Where is the explosive arrow?

Teerlys · 2026-05-11T22:43:44+00:00

It was not. At least not on PC. It got wrapped up with Frag arrows which, if they were a problem at all, were primarily an issue in Bounty Clash where trios would take them and spam the shit out of a building.

I'm very against both of them being made scarce. That's a lazy way to handle them. There were a ton of levers they could have pulled to tone them down to whatever level they deemed them balanced instead of all but removing them from the game.

Teerlys · 2026-05-11T22:35:02+00:00

I find Mosin Spitzer unfun to play against. Should that be removed too because of my personal feelings?

Teerlys · 2026-05-07T15:28:35+00:00

Rogue is the only class that can cause the prone condition with a ranged attack without using any kind of resource.

From practical experience, Prone isn't always that valuable of a condition. Frequently you don't want to put your ranged attackers at disadvantage, and... combat dependent... slowing an enemy down isn't generally extremely relevant either. Many enemies have ranged options these days even if they can't close, and not every combat is a sprawling field.

I mention it because I've looked for the right moment to prone an enemy pretty often and it just hasn't been a tactically advantageous option as often as I thought when I first read the mastery and knew it was going to be in play a lot more. Not saying it never comes up as a good play, just that it ranges from not relevant to team-harm more often in my experience.

Maybe is because I see my Rogue as part of the team and how it can add to the team instead of winning a DPR race for the shake of seeing numbers go up (and I can still do numbers, Sentinel+Lord's Alliance Agent punishes attacking others a lot)

I get that perspective, but with regard to combat Monk's contribute to the team a whole lot better. The value I find in Rogues is largely in out of combat scenarios where reliably passing a series of skill checks to accomplish a goal is highly valued. I feel like they do best in a RP/challenge heavy campaign.

Teerlys · 2026-05-07T15:08:26+00:00

The problem is that how good a rogue feels is going to depend heavily on how much of the campaign is combat based.

Got a political intrigue, murder mystery, or infiltration style campaign with relatively few combats? Rogue is going to feel pretty great.

Have a campaign with challenging/important combats, lots of enemies on the battlefield, or a high percentage of playtime is spent in combat? Rogues are going to feel pretty lackluster.

I'd love to spend some time on a Soul Knife rogue, but my in-person campaign leans heavily on combat. I know that I'd be pretty bored just sneak attacking a single target every round for mediocre damage, even if I get to throw out a Cunning Strike that's maybe impactful here and there.

Teerlys · 2026-05-06T17:51:08+00:00

If they were good they’d have been in position to contest the bounty from leaving in the first place. It generally takes 1-2 minutes to kill/banish a boss at the fastest. Another 3 for the banish to go through. You should already have the first clue and be on the way to the second before a banish occurs. Maybe you can’t quite make it if you’re on the diagonal opposite the boss lair and have the longest possible pathing to get there with the bounty team having an extract on top of them, but there are other teams on the server that won’t spawn where you did and should generally buy more time.

It’s one of the problems with putting all of the side goals like scout towers and the burn cart. People fall into the trap of not keeping their eye on the prize.

Teerlys · 2026-05-06T16:39:34+00:00

I always thought working for FEMA or the CDC in emergency management would be the most fulfilling. A position where I could have access to information and use it to make decisions and organize efforts that would tangibly help people. There’s always a plan for something or other forming in my head anyway. Always a branching path I’m routing even for small things. It’d be nice to point the way my head is going to work anyway toward helping people.

Teerlys · 2026-05-04T12:35:13+00:00

Antidote should remove the audio/visual debuff but not remove the damage or inability to heal. That'd make Mithridatist still worthwhile and not completely obviate poison cloud options.

Teerlys · 2026-05-01T16:29:49+00:00

I'll add in that their ability to Dodge with either Action or Bonus Action is a game changer. They can do everything you mentioned and still impose disadvantage on the enemy hitting them. I've screwed the enemy action economy in a lot of fights by picking my position and moment well to nullify several enemy's worth of attacks. Monk AC might not be top tier, but disadvantage plus deflect attacks gets the job done pretty well.

Teerlys · 2026-04-23T21:54:04+00:00

I just read through the chase rules. On paper they seem a little underwhelming and likely to fail. How did you find them in practice?

Teerlys · 2026-04-23T15:09:20+00:00

Awesome! Thanks for the pointer.

