Pistoleer Archive
Thread: some /greets from a fellow pistoleer
just wanted to say hello to everyone in here and thank you all for your very informative posts. i read a lot of whining in here as well, but i guess thats the same anywhere you go ...
... and you (or WE in this case) might not be the last of professins that should be allowed to whine a bit! 
just a few short questions that aren't fully cleared up:
1 - does anyone actually use PMD1(KD)?
2 - does anyone actually use StShot?
3 - is the Ranged Weapon Support tree worth keeping?
4 - are there any soloing Pistoleers (real solo, even without Creatures)?
5 - did i make the right decision to go Pistoleer? any other direction you would go if you had 75 skill points left for combat use (currently in marksman and pistoleer)?
thx in advance for all the ansewers!
Welcome Nerun,
Ya I use PMD1 but it has a 30 second delay and it never sticks on high end creatures!
Stoping Shot is my second most use special after Fan Shot.
Ranged weapons support tree??? Its really up to you. Suppression is nice so is warning shot.
Yes, I am a "pure" Pistoleer!!!!! I am Master Pistoleer and Master Weaponsmith with some Medic...I have NO BH, NO smuggler....and you know what! I REALLY REALLY SUCK! I never win in PvP and I always have problems with high end mobs...but I'm hoping the Dev's offer something soon for Pistoleer, like I new pistol they promised us MONTHS AGO!!!!!!!!
But hey! enjoy the profession
just a few short questions that aren't fully cleared up:
1 - does anyone actually use PMD1(KD)?
Yes, but as the other poster mentioned, it does not stick that often; do not depend on it the way that melee classes live and die with their KDs or Carbineers and BHs spam their ranged ones until one hits.
2 - does anyone actually use StShot?
At 0/0/4/3, you will almost certainly have no reason to use the shot, unless you have a well under 1.0s Krayt gun. Use Body Shot 2, or Kip Up Shot if you really want Random HAM damage.
3 - is the Ranged Weapon Support tree worth keeping?
Yes -- you will not have much defense or huge damage, so you can use those shots to control the mobs.
4 - are there any soloing Pistoleers (real solo, even without Creatures)?
Depends on what you want to solo. Master Pistoleer alone is inferior in PvE solo to all M. melee alone(except maybe Pikeman; I don't really know), as well as M. Rifleman alone and Smuggler alone if you have patience, as well as of course Bounty Hunter. With some Medic a Master Pistoleer without Doctor/Entertainer buffs can often solo any terminal mission (exception: Rebel faction missions that spawn AT-STs) without pets (stack bleeds, constantly stay in motion as far away as possible spamming BS3/Fanshot, eat a little food before the fight), but I do not know whether people can do this without Medic. But at your level of defense, no way.
5 - did i make the right decision to go Pistoleer? any other direction you would go if you had 75 skill points left for combat use (currently in marksman and pistoleer)?
TKA probably provides the most bang for the buck at low skill point investments; of the three ranged professions, Pistoleer is probably best at low skill point investments under the current combat systems; however, I see the TC HAM changes and elimination of Melee damage modifier swinging the advantage over to Riflemen or Carbineers at all levels of skill.
keep it comin!
Nerun1 wrote:
just a few short questions that aren't fully cleared up:
1 - does anyone actually use PMD1(KD)?
2 - does anyone actually use StShot?
3 - is the Ranged Weapon Support tree worth keeping?
4 - are there any soloing Pistoleers (real solo, even without Creatures)?
5 - did i make the right decision to go Pistoleer? any other direction you would go if you had 75 skill points left for combat use (currently in marksman and pistoleer)?
1) Yes. I use PMD1 in PvE when a creature gets into melee range. Against a tough creature you'll never want to let that happen ... but against the easy stuff you can just spam a special, then use PMD1 and keep firing the special when they're in melee range. PMD1 is pretty useless in PvP, though, because it only has a 7m range and due to server lag you'll never hit a moving target with it.
