Shadow - "Best" Skill Tree?

[Srozziks]

Hey all,

 

I've been reading up on some of the stickied posts about the Shadow, and I have a question about the class in general. Which one (if answerable) of the Shadow's skill trees does the most amount of damage and has the best chance of survival? I've had people tell me that they are getting the most dps and survivability out of Kinetic Combat, but that is more of a tanking skill. But the other two skill trees look pretty solid also.

 

So is there any skill tree that is "the best" for lots of dps and a decent to high chance of survivability?

 

Thanks for input and answers!

[Srozziks]

bump curious to know.

[Vexxation]

Personally I like the Infiltrator spec - I have no idea if its the 'best' or not but I do enjoy it, even though I thought initially that it would be 'shadow priest' type, (as sage is more mage/priest) and is fact more 'illegitimate child of shadow priest and rogue'. If you like, or think you would ike, a more melee-centric toon than a ranged caster then Infiltrator is your spec of choice.

 

In every other mmo I've played Ive done so as ranged for a main character but Infiltrator is still fun, although it can be a bit on the squishy side (but its cloth wearing, and I've gotten used to being squishy over the years); there's something about using stealth that always appealed to me as a player.

I'm not the best or most 'leet' Infiltrator either - sometimes i get over excited and forget to watch my tiny buff bars for procs and hit the wrong abilities, but I do at least KNOW what I'm doing wrong when I mess up (force cloak can be a godsend at times! lol) Having said that, I do seem to do a fair bit of damage when I'm playing properly and using interrupts/stuns/procs and cc. I don't pvp so I can't talk as to the effectiveness of this spec in pvp.

 

 

I haven't tried the TK spec, or the tank spec (no interest in being a tank but I suspect its a lot less squishy than I am for solo play) so I cannot compare them to Infiltrator.

[Srozziks]

Thank you for your input!

[TaishoD]

If you are looking for the best chance for survival, then that will be the Kinetic Combat tree hands down. The benefits of going Combat Technique alone provides a noticeable improvement, not to mention the other survivability talents.

 

I don't think that it will suffer that much in the way of DPS also. Particle Acceleration gives you guaranteed crits on project, pair that up with upheaval (from balance tree) and that gives you nice burst. The increased Force regeneration also helps a lot to keep you firing your abilities one after the other too.

[Jaerion]

Personally I like the Infiltrator spec - I have no idea if its the 'best' or not but I do enjoy it, even though I thought initially that it would be 'shadow priest' type, (as sage is more mage/priest) and is fact more 'illegitimate child of shadow priest and rogue'.

 

I respectfully disagree, though I can almost see where you're coming from.

 

I just hit 50 on my Shadow, mostly as Infiltration (Balance at 31-32, Kinetic at 40-44), and I loved it.

 

You get in fast, use the priority system to choose the proper ability, and you absolutely control the situation. I felt really powerful as infiltration, and I rarely feared for my character's life. No matter what tree you go with, you'll have great survivability options and be very effective...it's a matter of feel, a lot of the time. Play with them all, find the one that fits your favored pacing, and above all: have fun.

 

Also, the stickied Handbook in the Shadow forum is super handy.

 

Good luck!

[oddmyth]

If you are looking for the best chance for survival, then that will be the Kinetic Combat tree hands down. The benefits of going Combat Technique alone provides a noticeable improvement, not to mention the other survivability talents.

 

I don't think that it will suffer that much in the way of DPS also. Particle Acceleration gives you guaranteed crits on project, pair that up with upheaval (from balance tree) and that gives you nice burst. The increased Force regeneration also helps a lot to keep you firing your abilities one after the other too.

 

Kinetic DPS is at least 25% lower than infiltration within the first three strikes. It gets even worse once you include Force Breach.

 

Kinetic is substantially lower DPS than either Balance or Infil.

 

To answer the OP. This is the good/fast/cheap triangle, except its dps/survivability/utility. Pick two, you can never have all three. Oh and utility is already pre-chosen for you.

[Graelkat]

I'm only 43 and have only played the balance spec so far. But after perusing several threads, I'm guessing that it may be among the easiest for leveling. In combat stance, I've had no trouble with any encounters -- or any bosses -- so far. For example, although several folks have complained in posts about Attis station, I was able to mezz, interrupt, stun and kite all the group encounters in there without dying. At the time, I was the same level as the mobs. Also, I always use Theran. Same thing with the Champion encounters at my level -- with Theran's help, I keep them stunned, slowed etc. and dps them down from range with FIB, sever force etc. etc. For example, I had no problem at level 42 with the 42 Champion on the Belsavis endurance datachron. All stun, slow and kite. Same with Commander Geldon (or whatever) and his two droids last night.

 

Now, this may all change as I continue to progress. I've read that some of the upcoming class encounters are much harder. But so far, I think Balance is great.