Watchman/Focus hybrid?

[JWinkler]

I'm sure I'll be branded a fool for even suggesting such a thing, but here's the deal: I keep reading about how great Focus is. Twice now I've respec'd from Watchman and just feel like an idiot... Focus seems much more cumbersome than Watchman, which always felt very fluid. Yes, the huge hits on Force Sweep are awesome, but there are a few key abilities that I REALLY miss from Watchman: The reduced range Force Leap (even one point in this, taking it down to 5m, makes a huge difference), and the reduced cooldown Force Kick, that can shut a Bounty Hunter or Inquisitor down cold. Without those, I just feel clumsy.

 

So that got me thinking: How important IS Merciless Slash, really? Sure it's a huge part of my burst DPS as a Watchman, but what if I could replace it with those huge bursty Force Sweeps? On the other hand, how important IS Force Exhaustion to Focus, really? Yes, it builds up Singularity to set up those big sweeps, but so does Stasis, and what if I could offset the difference with some nice burn DoTs from the Watchman tree?

 

So, I present to you this 20/0/21 solution:

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#501bIbRrMzZZGbzrdrM.1

 

I was thinking it would be played in Juyo because Juyo Mastery is a requirement for moving up the Watchman Tree. That does mean there is a wasted skill point over in the Focus Tree (Zephyr), since it affects Shii-Cho.

 

Highlights, as I see it:

1) Force Kick at 6 secs

2) Huge mobility: Force Leap reduced to 5m minimum and shorter CD from Watchman, plus Zealous Leap from Focus

3) Retains Overload Sabers from Watchman with associated burn effects

4) Retains Singularity/Felling Blow mechanics from Focus for big Sweeps

5) Token self-healing from Zen burns (Watchman), plus 10% health back when popping Rebuke (Focus). Though maybe this should be swapped for Inflammation? I do love slowing people in PvP...

6) Retains 100% uptime for Transcendence from Inner Focus (Focus), but also with the focus generating capability of Valor (Watchman) for when you pop Zen.

 

I know hybrids are usually a no-no, but at least on paper it seems like it might be OK. What do you think?

Edited February 4, 2012 by JWinkler

[AeetesSixFive]

I don't like hybrids at all with Sents. You lose out on great top abilities, even if some are bugged (blade rush). Merc slash just finishes off watchman you don't have a big nuke ability if you drop that. And you don't have force exhaust from focus which is really good and you only have one way of building singularity I think it is. Go one way or the other, you lose out on big hits and if someone interrupts your force stasis that means you don't build singularity off that.

[EnnaRei]

On paper it sounds rather solid, but I would like to see it executed in a pvp standpoint. PvE would be nice too, but well, I personally wonder about how well it would be for pvp. Let us know, test **** out!

[JWinkler]

I'm going to at least try it! Again, I'm hoping that the big sweeps will compensate for no Merciles Slash, but you're right that stasis gets interrupted often... Anyway, I'll experiment and let you know! Edited February 4, 2012 by JWinkler

[-Yui-]

Good luck. I'm very interested in this build too, as the burns should make up for the big sweep downtime.

[Hostyle]

Youre not going to get those huge numbers from sweep because youre not getting the 30% crit damage bonus from focused resonance, or the 20% armor penetration from shii-cho mastery.

 

Personally I love focus. But then again, when Im in a WZ Im not going for damage or kills. Im trying to be the biggest annoyance on the BF. Im keeping people from capping turrets, speeding away with the huttball and planting bombs on doors. I can do all these long enough for 1-2 of the rest of my team to back me up. Im playing it as a utility class, not a pure damage dealer and Im having fun.

[thepilk]

The lack of Force Exhaustion makes Focus not worth investing in.

 

Without Exhaustion, you can only set up your trademark "divebomb" via Stasis..which means you HAVE to burn your CC, and you can only attempt it once every 50 seconds. Given how disruptable the combo it becomes way too fragile.

 

Exhaustaions 60% snare, DOT damage, and fast cooldown make those big sweeps constant and more reliable.

 

This build basically castrates both specs. You end up with the components of each spec, but none of the things that make them really work.

 

no merc slash, no exhaustion, no focus from DOT burns, no cauterize resets, no damage protection from camoflauge, no move speed off of zealous leap, too many important aspects are lost at the expense of each other.

[JWinkler]

Yeah, I think you guys are right. Ultimately the stuff you lose is not worth it. I actually did end up getting more medals than I usually in some of the WZs I played, and I was right about the mobility being awesome (speaking of utility!); It was way better than either Watchman or Focus alone. BUT the biggest hit I could do was from the Singularity charged Sweeps, which were only possible every 50secs (as mentioned). The auto-crit Sweeps without singularity charge still hit for decent damage, but not enough to merit losing Merciless Slash.

 

It's kind of a shame... I always like it when you can get creative with trees rather than have everybody as one of a few cookie cutter variants. I played SWG years ago, and there were always cool hybrids like a Fencer who could combine trees from Pistoleer and Teras Kasi for ridiculous amounts of dodge. I also played Dungeons & Dragons Online for a while, and while going pure was pretty standard, there were still some very creative and effective hybrids out there. It's always a trade-off, usually DPS for more utility.