Full feedback on Rifle and Deadeye!

[kash.9213]

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@Kurow.6973 said:

Possible fixes:

• Cursed bullet NEEDS to be a regular projectile, similar to Skirmisher's Shot.

No need to waste resources on this skill. It is useless and nobody uses it.

No need to mess with Cursed Bullet for awhile after that damage boost because it's a good skill at the moment.

[Sir Vincent III.1286]

@kash.9213 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@Kurow.6973 said:

Possible fixes:

• Cursed bullet NEEDS to be a regular projectile, similar to Skirmisher's Shot.

No need to waste resources on this skill. It is useless and nobody uses it.

No need to mess with Cursed Bullet for awhile after that damage boost because it's a good skill at the moment.

You honestly auto-attack from stealth using a Rifle?

[babazhook.6805]

@saerni.2584 said:I’m all for buffing condi options for DE. But if you think it is objectively worth laughing at you would be mistaken.

I’m not going to explain why your ad hominem attacks are patently obvious and invalid and why you shouldn’t just assume you are more educated or intelligent than the people around you.

What I will do is engage with the claim that lotus training alone is better than everything DE offers. Lotus Training isn’t bad by any means. But the reapplicability of might, conditions and boons with 1500 range and better access to stealth than Daredevil is nothing to dismiss either.

Lotus training gets 10% bonus to condition damage. DE gets up to 25 might stacks and easier access to long duration vulnerability. If we compare condition application, condition damage bonus and defensive (boons and stealth vs evade) the comparison is favorable to Deadeye. Unless we start considering the now nerfed UC as an absolute must take for all thief builds the choice isn’t clearly in favor of Daredevil for some, but not all, thief condition builds.

An issue with lotus training is it not suited for use in a P/d set. If someone is using a melee weaponset, not reliant on stealth , lotus training is a solid option. With P/d it can do more harm then good.

P/d wants to enter stealth. This is how it gets off its main Condition attack , that being the Sneak attack. Using CND or some other means to get stealth can be compromised and go to waste if you find the need to dodge while stealthed as Loutus training will reveal you. The last thing I want to do is sacrifice an obtained stealth with its 5 stacks of bleed from the P 1 with a dodge that reveals and applies 1 bleed and 1 torment.

P/d fights most of its time at range 0f 600 plus. One will very often dodge attacks while at this range (such as Rapidfire from ranger etc) . With your missiles only having a 360 range when using impaling , the damage done by the dodge goes to waste.

When P/d at melee , it useful to use shadowstrike , both to apply torment and port away. This works very well after you did a CND stealth closeup and followed up with a sneak attack. This puts your Impaling lotus out of range.

Prior to POF I tried a P/d build using lotus training for more damage and it underperfomed. Too many dodges went to waste because of range or revealed you at inopportune times. I dropped Daredevil entirely and went to Core and was able to perform better from a damage perspective using Core. Going DE outperforms core in a p/d build.More stealth access in p/d means more condition damage via Sneak attack which can be done at range without having to get up close to something like a Scourge

[kash.9213]

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@kash.9213 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@Kurow.6973 said:

Possible fixes:

• Cursed bullet NEEDS to be a regular projectile, similar to Skirmisher's Shot.

No need to waste resources on this skill. It is useless and nobody uses it.

No need to mess with Cursed Bullet for awhile after that damage boost because it's a good skill at the moment.

You honestly auto-attack from stealth using a Rifle?

I'm sure you can write a book about why it sucks but, just don't use it. I like the turns it can make and it's making people squirrel so I use it. Only real problem I have with it is that it can't hit people on structure walls. Go ahead and change it, I'll probably use whatever is there.

[Jugglemonkey.8741]

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@kash.9213 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@Kurow.6973 said:

Possible fixes:

• Cursed bullet NEEDS to be a regular projectile, similar to Skirmisher's Shot.

No need to waste resources on this skill. It is useless and nobody uses it.

No need to mess with Cursed Bullet for awhile after that damage boost because it's a good skill at the moment.

You honestly auto-attack from stealth using a Rifle?

Well, yeah, don't you? If you're already kneeling for a spike, it's free damage, and I've seen it hit for 9-10k when the stars align. Not to mention the amount of times I've killed a low health enemy hiding behind a wall of reflection/warrior bubble with that thing.

