Question about Smuggler.

[VantagePoint]

Yeah, yeah, I know, it's a porn game, doesn't make me any less of an optimization whore.


Anyways, I'm a little confused as to the purpose of Low Blow, it does completely immobolize your opponent, but it seems less reliable than Flashbang and tends to last only one turn a lot more often than Flashbang does. In comparison, Shoot First has it's uses with a Lust weapon, but I haven't been able to find any uses for Low Blow.


Maybe I'm just getting unlucky? Not sure, how exactly does chance to inflict status and duration measure up between Low Blow and Flashbang?

 

[balitz Method]

Flashbangs blind and Low Blow stuns. I think Low Blow works based off of physique, but the main purpose other than potentially stopping an interruptable move is to use it in conjunction with Aimed Shot and its melee equivalent. Those multiply your damage based on how many debilitating status effects the opponent has, so if they're both blinded and stunned you can essentially get a double critical hit in.

 

[Nik_van_Rijn]

I think Low Blow works based off of physique, but the main purpose other than potentially stopping an interruptable move is to use it in conjunction with Aimed Shot and its melee equivalent. Those multiply your damage based on how many debilitating status effects the opponent has, so if they're both blinded and stunned you can essentially get a double critical hit in.

Low Blow is calculated based on player's Physique and it uses enemy's Physique to calculate their chance to resist, so with more mobs currently having high Physique it's harder to pull off than Flashbang when PC has both Aim and Physique maxed out.


The effect of having an extra status effect on the target of Aimed Shot/Sneak Attack is actually pretty minimal - PC deals additional damage equal to their level.

 

[Zavos]

Low Blow

• Physique
  
• Medium accuracy
  
• Usually lasts one turn
  
• Enemy cannot deal damage.  Or act at all, really.
  
• Triggers Aimed Shot/Sneak Attack
  
• Does not effect stun immune enemies (obviously)
  

Flash Bang

• Reflexes
  
• High accuracy
  
• Usually lasts two or three turns
  
• Enemy has greatly reduced chance (per attack) of dealing damage.  Effects that do not check accuracy will still always hit.
  
• Triggers Aimed Shot/Sneak Attack
  
• Does not affect blind immune enemies (obviously)
  

Personally, i prefer Flash Bang, even on physique smugglers.  Its a lot more consistency, really, and the chance that an enemy will still hit is more favorable then needing to attack two or three times to get the stun to stick.

 

[Bocoom]

Thats exactly how I feel about that. Low blow is a very redundant skill to have when flash bang is around.

 

[Anomolousrabbit]

Low Blow is cheaper to use isn't it?

 

[PyrateHyena]

Low Blow is cheaper to use isn't it?

I think it is, but if you put a tiny bit of effort into managing your energy you can still flashbang your way to victory without much of a problem.