Sorry, but stealth just doesn't go with the Diablo game style. Its all about bulldozing through masses of brainless zombies not sneaking past them.
Who's to say the shooty thief can't "bulldoze" through the zombies? I ask that you don't mistake him for just being a "thief" (though I used word a lot), since he's really an assassin archer, a sharpshooting hired killer, a hitman.
As a hack-and-slash RPG, Diablo 3 is a game that prioritizes combat abilities in characters and this sniper will be no exception to this. He'll still be a marksman par excellence, making carefully aimed killing shots against crowds of enemies, cutting them down methodically one by one.
Stealth isn't the main point or the end-all feature of his class. It's a tool and, from my experience, a very powerful one at that. As you pointed out, he loses a lot of XP along the way. There's nothing stopping you from coming back to reclaim that lost XP. Better yet, where stealth allows you to go where you want to, that means finishing certain quests faster and easier, or even letting you get to areas with treasure or objects of interest safely. That could mean getting items faster and earlier than non-stealthed classes, giving you a distinct edge in the equipment department.
Diablo's gameplay is based on skills and abilities. Blizzard is one very creative game designer, so they can give the class a lot of stealth-based skills that enhance combat and let you mow down zombie after zombie with a sadistic laugh.
Calyx pointed out that it's inefficient to sneak up on foes when you can shoot down from afar. Try this: Diversion - Lay down an object that attracts enemies in a X yard radius and holds their attention for some time. This does not break stealth.
Sneak up on a bunch of enemies to lay down a diversion near them. The monsters then crowd around it. While held in place, you move away to maximum shooting range. You start firing and picking them off, the distance between you and them giving you enough distance and time to dispatch them without fear of counterattack.
Or, borrowing from the D2 Assassin's skill tree (and WoW's Hunter class), the Sniper can get traps that he can lay down between his target and his desired firing position while in stealth (he needs to be in stealth so he does not aggro the monsters as he readies the traps). He starts firing, attracting the mob. The monster closes on him in the most direct and shortest path- through the traps.
And other stuff like that...
Stealth opens up tactical options that can be explored and exploited to "bulldoze" monsters in whole new ways.
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As a hack-and-slash RPG, Diablo 3 is a game that prioritizes combat abilities in characters and this sniper will be no exception to this. He'll still be a marksman par excellence, making carefully aimed killing shots against crowds of enemies, cutting them down methodically one by one.
Stealth isn't the main point or the end-all feature of his class. It's a tool and, from my experience, a very powerful one at that. As you pointed out, he loses a lot of XP along the way. There's nothing stopping you from coming back to reclaim that lost XP. Better yet, where stealth allows you to go where you want to, that means finishing certain quests faster and easier, or even letting you get to areas with treasure or objects of interest safely. That could mean getting items faster and earlier than non-stealthed classes, giving you a distinct edge in the equipment department.
Diablo's gameplay is based on skills and abilities. Blizzard is one very creative game designer, so they can give the class a lot of stealth-based skills that enhance combat and let you mow down zombie after zombie with a sadistic laugh.
Calyx pointed out that it's inefficient to sneak up on foes when you can shoot down from afar. Try this:
Diversion - Lay down an object that attracts enemies in a X yard radius and holds their attention for some time. This does not break stealth.
Sneak up on a bunch of enemies to lay down a diversion near them. The monsters then crowd around it. While held in place, you move away to maximum shooting range. You start firing and picking them off, the distance between you and them giving you enough distance and time to dispatch them without fear of counterattack.
Or, borrowing from the D2 Assassin's skill tree (and WoW's Hunter class), the Sniper can get traps that he can lay down between his target and his desired firing position while in stealth (he needs to be in stealth so he does not aggro the monsters as he readies the traps). He starts firing, attracting the mob. The monster closes on him in the most direct and shortest path- through the traps.
And other stuff like that...
Stealth opens up tactical options that can be explored and exploited to "bulldoze" monsters in whole new ways.