The new Pathfinder class is a hit-or-miss for some Ghost Recon Breakpoint players; It’s unique special ability provides additional avenues for long-range gameplay, but some of its bonuses are of relatively limited use. When compared to the sharpshooter class, however, you may find that the Pathfinder works well for sniper gameplay. Let’s start the comparison!
The Sharpshooter Class
The Sharpshooter class in Breakpoint has some great features depending on your playstyle; if you play with NPC markers turned on, the sensor launcher is one of the greatest tools available, but even without it you can still get a good idea of where enemies are. Armor buster is great, too, but when you look at the rest of the bonuses a Sharpshooter gets vs., say, the Panther class, you may find it a bit weak. Let’s break it down.
Pros of the Sharpshooter Class
- Sensor Launcher is great for marking enemies in a large group, and will also help you spot enemies if you’ve got NPC markers turned off.
- Armor buster allows you to shoot 3 very powerful shots, and the armor buster rounds increase range significantly.
- While of limited use, the ability to hold your breath longer means a little more time to line up your shot at longer ranges.
Cons of the Sharpshooter Class
- Sensor Launcher requires you to get lucky in finding additional sensors as loot, unless you want to go visit a bivouac to get more. This means longer missions may require multiple trips to a bivouac to make full use of it. Sensor Launcher also has limited range; you’ll need to be within 400m typically to get a good marking of targets at a base.
- If you rely on loadouts that allow you to make use of the reticle (see the immersive sniper guide in Breakpoint), armor buster is more of a headache than it is worth with the massive range boost at longer ranges.
- The other class bonuses are of dubious usefulness, as better handling & reloading with sniper rifles and DMRs isn’t that big of a deal..
The Pathfinder Class
The Pathfinder Class was added in TU 3.0.0, and has some interesting new gameplay mechanics that provide new ways to play Breakpoint. The tactical caches in particular are great for getting a little extra cash or weapons parts easily, and it’s special ability is incredibly easy to refill with tactical caches scattered all over the map. Finally, the Armaros Interface is a serious game-changer in the right situations.
Pros of the Pathfinder Class
- The Armaros Interface is quite possibly the most useful class technique in the game if you prefer to keep your distance from your targets. For example, if you’ve got to take out a live target inside a building, all you’ve got to do is activate it, mark the area until you find the target, lure it outside, and drop a missile on him.. And you can do this from a significant amount of distance away! Plus, marking targets within a base is much easier with the drone, and refilling the special ability just requires looking typically within 400m or less of where you’re at to get another tactical cache, which almost always contain Uplink Protocols (the device used to refill the special ability).
- The new Hot Thermal Vision can be a useful alternative to the regular Thermal vision, especially if you’ve got color blindness issues.
- Seriously, the Armaros Interface is amazing, and it doesn’t require a cooldown as long as you’ve collected multiple Uplink Protocols (a maximum of 4 can be carried at once).
- Getting weapon parts and skell credits is easy; just hop in a helicopter and fly around with the Hot Thermal Vision activated and you’ll have parts and credits in no time, which makes upgrading weapons go much faster when gear score is turned off.
Cons of the Pathfinder Class
- The Armaros Interface’s scan ability isn’t as useful if you’ve got NPC markers turned off, but it is great for coop if you’re acting as a spotter.
- Wild Metabolism is only marginally more useful than the Sharpshooter’s bonuses with DMRs and sniper rifles, given that most boosts are of limited use to sniper gameplay.
- Hot Thermal Vision isn’t as clear as regular Thermal Vision for spotting enemies.
- Armaros Interface strikes aren’t exceptionally powerful, taking 3 shots to destroy a cargo truck, and using it against Behemoths is a bad idea as they’ll pinpoint you as soon as you launch your first strike against them.
So, which is better: Pathfinder or Sharpshooter?
Ultimately, it depends on your playstyle. In my opinion, Pathfinder is much more useful for long range tactical gameplay, and you can perform some really clever tricks with the Armaros Interface. Is the power generator behind a wall or building? Strike it. Need to take out personnel inside a building? Lure them and strike. Pinned down by an enemy sniper? Strike.
The armor buster round of the Sharpshooter class is great for taking out heavies silently, but keep in mind the boost to range with these rounds makes longer range shots harder unless you’re rocking the absolutely highest-range rifle and ballistic advantage already. Sensor launcher is also more useful than the Armaros Interface if you’ve got NPC markers turned off, as you’ll be able to keep seeing where enemies are for a bit after firing just long enough to take a few out if you’re quick.
So, a good general assumption is this: If you’re looking to maximize your overall range effectiveness, Pathfinder is going to be the way to go. You’ll be able to spot enemies and take them out from extreme distances much more easily thanks to the Armaros Interface, and can do so repeatedly quite easily. If you’re keeping your engagement range limited to around 400m, you may end up being served better by the Sharpshooter class.