Critiques/Pointers?

[SarimRune]

I'm a lvl 28 JK Sent - Watchman. I play PvE.

 

Currently I've got 430 Str, 374 End.

 

I do 169-206 with my primary and 20-30 with my secondary

Kira does 193-236 (which I find odd that she technically outdmgs me)

 

I switched to Wathman recently being dissatisfied that I was losing to 2 Strong opponents who were 5 levels under me.

 

I have since accessed this statement to: I die whenever I don't control the situation. I.e. I get a wandering Strong+ who shows up, I might as well auto kill my char.

 

My rotation (roughly) is:

Force Leap - Overcharge Saber - 6 Focus Strike (can't remember name) - Caterize ...

 

After that it gets hazy. I stay in Shi form amd pop Zen evertime I can. I use Blade Storm and Crippling Throw. I use Rebuke and Saber Ward as much as possible.

 

I don't use Riposte (too much focus) or Master Strike (too long and it really doesn't seem that the damage is enough for the duration).

 

Force Kick and Statis I try to save for Interupts. Pacify I throw on all the timebut I swear that power barely works.

 

Is there anything else I can do here to improve my DPS? I'm fighting 2 levels under me and it just doesn't feel like I'm crushing.

[Fascion]

Sounds like a gearing issue to me. You're level 28? What level are your hilts? If they aren't at least RL26 blues, you should probably address that. Blue hilts can generally be attained every 3 levels for 7 commendations from any given planet.

 

If all else fails, consider T7 instead of Kira. He will better allow you to split up incoming damage between the two of you, keeping both of you alive.

 

Master Strike is definitely worth using. It should be good for slighty better DPS than having used Slash twice, but costs no Focus. It's rather vital in keeping your rotation on higher damage skills, rather than building focus with Strike.

 

Reposite, for the same reason you describe, is one I only use when DPS is of absolute vital importance.

Edited January 6, 2012 by Fascion

[Yukiri]

Based solely on what you posted:

 

Firstly you want Juyo form, not Shii-Cho, and you wont "crush" much of anything as a watchman spec at level 28.

 

Kira is a good companion for a while, but you will reach a point in which you will benefit more from a tank (T7) than just pure dps. Sounds like you're almost there. It isn't unheard of to have to sit and rest after most pulls, Watchman's strength isnt in it's ability to kill groups of mobs.

 

Your rotation looks solid early on (Leap, Overcharge, Zealous Strike, Cauterize, Slash, rinse/repeat). I didnt and still dont use Blade Storm regularly unless Im swimming in Focus and everything is on cooldown, and Crippling Throw shouldnt be part of your regular damage rotation.

 

I canned Riposte long ago, so good call there, Master Strike I will use on normal mobs or if everything is on cooldown, so dont completely discount it. Dont be afraid to use Force Stasis during a pull regularly though, it's good for getting a small breather and putting a strong or elite on ice, even for a few seconds and let those dots tick.

 

What the above poster said is good advice as well, check your sabers and make sure you're staying on top of hilt upgrades. Make sure you get a new hilt (preferably atleast blue in quality) every time there's one available.

[SarimRune]

Juyo form gives the healing effect from Zen?

 

If so, then that is the stance I'm in. Sorry. My mistake.

 

I don't remember what hilt I've got (you mean the Hilt itself, not the Hilt upgrade). I forgot to write that down (and I'm at work). But the advice is sound so I will check later.

[ChimDeathmonkey]

Juyo form gives the healing effect from Zen?

 

If so, then that is the stance I'm in. Sorry. My mistake.

 

I don't remember what hilt I've got (you mean the Hilt itself, not the Hilt upgrade). I forgot to write that down (and I'm at work). But the advice is sound so I will check later.

 

No, he means the Hilt upgrade. For Sentinel's I believe it is Might. And he was right talking about using the blues that you get from commendations. Easiest way to keep upping your modded gear.

 

Wait, are you using a orange saber that can be upgraded?

[Lancerx]

I'm a lvl 28 JK Sent - Watchman. I play PvE.

 

Currently I've got 430 Str, 374 End.