2) The folks who use StoppingShot are people who have +100 Pistol Speed because they have the BH pistol line. With your template you'll only want to use StoppingShot to kill stuff that you can nail in one shot (nunas, kreetles, etc). You'll be relying on BodyShot2 primarily.
3) I'd keep Ranged Weapon Support 3 because I think that WarningShot is the best PvE special in the game. It's extremely useful, especially if you don't use pets yourself. It's useful in PvP as well, if you're going up against CH pets. I wouldn't bother keeping Ranged 4, though, because the five skill points are too high of a cost for Suppression Fire. It's useful, but not useful enough given your template.
4) I don't use creatures, and I often solo. Just be aware that you won't be very strong with your template and no pet ... be smart about what you attack and how you attack it.
5) Pistoleer is a decent choice, since most of our power comes at the bottom of our tree instead of at the top. Creature Handler would probably be a better PvE bang for your buck if you have the skill points. Rifleman is also a very strong choice right now. Teras Kasi is great as well. I don't think you have enough skill points for Commando, but a flame thrower is also a great PvE weapon. Your choice is fine -- of course I'm biased, since I'm a Pistoleer -- but there are other good choices out there as well.
Question for the Philosopher:
I'm just about at master CM, so I will not be able to augment my combat skills from more than one profession. I'm not too interested in rifles because of my need for mind so basically I am looking at pistoleer or carbineer. I'm about 3 boxes from mastering pistoleer and yeah I've pretty much noticed that I feel pretty underpowered as far as offensive capabilities. I've had Tech iv for some time now and its kind of depressing that my special attacks aren't going to get any more powerful or have state effects. I like the defense and I like the speed though, fan shot rocks but Carbineer has an aoe that I believe also has state effects. Question is what do you see as the pros and cons of making such a move, with the understanding that I cannot get any BH or smuggler. Your post in this thread is an example of why Im coming to you for input, good summarization of the relevant issues and you have a good grasp of the distinctions between dabblers and 'pure' masters of a class.
Like I said I'm a CM so healing action ham is not a huge problem for me, biggest issue is using my mind healing myself instead of my teammates but I can get around that. Plus if I am focused on healing its not like I'm spamming specials anyway. I've read the carbineer forum for a while and I see a lot of the 'grass is greener' phenomena. Haha its funny how many of them complain about how broken they are (not saying they aren't in some ways) and point to pistoleer as a counterexample. Now being a 'pure' carbineer definately has its issues but it seems to me that as a healing type I'm in good position to work around the prohibitive HAM costs and their specials sound much cooler than ours. They have broken specials too but it sounds like they also have certain ones that work that they can consistently use as a state attack. So at this point I'm leaning towards grabbing a carbine. What do you think?
If anyone else has an opinion (especially someone who has the template I am working on now) I'dwelcome any input.
Imawookie,
Thanks for your kind words. I know how you feel about Pistoleer ... we've all shared your disappointment at one time or another. 
Here's the best advice I can offer you:
As an initial point, although I understand the need to keep your mind pool up, I think you want to at least consider Rifleman. Right now that's by far your best bang for the buck of the three professions you're considering. I won't go into more detail, because you aren't considering it, but it's worth thinking about.
I think the Pistoleer v. Carbineer choice is a tough one for you. You are right that the Carbineer tree is full of specials with awesome state effects and with AOE damage. (It is worth noting, as you mentioned, that they also have a number of broken specials.) Carbineers generally have better DPS than a Pistoleer once they reach Master, and have medium armor piercing weapons. Carbineers can also target action, which is far better in PvP than targetting health. Those advantages are very significant.
The HAM cost problem with Carbineer is very significant, however, and you'll be healing a lot if you aren't buffed. Expect to use 100 or more HAM per move. Right now a Master Doctor / Master Carbineer combo is deadly because of the Doctor buffs, which basically do away with HAM costs. A good friend of mine (and frequent hunting partner) has this combo, and he is awesome. As a CM you don't have the buffs, though, and without the Doctor buffsyou would need to heal very often.
