NubLikeWoah Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Hello all, I got my bounty hunter to 34 and really want to get to 50 on a character before I go all altaholic, but I'm just not sure the bounty hunter is for me. He's powerful, probably the strongest character I have, but I have a few concerns. Maybe you can assuade my fears or make me feel better about switching to a new character. A. the biggest problem is that arsenal is simply boring and pyrotech just doesn't look very good. Tracer missile to build up heat signatures, rail shot, throw in some unloads rise and repeat. Having played a TON of MMOs its possible that all characters get like this once you understand them, but the bounty hunter does seem extremely straightforward. I was considering operative as they are also a healer but seem to have more to them. B. I really wanted to have a healer for PvE, but a lot of my friends are really into the PvP. BHs seem to really lack mobility and seem like they could be locked down pretty effectively in PvP. Ultimately, Operatives seem like a much better PvP healer, is this true? C. Our gear looks terrible. I've looked like crap for a really long time, do our higher level sets look better? I'm really starting to get jealous of all these sith running around in fancy robes and our agent friends balling out in their trenchcoats. D. It's wierd shooting people to heal them. Guess that's just personal preference. E. I would love to start leveling as a healer so I can easily jump into pvp/instances but it sounds like I can't do it effectively until I get blizz and even then, not until I gear the hell out of him. Anyhow, that's my list. I would like to thank those who take the time to reply. Happy hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auilt Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Yes, our gear gets better. Every class comes down to a few core abilities that you are going to use over and over. People make fun of Arsenal BHs because of our TM spam, but the truth of it is you really don't spam TM all that much in PvP or PvE. There are multiple other abilities that we use often and on cooldown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damarak Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 (edited) Yes, our gear gets better. Every class comes down to a few core abilities that you are going to use over and over. People make fun of Arsenal BHs because of our TM spam, but the truth of it is you really don't spam TM all that much in PvP or PvE. There are multiple other abilities that we use often and on cooldown. Um, I'm 50 ars spec, and my 2 button is about broken from the amount of TM spam I do. If you don't think this class/spec is about TM spam, your not going to be getting the best dps. Unload TM TM TM Heatseeker Unload TM TM Rail Shot That is your rotation in PvE for pretty much everything your doing, and yes it does get old. Yes there is other abilities that you toss in depending on the situation. But tracer spam is this class. Edited January 7, 2012 by Damarak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borigrade Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Um, I'm 50 ars spec, and my 2 button is about broken from the amount of TM spam I do. If you don't think this class/spec is about TM spam, your not going to be getting the best dps. Unload TM TM TM Heatseeker Unload TM TM Rail Shot That is your rotation in PvE for pretty much everything your doing, and yes it does get old. Yes there is other abilities that you toss in depending on the situation. But tracer spam is this class. wow you can spam that on rotation without heat problems? Good god i been playing the class wrong. You think that our rotation is simple because were the only class that has a resource to manage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damarak Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 wow you can spam that on rotation without heat problems? Good god i been playing the class wrong. You think that our rotation is simple because were the only class that has a resource to manage? Yes, with our heat-free shot once every 1.5 minutes, and using vent heat, you can maintain this rotation pretty much indefinitely, for the long boss fights, I toss in the free attack after every 2 TMs just to manage the heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJollyRogers Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 A. the biggest problem is that arsenal is simply boring and pyrotech just doesn't look very good. Tracer missile to build up heat signatures, rail shot, throw in some unloads rise and repeat. Having played a TON of MMOs its possible that all characters get like this once you understand them, but the bounty hunter does seem extremely straightforward. I was considering operative as they are also a healer but seem to have more to them. Unfortunately for you, that is how Arsenal operates. We use tracer missile to stack heat signatures and use heatseeker/unload/railshots in between. They all hit quite hard, so the spec is for the long-range burst lovers. Werden (you can see his thread "Ask a Mercenary" at the top of the page) has a guildie who is having great success with the pyrotech build. Perhaps ask him if he could elaborate on his guildie's spec/gear/rotation. B. I really wanted to have a healer for PvE, but a lot of my friends are really into the PvP. BHs seem to really lack mobility and seem like they could be locked down pretty effectively in PvP. Ultimately, Operatives seem like a much better PvP healer, is this true? Can't speak from the perspective of a Medicine Operative, as I haven't played one nor do I see many of them (most IA-Operatives go Concealment because the allure of the class