SteveGarbage
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Posts posted by SteveGarbage
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Sentinel is probably one of the least "hybritizeable" classes in game. There is simply not enough filter points and synergy between the trees, like there is in guardian class.
Agreed. All you're doing by not taking Merciless Strike is removing a seriously powerful attack skill from your collection. The extra stuff you take in Focus doesn't nearly make up for having additional burn damage, chance to build more focus or the ability to cool Cauterize with every use of Merciless.
Essentially what this hybrid does is trade Merciless Strike for Zealous Leap. And I'd say that's a pretty lousy trade.
Sentinel just doesn't hybrid well and the main reason is because the top tier skills are worth getting, unlike in some of the other specs (thinking of Jedi Sage at the moment).
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Depending on what your social score is, most social vendors in cantinas have complete orange-grade stuff. They're not the best looking stuff but the set would be complete.
I'm 41 right now and I'm wearing three pieces of the Gilded Xonolith armor that I got from heroics on Tatoonie, I believe. If you're 50 you should be able to blow through all those heroics solo and nab the rewards.
Otherwise, farm the GTN to try to put together a set.
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Between Artifice and Synth, I'd highly suggest Artifice.
You'll be able to craft hilts (the most important piece of your lightsaber), enhancements (usable in all items) and crystals. I've made a fair bit of money myself flooding the market with crystals, since anyone with orange-grade weapons need them and you can't get those from commendations.
It allows me to keep my weapons upgrades. I'm not thinking about end-game, but if I really need to eventually switch to Biochem, I can just go ahead and level it at that time, since Artifice doesn't seem like it will have much use at 50.
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This has been bugging me, and I think BioWare could make a quick fix by just swapping the two artifact fragments:
On the grade five level, for schematics up to the Level 43 level, you use the Hypertech Artifact fragments.
Also on the grade five level, schematics in the 45-47 range use the Alien Artifact Fragment.
The problem is that the Alien Artifact is the regular drop while the Hypertech is more advanced. For example, if you run the Moderate Yield mission, you'll get Alien and not Hypertech. But if you run the Rich Yield mission, you'll get more Hypertech.
What this essentially does is make you invest more heavily into missions to get those pieces for the lower level crafting. And then when you get the point where you need to craft the Level 45 stuff, you're sitting on 200+ Alien fragments.
To put in a parellel, it would be like if Grade 3 Power Crystal missions dropped way more Opila Crystals (which go into grade 13 upgrades) than Bondar Crystals (which are used for grade 11 upgrades)
So a request, BioWare - please either swap the recipe requirement or the drops for those Level 5 Artifact Fragments. The way it currently is doesn't make sense. Thanks.
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Tougher enemies can be a handful especially if you're underlevel or on-level with them. I spent most of my run at least three to four levels over all the content, which made everything more bearable.
Without any information about your build, your gear, the companion you use and your normal battle progressions, it's hard to what the problem is. While a lot of the content can be very tough, I don't think any of it is insurmountable. Elites should be challenging but doable and even champions should be very hard but still possible if you have your companion with you.
Here's some general tips:
-Make sure you keep your gear upgraded. The most notable pieces of any orange-grade gear you have is hilts for your lightsabers and armoring for your armor. Both of those pieces increase the "base" stats of the item - damage for sabers and armor value for armor pieces. The same applies to your companions. Don't send in a companion who is under-equipped.
Check out the GTN or Light/Dark vendor to see about upgrading your earpiece, implants or relics. Those items typically drop more rarely than armor pieces, so you may need to hit the market to find better ones for your level. Again, the same applies to your companions!
-Remember to keep buffed. Make sure your Force Might hasn't ticked off when you weren't paying attention. Apply a stim for tough fights. See if other players in town will give you a drive-by buffing with their appropriate class buff. All those little things can help.
