Tera Online Gunner PvE Guide (Builds, Gears, Skills and Skill Rotations)

The gunner can be seen as a chaotic love child of a sorcerer and berserker. Geared in heavy plate, they are capable of dishing out unrelenting AoE damage upwards to 30 meters away.

type of skill: evasive/mobility skill: 5 - damage skill: 4 - utility skill: 6 - special skill: 5

can be animation canceled: c

affected by attack speed modifiers: s

has recoil: r

knockdowns: k

stuns: t

iframe: i

slows/stagger: n

01 - Blast cs

02 - Rolling Reload i

03 - Scattershot sr

04 - Arc Bomb st

05 - Time Bomb csn

06 - Burst Fire n

07 - Mana Missiles r

08 - Retaliate sk

09 - Point Blank s

10 - Replenishment s

11 - Rocket Jump s

12 - Arcane Barrage csk

13 - HB k

14 - Command: Stay/Follow

15 - Command: Recall i

16 - Bombardment c

17 - Command: Self-Destruct t

18 - ST s

19 - Balder's Vengeance c (only with Command: Recall)ri

20 - Emergency Barrier

Note: the lines underneath each skill are glyphs associated with that said skill, colored lines are upgradeable and/or unlockable glyphs, underlined lines are glyphs that I recommend.

Among the many skills in the Gunners repertoire, the 5 most vital skills in no particular order would be..

(4) Glyph of Power __ [Lv20] - 35% chance to eliminate cooldown.

(4) Glyph of Power __ [Lv58] - 45% chance to eliminate cooldown.

(4) Glyph of Energy __ [Lv20] - Increases skill damage of Scattershot by 20% for a few seconds.

The gunner's main iframing move. It refreshes Scattershot and if glyphed increases its damage. Even though it has a fairly low cooldown as well as a chance to eliminate cooldown. The gunner only have 2 iframes to work with (3 if you count your Baldurs Vengeance but should be avoided), so do not fall under the assumption that you should spam this skill; use it only to dodge attacks or for mobility purposes.

It's advisable to have Glyph of Power as well as Glyph of Energy glyphed to make the most out of Rolling Reload.

_________________________________

(2) Glyph of Power __ [Lv28] - Increases skill damage by 100%. (the initial summon damage)

The gunner's ultimate wingman. The Helper Bot, or HB for short, is invulnerable, provides you with innumerable amount of support. From doubling your damage capabilities with Arcane Barrage, immediately pulling you to itself anywhere within 40 meters, to healing you whenever your health starts to dip, even goes as far as sacrificing itself to stun and damage those around itself. The HB is the gunners second best friend (first being her gun). HB lasts 30 minutes out on the field and when summoned, the place it's summoned at will inflict damage similar to one detonated Arcane Barrage.

_________________________________

(4) Glyph of Restoration __ [Lv20] - Recovers 1% of total HP on each hit.

(4) Glyph of Longshot ____ [Lv20] - Increases range by 5 meters.

(3) Glyph of Longshot ____ [Lv58] - Increases range by 5 meters.

(4) Glyph of Affirmation ___ [Lv58] - Reduces Willpower cost by 10.

The erroneously named Burst Fire, the gunner's ultimate filler move. Burst Fire unlike its name is actually Full Auto. When the skill is in use it will spit out bullets for as much Will Power is in your gunner's reserves. The longer it is in use the more damage and critical damage it will produce. It roughly takes half bar of Will Power to achieve maximum damage potential. Each hit staggers enemies (though not affected to boss monsters). The windup animation for the skill is fairly noticeable, taking roughly 1.5s to perform. It has the possibility of replenishing the gunner's HP by 1% per each hit or roughly 21%/27% Max HP on a full bar of Will Power. The damage done by Burst Fire scales up from Blast damage to Scattershot damage, all the way up to power linked critical hit Scattershot damage. Attack speed does not affect the rate which it fires.

If you find all of your skills on cooldown I highly suggest you fill the empty gaps with Burst Fire.

Burst Fire is without a doubt the Gunner's ultimate filler, if you find yourself without a healer or just love playing recklessly, I highly suggest having Glyph of Restoration glyphed. With it glyphed and along side your trusty HB, you should be able to replenish a massive amount of health in 1 full bar of Will Power.