You have to be aware where you can't use it, like against an enemy on a wall, but it's a good skill in the majority of cases.

[arenta.2953]

@Jugglemonkey.8741 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@kash.9213 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@"Kurow.6973" said:

Possible fixes:

• Cursed bullet NEEDS to be a regular projectile, similar to Skirmisher's Shot.

No need to waste resources on this skill. It is useless and nobody uses it.

No need to mess with Cursed Bullet for awhile after that damage boost because it's a good skill at the moment.

You honestly auto-attack from stealth using a Rifle?

Well, yeah, don't you? If you're already kneeling for a spike, it's free damage, and I've seen it hit for 9-10k when the stars align. Not to mention the amount of times I've killed a low health enemy hiding behind a wall of reflection/warrior bubble with that thing.

You have to be aware where you can't use it, like against an enemy on a wall, but it's a good skill in the majority of cases.

its an annoying skill. cause it swings side to side it gets obstructed so easily, or enemy outruns it.

but....it is the only "unblockable" skill you have......so gotta use it when possible because this game is so cruel to range

[Turk.5460]

@saerni.2584 said:

@saerni.2584 said:I also want to comment that the mark skills are not useless on a condition build because they can be applied much more frequently than stolen skills.

The traits in the bottom row are all useful in condition based gameplay because the mightI’d also like to argue that giving Mercy additional functionality when paired with One in the Chamber is merited. Maybe -5 or -10 seconds on all current cantrip cooldowns. -20% cooldown reduction could also work given how many are on a 30 second timer.

The frequency of application is the same on a given target. I am not sure you understand what that means. The fact that it is locked on the marked target and that the type of condi is dependent on your target also makes it worse. Furthermore, the fact that Malice stacks extremely slowly and do NOT affect damage or duration of condis, besides those provided by DEFINITION skills, makes it all irrelevant. DD is by far the stronger option in terms of condi. If you fail to comprehend why it is that way, I cannot help you.

A S/D build focused on evade is probably better using DD for condi. But a P/D stealth build gets a lot out of DE.

May you please post which build you're successful with as P/D condi DE? I haven't given it a go yet. I'm sure I could figure it out, but since you probably have it memorzed... I have a condi gear set, and I always liked the idea of P/D, but have generally been much more successful with power builds (probably due to the amount of time spent with them over condi).

[Jugglemonkey.8741]

@arenta.2953 said:

@Jugglemonkey.8741 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@kash.9213 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@"Kurow.6973" said:

Possible fixes:

• Cursed bullet NEEDS to be a regular projectile, similar to Skirmisher's Shot.

No need to waste resources on this skill. It is useless and nobody uses it.

No need to mess with Cursed Bullet for awhile after that damage boost because it's a good skill at the moment.

You honestly auto-attack from stealth using a Rifle?

Well, yeah, don't you? If you're already kneeling for a spike, it's free damage, and I've seen it hit for 9-10k when the stars align. Not to mention the amount of times I've killed a low health enemy hiding behind a wall of reflection/warrior bubble with that thing.

You have to be aware where you can't use it, like against an enemy on a wall, but it's a good skill in the majority of cases.

its an annoying skill. cause it swings side to side it gets obstructed so easily, or enemy outruns it.

but....it is the only "unblockable" skill you have......so gotta use it when possible because this game is so cruel to range

Yeah, if the enemy is at max range they can outrun it, that's true. It's clunky, but that's deadeye all over. But honestly I'd rather see unblockable and pierce on stuff other than the main burst attacks (ie Death's Judgement and Three Round Burst) as otherwise there is no reason to use anything except those skills. See Rapid Fire on a Soulbeast for an example of getting too much on one skill.

If they reworked standing rifle 2 and possibly 3 to not just be a weaker version of their respective kneel skills and added some more utility, they could probably fix a lot of the problems with rifle without overpowering the big hitters. Just my two cents anyways.

[Turk.5460]

@Jugglemonkey.8741 said:

@arenta.2953 said:

@Jugglemonkey.8741 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@kash.9213 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@"Kurow.6973" said:

Possible fixes:

• Cursed bullet NEEDS to be a regular projectile, similar to Skirmisher's Shot.

No need to waste resources on this skill. It is useless and nobody uses it.

No need to mess with Cursed Bullet for awhile after that damage boost because it's a good skill at the moment.

You honestly auto-attack from stealth using a Rifle?

