet another wrinkle here -- BodyShot3 has a higher HAM cost than FanShot; therefore, some players may choose to use FanShot despite the fact that BodyShot3 will always outperform it in Health damage over time (as the two shots have the same delay). Therefore, the tables below for each Pistol Speed level are split in half -- one half for FanShot users and the other half for BodyShot3 users. (Stopping Shot also has a high HAM cost -- those in the speed range in which Stopping Shot is the best Health DPS special but who cannot manage the HAM drain could fall back to Fan Shot).
Tables
All data rounded to tenths.
Formulae used in preparing these tables are given at the end of the post.
Abbreviations:
BS2: Body Shot 2
BS3: Body Shot 3
SS: Stopping Shot
FS: Fan Shot
Instructions: First, find the table corresponding to your Pistol Speed Skill. Second, find that half of the table with the FanShot or BodyShot3 option you desire (see discussion on BodyShot3's superior DPS vs. FanShot's better HAM cost above). Third, locate the cell within the half-table containing your weapon speed. Finally, look to the left of that weapon speed cell to find your best Health DPS special.
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Master Pistoleer + Master Marksman, Pistol Speed +79
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Fan Shot Case | Body Shot 3 Case
Special Weapon Speed (s) | Special Weapon Speed (s)
BS2 over 2.1 | BS2 over 2.4
FS 1.5 to 2.1 | BS3 1.3 to 2.4
SS 0.0 to 1.5 | SS 0.0 to 1.3
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Master Pistoleer, Pistol Speed +74
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Fan Shot Case | Body Shot 3 Case
Special Weapon Speed (s) | Special Weapon Speed (s)
BS2 over 1.7 | BS2 over 1.9
FS 1.2 to 1.7 | BS3 1.1 to 1.9
SS 0.0 to 1.2 | SS 0.0 to 1.1
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Quickdraw Tier 4, Pistol Speed +54
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Fan Shot Case | Body Shot 3 Case
Special Weapon Speed (s) | Special Weapon Speed (s)
BS2 over 1.0 | BS2 over 1.2
FS 0.7 to 1.0 | BS3 0.6 to 1.2
SS 0.0 to 0.7 | SS 0.0 to 0.6
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Quickdraw Tier 3, Pistol Speed +48
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Fan Shot Case | Body Shot 3 Case
Special Weapon Speed (s) | Special Weapon Speed (s)
BS2 over 0.8 | BS2 over 1.0
FS 0.6 to 0.8 | BS3 0.5 to 1.0
SS 0.0 to 0.6 | SS 0.0 to 0.5
Only those with Krayt weapons would want the data much beyond this point -- suffice it to say that you are pretty much stuck with BodyShot2 at +42 Pistol Speed or slower.
Appendix: Formulae
Each weapon speed transition point from a faster, higher damage per second but capped Special to a slower but higher damage per shot Special is determined with this equation:
X = [Slow Special Dmg Multiplier] / [ (Fast Special Dmg Multiplier) * (1 - (Pistol Speed Skill)) * (Slow Special Delay) ]
This is derived from a DPS ratio:
(Fast Special Dmg Multiplier) / (Total Fast Special Delay inc. Weapon/Skill) = (Slow Special Dmg Multiplier) / (Total Slow Special Delay inc. Weapon/Skill)
where (Total Fast Special Delay inc. Weapon/Skill) = 1 because it is capped, and
(Total Slow Special Delay inc. Weapon/Skill) = (1 - (Pistol Speed Skill)) * (Slow Special Delay) * (Weapon Speed)
where (Weapon Speed) is the unknown for which we are solving.
(for "Pistol Speed Skill" in the above read "Pistol Speed Skill * 0.01", actually)
See the Pistoleer FAQ for more information on the Speed equations in SWG.
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Originally Posted 12 November 2003
Dinian wrote:
Please include rollshot and kipup shot, both marksman specials are 2.5x random ham damage for 1.5x delay.
These have exactly the same uncapped DPS as Fanshot. There is therefore no weapon speed range in which these shots are superior to Fanshot, and thus no place to put them on the above charts. I can provide the capping weapon speed for these shots at various levels of Pistoleer Speed Skill -- that is, the point at which Fanshot ceases being equal to Kipup and starts being better:
Weapon Speed at which Kipup shot is capped
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Master Pistoleer +74 2.6s
Quickdraw Tier 4 +54 1.4s
Quickdraw Tier 3 +48 1.3s
I also have difficulty seeing where Kipup Shot is useful, ever. It has a "Health Damage Multiplier" of 1.375, which is 35% lower than BodyShot2's 2.1. In the tables above, I provided a Fanshot for BodyShot3 substitution on HAM grounds, but at least you are only sacrificing 12% of BodyShot3's damage by making that downgrade. Is the HAM cost for BS2 so much worse than Kipup Shot as to justify 35% less damage?
Eldudorino wrote:
So, if Im a master pistoleer using pistols all in the low-mid 1 second range (1.1-1.5spd) I should use BS3 over SS for a better dps? Just makin sure...
Yes.
SueDenim wrote:
Sorry, probably a stupid question, but what's the normal speed formula? What number would go in column 2?
It's not a stupid question. The Devs don't include these equations in the Manual or in-game help, so this is the only place you can get this info. So it's their fault, not yours. 
The answer is 1.0
Majin-Frag wrote:
Great thread. Let's get this info into the FAQ.
Will do. I have to remake the FAQ because some of it is really outdated ... it's something I'll do when I have some extra time and is definitely on my to-do list.
BS3 - BS3 - BS3 - STOPPINGHOT - STOPPINGSHOT - REPEAT
Seems when i spam 3 BS3 in a row the first stoppingshot jams the Health
I use the following when grouped
BS3 - BS3 - STOPPINGSHOT - FANSHOT - FANSHOT - STOPPINGSHOT - BS3 - REPEAT
I attack health mostly but throw in the fanshot and stoppingshot to get some help to any of my friedns attacking a different pool.