Looks like the basic VS bolt action sniper rifle is on sale in the store. I only have a VS character, but I assume the equivalent gun for each other faction is on sale as well. Bolt actions are widely regarded as "must have" upgrades for snipers. They allow 1-shot kills with head shots, and 2-3 shot kills with body shots depending on range. The XM98 is the lowest priced of the 3 long range, bolt action guns for the Vanu (the other 2 being the Parallax and V10). While it is somewhat held in lower regard than the other two in terms of effectiveness, it has the most attractive price tag and it definitely gets the job done. It's the gun I use for my Infiltrator. So, if you're in the market to play Infiltrator and want to save some coin, take this opportunity and pick up an XM98 while it is on sale.
^this Best prove of trolling is, that this gun was already on sale at 16th dec 2012... Shame on you SoE...
As an Alpha Squad, we got the V10. Is the V10 comprehensively better in all aspects such that it really isn't worth it to pick up XM98?
No point in using SC for this weapon. 100 certs. In saying that apparently is good value for 100 certs.
Here is some material to review to help you make your decision: Vids: 1) XM98 vs. V10 2) Parallax vs. V10 Data Charts: XM98 vs. V10 vs. Parallax https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AuOojvNLMApVdEtIU1NKenEzNzZOSWNaanFqSUVxLWc&gid=12 From what I've heard (echoed by the linked vid #2 above), consensus is Parallax > V10 > XM98 for long distance sniping. However, I have never used the V10 or Parallax. I do like to use multiple body shots to take down runners in an open area before they can hit cover (such as a defender running to restore/repair a generator in a Tech Plant). And so rpm (rounds-per-minute) could be a factor. The XM98 fires at 1.22 rounds/second, the V10 fires at 1.3 rounds/second, and the Parallax fires at 1.5 rounds/second. So I do like having my XM98 give me an edge in taking out runners with multiple shots before they can hit cover. Also, in a sniper-vs-sniper long distance face off, it's nice to know that my XM98 will be able to get shots off faster and give me more scope time as we ping at each other. As for people getting this with Certs or Station Cash, I'll let people make their own call. The XM98 is 100. That's not a lot of Certs. But I can see situations where people would rather just pay: 1) they are just starting, want to play a sniper off the bat, and don't want to have to farm 100 certs firsts 2) they are trying to fully outfit multiple classes/vehicles, and saving 100 certs here and there starts to add up 3) 100 certs is 100 certs. If you have the cash save your certs and use em to bump cloak or get a scope or two 4) if it's trivial, then just buy it. Paying SOE helps all of us in the long run by keeping the game funded and alive
Yeah, really horrid sale. But probably not as bad as the 50% off the 1 hour resource boost a few days back.... Come on SOE, you know people are having difficultly putting their hands on most of the 1000 cert weapons, there are so many of them, give us a break and put those on sale instead of useless cosmetic items and cheap weapons. Have sales on the more expensive / interesting / gameplay changing weapons, maybe people would be interested in playing your game more, otherwise, it gets pretty dull after awhile. Cap, recap, cap, recap, cap, recap, pretty much the same thing over and over again until they add continent locks, the sales on the right items can keep alot more people interested in this game while they keep improving the gameplay.
i have the m77-b and its just not as fun...i love the snappy looking reload of the xm98 and it helps me snipe better than that clunky bolt pull on the 77b. maybe its just in my head but the xm98 is just plain fun. I have all of the terran snipers and my current fav is the low zoom tsar. lots of people rant about the rams (i have 600 kills with it myself) but it's just not as fun to shoot imo.
Gotcha. Yeah, cosmetic faction-specific-gear can definitely suck when your faction gets stuck with a lame feeling version of the item. Takes a lot of the fun out of using the item. Would be neat if you could tweak the cosmetic details of an item to fit preferences for how it feels to use it.
I thought the Sale items had some Random rotation and an item will not go on sale until the others have been on sale as well.
The M77-B is the exact same gun with a different skin. Oops, someone already mentioned that and I missed it. Funny, though, that you should think the vanu animations are better. I actually hated the way the bolt actions looked on my Vanu alt. I prefer the good old bolt chambering animation.
