My first level 50 was a carnage marauder way back on my old dead pvp server and yeah in the end it takes a lot less effort to keep track of once you get the hang of it. I am noticing i'm getting better at the annihilation line up, i think i'm just getting used to everything's cooldowns in relation to each other so i don't have to watch them nearly as close. Thanks for the replies

Rotation is really simple at your level. Basically have Deadly Saber active whenever you can, pop rupture whenever its off CD, Use Battering Assault when its Off CD to keep your rage up, and for your fillers just use vicious slash. And do NOT neglect berserk! Auto Crit +auto heal dot's? yes please. Also when you get a bit higher level i suggest investing in the force charge minimum range reduction ASAP and the force charge +1 rage ability after that. there's nothing like jumping for 4 rage when you're already in their face

I've just recently hit level 40 on my Anni mara and got Annihilate and this is just an observation but it seems my awareness of the fight around me has gone out the window. That is to say that I'm finding it harder to pay attention to everything thats happening around me because with the addition of Annihilate's cooldown, making sure i have 5 rage when its CD is done, making sure i pop it off before Annihilator runs out (this is alot easier with 3 stacks of annihilator though), plus juggling all of my other CDs i just seem to be looking everywhere else but at the actual fight (this obviously only really pertains to boss fights). Anyone else have this problem? And maybe a solution? Or does it just come with the spec?

Ok naysayers here we go. First off my foremost ability is FL, its excellent dps anyway you cut it. Second 2 instant cast LS do nearly as much damage as FL, slightly less, but im not really losing a mentional amount of dps, then throw in shock and ive exceeded the dps of FL, then unless im unlucky i get to use a instant cast CL. Consider that at least one of those abilities, if not 2 or more will crit, ive done in 6 seconds at least 1.5x the damage of 2x FL (also takes roughly 6 seconds not including any alacrity that may or may not be there.) But because im still using my FL wisely i also get the added benefit of a instant cast CD so i get direct damage from it plus a powerful DOT. Until someone does the legwork and shows dps stats for both sides i will argue that working both sides, FL and LS, will do more damage than just one side. Also i fit in those nice little instant cast LS while CD is on cool down so as to not waste any of my wrath procs, which happens every single time i pop off FL. And dont forget the offhand chance that both CL and Shock might do the whole "second blast" thingy for even more damage.

See thing is, youre saying my builds no good, and that the typical builds are better, but you're not really giving any evidence. What makes those builds so much better?

This is my end game dps PVE (no interest in end game PVP) sorc build: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#201hZssMMdorbZsMcMs0z.2 It's based on instant cast CD, LS, CL, as well as the ability to use shock if i feel like it and of course the use of no cool down FL, and the quick use of FL when Lightning Barrage procs. The numbers on my abilities don't lie, FL is my most damaging attack, Thundering Blast with +50% crit damage might surpass it but only by a very small amount, and thats not taking into account crits on FL. Also no matter what i do my force points have never dropped below 90% so that's nice. The only drawback i feel is that my chain lightning doesn't get any extra crit damage. What do you all think about it? Anything you think is wrong with this build? Any improvements you would suggest?

I typically do not find myself moving for anymore than maybe 2 seconds at a time, and usually not that terribly often.

Not sure if there are any posts about this already but i just wanted to share my thoughts on the new set up of the skill "Terminal Velocity". To my eye its nothing but a nerf when you consider end game PVE. We're operating on a couple of assumptions here, but they all fit for me. 1) You have at least 30% crit rate. 2) you have the +15% crit bonus to tracer missile from pve set bonus. 3) not as big of a deal but you would likely have the agent buff if you're raiding, or if like me you have it automatically through legacy buffs. Put all of this together and what do you get? 50% crit chance with every tracer missile, more if your base crit is higher than 30%. Now the old Terminal Velocity was, in case anyone needs a reminder, 100% chance to vent 8 heat whenever you crit with tracer missile or unload cannot happen more than every 3 seconds. Well with a 50% crit chance and a 1.5 second cast rate statistically you should be critting every 3 seconds, maybe 4.5. Not to mention with a base crit of 30% (35 with buff) unload should crit at least once as well when you fire it off. Conclusion: We've gone from a statistical venting 8 heat every 3 seconds to venting 8 heat every 6 seconds. I call that a nerf. Your thoughts? P.S. I can see it helping if you've filled your heat gauge up and are waiting for the cool down, but a good raider should know how to manage heat consumption.

I've been a bit confused by this. Does it mean that the armor debuff from tracer missile will no longer stack? Or just that we cant have multiple stacks of tracer debuff from multiple Mercs?

Personally I'm really enjoying the bounty hunter story line, granted I'm only at the start of chapter 2. But so far it's been exactly what i would expect a bounty hunter story line to be like.. and i enjoy it lol. As for the dps, its absolutely lovely once you get tracer missile things just get better from there all the way up to heatseeker (i may only have a ch2 bh but ive played gunnery commando all the way through end game, same exact mechanics.) P.S. Speaking from a strictly PVE standpoint. I've only dabbled in pvp and i dont find it absolutely horrendous but a good marauder will tear you apart like paper.

Personally I'm not a huge fan of the hood up look, but that's just because i love the way my sith pureblood looks. Honestly i think they should just implement a hood up or down option just like the hide head slot option.

yeah it is very true that Mercs have higher survivability, but if youre well geared and know what youre doing, as well as having a competent tank and healer then it shouldnt be too much of a factor.

I don't have any real evidence to back this up, but i would imagine the reason they do it the way they do is to optimize class diversity in the groups. Say maybe a Juggernaut tank, Sorc healer, Op melee dps, and Merc ranged dps. And if both groups follow a similar set up then you're only getting 2 people rolling on one item. Of course groups are rarely set up this way, especially end game. But i think that's the general idea.

Alrighty I've done a quick search and can't find anything really comparing these two classes specifically. I've done both classes to 50 and i love them both the play style of marauder really fits me but i also love seeing the huge numbers pop up on Merc. What I'd really like to know is yall's opinion on which one has a better damage out put potential in end game raiding. I'm not really that interested in the pvp aspects of either class. So Merc vs mara, which one do you think is better end game raiding? Thanks