 

I do 169-206 with my primary and 20-30 with my secondary

Kira does 193-236 (which I find odd that she technically outdmgs me)

 

I switched to Wathman recently being dissatisfied that I was losing to 2 Strong opponents who were 5 levels under me.

 

I have since accessed this statement to: I die whenever I don't control the situation. I.e. I get a wandering Strong+ who shows up, I might as well auto kill my char.

 

My rotation (roughly) is:

Force Leap - Overcharge Saber - 6 Focus Strike (can't remember name) - Caterize ...

 

After that it gets hazy. I stay in Shi form amd pop Zen evertime I can. I use Blade Storm and Crippling Throw. I use Rebuke and Saber Ward as much as possible.

 

I don't use Riposte (too much focus) or Master Strike (too long and it really doesn't seem that the damage is enough for the duration).

 

Force Kick and Statis I try to save for Interupts. Pacify I throw on all the timebut I swear that power barely works.

 

Is there anything else I can do here to improve my DPS? I'm fighting 2 levels under me and it just doesn't feel like I'm crushing.

I think some of your problem may be gear and some may be some issues that you can improve on. I can say for certain that I leveled all way to 35 with Kira and never had issues taking out large groups of mobs or elites. Obviously I would die if I did something stupid like pull two groups, but in general I killed stuff so fast it wasn't and issue. You should be killing stuff so fast as a Sentinel that you should actually "feel" powerful. It not then something is wrong, either gear proper ability management.

 

I have addressed allot of what your asking in another post which you can read here if you are interested in actually playing much better.

 

You should always, without fail be in Juyo form. The 10% damage increase and 100% criticals on your burn effects will make all the difference in how fast you deal with mobs. Remember killing stuff faster is also a great way to mitigate damage. Letting Kira perhaps take out a strong while you run around two shotting the regular mobs might be a good strategy also.

 

Im not sure why you are using crippling throw? Maybe to allow the use or opportune strike? I never use crippling throw unless the situation requires, which is never really. You should be using opportune strike on every cool-down its up, it will for the most part one shot regular mobs. You can use it right after a force leap and then you can use pommel strike after a force sweep or a blade storm.

 

As far as rebuke and Blade ward, make sure you are not using these at the same time. I find that either one is plenty enough to mitigate damage and if you use one after the other you can go much longer then if you used both at once. I also don't recommend using pacify or any other defensive cool-down at same time. Stagger them so you can have as much time in a row with some sort of defensive cool-down available. This will mean you can take out multiple elites the same level without dieing if done correctly.

 

Riposte and masterstrike are two of your best abilities, bar none. Riposte is a free attack and it ignores global cooldown and so can be used at the same time as another ability. You say you do not have focus for it? Well how about using it at the exact same time as Slash? Then you will get the damage from slash and 2 focus and the damage from Riposte, netting you a small 1 focus cost and you will be getting damage from 2 abilities, all for 1 focus cost. Always, always use Riposte. Be careful when you use it though because it can mess your dot rotation up on elites and can cause your dot rolling to be muffed and make your dots fall off too early.(more on this in my other post)

 

And Lastly Master-strike. Master strike is a really great ability that does serious damage and has its place in your rotation. It allows you to fill multiple global cool-downs with damage abilities all for free. That's right, its a free ability, cost zero focus and does damage that is pretty high, and wait it takes up multiple globals so you can easily roll your dots on the target for multiple Overload saber durations? You should always be using this almost every time its up, master strike should be able to almost one shot regular mobs also, and against elites it will really help you keep your Overload Saber stacks to 3 while you refresh your Overload Saber buff.

 

In ending I will say that if you are serious about getting better then hopefully you read this and if you want to learn a bit more then read my other post here. I hope that you will find it useful. Have hope, you will do better with some practice, if not some better gear. I was able to steam roll through mobs as I leveled, even soling some 2+heroics during the 20's and once I hit the mid 30's I solo'd some heroic 4+, albeit I died a few times lol, I still was able to do some crazy stuff. I have solo'd plenty of champions, even in the late 20's, and never felt wimpy or underpowered. This is a feeling that I hope you come to know soon. Good luck and keep practicing.

