Pistoleer Archive

Well, I decided on the following character, and am working my way up the ladder to achieving it:
Brawler 4000, Marksman 0404, Medic 0240, Scout 4040, Smuggler 0440, Master Pistoleer.

Currently I have the Brawler, Marksman, Medic, and Scout accomplished as well as Novice in both Smuggler and Pistoleer. I have a very respectable Krayt Scout Blaster, a very nice FWG5, andnon-sliced non-krayt DX2, Striker, and DL44 pistols (for various anti-resistance critters). I have layered Advanced Ubese armour on all parts of my body...

... and I'm getting absolutely pwned in PvE combat. My damage output is horrible (I think...). I look at my BH friend doing a consistent 1000+ with his Scatter Pistol, and see my TKA friends doing well over 1000 with their VK swings... all at pretty much the same speed as I get my shots off. My TKA friends wade through Dark Troopers while I get pasted by just one.

I usually lead off with HealthShot2 and then move into BodyShot2 or OverchargeShot depending on the target. I've found that this totally blows not so much my HAM bar as the durability on my pistols. That aside, what other specials should I be using on critters? Hell, a single PIcket kicks my arse!

What kind of armour will I be needing? I've thought about suckering my friends into helping with R.I.S Armour component gathering, but that's going to be a long and arduous process - probably harder than holo-farming (which I still have yet to get one).

I'm a Zabrak who started Marksman who migrated Health and Action down to 1000 each in order to pump the Mind secondaries enough to wear my Ubese helmet. Everything else is pretty much as it was after creation.

I have to ask what I am missing? Is it just because I'm not above Novice PIstoleer? Will Master PIstoleer help *that* much?

The more pistoleer skills you get, the better damage you will do. If you are going to get pistoleer skills, you want to get the skills on the right side of the tree, grips and abilities Don't even bother with the one on the far left.Abilities is basedon combat exp and will make you harder to knock down and will give you the ability to pistol whip anyone who gets too close. The grips will give you more special shots. Disarm 1.....well it sucks. Double Tap sucks too, but Stopping Shot and Fan shot are nice and you also get better at resisting stun and the likes of those attacks. The skill next to those, marksmanshipimproves speed and accuracy so you can work that one up too. The last skill the one on the far left, tactics,save for last. It is really lame form what I hear. I haven't wasted any points on it yet. Definately keep on working Dirty Fighting. It makes you survive longer. I have full DF and I can solo the squill cave and FT Tusken almost unscathed. Look into getting some bio-enhanced clothing. There are many types and they boost certain stats that can help you survive a fight. I don't really know about armor. I wear a combo of Ubese and Composite and it keeps me nicely protected so far. And I would try stacking your health shots. Make a macro for them and bleed the target first, then hammer body shot or supression fire. If you have DF, hit em with low blow or panic shot. Anything to knock them over or delay them so you can pour it on. Fan shot and Stopping Shot can do the job too. I wouldn't bother with overcharge unless you need to. It wears you guns down faster. BH and TKA will do more damage than you, but at least you will do some modest damage. I had BH and the Scatter pistol is nice and I wish I could still use it, but the BH profession can be boring unless you are into alot of PVP to keep it interesting.

First of all, since you have the Smuggler specials you should rely on those -- they're a *lot* better than the Pistoleer specials. Lead off with LowBlow, then PanicShot, then fire LastDitch until they're dead. The problem is if you miss the LowBlow or PanicShot ... against skilled melee I've been missing 80% of the time from ideal range. I've had to use /aim in PvP to land those shots (I'm on Smuggler now for my latest Holo -- and still Master Pistoleer, as always).

Here's my take on Pistoleer PvP right now (non-Smuggler/non-BH). You'll do okay if the other player is unbuffed, doesn't heal fast or well, and isn't wearing armor. If you're going up against a player who is buffed and is healing all the time with well experimented Stim Bs (which is 90% of smart PvPers) you're in big trouble as a Master Pistoleer. Your best bet, in that situation, is to stack your bleeds and to have the same advantages as the other guy -- use good armor, make sure you're buffed, take Muon Gold if needed, have a crate of well experimented Stim Bs on you etc. But even at that point you're going to be at a major disadvantage to other professions which can target mind or action, have better bleeds, better DPS, or armor piercing weapons.