is a rogue-like backstabber). Bodyguard is great, however. It has nowhere near the same mobility issue as Arsenal. With Emergency Scan, Kolto Missile and Power Surged scans, much of your healing will be on the move. And, if by chance, you need to cast, you can lay up an energy shield and have full interruption/pushback immunity. Speaking as a 50 Valor Bounty Hunter, the healers that are hardest for me to drop down quickly are Bodyguard Bounty Hunters. That's not saying that Corruption (Sorcerer) or Medicine (IA) is not as good - they have their own unique tools. However, a well-played Bodyguard is not a joke by any means. C. Our gear looks terrible. I've looked like crap for a really long time, do our higher level sets look better? I'm really starting to get jealous of all these sith running around in fancy robes and our agent friends balling out in their trenchcoats. Depends on what kind of Bounty Hunter you are. Personally, I absolutely love our Eliminator/Combat Medic (basically, Mercenary) gear. However, the Powertech gear is one of the most disappointing pieces of junk I've ever seen. The helm has like...indicator lights. That said, my Sorcerer guildie looks like a clan member of a certain white supremacist group with his large, white cone head. LOL. D. It's wierd shooting people to heal them. Guess that's just personal preference. *shrug* Preference. You need to use Rapid Shots to get the 30 stack bonus for Support Cylinder and to use Supercharged Gas Cylinder. The bulk of your heals are through scans and Kolto Missile, though. E. I would love to start leveling as a healer so I can easily jump into pvp/instances but it sounds like I can't do it effectively until I get blizz and even then, not until I gear the hell out of him. It's not Blizz you really want, it's Gault. You can take the hits, you want him to deal the pain. Deck him out and he is monstrous DPS. Luckily, you get him around level 30. I would hybridize a Arsenal/Combat Medic build until then (you can see Werden's spec at the top. He has great information about such specs). Hope that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabbathius Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 A. the biggest problem is that arsenal is simply boring and pyrotech just doesn't look very good. Tracer missile to build up heat signatures, rail shot, throw in some unloads rise and repeat. Having played a TON of MMOs its possible that all characters get like this once you understand them, but the bounty hunter does seem extremely straightforward. I was considering operative as they are also a healer but seem to have more to them. This is true for most classes. Sorcerers will spam lightning a lot, once DoTs are in place. Snipers will use a lot of Snipe. Etc., etc. Operative isn't much better. Their rotation is just as rigid as Merc's. You start with Hidden Strike (once you have it), Backstab, Shiv, Laceration. Then Laceration again if Collateral Damage procced, otherwise Overloaded Shot x2, or regular shot depending on whether you're bursting someone down or saving energy. Then repeat with Shiv-Laceration-Laceration, etc. All classes in this game play exactly the same way. You have your half a dozen (at best) meat-and-potatoes abilities that you use over and over and over and over. Did I mention over? B. I really wanted to have a healer for PvE, but a lot of my friends are really into the PvP. BHs seem to really lack mobility and seem like they could be locked down pretty effectively in PvP. Ultimately, Operatives seem like a much better PvP healer, is this true? Yes and no. As an Operative, your only way to recover energy to keep on healing is through a channeled ability that you can only use when stationary. You can cast Kolto Probes on the run, but they don't heal much. Surgical Probe can be done on the run too, but again doesn't heal that much and requires Tactical Advantage to work, which procs off the ticks of Kolto Probes. Merc on the other hand can run-and-gun, as shooting friendlies with Combat Support Cylinder heals them, and gives you time to cool off a bit. If you are forced to do some heavy healing, or recover energy while healing, you WILL be stationary doing it. Same as every other healer in the game. C. Our gear looks terrible. I've looked like crap for a really long time, do our higher level sets look better? I'm really starting to get jealous of all these sith running around in fancy robes and our agent friends balling out in their trenchcoats. Find some nice looking orange armor and re-socket it. But in general, no. You will look like a tin man most of the time. D. It's wierd shooting people to heal them. Guess that's just personal preference. Eh, works for me. Other classes require a separate keybind for their heals. Mercs do not. It's actually an advantage. E. I would love to start leveling as a healer so I can easily jump into pvp/instances but it sounds like I can't do it effectively until I get blizz and even then, not until I gear the hell out of him. No comment. In my opinion you should level as damage spec, it'll go much faster and much easier. The only exception is Operative. If you make one, level to 36 as healer, because until you get Hidden Strike at 36 the class really sucks (relative to BHs and Inquisitors anyway). Bottom line, I think you may be suffering from "grass is always greener" syndrome. I have a Sorcerer, Merc and Operative (and a Powertech) all in mid-30s right now. And I did all the same quests and PvP. And I can safely say they're all exactly the same. There's some variety here and there, some tradeoffs, but in the end it's all the same mush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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