Marb
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Posts posted by Marb
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When did you get here? Go back to zoning out during bomber phases, sir.I looked at the video again! I was actually using rapid shots! totally different.
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To elaborate. Nightmare Kephess can potentially gib a tank at close to full hp with one of his attacks. It's one of the few encounters were a strong emphasis should be made on tank effective health.
Effective health being a function of health pool after guaranteed mitigation is applied. Basically, Damage reduction modifying your max health. No matter your avoidance, unless the sum of which is 100%, it will fail at some time.
The attack in question is a series of 3 large hits. Each individual hit is not going to pressure a tanks health, but if by chance (a fairly low chance), all 3 attacks are not shielded, parried or missed, it can do almost the entire tanks health pool in damage. A tank in full avoidance gear, taking no high endurance options at all, will need to be at near full health to survive such an occurrence. A tank that has prioritised health a little more, even if it's just 2-3k more health, will survive a failed string of avoided attacks with health to spare. EH is all about planning for the worst case scenario.
Otherwise no, for any other content than tanks attempting NiM Kephess in EC, go balls out avoidance, EH is largely irrelevant. For those who do Nim Kephess, in particular timed runs with strongly emphasised repeatability of the encounter, you do definitely want to keep effective health as a gearing priority.
This is probably more relevant for a shadow/assassin considering a kinetic ward will get evaporated almost immediately, causing said low hp shadow to hilariously implode into hamburger. Add to that, the fact that the sin is the only tank that gets any real value out of endurance beyond a deeper health pool for healer reaction time. In addition to having the highest damage and threat ceiling out of all the tanks anyway, increasing endurance can be more attractive for them at higher gear tiers (61/63's), as endurance essentially becomes a mitigation stat at a certain point due to the way variant B mods are itemised.
In contrast, the other 2 tank classes gain little from sacrificing main stat for endurance beyond aiding in healer reaction time, which can be picked up by skilled healers. For powertechs and guardians, the passive nature of their mitigation and a higher base armour value *should* be enough for both healers to pick up a lower health pool. But for progression, having a modest health buffer (still using high mitigation mods/enhancements) is generally advisable for most tanks, or at least, tanks should gear to the capabilities of their operation group and the strengths of their class as a general rule.
Or tell your healers that they are poo, raid drama is fun yo.
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Because **** you I'm a lizard.
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So... it only works when Kiari is sacrificed bodily to the void...
We tried that twice in a row and it didn't work.
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While it is a little disappointing that we wont be able to continue our companion's character stories, consider that they have around 40 independently voiced companions in the game total. It would be difficult enough at this point to just get the class voice actors on board.
It would be incredibly expensive to go out of their way to expand the companions beyond the odd contextual line or two, and I don't think Bioware are making the wrong decision in choosing to spend these development costs on systems and content. (somebody will mention cartel market)
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Luckily, there will virtually be no aggro problems in 2.0 so you can open up with your full burst and not have problems. Powertechs are getting a threat drop and Juggs are getting huge buffs to threat.
Bring on 2.0.
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The train of thought is that during the PPA cooldown with both CGC and IM dots up, you are deciding between a (FB>Rapid Shots>RP / FB) or a (FT / DfA>RP / FB). The damage to heat ratio is better by going with a flamethrower / death from above to fill in the PPA cooldown. Obviously this changes if you're responsible for add control or aoe damage for a specific phase.
I tend to just save TSO/vent for a bad proc streak, that way I can keep IM up even if I haven't had a proc to manage the heat cost of it. I never restrict myself to rigid use of these two abilities due to the pure randomness of the PPA proc. For example you could open with TSO, flood out heat, use vent heat and then proceed to not get a PPA proc for a painful length of time.
From my experience anyway, I don't open with fuel / relic within the first few GCD's, considering the powertech has terrible defensive cooldowns and no agro drop, but this will depend on the class and aggressiveness of your specific tank.
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As long as the ratings themselves are what you are comparing. The % results of the spreadsheet includes accuracy debuff and blade barrier, ask mr robot and in game character sheet don't. Ask mr robot may differ, make sure you have the exo stim on/off depending on if you have one active in game.
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I like how Strudel just spaced out on one of the bombers.
Is it that obvious?! ...oh yes. Yes it is. It seems at 2am I start using flamesweep before slipping into a brief coma.
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We do swap in NM.
I really wasn't asking "how to tank".
I'm wondering if anyone has bumped up their mainstat to assist with threat and if so, what rough level of Aim are they up to (assuming full 63's).
For NM tanks, this would seem preferable to asking a DPS to hold back, even minimally, given the tightness of the enrage timer. The threat put out by a well played optimized 63's pyro is no joke especially when a taunt has to be planned for.
