After getting enough time in with the TRAP, I finally decided to use this a little bit last night. I have no impressions on the weapon itself yet, but the lack of lower powered optics is really making me not look forward to doing a review on this weapon.
I think that the charge up shot should do a 650 flat damage at all ranges. If I'm forced to stand still for that long uncloaked, I want to be rewarded with that kill for the risk
I got this hoping I could find a way to make it work... but the more I use it the less I desire it. That being said... the more I use it the less I use it... one could say. Any how....I still think it needs a 4x to actually be useful.
What people seems to be missing when using the Phaseshift is that you don't have to charge it for 3 seconds to get "full shot". Based on my testing you only need to charge it for about 0.5s or 500 milliseconds. The three bars on the triangle appear at around 0.7s. So you get fully charged shot even before the bars appear. Also charging any longer does not give more damage. Actual combat performance of the Phaseshift gives me mixed feelings. It is bit like hybrid of the Spectre and Parallax. Capable doing both styles but not as well. What I like about is that it does not descope you after firing fully charged shot (unless you overheat it). Also I find it easier to track targets with Phaseshift because the shot leaves when you release the button and not on the press like normal weapons in the game. At first it is a bit tricky to use well with cloaking, but once you get hang of the time for full charge it is pretty good weapon. A welcome addition to VS arsenal for sure. I'll come back when I have used it longer to give full review.
After using the Phaseshift for some time here is my review. In practice the Phaseshift is a battle rifle trying to be a sniper rifle. Not really worth to be called a sniper in its current state. The 6x scope which it comes with has too high magnification to actually be useful. While you can get it to work it is in limited range. BloodyPuma summarised the downsides on this weapon well. The Phaseshift has too many downsides with no real advantages over other weapons available. Though I do think that this weapon has pontetial if the downsides are toned down. Even just making the velocity higher would make this weapon much better. Though it does need more damage on range if the charged shot is intended to function similarly to BASRs at those long ranges. That said I still had some fun with this weapon. Only buy it if you are looking for something different to goof with or are looking for a challenge. Phaseshift is rewarding weapon to work with. But for now you are better off spending your points on other weapons.
I have trialed this on two different VS toons and overall I would have to say don't buy this weapon in its current state. The low bullet velocity hurts this weapon in either mode, honestly the lancer makes a better semi-auto weapon. It needs buffs and I would hold off buying it until something changes.
I actually like the Phaseshift. Let me describe You why: First thing: It is not Sniper Rifle, nor it is Scouting Rifle - it should recieve a type of it's own: Hunting Rifle. Most important adventage: Limitless ammo Damage - I confirm that it has ohk of 185 metres, though i believe that You can also ohk people at 200 m range when fully charged. It can be "reloaded" (more like changing the exhaust) to be able to shoot in short intervals. How i use it: Since i like to roam alone around major battles and take simple shots this weapon is perfect for me. I usually search for other snipers, and/or chokepoints where people gather to fix/heal/resupply. Indeed - this weapon is not made for quick decloak-shoot-cloak approach i rarely cloak myself using natural obstacles as a cover and take shots at range of 200 to 330 meters. I do not claim that i have best aim or similiar traits, yet usually aimed shots do the job. Since i roam alone without cover of fellow Vanu soldiers i have to reloacate fairly often and ability to NOT rely on engineers ammopack is a massive adventage, since i can keep my distance (using x12 scope) from the opposite forces (ranging from 200 to 350 meters) and pick up single targets. I do not use darts since they give out the presence of infiltrator in the area and usually track other infiltrators with my ears and minimap locating them since majority do not use the silencers. I also confirm this weapon (with silencer on) has quite low bullet velocity, but I believe that person who created it intended it to be used on rather medium ranges. With certain level of skill (which currently i do not posses) I believe it is not that hard to learn how to lead the target. Overall: Great Hunting rifle which promotes patience, hunting ethics and ability to flank Your enemies, inferior when it comes to quickpaced clashes, certainly not to be used in medium range combat, since You loose all the edge You had with it's limitless supply of ammo. Great for picking enemy snipers, engineers, campers and to put pressure on chokepoints since You do not require to reload and can simply put constant suppressing fire. If devs could allow us to use greater range of optics this weapon would find larger crowd of users. Otherwise i reccomend it to Planetside hunters, not Planetside Infiltrators. And let's be honest - with otherwise easy job (which is to kill people at long range with weapon without bullet drop) this certainly is a weapon which gives us at least a little bit of challange.
