BH Merc Rotation .... What's yours?

[Gueneveve]

Hello Fellow Hunters,

 

I was wondering if any of you would care to post the rotations and trees that you currently use. I am experimenting and would like to try some different ones. I am currently level 19 and very close to 20 for Tracer Missle so I have a while to go to get more abilities.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

G

Edited January 18, 2012 by Gueneveve

[Yazule]

Hello Fellow Hunters,

 

I was wondering if any of you would care to post the rotations and trees that you currently use. I am experimenting with and would like to try some different ones. I am currently level 19 and very close to 20 for Tracer Missle so I have a while to go to get more abilities.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

G

 

level 50 rotations are no good to you right now, as i believe you are not getting the extra 30% on overload, the venting for crits, the reset on overload from tm... just to name a few. for now power shot may be a better option as it does more dps than tracer... tracer at 50 is mostly used to buff other attacks.

[Nikusu]

Tracer Missile>Power Shot at all levels as it reduces armor, costs the same, and actually does the same damage. Not to mention talents early on make better use of it.

 

50 Rotation (more of a priority system than rotation)

Single Target:

5 stacks of Tracer Lock

Rail Shot

Heatseeker Missiles

Unload (only after a Barrage proc)

Tracer Missile

Unload (no proc it's useless/do not use)

 

At your current level it's just Tracer Missile spam. Always keep your heat at manageable levels or it'll just build faster. Even when bursting try not to go over 50 heat.

Edited January 19, 2012 by Nikusu

[SwordofSodan]

Tracer missile/Tracer missile/Tracer missile/Tracer missile/Tracer missile/Vent heat Edited January 19, 2012 by SwordofSodan

[Sayc]

tracer missile/tracer missile/knock back that silly marauder that charged you/tracer missile/tracer missile/tracer missile/vent heat

 

ftfy.

Edited January 19, 2012 by Sayc

[WAterTriAd]

Tracer missile/Tracer missile/Tracer missile/Tracer missile/Tracer missile/Vent heat

 

Spamming just tracer is hard to build up enough heat to justify vent heat. Slow down your spam by just a fraction of a second and you'll never go above 16.

 

Agree with most of the post but occassionally you get too many Unload proc's and vent heat is on cooldown so I cycle in regular blasters as well.

 

I try to keep heat below 40 as anything higher and you cooldown slower. (might be as early as 35) If I get above 40 I use Tracer only as often as I need to to keep the stacks up until it's manageable.

 

For Low Level single target, Tracer spam.

 

For Low Level groups. Death from above, and while that's down Fusion Missile then Explosive Dart. If Fussion is down, Dart and Tracer Spam. Missile Blast and Jet Pack are good for group that odd man out so you can get everyone in the fussion/dart.

 

If you're arsenal, get used to Tracer spam, cause you'll be using it A LOT.

 

_WAter_

[Greyshadow]

So far at 40 with just enough Arsenal for Tracer and the rest in Bodyguard, I haven't much run into anything I couldn't defeat in 1 or 2 tries (you know sometimes I lose the first battle with an elite after a conversation, but I make up for it), so I haven't done much to change my strategy. So I go for the simple basics

 

Solo mob: Tracer/Rail/Tracer/Blast and if it's not dead, rinse and repeat.

Group mobs: Death/Fusion/Dart then just pick up the pieces.

 

I'm sure it's probably way ineffective, but so far I have had no trouble getting the job done so I don't mess with it.

[Nikusu]

@WAter:

 

Even with Barrage procs Unload is not a number one priority. You should never have to use it back to back to back. And yes, throw in some heatless attacks. That's why I said to stay under 50. Under 40ish if you don't have your Vent Heat off CD. Arsenal is really straight forward. Outside of PvP you only use a handful of skills.

[kwndnl]

Interesting that so many people open group pulls with DFA...I find that starting with Fusion Missile into DFA means everything is dead when my boots touch the ground again. If not, it only takes one Rapid Shots to polish them off.

[Sixplicit]

DFA knocks to ground which is why I open with it over fusion then explosive dart/fusion.

[kwndnl]

DFA knocks to ground which is why I open with it over fusion then explosive dart/fusion.

 

Right, but Fusion panics them while they burn, so...same effect? I just know I never have to finish with an explosive dart.

[nogoodtomedead]

This is the rotation I've been using(LvL 50)

 

tracer missilex2, unload, tracerx3 (if I get a unload proc i use it) once I hit 5 stacks of heat signature, Heat seeker missile, and then railshot. Repeat.

 

I'm also using relic cooldowns whenever possible as well as thermal sensor override and power surge. With this rotation, I generate very little heat.

