IronPirate Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I just hit 37 last night, and I've been Shieldtech specc'd the whole time. I feel like I do horrible damage. It takes me way to long to kill things. I get that "Strong" guys should be tougher, but I have a hard time taking on two at a time without getting heals. I am a tank, I am not dps. I do not expect/want to be able to one shot things, or be a damage dealing monster, I would just like to know how much 'trouble' other people are having killing things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrostyDroid Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 It's not as bad as soloing a tank in the other MMOs I've played (with the possible exception of Rift Riftstalker). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RicoZaid Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I'm 34 Powertech and switched to Pyro for that reason, see my new post on it if you like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baracca Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I agree. Almost 34 and my damage is terrible. I wish rail shot was better. It almost doesnt seem worth using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velixius Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 38 shield-tech at the moment and I have no issue with killing things, I stay fairly well geared for my level and honestly with Rocket punch almost always crit and flame sweep also on a high crit i find it easy to pump out damage, Honestly, I have more issue with strong than elite but if you utilize Oil slick + flame sweep (mainly for dmg red) + stun when available it is hardly an issue at least for me. Gear will determine a lot of this seeing as I currently have roughly 47% dmg reduction overall I have plenty of time to get a kill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wycross Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Leveling does seem slow as a Shield Tech. But with Mako around, I am not in much danger of being defeated. Yes, it's a slog to beat up a couple of strong enemies, but you are durable enough to take all they can dish out and whittle them down eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchybacon Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Yeah, killing strongs does seem kinda tedious at times, but it's also very cool to survive those oh**** moments. Like a couple nights ago, I pulled a 4 pack of regs and a strong + reg. Then an elite popped right on top of me. I was around 40% health by the time I started killing the elite (which I saved for last) then my health bar starting going up. There's no way my operative would have survived that beating, even though he has way more burst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dademoor Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I also have been a Shieldtech since level 10. I am now level 37 and finally dropped Mako for Torian. Being a Biochemist I have access to the unlimited use Stims and Medpacs which I use on cooldown. This, along with our 2 min cooldown shieldwall and self heal (15% over 10 sec) has been more than enough to allow me to survive some seriously challenging encounters. When you get Torian make sure to pimp him out with the best gear you can find/afford. He is a DPS machine and will tank a Strong mob or 2 like a champ while you take down the rest of the mobs. Make sure you gather up the mobs as best you can so you and he (Torian) can make use of your AoE Flame Sweeps. Bottom line here is; I believe the game is balanced around using your companions wisely. There is no reason to use Mako 100% of the time (even tho many people do) To make up for the Shieldtech's DPS loss toss in a well geared DPS companion and use your defensive/healing cooldowns wisely and you will see a dramitic increase in killing speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velixius Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 (edited) I also have been a Shieldtech since level 10. I am now level 37 and finally dropped Mako for Torian. Being a Biochemist I have access to the unlimited use Stims and Medpacs which I use on cooldown. This, along with our 2 min cooldown shieldwall and self heal (15% over 10 sec) has been more than enough to allow me to survive some seriously challenging encounters. When you get Torian make sure to pimp him out with the best gear you can find/afford. He is a DPS machine and will tank a Strong mob or 2 like a champ while you take down the rest of the mobs. Make sure you gather up the mobs as best you can so you and he (Torian) can make use of your AoE Flame Sweeps. Bottom line here is; I believe the game is balanced around using your companions wisely. There is no reason to use Mako 100% of the time (even tho many people do) To make up for the Shieldtech's DPS loss toss in a well geared DPS companion and use your defensive/healing cooldowns wisely and you will see a dramitic increase in killing speed. I completely understand your point and I have used him for a bit but as for me.. I use mako all the time just for the sheer fact that in unexpected times when Mobs have re-spawned or that actual players have attacked me I like having a healer with me and I keep mako as geared as I am. It's simply a preference, on my dps toons I prefer a tank to keep stuff off me, and on my Tank i prefer a healer so I can pull as many Mobs as I feel I can handle with a healer.. and I can pull many mobs at once.. To each his own Edited January 10, 2012 by Velixius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dademoor Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I completely understand your point and I have used him for a bit but as for me.. I use mako all the time just for the sheer fact that in unexpected times