I know the new level cap is coming in 2 days, but there seems to be a lot of interest in Jakob’s sniper build, so I am posting mine. This is primarily a mobbing build designed to utilize the ‘Overkill’ Guardian skill in order to one shot enemies using Jakob’s sniper rifles. Refer Overkill Explained for the details on the skill.
Skill Trees
They are shown in the videos. Pretty standard 3 shot FA sniper tree setup but if you have any question, feel free to post it.
Pet
I recommend Spiderant Scorcher.
Although this build does not rely on pet damage at all, having a tanky melee pet makes playing a sniper much easier. Combination of Fl4k being the least survivable VH, wearing a flimsy amp shield and enemies doing M10 scaled damage means you can go down easily if you make a mistake. Lick the Wounds is a must have skill and the pet needs to stay alive always. In this build, Spiderant Scorcher is basically unkillable.
GEAR
Gear requirement for this build is not too bad. 2 things you need to have are the high base damage and the anointment on your sniper rifle.
Weapons
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Sniper Rifle
For this build, 300v90 anontment on the sniper rifle is required.
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Headsplosion
Best general mobbing sniper rifle hands down. With 3 ricochets and large splash radius, this rifle takes out multiple enemies with ease. Having the 2nd highest base damage among all the Jakob’s sniper rifle at around 29k, it is great for managing overkill damage also. -
Unseen Threat
Highest base damage of all the Jakob’s sniper rifle at 34k, this is the best single target rifle. Ricochets are not as impressive as Headsplosions’, but they deal a big damage and are capable of coming back and hitting the original target. If the ricochets kill the target, which they often do, you get the overkill damage. -
Monocle
This rifle can 1 shot weak enemies pretty easily thanks to its massive ADS crit modifier, but due to the low base damage (around 20k) it is significantly less effective in accumulating and maintaining overkill damage in tougher maps. -
Skullmasher
Very high base damage around 55k, but being multi-pellet means it will be difficult to maintain the overkill damage as each pellet only has around 10k damage, and overkill damage cap is calculated based on the base damage of the pellet. You can randomly lose your overkill even when you are 1 shotting enemies depending on how the ricochets behave. Not the best choice rifle in this build and playstyle. I think it’s more suited for Rakk Attack or Gamma build with appropriate anoint.
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Jakob’s Sidearm
Best anoint : Consecutive Hits
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Hellwalker
Absolute beast after the latest buff. Only downside is it won’t proc Headcount as well as the other choices. -
Stagecoach
Best for ASE looping. Safest but the most difficult to farm. Ammo consumption is the problem. -
Robin’s Call
Not as powerful as the top 2, but the most ammo efficient by a large margin and my personal favorite. With the bonus projectile nerf, proc rate of Leave No Trace has dropped off significantly. With this gun you will never run out of ammo as long as you hit crit mostly. -
Maggie
We all know what Maggie does.
Shield
You typically want an amp shield for this build as it will make the 1 shotting enemis significantly easier. If you want to amp every pellet you fire, use the One Shotter shield. If you are only interested in amping the sniper rifle shot, use Re-Router or Version 0.m. In many maps, you can even use a Stop Gap if you want more protection.
Grenade
Hunter Seeker. Mitosis is the best of course. You toss them to proc skills and pump up your damage before you take your first shot.
Artifacts
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Pearl of Ineffable Knowledge
Best damage. It is also quite easy to use as Hunter-Seeker grenade can stack its damage. -
Snowdrift Otto Idle
My personal favorite. It gives you much more survivability.
COMs
You do not need a god-roll COM for this build. Gun type bonus is not that important as they are made insignificant by 300v90 anoint on the gun. They will help when you are shooting at partially damaged enemies though. Look for a COM with Jakob’s crit bonus and a good skill combination.
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Bounty Hunter
My personal favorite. All you need to do to pump up your damage before taking a shot is to toss a few Hunter-Seekers. Easy, carefully and practical COM. -
Stackbot
It can give you the highest damage but more difficult to reach that damage and keep it than other COMs. Great for bossing but not very practical for mobbing. -
Cosmic Stalker
Harder to one shot enemies with your 1st shot, meaning it is harder to get the overkill damage initially. But once you get going by killing lots of enemies including badasses, it will give more damage than Bounty Hunter. My 2nd favorite COM.
PLAYSTYLE AND TIPS
Missing your shot and losing overkill damage is the worst thing you can do when playing this build. Fortunately, 3 shot FA with Persistent Hunter means you have plenty of time to line up your shot. Do not rush and observe the mob make up. Weak enemies like midgets are your source for the overkill damage. Do not kill them all at once, and save some in case you miss a shot.
As you play, you will become better and better at guessing how much overkill damage you have and what enemies can be one shotted. Do not worry, these things will start to come naturally and you won’t even have to think about it once you get used to playing this style.