[albynomonk]

PvE:

Tracer Missile x5

Heatseeker Missile

Unload

Railshot

Repeat

 

PvP:

Tracer Missile x3

Electro Dart

Heatseeker Missile

Rail Shot

[ZaOniTenshu]

Ok since it seems people are not explaining entirely too well I will do my best:

 

I posted this on my guild site

 

http://www.sithvengeance.com

 

 

I was asked nicely by the founder to write up something about Merc. Arsenal/DPS build and how to effectively make use out of their ridiculous amount of DPS. Anyone who is up to date on the SWTOR Forums might have seen me posting like mad under the name 'Za Oni Tenshu', if not it is no bid deal.

 

Everyone has their own ideas of what they consider to be the best DPS rotation and a lot of that can be integrated and adapted to fit a possible unique rotation. I figured this would be a good time to discuss and learn how to better put out DPS in different scenarios.

 

Overall I consider the following to be the primary DPS Arsenal rotation:

 

1. Tracer Missile

2. Tracer Missile

3. Tracer Missile

4. Rail Shot

5. Unload

 

This rotation assumes that you have in your tree the perk that lets you add 2 heat signatures per Tracer Missile.

 

Some people complain at the fact Tracer Missile is channeled with NO cool down. I call this a blessing. When your channeling your regenerating heat which is crucial and by the time this rotation is finished your heat should be almost non-existent allowing you to at this point use control/stun/push-back abilities or as needed heals/debuffs etc.

 

The above is Not for those who have Heat Seeker Missile yet. Otherwise your rotation looks like this:

 

1. Tracer Missile

2. Tracer Missile

3. Tracer Missile

4. Heat Seeeker Missile

5. Railshot

6. Unload

 

Now obviously this will generate a little more heat than before but with such a low amount that it can be controlled later with a good'ole Vent Heat.

 

Kiting:

 

Kiting is easy even though the Merc. Class in itself is not very mobile yo just have to use instants instead and take advantage of the time you are given, for example:

 

Juggernaut is coming at you and charges using his little flying leap ability.

-From this point Jet Boost works best and slows them down enough for you to start stacking. Immediately follow boost with tracer missile (only 1) and Railshot.

 

Juggernaut Recovers and is in Melee range again.

-From this point Rocket Punch him sending him back a few yards and proceed to retreat back using Rapid Shots , Rail (if he is still debuffed), Explosive dart.

 

Juggernaut Recovers and leaps in again but your Jet boost is still on cooldown.

-From here use Electric Dart followed by Rocket Punch to send him back stunned (or hit him back than stun depends on cool downs.)

 

From this point you should get the point.

 

Kiting on a Merc. is NOT about out maneuvering but using your range stun and close pushbacks to your advantage to get the upper hand.

 

In addition since you dont have the 2 heat signatures per Tracer Missile its is best to do the following rotation to maintain heat.

 

1. Tracer Missile

2. Tracer Missile

3. Tracer Missile

4. Rail Shot

5. Unload

6. Repeat 1-5

 

Essentially just make sure their heat signature is always at 5 and you should do fine.

[StevenStarkill]

Why Rail Shot after only 3 Tracers on a starting rotation? IMO Railshot simply doesn't do enough dmg/have enough utility to use unless you have a the full 5 stacks of Tracer Lock or need to move. A Tracer that crits at least reduces your heat and does comparable damage to a 3 stacked Rail as well as giving another chance to proc barrage, and gives you a further stack of Power Barrier.

 

My personal starting rotation:

 

Pop adrenal/relic

Tracer

Tracer

Tracer

Heatseeker(from here on out this shot takes priority whenever off CD)

Unload(if Barrage has procced)

Tracer

Tracer

Rail Shot(repeat further on in rotation when 5 stacks of Tracer Lock are achieved, prioritize over Tracer but not Barrage procced Unload or Heatseeker)

 

After this the whole thing becomes a priority system rather than a rotation. The reason I prioritize Barrage Unload over Rail Shot is that Barrage has a limited duration you want to take advantage of, and you want to keep Unload on CD as much as possible to take advantage of Barrage's CD reset. Not to mention Unload crits reduce heat with Terminal Velocity.

 

This is my current priority list after starting rotation is done:

 

Heatseeker Missiles > Barrage Unload > 5 stack Rail Shot > Tracer Missile

 

Keep in mind that none of this takes heat into account, and that Rapid Shots will need to be used frequently as well. Rapid Shots priority jumps ALL over the place depending on where your heat is at. In an initial rotation on a boss, you don't need to use it for quite some time as you can simply build up a ton of heat and then Vent Heat. Rapid Shots should be your next shot any time the next heat costing shot would cause you to lose full heat degeneration. Sometimes that means weaving a Rapid Shots between a heat costing shot later on into the fight, but crits that activate Terminal Velocity often allow you to do multiple heat shots in between Rapids. You have to react to what happens with your heat, and prioritize accordingly.