The phaseshift really,really need a straight Iron sights option. Using it as a scout rifle with the sniper sway is just silly, but i can see how giving the rifle a 4x etx option could be overpowering.
Wasn't digging it really so I switched up my playstyle abit. Soon after came a 33 kill streak. Amazing gun if used for long range sniping.
From my own experence I will say a few things: Semi auto seems to be the best bet to try to hit targets that are fast moving and you think there is a decent chance you will miss a shot The Heat mecanic means you can shoot 2 charged shots before overheat, or a Charged, and non charged in quick succession. To be effective with the Charge shots you need to get into practice of using the Stabalize as little as possible until just before your going to release the shot. Your just wasting it if you use it while it is charging. Honestly the biggest thing I found that improved my own use of the weapon was getting over the Standard 1 shot 1 kill Sniper motto. With basicly infinite ammo, its far better to take multiple chance shots then the Garenteed kill. I will say that The gun is far better used for a Sniping style that relys more on Poping in and out of cover rather then using the Cloak. It's a far better use of your cloak to move between cover then as the safe spot to line up and shoot someone.
question to you VS players, how do you feel about the mechanic in general, if not implementation? I feel something like this could be transfered to other VS guns to give more flavour, with limited collant packs (so engineer aren't useless.) e.g., supercharged beamer I play TR, but I think it would be interesting to face.
No. This mechanic can't be implemented properly because it forces the gun to fire on release of the button, instead of the press, which on practice results in huge delays between shots, which actually makes phaseshift very bad as a semi auto.
After around 200 kills or so I've actually fallen in love with this gun. I rarely ever use it as semi auto but the charge mechanic makes it really fun for sniping. Other snipers are probably better in a lot of situations but the Phaseshift has some upsides as well.
The phaseshift is simply horrible, there are no situations ever that its better than a Parallax with a Commissioner for CQC loadout... (maybe it makes a decent golfclub? Charge up mechanics should mean INSANE projectilespeeds not the other way around, thats just dual handicapping, its almost impossible to lead with chargeup at all, and then need to compensate for a slow projectile? should be 650m/s semi mode and 900m/s charged up tbh you are better of using a Lancer for sniperjobs than a Phaseshift...
I love this gun, and I find myself wondering if or when I'll be going back to my parallax. I love the limitless ammo, and I find that so long as I keep to a distance, use shade, and proper camo I have no problem finding and killing targets. As Mafia said it's really meant for people who like to flank their enemies, stand waaay back, and get those really awesome head shots only a hunter could appreciate. I find that it fits a specific role for my infiltrator. Like an smg, sniper, or stalker infiltrator. Call it hunter like mafia or a lone sniper. Just imagine the freedom it gives you. Grab this and a few med kits and you can go out into a fight and last on your own for hours. How do I use it? With a flash behind enemy lines. My favorite spot is J908 where a lot of enemy pilots like to land to repair their air craft. This weapon is perfectly suited to this, because I don't have to worry about running out of ammo. However, that being said I will turn to my Parallax for extreme ranges or for counter sniping.
I have a love and hate relationship with the Phaseshift. It is a fun weapon to use and the ability to kill two players who are close to each other is a plus, and that i do not have to use ammo bandelier. But its not a weapon for new players, it has a high learning curve cause of its functions. The charge mechanism needs a rehaul/redesign. These is the changes I would like too happen on Phaseshift. Being able to change firemode instead: mode 1 is normal single shot and mode 2 is a charged shot. this will make the weapon follow the normal click to fire instead of click and hold then lift your finger to fire, also it would remove the 0.5 charge time needed after you uncloak. If not the above suggestion. then being able to hold the charge longer and instead of fireing when the time is up, it auto cancels instead. but fills up the whole heat bar so you need to change the coil (if you fire within the time you can shot two charged shots). 4x scope to make single shots more viable, they are really nice but cause of the recoil its clumzy at most to have a 6x scope.
Meh, I can understand what you say. BUT TO ME, the Phaseshift is the best, sexxiest SR in the game. I perform SO well with this beauty, and I would marry it if I couldXD Joking, I have a life
A 4x or 5x scope would be very welcome, however it is possible to use the standard scope inside buildings. Just don't stay in scope unless you are shooting! ----------------------- Note to everyone about the charge mechanic, you only need to hold down till you see the bars outside your crosshair! Also, cloaking cancels the charge too.
