The_Bruceter wrote:

Everything that a certain ab does (downgrades, upgrades etc) along with the cast timer goes together to get the DPS, i think. You could be right about the reuse timer affecting DPS aswell.

In interlock there is no cast timer, but an interlock acc bonus. I think that comes into effect to calculate the DPS aswell. As you work your way closer to 50, you'll notice that most abs should be increasing in DPS, meaning a more powerful attack but from outside interlock, but will be a longer cast timer.

I don't think it is possible to load 2 full trees, might be wrong though. Its a good idea to mix and match from trees. I had stuck to just Aikido and Kung Fu for a long while there but recently ditched some abs in Kung Fu and loaded in some Karate. There are alot of options to choose from when building your tree. You'll do some of it on the path to 50 but when you're 50 thats when you'll manage to properly see what you can and can't load at the same time.

Yea I can't find any tangible info explain interlock acc bonus (e.g. Does it apply to that attack or for a number of attacks following the special?), but I did notice it. I guess I'll just not worry too much about that now.

GoDGiVeR wrote:

Gensatsu wrote:

GoDGiVeR wrote:

This is the reason why Grab is the most popular tactic out here nowadays. Using the "Tactic Switch" you will gain a 35% damage increase when hitting the ability with Grab and enhancing it with Power. Since Grab gives you very good defense and even some accuracy, Grab becomes pretty much "uber" in many cases. Though Grab is pretty balanced (-15% damage, which makes it, believe me, very difficult to win duels without Tactic Switch and purely on grab;; Also Evade goes down more easily but it is also easier to break someone elses evade), Tactic Switch negates that negative.

 

Daze specials are in SMGs (and one less popular in Duelist), Stagger Special in Rifleman (my favourite =P) and SMGs and Grab Specials in Duelist only.

 

Well, I hope i do make sense to you =P

 

Mfg, GG

Point Blank seems to be a very powerful special why is it less popular? I guess I assume its powerful from its DPS number which I admit I don't understand too well yet so maybe I should head over to Redpill Rescue and ask for some explanation regarding those numbers b/c they confuse me at first glance...I've just been assuming higher is better but that's not quantifiable at all.

The ability I meant wasn't Dual Point Blank, which is quite the popular one, but Pistol Whip. You rarely see that one, because people usually use FAR (Full Auto Redux) from SMG Specialist, also Duelists don't use Speed too often.

D.P.S. means "Damage per second". Damage doesn't necessarily increase only because it's D.P.S is higher. Each ability has a damage time (IMO, devs aren't allowed to tell exactly how it works =/) inside an IL round (which is 4 seconds long). The longer that damage time, the higher the damage output. The prime example is Spies "Leg Sweep", which has 12 D.P.S. but has an incredibly high damage output (which one would usually expect from an ability of 20 D.P.S. or higher, which means it would have an incredibly high damage timer). Outside IL the damage depends on the length of the cast timer. Prime example would be Devastation field in Destroyer. It has 2 D.P.S. but a huge cast timer ending in a damage that is higher than a Code Nuke 3.0 in the Howitzer tree.

=P

So the assumption is that everything is calculated based on a 4 second cast timer in IL? Because I haven't found a cast timer in any of the descriptions...perhaps some abilities take longer than one round to activate? Without knowing the S part of DPS it makes it hard for me to really get a grasp on (then again I'm on Lvl 20 perhaps it will come with time) since it doesn't seem to be as well explained as it is in other games that I've played (WoW for example). I'm pretty content with Pistol Slide at the moment...just curious about the mechanics. I have spotted a reuse timer...is that somehow equated to cast time?

Also I'm not sure about the full memory capacity of course, but can you spec far enough into SMG to get FAR (which looks insanely powerful tbh) and still load all of the duelist path? Seems like you would need nearly 100 memory or more for that kinda spec (I'm sorry I mean loadout). Either way I can understand not seeing a duelist daze special much since as you say there is little reason to switch to Speed for a duelist.

And I misspoke I did mean Pistol Whip not Dual Point Blank (apologies).

PS10N wrote:

1-You're basically right.  When someone attacks you with guns, your Ballistic Defense will be the major factor in whether they hit or miss (of course their Ballistic Accuracy is a factor.)  If they are attacking with Melee, then it would be their Melee Accuracy + roll vs. your Melee Defense + roll.

When you do get hit by gun fire, your total Ballistic Damage Resistance is subtracted from the amount of damage they would have caused you.  Example: you have 120 BDR, the opponent hits you for 800 points of Ballistic Damage, you take 680 points of damage.

2-Keep in mind that Bonus %s from apparel, like a shirt with 2% Ballistic Defense, only applies if you are wearing the shirt when you start an Upgrade which has Ballistic Defense, like Gunslinger Upgrade.  So, start Hyper-dodge, put on all your apparel with Ballistic Defense Bonus %s, start your best Upgrade that has Ballistic Defense, then put on your Ballistic Damage Resistance apparel.

3-Use the Awakened level 10 "Hyper" Abilities to manage your base Defense.  If someone is attacking you with Melee, use Hyper-block. Vs. Ballistics use Hyper-dodge.  Getting hacked?  Switch to Hyper-deflect.  Someone using Thrown knives against you?  Use Hyper-sense.

4-The Abilites below the "Hypers" in the Awakened Tree boost your Resistances, so if you're in your Ballistic Defense apparel and feel the need for additional Ballistic Damage Resistance, hit Adrenaline Booster.

5-Also, apply your Attribute points in the Upgrade Panel with a mind toward your Accuracy, Defense and Damage (which Attribute scores will depend on which type of attack/defense/damage/resistance you're going for.)