Seems like from the one or two relevant responses, no one is doing it but might be worth trying a few mod/armoring swaps.
Yet you said your PT was having threat issues on stormcaller, which would lead most to assume that they *do* need some tanking tips. They have enough time to boost with their single taunt within the first few GCD's, boosting off that with their aoe taunt before they will need to swap. Rather then force your PT to look into re-gearing outside of what is comfortable for most healers, how about you ensure he/she is playing properly. You never *need* to stack any main stat gear at all to hold threat with a powertech, or any of the tank classes for that matter, due to the way taunt mechanics can be utilised.
Before dropping endurance gear, check to see if they are taking the points out of Integrated Cardio Package, and picking up Iron Fist. Assuming full 63's with a stim and a proper spec, you will be *just* inside the 25k health buffer with high endurance everything, which is considered to be the maximum health you would ever want to have inside of 8man content. Now on to choosing high manstat gear over endurance; if your healer doesn't need a buffer zone to assist in reaction time, then yes, the pt can drop endurance for aim. I have tanked NiMC tanks with a 24k health jugg with little risk, so you could look at going down to 22-23k. A large health buffer here is only serving the purpose of saving the tank on storm from a bad pillar kite, or slow healer reaction time.
You could also try asking your pyro to not use adrenal, relic and fuel until the first swap. Its not the same as asking for him to hold off for a few GCD's, it will just keep his opening burst down so he doesn't spike over the tank by a massive amount before they can get ahead. A pyro in full 63's opening up with adrenal, explosive fuel and relic is going to give any tank who is not expecting it a real headache like you said. If its a learning experience and progression, then there is even more reason to try this. The enrage timer is a factor, but assuming you're running with competent dps, there is no way that loosing out on that opening adrenal, relic, fuel combo will cost you the kill.
The point is that if you guard that pyro and use taunts to boost your threat as described here you'll hold aggro no matter what, so no, since I do that I haven't done anything to boost my mainstat.Yep.
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As a goal you will be working your way towards this: http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/character/f3a4bcbf-beb8-43d2-9a97-07699a6f31ca
Plenty of more in depth info floating around here, and also the vanguard and tank role sub forums.
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Nice to have all the up to date info in one place, thanks for taking the time to put this together.
From my own experience, I can't get away with starting with a sunder without loosing agro at that exact second, forcing me to waste a taunt before having enough threat to boost myself. For example:
1 - Saber Throw
2 - Force Leap
3 - Sundering Strike < This is where I would loose threat.
4 - Blade Storm
5 - Force Sweep
6 - Sundering Strike
Regardless of the shortcomings, I don't have this happen in full Immortal where I would begin with a smash rather then a sunder. I suppose its not important in the grand scheme of things and is based on how dps behave, but I always expect them to be at least a single global cooldown behind the tank, and popping those adrenals and relics right off the bat.
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My bad, I assumed grapple was pretty much the same as the assassin's force pull. The tooltips are very similar. Never played a PT tank, only an assassin. I'll remove that.
Its a very common assumption, with terrible tooltips on biowares part being mostly to blame.
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Grapple generates 2.5k threat, for comparison flame burst is about the same. I would advise against wasting a global cooldown on grapple to generate threat.
Keep in mind that your flamethrower and death from above are your highest dps/threat attacks even on single targets. You should be pairing those with explosive fuel during your opening sequence. Ensure that you're taunt boosting with the single target taunt first, letting the taunt debuff drop off completely before following it with an aoe taunt. Never clip your taunt debuffs if you're trying to taunt boost yourself.
Your rocket punch wont proc and you will have the extra pressure of heat creeping up on stormcaller if that's the tank you're on, so you will have to taunt boost at some point if that pyro is even halfway competent.
Also if you're over 25k health with a stim, you can drop a few of your commando armorings for reflex (high aim) ones, and maybe look at a reflex barrel. If you're only doing 8man nimc, any health you have over 25k is wasted potential threat, as long as your healer is on the ball and you're using your energy shield correctly. But regardless, If you have a strong opener with a well timed taunt you should be fine without dropping your endurance, (considering a deeper health pool has value when tanking stormcaller) but its something to keep in mind as an alternative.
EDIT: Before dropping endurance on your gear, spec out of integrated cardio package if you have it, and put those points into iron fist. Take 1 point out of flamesurge and drop supercharged iron gas for 2/2 rail loaders. Also take a point out of prototype cylinders and put it in hot iron: http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/skills/powertech#8j6e0dek2k-d32-c
If you want to be really anal about it, taking the point in hot iron and putting it into advanced tools will edge out more damage by a flies arse assuming you use flamethrower on cooldown every time.
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AC performance in pvp will have skewed the popularity of juggernauts and powertechs. Scoundrel would definatly still have to be the least played, and I'm not sure if sorcerror would be that high up on the list these days.