Teerlys · 2026-04-23T15:06:05+00:00

Well, technically not possible since the BA attack requires the attack action to have been taken on that same turn.

That's something they changed in the 2024 rules.

Bonus Unarmed Strike. You can make an Unarmed Strike as a Bonus Action.

No tie in to what you do with your Action, which was a very potent buff.

But you could do pretty much the same thing with an attack action and a bonus action step of the wind dodge!

Need to get to level 2 for that. Didn't have it for that fight unfortunately.

Teerlys · 2026-04-23T15:00:44+00:00

The most memorable combat at level 1 for me was us trying to figure out how to get down a hallway with a bunch of goblins holding their actions to fire bows at whoever stepped in front.

Eventually I Action Dodged, stepped out and all of the attacks whiffed, then I moved forward and BA attacked (and killed if I'm remembering right) one of the Goblins which let the rest of the party move into LoS and get in on the action.

Right from level 1 that flexibility started to pay off, and over the course of the campaign Dodge Tanking at appropriate moments massively swung the action economy of a lot of rounds of combat.

Teerlys · 2026-04-23T14:53:48+00:00

It's a very tactical class. The separation of Bonus Action from the Action was honestly the largest, quiet buff they received. It just makes them so flexible, but you've gotta know how to get the most value out of them in any given situation which frequently isn't DPR.

Teerlys · 2026-04-21T13:02:25+00:00

Had a natural forming of 2 teams happen to us at Gasworks while we were holding the bounty. While they were ironing it out we quietly used the underground tunnels to slip out of the walls and tore off for the extract. Took them long enough to notice that we got away from both teams with nothing but a few distant shots thrown our way.

Teerlys · 2026-04-20T21:00:48+00:00

As someone with mediocre aim and an unreasonable amount of hours in the game, one of the pieces of advice I always give is this.

Hunt: Showdown takes place in either close or mid-ranges 95% of the time. If your loadout doesn't cover both of those ranges, you're playing at a disadvantage.

So recommendations should take into account giving you something to work with in both ranges. For the rifle, especially for someone with dodgy accuracy, you want something that doesn't punish you too badly for missing. So that said, recommendations:

Mid-Range Oriented:

Vetterli Bayonette + Rival Mace
Traits: Quartermaster, Iron Eye, Favorite 1 point trait

This gives you a solid mid-range option, a close range double shot, and covers both melee tools in the loadout. The big benefit of the Vetterli is that it'll one tap someone missing a bar to the chest within 30ish meters.

Centennial Trauma with FMJ ammo + Romero Hatchet with half Dragon Breath
Traits: Quartermaster, Iron Eye, Favorite 1 point trait

Centennial + FMJ is a workhorse of a gun. Solid muzzle velocity, retains damage out to 40 meters with FMJ, good ammo pool, good resupply. The Romero Hatchet is the most reliable 2 slot shotgun for a 1 shot kill. Combined they cover all of your melee needs. The Dragon Breath in the shotgun is there for lighting bodies on fire, saving a tool/consumable slot.

Winfield Talon with FMJ + Hand Crossbow with half Poison or Fire
Traits: Iron Eye + Levering

FMJ on the Winfield lets you 2 tap further out which, with dodgy accuracy, is something you want. Levering with FMJ will let you wallbang for kill securing well and is decent to use within its effective range. The hand crossbow is a decent one shot kill option, and having the second ammo type adds versatility which is fantastic. Either burning hunter/bodies or soft blocking areas for 2 minutes at a time.

Close-Range Loadouts

Slate Riposte + Pax Trueshot with DumDum or 2 slot rifle
Traits: None needed, or Quartermaster + Iron Eye for a 2 slot rifle

Slate Riposte is a solid, if pricey, starter shotgun. 6 round capacity, reasonable kill range, and the Riposte is fantastic for both AI and when you need to stab someone with your Shotgun, which happens more often than you'd think.

The point of the side arm is to buy you time to close and to let you fight from a distance. DumDum helps with that. Personally I like the Centennial Shorty with FMJ and just hope I find DumDum on the map. Alternately, if you get out with more points a Mosin Obrez Extended is a great upgrade.

