Mashugana Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I chose the Shadow mainly for the simple reason that I love the dual-bladed light-saber. I don't really want to stealth or hang back while my tank soaks damage - I want to get in there and swing the thing. Should I level as a tank? Or am I wasting my time and would one of the Jedi Knight trees better fit my style? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zunzun Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 (edited) Shadows are excellent tanks, as good as a vanguard or a guardian. For leveling, I'd advise you to first spec as an infiltrator until you get a strong dps companion. Which should happen around level 35 if I remind correctly. Edited January 11, 2012 by Zunzun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitru Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Should I level as a tank? Or am I wasting my time and would one of the Jedi Knight trees better fit my style? I leveled from 1-50 as pure Kinetic tank the entire way and never ran into any problems. My kill speed was excellent (when I tested progression through a phase with a similarly geared Inf Shadow, we actually got to the end at the same time because he had to spend so much time healing whereas I left every fight at full health) and downtime was virtually nonexistent once I got Tharan (~25). The thing to keep in mind while leveling Kinetic is that the first 20 levels are boring as bejeebus (DS and Saber Strike spam with occasional breaks for Force Breach) and you're generally pretty Force starved. Once you get over the hump levels though, it's all gravy. From 30+, I leveled *way* more efficiently than any other Shadow I met and many of them were having so many problems that they respec'd to Kinetic because of how easy I was rolling through everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellisande Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 If I had to do it all over again I'd go with the same KC build I used the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pEEtrsCZ Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 It's awesome! I level my shadow as tank all the way up to my current lvl 30 and it's like Duracell rabbit, you just go and chop chop chop. Healer companion made things even more easier and I can pretty much solo any bosses I encounter. One advice though, I tested various gear setups and for leveling it's best to stack up bit of endurance, lot of willpower and my preference is to get +power on all my gear. I have pretty sick DPS for tank and I'm still fully capable tank. Oh and get Force pull asap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malanocte Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Once I realized I could solo Champions, everything else was just cold meat. 4 Standards, 2 Strongs, even Elites are just meat for the grinder. Also, if you do all the sidequests, you will overlevel the planet quests fairly quickly. And that's with little rest (I specifically avoid logging in Cantinas or on my ship), skipping kill-count bonus quests, and not doing Bonus Series. Just wade in and thrash everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffmacdonald Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 It's great fun to level KC. Any time I do a heroic/FP with others they're always blown away by how well we can tank while still dishing out respectable DPS. If you keep your gear up through crafting/PVP/GTN you'll roll through planets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilirubin Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I leveled from 1-50 as pure Kinetic tank the entire way and never ran into any problems. My kill speed was excellent (when I tested progression through a phase with a similarly geared Inf Shadow, we actually got to the end at the same time because he had to spend so much time healing whereas I left every fight at full health) and downtime was virtually nonexistent once I got Tharan (~25). The thing to keep in mind while leveling Kinetic is that the first 20 levels are boring as bejeebus (DS and Saber Strike spam with occasional breaks for Force Breach) and you're generally pretty Force starved. Once you get over the hump levels though, it's all gravy. From 30+, I leveled *way* more efficiently than any other Shadow I met and many of them were having so many problems that they respec'd to Kinetic because of how easy I was rolling through everything. QFT. I just hit 30, having progressed to this point with all my points in the kinetic tree, and it was 1) boring, but that made it easy to learn basic combat mechanics, and 2) filling in my 3rd tier has suddenly changed everything. Plus the taunt. But never impossible. (Well, other than the imperial surgeon, the only champion that I could not topple and just decided to go around in the end. But it was a solo heroic 2+ so I don't feel bad or anything) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rejectoo Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I leveled from 1-50 as pure Kinetic tank the entire way and never ran into any problems. My kill speed was excellent (when I tested progression through a phase with a similarly geared Inf Shadow, we actually got to the end at the same time because he had to spend so much time healing whereas I left every fight at full health) and downtime was virtually