when Mobs have re-spawned or that actual players have attacked me I like having a healer with me and I keep mako as geared as I am. It's simply a preference, on my dps toons I prefer a tank to keep stuff off me, and on my Tank i prefer a healer so I can pull as many Mobs as I feel I can handle with a healer.. and I can pull many mobs at once.. To each his own I also keep Mako fully geared, primarly through commendations with the best possible mods. But recently I have found that my questing/killing speed is FAR better with a DPS companion. (I use Torian, but I believe Gault would work wonders as well) Granted you may have to use Recharge and Reload after nearly other fight, but the 3-5 seconds it takes to get to full health using that skill is still far quicker than trying to kill a group of mobs (or 2 groups if you get cought in a respawn) with a healer companion. Don't get me wrong, I fully see the benefit of haveing a Healer companion out for a "safety net", but this thread is about killing speed, and 95% of the time I believe a Shieldtech will be better suited with a DPS companion while questing/solo missions. Please keep in mind I do not play on a PvP server, and while doing group +2 content I do use Mako. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velixius Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I also keep Mako fully geared, primarly through commendations with the best possible mods. But recently I have found that my questing/killing speed is FAR better with a DPS companion. (I use Torian, but I believe Gault would work wonders as well) Granted you may have to use Recharge and Reload after nearly other fight, but the 3-5 seconds it takes to get to full health using that skill is still far quicker than trying to kill a group of mobs (or 2 groups if you get cought in a respawn) with a healer companion. Don't get me wrong, I fully see the benefit of haveing a Healer companion out for a "safety net", but this thread is about killing speed, and 95% of the time I believe a Shieldtech will be better suited with a DPS companion while questing/solo missions. Please keep in mind I do not play on a PvP server, and while doing group +2 content I do use Mako. Yes, I agree completely in terms of speed Torian is by far the best choice. I guess as a tank I never really had an issue killing things and never really felt like my speed was lacking :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarth Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Just one thing to keep in mind, I reiterate this point as sometimes I still meet people who doesn't know this, keeping your barrel up to date is the best way to maximize your damage. Getting a blue one for your level doesn't take much, nor cost much if you resort to the GTN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dademoor Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Yes, I agree completely in terms of speed Torian is by far the best choice. I guess as a tank I never really had an issue killing things and never really felt like my speed was lacking :/ I suppose this depends on which genere of MMO you are coming from, and if you have a perspective mindset of a tank (or even a healer) where you find that simpily outliving a mob is a sufficent enough kill-style. Personally I have always been a tank, even before EQ1, in the old text based MUD's, so kill speed is not as vital to me as others. But if you look at todays games in general, things are steadily getting faster and faster. So this is why people feel that even tanks and healers should have a similar (or somewhat close) kill speed to DPS classes while soloing. I believe Bioware knows this and is why the system is setup around companions. Utilizing different companions at different times not only aloows for more flexability, but also creates a significant time-sink for the average player to Gear-Up each companion seperately. I also believe this concept will develop within the player base over time and will become common knowledge. But we are getting off-topic. Bottom line here is that everyone has their own playstyles and whats fun for one, may be tedious for another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dademoor Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Just one thing to keep in mind, I reiterate this point as sometimes I still meet people who doesn't know this, keeping your barrel up to date is the best way to maximize your damage. Getting a blue one for your level doesn't take much, nor cost much if you resort to the GTN. Agreed. You and your companion should always have the best mods availiable. It is sufficent enough to maintain weapon mod upgrades through commendations when visiting each planet. The only time you should focus on egtting the exceptional mods is at level 50. To elabrate on this a bit, as a Shieldtech it is equally vital to upgrade your armor mods, as your ability to survive hits is just as important as your ability to kill mobs (hence why I choose to use a DPS companion). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarth Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 To elabrate on this a bit, as a Shieldtech it is equally vital to upgrade your armor mods, as your ability to survive hits is just as important as your ability to kill mobs (hence why I choose to use a DPS companion). Indeed. I would have mentioned that if I wasn't distracted by the game. Armoring scales armor value on items, hilt scales damage on lightsabers, and barrels scale damage on blasters. Commentation modifications, of all available types, are probably the best way to spend your marks (unless you really want to get some credits or a random item). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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