The new META which returns both rifles roughly to their pre-update state by upgrading each of them once. However, RLLRR and RLLRL are also valid choices, even though they're more situational. If you're not sure what to choose, use RRLRR. This is usually the case for games with 1p health levels. There're also niche scenarios where "Ballistic Shock" is not worth taking - when for a Scrake (shots to stun) >= (shots to kill). This allows to combine fully upgraded EBR and SPX returned to its pre-upgrade state in the same loadout, while also leaving room for Medic Pistol. "Stability" also shifts an important breakpoint for unupgraded SPX - the ability to kill 2 Scrakes before reloading. "Stability", on the other hand, decreases TTK on large zeds (especially Fleshpounds) and increases reloading speed for SPX - this is especially important for a perk that, unlike Gunslinger, can't combine "Rack 'Em Up" and "Elite Reload" animation in the same skill tree. In other scenarios (flat surface, medium to long line of sight, guaranteed aggro on the M14 Sharpshooter and Scrake moving in a straight line as a result) benefits of "Ballistic Shock" start to be less noticeable. This is usually necessary for safe Scrake takedowns at short range, on uneven/cluttered terrain where Scrakes tend to jump and jitter all over the place, and in situations when other players are constantly stealing the Scrake's aggro. The main benefit of "Ballistic Shock" is locking Scrakes in place with rifles outside of Zed Time. Commando) with medium to long line of sight. "Stability", however, may be more useful when watching a solo or duo lane (shared with a trash cleaning specialist, e.g. RRLRR is the best skill tree when laning with other HVT killers, because the "Ballistic Shock" + "Ranger" combination allows to stun all large zeds and "serve the meal" to others. Scrake can be stunned in 1-3 shots depending on the weapon.Īs for the loadouts, currently I can suggest the following. As an example, "Ranger" makes it possible to stun a Fleshpound in 2 SPX shots and 3 shots from M14, which is not possible without it. The effect is mostly noticeable on rifles, since they have high stun power by default. "Ballistic Shock" multiplies the stun power by 2. "Ranger" simply provides an increased stun power modifier in a similar way to how "Ballistic Shock" does it, but overrides the BS modifier if the Zed Time is active. This may trick players into thinking that "Ranger" allows to stun every zed with every single on-perk weapon on the 1st shot. The in-game description of the skill is misleading, however.ĭuring ZED Time, your head shots with perk weapons will stun any ZED. Relatively consistent Zed Time triggering capabilites, stunning skills ("Ballistic Shock" and "Ranger") which can be used to assist other perks with takedowns, and freeze grenades which can secure the kiting route or prevent multiple Fleshpounds from overextending in front of each other.Ĭombined with unreliable stuns (Ranger rarely works) If the team is fully ballistic and doesn't have at least one M14 Sharpshooter, it's always a good idea to select it because of the utility it brings to the team. However, if the team you're about to join has a Commando, 2 Marksman Sharpshooters, Support and a Medic, Gunslinger would be a better pick, because the team already has reliable Zed Time triggering + extenstion capabilites and could use another Zed Time DPS perk. Whether to choose Gunslinger or Marksman Sharpshooter depends on the team composition.įor example, if you join a match which has a Commando, 2 Gunslingers, Support and a Medic, Marksman Sharpshooter will be a better choice, because no one else can trigger the Zed Time as reliably as this subclass. Gunslinger with the "Fan Fire" skill equipped outputs high amounts of damage during the prolonged Zed Time. Marksman Sharpshooter triggers Zed Time by actively scoring headshots (there is a 10-second cooldown before the next Zed Time can be triggered, however).Ĭommando extends Zed Time by resetting the 3-second counter (this can be done 6 times, up to 18 seconds or even 21 seconds if the initial trigger is not interrupted prematurely). Both Gunslinger and Marksman Sharpshooter are part of the "Zed Time Ballistic Trinity":