Generally, the non-force using classes seem to be less prevelent, combined with healing and tank ac's if you want to be even more obscure (for opp/scoundrel anything other then healing is going to be rare in pve only because dps is utterly insufficient). Its also going to depend on your server and playtimes.
Advanced class distribution is spread out enough that you can play whatever you want guilt-free if thats what your concerned about.
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Well even if this started as a discussion about pvp, I was always under the impression that flamethrower and death from above should be used to fill the internal cooldown of PPA assuming IM and CGC are up and the target is above 30% hp, at least for PvE.
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Its not much help to the art team with nebulous requests like "better looking armour". The higher tiers are an opportunity to add new armour assets into the game, and along with the mod system, they add greater visual variety when included in the amount of visual choices across all level ranges and tiers.
My biggest complaint with the high tiers of armour is that they didn't feel "star warsy" enough (which the latest tier on pts has mostly remedied). But then when they went the more conservative star wars route they were still criticised. Visually, what do people really want out of armour in a star wars setting? How can armour look star warsy and powerful at the same time? (Palpatine wears a very simple unassuming black robe, but is an extremely powerful force user)
How are they meant to reconcile common mmo expectations and staying true to the setting? Do higher tiers of armour need to look more impressive and complicated to act as a visual representation of power? Or should they just be unique looks that stand on their own?
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I find it better to use enrage when needed rather then use it pre-emptively (its off the GCD), as sometimes you will have enough stacks of revenge to carry you through to the second sunder, and using back hand and force choke will push you further in, letting you save enrage to get in some vicious slashes during the deadzone of everything being on CD.
Its not a big deal within the first few global cooldowns, if dps spike up (which they will) those first moments of a pull can be scary. It will also really depend on the boss you're fighting (stormcaller is a flatout pain in the arse for immortal).
Just focus on perfecting your initial opener and have taunt ready. I find it best to boost after the first full sunder cycle (so sunder>scream>crushing blow[taunt]). You may also consider grabbing some power adrenals, and / or looking at the hybrid build if you feel up to it (though I don't think hybrid will help you if your only having short-term threat problems on the first few gcd's of a pull).
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So I'm at:
23k HP
20.01% Defence
50.06% Shield
50.02% Absorb
I got 4 aug slots open still. Where do I go from here?
The goal is more like 20/60/60, and at this point you don't want to have that much defence. When people refer to 20% defence chance, they are talking about best in slot gear. To help you balance out your stat weights, use this spreadsheet here:
http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=548796
You want to be on the look out for Weighted / Deflecting mods and Bulwark / Bastion enhancements (the unlettered varieties at this stage, like "26" and not "26B"). Try to pick up most of your defence rating in your mod slots (using deflecting mods), and use your augment slots to balance out your shield and absorb.
In 25's and 26's it may be worth looking at an absorb proc relic, but if your pushing through to mostly high mitigation 26's and 27's, try to pick up two elite war hero shield relics and then devote most of your augments to absorb rating.
Its also accepted practice to include an exo stim when you're working on your stat weights, so keep that in mind. And don't worry about your health pool, as you gear up it will take care of itself.
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Your better off going full dps spec honestly, your not going to be much help to anyone in 50 pvp as a full tank specced powertech. Oil slick in pvp is extremely specialised in who it would effect, as in specific ac's of specific classes, and even then its not a big deal for them.
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Umm...the taunt multiplier is from 0-4m...what are you talking about? Inside 4m and outside 2m is where you want to taunt.
As for the defensive numbers...all the pt/vg tanks in my guild are around 20-21% defense...and they're doing just fine...my pt is only in the 30s so I am nowhere close to ideal right now...but I trust the information about defense.
I understand the shield proc and everything...but having a chance for them to miss when you're not shielding the attacks should not be overlooked...you do realize it helps to avoid dots and effects and not just damage right? Besides crits skip the shield in 2.0 just like they do now...this makes your damage intake extremely spikey if you lean too heavily on the shield.
Ideal stats are not based on opinion or observation, they are based on statistical data gathered from ops, and calculated stat weights. Taking defence up to 20% is not significant unless we can know the %'s of their shield and absorb. If they're in min maxed high mitigation 63's, with elite war hero relics, having 20% defence chance with a stim is not unusual. In general though, defence doesn't approach 20% until in full 63 high mitigation gear, if not then they're weighting themselves too much towards defence.
Also PvE mobs can't crit. Shield has significantly greater value on pts, as it will shield against all energy / kinetic damage regardless of attack type. This will drive the value of shield through the roof for all tanks.
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If you are looking to maximize your threat on a boss pull though, you WANT to grapple first, then jet charge, followed by your rocket punch. The extra 5k threat on the pull is very nice, particularly if you have gung ho SW who leap in right behind you.
