Diaspora level 1 price 350 dam 1d8f range 50 capicity 10 usage 1 bulk 1 sniper 250 unwieldy
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And yes to get extended range takes move action and the diaspora sniper rifle is a laser weapon
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Sniper weapons appear to primarily be there for GMs, honestly. They're pretty terrible.
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Sniper weapons aren't something that can really be balanced in a game. Consider the fact that an average soldier or marine in todays army can hit a man sized target at about 300 meters (328 yards... 930 feet. 186 SQUARES) with an M4/M16 and bare sights. When you start talking real snipers (who can do ranges well beyond 4 times that and beyond) , with a dedicated weapon, scopes and so on, the range and power get to be absurd.
So transfer that to the game. How fun would it be to pop the head of the BBEG from 2 miles away? Or more likely, get your head popped when you're approaching their fortress? So then you get into a game of trying to move and avoid the sniper. And now you're in a miniatures war game, not a sci-fi RPG.
Amen ^^^
Ever played an FPS in deathmatch mode where there are sniper weapons that can kill in one shot? Ever notice how all of the players rush to get them and the game quickly devolves into sniper vs sniper? Is that what you want in Pathfinder? If so, then keep pushing for Uber sniper weapons... Good luck when there is only one class of weapon used by anyone though.
When there's no advantage but range on a weapon and the typical adventure puts you within range for other weapon types, which don't have Unwieldy, that makes them completely inferior choices. As the game is designed, along with how published adventures are designed, the only reason I would invest the carrying capacity in holding a sniper rifle is if I'm both (a) told I'll have occasion to use one and (b) given one for free, along with relevant ammo.
I say this as someone using a projectile heavy weapon in an AP right now - I'd have been better off with a longarm of some sort, particularly a battery powered one. The game is currently built with those being the primary weapon choices.
Exocortex Mechanic with diasporan sniper rifle is hands down the highest damage sniper in the game. It's an average of 7 damage over a regular laser rifle. Make of that what you will. But Overcharge has no range limit, and 7d6 damage, plus Technomantic Dabbler for Supercharge Weapon for a total of 11d6 damage is nothing to sneeze at. Their in Miracle Worker for an additional +2 attack and damage... Like I said, most accurate and damaging sniper in the game.
Starfinder not being realistic doesn't really change the point that snipers kinda suck though in most cases.
A warpshot shirren eye rifle has roughly the same average damage as a paragon sneeker rifle, but a shorter range and has the unwieldy property and needs to be reloaded more often (even if you're quad attacking with the seeker).
A tactical shirren eye rifle does +1 average damage over a hunting rifle, but costs more than three times as much, has a shorter range and needs to be reloaded every round (which means if you're trying to snipe you can't even attack every round).
The two classes with innate sniper proficiency have some issues using them too. Operatives are a 3/4 BAB class that can apply exactly zero class features while trying to snipe and even using them in non snipe mode causes you to lose damage and costs an exploit. Sniper Operative is basically a trap option that sounds cool but functions miserably. I think it's really hard to argue that that's not clearly borked.
Soldiers are a bit better off, but are still noticeably lacking in that their primary ranged damage combat style can't use a big chunk bonuses with a sniper.
That leaves the best sniper builds as stuff like exocortex mechanics stacking overcharge with a disaporan sniper. That's a cool build mind you, but doesn't really detract from all these other issues either.
Exocortex Mechanic with diasporan sniper rifle is hands down the highest damage sniper in the game. It's an average of 7 damage over a regular laser rifle. Make of that what you will. But Overcharge has no range limit, and 7d6 damage, plus Technomantic Dabbler for Supercharge Weapon for a total of 11d6 damage is nothing to sneeze at. Their in Miracle Worker for an additional +2 attack and damage... Like I said, most accurate and damaging sniper in the game.
Other best sniper is a Technomancer with the Spell Shot magic hack.
Make an enemy explode at 1,000 paces.
A Technomancer with spellshot could probably out-damage the Exocortext mechanic, since they can tack on a blast spell that will still do as much damage as overcharge on a save. Can't do it as often as the mechanic, but for pure burst-damage potential, Technomancer might be the way to go.