Well, yeah, don't you? If you're already kneeling for a spike, it's free damage, and I've seen it hit for 9-10k when the stars align. Not to mention the amount of times I've killed a low health enemy hiding behind a wall of reflection/warrior bubble with that thing.

You have to be aware where you can't use it, like against an enemy on a wall, but it's a good skill in the majority of cases.

its an annoying skill. cause it swings side to side it gets obstructed so easily, or enemy outruns it.

but....it is the only "unblockable" skill you have......so gotta use it when possible because this game is so cruel to range

Yeah, if the enemy is at max range they can outrun it, that's true. It's clunky, but that's deadeye all over. But honestly I'd rather see unblockable and pierce on stuff other than the main burst attacks (ie Death's Judgement and Three Round Burst) as otherwise there is no reason to use anything except those skills. See Rapid Fire on a Soulbeast for an example of getting too much on one skill.

If they reworked standing rifle 2 and possibly 3 to not just be a weaker version of their respective kneel skills and added some more utility, they could probably fix a lot of the problems with rifle without overpowering the big hitters. Just my two cents anyways.

I like the way #2 works currently, it works great for kiting. If I were to change anything on Skirmisher's Shot it would be to add a short duration Protection instead of Fury. For Double Tap - I would increase the might duration and make it pierce, that would make it a more competitive choice for initiative consumption.

[Jugglemonkey.8741]

@Turk.5460 said:

@Jugglemonkey.8741 said:

@arenta.2953 said:

@Jugglemonkey.8741 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@kash.9213 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@"Kurow.6973" said:

Possible fixes:

• Cursed bullet NEEDS to be a regular projectile, similar to Skirmisher's Shot.

No need to waste resources on this skill. It is useless and nobody uses it.

No need to mess with Cursed Bullet for awhile after that damage boost because it's a good skill at the moment.

You honestly auto-attack from stealth using a Rifle?

Well, yeah, don't you? If you're already kneeling for a spike, it's free damage, and I've seen it hit for 9-10k when the stars align. Not to mention the amount of times I've killed a low health enemy hiding behind a wall of reflection/warrior bubble with that thing.

You have to be aware where you can't use it, like against an enemy on a wall, but it's a good skill in the majority of cases.

its an annoying skill. cause it swings side to side it gets obstructed so easily, or enemy outruns it.

but....it is the only "unblockable" skill you have......so gotta use it when possible because this game is so cruel to range

Yeah, if the enemy is at max range they can outrun it, that's true. It's clunky, but that's deadeye all over. But honestly I'd rather see unblockable and pierce on stuff other than the main burst attacks (ie Death's Judgement and Three Round Burst) as otherwise there is no reason to use anything except those skills. See Rapid Fire on a Soulbeast for an example of getting too much on one skill.

If they reworked standing rifle 2 and possibly 3 to not just be a weaker version of their respective kneel skills and added some more utility, they could probably fix a lot of the problems with rifle without overpowering the big hitters. Just my two cents anyways.

I like the way #2 works currently, it works great for kiting. If I were to change anything on Skirmisher's Shot it would be to add a short duration Protection instead of Fury. For Double Tap - I would increase the might duration and make it pierce, that would make it a more competitive choice for initiative consumption.

That could work nicely, yeah.

[kash.9213]

@Turk.5460 said:

@Jugglemonkey.8741 said:

@arenta.2953 said:

@Jugglemonkey.8741 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@kash.9213 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@"Kurow.6973" said:

Possible fixes:

• Cursed bullet NEEDS to be a regular projectile, similar to Skirmisher's Shot.

No need to waste resources on this skill. It is useless and nobody uses it.

No need to mess with Cursed Bullet for awhile after that damage boost because it's a good skill at the moment.

You honestly auto-attack from stealth using a Rifle?

Well, yeah, don't you? If you're already kneeling for a spike, it's free damage, and I've seen it hit for 9-10k when the stars align. Not to mention the amount of times I've killed a low health enemy hiding behind a wall of reflection/warrior bubble with that thing.

You have to be aware where you can't use it, like against an enemy on a wall, but it's a good skill in the majority of cases.

its an annoying skill. cause it swings side to side it gets obstructed so easily, or enemy outruns it.

but....it is the only "unblockable" skill you have......so gotta use it when possible because this game is so cruel to range

Yeah, if the enemy is at max range they can outrun it, that's true. It's clunky, but that's deadeye all over. But honestly I'd rather see unblockable and pierce on stuff other than the main burst attacks (ie Death's Judgement and Three Round Burst) as otherwise there is no reason to use anything except those skills. See Rapid Fire on a Soulbeast for an example of getting too much on one skill.