_________________________________

(4) Glyph of Energy _____ [Lv20] - Decreases cooldown by 25%.

(3) Glyph of Energy _____ [Lv58] - Decreases cooldown by 25%.

(4) Glyph of Affirmation ___ [Lv20] - Gains additional 50 Willpower when the skill is used.

The gunner's instant mana and will power replenishment skill, a staple must have skill for all gunners. It has a half chance of instantly refreshing either Scattershot or Arcane Blast or both.

With the amount of skills being juggled around, it is absolutely vital to have this skill always used whenever it is cooled down.

Playing as a gunner, you'll quickly realize how rapidly you consume mana, and for that reason it is an absolute must to have the Glyph of Energy glyphed to reduce Replenishment cooldown time by as low as possible.

_________________________________

(4) Glyph of Power _____ [Lv22] - Increases skill damage by 20%.

(3) Glyph of Power _____ [Lv58] - Increases skill damage by 20%.

(4) Glyph of the Swift ____ [Lv22] - Increases Attack Speed by 30% until Arcane Barrage detonates.

(3) Glyph of the Swift ____ [Lv58] - Increases Attack Speed by 30% until Arcane Barrage detonates.

(2) Glyph of Affirmation ___ [Lv22] - Gain an additional 15 Willpower on each hit.

One of the important thing to know about gunners in a PvE setting is that the gunner's ability to do adequate DPS correlates with how well the gunner is able to land her Arcane Barrage.

The way Arcane Barrage works is this; upon first firing the Arcane Barrage, your gun fires a small ball on a linear path, that will phase through anything in its way save for static natural barriers (i.e. wall, ground). Upon collisions it will register a small amount of damage. The small ball will still phase through any target up to 20 meters and will dissipate. The gunner has the moment the small ball exits the muzzle til it reaches 20 meters to execute Arcane Barrage again which will detonate that small ball doing an explosive amount of damage. Arcane Barrage small ball lasts roughly ~3 seconds until it reaches its maximum 20 meter destination. If Glyph of Swift is glyphed, all skills that rely on attack speed will have their animation sped up by a massive amount.

The Arcane Barrage is without a doubt the gunner's main bread and butter move. It does guaranteed critical damage, what's more if the gunner's HB is out upon detonation, it will detonate twice as well as as additional damage coming from HB. And the best part is the place where it was detonated will affect whether it inflict back critical or not, NOT the position of the gunner. Meaning the gunner does not have to worry so much about position but rather the timing and execution of the Arcane Barrage.

This means damage will ultimately boil down to how much power and critical power your gunner have, as well as how quickly you can properly execute and spam Arcane Barrage.

1. Invest in Power and Infused charms, Crit Power scrolls, and Ranger Nostrums III and above. These will help improve your overall DPS by many factors

2. Detonate Arcane Barrage 0.5 second after its initial damage displays to ensure that it detonates behind the target. 3. Get gear that focuses on power and critical power.

4. Always go with Bitter, Focused, Savage crystals in your weapon, the fourth crystal is up to your own discretion.

5. Follow up with a different skill, never use the same skill twice in a row this is to ensure your skills are not locked in animation to make the most out of the idle time between and during each successive Arcane Barrage.

As the Arcane Barrage is the gunner's most predominate skill, I highly recommend that the Glyph of Power and Swift be glyphed. Power to significantly increase the already massive amount of damage done, and Swift in order to take advantage of the significant attack speed increase in each usage of Arcane Blast.

========================================================================

The gunner's move to get up immediately after getting knocked down. It does damage equivalent to 3 Blasts with a high chance of knocking down those in the immediate area. Because the skill is executeable only when knocked down, hopefully you won't have to rely on this skill.

The gunner's close combat move. Point Blank does subpar damage, doing the same amount of damage as Blast. Point Blank is a two strike skill. The first strike moves you several meters forward, and the second strike moves you several meters back. With proper camera manipulation, your gunner should be able to quickly maneuver out of incoming attacks, or position yourself behind the backs of your enemies.

