ithaca snakemaster - best Agent weapon post patch

[Maldek]

so you think snakemaster will continue to be the "best" agent weapon after the patch?

Kinda sux to use a "pure" shotgun weapon instead of rifle skill if you ask me......

[Kuro]

Originally posted by doomgod
so you think snakemaster will continue to be the "best" agent weapon after the patch?

Kinda sux to use a "pure" shotgun weapon instead of rifle skill if you ask me......

Using Enhanced Sureshot, the agent will get a +26 increase to crit chance for 18 seconds and be locked down for 2 minutes. On Absolute Concentration, the agent will get a +100 crit increase and +300 damage for 6 seconds while being locked down for 7 minutes. The Ithica Snakemasters are great crit/special attack weapons but suck for regular damage.

So what are the agent's options for things to do for the 1 minute 42 seconds (if using Enhanced Sureshot) or for the 6 minutes 54 seconds (if using Absolute Concentration) while waiting to use their crit nanos again?

1. Switch weapons. This would mean best case scenario they'd be using the Ithica 15% of the time. And worst case scenario they'd be using the Ithica 1.4% of the time (not allowing for the delay in switching weapons).
2. Wait until they could recast the nanos. Which would mean, best case scenario, they'd be idle 85% of the time. And worst case scenario, they'd be idle 98.6% of the time. And this would be purely solo. Any agent doing this can forget finding a team willing to tolerate that much idleness.
3. Bleed messily all over a target that's laughing at the amount of damage they're doing?

Extremely bad advice here. The ithica snakemasters are excellent for PvP with long lasting crit enhancements (ie: UVC, scopes). With short term crit enhancements like the agent nanos they'd be merely good for solo PvP fights, mostly arena fights. And for PvM, the Ithicas would flat out suck in both team and solo situations if the agent was depending on the new nanos.

[______________Jennii]

Answer. Switch guns out.

Max out shotgun, rifle, and Aimed, and get your fling high enough to equip them all. If your to low a level to do this, than grab some levels.

Use the Ithaca with the 100% crit, then switch to the new Yat or FDA, and then cast the longer crit buff.

I use about 3 different guns (Ranee, Gluegun, Alasqri) on a constant basis depending on the situation. 14.2 It will all change to Snakemaster, Gluegun, and probabaly a Yat.

Why? Cuz I can self equip them all, and it's tons more fun than being stuck on 1 gun that your afraid to unequip, because it will take a trader, and ransacks to equip it again.

FUNCOM needs to give agents the rifle equivelant of the Snakemaster. Fast, with high crit, Fling, Aimed and Rifle reqs.

[Inocybe]

Originally posted by Greebus
FUNCOM needs to give agents the rifle equivelant of the Snakemaster. Fast, with high crit, Fling, Aimed and Rifle reqs.

This rifle adventurer would also like to see such a gun.

I think it's lacking that there is no 'upgraded' version of a Gluegun for example. Or even a solid rifle/fling/burst gun.

[__________Lucid Flow]

FYI, an O.E.T. Co. Type 77a Ranee gives a higher crit damage, and you will have a higher Attack Rating with it. The bad part is it's only 5 shots, and doesn't have fling.

I know a lot of Agents who use a Ranee for the Aimed Shot only, then switch to a Chemical Rifle or Stigma.

I'de also check out this Rifle:

http://auno.org/aodb.php?t=ag&cmd=view&id=161130

Gives better crits then an Ithaca and you will have more AR then a Ranee.

[Kuro]

Originally posted by Greebus
Answer. Switch guns out.

Max out shotgun, rifle, and Aimed, and get your fling high enough to equip them all. If your to low a level to do this, than grab some levels.

Use the Ithaca with the 100% crit, then switch to the new Yat or FDA, and then cast the longer crit buff.

I use about 3 different guns (Ranee, Gluegun, Alasqri) on a constant basis depending on the situation. 14.2 It will all change to Snakemaster, Gluegun, and probabaly a Yat.

Why? Cuz I can self equip them all, and it's tons more fun than being stuck on 1 gun that your afraid to unequip, because it will take a trader, and ransacks to equip it again.

FUNCOM needs to give agents the rifle equivelant of the Snakemaster. Fast, with high crit, Fling, Aimed and Rifle reqs.

If I were an agent considering an Ithica, I'd use it only for the purposes of crit/alpha combos then switch out as well. Lower level players would have to stick within the shotgun line to weapon swap till they collected enough IP to spread into other weapons types. Prolly an Ithica/Vektor combo tho they lose the fling/AS ability.

Either way, a weapon that has 1.4% - 15% usage hardly ranks as the "best Agent weapon post patch".