nonexistent once I got Tharan (~25). The thing to keep in mind while leveling Kinetic is that the first 20 levels are boring as bejeebus (DS and Saber Strike spam with occasional breaks for Force Breach) and you're generally pretty Force starved. Once you get over the hump levels though, it's all gravy. From 30+, I leveled *way* more efficiently than any other Shadow I met and many of them were having so many problems that they respec'd to Kinetic because of how easy I was rolling through everything. Yep right on with that one. I can play rogue if I want and stealth in. But I can fight any mob I want and win 9.5 times out of ten. I also soloed my entire class quest chain all bosses even first son this from reading is pretty hard for almost any of our classes or builds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hethroin Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 (edited) I don't think I'm doing anything special or exemplary. Just gearing my shadow and Mr. Holiday-spam. My experience is that I can come out of just about every 1v1 fight at full health. I found that my kinetic shadow with healer pet can solo champions 1 or 2 levels below him. My best pull so far has been a triple-gold pull on Balmorra (3 named Sith: caster 36, melee 35, hybrid 35), though this did involve breaking it up into 2 pulls after killing the hybrid in the first. Edited January 11, 2012 by Hethroin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resistentialist Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 From 30+, I leveled *way* more efficiently than any other Shadow I met and many of them were having so many problems that they respec'd to Kinetic because of how easy I was rolling through everything. I just switched at 37. I had been considering it for a while, but finally ran into another kinetic shadow, and was rather impressed. By the second pull I was already getting the hang of it. It's far less squishy than infiltration. I'm just waiting til I run into my next champion mob... For those of you levelling this way, how do you gear? Mix of dps/tank stats, or just tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandmasterub Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I roll with a mix of adsorption, defense, and crit. Endurance over willpower. Another thing to note about kinetic shadows is not only can you solo tough mobs you can still invis past a lot of trash so soloing heroic 2+ and 4s goes way fast. Holiday cc is my favorite. I always make a point of running to that mob and roundhouse kicking it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitru Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 For those of you levelling this way, how do you gear? Mix of dps/tank stats, or just tank? I just found any tank gear I could and put that on. Shadow Tank gear as you level is generally pretty rare, so you take what you can get rather than picking and choosing generally. When given options (such as with mods as quest drops), mitigation stats take priority (shield, absorption, defense; try to get your shield and aborption percentages equal and stack as much Defense as you care to otherwise), followed one of two combinations dependent on personal choice: Willpower over Endurance (re: Resolve Hilts and Armoring) or Endurance over Willpower (re: Force Wielder Hilts and Armoring). While you're leveling, the additional Endurance will do next to nil for you (Tharan will rarely let you drop below 90% health), especially after you get Tharan while the Willpower will actually increase your kill speed (and therefore leveling speed). I would only stack the Endurance if you really truly afraid of dying in a spec that is renowned for punching through pretty much anything it finds while solo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spacekasekat Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I have leveled with tank gear (Defense, Shield, Absorb) and I stay in Combat Technique. It is surprising how efficient it is. In fact, I am struggling now with other classes because I am used to pulling anything and everything without thought and living. I even solo Heroic 2s. As the saying goes ... once you go tank, you will never go back. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilirubin Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 (edited) I just found any tank gear I could and put that on. Shadow Tank gear as you level is generally pretty rare, so you take what you can get rather than picking and choosing generally. When given options (such as with mods as quest drops), mitigation stats take priority (shield, absorption, defense; try to get your shield and aborption percentages equal and stack as much Defense as you care to otherwise), followed one of two combinations dependent on personal choice: Willpower over Endurance (re: Resolve Hilts and Armoring) or Endurance over Willpower (re: Force Wielder Hilts and Armoring). While you're leveling, the additional Endurance will do next to nil for you (Tharan will rarely let you drop below 90% health), especially after you get Tharan while the Willpower will actually increase your kill speed (and therefore leveling speed). I would only stack the Endurance if you really truly afraid of dying in a spec that is renowned for punching through pretty much anything it finds while solo. Would you take a +10 defense even at the expense