 

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=137252

Edited January 6, 2012 by Lancerx

[ChimDeathmonkey]

[quote=Lancerx;1264899

 

You should always, without fail be in Artaru form. The 10% damage increase and 100% criticals on your burn effects will make all the difference in how fast you deal with mobs. Remember killing stuff faster is also a great way to mitigate damage. Letting Kira perhaps take out a strong while you run around two shotting the regular mobs might be a good strategy also.

 

 

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=137252

 

He is Watchmen specced, so no Ataru form

[Lancerx]

He is Watchmen specced, so no Ataru form

 

Good catch lol, Sorry im half brain dead today. I fixed it, I meant to say Juyo form. 10% damage increase.

[SarimRune]

No, he means the Hilt upgrade. For Sentinel's I believe it is Might. And he was right talking about using the blues that you get from commendations. Easiest way to keep upping your modded gear.

 

Wait, are you using a orange saber that can be upgraded?

 

I have an orange saber (and headgear, vest and leggings).

 

Hilt: +10 str/+7 End

Mod: +17 Str/+6 End

Enh: +14 End/ +4 Crit

Colour: +6 Crit

 

I dunno how good having the extra Critical rating in there is.

[SarimRune]

I have Pommel Strike but I can barely seem to use it.

 

After Force Leap, you say? I never thought of that for some reason.

 

I do not have Opportune Strike.

 

 

Riposte - I dunno. It does screw up my rotations something fierce. But it was worse when I was Combat (over Watchman). Now that I have 0 range Force Leap, I can definitely generate more Focus.

 

Master Strike - I still think there is some debate about this. It's on a 4 second timer (i believe). That's a long time. I throw it on on Elites but if I'm swarmed, I would rather get more of a rotation out. I think in the Combat or Focus spec there are some things to increase Master Strike. I dunno tho. I throw it in from time to time but haven't relied on it for a while. <.<

 

And I corrected myself. I'm in Juyo stance. Not Shi.

[PinnyFox]

I have an orange saber (and headgear, vest and leggings).

 

Hilt: +10 str/+7 End

Mod: +17 Str/+6 End

Enh: +14 End/ +4 Crit

Colour: +6 Crit

 

I dunno how good having the extra Critical rating in there is.

 

Level 28? You're probably on tatooine or possibly alderaan.

 

Now, I'm no expert on mods, but that hilt seems pretty low level. Should use your commendations if you have any left to see if there's an upgrade. I've actually found myself using Guardian hilts and mods and stuff, just because it gives higher stats and weapon damage/armor than might stuff, since might stuff is typically 1 level lower. Plus, I'd only gain +1 or +2 strength from using might mods, whereas with guardian stuff I gain like +6 or more endurance.

[PantsOn]

Yeah man, Sentinels are INCREDIBLY dependent on gear. You need to learn Artifice and be ahead of the curve on it. At level 28, you're looking at Might Hilt 11 (at 29 you're looking at Might Hilt 12). I would suggest you start making them to the point where Might Hilt 12 becomes green or gray for you (the point where it stops leveling your Artifice up). Save them up and start reverse engineering once the option to make them does turn green/grey until you get the Blue Might Hilt 12 schematic. Make two of them once you hit 29 and your Lightsabers are instantly updated (as far as damage goes).

 

Light saber damage is super important (as it exponentially increases your damage output) and you NEED to be updated on the hilt at all times (it'll have a power rating). Look at the DPS listed on the item before and after you update the hilt and you will see what I mean.

[SarimRune]

Tantooine is where I'm at. Half way in the middle of Class Mission.

 

I have very few Tantooine comendations and tons of the previous planets. I did just check but maybe I will examine Hilts again. It does seem kinda low.

 

Thx

[ChimDeathmonkey]

I have an orange saber (and headgear, vest and leggings).

 

Hilt: +10 str/+7 End

Mod: +17 Str/+6 End

Enh: +14 End/ +4 Crit

Colour: +6 Crit

 

I dunno how good having the extra Critical rating in there is.

