Sniping + stealth, increase chances not to agro?
By
Col_Blitzkrieger,
Posted on: 2009-02-25 20:12 in Blasters
Normally when sniping you will be at close the the max range of the power so unless the mobs you are pulling have enhanced perception you will generally be out of their perception range in any event - in which case stealth won't help. It may be sufficient to get close enough to fire a snipe against a mob with enhanced percetion however as it will suppress as soon as you attack once you start the snipe animation you will have no stealth bonus.
Mind of Gaia lvl 50 Defiant's first Mind/Storm 'troller.
Deadly Doc 50 Dark/Dark Corr
and lots more on Pinnacle,Union and Defiant
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once you start the snipe animation you will have no stealth bonus.
[/ QUOTE ]Are you sure? I swear I've seen Stalkers stay Hidden while charging their horribly long 8 second snipes.
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Are you sure? I swear I've seen Stalkers stay Hidden while charging their horribly long 8 second snipes.
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That's because they have a special stealth power called Hide, which does exactly that - let them stay hidden while charging their Assassin's attack.
I did say snipe, not Assassin's Strike.
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once you start the snipe animation you will have no stealth bonus.
[/ QUOTE ]Are you sure? I swear I've seen Stalkers stay Hidden while charging their horribly long 8 second snipes.
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Hmm - I'd need to check to be sure at what point it suppresses - start of animation, end of interrupt period or when it fires. I'm sure I can recall mobs aggroing during the animation in the past on my corrupter - could be power lag though.
Also I know on a stalker if AS misses hide does not suppress any more - that may be applying to other attacks also. I can't check that as far as snipes are concerned as mine is far too low a level and has the wrong sets in any event but if that was to be the case it would need to suppress when the to-hit check is made which I've always believed to be when it fires but may not be - range is checked at activation I believe and the to-hit check could also be made at that point.
Mind of Gaia lvl 50 Defiant's first Mind/Storm 'troller.
Deadly Doc 50 Dark/Dark Corr
and lots more on Pinnacle,Union and Defiant
I have a sniping stalker and a sniping blaster with stealth. Stealth does not suppress until after the shot is fired. Actually it seems to be the exact moment when damage is applied.
But to answer the original question: Stealth helps you pull off a snipe without being spotted and interrupted, but it does not affect generated agro. Chances are that NPC will get angry at you when you shoot somebody. 
If it has eyes, you can blind it, if it has blood, you can make it bleed, if it has a mouth, you can make it scream.
Yes that chance will be 100% (assuming the foe isn't confused - that may only work Redside Bridger could not reproduce it on a 'troller but my mind dom can still attack confused mobs with nearby mobs not aggroing - and is hit with a damaging attack), how much aggro you will get from the other mobs in the group with it will vary. If you would be in their perception range when out of stealth but not when stealthed they will aggro when they spot you or spot another (probably your target) either returning fire or dying which is why long range attacks like snipes work for pulling a few or even single mobs. Remember also the higher the mob's rank the more likely it is to aggro other mobs nearby when it takes damage.
Mind of Gaia lvl 50 Defiant's first Mind/Storm 'troller.
Deadly Doc 50 Dark/Dark Corr
and lots more on Pinnacle,Union and Defiant
afaik stealth suppresses at the beginning of the animation (you can test this with slow-animating Stalker attacks from stealth), but this is seperate from the interrupt period (see Assassin's Strike). So, basically, when the gun (or whatever powerset you're using) goes bang.
Try playing with threat mechanics. Take the lowest damaging attack, which incidentally should be something of low end cost, then range it, dont increase the damage as thisll increase your threat rating, the more range you have the lower the threat you should generate. I put a stealth IO in my TA's fly just to get close enough to flash arrow which'll lower perception and so give me something additional to making a good pull. Also pick an outsider, a lower rank just something not deep in the group.
I keep meaning to test stuff out but a chance would be a fine thing.
He will honor his words; he will definitely carry out his actions. What he promises he will fulfill. He does not care about his bodily self, putting his life and death aside to come forward for another's troubled besiegement. He does not boast about his ability, or shamelessly extol his own virtues. - Sima Qian.
If its to pull then what Shannon says is typically the safest method, as with a standard snipe it can attract more attention.
As for Stalkers + Snipe because of the long animation time as long as you wait even for a second to start it, you will regain Hide status by the time the shot is fired, hitting for Crital damage. Its not fast or efficient but it can be quite enjoyable at times and sometimes the safest way to approach a situation 
This is purely my own observation and take it in no way as fact:
Whenever i need to pull something, preferbly alone, i first target someone who is at the edge of a group. Then i align myself so that i'm close to a wall or something which i can duck behind as quickly as possible obscuring myself from the rest of the group.
Usually for me, this will work in drawing only the one i hit, or a very small portion of the group at least.
It seems to me that if they cannot see you (line of sight), they won't aggro on you. Stealth seems to do nothing to me.
This works for me 9 times out of 10. The tenth time it's usually me screwing up, or someone else having aggroes the group previously and after they reset it seems to be much harder to do this.
Just a quick query, if i take the pool stealth power, would it increase the chances of me just pulling one mob with sniper powers or does it not affect the agro?