Going through everyones' complaints on the forums and in game, it's obvious there are many who are having a hard time with the spec as a whole. While I am a firm believer that people are playing it wrong, after totaling a week in playtime with the spec (including testing and theorycrafting) I have come to the conclusion that the spec could use a few buffs and fixes anyway, if only to quell the complaints made against it so that Anet can concentrate on the bugs. We will start off with bugs, since that is the most important topic to cover.

Bug Fixes

The biggest issue that I have had since PoF's launch was Line of Sight. There would be a clear opening from me to my target and Mark would report "No Line of Sight" for my Mark if I was already autoattacking or for my weaponskills if I could mark them. And this would only go away once the unaffected one lands. In some instances, the game sometimes reports No Line of Sight for both attacks and Mark when something is between you and a target but not obstructing it. Sometimes, the bug goes away when I kneel. Here is an example. **As a test, go to the Fractured Caldera in Ember Bay and find a mostly flat slab of rock between Energy Relay Alpha and Beta. When there are enemies surrounding the relays, try marking a fresh target from behind this slab. For me, most of the time I find myself having to go around the rock simply because jumping on top of it doesn't fix it. Or it does but I have to back off to get distance.

• This complex No Line of Sight issue with Mark and skills needs to get fixed pronto. It is almost gamebreaking. Check the environment, fix targeting, just get rid of it! Fixed.
• There is another bug that fails to stop autoattacking when a stealth skill or stealthing trait procs. This could also use a fix.
• Death's Retreat will not shadowstep anywhere if there is something behind you. (Leo Shrodingers Cat.2497) Death's Retreat will now work up walls and hills so long as there is a clear spot 600 units away and can be walked to.
• Rifle 1, 2 and 3 does not automatically turn the character towards the target. (SCVwar.3784) All Rifle Skills attempt to turn player before firing.
• Cursed Bullet doesn't work with rending shade. (Elxdark.9702) Boon steal happens before boon corruption.
• Shadow meld doesn't proc surging runes. (Elxdark.9702) Fixed.
• Perfectionist has a 8s CD but it only procs once per mark, is this intended? (Elxdark.9702) Perfectionist only procs once per mark and only when full malice is achieved.
• Binding Shadows goes on full cool down even if you cancel it or the target is out of sight. (I.e. behind a wall) (Elxdark.9702)
• Improvisation does not recharge Shadow Meld. (Elxdark.9702)
• Free Action does not fully cleanse Cripple, especially when applied multiple times. Free Action removes all instances.
• QUESTION: Is Deadeye's Mark and Malice supposed to drop and the skill remain on CD when you become downed an intended part of the skill?
• Renewing Gaze fails to proc sometimes when mark is cast just before the marked creature dies.

Rifle Damage < Unload Damage

Biggest complaint so far is damage. Though, I personally doubt the Rifle is the issue since after testing it myself I found that this is only true when the Deadeye is standing. That doesn't mean that it could not use a buff.

• So let's give Rifle a 10-15% damage increase across the board. That would put Rifle standing skills just under or on par with p/p damage while giving Kneeling skills a clear damage advantage.

The New Stolen Skills

This issue is actually something the all of the Deadeye's boon/condition skills have. The base durations are too low to be any degree of rewarding. Even with concentration stacked and malice, their durations are pitiful and do not warrant using a Deadeye for support in most situations.

• To fix this, every boon and condition on the Deadeye's stolen skills and rifle should get a 50% base duration buff. Some conditions could also use another stack or two. This would give malice a bigger impact on the skills and also make condition DE more viable. Improv could also affect One in the Chamber too. That would be nice for support.

Rifle 2, Both Standing and Kneeling

I constantly tell players "stop spamming 3", "find other sources of might", "you are wasting initiative", but spammers gonna spam. And while Double Tap is fairly usable, Three Round Burst is the main culprit. Both cost too much, they don't deal enough damage, and their might stacks go away really quickly. Maybe with the buffs above this would not be so much of a problem (maybe) but part of the reason these suck so much, from what I understand is because players seem to think that is how you are supposed to stack might on this spec. I mean feel free to prove me wrong, but every time I am messing around out there I see other Deadeyes trying to melee with rifle, spamming 3 standing and kneeling. This happens often and they end up dying. But I am close to done trying to correct players with advice, so this is what I propose.

• Double Tap returns 1 initiative when you have a might stack of 10 or more on you. Three Round Burst gets changed to something else since this skill is essentially a worse Double Tap with an extra hit. There are plenty of ideas that can replace TRB to make using the skill more appealing. The one I have in mind is:

Tracer Round (4 initiative) (3/4s)Shoot a fiery round that explodes on your target, granting you might for each target hit. If your target is Marked, you inflict burning as well. Initiative is returned to you if your might stacks are above the threshold.Damage: 220 (.5)2 Might: 9s2 Burning: 5sThreshold: 10 stacksInitiative: 1Number of Targets: 5Radius: 130Range: 1500

This way a Condition Deadeye has access to burning too.