of willpower (say -5)? At level 30 I think my defense/absorb are both roughly 16%, with willpower and endurance both around 400 (with willpower above endurance by 20-30 points). Off the top of my head--will post actual stats when I get home and can check. Am I stacked appropriately for my level? I ask because I've been prioritizing willpower over just about everything else, and fear I might have been slightly off in those decisions. Edited January 11, 2012 by Bilirubin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mashugana Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 Thanks all! Great advice. Question: which abilities should I be using level 1-20 or 1-30? I've tried all kinds of crazy tactics, using the ranged attacks, stealth, backstab, etc. but it seems like just running in and spamming twin strike works best. Sadly, as mentioned above, this is really, really boring Any idea on a standard attack chain while leveling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandmasterub Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Thanks all! Great advice. Question: which abilities should I be using level 1-20 or 1-30? I've tried all kinds of crazy tactics, using the ranged attacks, stealth, backstab, etc. but it seems like just running in and spamming twin strike works best. Sadly, as mentioned above, this is really, really boring Any idea on a standard attack chain while leveling? 35 right now. My chain is. Force pull the farthest target into the pack Breach then ds till accel procs Tab to diff target and project, follow with the stunned only kick Back to original target ds/project on proc. Breach when its up. And spinning strike if they are below 30 Ya its mostly ds spam but tbh stuff dies so fast I dont actually cast it that much lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malanocte Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 If there's at least 3 mobs in a pack, I like to toss in a few Whirling Blows as well. Frankly, I solo the same way I tank, which is the priority chain laid out in the Shadow's Handbook thread. Keep Ward up as much as possible, too; the Force cost is negligible, and it radically reduces downtime. Also, use a shield, NOT a Focus. Even if it's the crappy dinky one you got back at level 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berlik Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I have heard that the shield absorbtion/defense chance mechanics are broken/poorly designed for the jedi shadow , any response? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthRhaze Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I have heard that the shield absorbtion/defense chance mechanics are broken/poorly designed for the jedi shadow , any response? I heard if you post the same thing in almost every thread in the forum you aren't annoying people at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitru Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Would you take a +10 defense even at the expense of willpower (say -5)? All else the same (armor rating largely), for leveling I would take the Willpower over the additional Defense simply because you have plenty of survivability and Willpower is a multipurpose stat (crit and power) whereas Defense only does one thing. For end game tanking, I would take the Defense since mitigation is the #1 priority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitru Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I have heard that the shield absorbtion/defense chance mechanics are broken/poorly designed for the jedi shadow , any response? Defense and Shielding isn't working right now in PvP, making a lot of our mitigation functionally worthless at the moment (especially since we're the tanks with the lowest outright damage reduction). As to whether the design for shielding/absorbing is off for Shadows, there's some truth to that too. Kinetic Ward is a Shield Chance buff that provides less the more you stack Shield (since each successful shield eats a charge, diminishing the value of KW's higher shield chance) and provides virtually no realistic benefit when you scale up the number of attacks (re: there are multiple enemies; KW rarely lasts longer than a second for an AoE on my Shadow). Overall, it makes Shadows sub-par when compared to the other tanks that either get better mitigation (Guardians get better uptime on Blade Barricade) or simply stay the same (VGs have no variability in mitigation) when the number of attacks are scaled up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resolute Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 It's awesome! I level my shadow as tank all the way up to my current lvl 30 and it's like Duracell rabbit, you just go and chop chop chop... I think you mean Energizer Bunny... I might be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swifferdude Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 LVL as a tank the entire time, as soon as u get thaeran, use him... hes good enough to heal a tank, but not good enough to heal a DPS, as soon as u get Zenith, u can either switch to him or keep theran (depending on ur own tastes). If u stick with zenith, then u should like nadia even better. but, if u stick with theran, ur probably goin to want to stick with him. so, yep! thts all i got to say Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts