This is the build I will most definitely give a few test-runs, once lvl 50: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301ZrsrMobckzZfhrbzh.1 Reasons for why I like this build are described here: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=137971 I think I'll really enjoy this build for it's utility, dps, versatility, etc. etc. Anyway, that's just the build I'm going to test for a while once I reach lvl 50. (Ps: Keep in mind that this build focuses primarily on Warzones, well I'm gnna use it primarily for Warzones anyway... ^^)

I appreciate your input and opinion, but tbh the Deep Pyro & Adv Prototype "defensive" skills are nowhere near important enough imo to change this build. Besides, I'm not speccing for survival, I'm speccing for DPS/Utility, so while I do agree that those are certainly flaws in my spec, I don't find them critical enough to change the current build. The heat management I think will be fine once I got all the appropriate skills and I do *think* (Not being certain, I'm just under the impression that...) this build could potentially provide more dps than a deep Pyro spec. And I'm also under the impression that this build has more utility in several aspects: More DoTs Better gap closers than Deep Pyro Spec CDR on our useful but limited CC skills (I love grappling someone into the acid tub of Hutball. Not that that's the only fun thing to do with Grapple, IF it works. ^^) And with the skills in Adv Proto & Pyro, I really think this build has alot of potential for seriously high damage. But then again, I'm a newb so I'm not going to pretend I'm right about this without even being lvl 50 to test this theory. So please, more input/advice, will be greatly appreciated...And rewarded with *space* brownies! ( See what I did thar? ... Star Wars ... Space ... No ? ... Ok then just have some damn regular brownies! ) xD

