Sharpshooter

Sharpshooter

Sharpshooter is a passive that builds your critical hit chance second by second until you actually land a crit, at which point the accumulated bonus resets. It rewards builds with low attack frequency or rare but hard-hitting shots, since the crit chance can ramp up considerably between attacks and the first strike lands as a near-guaranteed critical.

The slot is most worthwhile in setups where you don't already reach very high crit chance through gear – there the passive fills the gap and makes your damage more reliable. In rapid-firing builds that crit constantly, the bonus resets immediately and adds little. So you pick it deliberately for slower, bursty damage profiles where every shot counts.

How the bonus grows and when it expires

Sharpshooter adds 4% Critical Hit Chance every second until you land a critical hit. The bonus is not reset immediately, though, but only 1 second after that crit. Hits within that second still benefit from the full accumulated value, so a quick volley right after the first critical hit uses the bonus several times. Sharpshooter can be selected from level 50.

Using the gaps between packs

The bonus grows with time, not with your attacks, so it keeps rising while you travel to the next group. Your opening shot on a new pack is therefore more likely to crit, exactly when you want the first hit to deliver a big spike.

Effects tied to critical hits

Skills that trigger extra effects on critical hits benefit directly. Elemental Arrow with the Lightning Bolts rune, for example, stuns enemies for 1 second on a critical hit, and with Sharpshooter that first hit after a pause becomes much more likely.

by eRnstl