Help figuring out why I'm dying all the time with lvl 24 sentinel

[jedipooface]

I am stuck on Nar Shadaa, I just finished Taris and reached level 24 as a sentinel. I went to Nar Shadaa, and now I'm really struggling. I figured I could just supply as much info as possible and hopefully someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong, apologies for the length of the post.

 

I'm on a mission in the red district fighting Bleeders. If I run into a group of four or five level 20's with 1000 hitpoints each I can take them. But usually there is a group of 3 enemies, 2 level 20's with 1000 hitpoints and a level 21 with around 3800 hitpoints, when I try to fight groups like this I either barely make it out alive or I die, mostly I die. And if there are two level 21 3800 hitpoint enemies together I don't stand a chance.

 

I'm not sure what is meant by equipment level, but I figure its the level requirement of the equipment, and my equipment all has a requirement of level 17, except my chest armor and gloves which require level 19. I'm using two lightsabers and they are level 16 and 17. Is my equipment too crappy? I've just been using equipment I pick up on missions, and haven't really tried to buy any, I don't know if thats the best way to equip yourself, or if buying equipment is the best way. I did use commendations to buy some equipment on Taris, and my level 17 stuff was the best I could get.

 

I can't really level up anymore because I'm too high a level for taris and wasn't getting any xp there anymore, but since I am at least three levels above my opponents I didn't think my level was the problem. I don't know if my problem is with equipment, my fighting strategy, my companion, my level or a mixture of all of them. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong but I'm really stuck so any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Darthshnooky]

Are you trying to do a heroic by yourself? Because it sounds like you're facing some elites. Look at the enemy portraits, do they have gold stars next to their name? Elite enemies can be pretty rough to take on by yourself. And if the quest name says "Heroic 2" or "Heroic 4" it is meant for 2 or 4 players (not one player and companion).

 

Speaking of which, are you using your companion effectively? Make sure you work together to tear down weak enemies as fast as possible. Also, with elites, watch for channeled or cast time abilities and interrupt them. This makes fights much easier, especially from about Nar Shadda on.

[louisfriend]

as a sentinel you're a DPS class.

 

which by proxy stipulates high damage, but low survivabilitiy.

 

 

I have a sith warrior/marauder which is supposedly the mirror. from my experience. the game completely changed with the aquisition of a healer pet/companion. I honestly don't know when/if the jedi gets a healing pet. but that's your problem

 

you're a dps taking on too many mobs. with no mitigation.

 

 

advice to fix the situation. utilize a pet/companion. if you don't have a healer pet. the droid will function as a tank. try'n make sure it's gear is upgraded as well. send in the droid first. and only attack what the droid is attacking. being sure not to use too much AOE.

 

could also use a dps pet to send in first. as cannon fodder. letting it take the hits. and trying to just output as much damage as possible.

 

that being said. make sure you're using your abilities to their fullest potential.

 

if the spells are anything like in sith warrior. you should have a reactive shield, a defense boost ability. and probably a bleed by now. ...and whatever stack/pop abilitiy jedi get.

 

ie. on sith warriro i get bezerker and predation. so in my arturo form...i build up stacks of hate. and once i get thirty i can pop ...zerker for more dps. or predation for a bit of defense.

 

so. any mob you're fighting that's strong/elite you should be sure to use your dot. and any defensive cooldowns that are available. cooldown is only 3 minutes. best if you're going after elites. and not strongs. to never engage more than one alone. and if you're going up against an elite. not to do so unless you're CDs are up.

 

 

force user dps is all about keeping "rage" blocks available. use your abilities in a sequence that doesn't leave you swinging the lame. default attack all that often.

 

 

when in doubt. keep stims. and medpacs in reserve for tougher fights.

 

use LoS (line of sight) to kite mobs. or be smart which packs of mobs you engage.

 

 

as a dps. you want as few things as possible attacking you. but being able to output the most damage on a single target as possible.

 

focus on things that facilitate this.

[Karinah]

The trick with DPS classes is to keep your tank companion's gear as current as you can, (as well as your own, but that almost goes without saying) make full use of your abilities - stuns, interrupts, CCs, cooldowns, medpacks, etc - and follow a strategic kill order. Let your companion tank stronger mobs while you CC or take out weaker ones, then kill the tanked mob.

 

Use commendations to update your gear (don't forget to upgrade hilts and mods) just before you leave each planet, but avoid buying from the GTN if you can. Credits don't really start to pour in from missions until around 25 or so, and you'll outlevel unmoddable gear fairly quickly. If you can craft items (medpacks or gear) yourself, keep your crafting up to date, but don't feel the need to outlevel yourself.

[Jestanicus]

A good tactic i used with my warrior/marauder, especially when they was a silver marked mob and 2/3 normals, was to use the companion to start the combat with the silver marked mob, allowing me time to kill the lower level mobs first, then use my "Dps" to pull the silver marked one back off my companion when i was ready to take them on again.