When respectfully glyphed it has a low chance of resetting Arc Bomb, increased damage, lower its cooldown, and/or have the ability to replenish your HP by 2%. Though most of them may sound nice, I wouldn't recommend glyphing most of them due to: 1. low chance of resetting, lower base damage, subpar HP replenishment (when compared to HB or Burst Fire-glyphed replenishment). The only worthwhile thing to glyph would be the cooldown reducing Glyph of Energy.

The gunner's main source of locomotion. Rocket Jump propels the gunner a great many meters (~14 meters). On cast it'll do damage similar to Retaliate. It is affected by attack speed, the more attack speed, the faster you'll be propelled. Note Rocket Jump is not an iframing ability. The gunner will still take damage if you jump through an AoE or if any skills are locked onto you. The gunner however will not be knockdown while being propelled. If glyphed the gunner will be granted a temporary 50 movement speed buff that will last a good 5 second.

Note this skill is affected by attack speed, so if you desperately need to run away or chase something, fire and Arcane Barrage to give yourself the massive animation speed boost, then when you land detonate the Arcane Barrage.

The gunner's ultimate iframing move. This skill requires the HB out on the field and is only usable when you are within 40m of it, 38 effective meters if you want to play it safe. When used it will immediately pull you to your HB regardless of what you're doing or whether you're knocked down or not. During the process of being pulled you're invulnerable. Also, after upon arriving at your HB's location it also grants you an additional ~1 second worth of iframe.

Due to mechanics of the skill, when combined with Rolling Reload, it can become a lengthy and prolonged iframe. When combined with Command: Stay/Follow, Command: Recall becomes a extraordinary positioning skill.

Being as Command: Recall is one of the two main iframing moves, I highly suggest on glyphing the Glyph of Energyto reduce its cooldown timer down.

To maximize on Command: Recall, it is advisable to play around and get comfortable with the Command: Stay/Follow skill.

_________________________________

The gunner's basic damage move, subpar damage but regains mana on hit, if glyphed has a low chance of increasing attack speed for 10 seconds. Use it as a filler if your gunner does not have adequate enough mana regeneration/mana.

Function similar to a shotgun, Scattershot fires off 5 pellets outward in a cone shape, each pellet does damage on par to Blast and has an individual chance of doing critical damage. Each pellet generates 20 Will Power on hit, making Scattershot an excellent Will Power generator. On execution, Scattershot will push the gunner back by several meters that could be reduced to a couple meters if glyphed. This means Scattershot can also function as a mobility skill i.e. an iframeless-Backstep. Scattershot can potentially do 40% additional damage if it and Rolling Reload's corresponding glyphs are glyphed, making it an excellent damage filler skill. Note the skill is best executed up close in order to land all the pellets on as many targets as possible this helps immensely when building up Will Power.

The long range alternative to Scattershot. Mana Missiles fires either 2 if fired immediately or 5 missiles fired fully charged having an effective range of 30 meters, each missile does damage on par to 3 Blasts. It hits hard, almost as hard as Arcane Barrage when used fully charged. Its charge time is similar to Burst Fire of 1.5 seconds but can be fired immediately upon execution at an expense of 3 missiles. Similar to Scattershot, upon hit each missile generates 20 Will Power it will also push the gunner back a couple meters upon being fired. It's advisable to execute Mana Missiles at or little under 30 meters in order to increase success in landing each missile.

_________________________________

Arc Bomb is the gunner's main stun skill. The gunner lobs a grenade that skips til it stuns on contact. In terms of damage, it does equivalent to 2 Blasts. It has no knockdown on use so it makes a good backup filler skill if your other filler skills are on cooldown.

Arc Bomb has a noticeable windup so it would be best to either increase the gunner's attack speed or be up close to the target when executing the skill or both.

The gunner's main filler skill, as it is a time based requires knowing where the target will roughly be within ~2 seconds. Upon execution it fires a mine that first slows the targets then upon detonation, follow ups with a stagger by means of knocking the targets in the air. In terms of damage it does as much damage as a detonated Arcane Bomb.

If you want the most out of this skill, it is advisable to have the Glyph of Power glyphed.