Hello everyone, I just wanted to run this Warzone-PvP lvl 50 Build through you guys in order to get feedback from other points of view aswell as more skilled players than me, considering I'm definitely not one of the more skilled ones out there nor high lvl. Anyway, here's the build: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301ZrsrMobckzZfhrbzh.1 My reasons for this build are: Overall => * Fun build with DPS and other useful abilities in different ranges ( 30-10-4m ) * A build that didn't rely on getting focused on/targeted and soaking up dmg by both being a target and shielding a carrier/healer/dps. So imo, a more fun build considering you are (Sort of!) a one-trick pony with a PvP build that focuses mainly on Ion Cilinder & Guarding/Tanking. * In PuGs there aren't usually any dedicated healers nor alot of teamwork. (Usually) ( Note: These are just my opinions and experiences from lvl 25-27 Warzone'ing ) Individual Skill-Choice Reasons => PYRO TREE: ( Pretty basic spec for a DPS PT that doesn't go high into Pyro ) Bursting Flame = Permanent DoT on target because of CGC ((Combustible Gas Cilinder) Does a fair bit of dmg but the DoT is the main reason since that gives us a near constant ability to fire off our Rail Shots!) Iron Fist = More dmg on Rocket Punch ( Preferred over 3% endurance anytime ) Superheated Gas = More dmg on your nearly permanent CGC (CGC should be on your target nearly permanently, so why not increase its dmg by a sizeable amount?) Sweltering Heat = 100% chance to slow target for 2 sec when applying CGC (Makes for easier kiting and stalling) Gyroscopic Alignement Jets[ = 100% chance to vent 8 heat whenever incapacitated/stunned/knocked-down/etc. ( You might break out fast out of stuns and such in PvP, but before you do so, the venting has taken place so it's IMO preferred over the Energy Shield Movement Impair Removing-Skill ... Mainly because you can't use that skill when knocked down or stunned, only when slowed. So I prefer the quite often used 100% chance to vent 8 heat considering I sorta have trouble controlling my heat all the time in the Warzones. ) Superheated Rail = One of the core skills in the Pyro Tree ( 30% armor reduction when using Rail Shot + 100% chance to vent 8 heat when striking a burning target + Resetting the duration of CGC! = Self-explanatory why this skill is very good. ) Incendiary Missile = Spammable (Although ill-advised) 30m attack with small impact-dmg but a long burning dot, good for Warzones in order to not let opposition take turrets/plant bombs/defuse + it's a good opener for Rail Shot considering the previous skill: Superheated Rail) Prototype Particle Accelerator = 30% on Flame Bust + 45% on Rocket Punch to reset Rail Shot - Cooldown & make it free of heatcost ( Self-explanatory really, but Flame Burst is in theory spammable and Rocket Punch is nearly always used when on CD so = Lots of free Rail Shots = Good! ) Core Abilities of the Pyro Tree: Superheated Rail + Incendiary Missile + Prototype Particle Accelerator Adv Prototype Tree: ( I'll explain later why I choose to hybrid-DPS over going high into Pyro ) Prototype Burn Enhancers =Added 6% Crit Chance on all fire effects ( Which I assume is CGC / Flame Burst / Incen Missile = Good! ) Prototype Electro Suge = 10 CDR on Electro Dart ( Not spectacular but it adds more/faster utility from one of our few non-dps skills that are good for WZ. + In order to get so high into Adv Pro I didn't have much choice what to put my skills in since I'm only going to use CGC and not High Speed Cilinder. So this one seemed like a good filler-skill. ) Puncture = 60% Armor Reduction on Rail Shot ( Very good skill for us since we use Rail Shot often + it already has a 30% Armor Reduction from the Pyro Skill = 90% Armor Reduction! = Good! ) Prototype Cilinders = 3% Tech Crit Chance when using CGC ( For 1 point = Good! ) Hot Iron = 6% dmg increase on 2 skills of our rotation, Flame Burst & Retr Blade ( = Good! ) Power Armor = 2% Dmg Reduction ( Filler-skill, but 2% permanent dmg reduction is never "that" bad.) Advanced Tools = CDR on Flame Thrower by 3 sec. & Grapple by 10 sec. ( The Flame Thrower CDR is near-useless considering the skill is pretty damn useless in PvP (Stationary Channel + relatively low dmg + often too much lag to pull it off without a perfect setting like a nearby Electro Dart'd target, but more often than not there are better skills to use than Flame Thrower, which imo should nearly only be used when defending turrets/gates from multiple targets who are occupied with taking over the turret/planting;defusing the bomb. And even then Death From Above is often preferred...But anyway, this is a filler-skill but the 10 sec CDR on Grapple/Crapple (Buggy) isn't halfbad, just like the filler-skill for Electro Dart, it's not COMPLETELY useless you