The Gunslinger is not a single-target specialist
Where the Sharpshooter picks one enemy and executes it, the Gunslinger does the opposite: it spreads damage. Its official role is multi-target blaster attacks and fast strikes that pressure several threats at once. In a game of 4-operator fireteams, touching three enemies in one turn is less glamorous than a long-range crit and usually more decisive.
Why Advantage makes the class essential
The Advantage meter is shared by all four operators and caps at 10 charges. It fills from hits, flanking attacks, and enemies pulled out of cover, and it pays for the squad's most powerful class abilities without extra Action Point cost.
That is the Gunslinger's real value: every turn spent hitting multiple targets produces multiple charges. A squad running Gunslinger plus Heavy or Padawan behaves like a shared battery — one unit generates, another spends. The AP & Advantage breakdown covers the fill-and-spend rhythm.
How to schedule its turns
- Start with the target that dies. An enemy at low health that falls to the first shot frees the rest of the turn to harass the others.
- Look for angles that touch two or three enemies. The Gunslinger performs on number of hits, not on individual punch.
- Keep the last Action Point for repositioning. With a light pistol and high mobility, ending in partial or full cover offsets the thin armor.
- Count Advantage before spending it. If your Heavy needs 3 charges for its Ultimate, the Gunslinger should know how many it is about to produce.
Strengths and limits
| Strength | Limit to respect |
|---|---|
| Fills Advantage easily on maps with grouped targets | Low per-hit damage against heavily armored units |
| Light pistol weapon type with high mobility | Position dependent: badly placed, it shoots into full cover |
| Fits almost any composition without taking a defensive slot | Does not replace a Medic or Heavy when a mission turns bad |
Compositions that use it well
- Gunslinger + Heavy + Soldier + Medic: the siege pattern. The Gunslinger fills Advantage, the Heavy and Soldier spend it at the front.
- Gunslinger + Assault + Scout + Medic: high tempo, ideal for wave missions with scattered secondary objectives.
- Gunslinger + Jedi Padawan: Force Push knocks enemies out of cover and the Gunslinger turns that gap into several hits.
When to leave it at the Den
- Missions with a single armored priority target: the Sharpshooter or a rocket launcher does that job better.
- Long corridor maps with few simultaneous targets, where the multi-target edge is wasted.
- Squads already running three defensive units and lacking real sustained damage.
Common mistakes
- Always shooting the same enemy. Spreading damage is the class function; concentrating everything on one target wastes it.
- Ignoring weapon mods. Weapon Modifications change stats and apply effects, and on a class that fires many shots every mod is multiplied.
- Ignoring the Focus Tree. Focus Points can tilt the class toward Advantage generation or direct damage; splitting them leaves it halfway.