In order to maximize on the skill, be sure to always use this as the first filler skill to be used within each Arcane Bomb whenever possible.

The gunner's secondary stun skill. It blows up the gunner's constructs and stuns those in the immediate area by ~2 seconds. It can be cast during anytime, and when cast during a skill will be performed in conjunction with said skill. In terms of damage, does equivalent to 2-3 Blasts.

If you have your HB follow you around, it may be suggested to take advantage of this skill, as spamming this skill alongside summon HB may increase your damage potential. You should also take advantage of this skill if your ST is near its end, turning your constructs into mobile stun traps.

The Sentry Turret, or ST for short is the gunner's secondary construct. Upon execution of the skill, the gunner will lob ball similar to Arc Bomb, however upon contact with a target or floor will immediately balloon out into sentry turret. The ST is not invulnerable and lasting 45-51s with a 60-51s cooldown. ST has a 20m range, no splash, single target damage, doing roughly 1 Blast per second it is out on any random target until it or itself perishes. ST also has the ability to become a stun trap as well. Note: ST will not do any damage or stun when its health reaches zero or if its timer reaches zero, if you intend to have it function as a stun trap, you must manually use Command: Self-Destruct.

Due to all of these factors, it is best to think of ST as the gunner's Damage Over Time move.

Since it technically is free source of damage, it is recommended that you toss ST off towards the side just barely out of reach of your intended target for it to deal as much damage to ensure it doesn't get destroyed as quickly as it is summoned.

_________________________________

The gunner's ordering command for HB. It marks the location where the HB should stand stationary, repeated use will order the HB to follow the gunner once more.

It's best used when you require positioning for mobility or when you require stationary stun traps.

It is recommended that you practice using this skill if you intend to maximize on Command: Recall.

One of the gunner's large AoE moves. It requires a full bar of Will Power to cast. It has a noticeable cast time as well as a fairly noticeable cooldown time of 2 minutes. In terms of damage it is 1.5x more damaging than Arcane Bomb. It fires off ~9 missiles into the air each connected hit will replenish Will Power by 100.

If you plan on using this skill regularly, it is recommended that you glyph the Glyph of Swift and Glyph of Carving as it will greatly increase your casting time as well as the chance you'll do critical damage on each missile.

To maximize on this skill within your rotation, it's best to use this as a filler whenever it is cooled down and especially before you use either Burst Fire or Balder's Vengeance.

The gunners penultimate move. It uses 1 full bar of will power. It has a cooldown of 6 minutes. It automatically criticals on execution, dealing an immense amount of line AoE damage equivalent to ~6-8 detonated Arcane Bombs. While in use the gunner is invulnerable. It has a fairly noticeable finishing animation which can be canceled through the use of Command: Recall.

If you wish to abuse this skill, it's best to take all its respective glyph; the Glyph of Swift and Power in order to spam it as much as possible as well as to do an even more ridiculous amount of damage.

The gunner's second chance. When the gunner receives a fatal attack i.e. when it reaches near 1 HP, at the expense of 1000 mana, will deploy a shield that acts similar to Kaia's shield, absorbing a considerable amount of damage before wearing off or when the barrier itself expires. It has a cooldown time of 10 minutes.

Due to the way it function, you must have at least 1000 mana in order for it to deploy. If you plan on falling back on this, be sure that your gunner has at the minimum of 1000 mana at all times insurance skill.

========================================================================

Must have glyphs - 27/55 glyphs

Reasoning: Glyphs that reduce cooldown or gives a chance of refreshing skill on evasive/mobility skills is taken because mobility is a must for the Gunner. For general purposes, the gunner only have 2 possible iframes to play with which makes mobility all the more important. The ability to move out of potential deadly attacks instead of relying on iframes means you'll be all the more prepared when things start taking a turn for the worse.

Glyph of the Swift and Power is taken on Arcane Barrage in order to boost your already massive damage as well as skill speed execution abilities.

The Glyph of Energy is taken on Replenishment in order to reduce the cooldown of the skill boosting your gunner's overall damage capabilities i.e. refilling your mana/willpower bar allowing you to put up with the heavy mana/willpower consumption, refreshing your Arcane Barrage.