know? ^^) Retractable Blade = A 4m-range hit that does mediocre impact-dmg and mediocre bleed-dmg but combined and specced in, it's definitely a hurtful skill in our rotation. (Does decent dmg on impact and decent dmg over-time with its bleed-DoT. Which is good for several reasons: Bleed dmg isn't bypasses armor, annoys targets by not letting them take over turrets/plant;defuse bombs and is yet another way of setting up Rail Shot, this is all in addition to it's nice dmg = Good!) Flame Barrage = Flame Burst has a 30% chance to make your Rocket Punch Free (If you haven't noticed by now, we got alot of Heat-management skills at this moment; Such as: Superheated Rail / Flame Barrage / Gyroscopic Alignement Jets & ofc Vent Heat = Good! Not to mention Flame Burst is often used so the chance to proc isn't too shabby. )Serrated Blades = 15% dmg increase in Retr Blade's bleed effect. (Not too bad since the dmg bypasses armor and 15% isn't a particularly low percentage.) Hydraulic Overrides = 8 sec of all movement impairement-immunity + 30% movement increase ( Very good for alot of situations but mainly when carrying hutball near endzone and you notice 3-4 opponents eagerly awaiting your arrival from the spawn-deck, locked and loaded to kill you and stop you every way possible => Pop this baby and unless you got low hp, you'll score a point for the team! ) Charged Gauntlets = Rocket Punch & Retr Blade both have a 25% chance to make your Rail Shot crit hit!.( I can see the potential in this once clearly considering we use both these skills in our rotation and it automaticly makes our highest damaging ability that ignores 90% armor and has alot of other benefits, Rail Shot, critically hit! Considering there are many ways we could take advantage of this skill, I think I'm going to love having this skill.- Lucky/Most beneficial situation: - Incen Missile ( fire DoT ) - Flame burst ( CGC apply + Makes Rail Shot free and off CD) - Retr blade (proc) - Rail Shot ( vents 8 heat, refreshes CGC & ignores 90% armor & CRITS! ) But we're not done just yet! - Rocket Punch ( double proc = Refreshes Rail Shot's CD & makes it free + procs to make Rail Shot crit automaticly! ) - Flame Burst to reapply CGC & apply the burning effect - Rail shot ( vents another 8 heat, refreshes CGC yet again & ignores 90 armor + CRITS! ) Now the added bonus to this, besides the obvious HUGE bursts of dmg is that, but I don't know this for sure, that when resetting the CD of CGC the 50% movement speed might be re-applied aswell, not sure though. But if it does this, then this situation allows for a rather long snare, 4 sec is usually enough for the carrier to die if focused and when slowed = easier to do so. But ofc, this can also be accomplished by using Flame Burst often, but this rotation/situation is ofc much more beneficial in burst damage. I realize this is a seldomly occuring situation/rotation but when it happens, you'll smile and you know it! ^^ Ok, moving on to the last chosen skill in Adv Pro tree: Kolto Vents = 7% health regen over 10 sec when using the skill Vent Heat. ( Filler skill but not too shabby to have when in a PuG and nowhere near a health boost - tome or when still in combat. ) Ok so that's it for the individual skill-choice reasons: I pretty much explained my opinion/reasons for choosing this build by explaining the individual skills, but I just want to add that I prefer this build MAINLY because I believe it has the potential to be on par DPS-wise with high-end Pyro specs, but ALSO because it adds certain utility to the team in Warzones: Hutball = Movement-impairing Immunity + Speed boost / Lower CD on grapple & Electro Dart Alderaan = DoTs from Incen Missile / CGC / Retr Blade to keep opponents from taking turrets until reinforcements arrive + Grapple & Electro Dart CDR to interrupt more often aswell. Voidstar = Same as Alderaan really but also Movement-impairing immunity + speed boost because often after blowing up or defending a gate, the 2 teams are intertwined in the corridors and the first to reach the other side to interrupt attackers or avoid defenders = good imo. And to add even more to why I like this build personally, atm, is the pretty great heat management skills we have with this build + ofc, the great burst damage with, in good situations, increases even more so! But enough yammering and rambling, please let me know some feedback and input from you guys. Everyone and anyone is encouraged to post here with their own builds, advice, constructive) criticism, etc. etc. Looking forward to reading your replies, cheers! PS: If this build sucks, has many flaws, PLEASE don't just type " you suck/it sucks/blablabla, type something that I can use to improve my build/gameplay with, thank you in advance!!!! ^^ Now, it's 7.44 AM ... Good time to sleep, sweet dreams all xD

