Sup.
For a while after having fun with the Drunk Engi i started to feel that it was time to find anything else that i could see playable from the rifle.
After plenty of arguments trashing the Drunk Engi build, i did find myself with the need of find something else that could be used with the rifle.
So i went to the build editor and see what could i do.
The build in question: The Marauder Rifle build
The build wasnt like this in a beginning, there was stuff i did attempt to make workout and at the end i dropped it:
AED
Reason for bring it: Potential full heal when timed right, only 22 secs of cd when traited.
Reason i did drop it:Was waay inconcistent, moments where i thought it was a good time for AED it took like an eternity for get hit, either because the enemy had his damage skills on cd, or because the enemy realized i had AED on.
Honorable mention to the anti sinergy with the auto elixir s, wich i felt it was my fault if that happened.
Slick Shoes
Reason for bring it: An extra cc break, and a great tool for disengage battles or rotate more faster thanks to the superspeed, 30 secs cd when traited.
Reason i did drop it: Was missing damage, and the main utility was… nothing helpful at all, the toolbelt resulted to be more valuable to me than the main skill, wich made traiting this gadget pointless, at the end, i learnt how to escape without the need of this utility.
Utility googles
Reason for bring it: An extra CC break and a potential window for extra damage with those 10 stacks of vuln, 22 secs of cd when traited, a second healing mists in other words.
Reason i did drop it: Lack of damage was the only reason i did drop it, this one actually saddens me it didnt workout too well, because this utility was sweet butter for the rifle, overcharged shot + healing mists, with the next overcharged shot, i could do the same thing but with +utility googles, i did never experience the downside of the self-knockback while using this, while one cc break was on cd, the other one was ready for the shot.
That said, i started to notice my main damage skills… werent doing much damage as i did expect, i needed that fury for the guaranteed crit, so i had to drop it and bring elixir b to the build.
Honorable mention to the anti blind when used with elixir x, the hits where guaranteed to hit.
With the build i linked, thats what i did play, and i manage to reach platinum with this build.
32 games won.
26 games lost.
So, whats good with this build?
It is a great build for +1: you can pull out the 4,5,3 combo and leave the enemy as an easy target for your teammate.
More tools for play against projectile hate: Unlike the drunk engi, i had elixir gun on my side this time, and i had more option for fight against when the enemy pulled projectile hate, so fights where i would do nothing with drunk engi until the projectile was gone, i could fumigate in the meantime the projectile was up, once was down, overcharged shot time.
Better control area: And this is because thanks to acid bomb, enemies cant just stay in cap safely like they used to do me with durnk engi, now i can drop an acid and leave threat for staying there, my enemies do move now.
BTW, it wasnt that awful for duel as i thought, you can still pull out a 1v1 build with this, just know your kitten and your enemy’s kitten.
That said here are the negatives i saw from thid build.
Terrible against aoe spam fights: I couldnt do a lot with fights where many necros and guardians sit in cap and aoe the kitten of it, my only choices where to rotate or caught someone off place, or pull out a great moa.
The rifle is….. so…. god….. kitten …… SLOW: for blunderbuss being a 1/2 sec cast time, it feels like an eternity for see the hit get out, by the time i made my shots, the enemy evaded or pulled out blocks, aegis, etc, the rifle its completely the opposite in speed fight pace compared to the drunk engi, its 2 different rifles, thats how i feel it.
Jump shot would be the exception as i didnt feel differences with this skill.
The rifle is so kitten dependant on boons: if it wasnt by the buffed boons, i wouldnt pulled out the damage i was pulling, rifle needs to be more good without the need of having boons, if it was that good with raw stats and traits only, i would have kept utility googles.
This build is not so kitten boon dependant as the drunk engi, but it still needs boons, boons over other cool utilities.
Another point:
The build is similar to the meta scrapper from some patches ago: i do realize this, but i it was the only way i managed to make the rifle workout with more base damage from him, rather from boons, idk, i did attempt to use tool kit too (and traited), but, it wasnt the same, not the same damage, not the same cleansing, elixir gun was a better option overall.
I plan to post this in metabattle, to show marauder rifle is still playable at some level, defenitely not for beginners, but another option for attempt for those who are sick of hammer only.
A pic of my plat badge.
