[GUIDE] Awesome pve/pvp dps spec guide for 1.2!

[dollarfiveo]

you only go oof if you use chain lightning, a marginal dps increase. doesn't really matter either way, pve is easy and all the specs are really close to each other

[Crazysithslayer]

haha I can't tell if you guys are trolling hard or not. OOF with 13/28? Are you guys high? I've not once run out of force doing dps in my life from leveling, to heroics, to HM's or world bosses, or in PvP. The only time you should remotely start to BE NEAR OOF is if you start to heal which this spec is not built for. Edited February 2, 2012 by Crazysithslayer

[dollarfiveo]

*or if you use chain lightning on cooldown.

 

great post though. keep up the great work.

[Yrneh]

I don't know if this has been asked but does the 20/21 build or the 13/28 build have classes that just roll-faces them 1v1?

[dollarfiveo]

marauders

[Yrneh]

What about juggernauts and stealth classes?

[Raideen]

What about juggernauts and stealth classes?

 

anything melee will face roll a sorc.

[Turanko]

Excellent build and guide. I tested it out and noticed some damge improval but more than that I enjoyed playing this build more than other hybrid's or 31pt pure madness/lightning.

[Talon_Starfire]

Do I spec Madness or Lightning first if I use the hybrid Madness / Lightning build?

Thanks

[tsouth]

Don't you run out of force very quickly without Reserves? Even with it I find myself out of force in no time on a boss fight

[krameriffic]

Do I spec Madness or Lightning first if I use the hybrid Madness / Lightning build?

Thanks

 

Madness. Death field is much better than chain lightning early on and when you get the talent madness and wrath the class is pretty much fully fleshed out (which only takes until level 25).

[Garricus]

Do I spec Madness or Lightning first if I use the hybrid Madness / Lightning build?

Thanks

 

Go madness first then lightning.

[dollarfiveo]

this spec is far from an ideal spec for pvp though

[Ughil]

this spec is far from an ideal spec for pvp though

 

Why?

I am level 45 and this is actually very good spec, especially when you can use instant chain lightning + deathfield gives additional dmg from DoTs, you just run around and target dies by itself.

 

Noted to be sticky. Let all do it.

[Andyonme]

edit: Sorry I looked back at my comment and it seemed derogatory.

 

You should really try a 25/16 build for pve raiding, you will see an increase in damage and almost unlimited force. The main issues with 13/28 is the force management against higher health bosses. (HM OPs can have bosses with up to 2mil HP)

 

If you do a constant madness rotation maximizing DPS you will quickly go OOF. With lightning skills you will see an increase in overall consistent damage while never falling under 80% force. This allows you to bubble healers, help offheal in critical moments, able to blow cooldowns without worrying about going OOF if a boss needs to be burned during a certain stage, ect. ect.

 

Agree. I don't understand people who say you will not run out of force with this build. Just doing the standard rotation with no healing, you will run out of force. Added to the fact that occasionally you might want to put a heal on someone, your out of force even quicker!

[Quotheraving]

I have force issues using this spec, if I blast chain lightning with Wrath procs (when darkness and field are down) I start to go low on force 2-3 mins into the fight, I stopped using it and I stay hovering around 70-100..im thinking maybe I could sacrifice something to get the 100 extra force for the regen off Force Lightning (1 extra force per tick)

 

What do you think?

 

You could try the lightning effusion build instead. 0 / 16or17 / 25 or 24

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#201ZfcMMd0zZcrcRsMkr.1

 

This sacrifices creeping death for lightning effusion, you can even drop one point from lingering nightmares or force horrors too to get the full effect from effusion.

 

The two (Lingering nightmares and Force horrors) weigh up against one another as follows:

Lingering nightmares (CD) does more damage vs a single opponent

Force Horrors (Aff) does more damage when you spread it over multiple opponents

 

On paper at least even this single point in effusion allows a higher damage rotation to be maintained for longer and the damage gained from the extra CL casts (replacing the Force lightnings you'd need to be casting to recoup force) comfortably outweighs what you would gain from having all 3 points of creeping death.

However this all hinges on being in a long fight in which you wear down your force quickly by using CL on wrath whenever Crushing darkness is on cooldown, which is why this build is primarily set up for PVE.

 

The second point in effusion however is of debateable value since the greater crit chance also brings with it a greater possibility of getting multiple (wasted) procs within a single channel of force lightning.