The Glyphs related to increasing Scattershot's damage is taken to maximize the potential damage your gunner may yield.

This will leave you with 28 glyphs to use at your leisure..

========================================================================

Gear is pretty straightforward. Like most DPS gear progression, the gist of it is from Idoneal gear, you'll want to get your Ambit, and from there proceed to Discovery. The journey however is a different story, which is up to you the reader to figure out.

You do not need full Ambit, partial is fine. Do note however that if you are playing without adequate backing of a guild or a group of like minded individuals, you must get both Ambit Weapon and Ambit Gloves, and promptly masterwork and enchant them up to +12. Otherwise you will not be taken seriously and the likelihood of being taken into public dungeon runs i.e. Bathysmal Rise, Ravenous Gorge, etc. are slim to none. Don't worry about spellbinding and what not, simply take them up to +12 and you'll be fine. Take advantage of temp. etchings, there are plenty on the trade broker and for the buffs they grant and for the duration is cheap when compared to farming and enchanting two other pieces up to +12.

If all goes accordingly, you should find yourself farming Discovery pieces. This is when gear's modifiers actually matter when you start masterworking your gear.

For weapon pay close attention to the following modifiers: critical power, enraged, damage .., attack speed, xx skill cooldown reduction

For armor: reduce damage, endurance, xx skill increase power

For footwear: endurance, mana regeneration, movement speed

For gloves: power, critical factor, attack speed

If any of these modifiers crop up, be sure to have an adequate amount of spellbinds on them to ensure they stay attached to the gear while masterworking. And once again, you can further increase your gear through the use of etchings.

1x Firetrill Necklace, Ring, Earring (4.5% HP, increase heal by 3.2%, Crit Factor, Crit Power, Power)

1x Deathwise Cascade, Signet (same as above)

1x Broach, Empowering (Power, Crit Factor)

1x Belt, Renegade/Discovery (Power, Crit Factor)

Things you must have stocked to ensure your gunner's quality of life..

Scrolls of Savagery - increases your damage output by ~15-20%

Ranger Nostrums - reduces the cooldown of all your skills

Eclipse Potions- so you do not take aggro away from your team's designated tank, making your as well as your team much easier.
Bravery Potions - increases your damage as well as your armor, save for use in the more harder dungeons.

Power, Enduring, Infused Charms & Charming Fire - increases your overall offensive and defensive capabilities, always use Charming Fire to maximize your charms duration; don't waste charms in a regular or hasty fire.

Arunic Potions - in case your stamina starts affecting your stats.

Blessed Scroll of Resurrection - the faster variant of Scroll of Resurrection; when seconds matter, the faster your team member is up, the better you and your team is off. So do yourself a favor, sell/toss away your regular Scroll of Resurrection.

Health Potions - don't fall under the assumption that the healer will always be there to heal you, be prepared to heal yourself.

Remember, it is ultimately your own fault if you die.

========================================================================

When you want something dead:
Arcane Barrage --> Scattershot -->Arcane Barrage

Arcane Barrage --> Time Bomb --> Arcane Barrage

Arcane Barrage --> Arc Bomb --> Arcane Barrage

Arcane Barrage --> Blast --> Arcane Barrage

Arcane Barrage --> Rocket Jump --> Arcane Barrage

Arcane Barrage --> Point Blank --> Arcane Barrage

When aiming Arcane Barrage, aim it so the balls floats steadily up into the air rather than down toward the ground so that you may be able to maximize on your Arcane Barrage bullet time (the time when Arcane Barrage leaves the muzzle until it detonates).

Always, always, always use Replenishment after each and every Arcane Barrage. It's not very funny when the rotation you can do is Arcane Barrage and Blast.

In between the cooldown times of Arcane Barrage, use your other damage skills i.e. Burst Fire and Mana Missiles as filler skills.

As you go through each rotation, you'll notice your will power meter filling up at a quick rate. What do you do with all that willpower?--Spend it of course. There's no point in saving will power since it can be built back up very rapidly. Always use up your will power based skills whenever they are cooled down.

Credits: Gunner's Guide for PvE by wsky