 

Your hilt is low. Plus, hilts also list your damage rating.

 

Might Hilt 11 (Blue) is level 27

Weapon Damage/Power Rating 70

+17 Strength

+11 Endurance

 

Might Hilt 12 (Blue) is level 29

Weapon Damage/Power Rating 76

+18 Strength

+12 Endurance

[SarimRune]

I do have Artifice but I suck at it. And by suck I mean: My luck is terribad. I never get the drops I want. I build tons but I seem to be stuck and never learning new things (through Reverse Engineering). I send T7 and the ship robot all the time.

 

I know...I know. I should take T7 and send Kira out to Treasure Hunt. But I <3 Kira.

 

So i should probably break down and buy some schematics. Because the crap I can make right now is just garbage. The best I've made is the +6 Critical Color Crystal.

[Fascion]

Yea, hilts are everything. Above all else, you want to keep that as high in level as possible. That is what determines the base damage range of your lightsaber. Similarly, armoring mods are what determine the amount of armor on any given piece.

 

You can look at the rating number (displayed as 'Rating #', near the required level) to find out just how much better (or worse) other hilts you find are. For example, if you find a green hilt with rating 86, but are using a blue with rating 76... even if the blue has better stats, you'll want to use the green, as it will undoubtedly allow you to hit harder.

 

As an artifice, this should almost never be a concern for you. Keep up with your crafting and you'll have the best DPS possible all the way to 50, with some luck in the Reverse Engineering department.

Edited January 6, 2012 by Fascion

[Lancerx]

I have Pommel Strike but I can barely seem to use it.

 

After Force Leap, you say? I never thought of that for some reason.

 

I do not have Opportune Strike.

 

 

Riposte - I dunno. It does screw up my rotations something fierce. But it was worse when I was Combat (over Watchman). Now that I have 0 range Force Leap, I can definitely generate more Focus.

 

Master Strike - I still think there is some debate about this. It's on a 4 second timer (i believe). That's a long time. I throw it on on Elites but if I'm swarmed, I would rather get more of a rotation out. I think in the Combat or Focus spec there are some things to increase Master Strike. I dunno tho. I throw it in from time to time but haven't relied on it for a while. <.<

 

And I corrected myself. I'm in Juyo stance. Not Shi.

 

You really should read up on your abilities. I can see why you are struggling a bit. Like I said If you want some more in depth advice then you can check out my guide here.

 

If not then that is fine, but a little studying on your part would go a long ways to improvement. Master Strike is a 3 second channel that uses 2 globals, it is well worth it for an ability that cost no focus. It allows you to roll your dots as watchman or pool your focus as a combat spec. Both of these things you should be doing if you are trying to maximize your dps. In either case master strike is a phenomenal ability, and riposte is phenomenal too. If you are ignoring these two abilities you are gimping yourself quite a bit.

[CorganNW]

Someone may have said this but on fights kill weakest to strongest in order. Send kira in 2 sec ahead of you. She can down 1 weak and you can down 1 weak in nothing flat then focus on the strongs. At least thats what works for me.

[PantsOn]

I do have Artifice but I suck at it. And by suck I mean: My luck is terribad. I never get the drops I want. I build tons but I seem to be stuck and never learning new things (through Reverse Engineering). I send T7 and the ship robot all the time.

 

I know...I know. I should take T7 and send Kira out to Treasure Hunt. But I <3 Kira.

 

So i should probably break down and buy some schematics. Because the crap I can make right now is just garbage. The best I've made is the +6 Critical Color Crystal.

 

Make sure you R/E stuff that is GREY in the Artifice menu (as in your Artifice is too high for that item to increase it farther). That is why you MUST be ahead of your level in Artifice and all other skills (you should have an option to gather mats for level 35+ items at level 28). Reverse Engineering things that are Yellow/Red will not give you the blue schematic (it might, but the chances are really low). Once you build your Artifice up to where Might Hilt 11 is green/grey, you should get the blue scheme by the time you R/E your fifth created hilt. Good luck.