Range Vs. Longbow Range and Common Sense

The longbow and it's arc allows arrows to reach up to 2000 1750 range even though the indicated range is 1500. This is stupid and very immersion breaking for a sniper to be outranged by a bow.

• So if longbow ranges are not going to be toned down, then kneeling range should be increased to 2000 1800.

Mobility and Kneeling

This is another player issue. As a sniper archetype, you are supposed to provide cover fire for your allies instead of directly engaging targets and pick out specific targets within enemy forces so the circumstance tilts in your team's favor. Deadeye forces this archetype through playstyle by suppressing mobility in exchange for damage. But let's pretend Rifle and the spec supposed to have mobility and "fix" it, because people seem to want to melee with it. Biggest complaint here is the kneel should be canceled upon jumping or dodge roll. While this is completely unnecessary, due to the fact that Kneel/Free Action is instant and requires twitch reaction to use to it's full potential, let's try to improve it along side Death's Retreat's cost anyway.

• Allow jump to immediately cancel kneel without it cleansing movement impairing conditions like Free Action does... or you could just use free action for it's free movement impairment cleanse.
• As for Death's Retreat, simply reduce the initiative cost by 1. It has less control and less range than SB 5 so why should it be as costly?

Other Things to Consider (Suggestions)

• Not losing all malice when marking the same target in a row. Make it decay at a greater rate after mark is over. Marking the same target stops the decay and triggers its regeneration.
• Jumping breaks kneel. Kneels allows you to move 200 units without breaking for re position.
• Mark is instant cast OR not affected by line of sight.
• Sniper's cover is integrated with kneel.
• One in the chamber is changed to something else.
• Buff standing auto to 0.65, now pierces 1-2 targets
• Buff kneeling auto to 0.9-0.925, now pierces 1-2 targets
• Buff Spotters Shot to 1.25

Discuss.

Thank you for compressing it. I wish people would actually post here instead of clutter up the board with ideas. Makes it easier for the devs to read while it is in one spot.

Updated title. Can't find any more gripes about it.

wait what? LB can reach up to 2000? i thought the range was hardcapped at 1500 and the arrow-arc is just a fancy looking effect.

@LazerusKI.7485 said:wait what? LB can reach up to 2000? i thought the range was hardcapped at 1500 and the arrow-arc is just a fancy looking effect.

It reaches Approx 1734, and it’s not from the Arc it’s a 15% Range buffer (as far as I can tell based on past Dev comments in regards to skill ranges) that all skills have except Kneeling Skills on Deadeye which stops dead at the 1500 Range indicator. I posted this in the bug forums, and on another post showed it in a screenshot.

@LazerusKI.7485 said:wait what? LB can reach up to 2000? i thought the range was hardcapped at 1500 and the arrow-arc is just a fancy looking effect.

It reaches Approx 1725, and it’s not from the Arc it’s a 15% Range buffer that all skills have except Kneeling Skills on Deadeye which stops dead at the 1500 Range indicator. I posted this in the bug forums, and on another post showed it in a screenshot.

I fixed that number. It's still stupid lol.

I think P/P should be in-between Rifle Standing and Rifle Kneeling. Standing -> P/P -> Kneeling. That gives you a reason to still use Pistols. If you make Rifle overall superior in every way compared to P/P it becomes an outdated weapon combo that'll rarely be used.

Weaponsets should have their own merits, is all I'm saying.

@TwiceDead.1963 said:I think P/P should be in-between Rifle Standing and Rifle Kneeling. Standing -> P/P -> Kneeling. That gives you a reason to still use Pistols. If you make Rifle overall superior in every way compared to P/P it becomes an outdated weapon combo that'll rarely be used.

Weaponset should have its own merits, is all I'm saying.

Rifle is part of the elite spec. It should be better than P/P.

@Saraneth.6021 said:

@TwiceDead.1963 said:I think P/P should be in-between Rifle Standing and Rifle Kneeling. Standing -> P/P -> Kneeling. That gives you a reason to still use Pistols. If you make Rifle overall superior in every way compared to P/P it becomes an outdated weapon combo that'll rarely be used.

Weaponset should have its own merits, is all I'm saying.

Not true. Staff isn't necessarily better than either S/P or S/D because sword has quite the amount of sustain and an easier time of engaging and disengaging fights, provided you keep track of your IS, not to mention the niche S/D falls into. Besides, the entire gimmick with Deadeye is their kneeling ability on the rifle to increase range and damage, push that angle, it makes the set far more interesting now that we're already stuck with it. Increase the standing damage and people will just completely forgo the kneeling option as the risk far outweighs the gain.