[Myga]

Ithaca will suck, it has 5sec equip time. Its not a switching weapon. Maybe good for 1vs1 PvP if you wanna gamble you can kill opponent before crit buff is out, if you cant then you dead.

I know a lot of Agents who use a Ranee for the Aimed Shot only, then switch to a Chemical Rifle or Stigma.

Uh, Ranee is slow as hell to equip. I find it hard to believe anyone ever does this, I for sure wouldnt, you loose more time switching than you get in the AS.

More or less all agents weapons are slow as hell to equip, only weapons you can switch decently fast afaik is gluegun, dis and that bio rifle crap. Even then you just end up wasting time because you loose 1 extra shot which prolly would do just as much dmg.

[__________Lucid Flow]

Originally posted by MSag
Uh, Ranee is slow as hell to equip. I find it hard to believe anyone ever does this, I for sure wouldnt, you loose more time switching than you get in the AS.

More or less all agents weapons are slow as hell to equip, only weapons you can switch decently fast afaik is gluegun, dis and that bio rifle crap. Even then you just end up wasting time because you loose 1 extra shot which prolly would do just as much dmg.

I'de agree if they were switching out a high clip sized gun. The extra time they spend switching out the Ranee is more then made up when they don't have to reload every 5 shots, especially when fighting Aces and Real Means with no crit buffs.

And by the way MSag, I did say "I know Agents who..." So whether you find it hard to believe or not, it's irrelevant.

[________shotgunfrank]

fp ma crit your self and start killing with ithaca.. that new yam gun is not better than a ithaca if u fp ma and use a crit.. also u can do chem dmg/ what ever dmg u want in fp ma

[ethernal3]

Originally posted by shotgunfrank
fp ma crit your self and start killing with ithaca.. that new yam gun is not better than a ithaca if u fp ma and use a crit.. also u can do chem dmg/ what ever dmg u want in fp ma

Agent's cannot FP: MA and cast LMA or UVC (or VS/SubG) on themselves anymore.
~Chris

[_____________Calenth]

Agents are still going to be able to have a very high crit chance even without the 100% chance buff -- that's not the only crit chance buff they're getting in the next patch, there are some items and other things coming down the line as well.

[Destria]

True, but those buffs last from 6-20 seconds (from the Concentration to Sureshot lines). The latter also buffs the Rifle skill. And then there is 7 minutes downtime for the best Concentration buff, and 2 minutes for Sureshot. In between those they will have a crit chance not much higher than anybody else

[Maldek]

well its doomgod the original poster.

1) i couldnt care less about PvP - i am talking about PvM ONLY!!

2) Of course i am using a +15crit LLTS. Will also be using that helm and maybe some of those crat crit nanos...not exciting but still in game....maybe the MA - buff other crit nanos they get will also add to this -> anyways even without LMA(UVC) the higher lvl agent will have like ~30% crit WITHOUT sureshot or concentration line (both suck big time for constant damage out put in a basicly run only QL190ish team mission at char lvl150++)

3) i still think the ithaca shotgun is the best choice. Fling + AS + big crits, give at least some firepower to us poor agents......i dont see how even x-3 can compare to that......and please keep in mind +15 LLTS is ~800 NEGATIVE Range init - so i dont see me 1/1 on a 2.5 gun any time soon - if ever.....

what do you think?

[Xeni]

For those who want to switch to the Superior Yatamutchy X-3 Counter-Sniper Rifle midfight, you have missed the 8sec equiptime.

Someone needed to point that out for me too.

[______________Jennii]

Originally posted by Xeni
For those who want to switch to the Superior Yatamutchy X-3 Counter-Sniper Rifle midfight, you have missed the 8sec equiptime.

Someone needed to point that out for me too.

Once you have that gun equiped... does it matter about the equip time?

Does equip time effect anything else besides the time it takes to equip the weapon?

[Destria]

Well, if you're going to use 'Concentration' or 'Sureshot', you'll want a fast gun with many specials and high crits. I can see Agents switching to an Ithaca for this... in PvM anyway

[Kuro]

Originally posted by CocoClown
Well, if you're going to use 'Concentration' or 'Sureshot', you'll want a fast gun with many specials and high crits. I can see Agents switching to an Ithaca for this... in PvM anyway

Like I asked before though, what are the agents supposed to do with the Ithica for the remaining time after the buff wears off and they're waiting to recover? If they stick with the Ithica, they'll be bleeding all over the place.

Doomgod played all of us. This thread was bait to try and get agents to whine about not using a weapon in line with the character. But too many people responded intelligently instead.