If they reworked standing rifle 2 and possibly 3 to not just be a weaker version of their respective kneel skills and added some more utility, they could probably fix a lot of the problems with rifle without overpowering the big hitters. Just my two cents anyways.

I like the way #2 works currently, it works great for kiting. If I were to change anything on Skirmisher's Shot it would be to add a short duration Protection instead of Fury. For Double Tap - I would increase the might duration and make it pierce, that would make it a more competitive choice for initiative consumption.

Protection instead of Fury on Spotters Shot makes more sense if we're building to use that Kneel skill often anyway and would probably let people who don't use it much right now work the Kneel skills more. At least we might live through a stampede long enough to Free Action and bounce out.

[saerni.2584]

@Turk.5460 said:

@saerni.2584 said:

A S/D build focused on evade is probably better using DD for condi. But a P/D stealth build gets a lot out of DE.

May you please post which build you're successful with as P/D condi DE? I haven't given it a go yet. I'm sure I could figure it out, but since you probably have it memorzed... I have a condi gear set, and I always liked the idea of P/D, but have generally been much more successful with power builds (probably due to the amount of time spent with them over condi).

So I don’t have a build link readily available but I can describe it pretty well.

You have two choices with DE P/D. The first is DA/Tr/DE and the other is DA/SA/DE. The former is going to do more damage and feel better as far as initiative. The latter, which I play, has less initiative and damage but comes with more survival and boon strip potential.

Both are poison based builds (in pvp I also add torment duration sigil) so that sigil and runes are Venom and Thorns respectively. The armor stat set is to taste. For pvp amulets, I use Deadshot to boost duration on Body Shot to 2 seconds.

The DE traits are 3-3-3. The whole build is based on might generation and getting additional stolen skills to apply more conditions and boons in general. Alternative, go 3-2-3. This lets you add in several extra stuns on mark and may result in enemy burning some stun breaks. 3-3-3 offers more team support through AoE boons. Can also 3-1-3 if using offhand rifle. I don’t, as I think Shortbow is better team utility and mobility.

SA is 3-2-3. DA is 3-2-1. Various reasons should be self explanatory but ask if you have a specific question.

Utilities are HiS, Mercy, Shadowstep, Binding Shadow, Shadow Meld.

Alternative utilities, drop Mercy for Spider Venom. This is better when you can consistently share it with a group to add more poison than a second mark does.

[Sir Vincent III.1286]

@kash.9213 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@kash.9213 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@Kurow.6973 said:

Possible fixes:

• Cursed bullet NEEDS to be a regular projectile, similar to Skirmisher's Shot.

No need to waste resources on this skill. It is useless and nobody uses it.

No need to mess with Cursed Bullet for awhile after that damage boost because it's a good skill at the moment.

You honestly auto-attack from stealth using a Rifle?

I'm sure you can write a book about why it sucks but, just don't use it. I like the turns it can make and it's making people squirrel so I use it. Only real problem I have with it is that it can't hit people on structure walls. Go ahead and change it, I'll probably use whatever is there.

I don't even recommend wasting resources on trying to fix a skill that is only subpar useful when kneeling while in stealth -- two conditions better used for something more productive. You're kneeling in stealth and the first thing that comes to mind is to use that opportunity to auto-attack? But if someone finds joy in its uselessness, who am I to deny them their fun? Surely this particular skill is built for your demographic. In the end, we both agree that the skill should be left alone.

[dragonkain.3984]

@Kurow.6973 said:TLDR: There is no tldr.

TLDR : Rifle Deadeye is weak, buff plz.

[MakubeC.3026]

I made it to Platinum myself this season playing 85%+ Deadeye. I possibly use the same exact build as you (the only one viable, really), which is rifle-s/b with trickery and DA.I think you’re correct in almost all you said. However, I disagree with you on the way cursed bullet works. Because unlike you, I rarely found it missing or getting lost in terrain. And that I do kneel quite often. And that the bottom traits do have their uses in PvE.I think DE is about getting good spot, bring some heat from afar and rotate.