My rough estimate puts the gain in overall dps to be just over the loss of a single point in either LN or FH, though you would need to be ninja sharp and not miss any chain lightning opportunities on wrath.

Personally I favor only the one point in effusion, and even that procs frequently enough.

 

Effusion procs can also be used effectively for any high Force cost ability such as Dark heal, Dark infusion and static barrier (hence the 2 points in lightning barrier) offering this build a pretty good hybrid 'off-heal' ability.

 

 

EDIT -

I'm currently experimenting with 2/2 lightning effusion and trying to get round the issue of wasted procs by immediately interrupting force lightning with chain lightning whenever I get a proc. Theoretically this should serve to up the DPS of this build marginally, but watching all those buffs is hellish on the current UI.

 

It makes for a frantic and reactive playstyle with very little additional Force drain. if only there were test dummies in game

 

EDIT 2 -

I'm really starting to wonder if 2/2 effusion is necessary since I have to work like crazy to get my Force to drop even slightly and interrupting force lightning with shock seems like a dps reduction overall.

Edited February 4, 2012 by Quotheraving

[Talon_Starfire]

as an up and coming sorc (tried assassin first but made a new toon and like sorc better), I appreciate the clear and consice writing here. You post your choices, why you made them, and how you use them.

Why do you like Sorcerer because I'm trying to decide between Tanksin and Sorcerer?

Thanks

[Gonewild]

Thank You! I am currently 25 climbing up the madness tree.

[Wayapman]

I have a question about the rotation.

 

From what I understand it goes like this:

 

FL until wrath>DF>CD (using wrath proc)>Afflic>FL until wrath>CL...rinse repeat

 

I guess my 2 questions would be:

 

1) For PvE do you still open with FL? Seems like CD or Lightning Strike (so you dont waste your cooldwon on CD) would be a better opener

 

2) Why is Afflic so late in the rotation, isnt its benefit derived from always having it ticking? Is it not better in PVE to go with LS>Afflic>FL until proc>etc...

 

I am by no means a hardcore gamer so I would appreciate the thought of some of the more experienced guys who have run experiments

[onstorm]

Recklessness is used when I have all my damage cooldown and an instant chain lightning, so I can get a 5k hit medal.

.

 

I have a question regarding this that I am hoping someone can answer for me. While not this exact build I am using one similar, BUT I cannot get the 2.5k single hit medal let alone the 5k. Not sure what I am doing wrong. I usually have the most damage dealt in a WZ but never get the high single hit medals. I use chain lightening with wrath, recklessness and even trying using stims and the most damage I've ever seen is right around (just above) 2,000 (on a single target not totall for all enemies hit).

 

What am I missing that is keeping me from getting the higher single damage hits?

[SirFuji]

0/13/28 Rocks for leveling.

 

Just switched over at 40 after going with an all light. build. What a difference, easier rotation faster leveling and more fun. Not to sure what the DPS is like as I'm just leveling and getting to 50.

 

Also switched from Khem to Talos, and I actually feel like I'm in control and not always healing a tank. This build is amazing.

[Jurence]

I have a question regarding this that I am hoping someone can answer for me. While not this exact build I am using one similar, BUT I cannot get the 2.5k single hit medal let alone the 5k. Not sure what I am doing wrong. I usually have the most damage dealt in a WZ but never get the high single hit medals. I use chain lightening with wrath, recklessness and even trying using stims and the most damage I've ever seen is right around (just above) 2,000 (on a single target not totall for all enemies hit).

 

What am I missing that is keeping me from getting the higher single damage hits?

 

You need more surge w/ a power trinket, recklessness, and stim with more expertise

[Stu-Dawg]

Thanks for pointing out that Madness is viable tree to level with and also participate in PvP while levelling...

 

Im Level 30 and have put 21 points in the Madness tree to get Deathmark and im going to continue to put 13 points in the lightning tree to get Chain Lightning, and I will finish off up the Madness tree...

 

I must say the damage benefits at level 30 are far superior compared with my previous build using the pure lightning...

Edited February 5, 2012 by Stu-Dawg

[Okovango]

Hey just wondering to me it seems like electric bindings would be REALLY helpful, so would it be that bad to put one of the points on haunted dreams into electric bindings? would this effect you hugley?

[Okovango]

Sorry only just realized after my last post that you need the point to go up to the next row. Would there be any other way to get one into electric bindings or is it jsut not worth it?