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« Last post by Vokial on December 07, 2025, 10:49:58 pm »
I have to say, while I don't agree with anything you say, I at least can respect your opinion, simply because you actually bothered to explain and try putting reason why you think the way you do. That in itself is a massive cultural difference between you and Eidein. So props for that.
On the other hand, it is clear that you never tried or properly played a sniper the way it's supposed to be played - actually accurding to the aspect of the character. As a sniper, you're not supposed to tank hits. I never ever used a repair kit on my armor in this game even with a psi-focused sniper build without Traps. And you can also have Infused Pig Leather Tabi and Leather Overcoat to literally double your HP. But as I said, it's not something you should rely on, armor is only for utility here. If there's no helping it and you are bound to be attacked the next round due to miscalculation, you can simply turn on your energy shield. But ideally you should always end rounds being out of attack range. Even without Sprint. As if you have Hit and Run + Contraction, you don't need anything else. And Interloper. Which a sniper build without is borderline unplayable. While H&R is almost a full Sprint, but after each kill and is always on, all the turns. They just cannot be compared for a ranged character and plays a fundamental role in kiting, moving between covers or returning to corner after stepping out from stealth with Interloper.
As for Initiation, yeah you'll need that - even with Stealth. Without it, you definitely need high CON and whatnot in some scripted battles, but that's just you ruining the build to a playstyle that did not understand the role and wasting valuable stats. If you attack first (from stealth or otherwise), you won't need HP as that should already decide the battle when you're with a sniper. Even against crowds, that alone should give you the ability to turn the tides past the point which the enemy cannot recover from and also put you in a safe spot / incapacitate the remaining unfortunates, where you are just mopping up the next turn.
I don't know if you actually played a character having a high PER - but if you will in the future, you'll notice that your Detection is enough to see ALL enemy traps. Even without spending ANY points in the skill. Actually, if you do, your Trap Detection (that's separate from regular Detection) will only increase after a certain threshold. Someone who's having high Traps will have roughly the same points than someone who isn't when they both have high PER. And Trap Expert makes more difference with more Traps skill. Testing confirms that you need about 140 Traps + TE for Dominating Native Hunters to not see your contraptions. But the most important part of this is the deploy speed. You can lay your traps closer to enemies in stealth without being detected as you work a lot faster. QT is nice and sometimes very useful in battles but just as with H&R, it's a passive skill where no skill activation is needed and the two bonus it gives make a lot of difference for someone who uses traps reguarly and continuously throughout the whole game.
And I stand by the fact that Strafe can be taken past level 10. That is only useful with a Spearhead rifle - which you can only hope to get from Blaine. Taking it beforehand is simply a waste. When you still don't have the proper gear yet and low on Initiative, you're much better off having Paranoia beforehand. Which has so many minor bonuses that it makes it worthwhile in total and certainly a better pick than Trigger Happy for just how much more it gives for 2 Initiative less. You need Detection. The earlier you spot Traps and most importantly hidden enemies (like Crawlers) while you're in Steath the better and having to spot them from a larger distance also matters. Until you get your first sniper rifle, you'll be using other type of guns like pistols and SMG's (especially before you can repair them). If you're lucky, you can find other rifle types where again - Strafe matter less. Taking it on level 12 is fine and it will synergize wondefully with Hit and Run. Alternatively if you're lucky and get a Spearhead at level 8 for example, you can choose between Strafe and Ambush.
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