And truthfully, why would you even think that not using Grapple as a threat builder from range would be a good thing? It is pure threat, ED has a 15 second CD, DFA is channeled and can miss, and your taunts also have a CD.
Assuming weird mechanics where you will spend a good chunk of time outside of melee range. First GCD --> ED Second GCD --> DFA Third GCD --> Taunt. Now you are either left with sitting there spamming Rapid Shot, which deals very little damage and threat, or Missile Blast, which is a very high Heat ability for moderate damage. Now, instead, your Fourth GCD would instead be a Grapple, which will generate a much higher amount of threat before being placed in the waiting line for something good to come off CD or the range forced phase to end.
Threat is threat, no matter how you generate it, whether via taunt, damage generated, or a fixed amount from a ability. If you aren't using Grapple in your opener when available you truly are skimping your opening threat rotation.
Grapple generates about 2.5k threat on average. For comparisons sake a rapid shots is similar assuming the odd stray crit and an ion gas proc, and a flame burst is about the same. To compare to all your other options, grapple is just above rapid shots in the threat it generates. Its pretty much second to the worst option you have out of all other alternatives outside of 10m.
If you're delaying your opener for a grapple, you're wasting a rocket punch proc, and delaying using your highest threat moves coupled with explosive fuel. Burst threat is about generating as much threat as you can in the shortest time possible, what you suggest is delaying it for what is essentially a rapid shots.
The example you constructed is not reflective of any in game encounter that I am aware of. Now if you are stuck outside of that range for any longer then it takes jet charge to come off cooldown, then ok, using grapple would be novel in that case, assuming all other avenues have been exhausted.
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Couple things.
1) Yes, keep Heat Blast on cooldown, but don't use it initially until you've already built up some heat.
2) Why not use Grapple as a threat builder, on single-target boss fights? Honestly curious, I have a Vanguard tank.
Grapple doesn't generate enough threat to warrant using it for that purpose. Its not worth using it before your opener, because you should be closing to 4m and putting rocket punch on cooldown immediately ready for a proc, going straight into your highest threat attacks as soon as possible. Holding out for a grapple is like standing there for a rapid shots before using jet charge.
And If your stuck out of flame burst range; rail shot, death from above, and explosive dart are infinitely better options. Grapple threat is comparable to a rapid shots proccing ion gas cylinder (about 2.5k threat on average). Its a threat builder on the most basic level, it just generates threat as *if* it did (not much) damage to the target.
Use it for what it is, a pull.
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I would recommend doing a skim through the tanking role sub-forum to understand taunt mechanics, dps kill order and stat weights (BiS stats with stim look like: 17-19% defence, 58-60% shield chance, 58-60% shield absorb) . Most of the pt tank playstyle is self-evident as its very simple and passive in design, but here's a quick and dirty:
- Never start or pull with a taunt
- Always keep heat blast on cooldown
- Always keep rocket punch on cooldown, always hit it when it procs
- Always keep railshot on cooldown
- Always keep flamethrower / death from above on cooldown if heat allows
- Use flameburst to refresh debuff, and as a filler if all else is on cooldown.
- Keep heat below 40, use vent heat after you flood your heat meter, not before
- Don't forget to use explosive fuel, pair with flamethrower and death from above for best effect
- Only ever use thermal sensor override on flamethrower or death from above, nothing else
- Never use grappel as a threat builder
- Use oil slick on cooldown for applicable damage types
- Kolto overload is not an oh **** button
- Use kolto overload to fill in downtime between oil slicks, or save it for force / tech using enemies
- Don't use kolto overload at full health
- Energy shield is your only *real* defensive cooldown, use it wisely
- Don't use unload
- Don't use explosive dart in your melee tanking priority (some don't use it at all)
- Some weave in flamesweep in the opening volley, consuming flamesurge charges to keep heat down
When did you get here? Go back to zoning out during bomber phases, sir.
Advanced Class at character creation.
in Suggestion Box
Posted · Edited by Marb
It has been said, many many times. I'm saying it again.
The whole concept of advanced classes should just be thrown away, its incredibly confusing to new players coming from wow (a target audience of this game) as they immediately associate advanced class with specialisation.
During character creation, the player should choose a storyline (Bounty Hunter, Jedi Knight) and then be presented with the choice of class (which will be what used to be the two advanced classes for that archetype).
This would also provide an opportunity to review which classes get what abilities at certain levels, and remove abilities not relevant to the class (for example, powertechs getting unload makes no sense beyond a filler ability during the leveling process), while making sure each class has a full ability set for rotations by level 10-15. Consider getting rid of trainers as well. Considering there are a lot of tempting convenience money sinks in the legacy trees, I don't think not having training costs will damage the economy that much.