First off, this is at least 50% thinking out loud. I’m happy to hear thoughts, but it’s mostly my tryingf to get it all down on “paper” to get it clear in my head. My tentative conclusions show up with the 
- ratings in each area.
There are three things I need to figure out
1. Completing Sharpshooter to 10
This one is probably simplest. There are two choices.
- +1 Sharpshooter (=10) → to SL 4 Warning Shot (instead shaken or slowed or lose MP) [MAX SL 4]
- +1 Sharpshooter (=10) → to SL 1 Hawkeye (Guard no Cover: next [SL+3] dmg OR Free attack (high=0 dmg) [MAX SL 5]
Hawkeye isn’t a bad skill, but a single level in it isn’t all that great. I will likely go to Warning Shot to max it out and (a) smack down more MP (the TBs are much happier cowing people into surrender than shooting them), and (b) potentially tie to the Heroic I am looking at.
2. An Heroic Skill!
Since the above brings me to SL 10 for Sharpshooter, so it’s time for an HS. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of great HSs for Sharpshooter in particular. The nice thing about these is that they are not separate / new actions, but additional effects on actions I already can take (which doesn’t hurt me, action economy-wise, but does make my life more complicated). My ideas:
- Extra HP (10/20), or IP (4), or MP (10) – I mean, nothing shabby about these if needs must. Not thrilling heroics, but solid.
- Bullet Break - If you block an attack with Crossfire (which I have), if the accuracy check was an even number, react with a free attack against the attacker (only), treating High Roll as 0. So, sometimes a free attack with Crossfire, sometimes not. Not bad, not great.
- Decoy Bait - If you use Hawkeye, you can create a decoy that draws attack damage (10 MP cost, HP = [1/2 Level + (Hawkeye SL * 5)], and maybe get a free attack on the attacker who destroys it. That might be great if I did Hawkeye, but I don’t.
- Duel Master - resolving pairs of dice, maybe do extra damage and regain MP. Not bad, but not exciting.
- Hunter’s Trick - when you transform a transforming weapon, on the next attack (if you hit) either do extra damage or recover HP/MP. I’m not actually sure if my created MagiCannons count here (they are created, not transforming), but I don’t think it adds that much.
- Perfect Aim - If you use the Warning Shot skill, you can use two effects instead of one. Sweet!
- Powerful Shot - A hit with a ranged attack deals +5 damage (+10 at level 40+). Cool, if not life-changing.
All of these have potentially some value in the TBs’ role as ranged firepower. My inclination at the moment is Perfect Aim, as something that provides some additional battlefield control.
3. Another Class Act
So now I can go after another class! Yay! Um … so, what to do …
Some thoughts (limited to classes of particular interest):
Guardian
This fits thematically for the TBs, which is a significant argument. Skills like Bodyguard (Guard adds Resistance to the target), Defensive Mastery (damage reduction), Fortress (HP increase), and even Protect (take on the attack from someone) are not a bad thing to add to my battle mix. The issue is that they complement but also supplant other combat actions I take. Again, useful, but these carry action economy conflicts with my going pew-pew with existing skills.
Rogue
Some good attack bonuses here, including Cheap Shot (extra damage on a target with status effects), High Speed (MP for a free attack or Hinder/Objective actions), or even (though thematically goofy) Soul Steal (swipe IP or treasure – are the TBs actually trash-raiding during battle? maybe?).
Wayfarer
Kind of a cool adventurer vibe, including Faithful Companion (Summon Familiar, just what we need), Resourceful (get IP after travel), Tavern Talk (garner info when resting at an inn or taven), Treasure Hunter (discoveries on good travel rolls), and Well-Traveled (improve travel rolls). The nice thing about this one is that it impacts actions outside of combat.
Other Ideas
I also looked at Commander (hey, the TBs know about tactical coordination just from their internal dynamics), but, honestly, the skills under it are way too complex for my fun, and also draw away from my role as Guys Who Shoot Big Booms. Now, if Mizzle took this on, I trust Bill’s tactical abilities implicitly …
And I also looked at Pilot. So this one only comes into play if I sort of re-frame the TBs and their clank as a character piloting a mech vehicle, rather than a (multi-voiced group) character who has (effectively) armor and weapons. I think in another running of this game I might choose this route instead, if only because the mechanics seem interesting, but it’s probably more complications than it is worth changing to this approach now.
4. Path Forward
What classes to pursue to 10 in the future sort of depends in part on my current classes …
- Fury - I have a lot of adds I can do here to increase my combat skills, certainly enough to go from SL 5 to 10. More Indomitable Spirit (get HP/MP from spending FP, if I ever remember to do so), more Adrenaline (extra damage when in Crisis), maybe some Withstand (self-healing).
- Tinkerer - I am, honestly, not all that interested, character-wise, in the magitech bits of this class other than the MagiCannon I am already using; they aren’t bad, just not what I envision for the TBs. But … if I somehow go from SL 3 to 10, the Heroic Skill Quantum MagiCannon is truly awesome.
And, of course, nabbing some low-hanging fruit in the new skill taken (see section 3 above) will be a competing motive.