A Technomancer with spellshot could probably out-damage the Exocortext mechanic, since they can tack on a blast spell that will still do as much damage as overcharge on a save. Can't do it as often as the mechanic, but for pure burst-damage potential, Technomancer might be the way to go.
They can also use the Eternal Spell magic hack to make Supercharge Weapon a spell they can cast as often as a cantrip. (Or they could just keep it as a 1st-level spell. What are you using those slots for at higher levels anyway?)
It's certainly not useful in the heat of battle, but for a Sniper who can dictate exactly when a fight starts? That extra 4d6 could be helpful.
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I think the fact that supercharge weapon is a standard action kills all these technomancer builds you're basically trading 4d6 for one less attack. I might go sniper with my drone mechanic too sure it doesn't get full bab but it's move action is gonna be taken up at least some of the time by wanting to move the drone or by doing a double overcharge (And the drone will also be taking an overcharge.)
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I think the fact that supercharge weapon is a standard action kills all these technomancer builds you're basically trading 4d6 for one less attack. I might go sniper with my drone mechanic too sure it doesn't get full bab but it's move action is gonna be taken up at least some of the time by wanting to move the drone or by doing a double overcharge (And the drone will also be taking an overcharge.)
Nah, they’re not trading an attack for it on the opening sniping shot. The point of sniping is that you’re the one initializing ambush combat from an unfair distance. There’s no problem spending an extra round of prep.
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Nah, they’re not trading an attack for it on the opening sniping shot. The point of sniping is that you’re the one initializing ambush combat from an unfair distance. There’s no problem spending an extra round of prep.
So something that happens basically never in a rpg. You might get ambushes but they're never going to be set up from a distance where sniping matters as a pc.
So something that happens basically never in a rpg. You might get ambushes but they're never going to be set up from a distance where sniping matters as a pc.
Nah, they’re not trading an attack for it on the opening sniping shot. The point of sniping is that you’re the one initializing ambush combat from an unfair distance. There’s no problem spending an extra round of prep.
Even the most basic of Sniper Rifles has a Sniping range of 250 feet. In meters this is a bit more than 76 meters. Legally a high-rise building is 30 to 100 meters. So with the lowest tiers of rifle you can post a sniper character (like the Technomancer or Mechanic mentioned throughout here) at the top of a high-rise, while the shorter-ranged characters are waiting inside the building or in an alleyway. Sniper not only has amazing range and is probably out of enemy range, they've also now got a bird-eye perspective to watch for the target. If they're a Technomancer (or have a Technomancer on the team) and want to for some reason leave the safety of the rooftop behind, a level 1 Flight, possibly even cast as a Reaction, can jump off the building and get off a few more shots on the way down before landing safely in the midst of the group. At higher levels rifles can go up to 1000 feet, which 300 meters in metric. Which won't quite manage the tallest skyscrapers, but will manage quite a lot of them. You'll need to time your Flight to make it to the ground before the fight ends, but otherwise the basic concept is the same.
Remember also those are the range increments of sniper rifles. you can shoot out to 10 times the range increment which means up to 10,000ft...
So something that happens basically never in a rpg. You might get ambushes but they're never going to be set up from a distance where sniping matters as a pc.
Nah, they’re not trading an attack for it on the opening sniping shot. The point of sniping is that you’re the one initializing ambush combat from an unfair distance. There’s no problem spending an extra round of prep.
If your GM has the map space for it (whether through the scalable canvas of roll20 or the purchase of a large marker-able grid), it can happen. Party hunkers down at a distance, and then either the mechanic sends their drone up as bait or the Technomancer burns a first-level spell on Holographic Image. Alternatively, you research your target's schedule by hacking some camera feeds, or set up shop in sight of their residence. It's not for every group, and I wouldn't count on it in something like SFS, but "basically never" isn't true.
Yeah, its only even remotely true if the players are always reactive in their play style rather than proactive.
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Yeah, its only even remotely true if the players are always reactive in their play style rather than proactive.
Most published adventures are set up as reactive. Could you as a gm create a more proactive adventure or set up situations where proactive play is encouraged, sure. But reacting to situations has been the rpg norm since the inception of the genre.
Sacrificing an attack is a moot point anyways, because thus far all sniper weapons have the unwieldy property and cant be used to make an attack.