Okay, sweet- Ruin will get you to 40 anyways, but as @Zxul said above, there definitely are some options. I'd also recommend (Though you're probably already doing this) don't skimp on Talismans and potions, using these can maximise your bolster like crazy. Pre 40 I still ran armour pots and strength pots to try and leverage as much of that bolster as I could and it was great.3rdworldofficer wrote: Wed Nov 06, 2024 5:52 pm Oh, I am very much aware that Ruin is not a good set. I'm planning on graduating to Annihilator as soon as I hit RR 40. As for using BAL and Pistol Whip, I'm not sure that I'm particularly good at using positional attacks, even with Feinted Positioning. I use DG simply because I may have some use in a given group with morale pump, plus I can hand out the bullet debuffs to more targets. Sorry if that sounds strange, but I will consider at least looking at BAL and Pistol Whip, and looking for 6/12 man groups and guilds.
There was a brief period of time with the RP Strength buff that I was sitting at 1200 strength due to Bolster. That slaps really hard.
Dragon Gun definitely is still good, don't get me wrong and it is absolutely the only viable way to play in a WB imo. So if that's what you enjoy, definitely embrace it!
Positional attacks can be interesting at the best of times for sure, so I definitely understand the struggle there. Whilst you're playing around with DG and whatnot, I'd recommend using those times as a learning opportunity to understand body language as it translates into game pixels. We're all human at the end of the day and we have default patterns that we use subconciously.
Once you get an eye for this, it's really easy to start instictively predicting enemy player movement. A couple of small tips would be usually people "rotate strafe" in a single direction, either always clockwise or always anti-clockwise. More experienced players will vary this up, but in my experience, it's pretty uncommon. As a result, you can simple counter step their rotational strafe and end up at their back. You can easily get 2/3 attacks off whilst they're recovering from this.
Also, whilst bodyblocking is present in the game, hugging tight to an opponents side and swinging your camera 180 degrees will net you plenty of attacks at the sides. Then there's visual cues of intent to consider as well, mDPS will favour forward momentum to keep pressure on a target and to assit their strafing, so like a charging bull, sidestepping can expose their flank easily. rDPS will be forced to show their back to you as they attempt to kite so this is easy, same thing for healers really. Tanks have a very, very, bad habit of backpedalling in an attempt to keep their block/parry cone on the bulk of an opposing force.
Given that with Incognito you can often declare the terms of an engagement, it's a great time to tactic/morale swap to better combat your opponent, but also obverve your surroundings. Picture yourself as the target and think about where you'd run to- is there cover or an obsticle? Where is the nearest allied position, whether that be players or an objective/keep.
Depending on where you're located, you should also consider exploting latency gaps. This sounds technical but breaks down easily to "leading the target," you're definitely going to be viewing the enemy's "after image" if you've got high ping and this can screw with hit-detection of your positional abilities, as a result, don't aim where the enemy is, but rather where they're going to be. This will also allow you to pre-empty sudden movement.
Finally, predict class-specific "Escape" skills. So a WELF can do their version of Declare Anathema and leap away, same with Squig Herders etc. Both will often use these abilities immediately after you burst them, so combatting that with Oil's move speed bonus, or "Flee" x2 AP pot can keep them within your reach. Tanks will punt all the time, which is actually a great mechanism to exploit to re-stealth and put burn armour back up again.
Anyways, this response has turned into a novel, so I apologise. I hope something here has been helpful.
Best of luck hunter o7