Rifleman Archive

Does anyone know. I've not been able to figure out any use for this shot. Maybe just a bit more damage?

From the the Styles thread referenced by the FAQ thread, the stats for Concealshot and Surpriseshot are as follows:

Conceal Shot D x2.5 T x3.0 M x5
Surprise Shot D x3.0 T x3.0 M x5

Concealshot will prevent the target from aggroing on you except under some specific circumstances (e.g., you miss twice). The description for Surpriseshot says that it is a "sneak attack" that does extra damage that must be fired from cover. That and the stats above would suggest that it is just like Concealshot except that it does .5x more damage and has the additional requirement of having to be fired while under cover.

It was not working for a while, but since it got "fixed", peoplehave reported that it works whether under cover or not and that it does not prevent the target from aggroing on you like Concealshot does. Since it is obtained in the Sniping Accuracy line, not the Concealment line, it may be that it not intended to hide you.

However, it is my opinion that the shot is still broken. Right now, it is acting like it is aConcealshot that trades the ability to keep the target from aggroing on you for .5x more damage. From the description, I believe it was meant to be a Concealshot that forces you to be in cover to get .5x more damage.

The time and HAM costs make these two of our most "expensive" shots. Therefore, since Supriseshot does not hide you from the target, it is generally considered to be not worth using. You can get more damage from Flushing2 obtained at that same tier, and Flushing2 raises posture, does stun, and area effect.