Could the Lanka be Given a Soft Reticule for Leading Shots? Perhaps Mil Markers at the Least.

[Eirshy]

TTK_max is always more important for snipers- it is other weapons which typically operate on TTK_avg or even direct DPS. The reason is the role. The job of the sniper is to reliably eliminate a high-threat target as close to instantly as possible. This is why DPB_min is so important for snipers- and why trash like the Rubico, an impact-based (seriously why) sniper rifle built around gambling, is trash. Having a cold DPB_min nearly 6x higher is a *huge* deal when it comes to keeping that TTK_max at "one shot".

Hence: the wew lad. You are arguing that DPS, a stat typically unusable on sniper-style weapons due to DPS_actual being massively reduced by overkill and even just one missed shot, has any meaning on a full sniper- especially in the context of a weapon comparison where the fire-rate-for-damage exchange is 2 for almost 6 and a much more specialization-friendly damage type. There's a reason the Lanka is the standard against Eidolons.

 

Who's the charger a problem for? Someone. You, if you don't kill it by the time it closes whatever distance between you and it (or before another foe hits you with forced movement to put you next to it). The point you're defending, if it's near that. An ally not operating when reviving because he wants to get killed too (or because he hasn't faced the war within). Chargers have extremely high damage per hit- by lv60, tanking more than a couple of swipes is very risky, and they're typically not alone. But they're also melee-only so long as they can path to their target.

This is what I mean by prioritization. Your kill rate as a sniper is too low to just fire wildly into a crowd. You need to prioritize based on current threat level. Not just threat to yourself, but to the mission, the team. To not do so is to question why you didn't bring a reasonable TTK_avg weapon instead of a TTK_max one. That Tiberon Prime you "don't care about" will out-perform both a Vectis Prime and a Lanka in most missions in terms of DPS_actual- by a very wide margin, too. Yet it still supports a sort of marksman play style- being primarily a burst-fire hybrid weapon with a status FA and crit Semi option as the situation demands. It's also not the only marksman-style weapon that can eat a non-prioritizing sniper's lunch.

 

Do I "grasp" the concept of "Playstyle Refinement"? Do you grasp the concept of my deriving zero benefit from adding a crutch strictly inferior to the mental predictions I already do? You're also thinking of the trade wrong. It's not that I'm choosing 20% more damage over an aim assist I don't need, it is you who are choosing ~17% less damage because you want an aim assist you don't need.

Christ, the Lanka's old projectile speed was even significantly slower than what it is now. It's damn near trivial to hit things at 100m these days, and 200-300m really isn't much harder.

And the worst part about all of this?

I'm not even all that good.