So we come back to one of the original points:
What does AP do that simply shooting the target a second time doesn't?
AP lets you do more damage. That's it. Just HS damage to a spot if you're good enough to land it.
But while you're activating the skill, you could have simply been firing the whole time. It's a pointless skill in practice.
That's the question for me - how does activation/targeting work.
If it's easy, and I can just do it when I duck into cover to reload after picking off their pals - good. If I have to activate it like the Jammer Pulse, holding to expand the cone - might not bother. I was/am hoping it is a matter of point and press.
The additional Headshot damage is far larger than a body shot or two. We're talking 200-350% more damage [higher if it works with Headhunter]. Doubly so when it's an enemy either without a head, or that's wearing armor.
AFAIK from the videos I could find online, the way it works is you activate it, a number of weakspots are generated on the target(between 1-3 depending on skill tier) at random locations. It seems to be a fairly quick activation, but I haven't played it myself. So I don't know if the activations is effected by skill haste or skill tier.Originally Posted by LateNiteDelight Go to original post
I just keep coming back to Practical application. How is this better than just popping a drone that passively adds damage? What happens when the Pulsed target just hides, or the weakspot is generated in a spot you don't have LOS to?
A drone on an MMR build, barely tickles hardened enemies at higher difficulty. A Headshot from White Death, Mantis or an M700 Tac, does an order of magnitude more damage than the Drone.
If it takes me as long to trigger AP, as it does to release a drone - AP crushes in aiding to lower TTK. The only time I ever pop a drone or turret is when I'm fighting one of th enemies an MMR struggles with - AP theoretically helps me kill them [as in my gun], and faster.
I've never had a Chunga or Dog "hide" for 10+ seconds, so not concerned there.
Personally I'd much sooner stick with a regular pulse. Being able to see enemies through walls means being able to line up a headshot on enemies rounding corners before you'd otherwise know they're coming. Granted, you could use both the recon drone as well as Achilles pulse, but for me personally the UI hovering around the reticle combined with the annoying sounds of the drone puts me off.Originally Posted by LateNiteDelight Go to original post
Besides that, if you're using a dedicated MMR build you can already one shot elites in 4 player legendary without the need for Achilles, Nemesis or TAC-50 (beyond proccing ToTS anyhow.) Tanks and Warhounds can both be dealt with without touching their armor (although in the case of tanks, it is almost certainly a bug so...) with the exception of Outcast and Hyena tanks, which both happen to be non-threats.
There are 2 uses I can see for Achilles:
1. Hoping it targets the head of a named enemy that has a headshot hitbox already exposed in 4 player legendary, so you can burn Headhunter on a Nemesis shot (assuming the debuff isn't on a per player basis and none of the 3 other players accidentally ding it with a stray LMG/AR round and burn up the debuff before you're done charging.)
2. Burning Headhunter on a White Tusk controller's UGV.
As much as I ******g HATE elite UGVs in solo legendary... it's a bit excessive to use a skill just for them, especially when it means losing map awareness (pulse) or protection (shield.)
Who knows though, maybe it will have actually changed since the PTS. Considering previous PTS results, I have my doubts.
Edit: Thought of a third use - Marauder drones. But really, if you're fighting one of those with a headshot build, especially one using an MMR then firstly, I feel your pain. Secondly, 1 headshot every 36 seconds isn't going to help more than using another skill for distraction or healing/protection to prevent dying to missile spam.
The point of a drone on heroic is not really to do damage(although it is a respectable passive addition). It's to distract and point out targets. And remember that the more skill tiers, the more damage zones are generated on a target. So a skill build comparison is somewhat apt.Originally Posted by LateNiteDelight Go to original post
MMR builds on heroic and higher are generally not good, even if the player is good at headshots. It's simply faster and easier to aim center of mass with a Classic M1A or AR unless you're some sort of SolidFPS level of headshot god.
Remember that AP is single target. Meaning that you pop it on a target and even if it dies quickly, now it's on cooldown for the next however many targets. Whereas the drone is fire and forget for long durations on a single click.Originally Posted by LateNiteDelight Go to original post
I'm certain the skill can be made to work. But it just seems unnecessary, with too many speedbumps between it and being good.
I get the downsides of AP, but I think you're overlooking it's potential
I don't M1A [overrated]. I get why a Drone works [having used it from Level 1 to present as my most often used skill]. I carry an AR secondary on my MMR build now, so AP likely isn't needed. I still carry a Revive Hive or Crusader Shield on almost all solo missions. I also don't find regular Pulse terribly necessary, since just looking at an enemy adds the carrot above them [plus, I rarely feel like playing Legendary, too much effort for when I'm mostly just looking for entertainment].
I literally only use skills against the most difficult targets or to bail me out when I get way too aggressive. So maybe 3 to 4 times a mission, cooldown is not a concern outside of Invaded White Oak. On paper, AP is superior to the drone and other skills for the way I roll MMR.
Also, an MMR build was my second Certified Heroic build - it works swimmingly for me [with the AR secondary for certain enemy types]. I'm no Widdz or SolipFPS - but it seems I'm better than average based on comments here. It's probably moot anyway, because I just can't seem to quit my PfE build![]()
Well, all I can tell you is that AP is going to be a sub-optimal skill for a sub-optimal weapon class.Originally Posted by LateNiteDelight Go to original post
But....if you're having fun, don't let anyone stand in your way. It's a little mini-game that might make division 2 combat interesting for a few. I just personally think it's a sh*t thing to drop on players for such an important milestone in the game.
Just as niche as the rest of the new skills, imho.
MMRs are beast mode if you can land headshots. Granted, there are times that I am off, and/or the server connection is weak, so they suck.. but if you're clicking on all cylinders - it can be sublime. Nothing quite as satisfying to me as One Shot, One Kill. Always been that way for shooters for me [GoldenEye64 License to Kill was my jam, Hardcore COD4 & BF3.. Hitman & Sniper Elite].
Hell, I once messed around with a CovertSRS with Up Close & Personal that I hip-fired like a shotgun on a spawn, then would let loose from distance on the next wave ahead.
Granted, I also have a lot of fun running non-Scorpio Shotguns. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
TL : DR - I know I'm an odd bird![]()
Well, it's still just as utterly worthless as it was on the PTS, except now I can confirm that the debuff is not per player - others can and likely will (even by accident) burn it on 1-2 rounds from practically any weapon. My 6 skill tier Demolitionist build consumes the tier 6 pulse debuff with 2 crits from my Capacitor, nevermind teams using it with people playing with 6 red builds and/or lower skill tier.
For solo snipers (who this skill is specifically designed in mind with according to the description):
- It's almost always much easier to just shoot the head of a human target than whatever part it decides to mark.
- Does not allow you to maintain Headhunter unless it marks the head.
- Absurdly long cooldown for what it does.
- Will often mark the armored portion of a Warhound, rendering it useless to Headhunter builds who're going to be going for the legs.
- If it marks anything other than the helmet of a heavy, it's a dud. Shots to kill will be lower going through the helmet normally than using up the debuff on any other part.
- The overall damage gain is insignificant unless you get lucky and it marks an already vulnerable head, allowing for a double headshot (seems counter to the concept of the skill but...)
- Takes up a skill slot that could be put to much better use.
+ When the stars align, you can brag to yourself about how you just one-shot that enemy for 100M damage, instead of one-shotting it for 50M.
I'd sooner use a tier 0 oxidizer or remote pulse over this.