Two additional things you should consider. First of all, Carbineer currently has one knockdown move which is bugged and isn't on a timer. You can spam that special and solo almost anything, if you can deal with the HAM costs. It will be fixed eventually, but for right now it is perhaps the most powerful special in the game. Second, you might want to get on TestCenter and see how the new HAM cost system affects Carbineers. I might give that a try myself, if I have the time ... right now the Carbineer Correspondent is MIA. It could be good or bad for Carbineers -- I have no way of knowing.
Overall, I think it's tough choosing between Pistoleer and Carbineer. You're right that Carbineer has a number of very significant advantages, but there are some real disadvantages as well. Personally I'd also consider something like Rifleman or maybe Smuggler/Pistoleer dabble combo instead. TKA is another option, particularly in PvE.
1 - does anyone actually use PMD1(KD)?
Constantly. I use it on nearly every mob I fight. The knockdown not only stops my pets from wandering, but it also allows a few seconds of extra damage. And the most important thing....it can and will save your life. A lot.
2 - does anyone actually use StShot?
If you mean Stopping Shot, then yeah. I used it a lot before master, but now that I am master, even with my 2.6 speed Republic blaster, Stopping Shot is really fast and does a lot of damage. Just watch your action bar 
3 - is the Ranged Weapon Support tree worth keeping?
If you fight like me, or plan to true-solo....then this tree is unquestionably worth keeping. Warning shot can save you, and suppression fire is very, very handy. Don't forget the attribute bonuses too.
4 - are there any soloing Pistoleers (real solo, even without Creatures)?
I used to. It's a challenge, but it's certainly doable. I find that I use far less specials when I true-solo. Now that I got my claws into creature handling though, I'm loving pistoleer even more
Pistoleer, in my opinion, is the most stylish of the combat professions. We've got the most to juggle. Bounty Hunters on one side, riflemen on the other. Everything is a debate nowadays, but none of those classes looks as casually-dangerous as we do . And, besides. Just wait till all our specials work 
1 - does anyone actually use PMD1(KD)?
Every MoB, Every 30 seconds, Always
2 - does anyone actually use StShot?
I use BodyShot3 since it's health targeted, and as Jaegen once said if you're gonna attack a healable pool you may as well attack it efficently. However, Stopping Shot is my second most used special
3 - is the Ranged Weapon Support tree worth keeping?
Warning shot is a boon in PvE and sometimes in PvP. Suppression Fire is alright, but you can do without it. I don't have RWS atm because of HoloMadness, but I'm going to pick it up again at some point
4- are there any soloing Pistoleers (real solo, even without Creatures)?
YES! I am a Master Gunfighter/Master Medic, used to be Master Doctor. Fully buffed I can take on anything...just about
5 - did i make the right decision to go Pistoleer?
Welcome aboard. I think you made the right decision. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here
thx for your time and keep up the killin!
I didnt read manyt of the posts in this thread...but:
I use PMD1 and STShot constantly, fan shot is too risky on high level (aggroing several at once)
Get yourself some really nice ADV. Composite, i have some 64% base that was sliced for 84% on some pieces an those werent even great slices. With that i can solo pretty much anything that doesnt have a 60+ resistance to all my guns.....
1 - does anyone actually use PMD1(KD)?
yup, i do, all the time, every fight
2 - does anyone actually use StShot?
see above answer
3 - is the Ranged Weapon Support tree worth keeping?
I dropped it in favor of more medic stuffs
4 - are there any soloing Pistoleers (real solo, even without Creatures)?
*wave* yeap
5 - did i make the right decision to go Pistoleer? any other direction you would go if you had 75 skill points left for combat use (currently in marksman and pistoleer)?
I think you did, but then, i'm biased