Here’s my own feedback as well as some gathered from several threads:

1. 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.
2. Jumping breaks kneel. Kneels allows you to move 200 units without breaking for re position.
3. Mark is instant cast OR not affected by line of sight.
4. Sniper's cover is integrated with kneel.
5. Stolen kits have their effects enhanced.
6. One in the chamber: When hitting a foe from x range on the side or the back, regain one Initiative.
7. Unforgiving: Hitting a foe from range on the side or the back will make your bullet ricochet once.
8. Give DE a way to swap weapons faster. Maybe rework SOH so that it gives 3 ini on swap and also reduces its duration by 33%. I think it is very important for the DE to be able to change his weapons.
9. Maybe give DJ the "tracking" ability of cursed bullet. Make it more reliable. But not piercing or unblock-able. That would be OP.

[arenta.2953]

@MakubeC.3026 said:I made it to Platinum myself this season playing 85%+ Deadeye. I possibly use the same exact build as you (the only one viable, really), which is rifle-s/b with trickery and DA.I think you’re correct in almost all you said. However, I disagree with you on the way cursed bullet works. Because unlike you, I rarely found it missing or getting lost in terrain. And that I do kneel quite often. And that the bottom traits do have their uses in PvE.I think DE is about getting good spot, bring some heat from afar and rotate.

Here’s my own feedback as well as some gathered from several threads:

1. 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.
2. Jumping breaks kneel. Kneels allows you to move 200 units without breaking for re position.
3. Mark is instant cast OR not affected by line of sight.
4. Sniper's cover is integrated with kneel.
5. Stolen kits have their effects enhanced.
6. One in the chamber: When hitting a foe from x range on the side or the back, regain one Initiative.
7. Unforgiving: Hitting a foe from range on the side or the back will make your bullet ricochet once.

i like those ideas........and i'll be honest...i actually just went in on my character, kneeled. and clicked space to jump....i actually thought that would work...it makes so much sense

[Turk.5460]

@saerni.2584 said:

@Turk.5460 said:

@saerni.2584 said:

A S/D build focused on evade is probably better using DD for condi. But a P/D stealth build gets a lot out of DE.

May you please post which build you're successful with as P/D condi DE? I haven't given it a go yet. I'm sure I could figure it out, but since you probably have it memorzed... I have a condi gear set, and I always liked the idea of P/D, but have generally been much more successful with power builds (probably due to the amount of time spent with them over condi).

So I don’t have a build link readily available but I can describe it pretty well.

You have two choices with DE P/D. The first is DA/Tr/DE and the other is DA/SA/DE. The former is going to do more damage and feel better as far as initiative. The latter, which I play, has less initiative and damage but comes with more survival and boon strip potential.

Both are poison based builds (in pvp I also add torment duration sigil) so that sigil and runes are Venom and Thorns respectively. The armor stat set is to taste. For pvp amulets, I use Deadshot to boost duration on Body Shot to 2 seconds.

The DE traits are 3-3-3. The whole build is based on might generation and getting additional stolen skills to apply more conditions and boons in general. Alternative, go 3-2-3. This lets you add in several extra stuns on mark and may result in enemy burning some stun breaks. 3-3-3 offers more team support through AoE boons. Can also 3-1-3 if using offhand rifle. I don’t, as I think Shortbow is better team utility and mobility.

SA is 3-2-3. DA is 3-2-1. Various reasons should be self explanatory but ask if you have a specific question.

Utilities are HiS, Mercy, Shadowstep, Binding Shadow, Shadow Meld.

Alternative utilities, drop Mercy for Spider Venom. This is better when you can consistently share it with a group to add more poison than a second mark does.

Thanks, that's good enough. How does it fare solo roaming in WvW? My condi set gathering dust is all TB with thorns runes already, weapons dire.

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@kash.9213 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@kash.9213 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@Kurow.6973 said:

Possible fixes:

• Cursed bullet NEEDS to be a regular projectile, similar to Skirmisher's Shot.

No need to waste resources on this skill. It is useless and nobody uses it.

No need to mess with Cursed Bullet for awhile after that damage boost because it's a good skill at the moment.

You honestly auto-attack from stealth using a Rifle?

I'm sure you can write a book about why it sucks but, just don't use it. I like the turns it can make and it's making people squirrel so I use it. Only real problem I have with it is that it can't hit people on structure walls. Go ahead and change it, I'll probably use whatever is there.