Besides, if your logic held water the meta wouldn't be D/P right now, it would've been staff... It isn't, but DAREDEVIL is the meta, that's an entire traitline, not just the staff, precisely because of the way Daredevil synergises with all the weaponsets available to thieves. THIS IS GOOD. Which brings me back to the point that each weapon should have it's own merit, a reason to still be used for what it brings, either in utility or in other ways. Power-creep is NOT healthy for any game, as it basically makes previous developments Anet worked on worthless. It's already happened to an extent, but we certainly don't need to push that agenda.

@TwiceDead.1963 said:

@Saraneth.6021 said:

@TwiceDead.1963 said:I think P/P should be in-between Rifle Standing and Rifle Kneeling. Standing -> P/P -> Kneeling. That gives you a reason to still use Pistols. If you make Rifle overall superior in every way compared to P/P it becomes an outdated weapon combo that'll rarely be used.

Weaponset should have its own merits, is all I'm saying.

Not looking for power creeps, just looking some power CATCH UP since the rifle is behind!

@Saraneth.6021 said:Not looking for power creeps, just looking some power CATCH UP since the rifle is behind!

That's not what you said though.

@Saraneth.6021 said:Rifle is part of the elite spec. It should be better than P/P.

This is a literal power-creep suggestion, something new that comes along and makes the old obsolete.

With that misunderstanding out of the way, I'm going to stop being anal about semantics for a moment and agree with you... The rifle is behind, and it needs some love.

Thing is, ANet themselves say they planned to break their own rules with the kneeling rifle. Paraphrasing, melee and ranged weapons are on their own separate damage tiers, and Rifle was meant to be their experiment with putting melee-like damage in a ranged weapon, with the Deadeye paying the price in mobility.

However, what we got is normal ranged-tier damage with the kneeling restriction, which isn't really worth it. Kneeling rifle does have to be stronger than any other of thief's ranged options, by design. Standing rifle should probably be weaker than P/P because of its two implied advantages (slightly longer range and ability to use kneeling skills) but not to the degree it is now.

@Zacchary.6183 said:

Range Vs. Longbow Range and Common Sense

The longbow and it's arc allows arrows to reach up to 2000 1750 range even though the indicated range is 1500. This is stupid and very immersion breaking for a sniper to be outranged by a bow.

• So if longbow ranges are not going to be toned down, then kneeling range should be increased to 2000.Don't be absurd, DE with 2000 range would be utterly broken. LB doesn't have extended range in normal play.

@BlaqueFyre.5678 said:

@LazerusKI.7485 said:wait what? LB can reach up to 2000? i thought the range was hardcapped at 1500 and the arrow-arc is just a fancy looking effect.

It's because of the arc, if it was just a % buffer, it would work anywhere, but you can't do it on flat ground. To hit something that far away, you need to be elevated, quite high, and there are few places you can actually do it effectively.

@Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582 said:

@Zacchary.6183 said:

Range Vs. Longbow Range and Common Sense

The longbow and it's arc allows arrows to reach up to

2000

1750 range even though the indicated range is 1500. This is stupid and very immersion breaking for a sniper to be outranged by a bow.

• So if longbow ranges are not going to be toned down, then kneeling range should be increased to 2000.Don't be absurd, DE with 2000 range would be utterly broken. LB doesn't have extended range in normal play.

@BlaqueFyre.5678 said:

@LazerusKI.7485 said:wait what? LB can reach up to 2000? i thought the range was hardcapped at 1500 and the arrow-arc is just a fancy looking effect.

Cant be done on flat ground aye? https://m.imgur.com/a/HLjGY

And again anet has stated skills have a 15% Range Buffer for tracking reasons, that Buffer is non existent with Deadeye Kneeling Skills since anything outside the Range indicator circle even when Deadeye has elevation Advantage does not hit.

Just an FYI, the Guildhall arena is approx 1500 Range from the center to the edge, that Ranger is on the edge and I am quite a ways from the center, that’s all flat ground.

This screenshot was taken for the sole purpose of testing the Deadeye vs Ranger 1500 Skills, we literally stood still and shot at each other testing ranges, as you can see the Ranger was hitting me well outside the 1500 Range indicator yet I wasn’t hitting them and my skills show the out of Range indicator.

There's another major issue with the Deadeye IMHO, especially if you play with a Riffle (yeah, I know, it's a supbar weapon, but I still want to give it a real try). It's the fact you play more the UI than the game. When I play a Daredevil or a regular Thief, I'm generally focussing on the action. I almost never have to look at my skill bar. But when I play a Deadeye, it's the exact opposite. I'm constantly checking my Steal action to recast it as soon as it's recharged (unlike the core Stealing that is generally saved for when the time is right), and the Malice dots to know when to use #4. As a result, I'm distracted and don't focus on what should be the most important: the action itself.

