Shots Fired: A Machinist Guide

[SovereignAegis]

Yeah, I've noticed that aswell... I'm currently at lvl 56 with full 133 gear. The class really feels weak when compared to other dps classes.
Also, I don't get it... Why can't they just make it so that your single-target turret actually FOLLOWS you instead of having you redeploying it after every single pack? Pain in the butt to be honest.

Mon dieu, I would love that QoL buff of the turret following and us being able to place where it goes just like summoner/scholar.

That would be a HUGE improvement.

[Cascadi]

Hey, I've parsed as Machinist with the ACT update today, and the results seem to be quite disappointing with Gauss Barrel toggled.

Having Gauss Barrel toggled the whole time even with optimal positioning (staying in 1 spot) does the least amount of DPS, meaning that for the majority of the time, you should have Gauss Barrel toggled off.
However, having Gauss Barrel active while you have your buffs like Hawk's Eye/Blood for Blood/Dexterity Potion/Raging Strikes coupled with Wildfire is a lot stronger than not having Gauss Barrel active. The best time to cast Gauss Barrel seems to be before Hawk's Eye when you gain a Slug Shot/Clean Shot proc so you don't have any cast time on the shots when Gauss Barrel is active.

Can anyone else confirm that having Gauss Barrel on for the opener and hard casting Gauss Barrel when buffs are up otherwise having it disabled is the highest DPS?

[SasakiNori]

The best time to cast Gauss Barrel seems to be before Hawk's Eye when you gain a Slug Shot/Clean Shot proc so you don't have any cast time on the shots when Gauss Barrel is active.

Did you take into account that every time you turn GB on you're essentially losing a GCD? I was expecting GB to not be worth using, considering how weak WM seems to be on bard and they seemlingly get a stronger set of locked skills behind it.

[Cascadi]

Did you take into account that every time you turn GB on you're essentially losing a GCD? I was expecting GB to not be worth using, considering how weak WM seems to be on bard and they seemlingly get a stronger set of locked skills behind it.

Yeah, I also thought that there'd be a DPS loss by turning on GB before popping buffs (Hawk's Eye/B4B/Wildfire/etc) but it seems Ricochet and Gauss Round makes up for it and results in higher DPS. You'd turn it off though once your buffs are gone and Wildfire is done with.

[prophecy4seen]

Gauss Barrel should be used in opener. then should be used everytime you have "rapid fire" available. this will allow you to equip the barrel without the 3second cast time

[ThirdChild_ZKI]

Blank is (much like WHM's Fluid Aura) extremely situational, and outside of soloing should not be considered as part of a rotation.

Tanks, and our positional-dependent friends out there hate us for misusing Blanks.

[Ryaz]

Blank is (much like WHM's Fluid Aura) extremely situational, and outside of soloing should not be considered as part of a rotation.

Tanks, and our positional-dependent friends out there hate us for misusing Blanks.

Only time I use Blank is to buy breathing room if I get aggro or if I'm in close to a boss I know won't be pushed back. Otherwise, the low range on it doesn't make it worth it.

[pandabearcat]

Blank is a dps increase in pretty much all bosses (they're all immune to knockback).

And noone really cares about optimal trash rotation =D

[Stupiduglytaru]

What does wildfire actually do? I find the tooltip a bit misleading

Does it lower dps while under it by 25% then apply at end of use?
Does it just take 25% of the dmg you did while under it and apply at end?

Seems it is only worthwhile on bosses and pointless everywhere else bar soloing, wish it was a self target ability instead of 1 mob, that way you could build its power up and unleash its proc on your mob of choice

[Elizabeth]

Does it just take 25% of the dmg you did while under it and apply at end?

That's correct.

Well, according to the japanese forums (thanks to @kiyamashuuichi), here's a full buff Wild Fire (lvl56 MCH) dmg:

Gauss Barrel ON = 1900 to about 2000
Gauss Barrel OFF = about 2100-2200

Now i'm confused if it's better to do an opening with GB or not :/