I don't even recommend wasting resources on trying to fix a skill that is only subpar useful when kneeling while in stealth -- two conditions better used for something more productive. You're kneeling in stealth and the first thing that comes to mind is to use that opportunity to auto-attack? But if someone finds joy in its uselessness, who am I to deny them their fun? Surely this particular skill is built for your demographic. In the end, we both agree that the skill should be left alone.

I use it whenever I use Shadow Meld - which is usually to de-target myself and re-position/juke. Might as well, it's unblockable, doesn't cost initiative, and does more damage than Skirmisher's Shot. It generally crits for ~5k for me. It's also not about getting two conditions on them, its more so potentially stripping 2 defensive boons like stab or protection. And hey, if you happen to strip stab, they'll get feared! But this is all coming exclusively from my experience with a minimal-stealth build (only Shadow Meld)

[kash.9213]

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@kash.9213 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@kash.9213 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@Kurow.6973 said:

Possible fixes:

• Cursed bullet NEEDS to be a regular projectile, similar to Skirmisher's Shot.

No need to waste resources on this skill. It is useless and nobody uses it.

No need to mess with Cursed Bullet for awhile after that damage boost because it's a good skill at the moment.

You honestly auto-attack from stealth using a Rifle?

I'm sure you can write a book about why it sucks but, just don't use it. I like the turns it can make and it's making people squirrel so I use it. Only real problem I have with it is that it can't hit people on structure walls. Go ahead and change it, I'll probably use whatever is there.

I don't even recommend wasting resources on trying to fix a skill that is only subpar useful when kneeling while in stealth -- two conditions better used for something more productive. You're kneeling in stealth and the first thing that comes to mind is to use that opportunity to auto-attack? But if someone finds joy in its uselessness, who am I to deny them their fun? Surely this particular skill is built for your demographic. In the end, we both agree that the skill should be left alone.

First thing that comes to mind is usually interrupt for a friend. I'm stealthing anyway when I cast Mark and I'm on my feet moving, not in kneel, so I might as well pop CB off to turn one way while I go the other way and hopefully meet up at target with another interrupt and between CB, Bountiful Theft, and maybe a follow up Larcenous Strike they should be opened up for myself or my new best friend to stomp them. Maybe it does suck and I just think it looks cool but as it is it's not taking up a spot from something else so I might as well throw it out there. I don't have a set sequence by the way, not sure why you think I'm following some DE field manual with some kind of Kneel routine. Sometimes I use something, sometimes I don't, Initiative is great.

As much as I love DE and enjoy playing it, it's not the most fluid kit and I think your argument against CB could be made for more than half of DE, skills, traits, and all.

[Sir Vincent III.1286]

@kash.9213 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@kash.9213 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@kash.9213 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:

@Kurow.6973 said:

Possible fixes:

• Cursed bullet NEEDS to be a regular projectile, similar to Skirmisher's Shot.

No need to waste resources on this skill. It is useless and nobody uses it.

No need to mess with Cursed Bullet for awhile after that damage boost because it's a good skill at the moment.

You honestly auto-attack from stealth using a Rifle?

I'm sure you can write a book about why it sucks but, just don't use it. I like the turns it can make and it's making people squirrel so I use it. Only real problem I have with it is that it can't hit people on structure walls. Go ahead and change it, I'll probably use whatever is there.

I don't even recommend wasting resources on trying to fix a skill that is only subpar useful when kneeling while in stealth -- two conditions better used for something more productive. You're kneeling in stealth and the first thing that comes to mind is to use that opportunity to auto-attack? But if someone finds joy in its uselessness, who am I to deny them their fun? Surely this particular skill is built for your demographic. In the end, we both agree that the skill should be left alone.

First thing that comes to mind is usually interrupt for a friend. I'm stealthing anyway when I cast Mark and I'm on my feet moving, not in kneel, so I might as well pop CB off to turn one way while I go the other way and hopefully meet up at target with another interrupt and between CB, Bountiful Theft, and maybe a follow up Larcenous Strike they should be opened up for myself or my new best friend to stomp them. Maybe it does suck and I just think it looks cool but as it is it's not taking up a spot from something else so I might as well throw it out there. I don't have a set sequence by the way, not sure why you think I'm following some DE field manual with some kind of Kneel routine. Sometimes I use something, sometimes I don't, Initiative is great.