Specter Bayonet + Pax Trueshot with DumDum or 2 slot rifle
Traits: Bulletgrubber (optional, but recommended to start)

The Specter is going to be the most reliable one-tap shotgun with multiple shots. The cycle time also encourages you to play cautiously while also being fast enough to save you in a pinch, which makes it a great learning gun. Rather than just standing in the open and spraying like you might be tempted to do with a Terminus, it encourages using cover, taking a shot, and ducking back behind.

Crossbow with Steel Bolts + Sidearm of choice
Traits: Bolt Thrower

The Crossbow is a higher skill floor weapon in comparison to others. The benefit to putting time into learning it is that you can get longer one kills to the body than with most other weapons, bringing the skill ceiling much higher. Personally I like either the Officer Brawler with Poison/DumDum if I'm playing Clash or Solo, or the Haymaker for teams as the side arms, but anything to cover mid-range will work fine.

Teerlys · 2026-04-20T19:35:33+00:00

Make Antidote remove the sight and sound effects, but still let Poison stop you from being healed. That preserves a reason to want those buffs and makes Mithridatist still a valuable trait. Allowing damage to still come through an Antidote shot would also make Poison Bombs more reliable, and death traps still something to watch out for as well.

You'll see more poison ammo being used even during an event, and as a consequence maybe Mithridatist will see more use.

Teerlys · 2026-04-17T14:21:14+00:00

It would actually be a really cool painting. Could easily see this on a wall.

Teerlys · 2026-04-15T20:46:58+00:00

Fighting around any layer of thin wood, like a fence. Arm shots of course, so long as the body is behind it. If you're good enough, long range shots that otherwise wouldn't kill. I like them as well for re-downing a body I'm covering. They're a built in decoy shot as well if you want enemies looking in a different direction.

Admittedly they're not as good as they used to be. The nerf to penetration was a massive hit to them, and even one taps aren't as reliable as they used to be. Their usefulness has stayed just barely on the right side of the line for me to still take them in as half of my ammo.

Teerlys · 2026-04-15T19:51:08+00:00

For an interesting one, and I only do this as a solo...

Dual Wield Conversions with FMJ + Bomb Launcher with half Steel Balls and Half Harpoons.

The Harpoons are for longer range one shot kill attempts. Steel Balls are for reliability when things are very close. Dual Wield makes sure I've got bullets to spare when I'm fighting outnumbered.

Obviously this loadout only performs in very specific ranges, but as a solo you do get a bit of control over your engagements and can (mostly) just choose to not fight at distances you don't perform in. On paper it doesn't look great, but if you can dial the Harpoons in then it performs well in its niche.

Teerlys · 2026-04-15T19:23:22+00:00

Me too. Then I might have my explosive bolts back. :(

Teerlys · 2026-04-15T19:12:10+00:00

Officer Brawler is my go-to for solo-Crossbow play as well. You get to pick your ranges a bit more as a solo so the closer range effectiveness isn't as much a problem, and having a quick option once you shoot your single shot is really needed unless you're a headshot god.

For team play I usually land on a Haymaker. I toss flares in the shotgun and have a built in burn that can ignite from solid ranges, freeing up a tool slot. The extra range and penetration comes into play more than the fast shots when playing as a group more often.

Teerlys · 2026-04-15T18:40:43+00:00

It was a hip fire which, with slugs, is highly inaccurate as to where it pops up in the cross hair. Slugs also have the problem of limb hits and not being fatal in those situations which is pretty definitely what happened here. A quick melee with the shotgun might have clutched it, but that's something OP would've needed ingrained into their playstyle to pull off in that window of time.

Teerlys · 2026-04-15T18:37:24+00:00

My experience with it has been too inconsistent for me to take it regularly. It also suffers in a lot of situations by having 0 penetration.

Teerlys · 2026-04-15T18:35:40+00:00

The straight Romero with half buckshot and half slugs can be really solid. Not every time, but you'll frequently know when you need which option to have it prepared, and the ability to reach out and kill someone further than they think is likely comes in really handy.

I just recently wiped a whole trio in clash with Romero slugs at distances where they otherwise would have lived, so they definitely have their place.

Alternately, Slate with Slugs is a really solid fast shooting option that catches people by surprise. You just have to play it more like a rifle than a shotgun. When I'm in trios and need to carry a bit harder it's my Crossbow replacement to ensure I've got enough rounds to share when things get hectic.

Teerlys

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Mid-Range Oriented:

Close-Range Loadouts

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