Strategy:Sharpshooter

0.9.9.7

Sharpshooter is a build that blooms much later than other pistol builds, since you're blocked from taking Dualgunner, but on the plus side, you can make use of 10mm ammo chains all throughout the game, and any (pistol) uniques you find will make you a wrecking ball. More than anything, though, this build gives you the pinnacle of reliability, since you will always know whether or not you will knock an enemy back, and you will always know how many shots it will take to kill something. It also means modding just one of your pistols to a ridiculous level will pay off in spades.

Unfortunately, you are barred from taking Dualgunner, which is a really good trait, not just for DPS but for early-game survivability because it allows you to fire two aimed shots in a single attack. This is often enough to one-shot imps and Formers, and it easily bridges the gap between SoG2 and getting levels in Eagle Eye, which will allow you to fire those off without aiming. With SoG3, you can one-shot all formers except Commandos with dualgunner no matter what unless they're wearing armor, and you will one shot imps too unless half your dice roll 1s and the other half roll 2s. This saves so much HP in the early game it's ridiculous.

But you're not allowed to do that as a Sharpshooter. You have to wait until level 7 to reliably one-shot formers with your starting pistol, and you can't one-shot imps without at least a P-modded pistol. Even worse, you have to rely on your one pistol's worth of ammo and constantly be reloading it even after your capstone. So sure, you can use ammo chains, but you also kinda need them.

So because of the Dualgunner lockout, Sharpshooter's ability to actually win games is highly loot-dependent. Finding a single P mod or even a 10mm ammo chain early enough can completely change the build's viability, and finding a Combat Pistol is basically your win condition, and with mods the combat pistol is even better than finding one of the unique pistols, but if the game is stingy with P mods and you never find any better pistols, the latter of which is very likely, you might not even reach level 7.

If you are fine with that and don't mind the challenge, go for it. You are a Technician, so you start with a Technical mod, which you should immediately use on your starting pistol. It makes you fire your pistol as if you had a level in Finesse, an insanely good boost. It's almost as good as having SoG2 from level 1.

Depending on difficulty or challenges, you can go one of a few routes:

1) Regardless of difficulty, but especially on lower difficulty, it is often best to max out Son of a Gun ASAP. The firing speed boost, combined with the T mod, combined with the damage boost, makes pistols get really good, really fast. The power jump from SoG2 to SoG3 is night and day. If you're doing AoMr, this is the best choice by far.

2) On higher difficulty, where rapid weapons are plentiful, it is sometimes possible to go for 1-2 points in Eagle Eye first, which gives you some flexibility and allows you to also use Rapid weapons while you build yourself up. This also allows you to change your mind later and go after Entrenchment if you feel like. However, keep in mind that even though this won't delay Sharpshooter, it will delay how fast you get good with Pistols, and SoG3 Pistol +T is better than a Chaingun, is more ammo efficient, and is far more flexible since you aren't stuck firing 4 shots. You DON'T want to delay this too much.

3) When not playing angel of marksmanship, you may find that taking finesse and juggler first, before Son of a Gun/Eagle Eye is a strong approach. Early game, before your pistols really come into their own, you can keep a backpack full of shotguns and juggle them to kill demons fast. Mid game, (ie before VMR are common enemies), juggler and a spare pistol will solve the biggest weakness of a pistol build (reload times) far more effectively than the speedloader assembly does. For sharpshooters in particular, this saved mod space makes a *huge* difference, because a power mod on a sharpshooter's pistol gives a particularly important increase to damage: A pistol that previously never knocks back under any circumstances suddenly becomes 100% guaranteed knockback. In an environment where you get to fire 3 times for every 1 tile a demon can move, having a guaranteed knockback offers incredible safety, and a P mod additionally allows you to one-shot imps.

If you already know you want to use your trusty pistol and not bother with Chainguns, or you have no choice, max out SoG first.

If you aren't blocked by your challenge, it can be a good idea to carry a Plasma Gun and at least one Shotgun as backup weapons, especially if you get these before finishing Sharpshooter. Pistols have big problems with some enemies, but fortunately, EE3 gives you a great deal of flexibility. Shotguns are great for radar-shooting and dealing with Souls and Revenants, while a Plasma Gun ignores half armor and deals crazy damage while chainfiring. Since Pistols don't need that much ammo, you can keep a decently flexible arsenal and feel confident in all your guns thanks to Eagle Eye 3. You might even be able to keep a rocket launcher too to deal with Arch-Viles and The Wall/Containment.

Good traits to take alongside this build are:

Whizkid - You are a Technician, so you can grab Whizkid at any time. In many cases, it can actually be a better idea to grab 2 levels in WK before finishing Sharpshooter, since modded gear can be a lifesaver, and carrying around a bunch of crap that you plan on using in the future does you no good if you get killed because your gear wasn't good enough (or you had to drop important items to carry it). In general, though, assembled pistols are inferior to heavily modded pistols. 3P2T Pistols are ridiculously good, though once you get SoG5, 3P2B is better, since you will be at the firing speed cap with all pistols at that point.

Intuition - Incredibly useful, and unlocked by the EE levels you needed. Int2 lets you see enemies outside your FoV, and being able to sense powerups means you know where to retreat to if things go south. It also removes the guesswork from levers. More useful in a standard game or AoMr than Ao100, but always useful. One of the best fillers to take after finishing MSs.

Ironman - Your only source of bulk, and not a bad one either. Increases the power of healthkits. Maybe not as "fun" as some of the others, but you'll swear by it once you try it out a few times. More useful in Ao100 than a standard game or AoMr. Take it after you finish WK2 and MSs.

Finesse/Juggler - Finesse itself is useless to your pistols once you get SoG5, but it does make you shoot faster with your backup weapons, and it opens up Juggler, which can be a lifesaver if you suddenly need to rocket jump away or blast a bunch of bad dudes with a Double Shotgun. Juggler also makes carrying a second pistol a very practical solution to the small-clip-size problem of pistols, but this second pistol trick is probably not enough to justify taking finesse and juggler in an Angel of Marksmanship game.

Reloader/Shottyman - Reloader is not that useful if you're finding Ammo Chains everywhere, but in a long game, it and Shottyman can make any Shotguns and Rocket Launchers in your arsenal that much more effective. Overall, it is a much better investment if you find yourself using your whole arsenal more than your pistols, but a very situational one, because its benefits are eclipsed by relatively common items.

Sharpshooter is a satisfying build that can be great fun, but it requires a great deal of patience and planning, and of course, you might need to improvise based on your current circumstances. Now if only the rare pistols weren't so abysmally hard to find...

Ya Girl Juniper (talk) 07:48, 3 February 2017 (UTC)