 

One last thing to take into consideration with heat management. When you target is near its death, it is helpful to get a feel for how much you can push your heat so that you dont overheat before the target is dead. This allows you to do a full-on nuke without weaving in Rapid Shots towards the end of a target's life.

[ZaOniTenshu]

Before you get heatseeker (as stated in my post) you use Railshot after 3 tracer missile.

 

Once you get heatseeker it is:

 

TM

TM

TM

HSM

Rail

Unload

 

by the time you finish that you can redo the entire rotation as your cooldowns are now reset and you just got the highest possible single target dps.

[StevenStarkill]

Before you get heatseeker (as stated in my post) you use Railshot after 3 tracer missile.

 

Once you get heatseeker it is:

 

TM

TM

TM

HSM

Rail

Unload

 

by the time you finish that you can redo the entire rotation as your cooldowns are now reset and you just got the highest possible single target dps.

 

But why? Please explain why 3 Tracers is the magic number to fire Rail Shot on a starting rotation? Sure, you have a 5 stack of heat signatures but not a 5 stack of Tracer Lock. Is math showing Rail Shot does more damage than a Tracer after 3 stacks of Tracer lock and a 5 stack of heat signatures? I am not seeing it.

 

Are we talking about the rotation where you have every single talent EXCEPT Heatseeker? Meaning you do have a full 3/3 in Barrage? Cause if so then Barrage probably just procced from those 3 Tracers and Unload will do more damage per heat(dph) than Rail Shot for sure, has a chance to reduce your heat for further dps gains, and will do more dps with lucky crits than a mere 3 tracer lock stacked Rail Shot. If Barrage did not proc, than why do Rail Shot when another Tracer might proc Barrage and get you another stack of Tracer Lock?

[Jaxxar]

I usually start off with a Kolto Shell then a Healing scan, followed up by Rapid scan, rapid scan, supercharged gas Kolto Missile, medpac myself, repeat.

[ZaOniTenshu]

10.5 seconds channeled time to do your rail shot.

 

4.5 seconds for 1 railshot doing 18% more 7.5 seconds later another Rail for another rail doing 18% as well.

 

So it takes you 21 seconds to fire 2 rail shots doing 30% more with it.

 

While it takes me 12 seconds to do 2 rail shots for 36% (total) more damage while still initiating my 2 unloads with Barrage.

 

Its instant speed like heatseeker and should be used whenever its not on CD so long as its not interfering with other needs for a given situation.

 

I dont use relics fyi otherwise mine would still prove to do even more.

 

I typically do roughly 2-2.5k per rail shot on a target at 49. (could be secondary specs which is accuracy and crit)

[ugig]

Tracer Missle>-Tracer Missle>-Tracer Missle>-Heatseeker Missle>-Tracer Missle>(has the unload buff procced? if yes then -Unload- if not then continue on with)-Tracer Missle>-Railshot.

 

From there I keep Heatseeker on cooldown, pop unload when the buff procs and drop in a rail shot at 5 stacks of the buff. When my heat gets to about 40 I seed in rapid shots between every ability.

[ZaOniTenshu]

Tired of wasting my breath.

 

I didnt do all of beta to max and regular game to max to go through all this stuff and rotations that were already ruled out and deemed ineffective.

 

Trust me, it works.

[Jaxxar]

Tired of wasting my breath.

 

I didnt do all of beta to max and regular game to max to go through all this stuff and rotations that were already ruled out and deemed ineffective.

 

Trust me, it works.

 

So your mad because others have a difference of opinion. You need to get over yourself.

[Obligation]

its funny, after a certain crit threshold, with at least the 2 piece set bonus, your heat problems vanish completely. i have a little over 50% crit with tracer missle, venting 8 heat whenever they crit.

 

dont miss your chances to use unload, the damage is amazing with the proc up.

[Gueneveve]

Hello Fellow Hunters,

 

Thank you all for posting and explaining the rotations. They have been extremely helpful and as I move up (currently 21) I will continue to adjust, refine, and kill . Having so much fun with this Merc.

 

Please continue to post on this thread. Too much information is always good when there is opportunity to improve.

 

Thanks again everyone!

 

G

[ZaOniTenshu]

So your mad because others have a difference of opinion. You need to get over yourself.

 

Nah, its just annoying when you try to help people about how to improve their rotation and DPS and people are thinking the old .8 version when you've already done and tried that and are on the 1.0 version. People will find out for themselves eventually.