Rifleman Archive
Thread: Hologrinders read this for master rifle
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Neclonmite
Mon Mar 15, 2004 1:43 am
#1
OK, this forum does not have a thread like this up top that I seen, so since all the shuttles take off right before I get to the ticket man, I'm going to put one up for everyone. Rifleman, as the only elite combat profession who's speed comes with combat exp is rather unique. This opens up some different hunting techniques for those who want to master it quickly and/or not mess with being weak. The routes to master previously outlined I will address after the first method. Most of these all assume you are just going straight for rifleman...
General Rules (apply to all methods): Make sure you have vasarian brandy on hand. This should be one of your first goals. Grind missions, sell resources, whatever until you can get a supply of this stuff. TRY to have different rifles. A jawa ion may not have the best stats, but when you're fighting something with 60-70% energy resist it may be avery good fallback. Dxr6 for those of you who can get em is a wonderful grinding tool but hard-ham-hitting so more than just brandy is needed. GET SPEED SLICE AND SPEED POWERUP. Speed % for % is a better increase in DPS than damage. Big numbers are neat to see, but when you hit for 4k every 6 seconds, vs hitting for 2k every 2 seconds you do less damage over time.
PowerGamer Route: Many if not most holo grinders have mastered an elite combat prof before going for rifleman. USE THIS. Max your combat xp out, train the combat line in rifle up to the 3rd box, then use that master prof to get the 4th box in rifle as quickly as possible. This will save you a lot of time in the long run. +70 speed vs +30 is a HUGE difference (you shoot 2.3x as fast with +70 and with long delay weapons and specials thats huge). That is the main trick for those who have the option. Get abilities 4 first. Then follow one of the tactics below.
Safe solo route: conceal shot. Even with my speed maxed out, speed sliced, and speed powered weapons I kill rather slow with this route, so it is not the quickest way by any means. But if you have NO other combat skills and you're not very good with twitch tactics this is the best way to go. Get conceal shot, then the sniping tree. Safely sit at a distance and grind the rest of your skills up as you see fit.
Tactical Twitch Solo route: Headshot 2/3. This is going to be one of the fastest most reliable killing tools you have 1 on 1. Headshot 3 is slightly better if you can stand the ham cost (once you get it). I have flushingshot2 and I can assure that 1v1 I very much prefer headshot. The potential to kill faster is in flushing, but the potential to kill much slower is also there. And consistancy is necessary in this method.
2 possibilities for the tactical. Easiest is spare the points for Ranged Support 4. Suppression fire, and warning shot are your friends. Rifleman is the only class that can't hit the broad side of a barn if sitting within 15m of it. Keeping things at a minimum of 30m is a must. Even threaten shot can save you if all you have is those extra 2 points. Just make sure to peace after hitting with it each time because once they get hit again it knocks them out of the confused mode (similar with warning shot most of the time). This way eats a good chunk of VERY important combat xp tho (speed is everything).
Alternate tactical is lesser known. Got a melee class? Or got novice brawler and don't want to give it up for ranged support for whatever reason or dont want to use up that precious combat xp? USE INTIMIDATE. I can garantee that this makes the target easier to hit. Going from TK to Rifleman I did not have the combat xp to spare on ranged support. Warcry and Intimidate hit the health hard so you NEED some sort of str boosting food/spice, or very high natural STR. Proper use of intimidate requires spamming it 2-4 times so trying to heal inbetween really isn't viable. With this tactic, any time something gets within 25 meters, you intimidate it 2-4 times (duration stacks). Now you can hit it again, although with low accuracy you'll still miss alot. This is where you whip out a fast melee weapon (even VKs work speed is of the essence) and use LUNGE. Once that is done it will be kneeling long enough for you to get to a distance. Not only that, but it is now intimdated making it that much easier to hit. Trust me on this, intimidate definitely makes them easier to hit, plus it halves the damage they do to you and makes them miss more often. By the time they catch up again, usually the 30 seconds is up and you can re-lunge them and keep this up.
Grouping Method: This is the most popular route to master. If you group for all/most of your hunting, this is a good and probably the fastest route to master rifleman. Get flushing shot 2! Just use headshot 2 until you can get through Counter-Sniping 3, and you're in business. Groups its all about raw DPS NOT how fast you kill it. Plus other classes cant hit mind as well, so you will kill faster with this. Again, if you have novice brawler, intimidate does wonders. Or get the tanks you're hunting with to use it. If they're not, they're either well armored, or dumb. Halves dmg, makes it easier to hit, and makes it miss what its attacking more. For raw dps, flushing shot 2 is king (before master). Plus in groups you end up fighting multiple opponents much more often and once you're aeing with the high DPS on that move, you're really raking in the xp. (Note if you hunt rancors, get a dxr6 asap, or at the least a t21. 60% resist energy is painful although I did ok with my laser).
With all methods, the better you're buffed the better you'll do. Having to heal your ham takes time from shooting when there's a fight. Worse is waiting on mind. Brandy is a must, and have muon gold handy for emergencies. I have leftover ryschate which couples perfectly with the brandy, but find your own combo. DR. buffs, brandy, and vagnarian canape is probably the best combo (unless u can find brandy with 42 minute duration which is the actual stomach decay timer for most ppl). T21 and DXR6 are heavy on the ham, so having good buffs and food is absolutely necessary to use these. If you solo and group mix and match as necessary. I suggest grouping, though, as it is the easiest, safest, and most reliable method of levelling. The hard part is (if you rancor hunt) getting a good weapon that gets through their light armor - 60 % energy resist.
Message Edited by Neclonmite on 03-14-2004 05:41 PM
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