Seems like you know what you're talking about, and you are definitely right about me basing all this off low-lvl tanking and theories, are there any lvl 50 PT Tanks here who wish to contribute to these points? I'd like to know for sure that he's right about what he's stating as to make sure I don't waste time testing a bad spec. ^^

By all means, elaborate why the 2nd ST/Adv build (Somewhere on page 1 or 2, I doubt you read more than the 1st post...) I provided is that bad. Is the loss of 10% CHANCE of reducing dmg so important to warrant losing aggro control amongst other things? As I see it that's the only downside to the v1.2 ST/Adv spec I'm going to test and I'll try out both the "Standard" spec and my spec to see which one runs better, once lvl 50 ofc. Let me know, cheers. ^^

One thing I want to add is that I personally don't see how the ST/Pyro spec can prove more viable than the ST/Adv seems. I come to this conclusion mainly on the fact that you have to spend so many points in seemingly useless skills to get to the point where speccing in the Pyro tree has benefits to a Tanking Spec. What I understand that the ST/Pyro spec is, is: The core skills in Pyro from the ST/Pyro spec are: * Superheated Rail Shot * Prototype Particle Accelerator * Incendiary Missile And to get to those skills you have to dump points in: - 3% Endurance ( 3 points ) - 8% increased dmg in Rocket Punch ( 2 points / Not such a bad investment though ) And then it gets even worse ... - 100% chance to vent 8 heat but only when stunned/incapacitated/knocked down ( 2 points ) - 3 points in any COMPLETELY useless skill considering they all involve Combustible Gas Cilinder, which I don't see any Tank ever using. . . . What I gather from this is that you have to spend 7 points in lackluster/subpar skills imo considering the build you're aiming for + 3 points in a completely useless skill. That are 10! points from your total of 40 points to get to those core skills of the Pyro-tree for a ST/Pyro Spec ... I can absolutely not imagine how a ST/Pyro spec could ever prove more viable over a ST/Adv spec considering those facts. Granted you get more heat control than the ST/Adv spec due to those core skills but maintaining heat shouldn't be much of a problem most of the time and ST/Adv Spec also has heat management skills so that doesn't suffice for me to choose a ST/Pyro spec. Also, (I think) Rail Shot can't be used on every cooldown even with that spec considering it's a reactionary, which also means you have to look out for when it's available and you already have tons of things to look out for as a tank. So I can live without relying on Rail Shot procs/reactionary tbh... Is my logic flawed or just ? Any more input ?

I'm sold on at the least testing Jet Charge, but it seems like a good choice to have as a PVE Tank and it'll probably turn out to be a good choice so I'll adapt my build to it, also might make a few other alterations, gimme a min and I'll post the build. * Minute starts * . . . . . . * Minute ends * Build v1.2 PvE Tank: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301G0Grd0roMZMsrrob.1 The main changes to this build are: * Jet Charge * Swapping CDR for Electro Dart / Improved Ion Gas Cilinder Proc for a 60% Armor Reduction Rail Shot Tbh, I'm already sold on selling out on the (apparently useless) 2 skills I had chosen instead of the 60% Armor Reduction Rail Shot. AND with this build I don't have to "dump/waste" ANY points! I think I'm definitely going to try out this build and if it turns out to be as viable as the "standard" PvE Tank-spec, I'm sticking with it! Thank you everyone for your participation in improving the build and if feel free to give me more input on this v1.2 Build I'm aiming for. And this is my opinion on Quell: It already had a very low CD for an interrupt, and with the points invested in it I should be able to interrupt a hell of alot even if it's only 1 spell/interrupt, so I'm going to like it most likely and my team should too (hopefully). Can't wait to try this build out in its full potential (= Lvl 50). Thank you all again, especially ChainsawSamurai for his elaborate posts and help in improving the build. Kudos to you my good man. Cheers all. ^^

Thank you for your (weirdly constructed) input, again. But for me Jet Charge is just aesthetics and I don't think it's really all that useful in PvE Tanking, a 1-target leap instead of using grapple or death from above to start with? I don't see why I should prefer Jet Charge over using those 2 in their respective best used situations. Now onto Rail Shot, I think a reactive shot that does slightly more damage than rocket punch (without talents put into it) isn't all that great. Not to mention with the talents into Rocket Punch, you do alot more damage with it than normal. + With the talents in Shield Tree (Shielding an attack has 50% chance to finish the CD on Rocket Punch) aswell as having Flame Burst have a 30% chance to proc a free Rocket Punch => I don't see why I would use Rail Shot over Rocket Punch with points invested in it. Now onto Electro Dart, less CD on Electro Dart = More Interrupts, I personally prefer that over the situational Rail Shot. I feel that with the build I presented I should be able to be a bigger asset to the team rather than just being a punchingbag. That's just my opinion ofc and I'm too low lvl to be certain that my build is good, but until now I have yet to be convinced beyond doubt that this build isn't a viable option to build my PT Tank as. MORE INPUT PLEASE!