It's even worse when fighting trash mobs: with perma Quickness, you obliterate them in no time and end up spamming F1/F2 every second or so.

Dunno if it's just me, but it feels like a lot of useless key smashing, and it's way too distracting.

@BlaqueFyre.5678 said:

@Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582 said:

@Zacchary.6183 said:

Range Vs. Longbow Range and Common Sense

The longbow and it's arc allows arrows to reach up to

2000

1750 range even though the indicated range is 1500. This is stupid and very immersion breaking for a sniper to be outranged by a bow.

• So if longbow ranges are not going to be toned down, then kneeling range should be increased to 2000.Don't be absurd, DE with 2000 range would be utterly broken. LB doesn't have extended range in normal play.

@BlaqueFyre.5678 said:

@LazerusKI.7485 said:wait what? LB can reach up to 2000? i thought the range was hardcapped at 1500 and the arrow-arc is just a fancy looking effect.

Cheers for the testing.

Solid ideas, but I really don't like your suggestion to change trb to Condi. We have already too much Condi cancer and shouldn't bring even more in.

Personally, I'd like it if the spec and rifle felt more like a sniper. Three round burst just doesn't feel like a rifle thing, but whatever. I'm still trying to get used to it.It would be awesome if you could lie down prone and, instead of a brief invisibility at kneeling, you could just lie there covered with a camouflage taurpaulin that mimics the ground you're on, covering you as long as you're prone. You're not invisible, just harder to see and very vulnerable to someone sneaking up or spotting where you are. But these are just idle dreams. Still, that voice-over on hitting your target that says contract executed is cool.

@knyy.6427 said:Solid ideas, but I really don't like your suggestion to change trb to Condi. We have already too much Condi cancer and shouldn't bring even more in.

Even so, anet could just nerf conditions altogether. They have done it before, if I remember correctly.

@TwiceDead.1963 said:I think P/P should be in-between Rifle Standing and Rifle Kneeling. Standing -> P/P -> Kneeling. That gives you a reason to still use Pistols. If you make Rifle overall superior in every way compared to P/P it becomes an outdated weapon combo that'll rarely be used.

Weaponset should have its own merits, is all I'm saying.

Main reason using Pistol is the mobility. Also Rifle standing skills are weak compared to pistols..

@Riddle.2714 said:

@TwiceDead.1963 said:I think P/P should be in-between Rifle Standing and Rifle Kneeling. Standing -> P/P -> Kneeling. That gives you a reason to still use Pistols. If you make Rifle overall superior in every way compared to P/P it becomes an outdated weapon combo that'll rarely be used.

Weaponset should have its own merits, is all I'm saying.

Rifle-standing has more mobility than P/P though, and I know rifle-standing is weak, it's supposed to make up for that by kneeling, that's just how rifle is designed. Problem is standing isn't worth using because it lacks damage, and kneeling isn't worth doing as it's too risky (PvE). Something needs to be done to make the latter worth the risk.

@TwiceDead.1963 said:

@Riddle.2714 said:

@TwiceDead.1963 said:I think P/P should be in-between Rifle Standing and Rifle Kneeling. Standing -> P/P -> Kneeling. That gives you a reason to still use Pistols. If you make Rifle overall superior in every way compared to P/P it becomes an outdated weapon combo that'll rarely be used.

Weaponset should have its own merits, is all I'm saying.

That's how it was supposed to be designed. The dropped the ball when it comes to kneeling. They even said themselves that there were breaking their own rules in making the kneeling sniper. It was supposed to be as good DPS as melee with the mobility loss to balance it out. The way it is now just doesn't work.

@Saraneth.6021 said:

@TwiceDead.1963 said:

@Riddle.2714 said:

@TwiceDead.1963 said:I think P/P should be in-between Rifle Standing and Rifle Kneeling. Standing -> P/P -> Kneeling. That gives you a reason to still use Pistols. If you make Rifle overall superior in every way compared to P/P it becomes an outdated weapon combo that'll rarely be used.

Weaponset should have its own merits, is all I'm saying.

Yes. I've already admitted to you in the other thread that rifle needs some love, you should know my stance on this by now. On the other hand if you were just trying to remind me, then thanks for the reminder!

@TwiceDead.1963 said:

@Saraneth.6021 said:

@TwiceDead.1963 said:

@Riddle.2714 said:

@TwiceDead.1963 said:I think P/P should be in-between Rifle Standing and Rifle Kneeling. Standing -> P/P -> Kneeling. That gives you a reason to still use Pistols. If you make Rifle overall superior in every way compared to P/P it becomes an outdated weapon combo that'll rarely be used.

Weaponset should have its own merits, is all I'm saying.

I see. I don't take note of people names in the forums. Everyone I come across is new to me.