 

First of all thanks alot for that response. It was helpful. Now to address a few points...

1-Ballistic/Melee Accuracy=Combat Tactics Score?  and Melee/Ballistic Defense=Melee Defense or Ranged Defense Tactic Roll (respectively)?

And is there any math out there showing accuracy and defense score (or average CT rolls) for PvE mobs of varying cons (Yellow and Orange are all that I would be concerned about at the moment tho tbh)

2- This part is a little confusing to me...I will need to sit down and play with my character's clothes and try to get a feel for this mechanic. So the order is start upgrade then put the clothes on to buff it? That means that if I'm already dressed and I start a buff I wont get the benefits from my clothes unless I take them off and put them back on...?

This sounds like it may make switching Hypers or Upgrades during fights a bit of a problem(well I don't think you can switch upgrades mid-fight). For example (and keep in mind this is theoretical I don't have many clothes and they ALL seem to have +Res on them), I start my Hyper Dodge buff then throw on all my +Ball. Def. clothes on for the bonuses, then switch to Hyper-Block during an IL skirmish and kill the mob...if I switch BACK to Hyper Dodge will I have to take off the clothes and them put them back on to get the bonuses once more? If I simply switch back my clothing bonuses will get ignored. It's not the end of the world, but it sounds like I may need to do something nifty macro writing and I kinda gave up heavy macro'ing after I left WoW.

3-4- It took me a while to realize that the "Hypers" were for + Def and the Buffs underneath were + Res. Those generally make sense although my switching is clunky at the moment. Fortunately it rarely matters NPCs usually just die, but I do need to become more fluid for the future levels and PvP when the time comes.

5-Yea sadly my stats are probably not so good and I believe a Stat Hack will be in short order....

edited for ease of response organization 

I think I have this one figured out, but I like to be certain.

I am leveling a Gunman at the moment (LvL 15), and I'm trying to reconcile the difference between Ballistic Defense and Ballistic Resistance. My hypothesis is that Ballistic Defense determines my Ranged Defensive Tactics Roll and thus whether I win an IL exchange, whereas Ballistic Resistance simply determines how much damage you take if you do lose an IL roll.

If that's true then I'm probably shooting myself in the foot (no pun intended although I realize the irony of a Gunman shooting himself) by having so much gear that offers Resistance instead of Defense. But that depends on whether I am correct in my assessment or not.

I kill just about everything that comes across me right now anyway so it doesn't mean much for my level but I suspect that it will before long and I don't wanna be a lvl 38 and not know something this basic.

GoDGiVeR wrote:

This is the reason why Grab is the most popular tactic out here nowadays. Using the "Tactic Switch" you will gain a 35% damage increase when hitting the ability with Grab and enhancing it with Power. Since Grab gives you very good defense and even some accuracy, Grab becomes pretty much "uber" in many cases. Though Grab is pretty balanced (-15% damage, which makes it, believe me, very difficult to win duels without Tactic Switch and purely on grab;; Also Evade goes down more easily but it is also easier to break someone elses evade), Tactic Switch negates that negative.

 

Daze specials are in SMGs (and one less popular in Duelist), Stagger Special in Rifleman (my favourite =P) and SMGs and Grab Specials in Duelist only.

 

Well, I hope i do make sense to you =P

 

Mfg, GG

Point Blank seems to be a very powerful special why is it less popular? I guess I assume its powerful from its DPS number which I admit I don't understand too well yet so maybe I should head over to Redpill Rescue and ask for some explanation regarding those numbers b/c they confuse me at first glance...I've just been assuming higher is better but that's not quantifiable at all.

GodGiver

1-That's what I assumed...I haven't even purchased it yet.

2-I've presently decided on Handguns so yea I'll stick with Grab mostly. I've noticed the green flash in the icon but obviously I haven't been taking full advantage of tactic switching...thanks for that tip I didn't realize the characteristics worked that way.

3-Yea I've noticed it doesn't end fights the way it was before. Speed attacks into Head Butts was my only tactic in hard missions until 13 so I've been looking at relieving the memory space. Problem is I wont have the first Handgun special until 20 but perhaps Head Butt is doing less than I am allowing myself to observe. I guess my mix of Body Shot-Covering Fire/Disarming Shot will be sufficient.

Thanks for the quick attention and advice

--Gen

I’m a new player (Lvl 15) whose proceeding down the Gunman tree. I had some general questions and perhaps a specific question or two as well. For the record this is mostly for the purposes of general knowledge building and my searches through the forums have left me unsatisfied with regards to these questions (perhaps my patience for searching is not long enough to find what I need).

1-What is the exact usage of the Sharpshooter ability? I can’t discern whether it negates a penalty for shooting into an IL that you aren’t engaged in or if there is a general penalty for using guns in IL and sharpshooter negates that. My inclination is that explanation 1 is the correct one which then makes it not relevant for me but I could be wrong…

2-How often do you switch combat styles during IL? Or do you at all may be a better question? I find that I can finish missions on hard so it isn’t a question of survival but efficiency? I tend to begin fights with a few rounds of Grab and then switch to Speed b/c I still depend on Head Butt…and I almost never use Power (I don’t even have Block on my bar). Is this particularly efficient?

3- Speaking of Head Butt…Does anyone continue to use it at this point? As a gunman, the truth is the only reason I use Speed is for Head Butt, but I’m thinking that it may just be a waste of the memory that I could use for consistent techniques and/or adren. Boost. I use Grab for its Def boost but perhaps I’m being too concerned with Def. I realize that +15% Acc boost using Speed is a serious buff but the Grab Def boost and its small Acc boost (5%) seems sufficient to almost disregard Speed especially since I don’t see any Dazed-based specials on the horizon.