Thank you kindly for all the input so far, I'd love to see the build that is better for tanking without using the 10% shield chance increase, than this one I came up with I mean. As said, I'm nowhere near an expert and so far the information provided has been really useful to improve my build and gameplay. Although I sorta disagree on not improving my Quell CD, I find I should be the one providing most interrupts since I'm the one tanking and it's part of being a tank (imo). Why let a healer cc, losing time and energy that could be better used keeping the team up and runnin? Just my opinion on the matter, I don't see how those 2 points in Quell CDR could be considered bad tbh. ^^ Eagerly awaiting more great input and builds, thanks in advane to everyone participating in this thread. ^^

I see your points, but imo we already have tons of survivability and with the Venting through Shielding-skill ( which can only occur every few seconds ), we already have ways of further improving our heat-management and with proper heat management we can keep managing aggro. Besides, the top tier skill in the Shield Tech-tree is (imo) not that good, it does less dmg than Retr Blade and has a low heat-reduction bonus. Which isn't really needed with the Shield Vents-skill and proper heat management. + I also have heat management through the (occasional) free Rocket Punch which can be spammed rather often due to the No-CD for Rocket Punch in the Shield Tech-tree. So I have better relatively the same/better heat management than the standard Tank spec, better single target Aggro, more interrupts, more pulls, more/better aoe aggro control through lower CD of Flame Thrower. I still find that the only flaw in this spec is the lower Shield Chance, which can already be improved through relics and our survivability is already high enough to not warrant spending 6 points to get that 10% more shield chance. But I'm open for more input/advice ofc, I could very easily be wrong about all this ofc. (I'm a newb afterall ^^ ) So please, keep posting input guys.

Hey, I'm toying around with the tank specs and I sorta like/see the potential in this one: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301G0Grdor0MZrkrrob.1 Keep in mind that this spec is purely for PvE Tanking. The reasons why I like this spec: - You only "waste" 1 Skill Point ( AP Tree => Puncture ) - You get more aggro, interrupt, CC, pulls due to the lower CD (& skills): * Aggro: Lower CD on Flamethrower / Grapple and added dmg from Retr Blade * Interrupts: Lower CD on Quell & Electro Dart * Pulls: Lower CD on Grapple The only downside I see in this build is the loss of 10% Shield chance, but those 5! points you need and a wasted point to get to that tier, made me look for other specs that could also prove viable. So the only downside I see in this build compared to the "standard" Tank spec is the loss of 10% shield chance. But tbh, what I have noticed so far from low lvl Tanking and comparing PT to other Tanks is that I could use the increased Aggro Control/Interrupts (and Pulls) rather than more dmg reduction. We have tons of armor, absorption and shield chance and a self-shield + an absorption shield if we have a sorc in our team + defensive relics at late-game = Seems like enough survivability to me. But ok, I'm not here to sell this build to you guys, I'm here to ask for opinions/input/constructive criticism. What do you think about this build, are there many flaws, is the 10% shield chance increase for 6 skill points worth it over this build? Etc. etc. Fire away, I'm all ears/eyes. ^^

Thank you kindly for the input and advice, I also think that those 2 points in Endurance would be better used elsewhere, and faster venting = more abilities = more dps, so it sounds like a better place to put those points. I'll definitely test out lots of build once the DPS meters are out, but until then I'll edit my build into what you suggested since it seems like a better build for pure DPS'ing ^^ Thanks again. EDIT: I really prefer my 2nd build over my 1st one, especially with the Rapid Venting implemented, it's for future use ofc since I'm not high enough lvl yet but it seems like it'll be a great build to use for DPS ^^

Just wanted to give a 2nd spec I'm thinking about, one who doesn't "waste" as many points as in my previous build, in my opinion anyway. This is the build I'm currently contemplating: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301hMhMZMsr0oZfGMrzh.1 With this build I only "waste" 2 points in the Pyrotech Endurance Skill since I couldn't find anywhere else to put those 2 points to better use. In addition, with this build I have proper dmg output from Rail Shot / Rocket Punch / Flame Burst / Retr Blade / Incendiary Missile Which should be enough to have a good DPS rotation going imo. Not to mention the other nifty traits you get from this build like increased AIM/Armor and Cooldown Reductions and such. What do you guys think about this build, I'm very interested to hear constructive criticism about either of those builds I mentioned so far. ^^ Thanks in advance, cheers.

Hey, I'd love some constructive criticism on this build I made that mainly focuses on PvE DPS'ing. Here's the link: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301ZMsrrobfoZfG0rzh.1 Any advice/input is greatly appreciated, thank you in advance, cheers. ^^