I genuinely don't get that. I really do believe that is a complete waste.

As much as I love DE and enjoy playing it, it's not the most fluid kit and I think your argument against CB could be made for more than half of DE, skills, traits, and all.

Let me just put it this way, I stopped playing DE since late November. I still tried to give it a go when I find a decent build, but it's more frustrating than its worth. CB is just one thing, there are so many things wrong about the whole Elite spec plus the Rifle.

[babazhook.6805]

@saerni.2584 said:

@Turk.5460 said:

@saerni.2584 said:

A S/D build focused on evade is probably better using DD for condi. But a P/D stealth build gets a lot out of DE.

May you please post which build you're successful with as P/D condi DE? I haven't given it a go yet. I'm sure I could figure it out, but since you probably have it memorzed... I have a condi gear set, and I always liked the idea of P/D, but have generally been much more successful with power builds (probably due to the amount of time spent with them over condi).

So I don’t have a build link readily available but I can describe it pretty well.

You have two choices with DE P/D. The first is DA/Tr/DE and the other is DA/SA/DE. The former is going to do more damage and feel better as far as initiative. The latter, which I play, has less initiative and damage but comes with more survival and boon strip potential.

Both are poison based builds (in pvp I also add torment duration sigil) so that sigil and runes are Venom and Thorns respectively. The armor stat set is to taste. For pvp amulets, I use Deadshot to boost duration on Body Shot to 2 seconds.

The DE traits are 3-3-3. The whole build is based on might generation and getting additional stolen skills to apply more conditions and boons in general. Alternative, go 3-2-3. This lets you add in several extra stuns on mark and may result in enemy burning some stun breaks. 3-3-3 offers more team support through AoE boons. Can also 3-1-3 if using offhand rifle. I don’t, as I think Shortbow is better team utility and mobility.

SA is 3-2-3. DA is 3-2-1. Various reasons should be self explanatory but ask if you have a specific question.

Utilities are HiS, Mercy, Shadowstep, Binding Shadow, Shadow Meld.

Alternative utilities, drop Mercy for Spider Venom. This is better when you can consistently share it with a group to add more poison than a second mark does.

I find myself switching up my build a lot in WvW depending on the situation. In Core I would go DA/SA/Tr and get all that boon steal and usually took potent poison. When POF came out I dropped one of SA or TR in favor of the DE spec(I am not sure which version I favor yet though TR works better with groups then SA as there so many others that can boons trip). When I did this I found I was more effective if I took potent poison and a venom when with a group while when I roamed SOLO I just liked Improv more coupled with mercy for the double stolen item for the 4 uses.

I find when SOLO I need to free up more utility for defensive measures and that the double steal much more effective stacking things like might and those stolen boons simply because you are not able to count on them from allies. The Double stolen item via improv on something like an Engineer (though few seen of late) when solo allows you to get to 20 vuln stacks along with lots of protection quite easily wherein with a group you will find yourself not needing that as much . With Mercy as one utility in place of a venom you can chain together 4 of those stolen items in a row. (with a ranger stolen item just as example and Panic strike traited you get 4 immobs just off the stolen item for 4 poison plus all that superspeed. )

What is nice here with how the durations are designed is you can do your first steal and double use the stolen item for that instant might stack to 20 and whatever boons/conditions you get right off the bat, reset with mercy and then hold the next two in reserve for when that malice goes up and use again for the longer durations . If you DO manage a skill reset via Improv, all the better.

[Zlater.6789]

I totally agree with the suggestions that the OP made. By far the biggest problem with Deadeye imo is not the rifle, I think if they just ignored rifle balance and instead focussed on improving the stolen skills and the traits, deadeye would be a lot more interesting.

[saerni.2584]

@Turk.5460 said:Thanks, that's good enough. How does it fare solo roaming in WvW? My condi set gathering dust is all TB with thorns runes already, weapons dire.

Oh an addendum, can also use DA 1-2-2 for less poison but lots of additional mark condi. It may have more sustain than the build I posted so I’m experimenting with it.

I haven’t done too much roaming recently. It’s time consuming and I have less of that these days. It’s worked well enough though when I have. This one insta gank thief was very surprised to be one shot while in stealth after his alpha strike didn’t quite kill me. Others, druids etc have been decent targets. Binding Shadow is brutal against a lot of builds.