 

Try it.

[Baltharis]

You say you are lvl 24 using lvl 16-19 gear... so you may have the abilities of a lvl 24 character but you are gimped by your gear. I suggest getting artifact(orange) gear that you can add armoring/mod/enhancements to. Make sure that you keep your Armoring Patch as current as possible and you should be fine. You'll be surprised how much improvement a few levels on gear can provide. Good luck!

 

Edit: FYI as a light armor wearer getting orange gear is currently very easy... just be social level one and find a social vendor.

Edited January 12, 2012 by Baltharis

[Dizneyguy]

I don't mean to insult your intelligence but make sure you keep your equipment repaired. That can be done by any vendor. - look for the Repair All option at the bottom of the vendor's screen.

[andrew_b_gross]

MAKE SURE YOUR HILT IS AS UP TO DATE AS POSSIBLE.

 

So many melee Jedi are making this mistake. It makes a huge difference. Don't worry about the +STR and +END and all those other modifiers-- yes they matter, but they're only a pale shadow of how much the base damage of an up-to-date hilt matters. The difference between a level 17 hilt and a level 21 hilt is going to make a very large, very noticable difference in how much damage you do.

 

There may very well be other things you're doing wrong, which you should be able to identify by going over to the Sentinel class forum and reading the Primer that is stickied to the top of the page; but keeping the hilt up to date is so, so easily overlooked and so, so important.

[Aedilous]

I don't mean to insult your intelligence but make sure you keep your equipment repaired. That can be done by any vendor. - look for the Repair All option at the bottom of the vendor's screen.

 

I completely agree. I find myself always forgetting it until I'm dying a lot and then realize it's going to cost me 8K credits, my first born child, an arm, a leg, and my soul to repair my stupid mistake.

[jedipooface]

It sounds like I need new equipment, and some new strategy. But now my problem is I don't know where to get the best equipment. I went to the taris commendations vendor and all he had was the chest armor I'm using right now. Everything else was either lower quality than my current gear or gear I couldn't use, like heavy armor. I went to the weapons vendor on Nar Shadaa and I think they had one hilt, but it was worse than my current hilt. Should I try GTN? I know someone said not to, but that may be my only choice. Thanks so much for the help.

[Karinah]

It sounds like I need new equipment, and some new strategy. But now my problem is I don't know where to get the best equipment. I went to the taris commendations vendor and all he had was the chest armor I'm using right now. Everything else was either lower quality than my current gear or gear I couldn't use, like heavy armor. I went to the weapons vendor on Nar Shadaa and I think they had one hilt, but it was worse than my current hilt. Should I try GTN? I know someone said not to, but that may be my only choice. Thanks so much for the help.

 

To get yourself up to speed, the GTN might be your best choice. I usually recommend avoiding it for constant purchases since credits can get tight, but you're looking at a roughly seven level difference with most of your gear.

 

Check the light/dark items vendor as well for relics, I think you're approaching the level where you can use them (your companion does not use relics). That will give you a hit points boost and a couple of extra cooldowns. (once you equip a relic, you can drag it onto your action bar as a clickable use item) Armor vendors occasionally have decent equipment, but some of it is meant as a credit sink, so they'll likely be expensive.

[Yeauxda]

I am a level 21 Jedi Sentinel, and when I try to take on the 'Strong' Bleeders I get crushed. The weird thing is I have no problem with any of the 'Strong' Kintan Kings on the other Nar Shaddaa missions. I can take on two of those and only lose half my life. There has to be something specific to the Bleeders that is putting me at a disadvantage.

[MorgonKara]

SWTOR is a mostly gear-based game. You need to keep your gear as up to level as possible on both your main character and your main companion. If you cannot find gear on vendors, loot or the GTN then you need to either craft it yourself or PvP Warzones and buy PvP gear with Warzone commendations. Trust me it makes a big difference. If your armor is even one level below your character-level you begin to lose damage reduction. If you are using lvl 17 armor on a lvl 24 character your damage reduction is less than a lvl 17 character. Edited February 5, 2012 by MorgonKara

[Vexxation]

The GTN at Nar Shadaa is the neutral one, they may not have a lot of choices for hilts - check the one at Fleet.

Talking of hilts, commendations are a good source for mods and hilts if the GTN is a bit empty.

 

As for dying a lot - if you gear your ship droid up (you need droid parts from the GTN, quest rewards, or make a cybertech a friend to you) he can heal you. Sentinels don't get their healing companion until (I think) Balmorra - at least after where you are at now. You may find T7 a better running mate than Keira for some fights as he will 'tank' for you if you find gearing up the ship droid becomes too costly.

Don't forget to do space missions to generate cash either.

Edited February 5, 2012 by Vexxation