-Interrupt! This is the most important piece of information to keep in mind since a lot of elite or champion enemies use channeled abilities. Enemy attacks like Full Auto or Force Storm can absolutely **** you, so make sure to constantly bust those up with Force Kick (best option), Force Leap or Force Stasis.
-If you're a Watchman (highly recommended spec for PvE leveling), make sure you're consistently applying your burns with Cauterize and Overload Saber. Also when Zen is available, make sure to pop it on and then use your burns so you get a bit of healing.
-Send your companion in first. If you're having trouble, send your companion in first to make sure they pull initial aggro. Eventually if you out damage them (you should no matter if it's T7 or Kira), the enemy will focus on you. But remember you can use Force Camouflague to dump threat back onto your partner.
-Use your defensive abilities. In a tough fight, I almost always use Rebuke immediately to reduce damage. When your life is going down, pop Saber Ward. If you're still dying, use Call on the Force to instantly cool Saber Ward and provide healing. If you're stunned, bust it up quickly with Resolute to get back in the fight and cut off that extra damage.
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What the? Where the hell have you been, a watchman is often (if not always) used in hardcore operations guild group over a guardian because they have more survivability...
How the heck are you ''lacking defensive staying power'' I just dont get it.
Try not to stand in the fire.
It's a different story when you're in an operation group compared to off on your own in PvE content. I don't disagree that the Sentinel has a lot of good tricks up his sleeve in Rebuke/Blade Ward/Force Camouflage/Guarded by the Force - but when you have no choice but to stand in the fire, the Sentinel's natural defenses aren't super when we tend to pour out more constant damage than other DPS classes that burst more quickly.
But yes, when you have a big group at your disposals - healers, tanks and ranged DPS, it's a different story. However when it's just you and Kira out in the great big galaxy, it's sometimes a different story.
I think a lot of players around here would agree that there's not a lot of wiggle room with a Sentinel. If you're not playing at the top of your game as this class, you'll struggle compared to others.
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For everyday play, he's not a very good companion choice (especially since you'd rather build affection with your real companions for story reasons). The main problem is unless you're able to completely control threat on all enemies, he becomes a juicy, squishy target for enemies to mangle.
I think he's perfect, however, for a few situations:
Heroic 2+ - He's great to have as a healer if you and another person are tackling a 2+ mission and don't have another healing option.
Elites/Champions - If you're going toe-to-toe solo with a high-level enemy like these, having your ship droid healing you can really give you an edge compared to using a different companion.
As was said, he's not going to hold step with an actual healer character like Doc or Elara or whatever, but until you get them he has his uses, if not often.
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Lightsabers have base damage determined by the level of the hilt.
Blasters have base damage determined by the level of the barrel.
Armor has its armor value determined by the level of the armoring.
Mods, enhancements, crystals, augments - all of that stuff just add stats but in no way affect the "base" level of orange-grade items.
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Good analysis. I think one of the biggest drawbacks of Combat is that it takes so long to heat up and be effective. Part of it is due to talent tree design. Since BioWare obviously didn't want other specs to be able to take Ataru Form, they had to put it up on the third tier so that others can't reach it unless they're hybridizing (which is stupid for Sentinel).
Otherwise to get the focus-cost-reduction and CDR on Blade Storm as well as the collection of other active skills and effects surrounding the use of storm and Ataru, it just takes forever for Combat to become especially effective compared to Watchman which is pretty strong from 10-40.
Considering that the hardest part of the game for Sentinels appears to be around the 30-40 range, at that point Combat just doesn't have the necessary tools to really shine, as well as being a bit underpowered a bit compared to Watchman.
One of these days I think we're either going to see a buff into Combat and Focus or we're going to see (and god I hope not) a nerf to Watchman. At this point for PvE, Watchman is just miles ahead of the other two specs. It even gets a lot of good press in the PvP circuit too, making it something of a one-size-fits-all spec, even if it does require a bit more attention to detail than the other two.
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+1
I selected the hide helmet option but realized it only did it for me.
Considering the Consular hats are so ugly, I want to hide whatever is on Kira's head all the time.
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Essentially it's a chain.
Most datacrons give you a permanent stat boost.
However some datacrons contain one color matrix shard.
When you collect three matrix shards, you can have them made into a relic.
However you can also get relics from the GTN or from the Light/Dark side vendors on the fleet.
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I plan on taking it as a Watchman. Compared to like 2 percent accuracy or a 4 percent chance for Force powers to crit - a 30 percent defensive boost is HUGE for a class that really lacks defensive staying power.
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ah forgot to ask this also
what probably goes best with sentinel for companion? im thinking tank? but right now i am using kira just cus lol.
Doc - the healer - is probably the best companion. You'll get him after completing Balmora (upper 30s to 40).
T7 fills a good role for a Sentinel, although I've seen people say he begins to lose step when you get to higher levels.
Kira is DPS and so are you as Sentinel, so really she's one of the less good fits. However, I use her all the time mainly for story purposes.
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Here's my critique:
1) For a Watchman, Blade Storm really shouldn't be in the mix. For the same cost (4), you can drop two Slashes, which do about the same amount of damage combined but each has a chance to crit.
2) The charges from Overload Saber are applied on physical strikes, so you get more out of the burn effects if you try to spread out the application a bit. You can read about the theory behind using OS in the primer here ---> http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=47695#theory_os
Pretty much the easiest way to do that is by dropping a Force Sweep in there. While that OS guide suggests also using Stasis, I prefer to avoid it because it eats up time that you're not gaining centering, and also if you're fighting multiple enemies, you're taking hits at that time.
Under ideal settings, I use this:
Leap (+3) - Opportune Strike (if the target gets slowed - FREE) - Overload Saber (-3) - Zealous Strike (+6) - Cauterize (-2) - Force Sweep (-1) - Strike (+2) - Merciless (-5)
Then while I'm waiting on CDs I'll either drop a Force Stasis or drop Strikes/Slashes as available.
The idea of a rotation is nice to have in mind, but typically what happens, especially when Slash and Merciless bring Cauterize off CD, I'll immediately apply Cauterize again when it's burned off of my opponent. So I use more of a priority system:
As far as Focus builders its: Zealous Strike > Leap > Strike > Force Stasis
For Focus spenders its: Cauterize > Overload Saber > Merciless > Slash
Force Sweep is mixed in as needed to break up the charges on OS. I'll throw in Master Strike if I'm running short on Focus and think I can finished my enemy with it. Blade Storm and Riposte are not used.
That's my strategy, at least. I'm a strictly PvE player.
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Hybrid builds typically work better for other class builds that I've seen. For Sentinel, though, you've got to get devoted.
A couple things I see:
1) Why waste two points on Focused Leap (Combat), those two points would be MUCH MUCH better spent in Close Quarters (Watchman). You're losing out on the one extra focus BUT you gain the ability to leap from melee range, which means you'll be able to use it and gain three focus whenever you need to. Especially since you took the leap cooldown in Watchman, that's a much better use of two points than Focused Leap. If you want to grab Focused Leap later (after finishing Watchman) that's the time to do it.
2) Yes, yes, yes, invest in Watchguard. Force Kick is you best and most useful interrupt, and with the cooldown it makes it readily available almost all the time. By the time the seal effect from kick is over, it should be up and ready to interrupt again. Makes it invaluable in PvE situations for enemies that only have one skill they try to use, since you can interrupt it 100 percent of the time. And in PvP play, more interrupt ability never hurts.
3) Force Fade gets most of its benefit in PvP, since when you drop Camouflage you'll be temporarily 100% damage resistance. Also is useful in PvE for if you're getting whooped and need a second to catch your breath.
I'm strictly a PvE player and this is what I'm going for. I'm currently 41 - finished my Watchman tree and now am starting to invest in those Combat skills: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#501bIbRrRMcGzZhRr.1
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I still think the best cure for having trouble with Sentinel is to overlevel a bit. Put in some daily space missions, pick up your bonuses, run a couple flashpoints an extra time.
Three to four levels over the content can make a HUGE difference, especially when some fights like the Sith Harrowers after Chapter 1 which are really tough even when you are overleveled. And I get the bonus of being able to solo most Heroic 2+.
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I found a Robe on Balmorra called Agile Judgement Vest that is white. I got it as a random drop so not sure how rare it is or anything. Agile Judgement Vest.
If I'm not mistaken from looking at GTN, I think the Agile Judgment robe is actually like a light blue-green more than it is white, because I was searching for white robes as well. Haven't had much luck finding them, though.
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For PvE, Watchman is the overwhelming consensus pick, whether you're traveling with a healer or not. Combat isn't bad, but it doesn't begin to shine until higher levels (like 35+). Focus isn't bad, but it's definitely more PvP suited than it is for straight up PvE content.
Watchman will give you reduced cooldowns on your interrupts, lower cooldown and zero-range leap, strong DoT burns and a reduced-cost Force Sweep and Slash. Also with Zen you'll have the ability to provide a small group heal from your critical burns.
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As I Watchman, I've taken Blade Storm and Riposte out of the mix. Blade Storm is too expensive compared to the reduced-cost Slash and Riposte just wasn't worth it compared to another slash.
I sometimes use Cyclone Slash just to blow throw weak mobs. I use Opportune Strike to slap the crap out of people right after leap. Pommel Strike is somewhat out of the mix too, since it's only useful after a Force Sweep that stuns.
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Putting him in passive mode will end his heals. So, tell him to attacvk a low level mod and put him into a healing mode. You'll wipe everything else and his low level mob b4 he dies, and he will competently heal both himself and you. If you tell him not to attack stuff, then he won't, but he won't heal you either. Now - flames incoming.
You shouldn't need to tell him to attack anything. If you leap in and draw all the group's aggro (which you should since you'll be the only target in their range doing damage), you ship droid will just stand back and heal and heal and heal and never really get into a situation where he's attacking or being attacked.
If he somehow does draw enemy aggro, I usually switch to wipe that enemy first to keep him healthy and healing.
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Force Kick, Force Stasis and Force Leap are the three, yes.
Stasis and Leap will interrupt, where Kick interrupts and blocks the enemy from recasting for a couple of seconds, making it the most useful of the three.
If you're a Watchman (which most Sentinels are), you get talents that reduce the cooldown on leap AND reduce its range so you can use it from melee range. In my opinion, probably the best talent the Watchman has. Also in Watchman you get a talent that reduces the cooldown of Force Kick to the point that you should almost always be able to use it to interrupt, since the cooldown is about as long as the seal effect it has.
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I've been using Kira since I got her, mainly for story purposes. With good gear and upgraded weapons, she can handle many enemies on her own. Usually she'll jump to another enemy I'm not attack and tie them up for me. Love her skills and her damage output.
As for C2, I have utilized him before in Heroic 2+ if I'm running with someone else who doesn't have a healer. As long as he doesn't get attacked, C2 works pretty well as a group healer in those situations if you don't have a better option available.
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Where can I pick up better equipment? I went to the Taris Commendations vendor and all he had was the chest armor I'm using. He didn't have any equipment better than my current equipment. I went to the weapons and armor vendors on Nar Shadaa and they didn't have anything I could use either, should I try the GTN?
Whenever I come up against a mob, I send Kira in first, having her target the strongest enemy, then I jump in and join her, trying to kill the strongest enemy, then once he is dead I take out the weaker guys. Am I doing that backwards, should I be taking the weakest out first?
I was also wondering if there is a specific skill tree that would be best for a rookie. I haven't really concentrated all my skill points on just one tree, but I am going to change that asap. I was just hoping to get some advice on which one to pick, then I will reset my skills and chose one tree.
Thanks so much for the help, it's very informative. If someone could tell me the best place to get a good hilt I would appreciate it, I can't seem to find a vendor that sells any good hilts.
This post actually just helped to reveal a lot of issues you may be having:
1) If you're using orange-grade sabers (meaning you can mod them), if you don't have good hilts then you don't have good damage. The hilt is the piece of the saber that determines its level and base damage. So if you're not using the best possible hilt in it that you can for your level, guess what, you're losing out on TONS of base damage.
If you don't have Artifice as your craft skill, you should find someone who does and can craft some hilts for you. What server are you on? I'd be willing to help you out - I'm on Ebon Hawk.
2) If you have your talent points spread out among all three trees, then you're not really building a strong tree. Pretty much the pre-eminent PvE tree to use is Watchman. It gives you good, constant DPS as well as has the ability to allow you to self-heal with your burn critical hits. I would highly suggest investing totally into the Watchman tree.
3) Take out the weakest enemies first. They die quicker so their damage is off the table. Also, Kira is pretty good DPS, so she'll be able to handle some of those weaker enemies on her own. Make sure that all of Kira's skills are being used and make sure one of her two available self-buffs are active. At lower levels, the one that adds a chance for additional damage each attack is probably more useful than the armor penetration. I usually use that for tougher enemies.
If you invest in the Watchman (which you should), you'll have to learn to develop an attack rotation. You can read about recommended rotations to use, but as a basic starter to it I use:
Leap - Overload Saber - Zealous Strike - Cauterize
For items, you might look into investing in some cheap stuff from the GTN. Otherwise I would advise piecing together as many orange-level items as you can and then continually upgrade them with the appropriate pieces purchased from commendation vendors.
I don't know what crew skills you chose for yourself, but really I think the best option for a leveling Sentinel is Artifice. It will allow you to make hilts, crystals and enhancements, three pieces of your saber. Enhancements can also be put into moddable armor. You'll also be able to make focii, which Kira can equip if you're using her.
Hope that helps you out. Sentinel requires a somewhat high level of skill and attention to play well. I highly suggest specializing in Watchman and reading the Sentinel Primer (that's stickied in this forum) to help you learn more about the class. It helped me a ton when I was struggling around those levels and now I've easily cruised into my current level of 40.
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Is there any way to upgrade my jedi robes?? Or do I just need to find more?? I haven't come across many so far I can't seem to upgrade my armour in a mod station or using CTRL + right click. I think I should be able to update most of my other things but may need a better shield generator.
The only items you can upgrade are orange-level gear (or a few other items if they have available mod or augement slots). If it's a green or blue item, no, you can't install upgrades into it because it doesn't have any slots.
If you need some better gear, try looking on the Galatic Trade Network on the fleet. You might able to generally upgrade your stuff for pretty cheaps depending on what's there.
Restructuring of our specs
in Sentinel / Marauder
Posted · Edited by SteveGarbage
Personally what I think needs to happen to Combat (and I think what they tried to do with it) is make it even more bursty. Watchman gives you good, constant damage. Combat is supposed to be build, build, build, FOCUS DUMP for huge damage. Unfortunately it just doesn't keep pace.
I'm picturing chance for really, really bit crits - bigger critical boosts, increases in surge. I think the focus on big combos for Combat form is a good one, it's just that overall damage needs to be jacked up for the class for it to be able to hold step with the more constant output of Watchman. I think you do that in crit chance, where sometimes you're doing average damage but if you get lucky you can pour out huge hits.
Also, in SW lore, Ataru is an acrobatic form (think Yoda in Ep. 2). While I don't recommend having characters flipping and bouncing all around the battlefield, having effects that play to that lore like increased movespeed, global cooldown reduction and increased dodge chance would make it more true to the name. When you read about Ataru Form on Wookiepedia, it sounds completely foreign from what the Combat spec offers you, and that's a shame.
While Juyo isn't exactly on target, the Shii-cho, Soresu and Shien forms in the game play more to the lore and that's a good thing.