Scout Archive

I have played the game for a month.... I usually do that with the free account time before I decide on a profession when playing online. I must admit I have gotten very fond of the game. However, I thought of a character based on what I would like to roleplay. I want a master Ranger/ Master Rifleman character. But in reading the two forums, it sounds like a really bad idea. Between this forum complaining about Rangers being broken, and the rifleman forum complainig that its a broken profession I dont see how I could be sucessfull.

I picture a snipper character able to devistate the enemy from range without being seen. It doesnt look possible. As soon as my "snipper" shoots all heck breaks loose and runs full tilt at him. And the combo would have no close range combat ability. so in a profession combo where I should rarely be seen and difficult to find and when found hard to hit.... It appears I am one ofthe most vurnerable characters. The ultimate survivalist always running for his life.

So why should I even try to become a Master Ranger / Master Rifleman? Because quite frankly, I really want too..... But I cannot justify it logically. Please help.

There's a 'break-even' point for every person... This is where what you WANT to do conflicts with what you logically SHOULD do - and different people approach that point in different ways. I've got no clue where your comfort level lies with that. /shrug This game is very young. If you try to follow what's the best thing to do logically - from a point of max uberness - you're going to be flitting all around and not get anything done.

My personal advice would be to do do what you WANT to do. Screw the rest. If the time comes when you hit master ranger/master rifleman and you find out it's NOT what you REALLY want - you can change. (I think that's one of the least-talked about, but most amazing thing about SWG.) As long as you're having fun doing what you want to do, what does it matter?

I gotta address two things you said:

1) Scouts aren't broken. The scout profession has one of the healthiest skill trees out there. I'd challenge you to find a major problem where something is actually no working as intended. The whole "Maskscent" issue from this last patch isn't a bug and isn't broken; its a change toward realizm.

2) "Snipers" don't exist in the game however I am a Carbine Specialist and with many creatures I can one-shot them standing at 20m. If you make it up the Rifleman tree (I haven't even been trained as novice carbineer yet...I will be tonight because I know where an NPC trainer is) you will be able to one-shot creatures from relative safety, especially if you hit them with a trap like the Noise Maker first (which causes mind damage, same as a rifle). My current tactic to use on what I think is a two-shot critter is to hit it with a Lecepamine trap first (causes Action damage - same as a carbine /legshot2) then hit it with the blaster. Usually one trap and one blast kill these critters.

You can do exactly what you describe, but you have to work up the skill trees and deal with being a wimpy newb character for a while (god I remember hating that) until you get the skills to really do what you want. You SHOULD be able to make novice Rifleman in a weekend if you work at it. I made it up thru Carbines IV of the Marksman tree in 2 days by running circles around Tyrena on Corellia shooting all the Butterflies and Chubas. I haven't really felt the need to move up into Carbineer until 2 nights ago.

Stick with it. Scout is one of the most rewarding professions out there when combined with a combat skill. I'm complementing it with Artisan then working up into as many of the Weaponsmith and Tailor skills as I have points for in order to be able to build the equipment I use as well as sell it for a profit with a vendor. As a Scout/Artisan I also can collect all the resources I need without having to buy them from a 3rd party.

Scout is the underdog of the basic professions. I'd never give it up.

And the movement bonus you get at Exploration IV makes it all worthwhile.

I would say if you want to do rifleman/ranger, go for it. Sure, there are issues with rifles right now but they will eventually be fixed. They won't stay gimped forever. In the meantime, while you're working at a disadvantage, you'll probably come up with some really cool tactics for surviving. Remember to take all the moaning on the forums with a grain of salt.

Passure,

I understand where you're coming from. When I first started to play a month ago I knew I wanted to be a Scout and using a rifle just seemed like a logical weapon. Like you, I thought a Ranger/Rifleman would be a great combination of stealth and effectiveness. Like you I found out that it's not going to work out as planned (at least not yet).

So what do I do? Like the others suggest, I play my Scout character the way I want to play, **edit** the min/max. I found that if I played a character the way I think he should be played, rather than how I want to play him, I get frustrated and don't have any fun, which defeats the point of playing this game: to envelope the Star Wars universe around myself and have fun with the experience.

Zingonia, Master Scout

Just so everyone doesn't think I'm vulgar, the edited portion of my post above was the slightly more offensive version of "darn."

Zingonia

Pass,

What you're looking for currently doesn't exist in the game.

That's the major problem with coming in with certain expectations - if you aren't able to adjust them, you'll get frustrated and quit.

I would love to be able to roleplay the part of a veteran Imperial Star Destroyer commander who's having second thoughts about the Empire, and has figured out that he can make things move by thinking about them.

Unfortunately, there's no way for me to do this yet, in the game. So I play Brisc.

I know this may not be the answer you're looking for, but as the old song goes - If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with.

There are worse professions to choose. Ranger/Rifleman can be fun if you just take your time and play to have a good time.

B

Brisc speaks some wise words in that last post...its dangerous to come into any unknown environment with any expectations.

You need to enter games like this with an open mind with no preconcieved expectations because you will be dissappointed (look at the malcontent on the Jedi forum for proof -- funny thing is I knew Jedi's would be rare in the game and that was a selling point for me - go figure).

Anecdotal story time:

IRL I was (until a few months ago when financial and medical problems hit) an avid paintball player and had been for 14 years. I can't tell you how many adults and kids I've seen leaving a paintball field depressed and dissappointed because of their preconcieved ideas. Everyone playing paintball for the first time has delusions of grandeur wanting to be the elite sniper in camos and a ghillie suit picking off targets at will from a distance while the main force of their team engages at close range. They spend $500 on a paintball gun, a dovetail scope (which they sight-in at home for hours plinking targets like milk jugs, beer cans, and the occasional neighbor's pet) and camos. Some of them will make their own ghillie suits.

Then they find out modern paintball isn't even played in the woods 50-75% of the time (hardcore players like myself prefer hyperball or inflatable bunkers in an arena), paintball "fashion" consists of brightly-colored, evolved motorcross jerseys, and the paintball guns are about as accurate as farting a grape across the living room. Not to mention that unlike targets (and neighbor's pets), paintball players shoot back.

After getting their butts handed to them all day, their preconcieved notions are out the window and many leave with broken spirits realizing the weren't the next Vin Deisel dealing out death and destruction leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.

The ones who survive being demoralized learn to play the game the way it is played...and not how they WANT it to be. Same with SWG. Play within the framework of the game, see what it has to offer without trying to force what you THINK it should do into the game otherwise you'll only be dissappointed.

As for me...who wants to be an aging SD commander. I want to be the young, attractive gun-toting Twi'lek chiq living by her wits alone wandering the galaxy in her own private ship that serves as a mobile residence and workshop selling high quality blackmarket weapons and spacing the bodies of anyone who tells me I should be dancing and not making blasters.

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ZioGiovanni wrote:

Just so everyone doesn't think I'm vulgar, the edited portion of my post above was the slightly more offensive version of "darn."

Zingonia

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Its not a bad word. Its a "Sentence Enhancer".

Its fancy-talk.