Rifleman Archive

Headshot3 HAM costs are out of line with the added damage. Most higher level Riflemen/women only use it when mind buffed. Headshot2 remains the staple mind pool attack. So even though it seems to be an important shot, it can wait.

Mindshot2 (Accuracy 1) and Concealshot (Concealment 1) are important tools for leveling. Go for those first then go up to Countersniping 3 for Flushingshot2 (posture change up, stun, and Area Effect with second highest damage modifier). From there finish off Accuracy then Countersniping then Concealment.

As you said, Special Abilities will pretty much take care of itself.

As far as which to get first, Mindshot2 or Concealshot. That is a matter of taste. If you have Warningshot, Mindshot1 + Mindshot2 (plus Headshots) then keep them off of you with Warningshot is one way of leveling. Concealshot, when used right, allows you to shoot targets without being aggroed, but it costs more in HAM and has a longer delay so you are trading relative safety for speed. Mindshots are, of course, mind bleeds, and Concealshot is a random pool attack. Which you do first is a matter of playstyle.

Im too impatient with conceal shot it is aggrevating to have to wait through 20 shots to kill something that5 or 6 good mind/headshots would kill. So by the time i have got my three free shots then i have only two or three shots left usually, seems awaste of ham to use conceal on anything that you could take out normally.

Conceal is a life saver though when facing multiple targets such as finishing the act 2 monthly story end mission. If i had been a little more careful i would not have had to use a friend i brought in just incase i needed help (a carbineer/ mch). as it was i didnt even order my support personnel to attack. I killed 7 of the 10 NPC's myself with conceal and used the MCH tanks to kill the other three. Easier than i thought when i first tried it as pistoleer a few months ago(and failed)

If you want to slow crawl your way through Rifleman then by all means go conseal shot headshot route. IF you want to Master Rfleman quickly then the rout to go is Sniping 1 first for MS2 then witch over to the counter sniping tree til you get flushing shot 2. Once you have flushing shot 2 (AOE attack) the exp will come faster. Have the same MCH friend you used before to go with you again but this time have him sick his pets onto the lair and you target the lair and flsuhing shot 2 the lair. Watch how fast and much exp ya get then. It does take practice but once ya get the hang of it, it will become ALOT easier to lvl even solo if you have a good pet to tank for you.

i totally agree

Conceal is a life saver on those targets you shouldnt be able to take down solo(singing mountain clan dragoon, night sisters, multiple rancors, Etc...) It does take a bit longer with the lower dmg with conceal and thats the price of safety i guess.

but on theTargets that have a low chance of DB'ing/incap you, the other attacks work much better.

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MajiQ wrote:

PvE CONCEAL Shot

yea boy that is the greatest skill, if you have the mind for it. not sure on PvP since i havent tried that.

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Conceal does work in PvP as the player you're shooting at doesn't get an auto target on you. Pretty funny to pull on an opponent too. Our best shots depend on the target and rifle we use. I'd go with strafe2 or flushing2 with a good damage T21 on low to no armor for our hardest hitting shots. For PvP that depends on what you're wanting to do, are you wanting to get them down fast and to the cloner or are you wanting them to wait around incapped. I always find the medic(s) in a group and take their mind out as only combat medics can heal that. With main doctors and other healers down you now have an advantage.

For quick dispersal of groups, any good area attack works. I'll use stacked flurry shot 2 for dizzy and follow up with flushing shot 2 for the KD. This works great against many NPC's and several players when done right. Once the target is on their back follow up with strafe shot 2, headshot 3 or some other hard hitting shot as you get a bonus to your damage done. Really if you can team up with a few pistoleers, smugglers, or carbineers that have a KD shot plan you attack and have them do their KD and you follow with a hard hitting shot. Many times you'll incap them before they have a chance to stand back up.

When a novice comes up and asks me for training or what skill(s) to get first I always suggest get conceal shot as soon as possible. After that pickup abilities as soon as possible too as this helps for rifle speed. Then I suggest picking up one or two boxes in sniper for accuracy followed by finishing off the counter-sniping line for flushing shot 2. I'll also suggest that they travel with a wide assortment of weapons and if you still have pistol skills you might want to keep a good pistol on hand to help in a pinch. (Though, since the removal of the 2.5x melee damage I'm not so sure if this is even needed anymore.) Keep two of each type on you at all times, one for damage and one for speed. Also, if you haven't hit up spices or food buffs yet get to it. Open up and live a little. Really to compete and especially in PvP you'll be one of two things either a food buff or a spice head. Truthfully it doesn't hurt to have some of both. I'll run muon right before a fight and save the fishak and other mind food for when I get close to loosing all my mind power.

Erdraug and Veustuh

Those aregreat tips, ill have to try some of them tonight.

I must say this forum has some great responses to questions. I didn't think about getting strafe shot until you guys strarted talking it up now im going that route. I like taking my time to level that way i learn how the different specials work. And can find good working combinations. So I guess i might take a while but im looking forward to mastering this profession.

What's the best Rifleman skills to level up first? Obviously the Rifle Speed takes care of itself using combat XP, but there's a choice amongst the others.. is it best to do all four levels of the Rifle Accuracy branch so I get Headshot 3 etc? This is what I'm inclined to do, but the other skills do have some tempting bonuses to defence etc...

Help!

PvE CONCEAL Shot

yea boy that is the greatest skill, if you have the mind for it. not sure on PvP since i havent tried that.